Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 81

The document stack Yoo Jaekyung put down was at least enough to take three full days of careful review with everyone putting their heads together.

The dungeon difficulty was C-rank. Seeing the pile of documents, Oh Nara panicked.

“Team Leader! Did you bring the wrong files? How are we supposed to handle a C-rank dungeon?!”

“Why can’t we? You just haven’t done it before, that’s all. With our current skills, it’s more than enough. Even just by rank alone, it’s well within our capabilities.”

“No matter what, how could we……”

“Of course, Hunter Oh Nara is an exception. Since you’re still undergoing psychological treatment, you can skip the raid if you want.”

“……”

She didn’t like that either. Oh Nara puffed out her lips in displeasure.

‘I can’t be the only one skipping it when everyone else goes.’

It was also awkward to use trauma treatment as an excuse.

Even her regular counselor advised her to enter dungeons.

They said repeatedly experiencing situations similar to the source of her trauma would help her overcome the psychological pain.

But Oh Nara was still afraid.

She was scared of monsters, and also worried she might drag her teammates down again.

But if she refused to enter dungeons like this……

‘My place will just keep shrinking.’

Before, she had been the Special Team 7’s one and only healer. But not anymore.

Oh Nara glanced at Jiwoo sitting across from her.

Jiwoo, wearing round glasses, was calmly scanning the overview of the documents.

“Team Leader, the gate assigned this time isn’t very large, right? Is it because it’s a dungeon that formed inside a building?”

“Correct. However, the internal terrain will be quite complex, so Hunter Do Jiwoo’s scouting skill will be essential. Please prepare in advance, and make sure to request mana potion supplies from the support department.”

With Jiwoo’s addition—like a multitasking all-purpose X-raemon—the dungeon raids had become much easier.

Scouting skills to detect surroundings, light spells to illuminate areas, and even alarm magic to sense presence.

“Hahaha! I have no idea how we managed dungeons without Jiwoo. She’s truly our lucky charm!”

Cha Taepyeong gave a thumbs-up with a bright laugh.

Yoo Jaekyung and Shin Ilguk also chimed in enthusiastically.

“Right? Ever since Hunter Do Jiwoo joined, raids have become so much easier. We barely survived that altered A-rank dungeon last time thanks to her. I don’t know where she was all this time, but she’s definitely our lucky charm.”

“That’s right. Hunter-nim is truly an indispensable, precious, treasure-like……”

“Hey, Ilguk, why are you embarrassing me like that? Are you teasing me right now?”

“…The most reliable teammate in the world, and someone I’d want to be stranded on a deserted island with……”

“Stop! Stop!”

“An unparalleled healer and the light and salt of the Guild of Blank……”

“Ahhh! Stop! Stop! Stop!”

As Jiwoo shook her head frantically and covered her ears, laughter erupted all around the room.

It was a warm, cheerful atmosphere. Except for Oh Nara, who was biting her fingernails in the corner.

Oh Nara stared silently at Jiwoo.

‘And I’m A-rank, while Jiwoo is only E-rank.’

…Then shouldn’t I be the one hearing those praises?

Wasn’t it supposed to be me saving teammates in critical moments?

She and Jiwoo were similar in age, voice, and even speaking tone.

And now, even appearance and style—at a glance, they looked almost like twins. The result of Oh Nara carefully observing Jiwoo and trying hard to imitate her over a long time.

She bit her lip.

‘I can do it too. I should’ve stepped up back then. If I had, then by now…….’

“Nara!”

“Y-Yes?!”

Startled by the sudden call, Oh Nara snapped back to attention.

Jiwoo had approached without her noticing and was holding her left hand with concern.

“You’re bleeding! What happened?!”

Without realizing it, she had been biting her fingers so hard that blood had formed at the tips.

“We need to put ointment on this right away. There should be a first aid kit in the office, right?”

“Oh, it’s fine…… it’ll heal on its own.”

“No, it’s not fine. If it gets infected, it’ll sting and bother you for a long time. Just wait a moment.”

Jiwoo quickly ran to the office and brought back the first aid kit.

Then she carefully applied medicine to Oh Nara’s fingertip.

“You could use a heal skill, but for small wounds like this, natural healing is better. It activates your immune system or something like that… okay, done!”

Jiwoo even carefully put on a bandage. It was a pink princess-character bandage that Oh Nara liked.

“This character… the more I look at it, the more it looks like you, Nara. Shiny and pretty like that?”

“…I’m not sure about that.”

A shadow fell over Oh Nara’s face. She fell silent for a long time.

Jiwoo, sensing her mood, whispered carefully.

“Um… Nara. Don’t worry too much about the dungeon.”

“Pardon?”

“It won’t be that dangerous. Team Leader Yoo Jaekyung and Hunter Cha Taepyeong both have a lot of experience, and honestly, that dungeon labeled C-rank looked more like D-rank anyway.”

Jiwoo seemed to think Oh Nara was anxious because of fear of the dungeon.

No one else was paying attention to her, but Jiwoo—who somehow always managed to make her feel unsettled—was the only one focused on her.

A strange irritation rose in her chest. Oh Nara replied curtly.

“…So what?”

“Ah, I mean, um……”

Caught off guard by the sudden cold tone, Jiwoo blinked.

“I actually hope you come into the dungeon too. I’m not forcing you or anything… I just like spending time with you, whatever it is.”

“…With me?”

“Yes. Before joining the guild… I didn’t really have any friends.”

Jiwoo smiled, her eyes gently curving downward.

Of course, Jiwoo had once had people around her. Back in school, even in games, she always had friends nearby.

But after her parents passed away and life became more difficult, she gradually lost contact with everyone.

“But these days, time passes really fast when I’m with you, Nara. Eating together is nice, watching movies is fun, shopping is fun too!”

“…Ah.”

Oh Nara lowered her head without answering.

As Jiwoo packed up the first aid kit, she continued.

“So I think… if I go to a scary dungeon with you, I won’t be scared at all. It would feel more like exploring with a close friend. …Oh, is it okay if I call us friends? Hehe.”

Her voice was endlessly gentle. Warm enough to melt the frost that had been building inside Oh Nara’s heart.

‘Friends……’

Oh Nara rubbed the edge of the character bandage with her fingernail.

The wrinkled adhesive of the bandage felt oddly irritating.

 

 

****

 

 

 

About a month after the “performance-building project” began,

Special Team 7 had cleared one C-rank dungeon and two D-rank dungeons.

The difficulty had increased, but there was almost no danger.

With just A-rank dealer Yoo Jaekyung and B-rank tank Cha Taepyeong, most dungeons were handled cleanly.

Jiwoo also ran around the dungeon, unleashing S-rank buffs everywhere.

Shin Ilguk and Yoo Jaekyung, who knew her true identity, took it in stride—but Cha Taepyeong’s reaction was different.

‘Oooooh! This overflowing vitality! Expensive gear really is the best!’

Cha Taepyeong assumed Jiwoo’s power came from her expensive staff.

For Jiwoo, who wanted to keep her abilities hidden, this was fortunate.

After an all-nighter, dawn rose again.

“Ughhh, at this rate I’ll die before even entering the dungeon. Was preparation always this much work?”

Cha Taepyeong, with dark circles under his eyes, collapsed in the meeting room.

“You, I told you not to fall asleep anywhere. Get up.”

Just then, Yoo Jaekyung appeared, pushing a mobile cart.

“Team Leader, what are all those stacks of paper?”