“You’re right, Jae,” Marc says, finally breaking the silence. “We need at least one night where we’re not in the middle of insanity. I’m paranoid I’m going to lose you. Every time we’re together, I wonder if it’ll be our last. After watching you fight Haemosu at his palace—”
He stops and drags in a deep breath. “His claws tore you to shreds, Jae.”
I look into Marc’s face. His eyes are wide with fear, and his jaw is set.
“Does this have anything to do with your training with Jung?”
“I watched you age a hundred years right before my eyes. Those memories haunt me every day. Every night. I will do everything I can to not let you get hurt like that again. That’s why I have to be prepared and train. If there is anything in my power to save you, I will do it.”
“I know. A hundred times over, I know. I totally lost it there.” I I trace his jawline and then kiss his neck, breathing in his smell. “You’re right. We need to research. We don’t have much time, and knowledge is power. Tell me what you were going to say about your research. I want to know.”
Marc picks up a book at the end of the table and cracks it open. “It’s all here.”
It’s a myth about Bari under the subheading mythological beings.
Princess Bari
Princess Bari crossed twelve mountains, each full of ghosts. When she came to the river only the dead could cross, she showed them magical flowers she had been given. Seeing these, the guards of the river allowed her to cross and enter the Underworld.
There she found a fortress built of iron thorns. She used the flowers to melt the fortress and free the prisoners. She became a heroine.
But time and again she was asked to return to the Underworld to save loved ones. After each time she entered, she took on a silvern sheen in the real world. Finally, when she entered the Underworld to rescue her parents, she lost all her humanity. She had only a silvery ghostlike form in the real world.
From that day forward, she never returned to her people, but remained in the Spirit World for all of eternity as the one who guides the dead into the Underworld.
“Wow.” I reread it again to make sure I didn’t misunderstand anything. “I don’t think I’ve ever read this myth. So you think she lost her humanity because she spent so much time in the Spirit World?”
The thought of being stuck in Haemosu’s land terrifies me. I don’t want to lose my life here, even if it did mean immortality.
“It might be nothing,” Marc says. “But since all these other myths have become reality in some way, I’m worried that there is some truth to it.”
I face Marc. “Do you think I have this silvern look?”
“No.” Marc rubs his eyes and then studies me again, his forehead knitting together. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m completely paranoid, but tonight you look a little different. More sparkly?”
“Sparkly?” I laugh. When he doesn’t join in, I take his hands in mine. “Listen, Marc. I love you. More than anything. But you’ve got to let me live my life. And I need to be able to tell you stuff, but if you’re going to flip out every time something happens, I can’t handle that.”
“I know. I’ll try.” His mouth curves into a smile, and he shakes his head. “We are either perfect for each other or we’ll drive each other crazy.”
I laugh again, harder this time. Marc drags out his tablet and types in “nine dragons” to search on the web. He scrolls through some articles until he clicks on one, his eyes lighting up. He mutters something under his breath.
“What did you say?”
“Kuryong.” He slaps his forehead. “Why didn’t I think of it before? This makes perfect sense.” He drums his fingers on the table as he reads. “Kuryong is located in Kumgangsan, North Korea. Translated into English, it’s the Diamond Mountains. According to the myths, once upon a time nine dragons defended Kuryong from enemies.”
I nod. I vaguely remember reading about this myth in one of Mom’s books. “But what are these dragons guarding?”
“Exactly.”
Marc takes off down the hall while searching on his tablet at the same time. I scamper after him, cringing as I pass through the obstacle course.
“There really isn’t much information on it since everything in North Korea is so hush-hush. But if the Council believes the orb is in the Kumgangsan region, and this cave is there, too, it seems too coincidental to ignore.”
We enter his room. It looks about the same as the last time I was here. Piles of books stacked against the walls, and artifacts that he discovered on archaefology trips with his parents crowding his bookshelves. I pause at his bulletin board, staring at all the pictures of the two of us together. I finger the edge of a strip of photos we took in the photo booth in Sinchon.
Me kissing Marc while holding bunny fingers behind his head. The two of us cross-eyed. Tongues sticking out. Pouting lips.
I look so happy in every picture. Probably because I thought I was free.
“Here’s the book I was looking for,” Marc says, pulling me away from my memories. “This explains the myth.”
He sets the book on his desk and the tablet on a tilt next to it. According to the website, Kuryong Falls is located not far from a popular hotel called Kumgangsan Hotel. The book doesn’t explain much about the ancient myth except how nine dragons guard the waterfall.
“So we’re going to assume the myth of the Nine Dragons is true.”
“Dragons are dangerous,” Marc says.
“Tell me about it,” I mutter.
“Promise not to wander off or enter any portals without me.”
I don’t like the thought of him coming on this trip. I nearly lost him once, and I certainly won’t do it again. Still, I’m not sure I can succeed without his help.
One hurdle at a time, I tell myself. To Marc, I just smile and squeeze his hand.
The next few days, Michelle, Lily, and I plan the Dano mask party until I’m sick of the whole thing. The school board has approved our endeavor as long as we have our parents’ permission and sign a butt-load of waivers. It makes me wish we could find a wealthy donor to supply all the medical funding and pretend we did it all. But that would lead to suspicion. We have to appear to be purely a humanitarian effort not only to the North Korean government, but also to Kud.
Between school, planning this event, and Tae Kwon Do lessons, Marc and I haven’t seen each other except between classes. It hasn’t helped that every day after school he’s over at Jung’s house learning secret Guardian stuff.
“So when are you going to tell me what you’ve been doing with Jung?” I ask Marc one day between classes.
“Can’t.” He grimaces. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
“You can’t be serious,” I say, stopping midstride and blocking the flow of traffic. “I’ve told you everything that has happened to me.”
“It’s extreme. I know.” His brow wrinkles. “Hey, it’s not that big of a deal. Come here.” He pulls me against the wall and then whispers into my ear, “They’re teaching me an ancient form of fighting. It’s supposed to be able to combat immortals in our world.”
I think about how Grandfather and Komo tried to fight Haemosu. Maybe they’d have had a chance if he hadn’t brought his wild boars. I swallow those bloodstained memories and trail my finger over Marc’s palm.
“I don’t like the thought of you fighting immortals,” I say. “They may not be as powerful in our world, but they’ve been around practically forever and have learned too many tricks along the way.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He kisses my forehead. “It’s you we should be worried about. This training is good. From now on, I’m not going to be a burden to you, but someone who can help you. Next time Kud shows up, I’ll be ready.”
I watch him saunter back to class, so confident and hopeful. A mix of emotions jumbles in
side of me. I’m glad he’s found something that makes him happy, but at the same time I hate it. I hate the Guardians of Shinshi for taking my boyfriend from me. I hate the idea of him facing Kud.
“Nothing good can come of this,” I mutter.
Friday after school, I wait outside the infamous elevator at Yonsei University for Marc to show up, leaning against the wall and smacking on my bubble gum. Grandfather wants us to meet to work out the details of our trip.
Marc strides in through the door, his hair disheveled as usual, but there’s a confidence in his gait, and I wonder if that’s due in part to what he’s doing with the Guardians. As part of the plan, I don’t acknowledge his presence but blow out a long bubble instead, focusing on the blur of letters in the book I’m supposedly reading. Marc pushes the elevator button, and the two of us slip inside.
The doors grind shut, and Marc opens the compartment and presses his ring into the slot.
“Do you think all this cloak-and-dagger business really tricks Kud?” I say.
Marc shrugs. “I don’t know, but it’s worth trying to keep what we’re doing a secret.”
As the elevator shudders down the shaft, he reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad we’re in this together,” he says.
“You might be changing your mind in a few days,” I say.
Even though it’s my second time entering the Guardians of Shinshi’s secret headquarters, it still gives me goose bumps. Jung greets us just like he did on my first visit. We slip through the front doors, and even though the whole Council isn’t there, the candles still flicker in their holds.
Marc directs me across the main room where the Council meeting had been to another passageway. It twists around until we come to a series of marble steps that lead us into another room. This one is so different, I wonder if we’ve stepped into another dimension.
The wall in front of us must be a giant computer screen. It’s full of data and charts that someone sitting before it is typing in. The wall to the right is tacked full of more charts and graphs and a row of computers, while the wall to the left is a map of Korea at the bottom with pushpins stuck in it at different locations. Above that is another rough outline of a map, of a place I’ve never seen before.
As we step inside, the person at the computer spins around in his chair. I gape in surprise as I recognize Kumar, Marc’s best friend from school. His dark hair is combed back neatly, and his olive complexion almost looks darker in the mix of light from the computer screen and the oil lamps tucked into the walls.
He flashes his typical wide grin at me. “Surprised to see me?”
I try to speak, but I have no words.
Kumar claps his hands and rubs them together. “I hope I get an extra bonus point for that.”
“But you’re not—” I start, then close my eyes and shake my head. “You’re not a part of all this, are you?”
“The Council recruited him,” Grandfather says, coming in from behind us. “When he gained Dartmouth’s and Harvard’s interest, he also gained ours.”
“You can’t get him involved in all of this!” I say. “He’s got his whole life ahead of him.”
“He does not have to do this for his whole life,” Grandfather says. “But we have much to offer him and he us, especially his research on multiple dimensions.”
“Don’t be mad, Jae,” Kumar says. “I just joined ranks a month ago. I couldn’t resist. When Marc’s dad came to me with the proposition that these theories I was studying on multiple dimensions were in fact true, and he had a way to allow me to study them, I couldn’t say no.”
“What about Lily? Does she know?”
“No.” Kumar looks down at his hands. “They say it’s better if she doesn’t.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“We should get to business,” Grandfather says. “Kumar, do you have the region map and itinerary ready?”
“Yes!” Kumar starts rummaging through a stack of papers on the long desk beside him. He hands each of us a folder. Inside, I find a one-page summary of our trip, a map of the trailhead that leads to Kuryong Falls, and the legend of the Nine Dragons.
“Excellent,” Grandfather says as he scans over the documents. “You must read through this carefully and memorize it as best you can. These documents cannot be brought outside of this headquarters.”
The complete organization of everything is daunting. I sit at the table and review the pages.
“Did you have something similar to this when we went to Busan?” I ask. When both Marc and Grandfather nod, I feel a rush of anger. “Why didn’t you tell me about all this stuff then? I was already involved with Haemosu.”
“They made me swear not to tell you,” Marc says.
“Our methods call for the least amount of involvement possible,” Grandfather says. “It was purely for your safety.”
“How do I know you’re not keeping other secrets from me?” I say.
“Jae Hwa,” Grandfather huffs, sounding exasperated. “You will have to trust that I only want the best for you. You wanted to do this mission when I did not. If you want to back out, I have no problem with that. But if that is the case, we will have to find another way of dealing with Kud.”
The room grows silent except for the hum of the computers. Kumar suddenly becomes interested in his haphazard stack of papers, and Marc pretends to read through the report.
“Fine,” I say. “Let’s continue. Explain how we’ll get the orb.”
Grandfather nods at Kumar. “As you know, the five of us will go in under the guise of delivering medical supplies. Michelle is the only one with limited knowledge of the full reasons for the trip, and by the way, I’m against her coming.”
“She knows too much not to come,” I say.
“Perhaps.” Grandfather sighs and shakes his head. “Then there’s Kang-dae. He couldn’t make it today, but I will make sure he is briefed.
“Once there, I will make arrangements for us to hike to Kuryong Falls. If we find the orb, we will then journey to the royal tomb of King Kongmin and enter the Spirit World through it to return the orb to the Heavenly Chest.”
“So we will need to take the samjoko amulet,” Marc says.
“Indeed,” Grandfather says. “It is a risk bringing the sacred amulet into a restricted area, but it is the only way for us to enter the Spirit World. Do you remember how to use it, Jae Hwa?”
I nod, remembering how I took a boat out to the island where King Munmu’s tomb was buried under the water. I had fit the amulet onto a golden plate that opened a portal to the Spirit World. Legend has it that all the royal tombs are portals to the Spirit World.
“Very good,” Grandfather continues. “Hopefully we will not encounter any issues along the way. But if we do, you will have both Marc and Kang-dae as your Guardians.”
“You will also need this.” Kumar hands Grandfather a small box. At Grandfather’s raised eyebrows, Kumar explains, “It’s a bug scrambler. All the hotel rooms near the North Korean border are bugged with listening devices. If you need to have a private conversation, you’ll want to use this.”
“Nice,” Marc says, studying the device and slapping Kumar on the back. “You’re smarter than I thought.”
Kumar shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “Just looking out for you guys. Having unrestricted funds makes everything a little easier.” “What are these two maps?” I ask Kumar, moving to the left wall. I trail my finger from each of the pinpoints on the map of Korea, trying to figure what is so important about these locations.
“Those pinpoints are where the Guardians have found portals to the Spirit World,” Kumar says. “Or at least we think they’re portals. Actually, you’d probably know more about that kind of stuff since you’ve actually been there. And I have not.”
He grins and jams his hands into his pockets. I can see from the look in his ey
es that he is loving this new job. He’s swimming in his element here.
I point to the map above Korea. “And this map?”
“That’s my rough sketch of the Spirit World,” Kumar says. “Again, this is purely based on hearsay. I’ve interviewed your grandfather and Marc, since they went there not long ago. It would be pretty cool to hear about your experiences.”
I run my fingers over the map, studying Kumar’s sketches and remembering the flying trip Palk took me on. “It’s a lot bigger than this,” I tell Kumar. His eyes widen. “When we get back from North Korea, I’ll sit down with you.”
“Really?” Kumar says. “That would be great. Really great.”
Once we finish studying, Grandfather has us put our papers into a stone basin by the door. He takes a match, lights it, and tosses it onto the papers. I watch as the plans go up in flames, hoping our mission won’t follow the same fate.
“This is going to be the best event ever,” Michelle announces as the taxi stops at gate eight of Namdaemun Market.
This past week, with worrying about and planning for our trip, I hardly got any sleep. I have to admit I was looking forward to a Saturday-morning sleep-in. I resist groaning and promise myself a coffee at the first coffee shop sighting. Last night Marc and I stayed up late again, spending hours reading old Korean myths and wondering which ones were actually reality rather than fantasy. When I finally collapsed onto my yo, I slept restlessly, worried that Kud or some other mythological creature would creep into my room and stab me in my sleep.
Even as I stand here in the bright daylight, I still can’t quite shake my horrifying dreams. I try to focus on the quaintness of the market to shut off the images floating in my head. Dad explained to me once that long ago, all the markets of Seoul were stationed outside of the four gates of the walled city. This made it easy to trade with outsiders. Of course, those ancient walls have long ago crumbled, replaced by huge concrete buildings that are multiple stories high and packed to the brim with shops.
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