weight pulled on Miyoung’s heart. Of course he’d ask. He was probably afraid of that part of her nature. And she couldn’t blame him, though it hurt more than she was expecting. She gripped her bead tighter. “If I stop absorbing gi for a hundred days, I’ll die. I trade human energy for my life and for immortality.”
“Oh yeah,” Jihoon said, eyeing Miyoung. “I’ve been meaning to ask how old . . .” He trailed off with a conflicted purse of his lips.
“Are you asking me if I’m an old lady in an eighteen-year-old body?”
“Well, since you bring it up.”
“I’m really only eighteen.”
“And your mother?”
“She’s older than the country we know now.”
“She sounds formidable,” Jihoon said with a grin. “No wonder you never have friends over.”
She smiled, leaning her head back to glance up at him. She hadn’t realized they stood so close. The umbrella left little room between them. Jihoon stood hunched a bit as he held the umbrella low over them both. At this angle, with her chin tilted, their faces were exactly lined up. Eye to eye, nose to nose, mouth to mouth.
He smelled of salt and rain, with just a hint of something smooth beneath. The scent of his skin, sweet like cream. It made it hard for her to think.
Miyoung gave herself a mental pep talk. You are Gu Yena’s daughter. You are strong. You are beautiful. You are smart. You will not be shaken.
It didn’t work.
She wanted to let herself give in to the warm feeling spreading through her belly. It was a sensation she’d never experienced before and all she knew was she wanted to hold on to it a bit longer.
Men only want one thing from us, her mother’s voice echoed.
She took a step back, retreating from Jihoon’s unblinking gaze. When he looked at her like that, it made her think he saw right through her. Down to all of the secrets even she had never explored. It terrified and thrilled her at the same time.
Her senses went into overdrive. She took another step back to escape the overwhelming energy. A horn blared and she blinked as headlights barreled toward her. Why was a car on the sidewalk?
Jihoon swooped his arms around her, spinning them so quickly, her head continued to turn even as they stopped. The horn blasted as the car sped by, missing them by centimeters.
Jihoon hugged her tightly, his heart jackrabbiting against her ears, her face buried in his chest. She smelled laundry detergent, faint on his shirt. His hand trembled as he stroked her hair. And the white noise finally cleared from her ears.
“—can’t believe you wouldn’t look where you’re stepping, babo-ya.”
The shock of the moment blended with the realization Jihoon held her so close that his body heat permeated her skin.
Miyoung sensed his gi below the surface. The feel of it was warmth and weight and comfort. And her hunger reached for it. She yearned to absorb it, to fill herself with it.
She jerked away, pushing Jihoon so hard he stumbled back four steps. Rain plastered her hair to her face but did nothing to cool her heated skin.
“Don’t come closer,” she said when Jihoon made to step toward her. “Stay away from me.”
“Okay.” Jihoon held up his hands as if to prove he wasn’t a threat. She almost laughed at how ludicrous that was.
“Being around me puts your life at risk.”
“So you always say.”
She scowled at his flippant tone. “Then why aren’t you running?”
“Running takes way too much effort.” He gave a cheeky grin.
Miyoung didn’t want to feel the tight grip on her heart. The one that told her how important this boy had become to her despite her efforts to reject him. “You said you don’t lie, but you’re lying now.”
“Maybe,” he began, low and uncharacteristically serious. “I’m not running because I’ve had people run away from me.”
“You mean like your mother?” It was unnecessarily cruel, but did the job, as Jihoon’s eyes darkened and he took a step away. Finally retreating. It was what she wanted, she told herself as she left him alone on the dark sidewalk.
Cold leached into her skin. He body ached. Like the chilled rain sapped all of her energy. But that wasn’t the cause of her exhaustion. It was wanting something so badly that walking away took all of her strength.
NOT ALL PREDATORS are monsters. But if you beat them enough, they’ll bite.
This was a lesson learned by a small village in the late nineteenth century.