SRSBO: Chapter 20

Just in case, could it be that he doesn’t know how to use a hot pack, right? No, no way.

“Then I’ll stop by my friend’s house and come back.”

“Oh, Sister. I happened to overhear your phone call a little while ago. When will you be home?”

“I think I’ll be home soon, I’ll be just checking on my friend.”

As I thought about Han Siyoung, who must be waiting for me anxiously, my brows instinctively furrowed.

I was worried that the news of me being threatened by the group of robbers, who suddenly took over the mart, might have made her temperature flare up even more.

“I hope you finish your work well, too, Yunwoo.”

“Yes?”

“You just said you came here to take care of some business.”

“Ah…… yes.”

Only then did Joo Yunwoo nod, as if remembering it, and the corners of his eyes gently curved.

“There indeed was. Some business.”

His gaze stuck to my face.

* * *

Fortunately, Han Siyoung’s condition had improved.

She must have been really worried, as she ran over in a hurry as soon as I arrived. But when I checked, her fever had gone down, and her breathing was much easier than before.

Han Siyoung was the type to get seriously sick once, but recover quickly.

“I’ll change the fever-reducing patch with a new one before leaving.”

“Cough, but your wound! You need to treat your wound! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said I wanted to eat jelly for no reason…….”

“You didn’t invite the robbers, so it’s fine. Here, eat the jelly and get better quickly.”

“Thank you. Huh? But the bag is open.”

“…… I spilled them accidentally while running away.”

“Really? Just because of me, even in all that chaos…….”

Han Siyoung sniffled with a moved expression.

“Here, I’ll give you a hand warmer too, so use it later. I heard Hyunwoo is coming in the evening, so I’ll send him a message to bring some porridge. Vegetable porridge should be fine for you, right?”

“Yeah. But are you going to the café already? There’s a first aid kit at my house, so treat your wounds before you leave. You never treat it properly by yourself.”

“It’s okay. I can take care of it at home.”

“The heater isn’t working yet. Are you sure you want to leave the hand warmer to me?”

“What are you-”

I was about to ask what she meant by the heater not working, but then I realized too late.

Come to think of it, Han Siyoung must have thought I was still staying at my new café, where things weren’t fully organized yet.

“…… It’s okay. Although it’s not fully organized, the heater is working well.”

“Really? That’s good.”

My conscience pricked a little at the relieved smile on her face, but I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I just nodded.

When I returned to the officetel, it was almost 4 p.m.

I received an unexpected sick leave today, and the next day would be a holiday.

With that thought, I decided to go straight to my room and sleep right away, so I boldly opened the door, but a stranger appeared just at the entrance.

“Ah.”

“Oh…….”

It was a woman with short brown hair.

Seeing a woman who appeared to be around Joo Yunwoo’s age, I quickly took a few steps back and tried to close the door, but the woman hurriedly ran over and stuck her foot between the door and the frame.

“Wait!!”

“Excuse me? Please get your foot out first.”

“No! You must be misunderstanding something, right?! That’s it, right?! If that’s the case, I’ll get scolded by Guil, no, Joo Yunwoo later! Me and Yunwoo aren’t in any kind of relationship! We’re just clients! I’m here to treat someone who got hurt, that’s all!!”

For a moment, I was startled by the woman’s desperate explanations as if making excuses, but then I thought she might be the healer who treated my leg last time.

“Are you a healer?”

“Yes! You’re not going to run away, are you?!”

“Why would I run away? I just thought I got caught up in a relationship, so I tried to get out of here.”

Once I realized she was a healer, I began to show interest which hadn’t existed before. Since it was the first time I’d seen a healer here, I stared at her with open curiosity in my eyes.

As we were stalling in the entrance like that, the other two people appeared.

One of them was Joo Yunwoo, the owner of this house, and the other was Ha Dogyeong, whom I met last time.

“What are you two doing here instead of going in?”

“Ah, we’re going in now.”

I gave a casual greeting and stepped inside. Then the woman quickly hurried over and immediately sat me down on the living room sofa.

“I’ll start treating now. You only got hurt on your cheek, right?”

“Hmm? Yes, that’s the only place. Is that why you came?”

“Yes, that’s the only reason I came here.”

“Really? Did Joo Yunwoo call you to come?”

“I’m an Esper with a strong sense of professionalism! I can’t just leave someone injured!”

At the woman’s response, which was as rigid as a disciplined soldier, Ha Dogyeong sighed and rubbed his forehead. As his name was mentioned, Joo Yunwoo spoke up.

“Yes, I asked her to come and help you. I thought it might be uncomfortable for you if the injury was on your face while working at the café.”

“Eu, hmm.”

“Ah, thank you for your concern. I’m also grateful that the healer came out of the blue to help me.”

Before I could finish speaking, the healer quickly looked down and covered her mouth with both hands.

When I sent a questioning gaze, the healer shook her head, saying that she suddenly needed to hiccup.

Since it was only a shallow cut, the wound was quickly treated.

Unlike Amelia’s abilities, the healer’s treatment power seemed to work without even contact, she simply brought her hand close to my cheek and started healing.

I stared at the warm energy and faint light coming from her hand, feeling curious.

As soon as the treatment was over, Ha Dogyeong was the first to speak, while the healer silently fidgeted.

Except when talking to Joo Yunwoo, who seemed to be his close friend, he rarely swore. He was a person who knew how to lead a conversation well.

Unlike the three people who seemed to know each other, since I was there, the topic of conversation naturally turned to what happened today. The healer carefully started the conversation.

“Now that I think about it, it was unexpected. That…… Eun Woojin-nim participated in all the robbery cases.”

[T/N: In Korean, the suffix “nim” (님) is a polite honorific used to show respect or formality when addressing someone. It’s similar to ‘san’ used in Japanese.]

“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t hear him usually solving cases like that. Honestly, I was more surprised when the ceiling suddenly disappeared than when the robbery happened.”

Ha Dogyeong smiled hearing that.

“Are you perhaps interested in Eun Woojin-nim? It seems like you know well that he usually doesn’t get involved in such incidents.”

“Of course, he’s famous.”

“Even though he’s famous, I don’t think other Espers know him well. You must be interested in Espers, right?”

“That’s true, but…….”

It was not wrong. Since I’m an Awakened one too, I’m interested in the fact of being an Awakened, but I don’t specifically look into which Awakened is famous or what kind of people they are.

Most of the Awakened people whose names I know are mostly those I heard from Han Siyoung, and most of them were those who had issues with the guilds.

However, Eun Woojin was the exception. I didn’t necessarily need to hear about that bastard from Han Siyoung because I had already experienced it myself.

However, there was no need to reveal that, so I calmly responded.

“Eun Woojin is just too famous.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

“And if we just look at the results, although the incident was resolved, I’m a little worried about the mart’s survival. The robbers did smash everything inside the mart, but the outer wall ended up blowing away. Since this was an incident caused by criminals, the government will probably compensate for it. But honestly, shouldn’t they or the guilds pay double the compensation? What about the mental trauma? No, but that son of a bitch has a lot of ability, so why did he blew away the roof again, F*ck.”

In the end, my calmness turned into a gradient of anger.

As I mentioned before, Eun Woojin was like a trigger to me. It wasn’t like I was genuinely worried about the mart; rather, it was because the events I had experienced in the past were overlapping in my mind.

“……hick.”

The healer hiccupped again, and Ha Dogyeong stared at me with surprised eyes.

If it’s a compliment, that’s one thing, but I shouldn’t have cursed recklessly in front of others. Especially when they are Espers.

I’ve heard that Eun Woojin has many fans among fellow Espers, and thinking about it, the healer just referred to him as ‘Woojin-nim,’ so she might be one of his fans too.

Realizing this, I was about to apologize when Joo Yunwoo spoke.

“That’s right. They don’t even consider the mental trauma, that’s really inconsiderate.”

“Right?”

I couldn’t help but feel glad when he agreed with my opinion, so I nodded and answered.

It’s not a good thing, but usually, people tend to become closer when they complain together rather than when they compliment each other.

“Don’t worry, Sister. They’ll definitely double the compensation.”

“Will that be so?”

“Yes, after all, the damage was something that could have been avoided to some extent.”

“Ah… I see. I’m sorry for cursing so suddenly. It seems like I surprised everyone.”

“No, I think he truly is a son of a bitch, just like you said.”

“Yunwoo…….”

“More than anything, I’m glad that you weren’t seriously hurt.”

As he said that, he smiled like an angel.

‘He’s just agreeing with me so I won’t feel embarrassed.’

I looked up at Joo Yunwoo with a touched expression. Meanwhile, Ha Dogyeong and the healer stared at us with blank expressions.

* * *

It was almost 6 p.m. when the two left.

I thought they were going to stay until dinner, so I was about to step aside, but suddenly, Ha Dogyeong said he remembered something he needed to do and got up from his seat.

As Ha Dogyeong prepared to leave, the healer also got up. She hurriedly packed her bags as if she had been waiting for the opportunity. When she saw me staring at her, she looked at me with a startled expression and introduced herself.

“Oh, that’s right. My name is Song Hwaeon. Pleased to meet you!”

Then, she suddenly apologized for dropping by unannounced and handed me a bottle of liquor.

“It’s something I treasure, but if you like sweet things, it’ll suit your taste.”

The healer, Song Hwaeon, chattered proudly with a confident expression.

The sturdy, heavy glass bottle with the label had a delicate design engraved on it.

I held the bottle with both hands, afraid I might accidentally drop the expensive-looking liquor, and faced Song Hwaeon.

‘…… Why is this for the guest and not the owner?’

After a moment of doubt, I raised the corners of my mouth.

“I’m Kim Eujung. Please call me by my name. And thank you for treating me twice.”