Episode 269
Jeong In-ho, who woke up from a sound sleep, muttered as if it was absurd.
“…Are you back again?”
“We found some wet ground nearby. “I guess we can say it’s certain now.”
“This is really fun.”
Jeong In-ho’s face as he said that was clearly smiling, but he was shaking as if he had bitten a bug. The next day after another all-nighter, Munsan-gun and Kang Min-ah, who had been on watch this time, had fallen asleep just like last time. Isn’t it so strange that even though there was one more person than before, they couldn’t resist and fell asleep?
Hong Gyeong-jun passed by Jeong In-ho, who had a strange expression on his face, and looked at Munsan-gun and asked.
“You didn’t feel any special signs?”
“…I wasn’t particularly sleepy…?”
Munsan-gun hesitated and said.
“But I didn’t feel any signs of footsteps or anything like that. “Minah said that too.”
“You mean Kang Min-ah too?”
“Even if I was too dull to understand, Minah seemed to be very sensitive, but I didn’t notice anything until I fell asleep. Could it be that there is not a person but a monster that emits that type of sleeping pill…?”
Kim Yeon-woo came out behind Munsan-gun, who carefully expressed his opinion.
“That’s not it.”
“Ah, police officer.”
“I took a look around with Vivian. I looked around to see if there was any evidence other than the wet ground… but I saw that there were footprints that had been erased. “It seemed like one of the common types of sneakers.”
“Footprints…”
“Judging by the size, it appears to be an adult male.”
It was a fact that most survivors knew that Kim Yeon-woo had excellent observation skills. If Kim Yeon-woo, who had wandered around the mountain behind the mountain for a long time to secure evidence, was so sure, it was clear that there really was a survivor they didn’t know about. That’s a survivor who is trying to put us to sleep for some reason.
After hearing the story, Jaeheon Lee opened his mouth.
“It might be better to change seats.”
“Jaeheon Lee’s condition is….”
“I didn’t have my leg cut off, right? There is enough room to move around, so there is no reason to stay here. “They say there’s an unknown crazy person around.”
At his words, Kwon Yeon-hee looked at him with a cute frown on her face, but it only felt like a small hamster was glaring at her. Even if we give in and assume that Lee Jae-heon’s condition is really the worst, isn’t it impossible to rest with someone who might be a robber or a murderer nearby?
Hong Gyeong-jun, with his arms crossed, tapped his arms with his fingers and then opened his mouth.
“It is impossible to move right away. First, let’s go to the convenience store and pharmacy. “It won’t be too late to think about it after treating Jaeheon Lee and Heechan Kim.”
“You’re sounding at peace after having already been through this twice.”
“Rather, there is no guarantee that criminals will not follow us even if we move the shelter. “Rather than just running away without knowing their true identity, it would be safer to get some clues and then deal with the matter.”
Hong Gyeong-jun then continued speaking with his characteristic expressionless face.
“…Song In-myeong was someone we knew, and he preferred to confront us rather than run away. Back then, all you had to do was defend against the danger that was coming, but now, isn’t it a situation where you don’t even know who the enemy is? “I decided we needed to be a little more cautious.”
“Wow….”
Seeing Woo Woo-young’s face turn white at Hong Gyeong-jun’s words, he must have heard from other survivors who Song In-myeong was. Not only was it hard to breathe, but now even humans had to be on guard in a world full of monsters, which seemed like a huge mental burden.
‘It looks a little better than yesterday.’
It seemed like he was still afraid of ‘Lee Jae-heon’, but he seemed to think it would be better to admit his fear than to keep it inside. Seeing that he was no longer hiding the fact that he was scared, Lee Jae-heon actually felt at ease. Acknowledging one’s own weakness and openly asking for help was one of the best ways to survive.
Hong Gyeong-jun, who glanced at Woo Woo-young, continued speaking.
“Twice all survivors fell asleep, and this time no one woke up, but there was no harm done. You may not have done this because you are truly hostile towards the other person. First of all, I think it would be better to find the culprit as much as possible and talk to him directly.”
Lee Jae-heon said.
“No matter what, putting all the survivors to sleep… it would be a huge loss for us. No, the risk is greater than the loss. How do you know what will happen to someone while they are asleep?”
“But there is no guarantee that moving will solve everything.”
“I’m not saying this because I don’t know that.”
Jaeheon Lee hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
“…Only patients can purchase drugs at pharmacies, but there is one exception that any survivor can purchase: stimulants. “Each person can only take one, so why not bring as many people as possible on this search team?”
“It’s a stimulant, so it’s convenient to listen to, but seeing as you haven’t mentioned it until now, it seems to have a special drawback. Are there any side effects? Why is it like that small fruit that Jae-Heon Lee mentioned last time…”
At Hong Gyeong-Jun’s words, Ha Seong-Yoon looked back at Jae-Heon Lee with his bright blue eyes shining brightly.
“teacher?”
“There are no side effects of that degree… that degree. Really. The reason I didn’t tell you was really not that big of a deal…”
Fuck. Lee Jae-heon, who was swearing in his mind, answered.
“The way to buy medicine at the pharmacy is to pay for pain instead of money…”
“This is some kind of bullshit.”
“Let’s keep the line of Deputy Chung. “Who will take you away when you return to reality?”
“You must be the manager. “I’ll shut up.”
“Let’s think three more times before spitting out anything.”
Before you tear that little bastard apart, you bastard.
‘Why are we becoming less and less polite?’
It’s good that the chick has grown, but since she was the original main character, it seemed like she grew in a strange way. It was nice to see that it was much more human-like and relaxed than the devastated appearance of the main character in the original novel, but that didn’t mean it was good to listen to. Recently, In-ho Jeong used to scoff with his characteristic neat smile.
Kim Yeon-woo quietly joined the conversation between the two.
“So… what does it mean to pay for pain? Does this mean there are side effects like small berries? “Then again, I think that would be difficult to write.”
“No, no. It may look similar, but the pharmacy is much simpler and faster. It is a form of pain that will continue to be suffered until the injury heals, all at the moment of purchasing the medicine. So, if you are not the patient, you cannot receive the corresponding medicine.”
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, Kang Min-ah narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
“Well… I don’t understand. “You’re saying you get all the pain in an instant?”
“…For example, let’s say there is a patient like Kim Hee-chan who suffered a severed leg injury. It will take a very long time for this patient’s leg to recover. Since it is not an injury that can be regenerated naturally, surgery will be necessary. “After the surgery, you will need to rest well and wait until it returns to its original state to avoid any strain.”
“yes yes.”
“Then in reality, there must have been pain that this patient suffered during the time it took for him to fully recover. Of course, if it had been a hospital, anesthetics or painkillers would have been used, but aside from all that, the pain was inflicted on the patient’s body itself.”
“…I guess so?”
“You experience that pain in one second.”
“….”
“Actually, you are paying.”
As most of the survivors, including Kang Min-ah, were at a loss for words, Ha Seong-yoon, who had been quietly listening to Lee Jae-heon’s story and touching his earlobe, quietly opened his mouth.
“Then what kind of medicine can I get in that case? “If it were a regular hospital, the amount of medication needed from surgery to recovery during hospitalization would have been quite a bit.”
“They don’t give you specialized medicine like that. They are simply categorized as ‘drugs that help bone tissue’ or ‘drugs that regenerate flesh.’ Of course, there will be ‘medicines that dull the pain’. These types of painkillers and anesthetics are sometimes provided and sometimes not depending on the judgment of the mannequin guarding the pharmacy. “This must be left to chance.”
“Drawing lumps is something doctors hate the most. “I never knew such a barbaric medicine existed in the world since the little fruit.”
“It’s not even the real world to begin with…”
“Then what about stimulants? “That’s not medicine to treat injuries.”
“You have to think of it as paying for your overall health. You will get tired in an instant. “It’s not a particularly painful toll like other injuries.”
Not all pharmacies had this format, but most were similar unless they were affiliated with a hospital. If there are any individual characteristics, it would be a pharmacy with strong regional characteristics or a pharmacy with a strong influence of local pharmacists. I remember it appearing occasionally in the middle part, but I don’t know what it’s like near Eonhak High School. It’s never appeared in a novel.
Lee Jae-heon, who was fumbling through the story, heard the main character muttering in his ears.
“Taking all the pain at once…”
“…What is it?”
“Even though the manager knew that, he said he would get Kim Hee-chan’s medicine instead.”
I knew I would be like this and tried not to say anything.
As Lee Jae-heon frowned and avoided his gaze, Ha Seong-yoon looked at Jeong In-ho and Lee Jae-heon alternately with a sour expression. Then, he looked over Lee Jae-heon’s whole body and muttered in a croaked voice.
“I understand why the teacher never told me about the pharmacy rules until now. What were you planning to do this time? Or have you already committed it? “Did you break a leg without us knowing?”
“No, what do you think of people…! “I just tried to break one of my fingers!”
“What kind of pride are you shouting out loud?”
Yoon Garam, who was watching Seongyoon Ha’s frowned eyes, quietly intervened.
“But is it possible to fix Heechan’s leg with just a finger…? “It’s on a different scale.”
“That’s it… Of course, the effect will be weaker, but you can just keep giving the same type of medicine. “It’s lumped together into a ‘bone-building medicine,’ so it doesn’t matter if it’s a finger or a leg.”
“Can I continue to receive the same medicine?”
“If the condition is not treated, a patient is a patient. There is no problem with taking the same medicine over and over again if the injury is in reality and the medicine is ineffective or the medicine is not cured due to not taking the medicine. “After all, you’re not paying a finite price like money, are you?”
“So you were planning on breaking his finger and paying the price multiple times to treat Hee-chan?”
“….”
“….”
As Yoon Garam closed her mouth in response to the question, her face also blurred. As Lee Jae-heon once again avoided his gaze with a face full of sadness and resentment, Park Da-hoon, who was among the adults, muttered.
“mister…?”
Dayoung Park was in tears.
“Mister….”
“You fooled us again….”
“No, what nonsense. When did I deceive you? “I just didn’t say anything.”
“Don’t you think that’s it?”
At the sight of Park Da-young, who instantly looked with a straight face, Woo Joo-young could be heard slightly clearing his throat, but most of the survivors who were accustomed to such situations did not react much. The fact that the Park siblings were smarter than the average student was a fact that even they had no intention of hiding. Of course, it wasn’t that cute level of cleverness, but not many people knew about it.
No, no. What was important in the current situation was not the cleverness of the Park siblings.
“…Why the hell are you doing this to me!”
At this point, Jaeheon Lee also felt unfair.
“Have I committed some serious crime? yes? “Isn’t this a democratic country?”
“I’m sorry, but self-harm is not prevalent in democratic countries. And self-harm blackmail is treated as a sufficient crime.”
“There are both the perpetrator and the victim, so what kind of self-inflicted blackmail is this? Even the force has to be reasonable!”
I understand what the chicks are thinking when they make such betrayed or sad expressions, but you have to have the leeway to accept this and convince the other person. Although he didn’t realize it, Lee Jae-heon, whose physical condition was so bad, couldn’t afford to have that much leisure.
In the end, Lee Jae-heon’s old-fashioned soul, unable to overcome his frustration, awakened.
“Honestly, I’ve lived in the underworld for several years, so isn’t it natural that my thoughts are more correct than yours? Is there anyone who knows this world better than me? I’m right, so why all the fuss? “I know this because I’ve tried it all, and it won’t kill anyone with just the touch of a finger, and I’ll even fix it!”
“That’s just double the amount of nonsense I wanted to say.”
“If you have to do it, you have to do it. Why are you talking so much? It’s true that I’m less sensitive to pain than you, and it’s true that I can come to my senses even if a leg is broken. It’s also true that even if I go crazy, I’m not in good shape, so even if I do something crazy, I’m the easiest for you to handle. “If you try to subdue me with harsh words, wouldn’t it be easy to subdue just me?”
“Jaeheon Lee….”
“Damn it, I wasn’t like this when I was young…! “I’m not telling you to go out and die, but you’re just going to break one of my fingers, so why are you giving me this much notice that it’s such a big mistake?”
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, Hong Gyeong-jun closed his mouth with his eyebrows furrowed as if embarrassed, and Jeong In-ho was looking at Lee Jae-heon with a puzzled expression. Garam Yoon and Seongyoon Ha just stared quietly with stern expressions, but the Park siblings had strangely jealous looks on their faces. The target would be Kim Hee-chan. It was a good thing that most of the survivors were confused by Lee Jae-heon’s outrageous remarks, so they didn’t see his face.
Kim Yeon-woo, who was feeling restless, looked at Lee Jae-heon and waved his hand.
“Just calm down for now. “You’re already in bad shape, but I’m worried that if you get angry, it will get worse.”
“…I’m not angry.”
“Um, I see. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
Lee Jae-heon frowned as if he had lost his energy when he saw Kim Yeon-woo accepting the apology and saying he wasn’t angry. Even if you raise your voice, the other person must also raise your voice in order for it to reach the end of the sky. It’s not like I can’t help but think that I was talking bullshit by the standards of this world, so at this point, Jaeheon Lee decided to kill the momentum.
“I am truly sorry. I got frustrated…”
“No, it’s natural to become sensitive when you’re sick. It’s okay.”
“…Still…”
Of course, Lee Jae-heon didn’t just say it without thinking.
“…Shouldn’t student Kim Hee-chan be treated?”
A faint sense of guilt and obligation appeared on ‘Lee Jae-heon’s’ face.
I don’t remember, but my feelings were about the fact that I did something stupid last episode and was excluded from the school search team and couldn’t save the young student.
“I just…”
Yes, you are correct.
