As True as a Dream Chapter 143

“That excuse was just a pretext. They were after us, weren’t they?”

“Likely. Saito must’ve heard something from Man Insa. If I hadn’t been weakened that night, I wouldn’t have let that snake spirit walk away alive.”

Yi-Ho muttered, furrowing his brow.

 

“…So, we’re in serious trouble?”

“We can’t move openly for a while.” Yi-Ho’s gaze swept over Hae-Joo’s male disguise.

 

She followed his eyes, shrugged, and smiled wryly.

“Even if not now… once we succeed in assassinating Saito… every Japanese soldier in Korea will hunt me. You’ve been dragged into this mess too.”

“I expected that. But I don’t plan to run forever.”

“Huh?”

 

Yi-Ho smirked.

“Once I recover fully… only Saito and Man Insa know my face. Eliminate them, and the chaos ends. Then I’ll rebuild another Song Yue Pavilion elsewhere.”

 

Hae-Joo stared, then burst into laughter.

“Didn’t you lose everything yesterday? We don’t have a single coin to our names!”

“Do you dislike penniless men?” His teasing tone drew a fleeting smile from her.

“…It is unappealing. But you’re exempt. You’re the handsomest man alive.”

“Tch.” He scoffed, and she grinned back.

 

Her expression sobered as she glanced outside.

“What happened to Manager Hongo?”

“He’s fine. Probably hiding somewhere.”

 

At his casual reply, Hae-Joo sighed in relief.

“Good. He always shows up eventually… But what now? Given Saito’s actions—”

“We stick to the plan. We will meet that old man in four days, right?”

“Ah—yes.” She blinked at his calmness. ‘How can he be so composed after losing everything?’

 

Yet his steadiness anchored her. ‘With him here, even if the sky falls, we’ll survive.’

 

Exhausted from the night’s chaos, Hae-Joo dozed off by the doorway. Yi-Ho carried her to a futon, then gazed out the high window.

 

‘Hongo should’ve escaped…’ But doubt gnawed at him. No crows had come—a bad omen.

 

 

* * *

 

That night, under a moonless sky, Yi-Ho slipped into Song Yue Pavilion’s ruins. Soldiers patrolled, yet none detected him.

 

He reached Hongo’s office—now rubble and ash. A flutter of wings made him look up. Two crows perched on a charred tree, cawing softly before taking flight.

 

Yi-Ho followed silently.

 

They led him to a small house nearby. A crow-turned-teenager opened the door. Inside, lantern light revealed Hongo lying on blood-soaked sheets, his arm shredded, face deathly pale.

 

“…What happened?” Yi-Ho’s voice grated.

 

The crow-boy trembled.

“Man Insa attacked. He… couldn’t escape. Took the brunt to protect us.”

 

 

* * *

 

Flashback:

 

 

Hongo’s office door shattered. Man Insa lunged in, grinning. Hongo transformed into a crow, but a thrown dagger clipped his wing, sending him crashing down.

 

Explosions rocked the pavilion.

 

“Scatter! Hide until I signal!” Hongo shouted, but Man Insa snatched two crows, snapping their necks.

“Run, and I’ll exterminate every crow in Gyeongseong!”

 

He scaled walls, slaughtering crows’ mid-air, laughing as wings tore.

 

“Stop! PLEASE!”

 

A bomb struck the office. Flames engulfed Hongo’s life’s work—twenty years, gone in an instant.

 

As he stared, numb, the crow-boy yanked his arm—just as Man Insa’s blade aimed for the boy’s back. Hongo shoved the child aside, taking the slash across his gut.

 

“Sacrificing yourself? How noble~” Man Insa sneered.

 

Crows swarmed Man Insa, heedless of death. Hongo’s chest ached—Why? These were just tools, raised for convenience. Yet they fought for him.

 

‘Birds really are brainless,’ he thought, recalling Yi-Ho’s old jabs.

 

 

* * *

 

Now, Yi-Ho clenched his fists. The crow-boy whispered,

“He said… ‘Living matters.’“