The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 157

Cha Eui-jae stared at Hong Ye-seong’s confident smile, frozen in time, at a loss for words. The two had made a promise in a past he couldn’t remember.

‘To save the world.’

Cha Eui-jae clenched and unclenched his fist. Was it okay to forget such an important promise? Had he done something too cruel to Hong Ye-seong?

Then, Hong Ye-seong suddenly spoke.

—Hey, hey, don’t take it too seriously. This was a promise for me, you know. You didn’t want to do it, but I pushed and pushed until you agreed.

Cha Eui-jae’s eyes widened.

“What?”

—Well… I don’t know if you realize this now, but I tend to switch interests pretty quickly. I can’t focus on one thing for long. I get bored easily. If it feels like a task, I don’t want to do it. I just want to have fun.

There was a playful glint beneath the surface of his emotions.

—But saving the world is different.

“…”

—I’ve seen you save the world multiple times, you know?

“…”

—It looked really cool. So, I thought this time, I’d tag along while you save the world.

Excitement crept into Hong Ye-seong’s voice.

—So, what do you think? Did that help? I’m the only one who can provide such top-tier deductions and information, aren’t I?

The Hong Ye-seong in the faded black-and-white photograph was smiling. He probably had been smiling all along. Cha Eui-jae barely managed to choke out the words that had been rising in his throat.

“Thank you.”

—…

“You’ve kept yourself trapped here… just to keep that promise.”

Cha Eui-jae knew better than anyone the loneliness that accompanied isolation, how precious the warmth of others was.

The first-world Cha Eui-jae must not have been lonely. Even after losing Lee Sa-young, he could have resolved to save the world because Hong Ye-seong was there beside him. That must have been why, instead of going mad, he decided to turn back time and reclaim Lee Sa-young.

But how many people would have gazed into Hong Ye-seong’s photograph after he had trapped himself within it? Maybe Cha Eui-jae was the first. The previous world’s Cha Eui-jae had died early, after all. Cha Eui-jae spoke up.

“I…”

—Ah, forget it. Let’s stop with the heavy stuff here. Lee Sa-young’s condition is more important, isn’t it… right?

The light in the atmosphere shifted its focus. Hong Ye-seong mumbled.

—Looks like Lee Sa-young’s waking up. That guy’s got sharp instincts.

“Waking up? Wait a minute.”

—Oh no, he’s probably hitting your head on the table right now.

“What? Hey, you—”

—Let’s go!

Before he could finish his sentence, Cha Eui-jae felt something grab his head and pull him up. He swallowed his curses as he was dragged along.

With a gasp, Cha Eui-jae jolted awake as if emerging from underwater, and instinctively held his breath.

Purple eyes were staring straight at him.

Cha Eui-jae quickly raised his upper body. It seemed he had lost consciousness, slumped over on the table. The blue evening sky had been swallowed by the setting sun.

It seemed quite some time had passed. Cha Eui-jae darted his eyes around. Lee Sa-young, who had tilted his head and was watching him, continued to stare without averting his gaze. His sharp eyes seemed ready to devour him. Cha Eui-jae cautiously called out.

“…Sa-young? You’re awake?”

“…Hah.”

A short scoff escaped. Then, Lee Sa-young’s face blossomed into a bright smile, his eyes curving into crescents. The radiance of his smile made Cha Eui-jae glance away. Lee Sa-young asked softly, his voice smooth and gentle.

“You must’ve been really tired?”

“No… Well…”

“Yeah, well… I get it. You had reasons to be tired…”

Cha Eui-jae, who had been avoiding his gaze, caught a glimpse of Lee Sa-young’s phone screen.

[J, Redefining the No. 1 Ranking.]

[J’s Bold Moves Continue… What’s on His Mind?]

[Hero J: How He Returned from the West Sea Rift.]

It looked like Lee Sa-young had searched for ‘J’ on the portal site. The screen was filled with headlines about J. A chill ran down Cha Eui-jae’s spine from his neck to his waist.

‘Ah, shit.’

“I get it. You’ve been working so hard… Right?”

Lee Sa-young, who had been squatting, sat down properly and leaned in, his hands pressed to the floor. Cha Eui-jae leaned back as much as Lee Sa-young leaned in.

“No, it’s just… You suddenly collapsed.”

“I did collapse.”

“And the situation with the world seemed pretty serious, didn’t it?”

“I suppose it did.”

“There’d be a lot of talk when the number two ranking is absent…”

“I see. So, you stepped in?”

“No, it’s just… I know the monsters appearing now better than anyone else.”

“Aha…”

Lee Sa-young let out a long sigh and roughly raked a hand through his hair.

“So, you were so tired that you fell asleep here with your head on the table? Without even lying down?”

“No, I didn’t sleep because I was tired.”

“Such dedication…”

It was unfair. But how could he explain that he had been having a secret conversation with Hong Ye-seong, who was currently possessing Kkokko’s body, and the others from a different world? He couldn’t overwhelm someone who had just woken up with that.

Cha Eui-jae glanced at Kkokko. He gestured, hoping for some help, but Kkokko had already turned his body around and was sitting with his back to him. The small round back resembled an old man grumbling, “I don’t want to see.”

‘That little…’

Cha Eui-jae glared. All his gratitude evaporated. In the end, he had no choice but to resort to his go-to move.

Cha Eui-jae stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Lee Sa-young’s neck, pulling him in. Despite his earlier annoyance, Lee Sa-young came in without resistance. Cha Eui-jae, holding Lee Sa-young awkwardly, stammered out a question.

“Is your body… okay?”

“…”

“You were crying so much earlier, I thought something had happened.”

“I told you I wasn’t crying.”

“Hey, I actually came here to ask you something. That thing inside you…”

“…I know.”

Lee Sa-young responded curtly, wrapping his arms around Cha Eui-jae’s waist. Then, with a low sigh, he rubbed his head against Cha Eui-jae’s neck.

“Hong Ye-seong was passed out next to me, by the way.”

As always, Lee Sa-young’s words weren’t as cute as his actions. Cha Eui-jae mechanically patted his head, selling out the sleeping Hong Ye-seong’s honor.

“He suddenly knocked out while talking. Probably drank too much last night.”

“…Really? So, did he say anything?”

“Not yet.”

They kept chatting quietly, embracing each other. How long had they been hugging when a vibration was felt from behind them? It was Lee Sa-young’s phone. He loosened his arms from around Cha Eui-jae’s waist and checked the screen. A frown creased his face.

“…I’ll be right back. I need to take this call.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Lee Sa-young disappeared to the back of the straw-roofed house. No sound could be heard even when Cha Eui-jae strained his ears. Did he step outside the barrier? Cha Eui-jae lightly kicked the mat where Kkokko was sitting.

“Hey, traitor.”

“Traitor? I’d prefer you call me a true friend who gave you two some private time.”

“Shut up. Tell me more about Lee Sa-young.”

“To do that, we’d have to go back into that space. The topic’s too delicate to discuss here.”

The more they spoke, the worse it got. If Lee Sa-young came back to find Cha Eui-jae lying on the table again, who knew how he’d react this time? Cha Eui-jae thought quickly and, lowering his voice to a whisper, asked,

“Right. So, do you know anything about Prometheus? Anything at all, just spill it.”

Kkokko, who had tilted his head slightly, also covered his beak with a wing and replied.

“I don’t.”

Cha Eui-jae hadn’t expected that answer. After acting all-knowing like a sage, now Kkokko was playing dumb? Cha Eui-jae glared at him with suspicion.

“Why don’t you know? You acted like you knew everything.”

“Well, those kinds of guys didn’t leave much of a trace in my world. A grand name like that? I only saw it in Greek and Roman Mythology for Kids.”

Cha Eui-jae’s suspicious gaze remained fixed on Kkokko. Sensing the mistrust, Kkokko hit Cha Eui-jae’s arm with his wing.

“Look, I’m telling you, I only found out about these guys after watching over you in this world.”

“And what about the drug that mutates the Awakened?”

“No way. This world is especially brutal.”

“…”

Their eyes met. An organization that didn’t exist in the previous world now appeared in this one. Cha Eui-jae muttered quietly.

“So, could that be another side effect?”

“Seems that way, right?”

“Damn it. How is that a side effect? Why does everyone go insane together?”

“I don’t know either. That’s something you have to figure out yourself. Now, give me more nurungji.”

Cha Eui-jae obediently offered another piece of nurungji.

“Hey. One more question.”

Kkokko, who had been pecking at the nurungji, looked up with a curious tilt of his head.

No matter how much time passed, Cha Eui-jae couldn’t get used to hearing Hong Ye-seong’s voice coming from such a cute face. Maybe it was worse this time since he had just seen Hong Ye-seong’s frozen image in that photograph. Breaking off a piece of his own nurungji, Cha Eui-jae asked, fumbling,

“Were you… always Kkokko? Were you the one clucking around, too?”

Kkokko dropped the piece of nurungji he was holding in his beak. A small, bean-like eye widened in shock.

“Are you seriously asking that?”

“Just answer me. I need to look back on my past.”

“Friend… What kind of person do you think I am?”

Kkokko tilted his head indignantly. Watching him, Cha Eui-jae felt equally annoyed. This shiny, round, adorable creature was behaving far too strangely. Kkokko flapped his wings.

“It’s only temporary that I’m borrowing Kkokko’s body. Since this was something made by Hong Ye-seong, it was easy to inhabit. But I don’t make a habit of it.”

“Why didn’t you come back in his body instead? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

“There’s a complicated reason for that…”

Kkokko chirped, waddling over to the sleeping Hong Ye-seong, who lay with his arm resting on a cushion, smacking his lips in his sleep. Watching the scene, Cha Eui-jae pondered for a moment. What would it feel like to look at your own body so closely, from another’s perspective?

“The kid’s a little strange, isn’t he? Like he’s missing a screw.”

“Cough!”

Caught off guard by the sudden moment of self-reflection, Cha Eui-jae coughed harshly, covering his mouth. Kkokko, unfazed, continued talking.

“But it can’t be helped. A soul that’s meant to be whole was divided. So, with his soul incomplete, something is bound to be missing.”

“What? But Lee Sa-young… wait.”

Cha Eui-jae snapped his head up. There was no sign of Lee Sa-young.

No, this was…

“What’s wrong?”

Cha Eui-jae quickly grabbed Kkokko’s beak. Kkokko struggled, flapping his wings angrily, but upon sensing the tension, he clamped his beak shut.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t sense Lee Sa-young— it was more like Lee Sa-young was deliberately hiding his presence. Cha Eui-jae’s eyes briefly glowed blue, and at that moment, Lee Sa-young revealed himself. Standing silently, Lee Sa-young slipped his hands into his coat pockets and curled his lips into a smile.

“Mm… I thought it was my fault.”

“…”

“I thought maybe while I was asleep, you got so lonely that you developed a habit of talking to chickens…”

“…”

“So then…”

With quiet steps, Lee Sa-young approached, crouching slightly to meet Cha Eui-jae’s gaze. His violet eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Who’s that guy?”