As True as a Dream

Is kissing supposed to be like this?

 

Isn’t it supposed to be just a kiss?

 

Yi Ho told her to breathe through her nose, but it wasn’t easy.

 

In her dazed state, her body instinctively tried to breathe through her mouth.

 

When she parted her lips, something wet and smooth slid between them.

 

The tickling sensation made her look up into Yi Ho’s eyes.

 

They were mesmerizing, filled with an inexplicable smile.

 

And the next moment, his lips were gone from hers.

 

Hae-Joo pulled away from him, breathing heavily like a drowning man.

 

Then she looked back to the entrance of the maze and saw no sign of the governor’s daughter.

 “She’s gone.” 

His words didn’t sink in fast enough, so she repeated them over and over again.

 

In her daze, Yi Ho bent to pick up her purse from the floor and handed it to her.

 “Do you think this worked?” “I don’t know. We’ll see.” 

See? Wouldn’t she have given up if she had just gone back?

 

Hae-Joo looked away as she speculated, then blushed all over.

 

When she looked at Yi Ho, all she could see were his red, pouting lips.

 

So they had just kissed…!

 

Not just an accidental bump, but a real one!

 

Meanwhile, Yi Ho looked at Hae-Joo’s flushed face and had another thought.

 

It’s a peach.

 “Shi, she’s just… she’s just… she’s just…! That’s right. I was going to say something.” 

He realized why they say the first time is hard, the second time is easy.

 

The first time their lips had collided like an accident.

 

He remembered the soft touch he’d felt on the train.

 

Hae-Joo pulled away from him in surprise and apologized, saying she was just trying to play along.

 

Just then, he saw the red hem of Mao Saito’s robe at the entrance to the labyrinth.

 

Remembering Hae-joo’s words earlier, when she had said that she didn’t think it would be enough to say that she was his fiancée, that there was something she could try, and that he should cooperate so, he tilted his head at an angle over her face.

 

It was the third time their lips had met.

 

The first time was a misunderstanding on the train, and the second was a real accident.

 

The third time was easy.

 

After touching so many times, whether by mistake or accident, it felt natural without end.

 

Yi Ho looked down at Hae-Joo, who was still dazed, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

 

Choking for air, Hae-Joo parted her lips and her pink tongue touched his lower lip before flicking away.

 

An indescribable tingling sensation flashed through him like lightning.

 

Hae-Joo’s thin hand on his shoulder trembled slightly.

 

He had asked her to cooperate, and now she was shaking like this.

 

The corner of his mouth twitches involuntarily.

 

At that moment, she felt a startled intake of breath.

 

He lifted his lowered eyes to see Mao Saito standing behind Hae-Joo, her face grim.

 

He took Hae-Joo’s upper lip between his lips as if to say,

“Thank you.”

 

The feel of their lips rubbing together was unexpectedly soft and warm.

 

With an unknown thirst, he pressed his lower lip against hers again.

 

The crisp, bouncy texture between their lips was pleasantly surprising.

 

If he took a bite, it would burst with juice.

 

‘Would it taste good?’

 

Just then, he heard the sound of trampling in the dirt again.

 

He turned his attention from Hae-Joo to Mao, who was still standing behind her.

 

Looks like whatever she came up with wouldn’t work on that broken puppet.

 

Then there was only one method left.

 

He revealed the dark killing intent deep within him.

 

He didn’t dare to count how many lives had died at his hands so far.

 

A weaker person could have their heart stopped and die from the killing intent he revealed.

 

The instrument, dozens of times stronger than the one he’d seen in the garden, attacked Mao Saito like a beast.

 

***

 

Mao staggered back, dazed.

 

No matter how broken her head is, everyone has the instinct to live.

 

Mao’s face turned ashen like a dead man’s, and she soon ran out of the labyrinth garden.

 

It happened in the blink of an eye.

 

Hae-Joo’s lips parted slightly as if she was having trouble breathing again.

 

Without noticing, Yi Ho ran his tongue between her parted lips.

 

Unlike her plump lips, they were smooth and sweet, leaving a lingering taste on the tip of his tongue.

 

Even though he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, he wanted to taste this again.

 

In all his years of life, he had never been curious about this kind of male-female sophistication. 

 

But after tasting it, he couldn’t deny that there was definitely some pleasure in it.

 “This is no joke…” 

After pursing her lips several times as if she was speechless, Hae-Joo finally managed to open her mouth just as an arcade employee appeared at the entrance of the maze.

 “The birthday party is about to start, could you please go to the garden?” 

Yi Ho swallowed his laughter at Hae-Joo’s confused face, unable to speak anymore.

 

Uh-huh. It wasn’t a flirt.

 

He had already beaten her once, twice, so what was the point of bluffing or not?

 

Yi Ho licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue as he followed Hae-Joo as she walked away from the arcade staff.

 

He felt like he’d finally caught a break.

 

Just like Hae-Joo had said on the train.

 

***

 

Not long after they arrived at the garden, Governor Saito and his daughter, Saito Mao, appeared.

 

They exchanged polite greetings, such as thanking them for taking time out of our busy schedule to come.

 

The invited guests smiled gracefully and applauded as the viceroy and his daughter entered.

 

Hae-Joo, who had been casually looking ahead, suddenly narrowed her eyes.

 

When she had seen Governor Saito in the garden of the outhouse earlier, she had felt like she recognized him from somewhere.

 

But she hadn’t expected to see him, so she shrugged it off.

 

But as she kept looking, she realized that she must have seen him somewhere before.

 “What is it?” 

Yi Ho asked as Hae-Joo scratched her head.

 

Just as she was about to dismiss it as nothing, Hae-Joo remembered where the vision had come from.

 “I thought I recognized Governor Saito somewhere. I thought it was just my imagination, but then I remembered that I had him as a taxi passenger a few weeks ago.” 

Hae-Joo remembered a half-white man in a navy blue kimono with a soldier holding a sharp Japanese sword.

 

The man she had picked up as a passenger was Governor Saito.

 “Really?” “He was with one of the soldiers I dropped off at Song Yue. I think that’s where the Japanese…” 

Hae-Joo’s face suddenly stiffened as she whispered to Yi Ho.

 

She felt as if she had fallen into an icy pit and her whole body shivered.

 

She rolled her eyes and looked over to see Mao Saito standing next to the viceroy, staring at her.

 

When their eyes met, Mao suddenly smiled.

 

The pretty girl with the white skin, chubby cheeks, and upturned cat eyes smiled, and words of praise poured out from all directions.

 

But Hae-Joo didn’t even notice, and she moved closer to Yi Ho’s side.

 

Maybe it was her mood, but the sight of Mao smiling so broadly gave her goosebumps all over her body.

 

It didn’t take long to realize that the cold wasn’t for nothing.

 

After greetings from the Governor and his daughter, a meal was prepared in the garden.

 

A long table was set with a white tablecloth and an abundant and delicious spread of food.

 

The invited guests were free to scoop whatever they wanted onto empty plates.

 

Hae-Joo had just emptied a plate at Yi Ho’s side when a servant brought her a covered dessert plate.

 “This is a gift from Mrs. Mao. Please enjoy.” 

A few people sitting nearby looked at her at the mention of

“Miss Mao”

.

 

They seemed to be wondering what exactly Mao had sent her.

 

But Hae-Joo stared at the lid without opening it.

 “Why don’t you open it?” 

Hae-Joo looked at Yi Ho, then lowered her voice to a whisper.

 “Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think there’s something good inside?” “Isn’t there, whether you open it knowingly or not?” “If I open it knowing there’s a surprise, who’s going to compensate me for my surprised heart? I’m blowing up my liver right now.” 

***

 

Yi Ho laughed at the absurdity of her answer and took the plate from her hand.

 

When Hae-Joo raised an eyebrow, Yi Ho looked at her and smiled mischievously.

 

Then he lifted the lid himself.

 

Hae-Joo grimaced before she could see what was inside.

 

Upon closer inspection, she couldn’t help but curse under her breath.

 

Inside was a sweet cannoli dessert and a very large spider, so large that you could see the downy hairs on its legs.

 

‘Holy shit…!’

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