Episode 21
Of course, I said it was a regression, but I couldn’t tell if it was true.
To begin with, Lee Jae-heon himself also just experienced regression.
At least based on my past life experience, I felt like I might not be able to die and immediately accepted reality, but how can I know whether Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho, who is a complete stranger, has experienced regression?
Lee Jae-heon frowned as he watched Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho fixing the monkey wrench.
‘But no matter how much I think about it…’
That bastard is getting a little sick of it now.
Since the underworld is closely related to mental power, Lee Jae-heon was putting all his effort into managing the mental health of his group.
To add a bit of exaggeration, this hidden world was a place where you could leave the same way you came in, as long as you were sane.
As such, he was naturally able to see through the mental state of the group, but Lee Jae-heon decided that the current protagonist was not in his right mind.
‘And he wouldn’t have gone crazy for no reason.’
As the main character of a 19-year-old impoverished survivor, Jung In-ho was quite mentally strong.
The fact that I was a little distorted before being eaten by the underworld also played a part, but other than that, my basic mentality was strong.
This guy wouldn’t have been noticed like this unless something really big happened in the meantime.
But then, what could possibly cause such a mental breakdown of Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho?
Even President Garam Yoon and Doctor Seongyoon Ha, who had gone out together, came back with all limbs intact, just as they had left.
Moreover, the protagonist’s subtle wariness toward his siblings could never have happened according to the objective facts known to Lee Jae-heon.
In other words, it means that the protagonist experienced a very subjective time rather than an ‘objective fact’.
“….”
“I think what you said is correct, Manager. “The vines seem to be intelligent.”
“…Even monsters can be intelligent.”
He barely swallowed a sigh.
‘It has returned.’
It was too natural to explore the surroundings.
Once again, the main character was still a chick. I think I’m just a teenager now, but there’s no way I could have acquired all those skills while just going out to pick up wood.
Moreover, although he didn’t seem to notice, what he was saying seemed like he was spitting out something he already knew. The tone of voice and expression were like that.
But there are two returnees under the same sky.
Even Lee Jae-heon, who had read the novel, had never heard of anything like this. Even if reality is not a novel, aren’t we in a novel?
Of course, I would like to do that even if something unrealistic happens, but…
‘No, more than that.’
Then how much does that guy know?
Whatever the returner under the sky did, in the end, nothing was more important to Lee Jae-heon.
His usefulness lies in his ability to survive after falling into the underworld, but if you look more closely, all of that ability to survive came from Lee Jae-heon’s own knowledge.
To him, information was more valuable and threatening than any other weapon.
But if the protagonist really did regress, how much does he really know? What is the last situation that Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho remembers? By what means did the regressor in front of me regress?
When I bit down hard on the flesh inside my mouth, the not-yet-healed wound burst and blood flowed. That familiar yet astringent taste brought Lee Jae-heon his cool.
I could see the main character walking ahead of me through the dimly lit bushes.
“hey.”
Time was running out for them anyway, so
“…yes?”
“Why are you in such a bad state from earlier?”
The task given to Jaeheon Lee was clear.
‘Anyway, I need to build a trusting relationship with this bastard.’
He tried to look as calm as possible. Since I have the personality of ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’, I may not be able to express my full concern, but I was able to at least make an expression that the other person was anxious and worried and wanted to find out something.
Lee Jae-heon pretended to look nervous and adjusted his pipe.
The piece of iron that wasn’t covered in blood had the unique feel of rusty iron.
“What happened when you went to pick up wood? “Did you come across a dead body on the street?”
“What is that…”
“You don’t seem to know what your condition is right now, but you are out of your mind.”
Jaeheon Lee tightened his grip on the pipe, as if he was very embarrassed by the other person’s sudden change, but did not want to show it.
I felt my eyebrows twitching of their own accord.
He slowly calmed his expression and continued speaking.
“Mr. Jeong In-ho.”
“…yes.”
“I think it’s the Jeong In-ho I know.”
I changed my tone of voice.
It was not the light and forced tone typical of ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’, but the voice of someone inside that the main character had not been able to define yet. The voice settles down calmly.
“I think you need to explain what you did to make it look like that.”
The protagonist’s eyelids trembled at the oppressive tone.
Perhaps, given the protagonist’s personality, even if he had truly regressed, he would not have been obediently suffered as Lee Jae-heon intended. Because Jung In-ho is a disgusting guy.
“…Then the manager probably has a lot to say.”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Chief, why are you curious about my condition?”
Jaeheon Lee twitched his eyebrows and answered as if he was asking something obvious.
“Can’t I even worry?”
“….”
Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho was at a loss for words for a moment.
If Lee Jae-heon’s thoughts were to be believed, there was a high probability that the protagonist’s current mental state would be very sensitive.
At least since he was the main character, he managed to get his mind back on track and brought the tree. I don’t know what the situation was like after Lee Jae-heon died, but the mere fact that he returned was enough to drive people crazy.
Of course, it wasn’t obvious on the outside, but on the other hand, it also meant that he was putting a lot of effort into it.
Not being able to show emotions in any way makes a person painful and sensitive.
Therefore, the current Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho must also be irritated, angry, sad, or anxious to the point of going crazy.
Therefore, for the main character, returning would have been a kind of backlash, and the old manager was upset about it.
That is why Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho touched on the only vice of Manager Lee Jae-heon that he knew of.
‘Nevertheless, I’m worried about the words that came out.’
I felt both relieved and embarrassed for no reason.
I was just annoyed by what the other person said, so I attacked their weakness out of anger, but in reality, it was all out of consideration.
I thought maybe I was experiencing all the lukewarm emotions I could feel right now.
‘I’m guessing you’ve probably felt some consideration in choosing the location by now.’
Jaeheon Lee deliberately brought up the topic only after he was far away from the group sitting around the campfire.
It was a kind of declaration that you would never let those people know about your condition, and the main character, who had become very sensitive and distracted, must have finally realized it.
Lee Jae-heon, who quickly noticed that the protagonist’s eyes were shaking, opened his mouth to look as natural and calm as possible.
Say your words in a way that makes them sound as crude as possible.
“I know I’m weird, so you all tried to avoid this as much as possible…”
I wish everyone would just ignore the meaning of ‘Don’t end up like this’.
Lee Jae-heon had a bad personality by nature, so when I was sick, the others had to be sick as well to relieve his anger.
The only reason I was being so selfless now was to build trust with them and avoid many hardships in the future.
But for that reason, Jaeheon Lee was definitely on the good side.
Whatever the reason, aren’t you managing your group’s mental health and helping them avoid unnecessary injuries?
“….”
“But what are you like now?”
There was a strange sadness in Lee Jae-heon’s voice, but surprisingly, it was sincere.
Yeah you you you man.
I saved his life and took care of him by blowing off his shoulder and blowing off his leg, but why is he in that shape?
My heart ached and tears almost flowed, as if the stock I had invested 100 million in had crashed.
Jaeheon Lee quickly swallowed his sadness and opened his mouth.
“…If you’re curious about something strange about me, I’ll tell you later.”
“I…”
“You don’t need to say anything now. “I was just asking because I was in a strange state…” “
….”
“If you don’t have a place to vent your feelings later, please tell me then.”
He continued.
“It’s better than going it alone.”
Lee Jae-heon is a mentally ill person, and there were many such mentally ill people in his past life.
Nevertheless, the reason why Jaeheon Lee was able to go to work and cosplay as an ordinary person was because it was a very natural thing to do.
It was a world where it was natural for people to be crazy. It was a world where people were going crazy again because of the ‘naturalness’, but at least there was no loneliness or despair of going crazy alone.
There was no reason to put myself down by comparing myself to others, or even to value it.
They lived in a dystopia and dreamed of utopia, but they knew very well that it was only a dream.
Therefore, Jaeheon Lee, as the only person who knew about his strangeness, created a ‘place for him to vomit’.
This was a world where mentally ill people were not taken for granted, and Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho would sink further into the abyss as he swallowed his mental illness alone.
It was like that in the novel, so there was no doubt about it.
But the main character shouldn’t have gone crazy like that. Even for Lee Jae-heon’s own life.
“It would be better for you too.”
“….”
The main character, who was quiet for a moment, asked.
“…If I tell you… will you listen?”
“When the time comes.”
“If I ask you, will you tell me?”
“If you want.”
Jaeheon Lee responded to that.
“It wasn’t such a great and secret story.”
“….”
“I did it because I didn’t want to be treated like a crazy person.”
Lee Jae-heon, who had said that, was so impressed with himself that he clapped his hands inwardly.
‘I laid the groundwork.’
Yes, I have to make good use of the settings I made since I can’t keep up with them anyway.
Until now, I kept quiet because everything was over when I died, but now the story is different.
Lee Jae-heon, who had rolled over in his previous life, wanted to live a better life, so he had to do what he had to do, no matter how annoying the play was.
“I don’t think this is something either of us want to talk about right now, do we?”
“…yes.”
“Brighten me up and let’s talk again.”
Through this, we built a minimum level of trust and also repaired the protagonist’s mentality to some extent.
First of all, Lee Jae-heon said ‘we’, which forcibly developed a sense of camaraderie by citing the mental weaknesses of Lee Jae-heon and the protagonist.
In fact, the relationship between the two was fundamentally different, so it was fitting to say that they were forced to raise it.
Moreover, Lee Jae-heon created a minimum of refuge for him.
Of course, he doesn’t know exactly what Assistant Manager In-ho Jeong’s current condition is, but even so, the fact that there was no one at all and the fact that there was even one person who recognized that ‘something’ was a completely different problem.
The protagonist was probably feeling a strange sense of relief at having someone he could talk about without any pressure.
Also, Jaeheon Lee was feeling proud because it meant that he could build even stronger trust with him.
Even though it was sutured in a hurry because there was no time, the main character’s condition must have improved considerably.
However, if there is one thing that Jaeheon Lee overlooked,
“….”
“…Huh?”
The point was that the main character was a chick beyond imagination.
