Chapter 446
Theatrical Regression Life
Episode 446
Monday 8 PM.
ââ¦.â
ââ¦.â
In the office where only the survivors remained, Kang Min-ah called out to Lee Jae-heon.
âBoss.â
âwhat.â
âI smell blood.â
âShit.â
Jaeheon Lee, who was sitting with his arms crossed, asked.
âDo you see a lot of tea?â
âSome of the employees also said something.â
âNow will ghost stories be added to my notoriety? âTo the old man manager who smells of blood?â
âFortunately, he didnât seem to know that it was the smell of blood⦠He just tilted his head as he passed by.â
âTell me youâre smelly because you didnât shower today.â
âWhat kind of brave person would say something like thatâ¦â
âIs that the only amount of courage our team has?â
âWhy do I have to be brave in a place like this?â
Kang Min-ah, who voluntarily stayed behind to work overtime, slammed the keyboard and said.
âSo why on earth does it smell like bloodâ¦!â
Jaeheon Leeâs face brightened.
âDo you really think weâre the only ones in the company right now, Manager Kang?â
âYou must be the manager who is just leaving!â
âWhy do you keep looking like Employee Kwon? Is this your company? âAm I the manager?â
âBoss!â
âwhy! Iâm here!â
âBoss!!â
Jeong In-ho, who was watching the argument between the two with interest, intervened by raising one hand.
âSo can I hear exactly why I smell blood?â
âWhy are you so interested in your bossâ private life?â
âSeo-ah is living at the managerâs house, and Iâm worried about whether itâs a good environment.â
âIf youâre that worried, Deputy Jeong In-ho can take you there.â
âreally?â
âDo you think it will work? You canât do that, youâre eliminated. âHow dare a single man in his 30s, who has a small house and is poor, intervene?â
âMore than anything, I think Seo-ah wonât want to come to me. âLast time I saw you, you almost seemed like my father.â
âWho is the father? âAre you doing this because you donât know that Iâm single?â
âAre you sure you would do this on your own?â
âYou disgusting bastard.â
Jaeheon Lee frowned.
âAs you go through life, you sometimes get your back ripped off, thatâs what happens.â
âWhose life is like that? At least itâs not us.â
âUh-huh, Mr. Kwon. âIf you donât want to be directly bombarded by your manager tomorrow morning, be quiet.â
âThe manager only mistreats me.â
Kwon Yeon-hee, who had been meaninglessly waiting inside the partition along with the other survivors, pouted her lips. Team leader Woo Soo-young laughed awkwardly and intervened in response to her grumbling.
âWhy are you doing that? Our Yeonhee did something wrong. âItâs all because Iâm worried about the manager.â
âTeam Manager Woo isnât the same these days. Whose side are you taking now? âIâm trying to feel sad.â
âIâm on the side of everyone on our planning teamâ¦â
This time, Noh Yeon-seok added.
âAnd that⦠that monster came out again. Something pitch black. Didnât you say that it only comes out when your mental strength is low? I thought he was really losing his mind when I saw him poking at the managerâs wounds earlier. âI thought you said you hurt your backâ¦â
Jeong In-ho corrected Noh Yeon-seokâs words.
âNot just the back, but from the collarbone to the shoulders.â
âHow on earth do you wear such scars in real lifeâ¦?â
âThatâs what I said. What on earth did you do to get hurt like that? âI know the last injury hasnât completely healed, but what should I do if it continues to hurt like this, Manager?â
âYou are being treated properly, rightâ¦?â
Jaeheon Lee covered his ears.
âeww.â
âPlease donât hate me outright.â
âListen to your nagging by a 1 to 1 majority. âDo you hate it or not?â
âIf it sounds like nagging, itâs an issue with the managerâs personality. âThey usually say itâs worry.â
âEither that or thatâ¦.â
âIf you keep doing this, you could end up reaching Seo-ah.â
Jaeheon Lee shook his head resolutely.
âItâs not possible.â
ââ¦Youâre more determined than I expected. Is there any reason?â
âBecause I got hurt as a price for bringing Seo-ah. âYou canât make your child feel guilty for no reason.â
ââ¦.â
Jeong In-ho took off his glasses and traced between his eyes. Woo Woo-young laughed and leaned back in his chair, while Noh Yeon-seok was shocked. I feel sorry for Kang Min-ah. Kwon Yeon-hee grabbed the keyboard and expressed her petty anger.
âWho dares put a price on taking a child victim?! What kind of bastard, what kind of bastard! âSomeone ripped off our managerâs back!!â
âItâs called Song In-myeong.â
âAhhhhâ¦! Argh! âI hate that guy, manager!!â
âI hate it too, why are you like thatâ¦â
Kang Min-ah looked at Lee Jae-heonâs shoulder with a confused look.
âWhy were you just tearing it apart?â
âUh huh, canât you get rid of those vague and presumptuous eyes?â
Soon, Lee Jae-heon smiled and wiped the corners of his mouth.
âThen what should we do? They look at me with eyes that say, âI gave you such an amazing gift, so there will be something in return, right?â âI had to pay that price to avoid getting into trouble.â
âWhat about the gift? Getting paid? âI donât think so?â
âIt looks like our Kwon Yeon-hee has lost her temper, so it would be best for her to come to her senses. And words are a gift, but where is the truly pure gift between adults? Itâs all a form of bribery and blackmail. âAt the time, Seo-ahâs ownership belonged to the buyer, Song In-myeong, and I had to take it over.â
âSo, because the manager was Eul and Song Ga was A, they got their backs ripped off?â
âEmployee Kwonâs summarizing skills have improved.â
âBoss.â
Kwon Yeon-hee said seriously.
âI donât like him.â
âWho do you like?â
âIâm telling you this because the manager seems to like it.â
âHow did know?â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Donât look like heâs crying like thatâ¦.â
Lee Jae-heonâs expression, which was smiling at the crying hamsterâs face, faded.
âOf course it was a joke when I said I liked you, but it still makes sense, doesnât it? If we can deal with Song In-myeong in the other world, it will be a great benefit to the survivors. If he lets go of the leash, it will be difficult, but I donât think that will happen right now⦠Itâs true that heâs a dog that canât be dealt with, but heâs useful anywayâ¦â âWhat did you say about
this? Sto stokolom?â
Woo Soo-young responded to Kwon Yeon-heeâs muttering.
âStockholm Syndrome. âIt refers to an abnormal psychological phenomenon in which the victim defends the perpetrator.â
âThank you for the appropriate explanation, but now even Team Leader Woo is scolding me?â
âIâm not taking anyoneâs side right now, Manager. I am a person who always follows societyâs conventional wisdom⦠In fact, it is clear who has the problem in this situationâ¦â â
The problem child is me?â
âIf you have an excuse, give it one.â
âI am protecting Seo-ah at home. Do I even need an excuse? To me, who achieved such great results?â
When Jeong In-ho pretended not to be and showed signs of being secretly sad, he wiped his face with his glasses still removed.
âThatâs not true, Manager⦠Iâm not saying anyone is scolding me or saying anything, Iâm just genuinely worried. Bringing Seo-ah in is a great achievement. Thatâs true, but didnât you just get your back ripped? âIf the manager had been wise, he would have been able to hand over Seo-ah and get away without paying anything.â
âOh, you think very highly of me.â
âWe always think highly of the manager. Maybeâ¦â
The effect of emphasizing âI worked really hard, but if you keep mistreating me like now, things will go awryâ shined through at the last language school in the underworld. Jung In-ho seemed to have chosen to coax Lee Jae-heon rather than push him hard like before. Jaeheon Lee really liked the change.
Change did not simply refer to Jeong In-ho.
âI feel more relaxed overall.â
In the past, these guys were shocked every time they saw a drop of Lee Jae-heonâs blood. Even though he openly smelled of blood, he just looked bruised and pitiful and didnât shiver. It was proof that he had grown further by moving around in the underworld.
âPerhaps because of that, Iâm unconsciously carrying out strategies to control myself little by little⦠I think we can just wait and see at this rate.â
Anyway, the growth of the chicks was a joy. Could it be considered a serious chick?
ââ¦wonât you continue to encounter Song In-myeong in the other world? As you probably already know, he is talented and clever, but has no conscience. âRight now, Iâm the bait, so heâs acting like a gentle sheep, but once he achieves his goal, heâs ready to commit massacre at any time.â
ââ¦So?â
âI thought I shouldnât incur the hostility of Song In-myeong.â
I thought of the âworksâ I had seen at industry events.
âI came to see for myself what kind of world he lives in. It was more elaborate and cruel than I thought. The backbone was solid and it wasnât like a hole-in-the-wall store that would collapse overnight. How tiring would your life be if you were picked on by a talented asshole who made such a place his home? âIâm fine, but I donât know what will happen to you right now.â
ââ¦.â
âThe fact that Song In-myeong is only focusing on me is actually good news. Even if you are trained in the underworld, what are you going to do with your friends and family? I may be able to protect you to a certain extent with the help of this party, but in that way, you may actually end up entering this world. I hated seeing that. If possible, it was best not to get involved in the first place.â
Jaeheon Lee smiled as he looked at the survivors who had become quiet.
âI have no intention of letting Song In-myeongâs attention go elsewhere.â
âBecause now is the most efficient time?â
âThank you for understanding, but you must be being sarcastic, right?â
âOf course.â
Jeong In-ho smiled roundly.
âThe manager has a really bad personality.â
âDo you know that now?â
âIâve known this for quite some time, but Iâm getting more and more upset with each passing day.â
âPeople need to develop.â
âIt seems like youâve become more shameless these days.â
âItâs one of my strengths.â
Jeong In-hoâs judgment was accurate. Jaeheon Lee also felt like his personality became stronger after accepting the part of the ghost cop.
âShould I say I was much calmer or cool-headed than usualâ¦â It
was a time when I was used to being sarcastic rather than angry, and I was used to slyly ignoring it rather than being embarrassed. His personality in his past life, which rarely got excited and was serious about making fun of others, became more obvious after being linked to the ghost police. Judging by the survivors acting as if they were a little unfamiliar, it seemed like their personalities were actually changing.
I tried my best to make it as comfortable as possible, but it couldnât be perfect.
ââ¦.â
Still, I felt a little uncomfortable.
Jaeheon Lee noticed.
ââ¦Are you sad?â
The survivors spoke as if they had been waiting for his question.
âyes.â
âIâm sad.â
âHow can you do that to usâ¦.â
âManager, itâs bad.â
âIâm going to cry.â
Lee Jae-heon laughed awkwardly at the sight of the survivors slowly expressing their disappointment.
âBut I didnât do anything wrongâ¦.â
âYouâre right. The root of all evil is Song In-myeong. Our identification of enemies is clear. I think peace will come to our hearts only if we kill someone in the other world. What do you think?â
âIf Deputy Jeong says it with a cold face and a smile on his face, it wonât sound like a joke, so why donât you stop making explicit murder predictions?â
âItâs a murder notice, itâs not a joke.â
If someone else had said it, I would have thought he must have been quite upset, but when Jung In-ho said it, it seemed like a murder notice, no more or less. It may have been blurred a lot, but Jung In-ho was a half-crazy guy who had a different standard for accepting emotions than ordinary people.
ââ¦Even if you kill someone in the other world, the mannequin remains? âEven if you deal with Song In-myeong, the mannequin will end up causing trouble in real life. So why would you do that when you know it would be useless to kill him there?â
âWhy do you think this is happening?â
âIs it really my fault that Iâm upset?â
âI commend you for being good at self-objectification.â
âI donât need praise from a disgusting bastard like Assistant Manager Jeong.â
Kwon Yeon-heeâs sullen voice was heard amidst the conversation with Jeong In-ho.
âSo youâre saying you got hurt because of usâ¦â
ââ¦Huh?â
âIf it werenât for us, he could have just come out with Seo-ah, but he was worried about us so he deliberately gave his back to us. âI understood everything.â
ââ¦Huh?â
ââ¦Because we are not trustworthyâ¦â
Lee Jae-heon broke into a cold sweat as Kwon Yeon-hee muttered.
âIs there any need to say thatâ¦?â
âAfter all, you still canât trust usâ¦?â
âNo, I trust you. I trust you. âIf I donât trust you, who can I trust?â
âBecause we canât be trusted, our backs are torn off⦠We are just a burdenâ¦â
âWait a minute. Are you crying now? âAre you crying?â
âItâs my fault for not being able to do anything⦠ughâ¦â
Oh really, why are you like that?
Criticism poured down on Lee Jae-heon, who looked white-faced.
ââ¦the manager rang.â
ââ¦A grown man made a young child cry.â
ââ¦The infamous old man made an innocent employee cryâ¦â
âAh, stop! You did it wrong! âIâm sorry!â
In the end, Lee Jae-heon was able to get out of this difficult situation only after making his shirt covered in Kwon Yeon-heeâs tears. His abdomen was not completely healed yet, and Kwon Yeon-hee also hugged him gently, but somewhere, Mana said, âHow dare you give your arms to a woman from outside?â I felt like I was being scolded.
Yes, I feelâ¦
ââ¦.â
This is because of my mood, right?
Isnât it like something connected to Bluetooth when combined with the ghost police?
âPlease order chickenâ¦.â
ââ¦Uh, okayâ¦.â
Wait, honey, donât be angry.
âThis is really unfair.â
This is not a girl from outside, but a chick from our familyâ¦.
(Continued in the next episode)