Episode 338
Lee Jae-heon, who was wandering around the lucid dream one after another, suddenly screamed.
“Fuck, I’m crazy!!”
Otherwise, there is no way this good tool would not have been utilized.
“…No… Of course not. Honestly, it’s a hassle to do this every time, but…”
The lucid dreams he had in the other world had the disadvantage of not being able to wake up until he died. Fortunately, moving around does not seem to be reflected in reality, but it has been confirmed that certain parts of the dream may appear outside of the dream if one engages in violent behavior or poses a physical threat. This can be seen as a reflection of self-harming behavior in order to wake up from a dream.
Moreover, Lee Jae-heon was not immune to such self-injurious behavior.
‘First of all, my neck hurts.’
The act of suffocating someone by strangling them left painful scars on their throats, and although suffocation by holding one’s breath was not impossible, it took a great deal of mental strength. Moreover, to the extent that these actions are revealed outside of a dream, the survivors who see Lee Jae-heon’s situation are also mentally shaken.
Because it was a lucid dream with many troubling drawbacks, Lee Jae-heon committed suicide as soon as he dreamed it. After waking up like that, he did not have another lucid dream that day, so it was an inevitable choice for Lee Jae-heon, who desperately needed rest through sleep.
“….”
But when I think about it now….
“I was just lazy, after all.”
All I could think was that Lee Jae-heon himself was being lazy.
‘I should have looked around a long time ago.’
There were no rules at the park, so I didn’t think about using lucid dreaming, but surprisingly, this lucid dreaming helped Jaeheon Lee a lot. It was convenient to efficiently understand the underworld without worrying about the safety of other survivors or Lee Jae-heon’s own injuries.
“If you run into a monster like this, things become a lot easier.”
Jaeheon Lee was half-convinced that the monster in his dream would soon be the final boss. The reason he was obsessed with the final boss of Unhak High School was because the monster in the school, who knew all the rules, was easier to deal with. If there was a final boss that could be more easily defeated, there was no need to deal with the monster at Unhak High School.
‘It may be a waste of the plan, but even if you discover a new final boss, fixing the protagonist’s mentality is an essential process. However, just having an option other than Unhak High School will greatly improve the mental strength of the survivors.’
Of course, there is no reason to believe that the final boss found this way will be easier to deal with than the Eonhakgo monster, and seeing as I couldn’t even see the monster’s tail even when I walked around, the probability that there would be a new final boss nearby was low. Jaeheon Lee walked around the apartment with skillful resignation.
“…There is no problem with coming in….”
For the past few days, Lee Jae-heon has been checking out the apartment complex.
Although it was not specifically stated what the rules were, I was able to figure it out quickly by experiencing it myself. Traces of monsters that can yield meaningful results can be easily identified with just a little observation. Lee Jae-heon gathered his thoughts as he entered an apartment building and slowly climbed the stairs.
“Ha Seong-yoon probably didn’t say anything.”
There were no major problems with this apartment complex itself.
‘Of course, the rules are not as strict as Eonhak High School and there are almost no traces of monsters. It means that they don’t go on a monstrous rampage like the plaster monsters that escaped from Unhak High School.’
Either you get caught by an eye monster, or you touch a trigger monster that you don’t even know where it is. Unless they were extremely unlucky, it was difficult for a group of survivors staying in a garden rather than an apartment complex to be disadvantaged. Jae-Heon Lee even went close to the sinkhole that the police investigation team had mentioned, but he was still fine.
“As expected, we should attack the key ring monster and the eye monster from both sides.”
Jaeheon Lee nodded.
If they were just going to get by, these gentle rules would be of great help to the group of survivors, but unfortunately, Jaeheon Lee had the obligation to rehabilitate several troublemakers, including the protagonist. This means that we have to somehow stimulate these monsters to an appropriate level.
‘I think I have a general idea of the eyeball monster… For now, let’s start with the keyring monster.’
That was the reason why Jaeheon Lee was now at the Keyring Monster’s house.
“…I don’t know if it’s okay to call a place without a homeowner a home.”
The first time the keyring monster, or ignition monster, was discovered was when Han Do-yoon was kidnapped by a possessor and was just released. Kim Ki-jeong and Hong Gyeong-jun, who stopped by the location at the time, had to look around starting from the 10th floor because they couldn’t remember properly, but Jae-heon Lee was able to quickly find the base of the ignition monster.
Room 1201, Building 119.
“….”
Contrary to the rumors that it had burned down, the musty smell that was typical of a clean, wooden house was annoying.
“This is the only tree house.”
Jaeheon Lee summarized the unique features of room 1201 that he noticed while looking around the upper and lower floors.
“Compared to other well-organized houses, it is much more messy… Is this a children’s toy? “If you look at the robots and trains, it’s definitely just for kids.”
I don’t know if this is the only building like this, but in most homes in the apartment building, I was able to get inside without any problems just by ringing the doorbell. However, there were no monsters in the house, and the house was clean enough to be considered cool and felt like a model house.
‘I couldn’t even sit or lie down as I wanted.’
Compared to other houses that were truly ornamental, the temperature in room 1201 was relatively high. Unlike the outside, which felt quite cool, this place felt like a home in the middle of summer, without the air conditioner turned on even once.
‘It doesn’t feel dry, but wet. I guess it’s similar to summer during the rainy season.’
A thought that occurred to me around that time.
“…It wouldn’t be easy for a fire to start naturally when it’s humid, right?”
To begin with, this is not a cabin but a decent apartment. Even if a fire accident occurs, it is highly unlikely that it was a natural ignition like a forest fire. What was divided here was whether the fire was a mistake or intentional.
“Ha fuck. “Where else should I look for this?”
In fact, it may have been a little unexpected that Lee Jae-heon was looking for the full story of the fire incident, even during his rest time at night. However, it was an essential process for Lee Jae-heon, who had to find out the ignition monster’s preference for power generation, because how the monster in the hidden world, which is usually filled with deep thoughts, was created has a great impact on the function of the entity.
And depending on the tastes of the author who created this world, there will be clues somewhere that will make it easier to deal with the monster in question. Jaeheon Lee believed in the author’s consistent taste.
‘I think I’ll have to stop by the police station or management office to find information about arson…’
“…Ah.”
Perhaps thanks to his faith in the author, Jaeheon Lee was soon able to obtain some information.
“Honey, let’s change our tastes.”
I didn’t do anything particularly special. I just went around the house and searched it thoroughly. If you look behind a picture frame or under a table, you can find small hidden hints.
‘I don’t know if this is reflected outside of the dream… but it doesn’t matter as long as the information I found out now is not false. It doesn’t really feel like a trick.’
What Jaeheon Lee found was none other than a note left by a child.
[When is dad coming?]
[It’s hot]
[You can’t sleep]
And….
“….”
The image of a family drawn in a mess of circles and squares.
“…Isn’t this a very common emotional arm?”
Only the face of ‘Mom’, painted in yellow, was smiling, and the face of ‘Dad’, painted in blue, was crying. The face of the ‘child’ standing in the middle of them was painted in such a deep black color that the expression could not be seen. This is a picture drawn from a child’s perspective of a family in conflict, which can be seen in many media.
The ‘child’ had a doll in his hand.
“Then we can say that the victim’s thoughts also went into it.”
The ‘child’, who probably burned to death in real life, carried a doll with him, which was somehow related to the keyring monster. No matter how you look at it, it didn’t look like the cute cotton doll in the picture, but if the monster, which had the shape of a child, gradually became smaller enough to be reminiscent of a doll, it could be sufficient evidence.
“But I need more accurate information…”
Lee Jae-heon put the note and picture down on the floor table and entered the living room. I already searched a lot but couldn’t find anything. That’s probably because the master bedroom is the parent’s area, not the child’s area. However, it was worth seeking out if the information was left from the parent’s perspective on the child.
Eventually, Jaeheon Lee was able to find a small notebook inside the closet.
[My poor baby.]
[Dad didn’t abandon you, you know that, right?]
[Mom loves you.]
I think the owner of the notebook is probably ‘Dad’.
“…my poor bastard….”
Are you saying the main victim is a ‘child’?
“I didn’t abandon you.”
Whatever the intention, ‘father’ left the child.
“Mommy said she loved you….”
That means she doesn’t love you.
“…Honey, your tastes are really strange.”
Tup.
Jaeheon Lee closed the notebook, picked it up, and put it down on the floor table.
As the apartment was reasonably priced, the house was spacious. As the house was spacious, there were framed pictures hanging here and there, but they were all paintings, not photos. Even though there is probably at least one family photo attached.
“….”
The only photo Jaeheon Lee found was a photo of a father and son inside the notebook.
“Mom, do you have any opinions?”
Unfortunately, all that was in the house was the story of the ‘father’ and the ‘child’, and there was nothing about what the ‘mother’ was thinking or doing.
‘That means that the mother’s thoughts were hardly ever reflected in this house… Then in reality, she must have been quite indifferent.’
After taking another look around the house, Lee Jae-heon sat down on the sofa and gathered his thoughts.
Let’s put ‘Mom’ on the back burner for now, as there is significantly less information. What the ‘child’ is looking for is the ‘father’, and the only thing that the ‘father’ cares about until the end is the ‘child’. In the story of the two, ‘mother’ is not just ignored, but excluded. Does this mean that both of them have bad feelings towards ‘Mom’?
So what does the ignition monster contain in this final story?
“….”
[When will Dad come?]
‘Child’ believes that ‘Dad’ will solve his problems.
[Hot]
This house has a strangely hot and humid atmosphere.
[You cannot sleep]
There are certain disadvantages to sleeping here.
“…He said he had been staring at Han Do-yoon’s firefighting uniform….”
Lee Jae-heon slowly recalled the time when the small key ring monster, the ignition monster, was hanging limp like a doll whose strings had fallen. We had to find something in common when the entity showed such a reaction.
“Han Do-yoon….”
I was caught by Han Do-yoon.
“….”
It was time to look at Lee Jae-heon.
“oh.”
Is it cool?
He chuckled for a while, forgetting that he had to wake up.
“Anyway, it’s fine as long as you only react to me.”
If you think about it, there are not many people of the gender and age that can be considered the ‘father’ of a ‘child’. If you really look at it, Ha Seong-yoon is probably there, but it’s not like he can take good care of the child. Judging by his face, Ha Seong-yoon might be easier to deal with, but the doctor was the wrong person to be a good parent.
That doesn’t mean Jaeheon Lee is a good parent, but…
“…how should I approach this?”
It didn’t matter.
If only we could end this damn situation.
(Continued in the next part)
