Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 108

What do you mean B-Rank?

Jiwoo felt wronged, but she had no comeback for Kang Jaegyu.

After all, she really had been bluffing him by claiming to be a high-ranking Hunter.

Actually, this works out better.

If I go up alone, I can move in and out of the safe zone without worrying.

And if things got urgent, she could summon her tenants without worrying about anyone seeing.

The only thing bothering her was leaving Kang Jaegyu here alone.

It certainly wasn’t because she was worried about him.

Sure, he was a Hunter responsible for protecting civilians, but…

Hunters come in all kinds.

With his hands stuffed into his pockets, Kang Jaegyu swaggered over and started butting into other people’s arguments.

“Looks like you’re the one in the wrong. If you’ve got a girlfriend that pretty, you shouldn’t be wandering around every night.”

“…”

Leaving the civilians in that guy’s hands still didn’t sit right with her. Even if this was the dungeon’s safe starting point, it was still a dungeon.

After thinking for a moment, Jiwoo secretly took an extra precaution.

Nothing will probably happen, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

As she lingered, Kang Jaegyu’s sharp eyes turned toward her.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going?”

“I’m going now.”

Grumbling, Jiwoo headed for the stairs.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“[Light!]”

Jiwoo summoned a floating light, illuminating the darkness.

The dungeon’s theme appeared to be an old movie theater.

The worn-out seats had faded into a dark crimson, while torn movie posters and discarded soda cups littered the floor.

She picked up one of the posters lying beneath her feet.

In the center, a masked dog was clashing dramatically with a hat-wearing cat.

Below it was the tagline:

Coming This June!

The touching true story that moved dog owners and cat servants around the world!

Attack of the Giant Furball: Mama Dog vs. Papa Cat

…What kind of movie was that supposed to be?

Other than being old and gloomy, the second floor was completely silent.

The only sounds were Jiwoo’s breathing and her footsteps.

Even after using her Search skill, she found nothing unusual.

Looks safe enough.

After thoroughly searching the area, Jiwoo wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Now it was time to bring everyone suffering under the curse upstairs.

She dismissed the lights one by one and headed toward the exit.

But after only a few steps, something caught her eye—something she definitely hadn’t seen before.

“Was this mirror here earlier?”

In one corner of the theater stood an enormous mirror, so large it was strange she could have missed it.

It towered well above her height, with a golden dragon carved in relief around its frame.

Walking closer, she looked at her reflection.

A high ponytail of curly hair.

A round face.

Light green eyes.

A plain T-shirt and black shorts chosen purely for practicality.

She saw herself every day, but somehow seeing herself standing inside a dungeon felt oddly unfamiliar.

Why would there be a mirror in a movie theater?

Then again, dungeons being weird was hardly anything new.

Tilting her head, she turned to leave.

Then the dragon’s tail decorating the frame twitched.

“…Did I imagine that?”

Blinking, Jiwoo examined the mirror again.

No matter how carefully she looked, nothing seemed unusual.

“What’s going on? Maybe Kangwoo was right. I’ve really been overworking myself lately.”

A few days earlier, Kangwoo had shown up carrying an armful of herbal medicine.

Apparently he’d heard somewhere that she looked run-down.

Holding both of her hands tightly, he’d insisted,

“You have to take it on time, Jiwoo.”

So she’d accepted it…

“Honestly, he’s so overprotective. How old does he think I am? Herbal medicine already?”

Smiling as she thought of him, Jiwoo reached toward the dragon decoration.

At that exact moment—

A violent gust of wind slammed into her from behind.

“Waaah!”

She lost her balance and pitched straight toward the mirror.

She expected a loud crash.

Instead—

“Gyaaaah!”

An unknown force grabbed hold of her.

Before she could resist, it sucked her straight into the mirror.

Brilliant colors flashed across her vision.

Then darkness swallowed her.

“…Mm…”

How long had she been unconscious?

With a soft groan, Jiwoo opened her eyes.

A white ceiling greeted her.

She was lying in bed beneath a warm blanket inside a quiet bedroom.

None of it felt real.

Just moments ago she’d been inside a decrepit movie theater.

Now she was in a bedroom?

Even the blanket was soft and warm.

An electric blanket heated the bed, while a humidifier quietly released steam from the bedside table.

What is going on…?

Blink.

Blink.

As she repeatedly opened and closed her eyes, she heard footsteps.

Knock.

The door opened.

“You’re awake.”

At the familiar voice, she instinctively looked up.

Her eyes widened.

“Kangwoo?”

Dressed casually, Kangwoo stood there with one hand in his pocket, looking down at her.

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Haha. Looks like I really surprised you.”

“Of course you did! How are you here? Wait—before that, where is this? I was just in the dungeon!”

“I found you unconscious in the dungeon and rescued you.”

“Then… what about everyone else?”

“They’re all safe.”

With that, Kangwoo held out his hand.

Taking it, Jiwoo sat up with his help.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“About an hour.”

After helping her up, Kangwoo let go of her hand.

He walked to the bedroom door, opened it, then looked back at her.

“Everyone’s waiting outside.”

“Umm…”

Giving an awkward smile, Jiwoo smoothed down her messy bedhead.

“Kangwoo… could you wait a minute? I literally just woke up, and I look like a mess.”

“Sure. The bathroom’s over there.”

“Thanks.”

After showing her the bathroom, Kangwoo waited outside.

A short while later—

Crash!

Something fell inside.

Kangwoo knocked.

Jiwoo answered from within.

“Sorry. The floor’s slippery and I fell. Can you help me?”

“I’m coming in.”

The doorknob slowly turned.

The moment the bathroom door opened—

Kangwoo frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Exactly what it looks like.”

Jiwoo stood directly in front of the door, pointing her staff straight at his heart.

A crimson glow swirled around the mana stone at its tip.

“I’ve compressed a Fireball to its absolute limit. At this distance, if it hits your vital spot, it’ll kill anyone—Awakened or not—in one shot.”

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Put it down first, and let’s tal—”

“Stop pretending to be Kangwoo.”

“Pretending? What are you talking about?”

He answered calmly.

His confusion and hurt sounded genuine.

Jiwoo only snorted.

“You called me ‘you.’ Kangwoo calls me Jiwoo. He never calls me ‘you.’”

Slowly, she moved the tip of her staff upward.

It stopped at his throat.

“And Kangwoo hates it when I call him Mr. Kangwoo.”

She raised her right hand.

The same hand he’d held just moments earlier while helping her up.

“Our Kangwoo would never just let go of my hand.”

If he had the chance, he’d lace their fingers together first.

His obsession with physical affection went beyond what the word obsession could describe.

There was no way he’d voluntarily release her hand once he’d grabbed it.

“And lastly.”

Jiwoo smiled broadly.

“Maybe you don’t know this, but Kangwoo always tells me I’m pretty—no matter what I look like.”

It was the kind of thing most people would be embarrassed to say.

Jiwoo wasn’t.

It’s not like she forced him to say it.

If Kangwoo genuinely thought she was that pretty, what was she supposed to do?

She narrowed her eyes and glared at the man.

“Who are you?”

He stared back in surprise.

Then, with a helpless laugh, he said,

“Unexpected. I thought I could fool you for at least a little while.”

Jiwoo almost nodded without thinking.

Kangwoo was so quiet by nature that she might not have noticed.

If not for how unusually detached he had been compared to normal.

Still keeping her staff trained on him, Jiwoo slowly backed toward the door.

“Who are you?”

“A doppelgänger?”

“Or…”

“…their master?”