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

by Template, Con

  Yoori's face became reminiscent of a deer caught in headlights. She questioned the verity of the reality she was in. Was this really happening? Was he really hugging her? She pinched herself. She flinched at the pain. It was definitely real. She looked around frantically. There was no audience in sight. He couldn't be acting for the wind, right? Her pulse raced at the possibilities. Oh dear Lord, what was Tae Hyun doing to her?

  This is a test, she told herself, trying very hard to make sense of what was going on.

  Tae Hyun, that big bully, was testing her to see if she was obsessed with him, she reasoned. Regardless of her obvious attraction to his handsome physique, Yoori knew she couldn't let herself fail “the test.” She could only imagine the torment Tae Hyun would put her through if she gave him a reason to believe that he had been right all along, that she was just like the other girls who became putty in his hand.

  No.

  She couldn't let that happen. No matter how hard it may be, she refused to be seen like any other girls.

  "You know," she floundered, not wanting the silence to reflect the shock on her face.

  She struggled to find the right word vomit to release from her confused mouth. "You know, your hoodie would have done a great job of warming me up too!"

  She grimaced. Could she sound more like a weakling?

  Chuckling, Tae Hyun rested his chin on her right shoulder. A mischievous grin graced his mouth as he tilted his head toward her ear. He leaned his lips close enough to her earlobe. There was a microscopic space between his parting lips and her skin.

  "If I give you my hoodie," he whispered softly, his hot breath teasing every sense within her. "Then wouldn't I be cold too?"

  Yoori closed her eyes in agony when she heard it, that seductive tone in his voice. He was teasing her. The sexy crime lord was teasing her. Oh man, why was he doing this to her?

  "Boss, this is completely inappropriate," she croaked. It may have given her a nice bubbly feeling, but Yoori knew sitting like this with Tae Hyun was just a bad idea.

  "Isn't this what friends do?" he inquired innocently, his embrace seemingly becoming just a bit tighter.

  Yoori frantically shook her head. "No. No, this isn't what friends do."

  "This is what I do for girls who are my friends." He laughed at the tenseness exerting from Yoori's rigid body. "Don't think too much of it, assistant," he teased in an even tone. "I just need to sit here for a bit longer to clear my mind. Then, after that, we can leave. Until then, just relax. I can't have my assistant freezing her ass off. Can you imagine the crap I'd have to deal with if you're sick?"

  Yoori was no longer listening.

  "No, no, no! I can't do this!"

  She struggled for a moment before managing to pull herself out of Tae Hyun's embrace. She propped herself up and took a couple steps away from Tae Hyun. She shuddered at the frigidness that attacked her after leaving his embrace.

  Still seated in the same position, Tae Hyun merely smiled upward at her. He extended his hand out to her. "Hurry up and come back here. You're going to get sick soon."

  Stop tempting me, she wanted to say. Instead, she shook her head.

  Tae Hyun lowered his hand and rested it on his kneecap. He held a steady gaze on her. Then, that knowing smirk made its appearance.

  Yoori's eyes rounded when she saw it. It wasn't so long ago (last night to be exact) that she saw that particular knowing smile of his. She knew he was going to do this!

  Outraged, she pointed a trembling finger at him. "Don’t you dare say that I'm being like this because I want you and I don't want to be tempted."

  Even though it may be slightly true, she couldn't have Tae Hyun thinking that.

  He faked an innocent expression. "I didn't say anything!"

  "That stupid smile of yours is saying it all."

  He shook his head. "Actually, the way you're acting right now is saying it all." He sighed dramatically before tipping his head back. A long pause before he quietly said, "I knew it."

  While voicing this, he made sure to stare at the night's sky, making it appear as if he was now too shy to make eye contact with someone who clearly had an obsession with him.

  Yoori screamed in her head. She screamed so loudly that she was surprised her head didn't explode. Contorting her face in aversion, Yoori muttered a string of curses as she thought about her less than favorable position. Damn this Kwon Tae Hyun. He sure knew what buttons to push.

  Angered by his cocky attitude and persuaded by her strong desire to salvage her pride, Yoori did the only thing she knew she could do at that moment: she was going to have to act like it was no big deal and sit there with him hugging her from behind.

  "Make room," she voiced angrily, stomping back to him.

  She slapped his kneecap as a gesture for him to know that she was getting ready to sit in the space between his legs. When he made room, Yoori sat down with pure bitterness. She was instantly reminded of the night before where Tae Hyun "convinced" her to share the same bed with him.

  A victorious smile on his face, Tae Hyun wrapped his arms around her as she situated herself in front of him.

  Yoori felt renewed fire in her blood. She mentally prepped herself to act as normally as she could. Don't let him know he got to you or he'll tease you forever, Yoori reminded herself, feeling her body naturally lean itself against Tae Hyun's breathing chest.

  Tae Hyun gave a deep sigh when he rested his chin on the crown of her head. His embrace on her tightened just a bit more. It may have been too bold of a thought on her part, but Yoori was almost sure that Tae Hyun really enjoyed the position they were sitting in.

  As awkwardness poured in, Yoori felt the unbearable need to spark a conversation before her insides turned to mush and she actually became putty under Tae Hyun's hold. Before she had the chance to say anything, Tae Hyun had already broken the peace.

  "Just relax, will ya?" he whispered offhandedly. "You'll have a hard time clearing your mind if you're tense like this."

  Not wanting to seem too affected by what was happening, she listened to him. A muted curse escaped her lips as Yoori allowed her body to relax under Tae Hyun's hold. As her back rested heedlessly against his breathing chest, Yoori felt the last remaining chill leave her body.

  And at that moment, something happened that Yoori didn't want to happen.

  The foreign bolts of electricity glided through her small frame and she knew she couldn't deny it anymore. She couldn't deny how nice it felt to be in his arms like that, she couldn't deny how natural it was that she somehow fit into his hold so perfectly and she couldn't deny how blissful she felt.

  As the last of the rigidness left her muscles, a sense of safety, warmth, and contentment reigned over her. Slowly, Yoori allowed herself to get lost in Tae Hyun's hold. But, just like anything else in the fated world, it would make sense that Tae Hyun would be the one to kill the nice moment they had going on.

  "You know," he began carefully, cutting through the wave of her thoughts. "I've been thinking about this since I first met you." He paused for a second before continuing. "You always get really awkward when you're close to me. It never occurred to me until now, but have you ever had a boyfriend?"

  If it was even possible, she froze even more.

  It was a good thing that Yoori's back was turned to Tae Hyun because the look on her face would've given him the obvious answer. Stiffening up at his question, Yoori's mouth dropped open.

  No, she never had a boyfriend; none that she could recall anyway. Amnesia had a tendency to do that to you. Resolved to not get into the messy details of her love life – or lack thereof – she did the only thing she was comfortable with doing: she lied.

  "Of course," she replied in an even tone. Though her voice was confident, her blushing and terrified face more than gave away her true answer. She counted her blessings that her back was still turned to him.

  He chuckled into her ear. He couldn't see her face, but Yoori somehow knew that Tae Hyun sensed she was
lying.

  He verified her suspicions without a moment's hesitation. “Liar.”

  As her eyes shifted around in fear, Yoori did her best to keep her poise. She defended herself at once. "How dare you call me a liar?"

  "‘Cause you are."

  She was flabbergasted at this point. How could he be so sure?

  "Why are you so sure I'm lying?"

  Due to the fact that his chin was still rested on top of her head, Yoori could feel Tae Hyun smile when he gave her his answer. Tightening his embrace on her, he said, "Because you stiffen up every time you lie."

  Yoori sputtered with embarrassment. She twisted around and faced an angelic looking Tae Hyun. The “angel” had a devilish smile on his countenance. "Is that why we're sitting like this? So you can be a human lie detector?"

  The nerve of this guy!

  Well, she wouldn’t have it!

  As she made a move to leave, she felt Tae Hyun gently pull her back down. "Stop, you're going to get sick.”

  "I don't care,” she argued, still making an effort to rise up. Blood rushed to her face. “I don't want to talk about my personal life."

  "Okay!" he conceded. "Geez, assistant. I was just trying to have a nice bonding moment."

  Bonding moment? Her mind was going haywire. What was he doing to her? Did she misunderstand? Wasn’t this supposed to be a test? He wasn’t really hitting on her, was he?

  "Tae Hyun," she began breathlessly, unable to conceal her confusion. "I gotta ask. You're not hitting on me right now, are you?"

  He regarded her with humor in his eyes. That cunning smile of his never left his face. Though he didn't seem surprised with her question, he did well to fabricate ignorance. "Do you think I'm hitting on you right now?"

  "I–I–I honestly don't know," she stuttered with an embarrassed expression on her face. "I–I mean I usually know if a guy is hitting on me or not, but I can't tell with you. I don't know if this is just how you are or if you're actually hitting on me."

  His smile remained as he shook his head with pure amusement. Exerting a sigh of fatigue, he blithely said, "Choi Yoori, don't flatter yourself. The only reason why I'm keeping you warm is because I don’t want you to get sick. Do you know how much I hate being around sick people?"

  What the?

  Hate being around sick people?

  She was dumbfounded.

  Her doubtful gaze remained. "Are you serious?"

  He nodded seriously. "Yeah. I hate hearing people sneeze and cough. It's truly a sickening sound."

  Yoori was ready to call Tae Hyun a liar until she took a moment to mull over what he just said. However ridiculous his answer sounded, it did make sense if it came from him.

  She made a frustrated sound when she concluded that he was indeed telling the truth. "You are a terrible person."

  Who in their right mind gets annoyed with sick people?

  Apparently, her crime lord boss.

  "I'd be worse if you got sick," he replied. "Now can we just get back to relaxing and clearing our conflicted minds?"

  "Fine," she replied, whirling around. Wanting to punish him for being mean, she purposely threw all her weight backward. Her back made a big thud sound when it collided with Tae Hyun's chest.

  “Ugh!”

  She smirked in satisfaction after hearing him gasp for air.

  That’ll teach him to mess with her and sick people.

  Clearing his throat after the unexpected attack, Tae Hyun heedlessly wrapped his arms around her and repositioned his chin over her head.

  "Well, aren't you the little devil right now?" he asked frostily.

  "Sorry, I was just relaxing. Just like you wanted, right?"

  "Maybe it's not such a bad idea to let you get sick."

  Yoori laughed, her eyes running over all the tree leaves that were dancing in the night.

  "So do you come here to clear your head often?" she asked, gradually getting comfortable with how they were sitting.

  "I used to. When I was younger, I came here almost every other night." He took in his surroundings. "I always come here when I need to organize my thoughts. It's always so nice and peaceful here."

  Yoori nodded automatically. "You said you used to come often when you were younger. What made you stop?"

  There was a slight pause on Tae Hyun's part before he answered this. "I stopped after I became the King of Serpents," he replied coolly. A trace of fatigue was present in his voice when he said this. He didn't elaborate, and Yoori didn't ask him to elaborate. She already knew why he no longer wanted to come here.

  "To get in a position of power...some actions are unavoidable."

  Tae Hyun's previous words replayed in her mind. It was amazing how quickly, even though he didn't directly give her a straight answer, she understood his predicament. She could only imagine the monsters looming in Tae Hyun's conscience since he succeeded the Serpents throne. It made sense that he would avoid coming to the one place that would make him feel human.

  "Why is tonight different?" she asked carelessly. Her focus locked on a bright car light that flashed by and disappeared in the distance.

  Tae Hyun lifted his chin from the top of her head. Resting his hot lips against her ear, he delicately whispered, "Because you're here."

  Yoori giggled like a geek at his goodwill attempt to give her a bullshit answer. "Good answer."

  He laughed softly, now resting his chin on her shoulder. "I thought you would like it."

  And she did. However insincere it might sound, she liked his answer a lot.

  Not wanting to think too much about how nice he made her feel, Yoori inhaled the fresh night's air and said, "So how was your day? You saw your mentor, right?"

  "Yeah." His mood became a bit more serious at the reminder.

  "How was that?"

  "It was productive. I was reminded of stuff I needed to take care of."

  "Productive and stressful, I imagine.”

  "It was an unexpected meeting. He just arrived in town today."

  "I can't see you being forced into a meeting you don't want to go to."

  "I respect this mentor immensely. If he asks for a meeting, then I cancel everything else and I go."

  She nodded. For reasons she didn’t entirely understand, Ji Hoon's face cascaded into her mind as Tae Hyun spoke about his day. Guilt started to heave through her.

  "I saw Lee Ji Hoon again," she blurted out. She knew that Tae Hyun had clearly expressed that he wasn't concerned with what she does with Ji Hoon, but she just wanted him to find out from her. It was always better that way.

  Though she felt his hold on her stiffen slightly, the composure in his voice remained. "I see."

  She smirked to herself when his reaction reminded her of his careless attitude toward her. She didn’t even know why she bothered to tell him. He obviously didn’t care –

  "You don't like him, do you?" he asked out of the blue.

  Huh? She struggled to remain composed. She uncomfortably cleared her throat. "Does the answer matter?"

  His tone became indecipherable. "It might."

  "It shouldn't," she countered. He had no right to be acting like this.

  He laughed dryly, regarding her like she was a lost cause. "Don't tell me he's another one of your friends."

  "No, of course not. Are you kidding me? I don't consider him to be a friend."

  Tae Hyun smiled prematurely at her reply.

  "He's more like a suitor," she amended.

  "What?" he shouted, suddenly standing up in outrage.

  Yoori jumped at the unexpected outburst from Tae Hyun.

  She rose to her feet and backed away from him in disbelief. "What is your problem?"

  He had a thunderstruck look on his face. He also looked taken aback with his reaction to all of this.

  He glowered at her incredulously. "I thought you had higher standards than that."

  She grimaced at his nonsensical reply. "What the eff are you talking about?"

  "I didn't th
ink you were the type that would fall that easily," he elaborated, the expression of disbelief growing stronger on his face. This was the first time that Yoori had ever seen Tae Hyun lose his cool in this manner.

  Was he jealous?

  He had no right to be jealous.

  "What's the big deal?” She folded her arms in annoyance. “I thought you didn't care."

  He looked at her like she was high on drugs. "When did I say I didn't care?"

  She faked ignorance as she brought a finger up to her chin and looked aimlessly at the sky. "Oh gee, hmm let me think...How about when you said, 'You and Jin Ae are completely different to me...I'm not concerned when it comes to you.'"

  "That's not what I meant. I mean I – "

  He stopped what he was saying.

  With his mouth hung open and his eyes enlarged, he stared at her in open shock. His stunned eyes had a light to them. It was one of those lights that went off when you realize something. It was one of those lights that went off when you finally have an epiphany.

  "Shit," he finally whispered, raking his hands through his hair. His breathing grew vaguely heavier as his gaze on her remained. "Holy fucking shit," he added in complete and utter disbelief.

  Yoori also found herself breathing heavier. Tae Hyun’s strange behavior was bewildering to her. What had gotten into him? He wasn't acting like himself.

  Worry began to set in for her. "What's wrong?" she inquired uneasily, approaching him with concern. Did he catch something?

  Stopping in front of his stunned self, Yoori reached out for his forehead to gauge if he was feeling sick. Yoori didn't take it into account, but as her hand made contact with his forehead, Tae Hyun actually held in his breath as he watched her silently.

  Tae Hyun's hot forehead thawed her cold hand.

  "You're burning up!" she observed worriedly. No wonder he was acting so strange. Poor guy caught something.

  After hearing the distress in her voice, Tae Hyun snapped out of his stupor. "Huh? What?"