Read Online The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) by Con Template - Free Book Online Page B

still throbbed in it. “Even though our situations are different, I told her that I still understood.”
    Yoori nodded forlornly, recalling that Hae Jin was raped by her eldest brother, Kwon Ho Young, before Tae Hyun killed him. Anguish clawed at her. In that moment, Yoori saw how small her problems were compared to Chae Young and Hae Jin’s. It was one thing to combat life problems, but it was something else entirely when rape was involved.
    “Thank you, ” Yoori told her gratefully. She was tempted to jump over the table and hug Hae Jin for helping to take care of her friend. She also wanted to embrace Hae Jin as a small form of condolence for everything that she had been through. “I should be the one helping to take care of her—”
    “ You’re going through a lot, Yoori,” Hae Jin interjected in understanding. “You can’t help someone else unless you help yourself first. It’s better that you’re here, getting everything in order instead of seeing Chae Young and risking breaking down in front of her. That’s the last thing Chae Young needs.”
    Though Yoori nodded, she didn’t feel any less guilty (or shitty).
    “We’ve missed you, ” Hae Jin added once she saw the ache manifest on Yoori’s face. “My brother being at the top of the list.”
    Yoori froze at the mention of Tae Hyun. She suspected that it would only be a matter of time before they spoke about him. However, that didn’t mean she was exempt from the emotions that boiled up whenever he was brought up. The walls that she once had lowered for Hae Jin quickly reassembled. She couldn’t allow herself to become vulnerable to the hurt by all of this again.
    “Kwon Tae Hyun doesn’t miss me, ” Yoori stated steadily, recalling the previous night in which he didn’t even acknowledge her existence. There was conviction in her voice. Yoori may have forgiven him for bringing her into the Underworld—because it was obvious that it would’ve happened one way or another—but she couldn’t forgive him for the rest. She couldn’t forgive him for the lies and the humiliation she felt. Perhaps one day, she would truly be over him. For now, she would simply pretend that she was. “Someone as corrupted as him led a great life before he met me. He’ll be just as fine without me. After all, he has his precious Underworld and all the girls in the world to take care of him.”
    Yoori hoped the venom in her words would convince Hae Jin that she was over someone like Tae Hyun.
    Hae Jin did not heed the malice in Yoori’s voice. Instead, she changed the subject to ease away all the poisonous thoughts Yoori associated with Tae Hyun.
    “Did you know that we were really close as a family?” Hae Jin asked instead.
    Yoori collapsed into silence at Hae Jin’s unexpected question. She knew what was to come. She dreaded hearing it, for it would be information that would probably ruin any hope of her ever getting over Tae Hyun. But because she was curious, she kept quiet. She allowed Hae Jin to go on because as much as her rationale told her that Tae Hyun was a horrible person, she knew that there was more to him than what meets the eye. There was more to Tae Hyun and his Underworld persona, and she wanted to hear it from the only person who knew anything about his past—his baby sister.
    Hae Jin continued to speak when it was clear that she had claimed Yoori’s attention. “My parents, my brothers, and I were all once very close. Our father was busy, but he made sure the family spent time together. He made sure we went to the lake house every other weekend, he made sure all of our birthdays were celebrated, and he made sure we bonded as a family and loved each other like family members should.”
    The warm glint in her eyes began to diminish.
    “Our lives were great . . . like a fairytale until one event changed everything. When Ji Hoon killed our father, our family began to tear apart. Our father was our glue. He was the one who protected us, guided