Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 67

“So you’re disappointed? Well, so am I! Damn it— I did my absolute best to bring my whole team back alive. You don’t even acknowledge that, and instead all you do is warn me with ‘do this one more time and—’!”

The average fatality rate of an A-rank dungeon is between 20 and 30 percent.

If you include minor and major injuries, even more people are hurt or killed.

Yet this dungeon was cleared without a single injury.

That was because the Whitebirds had eliminated all the monsters inside.

“The monsters are dead and the dungeon’s closed, so isn’t that enough? No one got hurt, and all the materials are still intact. If I did something wrong, just how wrong was it? Why do you get angry every single time you see me? Seriously.”

The more she thought about it, the more unfair it felt.

Jiwoo’s lips—puffed out like a duck’s—moved even faster.

“And it’s not like I wanted to join Special Team 7 in the first place! I only came because you recruited me. You sweet-talked me, saying you’d do anything if I joined the guild, then went off to Jeju Island and got busy, and boom—I’m assigned here. And you even put Kang Jaegyu on the same team! The dealer who pushed me off a dungeon cliff! What kind of world puts the perpetrator and the victim on the same team?”

“Well, about that—”

A flustered Shin Woohyuk tried to explain.

But Jiwoo was faster.

“And I stayed quiet because I didn’t want to make things difficult for you! I waited patiently without saying a word! But you don’t see that—no, instead you scold me again for causing trouble!”

All the complaints Jiwoo had bottled up finally erupted like a volcano.

“…H-Hunter.”

“And you said this was an A-rank dungeon again! A mutated A-rank dungeon! I nearly died in there and barely made it back alive, but instead of praising me, you threaten me the moment you see me, saying I’ll be punished if I do it again—why?!”

Jiwoo was hurt.

Guild master and guild member—yes, their relationship was clearly hierarchical.

But she had thought there was something more between her and Shin Woohyuk.

After all, they had survived an A-rank dungeon together.

Her eyebrows drooped as she fidgeted with her lips, looking on the verge of tears.

Panicked, Shin Woohyuk raised both hands.

“No, that’s not what I meant—”

“I thought we’d grown pretty close, but I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry for disappointing you, Guild Master Shin Woohyuk!”

“That’s not it! Of course I was worried about you, Hunter, but I thought you’d be fine because you’re capable. I wasn’t trying to threaten you—”

“That’s enough!”

Jiwoo cut him off sharply and turned away.

She started heading back toward the barbecue restaurant where her teammates were passed out—

Then abruptly turned back.

“…Give me the card. The corporate card.”

I have to put our completely knocked-out team into taxis and send them home!

 

 

 

****

 

 

After the company dinner, on the way home.

Jiwoo’s steps felt unusually heavy.

‘Did I lash out at the guild master for no reason?’

Even if she could go back, she wouldn’t take back her decision to help the Whitebirds.

Still, it bothered her to keep clashing with Shin Woohyuk over this.

“Jiwoo, are your legs hurting? Want me to carry you?”

“Ah, no. It’s fine.”

The apartment complex wasn’t far from the restaurant.

To sober up, Jiwoo decided to walk home. Kangwoo—who lived on the floor below—walked with her.

As they passed through a lit-up park, a stray cat jumped out of the bushes.

Meow.

The cat sat down a short distance away, tail tucked beneath it.

Meeeoow?

It gently swished its tail and called out to Jiwoo in a long, thin cry.

“Kangwoo, look at that yellow cat! Aaaah, it’s so cute!”

Her gloomy mood vanished instantly.

With hearts in her eyes, Jiwoo walked toward the cat.

“Here, kitty. Come here.”

She bent her knees and reached out—

But just as her hand was about to touch its fluffy head—

Kyaaah! Kyaaah!

The cat flattened its ears, puffed up its back, and hissed.

Watching it bolt away, Jiwoo pouted.

“Jiwoo, I told you—animals on the street can be dangerous.”

“Are you talking about rabies again? Come on, that’s not common.”

“Still. No.”

Kangwoo called to her quietly. He was usually easygoing, but oddly stubborn about things like this.

“But isn’t that weird? My nickname used to be ‘walking cat grass,’ you know? Stray cats used to follow me everywhere. Lately, they all react like that.”

“Cats are just like that.”

“Hmm… I guess.”

Jiwoo nodded easily. Cats were mysterious creatures, after all.

“It’s getting cooler these days.”

The moment she finished speaking, Kangwoo took her hand—so naturally it was like retrieving something he’d left behind.

‘I knew he was holding back.’

Jiwoo shot him a look. Kangwoo smiled lazily.

“I behaved today. I stuck to the agreement.”

“Huh? Is that why you were acting strange today?”

The agreement they’d made earlier in the Safe Zone.

Thinking back, Kangwoo had actually followed it pretty faithfully.

He kept work and personal matters separate. He used proper titles.

‘And physical contact… well, at least he made sure no one else saw.’

He’d teased her a bit and scared her half to death, but no one else noticed.

When Jiwoo nodded, Kangwoo rubbed the back of her hand.

“So… be nice to me today.”

“Uhh… since you kept your promises, holding hands like this is okay— no, wait!”

She almost gave in again. Jiwoo snapped out of it and crossed her arms.

“Why do we even need skinship in the first place?!”

“You said you need my help to unlock your skill.”

“And you freaked out and ran away back then!”

“That was just because I was flustered… I’d never avoid you, Jiwoo.”

Kangwoo looked away, cheeks flushed.

Seeing someone who usually charged straight at her suddenly act shy made Jiwoo feel strange too.

Unable to handle the awkwardness, she hurriedly changed the subject.

“Oh, right! Kangwoo, that staff you left in front of my place—it was yours, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You said it was made from an insanely expensive mana stone! The team leader said it’s worth three apartments!”

“Oh. Is that so.”

Kangwoo replied casually—like he’d just seen an ant pass by.

“Thank you so much. I’ll use it well.”

She’d originally planned to return it, but in the dungeon, she’d ended up using it out of necessity.

‘Maybe that’s why it was so effective.’

She’d spammed skills without feeling much fatigue at all.

She’d wanted to thank him right away, but things got hectic in the dungeon.

“I heard from Heeseong and was really worried. I was going to come rescue you immediately, but…”

Kangwoo lowered his gaze.

He seemed genuinely upset that Heeseong had stopped him from coming.

“That’s exactly why I told you not to come! I’ll be entering dungeons constantly— you can’t come save me every time it gets dangerous.”

Kangwoo tilted his head.

“Why not?”

“Well, you have your own work too—”

“If you want me to, I’ll always be with you, Jiwoo.”

A shadow pooled in the dimple of his cheek. His gentle smile sent Jiwoo’s heart racing.

“A-anyway, I already owe you so much. And now you even bought me that staff.”

“No, Jiwoo. I’d had that mana stone for a long time.”

“Oh? You didn’t buy it?”

“Yeah. I’ve kept it for a very long time.”

Kangwoo lowered his eyes.

The words that followed were swallowed unspoken.

‘Because it was something you gave me long ago.’

In the past, he would’ve said it right away—that the mana stone, the hourglass necklace, all of it had come from her.

And it wasn’t just those things.

His life, his future, everything that breathed and existed—she had given it all to him.

‘At first, I followed you blindly, not knowing anything.’

After returning here, his memories had become tangled, leaving behind only an obsession with finding Jiwoo.

Even now, his memories were unstable.

But at least now, he understood his situation better.

That Jiwoo not recognizing him was only natural.

And that begging her to look at him now would only be forcing her.

‘I know I have to wait.’

Then and now, he hated sharing her warmth with others.

But if he endured—if he kept holding back—

“Hey, Kangwoo. Come over to my place this weekend and have dinner!”

Yes.

Like this—she would open her side to him first.