Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 73

‘That way, the patient can acknowledge their own abilities and form a positive self-image.’

Whenever they saw Nara, Team Special 7 showered her with praise.

‘Nara, your dress looks so pretty today! It goes perfectly with your hairpin. Seriously, your fashion sense is the best on the team!’

Every morning, Jiwoo would clap when she saw Nara.

‘Hunter Nara, I cut my hand on an A4 sheet of paper and it hurts terribly. Could you treat me? …What, this huge injury healed with just one heal?! You saved my life, Hunter Nara! As expected of an A-rank healer!’

Even with the tiniest scratch, Cha Taepyeong would curl his massive body up and run straight to Nara.

Whether it was because the method worked or not, Nara had been noticeably brighter lately.

“Um, Jiwoo, are you busy after work today?”

“Today? No, I’m just going straight home.”

More accurately, she needed to go to Kangwoo’s place.

Jiwoo had already laid out bait to lure the runaway Kangwoo back.

‘I had Heeseong send a text in advance.’

Heeseong
Sis went on a business trip
Brother-in-law please come home

Following Heeseong’s advice, she’d even attached some unreleased special photos. Something about Jiwoo going to the zoo.

‘Just wait till I catch you. This time, secrets or not, I’m tying you up tight!’

Jiwoo steeled herself.

Nara hovered nervously in front of her.

“J-Jiwoo, would you like to have dinner with me after work?”

“Ah, today’s a bit difficult. How about tomorrow?”

“That sounds good! And, if it’s okay… could you tell me which hair salon you go to? Ah—o-or is that not okay?”

“A hair salon?”

“Yes, I want to cut my bangs short like yours and get a perm too…”

“Huh? I don’t go to a salon. I cut my own hair. And I’ve never had a perm. My hair’s naturally wavy.”

Money for a hair salon? There was a time she didn’t even have money for food and cut her hair at home with kitchen scissors.

Nara pointed at Jiwoo’s signature bangs.

“Then those choppy bangs are…?”

“Choppy bangs? Oh, my bangs? I messed them up cutting them at the sink without a mirror, so they got short.”

“Ah……”

For the past week, Nara had gone through fashion magazines and the internet trying to copy Jiwoo’s look. She’d failed because the details were subtly different.

‘So the secret behind that hairstyle was frizzy hair plus kitchen scissors?’

Shocked, Nara fell completely silent.

Just then, Team Leader Yoo Jaekyung entered the office.

“Team Leader, are you done with your personal evaluation?”

“Hunter Do Jiwoo, come see me for a moment.”

Yoo Jaekyung’s mood was unusual.

Jiwoo quickly followed her into the break room.

“Team Leader, did something happen?”

“I just came from a meeting with the guild master.”

Jiwoo flinched.

She hadn’t seen Guild Master Shin Woohyuk since they’d raised their voices at the last company dinner.

‘Could it be that because I got so angry that day, our team is getting punished…?’

No, that couldn’t be. Jiwoo shook her head.

No matter what, he didn’t seem like the type to let personal feelings affect work.

Yoo Jaekyung continued with a serious face.

“Hunter Do Jiwoo, there’s a problem with your personal evaluation score.”

“What? What’s wrong with my score?”

“You ranked first in the guild.”

Jiwoo doubted her ears.

Who? First place?

“…Me?”

“Yes. You received the highest personal evaluation score in hunter history.”

Since the founding of the Blank Guild, no healer had ever achieved a score like this.

She’d lost a few points on the written test, but her practical score was overwhelming.

“If it were another team member, I’d happily congratulate them and move on… but your situation is complicated.”

It would’ve been better if Nara had ranked first among healers.

Do Jiwoo, the lowest-rank E-class healer.

A rookie who had just joined the guild through connections.

A member of the half-abandoned, rumor-ridden Special 7 Team.

And on top of that, she’d undergone a second awakening without reporting it—practically a serious crime.

That was Jiwoo’s current position.

Jiwoo bit her lip and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble, Team Leader.”

“No, this is my fault. I should’ve paid closer attention to you. I was so focused on the evaluations that I didn’t think ahead.”

Yoo Jaekyung rubbed her temples. She’d just had a major confrontation with the guild master.

If Jiwoo was going to hide her second awakening, she should’ve at least cleaned up after herself properly.

“That bastard Shin Woohyuk—why did he even create personal evaluations… reckless idiot.”

“T-Team Leader?”

“…Anyway, both the guild master and I agree. If you don’t plan to reveal that you’re a second awakener, then this result must be buried.”

“But how? Aren’t the scores already finalized?”

“The personal evaluation is new this year. The guild master has the authority to cancel the ranking announcement.”

Jiwoo tilted her head.

‘Then what’s the problem?’

Yoo Jaekyung continued.

“But team performance can’t be handled that way. Every year, there’s a big event announcing the results. And individual scores are included in the team total.”

“What? Then…”

With an expression that was hard to tell as happy or sad, Yoo Jaekyung answered,

“Yes. Thanks to you, our entire team is going up on stage.”

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Performance Evaluation Announcement Ceremony

Dozens of hunters gathered in the large conference hall.

Aside from those out on dungeon raids, nearly every team was present.

“Yaaawn, which team’s getting called up this time?”

“Probably Crisis Response Team 1 or the Operations Team. Or the guild master’s direct team.”

“The guild master went to Jeju this time and skipped raids, right? Their performance should be lacking.”

Opinions about the top teams flew around.

Some guild members even placed bets.

Half bet on the guild master’s team, half on Response Team 1.

While opinions were split, there was one thing everyone agreed on.

“There’s the guaranteed last place.”

“Wow, impressive. If it were me, I’d fake being sick and leave early. Team Leader Yoo’s mental strength is something else.”

“That’s why she hasn’t quit. I’d have left Blank ages ago.”

“Hey, idiot, you’re a low-tier nobody—where would you even go?”

“I’m going to plant a hydrogen bomb at your youngest son’s house, you jerk.”

Whether they whispered or not, Special 7 Team sat firmly in their assigned seats.

The hall was quiet, but hunters with sharp hearing caught every word.

“Those big mouths—ugh! Should I flip the place upside down right now?”

“…Please just sit still today. It’ll get flipped soon enough, even without you.”

Yoo Jaekyung’s prediction soon came true.

Once the guild master and his direct team were seated, the ceremony began.

The opening speech dragged on, explaining the purpose and process of the evaluation.

Just as hunters started zoning out, the next segment began.

“Next, we will share each team’s performance evaluation results. These evaluations were conducted using fair and objective criteria, and regardless of the outcome, our guild respects the efforts and contributions of all members.”

Jiwoo leaned over and whispered to Yoo Jaekyung.

“Team Leader, do you know what our final rank is? Did the guild master tell you during the meeting?”

Yoo Jaekyung shook her head.

“No. That was actually the most important part, but I stormed out before hearing it.”

Because she’d stormed into the guild master’s office with a metaphorical whip.

Jiwoo’s eyes widened.

“What? But he’s the guild master—was that really okay?”

“Don’t worry. He’s not the type to blame someone over something that was my mistake first.”

“Still…”

Jiwoo trailed off worriedly.

Yoo Jaekyung gently tapped the back of Jiwoo’s hand on the armrest.

“Since I know one of your secrets, Hunter Do Jiwoo, should I tell you one of mine? Actually, Shin Woohyuk and I were academy classmates. Our parents have known each other since we were young.”