“I’m DEAD!” Kisa screams with so much fury that Somi falters, grip slackening enough for Kisa to escape. Tears burn in her eyes as the green-eyed bear falls, shifting into Seokga, whose red blood leaks from the deep gouges in his bare waist. They’ve not yet begun to heal.

No. No.

She races forward, only for the tiger to whirl and send her flying backward with a punch of its paws. Kisa sobs in panic, climbing to her feet as the tiger reverts back into Jang, who smiles nastily at her in triumph as she gathers the limp god up in her arms and climbs the rail. Her gray hair streams behind her in the wind. Somewhere above, a demon shrieks in pleasure.

The red thread gives Kisa a harsh yank, adding to her momentum as she rushes forward, intent on stopping Jang before she can bring Seokga to the waters below. The bond between Seokga and her has never felt so strong…Kisa can swear that it becomes heavier around her finger, somehow, as she rushes forth…

Only for Jang to jump over the rail and disappear into the water below, dragging Kisa’s god with her.

She skids to a halt. Jump! her mind screams at her, but she can’t make herself do it, can’t make herself fall…

Not again. She can’t—she cannot fall again. Kisa trembles like a baby bird, staring helplessly into the river below, seeing not the churning water but the bright lights of Seoul, the midnight trains winding far below on their dark tracks, the neon signs advertising new albums and soda and all the trivial little things she would give anything to experience again blinking cheerily up at her.

“Do it,” she whispers to herself, furiously scrubbing away a tear. “Just do it.”

But she can’t.

And she doesn’t.

Until the gumiho appears next to her, breathless and panting. She grabs Kisa’s hand, and she’s no longer alone on the skyscraper’s roof. She’s with Somi. She’s with her friend. “We go together,” Somi says softly.

“T-Together,” Kisa agrees hoarsely. Palms sweating, Kisa follows her up to stand on the rail, legs trembling. She feels sick but Somi’s grip is warm and comforting, strong in a way Kisa must be, as well.

“One, two—”

“Three!” Do it. Just do it.

With a deep breath, the two women jump from the highest deck and plummet hundreds of feet into the waters below—holding hands the entire time.

The water is icy cold, enveloping Kisa in a frigid blanket as she sinks down, bubbles streaming up around her. She opens her eyes, lungs burning, but she can’t make anything out save for the blurry cloud of bubbles and the red thread, swirling around her in dizzying loops. To her depthless relief, Somi’s hand is still in hers, although through the bubbles she cannot see her.