The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 211
“The Awakened Management Bureau has been tracking down groups involved with drugs that negatively affect the Awakened. Recently, they discovered that the two groups were originally one and are working toward the same goal.”
“So, who are these guys? What are they up to?”
Cha Eui-jae placed his hand on Lee Sa-young’s thigh under the table. There was no response. His muscles twitched reflexively, but that was it. Was he dozing off? It wasn’t exactly something one would fall asleep to.
‘What the…?’
Cha Eui-jae looked back at Jung Bin. Jung Bin was now absentmindedly fiddling with his neck under his shirt collar. It seemed like he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing.
“Their name is…”
At that moment, Cha Eui-jae felt a slight vibration in his pocket. Was he expecting a message? He pretended to focus on the conversation while checking his phone. It was a text from Yoon Ga-eul.
Student Ga-eul: We’re in big trouble. The end is coming.
The instant Cha Eui-jae’s eyes widened—
Wuuung.
It started with a small vibration. Ham Seok-jeong stiffened momentarily, then offered a slight bow of apology to those present. There was a tense silence, though no one stopped her. She took out her phone. Cha Eui-jae stared at her intently, watching the reflection of the rectangular screen in her dark eyes. What message could the Bureau Director possibly receive right now?
‘The end.’
Cha Eui-jae quickly reached out and grabbed Ham Seok-jeong’s arm.
“Wait a second, Director!”
Simultaneously,
The sounds of countless notifications rang in a cacophony.
Buzzes, beeps, vibrations, and tunes all mingled together in a chaotic uproar. Hunters who had been watching Ham Seok-jeong and J pulled out their phones one by one. Even Jung Bin, who had been rubbing his neck absentmindedly, snapped to attention and checked his messages. Not even J could fend off so many incoming messages at once.
And then,
Silence fell.
Stillness. Ham Seok-jeong, Song Jo-heon, who had been staring her down, Gyu-Gyu, who had been yawning out of boredom, and Hong Ye-seong, who had been folding paper from the handouts they were given— none of them moved.
Instead, they all began touching parts of their bodies. Some touched their necks, others their eyes, ears, arms, mouths, hearts, or stomachs. As if they were checking to make sure they hadn’t lost a part of themselves. And the checks weren’t one-time. People kept touching themselves, over and over again. The only sound was the rustle of clothes in the eerie silence.
“…”
Cha Eui-jae read the words on Ham Seok-jeong’s phone screen.
[Report: An unidentified group is staging silent protests worldwide. Confirmed as the group under investigation. They are spreading fear and urging civilians to participate, claiming the end is near…]
Cha Eui-jae released his grip on Ham Seok-jeong’s arm. No one was looking at him. He felt completely cut off from the world. Instinctively, he took a step back. Then, he grabbed onto Lee Sa-young, as if the man were his only lifeline.
“Hey, hey, Lee Sa-young.”
“…”
“Say something.”
Even as he shook Lee Sa-young’s shoulder, no answer came. Cha Eui-jae swallowed hard, his stomach churning. An ominous tension hung in the air. Just then, something small and white floated up from the ground. It was Kkokko.
Kkokko ignored everything else, heading straight for Cha Eui-jae. A flurry of frantic words poured out of the little beak.
“Hey, hey! This is really bad. What’s wrong with your world? Why is everything happening so fast?”
Cha Eui-jae pressed his hand against the pale, smooth pulse in Lee Sa-young’s neck. Fortunately, it was beating normally. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he responded.
“Explain it so I can understand. I know things are screwed.”
“What’s there to explain! Some crazy bastards are summoning the end. They practically rolled out the red carpet for it! Why are there so many lunatics in this world?”
Cha Eui-jae circled the table, checking the messages on the hunters’ phones. They had all received texts from different people, but two words were common; the end. He returned to Lee Sa-young’s side, ruffling his hair in frustration.
“So just seeing the word ‘end’ caused all this?”
An ominous voice that had warned about the end swirled through his mind.
“The more you think about it, the more you talk about it, the more you say it out loud… the faster it will come.”
“You should be careful. Because you can’t stop people’s thoughts and words.”
How careful they had been. Cha Eui-jae had deliberately avoided sharing information about the end with either Lee Sa-young or the Director. They already knew about the end, but he had worried that adding more details might somehow accelerate its arrival. Yet all their efforts had been in vain. He instinctively reached for his mask.
“Just seeing the word makes it come faster… at this rate.”
How could they fight it? Was it even possible to stop it with human power? A sudden sense of hopelessness surged up within him. But Kkokko— no, Hong Ye-seong’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“No, that’s not it. This didn’t happen in the last world. I think your world is just unique.”
Kkokko, who had been tapping Hong Ye-seong’s cheek with his wings, let out a long sigh. He scurried across the wide table, muttering to himself.
“The souls here must already remember two previous ends. Even if they don’t consciously realize it.”
“…”
“They’re people who’ve already died twice because of the end. The souls will remember how terrifying it was. And this world has been merging with the second, destroyed world.”
Kkokko pressed his two wings together, struggling to explain.
“As if remembering that destroyed world wasn’t bad enough, the fear those souls remember is now compounding. That’s why people are realizing the end is coming so much faster.”
Cha Eui-jae glanced around. They were still touching parts of their bodies, their faces twisted in strange expressions. Kkokko perched on top of Hong Ye-seong’s head, chattering away.
“Think about it. If you’d heard the word ‘end’ without knowing anything, you’d just ignore it, right? Probably laugh it off as some doomsday nonsense.”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
“But after you guys came back from that world, people started to slowly remember that destroyed world. Freezing in fear makes sense.”
“You’re saying all these people froze up because of fear?”
“You’re underestimating fear. No matter how brave someone is, they can’t just ignore a fear that’s imprinted on their soul. They’d instinctively want to avoid the end.”
“…”
Cha Eui-jae let out a wry laugh. Hong Ye-seong was right. He, too, feared silence. From the moment he had felt that unfamiliar dread of quiet, to now, being comforted by Lee Sa-young. He was still shaken, still terrified by the sudden onset of silence.
“Then what about Lee Sa-young?”
Cha Eui-jae grabbed the filter of Lee Sa-young’s gas mask and sharply turned his face toward Kkokko. His body was limp, as if he had lost all strength. Lee Sa-young wasn’t touching anything; he looked like someone who had completely passed out.
“He didn’t even hear about the end, but he suddenly ended up like this. What’s going on?”
“Huh? I don’t know!”
“…Do you know anything?”
“What I do know is that we need to do something. Let’s get out of here!”
Kkokko leaped up as if ready to dash out any second. Cha Eui-jae quickly responded.
“Wait! You’re saying we should just leave them like this?”
Kkokko tilted his smooth, shiny head.
“They’re probably safer here than out there. I made this space, after all. Besides, they’ll snap out of it soon enough. Fear is just a temporary emotion.”
“…”
But. Cha Eui-jae tightened his grip on Lee Sa-young’s hand. Could he really leave him behind again?
“…”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to hesitate.
Cha Eui-jae unstrapped the watch from his wrist, rolled up Lee Sa-young’s coat sleeve, and fastened it onto his right wrist. The sound of the watch strap clicking into place was unnervingly clear. Cha Eui-jae whispered into Lee Sa-young’s ear.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“…”
“This time, I mean it.”
As Cha Eui-jae stood up, Kkokko flew onto his head, raising his wings dramatically.
“Alright, buddy. Let’s go!”
“Get off my head, you brat!”
***
The road was packed with cars, and the bustling district, usually filled with people heading somewhere, was eerily still. Everyone had stopped and was staring up at the sky. Silence reigned as though not a single living soul was present. As Cha Eui-jae passed through them, he glanced around and muttered to himself.
“I thought it was only the hunters affected.”
“Civilians went through the apocalypse too. It’ll take longer for them to snap out of it. Their mental resilience is a bit weaker.”
Kkokko replied, chattering away. Perched on the tip of Cha Eui-jae’s spear instead of his head, Kkokko flapped his wings.
“Isn’t that them? The crazy ones.”
Just as he said, people dressed in white filled the street. But they too were blankly staring at the sky, their protest signs limp on the ground. Cha Eui-jae approached and picked one up.
[Overcome the end of the world with human power]
Kkokko clicked his tongue in disdain.
“They couldn’t escape the fear either. Idiots… Do they even know what they’ve done?”
At that moment.
A shadow loomed over the sign. Cha Eui-jae quickly jumped back.
And then, in the very spot he had just been standing,
BOOM—!
Something massive came crashing down from the sky.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Through the cloud of dust rising from the impact, Cha Eui-jae caught glimpses of a giant form thrashing about. A crunching sound echoed as if it was chewing on something. Cha Eui-jae held his spear at the ready, holding his breath.
And then,
Through the dust, a massive mouth gaped wide open. Sharp teeth filled the maw, and inside…
Cha Eui-jae cursed under his breath.
“…Shit, unbelievable.”
He caught a glimpse of blood-soaked white clothes and mangled limbs.
