Chapter 146 |
“…….”
“…….”
The protagonist clung to a worthless, third-rate villain.
It was a truly foolish choice, yet Lee Jaehun couldn’t bring himself to mock Jung Inho. He wasn’t in a position to do so.
He didn’t want to be abandoned.
“…I’ll listen.”
He decided to lay down another trap for his own happiness.
“…If you wish…”
Read at Novelib.com
“…I won’t forget either.”
That was enough.
Enough to lift the broken protagonist, enough to prepare for the next time.
* * *
“I heard a scream.”
Jung Inho recalled the memory of that day.
Read at Novelib.com
“I don’t know exactly who it was. But it was definitely a woman’s voice… I think I was startled.”
He could still vividly remember it.
Startled by the woman’s scream, he ran over to find Kang Mina collapsed on the ground and Noh Yeonseok impaled on a tree. Seeing the grotesquely mangled bodies, Jung Inho felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“The next was the Manager.”
Seeing footprints leading away, he held onto a sliver of hope.
“It was a foolish thought.”
Manager was being killed by the green monster.
Manager Lee Jaehun didn’t even seem to have the will to live. His only remaining will seemed to be to hold onto the monster that was sʊckⁱng his blood, and, if he had to add, to urge Jung Inho to save the others. That was the meaning behind the pipe he kicked with his foot.
Read at Novelib.com
“…Honestly, I felt wronged.”
It wouldn’t have been so miserable if he had just dⁱㅌd silently.
“Why didn’t you just… dⁱㅌ without doing anything…?”
“…Right.”
“Then I could have thought, ‘Ah, he was unlucky enough to get caught by a monster and dⁱㅌ.’”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why does this only happen to me…?”
Read at Novelib.com
“I’m sorry.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…Still, I tried my best.”
Holding the bloodstained pipe, he wanted to do something, anything.
“That’s what protagonists in movies do.”
The cliché story of inheriting the will of the deceased by wielding their weapon, their memento.
Although Jung Inho and Lee Jaehun weren’t close enough to share a will, and he wasn’t a movie protagonist, the feeling of holding the weapon of the deceased was indescribable.
Read at Novelib.com
Just as Manager Lee Jaehun had wanted, Jung Inho set out to find the others.
“And I ruined everything.”
Kwon Yeonhee was already on fire, and Owner Yoon Garam was acting like she’d lost her mind. In that chaotic situation, Jung Inho clearly saw two students in school uniforms.
“I remember, they were running away…”
He later learned that Kwon Yeonhee had been caught and killed by the monsters while trying to protect the two students.
Despite this, Jung Inho had to suppress his anger at the students who ran away without looking back. He told himself it was a wise choice, that Kwon Yeonhee would still have dⁱㅌd even if they had helped.
But could he really control his emotions like that? Seeing the two children living comfortably under the detective’s authority, Jung Inho couldn’t help but frown.
Read at Novelib.com
And that wasn’t the only problem.
“I… I think I don’t get along with Detective Hong Kyungjun.”
He couldn’t get along with him from the start.
Jung Inho liked good and righteous people. When he was very young, though he knew it was unrealistic, he wanted to become a police officer or a firefighter. So, when they first met, he had a slight favorable impression of Hong Kyungjun simply because he was a detective.
But that shallow fondness couldn’t last. Hong Kyungjun used his authority as a detective to pressure all the survivors, wanting them to obey him. The way he acted as if it was natural and right made him seem like a tyrant or a dictator.
“Honestly, I was disappointed.”
His disappointment was as great as his expectations.
“The police officers I admired… were more admirable, at least more considerate.”
Read at Novelib.com
He considered Police Officer Kim Yeonwoo to be the real police officer.
She was truly kind and gentle. She was proud to be a police officer and strived to be worthy of the title, even in this situation. She did her best to protect the injured while always approaching others with consideration.
“Actually, it’s not easy to do that in this situation.”
They were suddenly thrown into a strange world with no explanation. Just walking, talking, and breathing was a struggle in this world, and monsters popped out everywhere, preventing them from resting properly. There was no way to go home or any place to properly rest.
They were exhausted, hungry, and couldn’t even eat a proper meal. In such a world, the surviving survivors couldn’t help but become selfish. Among those struggling to protect what they had, Kim Yeonwoo was the only one with consideration for others.
“That… seemed amazing to me.”
She seemed to be the only one worthy of being called human.
Read at Novelib.com
“…I can’t do that.”
Things one couldn’t have always seemed more valuable.
Of course, that didn’t mean Jung Inho was jealous of Kim Yeonwoo. He wasn’t childish enough for that, and he didn’t even have the energy to care. To Jung Inho, Officer Kim Yeonwoo was like a fairy tale character who couldn’t exist in reality.
So, he didn’t have to imitate her. She wasn’t someone who existed in Jung Inho’s reality; she was simply someone he could admire from afar.
“So, it was okay, in its own way.”
Even though Owner Choi Junngman was always panting with irritation and anxiety, Conductor Kim Kijung couldn’t stay still, rubbing his hands with a handkerchief until they bled, and Teacher Lee Yoonbyeol became agitated whenever someone looked at the child.
“…It was very different from when the Manager was there…”
“I’m sorry.”
Read at Novelib.com
“…It’s not something you should apologize for.”
He was simply disgusted by the difference.
“Back then, Seoah was always staring into space.”
She never spoke first and just clung to her teacher like a doll.
The child, with her distinct features and round eyes, was as pretty and cute as a doll, but Jang Seoah, motionless, seemed like a stuffed animal. Some people even commented that she was creepy.
“Firefighter Han Doyoon… was similar. He was always smiling.”
Even though his eyes clearly weren’t smiling, the corners of his mouth were always turned up affably. At first glance, he seemed like a friendly and cheerful person, but if it continued, it was nothing more than a mask. He moved actively and conversed smoothly, but Jung Inho couldn’t deny the sense of disconnect he felt.
Read at Novelib.com
Grandma Jin Dallae never spoke unless Kim Yeonwoo initiated the conversation, and the college students always stuck together, talking amongst themselves. He remembered how they would all fall silent and just stare intently whenever someone approached them.
“And Dayoung and Dahoon… they didn’t change much. The only difference was that they never left Detective Hong Kyungjun’s side.”
Owner Yoon Garam acted like her world had ended, and she started leaving the group without a word more and more frequently.
Dr. Ha Sungyoon couldn’t stay still for a moment, constantly checking on the injured. It was almost obsessive, but he never tried to initiate a conversation.
Actually, he was always like that.
“It was only different when the Manager was there. Or maybe it was the same even then. Even if Dr. Ha Sungyoon wanted something, he always preferred someone else to step up and solve the problem for him.”
“Are you angry?”
“Yes, or maybe… I’m just resentful.”
Read at Novelib.com
It was resentment.
“Because I didn’t want to do anything.”
Sometimes, when monsters approached the survivors, Jung Inho had to use the worms that lived in the trees as bait. It was ironic, considering that Ha Sungyoon was the one who told him about the blood-flavored worms. Jung Inho felt disgusted by him, as if he was being manipulated.
In the process, Jung Inho noticed a connection between Yoon Garam and fire. Some plant-like monsters spontaneously combusted, reminding him of the monster he had seen in Yoon Garam’s flower shop. He suspected that Dr. Ha Sungyoon had orchestrated that as well.
But that didn’t mean he could rest.
“Owner Yoon Garam dⁱㅌd.”
Her body was found, and it was clear that she had been murdered by a person.
Read at Novelib.com
There were clear marks on her neck, indicating she had been strangled to death with vines, and a severed vine with human handprints was found nearby. There was plenty of other evidence pointing to a murder between humans. Fortunately, the body was mostly intact, making it easier to determine the cause of death.
Around that time, Detective Hong Kyungjun spoke.
“He said there’s a murderer among us, the one he was chasing.”
And Jung Inho was one of the suspects.
After seeing Yoon Garam’s body, Detective Hong Kyungjun became even more sharp and sensitive. All survivors had to act under his watchful eye, and if they left his sight even for a moment, they had to explain what they had been doing down to the minute. Those he suspected had to account for almost every second.
Among the suspects, Jung Inho was the one who clashed with Hong Kyungjun the most. Even Choi Jungman, who didn’t have much mental capacity to spare, consoled him—that alone said it all.
The conflict between Jung Inho and Hong Kyungjun only deepened with each passing day.
“And one evening… Dr. Ha Sungyoon called me. I was surprised because it was the first time he asked to talk.”
Read at Novelib.com
He told him about Yoon Garam.
“It was about her trauma.”
The story of how his family dⁱㅌd in a fire during a trip in his school days. The relationship between Ha Sungyoon and Yoon Garam since then. Why she was so terrified when she saw Kwon Yeonhee’s burns, and so on…
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was all true.”
“Why?”
“Because Ms. Yoon Garam clearly enjoyed watching the fire…”
Before she dⁱㅌd, she had screamed in terror at someone else’s burns. She sometimes hyperventilated, making Dr. Ha Sungyoon fuss over her, but Jung Inho had once seen her smiling during one of these episodes. It was clearly an expression of enjoyment.
When he asked her about it, she didn’t deny it.
“Everyone was crazy.”
But before he could even discuss it with Ha Sungyoon, the very next day, Dr. Ha Sungyoon was found dead, his body cold.
“…I wanted to dⁱㅌ.”
After everyone around him dⁱㅌd, he couldn’t think straight. So when he was suddenly accused of being the murderer, he couldn’t even muster the courage to deny it. Perhaps due to the peculiar atmosphere of the otherworld, he was even caught in the delusion that he might have actually killed him.
It was Officer Kim Yeonwoo who defended Jung Inho then.
“The hand sizes are different.”
The cause of Ha Sungyoon’s death was strangulation, and although not as clear as the last time, there were handprints on his neck, since vines weren’t used. They were slightly smaller than Jung Inho’s.
But the difference wasn’t significant, and there were a few others with similar hand sizes. Detective Hong Kyungjun, judging that the situation was too tense to proceed, postponed the investigation until the next day.
Just before nightfall, the algae monster attacked.
“To be precise, it was the vines… but everyone knows what it is. It was a dangerous situation.”
And this was where the story came in.
“They said, why not use someone as bait?”
Surprisingly, the bait they were referring to was none other than Jang Seoah.
When children didn’t act like children, flawed adults felt uncomfortable. If they were better, more decent adults, they would have cherished and protected the child. But the survivors, consumed by the delusion that they might dⁱㅌ a miserable death, tried to use Jang Seoah, whom they considered a bothersome burden, as bait.
At that moment, Jung Inho realized.
“Ah, we’re all going to dⁱㅌ at this rate.”
And even if they didn’t.
“At least Officer Kim Yeonwoo will dⁱㅌ…”
After all, Officer Kim Yeonwoo was the most righteous and kind person among them. Seeing her face contorted with an unknown sense of betrayal, Jung Inho was certain she would offer herself as bait instead of the child.
But he didn’t want to let that happen.
“So I stepped up.”
Jung Inho decided to draw the algae monster’s attention.
Detective Hong Kyungjun already suspected him, and the other survivors weren’t much different. No one believed him except Kim Yeonwoo, and he had no one left by his side. Then he might as well dⁱㅌ this way. Leave something behind, even if it was just this. Yes, let’s do that.
“…The problem is… things didn’t go as planned.”
The algae monster targeted other survivors instead of Jung Inho.
He didn’t know the exact reason. Perhaps he failed to properly draw its attention, or perhaps there was something about the other survivors that attracted the monster. But the fact remained that Jung Inho had even failed at dying.
“Owner Choi Jungman went crazy and started killing people.”
“…That’s…”
“Yes, it seems like he was in the same state as you, Manager.”
Although he hadn’t coughed up blood.
The murderous intent spread, and people dⁱㅌd. Jung Inho knew the algae monster was watching it all, waiting for something, but he didn’t have the time to delve into it.
He thought he was going to dⁱㅌ, but he must have still wanted to live. Jung Inho desperately struggled to survive against the attacking monsters, and the people who had become monsters. Relying on a flickering lighter, he killed, ran, and killed again until morning finally broke.
And when his eyes finally focused, he realized…
“…I was the only one left alive…”
Jung Inho had killed all those people.
“I killed them all, and I was the only one, like that.”
“…….”
“I, I fcking killed them all…”
And he was the only survivor.
He ended up alone…
“…I hated that.”
He couldn’t describe how miserable and ridiculous he felt.
Everything felt like a lie. He knew it was all real. The bright white sky was dappled with shadows cast by the dark leaves. Under the cool shade, the scattered light revealed the black and red corpses that filled Jung Inho’s vision and consumed his mind.
It was like a work of art. Perhaps Jung Inho had seen something similar at an art museum he visited with his uncle when he was young. That thought crossed his mind.
“Seeing that, I thought of you, Manager.”
He knew that his body had been dragged into the large lake.
“So, I thought it would be scary to be alone…”
The bloodstains left behind were still vivid. Following the trail, he found a large lake filled with green algae, and behind him, familiar vines undulated. He could feel it without even looking.
This is really the end.
“…Thank you.”
Now, I’m not alone.
“Thanks to you, I wasn’t scared.”
“…I see.”
“It was more doable than I thought.”
“Is that so?”
“I was really lonely.”
And so, Jung Inho escaped the terrible isolation.
He was able to run away.
“…If it weren’t for you, Manager, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do that…”