Chapter 147: Chapter 147

*Everything Falls Apart*

Everyone's eyes were drawn to the spilling grape juice. The message was clear: waking up Lee Sayoung forcibly was not an option. Baewonwoo, desperate for answers, asked hurriedly, "Then when will he wake up? Can you predict that?"

"How would I know? I'm not a fortune-teller. This is all about Lee Sayoung's soul. It's up to him!" Hong Yeseong snapped, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Even though you're the so-called 'heaven-sent genius, the greatest craftsman'?" Baewonwoo pressed, trying for some hope.

"Ah~ I can't hear you, I can't hear you," Hong Yeseong mocked, covering his ears and fleeing to a corner of the room.

“…So in the end, we just have to leave him as he is, huh?” Jung Bin's statement brought another wave of silence to the room. As Hong Yeseong had said, the only thing left to do was wait—powerlessly.

Uijae's hand, resting on the table, clenched into a fist. He glanced at the purple juice that had begun to pool wider on the table, the spilled liquid marking a chaotic path. Closing his eyes, he was once again haunted by the image of Lee Sayoung's violet eyes in his mind, eyes that had once looked at him with warmth.

“When did it change?” Uijae wondered. Those once indifferent eyes had gradually filled with emotion.

‘Take care, hyung.’

Lee Sayoung had said goodbye to him that day, as if knowing what was to come. He had even placed a teleport scroll into Uijae’s hand, hiding it behind a pinky promise.

"……."

Cha Uijae's life had always been about making choices. He had always chosen the path that would save the most people, without hesitation.

But this time, it was different.

The image of Sayoung, collapsed helplessly in his bathroom, flashed before Uijae's eyes, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

Clap!

The sharp sound of a clap brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up, realizing his head had been lowered. Jung Bin stood beside him, giving him a steady gaze.

'When did I slump over like this?' Uijae wondered as he straightened himself, and Jung Bin gave him a reassuring smile, patting his back.

"Now, it’s time to figure out what we *can* do," Jung Bin said, his voice calm but firm.

That word—"we"—felt strange to Uijae. He looked around the room again, realizing that he wasn’t alone this time. He had people with him. Jung Bin continued speaking.

“We need to find ways to cover for Lee Sayoung’s absence. Thankfully, he’s not a Hunter whose every move is tracked. And with J…."

Jung Bin's gaze shifted to Uijae.

“…taking down the whale so spectacularly, the focus will be on him for a while. A sudden reappearance of the number one-ranked Hunter is a big deal. But even so…."

Jung Bin gestured toward the window, where white ash still drifted slowly from the sky.

“…given the situation, someone will eventually come looking for Lee Sayoung. Missing a few calls is one thing, but continued silence will raise suspicions."

Baewonwoo, who had been deep in thought, mumbled, "Couldn’t we just say he’s on a trip abroad or something?"

Mingi snorted, "In these times? Do you want to be labeled a traitor? Even Hunter Gyu-Gyu is still in Korea!"

"Goddammit, why is Gyu-Gyu still here, not even during a holiday? What do we do about that?" Baewonwoo groaned.

“No matter what, we can’t hide his absence for long,” Jung Bin said seriously. “Other guilds will use this chaos to increase their power. They’ll want to take his place as the national hero.”

Baewonwoo, pulling a sad face, clasped his hands together and pleaded dramatically with Jung Bin. “Come on, Captain, we have history with Sayoung. Remember the good old days when we were splitting firewood and keeping him warm in our rundown shack?"

But Jung Bin shook his head. “I’ve already offered all the help I can.”

“Ugh….”

"However."

The voice that cut through the room was low and distorted. All eyes turned to J, who was leaning back in his chair, tapping his finger on the table.

"What if I started acting publicly? Would that be enough to cover for Sayoung's absence?"

Jung Bin, caught off guard by the question, rubbed his chin, thinking. “For a while, yes.”

“But not for long?” J asked.

“The public's attention shifts quickly. But yes, it could buy us a month or two.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“…What?” Jung Bin blinked.

“Two months.”

J raised two fingers, forming a ‘V.’ “I’ll act as the public face for the next two months. Let the media focus on me. If Sayoung still hasn’t woken up by then, we’ll figure out something else. Any objections?”

No one spoke. Uijae was familiar with the silence. He’d experienced it many times—leading from the frontlines, receiving no answers, and becoming a hero, whether he wanted to or not.

“Then it’s settled,” he said, standing up decisively. He walked toward Hong Yeseong, who had been folding paper cranes in the corner.

“Hey, you,” Uijae called.

Hong Yeseong looked up, blinking. “Huh? What? Oh, right! You wanted feedback on the mask? Let me tell you, I worked really hard on—"

That was enough. Uijae clamped his hand over Hong Yeseong’s mouth, cutting off his flood of words.

“Mmmpf!” Hong Yeseong protested, wide-eyed.

“Activate that thing,” Uijae ordered.

“Mmff?”

“You know, the thing that makes your eyes turn gold. Hurry up, we don’t have time.”

Still confused, Hong Yeseong blinked before his eyes turned golden, with intricate patterns spinning in his irises. It was the "insight eye" ability, something Uijae had seen before in the Memorial Dungeon. But something was different this time.

‘It’s not the same as what I saw in the Memorial Dungeon….’

That version had been more chaotic, more alive. Was this one separate? Uijae couldn’t be sure. But he held onto a glimmer of hope. If Hong Yeseong’s soul was like Sayoung’s, there might still be a connection between them.

‘This is the last chance.’

The Hong Yeseong he had met in the Memorial Dungeon had helped him turn back time. And Uijae suspected that he had been watching ever since, observing his struggle to prevent the end.

‘And he’s probably still watching now.’

Uijae pulled out his cracked phone and held it out to Hong Yeseong.

“Give me your number.”

Hong Yeseong’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Whoa, are you hitting on me?”

“Just give it to me.”

“Can I text you whenever I’m bored?”

“Don’t.”

The moment Hong Yeseong entered his number, Uijae snatched the phone back and stormed out of the room. Bowing slightly to the others, he called out over his shoulder, “Contact me through Mingi if you need anything.”

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the room in silence. Uijae sighed, still feeling the weight in his chest. He patted his chest lightly, as if trying to calm his heart, and began walking. But then,

“Hey, wait up!” a familiar, booming voice called after him. It was a voice he had heard every morning, afternoon, and evening at the hangover soup restaurant.

Instinctively, Uijae turned, ready to take an order. His hand even reached into his pocket for a notepad, though of course, there wasn’t one—he was wearing combat gear, not his work apron.

‘Damn it.’

Uijae awkwardly stood face-to-face with Baewonwoo, who seemed distracted. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice Uijae’s strange posture. Baewonwoo hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Uh, by the way.”

“Yes?”

“Did you… know that Sayoung had been searching for you all this time?”

“…What?”

Baewonwoo scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t want to bring it up, but… just don’t mention it to him when he wakes up, okay? Promise me.”

Baewonwoo clasped his hands together, pleading. Uijae took a deep breath, then stepped back.

“No, it’s okay,” Uijae said.

“What?”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“But…”

“I already know.”

“…….”

“I know Sayoung was waiting for me, searching for me.”

Uijae's heart raced every time he said Sayoung's name. He paused, then lowered his head. “I appreciate you telling me, but I’ll hear it directly from him when he wakes up.”

“Oh… okay.”

Baewonwoo watched as Uijae’s black figure disappeared down the hall. Only after Uijae’s presence faded completely did Baewonwoo exhale heavily, sweat beading on his forehead.

“…Was it obvious that I was nervous?”

From the shadows, Mingi, having watched the whole interaction, pushed his sunglasses up and replied, “Not that much. He’s not that mean-spirited, I think.”

“I

know… but after getting beaten like that, my body just reacts on its own….”

Mingi said nothing, only shrugging his shoulders.

"That day... he really was like a ghost."

“Hmm?”

“Never mind. Jung Bin is calling for you,” Mingi said, waving off his previous statement.

“Oh, right.”

Baewonwoo walked back to the conference room, leaving Mingi alone in the hallway. The weight of that memory—the day of the "Day of Change"—was still fresh. That day, J had lost control inside Lee Sayoung’s house, only stopping when Mingi, Jung Bin, and the others had subdued him.

But "subdued" wasn’t the right word. No, J had…

He had let them subdue him. Maybe out of guilt. Maybe out of fear for what might have happened to Sayoung otherwise.

‘J himself doesn’t seem to remember much from that day….’

Mingi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. The sweat clinging to his skin was unnerving. J had personally chosen him as a contact, which meant things were about to get much more intense.

But as a workaholic, Mingi couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at the prospect of serving a new master.