The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (28 page)

“You
attract trouble as much as I do,” she countered, shivering when the cool air grazed her bare back.

He smirked at her comment
before laying his fingers on her back. As if feeling her shudder seconds prior, he allowed his warm hand to thaw the chills that once coursed up her spine. The casualness of his touch sent a hot, electric current up her body and warmed her up like a furnace.

“I may attract trouble
,” he crooned, pulling her closer with affection, “but I’m not a fish in this ocean of sharks.”

Yoori
muttered a curse and decided to pinch him before they entered the mansion. She disliked his constant references that she not only attracted trouble, but that she always went looking for it as well.

“Ar
e you implying that I’m Nemo?” she sassed back, glaring up at him after he flinched from her pinch. Her reference to “Nemo” was strange, but it was the first thing that popped into her mind when he mentioned sharks, the ocean, and fishes.

Half moon marks
appeared on his forearm from the pinch of her nails.

Tae Hyun frowned at Yoori. “
If you pinch me like that again, I swear I’m going to handcuff you to the bed when we get home and spank you to death.” As Yoori rolled her eyes at Tae Hyun’s warning, he added, “And what the fuck is a ‘Nemo’? Does it sparkle in the sunlight too?”

Yoori blinked
slowly, floored by his limited knowledge pertaining to pop culture.

“It’s a famous t
rouble-finding fish, Tae Hyun!” she whispered incredulously, eyes darting around to make sure no one heard that comment. “Seriously, what the eff is wrong with you? You didn’t know what a ‘BFF’ was and now you don’t know what a ‘Nemo’ is?”

Tae Hyun
hardened his face in defense. “Stop assuming that everyone is up to date about all the teeny-bopper crap that you always reference stuff to. I don’t know what a ‘Nemo’ is, but I’ll be sure to address you as such from now on since you’re so in love with it.”

Her
jaw slackened. “Don’t you dare call me Nemo—
Crap!
This is amazing!”

Yoori was
about to embark on an all out bickering war with Tae Hyun when waves of splendor fell upon her after they entered the lavish mansion. Screw bickering at a lost cause. She had a mansion with soaring ceilings and Swarovski chandeliers to gawk at.

Wow
!

Much like Ju Won’s other mansion
that housed her initiation, this mansion had also been stripped of furniture. It was like it was specifically furnished to be a ballroom. Waltz music ambled in the air, moving over the waves of people who were dancing in the ballroom. Yoori had never seen so many extravagantly dressed people in one place. The room wasn’t pitch black, but it was dim enough to give the illusion of an otherworldly dance floor. Magnificent views of city skyscrapers and majestic gardens glowed in the backdrop, further fostering the fantasy-like ambiance of the mansion. It truly felt like they were in a castle high up in the sky.

Despite the wonders of such a scene,
what claimed Yoori’s undivided attention wasn’t the fact that the mansion was more lavish than anything she had seen in her life. It was the fact that although people continued to dance and converse freely, there was an obvious change in the air once Tae Hyun entered the ballroom.

When he strolled in
, all gazes fell on him with unrivaled, unshaken interest;
that
was how powerful his aura was. If Yoori was “Nemo” and the rest of the Underworld were sharks, then Tae Hyun was the equivalent to the ocean in which they all swam in. He didn’t just take up space in a room he walked into; he saturated the entire vicinity with his presence just by breathing the same air as them. She now understood what he meant when Tae Hyun spoke of becoming a “God” in this world. In a world filled with Kings and Queens, the only thing left to be was a God—or the “Lord.” It was a position that was highly prized and it was a position that was more than prevalent in Tae Hyun’s near future. Having witnessed all of this, she suddenly felt silly for pinching him and chastising him for not being up to date on pop culture references. What a tough slap back to reality it was to realize how intimidating your boyfriend truly was. He didn’t have time to watch cartoons; he had an entire world to preside over.

I
t didn’t take long for Yoori to freeze up when the gazes unanimously shifted to her. The attention was unexpected, and she felt like a deer caught in headlights. No doubt they were either wondering who the hell she was or wondering if she was the girl who was distracting their beloved King. In that moment, she was extremely thankful that she had her mask on. Who knew what type of reaction she’d get if people saw her face and discovered that the “Queen of the Underworld” was back—and was with the King of Serpents, no less.

“You still think you’re ready to play with the sharks?” Tae Hyun whispered, interlacing his fingers with hers. Despite his playful question, Yoori suspected he was only saying it to ease her anxiety. There was no doubt that he could sense how uncomfortable she felt.

Comforted by Tae Hyun’s gesture, Yoori bobbed her head. She may have been the smallest fish in this sea, but she was with the biggest shark of all. For tonight, she was untouchable in this ocean.

“I was born ready,” she replied, surprised at the ironic truth of this statement.

And with that, they descended into the ocean and began the uncomfortable process of sifting through the crowd to start their “meet and greet.”

During their meet and greet,
Yoori spotted Jung Min on top of one of the balconies. He wore a black suit and was conversing and laughing with his Underworld associates. Jung Min made eye contact with Yoori when he noticed her stare on him. He looked down at her and then at Tae Hyun, who was still busy speaking to his mentors. Jung Min shook his head like he was too disgusted to look at her now that she was back with Tae Hyun and turned away from her. Yoori smirked when this occurred. At least she knew with certainty that he was not going to be bothering her tonight.

When they moved around the ballroom, Yoori also caught sight of Ji Hoon. He, too, was not wearing a mask. His
arm was wrapped around his beautiful date as he spoke to a group of mid-level Advisors and some of his mentors from the 1
st
layer. Apparently both Kings commanded the attention of all the “sharks” in the room. Yoori wasn’t sure, but she could’ve sworn she saw Ji Hoon look her way several times. She hadn’t forgotten their last meeting and was hoping that any contact with Ji Hoon would be minimal tonight. As Tae Hyun aptly put it, she didn’t want to attract trouble. She cared about Ji Hoon, but not more than Tae Hyun. At this point, Tae Hyun was her one and only priority.

The duration of the social
izing was both a boring and fearful experience for Yoori. She could literally feel the power and danger that surged from the people she met. This was by no means a party filled with harmless elites. All of the Underworld power figures convening in one estate only served to remind everyone else that they were in the presence of Gods—not humans. It was an odd thing for her because she could’ve sworn some people were looking at her curiously. It was as though they were trying to make out her face behind the mask. As if they were trying to figure out if they had met her in the past
. . .

Yoori felt so
nervous around all these people that she even asked Tae Hyun if his best friends were in attendance. She really wanted to meet them, for she knew they were two of the few people whom Tae Hyun genuinely trusted in the Underworld.

A grin crossed his lips
at the reminder of his friends. “Those bastards are always late at arriving to any party. I think they’re partying somewhere else before they’ll deign to make an appearance here. Perhaps, if we stay out of trouble tonight, we’ll see them.” He gazed at her doubtfully. “But knowing you,
Nemo
, I’m praying that we’ll hold out long enough so we can actually see my friends
. . .
”

Yoori
laughed at the strange new pet name. It was a peculiar endearment, but when it was Kwon Tae Hyun who purred that name to you, it sounded so damn sexy nonetheless.

When they journeyed
to one corner of the ballroom, she was pleasantly surprised when she saw the brothers. Both deviated from the tuxedo dress code and simply wore black slacks and nice dress shirts. Kang Min’s collared shirt was maroon while Jae Won’s shirt was a dark gray tone. They were in the corner, socializing with several other gang members. Like Tae Hyun, they also didn’t wear masks.

“I told you only the women get dressed up for this
party,” Tae Hyun said next to her ear, earning a bitter smile from Yoori.

“You’re all such party poopers,” she commented lightly, laughing as they continued with their meet and greet.

“Damn, this is so boring,” Tae Hyun shared moments later. His voice was unusually louder than before. It was as if he wanted others to hear him.

“Yeah,” Yoori replied, distractedly looking through the crowd and searching for someone in particular.

They finally pulled away from the masses and went into a quiet area of the ballroom. Tae Hyun moved behind her, led her back into a dark corner, and pressed his lips against her shoulder. At first Yoori thought it was a flirting tactic, but when he parted his lips, she discovered it was something else.

“Don’t react,” he warned quietly. “B
ut up above the ceilings, there are ten snipers and they’re all watching you right now. Some even have their guns aimed at you.”

The memories
of her initiation came rushing back, causing her to stiffen in trepidation. Ju Won’s snipers had become more skilled at being invisible. She didn’t even hear them over the peaceful ballroom music.

Sensing her fear, Tae Hyun
embraced her from behind as his means of comforting her. “I’m telling you because I don’t want you to overreact if you see Jin Ae or any of her men. I know that you’re looking for her right now and I want you to remember what you promised me.”

Yoori clenched her jaw. She was trying to be subtle while looking for Jin Ae. It was apparent she didn’t do a good job if Tae Hyun caught her. “I
—”

“You promised me that y
ou’ll leave it up to my Cobras to do what they need to do,” he interrupted firmly.

She looked at him. This was why
Tae Hyun announced out loud that he was bored. He wanted to make it appear as if he was feeling her up in the corner as opposed to having a private conversation with her about Jin Ae.

Yoori couldn’t contain her desire to find Jin Ae.

“Have you seen her—?”

The words drowned in Yoori’s
throat when she caught sight of them. Not Jin Ae, but Jin Ae’s men—Woo and the other two guys whose names she couldn’t remember. They were standing in a small circle with dates of their own. They were laughing heartily, enjoying their nights. Pain stabbed Yoori’s conscience. She had no doubt that Woo and the other two guys were involved in what happened to Chae Young. Her furious eyes wandered around. Where the hell was Jin Ae?

“
Don’t
do anything,” Tae Hyun cautioned again, resting his lips close to her ear. “The snipers will shoot without hesitation if you give them a reason. Everyone in the Underworld has made an unspoken pact to leave their animosity for one another at the door when they entered this party. Don’t be the one to disrupt this ambiance. Trust me
. . .
as easily as you’ve gotten on their good side, they could flip on you just as quickly. You don’t want to be on anyone’s bad side in this world, especially not with this crowd. If you cause a scene, then the snipers will take it as their freedom to eliminate you as a disruption. You know I won’t have that. I’ll kill them before they get a chance to do anything to you, but—”

“—that would defea
t the purpose of us coming here,” Yoori finished, understanding what was at stake. For tonight, she couldn’t let her killer instincts come out if she ran into Jin Ae. She couldn’t cause any commotion because she was certain that Ju Won’s snipers were very much like him; they were all looking for a reason to kill her.

“I get it,
” Yoori confirmed, placing their momentary safety over her quest for vengeance.

Jin Ae would get what was coming to her. It may not be tonight, but she would reap what she sowed.  Yoori would make sure of that.

“It’s great to see both of you tonight,” a voice slithered from the side.

Tae Hyun and Yoori lifted their heads. When they
emerged from the dark corner, they found Seo Ju Won and Shin Dong Min in front of them.

Ju Won
was dressed in a dark gray suit, a white dress shirt, and a dark gray tie. Although he was about to celebrate his 65
th
birthday soon, he looked utterly fit for a man of his age. He had no hair on his head, and the only feature on him that betrayed his actual age was his gray mustache and the subtle wrinkles on his face. Dong Min, who stood beside him, wore a light gray suit and a white dress shirt that was topped off with a matching gray tie. They smiled cordially at Yoori and Tae Hyun. Much like Tae Hyun, they were not wearing masquerade masks.