Chapter 118 |
Hong Kyungjun’s intuition was too vivid to be described as a mere feeling.
It whispered in his ear. Look at that, isn’t it suspicious? That person resembles the image of the culprit you had in mind. I’m sure, that’s the person you’ve been chasing. It couldn’t be simply dismissed as a vague unease or a bad feeling.
Unfortunately, this intuition, resembling auditory hallucinations, had worsened since he arrived in this world. It had become more elaborate and made Hong Kyungjun obsessive and anxious.
He felt the urge to suppress the citizens—who could walk on two feet and speak freely—according to his intuition.
“…….”
And didn’t Detective Hong Kyungjun have the right to do so?
‘According to the law, protect the citizens.’
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He had a duty to protect the weak.
By forming systems and their own culture, humans acquired authority as humans, and the law provided them with a minimum level of ethics that they must adhere to. If this were to collapse, humans would become uncontrollable colts.
Therefore, Hong Kyungjun wanted to keep basic laws and rules, even in a world devoid of any semblance of order. Leaving things to the human conscience in this lawless state would only cause conflict.
“Mr. Song Inmyeong.”
“…Yes?”
“Could you help Mr. Kim Kijung up?”
Discipline was necessary for everyone.
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“Ah, well… it’s not difficult.”
“…….”
“If you need help.”
Hong Kyungjun, with a frown, watched Song Inmyeong approach Kim Kijung. His calm gaze, devoid of any particular emotion, followed him, then retreated within the bounds of naturalness.
His eyes finally rested on the mangled corpse.
“…….”
Someone had pushed this child.
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‘We had similar opinions, but.’
Hong Kyungjoon’s intuition was telling him. This child was killed by someone, and the culprit was an adult.
His eyes also perceived the same. The angle and width of the wound made it impossible to suggest otherwise. So, the most suspicious person would be the adult who was with the child.
While thinking he needed to question the kindergarten teacher again about this, Hong Kyungjun felt a lingering regret.
“…Mr. Lee Jaehun, are you okay?”
If only one of these people had committed the murder.
“…I’m fine.”
“It would be best to return to the pavilion. You look unwell, it would be good for you to rest there.”
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“I understand.”
If one of these crazy people, who grated on his nerves, had done it, wouldn’t he be able to suppress them as he wished? Wouldn’t he be able to engrave discipline into the minds of the disordered crowd?
Hong Kyungjun didn’t realize that this was a radical delusion.
“I’ll go… and rest.”
“Excellent idea.”
The reason he didn’t act on it was that there was no justification yet.
Because the current situation was calmer than expected.
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“Mr. Jung Inho, may I ask you to support Mr. Lee Jaehun?”
“Yes. I was going to do that anyway.”
“I see.”
And Hong Kyungjun intuitively felt that this unexpected peace probably originated from Lee Jaehun.
That pitiful man. Unfortunate man. Unaware of his own kindness, he showered affection on everyone, so he would surely be the first to go mad. Hong Kyungjun knew the fate of the fool who thought they were the most wicked in the world better than anyone. In this situation, that fool was Lee Jaehun.
So, there was plenty of reason for Detective Hong Kyungjun not to be wary of this unfortunate man. Hong Kyungjun ultimately failed to realize that the process leading to this conclusion was significantly abridged.
But this man would be the first to dⁱㅌ anyway.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
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“…Well.”
“As you can see, the Manager doesn’t look well. We should get going.”
“I agree.”
Even if this person had become a half-monster who felt unintentional murderous intent. Even if he were to isolate and restrain him, Hong Kyungjun probably wouldn’t be wary of Lee Jaehun.
“He looks very distressed.”
“Is that so?”
At the natural reply and gentle smile, Hong Kyungjun took a step back. He thought there was no need to provoke anyone further when it wasn’t clear who was dangerous. Everyone present, that is.
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Hong Kyungjun only wished.
“…Can we move?”
That he wouldn’t allow anyone’s death.
That they would all stay right where they were…
* * *
It was almost evening when Lee Jaehun came to his senses.
‘What the hㅌll.’
He felt like waking up after a night of drinking and blacking out. Of course, he hadn’t actually blacked out. He was thinking, but it felt more like a stream of consciousness.
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Lee Jaehun acknowledged the dangers of the otherworld.
‘I end up like this because one kid dⁱㅌd.’
It was truly something so embarrassing he could dⁱㅌ from shame. He couldn’t even imagine how much his wife and colleagues from his previous life would have teased him if they had seen this. He had tried his best to keep his sanity in check, but look how things had turned out anyway.
There were many complex reasons for this, but at this point, he was tired of racking his brains. Since things unfolded roughly within his expectations, except for the backstory Dr. Ha Sungyoon had created, he figured the aftermath would be manageable. Even though he’d lost his mind, he hadn’t done anything too extreme.
Nodding, Lee Jaehun leaned against the pavilion wall and muttered softly.
“…I am going to take a rest….”
Even in his current state, he couldn’t refuse rest.
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‘I have plenty of workers, and the chicks have grown a bit… it’ll be fine.’
Besides, this round was already a failure anyway. The only reason Lee Jaehun had been stubbornly maintaining his image and refining his plans was because of the protagonist, who also remembered the previous regression. So unless it was related to him, he didn’t care if something else failed.
At Lee Jaehun’s words, Dr. Ha Sungyoon jumped up.
“Oh goodness…! Manager Lee Jaehun is going to rest! What a surprising turn of events!”
“What?”
Another chick suddenly popped up as he was flustered.
“The Manager said he’s going to rest! He said it himself with his own mouth!”
“Who are you?”
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Noh Yeohseok chimed in last, eyes wide.
“Uh, Manager, are you really going to rest?”
“…….”
“Wow, I haven’t heard you say that in ages.”
Lee Jaehun was speechless at the unnecessarily bright and innocent admiration.
That kid, despite looking like a gangster, had a surprisingly pure soul. He remembered that the past Lee Jaehun had been even more exasperated by that vague cluelessness.
In the end, Lee Jaehun couldn’t hide his confusion, his face contorted in a grimace.
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“…What are you talking about, you little chicks…?”
“…Chicks?”
“D⋏mn it, that’s not what I meant.”
This cursed mouth.
Lee Jaehun punched his mouth a couple of times before he continued.
“Are you making fun of me? Who are you mocking?”
“Isn’t this all karma?”
“No, Dr. Ha Sungyoon. How old are you to be acting like this?”
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“I’m over forty, aren’t I, Mr. Chick’s Guardian?”
“It’s so hard to make a living, really.”
At his words, Ha Sungyoon approached Lee Jaehun with a smile. Lee Jaehun knew that whenever the doctor smiled like that, something bad happened. Just eat me already.
Ha Sungyoon crouched beside him and examined Lee Jaehun’s injuries.
“Your shoulder… is healing better than I thought. The scratches are so-so. Have you been touching your neck lately? It’s healing particularly slowly.”
“…It hasn’t been that long since I got injured.”
“I wonder if you’re aware that you inflicted those injuries yourself….”
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Ha Sungyoon’s characteristically gentle voice reprimanded Lee Jaehun.
“Your legs are doing much better too. You’re recovering very quickly.”
“Doctor, it seems your side is perfectly fine.”
“At least it’s doing better than yours, sir, I don’t see any bones sticking out.”
“You have a knack for making people speechless.”
“Putting that aside.”
His hand touched Lee Jaehun’s forearm.
“…Why isn’t this showing any signs of healing?”
“…….”
“Your wrists too.”
These were the wounds Lee Jaehun had inflicted on himself before entering the otherworld.
At Ha Sungyoon’s words, Lee Jaehun’s gaze instinctively scanned the surroundings, but fortunately, the survivors were preoccupied with their own tasks and weren’t looking at him. Kwon Yeonhee and Noh Yeonseok, who had dared to tease him earlier, seemed engrossed in their own conversation.
However, Lee Jaehun, whose rational thinking had almost completely deteriorated, couldn’t hide the wariness in his eyes. Seeing this, the doctor let out a low chuckle, as if amused.
“…It seems the wounds from before entering the otherworld remain the same.”
He seemed both pleased and displeased.
“May I ask a rude question?”
“Now?”
“Right.”
His scarred finger traced the crimson-stained bandage.
“Why did you do that?”
“…….”
Lee Jaehun understood the question, but he couldn’t answer immediately.
Choosing his words and putting on a mask was second nature to him. However, he was so exhausted that he quickly gave up thinking and opened his mouth.
“I needed confirmation.”
“Confirmation of what?”
“For example….”
He tilted his head.
“How much pain I can feel.”
Certainly, his current body was more sensitive than the one in his previous life.
Before, even if his stomach was ripped open and his ⁱnsⁱdㅌs spilled out, he could recover with a deep breath. But his current, soft body screamed in agony every time it was injured. He also disliked how slowly it healed.
Lee Jaehun answered with sincerity, confident that Ha Sungyoon would figure out a suitable narrative. He was the one who, by staying silent, had drawn out the Lee Jaehun of the previous life with his imagination.
“And you don’t resent that person?”
Above all, Lee Jaehun was simply too tired to think any further.
“…That person isn’t even in a place to be resented.”
“What do you mean by ‘place’?”
“You can interpret it however you like.”
To his stream-of-consciousness answer, Ha Sungyoon said with a smile.
“Then may I ask one more question?”
Without waiting for a reply, he asked.
“Have you ever had your throat ripped out?”
“…….”
“Ripped by centipede-like teeth, your eyes gouged out, your legs broken, your whole body on fire, somewhere between burning and melting… Like that.”
“…….”
“Like that.”
He smiled.
“Have you ever dⁱㅌd like that?”
The answer was predetermined.
“…You must have had a nightmare.”
Lee Jaehun couldn’t pretend not to know.
That much remained unchanged.
* * *
What kind of strange eyes did that b⋏st⋏rd get?