Episode 526
For Jeong In-ho, the only protector was his uncle.
It’s not a joke, even after Jung In-ho was adopted by his uncle, I didn’t know his name until his first year of middle school.
It’s not that my uncle hid it, but he didn’t talk about himself much, and it was awkward for Jeong In-ho to ask, ‘So what’s your name?’ Jeong In-ho remembers that their relationship was that awkward.
Just uncle. Guardians who must contact parents whenever they need to be called. Sometimes he acted like a screw was missing, but no matter what, he helped me when I had a problem.
“….”
The person who abandoned me as soon as I graduated.
The man was walking from an unimaginable place with an unimaginable appearance.
“You are here. “Could it be that the reason you came out instead of hiding was to meet other survivors?”
“Uh, that’s uh…”
“I’m not criticizing you, but you’d better be careful because monsters are everywhere.”
At the man’s words, Park Da-young broke into a cold sweat and looked at me. Just from her reaction, I could tell what was going on.
The person who was said to be the secretary of this party was that person.
Jeong In-ho slowly turned his head and looked at Park Da-young again.
“…Dayoung?”
“….”
“…Yeah, you probably have nothing to say either.”
Park Da-young closed her eyes tightly and hid behind Seo Jang-hwa with a face that said, ‘What kind of situation is this?’ Her reaction was completely understandable. If I were in the same situation, I would have hid.
However, Jeong In-ho, the person involved, could not hide like Park Da-young….
“….”
Jeong In-ho, who had been choosing his words for a while, adjusted his grip on the iron bar and opened his mouth.
“…I didn’t know that the person who was said to be the secretary of this party was my uncle.”
Seo Jang-hwa, who had finally realized the situation, could be seen screaming silently, but he had no intention of paying any attention to that point. All of Jeong In-ho’s nerves soon turned to his uncle, Jeong Eun-woo.
Even though Jung Eun-woo was the first to make eye contact with Jung In-ho, he prioritized ensuring the safety of Park Da-young, a stranger, over his niece whom he had not seen in a long time. I felt a little terrible.
“There are a lot of things I want to ask… Do you remember me?”
“Ahaha….”
Jeong Eun-woo smiled, rolling his eyes softly.
“I must have forgotten you.”
It’s a friendly tone.
What was in those eyes was clear affection, faint playfulness, and trust in me. That was the gaze I had always received since I was picked up by Eunwoo Jeong as a child.
But that’s not the way you’re looking at me right now.
“…Why and how….”
I want to ask how that is possible.
“…I…”
Do you know how I lived after you left? Do you even know?
But I felt even more angry because I felt like I knew. For some reason, Jung Eun-woo seemed to know.
“….”
I was speechless.
“Are you angry?”
“…I don’t know what to say. “It’s so unrealistic and sudden…”
“That’s possible.”
“So uncle, please talk to me. “How should I accept this situation now?”
Jeong In-ho’s voice was not high, but it was not calm either. Even though I knew that the end of my voice was shaking unsightly, I couldn’t hide it.
“Why why why why now… here… treating me like this….”
What should I say?
What should I say? So this… all these things… how….
“….”
“You seem very confused.”
Don’t talk like you’re having fun like that.
Jeong In-ho’s lips trembled and twisted again.
“I thought my uncle would still be a good person.”
“How did you come up with such a thought?”
“Do you know what kind of person my uncle was to me back then? They were my parents, my teachers, my guides who told me what to do… Why did you abandon me like that? Was I by any chance like a puppy? “In today’s world, people say you shouldn’t carelessly adopt and abandon dogs, but why did you abandon me like that?”
“I think you misunderstand, but I never abandoned you.”
Jeong Eun-woo said with a friendly face, as if he truly thought so.
“It’s just that you hated me.”
“….”
“You hated it because you felt like you were turning into a monster when we were together.”
Terribly sweet.
I feel nauseous.
“yes?”
Jeong In-ho felt like crying a little.
‘Why does this happen to me?’
I couldn’t figure out where it all started and how far it went.
The secretary of this party, whom I vaguely thought of as an asshole, was my uncle when I was young, and that uncle was the one who abandoned me without notice as soon as I became an adult.
Nevertheless, Jeong In-ho could not hate Jeong Eun-woo.
Because my uncle was a good person. Wasn’t he the person who helped me, helped me, and protected me for a while when I was being treated like a monster?
Even though I resented him for disappearing without saying a word, I secretly thought that there must be a reason for that… and that’s how I lived.
“…If you do this… If you do this, I will…”
“I’m listening.”
“What on earth will become of me?”
I wanted to cry so much.
“Are you trying to tell me that I was stupid for trusting you?”
But it was not a situation where I could cry.
Because we weren’t the only ones here.
Park Da-young, who was still a student, Seo Jang-hwa, who had nothing to do with my situation, monsters who could eat us at any time, Song In-myeong and the crazy Lee Jae-heon in the distance… Anyway, there were too many.
Now that Jeong In-ho is an adult, he needs permission to cry. I could only cry if whoever it was gave me permission. Especially in front of adults who betrayed me when I was young.
“What kind of reaction did you expect from me?”
What came out instead of crying was a reprimand, and Jung Eun-woo welcomed even that kindly.
“Such a reaction.”
“….”
“I was looking forward to this.”
There seemed to be no lies in the affection evident in the tone of speech.
“You’ve become a human being, Inho.”
Otherwise, there is no way such a thing would come out….
“I was very worried. You were left alone after your older brother and wife died, and you were too young to become independent. So I reaped the benefits, but as you know, I have many shortcomings, so I always thought I couldn’t play the role of a proper parent.”
“…That doesn’t mean…”
“I bought books and listened to advice about what a good parent is, but I still couldn’t overcome this natural aspect. “Not only does it provide food, clothing, and shelter, but it also helps you gain countless experiences, helps you learn social relationships, teaches you to be considerate, and shows you love… But how can I teach you what I don’t know?”
“….”
“You were right. You told me this when you were in middle school. We are so different from other people. It’s like a monster. It’s strange. I was fine with it the way it was, but it seemed like you wanted to become what is commonly called a good person. “It was too difficult for me.”
Jeong In-ho felt his stomach churn.
“Simply going to an art museum, showing a movie, going to the zoo, or reading a book didn’t seem to be enough.”
What Jeong Eun-woo said was true.
When I entered middle school, I clearly felt that Jeong In-ho and my uncle were different from other people. However, even though Jung Eun-woo knew it, he was hardly aware of it or tried to hide it, and Jung In-ho acknowledged that he and my only guardian were of the same class.
At the same time, I didn’t want to become like Jung Eun-woo. Jung Eun-woo, who behaves like a machine with a missing screw, may be a good supporter, but he cannot be said to be a good adult. In-ho Jeong wanted to become a better person than that. So, there were a few times when I awkwardly confessed my true feelings to my young heart.
“So I left you alone.”
But that didn’t mean abandon me.
“….”
Jeong In-ho just wanted to improve. Rather than being left alone in the world without even a short notice….
“…I don’t understand.”
Did Jung In-ho think that if he separated from Jung Eun-woo and stayed alone, if he could get out of Jung Eun-woo’s sphere of influence, he could at least become a better person than Jung Eun-woo?
really?
“I don’t know what you were thinking.”
“But you did really well. See, now you are angry at me for becoming the good person you so desperately wanted to be. “This is an achievement we wouldn’t have achieved if we had stayed together.”
“I do not understand.”
“I never expected that you could get to the point where you would get angry at me…”
Jung Eun-woo still has a gentle face.
“great job.”
“I understand….”
“Please try harder in the future.”
“….”
“That’s how you become a person.”
It was so terrible that all of that was said out of genuine consideration for me.
“….”
Because it was so terrible.
Jeong In-ho laughed.
“I’m going crazy…”
He then said.
“…I was a human from the beginning, Jeong Eun-woo.”
From now on, that bastard is no longer my uncle.
Bring back the memories, you fucking bastard.
* * *
“That’s strange.”
Jaeheon Lee tilted his head.
“Why do I hate it? “I don’t mean to hurt you.”
“….”
“Dahun, you should listen to what Mr. Uncle says… I think you are misunderstanding something, but it doesn’t hurt at all.”
“….”
“You don’t like it? Well, I’m trying to save you, but don’t just refuse. Think about it a little more. Why do I hate it so much? huh?”
He stood in front of the large water tank at the concert hall and communicated with Park Da-hoon, who was trapped in a glass box, using hand and foot gestures. Ever since the two dolls that looked exactly like them came out of the exchange product box that Song In-myeong brought out, Park Da-hoon had been in a state of blank expression.
Lee Jae-heon was in trouble because he didn’t listen to me at all and just refused.
“Why are you like that…”
Song In-myeong smiled bitterly at his expression of complete incomprehension.
“I don’t know why it’s like that.”
“Why is our human name like that?”
“So I don’t know why this is happening…”
In his arms were crumpled dolls that resembled Lee Jae-heon and Park Da-hoon.
Lee Jae-heon sneakily approached and stretched out his hand to snatch the doll from Song In-myeong’s arms, but Song In-myeong blocked it with an impregnable defense. Because Lee Jae-heon only had one hand, defense was easy.
“Where, where, where, where are you going to take it again? Hey, put that hand down, right? What should I do, huh? What should I do? Oh, don’t you go away? Aren’t you going? Then stop there because I’m going to jump. okay?”
“I don’t understand why I’m doing this….”
“If you don’t understand, please just do whatever you want.”
“Aren’t you all so negative when you don’t even know what I’m going to do with the doll?”
“Don’t act like you’re comforting a child…! Even if you don’t know what you’re going to do in the first place, you’ll do something fucking stupid!”
Song In-myeong was moved to tears.
“Oh fuck, I don’t want to see you die!!”
Yes, I’m admitting it now, but Song In-myeong really hated seeing Lee Jae-heon die.
Song In-myeong cried and shouted with a bright red face.
“I didn’t want to say anything because I felt like a fucking dog and it was embarrassing…! Oh, I really don’t like it! “I can’t help it because I’m not your chick, but there are chicks all over the place who don’t want to see you die, so why do you keep trying to kill me…!”
“Inmyeong, you are kind.”
“You’re not nice, damn it! Fuck, fuck, I’m not being nice, so get the hell away! My uncle doesn’t tell me I’m a good person?! “Ebebebebebebe!!”
“Huh, why is our human name like this all of a sudden?”
“I never thought the day would come when I would say something like this, but man, you really need to make some sacrifices! I don’t know what to do with the doll, but just by looking at it, you can see the angle, the sacrifice angle! “You shouldn’t build something like that!”
To put it bluntly, that’s true. Lee Jae-heon’s death, which we heard about in the last episode, had a bigger shock to Song In-myeong than expected. It really upset me that he died so miserably before I even saw his face.
What did they say…? Even now, my hands flew off, something strange appeared on my neck, so I scratched it and it bled, my ankles and other places were torn, and my neck was completely cut off while I was in shambles. It was a truly dog-like and disgusting death.
“Of course, I think your sacrificial spirit is truly outrageous…!”
“to do?”
“I’m human too?! I sometimes seem to forget, but serial killers are people too?! “I’m a human too, so you know I’d be hurt if a close friend dies or gets hurt?!”
“you?”
“…Okay, honestly, I’m a little embarrassed because it’s the first time I’ve become this close to someone like you, but who wants to see someone they’re close to hurt and get hurt?”
The reason Song In-myeong started taking interest in Lee Jae-heon was because of his obvious greed for materials.
The day I first encountered the secret world, the theme of the work that Song In-myeong was thinking about was ‘sacrifice’, and following Kim Yeon-woo, Lee Jae-heon and Munsan-gun had so many great materials that I was drooling. That was true. I admit it.
“But do you know how long we’ve been together like this?! Do you know what conspiracy we have been in together?!”
Now Song In-myeong could no longer see Lee Jae-heon as material. Jaeheon Lee was human. This means that he was a close man who communicated with each other and built a relationship of understanding.
Although Lee Jae-heon seems to hate the serial killer Song In-myeong, he was worried that everything would work out somehow in the future…
“Okay… okay… how to use this doll. “How do you use it?”
In response to Song In-myeong’s awkward question, trying to suppress his emotions, Lee Jae-heon smiled brightly and said,
“I think it’s probably a way to swap seats.”
“…Swap seats?”
“I figured it out because the instructions for use popped into my head as soon as I opened the box, but it seems like if you hold the other person’s doll and kill it at the same time, their places will be swapped.”
“….”
“If you don’t understand the idea of killing a doll, try listening to the body. “You will hear the heartbeat.”
Song In-myeong looked at me with a straight face.
“So you want to switch places with Park Da-hoon? Uncle?”
“Do you understand now?”
“Fuck you.”
Song In-myeong jumped out holding a doll.
And he was caught within 5 minutes.
Jaeheon Lee was strong.
(Continued in the next part)
