Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 83

And that wasn’t all.

Not long ago, Jiwoo—the owner of the land—had established a rule:

“Everyone grows up while fighting anyway. So as long as nobody gets seriously hurt, fighting is allowed.”

After that, Antman and Whitebird started actively seeking each other out and engaging in borderline gang fights.

As a result, Heeseong became busier than ever.

“The ants gave up on rice farming ages ago, and these days even the white hawks dump their chicks on me before running off to fight. They’re basically filming Fight Club out there.”

By the time he finished mediating daily battles, directing rice cultivation, and taking care of Whitebird’s still-young chicks—the Pippis—he was completely exhausted.

“If Dongsik wasn’t around, I probably wouldn’t have survived this long. Dongsik is the only one who understands me… sob, Dongsik!”

Heeseong collapsed face-first onto the sofa while hugging a cushion.

Jiwoo clicked her tongue.

‘When they’re fighting each other, it’s all-out war. But at times like this, it’s suddenly “our Dongsik.”’

They say even dislike can turn into affection, and that saying fit perfectly.

Jiwoo nudged the sprawled-out Heeseong with her foot.

“Anyway, I didn’t get a chance to grocery shop today, so I’ll make ramen for you. Go put a pot of water on the stove.”

“Just the water?”

“No. Once it boils, put in the noodles and seasoning too.”

“…Then what are you doing?”

“I’ll handle the rest. You just put the pot stand and utensils on the table.”

“You’re literally making me do everything! What part of that counts as you cooking for me?”

Despite grumbling, Heeseong faithfully headed into the kitchen.

After consuming a total of ten packs of ramen, Jiwoo started packing her bag.

“Noona, the business trip isn’t until the week after next. Why are you packing already?”

“If I prepare early, I won’t forget anything.”

“Are you moving out? Why do you need a blanket for a summer trip to the beach?”

“What if a typhoon comes? It could get cold. It’s for emergencies.”

“Then what about that hat?”

This time, Heeseong pointed at an adorable sun visor with rabbit ears.

It was a gift Kangwoo had once bought because it reminded him of Jiwoo.

“What’s with the rabbit visor? If a typhoon comes, there won’t even be any sun.”

Jiwoo answered calmly.

“If a typhoon could come, that also means it might not come. Heeseong, I’m only packing essentials.”

“Then what’s the seedling-shaped humidifier and this entire box of hand warmers for?”

“Well……”

“Be honest, Noona. You’re just excited about going to the seaside and throwing random stuff into your bag, aren’t you?”

“…N-No.”

She tried denying it, but it was already too late.

Heeseong ruthlessly interfered, and in the end her luggage was reduced to one-third of its original size.

After finishing her packing, Jiwoo started deep-cleaning the entire apartment.

‘Now that I’m suddenly leaving the house for a while, there are so many things to worry about.’

She scrubbed away even tiny stains in the sink she would normally ignore and carefully cleaned the balcony window frames.

After paying bills in advance and organizing the refrigerator, she even created a manual for Heeseong.

Stay only within the Safe Zone and the apartment.
Do not open the door for strangers.
Do not fight with Dongsik, Antman, or Whitebird.

“Hmm, this still isn’t enough.”

This wasn’t a one- or two-day trip.

The business trip could last several weeks.

She couldn’t help worrying about her younger brother being left alone.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if someone nearby could keep an eye on him?’

She thought of Kangwoo from downstairs but immediately shook her head.

“No, not Kangwoo. He’s already busy enough. I can’t make things harder for him.”

Instead, Jiwoo bought a box of vitamin drinks at a nearby convenience store.

Then she visited the apartment security guard she was friendly with and explained that she would be leaving for an extended business trip.

“It’ll probably take more than two weeks. I’ll be away from home, and things have felt pretty dangerous around the neighborhood lately……”

“Don’t worry about the house and enjoy your trip. I’ll patrol thoroughly. If I spot anyone suspicious around the complex, I’ll grab them myself. Hahaha.”

On the way home, she also ran into a friendly woman from the neighboring building.

“Oh my, you didn’t have to bring something like this. Don’t worry about Heeseong. I’ll stop by and feed him now and then. Have a good trip, dear.”

“Thank you! I’ll bring back lots of souvenirs!”

Feeling much more relieved, Jiwoo headed home with light steps.

Packing was done.

The issue of her brother was solved.

Everything was prepared.

But one unresolved problem still remained.

“I should tell Kangwoo beforehand, right?”

Jiwoo wasn’t the only one whose schedule had become hectic due to the surge in gate appearances.

Kangwoo, as a member of the Emergency Disaster Response Team, was also handling a brutal workload.

After the supermarket incident, Kangwoo had stopped hiding, but he still stayed by Jiwoo’s side.

At night, while Jiwoo slept, he handled overdue work and dungeon raids.

Then in the morning, he escorted her to work again.

Despite the crushing workload, Kangwoo never showed any signs of strain.

But he couldn’t escape Jiwoo’s radar.

‘He still doesn’t seem to be resting properly these days. What if he collapses from overwork?’

Several weeks had passed since the incident with the crazy man in the park, but nothing else had happened.

Even so, Kangwoo stubbornly remained nearby, guarding her.

If she told him about the business trip, he would definitely force himself to follow her all the way to Gangneung.

‘I originally wanted to invite him to come along. But I guess that’s not a good idea.’

She couldn’t make his life even harder when he was already so busy.

Of course, if this trip turned out to be dangerous, she would have no choice but to accept his help.

“But come on, what could possibly happen? There’ll be plenty of hunters there.”

Jiwoo picked up her phone, put it down, and finally made up her mind.

Three separate teams were assigned to the B-rank dungeon.

Even by simple calculation, there would be well over twenty awakened individuals gathered there.

As long as she stayed with the raid force, there was no reason for things to become dangerous.

“I’ll just tell him before we leave.”

There were still two weeks until the trip.

Surely she would have a chance to tell him before then.

Thinking that, Jiwoo pushed aside the anxiety creeping into her chest.

 

 

****

 

 

The day of the business trip.

Special Team 7 gathered in front of the nine-seat van that had been provided for them.

The sun had not yet risen, and everyone still looked sleepy.

“We’ll leave in five minutes. I’m going to grab the dungeon files from the guild, so go ahead and get in the vehicle.”

“Honey, I’ll go get them.”

“It’s fine.”

Yoo Jaekyung rejected the offer immediately. Since she was the team leader, nobody else could legally take the documents outside.

“Then should I come with you, honey?”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be apart from you for even a second.”

“…Then do whatever you want.”

As Yoo Jaekyung walked ahead, Cha Taepyeong followed behind her.

They complained as usual, but their hands remained tightly clasped.

Normally, Jiwoo would have applauded the married couple’s affection.

But today she was too distracted to notice.

[Kangwoo, I’m going on a business trip to Gangneung]

“Hmm, no. That sounds way too sudden.”

Jiwoo stared at her phone.

‘I’m such an idiot! I should’ve told him earlier. Why am I doing this on the day of departure?’

She had kept postponing the conversation until the trip was finally here.

There was no delaying it any longer.

She needed to send something right now.

[I forgot to mention it earlier, but I’m leaving for a long business trip today. Sorry lol]

“No, that’s weird too. It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong.”

It made it sound like she felt guilty for going.

After thinking for a moment, she added more words.

[I forgot to mention it earlier, but I’m leaving for a long business trip today. I meant to tell you on the way to work but didn’t get the chance.]

Kangwoo had driven her to the guild that morning as well.

No matter how many times she said it was unnecessary, he never listened, and she had eventually given up.

After hitting send, Jiwoo stared intensely at the message window.

‘Hmm. Is it a little stiff? Should I send another one?’

Something lighter.

Friendlier.

She simply wrote down what she genuinely felt.

[Don’t skip meals just because I’m gone. Make sure you eat properly. I’ll be back soon! I’m going to miss you a lot.]

The moment she looked at the finished message, Jiwoo froze.

“W-Wait. That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

Miss you?

She wouldn’t even say something like that to her own family.

For a moment, Jiwoo imagined saying, “I’m going to miss you a lot,” to Heeseong.

…The thought alone made her stomach churn.