The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 217

Jung Bin watched Gyu-Gyu with a lukewarm gaze.

"Shouldn’t you be out there helping rescue people, Gyu-Gyu? The Director will be checking on things."

"Well, was I ever *really* needed? I’m a freelancer, free as a bird."

"Weren’t you working alongside Honeybee?"

"Oh, you know about that?"

Gyu-Gyu tilted his head and smiled crookedly while propping his chin up with one hand.

"That was then, this is now. If you want me out there in this situation, you’ll have to pay up."

"......"

"Aren’t there already people cleaning up the mess? Why should I go out there and sweat for no reason? Besides, it’s not like I have a guild to take care of, unlike some others. I’d rather just sit here and watch the craftsman slap Lee Sayoung."

Gyu-Gyu acted nonchalant as he examined his nails. Jung Bin took a few determined steps forward and stood in front of Gyu-Gyu. Then, with a loud slap, he brought his hand down on the table.

*Bang!*

The table shook. Jung Bin bent down to meet Gyu-Gyu's eyes and asked,

"How much?"

"......"

"How much will it cost for you to go out and save people?"

"...Can your civil servant salary even cover it?"

"Try me."

Gyu-Gyu stretched his arms across the table and began to whine.

"Ah~ I came here because I thought I’d get to see J, but I didn’t even get to say a word. Then J just ran off. I’m depressed. Civil servants are such swindlers."

"At least you got to meet him. Now, name your price."

"Price?"

Gyu-Gyu rolled his light-colored eyes before grinning slyly.

"Let me meet J one-on-one."

"......"

"Look at me, being considerate of your poor wallet and giving you this deal. How much do you make a year?"

"That’s confidential."

"What rank are you, civil servant? My father’s church is full of high-ranking officials."

"That’s also confidential."

"Ugh~ no fun."

"Humph."

Just then, a snicker came from beside them. Gyu-Gyu and Jung Bin turned their heads toward the source of the laughter. Hong Yeseong, who was sitting cross-legged next to Lee Sayoung, was snickering intermittently. What was this? The two looked puzzled as they stared at him. But Hong Yeseong made no effort to hide his laughter, continuing to mock them openly. Gyu-Gyu raised an eyebrow.

"What’s so funny, craftsman?"

"I just find it hilarious that you’re getting all worked up over a fan meeting."

"......"

"I’m really close with J, you know? Whenever something goes wrong, he comes to me first. He even visits me in the mountains for fun."

"......"

"I’m J’s rock, his go-to guy, his all-around key, like Dora**mon, if you will."

"......"

For once, Gyu-Gyu wore a rare expression of neutrality and shook his head at Jung Bin. Jung Bin also nodded in response, exchanging a knowing look that said everything, yet nothing. Hong Yeseong raised his fist triumphantly, frustrated.

"You don’t believe me! Hey!"

So, he missed it.

He failed to see Lee Sayoung’s eyelids tremble.

---

Kang Jisoo lowered her phone and shook her head.

"No answer."

"......"

"Well, it’s not exactly surprising that the guild leader doesn’t pick up the phone. She ignores my calls all the time. She even ignores Bu-Giljjang’s calls regularly."

*She always answers my calls though. She used to call like crazy if I didn’t respond for even a moment.* Uijae toyed with his broken phone, lost in thought. Kang Jisoo stretched and yawned casually.

"She’ll call back eventually. Don’t worry too much."

"......"

Uijae remained silent.

"Are you worried? That she might have passed out again?"

"...Last I saw her, well, she didn’t look great."

"Bu-Giljjang caused an accident too. She’ll recover soon enough. I passed out too, but I woke up quickly."

Kang Jisoo gave Uijae’s back an awkward pat. Was he that easy to read? Uijae found himself absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck. Then, Kang Jisoo checked her phone again and took a few steps away to take a call. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Uijae could hear every word of the conversation.

"...Yeah, yeah. What? What do you mean wait around?"

"......"

"Oh, come on, stop with the nonsense. Then what about those guys?"

"......"

"...The Director said not to approach them? Why? Because we look threatening? What the hell..."

After a moment, Kang Jisoo returned, grumbling. Her face was sullen. Even before Uijae could ask, she pointed with her chin at a distant area.

"The Awakener Management Bureau issued orders. Those guys in white tents have popped up all over the place, but they’re telling Hunters to stay away."

"Why?"

"Apparently, those people are from the same group that was protesting and catching monsters earlier. They’ve been treating the wounded and calming people down, basically running relief efforts."

"......"

"But they get super defensive if Hunters get close. They blame us, saying that people got hurt because the Hunters were too slow to act."

Uijae scowled. The very people who had summoned the apocalypse were now blaming the Hunters for everything.

‘They just wanted to have a conversation with J. A very deep conversation.’

Was that why Gayeong had kept him occupied all this time?

"People don’t know what’s true or false, you know? The Hunters were out of it for a while, and the response was delayed..."

Kang Jisoo scratched her head in frustration.

"Anyway, that’s the deal. Watch out for yourself, J."

"Thanks for the heads-up. So, what are you going to do now?"

"Hmm, I’ll head to the shelter where Bu-Giljjang is, check on the civilians, and then take him back to the Wave Guild. We’ve got to clean up this mess."

Uijae stepped back.

"Then we’ll part ways here."

"What? You’re not coming with me? Where are you going?"

Uijae fiddled with his black mask, the smooth texture still unfamiliar. He glanced toward the direction Kang Jisoo had pointed earlier.

"I’m going to take a closer look at what those guys are doing."

"How? They told Hunters to scram."

"I have my ways. Don’t worry."

Cha Uijae, former part-time worker at a hangover soup restaurant.

He had some confidence in his acting skills.

---

A pair of worn sneakers stepped onto the broken pavement. Worn-out jeans, a gray hoodie, slightly damp black hair, and a black baseball cap. Under the brim of his cap, Uijae quickly scanned his surroundings before hurrying along.

After parting with Kang Jisoo, Uijae had gone back to the hangover soup restaurant for the first time in a while. Aside from a slight layer of dust, nothing had changed. The old tables and chairs were still there, as were the autographs of Hunters on the walls, Honeybee’s poster, and the brightly shining mana stone in the middle of the automatic side dish machine.

*Will I ever be able to reopen the restaurant?*

Uijae looked around the place with a hint of nostalgia. But there wasn’t time to linger. He entered the small back room and rummaged through the stash of gifts he had saved there. He soon found what he was looking for.

**[Change your Color! Kraken Ink Black Dye]**

It was the hair dye Honeybee had gifted him.

Uijae stared at his reflection in the mirror. Even without the mask, walking around with ash-gray hair could make him stand out. He could claim he dyed it that way as a fan of J, but...

*It’s best to eliminate as many risks as possible.*

There was no way the Prometheus people would welcome a J fan. And it wasn’t like he could just go out and buy a wig in this situation.

*Guess I’ll have to dye it.*

Resolutely, Uijae opened the hair dye package.

And now, back to the present.

The streets were quiet. It seemed most people had taken refuge in shelters or buildings. Oddly, instead of Hunters, the streets were filled with people in white clothing. They busily moved around, either stabbing already-dead monsters or carrying large boxes.

Were they all from Prometheus?

Just then, two people in white clothing approached Uijae.

"What are you doing here?"

"Huh?"

"You look like a civilian... Were you unable to evacuate?"

*This is my chance.*

Uijae lowered his head slightly and let his body tremble.

"Y-Yes... I was just coming back from the convenience store, and then this happened..."

"Oh dear, I see. Would you like to come with us? We have a resting area set up in the tents over there."

"Oh, thank you. I’d appreciate that..."

"Wait a minute!"

A loud whistle pierced the air. The two men in white clicked their tongues and quickly fled from Uijae’s side. *What? If they’d stayed, I could have infiltrated easily.* Uijae frowned and looked up.

"...No way, is that you?"

Uijae’s eyes widened in surprise. *"Alba-bun

."* It was a term he hadn’t heard in a long time. And his body, so used to it, instinctively turned to respond before he could stop himself.

*Damn.*

A woman stood there, staring at Uijae with a shocked expression, as if she’d seen a ghost.

The woman, wearing a bright neon green vest that could be spotted from a mile away, was none other than Yang Hyejin, a regular at the hangover soup restaurant and a civil servant working for the Rift Management Bureau.