Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1)(5)

“It was a long day.” Jihoon gave her a wink.

“Studying or playing?” Hwang Halmeoni’s smile was knowing. She sat on a low wooden deck and peeled garlic into a bowl. The scent stung Jihoon’s nostrils.

“Playing.” He grinned. “Always.”

She clucked her tongue, popping a piece of raw garlic into her mouth. Jihoon hated eating it raw, though his own halmeoni said it was good for his health. Still, when Hwang Halmeoni held out her hand, he dutifully accepted a peeled clove.

“When are you going to make me the happiest man on earth and agree to marry me?”

Hwang Halmeoni chuckled, her eyes sparkling. “Your silver tongue is going to get you in trouble one day.”

“It already has.” Jihoon winked again. “Many times over.”

“Stop stalling. You have to go home and answer to your halmeoni.”

Jihoon sighed because she was right. He bowed and crossed the dark street toward his halmeoni’s restaurant and slipped silently into the second-floor apartment. He toed off his sneakers and placed them neatly beside his halmeoni’s worn shoes. A small form raced down the hall with a high-pitched yip.

“Dubu! Shhh.” He tried to quiet the tiny ball of fur. She ignored him and jumped onto his legs for the requisite petting.

Jihoon winced as a door opened.

“Ahn Jihoon!” his halmeoni yelled. “I was about to send the police to search all of Korea.”

Jihoon folded in a bow of apology.

His halmeoni had been pretty once. Proof lay in the old black-and-white photos on her nightstand. Now worry and age lined her face. A small woman, she only reached Jihoon’s shoulder, but he withered in the face of her anger.

“Halmeoni, you shouldn’t get worked up. Your high blood pressure, remember?”

“Where were you?” she asked sternly.

Jihoon didn’t bother with empty excuses. “You know where.”

Halmeoni clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You are such a smart boy and you waste your brain on those games. I’m not asking you to get into a top-three SKY university. I just want you to go to college. Your mother got married right out of high school. That is why she was helpless without your father.”

Jihoon shook his head at the mention of his parents.

“I don’t need to go to university to help out in the restaurant,” Jihoon said. “Or maybe I’ll become a famous gamer and buy you a mansion. Either way, I just want to stay here with you, not go to a fancy university.”

His halmeoni frowned and changed tack. “I went to see a shaman. She said your soul is being shadowed by something.”

“You should stop giving your money to those people. They’re a bunch of scam artists. The only spirits they talk to are in a bottle.” Jihoon mimed throwing back a shot.

“She said you’ll soon see darkness. Don’t you know what that means?”

Jihoon shrugged and walked into the kitchen to avoid the conversation. Whenever his halmeoni went on one of her rants about his soul, his stomach churned.

He hoped she wouldn’t get the idea to exorcise him again.

“If you keep staring at the computer, you’ll ruin your eyes.” Halmeoni followed him into the kitchen. It wasn’t a long trip. The apartment was as small as a postage stamp.

“I can’t lose my vision or else I won’t be able to look at your beautiful face.” Jihoon gave one of his lazy grins and Halmeoni’s lips twitched. She fought back the smile and gave him a glower instead.

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me. You think I’m a fool who’ll fall for pretty words?”

Jihoon wrapped her in a tight hug, engulfing her in his long arms. “I’d never think that. My halmeoni is the smartest woman in the neighborhood. Maybe all of Seoul.”

Halmeoni gave him a resigned huff and a stern pat on the back before wriggling out of his embrace.

She took his hand and placed a yellow paper in it. Bold red symbols stood out against the bright background. He recognized it as one of the talismans she hung inside the front door.

“What is it for?” Jihoon held it with two fingers like it was a rotten banana peel.

“A bujeok from the shaman for warding off evil. Keep it with you.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“You say I’m smart, so do as I say.” Halmeoni folded his fingers around the paper.

He finally conceded and stuffed it into his pocket. “Fine.”

“Good boy.” She patted his rear in approval. “Now eat your dinner before it gets cold, and then take the dog out.”



* * *



? ? ?

Twilight had become full night by the time Jihoon led Dubu out for her walk. Clouds covered the moon, so the road was lit only by lamps, which lengthened the shadows along the asphalt.

The angle of the street sloped so steeply, the buildings leaned to stay straight. Land was at a premium in the city, but Jihoon’s neighborhood retained its quaint short buildings, winding around crooked roads so narrow that cars had no right to be on them.

The dog, no higher than Jihoon’s calf and white as the moon, had no interest in going to the bathroom. She stared down the dark road with her ears perked.

“You going or not? If you have an accident inside, you’ll have to answer to Halmeoni.”