Chapter 52.2

Chapter 52.2

She paused after typing, then hit send. No error message popped up. The message must have gone through safely.

Now that she thought about it, it had been a while since she used something as mundane as a phone. The smooth surface felt oddly unfamiliar as she toyed with it, swinging her feet gently off the edge of the porch.

Would sending a message from here let Boss Jang track my location? Hmm, probably not. Even if he tried, the Labyrinth Garden’s magic would interfere. Baekseol had said the path kept changing anyway.

She was still mulling over it, waiting for a reply, when the phone suddenly buzzed in her hand—loud and insistent. Not just once. Several times in a row.

<Suho sunbae>

Seeing the caller ID flash on screen, Ara cleared her throat and answered.

“Hello?”

“Ara, it’s me. Suho.”

His voice came through warmly, filled with relief.

“I was so glad to get your message. I had no idea where I’d dropped it and was still looking for it.”

“I only just got home myself. That’s when I noticed it.”

“Thank you so much. If you hadn’t reached out, I probably would’ve still been searching tomorrow.”

“No, not at all. Of course I had to let you know.”

“You said today wasn’t a good time, so… would it be alright if I came by tomorrow to pick it up? I can come to your place.”

Ara’s toes, which had been gently swinging, came to an abrupt stop.

“Time-wise, that’s fine.”

Unless Kim Seok-kyung showed up again in the middle of the night to drag her off, there wouldn’t be any conflict in her schedule.

“It’s just… my house is a bit far.”

The real issue wasn’t time. It was location. A serious one.

No human could enter this house without permission. Suho wasn’t someone who had made a deal with any of the goblins who lived here.

There was no way she could ask Seok-kyung, who was already uncomfortable around humans, to allow a stranger into the house just to return a wallet.

“How about that coffee you mentioned before? Would tomorrow work for that?”

Left with no other choice, Ara offered the only alternative she had.

“I can come into town. I actually need to do some shopping anyway.”

It was far better to use errands as an excuse than to risk anything here.

“That would be perfect. How about around lunchtime? There’s a small café near the health center. It has a nice brunch menu, so we could grab a light meal while we talk.”

Thankfully, Suho accepted her suggestion without any questions.

“Oh, and one more thing. Last time… was it Baekseol? That big white dog. Do you think you could leave her behind this time?”

He added a request that Ara hadn’t anticipated.

“I have a pretty bad allergy to dog fur. I had a rough time after that night.”

“Really? Oh no… I had no idea. I’ll come alone this time.”

Ara didn’t even know the exact way down into town yet, but she gave him an easy yes anyway.

She could at least try to coax Baekseol with food. But there was nothing she could do about a congenital allergy.

“Thanks. I’ll send you the café location right after we hang up.”

“Okay.”

“See you tomorrow, Ara. Have a good evening.”

His voice was warm as he said goodbye.

“You too.”

The call ended. As the phone let out a soft electronic beep, Ara pulled it away from her ear and finally released the breath she had been holding.

“That went better than expected…”

Still, the idea of heading down to town by herself was already starting to feel like a headache.

Should she try persuading Baekseol to escort her as far as the foot of the mountain? Maybe she could bargain with a couple of tomahawk steaks…

While she was still debating, her phone buzzed again.

Here it is. Come safe. 🐶

A message popped up with the café address and a cute dog emoji.

He’s allergic to dogs but uses a dog emoji.

Ara let out a small laugh and pushed herself to her feet.

Opening the old wooden door, she stepped back into the goblin house, now a place whose strangeness had quietly become familiar.

Now that she thought about it, she would need a goblin hat too. The question was, who could she ask this time…

Just as the thought crossed her mind, a shimmer passed through one corner of the yard. A circular portal opened in the air.

“Oh, Miss Ara. Don’t tell me Cheong-seon came to greet you?”

Cheong-seon and Hong-seon stepped through the portal.

Unlike Hong-seon, who gave a polite nod and disappeared into the house, Cheong-seon ran straight to her with an exaggerated gasp and pretended to dab at imaginary tears.

“Have you finally decided to forgive me? I’m overwhelmed. I could cry, truly.”

Ara narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at his face for a moment. As she studied him, she quickly reached a conclusion.

“Lee Cheong-seon.”

Yeah. This one’s the easiest to work with.

“If you do me a favor, I might seriously consider forgiving you.”

The frown that had just been on her face vanished as she flashed him a bright smile. Her soft features lit up with a look that was far too knowing.