As True as a Dream Chapter 130

Through the open curtains, a large, round full moon shines through the balcony window.

All that is here is his broken, dying body and the deep, heavy silence.

 

Leaning back against the pillows, fighting the pain that felt like someone was stabbing him with a knife everywhere, Yi Ho once again slowly scanned every inch of the room.
Nothing but darkness.

 

When he lowered his gaze, he winced self-consciously.

‘Why had I thought Hae-Joo would be in this room?’

 

He remembered the look of shock, disappointment, confusion, betrayal, and all sorts of other negative emotions that had crossed Hae-Joo’s face when he had confessed that he was a Gumihō.
In addition, Hae-Joo had witnessed him kill many Japanese soldiers and even attempt to kill Mao Saito.

 

‘I’m lucky she didn’t get scared of him or run away at once.’

 

Still, he’d had some expectations when he’d woken up earlier.

Since she had rushed so urgently to find him, and looked at him with such concern, he had thought that maybe she would be there when he woke up.

 

‘I guess I can’t be forgiven after all.’

 

He didn’t know what to do next, what he could do to change her mind.

 

Then it happened.

 

The door suddenly creaked open, and a shadowy figure stepped inside without a sound.

Yi Ho’s eyelashes fluttered as he turned to see if it was Hongo.

 

It was Hae-Joo.

 

There was a moment of silence.

 

Hae-Joo was surprised to see the unconscious Yi Ho already awake, and Yi Ho wondered if he hadn’t actually woken up and was still dreaming.

 

Hae-Joo was the first to move.

 

Hae-Joo walked over to Yi Ho’s bedside, reached out and cupped his cheek intimately, and spoke in a low whisper.

 

“You’re still feverish.”

 

Yi Ho, who had been looking at Hae-Joo’s face from afar, was jolted back to reality by the actual touch of her cheek against his.

 

“…Hae-Joo?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yi Ho pursed his lips and asked in a hushed voice, and Hae-Joo nodded.

 

“Is that you? Are you sure this isn’t a dream?”

 

Yi Ho didn’t know if this was a dream or real life, so he slowly reached out and brought his hand to Hae-Joo’s face.

But he hesitated, unable to touch it.

 

It was as if he was afraid that if he touched her, she would turn into a mirage and shatter into pieces.

 

Seeing his hesitant demeanor, Hae-Joo’s eyes turned bright red.

She suddenly hugged Yi Ho’s neck.

 

“…I missed you.”

 

Hae-Joo’s voice, damp with moisture, rang in his ears.

 

“I’m not leaving you, boss.”

 

Yi Ho’s eyelashes fluttered thinly.

 

“I was scared of what would happen to you, that you would never wake up. Then I realized that everything else didn’t matter… thank you for saving my life.”

 

He could feel Hae-Joo’s slender hand gently stroking the back of his head.

 

“And I don’t hate you, I couldn’t even if I tried.”

 

Yi Ho opened his mouth slightly.

 

In a blur of memories, he could see himself telling Hae-Joo, in a feverish rush, that he missed her, that he didn’t want her to leave, that he was sorry, that he wasn’t human.

 

Hae-Joo seemed to be answering him.

 

“…I love you.”

 

The words suddenly rang in his ears, and Yi Ho couldn’t help but choke up.

 

“I love you, boss. I love you so much. I don’t care if you’re a gumiho or a human… I just love you.”

 

Hae-Joo’s soft, warm voice caressed his ear.

 

“I’ll never leave you, I’ll always love you.”

 

Her simple, heartfelt words dug into his heart.

 

The anxiety that had been teetering on the edge of a cliff all this time finally came crashing down to earth.

It was as if a warm ember had been rekindled in a heart that had been burnt to ashes.

 

Feeling Hae-Joo’s presence in his arms, Yi Ho kept thinking to himself.

 

‘Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God….’

 

That was all he could think of.

 

Still thinking that this might be a dream, he lifted his heavy hands and hugged her back.

Then his strength pulled her down onto the bed.

 

Yi Ho hugged her tightly, as if he wanted to bury her inside of him.

 

“…What you just said… Did you mean it?” Yi Ho asked, his voice hoarse with concentration.

 

Then Hae-Joo lifted her face from his shoulder and met his eyes.

She nodded, firmly and emphatically.

 

“I love you, and it’s not because you’re a Gumiho, and it’s not because you’re the boss of Song Yue, it’s just… I love you because you’re Ban Yi Ho.”

 

Yi Ho stared at Hae Joo with red, bloodshot eyes, not knowing what to say for a moment.

 

-Get off! My mom says you’re not human! That’s why even half the adults in the family won’t admit that there’s a child like you in the family, and no one mourns when you die!
-Even the girl who gave birth to you hanged herself! They all died because they hated you!

-My God, is that it? You’re so shameless. How can you live with your face on? You don’t even realize how filthy you are!

 

The contemptuous words he heard since he was a little boy pierced his ears, and at the same time, his heart clenched.

 

They were all wrong in the past.

 

It had been a long time coming, a long wait, but she was there.

Someone who gave such straightforward, pure affection, no matter what he was or who he was.

 

“…You’re indispensable now, Hae-Joo.”

 

“I don’t want to take it off.”

 

At his words, the corners of her mouth tilted up, and she replied with a hint of playfulness.

Then she kissed him lightly on the lips.

 

“I love you, I love you so much.”

 

Yi Ho smirked at her behavior and ran his thumb down her smooth cheek, feeling like he wanted to cry.

 

His eyes felt hot.

He could feel the moisture in the corners of his eyes.

 

The tingling sensation in his chest made his eyes water.

 

He wrapped his arms around the back of her neck and pulled her close, their foreheads touching.

 

“I’ll make you happy, Hae-Joo.”

 

Hae-Joo grabbed his wrist around the back of her neck and squeezed it lightly in response.

 

“At least I’ll make sure you don’t get sick because of me.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I won’t let you down again.”

 

“I will.”

 

“I’ll give you all the love I have. I love you.”

 

As he spoke his heartfelt confession, Hae-Joo smiled at him with reddened eyes.

Her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

 

He grabbed her cheek and pressed his lips against her full lips.

 

It was precious, this moment of complete acceptance by the one he loved, and it made him feel more glorious than ever, and it made him frighteningly happy.

 

‘To have just you in this bleak, unfair world.’

 

This is what happiness is, he realized after living for four hundred years.

 

 

* * *

 

The next day, the first thing Hae-Joo saw when he woke up was Yi Ho’s beautiful face smiling at her.

 

Embarrassed by the naked affection in those eyes, she pulled up the covers.

 

Then Yi Ho put his arm around her to support her upper body and leaned into her.

He tugged on her blanket, and when he tried to kiss her, she shook her head and covered her mouth.

 

“I haven’t even washed my face yet….”

 

Yi Ho’s eyes narrowed, but then the corners of his mouth tilted up languidly, and he leaned in again.

 

Hae-Joo covered her mouth at the smell of his breath, but her lips weren’t his target.

 

Burying his face in the nape of her neck, Yi Ho lightly brushed his lips against the slender neck.

 

When Hae-Joo looked down in surprise, Yi Ho’s hands had already slipped under her top and were caressing her waist.

 

His lips didn’t stay still.

He cupped her slender neck, tilted her chin up, and kissed her firmly at her neckline.

 

“Boss…!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Hae-Joo called out, grabbing his shoulder, and Yi Ho looked at her with a sickly look on his face, asking what was wrong.

 

The hand that had been stroking her waist came up a little higher and traced her ribs, one by one.

 

She curled up on her toes, enjoying the tickling sensation of that intimate touch.

Then his smile widened a little more as his delicate hands dug beneath her bra.

 

“Ah, no…! Not yet, boss, your body….”

 

Hae-Joo’s face fell as his fingers slid under her swollen breasts.

 

His hands were burning with a high fever.

‘And he still felt like doing this?’