Episode 198 Jeong
In-ho had never seen Lee Jae-heon die.
The first one was pushed by him and went to find others before he died, and the second one died when he was lying down sick from the fruit that In-ho Jeong fed to Jae-heon Lee, so he didn’t even know what the situation was. Therefore, Lee Jae-heon’s death, which I had vaguely imagined would be terrible, was more miserable than imagined.
It wasn’t just because he was being slowly decomposed by the green algae monster.
“….”
“…I’m sorry.”
That voice.
“Sorry.”
The voice was so muffled that I couldn’t tell who it was directed at.
“I….”
“….”
“…I have to stay….”
It was because the words I kept talking with my mouth open until the very end were words of self-reproach at best.
Those who were alive and well could not come near Lee Jae-heon. He was being eaten little by little by the green algae monster, and he tried to separate them somehow, but not only did it not work, the green algae monster’s anger was too strong. It is very wary of and hates survivors who try to steal its food. So all I could do was cry or shout from some distance away.
What about a person named Jeong In-ho? Who almost killed several people when he set out to devise an unsuitable plan? In the end, who was Jeong In-ho who brought such terrible pain to Lee Jae-heon?
“…Manager….”
Who is the one who should apologize, and why is Lee Jae-heon talking like that?
“…better. “I….”
“….”
“I said I would stay… to do better…”
Jeong In-ho instinctively knew that that person would die soon.
That would have been the same even if it wasn’t Jung In-ho. Kang Min, who collapsed as if her soul had been taken away, Kwon Yeonhee, who was screaming and throwing rocks at the monster, Yoon Garam, who was lying down with her head covered in tears… and several other devastated survivors.
“….”
What on earth is this?
Jeong In-ho felt a strange silence inside. I felt like I was cut off from all the noise and trapped inside an invisible wall. The sky, which began to turn gray and then blackened like smeared ink, only made their hearts heavier.
‘…Has he died like that before?’
Of course, there was no need for Jung In-ho to see Lee Jae-heon’s death until the end, but I just felt that way. I just wondered if death had always been like that.
No one witnessed the first death, and the second death was only seen by Ha Seong-yoon and Song In-myeong. There is a possibility that Hong Gyeong-jun was also there, but I don’t know. Among all of them, there was not a single person who had seen the exact ‘dying process’. And Jeong In-ho knew very vividly what it felt like to die alone.
That silence, loneliness and silence….
“…Ugh.”
A disgusting growl arises.
I’ve always thought this way. Why is it Lee Jae-heon? I asked why Lee Jae-heon always gets hurt first, Lee Jae-heon falls first, and Lee Jae-heon gets broken or dies first.
That may have been natural. That’s because Lee Jae-heon was the ‘main character.’ If he was really preparing to hand over that position to Jung In-ho and disappear himself, then of course he should die. You will suffer. Because the god of this world didn’t seem to like the two main characters very much. So, Lee Jae-heon’s pain, hardship, and suffering are all just natural phenomena.
Oh yeah.
“….”
It’s a disgusting delusion.
“….”
“…I’m sorry….”
It’s a disgusting world…. If
Lee Jae-heon was really the main character, and that was Jung In-ho himself this time, then as Ha Seong-yoon said before, Jung In-ho is starting to resemble Lee Jae-heon. It might have been natural. I thought that might be the case.
So will I die like that someday?
“….”
I went back in time and lost everything and ended up being ruined…
“…Ah.”
Evening came and
the world twisted.
* * *
“No, since when did you and I become such close friends and keep in touch?”
Lee Jae-heon wrinkled his face as if he was embarrassed.
“Did you have something to report? Have you finished organizing your documents? “Did you call to tell me that?”
“…It’s not that…”
“I was wondering why you came to work early, but if you’re going to talk about this nonsense, just take a seat. If you have that much leisure time, Assistant Manager Jeong can even finish Team Leader Woo’s work. how is it?”
Look at the chick’s expression.
‘He looks like he’s going crazy because he’s unfair.’
If I had to pick one of Jung In-ho’s specialties, it would be managing his facial expressions, but no matter how easy-going and sly the main character was at work, it would be difficult for him to come to his senses once he was immersed in the secret world.
Moreover, the last time he saw Lee Jae-heon, he was about 97% dead, and in the meantime, he suddenly escaped from the other side of the world, so it was natural for him to be in a state of confusion. In the meantime, he must have been quite nervous because he didn’t answer even though he was able to contact him last night. Then I could understand everything.
But…
‘What if you peck at that in front of this civilian?’
Team Leader Woo looked at Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho, who was standing in the doorway, with a very uneasy expression.
“…Mr. Inho?”
“…Ah, team leader.”
“Uh, okay… what’s going on like that…?”
Actually, it’s hard to find cases where an assistant manager criticizes a manager and asks, ‘Why didn’t you contact me?’ In particular, since Assistant Manager Jeong and Manager Lee Jae-heon were not particularly close, Team Manager Woo, who did not know the situation, would have been very confused. She, too, was able to fully understand. You too would be dumbfounded. I know, I know.
At that point, Jaeheon Lee decided to save the protagonist.
“…Oh, right. “Were you waiting for the email?”
“….”
“No, you can send it a little late. Why did you catch the manager like that just because he was a little behind on work? What on earth are you planning to use, since Assistant Manager Jeong is so successful? “I know you have a lot of work these days, but you know this is crossing the line, right?”
It seemed like the other person was ready to accept it after saying this much.
“…I’m sorry, Manager.”
A smooth smile appeared on the protagonist’s face again. It was a gentle smile that showed what it was like to be a member of society that I had not seen while I was in the underworld. The laugh that only Lee Jae-heon, the old man’s manager, found unpleasant.
So this time too, Jaeheon Lee frowned as usual.
“Do you know?”
“I think I reacted sensitively… It seems I was not the only one who was busy, but my nerves got sharp. “If you were offended, I apologize once again.”
“Tsk, that’s enough. “Go sit down and do some work.”
“thank you.”
Team Leader Woo, who was watching the non-verbal war of words between the two, quietly approached and spoke to them.
“Chief, it’s me. “It looks like Assistant Manager Jeong is in a bit of a bad condition… He’s not really that kind of friend.”
“You’re not really that kind of friend, are you? Team Leader Woo is feeling really good. “Look at how I get upset every time because of Assistant Manager Jeong.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you again. “Isn’t our Assistant Manager Jeong doing a good job again?”
“I’m going to skip it because I’m looking at Team Leader Woo, right?”
“sure. And I organized the data you just sent me yesterday…”
“Oh already?”
Lee Jae-heon talked to her as if he had just been relieved by the sight of Team Leader Woo rolling like a tongue in his mouth. I felt Jeong In-ho looking at me with a strange gaze, but I tried to ignore it. Right now, I was trying hard to clean up the poop that he had made, and seeing those disrespectful eyes was the worst thing in the world.
‘…I’m glad that Team Leader Woo is where I am now.’
He muttered to himself, glanced at the woman with her neatly styled hair, and then turned his attention back to the file.
The vacancies of those who had completely died in the other world were replaced by mannequin monsters, and team leader Woo Soo-young did not enter the other world because he went out to work on March 1st. It’s not even 8 o’clock yet, and there are no employees except for the three of them. If one of them had been a mannequin monster, Jung In-ho’s mentality wouldn’t have been safe.
And there was another reason to be fortunate.
“Wow, that’s neat. You are truly a model for our company! “How can you do things so well?”
“I’m just grateful that you always treat me positively. Well…”
“I’m even humble. huh? “I think all the subordinates should learn from this, don’t you think?”
“Hahaha….”
A laugh so awkward that it’s not noticeable. A slightly averted gaze.
‘It’s a case of forced adaptation to society. ‘It’s not flattery that comes from the heart.’
Team Leader Woo Woo-young was originally a character who appeared only occasionally in the novel. The role is mainly to subtly support the main character who is being robbed by Manager Lee Jae-heon or a mannequin imitating him. Her main task was to please the old manager and revive the spirit of her subordinates.
‘I’ll probably call In-ho Jeong later and give him words of consolation.’
It must have been worrying why Jeong In-ho, who normally crossed the line as skillfully as a shaman riding a shaman, ended up like this. I wonder if Manager Lee Jae-heon has crossed the line and deliberately came to work when he is really sick. Even though he is rubbing his hands in front of Lee Jae-heon like this, in reality, he was one of the few good people in society.
After thinking about it up to that point, he waved his hand and said.
“Good job, Team Leader Woo. “Thanks to you, my job is very comfortable these days.”
“Please just call me again, Manager.”
Immediately after putting Team Leader Woo back in his seat, Jaeheon Lee turned to Inho Jeong. Also, if he was looking at me with that weird gaze, I was planning on dragging him out and scolding Assistant Manager Jeong for his insolence.
And I saw an unexpected reaction.
“….”
“….”
What is it?
‘What.’
Why are you on the verge of mental breakdown?
There was no expression on the neat face that must have been confessed during school days. At first glance, it could be thought that he gave off a cold aura that did not match his gentle appearance, but Lee Jae-heon knew that this was a reaction he had when he was mentally unhinged. Since I didn’t have the power to make up my facial expression, I had to at least maintain a blank expression.
Moreover, the eyes looking at the computer screen were trembling slightly. Her skin was pale and her lips were tightly pursed. It was clear that he was out of his mind from the way he was holding the mouse so tightly that it felt like it was going to explode. The other hand was clenched into a fist, making it look strong.
‘…what…? ‘Did you go crazy when you saw the mannequin monster this morning?’
But that wasn’t enough either. That’s right, most survivors are shocked and astonished when they see a mannequin monster walking around in the real world as if they are showing off, and go crazy when they see the guy imitating themselves in the mirror, but that’s not the only reason the main character reacts like that. It seemed.
Lee Jae-heon looked at him with a frown for a moment, then glanced at the analog clock hanging on the wall.
“….”
7:43.
“Deputy Jeong.”
“…Yes, manager.”
“What is that expression? “Are you saying I said something?”
“….”
“Ha… I’m speechless.”
It was the perfect time to take care of the main character’s mentality.
“Come out and talk for a moment.”
