The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 53
“You’ve ended up looking like a beggar, haven’t you, Hyung?”
“Yeah. It’s a bit much for a beggar to come into the Guild Leader’s office, isn’t it? Just take the stuff and go.”
Cha Eui-jae pointed to the long string of bound men behind him. Lee Sa-young’s lips tightened. He returned to his desk, fixed his gaze on Cha Eui-jae, and pressed the microphone button connecting to the secretary’s office.
“…Tell the research team to bring in new samples and send a transport vehicle to the Pado Guild’s front gate.”
—Uh, excuse me? A transport vehicle?
“One that can carry about twenty Awakened at once. No, just tell them to bring the biggest one, and they’ll understand.”
—…Yes, I’ll relay that right away.
Lee Sa-young took his hand off the mic button and leaned over the desk, letting out a deep sigh between his lips.
“…The message.”
“What?”
Cha Eui-jae blinked. He looked a mess, as if he had been dunked in water and then rolled in the dirt. Lee Sa-young tapped his fingers on the desk.
“Why didn’t you check the message?”
“…Did you send one?”
Lee Sa-young glanced up at Cha Eui-jae with just his eyes. He had replied to that crazy message as soon as it arrived, and he hadn’t seen it? Lee Sa-young’s lips twisted. Playing dumb, are we?
“Aha… Pretending not to know?”
“No, hey, I’m not pretending. I really didn’t see it. My phone screen is busted.”
Cha Eui-jae pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed it. Just like he said, the screen was completely shattered as if it had been hit with a hammer.
Lee Sa-young glanced around the open door into the container. Around the bound men were scattered various tools and weapons. Though they weren’t blood-stained, most were broken or bent.
“…”
Lee Sa-young turned his eyes back to Cha Eui-jae. His face was as fair as usual, but his hair and hoodie were soaked, his usually neat hair was a tangled mess, and his apron was covered in footprints and stick marks. It was a complete wreck.
Although Lee Sa-young couldn’t tell Cha Eui-jae’s true strength, it was unlikely that an Awakened capable of blocking his attacks would get beaten up to this extent unless he had let it happen on purpose.
“…”
In the meantime, Cha Eui-jae was taking out several heavy black backpacks from his inventory and piling them up in the Guild Leader’s office, then placing the one he had on his back as the final one. Yet, he never stepped beyond the doorway.
Did he think he was actually a beggar because he was called one? Lee Sa-young didn’t hide his irritation.
“What are you doing?”
“Wait a sec… Everything in these backpacks is drugs. They were talking about three units or something, but I don’t know what the units are. But you’ll figure that out.”
“…”
“Hey, Romantic Opener-ssi. When do you think you’ll pass out?”
“…Huh?”
“…Looks like you’ll pass out soon.”
Choi Go-yo was already lying on the container floor. He was barely able to move his mouth and was in a half-dead state. His eyes were unfocused and about to close. Cha Eui-jae clicked his tongue and gestured to Lee Sa-young.
“Come in and take this person out.”
Lee Sa-young tilted his head slightly with a sullen face.
“I can’t go in there.”
“Huh?”
“That door is one-way.”
“…One-way?”
“I guess Go-yo didn’t explain? That door only works for going out, not coming in.”
Cha Eui-jae looked at Romantic Opener, then at the door, and then at Lee Sa-young.
By now, Lee Sa-young could easily see what kind of crazy thoughts were going through Cha Eui-jae’s handsome head. He didn’t even bother to hide his disdain and spoke with a scowl.
“What? Planning to hold out there until Go-yo passes out?”
His neat face turned sullen. He usually made that expression when someone hit the nail on the head.
“No, I just thought I didn’t really need to go out there…”
“Ha.”
“If I just hand over the stuff and these guys to you, it’s over, isn’t it?”
“How do you expect to get to the hangover soup restaurant from Incheon? What, you want me to call a taxi with the company card again?”
“With the late-night surcharge, it would take two hours… It would be quite expensive.”
Cha Eui-jae seemed to be seriously contemplating it.
Cha Eui-jae was a mess, Lee Sa-young thought. Not just his current appearance, but judging by his actions, his mind was probably a mess too. He was unbelievably reckless, self-centered, incredibly old-fashioned, and acted as if he had spare lives to risk.
“Still…”
Cha Eui-jae brushed his wet hair back and smiled.
“This wasn’t bad at all, right?”
Somehow…
Watching him smile with his teeth showing, Lee Sa-young turned away abruptly.
“Come in before the door closes.”
“If I just throw these guys your way…”
“Just listen the first time I say it.”
Only by sharpening his tone did Cha Eui-jae finally push Choi Go-yo into the Guild Leader’s office, dragging the men tied like fish and stepping into the office himself.
The moment the last man crossed the threshold, Choi Go-yo, who had been holding on stubbornly, let out a final gasp.
“Gack.”
At the same time, the door that had been slightly open vanished, and the securely closed door of the Guild Leader’s office returned to its place. Lee Sa-young laid Choi Go-yo and the others outside before returning to find Cha Eui-jae still awkwardly standing and looking around.
“Let’s hear it first…”
Lee Sa-young asked, folding his arms.
“Why did you jump in there on purpose?”
“Hm? I thought I might catch something if I stirred things up.”
Cha Eui-jae spoke casually and shrugged.
“But I didn’t find anything useful.”
“There was no need for you to go that far. What I assigned you was simple surveillance. We have other specialized personnel for suppression.”
“But I was able to respond faster than them today.”
Cha Eui-jae’s actions were indeed a big help. Though the investigation department and the Pado Guild members chased after the drug dealers, they only went as far as chasing them. This was the first time they had completely wiped out the dealers and seized all the drugs. With this amount of drugs, the Seowon Guild and the Pado Guild’s research team would be able to extract valuable data.
Lee Sa-young gestured to Cha Eui-jae.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Sure, I’m coming. Hi Nexby, search for the nearest bus terminal.”
Cha Eui-jae called Nexby on his cracked phone. At this point, Nexby was practically his permanent companion. However, Lee Sa-young, still looking annoyed, tilted his head skeptically and glared at the phone.
By now, Cha Eui-jae could tell that Lee Sa-young always tilted his head when he was displeased. Unable to ignore it any longer, Cha Eui-jae asked, unable to hide his sour expression.
“What now?”
“I just… wonder if you’re doing this on purpose.”
“What?”
“Why are you looking for a bus?”
“I have to go home. If I wait any longer, the buses will stop running.”
“Looking like that?”
Lee Sa-young eyed Cha Eui-jae up and down, as if mocking him. Only then did Cha Eui-jae look at himself. Wet hair and hoodie, apron covered in footprints.
Cha Eui-jae was fine, but his appearance was a mess. Anyone who saw him would think he had been through something serious. Someone kind-hearted would definitely approach and ask what had happened!
Realizing this, Cha Eui-jae quietly put his phone back in his pocket. He sighed deeply and brushed his wet hair back.
‘If I hadn’t gotten drenched, I’d just go.’
Actually, he thought he could use silent footsteps to sneak out without being noticed. Just as Cha Eui-jae was about to stealthily head towards the door, Lee Sa-young pulled out a crumpled A4 sheet from his inventory. It was Hong Ye-seong’s emergency escape button he had seen before.
Without giving Cha Eui-jae a chance to refuse, Lee Sa-young grabbed his arm and tore the paper. Moments later, they were standing in front of the hangover soup restaurant.
“…Isn’t that a precious item?”
“It’s fine. It’s a set of ten.”
“…”
Cha Eui-jae reluctantly opened the door to the hangover soup restaurant and headed to the small room.
The small room attached to the back of the shop was packed with gift boxes recently received, with a neatly folded blanket and pillow on one side. Unless he moved all the boxes, Cha Eui-jae couldn’t lie down properly.
But for Cha Eui-jae, even this kind of room was enough. He was actually grateful. Compared to sleeping on monster corpses and using their blood as a blanket in the rifts, this was much better. A room with walls and a ceiling, a place to lie down, a blanket, and a pillow. It was an ideal space.
Of course, that was only Cha Eui-jae’s opinion. Lee Sa-young looked around, thinking if a person could really live in such a place.
“You sleep here?”
“Didn’t you do all the background checks? You saw me coming out from here before.”
It was about the day when he appeared in the middle of the night and sat in the hall. At Cha Eui-jae’s retort, Lee Sa-young replied bluntly.
“I didn’t know the inside of the room looked like this.”
Typical of the number one rank, he must have grown up pampered. But Cha Eui-jae had once been like that too, so he didn’t bother to criticize and simply replied.
“If there’s a blanket, a pillow, a floor, and a ceiling, what more do you need?”
“…”
“…Why?”
Lee Sa-young was staring at Cha Eui-jae. His delicate face was beginning to show a look of disapproval.
“Do you have a hobby of self-punishment or something?”
