The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 170

Soft lips pressed against his, and a thick tongue slipped past, invading his mouth. There was no hesitation in its movements, as if it had done this many times before. It felt like it was trying to devour him whole, while the large hands cupping his face rubbed his cheeks and teased his ears.

Uijae’s grip tightened on the beanbag, his body twisting involuntarily.

I can’t breathe.

It felt as though he were being consumed. A chill ran down his spine, making his back shiver. Uijae reached up, fumbling to grab hold of the body on top of him. When his hands finally grasped Sa-young’s firm shoulders, the lips against his made a slick, parting sound as they pulled away. A thumb slid over his lips.

“Breathe.”

Ah. A small gasp escaped his mouth. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. As soon as air rushed back into his lungs, he coughed slightly, his chest heaving up and down with each breath. Sa-young’s lips brushed against his cheek.

“I thought you’d be used to this by now….”

A gentle voice asked, “When will you finally get used to it?”

Uijae’s body trembled at the sound of those words. As his coughing subsided, the hand that had been stroking his face moved down, resting on his chest.

Thump, thump, thump—his heart was racing faster than ever, and the large hand pressed against it. The warmth of Sa-young’s palm seemed to seep through, adding pressure to Uijae’s pounding heart. He raised his arm to cover his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. Laughter tinged with amusement echoed in his ears.

“You need to breathe through your nose.”

“Get your hand off me….”

“Your heart’s beating too fast….”

The moment those words reached him, Uijae tensed up.

Damn it. He cursed silently to himself. How was he supposed to hide the sound of his heartbeat? It’s not like he could stop it unless he was dead. A low chuckle followed. The hand pressing against his heart felt as heavy as a boulder, but strangely, it also brought a sense of calm.

‘Wait… hold on.’

Uijae’s breath evened out as he opened his eyes wide. In the distance, he could hear faint footsteps growing closer. Just as Uijae grabbed the hand on his chest, about to sit up, there was a knock at the door.

“Hey, Hyuung-nim? Can I come in?”

The panting breaths in the dark came to an abrupt halt. Uijae glanced around, his eyes searching for his mask. Sensing his shifting gaze, Sa-young’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

But Uijae had no time to read his expression. No way could he let the Mackerels, who were such big fans of J, see him like this! He quickly reached out, grabbed the mask from the floor, and tried to put it on.

Just as he was about to secure it, his wrist was grabbed. Uijae whispered urgently.

“What are you doing?”

“I should be the one asking you. What are *you* doing?”

“I’m trying to cover my face!”

“Hah.”

Sa-young scoffed.

“We haven’t even started yet.”

“What do you mean, 'haven’t started'? Get off! Someone’s coming in!”

“If the door’s locked, they won’t be able to get in….”

“I’ve seen that guy come through the walls! If I don’t open the door, he’ll break through the wall!”

“Oh… you’ve seen that, huh?”

Uijae glared.

“You’ve seen that? You knew all along and you’re acting like this? Are you insane?”

“Hah….”

Sa-young let go of his wrist. Soft hair brushed against the back of Uijae’s neck, and Uijae heard the grinding of teeth.

“Why are there so many interruptions….”

Is this really something to be upset about? Uijae couldn’t believe it. This place belonged to the Mackerels, for crying out loud. It was never a suitable place for this kind of thing in the first place….

‘What the hell am I even thinking?’ Uijae silently screamed in his head, ruffling his hair. There’s no such thing as a *suitable* place for something like this! It had to be the darkness messing with his mind. Uijae hurriedly put the mask over his face. His wildly beating heart finally began to settle.

With a click of the remote, the projector flickered back to life, flooding the room with light. Uijae glanced at Sa-young, who was still sitting on top of him.

Sa-young, who had buried his head against Uijae’s neck, slowly raised his head.

He looked visibly annoyed, with a sour expression that only added to his already flushed face. His neck was red, too. Uijae reached out, pretending to smooth out Sa-young’s disheveled hair, tucking it behind his ear. Through the strands of black hair, a glimpse of his bright red ear appeared. Uijae chuckled softly.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing…. It just seems like *you* need a gas mask too.”

“….”

Knock, knock. The knocking came again.

“Heyyy~ Excuse me, guests? If you don’t answer soon, I’m just gonna open the door, okay? It’s kind of urgent.”

Uijae raised his voice.

“Hang on, give me a second.”

“Oh, Hyung-nim! I thought you’d fallen asleep. I was about to call a locksmith! Mind opening the door?”

The younger Mackerel spoke in a chipper voice. Uijae tossed Sa-young his gas mask and stood up. A moment later, Sa-young’s red face disappeared behind the mask. Uijae scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before reaching for the door. Just as his hand touched the doorknob, Sa-young called out, fiddling with the mask’s straps.

“Wait, Hyung…!”

Click.

“….”

“…Huh?”

Uijae glanced back inside the room, then looked at the Mackerels standing at the now-open door. The older Mackerel stuttered, trying to form words. The younger Mackerel quickly covered his brother’s eyes with his hand.

“Hah….”

Sa-young sighed deeply, the sound rising from deep in his chest. He got up and stood behind Uijae, his presence looming. From behind, Sa-young’s fingers pressed hard against Uijae’s back.

“Why… Ah.”

Only then did Uijae realize what state he was in. His hair was a mess from his own tugging, his shirt was unbuttoned all the way down to his collarbone—thanks to Sa-young’s handiwork—and both his shirt and jacket were wrinkled. He had no idea where his tie had ended up. A voice echoed in Uijae’s head like a strange inner monologue.

Ah~ I’m screwed~

Whether he was J in battle mode or just a guy working part-time, he never paid much attention to his appearance—hoodies and aprons were usually all he needed. Now, that habit was coming back to bite him. But his survival instincts kicked in, and Uijae quickly leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms in an attempt to look casual.

“Sorry. We had a bit of a disagreement.”

“Uh… what?”

“We, uh, had a little scuffle.”

“A s-scuffle?”

The older Mackerel stammered. Uijae shrugged nonchalantly.

“I was playing a video from when he was younger, and he got upset and tackled me. We wrestled a bit.”

“….”

The glare piercing the back of Uijae’s head was scalding. It felt like Sa-young’s eyes could burn a hole through his skull. Well, it wasn’t entirely a lie. What they had just done could be classified as a kind of wrestling. Words rolled off Uijae’s tongue with surprising ease.

“It’s the first time I’ve fought in a suit, so I wasn’t really prepared. But nothing in the room is broken.”

“S-sir, you shouldn’t fight….”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“No, no need to apologize… b-but, could you move your elbow?”

“Ah, right. Sorry about that.”

The younger Mackerel grinned, finally removing his hand from his brother’s eyes. Uijae caught a sly look in the younger Mackerel’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it by clenching his fist. As he buttoned up his shirt, Uijae asked,

“So, what’s this urgent news?”

“Oh, the urgent news. Right! Ta-da.”

The younger Mackerel suddenly thrust a tablet forward. A picture was displayed on the screen. Uijae narrowed his eyes, and Sa-young, standing behind him, leaned over his shoulder to take a look. The image showed…

“…What is this?”

In the sterile white environment of a surgical room, a man lay on an operating table, connected to various machines. His body was covered in surgical incisions. Standing over him was another man holding a scalpel in one hand, with a strange white energy glowing in the other.

The man in the white coat had long white hair tied back in a single ponytail. Uijae recognized that outfit.

“…Nam Woojin?”

“Correct!”

“Why is there a picture of Nam Woojin?”

“Look closer at who’s on the operating table. You may not have met him in person, but I’m sure you recognize the face from the video I

 showed you earlier.”

“…Ah.”

“Tsk.”

Sa-young clicked his tongue. His hand, resting near Uijae’s chest, swiped at the screen, zooming in on the image. The man lying unconscious on the table had a familiar face.

“Matthew… Where did this picture come from?”

“There’s this site on the dark web. It’s a place where supporters of Prometheus gather. You need an invite to join.”

The younger Mackerel chimed in.

“If Guild Leader Lee Sa-young has been out of the loop for three months, you’ll need to be brought up to speed. The site opened after the Day of Change, but no one paid much attention at first. Then…”

The younger Mackerel fiddled with the tablet before showing the screen again. The new image displayed an animation of flames, followed by rows of text in various languages.

**The end must be overcome by human strength.**

The same sentence repeated in many different languages. Uijae furrowed his brow, and the younger Mackerel shrugged.

“About two weeks ago, the site’s membership exploded.”

Two weeks ago… around the time Lee Sa-young’s absence became noticeable and J’s activities had become more prominent.

“….”

“This picture was posted on that site. It seems there are supporters inside the Seowon Guild as well.”

“How did you manage to join?”

“How could I call myself an information broker if I couldn’t get into a place like this? Here…”

The younger Mackerel tapped the screen repeatedly. An animation of flames burst to life again, revealing a message board. Text in various languages filled the screen. When he tapped the South Korean flag, the text changed to Korean.

A moment later, a popup appeared in the center of the screen, displaying a long string of red text.

**Do not fear those who witness the scene of the end. It is a sign of faith that you have been chosen by the end. Do not trust the system that scatters chaos and destruction across the world. Do not trust the Hunters who fight with the power of the system. Trust only yourself, the one who has seen the end. Only with human strength can we overcome it.**

“What kind of cult nonsense is this….”

There were plenty of doomsayers in the world. Ever since the Day of the Rift, doomsday preachers had been swarming the streets. Of course, not a single one of them had been right so far. Uijae clicked the ‘X’ to close the popup. Another window popped up, with even bolder red text than the previous one.

**Do not trust the hero J.  
He is a traitor who abandoned the world and ran away.**

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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!