As True as a Dream – Chapter 145

Author: Dakku-san

“[Hurry. Mao’s condition is worsening. How many more do you need to complete the Bloodstone?]” Saito asked as Man Insa hopped down from the windowsill, humming.

Man Insa tilted his head, counting on his fingers, then clapped his hands cheerfully.

“Hmm, 693 more!”

Satisfied with the progress, Saito nodded.

“[Good. Hunt in the slums next.]”

“Again?” Man Insa scowled at the restriction.

“[We just ‘eradicated’ the plague’s source yesterday. Another incident would undermine the Empire’s authority.]”

“Pfft. And killing slum-dwellers won’t?”

“[No one cares about trash that comes and goes unnoticed. Just wipe the area clean in one night.]”

“One night? Really?!” Man Insa bounced excitedly.

“[Burn everything. Plagues can be ‘contained,’ but fires? Acts of nature are beyond my control.]” Saito’s voice slithered through the dark study.

* * *

The door creaked open. Hae-Joo, fidgeting with her bracelet, sprang up.

“Did you find Manager Hongo?”

Yi-Ho’s silence made her stomach drop.

“…Boss?”

A foreboding dread clenched her chest—and then his words confirmed it.

“…He’s dead.”

Her ears rang. She stared, willing him to take it back, but his hollow gaze left no room for denial.

“How…?” Her voice trembled. “Was it the bombing…?”

“Miss Hae-Joo.” Hongo’s grinning face flashed in her mind.

Yi-Ho’s jaw unclenched.

“Man Insa ambushed him during the attack.”

‘Man Insa.’ The name curdled her blood.

Again. Another warm presence ripped from her life—brutally, without warning.

No, not a person. A yokai.

She studied Yi-Ho’s blank expression. Hongo had been his only constant—no family, no friends. Just Hongo.

‘What does he feel now?’

Hesitating, she slowly wrapped her arms around his stiff frame.

“…What are you doing?”

“I wanted to hug you. Boss… how are you? I’m… sad.”

It hadn’t been long since Eun-Sil’s death. She held him tighter.

Her chest ached. Though they hadn’t been close, Hongo had helped her unconditionally, rooting for her and Yi-Ho. She admired his efficiency, his loyalty.

“Sad?” Yi-Ho finally spoke.

“Manager Hongo was… one of the few who treated me kindly. Someone I respected. Liked.”

“He wasn’t human.” His voice was flat.

“That doesn’t matter.” Her throat tightened.

Yi-Ho’s limp hands slowly rose to grip her back.

“Yeah. It doesn’t.”

“…Did he suffer?”

“Probably.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. She’d seen how Man Insa killed Mi-Yeon. Hongo’s pain couldn’t have been less.

“Boss, where is he…?”

“Yokai disappear when they die. So he’s… gone.”

“Gone? What do you—?”

A shadow flickered outside. She opened the window—and froze.

Crows. Hundreds of them, perched on roofs, walls, branches, watching in eerie silence.

Their grief was palpable. These were Hongo’s crows. Their leader was dead.

Yi-Ho stepped behind her, staring at the flock.

“…I think I’m angry, Yeon Hae-Joo.”

The admission startled her.

“I thought Hongo would outlive me. He avoided danger like plague. But now…” He trailed off, scowling.

She pulled his head to her shoulder.

“I know. It’s unreal. I wish this were a nightmare too.”

He buried his face in her neck, arms vise-like around her waist. No tears, but she felt it—the shock, the rage, the loss. He just didn’t know how to voice it.

Her own tears fell silently.

* * *

The next day, wanted posters plastered Gyeongseong: “Ban Yi-Ho, Song Yue Pavilion’s owner, spread the plague.”

Hae-Joo recoiled at the grotesque caricatures—one masked, one unmasked—before rushing home.

“This is absurd! Saito’s hunting you like—!”

Yi-Ho’s lip curled. He could storm Saito’s office tonight and snap his neck. But—

Modern weapons had changed the game. That bomb months ago nearly killed him. And now, he wasn’t alone.

“Boss?”

He refocused.

“We’ll lay low until the independence group contacts us,” she said firmly.

He recalled the old man’s promise to report to his superiors.

“Will it work?”