The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 106
The faint sound of a heartbeat. J followed it as if he were mesmerized. He walked without realizing his feet were sinking into the swamp from time to time.
How long had he walked? A building that was relatively intact, though partially destroyed, came into view. The sound was coming from there. J began to rummage through the debris.
‘Why?’
Reason asked him. What’s the point of rescuing someone who will die soon anyway? Do you want to experience someone dying in your arms again? But his hands didn’t stop sifting through the wreckage. In fact, his pace quickened.
Even if that were the case, J couldn’t ignore this sound.
“Oh.”
A small exclamation escaped. Under the overlapping debris was a small space where one or two people could barely huddle. And there…
There was a boy, embraced by what must have been his parents, all melted away.
His eyes, clouded with poison, stared at J. His lips moved silently.
“Please save me.”
J gritted his teeth. He hurriedly took out an antidote from his inventory and reached out to the boy.
“It’s okay.”
A lie he’d told countless times,
“It’ll be okay now.”
Hoping that this time, it wouldn’t be a lie.
***
Time passed quickly.
Killing dungeon masters, killing rift masters, killing dungeon masters, killing rift masters, killing dungeon masters… At some point, he was only assigned tasks to kill monsters instead of rescuing people. Endless repetition. J’s routine didn’t change easily.
But, rarely, a new task was added to his routine.
Clomp, clomp, clomp. His black boots cut through the hallway without hesitation. The gazes of passersby were fixed on the tall young man dressed in all black. Someone mustered the courage to greet him. His black mask turned towards them.
He nodded slightly and opened the iron door at the end of the hallway. The people in safety suits busily moving around indicated that it was a laboratory set up in a hospital.
J crossed the laboratory familiarly and opened another iron door. This time it was a thicker door. Inside, people dressed even more heavily than those in the lab were observing the purple liquid in flasks. A researcher standing by the door bowed deeply.
“Ah, J! It’s been a while. Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule!”
The researcher greeted him warmly and handed over a metal box. J placed a heavy bag inside it. A pungent smell wafted out as black liquid seeped from the bag. The researcher, moving with great caution, headed to the back storage room. J asked,
“Are you short on poison?”
“We still have a little left from last time, so we have enough.”
“Is the research going well?”
“Yes, it’s going quite smoothly. Are you going to see the child today too?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, J!”
Another researcher approached in quick steps. J stopped and turned his head. He recognized her as the potion-making Awakener introduced to him by the hospital director.
A woman in glasses, a white coat, and brown hair tied up with a large clip, Ga-young, looked quite elated. She whispered softly as she came closer.
“The child’s condition is gradually improving. The antidote we developed seems to be effective. It’s all thanks to you, J!”
“…”
J stared at her in silence, making her cough awkwardly.
“Uh, was I too excited? We’ve been focusing on detoxification, so other treatments have been delayed… But he’s not at a point where visits are entirely impossible anymore.”
Ga-young glanced at J’s reaction before speaking again.
“Starting today, how about you visit the child’s room directly? You’ve always been looking through the glass.”
“…Is that alright?”
“Of course. All this research is possible thanks to you, J.”
Ga-young waved her hand dismissively. Whether it was a brief act of curiosity, a whim, or self-satisfaction, J couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter much anymore.
J followed Ga-young’s lead. The child’s room was deep within the hospital. As they walked in silence, Ga-young spoke.
“Just so you know… As you might have seen through the glass, the child is mostly unconscious. Sometimes he wakes up, but he doesn’t stay awake for long. We’re administering painkillers and anesthesia regularly.”
“Is that necessary?”
“It’s not by choice! We don’t want to either. But…”
Ga-young sighed heavily.
“Without it, the child would pass out from the pain. Last time, he fainted, and it’s been like that ever since. Unfortunately, until the poison is completely detoxified… Ah, we’re here.”
Ga-young pressed a card key against a device and opened the door. Beyond it was a white hallway and a firmly shut white door. She opened the door. Inside was a white, spacious room. At its center lay a boy, wrapped in white bandages and connected to numerous machines.
Ga-young stepped back.
“I’ll wait outside. Take your time.”
“Alright. I’ll be out soon.”
“Oh, no rush! Stay as long as you need.”
Thud, the door closed behind him. J slowly looked around the room.
Beep, beep, beep… The regular beeping of the machines seemed to replace the sound of the boy’s heartbeat. He slowly approached the bed.
The nose and mouth barely visible between the bandages, the chest rising and falling slowly, the occasional dreadful groan. His cold eyes scanned the boy.
“So this is what they call an improvement….”
Well, they had removed the oxygen mask, so it could be considered an improvement. J smirked coldly. Even so, the boy was still like a corpse.
J pulled a round folding chair closer and sat down a moderate distance from the bed. He silently watched the boy breathe, observing the faint movements.
“…”
How long has it been? Eventually, J rested his elbows on his knees and propped his chin on his hands. The fundamental question that had plagued him since the moment he held the boy’s hand. He bit his lip.
‘Was it really the right thing to save this boy?’
The boy had asked to be saved, but he wouldn’t have known that survival came with the price of being consumed by poison, unable to move, feeling his body decay.
Was it right to let him endure this pain? The pain was so unbearable he fainted. Was all this just my selfishness?
Was the boy suffering because of my selfish desire to save someone?
‘Would it be better to just end his life…’
At that moment, the boy’s fingertips twitched slightly. J momentarily relaxed his grip. He straightened his back and fixed his gaze on the boy’s hand. Amid the regular beeping of the machine, the boy’s fingers moved again. The movement was larger than before.
“You.”
The words slipped out unintentionally. The fingers, as if responding to his voice, curled slightly. J widened his eyes and tapped his knee with his fingers. Could it be that the boy’s hearing was unaffected? He asked again.
“Are you awake?”
The head, which had been facing the ceiling, slowly turned toward him. The eyes covered by bandages seemed to be looking at J. It might have been his imagination. The cracked, pale lips slowly parted. What came out was a small breath, but…
It felt like an answer.
“You’re awake.”
J spoke the answer out loud. At that moment, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time surged through him. He knew the name of this emotion.
Joy.
J hurriedly grabbed the folding chair and moved closer to the bed. The boy’s head was still turned towards him. The movements, which had been barely noticeable, grew more pronounced. J asked.
“How long have you been awake?”
“…”
“How do you feel? Are you in a lot of pain? Are you okay?”
J’s voice grew uncharacteristically loud. Despite the lack of verbal response, the boy’s fingers continued to move slightly.
It seemed he wasn’t writing letters with his fingers but simply proving that he was awake. A small groan escaped the boy’s lips. J’s face, hidden under the mask, grimaced slightly.
“Do you need painkillers? Should I ask them to give you some?”
At that moment, upon hearing the word “painkillers,” the boy turned his head away with a speed noticeably faster than before. It might have been his best effort. It was still slow, but…
“…Hah.”
J, who had been watching intently, let out a chuckle. The head slowly turned back to face him. The corners of J’s mouth had lifted into a grin without him realizing it.
The endless tormenting worries, the fatigue eating away at his body, the sinking feeling from the depths— they had all evaporated.
His playful eyes were now filled with the boy. J leaned closer to the bed, propping his chin with his hand and smiling.
“Hey, you’re funny.”
Apparently, the boy he had saved…
“…”
Had a strong will.
Quite a strong one, indeed.
