The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 324
Beginning at the tips of his feet, the image of him gradually blurred and disappeared, and the warmth that had filled his arms vanished like melting snow. The air was grasped by a black hand. Lee Sa-young tilted his head back and stroked the spot on his forehead where his lips had touched for the final time. A small sigh escaped.
“Ha…”
He ran a hand over his face.
Did Cha Eui-jae know?
From this moment on, he would only savor this feeling until he saw him again. He would not be able to think of anything else. And he would endure, lost in that feeling and the memories of that moment.
‘I guess he does this because he doesn’t know.’
His fist tightened. Lee Sa-young clenched his teeth. From the moment he felt the living Cha Eui-jae, his thirst grew even worse. It might have been better if he had never known of its existence. From the moment he knew that Cha Eui-jae was waiting for him, from the moment he talked to him, from the moment he touched him, every moment was a test.
“…”
His head was filled with that one single face. A smiling face, a flushed nape and earlobes, a neck that flinched every time he kissed, a hot and feverish body, an arm that flinched when he stroked his waist, a rush of breath, a heartbeat that fluctuate in every moment.
Evidence that can only be felt from a living person.
He was impatient.
He was getting annoyed.
Lee Sa-young nervously tousled his hair. His throat was dry. His thirst became stronger with each passing day. The shell of the body he encountered each time he entered the house did not satisfy this longing. Only a living Cha Eui-jae can quench this thirst and desire. His throat was aching. His mouth was dry.
‘…Damn it.’
He thought he had patience. Lee Sa-young abruptly stood up from his seat, pulling up his coat. At the same time, the door to the closet that had been tightly shut opened.
“Oh, there was a guest today, too.”
A skinny, mummy-like man, Nam Woo-jin, came walking unsteadily. Mackerel, who was supporting Nam Woo-jin by wrapping his arm around his shoulder, asked rudely.
“Why do you come to the attic more often than the doctor? Is there something interesting here?”
“No.”
“Then step aside, the doctor has to sit down.”
Lee Sa-young stepped away, hands in his coat pockets. His purple gaze tracked Mackerel. His dark blue hair had faded to white, and white scales appeared on the nape of his neck, which was covered by his collar. And refusing to take off the broken glasses was most likely due to his own stubbornness.
Mackerel carefully sat Nam Woo-jin down on the chair. Nam Woo-jin sat down on the chair and took a deep breath. His bare hands fumbled with the notebook.
“What were you doing? …Oh, did you doodle again…?”
“No. I was reading it. To see how far you’ve progressed.”
“Haha… To see how far I’ve failed, I guess.”
Nam Woo-jin pushed his glasses up with trembling hands. At some point, the stench of death began to emanate from him. It was a smell he had encountered numerous times. The scent of the cramped laboratory, the people going by, the corpses piled high like a mountain, the stench of those who had to be burned for there was no place to bury them.
‘Is it going to end soon?’
Lee Sa-young stared blankly at Nam Woo-jin. He didn’t feel sorry, regretful, or relieved. Even if he died anyway, Lee Sa-young had to stay here. That way…
Holding the pen with trembling hands, Nam Woo-jin asked.
“So, how about it… Did you find any satisfactory information?”
“No.”
Lee Sa-young answered sharply and headed to the door. Nam Woo-jin smiled, raising the corners of his mouth as if he knew that would happen.
He left the room, leaving behind the sounds of a pen colliding against paper. He went down the long corridor and into the hall. The number of persons entering and going from Seowon Guild had dropped significantly. He could no longer hear people groaning in pain, tossing and turning because they couldn’t sleep, or weeping.
The speed of whitening gradually increased.
The number of people mutating along with it also increased.
Countless people died from mutated people.
Nam Woo-jin is dying.
The vaccine hasn’t been developed yet.
Will Nam Woo-jin’s death come first or will the vaccine be developed first?
“…”
Lee Sa-young stood at the entrance, which had grown worn down from the countless people who had come and gone. Pure white ash rained down like snow. The once bustling street had crumbled to the point where there was no evidence of its former grandeur. The only thing that could be heard were the footsteps of small monsters, moving through the gaps in the collapsed buildings.
No sound from the living.
The end comes quietly.
He took out a yellow talisman folded in half from his pocket and tore it open, and a swirling portal appeared before his eyes. Beyond the portal, a green lawn rippled faintly. As he took a step forward, the soft grass crunched beneath his feet and the air changed. Under the bright blue sky, the grass swayed in the wind.
“Oh, you’re here?”
The back of someone fanning the palanquin asked. As he approached, a scorching heat spilled forth. Hong Ye-seong was dressed in a green training suit, his sleeves and pants rolled up to his elbows and knees, and his hair was tied up. As he tossed dry firewood into the palanquin with gloved hands, he spoke.
“Just a minute~ I’ll light a fire and give you a glass of shikhye.”
“No need.”
“Hey, try to be a little more friendly. We’re a community of a shared destiny.”
Sweat beaded on Hong Ye-seong’s forehead. A complex golden pattern appeared above his bright brown eyes. The spinning pattern turned towards Lee Sa-young.
“How is it, the method I taught you. Did it work?”
“…”
“Oh, it looks like it worked. So? How is it? How is it? Isn’t it great?”
“How did you do it?”
“Huh? Your friend will come to you anyway, and this is a space I created… I just connected the flow a little. There was also an object that connected the two, right?”
Hong Ye-seong grinned and got up from his seat. He rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand and then gestured.
“Come on, let’s go to the living room.”
“I don’t plan on staying long. Just get to the main point…”
“We have a lot of time left anyway. You and me.”
“…”
With a hum, Hong Ye-seong made his way to the tile-roofed house. Lee Sa-young glared at his swaying back as he followed him slowly. The feeling of stepping on the grass and the warm breeze gently caressing his cheeks and hair were unfamiliar.
Hong Ye-seong contacted him right after Cha Eui-jae suddenly appeared and disappeared.
“Who came and went?”
Was it because he was the one who created the Memorial Dungeon? Hong Ye-seong immediately noticed something strange. At the time, Lee Sa-young didn’t even have the presence of mind to hide anything, so he told him straight away. It seemed like Cha Eui-jae had come and gone. He appeared and disappeared in front of him.
“With his personality, he’ll definitely come back… Okay! I’ll help you out.”
“What?”
“Call it a special service for the guest who was left alone. You can trust me!”
He pushed away the image of Hong Ye-seong smiling and giving a thumbs up. Lee Sa-young thought as he looked at the steaming porcelain cup.
It was nice to meet Cha Eui-jae, but the more he talked to him, the more he touched him, the more his desire grew. He wanted to go to him right away and be by his side. He wanted to hug him. He wanted to devour him from head to toe, without leaving a trace—
“…Lee Sa-young!”
Bang!
Lee Sa-young barely came to his senses at the sound of the table being slammed. Hong Ye-seong clicked his tongue while sipping barley tea.
“You’re so out of your mind. Was it that good?”
Lee Sa-young tightened his grip holding the cup. The porcelain cup cracked. He gritted his teeth and replied.
“…Whose fault is that?”
“Not mine, right?”
Hong Ye-seong, who responded shamelessly, pouted.
“Why is it when you actually see him, your resolve becomes clouded?”
“…”
“But what can you do? It was your choice to stay here.”
Lee Sa-young put down the glass. The smoky steam dissipated along with the wind. His dry lips moved.
“The stage of people mutating is coming to an end. There is no more land left to whitened, and there are no more people left to mutate.”
Hong Ye-seong nodded lightly.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then, what’s next?”
“…”
“When the whitening is over and there is not a single human left alive… is that the true end? The end that comes step by step is over?”
The golden eyes scanned Lee Sa-young up and down as if observing. Lee Sa-young spoke whilst gritting his teeth..
“No matter how much I search my memory, I can’t remember the moment of the end. It must be because I turned back time right before it. Like running away.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then what is… the real end?”
“…”
“What on earth is the final stage of the end?”
“Well.”
Hong Ye-seong muttered as he looked up at the fake blue sky.
“Maybe…”
“…J! Wake up!”
A drop of cold sweat ran down her chin. Yoon Ga-eul clenched her teeth and held her trembling hand with her other hand. The brilliant light of the kaleidoscope gradually faded. The classroom shook. Ash began to fall from the ceiling. Yoon Ga-eul screamed.
“J!”
He answered, looking away from the sky.
“…It might have already started.”
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Note: if this scene was in lsy’s first person pov:
Do you know, Cha Eui-jae?
From this moment on, I can only savor this feeling until I see you again. I won’t be able to think of anything else. And I will endure, lost in that feeling and the memories of that moment.
