As True as a Dream

“From what I heard before I entered this room, not only do you drive a taxi, you also frequent the Song Yue Pavilion to sell trinkets to the nobles.” 

The owner of Song Yue Pavilion lifted his hands from his lap and set his jaw.

 “As for the sickly old woman and  your three younger siblings… I don’t know who you’re talking about. You are an orphan, aren’t you?” 

Hae-Joo’s thick eyelashes fluttered at his next words.

 “Not only a thief, but also a liar. How dare you.” 

A…thief?

 

‘The thief has come to me.’

That’s what this man told me a few hours ago.

 

Devastated, Hae-Joo looked straight into the eyes of the man behind the mask.

 

Black eyes of unknown depth locked with hers.

 

Her heart sank.

 

A man’s face flashed in her head.

 

A young, sensitive man with long, drooping eyes, a white face that shone like a pearl, and a mesmerizing smile at the corner of his lips, red as camellia blossoms.

 

She took a closer look at his hair, which barely covered his ears, his neat hands resting on the table, and the red birthmark on his right earlobe, and sucked in a breath.

 

The clothes were different, but it was definitely the same person.

 “…watch? During…the…?” 

As she stammered, the man raised his left hand and removed the fox mask from his face.

 

The man’s beautiful face was revealed under the deep lanterns of the private room.

 

His soft, seductive eyes traced her face with curiosity.

 “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Are you… a ghost? No, I mean, you’re not a ghost, are you?” 

The words she wanted to ask before she fainted in that grassy yard earlier flew out of her mouth before they could get through her head.

 “You’re not the ghost?” “Huh…?” “The money ghost.” 

The man smiled as brightly as a blooming spring flower.

 

Long after that, Hae-Joo thought that she had never felt so stupid in her life.

 

***

 

Yi Ho held the fox mask in his hand and watched Hae-Joo’s stunned face with amusement.

 

In fact, he had no intention of taking it off.

 

This

‘face’

was the reason why he wore the mask every time he went out as the Master of Song Yue Hall.

 

A face that hadn’t changed in ten, twenty, or one hundred years.

 

But when he saw the thunderous behavior of the woman who tried to deceive and cheat him after the theft, he changed his mind.

 

A fierce emotion rose faintly in his chest.

 

She must have been scared when she saw him under the tree earlier, so let her be scared again.

 “You stole my watch, you trespassed in my yard, you trashed my shop because you were blinded by a single dollar, and you deceived me because you didn’t want to be in debt again, and you… must have a very large appetite.” 

Hearing the mocking tone in his voice, the kneeling Hae-Joo’s face turned blue.

 “You and I have only met three times, and you’ve sinned a lot. It’s hard to even do this, isn’t it?” “From what I’ve heard… I’m a terrible person, even if I apologize to you a hundred times, it won’t be enough. I’m so sorry, I’ve done shameful things because life is so hard, I’m sorry.” 

Hai-Joo’s voice trembled as she buried her forehead in the floor.

 “Well, now that I think about it, there are so many sins… I guess I’m too nice to just end it with compensation, right? I shouldn’t do this, I should call the police…” “No!” 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened as if she just got scared, but then she timidly lowered her eyes again.

 

‘Heh, look at this?’

 

Yi Ho raised an eyebrow.

 “Uh, Mister, you know, in today’s world, if you get captured, there’s no telling if you’ll come back alive. Please take back what you just said. I will take responsibility for my actions, and even if it takes me a lifetime, I will definitely compensate for the damage I caused to Song Yue Pavilion!” “Compensate?” “Yes, even if I am your cow and horse!” 

Yi Ho stared deeply at Hae-Joo.

 

This woman is lowering her body, raising her voice, and acting submissive, but in reality, she’s not like that at all.

 

All she is doing is lowering her head.

 

He can see how disrespectful, cunning, and selfish those eyes are hidden under her eyelids.

 “Very well, we’ll discuss how much you owe after we calculate Song Yue’s sales today.” “Yes, Mister, thank you, thank you, you will be blessed!” 

Yi Ho put his mask back on and stood up from where he was sitting.

 

He looked down at Hae-Joo, who was still kneeling at his feet.

 

He could almost see the calculations running through her tiny brain.

 “You better not think about running away.” 

Hae-Joo’s small shoulders slumped at his light tone.

 

Yi Ho added, his lips curling into a thin line.

 “Because many who attempted died.” 

His eyes met Hae-Joo’s, who blushed in surprise.

 “… died, how did they die?” 

Yi Ho narrowed his eyes.

 

She thought it was a money ghost, but she guessed that’s not necessarily the case.

 

After all, once a person dies, it’s over.

 

After looking into Hae-Joo’s tense eyes for a moment, Yi Ho leaned down.

 

He leaned down and whispered into her ear.

 “The curse. It is called the Curse of Song Yue.” 

Yi Ho was curious for a rare moment.

 

How could this scrawny, cloth-bellied little bastard be brave enough to run away in the face of the infamous

‘curse’

?

 

***

 

Alone in the private room, Hae-Joo slowly raised her hand and rubbed the hair behind her ear.

 

Her fingers were drenched in sweat from how nervous she was.

 “Haaah… I’m so scared…” 

Hae-Joo mumbled dazedly, also tapping her knees, which were tingling from kneeling.

 “Hehe, curse…? Curse is bullshit… Hehe, that makes sense, he must like his ass.” 

In disbelief, Hae-Joo cupped her right ear and rubbed it with her palm.

 

‘Curse. They call it the curse of Song Yue.’

 

The man’s voice pressed gently against her ear and she couldn’t get rid of it.

 

Shaking her head, Hae-Joo clenched her teeth and stared at the floor.

 

Her knees were still weak, but not so much that she couldn’t walk, so she slowly pushed the door open and stepped out into the hall.

 

As she looked around, she saw the master of Song Yue Pavilion leaning diagonally against a pillar in the hall.

 

Hae-Joo turned her eyes in the direction he was looking.

 

‘What is he looking at?’

 

At the entrance of the garden, there were three fierce-looking Japanese guards and a man wearing the uniform of Song Yue’s staff.

 

She couldn’t hear what they were saying because of the distance, but the Japanese guards didn’t look happy.

 

Soon their hands went up and they started pushing and kicking the staff’s shoulders.

 “[You son of a bitch, where are you going to talk to me, bring him here right now, you barbaric pig, how dare you!]” 

Sharp Japanese words burst out of him.

 

Hae-Joo furrowed her brow and looked at the clerk who had just been kicked to the ground by the officer.

 “[What a look! You want to go to jail too! I know many good deeds Kim Sensei, who passed away today, did for our great Japanese Empire, and I have to talk to you now, you mongrel dog!]” 

The soldier’s heartless kicks landed brutally on the staff’s body.

 

Hae-Joo clenched her fists and clenched her jaw with all her might.

 

Then he looked around.

 

It had been a long time since the ‘accident’ and there were only a few employees left in the garden to clean up the mess.

 

They watched nervously, not daring to confront him.

 

A painful groan escaped the mouth of one of the crouching workers.

 

Hae-Joo lowered her eyelids.

 

Just as she had done in the cemetery a few days ago, she pushed down the tight feeling in her chest.

 

‘What are you going to do? What can you do?’

 

‘Are you going to jump in and take the hit for him? Are you going to let him beat you to death?’

 

‘For someone you don’t even know?’

 

‘Are you cowardly, ashamed, embarrassed?’

 

‘Don’t be a coward and go on with your life, Hae-Joo.’

 

‘Just live your life the way you always wanted to.’

 

‘It’s already a miserable world to live in.’

 “[Shut up!]” 

The familiar voice that had suddenly interrupted her raised her eyes, which had been lowered in a dismissive manner.

 

The Master of Song Yue Pavilion was approaching in the direction of the guards.

 “[What the hell! You! Why are you wearing that stupid mask at night, you crazy…!]” 

The policeman was so angry that the police cap on his head came off, and he tried to rip off the fox mask.

 

Song Yue’s master turned slightly and dodged, and for some reason, the policeman fell on his face and couldn’t get up.

 

The policeman who had been watching and flirting on the sidelines immediately drew their swords and pointed them at Song Yue’s master.

 “[Ugh! This bastard dares to lay a hand on a policeman, He wants to die!]” 

Despite the Japanese policeman’s threats, the owner of Song Yue Hall remained calm.

 “[We don’t tolerate disturbances at Song Yue. That’s the unwritten rule here, don’t you know?]” 

A chill ran down the back of Hae-Joo’s neck.

 

It was the sourness in his relaxed voice.

 

It was as if something was about to happen.

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