The corners of his lips twitched uncontrollably, but no matter how hard he tried, Uijae couldn't suppress the smirk creeping across his face.
"That was... so pretty good acting, wasn't it?"
His acting skills had definitely improved compared to before. Uijae straightened his back, which had been hunched as part of his performance, and rubbed his chin. A warm sense of pride began to well up inside him. Maybe, just maybe, he could really make his acting debut, like Yang Hyejin had suggested.
Given the state of the world these days, it wasn’t uncommon for soone to juggle being both a Hunter and a celebrity—whether as an actor or a model. Hunters who beca actors typically excelled in action scenes, as they could effortlessly perform stunts that would take normal people extensive training to master. As for models...
‘Honeybee is working as both a model and a Hunter, isn’t he?’
Uijae absentmindedly fiddled with his black hair. The only reason he could move around freely like this was thanks to the hair dye Honeybee had given him.
‘I should send him a gift once this is all over.’
He glanced back. Behind him, people clutched their injuries, so crying softly, others staring blankly at the ceiling. A man writhed in pain as several people tried to hold him down. It was a familiar sight—more so than the smiles and peace of the world.
"……."
The air was filled with the odd mixture of antiseptic, blood, and dust. Uijae closed his eyes. The murmurs around him faded, and for so strange reason, he felt calm. It was as if, after a long journey, he had finally returned to the place he truly belonged.
He rubbed his thumb across the corner of his mouth before pulling back the curtain. The people in white bustled around like ants. There were a few burly guards posted near the entrance, dressed in white as well. Their eyes looked dazed. Probably...
‘Modified Hunters or experintal subjects, maybe?’
Uijae examined their faces. Luckily, he didn’t recognize any of them. Maybe the whole Bear incident had left a bigger mark on him than he thought. For a mont, a flash of red filled his vision. He swallowed a bitter smile.
He could feel the furtive glances from the busy workers around him. Uijae sat down on a plastic chair. *Screech*. The legs of the chair scraped loudly against the asphalt. As if on cue, soone approached him.
"I’ve been told you’re looking for your sister?"
It was a woman with clear eyes, probably in her 30s. Uijae nodded silently in response. She bowed politely before handing him a notepad and a pen.
"My na is Lee Mijin. Could you describe your sister's appearance in detail? The description you gave earlier was a bit too broad, so we weren’t able to gather any useful information."
"Yes... I understand."
Uijae hesitated for a mont as he grasped the pen. The description he'd given earlier was of Yun Gaeul. He had to choose soone he actually knew, otherwise, answering unexpected questions might raise suspicion. Besides...
‘She should be at school around this ti.’
At least, he hoped that was the case. Even though Gaeul was S-rank, she wasn’t a combat-specialized Hunter. Uijae began writing down a description: Yun Gaeul, 19 years old, female, brown hair, round face, glasses, school uniform…. While he wrote, Mijin poured so warm water into a paper cup and handed it to him. Uijae passed the notepad back to her and carefully asked,
"By the way, is it okay if I hold onto the pen? I, uh, just feel a bit empty-handed without it. I'll return it when I leave."
"Oh my, of course! Feel free to keep it."
"T-thank you."
Mijin nodded as she handed the notepad to a passing worker, who quickly disappeared. She then sat down next to Uijae.
He picked up the paper cup. Steam rose lazily from the top. It didn’t feel particularly hot in his hands, but...
‘Could be a test.’
He deliberately grabbed the cup near the top and blew on it.
"Hot."
"Warm water is better for calming the mind than cold."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank . You must have been quite shaken."
"Yes, a little…."
Shaken, indeed. It was unnerving to see so many people in a collective daze like that. Uijae glanced sideways at Mijin and asked,
"How co you don't seem rattled by all this?"
"Do I? Maybe it's because we’ve been preparing for a long ti."
She smiled, covering her mouth with her hand. Uijae exaggerated the widening of his eyes.
"Preparing? For what?"
"For this. ntal preparation, that is. You might think I’m crazy for saying this, but…"
Mijin gazed into the distance with a nostalgic look.
"I’ve known for a long ti that a day like this would co."
"……."
"Has it ever happened to you? Sudden mories that don’t feel like they’re yours. You know it’s your mory, but you’ve never done what you rember."
Uijae fiddled with his hands as if hesitating. Mijin, sensing his discomfort, reassured him.
"Don't worry. I won’t think you're strange. It happened to too."
At last, Uijae slowly nodded. He needed to play along if he wanted to get more out of her. He replied haltingly,
"Y-yeah, after the Day of Change… I’ve had those kinds of mories. I’ve never told anyone, though…."
She smiled gently.
"Ah, I see. Don’t worry. Many people have experienced that sort of thing since the Day of Change."
"……."
"Could you tell what kind of mory you had?"
She was prying a bit too much now. Uijae hesitated, not answering. Mijin, thinking he was reluctant due to the nature of the mory, coaxed him softly.
"Is it sothing difficult to talk about?"
"N-no, it's just… I've never talked to anyone about it before. Feels a bit strange."
Uijae scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile.
"You know how it is. If I talk about this kind of thing to just anyone... they’d think I’m crazy."
"Yes, many people fear that. But I believe that the stories we keep locked inside are the ones we should share. We humans must support one another."
Such polished words. Mijin clearly wouldn’t leave him alone until she got what she wanted. It was clear she'd co over just to hear this story. Well, there was no avoiding it. He’d have to make sothing up.
Just then—
"Mm! Mmph! Mmph!"
A muffled scream echoed from sowhere. It was faint, but clearly a woman’s voice. Mijin didn’t seem to react, her expression still gentle as she looked at Uijae. The others around them were also ignoring the sound.
‘If I acknowledge it here…’
It would expose him as an Awakener. Uijae took a deep breath, pretending to compose himself, and sipped the water. The aftertaste was oddly bitter. His vision swam for a mont, but quickly stabilized. This sensation... He'd felt it before.
The sa feeling he had when detoxifying from the Basilisk's poison.
‘Ah... damn. Wait a second.’
A vein throbbed at Uijae’s temple.
‘Those bastards spiked the water, didn’t they…’
He carefully swirled his tongue around his mouth. What had they mixed in? It wasn’t poison, that was for sure. If it were, the system would have notified him that it had been neutralized. So sort of sedative? A tranquilizer? Drugs? It had to be sothing for Awakeners. Maybe they were trying to prevent an Awakener from infiltrating.
But ssing with the water?
Uijae glanced up at the ceiling, sighing as if deep in thought. He was genuinely frustrated.
‘There’s no good way out of this...’
"Mm! Mmph!"
The muffled scream ca again, louder this ti. There was also the sound of a struggle. A few people hesitated, glancing toward the source of the noise. It might be ti to acknowledge it. Uijae turned to Mijin with the most harmless expression he could muster.
"Excuse , but... do you hear that?"
"Hear what? What sound are you talking about?"
"The... the muffled screaming. Like soone’s being gagged."
"Hmm… I don't hear anything."
Mijin tilted her head, looking confused. Without waiting for her response, Uijae shot up from his seat. He headed straight for the source of the sound. Mijin quickly followed after him.
"Wait! What are you—"
"I'm sorry, it just sounds like my sister! I'm sorry, I know I must sound crazy, but I need to check!"
Uijae rambled incoherently as he ripped back the curtain. And there, he saw—
"……."
"……."
A man dragging soone away, his hand covering her mouth.
"…Yun Gaeul?"
It was Yun Gaeul.
Her glasses were askew, and she was desperately clutching the arm of the man restraining her. When she heard her na, she froze, eyes wide as she stared at Uijae. Her expression was one of pure shock. Uijae's was probably the sa. What was she doing here when she should’ve been at school?
And being dragged away, no less!
Uijae turned to look at Mijin in disbelief. She sighed heavily, covering her face with her hand.
"It would have been better for all of us if you’d just co quietly. Curiosity, as they say, is a sin."
"…Excuse ?"
"Well, now that you’ve seen this, there’s no choice but to take you with us."
At Mijin’s snap of her fingers, the large man stepped forward. She waved her hand dismissively.
"Don’t hit him too hard. We don’t want him brain-dead. Just knock him out enough to be useful later."
So they were planning to knock him out and take him with them. Actually... maybe this would work in his favor.
‘They’re taking to their hideout, aren’t they?’
The man approached, breathing heavily. Uijae began backing away, praying.
‘Please, hit hard.’
He kept praying.
‘Please use sothing sturdy!’
Sothing like a tal rod could bend! Fortunately, the man was holding a solid-looking club. That should do the trick. *Whoosh*—the club cut through the air. As soon as it was about to hit, Uijae threw himself backward, pretending to be struck by the blow.
*Crash!*
Uijae tumbled into a pile of ice and cardboard boxes.
‘I’ve mastered the art of Hollywood-style stunts…’
Feeling proud of his own performance, Uijae closed his eyes. He could hear Gaeul screaming, muffled again. Mijin snapped her fingers once more. A strong hand grabbed Uijae’s ankle, dragging him away.
"They say he’s her brother, Yun Gaeul’s brother. At least you won’t be lonely. Take them both to the car."
Mijin chuckled softly as the man hoisted Uijae upside down. His cap fell to the ground with a dull thud. The man swung Uijae a few tis like a pendulum before tossing him aside.
*Thud* *Thud*—Uijae slamd into the wall a couple of tis before hitting the ground.
*Bang!* *Click!*
The door slamd shut, and darkness enveloped him.
At the sa mont, Uijae’s eyes snapped open.
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