Legend [YEONBIN] ✓

forty-seven ; yeonjun

Senior year was on the horizon, arguably the hardest year for any Korean teen. And I found myself hoping for it to arrive faster. I hated the time I spent with nothing but my thoughts. Huening Kai was away with family for the school break, and I could only spend so much time at Beomgyu’s without being fussed over.

I tried to fill my time by visiting my halmeoni, but after my own hospital stay the nurses had become strict with me and forced me home at the end of visiting hours.

So I found myself restlessly wandering my neighborhood. I’d felt claustrophobic cooped up in my small apartment, where everything reminded me of Halmeoni.

I rubbed a hand over my neck. It itched like sharp pins were pricking at my skin. Glancing up, I took in the full moon and sighed. Of course that was the cause of my discomfort. A regular reminder of my past mistakes.

And I realized I‘d stopped right next to the entrance of the neighborhood playground. Like I’d been brought there so I could be haunted by old memories. I should go back home. I knew it was ridiculous, but just the sight of the moon made my heart ache.

Instead, I found myself turning into the playground, running my hands over the roundabout until it spun in squeaky circles. I remembered riding that merry-go-round as a kid, spinning and spinning until I felt like I was going to puke.

Funny, I’d forgotten that once I’d loved this place. Because now it only represented her and how much I’d cared about her before she broke his heart. Sitting on one of the swings, he pushed off, leaning back so all he could see were stars and sky.

Then my heart clenched. My breath shortened. And a face, pale as the moon, appeared above me. I let out a shout and fell from the swing. Dirt and gravel dug into my palms as I scurried to my feet.

I glanced up, half expecting to see a ghost. But what stood there was much worse. Soobin.

He was as beautiful as I remembered. The moonlight hugged him with its bright embrace. His skin glowed. His eyes sparked. Dark hair blew in the winter breeze. And behind him was the ghost of his tails. I had a moment to worry that someone would walk by and see, but the clouds shifted and covered the moon and he was just a boy again. But not just a boy. He was never just a boy to him.

“Are you real?” I breathed, not quite trusting my mind. It had often played tricks on me in the past two months.

“Yeonjun-ah.”

I held up a hand to stop him. His voice sounded clear and smooth, as beautiful as I remembered. It made it hard for me to think.

“It’s been a while,” I finally managed.

He nodded.

“I don’t know why you left and I don’t need to know,” I said, determined to stay calm. “But I need your help. My halmeoni is sick.” I watched his face carefully. It betrayed nothing of his inner thoughts. “The doctors don’t know why she’s been in a coma this long. Her brain waves are strong. She has a good heart. I brought in a shaman and she said that there is dark energy in Halmeoni, like she’s been cursed.”

Soobin shook his head. “It’s not a curse.”

“Then what is it?” I yelled. The act of raising my voice made me light-headed. “If your mom, Ara did something to her, I need to know.”

Soobin moved forward.

“Stop!” A heat rose in my chest, like a ball of fire that wanted to break free.

Soobin  halted mid-step.

I pressed my hands against my temples as dots of light danced in my vision. This was not the moment to get sick. I’d waited over two months for this. I would get an answer to my questions before he disappeared again.

My legs wobbled, and before they dropped out from beneath me I sat on the swing again, trying to regulate my breathing. Sweat beaded along my skin despite the winter chill. I counted to ten, then back again.

“Are you sick?” Soobin asked, still standing a meter away like he was afraid to approach.

“I’m fine,” I murmured.

“Yeonjun-ah,” he said, and it hurt to hear him say my name in such a familiar way.

“What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you go hunt?” I spat out. “Or are you thinking you have the perfect victim right in front of you?”

Soobin kept his face blank and it should have worried me. I was prodding him when I knew better, but he wouldn’t physically hurt me. Even now I still believed that.

“I’m not—” he began, then squeezed his lips so tight they paled from the pressure.

I considered pushing the subject, but knew it wasn’t worth it. Soobin had always done exactly what he wanted. If he was going to hunt or not wasn’t my concern. I rubbed my fingers against my temple to ease the throbbing behind my eyes.

“You don’t look like you’re doing well,” Soobin said.

I hated that he saw me when I was so weak. “You think? My whole life was ripped apart by a boy who said he cared about me, then disappeared. My halmeoni’s in the hospital, bills are piling up because the restaurant is closed, and I have a damn migraine. Would you be all right?”

My headache swelled. If it got any worse, I might have an episode. That was not something I needed right now, not in front of Soobin.

“Do you want me to leave?”

I didn’t reply because if I said no, then he’d know how much I still cared. But if I said yes, he might go, and I didn’t want that either.

“I don’t know how to talk to you,” I said instead. “I don’t know how to be around you.”

“I don’t regret it,” he whispered.

“Coming back?”

“Caring about you.”