Episode 265
Woo Joo-young was a person who hated conflict.
He would not have stepped forward and lost the benefits he deserved, but he liked to get things done on good terms. He had the ability to join a large company like Ohsung and become a team leader, so mediating conflicts was not that difficult. In the same context, he did not dislike Manager Lee Jae-heon that much.
Strictly speaking, it was like seeing a nephew who came to visit during the holidays and caused an accident. I thought, “How could I handle that if it weren’t for me?” At the same time, I felt quite comfortable with Manager Lee Jae-heon’s line. Although I found out later, there were almost no executives who tried to belittle Manager Lee Jae-heon, who was a royal.
‘but….’
I never imagined Chief Lee Jae-heon looking like this.
“Oh, boss! Do you know how surprised we were…!”
“I told you I was sorry….”
“I feel like my heart is going to burst, wondering if I’ve been captured by a monster…!”
It was strange to see Kwon Yeon-hee avoiding her gaze and making an awkward expression, but more than that, the image of Lee Jae-heon loitering somewhere on the mountain behind her came to mind.
‘I didn’t mean to do that.’
‘I was wrong… .’
‘I was wrong.’
I’m talking about the sight of him apologizing to the air while covering his face with both hands.
I don’t remember what I muttered after that. To be honest, Woo Joo-young had done nothing to be in this crazy world, but that alone was hard enough, and the fact that one of the group had disappeared while they were asleep was a huge burden to Woo Joo-young. The best she could do was to wake up Lee Jae-heon, who looked so scared that he looked like he was going to collapse.
“Team leader, are you feeling okay? I heard you were chased by a stray dog monster.”
“Mr. Inho… .”
“You seem very surprised.”
“Manager, are you okay…?”
“… … .”
It was a pity for Jeong In-ho, who was frozen in a smile, but Woo Joo-young was also terrified. It was not just because of the chase that had taken place in the middle of the night, but because she was seeing Chief Lee Jae-heon for the first time in her life, no, because she was scared by the sight of such a human being.
“I, I’m sorry for saying such strange things. I was just worried…”
“…What happened to you, sir?”
Woo Joo-young told Jeong In-ho, who was asking cautiously, exactly what she remembered about the situation at the time. If she had been in her right mind, she would not have told her subordinate about her boss’s potentially sensitive aspects, but she couldn’t help it because of the continued embarrassing situation and Jeong In-ho’s genuinely worried expression.
“The manager, all of a sudden, apologized to the air…”
“I apologize.”
“I think it was something like, ‘I was wrong, I ruined everything,’” he said. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember very well. I keep saying strange things, but the manager seemed really anxious.”
“Have you ever seen any other behavior?”
“Just, just, like a scared person… not even crying, just shaking…”
Before Chief Lee Jae-heon became unfamiliar with her recently, Woo Joo-young had never seen anyone so precarious. It was the first time in her life that she had seen someone so crushed by fear and self-reproach that they couldn’t even struggle. Woo Joo-young, who had unintentionally seen the bottom of a human being, felt a fear that arose from the unfamiliar.
There was something overly terrifying about the sight of him hesitating in the pitch-black darkness, curling up as if he didn’t want to be hit, lowering his head to the floor and bending his back, repeatedly apologizing without being able to cry or scream.
That’s definitely….
“… like a dead person… .”
Woo Joo-young hesitated.
“… I, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you that. I shouldn’t have said such things to other people… I really said something unnecessary. I’m sorry. Really, I…”
“… You seem quite flustered, but it’s okay. There are no dangerous monsters nearby, so you can rest easy. There won’t be any major problems for you, Chief.”
“How can you say that?”
“… … .”
“If you die… what will happen…?”
Even Woo Joo-young himself didn’t realize that he was talking nonsense. Even though he was the one who had been blaming himself for talking nonsense just a moment ago.
“It looks like it’s so hard to breathe… .”
“Team leader.”
“How can you be so calm? Do you know? The manager’s fingernails are all falling off.”
“Calm down, you’re just surprised.”
“… … .”
Woo Joo-young tightly shut her mouth.
She hated conflict and was good at taking action, so she had a habit of trying to solve problems as quickly as possible. Some said it was stupid, others said it was smart. What was certain was that Woo Joo-young herself had a hard time pretending not to know about the problem of Lee Jae-heon.
“…Can you tell me too?”
“I don’t know.”
“is it so?”
“There’s a lot we still don’t know.”
“I see.”
In an instant, fatigue came over me.
“What the… is going on.”
It was dizzying to realize that Chief Lee Jae-heon’s usual appearance was all an act, but when you peel back one layer, there was another problem hidden inside. And Woo Joo-young had no right, obligation, or qualification to solve it. I’m not sure, but given Lee Jae-heon’s personality, I think he would hate Woo Joo-young interfering.
“… I’m sorry for repeating the same thing over and over again, I… I’ve been out of my mind ever since I got here. It seems like I’ve been bothering you without doing anything…”
“Originally, staying in this world would be a huge mental burden. You don’t have to blame yourself. It’s a blessing that you came back safely from wandering through the mountains.”
“Thank you for saying that. If there’s anything you need, please let me know….”
Woo Joo-young said hesitantly.
“…I hope everyone doesn’t push themselves too hard.”
If there was one thing that Woo Joo-young felt when he came to this world, it was that all the survivors were walking around with their screws removed one by one.
In fact, even that wasn’t an accurate expression. What should I say about this? Unlike Woo Joo-young, who was busy trying to deny the burden pouring down from somewhere, most of the survivors calmly did their own thing. That made Woo Joo-young feel an inexplicable sense of alienation. It was like he was the only one who didn’t get a role in some strange play and was struggling.
What these survivors have in common is….
“They all look tired.”
It means that we are naturally accepting this broken daily life.
That was pretty scary, at least for Woo Joo-young.
“It’s not my place to say this, but… I think it would be a good idea to get some rest.”
“…I will do that.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“That’s not true. Thank you for always being considerate.”
The only thing that appeased Woo Joo-young’s fears was the fact that no one seemed to have any ill will toward him.
“…thank you.”
Even that was so unfamiliar that it was scary.
* * *
“sorry.”
Jeong In-ho smiled at the voice that was so neat and calm that it almost seemed dull.
“No, you must be very tired.”
“If I had been conscious, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s really okay. The manager is fine too.”
The opponent was Vivian.
As I said, I wasn’t angry that he fell asleep while on night duty. I just thought that if I were to have Vivian on night duty next time, I should make sure to have at least two people in the group. I couldn’t be angry at a student who hadn’t even graduated from college for something like this.
But I still had doubts.
“Does anything hurt anywhere?”
Vivian didn’t look as tired as she was asleep.
‘That’s why I chose Vivian as the night watchman from the beginning.’
In a situation where there are many people, it is not that difficult to select two or more night watchmen, but Vivian looked really fine and had a strong will, so he was assigned to be the only one to watch the night. He said that he would leave everyone else to sleep and stand alone, even though it must be hard for them. It was strange that someone who was in such good shape to say that suddenly fell into a deep sleep.
Vivian nodded slightly, as if she had come to say that too.
“There is no pain at all. If there was, I wouldn’t have offered to do night watch. Rather, I felt uncomfortable about falling asleep in that condition.”
“There must be another reason?”
“First of all… I thought about whether that dog was the cause.”
In the place Vivian pointed to without even looking, there was a stray dog monster, Pom-Pitz, lying on the ground, wagging its tail. It seemed to be in a good mood, smiling with its mouth wide open.
“I didn’t really feel like I was being hit by that guy. If I was just dull and didn’t feel it, then I have nothing to say, but I didn’t think that the dog was the direct cause, even if it had an effect.”
“Yes. They are so far apart.”
“More than anything, I kept trying not to look at it.”
That moderately sized dog monster followed Jae-heon Lee exclusively, and for some reason, Jae-heon Lee didn’t come into the survivors’ sight unless he said something. It only sneaked in and sat down when everyone was asleep, so it didn’t put much of a mental strain on them. After all, the stray dog monster’s mental attack only works if it comes into sight.
Jeong In-ho blinked after thinking that far.
“So… there must be another reason?”
“It might be a characteristic unique to the area near the school. Aren’t schools boring and sleepy? Because of that influence, it’s possible to sleep well near the school… I think that might be the case.”
“That may be true, but are you here to say that it might be a good idea to move around a bit? It would take some time to get a feel for the different terrain.”
“I never thought about it that far… but it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
Vivian glanced at the dark hill behind her and continued.
“I was so helpless when I fell asleep that I was quite surprised.”
The face that spoke like that still looked blank and dull, but Jeong In-ho, who knew that it was a kind of mask, didn’t really care. Rather, if Vivian, who was considered to have strong mental power, was able to fall asleep, then it would be better to assume that there was a separate cause.
Vivian rubbed the back of her neck as if embarrassed, looking at Jeong In-ho who was lost in thought.
“I could have just fallen asleep because I was sleepy. I just told you because I don’t think this has ever happened before in the park. It might sound like an excuse, but…”
“No, thank you for telling me. It’s a convenience store, but I’ll have to check to see if there’s a separate device that induces sleep. You must have had a hard time, so get some rest. I’m the one who’s going to take care of night shift this time.”
“thank you.”
Vivian, without adding any additional words of humility, neatly expressed her thanks and returned to her seat. Sitting near the campfire, it seemed that she had no intention of falling asleep right away.
“…a device that makes you fall asleep.”
Jeong In-ho muttered softly and looked at the abandoned dog monster.
“Do you know anything?”
When everyone else was asleep, it was the only one awake.
The distance was far, but Pompitz’s tail wagged, either because he recognized the faint muttering or because he only heard it. Jeong In-ho, who briefly took in the light movement, quickly pressed the space between his tired eyes and adjusted his glasses.
“There’s no way we can communicate.”
Even if it were possible, only Lee Jae-heon would be able to do something like that. What kind of conversation could he possibly have with someone who would shake his mind just by looking at him for a moment? Jeong In-ho let out a hollow laugh and approached Lee Jae-heon, who was leaning against a tree.
“Manager, are you feeling okay? Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“…What did you talk about with student Vivian?”
“I was saying that this area might be a little dangerous.”
There was nothing particularly bothering him, so Jeong In-ho told Vivian everything he had talked about. He thought that if things went wrong, Jae-heon Lee would find out first, so nothing would go wrong.
However, contrary to Jeong In-ho’s judgment, Lee Jae-heon frowned. Jeong In-ho blinked and asked, clearly thinking of something.
“…What’s wrong?”
“…there are devices that induce sleep.”
Lee Jae-heon said as if he had organized his thoughts.
“Some deep rivers or stagnant waters have that function. To be exact, it is the power of the water itself. It is a device that induces drowsiness the moment you fall in, weakening your body and causing you to drown.”
“It’s creepy. It’s like a water ghost.”
“Shall I tell you something even more horrifying?”
Lee Jae-heon looked up at Jeong In-ho.
“If it was true that I used that water.”
“… … .”
“It means there is someone here we don’t know.”
That was really, really creepy.
