Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 63

After the brief meeting, Jiwoo headed toward the lake where the team members were sleeping.

“Team Leader, the rescue team should arrive in a few days. I took care of things earlier when I went to the safe zone.”

“Oh, I see.”

Yoo Jaekyung didn’t seem particularly interested in the rescue team. Instead, she pointed at the fish Jiwoo had been carrying all this time.

“Is that fish from the safe zone too?”

“Yes. Look how plump it is, right? If you salt it and grill it, it’s really delicious.”

Yoo Jaekyung met her eyes and smiled faintly.

“That’s a relief. Thanks to that, even in the worst-case scenario, we won’t have to worry about food.”

Only now did Yoo Jaekyung mention that, if it came down to it, she’d been planning to go outside the cave to secure food herself.

“What if you ran into monsters out there?”

“Whether you die fighting monsters or die of starvation, death is still death. And they say a well-fed ghost looks better than a starving one, don’t they?”

“Well… wouldn’t you survive even if you didn’t eat for about a week?”

After all, everyone here was an Awakened. Surely they wouldn’t die just from skipping meals for a few days?

Jiwoo tilted her head in doubt.

Just then, as they reached the lake, Yoo Jaekyung pointed at someone.

“That person would die. Maintaining a physique like that takes an insane amount of calories.”

As if on cue, Cha Taepyeong—who had been sleeping some distance away—opened his eyes like he’d sensed something.

He sprang up, shuffled over groggily, and asked,

“Mmm… honey. Did you call me?”

“No, I didn’t. Go back to sleep.”

“Mmm… you should sleep too, honey.”

“You go first.”

“Mmm…….”

Cha Taepyeong staggered back, leaned against the cave wall, and lay down again.

“Honestly, that bear of a man. His ears are sharp in the most unnecessary ways.”

Despite her words, Yoo Jaekyung looked at the tossing Cha Taepyeong with affectionate eyes—and even took off her outerwear to drape it over him.

Watching the scene, Jiwoo covered her mouth.

‘Oh my gosh… what do I do. This is real love!’

So this is what being a married couple is like.

Running over even when you’re asleep if the other person calls you.

Complaining with your mouth, but with honey dripping honestly from your eyes.

This is the real world of married couples!

And so, inside Jiwoo’s heart, a very incorrect set of values about marriage quietly began to take root.

 

 

***

 

 

The next day, after everyone woke up, Jiwoo went to find the team leader.

She needed to return to the safe zone again before the rescue team arrived.

“Um, Team Leader. I need to step out for a bit—”

Before she could even finish speaking—

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Yoo Jaekyung agreed without hesitation.

“Huh? Honey, where’s Jiwoo going?”

“I asked her to scout the cave using her detection skill.”

She even covered for Jiwoo to satisfy Cha Taepyeong’s curiosity.

“Team Leader…”

‘Be careful.’

Yoo Jaekyung mouthed the words when their eyes met.

Jiwoo’s chest tightened at the trust being poured onto her.

‘Our team leader is the best!’

To be honest, Jiwoo had always found Yoo Jaekyung intimidating.

With her perpetually expressionless face and sharp features, she felt like a scary math teacher.

But after this, Jiwoo felt like they’d grown a little closer.

She walked far enough that no one could see her, then entered the safe zone.

“Heeseong, I’m back!”

“Noona!”

Heeseong, who ate and slept inside 〈Our Home〉 24/7, rushed to greet Jiwoo.

The day before, Jiwoo had sent Heeseong to the apartment downstairs to see Kangwoo.

To ask him to send a rescue team, since Special Team 7 was stuck in this situation.

‘Having a powerful neighbor really is great.’

And if that neighbor is someone you regularly eat meals with at your place?

That transcends school ties, regional ties, and blood ties—it’s a food bond!

“Heeseong, did you tell him exactly what I asked you to?”

“Oh man, don’t even ask. I barely managed to stop Kangwoo from jumping out the window.”

“What?!”

“As soon as I said you were trapped in a dungeon, he immediately said he was going to rescue you—”

“That’s why I told you to explain it properly first! I said it wasn’t an emergency and he didn’t need to come right away! Did you tell him that?”

“How was I supposed to? He tried to bolt before I could finish!”

Even Heeseong had been pretty shaken at the time.

 

 

****

 

 

“Brother-in-law!”

“Heeseong.”

The previous evening, when Heeseong went down to the apartment below, Kangwoo greeted him warmly.

The two often met secretly without Jiwoo knowing.

The reason?

To distribute the limited-edition Jiwoo Collection.

The collection mainly consisted of photos from Jiwoo’s childhood.

Jiwoo dressed as Rudolph on Christmas.

Jiwoo winning first place in a school sports day race.

Jiwoo smiling brightly on a field trip, holding cotton candy in both hands!

‘…Adorable.’

Kangwoo’s hands flipped through the photos carefully, like he was handling an ancient manuscript.

His eyes curved downward as he held the album.

Watching him, Heeseong’s jaw dropped.

‘Is my sister really that good?’

Sure, the photos were cute—but that was when she was a kid.

If Kangwoo knew her true nature, he’d probably be shocked out of his mind.

‘Man… how did someone like him end up falling for my sister…’

Heeseong looked at Kangwoo with pity.

Ignoring him, Kangwoo removed a photo from the album and opened a storage case he’d prepared.

“Where are you taking that photo?”

“To laminate it.”

“……”

No matter how great Kangwoo was, this was still too much.

Heeseong scratched his arms as goosebumps crawled up his skin.

“Oh, brother-in-law. I met Noona earlier.”

“Jiwoo?”

“Yeah, in the safe zone. But she said she’s trapped in a dungeon cave, so if you have time, could you send a rescue team—uh, hey! W-wait! Where are you going?!”

Thinking back on it made Heeseong shudder.

The moment he said Jiwoo was trapped in a cave, Kangwoo’s expression completely changed—and he charged straight for the open window.

“I somehow managed to stop him, but… I really didn’t know Kangwoo was that kind of person, Noona.”

“I-is that so?”

It was unfortunate for her brother, but Jiwoo was secretly pleased.

‘Maybe this’ll make things a little awkward between them.’

Heeseong kept calling him “brother-in-law” nonstop. If Kangwoo got scared and pulled back a bit—

“I seriously almost fell in love with him twice. What kind of karma did you build up to meet a decisive hunter like Kangwoo? Did you save the Earth in a past life or something?”

Oh, for crying out loud.

This hopeless hunter simp.

Jiwoo’s expression darkened.

Leaving her brother behind, still praising Kangwoo, Jiwoo picked up the basket where the baby birds were sleeping.

After walking across the plains for a long time, the boundary of the safe zone that Heeseong had mentioned came into view.

System

Portal: All roads lead to 〈Our Home〉!
A passage created by the housekeeper, Do Heeseong.

The system flashed.

WARNING

Outside the safe zone is extremely dangerous.

‘…Should I have asked Kangwoo to come with me?’

From what she’d heard earlier, it didn’t sound like he was on a business trip. Even if it took time, she could’ve gone to the apartment and asked him directly…

“Ah, forget it. He’s busy already—why bother him?”

Besides Kangwoo, Jiwoo had another thing she was relying on.

The skill she awakened after accepting the Ant-Men as household guests!

‘Right. If I follow that plan, it’ll be fine.’

Jiwoo’s plan was simple.

Use the new skill for groundwork first.
Then meet the Whitebirds and try to talk.
If persuasion failed, use the backup plan.
If things got dangerous—retreat to the safe zone.

As Jiwoo hesitated in front of the portal, another warning appeared.

WARNING

The caster’s safety cannot be guaranteed.
Proceed with the transfer?

“Transfer!”

She was a little—just a tiiiiny bit—scared, but Jiwoo stepped beyond the boundary.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Outside the boundary was a forest she recognized.

A winding path in the distance, a dense forest, a precarious rope bridge.

The very dungeon Special Team 7 had entered unfolded before her.

‘So the area beyond the boundary really is connected to the dungeon.’

Every time the zone expanded, the boundary’s appearance changed too.

Which meant the dungeon connected to the safe zone probably changed each time as well.

“Whew… this should be enough, right?”

Jiwoo moved stealthily through the forest, completing her preparations.

She was lucky not to encounter any monsters, but by the time she finished her groundwork, three hours had flown by.

‘I can’t be gone too long.’

Yoo Jaekyung might cover for her, but she still had to consider the others.

Jiwoo left her position and headed toward the nearby rope bridge.

Then she spread her arms toward the sky and shouted.

“Piiiiiiik! Piiiiiiik!”

“……”

“Piaaak! Bwaaaayaaah!”

“……”

“Bwagyyaaaaaaah! Piggyaaaaaaah!”

This time, there was an immediate response.

KRRRRAAAAAASH!

A monstrous cry rang out as a flock of Whitebirds filled the sky.

Jiwoo calmly activated her skill.

“[Holy Eyes!].”

Skill

Interpretation (Paused)

The target is in a state of extreme rage.
Affinity system and interpretation are suspended.

Just as expected—conversation was impossible.

In the end, Jiwoo chose the final method.

“I’VE GOT YOUR KIDS!! PIIIIIIAK! BWAGYAAAAAH!”