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The demigod zapped the ATM.
The next customer approached and groaned. “Ah, out of order!”
The Huntrix girls and Jinu followed as the demigod strolled away, whistling cheerfully - completely unnoticed by everyone else. As it passed, keys dropped out of handbags, small change fell from pockets and phones beeped ominously with messages that were about to be horrendously misunderstood.
“I think it’s the embodiment of mercury in retrograde,” Zoey whispered excitedly.
“Is this american zodiac stuff again?” Jinu asked.
“Yes! About three times a year, the planet Mercury looks like it's going backward for a few weeks. And it always coincides with an increase in big problems with communication, travel, and decision-making. People lose things more frequently and anything you plan will go awry. I don’t do any song writing during the peak because anything I write will suuuuuck. You’ve also got to be careful Jinu, because you’re a gemini and it affects geminis the worst.”
She didn't say it like an insult this time. Once, when he couldn't decide what he wanted between iced-coffee and boba tea, she'd rolled her eyes and said 'you are such a gemini,' - and she'd definitely meant it disparagingly then.
“I might not be a Gemini!” Jinu said defensively.
“You kinda hafta be. You were born near Dano, right? That’s late May or early June. Boom! You’re a Gemini,” Zoey said enthusiastically.
“It’s hard enough escorting souls as it is without big communication problems,” Jinu huffed.
It was difficult trying to help any of these souls - some of whom had been haunting the human world for centuries without a Jeoseung Saja to guide them - find absolution. Sometimes he could just talk to them about their problems or they just wanted someone to listen. Many of them were waiting for someone, and just needed the right encouragement to rejoin the re-incarnation cycle. Some of them had been murdered, so he'd had to find a way to make sure the right evidence was found so that the culprit was punished - but he needed to be able to communicate properly with all of them in order to do anything for them.
The girls had recently developed the ability to sense ghosts. They only saw little soul lights floating like specks of dust on the breeze - unless Jinu acted as an intermediary. The girls couldn't help him that much - aside from Zoey dressing up and dropping a bundle of evidence anonymously at the police station. (She'd been so excited to go 'under cover' and no one wanted to steal her spy moment from her).
He sighed tiredly as he saw all the shuffling shadows around them.
The whole world was haunted.
A demigod coming along to mess with people was the last thing he needed.
Since the rainbow honmoon, other things had been coming through. The iridescent colours seemed to allow demigods to past. Most were harmless local gods who presided over lucky shrines - but some were incorrigible tricksters. The girls let them be, unless their tricks caused direct harm. Then they tried to negotiate.
“We’ll talk to it,” Rumi promised him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
-0-
“I am the god of lost things and minor inconveniences, things that get stuck at the back of drawers, TV remotes under couches, unread messages, unfortunate travel delays, misplaced documents, missing keys, fallen ice-cream scoops, mislaid plans, odd socks, things put in an ‘important place’ but are never seen again, and those really cool sunglasses you loved but left by a fountain accidentally - " the demigod said that last bit while looking directly at Mira, who frowned in irritation.
"Do you have a shorter title?" Rumi asked diplomatically.
"I guess you could call me the the God of Lost Things."
"Could we call you Lossie for short?" Zoey asked.
"Accepting this name means I have lost my entire title, but I am gaining a quaint human nickname," the demigod mused to itself, then smiled and nodded. "Very well, I accept."
"Lossie, would you please be able to stop... um... making trouble for people," Rumi suggested.
"People need their remotes," Zoey added.
"And I'd like my sunglasses back," Mira huffed.
"It’s just my time of the year. About three times a year, the stars align and I must cause mischief," Lossie shrugged.
"It is mercury in retrograde!" Zoey whispered excitedly.
"What do you do at other times of the year?" Rumi continued calmly.
"I solve the problems I cause. All lost things want to be found in the end." Lossie looked around, at all the whisper thin shadows shuffling around them in the alley. Jinu saw them too. Something bad must have happened here long ago. There were too many ghosts with the faintest outline of military uniforms. "Things are stuck now. There is a misunderstanding that is wedged in place, like the battery casing as a desperate parent is trying to fix a toy for a screaming toddler," Lossie sighed.
"Is there any way we can help?" Rumi offered.
"Yeah, like we could use a honmoon screwdriver or something," Zoey offered.
"I would need the Jeoseung Saja’s permission to fix it," Lossie said, pointing at Jinu.
Jinu made a skeptical face. He didn't trust any of the demigods. "What would fixing it entail?"
"Making your job easier. Once I have cleared this blockage, lost souls will be able to move like water flowing through a river. Those stubborn ones will finally be able to move on to their next life."
Jinu looked at the ghosts, and sighed. He could only do one soul at a time currently, and there were so many. Anything that would help them find peace would be welcome.
"Do you require anything from me for this service?" Jinu asked.
"An open heart."
"No." Rumi stepped to the front, so Jinu was directly behind her, and planted her hands on her hips. "You can't have his heart."
"Pfft," Lossie scoffed. "I don't want his heart. Gross."
"Then what do you want in exchange for helping?" Jinu asked smoothly, acting like he was unbothered by a demigod declaring his heart gross.
"I want nothing. You need to find something you've lost. You need to actually look."
Everywhere he looked, he saw another problem to solve. Still...finding a lost thing couldn't go too badly wrong... even for him. He gave a little shrug. "Fine. You have my permission."
Lossie smiled, then vanished with a soft twinkle.
-0-
The little girl appearing at the end of the alley and running towards Jinu, screaming ‘Oppa!’ was a surprise to everyone.
-0-
Jinu watched his Eomma and Jinhee delightedly explore their ensuite bathroom - turning the tap on and off and marveling at how the water came out warm. Jinhee giggled that it was going to save her so much time and she was never going to trek to the well and have to carry heavy buckets again - and deep inside his chest, his heart wrenched.
His sister had to shoulder heavy burdens so young.
Things were going to be so different now.
He was going to give them such a good life this time around.
Wait a minute - a demigod was involved.
Odds were that Jinu was just lying unconscious in an alley and having some kind of insane fever dream.
"You guys see them too, right?" He asked the girls quietly. "I'm not going crazy."
"No, we see them." Rumi's hand was on his shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze.
"Is this whole room just for us?" Jinhee asked excitedly, running over to hug him again.
"Yes. It's just for you two. Unless you'd like to have your own room, and then you'd get a bathroom of your own," he offered again.
Jin-Hee gasped at the idea. "I couldn't leave Eomma! Family stays together."
She didn't mean it as a dig at him. Jinu knew his sister didn't have an unkind or resentful bone in her body. She was just stating facts and the way things are - were. But he didn't know what to say in response that wouldn't sound vapid and empty or patronising. 'You're right' or 'Sorry I left' didn't really cover it.
Eomma had turned off the tap and come over to them. She was smiling at him like what happened to her wasn't his fault. "I'm just happy we can all be together again." She reached up and patted his cheek affectionately. "Don't look so worried - We'll be good house guests." She lowered her voice so only Jinu could hear her. "We won't shame you in front of these Yangban women."
Jinu wanted to tell her that she was wrong, and he'd never ever been ashamed of her - but she'd already moved past him. She was smiling brightly at the girls. "We can't wait to see how our Jinu has been living. Could you show us the rest of your noble residence?"
-0-
"Look at this staircase, Oppa! It’s magical!" - Jinhee leaned out dramatically from the truly ridiculous staircase in the living room.
"No, Jinhee," Jinu rushed over and helped her down from that death-trap. "That’s not safe."
"It was recommended by our architect," Mira said flatly. "It's the fashion now."
"Well, that architect was an idiot." Jinu pointed indignantly at the floating perspex panels. "There’s not even handrails."
-0-
Mira and Rumi were painting Jinhee's nails (fingers and toes), while Zoey did her hair in an elaborate style. His sister was making jokes about feeling pampered like a princess. They all had face-masks and dressing gowns on. His sister was certainly taking to the art of couching like a duck to water. But it warmed his heart to see the girls make such an effort with her, so she felt like she belonged.
His mother stood over by the big windows, looking out at the view. He handed her a steaming mug of ginseng tea. She took it gratefully, inhaled the steam and smiled softly.
She didn't seem sick now, and they hadn't been able to afford ginseng 400 years ago when she was. Things were different now. Ginseng tea bags were just sitting in a box in their pantry. She could go with the girls to a sauna and the steam would help. Jinu could take her to modern doctor if she was still coughing.
Jinu was finally in a position where he could make his mother a fancy, medicinal tea that would soothe her - so he did.
The city sparkled beneath them, lights twinkling from a million windows as the sun went down. Eomma looked at the view and sighed wistfully. "The world has changed so much. "
"I know. But you'll get used to it." Jinu wanted to reassure her. "I’m going to take care of you, okay?"
It would be a big adjustment. He'd had Rumi and she'd helped as much as she could. But Jinu fully understood what it felt like to come from 400 years ago and wind up in modern day Seoul, due to the whims and fancies of unreasonable demigods. He could make things even easier for his mother and his sister. Their transition to the modern world was going to be as smooth as possible.
He knew exactly where they had come from, and how deep the changes were going to feel.
Not that it was Rumi's fault that she didn't always understand the things that tripped him up.
Jinu hadn't told her all the details of how hopelessly poor they had been, or the things they'd had to eat just to survive the maekryeonggi every year. He'd never had a birthday where they'd eaten a full meal that didn't have arrowroot or pine bark in it. He hadn't told her mostly because he knew it would make her sad, and he never wanted to make her sad again.
Gwi-ma's voice had long been silenced, but still something deep inside him whispered you don't deserve any of this. Late at night, when Rumi was sleeping peacefully beside him, he'd feel bewildered about how he'd ended up in a penthouse on top of a skyscraper with someone who was regularly described as pop-star royalty when he'd come from the literal dirt. He couldn't even say he'd come from the gutter because they'd been too poor to even have gutters.
"I’m your mother - I’m meant to be the one taking care of you," Eomma said softly. "I should have been the one making sacrifices for you."
She'd gotten sick. Jinu wasn't going to let her blame herself.
"But I like being able to take care of you." He nodded at her steaming mug. "I can make you so much ginseng tea that you're going to get sick of it."
She smiled, sipped her tea and looked around at the apartment and back at the girls on the couch. Rumi was showing Jinhee how to work the remote control, while Zoey offered her some chips. Mira was up in the kitchen making everyone some kind of drink.
"So... you are living with three yangban girls, but none of their parents reside here. It is just the four of you."
It was said like a statement, but it was actually a question.
"Um...yes," Jinu said. "But they aren’t yangban - that’s not really a thing now."
Eomma nodded, and looked back out at the view. "Are they your concubines?" She asked in a whisper.
"What? No!" Jinu gasped. "Never say that around them Eomma. They'll be so mad. I'll never hear the end of it."
Oh no. If Rumi heard herself referred to as his concubine, she would... dump him immediately? Tell Zoey and Mira and the three of them would write another banger of a diss track about him, one so full of feminine rage that it put takedown to shame? Laugh forever in his face and refuse to sleep with him for an extended period?
"Oh. I understand," Eomma said slowly, but Jinu was absolutely sure she didn't.
This was confirmed by her next question.
"Are you the concubine?"
Jinu groaned and looked at the ceiling. He knew his face was going bright red.
"Are boy concubines a thing in the future? Do they share you?" Eomma asked with curiosity, like she was just trying to understand how this modern world worked and she couldn't envisage how their living situation existed with out someone being a concubine. Jinu had vowed he was going to help her adjust to the modern world. He needed to clear up her misconceptions about concubines now.
"Concubines aren’t a thing anymore either. No one is anyone’s concubine," Jinu said firmly.
"There is no shame in it. It is a good living if you can find it," Eomma shrugged, then went back to sipping her tea.
"We’re all just friends. Friends live with each other in the future," Jinu explained.
"But how can you be friends with them when they are… so very wealthy." Every inch of the penthouse sparkled with a casual modern opulence. Eomma might not have been familiar with the architectural style, but she knew how to recognise when someone had money. "Do they know you are ch'ŏnmin?" she whispered anxiously.
"They know."
Eomma still looked worried. "I just don’t want you to be trapped in a situation where you are mistreated or looked down upon. It would break my heart."
Jinu was so so glad that she didn't know where he had been for the last 400 years. He was never going to tell her. She never needed to know. He wasn't going to break her heart again.
"Rumi and Mira and Zoey are my friends. There’s no castes anymore. We’re all the same. Everyone is equal now," Jinu said gently. "I'm happy here."
"Really?" Eomma's eyes were shining hopefully.
"Yes. Really. Life is good for me with the girls." He took her now empty mug from her, and turned to take it back to the kitchen. He might see if Mira needed help. She'd gotten out the whipped cream for her drink-creations, so they were going to be elaborate.
"If you are equal, you should ask one of them to marry you," Eomma suggested mildly before he'd taken a step.
"Eomma!" Jinu gasped, feeling scandalised.
"They are all so beautiful, and they all put up with your jokes," his mother defended her suggestion with what she assumed was unassailable logic. She glanced at Rumi, who saw them looking at her and gave a little friendly wave.
"The purple haired one smiles at you a lot. I think she's sweet on you."
Jinu hadn't told her about the Rumi situation yet precisely because if Eomma knew they were dating, she would immediately drop hints about marriage and babies and making her a grandmother, and Jinu did not need that right now.
"Eomma, stop. No one is getting married."
"I think she'd say yes. She's telling the world she's extremely single with that braid - and that's not the fashion now, so she's choosing to advertise that she is very unmarried. She probably wants someone to marry her. It may as well be you."
"That's not the world's most romantic proposal there," Jinu said with fond exasperation.
"See, you do want to be romantic with her. I think you are sweet on her too," Eomma guessed - but she was good at guessing, and was annoyingly accurate about it. She smiled smugly as soon as she saw his face.
"Ah, I did guess right," she grinned before she wandered back to the couch looking incredibly pleased with herself. She sat down right next to Rumi and -
This was why Jinu hated dealing with demigods.
They gave you exactly what you wanted- but there was always a downside hidden in the fine print.
(The downside here was that Jinu was probably about to become extremely single).