Suddenly, more than anything, I’m desperate to find Emmett. I haven’t seen him since before I got my biochip, and I want to share this moment of triumph with him. I search the crowd and, finally, I see his familiar face. I look at him with a bittersweet mix of emotions, trying to convey how I’m feeling. But he’s clutching Boris to his chest with fear in his eyes.

I frown, trying to understand why he’s scared.

Then I see.

Standing next to him in the crowd are none other than my parents.

And next to them is my auntie Okja.

23: Are Family Reunions Always This Awkward?

WE ARE BRISKLY USHERED AWAY from the crowd and into a shed by the lake that’s full of kayaks and life jackets. Before Austin can even close the door, I jump into my eomma’s and appa’s arms and bury my head in their shoulders. Their eyes are bloodshot and they look terrible—like they haven’t slept since Hattie’s initiation ceremony. Their familiar scents remind me of home, and I sob inconsolably. I have missed them so much.

“I can’t believe you’re here. You’re really here,” I cry.

Appa kisses the top of my head. “Thank Mago you’re okay.”

“We were so worried about you…” Eomma whispers, stroking my back with trembling hands.

“I’m so sorry,” I splutter between snotty tears. “I made a huge mistake, and now, Hattie is…She is…She—”

“Shh, we know, sweetheart,” Appa says, stroking my hair. “Emmett filled us in on everything when we got here.”

I look at Emmett gratefully.

“How did you know where we were?” I ask my parents.

“We hired a Samjogo seer to locate you,” Eomma responds. “The Horangi firewall made it a challenge, but she managed to find you in the end.”

“How dare you come here?” Sora demands, interrupting our family reunion.

“You kidnap our child and then have the gall to ask why we’re here?” Eomma retorts. “You’re lucky we didn’t bring reinforcements.”

Emmett is sending death glares at Auntie Okja after what his mom said through the gwisin halmeoni, and Taeyo and Austin are standing staunchly with Sora. Judging from the way Taeyo keeps glancing at his water bottle, I’m half expecting a water snake to burst out of there if things go south. It’s not a great reunion by any means.

Sora scoffs. “You stole her from us thirteen years ago! She should have been raised with us, not the people who killed her parents.”

“We did not kill her parents,” Auntie Okja clarifies. She’s standing near the door, keeping her distance.

“What lies have you told our daughter?” Appa jabs his finger in Sora’s face. “How did you deceive her to join your cursed clan? And what is the purpose of all this?”