Chapter.5 Inside Out (3)
***
The two naturally distanced themselves from the professor
.
“Are you crazy?”
“I! “Be more selective in your words!”
“what. That’s right. If you have mental illness, you are crazy. “Am I wrong?”
The professor laughed bitterly at Ian’s words. Actually, that is correct. If someone keeps talking to you in your head and their personality sometimes pops up and moves your body, what could it be if not multiple personality disorder?
It was said in a post in the community. We who live in the wasteland have no choice but to go crazy one way or another. So, we must live in the hope that things will go well.
I’m not sure, but I don’t think multiple personality disorder, with a personality that strives to take on sovereignty in such an extreme way, would fall into the scope of ‘well’.
“By the way, are you still using that phonetic symbol from back then?”
“hmm? Ah, that? “As you know, our name became known outside the District 45 incident.”
“Hepburn and I even became famous in our own way. “I use this name outside because it helps me do business.”
“Didn’t we put a bounty on that name?”
“I already made some money thanks to strangers who came to visit me after I started using this name. “People with no skills tend to carry guns like flashy guns.”
“43 is an area with a lot of conflict. Even raptors don’t come this far. “They have made so many enemies here and there that they would have to fight dozens of times a day to penetrate Area 43.”
Umm… Got fame? Enough to help business?
As the professor turned his head, wondering how they would gain so much fame when there were only three people, he saw people around them pointing at the three people and whispering.
“Hey, that’s definitely V and I, right?”
“An old man in a big iron bag… Are you sure. “They’re spice dealers.”
“And the guy in front was definitely called Hepburn.”
“They are bastards. “You’re the loser of District 45, HIV!”
“A big man passed away at a hospital in the village…”
“Let’s not get involved. “The three of us are crazy people who slaughtered hundreds of scavengers and dome raptors.”
Buzz, buzz
, rumble!
Somehow the reaction was more intense than expected. It doesn’t feel bad. If you make a name for yourself in the wasteland, it’s easy to become a target, but if you make a deal or need people, you can proceed much more easily. It has the effect of filtering out stupidity and is good. It’s all good…
“Why are you calling me that! “I feel bad about HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the AIDS pathogen)!”
“why? I think I’m okay? Once you get caught, you will definitely die. Wow, doesn’t it look bloody?”
“The Hepburn community started calling us a combination of our code names. “There wasn’t really anything we could do to stop it.”
Anyway, Team HIV, the first wasteland name I got, is a sexually transmitted disease!
As the professor muttered while holding his head, Ian, who was watching him giggling, opened his mouth.
“So what specifically did you do that made you crazy? “You were fine the last time I saw you.”
Umm. For some reason, there was an atmosphere where the words were going around in circles. Are you still asking?
“Well… I ran into a bit of a problem while playing the game…”
”
Ahhh.”
As soon as the word game came out of the professor’s mouth, Bex and Ian suddenly looked solemn. What’s wrong with these kids?
“It’s a game… At that time, ‘that’…”
“Happy Hepburn! are you okay! “Because there is no such thing as a noble person in any profession… I think that as long as I work hard, I don’t care what I look like!”
“Eh? What, you guys saw me play? how is it? Was it worth seeing?”
Choo Woo-wook –
As the professor spoke happily, Ian and Bex seemed even more anxious and seemed to be choosing their words after careful consideration.
‘what? Why are you becoming more solemn? Did you really see it? ‘Why is the reaction like this?’
“Uh…um….”
“It was very avant-garde…. Huh! It wasn’t bad. Still, if it’s driving you crazy, I recommend quitting.”
Seeing these guys’ lukewarm reactions, I guess they saw a boring scene.
Ignoring the two people who were struggling to comfort me, the professor went on to explain the symptoms.
.
.
.
.
“So… you were infected with something like a mutant virus in a game, and the personality created by that virus massaged your brain in the game and came out into reality?”
“uh. “You got it right.”
At the professor’s words, Ian’s face, who had been smirking until now, distorted slightly.
“Is this really crazy?”
“Don’t call me crazy. “He seems really crazy.”
“He has mental issues and he’s a man, so he’s crazy. Multiple personalities are something you only see in movies, but it’s interesting. So what kind of guy is that friend?”
“You mean that friend?”
In response to my question, Ian poked my head with his thick finger and said,
“Of course he’s the friend in your ass! If we don’t get treatment, we’ll have to live with it for the rest of our lives, so shouldn’t we be aware of what kind of person we are? “One day, a friend you welcomed runs wild like a cannibal. You don’t know him well, so you can’t help him get away and just shoot him, right?”
Although it is bloody, it is common sense in the wasteland. This is a world where a friend who was laughing and chatting yesterday can turn into a madman and attack you today. If you know someone well, it is your duty as an acquaintance to ‘let them go’ in a graceful manner depending on the severity of the situation.
‘That guy is more than capable of doing that.’
The professor thought back to his experience with the parasite Hyde.
“Let’s see… First of all, he has a bit of a childish side. When I first saw him, he looked like an elementary school student, but now he’s grown up and speaks like he’s a middle school student. From what you say, it seems like you have some middle school illness. At first, they were very hostile towards me, but now I look at them and they seem quite cooperative. Of course, I don’t think I’ve given up the desire to take over my body. His left index, middle, and ring fingers are completely under his control, and sometimes he scratches his body with them when he needs something. Oh, the name is Hyde. I fainted for a moment and when I woke up, he said his name was Hyde. also······. “What was there…”
[She is free from her mother’s influence, she saved your life and that human woman’s life once, she loves freedom, she is curious, and oh my! I like meat much more than fish! I still can’t forget the feeling I had when you were chewing meat at home yesterday! husks! Let’s eat that often! If possible, do not bake it, but eat it raw! They say that mutes are actually eaten alive!]
“Ok, try to be quiet! I know meat is that common. I already drool when I pass through the wasteland and see things that look like dried, twisted scavenger corpses, but let me show that tendency in my head one more time. “The moment I try something like cannibalism, they will point a gun at my head and pull the trigger.”
[Oh, you noticed? Please take a look. Even though I have an estranged relationship with my mother, I was born as a mute. It is an instinct to covet human meat. Humans are one of the races with the highest genetic efficiency relative to their diet.]
“Hey, Hepburn?”
“Oh, this bastard is really…. Huh? “Vex why?”
“excuse me······. “Everyone is staring…”
After muttering to myself for a while, I looked up and saw people lining up around me turning their heads in surprise. Didn’t the guy next to him get up from his seat with his bag and move to the last row?
“what? “Why is everyone like that?”
“Why? You just looked like a 100% pure crazy person. Didn’t they say that he drooled when he saw the scavenger’s corpse? Didn’t he just call his personality by name? Didn’t he say that his fingers moved at will…? “If this wasn’t Woojin’s hospital, I would have shot them all first.”
As Ian said that, he took a handsome revolver from the iron bag he was carrying and placed it in the professor’s arms.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“It’s light and soft, yet sturdy. Lose strength… You can aim easily even with your non-obedient hand. “The ammunition is heavy, so you should be able to go without pain.”
“So… if you’re in a hurry, you can pick it up yourself with this?”
“okay. No matter how much I am, it is difficult to kill a close friend with my own hands. I can’t keep up with you because I’m depressed too. “I’m not saying use it right away, but use it when you need it.”
What is this trash?
“I’m not crazy!”
“Oh Hepburn. “That line just sounded like a crazy person.”
[Hey, you shell, you guys are so much fun!]
Outside, Bex and Ian are inside, parasites are scratching their insides, and it feels like a thousand dollars are growing inside. If it wasn’t for the real turret, I would have pretended to be crazy and rushed at him since I was already treated like a crazy person.
Still, talking like this made time pass better than when I was alone. While I was talking about the wasteland, listening to the guys talk about their business, and giving lengthy explanations about my gameplay, the sun was already setting outside the window.
“next! Hepburn! IV! Come in quickly!”
“Oh, it’s my turn… no, it’s our turn?”
“I changed that earlier. Going back and forth. “Toilet”
“I’m going to get treatment anyway, so it might be quicker if all three of us go in at the same time.”
“…Do whatever you want.”
It was obvious even without looking. He said it as a joke, but he probably did it because he wanted to hear how I was doing. If you say you are part of the group and go in together, you will be able to hear the details of the old man’s medical treatment.
We got up from our seats and entered the treatment room, receiving harsh looks from the people around us.
***
Squeak-clap!
When I opened the thick iron door, which seemed at first glance to be bulletproof and soundproof, I entered a neatly organized room that looked to anyone like a medical office, unlike the harsh appearance outside.
The old man sitting at the desk in the middle of the room was Young Master Woo Jin, the owner of this huge facility.
There is a word that immediately comes to mind when looking at Young Master Woo Jin.
‘Mad Doctor’
A bent old man wearing a white gown with a lot of blood on his desiccated body. He is the kind of person who habitually makes a strange, screeching sound of laughter, wields a razor-sharp scalpel freely, and occasionally licks the blade like a third-rate villain. Last time I came here, I asked him why he was licking his blade like that, and he said it was because he was getting older and lacking iron. From what I could see, this guy must have been going crazy for a while. Why are you licking the knife while living in the hospital with iron tablets piled up, you pervert?
However, despite his eccentricities, he is an old man with certain skills.
“It’s been a while, Old Man Woojin.”
“Okay, who is that again….. hmm? “You said it was Hepburn, but was it you, Professor Park?”
“Well, that’s how it happened.”
“Hehe Raptor, those idiots are out of fashion. I wonder if I’m getting beaten up by this kid. “Then the other two guys who moved together must be idiots in the back?”
“It’s been a while, old man.”
“What is the ebb and flow? “I came and went two days ago.”
“Can not help it. Because of what I do and that idiot.”
The professor sat on the chair in front of him as if he was accustomed to seeing old man Woo Jin stroking his beard in an empty tone as if he was saying it was the end of the world.
“Hey, those two guys behind you! There’s a first aid kit in the cupboard there, so just tilt and wind it yourself! “You know how to do it, right?”
“Damn it, you’re a doctor? Is it okay to treat a patient who pays a lot of money that way?”
“Unless it’s broken somewhere, you know how to do it. Money is, of course, the cost of medicine. I’m busy so I’m taking care of it! “If you get stuck, just cut it open again and return it to its original state!”
“You look like a crazy old man…”
Bex and Ian grumbled, but as if they were used to it, they took out a surgical needle that looked like a disinfectant fishing hook and a bandage from the cupboard and began to treat him quickly.
“Metal Joe, that guy is a regular at this place, so he’ll take care of it. Last time I saw that little guy who had been hanging around for a few days, he seemed to know how to do the basics. Now, it is time to proceed with the treatment of Professor Park… Seeing as there was no smell of blood, I don’t think he was injured anywhere. “Is that polite?”
When Woojin spoke, tapping his head with a thin finger, the professor smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“That problem was solved somehow, and today I came to a different problem.”
“Eh? really? That solved it? Hey Professor Park. If you lie during psychiatric consultation, it won’t help the treatment at all, right? “You really overcame that trauma?”
“…It just so happened. “It seems like I got a different mental illness in return.”
At the professor’s words, Woojin observed the professor with very interested eyes and spoke.
“Hmm. Just in case, check it out. Come on, say ‘Mom’. ‘Mom.’”
“….Do you really have to do that? “It’s a bit… uncomfortable.”
“There is a big difference between thinking in your head and expressing it with your mouth. Let me say this just once. “Mom.”
“Ac…Mom…Mom.”
mother. Just saying those words out loud made my heart ache. However, my heart ached, but it wasn’t so painful that I felt dizzy or the memories of that day came flooding back, like before. Because I acknowledged that it was my past that I had to live with.
A smile appeared on the wrinkled mouth of old Woojin, who was observing me like that.
“…That’s pretty cool, kid. I really got over the memories of that day. That’s great! This guy is very disabled! Very manly boss! Hehehe! “It’s so surprising that someone has recovered completely from this hospital!”
My relationship with old man Woojin is quite old. After living alone and coming here for the first time with a serious break in my arm, I was persuaded by Mr. Woojin, who recognized my condition right away, and began receiving regular counseling and taking medication for depression. You are probably the only person who knows my trauma as well as I do.
Woojin, who had been laughing happily for a while, spoke in a slightly flushed tone with a smile on his lips.
“Then I’m done with seeing your face once a quarter. So, did you come to say hello today? “You said you were grateful for all this time?”
“Am I crazy? Come across the wasteland to say hello to the old man. “As I said before, I recently developed a new mental illness, so I came here because I wanted to get some counseling.”
“Ah, you said earlier that you developed another mental illness while overcoming trauma, right? It’s okay. Well, at least it’s a new development compared to what it was in the past. If you live here, one or two mental illnesses are the norm. “Okay, let’s hear what the symptoms are.”
Professor Woo-jin spoke softly with a warm smile, and without realizing it, he felt at ease.
“I feel like I was ‘encroached’ while playing that game-”
Crash!
“You fucking bastard! “I told you not to play that game!!!”
In an instant, Woojin, who changed from a warm old man to a face like that of King Yeomra, jumped over the desk like a protection and grabbed the professor by the collar. Ian, who was watching the scene, burrowed into the corner as much as he could, and Bex couldn’t even see where he was hiding.
Woojin, who was roaring like a wild beast, pulled the professor by the collar and said,
“It would be better to tell everything that happened without leaving out a single word.”
At the growling words of Young Master Woojin, a frightened voice came from inside my head.
[Off shell. I’m scared of this old man…]
‘Me too.’
There is no other reason why this treatment room is not the only turret installed throughout the hospital.
‘This old man is 100 times scarier than automatic turrets.’
In this narrow medical room, there wouldn’t be many people who could avoid the sword of the legendary mercenary who was once called ‘Medical Accident Woojin’ and ‘Doctor Woojin’. If they didn’t want to die, everyone was left to crawl.
***
