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“I see,” Junu said. “Well, I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. So, if that’s it.” He started back toward the foyer.

Somin couldn’t believe this had been so easy. And she worried that there was still some kind of misunderstanding. She neededto make him understand why the kiss meant less than nothing. It was important he know that. Because she was starting to doubt it herself.

“Hold on.” She grabbed his hand, but she must have yanked a little too hard (she tended to use her strength too much when she was anxious). And the momentum hauled him into her. They would have fallen to the ground if he hadn’t grabbed her arms, somehow keeping their balance for them.

A part of her wanted to shrug out of his embrace. But a stronger part of her wanted to step into it. Somin was a girl who followed her own rules. And her rules strictly forbid her from starting anything with a guy like Junu. But she was also one who took something if she wanted it. And she wanted Junu right now.

So she lifted onto her toes. That alone wouldn’t have reached him; she was so short and he was so tall. But in the same moment, he leaned into her and their lips connected.

They clung to each other, and Somin stumbled back, pulling him with her. Something hard dug into her hip. A clash of sound echoed into the room. She didn’t care as she reached up to loop her hands behind Junu’s neck, to hold him securely to her.

She loved the feel of his mouth on hers. It drove all logical thought out of her mind. It made her feel weightless. And she hadn’t realized how tense she was before until she felt all the pressure leave her temples and her shoulders. She let out a satisfied hum and felt his grin against her lips.

He shifted the kiss to be deeper. They met each other like two hurricanes crashing in the middle of the ocean. Feelings battered into her, but they were too strong and too varied for her to sortthrough. And she didn’t want to think. She just wanted to experience and touch and feel. It was good to just feel.

Then Junu broke free, desperately dragging in air. Somin clung to him, her legs too shaky to stand on her own.

She finally realized what the source of the jarring noise had been. The grand piano was wedged into her back.

Her eyes slid to Junu, whose breaths were matching her rapid puffs. She wanted him to kiss her again. She wanted him to keep going. His gaze glinted as he read her unspoken request, and his hands went to her hips. He lifted her so effortlessly, she felt like smoke and vapor instead of solid flesh. As if she would drift away. Maybe she would—her body vibrated with anticipation—maybe she would shatter into a million particles. Then she was plopped unceremoniously onto the top of the polished wood, her sock-covered toes pressing into the piano keys, causing another cacophony of noise. She could feel the vibration of it through the top of the piano beneath her.

Junu moved in, his legs pressing against the keys. So the sound of their movement became a clash of notes. His hand wrapped around the nape of her neck. She held on to him as if he were an anchor. And his mouth claimed hers.

She felt like she was burning up, like she would evaporate into steam. Her clothes felt too tight, and she tugged at her shirt, trying to yank it off. Junu pushed her hands down.

“Don’t be so rushed,” he said with a smile that somehow didn’t annoy the living daylights out of her. In fact, she kind of thought it was cute. “We have plenty of time.”

“I feel like maybe I’m going to start overthinking this soon if you don’t keep kissing me,” Somin gasped out. She tried to kiss him again, but a pounding echoed down the hall. At first,Somin thought it was a figment of her imagination. Or maybe the loud echo of her own heart. But it came again, and this time a bellowing voice joined.

“Junu, gaesaekki-ya! Get out here!”

Somin lifted a brow. “Friend of yours?”

Junu seemed to realize who it could be and let out a groan as he rested his forehead against hers. His hands gripped her waist, like he was reluctant to let go.

“So more of an acquaintance?” Somin asked.

“Stay in here,” Junu said before he stomped down the hall.

Somin considered ignoring him and following after, but figured it was best to stay out of whatever shady business Junu was involved in. She took stock of herself. Her hair had fallen out of its tie. And her shirt was rumpled and pulled halfway up. She jerked it down. This was probably for the best. She would definitely hate herself in the morning if things had gone any further.

A loud crash echoed down the hall, followed by a heavy thump. Somin ignored Junu’s command to stay and ran into the foyer, her mouth dropping open in shock.

If she hadn’t learned that one of her close friends was really a mythical nine-tailed fox, she wouldn’t believe what she saw with her own eyes. Except, she still didn’t think she believed it.

The man standing in the foyer looked like a hulking beast with a bulbous nose and dark, glaring eyes. His hair was coarse and tangled. His clothing was torn and frayed. He was at least two hundred centimeters tall. And in front of him sprawled Junu, the vase that used to sit in the entryway shattered beneath him. There were lines of cuts along his arms and one across his chin. But Somin stared in bewilderment as she realized there was no blood.

The creature above Junu pulled something out of his disgusting coat. It looked like a narrow club. And suddenly it came to her. A dokkaebi. Or at least what she and millions of Korean kids had been taught dokkaebi looked like.

At first, she hadn’t believed Junu was a dokkaebi because he’d looked too smooth. Too perfect. Too beautiful. But this creature was exactly how she’d imagined them.

And this perfect model of a dokkaebi was about to smash his club into Junu’s face.

“Ya!” Somin yelled, instinct taking over. The creature paused mid-swing, glancing up in bewilderment. It was all Somin needed. She snatched the club before he could use it.

“Give that back,” the dokkaebi rumbled, lurching forward.

Somin danced away and hoped the giant beast wouldn’t trample Junu as he tried to lumber after her.