The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (24 page)

“A younger brother,” Ji Hoon answered, before also adding, “He’s in China right now, being trained for the 1
st
 layer.” 

“Trained?” There was no filtering of her attention. Her eyes blossomed in interest. “Wait a second, how old is he?”
 

Ji Hoon smiled. Perhaps it was because he wanted to help take her mind off whatever it was that was bothering her, but he didn’t seem to mind elaborating on the topic he threw them in.
 

“He’s 12,” he answered as if that would be a big difference. “And 10 is the standard age for all Underworld heirs to get trained.” He raised a brow at her, noting the extreme interest in her curious eyes. “Tae Hyun never spoke to you about this?”
 

“We never got onto this topic,” Yoori said quietly. Tae Hyun rarely spoke about the Underworld if he could help it.
 

“Do you want
 me to get into that topic?” he asked delicately. His eyes were gentle on her, as they always were. 

Yoori didn’t even take a moment to consider his proposal.
 She bobbed her head, excited to learn more. 

He grinned at her excitement and commenced with the enlightening.
 “Every heir’s training varies according to their individual abilities and skills. The standard age to start any type of training is 10 – it gives you more time to develop your skills before you make your debut in the Underworld.” He took a sip from his wine. “I started off my basic training in China, moved across all of Asia to garner different skills that best suited my needs, and returned to Seoul to be specifically trained by Shin Jung Min. That’s the typical life cycle of an heir’s training. You go all over the place before you come home and make your official introduction in the Underworld.” 

“All heirs to the respective thrones go through that?”
 

“More or less,” said Ji Hoon. “The Skulls family has close ties to the Chinese Underworld, hence the reason why I went to China for basic training. The Serpents family also has close ties to the Chinese Underworld. This was the reason why Kwon Ho Young started his basic training in China as well. After several years, he returned to Korea for more specific training.”
 

The next question was an easy one for Yoori. Since they were talking about the heirs of the Underworld and the specific gangs, there was one she was dying to learn more about.
 

“What about An Young Jae?” Yoori asked at once. She hadn’t forgotten about his relation to her. He was not only her older brother, but he was also the reason why she became the person she had become. It was astonishing that even her own sibling was a mystery to her.
 

There was brief caution on Ji Hoon’s countenance before he casually answered her question. He seemed stiff but tried to play it off as being uncomfortable from the cold.
 

“The Scorpion
s family has very close ties to the Japanese Underworld. Young Jae’s mother was the daughter of one of the more respected Underworld Elders in Tokyo.”

Yoori froze at the mention of Young Jae’s mother –
her mother
. How strange it was for her to listen to this when she couldn’t even put a face to her brother or mother. She kept her inner turmoil at bay and listened as Ji Hoon went on. She'd deal with that later...

“Typically heirs get their basic training in a neighboring country and they come home for the final honing of their skills. Young Jae was the only heir who received basic training in Japan and stayed in Japan for the entire cycle of his training. It had something to do with his mother’s death that he spent so much time in Japan
, but he formed very close connections to that country.” 

“Where is he now?” she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. “You don’t think he’s in Japan, do you?”
 

A subtle shrug danced on Ji Hoon’s shoulders. “After Young Jae disappeared from our world, there were whispers that he returned to Japan. No one knows for sure though. He’s been doing a great job at keeping a low profile.”
 

“Is it
 that easy for an Underworld Royal to disappear?” asked Yoori. She was frustrated that no one seemed to know what happened to Young Jae. 

“It's easy for an Underworld Royal to do a lot of things,” Ji Hoon said easily. He tilted his head. “You have quite the curiosity when it comes to the Scorpion
s family, don’t you?” 

“Oh…heh, heh…” Yoori laughed tensely. She tried to downplay her extreme interest.
 “I heard about the Underworld and its gang leaders when I worked at the diner. There’s such a mystery concerning this world and I sometimes can’t help but want to learn more when I have a good source in front of me.” 

Ji Hoon nodded before going onto another topic.
 “Why doesn’t Tae Hyun talk to you about any of this?” His voice was gentle but it had a touch of craftiness. She suspected he was trying to figure out the relationship between her and Tae Hyun with her next answer. 

“We usually talk about other stuff,” she answered candidly.

Like ducks and arguing about nonsensical things,
she corrected in her mind. 

Her curiosity about Tae Hyun heightened. Since she was already talking to Ji Hoon about this, she might as well take it a
 
bit
 further.

“Tae –” Yoori began unsteadily, her carelessness when it came to learning more about the Underworld tempting her again. “Tae Hyun wasn’t the first heir of the Serpents throne. You said that your younger brother is getting trained for the specific task of leading the 1
st
 layer. Surely Tae Hyun was trained in a similar way. He was only trained for the 3
rd
 layer later on in life, right?” 

Ji Hoon gazed at her thoughtfully, his eyes noting that she knew
 little to nothing about Tae Hyun’s background in the Underworld. Resolution reveled in his eyes and he began to enlighten her. 

“Tae Hyun was
 
only 
supposed to be trained to be in the 1
st
 layer. That’s typically the training cycle of the second born heirs. They go through the basic training for fighting and then the majority of the time, they spend their time shadowing other business leaders. However, Tae Hyun’s training was different solely because Shin Dong Min adopted him to be his advisee. This was something an Advisor in the 2
nd
 layer had never done, which was to personally train an heir who was only meant for the 1
st
layer.” 

Though Ji Hoon tried to hide it, Yoori caught the resentment in his voice
when he continued. 

“In addition to Dong Min, Tae Hyun caught the support of all the business tycoons and revered politicians in the 1
st
 layer. They not only mentored him in the ways of corporate politics...but also instilled within him all their knowledge when it came to fighting and weaponry. He was the adopted protégée of some of the most well revered crime lords in Asia – hence his bigger standing in our world when he killed his brother and stole the Serpent’s throne 3 years ago.” 

There was disgust in his voice. It was a tone that Yoori caught and a tone she was bothered with. She knew exactly why Tae Hyun had to kill his brother and she didn’t like that Ji Hoon was trying to subtly instill within her that Tae Hyun only killed with the mere hopes of taking over the throne.
 

Ji Hoon straightened in his seat when he realized he might have been a bit too unfiltered with his distaste toward Tae Hyun. He didn’t miss the frown on Yoori’s face.
 He cleared his throat and changed the pace of the conversation by waving his hand in the air. The gesture brought two servers out. 

Yoori loosened the tenseness in her body when new company joined them. She breathed in relief when she saw that they were each holding a jade, cast iron teapot.
 She definitely needed some tea to calm her nerves and warm her up. Though the winter breeze was a mild one, it was cold enough to give her goose bumps every now and then. 

The waiter and waitress approa
ched them and placed two jade teacups in front of them. They steadily poured the contents of the tea into their cups. Once the tea filled to the rim, Yoori and Ji Hoon imparted their thanks to the servers and they were once again left alone on the rooftop. 

It didn’t take long for Yoori to realize that the tea they were drinking was the heavenly tea she liked so much.

 “Did you create this tea mix yourself? I’ve never tasted anything like it. It’s delicious.”

It was a leading question; she wanted to know if Ji Hoon knew it was Tae Hyun who created it.
 

A sad smile tugged on his lips when he took a sip out of the teacup.
 

“Soo Jin introduced me to this drink,” he shared slowly, his demeanor showing that he walked onto a territory he had been trying to avoid all night. “It was her favorite.”
 

His answer took Yoori by surprise.
 She cursed to herself. Fuck. She just had to remind him of Soo Jin.

Unease tugging at her heart, Yoori nodded
and drank from the teacup. Who would’ve thought it was Soo Jin who got hooked with Tae Hyun’s drink and introduced it to Ji Hoon?
 
This world was evidently too small if its crime lords were connected, even under the concealment of a well-loved drink. 

Yoori wondered what Soo Jin would’ve thought if she had known that her favorite drink was created by a Serpent, the one gang Soo Jin hated the most because her father died under the hands of its previous King – Kwon Ho Young. Yoori knew without a shadow of a doubt that Soo Jin would’ve hated that fact. She would’ve hated it – just as she would’ve hated Tae Hyun because he was a Serpent.
 

The heat from the tea seared her tongue, pulling Yoori out of her impromptu daze. She had lost concentration and drank too much of the hot tea at once.
 

Though her tongue burned, it was a pain she was willing to endure to remind herself that she shouldn’t allow her thoughts to venture this far. It would only cause more headaches (and heartaches) for her. She wished she could be stronger and stop herself from thinking about Soo Jin and Tae Hyun. She had to be stronger because her new life wasn’t going to involve either of them. It couldn’t involve Soo Jin because Yoori was determined to keep her
 out of her life and it couldn’t involve Tae Hyun because he didn’t want to be in her life. 

Resolution teemed inside her. The objective tonight was to keep her promise to Ji Hoon and to keep the fact that she was Soo Jin to herself. She didn’t want anyone else to know –
especially Ji Hoon. 

Oblivious to what was pooling in Yoori’s mind, Ji Hoon regarded her. There seemed to be a million things running through his mind. There was a soft glaze in his eyes. It was a glaze for someone who was reminiscing. There was only one woman commanding his attention at that moment and it definitely wasn’t her.
 

He gave a quiet sigh and stood up. He slowly approached the aisle of the rooftop that wasn’t confined within the glass walls.
 There was no verbal invitation for her to accompany him, but Yoori somehow knew he was waiting for her to join him. She pushed her chair back and approached the end of the rooftop. She stopped right beside Ji Hoon. They stood side by side as the city blinked under the cloak of darkness. Yoori folded her arms, feeling the billowing of the evening wind surge through her. A long moment of silence waltzed between them before Ji Hoon finally spoke.

“This was the very roof where Soo Jin first opened her heart up to me.”
 

Yoori stilled. She hadn’t expected to hear that.
 She stared at him questionably.

The coolne
ss of his voice remained while he continued to speak, his eyes absently focused on the city vista. “In the car the other night, when I told you how I met her…you asked me what I did to woo Soo Jin and finally get her to become my girlfriend.” He smiled to himself. “People have this grand assumption that I pulled out all the stops to court her, to make her mine. The truth was…I did pull out all the stops. I gave her all the charms I was able to give out. But regardless of giving her everything I was able to muster out, she was never too impressed with anything. That’s the thing with Soo Jin. She wasn’t easily impressed…not with my charms, my affection, or even my determination. I thought my chance with her was over until the assassination of her father took place a couple of months after I met her.” 

Yoori recalled that it was Ho Young who killed Soo Jin’s father –
her father. She shifted uneasily, knowing that this was probably the main reason why Tae Hyun left her. 

Ji Hoon was still lost in his own world.
 “Around this time 5 years ago, I brought Soo Jin up to this very roof after her father’s death. I realized that night the difference between Soo Jin and other girls I’ve been with. Soo Jin wasn’t moved by innate charms or anything of the like.” The cold wind blew harder against their bodies. “She was moved by power, a power that goes beyond being human. I realized that fact when I stood beside her in silence – in her time of need. I told her that no matter what happened…I’d always be by her side. I told her that I would be able to give her anything and everything she wanted and I told her I knew what she wanted most.” His eyes hardened. “I promised her that I’d make sure to punish every living Serpent for what they did to her father. 
That
 was how I wooed her. I offered her vengeance and that was what she was impressed with—what she was infatuated with. I offered all of that and the rest was history…she became mine.”