As True as a Dream Chapter 60

“I will hold the ground so it will not move.”

 

Hae-Joo pursed her lips and pressed the ground once more.

 

But it was no use.

 

“Boss, do you want to go home quickly?”

 

“Yes. We can’t stay here on the street forever, can we?”

 

“But I can’t walk, I can’t run.”

 

A deep but audible laugh, almost too deep for her to speak, sounded nearby.

 

Hae-Joo turned her head and rested her cheeks on her knees, staring at Yi Ho.

 

Everything she felt right now was so extreme, she thought.

 

The ground was challenging her to a fight, the sky was too high to reach, and the man who followed her every step and answered her annoying questions with such nonchalance was sweet.

 

Through the increasingly fuzzy tangles of alcohol in her head, she could only clearly feel the presence of Yi Ho crouching beside her.

 

“I told you to drink until your nose was crooked, but I didn’t expect it to be this crooked. I thought you were a hard drinker.”

 

“I guess you’re a better drinker than I am. I lost. Admit it! You’ll lose too. No, no, no. The boss is not feeling well, so no alcohol! I’ll drink it all for you. Bring it over.”

 

Hae-Joo raised her index finger and waved it back and forth while puckered her lips.

 

Yi Ho stared at her blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing, his forehead furrowed.

 

Hae-Joo stared at him in confusion.

 

The tiny hearts in her chest rolled and tangled around each other in a frenzy.

 

Pounding.

 

*Thump, thump, thump.*

 

She had never seen Yi Ho laugh like that before.

 

As if she couldn’t help herself, as if she didn’t know what else to do with him….

 

It was affection, indulgence, and acceptance all rolled into one.

 

It was the kind of look you want to take a picture of, the kind of smile you want to keep.

 

She even felt like she was getting drunk on this man.

 

Does it matter if I’m drunk by alcohol or drunk by Ban Yi Ho?

 

Hae-Joo reached out, hypnotized, and lightly shook the hem of Yi Ho’s shirt.

 

“Pick me up.”

 

“What?”

 

“Yes. I will fall if I walk now. You told me not to hurt myself.” Hae-Joo spoke slowly and evenly.

 

Now that she said it, it sounded like he had to carry her.

 

She opened her arms wide.

 

But the gesture was too much for her and she leaned back.

 

But before she could move her hips, Yi Ho’s hand was firmly on her back.

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened.

 

The hands that had fought to stay alive in her drunken stupor were wrapped around Yi Ho’s neck.

 

Hae-Joo was stunned again.

 

Yi Ho was surely crouching to her left, just like her, and she had no idea when he had come in front of her and caught her.

 

It was like a mirage.

 

“You seemed fine a moment ago, but how come you’re so drunk as soon as we left the house?”

 

“That’s just the way I am. I get drunk when I’m alone.” Hae-Joo mumbled an answer.

 

“You’re not alone right now.”

 

“Yes, I know.”

 

Hae-Joo leaned her hand on her back and stared intently at Yi Ho’s face as he looked down at her.

 

As if he could blink once and disappear.

 

“My father told me a long time ago not to get drunk in front of others. There are too many wolves around.” Hae-Joo smiled and whispered as if sharing a secret.

 

Yi Ho raised his eyebrows, then narrowed his eyes and spoke mischievously, with a dangerous air about him.

 

“Oh, If your father told you that all men are wolves, why am I okay?”

 

Hae-Joo stared at him for a moment, assessing the man who was far too noble, cunning, and beautiful to be a wolf, then suddenly smiled.

 

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

 

“You’re my wolf boy.”

 

And with that, she pecked Yi Ho’s red lips with her own, the lips she’d longed to kiss again.

 

***

 

Hae-Joo purred, her eyes narrowing like a cat’s in the satisfaction of the soft touch that pressed and fell.

 

And then it happened.

 

Yi Ho’s hand on her back pulled her harder into his arms.

 

Then her face was pressed inches away against his.

 

She felt his breath on her lips.

 

The clean, fresh scent of his body filled her entire body.

 

Then she felt her entire body relax.

 

“Hae-Joo. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I like you.”

 

His eyes dropped low and she smiled wryly at his words.

 

His forehead twisted slightly.

 

Hae-Joo released one of her hands from around his neck and pressed gently on his forehead to widen it, then hugged him tightly again.

 

“Don’t get me wrong but I don’t blame you.”

 

Hae-Joo shook her head as if to reassure him of her words.

 

She smiled against his red lips and then pressed her lips to his again.

 

Only instinct remained in her alcohol-fogged mind.

 

But this time she couldn’t eat like a thief and get away with it.

 

A big hand wrapped itself around the back of her head.

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened.

 

Yi Ho’s deep-set eyes flashed a dangerous smile.

 

“Oooh…!”

 

Hae-Joo grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull him away for a moment, but it was no use.

 

Some force pulled her up and before she knew it, her whole body was buried in Yi Ho’s arms.

 

One of his hands was on the back of her neck and head, the other wrapped tightly around her waist.

 

And then, contrary to her expectation of a simple kiss, he took her upper lip between his lips and began to suck on it.

 

Her legs almost gave way to his tongue as he playfully licked the center of her lips.

 

Then Yi Ho licked the same spot with her lower lip.

 

Hae-Joo’s chest heaved wildly.

 

When she parted her lips, feeling that she wasn’t breathing enough, Yi Ho pulled away for a moment and said.

 

“You breathe through your nose, I’ve already told you that.”

 

Before his words could sink into her dulled brain, their lips met again.

 

Hae-Joo consciously thought to breathe through her nose as he had told her.

 

But her mouth remained open.

 

Then her tongue intertwined with his between their parted lips.

 

She closed her mouth quickly, surprised by the soft, sweet sensation that no words could describe.

 

But the man, who felt even sweeter than she did, tilted her neck, sucked in her lips, bit them lightly with his teeth, and said.

 

“You can breathe through my mouth.”

 

How cunning!

 

Her lips parted and his tongue slid into her mouth.

 

He tickled her nervous tongue with the tip of his own, and soon he was rubbing it deeply.

 

Hae-Joo felt that she would soon be unable to breathe under the increasing pressure of his kisses.

 

He laughed softly as she struggled to push back his tongue as it swirled wildly in her mouth.

 

She pushed and pushed, finally pushing him away.

 

But her tongue couldn’t get back into place.

 

For he was sucking her tongue.

 

The tingling sensation on the tip of her tongue made her grip his shoulders tightly under her hands.

 

After a slow suck on the tip of her tongue, he released it and kissed the edge of her lips.

 

Gasping for breath, she pressed her forehead against his neck and hugged him tightly, afraid he would press his lips against hers again.

 

Her heart leapt into her throat, pounding so hard she was afraid it would explode or stop.

 

She felt a large hand slowly run down her back.

 

The hand that had been supporting her neck and the base of her head had been rubbing her earlobe for some time.

 

“Ha…!”

 

Hae-Joo was dazed as she remembered the dizzying realization that she had almost died while resting her head on his shoulder and kissing him.

 

After this intense moment, there was a moment of silence.

 

Hae-Joo’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

 

Not far away, the strong heartbeat of a man, not hers, sounded like a lullaby.

 

His head, heavy as if fed with grass, had already stopped thinking clearly.

 

In her fading consciousness, she could only think that this dream was good.

 

How could she have a dream like this, where everything she wanted came true?

 

If every day was like this, she would never want to leave this dream.

***

 

Yi Ho opened the door to the back room that Hae-Joo had told him was off the great hall.

 

The back room was slightly smaller than the east room he’d been given, consisting of a fluffy futon, a small table with a mirror, and a three-drawer dresser.

 

Yi Ho sat on one knee on the floor of the room, pulled up the futon, and pushed Hae-Joo onto his back.

 

Apparently, the futon was more comfortable than his back.

 

Hae-Joo let out a contented moan, the corners of her mouth pulling up as she rubbed her face into the pillow.

 

Yi Ho didn’t sit up immediately, but he looked down at her face for a moment.