As True as a Dream – Chapter 105

Author: Dakku-san

After a short bushy path that is unique to the beachfront, they came to a beach with countless small boats lined up along the shore and a few boats bobbing in the sea.

“Come on, get in line, see that red buoy over there, I’ve put a red line over there, you can’t go any further than that, you can ride for an hour, and if you don’t come back, you’ll be charged extra!”

A middle-aged man with a dark face, a white jerkin and black pants was sweating profusely, explaining to the boaters.

On the other side, a middle-aged woman with graying hair set up a stall renting out western-style clothes, while another sold packaged snacks to eat on the boat.

As he stared off into the distance at the sunlit sea, Hae-Joo’s eyes suddenly lit up and she tugged at the fabric of his arm.

“We’re going on the boat, too. The boat!”

They ran to the boats and got in line, and soon she and Yi Ho were on a small ferry.

Handing the oars to Yi Ho, Hae-Joo put a borrowed flowered yangshan on her head and sat upright on her knees, looking around excitedly like a child.

“Kid, why are you so excited?”

“I’ve never played like this before.”

Hae-Joo smiled at his question and rested her chin on her hands in her lap.

“Before my father died… the village was all I knew.”

“No way. The Hae-Joo I knew in Gyeongseong couldn’t stay in one place.”

“Of course, she would run off to the mountains, but that’s all… before… Sogok Village was enough for her.”

Yi Ho stared at her in confusion, then suddenly remembered how much Hae-Joo cared about her own well-being.

Suddenly, her words about Sogok Village being all there was and being enough made sense.

It was only after the death of her stepfather that she left the village.

There was nothing to hold her there anymore.

Besides, it was always one step and one step away from peace of mind in Korea.

She didn’t know when she would fall under the Japanese soldiers’ guns, when she would be dragged away for some mischief, or when she would be accused of independence at the slightest word.

It was out of desperation that she did what she had to do.

Hae-Joo wanted to live as comfortably as her health would allow.

She doesn’t want to be unhappy anymore like she was as a child.

She wants to fulfill the dreams of her adoptive parents, who never spoke to her and buried them all her life.

“Bulançer, Italy, Mirigog… It’s my dream to travel the world. How can I die in such a ridiculous way when I haven’t even fulfilled my dream yet? Please, let me live!”

Yi Ho recalled her dream, which she had cried out not long after meeting Hae-Joo.

“…Now, is it enough?”

Hae-Joo looked back at him, gazing out over the rippling pond.

She stared at him wordlessly for a moment, and then a warm smile crossed her face.

Yi Ho didn’t know when she had smiled so sweetly before.

He don’t know when she’s smelled so fragrant like a flower.

“…You’re enough for me.”

The gentle affection in her gaze made Yi Ho’s nose twitch unnecessarily.

“And later, if you allow it… I’d like to travel the world with you, if possible.”

“Bulancer, Italy, Mirigog….”

“Right.”

“You mean you want to continue living with me?”

Yi Ho asked again, leaving the oars across the boat.

Hae-Joo nodded firmly, her face full of conviction.

“Yes. We’re going to get married, and you’re going to live… a long time.”

“…Yeah.”

Yi Ho leaned forward, placing his hands on the bottom of the boat, and approached Hae-Joo.

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened.

Yi Ho tugged at the flesh of the yangshan she wore over her head, causing it to tilt.

As soon as the shawl covered them, he kissed Hae-Joo on the lips.

“Don’t you… like kissing… too much?”

“You say that like you don’t?”

He laughed, but it was a small laugh.

Yi Ho narrowed his eyes at her, smiled, and then carefully pressed his lips to hers once more.

He wished, too.

To live with Hae-Joo.

To never be alone again.

To be able to love and be loved.

No matter what happened.

***

By the time they returned to Gyeongseong after visiting Wolmido, the sun was slowly setting in the west.

Yi Ho and Hae-Joo had gone to Gwanghwamun to have dinner, when they heard a distant, urgent voice calling out to them.

“Hoo-woo, Hoo-woo!”

A child who looked to be about nine or ten years old was running around with a newspaper held high above his head.

“A mine in Gwangmyeong has collapsed and hundreds of people are trapped and dead, Hao, Hao, Hao!”

As he shouted at the top of his lungs, people walking down the street, including Yi Ho and Hae-Joo, stopped walking and looked at the boy.

“Here, give me a newspaper.”

A middle-aged man, who had gotten lucky first, asked for a newspaper here and there.

“Here! Give me one here, too.”

Hae-Joo grabbed a passing child and bought a newspaper.

Yi Ho stood by and looked down at the newspaper as Hae-Joo unfolded it and read.

[The mine in Gwangmyeong was a development started by the Japanese to steal resources and supply ammunitions, but two nights ago, a loud bang was heard in the mine, and a cave-in collapsed, trapping more than 300 miners who were working the night shift, and they were not sure if they were alive or dead.]

“How could this happen… If it’s three hundred people, that’s how many….”

The newspaper also briefly mentioned that the governor was currently patrolling the area, and Yi Ho’s attention was drawn to that one sentence.

“…Boss? Boss!”

Yi Ho’s dark, sunken eyes stared intently at the line, then turned back at the sound of Hae-Joo’s voice ringing in his ears.

“What’s wrong?”

Hae-Joo asked, surprised by his chill demeanor.

“I just… thought they were all dead.”

“Yeah, well, a dead person is a dead person, but what about all the family members left behind….”

In an age where people’s lives are as short as a grasshopper, no one deserves to die.

Someone’s brother, son, or father is precious to them.

Hae-Joo sighed heavily and lowered her eyes gloomily.

Yi Ho dismissed her and turned his cold gaze back to the newspaper.

Governor Saito had not only taken Mao Saito away, but also a man dressed as an optician.

‘Was this really an accident? Or was it a massacre disguised as an accident?’

His questions were answered a few days later.

After returning Hae-Joo to her home in Iksunjeong, he immediately summoned Hongo to follow Governor Saito’s movements as soon as he arrived in Song Yue.

A few days later.

News of two major “accidents” came in quick succession.

A fire broke out at a ceramics factory in Yangzhou due to mismanagement of hazardous materials, killing over a hundred people instantly.

The villages of Hwajeonmin, a group of villagers accused of banditry against innocent people, were discovered and battles broke out, resulting in mass casualties.

What do you think is dangerous in a rice mill?

Rice milling machines?

And the Hwajeonmin are bandits?

People need to have something to eat to have the energy to do vicious banditry.

This is most likely an “accident” staged to cover up something.

And that something is probably a massacre.

The people who were killed one day after the other were probably just fodder for Man Insa’s hungry stomach.

Inside the study, Yi Ho set down the newspaper on his desk, which contained a series of tragic accidents.

“The Governorate says they can’t confirm the number of casualties in Hwajeonmin Village, but that’s only part of the story. As far as the crows have been able to determine, there were several more villages besides the known ones, and they weren’t Hwajeonmin villagers. They were blindfolded.”

“The Hwajeonmin are mostly in the Hamkyungdo area, in the Gaksan and Odaesan mountains.”

“That’s right.”

Now, due to Japan’s land reform policy, many small farmers had lost their land, and most of them were flocking to the shanty towns of Gyeongseong in search of a way to live.

But there were those who were even more miserable: the Hwajeonmin people.

They had to eat arrowroot and bark to survive, and eventually starved to death in the mountains and fields because they couldn’t get enough to eat.

“Do you think it was the work of the people?”

“Given Governor Saito’s swift movements, is there any other explanation?”

Yi Ho lowered his eyes and spoke plainly, then paused for a moment.

“Keep an eye on him.”

“Okay.”

Hongo glanced at Yi Ho’s face, which had calmed down somewhat, then turned and left the study.

After walking a few steps, he scratched his head.

With the activity of the Man Insa, it might only be a matter of time before the Ten Thousand Blood Stones are completed.

He should keep an eye on Man Insa and steal it the moment it’s complete.

Then Yi Ho will be able to restore his body to its former glory.