Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1)(19)

“Well—” Miyoung’s voice broke and she cleared her throat. “That’s why we need to put it back right away.”

“I might know a way,” Nara said slowly. Long, drawn-out words that agitated Miyoung’s frayed nerves.

“What is it?” she asked impatiently.

“You won’t like it.”

“Tell me,” Miyoung insisted.

“Can you give me the bead?”

Miyoung took a step back instinctively.

“I didn’t think so.” The hurt in Nara’s eyes almost made Miyoung feel guilty, but she knew she had to protect herself. Even from Nara.

“It might be dangerous for you to get too involved.” It was a weak excuse, and from Nara’s scrunched expression, the shaman saw right through it.

“If you can’t trust me, I can’t help you.”

“Is there nothing else?” Miyoung asked.

“Nothing I’ve ever performed before.” Nara started to turn away, but not before Miyoung saw the glint of something in her eyes.

“What is it?” Miyoung grabbed Nara’s arm.

The shaman hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth, never staying still long enough for Miyoung to capture them with her own. “I don’t know if it’ll work.”

“I’m willing to try anything.”

Nara nodded as she pulled a jacket off a crowded coatrack.

“It’s not here?” Miyoung asked.

“No, but he’s close.”





DO YOU WEEP for the battered, empty heart of the gumiho? You should. Though she has often yearned for love, she has always been denied it.

There is a tale that takes place long after the first gumiho had become nothing but myth. And many more had risen to take her place as monsters of the night. Humankind traded stories of their existence like they were fables warning men against temptation. And only a few knew that there lay truth in the terrifying stories.

During this time lived the son of a poor scholar, bright and precocious.

Along the road to his private tutoring sat a Chinese Scholar tree.

All were warned not to stand under the tree at night since the spirits liked to visit it when the moon was high.

One night, the boy walked home long after the sun had set. He spotted a figure under the tree and approached to warn the person of the evil spirits.

As he reached the tree, he realized it was a beautiful girl. She was bashful and shy, yet when he warned her of the spirits, she laughed him off. And every night after, she still stood under the tree and he found himself stopping to speak with her more and more. They spoke of life and love and the philosophy of the spirits.

One day he went with her to a tile-roofed house in the forest. There, she fed him delicious food and gifted him with her love. Though she refused to kiss him on the lips.

Confused, the boy sought counsel from the elder scholars, who told him she was no girl, but a fox in human form. One of the many that plagued the countryside. They told him he was lucky to have escaped her clutches with his life. But since he had her trust, perhaps he could gain something no man had yet possessed.

These fox women had a special stone, called a yeowu guseul. She hid it under her tongue; this was the reason she would not kiss him.

However, if he stole the stone from her, he would obtain infinite knowledge. They urged him to look to the sky at once after possessing it. Then he would know all the workings of heaven and bestow this knowledge on all of his descendants.

The boy accepted the challenge, wishing to know all that heaven knew.

The next night, he met the girl under the tree and professed his love for her. Surprised, the girl returned his words.

“If you love me, then you will give me a kiss,” he said.

The girl, enamored by his love, agreed.



Once her lips touched his, he stole the yeowu guseul from under her tongue and captured it in his own mouth.

However, as he ran away, he tripped over a stone. Instead of looking to the sky, he looked to the earth.

It came about that he did not understand the workings of heaven, but only knew the things of the earth.

And all mortals who came after him would only know of earth as well.





8





IF THE ROAD to Nara’s shop was an alley, this one was a gutter, only wide enough to move single file. The close proximity of the buildings squeezed out the sun’s rays, so the alley sat in constant shadows.

Nara stopped at a wide door made of rusted metal and knocked.

There was no answer for so long, Miyoung assumed no one was home. Then it opened a crack and an eye peeked out at them.

“Can I help you?” The voice was male and suspicious, but also smooth and cultured. Not that of someone Miyoung would expect to live in such a run-down area.

“We need to see Junu,” Nara stuttered.

“He’s busy, come back later.”

Miyoung stopped the door from slamming in their faces. She met with surprisingly strong resistance before she pushed the door open and revealed the boy in all his glory.

Miyoung had thought him a man before but now saw he was barely older than her, perhaps nineteen or twenty. He stood in a silk pajama set. His hair was mussed like he’d just crawled out of bed. Miyoung raised a brow. It was already dusk. She studied the rest of him. He was gorgeous, straight nose, warm brown irises, high cheekbones, and tall enough that Miyoung had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. Yet, despite his beauty, she felt an aversion to him, like they were two magnets of the same pole, pushing away from each other.