The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 192
A world where no one except Lee Sa-young knows J. A world where selfish and primal desires are realized. Suddenly, a faint whisper came to mind.
A fleeting memory from the first time he encountered the Lee Sa-young who created this world. His vision, tinted with blood, slowly darkened, and within that darkness, he heard a whisper.
“Come back… quietly… please.”
Come back…
It was undoubtedly Lee Sa-young’s voice. Though the memory was unclear, Cha Eui-jae lifted his head. Lee Sa-young was sitting with his legs crossed, staring off into the distant void. For some reason, his profile looked unusually lonely.
Cha Eui-jae, feeling restless, flicked the table with his finger, making a sharp sound. Lee Sa-young turned his head. Cha Eui-jae asked.
“What about you?”
“Hm?”
“Do you also want me to live like that?”
His violet gaze settled on Cha Eui-jae, scanning him from head to toe as if searching for something. A faint smile played on Lee Sa-young’s lips as he propped his chin on his hands and smiled.
“Well… what do you think?”
“Hey, don’t mess around. Be honest.”
“Well…”
Lee Sa-young rubbed the edge of his cup with his black fingers.
“No matter how much I might yell at you to live quietly… You’re just not the type. Haven’t I learned that the hard way since we met again?”
“What did you say?”
“Why? You said to be honest.”
Cha Eui-jae loosened the fist he had clenched. Lee Sa-young’s long eyes crinkled in a playful smile, but his following words were far from lighthearted.
“In the past, I used to want to put shackles on your wrists and ankles.”
Cha Eui-jae’s eyes widened. Shackles? Lee Sa-young let out a loud sigh, his long lashes trembling delicately.
“If I took my eyes off you for even a second, you’d bounce around like a rubber ball… What else was I supposed to do? If I didn’t chain you down, there was no way you’d settle.”
His fluttering lashes and lowered eyes made him look as though Cha Eui-jae had wronged him somehow. And yet, it was Lee Sa-young who had made the frightening statement about chaining someone up! Lee Sa-young tapped his pale cheek with his black fingers.
“Anyway, after going through all that, I realized… It’s impossible to fully restrain you. And besides…”
His hand snaked across the table like a serpent. When his fingers brushed Cha Eui-jae’s wrist, Cha Eui-jae instinctively flinched. He held his breath as Lee Sa-young smiled angelically.
“After I spent those three months lying down, I became sure of one thing.”
“…”
“You’ll let yourself be caught now.”
His fingers slipped under Cha Eui-jae’s palm, curling around his wrist like a serpent coiling tightly. Cha Eui-jae’s breath hitched.
“Do whatever you want. Because now, hesitation has taken root in you.”
Lee Sa-young tugged on Cha Eui-jae’s wrist, pulling him forward. Cha Eui-jae’s torso leaned closer as his heart began to race. Just as Lee Sa-young’s lips brushed against the veins on Cha Eui-jae’s hand—
Snap! White sparks burst violently from Lee Sa-young’s body. Startled, Cha Eui-jae leaped to his feet.
“Hey!”
“Ah, shit…”
Lee Sa-young bit his lip, suppressing a groan. As he curled up, enduring the pain, a white system window popped up in front of them.
[Warning! Please act according to your role.]
[Lee Sa-young’s role is: Beloved Younger Brother.]
Lee Sa-young barely managed to read the text on the system screen, then twisted his lips into a sneer.
“Wow… even kissing the back of your hand breaks the ‘younger brother’ role?”
Well, that seems about right.
After all, it’s not like younger brothers usually go around kissing their older brother’s hand.
Cha Eui-jae stepped back, looking slightly embarrassed. The sparks surrounding Lee Sa-young gradually subsided, and once the last of them had disappeared, he slumped onto the table with a long sigh. His pale lips muttered in frustration.
“This system is ridiculously strict…”
Cha Eui-jae couldn’t help but feel a little grateful. He had almost lost his composure. Massaging his wrist, Cha Eui-jae asked,
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah… I can handle it.”
Lee Sa-young slowly sat up, his delicate face twisted in irritation. Cha Eui-jae sat back down, crossing his legs.
“Anyway, we’ve figured out what this place is. Even if I can’t do much, you still can, so let’s keep gathering information.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to find anything?”
Lee Sa-young pointed to the cup of cola. Drops of condensation had formed on the surface.
“Whoever made this place is obsessive… They’ve recreated even the smallest details to make it resemble reality. They’ve even erased your existence from this world. It’s not going to be easy.”
“No. There’s no such thing as perfection.”
What if a person wandered alone in a world that had already perished? What if they were the only living being left in that world? Wouldn’t they either go mad or ascend to a state of transcendence?
Cha Eui-jae thought of the pale face devoid of emotion. A face that looked completely unsaddened, even as it shed tears. If someone like Lee Sa-young had wandered for so long in that ruined world… Unable to die, forced to endure because they were tied to some mission.
The first thing they would have discarded…
Would be their senses, their emotions. Anything that left them vulnerable to human loneliness. Slowly, they’d grow numb to all sensations. Arms crossed, Cha Eui-jae murmured,
“There’s got to be something they missed.”
Lee Sa-young spread his hands and shrugged, as if to say, ‘Whatever you say’.
“So… where are we heading next?”
Cha Eui-jae had already thought of that. He raised two fingers. Through the gap, he saw Lee Sa-young arch an eyebrow, waiting for his answer.
“First, we’re going to find Hong Ye-seong.”
Lee Sa-young turned away, as if that option wasn’t worth considering. But Cha Eui-jae continued, folding down one finger.
“Second, we’re going to find Yoon Ga-eul.”
“Why are both options so terrible?”
“Both of them were connected to the end of the last world. It’s not like I suggested we go to the hangover soup restaurant.”
“Do you not remember? How you shouted that we had to find the hangover soup restaurant in the middle of a dying world?”
“Oh. That was because there was an important clue there! Thanks to the clock, we made it this far, didn’t we?”
Cha Eui-jae said indignantly.
“Sure, whatever you say.”
With a deep sigh, Lee Sa-young set his phone down on the table and hit the call button. The name that popped up on the screen…
‘Madman.’
Cha Eui-jae couldn’t help but laugh. He knew exactly who that was.
Beep.
—Hello?
***
“Wow! It’s been a while! What great timing to call me while I’m down in the mortal world.”
Hong Ye-seong puffed out his chest like a rooster. The chicken perched on his scruffy brown hair followed suit, puffing out its chest as well.
They were now in the hotel suite where Hong Ye-seong was staying. He’d apparently come down to the mortal world at the request of the Awakened Management Bureau or something like that.
While the guest bustled around, grabbing drinks from the fridge, Cha Eui-jae eyed the chicken with suspicion. After all, a recent nightmare involving it had been fresh in his memory. The chicken cocked its head, pecking at Hong Ye-seong’s head with its beak. It looked exactly like a regular chicken, but…
‘Last time it acted like a chicken, then suddenly transformed.’
Hong Ye-seong let out a sharp “ahem,” as his eyes twinkled. His golden eyes seemed even more crazed than Cha Eui-jae remembered. With his scruffy hair and those spinning, insane eyes, he gave off a deranged aura. Was this because he was a reconstruction based on ‘Lee Sa-young’s’ memory? Cha Eui-jae leaned over to Lee Sa-young and whispered.
“Doesn’t he seem even more unhinged than before?”
Lee Sa-young gave a slight nod in agreement. Just then, Hong Ye-seong jumped up on the spot.
“So, what’s up? Did something interesting happen? I’ve been so bored lately!”
“Hong Ye-seong.”
“Yeah? Just say the word!”
Lee Sa-young pointed to the spot where Cha Eui-jae stood, right next to him.
“Can you see?”
“Huh? See what?”
Hong Ye-seong tilted his head, peering at the spot where Cha Eui-jae stood. The chicken mimicked him, cocking its head as well. Cha Eui-jae reached out, trying to grab Hong Ye-seong’s head and the chicken perched on it, but his hand passed right through the bird, just as he’d expected. Lee Sa-young spoke again.
“Turn on your ‘Eyes of Appraisal’.”
“Huh?”
Still blinking innocently, Hong Ye-seong closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, intricate golden patterns began swirling in his pupils. Lee Sa-young gestured towards Cha Eui-jae once more.
“Now, can you see?”
“Hmm…”
The golden light in his eyes shimmered as he squinted, focusing on the spot where Cha Eui-jae stood. After a long moment, Hong Ye-seong muttered.
“Hey, by any chance…”
His voice had dropped to a deep, serious tone, one Cha Eui-jae had never heard from him before. Cha Eui-jae swallowed nervously. Could it be that the eyes of appraisal, used by this genius and chosen artisan by the system, was able to see even those invisible to others? A glimmer of hope flickered within Cha Eui-jae.
Hong Ye-seong beamed brightly.
“Got a ghost haunting you? Want me to introduce you to a good shaman? There’s this one in the mountains, super legit, who writes talismans and ties them with sacred ropes.”
“Lee Sa-young.”
“Yes, Hyung?”
“Knock him out.”
Thud! Lee Sa-young’s hand delivered a chop to the back of Hong Ye-seong’s neck.
“Squawk!”
With a final cry, Hong Ye-seong collapsed, drooling. As Lee Sa-young laid him down neatly on the floor, he picked up the chicken and placed it gently in his hands. The bird settled comfortably in his large palms, tilting its head.
“Bawk?”
Lee Sa-young muttered menacingly.
“He’s using this bird to watch us. That other guy.”
“Yeah. And that guy said this bird helped the one who created this world.”
“Unbelievable… what a nuisance.”
“Tell me about it. Hey, come on out.”
“Bawk? Bawk?”
The chicken’s beady black eyes sparkled innocently. But that innocent look was deceiving.
“Come out, you little thing! We’ve got some questions for you.”
Cha Eui-jae took off his wristwatch and brought it near the chicken’s head. And at that moment—
“SQUAWK!”
A bright white light burst from the chicken.
