Chapter 54.2

Chapter 54.2

“Yes?”

“If it’s something from someone else, do you always just take it without thinking? That’s not exactly a good habit, is it?”

But Seok-kyung didn’t seem interested in acknowledging Ara’s effort to stay composed.

“What else has that guy given you?”

Now he was pushing her like a detective questioning a suspect.

“When did you start meeting him?”

Ara couldn’t hide the hurt on her face as she looked up at him.

After not seeing each other for so long, was this really all he had to say? Picking a fight for no reason was one thing, but this felt excessive.

The way he was questioning her made it sound like he was scolding an unfaithful wife. Yet he was the one who had drawn the line first, calling her nothing more than a housekeeper. So why now, when she had finally started to accept that, was he making things so confusing?

“Where do you usually meet? Is there a meal you’ve been sharing regularly? Do you try to avoid being seen by others…”

“What does it matter?”

Ara cut him off, unable to bear it any longer.

“What?”

“Why does it matter to you, Kim Seok-kyung?”

Her fists clenched tightly in the empty air between them. Seok-kyung still frowned, clearly dissatisfied with her reaction.

“Isn’t it a bit much for a landlord to interfere with a housekeeper’s personal life? Don’t you think you’ve crossed a line?”

This time, Ara didn’t feel like holding back. She didn’t want to cushion her words for him.

“Was that part of the contract? That I have to report every little thing I do? Is that one of your tests too?”

There was no response.

“Fine. Then I’ll say it. I need that ten billion won from you so badly that even if you follow my every move like I’m a criminal, I have no right to complain.”

“Na Ara…”

“And for the record, who cares if someone gives me something? You’re the one who told me not to feel burdened, to buy whatever I wanted. So it’s okay if I take things from you, but not from anyone else?”

Ara locked eyes with him, trying her best to hold back the anger and sadness threatening to spill over.

She had been quietly glad, even just a little, to see him again after a few days. That simple, honest feeling never got a chance to reach him.

Instead, her words came out sharp, like waves crashing over a broken seawall. A tide that couldn’t be stopped by will alone.

“And Suho sunbae isn’t a bad person.”

“…”

“At the very least, he’s much kinder than you are. He doesn’t make people feel this small.”

Ara bit down on her lip, her words sharp and cutting. But long before they could wound Seok-kyung, they had already torn through her, scraping her from the inside out.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry, no matter what…

She had repeated it in her head hundreds of times, yet her vision blurred almost immediately. Ara turned her eyes away and grabbed the shopping basket.

“I’ll head to the market before it gets too late.”

It was foolish, but she couldn’t bear to stand there any longer. She just wanted to run as far as she could.

“Haa…”

Seok-kyung let out a sigh so heavy it felt like it could crack the floor beneath him. His fingers pressed firmly against his temples, knuckles standing out beneath taut skin.

This wasn’t how he had wanted the conversation to go. Of course it wasn’t. After days buried in tedious paperwork, even just seeing her gentle face had been enough to lift his mood.

He had only wanted to ask because he was worried. Lately, whenever they crossed paths, Ara looked more and more unwell, and he wanted to understand why.

I’m fine. Probably just tired because of the weather.

But to his eyes, she hadn’t looked fine at all.

When he stood close, her breath carried a strange and unsettling heat. It wasn’t the faint fever of a seasonal cold. It was something darker. Something almost spiritual, a trace of malevolent energy he couldn’t even define.

It hadn’t been there before. That was what troubled him most.

Given her past encounter with evil spirits, the thought that something might be harming her again was impossible to ignore.

So he had tried to investigate gently. Was there someone new in her life? Something she had recently received? A repeated experience? Was someone hiding in the shadows, trying to avoid being seen?

It was a gift.

If only it hadn’t been for that damned hair clip, he might have handled things differently.

Seok-kyung slammed his fist against the marble table. The sharp jolt that ran through his knuckles only fed his self-reproach and fury.

Ara, in her innocence, had clearly believed every word that contemptible man had told her. But Seok-kyung, who had long since memorized every fashion brand worth knowing, recognized the truth at a glance.

The hair clip wasn’t a knockoff. And that so-called grandmother who brought a bag full of them probably didn’t even exist.

“People blinded by greed will say anything…”

He ground his teeth together.

It shouldn’t have been enough to provoke him this much, but it felt like he had swallowed a ball of fire. The kind of rage that burned deep and slow, like a flame in purgatory. If he opened his mouth, he felt like a fire dragon might roar out.