Chapter 39.2

Chapter 39.2

Still puzzling over his words, Ara trotted after Baekmok, her footsteps trailing her out of the room. Her brown eyes darted back a few times, glancing at Seok-kyung, until the closing door finally swallowed him from view.

Click.

The sound of the door sealing the space was sharp, almost final.

Seok-kyung lowered the document he’d been holding high enough to hide his face, his gaze slipping back to the spot where Ara had been just moments ago.

“…if that’s what you want.”

Her stubbornly honest face lingered in his mind, unshakable and so ridiculously transparent it almost made him laugh.

“She really doesn’t have it in her to lie, does she…”

His voice was low, almost muttering to himself as if scolding her from afar.

But as he reached for the stack of papers again, a faint smile lingered on his lips, refusing to be hidden.

***

“Fascinating.”

Baekmok broke the silence as they rounded a corner in the corridor, her tone light yet pointed.

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen His Highness look so… genuinely amused.”

“Huh? Kim Seok-kyung? He’s like that practically every day,” Ara replied with a tinge of exasperation. “He gets way too much joy out of teasing me. I swear, it’s his favorite pastime.”

Baekmok turned to her, eyes sparkling with amusement that she made no attempt to hide.

“Ara, do you know what the Wonhoe is?”

“Not exactly,” Ara admitted. “I just figured it’s some kind of important meeting.”

Baekmok nodded. “That’s right. It’s a gathering of the most powerful deities and spirits, hence the name Wonhoe. It happens rarely, maybe once a year at most, or as often as once a season. His Highness has never missed one. Perfect attendance.”

Wait. Did he ditch that to come after me?

Ara’s thoughts barely had time to process before Baekmok confirmed it.

“And then, out of nowhere, he walked out in the middle of it. You can imagine how stunned everyone was.”

Ara recalled the image of Seok-kyung storming into her living room earlier that day, looking frantic and out of breath.

It wasn’t just the timing, but it was how utterly uncharacteristic it was for him to look so rattled. He’d been worried. No question about it.

But she hadn’t realized just how monumental the thing he’d left behind was. She’d assumed it was like pushing some tasks to the next day.

Why didn’t he say anything…?

Her feelings wavered somewhere between guilt and a strange kind of warmth.

“The mighty Goblin King caused a scene over a mere human girl, huh?” Ara muttered with a sigh.

She had just started piecing together Seok-kyung’s earlier cryptic warning about rumors when Baekmok’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Mere?”

Baekmok stopped in her tracks, her brows lifting in mild disbelief.

Ara walked a few steps ahead before realizing Baekmok had stopped. Turning back, she saw the other woman gazing at her with something between amusement and reproach.

“We’re all born from objects steeped in human history,” Baekmok said, her tone firm but not unkind. “How could we ever dismiss you as something so insignificant?”

Her words carried enough weight that Ara found herself speechless for a moment.

“If His Highness truly thought of you as just another human girl, he’d never have done something so… adorable.”

And with that, Baekmok pointed to the emerald necklace glinting against Ara’s collarbone.

“This. Something as adorable as this.”

Ara blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

“This?” she echoed, touching the necklace reflexively. “What about it?”

Ara tilted her head, a faint crease forming between her brows.

“So, in the Goblin Kingdom, you call slapping a tracker on someone cute?”

“A tracker…”

Baekmok echoed the word slowly, as if rolling it around in her mouth to see if it made any sense. A small sigh slipped from her lips before she continued.

“It’s not entirely inaccurate, but that’s definitely not the right way to describe it.”

“Why not?”

“What’s imbued in that necklace is His Highness’s power—his spirit energy. In human terms, it’s like he’s given you a part of his life force.”

“Wait, life force?”

Ara’s eyes widened to twice their normal size, the shock visibly written all over her face.

“Yes. As long as you’re wearing it, no one can disrespect or harm you. Think of it as a kind of talisman.”

What? That wasn’t at all how Seok-kyung had explained it.

He’d said something vague about it being a precautionary measure, just a one-time safety charm.

Ara’s hand, hesitant and uncertain, hovered near her chest before finally closing around the gem. Cool to the touch, the emerald pulsed faintly with a soft, soothing light from within, as if radiating a calm yet powerful presence.

It did feel protective and almost alive.

“Well, to be fair, it has stirred up some gossip,” Baekmok said, smoothly changing the subject as she started walking again.

“Gossip?” Ara asked, instinctively falling in step behind her.

“Yes. The mighty, stubborn Goblin King finally enchanted, utterly captivated by his fated partner? It’s sparked quite a bit of speculation.”

Ara’s steps faltered, and her brows knitted together.

“Enchanted by his fated partner?”

The idea sounded so ludicrous that it took a moment for her to process it.

And even then, her only thought was:

That’s ridiculous.