Chapter 112

That brief moment felt endlessly long.

It was a question we tossed around casually all the time.

“Do you like me?” “Of course.”

Just lighthearted banter like that. But not today.

It doesn’t seem like it—

The instant that thought crossed my mind, the room—which had felt frozen in time along with his smile—began to stir again.

“Of course.”

A soft smile bloomed across Joo Yian’s face.

“How could I team up with someone I don’t like?”

Well, that’s true enough. I parted my lips to respond, but Joo Yian spoke first.

“So don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

Worry? About what? Me, worry?

I felt my heart pounding wildly before I even realized it.

Only then did it hit me. My heart was hammering like a drum, gripped by some inexplicable fear.

Whenever unusual words slipped from his lips. What if he actually… thought of me as special?

The hunter team sprang to mind first.

Sure, being liked by someone is nice. But…

I didn’t want it to create distance between me and the others.

Getting especially close to one person inevitably meant drifting from the rest.

And I just wasn’t ready for that yet.

As I hesitated,

“I’m not joining another team.”

Joo Yian cut in abruptly.

“Huh?”

What the hell? Out of nowhere like a midnight thunderclap?

Joo Yian waved reassuringly, as if to drive the point home.

“Even if they offered billions, I wouldn’t go to another guild. No plans to leave Korea either.”

He burst into laughter.

“I stopped by Raela territory earlier and ran into Hunter So Yeri. She mentioned you seemed anxious, Hunter Shin Yuri.”

“Huh?”

Me? Anxious about what?

As I blinked in confusion, Joo Yian’s gentle voice filled the office.

“Worried one of the team members might get scouted away.”

Did I… ever say that?

No.

To be precise, I’d just asked that jerk Shin Jae-heon if he’d gotten a scout offer since he was acting all secretive.

And it got twisted into this?

As I blinked again,

“I’m not going anywhere. So relax.”

Joo Yian chuckled softly.

“Not joining any other team. No intention of stirring up trouble for the hunter team.”

His voice made me blink harder. Joo Yian tilted his head, studying me.

“Hunter Shin Yuri?”

Blink. Blink.

Blink… blink.

After a few more blinks, I buried my face in my hands.

Am I imagining things right now?

Did I dig my own hole, beat the drum, slap the janggu, and dance solo?

My ears burned bright red.

“What’s wrong?”

I heard Joo Yian getting up.

I bolted to the adjoining bedroom to escape him.

“I’m so tiiiiired! Ughhh! I’m dying of exhaustion!”

—Bang!

I slammed the door shut before he could follow.

The last glimpse of Joo Yian’s face was utter bewilderment.

Yeah, you’d be shocked!

Super shocked, right? Good!

Truth is, I stayed up late the night before arriving here bingeing romance novels!

Full-on spicy 19+ stuff! Guess I caught a bad case of delusion fever!

“You’re not sick, are you?”

Joo Yian’s worried voice echoed from outside. I nodded frantically.

Then realized he couldn’t see and yelled,

“I’m fine! Gonna sleep!”

—Thump!

I flung myself onto the bed.

Burrowed under the covers, then kicked them off in a frenzy.

Thank God I didn’t blurt out anything stupid!

When I get back home, first thing: nuke every novel app on my phone!

I’ll head to a temple and do 108 prostrations!

Blow away all the delusions in my head and worldly temptations!

I screamed silently.

—Bang!

Joo Yian watched the door slam shut right in front of him.

Her flushed ears.

Her troubled expression. But before that, he’d clearly seen it.

The face desperately hiding a flicker of relief.

“……”

Moments ago, he’d been ready to chase after her into the room. But the second the door closed, he froze like a statue.

He could hear her flustered sounds from the other side.

‘Kyaaah!’

The muffled screams, the blanket-kicking—all too clear.

Crystal clear, in fact.

“……”

Joo Yian clamped his hands over his ears and shut his eyes.

You seemed shaken too.

If I’d reached out, would you have come?

‘Want to confess?’

Hunter So Yeri had asked him that amid the rattling carriage.

‘Then do it. Confess.’

‘But she’s…’

She seems to like someone else.

And she doesn’t want things to change.

Before he could voice it, So Yeri cut in.

As if she already knew.

‘That’s your judgment, Hunter Joo Yian. Outsiders can’t tell. Besides, if she’s as thoughtful as you say—’

She’d smiled slyly.

‘—a confession won’t shake things up. So go for it.’

‘Bottling it up will just eat you alive. Even S-ranks can’t dodge heartache. You know that, right?’

That’s what Hunter So Yeri had said.

But Hunter So Yeri—the one who’d played dumb and heard his confession anyway.

Sorry, but I can’t handle even the tiniest ripple unsettling Hunter Shin Yuri.

I’d break before she did.

No confidence watching her agonize and fret.

‘……’

Joo Yian pictured her anxious, trembling eyes, then slowly shook his head.

And turned away.

It’s not a misunderstanding.

So don’t beat yourself up too long.

He slowly opened his eyes.

‘Joo Yian-ssi, do you like me?’

Yes. I do.

The unspoken words lingered on his tongue. But he swallowed them.

I like you. No misunderstanding—I’ve got you firmly in my heart.

But that’s exactly why… I’ll let go.

…Loving someone doesn’t mean you have to end up together.

—Srrk.

Slumped against the door, he buried his face between his knees.

Joo Yian must’ve been a cow in a past life.

How else to explain waking up sprawled every which way, only to find him already working?

‘Hungry, right?’

And he’d even had breakfast prepared ahead.

Do S-rank healers come with built-in wake-up alarms or what?

While I stood there baffled, I was already being ushered to the dining hall.

‘Not eating, Joo Yian-ssi?’

‘I grabbed something light earlier.’

With that, he escorted me right in.

And the Edelweiss estate chefs—household staff through and through—followed his orders way too obediently.

“Since you’re under the weather today, he ordered a full-course special menu.”

“Aren’t you our house chef?”

I asked, dumbfounded. The chef cleared his throat awkwardly, then declared,

“For the sin of neglecting the family head’s health, grant this fool a chance to atone now!”

He bowed deeply.

“No, it’s not that serious…”

If anyone’s guilty, it’s Epe—not the guy serving three squares of gourmet bliss.

I waved it off. The chef peeked up slyly.

“Shall we… serve?”

What, sit here with napkin unfolded if not to eat?

I nodded, and he thrust his hand up like a general.

—Snap.

Like a firing line command, he dropped it. Doors flew open behind him, trays of food marching out in perfect sync—no guns in sight.

“Whoa.”

“Today, I’ll stake my life to make you ‘healthy’!”

Whatever Joo Yian told him had the chef fired up like a zealot.

“H-health isn’t fixed with one mea—”

He flipped open a tray lid.

A chicken dish the size of a small beast—not quite chicken anymore.

Chicken shock was fleeting.

“W-wait… a sec.”

Instinctual dread shoved my chair back.

Buried under spices and flair, but that greenish hue underneath? Too familiar.

That thing… no way…

“By any chance, did Joo—”

“No, did His Excellency give you some… recipe?”

Dungeon herb nutrition soup? No way it’d be that color—

“Sharp eye. He said it’s a special temple soup for emergency patients.”

Aaaagh! It is! The horror soup!

I shot to my feet.

“No need for special treatment, I’m fine-ish.”

Words tumbling out robotic and spaced, but that soup left no choice.

“Gotta go… work.”

As I creaked around,

The chef’s meaty paw clamped my shoulder.

“Punish this wretch who idled making food, blind to the family head’s dire state!”

“Punish him!”

Servants, Helen—Helen?!—chorused from the tray line.

Helen, what’re you doing here???

“No, I’ve been eating fine, living fine? Just tired this time.”

I flailed my hands. Chef pounced:

“This time! You admitted to fatigue!”

He dragged me forward with iron grip(…)

Joo Yian’s signature soup stench wafted up.

Healthy just sniffing it—this… this… vicious herbal reek…

“You must eat this!”

Chef, Helen, servants—no letting me bolt till that bird was stripped bare.

“Simmered soft—no chew at all.”

Chew’s not the problem!

Chef “reassured” me, pouring into my glass.

—Glug.

Not water—diluted soup.

“Poor condition, so must ensure you finish it all, he insisted.”

With Pope Joo Yian—the estate’s roaming clinic—giving orders, it tracked.

Tracked, sure.

Hunter So Yeri’s chat made me freeze.

Really just here for soup…?

Last night’s cringe-fest replay set my face ablaze again.

“The family head’s poison is draining from her face!”

“See?! Special soup pulls toxins just from the aroma…!”

Not poison—color! It didn’t leave!

As I reached to hide my face,

Joo Yian still silent.

Meantime,

“Enjoy your meal!”

Four servants swarmed to serve.

Across the soup, I swear I saw Joo Yian smiling.

The nightmare feast began.