The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (28 page)

Noting that they should leave before the authorities arrived and further complicated things, Yoori rushed over to Tae Hyun who stood next to the elevator. His hands were in his pockets and his back was pressed against the adjacent wall. His eyes were closed as he stood there, looking quite at peace.
 

Yoori furrowed her brows at the sight. She resisted the temptation to gawk at his wickedly
beautiful state
. 
For a split second, she forgot that she was livid with him.
 

Why the hell was he standing there like that?

Who was he modeling for?

Weirdo.
 

She thought about speaking to him about what happened the night prior but quickly decided the time and place wasn't right. They'd talk when they returned to the apartment. For now, they had to leave.
 

"We have to let Ji Hoon's men know that he's up here…” Yoori said clearly, interrupting the serenity hovering around him.
 “So they can come help him."

Tae Hyun’s brooding gaze fell on her.
 His gaze was so intense that it mesmerized her momentarily. He was quiet. His compelling eyes held her gaze with inquiry pooling within them. She knew then by the expression on his face that he was probably wondering why he should go down and inform Ji Hoon's men that he needed their help. Tae Hyun looked unhappy and she assumed it was because he also didn't like that she was showing so much care for Ji Hoon. 

When Tae Hyun finally parted his lips, all of her assumptions dissolved.

"How the hell did you get a bloody nose?"

She was mentally tossed against a wall from his unexpected question, which had absolutely nothing to do with her showing concern toward Ji Hoon. Apparently, she wasn't very good at reading him after all.
 And as the night lingered on, Yoori would come to realize that her lack of knowledge to the inner workings of Kwon Tae Hyun's mind would extend further than the non-verbal misunderstanding beside the elevator.

“There is a God who falls.”

13: 10:48 P.M.

Once Yoori found Ji Hoon's men, the same ones she saw when they walked into the hotel, she promptly told them that Ji Hoon was up in the VIP suite and that he needed them. They were initially confused until they saw Tae Hyun waiting for Yoori by the revolving doors. A dawning bout of knowledge illuminated in their eyes and they immediately understood what occurred in the VIP suite. With unmatched speed, the five men ran into an elevator and went to their boss's aid. 

Grabbing a couple of tissues from the coffee table in the lobby, Yoori stuffed some in her pocket. She started to wipe her bloody nose with the tissue while approaching Tae Hyun and the revolving door.
 

The cold air swallowed them when they walked out into the wintriness of the night. Yoori was cold
, but much to her own sadistic delight, Tae Hyun was colder since he was drenched from head to toe. 

It was a childish thought but she was still extreme
ly resentful toward the guy. 

"Give me your keys," she ordered, turning to Tae Hyun once they reached the curb where his black Mercedes sat. "I'm driving."

She fought the inclination to be uncivil with him. Though she had the urge to give him the biggest piece of her livid mind, she maintained self-control. She had all the opportunity in the world once they got home. 

He gaped at her like she was crazy.

"Why are you driving? I can drive," Tae Hyun combated, shivering in the cold. It was the first time she had seen him shudder from any breeze. 

Yoori snorted at the dried splatters of blood on his face and clothes.
 Who was this guy kidding? He was so fucked up that Yoori was sure they’d get into an accident if he were the one behind the wheel. 

"Give me the keys," Yoori repeated. Her voice bore of impatience.
 

Under standard situations, it would be expected that Tae Hyun would continue to combat her wishes. Despite this, Yoori knew that Tae Hyun, being as perceptive as he was, knew it was best to give her what she wanted,
especially
 if he wanted even a remote chance of getting on her good side. And judging by his demeanor, he knew he needed all the points he could get to be on her good side. 

Tae Hyun sighed while digging his right hand into his pocket. He pulled out the key to his Mercedes and handed it to her. He didn't look too happy when the key exchanged hands but he kept his dissatisfaction to himself.
 

The lights to Tae Hyun's Mercedes blinked in response when Yoori and Tae Hyun pulled the respective car doors open. The soft beeping of the car hummed melodically until Yoori shut her side of the door.
 Being vertically challenged in comparison to the vertically triumphant Tae Hyun, Yoori readjusted her seat and fixed the mirror in the car to best suit her needs. She was ready to drive off when she saw that Tae Hyun winced in pain when he clicked his seatbelt shut. However, when she turned to look, Tae Hyun, as expected, was cool and collected while showing no signs of pain. 

Poser
, she wanted to say to him but curbed the inclination for another urge overwhelmed her senses. 

His face was veiled with faint blotches of dried blood and remnants of water.

This sight bothered her. 

Distracted by this, she reached into the depths of her pocket and pulled out the clean tissue she took from the hotel. Rolling them into a little ball, she readjusted in her seat and faced a confused looking Tae Hyun.

He was surprised by what she was getting ready to do. 

It was pure instincts on her part.

Her hands reached out and she started to clean his face of the blood that stained it. She didn't like that the blood sullied his face. She didn't like that there were remnants of water marked on him, making him more receptive to the cold weather. She didn't like that he was obviously hurt and she didn't like that the only thing she could do was clean the surface of the maladies. 

Tae Hyun remained unusually quiet. His dazed eyes focused on her as she continued to free his face from blood and water. There was a light of tenderness and apprehension in them. He was dying to talk to her but didn't know where to begin. The longing in his eyes made her believe that he actually missed her. She wasn't sure if she was right, but the thought did lift her spirits slightly.
 

His light breathing warmed her hands
when she finished wiping away the last droplet of blood near his lips, revealing remnants of bruising and small cuts on various corners of his skin.

Before she could catch herself, her fingers rested on either side of his cheeks, the smoothness caressing her own fingertips. She could feel his attentive gaze on her and it caused her cheeks to flush.
 

Her heart pounded.

Was it hot in here or was it just her?

Her apprehensive eyes met his and almost immediately, Yoori was reminded of how much she cared for him and how much she missed him. Equally as prevalent, she was also reminded of how disappointed she was with him and how much she hated him for not being there for her when she needed him the most. She hadn't forgotten what he did and she wasn't sure if she ever would. The acidic anger in her stomach began to form as she relived the events of the night before...
 

Unknowing of these thoughts and now ready to break the tense silence, Tae Hyun parted his lips,
 "Yoori…" 

Ani
mosity streamed through her after he said her name. Being civil was now out of the question. She was ready to blow Tae Hyun out of the water with her unfiltered feelings. 

"Yoori...I…
Holy Fuck
!" He flinched once Yoori grabbed a handful of his cheeks and started to ruthlessly pinch him. "Ow – OW. Damn it! Choi! Choi Yoori!" he shouted in agony. He tried to pry himself from the claws of life that Yoori had imparted unto him. 

Yoori scrunched up her face in resentment and applied more pressure to his cheeks.
 

"Did you think I was just going to go back home with you and everything would be okay
?!” she berated at the top of her lungs. “How could you leave me last night, you asshole? What kind of friend are you?!"

She continued to pinch him. He was hurting like hell, but she didn't care. Surely his pain was no match to what she felt last night.
 

By now, Tae Hyun was trying to pull himself away from her hold. He had his head pulled back but unfortunately for Tae Hyun, the seatbelt he wore didn't give him much leeway. Yoori knew that the only reason why he was still in her grasp was because he didn't want to push her away. She knew that Tae Hyun would never push her or do anything to hurt her. She damn well used this piece of knowledge to her advantage.
 

"Yoori! Ow, ow, ow!” he
groaned, slamming his temple against his seat in anguish. 

She started to shake. Her fingers were starting to hurt now.
 

"Yoori!
Ow!
Damn it, assistant! You’re killing me!" 

Noting the violent shade of red coursing over his face, Yoori alleviated the pressure of her pinch and tore her shaking fingers away from his cheeks.
 

"Who the fuck do you think you are coming back and taking me home like nothing happened
?!" she roared loudly, the anger multiplying within her as she watched him rub his cheeks in agony. 

His piercing eyes laid on her. He looked like he couldn't believe what she was asking him. "Would you rather I not come to get you?” He sat up straight,
the same fury dancing through him. "Do you know how long I’ve looked for you? I ran around the whole fucking city for you. And
this
is what I get?"

"What took you so damn long?"
 

He gaped at the absurdity of her second question.
 

"Choi Yoori…" he began slowly, lowering his hands from his burning cheeks. "Does it look like I have some radar or some spider sense that makes it easy for me to find you? You weren't at your apartment, you weren't at Chae Young's, you weren't at the mall, and worst of all, you
didn't even have your damn cellphone on you. I couldn't have a bunch of Serpents looking for you because I didn't want to make it public that you were outside alone. I couldn't call and I didn't even know where to
begin
to look for you. So yes, I'm sorry that it took awhile but I did the best I could." 

She made a rude noise at his reply. The idiot would've never had to run around if he didn't leave her in the first place. Unable to hold back her emotions, Yoori poured it all out to Tae Hyun.
 

"You're sorry it took so long?" The resentment sizzled inside her. "How can you sit there and apologize for taking forever to find me when it was
 
your
 fault I left in the first place?" A stream of pain slithered up her throat. She was beyond reason. She was consumed with emotions – raw emotions. 

"
You
left
me!" she shouted. "I
begged
you not to leave that night! I told you that I needed you! I opened my heart to you and you left! You left and you never came back – ”

"I can’t come back to someone who doesn’t wait for me!" he suddenly argued. His voice and gaze were filled with the same frustration and anguish.
 

"You—” She froze. “
What?
" 

He leveled his eyes with hers. "Where were you when I
 came back?"

Yoori was flabbergasted.
 "What…what are you talking about? Did you expect me to wait for hours on end? You only started looking for me today! I didn’t see you until tonight – " 

"10:48,” he replied calmly, his eyes never leaving hers.
 

Yoori paused, her breathing heavy. She swallowed past the uncomfortable thickness in her throat. 

Her voice was low, confused. "10:48?"

"I came back at 10:48 last night," he said again. "I came running back for you and you weren't there. Where were you?"
 

His voice splashed onto her pale face like a bucket of cold water.
 

Where was she?

Where was she at 10:48 last night? 

She was in the streets hailing a cab. She was in the streets crying her eyes out as she hailed a cab to escape to Chae Young's. She was in the streets crying and wondering how he could leave h
er and not come back for her.

"I—I left at 10:47," Yoori stammered, feeling her heart lift at the fact that he returned just moments after she left the apartment.

Though her bitterness faltered slightly, it didn't falter enough to diminish the anger that had built up within her. It didn't matter if he came back that night, she reasoned. It didn't matter because he shouldn't have left in the first place.