Welcome to the Underworld (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 1)

by Con Template

  Yoori rolled her eyes. Of course that was his answer. She anticipated this reply, but she was surprised when she felt a small sense of relief upon hearing that their relationship wasn't that serious. She then recalled the scene where he subtly scolded Jin Ae for being with another guy.

  "You sounded jealous enough to be her boyfriend when you talked about her being with that guy,” she casually instigated.

  Tae Hyun regarded her with hardened eyes. "Girlfriend or not, I don't like my girl sleeping around with other guys...especially with that particular bastard."

  "Well, aren't we possessive?"

  "I prefer territorial."

  Yoori snorted at his amendment. Though it was fairly entertaining to see him riled up, it also troubled her that he was so sensitive with this topic. Why was he so angry?

  She wanted to know more.

  "Who is this guy?" she asked earnestly. "Why don’t you like him? His name is Ji Hoon, right?"

  The simple act of voicing Ji Hoon's name brought Tae Hyun’s stride to an abrupt halt. He turned to her with fiery eyes. He did not like her saying Ji Hoon's name.

  "Wow,” she found herself uttering bravely. “He's that bad where I can't even say his name without pissing you off?"

  Tae Hyun allowed his eyes to fall on her for a few seconds before softening his grim expression. He managed to suppress his anger – but only slightly.

  "He's another gang leader," he said simply. Although his tone of voice was calm, he looked like he was ready to annihilate something.

  Yoori nodded. Of course it was another gang leader.

  "Small-time or big-time?" she continued to probe.

  A brief period of silence settled upon them as Tae Hyun turned away from her, aggravation seemingly rippling in every fiber of his being. She noted the muscles tightening dangerously in his jaw. If this wasn’t a clear sign of a human being hating another without filter, then Yoori didn’t know what was.

  As a small stream of wind gushed past them, Tae Hyun slowly returned his gaze to Yoori.

  "Ever heard of the Skulls?" he finally said.

  Yoori stood up straighter when she heard the recognizable name. Why was it that every time the Skulls were mentioned, she always felt a knot form in her stomach?

  She nodded. Yes, of course she heard of the Skulls.

  "Lee Ji Hoon," Tae Hyun began, carefully studying her expression, "is the leader of the Skulls. The other powerful gang in South Korea and my biggest enemy."

  Yoori inhaled slowly. Lee Ji Hoon, the leader of the Skulls and Kwon Tae Hyun's biggest enemy. Of course, he was Tae Hyun's biggest enemy – as a rival gang leader, that part made sense. The only part that didn’t make sense to her was Lee Ji Hoon and Jin Ae.

  An unexplained jealousy sparked inside her.

  The love story pertaining to Ji Hoon and the Scorpion girl came stampeding back into her mind. This whole time she was under the impression that he was the broken-hearted prince mourning the loss of his great love. Yoori didn't understand why it felt like someone kicked her in the stomach after hearing that Ji Hoon had moved on. Was it that easy for him to move onto another girl? And not just any other girl, but a girl like Jin Ae? The fury rose inside her. Yoori may not have known him personally, but she still felt resentful for the Scorpion girl.

  Yoori lifted her face and laid her gaze on Tae Hyun. He stared at her with a blank expression on his face. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she didn't give it too much thought. There was another burning question she had to get an answer for.

  "Tae Hyun," she prompted hesitantly, mentally chastising herself for not asking him about this earlier.

  "Yeah?"

  "Did you know that Scorpion girl?"

  Yoori attempted to suppress the newfound excitement in her body. She had been such a fool. All this time, she had been so curious about the mysterious Scorpion girl, and she failed to realize that Tae Hyun was another gang leader. He had to have known her.

  Tae Hyun tilted his head, intrigued by her question. His eyes scrutinized her cautiously. It was as if he was debating about whether or not he should speak to her about this. After a moment, he shook his head and said words that crushed every excited fiber in Yoori's body. "I've actually never met her."

  Yoori could have sworn she heard tires screeching. That was certainly not the answer she expected. Yoori gave him a quizzical look. "But aren't the leaders supposed to know –"

  "I wasn't a leader during the years she was alive in the Underworld," he interjected.

  Yoori gaped at him, confounded.

  Reading her mind, he repeated the statement. "I wasn't the leader.”

  The curiosity on her face remained. What the hell? If he wasn't leading the Serpents, then who was?

  Tae Hyun sighed, looking rather uncomfortable. Almost begrudgingly, he answered her unspoken question. "My older brother was the leader of the Serpents during the years she was alive in the Underworld. I took on the reign 3 years ago."

  A look of confusion flashed on Yoori's face as she processed this. This entire time, she assumed that he had been a crime lord his whole life. She couldn’t believe he had only been the King of Serpents for 3 years.

  Her eyes urged him to continue with the story. It was getting too interesting. She was all ears.

  Tae Hyun, at the sight of her earnest gaze, remained silent.

  She gently nudged his shoulder with her hand, determined to get the knowledge she sought.

  "Kwon Tae Hyun," she cajoled, her voice soft and sweet as sugar. "I'm curious now. Give me a history lesson. What was going on in your world before you took on the reign as the King of Serpents?"

  He lifted a brow. He was amused, both at her sudden sweet voice and at her extreme interest in all of this. "Do I look like I have time to give you a history lesson?"

  Her sugary-self turned bitter. "Well, being your assistant and all, I seem to recall that you're actually free all day.”

  A stubborn aura emitted from his stern gaze. He wasn't planning on giving in. "Why should I waste my breath? I already know what happened."

  "You owe me.”

  He smirked, studying her like she was the most entertaining thing he ever laid eyes on. "What do I owe you, my disrespectful assistant?"

  "Let's see," she began, feigning deep contemplation. She snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah, remember when your goddam gang members held me up at gunpoint?"

  That was how Yoori successfully persuaded Tae Hyun to see it her way.

  He chuckled, nodding courteously at her. He was impressed with her crafty persuasion skills. "Point taken."

  Yoori curtsied, gracefully accepting victory. She stared at him expectantly, her eyes unblinking. "Please begin."

  "Where do you want me to start?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "The Underworld goes back several long decades. Do you want a history lesson on what occurred 50 years ago...40 years?"

  "The part that matters," she answered without missing a beat. No matter how rich the history, there’s always an era that stands out from the rest.

  Tae Hyun nodded, knowing exactly where to begin. "The important part started 5 years ago." He heaved a sigh of uncertainty. "But to be perfectly honest, I really don't want to tell you because I don't think you can handle it. Some parts are really...disturbing, even for me."

  "Just tell me," she pressed, annoyed with his low opinion of her bravery. How could he say that he didn’t think she could handle it? She had been in the Underworld for a long time now; dangerous things had happened to her. She could handle it.

  "Fine,” he said with resignation. “But don't say I didn't warn you.”

  She tapped her foot impatiently. "Just start.”

  Smirking, he began the tale. "5 years ago, it all began with my brother – Kwon Ho Young, Lee Ji Hoon and An Young Jae."

  A nerve jumped within her at the vocalization of a particular name.

  "An Young Jae?" Yoori parroted. A strange interest with this third person percolated i
nside her. Why did his name sound familiar?

  "An Young Jae," Tae Hyun said again, looking at her attentively. "The King of Scorpions."

  She nodded. Oh yes, the older brother of the Scorpion girl.

  Tae Hyun continued. "It was Lee Ji Hoon, An Young Jae, and my older brother who ruled the three respective gangs. People called that period 'the dawning of a new era.’ It was basically the new filling in for the old. They all took over for their fathers, all of whom were the previous Kings. It was a big deal because they were all so young at the time. It was the first time in history the Underworld was ruled over by a group of Kings so young."

  "How old were they?"

  "Lee Ji Hoon was 20. My brother and An Young Jae were 21."

  "And they all became leaders? Just like that?"

  Tae Hyun shook his head. "There's an unwritten clause in our world. To even be remotely respected as the leader of a gang, you have to mark your status with blood."

  "You have to kill someone," Yoori added instinctively.

  "And not just anyone. In your career as a gang member, you'll kill plenty of people. But to be the leader of a gang, you have to kill the one who holds the same stature in life."

  "Another King."

  He nodded, faintly impressed that Yoori followed along with the story so well. "It all began with Ji Hoon's father. A foreign, rival King shot him down while he was traveling in China. Ji Hoon was the next to lead the Skulls. However, in order to do so, he had to kill someone." Tae Hyun's mood grew solemn. "My father's life paved the way for Lee Ji Hoon's current standing in life."

  Yoori nodded apprehensively. This was why Tae Hyun hated Ji Hoon so much. She grew uneasy as she stared at his vacant expression. She debated whether or not she should utter words of condolences to him. Before she was able to make a decision, Tae Hyun already continued with the story. It was apparent that he didn't want to spend any time on this delicate matter.

  "After my father's death, it was my older brother's turn to lead. My brother chose to kill An Young Jae's father before his succession to the throne."

  It happened for a split second that didn't merit much of Yoori's attention, but she felt her eye twitch after hearing about the death of An Young Jae's father.

  "And finally for Young Jae, he did what others could only dream of. There was a fourth bigger gang in the picture 5 years ago. For his blood marking, he went after them. In the dead of the night, he exterminated the entire bloodline of that gang and took the Scorpions throne." Tae Hyun smirked at Yoori. "Supposedly it was a very entertaining year for the Underworld."

  Yoori looked at him disbelievingly. "It all happened in a year?"

  He nodded. "The biggest change in power the Underworld has ever known. Lots of bloodshed and lots of pandemonium."

  "Where were you throughout all of this?"

  "I was in America." He gave a nonchalant shrug. "College."

  A dubious smile curved Yoori’s lips. “College?”

  He grinned. "I don't look like the type?"

  Yoori shook her head, charmed with this interesting revelation. Apparently crime lords went to college, and not just any college, college in America. That one was a curveball.

  "My father firmly believed that there's a correlation between being successful and being thoroughly educated. As much as many would hate to admit it, the Underworld, as unlawful as it may be, is still a lucrative empire to be managed like a business."

  "There are other businesses that you could've gotten into," Yoori countered quickly.

  His smile remained. "This is a family business. I'm doing my part to keep my family’s legacy alive and well.” He laughed. “That and power is a big motivator."

  "How honorable of you."

  He pleasantly dismissed her sarcasm. "I'd like to think so."

  Yoori sighed, this time falling into another stupor of contemplation. She absorbed all the new information. There were many aspects of the story that left her feeling more curious. She was disappointed that she didn't hear much about the Scorpion girl. Out of bias for notorious female figures alone, she cared about her story more than the rest.

  "That's why you never met her," she said mindlessly, her hope crushed of learning more about the Scorpion girl from Tae Hyun.

  "By the time I came back to Korea 3 years ago, she had already died." He laughed wearily. "I would have loved to have met the girl though."

  Yoori turned to him with renewed interest. "Why is that?"

  It was a thoughtless question. The truth was she would’ve loved to meet the girl too. The Scorpion girl seemed like a celebrity in this unlawful society – a faceless one anyway. There was just something so fascinating about the girl that once you’d heard of the legends behind her, you could never stop wondering about her story.

  "I hear she was easy on the eyes."

  Yoori rolled her eyes. "Glad to see you're not as superficial and shallow as you appear.”

  Tae Hyun laughed, unfazed by her caustic remark. "Well, that and the fact that she's well-known for being cruel and heartless. I want to know why the girl left such a lasting impression on my men and the rest of the Underworld during her reign."

  That caught her attention.

  Yoori looked at him intently, her eyes urging him to further elaborate.

  He obliged. "To start off, my men are very powerful and brave men. It is profoundly remarkable to see them shaken up. The mere mention of her sends chills up their spines."

  "She was that scary?" Yoori knew the girl was powerful, but she didn't think she was someone to be so incredibly feared.

  Tae Hyun smiled, his expression mirroring Yoori's. He couldn't believe it either. "You see, that's what I wonder too. But as they tell it, the girl looked like an angel but had the morals of the devil. She wasn't known so much for killing people, even though she did a lot of that. She was known more for her survivors. If that's what you want to call them."

  A gust of wind deluged past them, acting like a prelude to what was to come. It could have been the breeze or it could have been the anticipation of where the story was headed, but she began to feel uneasy.

  "What do you mean?" Why did she have the feeling that her Cinderella was about to become the evil witch?

  "The Scorpion girl was said to have enjoyed fighting very much. She loved challenging people. The thing with her was that for every round that she beat you in combat, she got to torture you."

  Revulsion rained over her face. "Torture?"

  "Imagine the worst possible things you can do to torture someone, and she probably did it."

  Shock and horror running through her, Yoori remained silent as Tae Hyun continued.

  "She was a huge fan of psychological warfare, as well as hand-to-hand combat. She was known for leaving three types of victims: dead ones, amputated ones, and the ones left unharmed – physically anyway. She left the survivors to spread the word about her power, and I suppose to continuously torture them by allowing them to breathe and relive what she did to them. She targeted other gang members in the Underworld, but the brunt of her fury was bequeathed upon the Serpents be –"

  "—because of her father's death," Yoori absently finished for him.

  Tae Hyun nodded.

  Her mind was running. That was a lot of new information to absorb. She glanced at Tae Hyun, intrigued. She had to get clarification for another thing.

  "Do you know about the love story?"

  Tae Hyun wore an apathetic expression. "The one between her and Ji Hoon?"

  Yoori nodded, surprised by his less than positive reaction to her question. "I mean, I've heard about it but – "

  "– People outside our world hear the censored version, as I would put it," he interjected in a somewhat bored tone. "From what I hear, they fed off each other in terms of the violence they committed. They were both cold-hearted murderers who sought out power. That combination in anyone is dangerous, but that combination in two people is horrific. I was away in America and I still heard about all the repulsive t
hings they did. You know that their crimes are horrendous when it sends shockwaves throughout the Underworld.”

  "What – what did they do?"

  "A lot. But there was one incident that made them infamous."

  Yoori kept her silent eyes on Tae Hyun, waiting with bated breath.

  It was like someone had just completely rewritten her Cinderella story. Tae Hyun's version of the love story between the Skulls leader and the Scorpion girl opened Yoori’s eyes to the darker side of their story. It was definitely a disturbing side and she was beginning to regret ever asking Tae Hyun to share his version with her.

  Tae Hyun was about to further darken the story. "3 years ago, at a club here in Seoul, the Scorpion girl and Ji Hoon did the unthinkable. In the middle of the night, they somehow managed to lure an entire family to the club. No one's sure how they did it and why they chose that particular family, but what happened next is inhumane...even for our world."

  Fear undulated in Yoori's eyes. She knew what was to come. “Sh – she killed them all?"

  He nodded, looking equally disturbed. "They were in that club for 5-6 hours. She tortured and executed all of them. The youngest were twin boys. They were shot execution style in front of their mother.” Tae Hyun paused for a moment before continuing. "They were 5-years-old."

  "Oh God!" Yoori yelped, covering her mouth.

  She took an unsteady step back, horror spreading through her. Her heart grew heavy as she envisioned the faces of the young children who were executed. How could someone be that much of a monster? Executing an entire family and killing 5-year-old children?

  She was sick to her stomach with disgust and…guilt?

  For whatever reason, the story affected her immensely.

  Soon, she found herself wavering to keep balance. Her heart raced and her breathing became uneven. She closed her eyes as an impending migraine ensued in her head. It may have been from lack of sleep or the shock of the new piece of information, but she was no longer able to keep herself balanced. Darkness clouded her vision.

  "Yoori!" she heard Tae Hyun scream, catching her before she fell to the ground.