The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (22 page)

The only thing that isn’t guaranteed is that the cruelties of life won’t deter him from making his way back to you – from coming back to you.

It was then, at 10:47, as Yoori walked out of the door – completely absent of Tae Hyun’s presence, her heart never hurting more – that one thing made sense to her. The only thing she understood as the rain poured over her was that he left her. 

He left her without ever turning back.

He left her when she needed him most.

He left her and he didn’t come back to her.

“For every empire. . .”

10: The Morning After

“Why are you up so early?” Chae Young asked the next morning, picking up the freshly brewed tea and pouring the liquid contents into a nearby cup. Once the tea filled to the rim, she placed the teapot down. “Go back to sleep. You got in late last night.” 

Ever so carefully, Chae Young picked up the white teacup and began toward Yoori, who was finishing up with folding her beige comforter. Chae Young’s white puffer jacket rustled as her body stiffened to balance the tea.
 

“I’m not sleepy,” Yoori replied wearily. Her voice was completely hoarse.
 

She placed the folded comforter on the leather couch where she slept the night prior and threw her white pillow over it.
 

After leaving Tae Hyun’s apartment, Yoori, not wanting to be alone, found solace in being with her best friend. How appropriate was it that she found Chae Young on the same day she needed someone the most?
 

Chae Young returned from dinner to find Yoori sitting in the hall of her apartment. Yoori had her face buried within her knees and she was drenched from head to toe. To say that Yoori looked miserable was an understatement.
 

Shortly after an exchange of embraces, Chae Young ushered Yoori into the apartment. Her first priorities were to find Yoori some warm clothes, turn up the heat, and ask her what happened. Though Yoori had stopped crying, her swollen
eyes were a telltale sign of a terrible night. She suspected that Chae Young could tell it dealt with Tae Hyun. 

After changing into some of Chae Young’s warm clothes, Yoori sat down with Chae Young and talked about what happened –
or tried her best to. In the interest of keeping the fact that she was An Soo Jin to herself (and to keep her trembling heart from struggling to breathe at the terrible reminder), Yoori was very vague when explaining to Chae Young what took place. 

She essentially told Chae Young that they got into a huge fight and Tae Hyun left even when she asked him not to. Though Chae Young was confused due to the lack of details, she didn’t ask for details. She nodded at the vague information Yoori gave and more importantly, she was ther
e for Yoori when she needed her, which was all Yoori wanted that night. 

When they were done talking, Chae Young insisted that Yoori take the bed while she took the couch. However Yoori, feeling quite terrible for imposing on Chae Young, was stubborn and threw herself on the couch before Chae Young could even combat her resolution. Chae Young, being the good friend that she was to Yoori, threw herself on the nearby sofa and slept in the living room with Yoori.
 It wasn’t expected but it was much appreciated on Yoori’s part. Having Chae Young keep her company in the living room was exactly what she needed to get some much-needed rest. Granted she didn’t get much sleep because she spent the entire night thinking about Tae Hyun, it was still a better rest than she would’ve gotten if she returned to her apartment alone. 

Using her fingers to tuck the loose bangs behind her ears, Yoori smiled appreciatively and grabbed the teacup Chae Young handed her.
 

“Thank you,” she said meekly, grateful that Chae Young took the time to take care of her before she went off to work at the diner.
 

A reminiscent thought overcame her when she thought about the diner.
What Yoori wouldn’t give to go back to those carefree days where she was a clueless diner girl...

“You’re welcome,” Chae Young said sympathetically, noticing Yoori’s forlorn state.
 

The couch squeaked in response as Yoori’s black jeans
and white top made contact with it. The radiant glow of the morning sun tickled her skin when she sat against the leather fabric. It was amazing how beautiful the morning was when just hours prior, there was a terrible storm that nearly drowned the city beneath it. 

Allowing the aroma of the tea to fill her senses, Yoori brought the cup to her lips and took a couple of sips from it.
 

“Good?” asked Chae Young.
 

Yoori nodded, taking another sip before she placed it on a coaster on the coffee table. It was good but definitely nothing compared to the heavenly tea she had been introduced to.
 

“How are you doing right now?” Chae Young tentatively inquired, sitting down on the sofa. She pushed her unmade comforter to the side to make room for herself.
 

“Better,” Yoori said honestly. Her heart was numb and she felt somewhat dazed. All that took place felt like a surreal dream.

She was upset but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. That was the thing with waking up after a horrible night…you’re too exhausted to continue to be disappointed. If anything, it was the time to be bitter. 

She grabbed an apple from one of the decorative bowls and bit out a big chunk of it. Her face was marked with resentment.
 

“That asshole,” she
grumbled in between bites, feeling a bit of her spunky personality return. It was the first time since the event took place that she called Tae Hyun a bad name. Though her heart trembled at the reminder of him, she felt vaguely better that she was able to let off some steam. Disappointment aside, she was beyond pissed at the guy. 

“I can’t believe he left me,” she continued. “What a fucking good friend he is.”
 

Chae Young curbed the urge to roll her eyes over the term Yoori used for Tae Hyun. She merely shook her head and gazed hopefully at Yoori. “Have you checked your phone? What if he tried to call you?”
 

“He doesn’t care enough to call,” Yoori grumbled. She bit into the apple again while thinking:
He’s too disgusted with Soo Jin to want anything to do with me
. She sighed while glancing at Chae Young, who was waiting for a sufficient answer. Yoori cleared her throat. “And I didn’t bring my phone.” 

“
You didn’t bring your phone?” Chae Young cried with eyes wide open. “But what if he’s calling for you right now?” 

Yoori snorted. “Oh I’m sure that’s happening,” she voiced with a sarcastic eye roll. “If Kwon Tae Hyun wants to find someone
, then he’ll find them. He doesn’t need to call.” 

Chae Young sighed at the bitterness brewing out of Yoori.
 “Do you think it’s over between you guys?” 

“I don’t know,” Yoori answered honestly, feeling her gut wrench in knots. “All I know is that I’ll never forgive him for leaving me when I asked him not to.” She shrugged and took another bite out of her apple. “Not that my forgiveness matters. He made it quite obvious last night that he wanted nothing to do with me.”
 

Chae Young tried to hide her pout. “What are you going to do now?”
 

“I don’t know. I need some time to clear my head and forget about last night. I’ll probably be bumming around.”
 She eyed Chae Young when an alternative illumed in her mind. “Or do you want me to help out at the diner? I could use continued company and I wouldn’t mind keeping myself busy.” 

Chae Young laughed, shaking her head. Yoori’s offer reminded Chae Young that she had to get to work.
 Grabbing the black handbag that rested beside the sofa, she picked it up and began toward the door.

“I don’t think so
, missy. You get some much-needed rest. I wouldn’t want you pouring anymore coffee on our customers.” 

Yoori frowned at Chae Young’s bad joke.

Chae Young laughed warmly at her expression while happily stating, “I love you!” She opened the door. “Use this day to relax. You definitely need it. You know where to find me if you need anything.” 

“Thanks again!” Yoori
shouted as the door was about to slam closed. 

“Try not to attract any trouble today!” Chae Young warned jokingly before the door clicked shut.
 

Yoori smiled as she stood up and grabbed her black jacket from the ground. Her mind was all over the place but she definitely didn't want to sit around in the apartment all day. She suddenly had the urge to take a brisk walk around town before settling at her favorite hangout spot. After putting on her jacket, she bent down and grabbed her white handbag. Throwing the apple away
before she walked out the door, Yoori had no idea how much that last warning from Chae Young would be appropriate for the day she was about to embark on.

■ ■ 
■

The business district in the late afternoon was a busy one. A sea of people swam through the streets as businessmen and women flocked from one building to the other, their phones attached to their ears like leeches and their hands gripped over their briefcases like spiders. 

Though everyone was seemingly stressed out with
their days, there was one who sat on a bench nearby that appeared completely at peace with herself. Some people enjoy sitting outside as a means to clear their minds. For Yoori, her means of clearing her mind revolved around sitting on a bench in the business district and staring at people who were too busy to notice her. 

It had been nearly three hours since she sat her butt on the wooden bench and she enjoyed it immensely. She spent the majority of the morning walking around town to get a change in scenery and to calm her senses. She eventually came to her favorite hangout spot: the benches in the business district. There was a certain tranquility that came with sitting in the business district for Yoori. All she needed was a book in hand, a sea of people to calm her, and she was mild like still water.
 

Yoori squinted her eyes at the looming sunset. It hid behind the towering skyscrapers before it. The orange shade gave a calming ambiance as it ignited like fire over the busy world beneath it.
 

So pretty…
Yoori mused, her eyes reflecting the natural fire from the sky. She was ready to return her gaze to the contents of her paperback book until she saw someone who caught her unyielding attention. 

The guy looked deathly familiar as he held his Blackberry to his ear.
 

Yoori smirked to herself.
 The coincidences of her life would never cease to amaze her. 

It was indeed Lee Ji Hoon.

He wore a gray dress shirt with dark gray slacks. He looked like he had just gotten out of a meeting with one of his 1
st
 layer associates. He was so immersed in the call he was on that he didn’t even notice that she was staring at him. 

Yoori debated about whether or not she should call out his name. In light of all that had taken place, it would've been a bad idea to talk to him. She knew this but a stubborn Yoori also wanted to be in his company. She needed another friend to talk to and she wanted Ji Hoon to be that friend.

As he drew closer to her, utterly oblivious to her presence, Yoori opened her mouth with the intention of calling his name. She was ready until she heard what he said to the person on the other line… 

“
Are you wearing that lingerie I bought you?” he crooned with such seduction that she had no doubt he was talking to another one of his playmates. 

Of course,
Yoori thought mildly, not very surprised with this little fact. It made sense that Ji Hoon would have a playmate on the other line while he casually strolled through the business district. Though the thought of him having a phone foreplay with some girl made her cringe, it wasn’t enough to put her off from wanting to talk to him. She would feel bad if she allowed him to pass her by without greeting him. 

“Ji Hoon,” she greeted, her head tilting up toward him.
 

The look on his face when he saw her sitting on that bench was priceless. He was completely and utterly surprised. She would even dare say that he was thunderstruck to see her sitting
there, waving at him. 

“Yoori,” he croaked, hastily hanging up on his playmate on the other line.
 

A nervous smile tugged at his lips.
 Albeit he seemed excited to see her, there was a light of worry in his eyes when he sat down beside her on the bench. She didn’t doubt that he was wondering if she heard his conversation on the phone. 

“Did I interrupt your call?” Yoori asked innocently, playing coy and pretending she didn’t overhear anything.
 

“Just a call with a business associate,” Ji Hoon lied easily, flashing Yoori an innocent smile that would throw any suspicious girl off track.