Chapter 162 |
“…M-Manager.”
“Yes?”
“Where are you going?”
Lee Jaehun answered Kang Mina’s question.
“I’m not going anywhere, I’m looking for something.”
“Right now…?”
Anxiety laced her voice.
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He understood. Since this was an impulsive move on Lee Jaehun’s part, there was no telling when or where he might encounter danger. He had even broken his promise to the protagonist to stay put like a guard dog, so it was natural for the timid Kang Mina to be anxious.
But there was no need to be this anxious.
“…It seems like you had a truly frightening dream.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I think, before…”
Lee Jaehun chose his words carefully.
“You were a bit more passive.”
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At this point, he had to assume she had seen or gained something through a dream.
Kang Mina had a knack for becoming stronger as the number of people she was responsible for increased. Despite her curiosity, she wasn’t the type to readily step forward; she needed to be pushed to act. In other words, she couldn’t become stronger without responsibilities, restrictions, or shackles.
‘But for her to suddenly become this proactive…’
It meant she had received some significant stimulus. Lee Jaehun’s intuition told him it was the nightmare that had woken her up.
“…Ah, I…”
“Have you perhaps spoken with Mr. Jung Inho?”
“…Yes? No…? I mean, we’ve had normal conversations, but…”
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“Not that. A more serious conversation.”
“Would there be a reason for that?”
Kang Mina’s shoulders slumped slightly, and she adopted a defensive posture. Lee Jaehun raised an eyebrow at her averted gaze and sharp tone, and her eyes widened. She seemed surprised by her own reaction.
Her inability to control herself stemmed from a lack of composure. Kang Mina was clearly afraid of something and simultaneously felt responsible.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been anxious lately…”
Seeing her fingertips trembling slightly, Lee Jaehun spoke in a light tone.
“Something you can’t tell me?”
“… …”
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“Then, to Assistant Manager Jung?”
“Uh…”
“Or perhaps to the doctor?”
Kang Mina blinked a few times before asking,
“Why?”
“Do you know that I’ve been talking to Mr. Jung Inho a lot lately?”
“I know that.”
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Of course she would. The protagonist, who had repeated the regression, had developed a foolish mindset where Lee Jaehun’s survival determined the success or failure of each timeline. Naturally, he became obsessive about Lee Jaehun’s well-being.
Moreover, by now, Ha Sungyoon would have also heard about the regression from Jung Inho, making Lee Jaehun one of the few people aware of Jung Inho’s secret. Since Jung Inho had confided all his worries to ‘Lee Jaehun’, others would have noticed their frequent conversations.
“…He seems very anxious… and Mr. Inho is smart. I thought you might have been planning something together for the future.”
“That’s also true.”
“Was there something else?”
She asked, but it didn’t seem like a question asked out of genuine ignorance. The way she deliberately met his gaze revealed her intention to hide a secret.
‘She must have sensed something from Jung Inho.’
The few people she seemed to be conscious of were Jung Inho, Lee Jaehun, and, incidentally, Ha Sungyoon. Considering how she sometimes looked at Noh Yeonseok with a hint of unfamiliarity, Lee Jaehun felt it was undeniable.
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“… …”
“…Manager?”
Kang Mina was different from Yoon Garam. While the latter required careful and delicate maneuvering to break down her walls, the former needed someone to take her hand and pull her out from behind those walls. It was simply the most efficient approach.
Lee Jaehun quickly made up his mind and spoke.
“Back then, after you woke up from the nightmare and came looking for us…”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Mr. Jung Inho and I had a rather deep conversation. Honestly, it was a story that would be hard to believe, or even understand. Mr. Jung Inho is struggling because of the information he recently shared with me.”
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“That…”
“Mr. Jung Inho claimed that we had dⁱㅌd.”
“… …”
Seeing Kang Mina’s tightly closed lips, Lee Jaehun felt certain. He asked,
“What do you think?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
If someone unaware of the situation had heard it, they would have immediately responded with, ‘Are you crazy?’ But Kang Mina just stared, pale-faced, her eyes trembling slightly. Lee Jaehun could clearly see that Kang Mina remembered events from before the regression.
But how exactly did that happen? And how much did she know?
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“… …”
“… …”
“…I… I…”
Fidgeting with the hammer in her hand, Kang Mina asked,
“When… should I tell you…?”
It was a very ‘Kang Mina’ question.
“…You can tell me whenever you want, but I know you. If I leave it at that, you’ll keep putting it off.”
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“…I’m sorry…”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
Lee Jaehun shrugged.
“I mean it.”
He didn’t want this newly hatched chick to feel pressured by him. Since things had turned out this way, Lee Jaehun had decided to stick with them even more, and there was no need to create additional emotional distance.
He continued as he started walking again.
“Just organize your thoughts and report back to me within three days. You can mix in lies, or you can tell me everything you know. Either way, just answer comfortably, and I’ll interpret it myself.”
“…Isn’t that a… strange request?”
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“Ultimately, what I need is a way to interpret a person called ‘Kang Mina’.”
Lee Jaehun met Kang Mina’s gaze.
“It doesn’t matter how you act. I’ll take care of the rest, so you just focus on managing your own mental state. Understood?”
“…If I just tell you now…”
“I’ll decline. I’d rather avoid hearing such a complicated story on the spot. I’d appreciate it if you could organize your thoughts and give me a well-structured answer. Alright?”
“… …”
“Good.”
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As she nodded blankly, Lee Jaehun nodded back. She preferred to be a cog in the machine rather than a leader, so giving her a deadline like this was the only way to properly progress the conversation.
“Then, going back to the beginning… you asked what I was looking for?”
“…Yes.”
“… …”
Lee Jaehun, who had been listening intently, finally spoke.
“That.”
He pointed to a dog curled up in a ball.
“…Yes?”
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“Don’t you see it?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’?”
“What is it?”
Correction.
“Wh-Why, why are you looking for a monster…?”
It wasn’t just a dog, it was a stray dog monster.
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Kang Mina, pale and clutching her hammer tightly with both hands, shuffled in front of Lee Jaehun as if to block his view. Her faltering attempts to shield him were admirable, but Lee Jaehun, an adult male, was inevitably taller than a woman of average height. In other words, she wasn’t blocking anything.
However, he was quite satisfied with her attempts to protect him despite her fear.
‘Even if things get messy, she won’t abandon me right away.’
He muttered to himself and cautiously said,
“No matter how I look at it, that thing acts just like a dog, right?”
“…That sounds kind of insulting…”
“Like a puppy.”
“Even so, it’s not a puppy…”
“Well then, what do you want me to do?”
Lee Jaehun sighed at Kang Mina’s nitpicking, which seemed like a sign of panic. She had seemed quite mature in the previous loop, but her current mental state suggested she wasn’t as far along this time.
In any case, Lee Jaehun had a reason for seeking out the stray dog monster.
“You never know, there might be a monster we can communicate with.”
Of course, he could only say this because he knew from the novel that the stray dog monster was friendly towards the survivors. If he hadn’t known the story, he would have been busy trying to kill it. After all, to Lee Jaehun, the stray dog monster was a deadly, harmful creature.
Kang Mina, her face still pale, looked back at Lee Jaehun, seemingly sharing his thoughts.
“…Are you crazy…?”
“Senior Associate Kang, let’s not cross the line.”
“S-Sorry.”
Her quick apology reminded him of Jung Inho for some reason.
The thought, ‘At this rate, won’t all the little chicks in the world become creepy like the protagonist someday?’ crossed his mind. But since that was a problem for the future Lee Jaehun, not the current Lee Jaehun, he buried the thought. A swift evasion.
Seeing the monster hesitate and wag its tail at their interaction, Lee Jaehun gently placed a hand on Kang Mina’s shoulder, who was blocking his view.
“I understand what you’re trying to say, but it’s not entirely baseless.”
“I don’t really understand…”
“That’s not just a dog, it’s a stray dog monster.”
“… …”
Kang Mina’s expression hardened at the word ‘stray’.
“The other world reflects human thoughts, and monsters are no exception. These creatures are created from a mixture of human emotions and delusions about ‘abandoned dogs in the park’.”
“…That… so…”
“It’s still a monster, and it can still cause us great harm. Just looking at it makes my stomach churn and my skin crawl. I don’t think there’s anything good about encountering it, abandoned or not.”
“Then why did you come here? Are you trying to talk to it?”
“If possible.”
“… …”
“…I’m a bit uneasy since I’ve never tried this before…”
Lee Jaehun, removing his hand from Kang Mina’s shoulder, adjusted his grip on the pipe and slowly moved forward. Kang Mina, who he’d expected to stop him, didn’t grab him despite her pale face. Lee Jaehun, momentarily puzzled, quickly dismissed the thought.
This challenge held significant meaning for him.
‘The protagonist never tried to communicate with a monster in the original story.’
The protagonist couldn’t even communicate properly with his human companions, leading to frequent conflicts. He had no time to attempt communication with monsters. Therefore, this attempt was a crucial step for Lee Jaehun to break free from the predetermined narrative.
Success or failure, both held meaning.
“… …”
Because those who didn’t change, in any way, held no value.
“…So…”
How did I converse with it in my dream?
Perhaps it was only possible because it was a dream. Monsters didn’t understand human language, and they didn’t have a language of their own, so it was natural that communication wouldn’t work. Yet, Lee Jaehun had somehow managed to strike a deal with the green algae monster he suspected contained Jung Inho’s soul.
And there weren’t many monsters he could attempt this with. Among them, the stray dog monsters were plentiful in this area, and their behavior wasn’t particularly dangerous, only mentally disturbing. For Lee Jaehun, who was adept at self-deception, it was an inevitable choice.
Hesitantly, he whispered softly,
“…Hello.”
The stray dog monster’s half-severed ear twitched.
Lee Jaehun looked into its eyes.
“… …”
“… …”
The cheap plastic button eyes, sewn onto the monster with colorful silk threads, rotated in their sockets.
He ignored the unpleasant itch crawling up from the soles of his feet and the chills that ran down his spine. He buried the sensations and forgot about them. The feeling of a worm wriggling in a corner of his brain surged for a moment before solidifying. The movement itself hardened as if it were turning into stone.
Lee Jaehun knew that this creature loved humans. If he didn’t show hostility, it wouldn’t either. If he approached it, this poor dog would also approach him.
“Come here.”
At his whispered invitation, the stray dog hesitated.
Whimper.
“This way.”
Whiiiine….
“It’s okay.”
Yap!
“You can come.”
Its trembling legs, though filled with fear, gradually carried it towards Lee Jaehun, and its tightly tucked tail wagged nervously despite its lowered position. Its round, trembling eyes fixated on Lee Jaehun’s speaking mouth, vibrating faintly.
Finally, it came close enough to sniff Lee Jaehun’s outstretched hand.
“… …”
“…M-Manager…!”
Crunch!
The dog bit his hand.
“! Manager!”
“It’s fine, be quiet.”
“Th-That…!”
“You startled it.”
“… …”
“It’s okay.”
Lee Jaehun, setting down the pipe, gently stroked the trembling dog’s snout without pulling his hand away. The dog’s bite tightened, and it growled, but its tail, tucked between its legs, betrayed its fear and insecurity.
So, it was alright.
“It’s okay.”
He had some experience raising dogs, after all.
“… …”
“… …”
After a long moment, the dog stepped back, and then gently rested its head against Lee Jaehun’s hand.
It stuck out its tongue and lⁱckㅌd the blood welling up on his hand.
“…Ha.”
It was a success.