Chapter 12.1

Chapter 12.1

A lunatic?

Before Ara could even figure out who it was, a head with bright blue hair popped out from behind Seol-do.

“Well, well, who do we have here! Isn’t it our beautiful, cute, and lovely Princess Baekseol!”

Cheong-seon showered Baekseol with sweet talk as he rushed towards her. Practically rolling on the ground, he tightly hugged the fluffy Baekseol and rubbed his cheek against her fur.

“How long has it been? About a week? I thought I was going to die from missing you. Didn’t you miss Cheong-seon, our Princess Baekseol? Huh? Huh?”

“Ugh, get away. Don’t bother me.” Baekseol replied curtly, pushing Cheong-seon’s face away with her front paws.

However, her tail, which couldn’t lie, kept hitting Ara’s calf. It seemed she was genuinely happy to see him.

“Still as adorably sassy as ever. Cheong-seon could die happy right now. If I die, write this on my tombstone: ‘Poor and handsome Lee Cheong-seon passed away from a heart attack caused by the overly cute Princess Baekseol.’”

Baekseol snorted but nestled into Cheong-seon’s arms. Cheong-seon grinned widely and gently lifted Baekseol, placing her carefully on a chair as if she were a princess.

“You two are making a scene, a scene.”

Seol-do, sitting across from them, grumbled.

“What are you talking about? That’s our Hong-seon’s specialty.”

Cheong-seon shrugged and sat next to Seol-do.

Just then, Hong-seon entered the restaurant with Seok-kyung. He waited until Seok-kyung passed by him, then suddenly threw his smartphone at Cheong-seon.

“Shut up.”

“See, he’s a pro at it.”

Cheong-seon quickly turned and caught the smartphone, giggling. It wasn’t his first time catching something like that.

“Ara, you really made Dongchimi noodles.”

“Ah, yes. There was some Dongchimi in the kimchi fridge. I just needed to cook the noodles.”

“Really touching. I won’t forget this kindness.”

“Eh? It’s not really a big deal…”

Ara felt a bit embarrassed by the unexpected praise when Seok-kyung casually spoke up from across the table.

“Just accept it.”

Seok-kyung’s casual comment was accompanied by a slight shrug.

“The goblin said they’d repay you. Who knows, they might even bring you a lottery ticket.”

Is that so?

It made sense. The smartphone Hong-seon had tossed earlier had the same design as Seok-kyung’s. It was probably a goblin’s magic wand, so it was likely that Cheong-seon had one, too.

A magical wand that could make anything appear out of nowhere.

“Alright then, Cheong-seon. Don’t forget this favor.”

It was worth taking a chance. Ara responded with a bold smile and picked up her spoon. Cheong-seon grinned back, seemingly understanding.

Despite his youthful appearance, which looked to be in his early twenties, Cheong-seon was quite handsome, though not as much as Seok-kyung. He was cute, while Hong-seon was the cold, aloof type.

“But I have a question.”

Ara paused with her spoon in mid-air and looked at Seok-kyung.

“What is it?”

“Are all goblins naturally handsome and beautiful?”

“……”

Seok-kyung stopped using his chopsticks and frowned.

Seol-do and Hong-seon also froze for a moment, exchanged glances, and then silently resumed eating.

Only Cheong-seon suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

“No, but seriously. Seol-do is incredibly beautiful. And Cheong-seon and Hong-seon are handsome too.”

Ara explained in a flustered manner, trying to justify her question.

“Of course, our Princess Baekseol is the best among them.”

After a brief silence, she hastily added.

Baekseol looked at Ara with a satisfied expression, as if to say, “That’s my dedicated caretaker.” A grain of white rice was stuck to the tip of her nose.

Feeling a pang of guilt, Ara smiled even more brightly and removed the rice from Baekseol’s nose.

That was close.

“Ara.”

Cheong-seon, who had finally managed to stop laughing, looked at Ara with a meaningful expression.

“What about our Geumsang Jeonha? Do you think he’s handsome?”

“Kim Seok-kyung?”

“Yeah, Kim Seok-kyung.”

“Lee Cheong-seon. Shut up and eat.”

Seok-kyung warned.

“What? Our Geumsang Jeonha is giving impossible orders again. How can I eat with my mouth closed? Should I eat through my nose? Or maybe my ears?”

However, Cheong-seon didn’t back down and continued to joke around. He even leaned more conspicuously towards Ara’s side.

“Ara, answer me. Is our Geumsang Jeonha handsome?”

“Huh? Well… yes, he is. He is very handsome.” Ara admitted readily.