Episode 153:
The main character confessed his regression and brought up a story about President Choi Jeong-man and his son. Although he didn’t go into detail, he said that a crazy murderer had killed an innocent child.
Lee Jae-heon looked at Jeong In-ho’s blank face and then asked.
“…You saw it?”
“I don’t know the details. “I just felt something similar.”
There was a high possibility that it was a lie.
‘How can you pretend to be popular with that crazy head?’
If a monster comes and kills you, a guy who would just sit there and kill you would be able to keep an eye on people. As I read Ha Seong-yoon’s eyes as he was looking at Lee Jae-heon’s shoulder and thought, ‘What does that crazy guy mean?’, I couldn’t be fooled.
Of course, the quick-witted Ha Seong-yoon quickly hid his thoughts and was only treating Jae-heon Lee’s wounds. It seems like he felt something from Jung In-ho, who turned around overnight. It seemed like he decided that if he was going to lie like that, there must be a good reason.
“Isn’t that right, Ha Seong-yoon?”
“…I see, I heard someone moving in the middle of it.”
He continued speaking naturally, without giving in to the tyranny of the main character who suddenly inserted himself into the story.
“I wasn’t sure, so I kept my mouth shut.”
“Aha, was that so?”
“Uh… I’m sorry. “I didn’t hear it.”
In response to Ha Seong-yoon’s words, Yoon Gar-ram slightly tilted his head as if he was silent, and Park Da-hoon must have felt strange in the passing glances and was deliberately expressing an opposing opinion. By looking at it this way, he also seemed to want to find out some information.
Of course, he wasn’t the main character who would obediently say that.
“I heard the sound, and like Ha Seong-yoon, I couldn’t speak because I wasn’t sure. Besides, we had luggage.”
“Oh, that’s right….”
Kwon Yeon-hee, who had suddenly picked up the fish trap, nodded, and immediately after that, shaking in shock, she continued speaking.
“Then shouldn’t you go help?! It’s going to get dark soon…!”
And Jeong In-ho answered as if he had been waiting.
“I think so. “It felt like I heard a child’s voice…”
“I’m going crazy. There’s a child here…? “What do you do if something really big happens?”
“I have to go help before something big happens.”
After saying that, he looked back at Jaeheon Lee.
“Isn’t that right, Manager?”
“That’s right… that’s right.”
Honestly, I was a little annoyed.
‘My face is getting thicker as the days go by.’
Still, I used to have a clumsy taste, but now I don’t even hesitate if I feel like it’s necessary. The fact that one’s judgment and ability to act have improved should be praised, but when the condition is so bad, why can’t we say something about it? It was a situation that made me lament.
But regardless of that, the protagonist’s choice was correct.
‘If something happens, it will be tonight.’
Lee Jae-heon lightly wiped the corners of his mouth and continued speaking.
“Do you know where it is?”
“…I have a rough guess. “It’s not very far from here.”
“Then we will have some leeway.”
As far as he remembers, the last time the abandoned dog monster ran wild with excitement was today, the evening he ate grilled fish. That was the point when Lee Jae-heon was induced to throw fish intestines.
Of course, I couldn’t be sure whether Song In-myeong really killed the child and the two adults that evening. That’s because Lee Jae-heon was barely conscious at the time, so he couldn’t clearly tell how the abandoned monster monster was going on a rampage. It is difficult to determine whether he was just excited by the fish intestines or whether he was fascinated by Song In-myeong’s murderous actions.
‘In the worst case, he might already be dead.’
In the last regression, I felt like I was returning to the point when ‘everyone was alive’, but I didn’t know the standard for ‘everyone’ and it wasn’t clear whether that standard was correct.
However, if you calculate the context and timing, the most likely case is that he will be killed tonight. Song In-myeong will also be part of Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s team now, so he won’t be completely free, and he won’t have many opportunities, so I thought today would be the day.
“Yes, Ha Seong-yoon also heard that you are popular… If you don’t mind, I would like to look around and come.”
“…I see.”
I don’t know if the main character knows that today is the Maginot Line or not.
“I have no intention of stopping you.”
Jaeheon Lee said that and took a quick look around.
I don’t know if he did it knowingly or just because he was impatient, but Lee Jae-heon was planning to completely solidify the current atmosphere. It was only natural that the protagonist would have brought up the story if he had not opened the door first.
“Wouldn’t there be a problem if I went alone?”
“…I have no intention of going alone either. “I’d like a few more minutes to help you…”
“Me?”
Jeong In-ho, who met Lee Jae-heon’s gaze with an almost straight expression on his face, blinked once as if he understood the meaning and added a hint of playfulness to his voice.
“…Please sit still, Manager.”
“Are you really treating me like a dog now?”
“Oh my gosh, there’s no way I would do that.”
“The more you become, the more shameless you become, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
“Haha… I will correct it.”
The atmosphere around us became much lighter due to that light and not funny conversation.
“…Then… can I go too?”
When Kang Min-ah, who was secretly watching, intervened first, holding a hammer in her hand, even intern Noh Yeon-seok, who was watching her, raised his hand and opened his mouth.
“I’ll go too…!”
“Well, I think this will be enough.”
In-ho Jeong cut the line at that point.
“I thought the speed would be slow if there were too many people.”
It was clearly an attitude of wariness towards Song In-myeong.
‘After all, I haven’t given up on that.’
The protagonist still had the will to endure. The problem is how long that will can endure, but I thought that Jung In-ho might be taking such a proactive stance because he knows that fact.
Yes, everyone else may not know, but the child had to be saved.
“I will leave as soon as I complete the basic preparations.”
“….”
“…It’s a big deal when it gets dark.”
Only then will President Choi Jeong-man not go crazy.
* * *
‘The most dangerous things from the protagonist’s point of view are just three guys.’
First, Lee Jae-heon, second, Choi Jeong-man, third, Song In-myeong.
They were people who could have a great influence on Jeong In-ho and those around him for different reasons.
‘First of all, I feel like I’ve almost become a necessity.’
In fact, in the case of ‘Lee Jae-heon’, I thought it might have become a kind of necessity for the protagonist. At first glance, it seems like he views him as a talisman, but even excluding what Lee Jae-heon can do personally, Jung In-ho would want to save him somehow. maybe.
But in reality, he was a person of interest.
“You are really putting your body through hard work. “Isn’t that right?”
“…I’ll do it in moderation….”
“I don’t know why you were so upset again, but you had a good idea.”
“Damn it.”
Jaeheon Lee cursed softly but did not protest much.
Currently, ‘Lee Jae-heon’ is a person who is under the influence of the green algae monster, but does not have much will to live on his own, and if he dies, he will shake the mentality of others. It was for this reason that one could not blame In-ho Jeong for treating him like a sunfish.
The second is Choi Jeong-man.
‘Only the son needs to be alive here.’
Even if he became a murderer under the influence of the green algae monster, in the end, the biggest reason Jeong In-ho felt that CEO Jeong-man Choi went crazy was because of his son’s death. He wouldn’t be the main character for nothing, so as long as Choi Min-hong survived, things could have worked out well.
“Manager, how are you feeling?”
“it’s okay.”
“…really…?”
“How come no one believes me?”
While lamenting for no reason, Jaeheon Lee was thinking of the last person of interest.
Song In-myeong, who killed him in the last episode.
‘The key is when and how to deal with this bastard.’
But unlike the others, this bastard just had no answer.
‘Lee Jae-heon’ can be taken care of so that he doesn’t die, and Choi Jeong-man will be covered to some extent if his son is alive, but there is no way to save Song In-myeong no matter how he deals with it. They would just have to kill him or find a way close to it.
And the first step to solving all of this was to save Choi Min-hong’s child.
‘I personally also have something to confirm with Song In-myeong.’
Now that we know that the skeleton of the green algae monster is a human who was once alive, we needed to know what Song In-myeong, who was chosen as the victim of the green algae monster in the previous episode, looks like in the current episode. Only then will we be able to know the extent to which dreams and reality are linked according to regression.
“….”
A thought like that suddenly occurred to me.
If the green algae monster had replaced its skeleton in the first and second rounds, whose body would it have been? Before that, who was chosen based on the skeleton? Also, if the behavior of the green algae monster changes depending on the corpse, what was it like at the time?…
“Now, let’s take a look at the legs, sir.”
“…If we just leave it like this…”
“What did you say?”
“No, huh. “Be patient.”
Lee Jae-heon couldn’t help but lament, but he extended one of his legs to Dr. Ha Seong-yoon. To be honest, it seemed like if he continued to show off like this, he would probably have to rip off his legs even if he had to subdue him, so it was an inevitable choice.
‘There’s no medicine, so this won’t speed up the treatment… but at least it will protect this person’s mentality.’
Anyway, it would be easier to try something.
“…I think it would be a good idea to stop by the pharmacy.”
“Are you still saying that?”
Employee Kwon Yeon-hee’s body trembled when she heard the word ‘pharmacy’, but Lee Jae-heon and Ha Seong-yoon skillfully pretended not to notice. Doctor Ha Seong-yoon even frowned slightly, as if he was extremely displeased with Lee Jae-heon’s wounds.
He looked at his leg that was wrapped in a bandage and slowly closed his eyes. Lee Jae-heon noticed that Ha Seong-yoon was feeling quite tired from the current situation.
“I know that this world… is a very difficult place for doctors. “It’s a world that strangely deviates from basic ecology.”
“….”
“The representative example is the teacher. I have one too. “Just because you apply some strength to your head, you can generate strength that is separate from the injury, or the injury recovers faster than you can imagine, or blood flows for unknown reasons… things like that.”
“so?”
“It means I have no choice but to feel anxious. As it was, it wouldn’t be strange if you were dead, and even if that weren’t the case, this leg could have rotted away.”
Ha Seong-yoon wrapped Lee Jae-heon’s leg with a bandage again and continued.
“Right now, the flesh is falling off and the blood has pooled, but I can’t just cover it up with a bandage without any medicine. “We need to make sure that we don’t end up catching people alive.”
“…But wouldn’t the pharmacy still be difficult?”
“That’s true, but the teacher said that and the atmosphere became like this. At the very least, if someone else had said something like that, they would have criticized me for being selfish.”
“You don’t necessarily have to curse at anyone.”
“But humans can’t be that rational.”
He made eye contact with Jaeheon Lee.
“You may be mistaken sometimes, but humans are not machines. “So do you, teacher.”
“….”
“…I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do as a doctor.”
I felt like I was going to confession.
But Lee Jae-heon was not a god who could hear that, much less a doctor. He had to wonder what he could do to keep the poor doctor from going crazy. I needed to know why you were so crazy before in the first place.
And I had some guesses.
“…are you scared of not being a doctor?”
“….”
Ha Seong-yoon, who hesitated, soon answered.
“Maybe so.”
After saying that, he immediately got up and walked in another direction. As he walked towards Garam Yoon, who was looking at the bonfire, Jaeheon Lee quietly looked behind her.
I muttered to myself.
‘…Maybe I should give it a try.’
The point where Ha Seong-yoon hanged himself was the ‘doctor’ himself. In that case, I had to know what the eye that he had silently put in in the last episode had to do with that point and what goal he was trying to achieve with it. At least if you want to see Ha Seong-yoon functioning as a doctor.
Lee Jae-heon blinked slowly and spoke to Kwon Yeon-hee, who looked like she was contemplating something with her head down.
“Employee Kwon.”
“…Ah yes! Please speak!”
“Shall we start by cleaning the fish?”
“Cow grooming?”
“It’s a bit hard to eat it as is.”
Whatever it was, there was nothing I could do now. To touch Ha Seong-yoon, he was already refusing to talk, and to touch Yoon Gar-ram, Ha Seong-yoon was guarding next to him. However, if we look at external factors first, there are a lot of things that go into it, so the main character cannot take it until he brings in a new character. There were only a few actions.
‘But there’s no way the main character wouldn’t be able to pick up a few chicks…’
All I could do now was prepare to welcome them back soon.
“Let’s eat.”
To fix the chicks’ mentality too.
* * *
By the time it got dark, the exploration team returned with two survivors.
There were only two people.
(Continued in the next part)
