Legend [YEONBIN] ✓

twenty-eight ; yeonjun

I Sunday afternoons for one thing: gaming.

It was his happy time when I didn’t have school and my halmeoni gave me a reprieve from helping out in the restaurant. I booted up the ancient computer in our apartment and debated whether it was worth it to put on real pants to go to the PC room for a better internet connection. I pulled out a pair from the pile of folded laundry my halmeoni had left for me. A yellow paper fell from the pocket and I sighed. Even when I left the bujeok in the wash, she meticulously saved it and placed it neatly back in my pocket. I started to shove it into a drawer, then stopped. Of all people, I now knew this stuff wasn’t superstition, so I stuffed it into my jacket as I shrugged it on.

The sound of our front doorbell confused me at first. Hardly anyone came upstairs when the restaurant was open below.

The yellow bujeoks around the front door fluttered as I opened it.

Detective Hae stood on the other side.

“Detective. Are you looking for my halmeoni? She’s downstairs.”

The detective’s shrewd gaze took in my rumpled clothes and sleepy eyes. “I’m actually looking for you. Your neighbor, Mrs. Park, told me you were out by the forest a few weeks ago.”

“When was that?” Though I knew already.

“It would have been about two months ago.”

Two months ago. When I first met Soobin. When he saw him kill a dokkaebi.

My mind raced. Should I lie? Half truth, I decided. Easier to tell the truth even if it wasn’t full. “I don’t remember every night I’m out in the neighborhood, but I’ll try to help if I can.”

“Do you remember seeing anything strange?” Detective Hae asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Just anything.” The detective was being equally withholding.

“No, the neighborhood is pretty quiet after dark.”

“Did you hear anything from the forest?”

“Like hikers?” I asked.

“Like anything.” Detective Hae watched me so closely I felt if I blinked the wrong way, the man would file it away.

“I don’t really notice things.”

The detective sighed. “It’s about that file you saw at the station. That man disappeared two months ago. We found his body last night.” The detective emphasized the word body, watching for a reaction.

I kept my expression blank by running through my last gaming battle strategy in detail.

“Sorry, I can’t help you.”

“Listen.” The detective hesitated, then continued. “It’s going to sound odd, but I think this is a pattern. There have been other similar attacks.”

“Similarities? Like what?” I asked.

“That’s sensitive information,” the detective replied, but I didn’t need to hear—I had a good idea. Men missing, turning up without their livers, men who looked like they had been attacked by a wolf . . . or a fox.

“But I’m fairly certain there will be another attack and soon. Now, are you sure you didn’t see anything?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” I set my mouth in a stern line like I’d seen my halmeoni do before.

Detective Hae dug into his pocket, pulling out his card. “Well, if you do remember anything, then let me know.”

I accepted it, making sure to keep my fingers steady.

This detective was getting in way over my head. Soobin wasn’t the only gumiho wandering the city, and from what I’d said, his mother, Ara, was ruthless. My eyes shifted to the bujeoks fluttering inside the door. I remembered the one the dokkaebi had used against Soobin that first night. How it had weakened him.

“Wait,” I called out. I felt foolish, but what if the detective got hurt and I’d done nothing? So I pulled down a talisman and held it out.

“A bujeok for protection?” Detective Hae asked.

“You know what it is?” I lifted my brows in surprise.

“My wife used to be obsessed with this stuff.”

“You should take it. Seems like you have a dangerous job.”

The detective chuckled and patted my shoulder. It felt strangely paternal and I stepped back in sudden discomfort.

The detective gave a final nod. I folded into a bow.

I leaned heavily on the door after I closed it. I tried calling Soobin. He’d made me promise to use his number for emergencies only. I figured this classified as one.

He didn’t answer, and I cursed as I pulled open the door again and hurried out.

•    •    •

I ran up the hill toward Soobin’s house. I hesitated at the end of the long drive and glanced at the sky, darkening with dusk. But I steeled myself before starting down the path.

A movement in the trees halted my steps and I froze until I recognized the uniform blazer of my school. Soobin.

I doubted he had decided it was a good time for a casual hike. He was preparing for a hunt, and if that detective was out patrolling, I didn’t want to think of what could happen.

“Soobin!” I called, but he was either too far away or ignoring me.

I hurried after him, wondering how he could move so fast without making a sound.

The path was narrow, filled with large roots and craggy rocks. The steep slope tired me quickly. I wondered if it was physically possible for a person to cough up their lungs, but truly didn’t want to find out. So I took a short break, leaning against a tree. Up here, the height was dizzying. And the city lay so far below it looked like a toy replica. My break lost my precious time, and when I turned back toward the path, Soobin was nowhere to be seen.

“Choi Soobin,” I shouted. No answer. Not that I’d really expected one.

“Soobin-ah, if you can hear me, answer,” I called. My shouting startled something that rustled the underbrush and I skittered back, stepping over the ledge.

I was pulled back onto the path to fall in a heap. Soobin stood over me, his arms crossed. From the look on his face he wasn’t just displeased, he was pissed.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“They—” I broke off when my voice wavered. I stood, brushing away the dirt that clung to my pants while I tried to gather myself. “They found a body in the woods,” I said finally.

His expression was unreadable.

“A man who disappeared,” I continued. “They suspect something, they’re looking for the culprit, they think they’ll attack again.”

I nodded, the only sign he heard me.

“There’s a cop asking questions.”

“Just because he’s poking around doesn’t mean he knows anything.” Soobin frowned.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be out tonight.”

“You need to leave this alone. It’s not safe out here for you.” His hand went to his belly; his eyes darted back and forth as if they saw something I couldn’t. And his skin had taken on a strangely green pallor.
“Are you okay?”

“Go home.” Soobin didn’t wait for my reply. He retreated back into the woods.

He’d seemed distracted. If he was distracted, that meant he might make a mistake. I didn’t give myself time to think; I pushed through the branches, following Soobin deeper into the forest as the sun waned.