The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 208

“Haha, you have quite the discerning eye.”

“Naturally.”

Sparks flew between Dr. Park and Lee Sayoung. The smile on Uijae’s face—well, he hadn’t smiled to begin with—also faded. In fact, Uijae rarely smiled at all. He shot a glance at Minggijeok. *What's with him?* Minggijeok, ever perceptive, understood and mouthed back:

'He’s always like this.'

At the same time, Sayoung shrugged his shoulders.

“This is troubling… Dr. Park.”

“Oh? What do you mean by that?”

“You can’t run a business like this.”

Sayoung sighed dramatically, throwing aside the piece of leather he had been inspecting, as if it were something too filthy to handle. Uijae’s eyes narrowed. *What kind of thug-like tone is that?* Even to the strict Uijae, this behavior felt excessive. After all, Dr. Park looked older than Sayoung. Was he acting like this because he was confident in his rank?

Minggijeok, sensing Uijae’s twitching shoulders, quickly grabbed him, holding back his finger from pointing accusingly. Sayoung’s mouth continued, relentless. He crossed his arms, speaking in a pitiful tone.

“The quality of the materials is… just too ordinary. This stuff could easily be found in our guild’s storage.”

"……."

His smooth voice leaked through the filters of his gas mask.

"Why would I come all the way here if that's all you have to offer? I came because I wanted something special."

*Didn’t he just come because this was the only place with time available?* Uijae glanced at Minggijeok. The man nodded silently with a blank expression. *What does that even mean?* Sayoung tapped the filter of his gas mask with his finger and muttered.

“I might have to reconsider this deal.”

"...No!"

Dr. Park, who had been bowing her head, snapped up, her eyes gleaming with determination. Her competitive spirit had kicked in.

“Why make that judgment so quickly? You haven’t even seen a tenth of what I have to offer.”

"Is that so?"

Sayoung smiled slyly.

“Then bring it all out. I’ll pay generously for it.”

“Are you sure you can handle what you’re saying?”

Sayoung lifted his chin slightly and smirked.

“Why would I say something I couldn’t handle?”

“…Ha, fine. Watch and wait.”

With that, Dr. Park, clutching her shawl tightly, disappeared down the narrow hallway. The three of them were left alone in the spacious workshop. Minggijeok finally let go of Uijae’s shoulders and hands. Sayoung picked up a fang the size of his face and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk… what am I supposed to do with something like this?”

“Why? It looks cool.”

“…Cool? Are you serious?”

Sayoung stared at Uijae as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in the world. Uijae blinked, confused. Wasn’t the fang cool? It looked wild and fierce. Minggijeok muttered seriously under his breath.

“This is a problem. The customer’s aesthetic sense… is completely old-fashioned, like a hunter from the old days.”

Sayoung leaned against the table, his head hanging low. His voice was filled with frustration.

“Ha… this is the worst. How can your taste be the same as Jung Bin’s?”

“You’re insulting me, aren’t you? You’re lumping me in with Jung Bin to insult me.”

“Huh? No, not at all! I was praising J and the civil servant’s classic tastes.”

“What kind of nonsense is that!”

Sayoung pretended not to hear and turned his head. *These people…* Even though Uijae tried to hold it in, he couldn’t anymore. He finally pointed his finger.

“Hey! Back in my day, we had to wear whatever we found in the dungeon! Even if it looked like a tattered balloon, if it worked, we wore it! Aesthetics don’t matter when survival is on the line. You guys are just too spoiled!”

“Yeah, sure, Grandpa.”

“Grandpa? Graandpa? You’re only four years younger than me, you punk!”

“If you say so….”

Minggijeok stepped between them, trying to calm the situation.

“Let’s leave it at that. J, why don’t you pick out the materials yourself with your excellent taste?”

He gently nudged Uijae toward the shelves. Uijae grumbled in response.

“Pick what?”

“Well, as you said, even if the appearance isn’t great, the performance matters, right? You have a better eye for materials than we do.”

"……."

“Why not take a look? Dr. Park’s storage is full of interesting things.”

Damn it. Minggijeok was right—he couldn’t cause a scene in someone else’s business. Uijae glared at Sayoung, who was sifting through materials on the table, before heading toward the shelves.

The shelves stretched all the way to the ceiling, filled with boxes, fabrics, leathers, various bones, teeth, claws, and mana stones. Everything seemed randomly placed, giving the impression of a cluttered mess. Uijae had a strange sense of déjà vu. Where had he seen shelves like this before?

*Wait…*

Wasn’t this exactly how Hong Yeseong’s workshop in the first world looked?

Uijae quickly glanced around. Could Dr. Park really be someone who managed her materials this sloppily? He turned to Minggijeok, who was quietly following him, and asked:

“Is Dr. Park always this bad at organizing?”

“Hm? No, her other storage rooms are well-organized. It seems this workshop is the only one that’s like this.”

"……."

“I think it’s because she needs to grab materials quickly. Maybe it’s part of her system. Who knows?”

Could it be a coincidence?

Uijae pulled out a half-opened box and peeked inside. Small trinkets covered in dust rolled around inside. Just as he lost interest and was about to put it back, something shiny caught his eye in the corner of the box.

"……."

He quickly pushed the other trinkets aside. The shiny object in the corner was…

*A shard?*

He picked it up. It seemed like a fragment of something that had broken. Maybe it had been a bead of some sort. The smooth surface was riddled with fine cracks, and the broken edges were sharp enough to cut his fingers. Uijae held it up to the light. The white shard shimmered in the light, casting an iridescent glow. Even though it was unfamiliar, it didn’t feel entirely alien. A strange sense of recognition.

As Uijae stared intently at the shard, Minggijeok approached and asked:

“What’s that?”

“I’m not sure.”

At that moment, the sound of something being dragged along the floor grew closer. Dr. Park appeared, pulling a cart stacked with materials. She parked it beside the desk and wiped the sweat from her brow with a theatrical sigh. When she noticed what Uijae was holding, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh my? That’s…”

“Do you know what this is?”

“That’s been around for a long time… I inherited this shop from someone else, and that was one of the materials left behind from the previous owner.”

“The previous owner?”

“Hmm… Oh dear, I can’t remember who they were. They were quite the eccentric character, though.”

Dr. Park scratched her head, trying to recall, but eventually gave up and shook her head.

“Strange… Anyway, it was one of the things they left behind. I was going to throw it out, but it disappeared at some point. Looks like it ended up back in that corner.”

Uijae ran his fingers over the shard. The glossy white surface seemed to shimmer like a wave, and with each flash of light, something stirred in his chest. Anxiety? Restlessness? Tension? He couldn’t tell.

As Dr. Park busily transferred materials from the cart to the desk, she smiled and commented.

“Seems like you’ve taken a liking to it?”

"……."

Sayoung glanced over at Uijae and shrugged, turning back to scrutinize the new materials with his sharp gaze. Dr. Park turned to Uijae and added:

“Haha, you can have it. I was going to throw it out anyway. Think of it as a gift for a new customer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

She winked. Uijae clenched the shard in his hand and stored it in his inventory. The sound of the shard clattering against other items echoed clearly.

*…And from that point on, things really got out of hand.*

Remembering it now made Uijae feel a bit down. Among the materials Dr. Park had brought, several had caught Sayoung’s interest. He and Dr. Park engaged in a lengthy discussion, comparing the materials to mannequins and debating over them. Why so much fuss over a single outfit? Couldn’t they just take measurements and be done? Uijae had to wait by Minggijeok’s side until their long discussion finally ended. He hadn’t even had the chance to butt in. It was a world reserved only for those obsessed with fashion.

“Ah, there you are, J.”

Lost in his gloomy thoughts, Uijae was greeted by Jung Bin’s voice. Snapping back to reality, Uijae nodded in greeting.

“Hello.”

“Was it difficult to make it here?”

“No, I just had to

 tear a scroll. But this meeting room…”

“Haha, Hong Yeseong’s taste is a bit…”

Jung Bin laughed awkwardly. He pointed to the empty seats beside Ham Seok-jeong.

“Your seats are over there.”

“He really went all out to show off, didn’t he?”

Sayoung muttered in annoyance. Uijae shrugged and motioned for Sayoung to follow.