As True as a Dream

“My tooth…! Give me my tooth! My tooth! Heh heh! …dream…?” 

The instruments that had spread wildly over her body dissipated in an instant.

 “This…! This is too much! What kind of nightmare is this every night! Brush your teeth, you cruel bird! Okay, if it comes in my dream again, this is a fight! No matter how scared I am of ghosts, I can’t lose this, Mr…!” 

In a rare moment of stupor, Yi Ho gasped at the indignant voice that erupted from the room.

 

This was ridiculous.

 

What the hell was she dreaming?

 

Then, with a shuffle from inside the room, he stepped over the low woollen fence and disappeared into the darkness.

 

***

 

The next day, after diligently sweeping and scrubbing the thatched hut, Hae-Joo visited her stepfather’s grave and tidied up for the night at an inn on the outskirts of Gongju.

 

At dawn, she went to Chojowon Station to catch the Gyeongbu Line train to Gyeongseong.

 

The train took a long time, and when it arrived at Cheonan Station, it was chaotic with people getting on and off.

 

Hae-Joo kept her eyes peeled for her bag in the baggage room.

 

She was afraid that someone would take advantage of the crowd and steal her bag.

 

But her focus on the bag led to something unexpected.

 

Someone dropped in her lap a three- or four-year-old child.

 

She didn’t react in time to catch it, but then she scooped him up and stood up.

 “Excuse me, ma’am, this child…!” “Just give me a minute, I’ll come back for him!” 

A woman with loosely tied, disheveled hair, a yellow bun, and a dark brown skirt said desperately, then quickly moved away through the crowd.

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened, then she grabbed the child and ran after her.

 “Hey, ma’am, are you kidding me? Take the child! Hey!” 

She pushed through the crowd, but soon lost sight of the woman.

 

Hae-Joo looked down at the child in her arms, who made no sound.

 

The child, dressed in a worn collar, black pants and rubber boots, held her by the throat like a straw.

 

The child.

 

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he covered his mouth to keep from crying.

 “Hey, it’s your mom…” “Help…!” 

Tears rolled down the back of his eyes as he spoke in a series of tongue twisters.

 

Hae-Joo’s heart sank.

 

Something didn’t feel right.

 

And she was right.

 

There was a commotion in the rear of the train.

 

When she turned around, she saw Japanese soldiers in ochre-colored uniforms searching people one by one, as if looking for someone.

 

The child’s hand at her throat trembled.

 

They’re looking for him and her mother…!

 

It was obvious from the woman’s behavior and the child’s reaction.

 

Hae-Joo looked down at the child she was holding.

 “This… it! Ugh…!” 

She didn’t expect much.

 

She just wanted to stay away from anything dangerous and survive quietly.

 

She had already experienced the dangers of a lifetime when she followed his mother to hide from the Japanese.

 

Hae-Joo looked down at the child who felt like a hot potato and bit his lower lip hard.

 

Her own childhood flashed through his mind.

 

Shit…!

 

She scooped him back up and hurried to the front of the car.

 “[Do it! Not here! Hurry! The train is leaving soon!]” “Kaaak! What are you doing!” “Don’t yell! Not this way, next!” “What’s wrong with you? Ouch!” “A woman in a brown skirt carrying a child, didn’t you see her? If you hide her, you’ll die first!” “I don’t know, I didn’t see her!” 

Hae-Joo stepped forward, her nerves behind her.

 

The train began to move.

 

She had no choice but to keep moving forward, holding a shivering child tightly in her arms.

 

Hae-Joo stopped in her tracks.

 

In this compartment, the scene was different.

 

There was a white cloth on the table and people of various colors were drinking coffee or eating a simple meal.

 

It was a cafeteria.

 

As Hae-Joo paused, she heard the shouts of Japanese soldiers behind her.

 

She pulled up the corners of her mouth and patted the child on the back, trying not to look strange.

 

After this compartment, it will be second class.

 

They can’t just go forward, she has to think about what to do.

 

Hae-Joo, nervously racking her brain, suddenly opened her eyes wide.

 

A familiar face was sitting there.

 

And the other person saw her too.

 

A white vest under a black vest, a white shirt, and an overwhelming presence with a mesmerizing appearance.

 

It was Yi Ho, the master of Song Yue Pavilion.

 “[My lord, what is this? Speak!]” “[Yamata! It’s not this way, go ahead, you bitch! I have to find it!]” 

The sounds came closer and closer.

 

There was no time to hesitate.

 

Hae-Joo turned away from Yi Ho and moved her legs.

 

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst through her ribs.

 

‘What should I do?’

 

The carriage has come to an end.

 

How in the world is she going to live and be okay?

 

The panic and fear that had weighed on her head as a child returned, suffocating her.

 

***

 

Yi Ho swallowed his doubts when she saw Hae-Joo burst through the dining room door.

 

He no longer cared about her after seeing what she had done in the village.

 

He was looking forward to the

“great work”

she would bring to Gyeongseong.

 

He hadn’t expected to meet her on the train to Gyeongseong.

 

Perhaps he shouldn’t have had coffee.

 

Yi Ho raised an eyebrow at the teacup in front of him.

 “[She’s not here! You there! Lift your face!]” “[Where did she run off to? She has a child, how could she leave? She’s definitely on this train! Find her!]” 

Yi Ho’s ears pricked up at the slight commotion coming from the compartment behind him.

 

A child?

 

Yi Ho turned to see Hae-Joo standing in the dining car.

 

Dressed in a yellow dress, a child who looked about three or four years old was clinging to her like a cicada.

 

She tried to keep a straight face, but the embarrassment and fear under her eyes were clearly visible.

 

As the commotion in the back compartment grew closer, the muscles in Hae-Joo’s face tightened.

 

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

 

Yi Ho focused his attention and listened to the commotion.

 “[The woman in the brown skirt they were looking for had apparently killed her employer, a Japanese soldier, and fled.]” “[She was also carrying a child, about three or four years old, and had a large mole under her right chin.]” 

A child about three or four years old…

 

Yi Ho stared at Hae-Joo, whose eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him.

 

She hadn’t had a child when she was in the small village.

 

What are you holding on to, clinging to life like that?

 

Hae-Joo shook her head slightly and walked away, carrying the child in her arms.

 

He wondered if she would ask for help, given her thick skin.

 

She walked past where he was sitting to Yi Ho’s seat.

 

Yi Ho raised an eyebrow.

 

Her stiff face and uncomfortable breathing alone told him how nervous and anxious she was right now.

 

The sound of Japanese soldiers searching the compartment behind them grew closer.

 

Judging by Hae-joo’s fidgeting, she was in for a rough ride, even if she wasn’t wearing a brown skirt and didn’t have a mole under her chin.

 “…Tsk!” 

Yi Ho clicked his tongue slowly and got up from his seat.

 

He walked up behind Hae-Joo, who was just opening the door to the next compartment.

 

The crouching Hae-Joo looked up at him in surprise.

 “Go ahead.” 

He pursed his lips as if to say something, then nodded.

 “Thank you.” 

Hae-Joo said in a low voice.

 

Yi Ho snorted.

 

He wouldn’t have cared about this turn of events if he hadn’t seen the painting of Guishan Dao that she had copied.

 

But now he needed her.

 

He couldn’t let her be pampered by a useless visitor before he could fulfill that need.

 “This way.” 

As they crossed into first class, Yi Ho took Hae-Joo’s shoulder and pulled her into his seat.

 “Sit down.” 

The carpeted seats in first class are velvet chairs for one.

 

Between the chairs, side by side with their backs to the window, is a small table with an ashtray on top.

 

The seat across from him was the same.

 

It felt like an elegant salon, as opposed to the chicken coop of regular seats lining the narrow hallway.

 

Hae-Joo was about to take the seat he indicated when she noticed something and asked him in a low voice.

 “Isn’t this someone else’s seat?” “No, it’s empty.” 

He didn’t want to sit next to anyone, and he had bought a ticket for the whole train, so it didn’t matter.

 

Once seated, Hae-Joo was still tense and staring at the back of the compartment, so Yi Ho leaned over the armrest to her.

 “Tell me what’s going on. What is this boy?” 

He asked, and Hae-Joo pursed her lips in confusion.

Visit my Ko-fi for discounted advance chapters!!