The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (69 page)

What a joke all that had been.

Yoori ran into the hall and made it onto the first landing of stairs when she felt Tae Hyun wrap his hand around her wrist, jerking her back into his arms.

“Yoori, please don’t be like this.”

She heard the desperation in his voice and felt the desperation in his hold. He was worried about her safety and he was worried about losing her. It was agonizing just to hear the care in his voice. It was a double-edged sword. It reminded her of the happiness she felt with him and reminded her of the fact that none of it was real. She had been the fool all along.

“Get away!” She fought against his grasp.
 “Get the fuck away from me!”

Yoori missed a step off the stairs and nearly lost her balance. She was able to catch herself with the railing before she tumbled out of sight and before Tae Hyun could reach down to grab her. Breathing heavily, she narrowed her eyes up to Tae Hyun. He was now standing five steps above hers, staring down at her helplessly.
 

“Get away from me,” she ordered, backing down the stairs without looking back.

She kept her eyes on him. Even through her relentless anger, she saw the concern in his eyes. She knew he was worried about her, the state she was in, and how careless she was being with herself. They were still high up. If she fell, then it was likely she would break something. 

He wouldn’t allow that.

“Okay,” Tae Hyun compromised, standing frozen on the stairs with his hands raised up in surrender. “I won’t come any closer. Just walk down the stairs safely and I won’t come any closer.”

She knew he was lying to her – that he was just trying to make sure she was safe on solid ground before he chased after her again. She knew but she didn’t care.
 Without uttering another word, she turned around and sprinted off the stairs, running around every curve on the landing. She pushed the doors out into the lobby. As soon as her bloody feet touched the lobby tiles, she heard his descending footsteps and she knew he would catch up to her if she didn’t pick up her pace.

So she ran, pushing people out of her way as she flew through the revolving door. Nothing mattered anymore. Her heart, her body, her soul…it didn’t matter that all aspects of her essence were
 
begging
 to be returned to Tae Hyun. The pain vibrating to the depths of her soul…the sobs threatening to escape from her chest…
nothing 
mattered but getting away from him. 

The weather was unforgiving when she ran out. Her bare feet instantly punctured holes into the snow beneath her heels. Her own bloody footprints followed her as the ice ate at her wounds.
 

Snow was raining down on the world beneath it, disturbing the hectic traffic on the street and blinding pedestrians who were walking around frantically, trying to get from point A to point B while holding onto their umbrellas. The wind was heavy, causing Yoori to tumble in her stance a couple of times.
 

Wearing nothing but a thin gray sweater and black pajama pants, Yoori felt all the cold but it was bearable to her. Nothing could be as unforgiving as the betrayal and humiliation she felt.
 

“AHHH!” A group of people cried when she barreled past them, nearly knocking a couple of them off the curb and into oncoming traffic.

Desperate with nothing but the desire to escape, Yoori jumped off the sidewalk and into the hectic traffic.
Taxi, taxi, taxi…
She needed a taxi. There weren’t a lot of cars due to the threatening weather but there was enough driving through. 

“Yoori!” Tae Hyun’s voice suddenly called out from behind her.

At once, his strong arm wrapped around her, pulling her toward him just as a red truck squealed to a stop before her. It stood inches from running her over if Tae Hyun hadn’t pulled her out of the way.

“You stupid bitch!” A chubby man with a green trucker hat honked and shouted at Yoori. “Get the fuck out of the way or I’ll kick you out myself!”

He looked like he was actually ready to get out of his truck and do it. 

Unfortunately for him, Tae Hyun would have none of it.
 

“If you even touch a single
strand
of her hair, I’ll skin you alive, you piece of shit!” Tae Hyun roared at him, his eyes breeding nothing but fire.

Tae Hyun weighed less than the man but because his shirt more than showed his muscles, it was clear that he could rip the man apart in an instant if he wanted to.
 

Flinching at the growl in Tae Hyun’s intimidating stature, the man fearfully jerked his car to the right, nearly crashing into another car as he drove away from them.
 

“Get off me!” Yoori shouted after the truck drove away.

“Yoori, stop it!” he yelled, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her body tightly against him. Cars, bicyclists, and violent snow continued to whiz past them. “You’re going to get hit by a car if you keep doing this!” 

“Good!” Yoori cried impulsively. In vain, she tried to pull out of his hold. His strength was unyielding. “Isn’t that how people get their memories back? By getting hit by cars?”
 

She was hysterical and she knew it, but
fuck being rational! Why did she even care anymore? She had been played for a fool. She couldn’t give a fuck about trying to act sane for the people around her. She wanted nothing more than to get hit by a car. 

Maybe if everything worked out her way, she would get hit by a car and forget everything. She would be able to forget Soo Jin
 
and
 Tae Hyun—the two people she hated the most. She would be able to forget about all the pain they both caused her. Or worse yet, she would get her memories back as Soo Jin. With the incalculable pain she felt, recalling her memories again wouldn’t be such a bad idea if she could just forget about Tae Hyun. At the moment, Kwon Tae Hyun was the one person she hated the most. 

“Fucking hell
, Yoori!” Tae Hyun growled in frustration. “I’m not going to let you get hit by a car!”

“Yet you
cared
enough to use me like a fucking puppet, you power hungry bastard!”

He had enough.

“Yoori, look at me! Look at me!” he commanded, cupping his hands over her cheeks.

They panted together and much to her own horror, she felt her nerves calm as their eyes held one another’s.
 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his genuine remorse enhancing those simple yet heartfelt words.

For the first time since the eruption of her emotions, she saw his pain.

It mirrored hers
. 

Yoori shook her head again. “Did you know what I thought of when I woke up this morning?” she finally asked, her heart still racing with rage and pain. She may have felt his pain, but she felt her pain even more.
 

He was quiet, awaiting her answer.
 

Her torn eyes held his. Her lips quivered uncontrollably while she spoke, the words spilling out of her like it were pieces of her heart.
 

“I didn’t think about the fact that I was An Soo Jin, I didn’t think about Chae Young being raped because of me, I didn’t think about the horror I felt after murdering eleven men...I didn’t think about any of that when I woke up.”
 

Tears choked her throat, breaking her voice apart.

“I thought about 
you
. I thought about how lucky I am to have met you. How blessed I am to have you in my life.” She laughed self-mockingly, tears streaming her face and mixing with the snow frosting over her. “I’ve been such a fool. I actually believed that we’ve fallen for each other…that everything between us was real. All this time, I thought the emotions I felt from Soo Jin was her hatred for you. All this time, I thought I was hesitant to be with you because she despised you. Yet I know now that I was only hesitant because I knew you were going to do this to me one day. I knew I was going to end up like this one day – betrayed and humiliated by you.” 

She bit her lips, looking away. She couldn’t even look at him now without wanting to hit him
 
and
 cry for him. 

“Yoori…” Tae Hyun whispered, his voice full of anguish.

Even in anger, Yoori felt herself soothed by his voice. Even in anger, she continued to adore him. This fact alone killed her. 

He pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes pleading for her understanding. “What happened the other night between us was
real
. Everything that we spoke about, everything that we promised each other…it was all real.” 

Yoori wanted to believe him, but she had no more hope left inside her. All she had was the strength of her anger. She had to leave him and she knew just how to make him let go of her.

“This is why you’re Dong Min and Ju Won’s favorite, aren’t you?” Yoori accused.

Her voice was cruel and taunting in a way that only An Soo Jin could drawl out. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to hurt him
 so he could never have the strength to break her again. 

“Because you’re just as manipulative as they are...because you would give up anything for your precious Underworld.”

Just as she had anticipated, ache splashed over his face as her words stabbed into him. She went on, knowing well that she had to keep hurting him until he couldn’t breathe anymore.

“This is why Ji Hoon isn’t the favorite,” she persisted, noting that he had grown tenser. It was as if he knew where she was heading with all of this. “Because he sacrificed himself for Soo Jin –
because he loved her unconditionally. I should’ve thought about it better when he offered himself to me…when he promised me the world. But I know better now. I know that he loved her and he placed her above his position of power. He loved her…more than you could ever hope to love me.” 

A bitter, knowing smile appeared on
her lips. Yet secretly, her heart ached at her cruel words. 

“Your soul had
long deteriorated before you promised me the world. It had long deteriorated when you decided to use me like I was worth nothing and play me like I was a stupid twit.”

She allowed no emotions to cross her gaze once she saw the immense pain take over his eyes. She went on, further drilling the malicious words into him.
 

“You could try to be human all you want Tae Hyun, but you’re nothing but a scarred demon—a heartless monster. And if I could do it over again…”

And then, she whispered words she didn’t mean and words she knew would kill Tae Hyun. It was the only way he would let her go. It was the only way she could move on without him chasing after her and breaking her heart further.

“…I would’ve chosen Ji Hoon over you.”

She knew it worked. 

She knew it worked when she saw the misery devour his eyes. She knew it worked when she saw the wretchedness cascade over his pale face. She knew it worked when she felt her heart wrenched as he gazed at her, his pained eyes looking for emotions within her to detect if she was lying.
 

She kept her expression cool, icy.
 

And that was enough for him to assume that everything she said was the truth of how she felt. It was enough for him to realize that they were done.
 

His hold on her slackened and Yoori used the opportunity to pull out of his hold. When she retreated further into the street, she saw a woman walk out of a silver taxicab. She moved toward it and gave Tae Hyun one last cold stare.

It was a stare that hid the tears she was ready to shed and the yearning she continued to foster for him. How was it possible that she loved and hated someone so much?

“Stay out of my life.”
 

And with that, Yoori got into the cab and rode off. She rode off, never looking back as she
 
finally
 shed her cool exterior and sobbed her broken heart into her hands. She never looked back to see Tae Hyun standing there, blood drained from his somber face as he watched her drive away from him – as he watched her drive out of his life. 

With nothing but tears blurring her vision, Yoori pulled a hand away from her mouth and quietly pinched herself. The pain of the pinch was nothing compared to the agonizing ache of her heart, yet she felt it nonetheless.
 

It wasn’t a dream
.

None of this was a dream.

It was all real.

The scars that Tae Hyun left on her…the scars on what was once their blossoming relationship…the scars of his lies…the scars
 she left on him…all these scars…

It all existed and it was all
 
painfully
 and heart-wrenchingly real.

Their end, as she knew it, was undeniably real.

“Our society isn’t a world where love conquers all.”