The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (23 page)

Young Jae’s face split into a wide grin. That was the exact answer he wanted from them.

“Very well.” He turned to the woman to his left. Dressed in a black suit, she bowed to Soo Jin and Tae Hyun as Young Jae introduced her. “Please allow Yui to escort you to the roof. I will see you up there soon.” He gave a quick nod before eyeing Ji Hoon. “Let’s go, Ji Hoon. I have several more people I want to introduce you to before we officially reunite with our fellow Royals.”

Ji Hoon smiled pleasantly and rose from his seat. “Of course.” His eyes roamed from Soo Jin to Tae Hyun with a tint of craftiness. “See you two in a few minutes.”

“You think they’re up to something?” Soo Jin asked after they followed Yui into a private elevator and ascended up the building.

Even though the woman was right there, Soo Jin did not trouble herself to lower her voice. If this Yui was an extension of Young Jae’s ears, then she wanted him to hear everything. She wanted him to know that she and Tae Hyun were vigilant. If Young Jae tried any unexpected ambush, then they were ready.

“We came too early,” Tae Hyun responded in an even tone. He did not share her concern that they were about to be ambushed, but his voice did hold a tinge of concern. “They are not up to something. They are continuing with things as planned.”

Her eyebrows drew together. The way he said this made her feel uneasy. “Planned?”

“As Ji Hoon mentioned,” Tae Hyun said as the elevators doors slid open and the woman escorted them onto the roof of the building, “we will have to wait to find out.”

When they stepped onto the roof, Soo Jin immediately spotted more than a dozen Scorpions. All dressed in black, they silently stood at various parts of the roof like indomitable statues. At the center of the massive roof were two black sofas facing each other and a long brown coffee table in between. Beside the sofas stood four sets of heating lamps to protect them against the cold night.

Soo Jin gazed beyond the roof and took in the breathtaking landscape of Tokyo at night. The flood of wonderful childhood memories that came to her was one she could not control. She remembered running around so carelessly, so freely with her brother here. She remembered playing hide and seek with him while Scorpions surrounded and protected them. Her grandfather had prohibited anyone, other than his family and close friends, from venturing onto this roof. It was to be used as a private sanctuary for his loved ones, and she could see that Young Jae had maintained that tradition. The only difference now was that she was no longer welcomed on this rooftop. Young Jae only made it available to her because she was causing a scene at his restaurant. As a savvy businessman, he did the only thing he could do to prevent her from making a spectacle at his place of business. He did not invite her to this rooftop; he exiled her here.

After she and Tae Hyun sat down on the nearest sofa, they scanned their surroundings.

Displeased with the fact that many Scorpions were blocking her view of the vista, Soo Jin fearlessly said, “Get the fuck out of our sights.”

One of the men shot a glare at her. They could not believe she had the audacity to speak to them with such authority. “Who are you to command us?”

“We may be guests in your country, but we are still Royals in every Underworld,” Tae Hyun interjected firmly. Steel vibrated in his severe voice. He regarded them in a regal manner that had them shifting uncomfortably. His expression challenged them to test their strength. “Either way, you will adhere to your Queen’s will. Whether you leave voluntarily or I throw you over the roof myself, you
will
end up abiding by her wishes all the same.”

“What happened to our ceasefire pact?”

On cue, Young Jae appeared at the entrance, walking hand-in-hand with his wife while Ji Hoon trailed behind.

Anna wore a black dress and a white knitted shawl over it. Her white pumps clacked rhythmically across the rooftop as she walked in pace with her husband.

The three approached Tae Hyun and Soo Jin.

“I believe our ceasefire only applies to the four of us,” Tae Hyun replied to Young Jae, peering over his shoulder.

“Conversations between four Royals should stay between the four Royals,” Soo Jin briskly added, following their movements like a hawk.

She silently gripped on the armrest closest to her when she spotted Anna in the flesh. She dug her long, manicured nails into the leather upholstery, trying to make-believe that it was Anna’s neck she was suffocating. One day soon, she would make this ungrateful cockroach pay for her offenses. For tonight, she would substitute this sofa for Anna’s neck.

Young Jae nodded his head at his men when they reached the center of the roof. “We’ll be fine here. Please go back downstairs.”

As his Scorpions obediently filed out, Young Jae took a seat on the opposite sofa with his wife. Beside him, Ji Hoon went to the further end of the sofa and pressed his back against the cushion. Once the last Scorpion vacated the premise, Young Jae began to speak.

“My apologies for this modest meeting. I actually had a grander dinner planned for tomorrow night. I wish you came during the designated time to experience it.”

“We couldn’t wait,” Tae Hyun said simply, giving Young Jae an artificial smile. He glanced at Soo Jin. “I was eager to reunite the Queen with her long lost brother.”

With this, Young Jae finally turned to look directly at Soo Jin. He took a moment to stare at her up and down. When he was done with his appraisal, he casually said, “It must have been quite a shock for you to regain your memories after so many years of living as Choi Yoori.”

Soo Jin smirked. It made sense that Young Jae would begin this night with such a sour topic. “Quite the contrary, my recovery was an easy one.”

“It must be difficult for you to endure this, Tae Hyun,” Young Jae empathized quietly, continuing with his plan to fracture their united front. There was no one better to destroy them than Choi Yoori. “I know how deeply you cared for Yoori.”

Tae Hyun did not fall for the bait. “You do not need to worry about me.”

“How can I not?” Young Jae insisted. “Even when I was with Yoori, I loved her. I could’ve killed her numerous times when she was with me, but I did not have the heart to.” He regarded Soo Jin with pity in his eyes. “To have Yoori leave you with someone like my sister is a tragedy.”

“If I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it,” Tae Hyun said in dismissive boredom. “We came all the way here from Korea, Young Jae. Let’s stop with the bullshit and have the conversation now.”

As Young Jae prepared to respond, Soo Jin found herself unable to control her resentment towards Anna. She may have been lashing out her ire on the leather upholstery, but that did not mean she wanted to deal with the traitorous bitch’s existence.

“If this is a conversation for Royals,” she incited, glaring directly at Anna, who had been avoiding her gaze this entire time, “why is this cockroach here?”

“Watch your mouth, Soo Jin,” Young Jae warned gravely, finally shedding his cool demeanor.

“You forget, big brother,” Soo Jin reminded coolly, inwardly pleased to see his poise cracking. “I am no longer a Scorpion. I am the Queen of Siberian Tigers. I am no longer below you. If anything, pretty soon, I’ll be above you.”

“Three years have passed, and you’re still the same pompous bitch,” Anna muttered in disgust, finally staring Soo Jin in the eyes. If looks could kill, then Soo Jin would have died a million times over under Anna’s scorching gaze. Reversely, if Soo Jin’s looks could kill, then Ji Hoon, Young Jae, and Anna would have been rotting six feet under already.

“Shut the fuck up, you backstabbing bitch,” Soo Jin growled at Anna, unable to regulate her rage. She had never felt angrier. Out of all the people who could betray her, it was the girl whose life she saved. If she hadn’t recruited Anna into the Scorpions, then the bitch would have died on the streets years ago. She saved her life, and this was how Anna repaid her? By betraying her? “I had always suspected that you had a thing for my brother, but I didn’t think you’d ever go as far as betraying me to get into his bed.”

That was when An Young Jae lost the last vestige of his composure.

“You have some fucking nerve calling my wife a backstabbing bitch when you were the one who betrayed me first,” Young Jae spat with disgust. Fire erupted in his eyes like a raging inferno. After three years of repressed resentment, he finally released every animosity he harbored for her. “After all I’ve done for you, giving you the role as second in command and spoiling the fuck out of you, you
still
managed to find time to betray me.”

Soo Jin scoffed incredulously. She couldn’t believe she was a spectator of this ridiculousness. “You killed our father—the one who raised us, took care of us, and loved us unconditionally. You betrayed—no, murdered—him, and you have the audacity to ask me how could I betray
you
?” The stupidity of the question rendered her speechless for a few seconds. “You betrayed our family, Young Jae. You betrayed our father by colluding with Ji Hoon and Ho Young. Then you betrayed me by having me take the fall for everything you did to that family in the club. You knew the truth all along. You killed them because they had the videotape. I could forgive you for betraying me, for having me take the fall for what happened in the club. But I cannot forgive you for killing my father—
our
father!”

“I killed a piece of shit who was a sorry excuse for a father, but I
never
betrayed you!” Young Jae seethed, his thunderous voice booming across the rooftop. After countless years of wearing a politician’s mask, he, at long last, liberated his true sentiments. “You think I don’t know that you went to see Ju Won before you found out everything? You think I don’t know the type of shit he placed in your head? You and our fucking father are so alike; you let that old bastard plant seeds of doubt in your head, and you listened to his words like he’s a God. In truth, he’s nothing but a senile piece of shit whose glory days are over. I wanted you to be the one to kill that family because you were my second in command, because I
trusted
you to do it. I thought you would revel in the fact that you could become notorious from that. If I had known you’d be so ungrateful, I would’ve just had P.C. do it!”

Soo Jin reflected back to her meeting with Ju Won. In retrospect, she felt sick knowing that even then, she took too much of what Ju Won suggested to heart. However, refusing to allow that to cloud her judgment about her brother, she went on. She would have forgiven him for betraying her so all of that was a moot point. The only thing that had ever mattered to her was that he killed their father.

“Why would you kill our father?”

“You were always his chosen one,” Young Jae began indignantly. There was no more filter, no more veiling of words. Everything he spoke was a reflection of his true emotions. “The one he had so much pride for, the one he loved more than anything, and the one he was willing to screw his son over for.
I
was the heir, yet because of Ju Won’s predictions about your ‘legendary’ status, he was willing to take
my
gang away from me and give it all to you.”

“I told him I didn’t want it!” she snapped, recalling the intense conversation she had with her father.

He wanted to take the crown from Young Jae and hand it over to her instead. No matter how much Soo Jin desired power, she told her father that she couldn’t do that to her own brother. She could not take what was rightfully his. Once she stood her ground, her father let it go, and she thought that was the end of it. She didn’t realize that useless conversation was a discussion that Young Jae was privy to.

She laughed dryly when it hit her that he killed their father because of jealousy—petty jealousy.

“You conspired with Ho Young and Ji Hoon because our father was thinking about giving me the crown?”

“He betrayed me first,” Young Jae stated without remorse. “You know that I’m forgiving when it comes to anything else, but not betrayal, and definitely not betrayal from my own family. He wanted to give away the crown that I gave up my soul for? He wanted to give away my glory because a fucking Advisor told him he should?” Young Jae shook his head, pain immersed in his eyes when recalling his father’s blatant favoritism. “The bastard had another thing coming. I knew I needed to save my glory—to guarantee it—because I knew that wasn’t the end of it. It was only a matter of time before Ju Won screwed with his head more. Ju Won had always despised me because I never revered him like this entire world does, and I knew he wouldn’t stop until he screwed me over completely. My own father was too brainwashed from him, and I couldn’t have that. So I decided to think outside the box. I realized soon that I needed alliances. I only wanted the Scorpions, and I never once cared about ruling over the Korean Underworld. That was when it all made sense to me. I wanted Japan’s Underworld while Ho Young wanted China’s Underworld. After that, it seemed simple enough to recruit the one who wanted the Korean Underworld.”

He smirked, looking over his shoulder to Ji Hoon, who was still leaning against the sofa with his arms folded.

“You gave Ji Hoon quite a run for his money when you wouldn’t fall for his charms,” Young Jae continued with slight amusement. Beside him, Ji Hoon’s jaw hardened at the reminder of Soo Jin’s unwillingness to be wooed by him. “He was getting frustrated that he wasn’t winning you over, so I offered him a proposition: an Underworld and a trophy Queen by his side. I knew how you were, how’d you get after our father’s death, and how you would be more than happy to accept the power Ji Hoon could offer you to avenge our father.”