Chapter 165 |
Song Inmyeong had never given much thought to the monsters of this world.
‘They’re just experience points, aren’t they?’
While others whined about feeling nauseous or distressed just by looking at them, Song Inmyeong didn’t feel any of that. To him, monsters were just bizarre creatures he’d never seen before.
‘If I had to assign them any value, it would be their potential as material for my work someday.’
Since most living things he observed had the potential to be used as materials, he was also interested in these unusual creatures. Though he found them quite bothersome after realizing they weren’t easy to catch.
Anyway, monsters were just idiots who mindlessly attacked any living person.
‘It’s unpleasant because it feels like my precious hands are being dirtied by something irrelevant…’
On the other hand, he also felt a sense of exhilaration. After all, they were one of the few ways he could relieve the stress of his hectic life while managing his ‘friends’ and dealing with the suspicious gazes of the detective.
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“…Crazy.”
It meant Song Inmyeong had never thought of communicating with a monster.
“What is that?”
He probably wasn’t the only one with such a prejudice. Who would have such a crazy thought while looking at monstrous creatures that tried to kill people on sight? It would be something only a truly insane person would do.
But the sight before his eyes was worthy of admiration.
“…How is that even possible?”
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Muttering quietly so as not to be discovered, Song Inmyeong couldn’t even blink.
The dog-like monster, which had been whimpering and trembling in fear, gradually approached the man. Even Song Inmyeong, who was largely unfazed by monsters, found the sight dⁱsgʊstⁱng, but the man casually reached out to pet it. He didn’t even get angry after being bitten.
‘Can a person be that indifferent?’
Hidden among the bushes, Song Inmyeong’s gaze shifted to the woman trembling behind the man.
Despite his hand being injured because of something the woman said, the man merely gave a quiet warning. He didn’t seem to hold any resentment towards the monster that bit him or the woman who caused it.
“…….”
That was… really fcking awesome.
“Amazing.”
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Until now, he’d only considered Kim Yeonwoo as a potential material.
“There are things like this too.”
Perhaps this man could also become excellent material for Song Inmyeong. Just observing the man’s insane but brief act resonated with him. He’d have to observe more, though.
He quickly thought things over.
‘Moon Sangun and the kid are likely with them.’
Being able to approach a monster meant the man had a good initiative, and not just the man, but also the woman following him seemed capable. Neither Moon Sangun nor the kid seemed particularly brave, so it was possible they were drawn by the sound of crying.
He had already heard from Detective Hong and Officer Kim that there was another group of survivors, so he was keeping the possibility open. Still, he thought it would be unlikely to meet them unless he was incredibly lucky, so this was quite unexpected.
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‘Did they tell them about me? Or are they still hiding it?’
Given Moon Sangun’s personality, as he briefly grasped it, he might have kept his mouth shut, considering the potential harm to the group. The kid didn’t seem to understand the situation properly, so it was unlikely he’d blab first…
“…Hmm.”
He might be able to persuade them.
‘Naive idiots are all the same.’
Moon Sangun wasn’t self-sacrificing enough to meet Song Inmyeong’s standards, but he had a knack for digging his own grave. If he approached them before they revealed anything and poked at their guilt, there was a good chance they would keep quiet. He could just say he’d kill everyone who heard the story if they blabbered.
Of course, he planned to kill them at an opportune moment even if they didn’t blabber.
“…….”
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“What if we encounter something dangerous while doing this?”
At the woman’s voice, Song Inmyeong tried to suppress his laughter, but it still leaked out. It was because he had the illusion that the ‘something dangerous’ she was referring to was him.
Emerging from the bushes, he spoke.
“You’re right about that.”
“…….”
“Wow… Ahjussi, did you just tame that monster? How did you do it? Doesn’t your hand hurt? My head hurts so much that I can’t stand it when I see those things.”
“…You….”
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For some reason, the woman looked at him with wide eyes, surprised, but Song Inmyeong couldn’t hold back his words at the sight of the man staring at him calmly.
“That’s really awesome.”
Does he,
perhaps have the same look in his eyes when he kills?
* * *
Ha Sungyoon had a desperate purpose.
But it wasn’t something grand or extraordinary. Rather, it was a rather common wish, and he only became desperate because he realized there was a way to fulfill it, one way or another. However, if there was a reason why he didn’t voice his purpose…
‘What if I completely lose my mind?’
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That was what worried him.
As a doctor, he liked white lies. He believed in the efficacy of spoken words. Though he hadn’t majored in psychology, he knew that patients lacking emotional stability became sick and dⁱㅌd much faster than those with a rich inner life. It was no different for Ha Sungyoon, a doctor caring for patients.
With the thought that voicing his purpose might drive him insane, he simply kept it to himself. Unlike Lee Jaehun, Ha Sungyoon didn’t have the courage to reveal everything and discuss it with the group. As expected, survivors who had experienced the otherworld multiple times were different.
“…Ha.”
But, if what Jung Inho said about returning to the past was true…
“Why my eyes, of all things….”
“…Mr. Ha Sungyoon?”
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“It’s nothing. I’m just dumbfounded.”
‘Ha Sungyoon’ would become even crazier than he imagined.
‘A doctor giving up his eyes.’
No matter how he thought about it, it was a preposterous choice.
The most direct help for a doctor to practice medicine was extensive knowledge and delicate hands, but without eyesight, those were all useless. Although it seemed that the Ha Sungyoon in Jung Inho’s story hadn’t completely lost his sight, why his eyes, of all things?
The fact that he continued to practice medicine as if nothing had happened, that this was the future Ha Sungyoon, sent chills down his spine. He couldn’t imagine it at all.
“…….”
But it wasn’t something he could avoid.
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“…This is….”
“It’s the notebook I mentioned, the one with the stories I heard from my friend. I remember everything, but I got anxious with the situation being what it is…”
“…….”
“…Let’s pick the fruit first.”
Ha Sungyoon put his coat back on, which he had taken off to help maintain the other patients’ body temperature. After storing the notebook ⁱnsⁱdㅌ, he recalled its contents and slowly started walking.
He picked one of the glass fruits scattered around the statue and smashed it against the tree trunk. After carefully peeling off the glass skin, he took a bite of the contents and then pressed the remaining fruit against the statue with his hand.
“…Ugh.”
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Crack, tick.
Sharp shards of the peel pierced his palm.
“…Didn’t you say hands are important for a doctor?”
“…That’s right, eyes are important, but… yes. Hands are equally important. I must be crazy.”
Even as he chuckled, Ha Sungyoon didn’t loosen his grip.
Drops of blood mixed with juice dripped from his hand onto the statue, and a uniquely brilliant pattern was engraved on the smooth, transparent, and colorful statue. Ha Sungyoon felt a strange sensation at the sight of the vivid color standing alone in the entirely white space.
Just as the blood flowing from his hand didn’t feel like his own…
“…….”
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“…….”
A snake’s eye stared at Ha Sungyoon.
Its gaze was a tangled mix of deep disgust, contempt, and curiosity. Although he knew it was a watersnake’s shed skin, not the snake itself, he couldn’t ignore the emotions emanating from it.
“…I’m sorry, I know you hate humans.”
“…….”
“But there’s something I want to find. I have to see it. Traces, fragments, anything is fine….”
He continued, half-doubtful.
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“…….”
“…….”
“Won’t you help me?”
With those words, the snake’s shed skin began to move.
Ha Sungyoon’s body jolted at the sudden movement, and Jung Inho’s eyes widened, but the skin crawled up Ha Sungyoon’s arm, starting from his hand and reaching his shoulder. It even wrapped around his neck once and stopped right in front of his eye.
“…….”
His right eye.
“…That was the eye with better vision…”
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Before he could feel any regret,
Crunch.
“……! Ugh, ah.”
The monster bit his eye.
If he hadn’t heard the story from Jung Inho beforehand, Ha Sungyoon would have dropped the fruit in his hand. But the reason this shed skin granted his wish stemmed entirely from the fruit, so he tried to ignore the vivid pain.
However, the suffering wasn’t solely due to the pain.
‘…D⋏mn it.’
The terror of one of his cherished body parts being torn away, the fear that he might no longer be able to practice medicine, drove him mad. Jung Inho had said his eyesight seemed fine, but it was difficult to remain calm in this situation.
Finally, after shedding tears of blood several times, the shed skin returned to the statue.
“…….”
And when he saw himself reflected in the statue…
“…No way.”
He couldn’t even thank the snake’s shed skin for granting his wish.
“…What, why, no. I heard this would happen, but…”
“…You seem more surprised than I expected.”
“Wouldn’t I be? I–I just had my eye eaten, but how is it… not empty, but I can see. What’s the principle behind this?”
A new eyeball filled the eye socket that should have been empty. Moreover, Ha Sungyoon hadn’t even felt the sensation of the new eye filling the socket. Hearing about the future from Jung Inho didn’t lessen the surprise.
Ha Sungyoon had to take deep breaths to calm himself down.
“…Hoo….”
“…….”
“D⋏mn it.”
He frowned at the amount of information flooding in, uncaring of the owner of the body.
“…Mr. Jung Inho?”
“Yes?”
“Was it suicide?”
“…….”
“No, ha, rather than that.”
Unusually vivid memories crawled up through his eyes. His eyeballs burned as if something had sown seeds for parasitism, and a sensation arose as if something was climbing up the nerves connected to his eyes and silently devouring his brain.
Before he could get used to the unfamiliar pain, Ha Sungyoon continued.
“…I did that?”
He felt as though his hands were stained with blood.
“I, like that, killed…? I killed that person so casually?”
“…That person deserved it.”
“That’s absurd. This isn’t right, no matter how crazy I am, this is too much…”
“It was trash that was better off dead.”
“Not that.”
“…….”
“Not that s*upid fellow, but that…”
The image of a woman smiling while bleeding appeared before Ha Sungyoon’s eyes.
The trees with eyes, engulfed in flames, and people ablaze, running wild. Among the already dead and motionless corpses, a woman with green eyes, full of life, was smiling. It was a smile that could make anyone feel good.
He also saw Kang Mina, unharmed, staring at her with a vacant gaze…
He couldn’t distinguish between reality and illusion.
“…Garam.”
‘Ha Sungyoon’ killed his patient.
It was the same smiling face as Yoon Garam.