“Can I take these sunglasses off for a moment?” Minju asks.
“Of course.” Jun consents without hesitation.
A second later, I grunt as I’m tackle hugged by a small seonnyeo-dokkaebi. “Be safe, Sunny.”
I wrap my arms around her and hug her back. “I’ll see you soon, Minju.”
“And I will see you soon as well.” Captain Seo squeezes my shoulder, and I give her an awkward bro hug.
“The dead wait for no one. Not even the Amheuk.” Gyun speaks in a grim voice. “Judges, with the exception of Mun and Jun, please return to your posts. And keep an eye out for the dead entering the First, Fourth, and Tenth Hells. We will be back as soon as we escort our new friends to their destinations.”
I hear a series of whooshes.Damn.I wish I could’ve seen how the judges made their exit.
“So ... how do we do this?” I reach out with my hand until I feel a solid wall, which I assume is Gyun.
“With your permission, I will carry you,” he says.
“Of course you will.” I sigh. “I mean, you have my permission.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I’m lifted off my feet and something weird happens. I can’t feel myself—like I don’t ... exist.
Am I dead? Is Gyun a bad friend? Did hekillme?
Suddenly I smell smoke, warm and fragrant like a Yule log burning in the fireplace.Okay, I must not be dead.I sniff again, the tip of my nosepressed against the side of someone’s—I assume Gyun’s—neck. He’s the one who smells like a burning log.
“We’re here.” He sets me down on my feet. “Welcome to the capital of the Kingdom of Underworld.”
I tug Gyun’s tie off, and my jaw drops as I take in the city. We’re standing on a hill, looking down on ... a metropolis.
It’s not flashy like the Las Vegas Strip, or Times Square, but several tall black buildings jut into the sky, and streetlamps dot the concrete roads winding through the city. Granted, there are no cars on the road but—A fucking motorcycle rushes by below us.
I fling my arm out so fast that Gyun jumps back to avoid getting smacked. Then I flap my hand wildly in an effort to encompass all ... that.
“How?” I sputter. “Technology . . . Magic . . . How?”
“It istechnicallynot technology in the way you’re thinking. No pun intended.” Gyun shrugs a big shoulder. “It’s what humans would call ‘analog.’ Our machinery is made of cogs and gears, but powered by magic. And we build everything by hand, using principles similar tosomokwoodworking, where precise joints are created to interlock and fit together.”
“That isnotwood.” I jab an accusing finger at the tallest building, made with some kind of gleaming black material.
“No, the Jeoseung Palace is built with volcanic stones.” He tilts his head, admiring the dark high-rise.
“Are you saying your people cut joints and grooves into volcanic stones?” I lower my hand, unclutching my figurative pearls.
“It took many years of hard work and dedication, but we wanted the Jeoseung Palace to symbolize our kingdom’s commitment to advancement.”
“Commitment to advancement?” I repeat like a parrot.
“The rest of the kingdoms in this realm believe that magic should be stagnant.” He shakes his head. “But the Kingdom ofUnderworld studies magic to develop ways to move forward with the rest of the worlds.”
“How is that not science?” I think science is spectacular. Magic defies logic, but science achieves magical results, following the rules of logic. I just don’t understand how magic can coexist with it. “How are your advancements nottechnicallytechnology?”
“We are still figuring that out.” He looks out at the city. “But we do know that the crux of the conflict between magic and technology comes from digitization and the type of energy used to power the machinery.”
“Fascinating,” I breathe. “So this is the capital of the Kingdom of Underworld?”
“Yes.” Gyun sticks out his huge chest, like a proud father. “The rest of the kingdom isn’t as advanced, but we’ll get there.”
I want to gawk and ask more questions about magical advances, but that will have to wait.
