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“Just. Leave.” She bit out each word.

And she waited until the restaurant door closed with a chime before she dropped her head in her hands and let the tears come.

63

“YOU DIDN’T HAVEto knock,” Jihoon said as he opened the front door. Then he froze. Instead of Miyoung, Nara stood in front of him, her hands folded, her head bowed.

“What are you doing here?” Jihoon didn’t mean to make his voice so flat; it just came out that way.

“I need—” She broke off, tried again, and failed. And her choked attempts softened Jihoon.

“Can I come in?” she whispered.

He hesitated. Despite her small stature and hunched shoulders, he knew how dangerous this girl was.

But she looked at him with such hope it melted the rest of the ice around his heart.

He opened the door wider to let her in.

Nara settled onto the sinking cushions of his halmeoni’s couch. It somehow made her look smaller.

“Are you here to see Miyoung?” he finally asked.

Nara shook her head.

“Are you here because you need help?”

She shook her head again.

“Listen, I can’t do anything unless you speak.”

“She should leave!” Nara blurted out, finally lifting her head to look at him.

He wondered whether he’d made a mistake letting her in. “Why?”

“It’s not safe here.”

“Why?” The question cracked out with suspicion. “Because you’ll hurt her again?”

Another head shake. “My halmeoni. She won’t stop until she gets her revenge.”

“And she sent you here to do her dirty work?”

“Before, I was doing what I’d thought was right. I was raised to believe that Yena was a monster. That her daughter must be equally evil.” Nara held out her hands, like she was trying to offer these words to him as penance.

“And now you’ve magically changed your mind?” Jihoon asked, his words harsher than he intended.

Nara shrugged and Jihoon sighed. “So what is it that you want now?”

“This time I want to warn her before it’s too late.”

“So tell her yourself.” Jihoon’s eyes shifted to the door, wondering how things were going downstairs between Miyoung and Detective Hae.

“I already tried. She won’t listen to me.” Nara’s voice cracked with desperation. “But she’ll listen to you if you tell her to leave.”

Jihoon hesitated. He didn’t want to believe Nara. But he’d learned that it was unwise not to heed such warnings. The last time he didn’t listen was when Miyoung told him to run and his halmeoni had paid the price.

“What if she doesn’t leave?” Jihoon asked.