Chapter 152 |
As Jung Inho silently watched the fish thrashing in the fish trap, Ha Sungyoon, having finished washing the bandages, approached him.
“They’re quite beautiful, aren’t they?”
“…….”
“Almost too beautiful to eat.”
At those words, Jung Inho quietly observed the fish again.
Their shimmering, iridescent scales flashed as they struggled, their vibrant movements scattering the white light. The colors, refracted by the exceptionally bright sky, illuminated these breathing jewels, fragment by fragment.
He knew what scent these would release above a fire.
“…Indeed.”
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“It’s a waste.”
“What is?”
“To eat them…?”
He blinked as he spoke. It wasn’t very polite to answer a question in a questioning tone, but it was perhaps the best he could manage.
This was no different from the attitude of someone admiring a flame.
“Are you certain of what you’re saying?”
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“I don’t know.”
Flutter.
The fish out of the water flapped weakly.
“Just… saying.”
With that, Jung Inho pushed the fish trap back into the lake.
Tied to a rope, the trap bobbed on the surface, swaying listlessly with the movements of the splashing fish ⁱnsⁱdㅌ. It would be another three minutes before the suffocating fish finally calmed down.
The silence between Ha Sungyoon and Jung Inho stretched for about the same amount of time.
“…You don’t look well, Mr. Jung Inho.”
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“Probably not.”
Jung Inho couldn’t deny the doctor’s observation.
“I don’t quite understand how you’re still alive.”
His gaze remained fixed on the glistening fish in the trap.
It felt like watching corpses swimming in a perforated pipe. Perhaps they were nothing more than remnants, bones floating listlessly on the water. Or perhaps pebbles filled with air had somehow gained life and taken on this form.
All gruesome delusions.
“It’s fortunate that… Manager brought up the story first.”
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“So you prompted him, Mr. Jung Inho.”
“He promised to try and live. Even though it’s a nonsensical promise, it’s still a relief. I feel like I’m half-deceiving myself.”
“…And the other half?”
“There’s nothing.”
He repeated,
“There’s nothing.”
He was talking about what he had left.
He felt like he was holding onto something precious, yet at the same time, he felt like he had already lost everything. Jung Inho diligently contemplated what he had left and its meaning, then resigned himself. Even he knew it was foolish, but he couldn’t give up completely.
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For some reason, he was repeating time again, and it just felt like Manager Lee Jaehun was going to dⁱㅌ again. But he knew he couldn’t dⁱㅌ before accomplishing something, so even running away wasn’t an option.
Even if he ran, it was just an endless maze; where could he possibly go?
“I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”
“…….”
“Manager said there was meaning in it, but… you know, he’s quite kind. The problem is he’s equally cruel. To be honest, I can’t fully trust what he says.”
When he first regressed, he must have been half-mad. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so desperate to change history.
He didn’t have the same strength now. He felt like if he lost focus for even a moment, Lee Jaehun would be dead again, and he would repeat his failure. And he would dⁱㅌ again. Trapped between moments, neither fully dead nor alive, he would slowly rot.
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Sentenced to such a future, Jung Inho didn’t know where to find meaning or purpose.
“It was just a reflex. A kind of instinct.”
“…Could you explain it in a way I can understand?”
“I’m talking about my conversation with Manager.”
He didn’t know what meaning it held.
“About me struggling to change something…”
If this was how time would endlessly repeat, what would he have left?
“But this time, we heard it first… Isn’t that something? At least it means we hold some significance for Manager.”
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“You’re talking about his past, right?”
“I kept talking about him. I wanted you to remember, but no one seems to.”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“If you can call that a dream.”
What can I do?
“…But, perhaps, that’s not possible…”
Can I do what’s right?
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Do I have the right?
“…….”
“…….”
Probably not.
Jung Inho felt like a depraved sinner, burdened with countless sins. As someone closer to a murderer than a human from the start, he couldn’t possibly have the right. He had already killed a living person with his own hands, so what more could he hope for?
He just felt like he was going insane.
“…You seem to be struggling a lot.”
“And yet, you’re not going to help me.”
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“…….”
“…Your reaction is unexpected.”
The Ha Sungyoon in Jung Inho’s memory was always smiling, yet broken and disconcerting, making him feel nauseous just to look at him. That person seemed incapable of not having an answer for him. But the current Ha Sungyoon just looked at him with a mixture of discomfort and bewilderment.
It was a very ordinary reaction.
“Seeing you like this makes me angry.”
It was absurd.
“So you’ve changed too.”
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“I… haven’t changed.”
“You will. You already have, and you will even more so in the future.”
No matter how peaceful and amicable a relationship, people changed.
They changed to survive, adapting to changing circumstances. The utter naturalness and inevitability of this fact was one of the things driving Jung Inho mad.
It was truly terrifying. It made him realize how weak and powerless humans were in the face of disaster.
Yet, Jung Inho couldn’t stop.
“Why are your eyes still the same?”
“…What about my eyes…?”
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“When are you planning to change them? If you don’t mind, I’d like to witness it. Those white and blue eyes that resemble these fish.”
“…….”
“I’m curious why you went mad.”
Now, all he had left were questions, regrets, and time.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?”
“…I’m a doctor, Mr. Jung Inho. I don’t understand why I should change one of the most precious body parts in the world.”
“See, we’re always talking about different things. Living in different worlds. Yet, it’s absurd that we have to stick together, even though none of us can disappear…”
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“Can I ask you one thing?”
“It’s funny how you accept that person’s death, but not the death of your patients.”
“Who are you?”
“…….”
It was funny.
“…Will you, Doctor, decide for me?”
“…I don’t think that’s my place to decide.”
“Whether I’m human or monster. Whether I exist or not. And what’s left…”
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“…….”
“I don’t know.”
It was funny.
“…I don’t want to do anything anymore…”
***
“Ah.”
Lee Jaehun spoke at the sound of approaching footsteps.
“…You’re back early.”
Contrary to his expectations, the gathering team, who had gone to check the fish traps and do other chores, returned quickly. Even considering their intention to return before dark, it seemed excessively fast.
‘I have a rough idea why.’
Recalling the events that transpired before his regression, Lee Jaehun calculated how much time they had left. His gaze, having quickly arrived at an answer, naturally settled on the protagonist’s righteous face.
Under his intense stare, Jung Inho offered an earnest smile.
“We were worried about you, Manager.”
“…What did I even do… No, it’s fine. Thank you.”
Lee Jaehun, about to instinctively retort, suppressed his contrarian nature. He was maintaining this image for the sake of the other ‘chicks’ who were watching him. There was no need to add further shock to a time bomb already on the verge of exploding.
The ‘Lee Jaehun’ he had crafted, despite his slightly twisted common sense, wasn’t inherently bad. He wouldn’t be stubborn knowing that Jung Inho was on edge.
“Speaking of which, would you like to get treated again? I finished washing the bandages.”
“…I don’t know if those bandages are even dry yet.”
“That’s true. But I believe it’s important to receive regular treatment.”
“…….”
“I believe it’s important.”
“Alright, just stop staring…”
Lee Jaehun shifted his gaze from Jung Inho’s intense black eyes to Ha Sungyoon, who in turn met his gaze.
Ha Sungyoon’s eyes asked,
‘Why is this losing his mind?’
Lee Jaehun’s eyes replied,
‘Why don’t you ask him yourself?’
He knew why Jung Inho was acting this way, but it wasn’t his place to explain. Perhaps understanding that, Ha Sungyoon quickly gave up and offered a gentle smile.
“The bandages might not be completely dry, but I can still check your wounds.”
“…….”
“May I help you?”
These creepy b⋏st⋏rds.
‘Look at him backing off because it’s not his territory.’
As expected, the Ha Sungyoon at this point in time was extremely conservative and passive. While it was a wise and efficient approach for a ‘chick’. from a more personal perspective, his slyness was irritating. That bat-like b⋏st⋏rd.
Lee Jaehun, after gauging Jung Inho’s reaction, sighed and said,
“…If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it.”
“…Have you gone crazy too, sir?”
“Please watch your language, Doctor.”
“But, then why are suddenly being obedient…?”
Despite his annoyance, Lee Jaehun’s feelings were quite complex.
‘He’s less crazy now.’
He figured Jung Inho probably had similar thoughts. Though neither of them intended to reveal the truth, they were both regressing within the same timeline. Their experiences were bound to be similar.
In that sense, Doctor Ha Sungyoon’s transformation was quite unique. He had been showing subtle signs of peculiarity even before acquiring those strange eyes, and after returning with them, he had completely lost it.
There had to be a clear trigger, and Lee Jaehun needed to investigate it.
Well, actually.
“What can I do if the patient is in pain?”
He knew roughly what made Ha Sungyoon tick.
“…That’s true.”
“…….”
“Please sit down, and I’ll examine your wounds.”
His weakness was his profession as a ‘doctor’.
‘Otherwise, he wouldn’t have killed Song Inmyeong himself.’
Regardless of his sanity, Ha Sungyoon always maintained a certain distance from every event. The only time this secretive man acted quickly was when someone was hurt. And even then, he’d subtly withdraw if he didn’t consider the person his patient.
In Lee Jaehun’s case, the combination of his past as a ‘survivor of the other world’ and the current label of ‘patient on the verge of death’ made him a particular concern for Ha Sungyoon. Since he didn’t seem like the type to kill someone just because Song Inmyeong had stabbed him a few times, it showed how much he valued his pride as a doctor.
“Shall we examine your shoulder first, sir? I need to check how well you’ve recovered.”
“Do as you please.”
Of course, he needed to investigate the reasons behind Ha Sungyoon’s behavior.
‘So, Ha Sungyoon isn’t the immediate priority.’
The mentally unstable Jung Inho and the creepy Yoon Garam weren’t the pressing issues either. The protagonist required a long-term, delicate approach, and Yoon Garam just needed guidance, so they weren’t urgent.
‘Lee Jaehun’ even had made a sort of promise with Jung Inho.
‘But… there’s a reason why Jung Inho returned so quickly.’
So, the problem that needed to be addressed right now was…
“Did you see anyone else on your way back?”
“…Well.”
Jung Inho, having handed the fish trap to Kwon Yeonhee, offered a smooth smile and continued,
“Perhaps, I did.”
Presumably, the three people Song Inmyeong had killed.
He had to save them.