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It swung open with such force that Somin went flying forward, her body tangling with not-Jihoon’s. His grip finally loosened, and she gasped desperately. As her wheezing turned to coughs, she shifted and bumped into something—her mother. Reaching out, she thought to pull her mother to her, to find some comfort in the unconscious arms, but Junu rushed to her side. He pulled her up so she was lying half in his lap.

She let out a hiss of pain at the jarring movement.

“Somin-ah, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she croaked.

Miyoung leapt on top of not-Jihoon to hold him down. His arms came up in defense or, perhaps, in surrender.

“This body doesn’t belong to you.” A spark flared in Miyoung’s eyes as she shook not-Jihoon.

“I guess a gumiho without her yeowu guseul can still havesome fire, huh?” the thing with Jihoon’s face said with a chuckle, and turned to spit blood from his mouth. A bruise was forming on his jaw from the fall.

“I’m going to give you ten seconds to get out of that body, or else you’re going to see how much fire I have left in me,” Miyoung snarled.

Somin would have been pleased to see Miyoung look almost like her normal self if her vision wasn’t wavering from a splitting headache.

“Oh, I’d love to see it,” not-Jihoon said, his face straining forward so it was mere centimeters from Miyoung’s. Then he slammed his forehead into hers.

Miyoung went flying back.

Not-Jihoon leapt up and stalked toward her.

“Sinhye,” Junu shouted, and not-Jihoon froze, turning to Junu with a vicious grin. “Let her go. Your fight is with me.”

“Are you going to stop me?” not-Jihoon asked, lifting an arm as if to strike Miyoung. But at that moment, an avenging ball of fur came racing down the hall. With a growl that Somin had never heard come from Dubu before, the little dog launched herself at not-Jihoon’s leg, biting him on the thigh. He let out a howl and pulled at the dog, but her teeth were dug in. With a hard yank, he finally wrenched her free, flinging her aside.

Somin screamed.

Before anyone could stop him, not-Jihoon jumped up and sprinted away, out the front door.

39

STILL TOO DIZZYto stand, Somin crawled to Dubu. The dog stood, snarling at the closing door. Jihoon’s blood stained her mouth, and Somin tried to wipe it away, but it was too matted.

She scooped Dubu into her arms. The dog’s growls made her body vibrate, but Somin didn’t care. She hugged Dubu close and knelt beside her mother, whose chest rose and fell evenly, a bruise blooming at her temple.

“Somin-ah,” Junu said, kneeling beside her.

“We have to call 1-1-9, get my mom to the hospital,” Somin said, trying to stand, but found it impossible while still holding a squirming Dubu tight to her side.

“Somin-ah, we have to talk.”

“I have to take care of my mother. And Dubu. She might be hurt. Oh God, what if she has internal bleeding?” Somin didn’t even know who she was talking about anymore as she finally managed to sit up, still cradling Dubu in her arms.

“Somin-ah.” Junu turned her to face him. “You’re in shock. Just take a deep breath. Miyoung is calling an ambulance.”

Somin’s muscles trembled as she let them relax a fraction, letting the wiggling dog free. She finally focused on Junu. And suddenly her anxiety coalesced into a new emotion: anger. “What the hell just happened?”

Junu winced, but Somin didn’t care.

“She’s back,” he said.

“Who is?”

Junu’s brow furrowed as he hesitated.

“Whois?” Somin asked again.