Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“Nothing special.”

Seok-kyung mumbled dismissively. Ara continued to stare at him, clearly dissatisfied with his answer.

Seok-kyung tried to hold his ground under her unrelenting gaze but eventually faltered, his dark eyes shifting away, avoiding her direct stare.

“…It’s just, it’s the first time I’m bringing a human in here,” he muttered, his voice unexpectedly sheepish.

Ara thought for a moment, quickly processing the situation and settling on the most plausible explanation.

“Is it like a tracking device?” she asked, recalling the warning to not wander around carelessly and dismissing the possibility of some kind of souvenir or trophy from the mischievous goblin. Her guess seemed the most logical.

“Could you refrain from describing it in such inhuman terms? It makes me feel like I’ve become a wicked king,” Seok-kyung replied, as expected, dodging her suggestion with his usual evasiveness.

Ara bit back a sharp retort that came to mind: Kim Seok-kyung isn’t human anyway, and when it comes to being ruthless, he’s probably already surpassed Satan in hell.

But she restrained herself. There was no such thing as a free lunch, and speaking her mind would definitely lead to complications in social interactions.

“If I don’t listen to you and wander off, it won’t, like, cause my neck to explode or anything, right?” Ara asked, half-jokingly, as she instinctively rubbed her neck, recalling a horror movie she had once seen.

Seok-kyung furrowed his brow, looking at her with disbelief. “What kind of ridiculous imagination do you have with such a poor sense of creativity?”

“Just consider it a one-time safety measure,” he added, as if anticipating further misunderstanding. “It won’t harm either your soul or your body. Once you return to this house, it’ll vanish on its own.”

Ara’s initial tension faded, reassured by his explanation, though still slightly puzzled by the strange situation. Seok-kyung, unusually thorough in his explanation, seemed to expect some kind of accusation if he didn’t clarify.

Ara picked up the necklace from her palm, examining it closely. Despite the lack of any romantic gesture, the necklace looked surprisingly beautiful. Even though Ara wasn’t familiar with jewelry or craftsmanship, it struck her as something valuable and special.

Well, he’s not going to kill me, right? Anyway, if I don’t make any trouble and come back safely, it’ll disappear on its own.

Her optimistic nature quickly calmed her down. Ara detached the chain and placed it around her neck.

***

They arrived at a quiet corridor in a building.

“But… where is this?” Ara asked, following Seok-kyung like a duckling trailing its mother, unable to suppress her curiosity.

Seok-kyung glanced back over his shoulder, but only for a moment, before turning his gaze forward again.

“I told you, you’ll find out when we get there.”

“And that’s why I came, right?”

“We’re not there yet.”

His voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

Really, how amazing could this place be for him to drag this out so much?

Ara glared at Seok-kyung’s broad back like an enemy but soon stopped. At least he was still alive, so it couldn’t be the afterlife.

After brushing aside her worries, Ara looked around once more.

The hallway stretched ahead, lined with rooms spaced symmetrically. Between each door were treasures, clearly valuable items, such as hairpins, fans, swords, vases, ink stones, and brushes—each one more special than the last.

The floor was covered in a lavish carpet with intricate designs, almost like a red carpet. Even the closed doors were works of art, made from magnolia wood with delicate grains, creating an impression where the past and present seemed to merge.

“A museum?” Ara murmured, deep in thought, without realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

At almost the same moment, a small chuckle escaped from Seok-kyung, who was walking ahead.

“Everything here is valuable enough to belong in a museum.”

His answer had a somewhat reverent tone, but the conclusion was wrong.

Feeling stubborn, Ara quickened her pace to close the gap with Seok-kyung. Since they hadn’t been far apart to begin with, it only took two steps for her to walk in line with him.

“Or, um… maybe it’s a rich friend’s house?”

“I don’t have any rich friends.”

Seok-kyung’s face, still handsome from the side, matched his irritating response perfectly.

“Then what is it? I’m dying of curiosity.”

Frustrated, Ara stomped her feet loudly as they walked.

Soon enough, they reached the end of the hallway.

At the farthest point stood a door, double the size of the others they had passed. Unlike the other rooms, this door had two large panels that opened outward, and even the round doorknob and hinges shimmered with a golden glow.

Click.

Just as Ara was momentarily distracted by the door’s grandeur, Seok-kyung grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open.

“Wow…”

As the door opened, the first thing Ara saw was a half-sphere of glass windows filling the entire space. Then her eyes took in the spacious room, large enough for a soccer game, and the luxurious interior that followed.

Ara stepped forward hesitantly, almost like a person entranced by will-o’-the-wisps.

The room was so wide and open that it felt unreal, almost like an office belonging to someone important. Bookshelves, decorative items, dozens of filing cabinets—all of these surrounded a large mahogany desk in the center of the room, confirming its function.

“This is my palace.”

Seok-kyung, who had followed Ara, finally revealed the true nature of the place.

“A palace…?” Ara asked, confused.

“Yes. Its official name is Bihwa Won-gung (秘華元宮). Most people just call it Won-gung (元宮). To put it simply, it’s like Gyeongbokgung, the main palace of Joseon, in terms of its function.”

Ara, with a look of disbelief, took a step closer to the window.

As Seok-kyung had said, it was a space full of symbolism and official grandeur.

Due to the building’s structure, this room was on the top floor, and standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, Ara could clearly see the lower levels of the building below her.

From the center garden, which was neatly divided with water paths and flowers and trees planted evenly, eight intersecting roads stretched in different directions, connecting various subsidiary buildings in a tightly-knit layout.

It was truly an architectural masterpiece, worthy of the title “palace.”

“But…”

Ara, having marveled at the breathtaking view, glanced up at Seok-kyung, who had come closer.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I have something to do here today.”

“…What?”

“By the way, what you need to do, Na Ara, is to sit there and wait quietly until I’m finished with my work.”

Ara grimaced, staring at the luxurious sofa placed in front of the bookshelf that Seok-kyung had gestured toward.

What kind of absurd request was this? Whether Seok-kyung had something important to do here or not, what did that have to do with her?

It felt like it would be less ridiculous if he had asked her to go to the palace’s kitchen and prepare a hundred, no, a hundred goblin-sized meals.

“Well, well, looks like we have a special guest.”

Just then, a woman’s unfamiliar voice echoed from the open door.