The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (33 page)

“Don’t provoke me, Young Jae,” Tae Hyun growled back, the muscles in his jaw tightening even more. “You don’t know me, so don’t act like you do. I can respect the fact that you’re her older brother and that you’re looking to protect your baby sister.
I can empathize with that. But you’re not protecting her if you pull her away from me. She won’t be safe anywhere else, and I can’t have that. I went through too much to be careless with her now.”

Young Jae smirked. There was nothing but revulsion in his eyes. “You have as much respect for me as you did for your brother?”

Yoori saw Tae Hyun tense up at the mention of his brother.

Young Jae noted the same tension and fed on that. He barreled on with his verbal attacks. “I hated Kwon Ho Young with a passion. He killed my father, and even though it wasn’t you, you know that in this world, we share in our family’s mistakes. The blood that pumps in your veins will never excuse you from the hate I feel for your family. You may have been the one to kill him, but you disgust me even more because in
my family, there’s a thing called family loyalty. You have none of that so I can’t trust that you’ll have any loyalty for her when the end comes. I’d be a fool to think you would protect her when you murdered your own brother. You’re a disgraceful monster—even by the standards of our world.”

“Young Jae, that’s enough!” Yoori commanded. She was pissed beyond words with how he was speaking to Tae Hyun. Tae Hyun was now quiet as the remembrance of his brother drained the blood from his face. The very sight of him in such a state infuriated her. “Tae Hyun doesn’t deserve to be spoken to like this. You will stop this right now!”

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Young Jae replied. His voice softened when speaking to her. “You deserve better than him.”

“That’s for
me to decide,” she retorted stubbornly.

“You’re not making decisions off valid memories or rationale.”

“I’m not a brainless twit!” Yoori screamed, incensed with his hardheadedness. “I know who I want to be with! You don’t know better than me. Just stop it.”

Young Jae was unyielding. “In the future, you would never forgive me if I didn’t try to pull you away from him now. I’m doing this for your own good.”

“I would never forgive you if you pull me away from him now.” She released a deep exhalation. “Now stop it.” Before he could say anything else, she unthinkingly said, “Please, oppa. Just stop it.”

The ice on Young Jae’s visage thawed after hearing her refer to him as “oppa.” Warmth pulsed in his eyes. It was clear that he hadn’t been called “oppa” in a long time, and it was clearer that it was an endearment exclusively given to his baby sister. In spite of his own reservations, he finally gave in to her request.

“You don’t even need your memories to be stubborn,” he bitterly whispered, abandoning all desires to fight Tae Hyun.

The comment Young Jae made was a careless one, but it was one that merited disgruntled smiles of agreement from Tae Hyun
and Ji Hoon. Just before another word could be spoken, the Kings and Queen were interrupted by two familiar voices.

“Boss!” Jae Won and Kang Min called, racing toward them from the mansion.

It was evident to Yoori that Tae Hyun ordered the brothers to guard the entrance to the garden from any other visitors. The brothers’ eyes grew wide when they made out Young Jae’s face under the moonlight. They meant to call Tae Hyun “boss,” but when their eyes averted from Yoori and then to Young Jae, it was obvious they were thrown off guard with the scene before them.

“What is it?” Yoori, Tae Hyun, and Young Jae unknowingly asked at the same time.

“An Advisor?” Ji Hoon asked, looking into the far distance as if seeing a figure emerge from the mansion.

The brothers nodded.

“Shin Jung Min,” said Kang Min, glaring at Ji Hoon. “He’s looking for you. He’s heading here right now.”

“My Advisor can’t see Young Jae right now,” Ji Hoon said to everyone. “It won’t be a good idea. Whatever he sees, the other Advisors will be informed of as well.”

“I don’t care if he sees me,” Young Jae declared. “I may have left this world for three years, but I still have more than enough power to regroup my Scorpions if I choose to. Those old bastards are of no threat to me—”

“The Advisors despise you, Young Jae,” Tae Hyun interrupted, for the first time agreeing with Ji Hoon. “Your disappearance pissed them off like no other—them and the rest of the Underworld. We keep this quiet for now, for Yoori’s safety. She doesn’t need to deal with a dead older brother who just appeared in her life. She has other shit to deal with.”

Tae Hyun looked sideways at Ji Hoon.

“He’s
your Advisor,” he prompted, pretty much telling Ji Hoon that it was him who should go and deter Jung Min from his tracks.

Though there was hostility in his voice, his eyes were less hostile as they regarded Ji Hoon. There was no hate in them nor was there the disgust that normally inhabited his gaze. For a split second, Yoori could’ve sworn she felt Tae Hyun’s silent respect for Ji Hoon. Respect that he still cared about Soo Jin (and ultimately Yoori). Ji Hoon shared in that same silent respect as he gazed back. It was as if at that moment, they realized that they didn’t love the same woman. They loved two different women who were now one person. Such a precious moment was fleeting. Within seconds, annoyance reveled in their eyes once more.

“Just take her home safely,” Ji Hoon bit out to Tae Hyun before drawing away to diverge his Advisor’s attention.

As Ji Hoon melted into the distant darkness, Tae Hyun turned to Yoori. His eyes softened upon holding hers. “We have to go now. I think we’ve gotten into enough trouble tonight.”

Yoori flickered her gaze to her brother. The overwhelming urge to simply speak to him took over.

“I
. . .
I actually want to talk to him,” she began, returning her gaze to Tae Hyun. “Can you give us a moment?”

Tae Hyun deliberated her request. If he wanted to object, then he showed no sign of it. He nodded before turning to Young Jae. Tae Hyun stalked to him, and when he was close, he stood before Young Jae. He was a bit taller than Young Jae, but their respective presences were equally intimidating.

Staring at Young Jae dead in the eyes, he said, “At the end of the garden, as I think you already know, there’s a path that leads into the driveway. When you’re done speaking to her, head in that direction. I’ll be in the limo waiting for her.” His voice became more inflexible. “I trust with how we settled things, you won’t take her away. Because you know I’ll tear this city apart to find you. And when I do, I will rip you apart and bury you all over this country when I’m done with you.”

Young Jae heaved a bored sigh and blinked as his silent confirmation. “Keep her safe, Tae Hyun. For tonight, she’ll stay with you, but I’m not done with this argument. Not by a long shot.”

“Fair enough,” Tae Hyun replied just as tightly.

He moved away from Young Jae, took off his jacket
, and wrapped it over Yoori’s shoulders. She didn’t even realize she was cold until the warmth of his jacket thawed her freezing skin. After draping the jacket over her, Tae Hyun allowed his fingers to trace her cheek before saying, “Take all the time you need.”

Butterflies quaked in her tummy. She stared up at his handsome face and nodded.

Smiling at her briefly, Tae Hyun turned to the brothers.

They were as quiet as mice. They stared around the gardens, looking at anything and anyone but Young Jae. Yoori could see that they were still shocked that their old King had returned from his three-year disappearance.

“Do any necessary greetings and give them their time alone,” Tae Hyun told the brothers. “I’ll be in the limo.”

The brothers and Yoori’s eyes expanded at the unexpected order from Tae Hyun. He understood the complexity of loyalties when it came to switching gangs, and he essentially gave them permission to greet Young Jae as their “King” if they wished. Tae Hyun revealed to Yoori that he already knew that Kang Min and Jae Won were former Scorpions. He also shared that he knew they were brothers. It was one thing to have him reveal this to her, but it was completely different when he subtly revealed this to the brothers, who still looked stupefied beyond words. It was obvious to them now that there weren’t many secrets one could keep from Tae Hyun, especially when he had people like his assassins watching out for him and letting him know the ins and outs of the people surrounding him.

Without another word, Tae Hyun imparted one last rigid stare in Young Jae’s direction, one last reassuring glance at Yoori, and then disappeared into the darkness with his Blackberry held to his ear. Once he did this, movement began in the brothers’ corner. They were about to get down on one knee when Young Jae extended his hand out and motioned for them to stop. Concern plastered on their faces, they did as they were commanded.

“Your loyalty was never to me,” Young Jae said severely. There was no forgiveness in his voice. “You were given the option of leaving with the rest to Japan, yet you chose to stay here. As far as I’m concerned, you are no longer Scorpions. Don’t bother greeting me by kneeling. There’s no point. I don’t deal well with ingrates.”

“They’ve been watching over me,” Yoori interrupted, refusing to allow anyone to label Kang Min or Jae Won as ingrates when they, along with Tae Hyun, had been taking care of her since the beginning.

“I know they have,” Young Jae replied, his voice always gentler when speaking to her. “That is why they still have their heads.”

Young Jae exhaled breathily, noting the expressions on their faces once the brothers turned their attention back to Yoori. They not only looked shocked, but they also looked stunned with happiness.

It didn’t take Yoori long to understand what they were thinking: their boss, An Soo Jin, had been with them all along.

“Let me guess,” Young Jae hypothesized. “By the looks on their faces, you still haven’t told them that even though you have amnesia, you already know that you’re An Soo Jin?”

She fretfully shuffled her feet, nodding in confirmation.

Yoori guiltily turned to the brothers and approached them. They were staring down at her like she was a living angel.

“I’m sorry for lying,” she began hesitantly, holding Tae Hyun’s jacket to her shoulders to keep it from falling. She hadn’t prepared herself to have this conversation with the brothers. She was feeling extremely nervous. However, now that it was all out in the open, she had to address it. “It was a lot for me to handle
—the only person I told was Tae Hyun. I was too afraid to tell anyone else. I hope you guys aren’t too upset with me for lying. If I were brave enough to tell you, then I would’ve told you. I just didn’t want to believe it myself
. . .
‘cause you know
. . .
you guys know how I feel about her.”

“You even told us stories of what you were like as a kid when you grew up in Taecin,” Kang Min mumbled quietly, staring at her with glistening eyes.

Yoori smiled awkwardly at the emotions spilling out of Kang Min. It was always Jae Won who was adamant that she was Soo Jin in the beginning. She was sure that over time, Kang Min convinced Jae Won that he was wrong, that Yoori wasn’t Soo Jin. She could only imagine what was going through his mind right now as he stared at the girl he was once so sure wasn’t his boss.

“I told you so,” Jae Won whispered to his brother, his eyes still on Yoori. “I told you she was our boss.” He smiled in disbelief and shook his head. “I can’t believe you had me doubting it too.”

There was a companionable silence that fell between the three before the brothers fell to the ground on one knee. They respectfully lowered their heads.

“Please don’t,” Yoori quipped feebly, taken aback by their display of respect. “This is completely unnecessary, you losers.”

“Boss,” Kang Min started, calling her that for the first time (and truly meaning it). Beside him, Jae Won stared at her with admiration in his eyes. They continued to kneel before her as if making up for all the years she went missing. “Even if you don’t remember, it’s great to be in your presence again.”

Yoori swallowed convulsively, bowing her head slightly. This was all too emotional for her and she had other emotional things to deal with. She had to make them leave before she started to tear up.

“Now hurry and get up,” she urged. “Go to Tae Hyun, please. I need to speak to my brother alone.”

Unable to wipe the smiles off their faces, they nodded. They gave her another respectful bow before they stood up, walked past Young Jae, and bowed their heads in the same manner of reverence for him. They departed the garden, finally leaving Yoori alone with Young Jae.

“When we were kids and found them in the alley, an inch away from death, I remember telling you that you’d regret recruiting them because they were fated to be cowards.” Young Jae smirked self-mockingly. “It seems that I have to eat half my words tonight. They weren’t loyal to me, but they’re still nothing but loyal to you.”

Yoori smiled uncomfortably at her older brother. It felt strange that she was more relaxed around him when she first “met” him and danced with him. Now that she was alone with him again, and after realizing that he was actually her brother, she didn’t know what to say. What could you say when you had amnesia and you just met the brother you had never seen? Yoori didn’t know how to react, but it didn’t matter. Young Jae knew how to react. As the wind rustled the leaves in the garden, he pulled her to him and held her in a tight embrace. It was an embrace that only an older brother could give to his younger sister.