Chapter 22.1

Chapter 22.1

Chapter The thugs simultaneously frowned, as if on cue. From their perspective, Ara was completely invisible, and all they saw was some handsome lunatic groping the air in a ridiculous act.

“You guys came to take Na Ara, right?” Seok-kyung, however, didn’t care at all about how the gangsters perceived him.

“Then, shouldn’t you ask for her opinion first? South Korea is a democratic country, after all.”

He let go of Ara’s wrist and gave her a slight, teasing push, flashing a sly smile as he did.

“So, are you going to follow them, Na Ara?”

“Are you insane? Just try and make me!”

Ara recoiled, flustered. Though her mind knew Seok-kyung was playing a prank, her body instinctively reacted defensively.

That mischievous goblin. How could he act like this, even though they can’t see me…?

Despite her internal grumbling, Ara gripped Seok-kyung’s wrist tightly, ready to cling to him if things took a turn for the worse.

“She says no,” Seok-kyung said, not removing Ara’s hand from his wrist. Instead, he shrugged nonchalantly as if he had no choice and looked at the thugs.

He’s really good at making a mess and then cleaning it up, Ara thought, pursing her lips. Even though she had just been tricked, his words still gave her a sense of relief, and she felt a bit ridiculous for being so easily comforted.

“I’ve never seen such a crazy bastard in my life.”

The thugs were just as dumbfounded. When someone is too outrageous, all you can do is laugh, and that’s exactly what happened to Jang, the boss. He laughed, but his eyes, scanning Seok-kyung from head to toe, grew sharper. Annoyed, he turned to his subordinate and asked, “Who the hell is this guy? Does he even know Na Ara, or is he just a random nutjob?”

“Uh, I’m not sure, boss. I’ve never seen him before either…”

“I get it, you’re questioning my sanity. But I swear, Na Ara is really right here.”

Seok-kyung’s interruption fanned the flames of Jang’s anger even more.

Finally losing his patience, Jang shoved his subordinate aside and stepped forward.

“Hey, what’s your relationship with that girl? Is she someone you’re hiding?”

He made a gesture with his pinky finger, implying that he was asking if Ara was Seok-kyung’s girlfriend.

“No,” Seok-kyung replied firmly.

“But today… I’m her husband.”

And with that, he dropped another bombshell.

“Her husband today? What kind of bull is that?”

Jang frowned, clearly confused by Seok-kyung’s comment. But Seok-kyung didn’t seem to care about Jang’s reaction. Instead, he glanced to his side, looking for approval from Ara, only to find her standing there with her mouth wide open in disbelief.

“What? We agreed on this earlier, didn’t we?”

“That was just you messing around… And anyway! These guys aren’t some old ladies at a vegetable stand! You don’t have to pretend to be newlyweds!”

“But I can’t lie, can I?”

Ara rubbed her forehead, at a loss for words. It was one thing for him to mess up her romantic future, but it was even more shocking that she couldn’t find a solid argument to counter him. She certainly couldn’t tell Jang that Seok-kyung was a goblin she had a contract with. In that case, it was probably better to let Seok-kyung’s absurd lies keep rolling.

“Boss, I’m telling you, that guy’s just crazy. There’s no way Na Ara has a secret husband or anything like that. We checked—there’s not even a guy sniffing around her.”

The thug who had been knocked down earlier reported to Jang.

“When we investigated, she was practically a nun. Her boss at the restaurant, her landlord, the neighbors—they all said they’d never seen her with any man. Not even a male dog, for that matter.”

The thug shook his head in disbelief.

Ara fumed silently, realizing the lengths these men had gone to investigate her. But then she noticed Seok-kyung’s gaze lingering on her, watching with an oddly intrigued expression.

“I mean, who in their right mind would date a woman like her? She’s not exactly docile or sweet. She acts like a rabid dog, ready to bite anyone at any moment…”

“That’s not true!” Ara shot back before the thug could even finish.

Yes, she hadn’t had a proper relationship before, but that didn’t mean she had some fatal flaw, as they suggested. She was just busy with her life, making ends meet. She hadn’t found someone who stirred her heart enough to forget her harsh reality, so she’d simply focused on living her life as best as she could.

“What’s not true?”

“I mean… They’ve got it all wrong. What kind of shoddy investigation did they do if they’re this misinformed?”

She clicked her tongue dismissively, turning her gaze away.

What would a goblin as good-looking as he know about someone like me? He’s lived for over 400 years, after all. How many people must have fallen for that face?

…He must’ve had countless romantic experiences, right? Is that why he was treating me like this, with no regard?

Ara felt an inexplicable sense of injustice welling up. Her lower lip, flushed red, was now pressed tightly against her teeth, turning pale.

Seok-kyung, still watching Ara closely, suddenly pointed in another direction, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Hey, look! There she goes! Na Ara! Where are you going?”

His unexpected outburst caught everyone off guard, and they instinctively turned to look where Seok-kyung was pointing.

Seizing the moment, Seok-kyung snapped his fingers.

With the faint sound, a woman suddenly appeared, dashing through the crowd. Although they could only see her from behind, her outfit and figure made it clear—it was Ara.