Page 83 of Gumiho Kiss
She waited for his answer with bated breath.
“No,” he murmured, shutting his eyes.“It was beautiful.I saved one once.Did I ever tell you that?”
She laughed, the sound almost a whimper.Beautiful?She’d thought countless times about what he would say when he found out, but she’d never imagined that response.Had all her worry over his rejection been for nothing?
Except ...a tiger was beautiful.That didn’t mean you were brave enough to embrace it.
Chin Sun set her jaw.She’d promised herself she was going to be honest, at least with the people who mattered.She’d meant to tell him of her true nature after they’d gotten out of this mess, but now it seemed she wouldn’t have the chance.It was time for Hyun Soo to know everything.
“Actually,” she began, “you didn’t just save her once.You saved her many times.From goblins”—she ran her thumb down his cheek—“from bandits”—she slid her finger to his lips—“from her own stupidity.”She sniffled.“But in the end, all I did was steal from you.Do you think you could forgive me?”
Awareness flashed in Hyun Soo’s eyes, but before she could determine how he felt about her confession, his eyes closed and he slumped in her arms.
Chin Sun pressed her ear to his chest, sighing when she found a faint heartbeat.He was still alive.Still alive.
Pounding feet approached from behind.Chin Sun checked over her shoulder, relieved to discover it was Kim Min Joon.He blanched as he took in Hyun Soo’s wounded form.“Is he ...?”
“Don’t say it,” Chin Sun snapped.She turned back to her beloved bodyguard.She brushed a few strands of hair away from his face.He almost looked peaceful, like he was just sleeping.“He’s going to be fine.”
Min Joon’s lack of response told her how much he believed that.She felt his gaze on her as he squatted down, but she refused to meet his eye for fear of losing her last slip of control.
“Impossible ...”he whispered.
“What?”She swung toward him, voice sharper than she intended.
Min Joon was staring in amazement, not at Hyun Soo but at her.He stretched his hand toward her face.“Chin Sun, your burns ...they’re gone.”
She looked away.What did it matter that she’d healed herself when Hyun Soo was fading away in her arms?
She laid her head on Hyun Soo’s shoulder.“Stay with me,” she said.“You’re not allowed to do anything else, do you hear?”She tried to sound authoritative, but it came out more like begging.
“It was your fox bead, wasn’t it?”Min Joon pressed.
She didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, not when everything was crashing down around her.Hyun Soo couldn’t die.He had to live.He had to be with her.She needed him too much.How could she breathe if he wasn’t at her side?
Min Joon shook her arm so hard it hurt.“Chin Sun, what are you doing?Didn’t you hear what the goblin said about fox beads giving life?”
She went rigid, his words tickling something in her subconscious.What was it?
She tore her attention from Hyun Soo back to her friend, struggling against the sea of grief she’d started drowning in.“What did you just say?”
Min Joon released an exasperated groan.“Open your bead and kiss him,” he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.“Now, before it’s too late.”
Chin Sun still didn’t fully understand, but she heard the urgency in his voice and brought the bead up into her mouth.With a flick of her tongue, it opened, then she pulled down her mask.She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to Hyun Soo’s.
Before she could tell if anything happened, a flurry of footsteps neared.Soldiers charged toward them, armed with swords and bows.Meanwhile, Kang Dol Sam was starting to stir.
“We’ll have a better chance if we split up,” Min Joon hissed.“Get him out of here.”
Chin Sun retrieved her bead, hoping it had had enough time to work its magic, then lifted Hyun Soo in her arms and sped off.
* * *
Hyun Soo ran his fingers over a white mugunghwa flower, marveling at its intricate details.The bottom of each petal was blood red, stretching out in thin tendrils like veins, while the very center of the flower held a cluster of pollen so light it almost looked like snow.Surrounding him was a field of mugunghwa flowers and spider lilies, so large it stretched all the way to the orange horizon.He meandered through the field, without worry or care, his steps leading him toward the setting sun.
A tinkling laugh stirred something in his chest, overwhelming him with a feeling he couldn’t name.
His breath hitched at the sight of a young woman sitting on the ground a short distance away.She was absolutely exquisite, with a smooth, round face and eyes like honey.She didn’t seem to know he was there, for she was completely enraptured with the companion sleeping at her side: a small white fox with nine tails.
