by Con Template
"They were actually supposed to make $6,000," Yoori said brightly, determined to save them from getting their asses kicked. "They made $4,000 more for you."
Min and friends looked up, stunned that Yoori was protecting them.
Tae Hyun's head shot up too.
"What?” he practically shouted. He went for the notebook. “Let me see."
She slapped his hand away and tried to run off. She was reminded that she couldn't get too far with the anchoring of their mutual cuffs. She groaned and sat back down in exasperation. She glared at him.
"Don't you trust me?" she asked sternly, her breath growing unsteady. Yoori could feel beads of sweat form on her forehead. She was nervously bluffing. She had never been too good of a fibber. She doubted Tae Hyun would fall for her lies.
As anticipated, Tae Hyun eyed her skeptically and shook his head.
Crap.
She tried to keep the stern expression firmly solidified on her face.
Tae Hyun took his scowling eyes off of her. He turned to Min and friends. He pointed a threatening finger at a cowering Min. A murderous inferno rippled in the irises of Tae Hyun's brown eyes. He looked like he was ready to rip Min's eyes out.
"Thank you for the profitable sales," he said in a mild voice, surprising everyone in the room.
Min and friends, as well as Yoori, gawked at him with openmouthed confusion.
Yoori was mystified.
Did Tae Hyun really believe her?
Min breathed out, visibly relieved that he dodged impending death. He wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead. "Of course, sir. Any time."
Tae Hyun nodded, smiling as a tiger would at its prey. "But in the future,” he said, his calm voice vibrating with an undercurrent of admonition, “it'd be better if you came up with the exact amount to prevent any future misunderstandings."
Yoori regarded Tae Hyun with amazement. That was the nicest threat she had ever heard.
Min and friends bounced their heads in understanding. They rose up from their seats and started bowing incessantly. "Won't happen again, sir!"
"For your sake, I hope not.” He waved his hand as a gesture for them to leave before he changed his mind and actually killed them. “You can go."
At record pace, Min and friends flew out of the nightclub, leaving Yoori, Tae Hyun, and the rest of the Serpents in their wake.
Yoori exhaled gustily. She wished she could run off with them. Now that they were off the hook for lying to one of the Underworld’s chosen Kings, it was her turn to face the music.
She faced Tae Hyun nervously.
He rose from his seat. "Let's go.”
Yoori reluctantly followed him, receiving bows as they made their way out of the nightclub. Passing the last remaining Serpents by the exit, Yoori noticed that they all had a small, but highly entertained, smile on their faces. It seemed as though they were amused to see Tae Hyun acting the way he did with Yoori.
Yoori wasn’t the only one who noticed these smiles.
"What are you guys smiling about?" Tae Hyun suddenly roared.
All smiles evaporated like water under the sun.
They lowered their heads at once. “Nothing, boss.”
Satisfied with their quick reaction, Tae Hyun grabbed Yoori's wrist and exited the club.
"Choi Yoori! That was the sixth group you gave a free pass to!" Tae Hyun screamed as they trudged back to his apartment.
"They learned their lessons,” Yoori replied, her ears hurting from listening to Tae Hyun lecture her about the importance of being a responsible worker. After leaving the club, he wasted no time in reprimanding her for messing with the positive "cash flows" of his lucrative business.
"That's not the point. They lied. I should've made an example out of them.”
"Well, why didn't you?" she countered, getting tired of listening to Tae Hyun. "You obviously knew they were lying. What was stopping you?"
Tae Hyun gaped down at her. He was flabbergasted that she didn't see the logic behind his actions. "You realized that you were lying to me as well, right?"
Yoori sighed. "Yes."
What was his point?
"Well, if I punish them, then I would have to punish you as well."
"Well then, why didn't you?" she snapped. She was aware of how annoying she sounded, but she was on her last shred of patience with Tae Hyun. Could she help that she had a moral conscience? Could she help that she wanted to save some college kids from certain death?
"My God, woman," he grated. He looked like he was about to retort with more angry words. Instead, he closed his eyes and said, "You drive me crazy."
"Look. If you want the money so badly, then I'll pay what they owe you."
"Well, aren't you the personification of morality?"
Yoori glared. "Do you want the money or not?"
Plunging his left hand into his pant pocket, he turned away. His pace quickened while he quietly said, "Keep your money.”
She stared up at his profile in astonishment. Was the fight over? Did she win? Yoori was bewildered. She at least expected Tae Hyun to argue with her until one of them gave up – herself being the likely candidate. It was out of character for him to let her win. However, as she watched silence cloak over his lips, she knew that she “won.” She wasn't too smug about it though. He was probably tired of talking to her.
For the next few blocks, a quiet stillness accompanied them as they trudged along with their wrists linked together by the handcuffs. Since their last interaction, Tae Hyun had yet to utter a word to Yoori and Yoori was not inclined to be the first to breach the silence. Still bitter about how he treated her outside the club, Yoori was not keen on being the bigger person in this work relationship. The silence could go on like the energizer bunny for all she cared.
"Tae Hyun!"
The silence was disturbed when from across the street, Yoori caught sight of the girl who called out to Tae Hyun ever so affectionately.
The girl came over to them, performing a perfect runway walk. This girl was tall with flawless porcelain skin, long silky black hair, and a short black dress that hugged every part of her pretty body in the right way. There didn’t appear to be an ounce of fat on her. In short, this girl was the epitome of a beautiful supermodel.
And boy, did she make Yoori, who was simply dressed in a white shirt and jeans, feel physically inferior.
The only thing that threw off her runway model status was the fact that there were two men, both dressed in beige hoodies and black jeans, trailing closely behind her. Yoori deduced that they must’ve been her bodyguards. What grown men would follow a girl around like that? Well, none that she knew of anyway.
She watched as Tae Hyun laid his eyes on the girl. Instead of gazing with interest, his eyes were unfazed. If anything, he looked somewhat annoyed.
"Tae Hyun," the girl whispered seductively, stopping in front of them. Just as her two bodyguards stopped behind her, Yoori made awkward eye contact with the girl. The girl gave Yoori a quick glare before turning to give Tae Hyun another one of her comely smiles.
Yoori returned the glare. So it was like that, huh?
"Hey Jin Ae," Tae Hyun greeted with a bored expression on his face. There was no disguising that this girl had fallen out of favor with the Underworld King. He didn't want to talk to her, but for appearances sake, he was civil. Yoori surmised that the girl must have been his ex-fling. Or, knowing Tae Hyun and his sneakiness, a current fling.
"I haven't seen you in so long,” she crooned, running her index finger down his arm. She fluttered her long eyelashes, giving him bedroom eyes and completely dismissing Yoori's obvious existence. "I've missed you."
Yoori wanted to vomit at the pathetic sight before her. Did the girl have to act like this in public?
She shuddered.
She hated girls who threw themselves at guys like that. She glanced up at Tae Hyun, bitterness in her critical gaze. Of course, this would be his type of girl.
Tae Hyun casually pulled her fing
er away from his arm, and after doing so, quirked a patronizing brow. "You didn't seem to miss me too much when you slept with Ji Hoon last week, did you?"
Ooh, burn, Yoori thought, feeling a small wave of satisfaction flood through her. Yeah! She liked that the snobby and feisty Tae Hyun was not showing any interest in Jin Ae. Her wave of satisfaction was overshadowed when she saw that Tae Hyun's face turned grim when he said the name "Ji Hoon."
Who's Ji Hoon? She wanted to ask as she watched the rest of the scene play out between the ex-flings.
The bedroom eyes Jin Ae bestowed to Tae Hyun faded. Her smile, however, remained. "Baby, that didn't mean anything. You know I love only you."
Yoori cringed. Jin Ae's voice was like nails on a chalkboard.
Tae Hyun nodded at Jin Ae. "That's nice," he said disinterestedly, suddenly interlocking his cuffed hand with Yoori's.
Yoori looked at him in surprise.
"I'll take you home in a bit, babe," he said affectionately, giving Yoori a peck on the nose.
Yoori, after feeling the slight impact of his lips on the tip of her nose, thrashed her head back in response.
What the hell?
She gave him a quizzical look, thunderstruck by his public display of affection. What the hell was he doing?
At her bewildered reaction, his striking smile remained intact, if not widening larger than ever. His next words threw her into a twister of mystification.
“Aw, baby, you're being shy again."
Yoori felt the urge to strangle herself in disbelief. What was he up to?
No longer able to ignore Yoori's presence, given how much attention Tae Hyun was showering her, Jin Ae pursed her lips together and leveled her eyes on Yoori.
"And who is this?" she asked idly, the happy glow waning from her face.
"This is Choi Yoori," Tae Hyun introduced proudly. He yanked her closer to him. "My girlfriend."
"WHAT?" The absurdity of Tae Hyun's reply scandalized Yoori. She was unable to restrain her outrage. It was just too preposterous. She was Tae Hyun's girlfriend? Yeah, maybe when hell froze over.
"Baby,” he said again, smiling through clenched teeth. "Another shy outburst like that, I swear I'm going to make out with you nonstop when we get home."
It was a threat.
He was smiling, but it was a threat. Yoori understood by the sternness in his eyes. It was literally screaming, “Play along or you’ll regret it.”
Putting aside her shock, Yoori nodded, quietly fulfilling his unspoken request.
Damn being a personal assistant and being there whenever your boss needed you!
At this point, Jin Ae was already huffing and puffing in anger. The cuffs encircling their wrists were the only things that distracted her. Her brows creased. She pointed at the silver chain anchoring Tae Hyun and Yoori to one another.
"Wait, why are you guys handcuffed together?"
At her observation, her two bodyguards craned their necks to get a view of the handcuffs.
Yoori and Tae Hyun gaped at each other. They laughed tensely, unable to come up with a reasonable answer.
After several seconds, where panic began to drown Yoori, Tae Hyun said, "It's a couples’ bracelet."
"What?" Jin Ae asked, understandably baffled by his ludicrous answer.
"Yeah, it's the new trend," Yoori hastily added, impressed with Tae Hyun's ability to think quickly on his feet. She gave Jin Ae a proud smile to add some flavor to the lie. The proud smile thawed when it was met with Jin Ae's piercing glare. Pretty or not, this girl scared the living daylights out of Yoori.
"Anyway," Tae Hyun said impatiently, no longer keen on being around Jin Ae. "We have to go. Bye Jin Ae."
Tae Hyun managed to walk past Jin Ae unharmed.
Yoori, however, was not as fortunate.
"Listen up, you little bitch,” Jin Ae hissed through clenched teeth. Talons dug into Yoori’s arm when Jin Ae yanked her closer. “I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but I am one of the top female bosses around here. You're fucking with the wrong person. Stay away from Tae Hyun, or I’ll make you live to regret it."
"Jin Ae!” Tae Hyun screamed. “What the hell are you doing?"
Taking a second to further squeeze her razor like nails in Yoori's arms, Jin Ae released Yoori and flashed Tae Hyun another innocent smile. "Properly introducing myself to your new girlfriend.”
She turned back to face Yoori. "Nice to meet you," Jin Ae mouthed before turning to Tae Hyun. Her voice was exponentially brighter when addressing him. "Bye baby. I'll see you around."
She favored Tae Hyun with a wink and an even bigger smile before taking off with her bodyguards in tow.
Yoori fumed. She watched Jin Ae prance away like she was God's gift to men. The blood simmered in her veins, boiling like the lavas of hell. She was livid. No one had ever disrespected her as much as Jin Ae. It was out of character for Yoori, but she was besieged with an overwhelming hatred for Jin Ae. Gang leader or not, Yoori felt the irresistible need to teach the girl a lesson. She wanted to pick up a pipe and bash Jin Ae's head with it. Then, she wanted to have Jin Ae kneel before her and beg for her life. After that, she wanted to rip the limbs off Jin Ae's body.
Yoori clenched her hands together, her heart thumping fervently. She couldn’t wait. One day, she would teach Jin Ae a lesson she would never forget –
HONK!
Yoori snapped back to reality when the sound of a random blaring horn roared in the street.
She looked around, astounded by what was going on inside her. Never in her life had she wanted to hurt someone as badly as she wanted to hurt Jin Ae. And so violently at that.
Yoori swallowed uneasily. What had gotten into her?
It was out of character for her, but in that split second, she felt as though someone else entered her body and envisioned those horrible thoughts.
For that brief moment, she turned into someone else.
“You have to be able to punish people without fear.”
12: The Dawning of a New Era
"So is she always that peachy?" Yoori asked sullenly, referring to Jin Ae.
They had been walking in silence for the last few blocks and her mind was reeling.
Her equivalent of an exorcist moment was driving her nuts and her curiosity about Tae Hyun's relationship with Jin Ae was at its peak. She might as well quench her curiosity with an answer from the source himself.
Tae Hyun laughed. He was amused with her choice of words. "I suppose she is always that 'peachy' with other girls." His eyes migrated to hers. "I take it you received little words of warning from her?"
"Oh yeah," Yoori replied automatically. Residual fury laced her voice. "She uttered little words of warning alright." It occurred to her that this must be a norm for Tae Hyun if he knew about the threat. She turned to him. "I take it this happens quite often to your new 'girlfriends’?"
A sheepish smile appeared on Tae Hyun's face. He shifted his eyes away from Yoori. He had the face of a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar – or several cookie jars.
"I wouldn't call them girlfriends,” he said as if it would make things sound better.
Yoori laughed incredulously. Judging by his attractive physique, she concluded the guy had no problems getting girls. It was only after the meeting with Jin Ae did the obvious became apparent. Tae Hyun, aside from being the King of Serpents, was also a player.
She creased her brows, a bout of annoyance with Tae Hyun and his womanizing ways befalling her. She turned away, having no more appetite to talk to him. Her eyes firmly focused on the street ahead, she quickened her pace, trying to stem away from him as far as the cuffs would allow.
"Don't tell me you're jealous," he called after her, quickening his pace to match with hers. There was a broad smile on his face that conveyed he was amused with Yoori's behavior. He seemed to enjoy seeing this reaction from her.
She stopped walking. She was bothered that Tae Hyun insinuated that she liked him.
"Don't mistake my annoyance with jealousy," she said firmly, though she wasn't too certain of her own words. She went on, wanting to squash the insinuation before it grew any larger. "I just don't like being used, alright?" He was about to reply when she pressed on. "Look, it’s fine that you have a lot of girls on the side. I really don't care. What I don't like is being used as a pawn to get girls that you're tired of off your back."
"Hey, that's not fair,” Tae Hyun retorted. “It's not like I planned to meet her. You saw how it happened. The girl appeared out of nowhere. I had to think on my feet about the best way to get rid of her. Introducing you as my girlfriend was probably not the best tactic, but it yielded the same results."
"So the end justifies the means?" She was beside herself. How dare he use her like that? Wasn't forcing her to be his walking slave enough? What more could he possibly want from her?
Taking stock of her overt frustration, Tae Hyun expelled a tired breath. "If you're worried about her coming after you, then don't concern yourself with that. As long as I'm with you, she can't touch you."
"Oh, that's comforting," she said sarcastically.
Tae Hyun frowned.
She frowned as well.
"And what makes you think I'm afraid of her?" she hastened to add, offended by Tae Hyun's low opinion of her bravery. "I'm annoyed. There's a big difference."
Tae Hyun stared at her. "You're acting really strange.”
"I'm annoyed," she emphasized again, irritated that he was looking at her like she was a looney tune.
"What's the big deal?” he asked in an exasperated voice. “So what if I told her you're my girlfriend? We both know it's a lie. She's the only one who has to believe that it's true."
After absorbing his words, Yoori froze when a train of rationale speared through her. They must’ve had some long, sordid history if he had to lie like that. Being one of those people with a horribly short, and easily distracted, attention span, Yoori could hardly care about being pissed off with Tae Hyun. She wanted to learn more about their relationship.
"Was she your girlfriend?"
"I wouldn't call her a girlfriend,” he said before he began to walk again. It was clear he didn't want to talk about any of this with her. “Just some girl I had fun with.”
