Whispers of Refuge Box Set

CHAPTER 40-4

The cool breeze stung Mee-Kyong’s skin. She craned her neck and looked behind her. The Americans’ outer fence extended all the way around the perimeter of the yard, but she could scale it in five seconds or less. Still, she wished she had some shoes. It was time to go, though. Staying any longer was just a waste of daylight. She jumped up, refusing to look back when Benjamin called out after her. She started to sprint, knowing his instinct would be to reach out toward her. “Thanks for the sweatshirt,” she called back to him.

She was halfway over the fence before Benjamin grabbed her by the waist. “Get down.” He tugged, and she landed on the lawn on the pads of her feet. Benjamin held his hands up. “You’re soaking wet. You can’t wear that out there.”

She tilted her chin up. “I’ve earned a living in even less.”

He lowered his eyes for a moment. Mee-Kyong didn’t waste the opportunity and clambered to the top of the fence, poised to kick him if he reached up for her. He put his hands on the railings, his eyes pleading. “Nobody’s going to make you do anything. Stay here. Keep up your studies with Mrs. Stern. Or tell her you need a break. Just talk to them.”

“They’ll keep trying to convert me like they’ve been doing this whole time.”

Benjamin shrugged. “Maybe. But they’ve been good to you. Better than you’ll find on your own.”

Mee-Kyong scowled. “And what if I’m never ready to convert? What if I never get baptized? What then?”

He took his hands off the fence. There was a softness in his dark eyes Mee-Kyong had never noticed before. “At least you won’t go hungry.”

“I know how to take care of myself.”

“You leave the Sterns’ and you’ll be back in the hotel district by nightfall. You know that, don’t you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll starve before going back there.”

He reached up slowly toward her. “Please.” She had never heard him sound so concerned. She was used to pity — Mrs. Stern doled out enough of that to last Mee-Kyong a lifetime — but this felt different. “Please come back. I’ll go with you. We’ll talk to them. Together.”

She looked down at him and realized she was at another crossroads, forced to decide her fate in a single instant. No wavering. No second guesses. It was as though the way had been paved for her years ago, before Pang, before her escape from Camp 22, before the Round Robin, before Sun. Mee-Kyong knew the path she was going to take.

She just hoped she wouldn’t live to regret it.