The elevator doors opened, revealing Arka looking completely disheveled. There was no trace of the elegant, arrogant lawyer he usually was. His shirt was rumpled, his tie had come loose, and even his usually neatly combed hair had fallen over his forehead.
Nara, hearing the elevator open, immediately stepped out of her room. She was shocked by Arka's current appearance. He looked like a thug.
Nara wanted to crack a joke to lighten the mood. But when she saw Arka's expression, she decided to keep it to herself.
His usually arrogant gaze was empty, and his broad, imposing shoulders looked fragile. Arka threw himself onto the sofa.
Nara could tell that Arka was really not okay today. She quickly went to make some tea to help him relax.
Arka closed his eyes. He remembered how his emotions had taken control of him during the trial. He was usually calm, but he had become heated and aggressive. The case files and strategy he and his team had planned had also fallen apart completely.
In the end, he lost that trial. The first loss in Lawyer Arkana Wijaya's career. Yet... it was another defeat in a row for Arkana Wijaya.
Arka even still remembered how he had grabbed Ardian by the collar after the trial ended. Of course, Ardian hadn't just stood there and let it happen. He had grabbed Arka's shirt in return. That was what had left Arka's clothes in such a mess.
"WHY! WHY DID YOU COME BACK!" The anger Arka had kept buried all this time finally began to explode.
Arka's anger only grew when Ardian didn't answer him and shoved him away. Ardian merely straightened his clothes and walked away from Arka without saying a single word.
After that, Arka didn't even know how he had made it home. Even Fahri's curses hadn't registered in his ears. But Arka knew Fahri had definitely compared him to Ardian again.
"What an egotist..." Arka muttered.
"Mr. Arkana, sorry to bother you. I made you some tea... Please drink it." Nara set the tea down in front of Arka.
Still in a foul mood, Arka shot Nara a sharp look.
"Are you a maid? Why are you preparing something I didn't ask for!"
Nara winced inwardly. Apparently, Arka was even more insufferable when he was in a bad mood. But then she remembered how carefully he had treated her wounds yesterday. In the end, Nara decided to be the one to give in.
Arka was startled when Nara suddenly sat down beside him. "I used to... really hate the village. My grandfather and mother moved me to the village you visited yesterday. It was hot, boring, and completely different from the housing complex I used to live in. Even this style of clothing was against my wishes... But I still accepted it. Do you know why?" Nara began telling her story without being asked.
"I don't want to know," Arka replied coldly.
"It turned out that my grandfather and mother's actions were based on something—their desire to protect me. You might think I'm uncultured and ugly, but I'm actually beautiful!" she continued.
Arka, who had been ignoring Nara until then, turned to her and furrowed both brows. He felt that something was wrong when Nara called herself beautiful. "I think you should see a doctor."
Nara smiled faintly. At last, the man was starting to follow her story. "Why don't you believe me? I am beautiful, Mr. Arkana." Nara stubbornly stood by her claim.
Arka smiled dismissively. "If you're really as beautiful as you say, I'll follow your orders for a month," he said offhandedly, intending to prove that Nara wasn't beautiful at all.
"Wait! Say that again!" Nara pulled out her old-fashioned cellphone and opened the recording feature.
Arka glanced at Nara's phone, then happily repeated his statement: if Nara became beautiful, he would follow the girl's orders for an entire month.