Episode 115
The first thing I wanted was, ‘He wasn’t that bad of a guy!’
Now, he has become a crazy person who has suffered mental problems due to repeated visits to the other side of the world, but has hidden it skillfully and is gradually revealing his true nature thanks to his excellent sacrificial spirit.
For your information, there were small settings in the middle, including ‘a survivor of an ordinary underworld’, ‘a serial killer suspect’, and ‘a monster candidate who has become menacing under the influence of a green algae monster’, but life does not always go as planned, and they all failed. Even if the settings themselves remain, the desired results are not achieved.
At the very least, Lee Jae-heon could not help but lament the current reality in which his past life had been dragged into the setting of his current life. What on earth did I do so wrong, you chicks?
And the thought that came to mind the moment I saw the corpse of a child that looked somehow familiar.
“Chief, that kid. The person who saved me from the road at that time….”
“….”
“…Chief?”
Okay, let’s change it.
It’s time to reset.
* * *
Lee Jae-heon, who had been happily spending three days with the green algae monster in his dreams, could not bear the warmth and tried to talk to him, and the green algae monster happily responded to his crazy behavior. Of course, I don’t know why Lee Jae-heon, who is just a human being, was able to communicate with that person.
Anyway, the conclusion was simple. Lee Jae-heon wanted to be free, even in his dreams, and the green algae monster wanted only one thing in exchange for guaranteeing it.
I want you to hunt down a human for me to eat.
“….”
“….”
“…if that’s okay.”
It was just a transaction.
There were still many questionable parts.
I didn’t know if the green algae monster in my dream and the green algae monster in the other world were the exact same being, and I couldn’t believe that the only price that guaranteed freedom was a human being. If this was going to be the case, why did they bother Lee Jae-heon so much?
But surprisingly, things turned out right. In order to widen the distance from his companions, Lee Jae-heon had to instill caution or fear from them, and in any case, it was true that the green algae monster was punishing him, whether in his dream or outside. Jaeheon Lee decided to imitate a zombie, just like the cocky employee Kwon said.
However, the chicks were more attached to him than he could have imagined, and Lee Jae-heon could not escape from that. Now the only viable plan left to him was a deal with the green algae monster.
And the prey had already been decided.
‘Serial killer.’
A common subject that appears at least once in most novels that involve even the slightest crime. He was suffering from a ‘disease that causes him to have murderous intent towards humans’, so he was the perfect person to pretend to be crazy and kill him.
Therefore, Jaeheon Lee had two options. Should I kill this crazy person in front of others or should I kill him secretly in a remote place far away? Although it is said to be a limited space, the park in the other world was extremely large and dangerous. Lee Jae-heon, who even had memories of his past life, could do anything.
However, Jaeheon Lee decided to kill him so that others would notice.
‘Because that was the plan.’
The reason he went so far as to create an image by associating himself with the green algae monster was partly because of the deal he made with him, but more importantly, because he wanted to keep his distance. Just enough trust to not be abandoned by the main character and his companions was more than enough.
In any case, he wanted to run away from their worried gaze, and now he had failed.
‘The deal was a bonus in the first place.’
Nevertheless, Jaeheon Lee decided to keep the plan. The reason he started the fuss in the middle of the night instead of him from the beginning was to prevent the group from being too shocked by Lee Jae-heon’s sudden murder. It was in the same context that it gradually created a sense of discomfort and caused a rift among the group.
To be honest, Jaeheon Lee has done enough. I don’t know if you developed antibodies, but didn’t you complete the second dose of the vaccine? I don’t know if this was Lee Jae-heon’s crazy stubbornness or an objective judgment, but he wanted to finish the plan he had carefully made.
Just one thing was added.
“…Jaeheon Lee.”
“….”
“Do you know this child?”
I should just go out and search.
‘No matter how much I think about it, this life is ruined.’
Even if things go wrong, how can they go wrong like this? I really didn’t want to feel the convenience of a reset, but this time I had no choice. When I saw the corpse of the little boy lying around, I got the feeling.
No matter how many reasons were given, I felt it instinctively. That kid died in the other world because Lee Jae-heon saved him. Originally, it only appeared as a piece of meat in the novel, but it survived and came this far on its own two feet. This is usually called the butterfly effect.
And since it had gotten this far, a reset was needed. As we head back, we need to calmly sort out Lee Jae-heon’s excessive settings and observe the situation with a clearer and clearer mind.
Anyway, that was the conclusion. I said I should die.
“Jaeheon Lee?”
In response to Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s question, Lee Jae-heon just blinked blankly. Jaeheon Lee was a person who could get things done quickly when he put his mind to it. I hoped he could feel my confusion and daze.
“….”
“Maybe… you know.”
…Actually, being tired also played a part.
That child, who looked as if he had been torn to death by wild dogs, was a child he had helped before coming to the underworld. This is the guy that Lee Jae-heon approached to start a relationship with Jung In-ho.
‘The name is probably… Minhong?’
I guess something happened.
I don’t know the last name, but the name the woman presumed to be the parent at the time called the child was ‘Minhong’. Even though his eyes were covered, he was crying loudly while holding my hand, probably because he was startled by the loud noise. Jaeheon Lee still remembered that wet feeling and got goosebumps.
Death brings great repercussions to the underworld. To be precise, the shock immediately after witnessing a living person’s death has an effect.
Even if it is the death of a child.
“….”
“What does it mean to know perhaps? You’ve met that kid before. “Do you know your name?”
“…Just a moment.”
This guy is mentally broken too.
‘I see you interrogating me so thoroughly.’
Lee Jae-heon took a step back from Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, who was quickly approaching me. It was either an intentional play or just an unconscious reaction. My head hurt quite a bit.
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t figured out the situation yet.”
He was thankful that the number of survivors gathered here was not very large.
While heading toward the pavilion, which appeared to be the detective team’s residence, Lee Jae-heon and Jeong In-ho felt a sign of presence and realized that it belonged to Detective Hong Gyeong-jun and another survivor. As he deliberately walked closer, the detective who was scanning the surroundings called out to him.
‘I don’t know why he was happy to see me.’
I think he was probably thinking of someone who was looking at him over and over again. Hong Gyeong-jun seemed to quite identify with that person and Lee Jae-heon, perhaps because his mentality was divided due to the behind-the-scenes world.
Eventually, Lee Jae-heon and Jeong In-ho briefly escaped from the group and approached the group of survivors, including the detective. The reason why they bothered to drop it was because they felt that a murder had occurred, as the detective’s expression was not very good and what they were looking for was a child and an adult. And the less I had to face death in the other world, the better. This may be true of the ordinary world and people, but even more so here.
That’s how Jaeheon Lee was able to see the corpses of the extras he had encountered before coming to the underworld.
“….”
Even if I summarized it again, my head still hurt.
Basically, this world was tolerant of the elderly and the weak, which was different from the respect shown in the world of my previous life. The cold corpse of a child that could not bloom was enough to shake off the mental state of many survivors, including the main character.
And the underworld accepted it with great alacrity.
‘Fuck.’
Perhaps because of my mood, I felt like I could hear monsters running rampant on the ship from afar. Of course, Lee Jae-heon’s hearing isn’t that good, so it might just be an auditory hallucination.
When he saw the corpse, he looked at the empty seat of Jeong In-ho, who had gone to call a doctor.
‘…Will the protagonist drag the group here?’
The probability of that happening was probably small. I don’t know exactly what happened to him before his return, but Jeong In-ho must have also experienced death several times. There was no way he would intentionally show the body to the group. No matter how much the desire to stick together is strong.
But I don’t know if I have the energy to stop the person who absolutely must go with me, and I don’t know anything else, but Doctor Ha Seong-yoon will come here anyway….
“…I….”
In the end, the play had to continue.
“So, um.”
“….”
“Yes, I saw it. “I saw it.”
And it didn’t necessarily have to boast of 100% purity.
The most effective lie in the world is mixing lies and truth, and Jaeheon Lee was confused enough right now. He instinctively revealed his anger within the line that best fit the plan.
“…I heard your name. “It’s probably Minhong.”
I felt nauseous, like someone who hadn’t slept in three days.
However, in the meantime, Lee Jae-heon blinked several times, exerted strength, and tried to display his usual attitude. If he lived up to the image he has shown so far, he should not have collapsed already.
“Minhong. “You don’t know my last name?”
“I don’t know. “When I first encountered him, I just… I just left.”
“…Gone?”
At the same time, I highlight the good things I have done.
Hong Gyeong-jun looked at Lee Jae-heon’s words with a skeptical eye, but he actually liked them. If favorability goes down due to the words, ‘I left my child behind,’ and eventually goes up again, the backlash will be even greater.
“I didn’t want to have too much conversation.”
That’s because ‘Lee Jae-heon’ is a mentally ill person who knows how to show respect for the elderly and the weak. He did what he could to save a child who was hit by a car and almost died, but afterwards he felt burdened and left the scene. Or even if it is for other reasons, he is someone who can show that level of humility.
However, Hong Gyeong-jun’s expression became even more ambiguous due to Lee Jae-heon’s words without context.
Still, whatever.
“…If I had known it would be like this…”
“…Yes?”
“….”
Anyway, the main character will come soon and explain.
‘When a minus becomes a plus, the effect is greater.’
After thinking lightly, he focused his gaze on the child’s corpse without even nodding. It was to let people know that he had suffered a great blow upon seeing that child’s corpse, and it seems that Detective Hong Gyeong-jun was impressed by that.
At this point, I revealed my confusion without any addition or subtraction.
“…If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have saved him.”
This was the best.
‘Because I am a survivor of the underworld.’
I was out of my mind.
Why did this child appear in front of me? Clearly, a child like this did not exist in the original novel. No, it existed, but the body should not have been left here in this form. It was very different from what he remembered from the novel.
I did that much work. I did save this kid. But that couldn’t be the reason for the current situation. The area where Lee Jae-heon saved this was even quite far from this park. But why on earth did this kid who looked like a kindergartener die here?
Dead….
“….”
“…Mr. Lee Jae-heon?”
…?
why?
* * *
“….”
In fact, he could have held on longer.
That wasn’t formidable. In his previous life, Lee Jae-heon had seen people die and come back to life several times and was fully accustomed to his own pain and suffering. Even though it was a hidden world, he had lived a pretty difficult life to be able to lose his mind just because he saw the dead body of a child.
However, one of the many facts that Lee Jae-heon missed was that humanity in this world exists in the present-day ‘Lee Jae-heon’. Even if it is shallow and hypocritical, it is sympathy and respect for the immature.
And death in the other world had a knack for driving people crazy.
“…Why did it become like this?”
Even people who have already gone crazy.
