“Wait. Look over there.” I point toward the redgiagain. The life force appears arched because there is a physical door framing it. “You guys can see that now, right?”
They both look up from the road and follow my line of sight.
“There’s an arched entryway,” Minju gasps.
“Thank the fucking gods.” The captain pushes her hair off her forehead. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Laughter sputters out of me even though I clap a hand over my mouth. Minju and Captain Seo blink at each other.
“I get it now.” A slow smile spreads across the captain’s face. “You really are adorable.”
“Well, fuck,” I mutter. Cutesy is definitely not my vibe.
“I still don’t get it.” Minju blinks big round eyes at me. “What’s so funny?”
“You know, because we’re in hell ...” I clamp my mouth shut when the traitor dissolves into giggles.
“Sunny is justprecious, isn’t she?” Captain Seo says with a shit-eating grin.
“So precious.” Minju sighs. “I want to tuck her inside my pocket and carry her around with me.”
“I highly doubt that scrap of fabric you’re wearing even has a pocket,” I jeer to hide how vulnerable I feel.
I don’t mind being teased, but I do mind how much I enjoy it, coming from these two. I’m trying ... I’m trying really hard ... to move on from Santorini. But I’m not ready for soft, squishy feelings yet.
“You’re right.” Minju’s smile droops, and I feel like a dick. Well, at least, a dick isn’tprecious. “I miss myhanbok.”
“I’m sure the Kingdom of Underworld has plenty ofhanboks.” Captain Seo narrows her eyes at me, and I look down at my toes. “Just hang on a little bit longer. We’re almost there.”
“And you look lovely in that dress, even though it’s microscopic.” I mumble my version of an apology. When Minju’s face shifts into anawwexpression, I point a warning finger at her. “If you call me anything resembling ‘cute’ or ‘sweet,’ I will take that back so fast.”
The captain coughs to cover her laugh, and Minju wisely says nothing. But her smile tells me she’sthinking“cute” and “sweet” in association with me.Oh well.I guess it’s fine as long as I don’t have to hear it.
“What do you know?” I stop in front of the entryway. “We made it.”
I blink and shake my head to dispel my magicgigoggles so I can take a proper look at the physical obstacle we’re up against.
“It’s just a door,” I say, sounding almost disappointed. The double-leafed door, made of rough black metal, stands about eighty feet tall, with long, vertical handle bars in the same material. But still, it’s just a door. “I’m not asking for Cerberus—I bet he’s busy guarding Hades or something—but there should at least be a brutish horneddokkaebistanding around with a giant spiked club.”
“I take offense at that stereotype.” Minju, a halfdokkaebi, pouts.
“Are you upset this door won’t be challenging enough to get through?” Captain Seo gapes at me. “I’m not certain twenty people could push it open.”
“Do you think we need topushorpull?” I tap my chin with my finger, remembering the iconic comic about a kid at genius school pulling on a door with all his might when it sayspush. We can’t afford to make the same mistake. “It’s important to figure that out before we waste all our energy pushing or pulling the wrong way.”
With an inquisitive hum, Minju approaches one end of the door and peers at the hinges, then she walks the width of a basketball court to reach the other end and repeats her inspections. She hums again and returns to our side.
Captain Seo and I look expectantly at her, but she shrugs. “I can’t tell.”
“That’s okay.” I swallow my frustrated groan and nod encouragingly at her. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“From a logical perspective, the door should open toward us.” The captain rubs her jaw. “It presumably leads to the Kingdom of Underworld, where people reside. If the door opens outward, people could be hit by it. As opposed to in here, where no living beings should be roaming around.”
“But if it opens inward, shouldn’t there be scratch marks on the silver road?” I walk a half circle in front of the door. “Because I don’t see any. The door is too heavy not to leave a mark.”
“Then it’s magic,” Minju offers unhelpfully. But of course, she’s right.
“Maybe if we—” With a sharp hiss, Captain Seo snatches away the hand she’d pressed against the door. “Shit.”
