As True as a Dream Chapter 107

Yi Ho looked at her wordlessly.

 

“I don’t know how it could be, but that picture going around killing people… I can’t for the life of me figure out how such an ominous picture could make you better, and….”

 

Chewing on her lower lip, Hae-Joo added, her anxiety showing on her face.

 

“If Mrs. Na is dead… if that painting did something… I’m worried and anxious that we who are chasing it are also in danger.”

 

Hae-Joo looked at Yi Ho nervously.

 

He stared at her far away, still unreadable, then lowered his eyelids.

 

“I don’t think that using that ominous painting to do it is necessarily a good thing either…”

 

“Hae-Joo.”

 

Yi Ho called her name quietly.

 

He looked off somewhere on the floor, as if thinking about something, then lifted his eyes and one corner of his mouth curled upward in a lazy smile.

 

“I can tell you this for sure, you won’t be in any danger, and…”

 

For some reason, Yi Ho looked at her hesitantly, and then continued in a low, soft tone.

 

“…According to the stories told… there is a man-eating snake called Man Insa in a painting called the Guishan Dao, and it has a black stone, which is said to be a cure-all.”

 

“…?”

 

Hae-Joo arched an eyebrow.

 

She was stunned, not expecting the words to be the kind of empty ramblings she’d heard from his mouth.

 

“What I need is the stone.”

 

When she opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t get the words out, Yi Ho laughed bitterly.

 

“I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d look at me like I was crazy, and you wouldn’t believe me.”

 

“No, I’m not….”

 

Considering the horrors around Sogok Village, what’s not to believe?

 

Hae-joo tried to digest Yi Ho’s words, which sounded like he was catching a floating cloud.

 

He stared at her in disbelief, and then added self-helpfully.

 

“It’s funny, isn’t it, that the only straw I can hold on to is the Guishan Dao.”

 

He reminded Hae-Joo that his “rare disease” that no doctor could cure had nothing to lean on but vain yarns like “Guishan Dao”.

 

To divert her attention to his “illness” and prevent her from thinking about the matter any further.

 

And he swallowed a bitter laugh once more.

 

For the first time, he felt frustrated that he couldn’t really say anything about himself.

 

“I don’t think you’re crazy.”

 

That’s when Hae-Joo stepped up to him and covered his cold hand with hers.

 

“It’s just… I keep thinking something bad is going to happen because I don’t know anything.”

 

“I assure you, nothing will. I’ll be careful, nothing will happen.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Hae-Joo touched Yi Ho’s cold fingers absentmindedly and was glad.

 

He had answered her question with the same vague answer as before.

 

The snake on the Guishan Dao is called Man Insa.

 

It didn’t make sense, given the bizarre murders in Gongju and now in Gyeongseong.

 

If that’s what Yi Ho’s last straw is, she has no choice but to seize it, no matter how flimsy it is.

 

He was someone she could share her heart with and hopefully live many days with.

 

Besides, the Guishan Dao’s whereabouts were not far away.

 

She took a deep breath and looked away.

 

At the entrance to the lawn, she saw a man in a staff uniform busily carrying a bundle of papers.

 

“Ah, it must be from Mister Hongo, I’ll go downstairs and get it.”

 

Hae-Joo went downstairs, got the stack of papers from the staff member, and came back up to the study.

 

There were fourteen sheets in all, and on them were the information of dozens of people who had resigned.

 

It was clear that he had taken great care to write down not only their names and ages, but also their relationship to Mrs. Na, their occupations, and any recent actions that she could find.

 

Hae-Joo set the stack of papers on the balcony table and picked one up.

 

“That’s the research?”

 

“Yes. You should see it.”

 

Hae-Joo picked up a piece of paper and handed it to Yi Ho, who was leaning against the railing.

 

He took the paper and skimmed the contents.

 

Hae-Joo sat down next to Yi Ho and also looked at the paper.

 

There were people from the nearby shops who had been close to Mrs. Na, friends who had come and gone, and even some people she had made connections with through her intelligence work.

 

The closest ones were in Gyeongseong and the farthest ones were in Busan.

 

Hae-Joo rubbed her forehead, unsure of where to start and how to touch this.

 

When she realized that it was strangely quiet next to her, she turned around and saw Yi Ho sitting on a rattan chair next to the balcony pillar, his head leaning against the pillar and his eyes closed.

 

“No, I told him to look at this…”

 

He sighed, his mouth twitching as he held the paper she’d handed him earlier still in his hand.

 

Guishan Dao is a matter of life and death.

 

Hae-Joo furrowed her brow and glared at Yi Ho, then walked over to him.

 

Yi Ho frowned as the sunlight fell on his face.

 

Hae-Joo shaded his face with her hand.

 

Then his furrowed brow relaxed again.

 

The sunlight made his skin look unusually pale.

 

“You’re not sick, are you…? Ouch!”

 

Hae-Joo muttered, then let out a small cry of surprise at the force that grabbed her around the waist and grabbed Yi Ho’s shoulders with both hands.

 

Yi Ho’s frosty eyes curved mischievously toward her, as if he’d been pretending to sleep the entire time.

 

Hae-Joo, who had been sitting on his leg, tried to get up, but Yi Ho tugged at her waist.

 

“It doesn’t hurt. In fact, I’m alright, and I can prove it.”

 

“Prove it? How can you prove your…!”

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened.

 

He put one hand on the small of her back, the other on the back of her neck, and gently pulled her toward him.

 

Their lips touched and then parted.

 

The corners of his lips tilted upward in a seductive way as he watched her face closely.

 

“Like this.”

 

His center was hard against her thigh as he sat next to her.

 

“This…why is this like this….”

 

When Hae-Joo looked down at him, stammering at the embarrassment that washed over her face, Yi Ho laughed low and pulled her into a hug.

 

“Because of you.”

 

Burying his head in her shoulder, Yi Ho laughed, his body shaking.

 

Hae-Joo bit her lower lip lightly.

 

They stayed together, but she always went home before dusk.

 

They hadn’t gotten close since that birthday, that dawn.

 

In the meantime,Yi Ho’s lips were lightly pressed against the nape of her neck, rubbing her face like a cat.

 

Hae-Joo straightened her back and sighed involuntarily.

 

Playfully running his tongue along the nape of her neck, Yi Ho tilted his head to lock eyes with her.

 

“What, let’s do something, please. I’ve told you before, it hurts to leave me standing like this.”

 

Yi Ho grimaced and let out a groan that sounded like a grunt.

 

“It’s broad daylight!”

 

She tried to arch her hips back, afraid she’d hurt him by pressing against him, but Yi Ho’s hands pulled her back into his wide arms.

 

“It’s dark when the curtains are drawn.”

 

“Huh?”

 

When Hae-Joo turned away, Yi Ho grinned impishly and kissed her on the lips.

 

Then, with her back and legs propped up, he rose from his seat and walked into the study.

 

Setting her down on the empty desk, Yi Ho reached back and closed the thick curtains.

 

The study, once bright with sunlight, was instantly dark.

 

But not so dark that she couldn’t see.

 

Hae-Joo, who was wearing a knee-length ivory dress, was dazed and tried to get off the desk.

 

But Yi Ho stood in front of her and stopped her.

 

Hae-Joo swallowed hard in her throat.

 

Her first night with him, it was so dark and she was lying on her back that she didn’t know what was what.

 

When she thought back, the first thing that came to her mind was the heat of his body against hers, the exhilaration of their skin rubbing together, his ragged breathing that rang in her ears, and the short, sharp pain that shot between her legs.

 

But now that he was standing right in front of her, her heart pounded with a different kind of intimidation and unexplained anticipation.

 

“Boss, this is the study, and now I’m the lady… Oops!”

 

Yi Ho’s eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth lifted as he leaned in to kiss her.

 

Hae-Joo blinked as her face was lifted by his hand on the back of her neck.

 

The softness of his lips on hers and his breath on hers made her feel as if all the thoughts in her head were being swept away to a distant place.

 

His tongue parted her lips, parting them for him.

 

Soon his tongue was inside her mouth.