Episode 89
Detective Hong Gyeong-jun thought of himself as a person with good sense.
And in his profession, having a good sense was considered a pretty great talent. Since the police cannot know the data of all residents and find the culprit, they had to reduce and reduce the number of cases to find the most likely answer.
Of course, this is by no means a logical basis, so in reality, it was impossible to catch someone by saying, ‘My senses are screaming that that guy is the criminal!’ So, for the police, this type of intuition was an option that was good to have or not to have.
However, among the police officers with such intuition, Hong Gyeong-jun was particularly severe. The ability itself and the degree to which one believes in that ability.
‘This is also one of the talents, so it’s right to use it.’
He just thought so. Just as someone is born with a good head or a handsome face, he also has excellent intuition, so he should use what he was born with as much as possible.
It would be better if the results weren’t as good, but Detective Hong’s intuition was useful. When you feel something strange or out of place, nine times out of ten, that person is the culprit. Thanks to this, he had a good say within the team even though he was relatively young for a detective.
And in Hong Gyeong-jun’s opinion, Lee Jae-heon… was a dangerous molecule not often seen.
‘…Does it resemble a monster?’
Something similar to the monsters we have seen quite a bit in this world.
It gave off a sense of discomfort that I had never seen before while working as a detective.
“I saw you once last time… I was worried because I didn’t see you for a while.”
Hong Gyeong-jun opened his mouth calmly but rolled his eyes.
“Now that I look at it, it seems like the condition has become more serious. “Is it my fault again this time?”
“I’ve never said that before.”
“It still seems like you don’t want me involved.”
“That could be possible…”
Lee Jae-heon slowly trailed off and tilted his head to one side as he glanced at the man groping his abdomen at his feet. At the same time, Hong Gyeong-jun rubbed the back of his neck as he did not feel any major emotions.
‘Eyes like that… who have I seen them in?’
What is certain is that there was no normal person with eyes like that. Half of the cases Hong Gyeong-jun saw were in prison or no longer in this world.
And then suddenly a thought occurred to me.
“Yeonseok, should you get up soon?”
“Yes… yes yes. Boss.”
ah.
You are the sweetest person in the world and resemble a cruel person.
“…Jaeheon Lee.”
He resembles Hong Gyeong-jun’s shooter.
I felt like I had to catch that person somehow.
My shooter was half-hearted and unmotivated about everything, but it was a different story on the field. Although he and the person in front of him had personalities so different that it was difficult to compare them, Hong Gyeong-jun, who had seen the endings of quite a few people, was almost certain how Lee Jae-heon would end.
Of course, it’s not a very common type of person, but there are only two types of people like that.
“….”
“Did you call me?”
Or kill someone.
“Yes, I called you.”
Or die in someone’s place.
There was no telling what Jaeheon Lee would choose.
“We didn’t see anyone around, so were you walking alone?”
Hong Gyeong-jun did not notice that the guard he had placed on Lee Jae-heon was fading away. Even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t be able to build up the same level of caution as he did the first time since he reminded him of someone else.
“…If you’re planning on nagging me, I’d like to refuse. “I will continue to listen to this a lot, so my ears are already tired from listening to it.”
“I don’t intend to do that. There’s no reason. “I just wanted to make an offer.”
“If you tell me, I will listen.”
“Would you like to come with us?”
Hong Gyeong-jun thought that he should keep this person even more in his sights.
“I think the person who was dragged by the monster was also a member of the same group, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to share the situation with each other.”
Actually, I didn’t think that person would do anything right away.
Of course, the group, except Hong Gyeong-jun, seemed to have different thoughts and his face turned pale, but when he saw it, Lee Jae-heon was not a crazy killer.
‘Well, once people like that start to taste blood, they go even crazier…’
Now, all the blood and flesh on that person’s body was his own. Judging from the fact that a man named ‘Yeonseok’ who appears to be in the same group shows such dependence. It doesn’t seem that bold, but aren’t you just looking at the spotty condition and ignoring it as if you know everything?
Lee Jae-heon, who was pondering Hong Gyeong-jun’s words, glanced at the man who stood up hesitantly, as if he was embarrassed and awkward about the situation, and then returned again.
“…I was dragged away.”
“A vine caught his waist and he was dragged away. “We found it in the middle and rescued it by cutting off the vines, but there was no way to treat it, so we were only able to stop the bleeding.”
He rolled his eyes and continued.
“Of course… Jaeheon Lee fixed it in an instant.”
First of all, putting aside the impressions so far, there were many suspicious things about Lee Jae-heon in many ways.
I knew that the condition was serious as I had stopped the bleeding area with my own hands. The size of the thorns attached to the vine was not very large, but perhaps because of its strength, it did not come off easily, and the injury increased in the process of being dragged and released. Even if it wasn’t right away, there was a high chance of death if left like this.
However, such injuries were treated by just feeding him something. Even the person receiving treatment appears to have no idea what condition he or she is in.
“I don’t know how that was possible.”
“Isn’t everyone’s talent different?”
“Well, it seems like it’s more about experience than talent.”
“….”
The other person couldn’t answer right away, and Hong Gyeong-jun was satisfied.
For now.
“I said something similar last time, but trying to handle everything on your own is not a good habit.”
“…Then what are you going to handle together?”
“At least you won’t continue to get hurt like you are now.”
He continued speaking calmly.
“It looks like almost everyone is dead, so they look like monsters.”
Hong Gyeong-jun blinked as he remembered Lee Jae-heon walking out of the bushes just moments ago. Inside the eyelids, a black and red figure tightly filled the space.
One day, a criminal cut up a body right in front of me. There was a killer with a saw who was probably impressed by the movie. I once saw a hand that fell off from being unable to hold on in a transparent glass box, and I also saw the teeth of a wild dog that ate away abandoned flesh.
There were days like that, and the moment I saw Jaeheon Lee, the red and blue things of that day came to mind.
‘but.’
He was neither a murderer nor a corpse.
We would have to wait and see what would end up for that person.
“If you’re looking for another companion, that’s great, and if you’re looking for a place to rest, it’s even better. Last time, my opinion was so strong that I sent it to you…”
“By what authority did you have to catch me?”
“Isn’t that more efficient?”
“….”
“At least I think so.”
What the other party values most is efficiency.
The values that are revealed in what he says are the same, and he is a person who has changed his expression several times in the past just to quickly shake off Hong Kyung-jun. Pointing out that your actions were ineffective was sufficient evidence.
‘…Plus, his condition doesn’t seem to be normal.’
Other people don’t seem to know yet, but their eyes are out of focus. It seemed like he was not in a state where he could think clearly, as his reaction was one beat slower than before.
Since I stimulated such a person with the word ‘efficiency’, he would most likely fall for it.
“…Well, it’s not bad.”
Lee Jae-heon looked back at Hong Gyeong-jun with a slight smile.
“Shouldn’t we ask their opinions as well, Detective?”
“….”
“I seem to be very… scared.”
When he looked at the other party members, they faced Hong Gyeong-jun with embarrassed faces. Although there was a difference in degree, it seemed like they were not very happy about Lee Jae-heon joining.
Among them, a thin and long man slowly opened his mouth.
“Uh… Jaeheon Lee?”
“Yes, this is Lee Jae-heon.”
“I’m really sorry to ask this, but…”
“It’s okay.”
“….”
He asked after a moment of hesitation.
“Are you…a person?”
There was fear in it.
It was a fear that Detective Hong Gyeong-jun could not feel.
* * *
In the hidden world, the gap in emotions felt by each person was truly large.
In reality, the public’s reaction to one object is usually similar. When I heard about a fire on the news, I felt sad, when I heard a heartfelt melodrama, I stamped my feet whether I liked it or not, and when I heard of a sudden disaster, I felt anxious.
But in the other world, the degree was very different. Some people feel pity when they see a person covered in blood, while others feel a sense of rejection, similar to something you would see in a horror movie.
The former was Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, and the latter was the rest excluding him.
‘Let’s see if it goes your way, you bastard.’
Thinking like that, Lee Jae-heon smiled evilly inwardly.
Actually, even if I joined like this, there wouldn’t have been any major problems with the plan, but seeing that ugly face made me feel rebellious. Jaeheon Lee basically hated people, but he hated smart guys even more.
Since he could not say that he had a good personality either in his past life or in his current life, it was perhaps natural for him to have such a bad attitude towards a tree frog. If you are harassed, try using force. Of course, there was no way he would do that because he would not throw a single punch even if there was a serial killer who killed 30 elementary school students in front of him. I am doing this knowingly.
Unlike Detective Hong Gyeong-jun, who has experienced all kinds of crazy acts by criminals, the rest of the group except him were ordinary civilians.
‘There is no way I can be as cool-headed as a detective in the underworld where the emotional gap is the widest.’
Can chicks who jump up like a cat seeing a cucumber at the sight of blood not be scared when they see him like this? What about Lee Jae-heon, who doesn’t seem normal to anyone?
That is impossible.
“…What kind of question can you ask about a normal person?”
Detective Hong’s brow furrowed slightly at the man’s question. It wasn’t a reaction that was particularly unpleasant, but seemed like a reaction that occurred because I literally didn’t understand what the other person was saying.
The man shook his shoulders in shock and shook his head as if making excuses.
“No no no…! I really didn’t mean anything bad, really. “I asked because I was curious.”
Unlike the voice that shakes with timid gestures, the words come out in rapid succession like a gun. Among the group that had just gathered, a particularly thin man broke into a cold sweat, probably because he was quite nervous about the situation, but Lee Jae-heon seemed to know who that person was.
‘Conductor Kim Ki-jeong.’
In short, he is a person who plays music. According to his own words in the novel, he went abroad to study when he was young and took an elite course, and he also said that he was quite famous in his field.
However, unlike the power felt from the word ‘conductor’, my own energy was quite weak.
“Of course, I’m truly sorry if you were offended. But when you just walked out from there… you didn’t seem very human.”
“aha.”
“…Actually, even now, I wonder if it’s like a monster disguised as a human…”
As expected, compared to being timid, he doesn’t hold back his words.
‘He’s definitely a different type of person than Chief Kang.’
Both are timid, but Director Kang is considerate of others, while the conductor is not. Basically, I was polite, but that was it. To put it in a good way, it means being honest, and in a bad way, it means being thoughtless. Or maybe I should say that gangsterism is a good thing.
Of course, Lee Jae-heon liked people like that better than people like Detective Hong.
‘It would be perfect to use.’
It was okay to instill negative emotions by scaring or threatening, or it was okay to melt people away by cajoling or brainwashing them. Just by touching it a few times, it would quickly take on the desired shape.
Hearing conductor Kim Ki-jeong’s words, the two people next to him nodded and opened their mouths.
“I… I think that’s true. I’m really sorry. Still, we were fighting a monster just now… Why can’t there be a monster disguised as a human?”
“It was difficult to understand how someone who was suddenly dying was brought back to life. Instead of joining right now, how about gathering everyone in your group and then speaking again in the morning?”
For your information, the guy in front is making excuses because he’s scared, and the guy in the back is rejecting it because he thinks it’s true. The former was simply afraid of Lee Jae-heon, and the latter seemed to feel that he needed to be more cautious.
That’s because they have never once felt fear from humans.
‘That’s why they’re baby chicks.’
They couldn’t possibly think that they felt that kind of fear from humans.
Of course, you’ve probably seen it a lot through monitors or LCD screens. Someone committed a murder due to the noise between floors. A drunken accident occurred somewhere. The police were dispatched because someone was causing trouble with a knife… and more.
In Lee Jae-heon’s opinion, the thing that can be the most scary is that even though they are humans, they have never felt it with their whole body. Well, it was something that could not be helped since there would not have been anyone holding a knife and setting it up right in front of their noses. The world as a whole is so shaky, so why is it any different for its residents?
‘Besides, this is the other side of the world.’
It is a place where emotions, trauma, and fear increase with just a breath. It was dark and the person who suddenly appeared had such a crazy appearance that you might have thought that he was a monster.
Detective Hong Gyeong-jun may be a little different.
“…why…?”
Perhaps because he still didn’t understand the group’s condition, he couldn’t say anything else and just frowned. He seemed isolated due to unanswered questions.
Lee Jae-heon, satisfied with that, slowly opened his mouth.
“Public opinion is like this, so there’s nothing we can do…”
And.
A voice filled with evil came out suddenly.
“no!”
“…uh? why?”
Lee Jae-heon was completely dumbfounded.
“No, no! “You just saw him fixing me…!”
“…Yeonseok Yeonseok?”
“The manager is not a monster!”
What is this guy, why are you so angry all of a sudden?
‘Why the fuck is this happening?’
Embarrassed, Jaeheon Lee had no choice but to give up the blurry focus he had maintained all along.
It was so absurd that I looked back at the curb and saw the chick, which was not surprising even if it had died soon, screaming.
In the end, he grabbed his young intern and calmed him down.
“Hey hey hey hey. Mr. Noh Yeon-seok, hey.”
“No, those people keep looking at the manager…!”
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
I was so shocked that the words escaped my brain.
“You’re scared of me too, Noh Yeon-seok.”
“….”
“…Ah.”
And I immediately regretted it.
What the fuck should I do with this snout of fear?
