The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 283
Vroom, the engine roared like thunder. Cha Eui-jae leaped up, landing gracefully but without much gain. There wasn’t even a single tall building in sight.
‘How is it there’s not a single tall building?’
Cha Eui-jae caught his breath. Instinctively, he had fled the spot where he was seated and started running, but…
‘…Where do I go?’
In truth, there wasn’t a good destination. The best option would be Hong Ye-seong, but Jirisan was too far, and he didn’t know the way. Entering a dungeon or rift would only result in his pursuer waiting at the entrance.
‘I can’t do that to Lee Sa-young…’
The image of Lee Sa-young standing by the sea flashed in his mind. He didn’t want to see that again. So, the race began, one on foot and the other on what seemed like a motorcycle. Despite the unfair conditions, the distance between them did not easily close.
While Cha Eui-jae ran as fast as he could, the engine roared behind him. He glanced back and shouted, pointing.
“Hey! aren’t you unlicensed? Is it okay for you to drive like that?”
A relaxed voice cut through the engine noise.
“So what? It’s a world of memories anyway.”
He really was an unlicensed rider! Cha Eui-jae, who had a strong sense of lawfulness, glared.
“This guy isn’t afraid of the law. Do you want to go to jail? Should I have Jung Bin arrest you?”
“You think I didn’t want to get a license? The exam centers are all gone. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.”
“Oh.”
He hadn’t considered that. Cha Eui-jae slowly lowered his hand, which had been pointing. Lee Sa-young grumbled loudly, as if wanting to be heard.
“Of course, there wouldn’t be any left. The roads are all ruined because of the whitening. Think a little.”
“Shut up. Who taught you to ride a motorcycle?”
“Honeybee.”
“Whose motorcycle is it?”
“Honeybee’s.”
“Did you steal it?”
“I just borrowed it for a bit.”
It seemed Honeybee’s beloved motorcycle had survived in the ruined world. So, he had been learning to ride in the meantime, just to chase him. Cha Eui-jae tightened his grip on his spear. Maybe if he messed up the road a bit, it would slow him down. Perhaps a large hole would do.
However, the thought that Lee Sa-young might get hurt held him back. Cha Eui-jae loosened his grip on the spear. Lee Sa-young, still chasing on the motorcycle, spoke.
“Why don’t you stop? You’ve asked all your questions.”
Would you stop if you were me? Cha Eui-jae kept running without answering. Lee Sa-young, undeterred, kept talking.
“Why are you running away?”
Would you not run if you were me? Cha Eui-jae glanced at the red numbers. J had spent less time with Lee Sa-young as death approached, keeping his distance with various excuses. The reason was clear.
Lingering attachments would form, rendering all the emotional effort useless.
The sound behind him grew louder. It seemed Lee Sa-young was accelerating. Cha Eui-jae prepared to leap, gripping his spear tightly. Suddenly, a chilling, deadly intent pierced his spine like lightning. The air around him froze for a moment. Cha Eui-jae froze in place, still in his ready stance.
‘…Killing intent?’
It was a killing intent strong enough to make even seasoned awakeners collapse. Ha. Cha Eui-jae let out a hollow laugh, unable to hide his astonishment, and looked back again.
“Hey, did you just aim killing intent at me?”
Lee Sa-young replied nonchalantly.
“Oh… I guess you felt it. I thought you’d ignore a mild one, so I made it a bit stronger.”
“What the… Are you seriously aiming killing intent at your senior? Did I teach you like this?”
Cha Eui-jae was about to turn fully to scold him when Lee Sa-young seized the opportunity, accelerating to pull up beside him. Screeching tires echoed as Lee Sa-young wrapped his arms around Cha Eui-jae’s waist and pulled him close.
“Sorry for being so badly behaved.”
“What?”
“Who told you to run away?”
Lee Sa-young pulled Cha Eui-jae tightly into his embrace, pressing something round and cold against Cha Eui-jae’s shoulder blades— it felt like a helmet. At least he had the sense to wear a helmet.
Behind him, a deep breath sounded.
“Hyung…”
“…”
Cha Eui-jae attempted to pry off the arms wrapped around his waist but ultimately gave up. It felt like ages since he had last felt such warmth, even though it hadn’t been that long. As he quietly allowed himself to be held, Lee Sa-young turned off the motorcycle, and the vibration beneath them ceased. Cha Eui-jae rolled his unseen eyes, at a loss for what to say, as though someone had poured white paint into his mind.
Eventually, he muttered the only thing that came to him.
“…Why did you come?”
“…Why did I come?”
The arms around his waist tightened. The grinding sound of teeth followed. Ah, that wasn’t the right question. Cha Eui-jae bit his lip. Lee Sa-young’s grip on his clothes tightened as well, his fingers cracking audibly.
“After all that, you ask why I came?”
“No, wait, what do you mean by ‘all that’…?”
“You ignored me and left every time I called out. So why did I come?”
“…”
“Yeah, you probably wanted to see me chasing after you like a dog. So I followed once. How was it? Did you enjoy it?”
He had no words. It was true he had deliberately ignored Lee Sa-young’s calls.
Of course, it wasn’t easy for Cha Eui-jae either. He had to suppress his instinct to turn back or slow down countless times. Without his poker face ability, he would have turned back long ago. Now, he realized he had dug his own grave. Lee Sa-young wasn’t letting go anytime soon.
Lee Sa-young tapped Cha Eui-jae’s shoulder blade with his helmet.
“How about you tell me what’s really going on?”
“No, really, I’m just fulfilling my role.”
“Ah… is that so?”
Lee Sa-young’s voice turned cold. The arms encircling Cha Eui-jae’s waist suddenly loosened. He felt a strange emptiness and turned around. Though he couldn’t see clearly, he noticed a lopsided purple flame. Lee Sa-young stood with one foot on the ground, mounted on his motorcycle. His tone became mocking.
“Don’t tell me you thought I wouldn’t know anything?”
“…”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I probably know more than you do.”
“What do you know?”
Tap, Lee Sa-young tapped something with his finger.
“Everywhere you went before you died in this world, what you did, what you ate, how many hours you slept— it’s all in my head.”
“…That’s a bit…”
Isn’t that almost stalking? Cha Eui-jae barely stopped himself from saying it aloud. Noticing his discomfort, Lee Sa-young quickly added,
“By the way, it’s not my memory. It’s from another version of me.”
“Ah, right. Got it.”
“Anyway…”
There was a rustling sound as leather rubbed together, as though he crossed his arms.
“Even though I didn’t want to remember, it kept coming back, so I compared them. From the moment you ignored me and left until now… your actions are quite similar to those right before you died. Even the rifts appearing everywhere are the same.”
“…”
“In other words… you’re going to die soon.”
Cha Eui-jae glanced at the red numbers. Like grains of sand slipping through an hourglass, time was relentlessly running out. His silence seemed to affirm Lee Sa-young’s deduction. Lee Sa-young sighed deeply.
“I see why Hong Ye-seong just told me to wait…”
Cha Eui-jae had a different realization. He understood why “he” desperately avoided Lee Sa-young. Facing him and talking with him felt far too pleasant.
‘I’m scared of dying.’
The thought involuntarily surfaced.
His mouth felt bitter. Cha Eui-jae licked his lips, the cracked skin stinging. He tasted blood. Cha Eui-jae tried to imagine Lee Sa-young’s face right now, but gave up. Maybe it was a good thing he had lost his sight. He never wanted to see Lee Sa-young’s face when he experienced loss again.
Then, a gloved hand gently held Cha Eui-jae’s. The faint warmth of it reached him, and a thumb softly stroked the back of his hand.
“I don’t know about the responsibilities of a hero. I saw Cha Eui-jae more than Hero J.”
“…”
“This is just a remnant of memory… saving you wouldn’t change anything.”
“…”
“Still, if you’re going to die. If death is inevitable…”
The grip on his hand tightened, enough to cause pain. Lee Sa-young pulled Cha Eui-jae’s hand toward him. Cha Eui-jae let himself be drawn in, and a calm voice whispered,
“Die in front of me.”
