Page 7

He finally conceded and stuffed it into his pocket. “Fine.”

“Good boy.” She patted his rear in approval. “Now eat your dinner before it gets cold, and then take the dog out.”

•••

Twilight had become full night by the time Jihoon led Dubu out for her walk. Clouds covered the moon, so the road was lit only by lamps, which lengthened the shadows along the asphalt.

The angle of the street sloped so steeply, the buildings leaned to stay straight. Land was at a premium in the city, but Jihoon’s neighborhood retained its quaint short buildings, winding around crooked roads so narrow that cars had no right to be on them.

The dog, no higher than Jihoon’s calf and white as the moon, had no interest in going to the bathroom. She stared down the dark road with her ears perked.

“You going or not? If you have an accident inside, you’ll have to answer to Halmeoni.”

Dubu let out rapid-fire barks and took off so quickly, she wrenched the leash from Jihoon. With a curse, he ran after the dog, almost falling down the steep street.

Jihoon stopped in front of Hwang Halmeoni, who was still peeling her garlic. “Have you seen Dubu?”

“She ran past barking like a samjokgu. I think she was heading toward that little playground.” Hwang Halmeoni held out a peeled clove and Jihoon accepted it, though he still hadn’t gotten the garlic smell off his skin from earlier.

The playground sat at the base of the road, adjacent to the first line of trees.

“Dubu!” Jihoon yelled, hoping she’d hidden in the plastic jungle gym.

No such luck, as her barking answered him from the woods.

Jihoon whistled, hoping it would be enough to gain her return, but she didn’t emerge.

Misty clouds hung heavy in the sky. He didn’t like the idea of going into the woods when even the light of the moon was absent. A shiver ran down his spine and goose bumps rose on his skin.

Jihoon clicked on his phone light, squared his shoulders, and entered the woods.

“Dubu, come on, girl,” he yelled loud enough for his voice to echo back.

At night, the shadows became a menacing gray of shapes reaching for him. Ghosts and monsters shifted in his peripheral vision.

It didn’t matter that he’d stopped believing in those things long ago.

Night and darkness made a believer of everyone.

Something pulled his sleeve and he spun around with a shout an octave higher than he would like to admit. Jihoon half expected to see a leering dokkaebi with rotting teeth and malicious intent, story monsters used to make kids obey their parents.

It was a branch.

He laughed to release his jitters.

A shape darted past and his laugh became another yelp.

“Dubu!” Jihoon took off after her. He was going to wring that dog’s neck. He’d go to the pet store and buy an exact replica of Dubu. His halmeoni would never know the difference.

Jihoon tried not to twitch at every noise or rustle of leaves. He kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to glance into the shadows surrounding him.

He finally caught up with Dubu and scooped her into his arms. She wriggled, clutching something in her teeth. Jihoon hoped to the heavens it wasn’t a rat. She dropped it, and he jumped back in case it was still alive.

With a fair bit of embarrassment, Jihoon realized it wasn’t a rodent but a shoe. More specifically, a girl’s sneaker.

“Oh, good. This is exactly what I needed. I’m so glad we went into a dark, terrifying forest to find this.”

Wandering back through the woods with a wriggling Dubu in his arms soon revealed that Jihoon was good and lost. He couldn’t even find a hiking path to give him some semblance of direction.