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Nam Ji-ah is hanging upside down in some sort of ancient dungeon, chained back-to-back with Lee Rang, her former enemy turned brother-in-law.
They’ve both been abducted by a group of demons that even she has never heard of, in all her years of research, and brought to this dungeon, which has somehow remained undiscovered despite its proximity to Seoul. It is dark, damp, and the metallic scent of blood fills her nostrils.
How does she, a TV Producer, end up in these kinds of situations?
Probably because she was the promised bride and-slash-or sacrifice to a serpent who thought he deserved to be a god, as well as the reincarnation of the first love of a Mountain Deity. None of which was her fault, but there you have it. Of course, now she is said Mountain Deity’s wife, which is something she very much wanted and chose to do. She had known that there would be risks involved, but this specific scenario had not come into her imagination. In general, this would be much easier if she was in a position to think clearly.
“I think I’m going to throw up,” she says.
“Don’t. That’s disgusting,” Rang hisses.
“Get us down from here, then.”
“I’m trying.”
The chains clatter, his pointy fingers dig into her back, and they start spinning around. It feels like Ji-ah’s brain is spinning around inside her skull.
“Stop scratching me,” she says, taking a deep breath in through her nose. “Do you just really need to trim your nails, or do you actually have claws?”
“Of course I have claws. All foxes do. Yeon does.”
“Well, I’ve never seen his. Or yours.”
“Well, we’re trying to blend in with humans. Anyway, is that important now?”
“Are you able to break through the chains with them? Or, can you stick one into the lock to pick it?”
“I don’t know. Stop distracting me.”
He stops moving soon after.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“I reopened the cut on my arm.”
Maybe they really will have to just hang around until Yeon comes for them. And he certainly will, since she and Rang are the unfortunately well-known weaknesses to Yeon, and his many enemies aren’t going to overlook a Mountain Deity’s weaknesses. Even though that will only bring down his wrath.
“Yeon will come,” she says, both to reassure herself as well as Rang.
And how funny is that, that she is trying to reassure the man who tormented her in the past. Though, it was all as a way to get back at Yeon before they made up. Now, after everything they have been through, she and Rang have an odd rivalry over which of them Yeon loves the most. It’s joking, from her side. Mostly. She knows Yeon adores them both. But, he always waits for her.
“I know,” Rang says. “But we’re just the bait for him. It’s some kind of trap. I hate being used like this.”
“Me too, but there’s not much I can do against demons on my own,” Ji-ah answers. “And you can’t do anything either, until we get free. My head feels like it’s about to explode, though, so if you don’t have any ideas, I am going to vote for waiting for Yeon, just this once.”
“He told me, when he first found me, that there was no salvation for those who don’t save themselves. He wants me to fight for myself. But then, he did come to save me from the Forest of Agwi, so now I don’t know really what to think.”
“Yeon does not want us to give up on ourselves. He wants us to fight against the odds, and then he will come alongside us to fight and protect us. He gets upset with me, too, if he thinks I’m endangering myself, but he knows now that I’m not someone who will step back just because things get dangerous.”
A crack of thunder rings though the heavy air, followed by a series of long shrieks.
Rang gives a ragged laugh. “There’s my brother.”
Ji-ah laughs a little, despite the pounding in her head and her frustration at being in this situation. It’s upsetting to be used against Yeon like this, but still, it is comforting to know that her darling husband is the kind of man, kind of being, who loves enough to overlook the fact that his loved ones will always be used against him. And, from the sound of the commotion, Yeon is not having any trouble dealing with this set of would-be deity killers.
“Honey? Rang-ah?”
“Yeon!” they both shout, for once in harmony.
Yeon, tall and beautiful, red hair dishevelled, face pale, steps forward, his blade dripping with dark blood. He tilts his head, lips twitching into a smile.
“I found you,” he says.
Ji-ah returns his smile. All the trouble she has been through is absolutely worth it, as long as she can be with Yeon at the end of it.