Episode 6
The reason he had to draw the protagonist’s attention was to destroy the definition of ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’.
Surprisingly, people are not interested in other people.
In creative works, it seems natural to feel sorry for or care about someone when they find out they have a painful past, but in reality, they are just troublesome people who cannot escape from their past.
This is especially true if you are co-workers. I don’t want to know the deep circumstances of employees working at the same company unless I’m very close with them.
How uncomfortable and nerve-wracking would it be if the employee who frequently self-harms, hallucinates, and screams is right next to me?
If you’re going to have such a hard time, you’ll just go to the hospital and people will ask why you came to work.
They do not want to be a nuisance to others, and at the same time, they do not want to be a nuisance.
You can sympathize with how painful and difficult the other person is, but it has no value beyond that.
Manager Lee Jae-heon was also in the same position.
‘In fact, I would say it’s worse.’
He was clearly a supervisor in the same department, but nothing more.
If a person you already dislike has a past or is suffering from a medical condition, you can just clap your hands and say that it is good, but there is little room for sympathy.
However, the main character of this novel was not particularly sane and was a good person, but not ordinary.
He has strange beliefs about good and evil and defines everyone in the world accordingly.
Among them, I think ‘Director Lee Jae-heon’ was probably somewhere between a criminal and an evil person.
And because he is such a protagonist, Jaeheon Lee was able to know how to become someone trusted by the protagonist.
At least I knew how to create that opportunity.
All you have to do is raise a counterargument to his ‘justice’.
“hey.”
Quack!
The pitch-black pupils that were looking at me widen.
“Bounce.”
Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!
Jaeheon Lee moved his legs as he said those words, and countless spider legs that were pouring towards him stuck in the corner of the hallway.
A bloody bursting sound pierces the cement wall, preparing for the next attack.
Fortunately, the group quickly came to their senses and ran away with pale faces, and at the front was intern Noh Yeon-seok, who said he had been exercising a bit.
He probably remembered what Lee Jae-heon had told him when he left the office and did as he did, which was quite an admirable attitude.
He sighed as he watched Manager Kang Min-ah running, holding the hand of an employee of the same sex she had just met.
‘This is much more efficient.’
In the novel, Chief Kang is bleeding from the previous attack.
Of course, she has no tolerance for pain, so she loses her judgment in fear and falls away from her group without even being able to check her immediate surroundings, and dies.
Even though he does not die right away, he dies after suffering further, so I will not bother to recall that description.
On the other hand, Lee Jae-heon had a tolerance for pain that was overflowing.
Perhaps the main character, who met him over the weekend, also knew this, and that is why he went out of his way to get his attention before being attacked.
Efficiency aside, I had to act according to the settings I made last night.
The meaning of Lee Jae-heon’s gaze towards the protagonist just now was ‘I will go in first and check for traps.’
Quad deuk!
“…Fuck.”
Lee Jae-heon twisted his eyebrows as he smashed the legs of a spider he didn’t know where it was crawling from.
“You monster…!”
Your shoulders are hurting because of these bastards, damn it.
Lee Jae-heon stood at the back of the fleeing group and vigorously kicked away the spider’s legs.
I didn’t know you could use the pipes from the office so well.
Thanks to these bastards, once my shoulder was properly pierced, it burned like it was on fire, and to be honest, my senses were starting to become dull.
My old personality was slowly coming back to me due to the dirty feeling I had been feeling in my past life where my survival was threatened.
Perhaps because he was in charge of the rear, I could feel Deputy Jeong looking my way.
“Boss! Fine…!”
“Don’t you look ahead?! “It’s okay, I’ll run after you, so just run!”
Of course, there was no time for a friendly conversation.
How dare you chat when literally running around like a dog isn’t enough? If even one person dies like this, who will take the blame?
The current protagonist and other party members did not have the mental capacity to objectively deal with someone’s death.
Of course, your mentality will go out, and you will instinctively look for someone to blame.
I sacrificed my shoulders at best, but I had no intention of ruining the plan by going into that kind of atmosphere.
Since he is probably the main character with excellent insight, if he has time, he will quickly understand the meaning of Lee Jae-heon’s gaze just now.
Whether it’s overflowing with affection or melting away with warmth, peaceful conversation can be had at that time, so there’s no need to accept useless words in this urgent situation where you don’t know when and how someone will die.
Jaeheon Lee tried not to make his movements look too strange and only hit the spider’s legs that were dangerously close.
‘Of course, my definition of myself will have changed quite a bit by then.’
It was the shoulder that was sacrificed for that in the first place.
At that time, Jaeheon Lee only felt something strange, but did not know what was on the side where he could hear the sound of the wind.
However, I was able to sense the incongruity of the setting well, so I went in to check first.
That’s because Jaeheon Lee is used to pain. Because I am the best at judging situations and don’t place much value on my health.
However, Jaeheon Lee guessed that if there really was a trap in front of him, the atmosphere would become tense, and that was why he caught the protagonist’s attention.
If Lee Jae-heon was seriously injured by that trap and even died, the main character with the highest mental strength had to take responsibility for the rest of the party.
Thinking like that, Jae-Heon Lee deliberately made eye contact with Assistant Manager In-Ho Jeong.
To be more precise, it means that the protagonist, who has regained his composure later, will make that judgment.
“….”
Of course, even though I thought that, I still felt sick.
‘The more blood I shed, the more sleepy I feel.’
It was a waste to throw away my shoulder on a gamble like this where I don’t know if I could buy even a shred of trust from the protagonist’s favor.
There are so many things to take care of in the future, so why should I be tired already?
But there was still more blood to be shed.
“Chief Kang Min Kang! hey!”
“Yes yes yes!”
“You fucking come to your senses! Is now the time to hold hands and run together? “Did you turn?!”
“Oh, sorry…!”
Only then did Director Kang realize that he had been holding Employee Kwon’s hand, and he let go of it in shock.
Perhaps the words ‘I’m sorry’ were meant to Employee Kwon, not to the old manager.
It didn’t make sense to hold hands and play in this situation.
Mobility aside, what would you do if one of you’s life was in danger?
Right away,
“Hey Mr. Lee…!”
Like this.
Lee Jae-heon grabbed Director Kang by the collar, who fell halfway behind the railing while trying to avoid the spider legs.
A spider leg that was chasing her right behind pierced her right leg, and Lee Jae-heon, taking advantage of the predator’s opportunity to catch his prey, dragged her out as if throwing her back into the hallway.
Lee Jae-heon, who confirmed that it was Kang who had moved away from the railing, immediately hit the thing that pierced his leg.
The spider’s leg, unable to withstand the strength of the pipe, broke into pieces and he did not bother to remove the remaining pieces stuck in his leg.
It would have been much less bleeding if it had been left stuck.
Lee Jae-heon grabbed Director Kang’s arm and started running again, who was faltering due to the influence he had received from the other side of the world and his immediate fear.
“This is crazy. “Fuck you.”
“…Huh ah…!”
“Run like hell. “Run, just look after those bastards and run!”
He pushed Director Kang forward and took over after him.
The protagonist, who quickly sensed the series of events, was running ahead with the rest of the group, and Lee Jae-heon was impressed by Jeong In-ho’s cool-headed judgment.
Since it was not a situation where anyone could help, it was much more efficient to at least run away first.
Of course, not all human minds can be like the mentally ill Jaeheon Lee, so if I had some free time, I had to sort that out as well.
In some ways, it may feel like they abandoned Lee Jae-heon and Director Kang because they didn’t want to die together.
Lee Jae-heon looked at Chief Kang running desperately while shedding tears.
“Huh huh huh…”
“….”
Well, it was true that I actually threw it away.
* * *
The spider legs that had been running like crazy disappeared like a lie when they entered an empty office.
To be precise, it was correct to say that the people who had broken through the wall had entered the wall again.
And when a certain level of safety was guaranteed, Lee Jae-heon sat down on the guest sofa and pulled out the fragments lodged in his legs.
“….”
I’m going to turn around in pain.
‘It’s so fucking unfair.’
Everyone ran away together, but the only one who saw blood was Lee Jae-heon. If it’s a miracle, it’s a miracle, and I expected it to happen like this, but that doesn’t seem to make it any less unfair.
He looked around at his companions who seemed to be out of their minds and opened his mouth.
“Among these, the one with a belt.”
“…yes yes?”
“That can’t be possible.”
Jaeheon Lee sighed and got up from the sofa.
Although this is a small company now, guidelines were issued around last month to keep one first aid kit in each office.
To be honest, it’s none of my business whether or not a first aid kit is provided, so I don’t remember, but it was described that way in the novel.
And if he remembered well, there was probably a first aid kit in this office as well.
I think it was said in the novel, ‘It was fairly well constructed because it had been installed not long ago,’ so I think of course there would have been bandages.
Lee Jae-heon, limping around, soon found a first aid kit and checked its contents one by one.
‘Disinfectant, pain reliever, bandage… Oh, there’s gauze too.’
Most of the volume was occupied by pills such as cold medicine or painkillers, but that did not mean there were no bandages or gauze.
The amount was not large enough, perhaps because the company thought it would be quicker to just go to a nearby hospital than to take action using this.
In fact, it was already a waste to use bandages or gauze.
Since Lee Jae-heon’s own existence was a variable, the content of the novel could change as much as he wanted, which meant that there was no telling what kind of injury he might suffer in the future.
If there was a large wound on the abdomen, this much bandage would barely be enough to stop the bleeding.
So, if possible, I hoped that someone would have a belt ring.
Of course, if you put cotton or gauze inside and sew it up, there is a high risk of infection and it is not a very effective method, but in any case, there would be no need to waste bandages anymore.
Lee Jae-heon looked at the stapler on the desk for a moment, but when he noticed the pitch-black eyes staring at him, he looked away again.
“….”
There’s no need to show that you’re mentally ill already.
He put gauze into the open wound, wrapped it with minimal bandage, and applied pressure.
Since he had already lost a lot of blood while running with his injured limbs straining, it was decided that this level of treatment was necessary.
Among those who were watching Lee Jae-heon’s actions, Chief Kang spoke up.
“…Hey, manager.”
“What is it?”
“thank you.”
“….”
Lee Jae-heon, who was momentarily wondering ‘what are you talking about’ at such an unexpected remark, quickly remembered that ordinary people have something called shame.
These were chicks who had not yet lost their duties as humans.
Lee Jae-heon, who thought that far, nodded in an effort to look as natural as possible.
“It was nothing.”
Well, it was something worthy of gratitude.
‘Because I prevented several people from almost dying.’
He recalled Chief Kang’s death in the novel.
Since he was the first person to die in the story, I was able to recall quite clearly what the end was like.
In the novel, Manager Kang falls behind a railing that has been lowered due to the influence of the other side of the world, and Employee Kwon, who was holding his hand, is startled and runs away.
I don’t think it was just because I was surprised.
Afterwards, Director Kang falls over the railing, his legs and arms are completely broken, and his head is seriously injured and bleeding.
It wasn’t explained properly in the novel, but I think the concussion probably came easily.
And then, without even being able to resist the spider legs that were approaching me, I was gradually skewered to death.
And of course, the spirit of the party shatters and sinks.
“How are you all injured…?”
“….”
Lee Jae-heon slowly blinked his eyes at the cautious question of intern Noh Yeon-seok.
‘Isn’t it still something to worry about?’
Judging by the fact that he kindly asked me how I was doing, it seemed like he was still in good spirits. If you’re mentally ill, you can’t even ask questions like that.
It’s hard for me to make a living, so how can I afford to take care of someone?
Jaeheon Lee thought for a moment before answering.
“It hurts so much.”
Maybe I was expecting to hear ‘it’s okay’, but unfortunately I had to know.
No matter how much Lee Jae-heon recalled his past life, there is a limit to how much he can cover this many people.
“I’m not blaming you, so open your ears and listen carefully.”
“….”
“There were penetrating wounds on my left shoulder and right calf. “Up until now, I was running without even knowing I was in pain because my life was in danger, but as time goes by, my mobility will decrease.”
Jaeheon Lee looked into the eyes of the protagonist and continued speaking.
“Do you understand?”
In a word, it meant, ‘If I fall behind, leave it and go like before.’
‘Even if the others didn’t, that bastard probably understood.’
In fact, to Jaeheon Lee, eternal death did not mean much.
Right now, I’m cooperating like this because I don’t know if I will be resurrected like in my previous life, but if I could definitely die and a situation came where my death was necessary, I didn’t think I would bother to save my life.
So, in the same vein, pain and hurt are meaningless to him, and the protagonist must have realized that too through last weekend.
If the other party members were hesitant, Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho, who is good at making objective judgments, would be able to lead them.
If they don’t want to die, they will behave well.
Of course, unless it was absolutely necessary, Lee Jae-heon was scheduled to provide some cover until then.
Didn’t they sacrifice their shoulders for the minimum level of trust in the first place?
‘This is about as much as I can to support the main character.’
He continued speaking as he closed the first aid kit
.
“I’m so tired I’m on the verge of going crazy, so let’s take a break. Everyone’s muscles must have been surprised by the sudden running. Either that or they were loosening up. I don’t know what else will pop out in the future, but if you can run fast, there’s nothing wrong with it….” “….” ”
I
also have my limits.”
I was so used to it that Jaeheon Lee was also being influenced by the other side of the world.
