The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 211

"The Awakener Management Bureau has been tracking down the group responsible for the distribution of drugs that negatively affect Awakeners. Recently, we discovered that two previously separate groups are actually one and the same, working toward a shared goal."

"So, who are these people exactly? Who are they?"

Uijae grabbed Sayoung's thigh under the table. There was no reaction. Sayoung’s muscles twitched reflexively, but that was it. Was he dozing off? This wasn't exactly the kind of thing one could sleep through.

'What’s going on?’

Uijae turned his gaze back to Jung Bin. Jung Bin was now fumbling with his neck, slipping his hand inside his shirt collar, seemingly unaware of his actions.

“Their name is…”

Just then, Uijae felt a small vibration in his pocket. Was there supposed to be a message? Pretending to focus on the conversation, he discreetly checked his phone. It was a text from Gaeul.

**Gaeulstudent:**

**Big trouble, the end is coming.**

The moment Uijae's eyes widened,

*Bzzz.*

It started with a faint vibration. Ham Seok-jeong’s face stiffened for a moment before she excused herself with a bow to the people around her. The room echoed with awkward, uncomfortable coughs, but no one stopped her. She pulled out her phone. Uijae fixed his gaze on her face, squarely watching the reflection of the rectangular screen in her dark eyes. What kind of message could the director be receiving right now?

'The end.'

Uijae quickly reached out and grabbed Ham Seok-jeong’s arm.

“Wait a moment, Director!”

At the same time,

a cacophony of notification sounds filled the room.

*Bzzz, beep beep, bzzz*—the sounds of vibrations, alarms, and even music, all mixed together in a chaotic symphony. The hunters who had been watching J and Ham Seok-jeong began to pull out their phones one by one. Even Jung Bin, who had been absentmindedly touching his neck, snapped back to reality and checked his messages. No matter how strong J was, there was no way to stop the flood of incoming notifications.

And then,

Silence.

Everything grew quiet. Ham Seok-jeong, the people she had been exchanging glares with—Song Joheon, Gyu-gyu, who had been yawning in boredom, and even Hong Yeseong, who had been folding papers from the documents he was given—all froze.

Instead, they all began touching parts of their bodies. Some were rubbing their necks, others their eyes, ears, arms, mouths, hearts, or stomachs. As if they were checking whether they had lost something they didn’t realize. But the checks didn’t stop after just one pass. They kept touching themselves, over and over, like they were ensuring nothing was missing. In the stillness, only the sound of rustling clothes echoed in the air.

“……”

Uijae read the text on Ham Seok-jeong’s phone screen.

**[Report: An unknown group is staging silent protests worldwide. Identified as the group being tracked. Creating public anxiety by encouraging civilians to join, claiming the end is near...]**

Uijae let go of Ham Seok-jeong’s arm. No one was looking at him anymore. He felt completely isolated, as if cut off from the rest of the world. Unconsciously, he took a step back. Then, he grabbed Lee Sayoung, as if Sayoung were his only lifeline.

"Hey, hey, Lee Sayoung."

"......"

"Say something."

He shook Sayoung’s shoulder, but no response came. Uijae swallowed hard, feeling a wave of nausea. A sense of unease hung in the air. Just then, something small and white fluttered up from the floor. It was Gyu-Gyu.

Without looking anywhere else, Gyu-Gyu made a beeline straight for Uijae, spilling out flustered words from his tiny beak.

"Hey, hey! We're in big trouble. What's wrong with your world? Why is everything happening so fast?"

Uijae pressed a hand against his pale neck. Thankfully, his pulse was steady. With a small sigh of relief, he responded.

"Explain it in a way I can understand. I know we're screwed, but I need details."

"What’s there to explain?! Some crazy people are actively summoning the apocalypse. They’ve rolled out the red carpet for it! What’s with all the lunatics in this place?”

Circling the table, Uijae scanned the messages the other hunters had received. Each one was from a different person, but they all contained one common word: *the end.* Uijae returned to Sayoung’s side, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Just seeing the word 'end' caused all this?"

An ominous voice warning about the apocalypse echoed in his mind.

‘The more you think about it, the more you speak of it, the faster it will come.’

‘Be careful. You can’t stop people from thinking or talking about it.’

How careful had he been? He hadn’t shared information with Sayoung or the director on purpose. Even though they already knew about the end, he feared that sharing more details might draw it closer. But all those efforts were in vain. Uijae unconsciously reached up to touch his mask.

“If just seeing the word accelerates things this much…”

How could they possibly fight against it? Could it even be stopped by human hands? A wave of helplessness surged over him, but Gyu-Gyu—or rather, Hong Yeseong’s—voice cut through his thoughts.

“No, that’s not it. It wasn’t like this in the previous world. I think your world is uniquely strange.”

Gyu-Gyu, who had been nudging Hong Yeseong’s cheek with his wing, sighed heavily. He paced across the table, muttering under his breath.

“The souls here must remember two previous apocalypses by now, even if they’re not consciously aware of it.”

“……”

“These people have already died twice because of the apocalypse. Their souls remember how terrifying it was. And besides, this world is merging with the second, ruined one.”

Gyu-Gyu clicked his wings together with a grunt.

“The memory of the destroyed world keeps resurfacing, and when combined with the fear their souls recall, it speeds up how quickly they perceive the end.”

Uijae looked around. Everyone was still touching parts of their bodies, their faces twisted in strange expressions. Gyu-Gyu sat on Hong Yeseong’s head, chattering away.

“Think about it—if you didn’t know anything and heard the word ‘apocalypse,’ you’d probably just brush it off, right? Maybe even laugh it off, saying, ‘Another doomsday preacher.’”

“Yeah, probably.”

“But after you all visited that world, people started remembering the destroyed world, little by little. It’s natural for them to freeze up in fear.”

“You're saying all these people froze because of fear?”

“You’re underestimating fear. No matter how brave a person is, they can’t ignore fear engraved into their soul. Instinctively, they want to avoid the end.”

“……”

Uijae let out a small, bitter laugh. Gyu-Gyu was right. Even he was afraid of the silence. From the moment he first felt fear in the silence, to now, seeking comfort in Sayoung’s presence. He still couldn’t handle the sudden stillness.

“Then what about Lee Sayoung?”

Uijae grabbed the filter on Sayoung’s gas mask and turned his face toward Gyu-Gyu. Sayoung’s body went limp, easily moved around. He wasn’t rubbing any part of his body, nor was he conscious at all.

"He didn't even hear anything about the apocalypse, so why is he like this?"

“Hmm? That, I don’t know!”

“…Is there anything you *do* know?”

“All I know is that we need to get out of here! Let’s go!”

Gyu-Gyu jumped up excitedly, ready to bolt. Uijae quickly spoke up.

“Wait! You’re saying we should just leave them like this?”

Gyu-Gyu tilted his shiny head.

“It’s probably safer here than outside, you know? This space was made by me, after all. They’ll snap out of it soon. Fear is only temporary, after all.”

“……”

But still. Uijae tightened his grip on Sayoung’s hand. Could he really leave him behind again?

“……”

Unfortunately, there was no time to hesitate.

Uijae took off his watch and rolled up Sayoung’s coat sleeve, fastening it securely around Sayoung’s right wrist. The click of the watch strap echoed clearly in the room. Uijae leaned in close to Sayoung’s ear and murmured.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“……”

“This time, I mean it.”

As Uijae stood, Gyu-Gyu fluttered onto his head and dramatically raised his wings.

“Alright, my friend, let’s go!”

“Get off my head, you idiot!”

---

The streets, usually bustling with cars and people, were eerily still. People who should have been rushing somewhere were all frozen in place, staring blankly up at the sky. It was as if no life remained. As Uijae walked among them, he glanced around and muttered.

“I thought only the hunters were affected.”

“The civilians experienced the end too. They’ll take longer to recover since they have less mental resilience,” Gyu-Gyu chirped in response. Now perched on the tip of Uijae’s spear instead of his head, Gyu-Gyu flapped his wings.

“Hey, over there. Are those the lunatics?”

Sure enough, people dressed in white clothes were filling the streets. But even they were staring blankly into the air, the signs they had been holding lying helplessly on the ground. Uijae approached one of the fallen signs and picked it up.

**Let’s overcome the apocalypse with human strength!**

Gyu-Gyu clicked his tongue.

“Even they couldn’t escape the fear. Idiots. Do they even know what they’ve done?”

“……”

At that moment,

a shadow loomed over the sign. Uijae quickly jumped back. In the space where he had just been standing—

*BOOM!*

Something massive crashed down from the sky.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

Through the rising dust, Uijae caught a glimpse of something large, thrashing about. There was also the grinding sound of something being chewed. Holding his breath, Uijae pointed his spear forward. Then,

Through the dust, a massive mouth opened wide. Inside were rows of sharp, gleaming teeth….

Uijae cursed under his breath.

“Damn it, this just keeps getting worse.”

In the dust and blood, glimpses of torn white clothes and limbs could be seen.