Chapter 144 |
The moment after death when Lee Jaehun opened his eyes, or rather, when he felt like he opened his eyes—
“…Huh?”
—was none other than a dream.
“What the fʊck, are you kidding me?”
Curses slipped out involuntarily.
Lee Jaehun was already racking his brains over the nature and origin of this regression. It was only his second time. The last time, he’d regained consciousness in the otherworld, whereas now it was in a dream. There had to be some consistency for him to maintain his sanity.
Furthermore, although he instinctively realized, ‘Ah, I’m in a dream’ he couldn’t determine which point in time he’d returned to. Lee Jaehun had suffered this dreadful dream every time he fell asleep….
“…Come to think of it, didn’t I start having lucid dreams after the regression?”
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Muttering to himself, he ran his hands through his hair. The first time he had a lucid dream was the first time he slept after arriving in the otherworld, so he couldn’t distinguish whether the starting point of these lucid dreams was the otherworld or the first regression. It was a truly frustratingly ambiguous phenomenon.
Collecting his thoughts as quickly as possible, he looked around.
‘The location is the base before entering the pavilion. As expected, there are no other people or animals around, no monsters… The trees are just as creepy.’
He immediately headed towards the algae-covered lake.
His physical body was asleep at the second base, which meant there was a high probability that it was before he put his hand in the campfire.
“I need to find the algae monster.”
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He planned to leave and dⁱㅌ as soon as he confirmed whether the deal had been properly made.
‘Even if the protagonist and I dⁱㅌ at different times, the time we return to the regression point seems roughly similar.’
He wasn’t sure about the exact time difference since they had regressed while separated last time, but the time when Lee Jaehun went to find firewood with the others and the time when the protagonist took action seemed roughly the same. The time it took to regain consciousness, find the blood-flavored worm, and lure the algae monster.
Of course, he wasn’t certain that the protagonist’s regression trigger was ‘death’, but judging by how mentally shattered Jung Inho was, wasn’t it a reasonable guess? Although still a hypothesis, Lee Jaehun decided to assume that the protagonist had to dⁱㅌ for the regression conditions to be met.
And if that were the case, it wouldn’t be strange for Lee Jaehun to wake up earlier than usual.
‘Because Jung Inho would have done something while I was asleep.’
Lee Jaehun currently didn’t know which point in time he was in. If it was before he put his hand in the fire, he’d once slept for three days straight, so waking up earlier than before could make the protagonist suspicious. If that happened, the fact that Lee Jaehun remembered the time before the regression might be revealed.
However, if Jung Inho had taken some action after experiencing a death-triggered regression, even the fact that Lee Jaehun woke up earlier would lead him to mistakenly believe, ‘Ah, the situation has changed because I did something’. That was what those who were superficially smart did—they wrote a whole novel in their heads without anyone knowing. A prime example was Dr. Ha Sungyoon.
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And if the deal had been properly made, Lee Jaehun could wake up from the dream whenever he wanted.
“…….”
The twilight air brushing against his skin sent shivers down his spine.
“…What is this dream, really…”
“…….”
“What the hㅌll is it, d⋏mn it.”
Before him, a green mass stood on two feet.
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“Why do I have to suffer this headache-inducing dream?”
He already had enough headaches in the otherworld.
The protagonist remembered the time before the regression just like him; Ha Sungyoon, whom he had considered a helpful variable, was proving to be a bigger variable than imagined; And Lee Jaehun couldn’t figure out why the not-so-easy-to-deal-with Song Inmyeong had revealed his identity to someone unknown.
‘I even need to decide on a strategy for Owner Yoon Garam’s trauma.’
Lee Jaehun had a lot to do. He had to check the park for more survivors, now that he had changed the flow of events. Since he realized he couldn’t maintain his guard against the group, he had to change his strategy. He also had to figure out what those pale eyes were that made Ha Sungyoon go suddenly insane, how far gone the protagonist’s mental state was, and how to take care of him.
He had vaguely formulated plans for all of this, but that didn’t mean his tasks had disappeared. And in the midst of all this, a sudden lucid dream tormented him, adding to his frustration.
“…And… why did I have to bring you your prey?”
The haphazardly unfolding events were terrifying.
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“You could have hunted yourself, and you could have filled your belly faster… Why did I have to offer you prey?”
“…….”
“…Anyway, was our deal properly made?”
To that,
“…….”
“…….”
The algae monster slowly crumbled.
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No, it wasn’t crumbling. The large, dull mass was simply gradually taking on a human-like form, and the algae clinging to it flowed down like mud. Lee Jaehun blinked slowly at the simple transformation.
When all the algae had fallen away—
“…Ugh, dⁱsgʊstⁱng.”
Lee Jaehun saw the murderer he had offered up, the one the doctor had killed.
“This, what the fʊck, was this the setup…?”
Seeing Song Inmyeong’s face with a hole in his neck, Lee Jaehun couldn’t help but laugh dryly.
Well, it wasn’t entirely illogical. Most monsters in the other world had the ability to move independently, but algae was simply a phenomenon caused by the mass proliferation of buoyant algae. Lee Jaehun had wondered why something that wasn’t even alive had a human-like form.
So, there was simply a human ⁱnsⁱdㅌ it.
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“It’s hard to make a living, really…”
He didn’t know.
He still didn’t quite understand, but he couldn’t shake the thought that he had screwed over the pre-regression protagonist before dying. Even if he had somehow survived, the protagonist probably would have been killed by the algae monster.
‘If it replaces the skeleton ⁱnsⁱdㅌ like this, wouldn’t a stronger, newer one improve its performance?’
Setting aside his personality, Song Inmyeong’s physical abilities were excellent. Not to mention his ability to escape, he had the strength to slice through thick human bones and fillet them with a knife. If his guess was correct, Lee Jaehun had practically handed over such a person as a new battery for the algae monster.
He couldn’t help but anticipate that the protagonist’s mental state would be utterly wrecked when he woke up from this dream. What have I done to those newly hatched chicks?
“…Don’t laugh.”
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“…….”
“D⋏mn it, don’t laugh. It’s fcking creepy.”
But, well.
“So the deal is done?”
At least he had gained freedom from this dreadful dream.
‘Taking care of the protagonist is all that matters.’
Although it didn’t seem like something that could be resolved with such a simple resolution, Lee Jaehun decided to be shameless. Without ‘Lee Jaehun’, those guys would have lost their minds back at the company. At least the situation was much better than the original story.
Having skillfully brainwashed and rationalized himself, Lee Jaehun looked up at the sky.
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“…….”
It was a terribly gloomy dream.
“…Wouldn’t it be nice if it were sunny, even in a dream?”
He met the gaze of the algae monster that had consumed Song Inmyeong, which was still quietly watching him.
“That means there was another body ⁱnsⁱdㅌ it before Song Inmyeong.”
“…….”
“I wonder why I felt a sense of familiarity there…”
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Well, leaving that aside.
Lee Jaehun had to think once more about why his dreams and the reality of the otherworld were connected. This incident was practically bringing something from the otherworld into a dream. Things from dreams often became reality, but this situation was perplexing even for him.
Lightly brushing his lips, Lee Jaehun spoke to the algae monster again.
“Is the deal done?”
“…….”
“Then I’m free?”
“…….”
“…So, what…”
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He continued.
“…can you do here?”
In response, the algae monster silently began to envelop its newly acquired skeleton.
There was something viscerally disturbing about it. A sense of reason inhabiting mud that should have neither emotion nor will, seemingly devouring a healthy person, parasitizing a living being and leaving no trace of its original form. A truly inhumane and cruel image.
Finally, when a monster close to two or three meters tall was complete, it unfurled a tangle of teeth from its gaping maw, as if to answer.
“…Right, I see.”
“…….”
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“That’s not bad either.”
Lee Jaehun was killed once again by the algae monster.
Even if it was just in a dream.
***
“………”
Lee Jaehun woke up while everyone else was fast asleep.
“…Ugh.”
He quietly sat up, a wave of nausea rising from his throat.
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This time, he had dⁱㅌd by having his throat ripped out by the algae monster. The vine-like tentacles with teeth had wrapped around his neck and gnawed their way in, and he only woke up when his head was almost separated from his body. He had tried to stay still to avoid causing a commotion, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
He glanced around, briefly observing Jung Inho curled up like a shrimp, then moved away. The feeling of liquid sloshing around ⁱnsⁱdㅌ him wasn’t pleasant, though not as bad as when he was submerged in the lake.
‘And this is real blood.’
Ah, I’m tired.
His body, briefly free from pain, now ached, but Lee Jaehun had to move to progress the story. The blood gurgling in his throat kept rising towards his nose, making him feel nauseous.
As he moved away from the rising campfire—
“Manager.”
“…….”
At the voice that called out to him as if waiting, Lee Jaehun turned around, his hand pressed to his mouth.
Jung Inho was looking at him, smiling.
“It’s dangerous to move around alone at night.”
“…….”
“You look very familiar with this. You must have always disappeared like this while I was asleep. Last time, you silenced Student Park Dahoon, but…”
And the polite smile twisted in an instant.
“Why.”
It was too distorted to be called anger.
“How are you planning to dⁱㅌ this time?”
“…….”
“Do you always wander around alone like this…?”
Lee Jaehun consciously put on a bewildered expression.
It didn’t last long, of course. It was more fitting for ‘Lee Jaehun’ to briefly reveal his bewilderment before regaining control of his expression, rather than openly displaying it.
After all, regardless of the exact time, this was before the commotion. Around this time, the protagonist was relatively stable, so this Jung Inho, who didn’t bother to manage his image, was quite unfamiliar to the current ‘Lee Jaehun.’
“…….”
Pretending to consider, Lee Jaehun casually spat the bright red blood welling up from his throat onto the ground. Less blood splattered down than before.
“Cough, ha…”
“…….”
“…Assistant Manager Jung.”
What was ‘Lee Jaehun’ like before the incident?
“You seem to be quite tired.”
He would have been very conservative and frustrating.
The current ‘Lee Jaehun hadn’t yet had a proper conversation with Jung In-ho about their feelings for each other, and time was trickling away like sandcastles on the beach. It was also a time when ‘Lee Jaehun’ realizing he was losing his mind to the algae monster, was openly distancing himself.
‘Judging by the absence of the fish-roasting stick, it seems like it’s before we retrieved the fish trap from the small lake…’
If it were after the stray dog monster incident, Jung Inho would have approached him more readily, but he must have noticed that the current situation wasn’t favorable. The current ‘Lee Jaehun’ was only acting defensively and wasn’t actively approaching him like before the regression.
But even knowing that, Jung Inho couldn’t possibly hold back.
“…Yes, I’m tired. I’m so tired I’m going crazy, thanks to someone…!”
Lee Jaehun inwardly admired the face that somehow maintained a smile while the teeth were nearly gritted, but seeing the other person’s seemingly shattered mental state, he swallowed his words.
“Well then, how are you planning to dⁱㅌ this time? I seem to have expected too much. Where in the world is there someone who actually goes and dⁱㅌs when told to? Huh? Where are they?”
“…….”
“Why are you doing this to me? Why does it have to be like this? What did I do wrong, Manager? Why do I always fail, unable to even see you dⁱㅌ…! And why did I have to come back here, why!”
Lee Jaehun’s expression crumbled.
‘It seems his mental state is truly shattered.’
Well, though he didn’t for sure, the difficulty must have increased after his death. Perhaps the algae monster became stronger and faster, or Detective Hong Kyungjun’s control-freak nature emerged. In any case, even Lee Jaehun, whom he had grown attached to, had literally gone and dⁱㅌd, so it might have affected his mental state.
And over this awkward feeling, Lee Jaehun layered bewilderment and perplexity. The protagonist wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he had regressed, as if he had no energy left for image management. Lee Jaehun had to show an appropriate reaction.
“…When did I dⁱㅌ…”
“…….”
At the low, cracked voice, the protagonist’s expression returned to normal.
“Aha, right.”
“…….”
“Only I remember again.”
A polite, sincere smile. That creepy face.
“…….”
“…….”
At that moment, Lee Jaehun decided what he had to do immediately.
“…Alright, first…”
“…….”
“Can we… have a conversation?”
He had to fix this guy’s mental state.
For their future survival, and for their escape from the otherworld.