Episode 86:
I don’t know how useful he is, but in the end, he was worse than Manager Lee Jae-heon. She is not a great person who can calmly climb the thorny path, acting as if her fear has been castrated.
In the end, Kang Min-ah couldn’t survive without relying on someone.
I couldn’t save anyone.
“I’m really sorry….”
I guess that’s something I can’t help but feel like I’m so useless.
Knowing one’s subject was also a virtue of an adult.
* * *
Lee Jae-heon placed Kang Min-ah on the tree and left immediately.
Kang Min-ah must have felt a bit of guilt and tried to follow him several times, but what could she do with such a soft head? Jaeheon Lee wasn’t stupid enough to pass up the opportunity to wander around alone for the first time in a long time.
‘It’ll be easier for the first time in a while.’
In fact, it was Lee Jae-heon himself who suffered the most from the presence of chicks around him.
When they are there, firstly, you have to manage your image, secondly, you have to protect those squeaky bugs, and thirdly, your actions are restricted depending on the probability of the situation.
However, the conditions were not very good. Since they came to the other side of the world, Lee Jae-heon had to stay by their side because they didn’t know where the monster might appear, and the chicks seemed to know that too. I wanted to leave it in a secluded place, but I couldn’t because doing so would incur the protagonist’s hatred.
‘But now it’s a different story.’
Aren’t they all scattered around on their own without him having to do anything?
The reason why Lee Jae-heon came to look for Chief Kang and is now moving to find the rest of the group was because he suspected that they might be trapped in some strange place and die among themselves. This means that you should never run while enduring sore legs just to rejoin the group.
‘We’ll all get together when the time comes… but it’s also funny that we’re finally joining together now.’
That was the intention from the beginning.
Lee Jae-heon remembered how the group looked at him before they dispersed.
Employee Kwon was literally terrified, and Doctor Ha Seong-yoon was embarrassed, as if he was looking at something he couldn’t understand. Additionally, President Yoon ran away while covering his mouth with one hand. The grey-green eyes were fixed on me.
It was hard to see, but he was definitely smiling.
‘I felt scared.’
President Yoon himself has a very unique constitution, so he feels a thrill in situations where his life is at stake. Especially if it involves fire.
In the original novel, this point is realized completely early in the story. It’s not clear because it’s never been described directly, but based on the story the main character described, it’s roughly 3 to 4 days after being eaten by the other side. I think I came to this realization as I continued to think about Dr. Ha Seong-yoon, who died in front of me.
Garam Yoon wants to enjoy the thrill and live in extreme situations at the same time. Although he feels disgusted with himself, he comes to accept himself towards the end of the story. It seems like he was openly enjoying it towards the end.
Anyway, the most important point is this.
‘The only time Yoon Garam smiles like that is when his life is threatened.’
In conclusion, I felt fear towards Director Lee Jae-heon.
‘The main character had a similar feeling.’
At that point, there is nothing more to ask for.
‘Kang Min-ana and her siblings reacted a little differently… but that’s because they are unique.’
To begin with, Kang Min-ah is the type of person with very low self-esteem. People were too naive to criticize others and look bad at them, and since they wanted to show their usefulness right away, they probably had no time to feel fear.
In addition, the Park siblings have unique personalities. Since they lived a strange daily life in a deformed family and were paying attention, they probably didn’t feel scared just because Lee Jae-heon pretended to be crazy and vomited some blood. Still, he may have felt that it was dangerous, but he obediently ran away.
So, coming to now, the most important thing is….
‘Noh Yeon-seok, intern.’
The question was who would find this bastard and in what form.
‘It would be nice to be alive if possible.’
Jaeheon Lee thought so and adjusted his pipe.
The wound on my palm must have been properly opened, so much blood was oozing out that the bandage the doctor had put on it was useless. At this point, I even thought that it would be much easier to hold the pipe if I just took off the bandage.
“So this is….”
Limping.
I muttered to myself, trying to ignore my legs that were starting to hurt again.
‘…is it near the green algae lake?’
When I first came here, it seemed like the big lake that CEO Garam Yoon had mentioned was nearby because it had too much green algae and was not aesthetically pleasing.
And I lamented.
“Huh.”
Even if I had to run away, why did I come here? It’s more comfortable for me, but not for you, you chicks.
‘Pathetic bastards.’
I’ve been thinking about this since I was chasing Chief Kang’s traces, but I don’t know if these chicks have a mind. If you don’t hear any bugs nearby, you should think something is strange and run away.
This is what Lee Jae-heon confirmed when he was following Chief Kang’s traces, and it seems that something happened while he was closely following Kang Min-ah. A group of about three people wandered around in the middle and turned to the left, and one person’s tracks slowly went in a strange direction and turned completely to the right.
‘The traces of those three people probably belong to employee Kwon, doctor, and CEO Yoon… and the remaining one is probably that of an intern.’
And in addition, there is another trace of the three following them. That would have been the traces of Jeong In-ho, who left to find the rest of the group after talking with Lee Jae-heon.
‘Then that means the three people over there are okay.’
Since the main character knows how to lead them well, the last thing Lee Jae-heon should look for was intern Noh Yeon-seok. After making sure everyone was well dispersed and safe, we could proceed with the conversation immediately.
Additionally, it would be necessary to check where other groups of survivors are, but…
“….”
We have already found them.
Lee Jae-heon thought as he looked at the traces that seemed to have been made by three or four people intertwined.
‘I guess we met here.’
Looking at the bursting vines, it is clear that it was a survivor vs. a monster. Looking at the sawdust-like pieces of wood scattered nearby, I wonder if the weapon used was a piece of wood. There was a shoe print on the end of the vine and the fact that it had been crushed makes it seem like it was killed by stamping its head with its foot and slashing at the tree, as if killing a snake.
For your information, the Kakmok is a weapon mainly used by the group of survivors on the other side, and the only one who was able to systematically kill monsters like this from the beginning was the detective.
‘Then to sum it up…’
It seemed that Detective Hong Gyeong-jun and some other members of the opposing group helped the intern, who ran into trouble while running and was in danger of being eaten by a monster. Looking at the fresh blood here and there, it looks like someone got hurt in a fight just before.
Sure enough, the floor filled with dirt and grass was pressed down on one side as if being dragged. Lee Jae-heon, who had been out in the field with the chick several times, knew those traces.
‘Are you seriously injured?’
It was the traces of someone who had been dragged and supported.
Either he suffered a serious injury to the point where he had no strength to walk, or his leg was injured. However, seeing that the blood was distributed so widely, there was a high probability that it was the former.
Lee Jae-heon prayed that the owner of this blood was not Noh Yeon-seok.
‘She’s mentally weak.’
It would have been better if someone with stronger mental strength had been injured in this situation. It’s much cleaner to clean up afterward and there are fewer aftereffects. If the intern was that injured, it would have been difficult to heal.
And if one of the survivors on the other side was injured, it was good to gain more favor than anything else. Most people feel grateful to the person who healed them. If Lee Jae-heon heals the injured person, wouldn’t there at least be no more getting grabbed by the collar?
‘Well, it’s more difficult to keep that bastard from getting hurt.’
Lee Jae-heon, who was smoothing out the grass he had picked up on his way back, immediately thought of the main character with whom he had parted ways a long time ago.
“….”
Well, I
guess you can take care of it yourself.
‘There’s no way the guy who used to live stubbornly would have changed just because I changed a bit.’
Lee Jae-heon nodded inwardly, thinking of the main character in the novel.
To be honest, it was strange that Assistant Manager Jeong, who had always lived as an ordinary office worker, was so good at stopping monsters, but he was the main character of this world to begin with. If he couldn’t even do that, he would be disqualified as the main character.
It was a bit odd that the last traces of Jeong In-ho were seen in a place where a fire was spreading, but the people there were Ha Seong-yoon, Kwon Yeon-hee, and Yoon Gar-ram.
Considering that three of the four were psychopaths with decent brains, there was no way they would die easily.
After thinking about that, he checked his physical condition once again.
‘…My leg went out. Are you a little attracted to me? It would be better not to hide my limp. My shirt is already damp. The head… the head will be fine. ‘There has never been an attack on this side.’
And then he nodded.
‘pass.’
At this level, you could be alerted just by approaching without doing anything. I know this because I remember being scolded harshly when I approached him covered in blood in a past life.
Jaeheon Lee thought as he followed the traces at a leisurely pace.
‘Still, since they are civilians in this shabby world, I won’t criticize them openly.’
I just hope that he feels more than a certain level of fear or discomfort. They make it seem like a monster, not a human, so they can’t accept it.
That was comfortable.
* * *
“…Ugh!”
Quack!
A small moan came out along with a dull bursting sound.
“Mr. Jeong In-ho, are you okay? “I should go down too…!”
“No, no, don’t come! “Just stay there!”
Jeong In-ho shouted like that and swung the monkey wrench once again.
The cloth and leather that had been touched were distorted and rolled around, and a pitiful moaning sound like a dog I had heard at least once in my life was heard. Also, I once again got goosebumps at my own feelings.
I can’t believe I feel sorry for that.
“…You really look like a fucking dog.”
Jeong In-ho gritted his teeth without even realizing that he had sworn.
‘It’s gross.’
It was so disgusting that I wanted to vomit.
These were his feelings towards the monster that was wandering around us.
They obviously had four legs, but some had tails and some didn’t. The skin, which looked as if fabric had been sewn over human muscles, was a variety of colors that should not blend in with this colorless world.
Just by looking at it, a disgusting mucus-like translucent liquid falls to the floor. What fell from the monsters’ mouths was too dirty to be called a living creature’s saliva. It had a strange color, as if it had been made by grinding several slugs together.
And its blood splatters on the hand holding the monkey wrench and on the clothes. My leg, which had been pierced by those things, was throbbing and painful, making me even more disoriented.
“….”
But
it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar sensation.
“…hu”
Chuuuuuu!
He kicked the stomach of a nearby monster and hit its head, which lost its balance.
The sound that you might hear from an anxious or sad dog pierces your ears. The lewd moans and button eyes that rolled as if watching my limp legs were so pitiful and disgusting that it gave me a headache.
It had a knack for arousing sympathy in people.
Even though I never wanted to.
“…really.”
“Mr. Inho.”
“I’m really coming down… don’t even think about it.”
Oh,
it’s gross.
“…If you come down, I might kill you…”
There was moisture hanging at the end of the voice.
‘It can’t happen again.’
It was to be made so that no one would get hurt and no one would die.
That’s because the future I saw was so miserable. Because what I had to go through as a survivor was a hell I could never bear. So I didn’t want to let that happen again. Anyone who knew how to think would want it.
Jeong In-ho didn’t have the spirit to think like a human being, so he slammed down the things in front of him. He was kicked, ripped, and pushed against a tree, and struck down several times with a thick iron club. Still, he couldn’t even breathe properly due to the disgusting feeling that remained all over his hands and tickled his skin.
It felt like a mosquito had bitten my eyelids, making me feel itchy and sore, and the light pain swept through my entire body, making me sick to my stomach. I wanted to scrape my entire body with my fingernails.
How many times has my heart already fallen to the floor?
“Get out of here… get out of here, you bastards…!”
Sigh.
Crack.
Kkjjik!
Once, twice, three times.
And probably thousands of times.
‘…What else should I do? What’s left? ‘What is there…?’
I thought they were all dead, dazed by dark red bodily fluids.
The fire is gradually spreading. By the time I found Kwon Yeon-hee and Yoon Gar-ram, the monsters had already chased them right in front of me, and I couldn’t move in that situation. For Jeong In-ho, the best thing to do was to just put the two people inside that unknown dome and block the monster from below.
So, after clearing a path to some extent, you should try to run away. I need to run away and see the sun so I don’t get burned to death. I don’t know about Kwon Yeon-hee, but Yoon Gar-ram’s quickness was not bad, so it wasn’t impossible.
But what if you block it like that? What happens after you run away like that?
‘…Where did Doctor Ha Seong-yoon go?’
Did I do everything I was supposed to do?
“…Ugh.”
Doubts are gnawing at my brain.
When he came to visit, Dr. Ha Seong-yoon was not with them, and even though he called out to him for a moment, there was no answer. It would be fortunate if he was scared and hiding somewhere, but since the target was Ha Seong-yoon, that seemed unlikely.
Neither Kwon Yeon-hee nor Yoon Garam said they did not know where Dr. Ha Seong-yoon was. The only thing is that a little while later the lighter went out and the sound of footsteps stopped at the same time.
So where on earth is he in the flames that have followed him all the way to his feet?
―Wow!
“…come down now!”
I could see the escape route amid the bright flames.
When the space opened up, Jeong In-ho quickly called two people inside the dome. I saw a long, small human figure groping its way down the tree, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to check it properly.
He shouted, pushing the backs of those who had just set foot on the ground.
“Cover your mouth with your hand in the direction away from the fire!”
“Ah, I get it…! “I know everything!”
Even though she didn’t say anything more, Kwon Yeon-hee ran away with her mouth covered, and Jeong In-ho, who had no time to rejoice at her sincere action, once again shouted at the one remaining elongated object.
“Yoon Garam!”
Jeong In-ho already knew how to deal with it. That’s how I learned it.
He took advantage of the moment to grab Yoon Garam’s shoulder and shout.
“You fucking listen carefully…! “Listen carefully!”
“yes? Ah, yes, I’m listening…”
“It really doesn’t matter what you’re drawn to or what’s causing you to do this! Do you understand that there isn’t one?!”
“….”
“We can’t afford to understand anyone. You don’t understand me, and I don’t understand you! If we’re not going to behave like human beings anyway, let’s at least listen to each other, please…!”
They couldn’t afford to talk as much as they used to.
For a moment, Yoon Garam’s eyes widened, but for Jeong Inho, who had already seen that expression many times, it was not a worthwhile situation. He had to somehow save them.
Jeong In-ho took a deep breath and spoke right in front of Yoon Garam.
“Run without looking back.”
“….”
“If you die, I will kill you again.”
“…and.”
The lips beneath the round eyes were curved to a point where they looked dazzling.
That was admirable.
“Everyone is going crazy, really.”
In-ho Jeong agreed with him.
