As True as a Dream

When Yi Ho looked down, Hae-Joo rolled her eyes as if to scold him.

 “[What family does this young lady belong to?]” “[An ordinary family that has been in contact with my family since I was a child. Since I was weak, my grandfather arranged a marriage for me beforehand].” 

After casually answering Governor Saito’s question, Yi Ho reached out and took Hae-Joo’s hand lovingly.

 

Hae-Joo’s hand stiffened.

 

Yi Ho gave her hand a light squeeze, a sign to relax.

 

When he blinked, Hae-Joo’s hand slowly loosened and her ears reddened.

 

Then she turned to him and smiled at him from the corner of her eye, the way a lover might smile at a beloved.

 

Although they hadn’t agreed on anything before, they were quite compatible and Yi Ho was very pleased.

 “[Mao, I’m afraid I can’t give you this gift, don’t think about it, your father will prepare a better gift for you.]” 

Before Mao could say anything, Yi Ho took a step forward, dragging Hae-Joo with him, and bowed once more.

 “[Well then, we’d better get going.]” “[The party will start soon, so we’d better get back to the garden.]” 

Yi Ho smiled at Saito’s words.

 “[I will wait for you in the garden then].” 

Yi Ho left with Hae-Joo.

 

Behind his back, Mao’s eyes stayed on him, resentful and stubborn as if her favorite toy had been taken away.

 

***

 “We need to talk.” 

Before returning to the party, Hae-Joo tugged at his hand and stepped into the labyrinth garden next door.

 

It was called a maze, but the path was not complicated.

 

After a few twists and turns along the wooden walkways that lined the walls, they soon came to a small room with a stone pagoda in the center.

 

When she was sure that no one was around, she let go of his hand, which she had been holding the whole time, and looked at Yi Ho with a complicated expression on his face.

 “Did you just call me your fiancee?” “Then you think I will marry this Japanese girl?” “You won’t.” “That’s right.” “Then why…!” 

Still reeling from the embarrassment of the situation, Hae-Joo said the words as they came out of her mouth, but then she made a grunting sound and closed her mouth.

 

Inside the middle door, the courtyard was narrow, but there were no other terrain features, so what was going on inside was clearly visible from the outside.

 

Thus, she saw everything from the time Yi Ho came out of the room to the time he claimed her as his fiancée.

 

The opponent is the governor general of the Joseon Dynasty and his daughter.

 

In fact, there was almost a way out of the situation.

 

There were two ways out of the situation: confessing that Yi Ho has a disease that he can’t talk about as a man, or saying that he can’t get married because he has a different sexual orientation.

 

And the most normal way would be to say that he already has someone to marry.

 “Wouldn’t it have been better to tell… that you have an illness you can’t tell your boss about, or that you have an unusual sexual preference, instead of a fiancée?” “What?” 

Hae-joo had been silent as if trying to think of something, and Yi Ho’s face turned pale at her sudden outburst.

 

Seeing his mood change, Hae Joo quickly waved her hand away.

 “No, it’s already over, so forget what I just said.” 

Somehow, Hae-Joo didn’t think this would go away.

 

The woman, the daughter of a governor, was at first glance a spoiled young lady who had to be bent to her will.

 

Otherwise, how could she say that she would marry a man she saw for the first time today just because he had a pretty face?

 

It is said that beautiful women are angry, and here she was!

 “Do you hate being my fiancée so much?” 

Sighing, Hae-Joo raised her face to the cold voice.

 

Seeing the subtle pressure in Yi Ho’s eyes, Hae-Joo quickly shook her head.

 

Whether she liked it or not, the deed was done and she had no choice but to become his fiancée.

 “It’s not that I don’t like it, but somehow I don’t think this will be the end…” “[Are you sure that President Song Yue went this way?]” “[Yes. An employee who works on this side saw the two of them go into the maze].” 

From behind the wall of the room they were in, they could faintly hear Japanese asking for Yi Ho.

 

Hae-Joo’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

 

‘Did she follow them all the way here?’

 “Boss.” 

Hae-Joo, who was standing across from Yi Ho, leaned in close and whispered to him.

 

If he could hear her over there, he could definitely hear what she was saying over here.

 “You could be the governor’s son-in-law, are you sure you don’t want that?” 

A ferocious aura poured out from Yi Ho, making her afraid to speak.

 

Hae-Joo pursed her lips under the fierce gaze that took her breath away.

 “Yes. I can tell that you really don’t want to. “[Do you want to go in?]” “[Yes.]” 

The sound of footsteps moved along the passage, as if entering a maze.

 

Hae-Joo looked at the sympathy on the other side of the wall and spoke to Yi Ho.

 “[I don’t think it’s just that he has a fiancée, but what do you think?]” “[What are you trying to say?]” 

Judging from the behavior of the governor’s daughter that they had witnessed in the garden besides being a spoiled young lady, must be a very arrogant, determined, and self-centered person.

 

So she followed them to go after Yi Ho, who was ignoring her.

 

Such people are usually very narcissistic, but what would happen if she saw him with her own eyes on another woman’s hand?

 

‘Wouldn’t her pride make her give up her feelings for Yi Ho?’

 

‘Would she take something that belonged to someone else and use it herself?’

 

Hae-Joo thought she wouldn’t.

 

A normal girl would never do such a thing.

 

She would be reminded of how she used to touch other women and her temper would flare.

 “…I have one thing I’d like to try, can you help me?” 

Yi Ho tilted his head to the side as if to ask what it was.

 

Hae-Joo put her purse on the floor and stepped closer to Yi Ho’s front.

 

Then she squinted at the entrance to the maze and turned back to him.

 “I’m just flirting.” “Flirting?” 

Hae-Joo placed both hands on Yi Ho’s shoulders, bringing her face closer to him in time with the sound of his ever-closer footsteps.

 

Then the breath he spat out touched the tip of her lips.

 

The clean scent of Yi Ho’s cologne filled her lungs.

 

The masculine scent of his body so close to hers made her head spin.

 

Her heart began to beat like a drum.

 

Her eyelashes fluttered.

 

She thought she was going to fall for him, but before she could reach her goal, she felt dizzy and out of breath.

 

‘Hae-Joo, pull yourself together.’

 

She suppressed her embarrassment and stared at his chin.

 

She tried to block out all the sensations that were making her dizzy.

 

She was determined to make the governor’s daughter surrender on the spot.

 

That way, from the entrance of the labyrinth, it would be impossible to see if they were really kissing or not.

 

But there was one problem.

 

Her nose was pressed uncomfortably against Yi Ho’s fox mask.

 

She blushed like a redhead for initiating the situation.

 

Pulling his face back, Hae-Joo bit her lower lip, then used her right hand to remove Yi Ho’s mask.

 

A pair of curious, smiling eyes stared at her.

 

‘Don’t laugh! Don’t laugh, you bastard!’

 

Hae-Joo let out a muffled cry as she felt herself becoming dizzy again.

 “Hae-Joo, your hat is stuck on my eyebrows.” 

A hat?

 

Hae-Joo reflexively lifted her face and narrowed her eyes.

 

It was the soft brush of a hand against her upper lip.

 

Because they were so close, she moved her face slightly and his lips were right on hers.

 

She immediately pulled her face back and looked at him in surprise.

 “I thought you were just flirting with…?” “That’s what I thought…!” [Mr. Ban?] 

A young woman’s flirtatious voice called from behind her back, looking for Yi Ho.

 

But Hae-Joo couldn’t hear her.

 

Her wide-open eyes blinked dazedly.

 

Yi Ho’s lips were pressed against hers, not an inch apart.

 

Tilting her head at an angle to avoid the brim of her cloche hat, she kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around the small of her back and pulled her close.

 

Slightly apart, their bodies were close enough that their bellies touched.

 

The hardness of his body against hers made Hae-Joo open her mouth involuntarily, then close it again in embarrassment.

 

…As her tongue touched his lower lip.

 

She has never been so nervous.

 

The hand on his shoulder shook.

 

She didn’t know how to breathe and her mind went white and then black.

 “Breathe through your nose.” 

Yi Ho whispered softly against her lips.

 

She moved her pupils and her gaze met his deep black eyes.

 

It felt like hailstones the size of watermelons were hitting the inside of her chest in all directions.

 

Everything. It was louder than the thunder of the rainy season.

 

As he stared at her, frozen, Yi Ho’s lips suddenly moved.

 

He lightly bit her upper lip, followed by a light suck on her lower lip.

 

Hae-Joo grabbed Yi Ho’s shoulders and sucked in a breath.

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