The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 219
The corners of his lips twitched. But despite his efforts, he couldn’t hide the smile creeping up.
‘That was… a pretty good performance, wasn’t it?’
It was clear that his acting skills had improved quite a bit compared to before. Cha Eui-jae rubbed his chin and straightened his hunched back a little. A sense of pride bubbled up inside him. At this rate, maybe he really could debut as an actor, just as Yang Hye-jin had suggested.
In fact, given the world they lived in, it wasn’t unusual for hunters to also work as celebrities. There were quite a few who balanced being both a hunter and an actor or model. Actors, in particular, thrived in action roles since they could naturally perform stunts that would take an ordinary person years of training to master. Then there were models, like…
‘Honeybee’s been working as both a model and a hunter, right?’
Cha Eui-jae absentmindedly fiddled with his black hair. He could roam around so freely thanks to the hair dye Honeybee had given him.
‘Maybe I should send a gift once this job is over.’
Cha Eui-jae glanced back. Some people were holding their injuries and sobbing, while others stared blankly at the ceiling. One man was writhing in pain, held down by several others. It was a familiar scene. More so than people laughing and a peaceful world.
“…”
The smell of disinfectant, blood, and dust mingled in the air, creating a strange odor. Eui-jae closed his eyes. The murmuring faded. Strangely, he felt at ease. It was as if, after a long journey, he had finally returned to where he belonged.
He rubbed his thumb across the corner of his mouth, then pulled back the curtain. People in white clothes moved about busily like ants. Though they wore white, the guards by the door were quite large. Their eyes were dull and unfocused. Most likely…
‘Modified hunters… or test subjects?’
Cha Eui-jae inspected their faces. Thankfully, none of them were familiar. Maybe the incident with the Russian bear had been more shocking than he’d realized. A sudden flash of red passed before his eyes, and he swallowed a bitter smile.
He could feel the furtive glances of the busy people around him. Cha Eui-jae sat down on a plastic chair. The chair scraped against the asphalt with a grating sound. Almost immediately, someone approached him.
“I’ve been informed. You’re looking for your younger sibling, correct?”
It was a woman with clear eyes, perhaps in her 30s. Instead of answering, Cha Eui-jae simply nodded. The woman politely bowed her head and handed him a notepad and pen.
“My name is Lee Mi-jin. Could you describe your sibling’s appearance in detail? The earlier description you provided was too broad, so we think it might not yield meaningful results.”
“Alright… I understand.”
Cha Eui-jae gripped the pen and paused in thought. The vague description he’d given earlier was of Yoon Ga-eul. She was someone he actually knew, so he could answer sudden questions without seeming suspicious. And besides…
‘She should be at school by now.’
At least, he hoped so. Yoon Ga-eul might be an S-grade, but she wasn’t a combat-specialized hunter. Cha Eui-jae began writing down a description of her appearance: Yoon Ga-eul, 19 years old, female, brown hair, round face, glasses, school uniform… Meanwhile, Lee Mi-jin poured a cup of warm water and slid it toward him. After finishing the description, Cha Eui-jae handed her the notepad and cautiously asked.
“Would it be okay if I kept the pen? It’s just that… my hands feel kind of empty. I’ll return it when I leave.”
“Oh my… of course. Feel free to hold on to it.”
“Th-thank you.”
Lee Mi-jin glanced over the notepad and handed it to someone passing by, nodding. The person who received it hurried away. She then sat down beside Cha Eui-jae.
Cha Eui-jae picked up the paper cup. Steam rose lazily from it. The warmth barely registered in his hands, but…
‘Could be a test.’
He made a show of holding the cup by its rim and blowing on it.
“It’s hot.”
“Warm water is better for calming the mind than cold water.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. You must have been quite shocked.”
“Yeah, a little…”
He was definitely shocked. It wasn’t every day you saw people collectively lose their minds. Cha Eui-jae glanced at Lee Mi-jin and asked.
“You don’t seem very surprised, though.”
“Do I? Maybe it’s because I’ve been preparing for this for a long time.”
Lee Mi-jin covered her mouth with her hand and laughed. Cha Eui-jae made his eyes go wide on purpose.
“You’ve been preparing? For what?”
“For this mentally. I might sound crazy saying this, but…”
Lee Mi-jin gazed off into the distance with a somewhat wistful look on her face.
“I’ve known for a long time that a day like this would come.”
“…”
“By any chance, have you ever recalled memories that felt strange? Like they’re your memories, but you don’t remember ever doing those things.”
Cha Eui-jae hesitated, fidgeting with his hands. Lee Mi-jin, as if trying to reassure him, added softly:
“Don’t worry, I won’t think you’re strange. I experienced it too.”
At that, Cha Eui-jae slowly nodded. He needed to go along with her if he wanted more information. Stammering slightly, he began speaking.
“Well, um, since the Day of Change… it’s been happening. I haven’t told anyone about it, though…”
She smiled warmly.
“Ah, I see. Don’t worry. A lot of people have experienced similar things since the Day of Change.”
“…”
“Could you tell me what kind of memories you’ve been recalling?”
She’s pressing for details now. Cha Eui-jae hesitated to answer. Lee Mi-jin, perhaps sensing his discomfort, gently encouraged him.
“Is it a memory that’s hard to talk about?”
“No, it’s just… I’ve never shared this with anyone before, so it feels a bit strange.”
Cha Eui-jae scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile.
“You know, talking about something like this… it’d make people think you’re crazy.”
“That’s true. Many people are afraid of that. But I believe that the more difficult it is to share something, the more important it is to open up. Humans need to rely on each other, after all.”
Wow, she talks so smoothly. It seemed clear now that Lee Mi-jin wouldn’t leave until she heard what she wanted. She’d probably come over just to have this conversation. There was no avoiding it. He’d have to make something up. Just then—
“Mmph! Mmmph! Mmph!”
A muffled scream echoed from somewhere. It was faint, but clearly a woman’s voice. Lee Mi-jin, either not hearing it or pretending not to, maintained her serene smile as she looked at Cha Eui-jae. Everyone else around them seemed to be ignoring the noise as well.
‘If I react now…’
They’d know. They’d figure out he was awakened. Cha Eui-jae feigned a deep breath, as though to collect his thoughts, and took a sip of the water. It tasted strangely bitter. At the same time, his vision briefly swayed before returning to normal. He recognized this sensation. He’d felt it before it was detoxified by Basilisk’s Venom.
‘Ah… fuck. Wait.’
Veins bulged on Cha Eui-jae’s temple.
‘These bastards spiked the water…’
Carefully, he ran his tongue along his mouth. What had they put in it? It wasn’t poison, at least. If it were, his system would have notified him that it was being neutralized. A sedative? A tranquilizer? Drugs? Maybe it was a special kind designed for awakened people. Had they spiked it in case an awakened individual infiltrated?
But seriously, messing with food?
Cha Eui-jae looked up at the ceiling, not forgetting to sigh as if troubled. He really was troubled, after all.
‘This is a complete mess…’
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
The woman’s screams grew louder. There were even sounds of struggling now, thuds and bumps. A few people glanced around, hesitating. It was about time to react. Cha Eui-jae looked at Lee Mi-jin with a face of concern.
“Um, don’t you hear that?”
“Hear what? What kind of sound?”
“That, the ‘mmph’ sound… like someone’s gagged?”
“Hmm… I don’t hear anything.”
Lee Mi-jin tilted her head, looking puzzled. Cha Eui-jae barely listened to her response as he shot up from his seat. He headed straight for the source of the sound. Lee Mi-jin hurried after him.
“Wait! What are you…”
“Sorry, it’s just… that voice, it sounded like my sister. Sorry, call me crazy if you want, but I have to check!”
Cha Eui-jae muttered nonsense as he yanked open a nearby tent. And then—
“…”
“…”
There she was, being dragged away with her mouth gagged by a large man.
“…Yoon Ga-eul?”
He came face to face with Yoon Ga-eul.
Yoon Ga-eul, her glasses askew, was struggling in the grip of a bulky man’s arm. In the midst of her desperate flailing, she suddenly heard her name and widened her eyes at Cha Eui-jae. Her gaze filled with shock. Cha Eui-jae likely had the same expression on his face. Why was a student who was supposed to be at school here? And being dragged away, no less!
Cha Eui-jae turned to Lee Mi-jin, his face stricken with disbelief. Lee Mi-jin sighed deeply, covering her face with her hand.
“It would have been better for both of us if you’d just had a chat and gone quietly. Curiosity is a sin, you know.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Now that you’ve seen this, there’s no choice. We’ll have to take you along too.”
Lee Mi-jin snapped her fingers, and the bulky man nearby approached with heavy footsteps. She waved her hand gracefully.
“Don’t hit him too hard. Don’t make him a fool either. Just hit him hard enough to knock him out. He seems like he might be useful.”
So they were planning to knock him out and take him along. Wait, wasn’t this actually turning out well?
‘Aren’t they just taking me straight to their base?’
The bulky man approached with loud, heavy breaths. Cha Eui-jae backed up, silently praying.
‘Please hit me with something strong.’
He prayed again.
‘Please hit me with something solid!’
If it’s a thin iron rod, it’ll just bend!
Fortunately, the bulky man was holding a hefty club. That should do the job. Whoosh— the club cut through the air as it swung toward Cha Eui-jae. At the moment the club was about to make contact with his face, Cha Eui-jae flung himself backward, pretending he had been hit.
Crash—!! Cha Eui-jae toppled onto a pile of ice boxes and cardboard crates.
‘I’ve even mastered Hollywood stunts now…’
Proud of his performance, Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes. Yoon Ga-eul let out a muffled scream. Lee Mi-jin snapped her fingers again. A firm hand grabbed Cha Eui-jae by the ankle and started dragging him.
“They say Yoon Ga-eul is your sister? Well, at least you won’t be lonely. Hey, put them both in the car.”
Lee Mi-jin chuckled to herself. The bulky man hoisted Cha Eui-jae up by his ankle. His baseball cap fell helplessly to the floor. After swinging him back and forth like a pendulum a couple of times, the man flung him somewhere.
Thud! Thud! Cha Eui-jae hit a wall a couple of times before finally crashing onto the floor. Clang! Click! The door slammed shut. Darkness enveloped him.
At that moment, Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes wide.
