Episode 303
In-ho Jeong, Jae-heon Lee, and Seong-yoon Ha, who eventually accepted that they had to take class, sat together in the very back seats. As Jeong In-ho sat down looking at the teacher’s table, Ha Seong-yoon took his seat next to him and Lee Jae-heon took his seat in front of him. Fortunately, there was no student monster sitting in the remaining seat, so the mental burden was lessened.
But even so, Jung In-ho’s condition has been really bad recently.
‘…Have you been moving too much during this time?’
It may not be compared to Lee Jae-heon, whose stomach and legs still bleed even if he moves even a little, but the same goes for Jeong In-ho, who has not been able to rest since he came to the other side of the world. Even though it is a past that no longer exists because I have returned in time, I went to school one after another, the convenience store, the pharmacy, the garden… It
means that I didn’t lose my mind for a moment on the third floor for no reason, but Jung In-ho realized that my condition had finally reached its limit. Realized.
“…Haa….”
My head was pounding.
‘I don’t want to think about it.’
According to Lee Jae-heon, in the hidden world, the more deeply a specific past is recalled, the more influenced it is. So, it would have been nice for Jeong In-ho to just stay still and not think at all, but humans were not simple creatures that could not think what they wanted to. Rather, it comes to mind more vividly.
To tell the truth, I had so many memories of my uncle that I can’t even remember his face anymore. It was he who raised him with care in place of his parents who died one day, and it was also his uncle who suddenly disappeared one day. A person I had been trying to forget kept coming back to me.
“…Mr. Jeong In-ho.”
“…it’s okay.”
“Hold on just a little longer. Class ends in just 30 minutes.”
Because the art room desk accommodates four people, I could hear the voice of Ha Seong-yoon, who was sitting right next to me, very clearly, but unfortunately for Ha Seong-yoon, who was trying to calm In-ho Jeong, his condition did not improve.
‘I shouldn’t think…’
I tried to empty my complicated mind, but it wasn’t easy. Jeong In-ho, who could never be a model student, and the gazes directed at him. Still, Jeong In-ho, a high school student who took classes steadily and tried to get a certificate, continued to eat away at his brain.
“…Ugh….”
My fever rose.
‘Who was I?’
It shouldn’t be like this. My name is In-ho Jeong, and I am a full-fledged adult who has already graduated from college and works at Ohsung Corporation. Even though I knew that, a part of me had this question.
‘Why am I not wearing my school uniform?’
Although he was not a very conscientious student, Jeong In-ho was not so spoiled that he went to school without wearing his school uniform. But why am I not just wearing a dress shirt right now? There is no reason to wear a school uniform. I am an adult, a member of society, and it has been a long time since I was a high school student.
‘…Have I done my homework?’
It’s a math problem given by that picky teacher. Did I do the homework that asked me to tie the printed papers together and complete them by next week? Has it already been a week? Was math on the schedule today? Why am I taking art classes? What period is this?
Ah, quickly.
“….”
“Mr. Jeong In-ho?”
want to go home.
“Mr. Jeong In-ho.”
“…yes?”
“You look like you’re out of your mind… are you sure you’re okay?”
“it’s okay.”
“….”
Ha Seong-yoon, who was quietly staring at Jeong In-ho, asked.
“How old are you now, Jeong In-ho?”
“I’m in my third year, so I guess I’m 19.”
“aha.”
Ha Seong-yoon smiled and nodded.
“All right.”
what?
“…What did I do wrong?”
“No, I asked because it looked like it hurt a lot. “I think it’s okay.”
“I’m really fine.”
“It seems so.”
Jeong In-ho blinked his eyes slowly. Judging by the way Lee Jae-heon, who was sitting across from him, was looking at him pitifully, it didn’t seem like he was in a particularly good situation.
‘What… did I do wrong?’
Something seems wrong, but I don’t know what exactly. Jeong In-ho muttered softly.
“I think I should stop by the health room after class. “I need to take some painkillers.”
Lee Jae-heon, sitting across from me, nodded slowly.
“That’s not bad either. “If it’s too hard, how about leaving school early?”
“That’s a bit… I’ll contact my uncle too. “I think I can just take the medicine and lie down during my breaks.”
“I see.”
“I didn’t know because it was warm these days, but maybe it was a cold…”
I just had a headache.
‘I hope it ends quickly.’
In-ho Jeong was a student who hated art class. He said he likes art class at other schools, saying it feels more like recess time, but this is because the art teacher at the school he attends can’t watch his students play. I wasn’t planning on going into art, so I wondered why I had to learn the history of art.
Look, I’m still holding it up to help people practice drawing.
“Ah… I didn’t bring a pencil.”
“…pencil?”
“4B or 2B pencil. “It was a preparation.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I thought today would be a bit easier.”
I thought there wouldn’t be any practical work today because they just talked about the textbook content in front of me for the entire 20 minutes, but as expected, I never miss a single lesson. The art teacher was giving them pieces of paper to sketch their models.
Jeong In-ho, who was rummaging through the desk drawers, let out an exclamation.
“found. There is 4B. It seems like it might smudge a little when sketching…”
“Just roughly. “You don’t have to work too hard.”
“But I don’t want to be labeled as a bad student. You didn’t even wear your school uniform. “I’m probably cursing myself a lot in my head, but I’m trying to at least pretend to pay attention to class.”
Jeong In-ho, who received the paper handed to him by his friend in the front seat, raised his head and looked at the model in the middle of the classroom that the teacher had just brought in with great difficulty.
“….”
A posture of standing straight while hanging on a rope. Floating feet.
“…It must be easy to draw.”
“….”
“Really?”
It would have been difficult to draw if my legs were crossed.
“…what’s the matter? “Is it because you don’t have a pencil?”
“…No….”
“Shall I ask the teacher for one?”
“….”
The expression on the face of the person sitting across from him seemed to have blurred considerably, but Jeong In-ho’s fevered vision was also blurred, so he couldn’t see it clearly. He couldn’t tell what kind of expression the other person was making.
Only after a while did the other person answer.
“are you okay.”
“…okay?”
“Because I don’t want to draw.”
“This can be happen.”
Anyway, it is not a very important subject compared to national examination. Unless, like Jeong In-ho, you picked up a pencil because you were suffering from a groundless sense of debt, there was no need to work hard. In-ho Jeong, who was roughly convinced, slowly began sketching the model.
“…Hmm…”
I was out of my mind because my head hurt, but strangely enough, I was able to draw well today.
“Isn’t this a picture worth looking at?”
“….”
“…No?”
“…You drew it well.”
“I think I drew a little better than usual.”
And it seemed that it was not only Jeong In-ho who thought that way.
“….”
“…Ah.”
The teacher was standing in front of him.
The teacher, who was looking at the model roughly sketched on paper, turned his gaze to look at Jeong In-ho. When Jeong In-ho pursed his lips at the look that was clearly meant to be a compliment, he handed him a piece of paper that he was holding with his back.
“…?”
said the teacher.
-It’s a privilege for you.
“Preferential treatment?”
―Now, when taking art classes, don’t you need a friend to relay the teacher’s words?
“Isn’t it too late to elect a class president?”
-It’s too late, so we have to pick it up quickly.
“Then…”
―Who would be better?
“….”
―Who would be better, Inho?
“…If you’re going to be class president…”
Class president.
‘First of all, it’s not me.’
Jeong In-ho had many shortcomings to become a class president. I didn’t wear my school uniform properly, didn’t attend class well, and my grades weren’t very good. Above all, he was not a good enough person for his teachers and friends to trust and rely on.
So, if I were to pick one person who is the most trustworthy…
“….”
Lee.
“…ash….”
Ash.
“Hun….”
“….”
“…What.”
My hand, which was about to write the last word, was caught by my friend sitting next to me. Jeong In-ho stopped recommending the class president and looked back at the face of his friend who stopped his hand in a dazed mood.
And the moment I saw his face go blank with embarrassment.
“….”
I realized.
“That uh.”
“…stop.”
“I…”
“Stop.”
Ha Seong-yoon said as if he was chewing.
“That’s really not possible.”
Jeong In-ho’s breathing suddenly stopped.
“….”
It was because I remembered what happened to Lee Jae-heon when he refused to write his name on the paper. The teacher monster tried to forcibly move Lee Jae-heon’s hand as he refused to write his name. I stopped breathing because that memory came to mind.
“No, I…”
Jeong In-ho turned his head and looked at Lee Jae-heon sitting across from him.
Lee Jae-heon, who was looking dryly at his actions, made eye contact with Jeong In-ho for a moment, then turned his head and looked at the clock hands. His eyes were cold, as if he was clearly calculating something rather than blaming Jung In-ho.
Before you know it, there are 8 minutes left.
“….”
Clatter.
A jointed wooden doll placed its hand on Jeong In-ho’s wrist held by Ha Seong-yoon. The monster will continue to use its strength to make my hand move.
“…Ah….”
I had a hunch.
I probably wouldn’t be able to endure it.
* * *
Right after the bell rang for recess, Jaeheon Lee left. It was a quick movement without Jeong In-ho or Ha Seong-yoon having a chance to catch it.
“Chief, Manager! Wait!”
“Jaeheon Lee!”
I called out to him loudly and hurried after him, but I couldn’t catch up with Lee Jae-heon due to the teacher monsters running up and down the hallway after class. By the time Ha Seong-yoon and Jeong In-ho turned down the hallway, they had already disappeared.
Kim Ki-jeong, who was hiding in the bathroom, asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Is there a problem? “Where did Lee Jae-heon go?”
“I’ll explain later. First of all…”
“Mr. Jeong In-ho?”
Kim Ki-jeong looked at the white-faced Jeong In-ho with a puzzled yet anxious face, then turned his head to look at Ha Seong-yoon, but he didn’t have the strength to answer properly. For him, the current situation is more troublesome than ever.
Meanwhile, Jaeheon Lee had come down to the third floor. Lee Jae-heon, who was trying to call Hong Gyeong-jun, couldn’t help but let out an exclamation when he saw his legs.
“…oh.”
I saw that his legs had turned white.
“Hong Gyeong-jun.”
“Please wait a moment. There is nothing good about having a loud voice. “I’m going there now…”
“I think it would be best to just stay there.”
“No matter how much the teacher monsters have returned to the grade room, you never know. “It won’t do any good to talk loudly, so I’ll leave right away.”
“I told you not to come.”
“….”
Hong Gyeong-jun, who was coming out from behind the bookshelf, stopped.
“…What’s going on?”
“Let’s take a pick. “Either we all die together, or at least a few of us survive.”
“If I had to choose, it would definitely be the latter, but I would like you to tell me what the situation is.”
“Could your choice change depending on the situation?”
“You never know.”
“Remember, Detective Hong Gyeong-jun.”
Jaeheon Lee continued as he looked at Hong Gyeongjun, who had managed to get out from behind the bookshelf despite his urging.
“You obviously chose the latter. “Right?”
“Wait a minute…”
“But I don’t think our foolish detective will kill me.”
Only then did Hong Gyeong-jun seem to notice that Lee Jae-heon’s legs had turned white. When Hong Gyeong-jun, whose face was noticeably stiff, was about to move his lips as if he was about to say something, Lee Jae-heon smiled thinly and shrugged his shoulders.
“I can’t help it.”
“…there must be a way.”
“Don’t just say common movie lines, but think about it. The situation is different from the time of Kang Min-ah. “Look at the speed, you don’t even have time to cut off your tail like a lizard.”
“Isn’t it still just your right leg?”
“Can’t you see this? “Now my right hand is also turning white.”
As he said, his right hand, which he lifted up, was discolored white. Even Hong Gyeong-jun, who had no memory of his return before returning, noticed the change immediately, and his face became even more tense, but Lee Jae-heon decided that there was no more time to fool around here.
“It’s too fast.”
And what if Jaeheon Lee becomes a plaster monster?
“…Maybe it’s other guys, but I can’t be like that.”
“…Jaeheon Lee.”
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think you can escape when I become a monster.”
In fact, Lee Jae-heon also found it absurd.
“Wasn’t that using your own name?”
It turns out that there are only three ways to become a plaster monster: by being trapped somewhere, by being appointed class leader, or by hiding near a plaster statue. No matter how crazy he was, he would rather have died. For Lee Jae-heon, who had no intention of being appointed class president, the current situation was extremely comical.
“I’m going crazy.”
“Mr. Lee Jae-heon, wait a moment.”
“It’s just a moment. Everyone looks dead.”
Lee Jae-heon threw his cell phone at Hong Gyeong-jun.
“Try your best.”
He smiled slightly and left the lobby.
‘I have to die as deep as possible.’
Plaster monsters can roam all floors, unlike student monsters that are only active on that floor. Even the student monster wandering the hallways informed the plaster monster of the survivors’ locations, so if Jaeheon Lee became a plaster monster, no one on the search team would be able to escape the school.
The way to stop it from becoming such a plaster monster is to cut off the affected area, but it seems difficult to expect that in the current situation. If he didn’t want to harm the search team, he had to die right now.
Lee Jae-heon entered the bathroom in Building B and lifted a crowbar.
Clink!
“….”
Lee Jae-heon, who broke the mirror, picked up the largest and sharpest piece. My hand hurt because I wasn’t wearing gloves, but there was no problem holding it upside down.
That was the moment when I was about to stick it in my throat.
“not.”
“….”
“…No….”
Hong Gyeong-jun approached before he knew it and grabbed Lee Jae-heon’s hand.
“It’s not possible. Why do you keep…”
“…Are you crazy? Let go of this, Detective Hong Gyeong-jun. “You’re not saying we should all die together, are you?”
“I told you no!”
Hong Gyeong-jun, who said that, did not seem to be in his right mind.
‘Oh shit.’
I was sure I was looking at it overlapping with the damn gunner.
“I’m like, ‘Hey. I am not your gunner….”
“….”
“…Huh.”
Lee Jae-heon, who had tried to persuade him somehow, sensed failure in Hong Gyeong-jun’s turned eyes and sighed.
‘I thought that the act of overlapping me as a shooter could be a problem… but I didn’t know it would be in this situation.’
But what can we do? It’s Lee Jae-heon’s own karma.
“…great. “I won’t do it. I won’t do it.”
“…sorry.”
“So, stay here for a while, Detective.” Lee
Jae-heon
placed the bloody fragments on the sink and left the bathroom.
“I’ll be in class, so I’ll see you later.”
Lee Jae-heon went straight into the classroom in front of the bathroom without listening to Hong Gyeong-jun’s answer. Hong Gyeong-jun didn’t say anything until the classroom door was closed, perhaps because he was convinced by Lee Jae-heon’s words that he wouldn’t die right away, or because he was out of his mind.
He entered the classroom and checked his watch.
“….”
Soon the teacher monster will come in and class will begin.
“Anyway, the chicks…”
Lee Jae-heon muttered and moved to the back of the classroom.
In real schools, there are such desks. There are not all of them, but they are desks that are raised in length so that you can stand and listen if you feel sleepy during class. As an academic high school that is obsessed with grades, there was that kind of position here as well. However, unlike the standing desks in the real world where you have to stand and listen, this special seat allows you to sit.
“Tsk.”
Of course, it had an ugly appearance, befitting something from the underworld.
“How is this any different from a torture chair?”
As Lee Jae-heon, grumbling, limped to his seat, the teacher monster came in and the class bell rang. He felt the leather straps attached to the chair slowly tying his body. Jaeheon Lee closed his eyes under the familiar yet disgusting pressure.
There were a few hours left.
“….”
It doesn’t matter.
“Because it’s a monster anyway.”
I don’t know if Hong Gyeong-jun will survive, but I hoped that the others would at least come to their senses and go outside. Jaeheon Lee opened his eyes as he felt his body gradually becoming hard.
“are you okay.”
He started muttering.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Don’t do anything stupid and run away.”
“It’s really okay.”
I always think about it, but it’s really hard to make a living.
“…I’m tired.”
It was true.
