I want to believe he’ll be home, lying on the couch watching TV, but part of me is already freaking out that Haemosu has taken him, too.
“Jae Hwa,” Dad calls over the noise on the TV.
He’s lounging on the couch, woolly socked feet propped up on two unpacked boxes. His tie is loose, and his top two buttons are undone. I sink onto the couch next to him and allow my breathing to return to normal.
Dad’s fine. Happy. Watching TV.
“Did you work out?” Dad says, pushing the MUTE button. “You sound out of breath, like you’ve been running.”
“Running. Yes. I went for a long run.”
“Your time with Komo go well?”
My mind is filled with visions of blood, barred teeth, and swirling wind.
Komo has been—
I can’t think about it. Can’t even believe it. I push my fingers against my eyelids to stop the tears, stop the images flashing before me.
Dad sits up. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s—she’s gone. He took her. Just like he did the others.”
Dad’s forehead creases. “What are you talking about?”
“Haemosu took Komo.”
Dad is silent for a moment. “Is this the same Haemosu that your grandfather keeps talking about?”
“Don’t you get it?” I jump up and start pacing the room. “We need to get out of here! Like now.”
“Jae. You need to calm down.” Dad stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “What has gotten into you?”
“You don’t believe me!” My throat constricts.
He stands up, his jaw set. “This is about going back to L.A., isn’t it?”
“No! I mean, yes!”
“Eun has been talking about this nonsense with you, hasn’t she? I strictly forbade her to bring you into any of this. That was our agreement when she wanted to see you.”
When I don’t answer him right away he says, “I knew it.”
I say, “Call her. Now.”
He raises his eyebrows and pulls out his phone, punching in the numbers. His hands are shaking, and I suspect that a part of him believes me. “This kind of insanity is exactly what I was worried about. She’s got your mind all twisted with her ideas.”
I rub my palms up and down my jeans until they burn as Dad puts the phone to his ear.
“Eun,” Dad says. “How are you?”
I stand frozen. My head feels stuffy, as if it’s full of cotton. “She’s there?”
Dad nods, but continues to talk into the phone. “Uh huh. Yes. I was calling because Jae Hwa is worried about you. Are you hurt?” Pause. “Okay.” Dad sits back on the couch. “Good. You need to stop encouraging her with this Haemosu nonsense. It’s not healthy.” He pauses. “So you agree? Good. Good. Here, talk some sense into her.”
He hands me the phone. “Your aunt is fine. She said she cut her finger.”
Cut her finger! I snatch the phone. “Komo?”
“Ah, my princess,” a deep male voice says. Haemosu. My heart shrivels. “Truly I am enjoying our courtship. So much that I’d hate for it to end.”
The phone drops from my fingers, clattering onto the wooden floor. The colors of the room wash away as I sink to the ground. Haemosu is one step ahead of me. Always one freaking step ahead!
Dad is saying something to me, but I only hear buzzing. Somehow I manage to stumble my way to my room. The punching bag becomes my sole focus. I ignore Dad’s knocking, pleading to talk. All I can think about is the bag and my pent-up anger.
An hour later I’m sweaty, and my fists ache when I finally lie flat on the floor. I can’t stop worrying about Komo. Is she okay? Did Haemosu take her to that awful palace? The thought makes me so sick I race to the bathroom and throw up.
I splash water over my face and stare into the mirror. Dark shadows circle my eyes, and my hair is wild and snarled.
I will find a way to rescue Komo.
There must be something in the ancient stories that Grandfather and Komo overlooked, some secret way to outwit the monster. Back in my bedroom I pull out the dragon horn bow Grandfather gave me and rub my palm over its wooden surface.
Everyone has a weakness. Even a demigod. I will find Haemosu’s, hunt him down, and use it against him.
The next morning I drag my feet down the school hallway, hoping the cream and saline has erased the puffiness from around my eyes. I even used powder to hide the flush on my face. Too many tears. Too little sleep. My only motivation for crawling out of bed was the hope that I’d encounter Haemosu.
Tonight I’m supposed to meet Grandfather at the museum at 7 p.m. to steal the amulet. Which means I’ve got to figure out a way to get the amulet before then. There’s no way I’m letting Grandfather face Haemosu for me. Komo had. And now she’s gone.
I stop short, swallowing the lump in my throat. The hallway fades, the light blurs like the headlights of a car, and Komo’s face fills my vision.
Her words rush to me: “Take control of your mind; harness your strength.”
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“You can,” she says.
Then she’s gone as if someone has clicked off the headlights. I’m sandwiched between streams of kids, shoving their way to lockers and classes. My stomach knots up, and there’s a tugging at my chest; but I will my feet to move. Komo isn’t the only person haunting me. Haemosu dangles in the forefront of my mind. And every time I look at the bracelet I am reminded of him.
“I brought you a gift.” Michelle hands me a coffee cup as she falls in stride with me. “Vanilla latte. Extra hot and extra whipped cream.”
I take a sip. It tastes like hot water.
“Did he give that to you?” Michelle asks, pointing to my bracelet.
“What?” How does she know about Haemosu?
“You know. Marc. He’s totally crushing on you.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.” The lies keep piling up. I’ve reached my locker and stare at it. I haven’t touched the door since yesterday’s episode with Haemosu. The thought of it sends my pulse racing. But I need my Chinese textbook.
My translation of the legend of Haemosu and Princess Yuhwa is tucked away in that Chinese textbook. I want to work on it some more, look for clues I haven’t seen before. If only I wasn’t so hopeless when it came to Chinese.
Michelle touches the gold bracelet before I can stop her. She immediately jerks her hand back. “Ouch!” she cries. “What’s up with your bracelet?”
Just Haemosu’s little way of saying “Hands off!” I want to say, but I don’t and instead pull my sleeve over my wrist. “Nothing. Probably static electricity.”
“Oh.” And to my surprise I think she buys my outrageous lie. “Don’t forget about our movie night,” Michelle says. “Lily is coming, too.”
“Crap. I totally forgot about that. Can we do it another time? I need to see my grandfather.”
“You can’t be serious.”
I grimace. “I’m sorry.”
“This is getting old, Jae. You promise you’ll hang out, but you never do. It’s always one excuse or another.”
“I know.” I close my eyes, my head pounding even louder than before. My life sucks.
“So why are you staring at your locker? Did you forget your combination or something?”
“No. I’m just reviewing my Chinese symbols in my head before class.” And although it isn’t true, I really should be since IB Korean is kicking my butt. Yep. I’m going to fail. All those times I’d hated studying. Now it’s all I wish I could do. Curled up on my yo with my textbook, drinking a cup of hot chocolate, not a care in the world.
I spin the combination for my locker. My hands shake.
“I don’t know why you torture yourself like that by taking advanced Korean,” she says, leaning against the locker next to mine. “If you didn’t spend so much time on that class, you could be hanging out with us.”