Chapter 143 |
Though Jung Inho and Ha Sungyoon might have noticed, Lee Jaehun was quite casual with the group. Abruptly so, almost to the point of lacking plausibility.
There were reasons for this.
‘Firstly, I’m tired.’
Lee Jaehun was quite exhausted.
The times he’d casually joked or chatted with the group were when his mental fortitude had been low for a while. He lacked the energy and mental capacity to meticulously examine and plan his actions, so he resorted to the frivolous tone he might have used in casual settings in his past life.
Although Lee Jaehun wouldn’t admit it, his inherent nature was also a bit childish. Fundamentally, being condescending was a characteristic of those with less mature minds. Therefore, Lee Jaehun teasing Kwon Yeonhee or engaging in nonsensical skits could be seen in the same light.
Secondly, his plan had failed.
‘Strategies change depending on the situation.’
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Before failing, he had tried to maintain trust through friendly behavior, thinking that affection would eventually decrease anyway. After failing, since it was already ruined, he induced the group to feel more comfortable with him. After all, the importance of interpersonal relationships becomes much clearer in horizontal relationships rather than vertical ones.
And lastly, although it bruised his pride considerably…
‘I don’t want to be abandoned.’
He didn’t want to be abandoned by the main characters’ group.
This was a common thought among those who lived in his past life’s world. They always wanted to be valuable. Thus, they wished not to be abandoned. In a world where being deemed useless meant being readily discarded, one had to be valuable to survive.
In fact, Lee Jaehun had thought this way since he first remembered his past life. Ultimately, feigning virtue in front of the protagonist using the traffic accident as an excuse, all the theatrics he’d displayed so far, stemmed from the same context.
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So I…
“…….”
…vaguely, Lee Jaehun realized his foolishness.
He didn’t actually need to endure the trauma while hanging from the cliff. Of course, the deal with the algae monster had to be made for Lee Jaehun’s comfortable rest, but a mere delay in the deal was manageable. He could have endured that much.
‘Of course, to be certain, I had to kill him or induce someone else to do it…’
The conclusion was this: there were plenty of other ways, and it wasn’t cost-effective. Lee Jaehun didn’t have to waste precious mental energy to kill Song Inmyeong. In a situation where he could have easily recovered even if he fell to his death in the flower field, there was a decisive reason why he held onto the tree roots and endured on the cliff.
The plea for help echoed in his ears.
‘How foolish.’
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Once again, he had knowingly glossed over it, and self-directed contempt welled up within him.
He recalled Song Inmyeong’s words, mocking him as an idiot. Perhaps he was right. Lee Jaehun, unable to do anything decisively, might indeed be nothing more than empty-headed trash.
I am foolish, but…
“…….”
…I didn’t want to see my value decrease.
I didn’t want to be abandoned.
***
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“…….”
He hadn’t really thought about the mechanics of the fruit.
Everything in the other world was surreal and nonsensical. More importantly, Lee Jaehun hadn’t told Jung Inho much about this world, and Jung Inho, sensing an unknown danger, hadn’t tried to learn more. As a result, he knew very little about the other world.
But there were things he could instinctively feel.
“…Uh…”
When the pain searing his brain vanished in an instant.
When the itching on his neck subsided to a mere tingling, and his fading consciousness calmly returned. When the breath he drew was no longer painful but sweet.
“Mr. Inho, are you, are you okay? Mr. Inho!”
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“…….”
Instead, a chill ran down his spine.
“How are you feeling? Is it okay to suddenly get up like this? No, you should lie down again…”
“…Ms. Yeonhee.”
His heart sank.
“Where did everyone else go?”
At his question, prompted by the significantly reduced number of people, Kwon Yeonhee’s expression darkened. It matched the now-darkened, gray sky so perfectly that Jung Inho unconsciously clenched his hands.
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“They, they went to get food… they said. To gather supplies.”
“…….”
“They’re late. Monsters attacked several times, and Yeonseok went out worried, but he hasn’t come back… So far, no one here is seriously injured. But…”
Kwon Yeonhee trailed off repeatedly, averting her gaze.
“…They’re really late…”
“…….”
“No one, no one is coming back.”
A sob hung at the end of her trembling voice.
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At those words, Jung Inho felt his mind drifting away.
“…Ha…”
A premonition solidified into certainty, choking him.
Jung Inho had never thought deeply about the mechanics of the fruit. He was too exhausted to consider it, and Lee Jaehun had seemed on the verge of death. Back then, Jung Inho was half-mad with the pressure to do something.
And to be honest, he regretted eating the fruit. It was embarrassing to admit, but he realized he had made a rash decision. The fruit saved one person but left another beyond saving. As Lee Jaehun had said, it was inefficient.
But despite that, he had felt relieved.
“…Mr. Jung Inho?”
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“…….”
“Uh, are you… are you feeling okay…?”
It was still an unfamiliar voice.
Jung Inho saw firefighter Han Doyoon looking at him, holding a wooden plank. He looked terrible, likely from the monster attacks, but more than that, he seemed to be staring at Jung Inho with a fear-stricken shock.
“…It doesn’t hurt anymore?”
His tone suggested he desperately hoped Jung Inho was still in pain.
“…No.”
“…….”
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“It doesn’t hurt at all.”
And now, it no longer hurt…
“…This shouldn’t be happening…”
His hoarse voice trembled slightly at the end.
Even though he hadn’t paid much attention to the mechanics of the fruit, he at least knew it healed the other person in exchange for inflicting pain on the user. Furthermore, perhaps because Lee Jaehun had sustained so many injuries, both big and small, Jung Inho had almost lost consciousness immediately after eating the fruit.
He couldn’t even properly remember how much it hurt, but his body now felt fine, the pain he had felt moments ago fading away. Jung Inho was clearly thinking and not suffering.
So, I…
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“…Manager.”
This shouldn’t have happened.
“Manager, Manager… where is he? Where did he go?”
“…….”
“Where did everyone go?”
His voice grew agitated, his breath ragged with anxiety. As Han Doyoon, then Kwon Yeonhee, and even the faces of the students in school uniforms standing further away turned pale, his heart pounded. He felt the throbbing crushing his brain.
Jung Inho’s gaze swept over the area and landed on a woman holding a child, her head bowed.
“…….”
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“…Sob…”
Her bloodstained leg seemed perfectly fine.
“What is…”
Jung Inho couldn’t finish his sentence.
A silent wave of unrest rippled through the pavilion. The white-haired old woman simply looked away, staring into space, while CEO Choi Jungman glanced around nervously. Han Doyoon, after opening and closing his mouth several times, dropped the wooden plank as if throwing it away, leaned against the wall, and covered his head with his hands.
Young Jang Seoah, seemingly unaware of the situation, carefully held the arm of Lee Yoonbyeol, who wouldn’t let go of her. The sight of her teacher burying her face in Seoah’s shoulder and starting to cry was enough to unsettle the child.
And Jung Inho…
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“…….”
“…….”
…saw the devastated expression on Police Officer Kim Yeonwoo’s face.
She was watching the whole scene with her lips tightly pressed together, her eyes wide as if she had witnessed something unbelievable. Her furrowed brow and pale face seemed to reflect her feelings.
Soon, he heard her voice.
“…Are you, alright?”
“…….”
“I see.”
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At Jung Inho and Lee Yoonbyeol’s silence, Kim Yeonwoo slowly closed her eyes.
“That’s a relief…”
No one would believe she truly felt relieved.
Strands of hair swayed around her neck as she moved her head. For a moment, Jung Inho thought she was crying, but her eyes, as she slowly exhaled, were merely flushed, not wㅌt. She seemed to be suppressing something.
Young Jang Seoah, fiddling with her hands blankly in Lee Yoonbyeol’s embrace, spoke in a dazed voice.
“…Is the ahjussi dead?”
No one answered.
As soft sobs filled the pavilion, Kwon Yeonhee, who had been quietly observing the situation, stumbled to her feet. She was heading towards the wooden plank.
“…Where are you going?”
“I have to go see.”
“Ms. Kwon Yeonhee.”
“I think I have to go see.”
When Jung Inho grabbed her wrist, Kwon Yeonhee shook off his hand and shouted.
“Just, let me go…!”
She finally broke down in tears.
“They said they’d be back soon, but they’re still not here! Do you know how much time has passed? It’s already dark, monsters keep attacking, but no one is coming back…!”
“Ms. Yeonhee.”
“If I had known, I would have gone with Yeonseok when he left. I, I thought everyone would come back soon. I thought they would all come back safe…”
“…….”
“…Come back…”
Drop.
Tears fell to the floor.
“…I hoped they’d stay by our side…”
Her weakened voice, like wㅌt paper, echoed through the pavilion.
In fact, even without knowing the exact details, one thing was almost certain. Almost everyone gathered there realized that even if everyone else returned alive, Manager Lee Jaehun wouldn’t.
“Sob, sob… what do we do, really…”
“…….”
“What about our poor Manager…”
Kwon Yeonhee collapsed to the ground.
“He always came back injured. Always getting hurt trying to save someone… This isn’t right. Why does this only happen to our Manager? What did he do wrong…”
Seeing her, someone who always tried to smile even in difficult situations, crying like a child, the others pressed their lips together. Kwon Yeonhee, unable to hold back her tears of frustration and sorrow, didn’t look threatening at all, yet she instilled fear in everyone.
Her cries triggered Jang Seoah, who was not even ten years old yet, to start whimpering, and some covered their faces or looked away. Jung Inho could feel the inescapable despair clinging to everyone.
And he felt it too.
“…….”
Jung Inho, too, couldn’t bear the overwhelming despair…
“…Ha.”
Why did things always turn out this way?
‘…What is this situation?’
He didn’t want to understand why this had to happen.
It was always like this for Jung Inho. He was never by his side, by Lee Jaehun’s side, when that person dⁱㅌd.
He tried to do something, but had anything ever truly worked out? No, it hadn’t. He always failed, tried again, and failed again.
“…Detective…! Detective Hong!”
At Kim Yeonwoo’s shout, people turned to look outside the pavilion.
“I’m glad you’re back, the monsters have been restless…!”
“I’m glad you’re alright too, Ms. Kim Yeonwoo. Yes, the monsters were rampant here as well. The incident escalated, so it took some time to get back.”
“Ah, that…”
At the familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Jung Inho looked up at Hong Kyungjun. Blood stained the wooden plank he held, likely from a cut on his palm.
Hong Kyungjun continued in a stiff voice.
“Mr. Vivian.”
The tone was terribly familiar to Jung Inho.
“Song Inmyeong killed Seo Janghwa and Manager Lee Jaehun.”
“…….”
Vivian’s eyebrows twitched, and he parted his lips slightly, but before he could fully process the words, Hong Kyungjun’s gaze, resolute and pale, shifted to Jung Inho.
“And Mr. Jung Inho.”
“…….”
“Ha Sungyoon killed Song Inmyeong, who killed Lee Jaehun.”
Only then could Jung Inho turn to look behind Hong Kyungjun.
“…….”
“…….”
The doctor, wearing a faint smile, held a scalpel stained with dark red blood.
Ha Sungyoon lightly waved it as if showing it off, then handed it to Detective Hong Kyungjun. Blinking in surprise at the strangely natural exchange, Hong Kyungjun accepted the scalpel. His gaze was unusually rigid.
“We couldn’t recover the bodies. We were too busy escaping, and Kang Mina’s condition wasn’t good, so she needed rest. Naturally, we failed to gather any supplies or explore.”
“…….”
“Ms. Kim Yeonwoo.”
Kim Yeonwoo, pale as a sheet, responded to his call.
“…Yes, please speak.”
“I think we need to talk for a moment.”
His tone was sharp, yet masked by a professional demeanor.
“We need to discuss what to do next.”
That—
“…….”
—was incredibly familiar to Jung Inho.
People trembling in silent fear. Or survivors resigned to fate or growing increasingly sensitive. Relationships crumbling under the weight of the detective’s obsessive suspicion and scrutiny. A situation devoid of hope…
“…Ah.”
It all started with Lee Jaehun’s death.
‘You should have lived.’
If he had lived, if Lee Jaehun had lived, things would have been much better.
At least it would have been many times better than Jung Inho surviving in his place. Jung Inho was certain of it, and he would never doubt it again. It was a conviction as strong as the relief he’d felt when the pain vanished from his body.
‘So,’
Once again, I…
“…….”
…failed.
And I will likely continue to do so in the future.