Chapter 7.1

Chapter 7.1

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Baekseol stretched out a paw and pointed somewhere in disbelief.

“It says so on your identification card.”

In the middle of the floor lay her eco bag, thoroughly rummaged through. Besides the scattered clothes, flashlight, water bottle, and charger, her teal wallet lay wide open.

Wait a second.

I clearly remember sleeping on the blanket-covered wooden veranda last night. What is this pristine, modern room?

Ara frowned, trying to recall her memories.

Come to think of it, the blanket covering her wasn’t the herringbone-patterned one. The pillow she was using and the bed she was lying on were the kind you’d only see in the luxury bedding section of a department store.

But Ara had no memory of entering such a room. Even if she had a sleepwalking disorder she wasn’t aware of, it would have been impossible.

The goblin’s house was a dilapidated, abandoned house in the middle of the mountains. Not a single modern building was nearby, let alone a shabby thatched house.

“I didn’t mean to rummage through your stuff from the start. But you just wouldn’t wake up! I can’t stand being hungry!”

Baekseol belatedly made a half-hearted excuse, perhaps misunderstanding Ara’s wrinkled expression and silence.

Ignoring Baekseol, Ara sprang up from her spot and strode across the room, which seemed at least twice the size of her original one-room apartment.

“Hey, where are you going? Are you mad? Ara!”

Baekseol hurriedly jumped off the bed and chased after Ara.

Ara didn’t care about Baekseol tugging at her pants leg. She flung the door open without hesitation.

“….”

What unfolded before Ara’s eyes was an elegant, spacious living room. The kind you’d see in movies and dramas, where protagonists born into wealthy families live.

A sparkling crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a sofa that could easily seat ten people was placed alongside a massage chair you’d only see in commercials. The wall-mounted TV, nearly filling the art wall, looked over a hundred inches.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like it’s your first time seeing a goblin.”

And right in the middle of this scene, reclining on a couch was Nam Seol-do acknowledging her presence.

Dressed in a neon yellow tracksuit, her snow-white hair twisted into a bun on top of her head, Seol-do looked like any other teenage girl.

The only unusual thing was the ornate mother-of-pearl hairpin, something you’d expect to see in a museum, piercing through her voluminous, round hair.

“Who… who are you?”

“She’s Seol-do. Nam Seol-do. She’s the bodyguard Seok-kyung oppa keeps around,” Baekseol chimed in, introducing Seol-do while hopping onto the table.

Seol-do switched the TV channel, using her foot, which was propped up on the table, to nudge Baekseol off.

“Stop calling him oppa. Isn’t it gross? How can a goblin have a brother?” She teased the talking dog.

“Dog? I’m a puppy! Where else can you find a cute and lovable puppy like me?” Baekseol looked indignant.

“Dog, puppy, same thing.”

“No, it’s not! Calling me a dog makes me sound less cute!”

“Get a grip. When was the last time you looked in a mirror? You’re not a puppy anymore.”

“Hey! Nam Seol-do!” Baekseol growled, baring teeth like a fighting dog.

“Umm. Excuse me. Can I say something too?” Ara, who had been quietly watching the chaotic scene, carefully spoke up.

Baekseol and Seol-do, who had been glaring at each other, finally turned their eyes toward Ara.

“First of all… where are we?”

“Where else? It’s the goblin’s house,” Seol-do answered nonchalantly. Ara shook her head in disbelief.

“That can’t be right. I definitely fell asleep on the goblin house’s veranda last night. But when I woke up, I was in that room over there…”

“This is Seok-kyung oppa’s house. Last night, Seol-do carried you in and laid you in that room while you were asleep,” Baekseol said, pointing a plump paw towards the room Ara had just stormed out of.

“Oh, really? I didn’t know. Thanks for that. But why did you…”

“Our king has a soft spot, despite how he seems.”

“Our king?”

“Yeah. The goblin king. Kim Seok-kyung, the one who lost to you in the bet last night.”

Goblin king? Not just any goblin, but a king?

Ara was momentarily surprised but quickly accepted it.

That explains it. I knew he was unusually unlucky. Of course, he has to be some sort of tyrant…

But why let me in here? He acted like he wouldn’t let me in, no matter what, last night.

Did something happen while I was asleep? I want to ask, but where did he go so early in the morning that he hasn’t shown up at all? Is he really that busy?

While Ara was lost in her thoughts, Baekseol hopped off the table and approached her with small, quick steps.

“The different house setup is because you’ve entered the real goblin house now. What you saw yesterday was a fake goblin house created by the Maze Garden.”

“By the way, the Maze Garden is managed by yours truly,” Baekseol added this with a note of pride, puffing out her chest as if expecting praise.

“Wow, that’s amazing…”

How adorable.

Ara suppressed her twitching smile and bent down to pat Baekseol on the top of her head.

“But Baekseol-nim, what’s the Maze Garden for?”

“Maze Garden? You don’t know? Ha, can’t be helped. This clever Baekseol-nim will personally explain—”

“Hey. Ara.”

Seol-do cut off Baekseol’s detailed explanation and self-praise. With ears pinned forward in annoyance, Baekseol bared her teeth again.