Episode 72 Perhaps
it was because he already had experience catching bugs right after his regression, or because of his memories before his regression, Assistant Manager Jeong caught the bug faster than expected. It was a bloody caterpillar that was expected to be used as bait for a green algae monster.
It was a caterpillar with white skin and a fairly chubby body, and if you remember the description in the novel, you would probably have to cut it open to see if it contained blood. It wasn’t noticeable on the outside, but there was a faint smell of blood.
Jaeheon Lee thought to himself as he rolled it in his palm.
‘I think this was probably almost like a cheat for bait.’
I know that most of the main characters in the novel used these caterpillars when hunting, but I also thought that there was no way monsters that tear people to pieces would not react to the smell of blood. Even ordinary fish react sensitively to blood, but that’s if it’s something from the other world.
As he walked to a small lake with some of his group members, Lee Jae-heon looked at Employee Kwon next to him and smiled.
“I guess you’re very hungry, Employee Kwon?”
“…Stop teasing me, please….”
“Oh my gosh, I really wanted to eat meat like this, huh? Ugh, I was scared because it was evening. Ujjujju? “How old is our Yeonhee?”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…..” She
really seems like a poor chick.
In the end, Employee Kwon burst into tears and hugged Manager Kang as the bullying was on a different level in many ways than the previous bullying, and Kang Min-ah hugged her with a look of pity. It had been a few days since they had known each other, and they seemed to have become quite close.
Director Kang, who had suddenly become caught between the victim and the assailant, looked at them in turn, then hesitated and cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Stop teasing Yeonhee, manager…”
“Ah, when did you say I was teasing you? “Are you ashamed of being hungry?”
“I’m embarrassed, I’m embarrassed!”
“Oh yeah? “So I didn’t know that?”
Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho asked with a strange smile on his strangely shameless face.
“Sometimes, it seems like the manager takes pleasure in torturing us.”
“….”
“It’s just that.”
“…Why is it so harsh when you say it?”
The intensity was such that it wouldn’t be strange even if this guy was the main character of a horror thriller. It wasn’t a joke, it was a smooth tone and straight smile that made you really need to be careful on the road at night.
Assistant Manager Jeong answered with a sincere smile.
“Wouldn’t that mean that there are a lot of things that are stabbing you?”
“If I say I don’t know, am I going to get stabbed in the back of the head?”
“I always wondered if that would happen someday.”
“Just curse.”
When Lee Jae-heon spoke with a frown, Jeong In-ho closed his mouth for a moment, then rolled his eyes and smiled.
“well.”
“….”
The tone was so soft that the momentary pause was insignificant.
Lee Jae-heon clicked his tongue at the disgusting black gaze.
‘There are so many unnecessary doubts.’
The current Jung In-ho seemed to be trying to find out Lee Jae-heon’s true intentions.
In fact, Lee Jae-heon once intentionally caused a conflict in order to get away from the group. Deputy Jeong quickly realized this and blocked the escape route, which ended in an embarrassing situation for both parties, but Jeong In-ho, who was once again in a similar crisis, must have been in a complicated state of mind.
Is this a crack that Manager Lee Jae-heon intended or did he do something unexpected? In the former case, the protagonist had to persuade Manager Lee Jae-heon, and in the latter case, he also had to pretend not to know and try to lighten the mood.
Lee Jae-heon, who was looking at Assistant Manager Jeong, raised his eyebrows calmly and then quickly looked away.
‘You have to shovel properly too.’
In any case, as long as the most fundamental problem with ‘Director Jae-heon Lee’ had not been resolved, it was not something that could be easily dismissed. There was no way the protagonist didn’t know that.
However, if you were determined to solve the problem that was right in front of you, you would have wondered what Director Lee Jae-heon’s true intentions were. If he really decides to get away from the group, there will also be some sense of deprivation that the protagonist will feel.
“But this is my first time moving around in the evening like this, will it be okay?”
“So, you made a torch using the handkerchief that Chief Kang gave you. “The lighter was a bit of a sacrifice, though.”
“I was surprised that it was more serious than I expected.”
However, in the current situation, there was a high possibility that it would be considered an unintentional act. Otherwise, you would think that there would be no way for you to get along with your group like this without any hesitation.
“…As Assistant Manager Jeong said, this is the first time I’ve moved around in the evening like this. “It has to be serious.”
“I don’t want to go down a path that is too dangerous. The manager also just woke up today. If you hadn’t insisted so strongly, everyone would have stopped you from moving…”
“Shouldn’t you try it once? Monsters and beasts don’t seem to be around much these days… I was wondering when I would go there if not now.”
“I understand what you mean.”
The protagonist tried to get the promise he wanted by blocking Lee Jae-heon’s retreat, and Lee Jae-heon set off a mine out of nowhere. In the end, the sharp gaze that should have been directed at Jung In-ho disappeared, but it ended up being a loss as the matter grew bigger.
However, after that, Director Lee Jae-heon treated the group the same way he had so far. That was one of the reasons for making fun of employee Kwon Yeon-hee, and even if this action felt sudden, one would think, ‘Director Jae-heon Lee, who felt that the mood in the group was calming, deliberately played a joke.’
It wasn’t that difficult as I had the image and effort I had built up until now.
“That manager. “The monsters kept quiet on purpose… so they won’t attack all at once, right?”
Jaeheon Lee blinked at Kang Minah’s question.
“That could be possible.”
“….”
“I’m just kidding. Manager Kang also has a short temper.”
“…I guess the manager really enjoys torturing us…”
At those words, Lee Jae-heon had an excessive playfulness written on his face.
“Well, to be honest, it’s not wrong.”
“…yes?”
“No, strangely enough. “It really warms my heart when I see you suffering.”
“Oh.”
Some people who worked next to Director Lee Jae-heon trembled.
Even the disgusting main character froze while smiling, which Jaeheon Lee found truly refreshing. At this point, there was no need to act.
“Especially you, Assistant Manager Jeong. “You, I mean you.”
“…Me? Why do I…”
“Why does the word come out? “I guess you don’t even remember how you looked at people pitifully while arguing over everything, right?”
“….”
Assistant Manager Jeong, who paused for a moment, answered with a smile on his face again.
“Then why don’t you be nice to me?”
“why me?”
“He was such a mean person.”
“I’m a good person. What’s wrong with me? “I haven’t really experienced the bitter taste yet.”
“Ahaha…”
Lee Jae-heon turned his head as he laughed in a weak voice. I don’t know where the thoughts came from, but I was reluctant to deal with those disgusting gazes on my own.
He looked at Manager Kang Min-ah and asked.
“Are we almost there?”
“Yes… yes, that’s right. “You just have to cross the bridge here.”
“Oh, I see.”
Jaeheon Lee looked at employee Yeonhee Kwon, who was still clinging to Director Kang.
“It’s really dark now… Just put the fish trap in and go right away.”
“….”
Chicks.
Lee Jae-heon, who could sense a slight trauma in the sight of a guy who liked to cling to people holding on to the hem of his clothes, but skillfully pretended not to notice that, opened his mouth as he looked at the sight beyond the bridge.
The intention was clearly to divert attention.
“…This is another superb view.”
“yes yes?”
“Look over there.”
He pointed to a small lake.
“Isn’t this a scene from a movie?”
It was glowing in the dark. Just like the Milky Way.
‘…The genre is really fantasy.’
There were parts of the hidden world that made people immerse themselves in admiration.
When you see something so huge and majestic for the first time in your life, there are times when you are overwhelmed by the clamor of that existence that you cannot bear. And the underworld was a space dedicated to chipping away at people’s mental power in some way.
The small lake facing the starless sky of the other world seemed to contain a galaxy in the middle of the desert. The lake is filled with melted aurora, which can only be seen at the planet’s poles. Inside, pebbles that seem to have been carved from crystals and brought to life are laid out, and a haze spreads beautifully over them.
It was incomparably softer than the glow-in-the-dark lights they were used to seeing, and unlike the one created by human hands, it was so sacred that it felt like a heavy air that would have killed a drowning person. The air weighs on the lungs and heart.
In Lee Jae-heon’s world, this was commonly called murderous intent.
“….”
“….”
The group forgot what they were saying for a moment.
‘…Just because it’s beautiful doesn’t necessarily mean it’s favorable.’
Just as there are good and bad things in human thoughts, the hidden world that reflects them also had complex aspects. A small lake was also one of his examples.
Beauty beyond that level becomes an unbearable fear. Unseen mysteries become fear, and extremely unfamiliar experiences drive people crazy. There were few people who could easily escape the influence of the underworld, which destroyed the common sense of humans and filled its place with their own presence.
Of course, rare means that there are people like that.
“…Are there fish in a place like this?”
The main character was ‘that kind of person’.
‘…Kang Min-ah is also pretty good.’
Kang Min-ah, who glanced at me, suddenly came to her senses and wrapped her arms around Kwon Yeon-hee’s shoulders as if comforting her. Kwon Yeon-hee also quickly came to her senses at that worrying gesture.
“….”
It was definitely a capability that had never been seen before.
Jaeheon Lee let out a short sigh. Although he was said to be in better condition than his companions, he was nonetheless pretending to be affected by past difficult memories.
“The surface of the water keeps flowing.”
“It’s the same with trees. They shake without a trace of wind.”
“Sometimes air bubbles rise.”
“….”
“Do you see the water droplets bouncing over there?”
Assistant Manager Jeong took off his glasses and wiped his face, then nodded and continued speaking.
“I will come back.”
“Are you going alone?”
“I thought it would be better to finish quickly and come back.”
In terms of speed, it was a good decision.
‘Because everyone’s situation is shit.’
No matter how fast his recovery was, Lee Jae-heon was still in the condition of a patient.
‘The fact that I was able to come this far this time was just another loss due to my own will… It doesn’t mean that my behavior is normal.’
Since the patient woke up after three days of sleep, the group was extremely sensitive to Lee Jae-heon’s movements, but when he insisted strongly, they backed off. He seemed to have given up halfway because he couldn’t physically put him down and even if he tried to notice, it didn’t work… In conclusion, Lee Jae-heon was still a patient, so if he wanted to finish his work quickly and rest, it would have been better for Assistant Manager Jeong, who was the most energetic and mobile, to step in.
Jae-heon Lee, who was fixing his pipe, glanced at employee Kwon Yeon-hee, who was staring blankly at Assistant Manager Jeong walking towards the lake holding a healthy vine and a fish trap, and spoke in as natural a voice as possible.
“Employee Kwon.”
“….”
“Kwon Yeon-hee, are you ignoring what I said?”
“…Oh no, that’s not it….”
“It won’t hurt you.”
It was true.
‘The small lake is a neutral zone recognized by the protagonist.’
The same goes for the water snake monster that inhabits this place, as well as some monsters that come and go here. While I was here, I never saw a description of the main character being attacked in a major way. The small lake itself is just still.
However, speaking and seeing and hearing directly are different. Even in the world of previous lives, one of the most common mistakes chicks made was thinking that what they learned in the facility would be the same as what they learned in the field. People like that have to have their heads blown off every once in a while to come to their senses.
However, since the blown head cannot be recovered here, we decided to calm the chick down as much as possible. Considering it was like raising a child, it wasn’t that difficult.
He continued speaking in a quiet, if not soft, voice.
“Do you think the lake lying still will swallow you up? Or do you jump?”
“….”
“It’s okay, I won’t die. It doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t hurt and I’m not scared. “It’s convenient to think of it as dirty, pretty trash.”
“… Manager….”
the chick asked.
“Isn’t there anything you’re afraid of, Manager?”
A weak resentment towards something that cannot be understood.
“….”
Lee Jae-heon muttered inwardly after reading it.
‘…PTSD is rising.’
To be honest, it’s not that there’s nothing scary, it’s just that this world is so soft compared to my previous life that I’m not scared.
When I slowly rolled my eyes and checked, I saw the main character walking out from the lake. The sky is dark and the day is cold, so if you answer from this location, you will inevitably be heard by that disgusting thing. Jaeheon Lee pondered what answer he should give in the current situation.
What can I say to lead a probable flow? What kind of words should I say to satisfy both the supporting and leading roles? How can a play be successful?
And decided.
“…no.”
It wasn’t like he had anything to be afraid of.
‘It’s also true.’
I was afraid of water.
I was scared of my ankle being caught. I was scared of the windowless concrete room.
I was scared of the blood-curdling screams, the sound of my life cooling off, and the certainty that I would never be able to escape. I was scared of my throat burning with poison and the internal injuries that meant I had to spit out blood to breathe. Repeating life and life is scary, and the responsibility to stand at the center of it is scary.
I hate being sick. I don’t like situations where I have to kill or die. I hate it so much that something I knew has changed and cannot be returned, and it collapses and crumbles and becomes shapeless.
I didn’t intentionally block the words that naturally expressed my fear.
“There are so many scary things.”
“Then… why do you live like you’re not scared at all?”
“Because I have to make a living too.”
So when I first remembered my past life, I wanted to die.
I felt it instinctively.
“…You can’t really die just because you feel like you’re going to die.”
I felt like I couldn’t die.
I knew that even if I died hundreds or thousands of times in tens of thousands of ways, my life would ultimately continue in a terrible way. The world would never allow my death unless I did something.
“So…”
I heard the sound of approaching footsteps with my ears and stared at the chick looking at me with my eyes.
That’s what I said.
“I will help you.”
“….”
“As long as I can live.”
That’s how I acted.
