The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 227

Clink, clink... A hand, covered in white gloves, aimlessly hovered over the neatly arranged surgical instruments. Eventually, the hand stopped over a sharp scalpel. The man slumped his head forward. A small sigh escaped him.

‘Ah...’

Uijae’s eyes lifted upwards. The man he had just seen was unmistakably...

‘Song Joheon...’

It was indeed Song Joheon. The first hunter he encountered upon returning after eight years. A person from his own time who had made Uijae realize that he was truly back in his original world. Uijae vividly remembered the Song Joheon he had seen on the old brown TV screen—confident, like a sharp-eyed tiger.

“...”

Uijae wanted to believe it wasn’t true. Song Joheon had always been an ambitious person, but Uijae thought they were walking the same path. They had endured hard times together. He had never considered him to be a bad person.

Crack... The metal corner of the bookshelf Uijae had grabbed crumpled in his hand. He quickly let go.

“...”

Song Joheon’s body hadn’t looked like this eight years ago. Sure, there were scars, but nothing like these patchwork stitches that made him look like a rag doll. Uijae asked in a low voice.

“When did Song Joheon get... those scars? Do you know?”

“Hmm, no. Embarrassingly enough, I only just realized he had such scars now.”

Minggijeok, who had crept out of the shadows without a sound, suddenly stood up, dusting off his black suit. His face looked slightly downcast.

“He was always impeccably dressed from head to toe in a full suit. It was quite the buzz in men’s magazines. He didn’t even wear short-sleeved shirts in the summer heat. The guild leader once joked it was his way of flaunting his authority... that’s what most of us thought.”

“When did that start?”

“I don’t remember exactly... but it was probably after he became S-class.”

Song Joheon had awakened as an S-class after J was trapped in the West Sea fissure.

“I never imagined he was hiding something like that under his suit. Now I understand why he was so obsessed with not revealing his bare skin.”

Minggijeok opened a cabinet and took out a white coat, draping it over his suit. He slid his sunglasses up his nose.

“Anyway, it’s not a good situation. You saw how naturally he laid down just now, didn’t you?”

“And he found his usual doctor, which means he’s been here often.”

The way Song Joheon acted, as if he was familiar with the hidden base of Prometheus, the casual way he undressed and waited, his eyes recognizing a stranger, his body covered in scars like a rag doll, his awakening rank rising from A-class to S-class... All the evidence pointed in one direction. A cold chill crept down Uijae’s neck.

‘Did he undergo experiments?’

Perhaps willingly, of his own accord.

A loud, uncomfortable cough broke the silence. It was a signal to hurry up. Minggijeok lowered his sunglasses slightly, glancing at the vials and tools as he whispered.

“If the civil servant were here, he’d have arrested him on the spot, but we don’t have that kind of authority. We need to extract information instead. Hunter Song Joheon’s image is surprisingly good.”

“In what way?”

“He’s the first case of an A-class becoming an S-class. You might not know this, but it caused quite a stir. Civilians saw him as a symbol of hope to fill J’s absence, and for hunters, it gave them hope that they, too, could rise in rank.”

An awakened person’s rank followed them forever like a label. Uijae had heard the complaints of low-ranking hunters back when he worked at the stew shop. People only remembered the top-tier hunters, while low-rankers were pushed into menial tasks and laughed at, hardly seen as true hunters.

Even though Uijae tried to understand, it was a realm he couldn’t fully grasp.

“...”

Minggijeok continued, deftly opening and closing drawers as he spoke.

“That’s one of the reasons the Samra Guild grew so quickly. It wasn’t just Korea’s first official guild, but the guild leader was someone who had actually changed his rank. People were eager to know how he broke through his limits.”

“...”

“Did you know, J?”

Minggijeok turned his suspicious gaze toward J’s face.

“A significant number of the missing hunters were from guilds under Samra’s control.”

“...”

“They said it was due to poor management of the sub-guilds, but... seeing this, it changes a lot of things.”

Uijae glanced at the drawer near the door. On a stainless steel tray, a syringe and a small vial, no bigger than a fingertip, were ready. He picked up the small vial and held it up to the bright light. The colorless, transparent liquid sloshed inside. What kind of drug was it? Something to enhance an awakened person’s body?

Another cough broke the silence. Uijae turned back to Minggijeok, who was flipping through a bundle of papers, and their eyes met.

“You’ve probably figured it out by now. What are you going to do?”

“...”

“I’ll follow your lead.”

“I...”

Uijae set the vial down. His black eyes glinted coldly.

“I want to ask him first.”

“...”

“What was he thinking when he did this?”

Uijae pulled out a mask and put it on, hiding his cold expression behind the black mask. He swung the door open. Song Joheon lay still on the bed, his eyes closed. Uijae marched forward with purpose. Sensing something off, Song Joheon’s eyes snapped open. He quickly rose, but Uijae was faster.

Smack! A strong hand gripped Song Joheon’s throat, veins bulging as Song Joheon’s breath was cut off. Uijae applied pressure, forcing him back. Song Joheon staggered, unable to resist the strength. His hands clawed at Uijae’s, trying to pry them off, but Uijae’s grip was unyielding. Uijae shoved him back with all his strength. Crash! Song Joheon slammed into the cabinet, shattering the vials and medicine lined up beside him.

“What... are you?!”

Song Joheon’s furious eyes reflected the smooth, black mask, and his expression turned to shock.

“You... Why are you here?!”

Uijae grabbed both of Song Joheon’s shoulders, his blunt fingers digging in. Song Joheon’s face contorted in pain. A voice, devoid of emotion and distorted by the mask, muttered softly.

“That’s what I should be asking you.”

“Ugh...!”

The black mask loomed over Song Joheon’s graying black hair. At the end of the altered voice, a faint trace of emotion slipped in.

“What did you do?”

The disappointment was unmistakable.

It was not pleasant seeing a world on the verge of destruction every time she closed her eyes. The impending apocalypse. Destruction. People dying, trampled underfoot in horrifying landscapes. Yoon Gaeul could share the images, but she couldn’t transfer the emotions they stirred in her. She felt powerless and despaired every night.

Of course, Ham Seok-jung and Jeong-bin had listened to her carefully, but that was the extent of it. There was an uncrossable chasm between seasoned awakened ones who had gone through countless battles and a newly awakened, combat-inexperienced one like her. They trusted her words and took them seriously.

But they couldn’t share her fear.

Too weak to be a hunter, yet too special to be an ordinary person. She was teetering on the line between awakened and civilian. She knew the end was coming, but there was nothing she could do to change it with her power. She always had to rely on others, always despaired. That was Yoon Gaeul.

And so, Yoon Gaeul felt lonely. Always.

“...”

The small room felt suffocating. Gaeul bit her lip. The man on the other side of the speaker had ended his plea with a statement that they needed her power. Now, he was silent. He was waiting for her answer. But...

Her vision blurred. Gaeul fought back the tears welling up and roughly wiped her eyes. She tried to think of her friends. She thought of J.

‘It’s J, isn’t it?’

The face that had always smiled with those teeth showing, even in a mess.

‘Trust me.’

Thinking of J’s face, the whirlwind of emotions inside her calmed down just a little. Gaeul clenched her fist and took a deep breath. Yes, J was still here. He was with her, and J would somehow solve this problem.

‘...But.’

But, was that really okay?

Wasn’t she just dumping everything on J and running away?

In the end, wasn’t she doing nothing, leaving all the burdens on J and then settling into comfort?

It was the smallest crack. Her trust in J was firm, but her deep distrust of herself remained intact. And into that crack, the man’s gentle voice slipped through.

‘You’ve done something remarkable.’

‘You’ve borne all that fear on your own, haven’t you? That’s truly impressive.’

‘Of course, this isn’t your fault. And...’

‘You are not alone, Yoon Gaeul.’

Gaeul stared blankly at the ceiling. The single swinging lightbulb flickered intermittently. At that moment, the voice from the speaker echoed again.

“Yoon Gaeul.”

‘...’

“You’re someone who can change things. With your own power.”

The small light went out.