The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 166

Sa-young subtly furrowed his brows.

"...Matthew? Why?"

"The Doctor has been monitoring him, but his condition isn't improving. We’re not sure if it's because of that damn drug or what, but even potions and healing abilities aren’t working..."

"......"

The gloved fingers traced the rim of the glass. Had Matthew been injured? Wasn't he already dead? Sa-young didn’t recall any reports about him being in trouble. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, his own and others' thoughts tangled together. He let out a long sigh, and the sound of air escaping his gas mask followed.

‘This isn’t good...’

He wouldn't be able to work properly for a while. Sa-young clenched and unclenched his fists out of frustration.

He felt like he was always moving a beat too late, as if his body no longer belonged to him. The unpleasant sensation lingered, never going away. If he let his guard down even for a moment, an intruder would shove him aside and take control of his body. Even when he clung to Cha Uijae at home, barely maintaining a sense of control, the feeling persisted.

Honeybee, who had been muttering to herself with a frown, suddenly lifted her head and narrowed her eyes, scanning Sa-young’s gas mask.

"...Did you not hear? The bit about the drug and Matthew? I told someone to pass it on."

"Who did you tell?"

Drug? What drug? Sa-young’s mind fumbled through a hazy fog, as though he was a lost child wandering aimlessly. It was frustrating.

Honeybee propped her chin on her hand and asked, "Aren’t you working with J? You guys in the guild? J said he’d pass the message."

"...J?"

J. Cha Uijae. The image of him in a sharp suit came to mind. He’d looked good in it. As Sa-young remembered Uijae standing beside him earlier, his thoughts began to clear. Did Uijae mention something like that?

"...Ah."

Sa-young let out a small sigh of realization. Now that he thought about it, Uijae had said something along those lines. When Sa-young had grabbed him by the door, trying to stop him from leaving, Uijae had muttered something about Matthew, something important that needed to be relayed.

Of course, he hadn’t really paid attention. His head had been spinning at the time, and he couldn’t have cared less about some other guy. In fact, he had purposely ignored it, annoyed that Uijae was talking about someone else in front of him.

Sa-young replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, I heard it."

"Really?"

"I just needed a little reminder."

He had heard it, but he’d let it slip. Honeybee shot him a skeptical look. Sa-young shrugged and tapped his temple lightly.

"I’ve been a bit out of it lately. My bad."

"You were never really in your right mind to begin with."

"Haha..."

"Don’t pretend otherwise. Everyone knows you're a nutcase."

Honeybee’s sharp retort cut through the air as she pulled out a small file from her inventory and handed it to him. Sa-young flipped through the pages quickly, catching familiar terms: *Samra Guild*, *drug*, *Matthew*, *addiction*... Keywords he recognized. He smirked.

"...You’ve been involved in something pretty interesting."

"I need information about the people behind the drug. That’s my demand."

Sa-young, peering over the file at Honeybee, tilted his head.

"And if I give you that information?"

"Do you really need to ask? We go after them. And we get a lead on how to cure Matthew."

"That's none of my concern."

With a *thud*, his gloved hand placed the file back on the table. Sa-young intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them, the gas mask tilting slightly as his head inclined.

"What I’m asking is, what do I get in return?"

"......"

"Oh, surely you didn’t think you could get valuable information for free? Are you really that shameless and lacking in manners?"

*Bang!*

Honeybee slammed her fist on the table and stood up, glaring down at Sa-young. Her bright hazel eyes flared with anger.

"You don’t have to provoke me; I wasn’t going to ask for it for free. What do you want?"

"Well... Let’s see..."

Sa-young responded, unable to hide his boredom.

"To be honest, there’s not much I want..."

"What?"

"And it’s not like you could give me what I want anyway."

"......"

"...The deal was never going to work in the first place."

Just as Honeybee was about to retort, Sa-young’s violet eyes narrowed behind his lenses.

"But I’ll still give you the information. Matthew needs to be saved, after all..."

The fist that had almost struck his gas mask froze inches from his face. Honeybee’s hand trembled from the force of her clenched fist before she finally lowered it, muttering through gritted teeth.

"You... really know how to piss someone off. You’re worse than that Gyu-Gyu brat, you know that?"

"I haven’t had many chances to be mean lately."

Sa-young reached into his coat and pulled out a pen. He scribbled a phone number on the cover of the file and slid it over to her.

"Someone will call that number in a few days. Show up then. And make sure no lackeys follow you."

"Got it."

"Can’t be right away, though. I have things to do."

"You’re here to deal with Mackerel, aren’t you? He’s the one who leaked that article, right?"

"......"

"Who would’ve thought the great Lee Sa-young would end up being carried by J? What a sight."

Honeybee mocked him as she stashed the file back into her inventory.

"Oh... So that’s what everyone’s been thinking."

But instead of the reaction she’d expected, Sa-young’s eyes merely curved into a smile. What? She’d aimed to hurt his pride, but he was laughing? Honeybee scowled. Maybe he really had lost his mind, just like he claimed earlier. Sa-young chuckled as he spoke.

"I came to thank him, actually."

"What?"

Sa-young waved his hand dismissively.

"If you're done, you should get going. I’m sure you’ve got other things to take care of."

"Hmph, I was going to leave anyway."

As she turned to go, Honeybee suddenly spun back around and snapped at him.

"And make sure you answer your damn phone next time! I don’t want to have to track you down again."

"...What?"

Sa-young looked up from the glass he had been idly rubbing.

Had Honeybee ever personally come looking for him? No. But he knew what she was referring to. Through the fractured pieces of his memory, one image floated to the surface. There had been a time when he had locked himself away in darkness, barely hanging on to life. And the one who had opened the door was...

Her hair had been a mess when she walked in.

"..."

A few strands of long hair slipped out from beneath her scarf. Honeybee clicked her tongue as she gathered up the long and uneven strands, tying them back together.

*Am I crazy? Or...*

"Do you remember what you just said?"

"Huh? Of course. Who do you think I am, a goldfish? I told you to answer your phone."

"What about after that?"

"After that? Hmm... I said, don’t hole yourself up somewhere and make me come find you... Wait, what?"

Honeybee, who had been confidently continuing her sentence, suddenly trailed off. Her hands froze mid-motion as she was tying her hair. Confusion flickered in her bright hazel eyes.

"That’s weird. Did I actually go looking for you? No, I didn’t..."

"......"

"...Ah, damn it. What’s wrong with me these days?"

Honeybee rubbed her forehead, her face growing pale. It didn’t seem like something she’d said on purpose. It was as if the words had slipped out unconsciously, a scene drawn from a memory not her own. Honeybee seemed to recognize it. Sa-young stood up, his black coat swirling around him.

"It wasn’t just me then, was it? This kind of thing..."

She took a step back, her posture guarded. Sa-young’s voice turned cold.

"Talk."

"Why should I?"

Sa-young removed his gloves. His blackened fingers reached out, grabbing the pen on the table. *Sss*, the pen began to melt into a black sludge.

"Because if you don’t, I won’t be able to give you the information..."

"What? Are you really going to pull that crap on me?"

"Just tell me. No matter how crazy it sounds, I’ll believe you."

"......"

Biting her lip, Honeybee finally sighed and threw up her hands.

"Fine. Lately, I’ve been seeing strange things. Things that I never did, they just come out of my mouth. Like a crazy person. Happy now?"

"Like what?"

"Ugh..."

Honeybee roughly ran her hand through her hair and pointed a finger at the center of Sa-young’s gas mask.

"If you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, now spill."

Despite her agreement, she still hesitated, pacing around the room. Sa-young waited patiently. If he had known this would take so long, he might have brought Uijae with him. The longer he was away, the more

 anxious he felt. Not because he feared losing control of himself, but because...

‘I hope he hasn’t caused another incident...’

It was the kind of anxiety one would have when dealing with an overly energetic dog. Uijae believed himself to be entirely rational, but Sa-young knew better. He was a mess. With several screws loose, yet somehow always able to carry out commands. There was something almost masochistic about it.

As Sa-young waited for Honeybee to speak, he sent a quick message.

  
**It’ll take some time. You can follow Jang Misook. I'll be there soon.**  

The reply came quickly.

  
**Uijae: Got it.**  

Thankfully, it seemed like Uijae hadn’t caused any trouble yet. Sa-young tapped the phone screen idly. Finally, Honeybee spoke, albeit reluctantly.

"...I see faces of living people, but all of a sudden, they look like they've been torn apart by a beast, their bodies rotting away."

"......"

Sa-young said nothing, listening quietly. Honeybee bit her lip again and continued.

"Not long ago, I was talking to Jung Bin, and out of nowhere, I saw his neck sliced open, dangling by a thread. I thought I was cursed."

"It wasn’t a curse?"

"No, it wasn’t."

"...When did this start happening?"

"......"

The toe of her black boot tapped the floor lightly.

"Since the Day of Change..."

Both Honeybee and Sa-young tensed. The air felt fragile, like shattered glass. Only the bright red goldfish in the tank swam on, oblivious.

Sa-young unfastened his gas mask and set it on the table. Disheveled hair, violet eyes, and pale lips were revealed one by one. Now fully unmasked, he tilted his head and asked,

"And me."

"......"

"What do you see when you look at my face?"

Honeybee slowly looked at Sa-young, her eyes narrowing in thought before she answered.

"You... look the same as always."

"...Hmm. Is that so?"

"Wait, hold on. No, that’s not right."

Her hazel eyes reflected her doubt.

"Your eye color... It’s a bit lighter. Like light purple?"

"...Ah."

Sa-young let out a low sigh, his lips curling into a smile. But his eyes were filled with nothing but displeasure.

"Disgustingly accurate."