The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (67 page)

“I’m sorry . . . I didn’t do a better job protecting you,” he whispered achingly, his hand trembling as he strained to touch her, to still take care of her.

“No, no. You did great,” she assured him quickly. Her lower lip quivered when she brought a hand up to place over his hand, to help keep it on her cheek. “You did so great.”

Though she tried to stop it, she couldn’t control the tears that fell, the tears that glided down from her eyes and touched his hand. She could not control the tears that caused Tae Hyun to gaze at her regrettably.

“Tae Hyun,” Yoori whispered. The hopelessness in his expression was killing her. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“I didn’t want you . . . to be here,” he said quietly. Then, unable to hold in his desire to be near her warmth, he forced his body to move closer to her. With his hand still on her cheek, he pressed his forehead against hers. While his slow breath intermingled with hers, she felt his body tremble even more. It was as though it was beginning to lose all of its strength to go on. Agony and regret throbbed in his shaky voice when he painfully added, “I didn’t want you . . . here. I didn’t want you . . . to see me like this . . .”

Yoori began to choke on her own tears. She shook her head, her soul twisting in excruciating knots when she grasped the reality of her life.

Tae Hyun . . . Tae Hyun was dying.

Her Snob . . . was
dying
.

“I’m sorry, Brat.” His face contorted in torture while they shook where they sat, their hearts and souls never hurting more. “I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

This was when Yoori lost it.

“Tae Hyun, please,” she begged from the depths of her breaking heart. A shattered plea poured from her quivering voice. “Please stop leaving me.”

His eyes glistened at her words. His hand not only shook from his deteriorating strength, but also from the despair that had plagued him.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” There was so much pain in his voice that she could hear his heart bleeding at the sight of her crying like this. “I never wanted to leave you. I . . . I never wanted to make you cry again.”

The tears that he held in began to bubble relentlessly in his eyes when another realization washed upon him.

Regret rippled in his gaze.

“I wanted to take you to Paris,” he breathed out remorsefully, knowing that he would never have the chance to do this now. “I wanted to
show
you Paris.”

These statements alone were the breaking point for her.

The sobs wouldn’t stop ripping out of her chest. Her heart galloped against her ribcage, begging to jump out so it could hold onto Tae Hyun one last time.

“Please don’t go,” Yoori begged as she trembled uncontrollably. Hot tears glided down her cheeks. Hopelessness filled her hollow and aching heart. “You know I can’t do this without you. You know that I can’t live without you.” She bit her lips at the thought of something so unimaginable. “I
can’t
be without you.”

Misery filled his eyes as he shook his head at what she said.

“Don’t follow me,” he told her painfully. His tormented eyes implored her to listen to him, to never do something so foolish. He did not want her to do what his mother had done. He did not want her to take her own life to follow him. “Don’t follow me. I don’t want you . . . to follow me.”

Yoori was past listening.

“Tae Hyun, please,” she whispered desperately, her mind completely unraveling. Her eyes begged him to stay even though she knew that if he really had the choice, then he wouldn’t do this to her.

He would never make her cry; he would
never
leave her.

Yet, even when she knew this, she couldn’t stop herself from begging him not to leave her.

“Please stay with me,” she cried past her sobs. “Please don’t leave. Please stop leaving me.”

An endless stream of tears dripped from his eyes. The truth of what was happening was hitting them. They knew the end was near and that the inevitable was coming.

He stared at her, and at that moment, she could see his life flash through the souls of his eyes.

“
You’re worth all of it
,” he told her, the truth of his words coming from the depths of his soul. Gazing at her, his tears fell and mixed with hers as they dripped onto the ground. “You’ve been nothing but worth it.”

Dying to be close to her, he leaned in and brushed his soft lips against hers. Their quivering and heartbroken lips kissed one another desperately. Tears continued to shed from their eyes as they kissed like lovers once separated, as they kissed like lovers about to be separated.

Neither wanted to let the other go. Both wanted to prolong this moment for the eternities to come . . .

“I love you,” Yoori finally uttered, unable to control the desperation ravaging her very being.

She hugged him tightly and sobbed into their embrace. She thought about all that they had been through. She thought about everything they had shared together. And finally, she thought about how much she loved him with all her dying soul.

Burying her face into his shoulder, she allowed her body to shake as every inch of her struggled to touch Tae Hyun, as every inch of her being tried to remember the feeling of his warmth one final time.

“I love you,” he told her, his tears dripping relentlessly. He rested his chin on the top of her head before he buried his face into her hair. He wanted to remember her warmth, her scent, and her essence before the end came for him. He kissed the back of her head and moved his lips close to her ear. His next words were spoken with desperation, with undying promise. “I will
always
love you.”

And then, with one final kiss to her cheek, Tae Hyun allowed the last of his tears to fall as he tightened his embrace on her, allowing the cells on his skin to cherish the feel of her for the final time. He nuzzled his face into the side of her neck and just breathed slowly. He swallowed past the pain and agony and slowly . . . very slowly . . . closed his eyes. The last of his tears dripped onto her neck before a hushed silence suddenly came over him.

“Tae Hyun?” Yoori softly prompted when she felt him go still.

She raised her gaze. Her shaking hand grazed his cheek, trying to get him to open his eyes.

“Tae Hyun?” She touched his face, feeling her fingers tremble as she lightly shook him, the breath within her stalling in her pained chest.

“Tae Hyun?” she called out again, her body quivering as she stared up at his pale and sleeping face.

“
Snob
?” she uttered breathlessly, desperately shaking him again and again to wake him up.

She did not believe that he was gone.

She was convinced he would come back, that was why she sat there for thirty seconds, her eyes never leaving his face.

Tae Hyun’s coming back,
she told herself.
I just know he is
.

Thirty seconds then became forty-eight seconds.

Forty-eight seconds became one minute.

One minute then became one minute and thirty seconds.

It was after two minutes did Yoori stop counting.

It was after two minutes and nine seconds did Yoori’s eyes blur beyond recognition with red-hot tears.

It was after two minutes and twenty seconds did Yoori feel her world disintegrate as she covered her hands over her mouth in agony.

It was after two minutes and twenty-nine seconds did tear after tear escape from her eyes as she sobbed quietly to herself.

It was after two minutes and fifty-nine seconds, where she continued to sob there, staring at his lifeless body, did Yoori finally admit to herself that Tae Hyun wasn’t coming back.

He wasn’t coming back for her.

He left her . . .

. . . and he was
never
coming back.

A voiceless sob escaped her tormented chest as the force of a volcano erupted from her once peaceful state. She shook and shook for a moment. An ocean of tears gathered in her eyes before the wall broke, the flood came in, and the destruction began . . .

“Taeeeeee Hyuunnn! Oh God, no! Taeeeee Hyunnnnnnnn! Please wake up! Please don’t leave me!”

She was dying.

Every part of her heart, her body, and her entire soul was dying.

Cops, who somehow appeared without her noticing, made themselves known when they surrounded her and did their best to calmly pull her from Tae Hyun. They tried to separate her from Tae Hyun, but Yoori wouldn’t have any of it.

“Taeee Hyunnn!” she sobbed uncontrollably. Her voice and body trembled as she crawled back to him, wrapped herself around him, and hugged his body with all the strength she had.

Every time they tried to pull her away, she would push them off of her and tighten her grasp on him. Desperate to feel his warmth before they took him from her, she greedily held onto him and cried her sorrow into his chest.

“Tae Hyun . . . Tae Hyun . . .” she sobbed in pure agony, wrapping herself tighter around him.

She buried her tears into his chest. Her body shook from the pain of being so badly injured from the battle and from the unequivocal pain of losing Tae Hyun.

As Yoori trembled and cried harder than she had ever cried in her life, she felt herself dying. She felt her vision dim, her lips grow dry, her skin rip apart, and her entire being go numb as it strained to hold onto the one person who made it feel so alive.

“Tae Hyun, please come back,” she pleaded into his chest, hugging him one last time before her own body gave up on her, before her own tears blinded her eyes, before her own broken heart weakened, and before her world blackened in despair. “Please come back to me. Please come back to me,” she begged softly. Her quiet pleas echoed throughout the amphitheater. “Please come back to me. Please come back to me . . .”

As her words swam around the last of his warmth, Yoori felt her entire world darken as one last thought invaded her mind, bringing to light that one final,
agonizing
and
heart-wrenching
truth that she could no longer deny.

Gone.

Her once-in-a-lifetime love was gone.

“What’s your one wish tonight, Yoori?”

Epilogue: Until Paris Fades

The country of South Korea was in disarray the days following Tae Hyun’s death.

Tae Hyun, Ji Hoon, Ju Won, and a score of other Underworld soldiers were all pronounced dead at the amphitheater upon the arrival of the police officers. The announcement of their deaths—and where and how they died—sent shockwaves throughout the country that such horrific and ghastly murders could take place.

In this state of disorder, the Underworld found itself in pandemonium as it tried to absorb the enormity of what took place.

An Young Jae, though critically injured, had flown back to Japan to answer to the “inconvenience” he had caused in the Korean Underworld. The elders and Royals in Japan were already questioning their decision in making him the Lord of their Underworld. The fact that he caused such a big catastrophe by using an Advisor in the Korean Underworld as his human shield was infuriating to them. The Underworld’s most important relationships were those with their allies. Now that the new Lord had just effectively caused a rift between the two Underworlds, it was an understatement to say that this important relationship had been severed, so much so that the extremists within the Korean Underworld wanted to go to war with Japan to make Young Jae pay for his offenses.

In adjunction to this, as the world began to question the existence of an underground society powerful enough to perpetuate a crime on such a grand scale, the Korean Underworld was facing more pandemonium than any other entity.

Once considered the most powerful Underworld in the world, Korea’s Underworld had found itself divided after the death of two Kings and an exiled Queen. The 3
rd
layer was without a monarch. Ultimately, with no King or Queen to govern the biggest layer in the Underworld pyramid, the Korean Underworld had now found itself at an impasse. It was completely unsure of its standing for the future as it attempted to ride out its anarchy.

As this pandemonium took place, Hae Jin, Kang Min, Jae Won, Chae Young, and Chae Young’s father were all safely out of the country. Unfathomable grief plagued them the moment they found out about Tae Hyun’s death and about Yoori’s condition in the hospital. Helpless as they couldn’t attend Tae Hyun’s funeral and powerless as they didn’t know where Yoori was, all they could do was cry to themselves as they sat by the phone, praying for a phone call from the lone survivor found at the scene of the unspeakable crime—the lone survivor who was rushed to the hospital and was waiting to be taken into custody.

“I need to question her,” the investigator announced to the doctor standing outside her hospital ward. He stood tall in his black suit, his dark eyes challenging the doctor to stand in his way.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the meek doctor replied. Dressed in a white overcoat over his black suit, there was pity in his voice as he went on. “Her body had been badly assaulted, and she’s been through a substantial amount of emotional stress. She’s in no condition to speak to anyone.”

“She’s the primary, sole, and key witness in giving us information about a secret underground society that had been the cause of massacres that have taken place all over our country,” the investigator said impatiently. “It doesn’t matter if she’s in no condition to speak to anyone,” he went on, brushing past the doctor. He walked into the high-security hospital ward of the young, unidentified woman. “It’s been two and a half weeks. I need to talk to her, and I need to talk to her
now
—”

The investigator was abruptly silenced when he laid eyes on the room before him. His breath caught in his throat. His dark eyes widened as he stared at the empty bed and the opened hospital window. He moved to assess the white drapes that were dancing in the wind. A look of doom overcame his face. Realization hit him that his key witness—his only witness—had escaped from custody. And if the simple fact that she was able to escape from a high-security hospital wasn’t enough, the fact that she was also able to escape without so much as alerting an officer was astounding.

The investigator let out a curse.

He knew all too well how skillful she must be to be able to escape with such ease, even in spite of her extensive injuries. Another curse escaped from him. Although he radioed for back up to find her, he knew in the back of his mind that if she was gone, then much like the wind, she was
never
going to be found again.

■
■
■

The world was quiet when the soles of her boots met the wooden structure of the dock.

Stepping forward while the dark lake glittered under the glow of the full moon, all that she could hear was the sound of wind blowing in the cool night. Its calm chill swept over the slumberous lake, the sleeping grass, and the soothing world around her.

As her emotionless eyes stared into a space of nothingness, she continued to tread down the creaking dock. Her fatigued face grew paler and paler as the seconds ticked away. Though she was quiet as could be, the device pressed against her ear was overflowing with frantic worry.

“Boss?” Jae Won’s concerned voice came over the line, streaming out of the cellphone. “Boss, please tell us where you are. We’ll come get you. We’ll come get you, then we’ll all leave together again.”

“I can’t leave him,” she breathed out, her voice barely audible over the wind. Undeterred by their imploring voices, she continued to walk down the dock. Her dazed eyes continued to gaze at the dark lake while wind streamed through her hair.

“Yoori!” She could hear Chae Young’s desperate cries after she grabbed the phone from Jae Won. “Yoori, please! Tell us where you are!”

“Boss, please,” came Kang Min’s pleading voice.

In the background, soft sobs emanated from Hae Jin. “Yoori, please,” Hae Jin begged. “Don’t do this!”

The worry in Hae Jin’s voice—in all their voices—was a pain that she could not bear, especially given that she couldn’t give them what they wanted.
Their presence, their worry, and their love—they only served to remind her of the one who was no longer there . . .

“Please just tell us where you are,” Kang Min implored, concern undulating in his voice. “Jae Won and I will come for you. We’ll bring you back here so that you can be with us.”

“It is safer for all of you to no longer be around me,” she told them, knowing very well about all the events that were transpiring in the Underworld. “The chaos I created isn’t forgotten, nor will it be forgiven. Some gave their words that they won’t come after me, but others will come looking for me. They will not give up until they find me.”

She knew her Underworld far too well. Albeit there was a high probability that the majority would keep their words, all it took was one individual to break the agreement. And because of this small chance alone, she could never go back to her loved ones. She would never risk the lives of the people she loved again—
she would never let anyone die for her again.

“Boss—”

“Please don’t come looking for me,” she said with finality, her decision set. “Just stay out of the country and be safe.” She briefly closed her eyes to prepare for the despair in her next words. “
Just forget about me
.”

“Yoori, what are you doing?” Hae Jin whispered, horrified. “Why are you talking like that?” Pained emotions swelled in Hae Jin’s voice as she desperately went on. “Please just tell us where you are. I want you here with us. Please be here with us.”

“
I can’t leave him
,” Yoori said again, her voice completely broken as she reached the end of the dock. “I can’t leave him. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

She bit her lips to keep the tears from inundating her voice. She had to save her composure to bid her final goodbye to them. That was the only reason why she called them. She wanted to hear their voices for the very last time.

“I love you, all of you,” she whispered before finally ending the call, before finally taking her cursed self out of their lives. “Please . . . be safe.”

“No! Don’t—!”

Yoori closed her eyes in agony and allowed her cellphone to slip from her grasp, and along with it, the life with the loved ones she would never put in danger again. The phone pierced the air and plunged into the lake with a soft splash, silencing the voice of her friends, while inviting the company of silence to drown out her ears and bring peace to her mind.

Silence.

Finally silence.

Standing at the edge of that dock, she held the black hoodie that she wore during the arena battle—the hoodie that belonged to the person she loved most in this world. With her hand clutching tightly onto the fabric, she allowed her quiet eyes to take in the horizon that stretched ahead of her.

She gazed at the glorious moon, the stars that bejeweled the night’s sky, the twinkling crystals reflecting atop the tranquil lake, and the vast world in the distance. While she did this, birds flew overhead, giving out an ambiance of unpolluted peace.

How odd it felt for Yoori. It felt odd to watch as this world continued to revolve so beautifully, so lightheartedly. Such peace made her wonder how the world around her could be so calm and beautiful when she was so tired, so broken. How could this part of the world still feel so magical . . . when nothing but darkness had spread over her life?

Yoori remained stoic until a sudden breeze swept past her, running over the bandaged bare arms that couldn’t be covered by the black blouse she was wearing. Shivers raked her body, reminding her with simple realization that she was alive, that she didn’t die at the arena like she thought she would. The simple shiver painfully reminded her that the one who always kept her warm was no longer with her.

He would no longer be able to keep her warm again; she would no longer feel his warmth—never again.

She was alive . . . and
he wasn’t
.

Then, without any warning, as the magnitude of this realization fell upon her, her knees buckled, triggering her to fall to the ground. Her legs collapsed into a kneeling position with a loud crash. While pain shot up and down her legs, tear after tear flowed out as she was reminded of all the pain she felt—all the agony that would never leave her for as long as she lived.

Tae Hyun.

Her Tae Hyun, her Snob . . . was no longer alive.

He left her.

He left her, and he was never coming back to her.

“. . . Tae Hyun,” she sobbed brokenly. Tears dripped into the lake as she pleaded for him to come back for her, to take her away from this place and save her from the misery of being without him. The necklace she wore hung from her neck, the silver ring crying with her as her tears kissed over it.

“Please,” she pleaded agonizingly. Her hand rose to the moon in longing, in desperation. She reached out to it as though she was reaching out to her beloved. “
Please take me with you
. . .” She shook and shook, despair washing over her and drowning her in her own ocean of tears. “Please let me be with you . . .” she continued past the sobs in her pained chest.

Crippled with heartache, she pressed her forehead against the dock and cried her sorrow into the wooden foundation. She was unable to do anything but cry for the love of her life.

The pain she felt was unbearable, unimaginable.

It hurt to breathe.

It hurt to live.

It hurt to
exist
. . .

Lifting her head up, she leaned over the dock to lifelessly stare at the lake. Her glistening eyes numbly followed the trail of her trickling tears. Envy ensued within her once she saw her tears drown into the mercy of the lake beneath her.

She felt envy for the tears that were shed; she felt envy for how easily they disappeared unto the clemency of the lake, unto the leniency of oblivion where they didn’t have to feel pain ever again—
where they could be with Tae Hyun again.

A powerful gust of wind came over the world, whipping her hair and clothes about. With a sense of clarity filling her eyes, she numbly pressed her hands on the ground and pushed herself up. She stood unsteadily at the end of the creaking dock, her anguished eyes gazing at the peaceful lake like it was a salvation, like it held the key to freeing her from all this torture.

She wasn’t strong enough for this. She wasn’t strong enough to live like this, to spend every second of forever missing Tae Hyun. She wasn’t strong enough for the pain. She wanted it to end. She just wanted it all to end so she could be with him again.

I want to be with you again . . .

With broken-hearted tears still slipping from her eyes, Yoori lifted her left foot up. She was ready to allow the wind to carry her into the dark lake when another violent breeze whipped over her, causing the hoodie to slam into the pocket of her jeans. The wind hit it with such impact that it was able to free something that was stuck to the top edge of her pocket. Freed from its captivity was a rolled up piece of paper that fell onto the wooden dock.