She glared threateningly at him. "You're in my way."
He slanted his head. "I was excited to see you all day and now you're giving me the cold treatment?"
"Yes!" she said angrily, unable to control herself. She held up her entire hand with her five fingers in view. "Because I spent five hours waiting in the cold and – " She stopped abruptly when she saw a small grin appear before Ji Hoon's face.
Damn. He just tricked her. He got her to admit that she waited for him.
He nodded apologetically, his grin fading. He placed both of his hands into his pockets and said, "I'm sorry, Yoori. For what it's worth, I feel really bad."
Yoori nodded sullenly and turned away. "Whatever."
Yet the truth was, her cold heart was already thawing. As good of an actress Choi Yoori was when it came to giving the cold shoulder, she always had a tendency to forgive easily as well, especially when she felt that the other person was sincerely sorry.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to make you feel better," he said upon observing that she was still angry with him. He caught her hand and easily led her to his car. "Should we start our hour now?"
"In the car? Can't we just talk out here?"
She knew he wouldn't do anything to her but it would be more appropriate if they just stood outside and talked.
"It's freezing out here," he answered. He scrutinized the hesitation on her part. "Come on, Yoori. I won't take you anywhere. We'll just stay here. It's just warmer in my car. Plus, I bought you tea. You'd enjoy it more sitting in the car."
Yoori nibbled her bottom lip, still unsure.
Ji Hoon smirked as he opened the passenger door and casually ran to the other side of the car where he opened the driver's side. Once he got in, he looked at her mischievously. "The hour starts now. If you want to make good use of this hour, I suggest you get in so we can start talking. As I recall, you're a pretty unforgiving timekeeper. It's been seven minutes since we first spoke and time is quickly ticking away."
Yoori gaped at him disbelievingly. Was he really doing this to her?
His smile remained. He dramatically consulted his watch. "Oh look, now it's eight minutes..."
Muttering a curse, she flung her bag into the car. Yoori got in and closed the door behind her. "Start,” she instructed sourly.
"Well, first off," he said coolly, picking up a foam cup that had a white lid over it. "Here's your drink."
She took it with caution. "What is it?"
"Queen of babylon white tea with a mix of rooibos rose garden tea and a touch of german rock cane sugar," he answered easily, ignoring the “what-the-hell” look on Yoori’s face.
His smile broadened when he picked up his cup and began to sip from it. He closed his eyes with delight. It was as if the tea was the most wonderful thing to ever grace his tongue. His eyes urged her to give it a chance. "It's my favorite and it might become yours as well. Try it."
Curious as to how good this tea would taste, Yoori brought the tip of the lid to her lips. She sampled it. The synapses in her brain burst to life.
As the euphoric taste of this foreign tea wafted on her tongue and glided down her throat, her eyes expanded in astonishment.
She glanced at Ji Hoon, whose smile was already wider from witnessing Yoori's obvious enjoyment of the drink he introduced to her.
"This tastes like heaven!" she couldn't help but exclaim. She blew into the cup and took a couple more sips from it. She closed her eyes to savor its heavenly taste. She was already in a better mood.
Ji Hoon chuckled. "This is why I was late. Do you forgive me now?"
Yoori opened her eyes and shrugged, taking another sip. "Depends how you use the rest of the allotted time."
"Don't worry," he reassured her, gazing at her with much adulation. "I know why we're here, why you're here. I'll do my best to give you the hour you want."
Nodding at his answer, she was quiet as she took another sip.
"Did you really wait all week?" she found herself asking inaudibly. She avoided eye contact by staring at the smoke emitting from her cup. She hated the warm sensation that always appeared whenever he looked at her like that.
Although her eyes were still on her cup, she could hear Ji Hoon move. Reaching his hand out, he laid a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face up to meet his. The touch of his finger brought heat to her body.
He took a moment to gaze at her with smiling eyes. "I'm really happy you made it."
Yoori nodded dubiously.
Though he didn't respond to her question with a direct answer, she already knew the meaning of his actions.
It was a yes.
Yes, he really did wait all week.
A new layer of blush waltzed on her cheeks. Be still my thawing heart…
"Before we start," he began delicately, as if knowing he shouldn't prolong what she was really here for. "Have you been well since the last time I saw you?"
Yoori nodded again. "Yeah. It's been a good week. How was yours?"
He laughed wearily. "I had an okay week." He glanced at her. Though his eyes were smiling at her, she could see hints of fatigue in them. "I gotta tell you...I couldn't be happier right now though."
To say that it took all her self-control to not melt was an understatement. She was pretty sure she resembled a bobble head with all the nodding she was doing but she didn't care. Baffled as to how to respond to the charm Ji Hoon was throwing at her, she did the only thing she could do to keep her mouth shut at the moment: she drank tea.
Sensing the awkwardness on her part, Ji Hoon shrewdly changed the topic so she didn't have to reply to what he just said. "Although I'd like to believe that your interest for me precedes other needs, we both know why you're here."
Yoori was about to weakly combat that statement with some bullshit answer like she didn't mind getting to know him too, but Ji Hoon had already stopped her.
"Don't worry," he said with a reassuring smile. "The main objective tonight is to merely get on your good side. I'll worry about making you interested in me later."
"Will you be okay talking about her?" she asked hesitantly. As much as she wanted to learn more about An Soo Jin, she didn't want to make Ji Hoon do something he wasn't ready to do. God knows she made that mistake too many times in the past with other people. E.g. Tae Hyun.
He smiled. "That's why it's great that you're here. You'll take good care of me, right?"
Yoori smiled wearily. The words were there but they refused to come out. Her heart began to beat faster under his gaze. He was extremely good at making her feel like she was the most amazing thing on earth.
"Anyway," she said loudly, a gesture for her and Ji Hoon to break out of their trance.
He smirked at her actions but said no more. He straightened up in his seat. "So what do you want to know about An Soo Jin?"
"I don't know. You pick where you want to begin. I mean, who exactly was she?"
Ji Hoon smiled. "The first thing you should know about An Soo Jin is that she was amazing beyond words." The fondness never left his eyes as he thought back to the past. "In my life, there have been countless girls who came and went but Soo Jin was the only one who ever made a lasting impression on me."
He stared at his cup, running his eyes over the outlining.
"We met at an opening for one of my father's clubs. I was being groomed to become the King of the Skulls at that time, so naturally it was my night to watch over the club to make sure everything went according to plan." He laughed reminiscently. "Someone should have warned me that night that I was going to meet the love of my life because if someone had warned me, then I probably wouldn't have looked like such an idiot in front of the entire Underworld when I met her."
Yoori laughed at the sheepish smile on Ji Hoon's face.
She was already sucked into the story. "What happened?"
He told the story and Yoori didn’t once interrupt. "It all started a little over 5 years ago, when one of my men came running into the VIP lounge I was in
..."
“If you show just an ounce of weakness. . .”
27: The Meeting of Skulls and Scorpions
5 years ago...
"Boss!” one of the Skulls members screamed out as he came running into the VIP lounge.
Lee Ji Hoon, who was enjoying himself in a private lounge with two scantily dressed girls sitting to either side of him, looked up at the uninvited gang member with distaste.
"You better have a good reason for interrupting me," he said coolly, planting a kiss on the neck of one of the girls. She giggled drunkenly upon feeling his warm lips.
"Boss! Outside!" the Skulls member panted. He pointed at the door. "There are Scorpions outside causing trouble!"
"What?"
That was all it took for Ji Hoon to snap out of his cool state.
Ji Hoon peeled his arms off the two girls and ran out of the room. Music blared into his ears once he made his way out of the VIP lounge. He muttered under his breath, ready to kill the bastard who dared to disturb the first club opening that his father left him in charge of. Didn't these Scorpions realize that they were messing with the future King of Skulls?
Marching onto the main floor, Ji Hoon searched for the source of the commotion. His eyes narrowed onto the crowd that formed a circle on the dance floor. He took huge strides toward the commotion. Ji Hoon pushed his way through the crowd. When he reached the spacious center of the circle, his eyes grew wide at the sight before him.
On the floor were five of his patrons, kneeling side by side. Their bloodied faces hung low in shame. Their hands were raised up with big bottles of Smirnoff vodka in their possession. They looked like five children who were being punished for skipping school.
If his blood wasn't boiling before, it was definitely boiling right now. Who the fuck would have the balls to do this?
He ran his fiery eyes from his customers to the Scorpion sitting before them. Ji Hoon was determined to kill whoever was in charge.
His determination was fleeting when his eyes snagged onto an unexpected Scorpion. Needless to say, as his focus rested on the beautiful gang leader, his anger had more than subsided.
She wore a short black dress that complimented every inch of her body. Her dark heels brought out the length of her long silky legs and the jewelry she wore brought attention to her gorgeous skin. Ji Hoon was unquestionably mesmerized. It was a shame that time didn't freeze for Ji Hoon because if he had it his way, he'd spend another five minutes checking out the gorgeous creature before him. Yet when her bored gaze finally settled on him, Ji Hoon was instantly slapped out of his stupor. It took him less than a second to finally realize the complications of the situation before him.
His patrons were kneeling before her.
She was the one in charge.
He muttered a series of curses in his head. His biggest weakness had always been beautiful women. It would make sense that the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen would be in charge of creating a scene at his club. How the hell was he going to go about dealing with this situation?
As if hearing his question, the kneeling patrons began to call out to him.
"Ji Hoon!" the five men cried desperately. Some of the men attempted to get up from their kneeling positions. They were immediately kicked back to the ground.
Clearing his throat, Ji Hoon was ready to deal with the situation as best as he could: he was just going to wing it.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Ji Hoon asked diplomatically, his voice a bit more serene than it should have been. He was still too entranced by the nameless beauty to function. He wanted to resolve whatever the hell was going on but he also wanted to charm the pants—or the dress—off a particular girl.
When all she did was stare at him blankly, Ji Hoon took out his best defense and flashed her one of his charismatic smiles.
Screw beating people up tonight, he concluded as he felt his lust for this girl grow with the passing seconds. If he had it his way, he'd be fucking someone in a particular short black dress and dark heels tonight.
Her bored gaze on him remained.
"Let me guess," she observed, looking at him up and down. Unimpressed, she took her eyes off him and studied her nails in boredom. "The heir to the Skulls throne, right?"
Unaffected by her cold attitude, the smile on Ji Hoon's face persevered. Even that voice of hers was driving him crazy. "I'd be honored if you told me who you are."
Satisfaction entered him when he saw that she actually smiled at his response.
Uncrossing her legs, the nameless beauty stood up from her seat and approached him.
He gazed at the whole scene with bated breath.
It took Ji Hoon all of his self-control to not reach out, grab her, and throw her into one of the VIP rooms and do what came naturally.
When she reached him, her bored gaze evolved into a somewhat teasing one.
"How about you take a wild guess?" she asked coyly, tilting her head to the side.
He didn't answer. He was too distracted by that sweet smelling perfume of hers and the temptation to grab her by the waist and kiss her like no tomorrow.
She smirked at his lack of response. It appeared as though she knew he was more than enchanted and she didn't mind playing with him.
Upon seeing that alluring smirk of hers, Ji Hoon found himself a bit more amused. He didn't give a damn that the girl was intending to play him for a fool. It didn't matter what her intention was; the only intention that mattered was his.
As a gesture to remind himself to keep his hands off her, Ji Hoon folded his arms.
Her teasing nature faded as her impatience grew. Clearly annoyed with his lack of response, she scoffed rudely. "Didn't your parents tell you it's rude to stare?"
"Isn't that smoking body of yours telling you that you should be in my arms right now?" he found himself asking, his eyes landing briefly on her chest. Now this girl was in for it. He was going to give her everything. All of his charm. He was ready to turn it all on for her.
She laughed disbelievingly. "You're seriously hitting on me right now?" She looked around. "At a time like this?"
Apparently the entire club agreed with her as they murmured in disbelief.
He shrugged, not caring about who was watching. The only thing that mattered was her. "All rationale aside, I like to follow the commands of my heart."
"Or your penis," she corrected sharply. She was clearly unimpressed.
Unfazed by the harsh reply, Ji Hoon took it as an open invitation for more flirtatious lines on his part. "We'll both follow your command as well," he whispered huskily, his eyes already admiring the fullness of her pink lips.
Hiding back a smile, she shook her head at his answer. It may have been pure amusement on her part, but it seemed to him that she was already warming up to him.
"Ji Hoon!” one of the patrons finally screamed out, reminding him that the nameless beauty in front of him wasn't the only witness to his charm. “What the fuck are you doing?"
Remembering the patrons who were being punished, rationale returned to Ji Hoon. He cleared his throat again and turned back to his nameless beauty with apprehensiveness.
"Why are they kneeling?" he asked carefully, straddling between sounding serious and still being charming. He wanted to address the situation but he also didn't want to piss off his gorgeous new eye candy.
"They had a lot of horrible things to say about my father," she answered with no indication of regret. "They deserve the punishment I gave them."
His brows drew together. "Father?"
In a flash, it all clicked together for him.
Of course.
Why didn't the obviousness occur to him before?
He gazed at her warily.
“An Soo Jin?" he asked carefully, already knowing the answer to his question.
She blinked as a gesture of her confirmation.
He shook his head, his affectionate gaze on her remaining. One would think that Lee Ji Hoon would lose interest in the girl after
finding out that she was the daughter of the enemy but as his lustful gaze on her grew stronger, Ji Hoon was more than surprised that he wasn't repulsed. He was actually much more turned on that she was not only a beautiful eye candy, but also a forbidden one at that.
"Fuck, Ji Hoon!” the patron yelled again. “Why are you spending so much time talking to that little bitch? Help us!"
Ji Hoon and Soo Jin whipped their heads to the direction of the screaming patron. Soo Jin closed the distance and approached the kneeling men. There was murder in her eyes. Her palm held out, she pointed it at the direction of one of the Scorpions. On cue, one of her men took out a gold gun from behind his back and threw it at her. With impressive skills, she caught the gun in the perfect shooting position. She aimed in the direction of the now petrified patron.
Soo Jin was ready to put a bullet through his head. As her fingers made contact with the trigger, Ji Hoon's sudden appearance between her gun and the patron caused her to think twice. Waiting with bated interest, Soo Jin lowered her gun and watched Ji Hoon's every move. She appeared more than curious at Ji Hoon's motives.
A frown firmly solidified on his face, Ji Hoon advanced toward the patron with fire in his own eyes. As he brushed past two of the kneeling patrons, he grabbed the vodka bottle one of the other patrons was holding up.
What happened next took everyone in the club by surprise.
Ji Hoon didn't rush to his patron’s side to save them. He rushed over to punish them.
Demonstrating impressive alacrity, Ji Hoon gave the standing patron a powerful kick to the gut that left him with no hold on gravity. As an added complement to the powerful assault, Ji Hoon then slammed the vodka bottle into his skull before he fell to the ground. The bottle shattered and various ounce of Smirnoff overflowed onto the writhing body of the patron. He was now bleeding incessantly from the head. As blood from the patron's head began to mix with the vodka, the atmosphere of the club became disbelieving.
The expressions on the club patrons said it all: what had gotten into Lee Ji Hoon?
Welcome to the Underworld (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 1) Page 33
