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Yeohwa stared at the door next to Lady Jang's door. She stared expressionlessly for a few seconds, and after looking around to make sure no one was watching, she silently opened the door. Earlier Lady Jang said someone as pitiful as herself was asleep in that room, and asked her to wake that person up so they could leave Myeongdo Inn together. She didn't ask who the miserable person the woman mentioned was, and now she regretted she didn't ask. Or maybe this is an opportunity she never asks for and she should give her gratitude to the woman tomorrow.
Unconscious Sooho sprawled on the mattress, not moving an inch even with the door swings open and closed. He's barely covered by the blanket but it seems like he didn't even notice it. His eyes were tightly closed, his cheeks were red, and the tip of his nose was also red. The man looked very tired and defenseless, making Yeohwa start to get worried. Slowly, she walked closer to Sooho, staring at his handsome pink-flushed face, and immediately knew that the man was drunk. Why did he get drunk? Is there any problem in his work? Maybe a difficult case to solve?
Because she was busy with her own thoughts, Yeohwa didn't realize she had pulled the blanket to cover Sooho’s body, so high that the back of her hand grazed Sooho's chin. She gasped in surprise, but didn't move and just stared at Sooho, who slowly opened his eyes. Sooho's eyes seemed unfocused and he blinked a few times, before he smiled when he noticed Yeohwa sitting next to him. The smile successfully made Yeohwa's heart beat faster. Sooho's eyes were like a magnet to her, and when the man looked at her, she couldn't seem to look away.
Sooho's gaze made Yeohwa unable to think or move, and the next thing she realized was that Sooho had reached out his hand, touching the side of her face gently without losing eye contact. “I must be seeing things now,” he whispered, making Yeohwa suddenly feel her face burning. It seemed Sooho didn't realize what effect his deep sleepy voice had on Yeohwa's heart and the next second he continued, “Bu-in. (Sadly) someone else's wife. Bu-in.”
Yeohwa almost cried hearing Sooho's heartbroken voice. She tried to use her right hand to pull Sooho's hand away from her face, but when she touched his hand, instead of pushing it away, she held it tighter. His hands felt warm. Is it because of the effect of alcohol which makes his body warmer? Or because she had never actually touched a man's hand before? The back of Sooho's hand felt firm, big and warm, making her forget that she had to suppress her own feelings and keep her distance from Sooho. Her “husband” was back and alive, and she herself drew a line between herself and the man, saying that she didn't want anyone to misunderstand their relationship. Who was she actually trying to deceive? If there was anyone she needed to deceive, that person was herself.
For a few minutes they just stared at each other with Sooho touching Yeohwa's cheek and Yeohwa holding that hand, until they both snapped to reality. Sooho withdrew his hand at the same time as Yeohwa let go of her grip, and he immediately got up and sat up straight. His eyes widened in shock, looking Yeohwa up and down, as if he was analyzing the situation whether he was in reality or still dreaming.
“Officer Park,” Yeohwa called carefully. “It seems like something is bothering you.”
Sooho blinked his eyes, looking at Yeohwa with a confused look.
"Do not worry too much about it. There's nothing the time couldn't heal," Yeohwa continued, smiling slightly. Sooho's expression looked like a wounded puppy, making Yeohwa's smile immediately fade.
“Are you okay?" Sooho asked, his brow furrowed with worry.
Yeohwa nodded reassuringly. "I'm fine.”
“I am very worried."
Sooho's sentence made Yeohwa's heart ache. She looked at Sooho, who was still looking at her with a wounded gaze.
“I'm worried; if that person will make you even more tied to Lord Seok, or that he has a ill temper like his father–”
“You don't need to worry,” Yeohwa interrupted quickly, making Sooho stop talking. If the man continued to show concern like that, the boundary line she had drawn might be gone. Not only “stepped over” like the other lines she ever drew with other people, but this time the line might be erased if she is not careful. Erased by herself. Yeohwa gracefully scoffed, "he's strange but he's not that kind of person."
Sooho faked a smile, but his hands gripped the blanket in annoyance. He lowered his head while muttering, “I hope so. Because even alcohol can't stop my worries.”
“Did you drink alcohol because of me?”
Sooho's body stiffened. He glanced at Yeohwa, who smiled slightly at him.
Yeohwa could see the pink color on Sooho's cheeks becoming redder, and she tried hard to restrain her hands from pinching the man's cheeks. Is it strange that she finds this grown man adorable?
“I– I think too much–” Sooho stammered, rubbing his slightly red eyes awkwardly. “But I was thinking more and more because of the alcohol. Even to the point that I imagining if I met you before you got marri–”
“Eh??”
“I'm– I'm sorry,” Sooho said quickly, hugging his knees in embarrassment. “I shouldn't have said that.”
Yeohwa looked at Sooho who looked guilty, and she tried to clear up the awkwardness by saying, “but you were still a kid at that time.” The smile on Sooho's face made Yeohwa heave a sigh of relief. It seems like just this once, she can erase a little of the line she drew. Just this once.
“Yeah, 15 years ago I was still very young,” Sooho answered, turning to Yeohwa with his arms still hugging his knees. "But you're still young too."
“I wouldn't have taken you seriously if we had met 15 years ago,” Yeohwa replied, positioning herself to sit more comfortably and smiling. “After all, 15 years ago I haven't started wearing a mask–”
“Maybe at that time I’ll meet you when you were training with your brother.” Sooho's eyes lit up looking at Yeohwa. “You may not have been the masked hero back then, but I'll definitely notice how cool you were with a sword.”
“Well, at that time my skills weren't as good as they are now,” Yeohwa answered, her mind starting to seep into Sooho's imaginary world. "And you might ask me to train you."
Sooho grinned. "No, no. I can't possibly ask you to train me. By your brother, perhaps. But maybe I want to spar with you. Because I was also trained from very young by my father."
Yeohwa noticed Sooho's cheerful expression faded a little when he mentioned his father, so she tried to make their imaginary world conversation return to a happy story. “Then maybe the three of us will go to the market, meet young Madam Jang who opens a jewelry shop.”
“And there we meet Yoonhak Hyungnim-nim," Sooho continued, smiling cheerfully again at Yeohwa. “And we went out of the shop together to buy kkot-gam.”
“But Kkotnim wasn't born yet,” Yeohwa reminded, chuckling. “Maybe we met Yeonsun on the street and Yoonhak fell in love with her at first sight.”
Sooho nodded in agreement. “Same as me when I saw you for the first time with a sword in hand.”
Yeohwa was silent for a moment, and she could feel her face getting hot. "And you will study at the palace as an official's child.”
“Yes, and I'll ask you to wait for me until I finish my education."
Yeohwa's breath hitched a little as she continued. “But I will still consider you a child.”
Sooho smiled sweetly, not realizing that his smile made Yeohwa's heart almost stop beating. “It's okay. I can always confess to you, as much as you like. And by the time I finish my education, you won't be able to say no.”
Yeohwa stood up, standing with her back facing Sooho. She was trying to hide her face which must have turned red from Sooho's gaze, when Sooho called her again.
“Bu-in.”
Yeohwa kept her face turned away and said nothing, waiting for Sooho to continue his words.
“I must sound and look pretty pathetic for you to play along with all this nonsense.”
Yeohwa immediately turned around, sat back in her original place and looked at Sooho who was now hiding his face behind his knees. Yeohwa fought her urges to touch Sooho by softly saying, "if it's possible, I also want to live in the dream just like we imagined."
Sooho raised his head, his eyes already glistening with tears. “A dream that is too beautiful compared to our current reality.”
Yeohwa disappointedly nodded her head. "Yes.”
“Can we just say that we are in a dream now?”
Yeohwa smiled slightly and shook her head gracefully. "Unfortunately you are already awake from the sleep and the alcohol. Come on, let's go."
“I haven't woken up yet. And this is all just a dream," Sooho stressed, sitting cross-legged while looking at Yeohwa with pleading eyes. His fists clenched on his sides. “Please tell me this is all just a dream.”
Yeohwa considered it for a few seconds before finally nodding her head. “Fine.”
“This is all just a dream,” Sooho repeated, as if confirming to himself, before leaning his body towards Yeohwa. He stared into her eyes. “This is all just a very beautiful dream that I want to live in it forever.”
Yeohwa couldn't think or move when she felt Sooho's soft lips pressed against hers.