Legend [YEONBIN] ✓

forty-six ; soobin

I’d been back for weeks and had gained no traction in trying to find a solution to wake up Yeonjun’s halmeoni. At first I thought I could offer some of my own gi. But I quickly found out I was too weak, and after trying to force the connection I’d barely made it to the sink to vomit. That had been the end of those attempts.

But I had a bigger problem now. It was hard to admit, but I knew I needed to talk to Yeonjun. I’d been putting it off, hoping I could slip in, help his halmeoni, and slip back out again. But I knew I needed access to Halmeoni’s hospital room and I couldn’t keep sneaking in. Yeonjun was always there until visiting hours ended. So I’d taken to sneaking in, waiting him out, and then slipping into Halmeoni’s room. Except today a nurse had found me and asked me too many questions. I’d covered by saying I’d lost track of time, but the hawk-eyed nurses had definitely memorized my face by now.

I didn’t want the nurse telling Yeonjun before I could explain why I’d returned.

That was how I found myself in my old neighborhood, pacing in front of Yeonjun’s apartment.

I walked past the small squat building for what must have been the dozenth time that night. The windows were lit in the apartment above the closed restaurant. When I’d first seen the handwritten sign stating CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, I wanted to rip it down.

“You’re that yeowu boy.” The voice was old and cracked and stopped me in my tracks. I turned toward the old halmeoni who sat peeling chestnuts outside a medicinal wine store.

“Excuse me?”

“That boy our Yeonjunnie brought home once. You have secrets, dark ones.”

“What?” I tried to act confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The old woman cackled as she peeled another chestnut. This time she held it out and I took it with two hands.

“Don’t try to hide things from someone as old as me. I’ve seen far too much to be fooled.” Her words echoed something Yeonjun’s halmeoni once told me. “Don’t worry, I don’t need to know your secrets. I have enough of my own, collected over a lifetime. Though I think yours will come out soon enough. If Yeonjunnie is the one you want to tell, then you should just bite the bullet. He’s a good, kind boy.”

“Is Yeonjun okay?” I asked. “I mean, without his halmeoni? How is he?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” The old woman gestured down the road and I saw Yeonjun making his way down the street. Just as I was about to take off after him, I noticed another figure. One all too familiar.

“Ya!” I shouted before I could stop myself. A rash move as the boy’s head jerked around, he saw me, and then he took off down a side street.

Despite not feeding, I was still fast when I wanted to be. At least I was faster than any human, and I quickly overtook my target. I spun the boy around, blonde hair swinging to obscure the pale face.

“Kim Sunghoon.” I spat out the name. “What are you doing here?”

Sunghoo  adjusted his jacket, trying to assert a semblance of dignity. “I heard you were back in town.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Had the shaman been keeping tabs on me?

As if reading my mind, Sunghoon answered, “When a dokkaebi and a gumiho come back into town, the spirits talk. I didn’t realize you’d grown close to Taehyun.”

“Who I spend time with is none of your business. What do you want? Why are you following me?”

“I’m not following you,” Sunghoon said. “I was following Choi Yeonjun. I wanted to warn him.”

“Warn him? About what?”

“About you. I figured the only reason you’d return was to rip your bead back out of his chest.”

I startled at the mention of my bead. How could Sunghoon know about that? “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The spirits talk. What you did is unnatural.” Sunghoon paused, conflict clear in his eyes before he continued. “But it was also brave. You saved Choi Yeonjun’s life. I didn’t expect that of you.”

“You didn’t know me as well as you thought you did.”

“Perhaps,” Sunghoon said, studying me. “But if you truly do care about him, then you’ll leave him alone. My halmeoni still has plans and you should know by now that nothing will get in her way.”

“Threats?” I lifted a brow. “I’m not scared of you.”

Sunghoon frowned. “If you ever trusted me—”

“I didn’t,” I lied.

Sunghoon pursed his lips, and I felt grim satisfaction at the young shaman’s frustration. “Don’t ignore my warning. My halmeoni doesn’t forget and rarely forgives. If I know you’re back, then so will she.”

“That warning is as meaningless as your friendship. You’d never betray your halmeoni like this, and I have unfinished business.”

“If you’re not here to get your bead back, then why did you return?”

“You think I’d tell you that?” I scoffed.

“Well, if it was easy to accomplish, you’d have done it already. You even have Taehyun on your side. Perhaps it’s because you don’t have a solution for your problem.”

“And you do? Are you saying you can take my bead out of Yeonjun without killing one of us?”

Sunghoon hesitated. “I can’t. I took advantage of a month with a lot of spiritual power when I did it the first time. If I do it wrong . . .” He  trailed off, but the implication was clear. Done wrong, it would kill him.

“Then you’re of no use to me,” I said, and began to leave.

“I did what I did for my family,” Sunghoon called after her. “I thought maybe you could understand that.”

Fury filled me. “Funny that you think honoring your family requires you to kill. You’re right; it’s something I can understand all too well. I guess that means we’re both monsters in our own right and we’ll both never live up to our families’ expectations now.”

The words aimed to wound. Sunghoon stiffened as they hit their target.

“He shouldn’t be out tonight,” Sunghoon said. “His body has healed from his injuries, but it’s still mortal. And the bead gains power from the moon. It could overwhelm him.”

“What?” I asked, annoyance lacing my voice.

Sunghoon frowned, then pointed to the sky, toward the full moon.

I cursed. How could I be so brainless as to lose track of the time. And now I was out during the full moon. It shone down on me, causing my heart to squeeze and my breath to catch.

“Are you okay?” Sunghoon asked, stepping toward me, but I held up a hand.

“Don’t worry yourself about me,” I said. “And don’t get in my way. Or your halmeoni will have another reason to want revenge against my family.”

That stopped Sunghoon in his tracks. He gave a curt nod and turned to disappear down the alleyway.

I glanced back at the moon and rubbed at my chest. I needed to find Yeonjun.