Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 27

Jiwoo knew it was unfair, but with no real-world experience back then, she hadn’t been able to resist.

If she didn’t get paid, she simply swallowed her tears and kept working.

‘But I was about to do the exact same thing.’

Jiwoo looked at Dongsik.

He quickly hid the white headband behind his back and clicked his beak.

─ Jiuu… was it really that shocking-aaak? I think I went too far-aaak.

“No, Dongsik. You were right. Unpaid labor—something like that should never happen.”

─ Nya-nak…? Are you sick-aaak? Did you eat something bad? Without me? What did you eat-aaak!?

Dongsik immediately began flapping his wings angrily, demanding how she could eat something without telling him.

─ I’m hungry-aaak! Feed me-aaak!

His round white belly gave a loud growl.

They had skipped lunch because they were busy pulling weeds.

“Wow, it’s already this late… Yeah, we should eat something too.”

Koreans run on food!

Jiwoo opened her inventory to check.

There was only one edible thing inside.

[Nicely Grilled Fish (D-Rank)]

It was the fish Dongsik had once given her as a “present.”

The same fish the Antmen had rejected earlier.

─ What are you gonna do with that tiny thing-aaak? Stick it up someone’s nostril?

“It’s not a nostril. You mean ‘who are you gonna feed that to,’ idiot.”

Heeseong, who had been watching, scolded him.

─ Nya-nya-nyaak! How dare you insult Lord Dongsik!

The Hee-dongies immediately bared their teeth and started bickering again.

They had been arguing all day while pulling weeds, so Jiwoo decided she just wouldn’t bother anymore.

“But hey, Dongsik. Where did you even get this fish?”

─ Nya-nak, if you go straight that way, there’s a river-aaak.

Dongsik pointed toward a dense forest. Heeseong chimed in.

“Yeah, sis. I saw a big valley over there earlier!”

“…Do Heeseong, when did you even go that far?”

“Huh? My body felt so light, I kind of wandered off without noticing.”

Then Dongsik, smoothing out his tail feathers, snickered.

─ Nya-nak, figures. Instead of pulling weeds like he was supposed to, he totally slacked off and went sightseeing-aaak!

“What? Don’t accuse me of stuff I didn’t do!”

─ Beh! Lord Dongsik is going to catch fish, not accuse innocent people-aaak! You stupid human!

“Hey! Come back here! If I catch you, you’re dead!”

With that, the Hee-dongies sprinted straight into the forest.

“Guys! You can’t just run off like that! Wait for me!”

Left alone, Jiwoo stared at the disappearing backs of her little brother and the penguin.

Because he’d spent years in hospitals, Heeseong never had friends his age. He’d always been around older women.

‘It’s good to see him running around so energetically, but…’

Was it okay to let him become best friends with a penguin? A penguin who wasn’t even human?

And honestly… she felt like Heeseong’s mental age was regressing a bit.

They were in a safe zone right now, but what if they fought like this when she wasn’t around?

“Haa… I really need to sit him down and talk. I just hope he’ll actually listen.”

What if he rolled his eyes and said he was grown now?

And that damn Dongsik didn’t listen to anything either.

Between her troublemaking brother and her chaos-gremlin penguin, Jiwoo’s worries only grew deeper.

 

 

 

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Just moments ago they were grabbing each other by the collar, but now the Hee-dongies were holding hands and wing joints as if nothing had happened.

“Shall we go into a dungeon to catch mackerel♪ Or head to the sea to catch flounder♬”

Dongsik was drooling at the thought of eating delicious fish, and Heeseong was excited at the idea of swimming again after so long.

Not long after, the sound of trickling water led them to a valley stream.

“Sis! The water here is crazy cold!”

Maybe it was the heat and sunlight earlier—just dipping their hands and feet in the water sent a refreshing chill up their bodies.

─ Just trust Lord Dongsik-aaak! I’ll catch a whole truckload of fish-aaak!

Dongsik jumped in first, splashing around.

But despite his bold declaration, the fish easily darted between his beak and escaped.

“Dongsik… can you actually catch fish? You didn’t just get lucky last time, right?”

Jiwoo narrowed her eyes and began interrogating him.

─ No, no-aaak! I swear this is how I caught them last time!

Flustered, Dongsik shot out shards of ice—psszzz!—but the fish were way faster.

He even dunked his entire head underwater in desperation, but the result was the same.

Jiwoo and Heeseong’s expressions grew increasingly doubtful.

─ Nya-nya-nyaak! That’s it, I’m done holding back-aaak!

Infuriated, Dongsik sucked in a huge breath.

His belly, already plump, swelled like it was about to explode—and then:

─ Pet skill activation-aaak! [Ice Breathing!]

His beak snapped open, unleashing a torrent of freezing cold air toward the stream.

“W-whoa!”

“D-Dongsik, you…?”

The flowing water froze solid in an instant.

Jiwoo and Heeseong stared speechless, mouths hanging open.

─ Nya-nya-nyaaaak! Behold the power of Lord Dongsik-aaak!

Proud, he flapped his wings high overhead.

But there was one thing he hadn’t considered—

He was also inside the water.

─ Nya-nya-nyaak! Help me-aaak!

Jiwoo sprinted across the ice and pulled the trapped Dongsik out from between the frozen layers.

“See? This is why kids playing alone in water is dangerous.”

If she had been even a little slower, Dongsik could’ve been trapped under the ice forever.

Jiwoo pressed her lips into a thin line.

‘I really need to lay down the law.’

She didn’t like hierarchical relationships.

Even between pet and owner, she believed things could stay friendly if boundaries were respected.

But this crossed the line.

Because Dongsik used a skill without thinking, everyone could’ve been in serious danger.

Jiwoo put her hands on her hips, ready to give the penguin a proper manners lesson.

Whether or not Dongsik acknowledged her as his ‘owner,’ she’d show some authority today.

But this time, Heeseong beat her to it.

“Hey! You stupid penguin brat! How are we supposed to catch fish if you freeze everything?! It’s not even winter—why are you turning the river into an ice rink?!”

He grabbed Dongsik by the scruff and shook him.

And at that moment—

Fish, winter, river, ice…

Those words lined up in Jiwoo’s head like tumbling dominoes.

She was reminded of something from long ago.

Back when she worked part-time mending nets in a tiny workshop, one of the chatty older men had once said:

“Out at sea is one thing, but river water? These nets are useless there. And you can’t even set them in winter.”

“When the river freezes solid, you take a hammer and slam it onto the ice. The shock travels through the water, and the stunned fish float right up.”

Back then she’d just brushed it off with “Uh-huh, sure,” but now it felt like incredibly useful wisdom.

‘Should I try it? Hmm… I don’t have a hammer, but…’

She looked around and spotted a boulder the size of a watermelon a few steps away.

She trudged over and tried lifting it.

But—

“Nnngh!!”

No matter how hard she tried, the rock didn’t budge.

Looking closer, she realized the part hidden under the bushes made it way bigger than she first thought.

‘Eek… yeah, this is impossible with my strength.’

Her Strength stat was a measly 4.

Even that was only because she’d gotten +1 from her earlier reward.

How could her stats be this terrible?

Jiwoo pouted and was about to look for another rock.

But before she even let go, the Hee-dongies scampered over and blocked her path.

“Sis, what are you doing? You’re gonna throw out your back!”

─ Jiu, forget the fish-aaak. Just don’t strain yourself—put it down-aaak.

“Yeah, just put it down!”

The two pairs of round eyes staring up at her only made Jiwoo more stubborn.

She had to show some dignity—as an older sister and as an owner!

“Hold on. I’ll make sure we get that fish.”

Even if she was just a supporter, she was still S-rank—how could she not lift a single rock?

“I can do iiiit!”

She gritted her teeth, pushing until her tiny arm muscles puffed up adorably.

And then it happened—

Pyo-oong!

Two tiny antennae popped out from her fluffy hair.

The Hee-dongies, watching from the front row, widened their eyes.

“S-sis! Are you okay? What is that on your head?!”

─ Jiuuuuu! You’ve grown horns!

Pale-faced, they ran to her side.

Jiwoo scratched the back of her neck.

“Oh, these aren’t horns… They’re ant antennae.”

“A-antennae?”

“Yeah. So, this is what happened…”