Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Back in the Hospital
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National Awakener Hospital.
That's right. I'd been admitted here again.
Of course, the difference from the previous two times was that this time, I hadn't passed out and had arrived fully conscious.
"No, I don't need to be admitted! A burn on my palm can just be treated with Cheong-su's potion..."
"That's only an emergency measure, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Kang Han turned around with a sharp swish as he pulled back the curtain in the hospital room.
"And potions have serious side effects, don't they?"
"Side effects? Oh, you mean the pain? That's just something you endure for a bit."
"Weren't you planning not to use those potions on your guildmates because of that wound? And you call it just something to endure for a bit?"
"..."
His straight pitch after so long left me speechless.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, averted my gaze, and reached for the tangerines Jang Su-ho had bought earlier.
"Ah, my mouth feels dry. Guess I should have a tangerine..."
"Unnie, your hand's injured."
Lee Yu-eul swiftly snatched the tangerine away.
"I'll peel it for you."
"Uh, sure. Thanks."
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were Kang Han's sigh and the peeling of tangerine skin by Lee Yu-eul.
"Just peel it roughly. I'm not a kid. Why are you removing every last bit of that white stringy stuff?"
"Might as well make it look nice since you're eating it."
I watched her impatiently as she used her nails to meticulously remove each segment of pith.
Then, she suddenly held out a tangerine with just one strand left and asked,
"Want to deliver the finishing blow?"
"Pfft!"
"Khk!"
Laughter erupted from all around.
Trembling with betrayal, I shouted,
"You, you! Lee Yu-eul! Is this how I raised you?!"
"Khahaha! Ah, unnie, sorry! I couldn't hold it in—khaha!"
Now Lee Yu-eul was clutching her stomach, tears streaming as she laughed.
The other guildmates were roaring with laughter too.
Han Ji-seong covered his face, shoulders shaking, while Lee Yu-chan gripped the wall behind his back, chuckling away.
Jang Su-ho at least tried to hold it in by staring at the distant ceiling, but his twitching lips only annoyed me more.
I'd believed at least Kang Han wouldn't laugh with these ruffians.
"Haha!"
But there he was, rarely flashing his full white teeth in booming laughter.
"Sigh, fine. Laugh it up, laugh."
I snatched the tangerine from Lee Yu-eul's hand—on the verge of bursting—and chewed it up thoroughly before swallowing.
Suddenly feeling wronged, I cried out,
"Hey, did I know that necklace would reflect attacks like that?!"
"Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Kang Han asked in a voice still laced with amusement,
"That necklace—was it from the craftsman who makes items for our guild every time?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Ha, looks like there's another traitor."
Bad Jeong Je-hwa.
Devious maestro.
How slyly had he hidden it that even my EX-rank info skill couldn't detect the '5x reflection' effect?
S-rank craftsman or not, that kind of ability was downright unfair.
"Don't hate him too much."
Kang Han patted my shoulder consolingly.
"Whoever he is, that craftsman seems to care about you a lot, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"If he really cared, he'd have told me all the effects from the start."
I grumbled, still pursing my lips like a duck.
But Kang Han shook his head.
"I think it's because he knows your personality well."
"What's wrong with my personality?"
"The type that doesn't know how to take care of herself."
Hey, when did I ever?
"He was probably worried you'd throw yourself into danger for someone else if you knew all the effects. I get that feeling."
"Right, right."
"Better off not knowing."
Even the other guildmates nodded in agreement.
"Aigoo, no one on my side. Not a single one."
I waved them off dismissively.
All siding with Jeong Je-hwa.
Pouting a bit, I felt Kang Han slip a perfectly peeled tangerine—one just like Lee Yu-eul had done—into my uninjured hand.
"If the chance comes up, I'd like to meet that craftsman sometime."
"Mm. I'll ask."
But I knew the answer would be no.
That reclusive guy meeting a new person—a hunter, no less?
As I thought that and ate the tangerine,
Knock knock.
The door opened with the knock.
And in walked the one person I hoped was off duty today.
"You're back again, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"It's been a while, though, Director Seo Yu-baek."
"I'd prefer it even longer."
"That's harsh between friends."
I spoke leisurely, but sweat beaded down my back.
This doctor was subtly terrifying.
Seo Yu-baek scanned me from head to toe as I sat propped against the bed, then addressed the others.
"I need to treat her, so everyone else, please leave."
"No, it's fine if you all stay..."
Don't leave me alone!
"Please leave."
Under the doctor's absolute command in the hospital, the guildmates filed out like linked dried fish.
"Hey, I'm not even undressing, so why just the two of us..."
"You okay getting scolded in front of others?"
His smile through the glasses was downright scary.
I desperately defended myself.
"I'm really innocent this time! I was super careful the whole dungeon raid. But the necklace—no, the workshop president!"
"I watched the broadcast, so I know what happened."
"Then why are you scolding me..."
"A friend getting hurt makes me mad, no matter the situation."
With that, Seo Yu-baek strode over and rolled up the hem of my patient pants.
It was the spot where the hand rising from the ground had burned me.
"The wound potion works well, at least."
"Right? It's all healed! Honestly, I was braced for a scar."
"But it hurt."
Seo Yu-baek echoed Kang Han.
Scratching my cheek sheepishly, I said,
"Well, yeah, a bit. But good medicine tastes bitter, right? Think of it that way."
"That potion—is it the one made by your guild's hunter Im Cheong-su?"
"Yes. Why? For the hospital?"
My butt clenched in excitement at his question.
A supply contract with the Awakener Hospital? Huge opportunity.
Im Cheong-su would work hard, but steady massive income!
But Seo Yu-baek shook his head.
"We can't use something with that much pain at the hospital."
"Then why...?"
"Improve just that part, and it'd be revolutionary."
"Ah!"
Of course.
The Awakener Hospital was where dungeon-injured hunters were rushed in.
Patients who would be critical in any regular hospital.
If they could treat them without straining already scarce healers, they could save more hunters.
Now, and in the approaching apocalyptic future.
"Great idea! Soon as I get discharged, I'll connect you with Cheong-su—ow!"
A spark flashed in my head, furiously spinning with plans.
Seo Yu-baek had flicked my forehead with his long white finger.
"Hey, can a doctor use violence like that? And why?!"
"I'll heal it anyway. And Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"What?!"
"Take better care of yourself than others."
Seo Yu-baek sat on the edge of the bed and sighed softly.
"I was on edge the whole broadcast. You're too defenseless in dungeons, you know?"
"Me?"
His deeper sigh at my baffled reaction.
"Make time to watch other guilds' raid streams carefully. Justice Guild has a duty to protect its healers more."
...Even more than now?
I tilted my head, recalling Lee Yu-eul stripping the tangerine bare and Kang Han.
"Get proper defensive gear for yourself before new weapons for your attackers. Head to toe."
He pointed from my head to my feet with his finger.
"This is advice from a senior healer, not just a doctor."
"Mm. I've been thinking about that too."
I'd felt it bone-deep conquering a regular gate—far more draining and dangerous than guerrilla gates.
How my flimsy stamina and physical abilities, like a body of water, could hold back Justice Guild.
"Good, then. Let me check that injured hand?"
After his lecture, Seo Yu-baek leaned in closer.
"Here. But it's not that bad."
"I'll be the judge of that, as the doctor."
He carefully unwrapped the bandage and examined my wound.
"I'll treat it."
With those words, a warm sensation spread from our clasped hands.
S-rank healer's effects were indeed impressive.
Unlike me, who panted as my stamina drained with every heal, Seo Yu-baek cast two S-rank skills back-to-back and still looked handsome and fresh.
"Figured you'd be tired, so I restored your stamina too."
"Ah, yes. Thanks, sir."
"Was gonna top up your mana, but no need."
"...Pardon?"
The hand still held by Seo Yu-baek twitched involuntarily.
At my reaction, he gave a wry smile.
"My hunch was right. With me, Nayeo-ju-ssi—for awakeners, I have a skill that lets me instantly see injury status, location, stamina, mana, and such."
"Ah."
"But every time you come to the hospital, your mana is always full? It was weird. How does a healer keep her mana perpetually topped up?"
His pale eyes fixed on me.
"Your skill, Nayeo-ju-ssi—it activates by consuming stamina instead of mana, right?"
