Page 112 of Wicked Fox

“I’m still working through that.”

“Take it from me,” Jihoon said. “The gi.”

“No,” Miyoung said so vehemently that Jihoon stepped back.

“Why not?” Jihoon asked.

“It can’t come from you. You’re a boy.”

Jihoon frowned, but he remembered something from his halmeoni’s books about the yin energy of women and the yang energy of men. It could be true, since so many other things were.

“So you’ll let me help?” Miyoung asked.

Jihoon wanted to say yes. He wanted to grab her in a hug and thank her for returning. But something held him back. He remembered Somin chastising him for having too much pride,but he couldn’t set it aside. Miyoung’s mother was the reason Halmeoni was sick in the first place. And then Miyoung had disappeared instead of facing it. He couldn’t bring himself to fully forgive or trust her right now.

“I’ll think about it,” he said before crossing the road to wait for his bus.

50

“SO YOU LIEDto him?” Junu asked as Miyoung climbed back into the car. When she frowned at him, he tapped his ear. “We have super hearing, too.”

“It wasn’t a lie,” Miyoung said. “His energy isn’t ideal for his halmeoni.”

“But not because he’s a boy. It’s because of the fox bead nestled all cozy in his chest.”

“That’s not the problem we’re trying to solve right now,” Miyoung said, crossing her arms as Junu took off from the curb.

“It’s the only problem you should care about,” Junu pointed out.

“Do you want to get paid or not?”

“Do you want your dear mother to find out where her darling daughter is?”

Miyoung ground her teeth, trapped.

As if on cue, Miyoung’s phone rang and Yena’s number lit the screen. She glowered at Junu in warning before she answered. “Mother.”

“Daughter, have you started feeding again?” It was always the first question Yena asked, and Miyoung bit back a sigh.

“No, I haven’t. But I feel fine.”

“Of course you don’t. Every day you don’t feed you get weaker.I should never have let you stay in Japan. Maybe it’s best if you come meet me.”

“No,” Miyoung said a bit too loudly. She took a deep breath, then continued in a smoother tone. “I really am fine. Junu is making me that gross juice and I’m drinking it every day. It helps. A lot.”

“I’ve become too soft with you,” Yena said as if she was talking more to herself than Miyoung. “I don’t know why I let you convince me to leave you behind.”

“If you’re worried about me being weak, then wouldn’t travel be bad for me?” Miyoung took a chance that she could use her mother’s own logic against her.

“Fine. But remember you have to answer every one of my calls. If I go to voice mail even once, I’m coming back.”

“Yes, Mother,” Miyoung said dutifully.

The call ended without so much as a goodbye and Miyoung leaned back, closing her eyes, sapped. She’d lied to her mother. She felt weaker than ever. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath these days. And her muscles burned, like they were disintegrating slowly. She’d looked up the symptoms of starving to death and it seemed like her body had reached the stage where it was trying to find energy from less ideal tissues.

“How is Mommy dearest?” Junu asked.

Instead of answering, Miyoung asked, “Do you have any more of that sludge you make?”

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