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“My evil ex.”

“Yourwhat?”

“These idiots opened some kind of magical jar and let out that damn fox spirit,” Miyoung said, pocketing her phone. She stepped over to them, and Somin could make out the start of a bruise on Miyoung’s cheek.

“The jar itself isn’t magical,” Junu began, then stopped when Miyoung’s and Somin’s eyes whipped to him accusingly.

“So you took Jihoon to some kind of supernatural prison and let himopen it?” Somin asked, pushing her fingers against her temples, trying to stave off her headache.

“When we went to find my bangmangi, Jihoon touched the vase before I could tell him what it was.”

“Oh yeah? Or did you purposefully not tell him because you love withholding things and you thought that Jihoon was too beneath you to deserve to know?”

Junu lowered his eyes, and Somin knew she’d hit on the truth.

“Usually a human body is not a good vessel for a spirit. I didn’t even think it was a possibility that Sinhye would get free, let alone get hold of the perfect vessel.”

“What does that mean?” Somin asked.

“Jihoon’s held the energy of a gumiho before. It’s like he was conditioned to hold Sinhye’s soul.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us any of this before.”

“I just figured out what happened. I didn’t realize the tear between the worlds had weakened the lock on Sinhye’s prison.”

“I should never have let Jihoon go with you,” Somin said.

“You can’t control everyone around you,” Junu said. “No matter how much you might want to.”

That caused Somin’s anger to flare. “You’re one to talk when you’re always manipulating everyone around you all the time. I can’t believe I let myself forget that.” The doorbell rang, interrupting her tirade.

“Somin,” Junu said, reaching for her hand. But she turned away from him to open the door for the paramedics.

40

SOMIN DIDN’T KNOWwhat was stronger right now, her headache or her fear.

Her friend was somehow possessed by an evil spirit. A spirit that wanted to hurt Junu. Would do anything to hurt him, it seemed. What if she hurt Jihoon?

The thought scared Somin so much she didn’t even realize she was pacing until she rammed into an empty hospital bed and stubbed her toe. She cursed, then looked furtively at her mother asleep on the other bed.

She had lain there after the doctors left, staring at the ceiling. “Your appa isn’t back, is he,” her mother had said. It hadn’t been a question.

“No, he’s not back,” Somin replied. And her mother had turned on her side and gone to sleep. As if being awake in a world without the man she still loved had sapped all of her energy.

And leaving Somin alone with nothing but her thoughts and her worry to keep her company. Well, and the ghosts. They floated through the halls, seemingly unnoticed by most. Though some of the nurses seemed more nervous than normal. Things were getting bad. Even if people couldn’t see the ghosts, they could definitely sense them. There was a tenseness in the air here. Less chatter than normal and more people keeping their heads down as they made their way through the halls.

Somin wanted to bring her mother home, but the hospital wanted to keep her overnight for observation, and when Somin had tried to argue, they didn’t budge.

When her mother had first woken up, she claimed she remembered nothing. She didn’t even know Jihoon had been at their house. Somin wondered whether that was true or whether it was her mother’s strange way of protecting Jihoon.

Miyoung and Junu went to search for Sinhye, and despite her intense desire to go with them, she’d been too worried about her mother. So she stayed in the hospital.

Somin was rubbing her throbbing toe when her phone beeped. When she saw Jihoon’s number flash across the screen, she slipped out of the hospital room quietly and swiped to answer.

“Where are you?” she asked, praying that Jihoon had somehow regained control.

“Somin-ah,” rang Changwan’s bright voice. “We’re in Jihoon’s old neighborhood, at that food cart in front of the kalguksu restaurant.”