Episode 458
The first to visit Lee Jae-heon in hospital were students from Hankuk University.
“….”
“….”
“…Would either of you please speak up?”
Seo Jang-hwa opened his mouth at the words of Lee Jae-heon, who could not bear the students’ stares.
“mister.”
“yes.”
“I have a good feeling. “Who did this?”
“….”
“The fuck, is this really Song In-myeong?”
“…It just so happened….”
“Ahh! Argh! “Fuck you, you bastard!”
“Please calm down!”
Lee Jae-heon was appalled by Seo Jang-hwa, who must have been quite angry. Vivian held Seo Jang-hwa’s arms as he expressed his anger in the air, as if this was a familiar situation, but it was not enough to calm the angry wild animal. Fortunately, it was a single-person hospital room, so it wasn’t a nuisance.
Still, is it because of the affection he has built up while wandering around the underworld, or is it because he is thankful that his friend Vivian took care of him while he was away? Seo Jang-hwa handed Lee Jae-heon a box of fruit juice, which seemed like a visitation gift.
“It’s a visitation gift.”
“…Are you serious?”
“I calmed down, but I’m still upset, and my coolness will change depending on what excuses he makes in the future.”
“aha.”
Jaeheon Lee nodded. It was a pretty reasonable way to express emotions.
“It’s nothing special….”
“It’s nothing special.”
“…while we were trying to keep in touch with Song In-myeong….”
“In the meantime.”
“….”
As soon as he told the truth, Jaeheon Lee could foresee the future of being scolded by the tiger-like student in front of him, so he quickly changed his course and prepared to pretend to be weak by passing all responsibility to Song Inmyeong.
“…Song In-myeong said he would help catch Seong Dae-young….”
“So you got scammed?”
“…It was more of a transaction than a fraud.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Yeah, well, just…”
Lee Jae-heon continued speaking in a casual tone, as if he had never had any problems.
“Isn’t this a bad outcome in exchange for a little conversation and a glimpse of blood? “If it wasn’t for Song In-myeong, we wouldn’t have been able to deal with Seong Dae-young so quickly.”
These chicks were upset every time ‘Lee Jae-heon’ brought up valid logic from his past life about efficiency and rationality, but they also had a tendency to view him weakly. I threw the bait like that and pretended not to know, I swept the shoulder that Song In-myeong had torn off. Fortunately, it seemed to work well.
Seo Jang-hwa asked with a serious face.
“Where is that bastard now?”
“I don’t know either. “Where does Song In-myeong stay?”
“There won’t be any contact information.”
“I think I changed it….”
“Fuck, that’s true. “You stupid idiot.”
The sound of clicking one’s tongue was clearly audible. Vivian seemed to have no intention of getting caught up in this torrent, assimilating into the air and ignoring her friend’s misbehavior.
‘You grit your teeth and pretend not to know that.’
I had thought about it for a long time, but that bastard, Vivian, had an obvious shrewd side. The reason he looks dull is probably because of those thick tendons and the face that pretends to be stupid, even though he knows everything. Anyway, I felt relieved that both of them would survive in the underworld on their own.
Seo Jang-hwa, who barely seemed to have calmed down, showed the group chat room and spoke.
“Do you see it? “It’s a group chat room where people go crazy over the small balls that the guy shoots.”
“What do you think I did?”
“If the intention was to provoke, it was an appropriate line.”
“It wasn’t anything like that in particular.”
Jaeheon Lee reacted indifferently.
“But wouldn’t it have been a better choice than hiding it and getting caught?”
“Aren’t you going to be a little more humble for these poor people who are mentally broken after suddenly hearing about Jae-heon Lee’s illness?”
“It would be unlucky for you to be humble when you are not that type of person.”
“That’s true.”
As Seo Jang-hwa said, Lee Jae-heon announced the incident he had experienced in the group chat room, as he had decided in advance. ‘I was trying to catch Seong Dae-young, but I was counterattacked and came to the hospital. The purpose was achieved. If you want to visit the hospital, come, but if you are tired, don’t come.’
That the reaction was very strong can be seen by the number of unread messages in the group chat room, which continues to rise even now. I notified you yesterday evening, but the messages didn’t stop until lunchtime today.
“But he always responded.”
Jaeheon Lee blinked at the words of Vivian, who had become one with oxygen.
“yes?”
“…When the other side of the world first came out, there wasn’t much of a reaction, right? Instead of telling us that he had safely left the underworld, other people who came to work the next day checked on Lee Jae-heon’s safety and then let us know. “I understand that you were not very enthusiastic about replying.”
“Is that something that should be treated this harshly?”
“I think it’s more of a fact than an accusation… Anyway, this time, didn’t you notify us of the incident in advance and then actively answer questions such as those posted in the group chat room? “I thought it was interesting because it was a different reaction than usual.”
“Huh.”
Jaeheon Lee chuckled at the words of the college student chick who pretended not to say something.
“So you don’t like it?”
“…I don’t hate it.”
“Then that’s it.”
Seo Jang-hwa spoke in his unique, firm voice.
“Why did you become even more unlucky when I didn’t see you?”
“Do you usually say that in front of yourself?”
“I guess I’m not normal.”
“I can trust the words of Seo Jang-hwa, a student who used to kill a flock of crows with a stick in the park.”
“Really, why have people become so smooth?”
“Something like that happens in life.”
It may have been because of the Bluetooth connection with the ghost police, but I pretended not to notice. Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, who had been with Prototype for several years, was also not sure, so there was no way Seo Jang-hwa, a stranger, could find out the truth. Jaeheon Lee comfortably opened the drinks brought by the students and drank them.
Hmm, the taste of this cheap tomato juice is like drinking ketchup. the best.
“…If I had to choose, it would definitely be the same….”
“What? What did the student say just now? “Something like that?”
“Oh, don’t spill it while you’re eating. It’ll cause trauma to the other side of the world.”
“I’m not a five-year-old child, so why am I crying?”
“Anyway, if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.”
“I won’t do it.”
And I did it.
“I’m the manager!!”
“Puhup…!!”
Kwaang-!
It was because of the hamster that made a powerful appearance.
“Director…! Kyaaaaaak! Boss! Blood blood!!”
“Cough keheugh. Heh….”
“Don’t die, Manager! Boss! “Hehehe!”
Vivian urgently patted the back of Lee Jae-heon, who was spewing out tomato juice as he lifted his head, and Seo Jang-hwa, who was appreciating the explicit reaction of Kwon Yeon-hee, who burst into tears as soon as she came to visit him, and the office workers who were embarrassed by Kwon Yeon-hee and tried to understand the situation, muttered softly. .
“This is fucking crazy.”
The world was going really well.
* * *
Somehow, the situation came to an end and Jaeheon Lee saw the office workers gathered in one place.
“Why are you guys here?”
“Why do you give impunity to people who come to visit the hospital?”
“Isn’t today a weekday? “Didn’t you go to work?”
“I gave up lunch and came to see the manager.”
“Are these people not eating?”
Jeong In-ho said with a faint smile.
“When I saw the message the manager sent, I was so fired up that I couldn’t bear to not come.”
“…But I think I answered well and sincerely this time.”
“How much of a difference does it make if you voluntarily report an accident?”
“This is the worst right now.”
“If you don’t like it, don’t cause an accident.”
“Hey, assistant manager, let’s see if there’s anything cheesy about the topic.”
Kang Min-ah added as if she felt regretful.
“Still, when the manager was with me in the secret world, I was able to control it…”
“Am I a crazy dog? Control it?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. “Without even realizing it, my true intentions stopped.”
“You’re sorry, right? “You’re not acting like you’re sorry and criticizing me, right?”
Woo Woo-young joined in, smiling awkwardly.
“But this time, you went a bit too far.”
“What’s too much?”
“Can’t you tell what you look like right now?”
“….”
“…Ah, you really didn’t know?”
It was worth not knowing.
“…because I can’t look in the mirror.”
“…There is a mirror in the bathroom, a mirror in front of the hospital room door, and a mirror in the elevator. Can I interpret the fact that you were unable to check it to mean that you have not been able to get out of bed even once since the incident?”
“What should I do? My ankle is badly broken. They say I should stay on the bed if possible.”
Kwon Yeon-hee muttered softly at Lee Jae-heon’s words.
“I want to take a picture and send it to the doctor.”
“Uh huh. What can you say, our employee Kwon? “Has there been anything that has made me feel sad these days?”
“It’s a bit much…”
“What does a lot mean? “I did all of this because it was necessary.”
“The manager was torn apart… Divided to pieces… Divided like asphalt on asphalt in the middle of summer…” “
This is another clever analogy. “What’s wrong with red ginseng in the middle of summer?”
“That’s what they say.”
Noh Yeon-seok, who had been quietly observing the situation, intervened with an awkwardly distorted face.
“…You don’t look really okay.”
“I never said I was okay.”
“There is a nuance that can be felt in his expression. “I don’t think it’s an injury to be taken lightly.”
“I never said I was like this.”
“Umm…”
Noh Yeon-seok looked alternately at the portable mirror placed next to the hospital room door and at Lee Jae-heon. Lee Jae-heon, who figured out what Noh Yeon-seok was trying to do, shook his head.
“You don’t have to look. I know it without even looking at it. Even though I can’t look in the mirror, I can feel it with my hands. Could it be that I’m so calm because I can’t even guess what I look like? “I have already figured out what kind of person I am in the bathtub.”
“…A bathtub?”
“….”
“Bathtub?”
When Vivian asked quickly about the unexpected appearance of the word, Jaeheon Lee said with a grin.
“Shall we forget it?”
“Is that okay?”
“You guys really seem like such strict people.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of being picky. Why is there a bathtub here? “If you think about Lee Jae-heon’s personality, the genre will change to an 19+ thriller.”
“It must have been a similar situation.”
“Where were you waterboarded?”
“I almost got hit.”
“hey.”
“Oh, it would have been fine if I hadn’t been hit.”
“Speak like a horse.”
“Do you see the Malbon bird?”
Lee Jae-heon tried to move on as quietly as possible, but it was impossible once the word ‘bathtub’ came out. In the end, Lee Jae-heon was able to be released only after explaining to Seong Dae-young exactly what had happened.
“….”
“…So you almost drowned.”
“I have a good core, so if I had the chance, I would have done sit-ups and been able to breathe on my own. I wouldn’t have suffered even if the rescue had been delayed. “How much is Jjambap? Would I die with just that?”
“What kind of Jjambap is that?”
The office workers seemed to have a lot to say, but unfortunately, they were limited to lunch time. Since they had time to get back to work, the group of office workers put their regrets aside and quickly finished visiting the patient.
In-ho Jeong said with his characteristic sincere smile.
“Seoa was very worried about the manager.”
“That was my mistake.”
“Next time, be sure to notify people around you before you cause an accident.”
“Am I a dog? uh? Are you going to keep treating me like a dog that doesn’t listen?”
“Then get some rest and I’ll come back next time.”
“You don’t have to come.”
After Jung In-ho, who clearly ignored Lee Jae-heon’s words, left the hospital room for the last time. Seo Jang-hwa, one of the college students watching quietly from behind, furrowed his brows.
Jaeheon Lee asked him.
“why.”
“This is a bit…”
Seo Jang-hwa saw Lee Jae-heon, who was staring at the door where the office workers left with a nervous look on his face.
“Isn’t it too squishy?”
“Oh, too?”
“To be honest… I think it’s excessive.”
Seo Jang-hwa muttered as if he was displeased.
“It’s not a joke, you’re really trying to control a grown man.”
It’s like treating a dog, not a person.
“….”
“…I spoke a bit harshly.”
“No, not really.”
Lee Jae-heon raised the corner of his mouth at the remark of a man of common sense who could not come to the secret world if he could not contact Vivian. Seo Jang-hwa’s eyebrows rose in dissatisfaction at that, but Lee Jae-heon opened his mouth first.
“But isn’t it cute?”
“…What is it about?”
“It means that weak friends who can’t catch me unless I catch them are trying to control me.”
“….”
Seo Jang-hwa nodded as if he understood.
“You’re all crazy.”
“I’m normal, Student Janghwa.”
This soft world and Lee Jae-heon’s common sense just didn’t fit.
Jaeheon Lee chuckled.
(Continued in the next part)
