Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 13

“Wow… he really is insanely handsome. No wonder everyone’s losing their minds. I admit it.”

Heeseong, who was sitting next to her, suddenly started clapping.

Every time Kangwoo moved on the screen, Heeseong couldn’t stop exclaiming in awe.

Thick eyebrows. A sharply raised, perfectly straight nose bridge.

Deep-set eyes shaded with natural contour. A sharply defined, chiseled jawline.

And that calm, commanding aura, as if everything around him lay at his feet.

Broadcast cameras were notorious for turning normal people into goblins, but Kangwoo was the one exception.

If anything, the high-definition footage made his overwhelming looks feel even more vivid—like he was standing right in front of them.

“Noona? Noona?”

Heeseong called Jiwoo several times, but no answer came back.

The one who should’ve responded had completely lost her grip on reality.

Kangwoo… why are you there…?

Why? Why are you there when you’re supposed to be in the dungeon right now?

Jiwoo’s jaw had dropped open and refused to close.

Seeing that, Heeseong tossed a piece of apple into Jiwoo’s open mouth—like feeding a monkey at the zoo.

“Noona, what’s wrong with you? Were you so shocked by how handsome he is? Your jaw’s gonna fall off.”

“…Y-yeah.”

At Heeseong’s words, Jiwoo finally managed to close her mouth.

The apple, meanwhile, stayed annoyingly sweet and crunchy.

The camera continued to show Kangwoo on screen.

[‘Seo Kangwoo’s Return Draws Massive Attention From Both the Hunter Industry and the Entire Nation…’]

Heeseong tapped his phone with one hand and propped up his chin.

“Corporate expansion, my butt. People are going crazy because he’s stupidly handsome, that’s all.”

“Huh?”

“Look, the real-time search rankings—number one is already ‘Returnee Seo Kangwoo.’”

Flinch.

“Number two: ‘Seo Kangwoo in real life.’ Number three: ‘Seo Kangwoo identity.’”

Flinch.

Jiwoo’s whole body trembled every time Kangwoo’s name came up.

“H-he’s that big of a deal?”

“Of course! He’s one of the world’s few returnees and the heir to Daewoon Group. And above all, look at that divine face. Obviously everyone’s losing it.”

Jiwoo shot a sidelong glance at Kangwoo on the TV.

He was definitely handsome enough to make her forget how to breathe, but…

‘…It still doesn’t capture him.’

Having seen Kangwoo up close, Jiwoo felt oddly disappointed.

The TV simply couldn’t contain his beauty.

On-screen, Kangwoo’s face was cool and expressionless, icy almost.

Even that was mesmerizing and seductive like a piece of art—but it felt unfamiliar.

‘When Kangwoo smiles brightly, it’s deadly…’

When his sharp eyes soften and he smiles, the whole world seems to explode with light…

“Oh my god—what am I thinking!”

I sound like some mom bragging about her kid! We’re not even anything to each other!

I literally left him in a dungeon and ran away!

Jiwoo slapped her peach-colored cheeks.

Completely unaware of Jiwoo’s turmoil, Heeseong shoved his phone screen right under her nose.

It was packed with fresh screenshots of Kangwoo.

“The Seo Kangwoo fan café is posting ten new threads every second. Their screenshots are at nano-level resolution!”

“Do Heeseong, when did you even join a fan café?”

“Well, uh… fangirling over Hunters is basically my daily life.”

He gave a flimsy excuse as he changed his phone wallpaper.

The previous photo — a beautiful female Hunter — disappeared, replaced by Kangwoo’s expressionless face.

Staring at the shining photo of Kangwoo, a wave of dread crept over Jiwoo.

‘Returnee? Returned after ten years?’

Ta-da! Surprise! Turns out he wasn’t a monster but a returnee—like that makes any sense?!

How could that be?

The system literally identified him as a monster!

It even gave her an alert: “★You kissed a monster★” — with little stars and everything!!

There was only one creature who could answer all of this.

Jiwoo quietly pulled her backpack out from under the bed—where she’d sealed it away.

Then she went to the bathroom and closed the door.

“Dongsik! Get out here RIGHT NOW!”

She grabbed the penguin doll by the scruff and shook it violently up and down.

“Dongsik! What is that?! Why is Kangwoo outside?!”

─ I told you I had good news! You stuffed me in a bag and NOW you want answers? Aaaargh!!

“What part of that is good news?! Isn’t Kangwoo a monster like you?!”

─ What nonsense! Why would Kangwoo be a monster?! He’s a chaebol! We should just get free fish off him!!

“…A chaebol?”

At that one word, Jiwoo’s green eyes trembled dangerously.

‘Kangwoo, I’m going to marry a chaebol.’

‘A chaebol?’

‘Yes. Someone rich, with lots of land, a proper company—THAT kind of chaebol!’

“Oh my god.”

No wonder he looked too pretty when he smiled back then!

‘N-no way… Did Kangwoo really come outside because he was looking for me?’

Her mouth went dry with panic.

Totally oblivious, the penguin doll—its belly poking out—shrieked loudly.

─ Jiuuu! What are you doing? Hurry and go find Kangwoo and demand he give us a truckload of fish—nyaaaaa!!

“Be quiet! You’re going back in!”

There was nothing more to extract from him anyway. Ending the interrogation, Jiwoo shoved Dongsik back into the backpack.

When she came out of the bathroom, Heeseong was gone—probably off doing tests—and only his phone sat on the bed.

Jiwoo could see the comments on the screen from the fan café:

Comments

What on earth happened in the ten years he was missing?

└ Off-topic, but even ten years ago he didn’t look human. Look at this—how is this a high schooler? (seogangwoo_17.jpg)

└ This comment has been removed for: Minor-related inappropriate content.

└ LMAO wake up, he was a minor back then! Handcuffs clink clink!

If he’d come back five years earlier, I wouldn’t have gotten married.

└ Girl, you think becoming a third-generation chaebol’s daughter-in-law is easy? Snap out of it, he’s from Daewoon Group.

 

‘Come to think of it… this hospital is owned by Daewoon Group too.’

After dungeons appeared, countless unknown illnesses emerged worldwide.

Heeseong’s illness was one of those incurable types—ordinary hospitals couldn’t treat it at all.

‘If not for Daewoon Group, he wouldn’t be getting treatment like this.’

Because Daewoon Group rapidly entered the Hunter industry and merged it with medical technology, they saved countless lives.

A massive conglomerate that influenced Korea’s society, politics, and economy — that was Daewoon Group.

‘Right. Kangwoo is the heir of that enormous Daewoon Group. Why would he remember someone he briefly crossed paths with?’

Jiwoo shook her head vigorously to clear her mind.

They had spent only one day together in the dungeon.

And with Daewoon Group’s power, Kangwoo could easily find that “Jiu” person if he wanted.

So eventually, his interest in her would fade naturally.

Jiwoo crossed her arms and put on a forced smile.

“As if he’d ever run into me in this huge city of Seoul! Hahaha.”

Right then, Heeseong returned from his tests and replied:

“Noona… that sounds exactly like a death flag…”

“Hey! Do Heeseong, don’t jinx it!”

Jiwoo quickly cut him off—but it was already too late.

The next morning.

“Let’s be together from now on~♪ A world rising with the power that brought us here~♪”

The uniquely catchy ringtone echoed through the room — it was coming from Jiwoo’s old phone.

“Ugh, noona! Can you please change that ringtone? You’ve had it for ten years! Aren’t you sick of it?”

“Why? I like it.”

That ringtone carried her memories.

It was the background music from Grand Rise, the online game where she once hit rank #1.

“I can’t go back to those days anymore, but I still can’t forget—”

“Noona! Your phone is still ringing!”

“Ah—right! Coming!”

Jiwoo rushed over and grabbed her charging phone.

“Ugh, another unknown number.”

Maybe it was Team Leader Kim Mi-young again… Debt consultation calls seemed to get more persistent by the day!

Still, just in case, she answered.

A moment later—

Her expression froze completely.

“…S-sorry? W-what guild? V-void?”

[Hello, we’re calling from Guild VOID.]

Guild VOID.

One of the top guilds in the nation—consistently ranked #1.

Normally, she’d be thrilled to get a call from a place like that.

But not this time.

Because Guild VOID was under Daewoon Group.

The exact place Jiwoo wanted to avoid at all costs—

The place connected to Kangwoo.