Page 16 of King Foretold
“I’m a jeoseungsaja, remember?” Hailey teases. “Making death threats to a grim reaper is a bit precious, don’t you think?”
“Then I’ll settle for hurting you real bad,” I grumble affectionately.
But sheshouldbe scared of death threats. She has the power to escort the dead to the other side, but that doesn’t mean she can’t end up there herself. Grim reapers aren’t any more immortal than your run-of-the-mill shinbiin. They heal fast, but they can be killed.
“Will you be much longer?” Jihun takes a seat at the end of the conference table, as far away from us as possible. Then he angles his chair slightly so he’s not looking straight at us.
“That depends on Wiggly here. I’ll never finish if she won’t stay still.” When I inadvertently whimper, Hailey relents. “I just have two more symbols to paint. It’ll only be a few more minutes.”
I exhale in relief but immediately cringe and arch my back away from the cold tip of her brush. She growls, her fingers digging into my shoulder.
“Sorry. I’ll be still,” I say meekly. “Just finish already.”
“I think Sunny can use some distraction.” Hailey swirls the brush against my back.
Is she fucking with me? What arcane symbol requiresswirling? I’m tempted to use my tank top as a bit, but I don’t want to flash Jihun. I settle for sinking my teeth into my bottom lip till tears spring to my eyes.
“Why were you so worked up about Draco and Jaeseok earlier?” Hailey continues.
“You can ask them yourself.” Jihun wipes a hand down his face. “They’ll be here soon ...Shit.”
The suhoshin captain shoots up to his feet and rushes out of the study, closing the doors firmly behind him. I give Hailey a bewildered glance over my shoulder. She has a hand clapped over her mouth, and the one holding the brush wobbles precariously.
“Hey, careful with that.” I lean away from her so she doesn’t smudge ink all over my newly illustrated back. “What is up with Jihun?”
“I think he went out to guard the door.” Hailey snorts. “It might actually be a good idea. Jaeseok will probably pull up a chair to watch if he walks in on us.”
“And Draco will be traumatized.” I grimace. “Do you know how many times they told me that I’mreally old? To my face?”
“What? They’re seventeen,” Hailey protests with real indignation. Even though I don’t want friends, I’m going to have to keep this one. “You only look a year older than them.”
“They said my eyes look ancient,” I say glumly.
“What do they know?” She pats my shoulder. “They’re a teenager.”
But for a teenager, Draco seems wise beyond their years. Maybe dragon spirits take after Yongwang, the god of Water, who is the wisest of all the gods. Or maybe they grew up in a hurry when they lost their parents much too soon. They said they were thirteen when their dad died, and even younger when their mom passed away.
I sniff away the sudden sting in my nose. I’m glad the kid isn’t alone anymore, even though they’re a pain in the ass.
Commotion erupts outside the sliding doors, but I can’t make out a single word. I’m impressed at how well the latticed doors mute the noise, considering they’re made of thick paper and wooden slats. The door slides open an inch, and a sliver of Jihun’s face appears in the crack.
“Are you finished?” Jihun growls, a tuft of cerulean hair popping up and down behind him.
“Finished with what?” Draco manages to sound both curious and sullen. “Why can’t we go in?”
“I’m done drawing the symbols, but she can’t cover up until the ink dries,” Hailey reports.
“What do you mean, she can’t cover up?” One sexy, long-lashed eye squeezes past the sliver of Jihun’s face. “Does that mean she’suncoveredright now?”
“Donottest my patience,” Jihun snarls with enough menace for both the sexy eye and the blue hair to disappear from view. “Sunny, turn your back toward the door.”
I comply without hesitation, too tired from my tickle torture to question him. Then a warm breeze sweeps across my back. I shiver despite the warmth, a confused blush rising to my cheeks. Jihun is only manipulating the air to dry my back. It’s not like he’s actually touching me, or blowing air on my bare skin through his lips. Even so, the wind at my back feels strangely intimate.
“Okay. It feels dry,” I say abruptly and pull on my tank top. “You can unleash Thing One and Thing Two.”
“I better not be Thing Two.” Jaeseok wags a finger at me as he steps into the study, with Draco skulking in behind him.
“But you’re okay with being Thing One?” Hailey side-eyes the dokkaebi.
