Episode 280:
Kim Ki-jeong’s ears were better than expected.
“I can hear it burning.”
“Do you hear that sound…?”
“Why does it make a sound when burning firewood? “It is like that.”
Kim Ki-jeong waved his hand in embarrassment, but the fact that he had remarkable hearing did not change. Vivian and Hong Gyeong-jun, who teamed up with Kim Ki-jeong, looked at Kim Ki-jeong with surprised eyes.
“The sound of burning… I wonder what kind of scene it is. “I would like to avoid that area if possible, but is that possible?”
“Yes, I can hear it from over there, so it’ll be okay if I don’t go looking for it…”
Kim Ki-jeong, who had been stuttering, stiffened his face.
“…Han Do-yoon?”
“Mr. Kim Ki-jeong?”
“Ha Han Do-yoon, you crazy bastard…!”
As Kim Ki-jeong, muttering with a frightened look on his face, entered the apartment, flailing his thin arms and legs, Vivian and Hong Gyeong-jun, who were looking at him with bewildered expressions, hurriedly followed him. It was natural for someone who had difficulty even breathing to be taken aback by the amazing speed.
“Mr. Kim Ki-jeong, Mr. Kim Ki-jeong…! You must go together! “It’s dangerous if you move alone!”
“Mister, come to your senses! That could be an auditory hallucination! uncle Uncle!”
To the shame of Hong Gyeong-jun and Vivian, who had assumed all kinds of traps, Do-yoon Han was really there.
“…What are you holding now?”
Han Do-yoon is also holding a monster.
Kim Ki-jeong was even hugged by a monster, and Kim Ki-jeong was truly disgusted and struggling to get out of him.
“Huhhh… I was really touched.”
“Ahhhh…! Let go of this, you crazy person! “Please let go!”
“I can’t believe our Mr. Kim Ki-jeong is coming to look for me…!”
Good!
“Aaaahhh!”
The monster in the shape of a child also wriggled its arms and legs, probably annoyed by Do-yoon Han’s cruel embrace. Seeing a skinny person and a monster doing this, Hong Gyeong-jun and Vivian were overcome by a strange feeling.
Suddenly, the genre seems to have changed from thriller to comedy…
“…Do-yoon Han has an excellent talent for nurturing the mental strength of survivors.”
“It’s a compliment, right? “I will accept it gratefully.”
“It’s a compliment. maybe.”
The place they were currently in was the stairs that connected the apartment floors. The stairs, which were blocked by doors on each floor, seemed to be treated as a kind of emergency exit, and unlike other floors, there were no monsters to get in the way or rules to make things difficult.
“The world behind the scenes is strangely limited to emergency exits.”
“According to what Mr. Jeong In-ho said, the bathroom was similar. “Is there an area that also looks into the behind-the-scenes world?”
“I’m glad I’m not subject to any strange rules like schools or convenience stores. “There are probably rules in this apartment as well, but since I only went up the stairs to the emergency exit, I don’t think I was subject to any restrictions regarding the rules.”
“Did the house where Han Do-yoon lived have no rules because of this monster?”
When Vivian asked while looking at the monster in Han Do-yoon’s arms, the monster raised its head and looked at Vivian. Vivian blinked a couple of times as her eyes met the monster whose pupils were empty and pitch black.
“…I felt dizzy for a moment. I felt like a complete asshole and slightly wanted to die, but I guess it was just my mood, right? “Have I been wasting oxygen?”
“Sounds like a monster trait. “It seems to make you feel a sense of self-destruction. It is similar to an abandoned dog monster, but has a different texture… It also reminds me of Boss Yoon in that he starts fire.”
Hong Gyeong-jun muttered, thinking of Yoon Gar-ram, who was circling around the shopping mall in a team with other survivors. As soon as Do-yoon Han let go, Kim Ki-jeong, who ran away and squatted on the stairs, opened his mouth while scanning the surroundings with anxious eyes.
“Unlike him, it seemed like the places where fire could be made were limited. Even though he is angry like that, Han Do-yoon, who is holding a monster, is fine. It’s not that I don’t do it, it’s that I can’t… Moreover, I don’t remember what number it was, but why didn’t the flames or smoke escape outside the front door of the house where Han Do-yoon was trapped….” “Even if you look at it from the outside, the house looks fine
. It was. When you go back in, you see fire and smoke. I don’t know what the principle is. “Is it just that house that breaks away from the rules of the apartment, or is this monster also included within the rules… hmmm.”
Hong Gyeong-jun, who was muttering, spoke to Do-yoon Han.
“Mr. Han Do-yoon, wouldn’t it be okay to put that down soon?”
“Isn’t it cute?”
“I was taught to respect their preferences, but if the other person is the perpetrator, it’s a different story. You shouldn’t hold something like that affectionately towards a victim. “I’m not sure if it’s cute to begin with.”
“Look, it has shrunk like this since I came out of the house… Isn’t it pitiful?”
As he said, the scrawny monster was reduced to the size of a doll as it was dragged out of the house, but it didn’t feel particularly cute or pitiful. Hong Gyeong-jun kept his mouth shut due to a completely different psychological reaction from when he was an abandoned dog monster that aroused sympathy in a negative way just by looking at it.
Vivian, who was looking at them in turn, nodded and said.
“I kind of know what it is. Survivors seem to feel a sense of intimacy when faced with monsters that are normally friendly subjects in real life. “It seems more like a half-possession rather than an intimacy.”
“Well, Jaeheon Lee also had a particularly generous side towards abandoned monster dogs. I understand why someone who didn’t do that to survivors did that. “I think he may have raised a dog or liked dogs.”
Hong Gyeong-jun thought of Lee Jae-heon, who was holding a monster like Han Do-yoon in front of him, and tapped his arm with his finger. Since Han Do-yoon was a firefighter, he would have had no choice but to become weak to a monster that looked like it was on fire.
‘If it had been a little later, I could have died.’
Right now, Han Do-yoon didn’t feel like he was sane. Seeing that person being slightly obsessed with the monster, I felt like I was truly possessed by the monster.
“Are you not planning on putting it down?”
“…That’s how it should be…?”
“…I think it would be better to hold it.”
On the contrary, Hong Gyeong-jun stopped his fingers when he saw that he was acting as if his mental power would be lowered if he separated from the monster.
‘It would be a good idea to consult with Jaeheon Lee about this.’
Unlike Lee Jae-heon, who was half possessed but fully aware of the dangers of the abandoned monster, Do-yoon Han acted as if he would die immediately if he let the monster go. I felt like I had to ask how I could safely separate from the monster that possesses people in this way.
“….”
He suddenly realized that he was treating Lee Jae-heon like a dead shooter, but he pretended not to notice and buried it.
It’s not that important right now, is it?
“…You’re sure that monster can’t cause more harm, right?”
“As Kim Ki-jeong said, the area where monsters can start fire seems to be limited. Hand-to-hand combat, other than mental and ignition abilities, is poor, and as you can see, even that has shrunk like this now, right? I think you just need to avoid eye contact and be careful about your speaking skills.”
“You’re not wrong. If it’s no big problem, let’s bring it with us.”
Surprisingly, I was wondering if I was completely possessed, but I made an objective evaluation of the monster, but somehow even that felt like I was trying to make excuses.
‘…I hope you’ll be okay.’
He looked around for a moment. Vivian didn’t show it, but she seemed to be wondering when she could kill the monster, and Kim Ki-jeong covered his mouth as if he was going to throw up at the fact that the monster was accompanying him. Hong Gyeong-jun thought for a moment and nodded.
“Well, there’s an abandoned monster dog staying right next to the shelter. Now, if there is one more doll-sized monster, nothing will change. “Let’s eat comfortably and move on.”
The danger level of the monster will not vary depending on its size, but there will be no need to provoke Han Do-yoon, who already looks dangerous.
‘I don’t know what happened, but my injuries are serious.’
Hong Gyeong-jun decided that as long as the current situation was maintained, there would be no major problems. Of course, Han Do-yoon’s situation, which is mentally dependent on the monster, needs to be resolved somehow, but he decides to deal with it by meeting Lee Jae-heon…
“But how did you end up trapped in there? “What happened to those injuries?”
“Master Amata!”
“…? yes?”
“No, detective! A crazy kidnapper has flown into the underworld!”
“Kidnapped…”
Hong Gyeong-jun stared at Han Do-yoon’s tattered head and arms with tied marks.
“…What kind of crazy person are you? “Please explain.”
“So, it was when I had just entered the secret world…”
Han Do-yoon was so sad that he tried hard to explain about the crazy man who kidnapped him.
Right after entering the secret world, I was walking around the fire station to check on the situation when a strange guy approached me pretending to know. While conversing about the possibility that he might have been a rescuer or classmate he couldn’t remember, he got hit on the head and lost consciousness…
“Detective, why do you look like that?”
“Please continue. Let’s see how far we can go.”
After that, I think I was dragged back to the apartment and hit a few more times every time I came to my senses.
“Detective?”
“Please continue.”
“Nothing happens after this. “When I woke up, I found myself tied up. He took a business card with me and went out. He hit me a few more times, started talking nonsense, and then went outside.”
“It seems like a lot. “Please tell me in more detail.”
“Uh, where?”
“Starting from the part where I took my business card with me and left.”
“…ah!”
Han Do-yoon exclaimed as if he had realized something, then smiled brightly and said.
“You saw my business card and came looking for me! “I was wondering how you got here.”
“To be precise, I lived because Kim Ki-jeong had good ears. After discovering Han Do-yoon’s business card with blood on it, a search team was formed, and Kim Ki-jeong ran into this apartment, saying he heard the sound of firewood burning. “As I followed behind, I found Han Do-yoon, who had lost his mind and was embracing the monster.”
“Have I lost my mind?”
“From what I’ve seen… it seems like that.”
“….”
Do-yoon Han, who had a confused expression for a moment, hugged the doll, or rather the monster, struggling in his arms. Seeing that he didn’t put it down during that time, it seems like he was truly possessed.
“I wasn’t mentally prepared… Why did Jae-Heon Lee also say that he likes abandoned dog monsters?”
“I think the case is a little different from that, but I’ll understand for now. For your information, that abandoned monster dog came with Han Do-yoon’s business card. Do you know anything about it?”
“…A monster? “My business card…?”
“You don’t know. I understand for now. “It seems like the kidnapper was up to some kind of trick, but…”
Hong Gyeong-jun frowned.
“…I think he may be the terrorist who was hovering near the shelter. What do you think?”
“You asked me, right? Well, I guess that’s right. “I don’t think survivors who carry out such elaborate schemes are common in the underworld.”
“Then the question is why this situation was created.”
After finishing his conversation with Vivian, Hong Gyeong-jun looked back at Han Do-yoon. It seemed like he noticed something in their conversation.
“It’s an expression that reminds you of something. “Do you have something to say?”
“…Efficiency Captain, Manager….”
“…What does it mean?”
“Those were the words the kidnapper uttered.”
Han Do-yoon muttered like that, ‘Captain? ‘Captain…’ he muttered the same word.
“…So, it seemed like the being called the manager dragged the kidnapper into the secret world, and in the process, his name disappeared, and he had to do something with the captain… to return to reality…” “I don’t understand
. What is an administrator? How does a name disappear? “Who is the captain again?”
“….”
“…No, wait a minute.”
Hong Gyeong-jun pursed his lips.
“‘Captain’?”
It is a word that refers to the highest-ranking general in the military, but it is also a word used by a ragtag group of people, not an official group, to call their leader. And a person who would have often led such a ragtag group of people appeared in Hong Gyeong-jun’s mind.
Jaeheon Lee.
“…Jaeheon Lee?”
As soon as that name was mentioned, the survivors’ faces turned white.
A deep ominous feeling spread between them.
* * *
“…Ah this…”
“Ugh…sigh.”
“It hurts a little.”
Lee Jae-heon, whose solar plexus was completely pierced by a thick piece of metal, suddenly spit out blood.
“…You learned it well.”
Uselessly.
