The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 154
—…J?
Cha Eui-jae responded with a voice full of suspicion.
“Hunter Nam Woo-jin? Why are you answering the phone?”
Nam Woo-jin seemed taken aback as well, but Cha Eui-jae was even more surprised. His mind, conditioned by numerous experiences, quickly jumped to negative conclusions.
Jung Bin must be in a situation where he couldn’t answer the phone, and Nam Woo-jin, a healer, had answered instead. This definitely meant that something was wrong, and there was a possibility that Jung Bin was injured.
Injured?
‘But we talked not long ago in Mokpo?’
Just as Cha Eui-jae clenched his teeth in frustration, he heard a faint murmur of voices whispering beyond the phone.
—Should I tell him? …Can I? Shouldn’t I? What?
The murmuring continued, and then a voice snapped.
—Hey, wait. Who do you think you’re using as a messenger? Hold on, let me talk directly.
After a brief silence, a calm voice came through.
—J, I’m sorry. I couldn’t answer your call right away.
“Jung Bin, did something happen?”
—Ah… It’s nothing serious. Did Lee Sa-young-ssi really wake up? Is he in good health?
Cha Eui-jae glanced at Lee Sa-young, who was curled up with his head resting on his knee. The red flush in his face had lessened, but his eyes were still puffy. He covered his eyes with his hand and responded.
“Yes, he seems to be in good health… but there’s an issue, so I need to go to Hong Ye-seong.”
—An issue? What do you mean…
Cha Eui-jae tried to organize his thoughts, but his overworked brain, deprived of proper sleep for days, could only produce a summary like, ‘There are two Lee Sa-youngs.’ He must have been more exhausted than he realized. The tension that he hadn’t even noticed until now suddenly released the moment he saw Lee Sa-young.
In the end, he sighed and replied.
“…It’s a bit too complicated to explain over the phone.”
He absentmindedly tugged at Lee Sa-young’s cheek, causing his delicate brow to furrow slightly.
—I won’t be able to leave my spot for a while either. Hmm…
Jung Bin seemed to be pondering something, and then spoke again.
—It can’t be helped. I’ll hear the story later. In the meantime, would it be okay to deliver the pass to Seo Min-gi-ssi?
“Is that okay?”
Jung Bin replied warmly.
—If it’s J, that’s fine. I’m currently handling some matters at Seowon Guild. That person must have already marked the coordinates for Seowon Guild. Do you remember where Jang-in Village is?
“Yes, I remember.”
—Then I’ll be waiting.
The call ended. Cha Eui-jae glanced over at the driver’s seat. The driver was also on the phone with someone, and judging by the loud voice echoing through the earphones, it seemed to be Bae Won-woo. He and his direct team had been visiting various dungeons to fill in for Lee Sa-young’s absence.
‘Must have just gotten out of a dungeon.’
Seo Min-gi, noticing Cha Eui-jae’s gaze through the rearview mirror, blinked behind his sunglasses as if to ask what was going on. Cha Eui-jae waved his phone.
“Seo Min-gi, they said to go pick up the pass at Seowon Guild.”
“Vice-Guild Leader, hold on a moment…”
Seo Min-gi removed one earphone and looked puzzled.
“Excuse me? Suddenly?”
“He said you must have already marked the coordinates for Seowon Guild. Isn’t that right?”
“Is that what that civil servant said?”
“Yes.”
Seo Min-gi slammed the steering wheel in frustration.
“Damn it! They know me too well.”
‘Is it something to be that upset about?’
The stealth and infiltration specialist, A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi, grumbled to himself as he smoothly parked the van in front of the wall where autumn had begun to settle in. Just as she was about to get out of the van, Yoon Ga-eul suddenly handed something to Cha Eui-jae. It was a yellow post-it note with a personal number written on it. Yoon Ga-eul smiled sheepishly.
“Uh, if you need to contact me, just text me at that number.”
“Oh, I will. Thanks.”
“Hehe… See you next time!”
After getting out of the van, Yoon Ga-eul waved her hand toward the window and then climbed over the wall like a flying squirrel, heading back to school. Cha Eui-jae fiddled with the post-it note, then looked up at the sound of a click. Seo Min-gi had parked the car in an empty lot and was now unbuckling his seatbelt with a grim expression. He grumbled as he spoke.
“I’ll go get the pass, so please talk to Vice-Guild Leader Bae Won-woo in the meantime. He’s probably going crazy with curiosity since the report got cut off.”
Cha Eui-jae, who was obediently searching for Bae Won-woo’s number, asked.
“Why don’t you do it yourself?”
“Because I don’t have the time.”
Seo Min-gi, who was about to disappear into the shadows, stuck his face out and muttered.
“You probably don’t know since he’s polite to customer, but that civil servant has a notorious reputation among hunters for being very nitpicky.”
***
Jung Bin rubbed his itchy ear before putting down his phone. He was dressed in a typical surgical outfit— a light blue gown and white gloves.
“By the way…”
The mixed smell of antiseptic and burnt air was unpleasant. Jung Bin adjusted his mask. On the operating table lay Mathew, bound by black chains, connected to numerous machines. The quiet operating room was filled with the steady beeping of machines.
On a nearby makeshift bed was a small, charred figure, burnt beyond recognition, with deep, sunken areas across its body. However, its gem-like green eyes remained untouched by the flames, shining brightly. Jung Bin approached the makeshift bed and looked into the green eyes.
“…We survived thanks to this little one. Didn’t you say the Puppeteer gave it to you as a gift?”
Nam Woo-jin, who was checking the machine’s readings, nodded slowly.
“Yeah.”
“Can it be fixed?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to contact them and see.”
At the moment Mathew had suddenly started convulsing, the marionette had stepped in front of Jung Bin. The marionette had shielded them from the flames and thorns that rained down, only to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut.
“…”
Jung Bin covered the marionette’s face with a white cloth before approaching the operating table.
Nam Woo-jin was drawing blood from Mathew’s arm. The syringe filled with dark red blood.
Mathew had definitely been trying to say something. But at that moment, he lost his sense of self and showed signs of “mutating.” Despite being bound by black chains that should have prevented him from using his powers, Mathew had unleashed thorns and flames.
‘Was it the drugs?’
It seemed almost like… something outside the system’s laws. Jung Bin swallowed slowly.
“…Was it a curse or a binding spell?”
“We’ll find out soon enough. We also need to detoxify him to avoid another episode. Since my assistant ended up like that, I’ll need the civil servant’s help.”
Nam Woo-jin picked up a scalpel. A faint white aura began to surround the blade. He muttered coldly.
“There better be some reward for my assistant’s sacrifice…”
With a soft sound, the scalpel pierced the skin.
***
“Kkokko! Bring me some sikhye!”
“Bawk!”
“Oh, and I have some brown rice nurungji
ready. I’ll bring that too! Wait a moment.”
Kkokko lifted one wing, wobbled its neck back and forth, and disappeared through the door. Hong Ye-seong also vanished in a flash, like a fire had been lit under him. Smoke was rising from the cauldron in the yard. This was the Jang-in village in Inwangsan where Hong Ye-seong resided.
Seo Min-gi seemed utterly drained, as if his very soul had been squeezed out of him, just from the brief moment it took to get the pass from Jung Bin. With dark circles reaching down to his chin, he declared that he would stay at the base of the mountain. So, Cha Eui-jae climbed the mountain alone, carrying Lee Sa-young.
A warm breeze tickled his hair. He looked around. The tranquil thatched house, built solely for Hong Ye-seong, felt like it was separated from the world. But it wasn’t unsettling. Perhaps it was because of the loud crashing sounds that came from inside.
“…”
Cha Eui-jae glanced at Lee Sa-young, who was lying on the bedding in the master room, then readjusted his posture. After Seo Min-gi had left to get the pass, Cha Eui-jae called Bae Won-woo to inform him that Lee Sa-young had woken up.
But Bae Won-woo’s response was unexpected.
“Did he give you any trouble, J? Like… did he get angry at you? Maybe even try to punch you?”
“…Punch me?”
He had been irritated, but he hadn’t thrown any punches. Cha Eui-jae quietly waited for Bae Won-woo to continue, staring at the peacefully sleeping Lee Sa-young. Bae Won-woo hesitated before speaking again.
“Well, you see… when he can’t control his body, he gets really… anxious and upset, you know? His temperament changes a bit. That’s what the psychological evaluation showed after the rescue.”
“…”
“I can’t quite remember what it was… TMA? Something like that. PTSD?”
“Trauma?”
“Yes, that’s it. The guild leader guessed that being restrained and experimented on might have caused the trauma. Anyway, when it gets bad, he… Oh, I’m sorry.”
Cha Eui-jae thought of the young boy surrounded by machines, unable to move. A boy who struggled to even lift a finger by his own will.
Lee Sa-young had been particularly sensitive when bound by black chains in the Artisan Exhibition. He had complained that his tears weren’t of his own will. If all of that stemmed from trauma—
If that was why he had clung so tightly. Why he had asked for his name to be called. If it was all to regain a sense of control.
Through Cha Eui-jae.
Cha Eui-jae reached up to touch his mouth, forgetting he was wearing his mask, but he stopped. It was a strange feeling.
No, it was—
“…”
Was he… satisfied?
Satisfied that he was the one Lee Sa-young relied on?
It was a sudden realization. The moment he realized it, Cha Eui-jae slammed his head against the table. Fortunately, it was a sturdy artisan-crafted table made by Hong Ye-seong, so it didn’t break. In the distance, he heard Hong Ye-seong’s startled scream.
“What was that? Did something explode? Don’t break the house!”
Cha Eui-jae, with his face still pressed against the table, responded in a dry, distorted voice.
“It’s nothing.”
“Huh? Okay then.”
Cha Eui-jae rubbed his masked face against the table and let out a sigh.
“Ah…”
His ears, peeking through his faded ash-gray hair, were burning red.
“This is messed up…”
Nurungji or scorched rice is a traditional Korean food made of scorched rice. After boiling and serving rice, a thin crust of scorched rice will usually be left in the bottom of the cooking pot.
