Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 100

“Huh?”

Jiwoo, who had been about to board the bus, turned toward the place where the sharp scream had come from.

It was a road not far from where Jiwoo was standing.

A car that couldn’t slow down charged straight toward the student lying on the road.

In the brief span of only a few seconds, Jiwoo instinctively activated his flying skill and shot toward the fallen student.

Whoosh.

Avoiding the car, Jiwoo soared into the sky with the student in his arms, gliding through the air for a moment.

He could feel the student’s heart pounding against him.

“Are you okay? Oh dear, you must have been so scared.”

Even I got chills just watching that. I can’t imagine how terrifying it was for the person involved.

Tears rolled down the young student’s face.

“…S-sniff…! Someone suddenly shoved me really hard from behind…!”

“Someone pushed you?”

Frowning, Jiwoo looked toward the place where the student had been standing.

Then, among the crowd packed into the bus stop, he spotted a small figure wearing a cap pulled low over their face calmly slipping away.

Unlike everyone else, who had gathered together in confusion, the person’s behavior was suspicious.

Who is that…?

The face beneath the cap became faintly visible. The moment Jiwoo recognized it—

“Wooooow!”

“Wow, that was so cool…!”

“That person’s a Hunter, right? They have to be!”

“Take a picture! Take a picture!”

Click! Click!

Phone camera flashes went off everywhere.

Oh no, this is bad!

I can’t let my face become famous because of something like this!

Screaming inwardly, Jiwoo hurriedly landed on the ground.

Then he hid his face behind the small student’s shoulder.

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

“C-can we stay like this for a second?!”

It’d be a problem if someone got a picture of me.

Because flying through the air isn’t something an ordinary E-rank healer can do!

Hiding the fact that he’d undergone a second awakening was clearly a serious crime.

If word got to the Hunter Association or the Emergency Disaster Response Team, he’d be arrested on the spot and thrown into a Hunter detention facility.

“Come this way first, miss!”

Not knowing the full situation, the student diligently protected Jiwoo’s privacy.

They even took off their hoodie and draped it over him.

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it! I’m way more grateful! Excuse us! Please make way for a second!”

With the hoodie covering his head and blocking his vision, Jiwoo was dragged along.

He looked just like a criminal being escorted to the police station.

 

 

***

 

 

“This drama’s finally getting close to the end.”

Heeseong took a bite of a potato chip.

Crunch.

Crumbs fell onto the couch.

“You little brat! Is there one person making the mess and another cleaning it up?!”

“Ow! Why’d you hit me?! I’ve been working hard all day!”

Rubbing his back, Heeseong complained to Jiwoo.

“〈Our Home〉 is your house, not mine! So why haven’t you even stepped inside lately? How did I end up managing everything by myself?!”

“Umm…”

Now that he mentioned it, Jiwoo had no excuse.

Lately, he’d left everything about 〈Our Home〉 to Heeseong and hadn’t shown his face there once.

Folding his hands neatly together, Jiwoo spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hmph, whatever. You’re just saying that.”

“No, I really am sorry.”

“If you mean it, then I want bulgogi hot pot for dinner.”

“Okay.”

The siblings reached a dramatic compromise.

A preview for the next TV program began to play.

〈Mr. Lee’s Mystery〉

“I saw my doppelgänger! It tried to kill me!”

“Sir, then where did this doppelgänger that attacked you go?”

“Well…”

Beeeeeeep.

Tonight at 9 p.m.—We investigate the doppelgänger phenomenon sweeping Korea.

Jiwoo’s eyes fixed on the word doppelgänger on the TV.

What was that thing I saw at the bus stop?

The culprit who had pushed the student into the road.

At the time, Jiwoo had only caught a brief glimpse of the person’s face.

If I didn’t imagine it… it was definitely the same person.

The culprit had been wearing a cap pulled low, but they looked exactly like the student Jiwoo had just rescued.

Not just similar—they were identical, from their build to their face, like twins.

“People have been talking about that a lot lately. The internet’s full of stories from people claiming they met their doppelgängers.”

Heeseong held out his phone.

Sure enough, the screen was filled with posts from people saying they’d encountered their own doppelgängers.

Doppelgängers… Ugh, what a headache. Is this why Kangwoo keeps trying to protect me?

Jiwoo quietly sank into thought.

Heeseong spoke seriously.

“Noona, don’t go anywhere alone except when you’re commuting. Actually, even then, maybe ask Brother Kangwoo to—”

“Oh, come on. Who’s going to mess with a Hunter like me? Worry about yourself instead.”

“I don’t leave the house anyway, so I’m fine.”

“You can’t stay like that forever. You’ll have to go back to school sooner or later.”

The moment she finished speaking, Heeseong frowned deeply.

“Oh, here we go again.”

“Heeseong, you can’t stay inside forever.”

“Why not?”

For a moment, Jiwoo couldn’t answer.

Well… why couldn’t he?

“See? Even you can’t think of a reason.”

“But you have to go to school…”

“I’m so sick of this! How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not going back to school!”

“Heeseong.”

“I’m not going!”

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Heeseong stomped across the room and disappeared through the portal installed in the living room wall.

I can’t let him stay cooped up at home forever…

People need other people.

It was nice that he’d become close with the residents of 〈Our Home〉, but they weren’t human. Jiwoo worried Heeseong was becoming too isolated.

As he sighed, his gaze landed on the framed family photo on the table.

What would Mom and Dad have done?

Looking at his parents’ smiling faces, Jiwoo let out another sigh, filled with longing.

Today, more than ever, he missed them.

 

****

 

There was one important project Jiwoo had to complete during vacation: The 〈Our Home〉 Relationship Improvement Project.

The brawl inside the safe zone had lasted much longer than expected.

He’d thought things might calm down after the Black Dolphin joined them, but…

─ Watching water and watching fights are the two most fun things ever, dol!

─ Whoever’s winning is on our side, dol! Wheeee!

It was sitting there eating shrimp while placing bets on who would win.

I can’t just let them keep fighting forever.

Sure, people say fighting helps you grow—but only to a point.

The Antmen had become so busy fighting that they’d completely abandoned farming, and the safe zone was suffering from a food shortage.

If Jiwoo hadn’t been earning a decent salary from the guild, they all might have starved.

Feeding all these freeloaders has been breaking my back. I can’t let this continue.

Now that he had time off, this was the perfect chance.

Jiwoo recalled a TV program he’d once watched.

“There are only three rules for helping children make up after a fight.”

“First, encourage teamwork. Second, praise them when they work well together. Third, give everyone a snack to share.”

First up: Step One—Encourage Teamwork.

[Those who do not work shall not eat!]

Beneath Jiwoo’s slogan, written in bold red letters, every single resident of 〈Our Home〉 was called into action.