S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 18

He greeted me so casually, as if we had known each other for a long time, that I looked up.

His voice wasn’t as familiar to my ears as Han Seongwoo’s, but somehow my body remembered his pleasant, gentle voice.

“Cha Seohae!”

“Judging by your voice, I guess you’ve been doing well.”

He pointed at me with his chin.

Thinking about it, I’d only seen him when he’d first brought me here and when I regained consciousness after collapsing for four days.

Back then, I had been dealing with all sorts of complicated emotions, so I must have let them show on my face.

“There was no reason for me not to be doing well. I signed the contract willingly, after all.”

“Right. I’m glad you’ve adjusted well.”

His voice sounded almost as if that was what he’d been hoping for.

His reaction reminded me of something I had been wondering about.

“Is that why you assigned Han Seongwoo to me?”

“Yeah. It’d be convenient to have someone who knows the guild well around you.”

“…And you chose Han Seongwoo for that? You could’ve assigned Childeugi instead.”

“I’d rather not have Han Seongwoo following me around either.”

Then wasn’t this less about helping me and more about getting rid of him for his own convenience?

It was a reasonable suspicion, but I didn’t bother asking.

“Though, judging by your question, it seems like you adapted to Han Seongwoo rather than the guild.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

I’d learned things like what Han Seongwoo usually did for work, where he tended to go, and which rooms in this huge building I could hide in to get some peace and quiet without him noticing.

Besides, he was also the first person I’d ever cleared a dungeon with after awakening as an S-Rank.

It would be a lie to say I was uncomfortable around him.

“Either way, as long as you’ve managed to adjust somehow, that’s enough.”

“Yeah.”

Cha Seohae agreed as though that was all that mattered.

“Where were you headed?”

“Oh! I couldn’t find Han Seongwoo. Do you know where he is?”

Only then did I remember my original purpose and ask.

Cha Seohae tilted his head for a moment before muttering,

“I’m starting to think you’ve really only adapted to Han Seongwoo.”

“Huh?”

“He’s probably still upstairs resting. I came down alone.”

“You were together?”

“Yeah.”

As long as he was doing fine, that was enough.

Now that I’d accomplished what I came for, I had some time left.

I held out my hand toward him.

“Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

“I can tell you haven’t been sleeping properly.”

The last time I’d seen him, his complexion had been more stable than it was now.

But what about now?

Even during our short conversation, he occasionally squeezed his eyes shut, looking as though he was trying to suppress his dizziness.

“Get some sleep while you work. We’re all doing this so we can live.”

I’d advised him that way, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily.

The fact that his condition had deteriorated again despite receiving the benefits of an S-Rank healer meant that his mental state couldn’t be stabilized through skills alone.

Unless the underlying cause was fixed, healing him would be like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

“You know, when you’re too relaxed, it’s easy to lose what you’ve fought to obtain. We don’t know what might happen from now on.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

I grabbed his slowly rising hand and began healing him.

That’s when I noticed his clothes.

His jacket was casually draped over his shoulders, just as carelessly as his usual manner.

His tie was nowhere to be seen.

Where the tie should have been, his collar was open, revealing his distinct collarbone.

His shirt was so tightly fitted that when he raised his arm, the fabric stretched tautly across his body.

I was thinking that he must have been working incredibly hard since early afternoon, to the point that it was almost difficult to look at him.

Then—

“You’re going to burn a hole through me.”

Cha Seohae’s sudden remark startled me, and I reflexively pulled my gaze away.

“…What?”

“My shirt.”

“……”

“Or were you looking at my body?”

He happened to be rubbing his eyes because of his fatigue, so he continued speaking in a strange posture.

His arm covered his eyes while the corner of his mouth curled into a smirk.

The sight was seriously unfair.

“What was I looking at? Besides, I just woke up. I’m still out of it.”

“Ah. So your eyes unconsciously went toward my body? That sounds even more dangerous.”

So much for thinking he wouldn’t tease me this time.

‘It’s not like I deliberately looked. He’s so tall that if I don’t lift my head, his chest is literally right in front of me. What am I supposed to do about that?’

I felt both embarrassed and slightly wronged.

I quickly finished the healing.

“Are you already done for today?”

“Already? I’ve done enough.”

“Are you avoiding me because you’re embarrassed?”

“No? Besides, even if I went there, I’d still be inside the building. Why would I—”

Ding.

The elevator arrived on our floor.

Since I hadn’t pressed the button again after unexpectedly running into Cha Seohae, I took a step backward.

“Cha Seohae!”

Before the doors had even fully opened, a cheerful voice from inside the elevator called his name.

‘Who is that?’

I’d been making an effort to memorize the guild members who frequented the upper floors.

Since the voice was unfamiliar, she must have been someone I hadn’t seen before.

I subtly turned my head and looked inside as the elevator doors slowly opened.

“How could you just leave all by yourself? What an inconsiderate bastard.”

Standing there was an unbelievably beautiful woman.

“Seriously, I could just kill—huh?”

She stepped roughly out of the elevator, then froze when she saw me.

Her black hair was as dark as ink, while her eyes were a vivid orange, as bright as an orange.

I was certain I’d never seen her before.

Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly before her gaze shifted toward Cha Seohae.

“That’s right.”

She hadn’t asked anything, but Cha Seohae seemed to know exactly what she wanted to ask and quickly answered first.

“Wow…!”

Her eyes lit up with delight as she turned her gaze back toward me, apparently satisfied with his answer.

I was nervous because everything was happening so quickly.

Judging by the atmosphere, she seemed to know who I was to some extent, but I still had no idea who she was.

“What’s your name?”

“You already know.”

“Don’t ruin the mood. I’m going to hear it directly from that little mouth of yours.”

She knew my name?

I assessed the situation.

The way she casually spoke to Cha Seohae suggested that she was also a member of the Baekyang Guild, and quite possibly someone of a high rank.

‘But I decided I wasn’t going to keep acting like the subordinate anymore.’

I took a deep breath and calmly replied,

“Tell me your name first.”

Somehow, ever since coming to Baekyang, aside from Childeugi, I’d become someone who casually spoke informally to people I’d just met.

Even I found my tone awkward, but there was no taking it back now.

“Huh?”

Apparently, she hadn’t expected that reaction. Her eyes blinked slowly.

Then her lips, just as dark as her eyes, curled into a wide grin.

“Ah-ha. Right. I should’ve introduced myself first. I’m Na Ye-ri.”

“Na Ye-ri.”

I repeated the name under my breath before falling silent.

‘Na Ye-ri?’

She was another vice-master of the Baekyang Guild.

And—

‘Tro!’

She was a tank who was incredibly reassuring to have on your side.

“Tro” was a class named after Trophonios, the god of the earth.

When the class was first discovered, many people were confused by the obscure term.

But with skills that could manipulate earthquakes, rocks, and the very earth itself, its skill set was so relentlessly specialized that it had eventually become known as one of the toughest classes of all.

I quickly pulled myself together.

This wasn’t the time to stand there dumbfounded.

My hand trembled slightly with excitement as I held it out.

“Um, could I shake your hand?”

Healers tended to like tanks.

Of course, they didn’t like every tank indiscriminately.

They especially liked reliable tanks.

Most people assumed that the safest place in a dungeon was the very back.

But in reality, that wasn’t true.

Even if you followed the path cleared by the frontline members, danger could be lurking everywhere.

There were plenty of monsters that deliberately attacked from behind or focused exclusively on healers.

That’s why healers were naturally drawn to tanks specialized in protecting their allies.

And having personally experienced a tank’s protection before, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of security whenever I was around one.

That was also why the Association had assigned Do Juyeon to me.

When protecting a healer, a tank who acted as the team’s overall shield was often a better choice than a damage dealer who specialized in disabling skills.

We also worked well together.

“My name is Moon Yeonhee.”

We introduced ourselves and chatted briefly.

During that time, Na Ye-ri happily suggested that we speak casually with each other, saying she was glad to have a new female member join after such a long time.

Aside from Do Juyeon, she was the first tank I’d met in a long time.

I became so absorbed in talking to her that I completely forgot Cha Seohae was standing beside me.

“Cough.”

A dry cough interrupted our conversation.

I turned toward Cha Seohae.

“Why are you coughing?”

I turned my body and moved toward him, but Na Ye-ri stopped me.

“What are you doing? Hey, quit fooling around and go up to the 45th floor. We’re talking here, so why are you interrupting us?”

Unlike me, who reacted sharply even to the slightest cough because of my occupational habits, Na Ye-ri simply waved her hand dismissively.

There wasn’t even a trace of sympathy in her cat-like, aloof eyes.

“I’m a little cold….”

But Cha Seohae seemed not to hear her at all.

He stared at me and muttered quietly.

In the end, I walked past Na Ye-ri and approached him.

Cha Seohae happened to be bent over, so I could see his shoulders trembling intermittently.

“What’s wrong with him? He’s never even had a cold—”

“Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

Na Ye-ri had been waving her hand with her thumb pointing downward, openly criticizing him.

But when she saw how serious I was, she made a strange sound in surprise.

“Is it a cold?”

“I don’t know….”

“When did this start?”

“On the way up…?”

Keeping the possibility that he might have the flu or body aches in mind, I asked him several questions.

“You don’t have a fever yet. Let’s go somewhere comfortable for you first. Ye-ri, could you press the button to go upstairs?”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

She looked back and forth between Cha Seohae and me before hurriedly pressing the button.

“What is going on here…?”

I heard Na Ye-ri mutter, but answering that question was less important to me than getting the patient somewhere he could rest.

“Ye-ri, aren’t you coming with us? If Cha Seohae is like this, you might get sick too.”

“Huh? I’m perfectly fine…. No, more importantly, Yeonhee…”

“Then let’s talk again later. It was fun.”

“Huh? Yeah, me too. But him—”

“See you later!”

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, I looked back at Na Ye-ri.

She wasn’t looking at me.

She was staring at Cha Seohae.

‘She talks harshly, but I guess she’s worried about her colleague after all.’

I was touched by their deep camaraderie and nodded.

Just then—

“Yeonhee!”

“…?”

“Be careful!”

Those were her final words before the elevator doors closed completely.

‘Was she worried that I might catch his cold?’

A smile appeared on my face belatedly.

He seems like an even better person than he did on the screen.

 

***

 

“Be careful!”

Na Ye-ri’s desperate cry echoed through the hallway.

“Hah!”

She frowned as though she’d witnessed something she couldn’t bear to look at.

“What the hell is wrong with that bastard?”

The only time she’d ever seen him sick enough to be bedridden was when he’d accidentally been poisoned by a monster in an S-Rank dungeon.

She knew he suffered from insomnia, but he had never once collapsed because of it.

Naturally, he’d never suffered from minor illnesses like colds, body aches, or chills either.

“A cold?”

She let out another incredulous laugh.

Yet the unpleasant feeling still hadn’t gone away.

Na Ye-ri roughly ran a hand through her hair.

“He’s lost his mind just trying to impress the healer.”

She suddenly remembered the expression on his face when he’d looked back at her while being supported by a healer much smaller than himself.

Unlike Moon Yeonhee, who looked genuinely worried, he looked perfectly fine.

He must have kept his head lowered the whole time to hide that expression.

And then—

“‘Get lost’…!”

The short but powerful shape of his mouth forming those words replayed vividly in her mind.

“So that’s why. No wonder he never said a word about the healer. Is he planning to use this as his own little weakness to manipulate her?”

Hunters had a joking saying:

A Hunter who’s starved for healing becomes incredibly cunning whenever they see a healer.

The pleasure provided by physical recovery and the effects of healing skills were supposedly worlds apart.

But such sayings were nothing more than jokes exchanged among Hunters.

Even if a healer’s healing really did feel that incredible, Cha Seohae had always acted as though it had absolutely nothing to do with him.

And yet, now that very Cha Seohae was pretending to be sick just to receive healing.

How was she supposed to interpret this situation?

“I thought it was just a joke back then, but seeing that guy now makes me wonder if it’s actually true.”

Crack.

Almost simultaneously with the ominous words escaping Na Ye-ri’s lips, cracks appeared in the wall beneath her hand.

“I can’t just stand by and watch innocent Yeonhee get taken advantage of.”

She was merely taking one step back for now.

This was their first meeting, after all, while Cha Seohae had already met Yeonhee several times.

As they gradually became closer, Yeonhee would naturally seek her out more often because of the comfortable bond that could exist between two women.

“By the way, why did he suddenly make that face? That bastard always uses force or verbally overwhelms people.”

Na Ye-ri was especially surprised because she’d never seen Cha Seohae act or pretend in front of anyone before.

Had he finally evolved from a dog into someone capable of thinking?

If so, perhaps as his friend, she should congratulate him on becoming human.

Na Ye-ri stared at the fragments of stone falling through her fingers before taking out her phone and calling someone.

“Hey, Childeugi. I’m on the 40th floor where Yeonhee is staying. There’s a hole in the wall here. What? You think I broke it? That’s a misunderstanding. Cha Seohae did it. Yeah. His personality is pretty awful, isn’t it? So let’s have him pay for the repairs himself. You’re okay with that? That’s my Childeugi.”

She wore a triumphant smile.