Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 116

Kangwoo rarely showed his emotions like this.

Without saying a word, Jiwoo took the hand Kangwoo held out to her.

“But how are we supposed to get out of here—Aaaaaaaah!”

The moment their hands touched, her entire view changed in the blink of an eye.

From the underground prison of the building to the high sky, with a full view of the city below.

The wind whipped wildly around them, sending Jiwoo’s hair flying in every direction.

“H-How did this happen?!”

How did this happen?! Aaaaaaaah!

Terrified, Jiwoo clung to Kangwoo for dear life.

Far below her, buildings that looked as tiny as fingernails were clustered together.

It was such an incredible sight that it hardly felt real.

Teleportation?

It was the same ability Kangwoo had used in the dungeon last time.

Jiwoo had only seen Kangwoo fight a handful of times. Even then, he had shown himself to be completely different from other hunters.

Instead of using flashy skills, he slaughtered monsters with nothing but a single sword.

That sometimes made Jiwoo curious about the abilities of the returnee known as Kangwoo.

But I didn’t mean I wanted to find out like this!

Somebody save me!

Jiwoo instinctively buried herself in Kangwoo’s arms.

She thought it might be less scary if she couldn’t see what was in front of her.

As she hugged his waist tightly, she could hear his heart pounding.

“Jiwoo, are you really scared?”

Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt like they were getting even higher as she heard the laughter in his voice.

“You’re going even higher on purpose, aren’t you? Put me down—Aaaaaah!”

Jiwoo accidentally looked down and squeezed her eyes shut, grabbing Kangwoo even tighter.

Seeing Jiwoo panic, Kangwoo quickly teleported them to the roof of a nearby building.

“Jiwoo, are you okay? I’m sorry for teasing you.”

“……”

“I just… really like it when you hug me.”

“If you like it twice as much, you’re going to kill someone! You really will!”

Jiwoo shouted angrily and pinched Kangwoo’s side.

Kangwoo blinked at her for a moment before reacting a beat late.

“Ah, Jiwoo, that hurts. I’m sorry. It hurts.”

“Don’t lie. Anyone can tell you’re acting!”

He was so bad at acting that there was no way he’d ever become an actor.

Even at his best, all he could be was a perfect David statue sitting in a museum.

Still huffing, Jiwoo sat down on a bench on the rooftop.

Kangwoo followed her and squeezed into the seat beside her.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“Well, I was chasing the man who escaped.”

“That man told me he knew you well… Do you know him too?”

“Yeah. We used to belong to the same group.”

Kangwoo no longer seemed interested in hiding anything.

His straightforward honesty felt unfamiliar, but it was also strangely comforting.

If I ask him now, maybe he’ll tell me everything…

Jiwoo thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

Hadn’t Kangwoo said it himself?

Even if he wanted to tell her, he couldn’t right now. He had asked her to give him a little more time.

If it was some kind of restriction placed on him, then fine.

Jiwoo didn’t want to pressure Kangwoo anymore.

Instead, she decided to enjoy the time they had together after being apart for so long.

And the first thing she absolutely had to ask was—

“Have you eaten?”

“No.”

“I knew it. We promised you’d make sure to eat properly.”

“I’ll be fine without—”

“Still! Koreans run on rice!”

Jiwoo launched into a long speech about the relationship between rice and the Korean people.

She didn’t stop nagging until she got Kangwoo to promise that, no matter how busy he was, he would always eat his meals.

“How did you know I was in the Emergency Disaster Response Team? The hourglass?”

“Yeah. As long as I have it, I can find you anytime, anywhere.”

He said that the reason he’d been able to find her in the dungeon last time was also because of the hourglass necklace.

Fiddling with the hourglass, Jiwoo said,

“Anyway, you really surprised me. Is it really okay to just smash your way into the Emergency Disaster Response Team building like that?”

“Yeah.”

…Hmm.

So it was okay.

Well, if Kangwoo said it was okay, then it must be okay.

Jiwoo accepted that answer without much trouble.

The sky gradually darkened as they sat on the rooftop.

While Jiwoo admired the sky as it slowly turned pink, Kangwoo quietly intertwined his fingers with hers.

“Your hand is warm.”

“Should I hold your other hand too?”

Before she could answer, Kangwoo reached out.

With both of her hands held, Jiwoo unintentionally ended up sitting face-to-face with him.

The corners of his eyes curved gently downward.

Dimples appeared in his cheeks.

“What’s with you? Why are you smiling?”

“Because you’re smiling.”

“I am? Oh… I really am.”

Touching her cheek, Jiwoo realized that she had been smiling without even noticing.

“Ah, I must’ve looked really silly.”

“Yeah. You were cute.”

What was that supposed to mean?

So she really had looked silly after all.

Jiwoo glared at Kangwoo at his immediate agreement.

But in the end, she couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

A soft breeze blew past them, gently tousling their hair.

Kangwoo gazed down at Jiwoo with deep affection before slowly opening his mouth.

“Jiwoo, I think I need to leave for a while.”

Her heart sank.

Anxiously, Jiwoo asked,

“How long?”

“I… honestly don’t know.”

“Ah…”

Faced with this sudden farewell, Jiwoo couldn’t say anything.

She knew she had to say something, but it felt like a heavy rock was pressing down on her throat.

Despite how firmly he’d spoken, Kangwoo was shaken too.

Still facing her, he pulled Jiwoo into his arms and rested his forehead against her shoulder.

“I don’t want to leave you behind, Jiwoo.”

Considering how he’d never let himself be separated from her no matter the situation, this was unusual.

Kangwoo was the one saying that he had to leave Jiwoo behind.

If he has to leave… then he really can’t stay, can he?

Jiwoo silently rolled the words around in her mouth.

Then she carefully wrapped her arms around Kangwoo’s back.

“It’s not dangerous, right?”

“……”

“It is dangerous.”

For the first time, Jiwoo felt like she wanted to throw a tantrum.

She wanted to tell him not to go.

Kangwoo answered in a trembling voice.

“If I hadn’t come, you never would’ve been put in danger.”

“How can you say something like that?”

“I’m serious, Jiwoo. I was the beginning. I was the one who created the rift and crossed over to the Earth where you live.”

Kangwoo had been the one who first created the rift between the two Earths.

In order to cross over to Jiwoo’s world, he had forcibly torn open a gap and caused the rift.

Many things had to be sacrificed along the way, but he had never once regretted it.

Not until Jiwoo herself was put in danger.

“It’s all because of me. This happened because I wanted you so badly.”

“……”

Wanted me…

Could desperately wanting and missing someone also be called greed?

After a long while, Jiwoo suddenly grabbed Kangwoo’s hand tightly.

Kangwoo raised his head.

“Do you regret it? Meeting me?”

“No.”

He answered immediately.

He spoke as though the question wasn’t even worth thinking about.

“Even if I could go back to the past, I’d come to meet you again and again.”

“Really?”

“I’ll stake my life on it.”

“Ah! You don’t have to go that far! How can you just risk your precious life like that?!”

Startled, Jiwoo buried herself in Kangwoo’s arms.

A moment later, she mumbled again.

“You have to come back. As soon as possible.”

“Yeah.”

“Just you wait if you don’t come back quickly. If you’re late, when you return, I’ll make you eat nothing but carrots. Carrot rice, carrot soup, seasoned carrots, braised carrots, and even water boiled with carrots.”

At the endless mention of carrots, Kangwoo flinched slightly.

It was a menu that could make carrots appear in his dreams.

“Your return feast will be nothing but carrots.”

“Your expression got even more serious than before. Am I imagining it, Kangwoo?”

“……”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?!”

“Carrots are a little too much.”

“Then spinach?”

“…Hmm.”

“Burdock?”

“I’ll just take the carrots, Jiwoo.”

“Too late! When I get home today, I’m going to develop some recipes!”

Carrot, spinach, and burdock bibimbap!

Jiwoo had created a terrifying menu just by saying the name.

“That’s too much.”

“Too much? Too much? Fine! I’ll add seasoned radish! Carrot, spinach, burdock, and seasoned radish bibimbap!”

Jiwoo giggled as she added more ingredients.

The ingredients kept piling up.

What had started with carrots had grown to include spinach, burdock, and seasoned radish, then eggplant and tomatoes.

“Guess what’s next after tomatoes~? Ta-da! It’s cucumber!”

Jiwoo chattered away with a bright smile.

When she playfully winked, her light green eyes disappeared for a moment before shining again.

Kangwoo had been quietly listening to her rambling while facing her.

But he couldn’t hold back anymore.

He gently covered Jiwoo’s mouth.

Their fingers remained lovingly intertwined.

Smack.

The brief kiss ended, and Jiwoo stared at Kangwoo in surprise.

“Uh… what was—”

“Are you going to keep going, Jiwoo? What’s after cucumber?”

“Uh…”

Both of Jiwoo’s cheeks, and even her ears, turned bright red.

Unable to answer properly, she repeatedly opened and closed her lips.

Then Kangwoo’s lips covered hers again.

The sunset completely disappeared, and stars began to appear one by one in the darkening sky.

The two continued their secret conversation for a long, long time, with no end in sight.