As True as a Dream Chapter 123

-Why do you think it’s a curse?

 

-I don’t think so. An old man from the Ban family said so.

 

-What did he say?

 

The white-haired old man said.

 

More than 370 years ago, a grim reaper came to the Ban Clan’s village of Bangaho and took all of their immediate family members to the afterlife in one night.

 

All of the Ban clan members in the village didn’t know what happened.

 

As usual, darkness fell and the sun rose the next day.

 

The gates were wide open, and the view from the mansion where the immediate Ban family lived was different than usual.

 

It was a bloodbath.

 

Everyone was dead, scattered around the house like splintered firewood.

 

The only survivor was an illegitimate child that the Ban family was ashamed to show off.

 

The daughter of the leader of the Ban clan had given birth to a child out of wedlock and with an unknown father, a scandalous event in the Ban clan, and the town was abuzz for a while.

 

Moreover, the gossip said that the child was the result of a love affair between a fair maiden of the Ban clan and a fox demon.

 

When the rumor spread that a horse with no feet could travel a thousand miles, the head of the Ban family, who could not lift his face, had his daughter hanged from a beam and the newborn child thrown into the servants’ room and left unattended.

 

However, the child’s face was beautiful like a ghost and his temper was like that of an animal, and for some reason, he left the house one day.

 

And when the child returned, it was only after the immediate members of the Ban clan were angered and killed.

 

The wandering child became the only remaining direct line of the Ban Clan, and since then, he has been the only one to continue the lineage of the Ban Clan.

 

However, the child was not close to Fang Kai, and the Fang Kai clan had all left for Manchuria, so the relationship between the direct line and the indirect line was nothing more than a sham.

 

And when she heard all these stories from the old man, she was stunned.

 

370 years ago.

 

She doesn’t even know when it was.

 

It was vague and unclear, but she was vaguely certain of one thing.

 

The child who left and returned 370 years ago was probably Yi Ho.

 

Being a youkai, it was not strange that he had lived since then.

 

As she sat in stunned silence, recalling the stories she had heard in the village of Bangaho, a familiar sight passed by the window of Hae-Joo’s bus.

 

It was Song Yue.

 

Hae-Joo stuck her neck out and watched Song Yue walk away from the window.

 

‘What is he doing now?’

 

It had been four days since that day.

 

She suddenly realized that she didn’t know if he was really trying to give her time, or if he was just trying to use her for Guishan Dao, as he had spat out in anger.

 

Of course, she didn’t want to think that way, but a crooked thought crept in.

 

‘In a situation like this, if you really like yourself, shouldn’t you show your face at least one more time?’

 

Hae-Joo sighed, secretly resenting herself, but then realized that she had brought this situation on herself.

 

“This is ridiculous, Hae-Joo.”

 

Muttering to herself, she lowered her gaze.

 

She doesn’t know why she’s being so childish and acting in this weird way that doesn’t make sense.

 

She asked for time to think, and now that he’s given her time to think, she’s complaining that he’s not here to placate and convince her.

 

She’s not sure how she feels about him, or if a relationship with him is even possible.

 

While she was thinking, the day ended.

 

The sun was about to set, but the sky was already darkening.

 

As she got off the bus and walked down the familiar Iksunjeong alleyway, she raised an eyebrow as she approached her house.

 

A familiar figure stood at the door.

 

“Mister Hongo?”

 

She called out, and Hongo turned toward her with a snap.

 

Hongo, looking nervous, rushed over to her, skipping the greeting and asking.

 

“Why haven’t you stepped foot in Song Yue Pavilion once in the past few days?”

 

She blinked, unable to understand the accusatory tone in his voice.

 

But Hongo’s next words made her heart sink.

 

“My master collapsed a few days ago, after parting with my lady, and has been unconscious ever since. Maybe… Maybe he can’t get up… He’s never been like this before, but what if he will never get up this time…?”

 

Hongo’s eyes widened as he spoke, and his voice trembled with anguish.

 

Following his trembling voice, Hae-Joo’s heart also trembled like a four-legged tremor.

 

‘Wasn’t he lying when he said he was sick…?’

 

‘Wasn’t the sickness just an excuse to find the Guishan Dao?’

 

‘You said you are a gumiho.’

 

‘You’re so… strong that you could make the Japanese soldiers do that, right?’

 

‘But how does it hurt? Why does it hurt?’

 

Hae-Joo thought she heard tinnitus in her ears.

 

Her head was ringing.

 

All the thoughts that had been troubling her up until now were gone, and all she could think about was what Hongo had said, what if Yi Ho couldn’t get up this time?

 

“Right now, the boss is….”

 

Her voice didn’t sound like her own.

 

It was as small as a feather, trembling slightly, and tinged with tears.

 

“Where is the boss…”

 

“He’s at home.”

 

She turned as he did.

 

But her eyes fluttered and her feet buckled under her, and Hongo quickly caught her.

 

She hadn’t eaten in days and hadn’t had a proper meal.

 

“The car is waiting for you. Let’s get in.”

 

Hae-Joo gathered all her strength and nodded to Hongo, who stood upright.

 

“Yes.”

 

* * *

 

In the car driving back to Song Yue, Hongo and Hae-Joo sat side by side in the back seat.

 

“…Did the doctor… I mean, how is the boss now, he hasn’t woken up once since he… collapsed that day?”

 

Hae-Joo swallowed her words and changed her question, wondering if it was difficult for Yi Ho to receive normal medical care because he was a gumiho.

 

“Yes, he hasn’t woken up once, and he has a high fever…!”

 

Boom!

 

Suddenly, the car jerked to a halt, sending both Hongo and Hae-Joo tumbling forward.

 

Hae-Joo, who bumped her shoulder against the passenger seat, quickly grabbed the passenger seat with her hand and looked at Hongo next to her.

 

Hongo covered his mouth as if he had chewed his tongue, and his beady eyes stared straight ahead.

 

“I’m sorry, sir. A person suddenly jumped out and…”

 

While the employee in the driver’s seat was apologizing with a disheartened attitude, Hae-Joo got out of the back seat when she heard that it was a person.

 

As the car’s lights shone up ahead, Hae-Joo saw a woman sitting there, frozen in surprise.

 

Her face was obscured by her disheveled hair, and she was gasping for breath in dirty, rumpled clothes.

 

As Hae-Joo approached, she looked up, startled, as if she’d heard footsteps, and their eyes met.

 

Hae-Joo raised an eyebrow.

 

This woman’s face was vaguely familiar.

 

‘Is it…?’

 

Hae-Joo thought back to the day Mrs. Na was found dead.

 

On the day Eun-ho disappeared, Eun-sil had seen a child she had played with near the shanty town, and beside the child was the woman in front of her.

 

She recognized this woman from that day.

 

About two months ago, on her way back up from Gongju to find the Guishan Dao, she had seen a woman on the train carrying a child about three or four years old.

 

The woman’s eyes widened as if she recognized her.

 

“Miss, what are you doing?”

 

Hongo, who had gotten out of the car behind her, asked Hae-Joo as she stared at the woman crouching in front of the car.

 

She was just about to answer.

 

Hongo’s complexion suddenly changed, and he looked toward the alley the woman had just run out of.

 

Despite the summer night, a chilly wind was blowing through the air.

 

“Dao, run away…”

 

Hae-Joo looked around bewilderedly, then turned her attention to the warm grip on her wrist.

 

The pale face of the woman who had been staring at her in astonishment a moment ago turned white and yanked her hand away.

 

“Come on, run, we have to get away, fast!”

 

Hae-Joo didn’t have time to reply.

 

The woman yanked her hand away and started running.

 

She tried to stand up to ask what was going on, but the woman’s grip on her wrist was too strong.

 

When she looked back, she saw a pale-faced Hongo looking back and forth between her and the other side of the alley, seemingly at a loss for words.

 

He soon disappeared around a bend in the road.

 

She wondered how long she’s been running.

 

The sound of tiny footsteps had been following them for some time.

 

The sound grew farther away, then closer.

 

At the end of the path, they could see a child with an eye patch over his right eye, running excitedly toward them in the form of a shredder.

 

Hae-Joo recognized him, too.

 

It was the child who had been with this woman, tugging at her hand, the day the body was found.