Chapter 119 |
Ha Sungyoon’s question made Lee Jaehun instinctively rack his brain. He was someone who could reflexively calculate even when he experienced mild panic attacks like before, so he couldn’t afford to act foolish now just because he was tired.
So, the information revealed by the doctor was obvious:
‘He can see something from before the regression.’
And,
‘He doesn’t know if I remember it.’
Ha Sungyoon’s question was clearly about Lee Jaehun’s death before the regression.
It was a clear question, leaving no room for confusion. Lee Jaehun guessed that the eye the doctor received could see something from before the regression. Considering how much more reckless the doctor had become since receiving the eye, it seemed it had taken a toll on his mental state as well.
However, the doctor didn’t know exactly what he was seeing. Judging from the way he described Lee Jaehun’s death scene, it seemed he didn’t know anything about the circumstances surrounding it. In that case, it also meant that he didn’t know whether it was a past death that should have happened or a future death that was yet to come.
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Lee Jaehun answered Ha Sungyoon’s question in a tired voice.
“Don’t people… usually call that kind of thing a nightmare?”
“That could be it.”
As expected, there was no trace of suspicion towards him in that hoarse voice.
Then, the question Lee Jaehun was curious about right now was,
‘What is this b⋏st⋏rd’s purpose?’
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He glanced sideways at Ha Sungyoon, who was re-wrapping the bandage on his forearm. The bandage, which had loosened from running around, was put back in place, and he felt the appropriate pressure that came with it.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not really.”
“I’d like to hear you say it hurts at least once.”
“You’ll hear it soon enough, I tend to exaggerate pain.”
“I suppose you would.”
“It’s true…”
Just as Ha Sungyoon tried to judge Lee Jaehun based on his own experiences, Lee Jaehun could also judge Dr. Ha Sungyoon based on his memories from his past life.
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This man was well-trained for sudden situations.
Lee Jaehun knew these kinds of doctors. But this wasn’t the world of his past life, so perhaps Ha Sungyoon had volunteered in a conflict zone. In places where you had to achieve the best results with limited medical supplies and also needed quick reflexes, blood flowed freely without a care.
However, even if you took this into account, there were a few odd things about Ha Sungyoon.
“I heard you stayed behind alone to face the monster last time. It was the dog monster, wasn’t it? It would have been better to escape together.”
“Someone had to buy time.”
“It didn’t have to be you, sir.”
“…….”
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Lee Jaehun didn’t deny it.
‘For a doctor with such a strong sense of professionalism, he’s certainly creepy.’
Strange aspects of him occasionally surfaced. He clearly poured all his passion into healing and saving patients, yet separately, he acted as if he could abandon lives at any moment. It wasn’t as extreme as Lee Jaehun, who could kill anyone he saved at any time, but it felt as though Ha Sungyoon was saying that even those he saved could dⁱㅌ at any time.
It felt like he wouldn’t be surprised if a patient he had just saved was found dead from a stab wound the next day, even in the middle of a city with angular buildings rather than a war zone.
However, Ha Sungyoon was a doctor, not a soldier.
“I hope our group will never get separated again. I’m not good at that sort of thing… I find it difficult to track down and follow the traces of someone who has disappeared.”
“Is that so.”
Yet, Ha Sungyoon seemed proficient in these situations.
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‘In things like the otherworld.’
So, what was going on? Ha Sungyoon rarely told Lee Jaehun stories about himself, so Jaehun could only speculate about the doctor’s past.
Perhaps Ha Sungyoon intentionally sought to enter the otherworld. Judging from the bandages he had, he wasn’t someone who had stumbled into this place unknowingly. Also, there must have been a catalyst that drew him into the otherworld.
‘His friend.’
The friend he would visit every 1st of the month.
‘They’ll appear briefly later on.’
Unlike Ha Sungyoon, who first appeared as a lump of flesh, Ha Sungyoon’s friend appeared alive once. There was a scene where the protagonist discovered traces of them on Ha Sungyoon’s corpse as a clue and went to find them.
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Perhaps that ‘friend’ acted as the catalyst, and Ha Sungyoon tried to understand the otherworld through them. Moreover, the otherworld generally swallowed the mentally ill, so it couldn’t be a coincidence that Ha Sungyoon was swallowed by this world.
‘To understand the otherworld… means he’s lived with that world.’
In that case, it was understandable why Ha Sungyoon showed talents beyond his medical capabilities. No one had tried it, but perhaps anyone who ‘understood’ the otherworld would be the same.
If so, why?
“Is there anything else bothering you?”
“No.”
“I hope that’s true.”
Ha Sungyoon looked at Jaehun, who was leaning against the wall, and gently curved his eyes.
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“…I’ve been thinking.”
“…….”
“You… always cough up blood after waking up. You were fine when you woke up after sleeping for three days.”
“Is that so?”
“Perhaps the one having nightmares isn’t me, but you.”
Ha Sungyoon continued.
“I’m sorry for continuously saying rude things.”
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“…….”
“Rest in peace.”
“That sounds like something you’d say to a dead person….”
When Lee Jaehun let out an empty laugh, Ha Sungyoon raised the corner of his mouth. A calm gaze, befitting the serene smile, swept over Lee Jaehun once, and then he rose from his seat.
“I’ll go check on the others. I wasn’t joking when I said you should rest, so will you please stay put until the injuries on your body heal?”
“I wouldn’t act like that even if I were a troublesome four-year-old.”
“If you really were 4 years old, I wouldn’t let you get away with it.”
With those words, Ha Sungyoon left and went straight to Owner Yoon Garam.
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Yoon Garam, who had been quietly watching the burning bonfire, smiled brightly at Ha Sungyoon’s call. Lee Jaehun judged the emotion contained in that smile to be admiration or blind faith.
‘It was Ha Sungyoon who helped Yoon Garam back then.’
Lee Jaehun stared blankly into space, while also recalling the child’s corpse he had seen this afternoon. To be precise, its face.
The reason he panicked was quite complicated, but if he had to pick one….
“…….”
His rolling gaze landed on a man.
‘As expected.’
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They resembled each other.
Lee Jaehun was talking about the sturdy Owner Choi Jungman, who was talking to the survivors. Besides the overall impression, his nose and eyes, in particular, were similar. It was to the point that Lee Jaehun thought a slimmer, younger version of Owner Choi Jungman would look exactly like the child.
It probably wasn’t just Lee Jaehun who noticed it.
‘Detective Hong Kyungjun who was there, and….’
Student Song Inmyeong.
“Hello, ahjussi.”
“…….”
Those with sharp perception couldn’t have missed it.
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They were just pretending not to know.
“You look exhausted.”
“…….”
“Should I bring you some water?”
This novel was truly, incredibly intricately woven.
***
Park Dayoung had lived her entire life gauging out other people’s moods.
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For some reason, her parents intensely disliked her younger brother, Park Dahoon. They scorned and loathed him. Even if she entertained the delusional thought that he was adopted and thus less loved, they looked remarkably alike. However, Park Dayoung realized that if she ever voiced such a question, she too would be abandoned.
As long as she kept quiet, her parents were incredibly good to her. Despite this, she loved her younger brother. She cherished him and held a deep affection for him. Park Dayoung couldn’t deny that Park Dahoon also relied on her, his older sister, to a certain extent.
For them, the words Lee Jaehun spoke were incredibly sweet.
‘Because you are young, you should be protected.’
It was quite a shocking statement.
Her brother suffered from insomnia, and Park Dayoung, constantly plagued by guilt, felt compelled to stay by his side. Therefore, when Park Dahoon woke up, Park Dayoung was also awake.
‘…Of course, with such a loud noise, anyone would wake up.’
While others seemed too tired to be awake, the woman named Kwon Yeonhee, who had been lying next to her, was also awake.
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Her breathing was irregular, and her eyelids fluttered. It seemed she was feigning sleep due to the atmosphere, even though she was awake.
However, Lee Jaehun’s words were so sweet that Park Dayoung couldn’t focus on such things.
“…….”
So sweet that she wouldn’t be able to abandon him even if he eventually became a monster.
‘If we dⁱㅌ by his hand… wouldn’t he dⁱㅌ with us?’
She felt guilty, even more so than what she felt for Park Dahoon. He couldn’t protect those who should have been protected, but instead killed them. If they dⁱㅌd by his side, at least they wouldn’t be lonely.
Of course, that thought dissipated before it could even take shape.
Both Park Dayoung and Dahoon had a strong will to live. It was almost like a habit, and they also instinctively noticed things. They were used to surviving as minors among adults.
So,
“…Hey, hey.”
“…What is that?”
“Exactly.”
They were quite perceptive.
To live, to be protected, to survive, they knew how to read the room. They had a peculiar ability to distinguish between what was dangerous to them and what wasn’t….
“That b⋏st⋏rd, something’s off about him, right?”
Her sidelong glance was directed at the man who was talking with Lee Jaehun.
He had quite long, curly hair, tied up in a half-ponytail. With his rounded hair and an apron covered in paint, anyone could tell he was an artist.
However, such outward appearances weren’t important to the siblings.
“He keeps hovering around the police officer and the ahjussi.”
“Fʊck, it’s kinda creepy….”
Park Dahoon muttered and scratched the back of his neck as if he had a headache.
The scratching was so intense it seemed compulsive, and Park Dayoung reflexively grabbed his hand to stop him. Park Dahoon’s neck had turned red, but he lowered his hand as if nothing had happened. Park Dayoung also let go, pretending not to notice.
“I’d understand the police officer, but that ahjussi… shouldn’t we consider there’s something going on?”
She nodded involuntarily at his words.
Officer Kim Yeonwoo was indeed beautiful. Her sleek, chin-length bob shone a pretty black color and her skin was flawless, even though she didn’t seem to take special care of it. With sharp eyes, she sometimes appeared timid, but she was fundamentally innocent and kind, the type of person that you’d naturally like.
So, when that man first hanging around near the officer, Park Dayoung thought, ‘Ah, he must have a crush on her.’ Even if it felt a bit strange, what else could she do if he wanted to express his feelings to someone he liked?
However, when this person named Song Inmyeong approached Lee Jaehun, the siblings felt a sense of unease.
“He’s not approaching him out of good intentions.”
“Anyone can see that’s a bit….”
At the very least, it wasn’t a look one would give to a fellow human being.
“…….”
“…….”
That didn’t mean the siblings could do anything significant.
After all, their opinions were based solely on their intuition, and they had no concrete evidence. The detective who introduced himself as Hong Kyungjun also occasionally glanced at Song Inmyeong, perhaps sensing something, but his inaction likely stemmed from the same reasons as the siblings.
But they couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“…What if that ahjussi ends up dead?”
No one else wanted to protect them except him.
It was not just Jung Inho, who had eyed them suspiciously from the start, but the others as well. They were the ones who ran away without looking back just because Lee Jaehun, who hadn’t even looked that scary, created a slightly strange atmosphere. She couldn’t imagine these people protecting them if a real monster appeared.
But they were anxious. Finally, a proper adult, not her, was protecting her little brother, embracing them without reason. The expectations they had built up were too high to turn away from him just because he might turn into a monster.
If only he was their parent. Then they wouldn’t have to be so cautious and could have just lived normally, bickering like any other siblings.
“…….”
“…Let’s tell someone.”
They couldn’t turn a blind eye now.
“Who?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“…You’re scared of him.”
“I just dislike him.”
“Bʊllshⁱt….”
Park Dayoung, twisting and pulling her hair, which she had paid a fortune to get permed at the salon, gathered her hands and looked to the side. Park Dahoon also turned his head.
Their gazes landed on Jung Inho.
“…….”
For some reason, he seemed to dislike them intensely.
This was quite a serious matter for Dayoung and Dahoon.
The siblings didn’t know why their parents hated Park Dahoon, and they also didn’t know why Jung Inho hated them. He looked completely different, and they had only known him for a short time, but they couldn’t help but see their parents in him.
“Still… hasn’t he mellowed out a bit lately?”
“You call that mellowing out? He’s just holding back. He’s holding back because he doesn’t have a justification.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
At Park Dahoon’s question, Park Dayoung glanced at a less conspicuous corner of the arbor. More precisely, at Song Inmyeong’s gaze towards Lee Jaeheon.
They knew what kind of look that was.
“…Let’s… at least bring it up to him.”
“Okay.”
That wasn’t the look one would give to a human.
It was the look you’d give to an ingredient.