The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 191
Cha Eui-jae swung his arm, which had pierced through Nam Woo-jin’s face and shoulder, then quietly stepped back. A stern gaze followed him. Cha Eui-jae didn’t mind and looked around.
‘First… I need to figure out what works and what doesn’t.’
Thinking back to when he hugged Lee Sa-young at home, it seemed like he could make contact with him. Cha Eui-jae tapped the floor with his foot. He could still stand on solid ground. Cha Eui-jae waved his arm toward Lee Sa-young.
“Hey! I need to check something for a sec.”
“What now…!”
“…Huh? What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to ask me something?”
As Lee Sa-young’s voice grew louder, Nam Woo-jin tilted his head in confusion. It seemed like even sound couldn’t reach him. Lee Sa-young bit his lip and glared at Cha Eui-jae, as if telling him not to move recklessly. Cha Eui-jae pointed toward the bookshelf.
“No, I was just going to check if I can touch things.”
“…”
“I’ll do it where you can see me. Is that okay? I’m going to do it now, alright?”
With a sigh, Lee Sa-young averted his glaring eyes. Cha Eui-jae pulled out a book from the shelves, which were packed all the way to the ceiling. Fortunately, he could touch it. He examined the book. There was nothing written on the cover or the spine.
The inside of the book was the same— endless rows of blank pages.
“…”
He pulled out another book and skimmed through it, but it was blank as well. Blank, blank, blank… As he kept flipping through, the pile of books at his feet grew taller. It was as if they had gathered stacks of empty notebooks disguised as books.
‘This isn’t a stationery shop notebook section.’
Cha Eui-jae scratched his head. Could Nam Woo-jin have had an odd habit of collecting blank books? Holding a few of the blank books, Cha Eui-jae approached Lee Sa-young. The two were in the middle of a conversation. Nam Woo-jin asked,
“…The information related to the system is too vast; even if we stayed up all night, I couldn’t explain it all. You should narrow it down to what specifically you’re curious about.”
“Everything related to the end.”
“The end?”
Nam Woo-jin responded with a puzzled expression.
“The end… what do you mean by that?”
“…”
Lee Sa-young narrowed his eyes. Cha Eui-jae examined Nam Woo-jin’s face. It wasn’t the face of someone lying. It was the innocent look of someone truly ignorant. After a moment, Nam Woo-jin smirked, twirling his white hair with his fingers.
“Aha… Have you been listening to some doomsday theories? All of that is just made-up nonsense.”
“…”
“Don’t let yourself be swayed by such strange talk.”
“…”
“Honestly, there are so many people trying to take advantage of others by stirring up anxiety… It’s the end of the world, really.”
Nam Woo-jin clicked his tongue and began muttering. It seemed like he had a lot to say on the subject. Seizing the moment, Lee Sa-young glanced at Cha Eui-jae. Cha Eui-jae opened one of the books and showed him the blank pages.
“All the books on the shelf look like this. Is this how they normally are?”
Lee Sa-young gave a small shake of his head. The books were supposed to be fine. Then, Lee Sa-young called out to Nam Woo-jin.
“Doctor.”
“Yes?”
Lee Sa-young asked calmly,
“Do you know J?”
“J?”
Nam Woo-jin blinked his bright, flame-colored eyes. Cha Eui-jae unconsciously held his breath, waiting for an answer. For a brief moment, the white flame seemed to flicker with a hint of purple. Finally, Nam Woo-jin responded.
“What’s that?”
An answer filled with confusion.
***
“Haa…”
A deep breath escaped, as if the ground beneath him would give way. The sigh belonged to Cha Eui-jae, who was sitting at a terrace table of a handmade burger joint. Cha Eui-jae rolled his eyes. Beyond the glass window of the shop, he could see Lee Sa-young’s back, clad in a black coat. For some reason, it was oddly amusing to watch that big, dark figure placing an order at the counter.
‘Anyway…’
Cha Eui-jae rested his chin on his hand, automatically replaying the events at the Seowon Guild in his mind.
“J? What’s that?”
The moment Lee Sa-young heard Nam Woo-jin’s answer, he immediately grabbed Cha Eui-jae’s arm, spitting out in irritation.
“No point in hearing more…”
They left the library, and the two wandered aimlessly through the streets. They had no destination— just walking wherever their feet took them, heading in the same direction. People avoided Lee Sa-young, but Cha Eui-jae passed by them as if unnoticed.
As Lee Sa-young silently watched the scene, he suddenly spoke.
“I’m hungry.”
Thanks to that, they now had a new destination— the nearest restaurant, which happened to be this handmade burger place. Naturally, Lee Sa-young was in charge of ordering.
Cha Eui-jae took off his mask. After all, no one could see him anyway. Wearing J’s clothes but with the mask off, he felt strange— a mix of mild unease and a bit of liberation.
A cool breeze brushed across his face, but the sensation of the wind felt oddly unfamiliar. His ashen hair was blown into a mess by the wind, and Cha Eui-jae blinked unnecessarily.
“You took off the mask.”
At that moment, Lee Sa-young set a tray down on the table with a thud and sat across from him. He inserted a straw into a cola and pushed it toward Cha Eui-jae, who rested his chin on his hand.
“You’re the only one who can see me, anyway.”
“…True.”
Lee Sa-young tossed a French fry into his mouth, chewing it, and then followed Cha Eui-jae’s lead, resting his chin on his hand as well.
“You’re taking this better than I thought.”
“Huh?”
“Being invisible to everyone. And… no one remembering you.”
Instead of answering, Cha Eui-jae just shrugged. Lee Sa-young frowned slightly.
“Aren’t you anxious?”
“I mean, well…”
If he had been alone, he would definitely have felt anxious. He might not have been able to take a single step, unable to bear the sudden loneliness. But…
Cha Eui-jae stared quietly at Lee Sa-young before taking a sip of the cola in front of him. Then,
“Hyung?”
Fuck!
He slammed the cup down, though carefully enough not to break the table.
Cha Eui-jae shook the cup, watching the black liquid ripple inside as ice clinked together. The fizz from the soda crackled loudly. It was black, carbonated, and served with fries and a burger.
It’s cola, right? Cha Eui-jae couldn’t believe it and asked.
“…Is this soda water?”
“Huh? It’s cola.”
Lee Sa-young blinked. Cha Eui-jae took a deep breath and drank the supposed cola once again. Afterward, he covered his eyes with his hand, still holding the straw. He didn’t want to accept reality.
“…”
There was no sweetness! All he could feel was the carbonation assaulting his mouth and throat. This was the collapse of cola. While Cha Eui-jae was in the throes of despair, Lee Sa-young twisted the knife further.
“It’s cola.”
“Liar.”
“No, it really is.”
Lee Sa-young suddenly offered him a French fry.
“Try it.”
“…”
Cha Eui-jae stared at the fry with a reluctant expression. Why was he offering this now? It looked crispy and warm on the outside, golden yellow and appetizing. Freshly fried, it seemed. As Cha Eui-jae started to have a staring contest with the fry, Lee Sa-young slyly stuck out his dark tongue.
“Since I can’t taste it… shouldn’t you be the one to check if something’s wrong?”
That made sense.
But he didn’t want to eat something that would taste exactly like he expected it to. Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes and opened his mouth. With a soft chuckle, Lee Sa-young put the fry in his mouth. He chewed once, twice, three times… After swallowing, Cha Eui-jae lowered his head in gloom.
“It’s tasteless…”
“Ah, that bad?”
“No… I mean it’s really tasteless. There’s no flavor at all.”
As much as he didn’t want to, Cha Eui-jae reached for another fry. As he chewed on the flavorless fry, he took in the crispy exterior and soft potato texture underneath. But that was all. The rich, salty, greasy taste he had expected didn’t follow. With a strange look, Cha Eui-jae kept chewing, mumbling as he did.
“No, seriously, this is weird…”
Lee Sa-young chuckled. Tasteless food was horrible, especially if you knew what it was supposed to taste like.
‘Come to think of it.’
Lee Sa-young had mentioned he couldn’t taste anything. So… Cha Eui-jae glanced at him. Lee Sa-young was casually sitting with his legs crossed, munching on the fries. Has he been living his whole life eating flavorless food like this?
‘No wonder he didn’t want to eat!’
Suddenly, he felt a wave of sympathy. Meanwhile, Lee Sa-young pulled the wooden skewer out of the burger’s center and spoke up.
“Anyway… So you can’t taste anything either.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I guess that settles it.”
After taking a large bite of his burger, Lee Sa-young slowly chewed and swallowed before wiping his mouth with his thumb.
“This is a space reconstructed based on the other Lee Sa-young’s memories.”
“…”
“We know Seowon Guild has a lot of books, but I don’t know what they contain… so they were all blank.”
He poked the bun of his burger with the skewer.
“And since I don’t know what food tastes like… of course, it’s tasteless.”
“What about not knowing about the end?”
“Who knows? Maybe he was dreaming of an ideal world— one without an end.”
A gust of wind blew, revealing Lee Sa-young’s pale forehead as his hair fluttered. Cha Eui-jae abruptly asked,
“Fine, let’s say that’s true. But then why don’t I have any role?”
“…”
“Why can’t anyone see me?”
“I told you… he was dreaming of an ideal world.”
Cha Eui-jae ground his teeth, the sound sharp. Lee Sa-young, still resting his chin on his hand, muttered quietly.
“He probably wished for a world where no one knew about you.”
“…”
“Except for me.”
