The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (45 page)

“There!” she said petulantly, throwing the boomerang on the ground. “It came back to me!”

Angrily huffing to herself, Yoori fixed her hair, gave a still stupefied Tae Hyun a murderous look, and then proceeded to stomp away, setting the stage for the bigger theatrics to come.

Akin to little poachers who finally saw the opportunity to capture their prized treasure, the children’s eyes lit up at the sight of Yoori walking away from Tae Hyun.

“Yay!” they all cheered shamelessly, getting up from their seats with the happiest of joy.

Like excited ducklings, the three chubby boys waddled after a fuming Yoori in exhilaration.

“Miss, miss! Can you be my girlfriend now?” they shouted, thinking that Yoori and Tae Hyun had broken up. “I’ll treat you better than that jerk!”

Adjacent to them, the three chubby little girls ran over to Tae Hyun in glee. “Mister! Mister! Can you be my boyfriend now? We’ve been waiting for you guys to break up!”

Hour after hour, they would argue, and hour after hour, they could be found hiding in corners of the lake house, making out like no tomorrow. She would be standing on her tiptoes while his arms wrapped around her waist. He would kiss her with such love that she would wonder if there ever was a more perfect man in the world for her.

“Have you ever thought about being a pop star?” she asked mindlessly earlier that day, her arms encircled around his neck. She appreciatively played with the short strands of his hair, admiring how striking he looked wearing nothing but white pajama pants. She felt fortunate to be able to gawk, touch, and molest that gorgeous body as she pleased.

A bewildered expression flashed across his face. Dry amusement filtered from his lips. “I’m standing here half-naked and yours for the taking . . . and you’re asking me if I’ve ever considered being a pop star?”

“A singer,” she clarified, grinning at his perplexed reaction. “I think you have a lot of charisma. You’d blow any other artists off the charts with just a smile.”

He laughed, nipping his nose with hers. His smile was lazy, soft, and completely sexy.

“Is this your strange way of complimenting and seducing me?” he inquired before playing along and adding, “Should I join a boy band? Is that what it’ll take to get me some action tonight?”

Yoori laughed as he raised her chin up and took it upon himself to shower her with loving kisses over her jaw. He sensuously trailed his lips down to her neck and nipped at the skin there.

“Like DBSK or Big Bang?” she murmured playfully.

“I have no idea who those kids are,” he began with a disbelieving chuckle, “but I’ll have to crush your dreams right there,
Choi
, because I can’t sing. I’m a businessman through and through. My talents don’t extend further than meeting rooms . . .” A naughty glint caught his eyes before he pulled her tighter against him. He placed his lips on the sensitive skin of her earlobe and started to skillfully nibble on it. The act caused her legs to give out. Luckily, he was able to hold her steady in his strong arms. When she was able to regain her breath, he teasingly added, “
Or
bedrooms
. . .”

She nodded stupidly at the last bit. She fought back an avalanche of whimpers while he continued to drive her crazy with his supple mouth. She couldn’t have agreed more. If Kwon Tae Hyun were to ever gift pop culture with his existence, he’d blow those idol kids out of the water by simply being the sexiest man to ever grace the soils of the earth. Men like Kwon Tae Hyun were a rarity in life, and she had no problem keeping him to herself. She did not want to share him with the whole world anyway. While contemplating this, Yoori smiled to herself as she thought about the irony of her life.

Even though the entire Underworld was after them, instead of worrying about her future, she was stupidly arguing about the awesomeness of her favorite books, the absurdity of not being able to correctly throw a boomerang (while being hit on by some adorable kids), and the randomness of having a silly conversation about him becoming a pop star. All of these things that had occurred within the solace of their own world felt so safe and lighthearted. Given the dangerous life that Yoori had led, she would not have it any other way. It felt like it had been a lifetime since she had the opportunity to hold him and love him like this. It felt like a lifetime since she had been this
human
. She wasn’t going to let this wonderful moment pass her by worrying about a future she couldn’t control. All that mattered to her was the gift of the present. All that mattered to her was the world they had disappeared into. All that mattered to her was her timeless distraction. All that truly mattered to Yoori was Kwon Tae Hyun.

The scent of lake water filled their lungs as they rested side by side on the wooden boat. With their hands on their stomachs, their eyes grew lost in the plasma of stars swimming above them. The soft melody of crickets, ducks, and geese played all around the serene lake, harmonizing with the beating of Yoori’s relaxed heart.

“How long do you think it’ll take before the ducks realize who we are and attack us again?” Tae Hyun voiced with a lighthearted smile.

Yoori laughed, her heart lifting at Tae Hyun’s mischievous inquiry. After the phone conversation they had with their friends, she was beginning to feel a bit down. She appreciated any effort employed to make her smile.

Only moments prior, they had a three-way phone conversation with Hae Jin and Kang Min, as well as Jae Won and Chae Young. It was an emotional call that weighed heavily in Yoori’s heart. Kang Min and Hae Jin shared their plans of running away to Sydney, Australia to raise their child there. They had hoped to return to Seoul once things were calmer. As for Jae Won and Chae Young, they had recently come clean to Mr. Lee about Jae Won’s status as a gang member. They couldn’t toy with the idea of running away without bringing Chae Young’s only family member, a man whom Jae Won had come to view as his own father, with them. Because of this, they knew that they could no longer keep Mr. Lee in the dark. At the offset, Mr. Lee had been stunned and hurt with this revelation. However, because he had come to love Jae Won like the son he never had, Mr. Lee did something uncharacteristic: he agreed. Much to the elation of Chae Young and Jae Won, Mr. Lee agreed to follow them wherever they needed to go because all that mattered to him was his family.

Prior to all this talk about running away, Jae Won and Kang Min were initially reticent with leaving the gang they grew up in. Or more precisely, they were reticent with leaving the one who saved their lives and literally raised them. They were so troubled that they promised Yoori they would return once things were calmer. It wasn’t until Yoori broke through their unease with her own plans did they find liberation. She essentially told them that she and Tae Hyun were done.

They were done being the King and Queen.

They were done with the Underworld.

And then, with her heart growing heavier with the passing seconds, Yoori did one of the hardest things she ever had to do in her life: she
finally
parted ways with the best friends she grew up with.

“Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me,” she whispered over the phone, wishing that she could see them again before she left for good. “You’ve been more like brothers to me than my own flesh and blood. I couldn’t feel more blessed and
honored
to have both of you by my side. Please take care of yourselves, and if anything happens to either of you or the girls, I’ll kill you both in your next lifetimes. Do you hear me?” A short bout of forced laughter filled the other line before Yoori added, “Chae Young and Hae Jin, I love you both so much. I will miss you. Please be safe until we meet again.”

It was an emotional call that needed to be made for their very survival. It was no longer safe for the three couples to be together. This case was especially true for Yoori and Tae Hyun, both of whom knew that the Underworld were going to be after them when news broke that they had forfeited their thrones and chose to be together instead.

The Underworld rewarded only the most ruthless of people. Yoori and Tae Hyun couldn’t have embodied the very opposite of the persona. Their ruthless society was not going to let them off easy, and there was no way in hell they were going to involve Hae Jin, Kang Min, Chae Young, or Jae Won into their quandary. It was simply too dangerous.

“When things are calmer, we’ll have another dinner get-together soon,” Tae Hyun assured, trying to ease the solemn mood.

At the thought of something so bright in their future, everyone laughed through their tears. They recalled how wonderful their last dinner together was and agreed vehemently that once things were more settled, they’d meet again. With whispers of their final goodbyes, they hung up, each starting a new road to their lives.

Their hearts may have been heavy with grief, but Yoori knew that everyone shared the same excitement for the journey ahead of them. After being consumed by the darkness within the Underworld for so long, it was a godsend to be blessed with an opportunity to escape from it and finally start brand new lives as ordinary humans.

While inhaling the fresh crisp air circulating around the boat, Yoori’s eyes landed on a couple of ducks swimming beside them. The ducks were waddling peacefully, completely oblivious to their presence.

“Maybe if we don’t argue or bicker, they won’t notice us and they’ll leave us alone,” she responded to the question Tae Hyun posed about the ducks recognizing them.

He smirked at this. “Try holding your breath. Let me know how that goes, and I’ll let you know how easy it is for the two of us to spend time together and not argue or bicker.” A chuckle escaped him before he expelled a relaxed sigh. “We’ll try it your way for a while though.”

“Okay,” Yoori uttered, never feeling more relaxed as they allowed the serenity of life to wash over them. She was grateful for the moment she was sharing with Tae Hyun. There was nowhere else she’d rather be than there with him.

“Hae Jin’s pregnant,” Yoori breathed out after a stretch of silence. She turned to Tae Hyun with a wide smile. “Kang Min and Hae Jin are going to have a
baby
.”

Tae Hyun’s lips lifted into an astounded smile.

“My baby sister is pregnant,” he repeated, sharing in the amazement. He swayed his head from side to side, taking a second to absorb the enormity of his words. “Kang Min
knocked up
my baby sister,” he reiterated to himself, closing his eyes disbelievingly. He shook his head again, groaning to himself at the ludicrousness of that piece of information. “If this was any other situation, I would’ve already skinned his ass alive.”

Yoori giggle, trusting that Tae Hyun would. The only other person in the world for whom Tae Hyun would give up his life was his baby sister. She didn’t imagine that big brother was ecstatic to hear that his baby sister had been knocked up by one of his underbosses. Though Kang Min was one of the greatest guys in existence, in the protective eyes of Tae Hyun, Kang Min and the rest of the guys in the world would never be good enough for his precious baby sister. It wasn’t personal; it was just an older brother thing.

“I think they’re going to have a baby girl,” she casually shared, changing the topic while her face glowed with warmth. She could already envision how cute and pretty this baby was going to be.

Tae Hyun glanced at her in interest. He readjusted his body so that he was completely facing her. The boat creaked softly when he did this. “How do you know?”

“I just know,” she stated confidently.

She readjusted her sleeping position to intimately face him as well. “And you’re going to spoil her rotten. You’re going to give her all the best toys you could find, you’re going to feed her and keep feeding her until she’s plump and round . . .”

Her words died in her throat when another train of thoughts came into the horizon. The warmness she felt was eclipsed by the awfulness that shrouded over her. The happy glow faded away when she was reminded about the niece or nephew she would
never
meet.

“You’re going to be the best uncle ever,” she finished optimistically, going to great lengths to keep the artificial smile on her face. She did not want to worry Tae Hyun. Alas, her efforts proved to be futile when a knowing light flashed in Tae Hyun’s eyes.

Sensing her despondency, Tae Hyun lifted his hand and delicately stroked his fingers over her cheek.

“What happened with Anna,” he began consolingly, his eyes gentle and comforting, “wasn’t your fault.”

“I killed my brother’s wife and his unborn baby,” she replied dejectedly, the hollow part in her stomach becoming bigger with each progressive breath. “How is it not my fault?”

“You didn’t know she was pregnant.”

Yoori smiled self-loathingly. She appreciated his efforts to appease her guilt. It was a kind thing for him to do, but it would never be enough to assuage the remorse she felt.

“You know just as well as I that the equation is irrelevant. It’s the end result that matters.” She breathed shakily, her fingers mindlessly playing with Tae Hyun’s. “It’s funny. When I regained all my memories, I couldn’t wait to bring war upon him. I couldn’t wait to make him suffer for what he did to our father—to kill him for betraying our family. But nothing is as black and white as I want it to be. When I actually made him suffer for what he did, I felt myself suffering with him. I felt and still feel myself suffering too because no matter what he did, I will always remember the older brother I grew up with—the one who always protected me and the one I’ll always love.” She smiled resentfully to herself before adding, “Do you know what’s
f
ucked up?”