Don't Worry Yourself About Me

Shane had been back for weeks and had gained no traction in trying to find a solution to wake up Jihoon's grandmother. At first, she thought he could offer some of his own soul. But he quickly found out he was too weak, and after trying to force the connection Shane had barely made it to the sink to vomit. That had been the end of those attempts.

But Shane had a bigger problem now. It was hard to admit, but Shane knew she needed to talk to Jihoon. he'd been putting it off, hoping she could slip in, help Jihoon's grandmother, and slip back out again.

But Shane knew he needed access to Halmeoni's hospital room and he couldn't keep sneaking in. Jihoon was always there until visiting hours ended. So he'd taken to sneaking in, waiting him out, and then slipping into grandma's room. Except for today a nurse had found her and asked her too many questions. Shane covered by saying he'd lost track of time, but the hawk-eyed nurses had definitely memorized his face by now.

Shanee didn't want the nurse telling Jihoon before he could explain why he'd returned.

That was how Shane found himself in the old neighbourhood, pacing in front of Jihoon's apartment. He walked past the small squat building for what must have been the dozenth time that night. The windows were lit in the apartment above the closed restaurant. When he'd first seen the handwritten sign stating CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, he wanted to rip it down.

"You're that grim boy." The voice was old and cracked and stopped Shane in his tracks. he turned toward the old halmeoni who sat peeling chestnuts outside a medicinal wine store.

"Excuse me?"

"That boy our Jihoonie brought home once. You have secrets, dark ones."

"What?" Shane tried to act confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The old woman cackled as she peeled another chestnut. This time she held it out and Shane took it with two hands.

"Don't try to hide things from someone as old as me. I've seen far too much to be fooled." Her words echoed something Jihoon's grandma's once told her. "Don't worry, I don't need to know your secrets. I have enough of my own, collected over a lifetime. Though I think yours will come out soon enough. If Jihoon is the one you want to tell, then you should just bite the bullet. He's a good, kind boy."

"Is Jihoon okay?" Shane asked. "I mean, without his family? How is he?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" The old woman gestured down the road and Miyoung saw Jihoon making his way down the street. Just as she was about to take off after him, she noticed another figure.

One all too familiar.

"Ya!" Shane shouted before she could stop herself. A rash move as the girl's head jerked around, she saw Miyoung, and then she took off down a side street.

Despite not taking a soul, Shane was still fast when he wanted to be. At least he was faster than any human, and she quickly overtook his target. Shane spun the girl around, black hair swinging to obscure the pale face.

"Jessica Kensington." Shane spat out the name, one of his younger sisters, child of time and death. "What are you doing here?"

Jessica adjusted her jacket, trying to assert a semblance of dignity. "I heard you were back in town. You are supposed to be in hell."

Shane didn't like the sound of that. Had their father been keeping tabs on him?

As if reading Shane's mind, Jessica answered, "When the prince of hell and the other children come back into town, the spirits talk. I didn't realize you'd grown close to Minjae and Eamon."

"Who I spend time with is none of your business. What do you want? Why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you," Jessica said. "I was following Park Jihoon. I wanted to warn him."

"Warn him? About what?"

"About you. I figured the only reason you'd return was to rip your soul back out of his chest."

Shane startled at the mention of his soul. How could Jessica know about that? "You don't know what you're talking about."

"The spirits talk. What you did is unnatural." Jessica paused, conflict clear in her eyes before she continued. "But it was also brave. You saved Park Jihoon's life. I didn't expect that of you."

"Do any of you even care to know me? None of you knows anything about me."

"Perhaps," Jessica replied, studying Shane. "But if you truly do care about him, then you'll leave him alone. Dad still has plans and you should know by now that nothing will get in his way."

"Threats?" Shane lifted a brow. "I'm not scared of you."

Jessica frowned. "If you ever trusted me—"

"I didn't," Shane replied, his voice flat.

Jessica pursed her lips, and Shane felt a grim satisfaction at his younger sister's frustration. "Don't ignore my warning. Dad doesn't forget and rarely forgives. If I know you're back, then so will he. Nothing will stop him from taking your life, perhaps even Loralie's"

"That warning is as meaningless as your friendship. You'd never betray dad like this, and I have unfinished business."

"If you're not here to get your soul back, then why did you return?"

"You think I'd tell you that?" Shane scoffed.

"Well, if it was easy to accomplish, you'd have done it already. You even have Minjae and Eamon on your side. Perhaps it's because you don't have a solution to your problem."

"And you do? Are you saying you can take my soul out of Jihoon without killing one of us?"

Jessica hesitated. "I can't. If I do it wrong . . ." She trailed off, but the implication was clear. Done wrong, it would kill Jihoon.

"Then you're of no use to me," Shane said and began to leave.

"I did what I did for dad," Jessica called after him. "I thought maybe you could understand that."

Fury filled Shane. "Funny, that dad has an obsession with the soul of a teenage boy like a girl. You're right; it's something I can understand all too well. I guess that means we're both monsters in our own right and we'll both never live up to our families' expectations now."

The words aimed to wound. Jessica stiffened as they hit their target.

"Jihoon shouldn't be out tonight," Jessica changed the topic of discussion. "His body has healed from his injuries, but it's still mortal. And the part of the soul which belongs to you gains power from the moon. It could overwhelm him."

"What?" Shane asked, annoyance lacing his voice.

Jessica frowned, then pointed to the sky, toward the full moon.

Shane cursed. How could he be so brainless as to lose track of the time? And now he was out during the full moon. It shone down on him, causing his heart to squeeze and his breath to catch.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked, stepping toward Shane, but he held up a hand.

"Don't worry yourself about me," Shane said. "And don't get in my way. Or Dad will have another reason to want revenge against me."

That stopped Jessica in her tracks. She gave a curt nod and turned to disappear down the alleyway.

Shane glanced back at the moon and rubbed at his chest. He needed to find Jihoon.