Chapter 120 |
Let’s go over the original novel’s plot here.
Most of the group dⁱㅌd after the students joined them, and the protagonist, who had been barely holding on due to a sense of responsibility, met the detective’s group. From the moment they met, both felt they were incompatible with each other, but the detective, who didn’t want anyone to dⁱㅌ, protected and controlled as many survivors as possible.
‘They even lost three people just from visiting a flower garden once.’
In such precarious circumstances, around the time the protagonist developed a slight fondness for the police officer, the conductor among their group dⁱㅌd. The protagonist, caught in the killer’s manipulation, was framed as the culprit, but the police officer, believing in him, found evidence and revealed the true culprit.
‘It’s this b⋏st⋏rd.’
Lee Jaehun looked at Song Inmyeong, a university student who was lounging in front of him with a crooked and languid expression.
“Do you know what those b⋏st⋏rds said after I kept the monsters out? They were so critical, seriously.”
“…….”
Read at Novelib.com
“…Well, people say that’s what real friends are like. Isn’t it?”
Lee Jaehun just needed to converse.
As if the person in front of him was an ordinary student.
‘Trash that thinks they’re artists never seem to understand what the problem is.’
Song Inmyeong, the student in front of him, was the serial killer that Kim Yeonwoo had witnessed and Hong Kyungjun pursued.
The killer, thinking Kim Yeonwoo would be the best fit for his current ‘work’, used his silver tongue to drive Officer Kim to her death. Immediately after the killer’s identity was revealed, the algae monster threatened the survivors, and they decided they needed bait.
Read at Novelib.com
“Well… friends are friends. They all fell asleep without me.”
“You should blame your insomnia, student.”
“That’s true, too.”
Song Inmyeong, the most plausible bait, caused further chaos by saying things like, ‘According to that detective, I shouldn’t dⁱㅌ’, ‘I’m not going to be bait willingly, so kill me first,’ and ‘What’s the difference between you and me?’
Eventually, some of the survivors, driven mad, considered using a child, who was treated as baggage, as bait, causing the already distressed police officer to volunteer herself. The protagonist failed to properly depict her emotions.
‘Well, she couldn’t use one of her legs, so it was somewhat rational.’
A chaotic debate ensued, but ultimately, the officer dⁱㅌd as bait, and the killer continued to sow discord even then. Fortunately, the protagonist and his group met the flower shop owner and escaped the park by finding the only correct path.
The rest was predictable. The detective committed suicide, the other survivors scattered and were killed, and when the protagonist eventually returned to the park, no one remained alive.
Read at Novelib.com
So, in short.
“…So.”
“…….”
“How are your friends, ahjussi?”
All Lee Jaehun needed to do was kill this b⋏st⋏rd.
“…I don’t have friends.”
He leaned his head against the wall, letting out an almost frivolous, self-deprecating laugh.
Read at Novelib.com
‘This b⋏st⋏rd is seriously crazy.’
Even though Lee Jaehun had dⁱㅌd and killed hundreds, thousands of times in his past life, he was ultimately on the side of justice. So no matter how bad his personality was, he couldn’t help but loathe criminals. Of course, he loathed more than 99% of the world, but this was different.
On the otherworld, it was mostly the mentally ill who got devoured, and the person in front of him was astonishingly insane. Due to that nature, it was less likely for this guy to even encounter trauma, so he was probably the survivor with the best mental state. This guy was annoying in many ways.
However, Lee Jaehun knew how to coax these kinds of people.
“Why don’t you have friends? People like you usually have a lot of friends.”
“You mean people to exploit?”
“…It sounded like you were being sarcastic.”
“What else would it be?”
Read at Novelib.com
There was only one reason why Song Inmyeong approached Lee Jaehun like this.
‘I guess I looked pretty self-sacrificing.’
Song Inmyeong probably thought Lee Jaehun would be the perfect material for the artwork he was creating. He didn’t even know if he’d be able to return from this world alive, but even so, he would have liked to see art that suited his taste.
Song Inmyeong was definitely contemplating how to drive Lee Jaehun to his death.
“I know I’m acting like a pushover.”
So, wasn’t this perfect?
“But, I’m not normally a pushover.”
Read at Novelib.com
“…Hmm.”
“I became like this after coming here… In any other circumstances, you wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m not that nice.”
“Doesn’t that not matter?”
“That’s true, too.”
Lee Jaehun was going to dⁱㅌ anyway, and all he needed was a minimum level of plausibility. For the sake of the protagonist’s smooth regression, Lee Jaehun was scheduled to fall into the abyss with this piece of trash.
If you want to kill me, go ahead.
“That’s true too…”
If you want to witness my death, then just do so.
Read at Novelib.com
Because you will dⁱㅌ with me.
“…….”
“…….”
“…You look very sleepy.”
Lee Jaehun expected that question.
‘I need to appear as if my judgment is clouded.’
The reason why he approached Lee Jaehun now was obvious. As night fell, everyone was asleep, and even those who were awake were either exhausted or far away. Even Song Inmyeong’s friends, who were always with him, were asleep, so it was the perfect time to test Lee Jaehun.
Read at Novelib.com
Yes, this piece of trash was testing Lee Jaehun. Whether he, whose judgment was clouded to the point he didn’t even know what he was saying, was worth being used as material for his artwork. Whether he met the criteria for the theme Song Inmyeong desired.
When Lee Jaehun blinked his eyes slowly without answering, a strange sense of satisfaction appeared on Song Inmyeong’s face.
“Are you sleepy?”
“…No….”
It was true that he was sleepy, and it was also true that his judgment was clouded, but even in this state, he was confident enough to deceive this piece of trash. It was something that Lee Jaehun had done countless times in his previous life.
He could do it.
“Ahjussi.”
“…….”
Read at Novelib.com
“Why are you so injured?”
That was what it meant to be able to dⁱㅌ.
* * *
Depicting the thoughts of a sinner unaware of their sin was borderline criminal.
There were those who committed evils beyond understanding, and most people knew how to understand others. Describing the past and imagery of such acts became a stepping stone to justifying the sinner’s misdeeds—even if the polished stone itself had no such intention.
Well, that was just one writer’s thought.
“…….”
Read at Novelib.com
Because she wasn’t the protagonist here either.
“…It can’t be helped.”
Whatever changed, the writer could smile generously.
Because this wasn’t her work alone.
* * *
Since childhood, he loved to create things.
He loved capturing landscapes on paper. He loved capturing his own world. He loved creating a romantic scene with a ring made of humble woven wire, or carefully drying delicate flower petals and using them as bookmarks. He simply loved it.
But after creating everything possible.
Read at Novelib.com
“…….”
His gaze landed on a beautiful canary in a cage.
Its feathers shimmered with a truly fantastic color. He didn’t know if it was because of the lighting or something else, but Song Inmyeong was certain that if he decorated his world with its feathers, it would sparkle even more vividly.
“…Wow.”
Unfortunately, his conviction proved correct.
“When made with something that was alive… it’s even more beautiful.”
Though, that might have been the wrong answer.
Read at Novelib.com
That day, for the first time, Song Inmyeong took a life.
The bird’s voice was beautiful, but he didn’t regret it much. For some reason, the canary only kept its mouth shut in front of Song Inmyeong, and what he loved were things that could be left behind as traces. A fleeting voice, no matter how beautiful, wasn’t worth tolerating if it hindered the creation of his world.
Of course, as he grew older and his aesthetic world expanded, he came to regret it quite a bit. Music was also art, and the world was full of wonderful artifacts that could capture sound. If only young Song Inmyeong’s perspective had been broader, he could have included even the voice, the only thing he had discarded from his materials, into his world.
He became even more meticulous so as not to have regrets.
“S-Save me…”
“…….”
“…Ah.”
Making excellent materials even more excellent.
Read at Novelib.com
“Fʊck, fʊck, fʊck…! Get away from me, please. Please spare me…!”
“…….”
“Just once, please. I really won’t tell anyone, okay? Please…!”
Making even worthless materials beautiful.
Meticulously, without missing a single thing.
“…Wow.”
He had to capture it in his world.
However, Song Inmyeong knew that his materials wouldn’t be socially acceptable.
Out of curiosity, he looked it up and found that he was what they called a psychopath or a sociopath that he had only heard about. And among those like him, the s*upid ones couldn’t control their excitement and ended up in jail.
How miserable that would be. Not being able to feel that ecstasy again was worse than being condemned by the world. Trapped in gray bars, all they could do was relive that brilliance. What else would you call that be if not a caged beast? Song Inmyeong didn’t want to become like that.
There were still so many things he wanted to capture in his world.
“…There is another survivor group?”
“Ah, yes. I’m particularly worried about the person I met last time, who was seriously injured. If possible, I’d like to merge the groups. What do you think, students?”
“…….”
“W-Well, ah. Of course, I haven’t heard from that group yet. It’s difficult to approach them carelessly in this situation…”
A beautiful voice.
And a beautiful story.
“…That’s a big problem.”
Another material besides her.
“Shall we just merge when we meet again? I don’t really mind.”
“Song Inmyeong agreeing so readily… Who are you, and where did you take our Ins?”
“Fʊck, why you call me your Ins? Don’t you know that the only people who can tolerate your temper are me and that pushover?”
“Shut up, human trash. If you throw away the trash and become just human, I’ll call you nicely.”
“Why are you being such a pain…”
He grumbled out of habit, but he was actually very pleased.
‘The guys I saw last time were perfectly fine.’
Song Inmyeong didn’t know exactly when or how Kim Yeonwoo met that material, but judging by her confident gaze and the detective not correcting her, it seemed that person were indeed from the other group. Yet, only that person was injured.
The material in front of him seemed to be agonizing over whether that person was being exploited by the other group, but Song Inmyeong doubted it. Could an able-bodied adult male with a weapon really get pushed around to the point of such injury?
‘At least it means he’s got a downright insane sense of self-sacrifice.’
Holy shⁱt, it was even a different kind of color than Kim Yeonwoo.
Song Inmyeong was so excited he felt like he was going crazy. He thought gathering materials for this week’s theme would be difficult, but he already found two with different flavors. His heart pounded as he imagined how he would compose and paint his canvas.
Kim Yeonwoo’s blood held a pure and transparent meaning. The blood of the unnamed material would be pitch black that had fallen to the depths of the abyss. Those who didn’t know how to appreciate materials only saw the dark red color of blood and failed to see what lay within. But Song Inmyeong could see it, and he could create a more magnificent world.
And the resulting work might hang in the center of Song Inmyeong’s room, receiving the greatest love…
“Fʊck.”
“What the hㅌll is it now?”
“It’s fcking awesome.”
“He’s gone mad, Vian.”
“Yeah, absolutely. Our Janghwa better not grow up like that.”
“You b⋏st⋏rds, there really aren’t any normal people around me.”
“…Ah, come on, consider my feelings, you b⋏st⋏rds.”
He was annoyed, but he didn’t push them away completely.
Song Inmyeong was in the middle of a huge project called ‘Friends’, and his life would end with them as art. He genuinely cared for these idiotic fools. He considered them friends.
Of course, they would naturally distance themselves once they saw Song Inmyeong’s real work.
“Ahjussi.”
“…….”
“Why are you so injured?”
Because his work belonged only to those who made up his world. Because it was true art that only the inhabitants of his world could see.
It would be a long time before his friends could see his work.
“Why are your friends… all clean? All fine?”
“…….”
“Did those people ask where you should got hurt? Oh, that makes sense then.”
“…No.”
“Then what?”
“They told me not to get hurt…”
“…….”
“Just.”
Listening to the sound of his stiff heart pounding against his brain, Song Inmyeong waited for the material’s answer.
“…I didn’t want to see them get hurt….”
“…….”
A voice was heard immediately after that.
“…Student Song Inmyeong?”
“…….”
“I’m here to take this ahjussi away. Is that alright?”
The guy’s name was probably Jung Inho.
Song Inmyeong turned his gaze from Jung Inho to Lee Jaehun, who had already fallen asleep at some point. Well, considering he’d been holding on since he was dead tired, it made sense that he’d fall asleep mid-conversation.
Song Inmyeong turned his eyes back to Jung Inho.
“…….”
The guy had a clean-looking face, but something felt off.
He was certain that Jung Inho had heard Lee Jaehun’s last words.
“…I don’t have the authority to say anything, do I?”
“…….”
“Take him, I don’t care.”
With a bright smile, Jung Inho gently shook the unconscious Lee Jaehun, skillfully placed Lee Jaehun’s arm over his shoulder, and slowly got up. It seemed he was being considerate of Lee Jaehun’s poor condition.
Then, without a word, he moved away.
“…….”
Wow, holy shⁱt.
‘That’s practically a natural monument.’
And there were even two of them.
Song Inmyeong could say with certainty that this piece would be truly magnificent.