Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 53

‘It’s not like he asked because he doesn’t know what a real staff is.’

What is this quiet atmosphere, anyway?

Somehow, it felt like déjà vu.

“This is a newly made staff! It has a shrinking spell on it, so I can make it small and put it in my pocket! The guild master gave it to me yesterday… eek, wait a second!”

Jiwoo stopped explaining and hurriedly hid the staff.

Kangwoo’s hand, which had been reaching closer, froze in midair.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, he asked,

“What’s wrong, Jiwoo?”

“That’s my line! Why are you smiling like that? You were just about to break this staff, weren’t you?”

“No.”

“What do you mean no! You totally were!”

Have I only seen Kangwoo once or twice?

That was definitely the same expression as last time.

That gloomy smile he had when he crushed the communicator into dust in one go.

Jiwoo tightened her grip on the staff.

‘What did I do to get on your nerves this time?!’

This staff is absolutely not okay! Do you know how expensive this weapon is?!

“Jiwoo, give it to me. Just for a moment.”

Yeah right, just a moment—since one second is all it takes to turn it into dust!

A thin wrinkle formed between Jiwoo’s brows.

“No. This is the only staff I have.”

“I’ll get you a better one.”

A better staff?

For a moment, her ears perked up, but Jiwoo shook her head.

“Still no. You should treasure gifts you receive. Carefully.”

“…Treasure it?”

Kangwoo repeated the word, his smile growing even deeper.

Maybe her stubborn refusal worked. Strangely enough, he gave up easily.

“Alright, Jiwoo.”

“Huh? Really?”

“You said it’s something you treasure. Then I shouldn’t break it.”

Kangwoo lowered his eyes calmly. His fingertips brushed the end of the staff.

“Unless it accidentally breaks by mistake. Right?”

“Uh… yeah.”

That last part felt a bit unsettling, but it was probably just her imagination.

After that, Kangwoo became much quieter.

All the way to 〈Our Home〉, he kept staring at the ground, trudging along like a raccoon who’d had its cotton candy taken away…

‘M-maybe that’s a little cute.’

Jiwoo quickly turned her head away so he wouldn’t notice.

This is why handsome, beautiful men are dangerous.

Of course, he was someone who would aim for her staff whenever he got the chance, but even that made her want to pretend she didn’t notice.

‘Yeah, I’m seriously hopeless.’

No—maybe Kangwoo is the problem.

No matter what, if someone is that handsome, it’s basically a crime.

‘Ugh, officer! I’m innocent! I did nothing wrong!’

Just as Jiwoo’s dramatic thoughts reached their peak,

GAM124, who had been patrolling nearby, spotted Jiwoo and ran over.

─ Human, welcome-gam! Long time no see-gam!

“GAM124? What brings you all the way out here? This is pretty far from the valley.”

─ Hiseong asked me to help with something-gam.

After carrying a special seed for them last time, the Antman had been living almost like a neighbor with Hiseong.

Apparently, he got sweet jam as payment for helping out.

─ Good timing-gam. Jiwoo, do you maybe have candy… hic, gam! Hic, gam!

In the middle of talking, GAM124 casually glanced behind Jiwoo.

Then, the moment he saw who was standing there, fear washed over him.

─ I, I, I should get going-gam!

“Where are you going?”

─ Hic, gam! Don’t ask me anything-gam! I’m a busy ant-gam!

GAM124 ran off in a panic, his antennae flailing.

“Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?”

Not understanding, Jiwoo puffed out her lips and turned around.

Before she knew it, Kangwoo was standing right behind her, protectively.

“Kangwoo, why was GAM124 like that? Did I do something wrong just now?”

“No. Jiwoo didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Huh?”

“Everything Jiwoo does is right.”

It was said with complete confidence.

If a “Do Jiwoo Official Fan Club” ever existed, Kangwoo would obviously be the president.

And he’d probably be the only member too—there’s no way he’d let anyone else join.

The passionate fan club member, Kangwoo, added,

“He must be very busy. So busy he doesn’t even have time to answer questions.”

“Mm… I guess so. They did say they’re about to start farming.”

True to being ants, the Antmen worked diligently every day.

Recently, they’d been asking Hiseong about rice farming and dividing areas to plant seeds.

Thanks to that, there was less worry about food.

“But still, Hiseong keeps asking such busy Gam-gams for help… Oh!”

Jiwoo suddenly stopped in her tracks on the way to the hut.

Her mouth fell open before she could close it.

“K-Kangwoo. I’m not dreaming right now, am I?”

What appeared before Jiwoo was a cozy villa.

A warm wooden house with a striking red mailbox in the yard.

Each small window had lace curtains, and in front of the house were a neat flower bed and a tea table.

‘Is this really the hut I knew?’

The shack that had been about to collapse had gone through a glamorous transformation!

After Hiseong, who had been a butler candidate, officially became a butler, 〈Our Home〉 leveled up, and the shack turned into a decent cabin.

She hadn’t paid much attention after leaving 〈Our Home〉 in Hiseong’s care.

“What on earth is this? Did I come to the wrong house?”

An Adélie penguin lounging on a beach chair under a parasol lifted his sunglasses.

─ Welcome-nyak. Welcome to Love House-nyak.

“What is all this? Where did all this furniture come from?”

─ Ahem. This great Dongshik-nim made it all, piece by piece-nyak.

“Dongshik, you did this?”

─ You finally recognize my greatness-nyak? I’ve spent half my life playing with wood-nyak.

…said Dongshik, who was twelve years old.

The furniture made by Dongshik, who claimed to be a 6-year carpenter and furniture designer, was excellent.

─ You came at the right time-ak. Hiseong said he wanted to give you a surprise-gak.

Pop, pop, pop, pop.

Pebbles rolled every time Dongshik moved his yellow feet.

Following behind Dongshik, Jiwoo opened the cabin door.

Creeeak.

A sound echoed from the poorly oiled door.

Standing in the center, Hiseong shouted without even turning around.

“Hey!! Do Dongshik, you brat! I told you to paint it—where did you go slacking off again?! This has to be finished before my sister gets off work!”

“…Hiseong.”

“Huh? S-sis?”

Startled, Hiseong asked back, hammer in hand.

“Why are you here at this hour? What about the guild—”

Today, Jiwoo had left work early to visit Mina in the hospital. There wasn’t much to do in Special Team 7 anyway.

Not knowing that, Hiseong clicked his tongue.

“So you got fired. Figures. No way a big guild would keep a clumsy sister like you.”

‘…This little punk?’

All the emotion she’d felt just moments ago shattered.

Seeing Jiwoo’s expression darken, Hiseong hurried to comfort her.

“Well, it’s fine, sis. This place is pretty livable. It’s small, but it’s got a kitchen and a bathroom.”

The inside of the cabin was a small, separated studio layout.

It had running water and drainage, and nearby they could get clean drinking water, fish, and tree fruits.

If the Antmen did well with farming later, it would become completely self-sufficient.

“Don’t worry. Even if we get kicked out of the company housing, we still have a place to live!”

Hiseong smiled brightly.

Maybe he’d secretly been anxious about living in the guild-provided housing.

She’d wondered where he disappeared to every day—turns out he’d been remodeling 〈Our Home〉 with Dongshik all this time.

Perhaps Hiseong awakening as a butler was also because he hated being a burden to Jiwoo and wanted to help in any way he could.

“Hiseong…”

Moved, Jiwoo covered her mouth.

She’d thought he was just running around happily after being discharged, but he’d even been studying remodeling in his spare time.

Raising him with such effort had paid off.

Sniff. My good little brother!

Jiwoo thought,

‘From now on, I should make lots of delicious side dishes he likes.’

Ask him to run fewer errands, scold him less than before…

And then, at that moment.

Seeing Kangwoo enter behind Jiwoo, Hiseong spoke up.

“Huh? Brother-in-law? When did you get here, brother-in-law?”

“Hey, you little brat, who are you calling brother-in-law?!”

Jiwoo’s resolution disappeared in less than one second.

Like her salary the moment it hits her bank account.

Far away, flying off.