The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Bright white light painfully pierced Uijae's eyes as he squinted. The room where he was bound was a small white cell. It was as small as the side rooms in his hangover soup restaurant. The man firmly fixed the chains to the wall and then grabbed Uijae by the hair, pulling him forcefully. Uijae tried not to tense his neck and allowed himself to be dragged without resistance.

'These bastards... the way they handle people...'
Once I escape, I'll make sure to grab your head first. Was the irritation showing on his face? The man lightly slapped Uijae's cheek with the back of his hand.
“Your expression... behave yourself, you little bastard, huh?”

'Ridiculous.'
“If you don’t want to see your little sister in a bad situation, you’d better behave.”
They're using Yoon Gaeul as a hostage against Uijae, and Uijae as a hostage against Yoon Gaeul. Quite an efficient method of blackmail. I could take a note from that. Uijae nodded obediently. The man nudged him in the side with the barrel of his gun before leaving the room. The door was on the left. The iron bars in front of him—he wasn't sure what had been done to them, but nothing could be seen outside. The man’s voice could be heard from the other side.

“Don’t touch the guy we put in that room until we get further instructions.”
“Wasn’t that the plan already?”
“No, leave him alone for now. It’s the command from the leader.”

“Oh, understood...”
That’s a relief. No need to break everything down as soon as I arrived.
It seems they intend to keep him alive, for now. Likely, they plan to use him as leverage to manipulate and control Gaeul. Uijae adjusted the collar around his neck and sat down. Thankfully, he was tall enough to sit down, or else the chain would have prevented even that.

‘The place seems quite large.’
Gaeul was likely taken to the center of the facility, the area reserved for those considered more valuable. What kind of conversation are they having with her? Talks about the apocalypse? Uijae scoffed. Prometheus knows no more than Yoon Gaeul about the apocalypse. They probably took her to extract as much information as possible.
Why are they so obsessed with stopping the apocalypse by human power?

It couldn’t be as simple as hating Awakeners.
‘It’s too organized.’
Just then, Uijae sensed movement near the iron bars again. He lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"A new test subject? He looks in decent shape. Are you sure they gave him the drug?”
Two voices. Judging by the rustling of their coats, it must be the researchers from earlier. Uijae stayed still, listening intently. The sound of paper flipping could be heard.
“Let’s see... Did you scan his face?”
“Not yet.”

“You should have done that first.”
“I can do it now. Doesn’t seem like a high-ranking one.”
“How do you know?”

“I don’t recognize his face. Must be some lowlife picking scraps off the ground.”
“Do you think the recognition will work while he’s asleep?”
“No idea. Let’s try.”

*Click*—a camera shutter sound.
‘As expected.’
It seems that although he couldn't see outside from his cell, they could see inside from the other side. One of them spoke with a mocking tone.

“Oh, it worked. Look, D-class trash.”
“Name, Cha Uijae, D-class... Well, that’s disappointing. I thought there might be something more since they dragged him in personally. Can we use him as a test subject?”
“No. They said not to touch him.”

“Why? He doesn’t have any special abilities. His data shows nothing of interest.”
“I don't know. It's an order from above.”
“Shame. We're running low and need to fill up.”

Uijae’s finger twitched. They had identified him, down to his name and rank, with just a photograph. Even more concerning was that they managed to pull up details about his public persona as a low-ranking D-class Hunter. There’s only one place that could provide such information.
‘The Awakened Registry Database….’
“What about the drugs?”

“We gave him a small dose.”
“Wouldn't it be safer to just sedate him completely? Just in case.”
“He doesn't seem like a particularly aggressive type... Let’s leave him as is. We don’t want to make him a vegetable for no reason.”

“Damn, I was hoping for a decent one for experiments.”
Their voices faded as they walked away. Slowly, Uijae opened his eyes. The Awakened Registry Database is a state «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» secret, guarded heavily by the government because each Awakener represents national military power. Even the expert hacker *Miracle Ming*, with all their skill, had trouble manipulating the database.
But these people pulled up all the details with a single photograph, even down to the information about his fake identity.

Uijae leaned his head against the hard wall.
‘Even if I’m drugged...’
For ordinary people to kidnap Awakeners with ease is absurd. It would be nearly impossible to subdue an Awakener, especially one whose strength becomes uncontrollable under the influence of drugs. They must have had an accomplice.

And that accomplice must have been...
‘...Another Awakener.’
A chill ran down his spine. There's a traitor—an Awakener who’s been selling out their own kind. And judging by their ability to access the Awakened Registry...

‘...They must be connected to the Awakened Management Bureau.’
Uijae let out a frustrated groan, rubbing his face with both hands. He had come to uncover Prometheus's base and their goals, but now he seemed to have stumbled onto something even deeper.
‘No, maybe this is a good thing.’

*Thud, thud, thud...* Uijae repeatedly knocked the back of his head against the wall. Maybe it was because he hadn’t had to think this hard in a while, but his head was beginning to pound painfully.
He closed his eyes. Even with his eyes shut, the blinding light from the room’s bright ceiling lamps seeped through his eyelids. Would they ever turn off the lights here? Or is this constant brightness the norm? He stared blankly at the illuminated ceiling, his eyes hurting. The lack of darkness would become a serious problem, preventing him from properly sleeping.
Humans—no, all living creatures—need sleep. Without sleep, the brain starts to deteriorate, little by little, and mental stability crumbles with it. Little by little. That was the worst part of the *West Sea Rift*.

In the world after its destruction, night never falls.
Trapped in an endless white night, constantly alert for monsters that could appear at any moment, using the sharpened senses of an Awakener. Yes, the West Sea Rift was the perfect environment to drive someone insane. Uijae couldn't even remember the last time he had slept deeply. People gradually became more irritable. Even comrades who never stopped smiling eventually lost their smiles. Small arguments escalated into serious physical confrontations, which inevitably led to bloodshed...
Damn it. Uijae bit down on his tongue. Thinking about the West Sea Rift in this narrow, brightly lit room was the worst thing he could do. He needed to think about something else. Anything else.

At that moment, one thought rose unbidden.
‘Was Lee Sayoung trapped in a place like this, too?’
He shot open his eyes and looked around. A narrow white room, relentless bright light, silence so profound that even his breathing and heartbeat echoed. Sayoung, alone in a place like this. Stubborn and foolish, making the worst choices, waiting just for Uijae.

Uijae clenched and unclenched his fists. His hands, rough with calluses, were pale. The scars that remained on his palms shimmered in his vision like afterimages.
“......”
Damn it.

Uijae buried his face in his hands.
Right now, at this very moment.
He missed Lee Sayoung terribly.

---
“You’ll be living with them from now on. Go ahead and introduce yourself.”
A cold hand gave him a rough shove. Sayoung staggered, losing his balance, and barely managed to steady himself with his crutches. He glared to his side. His blurred vision could only distinguish between light and dark, but he recognized the white silhouette as Ga-young. She widened her eyes innocently, then smiled.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. It’s still hard for you to walk, huh? I wasn’t being considerate enough.”
“......”
“This one here... let’s call him Number Four. Since you can’t speak your name, does that sound okay?”

“......”
“Number Four has survived despite being poisoned by a monster’s venom. Isn’t he an amazing asset? Let’s all do our best to help him recover, okay?”
Applause broke out. It was loud and irritating. Sayoung wanted to cover his ears. He was already missing the silence of his hospital room. A cold hand rested on his shoulder. His neck tingled with revulsion. It was unpleasant. The sound of a many-legged insect scurrying echoed faintly. It might have been a spider.

“First, let me show you the room. You’ll be staying there from now on.”
Unbothered by Sayoung’s silence, Ga-young led him forward. The long white hallway seemed to stretch endlessly. His breath grew ragged. Sayoung stopped walking, panting heavily. He leaned on his crutches and tried to catch his breath. Ga-young didn’t show concern.
 She didn’t approach him or try to help. She simply waited from a distance, like always.

“Hurry up.”
Damn it.
Sayoung clenched his teeth and began moving again, dragging himself forward. His breath came in harsh, labored gasps. He could taste blood in his throat. His sweat-soaked bangs clung to his forehead. By the time he finally caught up to Ga-young, the door creaked open. Ga-young spoke with a smile in her voice.

“Well done. This is your new room.”
“......”
The room was completely white. Even with his terrible vision, Sayoung could see just how blindingly white it was—the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Cold, spider-like hands pushed Sayoung inside. He stumbled, falling with his crutches, and struggled to lift his head.

*Clang.*
The door shut behind him.