Chapter 28……………………………..
It was close enough that if she leaned forward even slightly, she might touch him.
Could a gaze itself carry heat?
Trying to avoid that warmth, Chohui lowered her head.
Oh no.
The white shirt, brightly lit by the moonlight, clung tightly to his upper body, the shadows of his chest muscles standing out clearly.
Startled, she quickly lifted her gaze again—then squeezed her eyes shut.
If he came any closer, she would push him away.
For the best defense, she placed both hands over her chest.
Go ahead. Try it, she thought.
She waited for him to approach.
She waited…
But no matter how long she waited, there was no sign of movement.
“Why are your eyes closed? Are you expecting something?”
Huh?
His voice sounded farther away than she had imagined.
She cautiously opened her eyes.
The man who had been right in front of her was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he was sitting indifferently on the sofa beside the bed, looking up at her.
His face was full of mischief.
No way…
It was lucky the room was dark.
Otherwise, he would have seen her face burning red.
“With great generosity, I shall give up my bed.”
“Y-you… you were teasing me!”
Chohui shouted, realizing Dowoon was enjoying her embarrassment.
But the more flustered she became, the more amused he seemed.
“Will you wash first? Or shall we go together?”
“I’ll go first!”
“Very well. While you wash, try organizing those indecent thoughts in your head.”
“Indecent—! That’s not what it was!”
“Sometimes I can’t tell whether you’re innocent… or simply lustful.”
“D-don’t tease me!”
She yelled and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
From beyond the closed door, she thought she could hear Dowoon laughing softly.
Phew…
She splashed cold water onto her face again and again.
If she hadn’t closed her eyes…
He must have thought she was some shameless woman.
Did she look frustrated? Desperate?
Why did she close her eyes at that exact moment?
The sight of his exposed upper body, so close she could almost reach out and touch it…
Her eyelids had fallen on their own, as if weighted down.
She must have gotten too immersed in this pretend marriage.
Otherwise…
Why would she ever imagine such private things between husband and wife, when they weren’t even real spouses?
Chohui kept slapping cold water onto her face, trying to calm her wildly pounding heart.
After Chohui finished washing, it was Dowoon’s turn.
There was only one bath on this floor, so the other person had no choice but to wait until it was free.
That wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
He needed time to steady himself, too.
Splash—
Dowoon sank into the steaming bathwater and squeezed his eyes shut.
“I went out for coffee… and I ran into Madam Minamoto.”
It was, truly, the worst possible situation—one he couldn’t even begin to fix.
He should have been kneeling and begging forgiveness for what happened at city hall…
And yet he had encountered her in town, then let her go without explanation.
Now, it was safe to say he had been completely expelled from the women’s social circle.
And that meant…
Seong Chohui was no longer necessary.
The fake-wife act was useless now.
“Hah…”
A deep sigh escaped him.
What was truly clouding his mind?
That he had failed his mission?
That he would disappoint his comrades?
That he had brought danger to his homeland?
Or…
That he would have to send Chohui away?
Irritation crept up slowly.
Why was he irritated?
At her?
Or at himself?
Dowoon leaned deeper into the bathwater until it covered his face.
The heat wrapped around his entire body.
He held his breath until he could no longer endure it.
“Ha—!”
Water streamed down from his hair, over his strong chest.
“Damn it. Get a grip.”
He shoved the unresolved scraps of emotion to the back of his mind and rose roughly from the tub.
Chohui lay down with her hair still damp.
If she pretended to sleep, maybe he wouldn’t speak to her anymore.
A few minutes later, Dowoon returned to the room and quietly headed toward the sofa, just as she’d hoped.
“Are you asleep?”
“……”
“I suppose you are.”
She only meant to pretend, but exhaustion pulled her into real sleep.
What woke her was a low groan coming from near the sofa.
“Hng… ugh…”
She opened her eyes.
That sound…
It wasn’t unfamiliar.
She remembered Dowoon having a nightmare in the study before.
So it wasn’t just that one night?
Had he been suffering like this often?
Chohui pushed aside the blanket and approached the sofa.
“Hng…”
Dowoon’s face was tightly twisted, as if he were being chased in his dream.
Should she wake him?
Or leave him alone?
Last time, she’d woken him unnecessarily—and nearly got strangled.
She didn’t want to experience that again.
But she also wasn’t cruel enough to leave someone suffering like this.
And…
She felt guilty, too.
Chohui made up her mind and knelt beside the sofa.
“Dowoon…”
“Hng… ah…”
“Dowoon, wake up. Please wake up!”
She placed both hands on his shoulder and shook him gently, only hoping he would wake quickly.
Perhaps her touch helped.
Dowoon’s eyes slowly opened.
Thankfully, unlike last time, he didn’t lunge at her.
Half-lidded and dazed, he looked up at her as though he’d been attacked.
“…Wife?”
“You must’ve had a nightmare.”
She tried to pull her hand back, but unconsciously reached toward his forehead.
Cold sweat soaked his skin, and she meant to wipe it away.
She expected him to stop her.
But Dowoon accepted her touch without resistance.
Three years ago—
Dowoon knelt before his father.
Despite his belief that he would never submit…
There was nowhere else left for him to go.
“I was wrong, Father.”
Even at his only son’s plea, Count Lee Kangwon remained unmoved, like stone.
“I will do anything you ask. If you tell me to return to Japan, I will. If you tell me to learn under you, I will. Anything… I will obey.”
“Do you truly wish to save those insurgent Joseon dogs that badly?”
“They are my friends. Please.”
“They’ve already been handed over to the Police Bureau. You will never again be involved with those Joseon bastards, so forget them.”
“Father!”
“Tsk. So weak. If I regret one thing, it’s that I tolerated you associating with those rebels in the first place.”
Since when had he known?
Since Tokyo Imperial University?
Since Dowoon returned to Joseon and witnessed reality?
Since he realized his luxurious life was built upon a bloody castle of Korean suffering?
“Then I will go with them.”
“You unfilial—!”
“I don’t want to escape alone like a traitor. They were comrades who looked toward the same future. Please let me die with them.”
Smack—!
Dowoon’s face snapped to the side with the sound of tearing flesh.
Count Lee struck him again, breathing harshly.
“How dare you compare yourself to those rebels!”
“I am one of those rebels!”
“You wretched child—!”
“Then kill me. I’ll die with them.”
“No matter what you say, no one would dare take you with them.”
“What do you mean…?”
Dowoon’s voice cracked.
“Did you think I would simply leave those filthy Joseon vermin by your side?”
“…It was you? You handed them over?”
“Of course! How could I allow such dirty Koreans to cling to you, the future Count of this nation? As your father, I had to clean them away!”
Dowoon opened his mouth to protest—
But no sound came out.
“Don’t struggle. It’s already too late.”
“…Too late?”
“I personally recommended immediate execution for those filthy bastards. The officers had no reason to refuse.”
“…You mean they’re already dead?”
“Yes.”
Dowoon’s grip on his father’s trousers loosened.
Dead.
His comrades.
Because of him.
Tears poured from his eyes like torrential rain.
How much debt did he owe?
To them…
To their families left behind…
More than a hundred lives, at least.
How many sacrifices would it take before he could ever lighten this weight?
Could he even?
From that moment on, Joseon’s independence was no longer his burden alone.
He had to carry the burden of those who died.
Of their families.
Even if he gave everything.
Even if he was torn apart and vanished without a trace.
For him, there was no reason to live except independence.
No—
He must not allow himself any other reason.
His life was only atonement…
For surviving so shamefully.
“Dowoon… wake up. Please wake up!”
Warm hands.
Hands far too kind for a sinner like him.
“…Wife?”
When he opened his eyes, Chohui was there.
Why did she appear even in his dreams?
He filled his gaze with her face, as if it were a mirage.
From her furrowed brows to her dry lips—
There wasn’t a single flaw.
It was only a dream…
So perhaps it was allowed.
“You must’ve had a nightmare.”
Then a cool hand rested against his forehead.
He flinched at the unfamiliar touch.
This wasn’t a dream?
“Do you always have nightmares like this? Look at all this sweat…”
Her worried voice brushed against his ears.
Why did she keep coming closer?
A foolish woman approaching him without knowing his dark intentions…
Without realizing she was prey.
“Dowoon… do you want me to tell you how to wake up from a nightmare?”
“……”
“The way to wake up from a nightmare is—”
“Someone else wakes you up, isn’t it?”
“Oh? You already know.”
A soft breath escaped his lips before he could stop it.
Did she not remember?
He had said that first.
“You’re very lucky, Dowoon. I was here beside you, so I could wake you up.”
Yes…
He was lucky.
Cruelly so.
“Then… will you stay beside me from now on?”
And before he knew it, the words slipped out.
