The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 148

For two and a half months, Cha Uijae did his best, keeping Mingi at his feet and carrying the Wave Guild and top government official Jung Bin on his back. He didn’t discriminate between dungeons, rifts, or monsters.

During this time, Uijae also witnessed how Jung Bin masterfully manipulated public opinion using his famous face. There was certainly a reason why he dominated every public service announcement. Eight years was more than enough time to turn a diligent colleague into a sly strategist.

However, it seemed that the effectiveness of sensational headlines like "The nation's hero saves the country once again after eight years!" was beginning to wear off, as articles about Lee Sayoung were starting to circulate.

"I wish some big monster would just show up," Uijae thought to himself.

The public, who had once cheered for J’s return, now took his efforts for granted. After all, he was a hero. It was only natural for him to show up whenever there was a problem, right? Baewonwoo, whom Uijae occasionally ran into, often muttered with a displeased expression.

"It's definitely not something to take for granted. People are becoming far too complacent."

Uijae merely shrugged. Having gone through this many times before, it didn’t surprise him.

His thumb moved quickly over the screen as he mechanically scrolled through the headlines until his hand froze. A picture of a middle-aged man with a tiger-like appearance and streaks of white hair caught his eye. It was Song Joheon. The title of the article read:

"Why is the hero silent? The mystery of the West Sea Rift."

"…"

Uijae threw his phone into the drawer next to the couch.

"This is such a headache…."

The sound of his fingers tapping the leather sofa stopped.

Lee Sayoung’s house was silent. According to Mingi, Sayoung was such a light sleeper that even the smallest noise could wake him. So, the house had been outfitted with extensive soundproofing.

This, however, was not ideal for Cha Uijae. He couldn’t sleep well without noise, especially since his escape from the West Sea Rift.

Uijae rolled up his loose sleeve, revealing a silver watch on his left wrist, shattered beyond repair. Of the three tiny clock hands, only one moved sluggishly.

"Last chance."

When all the hands stopped, had he succeeded, or had he failed?

Uijae took off the watch and placed it on the armrest of the sofa. Then, he opened a rain sound video on his phone that lasted eight hours and used a cushion as a pillow before closing his eyes. Perhaps because he knew that Lee Sayoung was just beyond the wall, he didn’t feel lonely.

His consciousness slowly began to sink.

---

Cha Uijae opened his eyes. His surroundings were familiar. It was the hallway of the old Awakener Management Agency building, a place he used to frequent more than his own home. The sounds of murmuring were clear.

His feet moved without hesitation, crossing the hallway. Most of the faces of the people he passed were blurry. Whenever he tried to focus on them, they would turn into dark smudges. Then, a woman with a sharp expression, her face clearly visible, appeared. She was Honeybee, sitting with her legs crossed and looking rather aloof. Upon seeing Uijae, she propped her chin on her hand.

"What’s going on? Why are you here?"

"It’s not strange for me to be here. You, on the other hand, are out of place."

"I’m here to see Jung Bin, so don’t start with me."

Honeybee added curtly.

"I thought you were out in the mountains of Gangwon-do?"

"That was yesterday. You’re behind the news."

"Tsk."

She turned her head sharply, her long blonde hair swinging. Uijae, undeterred, asked,

"How have things been lately?"

"Same as usual. But…"

Honeybee glanced toward the end of the hallway and stood up. It was the emergency stairwell. Uijae pretended not to notice and pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket, following her. The door closed with a bang. After checking the surroundings, Honeybee lowered her voice and whispered.

"I talked to 'Matthew' like you suggested. It’s true—there’s been an increase in the number of rift occurrences recently. There are even several hidden rifts kept secret to reduce public anxiety. Matthew thought it was strange, too."

"…"

"The frequency of monsters bursting out of the rifts has also increased. I contacted Gyu-Gyu, and he said the situation is the same overseas. Things are looking grim."

"Yeah."

Honeybee frowned and crossed her arms.

"If you find anything out, share it with us, okay? You’re not doing this just to survive on your own, are you?"

"…Sorry. I don’t have anything concrete yet."

"J."

Her bright brown eyes glinted sharply.

"Please… don’t try to handle this alone…."

Honeybee’s voice and face began to blur, and soon the entire scene around him warped. Uijae muttered to himself.

"Another dead end."

Moments later, Cha Uijae opened his eyes again. The familiar dark ceiling greeted him.

The sound of rain continued to pour. Uijae groped for the watch and phone by his bedside. Only 30 minutes had passed. He slowly got up and walked out. The door creaked open, and silence filled the wide house once again.

In the darkness, the silver watch glimmered.

---

Since Lee Sayoung had fallen into his deep sleep, Cha Uijae occasionally saw things in his dreams. In these dreams, Uijae moved as himself, traveled, and spoke to familiar or unfamiliar people. He also met Lee Sayoung several times.

"Hyung."

In these dreams, Lee Sayoung’s eyes were black, he was a great cook, and he was always kind. Only after enjoying a meal Sayoung had personally prepared did Uijae realize:

"This isn’t a dream."

After all, you can’t taste things in a dream, right?

What Uijae saw were someone’s vivid memories. Judging by the black eyes and the layout of the house, they were most likely memories of the first Cha Uijae.

Because Yoon Gaeul was the expert on strange dream phenomena, Uijae went to consult her first. They met on the roof of her high school, and Uijae decided to break the lock for some privacy.

Listening to him while sniffling, Gaeul tilted her head.

"It didn’t happen before, but you started having these dreams after the Day of Change?"

"Yes."

"Has anything changed in your life recently? There must be a trigger."

Uijae pondered for a moment before muttering,

"Too many things."

"Try picking out just the most important ones."

Uijae began counting on his fingers.

"First, I quit working at the hangover soup restaurant. I started operating as J again."

"Okay."

"Lee Sayoung fell into a deep sleep…."

When he had folded about five fingers, Gaeul interrupted.

"So far, most of what you’ve mentioned are changes in your environment. What about changes that happened directly to you?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Like…."

Gaeul fiddled with her hair.

"Your hair turning gray… or that watch on your wrist. Now that I think about it, we’ve been so focused on Guild Leader Lee’s condition that we haven’t looked into the watch, have we?"

"Ah."

Uijae hastily rolled up his jacket sleeve, revealing the old, nearly broken watch. Gaeul looked at it with concern.

"It seems likely this is the cause. Why don’t you try leaving the watch far away from you while you sleep?"

It was sound advice. Uijae had Mingi take the watch to the hangover soup restaurant and went to sleep without it. That night, instead of seeing the kind Lee Sayoung, he dreamt of the West Sea Rift. The watch was clearly the cause.

There was another expert on items: Hong Yeseong, who called himself the world’s greatest artisan, whether others agreed or not.

This time, his secret hideout was at the edge of Inwangsan. With Jung Bin’s help, Uijae made his way into the quiet house where Hong Yeseong was staying. The artisan ran out on all fours and clung to Uijae’s pant leg.

"I was so bored! You didn’t even text me! I hate you!"

Jung Bin, standing with his hands behind his back, laughed good-naturedly.

"He wouldn’t have seen your texts anyway."

"But still!"

Apparently, every time Hong Yeseong was confined to a remote area, Lee Sayoung would restore his internet. But since Sayoung was asleep this time, he was truly cut off from the world. While roasting some seaweed over a fire with Kkoko’s flames, Hong Yeseong suddenly spoke up.

"You said that the first version of you used that watch to turn back the world, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then it must’ve gathered an immense amount of energy. And you mentioned something about becoming the axis."

"That’s right."

"Needing an axis means that the item alone can’t do anything. The axis and the item must come together and merge before it can function."

"Merge?"

"Yes."

As Kkoko spat out its last ember, it scurried around Uijae. Hong Yeseong muttered while cutting the seaweed with scissors.

"Maybe the watch has merged with part of ‘Cha Uijae’ as its axis. Not your body, but maybe your memories… or a

 strong desire… something like that."

"…"

"That fusion might have caused some kind of reaction when you met the other version of yourself. If it’s not harmful to your body, maybe you should keep experiencing it. You might uncover some clues."

"…"

"Of course, I didn’t make it, so I can’t say for sure!"

Once again, Hong Yeseong’s words started to make sense. The frequency of these occurrences was too high to dismiss. Uijae eyed Hong Yeseong suspiciously and, for no particular reason, slapped him on the back.

"Ahh!"

"Quack!"

Hong Yeseong and Kkoko screamed in unison.

---

*Beep, beep, beep, beep—*

Cha Uijae woke up again. His phone flashed red, ringing loudly. He shot up straight. It was an emergency alert from Jung Bin.

—An Erosion Dungeon has appeared in Mokpo. It’s larger than before.

An Erosion Dungeon. It could be connected to the West Sea Rift. His mind cleared instantly. Without a second thought, Uijae sprang to his feet and rushed out the door. The locked door creaked open, and silence filled the wide house once again.

In the darkness, the silver watch shimmered.