Episode 300: Waiting Position

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J was dead, but his corpse had not disappeared. One could only guess that he had left his body behind in this world while his soul returned to his original one. He had to.

Lee Sa-young carefully cleaned and arranged J’s corpse before moving it to his home, placing preservation stones throughout the space— to prevent decay, to stop time from flowing for him any further. And in that house, he went about his daily life.

Yoon Ga-eul fiddled with a cold key in her hand.

“Um, but… do we really need to manage it together? Wouldn’t Hunter Lee Sa-young take good care of it?”

Honeybee frowned, her voice sharp as she whispered,

“You trust that pervert?”

“P-Pervert…?”

“What else do you call someone who keeps a corpse?”

Before Yoon Ga-eul could respond, a languid voice answered in her stead.

“I can hear you.”

“Oh, really? Good. I meant for you to.”

“You didn’t bury yours either. Your guild member. Isn’t it the same thing?”

“…”

Honeybee and Lee Sa-young locked eyes. Their gazes were so fierce, it felt like sparks might fly between them. Yoon Ga-eul held her breath, her face turning pale. A shiver ran through her entire body. If she weren’t an S-rank, she might have collapsed under the sheer intensity of it.

At last, Honeybee shrugged.

“Yeah… You’re right. I misspoke.”

“As long as you understand.”

“Still, we’re all going to take care of it together. Got it? We’re going to be busy from now on.”

“…Do as you please.”

Yoon Ga-eul stole a glance at Lee Sa-young. He leaned against the wall, not even bothering to fix his disheveled hair, his face devoid of expression. Ever since J’s death, there had been nothing left of emotion in him. At least he wasn’t locking himself away in a dark room like in the fragments, but…

‘He looks unstable…’

Honeybee must have noticed his condition too— that’s why she made this drastic move. Using the excuse of managing J’s body, she ensured that Lee Sa-young would be checked on regularly. Because living alongside a corpse could never be good for anyone’s mind.

He was like a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Yoon Ga-eul clenched the key in her hand and closed her eyes. She prayed for the end to come soon. Because if it didn’t…

Someone else might reach their end first.