The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (26 page)

“For every
temptation. . .”

12: Fallen Kings

Her once shaking body froze like ice upon hearing the familiar voice. 

Her heart revved to life and jumped in anticipation.
 

Could it be?

She breathed sharply, an electrifying surge of energy pulsating within her body

Was that really
his
voice? 

Slowly,
 
very slowly
, as if afraid it would only be her imagination, she turned her head to the side. Sure enough, she caught sight of the one person she was so angry with and the one person she couldn’t deny that she missed terribly. 

Kwon Tae Hyun…

He came back.

Standing a couple of feet away from them, dressed in a blue dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black slacks, Tae Hyun looked intimidating as he stood there with an angry countenance. He looked tired,
 
definitely
 annoyed, and as handsome as ever. It wasn’t healthy to have so much anger and so much attraction toward this guy and Yoori knew that. She knew it but she couldn’t control it. It was a weakness she hated and a weakness she reveled in.

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” Ji Hoon combated at once, breaking Yoori from her daze. His hold on Yoori tightened.
 

Tae Hyun stiffened in annoyance when his eyes fell on the hands of Ji Hoon’s that still held Yoori’s.
 

“Lee Ji Hoon,” he began warningly, his voice low but dangerous. “I am going to bash your skull against that glass wall if you don’t take your filthy hands off of her.”

Though Tae Hyun was calm, the fire that brimmed in his eyes was enough to burn anyone alive. He didn’t like Ji Hoon touching Yoori and he was goddamn ready to do something about it. 

“Ji Hoon, let go of me,” Yoori commanded, knowing that Ji Hoon would listen to her as opposed to Tae Hyun.

She didn’t want Ji Hoon to get hurt.

She didn’t want either of them to get hurt.
 

“Yoori, he’ll hurt you the first chance he’s able,” Ji Hoon warned gently, refusing to let go. There was c
are in his voice when he went on. “Remember what I told you. He only cares about himself. He – ” 

“Yoori…” Tae Hyun interrupted quietly, his soft eyes finally landing onto hers.

It had only been a day since they’d been apart and to Yoori, it felt like she hadn’t seen Tae Hyun in centuries. How odd was it that just this particular interaction was enough to lift Yoori’s heart? How odd was it that he was speaking to her again, despite the severity of how he treated her? Recalling the pain he caused her, Yoori found herself unable to say anything to him. Though every fiber on her body wanted to run up to him and hug him, she kept still. She was still hurt. Why was he here? Why—

“Chae Young said that you were at her apartment,” Tae Hyun continued, his eyes never leaving hers.

Yoori paused at this information. He went to see Chae Young at the diner? He had been looking for her?

“I went to her apartment and you weren’t there.”

Yoori’s stomach wrenched when he confirmed her unspoken question. She thought to earlier in the morning. She left moments after Chae Young left to go work at the diner. If she hadn’t left, then Tae Hyun would’ve came and— 

“I’ve been looking for you all day,” he shared. His voice was apprehensive yet firm. He knew she wasn’t happy with him.
 Regardless of such knowledge, his gaze on her remained gentle and very much determined. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to find you but I’m here now and I want to take you home.” He sighed. “Let’s go home, Yoori.” 

There was so much running through her mind. She didn’t know how to react to what Tae Hyun was sharing with her. She felt relieved, happy, and resentful.
 Happy that Tae Hyun had been looking for her, happy that he came back for her. Yet she was resentful because of the way he treated her last night, how he left her when she begged him not to. 

There wasn’t much time to deliberate what she wanted to do but whatever it was that she needed to resolve, it had to be resolved with Tae Hyun. She had to leave Ji Hoon and go back with Tae Hyun.
 

“Ji Hoon, let go,” Yoori said firmly, turning her gaze back over to him. Her mind was set.
 

“Yoo—”
 

“
Now
.” 

With much reluctance, Ji Hoon released his hold on her hand.

Without another word, Yoori approached Tae Hyun, her face stern with anger. It didn’t matter that he had been looking for her all day. She hadn’t forgotten what he did to her. She hadn’t forgotten how much he hurt her. It would be terrible to give him the cold shoulder, but he surely deserved it. 

“I haven’t forgotten what you did last night,” Yoori warned when she reached him. Her voice was low enough where it was only audible to Tae Hyun.
 

The wind blew past them and he nodded.
 

His small smile remained. Noticing that her bangs had gotten into her eyes from the wind, Tae Hyun lifted both his hands and tucked her windswept bangs behind each of her ears. His touch was light, but powerful enough to cause Yoori to hold her breath. For a distracted second, she almost forgot that she was angry with him.
 

“I haven’t forgotten either,” he whispered back, his voice and expression
packed with regret. She noticed that there was a peculiar look in his eyes. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought he missed her too. 

He had more to say. He had more to say and she was dying to hear everything he wanted to say to her. Unfortunately, such as the situation they were in, the forgotten third
 party wasn’t happy with the scene that was taking place before him. He was damn well ready to end it. 

“Do you think I’ll let you take her away from me that easily?”
 

Reminded of his rival’s presence, Tae Hyun withdrew his hands from Yoori and turned to Ji Hoon with a lethargic, but very annoyed, expression on his face.
 

“Don’t test me, Ji Hoon,” he said sternly, fighting hard to keep his composure. “You have no idea how tempted I am to teach you a lesson right now. In the past, I didn’t care when you went after any other girls I’d been with, but Choi Yoori is different.”

Yoori breathed faintly after hearing this.

Tae Hyun went on. “You’re not taking her away from me and I’m not even going to let you try.”
 

Tae Hyun placed his hand over her shoulder and was ready to walk out with Yoori when Ji Hoon’s next words froze their stance.
 

“You’re only doing this because you know how much she means to me!”
 

That was the last straw for Tae Hyun.
 

He had enough.

His eyes burned when he whipped around to face Ji Hoon, who was breathing heavily in anger. 

“Don’t you
fucking
tell me why I do the things that I do!” Tae Hyun shouted back, shocking Yoori with his quaking fury. “I told you that night that she’s not An Soo Jin!” He was furious. Not because of what Ji Hoon said, but because Ji Hoon reminded him that she was An Soo Jin. “I told the Advisors and I told you…Choi Yoori is
not
An Soo Jin. She’s her own person and I’ll be damned if I let you force her to become someone she doesn’t want to be.” 

There was a double meaning to his statement. It was one that Yoori could understand and one that she could appreciate.
 

Ji Hoon laughed mockingly. “You’re a fucking wonderful actor, you know that? If I didn’t know you well enough, I would’ve thought you cared about someone other than yourself.”
 

“I’
m not the one playing the heartbroken prince charming,” Tae Hyun snarled back.

It looked like Tae Hyun had a couple more choice words for Ji Hoon, but he resisted the temptation to say more insulting things. His main priority was to leave with Yoori. Everything else was secondary.
 

Intertwining his fingers with hers, Tae Hyun pulled Yoori, who was taken aback by what had taken place, along with him. They were ready to leave until…
 

“Let’s break the pact,” Ji Hoon declared, stopping Tae Hyun and Yoori in their tracks.
 

Ji Hoon went on, knowing he had Tae Hyun’s undivided attention. His voice erupted with fury.
 

“We’re the Kings of this layer, Tae Hyun. That old bastard has no right to ‘request’ anything of us,” he continued, referring to Ju Won. “It’s been too long since we’ve had our last rumble and I’m sure you’re yearning for my blood as much as I’m yearning for yours.”
 

“
No,” Yoori stated tightly, interrupting Tae Hyun before he could reply. 

She had had enough of this heated exchange between them.

She glared at Ji Hoon. “
You
 asked me for a date and I gave it to you.” She flickered her glare to Tae Hyun. “
You
 came here for me and I’m leaving with you.” She glanced from one to the other. “You two aren’t fighting. The night is over and we’re leaving.” 

“What do you say, Tae Hyun?” Ji Hoon incited, ignoring Yoori’s wishes. His eyes rested solely on Tae Hyun. Yoori’s blood boiled at the dismissal.
 

Tae Hyun looked tempted. He looked downright tempted at the invitation to rip Ji Hoon to shreds. Yet, when he felt Yoori tighten her hold on him in silent disapproval, he curbed his violent desire. “I’m not wasting my time with you, Ji Hoon.”
 He glanced at Yoori. “I have more important matters to tend to.” 

Ji Hoon smirked when Tae Hyun was about to turn away from him.
 

“I’ve never taken you for a coward, Tae Hyun,” Ji Hoon goaded. “Aren’t you the almighty King of Serpents? I thought there had to be something special about you since everyone seems to revere you like you’re a God. But I see you for who you are…who you’ve
 
always
 been. You’re nothing but a coward who got lucky with a title that supersedes him.” He laughed dryly to himself. “You’re a piece of cowering shit without your title – just like your fucking father.” 

Tae Hyun’s jaw clenched at the reference to his father.
 

Ji Hoon, reveling in the reaction he wanted to get out of Tae Hyun, went on mercilessly.
 

“He kneeled before me, you know…” Ji Hoon continued to taunt, already rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. “Begged me to spare his life.” He chuckled. “But then I guess your family is a family of kneelers…” His eyes darkened with malice. “
Especially
 that slut sister of yours who got down on her knees and gave me the best fucking blowjob I’ve ever had in my life.” 

And that was it.

At that moment two things happened: Yoori, shocked and disgusted with Ji Hoon’s behavior, released her hold on Tae Hyun’s hand. There was no point of restraining Tae Hyun. He was livid and he was going to make Ji Hoon eat his words. 

With a scorch of vindictive fire in his eyes, Tae Hyun charged for Ji Hoon with his fist flying like a bullet in the air.
 In no time, Tae Hyun’s iron fist collided onto the cheek of Ji Hoon. The resounding impact of a bone shattering collision shook Yoori to her core. She could’ve sworn she saw the blinking of a white tooth dance in the sky as Ji Hoon spat out coagulated blood into the air. 

The fight was on.

Ji Hoon staggered to the ground. Before he fell, Tae Hyun caught him by the collar and delivered another punch to the right side of his cheek. The echo of the blow sang through the night as another spurt of blood escaped from Ji Hoon’s lips. 

When it appeared as if Ji Hoon was about to fall to the ground, he instead crouched down and swiftly rammed himself into Tae Hyun’s stomach – catching Tae Hyun off guard.
 

A loud rumbling reverberated across the rooftop after Ji Hoon pummeled Tae Hyun against the glass wall that sat between them and the world beneath.
 

Tae Hyun winced in pain at the impact.
 

Using his elbow, Ji Hoon threw another blow against Tae Hyun’s cheek, causing him to slam one side of his face against the trembling glass.
 Ji Hoon was ready to throw a punch when Tae Hyun retaliated by embedding his knee against Ji Hoon’s stomach, causing him to gasp for air. 

Cursing and nearly losing his balance, Ji Hoon countered that attack by throwing an uppercut against Tae Hyun’s jaw. The blow left Tae Hyun to inadvertently lift his head up and smash it against the wall behind him.
 

The next few moves happened so quickly that a stunned Yoori was only able to watch in shock.
 Ji Hoon, with fire burning in his own eyes, clenched his right fist and threw it toward Tae Hyun’s head. With lightning speed, Tae Hyun was able to duck his head down. The sounds of glass cracking could be heard as little roots of destruction sprouted unto the once solid glass. Ji Hoon’s fist had hit the glass instead. The water inside the glass seeped out, the lights within it flickering in terror. 

“Fuck!” Ji Hoon cussed when he withdrew his fist. However much damage he made unto the glass structure, the damage surely didn’t match the pain he inflicted upon himself.
 

Seizing the opportunity of distraction, Tae Hyun grabbed Ji Hoon by the collar and threw him head first against the glass wall. Three gargantuan cracks of disturbance appeared on the glass. Water streamed out of the wall like a waterfall.
 Tae Hyun’s hands found the back of Ji Hoon’s neck. Keeping true to his original threat, an enraged Tae Hyun started to bash Ji Hoon’s skull against the glass structure. 

Once.

Twice.

It wasn’t until the third collision that Ji Hoon strategically steadied his neck, used all of his energy to push it backward and slam
med the back of his head against Tae Hyun’s face.

The tactic to get Tae Hyun off of him worked.

Tae Hyun stumbled a couple of steps back. He was undoubtedly seeing stars as blood seeped from his nose. Staggering briefly to the floor, he managed to pull himself up. Like an angry bull, he charged for Ji Hoon and sent another flying fist in his direction. It went straight for Ji Hoon’s nose.

The back of Ji Hoon’s head collided into the unstable glass wall once more. The unsteady glass trembled when the harsh wind blew against it.
 Water poured over Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon as they continued to exchange blows beside the deteriorating glass wall. 

Seconds later, in the process of exchanging merciless blows, both crashed into the glass wall and created the final impact that shattered the once solid glass into a million flickering pieces.
 

“Noooooooo!” was all that cou
ld be heard from Yoori’s horrorstruck voice as she watched them teeter off the foundation of the rooftop.

They flew through a typhoon of tinkling glass and disappeared into the abyss of the world beneath them.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Yoori shouted, her legs taking off in the direction of where Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon fell. Vertical VII was one of the tallest buildings in the district and Yoori could only imagine that their bodies were splattered all across the busy streets below. 

What a horrible way to end the night if they died on her, she thought morbidly, a strong gust of wind accompanying her rising fears.
Once she was an inch away from the edge, she peered down with eyes wide open. 

Needless to say, at the sounds of shuffling and obvious signs of life from below, Yoori was surprised at the deliriously amazing sight before her.
 

Relief swam over her like a wave.
 

They were still alive!

"Oh, thank God!" Yoori cried in joy once she saw that the balcony to one of the VIP suites caught them mid-flight. The platform of the balcony twinkled with broken glass as Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon continued to exchange merciless blows. Tae Hyun had thrown another punch in Ji Hoon's direction, an attack to which Ji Hoon retaliated with a knee to the stomach.