Episode 39
Lee Jae-heon, who suddenly received gratitude, looked at Jeong In-ho with a frown.
“…What is there to be thankful for?”
“Ah yes. “I’m just thankful.”
“What…”
Lee Jae-heon, who was trying to pound without getting tired, barely managed to keep his mouth shut.
He was already so tired that he was close to death, so he couldn’t figure out what caused the reaction like ‘I’m so embarrassed by this, so I’ll just pretend I don’t know’, which was clearly visible on that disgusting face.
‘So what are we really supposed to do with this?’
My eyes naturally narrowed.
Could it be that I gave him a compliment or a consolation, but it sounded like I was so out of character that I couldn’t express it honestly? Am I just over 40?
‘This crazy guy?’
If that was really the case, I would have been willing to hit that round back of the head right away even if my legs were torn apart, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do that because Ha Seong-yoon, a natural doctor, was in the process of treating me. Anyway, to Lee Jae-heon, an old man, Jung In-ho was a very disgusting guy.
He thought as he looked at the protagonist with a tired gaze.
‘…Still… I’m glad I came to my senses.’
I wondered if there could be anything more unfair than this if I had worked so hard all night and couldn’t even take care of my chicks.
Actually, I’m not sure of the exact reason, but Jeong In-ho’s current condition, who had almost killed someone just before, wasn’t that bad. I don’t know where he got the energy from being grabbed by the collar or something by his immediate manager, but I could see that he was giving strength to his eyes.
Of course, it was a phenomenon that was difficult for Lee Jae-heon to understand.
‘If it got a little worse, in the worst case scenario, I even thought about committing suicide and going back.’
Perhaps Lee Jae-heon’s braiding had an unexpected effect.
In fact, bringing up the reality outside the other world was unexpectedly good for my mental health. Just as he had been rude to the main character before leaving the company, Lee Jae-heon’s admonition this time may have stabilized the main character’s mind and body.
Moreover, the main character was not the only one receiving such positive influence. Lee Jae-heon felt a strange sense of appreciation as he watched his group becoming more stable the more he behaved.
‘Isn’t this…? ‘Stockholm Syndrome?’
That ridiculous phenomenon is why the victim sympathizes with or defends the perpetrator.
I thought it was a similar situation. First of all, for this syndrome to occur, the perpetrator must not have committed a sadistic act beyond a certain level, and must occasionally act gentlemanly and gain the favor of the victim. Considering his brazen behavior and his terrible sacrifices up to this point, it was a pretty credible idea.
However, the atmosphere of not just one or two people but the entire group was like this, so even Lee Jae-heon, who would normally criticize them by asking, “Are you crazy?”
‘Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m weird or if they’re weird…’
Lee Jae-heon looked at the flower shop owner while trying to hide his nervousness, and Yoon Gar-ram’s gaze was truly mysterious, so he felt at ease.
‘I wasn’t strange.’
And I still don’t know why they do that.
‘It’s a bit strange to call it Stockholm Syndrome at all. ‘What’s wrong with these chicks?’
In the first place, sympathizing with the perpetrator or defending him will not restore stability. As a result, I couldn’t understand where they gained stability from Lee Jae-heon’s words and actions.
Jaeheon Lee swallowed a strange feeling of frustration and looked at his leg as it was being healed.
“….”
“It’s really serious.”
Lee Jae-heon raised his eyebrows because the words were quite direct for a doctor who is supposed to give hope to patients.
“Can I say that to the patient?”
“Normally, I don’t do that… People’s mental power is sometimes amazing, and there are patients who instantly revive with just the slightest hope. So I try to avoid saying hurtful words unless necessary.”
“You are being treated very differently.”
“Even if I tell a white lie, it won’t work on you. “I don’t want to put in unnecessary effort when I know it won’t work.”
Wipe away the accumulated blood and remove any foreign substances inside. Find an area that is good for hemostasis and press it. This does not stop the bleeding at all, so eventually, the bleeding is stopped by applying pressure with a bandage.
Nevertheless, the doctor’s hand twitched occasionally, as if searching for a missing tool.
“There is no medicine or herb that can stop the bleeding, and the bandage is not for stopping the bleeding….” “
….”
“There is nothing.”
Kuuk.
The doctor, who had tied the bandage so tightly that it felt numb, trembled slightly under his eyes.
“It would be nice if the surgery was done properly at the hospital.”
It was a clear pity.
Lee Jae-heon sensed that his legs would not be strong in the future due to the naked emotions he had tried so hard to hide, but he could not feel any special emotion, so he just let out a plain voice.
“It’s hard right now.”
“…I know.”
Just like in the real world, it’s not like you can get treatment right away by going to the hospital.
In the novel, the main characters did not visit the hospital late for no reason. The hospital episode only progresses after they do a lot of work, gain experience, and leave the park. In a similar vein, it was difficult for them to go to the hospital now.
Lee Jae-heon continued speaking while staring at his numb legs.
“I knew there was some kind of monster there.”
First, the hospital is full of monsters.
The hidden world reflects human thoughts. Fortunately, it is a park mixed with natural irregularities rather than human intention, so the buildings that humans built and created their own rules have their own rules for the other world. To put it simply, it could be called a game.
In the case of the prologue company, the building had turned into a maze. Some corridors are blocked and others are completely open and attract monsters. If it was a rule to avoid the tricks of such a spider monster and get out of the company, it was a rule.
‘But that’s a prologue.’
In other words, for a company that had just recently become a private company, it could have been seen as a very easy escape from the room. To put it more bluntly, it was the weakest.
If you think about a hospital in this context, it’s scary to even imagine.
‘First of all, the concept of a hospital is overflowing with thoughts… and thanks to that, it is also full of monsters.’
Moreover, since it is a human-made building, it has clear rules and is a place where human life and suffering come and go, so it is more systematic than other buildings.
‘You could go looking for some medicine and come out as Frankenstein.’
Above all, that is not the only problem.
“…If it’s a hospital, is it the big hospital on the main street?”
“A wound of this magnitude requires surgery. “It’s the only closest hospital with facilities.”
“But it might be a little difficult to walk.”
Jeong In-ho continued, examining Lee Jae-heon’s legs with pitch-black eyes.
“The manager’s condition is also good… I remember it’s not that close to the park. is not it?”
“That’s right, that’s the problem.”
The distance from the park to the hospital wasn’t that far, but at least it wasn’t far enough for an emergency patient needing leg surgery to walk. What kind of patient can’t even sit down or get up right now?
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon must have been thinking the same thing as Lee Jae-heon, as he played with his earlobe and then opened his mouth.
“…Couldn’t we stop by the pharmacy? Hospitals may be difficult, but there’s probably a pharmacy nearby… around here. “I saw one near the flower shop.”
He probably wanted to fix Lee Jae-heon’s leg somehow.
‘If I leave it like this, I could be crippled for the rest of my life.’
Jaeheon Lee scanned his legs with a dry gaze.
The leg, which had had pieces of flesh torn and sliced here and there, was cleaned up thanks to the skill of a skilled doctor, but that did not mean that he received proper treatment in such poor conditions. If he had been on the operating table, he would have been treated easily, but it is difficult to hope for that.
It would be fortunate if Lee Jae-heon’s mental strength showed his strength and he came back to normal, but he had already been running wild for a while and was almost exhausted. I had no idea how much better this situation would get.
‘It looks like you don’t know that.’
Nevertheless, I felt the will to do something somehow.
“Just one general-purpose drug like an antibiotic is quite enough to prevent infection…”
“Well, I don’t know.”
Jaeheon Lee suddenly felt happy.
“Who goes to that?”
“…yes?”
“I don’t know how I’m going to die.”
The doctor looked at himself as if he were very puzzled. It was a difficult reaction for someone other than a mentally ill person to occasionally throw a tantrum on something that was said to be good for him.
A hazy pleasantness invaded his throat and tongue, and he continued speaking.
“To sacrifice a healthy life for someone who doesn’t even look like he’s going to die any time soon.”
“….”
“Aren’t those words too cruel, doctor?”
He is a truly pure person.
No matter how much it is a hidden world that clouds people’s judgment, did they honestly think it would be possible? To retrieve precious medicine from this disgusting and terrible world for a third party.
Lee Jae-heon shrugged his shoulders, feeling as if he was seeing a newbie from his past life who had not been able to get by. To them, this kind of reaction may seem like common sense, but to Lee Jae-heon, who has memories of his past life, this was rather comical.
As with most survivals, there was a lot of work to be done in the beginning, and the only person to lead this group of bright yellow chicks was Jaeheon Lee. Isn’t this a situation where the mental state of the team members needs to be taken care of one by one?
‘I have so much to do right now, but I just went to the pharmacy and sat down.’
They seem like idiots who don’t even know efficiency.
I wouldn’t know it if the current party was a star rather than a chick, but I didn’t want to give these pimps a huge mission to get medicine from a pharmacy that was no different from hell. This is no different from telling a level 1 player who has just started playing the game to go to a level 90 dungeon.
He glanced at the group with his characteristic frown.
“No need.”
“teacher.”
“Is this something that can be done by stopping by the pharmacy? If you’re lucky, yes. I don’t know if there’s any medical thread or tools, but would that be okay? “In this disgusting world?”
“Right now, teacher, your leg is….”
“I’m saying that because it’s my leg. “I’m not dead, and I probably won’t die.”
The expression on the doctor’s face disappeared and Assistant Manager Jeong’s brow furrowed. I could see the obvious dissatisfaction in his appearance, but from Lee Jae-heon’s perspective, it was just a complaint of being full.
He let out a faint laugh.
“Anyway, this is going to happen, so please take care of yourselves.”
“… Manager, the pharmacy isn’t that far away.”
Lee Jae-heon’s words: The main character spoke in a firm voice, as if he felt dissatisfaction somewhere. I don’t know what it was, but it seemed like my pride was a little hurt.
Seeing that sight filled me with joy once again.
“If I take a few people with me, soon…”
“There’s no need.”
“….”
“…I told you, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
I’m so tired that I’m dying, but that disgusting bastard doesn’t listen to me.
I tilted my head slightly.
“Get your head around it. huh? Don’t you understand…? Assistant Manager Jeong is good at things like that.”
“What are you saying?”
“What do you mean? It’s a miracle that I’m the only one in the group injured right now, you know? I got this opportunity out of nowhere, so where would I go? If you go, can you come out with your limbs intact? “Everyone together?”
“But…”
“Are you confident that you won’t kill anyone?”
“….”
The protagonist closed his mouth at those words.
‘Well, if you have a conscience, there’s no way you can answer.’
Jaeheon Lee nodded with satisfaction.
I don’t know exactly what the situation was, but Jeong In-ho suffered the death of a colleague before returning.
Kang Min-ah, Noh Yeon-seok and Lee Jae-heon. I don’t know who else has died since then, but there’s no way I can answer that question while leaving at least three people dead.
“So…”
Lee Jae-heon glanced at the group.
Among them, there were those who had the will to at least go to the pharmacy and those who did not, so there were those who did their best to avoid eye contact. Lee Jae-heon didn’t want to break this strange silence.
“Let’s think about it calmly.”
I liked it now.
This is a situation where we can at least be seen as human beings, wearing shallow masks and not sharing our true feelings with each other. There was no reason to break up the team by causing unnecessary conflict through unnecessary conversations.
Jaeheon Lee slowly blinked his eyes due to the drowsiness gnawing at his brain.
“Let’s think efficiently. “I’m the only one who’s hurt, and I’m not on the verge of death right now…” “
…”
“There’s no need for anyone to get hurt more.”
Ineffective damage was just a meaningless loss.
In the original work, it is best to replace one person or have everyone share equally. However, in this case, Lee Jae-heon, who had the most ability, had no choice but to split, so the best option was for Lee Jae-heon, who had already split his path, to split once again.
Of course, it would be a bit harsh, but there was nothing I could do about it right now.
‘Because it’s a kind of investment.’
In terms of gaming, one stagnant object is like giving a bus ride to newbies. Right now, we can’t ignore these younger chicks because they are collateral for the future. If possible, it would have been wiser to show them a favor in advance.
Jaeheon Lee squeezed and opened his newly treated hand to the doctor and spoke as if sighing.
“…I think I should get some sleep.”
“…I think that would be better.”
“Just in case, leave the fire lit…”
he muttered, rolling his eyes.
Although it is still morning, it is a good idea to keep the fire burning even if it is not necessary to ensure visibility. Since it is still early March, the weather is cold, so the body temperature is likely to drop.
Moreover, if you catch fish or small animals later, you can cook them…
‘Ah, food.’
That also needs to be obtained when daylight comes… and drinking water…
Lee Jae-heon blinked slowly, holding the corner of his mouth as if covering his mouth.
Material things were necessary to survive in the underworld, but taking care of one’s spirit was even more important. It was not a joke in this world that a sleazy guy would lose his mind one day and go on a shooting spree.
In any case, it’s something I need, so I need to get my group’s minds back on track, share what happened while we were taken away, and above all, take the time to reintroduce myself to my position. ‘
I need
to clean up the mess that was thrown at that disgusting protagonist…’
That’s how it should be.
“….”
Lee Jae-heon muttered softly.
“…I don’t know.”
I was just tired.
* * *
As Director Lee Jae-heon fell asleep, a heavy silence surrounded him.
There was no sound of life coming from among the countless trees, and instead, only the shaking of the trees weeping without a breath of wind filled the silence between them. However, it did not fill the empty space and only made people feel dull.
Kwon Yeon-hee blinked as she looked at Manager Lee Jae-heon, who was breathing heavily as if he were dead.
“…You don’t have any expectations.”
A small voice echoed throughout the cave.
“You weren’t expecting anything.”
“….”
“You came because you were really worried, not because you needed us…”
She muttered once again.
“I was just worried.”
