Episode 73 Lee Jae
-heon’s goal has always been wealth and fame.
It was like that when I first felt what life was like, and it was like that before that, and it was like that even before that. Looking at things like this, it seems like this bad personality was something he was born with.
If your personality is this bad, what will it be like when you think about your past life? I just felt so resentful of the world and wanted everyone to go away except me. It seems like he died well after enjoying a good life in his own way, but somehow he ended up falling into a novel about survival of the 19+ impoverished people.
But what can you do? As Lee Jae-heon, who does not have the ability to manipulate the world as he pleases, he had no choice but to finely refine the body he had and achieve what he wanted. Like everyone who doesn’t have it.
The only problem was that it produced results that were too extreme and unexpected, and now that there is a justification, they are just trying to overturn this.
“….”
The inhabitants of this world were particularly weak to the concept of death.
Perhaps Lee Jae-heon would not be able to sympathize with them even if his whole life went by.
* * *
It was really surprising, but employee Kwon Yeon-hee, who was very timid, flinched at even the slightest noise throughout the trip, and as people around her made more noise, Manager Kang Min-ah, who was naturally timid, actually calmed down. It was a truly unusual combination.
However, contrary to Kwon’s worries, there were no problems during the night after installing the fish trap. In other words, they were overwhelmed by the forest shaking with the sounds of insects and animals, but no monsters came out to scare them. For a dreary park with no wind, it was a pretty healthy result.
Additionally, Jaeheon Lee was able to understand the sense of discomfort he felt from Director Kang.
‘…But…’
If that’s the case, it won’t matter.
‘He’s not a guy who will interfere with the plan.’
What if Director Kang Min-ah had the ability to regress like the main character and had already experienced regress like him? She was still just a chick, so it wasn’t a big problem for Lee Jae-heon.
On the contrary, Kang Min-ah, who is not naturally bad, could have been helpful. Like police officer Kim Yeon-woo, he is not a good person like you see in novels, but if necessary, he will try to become a good person to that extent. Just having one such chick among the group was enough to guarantee some level of mental strength.
As the situation ahead was quite challenging, some insurance was needed to prevent the entire group from collapsing. He just wanted to get away from the group by himself.
Lee Jae-heon raised his eyebrows as he looked at employee Kwon Yeon-hee, whose face was in full bloom.
“What?”
“Manager, manager!”
“So what is it?”
“Fish! They were caught. As many as three were caught! “I couldn’t see anything when I looked from the outside, so I was worried that it really wasn’t there at all, but there it was!”
“That’s a good thing…”
“As expected, Manager! precursor! “Our savior!”
“Oh, let’s leave it at that.”
If you cannot empathize with sincere joy, you will only become discouraged.
He looked strangely at Kwon Yeon-hee, an employee who was fluttering with her hands clenched tightly. It felt like a hamster the size of a child’s fist was shaking, but for the sake of the other person’s dignity, he kept his mouth shut. At this point, I felt sorry for teasing him.
Jaeheon Lee rolled his eyes and thought.
‘If I tease you further here, it will only lead to unnecessary conflict.’
Isn’t a prank something that can be taken lightly when the other person accepts it as a joke? I felt sorry for my body, which had been torn apart so far that I had no time to erode trust through temptation like this.
In fact, Lee Jae-heon’s judgment was very contradictory. Didn’t they try to create conflict several times in the beginning when planning to create an appropriate distance? If his mind had been the same as when he first entered the secret world, he would have felt something strange, but unfortunately, Lee Jae-heon was currently unable to notice it.
He walked according to Employee Kwon’s hand.
“It’s the first fish I’ve ever seen in my life. You can eat this, right? “It’s not like I can’t eat it, right?”
“Let me see too. “Just ask me after you’ve seen it too, man.”
As Jaeheon Lee approached, President Garam Yoon, who was examining the fish, raised his head.
“Ah, Manager.”
“They said something was caught.”
“That’s right, when you look at it from the outside, there really is nothing…”
President Yoon looked at the three fish on the bottom with an awkward smile, and Jaeheon Lee also glanced at the fish that had fallen. A flapping aquatic creature caught my sullen gaze.
Plump flesh and plump lips. Brightly colored shell, shiny scales, and round eyes. The overall fish, with its subtle white color, looked as good as if it were swimming in a pond in a famous mansion.
But if there is a problem…
“…huh.”
As expected, it was not an appearance that could exist in reality.
The fruit-like fish found in or near small lakes resembled koi, but were even more colorful and sparkly. It may have high artistic value, but it was not suitable for edible purposes.
Lee Jae-heon said, wiping the corners of his mouth once.
“It doesn’t look like it’s worth eating.”
“…I don’t think that’s the problem.”
“It doesn’t look particularly edible.”
These were the words of President Garam Yoon and Doctor Seongyoon Ha, one by one.
The two seemed a bit awkward recently, and it seemed like they had a conversation while they went to set up the fish trap. Considering that it was Dr. Ha Seong-yoon who took the lead in the relationship, he probably spoke first.
Jaeheon Lee thought so and opened his mouth, pretending not to know.
“Let’s bake it first.”
“…yes?”
“It looked similar to the crystal ball I brought last time… It didn’t look particularly edible either. “If you’re really worried, it’ll be easier to get burned once.”
“No, wait a minute.”
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon stiffly asked while smiling.
“Last time, Manager Lee Jae-heon tried it first, so we were able to confirm its safety. Who else wants to eat this unknown creature?”
“Well, without saying ‘who’, I just….” “
….”
“…I’m being considerate, yeah.”
Anyway, it’s tricky.
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Lee Jae-heon wiped the corner of his mouth once again.
“But you can’t just not eat it at all, right?”
“….”
“Looking at it, most of the planting material here looks like this, but I’m sure you don’t intend to continue living off of that soft lump.”
“That’s true, but… then why not try an experiment?”
“What kind of experiment? “If it’s a biological experiment, then of course I…”
“Aren’t there other living things here besides you?”
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon finally shouted, perhaps because he was quite frustrated, or perhaps because his mental strength was exhausted due to the influence of the other side, and Jeong In-ho, who had been quietly observing the situation, blinked and opened his mouth.
“I think you mean bugs…”
“…bug?”
“Didn’t you catch it yesterday too? “I don’t know if there are any more larvae, but I think if we look for them, we might find other larvae as well.”
“Do you really need to be that troublesome? Usually, when conducting clinical trials, research is done with animals that have functions most similar to humans. “Wouldn’t I be more trustworthy than a chimpanzee or, at the very least, a rat… an insect whose credibility is hard to find?”
“After hearing that, I feel like I have to come visit.”
Approximately 10 minutes after declaring that and leaving, In-ho Jeong returned with five bugs on his palm. Although he tried not to show it, Lee Jae-heon’s amusement almost disappeared as he was slightly out of breath.
‘Do you really think of me as a baby chick that will die if you take your eyes off me for a moment?’
In the end, when they saw that all five bugs did not die after eating the fish, they were able to put them on the fire. It’s not that I don’t understand it, but Jaeheon Lee was so frustrated that he almost cried.
He placed the can right under the grilling fish, checked the location, and sat down again.
“…I see you sometimes…”
My gaze was on the main character, who was smiling sadly.
“It seems like Assistant Manager Jeong thinks of me as a complete idiot.”
“Oh my gosh, it can’t be like that.”
“That Jodong club really.”
I had forgotten about it for a while, but when I heard that scolding, I felt a deep sense of anger that I only felt at work. It’s not the kind of hate that makes you want to kill someone, but it makes you want to hit them in the back of the head.
For the first time in a long time, Manager Kang Min-ah showed curiosity to Lee Jae-heon, who was taking a deep, quiet breath.
“Why did you put the can down there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Under the fish…”
Was he discouraged by Lee Jae-heon’s firm tone? When Director Kang trailed off, he frowned and straightened it out again. It was because I decided there was no need to lose my temper here.
He wiped the corners of his mouth once and answered.
“Gathering oil is oil.”
“Ah…”
Director Kang nodded as if he understood, but an unexpected voice interrupted.
“Does new fish produce oil? No, it won’t come out, but it’s enough to collect….”
“….”
“…I’m sorry….”
Student Park Da-young, the owner of the voice, cowered as if she was dispirited by the adults’ gaze.
Of course, even if they look like that, they are by no means scary people, but anyway, it was like that on the surface, so Lee Jae-heon spoke calmly.
A quiet voice came out.
“I’ll come out if I can. “It’s not exactly the same, but fish doesn’t lack the fat that cows and pigs have.”
“Yes.”
“Even when you eat raw fish, you use the exclamation that it is greasy. Same thing. I don’t know how fat this fish is, but if you save any that fall off, you can use them. “When making something like a torch.”
If you put it close to the fire and burn it, of course no oil would come out, but the fish you caught was being grilled at a distance from the edge of the bonfire. Since it is baked slowly at a relatively low temperature, more oil will drip out than the original amount.
Even as I explained it like that, I thought quietly to myself.
‘Those siblings grew up quite nicely.’
Of course, I was talking about this from a physical perspective, not a mental one.
I don’t know what kind of conflict and sadness the siblings experienced due to the bizarre discriminatory treatment, but based on the setting of the story, they tended to eat well. If you ask me, should I say it is a plated silver spoon? I’m not a complete gold digger, but I was in a good enough position to imitate it.
Thanks to him, he traveled a lot and was sent wherever he wanted. Did you say that the lady who hired the food would come and prepare it for me? For those who have only seen grilled fish with all the oil drained off, it might have been a bit refreshing.
‘I’ve probably never even cleaned or grilled a fish myself.’
I don’t mean to criticize you for growing up well.
‘Isn’t that something worth praising?’
Although he was raised so well, he is quick-witted and has never complained, perhaps because he was mentally abused. This means that we know how to understand our topic. And most of the chicks ate half of the food even if they only understood the topic well.
After roughly understanding, he stared at the golden brown fish and said.
“In order to eat this properly, you have to cut off the scales, remove the head, and rinse everything except the intestines…”
“Can’t I just eat it…?”
“There are parts that are poisonous if eaten. Still, I took out the intestines just in case. If you just shake off the scales enough, it will be worth eating. “Because it’s already been burned.”
Even without a knife, it was possible to pull out the intestines as long as there was a clean branch.
‘If you put a stick in it and turn it, it comes out on its own.’
It wasn’t that difficult for Lee Jae-heon, who had memories of several previous lives in special environments.
Seeing him like that, intern Noh Yeon-seok was impressed.
“and… Manager, you are amazing.”
“what?”
“I think it would be fun to go to the valley with the manager, really.”
“You sound carefree.”
And the carefree sounds the chicks made usually meant their mental strength had improved.
‘I guess my awareness and alertness are low, but whatever.’
Considering what would happen in the future anyway, this amount of stretching was actually good. Even if the chicks are very nervous, it doesn’t make much of a difference, so it’s not a situation to feel bad about in many ways.
Lee Jae-heon, who thought so, looked at Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok in front of him and said.
“…I think it will take a while for everything to be cooked. Should I clean out the intestines?”
“Oh, well, it’s not that cold. “There will be a lot of fishy smell.”
As CEO Yoon Garam nodded and spoke, Manager Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok also looked at the scattered chunks of intestines. I could see pupils shaking slightly and frowning eyebrows due to the inevitable feeling of rejection.
It’s not a very severe rejection, but it’s hard to accept when things get worse. Even if the situation becomes even a little tense, it can be quickly abandoned.
It was just that good.
“Then why don’t I leave it behind?”
“…yes? “No, please sit down quickly.”
As expected, Dr. Ha Seong-yoon spoke stiffly while smiling, and Lee Jae-heon made a shocked expression. It also added a little bit of boredom about repetitive situations.
“Can’t I just go for a walk?”
“You didn’t explain this, but you have lost blood. “I feel like carving a wooden bed and tying it to it, so please just sit down, sir.”
“…Even if I tell you…”
And at this point, he pretends to give up and sits back down.
Looking at him like that, intern Noh Yeon-seok shook his butt. He probably felt impatient because he hadn’t done much so he wanted to step forward, but in the same vein, he didn’t have the confidence to step forward, so he seemed to refrain from speaking.
Jaeheon Lee looked at the intern.
“Then our intern can go and take care of it.”
“Ah yes? Ah yes!”
“…Why are you so excited?”
Jaeheon Lee frowned as if he didn’t understand and then straightened his face again. Even if they did just this much, none of them would have thought that Lee Jae-heon had pushed intern Noh Yeon-seok’s back.
“If possible, throw it away. “If you leave this alone, it will stink.”
“All right.”
“And… isn’t it a bit awkward to go alone?”
Sure enough, Chief Kang Min-ah, who was next to him, raised his head and opened his mouth.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll come.”
“Aren’t you tired? “I went to fish traps yesterday too…”
“No, no, I can do it well, manager.”
“…okay?”
Lee Jae-heon said, cupping his mouth.
“Then thank you.”
…chicks.
A smile as thin as a thread floated beneath his palm.
