Vicious Spirits Read online

  He started back to the kitchen. He’d make some breakfast, then take a shower and wash all of the doubt away.

  He was only halfway through frying an egg before he threw it in the trash and went after Somin.

  15

  SOMIN COULDN’T STOP thinking of Junu. Of random things he’d said. Of the way he looked when he’d finally fallen asleep. His face serene, almost innocent.

  But Junu had been right. There was no reason for them to see each other anymore. Even if Miyoung was living with him, it’s not like Somin went to all of her friends’ homes. After all, she’d been friends with Oh Changwan for three years and never set foot in his house.

  It was better this way, she told herself for maybe the dozenth time since she left Junu’s apartment. And she believed it even less than the first time she’d thought it.

  Somin rubbed the heel of her palm over her chest. It felt tight, like it was bound by something. But her loose T-shirt was hardly even touching her skin. Still her heart strained in her chest and her breaths felt labored.

  She felt light-headed, too. Probably from the heat. Except, she wasn’t hot. Wasn’t even sweating like she usually was after walking from the bus stop to her apartment building in the middle of summer. In fact, she realized as she hugged her arms around herself, she felt chilled. Goose bumps ran along her arms as she shivered.

  It was then she realized the empty street was eerily silent, even for a Monday morning. With only the sound of the dull thud of her sneakers as they hit the pavement.

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

  “Halmeoni?” Somin’s voice shook. “Halmeoni, is that you? Are you here?”

  But she picked up the scent of licorice, and she knew that it wasn’t Halmeoni before she turned and saw the figure, standing with his back to her. She blinked.

  “Hello?” she called out, taking a stumbling step forward. Why were her legs suddenly so weak? Like they were afraid of approaching this man. “Why are you following me? Who are you?”

  He finally moved, a slow shake of his head, like he was warning her of something. Then he started down the road, and before he took two steps, he’d evaporated into thin air.

  Somin pressed her hand against her racing heart. What was happening? Was she hallucinating? Why was she seeing these figures?

  The silence was unceremoniously broken by the sound of running feet. A man old enough to be her father burst out from a side alley, his eyes wild and wheeling. Somin lifted her fists in case it was an attack.

  “He’s back! He’s after me!” the man stuttered. He dropped to his knees at Somin’s feet. “Don’t let him take me. Please don’t let him.”

  Somin searched the street for the man’s pursuer. But they were the only ones there.

  She knelt down and waited for him to look at her. He was drenched with sweat. His hands shook as he clasped them together, as if in prayer. “He shouldn’t be here,” he muttered. “He should be gone.”

  “Who?” Somin asked. This man’s face was pale as snow. His eyes were so wide she could see the white around his iris.

  “My brother. He’s back. He knows what I did. He wants to punish me for it!” The man’s head jerked to the side, his eyes darting up the road.

  “I don’t see him,” Somin said, trying to add reassurance to her voice.

  “He’s dead. He died a year ago. And he knows what I did. He’s come back to take me to the afterlife with him.” He took hold of her wrists. Despite his tremors, he had strength, and she couldn’t twist free.

  Ice seeped into her veins. Somin didn’t know this man. She had no idea what he was capable of. “What did you do?”

  Instead of answering, the man’s eyes stared over Somin’s shoulder. He scrambled back, letting go of Somin in the process. “Get away from me!” the man screeched. “Don’t touch me!” He jumped up and darted down the road.

  Relief flooded Somin, and then a sense of guilt. What if this man really was in trouble? If anything, he was suffering from delusions, maybe born from overheating. He thought his dead brother had come back to life. But Somin remembered Halmeoni’s strange visit to her last night. And the man that kept appearing with the salt-and-pepper hair. The scent of licorice was still faint in her nostrils now. No, there was a perfectly good explanation for these things. And it wasn’t ghosts.

  That tingling sensation returned. The feeling that told her she was being watched. And this time it wasn’t a light prickle but a chill that made her shiver. Like it had force behind it. The force of rage.

  It couldn’t be, she thought, reluctant to turn around. Still, she willed herself to do it. Somin had always been a rationalist, and she wouldn’t let the ravings of a stranger change that. So she slowly turned and stopped short when she saw him: a man standing just up the road. Not the now-familiar man with the cap. This one’s face was clearly visible. His expression was filled with cold satisfaction. An expression that sat on a face bloated and rotting. A face that Somin could see right through to the buildings beyond. She took a stumbling step back, letting out an involuntary gasp. The figure turned his white eyes to her before he disappeared completely.

  “What is this?” she whispered to herself.

  “Somin.” She let out a scream before she could stop herself. She felt her legs buckle and would have fallen if Junu hadn’t grabbed her arms to hold her up.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you inside.”

  “Did you see him? Am I losing my mind?”

  “No, you’re not. I saw him. We need to talk.”

  “I—I can’t right now.” She shook her head; there were too many things racing through her mind. “I can’t fight with you right now.”

  “I know,” Junu said, his voice calm, his eyes soft. “That’s not what we need to talk about. It’s time I told you something. Told all of you.”

  Somin finally looked at Junu now, and his somber expression got through to her. Something was going on. And she latched on to it. She didn’t know how to deal with whatever she just saw, but if there was a problem that needed fixing, she could do that. She was good at that.

  “Let’s go,” she said, taking another deep breath to steady herself.

  * * *

  o o o

  The minute she opened the door to her apartment, Dubu came running down the hall, closely followed by Jihoon. Somin scooped up the small, yipping dog, cuddling her close. She needed this right now. The unfiltered, simple love of a canine.

  “What’s he doing here?” Jihoon asked, eyeing Junu.

  “Jihoon, not now. I’ve had a really . . . weird morning,” Somin said.

  “That’s what worries me.” Jihoon crossed his arms. “Please tell me you actually spent the night in the study room and not somewhere else.” He bit out the last words as he gave Junu an accusing glare.

  “I thought you hated lies,” Somin said.

  “I don’t hate them when they let me believe you weren’t alone with that dokkaebi all night.”

  “Nothing happened.” Lies. “You don’t need to worry about me.” More lies. “I can handle things.” Even more lies.

  “Well, as much as I love being the center of attention,” Junu said, “I’m not here to be interrogated by Ahn Jihoon.”

  “What are you here for?” Miyoung walked down the hall. Suddenly, Dubu started barking so wildly her whole body shook.

  “Dubu, stop it,” Somin said.

  “It’s all right,” Miyoung said with a shrug. “I’m used to it by now.”

  Somin moved past them to put Dubu in her mother’s room; she hoped the task would let her escape Jihoon’s scrutiny, but he just followed her down the hall.

  “What happened last night? Why is Junu here?”

  “He said he needs to talk to us,” Somin said, closing the door behind her to muffle the dog’s frantic barks. She hurried back to the
living room before Jihoon could ask her more whispered questions.

  “Where’s my mother?” Somin asked, looking around.

  “She just went to the store to get some meat for miyeokguk. And we lied and told her you were still sleeping.”

  “Thanks.” Somin’s gratitude was peppered with guilt.

  “What are you here for?” Miyoung repeated. She’d been watching Junu since he’d stepped inside.

  “I’m just here to help,” Junu said, lifting his hands in innocence.

  “And how much will that cost us?” Miyoung asked.

  Maybe because she was watching him, Somin saw Junu’s jerk of surprise. He let a smile spread on his face, and now Somin saw it for the mask it was. Not one of manipulation, like she’d always thought, but one to hide his hurt. How had she not seen this before?

  “I’ll do it pro bono,” Junu said. “Out of the goodness of my heart.”

  “You don’t have a heart,” Miyoung said before turning to plop onto the lumpy couch.

  “I know what’s ailing you,” Junu said, his voice smooth as butter. But now Somin was paying attention. She saw how his fists were clutched by his sides, knuckles white from being held so tight.

  “And how could you know that?” Miyoung asked.

  “It’s my job to know things.”

  “It’s your job to manipulate people with what you know,” Miyoung retorted.

  “Let’s just hear what he has to say,” Somin found herself saying. Three pairs of eyes shot to her with varying degrees of surprise.

  “I mean it can’t hurt, right?” Somin shrugged. But she couldn’t quite meet any of the eyes that followed her as she moved to sit on the other end of the couch.

  “Sure,” Jihoon said, ever the easygoing one. “Let’s hear his theory.”

  “It’s not a theory,” Junu said, gritting his teeth. “I have it on good authority that there is an energy lingering. Something powerful, kind of like a yeowu guseul. You know, the thing you mysteriously lost this spring.”

  “I didn’t misplace it like a set of keys,” Miyoung said.

  “Well, you did lose it. And you had no idea what happened to it. But it’s still connected to you. We’ve always wondered why you’re still alive after not feeding for a hundred days. I think it’s because the bead isn’t in the mortal realm anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” Somin asked. She didn’t like the sound of all of this as she remembered the ghostly figures she’d been seeing the last few days.

  “I mean the bead is in the ghost realm, which might not matter, except it’s still connected to Miyoung, and the energy of that connection is creating a rip.”

  “A rip?” Jihoon asked, frowning.

  “I’ve heard rumors that the world of the living and the ghost realm might be crossing.”

  That surprised Somin. He knew about this? He knew that there were ghosts? And he hadn’t said anything. But why would he? It’s not like Somin had told anyone about the weird figures she’d been seeing. Still, there was a strange feeling of betrayal that sat in her gut, like she wanted Junu’s trust enough to tell her things. When had that desire started?

  “The connection between a gumiho and her bead is strong,” Junu explained. “If one of you is in the mortal realm and the other is in the ghost world, then the energy of your connection to your bead could affect the barrier. After months of this energy piercing the barrier, it’s making a tear, one large enough to let ghosts cross into this world.”

  “That’s why you’re finally telling us,” Somin said. “Because of what we just saw.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jihoon asked. “What have you seen?”

  The concern in her best friend’s voice made Somin feel guilty. It wasn’t too long ago that she’d been pissed at Jihoon for keeping secrets from her, and now she realized she’d been keeping secrets from him. Whether intentional or not.

  “I didn’t think it was anything. And with all the stuff going on with Miyoung yesterday, it didn’t seem important. I honestly thought I was imagining things at first, but then, that man just now. And Junu said he saw it, too.”

  “Somin-ah, you’re rambling,” Jihoon said gently. And it was the worry in his eyes that calmed Somin enough to take a deep breath and start again.

  “I’ve been seeing weird figures. At first I thought it was just a strange guy who was following me.” And then, like a snap, it all came together. Salt-and-pepper hair. The battered black cap. Her father had worn that thing every time he’d gone into the hospital to hide his thinning hair. The chemo had made half of it fall out and the other half turn gray. But whenever he came home, he always had licorice for her, like they were celebrating something. Because he’d never wanted Somin to worry.

  “Um, you say that like a stalker isn’t a big deal. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Jihoon demanded.

  “He’s not a stalker. He’s my . . .” She couldn’t finish the sentence, not with Jihoon and Miyoung watching her with unease. “He’s a ghost.” Somin felt so strange saying that. But if she was going to say it to anyone, it would be this group. “And then that old man at the hospital, he walked into a wall. And just now, that ghost haunting his brother. I just . . . It’s a lot to take in.”

  “So you’re saying you’ve been seeing ghosts?” Miyoung asked, glancing around like she could catch sight of one right now.

  “I tried to come up with other explanations for it, but I just can’t.” And the tight expression on Miyoung’s face made her want to apologize, like she’d done something wrong by seeing ghosts.

  “No, this can’t be possible.” Miyoung shook her head. “And even if it was, how can Somin see them? She doesn’t have the sight like Nara did.”

  Somin had never met the young shaman who had once befriended and then betrayed Miyoung. She just knew Nara had been able to see spirits.

  “Because of the tear, the ghosts are stronger than they should be. Able to appear more clearly, able to interact with our world,” Junu said. “Not everyone will see them immediately, mortals often see what they want to see, which is why when ghosts normally come to our world, they have little to no effect. But soon, as the tear grows and as the ghosts linger, more and more will notice them. Somin can probably see them because she’s already aware of our world. Her mind is more willing to accept what she sees.”

  “Oh goody,” Somin muttered. It was almost ironic. Somin had been feeling useless and left out of the strange paranormal club that her friends were a part of. But now that she could see these ghosts, she wanted to give that ability back. Classic case of be careful what you wish for. “How do we fix this?” she asked.

  “We get the bead back,” Junu said. “If it’s in the mortal realm, then the energy should no longer affect the barrier between worlds and the tear should fix itself.”

  “How do we get it?” Somin asked.

  Junu shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “If there’s a rip, can we go to the ghost realm?” Jihoon asked.

  “No,” Miyoung said. “The Between is no place for the living.”

  “Then how are we supposed to get the bead back?” Somin asked.

  Miyoung was quiet too long. Then she finally looked up. “You guys are forgetting that if there are two anchors to this connection, removing the bead from the equation isn’t the only solution.”

  “What are you saying?” Jihoon asked.

  “If I’m not here anymore, then there won’t be an anchor in the mortal realm to create this connection.” Miyoung said it like it was so simple, her voice eerily calm.

  “No. You can’t give up this quickly. We can fight,” Somin insisted.

  “It’s the simplest solution. Maybe it’s what was always meant to happen. I’ve cheated death too many times already,” Miyoung whispered.

  “Let’s just slow down,” Jihoon said. “We hav
e time to figure this out.”

  Junu shook his head. “No, the longer the tear stays open, the worse it’ll be. It’s allowing ghosts to stay in our world for much longer than they should. The longer they’re here, the more people will start to see them, and they’ll start affecting people.”

  “How?” Somin asked, remembering the wild ravings of the man on the street.

  “Once people start to see the ghosts, they won’t be able to handle it. At best, they’ll go a little mad; at worst . . .” Junu paused. “It could affect the order of death itself.”

  “How long do we have?” Somin asked.

  “Five days, maybe six?” he said. And there was more in his expression. Like there was something he wasn’t telling them.

  “Well, there has to be a way to find Miyoung’s bead,” Somin said. “Some kind of talisman. A shaman ritual. You guys are freaking mythical beings. You can live forever, but you can’t figure out how to find one fox bead?” She racked her brain, trying to remember Halmeoni’s old stories. Ones about magpies bringing good news. Or rabbits tricking tigers into holes. But it wasn’t a story that caught her memory but something from last night. Among the chaos and the violence. The dokkaebi. And his club. But Somin remembered that it wasn’t a club, not in the stories. It was a bangmangi—a dokkaebi staff—and it could summon things. “The bangmangi.”

  “What?” Jihoon asked, but she could see recognition in Junu’s eyes.

  “The dokkaebi staff,” Somin clarified. “It can summon things like food and gold, right? Can it summon anything you want? Is that story real?”

  “I’ve heard tales of it,” Miyoung said, her eyes considering Junu. “Could it work?”

  “We could try,” Somin said. “We have one. The dokkaebi last night—”

  Junu shook his head. “No, it broke. It won’t work anymore.”