Chapter 33.2

Chapter 33.2

Was it really going to be this simple? She’d half expected him to drag it out or scold her further.

“You’re not… You’re not usually this kind of kind-hearted goblin…”

Her words trailed off as she realized, too late, that her thoughts had slipped out loud. Ara clamped her mouth shut, mortified.

Seok-kyung clicked his tongue and tugged the pot from her grasp, effortlessly wresting it away.

“Your brain doesn’t seem to be keeping up with your body.”

Step, step. His familiar reprimand was punctuated by the sound of his measured footsteps as he rounded the counter.

A long shadow stretched across the floor, reaching her.

“Just go sit over there and stay out of the way.”

Seok-kyung’s gaze flicked toward the dining table in the corner.

Ara glanced back and forth between the dining table Seok-kyung had pointed to and the goblin himself. Then, with remarkable speed, she shook off the lingering unease and disappointment.

Fine. What did it matter? Maybe this goblin had decided to try on a “kind-hearted” act for a change.

The ability to read a situation and adapt swiftly to it was one of the few gifts her unordinary life had left her.

Ara grabbed the vegetables she had set aside earlier and held them up with a playful shake.

“I’ll stay out of your way. Just prep the ingredients, that’s all. Surely that’s okay?”

“You were just saying how much pain you’re in—‘a lot more than it looks,’ wasn’t it?”

Seok-kyung mimicked her words with narrowed eyes, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Wow, Hongseon’s healing skills must be miraculous. I’m improving by the second. See? Pretty much good as new.”

She lifted her wrist toward his face and twirled it in mock demonstration. Her dark, sparkling eyes peeked up at him with a smile teetering on the edge of impishness.

“…First, it’s this. Then it’s that. How am I supposed to keep up with you?”

Seok-kyung muttered the words like a sigh and turned away.

He avoided a direct response, but Ara knew by now that his silence was its own kind of agreement.

He moved to stand in front of the sink, likely to use the water. His strong hands unbuckled his watch, and with a smooth gesture, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. The clink of metal and the rustle of fabric soon blended with the rush of running water, muffling the sounds.

Ara’s gaze lingered momentarily on his half-exposed forearms, her thoughts meandering before snapping back into place when Seok-kyung turned his head. She quickly busied herself by throwing on an apron.

“For tonight’s dinner, I was thinking galbi-jjim for the main dish, bean sprout soup for the side, and zucchini pancakes. How does that sound?”

“Do what you want.”

Seok-kyung answered flatly, wiping down the pot.

“Do what you want,” she thought. On any other day, that dismissive response would’ve annoyed her to no end, sparking a string of protests.

But not today. Today, her priority was keeping his attention elsewhere. Peeking at him cautiously, she began prepping the ingredients alongside him.

The two stood side by side in the kitchen, silently absorbed in their tasks. For all the lack of conversation, they worked together surprisingly well.

Yet every now and then, when Ara stole a glance at Seok-kyung, their eyes would unexpectedly meet. Her heart stuttered like a thief caught red-handed, and she’d hastily avert her gaze, feeling oddly flustered.

Bubbling stew and the clinking of dishes filled the awkward silence that had stretched between them for a while.

“Don’t go anywhere alone for the time being.”

Seok-kyung finally broke the quiet.

“If you can, don’t leave the house. And if you have to, take Baekseol with you.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? You’ve got a ghost following you.”

“…What?”

Ara froze mid-motion, the dried persimmon she’d been plucking the stem from forgotten between her fingers.

A ghost? Following her?

That couldn’t be true. Neither Hongseon nor Baekseol had mentioned anything like that…

“Don’t tell me no one’s warned you?”

“W-warned me about what?”

“It’s here now. Right behind you.”

Seok-kyung’s sharp gaze locked onto a point just past Ara’s shoulder. His deep, dark eyes were unnervingly serious, betraying no hint of humor.

“W-where? Where is it? Hurry up and get rid of it!”

Panicking, Ara leapt from her seat. She swatted frantically at her shoulders and back, practically scrambling toward Seok-kyung in a desperate bid for safety. Her pale face twisted into a near-cry, as if the ghost had already claimed her soul.

Seok-kyung let out a sudden, involuntary chuckle.

He tried to stifle it, biting down hard on his lower lip, but muffled snickers kept spilling out.

Ara, locked in an invisible battle with her supposed spectral foe, froze at the sound of his laughter.

And then, the realization hit her a beat too late.

That terrible goblin had played her for a fool yet again!

“What the heck! You were lying, weren’t you? That’s so mean!”

Smack!

Without hesitation, Ara’s hand landed sharply on Seok-kyung’s arm.