Chapter 234
Theatrical Regression Life
Episode 234
âThis is my first time seeing the manager in plain clothes.â
It all started with Kwon Yeon-heeâs admiration.
âIâve been thinking about it for a while, but the manager is really a bit of a bitch.â
âWhat is Pappy?â
âFashion peopleâ¦.â
âDonât use strange words.â
In response to Lee Jae-heonâs scolding, Kwon Yeon-hee hid behind Noh Yeon-seok with a shameless face. The smallest one among us was hiding behind the tallest one, so we couldnât see him clearly, but he slowly put his head down and continued talking.
âIt was a compliment, but why are you saying that?⦠Manager, I said you dress well.â
âYou can say that after seeing my appearance.â
It was spread like slime on the bed. When I heard from the security office that âa guest has arrived,â I hurried out, so I didnât have time to put on my clothes properly. I went out wearing only moderately long pants that covered my entire legs, gloves and a thick cardigan over a white polar T-shirt.
Despite Lee Jae-heonâs words, Kwon Yeon-hee did not lose.
âManager, you live very young. âMainly fashion.â
âAre you accusing me of being old now?â
âDo you exercise?â
âDo you want to do it? âYouâre so busy going to work, why exercise?â
Oh no.
ââ¦Well, in the other world⦠I tend to exercise.â
âThatâs⦠right.â
During my first visit to the other side of the world, the chicks who had to run from the beginning nodded with a strange look. It was true, but his face said he didnât want to admit it. Or that you canât do that through exercise.
Lee Jae-heon looked at everyone and asked with a sigh.
âDinner.â
âI didnât eat it.â
âCan you have it delivered?â
âIs there any food in the refrigerator?â
ââ¦Itâs in the pantry.â
âCan I use the kitchen?â
âwait for a sec.â
Lee Jae-heon, frowning, held out his hand to Jeong In-ho and asked for time.
âCook?â
âYeonseokâs workmanship is so good.â
âIâm good at cooking!â
âWhy are you smiling?â
Lee Jae-heon, who was frowning arrogantly, looked at Jeong In-ho and Noh Yeon-seok alternately with his eyes narrowed.
âNo⦠really⦠do you want to come to the managerâs house and cook at this hour? âAm I the only one who knows that this is a truly absurd and absurd situationâ¦?â
âSo you said it was a visit to the hospital.â
Jeong In-ho smiled.
âThey said originally, porridge was to be fed to sick people.â
âWho said that?â
âPeople of the world.â
âI hate porridge.â
âThen let me cook you something.â
âI donât like food either.â
âDo you want me to boil noodles for you?â
ââ¦.â
Jaeheon Lee once again lost the will to speak.
âStill, you donât refute the fact that it hurts.â
ââ¦Gross bastardâ¦.â
âIâm a little better. Yeonseok, letâs eat.â
At that point, Lee Jae-heon had no choice but to give up.
âSince there is spinach, try mixing it with soybean paste. There arenât a lot of ingredients, so if you need them, buy them from outside. âIâll give you a card.â
âEven when you say you donât like it, you quite naturally indulge it.â
âIf youâre going to bother me, just quit. I was just planning on sleeping anyway. You guys either have it delivered, eat it, sleep or not.â
Kang Min-ah interjected with those words in a subdued voice.
ââ¦Can I go to sleep?â
ââ¦Itâs past 8 oâclock now, so are you going to go out at dawn?â
Lee Jae-heon scratched his head and trudged over to check the guest room. It was cold because I didnât use it much, but that can be done by turning on the boiler. The person who cleaned the room every time had already cleaned up this unused room, so it was perfect for putting the chicks in.
Lee Jae-heon came out of the closet with some comfortable clothes and gave clothes to the chicks one by one.
âI bought some pajamas in advance, so please wear these. I think the ladies will have some waist space⦠Mina Kang and Yeonhee Kwon, please wear sweatpants.â
âUgh, I was just trying to sleep. thank you.â
âYou really speak out loud. âMy home is not a hotel where you can come and sleep as you please.â
Then he turned his attention to Noh Yeon-seok.
âYeonseokâ¦.â
âYes!â
ââ¦.â
Lee Jae-heon said with a sour expression.
âThe length will be short, you idiot. âWhen you grow up to be so big.â
âThank you for the compliment!â
âThank you so much for taking it as a compliment.â
Lee Jae-heon was by no means short in size or height, but Noh Yeon-seok was at a level that was difficult to approach. I guess itâs because Iâm someone who learns many sports as a hobby and Iâm naturally tall, but seeing the difference like this hurt my pride.
âIn my previous life, I was upset because I couldnât gain muscle, but this body canât gain weight eitherâ¦â I
suddenly felt unfair, but I quickly blew it away with a sigh. Normally I donât have these random thoughts, but maybe because I wasnât feeling well, I was thinking about all sorts of things. Itâs good if the chicks are healthy.
âBut⦠I brought the bigger one. I ordered the wrong size and didnât want to return it, so I kept it. âI donât think it will be a concern even if the length is a little short.â
âOh⦠thatâs roughly correct, thank you.â
âIf you know, you can cook delicious food.â
âIâm good at that!â
If itâs that bright, itâs hard to criticize it. Lee Jae-heon, completely discouraged, walked quickly and sat down on the sofa. My head was pounding because the house, which had never had guests before, had become noisy.
Jeong In-ho, who quietly approached Lee Jae-heon, said with a smile.
âBoss.â
ââ¦Wait a minute, I feel a bit ominous right now.â
âPresident Garam Yoon and Seongyoon Ha are also downstairs.â
ââ¦.â
Lee Jae-heon raised his drooping head and made eye contact with Jeong In-ho, but the other person was just smiling. It couldnât have been a true fox-like cub.
ââ¦Did you call me?â
âI called.â
âWhat are you feeling?â
âAre you really asking because you donât know?â
Jeong In-hoâs eyebrows were furrowed as he smiled.
âWhy arenât you answering the phone?â
âDidnât I say I didnât like that? Are we dating? âLet me tell you in advance, I like women.â
âLooking at you talking nonsense, it looks like youâre really hurt. âIf weâre in pain, wouldnât it be right to signal that weâre in pain?â
âSo, arenât you reporting survival every morning?â
âItâs literally a survival report. âWhat would you do if you were still alive?â
âYou will live well, thenâ¦.â
âPeople who live well donât get sick that much, Manager. âIt was just the size of the nosebleed you had today.â
âWhy are you nagging even my mother?â
âThis is what community is.â
âHuhâ¦â
Lee Jae-heon, leaning his head against the armrest of the sofa, waved his hand.
âBring him up and donât bother the guards again.â
âI donât know if itâs because youâre sick, but youâre quite obedient.â
âIf possible, Iâll stop bothering you, you disgusting bastardâ¦â
âOf course.â
Jeong In-ho rolled his eyes and smiled.
âI wonât bother you.â
ââ¦Oh shit. Ha Seong-yoon.â
âEven though youâre sick, you still look the same.â
âDamn itâ¦.â
Lee Jae-heon got up from the sofa sobbing and trudged to the bedroom. While rummaging through the drawers of the nightstand next to the bed, he handed two cards to Jeong In-ho, who was looking at me intently.
âThe white one is the door lock key and the other one isâ¦.â
âItâs a credit card. He is like an uncle giving his nephew pocket money. Or does it feel like a friendly guy next door?â
âWhat kind of man⦠ha. Go out and buy what you want to eat. âDonât bother me.â
âIâll call you when the food is ready.â
âI guess I donât have to call youâ¦â
Feeling heat rising in his eyeballs, Lee Jae-heon covered his eyes with his hands and then brushed them off again. I didnât want to show that I was sick in front of chicks who didnât know anything. It seemed like it was already too late, but if I continued like this, I might summon a monster or say crazy things like I did in the bathroom yesterday.
I didnât want to show it that far.
ââ¦Iâm going to sleep.â
ârest.â
ââ¦.â
But thatâs what I thought.
Itâs been a long time since anyone took care of me when I was sick.
* * *
As Lee Jae-heon entered the room, Noh Yeon-seok quietly moved his body.
âCan I check the refrigerator then?â
ââ¦Probably a pantry, not a refrigerator. Oh, I guess itâs over there. âCheck to see if thereâs anything to eat.â
âI wonder what rich people eat for a living.â
âI see you live on spinach.â
âYou should eat some good spinach. âThere are different grades of the same food.â
âThatâs right.â
Jeong In-ho turned his gaze to Kang Min-ah.
âMinah, you said you know how to cook, right?â
âYes, I have made it often since I was young. âFrom what you were saying earlier, I thought you were interested in vegetable side dishes⦠Iâll do that.â
As she said that, Kang Min-ah smiled lightly.
âWhen youâre sick, itâs best to eat whatever you want.â
That was correct. When Jeong In-ho was young, when he was sick, his uncle would always ask him what he wanted to eat. Considering the childrenâs health, it would have been natural to bring porridge, but instead, uncle brought the food that Jeong In-ho wanted to eat. Other than that, I had trouble getting food down my throat.
âBecause herbs are good for your body.â
âThe meeting place is always the same, and the manager seems to like Korean food. âHe doesnât say much, but he secretly enjoys local food.â
âIt looks like heâs holding a fork and a knife to cut a steakâ¦â
âWell, he always goes around wearing a suit⦠Thatâs the vibe. âYou seem to be dressing a little more lightly these days.â
Jeong In-ho was suspicious of that.
âIt felt like the purpose was to cover the whole body, rather than simply wearing it lightly.â
There were times when it was chilly until March, but now it is April. If you wanted to wear something light, there is no reason to wear a coat and thick neck-shirt to work. I got the feeling that they wanted to somehow maintain the usual formal feel and increase the length of the clothes.
Besides, wearing gloves even inside the house is a bitâ¦
âJung In-ho?â
ââ¦Anyway, I will collect you two from below.â
âAh yes. Bye.â
Jeong In-ho, who returned the same way Lee Jae-heon took them, met Ha Seong-yoon and Yoon Gar-ram in the lobby and went straight to the convenience store inside the building. In his hand was a card given by Lee Jae-heon.
âShould I buy some snacks? We can hang out and chat at night.â
âI have work tomorrow⦠so Iâll just pick one drink to take it easy.â
âCan I buy beef jerky? Cheese stuffedâ¦.â
âWhat would a person with a lot of money say about that?â
In the end, after buying a lot of food, they returned to Lee Jae-heonâs house. Kang Min-ah, who was putting seasoned vegetables on a plate in the kitchen, was surprised to see them. Since it took a while, I thought they were robbing a convenience store, but there was more baggage than I imagined.
âAre you here? âYou bought a lot⦠What should I do if the manager gets angry?â
âI donât think youâll be upset about this, but I bought some of it with my own money. âYou donât have to worry.â
âUh, uh⦠I guess it doesnât matter if you get annoyed just like that.â
Just as Kang Min-ah was convinced, Kwon Yeon-hee, who was putting side dishes on the table, approached her.
âomg! This is really delicious. âWho chose this beef jerky?â
âOh, I chose it. âI didnât buy it with my own money, but would you like to eat it together?â
âSo good!â
As they carried their luggage toward the kitchen, they were greeted by Noh Yeon-seok, who was waving a wok flashily.
âYouâre here! âIâm making egg fried rice right now. Is there anything youâd like to eat?â
âWell, ramen?â
âYou know what? There is no ramen at the managerâs house. âItâs a strange house.â
ââ¦that⦠is really strange.â
Ha Seong-yoon, who had a slightly surprised expression, was impressed by Noh Yeon-seokâs skillful cooking skills. Stir-frying it with a ladle and placing it on a plate was not something I had done once or twice.
âI heard you were good at cooking, and it was true. âI thought the chef was here.â
âHey, Iâm really good at cooking. âWhen I go camping with my friends, Iâm always the one in charge of cooking.â
âThatâs amazing. âYou have so many talents⦠I think you will make a good husband in the future.â
ââ¦is it so?â
Noh Yeon-seok slowly turned his gaze to look at Kang Min-ah, but Kang Min-ah did not notice his gaze because she was talking with Yoon Garam and Kwon Yeon-hee. Noh Yeon-seok, who became sullen, placed a ladle in an empty wok and muttered.
âIf you want something to eat, I will make it for youâ¦.â
ââ¦Thank you.â
Ha Seong-yoon, who smiled awkwardly, and Noh Yeon-seok, who was dejected, went into the pantry once again to check the ingredients, then took orders again and made food with less fat.
After moving the bowl containing the finished food to the table, they changed into comfortable clothes and immediately looked at the same place as if they had made a promise.
ââ¦.â
ââ¦I will wake you up and come back.â
âFighting, Assistant Manager.â
Fortunately, when I knocked on the bedroom door twice, Lee Jae-heon came out from inside. Judging from his disheveled appearance, it looked like he had actually slept.
He passed the people with blank eyes and checked the table, then burst into laughter.
ââ¦Itâs really strange.â
Jeong In-ho, who was staring at Lee Jae-heonâs face whose smile had suddenly disappeared, answered.
âI thought it was strange when I saw the people who came to visit me.â
âDo you have spinach?â
ââ¦Kang Min-ah mixed it up.â
Very tired, a little happy and a little sad.
It was that kind of expression.
* * *
I was very grateful that the chicks came to my house and cooked for me, but there was no way my appetite, which I had never had before, would come back when my subordinates came. Should I say that it feels like eating right after getting carsick and throwing up?
As Lee Jae-heon was just crunching on the spinach, Ha Seong-yoon and Jeong In-ho laughed softly.
âItâs okay to scold me for being a picky eater because Iâm eating spinachâ¦â
âIsnât that also a picky eater?â
âBut isnât it good food for your health? âItâs ambiguous.â
ââ¦I can hear those two disgusting men over there.â
When I glared at him, Ha Seong-yoon put down the dishes. Ha Seong-yoon, with a puzzled expression on his face, said without erasing the smile on his face.
âWhy are you doing that?â
ââ¦Noâ¦.â
ââ¦It looks like you were really hurt, because the manager responded so gently.â
ââ¦.â
âI canât believe you didnât even refute the world.â
I just didnât have the energy to refute it, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. There was no way I wouldnât see a doctor when the doctor came to my house, so I had no choice but to go back to my room and sleep before checking on my condition.
âIf you donât feel very well, you donât have to eat the whole meal. âI have to digest the food before going to bed, and the manager looks like heâs not in a good mood.â
âThen stop nowâ¦â
âThen letâs take a look at your hands.â
ââ¦.â
When Lee Jae-heon got up and pretended not to hear, Ha Seong-yoon called Jeong In-ho.
âMr. Jeong In-ho.â
âyes.â
âBring them back alive.â
In the end, Lee Jae-heon was caught alive.
âNo, really, Iâm being treated like this in my own homeâ¦â
âIâm not a 5-year-old child who doesnât want to go to the dentist. Why are you doing this?â
âMy hands are cold, so I brought glovesâ¦â
âYou wore gloves even at the dinner table, and now youâre going to pretend you didnât notice?â
âWhy are there so many people who donât know that Iâm over 40?â
âYou need to act like an adult over 40, sir.â
âOh reallyâ¦â
âThere is no rule that says adults are not patients. You keep trying to pretend itâs nothing, but thatâs a really bad habit. âFix it.â
ââ¦.â
I really tried to crush it as much as I could.
âYou guys are going to nag me.â
But it really wasnât a situation that could be overlooked without showing it. This was because the space of the house itself was limited, and the chicks who did not know that Lee Jae-heon was injured noticed through the current war of words. Well, it was too much to bundle up in April, wasnât it?
Lee Jae-heon, who had âExtremely Dislikeâ written on his face, sighed and said.
ââ¦Donât nag me too much then.â
âHow on earth did this person come to our hospital? âWhen I think about it now, itâs truly amazing.â
âOh, we didnât know each other back then. Did I know that Dr. Ha Seong-yoon was so sincere toward his patients? I just went because they said I was good at it. âIf I had known it would be like this, I would have found another teacher.â
âShould I take this as an insult or a compliment? If a doctor is not sincere towards his patients, he is not qualified to be a doctor. âOften, such garbage does exist.â
âSo youâre saying that all the doctors I know are trash?â
ââ¦wait for a sec.â
Ha Seong-yoon, who was serious about his title as a doctor, looked at Lee Jae-heon with a straight face.
âI donât think Iâm talking about a doctor who treated something as simple as a cold. Have you ever suffered a stabbing like that before? âHave all the doctors Iâve met so far ignored that?â
ââ¦.â
âTeacher?â
ââ¦Noâ¦.â
It was a story from a past life.
âBecause there was no need to seriously worry about the injury of a person with regenerative abilities.â
Ah, there was a present life too. However, shouldnât we make an exception for doctors who have been injured in this life to the point of bleeding? In the first place, he was hired on the condition that he did not seriously think about the injuries suffered by the old manager and did not get involved.
ââ¦look at your hands.â
âWhy canât you answer me? âWhy are you avoiding my gaze?â
âNo, well⦠arenât the doctors busy?â
âYou said you were sick and then you said such nonsense?â
Ha Seong-yoonâs face was distorted like Lee Jae-heonâs just now, and it was a face of extreme disgust. The target is probably the most trashy doctors he can imagine. Jaeheon Lee decided to keep his mouth shut for the honor of the doctors I remember.
âAnyway⦠Anyway, you shouldnât wear gloves if you have an injury on your hand. I donât even know why you bothered to wear gloves when you must have been in pain from the first time you wore them. No matter how much you donât want to show it, you shouldnât. If you go this far, you must have been seriously injuredâ¦â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦.â
The expression disappeared from Ha Seong-yoonâs face as he took off his gloves.
ââ¦Are you kidding me?â
âArenât you thinking of treating the patient more kindly?â¦â
Ha Seong-yoon strongly grabbed the hand that was trying to slip away out of strange embarrassment. At least I relaxed when I saw my scabbed palms from being swept across the floor and getting stuck in small pieces of stone and glass. Lee Jae-heon completely avoided eye contact.
In the strange silence, it was Jeong In-ho who spoke first.
ââ¦Why donât you have fingernails? Does the other hand look like this too?â
ââ¦I was fishing and the hook got caught in my fingernailâ¦â
âAll ten fingers? So what are the scars left on the inside of the nail? âItâs not just my fingernails that were torn off.â
âIt was torn by a needleâ¦â
âIâm assuming you trust me, but why is my palm like this? âItâs not like I just fell and got swept on the street.â
âI fellâ¦?â
âAssuming you believe that too. What are the bruises left on my wrist here? âWhen I looked closely, I saw that my skin was peeled.â
ââ¦.â
âI think you had nothing more to say.â
Ha Seong-yoon, who was looking at Jeong In-ho with a distorted face and Lee Jae-heon with his mouth shut, soon sighed and covered his eyes with the other hand that was not holding Lee Jae-heonâs hand.
âIn my life⦠really⦠Iâve met all these patientsâ¦â â
⦠If I leave it alone, itâll get betterâ¦â
âWell, itâs not like a finger was blown off, so of course youâll recover. Since I didnât lose an arm, can I at least praise you, sir? âDid you do well?â
ââ¦Noâ¦.â
âItâs good that youâre calm because it hurts. My life as a doctor, who should be happy about things like this, is also very rough. These are scars that are hard to see even in conflict zones, but you have to see them in the middle of a normal city. How far are you planning to expand my patient spectrum? Would you really stop if I wrote a paper for you? If you keep them locked up in a laboratory or something, they wonât get injured. âHe wasnât a child left on the beach, and if you took your eyes off him, he would be injured. If you took your eyes off him, he would bleed⦠He didnât even tell me where he was hurt.â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Iâm not scolding you, so donât make that face. No, itâs okay to scold me. Oh, I really am. Really⦠this⦠Iâ¦.â
Ha Seong-yoon, who was silent for a long time, took his hand away from his eyes.
âWho is it?â
ââ¦.â
âUsually, when you canât say something like this, itâs like youâre a stranger, right?â
âWellâ¦â
I wanted to refute it properly, but I couldnât get the words out because it was true.
âItâs not that⦠I reallyâ¦â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Uhâ¦â
Please, I really hate this kind of atmosphere.
If my brain had worked properly, I would have somehow managed to shake it off and run away, but as I couldnât and stumbled around, the faces of the people around me became even more tense. Since I was currently sitting in the living room, I couldnât clearly see the faces of the chicks in the kitchen, but I could also hear them whimpering. Honestly, I felt a little crazy.
âYouâd rather kill me.â
After kissing his lips a few more times, Lee Jae-heon realized.
ââ¦sorry.â
The more I talk here, the more shit it will become.
And if I can maintain this mood, I will be able to crush not only the bruises on my neck but also the wounds on my stomach and legs. Letâs sacrifice the wound on the hand and hide the other wounds. Lee Jae-heon, who made that judgment, reflexively showed an expression that said, âI am aware of my sins and I am truly reflecting on them.â Itâs something I used often in my past life, and I remember it being quite effective.
Then Ha Seong-yoonâs sigh was heard once again.
ââ¦Thereâs nothing to be sorry about, really.â
ââ¦.â
âIt looks like another doctor treated you, so I wonât say anything more. Donât wear gloves in the future. No, I have to go to work, so I canât say anything about that, but⦠Iâll disinfect it again and put a bandage on it, so donât take it off. Do you understand?â
ââ¦yes.â
âHa reallyâ¦â
Ha Seong-yoonâs voice sounded as if he was chewing out curses.
ââ¦A bastard worse than any animal dares to imitate a doctorâ¦â
Well, I guess I should shut up.
Suddenly, I thought of the gentle doctor in Busan who had treated me so hard, almost crying, but Lee Jae-heon kept his mouth shut. The current atmosphere was too harsh to defend the soft, withdrawn doctor.
âAlthough the scabs have formed, there are parts that have been torn when putting on and taking off the gloves. âBe careful not to get water into the affected area and get as much rest as possible.â
ââ¦All right.â
âIt must be inconvenient to use your hands because you donât have fingernails⦠You should hire In-ho Jeong at work. âWhenever you drink water, ask for it to be held instead of a cup.â
âUhmâ¦.â
âDo you understand? Donât put pressure on your hands, okay?â
Thatâs how Jaeheon Lee was able to hide the wounds on his stomach and legs.
It was a very fortunate thing.