S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 12

It was a look I couldn’t understand.

‘Is there something on me?’

I moved my hand and brushed over the spot Cha Seohae’s gaze had been fixed on.

Just as I was about to ask why after confirming that there was nothing on my arm.

“No matter how badly you were craving a heal.”

Someone spoke up first from across the way.

“You shouldn’t starve a newbie while making them work, Seongwoo.”

As I was wondering what good it would do to figure out what Cha Seohae was thinking, I heard a rather sharp rebuke.

His tone was firm despite his gentle voice. It was clearly a warning.

Han Seongwoo, who had been relatively relaxed, tensed up again.

‘I can’t exactly tell the person taking care of my meals to calm down.’

Maybe it was because I was hungry and therefore more sentimental. I was grateful to hear him say, “You shouldn’t starve them while making them work.”

‘Honestly, I’m also a little relieved that anger wasn’t directed at me.’

As expected, everything depended on how you looked at things.

More importantly.

“You needed a heal?”

I asked Han Seongwoo because I hadn’t realized it since he hadn’t shown it at all.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to bluntly ask whether he needed a heal, because he flinched.

“If you needed it, you should’ve said so.”

When I heard that he was the vice-master, I thought he had come to keep an eye on me.

This time, too, my body moved reflexively because of my occupational habit that was almost like an obsession. My head told me that I wouldn’t be able to endure it if I healed him here as well, but the power of habit was frightening.

‘It’s been quite a while since Childugi went to get the new meal, so I should be fine for a little while.’

Reminding myself that Childugi would be back soon, I approached Han Seongwoo.

“Hand….”

“Wait. You’re not even in good condition yourself. You’re going to heal me?”

Cha Seohae hurriedly stopped me.

His face, which had been lowered for a moment, rose again with a deep frown.

For some reason, it felt like he had been fixated on my arm since earlier.

“I won’t die just because I get a little hungrier here.”

I probably would collapse, though. I deliberately left that part unsaid.

The reason I had developed this obsessive habit was entirely the Association’s fault.

“I’ve seen tanks and damage dealers die fighting enemies, but I’ve never seen a healer die while healing. So endure with your mental strength! If you don’t heal properly, the frontline will collapse in no time!”

I had heard it so many times that I couldn’t even forget it.

“Hand.”

Ignoring Cha Seohae’s suspicious look, I extended my hand toward Han Seongwoo again.

He looked as though he was debating whether it was really right for him to offer his hand in a situation like this.

‘Can you really endure being short on heals just by holding it in?’

I couldn’t help giving a bitter smile at his attitude, which was completely different from the First Team, who had greedily accepted heals without considering my circumstances at all.

Where did the idea that the Association had better welfare even come from?

Perhaps my smile looked like I was frustrated with him, because only then did Han Seongwoo place his hand over mine.

“Divine Blessing.”

The moment I called out the skill’s name, healing energy rapidly flowed into me. His condition was just as bad as Cha Seohae’s.

‘Just how long do you have to go without receiving heals to end up like this? No. More importantly, how have you managed to hold out until now?’

So much healing came in that I was in danger of collapsing first if I wasn’t careful.

For a moment, my vision spun as though everything had flipped upside down. Instinctively, I covered the back of Han Seongwoo’s hand with my other hand to keep myself steady.

At least the healing was going in properly. Seeing how he remained steady despite being in poor condition, I could definitely tell that S-ranks were different.

Previously, Kang Si-hyeon of the First Team had once requested that additional healers be dispatched.

Working at the Association, working through the night was common.

They suffered just as much as I did, but unlike them, who could maintain their stamina under close supervision, I was constantly called here and there to heal people and couldn’t properly take care of my sleep or meals.

Naturally, the quality of my healing declined.

Even though the cause-and-effect relationship was so obvious, requests from teams to deploy additional personnel were considered the healer’s problem.

Along with the worst possible label of ‘inadequate ability.’

That was why, for the most part, hunters in tank or damage-dealer roles refrained from requesting additional healers. It wasn’t because they didn’t realize the Association was strange, but because not every Association member was unreasonable.

But the First Team didn’t care about appearances. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say they didn’t care about ‘my feelings.’

In the end, a B-rank healer with poor compatibility had to hold the injured person’s other hand and heal alongside me.

I couldn’t describe how unfair and humiliating it had felt at the time.

Even I, who always tried to think positively, was so upset that day that I wondered why it had to be the First Team. My resolve to remain there was shaken.

‘Though after crying about it once, I stupidly got my hopes up again.’

Remembering it only made me depressed. I shook my head, wanting to stop thinking about it.

But perhaps that was the problem. My center of balance, which I had barely been maintaining, wavered, and my vision began spinning.

“Moon Yeonhee!”

“Hostage?”

With the sensation of my head helplessly falling backward, my consciousness sank into endless darkness.

 

***

 

The ceiling repeatedly blurred and then came into focus.

‘What time is it….’

I stared at the window, and the sight of the setting sun left my mind blank for a moment.

‘I’m pretty sure I collapsed… Did time not pass?’

Just as I wondered whether I had gotten deep sleep in only ten minutes because my body felt so refreshed.

“Heal!”

The situation right before I lost consciousness came rushing back, and I abruptly sat up.

“Ah….”

Perhaps because I had gotten up so suddenly, my head spun.

As I moved to hold my forehead, I felt something catch against my arm.

“An IV?”

“You shouldn’t move yet.”

How was it possible that I could never let my guard down even for a moment in this place?

I looked toward where the unfamiliar voice had come from.

“You don’t have to be on guard. I’m a doctor from Baekyang Guild.”

Judging by the white coat, stethoscope, and medical chart, it didn’t seem like a lie.

‘I had such a strong body before awakening. How did I end up like this?’

Without even having time to lament, I greeted her first.

“Hello….”

“Nice to meet you. You collapsed from fatigue and malnutrition, so you’ll be fine after getting an IV and eating a meal.”

First accumulated fatigue, and now malnutrition. I really had the whole package.

“It doesn’t feel like much time has passed. How many minutes was I lying down?”

“Huh?”

“No, it just doesn’t feel like much time has passed since before I collapsed.”

“Ah, it’s been exactly four days since you collapsed. Come to think of it, you were carried in around this time, weren’t you?”

“…What did you say?”

My mouth fell open at the unbelievable passage of time.

The doctor busily moved around with her back to the bed, seemingly preparing the next treatment for me now that I had regained consciousness.

“How long will it take?”

I wasn’t particularly hungry, perhaps because I had been receiving an IV for so long.

But I asked because it felt unfair to just stay here, and I wanted to eat something.

“Just wait fifteen minutes. I even reduced the amount because you’re a healer. Once your dizziness subsides, self-heal and get up.”

“Thank you.”

“More importantly, how did you accumulate so much fatigue when you’re a healer? Doesn’t self-healing also help relieve stress?”

She asked curiously. It was an innocent question, but it stung somewhere in my chest.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that leisurely self-healing was out of the question when I had barely had enough time to heal other people.

“I suppose we’ll soon hear that a healer has joined the guild.”

“Huh?”

“The Master came running while carrying you, so won’t the people who saw it quickly spread the rumor?”

“Cha Seohae did?”

I turned my gaze away from the IV and looked at the doctor.

It was hard to picture Cha Seohae running around in a hurry.

“He looked very surprised. Have you known each other for a while?”

“No.”

“Really? Maybe it’s because you’re a healer. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone in an executive position carry someone in like that.”

After that, she went on and on about various things related to Baekyang Guild, though most of them weren’t particularly important.

Eventually, even the names of people I didn’t know came up.

‘This doctor really doesn’t give her patients a chance to rest at all.’

By the time I was only half listening to her, she checked the time.

“Oh my, fifteen minutes have already passed. Go eat your meal. Don’t just eat something carelessly.”

“Yes.”

As soon as the doctor removed the IV needle, I hurried out of the room before she could catch me again.

“Come to think of it, I should’ve asked how to get to the cafeteria.”

Although I had stayed here for several days, that time had been little more than a blank shell.

“Before, I saw the elevator right away when I came out. Maybe it’s this way.”

The different layout of the hospital ward compared to the guild building had confused my memory. Relying on instinct, I walked wherever my feet happened to take me.

Then, just as I turned a corner.

“Ah.”

I almost collided with someone coming from the other side of the corner, so I quickly stopped.

I instinctively raised my head, and a familiar face came into view.

“Cha Seohae!”

The first thing I saw was his blue eyes, clear as the open sky. Unlike when I had seen him in the car, all traces of fatigue had disappeared.

“Did you come here for something too? Are you sick somewhere?”

From my perspective, it felt like I had just seen him, but apparently four days had actually passed.

I asked, wondering if something had happened during that time.

“I had something to take care of, but….”

He spoke while maintaining eye contact, but didn’t finish his sentence cleanly.

“Why did you stop talking?”

“More importantly, you said you were hungry.”

“Huh? Oh, right. I was actually on my way to the cafeteria. But how did you….”

“The cafeteria’s already closed. Let’s go out and eat. If you don’t know the area, want me to come with you?”

What was this? Had he just naturally taken control of the conversation?

I narrowed my eyes, then asked the question that suddenly came to mind before I forgot it.

“What about Han Seongwoo?”

“Why would he come out?”

Cha Seohae asked as though he couldn’t understand.

“No, he was the last person I saw before I closed my eyes. Didn’t he say he was short on heals?”

“You’re still saying things like that in this situation?”

“I wouldn’t be saying them if I weren’t well enough.”

He clicked his tongue briefly before answering.

“He’s fine. They said he’s feeling better now that his body has become lighter.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

“More importantly, the answer?”

“Ah, yeah. You haven’t eaten dinner either?”

“Not yet.”

“Really? Then let’s call Han Seongwoo and go together.”

“…He already ate.”

Cha Seohae answered while avoiding my gaze.

Well, the sun was already setting, so at this hour, it made sense that he had already eaten. I nodded.

“Then let’s just go together. I’d be happy if you recommended a good restaurant.”

Whatever the process had been, it ended well, so that was enough.

Cha Seohae naturally led me along, apparently knowing a place to eat.

“I’m eating a proper meal for the first time in four days. We have to go somewhere good.”

“Don’t worry.”

He gave me the same broad grin as before.