Page 44 of The Last Tiger

Eunji

That tousled brown hair, those chestnut-brown eyes. It can’t be.

No, it really can’t. I know better than to fall for it this time.

This thing taking the form of Seung—it must be another gumiho.

The disguised monster gawks up at me, mouth agape, through Seung’s so-familiar face. I leap instantly to my feet, bracing myself for a fight—

And charge, unwilling to let the gumiho get the upper hand, summoning whatever force I can muster—

“Eunji— stop ! What are you—” the gumiho gasps, in an eerily accurate reproduction of Seung’s voice. It really does sound just like the guy who I once knew. But I’m no fool. I shove the monster to the ground, hard.

“Pretty convincing,” I snarl back. “But you can’t trick me twice .”

“Trick you?” the fake Seung coughs out. “What are you talking ab—Eunji, what are you doing here ?”

“I might ask you the same thing. You nearly killed us earlier. Decided to meet up for a rematch, did you?”

“What in spirits’ name are you talking about?”

Now that I have it pinned down, I pause, scrutinizing the gumiho’s features.

It’s honestly a much worse replica than the one at the bridge.

This Seung looks completely different from the person I remember.

His hair is longer, dark circles pool just below his eyes, and his shoulders are more muscular—significantly broader than the narrow, bony ones of the lanky guy in my memory.

“You don’t even look that much like him,” I mutter.

“Like who?” The gumiho coughs.

“Like Seung.”

“I am Seung.”

I blink down at him.

It is a little odd, I have to admit, that the giant fox demon seems to have suddenly gained the ability to speak, where before it could only screech demonically.

But it would be even odder for this to be the real Seung…

It doesn’t make any sense—what could Seung possibly be doing here?

How could he be here, in Hannam City, so far from Kidoh—and what is he doing with the tiger?

How could he have possibly made it unscathed through a countryside crawling with soldiers—with no armor, no weapons or protection, no Dragon ki?

The tiger stands right there, behind him, so close within this strange, dimly lit clearing. It blinks at me with what I almost swear is recognition. Above us, the foliage of the massive trees rising into the sky is tinged with gold, as if it’s from another world.

I’m so close . I’ve finally found it—the end of my mission is in sight.

I’d better finish this—before this weirdly inaccurate gumiho-Seung transforms back into a homicidal monster and finishes me . The monster yelps as I grip its shoulders hard, preparing to slam it down a second time, when—

“Hey.”

Honestly, between the tiger and the gumiho, I hadn’t even noticed the girl standing silently to one side.

She steps forward now, moving into a slanted beam of sunlight as glittering particles float in the air around her. She’s startlingly beautiful, with a smooth, stoic face, and long, dark hair that’s nearly violet. There’s also something strangely familiar about her.

The girl glares at me disdainfully. “Get off him.”

Suddenly her pupils widen, filling her irises—drinking me in. Instantly my muscles constrict against my will. I find myself standing up and backing away.

What the—

Seung—or the gumiho— which is it? —remains panting on the ground, his expression a mixture of confusion and incredulity, his back pressed against the unusually bright flower-spotted grass.

“Eunji…?”

“S-Seung? Is that…really you…?”

The pale girl chuckles. “Well, this is unexpected. Lover Boy and Lover Girl, reunited at last.”

“Lover Boy…” I echo her, stupefied. “ You’re Lover Boy?!” I snatch the crumpled flyer from my pocket and unfold it, revealing the note scrawled on the back.

Seung stands up, dusting himself off. As he approaches, I lurch back involuntarily. His presence, the scent of him—like dry leaves, pine, and something unplaceable—it’s so strikingly familiar.

This is undeniably Seung.

He reaches out and takes the flyer out of my hand, shaking his head in disbelief. My hand tingles as our fingers barely brush.

“Where did you get this?” he asks in wonder.

“You must’ve dropped it.” I glance at the tiger. “While you were stealing that .”

“Stealing?” He frowns.

Beyond him, achingly close, the tiger pads in circles under the lush, gold-leaved trees. It glances upward, toward a winding, stone-laid path leading up the mountain, and sniffs loudly through its whiskers.

“That’s what you’ve done, right?” I ask, straightening my spine. “You heard about the reward too.”

Seung must’ve heard the governor-general’s proclamation.

Of course . Maybe I should’ve guessed I was tracking him—he was the only other person who knew about the cave, as far as I know.

And I should’ve figured Seung would be just as desperate to find it as I was, given how much of a difference that staggering amount of money would mean to his family.

In fact, maybe this is even better than I could’ve anticipated.

I had been bracing myself to fight whoever Lover Boy was for the prize. But if it’s really Seung, then he and I can do this together . We can split the prize money and the general’s favor—this could be the start of—

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” I continue, growing excited. “You had the same idea as me. To capture the tiger and give it to General Isao?”

“No.” Seung’s voice has suddenly gone weak. “Is that really what you’re…”

The girl—Jin, presumably, judging from the note on that flyer—saunters closer, placing a delicate hand on Seung’s shoulder.

“Surprise, surprise,” she says, the corner of her lips arching upward, revealing just a hint of teeth.

As I said, she’s pretty. Really pretty.

I feel weirdly nauseated.

“Who are you?” I ask, attempting to sound casual.

“What does it matter to you?” Jin chuckles softly. “I’m no one in your world. I have no money or inheritance, no family name—much less one that an elite like you would deign to recognize, Eunji Yamamoto .”

“What—how do you know who I—”

“That’s all you yangban Dragon sympathizers care about, isn’t it— status ?”

On the plus side, it seems that Seung has told his new companion about me.

On the not-so-plus side, his description obviously hasn’t been very kind. I feel as though I’ve been slapped.

“That’s what you think of me now, is it?” I turn to Seung.

“Eunji, what are you doing here?”

He’s still utterly confused. I guess Seung hasn’t quite processed yet that it’s really me. Just as I’m finding it so hard to believe it’s really him.

The bite, the confusion and disbelief in his voice, spark a wave of heat through me, a volatile mix of outrage, frustration, and…something else. I push it down, squashing the feeling.

“Was I not clear?” I reply curtly. “I’m here for the tiger.”

Something in Seung’s gaze shifts as he finally processes my words.

His expression turns slowly from disbelief to bitterness.

Soft particles of dust continue to swirl in the air around us; the twittering and chirping of strange birds peal down from the enormous golden trees, echoing through the clearing.

“So you’re a Tiger Slayer now.” Suddenly it seems he can look anywhere but straight at me.

“Not exactly.”

“But you’re here to capture her, to turn her in to Governor-General Isao. To the Dragon Empire. You’re looking for the tiger on their behalf. Aren’t you?”

“Is that not your plan?”

“No!” He shakes his head, an agonized grimace twisting his face. “No, Eunji, my plan is not to give the last tiger to the empire that colonized and broke us.”

Over the previous year, I’ve imagined reuniting with Seung for the first time a thousand different ways.

Not once did I picture our first meeting going this way.

“Why, Eunji?” Seung asks, his voice pained. “I just don’t understand.”

Why am I after the tiger?

Because of what you said, that night on the rooftop of the ancient palace. Because of the idea that you planted in my head. About how different our lives would be, if we only had a certain kind of power. Power that only capturing this tiger can give us now.

But I can’t say that. Not out loud. Not without embarrassing myself, without acknowledging what happened between us—or what didn’t happen. Which I’m definitely not yet ready to confront.

Standing here, admitting to myself even silently that I’ve gone to such impossible lengths because of some offhand words from a guy who rejected me—

I feel like a total fool.

So instead I say the other half of the truth.

“They’re—they’re going to kill me, Seung.”

Seung’s brow knits. “What?”

“Isao put a bounty on my head. I humiliated him by running away from my wedding. He’s furious. Bringing him the tiger is the only way to save my family now. If I don’t…he’ll kill them. He’ll kill me too. He already—” My voice breaks. Moonhee.

Seung’s brow furrows. “And you think he’s just going to forgive you if you bring him the tiger.”

“Whoever does so becomes a hero to the empire. He gave his word, to grant them any favor they ask.”

Seung goes quiet again, brooding.

“You ran away from the wedding,” he finally says.

I nod.

“You…didn’t marry Kenzo?”

“No, Seung. I didn’t.” I grit my teeth.

A cloudy look passes over Seung’s face. Then he shakes his head.

“I don’t believe this.”

“It’s true,” I insist. “You wouldn’t believe what Isao—”

“No,” Seung interrupts me. “I don’t believe that you would lead an innocent spirit to her death just to save yourself. That’s not the Eunji I know.”

My jaw drops.

Ex cuse me?

“Well, I’m not surprised,” Jin says, looking bored. “What do you expect from the yangban? Sacrificing others to save themselves is practically in their job description.”

“It’s just a tiger—an animal , Seung,” I burst out, suddenly upset. “If it were me or the beast—what would you choose?”

I regret asking as soon as the words leave my mouth. I’m starting to get a feeling that my ego would fare better without knowing the answer. It’s become abundantly clear how little this guy cares about me now.