Episode 436
Hong Gyeong-jun, who can be confident that he knows the prototype best at the moment, also ended up at a very difficult level. Even then, this stupid detective seemed to have concluded, ‘I guess I’ve been really tired these days.’ Neither Noh Yeon-seok, who had a conversation with the ghost police officer, nor Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon, who were sensitive to its presence, showed any reaction.
At this point, I felt like I wouldn’t have to worry about the police finding out that I was the same person.
“Although the detective’s work has been completed, I still plan to leave behind my connection with ‘Lee Jae-heon.’ “I still want to play with the detective, and ‘Hong Gyeong-jun’ will want to monitor and observe Lee Jae-heon more.”
“I understand what you mean. “It means the role-play isn’t over yet.”
“When it’s over, we’ll be in trouble. “That gives me all the justification for calling the detective over for a meal.”
“That too.”
Even though ‘Hong Gyeong-jun”s work was all over, ‘Lee Jae-heon’ called him and had a meal with him. He was telling Lee Dang and others who might be watching him that ‘I have no intention of abandoning Hong Gyeong-jun yet.’
“…Then I can just eat a delicious meal and go back?”
“If I were to ask, it’s an accurate summary.”
“Sometimes, when I watch movies, I wonder what the food at restaurants like these tastes like. Thanks to you, I am doing well. “This is my first time eating such fresh raw fish.”
“Isn’t it too hard to work while receiving that kind of salary? “I can show you something better.”
“You sound like a villain trying to trick a police officer with a straight mind, so stop.”
“I’ll stop.”
Other survivors and even students were fed once in a while. Among the survivors, Hong Gyeong-jun and Kim Yeon-woo were the only ones who had not tried Lee Jae-heon’s stew.
It was because he was a police officer and it was difficult to establish a relationship through show.
“But now we can gradually increase the number of meetings. “Jaeheon Lee started to regard you as a scapegoat like other survivors.”
“It feels strange to hear it.”
“I think you can call Yeonwoo Kim often too. “Please tell me sometime. Detective, I buy you food now, but I have never bought Kim Yeon-woo even once.”
“Why are you so anxious because you can’t feed me?”
“This is how a person who wastes money feels. I enjoy showing off by buying delicious and expensive meals. “I guess it’s to feel superior.”
“It’s a concept that doesn’t suit Jaeheon Lee at all.”
“It’s a concept. I made a promise after dying at Eonhak High School. I will definitely end up running out of money. He said he would relieve all this stress with a lot of money….”
“Is it okay to use that money towards others like this?”
“It’s much more fun to write to those in poverty than to write to myself. Don’t hesitate and just eat it all the time. “You make soup so well, but why are you so picky about raw fish?”
“Hoede and soup are something else…!”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
He appears to be a character with very easy tastes, similar to a lawyer or a member of the National Assembly.
What constitutes a person’s appearance is not just appearance. The shape of the person’s hand when holding a glass of water, the speed of walking or the regularity of their steps, the perfume they spray or the smell from their clothes, the meaning contained in the way they look at someone, and the vocalizations they make when calling someone. Those things create a person’s mood.
Hong Gyeong-jun gives the impression of a marble sculpture that is rigid yet elegantly carved. A hard and noble person. A person who seems to be reading law books rather than novels actually likes soup and rice.
“I’m not saying that soup and rice are bad, but….”
“Gukbap is a meal made in heaven.”
“Why are you so passionate?”
Gukbap is good. However, when it comes to the way he eats, it doesn’t suit Hong Kyung-jun. Food that is mixed with seasonings or minced garlic and eaten with a spoon. It gives a generous impression rather than sophisticated. There is a strange sense of discrepancy from Hong Gyeong-jun’s hand gestures, which appear to be trained on utensils such as forks, knives, and chopsticks.
Hong Gyeong-jun, who was eating a piece of raw fish in a calm pose, soon opened his mouth.
“…It’s something I’ve had a taste for since I entered the violent world.”
“Are you talking about soup?”
“I kind of know what you’re thinking. “You must have thought that my image and taste were different.”
“you’re right.”
“My parents taught me etiquette, but I originally had no likes or dislikes when it came to eating. I didn’t think much of it when I just graduated from the police academy, but after joining the homicide squad, I ended up following the tastes of my seniors. I felt comfortable and secure inside, so there was no reason to refuse. It quickly became my favorite food.”
Then he moistens his throat with a highball.
“The clothes were also decided by my seniors.”
“Aha….”
“For those who have fantasies about police uniforms, skip it, but it’s definitely not a detective-like outfit. “Things like coats, ties, shirts, and shoes… honestly, they’re uncomfortable even when chasing suspects.”
“I think so.”
“But clothes that are comfortable for chasing or surveillance don’t suit me. I’m talking about things like sweats, t-shirts, or hoodies. I’m talking about clothes that are commonly seen on the streets, and people say that if I wear them, I’ll stand out more. I took off my glasses and played around with my hair, but the result was the same. “A detective who has to melt into the air to chase a suspect shouldn’t do that.”
“Wow…”
“But since I was in full charge of coordination, I got the stigma of being a fashion terrorist, so in the end, my seniors even decided on my outfit. “Coat, shirt… yes, like this now.”
“There are many different things.”
“I think so too. “I am indebted to my seniors in many ways.”
Hong Gyeong-jun, who had been silent for a moment, asked.
“Jaeheon Lee.”
“Please speak.”
“Are mannequins just imitating dead survivors?”
“….”
“It’s so similar that it makes me feel sick sometimes.”
Most of Hong Gyeong-jun’s coworkers said they were mannequins. What does that feel like? Even thinking about former colleagues who died but soon came back to life, it was not a good example. As I just watched, Hong Gyeong-jun continued speaking.
“For a member of the homicide squad, I got into it at a young age. Some people felt rejected, while others took care of me because I was young. “The partner I met for the first time became a ghost who clung to Jaeheon Lee… I learned a lot in a short amount of time.”
“….”
“The person I could dare say I respected died in a way I could never have imagined. No, I imagined it. Because he sometimes made a face where he wanted to die because he was bored with the world. Still, it was still a shock that he died like that. They say my seniors were shocked… but they still took care of me. “I received a lot of consideration.”
“…What do you want to say?”
“Well, are you really asking if you are a senior?”
“Huh.”
“It’s a joke.”
The faint smile on his face as he said that did not seem like a lie.
“I know that Mr. Lee Jae-heon is Mr. Lee Jae-heon. “I’m just stupid, and I just said it casually, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Do you have a knack for making people worry? “Right?”
“It’s one of your habits to end your sentence like that… Hahaha, I’m sorry. “It was really a joke.”
“Are you drunk?”
“No, it’s just that I don’t have many opportunities to have a conversation like this with Lee Jae-heon.”
Knock knock knock.
Hong Gyeong-jun hit the table with his finger.
“…If there is no ego as a mannequin, can it be said that it is a different entity from the original person?”
“….”
“I’m worried about that. What if every time I see my brothers’ faces, I don’t realize that they are monsters? What if they only have the memories of the being they imitated and even their appearance is the same? “Can you really say it’s someone else?”
“That’s a very philosophical question.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I was looking forward to seeing if the same soul was just trapped in the body of a monster, but on the other hand, I was amazed because the characteristics of a monster were so clearly visible. “It’s really confusing.”
Talk.
Hong Gyeong-jun stops his fingers and sighs deeply.
“If death in the other world and death in reality were the same, I wouldn’t have had such a headache. “I feel fortunate that even though I am a monster, I can still keep traces of my people.”
“Everyone worries about that.”
Even the main character of the original story had such concerns. The mannequins that replaced the dead never once revealed themselves to be monsters, so I thought that if that were the case, they were just people who had died once in the other world.
Nevertheless, the protagonist kept his distance from the mannequin, Kang Min-ah. I also became distant from Noh Yeon-seok. The two mannequins were puzzled and asked what they had done wrong, but eventually became distant. That was the protagonist’s choice.
“In the end, it is your choice.”
How to look at a mannequin.
“Everyone I know saw me as a monster who ate my family and friends. He thought he was imitating those he loved, even if it was abominable. Even in real life, I couldn’t bear the killing intent.”
This is the story of Yoon Garam in the original.
“Some people leave monsters alone because, even though they are monsters, they don’t harm them. “I maintained the relationship just enough so that other people wouldn’t think it was strange, and I calmly calculated to keep the distance.”
This is Park Da-young from the original.
“Who else… I couldn’t stop giving affection to someone even though I knew they were a monster. I remember getting thinner by the day. “I would say this is an example of someone wanting to act calmly, but feeling unable to follow along with reason.”
This is Park Da-hoon.
“Everyone else thought they were people, not monsters. Regardless of whether you have a monster ego or not. “If they had something, they were struggling to live as humans, and if they didn’t have something, they followed along and thought they were no different from other humans.”
Lastly, azalea.
“It is up to you, detective, how you view the mannequin. No matter what you think, in the end, if you have the confidence to take responsibility for that choice, it’s probably a good thing to worry about.”
“How was Jaeheon Lee?”
“…I…”
That’s right.
What was it like?
“…I didn’t make any choice because it didn’t matter.”
Whether they are mannequins or not, their actions are determined in the end, so the only thing that matters to me is the result. If nothing changes, there is no need to worry.
“…understand.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“It was sorted out.”
Hong Gyeong-jun laughed.
“The most important thing is for me to feel comfortable.”
* * *
I sent Hong Gyeong-jun first, paid the bill to the waiter, and then left.
“Over there…!”
“….”
“Isn’t this Manager Lee Jae-heon…?”
A woman grabbed her arm.
“…Who are you.”
“I said hello to you once at a party back then.”
“It’s a party.”
“Daily….”
“Ah.”
I nodded as if I finally remembered.
“Aren’t you the Daily boss’s son-in-law? “It’s such a fun coincidence that we meet here.”
“I never thought I’d see you here again…”
Lee Jae-heon felt a sense of déjà vu as he saw her blushing cheeks. Coincidentally, I felt the same sense of déjà vu I had already felt once at the event, here, in a completely different space.
Jaeheon Lee laughed.
“It looks like you had an appointment with someone else.”
“Oh yes, that’s right. “I was having a meal with executives and then came out for a moment.”
“Why did it come out?”
“yes yes…?”
“I.”
He bent his back slightly, looked into his eyes, and whispered.
“Captain… Did you miss it that much?”
“….”
The quietly rolled eyes caught Lee Jae-heon.
A small, cheerful voice was heard.
“It’s been a while, boss.”
The unknown possessor laughed.
(Continued in the next part)
