Chapter 30
“I’m starving!” Hae complained as they stepped into the elevator for the hospital parking garage.
“There’s food at home,” Grace said.
“I ate all the peanut butter.”
“There’s more than— Wait, you ate it all? There was a whole jar.”
“You were gone all day.” Hae shrugged.
Yuhwa smacked him on the back of the head. “Stop being so rude. She doesn’t need to house and feed you.”
A snort of laughter burst out of Grace at Hae’s shocked expression. But when he sent her an annoyed glare, she folded her lips together to hold in the rest of it.
“Come on, I know a place we can get food.” As the elevator doors dinged open, Yuhwa looped her arm through Grace’s and pulled her into the parking garage.
Grace followed the GPS instructions Yuhwa typed into her phone and was surprised when she was directed to turn into the parking lot of Asia House.
“How do you know about this place?” Grace asked.
“It’s the best food in the area,” Yuhwa said.
When they stepped inside, the hostess grinned. “Yuhwa, Halmeoni has been asking for you. Halmeoni! She’s back!”
Grace watched in stunned silence as Mrs. Moon came shuffling out and peered at them through her thick bifocals.
“Yuhwa-ssi, dolawassda?”
“Ye, Halmeoni,” Yuhwa said with a grin. “My friends are hungry.”
Mrs. Moon squinted at Grace and Hae, her eyes lingering on the sun god. She lowered her bifocals a moment, and then a smile spread on her lips. “Ah yes, honored to feed you. Sit, sit.”
Before Grace could ask a question, Mrs. Moon was hurrying into the kitchen, calling orders in rapid-fire Korean.
The hostess was left to show them to a table before hurrying back to help her grandmother.
Grace eyed Yuhwa. “How do you know Mrs. Moon?”
“I’m staying with her,” Yuhwa said as she straightened her silverware.
Grace sat up in shock. “Staying with her? How?”
“I met her my first day here. She said that she recognized me and that I should stay with her.”
“Doesn’t she live in a nursing home?” Grace asked.
“She lives in a retirement community. And it’s quite nice. Plus, she cooks for me.” Yuhwa plucked up a bean sprout from the small dishes of banchan the waitress set down.
Grace shook her head, wondering how Yuhwa had adapted to this time so well.
Mrs. Moon returned from the kitchen, followed by two waiters carrying trays laden with food.
Spicy soondubu jjigae with broth red as a fire truck, spicy chicken stir-fried with rice cakes, an entire baked mackerel.
And way more that Grace was sure they could not finish.
“Chal-meokgaesumnida!” Hae declared eagerly as he dove into the stewed ribs.
“Yes, please eat. You must gather strength to regain your powers.”
Grace froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth. Hae looked equally stunned, mid-chew, a piece of kalbi still hanging from his lips.
“What did you say?” Grace asked.
“I know who you are,” Mrs. Moon said, nodding at Yuhwa and Hae.
“That’s why she took me in,” Yuhwa explained. “Because she recognized me as a god.”
Grace almost choked and had to fumble with the chilled barley tea to clear her throat.
“Wait, what? I mean…how?”
Mrs. Moon smiled. “The spirits tell me things. They told me I must care for Yuhwa, and now she has brought to my table another like her. Maybe now you will let me tell your fortune.”
Grace was shocked at the revelation and the calm way that Mrs. Moon smiled at Yuhwa and Hae.
“Halmeoni,” Yuhwa said. “I was right. The sonnimne were summoned back.”
The old woman’s face fell, her eyes dropping as her lips pursed. Grace realized it was the first time she’d seen Mrs. Moon without an amiable smile on her face. “I will prepare a paesong kut.”
“A what?” Grace asked.
Mrs. Moon turned to her with serious eyes. “A ritual to help send them away.”
“It might not work,” Yuhwa warned. “They seem infected with rage. They might not accept any offerings.”
Mrs. Moon patted her hand gently. “Perhaps not, but it can’t hurt.
Now, as for you.” Mrs. Moon turned to Hae, squinting at his face.
“Yes, on the outside you might belong. But on the inside, you burn too bright. You need to find a way to match your insides to your outsides. Or your outsides to your insides.”
Grace frowned at the odd words. Matching your outsides to your insides made her think of the Bodies exhibit she’d had to endure in fourth grade, where bodies without skin were displayed to show the ligaments and skeletons and muscles.
“What else do the spirits say?” Hae asked.
Mrs. Moon closed her eyes, humming in concentration.
“They say to be careful. The vessel cannot hold everything.”
“Vessel?” Grace asked.
But Mrs. Moon was still muttering under her breath, conversing with something unseen. “This world is no longer built for the old gods. There is an imbalance. There is a danger.”
Grace could feel the vibration of her anxiety picking up power. A waking swarm inside. It pressed against her chest until she was starting to take short, desperate breaths. She set her spoon down, her appetite gone.
“I think I need some air.” She pushed back from the table, cringing at the grating sound her chair made.
She wanted to get out of there before she had a full-blown panic attack, but Mrs. Moon caught her wrist as she passed. “The spirits say there is an immense rage pointed at you. Please be careful.”