The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (10 page)

Dong Min gave a taut smile. Like Tae Hyun, his smile did not reach his eyes.

“Yes,” he finally confirmed. “We did fall for the same woman.”

“How did you and Jung Min rise from your fall?”

“Ju Won killed her. Solved any misunderstandings between us.”

Tae Hyun looked at Dong Min in disbelief.

Dong Min’s face remained stoic. He averted his eyes from Tae Hyun and returned them to the falling snow. His detached voice betrayed none of his emotions. “He warned us to stay away from her. He told us that she would be no good for us, but we didn’t listen. We fought, we made fools of ourselves, and when we lost any credibility in the Underworld, he got rid of her for us.”

Tae Hyun scoffed in disgust. Revulsion saturated his next words. “He is a sick bastard, isn’t he?”

“He watches over us in a world where the sick and disturbed are put on a pedestal,” Dong Min defended calmly. “What he did was a blessing in disguise because there were other crime lords looking to overthrow us
. . .
simply because we were too distracted to be the Kings we were raised to be.”

“Why are you so loyal to him?” Tae Hyun suddenly asked. His tone did not hide his animosity toward Ju Won.

“Why are Jae Won and Kang Min so loyal to An Soo Jin?” Dong Min countered. “Because she saved their lives. Because she is the reason why they are living and breathing. They may fall in love, have wives, and have their own families, but An Soo Jin is their God. In the end, their loyalty to her will supersede everything else.” He faced Tae Hyun. “Ju Won is more than my King; he is my savior. I would not be where I am today without him, and for that, he will always have my loyalty.”

“But you will always hate him for taking her away from you,” Tae Hyun finished for him. “He has your unending loyalty, but he does not have your unconditional love. That is why you and Jung Min are still at odds
. . .
because your brother is the reason why Ju Won killed the woman you loved. If Jung Min had backed off, then you could’ve had her. If he’d backed off, there would’ve been no trouble, and she wouldn’t have been viewed as your distraction.”

Dong Min smiled brokenly. At long last, he allowed the emotions to penetrate his anguished eyes. “You will never know greater pain than watching the person you love die in front of you, to reach out for them and beg them not to leave you. If you think losing her hurts now, then you will never be prepared for the worst.” His poignant eyes urged Tae Hyun to heed his advice. “You will never get to keep her. Just let her go.”

“I did.”

“Her not wanting anything to do with you does not constitute as you letting her go. Like I said, if she so much as calls for you, you will go running to her.” He swallowed tightly before adding, “Ju Won will not let you have her.”

“Ju Won is a problem that can easily be remedied,” Tae Hyun whispered fearlessly.

“The Underworld will not let you have her,” Dong Min amended sternly. “You can fight Ju Won, but do you really think you have a chance against the Underworld itself?”

Tae Hyun stayed quiet and Dong Min went on. His voice was no longer soft and understanding; it was firm and unyielding. 

“I fell as a King, not a God. Your fall will not be as merciful as mine. Although you may have fallen, you have not hit rock bottom yet. Get back on your throne, be the King you were raised to be, and become the God you were always meant to become. This world may be unforgiving, but it adores you nonetheless. It wants you as its ruler. All you have to do is play the part and you will have this world in the palm of your hand.” He put his hat back on and opened the door. A string of cool air entered the car, bringing with it residual snow. Before he made his exit, Dong Min added, “Stop screwing up and start making the right decisions. I attended the funerals of your parents and your brother, I do not want to attend yours as well.”

The door clicked shut, and Dong Min was gone, leaving Tae Hyun by himself. As his Advisor’s town car drove past him and disappeared into the night, Tae Hyun continued to sit in silence. Akin to throwing himself into a meditative state, he closed his eyes and sat there, allowing the minutes to pass him by. 

Moments later
, as if sensing something, his eyes shot open. He narrowed his vigilant eyes onto the top of a ten-story building ahead of him. Even if it was only for a split second, he saw two people crouching there, watching him.

H
e was out of his car in an instant.

His
focus rested on the building in question. It now appeared empty of occupants. He stepped into a narrow alley where snow and trashcans lined the pathway. He stopped when he reached the end of the alley and stood across the empty space where snow was not yet polluted by human footprints.

“Get down
right now,” he commanded over the billowing wind.

To anyone else
, it would appear like he was talking to himself, but Tae Hyun was unfazed. He waited patiently, his eyes firmly solidified on the space before him. It was as though he was expecting company to appear at any moment. Seconds later, as a flurry of snow and wind blew around him, sounds of rattling could be heard. Within the blink of an eye, two figures jumped into view.

They
wore dark hoods over their heads. One wore a brown hooded jacket while the other wore a gray hooded jacket. Both had on dark cargo pants with a multitude of pockets for their knives and guns. Shadows obscured their faces as they stood before Tae Hyun. Despite the intimidating aura they radiated, Tae Hyun appeared like he couldn’t care less.

To unsuspecting people, they would be no more than
ordinary pedestrians wearing hoods to protect themselves from the snow. To the well-educated Underworld leaders, they knew them as a group of highly trained assassins: the Cobras.

They were two of Kwon Tae Hyun’s former ten
Cobras to be precise.

“Boss,” t
hey spoke quietly, their voices suffused with reverence.

T
hey fell to one knee and lowered their heads, greeting him with the respect he always evoked from them.

“You both
have some nerve showing up here when I specifically banned you from this city,” Tae Hyun said icily. His voice was cold with annoyance.

“We heard about
the initiation,” started the hooded woman. Her voice was soft with plea. “We wanted to come and be a part of—”

“
I got the message from my Underbosses that night, Mina,” Tae Hyun interrupted curtly. “You do not have to remind me. As I distinctly recall, I got on to the phone seconds later and ordered all nine of you to stay out of the initiation. In fact, I clearly remember ordering you to stay away from everything that pertains to Serpents business.”

“Boss,” the man started. His voice was pleading as well. “Please—”

“I kicked you out of my gang,” Tae Hyun interjected mercilessly. The annoyance became more prevalent on his stern features. “You have no place calling me that.” They were about to say something else when Tae Hyun added, “Your disobedience a year and a half ago has not been forgotten. The only reason you’re alive is because of your combined loyalties to me in the past. But right now, I have no patience for you.” His eyes sharpened on them with vigilance. “You’re here for a reason. I doubt you’re here to plead your way back into the gang. The question is, why are the both of you here and where are the other seven?”

Silence emanated from them
.

Tae Hyun
’s lips edged up knowingly. Although he didn’t appear surprised that they were being secretive, it still pissed him off.

“Lower your
hoods,” he ordered tersely.

Without missing a beat, they adhered to his command.

The shadows that once shrouded their faces disappeared.

The male’s hood came down first. The light cast by the streetlights revealed
a buzz cut and a gold piercing on the center of his lower lip. The woman’s—Mina’s—hood came down next. The unveiling exposed long brown hair locked tight in a ponytail. The gold piercing on the left side of her nose added to the obstinate mystique she possessed. Both were the type of individuals you’d cross the street to avoid. The one common facial factor between them was an inch long “57” scar that marked their left cheeks.

Tae Hyun exhaled sharply. H
is eyes scrutinized their scars for a long moment. “When I returned to Seoul three years ago, I found out that one of my assassins died. In addition to that, I also found out that the rest of my highly trained assassins had taken it upon themselves to scar their faces, marking their link to one another. Apparently they chose the number ‘57’ out of respect for their dead sister.” Tae Hyun’s eyes darkened. “Everyone in the gang believed your story. They believed that you personally scarred yourselves. Yet I knew better because I was the one who trained you. I knew the difference between your shame and your pride. And I knew you held no pride in that scar.”

F
ury infiltrated his eyes while they kept theirs lowered.

“Do you remember when I gave you that ultimatum?”

They stayed quiet.

“I gave you two options: tell me the truth about how you got your scars or face exile from the gang you grew up in.” He sighed. “I’ve stated this before, but I will state it again. Those scars weren’t done on your own merits, were they?
Someone else did it for you. Someone else overpowered all ten of you, all ten of my prideful and vengeful assassins. Someone else marked your faces with a scar that you proudly claim as your own in public, yet cover up in shame when you think no one is looking.”

His assassins stiffene
d at the verity of his words.

“I know this scar has something to do with your disobedience
a year and a half ago, when you took it upon yourselves to go rogue and burn down houses all over the country.” A cold wind came into the alley, and his voice hardened. “Ace
. . .
Mina. Tell me what happened three years ago. Who gave you that scar?”

Silence was their answer.

That was his last ditch effort, and Tae Hyun had had enough. “Get the fuck out of my face.”

“Boss,” Ace spoke when
an enraged Tae Hyun walked past them and headed out of the alley. “Everything done in the past was to avenge Kimmy and salvage whatever pride we had left, but everything being done now is to protect you and our gang. You’re right. There is a reason why we’re here. We just wanted you to know that our loyalty is still with you, and we hope you understand that we’re truly sorry for everything.”

Tae Hyun stopped in his tracks
at Ace’s last words. When he turned around, they were gone. Gone like they had never kneeled before him and voiced their deepest regret. It was as though they were pleading forgiveness for something they were about to take from him for his own good.

R
unning over everything in his mind, Tae Hyun took a second to simply stand there, lost in the silence of the snow tumbling around him. Awareness suddenly ignited his eyes. All the cards finally fell into place.

“Yoori
. . .
”

Tae Hyun sprinted out of the alley like a bull in the night. He pulled out his Blackberry and dialed Kang Min’s number.
His eyes teemed with panic as he barreled through the snow-infested street.

“Fu
ck!” he screamed to himself. “Why didn’t I put it all together sooner?”

“Boss?” Kang Min answered at
the first ring.

“
Find Yoori!” Tae Hyun shouted immediately, unlocking his car doors with his remote.

“
W-what?
”

There was no time to explain.

“Now!” Tae Hyun growled before hurling himself into the car. He floored the gas pedal after his engine revved to life. “Find Yoori,
now
!”

“
The distracted. . .”

05: The Cobras

“Aw man, are you kidding me?” Yoori muttered after flashes of orange lights greeted her.

She blew a breath at the myriad of cones and
caution signs ahead. The street she was on was blocked off. There was heavy traffic and cars were being redirected every which way. She groaned, slamming her hand against the steering wheel. All she wanted to do was get home and unwind from her emotional day. Now even that was delayed.

Yoori glimpsed at her rearview mirror.
Behind her, thinning traffic veered off to the other available streets. Yoori, who could only go in one direction to head home, moved her car to a stop when it was her turn to speak to the police officer.

She
lowered her window to speak to him.

“Where are you headed,
miss?” the officer inquired, motioning her to move to a quiet side of the street.

“Is the
entire street blocked off?” Yoori asked, her eyes straying toward the horizon. All she continued to see were cones, flashing orange lights, and caution signs.