Chapter 18.2

Chapter 18.2

“What did you say?” Ara bristled at Seok-kyung’s comment.

Seok-kyung shrugged as if to say he hadn’t said anything wrong, then turned and crossed the threshold of the passageway.

“What are you doing? At this rate, we’ll miss the entire market.” His pleasant tone urged Ara to hurry.

After praising him as an impressive goblin, she followed him begrudgingly.

Standing before the entrance, Ara reached out her hand first. Her hand stretched through the passage, but it didn’t feel like it was passing through anything. There was no tingling sensation of electricity or the feeling of breaking through a slimy membrane.

It felt more like moving to a different stage with the same background, perhaps.

Fortunately, it seems like the door is fair to humans too.

As Ara, reassured, leaped over the threshold, Seok-kyung teased her again.

“Anyone would think you’re crossing lava or something.”

“Don’t you know that you should test the waters before crossing?” Ara retorted.

Seok-kyung chuckled and snapped his fingers again. With a crisp sound, the passageway they had just used slid shut and vanished.

Ara looked around to reassess her surroundings.

They had arrived near the entrance to a quiet mountain trail. It was a small clearing behind a large rock, in a blind spot from the hiking trail used by people.

Turning her head slightly, Ara could see the town below. It wasn’t Jaya Town, where Wolcheon Village was located, but it seemed to be Shinya Town on the opposite side of the mountain. The path connected to Dae-Yasan was quite steep, but crossing it would quickly lead them to the market.

Ara followed Seok-kyung, who had started walking ahead.

Despite wearing an uncomfortable suit and dress shoes, Seok-kyung descended the steep mountain trail with ease. So relaxed was he that he even kept his hands behind his back, casually flicking his fingers.

“Uh, wait, it’s dangerous… Ah!”

In contrast, Ara was tumbling down the slope, flailing her arms and stumbling as she struggled against gravity. She occasionally grabbed onto tree branches to stop herself, but as soon as she let go, she would start sliding again.

Thud, thud, thud.

Seok-kyung glanced back with a click of his tongue, as if to say, “I told you so.”

Couldn’t he help her out instead of just standing there?

Irritated, Ara unconsciously tensed her legs, throwing her off balance further.

“Ah!” She lurched forward dangerously.

As her body seemed to float momentarily, her vision suddenly darkened. Desperately, she reached out and grabbed onto the first thing she could hold.

Thud.

The solid and warm thing that stopped her fall was not a nearby tree but Seok-kyung himself.

Startled, Ara found herself clutching Seok-kyung from behind, her face pressed against his back and his firm buttocks against her stomach.

Thump, thump, thump.

She could distinctly feel the rapid beating of his heart, strange and almost unsettling. Her cheeks pressed against his neck, and her hands rested on his chest, she could feel his heartbeat quicken in response to her proximity.

“Ah!”

Ara let out a startled cry, abruptly releasing her grip on his clothes as if she had seen a ghost.

Seok-kyung, now completely stiff, finally turned around to face her.

“Well, Ara.”

Ara swallowed nervously, her face flushing with embarrassment.

“Doesn’t this make you a habitual offender?”

“No! Absolutely not! It was a mistake. I nearly fell and it was an unavoidable, truly unavoidable error!” Desperately shaking her head while raising both hands, Ara’s already flushed cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.

Seok-kyung straightened the collar of his disheveled suit, the sound of him patting down his clothes barely fading before his reprimand followed.

“You talk a good game, but your actions tell a different story.”

“It’s the truth! I didn’t do it on purpose this time.”

“And last time?”

“….”

Ara clenched her fists and glared at Seok-kyung. Her feelings had evolved from mere embarrassment to outright indignation.

Couldn’t he just pretend not to notice? He was clearly enjoying making her more embarrassed as if he had no sense of propriety.

Just as her unspoken complaints were about to overflow, Seok-kyung abruptly extended an arm towards her.

“Here. I’m not carrying you to the market.”

His indifferent tone seemed to hang in the stillness of the mountain path.

Ara stared at the offered arm, a strange fluttering sensation in her chest.

Oh great, now he’s expecting gratitude.

“Who’s asking you to carry me? Even if I broke my ankle, I wouldn’t ask Seok-kyung to carry me.”

Despite her grumbling, Ara took hold of his arm and relied on it as she continued down the mountain trail.

She suppressed the urge to admit how reassuring that solid arm felt under the soft fabric of his suit, realizing it was more dependable than any support she could have hoped for.