Chapter 107 |
“Sometimes.”
In Lee Jaehun’s past life, he had often encountered this situation. More precisely, the phenomenon of feeling a murderous urge due to the influence of a supernatural being.
The regenerative ability that allowed him to survive even with his limbs and head severed was a rare gift even in his past world, and that was why Lee Jaehun was often at the forefront of most operations. And those at the forefront were also leaders responsible for guiding the rest of the team.
A leader, as the brain of the operation, had to grasp the state of other team members and know how to utilize them effectively.
“I feel an impulse.”
“…….”
“…The urge to kill someone.”
So now, explaining his precarious state wasn’t difficult. He just had to mimic the reactions they had shown back then.
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“If I don’t focus, my mind goes blank. It’s not simply spacing out, it feels like someone is forcibly pushing my thoughts away.”
“…Who’s pushing them away?”
“I don’t know. I just get sleepy, can’t think straight, and feel nauseous. And I know I can’t just leave this state alone.”
“…….”
“Because I… I feel I’ll kill someone.”
A brief pause.
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“…I don’t want to do that.”
All of this was to convey that it was not his will.
‘I need to give the impression that I’m resisting.’
His personality had already been inflated. It wouldn’t be believable to suddenly succumb to the urge, so he had to at least pretend to resist. This was necessary so that when he eventually fulfilled his promise with the algae monster, it wouldn’t seem too abrupt.
He clenched and unclenched his fist. He didn’t know exactly what emotion this gesture conveyed, but his past teammates often did it, so he figured the onlookers would interpret it themselves.
“…Actually, that’s why. I thought it was rather fortunate when you all ran away.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I thought that even if I went crazy here, you would all survive. If you were far away, I wouldn’t have to kill anyone… That’s what I thought.”
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“…….”
“I’m sorry.”
After uttering a dry apology, Lee Jaehun composed his expression. He hadn’t shown many signs until now, so it would be strange to suddenly appear too distraught.
He needed to appear as if he was pulling himself together and facing reality.
“Anyway… yes, this is my current state.”
“…….”
“It seems something went wrong after that monster dragged me away. Actually, I was relatively okay until then, and I was stuck with that b⋏st⋏rd for quite a while that night. We were together until dawn.”
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“…The blood?”
Kwon Yeonhee, who had been deep in thought with her head down, asked.
“That blood… the one you vomited, was it because of that?”
“…I can’t think of any other reason. It might sound strange now, but I’m a pretty healthy person.”
“I guess, you were.”
“Yes, I never had a reason to vomit blood. I didn’t have any underlying conditions but then I suddenly coughed up blood. You understand how absurd it was, right?”
“That’s not something that can be brushed off as absurd, Manager.”
Although she tried to end her sentence in a light tone, her head remained bowed. Judging from the slight trembling of her clasped hands, she seemed to be in a rather confused state.
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And Lee Jaehun thought.
‘Successfully shifted the blame.’
At the same time, he also firmly established the reason for the sudden hemoptysis.
Ah, anyway, all of this is because of the green algae monster, and I hid it because I thought it would be hard for you to know, but you asked about it. Right? Moreover, I tried so hard to hide it so it wouldn’t bother you, and it only became obvious because I was so exhausted. So I’ve done nothing wrong, right?
‘Honestly, there’s no way to explain exactly why I’m coughing up blood… but patients usually don’t know why they’re sick, right?’
Having organized his thoughts, Lee Jaehun took a step back with a calm expression. He doubted the protagonist would be foolish enough to wake up the useless extras, but since he didn’t know when they would wake up, he decided it was best to wrap things up.
“If you don’t have any other questions, let’s go ⁱnsⁱdㅌ and sleep. We have to go look for Senior Associate Kang and the students as soon as dawn breaks….”
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“Manager.”
“…….”
“So?”
However, it seemed that Kwon Yeonhee had no intention of wrapping things up yet.
“What if it’s something like a virus? What if you suddenly dⁱㅌ, Manager?”
“…Did you even listen to me properly? What you should be worried about right now isn’t me, but other people like you. Who knows who I might end up killing….”
“There’s no way you’d kill someone…!”
“…….”
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D⋏mn it,
Life is so d⋏mn hard.
‘I crave nicotine.’
If he could escape this otherworld for a moment, he might try taking a drag of a cigarette.
Of course, Lee Jaehun in this life was a non-smoker with perfectly healthy lungs, but such things were irrelevant in the face of nicotine cravings. The memories of his past life that had invaded his brain were craving the sweet smoke.
No, putting all that aside, what the hㅌll is your problem?
“…Such… irrational beliefs are not good, Ms. Kwon Yeonhee.”
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“Why is that irrational? You don’t know your own current situation. You don’t even remember why you became like a zombie.”
“That’s a separate issue from me possibly killing someone.”
“Ah…! You won’t kill anyone! You’ve always acted like you’d rather kill yourself if you felt like killing someone, so why are you acting like this, seriously! If you wanted to say something like that, you should’ve been more careful with your body!”
“…Huh….”
This and that are different matters, you soft little chick.
‘Nothing’s going as planned.’
By now, Lee Jaehun should have realized that there was a problem with his plan from the beginning, but with a civilian body devoid of regenerative abilities, he couldn’t properly reflect. Though his current recovery rate was unrealistic, it was nothing compared to his past life.
The chick, oblivious to his burning frustration, clung to Lee Jaehu’s waist and sobbed. Because of the short person clinging to him while he was sitting, his posture became awkward, but the sadness of a civilian plagued by a fractured mental state couldn’t be helped.
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“Waaaaah… Manager, don’t dⁱㅌ…. What if you really dⁱㅌ…. You’re coughing up blood and everything, what if you suddenly dⁱㅌ….”
“You should worry about yourself dying, not me….”
“Waaaaaaaah….”
“Ah, I’m sorry, okay. People don’t dⁱㅌ just because they cough up a little blood, you know? I won’t just suddenly dⁱㅌ like that, so please calm down.”
“The doctor said that if you cough up blood, it most likely means you’re in a critical condition….”
“Does he really hate me?”
“Huh…?”
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“No, it was nonsense.”
Thanks to saving the doctor, Lee Jaehun could be more at ease when taking action, but it was still annoying. Ha Sungyoon was a helpful yet bothersome fellow.
‘And I can’t just kill him.’
That thought had occurred to him but the doctor’s body could very well be found somewhere in this park. According to Jung Inho’s group, it seemed his whereabouts became unknown after putting Owner Yoon and Employee Kwon in the tree. He hadn’t expected the ominous feeling he’d occasionally felt to backfire like this. He was quite curious about what the doctor was doing and where he was.
And another question was….
“…….”
What exactly was Dr. Ha Sungyoon’s purpose?
Lee Jaehun remembered Ha Sungyoon showing great interest when he brought up the story of Mirror Lake and its surroundings. The thick bandages he carried, as if he’d anticipated being swallowed up, and his calm smile even under the influence of the other world were strange.
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‘Was that really the face of someone who didn’t know they’d be swallowed by the otherworld?’
No way.
“…I don’t understand why you’re crying so sadly.”
“Manager, you have zero empathy….”
“Enough with the insubordination, it’s time to sleep. Like I said, we’ll be moving at dawn, so it’s better to get some sleep.”
“You’re so two-faced.”
“Are you done?”
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While pressing down on Kwon Yeonhee’s head with his hand in annoyance, Lee Jaehun also thought about Dr. Ha Sungyoon, who could be anywhere. An extra and a clue in this world who had suddenly disappeared after saying he’d be nearby.
Ha Sungyoon definitely had a purpose, and—
“…….”
“…Manager?”
“What is it?”
He knew he would be swallowed by the other world.
‘He intended for it to happen…’
It was true that people with mental issues were more susceptible to being swallowed by the otherworld, but that was all. Everything else was random. Just because the probability of a mentally ill person being swallowed was higher didn’t mean it was 100%.
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And yet Ha Sungyoon had bandages. He was certain he would be swallowed by the otherworld. That wasn’t something achievable by simply superficially ‘understanding’ the other world. A medium was needed to connect the otherworld and the ordinary person Ha Sungyoon, and effort was required both ⁱnsⁱdㅌ and out.
To turn possibility into 100% certainty.
“Go to sleep.”
…Seriously, no one’s here in their right mind.
* * *
“So…”
Kang Mina continued with a bewildered expression.
“You’re saying you became like this because of the statue in the small lake?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But why did you go all the way there…?”
“I wasn’t thinking straight. I heard a strange sound nearby, and I couldn’t even climb a tree, so I just ran. By the time I came to my senses, I was already at the small lake.”
“…Oh…”
“I guess I was so scared that I wasn’t in my right mind.”
Dr. Ha Sungyoon, who spoke these words, didn’t look like someone who had been afraid at all.
He didn’t bother climbing the tree, understanding their disbelief. Instead, he leaned against the base and sat down, speaking softly. His characteristically gentle voice was certainly familiar to both Kang Mina and the other two students.
‘It’s even stranger that he’s so calm…’
Would it be odd to say that this calmness made him even more believable?
Honestly, Kang Mina couldn’t imagine Dr. Ha Sungyoon’s face turning pale with fear. Except for matters concerning Manager Lee Jaehun, he always wore a gentle smile.
“…So, are you alright now?”
Kang Mina decided to ignore the unsettling feeling.
They had already overlooked too many discrepancies to question every single one. It wasn’t as if they could point fingers at each other and declare each other insane now.
“What about your eyes? Do they hurt? Or is your vision blurry…?”
“There’s no problem with my vision. However, they might look a little frightening to you. Eyes of this color shouldn’t exist in this world.”
“They’re not scary, they’re kind of pretty, Doctor.”
Park Dayoung, who had been quietly listening to the adults’ conversation, chimed in with a smile.
“It’s like something out of a fantasy. You know, like jewel eyes. Don’t those usually come with amazing powers? I see them a lot in novels.”
“Hahaha…”
Dr. Ha Sungyoon just laughed at her question.
Kang Mina felt like he was avoiding the question for some reason, but Park Dayoung next to her didn’t seem to care much. Even her younger brother, Park Dahoon, who had one eyebrow raised and his eyes narrowed, didn’t press further.
“……”
“I haven’t felt anything unusual yet, but there’s no telling what kind of problems might arise. It would be best for you all to be careful when approaching the statue.”
“…We will.”
At Kang Mina’s reply, Park Dahoon muttered.
“But where did all those dogs go?”
“Come to think of it… I haven’t heard the monsters approaching for a while. Maybe they ran away?”
“Why would they run away? They looked starving. Is that even possible?”
“Hmm, maybe a natural predator appeared…?”
“Then we should run away too. A predator of those things would be dangerous for us too.”
“Hmm.”
Listening to the siblings’ conversation, Dr. Ha Sungyoon gently touched his earlobe and spoke.
“This is just a guess…”
“…….”
“Maybe they found another prey.”
His gently curved lips and eyes were certainly soft, but the situation his words painted was not as kind. It meant that someone else had fallen victim to the monster.
Ha Sungyoon placed a hand on his dark red side and continued,
“Don’t you think so?”
His gaze remained fixed on Park Dahoon.