Chapter 81
Lee Jaehun was an excellent actor.
His talent was to immerse himself in the work on stage at any time, but one problem was that he often forgot the beginning and the end. Lee Jaehun often forgot the boundaries between lies and truth. Especially when his mental strength was depleted, like now.
So, when he suddenly came to his senses,
“……”
He couldn’t recall his previous emotions.
“…Then, would you like to go first?”
“……”
“I’m a bit tired.”
Did I get angry at the person in front of me, or did I silently laugh?
It was a completely unnecessary question.
“I’ll follow you.”
* * *
“…Oh, no.”
Dr. Ha Sungyoon continued with a frown on his face.
“We lost him.”
“No, ah, no, really…”
“Wow, this is serious.”
As Kwon Yeonhee and Yoon Garam spoke in turn, Ha Sungyoon, clearly distressed, groaned and fiddled with his earlobe. It was a habit that appeared whenever he had to use his brain.
Ha Sungyoon looked around the dark surroundings and said,
“He must have panicked. He probably didn’t even realize we were following him.”
They were talking about the intern, Noh Yeonseok.
Although Ha Sungyoon hadn’t known him for very long, doctors by nature were good at analysis. It was essential to gather necessary information from patients or their guardians who didn’t provide much.
From what he could see, Noh Yeonseok wasn’t particularly mentally strong. From the first meeting until now, he had been pale and almost unable to speak. In his demeanor, Ha Sungyoon sensed the kind of tension and fear you’d only see in someone entering a haunted house for the first time.
Of course, it also seemed like he was suffering from motion sickness, though it seemed odd in a flat area like this. But given that they were in an otherworldly place, it wasn’t surprising. Ha could empathize since he had felt similar nausea when he first understood this world.
But aside from that, the important fact was that Noh Yeonseok’s mental strength was not very strong, so it wasn’t completely surprising that he had abruptly left them.
Ha Sungyoon asked Kwon Yeonhee, who looked bewildered,
“He’s your colleague, right? Was he always such a scared person?”
“…Oh… ah, yes? Oh, Noh Yeonseok-ssi?”
She stammered due to the unexpected situation but soon responded.
“No, I’m not in the same department… We just work on the same floor. I only heard rumors that he was an intern in the adjacent department…”
“So you haven’t known him for long?”
“Actually, we barely knew each other. We met at the company and escaped together.”
Kwon Yeonhee muttered with a perplexed expression,
“…Still, I didn’t think he’d leave us behind in a situation like this…”
If you had to pick the quietest person among their group, it would undoubtedly be Noh Yeonseok. But from what she saw, it wasn’t solely due to fear.
Of course, fear was a factor, but he also seemed to be holding back something physiological. Like standing in the smell of a garbage dump or feeling nauseated after riding a roller coaster ten times in a row. It was a different issue from the inevitable feelings of fear.
But given the situation, Kwon Yeonhee had no other thoughts. Noh Yeonseok’s departure, leaving the three of them behind, was clearly a panic-driven action.
While Dr. Ha Sungyoon and Kwon Yeonhee were looking around, Yoon Garam spoke calmly.
“…Does he not even have the presence of mind to light the lighter?”
One of the reasons they lost track of intern Noh Yeonseok in the first place was because the lighter Jung Inho had handed him had suddenly gone out.
“Well, it’s not easy to keep a flame while running.”
“…What should we do? Should we hide somewhere until dawn?”
“That might be the best option.”
Dr. Ha Sungyoon said, rubbing his side.
“I’m also getting too tired to keep running…”
“Oh, ah.”
Yoon Garam’s face turned pale, and Kwon Yeonhee kept her mouth tightly shut.
Although the one most noticeably injured was Director Lee Jaehun, both Dr. Ha Sungyoon and Yoon Garam were already wounded from the incident at the flower shop. Especially with Ha Sungyoon’s injury near his ribs, he was in no condition to be chasing anyone.
In contrast, intern Noh Yeonseok was in almost the best condition among the group. He had many issues with his mental strength, but because of that, he hadn’t been actively involved and thus avoided injury.
Noh Yeonseok, who was naturally talented in running, was difficult for the three injured members to catch, especially since the light had disappeared.
Yoon Garam murmured,
“Thank goodness you have the lighter, doctor.”
The silver lining was that Ha Sungyoon still had his lighter.
“If we didn’t have it, we would have been scattered too.”
“I don’t think it would come to that… Anyway, we should find somewhere to hide before those monsters catch up.”
He said, frowning.
“Last time, we were lucky not to be attacked, but there’s no telling what might happen now.”
“…Right.”
“For some reason, they’ve been particularly aggressive.”
The dog-shaped monster, which was the main culprit in this incident, had been encountered before. Previously, it had been relatively docile, but now it was baring its teeth and chasing them. No one could run without fear after seeing that.
Kwon Yeonhee’s face turned as white as Noh Yeonseok’s earlier, as she recalled the terrifying sight.
“…Are they coming to eat us?”
There was a kind of fear that prey naturally feels towards predators. For most people, including Kwon Yeonhee, it was an entirely new experience.
Before coming to this world, the most violent things they had encountered were in print. Or maybe colorful, thin bills, the boss’s scolding that made them miserable even after coming home, and the approaching rent payments.
But in this world, the old laws and rules didn’t exist. There was no fairness, no floor or ceiling. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn’t soar without wings and were bound to fall. Even if they fell on what they thought was the ground, their necks might snap, their vocal cords crushed, leaving no time to scream.
They were now hunted. While they might have felt sympathy watching hunted animals on the news or dying soldiers in conflict zones, they would probably never feel such emotions again if they returned to the real world.
For Kwon Yeonhee, the biggest hardship so far has been the impending projects. Back then, not performing well in sales didn’t mean death, but here, not running fast enough could lead to death. Easily.
Thinking that way, she thought of her marketing team left behind at the company.
“…I…”
They were probably all dead.
“I really… didn’t want to be bad…”
“…Yeonhee-ssi.”
“I wanted to be kind.”
Unable to stop the crazed people, the cowardly me let them die.
Kwon Yeonhee murmured, swallowing back her tears.
“I left them behind again.”
Only then did she think of Director Lee Jaehun.
“He, he got hurt protecting us, bleeding… wouldn’t let us go to the pharmacy.”
“… Kwon Yeonhee-ssi, I understand how you feel, but we need to move. The monsters must be nearby…”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry, truly, truly sorry.”
“……”
“I just wanted to do well… I really did.”
Tears began to fall from her bowed head.
“I didn’t want to become a bad person.”
Yet, she had become a bad person once again.
Kwon Yeonhee had always been like that. She wanted to be loved by everyone, and if that wasn’t possible, at least not hated.
So, she constantly adjusted herself to others. In front of a cat lover, she would praise the cat’s sleek fur, and in front of a dog lover, she would compliment the dog’s cute, wide smile. She never felt like she was killing herself, it wasn’t difficult for her.
But in this world, there was nothing Kwon Yeonhee could do. Her strengths were lifting the mood, giving compliments, or organizing documents well, but where could those talents be used in this world?
She had already abandoned many people. In the office, she left her team members, and in the company, she left Kang Mina. Now, she had run away, leaving Director Lee Jaehun, who had comforted and helped her all this time.
This world turned her into a bad person.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, truly sorry…”
“…It’s okay. Everything’s okay, so let’s move for now.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll do that. I’m sorry. I wanted to do well.”
Her words came out incoherently. Her head was hot, her nose was tingling, and it was so painful to realize how pathetic she looked at her age.
Following the two leading her, she murmured softly,
“How can I be so bad…”
In her hazy vision, she recalled Director Lee Jaehun. More precisely, she remembered the last time she saw him.
He was coughing up blood.
‘He was in pain.’
He was in such pain, yet she had run away in fear.
The doctor had said that coughing up blood was something only the seriously ill did, and if the timing was missed, most of them would die. Dr. Ha Sungyoon’s face had remained grim, so Lee Jaehun was likely one of those patients.
He had numerous visible injuries too. He tried not to show it, but he kept limping, and he avoided bumping into others as if even slight contact caused pain. Yet, he continued to lead, soothe, and provide what was needed.
Kwon Yeonhee had a past where she had criticized him without seeing him directly, and she had never properly thanked him for helping her.
‘And now, I’ve completely abandoned him.’
Her stomach churned.
‘…What if he dies.’
Lee Jaehun seemed like he could die if she took her eyes off him for just a moment.
So, she tried to keep smiling. Wanting to be a good person, when she smiled, most people smiled back, and after even one smile, they felt a bit better.
Kwon Yeonhee was a marketing department employee, not a doctor, herbalist, or someone with such knowledge. So, she couldn’t treat Lee Jaehun or take care of herself well enough to reduce his burden. She wanted to at least make him feel better since she couldn’t do anything else.
But Lee Jaehun became more critical as time went on. He sank to the bottom, becoming either more calm or more dazed. Sometimes, Kwon Yeonhee wondered if he wanted to die. He seemed so detached from reality.
And as time passed, she became more afraid.
“…Do you think he’s still alive?”
He seemed less like a person.
“Even if he is alive… will he be okay?”
It felt like something dead was mimicking a living person.
He didn’t seem like the Lee Jaehun she knew, and that scared her.
Coughing up blood and trying to stand, he didn’t seem like something that contained life. His severely injured, creaking legs resembled those of a broken doll, and despite his many wounds, the emptiness in his eyes was terrifying.
How could that be alive? Was he truly a living person? It seemed as though he could crumble and collapse like an old, dilapidated building at any moment. The thought that it might be more natural for him to die that way gripped her throat, forcing her to look away.
At that moment, what kind of look did I have in my eyes when I last saw him?
“…Actually, I didn’t run away from the monsters… I ran away from the Director…”
“……”
“What if he was hurt because of that?”
No matter how monstrous he looked, he was a person.
He had protected, comforted, and helped them, bleeding and limping all the while. Even now, he was probably staying behind to fend off the monsters alone.
Such a kind person couldn’t possibly be unhurt.
“What if I killed him…?”
Once again, fear crept up her legs.
He already seemed like he might die at any moment, and now she feared she had given him another reason to die. Another excuse to let go.
She was terrified that she might have pushed a person standing on the edge of a cliff.
“Really, I…”
“……”
“……”
An all-too-familiar silence settled in,
“…Ah.”
Kwon Yeonhee realized.
She wasn’t the only one who had pushed Lee Jaehun off that cliff.
