Chapter 46.1

Chapter 46.1

Suho stared at Ara with bewildered eyes, clearly taken aback by her sudden confession. His gaze seemed to plead for an explanation.

Ara pressed her dry lips together a couple of times and, with a defeated sigh, let her shoulders slump as she rubbed her forehead.

“It’s not like I meant to deceive anyone—it just sort of ended up that way. It couldn’t be helped. So please, don’t tell Grandma. I’m begging you.”

From Ara’s perspective, the truth getting out to the vegetable shop grandma wasn’t a huge deal, especially since she might not even be here in three months.

That is… if the shop wasn’t one of Seok-kyung’s favorite haunts.

Ara didn’t want to ruin the little bit of leisure Seok-kyung managed to carve out from his busy schedule. He didn’t trust people easily, and she couldn’t bear the thought of being the reason he lost one of the few precious connections he’d managed to form.

“Alright. I promise.”

Fortunately, Suho agreed without much resistance.

“Then… just now… Was it not because you have a husband but because you can’t stand being near me?”

He asked cautiously, looking even more hurt than before.

“What? No, of course not!”

Ara immediately jumped, frantically waving her hands in denial.

The fleeting crush she’d had on him in high school was something she’d long since forgotten, and she could swear she had never resented or hated him enough to find that brief contact unpleasant.

“It’s not that… I guess it’s just been a while since I’ve been around people. I haven’t had many chances to interact with anyone lately.”

The excuse sounded clumsy, but it was the best Ara could manage. Honestly, even she wasn’t sure why she’d reacted so strongly.

Do I have a boyfriend or a husband? Why would I freak out over a little contact? It’s not like Suho meant anything weird by it. I’m the one making a big deal out of nothing.

While Ara was spiraling into self-reflection, Suho, noticing the faint blush creeping onto her face, spoke up.

“Why aren’t you meeting people?”

“It’s… complicated,” she replied, dodging the question with a stiff smile before clapping her hands together.

“Oh, right. Please pretend you didn’t see me here, okay? If word gets out that I’m in town, it could cause some trouble.”

At that, Suho’s expression grew even more serious.

After a moment of hesitation, he stepped closer to Ara, lowering his voice until it felt like it was spilling directly onto her forehead.

“You’re not being stalked or threatened by someone, are you?”

“Huh?”

“Like, that ‘Kim’ guy isn’t holding you captive or watching your every move, right? He’s not forcing you to pretend you’re married or anything?”

“What?! No! Absolutely not!”

Ara frantically shook her head, alarmed by how far Suho was taking this. At this rate, she’d have to clear things up before he actually called the police.

“Actually, I’m just… uh, staying at his place for now. Not being held captive—just cohabiting. By mutual agreement. That’s it.”

Mutual agreement… Yeah, let’s call it that. It’s technically a contract, after all.

Ara pushed aside the slight twinge of guilt creeping into her thoughts.

“…Really?”

“Yes, as you can see, I’m free to come and go as I please. It’s just that the veggie shop grandma misunderstood, so I play along only when I’m here,” Ara explained, flashing the brightest smile she could muster.

Suho gave her a lingering, cautious once-over, his eyes scanning for any signs of distress. Finally, he exhaled a low sigh.

“I can trust you on that, right?”

“Of course! I even came here today to walk Baekseol and grab stuff to make snacks for that ‘Kim’ guy.”

Right, I really need to get back and finish those.

“So, about that, I’ve got something urgent to wrap up today,” Ara said, suddenly recalling the reason she was at the market in the first place. She fished her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Suho.

“You said you work at the health center, right? Put your number in. I’ll come by and catch up properly later.”

Suho took the phone but just stared at the screen, making no move to type in his number.

“Not sure if I should give you my number,” he murmured.

“Huh?”

“The guy—he’s not your boyfriend, right? If he finds out, he might misunderstand.”

Suho hesitated, fiddling with the edge of Ara’s phone, his tone careful as he asked again.

“No, he’s not my boyfriend.”

Ara denied it quickly, almost instinctively.

Boyfriend? That word didn’t suit Kim Seok-kyung or herself at all. Not in this lifetime.

“So make this exception into a miracle, Ara. It’s something we can’t do, but you might be able to.”

Even if she could pull off the miracle that Cheong-seon hinted at, that would never happen.

A goblin who didn’t trust people, who postponed marriage and swapped women like changing clothes—a “boyfriend” was far too generous a term. She had no interest in entertaining such nonsense.

Unaware of how her cheeks turned a faint shade of red, Ara huffed out a scoff. Maybe it was the midday sun beating down on her, or the rising warmth on her neck, but she suddenly felt overheated.

“And I wasn’t asking for your number for anything like that, either. Ji-hye’s pretty laid-back, so I doubt she’d even think to misunderstand, but—”

“Don’t worry about it. She won’t.”

“What?”

“We broke up. Ji-hye and I.”