When Miyoung’s sobs had quieted to slow hiccupping tears, Somin pulled away. “Tell me what’s happening. Let me help. Please.”
Miyoung started to tell Somin. That her mother was haunting her. That her mother was a ghost and must be the reason that her yeowu guseul was in the ghost realm. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Because there was nothing to say. No, because Miyoung knew that if Somin knew about Yena, she’d ask Miyoung to give her up. And Miyoung didn’t know if she could do it.
24
JIHOON TRIED TO ask Junu questions about the shaman and what she could mean. But Junu ignored him until he finally fell into a sullen silence. Now all Junu could hear was Jihoon’s labored breaths, but he no longer complained about the hike.
In the woods he could make out shapes moving through the trees. It was so miserably hot today that Junu doubted it was someone out for a leisurely hike. It was more likely a wayward spirit. Though, if they kept to themselves, there was no reason for the ghosts to bother them.
As Junu stepped past a giant pine, he had a sense of déjà vu. He didn’t recognize anything, not the shape of the rocks beside him or anything else along the path. Yet something inside him knew they were close.
“Why are we stopping?” It was the first time Jihoon had spoken in hours, and his voice was breathy.
Junu held a finger to his lips, squinting as he scanned the rock face. Then he saw them, the stacks of rocks. Altars to the sansin. He spun around, searching the trees for the mountain god. If he knew Junu was here, then they were in a lot of trouble. Junu was definitely not a fighter. And he doubted Jihoon, currently bent over and wheezing, would be any help. Then he saw it, the cave opening. He realized the reason things didn’t look familiar was because it had been centuries, and the flora had grown larger than he remembered. But he saw a dark shadow in the rocks beneath the looming branches of a tree. It had been a mere sapling the last time Junu had seen it, but now it stretched high into the sky. And now it practically hid the opening to the cave.
“You stay out here,” Junu said.
“No way,” Jihoon said, following him. “I came all this way. I’m not waiting out here as random ghost bait.”
So he had seen the spirits.
“Fine,” Junu said. “Come along. But if you get your soul sucked out, it’s not my fault.”
He made his way into the cave and heard the hesitant shuffle of Jihoon behind him.
“You weren’t serious, right?” Jihoon whispered, nerves clear in his shaky voice.
“About what?” Junu asked. “You’ll have to be specific because I’m so rarely serious about anything.”
“Could my soul really get sucked out?”
Junu chuckled softly. It seemed that despite his bravado, Jihoon’s sense of self-preservation was still healthy. It was a trait Junu could appreciate.
“I mean,” Jihoon continued nervously, “I wouldn’t normally believe that, but since I literally had a gumiho bead inside of my chest for like three months, I am a bit wary of anything essential leaving or inhabiting me.”
Junu turned to Jihoon and patted him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to your frail human body.”
Jihoon batted his hand away, and Junu laughed again. Perhaps letting Jihoon come wasn’t all bad. At least the boy provided some entertainment.
Junu walked deeper into the cave, carefully making his way around rocks jutting from the walls. The deeper they went, the less light there was until Junu was forced to pull out the flashlight he’d packed. He could still see fairly well, but he knew Jihoon’s eyes wouldn’t be able to adjust to the dark. He heard Jihoon grunt as he ran into a low boulder Junu had just skirted, but Junu had no desire to tease Jihoon anymore. The farther they traveled into the cave, the colder it became, like something leached out all the warmth from the air.
“There’s no sound,” Jihoon whispered. And Junu almost jumped at the echo of his voice.
But Jihoon was right; even now the only sound was the tap of their footsteps.
Sinhye, are you in here? Junu said to himself. Can you hear me?
Junu almost expected to hear a reply in his head. But there was nothing, just a deep, endless silence broken only by their steps.