Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 97

“I should get going.”

Jiwoo squeezed her eyes shut and stood up.

“Jiwoo.”

“The exit will open soon, right? Everyone’s busy. I should get out there and do what I need to do.”

She pushed through the tent flap and hurried outside. She could feel Kangwoo’s gaze following her from behind, but the tightness in her chest made it impossible to stay any longer.

What am I supposed to do now?

What if I’m right? What if I’m just filling that person’s place?

Just a little while ago, she had been determined to confront Kangwoo and demand the truth.

But when the perfect opportunity finally came, Jiwoo could only run away like a defeated soldier.

Because Kangwoo had become precious to her.

Because having him by her side had become so natural.

Because…

I don’t want to be abandoned.

For the first time, she found herself desperately envying the person she’d never even met—the one she’d only ever heard about.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

An arrow wrapped in light sliced through the waves.

It flew too fast for the naked eye to follow.

A tentacle as thick as a telephone pole was shredded apart along its path.

[Kraken No. 4 suppressed. Moving to No. 5.]

The hunters who had slaughtered the Kraken in the blink of an eye immediately headed for their next target.

“Wow… We didn’t even need to stay on standby.”

Chulsoo let out a whistle of amazement.

At the edge of the cliff where the waves crashed below, the Emergency Disaster Response Team was battling the Krakens.

Calling it a battle, however, was generous.

It was closer to a one-sided massacre.

“They look like they’re from a completely different world.”

“Yeah… They’re all incredible.”

Jiwoo answered absentmindedly.

Her eyes were fixed on only one man soaring through the sky.

Unlike the other hunters, who relied on dazzling skills against the monsters, Seo Kangwoo fought the Kraken with nothing but his own body.

Across the endless blue sea, the Kraken’s tentacles lashed out without pause.

Please don’t get hurt! Ah! No, watch out!

Every time Kangwoo narrowly avoided a tentacle, Jiwoo’s heart skipped a beat.

He spent a long while doing nothing but dodging.

Then…

His eyes turned a deep crimson.

He slipped through the storm of tentacles.

A razor-sharp slash cleaved through space.

In that instant, Jiwoo realized something.

Someone like Kangwoo doesn’t need to find a monster’s weak point.

In a single moment, the Kraken’s tentacles were shredded like paper.

High above the sea, the sunset-colored blade in Kangwoo’s hand gleamed brilliantly.

As his sword cut through the Kraken’s enormous body…

There was no thrill of battle.

No joy of victory.

Instead…

His utterly expressionless face was so beautiful it was almost terrifying.

After the overwhelming battle ended…

A brief disciplinary meeting was held inside the tent assigned to Special Team 7.

“So… you hid because you were afraid of monsters?”

“……”

“Ha… I must’ve heard wrong. A hunter abandoned her teammates and ran away because she was scared of monsters?”

“Th-that’s…”

Onara stood there speechless, tears streaming down her face.

Her pitiful appearance might have softened someone’s heart.

But Jiwoo forced herself to look away.

This is the right thing to do—for Nara’s sake too.

A soldier who couldn’t fight the enemy had no place on a battlefield.

The only ending waiting for such a soldier was death.

Jiwoo wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Even Team Leader Yoo Jaekyung, who normally would’ve let the matter end with a warning, refused to overlook it this time.

“I-I have dungeon trauma…”

“And that’s why I asked you over and over before we entered the dungeon. Whether you were really okay. Whether you could keep from becoming a burden on the rest of the team!”

No one had expected Onara to support them.

They would’ve preferred she stayed outside the Gate.

But she insisted.

She said she was part of Special Team 7 and had to go with them.

She said she’d received treatment for her trauma and that she’d really be okay this time.

“I don’t care if Hunter Onara becomes a burden on the team. Helping and supporting each other is what teammates are for.”

She paused.

“But abandoning your comrades entirely is another matter. Though I suppose you’ve never really thought of us as your teammates to begin with.”

“T-Team Leader!”

“This incident will be handled by the disciplinary committee. I won’t be covering for you anymore.”

Every word from Yoo Jaekyung landed like a blade of ice.

When she finished speaking, she turned and walked out of the tent.

“I should go help clean up the base camp.”

“I’ll help as well.”

After Cha Taepyeong and Shin Ilguk left…

Only Jiwoo and Onara remained.

I should leave too.

Jiwoo sighed and headed toward the entrance.

Then—

“You weren’t really an E-rank healer, were you?”

“Huh?”

“You were a hunter ranked higher than me all along, weren’t you?”

Onara grabbed Jiwoo’s arm, her voice full of resentment.

She bit nervously at her fingernails, looking almost desperate.

“You’re a top-ranked hunter! That’s why you had the ability to fight on the front lines! That’s why you could always act so confidently! So this time too—!”

“Nara.”

Jiwoo gently cut her off.

“You’re right.

I’m not an ordinary E-rank healer.

I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

“I knew it! And all this time I kept comparing myself to you—!”

“But, Nara.”

Jiwoo looked her straight in the eye.

Without insulting or belittling her, she spoke firmly.

“Whether I’m an E-rank healer or a top-ranked hunter, one thing doesn’t change.

Even if I really had been nothing more than a powerless E-rank healer…

I still would’ve never run away.

Just like the rest of the team did for you…

I would’ve risked my life to save my teammates.”

With that, Jiwoo pushed through the tent flap and stepped outside.

She thought she heard Onara whisper,

“…That’s a lie.”

 

* * *

 

Jiwoo checked an announcement posted on the company’s internal bulletin board on her phone.

※ Disciplinary Action Notice ※

Following deliberation by the disciplinary committee, the following decision has been made.

Disciplinary Subject: Special Team 7 Hunter Onara (H)

Disciplinary Action: One-month suspension

The past week had passed like a storm.

After the Emergency Disaster Response Team joined the operation, all dungeon raid responsibilities were handed over to them.

It was a little disappointing, but neither the Donghae Guild nor the Osan Guild—both of which had suffered heavy losses—objected to the handover.

When the raid force disbanded, Special Team 7 naturally returned to Seoul as well.

And as soon as they returned to the Blank Guild, a disciplinary hearing for Onara was held.

One-month suspension.

That was the punishment for abandoning her team without authorization.

At least she wasn’t fired.

Jiwoo let out a long sigh.

She was about to scroll down to read the reason for the disciplinary action.

“Noona.”

“……”

“Noona!”

“Huh? Oh.”

“What are you staring at so seriously?”

Heesung tapped her shoulder.

Blinking, Jiwoo answered,

“Nothing.”

“Didn’t you say you had plans at three? Aren’t you going to be late?”

“Mm. It’s close to home, so I’ll be fine.”

Jiwoo stretched, rolling her stiff shoulders.

Come to think of it… it’s almost time to leave.

After the dungeon raid ended, Special Team 7 finally received the delayed summer vacation they’d been promised.

During those few days off, Jiwoo hardly left the house.

Not because of anything special—

There was simply far too much work waiting for her inside 〈My Home〉.

 

[Opening the 〈My Home〉 Management System.]

System

〈My Home〉

Owner: Do Jiwoo

Comfort Rating: C Rank (Mansion)

A beautiful mansion that looks as though it came straight out of a fairy tale.

Warm sunlight fills the gardens during the day.

Quiet moonlight blankets them at night.

But deep within this magnificent estate…

Perhaps a terrifying ghost story lies hidden.

Experience needed for next upgrade: 0 / 300

Buff Effects:

Fatigue from housework is slightly reduced.
All plants grow 1000% faster.