The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (31 page)

“Yoo—” Yoori cut herself off before making the executive decision to not give him her actual name. “—na. It’s Yoona,” she lied with a nervous smile. “Yours?”

“AJ,” h
e answered, his smile growing warmer as they moved cohesively. “My name is AJ.”

“Not succumb to its weaknesses
.”

12: The King of Scorpions

“Yoona, you lied to me,” AJ remarked moments later, dancing to their third song of the night. “You said you weren’t a great dancer. Look at you! You’re not tripping or stepping on my feet at all.”

Yoori smiled widely at his compliment. “I don’t actually dance much so I assume I am. I danced one other time with my boyfriend, but it was because he’s a good dancer and he pretty much swept me off my feet. I figured I became good for him. I didn’t think I’d be
this good with anyone else though!”

Yoori was elated. She and AJ had been talking about what type of food they enjoyed and how boring they thought this charity event was. They were getting along incredibly well. He was such a cool guy, and she was excited to introduce him to Tae Hyun. Perhaps AJ was one of Tae Hyun’s friends from the 1
st
layer?

“I’m okay when it comes to dancing,” AJ told her, his voice matching her optimism and energy. “I’m only exceptional with my wife, and I suck on purpose to embarrass my sister.”

Yoori laughed at the latter portion of his reply. “Oh no, where’s your sister? Won’t she be looking for you?”

He chuckled, his face contorting in bitterness. “Nah. She’s probably busy breaking hearts somewhere. She’ll find me soon enough.”

Something else clicked in Yoori’s mind. She shifted uneasily, starting to feel perturbed. “Wait, where’s your wife? Is she here?”

Crap. She didn't think he was a sleazebag, but what considerate married man would dance with another woman? Yoori felt disappointment bubble within her. To think she thought he was cool!

“No, she’s not here,” he replied casually. “She’s at home resting.”

“She won’t mind that you’re dancing with another woman?” Yoori asked awkwardly. She contemplated kicking him in the balls for subtly cheating on his wife while dancing with her. She held in the temptation. She did not want to cause a scene.

“Another woman, yes. But she won’t mind you,” he clarified with a genuine smile. As though reading her mind, he went on. “Trust me, I’m not cheating on her. I love my wife, and though you’re wearing a mask right now, I know I’m not attracted to you. You don’t have to worry about being a home wrecker.”

Yoori smiled in relief. She assessed the tone in his voice and concluded he was telling the truth. He truly adored his wife. Curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to know more about them. “How long have the two of you been married?”

“Three years.”

“Congratulations!” Yoori chirped excitedly. She continued to probe, hoping he wouldn’t find her too intrusive. It was exciting for her to meet someone, other than Tae Hyun, Ji Hoon, and the brothers, that she actually got along with in the Underworld. It was also remarkable that he was married. He could give her pointers on how to make it last with Tae Hyun. “How did you guys meet?”

“She was working for my sister, but we’ve pretty much known each other our whole lives. It was inevitable that if I were to settle down with anyone, it would be her.”

Yoori nodded dreamily.
Apparently, it was one of those “I’ve-loved-you-since-forever” type of loves.

“How long have you been with your boyfriend?” he asked, pulling her out of her dreamy sigh.

“A couple of months,” Yoori said, unable to keep the sheepish smile off her face when she was reminded of Tae Hyun.

It felt like a lifetime ago that we met
, Yoori wanted to add, but held back. She knew that the timeframe for her and Tae Hyun was a short one in comparison to other couples, but she didn’t care. Time was irrelevant. When she took into consideration all that they had been through together, their relationship was the equivalent of a three-year relationship anyway.

“You’re blushing,” AJ observed, his kind eyes staring down at her from his silver mask. “Is this your first relationship?”

Yoori blushed some more. She nodded at his question. “This is my first.”

That I remember
, she supplied in her mind.

Ji Hoon was another story, but then again, he would always be another story.

“So, I saw you walking in with the King of Serpents,” AJ noted offhandedly. “I take it he’s the boyfriend you’re talking about?”

The blush that once heated her cheeks froze under icy caution. The dark tone in his voice unsettled her. Yoori nodded hesitantly, feeling vigilant. Was it her or did he tense up when he asked about Tae Hyun? It was instinct on her part, but she had a hunch that he was
against her being with Tae Hyun.

Her suspicions were fully confirmed when he said, “This may be too forward of me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea that you’re with him.”

“Why is that?” she asked cagily, looking around to find that Kang Min and Jae Won had parted from the group they were having a conversation with.

They stood in the center of the ballroom, their eyes wide as they observed her and AJ. They looked worried. They were clearly wondering who the masked man dancing with her was.

Yoori shook internally when she took stock of the vigilance in their eyes. No longer feeling comfortable, Yoori continued to dance with AJ, unknowingly moving closer to the exit that led into Ju Won’s majestic gardens.

“It’s never a good thing to be labeled as someone’s distraction, but it’s worse to be labeled as Kwon Tae Hyun’s distraction,” he forged on, unaffected by the discomfort that riddled her face. His eyes were still gentle on her. “I’m sure you know that in this world, he’s at the very top of the pyramid. There are countless people who are invested in his future of being the first official Lord of the Korean Underworld. Any woman who means anything to him will be the weakness this world looks for when they want to make him fall from his throne.”

Not another one
, Yoori thought indignantly.

That was when she knew it was a bad idea to dance with
anyone from the Underworld. No matter how nice they appeared, they always had ulterior motives. She
was
Nemo, Yoori admitted grudgingly. She either attracted trouble or went looking for trouble. In this case, both things happened. Why was she reeling in all the unpleasant people?

“I take it you’re a supporter of Tae Hyun who doesn’t want him to be distracted?” Yoori asked blithely, feeling comfortable enough with this AJ guy that she wasn’t afraid to at least talk back to him. At the moment, it didn’t appear as if he would hurt her. “Are you here to tell me to stop seeing him?”

“I’m actually one of the people going against him,” he corrected simply. “I’m telling you to stop seeing him, but the reason doesn’t pertain to him being a contender to become the Lord of the Underworld.”

Yoori’s stomach gave a horrid lurch after he basically told her that he was Tae Hyun’s enemy. A wave of cold chills rippled over her skin when his grip on her tightened. He was anticipating her to run away from him, and he made damn sure that wasn’t going to happen. Yoori looked around frightfully. Would he hurt her at a charity event where there was an unspoken promise to keep all the external drama out? Was he an assassin or something? Was he here to kidnap or execute her? Yoori’s eyes roamed the ballroom for help. She wanted to kick him in the balls and make a run for it. She vetoed that idea as she still didn’t want to make a scene. Yoori desperately considered her options. Would a short-term gain make up for the long-term consequences if she brought enough attention to herself? What if people started to realize that she was An Soo Jin? If that occurred, she wouldn’t have to just worry about Tae Hyun’s enemies coming after them—she’d have to worry about Soo Jin’s as well. It was a catch-22 for her—she was screwed either way.

Tae Hyun! Read my mind and find me
, Yoori prayed in her mind, hoping her non-existent telepathic ability would help her in her time of need.

As if hearing her plea, in the sea of dancing silhouettes, her frantic eyes locked on Tae Hyun. He had just emerged from a crowd from the west side of the ballroom. When she sensed someone else, she looked over and saw that Ji Hoon had emerged from the east side of the ballroom. They caught her eyes before flickering their gazes to each other, and then back to Yoori and her masked dancing partner.

From the point she and AJ were standing in, a triangle was formed between the crime lords and herself. Both Kings steadily strode toward the center of the ballroom, merely a couple of feet away from her. Both, just like Kang Min and Jae Won, had curious expressions marked on their faces. They, too, were wondering who she was dancing with.

“What right do you have to tell me what to do?” Yoori asked, shifting her attention back to AJ.

She was hoping that she could stall him from hurting her. Tae Hyun was now subtly veering through the crowd to get to her. He, much like Yoori, did not want to make a scene that would transfer all the attention to her. Ji Hoon was also sifting through the crowd, but his pace was slower. There was a glint of awareness in Ji Hoon’s eyes; it was as if he was trying to make out AJ’s face. It was evident AJ looked familiar to him.

“My blood gives me that right.”

Yoori’s own blood froze when she heard those words.

All the fibers in her body seemed to have awakened as the contents of his statement streamed over her, leaving her with nothing but mystification. Her eyes expanded as she stared up at his. She tried to make out his face behind the mask.

“What did you just say?”

Shock electrocuted her.

He couldn’t be.

He couldn’t be who she thought he was.

There was no way. There was just no way.

“You don’t recognize me right now, but I know that you know who I am,
lil sis.”

Yoori blinked quietly.

It was then that she couldn’t deny it anymore.

A sense of familiarity gushed through her after he called her “lil sis.” She could see in his eyes that he was the one who haunted her dreams. He was the one who hid her from this world and the one who set everything in motion. Her older brother—the King of Scorpions—had finally made his long-awaited appearance.

He did not give her time to react to their unexpected reunion.

Next thing Yoori knew, he was jerking her closer to him, and in an instant, she was cradled against his chest as he ran out onto the patio. They descended down the stairs, hurtling through the perfectly manicured lawn at record pace. The last image she saw before Young Jae ran like the wind was Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon’s eyes enlarging before they ran after her through the crowd. They may have been fast, but An Young Jae was faster—
much faster.

“What are you doing?” Yoori cried, fighting against his grasp. “Where are you taking me?”

Finally meeting her long-lost brother aside, she knew it was a bad idea that the guy was now kidnapping her. Yoori fought to keep her heels buried in the damp grass. Her efforts were in vain. His strength and speed overpowered hers. It didn’t take long for Yoori to deduce that one of Young Jae’s “special skills” was running. He was damn fast.

“They said you died in that fire,” he breathed out, flinging his silver mask across the lawn before staring down at her.

Yoori gasped inwardly. A strong facial structure, prominent nose, and thin lips made up his face. His black hair was grown to his nape, giving him a regal appearance befitting of a King in this world. Finally, there was a face to put on the brother who always appeared in her dreams. A multitude of emotions teemed in his eyes as he stared down at her. Remorse and guilt were the most prevalent emotions.

“If I had known that you didn’t die, then I would’ve searched for you sooner. I should’ve never left you alone in Taecin.” He shook his head, increasing his pace and keeping his grip on her. “I’m sorry that you came this far and got sucked into this world again. But there’s still time to make things right. Only a select few knows about your existence and we’ll keep it that way. I’m taking you somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from here, where the Underworld can’t find you.”

“
What?
” she cried, forgoing all emotional bondage that came when being reunited with your long-lost sibling. Her brother just came back into her life, and now he was taking her away from Tae Hyun?

“No! No, please!” she pleaded, fighting to disentangle her wrist. She wasn’t going to leave Tae Hyun. She had been through too much to be with him.
There was no way in hell she was leaving Tae Hyun again. “I don’t want to go!”

It would’ve been an endearing sight: an older brother dragging his baby sister away from a party for her own good, but Yoori thought it was anything but endearing. At this point, she was just pissed at her brother.

“Damn it!” she snapped. “Let go of me! I have a life here now. I can’t just leave!”