The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (19 page)

Like 10-year
-olds, they sat with their legs crossed, their backs against the wall, and their eyes fully fixated on the view of the horizon. Her perfume and his cologne breathed together as rain pelted around them. 

Yoori was grateful that the barriers around Tae Hyun’s balcony were glass, which meant that even under the table, they could get a breathtaking view of the world before them. Trickles of rain cascaded onto the glass railing of the balcony. The liquid droplets blocked the full view of the blinking city – but only slightly.
 

“Here,” said Tae Hyun, pulling her out of her staring state. He handed her the warm teacup.
 

“Thanks,” Yoori whispered, grabbing the cup at once.

Tae Hyun watched with anticipation.

The warmth from the glass comforted her. Going back to where she left off before it started sprinkling, she brought the teacup up toward her.
 Yoori lowered the tip of the cup to her lips and began to sip from it. Sure enough, as she felt little drops of heaven fill her mouth, the big tread of coldness that once ran over her body left instantaneously. As a cold wind accompanied them underneath the table, she was certain now that she had this tea before. It was undoubtedly the same tea Ji Hoon shared with her when she saw him the other night.

“Is this…” she started, trying to recall the name Ji Hoon shared with her. “Is this queen of Babylon white tea with a mix of rooibos rose garden tea and a tou –”
 

“–
touch of German rock cane sugar,” Tae Hyun finished for her. He was surprised that she knew the name. “How did you know?” 

“Uh…is this not a popular drink?” she asked
apprehensively, not wanting to bring up Ji Hoon. 

Tae Hyun took a moment to deliberate the answer. Seconds later, he laughed. “I guess the trend caught on,” he replied before adding, “You know that I mixed this tea together, right?” There was pride in his voice. It mirrored that of a proud kid showing off his straight A’s report card.
 

“Yeah…I know because I sure didn’t,” Yoori replied, misunderstanding what Tae Hyun was trying to share with her.
 

He gave her an odd look. “No. I mean I invented it.”
 

Yoori’s eyes rounded like baseballs. “You
 
started
 this drink trend?” 

Tae Hyun nodded. A prideful smile illumed
his face. The heavy, yet peaceful, splattering of the rain could be heard as Tae Hyun went on, his eyes lingering on an undetectable space of the city. 

“Well, I don’t know. It’s a pretty easy drink to mix together so other people probably thought of it too. But when I was younger – a lot younger – I was bored so I started mixing drinks together. I mixed the queen of Babylon white tea and the rooibos rose garden tea together. Then, I threw a bit of German rock cane sugar and after that…I created heaven in a cup.” He laughed as he reminisced. “It was a thoughtless mix, but the Underworld is filled with tea enthusiasts…so I guess whoever tried my drink got hooked.”
 

What a small world that Lee Ji Hoon’s favorite tea was the one that Kwon Tae Hyun created,
Yoori mused. The irony was incredible.

Tae Hyun turned to her. “How did you know about this drink?”
 

Yoori smiled timidly. She was determined not to bring up Ji Hoon. “I guess the Underworld sets the trends and the rest of the world follows,” she replied, bluffing quite easily. To avert his attention from calling her bluff, she offered the tea to him.
 

Distracted, and unable to refuse his favorite drink, Tae Hyun took the cup, inhaled a bit of the aroma and promptly took a couple of sips from it. He sighed as if he was in heaven and handed the teacup back to Yoori. He made sure there was enough left for her.
 

The torrent of the rain picked up when Yoori grabbed the teacup. Remnants of water streamed off the outer sides of the table. Though they were getting partially wet from the residual water that slithered beneath them, it wasn’t enough to knock Yoori or Tae Hyun from their peaceful state.
 A companionable silence settled between them when they took in the panoramic view. The city lights blinked under the canvas of the murky sky. All that could be heard was the rhythmic drumming of the rain and the howling of the wind. It was peaceful, almost hypnotizing. It somehow acted as a reminder to Yoori as to what she had to talk to Tae Hyun about. 

Seemingly anticipating the train of her apprehensive thoughts, Tae Hyun’s voice swam through the wave of the serene silence.
 “Something seems to be bothering you. Did you want to talk to me about something?” 

It occurred to Yoori that even under the façade of her smile, Tae Hyun knew her enough to discern when she was troubled. It showed how close they’d become when, even under the greatest of her bluffs, he could see right through her.
 

She heaved a breath. Her eyes focused on the view of the city before she nodded. She wasn’t even sure where to begin. Surely a conversation that began with, “I’m An Soo Jin” would throw anyone off the balcony. Even though she was determined to tell him everything, she wanted to take things slowly. She didn’t know how Tae Hyun would react and she wanted to prolong the inevitable for just a couple more minutes.
 

Recalling the one silver lining of this entire day, Yoori parted her lips and said, “I met Jae Won’s girlfriend today.”

She took a sip of the tea before handing the cup over to Tae Hyun. 

One of the bigger things she would have to filter out of this conversation was that she
also knew who Kang Min’s girlfriend was. God knows how the King of Serpents would react if and when he finds out that his baby sister is dating one of his gang members. Yoori sure as hell didn’t want to be the one to tell him. 

“Did you like her?” Tae Hyun asked casually, stealing Yoori away from her thoughts. He grabbed the teacup from her and lifted it up to his lips.
 

Yoori bounced her head to confirm. He would enjoy this news with her. “Yeah, apparently his girlfriend is Chae Young.”

Tae Hyun’s face lit up. A smile touched his lips when he handed the teacup back to her. “Your friend from the diner?”

Yoori beamed and nodded again.
 

Tae Hyun laughed, sharing in the same happy reaction. “Wow, what a small world.”
 

“I know, right?”
 

“That’s amazing actually," Tae Hyun remarked, thrilled that Yoori had her friend back. "Congrats, Choi Yoori. Everything seems to be working out for you.”
 

Yoori smiled wryly. Her heart dropped.
If only he knew.

Tae Hyun instinctively pulled her closer to him when a stream of water edged closer to her pants.
 “Why aren’t you hanging out with her right now?”

Yoori took a moment to suppress the tingling sensations
that surged through her when she felt the warmth of his body. It felt nice to be closer to him.

“Oh, she and Jae Won had dinner plans,” Yoori provided, blushing uncontrollably. She hated that the slight grazing of his fingers reminded her of their dance – their kiss. She struggled to answer, her mind venturing back to their night under the gazebo. “I – I didn’t want to intervene…you know?
‘Cause…you know…couples need their time alone...” 

Yoori wasn’t certain if Tae Hyun was aware of the awkwardness she exuded. If he wasn’t aware then he was really oblivious and if he knew, he did a good job of hiding it.
 

“Yeah, I just spoke to Hae Jin. She has dinner plans too.” He smiled to himself. “Apparently everyone has dinner plans tonight.” His eyes momentarily roamed around the balcony before they landed on the teacup Yoori held.
 After that, the charismatic lure of his brown eyes fell on hers. “This is some dinner we’re having, huh?”

There was a magnetic smile on his face, one that was so playful and innocent that Yoori couldn’t help but adore it.
 

“I like it out here,” s
he assured him with sparkles in her eyes. She continued to sip from the teacup. The heavenly drops of the tea continued to warm her body. 

“I’ve been thinking,” Tae Hyun shared steadily, garnering Yoori’s undivided attention. Like magnets their eyes were locked. “I’ve been thinking that…aside from that Italian dinner we had awhile back…I’ve never really done anything special with you for dinner…”
 

A mental gasp vocalized in Yoori’s befuddled mind. She was thankful for the drumming of the rain. It did a wonderful job of overshadowing the drumming of
her own heart. Was Tae Hyun talking about taking her out on an actual date? She listened intently as he went on, his eyes tentative while he spoke to her. To Yoori, Tae Hyun had never seemed so nervous about something in his life. Now that she thought about it, she, too, had never been so nervous (and strangely excited) when it came to listening to someone. 

He uncomfortably scratched the back of his head. “I mean…I think it might be nice if I took you out and treated you to a nice
dinner or something. Or…I don’t know, I guess I can cook for you as well and just eat here. I could probably take out some candles to give a nice ambiance or somethin—” 

He stopped talking.

He stared quietly at a confused Yoori. His eyes dimmed of warmness and brimmed with a flood of guilt. It looked as though a thrash of reality had hurdled itself in his face. It was then that Yoori, in the midst of still trying to figure out what was happening with her heart, realized that there was something Tae Hyun wanted to tell her as well – something he had been dreading to do. 

It was at that precise moment where Yoori hated her instincts the most.
 She hated the feel of her gut heaving in agony. She hated that she could anticipate something terrible before it happened. She hated that this terrible moment was the 
one
 moment where she had to tell Tae Hyun everything. She started to panic. She couldn't let Tae Hyun continue to speak without telling him everything first. She couldn’t let this dream go on anymore. She couldn’t let herself, or Tae Hyun for that matter, plunge any deeper without knowing what they were getting themselves into. 

The same stream of reasoning was also visible in Tae Hyun’s reeling mind. He wore the same countenance as hers. It was a countenance that spoke of guilt. It was a countenance that spoke of the extreme desire to let out a burning secret that had been consuming him.
 

“Yoori…”

“Tae Hyun…”

They spoke at the same time. Their voices throbbed with pure angst.
 

“There’s something I want to talk to you about,”
they finished together, their breathing synchronized in apprehension. 

Thrown by the identical statement they posed,
Tae Hyun nodded at Yoori. “Go first.”

The rain started to pour aggressively unto the world beneath it. There was no more peace around them.
 

Yoori shook her head. She was not ready. The dread in her stomach began to boil at this point. It was like her insides were begging her to not tell him anything.
 

“No, you go ahead,” she insisted, wanting to give herself more time to think.
 

Though Yoori was in the midst of her own internal conflicts, she was also aware of how torn Tae Hyun seemed to be with himself.
 

“I….”
 he started unsteadily, staring into her big brown eyes. There was remorse in the King of Serpent’s voice. It was unlike any tone she’d ever heard from him. “I’ve been keeping something from you.”

Yoori instantly froze.
 

The earthshattering roar of the monstrous thunder could be heard in the near distance. The rain grew more violent with thrashes of wind accompanying the worsening storm.
 

“Wh – What have you been keeping from me?” Yoori stammered, blinking fearfully. Her worried gaze never left his. Wariness plagued all her senses.
 What had he been keeping from her? Why did he look so troubled – so guilty? 

Upon seeing the fear in her curious eyes, Tae Hyun shook his head, regretting bringing all this up.

“Never mind,” his quiet voice muttered out. He shifted his eyes onto an undetected area of the balcony. 

Tae Hyun’s cryptic words spun in her mind, stealing every ounce of warmth from her body. As her heartbeat slowed in fear, Yoori forgot about her obligations to tell him what she needed to tell him. She
 only cared about him and the secret he had kept from her. 

“Tae Hyun,” Yoori said without delay. She gently shook him to get him to look at her.

At her touch, Tae Hyun relinquished his gaze from the balcony and returned his eyes to hers. Though guilt was present in his eyes, there was a different light of conviction to it.

“You can’t start off with, ‘
I’ve been keeping something from you’ and end it right there. You have to tell me – ” 

“I know that you look like An Soo Jin.”

A paralyzing dread appeared inside Yoori. Her pale eyes were wide from shock and dismay. Through her uneasiness, Yoori’s lungs struggled for breath. She used all the strength she had to further question Tae Hyun.