The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 155
After the embarrassment and shame subsided a bit, the first thing that came to mind was guilt. Thankfully. Cha Eui-jae absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair.
‘Is it okay to have such thoughts about someone who’s unwell?’
There was no worse thought than this. Cha Eui-jae rubbed his mask roughly. But the sensation of that firm body clinging to him was still vivid.
Arms that wrapped around his waist as if they’d never let go again, a back rising and falling as if to catch its breath, and that breath, mixed with a faint sob. How could he not welcome it? Cha Eui-jae didn’t know how to reject warmth.
Especially if it came from his only success.
“Ah, this is driving me crazy!”
But isn’t this trashy?
He was ruffling his hair wildly when he heard something shuffle across the wooden floor. Cha Eui-jae poked his head out of the door. Kkokko was walking over, balancing a wooden tray on its head.
On the tray were two ceramic cups filled with sikhye, a traditional Korean sweet rice drink, and not a drop wavered as the ceramic chicken reached the door’s threshold.
‘That’s comfort-level bed service.’
Kkokko stepped over the threshold and stopped in front of Cha Eui-jae. It then rolled its little bean-like eyes up to look at him. Cha Eui-jae took the tray and placed it on the table, remembering to thank Kkokko.
“Thanks.”
“Bawk.”
Kkokko’s smooth chest puffed up proudly. When Cha Eui-jae looked back at the tray, he noticed that one of the cups had “For Hong Ye-seong” written on it. He felt a sudden urge to intrude on Hong Ye-seong’s territory out of sheer stubbornness, but since he was here for help, he suppressed the thought.
Cha Eui-jae picked up the unmarked cup, but he couldn’t bring himself to drink the sikhye.
‘The stare… it’s constant…’
After finishing the serving, Kkokko had curled up on its cushion and was staring at Cha Eui-jae with its round, black eyes. It was as if it was demanding something. What more did it want? Cha Eui-jae glanced at Kkokko and then tried to strike up a conversation.
“…What?”
“Bawk.”
Kkokko tilted its head. Cha Eui-jae could manage most tasks, but understanding what a ceramic chicken was saying was beyond him, unfortunately. With a puzzled expression, he lifted the cup and pretended to drink.
“…You want me to drink this?”
“Bawk, bawk.”
Kkokko shook its head vigorously and then lowered it, letting out a deep sigh. A chicken sighing! And not just any sigh, but one that grated on his nerves.
‘This thing… it’s not just a chicken, is it?’
Come to think of it, there was something rather intelligent about those bean-like eyes. Cha Eui-jae stared into Kkokko’s beady black eyes. Kkokko didn’t look away.
Just as an unintended staring contest was about to continue, Hong Ye-seong entered the room, swinging a plastic bag. Perhaps it was the green tracksuit, but he looked even more laid-back than usual.
“Have you tried the sikhye?”
“No, not yet.”
“Give it a try! I made it myself. Even the government official acknowledged its taste. Have some nurungji too. Oh, should I bring you some dongchimi
as well?”
“I appreciate the thought, but can we get to the main point?”
“Will you leave after we finish?”
Hong Ye-seong’s eyebrows drooped into a sad arc.
“I’m bored…”
Cha Eui-jae glared at him from behind the mask. With a pout that rivaled Kkokko’s beak, Hong Ye-seong reluctantly straightened his posture. Then, as he snapped a piece of nurungji, he asked,
“Alright, alright. So, since you carried in Lee Sa-young, this must be about him, right?”
“Yeah. He woke up.”
Hong Ye-seong’s eyes brightened as he chewed on his nurungji.
“That’s good! He woke up sooner than expected.”
“But there’s a bit of a problem.”
“What problem?”
“You told me that since two souls are housed in one body, we should leave them alone until they stabilize. That there’s nothing we can do but wait.”
“I did say that.”
Cha Eui-jae fidgeted with his cup and asked,
“At the time, I was too out of it to ask, but what exactly did you mean by ‘stabilize’?”
After some thought, Hong Ye-seong downed his sikhye, then set the empty cup down with a clink.
“Well… think of it like juice. Over time, what’s inside evaporates, right? And if there’s no external stimulus, it won’t shake. It’s something like that. I expected that if we waited until the souls fully fused, they would naturally stabilize on their own.”
“…So, did he wake up too soon?”
“What?”
Hong Ye-seong blinked, pausing mid-motion as he placed a piece of nurungji on Kkokko’s head.
“Wait, from the way you’re talking… don’t tell me…”
“He hasn’t fused.”
“Huh?”
“Lee Sa-young. There’s two of him. Inside.”
“What, seriously?!”
Hong Ye-seong’s eyes widened. Cha Eui-jae rubbed his forehead and muttered,
“I’m sure. It’s the same guy we saw in the ruined world. But it’s not just him— our Lee Sa-young is there too…”
“That’s really strange… Two souls with their own identities in one body? That’s… yawn.”
Hong Ye-seong, who had been rambling as if possessed, suddenly yawned and squinted his eyes. His eyelids drooped as if they were about to close any second.
“So… what I want to say… is… hmm.”
He kept yawning and bobbing his head like a sick chicken. It was disconcerting to see someone who had been chattering nonstop suddenly about to doze off.
‘What’s going on with him?’
Cha Eui-jae reached out to steady Hong Ye-seong’s swaying shoulders.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
“Huh? Ah… I don’t know.”
He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, but his drooping eyelids slowly began to close.
“Why am I so sleepy all of a sudden…”
“What nonsense is this? Hey!”
“Mmm.”
With that final word, Hong Ye-seong slumped over, still held by Cha Eui-jae’s hand. From the soft snores coming from him, it seemed he had really fallen asleep. Did this guy have narcolepsy
or something? Cha Eui-jae was bewildered. Growing anxious, he shook Hong Ye-seong’s shoulders more forcefully.
“Hey, you’re just going to fall asleep without properly explaining anything?”
But a voice spoke from somewhere other than Hong Ye-seong’s mouth.
“I’ll answer instead.”
“What?”
“Don’t be surprised, friend. I just put him to sleep for a bit. I can only intervene this way.”
Cha Eui-jae slowly turned his head with a creak. Kkokko was sitting there, staring right at him. Its shiny beak moved.
“You remember, right? There can’t be two of the same person in one world. Likewise, this guy and I can’t exist at the same time. This is just a minor trick, but it doesn’t violate the system’s rules. As long as you perceive me as Kkokko, it works.”
Kkokko was talking!
Cha Eui-jae’s eyes widened. Even after rubbing his eyes, it was clear the voice was coming from Kkokko’s beak. And it was a familiar voice. After all, it was the same voice he had been speaking with just moments ago— Hong Ye-seong’s! Golden patterns began to spin rapidly in Kkokko’s small, black eyes.
It was the Eyes of Appraisal. But it was far more complex and intricate than the one he knew.
“You…”
“Wait.”
Kkokko raised one of its white wings.
“I know you have a lot to say and what you’re going to say. But don’t equate me with the artisan. Words have power, you know? Thinking it and saying it out loud are different.”
“…”
“The system is already watching Lee Sa-young. It’s probably keeping an eye on this place too.”
Standing there awkwardly, Cha Eui-jae glanced up at the ceiling. Kkokko continued speaking slowly.
“The moment we break the rules, I’ll be kicked out before I can answer any of your questions. So, let’s help each other out. Of course, I can’t tell you much…”
Cha Eui-jae swallowed the words he had been about to say. He then lowered his head, gripping his mask. The one he was now speaking with was indeed the “Hong Ye-seong” he had encountered at the end of the Memorial Dungeon. And this one had the most information.
Hong Ye… no, Kkokko, flapped its wings and smacked its lips.
“Sigh, I was determined not to get involved this time… but you just had to drag me out, didn’t you? You never act predictably, which makes you fun to watch.”
Kkokko tilted its head and began chattering.
“By the way, friend, what have you done? Why is Lee Sa-young like this? Why didn’t the souls fuse? This is an unexpected situation even for me. Care to explain?”
“…You.”
“Yes, friend?”
Kkokko stretched its neck. Trembling for a moment in silence, Cha Eui-jae suddenly lunged at Kkokko, grabbed it, and shook it violently.
“Give me back Kkokko, you crazy bastard!”
“Squawk!”
In the quiet mountains, the loud crowing of a rooster echoed.
Twenty minutes later, Cha Eui-jae was still sitting in Hong Ye-seong’s “love house,” but the one sitting across from him now was Kkokko.
Kkokko had stacked up cushions to match Cha Eui-jae’s eye level. The owner of the house, Hong Ye-seong, was curled up beside them, sound asleep, occasionally smacking his lips. Cha Eui-jae had taken off his mask and placed it beside him, sipping on sikhye while glaring at Kkokko.
Kkokko, who had been grooming itself diligently with its beak, finally opened its mouth— or rather, its beak.
“What could have awakened Lee Sa-young? Where did things go wrong?”
“Stop throwing out questions and just explain properly.”
“I’ve thought about it, and even if nothing was done, there must have been some kind of trigger.”
“…What kind of trigger?”
“Well, something that would make Lee Sa-young open his eyes wide. Like, for example…”
Kokko tilted its head back and forth, its eyes rolling around.
“A kiss, maybe?”
“Ugh.”
Cha Eui-jae coughed, quickly covering his mouth, and then subtly averted his gaze. His already wide eyes grew even wider. Kkokko tilted its head curiously.
“What, did you really do it? I was just throwing it out there.”
“…”
“Wow…”
Kkokko muttered, covering its beak with its wing. Its round eyes narrowed into slits.
“Thief.”
Feeling guilty, Cha Eui-jae shouted in protest.
“Shut up!”
“That’s why he woke up. According to the plan of the Lee Sa-young from the ruined world, the two were supposed to fuse without realizing it.”
“How do you know about that plan?”
“Well…”
The small black eyes once again lit up with the intricate pattern of the Eyes of Appraisal.
“Because I’m the one who modified that watch. To make it usable again.”
Dongchimi is a variety of kimchi consisting of Korean radish, napa cabbage, scallions, pickled green chilli, ginger, Korean pear and watery brine in Korean cuisine. As the name dong and chimi, suggests, this kimchi is traditionally consumed during the winter season.
Narcolepsy, also called excessive uncontrollable daytime sleepiness, is a sleep disorder that makes people very drowsy during the day.
