The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 237 the eye of the typhoon
Splash—
The flounder slapped the surface of the water powerfully with its tail, spraying droplets everywhere. The Noryangjin Fish Market was quieter than usual. So quiet, you could hear the tail slap of a single flounder. Most of the hunters who would have come to gather information were either injured or busy running around. They had no choice.
It had been a week since monsters rained down from the sky, and the world had quickly found its footing again. People’s resilience was faster, having already experienced similar events twice before. The government reported it was an issue with a rift and that hunters had solved it. Most people didn’t believe it. Hundreds of massive monsters fell from the sky— how could it just be a problem with a rift?
Various conspiracy theories emerged; an experiment gone wrong, a rift malfunction, or even an omen of White Hole’s disappearance. Yet, for some reason, doomsday fanatics, usually spurred on by conspiracy theories, did not appear this time. They seemed to have all disappeared. And so, without any meaningful revelations, the conspiracies faded away. It seemed like things had returned to normal, perhaps because they were unaware of the impending end.
And now.
There was a man walking briskly through the empty fish market. His cobalt-blue hair blew in the wind as his footsteps echoed. People in plastic aprons greeted him as he passed by in the disorganized scene.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Of course. I said I’m fine.”
“The guy who passed out in front of the market, sprawled out, says he’s fine! You need a bowl of yeonpotang
, come to the shop tonight! Bring your brother too!”
Ugh. The younger Mackerel scratched the back of his neck and avoided eye contact.
“I told you not to bring that up. It was an unavoidable situation.”
The day monsters rained down, The younger Mackerel was found sprawled out at the fish market entrance. They found him just before they were about to lock up to keep out the monsters, which made his older brother Mackerel foam at the mouth and almost pass out.
But come on, that wasn’t my fault. Who knows if those white monsters were using some kind of mind attack? But the vendors didn’t seem to think so. One vendor swung a fish net.
“Unavoidable situation, my foot. Do you know how much your brother panicked? He cried like the sky was falling!”
“Oh, stop it, stop it. I keep telling you it’s overprotectiveness…”
Mackerel’s steps halted in front of the “Jangmi Fisheries” sign. He bowed his head. Jang Mi-sook, who was sitting on a small chair fanning herself, pointed to a room attached to the shop with a nod.
“You’re here? He’s inside.”
“What’s he doing?”
“I don’t know. He just asked to borrow a room, so I let him.”
“Ugh, dealing with troublesome guests isn’t my job…”
Mackerel grumbled as he opened the tightly shut door. Light poured into the dark room. Mackerel leaned his head in and whispered.
“Hey, hey?”
The light illuminated the yellow flooring and the colorful, vibrant-patterned cushions. Mackerel raised his voice slightly.
“Hey~ Are you sleeping? If you were, you’d have heard my voice by now.”
Oh, whatever. Mackerel swung the door open wide. That’s when he saw a figure lying on the cushions. A tall young man lay sprawled, legs up, using the colorful cushions as pillows. Light reflected off his shiny mask. The mask turned slowly to look at Mackerel, and a voice, altered in tone, responded.
“What?”
The black mask belonged to J, the country’s hero and the primary hunter credited with resolving the recent incident. Yet here he was, lounging around like a jobless bum. If it weren’t for the black mask on his face, he would look just like an everyday slacker.
Why was he here? Mackerel was curious himself. On the night monsters fell from the sky, J had shown up at the Awakened Management Bureau with a battered Song Jo-heon slung over his shoulder, accompanied by a scowling Lee Sa-young. That was all the public knew; only a select few, including Mackerel, knew the more private details.
Anyway, since that day, the Awakened Management Bureau had been on high alert, even asking for help from so-called “renegades” like Mackerel.
The younger Mackerel scratched his head before snapping.
“What do you mean, ‘what’? Don’t you have things to do? Isn’t the Awakened Management Bureau in an uproar? It was absolute chaos over there!”
“No? I’m super free.”
“No way! You’ve still got the Song Jo-heon case to deal with, not to mention meeting with, um, Prometheus… or those guys. They’re so shorthanded they even asked us for help!”
Instead of answering, J mimed cleaning his ear.
“I went on strike. Even got permission from the Director.”
“A strike? You’ve lost it, haven’t you? You know how busy things are right now!”
“Just think of me as an extra blanket.”
“Where would anyone find a blanket that stands out this much? This is still technically a business, you know. You can’t just use it as a guesthouse.”
“I’ll pay the room fee.”
“How much?”
“I’ll kick out any troublemakers.”
“Ugh.”
“Come on… After all I’ve done, can’t I go on strike just once? It’s my right…”
He sat up and started muttering like someone who’d had a bit too much to drink. Mackerel quickly looked over at Jang Mi-sook, who shook her head firmly, indicating she hadn’t given him any alcohol. J reached out and grabbed a single corn kernel from the table. Crunch. With just a bit of pressure, he crushed it flat. With his head lowered, he mumbled.
“He said he doesn’t need me anymore.”
If his brother heard this, he’d flip. The younger Mackerel quickly scanned the surroundings, kicked off his shoes, and, like a chicken with its tail on fire, hurried into the room. He slammed the door shut and whispered.
“Who— who says they don’t need you? Who would say something so heartless?”
“There’s someone. A shameless bastard.”
“What kind of shameless bastard would say that?!”
At that, J raised his head abruptly. The shiny black mask turned to Mackerel. He beckoned him over with a finger. Mackerel sat across from him, leaning forward slightly. J whispered.
“…Listen.”
“Yes, yes, but am I charging for this consultation?”
“Shut up. So, there’s someone I was really close to— no, kinda close? Or… let’s say family-like? You get it, right?”
Redefining their relationship three times in one sentence? The younger Mackerel tilted his head and went straight to the point.
“Not close now, then?”
J hesitated before muttering.
“…They might still care… or maybe it’s just me?”
With his sharp instincts, Mackerel realized this was going to be an interesting story! This had to be a drama at least. It was about J, a world-renowned hero, and something deeply personal. He rubbed his hands together, urging him on.
“Sure, let’s go with that. And?”
“So they went through a hard time back then.”
“Yes.”
“But that happened because I wasn’t there, I think?”
“Yeah? I see.”
“So I’m worried… They went through something tough, so I want to be there for them, comfort them, you know? I even noticed they were struggling.”
“I understand, hyung-nim.”
“But then they told me to mind my own business, that it was their problem.”
“Oh.”
“So we fought. Even grabbed each other by the collar.”
Mackerel raised his hand.
“Can I ask a question?”
“What?”
“Are they… alive?”
“They’re fine.”
“Alright, please continue.”
So it wasn’t some random hunter or ordinary person. The younger Mackerel nodded as if agreeing and made a mental shortlist.
“Anyway, then he had the nerve to tell me… that I was unnecessary.”
“Oh, my god.”
Mackerel covered his mouth, speechless. The nerve of someone to say J wasn’t needed.
“Fuck, he doesn’t need me…”
Crunch. J crushed the corn kernels in his hand into powder. He buried his head in his arm, slumping onto the table. Meanwhile, a figure popped into Mackerel’s head. Someone dressed head to toe in black. The kind of person who could stand up to J and survive. J had replayed the footage in the fish market video room a dozen times, all starring a newly awakened Lee Sa-young.
‘Could it be…’
Though he wanted to dismiss the thought, Mackerel couldn’t suppress his rising curiosity. He leaned in and whispered, adding fuel.
“Can I be honest, hyung-nim?”
“Go ahead.”
“That guy sounds like a jerk.”
“…”
The sound of breathing close by stopped. J slowly lifted his head, his black mask tilting slightly.
“What did you just say?”
“…”
“You just called him a jerk, didn’t you?”
Oh, great. Mackerel rolled his eyes.
‘Dealing with a difficult customer is seriously exhausting…’
It was a moment when he truly felt the pains of service jobs. Instead of answering, Mackerel nimbly hopped up. Bang! A fist hit the table with a loud crack. J yelled.
“Hey, he’s not
that
much of a jerk!”
Yeonpo-tang or yeonpo-guk is a Korean soup made with beef, radish, tofu, and kelp stock. In South Jeolla Province, a different soup called yeonpo-tang is made with long arm octopus.
