Episode 55
It was a very unexpected meeting for both the detective and Lee Jae-heon himself, but he was satisfied in his own way. To be more precise, it was closer to finding happiness among misfortunes.
‘The position is roughly determined.’
From the beginning, Lee Jae-heon was the protagonist’s senior advisor. Although he was taken aback by the unexpected encounter, if we were to consider the novel as a whole, the detective’s first impression of Lee Jae-heon would have been that of a ‘useful psychopath with a story’. For a hastily created image, it wasn’t quite bad.
Of course, I was upset that my original plan had gone wrong.
‘If possible, I tried to build my image in a more relaxed situation as planned…’
The situation changed in an instant.
In any case, even though it ended in a way that wasn’t the worst, it didn’t mean there wasn’t some irritation or anxiety about it. Given Lee Jae-heon’s personality, he was not happy with unexpected variables, and he didn’t know what kind of causal relationship would arise as a result. I was told that what had already happened could not be helped, but I was worried.
Lee Jae-heon, who was walking while lighting his path with a lighter, looked down at his feet.
“….”
As expected, the condition was not very good.
‘…Is it actually harder to get past this mess…?’
It may have been strange in my past life, but in many ways, people in this world were very gentle. I didn’t think they, who were sensitive to the sight of blood, would just sit there and see the sight of him with his legs almost gone. Of course, if it had been my previous life, there is a high chance that I would have passed by pretending not to see it or just thrown out words of encouragement and jumped out.
Lee Jae-heon, who was turning his numb feet here and there, sighed at the feel of the damp cloth, as if blood was flowing again, and started walking again. I had no choice but to limp, but the speed itself wasn’t that slow.
And when I saw the light of the bonfire and turned off the lighter I was holding,
“….”
“….”
I made eye contact with a sturdy 18-year-old student.
The puffy eyes that don’t look like they just woke up and the awkward posture that looks like they were trying to get up. As Lee Jae-heon looked at him at a loss for words for a moment, Park Da-hoon spoke in an awkward voice.
“…Hello….”
“…Not hello….”
I asked in bewilderment.
“Why are you awake…?”
Actually, I was embarrassed.
‘I was relieved because I didn’t know I would wake up.’
If I had known that someone would wake up, I wouldn’t have taken the medicine so hard. In my haste, I would have just made up my mind and run away, even if they chased me from behind.
But if we look at reality, the current time is approximately 4 am. Middle and high school students covering themselves with blankets and using their cell phones should have gone to sleep, looking forward to the next day. This is especially true for student Park Da-hoon, who is extremely tired after walking on hard floors and picking up firewood all day.
After thinking that far, Jaeheon Lee was soon able to recall one fact.
“….”
Park Da-hoon had mild insomnia.
“I can’t sleep. “I tried to sit down for a moment, but…you couldn’t see me.”
“…I also took a short walk.”
Saying that, Lee Jae-heon pushed Park Da-hoon’s shoulder, who stood up awkwardly, and made him sit down. Then, I also took a seat next to him and glanced at the silently flickering bonfire.
After checking on the group, including the main characters Park Da-young, Yoon Garam, and Ha Seong-yoon, I quickly sighed. Fortunately, no one else woke up.
‘That means there’s plenty of room to work.’
Lee Jae-heon wiped the corner of his mouth once and spoke softly.
“Are you anxious?”
“…What?”
“Just whatever.”
Da-hoon Park was a victim of domestic violence.
I was not specifically talking about harsh actions such as having one’s head held in or being locked in solitary confinement and starving. However, he was completely ignored by his parents and looked at with subtle contempt, and although he was within the boundaries of the community, he was always located at the edge or just outside it.
The funny thing is that his older sister, Park Da-young, received the exact opposite treatment.
‘Still, my older sister has common sense and takes care of the child, but…’
How can a chick who has lived for at most one more year be able to perfectly protect her younger sibling?
They say there is no parent in the world who can beat their child, but on the contrary, there is no child who can beat their parents. Park Da-young, an immature chick, loves her younger brother, but her parents couldn’t deny it either. They were too sweet, sweet, and scary to completely shake off.
Miraculously, the relationship between the siblings is not bad, but the conflict gets worse towards the end.
‘In the first place, from the younger brother’s point of view, it is impossible for him not to feel disappointed with his older sister.’
And Lee Jae-heon had no intention of changing the kids’ mentality like that.
“Originally, everyone has at least one thing they’re anxious about.”
He wanted his voice to sound as indifferent as possible.
The mental care of the main characters, the Park siblings, was an essential element for the healthy mental build-up of the main characters. I was probably going to get caught for a walk at night anyway, so I thought it might be okay to keep quiet, provide care, and have small conversations.
He continued speaking without taking his eyes off the bonfire.
“it’s hard?”
“Oh no….”
“You’re talking nonsense. If it’s hard, it’s hard. What else is it that isn’t hard?”
“….”
Park Da-hoon pursed his lips. In fact, it was true that it was difficult to answer the question ‘Is it difficult?’ as a person who was unilaterally protected.
‘I might be criticized for being an old man.’
However, I found that sweet words were counterproductive to these guys.
“Still, work hard.”
“….”
“Then everyone will protect you.”
The purpose of these siblings was to be protected anyway.
I instinctively felt that this world was dangerous. So I went with the adults who seemed strong. Among them, this brother and sister needed someone who would completely give their heart to them and protect them from getting sick.
Judging from the reaction after the regression, the adult who won the prize was probably Manager Lee Jae-heon…
‘He must have thought it was dangerous.’
Judging by what he does, he is a person who may die at any moment, so we realized that even if we tried to make him our shield, it would be useless in an instant. So little by little, the conversation among the group began to decrease.
If he was weak, it was a calculation, and if he was wise, it was a wise decision, so Lee Jae-heon was quite satisfied. Is it common for people of that age to be so clever and intelligent?
However, Park Da-hoon’s face turned a little white at his words.
“Why did you get stabbed? “I thought you didn’t know?”
“…That…”
“That’s enough. “I’m not trying to apologize or scold you.”
“I’m sorry….”
“I said it was done?”
Hold.
I grabbed the top of his head and turned his head to meet his gaze. Fortunately, Park Da-hoon did not seem to feel that Lee Jae-heon’s actions were violent, as there was only mild surprise and awkwardness in his eyes.
“Do I look angry?”
“….”
“Let me tell you, it’s a misunderstanding, I’m smart and I really like it.”
At that moment,
“…are you listening?”
Student Dahoon Park’s face bloomed brightly.
Of course this was really strange. Lee Jae-heon has never offered warm comfort to this chick of 18 years, and what he just said was too cynical to be considered friendly. When viewed by the standards of this world, the tone seemed to be judging the value of an object.
However, because it was a measure of ‘value’, Park Da-hoon must have felt relieved.
“…of course.”
Because I have lived my whole life doubtful of its value.
Lee Jae-heon laughed quietly and quietly on the outside, but inside he was happy.
‘This is why lack of affection is easy to deal with.’
Lee Jae-heon was not a trash who abused minors for efficiency and left them in a state of lack of affection, but he was a trash who knew how to handle immature things in any form as he pleased. This was even more so because I had read the novel and knew the strategy to some extent.
In fact, if the older sister had been awake, she might have noticed something strange, but the target was a poor chick who had been paying attention ever since she was born. I was sure that no matter how clever he was, he would not be able to easily escape from the hidden world as long as his mental power was shaken.
‘Besides, if my younger brother comes over like this, I will be able to catch Park Da-young quickly.’
Even on my sister’s side, she wasn’t in a very normal state.
“…It may sound a little strange, but…”
He removed the hand that was gently holding the other person’s head.
In that case, Jaeheon Lee was able to acquire two limbs with a fairly good sense of humor. Things that originally lacked affection like this tended to become more blind once they got a taste of it.
“I like people who are clever like this. Moderately kind and moderately clever… well, I don’t like to see such a young person already turning his head.”
“…Well…”
“That doesn’t mean I hate you guys, so don’t think it’s strange.”
At this point, I needed to tell at least an emotional story that fits the common sense of today’s life. Lee Jae-heon continued speaking while looking at the quiet bonfire under the pitch-black night sky.
“You guys….”
“….”
“…You should have lived a little more comfortably.”
It was such a sad thing.
“What do people in school uniforms think?”
These poor students should have had a more peaceful and happy daily life. Lee Jae-heon, who had already been treated harshly by the underworld once, thought so.
He raised his tone again as if to brighten the mood.
“Anyway, I mean… right.”
“….”
“At least among these people, there’s no one who’ll give a damn about sucking on your honey. There’s no need to be scared because they’re all hot guys? I know these people because they worked for me, but they are all idiots. “You mean you can’t catch a single spider?”
“…I’m a bit of a spider too…”
“Children are originally protected by adults.”
“….”
Park Da-hoon’s eyes twinkled slightly, but he opened his mouth, pretending not to notice.
“It’s strange that you’re acting like you’re being protected.”
“…But…”
“So work hard.”
He speaks calmly as if it is no big deal.
“The things that should be protected even if you stay still are crawling and working, so who will abandon you?”
“….”
“If you’re worried, go to work. Pick up firewood and help make a fire. “If you have some free time, follow President Yoon and fetch some water… or something like that.”
“…yes.”
“But don’t get hurt. You know what I mean? Later, if someone asks you if they are exploiting you, you must never mention my name.”
“yes.”
“Anyway, you’ve had a lot of trouble.”
At those words, the 18-year-old’s shoulders slightly slumped.
Park Da-hoon, depicted in the novel, was weak to this kind of empathetic consolation. However, that doesn’t mean he felt comforted by anyone, and he seemed quite vulnerable to warm words from people he thought were ‘adults he could rely on’ to some extent.
Moreover, if you just react by saying, ‘Oh my gosh, you worked hard, take a break, it must be really hard,’ problems arise. Since he is the type of character who receives comfort but takes on more debt than that, Lee Jae-heon paved the way for the 18-year-old chick to not feel burdened by telling her to work hard.
‘Of course, if I go later, I’ll get some criticism for asking the kids to do their work.’
He snorted inwardly.
Jaeheon Lee’s personality is such that he should be lucky if he doesn’t hit kids on the back of the head. The moment he hears something like that, he’s out. Those friends would be permanently expelled from Lee Jae-heon’s Happy Survival Group to be formed in the future.
Swallowing all those thoughts behind him, Lee Jae-heon maintained his expression.
“Don’t worry too much. “I will somehow…”
“…”
“I will protect you.”
Honestly, it was quite cringe-inducing.
‘Emotions at dawn are crazy.’
How did I end up doing such a clown thing?
At this point, I was able to hit the hook, but I couldn’t do something stupid like unraveling the thread while a big fish was being lured in. This is because the usefulness of Park Da-hoon, one of the main characters in the novel, was endless.
And the reason wasn’t just because of Park Da-hoon.
‘How do I know which of these people will be awake?’
I sighed and couldn’t breathe.
The main character, who was already so disgusting that I went crazy, was a problem, but the rest of the guys who happened to be saved were just as disgusting. In particular, he didn’t know how a half-psychotic person like Dr. Ha Seong-yoon would be a variable to him.
‘I hope at least one of those guys stays awake.’
Just a little while ago, Lee Jae-heon was openly gaslighting 18-year-old students, and anyone with enough common sense would have thought at least once, ‘What is that bastard doing to these innocent kids?’ In that case, Lee Jae-heon had no choice but to become a high-ranking criminal due to timing.
However, if those kinds of emotional and paternalistic comments were made later, the gaslighting that had occurred before would automatically lose its form. Since I had a pre-existing belief that I wasn’t being honest, I guess I may have said something out of shame. It was obvious even without looking.
Exhausted from the vague feeling of fatigue, Jaeheon Lee slowly got up from his seat.
“Anyway, get up slowly. There’s nothing I can do if I can’t sleep, but…”
“…Uncle.”
“…why.”
Why does my spine hurt?
When I looked back at Park Da-hoon with a strange feeling, the 18-year-old chick faced him with a very desperate gaze. Even though he didn’t do anything, he looked like he was already saying he was sorry.
“No… you will die.”
“….”
Returning favor with vengeance?
‘…They say kids these days are scary, but they’re really going crazy.’
For a moment, Jaeheon Lee felt dizzy and wiped the corner of his mouth.
I’m already having a headache as to how I should tell the story about the hemoptysis that was shown in front of the detective, but there was no way I could like the chick who was trying to block death, which was one of the escape routes.
There is even a possibility that someone is awake and secretly listening right now….
“….”
After a moment of contemplation, Lee Jae-heon stretched out his hand and touched Park Da-hoon’s head.
After that clumsy petting.
“….”
“….”
There was silence.
‘No matter how I answer, I’ll be stuck.’
If you say you won’t die, you will waste time with unnecessary resentment when you need his death later. If you say you’re going to die, let alone being branded a mentally ill person, you could lose all the mental energy you’ve built up.
In that case, it was better to maintain an ambiguous attitude, neither positive nor negative.
“…tight.”
“….”
“Don’t think about the headache.”
After saying those words, Lee Jae-heon lay down a little away. His legs were sore that he almost collapsed, but based on his past life experience, he didn’t make a loud noise.
The end of Park Da-hoon’s gaze as he looks at him is
“…yes.”
…It was touching the front of my dark shirt.
It’s like there’s a lot of blood stuck to it.
