"So you lied to him?" Minjae and Eamon asked as Shane climbed back into the car. Minjae had been sitting in the backseat. When he frowned at them, Minjae tapped his ear. "We have super hearing, too."
"It wasn't a lie," Shane said. "His energy isn't ideal for his grandmother."
"But not because he's a boy. It's because of the part of your soul nestled all cosy in his chest."
"That's not the problem we're trying to solve right now," Shane said, crossing her arms as Eamon took off from the curb.
"It's the only problem you should care about," Minjae pointed out.
"Do you want to get paid or not?"
"Do you want your dear sister to find out where her darling brother is?" Eamon countered.
Shane ground his teeth, trapped. Both these siblings left no effort to get on his nerves.
As if on cue, Shane's phone rang and Loralie's number lit the screen. She glowered at Eamon and Minjae in warning before he answered.
"Loralie."
"Brother, have you started taking souls again?" It was always the first question Loralie asked, and Shane bit back a sigh.
"No, I haven't. But I feel fine."
"Of course you don't. Every day you don't take a soul you get weaker. I should never have let you stay in hell. Maybe it's best if you come to meet me."
"No," Shane said a bit too loudly. He took a deep breath, then continued in a smoother tone. "I really am fine. Eamon is making me that gross juice and I'm drinking it every day. It helps. A lot."
"I've become too soft with you," Loralie said as if she was talking more to herself than Shane. "I don't know why I let you convince me to leave you behind."
"If you're worried about me being weak, they wouldn't travel be bad for me?" Shane took a chance that he could use Loralie's own logic against her.
"Fine. But remember you have to answer every one of my calls. If I go to voice mail even once, I'm coming back."
"Yes, Loralie," SHanesaid dutifully.
The call ended without so much as a goodbye and Shaneleaned back, closing her eyes, sapped. he couldn't seem to catch his breath these days. And his muscles burned like they were disintegrating slowly. He'd looked up the symptoms of starving to death and it seemed like his body had reached the stage where it was trying to find energy from less ideal tissues.
"How is Sissie dearest?"Minjae mused.
Instead of answering, Shane asked, "Do you have any more of that sludge you make, Eamon?"
Eamon glanced at her, and if he didn't know better, he'd have said he looked worried. "I have some at home." And he stepped on the gas, speeding through a red light.
Shane didn't have the energy to complain about his horrendous driving.
***
The following, Seojun dragged Jihoon out against his will to see daylight. He'd been spending too much of his time in the classroom or the hospital, according to his best friend. The forecast actually called for rain, which Jihoon sullenly pointed out.
"You want to go to the PC room?" Seojun asked as they entered a coffee shop.
"Wasn't getting some sun the whole point of coming out?"
"Oh." Seojun looked crestfallen and Jihoon gave in.
"Well, if you want to spend an afternoon getting your butt handed to you, who am I to deny you?"
Seojun grinned and seemed absolutely delighted at the idea of having Jihoon beat him at video games all afternoon. It was enough to snap Jihoon out of his sour mood. He'd been a bad friend lately. Plus, hanging out with Seojun gave Jihoon an excuse to skip another unnecessary summons from Dr Choi.
Then Seojun glanced over and his eyes lit up. "Hyeong-nim!"
Jihoon glowered as Eamon walked up to the counter.
"What a coincidence! Were you here to get coffee, too?" Seojun sounded like a fan greeting his favourite idol.
"It is a coffee shop," Eamon said with a crooked grin perfectly styled for his face. The counter girl sighed as she replied with a smile of her own. Jihoon wanted to punch the timekeeper right in the mouth.
"Haven't seen you online lately. When are we going to do another round of Starcraft 2v2?"
"You guys have been hanging out?" Jihoon asked, suspicion blooming.
"We ran into each other at the PC room a couple of times," Seojun explained, his eyes darting between Jihoon and Eamon. "He's a great gamer. You should see his skills."
"It was a nice coincidence. But it was good luck for me. I love a good gaming partner." Eamon gave a sly grin that told Jihoon it had not been a coincidence.
So this was how they wanted to play it? Keeping tabs on him and his friends? Did Shane think this would change his mind about him? If so, he was sorely mistaken.
"And how are you, Jihoon-ah?" Eamon asked, his address far too familiar.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Can I buy your coffee for you, Hyeong-nim?" Seojun asked.
"Oh no, I'm older, I should be buying for you."
"I insist, Hyeong-nim!"
"Thanks, Seojun-ah." Eamon gave an amicable nod.
Seojun beamed. "No problem, Hyeong-nim."
"Just call me Eamon-heong."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim," Seojun said obediently.
Eamon laughed. "You're funny. I like you."
Seojun lapped up the compliment like a starving man given bread. "Thank you, Hyeong-nim. We were just going to the PC room. You should come."
"Sounds fun," Seojun said.
"I just realized, I have a checkup with Dr Choi." Even more, tests were better than spending a whole afternoon with Eamon.
"That's a shame." Seojun didn't miss a beat. He gave Jihoon a half-smile that implied he knew it was a lie. "I thought I could also finally give you a ride in my car. Don't think I forgot we promised you a rain check."
"Oh, I promised Jihoon we'd hang out today," Seojun said to Eamon, but he frowned like he wasn't looking forward to spending his day at the hospital.
Jihoon sighed. "Why don't we catch up another time, Seojun-ah."
"Really? Are you sure? Thanks!" Seojun spoke so fast, Jihoon had no chance to respond.
"Should we grab food first?" Eamon slung his arm around Seojun's shoulder and led him out.
It wasn't until they were gone that Jihoon realized they'd left him to pay for all the drinks.