“Hyejeong!”

A hundred thoughts raced through Seolhyun’s head. How long had Hyejeong been under? Where had she seen her last? How long would it take for her to get help? She didn’t like Hyejeong, and yeah, she might have briefly considered the idea of drowning her, but she didn’t really wish the girl dead.

“Oh my God,” Seolhyun whispered. “This can’t be happening.”

Seolhyun couldn’t afford to think anymore. She had to do something. Just as she took a small step to dive into the water, the surface heaved and Hyejeong burst from the water. Surprise and relief rushed through her, followed by the intense urge to vomit (and then hit Hyejeong’s head).

Hyejeong leveled herself onto the rock, the muscles of her arms popping from the strain. “Are you okay? You look a little freaked out.”

Snapping out of it, Seolhyun grabbed Hyejeong’s slippery shoulders in an effort to assure her queasy stomach she was alive and not brain damaged from lack of oxygen. “Are you okay? What happened?” Then she smacked her arm. Hard. “Don’t you ever do that again!”

Hyejeong threw her hands up. “Whoa there, what is your problem?”

“You were under the water for so long. I thought you drowned! Why would you do that? Why would you scare me like that?” Seolhyun hopped to her feet, dragging in a deep breath. “You were under the water forever.”

Hyejeong frowned. “I wasn’t down there that long. I was swimming.”

“No, Hyejeong, you were down there a long time. It was at least ten minutes! I looked for you, called for you. I... I thought you were dead.”

“It couldn’t have been ten minutes. That’s not possible. No one can hold their breath that long.”

She swallowed. “You apparently can.”

Hyejeong’s eyes searched hers. “You were really worried, weren’t you?”

“No ! What part of ‘I thought you drowned’ don’t you understand?” Seolhyun was shaking.

“Seolhyun, I came up. You must not have seen me. I went right back down.” Hyejeong came to her feet. “Does this happen often?” she asked.

“Does what?”

“Imagining things.” Hyejeong waved her hand. “Or do you have a horrible issue with telling time.”

“I wasn’t imagining anything! And I know how to tell time, you jerk.”

“Then I don’t know what to tell you.” Hyejeong stepped forward, which wasn’t very far on the rock. “I’m not the one imagining that I was underwater for ten minutes when it was like two minutes. You know, maybe I’ll buy you a watch the next time I’m in town, when I have my keys back.”

For some stupid reason, one Seolhyun would probably never know, she had forgotten the reason why they were there. Somewhere between seeing Hyejeong semi and then thinking she was dead, Seolhyun had lost her mind.

“Well, make sure you tell Mina we had a wonderful time so that you can get your stupid keys back,” she said, meeting her eyes. “Then we won’t need a replay of today.”

The smug smile was plastered across Hyejeong’s face. “That’s on you. I’m sure she’ll call you later and ask.”

“You’ll have your keys. I’m ready–” Her foot slipped over the wet rock. Thrown off balance, her arms flailed in the air.

Moving lightning fast, Hyejeong’s hand shot out and grabbed Seolhyun’s, pulling her forward. The next thing Seolhyun knew she was against Hyejeong’s warm, wet chest and Hyejeong’s arm was around her waist.

“Careful there. This time your mom would be pissed at me if you end up cracking your head open and drowning.”

Good. She would probably think Seolhyun did it on purpose. She started to respond but couldn’t. There wasn’t much separating their skin in terms of clothing. Her blood was pumping way too fast. A strange edginess swamped her as they stared at each other, the slight wind brushed along wet skin that wasn’t pressed against one another, making the parts plastered together seem even hotter.

Neither of them spoke.

Hyejeong’s chest rose and fell, the deep color of her eyes shifting by degrees. It was a powerful, almost electric feeling that coursed through Seolhyun. Well, that was strange, foolish, and illogical.

She hates me, right?

Then Hyejeong released her waist and stepped back. She cleared , her voice thick. “I think it’s time we head back.”

Seolhyun nodded, disappointed and not even sure why she was disappointed. Hyejeong’s mood swings made her feel as if there was just something about her she didn’t know about it yet.

They didn’t speak as they dried off and dressed. They started back home silently. It seemed neither of them had anything to say, which was actually nice. Seolhyun liked her better when Hyejeong had lost the ability to speak.

But when they reached the driveway, Hyejeong cursed under her breath. It felt like a blast of air had swept between them. She followed her troubled gaze. There was a strange car in Hyejeong’s driveway, one of those expensive cars that cost her mom’s salary. She wondered if it was her parents, and if this was going to turn into Seol-mageddon round two.

Hyejeong’s jaw clenched. “Seolhyun, I–”

A door opened and closed, banging off the side of the house. A man in his late twenties, early thirties stepped out onto the porch. His light brown hair didn’t match Hyejeong’s and Mina’s dark waves. Whoever he was, he was handsome and dressed nicely.

And also looked pissed.

The man came down the steps two at a time. He didn’t even look at Seolhyun. Not once. “What’s going on here?”

“Absolutely nothing.” Hyejeong folded her arms. “Since my sister is not home, I’m curious as to why you’re in my house?”

Okay. Definitely not family.

“I let myself in,” he replied. “I didn’t realize that would be a problem.”

“It is now, Jonghyun.”

The man’s steely gaze zeroed in on Seolhyun. His eyes widened slightly. They were a bright, startling green. His lip curled as he looked her up and down. Not in a checking her out kind of way, either, but like he was sizing her up. “Of all people, Hyejeong, I’d think you’d know better.”

Hyejeong’s eyes narrowed. “If you value the ability to walk, I wouldn’t go inside.”

Weirded out to the max, Seolhyun stepped to the side. “Uh, I think I should go.”

“I’m thinking Jonghyun should go,” Hyejeong said, stepping in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” Seolhyun said, her voice wavering, “but I don’t know what’s going on here. We were just swimming.”

Jonghyun’s gaze swung on Hyejeong, who chucked his shoulders. “It’s not what you’re thinking. Mina hid my keys, forced me take her out to get them back.”

Dammit. Did she really need to tell some dude I’m a pity date?

Then the man laughed. “So this is Mina’s little friend.”

“I’m not little, but that would be me,” Seolhyun said, crossing her arms.

“I thought you had this under control.” Jonghyun gestured toward Seolhyun, sounding as if she were a clown standing next to Hyejeong. “That you would make your sister understand.”

“Yeah, well, why don’t you try to make her understand,” Hyejeong retorted.

Jonghyun’s lips thinned. “Both of you should know better.”

A crack of thunder startled Seolhyun as they stared down at one another. Lightning streaked overhead, momentarily blinding. Once the light receded, the dark, tumultuous clouds rolled in. Energy crackled around her, flashing across her skin.

Then Jonghyun turned away, casting another dark look in Seolhyun’s direction before heading inside Hyejeong’s house. The moment the door slammed shut behind him, the clouds parted. She stared at Hyejeong, mouth hanging open.

“What... what just happened?” Seolhyun asked.

But Hyejeong was already walking into the house, the door smacking off the frame once again like a shot in a canon. Seolhyun stood there, not sure what happened. She looked up at the clear sky. No trace of the violent storm. She knew there was something not normal about Hyejeong.

All about both of them.

***

Jonghyun started the moment Hyejeong walked into the kitchen. “What is going on with that girl, Hyejeong? You have never acted that way.”

She passed him on the way to the fridge, beyond irritated and hungry. “Acted like what?”

He turned to her. “You know what I mean.”

Opening the fridge, Hyejeong eyed everything needed to make a kickass sandwich. Waving her hand, she danced the items over to the counter. “Want a sandwich?”

Jonghyun sighed. “Already ate.”

“More for me.” She grabbed a plate and moved to the counter.

“Hyejeong, we need to talk about this.”

She snatched up a knife and the jar of mayo. “We don’t need to talk about , Jonghyun. I already told you what was going on when we were outside. The story isn’t going to get any more interesting.”

“You’re making sure Mina doesn’t get too close to her by hanging out with her?” he asked, disbelief coloring his words. “Swimming together? Is this a new tactic?”

Slapping the slice of bread on the plate, Hyejeong glanced over to where he stood near the table. Her voice was deadly calm. “Let it go.”

“I can’t let it go.”

Her eyes met his. “You might want to try.”

Jonghyun ran a hand over his short brown hair. “I don’t want to argue with you.”

Hyejeong almost laughed as she slapped a meat onto the bread. Tension had stiffened the muscles of her neck and back. Jonghyun was right about one thing: She had never acted like she had outside a few minutes ago. She could use against her or scare her off enough that she’d stay away from Mina, but she really hadn’t done either of those things.

Instead, they had talked about school and gardening and stupid .

“This i