As True as a Dream Chapter 87

He buried his head in Hae-Joo’s shoulder, his words too muffled to be heard clearly.

 

But the words Yi Ho spat out, “If I’m alive,” pierced Hae-Joo’s head with pain.

 

Her heart, which had been pounding in her chest, slowed sharply.

 

“That’s a cheesy thing to say.”

 

“What’s wrong with being corny?”

 

Yi Ho asked back with a laugh, her eyebrows dropping in displeasure.

 

“Don’t you dare say that, even if you’re joking.”

 

The solemnity in her tone and the seriousness in her eyes made Yi Hohesitate for a moment before he nodded.

 

“I won’t say what I just said again. I said the wrong thing.”

 

“That’s all I need to know.”

 

Hae-Joo sighed and wrapped her hands around his back, resting her chin on his broad shoulder.

 

Yi Ho pulled her around his waist and pulled her into his arms as well.

 

Sunlight streamed in through the large glass doors behind them and the air was soft and moving in the thick silence.

 

Hae-Joo was lulled into a vague sense of bliss by the deep peace.

 

Yi Ho suddenly pulled her around the waist and forced her to sit under the desk.

 

When she looked up, wide-eyed, Yi Ho whispered seductively in her ear.

 

“Hold on, I don’t know how much more I can take.”

 

His eyes met hers and his smile was wolfish.

 

“My father says all men are wolves, and he’s not wrong.”

 

When Hae-Joo turned away and muttered something that frightened her, Yi Ho laughed softly.

 

When she looked over to see what he was laughing at, he tilted his head to one side and looked at her questioningly.

 

“I seem to remember that you were the wolf pup.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Hae-Joo arched an eyebrow in question.

 

Then Yi Ho curled the corners of his mouth in a teasing way and picked up a stack of newspapers from the desk, adding.

 

“You’ll have to remember this one day.”

 

“What?”

 

“The one where you declare yourself a wolf cub.”

 

She’s frustrated because she doesn’t understand what he’s talking about, but Yi Ho suddenly picks up one of the papers on the desk and hands it to her.

 

Hae-Joo looks confused at the paper in her hand and the pile of papers on the desk.

 

“What’s this all about… Oh, is it…?”

 

Hae-Joo asks casually, remembering the events in Gyeongseong that seem to be similar to the disfigurement in the Gongju district.

 

“Yes. These are newspapers from the last three months. It was around that time that word of Gyeongseong’s evil spread.”

 

Hae-Joo’s face immediately turned serious.

 

“A question is a question, but let’s start with the events in Gyeongseong. If we’re lucky, we’ll find out something about the behaviour of the Man Insa in the Guishan Dao, or the similarities of the people it hunts… or something like that.”

 

‘Snake behaviour?’

 

Hae-Joo blinked in disbelief as she watched Yi Ho leafing through the newspaper on his desk.

 

Of course, she knew that the ominous, terrifying beast had something to do with the Guishan Dao because of what had happened in Sogok Village eight years ago.

 

As the shaman had said, when they sent the Guishan Dao away from the village, all those terrible things disappeared.

 

That was enough to convince her of the truth.

 

She understood it in her mind.

 

But it was one thing to understand it intellectually and another to accept it practically.

 

Hae-Joo was still puzzled.

 

‘How could the snake in the painting hurt anyone?’

 

“How much do you know about Guishan Dao, boss? Can’t you tell me now that you’ll know when you find the painting?”

 

After another wave of doubt, Yi Ho looked at her and added after a pause.

 

“I know for sure that it’s the Guishan Dao that can alleviate my illness, and that the snake in the picture… is real. I don’t know, but I wonder if we should roast or boil the snake once we find the Guishan Dao?”

 

His tone was light, not serious, and the steam had disappeared from his eyes.

 

Hae-Joo couldn’t tell if he didn’t know or if he knew but didn’t want to talk about it.

 

The events surrounding the Guishan Dao are certainly mysterious.

 

And what is this rare disease of Yi Ho’s that can only be cured with the Guishan Dao that brings up such mysterious things?

 

A word suddenly flashed through Hae-Joo’s mind as he pursed his lips in thought.

 

‘A curse?’

 

Isn’t there a proven phenomenon in this Song Yue Pavilion called a curse!

 

A curse!

 

She had been through so much in the past few months that it was hard to put it behind her and deny it.

 

“That…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It’s your illness. It’s not a… a… a… a curse, is it?”

 

Hae-Joo asked cautiously, too scared to think about it, and Yi Ho looked away from her, quickly realizing she was mistaken.

 

“No. I said it’s a rare disease, like… in the blood?”

 

“Hereditary…?”

 

“Yes. Something like that.”

 

It dawned on Hae-Joo that Yi Ho was the only one in the Ban clan who was directly related to her.

 

‘Had they all died of the same illness?’

 

The more she thought about it, the heavier and more depressed she became.

 

Of course, Yi Ho had no idea that Hae-Joo was thinking such crazy thoughts.

 

Hae-Joo quickly rationalized with herself.

 

She can’t have a weak heart.

 

Never.

 

She had to marry him and live a long and happy life.

 

What matters now is Yi Ho’s illness.

 

Hae-Joo swallowed another pang of curiosity into her stomach.

 

“Okay, okay.”

 

Hae-Joo immediately gathered up the newspapers on her desk and put them on the low table in front of the sofa.

 

“Take it easy today, we’ll go to the soup restaurant tomorrow.”

 

Hae-Joo had just finished reading the front page of the newspaper when Yi Ho’s words made her look out the window.

 

The sun was still up and would soon be setting.

 

“Yes. Right.”

 

Hae-Joo soon began to concentrate on the newspaper.

 

Yi Ho sat next to her and also leafed through the paper.

 

The day went on like this.

 

Neither of them brought up the subject of Hae-Joo’s return.

 

 

 

*** 

 

 

 

The next day.

 

After lunch at Song Yue, Hae-Joo and Yi Ho went to the main road.

 

A Song Yue employee brought them a Ford car from the ferry and Hae-Joo drove off.

 

Hae-Joo looked at Yi Ho who was sitting in the back seat.

 

“Where did the boss sleep when you gave me the bedroom?”

 

“In the other room.”

 

‘The other room?’

 

Hae-Joo pursed her lips, remembering that she had taken Yi Ho’s bedroom yesterday.

 

Out of politeness, she’d never set foot in Yi Ho’s house, except for his study and bedroom, and the parlour, kitchen and toilet on the first floor.

 

So she didn’t know what was behind the other few doors, but somehow it seemed unlikely that there would be rooms for anyone other than Yi Ho to live in.

 

And even though he could see Hae-Joo’s obvious disbelief in his words, Yi Ho pretended not to notice.

 

 

“You can go back to your room for the night. I’m comfortable on the couch in the lounge, and I like the couch here in the study too.”

 

Last night, as she curled up in the study, Yi Ho looked at her and said, “What’s the point, we can just sleep together.”

 

“What are you talking about? No matter how much we… Ugh, no. Anyway, go to your room and sleep. I’ll sleep here.”

 

He said it as if it were a joke, and she blushed, but he was so sweet.

 

Of course, it was considered inappropriate for a young man and woman who were not married to share a room.

 

But as times changed, young unmarried men and women began to have free love affairs, and some even moved in together, had children and started families without any trouble.

 

Some accepted the phenomenon as natural, while others condemned it as disgusting and without standards.

 

Yi Ho, a half-Yokai, had no such prejudices, nor did he care about the norms, but he had no intention of imposing them.

 

He wanted to accept and honor her opinion as much as she thought of him.

 

So when he noticed that she flinched from his kiss, he stopped.

 

But he couldn’t help feeling sorry for Hae-Joo for rejecting him.

 

Yi Ho finally insisted on sleeping on the couch in the study, so he quickly picked her up and threw her onto the bed.

 

As Hae-Joo struggled to her feet, Yi Ho grabbed her shoulders and kissed her, leaving her eyes wide open and frozen.

 

“I’ll show you it wasn’t empty words when I said I couldn’t stand you.”

 

He licked her upper lip and Hae-Joo’s throat closed like a turtle’s as he spoke.

 

Yi Ho looked at Hae-Joo, amused by the sight, and stood up.

 

“I’ll sleep in the other room. Good night.”

 

Closing the door behind him, he left the bedroom and headed straight for the roof.

 

Obviously, there was no ‘other room’ in his house to replace the bedroom.

 

But it didn’t make much difference to him whether he slept in his bedroom, on the floor, on the grass or on the roof.

 

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t slept anywhere before.

 

He put one hand behind his head and stared at the starry night sky for a moment, using it as a blanket.

 

 

 

“Where else have you slept? Is there another room in the house I could sleep in?”

 

Remembering the events of the previous night, Yi Ho considered Hae-Joo’s next question for a moment, then looked away.