Episode 288 Lee
Jae-heon, who was playing with Jang Seo-ah and Choi Min-hong, blinked at Munsan-gun coming towards him.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, that’s because you’re still a patient…”
Munsan smiled as neatly and gently as ink.
“I was wondering if we could watch it together.”
Is it because of the underworld or because of the influence of school? Although he was still dispirited, he seemed to have brightened up compared to when I first saw him. Lee Jae-heon nodded to Munsan-gun, who was waiting for his answer.
“I am grateful.”
“Oh, then…”
“I don’t know what the kids will think.”
“…Ah…”
The kindergarten students looked up at Munsan, each hugging one of Jaeheon Lee’s legs. Munsan smiled awkwardly at the unspoken pressure that only children could give.
“No, I’m not trying to take Lee Jae-heon somewhere…”
“I heard you said it was okay. “You said you would play with us.”
“Not really. “I came here to see if I could join in as well.”
Perhaps Choi Min-hong was worried about where Munsan-gun would take his patient Lee Jae-heon. Kindergarten students, who were still young, lacked the ability to understand the pain Jaeheon Lee was hiding. It was natural to want my favorite play partner to be closer to me.
The kindergarten students barely erased their doubts and accepted Munsan.
“Fold it here…”
“Then is this a rabbit?”
“No dinosaur….”
“I see.”
Wasn’t there a similar conversation in the park? Jaeheon Lee asked while tilting his head.
“You are good with children.”
“Uh… they’re not that popular, but Minhong and Seoah are nice.”
Lee Jae-heon narrowed his eyes at the very timid words.
‘Is school the problem after all?’
The reason why Munsan-gun, a strong adult male, was left in the waiting group was because of his timid appearance. Compared to the other survivors who were struggling to survive at any cost, Munsan-gun showed an attitude of ‘If you’re trying to kill me, you’ll be right.’ And as I got closer to school, the condition got worse.
“Shouldn’t you fold it like that?”
“Oh yeah? Then how do you ground it?”
“How about we cut this in half like this…”
Lee Jae-heon thought as he watched Munsan playing with the children.
‘…Can I take you on this exploration of Unhak High School?’
Bringing Munsan, who was a teacher, to the school will definitely have a clear effect. In places that were closely related to the individual survivor, there were reactions, both negative and positive. However, unlike Yoon Garam, who loved plants and fire and gained the upper hand, I am not sure whether the discriminatory treatment will be positive for Munsan, who has bad memories of school and low self-esteem.
“Mister, uncle too.”
“That’s right.”
Jaeheon Lee carefully folded the paper given to him by Minhong Choi.
“Salty squirrel.”
“Huh.”
“It’s a squirrel.”
Choi Min-hong and Jang Seo-ah really liked it. It was fortunate that I had learned some origami skills in preparation for times like this. Jaeheon Lee, who saw that the kindergartener’s attention was focused on the paper squirrel, made eye contact with Munsan.
“Are you experiencing any inconvenience?”
“yes yes? Me?”
“Yes, Munsan-gun.”
“If there’s something uncomfortable about me… wouldn’t it be okay?”
Jaeheon Lee muttered softly, “I also have a conscience…” and became frustrated and vague, as if he had met an unfamiliar species. That’s right, you know that you are a human being made of 100% pure conscience, the survivors know this, and the other side of the world also knows this, man.
“Still, if you’re a human being, isn’t there bound to be some inconvenience?”
“I really…”
“You’re not being intentionally considerate just because I’m a patient, are you?”
“Well…”
“Huh.”
From what I could see, his face seemed like he didn’t want to complain for nothing to Jaeheon Lee, a patient who was already a mess.
‘No, even if it weren’t for me, who wouldn’t have said anything?’
Lee Jae-heon was dizzy. To be honest, he is the type of person that does not fit well with me. If the residents of my previous life, who had been working hard for their own benefit, had seen Munsan-gun, they would probably have had a similar reaction.
Munsan-gun and Lee Jae-heon were the type of people who did not fit together because they were so unfamiliar that it was scary.
“So, what I mean is…”
Lee Jae-heon felt the need to ask more directly.
“I asked because your condition seemed to have worsened as you approached the school.”
“Me?”
“…Oh, you didn’t know either.”
It meant that self-objectification was not possible. I don’t know if it’s because I’m such a frustrated person that I don’t even know my condition, or because I’ve entered the other side of the world and my mental strength has been severely weakened.
“Uncle, can I do something else?”
“can?”
“can?”
“What should I ask an adult for?”
“…Please fold the other things, too?”
“That’s right.”
Chop chop. Lee Jae-heon, who carefully folded the glittering gold and silver colored paper, showed the results in front of Choi Min-hong and Jang Seo-ah.
“Salty camel.”
“oh my god.”
“Great zucchini.”
“Ta-da shark.”
“Wow.”
“Waaah.”
Choi Min-hong, who was excited like a child for the first time in a long time, and Jang Seo-ah, who expressed her joy with a characteristic dry shout, started playing house with paper animal friends. I don’t know what the world in these children’s imaginations is like, with camels living in the water and sharks walking on their tails, but it looks fun anyway.
Lee Jae-heon asked Munsan-gun, who was still lost in thought.
“If you didn’t know, I don’t have anything to say, but you looked bad ever since the destination was decided to go to Unhak High School. “It wasn’t very serious, but… the longer you stayed around here, the darker your complexion became.”
“…I did not know. sorry.”
“You’re not going to feel sorry for me, are you…?”
“But, uh, I’m sorry.”
“Oh…”
Jaeheon Lee took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“I understand for now.”
That person just had ‘sorry’ on his lips. I’m not truly sorry, but I guess I had no choice but to say it at the end of every sentence. I decided to try to convince myself of that.
“I was just worried so I asked. As I said at the last meeting, I was planning to check the past records of all the survivors… and suggest that Mr. Munsan-gun move to another position if he feels burdened by school.”
“Oh, I did.”
“…You couldn’t have forgotten that you were being investigated…”
“Well, I forgot for a moment! Really…”
“…I understand.”
Jaeheon Lee asked with a suspicious look on his face.
“Has anyone ever bought you flooring?”
“…flooring?”
“There is none. “Then what about the warranty?”
“….”
“What about the guarantee?”
Munsan-gun answered with a sincere voice.
“He is a trustworthy person.”
“minute? Did you say minutes now? Guarantee is not a family affair, Mr. Munsan-gun.”
“He is truly trustworthy and someone I respect…!”
“If you respect me, I don’t have anything more to say, but… heh.”
What can I do? I heard that the other person respected me and gave me a guarantee. Lee Jae-heon regretted only briefly reading the survivors’ documents because he was tired. If you knew this would happen, you would have remembered everything, starting from your date of birth, your hometown food, and even the clothes you wear.
‘…Of course, that’s not important right now…’
Lee Jae-heon said with a strange sense of duty.
“…Let’s talk about it again later when we return to reality. If possible, Hong Gyeong-jun and police officer Kim Yeon-woo will also join in.”
“Was it necessary to bring the police…?”
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Munsan is so untrustworthy that I can’t help it. “Anyway, that wasn’t what I was trying to say, so why did I come here?”
Jaeheon Lee wiped the corners of his mouth and asked.
“Anyway, are you okay? Don’t overlook it just because the other person is a patient. In the underworld, mental strength is the most important resource. “If you are getting more tired because you are near the school, it would be better if you let me know in advance.”
“Ah…”
Munsan-gun thought for a moment and slowly nodded.
“it’s okay. “It’s just my judgment, but I think it’s okay.”
“okay.”
Lee Jae-heon thought while nodding.
‘If I have to, I guess I’ll have to move towards the apartment garden.’
In order to explore the art room of Eonhak High School, it would be convenient to have a residence in a nearby mountain, but Lee Jae-heon wanted to use Munsan-gun if possible. If the area near the school had a significant impact on Munsan-gun’s mind and body, I thought it would be a good idea to move to a separate shelter considering the situation.
“If it gets worse, please tell me.”
“Um… Lee Jae-heon too.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Munsan used to be bullied when he was a teacher.
‘The world is such a mess that even teachers are ostracized.’
He had a bad habit of only seeing the good in people, which made him easy prey. While helping a student being bullied inside and outside of school, he was caught by the rich and powerful Jin-sang and fell to the bottom. Even Munsan-gun’s family.
‘Because of that, I became distant from my family…’
Lee Jae-heon couldn’t understand why he was living alone in a faraway place because of that incident.
‘How can you bully a teacher?’
It was a difficult story for Lee Jae-heon, who had strong memories of his past life, to understand. Teacher? No teacher? It’s a common occurrence among students, but don’t teachers basically have power…?
“I’m actually worried about Jaeheon Lee. “You say you’re fine, but I wonder if you’re not taking care of yourself because you’re always being considerate of other people… Mr. Lee Yun-byeol, please do me a favor.”
“It’s just like playing with children, right? Compared to people who go to school and go to places like convenience stores and pharmacies, they don’t do anything. “I’m worried that I might look like a fool, but Mr. Munsan talks about all sorts of things.”
“But Jaeheon Lee tried to help survivors even when he was in real life, not here. I also benefited from you at the park. I am grateful every time. “If it weren’t for Jeong In-ho and the others at that time, I would have died…”
“I think you can say thank you to the search team members. This does not apply to me.”
“And I think it’s natural to worry about patients and treat them with care. If there’s anything I can do to help… Of course it won’t be much help, but I’d like to do my bit. “If Jaeheon Lee doesn’t feel uncomfortable.”
This bastard speaks so rudely?
‘I guess I really don’t fit in with him.’
It was difficult to treat him in a different sense than Kim Yeon-woo or Do-yoon Han. None of these sunfish are ordinary babies. Jaeheon Lee nodded slowly, trying to pretend that nothing had happened. My mouth was tightly shut.
Despite his appearance, Munsan-gun asked.
“Can I help you? It really only happens once in a while at most, but it’s small things like this…” “
…I’m just grateful.”
“Fortunately, the.”
Munsan-gun’s smiling face was just like that of a benevolent Buddha, giving Lee Jae-heon goosebumps.
‘oh my god.’
People live like that because they are human.
Jaeheon Lee suffered from frustration until the kindergarten students fell asleep from exhaustion.
* * *
Just before bedtime, Lee Jae-heon nodded to Lee Yun-byeol who approached him.
“Mr. Lee Yun-byeol.”
“Wait a minute…”
“Tell me.”
There was no one around to listen anyway. He must have noticed it too, and immediately blushed slightly and pursed his lips. Lee Yun-byeol, who hesitated several times about what was so difficult, opened his mouth.
“I wanted to apologize.”
“…To me?”
“I… even at the park. “I can’t do anything…”
“You don’t need to apologize to me for that.”
Jaeheon Lee answered calmly.
“I don’t know what it would be like for people other than me, but I don’t think they would like that kind of self-blame. “Everyone is just doing what they can.”
“…But I’m the only one doing nothing…”
“Aren’t you taking care of the elderly and the weak?”
Yunbyeol Lee was an essential member of the standby team, taking care of patients and children who could never be part of the collection or search team. In particular, I might be reluctant to see Choi Min-hong or Jang Seo-ah as I know they are not ordinary students, but I was a little unfamiliar with them in the beginning, but now I am really caring for them in my own way.
This means that for an ordinary person who is not crazy by the standards of this world, Lee Yoon-byeol is doing his best.
“There is no need to belittle what you have done.”
“…But other people risk their lives to go out and bring food, but I…”
“If Lee Yun-byeol gets hurt, the kids will be sad.”
Jaeheon Lee answered half-heartedly because he was tired.
“It’s not like I don’t know how tiring the behind-the-scenes world makes people. Self-reflection is good, but if it deepens, it will have a negative impact. “I don’t think there is any reason for Lee Yun-byeol to be discouraged.”
“…thank you.”
“Thank you for everything. By the way… I wonder what you were thinking about.”
He said, rubbing his eyes.
“I am truly grateful. “I’m alive and well.”
“…is that okay?”
“Of course, you must continue to take care of the children. Please take care of the students as well.”
“yes.”
Lee Yun-byeol muttered with a subtle expression.
“I can do that well.”
“Thank goodness.”
Lee Jae-heon muttered inwardly.
‘Please don’t go crazy on yourself…’
The survivor team was already saturated with crazy people.
The fact that a healthy and ordinary person like Lee Yun-byeol was alive and breathing was something to be thankful for.
