Episode 376:
Murder is truly provocative.
In what way is it so provocative? Killing creatures with the same intelligence as me? The point of killing similar-looking members of the same species? Or is it that I control the life of a living, breathing person in my hands?
There may be many reasons, but in fact, Song In-myeong was not very impressed by the act of murder itself. When I was younger, I think it felt good just to kill, but later, I felt greater joy from performing higher-level actions with the same material. And there was no end to art. Art based on murder was so provocative it was almost ecstatic.
Maybe that’s why my greed grew as the days passed. I wanted to create better works with better materials.
“I want to ask you something, uncle.”
In that sense, Lee Jae-heon was a work that someone had already worked on and was an excellent material.
“How do you feel about living?”
A polite tone came out automatically.
“Kim Yeon-woo feels an inordinate amount of reward when he saves people. Munsan-gun is a crazy person who can’t even hate anyone. The world that Kim Yeon-woo sees is clearly harsh, but there is probably a sparkling hope hidden within it. The world Munsan sees is sometimes sharp, but usually it is soft and soft like a marshmallow.”
“What nonsense…”
“But I can’t guess.”
“….”
“Why live? Why do you help people? Why do you pretend like nothing happened? Or is it really okay?”
At the park, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the ingredients, but the more I learned, the more I realized that Jaeheon Lee was a person whose true intentions were unknown.
“I know. When I was in real life, you joined hands with Detective Hong Gyeong-jun and looked for me. They even tried to find me by imitating customers I didn’t match with. Are you Majo? Do you like being criticized? Oh, of course I know. It’s not that I really have a masochistic hobby, it’s just that I decided it was more efficient. “I know, I know.”
But would it really be human if one could always live efficiently?
“You’re not emotionally dull like me or my colleagues.”
Song In-myeong was like this from birth. I couldn’t empathize with the pain. I didn’t even feel the need. The suffering of others is just an efficient means to get what I want. Young Song In-myeong, who was bored with everything in the world, needed stimulation and eventually took this path.
‘If you think about it, that guy named In-ho Jeong is also kind of strange.’
Just by looking at him, I could see that he had a narrow range of emotions like Song In-myeong. I can’t believe I lead a boring life without seeking further stimulation on such topics. Although he was a difficult person to understand, he was a talented person that I wanted to attract to this industry even more.
Song In-myeong swallowed his thoughts and continued speaking.
“Well… I think we can figure this out little by little. “Right?”
“Anyone wants.”
“You were looking for me too. You know you can’t kill me anyway, right? Those of you who have an aversion to killing will hesitate to harm me and die by my hands. No matter how out of their wits they are, there is no way those professional police officers would allow something like that…”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not afraid of killing people.”
“But I also know that killing me in the other world would be a loss.”
The void left by a dead survivor in the underworld is replaced by a mannequin that imitates the survivor’s behavior. Even if you kill Song In-myeong here, the ‘Song In-myeong’ in reality will still remain and commit murder, and if it tries to hide, it will be more difficult to catch it.
“It would be better to talk to them in a hidden world like now and lure them in some way to induce a reaction or make a deal… because they know that the best thing to do is to set a trap and catch them in reality and put them in a cage. “There is no way Lee Jae-heon would kill me.”
Of course, there are other ways.
“Well, it wouldn’t matter if you cut off all of my limbs, deprived me of my mobility, and left me in a state where I could barely breathe. Anyway, when I return to reality, all the injuries I sustained here will disappear. Right? But what if I get scared and hide from reality? “If I go abroad, it will be difficult to catch me for the rest of my life, right?”
And I’m not sure if a person named Lee Jae-heon could be that cruel. Even if he could, would he really make that choice while his cute friends, whom he calls ‘chicks’, are watching? Song In-myeong decided that it was not.
He said with a grin.
“I didn’t show up proudly for no reason.”
There was no way Song In-myeong would die unless he was unlucky enough to be killed by a monster, and unless he was very lucky, he was unlikely to be killed by a monster either. That’s right, Song In-myeong was very fast on his feet. If you want to make a living with this job in this small area of land, you have to have the talent to run away.
“Oh, honestly, it’s nice to see. Our Bian doesn’t open up easily, but I guess only really good people gathered here. “He talks a lot.”
“…That’s not it….”
“If you capture those people and use them as hostages, you won’t be able to say anything, will you? Did you say it was Munsan-gun? I’m quite attracted to that too. There are a lot of babies that don’t look like they can even take a bite… Don’t you think they will cry loudly if you point out one finger at a time?”
“….”
“Aha, I’m not saying I’m going to do that.”
A smile came out on Vivian’s white face.
“Think about it, kid. “Why would I use such a troublesome method when there are talented people here who are full of humanity and would rather sacrifice themselves than let others mess with them?”
“…ah.”
Vivian’s eyes suddenly turned to Lee Jae-heon, who was standing in front of her. Looking at the slightly shaking pupils, I guess he must have been affectionate with me even though I hadn’t seen him before. Song In-myeong shook his head with interest.
‘I think the way I protected her just now had a big impact on my mind…’
Vivian herself didn’t seem to be aware of it, but when she was half distracted by Song In-myeong’s whispers, she must have felt something in Lee Jae-heon, who hugged Vivian as if protecting her. It was. It seemed absurd, but it also felt like surprise or admiration.
As it wasn’t certain, it seemed worth observing.
“…Oh no. Mr. Lee Jae-heon, I just dragged him in….”
“You know that when you see it, you idiot. I asked a good question. Thanks to you, I met you too. How nice is it? So, let me see my friend too. I don’t want anything big, okay? “It’s okay if it’s a part that can be recovered, so why not just cut it off and throw it away?”
“Please don’t do that. “Why on earth are you doing that?”
“Is this funny bastard? You dragged me around like you were showing off, and now you’re leaving? What are you trying to do with this? Didn’t you go along with this knowing it would end up like this? “That was your intention, right?”
“That’s…”
Vivian’s face gradually hardened, as if she thought there was nothing wrong with what Song In-myeong said. Actually, Vivian probably didn’t know that in that short period of time, a person named Lee Jae-heon would enter her heart. It’s understandable that you’re confused because you developed feelings for someone you didn’t care about before without realizing it.
Jaeheon Lee sighed deeply, as if he couldn’t just watch that. Whenever I saw him, he had a light attitude that did not fit the situation.
“…Stop playing with the kid and everything. Would you like me to pluck out one of your eyes? Would you like me to cut off one of your arms? “Tell me what I should put in those blood-smelling hands so as not to bother our poor survivors.”
“Oh really? “Do you know what I’m asking?”
“No matter what I ask for, as long as it can be resolved within my body, anything is possible, so it would be better to stop looking around and just tell it to me.”
“Hmm….”
You’ve been sticking around with Vivian for this from the beginning.
Knowing that he could not kill Song In-myeong with the current survivors, he came up with a way to control him in other ways. Since he seemed obsessed with the material, he must have decided that he could negotiate in some way if he used Lee Jae-heon himself.
‘Furthermore, Vivian, who is still young, would have been worried that she would meet me alone and make strange compromises… In many ways, it would have been best for Vivian to meet me while I was with her. I kind of understand it.’
I was so ecstatic.
“…Isn’t this really a natural monument?”
Song In-myeong was sure.
‘That’s right, it’s a natural monument.’
No matter where I go, I will never see this bastard again. If Jaeheon Lee dies, it will be over. There is no such thing as a second Lee Jae-heon or a third Lee Jae-heon. Who could come up with such a crazy idea and put it into practice?
I wanted to make this my work.
“Okay, Mr. D○ni.”
“What dude?”
“Why are you bringing a cute dog friend with you these days… No, anyway.”
A person named Lee Jae-heon was truly unique. It was special.
It felt like a miscellany created by throwing various sauces on top of a sloppily conceived setting. A sacrificial patient who can change as much as he likes according to the situation, is heavy in essence but light in appearance, and embraces both extreme evil and extreme good.
“Can I help you?”
I also wanted to receive this person’s sacrifice.
Just like I became a ‘friend’ with Vivian, I wanted to become Jaeheon Lee’s ‘chick’. Even though I know it’s close to impossible, I just can’t give up.
Lee Jae-heon rarely threw someone out once he got them in line. That was the result when I observed him recently, when I looked at him in the park and when I researched him in real life. If Song In-myeong, even with difficulty, could get within that line, Lee Jae-heon would literally become a generously giving tree.
‘Just now, he’s the one putting his arms and legs on the line to protect Vivian and the others. How would he react if one of his chicks made the same request as me? Even if you are embarrassed, should you hand it over if the reason is valid? Then what about me? If I fall within that person’s line and make unreasonable demands….’
Why do you think I’ll listen?
“huh? Don’t you need it? “You might need my help.”
I’m so excited.
“I heard that you are planning to explore Eonhak High School. I know. I have a partner at Eonhak High School. I was already bored, so I came here because I was curious about how that bastard’s work became a secret world…” “
…You know that?”
“Yeah, I know everything. I know his name, I know where he works, and I know his work style. Because he is famous for being perverted in the industry. “I personally have a bad relationship.”
By fully understanding the person named Lee Jae-heon.
If this person himself is turned into a work of art, Song In-myeong will be creating a living work for the first time in his life. Contrary to his ‘friends’ who had planned for it to end in death.
“how is it.”
“….”
“Shall I help you?”
“…if you help me.”
“I don’t want anything special.”
Song In-myeong grinned.
“Just three times when you meet me in real life… let’s just pretend you don’t catch me.”
Three editions.
In it, I had to win Lee Jae-heon’s favor.
* * *
Immediately after completing a non-transaction with Song In-myeong.
‘I didn’t expect this.’
Jaeheon Lee was dumbfounded. I had the intention of gently coaxing him into using him during the expedition to Unhak High School, but I never thought he would cooperate so actively.
Even the conditions were generous.
‘Meeting only three times in real life? It’s not difficult. It’s not that difficult….’
It’s natural that when things go too well, you start to doubt the way the world is going. Jaeheon Lee was able to calm his confusion only after recalling once again his assumption that the owner of this world would be his wife. I had been begging all my life, so unexpected luck was unfamiliar to me.
Well, that’s it.
“…Will Vivian want to talk to me?”
How dare this bastard leave me and go see Song In-myeong?
Lee Jae-heon, holding Vivian’s shoulders, began to rave under the guise of nagging.
“Do you have a mind or not? You knew what harm that bastard would do to you, so you went to meet him alone. You may think that I was bored and chased the student around like an obedient dog. You may not trust me, but I am an adult and you are a student. “Do you know how ridiculous it is to go to a natural disaster like that and try to solve it on your own without any help from adults?”
What was the reason for safely seducing Vivian and hovering next to her? Song In-myeong was to prepare a place to take advantage of natural disasters. I should have been careful as the purpose was to negotiate with a cautious fugitive, but I was so frustrated that I almost missed it while I was sleeping.
Lee Jae-heon, who had been longing for Vivian as much as his heart was pounding, made eye contact with the young man.
“Vivian, what I’m saying right now….”
“….”
“…Are you really listening?”
Lee Jae-heon’s expression became vaguely distorted.
The eyes are wide open, the corners of the lips tightly closed are slightly twisted. Lee Jae-heon’s eyebrows slowly furrowed at the strange face, not knowing if he was just trying to cry or laugh. By the looks of it, it seemed like he wasn’t really listening to me.
“Hey student.”
“yes.”
“….”
“I was wrong.”
“Uh…”
“Thank you.”
Lee Jae-heon blinked at the voice that fell as usual.
“I made a mistake because I was nervous. I’m sorry for causing you any inconvenience.”
“…No, not even to the lungs….”
“I will try to ensure that Song In-myeong does not harm Lee Jae-heon or others.”
“….”
That’s a great reflective attitude that reflects the feedback well.
“…okay.”
Why do I feel like my life is messed up?
Really why…?
(Continued in the next part)
