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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s Disciple]
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Chapter 6
He deliberately drew the protagonist’s attention to break down the definition he had of the ‘manager Lee Jaehun’.
It might be a surprise for some but People are not interested in others’ lives as it is often said.
In simpler words, it is a common belief that people sympathise with people who has a painful past or a trauma, however reality is far from it, people who couldn’t ignore or move on from their past and become a troublesome person then people tend to avoid them.
This is especially true in the corporate world. Unless you are good friends or colleagues, there will hardly be anyone who would come to know your past or try to console you. Instead they’ll be more likely to complain about you to the boss.
But they too are not wrong. Imagine If a colleague sitting next to you constantly engages in self-harm or screams in agony while experiencing hallucinations due to some trauma he/she suffered, how uncomfortable and annoying would that be for you?
These people don’t want to be a burden to others, and at the same time, they don’t want to be bothered by anyone.
While they may sympathise with how much the other person is suffering, they do not see them as having more value beyond that.
Lee Jaehun was struck in this very situation right now
‘If anything, it’s even worse.’
He was certainly a superior in the same department, but to the party members he was nothing more than that, especially right now when corporate posts have no value.
If there was some past or disorder in a person he disliked, he might clap his hands if things went well, but he surely won’t sympathise with him.
However, the protagonist of this novel was not particularly sane and didn’t go along with the common logic, and though he was a good person, he was far from ordinary.
He had a strange belief about good and evil, and he judged all people in the world according to those beliefs only.
‘Lee Jaehun’ was probably somewhere in between a criminal and just a wicked person in his mind .
And because Lee Jaehun knew this he was easily able to figure out how to become a trustworthy person in his eyes and mend his image in the eyes of the Protagonist .
At least, he knew how to create an opportunity for that.
The way was to raise objections to his ‘justice’.
“Hey.”
Thud!
The black pupils staring at him widened.
“Get away.”
Clack, clack, clack, clack!
With those words, Lee Jaehun moved his legs, and the countless spider legs pouring towards him were stuck in a corner of the corridor.
A fierce tearing sound was produced as the spider legs pierced through the cement wall as it prepared for the next attack.
Fortunately, the team quickly regained their composure, with faces turned pale, and fled. At the forefront was Noh Yeonseok, the intern who claimed to exercise a bit.
Perhaps remembering the words Lee Jaehun had urged when leaving the office, he seemed to follow them exactly, adopting a quite admirable posture.
Watching Team Leader Kang Mina, who had just met a same-sex colleague and grabbed their hand, Lee Jaehun swallowed a sigh.
‘This is much more efficient.’
In the novel, Team Leader Kang, was the one who experienced the previous attack, and started bleeding because of that.
Naturally, she, with no tolerance for pain, was overwhelmed with fear, lost her judgement, and separated from the team without even checking her surroundings, ultimately meeting her end.
Moreover, not immediately dying but suffering more before death, I’ll spare you the details.
In contrast, Lee Jaehun was filled with resilience to pain, if not overflowing with it.
The protagonist who had met him over the weekend probably knew this, and that’s why he deliberately drew the protagonist’s attention before the attack.
Even if efficiency was a secondary concern, he had to act according to the setup created last night.
The meaning behind the gaze Lee Jaehun had just shown the protagonist was, ‘I’ll go in first and check for traps.’
Thud!
“…Damn.”
Lee Jaehun twisted his forehead as he broke spider legs crawling from an unknown place.
“These damn monster bastards…!”
Your damn shoulders hurt because of these damn bastards.
Lee Jaehun stood at the back of the fleeing group, vigorously swatting away spider legs.
Who knew I would make such good use of the pipe I picked up in the office?
Thanks to these bastards, the shoulder that had been properly pierced once felt hot as if it were on fire, and, to be honest, my senses were starting to dull.
Facing the dirty feeling of being threatened for survival, a past personality was gradually resurfacing, which I had felt tired of in my past life.
Perhaps because he was entirely responsible for the rear, I felt Deputy Jung’s gaze sweeping over in my direction.
“Ma, manager! Are you okay…!”
“Don’t you see up front?! I’ll be fine, so just run!”
Of course, there was no time for a proper conversation.
Is this a time to crack jokes when we might fall short even if we run like crazy? What if someone dies, who’s going to take the blame for that?
The current protagonist and the other members of the group had no mental space to objectively cope with someone’s death.
Naturally, their mental state would deteriorate, and instinctively, they would look for someone to blame.
Having sacrificed even my shoulder, I had no intention of ruining the plan with such an atmosphere.
Perhaps, with the excellent intuition of the protagonist, if there was enough leisure, they would quickly understand the meaning behind the gaze Lee Jaehun had sent just now.
Whether it overflowed with warmth and heartwarming conversations or melted into a peaceful dialogue, once you share unnecessary words during such a tense situation where you don’t know who, when, and how someone might die, it’s unnecessary.
Lee Jaehun made an effort to ensure that his actions did not appear too alien, by only swatting away the spider legs that approached dangerously.
‘Of course, by that time, the way how Jung Inho saw me would have changed quite a bit as well.’
After all, it was a sacrificed shoulder for that purpose.
At that time, Lee Jaehun only felt something was off and didn’t know what was on the side where the sound of the wind was coming from. He just went in to check first because he was good at sensing discomfort due to the setup.
Well, Lee Jaehun was used to pain. He made the best judgments in situations, and he didn’t place much value on his health.
However, if there really was a trap in front of him, Lee Jaehun speculated that the atmosphere would become tense. That’s why he caught the protagonist’s attention.
If Lee Jaehun were to be seriously injured by that trap, and even if he were to die, the remaining group would have to be led by the protagonist, who had the highest mental strength.
With that in mind, Lee Jaehun deliberately met eyes with Deputy Jung In-ho.
More precisely, it was a message that the protagonist, who had regained composure later on, would interpret in that way.
“….”
Of course, even with that thought, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
‘Darn it, I’m getting sleepy as I’m bleeding.’
Sacrificing his shoulder on such a gamble where he wasn’t even sure if he could salvage a piece of trust from the protagonist’s goodwill felt regrettable.
There were still many things to handle ahead, and getting tired was not an option.
There was still more blood to shed.
“Kang Mina, Team Leader Kang Mina! Hey!”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“The heck, get yourself together! Is this the time to run hand in hand so amicably? Are you out of your mind?!”
“Ah, um, I’m sorry…!”
Only then did Chief Kang Mina seem to realise that she was holding Kwon Sawon’s hand, and with a startled sound, she let go of it.
Perhaps the apology was directed more towards Kwon Sawon than the old-fashioned chief himself.
Indeed, holding hands and running in such a situation didn’t make any sense.
Leaving aside the mobility, what if one of them was in danger of losing their life? The immediate response would be something like,
“Hey, you idiot…!”
Lee Jaehun said just that.
While trying to avoid spider legs, he grabbed Team Leader Kang Mina, who had half-crossed over the railing, by the back of her neck.
A spider leg, pursuing directly from behind, pierced Lee Jaehun’s right leg. Seizing the opportunity while the predator was distracted with its prey, Lee Jaehun swiftly pulled her towards the corridor as if throwing her.
Confirming that Team Leader Kang Mina was now away from the railing, Lee Jaehun immediately struck down the spider leg that had pierced his leg.
The spider leg, unable to match the strength of the pipe, shattered into fragments, and he didn’t bother removing the remaining piece embedded in his leg. It would be far less bleeding to leave it in.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s Disciple]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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Influenced by the experiences from the otherworld and fueled by immediate fear, Lee Jaehun grabbed Kang Mina’s trembling arm and pulled her, resuming their sprint.
“You’re crazy. damn.”
“Ugh, ugh, ah…”
“Freaking run. Just run, look at those bastards and run!”
He pushed Team Leader Kang Mina forward as if to send her ahead and took the rear.
The protagonist, who quickly detected the unfolding events, started running ahead with the remaining group. Lee Jaehun appreciated the calm judgement made by Jung Inho. Since there was no situation where anyone could help, fleeing first was a better option than being a hindrance to him.
Of course, not everyone’s mind was as disturbed as Lee Jaehun’s, so if there was any room to spare, that had to be dealt with as well.
In a way, one might feel like they abandoned Lee Jaehun and Team Leader Kang Mina because they didn’t want to die together.
Lee Jaehun looked at Team Leader Kang Mina desperately running with tears streaming down her face.
“Ugh, ugh, ah….”
“….”
Well, in truth, they did abandon them.
* * *
The spider legs that were charging at them like crazy disappeared as they entered an empty office. It was as if they vanished like a lie.
More precisely, the ones coming out through the wall went back inside the wall.
And when some level of safety was guaranteed, Lee Jaehun sat down on a guest sofa, pulled out the fragments embedded in his leg.
“….”
It’s going to hurt like hell.
“Darn, this is so unfair.”
They all ran away together, but among them, only Lee Jaehun had seen blood. Even though he had anticipated this outcome as something miraculous or inevitable, it didn’t make it any less unjust.
He opened his mouth, scanning the group that seemed to be losing their minds.
“The person with half a safety pin.”
“….Yes, yes?”
“Well, it’s not like it wouldn’t happen.”
Lee Jaehun sighed and got up from the sofa.
Even though it was this messed-up company now, around last month, guidelines had been issued to have a first aid kit in each office.
Honestly, he didn’t remember if they were supposed to stock first aid kits or whatever. It wasn’t his concern, but that’s how it was described in the novel.
And if his memory served him right, there would probably be a first aid kit in this office as well.
In the novel, it was mentioned that it was quite well-equipped since it had been stocked recently. If that was the case, there should at least be bandages.
Limping around, Lee Jaehun soon found the first aid kit, and he went through its contents one by one.
“Disinfectant, painkillers, bandages… Oh, there are gauze pads too.”
Most of it was taken up by pills like cold medicine or painkillers, but there were still bandages and gauze pads.
Considering that using this at the company was less efficient than going to a nearby hospital, as the quantity of the medical equipment in the box wasn’t abundant. In fact, it was a bit wasteful to start using bandages or gauze pads already.
Since Lee Jaehun himself was a variable, the content of the novel could change at any moment. It meant that he didn’t know what kind of injury he might sustain in the future.
If he were to get a large wound on his abdomen, for instance, using only these bandages would barely be sufficient to control bleeding to some extent.
So, he wished that if someone had a safety pin, that would be great.
If he could put cotton or gauze inside it and tie it up, it wouldn’t be the most effective or infection-resistant method, but it was still better than using the bandages already.
Lee Jaehun glanced at the stapler on the desk for a moment but, noticing the black pupils staring back at him, he looked away.
“….”
There was no need to show signs of being a lunatic already.
He placed gauze into the pierced wound and wrapped it with the minimal bandage available.
Considering he had already lost a lot of blood while running with the wound, he judged that this level of treatment was necessary.
Among those who observed Lee Jaehun’s actions, Team Leader Kang Mina spoke up.
“Uh, Chief.”
“What is it?”
“Thank you.”
“….”
Finding the words so unexpected that he momentarily thought, ‘What is she talking about?’, Lee Jaehun quickly recalled that there was such a thing as dignity in ordinary people.
These were chicks who hadn’t lost their sense of humanity yet.
With that in mind, Lee Jaehun nodded his head as naturally as possible.
“It’s fine.”
Well, what he did was something worthy of gratitude.
‘I prevented several people from almost dying.’
He recalled the death of Kang Mina in the novel.
As the first person to die in the story, he could vividly remember how her end was.
In the novel, Kang Mina fell over the lowered railing due to the influence of the otherworld. Kwon, the coworker who was holding her hand, was surprised by that and let go of her hand, running away.
It seemed like it wasn’t just surprise that made him let go.
After falling beyond the railing, Kang Mina had one leg and one arm completely broken, and her head was severely injured, bleeding profusely. Although not clearly described in the novel, it was likely she didn’t escape a concussion.
Then, without much resistance, she became prey to the approaching spider legs.
And naturally, the mental strength of the team shattered into pieces.
“How… How are your injuries…?”
“….”
Lee Jaehun blinked his eyes slowly in response to the cautious question from Intern Noh Yeon-seok.
‘It seems it’s not a cause for concern yet.’
Considering the kind inquiry that Noh Yeonseok made about his well-being, it seemed like his mental state was still stable. Of course, someone with a deteriorated mental state wouldn’t ask such questions.
With the struggles of everyday life, there was hardly any room to spare for taking care of others yet he saved everyone of them from a life-threatening situation. After a moment of contemplation, Lee Jaehun responded.
“It hurts like hell.”
Perhaps Intern Noh was hoping for a response like ‘I’m fine,’ but unfortunately, the truth had to be acknowledged.
No matter how much Lee Jaehun remembered his past life, there were limits to covering such a large group of people.
“I’m not blaming any of you, so open your ears and listen carefully.”
“….”
“I have penetrating injuries on my left shoulder and right calf. Until now, I didn’t feel the pain as I was in a life-threatening situation, but as time passes, my mobility will decrease.”
Lee Jaehun made eye contact with the protagonist as he spoke.
“Do you understand?”
In other words, it meant, ‘If I fall behind, like just now, leave me behind.’
‘Even if others don’t get it, that guy probably understood.’
In truth, eternal death held little significance for Lee Jaehun.
Currently, Lee Jaehun was cooperating well with them, not knowing if he would be resurrected as he did in his past life. However, if a situation arose where he could die for certain, and his death was necessary, he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice his life.
In a similar manner, pain and injuries held no meaning for him. Through the last weekend, the protagonist probably realised this as well.
If other team members hesitated, Deputy Manager Jung Inho, who was adept at objective judgement, would likely take charge and lead them.
“If you don’t want to die, handle yourselves well.”
Of course, unless absolutely necessary, Lee Jaehun would cover them to some extent until then. After all, he sacrificed his shoulder for the minimum trust.
‘If it’s to stick close to the protagonist, this much is nothing.’
Closing the first aid kit with a thud, he spoke.
“Take a short break since we’re on the brink of exhaustion. I’m sure your muscles are shocked from the sudden running. Stretch or whatever you need to do. We don’t know what else might pop up ahead, but it’s not a bad idea to be ready to run quickly.”
“….”
“I have limits too.”
Familiar with the situation, Lee Jaehun, influenced by the other world, was also undergoing changes.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s Disciple]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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