Episode 124
As expected, the protagonist refused.
“I’m going to be a little tired today.”
“I never lied. “If you’re going to do it, do it with sincerity.”
“But I decided to stop by a small lake. “It must be really difficult.”
His reaction wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
‘Do you think it’s the last bastion?’
As has been clearly shown so far, ‘Lee Jae-heon’, a survivor of the underworld, had a sense of responsibility towards the group. I would have thought it would be rude for him to die alone without even passing over all the great information he had. That is, according to the settings we have made so far.
So this was a kind of regret. A person with regrets about life would not want to die easily, so Jung In-ho would not allow him to feel at ease enough to die.
“…Where do you go to get water from the small lake?”
“There’s that too… The fish trap I put in last time is still there. “I want to check that.”
“It’s okay.”
“Yeah, I guess the people here didn’t know there was fish there.”
“Huh.”
Why don’t you know that?
Lee Jae-heon recalled the original novel’s contents for a moment and then erased it. In fact, even if President Choi Jeong-man in the novel had jumped into the lake, he would not do the same thing now that circumstances have changed. If I had jumped in, I would have thought there was a fish in there.
He wiped the corners of his mouth once and continued speaking.
“Please take a lot with you on your way. “Fish…but there are also fruits.”
“I’m thinking of checking out the statue the doctor said you saw.”
“Then take that person with you. “It seems like there is nothing wrong with his eyesight, but his eyes wouldn’t have changed for no reason.”
Actually, I had a guess.
‘It looks like you can see the scene before returning.’
So far, only the story of Lee Jae-heon’s death has been brought up, but Ha Seong-yoon was a person who rarely revealed his true feelings. It was not revealed exactly what subjects he could see, but it was clear that he could at least see things before regression.
Of course, this wasn’t a story to bring up right away either.
“…okay.”
“….”
“You must be very tired?”
In response to Lee Jae-heon’s question, the main character smiled straight as if he had drawn it.
“yes.”
“Then do it.”
There was no need to bite it and fall.
‘Lee Jae-heon’ had no intention of dying anyway. I just lost confidence that I would be able to survive, and this was just a normal mood swing. Since it was nothing special, I didn’t feel desperate.
It will be okay again. I’ll come to my senses. This had happened many times before and he had survived in the end, so this time wouldn’t be any different. There was no need to catch someone who said he was tired and teach him a lot of information.
“Take care, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
Still, isn’t death something I can decide?
“…I will.”
“Don’t be too tired.”
Unfortunately, ‘Jaeheon Lee’ would not be able to pass on everything he knew. Like most dead people.
Because there will be no perfect death.
* * *
Leading the way on the way to the small lake was Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, as expected.
“I plan to take this opportunity to bring as much as possible.”
I don’t know if it was his nature or because he was honed in the underworld, but Hong Gyeong-jun enjoyed defining and managing people’s roles.
Of course, it was quite strict and dry to say that I ‘enjoyed’ it, but it was difficult to express it in other words. Moreover, in the case of the main character and the doctor, who were able to turn heads, they refused to be leaders, so in the end, it was inevitable that the detective would lead the entire group.
“Mr. Yeonwoo, could you please remain in your seat?”
“…I just need to protect the surrounding area like last time, right? All right.”
The police officer remained in his seat. Since she was a police officer who received systematic training like a detective, she would be in charge of protecting the weak and unable to move. It was a role that was not much different from the novel.
And of course, those who cannot move…
“Go.”
Lee Jae-heon, who is obviously a patient.
“Take care!”
Firefighter Do-yoon Han suffered a serious leg injury.
“Don’t come hurt. “The old man is exhausted.”
Elderly woman Azalea Azalea.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we went…?”
“Stay still. If we go all the way, it will only get more complicated.”
High school siblings who are minors.
“….”
“…Please come back.”
It was a crazy teacher, Lee Yun-byeol, and his student, Jang Seo-ah.
Of course, it is difficult for the police officer to protect them, who are clearly weak, so Vivian Student and President Choi Jeong-man are left alone. Conductor Kim Ki-jeong, who had turned pale after seeing the corpse, gathered his mentality surprisingly quickly and joined the collection team.
“Mister, take care of yourself.”
“…well… of course.”
Lee Jae-heon showed a shocked expression at Song In-myeong’s greeting. To be honest, it felt like a murder notice and I felt uncomfortable. I’m going to have to kill that bastard before he kills me.
It seems that such a feeling of trembling was not just felt by Lee Jae-heon.
“…What are you, Song In-myeong? “You didn’t have the common sense to ask how someone was doing.”
“Why are you fucking doing this again?”
“You’re the damn one. “Say hello to that guy when you saw him.”
When Song In-myeong’s friend, Seo Jang-hwa, made a bitter expression, Song In-myeong, who saw her, laughed and put his arm around her shoulder.
“Are you fucking jealous?”
“Tona and my dog.”
“I was bored yesterday so I had a conversation.”
“Then you can say that.”
In the end, Seo Jang-hwa’s thick hand struck the trash’s back five or six times, and the smile disappeared from Song In-myeong’s face due to the intense force. Thanks to him being harsh and complaining, he ended up being dragged away by Seo Jang-hwa.
And before leaving completely.
“….”
Seo Jang-hwa looked at Lee Jae-heon with a slightly frowned face and passed by.
“…Huh.”
There was something that Lee Jae-heon could tell from that expression.
‘I guess I felt something strange.’
If people who didn’t know the situation had seen it, they would have thought it was jealousy due to a friend or personal rejection, but Lee Jae-heon, who recalled his past life, realized that the relationship between Seo Jang-hwa and Song In-myeong was very complicated. It wasn’t a cute and cute feeling that I could just feel or think about.
If I had to define it, it would be an anxiety that seems to be caught between the victim and the perpetrator.
“….”
I wondered if this was the perception of someone who unknowingly had a murderer as a friend.
‘…It’s a shame.’
It would be nice if a chick like that became a police officer.
Maybe it was because I saw good growth for the first time in a long time, but my greed for talented people, which I had buried, grew. The main character is a case of being raised out of necessity rather than originally having such qualities, but Seo Jang-hwa would have done well if he had become a police officer. He showed some talent.
But what can you do? Garbage and Chick had already become friends, and Seo Jang-hwa didn’t know that Song In-myeong was a murderer. The reason she remains friends even though she instinctively feels foreboding is probably because she values friendship.
He’s a good kid.
“….”
“It’s Mr. Lee Jae-heon. “Why don’t you sit down for a bit?”
“…All right.”
And good people are the first to fall.
‘You’re losing money.’
It is an unavoidable structure. They give their hearts because they are kind, but most people are not like that and end up being betrayed like that. If small betrayals pile up silently, it can quickly cause a person to fall apart.
Police officer Kim Yeon-woo was also a person in the same context.
“Grandma Dallae says it’s gotten a lot better, but I think it’s still hard to move. “I’m sorry if my interference was pointless.”
“It can’t be. Thank you for your concern.”
Rather, it is a grandmother.
‘It seems like we’ve become quite friendly.’
My real name is Azalea. He possesses a strong mentality that allows him to take a walk in the underworld, choosing a line that is not dangerous. At the same time, he loves clean and delicate things. Even if it is a love so light that it flies away with just one breeze.
Perhaps the ones she cared most about were police officer Kim Yeon-woo and children Jang Seo-ah.
“….”
I asked the police officer who was looking anxiously at the outside of the pavilion.
“…is there something you’re anxious about?”
“iced coffee.”
The police officer, who couldn’t hide his expression other than a stern face, felt a little embarrassed, perhaps because he was aware of it. Even though he was a police officer who was supposed to protect the citizens, there was also a faint sense of guilt that he had unnecessarily caused anxiety.
“I was wondering if there was a monster coming around.”
Nevertheless, the fact that he answers obediently probably means that ‘Lee Jae-heon’ is a very dependable person. I don’t know where on earth I felt that much comfort.
Jaeheon Lee thought like that and looked outside the pavilion.
“I can’t really hear the monster coming.”
“I’m anxious for no reason. “I don’t know why the dog-like monster came last time…”
“Is that so?”
He wiped the corners of his mouth and continued speaking as if passing by.
“It would have been better if I had a knife.”
“Oh definitely… it would have been nice to have. “There are many uses for life other than dealing with monsters.”
“okay. Still, I feel reassured that you care so much.”
“Is that so…”
Actually, it was good to be on guard like this.
‘Because it’s a time when problems can actually arise.’
In the other world, mental power can be physically manifested, and death in that world can cause great changes. Lee Jae-heon had also lost his mind, so it was no surprise that the monsters were agitated by the child’s corpse.
Nevertheless, the reason they did not stop the survivors who wanted to stop by the small lake was because, firstly, it was inconvenient, secondly, the main character would not die, and thirdly, it did not matter if the others died. Another thing to add is that it is true that we need to gradually replenish our food supply.
“….”
Come to think of it, I don’t see any green algae monsters these days.
‘Where do you want to be?’
If I can’t see it, I’m thinking of waltzing with the trash in front of the green algae lake, but it would have been nice to know the location before something like that happens. Lee Jae-heon’s patience has run out to tolerate a criminal right in front of him.
He was looking at the back of Kim Yeon-woo, who had gone outside the pavilion to check the surroundings, and turned his head to see the gaze glancing at him.
“….”
“….”
And then our eyes met with the newborn chick.
“…hi…?”
Jang Seo-ah’s face suddenly brightened at Lee Jae-heon’s awkward greeting.
“hello…!”
“…okay.”
To be honest, I wanted to tell him to fold his face and look away.
In his previous life, Lee Jae-heon was a married man who took care of three children, but he did not like children very much. In his current life, Lee Jae-heon is unmarried, and the only children he has ever encountered are nieces and nephews who have a habit of stretching out their clothes.
Before I gave reasons for this or that, I just hated children. In the same vein, I hated parenting.
But it’s not the same disgusting feeling you get when you see the main character.
“….”
“Are you bored?”
“yes…!”
Jaeheon Lee eventually called the child.
‘Fuck, this shouldn’t be a habit.’
I guess parenting has become a habit since I keep taking care of the baby chicks. There was no way to avoid the bright ‘play with me’ look in his eyes, so Jaeheon Lee gently touched the child’s soft cheek with both hands.
“Jang Seo-ah, what does your friend like to do?”
“Why am I your friend?”
“Then what would you like me to call you?”
“Call me Seo-a Seo-a. “Both mom and dad call me that?”
“Yes, Seoya.”
In fact, it is not that difficult to play with a child of this size. A child who runs wild with overflowing energy may not know, but if you just talk to him sincerely, he will be satisfied.
And the adults were looking at them with happy faces.
“…What is it?”
“Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“….”
It’s hard to make a living.
(Continued in the next part)
