The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (15 page)

Unnerved, Yoori
self-consciously played with the crochet of her beret. “We’re just friends,” she proclaimed feebly, already knowing that it was a weak argument. 

“Is being ‘
friends’ the new term for liking someone?” Chae Young asked, turning to Jae Won. She was genuinely curious. No doubt, she was also reminded of the term Kang Min and Hae Jin used so freely. 

“Yeah, apparently the saying, ‘
we’re friends’ and ‘your ass is fat’ is popular in this damn grocery store,” Jae Won answered indignantly, pissed that anyone would dare to insult him. 

Yoori rolled her eyes at Jae Won’s bitter comment while holding back another insult.
 

Chae Young nodded to appease the second round of argument that was ready to commence if someone didn’t put out the flames right away. “Well
, anyway,” she started, turning back to Yoori. “Only you
would know how you truly feel about him.” 

“
Yes. Thank you,” Yoori stated appreciatively, unable to hide her smile. Oh how she missed her friend. “God, Chae Young, I wish you were there with me in the beginning. I mean, I feel like I lifted this big boulder off my chest. For once, I feel like I can breathe again.” 

Chae Young pursed her lips. “Yeah, I’m glad someone’s chest is feeling better,” she replied with warm sarcasm. She took a moment to rub her chest before saying, “Why did
you send me that shifty text message about having a family emergency? All we had was the surveillance tape of you talking to some guy in a red cap and you following him after he left seconds later. Do you know how mad I was? I thought you lied about the emergency, got wooed by a stranger and left to go marry him or something. I can’t believe you got blackmailed by the King of Serpents. We were just talking about the Underworld that day too!” 

Yoori nodded.
 
Oh the webs of life,
she thought. 

“I didn’t want you to get involved in the Underworld stuff. I figured if we were supposed to meet again…then we would. And here you are.” Her eyes swung toward Jae Won. His hand was intertwined with Chae Young’s. “Apparently you got involved in the Underworld stuff without me having to pull you in.”
 

Yoori smiled at the unexpected couple before her: her best friend who was like a sister to her and her bodyguard who was like a brother to her.
 “This is the part where you guys tell me how you became a couple,” she prompted happily.

Chae Young obliged, a huge grin radiating on her face.
 “Do you remember that idiot short-term ‘boyfriend’ I had?” Chae Young began. Though her voice was filled with distaste, her smile remained. “You know…the one who cheated on me at the nightclub with the hostess?” 

Yoori nodded, recalling the last conversation they had before she met Tae Hyun.
 

“Jae Won was at that nightclub
too. I remember seeing him from across the room and thinking he was really cute…” 

Jae Won hid a cheeky grin when he heard this.
 

“But I got distracted with
the cheating asshole. After I kicked that dumbass in the shins, I caught Jae Won’s eyes and he started to pursue me. You know, wooing me at clubs, staying late to pick me up when I closed the diner, taking me out...” Chae Young beamed, leaning in closer to Yoori to whisper, “I like him a lot. At first, I wasn’t sure. I thought I was just infatuated because I have a thing for bad boys.” 

“Don’t we all,” Yoori empathized warmly.
She spared a look at Jae Won, who smiled nonstop, and said, "Has Jae Won told you everything about himself? Who he’s affiliated with? What he does when he’s not with you? Everything?” 

Chae Young nodded, her smile hiding the small frown on her face. Chae Young, despite realizing the hardships that came with being with someone who was affiliated with the Underworld, wanted to be with Jae Won regardless.
 

“Aside from him never calling you anything but ‘boss’ and myself never calling you anything but my ‘best friend,’ we tell each other everything.” She smiled wryly, turning to Yoori. There was a dim light in her eyes when she realized something.
 “Um, just because I know all this Underworld stuff...I don’t have to be initiated…do I? 

Yoori and Jae Won exchanged sneaky grins.
 

“Normally no one cares when a few outsiders find out the inner workings of the Underworld,” Jae Won explained, tightening his grip on Chae Young’s hand. He jutted a chin at Yoori. “Boss, here, was the exception because the Advisors wanted their time alone with her. They would’ve made up any excuse to have her initiated.”
 

Yoori nodded. It was true. The Advisors would’ve gotten their five minutes with her no matter what. The excuse of her b
eing privy to the inner workings of the Underworld was convenient for them. 

“That's terrible,” said Chae Young. Reserved horror swam in her voice when she turned back to Yoori. "Just because you resemble that girl..."
 

“Well, let’s not worry about that,” Yoori dismissed casually. She didn't want to talk about Soo Jin. “Things are going well between the two of you? You don’t need me to give you guys a pep talk, right? I can’t really threaten to break anyone’s bones because I know both of you.”
 

It was unfortunately true.
 

How was Yoori supposed to threaten
 both Chae Young and Jae Won, and keep them from breaking each other’s hearts? It wouldn’t work. They wouldn’t take her seriously anyway. She was sure of it. Yoori was determined to save herself from the embarrassment of even attempting to look intimidating. 

Chae Young and Jae Won shook their heads at her and laughed.
 

“It’s been going really well,” Chae Young provided. Her face was genuinely mirthful when she turned to Jae Won. “I’ve never been happier with someone.”
 

Jae Won returned her smile, his dorky face beaming. “I love you too, honey,” he cooed before leaning in to give Chae Young a quick kiss.
 

“Oh man,” Yoori complained, sending her gaze upward. As much as she adored them as
a couple, it was another thing to have them kiss in front of her. Yuck. 

“I still cannot believe that you two are together,” she muttered to herself.
 Her eyes widened when another realization hit her. She looked at Chae Young. “You’ve met Kang Min and Hae Jin too?”

Chae Young bounced her head to confirm. Her eyes twinkled with adoration. “Yeah! Hae Jin and Kang Min are great. They’re
 so adorable together. There’s such an awkward tension between them because you know that they want each other. I don’t know…I guess they’re still working all of that out.”

She looked over to Jae Won to see if he wanted to add anything.
 

Jae Won heeded the opportunity and said, “Hae Jin and Chae Young really hit it off. For the first hour of dinner, Kang Min and I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise because they were too busy bonding.”
 

Yoori laughed. She wasn’t sure if Jae Won was complaining but the information was, nonetheless, heartwarming. It made sense that Chae Young and Hae Jin would hit it off since they both hit it off with
 her in the beginning as well. 

Chae Young suddenly pouted, interrupting Yoori’s reverie.
“I feel bad though. Hae Jin is left out on many of the secrets.” She looked at Jae Won. “She doesn’t know that you and Kang Min are brothers and she doesn’t know that Yoori’s not actually her brother’s girlfriend – ” Chae Young interrupted herself and turned to Yoori. “Hae Jin adores you by the way. When we had dinner, she wouldn’t stop singing praises about her brother’s new girlfriend. I was getting a bit annoyed because I didn’t know who the hell she was talking about since you have so many alternative names. ‘My best friend’, ‘my boss’, ‘my boss’s girlfriend’, ‘my brother’s girlfriend…’”

Though the listing of her alternative names made her feel awkward, Yoori forced a smile to stay on her face. She continued to listen as Chae Young went on. “But now that I know she was talking about you, it makes sense.”
 

Yoori blushed, her love for Hae Jin growing with the passing seconds.
 

Having more on her mind, Yoori cleared her throat and asked, “The four of you are doing another double date tonight?”
 

They nodded.
 

“Do you want to come?” asked Jae Won. It was a genuine invitation.
 

Chae Young wordlessly asked the same question. She nodded frantically, gesturing for Yoori to
agree.

Almost too quickly, Yoori shook her head. She had prior engagements in mind.
 “No, I want to stay in tonight.” 

And maybe hang out with Tae Hyun
. 

Chae Young and Jae Won raised a suspicious eyebrow but said nothing more.

“Anyway,” Yoori began, taking a quick look around. “Do you guys need to leave soon? Is it almost dinner time?” 

Chae Young and Jae Won stared at the watch on Jae Won’s wrist. They nodded when they realized it
 was time for them to leave.

“Yeah, I should take boss home so we can make it to dinner on time,” Jae Won said to Chae Young. The three of them got up on their feet. Jae Won reached a hand out to Chae Young. “What did you come here to buy?”
 

“Wine for the dinner,” Chae Young answered, taking his hand
and fully straightening herself out. “I’m not sure what to get though.”

“I’ll help you decide,” Jae Won offered. He looked at Yoori, who had gotten to her feet and started dusting dirt off her pants. “Why don’t you and boss finish talking? You can come find me in the alcohol aisle when you’re done.”
 

Chae Young nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

The girls waited for him to disappear into an aisle before turning to face one another. Like a kid waiting to throw a party after her parents had left, Chae Young flew toward Yoori and gave her another hug.

“Damn it, I’ve missed you, you bum,” she squealed in delight. “I can’t gossip with anyone at the diner now.”
 

“I
’ve missed you too,” Yoori complained back. A pout took hold of her lips. “This damn Underworld is filled with boys. The only girls I know are Hae Jin and Jin Ae. And one of them would like nothing more than to rip my eyes out so I don’t have the numbers on my side.”

Chae Young laughed, pulling out of the embrace. “At least you got some nice gang members looking after you.” At her own statement, Chae Young couldn’t help but scoff in disbelief. “I still can’t believe that the last thing we talked about at the diner was the story about the ‘Queen of the Underworld’ and now look at you…people actually say you resemble her. How crazy is that?” She was seemingly ready to end her speech until she added, “And you have
two
crime lords chasing after you. How ironic is that?” 

“I know. It’s crazy and – w
ait a second,” Yoori thought out loud. “There’s only one that’s chasing and that’s Lee Ji Hoon. Kwon Tae Hyun isn’t chasing me. He’s just…” She struggled to find the right term to use. “He – He’s just pushing me.” 

Ch
ae Young blinked slowly. “He – He’s
pushing
you?” 

“Yeah, you know. Teasing me, torturing me…” She thought about the kiss and became bitter again. “Pushing me toward
the effen brink of insanity.” 

A quiet laugh emitted from Chae Young. “Oh gosh, you’re always so dramatic. For what it’s worth, I’m rooting for you and the King of Serpents.”
 

Yoori eyed her friend strangely, thrown by the cheerleader mode in her. “I thought you would be a rooter of the King of Skulls.”
 

Chae Young shrugged. “That was before the King of Serpents came into the picture and swept my best friend off her feet.”
 

Yoori groaned in annoyance. “For the last time, I do not like him
 like that. There’s nothing to root for.”

“Choi Yoori, listen up,” Chae Young began seriously. “Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to leave you with parting words that will change your outlook on things. I didn’t want to talk about this when Jae Won was sitting here because it’s more of a girl thing, but do you want to know if you really like a guy? Even if you, yourself, are in denial?”
 

No
, Yoori replied in her mind. 

“Sure, of course I want to know,” Yoori said half-heartedly, wanting to humor Chae Young.
 

Chae Young gave Yoori a suspicious gaze. When Yoori's bluff seemed real enough to her, she blinked seriously and began.
 “First off, the world doesn’t revolve around you and only you – or anyone in particular for that matter. At least not in the physical sense. However, you have power over your own world, which means that psychologically, you can have your world revolve around someone. Are you following me?” 

“Okay…”
 

“Kisses are typically the deciding factor on whether or not you like someone. But how those kisses play out usually entail
 how much you like that person—how much you, even subconsciously, are willing to allow them to affect your world.”