The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

”I really have to go, there’s an elementary school student wandering around outside at this hour. Aren’t you worried about a child wandering the streets alone at this time of night?”

It was a heart-wrenching moment that could have been narrated by a public service announcement.

Through. I can’t read your thoughts, Ui-jae prayed to himself as he looked at the gas mask man.

“That’s right, I am.”

But despite his desperate prayers, the gas mask’s voice was still relaxed, and it sounded like it was telling him that the plan wasn’t working. After shaking his head a few times, the gas mask man pulled his phone out of his pocket, typed something into it, and waved it in front of him.

“My boys will find the child, can you wait?”

But Cha Ui-jae was nimble enough to take the next step this time. He shook his head and said firmly.

”No, I’ll refuse, I’ll call the police, I’ll ask the people’s cane for help
for help.”

“Okay…. Then I’ll call the Awakening Bureau.”

“Why would you call the Bureau?”

“Because the hunters can use their powers to find the child faster than the police. Do you like Jung-bin? He’ll come when I call. Do you want me to call him?”

At the gas mask’s straightforward answer, Ui-jae was at a loss for words for a moment, and then glared at him.

Are you serious?

Like, seriously?

After quickly reading each other’s eyes, I was drained of energy and could no longer fight back. Ui-jae raised his hands slightly as if he understood.

A hunter who specialised in tracking would have an easier time finding her than the police, as the gas mask man said. But that wasn’t the only reason Ui-jae retreated a step, because this guy’s offer to call Jung-bin didn’t sound like an empty gesture.

Judging by the way he’d beaten up a few people, the gas mask man must have been recorded in the Awakening Bureau’s database as a person of interest. I’m sure the law-abiding Jung-bin will rush over here as soon as he hears from him, which will only make things worse, YouTube.

Okay, just from our brief conversation, I’ve decided that this bastard in front of me is not to be messed with.

Haa…. he sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair nervously. The clock was ticking, and it seemed like the conversation would never end if they kept talking like this.

“What do you want from me?”

The gas mask man chuckled lightly as I asked the question, dropping the respect and asking it bluntly. Leaning a little closer, he whispered low.

”I just have two questions.”

“……”

He tilted his head as if to say go ahead.

“First question. Choose.”

The gas mask man was large and showed a V shape with straight hands. Thanks to the moonlight, his hand was clearly visible in the darkness. The fingertips of his pointed fingers were stained black.

Not intending to prolong the silence, he spoke first, despite the unevenness of his gas mask.

“One, the ladle is a class S weapon, unknown to the world. Is that right?”

The 6,900 won ladle’s elevated status, it’s crazy….

I can’t believe you put the ladle up like this just because you got rid of that thorn. The gas mask was naiver than he thought or was he just an idiot. Ui-jae was too tired to think about it, and he didn’t answer as he backed away.

When there was no answer for a long time, the gas mask man sighed deeply, slowly folded its index finger, and turned its wrist half-round so that the back of the hand could be seen. He asked with a calm face as much as when he made a V earlier, pressing his middle finger tightly.

“Two, you’re an unregistered Awakener. What abotu this?”

“Cheap….”

Did all hunters eat rice rolls like this these days? Ui-jae looked at his impossibly long middle finger and made a face of exhilaration.

Eight years ago, when he was on active duty, it was unthinkable to have such a mutiny. No matter when this guy awakened, he couldn’t be older than himself. Of course, I’m the first S-class Awakened in Korea!

I wouldn’t have thrown away the Confucian ideas that have been going on for hundreds of years since the Great Hunter era. As Ui-jae was cutting off the junior’s rant about his arrogance, the gas mask interjected with a laugh.

“Well…. that doesn’t look like an S-class weapon, so it must be unregistered, right?”

“I’m not unregistered.”

He wasn’t technically unregistered, since he was registered as an awakener anyway. …Maybe he’d been declared missing or dead and his record expunged, but he’d been registered eight years ago, so there was nothing to prick his conscience with. But the gas mask man snorted, as if he’d had enough of the bullshit.

“If you’re going to bullshit me, at least do it with some sincerity….”

“I’m serious.”

Before I could finish my sentence, the gas mask man flashed out of view. And the very next moment,

Boom!

Ui-jae parried a blow from behind with his ladle. Beyond the lens of his gas mask, his violet eyes flashed. The gas mask man did not withdraw its hand even after the attack was blocked, but rather clutched the ladle tightly. With a snap, the dented ladle crumpled under the force.

Chiiik-

A moment later, the ladle, languishing in the gas masked hand, began to melt. The acrid smell of burning metal stung my nostrils.

‘Is this a corrosion or decay ability?’

Drip, drip, drip, dark liquid dripped onto the floor, turning it a frighteningly dark colour wherever it touched. Ui-jae had seen this before, recently. The fangs of the basilisk, the master of the West Rift, had melted everything it touched like that.

‘Poison.’

A venom that could even rival the venom of a basilisk. I thought the gas mask was just a concept….

He frowned, and he could feel the face behind the gas mask smirk, and he took a step back, dusting off his hands, not sure if he’d gotten the answer he was looking for.

“An ordinary ladle.”

“……”

“And you, you’re an unregistered awakening blocking my attacks….”

“How many times have I told you I’m not unregistered?”

“That’s it.”

Beyond the round lenses of the gas mask, a violet glow shaped itself.

“There’s no way I don’t know a person like this.”

Why does it feel so strangely off-putting when it could have been said as a compliment, he thought as he returned the steady gaze, and it didn’t take long for him to realise.

You bastard, you’ve been short with your words ever since.

This behavior was extremely annoying to the ears of the former J, now Cha Ui-jae, who had basically lived the life of a hunter with nothing but the utmost respect. There are ups and downs with cold water. Ui-jae stiffened his posture and raised his eyes.

“Hey”

“Hm?”

“How old are you?”

Shaking his head at the out-of-the-blue question, the gas mask soon killed the momentum from earlier and answered innocently.

“Twenty-four.”

Twenty-four? Twenty-four? Cha Ui-jae leaned even more heavily to one side and crossed his legs.

“Wow, this kid has been talking down to me at the start.”

“You look about my age.”

“Hey, I’ve eaten five thousand more bowls of rice than you.”

Of course, Cha Ui-jae still couldn’t believe he was twenty-eight and not twenty, but he hadn’t actually eaten five thousand more bowls of rice! At his age, he should have used it more effectively. Right now, the only thing he could eat out of his gas mask was the eight years he’d gained in the past.

Of course, he still couldn’t believe he was twenty-eight and not twenty, but he hadn’t actually eaten another five thousand bowls! At his age, he should have used them more effectively. Right now, the only thing that could make his gas mask work were the eight years he’d gained in the process.

The gas mask shook its head again at the sudden snarky remark. It was a childish thing to do with a fearsome gas mask on, because it was so cute.

“Aha… So?”

“You’re talking informally.”

“I see….”

The gas mask man smiled briefly and slightly bowed to Ui-jae. His eyes beyond the lens bent and he whispered.

“Do you want me to speak formally?”

The gas mask man had a strange aura about it, perhaps because he had just beaten up a man. If Ui-jae hadn’t had the experience of fighting monsters while working as a hunter, he might have been a little intimidated.

But Cha Ui-jae was a veteran hunter who was on the verge of being worn out from rolling and rolling. The gentle way he spoke and the subtle way he raised his gas mask was enough to make me think he was tired. Of course, I hadn’t grown up to be able to handle being talked down to by someone four years younger than me.

He had the body of a twenty-year-old, but the mind of a two-hundred-and-eighty-year-old. Perhaps 280 was a better age for his bratty temper.

Whether he knew it or not, he added, running his fingertips over the black surface of his gas mask.

“I’m sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve given any respect.”

Is this what prostration looks like? Even though I heard the respect I wanted, I felt rather uncomfortable. He felt like a grandfather with a grandson who wouldn’t listen to him, bowing twice when he asked him to bow.

He tried to calm himself down and reminded himself.

I am a commoner now. A normal person. Not hunter J. He’s a precious hunter, and I’m a commoner. A commoner who needs your help to find Ha-eun quickly. When I remembered the purpose of coming out today, I felt my head grow cold.

-Ha-eun is nowhere to be found, Uyano. I don’t know when she went out without mice and birds knowing. The world is scary as hell these days, but she went out alone…

But couldn’t he have found Ha-eun by the time he had time to wrestle with this guy? As his mind wandered to that point, cracks began to appear in his self-hypnosis. I could feel something stirring inside of me and threatening to rise up.

I’m not J anymore, but a good and ordinary person…

“Even twins a minute apart can tell each other apart!”

Eventually, Ui-jae’s bully pulpit explodes.
(T/L: if anyone know this one, please help: ‘결국, 의재의 꼰대력이 폭발하고 말았다’.)