The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (10 page)

“The man who owns that mansion is one of the older residents in this lake house area.” He turned on his iPod, scrolled through the scree
n and made his selection. He placed the iPod back on the railing. 

He stood up and approached Yoori with a soft gaze in his eyes. Naturally and skillfully, his hands found a comfortable hold around her waist. The charm he boasted about in the lake house came out, successfully enrapturing her.
 

There goes being doubtful about his charms,
Yoori thought breathlessly.

As he pulled her closer, Yoori, lost in the lure of Tae Hyun’s mesmerizing presence, wrapped her arms around his neck. A bashful smile embellished her lips. She met his gaze, this time feeling comfortable enough to keep her eyes firmly set on him.

Yoori surmised that it must be because she was excited to have her first dance under this beautiful gazebo (or because the setting was especially romantic). Still, she couldn’t help but blush as she tightened her hold around his neck. Her heartbeat became unsteady when she drew herself closer to him.  

They took a quick second to smile warily at each other as they waited for the music to begin. The gentle glint in Tae Hyun’s eyes grew more potent while his gaze remained on her. Before Yoori could attempt to decipher his thoughts, the music streamed out of the iPod’s speaker.
 

It all happened so naturally.
 

Like wind chimes in the wind, their synchronized bodies glided peacefully under the embrace of the majestic gazebo. The music was soft and slow, perfect for Yoori and Tae Hyun, both lost in their own world.

To Yoori, everything felt right.

Magical even.

Over the peaceful music, Tae Hyun continued his story, his soft brown eyes never leaving Yoori’s. His voice somehow became the appropriate lyrics for the beautiful melody. It sounded perfect to Yoori, who felt breathless while she listened to him. She didn’t understand what was going on with her. She had never been this...enthralled
.
 

“He was a very successful businessman,” Tae Hyun went on, his hold around Yoori’s waist growing a bit tighter with care.
 “When I bought the lake house 3 years ago, I was doing a little sight-seeing and I stumbled upon this gazebo.” He spared a glimpse at the railing where his iPod rested. “I saw him sitting at that very spot. He was alone. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked him if he was waiting for someone. I didn’t want to intrude if they wanted their time alone. Smiling, he nodded at me and said, ‘Yes, but she doesn’t know that she’s coming yet.’”

Even under her trance, Yoori gave Tae Hyun a perplexed expression.

Tae Hyun smiled warmly at her confused reaction.

“That was my reaction
too,” he assured her. “I grew more curious and asked him what he meant. He told me that he and his wife had this big fight. A huge fight in the city and she was furious at him. She told him she wanted a divorce because they were growing apart and she couldn’t hold onto their relationship anymore.” 

Yoori smiled sadly at this.
 

Tae Hyun continued. “He explained to me that he bought that mansion and built this gazebo for her. It was in this very gazebo where he proposed to her. They’re a very argumentative couple so at first, he told me she was hesitant with accepting his proposal. But he promised her that this gazebo would change their lives. They made a deal that should life ever get in the way of their love, they’d come to this lake house and dance in this very spot. It would remind them of all that they’d been through and why their love would continue to endure all the troubles that life threw at them.”

“Did she ever come?”

“As I waited with him, seconds became minutes, minutes became hours and I realized that she wasn’t going to make it. It was getting late and I had to leave, so I bid him goodbye and wished him luck with everything. He laughed at me and told me he didn’t need luck. He had faith that she’d appear soon. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that
 if she hadn’t arrived already, then she’d never come. Feeling sorry for him, I just nodded and walked off.”

Tae Hyun smiled to himself.
 

“As I was about to disappear out of sight, I realized that the air had gotten a
 
bit
 warmer – like there was more happiness to it. I turned around and sure enough, there they were dancing together, all the problems the world hurled at them set aside as they basked in the magic of being around one another. After that, I shrugged and said, ‘Fine, I’ll buy it
.
’”

“That was a really sweet story,” Yoori remarked gently, her feet gliding in sync with Tae Hyun’s. She really enjoyed hearing it
. It brought immeasurable warmth to her soul.

“I thought you’d be the ideal audience for it,” he replied proudly.

Yoori nodded again, her heart racing against her chest. 

“You’re a natural at this, by the way,” Tae Hyun commented as they continued to glide with the music. The gentle wind accompanied their dance.
 “I figured you’d be stepping all over me by now.”

“It’s hard not to be a natural when you have a setting like this bestowed to you,” Yoori commented with a shy smile.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, she found it harder to make eye contact with Tae Hyun. There was something different in her eyes that she didn’t want him to see – something she had never let out before: her fragility. 

She gazed at Tae Hyun and felt the walls around her lift.
 She finally understood why she was overwhelmed with all these foreign feelings. For months now, she had been holding back on her feelings for him. She could feel the warm endorphins seep through her while she held her arms around his neck, never feeling safer in someone’s arms. She could feel the clouds lifting her up as their legs continued to dance, completely oblivious to the unblinking stares their masters were giving to one another. 

More than once, as the cool wind whispered across their skin
s, Yoori parted her lips to say something to break the silence that ensued because it was in her nature to break the tension. But every time her lips would part, she found herself unable to utter any words.

When it appeared as though Tae Hyun was about to say something, he instead lifted up a hand and slowly rested it on her flushed cheek.

Every part of her body – every fiber, every atom—her very essence, they were all waiting in anticipation as if they all knew what was to come. She couldn’t deny it and she knew then that Tae Hyun felt everything she was feeling. The emotions…the desire…the tension they had built up from being around each other…all of it exploded. All it took was one magical night to unleash everything they had hidden from one another. 

And just like that, the wind dissolved into oblivion, the moon and stars disappeared, the lake evaporated, and the dancing grass slept. All that was left in Yoori’s presence was the majestic gazebo and the feel of Tae Hyun’s fingers on her cheek – stroking her, caressing her skin as he gazed at her with the same spellbound look. He was
unyieldingly mesmerized with the breathing temptation before him. 

For the very first time in their lives, both Yoori and Tae Hyun were left without witty words. The very tactical weapon they used against one another was rendered useless as the walls to their fragility cracked. It was all gone now; the walls were crumbling. Their fragility and irrefutable desire were now, slowly but surely, being unleashed.
 

His soft fingers glided down the frame of her warm cheek. After they landed under the contour of her chin, he ever so gracefully moved his thumb up and rested it on the tip of her lips. His touch was
 hesitant. It was as if her lips were a fragile treasure he was afraid of even remotely hurting. His touch, though hesitant, was powerful enough by nature to take her breath away. If she could, she would’ve closed her eyes and enjoyed every whisper of his touch. 

She gulped awkwardly
and continued to stare up at Tae Hyun. His eyes were vulnerable, genuine, and mesmerizing. He, himself, had never appeared more alluring for Yoori than that very moment in time. 

There was so much desire in the air.
 So much desire as the silence of their anticipation hung in the cool night’s air. So much desire as they each bit their own lips with anticipation, each yearning to quench that captivating attraction they had for one another. 

It was intense.

Yoori’s blood boiled, her heart raced, and her lips went mad with yearning while their breaths mingled in eagerness. 

Soon after, just as the world around them waited with bated breaths
… something occurred.

Yoori, no longer able to suppress her desire, instinctively lifted her short frame up using the tips of her toes…

At the very same instant, Tae Hyun, no longer able to hold back on his own desire, bent his head down. With his hand lifting up her chin, they moved in, their lips attracting one another like magnets.

A kiss.

A simple kiss.

That was all that happened when their lips met: a simple,
 
scintillating 
kiss. 

They touched and an
 explosion occurred. 

Suddenly the sounds of the twinkling stars were heard again as they frolicked in the night’s sky, the gasp of the moon permeated into the ripples of the tranquil lake, the once sleeping grass danced in unison as a stream of delighted wind grazed upon it.
 

The world breathed into life as if whispering, “
Finally
.”

It started out as a simple kiss. Yet as their lips crushed upon one another, they found themselves eager for more.
 With each deepened kiss, their bodies surged with more energy. With each deepened kiss, they tilted their heads, Tae Hyun’s fingers stroking Yoori’s long black hair and her fingers stroking his short black hair. Their lips grew greedy for more attention and care. Each time they withdrew their lips thinking it was enough, a second later, their lips would meet for more – each meeting lasting longer than the last. 

They were so overwhelmed, so overwhelmed with primal emotions.
 

They wanted each other.

They needed each other.

As they prolonged their kiss, their hearts beating as though doused with ecstasy, streaks of a frenzied blur began to take form as the world spun at lightning speed.
 

The only thing suspended in this space and time was Yoori and Tae Hyun.

Oblivious to everything, their lips continued to find one another, their grasp on each other tightening with the utmost care. 

From the crown of her head to the tip of her toes, Yoori felt her whole body grow weak. She was lost in the enchantment of Tae Hyun’s hold. She tightened her hold around his neck, feeling the weight of her body faltering as it fought to stay balanced on her weakened toes.

She was struggling and slowly losing the fight with gravity… 

Even when Tae Hyun fought to hang onto her before her heels crashed to the ground,
 it was too late. Akin to falling off the clouds, the heels of Yoori’s bare feet collided with the hard surface of the floor, ending her daze.

Crash.
 

That was what occurred.

An assault of reality flooded over her, overwhelming her senses. She tried to acclimate her distracted mind with reason. 

She was…kissing…Tae Hyun?

Her eyes widened.

She was kissing…
Kwon Tae Hyun?

She gasped for breath and immediately untangled her arms from Tae Hyun’s neck.

No, no, no! This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Tae Hyun, who had the same look of disbelief on his face upon returning to reality, breathed heavily and untangled his arms from around her waist.

Identical,
“Oh crap…”
expressions were plastered over each of their faces. 

Panting in shock, they began to back away from one another, th
eir eyes lost in an unblinking stupor.

The kiss with Tae Hyun was mind-
blowing for Yoori. It was amazing beyond all words. But much like the spinning of the world around them, Yoori found herself dizzy with uneasiness when she realized the repercussions of what just occurred.

They weren’t supposed to go this far.
 

How did she let herself come this far with Tae Hyun? How could she actually believe that something would work out between them?
 It couldn’t. It wouldn’t. It was impossible. Tae Hyun and her…they could never be.  Kwon Tae Hyun doesn’t fall in love – he refused to. He told her himself. 

She scolded herself for her stupidity. How could an innocent night turn into this?

Yoori looked at him uneasily. 

Tae Hyun’s shock-filled eyes told the same story. She could tell he was asking himself the same questions.
 How did he let it go this far? How did he allow himself to be this tempted? How did he lose his composure?