The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 209

As the two approached, Ham Seok-jeong smiled warmly.

“You’re here. The suit looks good on you.”

Uijae didn’t respond, simply bowing his head. It was better to keep quiet in public settings—a survival tip Ham Seok-jeong had taught him. She patted the seat to her right. Uijae, without much thought, moved to sit where she indicated. However—

His arm was suddenly grabbed. A hand in leather gloves held him firmly.

*What the…?*

Rather than sitting down, Sayoung tilted his head and crossed his arms, his posture clearly showing displeasure.

“Such consideration… assigning our seats like this.”

“I arranged it with some care. We don’t want to put people with unresolved issues next to each other, do we?”

As if to prove her point, Honeybee and Gyu-Gyu were seated at the farthest end of the table, away from Ham Seok-jeong. Gyu-Gyu, upon noticing Sayoung’s gaze, hugged his shoulders and made a pained expression. But after Jung Bin whispered something in his ear, he shrugged and let it go. Honeybee simply glared at them with disdain.

Ham Seok-jeong observed the situation with an amused smile.

“Why, don’t you want to sit closer to someone who hasn’t shown up for the past three months? Are you unhappy about that?”

“Since when were we ever close…? Forget it.”

Sayoung gestured at Uijae with his chin.

“I brought him here… so I think he should sit next to me.”

Suddenly?

Uijae’s eyes widened as he stared at Sayoung. Ham Seok-jeong chuckled softly.

“Oh, so that’s what was bothering you?”

“He wouldn’t have come if not for me.”

Such brazen confidence!

Ham Seok-jeong shook her head with a resigned smile.

“Since when did you two get so close? Well, do as you like.”

She waved her hand as if to say it didn’t matter. *I don’t want to sit next to him in front of everyone!* Uijae lifted his head to protest but locked eyes with Sayoung, who was glaring at him with an intense look. His violet eyes were menacing. Uijae swallowed the curse that was about to escape his lips.

*Why is he acting up again!?*

Once again, Sayoung’s mood had twisted into a complicated knot. Curious gazes were now fixed on them. Hong Yeseong had even pulled out some popcorn from somewhere and was munching away. His sharp hearing picked up even the smallest murmurs.

“I thought it was just for show, but are they really close? Look, Sayoung’s even grabbing J’s arm. So, those rumors were true…”

Uijae gritted his teeth, feeling his mental stamina draining from the gossip. He muttered under his breath, low enough for only Sayoung to hear.

“Ugh, cut it out.”

Instead of replying, Sayoung let go of Uijae’s arm and dragged the chair beside Ham Seok-jeong to place it next to his. The hunter assigned to sit beside Sayoung gasped and quickly moved to the next seat. Then the next person moved, and the next—*clatter, thud, clatter, thud*—the sound of chairs being shifted rippled down the table like a wave.

With just one move, Sayoung had rearranged half the room’s seating. He shrugged as if to ask, *Satisfied?*

*What is there to be satisfied about!?*

Uijae clenched his fists, trembling with suppressed frustration. Unable to raise his voice, all his anger channeled into his fists. The last time he’d felt this level of irritation toward Sayoung was probably back when Sayoung kept disrupting his hangover soup restaurant business.

But he couldn’t afford to draw any more attention. If he lashed out at Sayoung now, there might be headlines like *“J Knocks Out Lee Sayoung in the Middle of a Conference”*.

With a deep breath, Uijae tried to remain composed and sat down in the seat Sayoung had prepared for him. A faint laugh echoed in his ear.

Just then—

“Oh, everyone’s already here. Good to see some familiar faces! Am I late?”

“No, you’ve arrived right on time.”

“Haha, you all work so hard. And look at this meeting room—it’s quite fancy!”

Song Joheon entered the room with a broad, amiable smile. Thankfully, the crowd’s attention shifted toward him.

At this distance, whispers would likely be overheard by others. Uijae lowered his hand under the table and raised a finger. Pressing it hard against his thigh, he began to write with deliberate force, the pressure nearly painful.

*Do you want to die?*

Sayoung turned sharply to look at Uijae. Uijae glared back, seething behind his mask. He’d never been so resentful of the fact that his face was hidden. Sayoung’s eyes, visible through his gas mask lenses, narrowed with amusement.

Sayoung’s finger touched Uijae’s thigh, but instead of writing something, he simply traced lazy patterns, lightly teasing. It felt like someone scribbling with a pen that wasn’t writing, or drawing random doodles with no meaning.

"……."

This feels… weird.

Just as Uijae stiffened, Ham Seok-jeong stood up from her seat.

“Now that Guild Master Song Joheon has arrived, and since everyone is here… shall we begin the General Assembly?”

"……."

“We won’t waste your time. Let’s keep it to the essential topics and wrap up quickly.”

Song Joheon replied with a smile.

“Straightforward, I like it.”

Ham Seok-jeong gave Song Joheon a cold look. He smiled as he fiddled with the handle of his cane.

“Yes, as the director said, let’s get this done quickly.”

---

*A~h, there’s no stopping them~*

A cheerful tune filled the air, accompanied by the sound of a whetstone sharpening a blade. As the blade was being honed, Rose Misu lifted her head slightly. The fish market was shifting once again, but few customers were lost or confused.

“It’s oddly quiet today. What’s the occasion?”

“Ah… there’s a meeting.”

“A meeting?”

She turned to look inside the room. In the dim space, Mackerel lay sprawled on a cushion, wearing a shirt and slacks, tapping away on his phone. A swishing sound from the game filled the room.

“It’s a gathering of the high-ranking ones. Most of our clients are attending.”

“And you aren’t going? Your rank’s pretty high, isn’t it?”

“We’re from the 'rogue' faction, so we can’t attend. That place is restricted to the official faction only. Besides, I don’t need to go—I can hear about the meeting's content without attending.”

Mackerel yawned widely, showing his teeth. Rose clicked her tongue at him, lounging around like a lazy bum.

“Why are you out here? Where’s your brother?”

“I came out to keep you company, Miss Misu. My brother is still in his room.”

“Tell him to get some sunlight.”

“Oh, come on, you know him. Going outside is a special event for him.”

Just then, Mackerel’s phone vibrated loudly. He sat up quickly and brought it to his ear. His voice turned soft.

“Hello, bro? What’s up? Need me to bring you something? Or… do you just miss me?”

—No… the outside, the atmosphere feels strange.

“…Atmosphere?”

Mackerel’s dark blue eyes narrowed. He shoved his feet into his shoes, bowing his head slightly to Rose before crossing the alley quickly.

“What do you mean by strange?”

—Strange people are holding signs, lining up from Noryangjin Station… all the way to the entrance here.

"……."

—It… it looks like Prometheus.

Mackerel stopped in his tracks, his voice dropping to a low tone.

“What do the signs say?”

—They’re saying we need to stop the end with human strength. It seems like they’ve appeared not just here, but in other places too.

“Where else?”

—In the main shopping districts.

“Did they time this with the General Assembly?”

Mackerel ruffled his hair in frustration and sprinted toward the exit. His brother’s voice, trembling with confusion, came through the phone.

—How did they gather so many people? There wasn’t any notice on their website to gather…

“That’s not important right now, bro.”

As Mackerel stepped out of the exit, his view was filled with…

Hundreds of people, all dressed in white, standing in long lines.

“This is insane.”

Mackerel tightened his grip on his phone. With a flick of his fingers, several goldfish appeared, swimming gracefully toward the crowd. However, the people didn’t react to the bright red fish at all. They stood motionless, like robots. Despite the hundreds gathered, there was an eerie stillness. It was hard to tell if they were even alive.

They all held identical signs. Written in red letters:

**Save yourself from the end.**

**Overcome the end with human strength.**

The end.

The end?

The moment Mackerel read the words, his vision warped. His head spun. The air around him suddenly felt heavier.

“…Damn it.”

Mackerel cursed under his breath, leaning against the doorframe. His stomach churned as if he was about to vomit. His vision blurred, and he struggled to speak.

“Bro…”

—W-what’s wrong?

“Don’t come

 outside, no matter what.”

And then—

A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the scene.