The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 118

But then J added with an awkward tone.

"I know I said that confidently, but… I was really confused. A lot."

He tapped the side of his mask with his fingers before speaking slowly.

"I'm the only survivor of the West Sea Rift."

"...Everyone else died?"

"That's right. Honestly, I didn’t get out of the rift that long ago."

"...."

"When I came out, several years had already passed."

As Jung Bin listened quietly, his expression shifted. A cold chill ran down his spine as he looked up, his face pale.

"Wait, wait… Are you telling me you spent *years* inside the West Sea Rift?"

Eight years had passed since J entered the West Sea Rift. If J had only just escaped, that meant... they were trapped in the rift with no way out for all that time. And if J was the only one to make it out...

'That’s too cruel.'

Cold sweat began to form. Jung Bin tried to keep his composure and find the right words, but he struggled. Meanwhile, J remained indifferent as he responded.

"Ah, that's the thing—I’m not sure."

He tilted his head slightly as he muttered.

"Did I actually spend eight years in the rift, or did time flow differently there, and I just ended up here? My memory isn't very clear."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My memory isn’t complete. Some parts feel cut off, like they're blurry or missing."

"...."

Was it possible that extreme stress had caused issues with his memory? It was certainly plausible. After all, some first-generation Awakeners had experienced memory problems and were now in recovery. Still, it wasn’t something he could easily conclude. Jung Bin pondered for a moment before speaking.

"...So far, there have been no reports of time flowing differently between a rift and reality."

"The West Sea Rift might be the first case. That rift was… strange."

"...."

"Anyway."

J stretched his arms, as if shaking off the weight of his words. His tone was almost conversational.

"I came out of the rift, only to find out eight years had passed, I was declared dead, and everything had changed. The world I knew wasn’t like this."

"...."

"It was peaceful without me. Maybe it was peaceful *because* I wasn’t around. It felt like if I showed up again, all of that peace would disappear."

His words, though spoken casually, carried a weight heavier than anything else. Jung Bin didn’t dare interrupt, silently listening as J continued.

"There was no place for me here."

J, who Jung Bin had watched for a long time, was someone who had always wanted peace. He believed that if he sacrificed himself, the chaos would eventually settle, and the world would find stability.

But the peace he longed for came in a world where he didn’t exist. And now, the person who had wanted that peace the most was hiding, afraid of disrupting it. It was an ironic situation. J shrugged his shoulders.

"Back then, I was scared to step in front of people. And honestly… I felt guilty for surviving when no one else did. And, to be frank, I wasn’t in my right mind. So I figured I’d just try living quietly, as some people had suggested. That was the conclusion I reached after struggling for a while."

"...."

"...It didn’t work out that way, though."

Was he talking about the day his name reappeared in the rankings? There weren’t many people whose mere name could turn the country upside down. Jung Bin smirked bitterly as J continued lightly.

"But I became certain of something in that dungeon."

"Dungeon?"

"The one where you broke your arm."

J motioned towards Jung Bin’s right arm with his chin. Unconsciously, Jung Bin rubbed the scar on his arm. The dungeon had suddenly increased in rank, and while Jung Bin had lost consciousness, J had appeared, destroyed the golem, and disappeared. Jung Bin still didn’t know exactly what had happened. Carefully, he asked.

"I heard a general explanation from Hong Yeseong, but it was vague. Can you tell me what really happened?"

"Eh? Nothing much, really."

J tapped his mask again as he spoke.

"I had business in the erosion dungeon, but the rank suddenly increased. And then the dungeon boss showed up, so I took care of it. That’s all."

Once again, J had packed a significant amount of information into a casual sentence. Jung Bin rubbed his temple, struggling to digest the overload.

"Where did you even hear about erosion dungeons? That’s classified information, restricted to only a select few even among the top-ranked Hunters. How…?"

J awkwardly turned his head and mumbled.

"...Things happened."

"Are you sure you’ve really been trying to live quietly? It seems like you know more than some of my direct subordinates…."

"I told you, I really tried."

"Sigh…."

Jung Bin let out a deep sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

"...So, what exactly did you become certain about?"

"...It’s not that big of a deal."

J slowly got up from the slide with a grunt. The flickering streetlight shone brightly for a moment. With his hands in his jacket pockets, he bent forward slightly. Both his posture and his distorted voice carried a playful tone.

"I realized I still like saving people."

"...."

"Killing monsters, closing rifts, clearing dungeons—they’re all fine. But what I enjoy most is saving people with my own hands."

Jung Bin slightly parted his lips, unsure of what to say, so he just watched the man standing before him.

In reality, expecting someone like J to live quietly might have been unreasonable. Both then and now, he had a magnetic pull that drew people's attention. He was someone who shone so brightly that no one could ignore him.

"I kept failing, failed in the rift too, and I might keep failing in the future. But… I’ve had at least one success."

"...."

"So I’m going to keep going. I took a break, so I think I can do better now."

There are things that can’t be done by sheer determination alone. In the past, Jung Bin had seen J as someone always teetering on the edge of a cliff, barely holding on. The world seemed to be constantly pushing him closer to the precipice. And Jung Bin had been one of the people pushing him there. Those days were filled with struggles.

But now...

"And…"

The person standing before him, after eight long years…

"There’s someone waiting for me."

...was brighter than ever.

"They waited for me for eight years. Don’t you think I should take responsibility for that?"

"...."

The young man who had once wobbled on the edge of a cliff was gone. Over the past eight years, much had changed, both for J and for Jung Bin. The time they hadn’t shared had altered many things. But there was something that hadn’t changed.

Jung Bin still wanted to help J.

Back then, and even now.

"...I suppose I spoke unnecessarily."

"It wasn’t unnecessary… You were worried, weren’t you?"

"I was worried, yes. But I see now that I didn’t need to be."

Finally, Jung Bin’s gentle smile returned. He pulled down the sleeves he had rolled up, hiding the scar on his arm. After fastening the cuff buttons neatly, he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, taking out a leather notebook and a pen. Both items bore the Awakener Bureau's emblem.

Clicking the pen, Jung Bin looked at J.

"You asked for information on Prometheus and Lee Sayoung. What exactly do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"Excuse me?"

Jung Bin looked at J with a puzzled expression. J crossed his arms.

"I know that Lee Sayoung was a test subject for Prometheus. I just need whatever information can fill in the gaps. And I heard you were the one who first rescued him, right? I’d like to know what happened back then too."

"How… how do you know that?"

"Things happened."

"If it weren’t you asking, I would have detained you immediately to find out your source of information. Honestly…."

Jung Bin hesitated, carefully choosing his words.

"...You really do have all the critical details."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

J watched as Jung Bin began jotting notes into his notebook. When Jung Bin had filled about half a page, J suddenly spoke up.

"Well, I won’t just ask for a favor without offering something in return. I have information to share too."

"What? What kind of information?"

"Details about the erosion dungeon where you injured your arm, as well as features from other erosion dungeons. Things like the monsters that appear there, the sky filled with white ash, and the crumbling buildings."

"Ah, yes."

"The thing is, those features were surprisingly similar to what I saw inside the West Sea Rift."

"...What?"

J’s words were one surprise after another. Jung Bin’s eyes widened in shock. J continued, unfazed.

"That’s why I went. I wondered if the erosion dungeons and the West Sea Rift might be connected. But I couldn’t investigate properly because the dungeon rank suddenly changed."

"Wait! Is that really true?"

"It’s just a theory, but I think we’ll know if we investigate properly."

J tilted his head slightly.

"If they are connected… then we might be able to recover the bodies buried in there."