The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (53 page)

Chae Young shrugged languidly. “Well
, Jae Won and Kang Min picked out the diamond set. We all chipped in.” She laughed, jumping over to hug Yoori, who was gazing at the items with disbelief. “No tag-backs, okay?” Chae Young exclaimed. “You have to keep all of it and you have to wear it tomorrow!”

“But—”

“Uh!” Chae Young raised a silencing finger to Yoori, who was trying to pack everything up and give it back to her. “Don’t bother because I’m not taking it back. We shredded the receipt already. Now you better wear it tomorrow and be the pretty hostess that you are.”

Despite the beauty of the diamonds sparkling before her, she was more entranced with the short dress that sat below it. Yoori rasped her fingers over the dress in awe. “Do you think—
”

“Tae Hyun will like it?” Chae Young finished for Yoori, her smile conveying that this was the plan. “He’ll fall to his knees once he sees you in this.”

■
 ■ 
■

Yoori’s hair was swept up the next night. Diamond pins held her hair up like clouds, leaving only a few loose strands to swim close to her ears. She glided across the living room, placing the fine China on the enormous dinner table that Tae Hyun had shipped in specifically for this little dinner party. 

Yoori had never styled her hair in this manner. It had always been too stylish for her. Yet, as soon as the white sleeveless dress came over her chest and fell to her thighs, Yoori knew she couldn’t do justice to the beauty of this dress, or the diamond earrings and diamond bracelet that her friends bought for her, if she had allowed her long black hair to stay down as she usually allowed it to.
 So she placed her hair up and magic happened. 

Even as she stood in front of the full-length mirror, she could see how the light adored her and the outfit she wore. Her bare shoulders glowed in the light, giving off a purity shine of sorts. She even wore diamond-encrusted heels to match. It was silly to say, but she felt like a princess. It was irony to the situation she found herself in. She was in anything but a fairytale story. Regardless, she smiled gently and twirled around, lost in a world where she felt like she was dancing on clouds.

No matter how blissful this moment was, it couldn’t have matched the feeling she felt when Tae Hyun, after about two days of not seeing him, walked into the apartment just as she was lining the champagne glasses. 

His expression was weary when he walked in. However, as soon as he laid eyes on her, Yoori could see the light shine through his eyes. He stopped in his tracks and gazed at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
 

Feeling her breath lodge itself in her chest, Yoori discounted the assumption that he was actually looking at her like he had never seen such beauty. Needless to say, it was a bit conceited of her to acknowledge that, but it was honest to how she really thought he felt. Or was it what she
hoped
he felt? Yoori wasn’t sure. The only thing she was certain of was that she had never felt more beautiful until Tae Hyun walked in and stared at her like she was a dream.

“Thanks for leaving me with all the work, jerk-face,” Yoori casually greeted, breaking the unearthly silence that suspended over them. She hoped there wouldn’t be any tension from his meeting with the Advisors that would transpire here. “This was your dinner party to set up and now, I’m stuck doing all the work.”

“Isn’t that the duty of an assistant?” he asked with warm amusement.

Yoori felt her heart lift. At least he was still in a good mood when he was talking to her. His expression still had remnants of awe sprinkled over them. His lingering gaze fell on her. Shortly after, he broke his attention away. He placed the boxes of dessert on the kitchen counter.
 

“Speaking of which, I think we have to talk about your job,” he announced, nearly causing Yoori to knock over a champagne glass because she was so thrown with his words.

“As fun as this has been, I think it’s time for us to end this ‘working relationship.’ I’ve already decided that your last day would be tomorrow.”

Despite the casualness of his voice, trepidation still swung inside her. The meeting with Jung Min flashed through her mind, along with the concern about things changing between them because of all these external factors.

Yoori attempted to hide the disappointment in her voice. She doubted she was too successful. “You decided all of that after you met with Ju Won and Dong Min?”

Tae Hyun tensed at the soft accusation in her question. He shook his head. His gaze never left her as he continued to speak. “I’ve been thinking about it for awhile now.” His steady voice made her believe that this statement was true. “I’ve stolen you from your world for long enough, and you’ve already helped me with more than I could ever imagine. In saying that, I think it’s time for you to go onto bigger and better things.”
 He smiled reassuringly at her. “I’m doing that thing where I push the bird away from the nest, I guess. Plus, I’ve already spoken to Hyun Woo and Daniel.”

“Your best friends in the 1
st
 layer,” Yoori provided when it seemed like Tae Hyun was about to remind her who they were.

He nodded. “Hyun Woo and Daniel are pretty much the Princes in the 1
st
 layer. Their empires extend everywhere. I spoke to them and I told them about you. I told them how you were interested in the business field and told them how great you are. Whatever field you want to work in, wherever you want to get started in, they can make it happen. And if you’re worried about being further associated with the Underworld, you don’t have to worry. The Underworld association for the 1
st
 layer only pertains to the executives at the top. They never seep down to the employees. Their empires are still legit. It’s just that some of the executives have ties and investments to the 2
nd
and 3
rd
layer too.”

“That sounds like such a great opportunity,” Yoori commented with a forced smile.

However lucky she felt to have such great connections through Tae Hyun, she couldn’t shake the sad feeling spreading through her like a forest fire. It wasn’t that she didn’t have higher aspirations of becoming a more successful person in life. It was just sad that this was Tae Hyun’s subtle way of kicking her to the curb. 

He had finally chosen to get rid of her as his distraction
.

She thought she at least deserved better than this. She paused after a moment’s thought. She couldn’t complain too much. At least she would have a job waiting for her after this ordeal was over. It just sucked that they had to go out like this.
 Then again, she couldn’t blame Tae Hyun. He worked tirelessly to get into his position of power in the Underworld. She could understand why he would get rid of anything that stood in the way of his greatness over this world. 

“So I’ll start packing up then,” she said weakly, fidgeting nervously with her nails. She no longer felt like a Princess…just frumpy old Cinderella.

Tae Hyun looked at her like she had just gone crazy and kicked another duck. “
Why
?”

Yoori returned the “what-the-hell-have-you-been-smoking” stare. “Well, I won’t be your assistant after tomorrow night. You don’t need me around here anymore.”

“What the fuck, Yoori? Who says you’re moving out? I said you’re done being my assistant; I didn’t say anything about you moving out. Are you kidding me?” He fastened his eyes on the bedroom and pointed at it. “Do you know how time consuming it was to move all my clothes from the closet to the drawers so I can make room for your
 
clothes? I didn’t do all that work for nothing. You’re not moving out.”

“You said you’re kicking the bird out of the nest, you confusing
 butthole!” 

“I meant the ‘work’ nest so you can be on the road to ruling over the corporate world, you inattentive
loser.”

Although she was relieved with his answer, it was clear to her that she was too paranoid about the Advisors and their “advices” having an adverse effect on their relationship. She couldn’t pretend to talk about other stuff until they addressed it.

“Tae Hyun, let’s stop beating around the bush. We have to talk about what happened a couple of days ago. What did Ju Won and Dong Min say to you when you met with them?”

Tae Hyun’s eyes dimmed at the reminder.
 

He took a moment to close his eyes. He squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and said, “Do we really have to talk about this now?”
 

Yoori could see that whatever the hell they said to him had been swimming around in his mind too – just like Jung Min’s words were swimming around in hers.

Yoori assertively placed her hands on her silk, chiffon covered hips. “Yes. Now.”

“They told me to stay away from you,” he shared, extracting his fingers from his face. He shrugged and was quiet for a moment before he asked, “What did Jung Min say to you?”

“To stay away from you,” Yoori replied, surprised that Tae Hyun knew about Jung Min. “You knew?”

He blinked his eyes in confirmation. “I told you at the lake house that the Advisors, as mentoring as they can be at times, have the biggest inclination to pit people against each other. Dong Min has invested a lot into me, he’s concerned about the toll it’s taking on my reputation – my status as the potential first Lord of this world.”

“What else did they say?” Yoori asked, certain that Dong Min and Ju Won made it their mission to insert more poisonous things into Tae Hyun’s mind. Did they tell him what type of person Soo Jin was? That she was a vengeful person? That she hated the Serpents with all that she was? 

“It’s not important, Yoori,” Tae Hyun assured. He approached the table with an opened bottle of Cristal. “I didn’t listen to them; I won’t ever listen to them. I know you…I care about you
 a lot and I’m not letting you go. It doesn’t matter what their advisements are.”

Yoori smiled a little at his assurance. She still felt the need to resolve everything.

“We still need to talk about what they said to us,” she persisted, despite her own aversion to it. “Their questionable intentions aside, I still think what they said was valid. We…we should address it.”

“And we will…on another night,” he agreed unenthusiastically. “But for now, let’s enjoy this night. It’s our night.”

Yoori nodded slowly. She wasn’t excited either, but it was one of those things that they couldn’t avoid talking about. Normally, Yoori would be all about avoiding complicating issues. However, she knew she couldn’t run away from this one, especially when it dealt so heavily with Tae Hyun and his safety in this world.

“Tae Hyun,” she whispered, placing a bowl of salad on the table.
 

“Hmm?”

“I trust you,” she emphasized to him. “I really do.”

And she meant it.
Every bit of it.

“I trust you too,” he replied and she knew he meant every word.
 “I always have.”

Relieved that they could place all of that in the backburner for the night, Yoori went back to
the lighter issues at hand. “So no more boss and assistant, huh?” 

Tae Hyun grinned, pouring Cristal into the champagne glass. “No more.”

“I’m not going to miss it,” she stated with relief. “Being your personal assistant sucks.” 

“You were the worst assistant a boss could ask for,” Tae Hyun retaliated with the same tone of relief. “You suck at everything,
especially at washing the dishes. Whenever you’re in the shower, I always run my ass over to the sink to rewash the dishes because you failed so miserably at it.”

Yoori’s mouth hung open at this new revelation. “You seriously did that?”

His careless shrug was his answer. Yoori entertained throwing another insult his way, but she was too distracted with the yummy dishes. What was the point of bickering when there was such beautiful cuisine in front of her?

“
By the way, these look delicious.” She placed a big plate of Korean barbeque pork beside the gargantuan plate of sushi and enormous plate of chow mein. In addition to the three biggest dinner plates on the table, there were also plates of white rice, fried rice, lasagna, turkey, chicken, and an impressive selection of overpriced drinks that Yoori couldn’t believe Tae Hyun bought. It was definitely a feast fit for a gala as opposed to some small dinner. Yoori wasn’t complaining. Her mouth was already watering for the barbeque pork, beef and the kimchi.

Lifting up her gaze, she saw that Tae Hyun had since stopped pouring Cristal into the champagne glass. He was merely holding the bottle in his hand. His eyes were gentle, filled with a different poignancy that Yoori hadn’t seen before. It was enough to cause something in her heart to warm; it was enough to beckon the butterflies in her stomach to come out.
 She wanted to ask him what he was thinking. She found the words frozen at her lips.

He spoke in her place.

“You’re breathtaking.” His voice was simple, but its content rippled with verity.

He
made her
 
breathless.

There was a lingering tone in his voice, like he wanted to use another adjective to describe how beautiful he thought she looked. But instead of using that lingering adjective, Tae Hyun merely said, “I’ve been trying to think up the right word to say once I saw you in that dress, but the best I’ve come up with is that I’m speechless. ‘Breathtaking’ is the only mortal vocabulary that would do justice to anything I’m feeling right now.”

Yoori smiled bashfully. Her cheeks were as rosy as ever. “You know how to annoy and charm me at the same time, don’t you?”

Tae Hyun shrugged lazily, flashing her a smile that would be the downfall of women all over the world. “It’s a gift.”

“Well, you look good too,” she replied, feigning casualness. 

He was wearing a black dress shirt and casual gray pants. He would’ve looked like the boy next door if he weren’t sporting a big fat Rolex that was blinging off his right wrist. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his forearms to permit easier access to handling drinks and food. It failed to hide the wealth he possessed on his wrist.
 

She wanted to say to him, “
You’re breathtaking too,” but restrained the temptation to save face and to not sound too much like a fan girl. 

Before allowing one of those awkward “lovers’” silences to befall them, Yoori broke the silence by casually stating, “I didn’t realize dinner parties were your thing.”

“They’re not. I could care less,” he answered truthfully, pouring Cristal into the final champagne glass. “I do it to humor my baby sister and Chae Young, both of whom say that I don’t share you with them enough and that I owe them a good dinner party to make up for all my ‘selfishness.’ Plus, I know how close you are to those four. This is more to entertain you than them.”

Yoori laughed, purposely ignoring the last bit for it caused her rosy cheeks to turn scarlet. He definitely had a way with words.
 

She placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the big feast surrounding them. It was odd how normal it felt to be standing with Tae Hyun like this – like they were just a normal couple celebrating dinner with friends. It couldn’t have been more heartwarming for Yoori. She had never done something like this before.
 

“Do you think we could finish all of this?”

“Are you kidding?” he asked incredulously. “We’re 
under
-serving with the pigs coming to town.” He paused. “Well, not Hae Jin or Chae Young but the other two.”

“Don’t say that,” Yoori warned, even though she secretly laughed at his comment.

“But have you seen Jae Won?” he persisted with a playful chuckle. “He’s gained a bit of weight since joining the gang. I actually joked about it offhandedly when I was talking to both of them and the whole ‘your ass is fat’ caught on from then.”

Yoori’s eyes bloomed like a rose. “
You
 were the one who started the insult?” 

This came out of nowhere. She thought it was Kang Min who came up with the insult this entire time!

Tae Hyun nodded, his face showing a hint of guilt. “I said it to shut him up about something and it worked. Some of the guys have been saying it, but it just happened to be me who vocalized it first. The bad thing for him was that Kang Min was there so the insult within the gang pretty much spread like fire. I actually feel a bit bad, but his reactions are just so entertaining.”

“So you’re really close to them, aren’t you?” It was a question Yoori never really thought to ask. She had always just assumed that Kang Min was deathly afraid of Tae Hyun and that Jae Won, after the whole “I just kicked your ass so your gang has to merge with my gang” fiasco, hated Tae Hyun like no other.
 

It just proved how self-involved Yoori had been. She hadn’t taken notice at the park where the brothers were both so comfortable around Tae Hyun – even Jae Won, who she still hadn’t forgotten had told her he didn’t know if Tae Hyun could be trusted. Though Kang Min resc
inded his statement, Jae Won had yet to rescind his and that bothered her. She trusted Jae Won like he was her younger brother and it perturbed her that he didn’t trust Tae Hyun fully.

“I’ve always been close to Kang Min,” he shared distractedly, fixing some of the dinner plates around to make it look more presentable. “Jae Won was annoying to deal with in the beginning but we’ve seen eye-to-eye on a couple of things and I think he’s getting more comfortable now.” He smiled to himself. “Possibly a bit
too comfortable but all in all, we’re close enough.”

The doorbell rang when Tae Hyun finished speaking. The melody was soon followed by two hard knocks that had Tae Hyun approaching the door and Yoori standing beside the dinner table, inwardly clapping at the prospect of her friends finally arriving.
 

“Oppa!” Hae Jin’s excited voice sang through the apartment once the door flew open.

Like a child, she threw herself into her older brother’s arms. She hung from his neck as he picked her up with care. Laughing, Tae Hyun effortlessly lifted her up and embraced her as well. Hae Jin was wearing a black trench coat over her black halter dress and she couldn’t have looked cuter. 

“What the hell, lil sis?” he asked playfully, shaking her around like she was a rag doll. From the looks of it, it seemed that Tae Hyun gave this greeting to Hae Jin often. “Why are you still so skinny?”

“I gained weight!” Hae Jin retorted when he placed her down. 

“She’s lying! This punk hardly eats!” Kang Min stated
heartily, smiling after he walked in and gave a quick bow to Tae Hyun.

Kang Min was sporting a black leather jacket over his black slacks. Tae Hyun nodded as his means of greeting Kang Min and returned his attention to his sister.
 

“Traitor!” Hae Jin berated at a laughing Kang Min. She playfully shoved Kang Min before turning to her brother. “I do eat, oppa.”

“Apparently not enough,” Tae Hyun observed. He gently pushed her to the dinner table. “Hurry and eat before you get blown away when the wind comes.”

Kang Min laughed as Tae Hyun gave him a quick pat on the shoulder.
 “Should we test that theory?”

“
Bah!” Hae Jin bitterly replied before she spotted Yoori. “Yoori!” she squealed happily, her arms already stretched out as she ran to her. 

“Hae Jin!” Yoori squealed back. Under normal circumstances, Yoori wouldn’t be the type of girl who would squeal. Yet, it was hard not to be affected when someone as bubbly as Hae Jin runs to you like you’re the most amazing thing on earth.
 

Damn Kwon siblings
, Yoori thought. 
They have so much charm.

She watched Tae Hyun greet Jae Won and Chae Young.

“Tae Hyun, everything looks so yummy! Good job!” Chae Young exclaimed with approval. She gave him a hug. She was also dressed in a black dress. The only difference was that she wore a black cardigan over it to make it look a bit more preppy. “And you ordered the dishes we requested too!”

“Yes, I appreciated the long list you guys gave me,” he replied with warm sarcasm. “We could’ve gone to a buffet and it would’ve cost me less money.”