Episode 95:
I hope there is meaning to this ugly struggle.
* * *
Normally, once a tree catches fire, it would be right to keep burning until it rains, but that didn’t seem to be the case for the trees in the other world.
‘When you see the light go out on its own.’
Jeong In-ho blinked as he watched the light gradually disappearing.
This is something I felt even before returning to the past, but in the other world, common sense did not apply to reality. If you think of a pitch-black sky without a single light source, that might be natural.
As the fire died down, he held his breath as he saw the dog-shaped monster struggling with nowhere to go. Similar to green algae monsters, they do not have good eyesight, but compared to them, they run faster and have different body sizes. There were also monsters the size of small dogs, so it was difficult to find them if you decided to hide.
‘Plus, it seems like you have a good sense of smell and hearing…’
It was a wise choice to get away from them as quickly as possible.
Jeong In-ho turned his head again and looked somewhere else. Far away, but within sight, two familiar-looking women were crouching, each using a different tree as a shield.
‘It would have been better to climb up the tree.’
Actually, they must have been anxious too. Since he had no experience climbing trees, it would have been much easier to crouch in the corner than to attract attention with unfamiliar behavior.
Jeong In-ho stared at the monsters crawling in the opposite direction, and after seeing them disappear before the flames went out, he quickly took a step back. I felt like I should return to the side of the two companions who had managed to hide well without making a sound.
He looked at my blister-filled palm and held the monkey wrench in the opposite direction.
‘But… I still don’t know why those guys showed such aggression.’
The blisters were burst and the skin on my palms was sore and stinging, but it wasn’t enough to make me scream right away. Jeong In-ho continued his thoughts as he walked quietly so that the four-legged monsters could not hear him.
‘This has never happened before.’
Those dog monsters really don’t deserve to say something like this… but they were rather docile.
He hasn’t seen them for a very long time, but if there’s one thing Jeong In-ho is sure of, it’s that they usually don’t attack first.
Of course, a few monsters attacked first, but that was a monster’s individual characteristic, as can be seen from its appearance. Just because all monsters are similar doesn’t mean they are the same.
However, the dog-shaped monster generally showed a moderate response. Even though President Choi Jeong-man, who had greeted him before returning to the past, kicked him in the stomach, he just groaned a few times and ran away. He was fooled by that appearance and later got stabbed in the back, but even that wasn’t very vicious.
So, in Jung In-ho’s opinion, that reaction right now is…
‘When it’s hard to endure an empty stomach.’
In such a situation, it is when you smell food.
After thinking that far, Jeong In-ho quickly erased the images of the four-legged monsters from his mind. As long as the cause is alive, you can worry about it at any time, so right now, you should focus on protecting your group.
When he arrived at the place where the two women were, he called Kwon Yeon-hee.
“This is Yeonhee.”
“…iced coffee.”
Her shoulders, which were startled, puffed up and then slowly came down again. It was similar to how cats puff out their fur when they are surprised, but it doesn’t mean it’s particularly cute, but it really looks like it.
She raised her head, looked around, and asked in a crawling voice.
“What about those monsters?”
“It moved in the opposite direction. “It didn’t look like anything was moving, but at least it didn’t look like it was going to come around here again.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
And Yoon Garam, who was on the opposite tree, approached the two.
“Are you okay, Jeong In-ho?”
“…it’s okay.”
Inho Jeong asked Garam Yoon.
“Boss, are you really okay?”
It was a story about that spirit.
‘I don’t really understand, but it must be some kind of trauma.’
In a time that no longer exists, Jeong In-ho heard what she was afraid of.
When Garam Yoon was a high school student, he went on a trip to a mountain cabin with his family and suffered a serious accident. It was an accident in which a mountain cabin built of wood along with the forest caught fire and was reduced to ashes.
She was the only survivor of that incident.
“If you feel uncomfortable, you must tell us right away.”
“Yes I will.”
Jeong In-ho felt a familiar sense of frustration as he smiled as if he was embarrassed. He seemed to know what I meant, so even though he had an apologetic expression on his face, the apology did not reach me.
After staring at Yoon Garam for a moment, he smiled at Kwon Yeonhee.
“Of course, Kwon Yeon-hee.”
“I will… too.”
…this.
‘Did you notice this too?’
It seems that Kwon Yeon-hee also learned about President Garam Yoon’s constitution.
Of course, I don’t know the details since she hasn’t told me yet, but isn’t there a sense of discomfort I can feel from Yoon Garam herself? Perhaps something happened while the two were inside the wooden dome.
‘For some reason, the two of them are not together but are separated from each other.’
As Jeong In-ho tried to keep a smiling face, CEO Yoon Garam calmly spoke, pretending not to notice.
“Where is Teacher Ha Seong-yoon?”
Jeong In-ho raised his head at President Yoon Garam’s words.
“…Ha Seong-yoon.”
“Minah Kang and two students. Even Mr. Noh Yeon-seok… everything was scattered.”
“….”
“Besides, the manager.”
She paused for a moment and muttered as if sighing.
“Where are you?”
“…well.”
“If you take your eyes off, it disappears.”
It sounded like something said to an immature child, but that wasn’t the voice. Jeong In-ho was able to read the slightest hint of resignation in his voice, which was so calm that it felt like he was sinking.
Garam Yoon continued, staring at the flames going out in the distance.
“Do you hate us?”
Jeong In-ho could not answer.
“Director Boo… us? why?”
“I felt like they were constantly trying to distance themselves from us… so they might have felt burdened because it took a lot of work.”
“Uh…”
“Besides, you always helped us, but…”
Her eyes swept over Jeong In-ho and Kwon Yeon-hee.
“…I’m not sure this time.”
It was not Manager Lee Jae-heon who abandoned them, but they abandoned Manager Lee Jae-heon.
In fact, it wasn’t strange at all if Director Lee Jae-heon abandoned his current group and ran away somewhere. Just counting the injuries suffered while trying to protect them, he easily exceeded one hand, and hasn’t he worked hard as a mental support for the group so far?
‘People are so calm, but if you look at it from the outside, it looks no different from a corpse.’
Actually, maybe.
‘…Maybe that’s what I was afraid of.’
Garam Yoon recalled the time when Director Jaeheon Lee woke up vomiting blood.
Although she doesn’t like horror movies, she sometimes watches zombie movies with her friends. Or a movie with the same theme as The Exorcist where the devil appears.
And Director Lee Jae-heon’s appearance was quite similar to those things.
‘The most certain thing is that it didn’t look like a human.’
But the other person was clearly a human being. He is a slightly crazy altruist who has helped them wholeheartedly, even shedding his blood.
Since I ignored that person and ran away…
“…what should I do now?”
Garam Yoon touched his ear and lowered his hand again.
“I heard that when In-ho Jeong went to help the manager, he refused. “That’s why I came alone.”
“….”
“Is it okay for us to go find that person?”
Jeong In-ho bit his lip at the slightly worried voice, but then released it. I could sense a faint taste of iron, but that only made me even more distraught.
Unlike the two who are here now, he was having a conversation with Manager Lee Jae-heon.
‘Did you even see us as people?’
‘No way.’
‘….’
‘How could I do that?’
Conversation…
“…for now.”
“yes.”
“First… let’s look for that person.”
Jeong In-ho muttered in a tired voice.
“We need to have a conversation.”
Director Lee Jae-heon was trying hard to prevent them from getting closer.
There was a similar situation when I first left the company, and since even President Yoon said so, it was an undeniable fact. Jeong In-ho thought the reason was ‘to create an environment in which one could die at any time.’ There was also a basis for that.
And now, Director Lee Jae-heon has been getting strange ever since he was dragged away by the green algae monster. Even if everything else is a mental problem, vomiting blood is clearly a health problem. If this were reality and not a secret world, I would have been taken to the emergency room long ago.
‘I’m sure Director Lee Jae-heon doesn’t know that either.’
However, hiding his condition and continuing to distance himself meant only two things. At least in Jeong In-ho’s opinion.
‘That person has not yet given up the option of death…’
Also, he judged that his current state would be harmful to his companions.
At that moment, In-ho Jeong recalled the time when Director Jae-heon Lee woke up vomiting blood. He was in a state of panic due to the discomfort he felt all over his body and the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, but in the end, there was only one thing he said to them.
‘Run away.’
From what?
“….”
What did Director Lee Jae-heon really want them to run away from?
He held Kwon Yeon-hee’s hand and lifted her up.
“I’m worried about Ha Seong-yoon, Yeon-seok, and everyone else, but… the manager wouldn’t have stayed in that position forever. “He must have gone to find his scattered companions.”
“…is there someone with you?”
“This is not someone who would have been doing nothing for this long.”
Director Lee Jae-heon was trying to distance himself from them, and that was obviously to create an environment in which death was easy, but that was not the whole story. Considering the circumstances in which we have helped them by shedding blood so far, some people may be trying to stay away because they feel like they will cause harm.
But that may not be the same reason as ‘I feel like it would be a burden’. If there is a person among us who is the most skilled at survival, it would be Director Lee Jae-heon. So, the ‘harm’ that Director Lee Jae-heon was worried about was something that could literally be a threat.
My physical condition has become strange since I was dragged away by the green algae monster. A mind that appears hazy. Mistakes have become more frequent….
“Let’s find the manager.”
His ideals are all related to the green algae monster.
Jeong In-ho continued speaking while looking at the blood stains that fell from his hand.
“The last time I saw you, you were bleeding…” “
….”
“If you just check the bloodstains carefully, you will be able to find it quickly.”
If the reason why Director Lee Jae-heon is so strange is because he is convinced that he will harm us is related to the green algae monster. What if he was influenced by a monster due to some incident that night he was taken away?
Jeong In-ho, who returned to the past, had one point to point out.
“Let’s move.”
…The green algae monster has the ability to confuse the opponent and make them feel murderous.
That’s how I killed someone.
