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

by Template, Con

  She felt him shake her, urging her to stay awake.

  Yoori gradually opened her eyes. She groaned when she realized that her vision was extremely blurred. She wavered in and out of consciousness.

  "Damn it, Choi Yoori..." Tae Hyun muttered as he struggled to grab hold of her left wrist.

  Seconds later, she felt the cold cuffs disappear from her wrist. She then felt Tae Hyun position his hand behind her back and legs. A breath later, her hands were around his neck and he was carrying her down the street.

  "Put—put me down," she said softly, trying hard to open her heavy eyelids but to no avail. Her mind was swirling. "I can – I can walk.”

  "I'm taking you home,” he assured, racing down the street. “Just rest."

  "I can walk..." she repeated breathlessly.

  He wasn't listening.

  "I knew telling you that story was a bad idea," he grunted. He tightened his hold on her. "Choi Yoori, that story is all in the past. Don't worry about it so much."

  "She's a horrible person," Yoori whispered, swallowing past her disappointment. She tightened her hold around his neck and buried her face into his chest. She felt horrible for the family and those two kids. How could someone do something so horrific?

  "At least she's dead, right?" Tae Hyun offered, trying to appease the situation. He sounded like he was out of breath.

  Yoori nodded thankfully.

  "At least she's dead," she agreed before slowly losing consciousness.

  “Wrong or right . . .”

  13: The Night Before

  The dream came again for Yoori.

  The alley, the siblings and the heartbreaking scene replayed perfectly in her mind.

  She could feel the pain and anger the girl felt as she begged her brother to end her life. She could feel the girl’s desperation to make things right – to do what she dreaded. This time, the content played in vivid colors, sounds and emotions. She could feel nearly every emotion the girl felt and the truth was, she was overwhelmed. She was so overwhelmed in fact that it became hard for her to breathe.

  “Help,” she wanted to call out, feeling her heart pound without any signs of slowing down. “Someone help...”

  As if hearing her desperate pleas, something cool grazed her face, causing Yoori to stir from her dream.

  Alarmed by the cool breeze, Yoori abruptly woke up.

  She looked around, slowly acclimating herself with reality. When it was clear that she was no longer dreaming, the constriction in her chest diminished. She exhaled, bringing her hands up to massage the sides of her head. The dream played again in her mind, causing her head to pound even harder. It felt like she had woken up from a hangover. She was mulling over how crappy she felt when she became aware of something.

  Wait a second.

  What was she sleeping on?

  Her shock filled eyes rested on the mattress she was laying on. "My God,” she whispered, realizing that she was, yet again, on Tae Hyun's bed.

  Her face turned a crimson hue. It wasn’t always healthy to get into a guy's bed when you're conscious; the fact that she did it so frequently when she was unconscious disturbed the hell out of Yoori.

  After mentally scolding herself for her inability to be chained to the ground, she steadily sat upright.

  Her eyes skimmed over the room. Her brows inverted when she saw no one else. It was just her in the room. Tae Hyun was nowhere to be seen.

  Curious, she threw off the comforter and inspected her left wrist. Wonder suspended over her when she observed that the cuffs were no longer there to hold her captive. She lowered her wrist and narrowed her eyes to the floor. She took stock of the pillow and rumpled blanket below.

  The memories of the day before came gushing back into her mind. She remembered that they were talking on the street. Tae Hyun was giving her a history lesson on the Underworld and the next thing she knew, a migraine ensued in her head. Then, she remembered feeling incredibly faint and woozy. The last thing she remembered was Tae Hyun carrying her down the street.

  She stared at the unmade blanket on the floor again. If memory served her correctly, she could’ve sworn she had woken in the middle of the night and saw someone sleeping on the floor...

  She froze. Was it possible Tae Hyun slept on the floor last night? She glanced at the empty spot on the bed and then moved her eyes to the floor once more. Was Tae Hyun on the floor last night or was it her? Was he that considerate? Her mind churned. She looked around the room. Where was Tae Hyun when she needed answers?

  As if on cue, her question was answered by a muffled sound in the near distance.

  Her head lifted when she heard some clattering on the other side of the door. What was he doing out there?

  She jumped off the bed. Her hand found the cold doorknob. When she poked her head out the doorway, Yoori was surprised to be greeted with the delicious smell of eggs and bacon in the morning. Like a sleepwalker, she followed the delicious scent down the hall. What she witnessed next threw her into a tornado of shock – the good kind of shock.

  She stood there, amazed at the scene in front of her.

  Tae Hyun, dressed in a white shirt and white drawstring pants, was running around in the kitchen, cooking what suspiciously looked like a hearty breakfast. She was not only amazed that he was cooking – she was also amazed at how domestically sexy he looked.

  Strong arms moved over pots and pans with purpose, bringing her attention to the light sheen of sweat that clung lovingly to his well-muscled body. When those long, powerful hands cracked those eggs and scraped those sausages off the pan, she wondered how he made such a normal human duty appear so godsend. She also wondered how in the midst of such delicious looking food, he could look like the most scrumptious thing on the menu.

  Her breath hitched.

  Waking up to see a hot guy cooking a hearty breakfast. What could be more appetizing?

  Why does he always have to look so good, she thought distractedly, not realizing that her headache had gradually subsided. It was probably the food, but she was already in a better mood.

  "I see that your lazy ass is finally up," he said loudly, giving her a side-glance while he scraped the eggs off the pan and onto the plate.

  Yoori frowned. Just like that, the morning hunk suddenly looked less attractive. She shook her head reprovingly. Would it kill him to say, "Good morning”?

  Instead of telling him off for being rude, she decided it was best to be civil. She owed him for carrying her home and letting her have the bed.

  "Smells good," she commented cheerily, sweeping her bitterness from his less than warm greeting aside. She craned her neck to get a better view of the assortment of breakfast food. Breakfast was not only limited to eggs and bacons, it also included pancakes, sausages, rice and freshly squeezed orange juice.

  Her mouth started to water.

  Turning off the stove and throwing the pans in the sink, Tae Hyun grabbed the plate filled with eggs and proceeded toward the dining table.

  Yoori kept her gaze on Tae Hyun. His face was unusually red, but in a very attractive way. It was probably from cooking in the kitchen, but she had to let him know because he did look somewhat awkward.

  "Your face is red," she blurted out, not thinking twice that it may have been a bad idea to be so informative.

  "I've been cooking all morning," he answered briskly. He set the plate on the table. He looked at her and smiled. "I didn't get to sleep in all day like someone else I know."

  Now it was Yoori's face that turned red. She felt slightly guilty and ashamed that she slept for so long. She also felt bad that he had to sleep on the floor because of her. Well, actually scratch that assumption. She wasn't sure if he slept on the floor or not. Rest assured, Yoori was determined to find that out later.

  "Aren't you going to eat?" he asked. He settled at the dining table, gazing at her expectantly.

  Relieved that he was no longer keen on bashing her for sleeping in all day, Yoori smiled. Nodding vigorously, she f
lew to the cabinet and quickly reached for a clean bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Tae Hyun was unusually kind today and she was going to milk it for all it was worth.

  She sat across from Tae Hyun and rubbed her hands in delight. She was so hungry!

  "Everything looks delicious!"

  "Yeah?" Tae Hyun asked, beaming like a kid. He seemed proud.

  Yoori was impressed. Tae Hyun was cooking and better yet, he cooked for her too. Boy oh boy was he on her good side today.

  "You are amazing," she squealed, focusing her eyes on the plate of sausages.

  Tae Hyun nodded. "I am pretty amazing," he concurred wistfully, pushing the plate of eggs and sausages closer to her. He seemed to be in a really good mood.

  "Is this an experiment or something?" she added enthusiastically, not thinking that she may have been too blunt with her question. The truth was, she really wasn't thinking. The only thing on her mind was food.

  The warmness on Tae Hyun's face cooled. "What do you mean?" he asked, his tone calm but his eyes staring at her attentively.

  Oblivious to the change in Tae Hyun's once positive air, Yoori laughed, overly excited to get a chance to eat. "Are you testing your cooking on me before you use this method with other girls?"

  Though it was a joke, she was also half serious with the comment. Tae Hyun, that sly womanizer. She knew he couldn't be that nice to her. There had to be an alternative reason why he cooked for her. But nice or not, Yoori always welcomed delicious food in her life.

  Tae Hyun frowned. "Is your opinion of me really that low?"

  Yoori shook her head, waving her hand in the air. "Of course not! I'm giving you a compliment. It's smart to test your food on me. I'm a good tester. I'll let you know what works and what doesn't work. Then we'll make sure you get lots of girls. We'll just have to make sure I'm out of the apartment before you..." She cleared her throat. "You know...‘put them to bed.’"

  She smiled sheepishly at him. If Tae Hyun could put his cockiness aside and give her the bed, then she could put her judgment aside and help him get more girls. It was definitely a win-win situation. She stared hungrily at the sausages again. The only loser in this game was the food that was going to be devoured by her.

  Yoori, so completely lost with the mouthwatering food surrounding her, did not notice that Tae Hyun was fuming in silence.

  Her oblivious eyes grew wide. She did not know what to eat first. Deciding on her first victim of the morning, Yoori's chopsticks earnestly reached for the sausage. Her quest for sustenance was deterred when another pair of chopsticks slapped hers away.

  "Who says you can eat this, assistant?" Tae Hyun asked, reaching for the sausages with his chopsticks. He no longer looked like he was in a good mood.

  Yoori watched in dismay as Tae Hyun bit into the sausage. "Why can't I eat this?" she asked, mournfully taking inventory of the decadent feast before her. What had gotten into him? He was so nice a second ago.

  "You said it yourself. I would only cook like this for girls I want to get into bed with." He stuffed himself with eggs and drank it all down with orange juice. "What makes you think you'll get to eat this?"

  Yoori blinked at the seductive breakfast in outrage. First he got her hopes up about getting a chance to eat this wonderful food and now, he was taking all of it away from her? Was he really that cruel? She scrutinized him, hoping to see that he was merely joking. As he ruthlessly polished off his breakfast in front of her, she soon realized that he was not going to show her any mercy.

  Her chin trembled. "What am I going to eat then?"

  He stabbed his chopsticks into another sausage. "There's cereal on the counter."

  "Ce – ce – cereal?" she stammered, pointing at all the food. He couldn't be serious. There was enough food here to feed several third world countries.

  "Cereal," he said unyieldingly, glaring at her before taking a sip of his orange juice. Needless to say, if glares could pinch, Yoori would be yelping in pain.

  "Ugh!" Knowing all too well that she wasn't going to win this argument, she angrily slammed her chopsticks on the dining table.

  Tae Hyun ignored such a tantrum and continued to eat in silence.

  She scowled at his reaction, or lack thereof.

  "Fine!" She stood up and retrieved the frosted flakes cereal box. Before returning to the dining table, she made her way to the fridge to get milk. Much to her dismay, she found that there was no carton of milk in the fridge. Her stomach growled.

  "We're out of milk!" she whined, closing the fridge door. How was she going to eat this horribly cold breakfast without milk?

  "Oh yeah, I used all of it to make pancakes," he said, eating the pancakes as if to taunt her.

  Yoori closed her eyes to soothe her ruffled feathers. She restrained the temptation of physically assaulting her evil boss. Instead, she bit her inner lip and took her seat across from him.

  The next few minutes were torture for Yoori.

  She crankily munched on her frosted flakes, avoiding eye contact with the delicious breakfast. She couldn't understand why he was so mad at her all of a sudden. Was it something she said? Was it because she called him out for being a player? It wasn't like she was being judgmental. If anything, she was actually being supportive. What was his problem?

  Grabbing another handful of cereal, her eyes on him softened. She was reminded of last night. All anger aside, she owed him for the night before. Or at least she owed him for what she thought he did for her.

  "So...about yesterday," she began, throwing the handful of cereal back into the box. She allowed her gaze to settle on him. "What exactly happened last night?"

  "You weren't feeling well," he said casually, taking his eyes off of her while sipping orange juice. "I carried you home and you pretty much slept the entire day afterward."

  Yoori nodded silently, recalling the story Tae Hyun told her about the Scorpion girl. She felt obligated to explain what happened. Her reaction wasn’t normal and she felt like she had to say something to address it.

  "The girl was like the Cinderella version of this world to me," she said quietly, grabbing a frosted flake. She mindlessly broke each flake into little pieces and began to throw them on the dining table.

  She knew it was stupid to get emotional over someone, worry about who they were and what they did in their past life – especially if it was over a girl who she didn't even know. However, Yoori couldn’t suppress the disappointment when she thought about the Scorpion girl. Killing other gang members was one thing, but an entire family? That was despicable.

  "I was so captivated by her story." She laughed wearily, not realizing that she probably shouldn't have ventured off onto that touchy subject. "It was stupid of me, but she was like a fairytale protagonist in a way. It was a big shock to find out she was actually the villain."

  Tae Hyun nodded. To her surprise, he actually looked like he empathized with her disappointment. "The thing is that sometimes, to get into a position of power, some actions are unavoidable."

  She measured him. Was he defending the Scorpion girl?

  "She executed an entire family," she voiced firmly.

  "I'm not saying it's right. But sometimes, with the circumstances you are given, you have to do whatever is necessary."

  Yoori shook her head decisively. "There is never a necessary circumstance to kill like that."

  Tae Hyun nodded quietly. He had nothing more to say.

  "Anyway," she began, changing the topic. The mood of the morning had grown a bit too solemn for her taste. She no longer wanted to dwell on the Scorpion girl and the evil deeds she committed.

  Yoori's short attention span became swamped by another topic. "Did you sleep – "

  "Don't worry,” he assured automatically, taking his eyes off her. He grabbed another sausage with his chopsticks. “I slept on the floor."

  "Yeah, I know," she said, trailing off as she kept her eyes on him. She waited awkwardly for him to look up while he ate. It was better to thank someone when they
’re looking at you and Yoori wanted to make sure she had Tae Hyun's full attention before she uttered those simple words of thanks.

  As the seconds passed and his attention (and eyes) remained on his food, Yoori frowned. Realizing that he wasn't planning on looking up anytime soon, she decided to let it out. "Thanks for that."

  She watched him carefully, hoping for a reaction.

  He simply nodded, taking another sip from his cup.

  Wow, he's really making this whole thanking ordeal hard, she thought with frustration.

  There was a moment of silence before he spoke up again. "You know you got down on the floor and slept with me, right?"

  WHAT? Yoori began to cough incessantly when the frosted flakes became momentarily lodged in her throat. Her eyes enlarged, mainly from shock. She was horrified by the new piece of information Tae Hyun so casually shared.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?" she finally breathed past her coughs.

  He observed her with a playful expression on his face. "Wow, assistant. You're either lying or you have terrible control of yourself when you're sleeping. Either way, I'm worried for you."

  Yoori gritted her teeth. To think she actually thought the guy wasn't that bad. Now he decided to lie about something that happened last night? She may not have a crystal clear memory of the night before, but she was sure she would never get down on the floor and sleep with Tae Hyun.

  That shameless liar!

  "Okay, look. You're probably bitter that you had to carry me home, but joking about something like this isn't funny for a girl like me, okay? So I'd appreciate it if you just told the truth."

  Tae Hyun looked at her, offended that she essentially called him a liar. His eyes grew serious as he stared at her intently. "You want the truth?"

  Yoori nodded, digging into the cereal box and grabbing a handful of flakes. "Yes, of course."

  "Okay." Taking a moment to inhale and exhale, he looked at her and said, "The truth is..."

  You lied, she supplied in her mind.

  "I'm not lying."

  Yoori glared at him in disbelief.

  "I think we should talk about this," he continued.