As True as a Dream

“Ouch, that must hurt. You’re bleeding. Did you cut yourself?” 

Hae-Joo continued to feel around his body, as if searching for something.

 

But she didn’t find what she was looking for, and soon she was pulling at the end of the right sleeve of his shirt.

 

Then she pressed the sleeve gently against his neck.

 

Yi Ho, who had stiffened at Hae-Joo’s sudden action, jerked her wrist back.

 “What are you doing?” “Treating your wound?” 

Hae-Joo, looking at her wrist in his grasp, replied with a puzzled face.

 “Why?” “Because you’re… bleeding? Shouldn’t we stop the bleeding first?” 

The blood on Hae-Joo’s sleeve was visible.

 

He used his free hand to rub the area around his neck where the wound was.

 

By his standards, it wasn’t even a wound.

 

But when she saw what he was doing, she was horrified and said urgently.

 “Don’t touch him. Do you have any medicine in the Song Yue Pavilion that I can use to treat it? Stay here for a while and I’ll come back for you.” 

Frowning as if in pain, Hae-Joo tried to get up from her seat.

 

But Yi Ho’s grip on her wrist didn’t let up.

 

She shook her arm gently as if to tell him to let go.

 

He narrowed his eyes at her condescending tone.

 “You said you’d take care of … like it was your own, are you worried?” “Yes.” 

His question was answered casually, as if it were a matter of course.

 “I didn’t mean it when I said I’d take care of you like my own body. I’d be worried about anyone who was supposed to look good with blood all over their neck like that.” “Oh, really?” 

Yi Ho was sure that the purity of her concern was very low.

 

And then, as if reading his thoughts, Hae-Joo added.

 “Of course, there’s also a small part of me that hopes that seeing this kind of attention on my part, you’ll cut me some slack when it comes to discussing the debt I haven’t calculated yet… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.” 

Hae-Joo confessed, her heart breaking.

 

It had finally dawned on her that the last times she had tried to deceive him, it hadn’t ended so well.

 

A smile tugged at the corners of Yi Ho’s lips as he realized that this was just like Hae-Joo.

 

Meanwhile, Hae-Joo continued in a sincere manner.

 “And if I help you, doesn’t that mean we’re in the same boat? From now on, I’ll think of you as my own person, and I’ll do a good job from the bottom of my heart.” 

Yi Ho, who looked at Hae-Joo with the same enthusiasm, closed his eyes and laughed.

 “It’s not because I’m the owner of Song Yue, is it? It can’t hurt to be friendly with someone with money, right?” “Oh, you’ve given me another reason to be good.” “Yes.” 

Hae-Joo smiled sweetly. She was a quick thinker. Especially when it came to her own life.

 

Yi Ho could almost read the thoughts reflected in her glowing black pupils.

 

***

 

Twelve years.

 

For him, it was a short time, but for Hae-Joo, it was a long, long time.

 

Who knows what might happen or what opportunities might arise in that long time.

 

Sneaky.

 

But it didn’t matter.

 

He would definitely collect the twelve years’ debt from Hae-Joo, and he would definitely find Guishan Dao.

 

It didn’t matter how Hae-Joo’s mind worked, as long as he got what he wanted.

 “Mr. Ban, if you let me go, I’ll hurry back and get the medicine.” 

The longer he stared at her with a grin, the more her doughy face began to crumble.

 “If you leave me alone, I’ll get better on my own.” “No way!” 

Hae-Joo frowned.

 “I told you I’d treat your body as if it were my own, and if it hurts less for a day, why are you torturing it? If it was my body, I wouldn’t let you do this to it.” 

Hae-Joo tilted her head to look at the wound on his neck again.

 “You don’t feel any pain, do you, or are you just pretending to be okay because of your pride…?” 

Hearing Hae-Joo’s suspicious tone, Yi Ho immediately let go of her wrist.

 

Hae-Joo scrambled to her feet and opened the door to the guest room.

 

Her footsteps sounded angry and distant.

 

Yi Ho stared at the open door for a moment in disbelief.

 

It was unfamiliar and uncomfortable because he had never had someone care so much about such a small injury.

 

Next to him was a raven named Hongo, but Hongo’s concern was whether he was going to die or not, not this wound.

 

There was no point in worrying about it, because in the end, it would heal just like it had when he was injured.

 

So what’s the point?

 

For example, the last time he came back from almost dying in the Namdaemun explosion, Hongo only cared about the disappearance of the pocket watch and sighed.

 

Earlier, he had only given him a handkerchief and was only worried about what Yi Ho might have done to embarrass Song Yue.

 

And to him, Hongo’s thoughts were completely normal.

 

But since she is so eager to proclaim that she is good, how good is she?

 

It was time to let his thoughts run free.

 

Hae-Joo came running into the room with a wooden box in her arms.

 

Yi Ho was stunned to see her panting.

 

He didn’t know what she was doing running around so breathlessly.

 

While he was thinking, Hae-Joo crouched down next to him and opened the box she had brought.

 

Yi Ho watched as Hae-Joo searched for the medicine, trying to calm her racing breath.

 

A few stray strands of disheveled hair fell lightly across her white forehead.

 

Thick eyelashes fluttered beneath her neat eyebrows.

 

The slightly upturned nose was intelligent, and the dark eyes were alive.

 

The nostrils at the tip of a well-proportioned bridge were rounded, and thin lips with a clear lip line were capped at the corners, giving an impression of cheerfulness.

 

Yi Ho thinks that this is the first time he has really seen a girl named Hae-Joo.

 

Only now he notices that there is a small teardrop under her left eye.

 

‘This girl, she’s so pretty. I almost didn’t recognize her.’

 

He looked at the outfit she usually wore.

 

Suddenly, he remembered what Hongo had told him.

 

“Baggy pants, white shirt, suspenders, and long hair hidden under a barnacle hat. As a taxi driver, he probably has to deal with an unspecified number of customers. This androgynous outfit was probably chosen to avoid unnecessary flirtation.”

 “…I think this will do.” 

Hae-Joo looked thoughtfully at the wooden box and soon pulled out a bottle of iodized tincture.

 

Then she grabbed the clean, damp cloth that came with the box.

 “I’ll wipe the area around your neck first.” 

Hae-Joo closed her mouth tightly and leaned toward his neck.

 

Yi Ho’s eyelashes fluttered slightly at the cold sensation of her hand on his neck.

 

After carefully wiping away the blood, Hae-Joo unscrewed the cap of the jade bottle, rolled up the end of the cloth, and poured some red jade medicine into it.

 

Then she brought the cloth to his neck.

 “This will sting, tell me if it hurts.” 

Hae-Joo studied his expression and then pulled the cloth away from his neck.

 “Uh… Does it hurt?” 

Yi Ho was stunned by Hae-Joo’s sleepy reaction.

 

Anyone else would have thought he’d broken his neck.

 

Seeing his calm expression, she pressed the cloth to his neck again.

 

It was strange to see his panicked expression.

 

After all, she was so sincere and devoted to him, shouldn’t he have reacted?

 

The corners of Yi Ho’s mouth twitched upward.

 “Ah!” 

Hae-Joo, who had been concentrating on his neck, angrily pulled her hand away and looked at him with wide eyes.

 “Are you hurt?” “Yes.” “I’m sorry, I’ll be gentle.” 

Hae-Joo furrowed her brow and put her hand back on his neck.

 

Her gesture was lighter than before.

 

Yi Ho squinted at Hae-Joo’s expression, which at that moment seemed free of any calculation or ulterior motive.

 “Ah!” 

He let out another sound and Hae-Joo’s fingertips stiffened.

 

The scarf was lighter than a feather against his neck again.

 “You said you didn’t need… but my mother said…” 

Hae-Joo’s voice was muffled.

 

It was a tiny, tiny whisper, indistinguishable to the untrained ear, but he was a fox.

 

Seeing Hae-Joo’s lips curl into a pout, Yi Ho’s eyes flashed with a mischievous smile.

 

It was the first time he’d ever been so attentive to someone.

 

It was strange and awkward, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable or annoying.

 

It was a strange thing.

 

***

 

She’d never tended to a wound under such tension before.

 

Hae-Joo sighed inwardly as she looked at the neatly wrapped bandages around Yi Ho’s neck.

 

Now that they were in the same boat, his rise and fall would be her rise and fall.

 

Therefore, she would help him sincerely and do a good job as if she cared for him.

 

The warm exchanges back and forth, and the thick bonds of friendship, were both good and bad for the future.

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