Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 114

The next scene was shocking.

On the screen, a man rushed onto the stage and attacked one of the singers who had been dancing.

The broadcast immediately cut away, but not before the camera clearly captured the attacker’s face for a split second.

The culprit was a doppelganger with the exact same face as the singer he had attacked.

Similar incidents continued to happen afterward.

It’s almost like… they’re deliberately trying to show this to people…

It was completely different from how the doppelgangers had behaved until now.

Jiwoo scrolled faster.

The string of doppelganger attacks had started exactly one week ago.

The very day Jiwoo had been sucked into the dungeon.

So this is what Kangwoo meant. More doppelgangers were going to appear.

The doppelgangers, who had mainly targeted celebrities and public figures, were gradually expanding their targets.

That must have been why the streets were so empty.

For the past few days, even ordinary civilians had been attacked at random.

Jiwoo carefully read through all the news articles published during the past week.

Nowhere did he find any mention of “the hunter who controls monsters” or “the healer hiding his true rank.”

What’s going on? Did everything about me just get buried under the doppelganger incidents?

Growing anxious, Jiwoo reached into his pocket for his phone.

He had kept it turned off in case someone tracked his location, but with the outside world in such chaos, it seemed unlikely anyone had the manpower to chase him down.

Ding. Ding-ding. Ding-ding.

The moment he turned it on, a flood of messages poured in.

Most of them were from people worried because Jiwoo had disappeared.

As he checked them, one message from Shin Ilguk made him freeze.

Shin Ilguk: Hunter Do Jiwoo, enjoy your vacation!

A cute little bear emoji danced at the end of the message.

Vacation? Since when did I go on vacation?

If anything, he’d been absent without leave.

Jiwoo blinked and continued checking his messages.

One in particular caught his eye.

Shin Woohyuk: Report to my office as soon as you read this.

Shin Woohyuk: Immediately.

“…Eek.”

I… can’t just not go, can I?

 

 

***

 

 

Jiwoo walked as slowly as a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.

He thought he was dragging his feet as much as possible, but he still reached the guild headquarters in no time.

Jiwoo: Guild Master, I’m in front of the guild building.

The reply came in less than ten seconds.

Shin Woohyuk: Wait on the first floor.

“…Waaah.”

Pulling his cap low over his face, Jiwoo lingered outside the building.

He had left his employee ID behind, so he couldn’t even enter by himself.

As he timidly kicked a pebble lying on the ground, a shadow fell over him.

“Hunter Do Jiwoo.”

“O-Oh, hello, Guild Master.”

“Come upstairs.”

Shin Woohyuk offered no greeting.

He led Jiwoo through the lobby, into the private elevator, and up to the top floor, where the guild master’s office awaited.

“Please, have a seat.”

“…Yes.”

Sitting on the sofa, Jiwoo stared at his reflection on the polished tile floor.

He looks really angry…

Though honestly, if it was only anger, he’d be relieved.

Under the circumstances, it would have been stranger if Shin Woohyuk hadn’t reported him.

Keeping his mouth firmly shut, Jiwoo sat quietly.

Shin Woohyuk personally prepared a cup of warm green tea and set it in front of him.

“Th-Thank you.”

“…”

Silence filled the spacious office.

Nervously, Jiwoo took a gulp of the tea.

Then—

“Hot! Hot! Hoooot!!”

With tears in his eyes, he flailed around wildly, sticking out his tongue like a puppy.

Shin Woohyuk quickly brought him a glass of cold water.

“Th-Thank you.”

Being treated so kindly when he felt like a criminal left Jiwoo deeply touched.

He bowed his head.

Silence settled over the room once more.

This time, Shin Woohyuk spoke first.

“Where have you been?”

“W-Well…”

“…”

Shin Woohyuk stared at him without moving, making it clear he intended to wait until he got an answer.

Finally giving up, Jiwoo spoke.

“I was in the safe zone.”

“Alone?”

“N-No… with my younger brother… and…”

As he trailed off, Shin Woohyuk folded his arms.

“Were those ant-type monsters we saw before—the Antmen—also in the safe zone?”

“…Yes.”

“…Haa.”

Shin Woohyuk rubbed his forehead as though nursing a headache.

Hearing that deep sigh, Jiwoo wished he could sink into the ground.

“Hunter Do Jiwoo.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve read the report about what happened in the dungeon. I understand those monsters protected the civilians.”

“…Yes.”

Jiwoo fidgeted with his fingers before cautiously looking up with a flicker of hope.

But all he found was the coldest gaze he had ever seen from Shin Woohyuk.

“That may be taken into consideration, but it doesn’t change the fact that you repeatedly ignored orders and raised monsters on your own.”

Raised… monsters…

Jiwoo lowered his head again.

Shin Woohyuk’s stern reprimand continued.

“Raising monsters? What on earth were you thinking, doing something that dangerous?”

“But they weren’t dangerous. They’re not bad—”

“There is no such thing as a harmless monster. I’ve told you this several times already. There are no such things as kind monsters.”

Jiwoo bit his lip.

He wanted to argue.

At least the unusual houseguests living with him weren’t dangerous.

But he had picked the wrong person to argue with.

Shin Woohyuk wasn’t someone easily convinced.

He wasn’t like Kangwoo, who would believe Jiwoo even if he claimed beans could make red bean porridge.

“There is no law specifically prohibiting monster domestication, so technically it isn’t illegal. But that’s only from a legal standpoint. The way outsiders judge it may be very different.”

“…”

When Jiwoo remained silent, Shin Woohyuk sighed again.

Perhaps trying to ease the atmosphere, he leaned back against the sofa.

“I handled what happened in the dungeon myself. Fortunately, it occurred within territory managed by our guild, and aside from witness testimony, there was no concrete evidence.”

The civilians inside the dungeon had been too disoriented by the earthquake to remember exactly what had happened.

At most, they remembered that monsters had appeared and hunters had confronted them.

A few mentioned seeing a small healer approach the monsters, but that alone wasn’t enough to become an issue.

That left only two hunters—

Oh Nara and Kang Jaegyu.

“I don’t know anything, Guild Master.”

Oh Nara kept her mouth shut.

To keep her promise to Jiwoo, she gave no statement whatsoever.

Unlike her, Kang Jaegyu threw a fit, insisting he would expose everything that had happened that day.

Only after Shin Woohyuk stepped in—with generous compensation and a little intimidation—did the matter finally settle down.

Hope flickered in Jiwoo’s light green eyes.

“Th-Then… does that mean…”

Shin Woohyuk spoke in a gentler tone than before.

“It means the thing you’ve been worrying about won’t happen. Your week of absence has also been processed as vacation leave.”

“G-Guild Master…!”

“With this, I’ve repaid the debt I owed you from before. This is the last time.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Jiwoo clasped his hands together and practically bounced with joy.

The gloom vanished from his face, replaced by a bright smile.

But that smile disappeared the moment Shin Woohyuk placed a single sheet of paper on the table.

“However, it seems the Emergency Disaster Response Team caught wind of something. They’ve sent you a summons.”

Thud.

The paper hit the table, and Jiwoo’s heart dropped with it.

 

 

****

 

 

 

Shin Woohyuk assured him that this summons was only for questioning, so there was nothing to worry about.

“You’ll be fine. Just go there and show them your special talent.”

“M-My special talent?”

“You know. Denying everything and playing innocent.”

“… ”

Apparently, Shin Woohyuk still hadn’t completely forgiven him.

Still, he hadn’t been lying about it being only an interview.

“Welcome, Hunter Do Jiwoo. Thank you for coming to the Emergency Disaster Response Team.”

As soon as Jiwoo entered the building, a neatly dressed receptionist greeted him.

Contrary to the team’s terrifying reputation, she was remarkably friendly.

“You arrived right on time! Hunters visiting us for the first time usually get lost. Thank you for making the trip.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Jiwoo followed her through the building.

The Emergency Disaster Response Team headquarters looked much like any ordinary office.

Hunters walked through the halls inspecting their equipment, while office workers hurried past carrying stacks of paperwork.

After a long walk, Jiwoo was left alone in a dim room.

“Please wait here.”

“O-Okay. Thank you.”

In the center stood a large steel table with two chairs.

One wall was entirely made of glass, while the opposite wall was painted a dull gray.

So…

This is an interrogation room.

The realization hit him.

Well, he had come here to be questioned.

It wasn’t as if they’d show him into a reception room.

That warm welcome had almost made him lower his guard.

The door opened, and a hunter he had met before entered.

“Hello again, Hunter Do Jiwoo.”

“Hunter Lee Yeonwoo…?”

Lee Yeonwoo wasn’t alone.

The exhausted-looking dealer who resembled a corpse and the tank wearing a jet-black helmet entered with her.

They’re Kangwoo’s direct team, right?

Then why are they all here…?

Blinking in confusion, Jiwoo remained standing until Lee Yeonwoo gestured toward the chair.

“Why don’t we sit down first?”

“O-Okay.”

Jiwoo sat across the steel table from Lee Yeonwoo.

Behind her stood the other two hunters at rigid attention.

With all three staring directly at him, he felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but their eyes almost seemed to sparkle.

“Um… why am I here…?”

“Hunter Do Jiwoo.”

“Yes?”

“To be honest, this meeting is highly confidential. Our team arranged it independently without informing anyone else.”

“Your team… Does that mean Kangwoo—I mean, Seo Kangwoo—knows about this too?”

“No. Please don’t say something so horrifying. If he found out, we’d be in serious trouble.”

Lee Yeonwoo shivered as though the mere thought gave her goosebumps.

“We’ve been investigating your recent activities.”

She slid a printed photograph across the table.

“This is…”

Jiwoo’s eyes widened as he picked it up.

The photo showed himself.

It had been taken long ago, shortly after he underwent his second awakening as Everyone’s Supporter.

The day a gate had appeared inside the café where he’d met with Shin Woohyuk.

H-How did anyone even get this picture?

In the photo, Jiwoo was firing a Fireball into one corner of the café.

“Fire! Fire!!”

“Hunter Do Jiwoo! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Let me go! Everyone, it’s a gas leak! It’s about to explode! Get as far away as you can!”

Oh… right! It was just before the gate appeared.

He’d only done it because he desperately wanted everyone to escape.

He never imagined someone had captured it on camera.

W-What do I do now?

He couldn’t think of a single explanation.

Using offensive magic inside a crowded civilian building.

That was enough to have his hunter license revoked—or even land him in a hunter detention facility.

Forcing the corners of his trembling lips into a smile, Jiwoo spoke.

“Haha… That’s quite a well-taken picture. I mean… it does look rather misleading…”

“You used your skill to save the civilians, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Y-Yes… How did you know?”

“We obtained statements from the people who were in the café. They said that before casting the spell, you shouted that a gate was about to appear. And just as you said, an unidentified gate opened there a few minutes later.”

“…”

“You have an incredibly rare ability, Hunter Do Jiwoo.”

“The ability to predict when gates will appear.”

“It’s an extraordinary gift.”

“Far too extraordinary for an E-rank healer.”