S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 17

The machete flashed right before my eyes.

It would be a lie to say that the cold blade didn’t scare me at all, but I had something I could rely on.

‘If I just calm down and think about it, there’s no way he’d actually hurt me.’

The authority to punish a traitor belonged to the Association President.

Moreover, when the target was a healer, things were even more complicated. Healers were valuable talents protected by the government, so an ordinary Hunter could not harm one under any pretext.

‘So the Association President must have punished them secretly.’

If he openly imposed severe punishment, there would be an uproar from both sides. But if punishment was carried out internally, where everyone was in on it, there would be no chance of it leaking out.

I signaled to Han Seongwoo that everything was fine.

Although he looked uneasy, he relaxed his guard.

“Fine. We’ll take Moon Yeonhee with us—”

“I never said I was going with you.”

“Shut up! I won’t listen to a traitor who has forgotten all the favors the Association has bestowed upon her!”

He was treating me emotionally.

“You’ll obediently confess your sins to the Association President.”

“Why should I confess to him? He’s not some kind of god.”

“Are you seriously out of your mind? You’ve sided with the people who kidnapped you!”

“Haha!”

I couldn’t exactly deny his last statement. I could understand why they would think I was crazy. After all, I had once been a member of the Association myself.

‘You blindly believe everything the Association President says. Of course, there’s no way you could understand how I feel.’

When I suddenly laughed, he seemed flustered and brought the machete even closer.

“You’ve completely lost your mind after betraying us. Can’t you even understand the situation? What’s so funny about—”

“If you don’t like it, then cut me.”

I moved my head, bringing myself even closer to the machete.

“Moon Yeonhee…!”

Han Seongwoo called my name, his face startled after I had barely managed to calm him down.

I looked straight at him without wavering.

“This…!”

Perhaps my provocation had gotten to him. His hand trembled violently.

“God’s Blessing.”

Taking advantage of that moment, I quickly activated my skill.

Clang!

The shield that instantly appeared collided with the machete.

“Ugh!”

Thanks to the shield, which blocked not only skills but also physical attacks, his weapon was sent flying far away.

“What is this…?”

He followed the flying weapon with his eyes before falling silent.

“Well, now it’s your turn to get hit.”

“Urgh….”

Just as I had taken advantage of the opening to activate my skill, Han Seongwoo quickly subdued him.

“Jung Jiwon!”

Choo Hyunji, who seemed to have regained enough strength to speak, shouted his name.

Jung Jiwon trembled after being subdued in return.

He must have realized that he had done something he shouldn’t have, because his face had gone pale.

“When you return to the Association, make sure you tell them that I can use a strange shield.”

“Don’t make me laugh…!”

I was talking to Jung Jiwon, but the reply came from behind me.

Choo Hyunji charged forward as if she couldn’t believe that she had been subdued so easily.

Clang!

But her attack was no different.

Perhaps she had put even more force into it than Jung Jiwon, because Choo Hyunji was sent flying into the distance.

“Pretty effective.”

At this point, I felt confident enough in the abilities of an S-Rank shield.

I looked at the shield with satisfaction before stepping forward.

“Let’s go.”

Their surprise attack had failed, and even the team leader’s frontal assault had been useless. They probably had no intention of fighting back anymore.

Sure enough, even when Han Seongwoo and I walked toward the entrance, they only bit their lips and made no further attempt to attack.

“Team Leader Choo Hyunji! Jung Jiwon!”

Perhaps they had only just come to their senses. The other members of the second team hurriedly supported the two who had been knocked down after attempting to attack us.

‘Not only will the Association hear that I cleared the dungeon before them, but they’ll also learn about how much I’ve changed.’

They had been dispatched to clear the dungeon, only to be beaten by the Baekyang Guild—the very guild the Association despised.

I wondered how furious the Association President would be.

A good start.

I smiled proudly as I walked out of the dungeon.

 

***

 

It was sunset.

The deep crimson sunlight pouring through the window should have been dazzling, but Cha Seohae didn’t even blink.

“Master.”

His expression, which looked as though it would never move, became even more displeased.

It was because Na Ye-ri had entered without warning.

She, along with Cha Seohae and Han Seongwoo, was one of the founding members of the Baekyang Guild and an important figure—a reliable vice-master.

Although she looked slender, her entire body was packed with solid muscle. She was a tank. More than one Hunter had underestimated her because of her appearance, only to regret it dearly.

As was typical of tanks, Na Ye-ri was boisterous, and her natural personality was full of confidence.

As a result, her actions tended to be like a bulldozer. Cha Seohae often assigned her external missions where she could make full use of that bold and aggressive personality.

But perhaps he trusted her too much.

By now, merely seeing her made him feel as though he had been thrown into the middle of a noisy argument.

Knowing that she wouldn’t change even if he told her to, he simply asked what she wanted.

“What is it?”

“She’s still refusing to answer.”

“Okay.”

Cha Seohae lowered his gaze and touched the edge of the document.

“Then we have our answer.”

The document he was touching was a list of guilds for an alliance.

However, he soon tossed it onto the desk with an expression of disgust.

“You’ve looked at this enough.”

Na Ye-ri picked up the discarded document and spoke.

At the very top were the Baekyang Guild and the Sawol Guild, followed by the Heukho Guild.

The paper was heavily crumpled around the name of the Heukho Guild, as if it had been repeatedly handled.

“There’s no reason for us to stay here anymore. Let’s go back to headquarters.”

“Yeah. Do you know how badly I wanted to return? I heard our guild got a new healer!”

Na Ye-ri’s serious expression disappeared as she asked.

“News of a newbie joining our boring old guild!”

“How did you know? …Childeugi?”

She had been staying in the provinces the entire time. The only person who could have told her news from headquarters was Childeugi.

Cha Seohae clicked his tongue and muttered.

“He has a loose mouth.”

“Loose? Do you know how much I had to bribe him?”

Na Ye-ri waved her hand as if it had been quite a lot.

“You paid him for information? That’s even worse. I’ll have to fire him. We can’t keep someone like that around.”

“…There’s nothing I can say to you.”

Na Ye-ri awkwardly shrugged after Cha Seohae shut down every attempt at conversation.

However, her silence didn’t last long.

Her orange eyes, as deep as the sunset, slowly scanned Cha Seohae from head to toe.

Her cat-like eyes curved delicately.

“Is your complexion better because of the healer?”

Her tone rose subtly at the end, making it sound like a question, but she was really testing something she already knew.

Cha Seohae didn’t even spare her a glance, as though her pointless teasing wasn’t worth his attention. He walked past her and put on the jacket hanging on the coat rack.

“Is it because you’re sleeping better? Or because the healing is good?”

“Let’s just go.”

“…What good is getting a good night’s sleep? You’re still an absolute jerk.”

Na Ye-ri muttered as if she genuinely felt sorry for him.

‘I wonder if there’s actually anyone capable of putting up with that personality of his. If there is, we should practically worship them as a god.’

Originally, she had intended to ask how he had managed to sleep so well. She was going to argue that, whether it was medicine or a person, it should be shared with everyone for the public good.

‘At this point, he definitely won’t tell me.’

Maybe Childeugi knew. Or perhaps Han Seongwoo did?

While she was lost in thought, she suddenly realized that someone who should have been here was missing.

“Where’s Han Seongwoo? Why didn’t he come?”

“You’re asking that now?”

He scolded her as though she were being ridiculous.

“He needs to be more careful when moving around quietly. Why does he even hide his presence from his own coworkers? No wonder everyone calls him creepy.”

“How would I know?”

“Yeah. If someone heartless like you exists, I suppose someone like him can exist too.”

Na Ye-ri refused to back down until the end.

Seeing that this pointless argument might drag on, Cha Seohae skillfully changed the subject.

“I gave him another task.”

“What? You could’ve done that after this job. Is there anything more important than this?”

She complained, apparently annoyed that she had been assigned a task that required the two of them to search the surrounding area.

“Security.”

“Security? Who are you protecting? Sending an S-Rank Hunter just to guard—”

“I assigned him to protect the new healer.”

“…He pulled out the ultimate trump card.”

Na Ye-ri replied in disbelief.

“Right. Protecting the healer is important.”

She was momentarily flustered, but she quickly accepted it as soon as she heard the word healer.

The fact that Cha Seohae himself had directly mentioned the healer made her even more curious. She began bouncing on her feet, unable to contain herself.

“We’re done here, so let’s go. I want to get out of here as soon as possible. Damn creepy Heukho Guild.”

On the day Cha Seohae had personally gone to warn the Association—that was, the day Moon Yeonhee had been kidnapped—he had warned them.

Never again contact the guild’s healer or pressure or threaten them into joining the Association.

Even so, the Association had continued its suspicious activities.

Because of that, Cha Seohae had no choice but to step forward himself.

The guilds desperately protected their healers. Yet, despite all their efforts, guild healers were mysteriously dying one after another.

It was strange.

No matter how many people the Association had working for it, they were still outsiders when it came to the internal affairs of the guilds.

Yet somehow, those outsiders managed to break through the guilds’ tight security, contact the healers, and even destroy the evidence without a hitch.

It simply didn’t make sense.

That was when he began to suspect that there was someone on the Association’s side helping them.

And he had come down here to find that leak.

‘Moon Yeonhee….’

These days, whenever he thought of the Association, she was the first person who came to mind.

She was an opportunity he had unexpectedly obtained.

He had long known that the filthy Association would never treat healers properly.

Moon Yeonhee was an important key. If he ever moved against the Association, someone who knew its internal workings as thoroughly as she did would be immensely helpful.

And since she already harbored resentment toward the Association, she was an opportunity Cha Seohae couldn’t afford to lose.

The moment he thought of Moon Yeonhee, he remembered losing consciousness while receiving her healing a few days ago.

Since it had been the first time it happened, there was no way he could forget it simply because several days had passed.

“It’s going to be a problem if that happens every time I get healed….”

He sighed heavily, troubled.

Lately, that has become his biggest concern.

‘If I fall asleep every time I receive healing, even I find it embarrassing.’

There was no way he could get used to becoming completely defenseless in front of others.

But he couldn’t refuse healing either.

Caught in this hopeless dilemma, Cha Seohae ran a hand through his hair.

His rough touch disheveled his jet-black hair, as dark as a midnight sky.

“Why are you suddenly acting like a crazy person all by yourself?”

Na Ye-ri stared at him strangely.

But no answer came.

‘First, she needs to adjust well. Should I create a suitable environment for her? What about recreating the dormitory she had at the Association…? No, that might not be a good idea.’

Moon Yeonhee might not know it, but Baekyang was actually desperate to keep her.

A guild without a healer was at a huge disadvantage.

She was worried that Baekyang might send her back to the Association.

Ironically, Baekyang was equally worried that she might leave the guild.

‘It’s better for us if she keeps misunderstanding things that way.’

With that arrogant thought, Cha Seohae left the room.

 

***

 

“Why hasn’t he come?”

Those were the first words I said the moment I finished getting ready and opened the door.

I blurted it out without thinking, then let out a quiet sigh.

‘I’m actually getting used to walking around with Han Seongwoo.’

The complicated feeling lasted only a moment before I suddenly remembered what Han Seongwoo had done yesterday.

“No. He could be waiting somewhere to surprise me again, just like yesterday.”

I pressed my back against the wall and moved forward slowly.

However, even after the end of the hallway came into view and the lobby appeared, Han Seongwoo was nowhere to be seen.

“Did something happen?”

Lately, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we had been together almost constantly, except when sleeping.

‘They say you don’t notice someone’s presence until they’re gone.’

When I was at the Association, I had always been fine on my own. But now that I was suddenly alone here, the emptiness felt strangely noticeable.

I scratched my head and pressed the elevator button to go down to the first floor.

“…Why is the elevator all the way at the top floor?”

For some reason, the display showed that it was on the 45th floor.

The elevator hadn’t needed to go to the 45th floor for quite some time.

The owner of that floor—Cha Seohae—had been away.

‘Could he have returned?’

Ding.

Even as I heard the sound announcing the elevator’s arrival, my mind was completely occupied with figuring out the connection between Han Seongwoo’s disappearance and Cha Seohae’s return.

“If that’s the case, then it makes sense that Han Seongwoo isn’t….”

I was mumbling while looking at the floor, distracted by my thoughts.

Then—

“Long time no see.”