Episode 257
No matter how hard they tried to appear like ordinary bickering siblings, given Park Da-young and Park Da-hoon’s family history, their affection was incomparable to that of ordinary siblings. The Park siblings were willing to share even secrets they could never share with others if it was helpful to them.
I thought so, but…
“Mr. Park Da-hoon is a returnee. Do you know regression?”
“…Uh oh….”
“And they said he died before he could return.”
“Yes…”
“They said he died instead of Park Da-hoon.”
I certainly did not expect that this kind of structure would unfold.
“Are you listening, uncle? mister.”
“I am listening. Da-hoon was a little off…”
“Why did you do that? yes? Why did you die instead of Park Da-hoon?”
“Please.”
There is one cocky chick in front who talks back. There is a chick in the back who is restraining herself by wrapping everything from her arms to her waist. Lee Jae-heon was trapped between Park Da-young and Park Da-hoon, who were advancing without the slightest hesitation, and was feeling anxious.
“Dayoung… you really believe what your brother says. “If my brother had said something like that, I would have said he was crazy.”
“Park Da-hoon is an old man and doesn’t lie like that.”
“Because the target is me, I don’t associate it with death, even as a joke. It’s getting more and more burdensome. “Can’t we just let this go and talk about it?”
“If I didn’t want to be caught like this, I shouldn’t have died instead of Park Da-hoon. “Dahun said he would stay with us for a while because he is scared, but you can’t even do that?”
“You really have a knack for turning me into an asshole.”
It seems like he’s doing this because he doesn’t like being around me.
‘It’s because I think this chick, Park Da-hoon, will break my bones.’
Lee Jae-heon let out a sigh that he couldn’t swallow and relaxed the hand that was pulling Park Da-hoon away. But what can you do? ‘Lee Jae-heon’ is not a regressor. It meant that even if the Park siblings stuck to each other and asked questions, there wasn’t much they could answer.
“I did everything wrong. As you know, I think I have made a big mistake due to my bad personality. I will reflect and apologize as much as I can, so please feel better. “Wrinkles form.”
“…eww.”
“What is it, I just apologized and then you made that kind of face?”
“Ugh.”
Park Da-young’s cute and white face, as she lowered her head, was distorted. I pushed on out of frustration, but I guess I didn’t intend to hear such a proper apology from ‘Lee Jae-heon’. A feeling of guilt, confusion, and nervousness so weak that it was difficult to define floated across Dayoung Park’s face.
In the meantime, I was amazed at Park Da-hoon, who was hugging Lee Jae-heon without a single trace of disruption. To put it nicely, it was a hug, no different from being tied up.
“Dahun.”
“Don’t call me.”
“…What on earth are you asking me to do?…”
“Don’t do anything.”
The voice mumbling like that was small but clear. I wondered if he was crying because he was burying his head in Lee Jae-heon’s back, but it seems he wasn’t. However, because of that, I was able to better understand the strange emotions that Da-hoon Park had. Because Park Da-hoon’s hands that hugged me were shaking slightly.
“Don’t abandon us.”
“…I won’t throw it away. “What are you talking about?”
“You promised.”
“So, even if you don’t throw it away…”
“I promised, but I promised…”
“Dahun.”
“Don’t call me.”
“….”
What are you really preventing me from saying?
‘It’s hard to make a living.’
It seemed like the fear Da-hoon Park felt from his memories before returning was greater than Jae-heon Lee expected.
Can I say this is horror? Rather, the expression despair was much more plausible. Park Da-hoon was confused, but did not try to run away. Lee Jae-heon realized that Park Da-hoon, who was hugging him as if he would break him, was more broken than he thought. It was his mistake.
‘I thought she was just the Kang Min-ah of the past….’
Rather, she feels closer to Jung In-ho.
“Uncle, we won’t abandon you.”
“…Why are you doing this too? Really. “I told you several times that I wouldn’t throw it away.”
“Don’t we know your personality? Even if you don’t abandon it, you will leave on your own. “Then it’s no different from being abandoned.”
“That’s not it…”
“You don’t know how important he is to us.”
Park Da-young approached while muttering that and grabbed Lee Jae-heon’s hands, who were holding Park Da-hoon’s arms. Lee Jae-heon, whose hands and arms were suddenly restrained, felt nauseous for a moment, but was able to calm himself down with the shaking hands of the student. Because my condition wasn’t bad enough to reveal my true feelings in front of these chicks.
Park Da-young, who did not notice Lee Jae-heon, rubbed her face in his hand.
“Do you like us?”
“…just so-so….”
“But it’s still good. “I know you lie all the time.”
“If you’re going to decide the answer, don’t ask.”
“Why do you keep lying? It’s upsetting….”
Park Da-young took her face away from her hands and took off Lee Jae-heon’s gloves. Lee Jae-heon’s hand, caught by the sudden action, trembled, but Park Da-young’s expression did not change at all.
“That’s right, it’s true. “I heard your fingernails were gone.”
“…Give me a moment…”
“Who did this? Why did you do that? I think I’ve seen something like this in a movie. “Isn’t that torture?”
“What movie were you watching? “You’re still 19.”
“Don’t talk back. The student you like is asking. “Who did this?”
“It’s just really not a big deal….”
“How is this not a big deal?”
Tears welled up in the eyes of Park Da-young, who was reciting loudly.
“How can you say something like that when we really only see you as an uncle?”
The pulled eyebrows, droopy eyes, and slightly tilted head looked like a completely sad and cute student, but Lee Jae-heon knew it. That too is a face that Dayoung Park made up to survive.
‘It’s often used in novels as well.’
In the novel, if Park Da-hoon was the ‘body’, Park Da-young was the ‘head’. He is trying to win the sympathy of adults by making clever facial expressions on behalf of his younger brother, who knows how to be polite but does not know how to fawn. For reference, the main character in the story also knew that it was a fake face, but he was fooled without saying anything.
That face was the same as the one described by the protagonist at that time.
“It’s okay to just tell me when you’re hurt.”
“No, really…”
“I’m not going to ask you to rely on me, but I can tell you what each other’s condition is like. “Why are you making this so difficult… It’s upsetting to us.”
He really would make it big if he became an actor….
‘Should I give him a career recommendation?’
No, fuck. Not this.
Lee Jae-heon, who caught his mind that had wandered somewhere else for a moment, swallowed a sigh and made a guilty expression. ‘Lee Jae-heon’ would not have turned a blind eye to Park Da-young’s efforts. He had to feel a strong sense of responsibility for the situation in which these young students were pleading with him not to abandon them, despite his own poor condition.
“I’m sorry. “I really didn’t think it was a big deal… so I didn’t feel the need to announce it.”
“…It wouldn’t have hurt. “My nails are all gone, so I’m wearing gloves.”
“This is okay. You guys are still young… there’s no reason for kids like that to get caught up in adult situations. “I didn’t want to burden students who were already having a hard time with unnecessary worries.”
This was also half a lie. To be honest, I kept my mouth shut because I was worried about what these clever chicks might nag, rather than thinking, ‘What is wrong with these little kids that they have to worry about all the time?’ He’s already been nagged a lot and is still hearing it, so what more should he care about?
‘Do I really need to be nagged by my kids at this age?’
However, contrary to his dissatisfied feelings, Lee Jae-heon’s face was full of fatigue and guilt. Even though he was already in poor physical condition, he seemed full of the spirit of a saint who wanted to soothe the students’ anxiety as much as possible.
“…Can’t we help you?”
He blinked at the words of Park Da-hoon, who was quietly leaning his head on Lee Jae-heon’s back.
‘If it had been before, I would never have said this.’
The reason Park Da-young and Park Da-hoon were obsessed with ‘Lee Jae-heon’ was because they believed that he would protect them. The fact that they made such a statement, as they were so excited to be properly protected by an adult for the first time, meant that Lee Jae-heon’s death had affected the Park siblings in some way.
Of course, it was a change that Jaeheon Lee didn’t need.
“I’m sorry if I made you anxious. But even before that, I never once abandoned you. “I don’t know what happened, but you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Is there…nothing we can do for you?”
“Don’t worry, you’re already doing well enough. “He got through it well at school, and even though he had a hard time, he never said anything he didn’t like… On the contrary, he’s at an age where it’s not enough for him to act like a fool, so it’s okay to be a little more comfortable with him.”
“really? nothing?”
“Dahun.”
“Is there really nothing you want from us?”
From Park Da-hoon’s cracked voice and Park Da-young’s clouded expression, Lee Jae-heon could sense the contradictory emotions they were feeling. While they were happy to receive unpaid favors from Jaeheon Lee, they seemed to think that they had no value to him. In Lee Jae-heon’s eyes, it looked like that.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you two are worthy enough to me. Aren’t you doing more than your share of work, not just mentally? “Why do you look so depressed?”
“uncle Uncle. Uncle…”
“…Dahun?”
“That’s not it.”
Park Da-hoon’s arm, which was holding Lee Jae-heon’s torso, gained strength, and a faint venom permeated Park Da-young’s face as she looked at Lee Jae-heon. Park Da-young spoke quietly while holding both of Lee Jae-heon’s hands.
“Why can’t we do anything to help?”
“….”
I made a mistake.
‘You were angry that you couldn’t help.’
No, why?
Lee Jae-heon was dumbfounded by the emotions of the Park siblings, which he could hardly understand. Even if this was the result of Lee Jae-heon not being able to adapt to the soft common sense of this world, there was something unfair about it.
In the novel, the Park siblings did not show such active behavior. If possible, he hid behind the main character and tried to be protected, and if Jeong In-ho could not afford to protect him, he was busy either sticking behind Yoon Gar-ram or running away. I was thinking of the Park siblings in the novel and said, ‘It’s okay to run away,’ but if I had known they would react so strongly, I wouldn’t have said that.
Lee Jae-heon frowned as the strength holding his hands and torso became stronger. In reality, it wasn’t to this extent, but the mental shock the two received seemed to give them strength beyond their limits.
“…Wait a minute….”
“Look at your hands, man. Why is this like this? Why don’t you tell me? “Why, why?”
“It hurts a little.”
“What kind of people are we to you? What are we connected to? He doesn’t abandon us, but he tries to disappear by himself, and we just keep clinging to him and being dragged along. Do you really care about us?”
“I… I’m not running away. Please release me.”
“How much more do we have to be afraid for you to care for us?”
I’m more scared, you crazy chicks.
‘Look at those fucking eyes.’
What was more problematic was that the way he was exerting his strength didn’t seem to be his intention. It was clear that he couldn’t hear what Jaeheon Lee was saying now that his eyes had turned pitch black like Jeong Inho’s when he first returned.
Ah, but what can I do? I can’t make any excuses since I don’t remember the settings before the regression, but it was the best I could do at the time. Since we can’t escape or hide in a classroom anyway, are you telling us to just stay where we are and let us both die together? Isn’t that a worse situation? Even after the class bell rang, monsters would continue to roam the first floor for a while, so the two of us couldn’t hide in the bathroom together.
‘…? Even if I think about it again, I didn’t do anything wrong.’
Of course, the reason why the Park siblings are angry now is not because Jaeheon Lee died last time, but honestly, he couldn’t help but feel unfair. These days, the number of people nagging Lee Jae-heon no matter what he does has increased.
“Man, we’re really scared….”
I’m really more scared.
‘I feel deja vu.’
In the previous episode, I was reminded of the situation where the two siblings who lost Hong Gyeong-jun and Kim Yeon-woo on the third floor were frantically hugged by Lee Jae-heon. I thought that perhaps this result was because I pondered over the death of ‘Lee Jae-heon’ while my basic mental strength was greatly reduced due to taking a few classes at school. Still, it’s okay to see people who were in their right mind acting so rudely.
Jaeheon Lee sighed as he felt the wound on his stomach opening again as he was surrounded by two chicks. How do I get out of this?
“…I’m sorry for making you scared.”
“These are empty words, right? “I know everything now.”
“I didn’t mean to do that. “I think I surprised you a lot, so I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize… You’re not at fault other than being selfish.”
“…I’m really sorry.”
Lee Jae-heon, who thought for a moment, suddenly realized.
As a result of pretending to be weak to avoid Ha Seong-yoon’s nagging, I definitely felt that the terrible doctor was taking a step back. At the time, I thought, ‘If it had been my colleagues in my past life, I would have been disgusted and asked why they were acting so disgustingly weak, but they are really funny people.’ But this clearly meant that his acting weak was accepted by soft-spoken chicks.
“….”
“…Uncle?”
Yes, I am pretending to be weak. Let’s pretend to be weak.
“…I’m really sorry….”
“Mister.”
“Really…”
I cast my gaze downward, slightly out of focus. Lee Jae-heon did everything he could to pretend to be weak, such as shaking the hand he was holding or gradually lowering the volume of his voice. I was able to easily imitate what my subordinates looked like in my past life.
I wonder if it was effective, as the strength holding on to Lee Jae-heon gradually weakened.
“…mister.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, uncle.”
“I didn’t mean to do that.”
“sorry.”
Park Da-young hugged Lee Jae-heon tightly with all expressions erased from her face, and on the other hand, Park Da-hoon slowly pulled away from his back. The two students’ faces were still expressionless and their voices were at a constant volume, but I could see that they were gradually coming to their senses.
‘…If I behave any more harshly here, the atmosphere will be completely ruined, right?’
If I were not careful, I could have brought in Ha Seong-yoon.
Lee Jae-heon, who had no intention of making the situation any more serious, gradually pretended to be his usual self in line with the students’ senses as they came back to their senses. He pretended to come to his senses when he saw Park Da-young starting to cry, probably because she thought she was pushing Lee Jae-heon too much.
Lee Jae-heon made an embarrassed face and swept the corners of Park Da-young’s eyes.
“Don’t cry. I’m sorry.”
“…I’m sorry….”
“I never meant to make you this anxious. “I’m really
sorry… I’m sorry… I was so scared.”
“Uh…”
Lee Jae-heon, who was stroking Park Da-young’s face with his free hands, turned his head to look at Park Da-hoon, and Park Da-hoon, who blinked a few times, quietly walked up to his older sister and hugged her tightly. As expected, there was something endearing about them that cannot be seen in ordinary siblings.
‘Lee Jae-heon’ looked much more relieved. To be honest, I was truly relieved that this modification worked.
“…We will prevent something like this from happening in the future. Yes, if there are any injuries. I’ll tell you that too…”
“…Really?”
The person who asked the question was Park Da-hoon.
“Really, mister.”
“…of course.”
“What a relief.”
As Park Da-hoon said that, his face looked extremely tired and strangely depressed at the same time.
“…mister.”
“…okay.”
“Thank you for saving my life.”
“I… I don’t remember…”
“Thank you so much.”
Park Da-hoon smiled faintly.
“Because he didn’t abandon us even before he died.”
“…Uh….”
“If we do better, you won’t abandon us for the rest of your life.”
“Dahun.”
“Yes?”
The face that asked that question was filled with such happy confidence that Jaeheon Lee was at a loss for words for a moment. Dahoon Park was happy that they had been given an eternal opportunity to fix their future.
I’m thankful for that eternal life.
“…okay.”
That was so unfamiliar.
