Episode 521:
‘Friends by the Stream’ Crossing basically required sacrifice.
“Even if you find the right way through this water, your feet will be ripped off, right?”
“I guess so.”
According to Park Da-young, there is an invisible road in ‘Friends by the Stream’ that is submerged in water, and the road is sparsely broken, so it is dangerous to cross it carelessly. They say that if you’re not careful, half of your body could be torn off.
The hint is Morse code. Park Da-young said that since people don’t usually memorize Morse code, there will probably be a clue nearby, like a puzzle they found in the teacher’s office at Eonhak High School.
“I don’t like that.”
Seo Jang-hwa had no intention of wasting time solving the puzzle.
“It just feels right. This is possible. “It’s cheap.”
“…Janghwa student?”
“From what I see, it looks like you can do it too, so just watch.”
Seo Jang-hwa, who said that, suddenly made a move.
“Whoa…!”
Percussion!
He jumped towards his ‘friends by the creek’ at a height comparable to that of a player.
“-car!!”
thud!!
The sound of feet hitting the floor was loud.
The survivors were appalled by her sudden behavior, but they soon realized that Seo Jang-hwa had not fallen into the water but had landed on a hard bottom that looked like water. It was an incredible feat.
“….”
“….”
“…Oh oh oh….”
Clap clap clap.
Han Do-yoon clapped awkwardly among the dumbfounded men.
“I think I just jumped about 4 meters.”
“Is that a skill that an art major can demonstrate?…”
After Kim Ki-jeong’s words mixed with shock and dismay, Jeong In-ho expressed his doubts.
“…You think I can do this?”
He denied reality, but Seo Jang-hwa’s opinion did not waver.
“Is it possible? Of course, run after I pass by. “Otherwise, we’ll clash among ourselves.”
“I don’t know if our Janghwa students see me as too big of a person.”
“Why can’t I do this with my physical strength? It may be a little difficult, but it is definitely possible if you eat that much in the lower body. “I think I have some buffs from the other side, so don’t worry.”
“The lower body… I’ve never worked out in earnest like you have? “What on earth do they think of an ordinary office worker like me?”
“….”
“Where can you find the time to exercise?”
Seo Jang-hwa clicked his tongue with a straight face.
“I’m so fucking jealous of Geunsu.”
“what?”
“You damn bastards who gain muscle just by breathing…”
“…Are they boots?”
“Anyway, just run because what I saw was enough.”
And that’s it.
“…Huh…Huh…Huh….”
“That’s it, right?”
“Uuuhuhhh….”
Jeong In-ho thought as he lay sprawled out at the exit of ‘Friends by the Stream’.
‘Why does this happen?’
Even though the other side of the world is a world crazy about mental power that can turn even the impossible into possible, it still made me wonder if this was too much. Jogging every weekend doesn’t explain my ability to run in place just now.
Jeong In-ho asked after catching his breath.
“…In the first place… how did you know where the hard floor was before you ran? There isn’t even a marked path…”
The bottom of the water in ‘Friends by the Stream’ was not rippling and the inside was not visible, so it was impossible to find the way. However, Seo Jang-hwa suddenly came running in search of a proper bottom, not the surface of the water.
“You spoke informally until just now, but now you are speaking politely?”
“…How did you know?”
“You wouldn’t know it if you looked at it, right?”
“….”
“It was a joke, that’s how I felt. “It feels like it’s a little harder on that side.”
“Aha…”
I trusted my intuition and ran, and it turned out to be all correct. It was hard to believe, but it seemed sincere, so I couldn’t bear to say anything.
This could mean that Seo Jang-hwa had good visual acuity.
‘Well, there is a bastard like Song In-myeong, so maybe it’s not strange that he has good eyes…’
In the last episode, Song In-myeong went around chopping up all the survivors by himself. Of course, the reason why Seo Jang-hwa died so helplessly at the time was because of Song In-myeong’s mental breakdown due to his modifications, but it basically means that the killer bastard was that strong.
‘…Of course, it may not be as strong as usual, but it means that it can display that level of ability when influenced by mental power.’
Survivors in the underworld often displayed insane abilities. Seo Jang-hwa’s incredible physical abilities were probably part of the same thing.
“If you’re all rested, can you move slowly?”
“I guess so.”
Jeong In-ho turned around and saw Han Do-yoon and Kim Ki-jeong at the entrance of ‘Friends by the Stream’.
“Are you going to stay there?”
Although he was quite far away, Kim Ki-jeong, who had good ears, seemed to understand even while he was sneezing repeatedly and said something to Do-yoon Han. Han Do-yoon, who heard Jeong In-ho’s words, drew a large circle with both arms.
It was so far away that it looked almost as small as a fingernail, but the gesture was visible.
“Be careful, and if a monster appears or becomes dangerous, run to the entrance.”
When he spoke loudly, Do-yoon Han once again drew a circle with his arm, and only then did In-ho Jeong nod his head and look at Seo Jang-hwa. Chief Janghwa, who was also looking at the people on the other side, opened his mouth.
“I feel at ease when Kim Ki-jeong goes with me.”
Kim Ki-jeong’s voice was faintly heard as if he had heard those words, but Seo Jang-hwa and Jeong In-ho just calmly ignored them.
To be honest, Kim Ki-jeong’s ability as a monster and trap detector was a necessity for survivors of the underworld.
“There is nothing we can do since you are so weak.”
“He has such crazy abilities, but his body is like a toothpick, so his balance is perfect. “I wonder if this is what it means to say that God is fair.”
“Kim Ki-jeong is probably not a toothpick because he wants to be a toothpick, so let’s not say too much. “You must be hearing everything I say right now and you must be hurt.”
“A grown adult shouldn’t be hurt by facts.”
“Adults are more hurt by facts than by empty words.”
“Anyway, older people do it more?”
I felt like I could hear voices from far away saying, ‘Stop belittling me,’ ‘You bad bastards,’ and ‘What do you know?’, but I ignored them as expected.
Jeong In-ho and Seo Jang-hwa steadily moved forward.
* * *
At the same time, Park Da-young and Jeong Eun-woo.
“Uh oh….”
“Hmm.”
The two had arrived at the feeding experience corner.
“That means we have to go down there.”
The place where Park Da-young’s tired gaze was directed was to a large, round pond.
In fact, it would be difficult to call it a pond. As far as Park Da-young knew, there were a lot of monsters living inside there and it was said to be very deep.
This meant that even though it looked like a shallow, moderately sized pond, the reality was completely different. Park Da-young, who had heard some information about him from Song In-myeong, touched her forehead in dizziness.
“How on earth do I get into this… How do I get in…”
“If I just go in, they give me a certificate?”
“…Not like that.”
Park Da-young closed her eyes for a moment and rolled her head, but soon recalled the information she had seen in room 12.
“I thought he said there was an employee around here. “It wasn’t written exactly like that, but it was the nuance… Since you said there was an employee here, wouldn’t we be able to find it too?”
“It doesn’t seem to be there to the naked eye right now, but it may be because it’s so dark here. “Right now, I can’t see anything except a small pond over there.”
“…Surely there are no set working hours for employees?”
“I guess it’s not impossible.”
Jeong Eun-woo continued speaking in a calm, weak voice as if he understood.
“This was my first time coming to the aquarium, and I didn’t really want to experience it, so I passed by it… but I remember the staff member managing the experience corner stopping the kids, saying, ‘I’ll stop here because the fish can get upset.’”
“…Is this the break time?”
“I think it’s possible, but it could just be that they’re hiding in a place that’s hard to find, so let’s look around a bit. In any case, it will take time for the group to arrive from the other entrance.”
“….”
Park Da-young smiled bitterly and nodded.
“…Yes, that would be better.”
Please, Jung In-ho’s anger towards the uncle who abandoned him a long time ago should not be so great.
Although he was somewhat pathetic, Jeong In-ho was a calm and rational person. However, the hidden world had a tendency to exaggerate people’s negative emotions, so I couldn’t feel at ease.
‘No matter how much financial support I provided, there’s no way the guardian would be happy if he left without a word…’
Park Da-young, who was thinking that, froze at the thought that came to her right after that.
“….”
As far as she knew, the place where Jeong In-ho was currently living was a small studio. Did you say that you always lack sleep because you are so far away from work?
Anyway, it didn’t seem like a particularly affluent environment.
“…Didn’t you say that you left the house in the name of Mr. Jeong In-ho?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“But I’m currently living in a studio apartment.”
“It looks like they moved for money.”
“Oh, I see… I’m moving…”
I guess they really only gave me a house and left.
‘If I had to sell the house I lived in with my former guardian and move to a studio apartment in a poor environment, I guess I would have been in a bit of trouble in the first place…. I might not have been able to sell the house I disposed of at such a high price….’ Jeong In-ho, who just became an adult
, Even if the house was in his name, how good of a price could he have sold it for? There was no way the businessmen who were trying to make money off of someone who was just starting out in society would have left him alone as an orphan.
Park Da-young decided to understand even if Jung In-ho grabbed Jung Eun-woo by the collar.
“I’m not really the kind of person who just feels sorry for someone… Why am I like this today?”
“Do you feel sorry for Inho?”
“It’s a bit like that.”
The situation was not so prosperous and peaceful that anyone could pity me, but I couldn’t deny that Jeong In-ho’s life was turbulent.
‘I need to be a little less harsh from now on.’
Now, even if Jung In-ho behaves pathetically, Park Da-young seems to be able to understand.
In her opinion, Jung In-ho has a slightly different way of thinking from ordinary people. He felt like he was a bit similar to Song In-myeong or Choi Min-hong, but the more important things were probably the adults around him who would guide him.
However, his parents abandoned Jeong In-ho, and the person who came forward as his next guardian was a screw-up like Jeong Eun-woo…
‘Wasn’t it a miracle that he grew up that diligently? At least that guy is a person who has some degree of self-objectification. There wouldn’t have been anyone around to tell me, but that’s amazing.’
It wasn’t an idea that Park Da-young, a high school student, would think of.
“…Anyway, shall we take a look?”
Jung Eun-woo said after looking around at Park Da-young’s words.
“You’d better move carefully. Sounds like something big and wet moving around can be heard everywhere. “It’s probably a big monster, but if it’s perceived as prey, it’ll be a pain in the ass.”
“Ah ah… that….”
It was expected that it was probably the ‘living slime’ that Song In-myeong had mentioned.
“It looks like a monster I know. You know that slime monster I was talking about on the way here. “Do you remember I said it looked like a blob fish?”
“I remember. “I think you’re talking about a monster that seems to have no other senses and relies only on sight. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that one. It looks like he was outside, not in the water. “I thought there were monsters inside the pond, so I thought they meant the blob fish, but I guess not.”
In the last episode, Song In-myeong whined that he was chased like a dog because he made eye contact with that monster, but in this episode, Park Da-young didn’t know much about that ‘living slime’.
Eunwoo Jeong asked as if he was surprised.
“Have you never met student Park Da-young in person?”
“Yes, not really. “The feeding experience corner was so dark that it was difficult to see the monsters, and more than anything, Song In-myeong told us to shut up so as not to attract the monster’s attention… so we passed by really quietly.”
“I guess you were lucky you weren’t hurt.”
“So I don’t know anything about how the corners work here. Since you have to get your certification by going into the water, I thought that such threatening monsters would naturally be in the water, but why do they come outside and crawl around?”
“I see…”
Jeong Eun-woo laughed softly, but Park Da-young got goosebumps at the sight of him finding something amusing.
“Why why… why are you smiling?”
“I’m sorry if I startled you. “I just thought it was a very interesting world.”
“Oh, it’s fun.”
“Isn’t that right?”
Jeong Eun-woo, who suppressed his laughter and became calm, continued speaking.
“The blob fish we commonly know is said to have been dragged to the surface and disfigured. I thought that if the motif of the monsters that Park Da-young and writer Song In-myeong know are really blob fish, then it really explains why they come out of the water and move around.”
“…Wait a minute then…”
Park Da-young asked, looking pale.
“Are you saying there’s an unaltered blob fish in that water?”
(Continued in the next part)
