Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 55

However, Cha Taepyeong turned out to be an even stronger opponent than expected.

“Wahahaha! I wouldn’t have guessed it, but our Jiwoo’s got great humor sense! Jiwoo, how about joining our club while we’re at it?”

“A club?”

“A comedy club. It’s where talented people with excellent humor sense—like me—gather.”

There’s… a club that horrifying?

“What kind of club is it, exactly?”

Standing face-to-face, Cha Taepyeong seriously stroked his bearded chin.

“Hahaha, are you getting interested? The goal of our club is to spread this high-level humor all around the world.”

For a moment, Jiwoo hesitated.

‘This is my chance to save the Earth.’

If she could just eliminate this villainous dad joke uncle who dared speak such nonsense, she could protect the peace of comedy worldwide!

Jiwoo tightly gripped her trembling staff.

Cha Taepyeong continued flapping his terrifying mouth.

“How about it, Jiwoo? If you join, you’ll receive our monthly humor newsletter. And new members get a special chance to publish their original jokes on the front page.”

“…….”

“Oh my, no need to be so nervous. Back in my day, you see, it’s been so long since I last ate an orange—urk!”

“You—seriously, cut it out already!”

A sharp slap from the A-rank dealer flew in from the side and smacked the old man square on the back.

The entire Special Team 7 shouted in unison,

‘Team leader, nice shot!’

Before awakening as a hunter, Team Leader Yoo Jaekyung had been the ace of her university’s volleyball team.

That spike, delivered with full force, must have been too much even for a tanker’s toughness.

“Honey, even so, isn’t it a bit much to hit with full power like that?”

“Do you want to get hit with my foot instead?”

“No, ma’am. I’m sorry, honey.”

Cha Taepyeong clamped his mouth shut.

Once the only chatterbox fell silent, Special Team 7 finally regained its peace.

 

 

****

 

 

A dungeon is a dangerously unpredictable place, where monsters can jump out at any time, anywhere.

A place where every single step risks your life, where wild tension sends chills down your spine.

Yes—it’s supposed to be that terrifying…

“Wow, Jiwoo. Doesn’t it feel like we came on a picnic?”

Swaaah.

Branches swayed in the cool, refreshing breeze.

The dungeon Special Team 7 entered was a quiet forest.

O Nara, who was stuck closely to Jiwoo’s side, kept exclaiming in amazement.

She’d been trembling nonstop before passing through the gate, but once inside, her complexion looked much better.

As they walked along the long forest path, Jiwoo took out a pair of see-through goggles from her inventory.

Item

High-Grade Goggles of Despair and Wailing (B-rank)

Effect: Search skill level +1

It was an item Shin Woohyuk had given her in the previous dungeon.

As soon as Jiwoo put on the goggles, everyone’s attention turned to her.

“Jiwoo, you have a search skill too?”

“Yes. I figured it’d be useful in lots of situations, so I practiced it quietly.”

Hunters were strictly forbidden from using skills in everyday society.

Still, a search skill was surprisingly useful even outside dungeons.

For example, finding a 500-won coin dropped in an apartment playground.

Or picking out products with longer expiration dates tucked behind others at a convenience store.

When Jiwoo activated the search skill, a fork in the path appeared in the distance.

“If you go toward that cliff, there’s another path.”

One route followed the forest trail, while the other crossed a suspension bridge and went beyond the cliff.

“Can you detect monsters near the cliff too?”

“Hold on. Umm…”

Jiwoo strained her eyes for a long moment, then removed the goggles.

“It’s too far to tell. How about we search beyond the cliff first, then move along the forest trail afterward?”

It would take a bit more time, but it was the safest method.

However, Cha Taepyeong seemed to think differently.

“Is that really necessary? It’s just a light D-rank dungeon anyway, haha.”

“T-that’s right! I kinda want to finish quickly and leave…”

“In that case, why don’t we just split up and go separately?”

Jiwoo blinked at Cha Taepyeong’s suggestion.

“Split the team here?”

They already only had two tankers and one dealer—now they wanted to divide the team even more?

Given that it was a D-rank dungeon, she understood why they were relaxed.

Aside from Jiwoo, Special Team 7’s ranks were A, A, B, and C.

It was massive overkill for a place where goblins might be the strongest enemies.

‘Still… a dungeon is a dungeon. Aren’t they being too careless?’

Despite her concern, the others seemed to agree with Cha Taepyeong.

Even Team Leader Yoo Jaekyung nodded.

“Alright. Then you and I will cross the bridge with Hunter O Nara. Hunter Shin Ilguk will—”

“I would like to go with Hunter Do Jiwoo!”

Shin Ilguk answered loudly.

Everyone’s gaze immediately focused on him, and Jiwoo let out a quiet sigh.

‘He thinks it’s safer if he stays with me.’

But the other team members only saw her as an ordinary healer, so Shin Ilguk’s comment probably sounded like—

“Hahaha! You might be young and full of passion, but office romance isn’t a good idea!”

Cha Taepyeong laughed heartily and slapped Shin Ilguk on the back.

“Ilguk, just look at us. One office romance was enough to put us through suffering we didn’t need, hahaha!”

Jiwoo’s ears perked up.

She’d already been curious why Yoo Jaekyung and Cha Taepyeong were in Special Team 7.

Shin Ilguk had rumors of being placed here through guild master connections.

O Nara suffered from dungeon phobia.

So that couple must’ve had their own reason for being sidelined too.

‘But… all that just because of office dating?’

The Void Guild didn’t seem that strict with its rules.

While Jiwoo was lost in thought, Yoo Jaekyung spoke to Shin Ilguk.

“Then Hunter Shin Ilguk, accompany Hunter Do Jiwoo and search the right path. Contact us immediately if you encounter monsters.”

“Yes!”

And so, Special Team 7 split into two groups.

Yoo Jaekyung, Cha Taepyeong, and O Nara headed beyond the valley, while Jiwoo and Shin Ilguk went straight ahead along the seemingly safer forest path.

The dungeon forest was quiet.

Only the sound of footsteps echoed, and occasionally leaves fell when the wind blew.

After carefully scanning the surroundings, Jiwoo spoke.

“By the way, Ilguk… what did Hunter Cha Taepyeong mean earlier? Is office romance really banned?”

“Ah, well…”

Shin Ilguk hesitated, clearly uncomfortable.

“Did I ask something awkward?”

“No, not really. It’s something everyone knows openly.”

Having been a probationary guild member for a long time, Shin Ilguk was well aware of the guild’s past incidents.

The office romance involving Yoo Jaekyung and Cha Taepyeong was one of those old stories.

“Office romance wasn’t banned from the start. That rule was made because of what happened with Hunter Yoo Jaekyung and Hunter Cha Taepyeong.”

In the past, Yoo Jaekyung had been a highly anticipated rookie.

A promising B-rank dealer.

Solid stats with clear growth potential. A gentle personality paired with calm, decisive leadership.

But all of that changed because of a single incident.

“About five years ago, there was a dungeon break near the guild. At the time, Hunter Cha Taepyeong was dispatched for support and got caught up in the gate.”

Back then, Yoo Jaekyung and Cha Taepyeong were lovers.

The moment she heard Cha Taepyeong was in danger, Yoo Jaekyung broke formation without hesitation and jumped into the gate to rescue him.

“Fortunately, Hunter Yoo Jaekyung was waiting as part of the reserve unit under the guild master’s direct command, so there wasn’t a major issue. However…”

“However?”

“You know what Woohyuk hyung’s personality is like.”

The Void Guild’s master, Shin Woohyuk, didn’t let it slide so easily.

‘What if the reserve unit had been wiped out because of Hunter Yoo Jaekyung? Who would have taken responsibility then?’