Episode 318
There are two kinds of escape.
-The first is a strategic retreat.
He leaves, promising to fight on better terms in the future.
This is a method of escape that is mainly used when you need to defeat an opponent that you cannot win right away, and it is actually wise in that it leaves room for victory even if your pride is slightly hurt. If you could have had a chance to solve the problem, what good would it be if you died while stretching out?
-The second is aimless avoidance.
It’s a better condition, it’s a turn-off, it’s refusing to fight and running away without looking back.
―They say it’s something only cowards do, but well. Is there anyone in the world who can’t be a coward? Being scared is just a state of abnormality. And until that state is fixed, you can’t return to the battlefield… .
Could this be considered pathetic?
-There’s just nothing you can do about it.
A strategic retreat is used to defeat an opponent who can win under better conditions, not a strategy to defeat an opponent who cannot win hundreds of times. In the end, if you cannot win, it is useless to shed blood and suffer in many fights. That is just a poor and stupid person.
-And, yes, we are very good at running away.
The snake-eyed cop laughed.
―It seems that the people of this world don’t understand us. They didn’t turn back because they faced us instead of running away, but because they ran away knowing they wouldn’t win in the end.
“Mr. Hong Kyung-jun, aren’t you tired?”
“Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
―Ah, these boring people. Even when the time comes, they won’t have the courage to push others into the fire pit with their own hands. They won’t be able to endure it. Can we just leave them like this? Huh? How about gradually making them gain experience in killing one by one? Let’s use the fact that the last survivor has memories to gradually lead them.
The police officer who had been grumbling while putting his arm around Lee Jae-heon’s shoulder soon let out a sigh.
―… Well, that can’t happen.
His gaze fell on Hong Kyung-jun.
―The people of this world are so chick-like that they wouldn’t be able to survive the experience of murder. It would be a huge burden to cause irreversible damage, so even if time went back and everyone came back to life, they would still feel sorry.
As he said that, he looked at Park Da-hoon, who was curled up in a corner. The police officer, who was looking at the crouching lamb, frowned with a disgusted expression.
-Ugh, you little pudding bastards.
“Mr. Lee Jae-heon, are you okay? I guess your injury hasn’t fully healed yet.”
“It will get better as you get back to reality.”
―Our junior, are you worried about Lee Jae-heon? I really don’t understand. If possible, I wish you could change all of that annoying personality. It would be hard, right? I know, I know.
The policeman sighed, pressing his hand between his eyebrows.
―Our Jaeheon probably doesn’t know how much I’ve worked hard to make Hong Kyungjun this soft. If it weren’t for me, he would’ve had a hard time dealing with that kid at the park. Huh? You know? Shit, you don’t. I can’t be this sad.
“I know it’ll get better when you get back to reality, but don’t push yourself too hard. The doctor is already very worried. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
―Wow, kid. You even know how to ask how he’s doing. I really raised my junior well. But you know you have to work harder to get along with this kid Kim Yeon-woo? I know from experience that people like our Yeon-woo are people who value the greater good over their own safety or personal relationships, so you really have to seduce them well. You have to make them so bad that they can’t live without you, Kyung-joon. Okay?
The policeman who had been mumbling sighed heavily again.
―… I don’t know if I can go and watch this kid fall in love.
The police officer muttered bitterly and spoke to Lee Jae-heon.
―Let me ask you a favor, okay? You know that our junior is a bit stuffy. If that guy keeps up like this, he’ll either die of old age without ever being able to hold a woman’s hand, or he’ll just rot away in the other world. He’s not particularly charming enough to make someone like Yeonwoo flutter, so he needs to be helped by those around him… .
“… I don’t know if I can help you with anything, but could we talk?”
“Of course. Once you go inside the greenhouse, there will be a chair….”
– Junior, but I feel a little disappointed?
The policeman looked at Hong Kyung-jun with a smile.
-Your senior is here, but who are you overlapping?
“Come in.”
– Annoyingly.
The policeman who had been silently staring at the two people entering the greenhouse licked the corners of his mouth without saying a word. After confirming that his own mouth had not changed at all, he soon let out a small laugh.
Only after his exhausted breath had stopped did he mutter.
―… How long does it have to be like this?
I couldn’t relieve this boredom by just being grumpy.
So, Jaeheon Lee, you have to leave.
* * *
Since I had entered the other world, I had to return to reality at some point, and the sooner that moment came, the better.
‘There are many people who say that we shouldn’t move hastily because we don’t need to go back right away… but that only lasts for a day or two.’
Lee Jae-heon also somewhat agreed with the claim that there was no need to rush to escape the other world, but it was also true that there was nothing good to be gained from staying in the other world for too long. As seen from Woo Joo-young, adapting to a crazy world where even breathing would drain your mental power would only be to your own detriment.
It was natural to want to explore Unhakgo again, but it seemed difficult with the survivors’ current condition. As I felt while dealing with the Woo Joo-young case, I had to take care of those who were mentally burdened in order for anything to progress.
“Yeah, so… .”
Lee Jae-heon, who thought like that, chose Hong Kyung-jun after Woo Joo-young.
“What’s the matter?”
“Why do you think something will definitely happen?”
“Of course, whenever Mr. Lee Jae-heon asks for a personal conversation, it is always because there is a problem. As for me, I can’t help but feel nervous when Mr. Lee Jae-heon approaches me like this.”
“Don’t be nervous, even if you lie, tell it sincerely.”
“Did you have a lot of tea?”
The way he smiled faintly at her made it clear that no matter how much I thought about it, he was definitely looking at Lee Jae-heon as his arch-enemy. Lee Jae-heon thought, lamenting the same thing he had felt in the previous episode.
‘That’s why I said you shouldn’t stay in the other world for too long.’
When I read about him in a novel, he was just a boring kid, but when I met him in person and got to know him, Hong Kyung-jun was a guy with more intelligence than I thought. Of course, he had a common-sense way of thinking, and he had a conscience that went along with it. He was a guy who knew that it was rude to compare the dead to the living, so he was doing this.
The fact that Hong Kyung-jun, a police officer with a strong sense of law-abiding spirit, ended up in this situation could be seen as a result of his staying in the underworld, where all of his common sense and conscience were trampled and only traces remained.
“Well… I was worried, but Hong Kyung-jun seems pretty okay.”
It doesn’t look okay at all, but I tried to say something empty.
“A person who doesn’t usually smile like that.”
“… I thought you were going around here and there, but were you worried about other people’s mental strength? Mr. Lee Jae-heon, you must be tired. Why don’t you get some rest?”
“I’ve had enough rest. Didn’t you see?”
“It’s a bit much to say that just taking a day or two off is enough… .”
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“Come on, don’t talk back again.”
Oops.
“…I made a mistake.”
“No, it’s nice to see you being comfortable with me. In real life, we do a lot of things together, so wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have this kind of conversation?”
“No, that….”
Aren’t you doing this because it’s not good?
‘I guess I’ve run out of mental strength too. I know that the more I treat you, the thicker the filter becomes in Hong Kyung-jun’s eyes… Damn, you idiot. Why are you walking around with your brain?’
Lee Jae-heon, who was feeling uneasy for no reason, wiped the corner of his mouth. If one of them was out of their minds, the other one would have to be the one to keep them sane, but Lee Jae-heon’s condition wasn’t all that good either, perhaps because he had been injured and in the other world for a long time. There were several times when I thought about just pretending to be crazy and resetting the system.
‘No, shit, at this point, shouldn’t they be taking care of themselves and making escape plans?’
This is why Jaeheon Lee couldn’t trust his body to these chicks.
“… Well, I’ll rest. I’ll rest well on my own.”
“I hope so.”
“… … .”
Back to the main topic, it was Lee Jae-heon who first requested a private conversation. If the purpose of the request was not achieved and it would only make things worse, there was no reason to waste energy on this kind of conversation.
‘Let’s get our heads together. What’s in front of me is a crazy guy who sees me as the deceased… He’s a crazy kid… He’s a fluffy chick the color of forsythia… .’
Lee Jae-heon took a deep breath to calm his mind and raised his head to face Hong Kyung-jun.
“It’s nothing special, but I’ve been feeling uneasy lately, so I’m trying to talk to the survivors one by one.”
Since no crazy person would like it if you openly said, “I think you’re crazy,” Lee Jae-heon said from the beginning that his target was all of the survivors, not Hong Kyung-jun himself.
‘Actually, that’s not wrong.’
I plan to talk to Park Da-hoon, who looks like he messed up a lot last time; Jeong In-ho, who suddenly seems to have lost all motivation; Kim Ki-jung, who has to play an important role in the future investigation; Han Do-yoon, who has a history of being kidnapped and imprisoned by the possessed; and several other survivors.
Hong Kyung-jun, who didn’t know Lee Jae-heon’s true intentions, muttered in a puzzled tone.
“If you say you’re anxious…?”
“It’s really nothing. I’m just looking to see if anyone suddenly goes crazy and runs around the garden.”
“Aha… I guess you really can’t believe us.”
“As I said earlier, this is my personal anxiety. No matter how much better you were, you would have felt similar anxiety. If you could just hang out with me for a little while and have some psychological counseling, that would be fine.”
“When you say psychological counseling, it sounds quite grand.”
“It doesn’t have to be anything grand. It’s just a conversation.”
“Hmm… .”
Hong Kyung-jun, who had been speaking with his mouth shut, soon smiled faintly. It was a brighter and deeper smile than the one he had just shown.
“I enjoy talking with Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
“I really don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“Sometimes he can be really annoying, but… there are people like Jae-heon Lee. I learned through my life as a detective that there are many different types of people in the world.”
“aha.”
Lee Jae-heon muttered to himself as he let out a sigh.
‘This is awesome.’
This kid’s mentality is gone.
‘… No… Shit… Why is everyone like this, seriously. How am I supposed to handle this situation on my own?’
In reality, Hong Kyung-joon did not treat Lee Jae-heon this comfortably, and he seemed to feel a bit of pressure whenever they met. It was like he felt a sense of inferiority at the fact that he was receiving some kind of comfort from overlapping his shooter and Lee Jae-heon.
Moreover, if we really want to compare, it wasn’t like this even at the beginning of his entry into the other world. He unconsciously overlapped ‘Lee Jae-heon’ with Sa-su to ease the mental burden of the other world, but he didn’t openly treat him as a substitute for Sa-su.
‘Even now this kid isn’t doing this unconsciously.’
It seemed that he had realized that he was holding on by overlapping the Sa-su and Jae-heon Lee, but there was not a single shadow on his smiling face. It meant that he had already finished rationalizing himself.
“… It’s nice to see you smile often.”
“Is that so?”
Hong Kyung-jun tilted his head slightly as he said something he didn’t mean.
“thank god.”
“What is it?”
“Because I feel like I’m holding up well in this other world.”
“… the other world… .”
“That’s a good thing.”
Hong Kyung-jun, who said that, smiled with his eyes wide open for a rare moment, and Lee Jae-heon sighed inwardly.
“…you’re right.”
“yes.”
“That’s a good thing.”
Good thing, this little chick.
What kind of extortionist are you?
(Continued in the next episode)
