S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 7

So, when he says he’s going to hug me… he means right now?

A chill ran down my spine at the image that immediately came to mind.

“I need to make a good impression since you might become our guild’s healer.”

He said it as if it were nothing, which was rather shameless. And he didn’t stop joking around, either. Cha Seohae began moving closer and closer.

Even during the two years I spent with the main team, I’d never had that kind of physical contact with any of them.

The closest thing would be when I was knocked unconscious by a surprise attack during a mission and someone carried me on their back once.

But I was unconscious then.

Other than that, the most physical contact we’d ever had was simply placing a hand over an injured area.

But with a guy I had just met?

“Hey, hey, hey!”

I saw him bend his upper body toward me. I desperately waved my arms around to stop him.

I was so flustered that, for a moment, I couldn’t even remember his name.

At the sound of my raised voice, his expression twisted into a frown.

But only for a moment.

He relaxed his expression as if trying to hide his reaction, then looked down at me, seemingly checking my response.

“Just kidding.”

A faint laugh escaped between his lips as he spoke lightly.

“Once was enough for carrying someone who isn’t even a guild member.”

“……”

“Shall we go sign the contract now?”

He said it calmly before turning and walking back toward the door.

As his figure moved, a faint breeze stirred.

That snapped me back to reality, and I hurriedly slipped my feet into my slippers.

…But what does he mean by ‘once was enough’?

That sounded like he had done it before.

But I didn’t remember it…?

It was my own business, yet I had no memory of it while someone else did.

Nothing could make a person more uneasy than that.

I left the room. A sign marked [405] was attached to the door.

Apparently this was the Baekyang Guild building, because the “BY” logo was embossed at the end of the sign.

“Oh?”

And there was also the man named Childuk, who had been kicked out earlier.

What am I supposed to call him?

I’d heard his name indirectly, so should I call him Mr. Childuk? But we hadn’t formally introduced ourselves.

Then maybe… Driver?

I forgot about following Cha Seohae and instead stared at Childuk, wondering what I should call him.

Perhaps noticing my hesitation, the man who had been adjusting his sunglasses approached me.

“Everything all right?”

“Huh?”

“It sounded like you shouted at the end.”

“Oh, yes. Nothing happened. We had a little disagreement while discussing the contract…”

I let my answer trail off vaguely.

It wasn’t something I needed to bring up as casual conversation.

Besides, judging from the fact that he was always with Cha Seohae, I would probably be seeing him often.

He let out a deep breath, as though genuinely relieved.

The way he reacted made it seem as though he had been more worried about me than his own superior.

“He has sensitive hearing, so I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

“Sensitive hearing?”

The moment he said that, I remembered Cha Seohae’s awakening ability.

Is it because he’s a Shooter and fires guns so often?

I recalled the intense races I had participated in.

Gunshots were definitely loud.

“Is it really okay for you to tell me something like that…?”

I asked hesitantly.

Anything related to Cha Seo-hae would probably be classified as top-secret information.

Was this guy a little too loose-lipped?

“Ah, please don’t get the wrong idea. I heard that you were going to become Baekyang’s healer.”

He was making a fairly desperate attempt to protect himself.

“My name is Childuk. I’m the Master’s driver. Just call me Childuk.”

“I’m Moon Yeonhee. You can call me Yeonhee, too. But is that your real name?”

“It’s my stage name, but I use it more often than my real name.”

A stage name that he used more often than his real name.

That meant he probably had quite a lot of work to do for the guild.

Understanding the hidden meaning behind his words, I let out a short sigh.

It reminded me of how I had been worked to the bone by the Association, and I felt a strange sense of solidarity with him.

Still, judging from the lack of worry on his face, it seemed he was treated fairly well.

Please let that be true. It might be my future, too.

Come to think of it, can he actually see properly with those sunglasses on?

It was strange that he wore them not only while driving, but even inside the building.

It seemed like part of his image.

I considered asking, but decided against it in case it was rude.

“Hey. Aren’t you coming?”

A sharp voice came from the end of the hallway.

Cha Seo-hae was waiting for the elevator with an impatient posture.

He was slowly rubbing the outer edge of his ear.

If Childuk hadn’t told me about his sensitive hearing, I would have thought nothing of the gesture.

But seeing him now, I couldn’t help wondering whether he had hidden his expression earlier because of the pain.

“By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen someone who isn’t intimidated by the Master.”

“Intimidated?”

Cha Seohae certainly had a strong presence.

But it wasn’t threatening like murderous intent.

And considering everything he had done so far, half of it seemed to be teasing.

He didn’t seem particularly serious, either.

“I’m a healer…?”

Even I wasn’t completely sure, so my voice trailed off.

“You didn’t even flinch when you saw his face!”

Ah.

So that was the point.

Perhaps he had been saving those words for the end, because the corners of his mouth were lifted high.

He looked like someone who had just been given a glass of soda after choking down a completely blocked sweet potato.

“I’m really looking forward to it!”

Looking forward to what?

For some reason, it felt like some important words were missing from that sentence.

I frowned at his vague statement.

As I thought. This guy must have been dying to tell me this in the car.

Apparently, he hadn’t been able to say it because he was afraid of Cha Seohae.

“Are you going to make me say it twice?”

“I’m coming.”

Perhaps annoyed by our delay, Cha Seohae called us again.

Childuk answered casually, as though he was accustomed to that voice.

He said he was amazed that I wasn’t intimidated by him. But isn’t this guy even less intimidated than I am…?

When I approached, I noticed that Cha Seohae’s ear was bright red, probably from how much he had been rubbing it.

He didn’t say it was because of me, but for some reason, it bothered me.

“Why are you frowning at an innocent person?”

“Me?”

I awkwardly rubbed my forehead at the realization that I hadn’t even noticed my own expression.

“You can see this?”

“I can see that much from here.”

The more I talked to him, the more I noticed Cha Seohae’s condition.

It wasn’t just his complexion. His voice was subdued as well.

This much can’t be because of me.

Perhaps it was because of the location.

Now that he had arrived somewhere safe enough to let his guard down, his tension was probably fading.

I hadn’t noticed it in the car, but under the lights, his pale complexion stood out even more.

Dark circles hung heavily beneath his eyes, and the light in his eyes was half gone, as if he had reached his limit and was barely keeping himself awake.

If he were an ordinary person, I probably wouldn’t have had anything nice to say about his appearance.

But Cha Seohae somehow managed to look attractive even while utterly exhausted.

He had an oddly worn-out, decadent atmosphere that suited him perfectly.

Maybe it was the suit jacket hanging over his arm, or his position as Master.

He looked like a villain straight out of a noir movie.

This isn’t the time to be thinking about things like that.

Feeling embarrassed, I lightly bit my tongue.

He was dangerous in so many ways.

“Are you sleepy?”

No answer came from him.

“I’m asking you. Are you sleepy?”

“Are you planning to go up quietly?”

“I’ll shut up after you answer this.”

“I have enough energy to sign a contract with you.”

So he was sleepy.

After assessing his condition, I opened the system window.

[Name: Moon Yeonhee]
Awakening: Pope
Class: Healer
Rank: S
Skills: God’s Grace / God’s Protection / God’s Blessing
Trait: S-Rank Privilege Activated (Additional buffs applied to each skill)

[There is an unread description.]

[Some skills are locked.]

[Skill Unlock Condition]
▶ An Unbreakable Will

This was my second time seeing it, but the unlock condition seemed profound every time I looked at it.

My desire not to go back to the Association has never changed.

No.

Maybe when I was shocked after seeing Do Joo-yeon, that counts as wavering?

I didn’t understand it, but my questions ended there.

There were plenty of other things I had been steadfastly wishing for.

I want revenge on the main team.

Make sure the main team gets the back of their heads crushed even if they trip and fall.

I want to be rich.

Let rumors spread about the Association President’s terrible personality!

I ran through my selfish desires one after another, but nothing changed.

Even after going this far, no additional explanation appeared.

I guess something else will be added as I go along.

I was curious about what skill would be unlocked, but I wasn’t in a hurry.

Right now, I was too busy adjusting to the fact that I was an S-Rank Awakener.

My skills were fairly close to those of a standard healer, so they were largely divided into healing and buffs.

The first one I checked was God’s Grace.

It could heal myself or others, from internal injuries to external wounds, without any restrictions.

In simple terms, it was a healing skill.

It was fair to call it a healer’s primary ability.

Looking at its performance, the healing amount per second had increased, probably because my rank had gone up.

It could even break through status-effect debuffs inflicted by dungeons or monsters.

The effect was definitely on another level compared to when I was B-Rank.

I skimmed through the sections that merely repeated information I already knew.

Since I’ve already opened it, maybe I should turn off those annoying notification windows, too.

I had already read the skill description.

So I checked the “unread description” that had been floating there since earlier.

[S-Rank Privilege: ‘God’s Grace’ — Regulation of the recipient’s biological rhythm]

I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but the system window remained unchanged.

Regulation of biological rhythm?

I already knew that reaching S-Rank granted something called a Privilege.

But this almost sounds like it’s telling me to heal Cha Seohae right now.

And I had made that decision of my own free will!

I began to feel suspicious of the situation simply because everything seemed to be working in my favor.

It was almost as if I was starting to rebel against it.

Could it be…

Once I become S-Rank, can the system actually control me?