The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 269
The sensation on his skin was prickly— a sharp malice. Mackerel exhaled a sigh for all to hear and tucked his glasses into the chest pocket of his sleeveless shirt. Then he took out a cigarette and lit it.
“So… did the Seowon Guild fall? Or did Jung Bin die? Can’t think of any other reason you’d show up here.”
“Too bad, but both are still fine.”
Lee Sa-young answered for him. Mackerel glanced once at Lee Sa-young, then at Cha Eui-jae, and chuckled.
“Then, maybe…”
“…”
“J must be on the verge of dying if Lee Sa-young’s tagging along.”
Cha Eui-jae’s eyes widened. What? That guy knew too? Flicking his hand holding the cigarette, Mackerel turned around.
“Anyway, I’ve got nothing more to say. You went through trouble coming out to this desolate place, so go on, get home safely.”
“Your older brother.”
Mackerel’s ash-covered foot halted at Lee Sa-young’s words.
“If there was a way to save him… what would you say?”
Ah, so this was the younger brother after all. I’d been confused because of the glasses and hair.
‘Then are the glasses his older brother’s…?’
Mackerel slowly turned his head. Through the hair that had fallen back over his face, bloodshot eyes glared at Lee Sa-young.
“That last part.”
An eerie blue aura flickered behind him as he spoke, gritting his teeth.
“You’d better think carefully before you speak.”
Lee Sa-young uncrossed his legs, stood up, and slowly walked over to look down at Mackerel.
“Even if it’s not in this world, if there’s a way in another one.”
“…”
“Would you tell us?”
The wind, mixed with white ash, blew gently. Mackerel stared silently at Lee Sa-young.
“How strange…”
He squinted his eyes.
“You’re not the Lee Sa-young I know. Since when did you get so mild?”
This was bad. Cha Eui-jae quickly got up and positioned himself between them.
“This kid’s been having memory issues.”
“Issues? What issues?”
“His condition is a bit strange. Doesn’t he seem unusually nice today?”
“Yeah, kind of does.”
With a smirk, Mackerel briefly looked up at the sky. White ash was scattering little by little. In the meantime, Lee Sa-young looked down at Cha Eui-jae with eyes full of things he wanted to say but held back. Mackerel gestured for them to follow him.
“Well, let’s hear what you’ve got.”
The seaside village was quiet. White ash was sparsely piled on the road, with not a single wildflower in sight. There were hardly any people, and empty houses outnumbered the occupied ones. Mackerel’s place was supposedly one of the empty houses.
“The original owner?”
Mackerel didn’t answer. They were probably dead. Or… maybe turned into a monster.
As they walked down the path, Mackerel asked.
“How’s your situation? Getting by okay?”
“Not really.”
“Figured. No more strict Director to keep things in check, huh?”
He was curious. About the Director’s death in this world, about his aunt’s death. But part of him was also scared. Could he ask? What if he’d be shut down for asking weird questions again? Was it okay to confirm their deaths? Just then, Lee Sa-young, who had been following with his hands in his coat pockets, spoke up.
“How did the Director die?”
“…What’s this? Memory problems and suddenly a fool too?”
Mackerel looked at Cha Eui-jae with a look of disbelief. Cha Eui-jae simply shrugged. He gave Lee Sa-young’s back a small tap, a gesture of thanks. Scratching his head, Mackerel responded.
“Died trying to defend the Bureau during the Monster Wave. You could call it a defensive battle…”
“…”
“A lot of Hunters from the Awakened Management Bureau died back then. The civil servant’s team was blocking another area at the time, he’s lucky enough to survive.”
“Did your older brother die back then too?”
“…”
Mackerel didn’t answer. Instead, he walked toward the white sandy beach at the end of the path. Cha Eui-jae and Lee Sa-young followed him. As they walked on the sand mixed with ash, each step felt strange underfoot. Near the gently lapping waves, Mackerel asked.
“Did Jung Bin tell you about this place?”
“Yeah.”
“Said he’d keep it a secret for life. Can’t trust a single person, can you?”
The ocean covered in white ash— there wasn’t a hint of blue to be found. Every boat docked along the pier was coated in ash, tied up and seemingly long unused. The fishing nets were a mess, tangled beyond use.
Cha Eui-jae crouched down and dipped his hand into the white sea. Instead of water, his hand came back covered in white ash. The cold sea felt devoid of life. It simply existed.
Mackerel spoke.
“Be careful. You could get dragged in.”
“Dragged in? What do you mean?”
“You’ve never seen a Whitening Sea before, have you? Well, with J collapsing frequently, I guess you haven’t been sent far off.”
Blowing out a puff of smoke, Mackerel gestured at the white waves.
“A place touched by the Whitening turns into a wasteland. So if the sea turns white… what do you think happens?”
“…”
“No fish, no life. It stops being a sea of life and turns into stagnant water. Not a fish in sight, only strange monsters emerging.”
“How do people survive? Most of them make a living off the sea, don’t they?”
“Occasional rations come in, but they’re irregular. Not knowing when they’ll come, or when they’ll stop.”
“…”
“So I go out to find food. I’m the only awakened one here, after all.”
Mackerel crossed his arms, his face showing no emotion.
“My mother’s hometown is around here, so I came down, but… didn’t think it’d be like this.”
Does he mean Jang Mi-sook? A soft rustling sounded as ash-laden waves brushed the shore. Cha Eui-jae quietly observed the silent sea. Oddly enough, he sensed a presence coming from it. From the sea? Or… could “presence” even describe it accurately? This… sea?
Cha Eui-jae looked closely at the sea. Just as Mackerel had said, there was no trace of fish. Instead.
Something white moved in the deep, shadowy water. It was…
Very large…
“…”
Cha Eui-jae parted his lips slightly. Slowly, he turned to look at Mackerel. His side profile seemed unnaturally pale and ashen. Sensing the gaze, he turned his head, smiling.
“J. Ever eaten a monster?”
“…”
“Haha, when there’s nothing else to eat, you end up eating that.”
“…”
“Better than eating people, right? I mean, monsters in the sea must be somewhat like fish.”
A large shadow glided leisurely beneath the white ash. Mackerel began to walk toward the sea without hesitation. His pants got wet, then up to his waist as he waded deeper. Cha Eui-jae, about to follow, was firmly held back by Lee Sa-young.
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t you see? In there…”
“I know.”
“…”
“He knows too.”
Something thin and white wrapped around Mackerel’s body as he stood in the sea. He gently stroked the things coiling around him, saying softly.
“You asked how it fell.”
“…”
“The fish market was a space held together by my hyung’s power. But then the whitening spread to Noryangjin as well.”
“…”
“How could a person stop a natural disaster? The fish market fell, and my hyung, its owner, fell to the Whitening as well… turning into something no longer human. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Mackerel laughed.
“This is our home now. There’s nowhere else to go.”
Under the white ash, the giant shadow danced. The sea, which had been still, was now rippling from its movements. As Mackerel’s clothes got soaked, glimpses of his skin became visible. Cha Eui-jae suddenly realized. Underneath his clothes, faint scales had appeared on Mackerel’s skin. White scales.
“You…”
Cha Eui-jae was at a loss for words, simply staring at him. He was already part of the sea. Mackerel chuckled and spread his arms wide.
“Sorry, for being no help.”
“But you’re still human. Isn’t there a cure? You haven’t fully transformed yet.”
Yeah, hadn’t Nam Woo-jin in this world been researching something? When Cha Eui-jae asked insistently, Mackerel shrugged.
“Well, who knows. Even if there were a cure, I don’t think I’d want it.”
“…”
“I think you’d understand.”
Mackerel stared at Lee Sa-young, then took a step forward, moving even deeper into the sea. Cha Eui-jae looked desperately at Lee Sa-young.
“Hey, are you just going to let him go like that?”
“…”
“Are you really going to let him walk away?”
Lee Sa-young didn’t respond, but he also didn’t loosen his grip on Cha Eui-jae’s arm. Cha Eui-jae clenched his teeth, then,
With a decisive motion, he shook off Lee Sa-young’s hand. Gripping Lee Sa-young’s arm, he whispered,
“I can’t just stand by.”
And with that, Cha Eui-jae plunged into the sea without hesitation.
