The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (16 page)

“Uncle Dong Min,” Soo Jin greeted with a smile. She stopped a pace behind him, waiting as he turned around to face her. All around them, people in the building were waving their goodbyes and leaving for the evening.

“Soo Jin,” he greeted back, turning away from the two young men he was speaking to. He wore a surprised expression, the kindness from his face accentuated by the brown knitted sweater and brown pants he wore.

There was subtle warmth in his eyes that told Soo Jin he was happy to see her. The subtle warmth was a complete contradiction to his actions towards her only weeks prior. She hadn’t forgotten how distant he was when she was ‘Yoori’. Regardless, she understood now that despite his adoration towards her, his main priority was Tae Hyun and eradicating any threat that endangered his advisee’s station in life. In this case, it was getting rid of a pathetic and weak human girl who was a walking death trap for the King himself. She understood that he distanced himself from Yoori simply because he had to and took no offense to it.

She swallowed uncomfortably, pushing the thoughts of Yoori and Tae Hyun aside. Nothing good could come out of it if she allowed those two to plague her thoughts.

Soo Jin kept the smile on her face when speaking to Dong Min. “It’s been a while. How are you, uncle?”

She could read the skepticism in his eyes. It had been a while psychologically, but not physically, as he had seen quite a lot of Yoori.

“I’m good,” he replied with a tentative smile. He still looked very surprised to see her.

She disregarded the awkwardness and eyed his business associates with a polite smile. Their eyes were firmly set on her as well. Never one to be rude, Dong Min started to introduce the two young men, both of whom were smiling at her with amiable eyes. In that split second, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity to them. There was something oddly familiar about them that she couldn’t quite decipher.

“This is—”

“An Soo Jin,” one of the tall men, who was dressed in a handsome pinstriped black suit and had spiky brown hair, interrupted Dong Min with a growing smile. He extended his hand out to her, an air of confidence emitting from him. “You’ve made the most epic comeback I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing in the Underworld.”

She laughed softly, still ruffled by his presence. What was it about him that felt so familiar to her?

“Do I know you?” Soo Jin asked, uncertainly shaking his hand.

She did not get a chance to ask him for his name when his equally handsome friend, the one who wore a pinstriped gray suit and had short dark hair, extended his hand out and said, “It’s an honor to finally meet you. We’ve heard so much about you—in more ways than one.”

Soo Jin canted her head in curiosity.

There was a certain charm to them that continued to remind her of someone she knew. She bit her lip, still feeling puzzled. She gathered, judging by the slightly cocky and charming aura that emanated from them, that they were heirs in the 1
st
layer. Despite being certain that she had never met them, she could not shake the feeling that she knew
of
them.

“Do the two heirs of the 1
st
layer have names?” Soo Jin asked cordially, observing that although they were admiring her beauty, both heirs were seemingly very interested in just talking to her and
not
bedding her. Given that the 1
st
layer heirs were known to be players in their own right, this was an extremely rare occurrence.

They laughed, looking at one another before nodding and murmuring things like, “
Damn, we’ve been so rude.
”

“Choi Hyun Woo,” the first one introduced, flashing her a gorgeous smile that would cause women from all over the world to faint in awe.

“Daniel Lee,” the second one introduced, tucking his hands into his pockets in hidden glee. A portion of his lips lifted in an amused smirk that could stop the hearts of women anywhere.

She furrowed her brows at the familiarity of their names. She couldn’t put a finger on why they felt so familiar to her until—

“
My best friends
,” a silky and enticing voice answered against her right ear, clearing any fog of confusion that once immersed her mind.

The warm breath acted as a stimulant for her. Its warmth teased the nerves in her ear and sparked a cataclysmic reaction that traveled like a freight train down her body. Her body came alive with desires she couldn’t control, and much to her own horror, she knew only one man possessed the natural talent to trigger a reaction of that magnitude from her.

Crap.

Desperate to stay away from him, she wheeled around in haste. She quickly stepped away from the owner of the voice, nearly tripping over Dong Min in the process. Luckily for the Advisor, he was saved from being mowed down by the Queen when an amused Choi Hyun Woo and Daniel Lee pulled him out of the way.

While staring at Tae Hyun’s gorgeous and smiling face, she now realized that Dong Min’s “business associates” were not mere heirs in the 1
st
layer. They were the
Princes
of the 1
st
layer.

It all came together for her
.

Choi Hyun Woo was the son of Choi Min Hyuk, the powerful crime lord at Ju Won’s birthday party. Daniel Lee was the son of the infamous Lee Sang Min, another powerful 1
st
layer crime lord who owned the majority of the entertainment and media outlets in Korea. Not to mention, Daniel was also the nephew of the influential politicians who attended Ju Won’s party. Hyun Woo and Daniel were both considered the most powerful Princes in the 1
st
layer, and worst of all, they were also Kwon Tae Hyun’s best friends.

“What are you doing here?” Soo Jin asked at once, more shocked to be around Tae Hyun than to have finally met his best friends.

The curves of his tempting lips raised in a teasing smile. His amused eyes took note of her frazzled state.

“Jumping like a scared little kitten,” he mused softly, his voice washing over her like hot and delicious honey. “I didn’t think the Queen of the Underworld was capable of being spooked.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked again, refusing to acknowledge his observation.

She could kill her body for its conditioned reaction to him. Who the hell knew hormones could get the Queen herself like this? Even when she reigned three years ago, she wasn’t like this around Ji Hoon—or any man for that matter. But with Kwon Tae Hyun, it was like he was a sexy aphrodisiac created specifically for her. She could control her logicality concerning him—that he was an enemy she was prepared to kill when the time was right—but her body had no such discrimination. It just wanted him—all of his glorious, naked self.

To say the least, the normally composed Soo Jin was appalled with her abnormal behavior. After the fight with him, she had reasoned that she was off her game because she had just returned after three years of amnesia. It was clear now that feeling disjointed was only relevant when in the presence of her biggest enemy—and apparently her body’s biggest aphrodisiac.

“You’re in the business district,” he replied smoothly. He did not deign to spare a look at his Advisor or his best friends. His attention was wholly and solely focused on her. “This is my playground.”

“Why are you here?” she asked again, recognizing that she sounded like a broken record.

“Business. You?”

“Business,” she replied just as simply.

She abruptly decided that it was time to leave him and the ridiculous state she was finding herself in. After three years of being a “normal” girl, Soo Jin was dreadfully embarrassed that she didn’t have more control over her own body. She was so immersed with his presence that she didn’t even realize his baby sister was standing next to him. It wasn’t until Hae Jin moved slightly beside him did Soo Jin notice her.

Hae Jin’s pretty eyes brightened when Soo Jin finally made eye contact with her.

A little too excited, Hae Jin parted her lips and elatedly said, “Hi Yoo—!”

“It’s
Soo Jin
,” she snapped without thinking.

Soo Jin instantly regretted speaking so brusquely when Hae Jin clamped her mouth down in shock, thrown by her authoritative voice.

Hae Jin swallowed convulsively, doing her best to maintain the smile that was fading from her face. As she nodded apologetically to Soo Jin, Tae Hyun placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder, his eyes seemingly saying things to Hae Jin that Soo Jin couldn't read. Whatever it was he wordlessly said to her, it made Hae Jin feel better. She was once again staring at Soo Jin with a hint of warmth in her eyes. It was the same warm look she always gave to Yoori whenever she was around her.

Soo Jin’s throat grew dry at the reminder of her human counterpart. She would not allow the memory of Choi Yoori to ruin her day.

“Well, I should go now,” she said with finality, composure still laced in her serene voice. No matter how flustered she was, she refused to show these people how much they fazed her.

“You know, out of the three of us, Tae Hyun has always been the chick magnet. It’s pretty rare to not see a woman fawn all over him when he gives her his attention. Though I must admit that it’s pretty entertaining to watch his ex-girlfriend jump around like a scared kitten at his near presence.”

“His presence has no effect on me,” Soo Jin bit out at Daniel, secretly horrified that others could see that his presence not only had an effect on her, but it also intimidated the hell out of her.

“The Queen of the Underworld gets amnesia and becomes someone else, only to fall in love with her future enemy. After regaining her memories, the King is still pining for the Queen who wants nothing but war from him,” Hyun Woo mused to himself, already lost in his own set of thoughts. He shot Daniel with a curious look. “Doesn’t that sound like a good TV drama to create?”

“I should pitch it to my father,” Daniel agreed fervently. “I’m sure we can make something work out.”

Soo Jin understood now why they made her so uneasy when she first met them. It was because they were almost exactly like Tae Hyun. They were blunt, witty, sarcastic, and had the charisma to make the entire world fall to their feet.

“Don’t you trust fund babies have meetings to get to?” Tae Hyun interrupted firmly, his eyes still heavily invested on Soo Jin, who was staring at him with unconcealed malice.

“We actually have dinner plans,” Hyun Woo answered, laughing with Daniel when it was all too clear to them that they were being dismissed. He stepped away from the circle and extended his hand out to Hae Jin. “Come on, little one. Let your brother do what he needs to do.”

“Take care of my sister,” Tae Hyun said to his best friends as they pulled Hae Jin away from him.

“Don’t we always,” Daniel answered, playfully tousling Hae Jin’s hair when she stood beside them. She murmured words of protest as a little sister would to older brothers who picked on her.

“Tae Hyun,” Dong Min started, obviously wanting to knock some sense into Tae Hyun to keep him from trying to seduce Soo Jin.

Before he could say anymore, Hyun Woo and Daniel punctually interrupted him. They placed their arms around him and playfully herded him away from Tae Hyun and Soo Jin, both of whom were still staring unblinkingly at one another.

Soo Jin was still giving him the “if-you-come-near-me-I’ll-kill-you” look, and Tae Hyun was giving her the “you’re-breathtaking” look.

“Oh, come on, uncle,” Daniel placated. “We know you want the best for your favorite advisee, but the King of Serpents can take care of himself around the Queen of the Underworld. You know once he sets his mind on something, it’s done and over with. Stop fighting it and just let go.”

Defeated by the simple fact that Hyun Woo and Daniel were persuasive charmers themselves, Dong Min expelled an exasperated sigh, and just like that . . . gave up. It was indicative on his face that he knew there was no more he could say or do. Whatever path Tae Hyun chose now, it was his to choose alone.

“Let’s go then,” Daniel whispered to Hae Jin as Dong Min moved ahead with Hyun Woo. Daniel glanced over his shoulder and gave Tae Hyun an encouraging smile. “Your brother is going to be busy.”

With a bright smile on her lips, Hae Jin nodded. Her hopeful eyes landed on Soo Jin, who didn’t even dare to make eye contact with her.

“Bye . . .
Soo Jin
,” she whispered before making her departure.

Something in Soo Jin’s heart gave out when Hae Jin vocalized her birth name. She briefly wondered why it pained her to hear Hae Jin call her by her birth name, but she did not push that thought. Perhaps it was just odd because she was so used to Hae Jin referring to her as “Yoori”.

“Bye,” Soo Jin replied just as quietly, watching from the corner of her eyes as Hae Jin and Daniel walked out of the building and joined Dong Min and Hyun Woo on the street. Within an instant, they were gone, and Soo Jin was left wondering what had happened to Hae Jin during Ju Won’s birthday party. Apart from a small glance of her, she hardly remembered seeing Hae Jin at all.

“Where was she during the party?” Soo Jin asked, finally able to say something else to him. Her chin was inclined, her eyes stern, and her arms were folded across her rapidly rising and falling chest. Although she looked intimidating, she doubted she could evoke any fear from Tae Hyun.