Penguin Heatstroke and the Demonized Sister
Waiting Patients: 452
Current Wait Time: ~3 weeks
In the heart of Gangnam stood the towering Zeus Medical Tower. Its lobby resembled a makeshift field hospital in the midst of war.
But unlike a blood-soaked battlefield, the atmosphere here buzzed not with tension, but with a strange mix of excitement and awe.
"Hey, check it out. Isn't that the rank 7 'Iron Fist' guild master?"
"No way, even he's in line. Heard his pet's a fire lizard—guess it's true."
"Shh. Over there, you've got execs from Japan's Genji Guild."
Top hunters from around the world had flocked here—people who usually strutted around with egos inflated. Yet in this place, they stood meek as lambs.
The reason was simple. In the center of the lobby, next to a massive screen, crouched the "guard dog."
"Kuuu... phooo..."
Balakas, the fire dragon summoned from below, had claimed a corner of the first-floor lobby for his nap. Every snort raised the room's temperature by two degrees. When his tail twitched in his sleep with a thwack!, cracks spiderwebbed across the marble floor.
An S-rank dragon on security duty. Who would dare cut in line or cause a scene? A name tag around Balakas's neck even read [Security Chief].
Ding-dong—
A clear chime echoed through the lobby.
"Number 1, Seo Jihu. Please enter the exam room."
The murmuring lobby fell silent as if doused with ice water. Seo Jihu—Korea's rank 4 hunter, the Ice Emperor. The master of ice magic rose from his seat, face tense, cradling a limp penguin in his arms. About a meter tall, with sleek tuxedo-like feathers. An S-rank magical beast: Glacial Emperor Penguin.
Seo Jihu opened the exam room door with a grim expression.
"Come on in, number one."
Jinhyeok greeted him dryly without looking up from his monitor. Seo Jihu hesitated before sitting in the exam chair. The man who could freeze thousands of monsters in a blizzard now looked like any parent with a sick child.
"Doctor... our Pengsoo... Pengsoo's not right."
"Pengsoo, huh? Cute name."
Jinhyeok chuckled and spun his chair around. The penguin on the desk looked rough—eyes half-lidded, beak agape and panting, wings drooping to drag on the floor.
"Symptoms?"
"Can't summon ice for a week now. Normally freezes everything just breathing... Won't eat, just sleeps all day..."
Seo Jihu's voice trembled. This wasn't just a pet. It amplified his ice magic, like family. Top vets and healers had all failed—mana depletion or old age.
"Let me take a look."
Jinhyeok gloved up and checked under the wings and belly. It was hot. Scorching, like a hot coal.
"Feverish."
"What? No way! He's ice-attribute. Always stays cold..."
"That's the problem. You mismanaged him—got heatstroke."
"...Heatstroke?"
Seo Jihu blinked in disbelief. A penguin from colder than Antarctica, his own ice lord—heatstroke?
Jinhyeok clicked his tongue.
"Listen, Ice Emperor. You live in a penthouse with the AC blasting, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Winter hits, you crank the boiler and heaters."
"Well... humans get cold."
"That's the issue."
Jinhyeok slapped the chart.
"Glacial penguins thrive at minus 40°C. Korea's winter? Minus 10 on a bad day. Indoors? Plus 20."
"But I always wrap him in my cold aura..."
"Your aura's magical chill, not environmental. To him, it's like wearing a parka in a sauna. Fur coat, 24/7 steam room—who wouldn't get sick?"
"Ah...!"
It hit Seo Jihu like a hammer. His comfort had been torture for his partner. "Love" had turned to abuse.
"S-sorry... I was clueless... Pengsoo, forgive me..."
The mighty Ice Emperor hugged the penguin, sniffling. Jinhyeok sighed and stood.
"Save the tears—it's hot. Step back. Treatment time."
He hit a wall button. A panel slid open, revealing a massive cryo pod—a modded hyperbaric chamber for hunter frostbite.
"Call it the [Ultra-Cryo Sauna]. Drops to minus 100°C to vent the built-up heat."
Jinhyeok loaded the penguin and cranked the cryo gas.
Hiss—!
White frost filled the pod—lethal for normals. But inside...
"Kii... kiruk!"
The penguin's eyes snapped open. Blissful like a man in hot springs, it flapped happily. Heat gone, blue sheen returned to its feathers.
Patient 'Glacial Emperor Penguin' body temperature normalized.
Condition restored to peak.
Ten minutes later, the pod opened. Pengsoo hopped out spryly, bowed politely to Jinhyeok—somehow knowing how—and bloomed a tiny ice flower from its wing.
"Oh, a gift? Thanks."
Jinhyeok took it; Pengsoo waddled into Seo Jihu's arms. Overjoyed, Seo Jihu squeezed tight.
"Thank you! Truly, Director—how can I repay this...?"
"Pay the bill. Non-covered, so it's pricey."
Jinhyeok slid over the invoice: [Treatment: 100 million won + 1 Glacier Tear (S-rank material)]. Rare alchemy gold.
Seo Jihu didn't hesitate, plopping a blue gem on the desk.
"Here. Saved Pengsoo—this is the least. And... all our guild's beasts to you from now on."
"Line up for reservations. But VIP status granted."
Jinhyeok pocketed the gem coolly. Seo Jihu bowed out, steps a hundred times lighter.
The marathon continued.
Patient 2: Griffon with flight phobia.
"Scared to fly? Make it run."
-> [Rx: Treadmill 3hrs + VR flight sim]
Patient 3: Balding werewolf.
"Stress alopecia. Switched feed? No cheap crap."
-> [Rx: Black bean shake + scalp massage (physical)]
Patient 4: Sleepless nightmare (succubus).
"Dream-eater can't sleep? Pills flop, sing lullabies."
-> [Rx: 432Hz healing freq music]
Outlandish beast ills crumbled before Jinhyeok's Eyes of God and quirky cures. Hunters left dazed, enchanted.
"That director... legit."
"Thought quack—touches, heals?"
"Money? My baby's fixed."
Rumors exploded. SNS trends: #GangnamBeastVet, #GodJinhyeok, #DragonGuardingTheJoint.
Zeus Medical Tower stock skyrocketed daily. Dusk fell; closing time.
"Director, all today's bookings cleared."
Park Cheolwoo—ex-Zeus raid leader, now nurse manager—reported, drained. Even an S-rank felt the grind.
"Good work. Head home."
"You not leaving, sir?"
"Loose ends."
Staff gone, silence blanketed the clinic. Glamorous Gangnam night glittered beyond the glass.
Jinhyeok alone, opened a deep drawer. A small safe—fingerprint, iris, mana pattern locked.
Click.
No cash or gems. A faded photo and ring.
Jinhyeok beaming beside a V-sign woman—sharp eyes, warm smile. Korea's strongest: Sword Empress Yoo Isu. His wife.
"...Made bank."
He caressed her face. Three years ago, to seal the world-threatening Abyss Gate, she led elites inside. Gate closed. She didn't return.
They called her dead. Hero's sacrifice, monuments, forgotten. But Jinhyeok knew. She lived.
System-bound link intact. Faint life signal detected.
"Said you'd make me shutterbug when you got back. Look at me—out-earning you, babe."
Bitter smile, fiddling the ring. Why the grind—money, connections, empire? Not luxury.
To pave her way back. Reopening Abyss Gate needed astronomical mana stones, S-rank aid. Porter Jinhyeok? Impossible.
Now? Zeus master, Ice Emperor, ranks owed him. Capital piled, fame soared.
'Wait. I'll rob Korea—no, the world—to fetch you.'
Resolve in his eyes, safe shut. Then—
Bzzz—
Phone vibrated. Blocked caller. Jinhyeok frowned, answered.
"Hello. Closed for business."
—[...Director Kang Jinhyeok?]
Vocoder growl, urgent edge.
—[Heard the rumors. You fix any beast?]
"Make an appointment."
—[No slot for this. And... beyond human medicine.]
"Not interested. Hanging up."
As he moved—
—[Patient poisoned by Abyss Venom.]
Jinhyeok froze. Abyss Venom—not from normal gates. Only from that Abyss Gate, three years back.
Voice iced over.
"Who is this?"
—[Save them, come to coords now. Pay... traces of Yoo Isu.]
Click.
Coords pinged: Seoul outskirts, abandoned factories.
Trap? Maybe. But Yoo Isu—unignorable. Jinhyeok bolted up.
"Park! You home?"
"Uh, parking lot..."
"Car ready. Call basement 5."
Coat off, black tactical on. Bag packed, fists clenched.
"Wake Balakas. Night house call."
One hour later. Derelict chemical plant, eerie vibes. Black sedan halted.
Jinhyeok stepped out; dozens armed shadows emerged. Not hunters—Hunter Management Bureau Inspectorate badges.
"Director Kang. We've been waiting."
The leader: cold face, sharp bob. Inspectorate chief, Lee Soyun.
"Inspectors? Dramatic for a vet call."
"Special case. This way."
She led inside. Huge container: isolation room. And within...
"This is..."
Jinhyeok's eyes widened. No beast on the bed. A girl. Young.
But wrong—right arm/leg purple-scaled, grotesque wings budding. Demonization mid-process. Rare curse: human to beast.
"My sister."
Lee Soyun bit her lip.
"Gate byproduct lab accident. Exposed to Abyss fragment. Healers quit—says healing accelerates change."
The girl groaned beastly, half-human limbo.
Jinhyeok pondered. No humans.
His iron rule.
But Yoo Isu intel, and half-beast girl...
Not fully human. Tempting.
"Heard you see through beast anatomy. Beast doc... maybe reverse a turning human?"
"..."
"Save my sister—human again. Success? Government's hidden Abyss Gate op records from three years ago."
Jinhyeok eyed her. Rule: no humans. But half-beast, Abyss link.
Wife's trail.
Bag down. Gloves on. Smirk.
"Heard I don't treat 'humans'?"
Lee Soyun despaired—
"But turning 'beast' back to 'human'? That's my specialty."
Eyes of God glowed blue. Abyss toxin raged inside. Tricky. Doable.
"Brace. This surgery'll hurt."
Scalpel out. Clinic games over. Real stakes—life, death, first puzzle piece to his wife.