Chapter 116: Chapter 116

[The morning before Wonhee went to the Blue House...]

"NOONA, I wanna go with you."

"You can’t, Eunseok-ah," Wonhee said while patting Eunseok’s head gently. "You have school today. And it’s dangerous for a Civilian like you to be there."

Eunseok pouted. "We’re living together now, but Noona is still too busy to play with me."

Her dear nephew could call her ’noona’ instead of ’aunt’ because Seon Chang-ho wasn’t there at the moment.

[My brother-in-law is busy with his succession training.]

"I promise to play with you once Yejun is out of the dungeon."

"Is the Ice Demon going to live with us, too?"

[Yejun used to be called the ’Ice Lord’ during his rookie days. But when he started to suffer from insanity, people began calling him the ’Ice Demon.’]

"Well, Yejun and I need to stay together," Wonhee said. "But if you think you’d feel uncomfortable living with someone you’re not familiar with, then I’ll just find a new place."

"I didn’t mean it that way, Noona," Eunseok said while shaking his head. "I heard from Eomma before that Hwang Frost makes the best bingsu 1 because his ice tastes really delicious. Do you think he’ll make bingsu if I asked nicely?"

That was the first time she heard about that.

[So, Yejun’s ice tastes great?]

"I’ll ask Yejun once he’s out of the dungeon," Wonhee said, patting Eunseok’s head. "For now, be a good boy and go to school. And stop beating up people."

"I only beat up Hunter bastards who harass Guides," Eunseok said defensively. "Listen, Noona. There’s this twenty-something sunbae in my school who recently awakened as a D-Class Hunter. He keeps harassing the Guide in my class who’s the same age as me. I couldn’t stand it so I taught him a lesson he’d never forget. Fortunately, he doesn’t know how to use his strength properly yet so I won the fight." He raised his clenched hand. "Now he won’t touch a Guide without consent."

Eunseok was born a Civilian.

But thanks to the potions that Semi had been feeding him since he was a toddler, Eunseok grew up physically stronger than average Civilians. Soobin once said that Eunseok’s physical strength was similar to an E-Class Hunter’s.

[That means Eunseok is physically stronger than F-Class Hunters.]

Of course, it was a secret that only their family knew about.

[Civilians would lose their minds if they found out Semi Unnie makes potions that could make ordinary people strong.]

"Eunseok-ah, I understand how you feel," Wonhee said, holding Eunseok’s hands. She was using the tone that she would often use when talking to a child. "But you’re a chaebol and not a thug. There’s almost nothing in this world that money can’t solve– and we have plenty of money. Stop making your parents worry, okay?"

"Okay, Noona," Eunseok said, nodding. "I’ll use my money and not my fist next time."

Spoken like a true chaebol.

"YOU TWO fought, didn’t you?"

Wonhee flinched at Soobin’s question.

[He’s obviously asking about me and Yool since we barely talked to each other.]

Her older brother came to pick her up, and so did Yool and Song Moonho. For original chapters go to novel⸺fire.net

Instead of using separate cars, they just used the car Soobin brought: a bullet-proof 7-seater luxury SUV.

So, Ahyeon drove the car with an empty shotgun seat.

Yool and Song Moonho sat in the backseat together.

Wonhee and Soobin sat in the middle seat next to each other.

"Yool and I didn’t fight, Oppa," Wonhee said awkwardly. "We’re just having a war of nerves."

"It’s because Wony is being stubborn," Yool said, scoffing. "She’s choosing the difficult path when we can just take the easy road."

"I’m not being stubborn," Wonhee said defensively. "I’m just protecting you, Yool."

"I already said I’m fine with it."

"No, you’re not. Stop with your sacrificial mindset, Yool-ah."

"I don’t want to hear that from you of all people, Wony-ah."

"You’re fighting," Soobin said, laughing softly as if he was amused. "That’s new. The two of you..." He trailed off, and then he glanced at Ahyeon before he continued. "The three of you get along so well, so it’s rare for you to fight. If I remember correctly, the last time the three of you fought was when you only got one VIP ticket for Maru’s concert in America."

Wonhee could get VIP tickets for any concert using her connections, but it was more fun to buy tickets while competing with international fans (since Maru had a bigger fanbase outside Korea).

"They fought because of that?" Song Moonho asked curiously, and then he turned to Yool with honey dripping from his eyes. "Adorable."

Yool covered the side of his face with one hand as if he didn’t want to see Song Moonho’s (handsome) face.

"Just talk it out," Soobin said. "You’re good friends, after all."

"We will, Oppa," Wonhee said, and then she changed the topic. "Oppa, Semi Unnie sent me a message through my Status Window and told me that she might come out of the Isolated Laboratory today with Graham-ssi. But Unnie didn’t say anything about the potion. I remember one of the ingredients she needs is my energy."

"Semi Noona didn’t mention anything to me either, but I’m sure Noona doesn’t need your energy yet," Soobin said, patting Wonhee’s head gently. "Don’t worry about it, Hee-ya. Let’s just focus on the dungeon. I hope Yejun already cleared it."

Because if not, then the Crack would burst open and the monsters inside might come out.

Yool was shocked when he saw the huge iceberg shaped like an inverted triangle full of long cracks all over.

It only had a single long crack before.

[It’s a sign that the Crack will burst open soon!]

Yool let out a gasp when the realization hit him. "THE Hwang Frost who solo-ed several Special-Grade dungeons in the past failed to clear the Crack that’s supposed to be compatible with his ice powers?"

"Well, Yejun is no longer in his prime," Song Moonho, who was standing next to him, said. "But don’t worry, Yool-ssi. I’ll protect you and kill the monsters right away."

"Don’t you have faith in Hwang Frost?"

"As an S-Class Hunter, I’m always prepared to face the worst-case scenario regardless of whether I have faith in my colleagues or not."

"By the way, Yool-ssi."

"I’m on Miss Chu’s side," Song Moonho said, giving Yool a meaningful look. "Don’t sacrifice yourself just to walk on the easy path."

"You’ve already deduced that much just from a few words we exchanged?"

"Are you going to praise me for being smart?"

"Do you have a praise kink... no, never mind. I don’t wanna know your preferences."

"Why not?" Song Moonho smiled at Yool seductively. "You might need to know my preferences in case our relationship becomes intimate later."

Yool just rolled his eyes, and then his gaze went past Song Moonho when he saw a car arrive.

Since the Special Forces (Cracks Division) allowed the car to enter the vicinity, then the people inside were probably VIPs as well.

[Perhaps the guild in charge of this area?]

Yool’s curiosity was soon answered when the person driving the car stepped out.

The petite woman sporting a cute bob with bangs looked familiar. She could be mistaken as a student because of the pinafore apron dress she was wearing that looked like a school uniform. It didn’t help that she paired it with high socks and chunky loafers.

"Isn’t she the goddess of the Winter Guild?" Yool asked. "Kim Bora?"

"Yes, that’s Kim Bora," Song Moonho said, nodding. "Yejun’s former Guide."

"But why is she heading to Wony?"

Yool was worried because he heard Wonhee ask Soobin what would happen to Yejun once the dungeon ended up bursting.

[Wony has already too much on her plate.]

"Kim Bora is probably here to pick a fight with Miss Chu," Song Moonho said casually. "She’s known for being possessive of Hwang Yejun."

Unfortunately, Song Moonho was right.

"Your ability as a Guide must have been useless to Yejun Oppa, Chu Wonhee-ssi."

Yool was ready to throw hands to defend his soft-hearted friend, but...

"I don’t want to hear that from the Guide who failed to stop Yejun from turning into a pitiful X-Class Hunter," Wonhee said in a gentle yet sarcastic tone. "Kim Bora-ssi, what were you doing when Yejun snapped?"

Kim Bora, who obviously didn’t expect Wonhee to talk back, looked shocked.

Yool smirked proudly.

[Yes, this is Wony in her villainess era.]

KIM BORA was shocked when Chu Wonhee snapped at her.

She was told that Chu Wonhee was a pushover.

[As far as I know, she let Ruda Oppa walk all over her.]

But Kim Bora couldn’t see an ounce of meekness from the Chu Wonhee who was looking at her with a cold smile on her face.

[I thought she would be an easy target...]

"Are you here to reclaim your spot as Yejun’s Guide, Bora-ssi?"

"What about it?" Bora snapped back at Chu Wonhee. "I will never accept you as my replacement."

"Unfortunately for Bora-ssi, you don’t get to decide for Yejun," Chu Wonhee said in her irritatingly calm and patient voice. It was as if she was talking to a child. "Plus, even if you bully me into stepping down from being Yejun’s Guide, Yejun would still follow me like the puppy that he is for me."

"Bora-ssi, everyone is here to protect me– and that includes the System. I’ll be safe even if the Crack ends up collapsing. But guess what?" Chu Wonhee said, smiling at Bora while her eyes remained cold. "I bet my entire fortune that if Bora-ssi and I were put in a dangerous situation at the same time, Yejun would still come to my rescue and ignore you even if he knew that I would be safe from any danger."

[I can’t listen to this anymore.]

"Yejun Oppa and I have known each other for so long," Bora said smugly. "Do you think he’ll save you instead of me?"

"Yes," Chu Wonhee said confidently. "Because Yejun isn’t a hero– he’s just a fool who’ll sacrifice anyone or anything– including the entire world– to save me."

WONHEE knew that it was her own doing that everyone, including a girl younger than her, thought that she was a pushover.

[But that ends here.]

"Because Yejun isn’t a hero– he’s just a fool who’ll sacrifice anyone or anything– including the entire world– to save me," Wonhee said confidently. "Of course, when I said Yejun was a fool, I meant he was a fool for me."

Kim Bora’s face turned red.

Perhaps from embarrassment.

But Wonhee didn’t care anymore.

[All this talk about Yejun only makes me miss him more...]

[Then would you like to meet Hwang Yejun now?]

Wonhee was surprised when her Status Window popped up in front of her.

But before she could even respond, her feelings seemed to have reached the System already.

Because her heart answered ’yes’ before the question even registered in her brain.

[Launching in three, two, one...]

Wonhee didn’t get to say goodbye to Soobin and her friends because, in just the blink of an eye, the System had already spirited her away.

[AM I inside the dungeon?]

Wonhee hugged herself, slightly regretting the fact that she didn’t wear more layers, as she stood in the middle of nowhere.

Everywhere she looked, all she saw was snow.

Just when Wonhee thought she would freeze to death, a pair of warm and familiar strong arms wrapped around her body from behind.

"I told that damned talking orange not to send you here because it’s dangerous..."

Wonhee looked over her shoulder and saw Yejun frowning.

[He looks better than I thought, but his eyes are red again.]

"Yejun-ah," Wonhee said, removing Yejun’s arms around her waist only to turn around and face him. Of course, she had to look up just to see his handsome face. "Lean down."

As expected, Yejun immediately leaned forward until his face was only a breath away from hers.

She immediately cupped his face between her hands.

And then Wonhee licked Yejun’s lips without warning.

"I’m sorry for doing that without your consent," Wonhee said to the shocked Yejun. "But you said it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, right?"

It only worked because of Wonhee and Yejun’s dynamics, of course.

She would never do that if she knew he wouldn’t like it.

[Don’t lick other people without their consent, people.]

"Wonhee-ya, you don’t need to ask for my permission every time because my body is yours," Yejun said, and then he covered his mouth with his hand. "But I haven’t brushed my teeth yet since I just ate bingsu."

"I can make bingsu with my ice– mff."

Yejun didn’t get to finish what he was saying because Wonhee pulled his face down again for a kiss...

... with her probing her tongue gently into his mouth this time.

[Let’s use Yejun’s (French) Kiss Coupon before it expires.]

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