Chapter 496
Theatrical Regression Life
Episode 496
Seo In-young saw the person in front of her.
âI think itâs done.â
A short body with no muscles at all.
âWouldnât it be okay to stay near the tree for now and run away here if thereâs a problem? Itâs fairly far away from where we were, and itâs hidden among large flowers, so itâs hard to see. Will the flowers in this flower garden attack? âI would like to dig a tunnel and hide in the ground, but it would be difficult with our manpower.â
ââ¦I guess so.â
A softer personality than that.
âI guess I was really lucky.â
It wasnât something that could be said out loud, but that was what Seo In-young thought. This person, Kwon Yeon-hee, was a very lucky person.
Kwon Yeon-hee had weak fighting skills and was not mentally strong. However, she had managed to adapt to this crazy world and was now coming up with survival plans more naturally than Seo In-young. It meant that she was with people who would protect her and teach her during this time.
I was jealous.
âThen shall we go to the lake one more time? âWhat do you think, doctor?â
âI think it would be okay to be a little more careful since there are still fish left that have been cleanedâ¦.â
âIs that so? Well, if you come across a monster on the way, youâll be in big trouble. âThat is correct.â
âHahaâ¦â
Kwon Yeon-hee kept thinking about what if.
Maybe thatâs why I had the delusion, âCouldnât we have done better?â, but the answer was always negative.
There is no way they could have created such an atmosphere among those bastards.
âLetâs go back home! âOn the way, keep an eye out for edible fruits!â
âYes, of course. Do not worry.â
Seo In-young was a weak coward who found it convenient to run away, but Kwon Yeon-hee definitely had something that made people relax. I donât think heâs the kind of person who would stab me in the back after making me feel safe.
âSeeing as I keep getting calls from the police, it seems like Iâm always worried. Well, weâve always been together, but now that weâre out of town, I canât help but be worried. Itâs like parents worrying about their daughter who has become independentâ¦.â
As I continued with my ridiculous thoughts, âhomeâ came quickly.
âIâll go up first.â
âOh, I will support you.â
âNoâ¦? âI donât want to reveal my weight like that, do I?â
âI see.â
âYou canât treat a precious doctor like a servant.â
After saying that, Kwon Yeon-hee climbed the tree with quite skillful movements. Although they made a few grooves to make it easier to climb up, it was an excellent posture for someone with no muscles or stamina.
Seo In-young followed suit and climbed the tree, and Kwon Yeon-hee stared at him.
âHey, what is it that makes you look at me like thatâ¦?â
âItâs nothing special, but I was wondering if the doctor also worked out.â
âExercise?â
âYou look very skinny, but you move quickly. cool.â
âI do exercise separately.â
Seo In-young smiled shyly and answered.
âSince I work in the emergency room, physical strength is basically important⦠so sometimes, when I go on business trips, I use up a lot of physical strength. âRather than trying to build muscle, I tend to warm up my body to make it easier to move.â
âamazingâ¦!â
âThere is nothing special about rice. âItâs something you have to do if you donât want to die from overwork.â
Kwon Yeon-hee waved her hand with her signature gentle smile.
âThe most difficult thing is to consistently do what is obvious. Even though I know for sure that I will end up back in the dark world, I donât exercise. âThey do this even when their lives are at stake.â
âI think it is inevitable because each person can afford to pay differently. Still, Kwon Yeon-hee understands various survival rules well, so you donât have to worry that much, right?â
âThatâs true, but I still feel anxious because I donât have my teammates. Should I say that I feel empty because I donât have the people I used to hang out with all the timeâ¦â
âYou really like your team members.â
Seo In-young was openly impressed. I lived my life worrying that even the little woman in front of me might have other dark intentions, but I had a really healthy mindset.
âI too should imitate that kind of mindsetâ¦â
Because it was a workplace, I couldnât help Seo In-youngâs unique suspiciousness. Itâs a job where if you donât be suspicious, you could be eliminated quickly and lose your job. It seemed like the only thing that was increasing was squeamishness and pettiness.
Kwon Yeon-hee smiled proudly, as if she was glad to hear Seo In-youngâs words.
âSure! âIf you meet doctors, youâll probably think theyâre good people, right?â
âI would like to meet you sometime.â
âLater, when we return to reality, we will definitely exchange contact information. âLet me introduce you.â
âThatâs nice.â
Especially that person called âManagerâ.
âI donât know what kind of person he is that appears every time he speaks.â
As I was laughing awkwardly, I realized that Kwon Yeon-hee had suddenly become quiet.
ââ¦Yeonhee?â
ââ¦Iâm not sure if itâll be okay.â
ââ¦.â
âIâm not sure if weâll survive or die, but Iâm also not sure if those people wonât die.â
Kwon Yeon-heeâs expression was calm, but anxiety and nervousness could be felt underneath it. I could tell because Seo In-young always felt this way. As expected, the fear of being alone in a foreign place seemed inevitable.
Seo In-young felt sorry for this young friend.
âIt would have been nice if at least one person had come with us. Well, Iâm also an adult man and Iâm not the right person to completely relax⦠It would be good if I didnât get too scaredâ¦â
Sadly, he didnât have the talent to comfort others. Even though I had such talent, I lived in an environment where I was criticized, so I had no idea what to say to make the other person feel at ease.
As I was struggling with my mouth shut, Kwon Yeon-hee quickly recovered and smiled shyly.
âIâm sorry, maybe itâs because Iâm in the other side of the world, but Iâve been thinking a lotâ¦â
âNo, youâre probably anxious enough. I understand.â
âI hope no one dies.â
âWellâ¦â
âMy manager said he was alone at the aquarium, but Iâm really worried.â
âIt will be fine.â
âI guess so?â
I couldnât bring myself to say, âOf course, itâll be okayâ with a smile on my face. In a world where you donât know when and how you will die, that was a very irresponsible thing to say. Seo In-young knew that well after failing several times.
As Kwon Yeon-hee closed her mouth, she leaned her back against the wooden pillar.
âOur manager is a really strange person. Iâm always talking about efficiency, efficiency, efficiency, but itâs not efficient at all and I always get hurt. Anyone can see that he is abnormal, but he acts like a normal personâ¦â
âOh, is that soâ¦?â
âNormally, he looks really fine, but when he gets a little tired, he shows off like, wow, this guy is really crazyâ¦? âHe knows that and tries to act normal, but he doesnât know that it makes him look even weirder.â
âHahaâ¦â
Then what did you do without sending him to a psychiatric clinic?â¦
âWhat do you do when you release someone that crazy into society? Mr. Yeonhee. I wonât spit it out because those crazy people are my main customers and itâs not something I should sayâ¦â
I thought there were a lot of crazy people in the world. The manager of a respectable conglomerate called Ohsung is so crazy. How on earth is this country going?
ââ¦?â
Wait a minute, Oh Seongâs manager?
ââ¦.â
Oh no way.
Seo In-young, who let go of her absurd delusion with an awkward smile, opened her mouth.
âYou must be very worried. âIf thatâs the caseâ¦â
âIâm not the type of person to worry a lot, but thatâs what happens when it comes to the manager. âIf only the human mind didnât break, everything would be fine, but the reason is that the mental cord is unstable.â
âHa hahaâ¦.â
âOur manager needs to stay sane, but Iâm really worriedâ¦.â â
â¦.â
If heâs crazy enough to worry like that, wouldnât it be too much of a wish to hope that he remains sane?
This time, Seo In-young swallowed her thoughts.
* * *
ââ¦There seems to be a large monster 1km ahead.â
Information delivery comparable to that of a car navigation system.
âI think it would be best to turn to the left if possibleâ¦â
âYou know that? âWhat is this crazy convenience?â
âStudent Janghwa, you say itâs convenient for peopleâ¦â
Seo Janghwa was repeatedly impressed by Kim Ki-jeongâs ability to shine brilliantly in the hidden world. She was usually confident in the hard work she did, but Kim Ki-jeongâs hearing surprised even Seo Jang-hwa.
Is it possible to live a daily life with hearing that can even guess the size of a monster 1km ahead?
âNo, itâs like this in the other world, of course itâs not like this in realityâ¦!â
âOh, right?â
âEverything like this in the hidden world is done through concentration, and itâs not something you can just hear. âAh, my head hurts⦠Iâm losing weightâ¦â
âHow are you going to survive in this harsh world with such a weak body?â
Seo Jang-hwa clicked his tongue and asked In-ho Jeong.
âShall we take a short break?â
âItâs not bad.â
1km is quite a distance. Not only is Kim Ki-jeong not making a fuss, but Jeong In-ho and Seo Jang-hwa can confirm with the naked eye that there is no significant threat around here. There was nothing that couldnât be done with consideration for even a dishonest detector.
Jeong In-ho handed over the bottle of bottled water he had prepared at the park, and Seo Jang-hwa took out some fruits he had packed in his bag. Kim Ki-jeong, who saw the fruit she gave him, widened his eyes in surprise.
âOh, this is⦠isnât it? âIt has a very strong sweet taste.â
âAside from these, there are also glass apples.â
âThis friend is enough for now. âItâs not because Iâm hungry, but because Iâve
run out of sugarâ¦â It has a shape like a long cherry tomato and a transparent texture that is shiny like glass. It didnât feel edible at all, with a texture that felt like chewing soft clay, but it was definitely sweet, as if it were covered in sugar.
The expression on Jeong In-hoâs face as he looked at Kim Ki-jeong munching on the fruit was strangely tired. Kim Ki-jeong stiffened, wondering if he was giving notice for taking a break.
ââ¦Why why?â
âNo, just.â
âJust whatever. What is it? âWhy do you look at me like that?â
âI thought you could eat something like thatâ¦â
Seo Jang-hwa looked at Jeong In-ho with a shocked face.
âYou donât like sweets that much?â
âItâs not that I donât like it. âI just wonder why I have to eat something so sweet when there are other delicious things.â
âI donât like that, man. âThis is the first time in my life that I have ever seen a person who is picky about sweet foods.â
âI eat sweets. Itâs difficult to sweeten it that much. âIsnât it too sweet?â
In response to Jeong In-ho, Kim Ki-jeong also made a sour expression and muttered.
âItâs edible, butâ¦.â
âI knew that Mr. Kim Ki-jeong doesnât like sweets, but he eats them well.â
âI literally just donât like it, but I donât hate it either. From what I see, it is true that Mr. In-ho Jeong does not like sweet things. âThatâs a picky eater.â
âIâve never heard that being picky about eating sweets is bad for your health, so itâs okay.â
âHeâs a really strange guyâ¦â
Kim Ki-jeong, who wrinkled his face as if he saw everything, shoved a new fruit into his mouth and said.
âItâs done. âNow letâs move.â
âCan I not drink water?â
ââ¦Just take a sipâ¦.â
Jeong In-ho smiled brightly and handed me the water.
âIt was too sweet after all, wasnât it?â
âI donât think itâs something to say with such a triumphant expression, but yeah.â
But it wasnât entirely wrong. Fruits that were too sweet made my mouth dry. In the end, only after drinking a little water were they able to move.
The group moved to the left to avoid the monster Kim Ki-jeong mentioned.
âWhen do you think you can arrive?â
âIt will be a bit of a distance. âFrom what I remember, it took quite a while to get there by car.â
After answering Seo Jang-hwaâs question, Jeong In-ho continued speaking as if remembering something.
âI remember we had to cross a bridge once in the middleâ¦â
âJudging by the fact that there is no river in sight, it seems like we really have a long way to go.â
Kim Ki-jeong, who was listening to the conversation between the two, cautiously intervened.
âThere wonât be any problems with that river, right? I remember that when I went to Eonhak High School, the water in the river made people fall asleep. âIf thereâs a problem like that in this river, should we turn around?â
âI think I should go and check. If the level of difficulty is something we can solve, it would be better to cross it, but if the level of difficulty is something we cannot bear, we will have to turn around and go, as Mr. Kim Ki-jeong said.â
âokay.â
Kim Ki-jeong sighed heavily.
âI hope there arenât any dangerous monstersâ¦.â
âAnyway, bird breasts.â
âNo, itâs not that Iâm scared, itâs that you guys are strangely fearlessâ¦? Are you really feeling unfair to me? âUsually people get scared just by watching horror movies, but imagine seeing them in real life. People who arenât scared of this are abnormal!â
âEven taking that into account, isnât it time to get used to it? Itâs not that Iâm not that scary, but youâre a bit harsh. Even with that ability, Iâm too scared. âIf it were me, I would say, âWow, this cheat is crazy,â and even do a samba dance.â
âUghâ¦â
âWhat is this disgusting look, mister?â
Leaving behind the sound of the two arguing, Jeong In-ho slowly looked around.
ââ¦Iâm not sure if the manager will be okay until we arrive.â
It took quite some time to prepare and leave the park, and the distance to get there was not easy.
It would take a while to get to the aquarium, but in the meantime, I wondered if the survivors at the aquarium would be okay.
Not only Jaeheon Lee, but also the Park siblings and kindergarten students.
ââ¦It will probably take a few days?â
âIt takes a long time to get there by car, but you have to walk through the streets full of monsters. âIt may not take much, but it will take a day or two.â
âIt was ominous, so I just asked.â
In-ho Jeong thought while responding to Ki-jeong Kimâs grumbling.
âI know that Park Da-youngâs 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 tooâ¦â
Jeong In-ho quickly smiled.
ââ¦? Why are you smiling? âIsnât that the face that says itâs going to explode?â
âUh⦠youâre not mad because I rested for too long, rightâ¦?â
âHaha, I canât even laugh.â
But it was true that I was upset.
âI hope no one dies.â
No matter how much I thought about it, these behind-the-scenes combinations seemed like too much.
(Continued in the next part)