The Hunter Wants to Live Quietly (bl)-Chapter 173: Wavelength

After the Day of Change, people lived with unresolved anxiety.

The black hole had changed color overnight, white ash fluttered like snow, and gates and cracks appeared more frequently, along with monsters. Although the hero J had appeared, everything seemed to hint at the coming of a new disaster. People still couldn't forget the losses engraved by the Day of the Rift.

At some point, it became common to see people on the streets proclaiming the end of the world. Even if you didn't want to, the people waving flags painted with flames on the main streets drew your attention.

"We must stop the end of the world with the power of humanity!"

They shouted about the apocalypse, whether anyone listened or not. Did the power of words actually exist? This daily repetition of the apocalypse. At first, people laughed at them, but they no longer could. Those who had ignored them before now glanced at them every now and then. The anxiety growing inside people quietly swelled.

"..."

Yoon Ga-eul was no exception. Yoon Ga-eul glanced at the fluttering flags and hurried her steps. The strange doomsayers had taken up a spot on the shortcut path, making it impossible to avoid them. Even when parents complained, it was only temporary.

In fact, Yoon Ga-eul couldn't help but be more affected, as she had seen the world after the apocalypse firsthand.

Do they even know what the end of the world is? Could this be the group that Jung Bin-nim mentioned?

All her thoughts led back to the apocalypse. It was as if a huge stone labeled "apocalypse" was pressing down on her. Every time she passed by them, Yoon Ga-eul turned up the volume on her earphones. That was the best she could do.

But in the past few days, she hadn't had the luxury to care about them. Whether that was a relief or unfortunate, she didn't know.

During lunch, a chorus of awe erupted from one corner of the classroom. Every tap on the tablet revealed a new photo. All the figures in the pictures were of Lee Sa-young. The screen froze on a side profile of him. Someone gasped in admiration.

"Wow... he's ridiculously handsome."

"I always thought he was crazy since he always wore that gas mask."

"Hey, check out his old interview videos. That's the real deal."

"Yoon Ga-eul! You should look at this too. There's something about him, seriously."

A photo appeared in Yoon Ga-eul's line of sight. Thin, like it was cut out from a newspaper, it depicted people she knew all too well. Lee Sa-young, holding J tenderly, staring into the camera. The corners of Lee Sa-young's lips were curved as if he was smiling.

From morning till now, she must have seen this fifty times, no exaggeration. Nodding mechanically, Yoon Ga-eul took the picture. Da-yeon muttered under her breath, her face flushed.

"Aren't they actually dating?"

"Totally. The princess carry? This doesn't make sense unless they're dating."

"At least, they must be flirting."

"But they're both guys?"

"That's what makes it good."

Yoon Ga-eul bit her lip hard. She didn't want to throw cold water on her friends' excited chatter. And besides, the atmosphere in the picture was just too suspicious!

'Why are you holding him so tenderly...?'

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

Even Yoon Ga-eul, who had seen them in real life, couldn't deny that they seemed to be living in a world of their own. She clutched the photo tightly and swallowed her tears.

'J, Guild Leader. I'm sorry.'

The apocalypse that had been swirling in her mind had long since been wiped clean.

***

["Exclusive Report" 1st and 2nd Rank Caught Again... The Biggest Scandal Since the Day of the Rift!]

It hadn't even been a few days since the scandal involving South Korea's top two hunters was reported, and once again, the country was in an uproar because of them. This time, a photo of Lee Sa-young holding J was revealed. What's more, the picture was taken even closer than before, and it was crystal clear! People cheered for the pristine quality.

Hunters on HunterNet, who had been debating whether J or Lee Sa-young was stronger, lost their minds over the new gossip. It was like pouring a whole bottle of gasoline on a fire before they even finished their last debate!

Some argued that since Lee Sa-young was holding J, he must be stronger. Others countered, didn't J hold Lee Sa-young in the previous picture? It must be that they each asserted dominance once. This time, J was going easy on Lee Sa-young, and there's no way they could have fought at the fish market. Perhaps they just put a mask and wig on someone and pretended it was J...

As people debated with just two pictures, the conversation naturally led to the root question.

'Why are they even holding each other in the first place?'

'What kind of relationship do they have?'

As they delved deeper into the mystery, they arrived at a new theory.

— Maybe they locked eyes while fighting!

A bit twisted, but a playful suggestion.

But once they started looking at the pictures through this skewed lens, too many odd details stood out.

—What's with that smug expression on 240's face?

⤷ Damn it, now that you mention it, I can't unsee it.

⤷ That's definitely a smug look, ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

⤷ If I got to take a picture holding J, I'd probably make that face too.

⤷ I'd love to see him in person just once.

⤷ He's got the expression of a concubine who just had a son, ㅋㅋ

Not just Lee Sa-young's smirking face as he stared straight into the camera,

—But isn't 240 a poison user? Does J have poison immunity? Even with 240's gas mask off, they're so close, and J looks perfectly fine.

⤷ Yeah, his skin looks fine, doesn't seem poisoned. What's going on?

⤷ Maybe it's an artifact from the gas mask.

⤷ I wonder how good J's gear must be.

⤷ But seriously, why is he holding him so tightly? The jacket's even wrinkled! Tenderly??? I feel like I'm going insane.

⤷ You need to stop overthinking.

⤷ Turn off HunterNet.

Lee Sa-young's overly close and tight grip,

—Also, isn't 240 really good-looking? Why is his smile so seductive? It's giving me chills.

⤷ He looks like a courtesan, what do you mean good-looking—— Hunters should be more rugged, like Shield Guy.

⤷ Okay, but Shield Guy is ranked 11th, and 240 is 2nd, so deal with it~

⤷ But seriously, why did they fight when they're both on the same team?

Lee Sa-young's looks are getting reassessed.

—I'm a current hunter, and this is just a publicity stunt. 240 can't beat J with strength, so he's using psychological warfare, and we've all fallen for it.

⤷ What are you even talking about?

⤷ Don't you remember that public service announcement? He's a master of psychological attacks.

⤷ Oh my god.

⤷ Why does that sound plausible?

⤷ How strong are you going to get, 240?!

The theory of psychological warfare raised its head once again.

Kang Ji-soo, a dopamine addict who browses HunterNet whenever she's bored, couldn't stand the overwhelming stimulation and kicked the door to the vice-guild leader's office.

"Vice-Guild Leaderrrr!"

Bang! The door shook as if it was about to fall off, but she didn't care. Her red hair and the newspaper in her hand fluttered violently. However, Bae Won-woo was silent. Normally, he would've scolded her for the door damage. Puzzled, Kang Ji-soo looked around the office and noticed him on the sofa.

"Oh, I thought you weren't here. What are you doing? Did you see the photos?"

"Ji-soo, don't talk to me..."

Bae Won-woo was lying sideways on the sofa, mechanically chewing on a protein bar with a blank expression. He looked oddly pathetic. His jaw moved robotically as he chewed and swallowed the bar, and his eyes were completely lifeless. He began mumbling.

"I've handled all kinds of things since following that bastard Sa-young..."

"Yup."

"But are we actually a talent agency?"

"Have you lost it? We've got several dungeon expeditions scheduled."

"No, seriously... Why do I have to deal with a dating scandal? If it were a controversy about his character, I'd be like, 'Finally! Took long enough.' But this? This isn't right."

The unplugged phone on the desk buzzed softly. Bae Won-woo curled into a ball, covering his ears.

"And that bastard Sa-young isn't even answering his phone! Why were they even photographed at the fish market?"

"About that."

Kang Ji-soo unfolded the crumpled photo, tilting her head.

"Don't you think they got photographed on purpose?"

"What?"

"I mean, look. The background is a fish market, and he's staring straight into the camera lens. Do you really think the guild leader didn't know they were being photographed by Mackerel?"

"..."

"Didn't they go to the fish market to confront him in the first place? Knowing the guild leader's personality, he would've made a scene and forced the guy to delete the picture. But he allowed it, didn't he?"

Bae Won-woo's dazed eyes seemed to wander in the air. Now that he thought about it, Lee Sa-young had been acting strange when they visited his house. Fresh out of the shower, wearing only a bathrobe, he clung to J. J, usually so indifferent, had been unusually devoted to Lee Sa-young.

The part of his brain that had been on strike for 364 out of 365 days suddenly started working hard today. He felt like he had stumbled onto something he wasn't supposed to know.

Bae Won-woo staggered to his feet.

"...Ji-soo."

"Yes?"

A look of determination crossed his face.

"I'm heading into a dungeon. Tell anyone who asks that I'm not here."

***

"Ahaha, staying back was worth it~ I even get to see pictures like this."

The lightly tossed newspaper fluttered to the ground. The gray paper soaked through with bright red.

A bloodstained, straight finger picked up a takeaway cup. The hand's owner was perched atop the corpse of a massive monster. White, disheveled hair blew in the wind. Gyu-Gyu, after taking a long sip of coffee, looked down with a smiling face.

"Has the civil servant seen this article yet?"

Standing a bit away, untouched by the blood, Jung Bin looked up.