A neat and tall man asked Si-hyun for her number.  
Si-hyun awkwardly smiled and responded.  

"Ah... I'm sorry, but I'm not really into things like this."  

She immediately declined and tried to join her sisters.  
However, the man did not back down easily.  
As Si-hyun tried to turn her head, he closed the distance, flashing a friendly smile as he spoke.  

"I think you misunderstood. I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable; I just want to get to know you better."  
"..."
  
"I know a great café around here. Would you like to go with me, no pressure?"  

He naturally pointed in the direction she was walking.  
The man stubbornly blocked her path without changing his attitude.  

Si-hyun let out a small sigh, fiddling with her bracelet.  
She had just dressed up to feel good, not expecting to end up in this annoying and unpleasant situation.  

Her expression hardened, but the man just kept smiling, continuing.  

"Just a cup of coffee. If you're still uncomfortable, you can refuse, no worries!"  

With his repeated requests, Si-hyun answered in a firm tone.  

"I'm sorry, but I have company with me. Excuse me."  

She tried to step around him.  
But the man stretched out his arm and blocked her again.  

"They'll understand. Honestly, don't you think someone like me is worth meeting?"  
"Ah, seriously!"  

Si-hyun glared at the man with a look mixed with irritation.  
The man grinned and confidently looked down at her.  

It was then...  

"...Who are you?"  
A voice as cold as ice.  

The man turned his head in confusion.  
His eyes widened in realization.  

"Is this your companion?"  
"...I said, who are you?"  

Si-hyun asked again.  

Suddenly, Si-hyun's bracelet activated, and she realized something was wrong.  
From a distance, she saw a thug harassing her younger sister, trying to grab her.  

Si-hyun nearly lost her composure, but she held herself back, unsure of the situation.  
She glared at the man and clenched her fists.  

The man flinched slightly at Si-hyun’s cold voice, but soon became distracted by her beautiful appearance.  

She was stunning—so much so that she could rival a celebrity.  
He had never seen someone so beautiful.  

Even her angry glare appeared cute to him.  
As he scanned her from head to toe, he smiled and spoke, his tone light.  

"Wow, you're so beautiful, I'm surprised! How about a coffee? Don't worry, I'll pay for both of you!"  

Si-hyun scowled at the man.  
But he continued to act according to his own desires.  

"Oh, you’ve got something on you."  

He reached for her.  

*Swish.*  

Si-hyun sharply slapped his hand away, still glaring up at him.  

The man just kept smiling.  

Si-hyun's face tightened as she gave a low warning tone.  

"Don't test my patience. Leave now."  
"Haha, don’t be like that—"  
"I’ll give you three seconds."  

Si-hyun raised three fingers and held them out.  

"Three."  

The man chuckled lightly and watched her.  
He seemed to think it was nothing, just an amusing little display.  
His confident smile suggested he was sure he was in control of the situation.  

"Two."  

As his attention was on Si-hyun, Si-hyun quickly moved and stuck close to her sister.  
She wrapped her arm around her younger sister's shoulder and started counting again.  

"One."  

Gia, who had been walking leisurely, stood behind Si-hyun.  
At that moment, Si-hyun became the most dangerous 'ordinary person' in the world.  
It was almost like the completion of a bluff.  

"I warned you."  

Si-hyun muttered in a low voice.  
She glanced briefly at the man who was shrugging arrogantly.  

She snapped her fingers lightly.  

*Snap!*  

"Burning Tongue Agony."  
"...!"  

In that moment, the man’s behavior changed.  

He tilted his head, feeling something strange.  
Suddenly, a spicy sensation erupted in his mouth.  

Si-hyun’s younger sister, who was glued to Si-hyun’s side, looked at her in surprise.  

"Hey, sis... is that the new thing you made?"  
"Yeah, that's it."  

The man’s expression began to sour as he overheard their conversation.  

Si-hyun lifted her chin and said,  
"5,000 Scoville."  
"Ugh..."  

The man covered his mouth, his face contorted in agony.  
The sudden heat flooded his mouth, and the pain began to overwhelm him.  

"10,000 Scoville."  
"Ugh!"  

The man hurriedly turned and looked around, searching for relief.  
The pain was more intense than the time he had eaten spicy noodles.  

"20,000 Scoville."  
"Ugh—"  

He let out a strange cry and ran, heading toward the water fountain in the park.  

"30,000 Scoville."  
"Oh my God..."  

Si-hyun frowned as she heard the increasing numbers.  
Just hearing the Scoville levels was enough to be horrifying, and she couldn’t help but imagine how painful the man’s suffering must be.  

She shook her head quickly to rid herself of the thought.  

"50,000 Scoville."  

The scale kept rising.  
Gia, who had been watching quietly, scratched her cheek and spoke up.  

"Si-hyun, you really did cast a spell, didn’t you?"  
"Yeah. It's a spell that lets everyone experience the pain of the burning tongue I went through."  
"Wow..."  

Gia closed her mouth, clearly unsettled.  
Even the spiciest foods didn’t reach 50,000 Scoville, so she could only imagine the hell the man was enduring.  

Indeed, the man was feeling his mind slip away, the pain too much to bear.  
He arrived at the water fountain and drank from the tap as fast as he could.  
But it was no use; the pain didn’t subside.  

His eyes were bloodshot, his hands trembling as they gripped the faucet.  
The tendons in his hands stood out.  

"100,000 Scoville."  

Tears began to form in his eyes as the pain surged.  
He whimpered in distress.  
The burning agony in his mouth spread, and no amount of water helped.  

He tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and turned on the tap full force, pouring water into his mouth.  

Si-hyun, watching the scene in silence, murmured to herself.  

"Is he going to die from this...?"  
"He can be saved."  
"Uh... really?"  

You can’t bring back the dead, but you can save someone who’s about to die.  

The previous conversation flashed through Si-hyun’s mind.  
She nodded, still in a daze.  

"500,000 Scoville."  

Suddenly, the number multiplied fivefold!  

At this point, even the villain started to seem pitiful.  
Si-hyun, satisfied, called out loudly.  

"Hey, sis! Let’s go to the wine bar now! Let’s let him off the hook and go!"  
"...Should we?"  

Si-hyun looked up at her younger sister, giving her a bright smile.  

Without saying another word, she lightly cast a 1,000,000 Scoville curse on the man.  
While ensuring he didn’t lose consciousness, she gradually reduced the intensity of the debuff magic.  

Only then did the man pull his mouth away from the tap.  
The constant pain had left him lying on the ground, unable to stand.  

At least he didn’t roll around on the ground, so his clothes were relatively intact.  
His persistent behavior toward Si-hyun earlier was still clear in his posture.  

"Hmph."  

Si-hyun stuck out her tongue at him and then followed her sister, crossing her arms as they walked together.  

---

The three women entered a quiet wine bar.  
Si-hyun, who wasn’t very knowledgeable about wine, sat quietly and listened to Gia’s explanation.  

"It’s not that complicated! Just consider three things: color, taste, and sparkle."  

Red, white.  
Dry, sweet.  
Sparkling.  

Gia’s friendly explanation continued, and Si-hyun nodded.  

"I’m not really an expert either, but if you ask them, they’ll pick a good one for you."  
"Ah, I see."  

They looked at the menu, referencing the starred items, and ordered a white wine with cheese.  

The wine was poured into their glasses neatly.  
Various types of cheese came with crackers.  

After a polite goodbye to the waiter, Si-hyun took a sip, savoring the aroma.  

"Wow..."  

The citrusy fruit fragrance tickled her nose.  
She took a sip, feeling the coolness of the wine’s temperature.  
At the same time, a fresh, crisp taste filled her mouth, like drinking spring itself.  

Si-hyun smiled contentedly.  

Gia, who was sitting beside her, leaned her chin on her hand and looked at Si-hyun’s face, smiling warmly.  

After watching Si-hyun eat cheese, Gia also took a sip of wine.  

As they enjoyed the wine and snacks in the quiet atmosphere, the alcohol slowly began to take effect.  
Gia, feeling curious

, suddenly asked Si-hyun.  

"Si-hyun, I’ve been wondering..."  
"Hmm? What’s up?"  
"If it’s too uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer..."  

She hesitated before continuing.  

"About the hero party in the other world. What were the members like? I’m kind of curious."  
"Ah."  

Si-hyun nodded, taking another sip of wine.  
Feeling the light buzz, she thought about her answer.  

She realized what Gia wanted—it was a request for stories.  
The experiences from the other world hadn’t been exactly pleasant, but they weren’t too painful to share either.  
She figured a bit of casual gossip wouldn’t hurt.  

Si-hyun slowly started to speak.  

"The members kept changing regularly, so if I went into all the details, it’d be a lot. But..."  
"Mm-hmm."  
"Excluding the necromancers and such... the last ones who stayed until the end were six, including me."  
"Ah, I see. But necromancers, are they like dark sorcerers?"  
"Yeah, pretty much."  

Si-hyun nodded, and Gia frowned.  

"Ugh... that kind of profession seems more fitting for the demon lord’s army than a hero party."  
"Heh, yeah, I guess so."  

Si-hyun lightly agreed.  
In reality, many necromancers tended to fall to evil, driven by dark forces.  
Having killed quite a few of them, Gia wasn’t far off in her judgment.  

"They do some really creepy stuff."  
"Creepy?"  
"They claim it’s for efficiency, but they do all sorts of strange things."  
"Umm... I can’t really imagine. Like what?"  

Gia asked, and Si-hyun thought for a moment, placing her palm on her cheek.  
She crossed her legs, feeling the sensation of her bare skin against the dress.  

For a moment, she got distracted by the sensation but quickly refocused.  
She adjusted the strap around her waist and continued the conversation with Gia.  

"They make what they call ‘living corpses.’"  
"Living corpses?"  
"Yeah, they bind the souls with contracts or something."  
"Goodness..."  
"They’re really strong, but at the end of the day, they’re still corpses."  
"Wow..."  

Gia shuddered, trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling.  
She rubbed her arms and made an uncomfortable face.  

"They even merge summoned creatures, they're really out there."  
"Ah, I see..."  

Gia awkwardly nodded, but Si-hyun noticed her younger sister, Si-yoon, shaking her head.  

"Ugh! Just hearing about it is giving me the creeps! Sis, can we change the subject?"  
"Hmm, sure."  

Si-hyun smiled gently at her younger sister and nodded.