Chapter 33.1

Chapter 33.1

Thud. Her heel, with nowhere else to retreat, hit the bottom edge of the dresser.

Ara instinctively clutched the pot tightly against her chest. Only after that did she confirm the figure looming on the other side of the counter, as still and imposing as a carved wooden totem.

“Kim Seok-kyung?”

Seok-kyung stood frozen, directly across from Ara, stiff as a board. On closer inspection, he looked just as startled as she was.

There had been no one there when she crouched down. So when on earth had he appeared?

“You scared the life out of me!”

Ara rubbed her stinging heel against her calf, glaring at him.

Apparently feeling unjustly accused, Seok-kyung finally furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

“Shouldn’t I be the one more startled? Anyone watching would think you’d seen a ghost.”

“Well, I did think you were a ghost!”

“I told you, goblins aren’t ghosts.”

He clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. Ara squinted at him even harder and pouted.

“Then at least act like a goblin and make some noise when you walk around! I nearly died of fright!”

“How much noisier do you want me to be? Should I play fanfare every time I step into the kitchen?”

As always, he had a snappy retort ready.

Grumbling internally, Ara couldn’t help but imagine the scene.

Kim Seok-kyung entering the kitchen to the triumphant blare of brass instruments…

Honestly, it was easy to picture him marching in with audacious flair every time, scattering flower petals and rolling out a red carpet for himself.

…But still. No matter how good-looking he was, would something that ridiculous really suit him so perfectly?

The absurd thought embarrassed her just a little. Turning back to the counter, she tried to cover it up by speaking in an exaggeratedly annoyed tone.

“Did you come here just to pick a fight?”

With a loud clatter, she slammed the pot onto the counter, her movements deliberately rough and threatening.

Seok-kyung winced slightly at the metallic clang but didn’t say a word. Instead, he uncrossed his arms and pulled the pot Ara had just slammed closer to himself.

“No. I came to help with dinner.”

And with that, he declared his sudden intention to work.

“You?” Ara blinked, her wide eyes blinking slowly, her voice thick with disbelief.

But her innocent curiosity lasted only a moment.

“Wait… am I fired?”

The thought hit her like a lightning bolt, her mind jumping straight to the worst-case scenario.

“What are you even talking about?” Seok-kyung’s response was tinged with confusion, as though her question was entirely nonsensical.

For a fleeting moment, hope flickered.

Then he added, “I never hired you in the first place. How could I fire you?”

And just like that, Ara felt herself sinking back into the metaphorical swamp of despair.

“No, I don’t mean fired like that—I mean disqualified. You said you’d evaluate me for three months. Did I already fail your test?”

Ara grabbed the opposite handle of the pot he had taken, her hand clinging to it like a lifeline. She looked ready to clutch the pot and throw herself onto the counter in protest if it came to that.

Sure, she’d yelled and bawled out of frustration before… but even so.

How could someone living under the same roof sever ties so coldly, like cutting through a piece of paper?

No goblin from any legend was that heartless.

“People can lose their temper and say things they don’t mean when they’re upset, right? It wasn’t out of malice or anything like that. You know that, don’t you?”

Her tone softened instantly, and she flashed a sheepish grin.

Seok-kyung’s brow furrowed in that peculiar way it always did when he was unimpressed, but Ara didn’t back down. She wasn’t about to retreat now, not when her chances of survival hung in the balance.

If she failed his test, her life ahead would be a living hell so bleak that she’d rather not endure it at all.

“If you’ve got grievances, just say so. Let’s talk it out. We’re civilized people—or, well, I’m a civilized person, and you’re a civilized goblin. We can use the wise tools of dialogue and negotiation, right?”

“……”

“Besides, unlike you, I’m just an ordinary human being. I’m not used to situations like this at all. To be honest, that whole evil spirit thing was a lot scarier than I expected, and—”

“Ara.”

Seok-kyung’s sharp interruption sliced through her rambling.

The low voice abruptly cut off her desperate string of excuses. Ara gulped and met his gaze.

“Yes?”

“You’re hurt.”

Seok-kyung gave a slight nod toward her wrist, which was tense from gripping the pot handle too tightly.

Ara seized the moment, bobbing her head up and down as if her life depended on it. She even tilted her eyes downward into what she hoped was a pitiful expression, all the better to win his sympathy.

“Exactly! It looks fine now, but it hurt so much at the time. You saw me crying, didn’t you? Honestly, it still hurts a little—no, actually, it hurts a lot more than it looks.”

Was she overdoing it?

The thought crossed her mind briefly, but she dismissed it with a quick shake of her head. It wasn’t entirely a lie; half the story was true. And if a little embellishment could get her through this moment, she was ready to put on the most shameless performance of her life.

“I’ve already been hurt this badly… So if you could just let it slide this one time—”

“Which is why I’m telling you to rest today. Stop overthinking everything.”

“Yes, exactly, but— Wait. What?”

Her voice faltered mid-excuse, shock laced through her words. Her already wide eyes grew impossibly larger.

“…Why?”

After all her pleading and dramatic flair, the sudden ease with which he dismissed the matter left her completely flustered.