I Became the Only Healer in the Academy - Chapter 1
I Became the Only Healer in the Academy
Chapter 1
“Good job today,”
Seonghyun accepted an envelope containing 130,000 won as he wiped away the sweat from his forehead.
“Yes! Thank you for your hard work today. I will see you tomorrow,”
Seonghyun replied, bowing deeply, and then left.
“Tsk tsk… How did we end up with such a diligent young man…”
The manager looked at Seonghyun with a sympathetic gaze.
Seonghyun, a graduate of an academy known for gathering only the best talents in the country, ironically found himself working in such a labor-intensive job.
Among the people, only a few could unlock their abilities at the age of 20.
They didn’t need to do anything special; they could naturally unlock their abilities as easily as they breathed.
Seonghyun had graduated from the academy almost five years ago.
Compared to the students at the time of admission, he wasn’t exceptionally talented, but simply entering the academy was proof of his potential.
Back then, Seonghyun believed that a bright future awaited him. He thought that graduating from the academy would enable him to deal with monsters and make a name for himself.
However, the reality was that graduating was an achievement in itself, a bare minimum.
‘Rather, they shouldn’t have let me graduate at all,’
The reason he received scores close to failing was the lack of his developed abilities.
Unlike other hunters, Seonghyun’s abilities were close to being untrainable. In the end, the only solution to achieving a good score was to train his body.
Even that was overshadowed by other ability users.
The academy wasn’t just run by the country; it was an institution created through a global agreement.
Expulsion was not an option, and it seemed as though the academy had no use for Seonghyun, who showed no potential for the development of innate abilities, almost as if they were discarding him, so they graduated him.
After graduating, Seonghyun tried setting up a shop where he could buy loot from defeating monsters, but the results were dismal.
With the kind of talent that got him into the academy, he had thought he would excel at anything he did.
“I’ll set aside 10,000 won for rent, 10,000 for medication… Should I buy some meat today?” Seonghyun took out 20,000 won from the envelope and headed to a nearby butcher shop.
As for family, Seonghyun only had his mother and younger sister left. Even his sister was still young, and his mother had lost her sanity.
Before Seonghyun entered the academy, his family had left due to an outbreak of incidents involving monsters.
They called places with frequent monster appearances “gates.” At that time, Seonghyun’s family was on a trip.
And it had to be near a gate where incidents involving monsters occurred.
They didn’t often go on trips.
Rather, it was their first time.
It was the very first time they had gone on a trip as a family, and of all times, it had to be when a gate suddenly occurred.
‘Hurry, go!’
Until now, his father’s last shout echoed in his ears.
Unlike Seonghyun, his father carried no talents or abilities, yet he faced the monsters with a determined expression, carrying a small knife to cut fruits, and fought against the monsters.
“Haa… this memory again.”
It was his last memory of his father, but it was a memory he didn’t want to recall. Seonghyun shook his head and bought some meat from the butcher shop.
As he was about to head home, his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Oppa! Mom is acting strange again…”
“Again? Alright, I’ll come quick.”
After his father disappeared like that, at that time, his mother had still been okay.
Rather, she didn’t show signs of struggling with the responsibility of taking care of Seonghyun and his younger sister, Hyein.
But the shop that was meant to secure their family’s future went under.
That’s when Seonghyun’s mother started acting strangely.
‘Monsters! monsters!’
Whether she was seeing things or not, whether she was asleep or walking down the street, she claimed to see monsters and would sit trembling in place.
Dozens of times a day.
They even took her to the hospital.
However, the conclusion was that there was no specific way to treat her condition.
All they could do was prescribe medication to prevent it from worsening.
And they couldn’t even afford good medicine.
“If only I had gone to the military back then…”
After graduating from the academy, there were suggestions for him to enlist in the military.
It would certainly be much riskier than what others did, but the rewards were guaranteed, making it potentially better.
However, leaving behind a young sister who needed care and a mother that was in a condition, was a difficult decision to make.
There was no one else who could help if something were to happen.
“…What’s the use of regretting it now?”
If the shop had been run properly, if they had traveled elsewhere, or better yet, if they had never opened the shop in the first place, Seonghyun’s family might now be living in a harmonious and happy home, even if they’re not that rich.
“I’m here.”
“Oppa, Mom had another seizure.”
“The medication?”
“I think it’s all gone.”
“Already?”
Seonghyun let out a deep sigh and opened a drawer where he kept his money.
Inside were a few crumpled 10,000 won bills.
“Put this in the fridge.”
“Meat…?”
“It’s been a while since I bought meat. Let’s have it together when Mom gets better.”
“Okay.”
After talking, Seonghyun stepped outside to make a call.
“Hello?”
“Oh, Seonghyun? What’s going on?”
“Well, you see…”
It was his boss, and if he had to go get his mother’s medication, he might be late for work in the morning. Moreover, if there were many people waiting at the hospital, he might have to spend the whole day there.
“…Your Mom’s medication?”
“Ah, yes… So, I was thinking if I could take only the morning shift tomorrow.”
“Morning shift? Just take the whole day off. I’ll make sure your daily wage is covered.”
“Really? But…”
“Enough. Just think of it as getting a bonus, I’ll handle it myself. Get some rest for the day after tomorrow. I’m hanging up.”
Seonghyun stared at the phone for a moment, which was already disconnected from the call, biting his lower lip.
Having briefly gazed at the sky lost in thought, he went back inside and waited to have the meat together.
But unfortunately, they couldn’t have the meat today.
“What? What are you suddenly talking about, sir?”
“…That’s how it is. I’m baffled too. Does this mean that all those who don’t have money should die?”
Seonghyun touched the card inside his pocket.
There was about 2.5 million won in it, at best.
Out of this money, 400,000 won would go for monthly rent, and after deducting fixed expenses and living costs, he would be left with just around 300,000 won.
“Just last month, the price difference wasn’t this significant…”
“We can’t help it. We can’t just give discounts to you Mr. Seonghyun alone. You understand that, right?”
“I’m not asking for that! No matter how precious it’s become, the price is just too…”
“We didn’t raise the prices; it was the government. Don’t take it out on us.”
“…Yes, sorry.”
Just last month, the cost of the medication, which used to be around 200,000 won per month, had suddenly skyrocketed to 1 million won in just one month.
The main ingredient of the medication was the raw materials of monsters, and the reason was that these monsters had recently become scarce.
“Ugh…”
Seonghyun let out a deep sigh and left the hospital.
After buying his mother’s medication.
“She hasn’t arrived yet.”
Seonghyun had vowed to never let his sister go through the same ordeal as himself, so he was using most of the income to support her.
Fortunately, his sister had a talent, and if her ability manifested at the age of 20, she would be taking the academy entrance exam in two years.
“Mom.”
His mother was still asleep.
Seonghyun watched her for a moment, then took the medication from the envelope and placed it on his mother’s forehead.
For oral medication, they had no choice but to use the more expensive type, as she would often spit out carefully chosen pills.
Seonghyun went outside and headed to the convenience store.
He bought a bottle of soju, sat down on a convenience store chair, and began to drink.
Snacks with alcohol were for the rich.
“What a miserable life…”
Seonghyun looked back on the nearly 30 years of his life, wondering what sin he had committed.
Was working hard a crime?
“Sob sob…!”
All the things he had bottled up and suppressed over the years were slowly bursting out.
He saw the things he had ignored and pushed aside were looming larger and larger under the influence of alcohol.
“What did I do so wrong?”
As more and more of these things erupted, the empty bottles kept piling up beside him.
His useless talent, which had helped him enter the academy, didn’t even allow him the solace of getting drunk.
“Sigh… time to go.”
With heavy steps, he headed home, but in the distance, he could hear a crowd of people gathering and murmuring.
‘What’s going on?’
“Sir, what’s happening?”
“Seonghyun! There’s-, there’s a…”
The person hesitated to respond.
“What’s going on?”
When Seonghyun pressed him once again, the person finally spoke.
“A monster… appeared.”
“What, what did you say?”
His heart dropped.
Among the gathered people, his sister and mother weren’t there.
“Seonghyun! Hey, you! It’s dangerous!”
Despite that person’s objections, Seonghyun rushed towards his home.
Hoping for the best…
He arrived at his front door without time to assess the situation. Seonghyun forcefully opened the door.
“…”
On the floor lay his sister and mother, and an uninvited guest was present.
“No, this can’t be!”
Seonghyun lunged at the monster barehanded.
It was his first encounter with a monster, but he was a graduate of the Academy.
He believed he had the ability to at least deal with one.
“…Huh?”
However, in a fleeting moment, the monster’s hand pierced through Seonghyun’s heart.
“Kuegh…”
Not even a scream emerged, only excruciating pain. Thinking that his sister and mother would also experience this agony, it felt like his heart was being torn apart.
The monster then carried Seonghyun’s body to where his sister and mother lay unconscious.
“Hmm…”
Then, the monster departed.
“Haa… haa…”
Although Seonghyun had narrowly avoided instant death thanks to the teachings of the Academy, his time was running out.
With trembling hands, he checked on his sister and mother, but as expected, his worst fears were confirmed.
“Haha…”
Only laughter escaped his lips.
A graduate of the Academy, and he couldn’t even handle a single monster.
Where did all this misfortune begin?
Was it when the shop failed? When he graduated with failing grades? When they went on a trip?
Or was it when he entered the Academy with his mediocre talent?
Countless regrets lingered, and he resented himself more than anyone else.
More than the monster that had slaughtered his family.
He hadn’t thought he would meet a peaceful death, but he had never imagined such a miserable one.
“If only… the beginning had been happier…”
With thoughts of possibly blaming an unseen deity, Seonghyun held onto his sister and mother’s hands, gazing at the slightly moldy ceiling of their modest home. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes.
“Huh, huh…”
As he woke up, sweating coldly, Seonghyun found himself strangely lacking the hangover that should have followed.
“R-right! I’m late for work!”
He hurriedly reached for his phone to check the time, but the phone looked quite different from what he remembered. However, Seonghyun didn’t notice such details at the moment.
“They were so considerate, and now I’m going to be late…!”
Time had already passed well beyond when he should have left for work. Without even properly washing up, he hastily dressed and was about to open the door when he noticed his sister looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“Where are you headed this early in the morning?”
However, his sister’s appearance was quite different from what he remembered. No, it wasn’t different; it was more like her appearance from a long time ago, or rather, exactly the same.
“Hye-Hyein?”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you have a nightmare or something?”
In a situation where he didn’t understand what was happening, Seonghyun stood frozen in place.
Then, a familiar and dearly missed voice echoed from the kitchen.
“Son, are you awake?”
Upon hearing his mother’s voice, Seonghyun slowly turned his head to look at her. She was wearing an apron, as if she had been preparing breakfast, and her eyes held nothing but genuine affection as she gazed at him.
“M… Mom?”
“Hurry up and wash up. Breakfast is ready.”
It was an unbelievable situation, but Seonghyun couldn’t bring himself to ignore it. Instead, he felt his legs give way, and he sat down right where he was.
“O-Oppa!”
“Seonghyun!”
His sister and mother rushed to him in surprise, and Seonghyun looked at them alternately with a slightly bewildered expression.
