A Bruised Face and Unspoken Concern

The next day, I woke up late and filled my stomach with a single cup of ramen.

The refrigerator that had once been completely empty was now packed full.

There were plenty of frozen meals I could heat in the microwave, and I grinned as I looked at them.

‘Back then, I was really miserable.’

I had been starving, yet there was nothing to eat.

My throat had burned from stomach acid, and there hadn’t even been water to drink.

Whenever I thought about it, I couldn’t fully express how grateful I was to Jungho hyung.

‘I’ll repay him someday.’

As Shin Jiho, all I could do was buy him meals.

But as an angel, I was different.

When everything was over, I would grant him a blessing.

A human who received a blessing lived long, rarely fell ill, and could escape danger.

Because it consumed divine power, angels did not grant blessings lightly.

For angels, divinity was life itself.

In heaven, divine power recovered quickly, so granting blessings was not a problem.

But angels were not particularly attached to humans.

They only granted blessings to truly virtuous people, saints and the like.

I wanted to grant it now.

But outside heaven, divine power did not recover easily.

I was already using mine to sustain Shin Jiho’s damaged body.

It was difficult.

As I prepared to leave, Jungho hyung called out.

“Where are you going?”

“To the bank.”

“Really? Want me to come with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine alone.”

Perhaps because he had seen me at my worst, he had become somewhat overprotective.

He looked at me like a child left by the water’s edge before forcing down his worry.

“Alright, go on. Should we order jjajangmyeon tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

I left the studio building.

There were two nearby banks, Nonghyup and Jeohee Bank.

For some reason, I felt drawn to Jeohee Bank and headed that way.

‘Why do I feel anxious….’

Was it because I had three million won in cash in my pocket?

It wasn’t an astronomical amount, but it was the largest sum I had ever carried.

My heart pounded.

I hurried through the alley, thinking I should deposit it quickly.

Suddenly, someone grabbed the back of my neck.

“Ugh!”

In broad daylight… a mugger?

I struggled, but the grip was stronger than a D-rank Hunter’s.

‘Crazy. Why would a Hunter be committing robbery?’

I was dragged, then suddenly released.

I looked up and saw a familiar face.

‘Oh.’

It was from Shin Jiho’s memory.

‘The loan shark.’

Since I ignored his calls, he must have come in person.

He sneered.

“Customer. Did you think you could run?”

He looked down at me.

Even though he was nothing special, Shin Jiho’s memories weighed heavily on my body.

Seeing me tremble, the loan shark chuckled lowly.

“Hey. How are you going to repay me? You got fired from your part-time job. Nowhere left to earn money.”

He had conditioned Shin Jiho to think that way.

Fearing Shin Jiho might risk his life as a Hunter to repay him, he had crushed him with violence.

How could someone afraid of a man’s fist fight monsters?

In the end, Shin Jiho had been limited to ordinary part-time jobs.

And those were not enough to repay the crushing debt.

‘So he is partly responsible for Shin Jiho’s death.’

The loan shark probably never intended to kill him.

Why would he kill his valuable mining s*ave candidate?

But Shin Jiho had chosen death as an escape.

Dying had been easier than resisting him.

“I told you. Just go to the mines. Think of it as working hard for ten years. You dropped out of college. How are you going to make that kind of money?”

If I were the old Shin Jiho, I might have wavered.

But I was not him.

“I have a job.”

“You? Doing what?”

He smirked.

“I’m working as an assistant. I’ll repay you with that.”

At the word assistant, he stiffened slightly.

Assistants were well paid, even if overshadowed by Hunters.

He looked me over, curious how I had secured such a position.

I pulled out the envelope from my pocket.

“I’ve earned money. It might take time, but I can repay you.”

“…You little brat.”

He snatched the envelope.

After glancing inside, his eyes gleamed.

Then he suddenly raised his hand and slapped me.

“Ah!”

My vision flashed white.

Heat spread across my cheek.

My lip stung.

For a moment, murderous intent surged within me.

Who did he think he was?

‘…Endure it.’

I had something to accomplish.

Killing him would be easy.

But it would cause complications.

Seeing me endure, he smiled with satisfaction and patted my cheek mockingly.

“Do well. If you try running again, you’re dead.”

He walked away, thinking violence had subdued me.

Left alone in the alley, I let out a long sigh.

“Ha….”

At least he only took the envelope.

I had kept 600,000 won in my wallet as emergency money.

‘Well. It really became emergency money.’

I would open an account with that.

From now on, I would receive my pay there.

I refused to carry cash around only to get dragged and beaten again.

I sighed once more and headed to the bank.

When I returned from the bank, Jungho hyung was waiting.

He waved, then froze when he saw my face.

“Jiho! Your face….”

“Ah… yeah. The bank teller was surprised too.”

“Who did that to you?”

He looked furious.

A hint of guilt crossed his face, as if blaming himself for letting me go alone.

I answered honestly.

“The loan shark came.”

“…Damn.”

He likely imagined the rest.

And he wouldn’t be far off.

“Even so. How could he hit your face like this….”

He looked more upset than I expected.

“I only got hit once.”

“Your lip’s split! Let’s report him.”

“No… it’s fine. What if he retaliates?”

He looked frustrated but relented.

The next day, my face still looked terrible.

Normally, divine power would heal it quickly.

But all my power was sustaining Shin Jiho’s damaged body.

‘How ruined was this body anyway….’

I had no energy left to heal my face.

When I arrived at work, Geon-gyu and the boss were startled too.

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?”

“Just… something came up.”

It wasn’t something I wanted to brag about.

They did not press further but told me to ask for help if needed.

I thanked them.

We arrived at the dungeon.

As we prepared supplies, Do Jiwan’s car pulled in.

He stepped out, saw my face, and stopped.

“Ah, hello.”

He stared at me for a long moment before speaking.

“What happened?”

“Pardon?”

“Your face.”

He pointed to his own cheek.

The exact spot where I had been hit.

For someone uninterested in people, he seemed unusually attentive.

“It’s nothing… just a little incident.”

He crossed his arms and simply looked at me.

After a long silence, he turned away first.

“…If it will affect the raid, take today off.”

“What? No! It’s not that serious. I can work.”

I waved my hands in alarm.

His brow curved slightly.

“…Because you need to earn a lot of money?”

“Ah.”

Only then did I understand.

I had told him before that I needed money.

In truth, staying by his side mattered more.

But if I denied it, he might send me home.

“Yes. I need money.”

He looked at me silently, then turned away.

He did not tell me to leave.

Relief washed over me.

Even the guild members, now somewhat familiar with me, offered worried comments.

Each time, I could only smile awkwardly.