Episode 414: The
other side of the world is a truly unpleasant and unpleasant place to think about, but the trauma after escaping was minimal. The same was true for Jeong In-ho, who had to watch people die several times. The other survivors were not the type to be afraid as they recalled what had happened in the other world. First of all, Inho Jeong thought so.
When he said that opinion, Jaeheon Lee looked at Inho Jeong with a shocked gaze.
“That… you’re just weird.”
Jeong In-ho, who was dragged to the rooftop by ‘Manager Lee Jae-heon’, smiled neatly.
“…It’s not just me, right?”
“But you always return, don’t you? Even if you see other people die multiple times, it doesn’t really hit you that much. Ha Seong-yoon said he was a surgeon, so there might be less resistance in that regard…” “….” “
Survivors
who are not returnees are probably just inspired by you who are so calm.”
Jaeheon Lee continued speaking while smoking a cigarette.
“It’s probably because In-ho Jeong has a small emotional range.”
It seemed to refer to Jung In-ho’s psychopathic temperament.
“Personally, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Well, didn’t you cry and laugh normally when you were in the other world? That range of emotions seems to be roughly maintained even now that we have returned to reality, so wouldn’t it be okay to say that we are average compared to other people at this point?”
“Usually it was the manager who made me cry. “Do you remember?”
“Eh, tsk. Weak bastard…blaming others?”
“No…”
“Anyway, the current form of our survivors is unusual. Normally, even when we return to reality, we don’t live this well. Even if they almost die and barely survive, most people are unable to even look in a mirror. “Of course that wouldn’t be inconvenient, would it?”
I don’t think it’s at a level that could be described as ‘uncomfortable’, but I didn’t bother to correct it.
“If even one of your arms were blown off, you would feel hallucinatory pain even if it was properly attached in reality. “For Kang Min-ah alone, the aftereffects must have been enormous, but doesn’t being this peaceful mean that everyone has grown?”
“….”
“In my experience, it is rare to go through the other world twice and still be in the same intact state as you are now. “I was lucky in many ways.”
Jaeheon Lee was looking into space as if thinking of something.
Jeong In-ho, who had been listening quietly, nodded.
“I’m glad you got lucky.”
To be truly fortunate, I think I should have never even known about the existence of the secret world in the first place, but I didn’t feel like contradicting myself. Anyway, as long as what happened was the most fortunate of misfortunes, it was something to be satisfied with.
Of course, he wasted time several times because he was unable to think simple things in the world where emotions swayed him, but when Jung In-ho returned to reality, he was able to regain his usual cold rationality.
“….”
“…Ha….”
Although it was accompanied by a bit of embarrassment.
“In the other world, how can it not be… Manager?”
“What are you looking for? “Would I have done that?”
“I guess so.”
“…Actually, there is no way.”
“If you hadn’t told me by now, it would mean that the loss would be greater than the gain.”
“It’s nice to communicate well.”
Lee Jae-heon kept his mouth shut as if he would not tell in that case, and Jeong In-ho also had no intention of inquiring.
Although we can make correct value judgments now, in the other world, even a trace of reason is blurred. If Lee Jae-heon, who had no regrets about throwing away his own body even if it wasn’t a big deal, was negative, I felt better about not knowing about it than knowing about it.
Because we can rule out the possibility of doing something foolish in the secret world again…
Jeong In-ho changed his words.
“…the students seemed to be doing well.”
“I don’t know if it’s okay to just keep the kids together.”
“In fact, they seem to be much happier spending time alone?”
“Have you already visited?”
“That’s not it, I talked on the phone. “I was busy too.”
“Why didn’t the mannequin do its work properly?”
“You did a good job again, annoyingly. Anyone can see that it was handled by Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho.”
“The mannequin fills the empty hole of the survivor, so it has to be exactly the same.”
“It seems a little convenient in some ways… but I can’t help but feel bad.”
“How can it feel good to be replaced when you’re still alive?”
“So does he.”
“….”
“….”
Jeong In-ho, who had been chatting for a while, asked.
“Are you going today?”
“I wonder if that’s something to be that worried about.”
“Haha, you set off a bomb like that the other day and then say something like this.”
“Oh, that’s gross. “I get really sick of it every time you laugh like that.”
“Why are you making a fuss by laughing?”
“If I smile like you do, you’ll be equally disgusted… Anyway, I’m leaving today.”
In-ho Jeong lowered his gaze to Jae-heon Lee, who took an unlit cigarette out of his mouth, and looked at the cigarette in his hand. There were light marks from how many times I chewed it.
“…A person who doesn’t even smoke.”
“That’s right. “I say this because my boss doesn’t drink or smoke.”
“There was a lot of alcohol at home and a cigarette in my hand?”
“All the alcohol in my house is decoration. “This was a new attempt.”
Jeong In-ho blinked at the stiff cigarette shaking at Lee Jae-heon’s gesture.
“…a new attempt.”
“It’s a face that wants to advise you not to smoke, but I had no intention of smoking even if I didn’t look at it that way.”
“For that matter, it seems like you’ve been holding on for a long time.”
“I was a little hesitant.”
“….”
“…But it’s okay because I didn’t smoke.”
He put the cigarette in his hand into the rooftop garden trash can and called out Jeong In-ho.
“Shall we go down slowly? “It’s almost time to leave work.”
“…I don’t know if it’s okay to joke around like this.”
“What do you think? “Anyway, other people will see me as poor Assistant Manager Jeong who was dragged around by the old manager.”
“I think this is why the manager caught the old man concept. “I think about it every time, but it seems really convenient.”
“Assistant Manager Jeong, if you have some free time, you can give it a try. “It’s not too bad to be treated like a hoop thrown away by the company.”
“If you don’t have the manager’s level of background, won’t you be replaced?”
“I don’t think the company is flexible enough to replace someone who has reached the level of assistant manager.”
Just before getting into the elevator, Jaeheon Lee’s cell phone rang.
“Who the fuck is this at this time….”
“…?”
“…Huh….”
Lee Jae-heon’s expression became strangely depressed as he checked his cell phone. Because of the angle, I couldn’t see who the call was from.
He waved his hand and put Jeong In-ho into the elevator.
“Get off work first. See you next week.”
“…May I ask whose call it is?”
“Why are you curious about that? No, just my nephew.”
“Are you my nephew?”
“You probably want me to buy you something else. “They look like people who would eat a flea’s liver…”
As Lee Jae-heon grumbled and returned to the rooftop garden, Jeong In-ho wordlessly pressed the elevator button.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have any questions or discomfort, but in reality, I had the courtesy to interfere with personal affairs. Just by asking Jae-heon Lee so far, the rudeness he had committed so far was enough.
Only Woo Woo-young remained in the office.
“Oh, Mr. Inho. “Did you finish your conversation with the manager?”
“Yeah, you know, it wasn’t that important. “I think I just called you to kill time until I get off work.”
“I guess so. Still, Inho has finished all his work. I often come and go like that to get some fresh air. “There are a lot of old guys who want to entrust work to In-ho, even if he is not the manager.”
Of course, I know that Lee Jae-heon wasn’t giving Jung In-ho extra work because he was just being a brat, but deep down, he was bound to get tired when the work increased. As Woo Joo-young said, Jeong In-ho laughed silently because there were often tasks entrusted to employees who couldn’t work or coworkers who had no responsibility.
Seeing that, Woo Joo-young turned off the computer I was looking at, gathered his things and got up.
“Oh, are you going? Please go in carefully.”
“Inho too. See you next week.”
“…What…”
Jeong In-ho grinned.
“If anything happens, please contact me.”
“Oh my, I’m thrilled to hear these words from a handsome man.”
“Hahaha….”
“I know what you mean. Still, I’ll try my best on my own. “You can’t always live with help from others, right?”
“You look great.”
“I guess it’s not particularly cool…? “Thank you, even if it’s just empty words.”
Woo Joo-young left, bursting into laughter as if he felt better after hearing the compliment. In the empty office where he was alone, Jeong In-ho muttered quietly.
“… These aren’t empty words.”
It was amazing that I was able to return to my daily life so safely, even with so many emotions.
‘If I were team leader Woo Soo-young, would I have been able to show that kind of attitude?’
I usually have a lot of fear, I laugh a lot, I cry a lot and I cry a lot. Even though I know that my abilities, which I take pride in, are useless in the underworld, I do my best to adapt. When I return to reality, I try to quickly get used to the pain that others have experienced. So in the end, I can laugh as much as I do.
It was a great thing. If Jung In-ho’s emotions were really as rich as others, he might have gone crazy a long time ago. Survivors other than the main returnees also had to spend time talking with Jaeheon Lee in order to regain their daily lives. It is a type of psychological counseling. Kim Ki-jeong was still staying at a hotel near the park, not at home.
“…Now that I think about it, you said you would stay with Han Do-yoon.”
I had a foolish idea to go there and have fun.
I thought I would never have done it in the past.
“….”
The world behind the scenes was terrible, but I liked the richness of emotions.
Although it may be difficult to find the strong lines I longed for, the joy that can be found in peaceful daily life, like the quiet voice of a fairy tale, is not bad. One of the joys was feeling a bond between people that I had never felt before.
‘…Yeah, it’s not something that can be solved by being upset.’
As Lee Jae-heon said, his participation in family events was something that Jung In-ho or others could not do. Rather than worrying about not being able to do anything, it seemed like it would be much more fun to call my friends and raid someone else’s place.
Han Do-yoon, who was already laughing like crazy, and Kim Ki-jeong, who was screaming out loud, were easy to see. It was a time when I was fiddling with my phone, thinking about the two people who were complete opposites. Someone called him.
“…Jung In-ho?”
“….”
“Oh, that’s right. glasses. Are you Mr. Jeong In-ho?”
It was an unfamiliar face.
But it felt familiar somehow. Things like wildly raised eyes or small wrinkles around the eyes that stand out when smiling. The arrogant smile that appeared naturally as if it were a part of the body made me think of someone.
Jeong In-ho, who put away his cell phone, smiled and asked again, as is his habit.
“you’re right. “Do you know who you are?”
“Isn’t it difficult to roll under Lee Jae-heon?”
“Suddenly, what are you saying…”
“Uuuu, I was speaking first.”
“….”
Suddenly?
“…Haha….”
I don’t know everything, but Jung In-ho was not a good match.
There was not a single crack in Jeong In-ho’s grinning smile, but a subtle murderous intent lingered in a corner of his brain, asking, ‘Why are you going crazy in a first meeting?’ One of the side effects of the underworld was that my aversion to murder gradually disappeared. Of course, except for Old Man Manager Lee Jae-heon, this was the first time I wanted to kill someone like this.
Jeong In-ho took a deep breath and opened his mouth again.
“Yes, sorry. “But I was on my way back home.”
“So, please let it go quickly?”
“I guess that’s true, isn’t it?”
“…He looks fine, so maybe he has a bit of a temper? “It’s not good.”
“ha ha ha.”
At this point, I had an idea.
‘It’s Lee Jae-heon’s bloodline.’
This feeling of complete incomprehensibility even when speaking in the same language. The rudeness of confidently spouting nonsense from the first meeting. The two eyes looking at him were filled with contempt and disregard. Even the old-fashionedness of being obsessed with strange places. It was to the point where I could tell who Lee Jaeheon was acting like an old man.
And naturally, another thought occurred to me.
‘…Then is this the person who ripped off all of Lee Jae-heon’s fingernails?’
His face value appears to be in his mid to late 40s with a similar look to Lee Jae-heon. You said you have an older sister and an older brother, so it must be your older brother. It seemed that the fingernail hunter that Lee Jae-heon had previously confided in was this old bastard in front of him.
“….”
There is no CCTV here.
‘Maybe it’s an opportunity.’
An unfamiliar and intense murderous intent to feel in real life passed through his mind, but Jeong In-ho just smiled. Unfortunately, this was not a secret world, and Jeong In-ho had no intention of seeing Hong Gyeong-jun as a criminal. Just imagining how awkward the silence was between the two, the killing intent naturally subsided.
Lee Jae-heon’s older brother, who did not know that he had just died and came back to life, spoke again.
“Oh my… this is the reason why our Jaeheon is so grumpy. Well, who would like it if their subordinates smiled like this with their eyes turning blue? Well, if you’re Oh-seong’s assistant manager, it’s not like you don’t have abilities apart from your temper… tsk tsk tsk, you’ll be hated if you do this. “I won’t be able to get promoted.”
“….”
“…But I guess you don’t think as badly about Director Lee Jae-heon as you think? “The reaction is weak.”
The other person muttered as if he was estimating something.
“Now that I think about it, there has been a rumor that Jaeheon has been going around a bit recently.”
“…If dragging someone to the rooftop and scolding them is affection, then it must be affection.”
“Did he really just scold me? huh? I don’t think so. A bastard without a line is trying to make something. “I just touched the assistant manager…”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
What is it really?
‘I really feel like I’m missing something from earlier.’
Since I couldn’t figure out how the man in front of me knew Lee Jae-heon and Jung In-ho, I couldn’t help but become cautious. Lee Jae-heon’s acting, which doesn’t discriminate between people, couldn’t have been interpreted as family, so if he had said something, a difficult situation could have arisen depending on Jung In-ho’s answer. I might lose…
Before I could finish worrying, the man asked meaningfully.
“But do you trust Lee Jae-heon?”
“…?”
It was baseless bullshit.
(Continued in the next part)
