The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 230

Uijae glanced at Minggijeok. He gave a small shake of his head, signaling Uijae not to respond. The two of them held their breath, their senses entirely focused on the person outside the door. However, the man beyond the door seemed sure of himself. Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking came again.

“Could you please open the door? I’d prefer to have this conversation face to face.”

Then, an irritated voice broke in—it was Song Joheon.

“So, you’re treating me like I don’t even exist now? Is the door more important than someone you betrayed?”

“Of course not. You are our only partner. But...”

There was the sound of rustling from the other side of the door.

“The word ‘betrayal’ seems a bit misplaced. We didn’t betray you.”

“What would you call it then? Going ahead with everything without even telling me!”

Despite Song Joheon’s sharp tone, the man outside wasn’t intimidated at all.

“Ah, I suppose the proper term would be ‘a communication failure.’ I sincerely apologize for that. I will compensate you later. For now, can we continue?”

Click. The sound of the doorknob turning echoed. Right, we didn’t even lock the door. Thankfully, Minggijeok was quick to grab the doorknob and hold it in place. Click. Click. Clickclickclickclickclick. Song Joheon let out a bitter chuckle. The man behind the door began rattling the handle violently as if trying to rip it off.

“J, J. Won’t you answer me? I know you’re in there. I’ve been wanting to talk to you ever since... ever since you killed the whale!”

The man’s voice grew more excited. Minggijeok, still holding the door handle, looked at Uijae with a rare expression of alarm. He mouthed silently,

‘Do you know this guy?’

Uijae quickly shook his head. How could he know such a strange person? One weird guy in his life, Lee Sayeong, was already enough to max out his tolerance for oddballs.

The man started pounding on the door along with his rattling.

“Is it uncomfortable to meet face to face? Or are you the shy type? Oh! I understand. Then how about we just talk like this? There’s so much I want to ask and hear from you. Especially about the apocalypse!”

“...”

Mackerel had clearly told him before: Prometheus was fueling distrust against J. Uijae had seen it with his own eyes, too, in the articles on their website. Yet, the man on the other side didn’t seem to harbor the kind of malice that someone who wanted to bring J down should have. He continued rambling without any coherence.

“It must feel overwhelming! Does it make you uncomfortable? I’m so—so sorry. But after hearing Yoon Gaeul’s story, I couldn’t contain my excitement.”

Yoon Gaeul. Uijae clenched his fists. If Minggijeok hadn’t been holding the doorknob tightly, and if he hadn’t been shaking his head so fervently, Uijae might have opened the door right then. Minggijeok mouthed again,

‘Let’s listen a little longer.’

Uijae nodded. The man’s voice, trembling with excitement, continued.

“Ah, I spoke with Yoon Gaeul a lot. The way she described you—so brave! It was enough to make anyone call you a hero. Absolutely amazing.”

“Enough of this nonsense! Is this how you treat your partner?”

Song Joheon’s angry shout cut the man off. An ominous silence fell behind the door. As Uijae strained to hear, the once excited voice lowered dramatically.

“There’s a proper order to things.”

“...”

“Your turn comes much later. Wait your turn.”

“You—!”

With that, the sound of a struggle erupted—thudding, things crashing and breaking. Damn.

‘He’s not going to kill him, is he?’

Song Joheon had always had a short temper, and the power of an S-class awakener was extremely dangerous. If he lost control even a little, someone could easily die. Even if the man was strange, Uijae couldn’t let someone die in front of him. Minggijeok must have had the same thought, as he suddenly flung the door open.

What they saw was entirely different from what they expected.

“...”

“Urgh...”

Song Joheon was crawling on the floor, on his knees, his face turning a sickly shade of blue. Standing in front of him was a man with messy brown hair, hunched over slightly. The man’s glasses reflected the light as he turned to look at them, pulling his hands out of his pockets. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and gave a sheepish bow.

“Ah, oh, you’ve come out? I-I should’ve done this sooner, huh? Things got a bit noisy, didn’t they? Sorry about that.”

“Hunter Song Joheon...”

“Huh? Oh, he’s fine. I just, uh, subdued him for a bit. I’ve... put some safety measures in place.”

The brown-haired man started to stutter as he spoke. His disheveled hair slightly obscured his face, which now appeared a little flushed. His pale complexion was turning a faint pink.

“S-sorry. The effect of the drug wore off. For the sake of smooth communication, I had... well, yes, prepared for this.”

He busily dusted off his wrinkled white coat and pants, rubbing his palms against the fabric. Then he extended a hand toward Uijae.

“I-I heard from Yoon Gaeul that J was here. So I’ve been wanting to meet you. My name is Ivan.”

Gaeul had told him? Could it be true? Gaeul wasn’t someone who talked easily. She wouldn’t have given away information so freely. Had they done something to her? Or maybe they had figured it out through the CCTV footage. Uijae clenched his fingers, his knuckles cracking audibly. If they’d seen his face...

‘I’ll have to kill him.’

Uijae didn’t take Ivan’s outstretched hand. Instead, he sized him up. Ivan was about the same size as Uijae, perhaps slightly bigger, but judging by his soft hands, he didn’t seem like the fighting type. His fingers were only calloused from holding a pen. Was he a researcher for Prometheus?

Ivan tilted his head with a confused smile, then seemed to realize something and forced a smile.

“Oh, are you... worried about your face? You don’t need to worry about that. I’m not interested in what’s behind your mask. There aren’t even that many CCTV cameras around here. And I could always... blind the eyes of anyone who sees your face. For the sake of mutual trust, of course.”

“...”

Underneath his mask, Uijae’s face twisted slightly. Why? Why wouldn’t he use that to threaten him? With that information, they could easily ruin Cha Uijae’s life completely. Unconsciously, Uijae asked,

“Why?”

“Why... what?”

Ivan blinked, his eyes wide. Pushing up his slipping glasses, he stammered,

“Why would I be... interested in that?”

“...”

“You, in your current form, are perfect just as you are.”

“...”

“Just in case you didn’t understand, let me explain. There’s no need for anyone to know about the personal and human side of a hero.”

Ivan touched his fingertips together, smiling brightly.

“Do people really want to know if their hero struggles? They only care that you defeat the monsters and save their lives.”

“...”

“Isn’t that right? Isn’t this more comfortable for you, too?”

Uijae suddenly realized something. These people didn’t care about Cha Uijae, the man behind the mask. No, they had no interest in knowing him at all. From the beginning, they only needed the shell of the most powerful and famous hero—J.

“...”

Uijae’s stomach churned unpleasantly. Ivan, his face flushed with excitement, was staring eagerly at Uijae’s mask, waiting for a reaction. But instead of responding, Uijae asked a simple question. It was easy enough to fulfill a simple expectation—to act like a hero.

“Where is Yoon Gaeul?”

“Ah, yes. She’s perfectly fine! Not a single hair on her head has been touched.”

“How can I believe that? From what I’ve seen, you’ve been experimenting on the awakened here.”

“Oh, you’ve noticed? You’re quick, as expected.”

Ivan seemed oddly pleased. He clapped his hands together, making a loud slapping sound.

“But Yoon Gaeul is different from the others. She’s the only person capable of understanding the future from the past. We treat her with great care.”

“I need to meet her. Lead the way.”

“Of course, I will. But... I’d like to ask one small favor in return.”

“...”

“You’re not exactly in a position to be making requests, are you? With J’s strength, you could easily destroy this base single-handedly.”

Minggijeok interjected smoothly. His pose, pushing up his sunglasses, and his tone made him seem like he belonged to a villainous organization. He was clearly exaggerating his actions on purpose. Seeing him act so absurdly made Uijae feel a bit better. Ivan smiled faintly.

“Oh, I know that. But... wouldn’t it be easier to get the information you want directly, rather than searching for scattered

 pieces one by one?”

“Fine, just say it. What do you want?”

“Please... contact the director of the Awakener Management Bureau for me.”

An unexpected answer. Minggijeok’s eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. Ivan smiled slyly.

“I want to cooperate with the Awakener Management Bureau.”

“...”

“To stop the apocalypse.”

______________________
 

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!