Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 87

“Um… there’s someone like that among my neighbors.”

Jiwoo brushed it off vaguely.

The “neighbor” she was referring to was Kang Woo, who lived directly downstairs.

Surprisingly, Kang Woo also shared the same taste in food as Jiwoo.

He would eat pork belly dipped in spicy gochujang, drink pine-flavored beverages, and devour watermelon punch mixed with cola.

Of course, every time, Heeseong would comment beside them with a pitiful expression.

‘Wow… the power of love really is something.’

‘Why does Heeseong keep saying things that make it awkward?’

There’s no way Kang Woo was forcing himself to say it tasted good!

As Jiwoo hesitated to answer, Kim Cheolsu continued with a smile.

“Come to think of it, your dad really liked watermelon punch with cola too. I still sometimes remember those summers when we sliced watermelon on the wooden platform. How are your parents doing?”

It was an unexpected question.

‘Right… they’ve been out of contact for so long.’

It made sense that he hadn’t heard about their passing.

“Ah… you didn’t know. My mom and dad… well…”

Her voice cracked at the end. Jiwoo bit her lip mid-sentence, then quickly forced herself to continue calmly.

“They’re missing. Since five years ago.”

Silence fell for a moment. Kim Cheolsu looked at her in shock, then carefully asked,

“What happened…?”

“What else would it be if hunters go missing? They probably died in a dungeon.”

It wasn’t a planned raid.

An unidentified gate opened in the middle of the city, and her parents voluntarily entered it to rescue civilians caught in the dungeon.

A week later, when the emergency rescue team entered the dungeon, the civilians they had been protecting were miraculously still alive.

But Jiwoo’s parents’ bodies were never found.

“The raid ended and the gate closed while they were still inside… so that’s basically it.”

If a living creature remains inside, a gate doesn’t close. Unless it’s a trap like an ant nest with ants as bait—there had never been an exception.

“…I’m sorry, Jiwoo.”

“It’s fine, oppa. It’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing.”

Jiwoo gulped down her drink.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she talked about her parents. Maybe because she had finally met someone who knew them.

She tried not to show it, but her throat tightened and her eyes stung.

‘Seriously, why am I like this?’

She hated moments like this.

Jiwoo clenched her teeth and forced herself to perk up.

“Ha! Clean finish—one shot!”

She tossed the empty can into the trash can perfectly.

“Oppa, you last saw Heeseong when he was a baby, right?”

“Yeah. Is he doing well?”

“Of course. He’s almost as tall as me now. He’ll be happy to hear you’re here. Should I video call him?”

“Isn’t he supposed to be at school right now?”

“Ah… he’s not attending school for some circumstances. He’s doing… field experience training instead.”

“Field experience? You mean homeschooling at home?”

“Yeah… something like that. Homeschooling.”

Jiwoo stretched the words out.

Well, technically it was at “home,” so maybe that counted.

If you considered the safe zone house as a home, that is.

“He’s in middle school now? Planning to homeschool through high school too?”

“I’m not sure about high school yet…”

Heeseong’s situation was special.

He had dropped out naturally due to dungeon sickness, and five years had passed like that.

Now that he had recovered, she had suggested going back to school, but he firmly refused.

‘No. Absolutely not! If I go to school, who’s going to take care of the safe zone and Dong-sik?’

‘You have me.’

‘You’re always out at work or dungeon raids! I can’t rely on you. Anyway, no. Absolutely not! I’d just be miserable there!’

Well, if he refused that strongly, she couldn’t force him.

And there was also the fact that he was a rare-type awakened individual.

‘If he goes to school, he might get exposed.’

When Jiwoo was in school, students had to undergo mandatory awakening tests every year.

They’re banned now due to human rights issues, but it’s still risky.

‘But we can’t just keep him locked inside the safe zone forever either…’

Her thoughts deepened. There was another problem she’d need to discuss with Heeseong when she got home.

 

 

****

 

 

 

After a long struggle, the Donghae Guild eventually secured the main team position thanks to home advantage.

Once team composition was decided, everything proceeded quickly.

Led by Donghae, preliminary meetings were held, and a few days later, the raid team entered the gate.

[This is the main team. Entry complete. Starting point secured.]

Communications flowed through Jiwoo’s earpiece.

[Osan team has passed the gate. Linking up with main team.]

Then Jae-kyung’s voice followed.

[Special Team 7, all five members ready. Entering now.]

And shortly after—

“Wow… how can a dungeon be this beautiful?”

A gasp escaped Jiwoo’s lips.

If you suddenly dropped onto a planet made entirely of ocean, would it look like this?

Special Team 7 stood on a small island made entirely of white sand.

Gentle waves rolled in from all directions, and endless white beaches shimmered under the sunlight.

Donghae team leader Go Jae-pil, who had entered first, crossed his arms arrogantly.

“Told you. It’s the same dungeon as the C-rank one we cleared before.”

The Donghae team ran onto the beach as if they were familiar with it, leveling the ground beyond the reach of the waves.

They needed to build a safe forward base for the week they would stay inside.

“Hey, healer. Stop zoning out and come move some rocks.”

“Yes! Coming now!”

Jiwoo quickly responded and ran into the construction site.

As a five-year veteran of dungeon labor work, she was extremely used to this kind of job.

‘If you slack off, it’ll show immediately!’

Work hard, no slacking! Ten shovel swings, then one breath!

She grabbed a small shovel from her inventory and started digging like a mole.

Pa-pa-pa-pak.

Wherever Jiwoo passed, uneven sand turned flat like a sheet of paper.

“Hm, not bad energy. She’s got stamina—she’ll be useful.”

Watching Jiwoo smooth the ground like a bulldozer, Go Jae-pil became interested.

For him, the most important thing in talent wasn’t class or raw ability.

It was energy. Willpower.

Even for meaningless tasks like leveling sand—someone who did it passionately.

In that sense, Jiwoo was exactly the kind of person he liked.

“Kang Jae-gyu.”

“Yes, sir?”

“You said you’re from the Public Void Guild, right? Do you know that healer over there with the shovel?”

Kang Jae-gyu, who had been called over, looked momentarily blank. A strange unease crept in.

“You don’t know her either?”

“Yes… I do know her. She’s Do Jiwoo, a low-rank healer from Public Void Guild.”

“Low-rank healer? Hm… well, healer or not…”

Go Jae-pil stroked his chin and observed her.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there—move! You’ll get covered in dirt!”

Pa-pa-pa-pak!

Jiwoo dug without rest. Not a single blade of grass or pebble remained where she passed.

“Well, even if she’s a healer, that level is fine. We could use one person handling odd jobs in the raid team.”

“What… do you mean by that?”

“After the raid, set up a meeting. See if we can recruit that healer to our team.”