Episode 137
No matter what, the act of killing a living thing is bound to be disgusting.
Humans always live lives with the potential for development. All actions that were immature in childhood become more sophisticated over time, and we realize the meaning of words in sentences that we had passed off as a unit because we did not understand them. This is an opportunity given to everyone, no matter what nature or characteristics they have.
But that’s why humans feel aversion to creating something permanent. Among them, the most terrible thing is death, so the act of murder causes other people to instinctively avoid it.
That’s just what Kang Min-ah thinks.
“Huh, breath.”
Tears and cold sweat drip down my chin.
“…Aaagh!”
Pop!
The head of the hammer crushes the vine, causing blood to splatter.
Clearly, what she struck down and destroyed were plants before they were monsters.
However, all the senses surge throughout the body, taking away the brain, and only the two eyes remain, filling the mind with only one vision. The death, so vivid that it makes you scream, gnaws at your eyeballs in a disgusting way.
The one who killed was Kang Min-ah, but the one who died was also Kang Min-ah.
“Please get away from me…!”
It was a scream and a plea at the same time.
“Fuck off!”
It’s also anger.
I cut off the neck of the vine that was climbing up my ankle and biting at my peach bone, and pulled out the teeth that were stuck in it. In return for selling his eyes, a vine climbed onto his back, but Ha Seong-yoon, who was behind him, took care of it for him and was able to prevent the vine’s teeth from reaching his neck.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
“Argh… ugh….”
“For now, Mr. Kang Min-ah.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. “I’m really fine.”
I can feel my clothes gradually becoming stained with blood, clearly visible on my skin.
The inside of my head is filled with anxiety that I don’t know what to do, and water is leaking out of my eyeballs. The water droplets crawling past the tear ducts, past the eyelashes, and onto the skin of my face gave me a snake-like feeling. I wanted to rip the skin off my face before it tickled me crazy.
However, the reason Kang Min-ah did not collapse in such nervousness, anger, and despair and picked up the hammer was because she had someone by her side to protect.
“If Kang Min-ah is having a hard time, I…!”
“Shut up! What kind of nonsense are you talking about while bleeding from your side? “Don’t even think about moving!”
“Mina…!”
Kang Min-ah felt the voice of the person who was holding his head up and doing only the bare minimum of defense grow sad, but Kang Min-ah had no intention of handing over this position to him. Even though I wanted to do that, I couldn’t. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it, it was that I couldn’t do it.
That’s because the moment she passes this position, Kang Min-ah won’t be able to do anything.
“I can do it!”
So I had to do it.
‘I can do it too…!’
He held down the vines crawling from the ground with one foot, pressed down on the sides of the vines shooting down the tree, and then forcefully tore them off.
When an unknown liquid falls and wets the ground with the sound of rubber being torn apart, I apply my strength to crush the vine I was pressing with my foot and look around.
When the vine was floating in the air, I tied a knot with a hammer and tore it off, and when it crawled to the ground, I crushed it with my shoe. Those coming down the tree willingly drive into the bark, and those following behind slow down their movements by hitting them with the back of the hammer.
While I was looking away for a moment, a vine stuck to my side, so I quickly pulled it off, but the vine gave strength to my teeth, causing a wound on my thigh. However, he was able to defend himself by throwing it at a vine flying from the air.
I was desperate and it paid off.
“Run quickly! Because it’s increasing!”
“All right…!”
Even while leading Ha Seong-yoon, Kang Min-ah was distracted.
I had to find Manager Lee Jae-heon. Wasn’t he also dragged by those vines and came back in that state? It must be very difficult. Oh, did Inho Jeong fix it? No, but they said the effects from the green algae monster were the same. I have to find it quickly.
“Huh huh huh…!”
I should do well too.
“…Huh…!”
A feeling of unexplained anger rushed through my brain, making my eyeballs feel cold once again. The tip of my nose was sore and my throat was clogged with sweet smells. If I could, I just wanted to sit down and cry.
Kang Min-ah knew that they had high expectations from Director Lee Jae-heon. Therefore, even when Jeong In-ho said that he would be sick instead of Lee Jae-heon, he willingly nodded, and even so, Lee Jae-heon was a difficult person. In the end, while Jung In-ho and Lee Jae-heon managed to lead the team, all Kang Min-ah did was to come to her senses.
Therefore, the reason she was looking for Lee Jae-heon now was not simply because she was worried about him.
“Where are you really…!”
I missed you.
When that person patted my back, I just wanted to cry.
Before I started worrying, I wanted to see the face of someone I could rely on, and I wanted to spend time slowly being comforted by that person. Even though it was under a pitch-black sky, a bonfire burning scarlet took the place of the stars. It could have been so.
“Up, up… I mean, up there where I went to look for Kang Min-ah!”
“Where is it!”
“Isn’t it where the cliff was? “I don’t know exactly where you went, but in the grand scheme of things, that was the right direction!”
“I understand, I understand…!”
She immediately thought of a direction she remembered and played with her feet.
Kang Min-ah didn’t realize it, but she thought that Lee Jae-heon could never die. That’s why I want to rely on it like this and shed tears. Anyway, as long as Jaeheon Lee was by our side, everything would be resolved, so I had no choice but to think that way.
So, once this whole situation ends well, Manager Lee Jae-heon will come to his senses again. If we talked about why he was so angry, everything would be okay. Kang Min-ah believed so.
At that time, a pitch-black lump popped out and said,
“…! Ugh!”
Pow!
She swung the hammer and hit its head.
“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu ever
…
any is isss ams iss is wasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss2s2s2f2f2f2fss. A dark body that seemed to be made of jet black fabric was lying down and trembling.
I almost screamed because my eyes accidentally made contact.
“…Ah ugh….”
A round bead falls and lands on the floor. Even though Kang Min-ah felt a surge of guilt and nausea, she couldn’t shake the thought that she was crying.
“…Mina Kang.”
“…yes.”
“Kang Min-ah, come to your senses.”
“I know. “I know.”
But you came first.
“Mr. Kang Min-ah.”
“….”
You were wrong first.
You came towards me, sticking your disgusting head in with that dirty, disgusting body. You made it difficult for me. Just looking at it makes me feel disgusted to death, but why are you crying because I did something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? You are a monster…
“Oh.”
“….”
“…Nice to meet you.”
A man with one hand stained red walked through the bushes and said.
“I thought I was going to get lost like this.”
“…Uh…”
It was Song In-myeong, the student whom former Director Lee Jae-heon was chasing after like he was going to kill him.
“…Mr. Song In-myeong?”
The man slowly nodded at Doctor Ha Seong-yoon’s call. At the same time, his gaze was focused on the dog monster crawling on the floor, and the voice that came out of Song In-myeong’s open mouth was very natural.
“Song In-myeong is correct. No, suddenly the man got angry and tried to kill me, so I jumped out… but I didn’t know the way. Still, I’m glad I found someone. “I didn’t have the confidence to go back.”
“Aha…”
“But why did you keep that thing alive?”
After saying that, Song In-myeong held the jackknife in his hand and plunged it into the monster’s neck.
Phew.
“….”
“…dangerously.”
The dog monster trembled like an insect for a moment, then fell limp and dropped the button sewn to its eye. For some reason, Kang Min-ah couldn’t take her eyes off the sight of lumpy tear beads like candle wax piled up on the floor.
And I couldn’t see Song In-myeong.
“are you okay?”
She felt uncomfortable with this person.
“…Just now, the manager… Manager Lee Jae-heon got angry at the student.”
“Ah, I heard they’re trying to kill me. very.”
“Why did you do that?”
“…Isn’t the question a bit strange?”
Song In-myeong’s face as he said that looked very natural and unfair.
I truly didn’t understand why I had to listen to this, and he seemed angry to match his personality. As if the tone that seemed to place responsibility on Song In-myeong was unpleasant.
Of course, Kang Min-ah could have said more here. Because the vines that had been following closely behind them had crawled up the tree again, and there were still some questions left, and the other person seemed very intent on talking to her.
But Kang Min-ah was tired and didn’t want to talk anymore with the person in front of her.
“excuse me.”
“….”
“Who do you think I will trust more…?”
Song In-myeong blinked three times and answered.
“First of all, it won’t be me.”
It still had the jackknife in its hand.
It was obvious where it was headed.
“…under.”
“It’s really unfortunate.”
* * *
In countries where war does not occur, people who pursue jobs dangerous enough to risk their lives are usually divided into two categories.
The first is the type who would die for their beliefs.
Helping people in need makes the world better. Or, I saw someone dying right in front of me because they couldn’t get help. Even though the origin and reason were different for each person, they all had the belief that ‘I will give my whole self to help others.’
The second group is the type that decided, ‘I can do it,’ even if they did not have the conviction to sacrifice their lives.
Even though I know that my life will inevitably be threatened someday if I do this job, I think I can handle it. In fact, most people work with this mindset in mind. People who are confident that they will do it faithfully even if they think they cannot sacrifice their lives.
And many people thought Han Do-yoon was the latter.
“Mr. Noh Yeon-seok.”
“…iced coffee. “Yes, you called me.”
“Do you have time to talk?”
“Your monsters retreated…”
“Thank goodness.”
But in fact, Han Do-yoon was closer to the former category.
“I have something to tell you.”
He called Noh Yeon-seok with his signature smooth smile, and although he had an embarrassed expression on his face, he obediently approached Do-yoon Han. Just by looking at his face, it was clear that he was not the type of person to doubt or criticize others, which made me laugh a little.
Human goodness is always determined based on when one’s own safety is guaranteed. Han Do-yoon knew that.
“What… are you trying to say…?”
“Well, that’s it.”
So, is it really the innate nature of Lee Jae-heon’s group to be so naive and kind? Or is it because he relies on Lee Jae-heon that much?
“….”
I don’t know.
Therefore, Han Do-yoon had to tell Noh Yeon-seok what he guessed.
“…Mr. Noh Yeon-seok, it may be a little absurd for me to say this.”
“Uh, yes. yes.”
“If you can afford it, I think you should quickly go find a gathering group.”
“….”
“…I received a really ridiculous gift.”
He showed him a small fruit that he had been holding tightly in his hand. The mere presence of that small, round, white fruit was enough to make Noh Yeon-seok’s face turn pale.
“It was given to me by Noh Yeon-seok’s manager.”
Being a firefighter meant risking one’s life.
Due to the fire, Han Do-yoon had numerous scars on his body. Although I never once thought it was gross or ugly, it was clear that such traces awakened Han Do-yoon’s spirit every day.
He realized how much easier it was for a human being to die than others thought. Even if you take a moment to breathe in the gray smoke, you will die. I knew that a living human being, not trash that needs to be burned, could fall into a fire pit, and therefore I also knew the situation in which a person would most likely die. I know what such an environment is.
And even if it wasn’t a disaster, any number of people could have died.
“This is fruit. “If the person treated dies… what happens to the pain of the person treated?”
“…That…”
“I think it will all disappear. “If the injury of the person who ate the fruit caused pain to the person who picked the fruit for as long as it should have remained, why should it remain when the owner of the injury dies?”
“….”
“And I keep thinking that Director Lee Jae-heon must have known this.”
Han Do-yoon placed the fruit on Noh Yeon-seok’s hand and held it.
“I’m in a situation where I can’t use my legs very well, but Jae-Heon Lee moves well even with that. “I think I might follow suit.”
He smiled as calmly and smoothly as possible. It was light, almost joking, as if there was no problem with the current situation. He smiled as if it was just a joke and let go of Noh Yeon-seok’s hand.
Naturally, the other person’s stern expression did not ease.
“….”
“…I will guard the entrance here in place of Noh Yeon-seok…”
He trailed off like a sigh.
“Please find that person quickly.”
There were too many people in this world who treated their lives as worthless than insects.
It was ridiculous.
