he gave a saucy grin that proved he wasn’t that worried about Jihoon’s anger.
“Anyway, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Junu slipped out the front door, leaving Jihoon alone with his futile anger.
59
MIYOUNG WALKED THROUGH the apartment. Her body so cold she couldn’t stop shivering.
She heard water flowing somewhere. Nausea churned through her.
At the end of the hallway, her mother laid in a heap. Miyoung ran to her. Yena’s face was twisted in frozen pain, but Miyoung could see she was still breathing.
“Mother?” Miyoung shook Yena’s shoulder. No response.
Drops of water fell on her mother’s face. Miyoung wiped them away, but they were quickly replaced.
Miyoung realized the water came from her. She was soaked, head to toe, her hair dripping water onto the floor in an off-beat tempo.
And behind her, the rush of water intensified, like a waterfall booming against rock.
Miyoung turned toward the sound.
A bright slash of light emanated from the crack under the bathroom door.
She stood, drawn forward.
With every step, her body trembled until her very bones vibrated with trepidation.
She gripped the knob to the bathroom door but couldn’t bring herself to turn it.
A hand covered hers, warming her frozen fingers until her shaking subsided. A red thread connected their wrists.
She looked up into Jihoon’s eyes.
“Don’t open it,” he said.
“I have to.” She didn’t know how she knew, but she had to go inside and see what was behind the door.
“We’ll open it together, then.”
She nodded.
Jihoon’s hand tightened around hers. The door swung smoothly inward.
At first, she only saw the bright white tiles and gleaming chrome fixtures. The bathtub spigot was on, flooding the room. The water raced toward the drain in the middle of the floor, but it wasn’t enough to stop the water from pooling into an artificial lake.
Jihoon walked to the tub, his legs creating ripples in the water.
“Miyoung-ah.” Her name echoed in the room.
“What?” She stared at the drain as it created a tiny whirlpool. She broke out in a sweat at the sight of it, afraid the churning water could somehow pull her down as well.
“Miyoung-ah,” Jihoon said more urgently.
She tried to reply but something filled her throat. She coughed and water flowed from her lips like a fountain.
Jihoon called for her as the water devoured him.
She tried to swim, but her fear overtook her. She didn’t like the water. The current pulled at her limbs, drowning her.
Kicking desperately, she pulled at the red thread connecting her to Jihoon, but it snapped in her hands. She searched and searched, but found nothing. Her muscles gave in to the heavy weight of the water pulling her down.
60
JIHOON WASN’T QUITE sure why he was wandering the streets at 3:00 A.M. He’d woken in a sweat, choking on his own breath like he’d actually been drowning. It was all still so clear in his mind. The hallway, Yena’s unconscious form, the flooding bathroom. And he knew now that it was probably not just a dream. With the bead inside of him, he knew he was connected to Miyoung.
This probably meant all of those damned dreams where he begged Miyoung to return hadn’t been his alone. Had she seen him then? At his most vulnerable? It made his head hurt to wonder.
This dream made him worry about Miyoung despite himself. The residual anxiety made it impossible to fall asleep again. So he’d taken a walk to calm his racing heart and ended up by the old neighborhood playground. The trees beyond looked like gray statues, guarding the abandoned swing set.
Miyoung sat on the roundabout. He should have been more surprised, but it was almost as if he knew he’d find her here.
“Jihoon-ah!” she slurred out, gripping a bottle of soju. Another green bottle already lay empty beside her.
Miyoung squeezed one eye closed in an effort to more accurately pour into a plastic cup. Her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth as she concentrated on the task.
“Why are you here?” Jihoon asked.
“Couldn’t sleep. Bad dreams.” She threw back the soju in one perfect gulp.
“Where did you get that?” Jihoon eyed the extra bottle sitting in a plastic bag with more cups.
“At the CU Mart. That smarmy guy made me promise not to tell anyone he sold me this. I think he has a crush on me. Pyopyo or something.” She gave him a drunken grin.
Jihoon would have laughed at Pyojoo’s butchered name, but he was too worried Miyoung would pitch off the side of the ride.
“You look like you’ve been enjoying yourself.” Jihoon sat on