The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (68 page)

He went on with difficulty, like he could sense the toll it was taking on her. Even then, she could see the concern for her bubble in his eyes.

“Then two weeks after, I saw on the news that the Skulls had left a carnage of dead gang members in a building in Echo District. Ji Hoon had carved a Skull onto each of their cheeks, an infamous branding technique that he always employs to promote his gang. The move went against all the bylaws pertaining to our confidentiality, but it was effective enough to propel his position above mine.” 

His expression hardened at the mention of Ji Hoon and the predicament he found himself in.
 

“I couldn’t have that and I knew how to blow him out of the water. There was a small gang, one that would overshadow any recruits he may have gotten from that publicity stunt.”

He swallowed tightly. 

“I had long tried to get Jae Won’s gang under my wings. His gang was small, no harm to me if he never joined, but because he was
personally
trained by Soo Jin…because he was Soo Jin’s right-hand man, he had skills that no other small-time gang leader possessed. Even in small numbers, the Dragons were respected and I knew I needed them by my side to supersede any recruits Ji Hoon may have gotten from Echo District’s carnage. But I knew Jae Won’s type. I knew even under the cloak of death, he wouldn’t bow down to me…not unless I had someone by my side who commanded his respect—
his loyalty
.” 

His eyes met hers. They were gentle and caring as they always were whenever they gazed at her. Yet as Yoori stared back into his eyes, she didn’t feel any warmness. All she felt was immeasurable pain and betrayal.
 

“You were the key to all of that. I would’ve needed you by my side for a few short months until the merger settled. When I went back to the diner to get you, I had two of my men walk into the sea of people coming out of the subway to identify you
once more to make sure that you actually resembled Soo Jin. One of them had bumped into you and sure enough, by how he was shaking in fear, you resembled her enough to make fearful cowards out of them. So I had them go ahead. I had them go find Jae Won first and told them that I would bring you later and I’d get the merger I wanted.”

“You wore the hat because of the security cameras,” she noted mindlessly, ignoring the throb of anger in her voice.
 

He nodded morosely. “I knew who worked there and I knew that there were security cameras there. In the timeframe that I had you, I knew I had to get you out of there fast so I did the only thing I knew would work quickly: I had to blackmail you and force you out of there.”

“What did you do to the coffee pot?”

“Unscrewed it…very quickly before you came back so that it would be more than ready to shatter onto my hands when you lifted it up.”

“What would you have done if I didn’t leave that coffee pot there for you?”

“Something else,” he answered faintly. “My end plan was to get you to leave with me. How I went about it wouldn’t have mattered.”

Yoori snorted resentfully before something crossed her bitter mind. “You said the plan was never to ‘steal Ji Hoon’s girl.’ So why did you bring me to the warehouse to meet him?”

“Because I was angry when he left that voicemail of my sister,” Tae Hyun answered at once, his voice touched with enduring anger. “I hate him more than anything and for him to leave such a disgusting voicemail for me, I couldn’t think. All I saw was anger and all I saw was my revenge when I saw you sitting on the couch. My original plan was to bring you to the warehouse for him to see me wi
th you—to kill him with jealousy that the love of his life was with me. But when the time drew near, I had a change of heart. I grew protective over you. Even then, I had already grown attached to you. That was why I had you wait for me in that limo…because I didn’t want you to meet him and I didn’t want to wrap you up in our mess.”

He smirked bitterly. “Obviously that planned changed when you came running back for me. When despite my efforts to keep you away, you were there regardless, helping me – someone who pretty much blackmailed you into slavery.”

Yoori heard the chaotic emotions in his voice and she knew that was the moment when she made her impact on him.

It was probably the moment where she found a place in his heart.
 

Ignoring the twinge of hope surging through her that perhaps they could look pass all of this, that Tae Hyun genuinely fell for her, she went on, her stubborn mind eager to find out everything before she allowed her emotions to erupt.

“Why have me as your assistant?”

“I didn’t want to involve any emotions into it. I only needed you for a couple of months. I made you my assistant because I needed you by my side at all times. I needed you with me to continue to demand Jae Won’s loyalty. It was just supposed to be for a couple of months. After things got settled, I figured I could just pay you and send you on your way.”

Her hopes were again dashed after hearing this. 
“…pay you and send you on your way...”
 Pay her like she was a rental car used only for his personal amusement. The cruelty and selfishness of his plan offended her on all levels. 

His face softened once he noticed the pain coursing through her expression. They knew each other long enough that Tae Hyun could read the emotions streaming throughout her entire body. He knew she felt that he only saw her as something worthless and he was determined to convince
her that she had always meant more to him. 

“It was
never
part of the plan to fall for you. I used all the power at my disposal to keep that from happening because even subconsciously, I knew you were going to be my downfall. I kept trying to distance myself from you, yet I could never go far because I always yearn to be around you. You were like a drug…an addiction I couldn’t kick no matter how hard I tried.” 

He saw her shake her head, the anger boiling within her streaming out.

“Yoori, please don’t look at me like that," he whispered, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I was a different person then. I’ve changed since then when it comes to you.”

As if pained by the fact that she had already emotionally distanced herself from him, he tried to reach out to her.
 

“I trusted you from the beginning,” Yoori instead seethed, jumping off the bed and backing away from Tae Hyun. Rage pumped in her blood. She couldn’t let him touch her anymore, not after all that he had done to her.
 

“I had always believed that you would never hurt me. I had always believed that you were the good guy in this world. When others told me not to trust you, I blew them off because I didn’t feel that they would know you better than me – because
I’m
the one around you constantly.” She laughed self-mockingly. “Yet you’ve been using me since the beginning…you’ve
lied
to me since the beginning.” 

Wrath was rising through her and she wanted nothing more than to lash out at him.
 

She hated him.

She hated him so much. 

“I had planned on telling you sooner but something gets in the way of it every time.” Confliction coursed in his voice. “I knew I had to tell you. I just wanted to find the right time for you when you were ready.”

“When you were ready
.” Yoori wanted to laugh at those words. Who would’ve been ready for all this? Fury spiked within her, the first spark that would inevitably cause her to explode. She shook her head once she thought of all those times they spent together, all their silly moments. It was all tainted now. It was all tainted with his lies. 

“You
 bastard
…
” Yoori finally hissed. The weight of everything falling apart in her little world spilled upon her.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”
 

She lost it when her hands collided with his chest.

“You brought me into this world just because you wanted to get the fucking merger your gang needed?!”

She pushed against him, causing him to slam against the
shelf where the soup once sat. It fell with a loud crash, the content of the soup and glass crashing onto their bare feet. She felt her feet bleed. She ignored it and continued to shove him. Anger overtook her. 

“You’re the reason for all of this!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “You’re the reason why my life is being put through hell! You’re the reason why the Advisors are after me again!”

She continued to push him because he allowed her too, because even then, she saw in his eyes that he knew he deserved every abuse she wanted to give him. Yoori continuously shoved Tae Hyun against the shelf, all the contents above it crashing down in a million pieces. Their bare feet bled profusely at the millions of glass eating at their skins. 

“You’re the reason why Chae Young was raped – because people like Jin Ae are after me now! You’re the reason why I’m here right now! EVERYTHING THAT HAS FUCKED UP IN MY LIFE WAS THE RESULT OF YOU! THE RESULT OF
 
YOU
 AND YOUR GREED!” 

She was falling apart,
 
exploding
. Her last shred of sanity was Tae Hyun. Her last shred of sanity was the one who stole her heart and now…having realized he was only using her…like an object all along…it pushed her...completely pushed her over the edge. 

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?” Her was voice heavy with shrill as she stared at his pale face.

He was speechless, his expression completely broken while he stared at her in misery.

Her vision blurred, not because she was ready to faint but because it was tears that were blurring her vision. She was crying. She was fucking crying again. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she tasted the saltiness of her tears. She didn’t realize she was crying until she saw the unfathomable pain in Tae Hyun’s eyes, his distress that she had
been pushed beyond all boundaries of emotions. 

“Me? Of all people you did this to
me!
” The sobs spilled out of her chest and into her broken voice. “After all we’ve been through, how could you do this to me?” 

“You don’t think all of this kills me right now?” Tae Hyun finally shouted back, his expression torn apart from agony. “You don’t think I know that every time you’re in pain or every time you’re crying now…it’s because of that fucking decision I made in the beginning?”
 

He tried to reach out to her again, yet she escaped from his hold, causing him to breathe in pain
while he stared at her longingly. 

“I would do anything for you,” he went on agonizingly. “And the sole fact that I can’t stop you from hurting right now is killing me more than you’ll ever know.”
 

“Stop…just
stop…” The tears wouldn’t stop when she finally backed away from him. It wouldn’t stop echoing from her chest as she pressed her fists against her stomach. It wouldn’t stop. The pain…the betrayal…the anger…
none
 of it stopped. 

“It rips me apart every time I think back to the moment I brought you into this world.” His soothing words were like knives to her. It tore at her soul. “It rips me apart every time to know that I’m the reason why your life is being put through hell right now. If I could go back in time and prevent that moment from happening, I would! If I knew what I know now, then I would’ve never placed you through all this pain because you’re worth more to me than this world.”
 

“Stop lying to me!” Yoori screamed, suddenly tossing the teapot in his direction. She didn’t even realize that she had held onto it for leverage.
 

It scarcely missed and barreled into the wall behind him, spilling out water and broken glass that nipped the side of his neck before falling to the floor.
 He didn’t even try to move out of the way. The surface wound on his neck started to bleed. He paid no mind to it and desperately tried to reach out to her.

“Stop it! JUST STOP IT!” Having enough, Yoori dodged out of his reach and was out of the bedroom before Tae Hyun could get a hold of her.
 

It didn’t matter that they didn’t know each other in the beginning. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know her. None of that mattered because for Yoori, his lies since the beginning tainted everything she had with him. All the wonderful memories…all the laughter…all the hope…everything was tainted now.

How was she supposed to look at him when he didn’t have the decency to tell her all of this when she bared her soul to him the other night? There were so many chances for him to confess to her, plenty of chances for him to be honest with her. Yet he waited…waited until fate grew impatient and had her confront him instead. 

She ran past the living room where unlit candles and icicle lights continued to adorn not only the room
but the balcony outside. Yoori recalled the cakes they both forgot on the balcony, the Red Velvet cake she made him and the Oreo Cookies & Cream ice cream cake he bought her. The memory pained her and was her catalyst for wanting to leave as soon as possible. She couldn’t be with him anymore. She couldn’t even look at him without feeling her chest tighten in anguish. It felt like it had been a lifetime ago since they promised each other that they’d find Paris together.