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“Oh, come on.” Junu tried his brightest smile. But it felt tightand made his cheeks hurt. “You can’t hate me that badly. I do provide a bit of comic relief to your serious, angsty life.”

“Why are you still here?” Miyoung asked.

That made his smile dim a bit. “I told you, I wanted to check on the patient.”

Miyoung sneered. “No, why are you still in Seoul, bothering me? I don’t understand why you don’t just leave. You’ve done your damage, made your money. You have to know there’s no way I’d use your services for anything, so why are you still here?”

Junu supposed he deserved that. Didn’t mean the words hurt any less. To buy himself time, he turned to pour a cup of water and find a good response. He held out the cup, and when Miyoung refused to take it, he gulped down the water himself.

“I’m not one to admit when I’m wrong,” Junu began. “But I feel bad about the part I played in everything.”

“You act like you accidentally slipped and let Yena kidnap Jihoon.”

“I thought she was doing it to protect you. How was I to know that your father was manipulating things so he could kill you?”

“Isn’t it your job to know things?” Miyoung lifted a brow.

She had him there. And if Junu was being honest, he hadn’t trusted Miyoung’s father from the moment he’d heard the man was sniffing around. But it hadn’t been his business to have suspicions. It was his business to do what Yena paid him for. “Look, I’ve survived a very long time by choosing the winning team. And Yena seemed like the sure winner. I could never have anticipated your father. I could never have predicted how much your love for Jihoon would affect things.”

Miyoung crossed her arms, her expression cold as winter. He could see why the kids at her school gave her the nickname IceQueen. “So, what? You want to apologize to me? It’d be a waste of breath. I won’t accept it. I won’t forgive you.”

“I know,” Junu said. “Maybe that’s why I haven’t apologized.”

Miyoung scoffed. “What a weak excuse. If you really cared, you’d say you’re sorry every day.”

She was right, and yet Junu still couldn’t say the words. Some might call it pride. But what do you call it when that feeling has been compounded by centuries of needing to be above everyone, to the point that their judgment couldn’t touch him? Couldn’t hurt him?

“I’m not used to being wrong,” Junu said.

Miyoung snorted at that.

“Fine, I’m not used toadmittingwhen I’m wrong,” Junu said. “But I do feel I owe you a debt. Which is horribly inconvenient for me. And until I feel like it’s paid, here I’ll be.”

“Don’t try to be something you’re not,” Miyoung said. “I tried to do that for a long time, and it didn’t work out. I lost almost everything because I tried to hide who I really am.”

Junu scowled. “And the person you think I really am is a selfish, callous goblin?”

Miyoung shrugged. “More or less.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to be like that anymore.” The words were out before Junu could measure them.

“I don’t believe you,” Miyoung said. So blunt that it should have been shocking, but Junu was used to Miyoung’s brusque nature.

“It’s true. Sometimes...” Junu let the word trail into silence, not sure how to finish. No, that was a lie. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. And nothing he’d tried to gain Miyoung’s forgiveness in the past four months had worked. So why not alittle honesty? He’d never tried it before. “Sometimes I think I want the chance to show that I’m more than a fairy-tale monster. Humans make up these stories that paint us as things to blame all their sins on. We should get a chance to defend ourselves. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“I don’t think about that anymore. That life is behind me now.”

That was a failure. Miyoung still looked at him with suspicious eyes, trying to figure out if he had some alternative motive.

“Well, I do hope you feel better. I know you don’t believe anything I say. But it’s true.”

He left before she could throw another barbed gibe.

Closing the door, Junu wondered if he really was wasting his time on all of this. He had better things to do. He’d been neglecting the business. And though he was comfortably well-off, he shouldn’t let his business slide for too long.

Then something caught his eye. It shouldn’t have. There were half a dozen people moving through the hallway, nurses and patients, doctors and family members. But this swatch of black grabbed his attention, like something had tickled at his skin. And his eyes met Hyuk’s before the jeoseung saja disappeared down a side hallway.

Junu didn’t run. The reaper obviously wanted Junu to come after him. And as Junu turned the corner, he caught sight of a door slowly closing down the hall.