Episode 19
Of course, Jaeheon Lee had no intention of listening to his companions telling him to sit down and rest.
‘What are you going to do if everyone gets lost like this?’
Of course, there was a way to go back, but that was the last option, and I had to solve the problem on my own if the situation didn’t go astray.
It was a decision I could make because I had seen so many idiots ruined by the convenience of a reset.
First of all, unlike before returning, thanks to the faster work, the green algae monster probably won’t be very nearby.
Lee Jae-heon also found it a bit difficult to face the monster again in this condition, so he tried to quickly pick up firewood while it was gone.
Moreover, there was a possibility that, contrary to expectations, if a green algae monster approached the area where firewood was being collected, there was no one other than Lee Jae-heon who could properly respond.
He explained it roughly, hiding the important parts.
“What are you going to do if there’s a monster nearby? Assistant Manager Jeong took the monkey spanner with him. “There is nothing to use as a weapon right now.”
“But… wouldn’t it be better for us to go quickly?”
It’s so damn bad, and then he died without even knowing what was going on.
He sighed and answered.
“I must have already picked it up while we were arguing. “If it bothers you, let’s all go together.”
“You’re saying we’re all going together?”
“Because it’s dark and I only have one lighter. “Maybe it’s safer to gather together.”
Employee Kwon seemed to understand what he said and agreed with an affirmative comment.
Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok seemed to feel something uneasy, but they soon became convinced, and the siblings, with their unique sense of humor, grasped the situation and took Lee Jae-heon’s side.
It was clearly an attitude of knowing who the person in power in this group was.
In the end, the group of six people decided to quickly pick up firewood nearby and started moving.
“I wish I had something like newspaper…”
“Newspaper?”
“Or a tissue… Anyway, a piece of dry paper. “If it’s wet, it only produces smoke and doesn’t catch fire.”
Above all, if there was that much smoke, survivors who were still alive somewhere nearby could flock in.
Jaeheon Lee never wanted things to be like that.
Of course, Lee Jae-heon’s actions so far have been quite good, sacrificial, and altruistic.
However, it was all done for image management, and in the case of the doctor and the flower shop owner, I only brought them in because I thought it would be beneficial to me.
Since he was not the main character, I did not want to increase the number of people I was responsible for.
Moreover, according to the novels he had read in his previous life, I remember that among the people who would come see such acting, there was no one who would have liked Lee Jae-heon.
‘There’s no need to put so much effort into it and burn yourself out.’
Jaeheon Lee didn’t want to go through a frustrating situation, at least if it was something related to him.
He said, picking up a thin, dry branch.
“Yeah, something like this. “I like this kind of thing.”
“Ah… It’s really dry.”
“I don’t know why it’s so dry in a jungle-like park like this, but it’s like that anyway.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Intern Noh Yeon-seok nodded and scanned the floor around him.
Looking at the other group members doing their best to find firewood, it seemed like the situation would probably be resolved quickly.
At that time, Jaeheon Lee blinked at the sight of the siblings slowly approaching him.
“Hey, can I use a box like this?”
“I don’t think it’s wet. “I couldn’t find the newspaper, but…”
And I was a little embarrassed.
“…This is worth it.”
Why are they acting friendly to me?
‘It wasn’t like this before the regression…?’
Jaeheon Lee looked at the students, hoping that their facial muscles would move as naturally as possible.
These siblings were basically wary.
In the first place, being observant meant taking action based on many possible scenarios, which also meant always being suspicious and observing your surroundings.
Maybe that’s why I was especially wary of Lee Jae-heon in the last episode.
At the time, he thought, ‘Why did they come as part of this group and not as the main characters?’ and observed them closely. Even though they said they would not make it obvious, the siblings seemed to sense it.
Perhaps because he thought Lee Jae-heon did not like our company, he expressed a very slight discomfort.
Of course, Jaeheon Lee didn’t think much about it.
Lee Jae-heon could have let go of that level of caution whenever he wanted to, but he was too tired to do such work at the time, so he just left it alone.
So in one word.
This means that these siblings are only showing such goodwill to the few words Jae-heon Lee said after his return…
Huh.
“Good find. “I can light a fire with this.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“…It’s not something you can thank me for.”
Is this what happens?
Lee Jae-heon tried to control his eyebrows, which were trying to distort in strangeness.
The siblings were too quick-witted to change their expressions in front of their eyes, and he didn’t want to undermine the goodwill that had built up inexplicably.
No, to be more specific, it wasn’t that I didn’t know English at all.
‘That atmosphere from before.’
When Lee Jae-heon started managing his image, the group’s subtle and uncomfortable reaction was recalled, and when I thought about the way they showed the main character in the novel, the answer was easy to come up with.
The siblings were preparing to rely on a person named Lee Jae-heon.
No matter how much you don’t want to understand the situation, you have a basic understanding.
The strangely softened gaze of the group just now was a view of him as a ‘kind but dishonest person’, and the faint joy revealed by the siblings was the joy of ‘someone who would care and be considerate of us’.
Although Lee Jae-heon said he intended to do the group goodwill, it was also true that it was a very burdensome misunderstanding.
Moreover, since he did not show such reactions to other adults, the condition of being a ‘person you can rely on’ was probably also included.
In reality, Lee Jae-heon was the only person responsible for the group’s safety at the moment, so the siblings’ judgment was quite accurate.
Jaeheon Lee, who was handling a dry, torn box, opened his mouth.
“Rather, we are more grateful.”
“Oh no. They accepted us…”
“….”
There was no particular reaction to the word ‘us’.
‘There’s no way I didn’t understand.’
Just now, Jaeheon Lee used the word ‘we’ to distinguish between the group, including me, and these siblings.
In short, he was saying that ‘us’ does not include your siblings.
I don’t know if this was Lee Jae-heon’s intention or if he said it unconsciously, but any discerning sibling would have figured out the meaning of the word ‘we’.
Nevertheless, the fact that it was so natural without any particular reaction showed that the siblings were not particularly attached to that ‘us’.
The person the siblings were concerned about was none other than Lee Jae-heon himself.
“…That’s not what young kids think about.”
Is this really how it goes…?
When I said a word about the difference in image management, the corners of the siblings twitched again.
“Then we’ll come back again. Because everyone is having a hard time….”
“Take it easy.”
“thank you.”
So what on earth are you thankful for?
The siblings seemed to have been ignited by his praise and quickly set out to collect firewood, but as expected, they didn’t stray too far away.
It was obvious that they were watching him.
‘…are you more affectionate than I thought?’
Lee Jae-heon covered the corners of his mouth, recalling the family of siblings described in the novel.
Having good tact means that you have developed tact, which also means that you often encounter situations that make you tactful.
The siblings’ tact was innate, but it was also largely cultivated by their surroundings.
Lee Jae-heon thought about it for a moment and shook his head inwardly.
Now, there was no time to think that such a background was unfortunate, and even if it were, it was not in a condition to provide psychological treatment.
Instead of worrying about his siblings, he decided to think about where the green algae monster might be by now.
Okay, the time is roughly…
“…Shall we go back soon?”
…It was a little while before the green algae monster encountered Chief Kang.
‘It’s around here.’
Jaeheon Lee listened to what I said, left behind the group that gathered nearby, and looked closely at the grass growing on the ground.
The green algae monster has no eyes, but instead scans the floor with numerous vine-like tentacles.
Its range is quite wide and delicate, so any living creature is bound to be caught in its siege, and if it smells blood there, the monster immediately grabs the creature and tears it alive.
Perhaps because the goal is blood, not flesh, even the corpse literally crunches when caught.
In order to bleed as much as possible, the wound area had to be large, and the green algae monster knew that very well.
If Lee Jae-heon had not immediately gone looking for the monster when he heard the screams before returning, the bodies of Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok would have been in a worse state than imagined.
But fortunately, the blood Jae-heon Lee shed was the odor of blood that led the green algae monster to this point, and the monster soon turned its attention to Jae-heon Lee.
Later, the main character or the florist would have found the body, so if he had been damaged beyond that level, he would have been so mentally broken that he wouldn’t have even thought of chasing me.
Jaeheon Lee recalled the scar on his forearm that he had used to guide them before returning. At the time, the wound was deliberately opened to draw blood, but now the wound was well scabbed.
He looked at the group going back with firewood in their hands.
“…Everyone watch your step. “I saw it when I entered the park, and there were strange insects living there.”
“I’m the manager… I really hate those bugs.”
Employee Kwon cried, saying that he said it for no reason.
Normally, I would have been angry at her whining over something that was nothing, but I couldn’t have done that because her playful crying subtly brightened the mood of the group.
Instead, Jaeheon Lee just dragged the pipe and looked around.
“Employee Kwon would be in trouble even if I told him.”
“Sometimes things are better when you don’t know them.”
“It’s not wrong, but….”
That’s right.
I hit the approaching vine with the pipe.
“But there’s no harm in being careful.”
“…uh?”
Lee Jae-heon swept away the dead vines and led the group again.
Their faces turned white at the thought of seeing a monster, but since it was only a small stream, the shallow outcry quickly subsided.
Of course, it wasn’t Lee Jae-heon.
‘You’re almost fucking close.’
He had a hunch.
This is the actions of this green algae monster.
“…Did the students pick up the box earlier? “Let’s light a fire with that.”
“This is Dayoung.”
“Yes, Dayoung.”
I’m so busy trying to light a fire and manage my image.
He thought that it would be difficult to make a living once again and turned on the tick lighter.
Since I bought it as a luxury item for my selfish collection, it was a hassle to even light a fire.
If there wasn’t even a piece of Yongin’s box to light the embers, I would have been so angry that my brain would have been pounding.
Fortunately, the fire caught faster than expected.
Because it was hastily built, it was too flimsy to be a bonfire, but it was a fire that would not be extinguished easily, and it was a relief to have a light source in a place where visibility was gradually becoming difficult.
Not only Jaeheon Lee but the rest of the group also breathed a sigh of relief.
Among the siblings with good lung capacity, Park Da-hoon, the younger sibling, was of great help.
It must have been quite hot, but the effort to keep the embers alive was very difficult.
Chief Kang spoke to him in his characteristic quiet voice.
“Thank you. It must have been difficult.”
“Oh no….”
“You must be tired from taking too many breaths at once. “If you’re not feeling well, tell me.”
“yes!”
“….”
This guy is a real person.
I felt a subtle difference in the way Director Kang treated me and him, but Lee Jae-heon decided not to pay attention to this for now.
I never thought I would get tired of buying it.
‘More than that…’
Lee Jae-heon frowned, assessing the time.
“….”
“… Manager, you’re really sick, aren’t you? Of course it’s going to hurt…”
“What are you talking about?”
“But from earlier…”
“No, it doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt.”
He sighed and pressed his temples.
‘The green algae monster should have come in by now… Why didn’t it come?’
Fortunately, based on the experience before returning, we started a fire and secured visibility, but the green algae monster should have come close.
However, I couldn’t easily relax my mind as I only saw one or two vines as a siege and it was over.
why? why? Jaeheon Lee knew very well the scope of their actions.
At best, I can’t think that picking up a few pieces of firewood around here and moving around together would have had much of an impact on the dull green algae monster.
Lee Jae-heon, who was staring at the flames with a frown for a moment, suddenly noticed one thing about the approaching person.
“….”
“Manager.”
…The main character and his party went to pick up firewood.
“…How are you here?”
Jaeheon Lee had no way of knowing right now what those bastards had done.
At that moment, Lee Jae-heon’s expression was slightly distorted, but Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho put down the firewood in his arms with a shy smile.
He was looking at us with pitch black eyes.
“I got a little lost along the way. “I’m very late. I’m sorry.”
“…It’s okay, I started the fire anyway.”
“okay.”
The protagonist smiled as if he was very satisfied with his words.
“You started a fire.”
“….”
Fuck.
‘Why do I feel dirty?’
I feel dirty. It’s always been that way, but this time the trajectory was different.
Lee Jae-heon paused for a moment, but then looked at the siblings who were looking at the three people, including the protagonist, with a curious gaze.
They said they were watching from afar, but they didn’t face each other properly, so they might not know who they were.
He pointed to two students in black uniforms.
“Ah, these are the students you met when you went. They say you two are siblings. And those people were originally our group. “These are people who went to collect firewood.”
Jaeheon Lee spoke less because he was tired. If I explained it roughly like this, the friendly employee Kwon or the main character who pretended to be sincere would probably end up saying unnecessary things.
However, unexpectedly, the main character’s greeting was quite plain.
“That’s right, this is Jeong In-ho. Nice to meet you.”
“…I’m Park Da-young.”
“…This is Park Da-hoon.”
“…?”
And this time, Lee Jae-heon became curious. Why are they so crooked?
‘No, of course it’s not that harsh, but this…’
Isn’t this the reaction I had to Jaeheon Lee almost before his return?
He wondered if that would happen, so he looked at the protagonist setting up a new bonfire with the doctor.
To be precise, it is the gaze that is cast aside at the siblings while pretending to be sincere and helping Dr. Ha Seong-yoon.
As the old manager, he was in a position where he had earned quite a bit of hate, so he could tell. That was definitely… “
….”
It was a look that comes out when you don’t like the other person.
‘…what?’
At that moment, Lee Jae-heon’s pupils shook slightly.
Of course, it wasn’t as explicit as the gaze he sent me earlier, but if you were quick-witted like my siblings and I, you could at least detect the level of preference.
This means that these siblings did not give a crooked answer to Jeong In-ho’s greeting for no reason.
In the eyes of Lee Jae-heon, who was looking at him in confusion, Jeong In-ho, who was putting firewood into the newly lit bonfire, smiled as usual.
It was a smile that was so kind that it was disgusting.
“Oh, I picked up plenty. Should I put some more in this fire?”
“…Like that.”
What’s wrong with you again?
