Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 38
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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6. Dragon’s Shadow (7)
‘What threat could an F-rank pose?’
I smiled bitterly to myself. But it seemed Isang Hee couldn’t see that.
She soon turned her head and walked out to the hallway. Still walking with her head down, timidly.
When lunchtime came, the hallway was bustling with students. Each group of friends headed to the student cafeteria, went to the snack bar, or stayed in the classroom to prepare their packed lunches.
I took out a water bottle from my bag, took a sip, and stepped out into the hallway. Several classmates asked me to come along, but today I wanted to be alone. Isang Hee’s gaze from earlier kept bothering me.
‘Am I being too sensitive?’
I leaned against the window at the end of the hallway and looked down at the campus. The leisurely scene of lunchtime. Students sitting on the lawn eating packed lunches, students reading books on benches, professors walking toward the Dungeon Studies building.
It was peaceful.
But that peace didn’t last long.
“Hali!”
I turned my head at the voice from behind. It was Isang Hee. As always, she had her head slightly lowered, half-covering her face with her hair. She was holding a lunch bag in her hand.
“Uh… yeah.”
Not knowing what to say, I smiled awkwardly. Isang Hee approached cautiously, step by step. Like a frightened bird.
“Um, excuse me… would, would you like to eat lunch together…?”
“Huh? Oh, I was planning to eat at the cafeteria…”
“Oh, I, I see… so, sorry…”
Isang Hee hurriedly lowered her head. Her face turned red. Was she embarrassed about being rejected? Or was she naturally the type to get flustered easily?
‘There wasn’t a scene like this in the original.’
The original Isang Hee only focused on Yuhan Seong and rarely interacted with other students. Especially not with someone like Jin Hali. So why was she asking me to eat together now?
“Oh, no. There’s nothing to be sorry about. Let’s eat together next time.”
I answered with a sociable smile. Isang Hee looked up at me. Her eyes wavered for a moment. It was a look as if she was judging something.
“Th, then… next time…”
Isang Hee soon turned around and walked to the other end of the hallway. Still with her head down, taking small steps.
I frowned as I watched her retreating figure. Something was strange. Isang Hee’s behavior wasn’t natural. It was as if she was trying to confirm something.
‘Was she testing me?’
No, that couldn’t be. I was being too paranoid. Isang Hee was probably just shy and had trouble making friends.
I shook my head and started going down the stairs. To the first floor student cafeteria.
But halfway down the stairs, I saw people gathered ahead. About ten people? They were students from our class.
“Oh, Hali!”
Someone saw me and waved. It was a female student from the same class.
“What? Is something wrong?”
“No, we were just talking about what to eat for lunch. Want to come with us?”
“Oh, sure.”
I naturally blended into the group. It was safe being with this many people. I wouldn’t stand out.
We walked along the hallway toward the student cafeteria. Chatting, laughing, and joking around. It was ordinary daily life.
But it was when we turned the corner of the hallway.
“Huh?”
Another group was standing ahead. They were male students from our class. And in the center of them…
Yuhan Seong was there.
More precisely, it was male students surrounding Yuhan Seong. They were asking him something. Probably seeking advice about dungeon strategy. Since Yuhan Seong was an S-rank dealer.
“Hey, Han Seong, aren’t you S-rank? You don’t seem like A-rank.”
Yuhan Seong just walked without answering. The students didn’t give up and kept following him. They seemed to already know Yuhan Seong’s blunt personality, so they didn’t mind the lack of response.
Our group and that group met in the hallway. As both sides naturally mixed together, the hallway became even more crowded.
“Hey, are you guys going to the cafeteria too?”
“Yeah, you too?”
“Then let’s go together.”
The students flocked together and walked. I was naturally pushed to the back. There was no reason for an F-rank like me to be in front, and it was actually more comfortable being in the back.
But when I looked back, Yuhan Seong was also in the back.
He was still following the group of students with an expressionless face. Not really mingling with friends, but not completely separated either.
‘Why is he walking around alone instead of with the other kids?’
The distance between us was now about 2 meters.
I deliberately turned my gaze away.
If I stayed close to Yuhan Seong, Isang Hee might misunderstand again. Isang Hee!
But as we walked along the hallway, someone suddenly appeared ahead.
It was Isang Hee.
She was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking at our group. More precisely… she was looking at Yuhan Seong.
“Huh? Isang Hee?”
Someone from our group recognized Isang Hee and greeted her. Isang Hee was startled and lowered her head.
“Oh, um… hi…”
“Are you going to eat lunch too?”
“Yes, yes…”
Isang Hee still answered with her head down. But her gaze kept turning toward Yuhan Seong. Stealing glances through her hair.
Did Yuhan Seong see Isang Hee?
No, he didn’t even look at her. He just walked past that spot. As if Isang Hee didn’t exist.
Isang Hee’s face turned pale. Her hands trembled slightly.
‘Ah…’
Seeing that, I could understand. How obsessed Isang Hee was with Yuhan Seong. How desperately she wanted him to notice her.
But Yuhan Seong wasn’t interested.
No, he seemed like he didn’t have the luxury to be interested. He had more important goals. In the original work too, Yuhan Seong didn’t open his heart to anyone in the beginning.
Our group walked past Isang Hee. I glanced back.
Isang Hee was still standing there. With her head down, fists clenched tight.
And when she raised her head, our eyes met.
‘Gasp.’
Isang Hee’s eyes had changed.
They were no longer the timid and anxious eyes. They were cold, sharp, and seemed to have made some kind of decision.
That gaze was directed at me.
More precisely, it seemed like she was calculating the distance between Yuhan Seong and me.
‘Why is she looking at me?’
My heart sank. I had nothing to do with Yuhan Seong. I was just coincidentally mixed in with the same group walking.
But it seemed Isang Hee couldn’t see that.
I hurriedly turned my gaze away. And I stuck close to the friends in front. While putting as much distance as possible between Yuhan Seong and me.
‘Please don’t misunderstand…’
But I could instinctively tell it was already too late.
Isang Hee had already recognized me as a ‘variable.’
As someone who could interfere between Yuhan Seong and herself.
A chill ran down my spine.
On the way back to the classroom after lunch, the hallway was still bustling. I walked with Hyun I-seo and Hee, talking about the next class.
“What was the afternoon class again?”
“Dungeon Practice Theory.”
“Oh right. That’s annoying.”
“But there’s C-rank dungeon practice next week, right?”
“Yeah, I heard it’s Ongdalsam Dungeon.”
Ongdalsam Dungeon.
The moment I heard that name, I stopped walking.
‘Ongdalsam Dungeon?’
It was a name I’d seen in the original work. Although it was a C-rank dungeon, it had low difficulty and was often used for first-year student practice. A dungeon based on the golden axe, silver axe legend, with a simple structure where you approach the mountain spirit and safely retrieve an iron axe to clear it.
‘Did Isang Hee participate in that too?’
My memory was hazy. The Ongdalsam Dungeon scene in the original work wasn’t given much weight.
“Hali, are you okay?”
Yu Hee looked at me with concern as I stopped walking.
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking about something.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m okay.”
I forced a smile and started walking again.
But I felt uncomfortable deep down.
Ongdalsam Dungeon.
Well, that was the place destined to become the Azure Dragon’s dungeon.
‘But there’s something more than that bothering me.’
That premonition became reality when we turned the corner of the hallway.
Isang Hee was standing there.
Right in the path our group would pass through, as if she had been waiting.
She raised her head and looked at me. No, she looked at all of us, but her gaze was fixed on me.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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