Episode 259
In the original, the Park siblings’ course of action was clear. They never truly trusted others, they never helped anyone easily, and they never acted rashly, but were protected. Thanks to this docile will, the Park siblings were able to survive for a long time.
But now that they met Lee Jae-heon, who remembered his past life, the Park siblings had changed a little.
“It’s no use talking to the old man for a hundred days.”
“It seems faster to sanction behavior than to make people aware of what is wrong.”
The adults nodded at the two students’ active arguments. While Yoon Ga-ram was holding on to Lee Jae-heon, they were able to escape and talk amongst themselves, so it was easy to share opinions.
“I’m not saying we should just give up, but… the circumstances are what they are.”
“In a world where you never know when a monster will attack, it’s hard to fix each and every twisted common sense. As Da-Hoon said, it’s better to catch them even if it means making up some excuse.”
“But what if we just let it go and think, ‘Ah! This is okay!’?”
“The manager is really not a child, and would he really think in such a black-and-white logic?”
“I could….”
“…this.”
Ha Sung-yoon lowered the hand that had been caressing his earlobe and muttered in a soft voice.
“It really is a mixed bag. It’s not like I’m teaching kindergarteners… Min-hong or Seo-ah would be better at communicating than that guy.”
“It’s sad that I can’t deny it.”
Since the common trait among the survivors who entered the other world was that they were ‘highly likely to be insane’, the current survivors knew that Min-hong and Seo-ah were a bit different from the average children. Nevertheless, the two children looked really ordinary on the outside and were just being loved by the adults.
But what about Lee Jae-heon? What about that man who said he was forty years old?
“Even if that’s the way of thinking, isn’t the actual action itself shameful?”
“Even if I tell him not to, he won’t listen….”
“I really didn’t know it was so hard to say you’re sick when you’re sick.”
“If only I kept my mouth shut, it would be half as annoying.”
“It’s not even stupid, it’s just digging into the moments when people go, ‘Oh no.’”
The faces of the survivors who were releasing the things that had piled up on Lee Jae-heon one by one were filled with fatigue. They were the faces of those who were suffering from a capable, if not sane, bundle of thoughts.
“I want to yell at him, ‘If that’s the case, then you should handle it on your own!’ But I can’t get angry at the manager, even out of frustration, because he really seems like he can handle it on his own.”
Even if you get angry, the other person has to understand and fight back to make a sound. Lee Jae-heon couldn’t even understand why the other person was angry, and even if he did understand, he would just say, “Oh, okay. Don’t worry,” and run off somewhere, his life or death unknown. It seemed like his self-esteem was so low that he couldn’t even recognize the fact that the other person was angry because they were worried about him.
Besides, it was true that there were serious problems with the environment that Director Lee Jae-heon was in, making it difficult to get angry over something like that.
“… That seems to be true. The environment at home is a bit…”
“If you pay even a little attention, you can find out that the Lee Dang Group was in conjunction with illegal loan sharks during the time of Mr. Lee Jae-heon’s parents. In other words, they are what are commonly called private loan sharks. Even if they have been managing their image, their essence will not change, so they may be familiar with illegal elements.”
“I don’t know, but isn’t it almost certain? What kind of brothers would do something like that when their voices are raised at each other… um, something like that?”
Ha Seong-yoon nodded at Jeong In-ho, who couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘torture’.
“The manager himself knows that it’s strange, but he doesn’t seem to know how scary and dangerous it is. If Lee Jae-heon wasn’t a royal, would the misunderstanding have been resolved easily? It seems like he thinks that this difference in common sense is because he was born into a wealthy royal family, unlike an ordinary family.”
“If it weren’t for Royal in the first place, I might not have been in that situation.”
“Come to think of it, Detective Hong Kyung-jun, you already seemed to know something. Is it true that you often met without us knowing?”
In response to Ha Sung-yoon’s question, Hong Kyung-joon tapped his forearm, which was crossed with his arms. Knowing what he could and could not say, he answered Ha Sung-yoon’s question in a natural tone.
“That’s right. We first met at the park, and then I was invited to Mr. Lee Jae-heon’s house to talk. At his request, I went to see the survivors.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever been to us.”
“Mr. Lee Jae-heon had already figured out that you were all fine. Anyway, we ended up meeting each other often… Then one day, when I went over there, I saw some rags.”
The survivors did not deny the word ‘rags’, which clearly referred to Lee Jae-heon.
“The condition was so serious that I kept my mouth shut when I was asked not to speak.”
“What if you really keep your mouth shut when I tell you to? People have come to this point.”
“I personally told them that a doctor called by the family would come to visit me, and I thought they would find out someday. As you said, how could someone like that not be noticed? I’m also embarrassed because it seems like they found out a little late… .”
The survivors’ gazes turned to Ha Seong-yoon at Hong Kyung-jun’s expressionless words.
“… The doctor is not God. How could I know that the patient has hidden his wounds on purpose?”
“By a doctor’s intuition?”
“As you said, intuition is important to a doctor, but the most important thing is evidence and logic. If your hand became a rag like that, how could I have predicted that another part of your body would be injured? Not even in the underworld, but in reality? Of course, I admit that I was making too much of a fool of Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
For a rare moment, Ha Sung-yoon’s face showed a look of disgust.
“But think about it. Aside from the torture, didn’t Mr. Lee Jae-heon say that he came to work on his own? Unless he did something to all the torturers and ran away, it means that the other party let him go without a fight. I thought the latter was more likely. There are countless people in illegal loan companies, and no matter how strong Mr. Lee Jae-heon is, there is a limit.”
“… I guess so?”
“Furthermore, Mr. Lee Jae-heon could not deny that the other party was an acquaintance. Considering the above circumstances, I hate to say this, but the probability is high that the other party’s intention was not to catch a person, but simply to inflict pain. They tortured Mr. Lee Jae-heon while showing leniency. As he said, from their perspective, it could have been their way of venting their anger at the raised voices.”
“So…?”
“Of course, the hand is a dangerous part because all the nerves are gathered there, but the torture technician must have been skilled because he didn’t touch any dangerous parts at all. But are there other parts of the body that are injured besides the hand? That’s not only out of the realm of leniency, but I thought it was strange. What can be leniency depends on the part. How can we leniency if we damage a part other than the hand?”
“… Hmm… .”
“Even the abdomen and calves? How many organs are gathered in the abdomen? If you were going to damage that, it would be like killing a person. In a similar vein, the calves? We need to put Lee Jae-heon back in his position as a manager at a large company, but you’re going to damage the legs? If you do anything, your crime will be discovered, so why would you damage the legs? What part of your body is more revealing of health problems than your gait?”
“… … .”
“If the skin was torn, I wouldn’t know, but would I have imagined it would be like that? Even if he had been involved with an illegal moneylending business, how could I have predicted that the environment at home would be like that? Do you think that Lee Jae-heon would just sit there and not say anything even after being turned into such a rag? There are many people who can’t come to their senses for days just from finger torture. It wasn’t just a fingernail falling off, so I thought it would be enough to make him feel feverish and miserable. Even if his abdomen and legs weren’t in that bad condition, the hand injury alone would have been enough to understand the situation.”
“… We are sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.”
With those words, a gentle smile appeared on Ha Sung-yoon’s face again, but his gaze was strangely heated, and you could tell how angry he was.
“I’ll have to think a little bit about how to cook Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
“Just looking at your expression, it looks like you’re literally going to be boiled.”
“You are a doctor, so how could you do such a barbaric thing? Even if you were just joking.”
“It wasn’t a joke, but….”
Jeong In-ho continued speaking, blinking his eyes slowly.
“If possible, I would like the manager to just sit quietly. Is there any way to do this?”
“The simplest way is to put them to sleep with sleeping pills, lock them up, or tie them up. Of course, since I am a detective and a doctor, I will exclude such coercive methods. I don’t know what you think, detective, but I am against it.”
“You threatened to tie me up if I did anything in front of the manager.”
“That’s just talk. And even if we actually use that method to capture Lee Jae-heon, it will only have the opposite effect.”
Hong Kyung-jun, who had been wiggling his fingers in response to Ha Seong-yoon’s words, opened his mouth.
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“… Mr. Lee Jae-heon is very sensitive to situations where he loses his physical freedom. When he is in good condition, it doesn’t show much, but…”
“That’s what I meant. The reactions are varied, such as making a face that says they’re not feeling well, freezing up, or turning pale, but the common denominator is that they panic and can’t do anything. It means they can’t even get angry, so in this dark world, it’s an even worse choice.”
At those words, Kwon Yeon-hee’s face also turned pale.
“… Sir, what should I do…?”
“Yeonhee.”
“I don’t know much about this… This is my first time, what should I do? What should I do if the manager dies…?”
Kang Min-ah patted her on the back as she trembled and muttered quickly, and Park Da-young came over to comfort Kwon Yeon-hee. Kwon Yeon-hee’s face had been bad since the topic of her family environment came up, and she looked completely frightened. Even though it wasn’t bullying directed at her.
Park Da-hoon tilted his head slightly at him.
“… … .”
“Dahoon?”
“Oh, yes.”
When Park Da-hoon turned his head and looked at Jeong In-ho who had called him, he said with a straight smile.
“You said you’d go to the convenience store when it got light, right?”
“Yes, that’s true, but….”
“If you’re here, why don’t you stay with the manager for a while? Together with Dayoung.”
“Us?”
“I think having children around you might be able to limit your actions. You’re easy on the minors.”
“ah….”
Park Da-hoon nodded at those words. Lee Jae-heon tried to shake people off by acting unnecessarily sensitive, but he also knew that such an act would be softened in front of his siblings and kindergarten students. If he pretended to be scared and stayed close to them, they wouldn’t leave the place without permission.
Park Da-hoon, who had thought about it that far, opened his mouth.
“I will. I think you would be against it if we said we were going to the convenience store too….”
“Okay, thanks.”
“But you know what? Even if we stick together, if the situation gets dangerous, we can’t hold on.”
This was already proven when the green algae monsters swarmed the park pavilion. Even though Park Da-hoon and Park Da-young tried their best to block it, Lee Jae-heon was the one who would feel sorry but quickly leave if he could save others by killing one of them.
Jeong In-ho, who knew that, nodded obediently.
“That’s why I wanted to put Yoon Garam next to me.”
“…great.”
Park Da-hoon thought that was a pretty good decision. Yoon Ga-ram was more dependent on Lee Jae-heon than his siblings, and Lee Jae-heon seemed to think of Yoon Ga-ram as a half-younger child. In addition, unlike other minors who had no particular power, Yoon Ga-ram was actually a capable person.
I don’t know his exact abilities, but he can set something on fire, and although he doesn’t have much stamina, he has good strength. He’s not completely out of his mind, but he’s someone who can hold on to Lee Jae-heon with force. Park Da-hoon was positive about Yoon Ga-ram joining.
“Of course, this won’t solve the manager’s fundamental problem….”
As he spoke, Jeong In-ho’s gaze finally landed on Kwon Yeon-hee, who burst into tears. She looked unusually pale, and I thought that perhaps she had been greatly influenced by the other world. It seemed that Lee Jae-heon’s family environment was that shocking.
“… For now, I have no choice but to do it this way.”
“… That’s right.”
“I’m a little tired.”
Jeong In-ho and Park Da-hoon had a rough idea of each other’s family history. It was because they had a sense of kinship that only those who grew up oppressed by violent, if not violent, parents could feel. But since they thought they were not close enough to reveal such deep circumstances, no one had ever brought it up first.
The emotions they felt when looking at Lee Jae-heon were varied, but… .
“…Should I go in before the manager thinks it’s even weirder?”
It’s already too late.
For some reason, I always felt that way.
