Episode 18
It hasn’t been a day or two since my life went awry, but at this point, I think there was a time when I grabbed the God of Heaven and Earth by the collar without even remembering it.
How is it that nothing happens the way I want?
Lee Jae-heon looked around, patting his slightly dizzy head.
“….”
…This really seems like a regression.
I don’t know if he was possessed by the old manager’s body or if he was reincarnated, but he returned.
His life was so spectacular that the line between reality and fantasy began to blur.
But no matter how much he looked around, the surroundings were just as he remembered.
The sky was gradually starting to darken, but the guys I had sent to do it had no intention of coming, and thanks to that, the awkward atmosphere was covered by a strange sense of anxiety, and it was the time when the world turned dark gray.
Of course, Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok were still alive.
“…Boss?”
“…What is it?”
“No, that. “I was wondering if you had a fever…”
At the intern’s words, Jaeheon Lee slowly lowered the hand that was pressing his head.
The guy who was fine suddenly hit his head and bruised it, so it must have looked a little painful to others.
Seeing that even the timid Director Kang was glancing in my direction, there was no need to say anything.
In a way, it was a natural reaction since it was already in bad condition.
Of course, it was an unwelcome worry for Lee Jae-heon, who was not suffering from any symptoms other than feeling quite embarrassed.
“I’m not in any pain, so leave it alone.”
“…Ah yes.”
Even though it didn’t seem like he really believed what he said, the intern cringed more than necessary. He looked as if he had committed a crime and asked me what I deserved.
Lee Jae-heon blinked his eyes slowly.
‘Now… when exactly.’
Looking at the atmosphere, I could roughly guess the situation.
Wasn’t it a time when the awkward atmosphere had just eased thanks to the perpetrator’s reversal incident, and instead, people were feeling anxious about the mysterious whereabouts of the main character and his party who had gone to pick up materials?
Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok are still fine. The smell of blood is still faint.
The sky is much darker than before entering the park, but much brighter than the situation just before returning.
Two normal eyes. Legs that function properly. A throat that allows breathing. Shoulders and arms throbbing calmly.
And the standby group consisted of only 4 people.
‘So…’
The collecting team, including the main character, did not return, so it was a situation right before Manager Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok went to pick up materials, and a high school brother and sister came to visit us.
Lee Jae-heon, who remembered that point, immediately stood up.
“…Boss? Why don’t you rest more…”
“Just stay still.”
To be honest, it was quite disappointing that he couldn’t catch up right away, but once he confirmed that he wouldn’t die anyway, there was no way for Lee Jae-heon to back down.
He quickly changed his plan.
This was because there was no longer a need to keep a distance from them.
“Students there.”
“….”
“It looks like he’s been following us since a while ago.”
Startle.
He continued, looking at the shaking bushes.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Lee Jae-heon’s face as he said that showed genuine concern that no one could refute.
“You mean students…?”
“Can’t you see over there? “They’re wearing school uniforms now.”
“…uh uh.”
The group, wondering what the manager’s sudden action meant, looked at the direction he pointed and opened their eyes one by one.
I saw two students hiding their bodies vaguely between the really thick bushes and trees.
The siblings awkwardly revealed their hidden bodies due to an unexpected arrangement, and the group couldn’t help but be embarrassed by the school uniforms they were wearing.
I had no idea that even minors would be caught up in a place like this.
Lee Jae-heon looked at the reactions and spoke with concern, pretending to be as crude as possible.
“I think we’re still young. Wouldn’t it be better if we were together rather than alone?”
“…That…”
“The seat won’t be bad either. “It’s dark and it’s better to be together than to go somewhere else.”
Of course, it wasn’t a very explicit emotion.
You can feel the typical stiffness and stubbornness of an old manager, but at the same time, he tries not to show his usual sarcasm.
At the same time, it was a tone and facial expression that conveyed shallow but sincere consideration for the other person.
Of course, these words were not spoken out of genuine concern for the siblings.
‘Why worry? They have the best survival skills here.’
Instead of worrying about those guys, it would be better to worry about the lives of our group.
To that extent, those students were exceptionally perceptive and quick to behave, and they were not even aware of it.
They didn’t feel guilty, but they were the ones who lived the longest because they had the personality to lend a hand here and there.
But Jaeheon Lee realized something.
Even after going through the incredible situation of regression, he was not a fool to deny reality and accepted that he could not die.
Then there was no longer any reason to be passive.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if it got darker?”
He naturally managed his facial expressions while internally gritting his teeth.
I’ll show you what proper acting is.
* * *
So to speak, everything Jaeheon Lee has shown so far has been just a taste.
He didn’t know whether he could die or not. If I could die, I could throw away my present life and everything, but if I had to continue living, I wanted to at least live a better life than my previous life.
And in the case of the latter, I had to do something called image management, no matter how little I knew about it.
But now I know for sure that I can’t die.
Now that the god of heaven or earth or something had made him possessed or reincarnated as an old villain, Lee Jae-heon had to come up with the best plan not just to survive, but also for the distant future.
In other words, Lee Jae-heon had to manage his image as an old villain by gaining the character’s favor, gaining the protagonist’s trust, and eventually being able to completely escape this crazy world.
Relationships. Copper wire. Poor health, etc. Up until now, we had only moved with the bare minimum of sincerity, but from now on we had to aim to do everything possible to be the best.
“…Can we join in?”
“Then leave the children alone? “Stop talking nonsense and come here, it’s dangerous.”
And Lee Jae-heon was quite talented in acting.
He acted crudely, as if he were a person who was very uncomfortable with such concerns and considerations.
Since you have an image that you have built up until now, it would be strange if you suddenly become mellow no matter how you treat minors.
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, the group secretly agreed with him.
“So, you didn’t get hurt on the way there? There are so many strange things here…”
“You’re right, Manager. “I think it’ll be more dangerous if I’m alone, so why don’t you come this way?”
“It’s getting dark…”
These were the words of intern Noh Yeon-seok, Kang’s employee.
Jaeheon Lee was impressed by that.
It’s true that he incited it because he had something in mind, but I was also quite curious about the mentality of the group who accepted the students without the slightest suspicion of Lee Jae-heon’s intentions.
Be careful not to get scammed later.
Originally, mental strength was not divided into good and evil, but I thought that these guys had not yet experienced the bitter taste of society.
I can’t believe I’m still at this point after going through all of my old-fashioned behavior.
Jaeheon Lee looked back at the students with a strange sense of embarrassment.
“At least I can protect you.”
“…thank you.”
The grumpy-looking younger brother bowed his tall stature and moved, followed by the student who played the role of the older sister, who was struggling with embarrassment.
I could see how much they depended on each other from the way he gently held his brother’s jacket in his hand.
The problem is that they rely too much on the two of them and forget about the safety of those around them, but since they are similar to the main character to that extent, it is not a big problem.
In the first place, Jaeheon Lee really liked that kind of efficiency.
Before we knew it, the older sister of the siblings approached the group from the bushes and bowed her head slightly.
“Thank you…”
“It was nothing.”
The female student who watched for a moment continued speaking.
“Well… my name is Park Da-young.”
“Oh, I’m Park Da-hoon.”
“Me and him… we’re brother and sister.”
After introducing the older sister and the younger brother, Employee Kwon, who was the most friendly person among the group, blinked in surprise and said,
“I see! I thought we were a couple…”
“Me with this guy?”
“Me with this kid?”
The moment the words overlapped, the older sister, Park Da-young, stretched out her long hand and pulled the back of the younger brother, Park Da-hoon’s head.
Park Da-hoon let out a small curse at the sight as if he was telling him not to repeat what he said, but he quickly kept his mouth shut, as if he had not thought about making a big fuss among adults whom he was meeting for the first time.
I just looked at Lee Jae-heon and lowered my head once again.
“…Thank you for having me.”
“What is it?”
“I couldn’t even figure out the right time to talk to you earlier…”
Lee Jae-heon answered, hiding his inner laughter.
‘You don’t seem to doubt me.’
Before we returned, the students approached us first, and we continued to be suspicious of them as if they had spoken to us without deciding whether we could trust them yet.
Although the others didn’t notice, the siblings clearly saw them as a shield.
Perhaps that is why, before his death, the siblings constantly watched Jaeheon Lee.
First of all, since they were excellent at handling themselves, they may have sensed to some extent that Lee Jae-heon was looking through them.
However, since they are still young students, this time, when he first clears their doubts, they quickly accept it and bite back.
‘I guess these guys are embarrassed too.’
All of a sudden, the people in the cafe who stopped by to buy cake disappear into the other side of the world. At best, the people they found were all sitting with grotesque faces and holding blood-stained pipes.
They were already very tired and confused, and no matter how smart they were, there was no way they, who had lived in a peaceful world until now, would have been able to figure out what Jaeheon Lee was aiming for.
What is there to be gained by acting friendly towards students who have nothing to begin with?
Jaeheon Lee massaged his sore shoulders and spoke to Manager Minah Kang.
“Chief Kang, it looks like the guys who went to pick up the wood were late.”
“…is it really like that? Is something going on?”
“I didn’t hear any particularly loud sounds… “I think I might be lost.”
Actually, it was a very good guess.
‘Because in the other world, your judgment is much lower than usual.’
It’s a world where your mentality is being chipped away just by taking a breath.
The guys who had gone out to just pick up some wood couldn’t have left us intentionally, and it seemed like they were just so dizzy that they lost their minds.
This was also seen in the novel.
Jeong In-ho, who faced the night of the secret world for the first time, was unable to use it properly even though he had a lighter in his hand, and it was not simply because he was in a state of panic.
In the morning he admitted that he was more than confused.
And around that time, I realized the premise that ‘mental strength is low in the other world’… Seeing even
current Assistant Manager In-ho Jeong, who must have already known about this from the company, wandering around, you can see once again how threatening this world is. there was.
Jaeheon Lee welcomed the students and then looked at Employee Kwon, who was close to them.
Manager Kang looked hesitant with worry written all over his face.
And when he saw intern Noh Yeon-seok looking up at the darkening sky, he immediately opened his mouth.
A soft voice came out.
“It’s no use just waiting any longer. I guess we should start a fire first.”
“…What about Jeong In-ho and the others?”
“If you light a fire, it will come to you on its own. “We only have one lighter, so when it gets too dark, we’re at a much disadvantage than them.”
This was a fact I personally experienced before returning.
Even before their deaths, they accepted the students and felt that the day was getting too dark, and they realized that if things continued like this, they would not be able to secure any visibility at all. They had to make a fire.
Lee Jae-heon tried to pick up materials, but the group, who already felt guilty about him, stopped him, and the students were held back because they were still young. In the end, Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok decided to pick up wood and dry grass nearby.
‘And he died.’ Jaeheon Lee
quickly
took out a lighter from inside his suit and continued his thoughts.
Lee Jae-heon also doesn’t know what exactly happened.
However, while he was waiting with employee Kwon and other students, a scream was heard from the corner of the sculpture, and immediately he got up from his seat and ran towards them.
And what I saw was intern Noh Yeon-seok, who had just been thrown into a tree.
‘Green algae monster.’
That kid is the culprit.
The green algae monster, also called in the novel, was one of the monsters that lived in the park lake.
It is not very fast or very destructive.
However, it has a wide search range and is extremely persistent, so it is difficult to avoid pursuit, and it is especially described as being able to communicate with other plant-type monsters.
Perhaps the vine that melted Lee Jae-heon’s ankle is also someone who can communicate.
The green algae monster sucks and drinks blood from crushed corpses.
Lee Jae-heon judged that the reason why the monster that did not appear on the first day in the novel appeared was probably because of the tattered Lee Jae-heon himself, and that Chief Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok, who escaped the group while the monster was coming here, were sacrificed first instead.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok.
“….”
“…Why why?”
“No, just.”
Tick
He continued speaking as he turned on the lighter.
“Don’t get hurt.”
“…I don’t think that’s what the manager would say.”
“You know it’s a low point right now, right? “How dare the chief address the manager.”
“Ahaha….”
Director Kang laughed quite happily, probably because he thought what he said was a joke, but… Was it really a joke?
Jaeheon Lee clicked his tongue in disapproval and waved the lighter.
“First of all… I have a lighter, so let’s make a quick fire with it.”
The brother and sister who had been quiet opened their mouths.
“Then we’ll pick up something to start the fire.”
“Can I pick up some dry branches?”
Hey.
Lee Jae-heon was deeply impressed.
‘Look at your bait-throwing skills.’
That’s not what I’m really saying right now.
No, it’s not that I didn’t mean it, but it wasn’t something I just said with a pure heart, hoping to be of some help.
By stepping forward like this, the brother and sister figure out what our position is among the group.
What was even more surprising was that, unlike Lee Jae-heon, such targeting was 100% pure and unconscious.
‘I have to use it this way!’ It can be said that the strength of these siblings is that they do not just throw things around, but simply do their work instinctively.
And since he already knew that and had removed all the doubts I had before returning, the reaction Jaeheon Lee could show was limited.
He opened his mouth with a look of crude worry written on his face.
“…You?”
“Yes, let’s go…”
“Okay, just stay still. “There are a lot of people working here other than kids like you.”
“Ah…”
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, the brother and sister’s stiff shoulders relaxed a little.
‘He was probably relieved.’
It wasn’t because these siblings had particularly bad personalities or were selfish that they were making this move.
In fact, he is not proud of his position and is fully cooperative, doing everything he can. It’s just that I’m more perceptive than I should be.
Thinking that far, Lee Jae-heon suddenly touched his neck, which had been pierced before he died. At that moment, he felt a stuffy feeling and cleared his throat.
If you’ve done this, you should at least make an old-fashioned remark.
“So the kids just stay still….”
“….”
“…What is that? “What kind of expressions are they?”
Lee Jae-heon was momentarily taken aback.
For some reason, the siblings were showing signs of happiness, even if only slightly, and the three other party members were looking at us with softened eyes.
Jaeheon Lee felt an inexplicable discomfort and discomfort from their reactions.
“What. what’s the matter.”
“No… just….”
“Yes, just.” Um, I see.”
“What’s wrong?”
Lee Jae-heon, who was frowning in a strange mood, continued speaking.
“Anyway, I’ll pick up the firewood…”
“That’s not right.”
“I was easy from earlier, Yeonseok?”
