"Te... Teach me a lesson?" she stammers. "What did I do?"
He raises a brow at the question, and Joon-He realizes what she just said.
"I mean... I'm sorry!"
She drops to her knees.
"Did I say I was going to kill you?"
"You're not?" She stands, brushing the sand off her knees. "Wait, what do you mean by teach me a lesson?"
"By telling you the rules and regulations of this place—what you can and cannot do. That's what I mean by teaching you a lesson."
"That's... that's not how that phrase works, the way you said it."
"How else do you teach someone a lesson?"
She stares at him, trying to come up with something to say, but decides against it.
"Let's go."
"Wait!"
"What?"
She hesitates before speaking but musters up the courage.
"The flowers."
"That is none of your concern—"
"And why is that? I already know you're a Goblin!"
"Would you keep it down!" He shoves his hands into his pockets. "Not everyone in this building knows that I'm a Goblin."
"Oh... sorry. But still, the flowers. I need answers."
She walks up to him, flashing a crooked smile. "Besides... I am the Goblin's bride, aren't I?"
"Do... Don't call yourself that."
He starts walking out of the garden, and Joon-He follows.
"Why not?"
"Because I said so."
"Are you a Goblin?"
"Yes."
"Am I your bride?"
"...Yes."
"Then I'm the Goblin's bride!" she yells, jumping in front of him.
"Will you shut it?" He pushes her aside and continues walking. "I told you not to shout it out."
"Why doesn't everyone know you're a Goblin?"
"Because... it's complicated."
"Why? You don't trust your workers?"
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"I said it's complicated. Now stop disturbing me."
He slides the glass door open and walks through, leaving Joon-He behind.
"Hey!"
She chases after him, but before she can grab him—he disappears.
"Pfft. Show-off. Just because of a few—"
She sighs and heads back to her room.
After slamming the door shut, she sees Hin-Hye tapping on her dog.
"Oh! Hin-Hye! How are you?"
Hin-Hye looks up, stands, and greets her.
"Hello, madam..."
"What brings you here?"
"I came to change the dog's water bowl and refill his plate."
"Oh, I see."
"Are you ready, madam?"
"For what?"
Hin-Hye tilts her head toward the phone Joon-He left on the table.
"Oh! Yes, of course! As long as you're not busy or anything."
"No, I'm free now."
"Okay!!"
She jumps onto the bed, kicking off her slippers.
"Alright then, let's get started."
Hin-Hye walks over and sits at the edge of the bed, and Joon-He scoots closer to her.
She picks up the phone and holds it near Hin-Hye's face.
"Now, how do I turn it on?"
Hin-Hye points to the top right of the phone screen. "Hold that button."
She does as told. After a few seconds, the phone lights up and displays text.
She nearly drops the phone, but Hin-Hye quickly helps her steady it.
"What are you doing, madam?"
"Oh... sorry. It just startled me." She tucks her hair behind her ears. "So now what?"
She looks at the screen.
"Now... I'm not quite sure how to teach you this, but I'll do my best."
---
Joon-He walks out the door, stretching her arms.
"Haaa!!!"
She pulls her phone from her pocket, smiling at it.
"Well, if I have you with me, staying indoors won't be so bad."
On her way downstairs, she sees Hin-Hye carrying a bowl of water.
"Hey, what's that for?"
"Your dog. He's been drinking a lot of water lately."
"Really? Well, with all the dry food and tasty meals you've been giving him, I can't blame him."
She walks past her but decides to follow.
"Hey Hin-Hye, my dog's been super lazy and coughing a lot. Do you think maybe you're feeding him too much? I think you're overstuffing him—haha. Maybe take him to a vet?"
"If that's what you think, then sure. I'll reduce the amount of food I give him, and I'll make inquiries about a vet... maybe tomorrow."
She opens the door and places the bowl down. Tini immediately gets up and drinks.
"You must really love this water, Tini." She pats him on the back.
Night falls, and Weol-So is nowhere to be seen.
Joon-He lies on the bed, hugging Tini with her face against his chest.
"I always love the sound of heartbeats..."
Tini suddenly starts wheezing, making her jump.
"Tini, are you okay?"
He stands on the bed, shakes his body, then lies back down.
CREEK
The door in front of her opens. She looks up to see Weol-So entering.
"Ah! Good evening," she says with a bow.
He nods and heads straight into the bathroom.
What's up with him? she wonders.
She turns back to her dog and lies down again. But after a while, sleep still hasn't come.
She throws off her blanket and heads to the door, pausing at the sound of running water from the shower.
How long does one guy need to shower?
Shaking off the thought, she heads downstairs.
She spots Hin-Hye carrying a tray of plates.
"Hin-Hye!"
Hin-Hye flinches, almost dropping the tray.
"Madam! Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Joon-He walks over, scratching her head.
"Yeah, but I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd grab a midnight snack!"
"I don't think you should have a midnight snack."
"Why not?"
"Mr. Shin thinks women shouldn't eat late at night—it'll make them gain weight."
Joon-He puts her hands on her hips, tilting her head.
"Oh please! I've heard that one before. All I want is a bag of chips and maybe two or three chocolate bars. What's that going to do?"
Hin-Hye sighs. "Well... I guess once in a while won't hurt. Come on, follow me."
She leads her to the storeroom where all the snacks are kept.
"Whoa!! I didn't know Weol-So had such a sweet tooth!"
"Shh! Madam, please keep it down."
"Oops, sorry."
"I brought you here because the maids haven't restocked the kitchen yet, and I wanted you to pick what you wanted."
"Like I said, a bag of chips and some chocolate bars."
"Yeah, but you can choose the flavors and types you want."
Joon-He eyes the room full of pastries and snacks.
"I don't think I can choose."
She walks to a cupboard.
"Madam, that's the chips cupboard."
"Okay."
She opens it and sees chips she never even knew existed.
"Um, what's this?"
"Pringles."
"Why are there so many types?"
"For people who like different flavors."
"Which one's the best?"
"I'd say green and maybe red."
"Okay, I'll take both. And a bag of Lay's."
"I thought you only wanted one bag of chips?"
"Not until I saw Pringles!"
Hin-Hye shakes her head and leads her to the chocolate section.
"Pick whatever you want."
Joon-He grabs a jumbo Snickers and a milky coconut chocolate bar.
"I'll go with these."
"You said two or three snacks."
"Well... I changed my mind. It's not like I'm going to eat all of them tonight."
"Alright, you may go back to your room."
A while later, Joon-He is back in her room.
"Goodnight, and thanks Hin-Hye!"
She waves and heads off.
Joon-He opens the door with her foot—her hands are full.
"Should've brought a bag."
She shuts the door with her hip and jumps on the bed.
"Tini! Look what I brought!"
Tini doesn't even move.
"Fine then! No snacks for you!"
She dumps her snacks on the bed and plays eenie-meenie-miney-moe to choose.
"Yes! Green Pringles and Snickers!"
She stores the rest in a cupboard beside the bed and glances at her phone.
"Oh! Forgot about you."
She reaches for it, then pulls her hand back.
"Nah. I'll just eat and sleep."
She opens the Pringles and inhales the aroma, but just as she's about to eat one—
The water's still running.
"Is he still alive in there?"
She walks toward the bathroom door but pauses.
"Wait a minute... what if he's... naked?"
She presses her ear to the door—no sound.
"No problem. I'm his wife, right?"
She tucks her hair, clears her throat, and twists the doorknob with her eyes closed.
Steam pours out.
"What the heck?"
She pulls the left curtain—tub's empty.
Pulls the right curtain—the shower's running, but no one's there.
"This is getting creepy."
She turns away and slips, scattering the slippers on the floor.
"Ow!!"
She gets up, closes the door, and returns to bed.
Why did he leave it on? An emergency meeting? Where did he go at this hour?
After eating, she drinks water and finally decides to sleep.
CREEK. CRUP.
The bathroom door opens.
"No worries. She's asleep," Weol-So's voice says.
But Joon-He had only just decided to sleep—she's wide awake.
"Don't worry, Weol-So. We can discuss this tomorrow," a young voice replies.
"Are we still doing the thing we planned?"
"Most definitely."
"Okay, goodnight then."
He closes the door, but pauses, noticing the scattered slippers. He looks over at Joon-He, whose back is to him.
"No problem," he whispers to himself.
What's going on? she wonders, heart pounding.
Then—thud—she hears