lives were all proof of that. So she turned back to Miyoung.
“We can’t just stand here. That man is a bastard who abused Jihoon as a kid!”
Miyoung’s eyes were glued to the top of the stairs. “I’d like to siphon away all his energy and leave his body to rot.”
Even Somin was shocked by the vitriol she heard in Miyoung’s voice. “Can you still do that?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Then she sighed. “But when my father came back, I needed to be able to face him alone. Jihoon probably needs to do the same.” Miyoung stepped into the apartment.
And, outnumbered, Somin followed behind her.
6
JUNU HAD TOLD Somin to allow Jihoon to face his father, but that didn’t mean Jihoon should be left without backup. Junu could tell Mr. Ahn was the type of person who abandoned the ones who needed him most until he could come around and leech off them. There were only two reasons for a man like that to come around: He was running from something or he wanted something. Either way, he should be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
Junu leaned against the front of the building, out of sight from the front windows, but close enough that with his dokkaebi hearing he could make out what was being said inside.
“There’s nothing for you here,” Jihoon was saying.
Don’t show weakness, Junu thought. Make him think he doesn’t affect you. Don’t let him have a piece of your pride.
“That’s not for you to decide,” Mr. Ahn said. There was the sound of lips puffing on the cigarette. A nasty habit, if you asked Junu.
“You can go through the place, but you won’t find anything but dirt. Might be fitting, I guess,” Jihoon said.
There was the sound of a smack. Skin against skin. The kind made from an open palm. A slap instead of a punch. A move meant to embarrass just as much as it was meant to hurt.
The sound of it painted Junu’s vision red. He clenched his fists, his skin burning hot with his anger. And he knew it wasn’t just normal rage, but the beginning of dokkaebi fire. No, he hadn’t used it in centuries, and he wouldn’t break now. Not even as memories of his own broken childhood flooded back. Junu’s father had liked to punish with equal parts pain and humiliation. But his father had been dead for centuries and Jihoon’s father, though a bastard, was a human. It wouldn’t do to intercede or to use supernatural means to do so.
“You can’t hurt me anymore.” Jihoon’s voice was hard with defiance. Junu nodded in approval. Good. Don’t let him see your pain.
“Ingrate. I clothed and fed you for your first four years, and this is the thanks I get?”
“You barely took care of me and only did it because you were too cowardly to admit you couldn’t hack it as a husband and a father. When you went to jail, it was the best thing that ever happened to our family.”
“I don’t see your slut of a mother here!” Mr. Ahn shouted. “How is she any better than me?”
“Why did you come back?” Jihoon asked. “Was it for money?” There was the sound of coins hitting the floor. As if Jihoon had emptied his pockets.
“Here. It’s all I have,” Jihoon said.
“What about what your halmeoni left you? She must have had loads. Was always harping on me to save for your college. Where’s that money?”
“It’s all gone now, used to pay rent so I didn’t have to live on the streets. And even if there was any left, I wouldn’t give it to you.”
“Oh yeah? What makes you think you can stop me from just taking it?” Mr. Ahn asked with a grating laugh.
“Want to find out?” Jihoon asked.
Junu worried now. Mr. Ahn was a bully, which meant challenging him could cause him to lash out. Like a rabid animal afraid of losing ground. Junu thought it was time to intercede.
“Don’t think this is the last you’ll see of me,” Mr. Ahn said, his voice a low hiss.
Ah, so he was the other kind of bully. The coward kind.
Junu heard the approach of footsteps and sank back into the shadows of the alley. He waited as Mr. Ahn started to storm past, then reached out and pulled the man into the darkness with him.
“What the fu—”
“I’m going to give this warning once,” Junu said, throwing Mr. Ahn against the wall. The man crumpled and fell on all fours. “You stay