The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (42 page)

“Young—Young Jae,” she whispered in broken gasps. Her voice became softer, the light slowly dimming from her tear-cloaked eyes. “Young Jae . . . I—lo—love . . .”

“No, no! Please stay with me, baby!” Young Jae begged, kissing his wife’s hand. He tried to stop the flow of blood from her stomach. “Please don’t leave me! Please don’t leave me!”

“I love you,” Anna breathed out brokenly. As though feeling her own child die with her, she gently cradled her stomach and stared at her husband one last time. “
We
love you,” she emphasized quietly.

And then, after exhaling her final breath, she closed her eyes. As Anna’s lifeless body laid in his arms, all that could be heard was Young Jae’s screams of agony. It saturated the room, moving all those present and crushing Yoori’s heart.

“Boss! We have to go!” P.C. shouted, running in from the side. He grabbed Young Jae, who was still holding onto his dead wife.

Young Jae was sobbing uncontrollably. In that suspended second, Young Jae was no longer a King. He was simply a man who lost his wife; he was simply a father who lost his child.

Yoori stood paralyzed, utterly horrified with what she had done. She never wanted this for him. She never wanted to hurt him like this. She could feel Tae Hyun stand beside her, his eyes tormented as he stared at the scene before him in desolation.

Welcome to the Underworld
, a voice in her mind whispered as tears rippled in her own eyes.
This is what happens in our world. Love doesn’t exist in our world. If it does, it will only be a matter of time before it dies. Would you be able to handle that? Would you be able to hold Tae Hyun in your arms and watch him die?

This
was exactly why Yoori did not want to be with Tae Hyun.

This very moment was exactly why she could never be human with him.

“Boss!” P.C. continued to scream out, using all his strength to pry Young Jae away from Anna’s dead body. “Things are happening in Japan! We have to go!”

At long last, P.C. was able to rip Young Jae away from a lifeless Anna. In the same second, sounds of sirens pouring in from the streets echoed into the lobby, triggering the remaining Skulls and Scorpions to disperse from the building like scared rats.

The sound of his pregnant wife’s dead body hitting the floor pierced into the air after P.C. picked Young Jae up. P.C. tugged at his dazed King’s arm and began to herd him out of the building. As he ran out with the crowd, Young Jae’s eyes gazed at his wife for one last time before his heated eyes locked with Yoori’s.

Yoori felt the breath still in her lungs.

If there was any chance of her brother and her ever reconciling in the future, then all of that was shot to hell the instant she killed his wife and unborn child.

Hatred. Nothing but hatred encased his dark eyes.

His glare said it all: retribution.

“You’re going to pay,” she heard him whisper—heard him promise—before he disappeared out of the building. “You’re going to pay for everything.”

Yoori remained rooted in her position, for she was disgusted with herself.

This was her world, and what a disgusting world it was.

Anna betrayed her; she deserved to die, but the unborn baby didn’t deserve to die. The child that would have been her niece or nephew didn’t deserve to die, and that was what was killing her. Although she was furious with her, Yoori now wished that she didn’t have to kill Anna. Killing Anna brought her no satisfaction. If anything, it only served to bring her more misery. She could not deny how excruciating it was to watch her own brother cry as the love of his life left him. It was unbearable for her to realize that he would never meet his own child because of her.

“Yoori.”

Tae Hyun wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her against him and held her to his chest. His touch brought her comfort, but it did not conceal the agony she experienced. She could feel the pain run up and down her body. The mind-numbing heartache haunted her as she stared at her brother’s dead wife.

“We can’t be here anymore,” Tae Hyun announced, his voice barely discernible over the sirens. “We have to leave now.”

Yoori nodded numbly. They could no longer loiter within this building, not when the authorities were going to find this place—and the carnage within it—soon. Knowing that there was nothing more for them here, Yoori took one last look at Anna before walking out of the lobby with Tae Hyun.

She could feel eyes on her once they stepped out of the building. She instinctively peered up at the building across the street. Chills trickled down her spine when she saw what stood above them.

High up in that building, she could see Ju Won standing in front of a glass window with ten other Underworld elders by his side. Each and every one of them were staring down at her and Tae Hyun with rage in their cold eyes.

Tae Hyun’s phone rang and instantly, she and Tae Hyun knew who it was.

While holding her close and staring at Ju Won, who also had a phone to his ear, Tae Hyun picked up.

“Forty-eight hours,” Ju Won’s livid voice filtered through succinctly, sending more chills to cover their bodies. There was no more diplomacy, no more bullshit. “Forty-eight hours to correct the mess you’ve made, the embarrassment you’ve brought to our world. Forty-eight hours for you to get your rationale back, and forty-eight hours for one of you to kill the other. If you don’t correct your mistakes after forty-eight hours, then the entire Underworld will have both of your heads. Think about it.”

“Looks like you’ve already made your decision.”

22: Royals Without a Throne

Tae Hyun and Yoori were quiet for a long moment after spending the majority of the day in the hospital. Jae Won and Kang Min had rushed them to the hospital and sought the aid of Tae Hyun’s private physician—Dr. Han—and Yoori’s private surgeon—Dr. Kim. While Yoori spent hours in the surgery room getting the bullet out, Dr. Han stitched up Tae Hyun’s cuts and bandaged his wounds. It was hours later, when Yoori was out of surgery and Tae Hyun was done with his meeting with Dr. Han, that they found themselves on a bench within the empty hospital corridor.

Yoori felt lost as she stared out the window. The hospital’s courtyard was covered in blinding white snow. The rampant wind was thrashing the snow every which way. There did not appear to be an end in sight for the blizzard. It mirrored the storm ravaging her life.

Everything that transpired today had gone horribly wrong, and now, they had not only made enemies out of her brother and Ji Hoon, but also the entire Underworld society. This was not what she had planned for; this was not how she wanted to protect Tae Hyun. She was supposed to leave him with a throne, not a coffin.

Beside her, Tae Hyun remained quiet. He, too, was staring numbly at the storm ravaging the world outside. Although he did not speak, she knew very well that his mind was processing the same thoughts as hers. This death sentence was not what he planned for; this was not what he wanted for them.

The sound of footsteps moving across the corridor roused them from their daze. They relinquished their focus from the storm and averted their attention to the new Royal in their presence.

Yoori straightened her spine when she observed that Choi Min Hyuk—arguably the most powerful crime lord in the 1
st
layer—was approaching them. He wore a black suit with a long, dark trench coat that nearly touched the floor as he walked. His expression was grim and completely free of emotions. If he were wearing a hooded cloak, she would daresay that he’d make an excellent Grim Reaper.

Yoori smiled to herself. Perhaps that was what he was. Perhaps the Underworld had decided to kill them right then and there. He was coming to collect their souls—or what was left of their souls.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Yoori asked coolly, watching him like a hawk.

Min Hyuk took a seat on the bench opposite from them. Once situated, he released a breath of annoyance. “I would have enjoyed it more if there was actually an ending.”

“There would have been an ending had we not been interrupted,” Yoori responded with the same tone of annoyance. She tilted her head critically. “Did you know Young Jae and Ji Hoon were planning to ambush us?”

The line of Min Hyuk’s mouth hardened. “I did not know,” he answered bluntly. A tinge of reproaching fire blazed in his eyes. “But I will give Ji Hoon credit for fighting for the throne. It is something the ones in front of me should be doing.”

“What are you doing here, uncle?” Tae Hyun asked quietly, staring at Min Hyuk with tired eyes. If it had been another crime lord, Yoori knew that Tae Hyun would manufacture a fearless expression. Given that Min Hyuk was one of his most trusted mentors, he did not feel it was necessary to put on a mask.

“Our layer asked me to come,” Min Hyuk replied, his grim expression thawing when he finally laid his focus on Tae Hyun. “They requested that I come reason with you before the end comes.”

Hope surged through Yoori when she realized that Min Hyuk was not there to collect their souls; he was there to save them—or more specifically, save Tae Hyun. The crime lords of the 1
st
layer rarely involved themselves in the happenings of the 3
rd
layer, much less inject themselves into something as controversial as her situation with Tae Hyun. The only time in history this type of intervention occurred was when Tae Hyun killed Ho Young. The 1
st
layer rallied together to not only protect him from the bylaws of the Underworld, but also crown him as a King in the 3
rd
layer. This very moment was proving to be the second historic moment for the 1
st
layer. The only difference was that they were not uniting to protect Tae Hyun from the Underworld; they were uniting to protect Tae Hyun from himself.

“I no longer want the throne,” Tae Hyun stated without hesitation.

“It no longer matters what you want,” Min Hyuk said patiently. “As of this moment, you are no longer a King. You forfeited that privilege the moment you decided to choose ‘love’ over your throne.”

Tae Hyun humored Min Hyuk’s statement. “What am I now?”

“You are an example,” Min Hyuk responded in a low, controlled voice. “A tale that will be told as a lesson to the future Kings and Queens of the Underworld. Fortunately for you, how this story will be told is still entirely up to you. Will you be the King who rose to power after sacrificing the love of his life . . . or will you be the King who died pathetically for a woman?”

“I am not just a ‘woman’,” Yoori corrected firmly. She did not want Tae Hyun to die for her, but it should not be mistaken that she was any less worthy. “I am a Queen. There is no greater honor than to die for me.”

“Then why did you not give Tae Hyun the honor today?” Min Hyuk inquired in a dismissive voice.

“Because I want to reserve the honor for someone else,” she said fearlessly, not liking his tone with her. She felt the Queen in her rouse to life. She appraised him with the hunger of a bloodthirsty lioness. “Perhaps I should give you the honor.”

“Yoori,” Tae Hyun called softly. Even though his voice was barely above a whisper, there was no denying the steel behind it. He did not want her to fight with someone he harbored so much respect for. “Despite his words, he is on our side.”

Yoori fell silent. He was right. She should not allow her ego to take precedence tonight. The most important goal was to save Tae Hyun’s life. Since Min Hyuk’s very reason for being there was to do this, the last thing Yoori needed to do was treat him like an enemy. 

“Why must we choose one or the other?” Tae Hyun asked when an unspoken truce was given between Yoori and Min Hyuk. “If we were in any other world, they would jump for joy at the thought of being ruled over by a King and Queen like us.”

“Our world is different from the rest,” Min Hyuk said solemnly, voicing what Yoori had grown up hearing her entire life. “For a title as powerful as the ‘Lord’ of the Underworld, the recipient must possess every trait worthy of this epithet.”

“Because the Korean Underworld is the first Underworld to crown a Lord, the rest of the Underworlds are watching,” Yoori provided, knowing exactly why Tae Hyun and her could not rule this society together. “Our society will not allow this historic battle to end in a ‘happily ever after’. They cannot set the precedence with the rest of the crownings if this first one does not set the bar high. The first Lord must represent everything the Underworld is: they must be cruel, they must be powerful, and they must love power above all else. They must be willing to sacrifice everything for their throne.”

Min Hyuk nodded. At long last, a sliver of emotion entered his eyes as he quietly said, “If it was up to me, I would crown you both as our Lords because as we all know in the business world, an organization becomes unstoppable when a union—a merger—is formed. Your combined stature will catapult this society to unmatched heights, and your reign will be legendary. If it were up to me, I would have spun your story a different way. I would have made sure it worked out in your favor.”

“But?” Yoori prompted, knowing there was something powerful keeping this from ever coming to fruition.

“But there are other”—he paused to utilize the right word—“
forces
that do not want such a union to occur.”

“Ju Won?” Tae Hyun supplied hatefully.

Min Hyuk smiled to himself. “Despite what Ju Won likes to make others believe, he is not the be all, end all of the Underworld. His opposition to your union may be the most outspoken one, but he is not the only one who feels this way.”

“What are you alluding to?” Yoori breathed out. “What ‘other forces’ are so influential that even the Gods of the Underworld have to bend to their will?”

“The answer does not matter,” Min Hyuk dismissed gently. “The only thing that matters is the outcome of what you will need to do next.”

“I will not choose a throne over her,” Tae Hyun professed with finality. “I can live without the throne; I can’t say the same if I lose her.”

“That is where you’re wrong,” Min Hyuk countered at once. “You cannot live without the throne—not in this society. A King without his throne is simply a man. You have made too many enemies to simply be a man in this world, Tae Hyun. You will not survive without your throne, and you will lose her either way.” He looked between the two of them. “You two will never win; you will never be together because your story has already been written. One of you will die for the other, and if you do not play your parts, then both of you will die.” He swallowed tightly before announcing something that caused Yoori and Tae Hyun to stop breathing. “Your armies have been immobilized.”

Yoori and Tae Hyun stiffened in their seats.

“What?” they asked at the same time.

“The Serpents and the Siberian Tigers are no more,” he clarified solemnly. “At least for the time being.”

By now, Tae Hyun was beginning to breathe harshly. Anger twisted on his face. “Who has the authority to take our own soldiers from us?”

“You gave the Advisors that authority when you reneged on your agreement to battle one another.”

Tae Hyun smirked, clearly recalling the Underworld war that transpired a few hours prior. “If I call for them, my Serpents will come for me. They will not abandon me.”

“But you will not do such a thing,” Min Hyuk corrected knowingly. “You will not put them in harm’s way, especially not when it involves the Underworld elders. You may be more than happy to relinquish your throne, but not your duties as their King.” He turned to Yoori. “Or their Queen.”

He stood up as silence descended upon Tae Hyun and Yoori. Despite their fury with the Underworld immobilizing their gangs, the last thing they would do was put their Underworld soldiers in harm’s way. They had already failed as their Gods. They could not fail as their King and Queen. 

“This immobilization is temporary,” Min Hyuk went on. “It will end as soon as you see your battle through. Once one of you conquers the other, your armies will not only be returned to you, but you will also have the Underworld at your feet as well. Until then, please use your forty-eight hours wisely.”

When it looked like he was about to leave, Min Hyuk temporarily stopped. With gentle eyes, he placed a fatherly hand on Tae Hyun’s shoulder.

“Whatever your decision,” he advised faintly, staring down at Tae Hyun with melancholy in his eyes, “once you make it, do not turn back. Never turn back again.”

Yoori did not know what Min Hyuk meant with that, but she was too troubled to care. His appearance only reminded her of how hopeless their predicament was. It only served to reinforce the fact that Tae Hyun was truly living on borrowed time—that
they
were living on borrowed time.

“You should have killed me when I told you to,” she finally whispered when Min Hyuk left them. She turned to face Tae Hyun with anger on her face. “Look at what has happened. This is not what I wanted for you.”

“What about what I want for you?” he countered, gazing at her with the same anguish. “What I want for us?”

“There is no ‘us’!” she snapped piercingly. Was he not part of the same conversation? “Don’t you get it by now? Haven’t they made it clear? In this world, there is no ‘us’. It is you
or
me. One of us has to kill the other to survive. One of us has to die for the other to live!”

“Then leave the country with me,” he uttered, shocking Yoori with his proposal.

“What?” she asked disbelievingly.

“Leave the country with me,” he repeated, his sincere brown eyes gazing into hers.

An exasperated laugh escaped her. After all that went down, what made him think that they could actually be together and have a happily ever after?  The absurdity of this suggestion was too foolish for her.

“Run?” Another withering laugh poured from her. “You think we can run? You know we won’t get anywhere running. Our people are all over the world.”

“I don’t care anymore,” he retorted. It was clear that he had been set on this decision since their conversation with Ju Won. Min Hyuk’s appearance only served to further strengthen his decision. “They can hunt us down and we’ll run. We’ll keep running. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care about anything else.”

She swayed her head in agitation. He truly did not see the complexity—or the flaw—in his “simple” plan.

“I can’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean you’re worth enough for me to invest my heart into you, Tae Hyun.” Her heart ached at the thought of losing him. “I’d rather die alone than fall like your mother.”