The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 288
Lee Sa-young took three steps back. Hands pouring out of thin air grabbed Nam Woo-jin and Jung Bin. And then—
Rip.
A sound like tearing paper echoed. The stark white hands were slowly pulling the two apart. The torn areas glowed with a golden light. Soon, other hands reached into the golden gaps, filling them in. One eye vanished, only to be replaced by another.
“…”
The hands moved with perfect order. One tore away, another filled the gap, and yet another stitched the seams together like needlework. Nam Woo-jin and Jung Bin were, quite literally, being reconstructed.
It was a chilling sight.
The moment the two were completely reformed into something new, a distant murmur surged toward them. The scent of old books and wood, the slightly stale air— all of it fell back into place. The world began moving once more.
At the same time, Nam Woo-jin and Jung Bin slowly opened their eyes. Without even glancing at Lee Sa-young or Cha Eui-jae, they started walking somewhere, away from them.
It wasn’t until the two had disappeared from view that Lee Sa-young could breathe again. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. His throat felt tight. He rubbed his face. Asking Nam Woo-jin for help would only lead to the same thing happening again.
Then, what could he do? How could he take care of someone who could barely stand to be near him?
Lee Sa-young carefully leaned Cha Eui-jae against the bookshelf. He took off his coat and draped it over him, then crouched in front of him. Cha Eui-jae’s ash-gray hair shone particularly bright.
This world’s Cha Eui-jae was mutating.
Finally, he understood. The reason why this world’s Cha Eui-jae had met such an absurdly easy death. He had chosen death himself. Because he didn’t want to become a monster. Even though he feared death.
You should have said something.
You should have told me.
Thoughts that weren’t his own surged through his mind. But instead of complaining to the uninvited voice, Lee Sa-young silently agreed. Cha Eui-jae was foolish, reckless, and—
His wet eyelashes trembled. Then, slowly, Cha Eui-jae opened his swollen, red eyes. His dark pupils still didn’t focus on Lee Sa-young, wandering somewhere in the empty air. He absently touched the coat covering him and asked,
“…Are you there?”
“I’m here.”
Lee Sa-young answered immediately. At that, Cha Eui-jae’s gaze barely, slightly shifted toward him. His face was filled with exhaustion. He wiped at his tears with the back of his hand, then flinched. His fingertips must have stung. It was no surprise— if he had scratched just a little more, his nails might have fallen off. His hands were in terrible condition.
Lee Sa-young pulled out a fresh pair of gloves along with a red healing potion.
“Give me your hand.”
Cha Eui-jae obediently extended his hand. Lee Sa-young placed Cha Eui-jae’s hand over his own and poured the potion onto it. He didn’t care if it soaked into the gloves. Slowly, the wounds on his fingertips began to heal.
“The other hand.”
The gloves were drenched with potion. The raw, torn fingertips had healed, but the potion couldn’t regenerate broken nails. That would take time. Lee Sa-young carefully rubbed Cha Eui-jae’s hand with his thumb before withdrawing.
Just as he was tidying up the potion bottle and getting ready to stand, Cha Eui-jae murmured,
“Stay with me.”
“…”
“Don’t go anywhere…”
And with that, Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes again. Soon, the sound of quiet, even breathing filled the space. Lee Sa-young barely held back a chuckle. Who was he to be saying that now? He settled down, resting one knee up and propping his chin on it.
“…Okay.”
Lee Sa-young closed his eyes and answered,
“I will.”
***
“Let us pray.”
A gentle voice spoke. The long chapel was crowded with people. Dressed in white, they all clasped their hands together and bowed their heads. Yoon Ga-eul followed suit, clasping her hands and lowering her head. She kept nodding off— probably from sleepiness. She tried her best to stifle a yawn.
‘I’m so tired I could die, you cultists…’
Since staying at the Prometheus headquarters, Yoon Ga-eul had been forced to attend something called the morning prayer. They barged in at 5:30 a.m. and dragged her along, leaving her no room for resistance. She had no idea why they were so diligent, but at precisely 6 a.m., they began their brainwashing sessions under the guise of prayer.
“The power of humanity is limitless. We can achieve anything. Brothers and sisters…”
The gentle voice flowed from behind a white curtain. It was likely the Seer. Occasionally, a shadow flickered behind the fabric, appearing to be that of an adult male. Though Yoon Ga-eul had been here for quite some time, she had yet to see even a glimpse of this so-called Seer. Every request to meet him had been denied.
The gentle voice continued.
“Recently, the number of the cursed has been increasing. But they are simply unbelievers who lack faith. Do not fear them. Believe in the power of humanity. We must save the world.”
If faith alone could solve everything, how nice would that be?
Yoon Ga-eul tightened her grip on her clasped hands. Despite being confined here, she had been secretly receiving news of the outside world from Seo Min-gi. Ga-young had joined the vaccine development team. It had been revealed that humans were mutating into monsters. The white monsters appearing in the eroded dungeons were once human.
‘Then those white golems I saw in the eroded dungeon…’
Had they all been human, too? The thought of those shattered golems made her stomach churn. She grimaced. Meanwhile, the gentle voice continued its endless sermon.
“Brothers and sisters, always keep your faith. Our brethren are working hard to resolve the curse. In the meantime, do not forget to wear your masks…”
‘What is this, a flu advisory?’
“…Now, let us each do our part.”
Clap, clap, clap… A standing ovation erupted. Yoon Ga-eul mechanically joined in. How did someone manage to receive a standing ovation for repeating the same speech every day? Ivan took the microphone.
“E-everyone, before you leave, please make sure to take a mask…”
Yoon Ga-eul intended to return to her room without taking one, but she got swept up in the crowd lining up for masks. She really didn’t want to run into him. But there was no way to slip away unnoticed. Eventually, she found herself face-to-face with Ivan. He smiled brightly.
“Ah. Ah. You attended t-today as well. Such an admirable a-attitude.”
“Yeah…”
“I know you m-might not need a mask, but still… Please take one.”
“Thank you…”
Yoon Ga-eul crumpled the white mask into her pocket and asked,
“By the way… Do you know what Ga-young-ssi is up to these days? She hasn’t visited in a while.”
“G-Ga-young is busy. She’s working on an important research project…”
“I see…”
“Is there s-something making you uncomfortable?”
Ivan tilted his head curiously. Yoon Ga-eul took a deep breath in secret. Originally, she had planned to stay longer and gather more information. There had to be things she could only learn from inside. But…
‘I refuse to wake up at 5:30 a.m. every single day, even on weekends!’
Besides, to help J, she needed to dream more frequently and for longer periods. Being constantly woken up by Prometheus was the worst possible condition for that. She tapped her slippered foot on the ground.
“No, it’s not that… I just had something I wanted to tell Ga-young-ssi.”
“You can t-tell me, and I’ll…”
“Hmm…”
Yoon Ga-eul hesitated, looking at him with a troubled expression before lowering her head.
“Sorry, but it’s too important to tell just anyone…”
“Oh, um… I see.”
Ivan shifted his eyes, thinking. Meanwhile, Yoon Ga-eul scanned her surroundings. And then—
“…”
Her eyes widened.
Through the crowd, she spotted a familiar school uniform. It was the uniform of her high school. So even high school students came here? Yoon Ga-eul glanced at Ivan, still lost in thought, then suddenly called out,
“Sorry, just a moment!”
“Huh? W-wait…”
“Excuse me! Please let me through!”
She pushed her way through the crowd. She could hear people chasing after her, but she had no time to care. The familiar uniform flickered in and out of sight among the white robes. She was getting closer. Finally, she reached out, just within arm’s length.
“Wait a sec…!”
Grab.
Yoon Ga-eul seized the student’s arm. The person turned around. And, unbelievably, she recognized the face immediately. A familiar girl’s eyes widened.
“…Huh? Ga-eul? It’s really you, right?”
“…”
“Hey! Do you know how worried I was? You haven’t been coming to school! So you were here all along!”
Yoon Ga-eul muttered in a trembling voice,
“…Min-ji.”
It was her friend. Min-ji beamed and grabbed her hand. Yoon Ga-eul struggled to speak, staring at her friend’s face. Strangely, Min-ji looked deathly pale.
At that moment, a cold hand landed on Yoon Ga-eul’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you happy to see your friend? Good thing I brought her along~”
A sing-song voice, laced with amusement. Her entire body went cold. Yoon Ga-eul couldn’t bring herself to turn around. The fingers resting on her shoulder smelled of blood. The person behind her leaned in, their presence pressing against her back. The thick scent of blood and chemicals filled the air.
“Yeah, Ivan told me. You were looking for me? You missed me, huh? Perfect timing~ I was just thinking about you too. So I even took the time to bring your friend along. Must be fate.”
“…Ga-young-ssi.”
Yoon Ga-eul slowly turned around.
Wearing round glasses, with her hair neatly tied up as always, Ga-young smiled sweetly.
“You see, I need your help…”
Behind her, rows of soldiers in military uniforms stood in formation. Yoon Ga-eul looked back at Min-ji. Her friend still seemed confused. Ga-young whispered in her ear.
“You’ll cooperate, won’t you?”
“…What do you need?”
Yoon Ga-eul prayed her voice wasn’t shaking. Gayoung grinned. She whispered,
“Will you dream for me?”
“…”
“Until I find the information I need.”
