But it’s not. After everything that’s happened—after everything I’ve put my loved ones through—it is the easiest decision I’ve had to make all day. The only way I can make things right again is to take the deal. To be forgotten by both the Gom family that raised me and the Horangi clan that welcomed me into their arms. It’s the price I must pay.

I close my eyes. I picture my eomma, my appa, my auntie Okja. I picture Emmett, who, being half-Gom, will also be affected, I’m sure. I picture Sora, Austin, and Taeyo. And most of all, I picture my sister. I imagine them all smiling and posing for a family photo, and I take a snapshot in my mind. They may forget me, but I want to remember them for the rest of my life.

“Good-bye,” I whisper. “Thank you for everything.”

Then, before I can change my mind, I turn back toward the creature. “Dokkaebi!” I announce bravely. “I’ll do it.”

The goblin rubs his horns and cackles at the top of his lungs. “Miss Oh, you have yourself a deal!”

He reaches his hand toward the vial around my neck, and I scream, grabbing the glass protectively. I will not let him get his nasty red fingers on Hattie’s heart.

Instead, he clenches his fist in the air. And as something dark and icy seeps into my chest, I realize he wasn’t after Hattie’s heart.

He’s after mine.

As he pulls back his fist, a beating black heart is extracted from my chest. The dokkaebi reels it in like a fish while licking his crimson lips.

“Ahh, human pain and suffering. My favorite meal.”

Then, before my very eyes, he seizes my payment and sinks his teeth into it.

I cry out and shed tears for the life I’ve lost and the life I’ll never have. I started with one family who loved me, gained another, and now I’ve lost them both.

“Absolutely divine!” The dokkaebi licks the final bits of my suffering off his lips. Black goo dribbles down his face. “And now to deliver you your fallen star.” He flexes his small, red hand, and then calls out, “Bangmangi! Materialize!”

In a blink, a weird wooden club appears in his hand. It’s half the length of a baseball bat, but at least twice as fat, and it’s covered with pointy black and red spikes. While holding it, the creature closes his eyes and spits out words I’ve never heard before. His chanting gets louder as he waves his bangmangi in a weird dance-like motion, until finally there is an explosion of sound and light in the room.