Episode 379
Hong Gyeong-jun was the one who most vehemently opposed Song In-myeong’s joining.
Song In-myeong was an undesirable person even from the average person’s point of view, but even more so from the detective’s point of view.
Isn’t it a job where you often have to meet the victims or their bereaved families while solving a case? It’s a job where you can go so far as to hate criminals, and Hong Gyeong-jun was a person with a particularly strong sense of duty.
Have you ever seen someone who was treated worse than an animal and couldn’t even shed tears or scream? The detective had to coax them and get clues about the culprit. Among the victims, there were people who begged me not to remember them so that I didn’t have to catch them. Hong Gyeong-jun has seen many people whose lives are ruined and fall apart even after the culprit is caught.
‘I can’t believe I have to treat Song In-myeong as a human resource.’
It was only recently that Song In-myeong was caught. None of the victims he created so far were alive, but the bereaved families could not accept the fact that the missing victims were dead. Although it may be true for victims who disappeared a long time ago, families who have recently reported disappearances have been in denial even longer.
Hong Gyeong-jun even carried a gun in a country where gun possession is illegal in order to catch Song In-myeong. Of course, he did it with permission, but it means that Hong Gyeong-jun himself had a strong will to arrest Song In-myeong.
“…Are you okay?”
“…I don’t think it’s okay.”
“I’m sorry. I think Song In-myeong came here for no reason…”
“It’s not Lee Jae-heon’s fault, so there’s no need to be sorry.”
Hong Gyeong-jun’s brow furrowed even more at Lee Jae-heon’s apology.
The world works very strangely. Innocent people apologize and the guilty person laughs. What I felt most clearly while working as a detective was that the more good people were, the more they suffered.
“I know that I can’t do anything about Song In-myeong right now. I also understood that he would be a great help to this expedition… I acknowledged everything, but I was just personally offended, so it’s okay for Lee Jae-heon not to worry about it.”
I know this is the best for now, but I just can’t shake the feeling that they are deceiving all the victims of crime and their families in the world. If there was another victim like this in real life, I couldn’t even figure out how I would meet that person’s friends or bereaved family.
‘If I didn’t have the chance to turn back time, I wouldn’t have made this choice.’
To that extent, for Hong Gyeong-jun, Song In-myeong’s joining was truly a terrible thing.
It may be a leap, but I felt like I was Song In-myeong’s accomplice.
“This is just an inevitable reaction of rejection since I am a human being and a detective.”
“I hope you don’t overdo it.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not too much.”
Even though Song In-myeong was disgusting, he had no intention of denying the fact that he was helpful, much less would he kill him. Even if Song In-myeong was killed here, a mannequin would remain that would copy his actions, and it would be impossible to commit murder under the name of a detective.
No one has the right to kill another person. There is no obligation or responsibility. The same applies even if it is the victim himself or his bereaved family. Murder was just an expression of emotion and not an action that could be given any value or meaning.
“I hope Song In-myeong doesn’t do anything foolish.”
So for now, I just hoped that Song In-myeong would cooperate properly.
They are in front of Eonhak High School.
* * *
4th floor: Jaeheon Lee, Gyeongjun Hong, Inmyeong Song.
3rd floor: Inho Jeong, Vivian, Minah Kang.
2nd floor: Garam Yoon, Han Do-yoon, and Kim Ki-jeong.
1st floor: Woo Soo-young Munsan-gun.
* * *
The purpose of this Eonhak High School exploration was to check the swimming pool on the 4th floor.
“I said I hate water.”
“Students say they don’t use it these days… Is there water?”
“Isn’t the hidden world a space where the thoughts of reality, not reality, are reflected? “I think the art teacher’s thoughts were the biggest factor, but even if it’s a swimming pool that isn’t being used, there’s a possibility that it’s full of water.”
“I hope you get up to the fourth floor safely.”
The survivors’ attention turned to Lee Jae-heon after hearing Woo Joo-young’s words from the first floor standby team.
“…What is it? “Aren’t they going to look away?”
“Are you sure you can go up to the fourth floor?”
“Oh, you said that if that bastard doesn’t come with me, I’m going to make a fuss.”
“So are you sure it’s okay, Manager?”
Just as it is common sense that the injured should rest, the survivors had no intention of including Lee Jae-heon in this expedition. Although Song In-myeong’s threats, and Lee Jae-heon’s strong arguments, eventually led to the investigation team being on the 4th floor.
Hong Gyeong-jun looked at Song In-myeong as if he wanted to kill him.
“This is putting the criminal and the victim in the same room.”
“Why isn’t this a method often used when interrogating criminals?”
“It’s a rare case.”
“Isn’t this a rare situation?”
“Fucking damn you…”
“Swearing? Wow, do you even swear?”
“Let’s go back to reality.”
The sins committed are such a big topic. Hong Gyeong-jun’s face, which was always expressionless, showed a rare expression of irritation and anger. I couldn’t even imagine how he would react if he found out that I made a deal with Lee Jae-heon to ‘go back to reality and look after him three times’.
‘Lee Jae-heon’ smiled awkwardly.
“But you still don’t listen to me?”
“I’m just aiming for that perception, Mr. Lee Jae-heon. “I’m telling you that this is a sham to create the perception that only you can handle that crazy guy named Song In-myeong.”
“Regardless of the intention, it is true that you are listening…”
This was also the reason why Song In-myeong’s argument to drag Lee Jae-heon to the fourth floor was difficult to gain strength. Song In-myeong, who can do crazy things at any time during a dangerous expedition, listens carefully to Lee Jae-heon. If it weren’t for that, no matter how strongly Lee Jae-heon insisted, he would never have been part of the 4th floor exploration team.
Lee Jae-heon thought to himself, ignoring the survivors’ furrowed brows.
‘…I think they’re trying to do something with this.’
He roughly guessed Song In-myeong’s intentions.
‘There’s no way that kid wants to hang out with me because he genuinely likes me. Since they see me as Vivian-level excellent material, I think this is similar to the project of that damn friend. In that case, they would want to somehow adjust Lee Jae-heon’s perception of Song In-myeong. What Song In-myeong is aiming for now seems to be Lee Jae-heon’s favor…’
The same applies to his request to look after Vivian three times instead of bothering her, and the fact that he is especially friendly towards Lee Jae-heon and tries to accommodate his convenience. No matter what the black inside was, Song In-myeong wanted to receive favor from Lee Jae-heon. I want to be liked, this is it.
And just as Lee Jae-heon, who recalled his past life, did for the main character and his group, the simplest and quickest way to gain favor was to save the other person from danger. Song In-myeong is probably planning a similar plan.
‘That’s probably why I decided to go to the 4th floor with you. The higher you go, the more hardships you have to overcome, and the more you stick by his side, the more opportunities you have to help Jaeheon Lee.’
Okay, passed.
‘This is a move worthy of cooperation.’
Jaeheon Lee grabbed the handle of the front door of Eonhak High School.
“Shall we go in?”
“…You took all of our medicine, right? Wow, I’m really disturbed.”
“Team Leader Woo, take a stimulant beforehand.”
“Are you really saying that?”
“There’s nothing you can’t say to the manager.”
Jaeheon Lee clicked his tongue and quietly opened the door to Unhak High School.
The school was strangely quiet.
“….”
“….”
It was full of strangeness that was so difficult to explain in words that no one could open their mouths.
“…come in carefully.”
“yes.”
The survivors prepared their minds in their own way, such as sighing or scratching their heads, and entered Eonhak High School one by one. Everyone had their clothes organized as neatly as possible.
Although Ha Seong-yoon, who is in a bad condition, is missing, there are several returnees, including Lee Jae-heon. Although not a returnee like Yoon Garam, there were survivors who rescued students from Eonhak High School. Although the process of getting people out of the classroom became more difficult because all the cell phones were dead, it would not be very difficult as there were a lot of people on the investigation team.
“This is so fucking fun.”
“Please shut up.”
Song In-myeong was completely enjoying it.
The survivors who were with him looked at him like he was crazy. In terms of freedom from the pressures of the underworld, Song In-myeong would have been in the top 0.1% of survivors.
“Isn’t it fun? “One person’s work has been materialized in the form of a game.”
“No one sees the art teacher’s work as a work of art, nor does anyone see it as a game. They say you are free to think, but there is a limit to that, so please act accordingly.”
“Ah, this is really amazing…”
Song In-myeong obediently kept his mouth shut while giggling at Hong Gyeong-jun’s scolding. His eyes still sparkled as he treated Eonhak High School as if it were a tourist attraction, but he seemed to be cooperating quite seriously, as if he was sincere in his promise to win the favor of ‘Jaeheon Lee.’
Song In-myeong also felt arrogant as the process of pushing away the student monster in the classroom and sitting there without doing anything for 50 minutes while waiting for someone to take him out again was very painful.
“…I’m bored….”
“I told you to shut up 16 times since I came into school.”
“Ah, how the fuck can I do something so boring?”
Of course, Song In-myeong kept muttering, ‘I’m bored,’ as if I was in pain because I was worried about when the teacher monster would bother me. For Song In-myeong, who craves extreme pleasure, it seemed like a really painful thing to just sit around with nothing to do while dressed neatly.
Every time Song In-myeong made a joke, it was Hong Gyeong-jun who died.
“….”
“Uh-huh.”
“…Only one…”
“Calm down, you detective.”
“Even for the sake of world peace….”
“They said it couldn’t be done. “If he messes up and messes up, how are you going to fix it?”
“….”
Jeong In-ho just kept his mouth shut with an ambiguous expression, feeling sorry for his bad friend going through a hard time but at the same time happy. Vivian looked away, as if she couldn’t stand the bullshit of her serial killer friend. In the end, it was Lee Jae-heon’s job to calm Hong Gyeong-jun, who was glaring at Song In-myeong with his fists clenched.
When I managed to get the teacher monster’s ‘elevator ticket’ and barely made it to the 4th floor.
“…Hmm.”
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“No, just.”
Song In-myeong glanced at Lee Jae-heon as if he was very disappointed.
He blocked Lee Jae-heon’s path with such blatant gaze that Hong Gyeong-jun could feel it, but Song In-myeong did not show any special action. Except for walking around with your lips pouting.
That made Lee Jae-heon’s guess more certain.
‘I guess I’m suffocating because nothing happens to me.’
He tried to make a good impression on ‘Lee Jae-heon’ by saving him like a prince on a white horse, but Song In-myeong’s motivation seemed to have faded as there were no major incidents while climbing up to the difficult fourth floor. And from the perspective of Lee Jae-heon, who was trying to appropriately patronize Song In-myeong by using his interest in me as bait, this was not a good situation.
‘If you’re too picky, the attention might go back to Munsan-gun or Kim Yeon-woo.’
And just in time, the perfect material was right in front of Jaeheon Lee.
“This way…”
Their destination was not the art room at the end of Building B on the 4th floor, but the swimming pool in the annex, and the door leading there was close to the elevator. After getting off the elevator and confirming that there were no other monsters around, Hong Gyeong-jun led Lee Jae-heon and Song In-myeong into the annex.
After safely entering the annex and locking the door, they turned to look at the pool door.
“…Do you know if there is water in it? “We just look at the structure and then go back.”
“There is a high possibility that there are monsters, so we need to be careful. “I think I’ve said it all along, but if a space that isn’t used often in reality exists in the secret world, there’s a high probability that it’s dangerous.”
“I remember.”
Luckily, we reached our destination without any trouble so far, but that destination was the most dangerous place in this school. Hong Gyeong-jun had an expression full of skepticism, as if he was continuously considering whether it was really the right thing for this member to explore the 4th floor swimming pool.
Before Hong Gyeong-jun took advantage of that opportunity, Lee Jae-heon opened the swimming pool door first.
“….”
A space filled with water from floor to ceiling.
‘…also.’
Jaeheon Lee stiffened.
“…Jaeheon Lee?”
“….”
“Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
The water in the swimming pool undulates like a barrier and does not flow out even when the door is opened, as if it is not under the force of gravity.
A closed facility with dark light illuminating the smooth tiles. Vibrating moisture. The fishy smell of blood.
What is this room for?
“Jaeheon Lee.”
He unconsciously groped his neck with his hand.
“…ah.”
It wasn’t tied up.
(Continued in the next part)
