Chapter 147 |
A small fire, barely deserving to be called a bonfire, flickered, and the sound of dry twigs crumbling in the heat filled the air.
The two figures sat before the crimson flames under the pitch-black sky, silent for a long while.
Lee Jaehun was the first to speak.
“…So…”
Lightly brushing his lips, he continued.
“You’re saying that you, Mr. Jung Inho, dⁱㅌd and returned to the past?”
“…From what I can tell, yes. I think so.”
“And so, people who should have dⁱㅌd are alive…”
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“…….”
As Lee Jaehun remained silent, Jung Inho took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. A tired, strained voice escaped his bowed head.
“…If it sounds crazy, I can’t help it.”
His legs, folded beneath him, felt weak.
He hadn’t expected anyone to readily believe him. Dying and returning to the past? It was the kind of delusion or nonsense only a true lunatic would entertain. And this world was a place that drove even sane people mad. In that sense, Jung Inho wouldn’t be able to argue if Lee Jaehun called him crazy.
There were ways to prove it, but he didn’t have the energy, and he couldn’t honestly say he was completely sane. He couldn’t even trust himself.
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Maybe I’ve just gone crazy.
“Maybe, I’m just too s*upid and weak… and I saw some strange hallucination.”
“…….”
“Maybe I’m already crazy, Manager.”
He wanted to cry, but no tears came.
Jung Inho had only spoken of one life. He had only talked about how he lived and dⁱㅌd the very first time. He hadn’t even begun to mention the second and third chances he still remembered.
Yet, he was afraid to speak.
“I don’t know where my time begins and ends…”
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He couldn’t distinguish anymore.
Why he was alive when he should have dⁱㅌd. How many times he had dⁱㅌd and lived. Who was alive and who was dead. What was real and what was fake. He couldn’t tell the difference. Everything was jumbled together, losing its original form.
If he, who had experienced it firsthand, was this confused, how would it sound to others? Even if Lee Jaehun got angry, saying his story didn’t make sense, Jung Inho wouldn’t have the energy to argue. He was that exhausted and powerless.
Then, Lee Jaehun, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“…I… believe you.”
“…….”
It took a moment for Jung Inho to react.
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“…Excuse me?”
“So, I don’t think it’s a lie, or nonsense…”
“What, why…”
“If you’re going to react like this, why did you even bring it up?”
Lee Jaehun seemed slightly bewildered, perhaps even dumbfounded.
The dubious look in his eyes as he looked down at Jung Inho, and the habitual furrow in his brow, clearly showed Lee Jaehun’s disapproval.
“Do you think I haven’t seen a crazy person? You don’t qualify as crazy, Mr. Jung Inho. Unfortunately, you don’t meet the criteria. You’re just being narcissistic.”
“…You didn’t have to say it like that…”
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“And I’ve never thought your creativity or imagination was that good. But what you just said has a clear cause-and-effect relationship and consistent context. It’s too organized to be considered crazy, and I know you’re not the type to lie.”
“…….”
“No, wait. Why did you think I wouldn’t believe you? I even revealed my past to build trust, so what does this make me look like?”
At those words, Jung Inho recalled a recent event, from the current timeline. Lee Jaehun had briefly explained his past to Ha Sungyoon and Jung Inho.
The feeling he felt at that moment was none other than bewilderment.
“…Did you bring that up to gain trust…?”
“…Then did you think I bring it up for fun?”
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“Ah, um. No, that’s not what I meant…”
It was a little funny.
“I just… didn’t know you had that intention.”
So, you revealed your past to build trust, not because we pressured you. That meant Lee Jaehun had also made an effort to coexist with the current group.
“…….”
No, wait a minute.
“…Then why did you say those things last time?”
Then why did he say those things last time, when the monster attacked and he went to help him? Why did he say those things, that he didn’t even see them as human?
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“What are you talking about now?”
“No, last time, when the dog monsters came. No, ah, what is this…”
“Speak clearly, Mr. Jung Inho.”
“You’re as unpleasant as ever, Manager.”
“Are you picking a fight?”
“That’s not what I…”
He let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity, and saw Lee Jaehun’s eyebrow twitch slightly. Jung Inho felt a strange sensation at the series of actions, as Lee Jaehun looked down at him with a shameless expression.
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Words tumbled out before he could compose his distorted expression.
“…Really, you’re unpleasant…”
“And you’re creepy.”
“Wow, annoying.”
Despite that, the smile that escaped him wouldn’t fade.
“You never tell the truth, why…?”
He couldn’t help but realize that Lee Jaehun was making trivial jokes to lighten the mood.
Thinking about it like that, it was quite funny. For some reason, Manager Lee Jaehun had made an effort to get closer to them, and even now, he was trying to lighten Jung Inho’s mood with uncharacteristic banter.
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‘Maybe, it was similar before.’
Jung Inho recalled Manager Lee Jaehun’s noticeably lighter tone at times.
Back then, he had simply dismissed it, thinking he was just being scatterbrained. He had considered it a trivial change. But now, when he thought of it as Manager Lee Jaehun’s effort to lighten the group’s atmosphere, he couldn’t help but smile.
It was surprising how incongruous the word ‘consideration’ seemed with him.
“…From what I hear, it seems like you’ve returned to the past several times. Whatever I did last time must have been quite frustrating for you.”
“Yes, it was frustrating.”
“Why, did we fight or something?”
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“You know it well.”
Struck by a sudden sense of unreality, Jung Inho continued in a sigh-like tone.
“You said you didn’t even see us as human, Manager.”
“…….”
“…Since we didn’t see you as human either… you said it was okay for you to dⁱㅌ, you said that and… kept being shameless…”
He felt a sudden dizziness.
His mouth closed, mumbling.
“…….”
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Manager Lee Jaehun, who had acted shamelessly as if he wouldn’t dⁱㅌ, had dⁱㅌd twice in places where Jung Inho couldn’t see.
Jung Inho unconsciously looked up at Manager Lee Jaehun with a dazed expression. Seeing someone who had dⁱㅌd, in any form, was a bizarre and mystical experience. Tha was how Jung Inho felt.
Especially if they were alive.
“…You said I dⁱㅌd.”
“…Yes.”
“I became bait. To save others, by dying…”
“That’s right.”
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“Then I’ll ask you one thing.”
The living Lee Jaehun asked,
“Which number is this now?”
“…….”
“How many times have I dⁱㅌd, and how many times have you dⁱㅌd?”
Jung Inho had expected that question.
The current Manager Lee Jaehun was very conservative and passive. It was a time when he was distancing himself due to the fear of killing someone, and because of that, he had several conflicts with Jung Inho.
He said he revealed his past to gain trust, but then why was he so exclusive last time? What kind of change of heart did he have? Or was his current behavior a lie or the truth…?
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“…It hasn’t been long.”
“…”
“This is… only the second time.”
What do I have to do so you won’t dⁱㅌ?
So that we can all survive? Jung Inho had been agonizing over this ever since Lee Jaehun’s second death. It was the only effort, the only zeal, that a person like Jung Inho could muster. Especially since he, in some way, shared Lee Jaehun’s mental and physical burdens.
In truth, Jung Inho wasn’t certain. Returning to the past immediately after death wasn’t exactly a common occurrence. No, far from being common, it was a situation that shouldn’t happen in the first place, logically speaking.
‘I’ve already experienced such an absurd thing once, will I really go back to the past again? Will it happen again?’
But he felt a strange premonition. Just like he’d realized before, standing in front of the vast lake thick with algae, this time it was truly the end.
“Only the second time.”
And so, he felt that he might not be alone.
“…After I dⁱㅌd the first time, as you seem to have predicted… I tried to ensure that the algae monster didn’t kill everyone in our group. You might remember that larva.”
Perhaps it was a kind of awakened state, Junh Inho thought now. Even while not knowing why he was alive, he instinctively ran around to produce a different outcome than last time. It was a mystery where he found such strength.
Lee Jaehun asked,
“…Are you talking about the one we put in the fish trap? It smelled a bit like blood.”
“I used it as bait. Most monsters go crazy for that kind of thing, so, um.”
He gently brushed his fingers over his lips, tracing the familiar curve.
“That’s when you first noticed my condition, Manager. I remember. I tried to hide it as much as possible, so I was a little surprised when you found out.”
At the time, Jung Inho wasn’t sure. He knew that Manager Lee Jaehun was a selflessly sacrificial person, but he hadn’t actually talked to him much. Ultimately, he didn’t trust him because he didn’t know the person ‘Lee Jaehun’ and refused to share the truth.
Nevertheless, he was grateful that Lee Jaehun had said he would listen to him anytime.
“Really.”
“…”
“It’s funny, but it was also comforting…”
Jung Inho realized that his mouth had become unnecessarily honest, but he couldn’t take back his words. He didn’t want to, and there was no reason to.
Because Lee Jaehun would forget everything if he dⁱㅌd again anyway.
“…Even though I pulled myself together and worked hard, you suddenly slept for three days straight. The group members were getting more and more anxious. And the first thing you do after waking up is make fish traps. Does that even make sense?”
“It seems you have a lot on your mind.”
“A lot, a whole lot. Do you know that dog-like monsters were attacking the place where our group is currently settled? Do you know that Detective Hong Kyungjun’s group and our group were merging because of that? Do you know there’s another crazy b⋏st⋏rd there? I wonder if you know that you were murdered because of that b⋏st⋏rd.”
His voice trembled with the frustration and anxiety rising from his core.
“This time, I saw the body. I saw how you dⁱㅌd.”
Seeing Manager Lee Jaehun’s corpse for the first time was indescribably horrifying.
He had his eyes gently closed as if he were sleeping. In contrast to his peaceful eyelids, his whole body, including his hands, was a mess. His abdomen, ripped open to the point where his intestines were almost spilling out, was too gruesome to look at directly.
Anyone could see that it was the body of someone who had been tortured to death.
“…Thanks to that… Ms. Kang Mina was very shocked.”
“…Why?”
“Because she remembered everything that happened.”
“…”
“You made some kind of deal with that b⋏st⋏rd, which is ridiculous.”
After regaining her senses a while later, Kang Mina went insane again.
Not only had the events at the company repeated, but this time, Manager Lee Jaehun had dⁱㅌd instead of her. Even if it couldn’t actually be called ‘instead’, Kang Mina believed that Lee Jaehun had dⁱㅌd entirely because of her.
“You were holding onto Ms. Kang Mina while hanging from a tree root. You made a deal with that art-obsessed b⋏st⋏rd. What did he say, again?”
“…”
“He said, instead of torturing like this, don’t let her fall. Because if she fell in that state, both you and Ms. Kang Mina would dⁱㅌ, so you made a deal to somehow save her…”
He trailed off and looked at Lee Jaehun, who replied in a mechanical voice,
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“…I knew you’d say that.”
“I see.”
Despite that, Lee Jaehun just scoffed. Whether he genuinely didn’t believe it or just didn’t want to admit it, one thing was certain: that reaction made Jung Inho’s ⁱnsⁱdㅌs burn.
Pressing his temples, he continued,
“Well… after that, it was similar to last time. Detective Hong Kyungjun became a lone wolf again, and thanks to the people killing each other there, everyone went crazy. The atmosphere got worse and worse day by day.”
Especially in the case of Vivian, who had both a murderer and the victim as friends, it was unspeakable. He had to endure the distrustful gazes of many, including Detective Hong Kyungjun, for being close to Song Inmyeong. It was unfortunate for him, who had suddenly lost two friends.
Jung Inho knew how terrible the situation was.
“Because I was suspected that way too.”
Officer Kim Yeonwoo, once again, urged people to refrain from making baseless accusations, but that didn’t improve anything. Jung Inho swallowed his disappointment as he watched her diligently work.
“Yeonseok also hated Vivian. He knew it was unreasonable anger, but since Ms. Kang Mina ended up like that… because of Song Inmyeong. Vivian blamed himself for his classmate doing such a terrible thing, but he didn’t change his attitude.”
“…”
“…Then the monster came. A green monster, yes. An algae monster. It was much faster and stronger than before, and I felt like I was watching a battery commercial. It was killing people almost like fishing with its huge body…”
“…”
“…Like you, a sick person appeared.”
His fingertips trembled.
“Someone who felt murderous intent towards living beings, who wanted to kill, like that… just like last time. Going crazy again.”
“…Mr. Jung Inho.”
“I had to kill it again. Who else would kill it if not me? Isn’t that right? Someone who has killed and dⁱㅌd once should do it, who else would I ask to kill it…”
“Calm down.”
“It was Owner Choi Jungman again this time.”
“…”
“…He endured it well for quite a while, but he happened to see his son’s body.”
He felt a familiar sense of foreboding, unable to even go mad.
“That b⋏st⋏rd killed Owner Choi Jungman’s son.”
After that, the situation was very similar.
Seeds of distrust. Escalating conflict. A divided team. Traces of the murderer weaving through it all, and the monsters’ intrusions disrupting them. Humans becoming monsters, and the algae monster watching it all as if observing.
Jung Inho, holding the power of choice within it all.
“…This time too… I didn’t want to be alone.”
“…”
“I was scared. I’m sorry, I… ran away. Because I thought it would be the same again. Because I was afraid that I would kill all the monsters and people and then be left alone again to see the bright morning… I didn’t want to…”
At least this time, he decided to let go of the choices he held.
“Do you know? If you were alive, sir, it would have been alright.”
“…Nonsense.”
“It would have been better for you to be there than me. You would have found a better way, made the situation better. It’s better than someone insignificant like me being alive. I just keep failing.”
“That can’t be true.”
“So, please don’t dⁱㅌ…”
“…”
“…Please, just…”
For Jung Inho, the ability to make choices all stemmed from Manager Lee Jaehun. If Lee Jaehun didn’t exist, wouldn’t everything be clearly doomed from the start?
He muttered as if praying to a talisman.
“Don’t dⁱㅌ, sir.”
“…”
“Don’t dⁱㅌ…”
It felt almost like a curse.
Even to Jung Inho’s ears.