The hospital room was quiet save for the heavy, rhythmic thuds of Jinwoo dropping to the floor.
"Ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred!"
Jinwoo pushed himself up, wiping a thick bead of sweat from his forehead. The moment his hundredth push-up was completed, a soft chime rang in his ears.
*Ping!*
**[ Daily Quest: 'Preparation to Become Strong' completed. ]**
**[ Rewards available: Full Recovery, Stat Points +3, Blessed Random Box. ]**
Before he could tap the screen to accept his rewards, a soft knock sounded at the door, followed by a hesitant voice.
"M-Mr. Jinwoo? May I come in?"
Jinwoo's eyes widened slightly. "Miss Ju-Hee?"
He quickly grabbed a towel from the bedside table, wiped his face, and pulled his hospital gown back over his chest. "Come in!"
The heavy door slid open, revealing Lee Ju-Hee standing nervously in the doorway. She wasn't wearing her standard hunter robes today; instead, she wore a simple pastel-blue cardigan over a white top and a fitted skirt that accentuated her graceful, slender curves. Her soft brown hair fell gently across her shoulders, framing a face that was flush with relief and embarrassment.
Seeing her up close without the grime and terror of a dungeon, Jinwoo couldn't help but notice just how strikingly attractive she was.
*'Man... the anime and manhwa really didn't do her justice,'* he thought, his gaze lingering for a brief second before he caught himself.
In his past life on Earth, he had been an ordinary guy with no luck in romance, constantly stressed and unachieved. In Jinwoo's past life, he had been too poor and broken to even entertain the idea of dating, completely oblivious to Ju-Hee's obvious affection for him.
*'The old Jinwoo was too dense and buried in trauma to see what was right in front of him,'* Jinwoo mused, a subtle smirk forming in his mind. *'I'm not making that mistake in this life. No regrets, no missed chances.'*
He knew Ju-Hee already cared deeply for him—and with his future knowledge, confidence, and growing power, winning her heart—and perhaps building something even greater as he rose to the peak of this world—wouldn't just be possible, it would be natural.
Ju-Hee stepped into the room, holding a small basket of fresh fruit. Her eyes welled with tears the moment she saw him standing on his own two feet.
"You idiot!" she cried softly, setting the basket on the table before striding over and lightly smacking his arm. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?! When Mr. Song came out alone... I thought... I thought you were dead!"
"Ouch," Jinwoo chuckled, rubbing his arm with a sheepish grin. "Hey, I promised you I'd come back alive, didn't I?"
Ju-Hee bit her lower lip, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she looked up into his eyes. There was a newfound confidence in Jinwoo's gaze—a sharpness that hadn't been there before—and it made her heart skip an unexpected beat.
"Thank you, Jinwoo," she whispered softly, her tone turning deeply sincere. "If you hadn't forced me to leave before the gate opened... I would have died in there with the others. You saved my life."
"You don't need to thank me, Ju-Hee," Jinwoo said gently. "I just did what I had to do."
Ju-Hee fidgeted with the hem of her cardigan, hesitation flickering across her features. She looked up at him, her brown eyes filled with burning curiosity.
"Jinwoo... can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"How did you know?" she asked, stepping a bit closer. "Before the doors even opened, you warned me that it was a death trap. You were so certain... How could an F-rank hunter know something even Mr. Song couldn't feel?"
Jinwoo froze for a microsecond.
*'Ah. Right. The logic plot hole.'*
He scratched the back of his neck, letting out a nervous, awkward laugh as he rubbed his temple. "Ah... that? Well... you see..."
"Was it a secret skill? A gut feeling?" Ju-Hee pressed, leaning in closer.
"It was... pure intuition!" Jinwoo blurted out, laughing awkwardly. "You know how I'm always getting hurt in dungeons? When you spend as much time on the brink of death as I have, your... uh... 'danger sense' gets really sensitive! The air just felt cold, like my gut was screaming at me to run. That's all it was! Total lucky guess!"
Ju-Hee stared at him, blinking in utter disbelief. "Your... danger sense?"
"Yup! F-rank survival instinct!" Jinwoo gave a forced, heroic thumbs-up, sweating slightly under her intense gaze.
Ju-Hee looked at his nervous smile for a few seconds before suddenly breaking into a soft, musical laugh. The tension in the room instantly melted away.
"You really are something else, Sung Jinwoo," she giggled, shaking her head. "A 'danger sense'... only you would come up with something so ridiculous."
As she laughed, Jinwoo relaxed back onto the edge of his hospital bed, his eyes taking in her bright smile, the soft sway of her hair, and her radiant charm.
A quiet, confident resolve settled deep within his chest. He was going to conquer the System, surpass the Monarchs, and rewrite his destiny. But this time, he wouldn't do it alone or live a life filled with missed opportunities.
"Hey, Ju-Hee," Jinwoo said, his voice dropping into a smooth, calm register that caught her off guard.
She stopped laughing, her cheeks warming under his direct gaze. "Y-Yes?"
"Once I get discharged from the hospital..." Jinwoo smiled faintly, leaning slightly toward her. "...will you let me buy you dinner? As a proper celebration for us both surviving?"
Ju-Hee's eyes widened, her chest fluttering violently at the sudden smoothness in his invitation. The helpless -rank boy she used to worry about felt completely different today—he felt magnetic.
"D-Dinner?" she stammered, twirling a strand of hair behind her ear as a bashful smile spread across her face. "W-Well... since you saved my life... I suppose I can't say no."