Reunion with the Ice Witch
Having completed a impeccably clean sale of the byproducts—worthy of the Fair Trade symbol with not a single thing to nitpick—Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji left the Hunter Market. He checked the 1.82 million won that had been directly deposited into his account and said,
"Hey, Choi Hyun-ji."
"Yeah?"
"What're you doing...."
Hyun-ji panicked at Hyun-seong's serious tone. But she couldn't help understanding once she heard what came next.
"We gotta reserve a dungeon."
Why hesitate over such a golden opportunity?
"Tomorrow, we're diving from morning till Mom gets off work. Got it?"
Figuring he wasn't entirely serious, Hyun-ji played along for now and opened the Hunter app. Still, it seemed smart to book a dungeon in advance.
She pulled up the dungeon map, set the filters for tomorrow's date and E-rank, and a few options popped up.
"No surprise it's unpopular here."
The first one that caught her eye was the Ghost Street (Hongdae E-rank) dungeon they'd cleared today. But if they could rake in this much from Ghost Street, it might be worth checking other dungeons too. Since reservations were available anytime, she could prioritize it lower.
That was when it happened.
An unknown number called....
"Huh? Who could it be? You know this number, bro?"
Hyun-ji showed her phone to Hyun-seong, but he had no clue and just shook his head.
"Pick it up. It's not like it's voice phishing. Not in this day and age."
At his words, Hyun-ji answered right away.
"Hello?"
In the midst of the call, Hyun-ji's eyes and mouth flew wide open. Even after hanging up, she stayed that way. She'd only given one-word answers, so Hyun-seong couldn't even guess what it was about.
"What the hell?"
Hyun-seong's curiosity was killing him.
"Min Seol-hee the hunter wants to see me."
"The Snow Woman? Why?"
"She needs my testimony about what happened in the dungeon yesterday."
"Why's the Silver Eagle Guild interested?"
"Dunno. She said we'd talk details in person."
Hyun-seong scowled at that.
"This some real voice phishing?"
"Doesn't seem like it. She gave me an address—should we head there? It's nearby anyway."
"Sure. What, you think they're gonna kidnap us?"
Hyun-seong's ominous words sent a wave of anxiety through Hyun-ji. She'd been in the industry longer than him and remembered all the shady incidents that had gone down.
They might actually try something. I gotta stick with bro no matter what.
Before she knew it, Hyun-seong had become her rock-solid support.
Thankfully, their worst fears didn't come true.
The address led to a cafe on the first floor of what was essentially the Silver Eagle Guild building. That alone slashed the odds of it being phishing or a crime.
With relieved hearts, the siblings entered, ordered drinks, and headed to one of the cafe's reserved rooms. It was a premium service requiring bookings, but the staff guided them right in—clearly pre-arranged.
Creak.
"Come on in."
As if all their worries had been for nothing, Min Seol-hee greeted them warmly from inside the room.
"Hello. We met this morning."
As Hyun-ji stepped in with her greeting, Seol-hee's eyes widened.
"Hahaha, what a small world."
She was stunned, never dreaming the face she'd seen that morning belonged to the woman she was looking for.
Hyun-ji entered, followed by Hyun-seong.
"Fancy seeing you again."
"Choi Hyun-seong...."
Seol-hee murmured his name softly, flustered once more. She started piecing together the reports in her head.
The unauthorized dungeon intruder was the victim's porter family member—and that means Hyun-ji's brother is Choi Hyun-seong?
Seol-hee's mind was about to explode. The poised young woman before her was none other than the little kid sister from school days, sister to Choi Hyun-seong.
What the hell is going on here?
Even so, Seol-hee didn't lose sight of her goal. She'd sought out Hyun-ji to uncover the truth behind the incident. Sure, the so-called perpetrator(?) was Hyun-seong, but still.
"Have a seat."
She calmly guided them to their spots.
"Alright. Where should I start? First off, one question."
"Yes."
Hyun-ji answered.
"No, to Choi Hyun-seong."
"Yeah, shoot."
"Do you... not remember me?"
What kind of situation was this? Hyun-seong stayed cool.
"Of course. We met this morning."
"No, no. Choi Hyun-seong, you went to Yeongsung Middle and Yeongsung High. I'm Min Seol-hee."
If any Silver Eagle staff saw this, they might say she'd forgotten her purpose entirely. But Seol-hee couldn't hold back anymore. The cataclysm had hit right after they'd grown up, and before that, Hyun-seong had been an irreplaceable part of her memories.
Of course, unlike Seol-hee, Hyun-seong had to rewind thousands of years to dig up those memories, so it took a moment.
Yeongsung Middle, Yeongsung High. Yeah. Who was it? Did I have a friend that pretty and amazing-looking?
Racking his brain, Hyun-seong suddenly saw a shadow of someone in Seol-hee's face. Then, the nickname from back then clicked.
Oh, Ice...
"Ice Witch."
"Yes!"
"Ice Witch?!"
Hyun-seong finally remembered her. A lot had changed since then, but slap a high school uniform on that face, and it matched his memory pretty well. The differences? She'd become a hunter—body toned up, features sharper.
"Ice Witch?"
Hyun-ji blinked in confusion and surprise. And then—
Crack!
Seol-hee's iced Americano froze solid. Cup and all.
"Ahaha, it's not like that, Hyun-ji...."
"Ice Witch, long time no see."
"Cut it out. My little sister's here."
"Right, right. Still turned over a new leaf, huh? Now they call you Snow Woman. Back then, you were a total brat—ice-cold when you wanted to be. Hence, Ice Witch."
"Wanna get frozen for real? I can do it now."
"Y-yeah, bro. Don't poke the bear. She's an S-rank hunter."
Hyun-ji whispered urgently to rein him in.
After the commotion died down and peace returned to the room, their drinks arrived.
Seol-hee finally got to the point with Hyun-ji.
"Truth is, the Association's pegging yesterday's incident on an A-rank Rogue Shadow Walker. While investigating, word came from porters that it was your family, so I wanted to meet."
"But it was me, plain as day. I had my reasons for fooling the Association staff—Hyun-ji nearly died yesterday."
At Hyun-seong's words, Seol-hee leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"Yeah, I know the details. Sigh~ Was hoping to crush some Rogues for old times' sake, but nope. Felt off from the start. If it'd been Shadow Walker, everyone inside would've been dead."
Hyun-ji was shocked by Seol-hee's words, while Hyun-seong had a question.
"Those Rogues that dangerous?"
"Scum of the earth. They awaken just to feed their sick desires. Treat human lives like flies as a baseline. Hell, they'll terrorize for their goals without blinking."
Her voice dripped with rage toward them, fully jogging Hyun-seong's memory of her.
"Still the same, huh."
"Huh?"
"Couldn't stand injustice—always knee-deep in drama...."
"I was a kid then. You saw what the last ten years were like.... Wait. Hospital this morning? Spill."
Seol-hee recalled Hyun-ji's earlier words. The answer came from Hyun-ji.
"Oh, bro was in a vegetative state for the past ten years. He's only been awake three days."
Hyun-seong nodded proudly for some reason, but Seol-hee was floored.
"So that's why you went dark...."
"Couldn't reach out. I was too young to know someone like you, Min Seol-hee hunter, was bro's friend."
"Haa~"
Seol-hee sighed deeply, imagining their hardships. A little sister scraping by in a changed world from childhood, a brother waking to one unrecognizably alien. Which was worse?
She stopped before her brain imploded.
"Anyway, friends stick together. Hit me up anytime you're in trouble. I'll help however I can."
"For real?!"
Deeply touched inside, Hyun-seong blurted the first thing that crossed his mind.
"Then use your pull to waive my fine. You know the gist of the incident."
He could've paid it off quick, but free was better. If she was handling the case, knowing the truth meant self-defense ruling, right?
"Sigh, the unauthorized entry fine?"
Seol-hee caught on instantly and shook her head.
"Why? You said speak up if it's trouble."
"You haven't changed a bit!"
Unthinkingly, she reenacted an old habit—slashing her hand down on his head.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
"?!"
She did it just like old times. Hyun-seong would've dodged to his shoulder back then too....
And he did.
"Ooh, nice and crisp. Ice Witch hands are chilly."
Leisurely twisting away and commenting on the cool shoulder, he left Seol-hee stunned. She pulled back her hand.
"A-alright. I'll handle it on my end. But be careful next time—I can't meddle outside my jurisdiction."
Hyun-seong gave a thumbs-up with a dead-serious face. Seeing him unchanged from the past, Seol-hee couldn't help but laugh.
After Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji left, Seol-hee headed straight up to the Silver Eagle Guild building from the cafe. The staff elevator got her there fast—no time for stray thoughts.
But one thing obsessed her.
How the hell did he dodge that?
The instinctive hand chop. Stats-wise, it could've been dangerous. As an S-rank hunter, her stats transcended human limits. She often botched her strength control—shattering utensils or doorknobs—earning scoldings from staff.
Yet Hyun-seong had dodged it effortlessly. She'd swung for real, just like back then, before he even reacted.
Her bewilderment wouldn't fade.
Ding!
The elevator arrived, doors opening.
"Oh? Guild master, where you coming from?"
Standing there was Kim Min-su, team leader of Silver Eagle's first raid team, kitted out with his gear from a dungeon run.
"Kim Min-su team leader, lend me your head a sec."
"Pardon?"
Kim Min-su blinked in confusion.
Kim Min-su's a solid A-rank. Stats alone, he should've dodged a surprise hand chop.
But.
Swoosh!
Crack!
"Gaaah!!"
"Ah?"
Seol-hee panicked. Kim Min-su was writhing in agony from the hit.
"G-Guild master! I-I can't work like this!!"
"S-sorry! Didn't think it'd go like this...."
The elevator commotion drew stares from everywhere, leaving her flustered.
From that day, a rumor spread through Silver Eagle Guild: deadly icicles fell in the elevators.