Episode 315 Lee Jae
-heon didn’t think Woo Joo-young’s change was very bad.
‘Then you may be wondering why you did that to Jeong In-ho and the others, but are Team Leader Woo the same as those guys?’
First of all, there is no need to explain people who are born crazy, and if Kwon Yeon-hee had not adapted, she would have died before she could escape from the park last time, so I did some work. As an example similar to Team Leader Woo Woo-young, Noh Yeon-seok has never been directly cared for by Lee Jae-heon. The same was true for Kim Ki-jeong and Lee Yun-byeol.
Lee Jae-heon thought that if he could remain ordinary, it would be good to do so. It was the result of considering the common sense of this world and the other person’s life, not Lee Jae-heon’s own, but still, if the chicks could grow, it would not be a bad thing.
“…What should I talk about first….”
But Woo Joo-young was a good person because he was ordinary. It would be a shame to lose that value.
“Just sit down in front.”
“Uh… yes.”
“Let’s talk.”
Lee Jae-heon sat facing Woo Woo-young.
Thanks to the steady reinforcement of the shelter by the waiting team, including students who had nothing to do, the shabby building made of wood and mud leaves was able to be called a ‘house’. Even the door was clumsy, so if it was closed, you wouldn’t be able to hear their voices clearly.
“….”
After gathering his thoughts for a moment, Lee Jae-heon opened his eyes.
“…When Woo Joo-young first entered the secret world, he was crying because he clearly couldn’t adapt. “Do you remember?”
“That’s true. “I cried because I had a hard time that day…”
“You cried several times after that, but I don’t think you remember.”
“People might cry a little…!”
“So I’m not scolding you.”
Lee Jae-heon clicked his tongue and continued speaking.
“I thought Woo Woo-young… it might be a little strange to say it this way, but I didn’t think I could use him properly.”
“Use?”
“It’s the same story as at work. That’s just the way it is: assigning talented people to the right positions and running them. “I knew that Team Leader Woo Soo-young was capable, but that didn’t apply to the underworld.”
“…Uh….”
“I thought you would cry more.”
Jaeheon Lee rested his chin.
“I thought it would be a little more… difficult.”
His eyes were fixed on empty space.
It is not for nothing that the world is one where it is difficult to even breathe.
Even though I’m just standing still, my lungs feel tight as if I’m submerged in deep water, and my mind goes blank moment by moment as if I’m immersed in white light. I often feel as if something so large that it is difficult to recognize is struggling in my brain.
“Because it’s that kind of place.”
“….”
“It’s a cliché, but it’s difficult for people like Woo Soo-young to live long in a space where you have to be crazy to survive. It’s scary, it’s dirty, it’s hard… I thought the best I could do was being stuck in a shelter and breathing hard, but that’s not true, right?”
The blurred eyes contained Woo Woo-young.
“I told you not to adapt.”
“…But…”
“I told you not to get used to it.”
Even if someone like Woo Joo-young tries to adapt to the underworld, there is nothing he can gain.
“You know what happens when you go crazy. Only this time I got dragged in because I was unlucky, but next time I might get eaten just because I’m crazy. I have to be anxious every time. When will I be dragged into that world again? “It could happen a minute after you get home from work and lie down in your comfy bed.”
“…I…it’s not like that…”
“It’s a good thing if I wasn’t aware of it. Please stay still and do nothing for the time being. It reminds you of what kind of person you were in real life, what you fear, what you despise, and what you feel comfortable with. “If we want to go back to before things changed, we will have to do that.”
“….”
Woo Joo-young, who was rolling his eyes here and there with a face that looked like he had a lot to say, asked carefully.
“…is that…a bad thing?”
“It’s not bad.”
“So is that a good thing?”
“It’s not a good thing.”
Jaeheon Lee explained to the person who looked confused.
“I don’t know if you know, but I have never given this request to anyone else. Not once. “Because I know that in order to survive in the underworld, it is better to be somewhat distracted.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“It’s a waste.”
“…yes?”
“Woo Joo-young is an ordinary good person, but isn’t it such a waste?”
Jaeheon Lee truly thought so.
“Not just anyone can be like you.”
Woo Woo-young’s story is a bit funny, but he had a very healthy mind.
“I don’t think much of it, but there are probably a lot of people who envy Woo Joo-young. I don’t get stressed easily, but my sociability is reasonable. My head is going well too. “He is consistent in self-management… Do you think there are many people who attend Oseong with such talent?”
“Uh uh uhh….”
“That’s nonsense. If I had a talented person like Woo Joo-young, I would have brought him to the planning team right away. There are very few people who live such a healthy life with such a healthy mind. “There are not many people who sit in the position of Oseong’s proud team leader and are as faithful to their lives as I am.”
“Praise… Is this a compliment?”
“It’s just a factual judgment. “I’m just telling you what I saw and felt on a daily basis.”
Woo Woo-young’s expression became strange at those words.
“…Are you laughing? “What’s funny about what I said…?”
“Oh no. That’s not it… I never thought I would be evaluated like this by my manager.”
“I guess you always gave me a lot of compliments, right?”
“That’s… that’s a compliment… but it’s a bit… that’s right.”
“It was a word that floated without a soul.”
“Oh look.”
“I’m very comfortable now, huh?”
“sorry.”
Lee Jae-heon, who snorted at the apology that came immediately, continued.
“It’s too tiresome to keep talking like this, so I’ll sort it out.”
“Clean up?”
“Woo Joo-young is now adjusting to the underworld. You may be thinking, ‘Well, this is it,’ but if circumstances arise, Woo Joo-young can become a regular member and be brought here every time. You’ve already gone through a lot of changes. If you don’t like that, it would be a good idea to habitually reflect on how you were in reality.”
“….”
Woo Joo-young, who had erased his smile like Lee Jae-heon, asked hesitantly.
“…Yeonseok over there….”
“Yeonseok?”
“How was Yeonseok? “When I was at the park.”
“…It’s a park.”
Lee Jae-heon slowly blinked his eyes at the past that already felt so distant.
“I vomited.”
“Oh…”
“I threw up as soon as I left the office, and it seems like I did it often even after going to the park. I joined Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s team and the number of survivors increased, so it seemed like I could survive, but in the end, I wasn’t able to adapt well. “I was pretty good at running away, but I couldn’t fight with that good body and I was scared of seeing blood.”
“Isn’t that true of me too?”
“That’s true, but how should I explain this…”
Lee Jae-heon said after gathering his thoughts once again.
“Team Leader Woo is a bit mischievous.”
“Am I…?”
“Should I say it’s light… the weight is different.”
He continued speaking in a quiet voice.
“If you’re really scared, you don’t even cry. I can cry, but I can’t make a sound and I whimper. I can’t sob freely and become infinitely small. I either resent the whole world or I can’t stand myself. “When a person’s emotions reach that extreme, they can’t even scream and their whole body twists.”
But Woo Joo-young was different.
“Woo Joo-young’s tears are ridiculous.”
“…What a foolish child….”
“These are the tears that children shed to find their parents. Crying doesn’t solve every situation, but I keep crying because at least one person is listening. “If I’m not crying to let you know how sad and difficult I am, what’s the point of crying?”
“sorry…?”
“I’m not saying those tears are bad, but they are a bit strange.”
“….”
“I thought it was… strange to see tears that can only be shed in real life.”
Lee Jae-heon made eye contact with Woo Woo-young.
“Did you want to go crazy?”
“…no.”
“Then why? I told you not to do that. “I said no, so why bother adapting?”
“…Uh….”
said Woo Joo-young, who was rolling his eyes here and there.
“…I wanted to help.”
“I thought you were talking to Kang Min-ah. really?”
“No, actually. What can I say… Do you know how I feel so useless? “I know I’m not this stupid and miserable person, but I feel so miserable because I can’t do anything here.”
“aha.”
“I was the person in charge, not the person in charge.”
in short.
“Your pride was hurt?”
“I’m embarrassed. But yes. “I think so.”
“So…”
“I wanted to endure it.”
Woo Woo-young’s expression became clouded.
“I did it because I thought I could overcome it.”
“This is one of the areas where elites are easily mistaken.”
“…I never thought I would be this stupid, but I am. that’s right. I had the illusion that I could do anything. “Maybe that’s what it is.”
Woo Joo-young burst into laughter.
“It was a mistake.”
“….”
“…But this isn’t a bad illusion.”
All the light atmosphere I had was gone.
“I didn’t want to feel left out from this group of people who all fit together except me. So I tried to endure it. I was trying to overcome it. Couldn’t I have done that too? You said not to adapt, but humans are animals of adaptation. “I don’t think I did anything wrong.”
“i think so too.”
“Then?”
“…You will regret it. When I returned home….”
“….”
Tuk tuk.
Woo Woo-young’s tears fell on the floor.
“…I don’t even want to regret it….”
“Yes.”
“I’m scared, manager. I didn’t want to be scared. What are you telling me to do? I would rather lose my mind than just stand there being scared all the time. That’s convenient. That’s better than being separated by myself. I’m scared of being alone. It’s so scary here and I wanted to get better. “I wanted to change.”
“I understand.”
“I want to go home. But it doesn’t work. I didn’t want to go home because someone had to get hurt… I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back right away, so I did my best to get better. That’s better. “Why don’t you just leave it as is? Wouldn’t that have worked?”
Lee Jae-heon said as if nudging him.
“He said he didn’t want to regret it.”
“….”
At those words, Woo Joo-young slowly blinked as if he had just woken up from a dream. Woo Joo-young, who looked at Lee Jae-heon in silence for a long time as if he was tracing reality, nodded.
“…that’s right.”
“Then just hang in there. Suffer enough and bear with it, thankful that these people are all crazy and you are sane. “People like Woo Soo-young are fully worth it.”
“….”
Woo Soo-young asked.
“…What about other people?”
“what.”
“Are you okay, Manager?”
“I’m always fine.”
“….”
Woo Joo-young just cried for a long time without answering.
It looked really sad.
(Continued in the next part)
