Episode 238
“What the heck, I’m in a situation where I’m becoming a total asshole.”
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, Jeong In-ho covered his face with both hands.
“Why on earth did you create such a situation?”
“What are you talking about? “So who was the person who understood the situation just by making eye contact for a moment and immediately went into acting?”
“It’s me… I want to turn into dust like this.”
“Either way.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Are you swearing?”
In front of the particularly free-spirited mouths, beer cans were placed one by one. Five survivors were sitting around in the living room of Lee Jae-heon’s house, each having a drink. The empty and tattered bag of snacks in the middle seemed to indicate the noisy atmosphere during that short period of time.
Jaeheon Lee said, lifting the half-full can of beer with one hand.
“There’s nothing we can do…. Anyone can see that it was a situation where Kwon Yeon-hee grabbed me by the collar, and if I had stayed still, only the employee, Kwon Yeon-hee, would have been in trouble. “No matter how bad my image is, since an employee grabbed the head of a manager at a vertically related company, people would definitely say, ‘That person doesn’t know what to think.’”
“Instead, the manager will be criticized.”
“…He has become a typical villain in romantic dramas who puts young men and women in danger and shamelessly leads their corporate lives, but it’s okay because it doesn’t seem like the sex scandal we were most worried about will occur. “As long as it’s not an overly dirty rumor, I can conveniently accept it.”
“Please don’t take things like that for convenience. And then people break down….”
“Why do you break people who are living sane lives? “Don’t tell me to do this or that in my life.”
“Mr. Manager, please treat me kindly, too. Then.”
As Jeong In-ho, who was very feverish probably because of the alcohol, continued to talk, Kwon Yeon-hee, who was so sad about the world and sobbed in the middle, opened her mouth.
“I didn’t really grab him by the collar… I was just checking the condition of Manager Woo’s neck…”
“I… I should have stopped Team Leader Woo well, so I’m sorry.”
“Team leader Woo, this is too much. No, it’s not too much. No, but it’s really too much…”
“Stop crying… My head hurts if I cry too much.”
Hehe, they are playing well.
Lee Jae-heon took a swig of beer and made a sour expression. The sight of fluffy chicks getting drunk and dozing off was a scene that I only wanted to see. Kang Min-ah and Noh Yeon-seok were already asleep on the sofa.
They seemed to get along really well.
‘I don’t know why they show their good relationship at my house.’
If you guys are that close, show it off at work. What kind of gangsters are these people who came to visit the manager’s house for no reason? Thanks to this, Jaeheon Lee was holding his head tightly to prevent the monster that resembled his wife from popping out.
“Stop whining and go to sleep. “Don’t you have to go to work tomorrow?”
“Huh… I’ll just drink this…”
“Uh huh, please put down the new can. “You promised 10 minutes ago that you wouldn’t criticize me any more.”
“Huh….”
“It’s not ‘Huhuh’. Put it down quickly.”
As Lee Jae-heon waved his hand and scolded her, Kwon Yeon-hee, who was already crying, shed tears.
“What? Are you crying now? “Why are you crying because you did a good job?”
“That’s not it…!”
Kwon Yeon-hee shouted in a worldly sad voice.
“부장님은 맨날 개새끼야…!”
“You’re calling me an asshole for stealing some alcohol?”
“Manager, you like bastards!”
“That’s a very ambiguous statement. I like to imitate my dog, or I just like dogs. ”
“Both!”
He then told a story about the abandoned monster dog he met in the other world. We pretend to be scolded for doing something, but that dog didn’t say anything even if his hand was bitten. If you like dogs that much, just become a dog, etc. Lee Jae-heon couldn’t help but be amazed by the unique and unfamiliar swearing.
“I never suggested having palm time.”
“It was bad, Manager…!”
“Do you know that now…?”
“No, it wasn’t bad….”
“If you’re going to swear, then don’t.”
It looks like he can’t see anything right now because his eyes are blinded by the alcohol, but Lee Jae-heon has decided to put up with it this time. It’s definitely upsetting that they break into my house and behave like this, but I guess they were willing to go all this way to comfort the frightened chicks.
‘I’ll sleep soon anyway.’
It was already past midnight and 2 am. If he didn’t want to see hell tomorrow morning, he could voluntarily go in and sleep, or Lee Jae-heon would put him in the room on his own, so if he held on just a little longer, he too could be free.
Thinking like that, Jeong In-ho crept up to Lee Jae-heon, who was sipping the remaining alcohol in the can.
“What is it?”
“….”
“What is it really?”
As he came closer, he observed it carefully with his eyes narrowed, then raised both hands and buttoned them one by one…
“…Hwaaaaaah! Argh! “What the fuck are you doing now?”
Lee Jae-heon, who was truly horrified, instinctively hid behind the harmless Kwon Yeon-hee chick and looked at Jeong In-ho with astonished eyes.
‘Did that main character really turn around?’
Since ancient times, a married man’s buttons were something that only his wife or children could touch. It was clear that he was really crazy to undo the button that was like a sanctuary. If I had known that my button would get ripped by that guy’s hand, I wouldn’t have changed into my shirt pajamas.
In the meantime, “Wow, the manager hid behind me!” “I’m amazing!” said Jeong In-ho, with his crush Kwon Yeon-hee at the forefront, and as he was still looking at me as if observing me, he opened his mouth.
“…I think you’ll be frustrated.”
“I’m not frustrated. I usually sleep well dressed. Only I can turn it off in this world. After Mr. Jeong In-ho comes to his senses tomorrow morning, he will have to reflect and explain what kind of bizarre act this was.”
“It’s so frustrating I think I’m going crazy.”
“Are you saying Mr. Jeong In-ho is going crazy? I can understand that, but I’m not frustrated. “If you’re a drunk and want to turn off your buttons, there’s Noh Yeon-seok over there, so let him do it for you.”
“My throat is sore…”
Jeong In-ho muttered and blinked.
“Aren’t you tightening it…?”
“What… that monster is no more. It may not be completely gone, but at least not now. Suddenly, I heard a strange noise…”
“It was someone else.”
“….”
“Someone else said that.”
Only then was Jaeheon Lee able to understand the full story of the current situation.
‘Do you remember the time when you ate the fruit in the other world?’
Well, we did share a feeling back then. I remember that at that time, Jeong In-ho felt great discomfort when even the slightest pressure was placed on his hands, feet or neck. After drinking, it was clear that I had returned to the past and was immersed in the situation at that time.
Lee Jae-heon, who finally understood why the other person was shaking like this, answered with a shocked face.
“…It was a temporary phenomenon. I don’t feel frustrated, and In-ho Jeong has no reason to feel uncomfortable either. “You seem to have completely lost your mind after getting drunk, but I think it’s really time for you to go back to sleep.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Aren’t you sad?”
“There is no reason to be sad.”
“Isn’t it unfair?”
“There’s a little bit of that. I still feel it now. “Why on earth did I let you guys in my house…”
“You always get criticized.”
Jeong In-ho said, lightly scratching his neck.
“I don’t think you necessarily need to eat all of that.”
“Is that up to me?”
“More than half of the insults directed at the manager… were not of his own making. “You don’t have to do that.”
“…I don’t know how the conversation is going right now, but is it correct to talk about Team Leader Woo Soo-young’s matter? “Can I understand that you are nagging me because I did something pointless?”
“It’s more of a worry than a nag.”
Jeong In-ho, who was looking at Kwon Yeon-hee who was starting to nod off, looked at Lee Jae-heon again. Since I didn’t avoid that gaze on purpose, he opened his mouth again.
“Everyone was cursing the manager.”
“Something new….”
“By typing with your mouth… whispering in front of me, next to me, and behind me. “There was no one who didn’t curse at the manager.”
“under.”
Lee Jae-heon snorted and said with an evil smile. The intention was to make fun of everyone.
“Do you think Jeong In-ho would have been any different? Although he pretends not to be the case, In-ho Jeong has a surprisingly soft side. “This is so cute and funny.”
“sorry.”
“….”
“I swore without even knowing much.”
Jeong In-ho, leaning back on the living room table, continued.
“I despised you. I thought it was pitiful, sometimes I loathed it, and sometimes I ignored it. “There were differences each time, but in the end, I was one of the people who cursed the manager.”
“…Let’s not do this, Jeong In-ho.”
“But you lived a very difficult life. I didn’t mean to do that, but in the eyes of others, I was criticized for being a terrible behaviorist. I got nervous because I saw something strange, but other people couldn’t see it. In the end, the manager gave up and thought it would be easier in the future to live as an old manager.”
“Stop.”
“I remember. Once upon a time in the other side of the world… when I was in the park. “You said that to me.”
Jeong In-ho opened his pitch-black eyes and smiled.
“I think he said he didn’t want to be seen as a crazy person.”
“….”
“…What would I have done if I were in the manager’s position? Did I make it up like that too…? I don’t think so. “If I were to be criticized and ignored for something I didn’t intend, that alone would drive me crazy.”
“What are we really going to do tomorrow…”
“How can that be?”
The speed at which the eyelids moved seemed to gradually slow down.
“How can you take such an insult and still act nonchalant? As long as you’re human, you’re going to get hurt. I’d be angry. “It seems sad…”
“I guess I’m not human.”
“Even a joke.”
“Do you ever think it’s real?”
“I hear it sometimes. But the manager is on our side, right?”
“…yes?”
“Then of course we have to take the manager’s side.”
Jeong In-ho wiped his face with both hands.
“Everyone blames the manager.”
“I know.”
“No one is worried about you….”
“I guess so, because of what I’ve done.”
“Even if I die, I will curse at the manager.”
“Of course.”
“…Even if I die.”
Jeong In-ho’s face, with both hands down, was red from the heavy alcohol, but he was smiling brightly and vaguely.
“Yes, because that’s how you will die.”
“….”
“You’re going to die like an old man, Manager Lee Jae-heon, until the end…. That’s all you have left, and the real thing is that you think you’ll die alone in the secret world someday. No one will curse you on your grave without knowing your real face. “Really, everyone who knows you will criticize you while you die lonely in the underworld.”
“Why are you angry?”
“I’m smiling.”
“Your eyes aren’t smiling, you disgusting bastard.”
“I’m sorry…”
Then he burst out laughing, wondering what was so funny. Looking at that, Lee Jae-heon vowed that he would never give that bastard a drink in the future. I should have stopped him right away when he couldn’t control his pace and hit one shot. It was a real shame.
“I… we are. “If you do better.”
“okay.”
“Being smarter, stronger, whatever… better. “Okay then.”
“Please tell me.”
“Are you not going to die?”
“Why do I have to die?”
“Aren’t you going to leave…?”
“….”
“….”
Jeong In-ho muttered with his eyes closed, smiling.
“Look at this, you’re such a fucking bastard….”
“Uh-huh, that’s the worst again.”
“Ahaha haha…! I like Ha Geuk-sang. “You know.”
It was a cheerful laugh, uncharacteristic of the main character.
“It’s okay, people’s minds change. “The manager can change too.”
“I guess so.”
“Look, we are better than the people you had before. “In character.”
“That…there is no room to refute it.”
“And there’s still plenty of time. “There are many opportunities.”
Jeong In-ho opened his closed eyes and made eye contact with Lee Jae-heon.
“How dare you disappear? “Just take a look in the future, I will save everyone.”
“I think it’s a good resolution.”
“The manager is also in it. They said we were chicks. You have to wait until he becomes a chicken….”
“Huh, when will you grow up?”
“I don’t know. First of all, it’s going to be over a year…?”
“Why are you calling it 100 years?”
“He probably won’t like it if I call him that loud.”
“Do you think calling it a year will make any difference?”
“A real son of a bitch.”
“Good luck, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
Jeong In-ho gently rolled his eyes at Lee Jae-heon’s words.
“I have no intention of changing that damn concept.”
“Now that you’ve come…? “It’s too late to ask.”
“When the manager gets criticized for no reason, everyone who sees it gets upset.”
“You have excellent empathy skills.”
Lee Jae-heon sighed and said with a sour face.
“I hope you won’t be too surprised by the dark history we create tomorrow morning. I guess I have no choice but to put Mr. Jeong In-ho to sleep in order to fulfill my duty as a human being. “Please understand.”
“When would you say these things if not at a time like this?”
“There are some things you should not say out loud for your own face and honor.”
“I am…”
“Inho.”
Lee Jae-heon got up and pressed the head of Jeong In-ho, who was sitting with his back against the table.
“now.”
“….”
“Don’t burn your stomach.”
After saying that, Lee Jae-heon immediately went into the room. In the quiet living room, Jeong In-ho muttered with a blank face while listening to the sighing sounds of his sleeping colleagues for a long time.
“…I pretended not to be drunk, but I was drunk.”
What a man.
These were words that Lee Jae-heon would not have uttered unless he was in his right mind.
