Kisa stands behind him, breathing hard, curls in a state of flustered disarray. Her bright eyes dart from him to the sword to Somi and back. The woman’s face is slack with shock—and disappointment. Between them, the red thread tightens and once again, for a moment, glows scarlet. Seokga’s next thought is not his own.

—would—hurt—she didn’t mean—eat the banker—is that why—

The shock of it is enough for Seokga to drop the sword. It clatters to the ground and he is vaguely aware of Somi hissing something at him, of Dr. Jang taking one of his shoulders, of Hwanin leaping into a furious lecture…But none of that matters. Amidst the chaos, Seokga and Kisa stare at each other, fate glowing between them.

He can hear her thoughts.

He can hear Kisa’s thoughts.

And judging by the growing roundness of her eyes, she can hear his, too.

Chapter Nine

Kisa

It was pure anxiety and desperation that brought Kisa to the greenhouse party. She had been pacing back and forth in the sick bay, much to the dismay of Hajun, who was attempting to nap on one of the cots before the next flood of seasick patients arrived. It always grew worse after dinner. But in the current lull, with nothing to distract her from what Seokga must think of her, Kisa was drowning in an itching embarrassment and a visceral need to redeem herself.

“Just go to him,” Hajun moaned into his crinkly pillow. “The more you wallow, the more I worry about you, and the more I worry about you, the more my head hurts…”

She hesitated, chewing on her nail—a nervous habit that she couldn’t seem to break. “I don’t know what to say.”

He rolled onto his back, fixing his dark eyes on her. “Just say ‘sorry’…”

Kisa shook her head.

“…for speaking with your gigantic brain and not your heart…” Hajun sat up as Kisa threw a pen at him. He laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. But he wasn’t laughing at her. No, Hajun was always laughing with her. It was one of the things she loved about him.

“You really think I should go?” Kisa twisted a curl nervously. “You’ll be okay here without me? You’ll remember to use the buckets and—”

Hajun wrinkled his nose. “It’s kind of common sense to use a bucket if somebody’s throwing up, Kisa,” he ribbed.

“Right…”

After a few moments more of hesitation, Kisa had nodded and hurried out of the med bay, following the thread up to Deck 6. She had barely managed to slip by Soo-min, who was staffing the greenhouse doors. The interior was at least, according to her guesstimations, the size of an indoor soccer field.