The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (16 page)

“Okay…” Yoori said again, this time listening carefully.
 

“When you kissed him…what happened to your world?”
 

“Weird things happening in the environment around me doesn’t mean that we should be together,” Yoori protested, refusing to answer.
 

Chae Young’s features hardened. “Yes I know, but it does mean that you like him. We just have to figure out how much.”
 

Yoori sighed, not wanting to answer. She blinked in frustration and then made a thoughtless comment. “The easy part should be figuring out if you like someone...”
 

“And the hard part should be figuring out if you belong with them,” Chae Young finished for her.
 

Lost in her thoughts, Yoori asked, “In your opinion, how would you know if you belong with someone?”
 

Chae Young paused to deliberate. “If you keep coming back to each other—even if you don’t want to.” Chae Young bit her lips, trying to recall something.
  “What are those things called where you throw them and they keep coming back to you?” 

“Boomerangs,” Yoori provided. Sudden warmth illuminated over her when she was reminded of her conversation with Tae Hyun on that leaky boat.
 

“Ah yes…boomerangs…” Chae Young said nodding again. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. My only objective right now is to help you figure out the easy part. You’re on your own with the hard part. Stop wasting time and tell me what happened while you kissed him.”
 

“It will never work out between us,” Yoori resisted, unwilling to answer.
 

“Uh-uh,” Chae Young said dismissively. “That wasn’t my question. You’re always so stubborn. Just answer it, will you? I’ll tell you what it means. ”
 

Though she didn’t want to answer, Yoori knew that she would have to share. It was in Chae Young's nature to be persistent. There was no use in prolonging the inevitable.

Yoori blinked in dread and indulged her friend. “My world stopped, then came to life, and spun for him.” 

Chae Young grinned expectantly. “That means you like him.”
 

Something pulled at Yoori’s heart.
 The answer was too obvious.

“That was because I was caught up in the moment. After we were done,
 my world came crashing down,” Yoori stated ominously, thinking this would deter Chae Young from her first statement. “Doesn’t that mean something stronger?”

Yoori was surprised when she saw that Chae Young
was still smiling. 

“That means you like him…
a lot.”

Yoori laughed at Chae Young’s reply. Feigning an understanding nod, she smiled at her friend. It was palpable to her that she wasn’t going to get an objective answer here.
 

“Did the world send you back to me to try and push me into
 falling for Kwon Tae Hyun?” she asked suspiciously.

Chae Young shook her head, her face sympathetic.
 “No, I’m here to shine some light on a couple of things you refuse to acknowledge. You’ve always been amazingly stubborn, my dear friend. Always in denial about anything and everything that may have the power to make you vulnerable to getting hurt.” Chae Young then smiled reassuringly. “But that’s okay. You’ll come around. You always do.” 

When it looked like Chae Young was about to bid goodbye and leave, she suddenly turned around and faced a skeptical Yoori again.

“Oh and by the way,” she began whimsically. “I can’t push someone who has already fallen.”

“For every injustice. . .”

08: The Epiphany of a God

A swarm of ice-cold wind filtered into Yoori’s skin once she stepped outside the grocery store. Yoori folded her arms across her shivering chest in an attempt to keep herself warm. 

Cooped up within the confines of the store, Yoori had no idea that the weather had become this bad. The sky was darker and much angrier than her last meeting
with it. Resounding screams of thunders could be heard as Yoori did her best to stand outside, fighting the unforgiving cold. 

After bidding good
bye to Chae Young, Yoori knew that the couple must’ve wanted their alone time before Jae Won took her home. At first, Yoori insisted that she wait in line to pay for all the grocery items she picked out. She wanted to give them the opportunity to go off somewhere on their own and spend time with each other. Much to the resistance of Chae Young and Jae Won, Yoori had to back down when they insisted that they wait in line with her. 

Determined to give the couple some time alone – and to avoid Chae Young after that
 enlightening speech that Yoori was skeptical about – Yoori manufactured a lie about wanting some fresh air and ran out of the line before they could stop her. She was ready to give herself a pat on the back for being so considerate until she stepped foot outside. 

As her teeth clattered like cans against one another, Yoori regretted her decision. She knew it was going to be cold,
 yes, but she had no idea it was going to be this cold. Even her Uggs were shivering. 

She tried to think of warm, happy thoughts
. It was truly a cursed attempt because Yoori’s first inclination was to stare longingly into the windows of the grocery store. Her eyes caught sight of Jae Won and Chae Young. They were waiting in line, hugging and laughing while they flipped through the various magazines next to the cashier line. Every now and then, they would give quick kisses to one another before hugging again. 

Unnerved by the ripple of envy that inundated her, she turned away, no longer able to stare without feeling a downpour of despondence wash over her.
 Uncrossing her arms, her hands found the respective pockets of her jacket. While her left hand found an empty haven to take solace in, her right hand found an unexpected object that occupied the space of her pocket. 

Yoori grabbed the object and took it out.
 

It was her non-prescribed glasses that Jae Won returned to her
. 

It sat steadily on the foundation of her right palm; the glass surface of the dark-rimmed glasses showed a modest reflection of Yoori.

Chae Young’s voice accompanied her as she fell through a state of contemplation.
“I can’t push someone who has already fallen.”

Yoori knew very well how silly she looked wearing these non-prescribed glasses. She also knew, regardless of the fact that it was her favorite accessory, how peculiarly eye catching her bright teal crochet beret was. To top it off, her black Uggs made her look more like a vertically challenged elf than a tall fashionista.
 

Yes.

Yoori was terribly ashamed to admit that she not only knew all of this, but she also purposely chose all these accessories
because
 she knew all this. It was a show of desperation on her part. She wanted to make herself a walking target so Tae Hyun would be tempted to talk to her again. She wanted him to make fun of her so that they could squash the awkwardness they were plagued with. She wanted to go back to the days before that stupid kiss made things terribly tense between them. 

Yoori never thought she’d be the one to admit it but she missed Tae Hyun and his teasing nature.
 She missed talking to him. Who knew an unexpected kiss could be the cause of this headache for Yoori? 

She exhaled sadly and placed the glasses back in her pocket. She allowed her eyes to rest on the pavement of the sidewalk, its shiny exterior marked with remnants of rainwater.
 Her mind began to wade through all the possible ways she could go back to the apartment and start talking to Tae Hyun again. Who knew Tae Hyun would be so good with the silent treatment? What was going through this guy’s mind? All Yoori could do was wonder. 

As she stole another glimpse at the status of Chae Young and Jae Won’s queue in line, a thrash of wind stole her unyielding attention. The wind brought a cloud of scattered mist and swam right through her.
 Before a scream could escape her lips, the gust of wind stole something from her. Her teal crochet beret. 

Yoori’s eyes exploded in urgency. She watched her beret fly upward with the powerful draft. The unforgiving force of mist and wind thrashed violently against her long black hair, leaving her frozen with shock. The shock lasted
momentarily. Unfeeling of the merciless cold, her eyes locked on her beret as it flew further and further out of sight. Adrenaline pumping through her, Yoori felt her legs take off, matching in pace with the velocity of the wintry wind. She had to get it back! 

The soles of her Uggs impaled themselves within the core of rain puddles that sat scattered throughout the sidewalk. Splashes of cold water flew into the air as she ran, her breathing growing steady with her running.
 She had to get it back. She had to get her beret back. Her day was already bad enough. She couldn't let it end so terribly.

The unexpected chase took Yoori down two vacant blocks.
 The howling wind began to die down when she reached the second block, the force of its power lowering the beret down to earth. Yoori smiled at the sight. She thought the beret would fall straight to the ground. Instead, the residual air blew it into the opening of an alleyway. 

“Oh shit,” Yoori muttered under her breath, ceasing with her running.
 

Of all the rotten luck..
. 

It had to be her luck that her beret would tumble into an alley of all places.
 

Yoori considered running back to the grocery store and forgetting her beret. She reconsidered that immediately.
 Wouldn’t all that running be a waste if she didn’t at least try to get it back? She entertained the idea of going back to get Jae Won and having him accompany her to get the beret. But wouldn’t that be a waste of
his
time? She bit her lips, her mind venturing on. Who was to say there were gang members in the alley? Who would be out in this terrible weather?

I’ll take a peek and if someone is there, I’ll make a run for it
, she assured herself. Inwardly nodding at the precaution she was taking, Yoori tiptoed to the right corner of the building wall that stood as a guard for the pathway into the alley. Once her hands reached the brick wall, she carefully tilted her head out to determine what was in the alley. 

To her heart’s content, all Yoori saw was an empty alley that housed her teal beret. The beret sat motionless in the center of the long alleyway.
 

Run in, grab it, and leave
, Yoori instructed herself. Plan set, Yoori threw herself out from behind the wall and raced into the alley. The resounding trot of her shoes and her heavily shrilled breathing could be heard as it echoed off the high alley walls. 

Her sprinting was quick.

Too quick. 

Too quick and too careless.
 

“
Ahh!” Oblivious to the crack in the pavement that impeded her running, Yoori took a nosedive when she reached her beret. However, thanks to her quick reflexes, Yoori was able to avoid the collision between her face and the concrete. 

Instinctively extending both hands forward and laying them flat on the wet pavement, Yoori swiftly repositioned herself so the landing was done on her kneecaps instead of her chin.
 

Her heart breathed faintly, its beats thankful that Yoori avoided
 another bone shattering accident. As she steadied her breathing, her brown eyes landed on the beret that rested on the concrete. 

“This is because you’re my favorite accessory,
” Yoori voiced, shaking her head at the teal beret.

Her kneecaps resting on the pavement, Yoori grabbed the beret.
 Her first inclination was to grab it and run out. Yet, when her fingers enclosed around the soft fabric, an urge to take a look around the alley clamped over her. 

It was an odd urge that became the catalyst for what occurred seconds later.
 

Sprinkles of rain cascaded down on her, its damp touch accompanying her eyes as they bloomed with a sudden bout of realization.
 

There was something very familiar about this alley.

Why does this place feel like déjà vu?
she asked herself, the sprinkles of the rain picking up. She continued to kneel on the concrete. 

The answer to her question came in a roar of thunder that infiltrated the world beneath it. At the same moment, a string of voices and familiar images filtered through Yoori’s mind
when she looked upward at the dark sky. The reflection of lightning coursed in her eyes. 

Slowly, purposely and intentionally...the reminder as to why this alley felt
 so familiar came to her in a string of dream sequences that had been plaguing her since she arrived in Seoul.