Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Hidden Healer
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Wang-sik carried Sa Seon-gi and Sa Seon-yeong on his shoulders as he escaped the swamp.
Countless hidden weapons flew toward him with every step, but none could pierce his defensive barrier.
He just moved carefully, one step at a time.
There was nothing the assassins could do as Wang-sik left the swamp.
Except for one.
The vice guild leader, unable to restrain himself, charged at Wang-sik as he stepped onto the plains.
But before he could reach Wang-sik, four chains pierced his body.
Already severely injured by Sa Seon-gi, the vice guild leader's attack was nothing more than a meaningless struggle.
After the vice guild leader's futile death, the assassins remained at the edge of the swamp, unmoving.
They could only watch as Wang-sik grew distant.
When Sa Seon-gi opened his eyes, the first thing he sensed was a metallic smell.
The smell of blood.
Sa Seon-gi lifted his heavy eyelids.
His eyes fell upon the blood soaking through the man's pants.
Despite the bleeding, the man walked on steadily.
“Go back to sleep.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're not fine at all.”
“And you?”
“This isn't my blood.”
“Heh heh.”
Draped over the man's shoulder, Sa Seon-gi didn't know why he was laughing. The situation was unbelievably difficult, yet also strangely amusing.
Since Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi had identification, passing through the city gates wasn't difficult.
Sa Seon-yeong had no ID, but they were able to pass by having two people vouch for her and slipping some money to the guards.
After taking a gate to the barrier at the northern border, they crossed the wall using Wang-sik's identification.
“Hah, hah.”
It was then that Sa Seon-yeong's breathing became ragged.
Sa Seon-gi quickly took out some medicine and brought it to her lips, but Sa Seon-yeong shook her head.
“I don't want to take this medicine anymore.”
“But it'll hurt a lot if you don't.”
“I can bear it.”
Sa Seon-gi hesitated for a moment before putting the medicine away.
“We're almost there. Hang on.”
Wang-sik led the siblings toward the laboratory.
As they quickly dispatched the monsters that appeared and entered the lab, Sa Seon-gi's expression changed.
He was on high alert.
“Don't worry. I've taken care of everything.”
Hearing this, Sa Seon-gi patted his sister's shoulder.
Sa Seon-yeong looked terrified.
“You remember everything, don't you?”
Sa Seon-yeong nodded in response to Wang-sik's question.
How could she forget?
This was the very laboratory she had been dragged to after being kidnapped.
Wang-sik confidently led the way, guiding them to the gate.
“Once we go through here, we'll be in Korea. Think about the first thing you want to do.”
Wang-sik said, like a seasoned tour guide.
“The best part is getting to go home alive, together.”
Wang-sik took their hands and stepped through the gate.
The girl cried.
All she could see was a white sandy beach and rolling waves, but she remembered it clearly.
It was exactly as she'd last seen it when she left Korea. The only difference was that a house had been built there.
“I... I'm back in Korea...”
“You've been through so much. Everything will be okay now.”
Wang-sik patted her shoulder and stepped back. Her brother, Sa Seon-gi, took his place.
Sa Seon-gi silently wiped away his sister's tears.
His gaze was warm, unfitting for an assassin. And unbelievably, tears welled up in those cold eyes.
“You've been through a lot, brother.”
“You too.”
The two embraced.
It was the same warmth as always, but today it felt different.
The tears flowed endlessly, and their sobs wouldn't stop.
*Whir, whir, whir.*
A helicopter appeared in the sky above the deserted island.
“Let's go.”
He carried Sa Seon-yeong, her face swollen from crying, onto the helicopter. Sa Seon-gi followed right behind, and the helicopter took them to a university hospital in Seoul.
After a good cry, Sa Seon-yeong looked relieved. She was even smiling, but her eyes held no strength.
Seeing her so listless, unable to even lift a finger, a worried look returned to Sa Seon-gi's face.
As soon as she got off the helicopter, she was taken directly to an examination room.
“Seon-gi, we wait now.”
He stopped Sa Seon-gi, who was about to follow his sister.
Sa Seon-gi looked terribly anxious but did as Wang-sik said.
Three hours later.
Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi met with the doctor.
Hanmin University Hospital was affiliated with the Hunter Management Bureau, boasted the best medical staff in South Korea, and could keep all information confidential at Wang-sik's request.
“The detailed examination isn't complete, but based on what we've seen so far, her condition is critical. Her heart could stop at any moment. More importantly, the drug addiction has caused severe damage to her internal organs, as well as her blood vessels and muscles.”
“Is treatment possible?”
“I can't say for certain. What I can tell you is that it will be a very long course of treatment, and the chances of success are not high.”
“Tell us the best-case scenario for her current condition.”
“She'll need a healer. Right now, her body is too weak for treatment. She wouldn't be able to withstand a long surgery, and she might have an adverse reaction to the medication.”
Healers can't cure diseases, but they could help her damaged muscles and organs recover to some extent.
Of course, there was a limit to that, but it was their only option for now.
“I understand.”
Sa Seon-gi just listened silently as Wang-sik thanked the doctor and stood up.
After meeting the doctor, they went to see Sa Seon-yeong in her VIP room.
She should have been exhausted from the long examination, but Sa Seon-yeong was smiling.
“Wang-sik, thank you. But isn't this place really expensive?”
“I have a bit of money. Enough to buy about ten of these hospitals.”
“You made it big.”
“I earned it to save you guys. Don't worry about a thing.”
“Thanks. But why does my brother look like that? Did the doctor say I'm going to die soon?”
Sa Seon-gi shook his head and sat down next to his sister.
“He said it'll be a long treatment. Your body is in bad shape.”
“Don't worry. I'll hang in there as long as I can.”
“Okay.”
“In return, you have to keep your promise to me, right?”
“When you get better.”
“Brother. Keep your promise. You said that if I made it back to Korea safely, you'd live your own life.”
When Sa Seon-gi couldn't answer readily, Sa Seon-yeong continued.
“You have to promise so I can focus on my treatment without worrying.”
“Alright. I promise.”
Watching the siblings, Wang-sik muttered to himself without realizing it.
“Family is a wonderful thing.”
Wang-sik stepped out of the room to give them some time alone.
Three days later.
The Korean airport was in an uproar.
It was due to the arrival of a world-famous hunter.
When Sarah, the A-rank healer known as the Goddess of Europe, arrived, she was met with a level of attention rivaling that of an idol on a world tour.
However, after a brief interview, Sarah stated that she had no other official engagements.
—I'm just here on vacation. I love Korea very much. And I have a friend here whom I love just as much.
Questions poured in about who this friend was, but Sarah only smiled without giving a direct answer.
The place she arrived at was a VIP room in Hanmin University Hospital.
“Sarah, thank you for coming.”
The sole reason Sarah had come to Korea was because Wang-sik had contacted her.
“I came because of you. You know that, right?”
“I love you.”
“You're great and all, but your love is too cheap.”
“Only for you.”
“I don't buy cheap things. Especially if it's love, I don't want it.”
“We can haggle later. How about we meet my friend first?”
Wang-sik led Sarah into the hospital room. Sa Seon-gi immediately bowed his head.
Most men who saw Sarah for the first time were stunned by her beauty, but Sa Seon-gi showed no such reaction.
“Thank you.”
That was all he said.
Sarah approached the sleeping Sa Seon-yeong and examined her. She then frowned.
“Do as much as you can.”
At Wang-sik's words, Sarah let out a long sigh, pulled up a chair, and sat down. She took Sa Seon-yeong's hand and began the treatment.
The healing took a long time.
After finishing two sessions, each lasting two hours, Sarah's expression was grim.
“It's a miracle she's even alive. What on earth happened to her?”
“It's a long story. She took poison continuously for over five years just to stay alive.”
“That's insane.”
Sarah began to speak, her face weary.
“This isn't something that can be fixed in a day or two. For now, it's just alleviating the pain. For it to have any real therapeutic effect, she'll need at least six months of treatment.”
“Like this, every day?”
“At least twice a day. For two hours each, by an A-rank healer's standards.”
The situation was desperate.
Among the fewer than thirty A-rank healers in the world, there was no one who could do such a thing.
That included Sarah.
It was impossible for Russia to tie down Sarah, a key asset, for that long.
“I'm sorry. I'll do my best while I'm here, but I have to go back in a week.”
“What will happen if the healing stops?”
Instead of answering, Sarah just shook her head.
Sa Seon-gi's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't hide the violent trembling of his pupils.
“Then please, just for the week.”
When Sarah nodded at Wang-sik's request, Sa Seon-gi bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much.”
Sarah forced a smile.
Wang-sik led Sa Seon-gi out of the room.
“Let's get something to eat first.”
“I'm fine.”
“You made a promise to your sister.”
Sa Seon-gi followed Wang-sik. But before he had even taken two bites of the food he ordered, his composure crumbled.
Seeing this, Wang-sik spoke firmly.
“Seon-yeong isn't dead yet. Don't be certain of anything until she is. The only reason I was able to save you both is because I wasn't certain of anything either.”
At those words, Sa Seon-gi forced back the sobs that threatened to erupt.
“Thank you. I... I'm really grateful.”
“I'll do everything I can. You do everything you can.”
Sa Seon-gi nodded, and Wang-sik spoke as he ate.
“An A-rank healer. I'll bring one here somehow, so eat up.”
“Is there someone like that?”
Despite having been here only a short time, Sa Seon-gi had a good understanding of the Awakened.
—I know about the Awakened. Because I'm one too.
Like Wang-sik, Sa Seon-gi was also Awakened.
A C-rank Assassin.
It was an ability he possessed, separate from what he had learned in Dark Moon.
“You said A-rank healers are rare.”
“There's just one person. Someone who might listen to our request. I have to try and persuade them, no matter what.”
“Let's go together.”
“No. I'll go alone. It's easier that way.”
“But...”
“Seon-gi. Seon-yeong is family to me, too. If she wasn't, would I have gone to such lengths to find you? The children who died, the ones I haven't saved yet—they're all my family. What you can do, I can do too.”
Sa Seon-gi held back his tears and said.
“I'm counting on you.”
“Don't thank me for doing what's right. Just eat. Don't make Seon-yeong worry.”
Wang-sik waited for Sa Seon-gi to clean his plate before leaving the hospital.
He arrived at a high school in Daejeon.
—Please make sure this doesn't become a problem.
Recalling the chief of staff's request, he stood at the high school gate, where a banner welcoming new students was the first thing he saw.
‘A new semester.’
Daejeon Girls' High School.
Wang-sik was about to go to the security office to state his business, but it seemed he wouldn't need to.
Students had begun to leave for the day.
Even as female students poured out of the open gate, Wang-sik stood confidently in the middle of the path.
The girls gave him strange looks as they passed, but he paid them no mind.
“A tanker's strength is his mentality.”
After waiting for about ten minutes, his eyes landed on a girl who was a little shorter than her peers.
Seeing the female student with a short bob and kind, large eyes, Wang-sik recalled her name.
‘Gong Yeong-ji.’
Korea's hidden A-rank healer.
This was the girl who had been submitting her resume to the Hunter Management Bureau from age fourteen until last year, when she was sixteen.
‘No matter what... Huh?’
Just as Wang-sik was about to approach her, Gong Yeong-ji met his eyes and her face lit up with surprise.
“Mister!”
Gong Yeong-ji suddenly leaped into Wang-sik's arms.