Episode 174
: It was already known that the main character’s mentality was broken.
‘That’s why I tried to escape after this episode.’
Lee Jae-heon expected that whether he could finish it in one go or whether it would drag on a couple more times would be a big turning point that would determine the protagonist’s future tendencies.
But things did not go as planned. As soon as the internal cleanup was completed, I tried to rejoin Hong Gyeong-jun’s team by gently improving the protagonist’s mentality, but it seems that Jung In-ho’s heart had left that part. Even Munsan-gun, whom he personally saved, seemed very reluctant.
“How did Mr. Munsan….”
“Oh, me.”
“You can stay here or go to that detective’s team. “I will respect your opinion as much as possible, so please feel free to speak up.”
Lee Jae-heon was speechless when he saw Jeong In-ho’s eyes widening as he said that.
‘I think I’m asking you to please go away.’
No, if it were you, would you want to go to a place where there are murderers out to kill you?
Perhaps Munsan-gun’s thoughts were similar, but his expression did not look good. In the first place, it was something that could not be helped because he was a stubborn man who was not good at managing his facial muscles like the disgusting people on our side. It was also funny that the main character laughed without any problem even though he was seeing it right in front of his nose.
“…Can I stay here?”
“of course.”
But the current situation was not funny at all.
‘Look at that disgusting bastard trying to destroy Munsan-gun right now.’
No matter how much I think about it, it seems like the main character is trying to abandon Munsan-gun.
There were many reasons. After going through two regressions, Jeong In-ho’s mentality was likely to have been distorted in many places, and there was a high possibility that his blind temperament toward goodness had become quite skeptical. You may have thought, ‘Do I really have to do this?’
Besides, it doesn’t really suit him, but Jung In-ho is probably….
“Ah, Manager.”
“…Oh yeah. “Did you have a good conversation?”
“Yes, I think we can just go back like this.”
Munsan-gun looked uncomfortable.
‘It’s a story of some kind of selfishness.’
Munsan-gun is a person who is naturally good but inflexible, and Jeong In-ho is the exact opposite. Munsan-gun was so indecisive that he was unable to tell us the truth about Song In-myeong. You may have felt frustrated or annoyed by the fact that you are not making proper use of what you do not have. It’s not that he doesn’t do it, it’s that he can’t do it, but it’s probably not the main character’s business.
“Are you going, uncle?”
“Minhong.”
“Can’t I go? “Can’t we all stay together?”
“Well, let’s think about it later.”
“….”
“Put it in your mouth.”
Lee Jae-heon poked the protruding lips of Choi Min-hong, who was squirming as he approached close by, and thought to himself as he felt the main character watching him with pitch-black eyes.
‘Furthermore, he seems to think of Munsan-gun and Choi Min-hong… as foreign objects that have come in between the group.’
Isn’t this a character that Jung In-ho has never seen while returning back in time twice? It was understandable that, unlike the people he was used to, he felt unfamiliar or repulsed. Even in the original novel, he was the one who abandoned everyone except the ‘main character’ and left.
Lee Jae-heon, who was watching Choi Min-hong return to President Choi Jeong-man, asked In-ho Jeong.
“…Is it true that you talked to Minhong’s father?”
“I also received a thank you note for helping Minhong.”
“I see. “With Hong Gyeong-jun.”
Jeong In-ho, who paused for a moment at those words, answered with a smiling smile.
“You too… we had a good conversation.”
It looked like they had a really good conversation.
‘It’s a pity that we’re not in a situation where we can fix that right now.’
I can feel that they are keeping a close eye on me, pretending not to be Detective Hong Gyeong-jun.
‘It looks like he’s feeling something from the main character, but I can’t add fuel to that fire.’
Considering that Hong Gyeong-jun didn’t really use his strength in the last episode, I’m a little skeptical, but in any case, given the setting, he was a person with excellent intuition. Seeing as he was quick to notice the change in the protagonist’s personality and even gave him a strange look, if Lee Jae-heon immediately showed behavior such as pushing Jung In-ho away in some way, he might use that as an excuse to pull out ‘Lee Jae-heon’.
So I had no choice but to give a very simple answer.
“Okay, that’s it.”
In the midst of such a complicated situation, Lee Jae-heon from the past even offered a word of help.
‘The story was about whether I should act as bait.’
In order to officially filter out Song In-myeong.
Kang Min-ah probably didn’t break Song In-myeong’s head because she didn’t have the courage to kill the person herself, but Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon had different thoughts. He just didn’t want to cause any misunderstanding on the part of Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s team by killing a ‘slightly bad-tempered college student’ rather than a ‘murderer’. Otherwise, I would have killed Song In-myeong a long time ago when he came here.
‘Because the number of pages doesn’t get lost here and there’s no problem as long as it goes away during the evening.’
But even if he did that, it would eventually be revealed that someone killed Song In-myeong. In particular, Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, who is quick to catch criminals, treated people as suspects without any clear evidence.
‘Right now, Song In-myeong is managing his image quite a bit, so I guess that guy is also being held on hold as a suspect…’
Then, in the end, it would have a negative impact on the protagonist’s mental capacity. Even if you only become one of several suspects, including Song In-myeong, the stress will be enormous.
“Then shall we go back soon?”
“…It doesn’t matter, but…”
I don’t want to be with Hong Gyeong-jun and his group anymore. I hate Munsan-gun. We need an excuse to get rid of Song In-myeong. ‘Lee Jae-heon’ briefly mentioned his plan to use himself as bait, and I want to keep things within my boundaries.
So, if I were in the protagonist’s position right now…
“….”
I would want to use Munsan-gun as bait.
Munsan-gun will be included in Lee Jae-heon’s plan instead of ‘Lee Jae-heon.’
* * *
It was an unchangeable fact that Jeong In-ho would kill Song In-myeong.
‘There’s no way we can keep that alive.’
Detective Hong Gyeong-jun said that humans have no right to punish others, and also argued that if there is a sin that must be paid for in hell by death, one must pay the specified price in this life as well. It means that he must live to receive punishment for his evil deeds for a long time.
But I don’t know. Jeong In-ho did not have the confidence to keep Song In-myeong alive that long. How miserable would it be to see Song In-myeong, alive and well, in reality rather than in the other world. That bastard will continue to wander around looking for another victim, imagining all sorts of murders in his disgusting mind.
“Student Song In-myeong.”
That’s why I had the courage to hold those dirty hands just this once.
Jeong In-ho left the place, saying he was going to scout the surrounding area, and Song In-myeong probably came here with a similar excuse. The pure white sky turned gray and it was hard to see two people gathered under the carved shadows.
Song In-myeong, who was observing Jeong In-ho’s face hidden in the shade of the tree, shrugged his shoulders and said.
“I thought I was mistaken.”
“Can we have a chat?”
“What should I say… I’m different from people like you, so you just teased me with those eyes, right? “Of course, I thought he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
“I think we can give and receive what we want from each other.”
“But this isn’t bad either.”
Song In-myeong narrowed his drowsy eyes and asked.
“who is this?”
“Munsan-gun.”
“I knew it.”
I was destined to die anyway.
Even though he saved the life of someone who should have died, doesn’t Jung In-ho end up under suspicion? I couldn’t help but feel skeptical because the performance wasn’t good compared to my investment. Jeong In-ho unconsciously covered up the discomfort he felt toward Munsan-gun.
Song In-myeong was smiling, wondering what was so good about it.
“This is a win-win.”
“…I like that you understand quickly.”
So wouldn’t it be better to get rid of it all before it gets even more ruined than it is now?
“Because that person is quite a hassle for me too.”
Song In-myeong and Munsan-gun too.
Jeong In-ho opened his eyes in a familiar way.
‘It doesn’t mean you have to die, but if you just use it as bait, it’ll be fine.’
I wanted to see Hong Kyung-jun despair over his own foolish choice. I wanted to see him blame himself. I wanted Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, who had used so much unnecessary suspicion and tried to manipulate others as he pleases, to realize his own mistakes and be shaken like me. I hope you have a hard time as much as I did, slowly savoring the consequences of your wrong choices.
So, we need to know what kind of person Song In-myeong is, and to do that, we need a ‘bait’, as Director Lee Jae-heon once said. This means that we need Song In-myeong, who will commit murder right in front of the frustrated Detective Hong Kyung-jun, and a scapegoat for him.
“I…”
The victim was none other than Munsan-gun.
A person who had to die anyway.
“I don’t think I made a particularly bad choice.”
To do that, we had to first make the misunderstanding that Song In-myeong had a fait accompli.
“To solve a problem, you need to bring in the person who can do it best.”
“so?”
“Because it’s efficient that way. “If you can save the rest by abandoning one person… isn’t that the best choice?”
I recited what Jaeheon Lee usually said.
‘This alone is enough trash.’
When the dying man said it out of his own mouth, all the rage broke out, but when the words came out from the mouth of someone other than him, they couldn’t have been more trash-like. Jeong In-ho had to wonder if his curved lips were trembling.
So then, how bad has Jaeheon Lee been saying to himself? Even I, talking into the air, feel dizzy.
“He doesn’t die easily anyway.”
However, Jeong In-ho was a little surprised by the words that came out without me knowing.
‘When did I hear this?’
It probably started when he took off his tie and unbuttoned his button. It must have been when I started to hate the feeling of being tied so much that I felt a compulsion to roll up my sleeves out of disgust.
I definitely had auditory hallucinations.
“You don’t die easily?”
“…Like a monster.”
I was out of breath.
Oh, I see.
“He’s strong, but he doesn’t die easily, so it was a natural choice for me.”
You’ve heard these words before.
‘Am I copying that?’
I felt nauseous.
The hallucinating voice that Lee Jae-heon had been hearing all along, which he had only vaguely felt now, came back to him in detail. Those who were reprimanding me without form were spewing out endless malice towards Jeong In-ho and Lee Jae-heon. To them, it was completely out of the ordinary malice.
“But… Mr. Munsan brought me here and took care of me, so why do I keep having strange thoughts?”
“Hey, maybe I touched you for no reason?”
“Thanks to you, I got into a bit of trouble. I liked the current atmosphere…”
“But I couldn’t help it. At that time, he was teasing me a lot. Since they attack first, shouldn’t I counterattack too?”
“It’s a little embarrassing to call it an attack. “How could I do that?”
“It’s funny what this guy says.”
Song In-myeong said with a laugh.
“At that time, you looked like you wanted to kill me.”
“….”
“Have you ever killed someone?”
I couldn’t answer.
“Is this a kind of comrade? You seem to be quite intelligent, but I’ve never seen a face like yours on this board… “You seem quite skilled, but it’s strange.”
Song In-myeong, who had been muttering to himself for a while, asked.
“Do you get any support from anyone?”
“…Sponsorship?”
“We’re not there yet. “It’s okay, forget it.”
Suddenly a feeling of disgust rose up in me.
‘There’s someone who sponsors this bastard?’
After thinking about it, I buried it again. I was already in a lot of pain, but I didn’t have time to think about things outside the world.
“Anyway, is it okay to just get rid of Munsan-gun?”
“Yes, I think we can just get along like this… Mr. Munsan keeps trying to approach Director Lee Jae-heon. “I was trying to clean it up before a strange wind blew in, but I happened to meet student Song In-myeong.”
“Why don’t you kill me yourself?”
“I don’t have the right tools and I can’t afford it.”
“Well, it looks like you’re relying on him… Hmm, I like it.”
Song In-myeong said, gently scratching his lips.
“Because I was a dangerous molecule that I had to get rid of anyway.”
“I suggested it knowingly.”
“Well, it looks like Munsan-gun told you and the others, right? “That older sister doesn’t seem to have any intention of opening her mouth first… Is she perhaps one of these people too?”
“That’s not it.”
“Okay, for now it’s just you and me.”
Being associated with the same crazy person in front of me felt worse than I could have ever imagined. The sight of him laughing heartily, saying he likes the scum who accused me of being a murderer, took Kang Min-ah hostage, killed Lee Jae-heon, and ruined my people even to the point of death…. “It’s not like I trust them at all, but it’s mutually beneficial.
”
“Yes.”
“I hope I don’t have to target you in the back.”
After saying that, Song In-myeong quickly left the place.
“….”
Jeong In-ho, the only one left standing, could only feel extreme disgust.
‘…My head hurts.’
I swallowed a sigh.
It goes without saying, but Song In-myeong probably didn’t accept it so quickly because he trusted Jung In-ho. As I said before, I was skeptical, but I only pretended to understand because it would be mutually beneficial if this proposal was sincere. It’s like holding each person’s identity hostage, so it’s not like they don’t have insurance.
If he felt that things were going wrong, Song In-myeong would come straight to kill Jeong In-ho or inform others of his ‘identity’. He can handle it as much as he wants, and since he is a comrade he hasn’t seen in a long time, he is acting out of interest and trusting him. That was the situation when In-ho Jeong saw it.
He stared into space for a moment and muttered.
“I hope it goes well.”
If it doesn’t work out, I’ll die again.
Jeong In-ho swallowed his words and moved his feet heavily, as if he were rooted to the ground. I left for a while under the pretext of reconnoitering the surrounding area, so I should take my time before returning…
“Mr. Jeong In-ho.”
“….”
“…Jung In-ho, look at me.”
I blinked at the voice I shouldn’t have heard.
“Boss.”
He said he wasn’t feeling well, and Jung In-ho almost took a step back when he saw him approaching while gently pressing his temple as if he had a headache.
A pale face filled with embarrassment and vague concern turned towards me. For some reason, it was difficult to make proper eye contact.
I opened my mouth with great effort, but I couldn’t let it go.
“…Why are you here all of a sudden…”
“Are you okay?” I was
completely
speechless.
“I’m asking because you don’t look well.”
I couldn’t answer.
“….”
There was no way I could answer….
In the meantime, I was so disgusted that I was comforted by that voice.
