The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (32 page)

His brows creased into a deep frown at his sister’s logic.
 “And you think killing yourself will make things right?”

She nodded freely, the tears finally escaping her eyes. Her broken and weak voice spoke again.
 “I just can’t live like this anymore. It hurts...” She bit her quivering lips. “It hurts to breathe.”

Her brother shook his head. He stared down at her, the needle she had given him firmly held between his fingers. “Do you realize the risks involved with that formula you gave me? If I inject it into you, there’s no guarantee that you’ll die. You’ll be paralyzed, thrown into a coma, or even lose your mind – all of which would be worse than death. Will you be able to handle those type of lives if this doesn't kill you?”

“The amount I gave you will ensure death. A quick and easy one at that.” 

Her stubbornness began to aggravate his patience. “I can’t believe you called me over here to listen to all of this.”

“Please,” she continued, holding onto her older brother just as he was about to leave. Her hold on him was strong. It was just as strong as her desperate eyes, which was beckoning him to consider her request. “You know I can’t break my ties from this world unless you do it.”

He was quiet for a long while, lost in his own contemplation. It was clear he was considering all the options available.
 When he spoke, she had anticipated him to ask her why she had to do this, why she had to kill herself to make things right. She had anticipated him to ask her how she became so weak. The next words out of his mouth took her by surprise. 

“What life would be better than this one, baby sister?” He was attentive when he awaited her answer. The content of his own question surprised him
too. 

She deliberated his question. Tears stroked her lips. What a dangerous question to ask someone who wanted to kill herself... Would it hurt to answer? No, it would be nice to answer. It would be nice
to hear the answer even if she’d never truly get to live it.

“If I had it my way, I’d start over. I’d want a life far away from here…away from all of this…one where I can just breathe…one where I can just be human again…”

■ ■ 
■

It was a dreary Saturday morning in Mint Park, an affluent park area known for its well-groomed scenery, spacious surroundings, and tranquil ambiance. Saturday mornings at Mint Park were always calm, especially in the winter when the light of the gray morning loomed overhead. The wind was cool, but not so cold where people needed bundles of layers to go out. The park, though filled with people, was a serene one. 

It was peaceful until a happy squeal illuminated the once quiet ambiance.
 

“Ahhhhh! Hahahahaha!”

Park goers, those of whom consisted primarily of joggers, sight see-ers, and scenic photographers instinctively whipped their heads in the direction of the voice. A crooked smile crept onto each of their faces once they saw the heart-warming scene before them. 

A couple had just raced down the jogging track of the park. The boyfriend, who was panting relentlessly, was shirtless as he only wore a pair of black basketball shorts and black running shoes. His girlfriend, who had her black hair tied up in a ponytail that bounced every which way as she came down the track, was dressed in black shorts, black running shoes, and a sky blue workout tank top.
 

The park goers smiled, not because they had never seen couples workout together before, but because this particular couple had an interesting approach to working out
 together. The boyfriend, as striking as he was, looked forlorn as he heaved violently, his jogging pace decreasing when they neared a park bench that was no doubt his preferred resting spot. On the flip side, the girlfriend looked utterly at ease with herself. A gorgeous smile remained bloomed across her lips. Her arms were encircled around his neck while he was giving her a piggyback ride. It seemed that she enjoyed the “ride” and the “workout” immensely. Even as her boyfriend jogged unenthusiastically down the pathway, her smile never faltered. 

“Faster, assistant! Faster!” Yoori urged happily.

She giggled beside Tae Hyun’s ear. 

At her command, Tae Hyun, who was still heaving for air –
quite bitterly at that – increased the acceleration of his jog for the final haul. 

“
Yaaay!” she cheered merrily, tightening her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes. Her smile widened with ecstasy. The morning wind whispered past her face and into the locks of her ponytail, leaving her to bask in the glory of being Tae Hyun’s “boss” for the past glorious week. 

Oh yes, time definitely flies by fast when you’re having fun
, Yoori thought when she opened her eyes and leaned her chin on Tae Hyun’s bouncing shoulder. And, boy, did she have fun.

For the past six days, Yoori had a blast with being Tae Hyun’s boss. To say that she had taken revenge on Tae Hyun for being such a demanding boss over the past couple of months would be an understatement. She had completely tortured the poor guy over the course of the past six days and she damn well loved it.
 

Yoori had Tae Hyun, who at first still seemed quite assured that she was too chicken to torture him, perform the usual chores that consisted of cleaning up the apartment, doing all the laundry, washing all the dishes, and driving her anywhere she wanted to go.
 Easy stuff and she knew that. Her wicked fun, and the ultimate demise of his confidence that she didn’t have the nerve to be such a demanding boss, came in the form of unreasonable demands that killed any energy Tae Hyun had. 

In the middle of the night, where she still wouldn’t allow Tae Hyun to sleep on the bed, she would wake up more than once and unabashedly shake Tae Hyun awake. After pulli
ng the poor guy out of his much-needed sleep, she proceeded to tell him that she needed a bedtime story so that she could fall back to sleep. Feeling quite lazy to read her romance novels, she threw a chunky paperback book at him and instructed him to read her the story until she fell asleep. 

Whenever it looked like he was about to combat her wishes, Yoori always made sure he saw the crease of a frown form on her face. Evidently hell-bent on not upsetting her too much, as he was still trying to get back on her good side, he pouted as he dejectedly opened the book and started reading from it. The poor guy, who looked like he was so miserable and was ready to fall asleep before her, kept on reading for a good two hours until Yoori finally fell back asleep. Once that time passed, much to his own horror, he realized that even though Yoori was able to sleep through the morning, he had to wake up soon after
to go to the local grocery store to buy breakfast food that she demanded he make for her every morning. 

She actually felt
 pretty guilty about all that…especially when she saw him hiding in the corner, sleeping soundly when she sought him out to make her the heavenly tea. Not that she blamed him for sleeping in corners – or hiding for that matter. 

Essentially any moment where Tae Hyun was beside her, she’d make him do the most horrendous things that any sane guy would commit suicide over.
 

Craving special ice anyone
? Yoori made Tae Hyun sit on the kitchen counter for hours on end, carving her stars out of ice cubes. The labors of his hard work dissipated before his eyes when Yoori unknowingly turned on the heat in the apartment and melted everything in plain sight. Poor Tae Hyun’s pale hands wouldn’t stop shaking after that horrible ordeal. 

Shopping anyone?
 Yoori had never been much of a shopper but for the past week, she had the biggest urge to shop. This ultimately meant countless hours of Tae Hyun trotting around with her in stores, waiting in line for the fitting rooms for her, and waiting in line to help pay for everything. It got so horrible for him that he even offered to buy the whole mall for her so he wouldn’t have to deal with shopping with her. She still didn’t know if he was serious about that or not. If all of that wasn’t terrible enough, the girl started having cravings for working out. And in working out, she meant him giving her piggyback rides while jogging all around the neighborhood while she just screamed, “Faster, assistant! Faster!” 

“You’re an effen horrible person,” Tae Hyun scathingly spat out after he sat a very happy Yoori down on the bench. He was clearly pushed over the edge for that was the third time in the recent week that he called her a bad name.

“Evil, that’s what you are,” he panted after he collapsed onto the bench. His abdomen rose and fell dramatically while he tried to coordinate his state of breathing. 

“I should punish you for calling me names but I’ll forgive you since you just ran a couple of miles for me,” she replied sympathetically.

She cast her eyes onto the bench instead of on his tantalizing abs. 
My, my, my…how sexy those things look though…
She sighed, taking stock of his fatigued countenance. She felt guilty for wearing him out so much, but not guilty enough to wipe the pretty little smile off her face. She moved closer to him with the intention of making him feel better. What fun would all of this be if Tae Hyun wasn’t at least civil with her? 

“Come on,” she began, nudging him. She pouted when he kept his eyes closed, refusing to make eye contact with her.
 “Fine, if you can’t handle this, then you can quit,” she suggested almost mockingly. She knew what to say to get him to talk to her again. “You’ve actually been a pretty good assistant this week. If you’re too weak to continue on, then you can quit.” 

“Quit?” His eyes flew open. He sat up straight and narrowed his eyes onto her. “I nearly killed myself this week being your assistant and you’re telling me I can quit?” He laughed dryly. “Thanks for the offer,
 
boss
, but I agreed to take this punishment like a man and I’ll come out like one.” He then snorted. “And ‘pretty good’ assistant? I’ve been nothing short of amazing.” 

“You talk back though. That’s a no-no in my
 Master handbook – err
– ” 
She stopped when she realized she said something unfiltered and offensive. “Sorry I meant ‘Boss’ handbook, not ‘Master’ handbook. Heh...I don’t know why that came out…” 

He shook his head at her. “That’s because I’m your
 
assistant
, not your 
slave
.” He stopped to glare at her in bitterness. “The difference of those terms may have gotten lost on some people but I reserve the right to be able to at least talk back. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.” 

“Fine,” Yoori
said quietly, crossing her arms and casting her eyes over to the scene of two parents teaching their son how to ride a bike. She was still secretly happy that Tae Hyun was willing to be her assistant until his term ended, but she wanted to fake being sad and forlorn with him so he wouldn’t be too bitter with her. She was sneaky like that.

They were quiet for long seconds before Tae Hyun, who had since calmed down, turned to her. “And were you having a dream this morning? I heard you murmuring something when I woke up to shower. You seemed pretty bothered.”

However hostile their previous topic of conversation was, he seemed genuinely concerned when he asked this. That was the thing about Tae Hyun and Yoori – they were that versatile as a conversational couple that they could go from bickering, to having a heart to heart within a moment’s distraction. This change in mood was no exception. 

Yoori shrugged, recalling having a dream. She just couldn’t recall what it was she dreamt about.

“I don’t know, maybe? I don’t really remember the dreams I have anymore.”

It was an honest reply. After finding out that she was An Soo Jin, Yoori had been consciously, and subconsciously, freaked out about having dreams. She wouldn’t be surprised if she was having dreams but was too subconsciously afraid to recall them. Not that she cared too much. Her dreams were never good dreams anyway.

“It’s funny because I remember mine clearly,” Tae Hyun shared whimsically.

Yet again, the mood was switched up as quickly as it was switched down.
 

She eyed him. Naughtiness was in his eyes when he stated this. It really made Yoori curious.
 “What’d you dream about?” 

His eyes grew strangely sultry when he smiled at her. She almost regretted asking that question. Before she could even rescind her words, he had answered.

“I dreamt that my little assistant has been 
very
 bad as of late.” Yoori held back a knowing smirk as he went on. “I also dreamt that today would be the seventh and final day of my punishment. In the dream, I remember telling her, ‘You should definitely watch how you treat me today because I’ve been keeping track of everything you’ve been doing and rest assured that I’m ready to return the favor.’” 

She laughed
fretfully when she was reminded that payback was just around the corner. Of course Tae Hyun wouldn’t go down without a good fight.

“Aww, that’s
 true, right? Our roles switch tomorrow...” 

Tae Hyun nodded smugly, unable to smother the grin off his face. He was deviously happy.
 

Yoori smiled back, not afraid of Tae Hyun and what his payback may be. “Are you going to make me give you piggyback rides too? Or make me carve stars out of ice? Or perhaps burn the romance novels I made you read?”