Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: I Love You (5)
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"Little sis, I love you. Fighting today too!"
"..."
Her brother was sending her off with his usual "I love you" this morning too.
Jeong Yu-rim's lips twitched for a moment, but she slipped out of the house without responding to his greeting.
By sheer luck, the elevator was stopped on the floor right above theirs.
- Going down.
She hopped into the elevator that had just arrived, punched the button for the basement level 1, and let out a short breath once the doors closed.
"Is he really going crazy...?"
The first time he'd said "I love you," he'd at least shown a hint of embarrassment. But now, just a few days later, her brother whispered it so naturally.
Seeing this, there was no denying that something was off about him. What brother in the world professed his love to his little sister in such a cringe-worthy way?
To spout out expressions of affection so effortlessly—even ones most people hesitated to say to their own parents—to his own flesh-and-blood sister. It was clear he was broken somewhere.
"Haa..."
The problem wasn't just that her brother had gone weird.
I was weirding out too, just from hearing him say "I love you."
The first time, chills had run down her spine. Now, it brought a happy, comfortable feeling.
If she faced her brother and didn't hear those words, she felt oddly disappointed and empty.
"I must really be going crazy..."
A deep wave of regret crashed over her.
Humans fundamentally craved affection from others, and sure, she might have a slight affection deficit herself.
But to sink so low as to crave it from her own brother? Even she found herself pathetic.
"Maybe I need counseling..."
Jeong Yu-rim thought that perhaps the one who needed to see a doctor wasn't her brother—it was her.
"Ah, Hunter, good morning."
"Yes, good morning to you too."
Jeong Yu-rim, chomping on gum she'd grabbed from the car on her way to work, swallowed it in a gulp when someone recognized her. She flashed a bright smile and greeted them back.
At home, she lounged around scratching her belly without a care, but outside, she put effort into managing her image, always mindful of her actions.
The one place at the Hunter Association where she could relax a bit was the office assigned to the on-duty healer.
"Hoo..."
After forcing smiles at dozens of people she'd passed in that short time, she shut the door, dropped the grin, and flopped into her chair the moment she was alone.
Unless a hunter came in injured by a monster, her job was basically nothing.
Today, like always, she'd play salary thief until quitting time rolled around.
For Jeong Yu-rim, whose top priority during duty was killing time as best she could, today's ritual began with firing up a video site, same as ever.
Watch four or five hour-long videos, and quitting time would arrive.
"Hmm, anything fun?"
She scrolled through recommendations for time-wasters and froze.
[Story of a Little Sister Who Likes Her Brother]
[Is it bad to be too close with my brother?]
[My brother likes me]
"..."
She'd searched a bit for related content after her brother started saying "I love you" every day like clockwork, and now the algorithm was ruined.
Her finger hovered over "Not Interested," but she paused.
She knew she shouldn't watch stuff like this, but curiosity bubbled up.
'Just a peek.'
She had to endure the boredom until quitting time anyway.
And nothing melted away time like stimulating videos.
Purely to kill time, she clicked the video. A story of a certain brother and sister immediately poured out from the speakers.
Five minutes in, fully immersed, Jeong Yu-rim's face flushed beet red.
"Crazy... How do you even fall in love with your own brother?"
The video spun an utterly unrealistic tale.
The little sister and her biological brother falling for each other, whispering sweet nothings every day.
Sleeping in the same bed together.
It defied all common sense.
'Gotta stop this.'
Watching this nonsense was melting her brain.
She had to quit.
Jeong Yu-rim reached for the stop button.
But...
The story flowing from the video had this weird addictiveness—her finger wouldn't budge.
[When my brother doesn't say "I love you," I feel a little disappointed...]
'Exactly...'
[When he calls me pretty, my cheeks heat up...]
'I felt that too...'
She even caught herself unconsciously relating to the story in the video.
'I'm really crazy. Crazy.'
Jeong Yu-rim lightly patted her slightly warmed cheeks.
Sure, her brother had said "I love you" just like the one in the story.
And like the sister there, she'd felt disappointed when he didn't.
But that was familial love, nothing more.
Not romantic love like the protagonists in the story.
She had to distinguish that clearly.
Forcing herself to stay rational, Jeong Yu-rim closed the video and hunted for something else.
[The Man in the Jeong Family That Produced Three S-rank Hunters?]
By coincidence, the next recommendation was about her brother.
Curious what the internet was saying about him, she played it.
The more she listened, the angrier she got.
[Since there've been no sightings of him outside since then, some speculate he's become a shut-in, traumatized from that day.]
[Such a shame...]
The video spouted one personal guess after another about her brother as if they were facts, from start to finish.
She could tolerate most insults, but not ones against family. Jeong Yu-rim immediately hammered out a long, detailed rebuttal comment.
She even reported the video as inappropriate.
"Hoo..."
Even after posting her lengthy rebuttal, her anger didn't subside.
"Argh, should I sue?"
Sure, her brother pulled petty pranks sometimes and did things that annoyed her.
But seeing people trash-talk him without knowing what a kind, responsible guy he was at heart—it boiled her blood.
And above all, the most important thing:
Her brother was someone only she could roast.
She absolutely couldn't tolerate anyone else badmouthing him.
"Yeah, let's sue."
As an S-rank Hunter, she wielded considerable authority.
The Hunter Association's legal team—hailed as the best in Korea—moved entirely at her beck and call.
She could easily have the creators of this fraudulent video hauled in.
As she reached for the intercom to call the legal team and cool her rage—
"..."
Jeong Yu-rim instinctively sensed something ominous and shot to her feet.
She had zero combat ability, but she was still an S-rank Hunter.
Her senses surpassed ordinary hunters, sharp enough to detect powerful mana waves dozens of kilometers away.
Her instincts told her a Dungeon Break had occurred nearby.
"A-rank...?"
Gauging the rough threat level from the mana intensity, she bit her lip.
An A-rank Dungeon meant massive casualties were inevitable.
- Beeeeeeep!
As expected, the emergency siren wailed right after.
Jeong Yu-rim calmly followed protocol and headed straight to the rooftop helipad.
When lives hung by a thread in a single second, waiting at the helipad ahead of time to cast Heal even a second sooner greatly boosted survival odds.
"You've arrived?"
The medical team had already assembled at the helipad, faces pale as ghosts.
Standing quietly among them, Jeong Yu-rim prayed fervently for as few patients as possible while watching the sky.
About 30 minutes passed like that?
- Whup-whup-whup-whup.
Emergency helicopters lifted off into the Seoul skies all at once.
Their destination: the Hunter Association.
The choppers landed in perfect order, unloaded patients, then took off again for more.
Doctors receiving them bellowed orders as they rushed the injured along.
"Type B blood, now!"
"Stabilize that blood pressure!"
Every patient airlifted was in critical condition.
One hunter was missing an eye; another, his lower body.
Some looked already dead.
"Heal."
Feeling suffocated in this horrific scene, Jeong Yu-rim gritted her teeth and unleashed her divine power.
She spammed Heal like mad.
A power that defied logic by restoring lives came at an enormous stamina cost.
But it was far better than letting people die.
"Heal. Heal. Heal."
Sweat streamed down her forehead as she barely handled one wave. She caught her breath for a moment—
- Whup-whup-whup.
More emergency helicopters approached, packed with patients.
Gazing at the helicopters filling the Seoul sky, Jeong Yu-rim suddenly missed her brother.