[Ji-woo sis] - Emergency
[Ji-woo sis] - Help!
[Ji-woo sis] - (meme of a blonde foreigner gazing desperately up at the sky going "help!")
"………I'm taking the day off."
Kim A-rin read the messages that had just come in and said exactly that as she shot to her feet.
She'd only just arrived at the Hunter guild she belonged to, but there wasn't a moment's hesitation.
The chair she'd abandoned spun left and right in her wake.
A-rin pulled her hat down low and slid on her sunglasses.
Watching her actually gear up to leave, a fellow Hunter stared in surprise and opened their mouth.
"W-wait. Where are you going?"
"……Taking the day off."
"Out of nowhere…? Did something happen?"
The colleague's bewildered voice.
But Kim A-rin gave no real answer — she simply walked out of the guild building.
The fellow Hunter scrambled after her, but couldn't catch up in time.
By the time they made it outside, A-rin was already gone.
Only a few crackling sparks remained where she'd been standing.
"…I'm so dead…."
The colleague muttered that to themselves, rubbing their face over and over.
And no wonder — the person who had clocked in and immediately clocked out was one of Korea's handful of S-Rank Hunters.
To make matters worse, she'd had a meeting scheduled with someone from the government regarding the Gangseo Gate incident from the day before.
"W-where did Kim A-rin go…?"
It was only natural that the guild master, who arrived shortly after, came in with a face drained of all color asking for A-rin's whereabouts.
In response, A-rin's colleague simply pressed their lips together and looked away.
And at that very moment.
Somewhere in a hillside neighborhood in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.
"Hah, hah……."
Kim A-rin had just arrived in front of a run-down rooftop room, catching her breath.
She'd gotten there at literal lightning speed, but the worry still wouldn't leave her.
What on earth had happened to Lee Ji-woo?
Ji-woo was someone who never reached out first, aside from the occasional check-in call.
Could Ji-woo have gotten caught up in the Gate that appeared out of nowhere yesterday?
No, Ji-woo's name wasn't on the list of people who'd entered the Gangseo-gu Gate…
-Ding-dong.
She pressed the bell and, uncharacteristically, found her leg bouncing.
Was it an occupational hazard of being a Hunter — the way her imagination kept spiraling toward the worst-case scenario?
-Creak….
"C-come in."
"……!"
The voice didn't sound like anything was physically wrong.
But everything else was off.
"Ji-woo sis……. …Is this really you?"
"Y-yeah…."
Not the straight black hair she knew — but fine, white hair.
Eyes that had somehow become rounder and softer.
An overall appearance that was noticeably younger.
The older sister she was meeting for the first time in days looked less like an older sister and more like a little one.
And, if A-rin were being honest — pretty darn cute.
"………Wow."
Somehow managing to suppress the urge to reach out and pat her, Kim A-rin let out a short, quiet exclamation.
Ji-woo scratched the back of her neck, looking a little embarrassed.
But before Ji-woo could even get a word in, her stomach beat her to it.
-Grumble….
"……Ji-woo sis."
"Hm?"
"You skipped breakfast."
"N-no. I didn't skip it, it's just—"
"Pick something. I'll order it now. It'll be here fast."
First things first — she needed to get some food into her.
Why Ji-woo had texted asking for help.
Why she'd suddenly turned into this little girl.
Whether something had happened yesterday.
All of that could wait until Ji-woo had something in her stomach.
-Nom nom.
-Nom nom.
"You not eatin'?"
Ji-woo asked around a mouthful of the Spam lunchbox (with extra sides) that A-rin had ordered for her.
Kim A-rin shook her head and kept watching Ji-woo demolish her meal.
She wasn't particularly hungry.
She was more focused on Ji-woo.
"………Ji-woo sis."
"Mm?"
"You still……. …haven't changed your mind?"
A worn electric floor mat. A fridge left behind by whoever had lived here before. Yellowed wallpaper.
A rust-spotted sink. A beat-up old computer.
The ancient phone A-rin had once shoved into the pocket of Ji-woo's long padded coat all those years ago.
The rooftop room's interior — which she couldn't call decent even as a polite lie — caught A-rin's eye once again.
"……Just come live with me already……."
Knowing Ji-woo would give the same answer as always, A-rin muttered it anyway, as if hoping to be heard.
Say what you will, Kim A-rin was an S-Rank Hunter.
She made more than enough money to live comfortably.
But all this time, Ji-woo had always answered her the same way.
'How could I spend your money? That's money you risked your life for.'
'Maybe if I'd awakened. But I haven't, and I don't want to keep holding my hand out to you.'
'…Keep it up and I won't answer your calls.'
Was it the last shred of Ji-woo's pride?
Or the inferiority complex of someone who hadn't awakened?
Or maybe she just felt guilty, in all sorts of ways, about taking from a younger person even if she was the older one?
They'd grown up together in the same orphanage, practically like real sisters — and yet Ji-woo absolutely refused to take A-rin's money.
She had this stubborn, foolish insistence on living only off what she earned herself, not off what A-rin made as a Hunter.
Hadn't she, just a few minutes ago, led with "I don't have money to pay you back" the moment A-rin offered to buy her breakfast?
What was so hard about it. What was there to feel sorry about.
Between the two of them.
"Ugh, so this is what an S-Rank Hunter's breakfast looks like……."
"…………."
Ji-woo had finished her lunchbox and was wearing a drowsy, satisfied expression. A-rin watched her for a moment, then quietly got up and crouched down right in front of her.
"So."
"Yeah?"
"What……happened to you?"
A-rin had known Ji-woo since she was little, so she'd barely managed to recognize her.
Aside from the hair color, the Ji-woo in front of her now was the same older sister who'd been glued to A-rin's side every single day back at the orphanage.
But an adult suddenly becoming younger again didn't make any sense to begin with.
Even if she tried to chalk it up to some kind of magic, that kind of magic didn't exist in the world yet.
If age-reversal magic existed, the people in power would've been first in line to use it.
"I-I awakened."
"…?"
"S-Rank. Two skills, even. And there's another one that'll become S-Rank later."
"……??"
"From now on, call me Ji-woo the Hidden Powerhouse."
"……Do you want to see a doctor?"
"Not you too—"
Ji-woo's face fell at A-rin's worried tone, looking genuinely wronged.
As if she really had awakened as an S-Rank Hunter, she even thumped her chest indignantly.
"…Status Window!"
Three words shouted into the air.
The space right in front of Ji-woo shimmered, and a translucent Status Window actually appeared.
A-rin couldn't see it, of course.
Status Windows had always been visible only to the person they belonged to.
If others could see them too, there'd be no need to bother visiting the Hunter Association, or having your rank measured in front of an examiner.
The Status Window screenshots floating around online were all computer-generated recreations.
"Did you……really awaken?"
Even so, A-rin could faintly sense mana, and she tilted her head in puzzlement.
She'd never heard of anyone getting younger or having their hair change color as a result of awakening.
But for Ji-woo, apparently, that was exactly what had happened.
The mana level was only around F-Rank, but it was clear she had awakened, at least…
"…Heh heh."
Ji-woo caught A-rin's widening eyes and suddenly let out a strange little laugh.
Then she struck a ridiculous pose and—
"Aah, I really didn't want to use this here——."
—said something equally ridiculous with a supremely confident look on her face.
"————Watch closely. And don't tell anyone!"
-Whoosh….
-Snap!
"Assimilation!"
At that point, A-rin was genuinely considering whether she should take Ji-woo to the hospital.
But then — a violent surge of mana washed over her.
【Rank: F → S (Assimilation with entity: Fenrion in progress)】
【Currently assimilating with: Fenrion (23%)】
"……!"
Swish, swish. A fluffy tail suddenly sprouted from behind Ji-woo.
Two ears popped up on top of her white hair.
She looked like a wolf beastfolk.
She was still a cute little girl on the outside, so it wasn't exactly threatening —
but A-rin could feel that the energy inside was something else entirely.
"Well then. Do you believe me now."
"……Does your speech pattern change when you transform?"
"I-it doesn't. …Anyway! I really did awaken."
"Yeah……. Looks like it."
"I'm genuinely S-Rank. Please believe me."
"I-I believe you."
"I can beat you now. You could hit me all you want and not even scratch me?"
"……Do you want to see a doctor?"
A-rin's blunt delivery landed again, and Ji-woo collapsed flat on the floor with the look of someone whose soul had left their body.
She'd told nothing but the truth from start to finish, so why wouldn't anyone believe her?
She felt so wronged she wanted to bawl.
But as someone who had once been a man, she couldn't exactly burst into tears in front of her little sister.
***
-Flash.
"…Wait, no. I can just show her."
An idea struck me and I sat up immediately.
Explaining each of my awakened skills one by one was tedious and pedantic —
but I could prove which Dungeon I'd cleared with a simple photo.
The Dungeon that appeared yesterday was apparently S-Rank, so clearing it would naturally prove I was an S-Rank Hunter.
"A photo……?"
"I took a picture of the Hidden Boss. Let me show you."
"……I really think you should see a doctor."
"I'll go!!!"
I scolded A-rin for still not believing me, then held out my phone with a photo on the screen.
A close-up shot of Fenrion — the massive wolf monster staring down at me.
"If you still don't believe me after this, you're not human."
"…This is really a Hidden Boss?"
"Yeah. It was like — warning messages popping up, then this huge ROAR and everyone passed out, the whole thing."
A-rin listened and landed somewhere between believing and not believing.
She was an S-Rank Hunter, after all — she'd be able to tell what kind of monster was in that photo.
"……What on earth did you awaken to."
"No Attacks During Dialogue, Let's Be Friends. Those are my S-Rank skills."
"……Let's go to the doctor."
"I'm telling you, they're real!"
The hospital line was funny the first time, but hearing it on repeat was starting to irritate even someone as easygoing as me.
Why can't Status Windows be photographed?
If you could take a picture of your Status Window, I wouldn't have to explain all this one piece at a time.
"Those two are genuinely S-Rank skills. How else would I still be alive right now?"
"……Hold on."
"Yeah?"
A-rin's expression shifted — like she'd just realized she'd been missing something.
She suddenly turned serious, grabbed both my arms, and shoved her face uncomfortably close to mine.
"Ji-woo sis."
"Y-yeah…?"
"The Gate that opened yesterday. Did you go in?"
And just like that, she launched into an impromptu interrogation.
Technically, I hadn't gone in because I wanted to — I'd just fallen into a sinkhole while walking down the street.
I'd rather not be on the receiving end of some weird misunderstanding.
"Y-yeah. I went into the Gate yesterday. So what are you going to do about it? Pathetic."
"……That Gate was S-Rank."
"But I'm alive, aren't I? If it weren't for me, the other Hunters would've died too."
At that, A-rin finally started believing everything I'd been saying.
From the fact that I'd really awakened S-Rank skills, to the fact that I'd encountered a Hidden Boss.
That was the whole reason I'd called A-rin in the first place — to talk through what happened in the Dungeon yesterday.
So I was trying to ask a supposedly S-Rank Hunter what I should do going forward.
And ask about my unusual skills while I was at it.
-Whoosh….
"Hey. Stop. S-stop."
A-rin, visibly furious, started winding up to flick me on the forehead.
I didn't know why she was so angry, but an S-Rank Hunter's flick would normally kill someone, you know.
-Whoosh…!
-Snap!
[ You cannot attack during a conversation. ]
"……Huh?"
But I'm not normal!
A-rin's index finger flew right up to my forehead — and stopped just short of making contact.
Blocked by my S-Rank invincibility skill, No Attacks During Dialogue….
"Heh heh. Can you feel the difference in our power?"
"…………."
It seemed like A-rin was finally starting to grasp that I had genuinely become an S-Rank Hunter just like her.
Her lips pressed together, and a faint look of surprise crossed her face.
"I really did save those Hunters…. Like, I fought the monsters all cool and everything. I found the Dungeon Stone and brought it back too. Solo clear, by the way."
"The Dungeon Stone……too. …All by yourself, Ji-woo sis."
"Yeah. So — could you look into the clear reward for yesterday's Dungeon? I won't be able to sleep if I don't get that money."
And with that, I laid out the real reason I'd called her.
She was a fairly well-known S-Rank Hunter, so if she asked around, she'd probably be able to get in touch with the Hunters who were with me yesterday.
The money came before figuring out the details of my skills.
I needed to collect the Dungeon clear reward first before anything else — that was the only way I'd feel settled.
Honestly, I did most of the work yesterday.
Sure, those Hunters fought hard too, but I had every right to claim my fair share.
"……Okay."
"Oh."
A-rin's clean, no-nonsense answer made me nod in satisfaction.
With the money situation sorted, I genuinely felt more at ease.
It was an S-Rank Dungeon, so the clear reward shouldn't be too shabby.
I could stop worrying about money for a while.
But.
-Crackle, crackle crackle.
-Flash!
"……Ji-woo sis."
A-rin suddenly wrapped herself in lightning and fixed me with a terrifying stare.
I wasn't scared, of course.
No matter what she did, she couldn't hurt me.
An invincibility skill isn't called invincibility for nothing.
"So — is your computer invincible too?"
"…!"
Her crackling index finger swung toward my precious computer.
I immediately pressed my forehead to the floor and begged for forgiveness.
If my computer broke, my whole world would crumble.
There's a person living inside that computer, you know?
Please, anything but the computer.
"Going into a Dungeon without a care in the world……. …No, even if you went in, you should've stayed put. There were Hunters there — why were you the one fighting?"
A-rin bit her lower lip and started scolding me.
Honestly, I had nothing to say, so I sat there quietly.
It was true that I'd ditched the Hunters and gone charging at the monsters on my own.
…I'm not entirely sure what gave me that confidence yesterday.
I couldn't even use the excuse that everything worked out fine in the end.
If I did, my computer would probably take a sincere million-volt blast from an S-Rank Hunter.
Taking a computer hostage — what kind of heartless person does that.
"Um, so……. A-rin."
"…………."
"Can I ask……one more favor?"
A-rin folded her arms as if to say, go ahead and try me.
And with that, I finally opened my mouth.
The other important matter, beyond the Dungeon clear reward.
-Flap, flap.
-Flap, flap.
"I don't have any clothes that fit right now. Just buy me some clothes. I'll pay you back later."
"…………."
I wagged my tail and made what I hoped was a reasonably cute request.
She didn't say anything, so I took that as a yes.
There's a reason they say silence means consent.
