Chapter 406:
When you escape from the other world, all the injuries you have suffered will disappear, but that does not mean that your mental fatigue will disappear anywhere. In the past, Woo Soo-young was shocked by the comments of her coworkers who said she went to work right after escaping from the underworld.
However, when it came to her job, she had no choice but to come to the company in a hurry, even if she was curious about the situation of other survivors.
“Ah, Mr. Inho!”
“manager.”
“Are you on your way to work right now?”
Woo Joo-young awkwardly greeted Jung In-ho, whom he met at the entrance of the building. It was because I was nervous and anxious, but I couldn’t tell the story about the behind-the-scenes world.
Woo Woo-young stuttered before opening his mouth.
“That uh… mirror…”
She was very confused. I was told that if the plan went well, I would return to reality, but I wasn’t told, ‘Now, we’re going back to reality,’ so my escape from the other side of the world felt very sudden. At some point, when I was worried about whether things were going well, I returned to reality.
Of course, I could tell that I had escaped from the other side of the world by the fact that the pressure that had been weighing on my whole body had disappeared. But at the same time, I had doubts. Is this place really real and do the memories in the other world really happen? Perhaps I had a long nightmare? What is that crazy mannequin inside the mirror?…
“Oh my.”
Jeong In-ho, who made a soft sound despite his sincere face, grinned.
“Good morning, team leader. “You came to work early today again.”
“yes? Oh yes, that’s right. “I went to work early.”
“So how are you feeling?”
“Condition…”
At that question, Woo Joo-young realized that what happened in the underworld was not just a nightmare.
“…Well, it’s not bad.”
The sincere subordinate she knew, ‘Jeong In-ho’, was not the person to ask team leader ‘Woo Joo-young’ such questions.
Before they lived and died together in the underworld, they were simply coworkers who could never have a close relationship. The fact that Jung In-ho, who never asked his superiors personal questions, checked on her condition as the team leader indicated that the man in front of him was someone Woo Woo-young knew.
“…Can’t I speak more comfortably when no one is watching?”
“Haha, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That was the first time I realized what a twisted person Assistant Manager Jeong was. “Mr. In-ho, you are a really scary person.”
“Can I get hurt?”
“I heard you’re secretly shameless with that face.”
Although it came out very unexpectedly, it was clear that there was no mention of the word ‘that day’, which refers to the world behind the scenes.
The current time is 7:58 am. Even though the planning team tends to come to work relatively early due to the old manager’s encouragement, it is still early. As Woo Woo-young said, there were only a few people around, and it seemed like there was no room for even a needle to fit into Jeong In-ho’s stern face.
“…I think I know why the manager says it’s disgusting…”
No, actually, Woo Joo-young was more familiar with this face. To her, Jeong In-ho was a very exemplary subordinate.
It was only when Woo Joo-young went to the other side of the world that he learned that Assistant Manager Jeong, who thoroughly differentiates between public and private matters but often cracks jokes, was actually just making it up.
“It’s so disgusting.”
“I’m trying to be really creepy.”
“That’s difficult.”
The moment I stamped my pass and entered the elevator, In-ho Jeong asked while looking straight ahead.
“Are you here early because you’re worried?”
Woo Joo-young was shocked to see his smiling face suddenly turn sour.
“…Wow, really creepy. Aren’t we filming a spy story? How can a person’s expression change in an instant? “Wasn’t Assistant Manager Jeong an ordinary office worker?”
“So what’s the point?”
“That’s right, I came because I was worried. “I couldn’t rest comfortably.”
It wasn’t that Woo Joo-young wasn’t tired.
I felt drowsiness and headaches that I had not felt even when I had the flu. As a team leader with an old manager, I could have taken a day off if I exercised my authority, but I couldn’t. This was because I needed to know how reality was going.
“The manager didn’t even answer the call….”
“It was like that last time too. “I remember even back then, we were worried only among ourselves.”
Ding – The elevator stopped and the two went out into the hallway. There was a planning office not far away.
And then I saw a familiar figure.
“what?”
The appearance of ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’ in the other world is so familiar that it feels like a dream.
Woo Joo-young, who was momentarily speechless, moved his tense jaw.
“…Boss.”
“…Team Chief Woo, did I eat something wrong? Why do you look at me like that?”
“….”
Woo Woo-young eventually closed his mouth as I mumbled something strange.
Hair neatly slicked back and face without a single scar. The unique gaze of an old manager, as if he sees people as bugs crawling underneath him. A dress shirt fastened all the way to the neck and a slit vest. Unlike his dirty-looking face, he is dressed neatly in a suit. The watch and tie pin that show off his wealth…
Jeong In-ho opened his mouth as he saw Woo Joo-young busy taking a look at him one by one.
“You are embarrassed.”
“Huh…what are you going to do, Assistant Manager Jeong? “Did you leave something for me?”
“Boss.”
“So what are we going to do now?”
“No one came.”
“….”
‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’s’ face distorted.
He glanced at Jung In-ho and Woo Joo-young with a subtle gaze and then clicked his tongue.
“Tsk.”
“…uh uh.”
“Why are you not working?”
“uh…!”
When Woo Joo-young pointed his finger in admiration at the stiff honorific that he had become accustomed to no matter how much he had heard of it, Jung In-ho, who had been watching the situation, smiled and led Woo Joo-young to his seat. Although it was an empty office because it was early in the day, Team Leader Woo Soo-young was seen pointing the finger at Manager Lee Jae-heon, which was not a good thing.
Woo Woo-young, who was dragged to his seat, blinked a few times.
“…Oh? Yes?”
“haha.”
Jung In-ho, leaving Woo Joo-young, who had not been able to organize his thoughts, went back to his place, and not long after that, Kwon Yeon-hee came into the office with other planning department employees. Woo Joo-young immediately recognized that he was an employee who had expressed his closeness to Kwon Yeon-hee several times even before entering the secret world.
While chatting as if they had been friends for several years, Kwon Yeon-hee made eye contact with Lee Jae-heon and said hello.
“Good morning, Manager!”
“Okay, please take your seats. Looking at it, all the work I received last week was behind…”
“Oh, I will definitely submit it today!”
The employee who came in with her patted her on the back as her shoulders drooped, as if she was sad because she was scolded by her old manager as soon as she came to work. Even that ended quickly under Lee Jae-heon’s wide-open eyes, but it did not reach the field of view of Woo Joo-young, who was watching the situation through the partition.
After that, Kang Min-ana, who naturally sat down after counting the number of employees who came to work, and Noh Yeon-seok, who brightened up for a moment after checking the faces of the members of the hidden world, returned to his usual expression.
“…Wow….”
Woo Joo-young was truly impressed.
How many talented people has our country’s entertainment industry lost to Ohsung?
* * *
“Let’s eat a lot, everyone! “I buy everything today!”
The atmosphere was excited by President Choi Jeong-man’s raised voice.
“Ahh boss, nice shot!”
“Oh my, my, what! Our Yeonhee also eats a lot. This is so dry, huh? How do you use your power? Eat more! “I heard you wanted to eat tripe so much!”
“How did you know that I like tripe…! “I love you, boss!”
“Mina told me. “Look at how this young friend talks so beautifully!”
There was no one who could stop father Choi Jeong-man, who was happy that his son Choi Min-hong had returned in good health. He believed that it was thanks to the adults who were with him that his son came back in good physical and mental condition without any major injuries or shocks even though he was not there.
Lee Yun-byeol, who took intensive care of the children, became the object of special gratitude.
“Our teacher! Oh my, teacher! You must have had a hard time taking care of my son in that rough place, so please eat a little more! I wonder how hard it must have been to take care of Seo-ah as well. “If you need it, I’ll be happy to order anything else!”
“Oh no, I’ve already had enough…”
“Isn’t Korean beef the best meat? The owner of this house is very friendly with me. That meat comes fresh from a very good place. This is a tonic, a tonic! The pot rice here is so delicious. If you eat it with a bit of salt and rice along with the meat, it’s just fine, right? “You know, right?”
“Thank you…”
Lee Yun-byeol seemed to be in a very good mood after receiving the fuss from CEO Jeong-man Choi, as if she felt rewarded for taking care of the children. In the underworld, Choi Jeong-man’s gratitude was all the more felt because he did not play a major role other than taking care of the children.
Like library students or high school students, college students who need parental permission or have important presentations to make. This place, where all the survivors gathered except for the two police officers who were busy with already set schedules, was a not-so-famous Korean beef restaurant. Choi Jeong-man, who confirmed that his son was alive, called those who had time, took them to the room, and loudly dispelled the news.
“Huh…”
Lee Jae-heon was among them.
‘…I wonder if Lee Jae-hyung will look for this later. No, I will look for it. Since our last meeting ended that way, there’s no way I wouldn’t look into my whereabouts. If you can’t hide it, it would be better to reveal it openly… It might be better to say that you went there to have fun without thinking too much.’
Before being taken on this trip to the secret world, he met his older brother, Lee Jae-hyung, and got into a bit of a fight.
‘Did he even imitate the yellow killer to catch Song In-myeong’s tail? I’m not a crazy fan who wants to welcome writer Song In-myeong… I just wish they would pay me properly for having my fingernails pulled out on the sea and having holes in the leg of my boat. Well, he is a person with clear calculations in this area, so you should trust him. If I don’t want to get my head cut off by my crazy youngest brother who wants to see blood, I won’t take care of it.’
It’s all good up to that point, but now that we’ve found out that the youngest, who we thought was a gentle sheep, is a crazy troublemaker, shouldn’t we pay more attention to Lee Jae-heon’s actions, which we already cared about so much?
However, at that time, Lee Jae-heon already had a track record of establishing his own connections with the survivors of the underworld. Although they gathered it all together based on the superficial commonality that there was a problem in the family, the ‘Lee Jae-heon’ that the Lee Dang family knew was originally a guy with a clumsy side. If he said that he also wanted to be part of a noisy gathering of people he liked, it wasn’t entirely possible.
As Lee Jae-heon was gathering his thoughts and taking a drink, Ha Seong-yoon spoke up.
“Are you drinking now?”
“…No, the other side came out….”
“Did your nails grow new? What about the flu I had last time? You’re saying that my stomach and legs are all healed, right? ”
“I’ve grown quite a bit. The flu has completely healed and most other areas have healed as well…”
“It’s bitter.”
Lee Jae-heon, who had lost his drink to Ha Seong-yoon, glared at him venomously, but the doctor, who was even worse than him, did not even move. Except for me, I must have been distracted by the frequent relapses of spinning around, but it seems like I’ve already recovered as it’s been a while since I returned to reality.
“What kind of alcohol is the patient drinking?”
“It’s not soju, it’s beer, so there’s no need to go to this length…”
“If it’s beer and not soju, will the alcohol in it evaporate?”
“Aisssi, really.”
I’m not the type of person who purely likes alcohol, but when I held it in my hand and took it away, I got grumpy for no reason.
In the end, Lee Jae-heon felt at ease even as he ate a piece of meat instead of alcohol.
‘Anyway, I’m glad you seem to have come to your senses.’
Ha Seong-yoon, who had become so sensitive that he was unable to control his facial expressions, returned to his original, relaxed and calm self, and Jeong In-ho, who had glanced at Lee Jae-heon with a discreetly anxious gaze in the morning, seemed relieved to see that he was in good condition. Seeing President Choi Jeong-man, who had lost his son, see his face brightening made my heart feel at ease.
Joo Woo-young, who was attending the 2nd Dinner for Survivors of the Secret World for the first time, smiled awkwardly and muttered.
“Something… I’m embarrassed. “Because I showed you all the things you couldn’t see…”
“No, if it weren’t for Jooyoung, I would have had a really hard time holding on.”
“Of course, I received a lot of help from President Yoon.”
She mumbled after taking a sip of her drink.
“I’m just a little embarrassed…”
All the survivors expressed sympathy with Woo Soo-young’s words. Yoon Garam, who was hitting on Woo Soo-young right next to him, was no different.
There was a short silence.
“….”
“Haha….”
“It’s a bit like that.”
Jeong In-ho nodded with a bitter expression.
Even when viewed objectively, the secret world is a difficult space to endure, but the intangible pressure felt when existing within it truly drives people crazy.
Since your body is uncomfortable and your mind is also uncomfortable, your reason becomes clouded and you end up showing an ugly side. It was a natural process, but after returning to reality, things like loss of face and shame were inevitable.
“It will be the same for everyone, not just the team leader.”
“That’s such a comforting, yet melancholic statement. “Thank you, Inho.”
In any case, embarrassment was an emotion I could only feel because I survived.
Clicking his tongue at the comfort he could receive because he survived, Lee Jae-heon also accepted this unfamiliar situation. Roughly speaking.
“Of course, I am always grateful to the manager, and I will never forget the kindness of always taking care of me through the line…”
“What are you flattering me about?”
“You know how I feel.”
Will I get used to it someday?
Thinking vaguely like that.
* * *
In water as clear as a jewel.
“Well….”
Saruk.
Long black hair was flowing.
“I’m a little jealous, honey.”
Didn’t you also fail last time by giving your heart to the type?
She loved her lover in all his forms, but she did not like to share with others the love he was capable of giving.
My lover is an extremely weak person, so it was clear that there were limits to how much love could be squeezed out of him. That’s why he, who failed, didn’t return straight to me and ended up wandering in the air. If you really loved me like you used to, you would have stayed by my side instead of wandering around like a ghost.
A smile filled with affection appears on red lips.
“…miss you.”
In reality, not a dream, I want to make eye contact with you, cup your cheek, and kiss your lips.
The woman who gave up even her name for happiness looked for a very long time at the face of her lover with whom she had parted a long time ago. Even at this very moment, the damn protagonist and the dirty flying insect were wandering around in our own world, but as long as the administrator had extra authority, the woman couldn’t use her power properly.
So, it was wonderful to see my inexperienced lover grow among people, but it was unfortunate. It was always me who gave you a normal daily life… “….” I hope everything falls into place
quickly
.
I’ll wait for that day.
(Continued in the next part)
