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

by Template, Con

  Without another word, he turned on his heels and walked toward his car.

  She didn't like to admit it, but as she watched him drive off into the distance, she could almost swear that she felt her heart ache for him.

  That was the problem with Choi Yoori.

  She always had a tendency to get too easily attached to people – even if she only met them for a short time.

  Kang Min, Jae Won and Ji Hoon were prime examples.

  And, of course, Tae Hyun.

  She squeezed her eyes shut when Tae Hyun came to mind.

  Especially Tae Hyun.

  She exerted a heavy sigh and began to drag her feet back to Tae Hyun's apartment. An upsurge of guilt prickled over her as she took one step after the other. Albeit the conversation with Ji Hoon was harmless, she felt like she betrayed Tae Hyun somehow. Even though she expressed strong feelings about being "done" with him, she felt guilty.

  Remember what he did, she reminded herself as she descended down the street, the sun setting closely beside her. She hoped that this reminder would lessen the guilt that plagued her. She hoped it would strengthen her resolve before she saw him again.

  Remember what he did to his own brother.

  ■ ■ ■

  With substantial dread weighing her down, Yoori took out her card key and scanned it through the machine when she reached Tae Hyun’s apartment. The metal door instantaneously clicked open, allotting her entry. She made it approximately two steps in before she heard the apartment owner’s voice.

  "How was life on the outside?" the soothing voice asked.

  Yoori inhaled sharply, allowing the door to click shut before wandering further into the living room. Tae Hyun sat on the couch with his Blackberry in hand. She had hoped that he went to another one of his gang meetings so she wouldn't have to talk to him for the remainder of the night. She surveyed him. He wore a black suit with a loosened green tie. It was clear he just came home.

  "It was good," she replied tiredly. She stood awkwardly behind the sofa, rubbing her left arm with her right hand as a mechanism to warm the cold chill she was experiencing (and to subtly ease her nervousness).

  He glanced at her from his Blackberry screen. He took notice of her rubbing her own arm. "You should have brought a jacket with you," he said quietly, placing his Blackberry on the coffee table. He vested his full attention on her.

  Yoori merely nodded as a response.

  He smiled. "Did anything interesting?"

  "Mall," she said simply.

  And saw Lee Ji Hoon, she added in her head.

  The rubbing of her arm grew more rapid. She debated about whether or not she should share this piece of information with Tae Hyun. It would be a bad idea to do that. She didn't know how he would react. Would he throw a tantrum and instruct her to never see Ji Hoon again? Would he care enough to throw a tantrum? Did he care period?

  He assessed her empty hands in confusion. "Why didn't you get anything?"

  "I've never been much of a shopper."

  "A girl who’s not much of a shopper,” he marveled with a laugh. “Now I’ve really seen everything."

  She felt the words bubble in her throat. She didn't understand her motive for telling Tae Hyun, but she had to let it out.

  "I saw Lee Ji Hoon," she blurted.

  The rubbing of her arm grew stagnant. She studied Tae Hyun expectantly. It was stupid, but a small part of her hoped that he'd react irrationally – angrily if anything. Anything just to show her how he felt about her and this entire situation.

  Much to her unpleasant surprise, Tae Hyun did not even blink when he processed what she said.

  His cool expression remained. "That's nice. And how was he doing?"

  "F–fine," she stuttered. " I – y–you're not angry?"

  An indifferent brow arched. "Should I be?"

  "I don't know,” she continued against her confusion. “Should you? You were angry when Jin Ae slept with him."

  "Jin Ae and you are completely different to me," he said disinterestedly, his face blank. "I'm not concerned when it comes to you."

  Yoori nodded with composure, hiding the fact that her stomach churned inwards from the statement Tae Hyun casually conveyed.

  "That's good to know," said Yoori, not really knowing how to react to him basically telling her that he didn't care enough to be angry that she spoke to Ji Hoon. Oh how she wanted to disappear and stop talking to him. "I – I think I'm going to head back into the bedroom and get some rest."

  She was ready to retreat backward when his next words stopped her. "Are you going to see him again?"

  "Probably," she answered distractedly, not really listening to his question. She gazed at him with eyes wide open when she digested his question. "What? I mean no. Well, maybe. Actually, I'm not sure. I'm just – I – I'm glad you're not mad. Anyway, I'll see him when I see him. Glad you're okay with it. I'm going to get ready for bed now."

  She wanted to hide in the bedroom. There was too much going on in her head, too much confusion, and too many headache-inducing thoughts.

  "Yoori," she heard him call after her when she hurried into the hall.

  Purposely accelerating her pace so she wouldn't have to talk to him, she ignored his calls.

  Tae Hyun sped after her. Catching up with her, he snaked his arm around her waist and spun her around to face him.

  "Tae Hyun, seriously. I'm not in the mood," she said wearily, thinking he wanted to speak about Ji Hoon. She pushed herself away from his grasp and moved away. She didn't even make it an inch away when she was blocked with the wall behind her back.

  He took a step forward and placed each of his hands on either side of her, consequently locking her in. Leveraging his weight on each hand, he leaned in closer to her, successfully regaining her full attention and causing her breathing to become shallow.

  He drew her gaze to him. "You never asked me why I killed him."

  She closed her eyes in frustration, not really listening to what he was saying. "I said I don't want to talk about Ji – ” She halted and gaped at him when she registered that he wasn't talking about Ji Hoon. "What?"

  "My older brother," he clarified, his eyes on her. “You never asked me why I killed him."

  "I..." She paused momentarily to think it over. Was there ever a good reason to kill your brother?

  No, she answered in her mind. She eyed him critically. She was curious though. What possible reason could he have apart from stealing the Serpents throne?

  "Are you going to tell me?"

  "No."

  "Why not?”

  "Because you never asked me."

  "Why did you kill your brother?" she asked, growing infinitely more curious.

  "Why are you so angry with me?" he fired back, dissatisfaction prominent in his voice. "Did you talk to Ji Hoon to punish me?"

  "What? No. I ran into – " She paused to regain her composure. This wasn't about her. She was not the one on trial here. "No, it doesn't matter. What's your reason?"

  "You answer my question first."

  "I asked you first."

  "I care about your answer more. Just tell me – "

  "I empathize with your guilt," she proclaimed thoughtlessly. Her gaze rounded when she realized what she said.

  Frustration dissipated out of Tae Hyun's eyes. Stupefaction took its place. "What?"

  Yoori bit her lip, berating herself for answering without thought. The answer also didn't make sense to her. What was she thinking giving him that nonsensical answer?

  "Forget it," she voiced irritably, aggravation mounting over her flushed face. "I really don't care enough to delve deeper into this. Whatever your reason, I hope it was good enough to kill your own brother."

  She made an effort to leave. She was once again stopped by Tae Hyun.

  "Can't you trust that I had a good reason?" His voice was frosted with the same tone of indifference. Such a tone that didn't bother her before pissed her off like no other now. There was absolutely no guilt i
n his voice. None whatsoever.

  Hate streamed inside her.

  How dare he try to minimize his sinful actions with a question like that?

  No, she couldn’t trust him and she wouldn’t trust him.

  She released herself from his grasp. "Have a good night, Tae Hyun.”

  Her right foot leading the way, she drew away from a now quiet Tae Hyun. He slowly pushed himself off the wall and watched from the corner of his eyes as she went into the bedroom.

  Closing the bedroom door, Yoori rested the back of her head against the door for support. She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't know why, but it felt nice just standing there like that. It felt nice and safe standing there in silence as she attempted to organize her frantic thoughts.

  She didn’t understand why she shared with Tae Hyun her meeting with Ji Hoon, and she didn’t understand why she cared about his reaction. She also couldn’t comprehend why she told him she was angry with him because she “empathized” with his guilt. Nothing. Nothing made sense to her. All of her actions by far were a mystery to her.

  She raked her fingers through her hair. If she could, she would have stood there longer. However, as a muscle twitched in pain in her right leg, she knew it was due time for her to rest. Finally opening her eyes, her fingers reached for the light switch. She flicked the lights off. She approached Tae Hyun's bed in total darkness and climbed onto the mattress. She laid her head on the pillow and threw the covers over her.

  Finally, she closed her eyes.

  She no longer wanted to organize her frantic thoughts. Her priority right now was to sleep and sleep quickly. If she fell asleep fast enough, then she wouldn’t have to think about forgiving him. If she fell asleep fast enough, then she wouldn’t have to think about Tae Hyun. If she fell asleep fast enough, then she wouldn’t have to think about why Tae Hyun's guilt left such a big impression on her. If she fell asleep fast enough, then she wouldn’t have to be consumed with this nonsensical guilt.

  Drifting off to sleep, Yoori failed to realize that the big reason why she was upset with Tae Hyun was because his unforgivable guilt reminded her of her own, that his guilt reminded her of her own guilt that was buried deep in her subconscious. If she had realized all this, then she probably wouldn't have been so keen on falling asleep so fast. Because even in dreams, her unforgivable sins lived on.

  Each in a deep slumber...waiting...just waiting to be reawakened.

  “Finish them off.”

  22: Victims and Saviors

  “Kneel,” she whispered softly, crossing her arms. Her blank eyes fell onto her three captives.

  With a kick to the legs from her men, the three shadow figures dropped to their knees.

  The young woman stood before them with a smug look on her face.

  “I’ll never kneel before you, you heartless bitch!” one of the shadow figures screamed out as he stood up with full force.

  Several of her men took out knives from behind their backs, ready and willing to put the standing man in his place.

  The smug expression still cold on her face, she lifted her hand as a gesture for her men to put their knives away. Exchanging hesitant looks, they obliged with their boss’s unspoken order.

  “You have a daring mouth, don’t you?” she asked serenely, her entertained eyes shifting from the two kneeling men to the one standing in the center.

  It happened within a split second. The trace of amusement in her eyes vanished as darkness took its place.

  “Kneel,” she repeated once more, her voice composed, but coupled with an ominous pitch.

  Though his hardened posture faltered after seeing the subtle change in her eyes, he remained standing. “Never,” he uttered bravely, his voice strong but his eyes filled with a sea of worry.

  An annoyed smirk graced her pale face. Her dark eyes narrowed onto the disobedient man. Shaking her head, she turned away in disgust. “God, I hate it when dogs don’t listen to their master.”

  Her icy eyes fell onto one of her men. Slowly approaching him, she shook her head in frustration.

  Intense silence mounted over the dark warehouse once she stopped in front of one of her subordinates. Without notice, she reached for the gun of the faceless subordinate and fired two perfect shots into the kneecaps of the standing man.

  The thunderous sound of roaring bullets echoed onto the walls of the warehouse. It was immediately followed by a blood-curdling scream.

  Writhing in agony, the man fell to the floor. Surely enough, he fell into a kneeling position before his entire body collapsed face-first onto the floor. His head fell right beside the boots of the young woman.

  She squatted beside him and traced the black gun along the side of his agonized face. “This is what happens when dogs don’t listen to their master,” she lectured softly, finding more hilarity with seeing him twitch his face in pain rather than the actual lesson that was being taught.

  She withdrew her gun from his quivering face and stood up with a lethargic stretching of her right shoulder.

  “I do hate getting my hands dirty when it comes to killing people,” she whispered, her right hand firmly gripped on the gun. Her eyes sharpened onto the two kneeling men. Both were watching the entire scene in terror.

  “I think it’s time to let others play.”

  Her eyes focused on the faceless subordinates standing behind the three captives.

  “Knives,” she said to the faceless shadows.

  The entire warehouse shook with roars of knives hitting the floor. One by one, they landed in front of the two kneeling men and the fallen man. When the last of the dozen knives fell onto the floor, the young woman parted her smiling lips.

  “I’m feeling a bit altruistic today.” She tossed the gun back to one of her men. “And I’m in the mood to be entertained.”

  Her dark eyes centered onto the kneeling men. They stared at her in trepidation. They knew what they had to do with those knives.

  “Do you guys want to live?”

  They nodded quickly, staring desperately at the knives before them.

  She smiled calculatingly. “The game is simple. One of the three of you will walk out of here alive. The other two will die by the hands of the survivor.” She laughed when her gaze wandered onto the man she shot. “It seems,” she voiced mockingly, feigning disappointment, “my favorite dog in this game lost the fight before it even began.”

  The two kneeling men stared at the knives on the floor, desperation foaming in their eyes. Each of the knives symbolized their gateway to freedom or gateway to hell. It was clear in their eyes that each was determined to be the one to walk out of the lion’s den alive.

  As she reached behind her back, each of the men held their breath. They knew what was to come.

  “Ready,” she started, her heart beating impatiently for the fun she was about to witness.

  She pulled out her knife and threw it toward the floor.

  It danced in the air…

  “Set…”

  The knife made a deafening sound, its slim figure making contact with the floor that was about to be polluted with blood.

  A sadistic smile appeared on her face as her lips parted in pleasure.

  “Go.”

  Waking up with a loud gasp, Yoori could’ve sworn her heart was ready to pop out of her chest. She placed her right hand over her rapidly beating heart and rubbed her face with her free hand.

  Shit.

  This was by far the most disturbing dream she'd ever had. She had been in this Underworld society for too long if unbearable violence was prominent, even within the parameters of her dreams.

  She steadied her breathing and began to gently slap herself back to reality.

  "Just a dream. Just a dream," she chanted as she repositioned herself in Tae Hyun's bed. Her heart beat like it was about to take its last breath. "Just a dream. Just a dre –"

  She stopped chanting after turning to her side. A new, nightmarish distraction presented itself. Her pulse slowed to a sto
p when she looked down and spotted a pair of legs that loomed beside the bed. Running her eyes from the bottom up, she cast her petrified gaze onto a pale looking mystery girl. The girl stared at her with unblinking eyes.

  What the fuck?

  Her cold hands squeezed her comforter in desperation. She wanted to ask the girl who she was. She wanted to jump off the bed and run off. But she couldn't. She couldn't do any of the things she wanted to do.

  Gulping in absolute fear, Yoori did the only thing a rational person could do at that moment. She screamed bloody murder.

  With shaking instincts, she propelled up on the bed and stood upon it. Whilst holding her comforter against her chest, Yoori's own unblinking eyes stared down at the mystery girl.

  The girl blinked at her in bewilderment.

  Though Yoori stood more than a couple of inches higher on the bed, she could tell that the girl was tall. She was dressed in a short white halter dress and sported ridiculously high heels. The girl stood at about 5'7 or 5'8 with the heels on. Yoori really couldn't tell with her mind shaking from the shock and all. Needless to say, dressed in baggy white pajama pants with a simple white fitted tank, Yoori felt really “bummish” compared to the mystery girl.

  Comparison of clothes aside, Yoori was more interested in finding out who the hell the girl was.

  Yoori pointed a shaking finger at the mystery girl, who smiled at her like Yoori was the most entertaining thing on earth.

  "W–who," Yoori panted loudly, placing her right hand over her heart as a way to steady her own breathing. "Who. The. Hell. Are. You?”

  The mystery girl's smile grew wider. "I was planning on asking you the same thing," she said cheerfully, looking Yoori up and down approvingly.

  Yoori inverted her brows when the girl “approved” her with her eyes. The hell? Fear vacated her body. In its place came bafflement. Who on earth was this chick?

  The mystery girl opened her mouth to say something else. She was punctually interrupted when the door blasted open.

  "Yoori!" came Tae Hyun's voice when he exploded into the bedroom like a bat out of hell.

  Yoori and the mystery girl swerved their attention to the frantic gang leader.