The fight was on.
Ji Hoon staggered to the ground. Before he fell, Tae Hyun caught him by the collar and delivered another punch to the right side of his cheek. The echo of the blow sang through the night as another spurt of blood escaped from Ji Hoon’s lips.
When it appeared as if Ji Hoon was about to fall to the ground, he instead crouched down and swiftly rammed himself into Tae Hyun’s stomach – catching Tae Hyun off guard.
A loud rumbling reverberated across the rooftop after Ji Hoon pummeled Tae Hyun against the glass wall that sat between them and the world beneath.
Tae Hyun winced in pain at the impact.
Using his elbow, Ji Hoon threw another blow against Tae Hyun’s cheek, causing him to slam one side of his face against the trembling glass. Ji Hoon was ready to throw a punch when Tae Hyun retaliated by embedding his knee against Ji Hoon’s stomach, causing him to gasp for air.
Cursing and nearly losing his balance, Ji Hoon countered that attack by throwing an uppercut against Tae Hyun’s jaw. The blow left Tae Hyun to inadvertently lift his head up and smash it against the wall behind him.
The next few moves happened so quickly that a stunned Yoori was only able to watch in shock. Ji Hoon, with fire burning in his own eyes, clenched his right fist and threw it toward Tae Hyun’s head. With lightning speed, Tae Hyun was able to duck his head down. The sounds of glass cracking could be heard as little roots of destruction sprouted unto the once solid glass. Ji Hoon’s fist had hit the glass instead. The water inside the glass seeped out, the lights within it flickering in terror.
“Fuck!” Ji Hoon cussed when he withdrew his fist. However much damage he made unto the glass structure, the damage surely didn’t match the pain he inflicted upon himself.
Seizing the opportunity of distraction, Tae Hyun grabbed Ji Hoon by the collar and threw him head first against the glass wall. Three gargantuan cracks of disturbance appeared on the glass. Water streamed out of the wall like a waterfall. Tae Hyun’s hands found the back of Ji Hoon’s neck. Keeping true to his original threat, an enraged Tae Hyun started to bash Ji Hoon’s skull against the glass structure.
Once.
Twice.
It wasn’t until the third collision that Ji Hoon strategically steadied his neck, used all of his energy to push it backward and slammed the back of his head against Tae Hyun’s face.
The tactic to get Tae Hyun off of him worked.
Tae Hyun stumbled a couple of steps back. He was undoubtedly seeing stars as blood seeped from his nose. Staggering briefly to the floor, he managed to pull himself up. Like an angry bull, he charged for Ji Hoon and sent another flying fist in his direction. It went straight for Ji Hoon’s nose.
The back of Ji Hoon’s head collided into the unstable glass wall once more. The unsteady glass trembled when the harsh wind blew against it. Water poured over Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon as they continued to exchange blows beside the deteriorating glass wall.
Seconds later, in the process of exchanging merciless blows, both crashed into the glass wall and created the final impact that shattered the once solid glass into a million flickering pieces.
“Noooooooo!” was all that could be heard from Yoori’s horrorstruck voice as she watched them teeter off the foundation of the rooftop.
They flew through a typhoon of tinkling glass and disappeared into the abyss of the world beneath them.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Yoori shouted, her legs taking off in the direction of where Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon fell. Vertical VII was one of the tallest buildings in the district and Yoori could only imagine that their bodies were splattered all across the busy streets below.
What a horrible way to end the night if they died on her, she thought morbidly, a strong gust of wind accompanying her rising fears. Once she was an inch away from the edge, she peered down with eyes wide open.
Needless to say, at the sounds of shuffling and obvious signs of life from below, Yoori was surprised at the deliriously amazing sight before her.
Relief swam over her like a wave.
They were still alive!
"Oh, thank God!" Yoori cried in joy once she saw that the balcony to one of the VIP suites caught them mid-flight. The platform of the balcony twinkled with broken glass as Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon continued to exchange merciless blows. Tae Hyun had thrown another punch in Ji Hoon's direction, an attack to which Ji Hoon retaliated with a knee to the stomach.
Yoori breathed a sigh of relief once she observed that the fall did little to screw up their bodies. If anything, it seemed as if they were more energized to fight after the unexpected fall.
Enough was enough. She had to stop them.
She threw herself backward and ran toward the stairway. She ran down every step, the resounding echoes of her boots bounced off the once empty stairs.
Stupid, stupid! Why didn't you stop them, she scolded herself, increasing her pace.
She didn't understand what was wrong with her, why she stood there and watched them fight. She didn't understand what came over her when the fight took place. It felt like a rain of cement poured over her legs and her rationale. She was mesmerized while watching them fight. Every move they threw, she analyzed. Every move they threw, she studied. It was an odd daze that was only slapped out of her when she realized they were about to fall off the rooftop.
Thank God. Thank God, they're still alive, she thought to herself, wondering how she could stand there and watch them pummel each other to death.
And what were they fighting for?
Their pride?
Her?
She held onto the railing as she rounded the curvilinear landing of the staircase. Idiotic. This entire ordeal was idiotic.
With seven steps remaining, Yoori, being very impatient as to the well-being of the two Underworld Kings, chose to gallop onto the next level's landing as opposed to merely running onto it. Crouching down once her legs landed on the platform, her hands reached out for the door that led into the floor of the VIP suites.
Warm lights shined over her skin when she burst into the affluent hotel hall. She stopped to breathe heavily. She gazed at her surroundings. The hall appeared endless. Her eyes followed the myriad of doors that graced the hall. Where the hell were they?
The answer to her question came in the form of a loud collision that rocketed the once peaceful hall. Her eyes narrowed onto the door to the room where the sound originated. She took off in the direction of the fifth room to the right. Her hand scarcely stroked the doorknob when out of nowhere, a fist speared through the wooden door.
"Oh shit!" Yoori cried.
She jumped back before the fist inadvertently rammed into her nose. Yoori's extremities shuddered at the thought of getting a broken nose from the fist that had splinters of wood piercing out of its knuckle. The owner of the fist gave a disgruntled growl (one to which Yoori was sure was Tae Hyun's) and withdrew his bloody fist from the door. The heavy door shook violently.
The sound of fighting commenced. Sounds of glass shattering and walls rumbling could be heard while Yoori tried to open the door from the outside but to no avail. She cursed a string of expletives and used the puncture in the door to reach in and pull the knob down from the inside. The door promptly opened for an irritated Yoori who wanted to end the fight right then and there—
“Fuck!”
Unfortunately for Yoori, she didn't get to put one foot in before a body slammed into the door, slamming the wooden structure onto her unsuspecting face.
Pain.
Insufferable pain electrocuted through every corner of her face, leaving her to collapse onto the carpeted floor. She groaned, opening her eyes to see darkness and various shades of bright stars. With her throbbing head resting on the floor, Yoori lifted a trembling hand over to her nose. Blood slithered out of it when her hand touched the little nub.
Fury rammed into her. They gave her a bloody nose!
“Bastards!” she cursed heatedly, wiping the blood away from her nose. “Fucking bastards!�
�
Wrath possessed her and overrode the pain prominent on her face. She lurched to her feet with a growl and pushed the assaulted door open. She knew it wasn't logical to be mad at Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon for giving her a bloody nose, especially when they didn't even know that they were the cause of it. She knew this but Yoori wasn't the most logical person when she was in pain. She wanted someone to pay for her bloody nose.
The VIP suite she stormed into was a mess.
The suite looked like it had been hit by a ferocious tornado. Everything in the room was broken. Her eyes flickered around the room and she finally spotted Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon. They were still going after one another. Tae Hyun had just kicked his foot into the wall and Ji Hoon had pierced his fist into the adjacent wall. Both had successfully evaded each other's attacks.
"Eh! Stop!” she hollered at the top of her lungs. Her anger was sky high. “Stop fighting already!"
The Underworld Kings didn't hear (or refused to listen). They each threw a kick toward each other's stomachs and sent one another flying across opposite sides of the room.
A synchronized collision thundered all throughout the room as each slammed into the walls behind them.
Knowing that standing in between them was going to be ineffective, and thoroughly pissed at them for injuring her nose, Yoori muttered a string of indignant curse words and reached for the two plump oranges that laid in a ceramic bowl on a nearby dresser.
After making sure that her nails dug their way into the skin of each orange and making sure that juices were flowing out of them, Yoori lifted her arms and aimed it when Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon rose to their feet. There was bloodlust in their eyes.
Right when they were about to charge at one another, undoubtedly with the sole purpose of ripping the limbs out of the opponent, Yoori, with all the strength that she had, threw the plump oranges in each of their directions.
“Fuck!” they both shouted after the heavily plump oranges ate away at their noses and squirted stinging juices into their eyes.
Blood seeping out of their nostrils, Ji Hoon fell to the floor and knocked his head against a nearby table while Tae Hyun staggered to the ground and accidentally slammed the back of his head against the wooden post of the bed behind him.
A tense silence waltzed into the assaulted room. Sounds of heavy breathing accompanied its presence. The silence danced against the shards of shattered glass that flickered from the balcony, slid in and out of the countless fist/foot made puncture holes on the walls, staggered heedlessly around the blood stained carpet, hovered over the groans of both Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon, and dispersed around Yoori who was glaring unblinkingly.
"I told you two to stop fighting," she said simply, unwilling to apologize for throwing the oranges at them. She would've chosen to throw her heeled boots if she had not caught sight of the oranges. Bloody noses aside, they should've counted their blessings that she didn’t throw something more lethal.
Yoori swabbed the blood away from her own assaulted nose and watched Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon do the same thing with their noses. After long seconds of heaving their chests up and down, they opened their orange stained eyes. Their hands resting on their respective battered heads, their surprised gazes landed on Yoori.
She could tell they were fighting the urge to further groan in pain. Whether it was to appear strong in front of her or appear strong in front of each other, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that it was due time to leave Vertical VII before they caused more damages. God knows the next time they fall out of the building, there won't be another extended balcony to catch them.
Careful not to give them another second to gather their strengths, she commenced with the evacuation plan.
"Tae Hyun! Hurry and take me home!" she commanded roughly. She had things to resolve with him. She knew Tae Hyun was not used to getting spoken to so brusquely but she could hardly care. She was livid with him.
She had anticipated him to scream at her in contention but instead, Tae Hyun merely took a second to bitterly glare at her before obeying her wishes.
Wow, that was easy, she thought when he stood up from his position.
She cleared her throat when he approached her. He looked like he emerged from a battlefield. He was soaked with water and was gleaming with broken glass, debris, and blood. Somehow the guy still looked good though. Blessed genetic freak, Yoori thought when he reached her.
"Could you wait outside for me?" she asked tentatively, her tone gentler this time.
She had one final issue to finalize with Ji Hoon before she left him. She knew this wasn't going to be a request that Tae Hyun would be fond of, which was why she used the softer voice. She didn't want to push her luck by continuously being rude to him – at least not when she wanted to leave the hotel as soon as possible.
As anticipated, his face flared with irritation. He didn't like the idea of her being alone with Ji Hoon. Tae Hyun spared a second to lower his eyes onto Ji Hoon, who had risen to his feet as well. There was a moment where warning glares were exchanged between them before Tae Hyun wiped away the remaining blood from his lips. However disgruntled he was that Yoori wanted him to leave the room, he didn't vocalize his displeasures and instead stalked off toward the door.
Yoori exhaled in relief. Tae Hyun was being unusually receptive to her wishes. She thought about it further. It was probably because he wanted to get on her good side before they had the inevitable conversation about him leaving her. The thought made her stomach coil in anger. As obedient as he was being, she sure as hell wasn't going to make it a pleasant conversation for him.
"Yoori," Ji Hoon whispered hoarsely, pulling her out of her thoughts. He clutched onto a nearby table and straightened himself up. The fight with Tae Hyun took an extreme toll on his body. He could hardly stand. He was definitely worse off than Tae Hyun.
The sight made her heart grow heavy with guilt.
"Ji Hoon…" Yoori started delicately, fighting the urge to run over to him to help him.
She wanted to help him but she shouldn't. If she helped him, then the misunderstanding between them would continue to fester. She had to cut it off with him and she had to cut it off entirely. God knows Tae Hyun and Ji Hoon would never survive in the same room and it was only a matter of time before she had to choose between them.
It was a puzzling predicament for Yoori because she was technically An Soo Jin – which meant that Soo Jin had more attachment toward Ji Hoon. On the other hand (the more important hand), Yoori had more attachment toward Tae Hyun. And being technically Soo Jin aside, Yoori couldn't force herself to have romantic feelings for someone she didn't feel that way about. She just didn't feel anything more for Ji Hoon. And as far as Tae Hyun went, no matter how angry she was with him, it was clear that she cared about him more than she cared about Ji Hoon. No matter how heart wrenching that reality may be, it was the cold hard truth that she couldn't deny.
Yoori swallowed tightly when resolution prevailed over her. Though her decision had been set long ago, tonight was where she had to formally vocalize it.
For her, it would always be Tae Hyun.
Her heart grew heavier as she whispered words that told Ji Hoon of her decision. "I'm sorry for everything."
She began to back away from him. Her face was veiled with grief. It was hard, so hard to see the disappointment devour his face. She wanted to say that she hoped that they could be friends but she wasn't that naïve. Their relationship, as complicated as it was, would merit them being anything but friends.
His gaze momentarily landed on the doorway where Tae Hyun stood in the hall and then reverted back to her.
"All because of Tae Hyun, right?" Ji Hoon said hoarsely, his eyes darkening with anger and pain.
"I'll let your men downstairs know that you're up here and that you need them," she went on, not wanting to answer his question. Why answer something they both knew the answer to? "Goodbye, Ji Hoon."
Without waiting for his reply or stealing a final glimpse at him, Yoori turne
d on her heels and rushed to the door. Though the guilt was prominent within her, she was confident that she did the right thing. She cared about Ji Hoon too much to dangle him about. She cared about him but not in that way. Never in that way…
The hall was quiet when Yoori walked out, her face paled with fatigue. There was no one in sight but Yoori had the innate feeling that there were patrons pressed against their doors, their eyes straining through the peephole to get a sense of what was happening. The thunderous rumble inside the VIP suite from hell was anything but quiet and Yoori was certain that the entire hall heard the sound of glass shattering from above. You'd have to have bad hearing if you didn't think something was happening.
Noting that they should leave before the authorities arrived and further complicated things, Yoori rushed over to Tae Hyun who stood next to the elevator. His hands were in his pockets and his back was pressed against the adjacent wall. His eyes were closed as he stood there, looking quite at peace.
Yoori furrowed her brows at the sight. She resisted the temptation to gawk at his wickedly beautiful state. For a split second, she forgot that she was livid with him.
Why the hell was he standing there like that?
Who was he modeling for?
Weirdo.
She thought about speaking to him about what happened the night prior but quickly decided the time and place wasn't right. They'd talk when they returned to the apartment. For now, they had to leave.
"We have to let Ji Hoon's men know that he's up here…” Yoori said clearly, interrupting the serenity hovering around him. “So they can come help him."
Tae Hyun’s brooding gaze fell on her. His gaze was so intense that it mesmerized her momentarily. He was quiet. His compelling eyes held her gaze with inquiry pooling within them. She knew then by the expression on his face that he was probably wondering why he should go down and inform Ji Hoon's men that he needed their help. Tae Hyun looked unhappy and she assumed it was because he also didn't like that she was showing so much care for Ji Hoon.
The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) Page 19
