''Bound to tug at your heart strings'' ELIZA CHAN A tale of star-crossed lovers, political intrigue and mysticism inspired by Korean mythology and set in the Joseon dynasty. ''Whether I remember or not, it seems I am destined to love you.'' Lady Seomun Bin has a secret: she is a cross-dressing byeoksa, or ghost-stalker. Born with the unenviable ability to see spirits, she is forced to disguise herself as a man to perform exorcisms in order to break this curse which puts those around her in danger. One night, Bin sneaks into a lavish party at Sagokjeong, the chief state councillor''s country home. There, she bumps into Hyun Eun-ho, a loyal servant to the King sent to investigate the chief state councillor''s suspected treason and one of the most eligible bachelors of the Joseon court. Eun-ho feels an inexplicable attraction towards Bin and tries to get closer to her, while Bin, for reasons of her own, attempts to avoid him. However, they keep crossing paths, becoming increasingly entangled by the inescapable threads of fate. Meanwhile, a darker presence is growing in power in the Underworld and the boundaries between the physical world and the one beyond continue to grow thinner. As evil forces seek to exert their influence over the court, Bin and Eunho must work together to overthrow them. Where will their destined connection lead? Will they finally be able to break the curse?

Autorentext
Esther Park strives for memorability in her writing. She mainly writes historical fantasy and YA fiction. Her other works include REVELATIONS OF THE GARDEN (2023), OCCULT GIRL (2022) and D-CLUB QUEEN'S SUMMER (2016). She was the winner of the 1 BIR Marshmallow Fiction Contest for her YA series MICHAELA (2017), and her web novel saw her win the prestigious detective/mystery/thriller award organised by Korean entertainment giants KakaoPage, CJ ENM and Studio Dragon. Gene Png is a literary translator and illustrator based in Singapore. She was awarded the Grand Prize in Poetry at the 53rd The Korea Times Translation Awards. Her books include Cheon Seon-ran's The Midnight Shift and Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo's Two Women Living Together.

Klappentext
'Bound to tug at your heart strings' ELIZA CHAN
'A top-tier historical fantasy' SHELLEY PARKER-CHAN
'A historical K-drama brought to life on the page' JUNE HUR**
'Asweeping, romantic tale about reforging your own destiny' JIHYUN YUN

A tale of star-crossed lovers, political intrigue and mysticism inspired by Korean mythology and set in the Joseon dynasty.**

'Whether I remember or not, it seems I am destined to love you.'

Lady Seomun Bin has a secret: she is a cross-dressing byeoksaga, or ghost-stalker. Born with the unenviable ability to see spirits, she is forced to disguise herself as a man to perform exorcisms in order to break the demonic curse on her which puts those around her in danger.

When she sneaks into a lavish party at the Sagokjeong, the chief state councillor's country home, she bumps into Hyun Eunho, a loyal servant to the King sent to investigate the chief state councillor's suspected treason. Eunho feels an inexplicable attraction towards Bin and tries to get closer to her, while Bin, for reasons of her own, attempts to avoid him. As they continue to cross paths, they becoming increasingly entangled by the inescapable threads of fate that keep drawing them together.

Meanwhile, a darker presence is growing in power in the Underworld and the boundaries between the physical world and the one beyond continue to grow thinner. As evil forces seek to exert their influence over the court, Bin and Eunho must work together to overpower them.

Where will their destined connection lead? Will they finally be able to break Bin's curse?

Translated from the Korean by Gene Png