The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 236
Yoon Ga-eul, as if she had finally found her voice, spoke slowly and carefully.
“I… I want to confirm my usefulness. Right now, I can’t do anything and am just a burden…”
“…”
Usefulness. It wasn’t a word you’d expect to hear from a high schooler. Cha Eui-jae took a closer look at Yoon Ga-eul. From head to toe, she looked like an ordinary student you could find anywhere. Nineteen, still a minor. How strange it was to hear the word “usefulness” from someone so young.
“I don’t want to always rely on someone else’s help. I want to quickly pull my own weight…”
Is this how my aunt felt when she looked at me?
That left Cha Eui-jae with one thing to do. He wasn’t a perfect adult, but he had learned some things along the way.
“Is this a conclusion you’ve reached after thinking about it seriously?”
Instead of answering, Yoon Ga-eul averted her gaze to the floor. Cha Eui-jae glanced at Ga-young out of the corner of his eye, and she shrugged, as if to say she had no idea. Ignoring the stiffness in his arm, Cha Eui-jae gently pressed Yoon Ga-eul.
“I’d like you to be honest.”
“…I know it’s sudden. But I’m scared. I’m afraid that we won’t be able to stop the end this time.”
“…”
“This is just the beginning. The end will come again, many times. To consume this world. But we can’t fail again…”
The weight of Lee Sa-young leaning against his shoulder felt heavy. As Cha Eui-jae patted Lee Sa-young’s back, he stared at Yoon Ga-eul.
“So… I want to try doing whatever I can… because…”
Her golden eyes darted around the room. Though her eyes clearly showed anxiety, there was also a deeper emotion peeking through.
A primal fear.
Prometheus. A mutation that hadn’t appeared in the first or second worlds. Yoon Ga-eul seemed to have placed her hopes of stopping the end on Prometheus. Whether it was because of the words and influence of others or entirely her choice, Cha Eui-jae couldn’t be sure.
He glanced at Lee Sa-young. At some point, he had lifted his head and was staring intently at Ga-young. Not Yoon Ga-eul, but Ga-young.
See? His claim of being okay was a lie all along. Why did he have so many people to care for? Cha Eui-jae let out a small sigh. For now, Yoon Ga-eul took priority.
“I respect your choice, Yoon Ga-eul.”
“…”
“But…”
Right now, no matter what he said, it probably wouldn’t resonate with her. She was buried under countless thoughts and responsibilities. Cha Eui-jae had been there too. There were times when the weight of the world pressed down on his shoulders, and no matter what people around him said, it didn’t register. But even so, this had to be said.
“If it gets too hard, you can always say so. If it’s too much, you can run away.”
“…”
“You’re not alone… we can help each other.”
“…”
“Just like we always have.”
How comforting it was to be told it was okay to run away.
If Cha Eui-jae hadn’t run, he would have died fighting, or wasted away, or met death in some other form. He hoped that one day, she would remember this moment. Even if she didn’t fully understand what he meant, he wished she would know that it was okay to lay everything down and escape.
Yoon Ga-eul looked puzzled, but soon nodded with a firm expression. That was enough. Cha Eui-jae turned his gaze to Ga-young.
“I trust you won’t resort to cutting off communication. No fake medical treatments, no experimenting, no drugging, no restraining, no brainwashing. None of it.”
“Oh my, you make us sound like some kind of criminal organization~”
“Aren’t you?”
“Well, perhaps that’s how it looks to you lofty awakened ones!”
Ga-young clapped her hands with a sharp smack.
“Don’t worry. She’s our precious oracle who’s going to help us stop the apocalypse, after all… We’ll take very good care of her!”
“…No.”
The long-silent Lee Sa-young finally spoke up. Beneath his messy hair, drenched in cold sweat, his purple eyes gleamed sharply. His dark fingers pointed at Ga-young.
“You can’t just leave it at words. We need to have at least some safeguards in place… J.”
“Is our trustworthiness that low?”
“As if… there isn’t.”
Ga-young’s face twitched slightly, and her pale lips twisted. Lee Sa-young let go of Cha Eui-jae’s arm and staggered forward. The scraping sound of his shoes dragging against the floor echoed loudly. Lee Sa-young stood over her and looked down.
Ga-young frowned a bit, then smiled.
“…I’ve always wanted to meet you in person! Lee Sa-young, was it?”
“…”
“One of the children I used to take care of also used poison…”
“…Is that so?”
His voice grew cold. A heavy pressure weighed down on the space where so many had died. From where Cha Eui-jae stood, he couldn’t see Lee Sa-young’s face, only his back. But he could clearly see the color draining from both Ga-young and Yoon Ga-eul’s faces.
Finally, a large, dark hand brushed against Ga-young’s glasses frame. His lazy voice whispered gently.
“Be careful…”
“…”
“Or you’ll die.”
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant. But Ga-young let out a small laugh.
“Heh, heh heh. Is that from personal experience?”
“It might be…”
Lee Sa-young slipped on his gloves, then patted Yoon Ga-eul’s shoulder. He leaned down and whispered something to her. Or at least, it seemed like he did. After that, he gave her a gentle pat and walked back, as if satisfied. He nodded to Cha Eui-jae.
“We’re done here. Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“We’re going home… I came all this way to find you.”
Cha Eui-jae awkwardly pointed to the building.
“Song Jo-heon hasn’t come out yet.”
Lee Sa-young scowled in irritation when he heard the name.
“Oh, right… that old man is still here. Why?”
“It’s complicated. I’ll explain later. Look, there he is.”
Two soldiers appeared, panting as they approached. They were each holding one of Song Jo-heon’s limbs. Yoon Ga-eul let out a small scream. The soldiers dropped Song Jo-heon unceremoniously and saluted Ga-young before disappearing. Cha Eui-jae quickly approached him and checked his pulse. Thankfully, he had just fainted. Ga-young muttered as she caressed his cheek.
“The Guild Leader has really let himself go…”
Now that he thought about it, the woman he’d met on the road had been wearing a Samra Guild ID badge around her neck. Had she worked there? Or was it a cover identity? Cha Eui-jae looked up at Ga-young. She covered her mouth and smiled.
“Oh, did you hear me?”
“Weren’t you saying it for me to hear?”
“Well~ half of it, maybe.”
“You were wearing a Samra Guild badge.”
“You’ve got a good eye. Yes, I worked there. But if you want more details~ you’ll have to ask him yourself. You’ll be interrogating him anyway, won’t you?”
“…”
Cha Eui-jae didn’t reply. Instead, he took off his lab coat and covered Song Jo-heon’s battered body before hoisting him up. He was heavy. Lee Sa-young looked at him with a displeased expression.
“Why don’t we just drag him? He wouldn’t even get a scratch.”
“Dragging is more exhausting.”
“…”
Lee Sa-young crossed his arms and turned his head away, but Cha Eui-jae could see his fingers trembling in between. Cha Eui-jae turned and looked at Yoon Ga-eul and Ga-young. He nodded at Yoon Ga-eul.
“We’re leaving.”
“Yes… take care.”
“Feel free… to contact me anytime. I’ll be getting a new phone.”
“Oh, yes, yes!”
Yoon Ga-eul nodded brightly. Cha Eui-jae shot Ga-young a final glare before nudging Lee Sa-young’s calf with his foot. Lee Sa-young wasted no time in disappearing into the forest. Cha Eui-jae took one last look back.
“…”
Then, he turned around.
Neither of them spoke as they made their way down the steep slope and out of the forest. Cha Eui-jae knew that if he said anything now, Lee Sa-young would just respond with twisted words or evasions. Instead, he stared quietly at the black figure ahead of him.
Once they passed through the dense trees and emerged onto the open ground, a road came into view. There, parked along the road at the base of the mountain, was a van with a slightly dented bumper. Leaning against it was Bae Won-woo, sipping an energy gel.
When Bae Won-woo saw Lee Sa-young, he waved with his uninjured hand. Then, he noticed Cha Eui-jae coming down behind him and widened his eyes. Or rather, he widened them at Song Jo-heon, who was slung over Cha Eui-jae’s back. Flailing his arms as if trying to express something, Bae Won-woo finally managed to speak.
“G- Guild Leader Song Jo-heon has been kidnapped too?”
Cha Eui-jae responded wearily.
“Let’s just say that for now…”
***
Bae Won-woo was quite adept at driving with just one arm. He glanced at Cha Eui-jae and Lee Sa-young through the rearview mirror. After a long silence, Cha Eui-jae, with his temple resting against the window, finally spoke.
“Hey, Lee Sa-young.”
“How cold… You know I have a name, but you use my last name too.”
Lee Sa-young replied in a lazy tone. Good, it seemed like he was coming back to his senses. Cha Eui-jae, staring at Lee Sa-young’s reflection in the window, responded.
“It’s because of Ga-young, right? That’s why you’re acting like this.”
“…”
Bae Won-woo’s eyes widened in the rearview mirror. Without pausing, Cha Eui-jae pressed on.
“Don’t lie and say you don’t remember. You recognized her right away.”
The dilated pupils, the tension in his body, the cold sweat that instinctively started flowing as soon as he saw her. The way he reflexively clung to Cha Eui-jae.
He was scared— of Ga-young.
“She’s the one who took you and experimented on you, isn’t she?”
“…”
Lee Sa-young’s reflection in the glass closed his eyes. His response was unexpected.
“So what?”
“…What?”
“Even if I say yes, what’s going to change?”
Cha Eui-jae was at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing without sound. Lee Sa-young’s lips twisted into a faint, crooked smile.
“Hm… I didn’t think I’d have to spell it out like this…”
“…”
A black hand suddenly appeared in Cha Eui-jae’s line of sight. The cold hand gently covered his eyes, as if in a mock gesture of kindness. Darkness settled in. Cha Eui-jae swallowed slowly. Gulp, the sound was unusually clear. Finally, a soft voice whispered.
“It’s my problem, so mind your own business.”
The tone was gentle, but the words were not.
And then—
“…You little bastard!”
Cha Eui-jae didn’t hold back.
Note: Happy birthday Cha Eui-jae (I didn’t know 24th Oct is your birthday), and I also finished my midterm exams, yay. I shall reward
torture
myself by writing a fanfic about these two idiots (which I have no clue about what).
