dig deeper into his flesh, he tried to let go. He could almost feel his soul becoming untethered. He could practically feel himself coming apart. And he welcomed it. He held on tight to Sinhye, now unconscious. And when he thought the pain would consume him in a fire of agony, a cold hand came over his. It felt like ice. It felt like death.
He finally screamed out as the sting of the blade lanced down his back, and his eyes flew open.
Kneeling beside him was Yena. Her form so solid that he could be convinced that she’d come back to life. But her hands, holding his and Sinhye’s, were too frozen to belong to someone who was living.
He realized that everything felt cold. The air around him, which hung still and heavy. The world felt like a haze around them; the colors of the mountain were leached and lifeless. He still held on to Sinhye’s hands, except now she sat before him in the form he remembered. A beautiful girl, long ebony hair, light porcelain skin. She blinked in confusion as she held up her hand to glance at her slender fingers. They still sat on the mountain, except it was as if there was a spotlight on them, only three meters in circumference, and beyond the light lay a dark expanse. Where it led, Junu didn’t know.
“Somin! Miyoung!” Junu called, his voice sounding garbled, like he was underwater.
“You’re in the Between.” Hyuk stepped out of the darkness, shadows dancing around him. In this strange washed-out world, he looked almost vibrant in his full black ensemble. But instead of the suit he’d been wearing of late, he now had on the traditional black hanbok that had been common in Joseon times and a black gat atop his head, the kind of tall hat that Junu had once also worn over a hundred years ago. Its wide brim shaded Hyuk’s eyes, but they seemed to glow as he watched Junu and Sinhye.
“So you’ve come to sacrifice your soul to deliver Sinhye to the underworld,” Hyuk said, and he sounded morose. Like he mourned.
“I have.” The voice that spoke was neither Junu’s nor Sinhye’s. It was Yena’s. Her face serene, her eyes clear. She did not look like the rabid gwishin that had appeared on the mountain but like she once had, calm and beautiful, even in death.
“What are you doing?” Junu gasped out. It was hard to breathe in this place. But it also seemed like he didn’t need to. Spirits didn’t need air.
“I’m giving my daughter what she needs.”
“I don’t understand,” Junu said.
Yena didn’t reply. Instead, she held out her hand to Sinhye, who looked at Junu with confusion before accepting Yena’s offered palm. The two stood together, and Hyuk approached.
“Wait, what’s happening?” Junu asked. “I thought I had to die for Sinhye to leave Jihoon’s body.”
“In order to release Sinhye’s soul from Jihoon’s body, an immortal soul must be sacrificed. The energy of that sacrifice cut her soul free. As Yena’s soul was still tethered to the mortal realm, her act of letting go was enough to break the bond between Sinhye’s soul and Jihoon’s body.”
“Then what am I supposed to do now?” Junu asked. “If I’m here, then does that mean I’ve died as well?”
“No, you merely came to the brink of death,” Hyuk said. “If there is one who wishes to hold on to you, then you can return to where you came from.” The reaper motioned to the shadows that surrounded them, and Junu realized he meant for Junu to step into that unknown place.
“How will I get back?”
“If she holds on, then you’ll find the way.”
Junu wanted to ask more, but Hyuk took Yena’s and Sinhye’s joined hands in his. He led them into the shadows, and soon their forms dissolved into the darkness, leaving Junu alone.
He stood alone now, the silence almost overwhelming him. He peered into the darkness himself before reaching out. His hand was devoured by shadows, and he jerked it back, making sure it was still whole. It was still there.
“Hello?” he called, and nothing echoed back, not even his own voice.
“Hello?” he tried calling again. And this time he thought he heard something. “Can anyone hear me? Is anyone there?”
And he saw movement in the dark. Something superimposed on the nothing that surrounded him. It shifted. It came closer. And then Junu saw a man. He had