Episode 211
A hand gently caresses a wound that has not yet healed. Lee Jae-heon looked at Choi Min-hong, who was massaging his hands and arms.
“Does Minhong have good hands?”
“Yes, no, yes.”
“Why do you like it so much?”
“I do not know either.”
“Then how much will you like it?”
Stop.
The child who was massaging his hands made eye contact with Jaeheon Lee.
“…I want it.”
Jet black eyes.
“okay?”
“I think it would feel good to carry it around… You wouldn’t like it if I cut it, right?”
“It will hurt, right?”
“It must hurt… right?”
“Of course it hurts, then.”
It’s a very familiar gaze that isn’t that unfamiliar.
Lee Jae-heon muttered inwardly.
‘As expected, some screws fell out.’
It’s not for nothing that he can look so fine in the other world.
Those pitch-black gazes were very similar to the eyes often seen on the main character, Jeong In-ho. And Jung In-ho is a victim of domestic violence who was severely abused by his parents due to his lack of empathy. I wondered if it might have something to do with the fact that children can recognize signs of self-harm.
For example… the mother, who is not in this family, committed self-harm.
“….”
“Uncle, I’m on the other side too… Yes.”
“I have to give it to you.”
“please.”
“That’s right.”
Lee Jae-heon’s thought was that no matter what the truth was, it would not be normal. This is because the child has poor empathy and knows signs of self-harm, and his aunt sat in the house instead of his mother. Although the details of the situation will be known only after a background investigation is conducted, it was safer to hear it directly from the person involved in advance.
But the process would not be easy.
“Oh my, Minhong. “You shouldn’t knead adult hands like that.”
“Ugh…”
“But you did well. “Hold on a little longer and put some money in that guy’s pocket.”
“What kind of crime are you predicting?”
“Please accept the envelope of money I provided, sir. “I took care of it.”
“No, this person.”
After all, he is a formidable person.
President Choi Jeong-man was a very energetic and energetic person, but although he had a dull side, he was not a stupid person. In the first place, people who run a restaurant or anything else can’t be stupid. It was natural for Lee Jae-heon, who had only just met, not to easily share his sensitive past.
‘So, if possible, we need to build trust here as well.’
The trust he was talking about was not simply that between acquaintances or friends. A kind of fanaticism or talisman treatment shown by the main character and Director Kang in the other world. It requires a belief so extreme that it can be dismissed as a law.
Not simply to learn about the Choi family’s family history, but to prevent them from finding loopholes in Lee Jae-heon’s play.
“What a joke… I’ll leave soon. “You’ve been gone too long.”
“It’s just a joke. You don’t even bother to look at the envelope of money I prepared for you.”
“I’m not the one who needs the envelope of money that the boss prepared so nicely.”
“It contains my sincerity and effort…”
“There is no need for that kind of sincerity and effort…”
Lee Jae-heon thought to himself, making a shocked expression.
‘In the underworld, crazy people are mainly preyed on.’
And there were many victims who happened to be nearby and got caught up in it. President Choi Jeong-man is the type of person who is ambiguous as to whether he is chosen or caught in the loop, but since he is next to Choi Min-hong, it is fair to say that he is almost a fixed member. Since you will be seeing this person often in the future, it would be better to cook it so that it is easy to handle.
There might be something the protagonist feels when looking at Choi Min-hong.
“…I am Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
“Please tell me.”
If we have to be specific, we are trying to secure the authority to hand over the script to the actors.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen an adult treat Minhong so comfortably… Could you please stop by often?”
“….”
“I feel like I haven’t properly repaid the favor I received.”
“Good job my little brother.”
“…Huh….”
This was something I should have asked for. If I want to win the favor of Choi Min-hong, a person of interest, and build trust enough to lead them as I want, there is no other way than to meet little by little and often. Human relationships were a task that required quite a bit of effort.
After thinking about it, Lee Jae-heon made an awkward expression and answered.
“…If it’s okay… I’ll stop by when I have time.”
“thank you.”
what.
I am more grateful.
* * *
Clink!
The glass hits the floor and breaks.
“Huh…!”
Kwon Yeon-hee hesitated and eventually fell backwards. The hot honey water in the glass flowed and wet my clothes, but I had no time to pay attention to it. Her gaze fell on the mirror on the table.
The faceless monster inside stared at Kwon Yeon-hee and soon disappeared. The monster’s final movement was always in the same posture as Kwon Yeon-hee.
“….”
Kwon Yeon-hee, who sat down for a while and looked up at the mirror, soon let out a crying sound.
“Huh….”
What a shitty mirror. Fucking mannequin.
I was embarrassed that I was falling backwards and whining at this age, but tears welled up. Only then did I feel that my butt was starting to hurt. Of course, it wasn’t herbal tea or just water, but sticky honey water spilled, and even my favorite glass was broken, so the mental pain from the hustle and bustle was considerable.
“I really need to find a roommate…”
Kwon Yeon-hee got up, swallowing tears, and fumbled for her phone. The person who called with trembling hands was none other than Kang Min-ah.
―Yeonhee…?
“Sister… Sister, I really can’t live.”
-Why did you see the mannequin?
“Can you really come and live at my house? I’ll be really good to you. I’ll work hard to earn money to support you… Come live with me…”
―I still have about a year left on my house contract… You know.
know. That’s because we’ve had this conversation many times before. Even Kwon Yeon-hee’s house still has about two years left on its contract. Kang Min-ah and Kwon Yeon-hee knew that even though they knew the situation, they were acting unreasonably like this simply to somehow alleviate the current fear.
“I don’t want to go out and live at someone else’s house because I don’t want to pay the rent… Should I just pay the penalty and live at my sister’s house?”
-Haha, do you want to? I’ll give you some money.
“…No, I’m sorry… I don’t have money to pay the penalty, so I just whined. “I have to continue living here too.”
-You can often come and sleep at my house. Or should I go there? I also asked CEO Yoon and it would be fun if we all got together.
“Oh, I like that. Let’s all get together and have a drink…”
Kwon Yeon-hee, who sniffled once more, put the call on speaker and settled down. Her mouth did not rest as she carefully placed the pieces of glass into a thick bag so as not to hurt them. It was to ease the lingering feeling of fear that still lingered.
Kwon Yeon-hee, who chatted diligently and quickly cleaned up the place, placed a blanket over the desk mirror. She put the mirror in a corner, sat down on the desk chair, and sighed heavily.
“I looked it up and it seemed to fit there. Unhak high school?”
-right? No matter how I think about it….
“I’m glad the kids are wearing their school uniforms well. If I wasn’t wearing my school uniform, I wouldn’t have known where I lived. Oh, I really don’t know if the kids are doing well… What should I do…”
―In-ho said he would visit on Monday. I was thinking of stopping by my parents’ house on Monday evening, so I planned to go later, but I thought it would be a good idea to go see someone before the kids get more anxious, so I decided to do that.
“…are you going to see your parents?”
Kang Min-ah was silent for a moment and then answered Kwon Yeon-hee’s cautious question.
―…Yes, I should go. I think I’ll feel at ease only if I check it out.
“…It’s amazing.”
People who visited the underworld were able to recognize the mannequin monster. In other words, he learns that people around him have died horribly without his knowledge and that they have been replaced by monsters. It was much more miserable and despairing than I thought.
What if my family was already dead?
“I…”
Kwon Yeon-hee hesitated and muttered.
“I still… my parents are a bit. I thought it would be hard to see. Yeah, so…”
-There’s no need to check it already. It’s okay for us to rest a little longer. I just… that’s my personality. You’ve been having a hard time these days, but I hope you can live comfortably without feeling obligated. Oh right. Should you catch me and play with the girls sometime?
“…thank you.”
Kwon Yeon-hee covered her face with both hands. I wasn’t really crying, but I felt like my face was cold for no reason, so I touched my cheeks. She moved her hand away from the side of her face, took a deep breath, exhaled, and then spoke.
“What about Yeonseok? “What are you going to do?”
-He said he would go to his parents’ house and see. Since we live in the same Chungcheongnam-do area… I think they decided to go together while I was going there. I decided to give you a ride.
“I see….”
This guy is really enthusiastic too.
Kwon Yeon-hee was secretly impressed by Noh Yeon-seok’s desire to win her love. Jjambap, who had been circling Kang Min-ah knowingly or unknowingly ever since she was in the secret world, didn’t seem to be going anywhere even though she had returned to reality.
“Then, should I go and visit with the assistant manager? When I looked into it, it was a 30-minute car ride? I heard it’s 40 minutes away… But since Dayoung said she was a senior in high school, I guess she’ll have sex, right? “I don’t know if we can meet after work.”
―Yes, it’s strange if there are too many adults gathered in front of the high school, so I think Inho and you can go alone. And Dayoung and Dahun both said they wanted to sleep. I’ll probably be at school until evening.
“I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate… I still have to go to school even after going through all that trouble.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be strange for a high school sibling to skip school due to the aftereffects of going to the other side, but for some reason, it seemed like they were attending school consistently.
To be honest, I was the one who behaved the most foolishly when I was in the secret world. In fact, I think those two were more reliable.
―Boss Yoon and Ha Seong-yoon say they can’t go to the grave. Manager… I’m not sure. Because I didn’t really ask. Since you haven’t said anything, I think you can go on your own.
“…But the manager isn’t even in our group chat room… Can’t we really invite him? “What should I do if I get upset later?”
-I think you might not like it.
“Hmm…”
―I’m going to ask this question later when we get together. Last time, I was so distracted that I couldn’t say anything…
“I understand, thank you.”
-Take a good rest.
“huh.”
Tuk.
Kwon Yeon-hee turned off her phone screen and hugged her legs.
“…Haa….”
For some reason, I felt frustrated.
Kwon Yeon-hee had a simple way of thinking, and thanks to that, she enjoyed a comfortable life without stress. Some people may criticize me for not being delicate, but I have the perfect brain to make a living. As such, she was not immune to this unresolvable frustration.
“It’s a shame that I enjoy watching horror movies.”
If she hadn’t been able to do even that, Kwon Yeon-hee would have immediately stormed into Kang Min-ah’s house and set up a household. She said it was because she could afford to think about monthly rent and penalties, but even she couldn’t help but suffer from the changes in her life.
For example, the marketing department where Kwon Yeon-hee works. I still can’t forget the sight of people in the other world trying to kill each other with knives or sharp pieces of glass. When I returned to reality, I also saw the mannequins of my co-workers.
Kwon Yeon-hee was lucky to come to her senses and escape in time, but those who had dinner and sang with her were already dead.
I wish there were more people who came to their senses like me back then. If I had survived and returned with my co-workers like the planning team, I wouldn’t have been so frustrated and scared.
“….”
After thinking that far, Kwon Yeon-hee raised her head.
“…It’s not my fault.”
Kuuk.
I muttered, putting strength into my hands.
“Don’t blame yourself, it’s not my fault.”
She muttered in a whisper, tears welling up in her eyes.
That person once had a drink with me separately. That person once recommended a restaurant to me. As she thought about that, at some point, Yeonhee Kwon’s hands stopped and her eyes looked into space.
The fact that I survived alone was a fact that I couldn’t help but feel guilty about. Whenever I see the wooden pattern on my face, tears come out of my eyes, and even when I try to make a presentation, my mouth won’t fall.
But it wasn’t Kwon Yeon-hee’s fault that everyone on the marketing team died. It wasn’t Kwon Yeon-hee’s fault at all that they went crazy or couldn’t return to reality. If no one can come back alive by blaming themselves like this, why bother trying to cut off my own flesh?
“You came back in the end…”
As Lee Jae-heon said before, in the end, Kwon Yeon-hee survived and saw the clear sky. That was definitely thanks to the help of Lee Jae-heon and others, but it was also thanks to his own ability to endure. Kwon Yeon-hee was not a sinner or a burden, but a great human being.
I know that, but…
“…I’m the manager…”
Soon, even his voice was consumed by tears.
“Please comfort me…”
Kwon Yeon-hee was a person with a simple mindset and high self-esteem, but never before had colleagues around me died so randomly. Just thinking about what I experienced in the other world scares me to death, but in the real world, even a mannequin is tormenting me. It was difficult to accept this situation and live a normal life.
“….”
Manager Lee Jae-heon came to mind once again. A sweet and serious voice lingered in my ears. I remembered the hand that gently held my shoulder…
Kwon Yeon-hee muttered softly.
“…are you okay.”
You’ve overcome it once, so you’ll be fine this time too.
If anyone could comfort her.
