As True as a Dream

His mind was racing and his heart was clenching in his chest.

 

In some people’s eyes, he was engraved like that.

 

To others, he was a man they wanted to paint.

 “Boss, what’s wrong?” 

Yi Ho, who had been lost in thought for a rare moment, snapped out of it at the sound of Hae-Joo’s voice calling out to him.

 

After wiping the blood from his hands, Hae-joo folded her handkerchief and put it on the table.

 “Is something bothering you?” 

Yi Ho was about to say nothing, but then changed his mind.

 

Swallowing a wry smile deep in his dark eyes, Yi Ho stretched out his long arms and draped them over the table.

 “My arms and shoulders are tender from sleeping in one position for so long. You can rub them if you’re worried.” 

He frowned, showing his discomfort, and Hae-Joo gently rubbed his arms, from forearms to wrists to fingers.

 

It was like having a bunch of chicks running around on his arm.

 

But Yi Ho let it go because he enjoyed watching Hae-Joo’s serious face as she stroked his arm, occasionally checking his complexion.

 

His arms, shoulders, and temples were tightly pressed together, and his face was red from the effort.

 

At first glance, the stray hairs on her forehead were slightly damp.

 

It was May. The train was poorly ventilated and the air inside was a bit stale.

 “Stop, you look tired.” 

He wanted to enjoy her attention, not bother her.

 

Yi Ho grabbed Hae-Joo’s hand that was pressing against his temple and pulled it down to stop.

 “Are you a little better? Ah! When did that—!” 

Hae-joo, who was about to ask him again if he was okay, suddenly let out a single cry.

 

She reached out to touch his body as if she wanted to jump on him.

 

Yi Ho quickly reached out and grabbed the notebook out of his hand and onto the other side of Hae-Joo’s body.

 

Hae-Joo, who had only seen the notebook and rushed at him, grabbed his shoulders, her other hand desperately reaching for the notebook.

 “Wasn’t I supposed to see that?”

Yi Ho asked, his hand still clutching the notebook.

 “No, there… there’s not much in there, just some drawings for jewelry.” 

Hae-Joo, whose attention was glued to the notebook, replied urgently, releasing her grip on his shoulder and turning to go around him to the notebook.

 

But Yi Ho slipped his arm around Hae-Joo’s waist and held her in an angled embrace, immobilizing her.

 

Then he looked up at her and smiled questioningly.

 “Did you draw me?” 

Hae-Joo’s face flushed as she lowered her head to follow his voice.

 

She had just realized how close they were now.

 

Hae-Joo removed her hand from Yi Ho’s shoulder again and tried to pull away, but Yi Ho wouldn’t let go.

 

He wrapped one hand around her thin waist for support and his mouth curled into a pout.

 “This drawing, give it to me.” 

Yi Ho opened the notebook to show Hae-Joo the page she had drawn.

 “What? It’s not very good, it’s not finished, and it’s just something I drew to keep my hands busy.” “It doesn’t matter.” 

There was a short silence, like a nervous battle.

 

Hae-Joo looked down at Yi Ho with a troubled expression, then suddenly made a move as if it were a last ditch effort.

 

With the agility of a hawk, she snatched the notebook out of Yi Ho’s slightly crooked hand and raised it high above her head, cupping her crow’s feet as if she was afraid he would snatch it back.

 

Yi Ho was stunned.

 

He let go of Hae-Joo’s waist and leaned back on the couch to look up at her.

 “A sick person asks you to do something and you can’t even do that?” 

Hae-Joo’s face stiffened slightly and she looked down at him again.

 “…Then tell me about your condition, what’s the name of your illness, what are the symptoms, have you been to the hospital, do you have any medication… On that condition, I’ll draw you a picture, but I’ll finish drawing your lips first.” 

Somehow, she didn’t ask him a single question while wiping his bloody hands, so he guessed that she was waiting to ask him those questions.

 

Yi Ho grabbed the arm of the couch and stood up.

 

Partly because Hae-Joo was so close and partly because he wanted to.

 

As he stood up, the hem of his suit brushed against Hae-Joo’s clothes.

 

Flinching, Hae-Joo tried to back away, but Yi Ho stood fully up.

 

His high nose tickled the tip of her rounded one.

 

Yi Ho smiled with satisfaction as he easily snatched the note from Hae-Joo’s hand.

 “Good.” 

And about an hour later.

 

Hae-Joo’s mouth was pouting like a duck as she completed Yi Ho’s lips in her notebook.

 

When she shaded the lips with a pencil and looked up at him, there was a hint of bitterness in her eyes that she couldn’t swallow.

 

‘A rare disease. There’s nothing the hospital can do because no one has ever had it before, and He’s the only one who has it now, so no one knows what’s wrong with him. And of course there’s no medicine.’

 

This was the answer to his illness that she had been looking for.

 

“What is the connection between Guishan Dao and my illness? I’ll tell you if  you find the painting. If you don’t find it then it means nothing.”

 

The answer to the question she’d always doubted was just as vague.

 

‘Are you making fun of people?’

 

Hae-Joo’s eyes turned ugly as she looked at the fresh-faced man in her notebook and put the pencil under her nose.

 

After a few quick movements, the nose hairs appeared.

 

Hae-Joo snorted inwardly and held the finished drawing in front of Yi Ho.

 

His face went from smiling to cold in an instant.

 ” What’s that under my nose?” “It’s nose hair. Don’t you think nose hairs make a drawing more alive, more human? Your face is so… unrealistic, it’s not attractive. It’s not human.” “Oh, really? Is that what you say to a sick person?” 

She felt a little vulnerable for a moment, but she pretended not to hear him.

 

Then suddenly her chin was grabbed and her face was lifted towards Yi Ho.

 

His face suddenly stopped a fist’s distance away.

 “Look at you. You don’t find me attractive? How could you?” 

Her eyes widened and her lips curled.

 

Her heart pounded in her chest at the sight of his inhuman face.

 

She could feel the heat rushing to her ears and neck.

 

Hae-Joo didn’t last long in the hypnotic embrace of Yi Ho’s smiling face.

 

She didn’t last long because he released his grip on her chin and pinched her earlobe as if he knew her every thought.

 

He pulled away again and handed the notebook back to her.

 

Hae-Joo found an eraser in her pocket and erased Yi Ho’s nose hairs from the drawing and handed it back to him.

 

Then, as if pleased with the finished product, Yi Ho wrinkled the corners of his eyes and smiled softly.

 

It was an embarrassing but pleasant feeling to know that he really liked what she had drawn.

 

And she felt a bit relieved.

 

Aside from the hyperemesis gravidarum and his usual languid appearance, he really did look good.

 

Hae-Joo lowered her eyes and went back to drawing the trinket shape in her notebook.

 

In the back of her mind, she thought about Guishan Dao.

 

This trip had to be worth it.

 

When he woke up earlier, she was surprised that she almost panicked.

 

She had only recently met him and had only recently realized his mind.

 

All of a sudden she was afraid.

 

That he would suddenly disappear before her eyes.

 

That she would never see his smiling face again.

 

That he would slip away, never to return.

 

That she would despair of this world again.

 

***

 

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Hae-Joo and Yi Ho reached the entrance to the small village.

 *Trot, trot, trot.* 

The cheerful sound of the donkey’s hooves hitting the ground echoed down the quiet country road.

 

As Hae-Joo sat on the wobbly donkey cart, she surreptitiously checked to see if Yi Ho looked uncomfortable and then chuckled.

 

With sticks all over his body and his long legs bent uncomfortably over the straw, he didn’t look like the refined, noble man she had seen in Gyeongseong.

 “Why are you smiling?” “Look at yourself.” “Sure. You look good. Very. Young…” 

Yi Ho smiled, not offended by her words.

 

But the words that came out of his mouth were mean.

 

She wanted to protest, but looking down at her own clothes, she had nothing to say.

 

They arrived in Jiaoyuan at dusk yesterday and rented two rooms in an inn near the train station to rest.

 

This morning, they took a bus to Gongju and found a cart to take them to Sogok Village.

 

She felt fine after the train ride, but just in case, she had Yi Ho wait for her at a cafe in front of the market and went to the market alone.

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