As True as a Dream

If she can get through one person, she thinks she can get through anything.

 

Hae-Joo looked at the thugs surrounding her.

 

‘Just one…!’

 

Their physiques were all the same size.

 

So she turned to the weapons in their hands.

 

One had a pocket knife, one had a pumpkin, one had bare fists, one had a razor…

 

Hae-Joo stuttered, reached out and grabbed Yi Ho’s wrist, who was standing next to him, and forced him to look at her.

 

Yi Ho’s questioning eyes fell on her.

 

Hae-Joo looked at the unarmed man and said,

“Run,”

with the corner of her mouth.

 

She took three or four steps forward.

 

Then, with a surprised expression on her face, she called out to her target.

 “Brother! My God, aren’t you my brother? Do you remember me?” “What?” 

The man looked at him suspiciously as Hae-Joo suddenly turned and approached him.

 “Aren’t you brother Kang-dol? My God! How many years has it been? How did I see you here?” “What are you talking about, who are you?” “What? Brother, don’t you recognize me? It’s me! Didn’t we catch fish, freeze watermelons, play with fire, and get beaten up by your mother together in our hometown?” 

Hae-Joo walked up to the man and blurted out the nonsense as it came out of her mouth.

 

Then she grabbed the man’s broad shoulders as if to show him her face.

 “Don’t you recognize me?” “I don’t give a shit where I’m from – I’m from Gyeongseong, Tae… Ouch!” 

He raised his hand as if to push her away, then suddenly stopped.

 

Blood pulsed in his temples and his face turned red.

 

Hae-joo kicked the man in the crotch with all the force she could muster.

 

When the man fell to his knees with his hands between his legs, Hae-joo immediately kicked him off and screamed at the top of her lungs…

 “Run! Ban Yi Ho!” “Hey, damn it, get him!” “You son of a bitch…!” 

Hae-Joo’s eyes widened as she saw the man coming at her with a gibbet.

 

I quickly ducked, dodging the gibbet that swept over her head, and kicked up my feet again.

 

The man with the gourd fell to his knees as an unspeakable pain shot between his legs.

 “Ban Yi Ho!” 

The man with the pocket knife lunged at him, and Hae-Joo’s heart grew impatient.

 

That’s a knife.

 

If you get stabbed, you’ll die.

 

Hae-Joo dodged the man with the pocket knife by stepping back.

 

Then she tried to run in the direction of Song Yue’s entrance.

 

But she noticed that Yi Ho was still standing in front of the black iron gate.

 “Ban Yi Ho, what are you doing?” 

She nervously called his name again.

 

The sound of crunching food came from the trees around them.

 Caw, caw, caw! 

Out of nowhere, crows swooped down from the trees.

 

Darker than the night, they swooped down wildly in unison, swooping down on Hae-Joo and the men.

 

Startled by the ferocity of the attack, Hae-Joo clutched her head and ran toward where Yi Ho stood.

 “I told you to run! Why don’t you run! The door! Open the door! The gate! Where is the gate?” 

Hae-Joo grabbed Yi Ho’s arm and pulled him toward the black iron gate.

 Clang, clang, clang! 

Above them, a flock of crows circled frantically.

 

As Yi Ho pushed open the iron gate, Hae-Joo lifted a crow’s foot and wrapped her left hand around Yi Ho’s head.

 

Yi Ho, stunned, blinked at her.

 

Hae-Joo narrowed her eyes.

 

‘Open it!’

 

With a clatter, the door swung open.

 

***

 

Hae-Joo dove inside the door, desperately wrapping her arms around herself and Yi Ho’s head.

 

Then she turned and slammed the door shut again, too scared to push herself in.

 

She scanned the sky, wondering if a flock of crows might be flying that way, but there was no sign.

 

Outside the iron gate, on the other hand, she could tell by the sound that it was going to be a disaster.

 

The sound of the thugs and the crows was terrible.

 

‘I’m alive…!’

 

Holding on to the iron gate with her weak legs, Hae-Joo crouched down and let out the breath she had been holding in.

 “Haa…! Huh…! Heh…!” 

‘How long has it been?’

 

Suddenly, the crows and the harsh curses of the thugs were far away.

 

When it was quiet outside the iron gate, Hae-Joo let go of her fear.

 

‘What the hell is going on?’

 

Hae-Joo stood up, barely able to steady herself, and turned around.

 

She wanted to ask Yi Ho who those thugs were.

 

For some reason, Yi Ho had a fresh, happy smile on his face.

 “…Are you laughing now? You just scared us to death. Who are these thugs?” 

Instead of answering, Yi Ho ran his fingers down his throat.

 

Hae-Joo followed his hand to his neck and raised an eyebrow.

 

‘…Really? No scars?’

 

Hae-Joo leaned closer to Yi Ho and looked closely at his neck.

 “Are you better? How did you get so clean…?” “Good medicine.” 

Yi Ho added, cutting Hae-Joo off at the hip.

 “Those thugs must have been a warning from Inspector Sasaki, because that encounter wasn’t pleasant.” “Police Inspector Sasaki…?” 

Hae-Joo recalled a time when Yi Ho had gone to see Inspector Sasaki of the Jongno police station and returned with a cut on his neck.

 “….He’s so petty. It’s already been five days, and he’s sending thugs?” “Because I wasn’t in Song Yue during that time. They’ve been waiting for me up to their necks.” “Ah…” 

How could she have been so unpleasant!

 

She was curious, but she kept her curiosity to herself.

 

It’s a police station, it’s a policeman, it’s a name that can never be good.

 

Not caring was the right thing to do.

 “Ah!” 

Hae-Joo, who had been making a face, suddenly let out a single cry.

 “What time is it?” “Two minutes to midnight.” “Curfew!” 

Hae-Joo spun around quickly and stood up after a few steps.

 

‘Two minutes to go, how is she supposed to get back to Iksunjeong?’

 

Hae-Joo’s shoulders slumped and she scratched her forehead in frustration.

 

If she wanders the streets and runs into a Japanese policeman, she’ll have to….

 

she barely escaped the thug’s grasp, but what’s next?

 

She never wanted to have adventures.

 

She’d rather…

 

Hae-joo turned around in disbelief and called out to Yi Ho.

 “Boss… Do you have a place in this big house where I can lay my little body down for a while? I don’t have to lie down, I can sit. I’ll go home right after curfew.”

Hae-Joo asked sincerely and politely.

 

Whether she could go back or not, her feet were spinning now.

 

Her sleep-deprived body felt as if it had been pushed to the limit.

 

She had a premonition that even if she went back, she wouldn’t make it home and would end up lying on the street.

 

She thought,

“You’re not going to be mean enough to kick me out when it’s past curfew, are you?”

 

‘After all, they’re in this together, right?’

 

Hae-Joo raised her hand and ran it firmly through her greasy hair, looking at Yi Ho with the most pitiful expression she could muster.

 

Meanwhile, Yi Ho’s eyes rested on the back of Hae-Joo’s hand.

 

There was blood on the back of her hand where a crow had pecked it.

 

Hae-Joo had wrapped her hand around his head, desperately protecting him from the horde of demons.

 

Yi Ho pursed his lips and lifted his eyes a little higher.

 

Red, bloodshot eyes, a puffy face, a barnacle hat that barely rested on her head, her hair disheveled, her shirt crumpled into a tight ball.

 

It wasn’t hard to guess that she’d had a long, hard day.

 

Her weariness was evident in the way she trudged through the alleys of Iksunjeong.

 

Nevertheless, she took him home, saying that the night was dangerous.

 

The night was dangerous.

 

When thugs threatened them, she would not leave him alone, but would tease his unsteady hands and feet to help him find his way.

 

In front of him was Hae-Joo, a liar who was always calculating and only cared about money!

 

“From now on, I’ll think of you as my boss, and I’ll be really good to you, and I’ll be incredibly good to you.”

 

‘Was this what she meant by being incredibly good?’

 

A grin spread across Yi Ho’s eyes.

 

Funny.

 

He had never been protected by anyone in his life.

 

When he wanted protection, he was despised and abused, and when he didn’t need it, he was stronger than anyone else.

 

In the past few years his body had weakened, but not to the point where he needed anyone’s protection.

 

Yet this woman had protected him so selfishly.

 

Even to the point of getting hurt herself.

 

It’s refreshing.

 

And somehow he felt like laughing.

 “…There’s certainly nowhere else to sit.” 

After a moment of silence, he spat, and color returned to Hae-Joo’s imperturbable face.

 

“But you’ve suddenly become a bit stern. You seemed so determined and hot-tempered before.”

 

Hae-Joo’s eyelids fluttered wildly.

 

The bright glow on her face quickly faded to humility.

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