S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 28

“Did you apologize to Yeon-hee?”

“What?”

Cha Seohae reflexively asked back at the incomprehensible question, but soon averted his gaze.

He had realized what Na Ye-ri was asking.

Seeing that, Na Ye-ri clicked her tongue as if she had known this would happen.

“See? See? I had a feeling you hadn’t.”

“……”

“You kidnapped someone out of nowhere and didn’t even apologize?”

Na Ye-ri’s sarcastic remarks were nothing new, but for some reason, they irritated him more than usual today.

It was probably because he felt guilty.

It wasn’t as though Cha Seohae had never thought about it.

Now that Moon Yeon-hee had decided to become a member of the Baekyang Guild, he had always intended to apologize for what had happened that day someday.

However, searching for the traitor within the alliance and training had come one after another, causing him to keep putting it off.

Besides, it had been a long time since he had apologized to anyone, so the thought of doing so felt awkward.

Now that Na Ye-ri had suddenly forced him to face something he had been avoiding for various reasons, he had nothing to say.

Unable to even come up with an excuse, he pressed a hand to his forehead, and Na Ye-ri continued.

“You should apologize properly. You’re going to keep seeing each other from now on. And she’s an S-rank healer, too. Aren’t we the ones who should be scrambling to stay on her good side?”

“I know.”

“If you know, then go give her a heartfelt gift. And, huh? Maybe even use that weird charm of yours that you’re so good at. Huh? Once it becomes public knowledge that Yeon-hee is an S-rank, other guilds are definitely going to want her, too. You’re way too complacent. How do you know Yeon-hee will choose us again?”

“……”

“For all we know, she’s only staying with us because she needs to hide from the Association right now and we were the first ones to approach her.”

She was right.

Rather than argue, Cha Seohae calmly waited for her to continue.

“And you haven’t even registered Yeon-hee’s profile in the guild roster yet, have you? Han Seong-woo and I both know about it. What are you going to do if Yeon-hee finds out, feels betrayed, and leaves?”

“I was already worrying about that until Childeugi came. So be quiet. You’re making my head hurt even more.”

Cha Seohae waved his hand irritably.

He had already been thinking about matters concerning Moon Yeon-hee the entire time before Childeugi arrived.

Severing her relationship with the Association completely.

She had neither officially resigned nor been expelled, so she still couldn’t be formally registered with the guild.

‘If she gets double-registered without properly leaving the Association, they’ll probably take the matter to court.’

After people with supernatural abilities began appearing, the government quickly established various laws alongside the creation of the Association.

The first among them was the Ability User Management Act, created to protect civilians.

Also known as the ‘Hunter Management Act,’ it established strict standards of punishment for disputes and crimes involving ability users.

Before the law was enacted, civilians were frequently caught in the crossfire, so people generally viewed the law positively.

Because of that, if Moon Yeon-hee’s case were taken to court, the guild would inevitably be at a disadvantage in the court of public opinion.

For a guild to survive, it needed to pay close attention to attracting new hunters. There was nothing to gain from damaging the guild’s reputation.

‘It’s so obvious that the Association probably assumes we won’t officially recruit her. That’s why they sent two S-ranks to forcibly take her.’

With the situation so complicated, even if Na Ye-ri pressed him, it would be difficult to register Moon Yeon-hee immediately.

‘Then at least I can apologize….’

First, he felt like he needed to get somewhere without Na Ye-ri.

He hurried toward the exit, wanting to find somewhere quiet where he could clear his head.

Of course, Na Ye-ri wasn’t about to let him leave peacefully.

“Oh, come on! What kind of attitude is that toward someone giving you important information? Hey! Where are you going again? You’re not just going to walk away without listening to me, are you?”

When Na Ye-ri shouted at the top of her lungs, Cha Seohae turned around and headed back toward the table.

“You called?”

“Come in.”

Na Ye-ri pressed the call button installed beneath the table, and Childeugi, who had been waiting outside, entered.

“Take care of her.”

“…Pardon?”

“Hey! Do I look like some street peddler to you? What do you mean, ‘take care of me’?! Where are you going right now?! To apologize?”

“To think.”

“If you’re thinking about buying a gift, make sure you buy her a doll, too! Yeon-hee said she wants a doll!”

Na Ye-ri shouted urgently.

“Vice Master! Please calm down, calm down…!”

“A dooool!”

“Vi—ugh!”

Childeugi hurriedly tried to calm her down, but Na Ye-ri refused to give up.

“Oh, right! I also came to tell you who’s behind the CCTV! Yeon-hee says it’s Woo Chan-hyeok! He’s from the Association’s Third Uni—!”

“Khk!”

Cha Seohae shut the door with a bang, and only then did the surroundings finally fall silent.

Having practically fled from his own office, Cha Seohae let out a short sigh.

“She wants a doll?”

Thinking that she really did seem to like things that suited her, Cha Seohae headed toward the parking lot.

 

***

 

Anyone still alive who mentioned Cha Seohae going to the ice cream shop last time?

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If you are, say something.

Recommended: 12 Opposed: 44

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[Comments]

Anonymous1: Me.

└ OP: Bullshit.

└ Anonymous1: How are you supposed to find me on an anonymous forum in the first place?

└ OP: Then give me proof.

└ Anonymous1: I’m here.

└ OP: You obviously aren’t, asshole.

Anonymous2: Me lol. I haven’t deleted the post yet, so if I give you my post history, I can prove it.

└ Anonymous3: Scared?

└ OP: Send me your post history.

└ Anonymous2: [Deleted]

└ OP: Yeah, checked it.

└ OP: Looks like she really is his girlfriend. I saw him at a department store today, buying something at a store women usually go to.

└ Anonymous2: Holy shit. Even when I posted it, I honestly thought they might be siblings.

└ OP: But still… the photos are a little dangerous, so….

└ Anonymous2: What was he buying?

└ OP: I saw a doll, but I couldn’t tell which one he picked because I was too far away. He was already carrying a lot in both hands, though.

└ Anonymous2: This is crazy; he’s buying a doll for his girlfriend.

└ Anonymous4: Isn’t this the same guy who violated someone’s privacy before? Reporting him again. Later.

└ Anonymous2: Why only me.

[Reported comment]

Anonymous5: But apparently that woman is actually a person.

└ OP: Huh? For real?

└ Anonymous5: Yeah. That’s why there have been tons of sightings lately of two members of the First Team hanging around the Baekyang Guild.

└ Anonymous6: If she’s a Association person, then Cha Ju-yeon ?

└ Anonymous5: Nope. You know Moon Yeon-hee , the one who was already there? The ridiculously pretty girl.

└ OP: Is she transferring? The Association actually let the healer go…? Then is that a welcome gift? Cha Seo-hae  is more of a romantic than I thought.

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[Next Post] Looking for lunch recommendations

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[Previous Post] What’s the Association up to these days?

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There was a mysterious mountain at the entrance of the building.

Someone was busily moving around in front of it.

Unable to suppress my curiosity as I watched from a distance, I approached the doorway.

“What are you doing?”

Once I got closer, I realized that the things that had looked like a mountain were actually all CCTV cameras.

I wondered if they had bought a bunch of CCTV cameras, but they looked obviously old, so I tilted my head.

The guild member inspecting the devices noticed me and answered.

“Ah! Master told us to inspect all the CCTV cameras from the subway station to around headquarters.”

“What?”

If what he said was true, then all these CCTV cameras had originally been installed around this area.

The Red-Eye skill that had been placed on the cameras had apparently all been removed, because I couldn’t feel that unpleasant gaze anymore.

She continued handling the machines without pause.

“Master told us to collect anything that was old or had become weakened after being exposed to abilities for too long. Even if we repair and reinstall them, they’ll just be vulnerable to Red-Eye again.”

“Ah….”

After hearing the additional explanation, I unconsciously exclaimed in admiration and crouched down in front of the mountain of CCTV cameras.

Na Ye-ri must have reported it as early as yesterday afternoon, yet it had already been dealt with the very next day.

I found their speed of handling things strangely unfamiliar.

‘Thank you.’

I had included a clause in my contract asking them to prioritize my safety above everything else, but when I had been with the Association, my safety had always been an afterthought. Because of that, things like this still felt strange to me.

After examining the rattling CCTV cameras for a while, I stood up.

“Good work.”

I exchanged a brief greeting with the guild member.

‘Divine Grace.’

I secretly cast a heal on the woman, whom I assumed belonged to the Engineer class.

It had been a long time since I had used a radial heal. Back when I was B-rank, my healing was so weak that I rarely used it.

That memory had stuck with me, so I hadn’t used it even until recently. Then Han Seong-woo, who was skilled at controlling long-range skills, helped me train.

Thanks to his help, my radial healing had become much stronger.

The hunter who received the heal stopped moving in surprise and blinked.

Before her gaze could turn toward me, I hurried away and got into the elevator.

I pressed the button for the 44th floor and muttered,

“I wonder if Cha Seohae is there right now.”

The guild member had only said that they had collected the nearby CCTV cameras. She hadn’t mentioned anything about identifying who was responsible.

Normally, when something like this happened, people would be desperate to find the culprit. The fact that she hadn’t mentioned it meant they already knew who it was.

There were plenty of ways for Cha Seohae to find out who the culprit was.

Na Ye-ri, who had been with me, knew the name, and so did Childeugi, who had received her orders.

Perhaps someone in Baekyang knew Woo Chan-hyeok as well.

But I wanted to pretend I didn’t know any of that and ask Cha Seohae how he had figured out who was responsible.

I was curious what kind of expression he would make and how he would react when he heard the question.

Even if that made me a little mean-spirited.

I got off on the 44th floor and opened the office door.

Cha Seohae glared at the door, which had been flung open, but his eyes widened when he saw me.

It was rare for him to be surprised by my presence. I hadn’t even mentioned the CCTV incident yet, so I tilted my head, wondering why he was reacting like that.

‘That definitely isn’t the face of someone happy to see me.’

Cha Seohae quickly erased the expression of bewilderment from his face and cleared his throat.

“What brings you here?”

When I approached him, he startled and hurriedly hid something behind his desk.

Apparently, he didn’t realize that the more he tried to hide something, the more curious I became.

“What is it?”

“What is what?”

“You just hid something.”

Unlike his usual self, Cha Seohae looked flustered, his lips slightly parted.

I expected him to say something, but no sound came out.

That only made me more curious.

“Whose is it?”

After asking, I wondered if he was going to give me some random name.

In the meantime, he ran his tongue over his dry lips before answering.

“…Yours.”

“Don’t lie—. Mine?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t someone I didn’t know.

That didn’t mean all my questions had been answered.

‘Why?’

I looked at the shopping bag he was lifting.

Once my curiosity subsided, an inexplicable sense of tension crept over me.

Then a certain possibility suddenly occurred to me.

‘No wonder I thought he was protecting me too much compared to how often I heal them. Could he be trying to ease his sense of obligation by giving me things?’