Chapter 15.1

Ara blinked several times. Even after hearing Seok-kyung’s words, she remained frozen for a few seconds.

The steady sound of running water finally jolted her back to reality.

“Ah!”

Ara yelped in shock, shaking off Seok-kyung’s hand. She instinctively took a few steps back. Her heart pounded as if she had just run a hundred meters, even though she was standing still.

“Why, why… how… what is this…?”

Seok-kyung clicked his tongue and wiped the remaining soap bubbles from his cheek himself. His face had already returned to its usual arrogant and playful expression.

“Do you always touch people without permission? You’ve got a bad habit.”

“What? No, that’s not… that’s not it…”

Ara stammered. She didn’t know what to say or where to start explaining.

This doesn’t make sense. Cheong-seon said that wearing this would make me invisible and inaudible. I even confirmed it with my own eyes!

“Can you hear my voice?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Unlike someone, I don’t have a hobby of performing monodramas alone.”

“You can see me here too…?”

“My vision is 4.0 in both eyes. No astigmatism.”

“No, that’s not the issue. Cheong-seon told me that if I used this, I wouldn’t be seen. Even my breath wouldn’t be heard.”

“That’s true. To human eyes, you’re invisible and inaudible.”

Seok-kyung placed the last cleaned dish on the drying rack and turned off the faucet. The sound of running water that had filled the kitchen abruptly stopped.

Ara stood there, still trying to process what had just happened. She looked at Seok-kyung, who seemed completely unfazed by the situation. She stared blankly up at Seok-kyung.

He thought she looked like a character under a stun spell in a game as he slowly dried his wet hands with a hand towel.

“But it’s useless against goblins.”

“…”

“Na Ara, didn’t I tell you before? Let’s live smarter.”

Seok-kyung tapped his temple with his fingertip again.

Ara finally grasped the entire situation. Her face, which had been pale, rapidly turned beet red, as if she had been doused in red paint.

“Surely, you didn’t see and hear everything from the beginning, right?”

Seok-kyung responded with a meaningful smile instead of words.

Clinging to the last shred of hope, Ara desperately tried to deny reality.

“That can’t be. It can’t be. It must have been when I touched your face at the end…”

“Cheong-seon doesn’t wash dishes himself. He always makes his subordinate goblins do it. He holds a pretty high position, you know.”

“……”

“Hong-seon would do it if asked, but I don’t ask him. It’s a hundred times more beneficial to have him assist with work than to wash dishes.”

Haha. I’m scr*wed.

Ara laughed with a dazed expression. All she could do was curse and laugh hollowly.

“What else was there? Ah.”

Seok-kyung reached out towards Ara’s face with a look of realization.

Startled by the sudden hand blocking her view, Ara squeezed her eyes shut.

Why is it that courage is absent when needed and present when unnecessary?

Seok-kyung sighed lightly and leisurely pushed up the bridge of the sunglasses Ara was wearing. The sunglasses, which had been covering half of her small face, were now perched on her forehead.

Only then did Ara open her eyes. Seok-kyung’s face was right in front of hers, his gaze locked onto hers.

“Let’s not play these childish games anymore, okay?” he said, his voice calm but firm.

Ara, still flustered, could only nod in agreement, her mind racing to process everything that had just happened.

“I don’t particularly like or dislike you, Na Ara. I don’t know you well enough to feel either way.”

A scent that was hard to describe—fresh and invigorating—tickled her nose.

Ara instinctively held her breath and clenched her fists tightly.

“The reason I let you stay in this house… well, let’s just say it’s because of the minimum conscience a goblin should have. If I left you to die, it would have left a bad taste in my mouth. After all, you’re a human I made a contract with.”

Thump, thump. Her heart pounded wildly, as if it had gone mad.

“While you were asleep? Of course, nothing happened. If I had to point something out… you snored so loudly it could have brought the house down.”

“……”

Naturally, that pounding quickly turned into a very different kind of trembling.

So embarrassing. You’ve really outdone yourself, Na Ara.

“My original hair color is gold. Want to see?”

Before Ara could respond, Seok-kyung straightened his leaning body.

Snap.

As soon as he snapped his fingers, his jet-black hair began to transform into a brilliant golden hue. It was a color that no human hair dye could ever replicate.

Even as she felt like she might die of embarrassment, Ara thought:

…Blonde suits him disgustingly well. He should be a celebrity, not a lawyer.

Snap.

The sound of Seok-kyung’s fingers snapping again pulled Ara out of her daze. When she came to her senses, the dazzling golden hair had already turned back to black.

“Return the cap to its owner. It’s useless in this house anyway. Even Baekseol can find you by scent.”

Seok-kyung spoke nonchalantly and walked past Ara, leaving the kitchen.

Once out of her sight, the corners of his straight lips curved gently, creating a soft, almost imperceptible smile.