Page 95 of Vicious Spirits

“I think it’s because you’re so small that I can fit you in my heart.”

“Junu-ya,” Somin said, confusion overtaking her. She didn’t know what she wanted to say, but Junu shook his head.

“I’m tired. Let’s talk more later.”

Somin let him pull her close again so her head fit under his chin. It didn’t strike her as strange anymore, how perfectly they seemed to fit into each other. She just let his warmth comfort her as she hugged him close. His heart beat steady under her ear. And lying like that, she fell asleep.

46

MIYOUNG WASN’T AFRAIDto dream now. She needed answers. She needed to do something. Yena had once told her to make a choice. Even if it was a bad choice, at least she wouldn’t be sitting around waiting for solutions to come to her.

She needed to find a way to help Jihoon. To help Junu. To help herself.

“Mother,” she called into the mist. Whenever she dreamed now, the forest was covered in fog. Like a veil pulled over her vision. Was this a bad omen?

“Mother, where are you?” Miyoung called.

“I don’t know where I am. I’m lost,” Yena’s disembodied voice replied.

“I need to find you. I need my bead back. We need to close this tear between the worlds.”

“Without the bead, I can no longer watch over you. My poor, wretched child.”

“I know,” Miyoung said, her voice not as strong now. “But I can’t be selfish. I can’t hold on to you while so many others are suffering.”

“Why care about them now? I taught you better than that.”

“But you also said that you have regrets. Don’t you regret closing yourself off from people? I don’t want to have those same regrets.”

“Then why close yourself off to me?” Yena asked. “When I am the only one who loves you.”

“That’s not true,” Miyoung said, her voice shaking.

“Perhaps it’s not,” Yena mused, her voice sifting through the mist that had become so cold Miyoung shivered. “But loving you is dangerous. Loving you kills people.”

“No,” Miyoung said, shaking her head. “That’s not true. I tried to save you. I’ll save him.”

“You’ll try. But you’re not strong enough.”

“I’ve become stronger. Iwillbecome stronger, if that’s what it takes.”

“Then come and get me,” Yena said. “See if you can throw me away into hell!”

Miyoung woke with a jerk, falling off the couch with a hard thud. She groaned, rubbing her tailbone as she sat up, trying to untangle herself from the twisted blanket.

The apartment was quiet, a soft light shining from under Junu’s door. She glanced at the other room. Where Jihoon slept. Bujeoks were plastered around the frame. Ones meant to hold in evil things. To trap them temporarily. But she could already see the ink starting to fade, as if Sinhye’s power was too great.

Her mother’s words echoed in her head. She would become stronger. She would do what she had to in order to protect Jihoon.

She almost knocked on the bedroom door before she realized it probably wouldn’t do much good. She felt a spark of resistance as she turned the handle. As if the bujeoks recognized that she was still connected to her bead, as if she hadn’t completely shed her gumiho self. She opened the door slowly, just in case Jihoon was still sleeping. Hoping it was Jihoon—and just Jihoon—who was sleeping.

When she heard nothing, she almost backed out again, but Jihoon turned over on the bed, his eyes open. “Miyoung?”

His eyes blinked, blurry with sleep. His hair stuck up on one side, making him look mussed. It was one of her favorite looks on him.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Miyoung ran her fingers through his hair. “Jihoon-ah?” Her voice shook, the hesitation clear.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He smiled gently, and she saw his dimple blink. It was like seeing an old friend again after too long apart.

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