She wanted to stay like this forever. Just feeling him close to her. The silence sitting comfortably between them. She tasted his gi, sweet and effervescent like cider, but underneath it was a bitter anxiousness.
“You’re tired and worried,” Miyoung said. “I can taste it on you.”
“Hey, didn’t we make a deal that you don’t use your residual fox powers on me, and I won’t force you to listen to me talk about L-o-L anymore?” Jihoon said.
Miyoung scooted back. “Here, lie down with me.”
Jihoon smiled. “Well, if you wanted to get me into bed, you just needed to ask.”
She tried to hold back her smile, but it didn’t work. Jihoon knew how to make her laugh despite herself.
“Did the doctors say anything?” she asked as they lay face-to-face on the small hospital bed.
“They think you’re just overtired and dehydrated.”
“When can I leave?” she asked.
“Are you uncomfortable?” Jihoon frowned.
Miyoung remembered what he’d told her about the three months he was in and out of the hospital. How much he’d hated it. How the feeling of being sick had weighed on his heart as much as his body.
“No, I’m fine. I’m just sorry if I scared you,” Miyoung said, running her hands down his cheek. She felt a bit of stubble, scratchy against her palm.
“I love you,” Jihoon whispered.
And Miyoung’s heart squeezed, but she couldn’t say it back. For some reason she could never say those words. Instead she leaned forward and kissed him. He let out a sound of surprise and appreciation. She felt a warmth move over her skin. And suddenly she wasn’t as tired anymore. Miyoung started to scoot closer, but he pulled back.
“Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” Jihoon said, clearing his throat, obviously affected by the kiss.
“I can’t,” Miyoung said.
“I can tell you about the latest RPG I bought. That always puts you to sleep quickly,” Jihoon said with a grin.
Miyoung rolled her eyes and punched him lightly. “No, it’s not that. I just . . . I don’t want to sleep. I don’t want to dream.”
“Why not?” Jihoon asked, and she could taste his concern growing, like the acidity of citrus in his energy.
“It’s not safe in my dreams.” The idea of going to that dark place with Yena made her heart hammer. Not because she feared Yena, but because she worried the yearning to be with her mother would cause her to linger in her dreams until she forsook the waking world.
“But if you don’t sleep, you can’t get better. I’m no doctor, but that’s pretty commonsense.”
Miyoung’s laugh was interrupted by a yawn. She felt her eyes weighing down, exhaustion coming over her. And with Jihoon there, she was the most relaxed she’d felt in a week.
“I’m afraid to see her again,” Miyoung admitted.
“Who?” She felt Jihoon brush her hair back gently.
“My mother,” Miyoung murmured as she started to drift off. She tried to keep her eyes open, but they refused to obey. And despite herself, she fell asleep.
10
JUNU STOOD OUTSIDE of Miyoung’s room. Somin had finally convinced Jihoon to grab food in the cafeteria. It was hours past lunchtime, and none of them had eaten. Junu figured if he was going to check on Miyoung, it should be now, but he wasn’t sure if it would help her to see him. Still, he had to check on her. After his conversation with Hyuk, this accident couldn’t be a coincidence. If Miyoung was somehow connected to the Between, then it would explain why she hadn’t gotten better after her mother died. And if Miyoung was the reason for the tear between the ghost realm and the mortal realm, then it meant Hyuk was going to come for her sooner or later. He needed to know if his suspicions were true.
He found Miyoung sitting up in bed.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Her dismissive tone made his stomach drop, but Junu was skilled at hiding when he was hurt. “I’m just checking on the patient. Do you need your pillows fluffed? I’m pretty good at that. I was around when they were invented, after all.”
“I’d love to stuff a pillow over your face until you stop breathing,” Miyoung muttered under her breath. But Junu heard it loud and clear.
“Oh, come on.” Junu tried his brightest smile. But it felt tight and made his cheeks hurt. “You can’t hate me that badly. I do provide a bit of comic relief to your serious, angsty life.”