Chapter 21.2

Chapter 21.2

Seok-kyung, acting as if he were invisible, casually gathered his things and turned away. This move conveniently shielded Ara, who peeked out from behind him to observe the situation.

“Hey, you! Where’d you hide the girl who was here?”

Ara lost all color to her face once the thugs called Seok-kyung. It turns out he wasn’t invisible at all.

The larger thug, his face scarred near the cheekbone, asked in an annoyed tone, looking all the more intimidating.

“No idea.”

Seok-kyung’s indifferent response, without so much as a raised eyebrow, only made the thug’s expression twist even more menacingly.

“No idea? This guy’s got a real mouth on him.”

“Yes. You seem a bit like that too.”

“What did you say, you bastard?!” The thug reached out his enormous hand like a lid from a pot, but Seok-kyung nimbly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding his grasp.

Unfortunately, this move brought Seok-kyung dangerously close to Ara. The gap between them suddenly vanished.

“You’d better not lay a hand on me, Ara.”

“What?” Ara was in disbelief– how is he still able to mock her in their current position?

The aggravated thug reached out again, but Seok-kyung hesitated before taking another step back. Ara’s breath was already brushing the nape of his neck.

Seok-kyung ultimately abandoned any thought of retreat.

Just as his broad back stood firmly in front of Ara, the thug grabbed him roughly by the collar.

“You’re really going to regret this.”

Even as his collar was seized, Seok-kyung remained calm. Tilting his head slightly, he looked down at the thug and muttered nonchalantly.

“This bastard’s all talk, huh?” The thug raised his free hand high, ready to strike.

Ara, who had been holding her breath while watching, instinctively gripped Seok-kyung’s jacket at the waist. Even though she wasn’t the one about to be hit, her eyes squeezed shut in reflex.

But Seok-kyung didn’t even flinch. There was no terrifying smack or thud, no violent clash.

Ara cautiously opened her eyes.

Out of nowhere, a hand appeared, grabbing the thug’s wrist and pulling it down.

Upon recognizing the owner of that hand, Ara pressed herself even closer to Seok-kyung’s back, her lips tightly pressed together. Her slender fingers gripped his already crumpled jacket even tighter, nearly tearing it.

“Let’s not cause a scene with so many people around. How about we cooperate while I’m asking nicely? Where did you hide that girl?”

The voice belonged to Mr. Jang, the boss of this thug gang and the devil who had once handed Ara a waiver to surrender her limbs with a smile on his face.

Seok-kyung glanced briefly over his shoulder, confirming Ara’s pale face before returning to Mr. Jang.

“If I tell you, will you believe me?” There was now a cryptic smile on Seok-kyung’s lips.

“That depends on what kind of crap you’re spouting,” Jang sneered, clearly entertained by Seok-kyung’s defiant attitude.

Seok-kyung stared at him for a moment before nodding toward his own shoulder.

“Here.”

He even raised his hand and pointed directly at the top of Ara’s head.

“She’s right here.”

Behind Seok-kyung, anyone could see that there was nothing but empty air.

For a moment, even Mr. Jang and the other thugs forgot to be angry. The absurdity of Seok-kyung’s statement took a moment to fully sink in.

“What the hell is he playing at?”

But the one most bewildered was Ara.

“Can’t you see her?”

Seok-kyung brushed off her protest and stepped to the side. Ara’s grip on his jacket loosened as the fabric slipped from her grasp.

Suddenly, she found herself standing face-to-face with Mr. Jang.

Of course, he couldn’t actually see her, but from Ara’s perspective, they were so close that a single reach from him could snatch her away.

“This guy’s nuts. What kind of game is this?”

The big thug, finally regaining his senses, swung his arm up again.

“Why ask if you don’t believe me?”

Seok-kyung clicked his tongue as he stepped aside, standing right next to Ara.

“Look closely. I told you, she’s right here.”

Then, before Ara could protest or even understand what he was doing, Seok-kyung grabbed her wrist.

“What are you doing?” she started to ask, but Seok-kyung didn’t give her the chance.

He lifted her hand and waved it back and forth as if signaling.

“Ara, come on. Say hello. You’re right here.”