Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The main character can do anything.

* * *

This is my personal opinion, but it seems that mental strength is important in this world.

At the man's words, Jung In-ho turned to look at him.

So, Mr. Ha Seongyoon?

Call me whatever you like.

So what did you just say?

Jung In-ho grabbed the branch he had just picked up and stared at Dr. Ha Seongyoon. The shop owner, Yoon Garam, who had joined from outside the company, also looked at Ha Seongyoon, puzzled.

Seeing the two of them like that, he touched his earlobe once and continued.

"It's what I felt after wandering around, but people don't die easily yet aren't very strong."

Is that your philosophy as a doctor?

It is my subjective judgment rather than a philosophy. I'm not saying this to explain my way of thinking, but... people faint or die from things that don't really matter to other people."

Ha Seongyoon said while tidying up the newspaper he picked up earlier.

"My wound is a similar case."

He pointed to his side with his free hand.

Before leaving the flower shop with Manager Lee Jaehun, it was an unclean wound, as if it had been torn by teeth.

Even though it was bandaged, the blood that flowed out was staining one side of the shirt red.

I applied pressure, but it was not a bandage used for hemostasis, so I couldn't help the blood flowing. That's why I thought it wouldn't be strange if I fainted in the middle....

.

As you can see, I am fine enough to walk on my own two feet and pick up things from the floor.

Having said that, Ha Seongyoon pursed his lips for a moment before continuing.

"I stand corrected, the pain is still there."

Are you saying that the reason youre holding on right now is because of your mental strength?

I think so.

He folded the newspaper finely into a square.

With a rustling sound, the paper lost its volume, and it seemed darker than any color they knew, as if it ate shadows from the gray sky instead of light.

For some reason, Jung In-ho found the sound very disturbing.

"This world is a little strange. Even when I stand still, my head hurts or I feel dazed. I'm guessing that this world has some kind of effect on our psyche."

"That is that so?"

Boss Yoon Garam pressed her head as if to check whether his words were correct, but Jung In-ho, who was also guessing the same as Dr. Ha Seongyoon, remained silent.

However, when I was giving my brain strength like it was during the surgery, surprisingly, I was able to endure it even now. It's strange that he endures this much, even though he's never been hurt like this before."

"...So it's because of your mental strength."

Jung In-ho muttered that and fixed the branch he was holding in his hand.

It was a pretty plausible guess.

Chief Kang Mina and intern Roh Yun-seok, who were at least able to communicate at the company, were people with strong mentality in his evaluation.

So judging from the situation so far, Lee Jaehun probably knew this.

The fact that mental strength alone can maintain more strength than the current physical state.

Is that why he acted so quickly?'

As he stared into the sky through his glasses, Dr. Ha Seongyoon added.

Of course I am not sure. There is no evidence whatsoever.

.

"But given the circumstances, I thought I'd share my best guess."

he continued.

So, Mr. Jung In-ho.

yes."

What kind of person was Lee Jaehun?

.

At those words, Jung In-ho closed his mouth involuntarily.

It was a rare reflexive reaction.

It was not something that was thought through, even for a brief moment, but a reaction that came out instinctively.

For Jung In-ho, who usually pays attention to even a single word, this was a very unusual situation.

As soon as he realized it, he felt embarrassed that his body reacted out of his control.

He didn't want to look weird by delaying his words any longer, so he opened his mouth in a slightly embarrassed mood.

His voice cracked as if he had hit puberty.

"...He was just, uh, that kind of manager."

Strangeness is a weakness, and to reveal weakness is to lose the battle of information.

"The 'kind of' manager?"

Hmm. He was not a man of good character. A common idiot."

Jung In-ho, who had been embarrassed before he knew it, shook his head.

With the help of manager Lee Jaehun, the two managed to get out of the flower shop safely, although it wasn't completely unsafe, but they were able to survive.

He probably had good feelings about him, so there was no point in saying anything unnecessary and looking like a jerk.

There was only so much you could gain from talking behind someones back

He came up with the most objective facts he could think of.

He said, At the dinner party, he spoke with his own mouth that he was a crony. Judging by his spending, he seems to have a well-to-do family, and his colleagues didn't seem to like him very much.

[Note: I could not find a word in English that perfectly described a person on the receiving end of nepotism. So I used crony which is pretty informal. Search cronyism for the definition. In Korean, there is a more formal and well-known word for it(which is used here).]

So, kkondae, nepotism, golden spoon?

[Note: Ive given up, lets pretend kkondae is an English word. It means an older condescending person. Think a boomer + an asshole, or your boss(jk).]

"...Not the whole story, but... to summarize, yes."

Jung In-ho felt annoyed with Dr. Ha Seongyoon, who was taking his words to the extreme.

He realized why Lee Jaehun sometimes had a strange look on his face when he talked to him. He must be feeling like this.

Whether or not he knew Jung In-ho's heart, he continued with his characteristic soft voice.

"It's different from what I've seen at the hospital and flower shop."

I think so too."

Boss Yoon Garam, who had been quietly listening to the two of them, opened her mouth.

"He seemed a little sensitive, but... he didn't seem like a jerk. I guess sometimes he says things that make it feel that way, but..."

.

I still don't really get it... .

Jung In-ho unknowingly raised his eyebrows.

What he did best was logical thinking, and he drew conclusions so far through his judgment, but nevertheless, the image of Lee Jaehun in the past did not all disappear.

To Jung In-ho, manager Lee Jaehun was just a bad-tempered boss, and of course they didn't get along.

Lee Jaehun always made me feel uncomfortable, and now it was too vivid to be an act.

Was it all an act? If anything, the fact that it was an act made it even more obvious that he was insane, but it also made him think that if he fell asleep for a while and woke up, he would see the same old Lee Jaehun in front of him.

That's how worthless he was to Jung In-ho.

'Actually, if there hadn't been an accident on the weekend, I would have continued to think that way.

Jung In-ho swallowed a sigh as his head hurt.

It was strange to see Lee Jaehun, who he thought he would live and die for his own security, save a child with his own hands and make excuses that didn't work.

If you don't change your evaluation of the opponent after seeing it, there could be nothing more foolish than that.

Jung In-ho, who was pressing down on the bridge of his nose with a headache, suddenly thought of manager Lee Jaehun's hand.

.

The hand that covered half the face of the child he had saved.

Before the child cries and before he sees anything. Lee Jaehun heard a loud noise, stared at the crowd, and covered the child's eyes with his bloody hands.

Manager Lee Jaeun was clearly wary of the onlookers' eyes.

Throughout the process, his eyes remained wide open, as if he was surprised by the unexpected, but when he covered the child's eyes, the atmosphere was even more intense.

It was an instinctive and nervous touch, like a blind man who had lived without a guardian and wandered through a path of fire with his fingertips instead of a cane.

Thinking that far, Jung In-ho looked back at Dr. Ha Seongyoon, and said.

So thats what I mean.

.

Why are you so curious about the manager?

At those words, Dr. Ha Seongyoon let out an embarrassing laugh.

was it that obvious?

Yes, a little.

It was blatantly obvious, not 'a little'. How could he not notice when he was openly prying?

Jung In-ho continued with his usual sincere face, slightly frowning.

.

"You said we should share our thoughts, right?"

If they really wanted to share information with each other, they should spit out what they found out.

It was a short time, but it didn't take long to get to know the other person.

Jung In-ho quickly realized that the most twisted people in the group were him, manager Lee Jaehun, and Dr. Ha Seongyoon in front of him.

Being the kind of person he was, Dr. Ha Seongyoon was probably thinking a lot, just as Jung In-ho was.

He wanted to hear about his opponent's judgment.

Dr. Ha Seongyoon, who rolled his gaze upward as if pondering for a moment, opened his mouth like a sigh.

From what I've seen, Manager Lee Jaehun... .

At that moment,

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

A piercing woman's scream could be heard.

huh?"

In an instant, all his reason was paralyzed.

It was a sound coming from the direction they had come from, and there were two women in their group.

He couldn't be sure if the voice belonged to one of the woman from the group, but he didn't have the mental strength to make that judgement. Quickly make your choice..

A decision must be made.

.

Boom!

Without returning to his senses, Jung In-ho struck something crawling under his feet.

He had to duck because the Monkey Spanner wasn't very long.

.

It was a vine similar to the one he saw at the flower shop.

ah."

"This .

To be precise, it was the same type that wrapped around the ankle of Lee Jaehun. The monster that had melted his skin.

There was a monster here too.

In the end, all Jung In-ho said was this obvious fact.

Monsters exist everywhere in the world, as seen in companies and flower shops.

Jung In-ho, who confirmed it personally, felt the tips of his fingers getting cold while holding the blue tool.

A total of 4 people remained behind.

Roh Yun-seok, Kwon Yeon-hee, Kang Mina, and Lee Jaehun.

One of the two tools that can be used as a weapon, the Monkey Spanner, is currently held by Jung In-ho, and Lee Jaehun, who knows how to use the pipe best, is in poor condition.

Of course, based on what hed seen so far of Lee Jaehun's unorthodox skills, it's unlikely he'll be easily defeated...

.

What he heard now was a woman's scream that belonged to no one else.

Jung In-ho involuntarily gasped.

ah."

He had a hunch that someone had died.

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End Note:

Fun fact. most of the characters refer to each other with the suffix

sshi(), which is kind of like Miss or Mr. but applies to

anyone you are not familiar with or is in a higher

position than you. Lee Jaehun speaks informally

most of the time though.

Since it ended on such a cliffhanger, I'll be releasing the

next chapter real soon.

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