The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

"Disgustingly accurate."

Sa-young slowly stood up and moved towards the fish tank. He bent forward, bringing his face close to the glass, and his violet eyes reflected off the blue and red surface, glaring back at him. He clenched his hands behind his back, and as his fingers tightened, they moved accordingly. For now, he still had control over his body.
Facing himself in the reflection, Sa-young’s faded, pale violet eyes were unpleasant to look at—a color filled with loss. He stared blankly at the goldfish swimming inside the tank for a moment, then straightened up.
"The thing about Matthew… you told J, didn’t you?"

"Huh? Yeah."
"You told him in person?"
"Well, yeah? I didn’t have a number for him. I heard J went into one of our guild’s dungeons."

"......"
Sa-young placed his hand on the tank and tried to recall. Several goldfish swam closer, flapping their fins.
Everything had been a mess since he woke up. When he opened his eyes, three months had passed, the world had drastically changed, and his body was housing a powerful intruder. Maybe it was because they shared the same root, the same soul—both being Lee Sa-young. The moment he let his guard down, the intruder would seize control.

The only thing that kept him somewhat grounded was...
"Are you okay?"
The fact that Cha Uijae was still by his side.

Sa-young tapped the glass with his fingers, and the goldfish gaped their mouths at him.
His memories were tangled in a mess. It took a considerable amount of effort to separate his own memories from those of the "other Lee Sa-young." Their thoughts were eerily similar, and their memories often overlapped. The people involved were more or less the same, too. It was like a tedious game of spot-the-difference to figure out what didn’t belong.
But amid all the confusion, some memories were undeniably his.

Vague visions of white lab coats passing by, endless injections of unknown drugs into his body, the horrible sweet smell and taste, the restraints that held him captive, the grotesque sensation of his skin and organs melting, the skull-splitting headaches, and the taste of blood every time he breathed.
There were nights he’d wandered near the giant chasm in the sea, remnants of a rift. He'd grown sick of the smell of the ocean, which he had inhaled for too long. He had waited for someone who would never return, believing in thin promises made with only words. And then...
"Even twins born a minute apart know who's the older one!"

That stern, old-fashioned way of speaking that didn’t match his handsome face.
"Sorry I couldn’t keep my promise."
His pale face, unable to meet anyone’s eyes, suffocated by guilt.
"......"

The smile that appeared when facing a monster, baring his teeth.
That playful grin, the way his lips stuck out when he grumbled, the way his eyes darted around as he spewed ridiculous excuses.
The way his eyelids gently closed when kissed, the warmth of his neck, the reddened tips of his ears. His arms and hands wrapping around Sa-young’s body.

All of these memories were Cha Uijae’s. And these memories were what made Lee Sa-young who he was.
That was the only thing that kept him as *himself*.
"Why are you asking?"

Sa-young turned his head. Honeybee was watching him, her expression uneasy.
Should he ask? Yes. The intruder had lost Cha Uijae for some reason. In his world, Cha Uijae had died. No matter how much he clung to Uijae or searched through scattered memories, he couldn’t find that one memory—the memory of Cha Uijae’s death.
‘If only I knew how he died…’

Maybe then, he could prevent it. There was no guarantee that a death once experienced wouldn’t happen again. And there were already ominous signs in this world. Baewonwoo, who had lost his arm in the previous world, sometimes felt phantom pain in his healthy arm. Honeybee saw the faces of the dead from the previous world overlapping with the living.
The influence of that ruined world, the one without its protector, was growing stronger.
Afraid of losing him again.

Sa-young gritted his teeth. He turned fully toward Honeybee, leaning his back against the fish tank. No matter what he heard, he had to endure it and accept it. It was a thing of the past now. He wouldn’t just sit idly by like the intruder. After taking a deep breath, Sa-young tilted his head and asked,
"When you looked at J’s face... did you see anything?"
"You mean, like Jung Bin’s neck?"

"Yeah."
"Now that you mention it..."
"......"

"Huh, nothing. I didn’t see anything."
"...What?"
The answer caught him off guard. Sa-young frowned. Honeybee, seemingly deep in thought, rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. After staring at the ceiling for a while, she mumbled,

"Yeah, I really didn’t see anything. If I had, I would’ve remembered. It’s J, after all."
"......"
"Is it because of the mask? That doesn’t seem right… One of our guild members wears a mask, and I could still see things with him. Hmm… Maybe J’s not dead? It’s J, after all."

"No."
The firm response escaped his lips before he could stop himself. Honeybee’s eyes widened, and she frowned at him.
"What’s with the confidence?"

"......"
Sa-young stayed silent instead of answering. To be more precise, he didn’t have time to answer. In the previous world, Cha Uijae had died. But how? Why did he die?
No one had followed J’s tracks more closely than Lee Sa-young. He knew every grueling mission J had undertaken during his three years as a Hunter. He had even witnessed the West Sea Rift, at least partially. He had seen the mountains of bones. Even in that hell, Cha Uijae had somehow survived and returned.

And yet, he died.
‘Why did he die?’
What had killed him?

Sa-young glanced at the fish tank again. Oddly, even without Uijae by his side, the intruder was quiet. Only at times like this. Sa-young twisted his lips. No useful fragments of memory surfaced. He felt as though someone had locked the door, preventing any sensations or feelings from flowing in.
‘How convenient...’
Sa-young sneered at the intruder. Still, the intruder remained silent. But he understood the psychology behind it. If he were in the intruder’s position, he would have locked his memories away too, ensuring no one else could see them, keeping them all to himself.

Just then, a short laugh echoed.
"Heh."
Honeybee chuckled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"See? You do know something. Spill it. I’m about to lose my damn mind."
"And you think I’m not?"
"Ah, well, congratulations!"

*Bang!* The table shook. Honeybee slammed her fist onto it, gritting her teeth.
"I started seeing Matthew dying, bleeding out, overlapping with other images."
"......"

"Hah… I thought I was going insane. I even went to the Doctor to get checked out. Nothing was wrong. No curses or anything!"
She roughly ran her hand through her hair, her dark circles faintly visible beneath the makeup.
"And now they’re saying his life is in danger. Addicted to some ridiculous drug. Does that even make sense? Damn it."

Her hand shot out, grabbing Sa-young by the collar. Sa-young looked down at the hand gripping him so tightly it had turned white, indifferent to the violence.
After a moment, the grip loosened, and Honeybee muttered,
"So, whatever it is, just give me the information. Quickly."

"......"
"Please."
Sighing deeply, Sa-young placed his gloved hand over hers, still holding his collar.

"Alright."
"......"
"I’ll tell you. Along with the drug information. Just wait."

"...Really?"
Honeybee’s head jerked up, her eyes filled with doubt. Sa-young removed her hand and nodded.
"I always keep my promises..."

The pointed remark was not lost on her.
"I’ve got a bit of trauma when it comes to promises."
The noisy fish market echoed with overlapping voices and sounds. Amidst the clamor, a young man in a black coat, wearing a gas mask, strode purposefully, his coat flapping in the breeze. People shot him curious glances, but he paid them no mind.

Sa-young took out his phone to check the time. Quite a while had passed since his last exchange of messages. Was everything alright? Judging by the atmosphere among the merchants, it didn’t seem like anything had gone wrong.
His gaze shifted forward. What was leading Sa-young now wasn’t a person, but a single, bright red goldfish swimming through the air. Its fins gently swayed.
"......"

Following the fish, Sa-young tilted his head. The goldfish wasn’t leading him to Jangmi Fish Market but to some other, more discreet location.
Where had Cha Uijae wandered off to now? Hopefully, he wasn’t sitting at some lost-and-found center, pouting with his lips stuck out. The thought lightened Sa-young’s mood a little, and a small smile crept onto his face.
The goldfish stopped in front of a beaded curtain like one you’d find in a visiting room. There was a small sign next to the door. *Video

 Room.* Sa-young had visited the fish market several times but had never known this place existed.
‘What are they up to...’
Sa-young frowned as he stared at the sign. From inside, faint voices leaked out. The only ones he could make out were the Mackerels. He grabbed the handle and threw open the door, and the first thing that greeted him was a large screen covering one of the walls. The second...

"Oh, you’re here."
...was the distorted voice of Cha Uijae, masked.