The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 247
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 2, Episode 68
At the words “irrelevant person,” Je Hwa’s atmosphere turned decidedly hostile.
“Director Seo is telling you to leave.”
“Why are you speaking informally? Are you being arrogant because you’re older?”
“What?”
Je Hwa’s eyes narrowed sharply.
I swear I’d never seen such a fierce expression on his face before.
What was interesting was that this happened right after Kang Han brought up age.
Did he have some kind of complex about it?
“If it’s not arrogance, is it a weakness? There’s an eight-year age gap between you and Yeo Joo, so it doesn’t really matter….”
“Are you two fighting right now?”
At my words, the voices that had been clamoring fell silent all at once.
Then, as if they’d never quarreled, they spoke in measured tones.
“Fighting? That’s never happened. We simply had a difference of opinion.”
When Kang Han spoke calmly,
“We wouldn’t fight in front of Yeo Joo.”
Je Hwa chimed in with a shrug of his shoulders.
These two really did work well together at times like this.
But the fight still wasn’t over.
Je Hwa grabbed Kang Han’s forearm firmly.
“Let’s talk outside.”
“…Sigh.”
Kang Han glanced at Je Hwa’s hand gripping his arm, then let out an exasperated laugh mixed with a sigh.
“Let go of that.”
“Why, are you going to hit me?”
Oh no, this was dangerous.
Kang Han was holding back well enough, but judging by his expression, I couldn’t predict when he might shake Je Hwa off.
Though they were both S-rank, the difference between a combat-type and a non-combat-type was stark.
A single push from him could send Je Hwa flying right through the window.
And fortunately, there was someone in this room more terrifying than both of them.
“What are you two doing in a hospital room?”
At Seo Yu Baek’s sharp voice, Je Hwa and Kang Han, who had been bickering closely, slowly moved apart.
But it was already too late.
An angry Seo Yu Baek stood before them both, his gaze cold and piercing.
“Yeo Joo is still a patient requiring recovery and rest. Don’t disturb her. Both of you, leave now.”
The authority a doctor wielded in a hospital was absolute.
Seo Yu Baek, weaker than both Kang Han and Je Hwa, walked slowly with his hands thrust into the pockets of his white coat, herding the two of them toward the hospital room door like a shepherd.
“Wait, at least let me say hello——”
“Yeo Joo! I’ll visit you at the guild later——”
Click.
Without lifting a finger, Seo Yu Baek took Kang Han and Je Hwa outside and shut the door.
I lay in bed feeling bewildered and deflated, though I had to admit Seo Yu Baek was truly a capable doctor.
I tilted my head at his words about needing recovery and rest, but the moment I was alone and the surroundings grew quiet, sleep crashed over me like a tidal wave.
I’d slept for nearly a week, and now I was drowsy again.
Even I found it absurd, and after a quiet laugh, I sank back into deep sleep.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, it was dinner time.
I tried the meal placed on the table beside my bed, and despite being hospital food, it tasted surprisingly good—perhaps because this was a private room.
Afterward, I showered refreshingly and brushed my teeth.
I’d prepared for the possibility of sudden drowsiness like before, but my eyes remained wide awake.
It was only natural—I’d slept all day until just moments ago.
After tossing and turning a few more times, I pulled out my phone.
“Let me see what’s been trending lately.”
I opened the news section on the portal app, and my name appeared in the article headlines.
“⌜Yeo Joo, who had death rumors, is recovering safely⌟…. Death rumors?”
Wait, death rumors about someone who’s clearly alive?
With a sense of foreboding, I typed my name into the search bar.
I’d only typed “Yeo Joo” when the word “death” automatically appeared right after it.
“Seriously?”
Feeling the blood rush to my forehead, I read the article carefully.
In summary, it claimed I was already in cardiac arrest when I escaped the Double Dungeon, and ultimately died in the ICU.
There was even testimony from someone claiming to be a hospital staff member, making it seem quite plausible.
Until the Awakened Healer Hospital released an official statement that I was recovering smoothly, the death rumors had apparently spread like established fact.
“This is absolutely ridiculous.”
They’d killed off a perfectly alive person with just a few words.
Then it suddenly occurred to me that the Justice Guild members must have seen this article too.
“I should have just told them to come.”
Earlier, while I was deep in sleep, I’d received a call from Kang Han saying the guild members wanted to visit me.
But since I was leaving the hospital tomorrow morning anyway, I’d kept it brief and told them we’d see each other then before hanging up.
Now I was starting to regret that decision.
I wondered if I’d been too cold.
“They must have heard about it by now.”
I had asked Kang Han to do something special for me.
I wanted him to explain beforehand about the penalties for drug abuse and that using skills required stamina rather than mana.
I wanted them to understand why I had collapsed, and that it happened not because of anyone else’s mistake, but because of my own choice.
“But why hasn’t anyone contacted me?”
I had braced myself to receive scolding over the phone for hiding things all this time, but my phone remained silent.
“What are they all thinking so hard about?”
They were probably organizing their thoughts in their own ways.
Reminding myself once more that there was nothing I could do right now, I began scrolling through the articles again.
After going back a week, when I finally reached today’s news, an intriguing headline caught my eye.
⌜Awakeners Association Pushing Plan to Dispatch Four S-Rank Awakeners for Double Dungeon Conquest, But Facing Difficulties⌟
It seemed everyone felt a sense of crisis from this Double Dungeon conquest.
Well, three S-Rank Awakeners went in and still struggled that much.
According to the article, despite the Association’s strong will, they were encountering difficulties.
‘It’s obvious it’s because of Gong Gil Yeon.’
Last time, they didn’t oppose dispatching three, but this time it seemed they wouldn’t agree easily.
How to resolve this situation now depended on Association Director Ji Jung Hwi.
Since he was a capable person, I wasn’t particularly worried.
Knock, knock.
A knock suddenly sounded at the door.
‘Who could that be at this hour?’
Tilting my head, I answered.
“Yes, come in.”
After a moment, the person who opened the door was completely unexpected.
“Chung Soo? What brings you here at this hour?”
“Is it okay if I come in?”
As I nodded, Chung Soo looked around the Hospital Room with a somewhat curious expression before stepping inside.
Though he was wearing his school uniform, the absence of a bag suggested he had come from the Guild.
He hadn’t come all this way just to see my face, and judging by his serious expression, it was probably because of what he had heard from Kang Han.
As I sat up on the bed, Chung Soo sat down on a chair in front of a round table a little distance away.
An awkward silence hung between us for a brief moment.
It was the first time since I had known Chung Soo.
I was about to open my mouth to apologize when Chung Soo beat me to it.
“Are you well enough to live now?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Then that’s good. The patient gown doesn’t suit you.”
Chung Soo said something out of the blue and lightly bit his lower lip before getting to the main point.
“About your condition being abnormal.”
“Mm.”
“You said it was random, but the odds are higher for the bad ones, right?”
“Well, they take up more space on the wheel. There are more of them too.”
The status ailment sections on the spinning wheel were all different sizes.
Just as Chung Soo had predicted, the beneficial ones occupied needle-thin sections, while the more harmful and lethal ones claimed progressively wider spaces.
“That’s just how the system works.”
My attempt at a joke to lighten the mood fell flat—Chung Soo didn’t laugh.
Instead, he simply hung his head low.
“…Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because then you wouldn’t let me use the skill.”
If the Justice Guild members had known I was burning through my stamina to heal them, they would have stubbornly refused treatment.
I could have bet my lottery winnings on it.
Chung Soo didn’t deny it.
After sitting in silence for a moment, he slowly lifted his head.
“Hey, you….”
He couldn’t bring himself to continue.
One wrong word from me and tears would spill from Chung Soo’s eyes any second now.
“Then why are you telling me now?”
“That’s because….”
I took a shallow breath before answering.
“I trust you. That you won’t stop me anymore.”
In truth, it was closer to not being able to stop me.
There were limits to relying on potions alone.
Especially in perilous environments like the Double Dungeon, where death hung constantly in the balance.
“…That’s reckless.”
“I’m sorry.”
Chung Soo, who had been glaring at me with narrowed eyes, wiped away tears with his sleeve.
“Hey, there’s tissue right here!”
“Never mind.”
Chung Soo’s eyes were reddened from rubbing against the fabric as he spoke in a sullen tone.
Then he rose from his seat, hands buried in his jacket pockets, and asked.
“So four bottles are fine then?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“The count is the same whether I drink a low-grade or high-grade potion?”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
With those words, Chung Soo turned abruptly and opened the hospital room door.
“You’re just leaving like this?”
But he didn’t turn back to face me.
Just before stepping out and closing the door, he spoke briefly.
“I don’t want to be in the same room. I’m still mad at you.”
Click.
Staring blankly at the closed door, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the absurdity of it all.
I was furious enough to despise being in the same space as her, yet she had come all this way in the dead of night simply to check on my condition and learn more about the drug abuse penalty.
I clicked my tongue and lay back on the bed.
“She’s hopeless, really.”
The Justice Guild was somehow filled with nothing but soft-hearted people, ripe as overripe melons.
‘It’s a good thing I’m here.’
From now on, I’ll need to stay sharp and look after the guild members.
With that thought, my heavy eyelids finally closed.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————