As True as a Dream

I don’t know if it was a dream or real life, but it was the day my life was turned upside down.

 

Joseon, a country in ruins.

 

It was 1932, the end of the dreary spring.

 

I was just a woman trying to survive that miserable and painful time.

 

I wanted to be cowardly, even though some people would call me shameless.

 

I didn’t want to collapse like the grass under a parched mountain.

 

I wanted to live another day.

 

It’s not a sin to want to live.

 

But after that day, everything changed.

 

Now I will carry the flag and a gun for my country, my homeland.

 

Even if this life is worthless.

 

I knew too late that it was right.

 

– from the diary of independence fighter Yeon Hae-joo, 1932

 

***

 “…Ugh, boy.”

Hae-joo furrowed her brow.

 

Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten.

 

Before she could even open her eyes, the music started.

 “What’s going on…” 

Hae-joo mumbled, remembering the situation before she lost consciousness.

 

She was on her way home from work in a taxi, passing the boulevard in front of Namdaemun.

 

Suddenly she heard an explosion and screams from all directions.

 

Japanese soldiers patrolling the streets began shooting.

 

And then came the shouts of independence that echoed through the chaotic streets.

 “Ah… that was it…”

Hae-Joo sighed deeply.

 

This country, Joseon, had long since collapsed, and living under Japanese rule was a slippery slope.

 “If only I hadn’t gotten involved in this… ” 

After getting a general idea of the situation, Hae-joo opened her blurry eyes.

 

She saw something shiny in front of her.

 ‘…Platinum?’ 

Hae-joo instinctively reached out and grabbed it.

 

Her reaction was as quick as a crow’s when it sees something shiny.

 

As she pulled the golden cord, the heavy object clattered against the back of her hand.

 

Gradually, her head cleared and her eyes brightened.

 

She realized it was a platinum pocket watch.

 “Platinum!”

Hae-Joo sat up quickly.

 “Ouch, ouch, ouch…” 

Hae-Joo patted her throbbing back and took a closer look at the pocket watch in her hand.

 

Besides being a taxi driver, she was also a craftswoman who made, handled and sold all kinds of fine jewelry.

 

She’d have to get it appraised, but years of experience told her that nine times out of ten it was real platinum.

 

The tiny diamonds set into the edge of the watch are also likely genuine, given their luster and clarity.

 “How much is this?” 

How could she be so stunned and still have rice cake?

 

At that moment, a rather cool breeze blew across Hae-joo’s face.

 “…Ah, right. Where am I?” 

Hae-joo, who had been fiddling with her pocket watch, jerked her head up and looked around.

 

It was night and eerily quiet.

 

Fortunately, the full moon was high in the sky, making her surroundings clearer.

 

Piles of dirt and shovels were scattered about.

 

And lying all over the clearing… Are those people?

 

No, piles of corpses.

 

Hae-joo blinked and swallowed hard.

 

Limbs that didn’t belong to anyone, bodies torn and tattered, faces mutilated and unrecognizable…

 

Every other limb was riddled with bullet holes or missing eyes.

 

Even in the darkness of the night, the dark blood was clear.

 

Her heart pounded like a drum.

 “Is this…?” 

Hae-joo swallowed a shaky breath, trying to process the scene before her.

 

She thought she had seen ugly things in her time in this colonized world.

 

But she had never seen anything like this.

 

Hae-joo’s eyes fell as she looked grimly ahead.

 

They must have died in the explosion at Namdaemun.

 

She’s here because she was knocked unconscious in the field and pronounced dead.

She knows where this place is.

 

It’s near the cemetery on the northern outskirts of Gyeongseong.

 

When there are mass deaths in Gyeongseong, the bodies are sent here.

 

This is the first place where people who have lost loved ones can identify them.

 

However, if no one comes to claim the bodies after a day, they are thrown into the pit at random.

 

So tomorrow, people who have searched all night for their loved ones who haven’t returned will flock here.

 

She wondered how much time had passed.

 

When she lifted her head again, her depression was gone.

 

Somehow she survived.

 

Survival is the most important thing.

 

And she has rice cakes.

 

Hae-joo fiddled with the pocket watch in her hand, then turned her attention to the body beside her.

 

She wondered what kind of person could have such an expensive watch and not be lucky enough to die.

 

When she realized who the watch belonged to, Hae-Joo was stunned.

 

She swallowed a lump in her throat.

 

She almost forgot that she was outside the city walls, in the middle of a pile of corpses.

 

The man’s appearance was enchanting and colorful, like a ghostly creature of legend.

 

A white face that glowed softly despite the darkness of the night, a delicate jawline and bridge of nose, long, thick eyelashes, and full, camellia-red lips.

 

In her jewelry business, she had been in and out of the city’s famous fairies, ruins, and restaurants, encountering parasites called nanda ginda.

 

She was confident that she had seen enough beautiful people.

But now she realizes that there is another heaven beyond this one.

 

Hae-joo swore that she had never seen anyone more beautiful than this man in her life.

 

She leaned forward and put her hand under his nose.

 

He was cold and I could not feel him breathing.

 

He was definitely dead.

 “What a waste!” 

She swallowed the pity of her low tongue and added.

 “Look, you can’t take this watch to the other side anyway, so I’ll make good use of it and give you some change for helping someone in need!” 

Hae-joo searched her pants and soon found some coins in her pocket.

 

She put them in the pocket of the man’s suit.

 “Go to a good place!” 

Hae-joo patted the man’s chest and got up.

 

She wouldn’t be able to return to the city until Faro (4:30 a.m.), when the night curfew ended.

 

But she had no intention of spending the night there.

 

Seeing the dead was a given in this time of turmoil, but it was something she’d avoid if she had the choice.

 

Besides, the thought that she was the only one alive there now sent a shiver down her spine.

 “Let’s go somewhere else.” 

She had just started to walk away when something grabbed her ankle.

 

The sun grew stiff.

 

Her heart stopped and her blood turned cold. What the hell?

 

The only thing alive here is her.

 

What’s grabbing her foot?

 

She looked down and saw a white hand.

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes followed the hand.

 

The enchanting face of the man she’d seen before came into view.

 

He’s dead, for sure, but what is this hand?

 

The hand on her ankle was colder than ice.

 

It was a temperature that a living person could never have.

 Kaaaak~! 

The sound of a crow cawing in the distance echoed eerily.

 

The man’s tightly closed eyes flashed open.

 

His eyes immediately locked with hers.

 “Aaahhh!” 

Hae-Joo’s face turned pale.

 

She frantically stamped her feet, shaking her white hands and slapping the back of her head.

 

She tripped over something, but didn’t stop to look at herself before getting up and running.

 

A ghost!

 

He must be dead!

 

Agh!

 

Hae-Joo muffled the scream that escaped her with her hand and turned around.

 

In the distance, she could see a long, grayish figure.

 

At any moment, the body of the man would come after her.

 

She ran faster.

 

How long had she been running?

 

As her breath caught in her throat and her legs gave out, she rolled over.

 

Panting, she lifted her face from the ground.

 

The beautiful face of the man who had hypnotized her was somehow right in front of her.

 

His eyes, nose, mouth and ears were dripping with black blood as he stared back at me in horror.

 

***

 “…Aaaaahhh!” 

Hae-joo woke up with a scream, her chest heaving wildly as she gasped for air.

 

In her mind’s eye, she could still see the face of the vengeful man, blood dripping from his face.

 “Huh? You’re alive, old lady, you’re alive!” 

The skinny, gaunt boy suddenly put his head in front of her eyes.

 

A wrinkled hand reached out and pulled the child away as Hae-joo stared, stunned.

 “I don’t care if she dies or not, Grandma told you not to run away!” 

Hearing the distant voice, Hae-joo rolled her eyes in disbelief.

 

The sky was blue through the branches.

 

The ground was hard and her back hurt.

 

Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet.

 

She was lying in a large circle under a large ginkgo tree.

 “Is this… was this a dream?”Visit my Ko-fi for discounted advance chapters!!