Rules of Basement Confinement Life
A heavy silence fell over the cramped basement room.
"...W-what the hell is this?"
Siu muttered blankly. Baek Seol, who had been peeking at his phone with him, scowled. Cold mist rose from her hand.
"Shin Seoyun... that crazy merchant bitch..."
The situation had gotten messy. Kidnapping a simple part-timer would be no big deal. But the moment he became a formal contract employee of Haesung Group, things changed.
'This bastard... when the hell did he get tangled up with that ruthless capitalist...?'
She was almost shocked by the man in front of her now.
"Nngh..."
Dragging Siu away by force would mean Valhalla Guild going to full-scale war with Haesung Group, the second-largest conglomerate in Korea. Even an S-rank hunter found a baseless war burdensome.
"Damn it...!"
Baek Seol released her grip on Siu. He let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor.
Of course, her eyes weren't those of someone giving up.
"Tied down legally, huh? Fine. You think I'm just gonna hand you over?"
Her gaze swept over the cramped, musty studio apartment. If she couldn't take him away, she'd turn this place into an impenetrable fortress no one could enter.
"No moving."
"Phew... what a relief."
"Instead."
Baek Seol plopped onto Siu's bed like it was her own home and crossed her legs.
"From today, this is Valhalla Guild's Branch 2."
"...Huh?"
"I'm saying I'll eat, sleep, and watch you here. So neither Hong Yeonhwa nor Shin Seoyun can touch you."
Siu's jaw dropped.
On his right wrist: the Flame Empress's tracker. His boss: the Haesung Group's chaebol heiress. And now, in his tiny studio: the Ice Witch declaring cohabitation.
Surrounded by Korea's three top S-rank beauties. Thus began Siu's absurd confinement life.
"Hey, part-timer. Ramen ready yet?"
Baek Seol urged from where she lounged against the bed headboard. Siu crouched by the gas burner, stirring the pot with a deep sigh.
'How did my life come to this?'
One of the world's strongest hunters, waiting for ramen against a backdrop of moldy walls. The dissonance was unreal.
"It's done. Here."
Siu set the steaming pot on the tray table. Baek Seol reached for her chopsticks, then frowned and glanced around.
"But seriously, do you even do pest control here? I've been hearing something crawling since earlier..."
Scuttle.
No sooner had she spoken than a black, speedy critter darted out from under the desk. The eternal roommate of any basement: a cockroach.
"Kyaaah!!"
Baek Seol shrieked in horror. The S-rank hunter who could rip a dungeon boss's head off barehanded was terrified by a finger-sized bug.
Whoosh!
Absolute Cold burst instinctively from her hand.
"No!! Stop!!"
Siu threw himself forward with a near-scream—not to protect her, but the limited-edition figures on the desk.
"My figures! Plastic shatters if you flash-freeze it! Stop!"
"Get rid of it! Now!"
"Just catch it! You're S-rank—can't you handle this?!"
"It's gross! Hurry!"
After a chaotic frenzy, Siu finally squashed it with a slipper. Only then did Baek Seol calm down. The room temp had plummeted to minus ten degrees; their breath fogged the air.
"Hah... ruined my appetite."
Baek Seol tossed down her chopsticks and irritably pulled out her smartphone.
"Manager Kim, come to my location now. Bring top-tier hotel takeout, a pest control service, and... some furniture. The bed's too small."
Siu stared blankly at the frozen ramen broth. This woman was serious. She really planned to set up house here.
A few hours later, guests arrived before Valhalla's crew: Haesung Group's remodeling team.
As the foreman tried to enter—"Building owner's orders"—Baek Seol blocked the already-broken doorway.
"Get lost. This is Valhalla territory now. One more step, and you're all ice sculptures."
Overwhelmed by her intense mana, the team hesitated and backed off. Mana clashed briefly in a standoff.
Ring!
"Yes, ma'am, foreman here."
After some instructions, he sighed and prepped to withdraw.
"Understood. We'll report the situation first and come back later..."
Unable to withstand the bone-chilling cold, they retreated.
Siu watched, thinking, 'What about my rent...? Who's covering the deposit?'
Night deepened. Manager Kim's luxury furniture was Tetris-squeezed into the tiny space. Baek Seol slept gracefully on the hotel-grade bedding.
Siu sighed, deciding to crash and rest his weary brain.
"Guess I'll sleep too..."
Then—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
His laptop notifications went berserk.
A bidder has appeared!
Current bid: 2 million won
Current bid: 5 million won
"...Huh?"
The anonymous hunter marketplace Back Alley was exploding with comments on the scroll listing he'd posted earlier.
Siu adjusted his glasses. Had he miscounted the zeros?
The comment section was chaos.
To Siu, it was just an application of his 'convenience store ice cup' scroll. But to mana-starved hunters, this efficiency was revolutionary.
Then—
The 500,000-won scroll sold for 30 times that.
"Whoa... whoever the sucker is, thanks."
As Siu sighed in relief and moved to confirm the deal, a DM popped up.
He thought it was a standard review. But the next line chilled his spine.
"......"
Siu slammed the laptop shut on reflex.
Red_Lotus. Red Lotus. Hong Yeonhwa.
'Crazy, how'd she know? It's anonymous!'
A fire mage like her would recognize the unique endothermic formula that neutralized her flames.
Plus, she had his location via the marking. Pinpointing the upload was child's play.
Even closing his eyes left the afterimage burned in. Goosebumps prickled; he rubbed his eyes frantically.
Offline: blocked by Baek Seol. Online: pierced by Hong Yeonhwa.
No safe zone in this dump.
"Hah..."
Siu turned. Baek Seol slept soundly on the bed, breathing softly.
He sighed, pulling a spare blanket from the closet to lay on the floor. Sleep when exhausted.
Then, a pale hand shot down from the bed.
"Ack?"
Baek Seol snatched his wrist. S-rank grip strength. No resistance—his body was yanked onto the bed.
"W-wait! You weren't asleep?!"
"Floor's cold. Get up here."
She mumbled without opening her eyes.
"No way, guys and girls shouldn't share a bed...!"
"Shut up. New pillow's throwing off my sleep."
Baek Seol yanked him into her arms. Her limbs wrapped around him like an octopus. A giant body pillow—or human cushion.
"Mmph!"
His face buried in her chest. Cool shampoo scent and her chilly body odor assaulted him. The soft give of her breasts against his face. Her curves pressed nakedly against his back. Her breath rhythmically grazed his nape.
This was torture. More fear of strangulation than arousal.
"Stay still. Move and I freeze you."
She muttered sleepily, hugging tighter.
Siu stared rigidly at the ceiling.
Rain pattered outside. Laptop blinked with Hong Yeonhwa's pursuit. The Ice Witch constricted him in her embrace.
'Please let this be a dream.'
Perilous bed-sharing with an S-rank tyrant. Siu's long night dragged on, wide-eyed, feeling the icily beautiful woman's breasts.
