Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 30

‘W-What is this? The Emergency Disaster Team?!’

Ji-woo’s mouth fell open.

The Emergency Disaster Team.

A special organization with absolute, unchecked authority.

The Korean Hunter Association held enforcement power over every group related to dungeons.

But there was exactly one exception.

The Emergency Disaster Team.

It was recognized as a separate special unit and did not fall under the Association’s control.

Structurally, it was technically an organization belonging to the Association, but rather than a superior–subordinate relationship, it was more like a horizontal one.

Even when it came to gate-related matters, they moved not by “orders,” but by “requests.”

Ji-woo recalled what Shin Woo-hyuk had once said.

‘If this ability becomes known, Hunter Do Ji-woo will be in danger. Especially, the Emergency Disaster Team will go crazy first.’

‘He said the Emergency Disaster Team is a terrifying place that doesn’t care about law or ethics.’

He said there were so many dungeon-crazed lunatics that kidnapping, confinement, and threats happened like it was nothing.

And yet—

‘Kang-woo became the team leader of a place that scary?’

How on earth did that happen?

Ji-woo grabbed Kang-woo’s sleeve.

“Kang-woo, let me see too! Do you have a hunter ID as well?”

At that, Kang-woo handed over his entire wallet.

He looked ready to give her anything, not just the wallet.

“No, wait! You shouldn’t just hand your wallet to anyone like that.”

“Yes. But Hunter Do Ji-woo is not just anyone to me.”

Kang-woo still looked down at Ji-woo with sweet eyes.

Then he lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled broadly.

‘H-Has he lost his mind?!’

Isn’t this a bit dangerous for my heart?

Kang-woo’s face, which already felt sinful enough, now looked downright lethal.

Yesterday, when he held her hand and said, ‘Ji-woo, come here,’ he was full of fresh, boyish charm.

But now, as he spoke politely in proper honorifics, he gave off an elegant and alluring air.

‘What on earth did he do to turn into a proper member of society overnight?’

No—maybe this was Kang-woo’s true self all along?

Either way, it was just as confusing.

Rubbing her throbbing head, Ji-woo pulled out Kang-woo’s hunter ID.

‘There has to be something else going on.’

It was true that Kang-woo was strong, but joining the Emergency Disaster Team still made no sense.

‘Maybe he was forced into it. The hunter world is cutthroat these days—people get robbed blind before they even know it.’

Kang-woo had only just stepped into society.

A returnee unfamiliar with the world would be easy prey for scammers.

‘No matter what, Kang-woo is my benefactor.’

Without him, she wouldn’t have had her second awakening, and she wouldn’t have survived the Ant Queen.

So there was no way she could just stand by and let him be exploited by con artists.

Ji-woo’s eyes sharpened as she examined the hunter ID.

Kang-woo’s hunter registration date was today.

And his rank was—

“T-Triple S?!”

That was impossible!

Exploited? As if.

Who in the world could scam an SSS-rank hunter?!

One shock after another, Ji-woo collapsed onto the ground.

A little later.

After finally confirming the authenticity of the government ID, Shin Woo-hyuk offered Kang-woo an apology.

“My apologies. I hadn’t received any report about personnel changes in the Emergency Disaster Team…”

“Yes, that’s understandable. It hasn’t even been a few hours since I received the appointment.”

In the first place, calling it an “appointment” was a bit of a joke.

He had asked for just any position, and they had made him the team leader.

Triple S (SSS).

That was how absolute the position of an out-of-spec rank was.

Korea was originally known for having many awakened individuals despite its small population.

However, because the land area was small, the rate of gate appearances was low, and lower-rank hunters generally lacked experience.

The problem was that recently, A-rank gates had been appearing frequently in Korea.

It was to the point that people worried an S-rank dungeon might appear, like in the United States or Russia.

Especially now, when top-tier hunters were already leaving the country in droves.

And if an S-rank dungeon were to appear on top of that?

That would be nothing short of a disaster.

That was why the Association President and the Emergency Disaster Team desperately tried to hold on to Kang-woo.

With the thought that, as an SSS-rank, he could become a central pillar no matter what.

Fortunately, on the condition that they would never ask anything about his abilities in the future, Kang-woo accepted the team leader position.

“Haaah……”

After hearing the whole story, Ji-woo covered her face with both hands.

‘So avoiding Kang-woo from now on is impossible.’

At one point, Ji-woo had thought that with time, Kang-woo’s interest in her would fade.

But that was a huge mistake.

Through the gaps between her fingers, she saw Kang-woo coming right up to her face.

He bent his upper body and met her eyes.

“Hunter Do Ji-woo, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“No!”

She hurriedly shook her head, but Kang-woo didn’t care at all. He took off his coat and spread it on the ground.

Then he simply scooped Ji-woo up and set her down on top of it.

Only his way of speaking had become polite—his headstrong attitude was exactly the same.

“Hunter Do Ji-woo, look at me.”

Kang-woo carefully checked her temperature, brushing past her ears, cheeks, and the line of her neck.

Finally, his large palm covered Ji-woo’s forehead.

“Kang-woo, I told you I’m not sick!”

“How can you say you’re not? Your face is this hot.”

“T-That’s because Kang-woo keeps acting so casually like this right now—”

“Casually?”

“…….”

Ji-woo snapped her mouth shut.

Looking at him tilting his head, he genuinely seemed not to understand what he was doing wrong.

Kang-woo really needed to learn how much impact his looks had on other people.

‘It’s a good thing he’s doing this to me—if it were someone else!’

Kang-woo would’ve been reported right away.

For marriage registration!

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Not long after, Kang-woo and Shin Woo-hyuk began repairing the wrecked shack.

It was Ji-woo’s personal rule: if you cause trouble together, you clean it up together.

Thankfully, the two seemed to have reached some kind of agreement, because things didn’t look as bad between them as before. Awkward, yes—but not hostile.

Ji-woo lay on top of Kang-woo’s coat, lost in thought.

‘If Kang-woo really wanted to, sticking by my side would be nothing for him.’

He’d followed her not just into dungeons, but into real life now. There was nowhere left to run.

It was already a lot that Kang-woo was a returnee.

But on top of that, he was the heir to the Daewoon Group, the team leader of the Emergency Disaster Team, and now an out-of-spec SSS-rank hunter.

His presence was overwhelmingly huge—too huge.

The moment she got entangled with him, Ji-woo’s peaceful life would shatter into pieces.

If she had to give an example—

‘Take this money and stay away from my grandson!’

The classic must-have scene of a trashy drama.

A rich family’s madam shoving over an envelope of cash!

…No, not that—Grandpa Kang-woo!

If it were at least that, she’d say thank you and happily grab the envelope.

‘Hunter Do Ji-woo! Please say a word! What is your relationship with returnee Seo Kang-woo?!’

One day, she might open her front door to find reporters swarming, or before she knew it, her personal information could spread all over the internet.

And that wasn’t all.

“Heh heh, did you really kidnap her properly? This little girl is really connected to that Seo Kang-woo?”

Even an attack from a third group targeting SSS-rank Kang-woo!

It might be a bit exaggerated, but it was a very realistic scenario.

‘Absolutely not! I’m going to live a long, quiet life and die peacefully. My dream is to be an old painter who lives so long she ends up smearing poop on the walls!’

Unplanned fame was absolutely not welcome.

Ji-woo clenched her fist tightly.

Convincing Kang-woo properly and getting him to keep his distance from her.

That was the goal given to Ji-woo at this very moment.