The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (47 page)

Sadness painted the canvas of his face when she denied his efforts to hold her, to love her. His hands should have been caressing the locks of her hair, but instead they were touching frigid, still air.  He unwillingly pulled his hands back, but maintained his caring gaze on her.

Though Yoori was still resentful that he hadn't divulged any of this information when she called him, she also understood that she wasn’t in the best state of mind. Quite frankly, if she were in Tae Hyun’s position, she would not have told herself anything either.

A few passing breaths of silence spread over them while Yoori and Tae Hyun sat still in the darkness. The wheels of her mind spun, replaying the event at the sushi restaurant. A recollection of something Young Jae disclosed illumed in her memory like neon lights; it had haunted her since the restaurant and it continued to haunt her now.

Yoori took in a deep breath before rupturing the silence that was beginning to suffocate them. “He wasn’t the one who hid me in Taecin.” The verbalization of this thought tortured her. It acted as a reminder of her brother’s true intentions with her, that he was not the person she thought he was. Young Jae was not the one who hid her and granted her a new life to protect her. If anything, his intentions were the polar opposite. He wanted to punish her, destroy her. Yoori closed her eyes in misery. She felt her insides rip at every damning thought. The caring, warm older brother in her dream did not truly exist. He was simply that—a dream.

“I know,” Tae Hyun quietly replied.

Yoori snapped her head up, struck by his answer. Thoughts and memories were frantically pacing around in her mind. She wondered how he knew this, when he knew, and who had told him. She then recalled that he had been digging up information on her brother. If he knew that Young Jae did not hide her, then he must know who did.

“Do you know who hid me in Taecin?”

He nodded.

“Who?”

Tae Hyun kept his lips pressed together. It was clear he was concerned with telling her too much and risking her falling apart—more so than she already was.

“Who?” Yoori urgently pressed again, her big eyes scrutinizing his under the candle’s light. When his hesitation persisted, she started to get angry. He was treating her like a fragile china doll and she was sick of it. As his silence reigned, Yoori angrily said, “Stop keeping secrets from me. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”

Tae Hyun looked away from her scrutiny. Despite his own reservations, even he knew that he couldn’t keep this from her.

“It was my brother,” he finally shared, causing Yoori’s eyes to dilate in shock. “It was my brother who hid you, Yoori. It was my brother who wired money to that family and it was my brother who took care of all the bills at the hospital you stayed in.”

This new piece of information stunned her so hard that Yoori had to fight to breathe.

“
How?
” she uttered incredulously. “How is it possible that it was your brother who hid me?”

Of all people who could have hidden An Soo Jin,
it was Kwon Ho Young?

The puzzlement on Tae Hyun’s face mirrored that of Yoori's. “I don’t know.”

By now, Yoori was left tunneling into a quicksand of confusion. The Pandora’s box had been opened and hundreds of questions paced through her mind. Was Soo Jin involved with Ho Young? Was she working with Ho Young? Why would she collude with the enemy? What the hell was wrong with Soo Jin? What was she up to during the last few days of her life?

Yoori buried her face in her hands, frustration brewing within her like acid. “The puzzle gets bigger and bigger when it comes to Soo Jin, doesn’t it?” she asked, wondering how it was possible that one human being could retain so many secrets.

There was no need to learn more about Soo Jin to know that she was a dangerous person. Yoori felt ghastly when she considered the possibility that if she regained her memories, it was impossible to prevent Soo Jin from destroying everything she loved, including herself. She was no longer left with any options. The realization caused Yoori’s face to be void of any color or life. She had to protect everything she loved while she still had a chance.

“I
. . .
I have to leave you, Tae Hyun,” Yoori announced long moments later, knowing that she couldn’t ignore her unforgiving reality any longer.

Her distraught heart broke at the thought of no longer having Tae Hyun by her side.

It’s for the best,
she assured herself, biting her lips to keep from crying in front of him.

“Why do you have to leave me, Yoori?” Tae Hyun questioned, his voice low and gentle.

The way he looked at her made her want to crawl into his arms and forget about the world around her. It took all her control to resist this urge. She no longer had the luxury of doing that. She no longer had the luxury of escaping from her reality and seeking solace from Tae Hyun. If she wanted any chance of preserving her sanity, she had to face her problems head on.

“I begged him to not kill me,” she whispered, drawing her knees closer against her chest. She resembled a broken child. “I looked up at my own brother and
begged him not to kill me because it was An Soo Jin who betrayed him. I begged him
. . .
just like those kids begged her before she shot them.”

She closed her eyes momentarily, agonized by the memory of Soo Jin's crimes. She heard the children begging, screams of chaos, and saw flashes of splattered blood everywhere. This was karma in its most sadistic and sinful form. This was karma, and she was paying dearly for everything.

Yoori pressed on, ignoring how her heart was throbbing in agony. “Young Jae will bring war upon you to get to me. He will bring in reinforcements from Japan and he will punish you for protecting me.” She inhaled painfully. “I shouldn’t be around you, especially when we both know how ruthless and heartless Soo Jin could be.”

There was no way around it. As long as she was with him, then Tae Hyun was in constant danger. There were already so many others who were after him; she did not want to add her brother to that list. Most importantly, she did not want to add Soo Jin to that list. It wasn’t feasible for Tae Hyun to watch over her forever. What was going to happen? Was he going to come to her rescue every time? She could no longer put him through that burden. In order to guarantee his safety, she had to leave him.

“I’m not afraid of Soo Jin,” he assured her.

Tired of the distance between them, he reached out and pulled her closer to him.

“I’ll deal with anything that comes my way if it means that I get to be with you.”

“I’m losing this battle with her, Tae Hyun,” Yoori hoarsely voiced, doing her best to release herself from Tae Hyun’s hold. She did not want him to weaken her resolve on what she had to do. “Everyday, I’m being pushed further and further over the edge. I’m no longer the same girl you brought into this world, and I’m afraid that pretty soon, I’ll cease to exist when Soo Jin finally takes over.” She regarded him with fresh tears in her eyes. “Perhaps it’s better to just let me go. Let me leave this place and let me fend for myself. Maybe it’s best if I let Young Jae take me out so I could save all of us from Soo Jin.”

“You think I’m just going to sit by, watch you leave, and allow you to die?”

“You’ve reached the point where that’s all you can do,” she informed him dejectedly. She herself wished that this wasn’t true. “I’m beyond saving.”

“Yoori, look at me,” Tae Hyun ordered, readjusting her so that she was lying atop his body.

As she faced him, his strong arms pressed against her back while he held her to his bare chest.

Yoori looked into his eyes and wished she hadn’t. Nothing but promises teemed inside his eyes—promises of a happily ever after and promises that she no longer believed in. Yoori was no longer a fool. She no longer believed in fairytale fantasies. Her fate was too intertwined with Soo Jin’s. Someone like Soo Jin didn’t deserve a happily ever after, and as a result, it meant that Yoori would never get her happily ever after as well.

Despite this belief, she found herself falling deeper into the realm of promises as Tae Hyun smoothed a hand over her arm and cupped her cheek with love and devotion with the other. He held her full attention when he spoke. His voice was tender, yet filled with strength. His enticing brown eyes gazed down at her and for a heavenly moment, he erased all painful memories of anything else that occurred in her world. All that mattered at that moment was the two of them; all that mattered was Kwon Tae Hyun and Choi Yoori.

“When I stood out there with you on the balcony and told you that none of this was going to be easy, I knew what I was getting into.” Still holding her tightly, he leaned in and feathered his beautiful lips over hers. “I’m not afraid of Young Jae, I’m not afraid of the crime lords in this world, and I’m not afraid of what Soo Jin is capable of.”

A single teardrop escaped Yoori’s eye. The blank canvas that once inhabited her face started to release all her restrained emotions. She could no longer suppress her feelings. All she wanted to do was kiss him back. All she wanted to do was kiss the man who stole her heart.

He continued to speak while his lips kissed hers, comforted hers, and simply loved hers. “All that matters to me is keeping you safe, keeping you alive, and keeping you with me. The only reason why I’m fighting so hard for this throne is because the power I get from it will allow me to protect you.”

“You’re making this so much harder,” Yoori whispered. Her hands pressed flat against his chest. She felt his warm heart throbbing, triggering her own to race. Despite what she was saying, she leaned in and kissed his lips because he was her walking paradox. She simply couldn’t resist doing so. “You’re making it so much harder to leave you.”

“Do you want to leave me?” Tae Hyun inquired as he lowered his lips to the nook of her neck. He continued to adorn her with his affections, kissing her while more tears rippled in her eyes.

“No,” she replied honestly, feeling both blessed and cursed with the life that was given to her.

She was cursed with An Soo Jin, but blessed with Kwon Tae Hyun. The conflicting emotions inundated her sanity. She hated that she couldn’t let him go. She was too selfish. The love she felt for him went beyond infatuation or puppy love. It was love in its rawest form. Although it was painful to love him, the pain was nothing compared to the euphoria she felt whenever she was with him.

“I need you,” she admitted without a drop of shame in her voice. Yoori no longer cared about sounding pathetic or weak. She loved him, and just as he was ready to give up everything for her, she was more than ready to give up everything for him.

“Don’t push me away,” he painfully pleaded. He coaxed her by feathering his sensuous kisses over the skin of her neck, heightening the pleasure overtaking her. “Let me be here for you.”

Yoori mindlessly nodded, choking on the onslaught of emotions scorching inside her. While running her slender fingers up and down the contours of his arm, she bit back a curse and allowed herself to get lost in the realm of pleasure.

While his face was buried in her neck, she felt him whisper, “I’m sorry for everything.” The blatant melancholy in his voice caused her heart to clench. He forged on, and for the first time, Yoori realized that Tae Hyun’s pain was synonymous to hers. Remorse dripped from his guilt-stricken voice. “I’m sorry for bringing you into this world. I can’t change the past, but please know that you mean the world to me. I know everyone has been telling you that I’m ruthless
. . .
but know that to me, you’re worth more than this throne. And if it’s between you and ruling this world, in the end, I’ll give up everything and choose you.”

Yoori wanted to cry. The sincere promise in his words touched her heart profoundly. Even though his beautiful promises made her heart surge, she couldn’t discard the ominous, lingering shadow that had been plaguing her for months.

“If I remember everything, I’ll be your enemy.”

His tender hand found her hair and he stroked over it, his confident eyes holding hers. “You will never be my enemy,” he easily assured her. “If Soo Jin wants the throne, then she can have it. I’m not going to fight her for it.”

“What if she tries to kill you?”

Without allowing a full second to pass by, he stated, “Then I’ll let her.”

Tae Hyun said this without hesitation, and Yoori knew he meant his words. It troubled her because she did not want him to mean it.

She looked deeply into his eyes as resolve ripped through her chest. “If there is ever a time in the future where I try to kill you, then I want you to know that I forgive you if you kill me.”

Never in her life did Yoori imagine that she would be having the conversation she was having with Tae Hyun. Yet, she knew this was a topic they couldn’t escape from. She wanted to mentally prepare for everything that could transpire in the future. She wanted him to have his options, especially with someone like Soo Jin.

“Do you think I could ever be capable of killing you?” Tae Hyun questioned, lovingly lowering her and laying her onto the cool surface of the tub. While doing so, he positioned his body over hers, his lips hovering over hers as well. “Do you think I could ever give up on you?”

Hope swelled in her dwindling heart. Yoori gave Tae Hyun an appreciative smile. It wasn’t a response she anticipated from him, but it was a response that more than extinguished the fears that coursed through her. Unable to resist, Yoori wrapped her arms around him and lightly danced her fingers over his shoulder blades.