Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Healer Visits
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Just in case I'm mentioning it, but that person doesn't know how to use a hot pack, right? Nah, no way.
"Then I'll swing by my friend's place."
"Oh, noona. I happened to overhear your call earlier... When do you think you'll be heading home?"
"I'll check on my friend and head back right away."
Thinking of Han Se-young waiting endlessly for me made my brows furrow naturally.
I was worried she might've gotten even more worked up after hearing out of nowhere that I'd been threatened by robbers who'd taken over the mart.
"I hope you wrap up your business smoothly too, Yeon-woo."
"Pardon?"
"You said you were out running errands."
"Ah... yeah."
Ju Yeon-woo nodded as if it had just occurred to him, the corners of his eyes curving gently.
"Right. My errands."
His gaze turned toward my face.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thankfully, Han Se-young's condition had improved since before.
She'd come rushing over the moment I arrived, clearly having worried a lot, but upon closer inspection, her fever had gone down, and her breathing was easier than earlier.
Han Se-young was the type who got hit hard by illnesses but recovered quickly.
"I'll swap out your fever patch for a fresh one before I go."
"Cough, cough. More importantly, your wound! You need to treat that cut! I'm sorry. Because I wanted jelly..."
"You didn't invite the robbers or anything. It's fine. Here, eat your jelly and get better quick."
"Thanks. Huh? The bag's open?"
"...I spilled some while running away."
"Really? Even through all that chaos because of me..."
Han Se-young sniffled, moved to tears.
"Here, take this hot pack too—use it later. Hyun-woo said he's coming over for dinner, so I'll text him now to pick up some porridge. Rice porridge okay?"
"Yeah. But you're heading to the store already? There's a first-aid kit here—treat your wound before you go. You never do it properly on your own."
"It's fine. I can do it at home."
"The heating probably still isn't great there. You can give me the hot pack and go?"
"What are you—"
I started to ask what she meant by the heating not working when it hit me late.
Come to think of it, Han Se-young thought I was still crashing at the store, which wasn't fully sorted out yet.
"...It's fine. The heating's just not fully set up yet, but it works okay."
"Really? Good."
Her relieved smile pricked my conscience a bit, but I couldn't tell her the truth, so I just nodded.
By the time I got back to the officetel, it was nearly 4 p.m.
With the unexpected sick day and tomorrow being a holiday, I figured I'd crash hard.
Full of bravado, I flung open the door intending to head straight to my room and sleep the day away—only to find a stranger in the entryway.
"Ah."
"Ack..."
It was a woman with shoulder-length brown hair.
She looked about Ju Yeon-woo's age. I quickly backpedaled and tried to shut the door, but she rushed over in a fluster and wedged her foot in the gap.
"Nooo!!"
"Hey? Pull your foot out first."
"No way! You're misunderstanding right now, aren't you?! That's it, right?! If you do, I'll just get chewed out by... Ju Yeon-woo later! We're not a thing! I'm just a client! I only came to heal because someone was hurt!!"
I was thrown off by her desperate excuses for a moment, but then it dawned on me that she might be the healer who'd treated my leg last time.
"Are you the healer by any chance?"
"Yes! You won't run now, right?!"
"Why would I run? I just thought it was some lover's quarrel and figured I'd bow out."
Now that I knew she was a healer, I was suddenly interested despite myself. It was my first time seeing one here, so I eyed her curiously.
As we stalled in the entryway, two other people approached.
One was the apartment owner, Ju Yeon-woo, and the other was Ha Do-kyung from last time.
"What's this, you two? Not coming in? What's going on out there?"
"Ah, heading in now."
I exchanged casual greetings and stepped inside. The woman hurried after me and plopped me down on the living room sofa.
"I'll heal you. Your cheek, right?"
"Uh? Yeah, it is... but just for this?"
"Yes, that's why I came."
"Wait, did Ju Yeon-woo call you?"
"I'm an esper with strong professional ethics! I can't just leave an injured person alone!"
Ha Do-kyung pressed his forehead with a sigh at her soldier-stiff response. When his name came up, Ju Yeon-woo spoke.
"Yes, I asked for her help. I figured a facial injury might be inconvenient when dealing with customers at the cafe."
"J-Jon... heop."
"Ah, thank you for your consideration. And thank you too, miss healer, for coming all this way to help."
Before I could finish, the healer whipped her gaze downward and clapped both hands over my mouth.
When I mumbled what was wrong, she shook her head, claiming sudden hiccups.
It was just a shallow cut, so the healing wrapped up quickly.
Unlike Amelia's abilities, this healing didn't require contact—she just held her hand near my cheek.
A warm energy and faint light emanated from her hand, so I stared in fascination.
The moment healing finished, the fidgety healer prompted Ha Do-kyung to speak first.
Aside from chatting casually with his close friend Ju Yeon-woo, he rarely swore and was good at steering conversations.
Unlike the three who seemed to know each other, with me in the mix, the topic naturally shifted to today's events. The healer broached it cautiously.
"Speaking of which, it was surprising. That... Yeon Woo-jin got involved in the robbery incident."
"Oh, right. He usually doesn't handle stuff like that. Honestly, I was more shocked when the ceiling suddenly vanished than by the robbers."
As I chimed in, Ha Do-kyung grinned and asked,
"You a Yeon Woo-jin fan by any chance? You seem to know he doesn't usually touch cases like that."
"Well, he's famous."
"Famous or not, you don't seem to know much about other espers. Not into espers, huh?"
"Pretty much..."
He wasn't wrong. Being an awakener myself, I was interested in awakeners in general, but I didn't look up who was famous or what they were like.
The few I knew by name were mostly ones Han Se-young had mentioned, usually those with beef at the Center.
Yeon Woo-jin was the exception. I knew about that jerk firsthand, no need for Han Se-young to tell me.
But no need to air that, so I answered calmly.
"Yeon Woo-jin is exceptionally famous."
"Ah, true."
"And while the incident's resolved outcome-wise, I'm a bit worried about the mart's survival too. The robbers trashed the inside, but in the end, the outer wall got blown out worse. Since it's a villain-caused incident, the country'll probably compensate. But honestly, shouldn't they double the payout, country or not? What about the mental trauma? No, but that bastard has multiple abilities—why smash more? Fuck."
So much for calm—my rage gradient went full blast.
As I'd said before, Yeon Woo-jin was a trigger for me. Less genuine worry for the mart, more overlap with my past ordeal.
"...Hic."
The healer hiccuped again, and Ha Do-kyung stared at me in shock.
Praise was one thing, but cursing in front of strangers? Especially espers.
I'd heard he had tons of esper fans, and thinking back, the healer had called him "Yeon Woo-jin-nim," so she might be one too.
Shit, I thought, about to apologize—when Ju Yeon-woo spoke.
"You're right. No consideration for mental trauma—really inconsiderate."
"Right?"
His agreement had me excitedly responding before I knew it.
Not the healthiest, but people bond more over shared gripes than praise.
"Don't worry, noona. They'll definitely double the compensation."
"You think?"
"Yeah, since this was something they could've minimized the damage on."
"Ah... right. Sorry for the sudden rant. You all seemed startled."
"No, you're right—he seems like a real bastard."
"Yeon-woo..."
"Above all, it's a relief you weren't badly hurt, noona."
His angelic smile as he said it melted me.
'He's chiming in so I don't feel awkward.'
I gazed up at Ju Yeon-woo with moved eyes. Ha Do-kyung and the healer stared at us like they'd lost their souls.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The two left just before 6 p.m.
I'd figured they'd stay for dinner and was about to give them space when Ha Do-kyung suddenly remembered some errand and stood up.
As he prepared to leave, the healer got up too. She'd been packing hastily like she'd been waiting, then glanced at me with an "oh right" face and introduced herself.
"Ah, right. I'm Song Hwa-yeon. Nice to meet you properly!"
She apologized for the sudden visit and thrust a bottle of yangju into my hands.
"It's my favorite. If you like sweet stuff, it'll suit your taste."
Healer Song Hwa-yeon chattered proudly.
The sturdy, heavy glass bottle had intricate patterns etched into it, label and all.
Afraid I'd drop the obviously expensive liquor by mistake, I held it with both hands and faced her.
'...Why give this to the tenant instead of the owner?'
The question flickered briefly as I smiled.
"I'm Kim Yu-jeong. Call me by name. And thanks again for healing me twice now."