Hyebin crinkled her nose and waved her hands as if wiping my words out of the air. “It’s in the past,” she said. “And for what it’s worth, you weren’t wrong about me, even if you were pretty rude about it.”
I shook my head quickly. “I was wrong,” I said. “When I said no one cared about you, that wasn’t true. I’ve always cared about you, Sunbae.”
Hyebin’s face scrunched up like she’d eaten something sour. “Don’t get sappy on me,” she said. “And don’t expect me to say that back. I literally went behind my boss’s back for you, so read between the lines.”
“Got it,” I said with a smile.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I tore off a piece of paper for Yejun and helped him hold a pen, then hurried to jot down my own note.
Yejun only scrawled a quick note before folding it in half and setting the pen down with a shaking hand.
“That’s all you’re going to write?” I said.
Yejun nodded. “I’m not worried,” he said, smiling palely.
“How can you not be worried?” I said. “So much has happened.”
He coughed, clearing his throat. “I don’t need a note to remember how I feel about you,” he said. “It’s inevitable.”
My face was suddenly on fire, even before my mom let out a happy squeal behind me. “Are you two officially dating now?” she said, tugging my dad’s arm in excitement. “Mina, he’s so handsome!”
“Mom!” I groaned.
“Actually, this is perfect,” my dad said. “They’re both descendants, so their children won’t have diluted powers, but their ancestors are different, so they can skip all the genetic testing.”
“Dad!” I said. Even Yejun flushed red at this comment. This was one part of the day I wouldn’t mind forgetting.
“Are we all ready?” Otohime said, smiling.
I hurried to finish my note, then handed it to Hyebin. I laced my fingers with Yejun’s, turned to Otohime, and nodded.
The scales along the dragon’s body began to glow. I winced at the sudden light that swallowed the room, so much like the paradox,but this time full of warmth instead of emptiness. Otohime set her hand on the dragon’s head, and the whole world was swallowed by brilliant, blazing gold.
I spotted Yejun in the crowd at the political rally right away.
It was hard not to—he was wearing a raincoat in a glaring shade of blue and waving at me so enthusiastically that he nearly elbowed someone else in the eye. No one had the right to look that carefree with a loaded gun under their jacket, but then of course, this was Kim Yejun.
I made my way toward him through the dense crowd, but it took long enough that his arm started getting tired and his waving looked more like a tree swaying in the breeze.
“Stop before you dislocate your shoulder,” I said when I finally reached him, poking him in the side.
“Just wanted to make sure you saw me,” he said with a smile.
I rolled my eyes. “Try to look a little less joyful,” I said. “You’re supposed to be on a mission.”
“Right, right,” he said, smoothing out his expression. “How’s this?” He scowled at me, and I choked back a laugh.
The last time I’d seen Yejun, we’d gone back in time to feed peanut butter to pigeons in order to set the stage for this final mission. We were supposed to meet again in the morning before the rally so I could take his Kevlar vest, but I’d had an unexpected visitor at my apartment before I could step out the door.
“Did you know that the restaurant between dimensions serves brunch?” I said.
Yejun raised an eyebrow. “What, like American brunch?”
“Yeah, pancakes and everything, but only before one o’clock. I’d never been there that early before, but Hyebin dragged me there this morning.”
Yejun looked up sharply. “Did she?” he said, his voice oddlylight. “That’s funny, she made me grab a coffee with her there right before I got here. She’s not even my mentor, so she basically just kidnapped me.”
“That sounds like her,” I said.
