He looked away, his cheeks pink. I took the bracelet from his hand and slipped it onto my wrist, the cool beads tight against my racing pulse.
“Thank you,” I said. “Seriously, Jihoon, thank you. This was nice.”
Jihoon’s whole face was pink now. I took a step forward, but my foot slipped off the curb. Jihoon caught me by the waist and steadied me before I could fall on top of a storm drain. He didn’t move his hand from my back as I straightened up. We were so close now, and all I could think was that he could definitely smell all the ramen on my breath.
“Jihoon,” I whispered, not sure why I said his name. It was hard to think with him so close.I’m so sorry, I thought.I wish I could be the person you want, the person you deserve.
I stayed perfectly still—it didn’t count ifIkissedhim—and dropped my gaze to his lips.
This time, he took the hint.
Jihoon leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.
It was such a soft, gentle kiss that lasted only a moment, like a flower petal brushing against my cheek as it fluttered into the sky.
I did it, I thought, my whole body alight as I tallied the points in my mind. I would get to stay in Seoul, where I would find my sister. Yejun and I would fix the timeline and get rid of Hong Gildong and all his corruption.
Then Jihoon pulled back with a smile, bumping his nose against mine, and let out a nervous laugh. He hugged me, tucking my face over his shoulder, and as I felt how fast his heart was beating, any trace of happiness melted out of me.
The fate of the world was supposed to matter so much more than one boy, but it was hard to feel like anything but a monster when Jihoon was so sincerely happy. He’d become yet another pawn in the great chess game of the descendants—his feelings, his life, his future were all expendable. Just like Hana.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I seized the excuse to pull away and start unbundling the napkins. Jihoon waited awkwardly as I wiped down my phone and a text from Hyebin appeared across the flickering screen, demanding that I report in.
It was a strange request. I never had shifts with her this late, and my quarterly report wasn’t due for a few days, so I was pretty sure I hadn’t missed any deadlines. I texted her back asking what she needed me for, but of course she left me on read.
“That’s my boss,” I said, pocketing my phone. “I have to go.”
“Okay,” Jihoon said, reaching for my hand. I let him hold it, even though I felt like a corpse he was now puppeting around as he maneuvered me to the subway. He walked me back to the train station and stood close to me in the packed train car, but I couldn’tbring myself to look at him. We reached the mouth of the station, where he kissed me again before saying goodbye. I hoped he hadn’t noticed how I hadn’t kissed him back.
I turned and walked alone through the darkness, toward the heart of the dragons’ lair.
Chapter Fourteen
Emart was closed this late at night, so I scanned my key fob at the side door and wound my way around the dark aisles. Only the refrigerator lights remained on after hours, the ghostly glow of milk and yogurt illuminating the polished concrete floor. I clutched my banana milk tribute to my chest as I walked up the frozen escalators, my every footstep echoing down into the basement. I kept glancing over my shoulder, unnerved by how quiet the whole store was, no sounds except for the humming of the refrigerators, which grew farther away as I climbed higher and higher toward the moon.
What could Hyebin possibly want? She worked all hours of the day and night, but the agency was generally good about leaving the agents-in-training alone after ten to do their schoolwork. The dread of not knowing what was in store made me feel like I was treading water in a black sea without a single star overhead.
I stepped into the elevator on the tenth floor and flinched when the doors slammed shut, thinking for a moment that my reflection was an Echo.
Calm down, Mina, I told myself, wiping away smeared mascara.I know Hyebin is scary, but she would never actually kill you. She’s probably just too busy to text you back.
I repeated the thought again and again in my head until the elevator doors opened, then forced a smile onto my face as I held out the banana milk for Seulgi.
“You’re the best,” Seulgi said, setting down her paddleball and reaching out for the milk.
I headed for Hyebin’s office, but Seulgi waved a hand to stop me. “Actually, you’re going that way,” she said, pointing to the left hall instead of the right.
I glanced down the hallway, which was dark except for the single door at the far end.
“But Hyebin called me in,” I said. “Is she not in her office?”
“Hyebin called you in because Sajangnim wants to see you, and he doesn’t like texting,” Seulgi said, smiling sympathetically as she gestured once more to Hong Gildong’s office at the opposite end of the hall. The long passage seemed endless, a ribbon of deep purple carpet that disappeared into the darkness. A gold dragon’s head knocker gleamed in the center of the dark oak door.
I had never been called to Hong Gildong’s office before. For a moment, I worried that this meant he’d found out about me and Yejun. But if that were the case, surely a team of neutralizers would have snatched me off the streets, not texted me to come in.
I walked hesitantly down the hallway, my footsteps muffled on the carpet. When I reached the door, I grabbed the ring in the dragon’s mouth and knocked, the sound vibrating up the panels.
“Come in!” Hong Gildong called from inside.
