As True as a Dream

It felt like someone had poured cold water on her hot head.

 “…No, I’m not trying to steal anything… I just thought that if I paid it back diligently, I could liquidate it a little sooner… Yes, that’s right, of course I have to take full responsibility!” 

Hae-Joo ran her arms over her clothes, scratching and rubbing her stomach and legs nervously.

 

But the man stood up and walked out of her way.

 

Startled, Hae-Joo quickly turned around, grabbed the man’s leg and begged.

 “Please help me, owner, please help me, I don’t want to die, owner, please help me!” 

Hae-Joo held onto the man’s leg and wouldn’t let go.

 

Whether this man was a ghost or not, whether he was scary or not, it didn’t matter now.

 

Her life was the most important thing.

 “Do you want me to…?”

A soft but somewhat cold voice fell from above her head.

 

But Hae-Joo stuck to it like a limpet and shook her head.

 “Please help me! I’ll let go if you help me! Please help me…! I won’t think of running away, I’ll pay my debt, I’ll pay it back without a second thought, just help me!” 

The next moment, the legs Hae-Joo was holding tightly disappeared from her arms.

 

Hae-Joo raised her face in panic.

 

The man walked away with his back to her.

 

She scrambled to her feet and grabbed the man’s leg as if she wanted to pounce on him again.

 “Owner…! Help me…! I can’t die…!” 

Once again, the leg disappeared into her arms.

 

You ungrateful bastard!

 

Cursing under her breath, Hae-Joo tried to get to her feet again.

 

But before she could raise her face, a shadow appeared in front of her.

A face so beautiful it was almost murderous.

 

Leaning down, he grabbed her wrists and pulled up her sleeves.

 

The rash on her white skin was swollen from all the scratching and rubbing, and it looked worse than it had at first.

 “How do I look in your eyes?” 

She blinked, unable to react immediately to the man’s sudden behavior.

 “The owner of Song Yue Pavilion…?” “Oh, you’re not blind, are you?” “What?” 

The man pulled up one corner of his mouth and added in a teasing tone.

 “What do I look like to you, begging for your life, and how the hell am I supposed to save you? I’m not even a doctor. Have you been to a hospital?” “Yes?” 

The man’s cold fingertips brushed lightly over the thick rash on her arm.

 

Hae-Joo shivered.

 

Partly because his hand was so cold, and partly because she could see a hint of displeasure in his eyes as he looked at her, despite his friendly demeanor.

 “If I go to the hospital, will I get better?” “Huh?” 

Hae-Joo said again, trying to ignore the burning sensation in her arm.

 “I mean, will it get better if a doctor sees it? I think this is a symptom… It’s similar to what happened yesterday… it’s a curse… I don’t want to believe it, I don’t even know how to say it in English, but… are you sure that if I go to the hospital, I’ll get better?” 

Hae-Joo roughly wiped away the tears that blurred her vision with the back of her hand and turned to face the man.

 “What if I don’t get better? What if I die… like the police yesterday?” “Are you so afraid of dying?” 

The man narrowed his eyes and looked at her quizzically before asking again.

 “You’re an orphan without a single relative, what’s so scary about that?” “Is it better to die alone?” 

The man’s smile deepened.

 “Hey, Hae-Joo. Look at the world. Look at the day you took my pocket watch. People breathe as fast as flies. It doesn’t matter how or when you die, why are you so desperate to live?” “Why? I may live in a world where people’s lives are worthless, but I’m going to save mine and make sure I live well. What’s wrong with being desperate? I decide what my life is worth.” 

Hae-Joo bit her lower lip hard.

 

Unable to resist the rising itch, she raised her other hand to scratch the man’s arm.

 

But he grabbed her hand and pushed it down.

 

And then, just like yesterday, I felt my chest go red and bloody.

 

Her heart sank into her stomach.

 “Is this… is this really… Are you telling me it’s a curse, for God’s sake!” 

I tried to wail again, my voice damp and wet. The man laughed out loud, as if amused.

 “Why are you laughing? You’re lying, aren’t you? If I go to the hospital, I won’t be cured, right? You said the police died, will that happen to me? What if I go to the hospital and die? Will you compensate me?” “Compensation? You want compensation if you’re dead? It’s all about money or life in your head. Isn’t it hard to be true to your instincts like that?” “I am…!” 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened as she spoke.

 

Her eyelids suddenly felt incredibly heavy as the man’s outstretched hand pressed somewhere on her neck.

 

Leaving the woman to slump to the side, Yi Ho stood up and looked behind him.

 

Hongo Wu, who had arrived earlier, was standing there with a puzzled look on his face.

 “Mr. Hongo, did you touch her?” 

He asked, and Hongo nodded in surprise as she looked at the fallen Hae-Joo.

 “Master told me to keep an eye on her, so I went to see her the other night. She’s packing her things to run away, so I gave her a lesson. The rash should be gone after today.” 

Nodding slightly, Yi Ho stared at the woman for a moment, then spoke.

 “I have been lax in my housekeeping lately. Dogs and cows run in my yard.” “I will correct that, but what about this young lady?” 

Yi Ho was about to tell him to get her out of here, that he could dump her anywhere, but quickly changed her mind.

 “Do you want me to tie her hands so she can’t scratch herself?” “What?” 

-I’ll save myself, I’ll make sure I live well.

 

She said, her knees worn to the bone, her face scarred, swallowing mindless words as if they were food.

 

It was an obsession he had never had before.

 

What’s the point of saving her? What’s the point of living well?

 

For him, life was nothing more than something he had to live with because he could not tolerate dying at the hands of others.

 

-I decide the value of my life.

 

Yi Ho lifted the corner of his mouth.

 

It was quite pleasant to see someone of his mind.

 

His life is his own to decide.

 

No one else can control his life.

 

Even though there was no reason for him to live, he told Hongo to find Guishan Dao.

 

He doesn’t like the idea of dying just because he is half human.

 “…Master, what’s on those pants?” 

Hongo, who had tied Hae-Joo’s wrists together behind her back as Yi Ho had instructed, asked him as he tried to get up.

 

Yi Ho’s eyes followed Hongo’s and then froze.

 

The hem of his right pants, which had fallen from Hae-Joo’s grip, was stained with tears and snot.

 

Yi Ho smiled wryly and stared at Hae-Joo.

 “…Should we just throw these in the wilderness?” “What?” 

***

 

Hae-Joo stared at the familiar floor and walls of the room, at the fire pattern, and was at a loss.

 

“Why am I… home…?”

 

Dazed, she remembered the “rash” and tried to get out of her seat.

 

But she accidentally slammed her face forward again.

 

Her wrists were bound tightly behind her back.

 

Hae-Joo wrinkled her nose against the futon and tried to put her hands behind her back with a wide-eyed expression.

 “What is this…?” 

Hae-Joo, who had been lying on her back with her ass facing the ceiling, squirmed like an earthworm and finally sat up.

 

Her white shins were exposed under her pants, which had been pulled up in a flurry of activity.

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened as she looked down at her legs.

 

The skin was raw, like a rash.

 

She grunted and pushed the other leg up with her other foot.

 

No rash!

 

Her eyes brightening, Hae-Joo pushed her hips around to find the scissors and untie her hands behind her back.

 

Satisfied that the rash was gone, she tapped her chest.

 

After her mother died, she lived with her foster father for twelve years without a care in the world, so what was wrong with her these days?

 

Seriously, her life has been like a fly lately.

 

It’s a mess.

 

She looked down at the black cloth binding her wrists and muttered.

 “What the hell is this?” 

The last thing she remembered was the man’s face, a meek smile on his face, his tongue lolling out in mockery.

 

Had he tied her up?

 

She remembered him blocking her hand when she tried to scratch her arm, telling her she would bleed like a saint.

 

Hae-Joo rubbed her forehead with her free hand and frowned.

 “…Should I thank him for tying me up?” 

Dumbfounded, Hae-Joo looked around her room.

 

On the night of the incident at Song Yue Pavilion, she had left her home address as requested, but it was a fake one.

 

She opened her eyes and realized that this was her room.

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