Chapter 11.1

Chapter 11.1

Ara first checked the blue-haired man’s chest and beneath his nose. Fortunately, she felt slow but definite breathing. She then checked the red-haired man’s breathing and found he was alive as well.

Thank goodness.

Instinctively, Ara reached into her pocket to call 119 but then threw her phone aside.

This was a goblin’s house. 119 wouldn’t be able to find it.

Who are these people? Why are they lying here bleeding? And why is Kim Seok-kyung, that lousy goblin, taking so long?

With a confused expression, Ara gently tilted the heads of the two men back. If their airways were blocked, they might suffocate.

Should I do chest compressions? Mouth-to-mouth? Why can’t I remember anything? I took a CPR course, didn’t I…?

“Wak!”

At that moment, the blue-haired man, who had been lying as if dead, suddenly sat up with a scream.

“Kyah!”

Ara shrieked, nearly collapsing from shock.

Wham!

Simultaneously, her fist, thrown unconsciously, struck the man’s face directly.

“Ow…”

The blue-haired man clutched his face with both hands and fell to the side.

Ara opened her tightly shut eyes. Still clutching her pounding heart, she sank to the floor when she heard rustling behind her.

“I told you not to scare her.”

Thud, thud. The red-haired man casually spoke as he stood up and brushed off his clothes. With a nonchalant hand, he took a black handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped the fake blood from around his mouth.

Ara looked up at the red-haired man with a blank expression. Noticing her gaze, the man pointed to the sprawled blue-haired man.

“It was his idea. I had no choice but to go along with it.”

Ara blinked her large eyes silently for a moment, then suddenly bit her lip and glared at the blue-haired man.

The blue-haired man peeked through his fingers to gauge the situation. When his eyes met Ara’s, he quickly pretended innocence and covered his face again.

Suddenly, Ara’s scattered thoughts returned.

Oh. So it was all a joke. Haha. A joke…

Smack!

Without hesitation, Ara slapped the blue-haired man’s back. It was a forceful and precise hit.

“Ouch!”

“I thought you were really hurt! Why would you scare me like that? Why!”

Whack, smack!

Her sharp hands continued to leave their mark on the man’s back. He almost crawled away to a spot where Ara’s hands couldn’t reach.

“Why would I scare you? Because I’m a goblin! Playing tricks is an important virtue of goblins!”

The man groaned, clutching his stinging back. The fake blood smeared around his mouth, making his face look like a bloody mess.

A goblin? Not a human, but a goblin?

Gritting her teeth, Ara stood up. She had hit him so hard her palm was tingling and hot.

Well, it makes sense that only extraordinary beings would be in this strange and special world.

But what difference does it make? The fact that she was scared doesn’t change.

Just as Ara, still angry, was about to go at him again, a voice interrupted.

“We have a guest, so can’t you make a quiet entrance?”

Seok-kyung suddenly appeared from behind.

“Ouch, that hurts. Cheong-seon is dying here.”

The blue-haired man, Cheong-seon, immediately covered his face again and collapsed sideways upon seeing Seok-kyung. His long limbs curled up defensively.

Seok-kyung, familiar with such antics, took a few more steps toward Cheong-seon. The toe of his well-polished leather shoe nudged Cheong-seon’s knee.

“Lee Cheong-seon, stop pretending and get up.”

“….”

“I’ll count to three. One, two…”

Before Seok-kyung could finish, Cheong-seon sprang to his feet. He walked straight past Seok-kyung and approached Ara.

“Hello. I’m Cheong-seon, Lee Cheong-seon. You’re Ara, right? I’ve heard a lot about you from Seol Do-han. It’s the first time His Majesty…”

Thud. The red-haired man standing beside him elbowed Cheong-seon in the ribs.

“Ow, why did you hit me!”

“Idiot, did you eat all your senses for breakfast?”

Seok-kyung’s sharp reprimand was as piercing as his eyes. Cheong-seon rubbed his bruised side, silently mouthing curses. When he made eye contact with Seok-kyung, he stopped and clamped his mouth shut.

“I’m Lee Hong-seon.”

Meanwhile, the red-haired man, Hong-seon, was the complete opposite of Cheong-seon. He greeted Ara politely.

“My name is Na Ara,” she responded.

Ara, still in a daze, gave a slight bow.

Though Hong-seon was also one of the pranksters, he had cleverly shifted the blame onto Cheong-seon from the start, making it awkward to question him further. It seemed like a very shrewd move if it was planned.

But… are they both goblins? Cheong-seon had admitted as much earlier. Hong-seon must be one too, right? Their names even sound like they’re brothers. Given their completely different faces, are they fraternal twins?