Episode 266
Lee Jae-heon vaguely remembered the contents of this 19-year-old impoverished survivor, but in the current situation where the story was twisted and twisted, all he could think of was the setting of the behind-the-scenes world. Where is what, what monsters live there, what traps are there, etc.
Water that induces sleep was one of the settings that Jaeheon Lee remembered.
“It is true that the hidden world is made up of exaggerations and leaps from reality, but that does not mean that there are pitfalls everywhere without context. Just as In-ho Jeong recalled the water ghost from the sleep induction device in the river, there needs to be a minimum of probability between the location and the trap.”
So, in the first place, devices that make you lose your mind are not everywhere, and things that make you fall into a quiet sleep like now are even rarer.
‘Besides, there has never been a story about there being such a trap near this school.’
It may be that the main character in the novel left Eonhak High School so quickly that he could not come out, but at least as far as Lee Jae-heon remembers, he had never read that there was a sleep-inducing trap near the school. Although there are plants and monsters with similar powers, when he heard from the survivors, it seemed that there was no one like the one he knew nearby.
Lee Jae-heon said, slowly wiping the corners of his mouth.
“And… do you remember? “I crossed the river to get to Eonhak High School.”
“…Is there a device that induces sleep in the water of that river?”
“I think there’s a point to be made.”
“There is… a little bit. “After listening to it, I started to have some doubts.”
Jeong In-ho, who sat across from Jae-heon Lee, explained the situation from the last episode.
“After leaving school, there were many deaths, so I headed to the park to keep at least some of the survivors. Of course, I climbed the bridge to cross the river…”
“Were there any rules?”
“I don’t know what the rules were, but my leg collapsed. Thanks to this, Vivian and some survivors who were standing at the front fell into the river… and the rest died while fighting the monsters that came out nearby.”
“What is the suspicious thing you felt?”
“He died too soon.”
Jeong In-ho muttered as he glanced at the sleeping survivors.
“I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I think I had no strength. “My body also became limp.”
“If you were near the water, that would have to be the case. “I don’t know if it happens when I smell the unique fishy smell of water, or if there is some power in the steam created when water evaporates, but it makes me drowsy when I’m nearby.”
“Well, I guess so. “Somehow he died too soon.”
Jeong In-ho’s face crumpled as he said that.
“…Have I become too calm? I guess I’m tired. People’s deaths don’t cause much disturbance…” “
…It might be because I’m tired.”
When I returned to reality, I would blame myself again, albeit briefly, so it could be seen as a case of my mind being withdrawn into the other world and my emotions becoming dulled. Personally, I quite liked Lee Jae-heon, but I swallowed those sentiments for the sake of the protagonist’s mental health.
Jeong In-ho sighed as he saw Lee Jae-heon quietly nodding his head without saying anything.
“So… who sprinkled that water around us?”
“I heard from Garam Yoon that only some of the land nearby was wet. It’s a situation that cannot help but be suspicious. “I’m not sure because I don’t know what kind of traps there are around here, but…”
“I understand roughly what you mean. “It’s really creepy.”
In fact, it wasn’t that strange for someone I didn’t know to be around here. Unlike fixed members, sub members had more freedom in entering the underworld. There may be other regular members other than them.
But the problem was that the unknown person had sprinkled sleeping pills near us.
“…If they say they took water from the river, they could have followed it from there?”
“I think there is a possibility. If you sprinkled water around here, one of us would have some business to attend to. “If the current hypothesis is correct, he also knows the purpose of the river water, so I don’t know… he could be a regular member, or he could be a sub-member who has visited the secret world a few times.”
“Since they knew about the sleep-inducing water and sprayed it on, it means they intended to harm us, right? “It’s hard to believe that there was any good purpose in putting everyone to sleep in a world full of these monsters.”
“Don’t we have enough food to last for a few days? They might have been aiming for that. “Even if the food supply didn’t decrease, they might have gotten scared and ran away because I, who should have been sleeping, got up and started moving around.”
“…I’m speechless.”
Jeong In-ho asked, taking off his glasses and wiping his face.
“Could it be Song In-myeong?”
It was a name that no one had bothered to say.
Song In-myeong was quick and strong for his size, and above all else, he already knew the survivors. Even if they weren’t interested in food, there was a good chance they would be harmed. Jeong In-ho rubbed his eyes without his glasses.
“I didn’t see him for a while, so I wondered if he had died or moved to another area, but if not…”
“I don’t think it was Song In-myeong.”
“…Is there a reason?”
“There’s no way that pervert could be this pretentious.”
“….”
Jeong In-ho thought for a moment and nodded.
“I see.”
Song In-myeong is the type of crazy person who mistakes himself for being an artist. His view of the world, which I don’t even want to call an artistic view, is unnecessarily firm, but no matter how meticulous he was in his work, it was strange that he didn’t do anything to anyone in the group in a defenseless situation where even the watchman was asleep.
Even if he is a surprisingly meticulous person, is there any need to approach someone so calmly who already knows of his crime? Even this was a hidden world. If Song In-myeong had decided to go on a rampage using sleeping pills, there was no reason to endure it even once.
“Then the probability that it’s someone you really don’t know increases.”
“It could just be a trap.”
Jaeheon Lee continued in a light tone.
“Just in case, it would be okay to find a new shelter or reinforce the surrounding area. Or, you could move to the park and make a rest area again, but…” “
…Isn’t the park the place where you have the highest chance of seeing Song In-myeong again?”
“There are some minor problems like that.”
“Besides, the manager’s injuries are still serious. “Please don’t calmly encourage me to travel that long distance while I’m breaking out in a cold sweat.”
“I am overly worried. “Didn’t you come here safely?”
“Ha Seong-yoon even applauded, saying that it was truly a miracle.”
“Even if you say that, it only sounds like a compliment to me.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Are you swearing?”
“Oh really…”
Lee Jae-heon laughed lowly at Jeong In-ho’s disgusted appearance.
“If that doesn’t work out, let’s stop by a small pharmacy. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to get medication to easily treat it. Of course, this is a real-life wound, so it can’t be healed… but I think it might be able to lower the fever.”
“Are Ha Seong-yoon’s painkillers and antibiotics not effective? Isn’t that also taken from reality? “It’s so unfair if that doesn’t work.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t have much of an effect. What more do you want from a wound that cannot regenerate in the first place? The underworld has been harsh on survivors from the beginning. “It’s easier to give up.”
“You gave up too much, manager.”
“If I just stay here for 10 years, Assistant Manager Jeong will change like me. “The time felt is longer than that of other survivors.”
“It was the most horrifying story I’ve heard this year.”
He looked very tired as he stared into space with tired eyes. If you see that you are still not wearing your glasses, it means that you either forgot to take them off or you are so sleepy that you don’t even want to lift your hand. Either way, it meant that Jeong In-ho was in bad condition, so Jae-heon Lee asked with a smile on his face.
“I can keep watch. “I’m scared that I’ll wake up again while I’m sleeping.”
“No… If something like that happens again, I will take care of tying it up. You have a good posture right now. “If I wrap you up with Ha Seong-yoon’s bandages, you will continue to sit there.”
“…even if you say it….”
“There are things humans can do and things they cannot do. I’d rather wake up Hong Gyeong-jun. “No matter how crazy I was, I wasn’t crazy enough to put a patient on alert who was on the verge of losing his mind.”
“I’m not even at that point.”
“Do you know how shocked Ha Seong-yoon was when he heard the manager get angry?”
“That’s the situation with that gentleman.”
“Now is it time to shift responsibility? “What makes you sick is the patient’s problem, not the doctor’s.”
Lee Jae-heon, who had only poked for a moment, blinked with a sour expression.
“Then you can take care of it yourself.”
I asked because I knew he would probably reject it anyway, but I felt bad inside after being verbally treated like this. How good would it be if a young friend spoke kindly? I was complaining childishly on the inside, but I didn’t try to show it on my face.
“Anyway… I think I’ll have to talk to the police when I wake up. “If there’s really someone targeting us, we’ll have to be prepared.”
“understand.”
“And don’t stand alone on watch. I feel anxious at this point. “I’m not really asking you to wake up Hong Gyeong-jun, but wouldn’t it be okay if it were Kang Min-ah or Munsan-gun?”
“I’ll do that if I’m really tired and can’t hold on. “I think I’m fine now…”
“Jung In-ho, you need to get some rest too. How tiring it is to be on alert at school or the convenience store. Even if you inevitably have to stand alone, you will need to get some proper rest after waking up. “If you postpone talking to the police for a while, it won’t be a big problem.”
“I don’t know if it’s nagging or concern.”
“Why do you want to know how I feel now?”
“That can’t be right.”
“You disgusting bastard.”
Lee Jae-heon’s voice became quieter.
It meant that although he was struggling to hold on, his condition was not very good. I’m holding back from drowsiness because I’m afraid I’ll have another strange dream if I fall asleep.
Jeong In-ho, who was looking at Lee Jae-heon, called him.
“Boss.”
“Please speak.”
“Is it true that you modeled it after the black monster lover you saw at work?”
“….”
Lee Jae-heon, who made eye contact with Jeong In-ho, asked.
“Why do you think that?”
“If not, just say no.”
“you’re right.”
“…is that so.”
“Isn’t it pretty?”
Although he didn’t realize it, Jaeheon Lee smiled softly.
“If I were to die, I wanted to die by that person’s hands.”
“…yes.”
“What now? “There’s no one who can kill me…”
His voice gradually quieted down.
“…No one remembers me…”
The slow voice soon cut off.
“….”
“….”
It meant that Jaeheon Lee was completely asleep.
“…He is the one who remembers.”
Jeong In-ho muttered softly.
I always think about it, but Jaeheon Lee had a strong tendency to cling to the past. It may be that I am completely tired of the special environment of the behind-the-scenes world.
Jeong In-ho turned his gaze and looked at his group, all of whom were asleep. The survivors were fast asleep, lying on their poorly made beds with their weapons nearby. As the sun rose, the thought of strengthening the poorly constructed shelter a little more occurred to me. It was my hope that it would become safe and that more people would survive.
“…Boss.”
He muttered softly.
“There are many people here who remember you.”
Lee Jae-heon, who was asleep, did not answer.
