Episode 44:
In a lucid dream that hit you in the back of the head, you lost your senses and wandered around due to an unexpected attack on your character… but Lee Jae-heon was still sane.
To be precise, I was sane enough not to block my path with my own hands.
‘I almost ruined it.’
He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps due to the influence of the hidden world, the dream became more bizarre and detailed, and even after waking up, Lee Jae-heon was unable to come to his senses for a moment, and if he tried, he would have fallen into the abyss.
‘It’s truly crazy to lose one’s mind in front of that terminally ill paranoid patient.’
Look at Jaeheon Lee’s few words and he is already staring at me with pitch black eyes.
“….”
What a disgusting bastard.
He knew how suspicious the main character, Jung In-ho, was.
There were times when the results were good and times when they were bad, but what was certain was that the doubt was the ability of that disgusting bastard. Especially in the underworld where the mind is the main thing.
Lee Jae-heon was already a suspicious seed because he didn’t correct the situation after throwing the rice cake, but it couldn’t be said to be a wise attitude to show unintentional confusion like before.
‘Unless you want to reveal your past life to that disgusting bastard.’
Jeong In-ho never stopped observing Lee Jae-heon.
‘…I really want to hit you in the back of the head.’
Actually, I was annoyed.
‘That disgusting bastard, how dare you raise suspicion to someone’s face.’
If the heaven-like manager came back alive, he would just say, ‘Oh, thank you,’ without even realizing it.
However, the swearing was only for a moment, and Lee Jae-heon thought about it for a moment and swallowed his thoughts.
‘… Of course I understand… It’s a wise decision…’
Director Lee Jae-heon, who wouldn’t have been surprised at all if he was found dead during the night, came back with all his might, so at least Jeong In-ho, who is currently in a position to lead the group, saw him. I would have had to be suspicious. Even if it was Director Lee Jae-heon himself, he was still a suspicious person.
‘Because in the first place, I tried to hand over the initiative little by little in preparation for times like this.’
Among the group members who can make the most calm decisions, the doctor is passive for some reason and Lee Jae-heon is a half-corpse, so at least the main character had to maintain his own pace.
However, in nature, reason and emotion are concepts that are diametrically opposed, so although you can understand the other person, you cannot 100% empathize with them.
“Chief Kang is surprisingly good at using a hammer. “I think it would be okay to join you when we go to the lake this time.”
“I like it. Of course, I don’t think I’ll be very good at it, but still…”
“I’ll be reassured if you come with me. Thank you. “You always lead by example.”
“…Iyaaa.”
To Lee Jae-heon, who did not have good empathy skills to begin with, the protagonist’s behavior was just creepy and disgusting.
“Did you call the manager?”
“No… just live like that. Always be happy, stick your tongue out, and just be very sweet.”
“Ah yes.”
I’m answering this again.
That doesn’t mean you can get angry, though.
‘…Then, should we first clean up the mess that was thrown away?’
Jaeheon Lee nodded inwardly.
Being irritated meant being irritated, and he knew very well that if he was caught up in these emotions and couldn’t come to his senses, the situation would only get worse. I quietly came up with a plan, thinking that I would have to fix the things that had been broken during my absence, one by one.
Chief Kang, who was sitting near the bonfire, broke the short silence and awkwardly opened his mouth.
“Um… are you okay? Still, if you’re bleeding enough, I think you need to rest more… Shall I pick up a straw or something? “What if I use it like a bed…?”
It has to be quite soft too. The fact that blood could come out of a person’s mouth must have been quite a shock to these chicks. This is because Lee Jae-heon and the doctor keep watching him.
He opened his mouth, thinking it was time to end the misunderstanding at this point.
“If anyone sees it, they’ll think you spilled a ton of blood. It was just a nosebleed that flowed back. “I don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere and don’t use speed, so I manage my facial expressions well.”
“….”
“And what about resting… I should at least go get some water before it gets dark. “If it’s too much, you can just pick up firewood.”
“yes? Manager, it hasn’t been long since I woke up vomiting blood. What did that mean…”
“It’s bitter and bitter. “No one is dead, so why all the fuss?”
At those words, Kang Min-ah showed a very dissatisfied expression, which was rare, but Lee Jae-heon pretended not to notice and ignored it. Since it was already like this, I didn’t think it would be a bad idea to properly organize the situation.
He asked President Garam Yoon, who was looking at him with a subtle expression between pitiful and sad.
“So… where is this place? “What is the approximate location of the lake?”
“…It’s a bit far from the original lake. The closest lake is a small lake… If you consider the entire park, it would be almost in the middle. Oh, isn’t it a little lower than that?”
“Huh.”
Jaeheon Lee let out a light sigh with an expressionless face.
I don’t know if it’s because of poor judgment due to the underworld, but I’m in the middle of nowhere. Isn’t it possible to run away if we have to?
‘Of course, it is a good thing from my perspective as I have to organize the situation and proceed with work, but…’
As expected, I was anxious to leave this team alone.
The siblings are silent even though they are not at all discouraged, and President Yoon is increasingly looking at the tree as if he is possessed. I felt goosebumps as my companions slowly tasted the food on my skin.
Lee Jae-heon had to solve this twisted situation one by one. Even for the day when you have to go to the hospital for proper treatment.
‘First of all…’
The first thing to do is to reassure the group who were anxious about Lee Jae-heon’s unexpected absence.
He consciously put an awkward expression on his face. He glanced back at the group and asked in a rough but cautious voice.
“…Who moved me?”
“That Yeonseok moved. He said he would do it…”
“Really?”
Jaeheon Lee furrowed his brows. An expression distorted with embarrassment and regret rather than displeasure. At the same time, he shifted his gaze so that he felt a slight sense of discomfort, as if he was trying not to show it out of pride.
Noh Yeon-seok, who was suddenly called, looked at Manager Jae-heon Lee with a still pale and tired face, and Jae-heon Lee caught his gaze and sighed lightly. I felt the intern’s shoulders flinch at that.
Just before the other person felt anxious, Lee Jae-heon opened his mouth.
“…thanks.”
“…yes yes?”
“Thank you.”
Then he clicked his tongue slightly.
Due to the personality of Manager Lee Jae-heon, who has created so far, there was no way that the atmosphere could be maintained for long even if he expressed his gratitude to the intern.
Lee Jae-heon changed the topic as if for no reason.
“But why is his face like that? “Did the intern starve during dinner?”
“…yes? No, it can’t be! No ah. “I didn’t feel well and couldn’t eat anything…”
“I was starving, then. “What did Chief Kang do instead of taking care of him?”
He teased and sarcastically pointed out Chief Kang Min-ah, and intern Noh Yeon-seok reacted just as expected. He was startled and shook his head.
“Oh no no! No, Director Kang took good care of me, but I…!”
“Oh, okay, I understand. “I can’t even make fun of you?”
“…Ah… I’m sorry… No…?”
After saying those words, the intern’s face turned bright red, and yet he was looking at Director Kang Min-ah’s eyes like a puppy that had an accident. This is a dog that recklessly commits misfortune and displeases its owner.
Lee Jae-heon had to put a lot of effort into not crumpling his face.
‘You should also pay for your favorite tea in moderation.’
The fact that intern Noh Yeon-seok had a crush on Director Kang Min-ah was something that the entire planning team knew, unless they were somewhat oblivious.
Even in a mentally driven situation like now, the way he looked at Director Kang’s thoughts showed him to be very sincere. This is why they fall in love.
‘Even though that’s why I was dragged in.’
If you criticized her, even in a joking way, the intern, who was already in a daze, would vehemently deny it, and afterward, she would feel very embarrassed thinking that she had made a fuss for no reason, but would also be anxious or curious about how Manager Kang Min-ah viewed her reaction.
It is said that there is no medicine for love, but to put it conversely, there is no such effective psychotherapy. The greater the depth of love, the more any situation will seem like an adversity that can be overcome together.
Of course, if it wasn’t that deep, it would have the opposite effect, but that’s okay.
“Chief Ga Kang. I’m really sorry if you were inconvenienced….”
“No, you just say you’re sorry for something like that. “The manager was joking.”
“Uh…yeah.”
Jaeheon Lee swept the corner of his mouth and blinked.
‘It’s so deep that it’s worth risking your life for.’
Before returning, before Jaeheon Lee is killed by the green algae monster. The person who died right after Director Kang Min-ah, who was the first to die from that guy, was intern Noh Yeon-seok.
He was some distance away from Chief Kang, and the monster’s speed was slow, so he could have run away, but his body was stuck in a tree and was in a miserable state.
‘It probably means that the monster felt the hostility of its prey and attacked.’
Doesn’t this mean that the intern who was distracted by Kang Min-ah’s death died that way because he attacked the monster?
Noh Yeon-seok’s face turned red at Lee Jae-heon’s non-joking joke aimed at this point, and Kang Min-ah looked slightly embarrassed.
‘I guess I don’t feel bad.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Since we were interns connected to a university, there was a difference in age and rank, so if it weren’t for that situation, I felt like I would have confessed at least three times. It was an undeniable fact that the overall atmosphere of the group was excited by the strange atmosphere of the two.
He slowly scanned the group’s appearance and analyzed it.
‘First of all, the dying atmosphere was saved.’
It was a fact that could be known without looking at the fact that the mood of the group would have plummeted after Lee Jae-heon was dragged away.
In fact, he had lost consciousness not long after returning to life, so it was not surprising that his mood had remained frozen until now.
‘I’m glad it’s been resolved now.’
Fortunately…
“….”
Actually, at this point, I had to tell Lee Jae-heon’s own story.
How they were taken away by the green algae monster, what happened, and how they came back alive. And how was the rest of the group doing? In order to plan efficiently, we need to take the time to share information with each other.
“Wow… I heard a rumor that you two were dating, but wow.”
“Yeonhee, you’re dating. With Yeonseok….”
“…How can we just have a fling? When I send it to you two to print it, it becomes very pink…”
“Ah, Manager…!”
At Jaeheon Lee’s words, the intern let out a crying voice.
If this were a company, I would have scolded him and said, ‘How dare you call a manager who is like the sky so rude?’, but since the atmosphere improved by sacrificing his innocence, I decided to endure it this time.
He thought as he looked at Employee Kwon with a bright smile on his face and the intern suffering from her.
‘It’s… a bit odd to say it now.’
There seemed to be no need to calm down the already tense atmosphere.
Lee Jae-heon, who had always kept a subtle distance at work, felt a strange emotion as he watched his companions get excited by his few words.
In fact, Lee Jae-heon’s aim was a pretty big example. They may be very close co-workers, but there is no way the old manager would have built up such a close relationship. It was not very polite for a boss to talk about his subordinate’s love life. It was a sight that could not have been seen if this was not a secret world and Lee Jae-heon had not acted differently from the novel.
To be honest, I was very fortunate that we had built up a level of intimacy where it wasn’t rude to bring up other people’s dating history.
‘If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t have been able to revive the atmosphere the way we do now.’
Kang Min-ah, standing in the center of the slight commotion, spoke to Lee Jae-heon in an awkward voice.
“…Don’t make fun of the intern too much, Manager….”
“What about me?”
Lee Jae-heon raised the corners of his mouth and sneered. It was partly to lighten the mood, but it was actually funny that I was writing a romance novel that didn’t even involve young chicks.
Of course, it was quite touching to see Kang Min-ah, who should have died at work, here, looking like this, but…
“….”
Well, did she die once?
He recalled the deaths of his two subordinates, which he had hurriedly confirmed.
Watching someone you know die wasn’t that big of a deal, at least for Lee Jae-heon in his previous life. Of course, there is a difference in the world of past lives in that even if you die, you come back to life.
‘…so.’
Jaeheon Lee turned his gaze to look at the protagonist.
“what. “Why do you look at me like that?”
“…Excuse me.”
“…Director Jeong, where does it hurt?”
He consciously added crude worry to his tone, and Jeong In-ho’s expression became strangely distorted as if he sensed it. It seemed like the person I was suspicious of was worried about me without knowing anything, so my conscience was very bad.
In addition, the rice cakes that Director Lee Jae-heon has thrown so far must have been a big confusion for the main character.
“Tell me if it hurts.”
“…That’s not something the manager would say.”
“Why do you keep arguing?”
He grinned contentedly on the inside, even as he muffled the conversation.
‘Because I have to sort out the rice cakes.’
Perhaps sometime today, Lee Jae-heon will be able to sort out the foreshadowing that was left behind.
According to the setting, Lee Jae-heon was a survivor of the underworld. There was no way that Dr. Ha Seong-yoon and the main character had not shared opinions until now, so all he had to do was talk to the main character about the story they couldn’t finish yesterday and salvage the piece of cake.
Then, from now on, all of his survival abilities and abnormal signs will be covered by the title ‘Survivor of the Underworld’, which adds even more probability to Lee Jae-heon’s future actions.
But…
‘That alone is not enough.’
You should also use the content before the regression.
“I’ll take a break on my own, so there’s no need for Assistant Manager Jeong to urge me. huh?”
“Not really… because I don’t have trust. “I think you really don’t realize how outrageous the manager is talking, as well as what you said to Kang Min-ah just now.”
“Are you doing this because I’m so easygoing? “I really can’t cut that now.”
“Don’t change your mind, manager. I can’t show you because I don’t have a mirror, but manager, you’re not normal right now. “I’m going to die soon?”
“How dare you start a fight?”
He lightly stroked the corner of his mouth.
This is information that I found out while dying at best, but it was not profitable if I could not use it because of this unwilling image management. Even though Jaeheon Lee could not remember what happened before his regression, he wanted to write about the information he had before he died.
However, for his sake, Lee Jae-heon had to sort out the immediate mess that was going on in the protagonist’s brain.
‘The current image you have created must be established at least a little to solve the next problem… and based on that, you will be able to use the information before the regression.’
All secret stories in the world have a right time to be revealed.
“…Anyway, I think we should move slowly.”
Jaeheon Lee turned his gaze away from the main character and looked at the sky.
He swallowed his words to give his distant future self a little more plausibility.
