Prank!? Prank!! Part 5

"Hyung, can't you just help me out this once?"

"Hey, think about it for a second. You suddenly went on hiatus without saying a word to us. The higher-ups ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are absolutely furious."

"...Sigh, I told you, I had no choice."

"Let's hear it then. What is this excuse of yours? Did your abilities suddenly disappear or something?"

"I can't tell you that. Anyway, the hiatus is already announced, and I paid the penalty fee. But public opinion needs to be on my side when I return so I can make a smooth comeback."

".......Sigh, fine. I'll mobilize the guys and see what we can do."

Yeonhwa, who had achieved A-grade status and even received an official Hunter Name, had quite a lot of free time lately.

In the past, she had swept through dungeons like an addict, constantly pushing herself to the limit. But once she crossed that major threshold, she found herself with plenty of leisure time.

In fact, unless they were called to participate in subjugation operations—like when goblin guerrilla units attacked or ambushed civilians—A-grade hunters with official Hunter Names usually spent their time relaxing in their own rooms.

Lately, Yeonhwa spent most of her time watching the streams of Lee Sia, who could be considered her closest friend, or lurking on the Hunter Community Gallery to see what people were saying about her.

Even though Sia wasn't her biological sister, seeing her name constantly brought up in various discussions and receiving so much attention gave Yeonhwa a strange, vicarious sense of satisfaction.

"Is my sister's chest really that amazing to them...?"

If Sia had shown even the slightest discomfort at this attention, which bordered on sexual harassment, Yeonhwa wouldn't have hesitated to call a lawyer and head straight to court.

Of course, she could understand why the gallery users praised her sister's appearance and chest.

Even to Yeonhwa, Sia was incredibly beautiful, and her chest was indeed exceptionally large.

"What is this now?"

Suddenly, Yeonhwa tilted her head as she noticed a new wave of posts taking over the popular section.

Normally, about thirty percent of the popular posts on the Hunter Community Gallery were about Sia, the rising superstar.

Although there were many trolls, perverted netrunners, and bored viewers, they mostly stayed within bounds, praising Sia's chest or sharing GIFs of her cooking centipede dragons and pickled wyvern eggs. The rest were filled with awe-inspiring clips of her overwhelming combat scenes.

"Prank & Joy? What is this?"

Yeonhwa occasionally visited the Hunter Community Gallery to gather information about hunters and dungeons.

However, she had never heard of Prank & Joy, as she completely avoided malicious prank streamers.

Ah, I remember now... Someone mentioned a streamer who pulls pranks on hunters. I thought the concept was trashy and disgusting, so I ignored it...

People who craved cheap stimulation might like that sort of thing, but... why was it suddenly trending like this?

Was it really this popular?

Suddenly, search terms and keywords related to Prank & Joy began to occupy more than half of the popular posts in the gallery.

For it to take over the popular section to this extent meant that almost every general post on the board was about Prank & Joy.

Snap!

"What on earth is this..."

As Yeonhwa's mood plummeted, the temperature in the room dropped rapidly.

There were various opinions, countless trolls, hate speech disguised as debate, and personal attacks, but they all pointed to one conclusion.

'Choi Hyung-min is just a regular prank streamer who did nothing wrong this time, and Lee Sia is the bad guy who attacked him without understanding the situation.'

They didn't hesitate to praise Choi Hyung-min while putting down other streamers and hunters.

Seeing the public opinion being manipulated so artificially and systematically, Yeonhwa stood up from her seat.

Normally, Yeonhwa tried to let things slide.

Even when trolls in the gallery sexually harassed Sia or crossed the line, she didn't make them face the consequences because Sia herself didn't seem to care.

In reality, as Sia thought, most of them probably didn't have real malice.

They might have made those comments because they were foolish or thoughtless, but none of them had actively tried to harm Sia.

But this was different.

To Yeonhwa's eyes, this was pure malice.

Ring.

"Is this Binggu?"

"I'm not Binggu... Sigh, Sister."

"Why? Are you bored? Want to hang out? I was just about to have dinner..."

"...Could you take a look at this?"

"Hmm...?"

After sending the gallery link to Sia, Yeonhwa headed to the Yeon family office where Yeon Seo's administrative assistant, Yeon Ju, was working.

Yeon Ju was the one who handled all the administrative and clerical work for the Yeon family.

She wasn't biologically related to Yeonhwa or Yeon Seo, but she happened to share the same surname. Yeon Seo had hired her on a whim, and she had been managing the family's affairs ever since.

"Young lady? What brings you here?"

Seeing Yeonhwa show up without calling first, Yeon Ju adjusted her glasses and looked up from her work.

"Sister Yeon Ju. Can you find someone for me?"

"For what reason?"

"...They're annoying me."

It was probably the first time Yeon Ju had ever heard Yeonhwa speak in such a sharp, cold tone.

Realizing that Yeonhwa was furious, Yeon Ju bowed her head.

"I will find them within thirty minutes."

"Mr. Choi Hyung-min, is it really okay to do this?"

"If not, what are they going to do about it?"

"We could just stay quiet until the hiatus ends..."

"They won't know it's us anyway."

Choi Hyung-min scolded his complaining manager and staff as he scrolled through the internet.

Fortunately, things were going well so far.

If that wretched girl hadn't done something to render his abilities useless, he wouldn't have had to yield to Cheon A-young's pressure and halt his broadcasts.

If his abilities were intact, he would still be roaming dungeons, finding new hunters to target, providing raw entertainment, and emptying the pockets of his viewers. It was all because of that damn Lee Sia.

Good. The gallery reactions and public opinion are split nicely.

Thanks to his contact with a 'hyung' in the String Alliance, manipulating public opinion and trolling had become much easier.

There was a reason why Choi Hyung-min was suddenly trying to manipulate the gallery's opinion.

During his sudden hiatus, he wanted to secure as many allies as possible among his viewers. It was also a slightly malicious but effective way to promote himself on the country's largest community site.

But Hyung-min's true goal was to drag Lee Sia down out of pure spite.

She had only streamed twice, but after researching her, Hyung-min guessed that she would become a massive streamer if left unchecked.

She was beautiful and incredibly strong.

She even ate monsters in dungeons... Though her taste was bizarre, that unique element made her rise to fame inevitable.

I was pushed to the brink of ruin, and the girl who took my abilities is going to hit the jackpot? I can't let that happen.

He wanted to make that damn girl taste hell.

She took his abilities and called it 'healing'? What a joke.

He would show her how brutal the hunter streaming scene could be.

If he kept manipulating public opinion for just half a day, Sia would be branded as a terrible person who tried to leech off Prank & Joy's fame.

Although some netrunners still resisted, they were quickly drowned out by the comment bots and opinion manipulators deployed by the String Alliance.

Ding-dong.

"Ah, who is it?"

"I think it's the pizza we ordered earlier."

"Go get it."

"Yes! On it!"

One of the staff members went to open the door, and Hyung-min resumed checking the gallery on his computer and smartwatch.

"U-Um... Hyung-min?"

"What? Put the pizza on the table outside. The smell will linger if we eat it here."

"No, it's not that... I think you need to come out."

"What?"

Seeing the staff member sweating nervously, Hyung-min frowned and glared at him.

"Ah, seriously, what is it now? If it's nothing, you're dead..."

"......"

"It's you."

CRASH!!!

"Hieek!"

"W-What's going on?!"

In an instant, Hyung-min lost consciousness from a sudden impact and sharp pain.

He was out for less than a second, but when he regained his senses, he realized his body was pinned against the wall.

And he wasn't just pinned.

Cold ice was binding his arms and legs to the wall like shackles.

"Hi-Hieek..."

"Is-Isn't that... Yeonhwa...?"

"The granddaughter of Yeon Seo, who recently received her Hunter Name...?!"

"Crazy! Hyung-min, who did you mess with?!"

Looking at the panicked manager and staff, Yeonhwa glared at them with cold eyes.

"Everyone, get out. You can call the police, but I'm telling you now, it won't do any good."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"W-We're leaving!"

"Binggu. You shouldn't do that the moment we meet."

"I'm not Binggu... Sigh."

Hearing a familiar voice, Hyung-min raised his head.

"W-What... Why are you here...?"

It was Lee Sia.

How could he forget? Her appearance was exactly as it had been in the Suyeol Plains.

But he couldn't let her looks fool him. She was the enemy who had stripped him of his abilities.

Because of her, his channel was forced into a hiatus, and he was on the verge of ruin.

"Sister, you can be angry. It's him."

"...Sister? Hey, you crazy bitches! What the hell are you doing in someone else's house...?!"

"Hey."

Crack!

"Agh?!"

As the ice binding his limbs tightened and grew larger, the pressure on his wrists and ankles made Hyung-min gasp for air.

"Shut your filthy mouth before my sister speaks."

"Binggu."

Sia walked slowly toward Hyung-min and broke the ice shackles binding him one by one.

Although the ice shackles were as thick and hard as steel, she broke them effortlessly with her bare hands as if they were crackers.

Freed from the shackles, Hyung-min looked up at Sia in disbelief.

He still couldn't understand what was happening.

Why was this Yeonhwa woman here?

Why was Lee Sia here?

And how did they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠find this place?

Helping the confused Hyung-min stand up, Sia smiled gently.

"Did you hate me?"

"...That's..."

"Strange. I'm sure I healed you properly..."

"...Properly? Because of you, my abilities are gone!"

At Hyung-min's sudden outburst, Sia tilted her head as if she truly didn't understand, then looked back at Yeonhwa.

"'Ability impotent' is slang for someone who lost their abilities due to external or internal reasons."

"...I don't understand."

Sia reached out her hand toward Hyung-min.

Not knowing what she was going to do, Hyung-min flinched and shrank back.

"The healing was successful."

"...Nonsense...!"

"By any chance, did you even try to use your ability again?"

"I transform using monster factors! But after receiving your 'healing' or whatever, the monster factors completely disappeared!"

"I asked if you tried."

At her words, Hyung-min's face flushed with anger.

How could he when the factors were gone...!

"Try it."

"...You damn..."

"Watch your mouth when speaking to my sister."

"......"

Biting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his lip in frustration, Hyung-min channeled his mana and attempted his Shapeshifter ability as Sia suggested.

And then...

"Uh...?"

"What, it works?"

Only Hyung-min's dumbfounded voice and Yeonhwa's exasperated voice echoed in the room.

Hyung-min's arm had transformed like a werewolf's, and his legs easily followed suit.

"H-How... Shapeshifting without the factors..."

How was this possible?

It definitely hadn't worked until yesterday...

"The Greater Healing I cast doesn't just boost regenerative power; it restores the body, including mana, to its peak condition. It seems your sudden abundance of mana either altered your ability or evolved it, and you simply had trouble adapting to the change."

"...T-That..."

"So he was just throwing a tantrum for nothing, Sister?"

"Binggu, don't be so harsh."

Sia looked at Hyung-min with a gentle smile.

For someone who had just been targeted by a malicious smear campaign on the Hunter Community Gallery, she looked incredibly peaceful and unbothered.

"I'm sorry. If I did something wrong, I apologize. So let's leave it at this."

"......"

The meaning of Sia's words was clear.

Forgiveness.

Let's not fight anymore.

"Life is too short to focus on anything but good things. Let's compromise a little and live kindly."

"...Y-Yes..."

Reluctantly, Choi Hyung-min bowed his head in embarrassment.

He had nothing to say.

If he could use his abilities from the start... if he had just gotten a proper checkup at the hospital...

Then the whole stream incident could have ended as a minor mishap.

"Fufu, then we've made up, right?"

"......."

Although Hyung-min's face was still stiff with lingering discontent, he couldn't argue with Sia.

Now that his abilities were proven to be intact, he had no excuse.

Above all, he knew that his trolling on the Hunter Community Gallery was shameful.

"Yeonhwa, I'll wait downstairs. Since we're out, let's have dinner together."

"Yes, Sister."

As Sia left the apartment without looking back, only Hyung-min and Yeonhwa remained in the room.

"Phew, well... since things are sorted out, I guess we're done here..."

Crack!

"A-Agh?!"

Trying to offer a half-hearted apology to send Yeonhwa away, Choi Hyung-min screamed as a sharp pain pierced his foot.

"W-Why?! Lee Sia said she forgave me, so why are you doing this?!"

"She forgave you... but did I ever say I did?"

"Cut the crap, you bitch! What does this have to do with you?! I never did anything to annoy you..."

"You did. Plenty. Do you know why the Association hasn't bothered with you all this time?"

Grabbing Choi Hyung-min by the collar as he stood pinned by the ice on his foot, Yeonhwa smirked.

"Because you're too pathetic and filthy to care about."

"...What?"

"Did you really think you were doing those hunter pranks legally? Don't make me laugh. People like you ruin the reputation of hunters. Scum like you drag the image of hunters, which my grandmother Yeon Seo worked so hard to build, straight into the gutter."

"J-Just because I damaged the image doesn't mean I broke the law...!"

"Do I really need to point out the hundreds of times you violated the Hunter Code of Conduct?"

"That's...!"

"Ah, you didn't know? Do you think that excuse will work now? What are you, a child?"

At her words, Choi Hyung-min shut his mouth, knowing she was right.

Thud!

"Aaaargh?!"

Hyung-min screamed at the sudden pain in his hand.

Yeonhwa's ice had covered his hand, and her sword had slammed down onto it.

Thanks to Yeonhwa's control, his hand was completely frozen, so no blood spilled.

Furthermore, because of the sudden ambush, his Shapeshifter ability was practically sealed.

Yeonhwa's ability was ice manipulation.

Since shapeshifting primarily manifested in the limbs, Yeonhwa's preemptive freezing of his arms and legs left him unable to resist.

"Let's finish this in three minutes. My sister is waiting downstairs."

"Y-You crazy bitch! Even if you're Yeon Seo's granddaughter, how can you...!"

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Meeting Yeonhwa's eyes, which had turned as cold as a glacier, Choi Hyung-min couldn't speak.

Crackle...

"...?!"

No, he literally couldn't open his mouth.

The frost emanating from Yeonhwa had frozen his lips shut.

Shut that filthy mouth of yours. You don't deserve to speak.

"Yes, I am Yeon Seo's granddaughter."

"...Mmph... Mmph!"

"I've been called the beloved young lady of the Hunter Association, the Returnee Management Bureau, and the Yeon family. When I was young, I thought it was an embarrassing and useless title. I only cared about getting stronger, so I rarely used the influence of the Association or my grandmother for personal matters..."

Yeon Seo was a living legend.

And the Hunter Association was practically built by her.

The Returnee Management Bureau was a sub-department of that Association.

From birth, Yeonhwa was essentially royalty in the hunter world.

Even if she decided to act out and cause trouble, she could easily get away with it.

She was the true elite of this era, the sole bloodline of a living legend, and a genius who surpassed A-grade immediately upon graduating from the academy.

"But that title... seems quite useful today."

There was no one in the current hunter society who could stop Yeonhwa.

"Let me ask you again. Do you feel wronged? What are you going to do? Report me? Go ahead. If you have money to burn, you can have a long, boring debate with the Yeon family's lawyers."

"M-Mmph...!"

"You targeted the sister who saved my life with your cheap, dirty tricks... and even though she forgave you and let you live... did you think I'd let a dog who bites the hand that feeds him go free? Did you really think you could just keep being a toxic streamer?"

Yeonhwa's raw strength was far above that of Cheon A-young, who was also A-grade. Even if Choi Hyung-min could use his abilities, he wouldn't stand a chance against her.

Although this society was governed by ethics and the rule of law, there were lines that should never be crossed, and if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crossed, there were those who would enforce the consequences.

"Didn't you say the same to the people you pranked? Don't feel too wronged. Just think of it as bad luck, like running into a natural disaster."

"...Mmph, mmph!!"

"Don't think too hard about it. This time, you just met a natural disaster."

And Yeonhwa decided to act as the elite young lady of the Yeon family and the Association today.

Just for today.

"I heard my sister cast Greater Healing on you five times?"

"...M-Mmph?!"

Crackle!

The ice that sealed his mouth began to spread like a plague, consuming Choi Hyung-min's entire body.

It was cold.

No, it was so cold that it surpassed the limit, feeling as if he were being burned by lava.

"Then it should be fine even if I slice you up a bit, right?"

"...Mmph! Mmmph!!!"

In place of my sister,

The bastard who dared to touch my precious sister...

I'll make sure he can never open his mouth again.

Exactly three minutes later, Sia and Yeonhwa met on the ground floor of Hyung-min's apartment building.

"Are you done?"

Looking at Sia's smiling face, Yeonhwa paused for a moment.

"Yeonhwa."

"...Sister?"

She had been calling her Binggu until now, so hearing her real name suddenly felt strange.

Sia turned around and smiled warmly at Yeonhwa.

"It's okay."

"........."

What was okay?

Did she know what she had done?

If so, did it mean she understood because she was her person?

Reaching that thought, Yeonhwa remembered that Lee Sia had lived in the 'other world' empire for over sixty years.

And she hadn't lived as a commoner or an ordinary citizen.

She had lived as the 'Empress's' right hand for sixty years.

Although Yeonhwa didn't know what kind of empire it was, she could guess that political intrigue and fierce power struggles were daily occurrences there.

'Did my sister, who lived as the Empress's right hand... really not know what I would do? Did she leave Choi Hyung-min's apartment first on purpose?'

Did she pretend not to know...?

Or was it what she intended?

Yeonhwa didn't think Sia would harbor such dark, underhanded thoughts.

She might have just said it without thinking.

It could have been a casual remark.

However...

Her sister's face seemed a bit brighter now.