Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 9

“Haha, Kang-woo. Kang-woo…! This is my house, my land! They say all of this is mine!”

Ji-woo’s eyes rolled back as she hugged Kang-woo and bounced up and down in excitement.

At this moment, nothing else mattered.

Not the fact that the person she was hugging was a monster obsessed with her.

Not the fact that the land beneath her feet was some suspicious place with an unknown price per square meter!

All she could think about were the titles: 〈Landowner Do Ji-woo〉, 〈Homeowner Do Ji-woo〉.

So what if it was a barren wasteland full of bushes?

So what if the shacks around her looked ready to collapse at any moment?

How many times had she suffered living in a tiny country with hardly any room to lie down?

How many times had she slept under newspapers because she couldn’t afford a deposit or rent?

She’d been forced to learn which subway station bathrooms had hot water, and which bridge you had to sleep under so your jaw wouldn’t freeze and lock.

And now I—Do Ji-woo—am the owner of this whole huge piece of land?

Overcome with emotion, Ji-woo covered her mouth with both hands. Tears almost spilled, blurring her vision.

“Ji-woo…”

Kang-woo, flustered, tried to comfort her by hugging her from behind.

That was when a strange sound came from nearby.

Rustle. Rustle.

— There you aaare!!

A black beak popped out from the thick bushes.

A small body, only up to Ji-woo’s waist.

Fluffy black fur.

A pair of stupid-looking black eyes.

A round white belly, like a snowman.

…An Adélie penguin?

— Bwahaha! You dare shove me underground?! Taste the wrath of my beak!! …Huh? Aren’t you Jyu?

The Adélie penguin circled around Ji-woo.

Every time its yellow feet moved, they made little pop, pop, pop sounds.

— Wow, Jiu! You’re alive!! And you met up without me first, you sneaky thing!!

Who on earth was this “Jiu”?!

Did Kang-woo know every monster in existence?!

Ji-woo stared silently at the tiny penguin in disbelief.

The strange penguin blinked up at her.

— Tch. You annoyed?

It spat on the ground with its tiny beak.

A proper spit—with phlegm—like a total thug.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing on my sacred land?!”

The overprotective landowner Ji-woo yelled.

The fluffy black penguin immediately tried to jab Ji-woo’s knee with its sharp beak.

“Ahh!! You crazy penguin!!”

This was supposed to be a safe zone!

So why was a penguin monster inside?!

It looked tiny and not too dangerous, but a monster was still a monster.

Fuming, Ji-woo pointed her staff at it.

“Get out!”

— Get out from whereee?

“Get out of my house!”

— …Huhhh?

The penguin blinked its dumb-looking eyes.

When it flapped its cute little wings, the wind rustled and the newspapers on the ground flew up.

One rolled away and stopped in front of a shabby hut that looked like something a caveman might have built ages ago.

— This is your house? This little piece of paper??

“Well, that’s…”

— Jiu, what happened to that palace you used to live in? How did you end up in this wreck? Poor thing.

Its round eyes filled with pity.

Between its yellow beak came the last sound Ji-woo ever expected: tsk tsk tsk.

Thanks to that, Ji-woo learned for the first time that penguins could click their tongues.

It was absolutely information she never wanted.

A little while later—

— WHAAAT?! Jiu, you lost your memoryyyy?!

Flap flap!

After hearing Kang-woo’s explanation, the penguin flapped its short wings and hopped off the ground in shock.

Sharp ice crystals formed around its yellow beak with a crackling sound and flew toward Ji-woo.

Seeing that, Kang-woo’s expression turned instantly dark. He grabbed the penguin’s yellow beak and whispered in a frightening voice.

“Shut your mouth. Before I rip your beak off.”

— Nya-nya-nyaak!! What are you doinggg! Let me gooo!!

The penguin didn’t get scared at all, even after seeing the murderous look in Kang-woo’s eyes.

Only after Kang-woo grabbed its black wing stubs as well did it finally stop resisting.

— Kang-wooo, you disloyal brat…

So they knew each other?

A penguin and a flower-boy—what a strange pair.

Ji-woo was curious about their relationship, but she didn’t bother to ask. She’d be sneaking out of this dungeon soon, so she’d never see them again anyway.

Quietly, Ji-woo opened her status window to check her condition.

[Mana: 100/3000]

Her mana had recovered only a tiny bit after hitting the floor from using the skill earlier.

Still nowhere near enough to go back into the dungeon.

A mana potion would’ve been great right about now.

But she was so broke she counted every meal, so stingy Ji-woo would never carry something that expensive around.

In the end, she had no choice but to stay here until her mana naturally recovered.

Ji-woo sat down in front of a shabby hut that looked like it could collapse at any moment.

While watching the crazy talking penguin, late night had quietly settled over the safe zone.

A light night breeze brushed through Ji-woo’s half-curly hair.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

Even though she only muttered it out of habit, Kang-woo’s gaze snapped toward her instantly.

She had barely whispered it, yet even while arguing with the penguin, he had been paying full attention to her.

How am I supposed to find an opening to escape when he stares at me like that?

He reacted sharply to every breath, every word she spoke.

There was no escaping him by normal means.

“Ji-woo.”

Kang-woo tossed the penguin far away and walked toward her.

Even the way he walked—those long, straight legs—looked like a runway model’s.

So this is what “tall and handsome” really means…

“Here, put this on.”

A black coat, completely out of season, draped over her shoulders.

His warm, sweet scent wrapped around her.

“……”

“Are you very cold? You can’t catch a cold.”

Apparently monsters did know what colds were, judging by how worried he looked.

In truth, it wasn’t even that cold.

The weather inside the safe zone felt like a breezy spring day, and Ji-woo was much tougher than an average human anyway.

There’s no way I’d catch a cold just from—… wait.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through Ji-woo’s mind—one that might finally shake Kang-woo off.

She cleared her throat, opened her mouth wide, and dramatically cried out:

“Cough, cough! Oh dear, I’m dying~. At this rate I’ll absolutely catch a coooold. This is terrriiible.”

A performance so dramatic Shakespeare would rise from his grave to give a standing ovation!

Satisfied with her own acting, Ji-woo nodded.

Yup. Perfect. I’ve still got it.

In fact, Ji-woo once had a tiny bit of acting experience.

She had played background extra #3!

Back in Sunshine Class at Chick Kindergarten, her teacher had put a huge hat on her.

“Ji-woo, you simply must play this role. Without you, the play cannot succeed.”

Oh—of course, the role had no lines.

I should’ve aimed for a bigger role back then. Like the enchanted prince. Or the witch.

As Ji-woo lamented that lost childhood glory, soft pop-pop-pop footsteps approached.

The penguin had returned at some point and was stomping its yellow feet on the ground.

— Jyu, just read a textbook instead. Your acting is so bad it physically hurts to watch.

Huh? That couldn’t be right.

Ji-woo stared down at the penguin, flustered.

— Nya-nyak. Even stupid Kang-wooo wouldn’t fall for that.

“Hmmm, are you sure about that?”

She hadn’t known Kang-woo long, but she already understood him pretty well.

“Kang-woo, I’m so cold. I think we need a campfire. Could you get some firewood for—”

She didn’t even finish the sentence.

Huh?

Kang-woo vanished right before her eyes.

Like he had used magic, he leapt high into the sky in a single bound and began darting between the trees, gathering firewood at lightning speed.

Feeling triumphant, Ji-woo glanced down at the penguin.

“See that?”