Episode 496
Seo In-young looked at the person in front of her.
“I think it’s all done.”
A short, flabby body without any muscle mass.
“Can’t we stay by the tree for now and run away here if something goes wrong? It’s a fair distance from where we were, and we’re hiding among the large flowers, so we can’t see them very well. Do you think the flowers in this flower garden will attack us? I’d like to dig a hole and hide, but it’ll be difficult with our manpower.”
“… I guess so.”
A more gentle personality than that.
‘I guess I was really lucky.’
It wasn’t something that could be said out loud, but that was what Seo In-young thought. That this Kwon Yeon-hee was a very lucky person.
Kwon Yeon-hee had weak fighting ability and was not mentally strong. However, she had somehow adapted to this crazy world and was now making survival strategies more naturally than Seo In-young. This meant that she had been surrounded by kind people who protected her and taught her.
I was jealous.
“Then shall we go to the lake again? What do you think, doctor?”
“I think it would be okay to be a little more careful since there are still some fish left to be cleaned….”
“Is that so? Well, if we run into a monster on the way, it would be a big problem. That’s true.”
“haha….”
Kwon Yeon-hee kept making me think of what if.
That’s why I had the delusion that ‘couldn’t we have gotten a little better?’, but the answer was always no.
There’s no way I could have created this kind of atmosphere among those kids.
“Let’s go home! Keep an eye out for edible fruit on the way!”
“Yes, of course. Don’t worry.”
Seo In-young was a weak coward who found running away convenient, but Kwon Yeon-hee definitely had something that made people feel relaxed. She didn’t seem like the type of person who would make someone feel safe and then hit them in the back of the head.
‘Judging from the fact that the police keep contacting me, it seems like you’ve been worried a lot in the past. Well, you’ve been together all this time, but now that you’re moving out of town, it’s only natural that you’re worried. You’re just like parents worrying about their daughter who’s become independent…’
As I continued to have these ridiculous thoughts, I quickly found myself at ‘home’.
“I’ll go up first.”
“Oh, I will support you.”
“No…? I don’t want to reveal my weight like that.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I can’t treat you like a servant, Doctor.”
As she said that, Kwon Yeon-hee climbed the tree with quite skillful movements. Although she had made several grooves to make it easier to climb, her posture was excellent for someone with no muscle or stamina.
As Seo In-young followed and climbed the tree, Kwon Yeon-hee stared at him.
“Hey, what are you looking at me like that for…?”
“It’s nothing special, but I was wondering if you exercised too, doctor.”
“Exercise?”
“You look so skinny, but you move so quickly. It’s amazing.”
“I do exercise separately.”
Seo In-young answered with an embarrassed smile.
“Since I work in the emergency room, physical strength is basically important… Sometimes, when I go on business trips, I lose a lot of physical strength there too. Rather than building muscle, I tend to just relax my body so that I can move around more easily.”
“amazing…!”
“Rice, it’s nothing special. It’s something you have to do if you don’t want to die from overwork.”
Kwon Yeon-hee waved her hand with her signature soft smile.
“The hardest thing is to do something consistently. I know I’ll be back in the other world again, but I still don’t exercise. Even if my life is at stake.”
“I think it can’t be helped because everyone has different amounts of money to spare. But since Kwon Yeon-hee is well aware of various survival rules, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about… right?”
“That’s true, but I still feel uneasy without my teammates. I guess I feel empty without the people I used to hang out with all the time….”
“You really like your team members.”
Seo In-young openly admired him. I live my life worrying that even the little woman in front of me might have other evil intentions, but she really had a healthy mind.
‘I should also emulate that kind of mindset… .’
Because work is work, Seo In-young’s characteristic suspiciousness couldn’t be helped. If you don’t be suspicious, you could quickly be eliminated and lose your head. It seemed like the only things that increased were her stomach and her wits.
Kwon Yeon-hee smiled proudly as if she was glad to hear Seo In-young’s words.
“Oh, really! If you meet the doctor, you’ll think he’s a good person.”
“I would like to meet you sometime.”
“When we return to reality, let’s definitely exchange contact information. I’ll introduce you to someone.”
“That sounds good.”
Especially that ‘manager’ guy.
‘I don’t know what kind of person he is that he keeps appearing every time I talk.’
As I was laughing awkwardly, I suddenly realized that Kwon Yeon-hee had become quiet.
“… Yeonhee?”
“… I’m not sure if it’ll be okay.”
“… … .”
“I’m not sure if we’ll survive and not die, but I’m not sure if those people won’t die either.”
Kwon Yeon-hee’s expression was calm, but underneath it all, there was anxiety and nervousness. Seo In-young could tell because she always felt that way. It seemed that the fear of being left alone in a foreign land was inevitable.
Seo In-young felt sorry for this young friend.
‘It would have been nice if someone had come with me. Well, I’m a grown man and not the right person to completely open up to… I hope they won’t be too scared, though… .’
Sadly, he had no talent for comforting others. Even if he had such talent, he had lived in an environment where he was always cursed at, so he had no idea how to speak in a way that would reassure others.
While I was struggling with my mouth shut, Kwon Yeon-hee quickly recovered and smiled awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, I guess it’s because I’m in the other world that I have a lot on my mind… .”
“No, I know you must be anxious enough. I understand.”
“I hope no one dies.”
“that….”
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“Our manager, you said you were alone in the aquarium, so I’m really worried.”
“Okay, it’ll be okay.”
“I guess so?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say, “Of course, it’ll be okay” with a smiling face. In a world where you don’t know when or how you’ll die, that was too irresponsible of a thing to say. Seo In-young knew that well after failing several times.
Kwon Yeon-hee leaned her back against the wooden pillar as she kept her mouth shut.
“Our manager is a really strange person. He always talks about efficiency, but he’s not efficient at all, and he always gets hurt. Anyone can tell that he’s abnormal, but he acts like he’s normal…”
“Oh, is that so…?”
“Normally he looks really fine, but when he gets a little tired, he starts acting like he’s crazy… That’s what he does. He knows it and tries to act normal, but he doesn’t know that it makes him look even stranger.”
“haha….”
Then what did you do instead of sending him to a psychiatrist?
‘What would happen if you let someone that crazy out into society, Yeonhee? Those crazy people are your main customers, so I won’t say anything, but…’
I thought there really are a lot of crazy people in the world. Even the head of a respectable company like Oseong was that crazy. What kind of a country is this?
“…?”
Wait a minute, Chief Oh Seong?
“… … .”
Hey, no way.
Seo In-young opened her mouth, dispelling my ridiculous fantasies with an awkward laugh.
“You must be very worried. If you are that kind of person… .”
“I’m not the type to worry a lot, but I’m like that when it comes to the manager. If only that person’s sanity hadn’t been broken, everything would have been okay, but it’s just that sanity that’s so unstable.”
“ha ha ha….”
“I’m really worried that our manager should be in his right mind….”
“… … .”
If he’s that crazy to worry like that, isn’t it too much to hope that he stays sane?
This time, Seo In-young swallowed my thoughts.
* * *
“… It seems like there’s a large monster about 1km ahead.”
Information delivery that rivals car navigation.
“I think it would be better to turn to the left if possible… .”
“You know what? What is this crazy convenience?”
“You say it’s convenient for people, Student Janghwa… ”
Seo Jang-hwa was constantly amazed by Kim Ki-jung’s ability to shine in the other world. She was usually confident in her ability to exert effort, but Kim Ki-jung’s hearing surprised even Seo Jang-hwa.
Is it possible to live a normal life with hearing that allows you to guess the size of a monster 1km ahead?
“No, it’s like this in the other world, of course it’s not like this in reality…!”
“Oh, right?”
“In the other world, you have to concentrate to do things like this. You can’t just hear it. Ah, my head hurts… My blood sugar is low…”
“How are you going to survive in this harsh world with such a weak body?”
Seo Jang-hwa, who clicked his tongue, asked Jeong In-ho.
“Shall we take a short break and go?”
“Not bad.”
1km is a considerable distance. Kim Ki-jung doesn’t make a fuss, and Jeong In-ho and Seo Jang-hwa can see with their own eyes that there is no particular threat nearby. There is no reason why they couldn’t take into consideration even one shabby detector.
Jeong In-ho handed over the water bottle he had prepared at the park, and Seo Jang-hwa took out a few berries she had packed in her bag. Kim Ki-jung opened his eyes wide in surprise when he saw the berries she had handed him.
“Oh, this… isn’t that it? It has a really strong sweetness.”
“Aside from this, there are also glass apples.”
“This is enough for now. I’m not hungry, I’m just low on sugar… .”
It had a shape like a long cherry tomato, a transparent texture that was shiny like glass, and a texture that felt like chewing on soft clay. Nothing about it felt edible, but it definitely had a strong sweetness, as if it was covered in sugar.
Jeong In-ho’s expression as he watched Kim Ki-jung eating the fruit was strangely tired. Thinking that he was giving Kim Ki-jung a hint that he was taking a break, he flinched.
“…Why, why.”
“No, just.”
“Just what. What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I thought you could easily eat something like that….”
Seo Jang-hwa looked at Jeong In-ho with a trembling face.
“You don’t like it that sweet?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it. I just wonder why I have to eat something so sweet when there are other delicious things to eat.”
“That’s what I don’t like, you old man. I’ve never seen a person who is so picky about sweets in my life.”
“I can eat sweet things. It’s just difficult to eat something that sweet. Isn’t it too sweet?”
Kim Ki-jung also made a sour expression and muttered at Jeong In-ho’s reaction.
“It’s edible, but….”
“I knew that Mr. Kim Ki-jung wasn’t the type to like sweets, but he enjoys them.”
“I don’t literally just dislike it, I don’t dislike it either. In my opinion, it’s true that Jeong In-ho hates sweets. That’s a picky eater.”
“I’ve never heard that being picky about food is bad for your health, so it’s okay.”
“He really is a strange man….”
Kim Ki-jung, who had a scrunched up face as if he had seen everything, put a new fruit in his mouth and said.
“Okay. Let’s move now.”
“Can I not drink the water?”
“… Just a sip…”
Jeong In-ho smiled brightly and handed me some water.
“It was so sweet, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t think that’s the right thing to say with such a smug expression, but, yeah.”
But it wasn’t completely wrong. The fruit was so sweet that it made their mouths feel dry. In the end, they had to drink some water before they could move.
The group moved to the left to avoid the monster that Kim Ki-jung had mentioned.
“When do you think you can arrive?”
“It’ll be a while. From what I remember, it took quite a while by car.”
Jeong In-ho, who had answered Seo Jang-hwa’s question, continued speaking as if he had remembered something.
“I remember we had to cross a bridge once in the middle… ”
“What about the bridge? Judging by the fact that I can’t see the river, it looks like there’s a lot left.”
Kim Ki-jung, who was listening to their conversation, cautiously intervened.
“That, that river… there shouldn’t be any problems, right? I remember that the water in the river on the way to Unhak High School would put people to sleep and stuff. If there’s a problem like that in this river, should I take a detour?”
“I think we should go and check. If the difficulty level is something we can handle, then it would be better to cross, but if it is something we can’t stand, then we should turn around and go back, as Kim Ki-jung said.”
“okay.”
Kim Ki-jung sighed deeply.
“I hope there are no dangerous monsters….”
“Anyway, new chest.”
“No, it’s not that I’m scared, it’s that you guys are strangely fearless…? This really pisses me off. Most people get scared just by watching a horror movie, but imagine watching it in real life. Anyone who isn’t scared of it is abnormal!”
“Even considering that, isn’t it time for you to start getting used to it? I’m not completely fearless, but you’re a bit too much. Even with that kind of ability, you’re just too scared. If I were you, I’d be like, “Wow, that cheat key is crazy,” and then I’d be dancing the samba.”
“eww….”
“What’s with that disgusted look on your face, sir?”
Leaving behind the bickering between the two, Jeong In-ho slowly looked around.
‘…I’m not sure if the manager will be okay until I get there.’
It took quite some time to prepare and set off from the park, and the distance to get there was not easy.
It would take quite some time to get to the aquarium, and I wondered if the survivors at the aquarium would be okay in the meantime.
Not only Lee Jae-heon, but also the Park siblings and the kindergarten students.
“… It will probably take a few days?”
“It takes quite a while to get there by car, but you have to walk through the streets where monsters are rampant. It won’t take long, but it will take at least a day or two.”
“I just asked because it seemed ominous.”
Jeong In-ho thought as he responded to Kim Ki-jung’s grumbling.
‘I know that Park Da-young’s mental strength is quite strong, but whether she can handle Song In-myeong and two kindergarten students is a separate issue. If it takes too long, Park Da-young will get tired too… .’
Jeong In-ho immediately smiled brightly.
“…? Why are you laughing, sir? Isn’t that the face that says you’re going crazy?”
“Uh… You’re not upset because I rested for too long, are you…?”
“Haha, I can’t even laugh.”
But it was true that it was frustrating.
‘I hope no one dies.’
No matter how much I thought about it, these combinations of the other worlds seemed too much.
(Continued in the next episode)
