There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (3)
Chae Mu-jin was already familiar with the skills Noble Body and Absolute Zero.
Trait — Noble Body (S)
• Nullifies all status ailments below A-rank.
• Ignores all environmental damage of 1,000 or less.
• Gains +10 to Health and Mana stats per level-up.
• When taking damage, Mana is consumed instead of Health. The effect persists until Mana is fully depleted.
• When losing Health, uses Stamina to rapidly recover Health.
• Natural Health regeneration and Mana regeneration +600%
Skill — Absolute Zero (S)
• Lowers the temperature of a designated area.
But Ice-White Shadow Form was new to him. In fact, he had never seen a skill with the Imprint tag before.
“Gyeo-ul. You probably sense it already, but you’ve awakened. Try saying ‘status window’ in your head.”
“I did.”
“Tell me what class and skills you got, along with their effects. For reference, traits work like passive skills, so when I say skills, I’m including traits.”
“My class is… Snow Woman. My skills are……”
Kim Gyeo-ul calmly recited everything as instructed, including the fact that she had obtained two S-rank skills and the details of her Imprint trait, Ice-White Shadow Form.
Class — Snow Woman
Inherent Passive Effect — Eternal Winter
• Lowers the temperature within a 1m radius. The effect persists down to -10°C. (All values increase by 0.1 per level.)
• Cold-attribute skills consume only half the usual Mana.
• Health and Mana regeneration increase the lower the surrounding temperature.
• Immune to cold damage.
• Takes eight times the damage from fire.
• Inherent Domain Expansion — Eternal Snowfield
She explained everything. Everything except Ice-White Shadow Form.
Kim Gyeo-ul hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head.
“Ah, there’s nothing written here.”
“That can’t be right. Take another good look.”
“…I’m sorry. There really isn’t any description.”
Kim Yeo-ul believed without a shred of doubt that his younger sister would never lie, and Lee Min-ji simply accepted it. But Chae Mu-jin knew she was lying.
She’s not even good at lying.
He didn’t press her, because her expression made it clear she didn’t want to share it. And it wasn’t because she couldn’t trust the people here.
“All right. If it shows up later, make sure to tell me. If it’s too much pressure, you can tell Yeo-ul instead.”
“…Okay.”
“So what do we do with Gyeo-ul now? A hidden class and two S-rank skills? This has to be a dream, right? This is insane!”
Lee Min-ji, who had been holding herself back, finally started getting excited.
“She’ll get a free pass as a certified hunter, and S-rank guilds will be fighting to recruit her, right? Congrats, Gyeo-ul. Your life just got way easier!”
“N-no, I……”
“What do you mean, no! You’re definitely… Mmph!”
Chae Mu-jin stuffed bread into Lee Min-ji’s mouth and stood up.
“This isn’t the time to be talking about S-rank skills. Isn’t everyone cold?”
“Now that you mention it……”
“Ugh, now that you say it, it is cold. Is it because we’re underground?”
“Gyeo-ul just told us. The Snow Woman effect lowers the temperature around her. It’s probably not something she can turn on and off at will.”
“Then isn’t that a curse?”
The word “curse” darkened the siblings’ expressions. Min-ji leaned her head back, worried Chae Mu-jin would hit her again, but no flick came.
“It’s not a curse, but you can’t keep living here. Let’s get out for now.”
“What about the food we bought?”
“We’ll have to leave it. Grab anything you want to eat now.”
“That’s such a waste……”
“The stuff from the unmanned convenience store has a minimum shelf life of a hundred years anyway. If you really feel bad, come back for it later.”
“I’ll just take the jelly.”
After Min-ji grabbed a few jelly snacks, Yeo-ul, who had been watching nervously, picked up one as well.
“Gyeo-ul. You take something you want too.”
“No, Oppa. I’ll… eat later.”
With everyone holding a snack, they got into the car. Night had already fallen.
* * *
On the way back to Seoul, the expected problem occurred. The temperature drop caused by the Snow Woman effect was becoming noticeable.
Kim Gyeo-ul was terrified. Afraid that others would get hurt because of her.
That fear seemed to trigger the effect, making the temperature plummet even faster—until Chae Mu-jin, driving with one hand, firmly grasped Gyeo-ul’s hand in the passenger seat.
“……!”
The warmth from his hand didn’t stay there. It gently enveloped her entire body in an instant.
“Gyeo-ul. How old are you?”
“S-seventeen.”
“Sorry in advance—I’m not good at sugarcoating things. You won’t be able to live like a normal student.”
“Ahaha, it was already like that anyway. If it weren’t for you, Teacher……”
“Teacher, my ass. You can call me Ahjussi like Min-ji does.”
“You don’t seem like an ahjussi. C-can I call you Oppa?”
At the shy question, Min-ji muttered from the back seat.
“You wouldn’t say that if you tried the spicy cold noodles with radish here.”
“Ignore her. Call me whatever’s comfortable.”
“I’ll call you Mu-jin Oppa……”
“Anyway, Gyeo-ul. The phenomenon of cooling your surroundings will keep happening whether you intend it or not. I’ve seen plenty of cases like that.”
“Yes……”
“But don’t worry. You can control it. Just like now.”
Of course, simply holding hands hadn’t made the Eternal Winter effect disappear. Chae Mu-jin had only channeled his Clear Mirror Still Water internal energy into Kim Gyeo-ul’s body to help stabilize her.
“Once you learn how to control it, you can weaken the effects of Eternal Winter. It won’t be easy, and it’ll be mentally taxing. But at least when you want to, you won’t have to make the surroundings cold.”
“Ah……!”
“So don’t worry about daily life. A normal life might be difficult, but a special one is possible.”
“Ahaha. What does that even mean?”
“Gyeo-ul. Do you want to become a hunter?”
It was a heavy question, but Chae Mu-jin asked it lightly, so Kim Gyeo-ul could answer comfortably.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t.”
At those words, Min-ji leaned in and protested.
“What are you saying? She has two S-rank skills. If Gyeo-ul doesn’t become a hunter, it’d be a national loss!”
Thwack!
“Hiss, next time I’m not just taking it!”
Chae Mu-jin activated Min-ji Feeding Ban and continued speaking to Gyeo-ul.
“Becoming a hunter will make your life very hard. You won’t be able to turn back. Even when it’s tough, you won’t get a break, and even if you want to quit, you won’t be able to.”
“…But I have two S-rank skills, don’t I?”
“Two or three, it doesn’t matter. You’re still young.”
Min-ji, who supported Gyeo-ul becoming a hunter, added a comment.
“Ahjussi. Don’t you know that Awakeners are treated as adults from age sixteen?”
“That’s a completely different story from this. Gyeo-ul has been sick for a long time. She’s a kid who never got to enjoy a proper daily life. Telling a kid like that to become a hunter just because she’s healthy now is wrong.”
Squeeze.
Chae Mu-jin’s hand tightened unconsciously as he spoke again.
“I won’t allow a child to step into the cruel world of hunters, no matter how much everyone needs it.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the will behind those words was heavier than anything else in the world.
Though Chae Mu-jin’s grip hurt, Kim Gyeo-ul smiled as if it didn’t bother her and replied.
“You mean I should at least become an adult first, even if I want to be a hunter?”
“Even as an adult, if you can’t control Eternal Winter, you won’t be able to live a normal life, let alone be a hunter. So for now, focus only on learning control.”
“I’ll do as you say, Mu-jin Oppa. But there’s one thing I’m curious about too.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you being so kind to me?”
In the rearview mirror, Chae Mu-jin’s eyes met Kim Yeo-ul’s.
“Because it’ll make Yeo-ul work harder.”
“……?”
“You’ll hear the details from Yeo-ul later.”
After that, they didn’t talk about heavy topics. They chatted about what they wanted to eat and where they wanted to go, and before long, they arrived at their destination.
—Potato Stew Restaurant Where Two People Eating Could Kill Three Without Them Knowing
Lee Min-ji poked Gyeo-ul’s arm as if she had expected this.
“See? Two beautiful girls and he takes us to a place like this for dinner?”
Chae Mu-jin had already gone inside the potato stew restaurant and secured a table. It was late, so there wasn’t a single customer.
“Welcome.”
A middle-aged man who looked like an employee gave a half-hearted greeting while watching a baseball broadcast.
Once everyone was seated, Chae Mu-jin raised his hand.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll get you four servings of potato stew.”
“Come here for a second.”
“Geez, I’m watching the game……”
Grumbling, the middle-aged man approached the table and looked at Chae Mu-jin and his group with an expression that said, “What now?”
“Everyone, say hello.”
“……?”
The group blinked. Why was he suddenly telling them to greet this rude middle-aged employee?
“This is my dad.”
“Pfft!”
Lee Min-ji spat out the water she had been drinking.
* * *
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“N-no! You suddenly said something weird, so I was surprised!”
The crying siblings on either side wiped Chae Mu-jin’s face with tissues. He didn’t refuse. It was quite wet, after all.
“Min-ji. Don’t sit across from me anymore. Switch seats right now.”
“Holding a grudge……”
“Want me to show you what a real grudge looks like?”
“Ah, got it. Don’t get up.”
After making Min-ji switch with Yeo-ul, he turned to his father.
“These kids… are they the younger siblings you got close to at the exam hall?”
“Nice to meet you? I’m Min-saeng Ji-won-geum, or Min-ji for short.”
When Min-ji greeted him cheerfully, his father pointed to the right wall.
—Welcome, Min-saeng Ji-won-geum
“Ehehe! I should’ve come sooner!”
Next were the crying siblings’ turn.
“Hello… I’m Kim Yeo-ul.”
“I’m Kim Gyeo-ul……”
Their voices were so quiet that even Chae Mu-jin, sitting right next to them, could barely hear. But his father nodded.
“Welcome. I’m Mu-jin’s father.”
Then he returned to his seat and started watching baseball again. Really, he was his father, but way too cool. Well, from his dad’s perspective, he had only been gone for three days, so there was no emotional impact.
The fact that we hadn’t met in decades and only reunited after death and regression… that’s something only I know.
Massaging his father’s shoulders as he watched the game with a serious face, Chae Mu-jin spoke.
“When are you going to drink that championship wine on the shelf? It’ll go bad.”
“Hanha’s definitely winning this year. Their form is picking up.”
“They won’t win even in ten years.”
“If you’re gonna curse them, get out. Shoo.”
I know because I’ve lived through the future, you know? Swallowing those words, Chae Mu-jin headed to the kitchen. It was neatly organized. The moment he entered, heat rushed over him—until a tray suddenly blocked his view.
“Take the side dishes.”
It was his mother. She must have been watching from the kitchen and was now offering a tray full of side dishes.
Normally, he would have taken the tray and left, but today he decided to act differently. He set the tray aside and hugged his mother.
“Did something happen?”
“It did.”
“You worked hard.”
Pat, pat.
He fully savored his mother’s hand gently patting his back without asking any questions. Yeah, this was enough.
“Mom. Close the shop for today and have a talk with me over dinner.”
“My son seems like a completely different person all of a sudden?”
“People change when they die and come back to life.”
“Did you get cancer?”
“It’s about the business?”
“Cancer would’ve been better.”
After finishing their nonsense conversation, they ate with the kids. A dinner in a comfortable space with no danger or tension. While everyone was happily focused on their meal, Yeo-ul suddenly lowered his head deeply.
“Hic, hic……”
“Hey, Lee Min-ji. It’s not because you stole his cola. Go get him a new one.”
“If you wanted it, you should’ve said so. Why cry?”
“Sniff, it’s not because of the cola. I’m sorry.”
Then Kim Yeo-ul suddenly stood up and left the restaurant. Chae Mu-jin got up as well.
“I’ll go.”
Yeo-ul hadn’t gone far. He was sitting on a chair in front of the store.
Chae Mu-jin didn’t know why he was crying, but he sat down next to him anyway.
“Yeo-ul.”
“Sniff, yes.”
“Go cry over there. You’re too loud.”
“……”
“It was a joke. Sit.”
“…I don’t know if I deserve this.”
“The right to eat potato stew? You can buy it for fifteen thousand won.”
“I don’t know if it’s okay to be this happy, to have this much luck. I haven’t even lived a good life, and I’m actually a bad person……”
“Good grief. I was wondering what you were thinking. People are born to be happy in the first place. And luck? What luck? Me curing your sister? How is that luck?”
He handed Yeo-ul the cold can of cola he had brought.
“Your sister is alive because you held onto hope tightly. Not just anyone can do that, you know? Hope isn’t something you can see. How easy is it to grab and cling to something invisible? So it’s okay to be proud. I’m the one who saved your sister, but it was your hope that seized the opportunity.”
He stood up. He also handed over the tissues he had brought.
“No matter how hopeless it seems, don’t lose hope. It’ll save you. Just like today.”
Before going back inside, he looked back once.
“And you don’t need to be too grateful.”
This time, he spoke without a trace of a smile.
“Because there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”