Episode 20
Feeling sour, Lee Jae-heon turned away from the main character’s smile. They have already accumulated too much bad blood to be fooled by that sincere face.
Instead, he fiddled with his pipe and lost himself in thought.
‘…Something is strange.’
There were more than one strange thing right now.
First of all, even though a long time had passed, the green algae monster did not come.
The only thing that Lee Jae-heon changed after returning was to invite his siblings first and pick up materials faster.
Of course, in the process, they dealt with the vines that were believed to have been sent by the green algae monster, but they didn’t kill enough of them to change the future.
Of course, Lee Jae-heon’s existence itself is a variable in this world, so I don’t know what kind of butterfly effect it might have caused, but that also has its degrees.
Jaeheon Lee did not think that his existence was so great that it exceeded his expectations.
In other words, it meant that there were variables other than him.
‘Right now, the highest probability is that bastard…’
When Lee Jae-heon made eye contact with me, he immediately turned his attention to the main character, who was looking at him as if asking what was going on.
His face was so sincere that it made me feel sick.
“Chief, are you okay?”
“…are you okay.”
“If you are in pain, you must tell me right away.”
“Huh.”
Normally, I would have spewed out a bunch of curses, but since my head was in overdrive, I decided to hold back. The situation wasn’t very good to waste emotions for no reason.
He turned his previously averted gaze back to Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho.
The main character had a very shameless, nonchalant look on his face, as if he couldn’t sense Doctor Ha Seong-yoon’s gaze looking at me as if he was astonished from the side of the second bonfire.
Yeah, that one. That strangely calm and sincere face.
‘That’s the second strangest thing.’
Jaeheon Lee did not like the main character. Sincerely, without any pretense.
Rather than specifically hating him, it was closer to disliking him, because he truly felt an instinctive disgust towards Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho.
The biggest cause of that disgust was that face.
“…Okay, so get out of here.”
“Yes, I understand.”
It was disgusting to see a facial expression that was totally opposite to the true nature of that pretended sincerity.
‘But… it got worse.’
It wasn’t to the point where I felt like he was a completely different person, but it felt like he had changed a bit.
Originally, Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho was a very different person inside and out.
In that respect, he was similar to Lee Jae-heon himself, so Lee Jae-heon disliked him as a kind of homophobia.
Of course, until I remembered my past life, I was quick to notice that I was being criticized and disliked it.
Of course, now I was not reluctant to show such duality.
What Jaeheon Lee found strange now was that, objectively speaking, it had gotten worse in the short time he had gone to pick up materials.
Unless Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho went to pick up wood and went to acting school, this is nonsense.
More than anything, strange things are strange, but before that, I was embarrassed.
‘I have to keep seeing that bastard face to face…’
This? With a bastard like that?
‘I have to build trust with that bastard now?’
Just thinking about it made me nauseous.
Lee Jae-heon didn’t particularly hate the main character. However, I disliked it a little, and although I didn’t hate it, I disliked it.
Nevertheless, Jaeheon Lee was in a position where he had to build trust with him.
That’s because Jaeheon Lee realized that he couldn’t die anymore.
No matter how I died, I would regress again, and if that was the case, there was no reason to die while wasting my mental strength.
Of course, I would be willing to die if the situation required it, but it would have been stupid to die without a reason before that.
Lee Jae-heon now had to build sufficient trust and affection with his current group.
Until now, we tried to keep a reasonable distance so that we could die easily, but now we have to be close enough that if we say, ‘I’ll die for you!’, the response is, ‘Don’t talk nonsense!’
Even for the rest of my life. The closer you become, the easier it will be to manage your group’s mentality.
Then, naturally, you will have to build greater trust with the main character, who will become the center of the group.
What on earth are those eyes now?
‘Why did he become even crazier in a short period of time?’
Lee Jae-heon was inwardly scared. I knew this because I had seen quite a few mentally ill people in my past life, but the main character was now half insane.
Lee Jae-heon, who was out of breath, unconsciously asked in a bitter voice.
“…Are you okay?”
“…yes?”
“No, no. Forget it.”
I don’t know, I’ll take care of it myself.
Lee Jae-heon completely avoided the pitch-black gaze that had begun to stare at me again.
I already had a lot to think about, but I already knew that it would be my loss to worry about that disgusting guy.
But Lee Jae-heon’s worries did not end.
‘What could have happened while I was just picking up wood…?’
The same goes for the green algae monster that doesn’t appear on time, as well as the main character who turns around in a moment.
A physically impossible event unfolded before Jaeheon Lee’s eyes. Of course, it was a situation that was bound to be confusing.
It would have been great if it had ended here, but unfortunately there were more problems.
“You’re bleeding a lot, are you okay?”
“Should I call the doctor over there…?”
The relationship between the main character and these siblings does not seem to be very good.
Lee Jae-heon frowned when he saw students calling Dr. Ha Seong-yoon “doctor teacher,” since they had become close friends.
The siblings hesitated for a moment, but tried to stay by my side, trying to figure out what they were thinking.
Jaeheon Lee slightly frowned at that, but sighed at the subtle boundary between these siblings and the main character.
‘No, I understand why they are doing this, but…’
The siblings are quick to notice. We had already sensed a strange hostility from the gaze given by the main character, and since we were already very wary, there was no way we could like an adult who disliked us.
Lee Jae-heon also understood the psychology of the siblings.
But you you man. The main character, you and this bastard speak a little differently.
‘Why on earth are you doing that?’
Jaeheon Lee struggled to open his mouth, feeling stuffy.
“…I’ve already been treated. “Leave it alone.”
“Oh yes.”
When he saw it, the protagonist harbored a strange hostility toward these siblings.
But I didn’t understand it at all.
First of all, because Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho is basically a good-natured person, he was weak towards underage students, and even in the novel, didn’t he try so hard to protect the students he met for the first time?
Through their efforts, the siblings also gradually relaxed their guard.
But what on earth is the situation now? The protagonist pretended not to be the protagonist and was wary of the students, and the students did their best to hide their discomfort, but avoided the protagonist.
Even Lee Jae-heon, who was chosen as the ‘place to avoid’, was so tired that he was annoyed by the current situation.
Since I had to manage my image properly, I couldn’t shake off these young guys.
‘No, that’s why.’
Why on earth do you hate them?
Lee Jae-heon was able to read clear boundaries in the protagonist’s gaze and even sense faint resentment.
It was almost absurd to think about Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho’s good heart toward the elderly and the weak.
‘Wasn’t there any point of contact in the first place…?’
Lee Jae-heon, who was thinking about that, suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu and quickly sighed.
He opened his mouth when he saw the steadily burning bonfire.
“Deputy Jeong.”
“Yes, manager.”
“We brought some snacks, right?”
Anyway, the situation was pretty stable, so it was time to replenish my stamina.
Immediately after being devoured by the secret world, Lee Jae-heon advised the protagonist to prepare a few things.
In response, Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho dutifully brought along tools, a water bottle, and several snacks, some of which he consumed while escaping from the company, but there were still some left over.
Since no one had touched it yet, the water bottle was completely new, and the snacks were small chocolates and the like, so there was nothing to spoil.
Because the weather was quite chilly, it probably didn’t melt.
At those words, Assistant Manager Jeong nodded.
“Yes, I think… I think Kang Min-ah had it.”
“Ah yes. “Me and Yeonhee were sharing it together.”
Manager Kang Min-ah looked back at Employee Kwon and both of them took out small snacks that were stuck somewhere on their shirts.
These were snacks of a common brand that were usually found in the bathroom.
Lee Jae-heon, who saw that, opened his mouth again.
“One, two, three… There are a total of 9 people now, so that’s plenty.”
The snacks themselves were small, but it felt like we could share them without any pressure.
Jaeheon Lee decided to distribute about 11 small chocolates one by one.
“And the rest of the snacks… leave those behind. “I’ll have to bring some food starting tomorrow.”
“yes? “Do you want something to eat?”
“Why hunting or something? Or at least get drinking water.”
“…may I?”
Jaeheon Lee blinked at Assistant Manager Inho Jeong’s question.
“Is there any reason not to?”
“…No, sorry.”
“I’m even sorry…”
He furrowed his already frowning eyebrows even more.
Of course, he didn’t crumple consciously, but his facial muscles naturally twisted out of embarrassment.
Why on earth is this guy like this?
‘Why are you acting like food is a waste…?’
Of course, it was a wise decision.
Since I didn’t know if there was proper food in this colorless world, it was much more efficient to starve for a day and then eat the next day.
However, the opponent was assistant manager Jeong In-ho, who was still just a chick.
Although he was particularly disgusting among the group, there were many who were immature and had no knowledge of survival.
In fact, the main character in the novel learns a decent sense of survival only after making several mistakes.
But it’s still early days. The days feel a bit long because they’ve been through so much, but it hasn’t even been a day since they fell into the other side of the world.
Where on earth did Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho learn his survival skills?
Lee Jae-heon continued speaking, trying to ignore the feeling of déjà vu that struck the back of his head.
“…I saw it as I came and went, but there was a separate animal.”
“Is it also an animal?”
“There are insects… which means there could also be fish and such.”
I’m not saying it could happen, but it actually did.
‘Because that’s how food was distributed in the novel as well.’
In the beginning, I filled my stomach with ready-made food, but even that had its limits.
Since they had nothing to eat, the group in the novel survived the underworld by replenishing their stamina with passing insects.
Then he stops at a park lake and finds fish there.
The problem was that they encountered a green algae monster in the process, but since they found all kinds of beasts, there was no problem in supplying new food.
Lee Jae-heon, who had often gone hunting in his past life, was not too worried about immediate food.
Of course, in the novel, we only get a clue about hunting when we leave the park, but…
As long as Lee Jae-heon was there, I had no intention of going that far around.
“Boss, didn’t you say there’s a lake here?”
“…Ah yes! that’s right.”
President Garam Yoon nodded a beat late, probably because he was bruised.
“There was a large lake and a smaller lake. “It’s managed by the city hall, so I guess… there were kids like koi there, too.”
“There are koi fish? “In a park this big?”
“uh… I don’t know much about it, but it’s a park that a lot of attention was paid to from the beginning. “We managed the water quality because of the fish, and because there were small animals living in it, we cleaned out the trash frequently… It was in really good condition.”
“Then we can just get water from the lake.”
“The water… the large lake is covered in green algae. “Maybe it would be better to go to a small lake.”
Suddenly, Lee Jae-heon looked at Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho, who was startled by the word ‘green algae’, with strange eyes.
“….”
“…What’s going on?”
“No… just tell me if you’re tired.”
When I heard those words, I felt the main character look at me with a strange look, but to Lee Jae-heon’s surprise, he was truly sincere.
No matter how much he thought about it, Lee Jae-heon was worried about Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho’s current condition.
‘If that bastard breaks down, they won’t be able to handle it.’
The main character was as competent as he was disgusting, and among the group gathered now, he was the second mentally strong next to Doctor Ha Seong-yoon.
Even if he has a mental breakdown, he is a guy who does his job quickly, so if the main character leaves now, how will he be able to manage so many chicks?
Jaeheon Lee stuffed the small piece of chocolate he was given into his mouth.
I felt sick to my stomach because I was traumatized by the influence of the other side of the world, but even if it didn’t go down my throat, I needed to replenish my stamina.
Lee Jae-heon, who was covering his mouth to gag after roughly swallowing the chocolate, suddenly turned his attention to a small friction sound that reached his ear.
“…ah.”
Sigh.
He stepped on the vine that had come under his feet with his shoe.
“Crazy surprise.”
With an exclamation a beat later, Jaeheon Lee strengthened the hand holding the pipe.
The vine wriggled like a snake with its neck stepped on, and Jaeheon Lee hit it with the pipe before it burned like in a flower shop.
Okay.
There was silence among the group along with the sound of something juicy exploding.
“….”
“…Manager Rich, are you okay?!”
“I won’t die.”
Lee Jae-heon sighed as he saw his companions looking at him with blank expressions.
In particular, the main character was holding the monkey wrench in one hand again, and when he met those pitch-black eyes, he couldn’t breathe.
‘Why is that bastard acting like that again?’
Jaeheon Lee moved his body, trying to ignore the sense of déjà vu that was gnawing at his brain.
“I… I really thought this was a strange idea so I wasn’t going to say it.”
“yes?”
“Why do the vines seem to approach intentionally?”
“….”
“You seem a bit intelligent.”
Of course, it wasn’t a ‘weird idea’ or anything, it was just a fact.
Lee Jae-heon, who already knew about the green algae monster through a novel, also knew what the current situation was.
The monster that had not come for some reason just a moment ago has now come and narrowed its siege in our direction.
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, Doctor Ha Seong-yoon’s face hardened and the protagonist adjusted his grip on the monkey wrench.
The other party members seemed to gradually understand the situation after seeing the expressions on the two people’s faces.
“…Boss? “Where are you going?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Lee Jae-heon continued speaking with a sigh.
“I just wanted to take a look around.”
I had no intention of going far.
However, no matter how much I thought about it, it felt strange that the green algae monster appeared only now, and if there was a variable, it was better for Lee Jae-heon, who comes back to life even if he dies, to go.
If something happens, the main character will take care of it and comfort the kids.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to die. I just found a more efficient way because I knew I couldn’t die anyway.
Even just before his return, he threw himself into it with the thought that he would willingly die if he could, but if he couldn’t, there was no place for him to retreat anymore.
If there was an unknown danger, Lee Jae-heon had to know so that he could turn the situation around.
Only then could I lead these chicks and gain their trust. He wanted to somehow live a better life than now.
However, if there is a problem,
“Manager.”
“….”
“Please stay here.”
The main thing was that this crazy guy was a little strange.
“…what?”
“I feel bad. “I will come back.”
“….”
As if a dam had burst at those words, Lee Jae-heon recalled strange facts that he had been trying to ignore until now. I remembered it.
The green algae monster arrived much later than expected. The main character’s eyes are half as wide as they were before returning.
The main character, who would normally have been kind to the weak, is hiding an unknown hostility towards his underage siblings…
And as far as Lee Jae-heon knows, the main character and these siblings have never met each other after returning.
Of course, the spirit of the main character he has managed so far has never been lost like that.
In other words, there was a time for Jeong In-ho that Jae-heon Lee did not know about.
“….”
There were not many correct answers that could respond to this contradiction.
“…you.”
“…yes?”
“No, no.”
Fuck you.
“Then let’s go together.”
Why does this guy seem to have regressed too?
