The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 287
“Lee Sa-young-ssi! What’s going o—”
Jung Bin, who had been chasing after them, gasped, hastily sucking in a breath.
Lee Sa-young carefully supported Cha Eui-jae’s hand. His nails were a complete mess. Just how hard had he been clawing at the floor? His nails were broken, the skin peeled away, revealing raw, bleeding flesh. Lee Sa-young scanned the disheveled surroundings— the bloodstains and handprints smeared across the wooden floor and scattered books, the unidentified translucent liquid.
Lee Sa-young knew what it was. ‘His’ memories were telling him.
“I’ll bring a doctor!”
The sound of hurried footsteps faded into the distance. Lee Sa-young neither pulled Cha Eui-jae into a tight embrace nor let him down onto the floor. He knew it would be better for them to be apart, but he couldn’t bring himself to place him down. Lee Sa-young wiped his damp cheek with the back of his hand. Even unconscious, Cha Eui-jae’s breathing was irregular. Lee Sa-young pressed his ear to his chest. His heartbeat was too fast.
“…Hyung.”
Cha Eui-jae, who had reached out into the empty air. His hands, his gaze had been reaching toward Lee Sa-young. Or… somewhere else. Had he seen something? No. Lee Sa-young had seen it clearly. Those black eyes, anxiously searching the empty air. Wandering, unable to find their mark.
‘He couldn’t see.’
Lee Sa-young clenched his teeth. Under the light, Cha Eui-jae’s ashen hair almost looked white.
‘Since when?’
Since when had his vision started failing? Had this happened before? Lee Sa-young searched through memories that weren’t his own but found nothing useful.
‘This never happened before.’
No matter how much pain he was in, Cha Eui-jae never looked this weak.
His head spun. He had been fine until now.
Hadn’t he?
Cha Eui-jae trembled violently even as he lay unconscious. Occasionally, he thrashed as if momentarily regaining awareness, struggling as though trying to get away from Lee Sa-young. But Lee Sa-young held him firmly, not allowing him to escape.
Eventually, Cha Eui-jae curled up, gripping Lee Sa-young’s coat tightly. Tears, pooled on his wet eyelashes, dripped onto Lee Sa-young’s pants. Lee Sa-young hesitated, his hand hovering, then withdrew. In this state, a mere touch might push him over the edge.
“…Are you with me?”
A flinch. His breath quickened. A hitched sob slipped out. Lee Sa-young suppressed the urge to pull him into an embrace. Instead, he clenched his fist against the floor.
“Try to breathe. You’re going too fast.”
“…”
“Breathe in… Breathe out…”
Cha Eui-jae’s upper body moved with the slow rhythm of Lee Sa-young’s low voice. Lee Sa-young offered gentle encouragement.
“Good. Keep going.”
“…”
How much time had passed? His breathing gradually steadied. The crying subsided. The grip on his coat loosened slightly. Lee Sa-young tilted his head, gazing at the ashen crown of Cha Eui-jae’s head.
“Don’t let go.”
“…”
“Where do you think you’re going, when you can’t even see?”
The faint rustling of movement stopped. He knows he’s been caught, doesn’t he? Lee Sa-young sighed, tilting his head back. If Cha Eui-jae weren’t in this state, he would have pressed harder. But questioning someone who was trembling in fear and pain didn’t sit right with him.
In the end, Lee Sa-young softened his voice.
“You really hid it well, didn’t you?”
Of course, he couldn’t resist following up with a jab.
“…Was it that hard to just say you couldn’t see? Couldn’t you be a little more honest?”
Lee Sa-young closed his eyes and let out another sigh. Every time, it turned his stomach. Why did Cha Eui-jae have so many secrets? Would it really kill him to just be honest?
Then, a tiny murmur reached him.
“…I’m scared.”
Lee Sa-young’s eyes widened as he looked at Cha Eui-jae. Cha Eui-jae said he was scared.
Of what?
A possible answer hovered in his mind. Lee Sa-young hesitated for a long time before carefully asking, his fists clenching.
“…Of me?”
Cha Eui-jae didn’t answer. Instead, he shook his head. Ah. Thank god. Relief flooded through Lee Sa-young from head to toe. He loosened his grip. After taking several shaky breaths, Cha Eui-jae finally spoke again.
“…No.”
“Hm?”
The grip on Lee Sa-young’s coat tightened once more. In a trembling voice, Cha Eui-jae forced out each word.
“I don’t want to die.”
“…”
“I don’t want to die…”
The strength drained from his hands. At the same time, his head slumped forward. Lee Sa-young swiftly cupped the back of his head with the fabric of his coat. He stared down at the exhausted, tear-streaked face of the young man. He had always acted like he had no regrets. Like nothing mattered. He had stabbed himself without hesitation. As if he would do anything to save the world.
‘But now he says he doesn’t want to die.’
Cha Eui-jae looked younger than his age. There were plenty of people who mistook him for being in his early twenties rather than twenty-eight. And Lee Sa-young suddenly realized— this was the face of the Cha Eui-jae who had once promised to return to him.
Twenty years old. Far too young to die.
Tap, tap, tap. Urgent footsteps approached.
“What the hell happened—”
Nam Woo-jin stopped dead in his tracks.
He must have seen it— the bloodstains scattered across the floor, the translucent, white liquid. Lee Sa-young bit off his glove that had been holding Cha Eui-jae’s hand and tossed it at Nam Woo-jin. He shoved his now bare hand into his coat pocket and spoke.
“That liquid. Doesn’t it look similar to the blood of mutated monsters?”
“…Who spilled it?”
“He did.”
Lee Sa-young gestured toward Cha Eui-jae with his chin. Nam Woo-jin pressed his lips together, then rolled up Cha Eui-jae’s sleeve and inserted a syringe into his exposed skin. At first, the syringe filled with red blood. But then, a translucent white substance gradually mixed in.
Nam Woo-jin’s eyes widened.
“…This is…”
And then.
Time stopped.
“…What the? Why did you stop talking—”
More accurately, everyone but Lee Sa-young had frozen in place. Nam Woo-jin remained still, syringe in hand. Jung Bin stood frozen with a worried expression. Lee Sa-young scowled, scanning his surroundings. An eerie silence settled over the room.
“…What kind of bullshit is this now?”
He cautiously shook Cha Eui-jae, who was leaning against him. Cha Eui-jae’s brows furrowed. At least he hadn’t been frozen like the others. Lee Sa-young reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Would it even work in this situation? He scrolled through his contacts, searching for Honeybee’s number. At that moment,
His phone rang.
[Hornet]
“The hornet appears the moment I mention it.”
Lee Sa-young let out a hollow laugh and pressed the call button. A sharp voice burst from the other end of the phone.
—Hey! Are you okay over there? Wait, is this call even connected?
“It is. Judging by how urgently you called, something strange must be happening on your side too.”
—It’s more than just strange! Everyone’s frozen! It’s like the world itself is broken. What the hell did you do? Be honest!
“If I had done something, at least I wouldn’t feel so wronged.”
Lee Sa-young muttered bitterly. He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear while carefully pulling the syringe out of Cha Eui-jae’s arm. A small pool of blood formed. Adjusting his hold on Cha Eui-jae, who squirmed faintly, Lee Sa-young rose to his feet.
“This happened out of nowhere. I don’t know the cause either.”
—Then at least tell me what happened right before this!
“…”
Lee Sa-young glanced down at Cha Eui-jae in his arms. The last thing that happened… Nam Woo-jin had drawn Cha Eui-jae’s blood and realized something. And at that moment, the world stopped. The stark white blood— Cha Eui-jae was mutating.
‘Because he found out about the mutation?’
This world was reconstructed from memories. Then, if an event occurred that diverged from those memories— if the event was significant enough to exceed the world’s tolerance— what would happen?
…He still lacked information. Lee Sa-young changed the subject.
“You sure you didn’t cause this?”
—Hmph, I’m innocent. I was just roasting some dried squid with Matthew.
“Oh… so you were having a grand old time?”
—Would you call it intelligence gathering? I was memorizing all the rifts and dungeons that have appeared so far.
“Oh, is that so?”
—Anyway, where are you right now? The Seowon Guild?
“Yeah, come over here.”
—…Alright, I’ll be there soon.
Click. The call ended.
Lee Sa-young swept his gaze over the still-frozen people. Droplets of pale liquid dripped from the tip of the syringe. He rubbed his own hair against Cha Eui-jae’s, a habit of grounding himself.
At that moment, a pure white system window appeared. Crimson letters flickered.
[Error detected.]
[Analyzing cause…]
[…Analysis complete.]
[Error: An event has occurred that deviates from recorded memories.]
[Error: Entity Nam Woo-jin and entity Jung Bin are unaware of entity Cha Eui-jae’s mutation.]
[…Removing the cause of the error.]
A glowing white circle formed in midair. Then, from within the circle, pale hands shot outward.
