Episode 41
While Manager Lee Jae-heon was asleep as if he had fainted, the group decided to change locations.
“It’s not good to leave patients on the ground like this.”
I don’t know the details, but there was a patient who had been dragged away by a monster and had just returned as a zombie, and there was no benefit in leaving him on the floor of a park that was almost like a jungle.
Director Kang hesitated and opened his mouth after hearing Doctor Ha Seong-yoon’s words.
“It would be nice to have a bed… Could it be possible to collect grass blades and make a soft bed?”
“There might be dangerous bugs among them, right? “The same goes for grass.”
“First, let’s decide on a location. “Once you have decided on a location, you will have to make a bed out of grass.”
“Then can’t we go a little further?”
Kwon Yeon-hee continued speaking while touching her red, swollen eyes.
“I don’t want to go back to that place again…”
“…That’s true too.”
Since this was the place where Director Lee Jae-heon, who had the best survival skills among them, was taken, it was no longer possible to feel at ease at the shelter where he had previously stayed. There was no way the monster that dragged Jaeheon Lee away could not have dragged him away even if he was a member of the other party.
However, like Lee Jae-heon, they had no confidence that they would somehow return alive, and above all, they had developed a feeling of rejection towards the place itself. There was no way I would feel good about being in a place where someone almost died in the morning.
Intern Noh Yeon-seok, with a pale face, nodded to the group’s opinions. He spoke for the first time in quite a while.
“Something there… doesn’t feel right. “I don’t know if it’s because something happened, but…”
“If you think about it, it’s a place where a murder almost occurred. “I can’t feel good in the first place.”
“That area could be a monster’s habitat.”
Jeong In-ho glanced at Director Lee Jae-heon, who was sleeping with Dr. Ha Seong-yoon’s coat covered, and continued speaking.
“I’m not sure, but I think the manager who was taken away would know something.”
“….”
“You’ll be able to hear exactly what happened when the manager wakes up.”
“Don’t bother someone who is tired for no reason, Mr. Inho. Since you were dragged away by a monster, you may have some bad memories. “I’ll wait until you tell me yourself.”
“Do I really want to force the manager to explain?”
He laughed jokingly, just like he did at work, and Doctor Ha Seong-yoon’s expression became slightly clouded by that steady smile. Although he seemed not to be aware of it, it was also the expression that Manager Lee Jae-heon sometimes made when looking at Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho.
In response, Jeong In-ho quietly closed his eyes.
‘…Still, you have to do what you can when you have doubts.’
Even though the person in question is someone who saved our lives several times, no. Rather, that is why In-ho Jeong had to be suspicious of Director Jae-heon Lee.
I didn’t know everything about this world yet, but what was certain was that there were many different types of monsters. A large monster that looked like it was made of a person covered in green algae was swinging a vine with teeth, and the black monster encountered at work clearly resembled a spider’s shell. It was impossible for them to fully understand the monsters that were so clever that they even lured people.
In the meantime, Manager Lee Jae-heon was dragged away by the monster.
“…Yes. “You will tell me when the time comes.”
Jeong In-ho muttered repeatedly and stiffened his lips.
Jeong In-ho despaired for a moment because he was caught in an instant and was in the dark with nothing to see, and there was no trace left to follow him. Some people say that it’s usually dark before your eyes.
But it really came out of nowhere. And at movie-like timing, Manager Lee Jae-heon appeared. Although his body was covered in blood and his legs were noticeably limping, he was alive.
In this case, is he really the ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’ we knew?
‘More than anything, considering the abilities of the green algae monster I saw before returning to the past… even if it’s me, there may be a problem.’
I was just as calm as before. I didn’t want to be caught in the back by an unexpected situation, so I had to leave at least some doubt.
“…First of all, I think I’ll need Garam Yoon’s help. Do you know a good spot?”
“Ah… Are you asking about the side closer to the big lake that was originally located? “Well, I know a place a bit far away.”
“I think it would be better to stay away from that place. “If you don’t mind, please explain.”
Jeong In-ho put this suspicion on hold.
‘It’s not something we can be certain about right now.’
Just a moment ago, I felt nauseous and dizzy, but somehow, seeing Manager Lee Jae-heon alive and well, I felt quite normal. In a rare moment of cool-headedness, Jeong In-ho decided to doubt as many things as possible.
Of course, it wasn’t fun to doubt the person who saved my life.
‘But it’s necessary.’
“Actually, most of the good statues and benches are on the side of the big lake… I don’t think there is any space to rest in the small lake.”
“It’s okay as long as the grass isn’t too thick. I think the manager was thinking about raising the roof when he first came here…”
“Hmm, then. “I think I know roughly.”
And he knew very well that the only person who could doubt this was Jeong In-ho himself.
Knowing him like this, Manager Lee Jae-heon at the company also paid attention to me several times. I knew it was perfect for something like this.
To begin with, he and Director Lee Jae-heon did not get along well. In-ho Jeong thought it was one-sided hatred from his boss, and now he knows that it was an act, but even so, some of it must have been sincere. If anyone had to doubt him, who ungratefully barely returned alive, it had to be Jeong In-ho.
But what if Manager Lee Jae-heon lying over there is real? If the monster is really Director Lee Jae-heon and not just imitating him…
“….”
In-ho Jeong remembered the conversation he had with Dr. Seong-yoon Ha the previous evening.
‘Director Jaeheon Lee… seems to be a survivor here.’
He must be a survivor of this underworld.
A gaze as black as coal glanced at Lee Jae-heon’s forearm and passed by.
If that’s really Manager Lee Jae-heon they know, then he’s the one who deceived them by acting funny for a very long time. Also, if you were a survivor of this disgusting world, Inho Jeong would definitely be able to recognize you.
I said I would let you know if you want.
“….”
“If you turn left from here, there is a big tree. I don’t know if it’s what I remember, but still…”
“I see.”
Jeong In-ho nodded at President Yoon Garam’s words.
“It’s not that far from this spot, and it’s quite far from where it was originally.”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to you, I was able to get further away from the big lake…”
Pop.
When I put pressure on my hand, I heard the sound of bones breaking.
“I think that would be better for me.”
A bright red piece of meat suddenly appeared before his eyes.
He came to see a future different from the present and found out that the green algae monsters lived in the larger of the two lakes, and that the lake next to the place where they settled was right there. They had prepared a dinner in front of the house of a monster that lived by drinking blood.
Suddenly, I remembered a corpse that had fallen down with its limbs abnormally bent. A corpse stuck in a tree came to mind. I remembered a madman who gladly accepted his own death by sinking his sharp teeth into his own throat. It wasn’t erased.
The sound of breaking glass rang in my ears.
“I like it too. “I have bottled water left, so I just need to get it again… I think there won’t be enough food.”
“If I have time, should I at least go to the convenience store outside the park?”
“It’s a bit… Why did you come here? “Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to go back inside the building.”
With a clang.
“…Then let’s move the location first.”
I heard the sound of blood flowing.
* * *
Damn it.
* * *
I don’t know why it’s so hard to make a living.
“What is going on….”
Lee Jae-heon let out a small scream while clutching his throbbing head from a headache.
Most of his dreams were lucid dreams, and he usually chose to commit suicide to wake up. For Jaeheon Lee, dreams are very troublesome things.
‘But… aren’t those dreams also influenced by the other side of the world?’
It was the same after meeting police officer Kim Yeon-woo, but the dream, which was already burdensome, became even more disgusting and detailed after entering this world. Above all, even though it was clearly an act I did in a dream, my head couldn’t hurt more when I think of a similar situation that happened in real life.
In the same vein, Lee Jae-heon was also in a quite troublesome situation.
“Why are you so anxious that you can’t bother me?”
He was standing in the middle of countless trees.
Perhaps fortunately, like in the last dream, there was no creepy mannequin talking to me or a monster from the other world appearing. There were just eyeballs that looked as if they had been burned with fire, staring at him from between the annoyingly long tree trunks.
‘Of course, other than that, it doesn’t seem like a dream…’
Considering that there was no one around, I decided it was a dream.
There was no way for the group, who was just a chick, to abandon Lee Jae-heon, who had been driven to the brink of death, anywhere, and the differences that the eyes of the tree that had not moved in the other world were looking at them also provided the basis for defining this place as a dream.
However, for Lee Jae-heon, who had gained a small insight from the previous strangulation incident, this situation was rather frustrating.
“If there was a monster, I would have jumped in and committed suicide.”
He frowned in frustration.
Thanks to police officer Kim Yeon-woo, I learned that actions in dreams actually cause the sleeping body to move, and I couldn’t make the same mistake again.
No, actually, I don’t know if he will continue to move like that, or maybe I’m just too sensitive… Still, I couldn’t see what would happen if I did something similar in front of a bunch of chicks.
‘You must be very worried.’
He would consider Lee Jae-heon, not anyone else, to be mentally weak, and this could never be a good thing for his plans. In any case, in a situation where survival is urgent, a mentally ill person may not know it right away, but at some point, he will just feel like a burden.
‘Especially for younger chicks.’
Of course, as long as Lee Jae-heon continues to show usefulness, they will not go to the extreme of throwing him out. In the first place, I thought that these were chicks that had just hatched from an egg and had not even opened their eyes, and that the most likely thing was that their actions were restricted.
But I don’t know, but this was really clear. Whether he was genuinely worried or judged it to be a loss of efficiency, there was no way he could leave Lee Jae-heon alone, who was mentally weak enough to commit suicide in his sleep.
It was truly terrifying to even imagine.
“…How do I get out….”
Lee Jae-heon muttered helplessly, leaning against a tree.
‘What should I do now?’
Should we wait for a monster that might come out at any moment?
‘Or should I wait until my body wakes up?’
However, as I waited like that, I became concerned that this was a hidden world. To put it bluntly, this is not a weird place at all, even if you fall asleep and don’t wake up at all, as if you were just dreaming.
Lee Jae-heon, who was thinking while touching his mouth, eventually took a slow step.
“….”
The only way he knew to escape was suicide. Therefore, in order to wake up from his dream, Lee Jae-heon in his previous life died by strangling himself, sticking a knife in the back of his head, or shooting himself in the head.
However, such direct action could have appeared as an act of sleep, as seen in front of police officer Kim Yeon-woo. Thanks to this, Lee Jae-heon, who was left with a mark on his neck and was looked at with disgust by the professional doctor Ha Seong-yoon, was greatly harmed by the repetition of this situation.
‘If you say I’m overly sensitive, I don’t have anything else to say… There’s no harm in being careful.’
So what if it’s not a direct action like strangling like last time?
“…there is.”
Jaeheon Lee was impressed by the lake full of green algae.
The lake looked wide and deep enough to understand why it was called a lake rather than a pond. Occasionally, it was quite disgusting to see something splashing beneath the green algae and touching the surface of the water.
I wondered why I could only feel a presence inside the lake when the surroundings were so quiet, but as Lee Jae-heon, who doesn’t like lucid dreaming, it wasn’t something I wanted to worry about.
“If you go in there, you will die from suffocation.”
There was nothing better than this. It’s a funny story, but my current dream is so realistic that if I fall into the lake, I could suffocate to death.
Jaeheon Lee quietly looked down at the green lake for a moment and then slowly walked into it.
Splash
“…tsk.”
The feeling of the green algae floating on the lake covering my body was very unpleasant.
In fact, because the entire novel is written from the perspective of the main character, Jeong In-ho, we do not know what the inside of the lake looks like.
‘If it had been described in the novel in the first place, it would have been completed soon.’
Even after checking the green algae lake, the main character could not have been alive. The cause of death could have been either suffocation or strangulation.
Lee Jae-heon felt a deep sense of shock at the fact that he was directly entering that ‘unlivable’ space.
“…What kind of trouble is this because of a dream….”
He hoped that his dream was due to some influence from the other side of the world. Otherwise, Lee Jae-heon himself created this absurd dream, but his imagination was not good enough to vividly recall the feel of a green algae lake he had never been into.
However, if this is something I created entirely, will I have to go through this mess every time I dream from now on? As I was half-submerged in the lake and twisting my eyebrows, I wondered.
Kwasik.
“…!”
It was like something with thorns was grabbing my collar and strangling me.
“Ugh.”
with a splash.
Jaeheon Lee was thrown into the lake.
At that moment, my vision turned bright red. A salty, thick liquid stung my eyes. Cold water seeped into my nose, mouth, and pierced throat.
Only then did Jaeheon Lee understand the situation.
‘Green algae monster.’
There was a green algae monster in the lake in my dream.
Unfortunately or fortunately, before he could find out anything more, he felt his vision turning black. It was the feeling I got when I successfully committed suicide in a dream.
What was red as if freshly squeezed from the heart soon turned completely black, and he closed his eyes as his breath calmly suffocated and the feel of the thorn’s teeth felt at his fingertips.
When the familiar death brought Jaeheon Lee out of his dream,
“…Chief?”
He could see the protagonist looking pale.
“….”
“…Are you out of your mind? Hidden why. No, I mean…”
A short breath that is the complete opposite of a quiet voice.
Jeong In-ho’s lips were slightly curved as if something was stuck on his face, but even Lee Jae-heon, who had just woken up, could tell that he was not smiling. That seemed to be some kind of defense mechanism because I didn’t know what kind of expression to make.
“…?”
He was holding down his wrists and arms.
When Lee Jae-heon glanced at him, he quickly released it as if he had only just noticed it, and it was only later that he realized that both hands were released at the same time. Looking at the doctor with a shocked expression, it seemed like he and the protagonist were holding both hands at the same time.
Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, Lee Jae-heon raised his upper body from where he was lying and opened his mouth to say something, but something
came out before that.
“Wook.”
Patter.
It was a red drop of blood.
“…uh?”
It was absurd.
‘Did it turn…?’
Where did you sell the probability?
Lee Jae-heon lowered his head and touched the corner of his mouth, and as a result, we could see that blood was pouring from his nose and mouth. The front of his clothes was a mess due to the blood pouring out.
At the same time, I realized.
‘…The inside of the lake was bloody.’
This was the water of the green algae lake in my dream.
That’s right, Jaeheon Lee wasn’t in enough pain to vomit blood right now.
In order to vomit blood in the first place, there must be a wound inside the throat or a stomach or lung full of blood, but if the condition was that bad, you would have to feel that much pain or the sensation of a foreign body even when you were half asleep. But right now, the only thing I feel is the feeling of nausea as if I were sick from drinking water and the stinging sensation I get when I drink water through my nose in a swimming pool.
‘It’s a feeling more than anything.’
This wasn’t his blood, it was lake water. no no. Why on earth is the lake water in my dreams in reality….
No, wait a minute.
“….”
He took a deep breath.
What was important now wasn’t the dream or anything. That means that it is up to the future Lee Jae-heon to find out and solve on his own. The problems facing the current Lee Jae-heon are not just his foolish dreams.
I slowly raised my head as I felt a cool sensation passing through my backbone.
“….”
“… Manager.”
“I’m not sick.”
“What kind of dog….”
“A dog comes out in front of someone.”
“I made a mistake.”
He wasn’t the type of protagonist who would give in to petty bullshit like this.
“Have you been suffering from tuberculosis? Lung cancer? leukemia?”
“Are you really ready to die?”
“Then let me explain.”
“….”
This doesn’t make sense.
He felt a strong feeling of certainty, and this time he trusted his intuition. This wasn’t really true, considering the main character who didn’t seem to be able to communicate at all and the suddenly heavy atmosphere. Anyway, no.
Jaeheon Lee quickly finished calculating and looked back at the doctor.
“no.”
“…What.”
“Please give me some treatment.”
An expert’s opinion was needed.
