Episode 273
“Basically, stores in the underworld have a low level of risk.”
Jaeheon Lee, who gathered the search team on one side of the pharmacy, began to explain.
“It’s the same at the pharmacy we’re at now, the convenience store, and probably even the bookstore.”
“Is there a reason for that?”
“I guess you should think of it as being treated like a guest. So, as long as you don’t do something that would make you not a ‘customer’, the store owner or part-time workers will not attack the survivor. Of course, not everything is this spacious…”
“It’s not that spacious, manager.”
“For example, in places where the value of the products is high, such as a jewelry store, or in places where it is difficult to treat customers like the VIP lounge of a department store… In fact, even if you go to a large supermarket, it will be much tighter than in a small store like this. Wouldn’t there be a lot more products and more mannequin monsters on duty than a convenience store? “It’s not as bad as schools or hospitals.”
At Lee Jae-heon’s words, Woo Joo-young turned to Ha Seong-yoon.
“…How did you escape…?”
“I felt like I was being treated specially because I was a doctor. “I would say it was relatively easy to move around the hospital.”
Jaeheon Lee nodded at that.
“You will receive special treatment. In fact, it should be seen as a benefit. In fact, places where one’s thoughts are buried or are related to the individual survivor’s occupation and characteristics make movement much easier. The reason why Mr. Garam Yoon wasn’t attacked by a monster at the flower shop is… um…”
“Manager?”
“…I think it was probably a similar type of phenomenon. “Maybe.”
“That’s an ambiguous statement.”
Lee Jae-heon couldn’t help this level of hesitation. This is because I am not sure about Garam Yoon because he is a talented person who is outside the standard in many ways.
“Of course, even if such consideration is given, if the survivor’s mentality is weak, it will be ruined. That’s why I didn’t even think about adding Munsan-gun or Lee Yun-byeol to Eonhak High School’s search team. Regardless of the benefits they receive from their jobs, they are not strong enough to withstand the air inside the building…” “It
is somewhat like that.”
“Anyway… yes, you two.”
“It’s soft.”
In turn, they were Jeong In-ho, Yoon Garam, and Kwon Yeon-hee. Even Woo Joo-young, who had just joined the survivor team, nodded silently, so it was obvious how the images of Moon San-gun and Teacher Lee Yun-byeol were perceived.
“Anyway, why did I bring this up…”
Jaeheon Lee said, nodding.
“Don’t look at anything.”
“…yes?”
“Medicines. Don’t touch it, don’t look at it. All you have to do is look at the mummy-like pharmacist who is wrapped in a white cloth. However, please do not approach the person and make unnecessary chatter other than necessary medicine. “Just ask what kind of medicine there is.”
“Why why?”
“Only then can you be treated like a guest. Unlike convenience stores, pharmacies are very strange to say this, but the pride of pharmacists is very high. “We have to cater to that person’s mentality in order to be treated like a guest.”
A while back, when I was at the park, before Kang Min-ah returned, I stopped at a pharmacy and picked up an item and was immediately killed by a mannequin. As you can see from there, the mannequins working at the pharmacy basically had a very high nose. This wouldn’t be like this in reality, but I don’t know what kind of thoughts were buried there that led to the creation of these people.
Lee Jae-heon said to Ha Seong-yoon, who was smiling awkwardly.
“Especially Ha Seong-yoon.”
“…Please speak, patient.”
“Don’t show off as a doctor. “They will hate it because their territory is being invaded.”
“It’s not an animal, it sounds like some kind of territory invasion.”
“If you think about it, the mannequins in the other world are closer to animals…”
In the original novel, the main character and his party stopped by the hospital and then went to the pharmacy to get treatment, but at this time, the main character was wearing a doctor’s gown and they were all almost kicked out. There was a description that he seemed to be repulsed by anything that smelled purely like medicine, but even Lee Jae-heon doesn’t know the exact circumstances. That didn’t mean he knew everything about the behind the scenes world.
“I’m telling you this because I think it’s best to move as cautiously as possible because nothing is certain. We don’t even know which of these drugs we need anyway. “You just have to stay still until the pharmacist gives it to you.”
“…I came here to get some stimulants, but I don’t know if I can take them…”
“They will easily give you some stimulants. The patient says he’s tired, but there’s no way to check that…”
“Wait a minute.”
Jeong In-ho asked with his characteristic straight smile.
“So you’re saying that the manager can’t easily take medicine? “What is a check?”
“…You’re making it sound like I hid something again, but didn’t I say that before? Only patients can purchase drugs unless they are stimulants. “Then of course you’ll check it, right?”
“I believe that the check… is not the kind of action that puts a burden on the patient.”
“Just literally checking. “It’s similar to the way pharmacies don’t give out sleeping pills these days… It’s just a really natural process.”
“…is that so.”
Lee Jae-heon, who let out a sigh of relief with a slightly softened smile, pointed toward the pharmacist and said.
“I guess I should go out and buy something sooner than that.”
“…Do you hate it when you stay in the store too long?”
“You probably hate it as much as the convenience store mannequin hates refunds, I guess…?”
“Be strict.”
The first person to stand in front of the counter was Garam Yoon.
“…Do you sell stimulants…?”
In response to a fairly polite question, the pharmacist nodded without the slightest hesitation. Judging by the slightly shaking face of the wooden mannequin peeking through the fabric, it seemed like it meant ‘there are stimulants.’
“Oh, it’s moving.”
“I’m bringing you the medicine you need.”
Lee Jae-heon responded to Kwon Yeon-hee’s admiration.
“Only the pharmacist knows where the medicine a patient needs is located. Even if you succeed in stealing medicine that you have not paid for, it will probably be for the wrong purpose or have severe side effects… so it is best to purchase and use the medicine officially if possible.”
Even as Jaeheon Lee explained in a low voice, the pharmacist was looking for medicine with calm and quiet movements. After climbing up the long ladder for a while and rummaging around in the corner of the shelf, I pulled out something. It was a transparent, smooth glass bottle that looked just like the description Jaeheon Lee remembered. He was a writer who loved shiny things, including the lakes and fruits in the park.
The pharmacist who came down from the ladder stood at the counter again and showed a small vial to Yoon Garam. It was a bottle with ‘stimulant’ written on it.
“…is that a stimulant?”
Nod.
Then he stretched out his hand that was buried in the cloth and pointed to Yoon Garam’s wrist.
“wrist? Why…”
“The barcode is there.”
“ah.”
When the pharmacist takes out the medicine and confirms it with the patient, a barcode is created on the patient’s wrist, and payment is made through it. At that moment, the pharmacist was holding the scanner to Yoon Garam’s wrist.
Lee Jae-heon said while pushing Jeong In-ho.
“Please help Mr. Garam Yoon.”
“…? ah.”
Jeong In-ho, who was taken aback by the sudden words, quickly figured out what it meant and approached Yoon Gar-ram, like the main character. By that time, Garam Yoon had finished paying for the stimulant.
“…Ugh…?”
“Mr. Garam Yoon.”
“My head hurts so much.”
As Yoon Garam said that, she looked like she was going to throw up.
“I really feel really bad.”
Even while heading to the sofa in the pharmacy with Jeong In-ho’s support, Yoon Gar-ram stumbled helplessly. Since she hadn’t eaten much in the past few days, the chances of some kind of catastrophe occurring were low, but her pale complexion was enough to give an idea of her condition.
Lee Jae-heon patted Yoon Garam on the back and said.
“It’s probably how I felt after staying up all night for three nights.”
“That’s right. Something… When two weeks have passed since morning and night are reversed, my mood is multiplied by 50 times… Oh, I feel bad. I’m feeling upset. “My head is pounding.”
“If you go back to the shelter and sleep, you’ll feel better when you wake up. “If you can’t stand it, take the stimulant you got.”
“Then there’s no reason to buy stimulants…?”
“It would be better than going back and being helplessly attacked by a monster, right?”
“This is really unreasonable. Ugh….”
Ha Seong-yoon looked at Yoon Gar-ram with a serious face as his condition suddenly worsened significantly.
“The blood vessels in my eyes burst, I had a headache, and I was dizzy… These are really symptoms that appear when sleep deprivation is excessive. “What is this? You were fine until just now.”
“But you will feel better after resting. Really.”
“…Seeing as you know so well, I guess you have quite a bit of experience, sir.”
“Why is the trend changing like that here…”
Lee Jae-heon quietly averted his gaze. I didn’t really know this because I had experience, I only knew it because I read the novel, but since I couldn’t make any excuses, I just made a dejected expression. I’ve learned that there’s less nagging when you act like this rather than when you act harshly.
As expected, Ha Seong-yoon sighed but did not raise his voice.
“…Yoon Garam, who we thought was the most sane among us, is like this, so I’m even more worried about the others. “I had no idea that the condition would become this serious.”
“Even if stimulants were a matter of choice.”
Jeong In-ho suddenly intervened.
“What are you going to do, Manager?”
“…oh my god.”
The doctor was frustrated and the protagonist laughed empty-handed. Woo Woo-young, who saw that Yoon Garam’s condition was deteriorating in an instant, even found his hands shaking.
“Do I really have to do that…? I don’t think that’s real…”
“I don’t plan on forcing Team Leader Woo, so don’t worry.”
“…I’m not the problem, no, I’m thankful, but that’s not it…”
It was a little funny to see a person who was always good at talking at work stutter.
“I can see that you are thinking about something else, Manager. Are you really going to do that?”
“So did you plan on coming all the way back? really? Our poor patient Kim Hee-chan is waiting at the shelter? How can you think like that? Assistant Manager Jeong really has a personality problem….”
“I won’t say anything back just because you’re being obnoxious on purpose.”
“Oh, I got caught.”
“Boss?”
“…don’t be angry.”
Huh, Lee Jae-heon cleared his throat and said.
“I need treatment anyway, right? “I have a problem with my ribs, and if I leave it like this, there will be problems with my future schedule as well.”
“…I’m angry because that’s true.”
“I told you not to get angry. “What if I invite a strange monster?”
“Can’t you get angry as you want? “Where have my human rights gone?”
“What kind of human rights are you looking for in the underworld? “While it is difficult to find the basic right to survive…”
I could roughly understand the protagonist’s reaction.
‘It’s probably because it can’t be resolved once.’
Injuries to the abdomen or legs cannot be resolved with drugs from the outside world anyway, so it is considered a matter of choice, but due to rib problems, I had to take medication at least twice. Jaeheon Lee himself had a problem and Heechan Kim also had to fix it.
However, it probably means that even a healthy Yoon Garam would be able to handle the process that would make him sweat, even with broken ribs. And Jaeheon Lee could handle it.
“Am I like you? “I don’t know what you’re worried about.”
Do you think I would be like chicks like you?
“…Of course, if my condition worsens, I may have to have someone support me while I move. Still, I don’t think you need to worry too much because the aftereffects from the shock you received here will disappear once you wake up.”
“Why am I worried already?”
“Uh-huh, you keep complaining about what adults say.”
“Manager, please…”
What should I do?
