That morning, Hara faced the forest.

She stared deep into the trees that stood tall and imposing like an army. She'd always felt like the forest was watching her. Grandfather Lee seemed to think so too. Maybe she shouldn't trust him. Maybe he's crazy. Like Minho. Like her.

It's just a forest, she thought to herself scornfully. It's the same forest that stretches for miles in each direction. Every house on the street has the same backyard as the Lees. She was stupid to feel afraid. Like there was something or someone waiting for her beyond the threshold.

"I'm not afraid," she murmured. "I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid."

A gust of wind blew out from between the trees, sending leaves whirling around her feet.

She sprinted back toward the house, sucking on her inhaler.

Now she's watching her neighbours' houses from Eunah's chauffeured car. She's thinking about all that's waiting for her at home — the forest and Minho and her grandfather and the photograph and her theories and the homework she's been ignoring. Really, she'd rather stay with Eunah for a while longer. She just doesn't know how to ask.

She looks at Eunah. Eunah looks away. Hara looks away too.

"Same time tomorrow?" Eunah asks as the car pulls into the driveway.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

"Maybe we can go somewhere after school. Root beer floats or something."

"Sure. Yeah. Okay."

"We don't have to."

"No, it's okay."

Eunah just gives a thumbs-up, and Hara shuts the door.

The car does a U-turn and disappears down the driveway. Hara stands around and watches for a while.

When she turns and looks up, she sees Aunt Sooyun standing on the sundeck on the third floor. Hara waves. Sooyun tips her head, a summons, and walks away. Once Hara has changed out of her ridiculous school uniform — why won't they just let girls wear pants? — she knocks on Sooyun's door.

Her aunt's bedroom-slash-office looks like two different spaces spliced together. One half is an ordinary bedroom, a cave where her aunt holes up for days on end, chaotic to an Eunah-degree. The other is an immaculate office that looks like it belongs to a member of the National Assembly. One time Sooyun hoisted Hara onto her lap and read out the first-quarter financial report like it was a bedtime story.

She's sitting in the same place now, behind her desk, chewing on the nub of a pencil. Hara hovers until Sooyun waves her toward the chair on the other side of the desk.

"I'm glad you're here," Sooyun says. "We should talk."

Excitement and dread flicker in Hara's stomach. "Yes, we should."

"Do you want a drink?"

"Milk and honey."

"That's what I thought."

"What?"

"Nothing." She repeats the orders through the intercom, then leans back in her chair. She's only forty but she has silver hair sweeping back from her temples. It makes her look distinguished, Hara thinks. "So, how should we do this? Are you going to say it or am I?"

"I want to know about Minho."

Hara has never seen Aunt Sooyun make such an expression. Like for once she doesn't have full control over a situation and it's rocking her to the core.

"That's why you're here? Not because...?" She shakes her head. "No. Excuse me. Recalibrating. Where is this coming from?"

"It's the secret everyone's keeping, isn't it?"

"Hara, I get that you're curious. But I'm not going to tell you about Minho."

"Why not?"

"Because if your mother hasn't already, then it isn't my place."

"Mom never tells me anything. She'd just get upset and start crying."

"Be patient with her, okay? Haewon holds a lot of sadness."

"Why? What does that mean?"

Sooyun humps her shoulders in an I have all the answers but I'm not going to tell you shit kind of gesture.

"This is unfair. Why don't we ever talk about him?"

"You think we never talk about him? Of course we do. Just not in the open."

"Not around me."

"Not around the staff. But no. Not around you either."

"But why?"

"The Lees' reputation couldn't take another hit if any details were to get out."

"You think I'd leak information?"

"I think you're young. Young people make mistakes sometimes."

"Is that what Minho did? Make a mistake?"

Surprisingly, Sooyun snorts, a funny sound from the back of her throat. "That bastard was twenty-two. He doesn't get the young excuse."

"He was twenty-two when he...?"

"Good try. Let's talk about something more important—"

"Aunt Sooyun, people say I act like you and I look like Mom. And sure, I can see both of you in me sometimes — but I've always felt like there was something else in me, and I never knew where that came from. When I tried learning more about Minho, I... I started to wonder, I wondered..."

She can see her aunt's jaw working. A maid comes in with a whiskey and a mug of warm milk and sets them on the desk.

Hara picks up her drink. Sooyun doesn't.

"Fifteen years ago," she says, "my brother came to me and told me he was leaving. I haven't heard from him since."

"Is that the sadness Mom carries? She misses him?"

"When he left, it impacted us all in... different ways. Haewon fell into a depression. I threw myself into my work. Mother dissociated. Hell, even Dongmin changed."

"Dad? How?"

"He was slightly aloof when they first got married. After Minho left, after Haewon disappeared into herself, he had to step up. For you."

Hara is leaning forward, hanging on every word. Sooyun rubs her temples.

"Stop looking at me like that. I've already said too much. That's just my side of the story. Don't go spreading this around, okay?"

"Please, one more question?"

She just lifts her whiskey and knocks it back.

"Did Minho hurt Grandfather?"

Sooyun's answer comes fast — "No, he didn't" — but an amendment is close behind. "Shit. Maybe. But we don't know how. Father wasn't hurt. There was no blood, no bruises, just the... anyway. It was like every part of his body systematically shut down, just short of killing him. The doctor called it a medical phenomenon." Muffled into her glass: "Old fuck deserved it."

Hara drinks her milk, forcing it down her throat. She's overwhelmed. But she feels an odd kind of relief. Even Aunt Sooyun doesn't have the full story.

They sit in silence for a while.

"Can I ask one more question?"

"Jesus Christ, kid."

"Do you think Minho is happy? Wherever he is?"

The question thaws her a little. She smiles, looking out the window. "Surely. He's in good company."

"You mean the lover?"

"His name was Jisung. He played guitar. Shitty guitar, beautiful playing. He had this look about him, like his heart was always just under the surface, ready to be broken. Minho loved him." She meets Hara's eyes. "You adored him."

Hara can't speak.

Sooyun puts her drink down, leaning forward, gravity returning to her face. "Listen to me. Maybe you're like Minho in some ways, maybe not in other ways. You don't have to be afraid of who you are, whatever combination of your fucked-up relatives that might be. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes... yes, Aunt Sooyun."

"Good." She stifles a grimace. "Just don't tell Grandmother. She's... not well. She's also a huge bigot. Not a good mix."

"Don't tell her what?"

Sooyun studies her, choosing her words. Finally, she says, "Your friend, the Son girl. She's cute, isn't she?"

Hara's lungs fly into her throat. "No. Yeah. Sure. Maybe. Why?"

"Give me a break, kid. You cling to your inhaler every time she's near you."

"How do you know that? What's happening?"

She looks down at Hara's mug, considering her words again. "When Minho was around, I knew about him, I was supportive, sure, but I didn't... I never told him 'I am on your side.' I definitely didn't act like it. And ultimately, that's what took him away from me." She shrugs, but her eyes are glassy. "Never again. Not with you."

Hara shifts. Aunt Sooyun knows about her. It makes her feel icky. Just icky. "Do you think Mom and Dad will be mad?" She doesn't know why that's her first question. She doesn't know why her eyes feel hot.

"No. Of course not. They love you more than anything."

Hara nods, staring down at her hands in her lap.

Sooyun leans back, crossing her ankles on the desk. "Take your time figuring it out. Don't rush into telling anyone. No worries asking your friend out, though."

"Ask out — ask out — what does that mean? What are you even talking about?"

She shows her palms like 'whoa there, tiger.' "Just an observation."

Hara stands and gives an awkward bow. "Thank you, Aunt Sooyun, I should go."

Sooyun just tilts her head toward the door. Hara skitters out of the room.