Chapter 68

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Chapter 68

To get straight to the point,

“…Why the hell do you all look like this?”

We were screwed.

“What?”

“I asked, what happened, you little chicks.”

Screwed, a lot, and thoroughly.

The swamp monster in my dream had no intention of letting me go, and it took three days of negotiation to finally escape. After such a long time without food or water, my throat was parched, but I had no time to worry about that. Lee Jaehun grabbed Jung Inho by the collar and said,

“Explain why everything turns into a mess every time I black out.”

And the protagonist replied,

“That’s not hard to explain at all, Director.”

“Spit it out.”

“If you just do a bit of self-reflection, all the answers are…”

“How easy do you think I am, huh?”

This guy gets cheekier by the day.

Just shut up and pretend to be sorry. I’m not asking because I’m curious.

* * *

As soon as Director Lee Jaehun regained consciousness, the whole group’s mood revived.

“Ahjussi…!”

“Director, you’re awake?”

Two students who had gone a bit further to gather firewood, and Kwon Yeonhee, who had been nearby, saw Director Lee Jaehun awake and joking with Jung Inho.

Kwon Yeonhee dropped the firewood she was carrying and ran to him.

“How are you feeling? Is your stomach okay?”

“What, what’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

“We were really worried…”

Kwon Yeonhee’s voice trembled with emotion as she spoke.

Lee Jaehun had suddenly fallen asleep and now just as suddenly woken up. Although he looked pale and drained of color, it was a huge relief to see him conscious, unlike when he had been coughing up blood and scratching his throat. This was an important fact for them.

She looked at his cracked fingernails and teared up.

“…we were worried…”

The injury happened when they tried to stop him from choking himself in his sleep.

But the doctor couldn’t treat such injuries. They didn’t have any ointment, disinfectant, or even simple bandages. They were already using the few bandages they had for other injuries.

So all they could do was rinse the wounds with water and hope they dried out well. Seeing the bloodied, cracked fingernails brought tears to her eyes again.

“……”

“…Kwon Yeonhee? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“I’m really sorry…”

Drip.

Uncontrollable tears fell from her bowed head.

“I’m really sorry… I’m so useless…”

While Director Lee Jaehun had been unconscious, Kwon Yeonhee had been deep in thought, unlike her usual self.

Thinking back, Director Lee Jaehun was someone who had been taken by the monster overnight.

Thinking about the pitiful state he was in when they reunited, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had been hurt even more, but she was too caught up in her immediate anxiety and guilt to notice. She didn’t realize it.

With injuries like these, he should have gone straight to the hospital for surgery. As Dr. Ha Sungyoon said, Director Lee Jaehun was someone who wouldn’t have been out of place being rushed to the emergency room and stitched up on a hospital bed.

Even though he worried about our safety and stopped us from bringing him medicine, we shouldn’t have felt reassured by that and should have brought something, anything, to help.

“Something, anything, should have been done…”

She was lost in thought.

Even if we got hurt, could it have been as difficult as what Director Lee Jaehun went through? Even if we had a single wound, if we had stopped by a pharmacy and brought at least a blanket or quilt for him to rest comfortably, how great would that have been? If we had brought something to help him, we wouldn’t feel this sad and sorry now.

It didn’t matter if these thoughts were born from selfishness. In the end, Kwon Yeonhee had ignored the person who had helped her, continuously taking his help, being such a bad person.

“I’m sorry, I… sob… because I was just crying at that time…”

“…Hey, Kwon Yeonhee, why are you crying?”

“It was really bad. I’m sorry,Director. I’m really sorry.”

There were no words other than apologies.

In front of someone in so much pain they couldn’t even wake up, she, who wasn’t injured at all, had the nerve to whine. Even if she shed tears because of the horror of the monster, it couldn’t have been more terrifying and painful than what Director Lee Jaehun went through being dragged by the monster all night.

Seeing Director Lee Jaehun not waking up after comforting her that evening was a huge shock or fear for Kwon Yeonhee.

“Because of me.”

It felt like he had died because of her.

“Because of me, the Director…”

“No.”

“…But, I…Director.”

“No, Kwon Yeonhee.”

Director Lee Jaehun sighed.

He seemed troubled, like he was looking at her with pity. Maybe he was annoyed or tired. The normal face didn’t match his pale, drained expression, and Kwon Yeonhee’s tears slowly stopped.

“What kind of idiot blames this on anyone, huh? Did you kill me, Kwon Yeonhee? No, right? Did you summon the monster or something?”

“…But if I had done better…”

“Don’t be pathetic, Kwon Yeonhee. Feeling guilty when it’s not your fault is something only real fools do.”

After saying that, Director Lee Jaehun turned his head to look at the others who were watching him.

For a moment, a slight embarrassment and awkwardness appeared on his face, quickly covered by irritation. It seemed he was embarrassed to show himself comforting someone.

“…What, why. What is it.”

“…It’s nothing.”

“It better be.”

Ahem.

Clearing his throat, Lee Jaehun looked at them and asked.

“Anyway… no one else is thinking like this, right?”

To this, Deputy Jung Inho replied with a friendly smile.

“Of course not, Director.”

“…And smiling like that won’t make me any less annoyed, Deputy Jung.”

There was an incredible amount of sarcasm.

In Kwon Yeonhee’s view, Jung Inho’s face seemed humble but at the same time annoyingly smug. She was inwardly surprised by this light-hearted expression, which she had almost never seen since coming to this world.

Ignoring Director Lee Jaehun’s words, Deputy Jung continued with a smile.

“Honestly, this time, it’s the Director’s fault.”

“You know, if you get back to the office, I’ll fire you. I promise.”

“If only you hadn’t stopped us from going to the pharmacy in the first place…”

“If you went there, you’d die.”

“How would we know without trying? Even if that’s true, Director.”

“So what? Why bring it up now, what’s the point?”

“If you had just told us how you were feeling, would it have come to this?”

“…”

For once, he couldn’t respond. He knew it wasn’t entirely wrong, but he didn’t want to admit it. Maybe it was because Deputy Jung Inho was the one who said it, which made it more uncomfortable, and it was clear enough that Kwon Yeonhee and a few others were slightly impressed.

Whether Jung Inho noticed their reactions or not, he stiffened his smile and asked.

“At this point, don’t you think you should tell us?”

“…I have nothing to tell you.”

“Uh-huh.”

If he looked a bit angry, it might have been their imagination.

“You were coughing up blood, scratching, and choking in your sleep the whole time.”

“…”

“You haven’t woken up for two days and a night. I’m sorry to say, but how do you think we feel when the person who has been our shield is unconscious for so long?”

“So, it’s my fault?”

“You neglected your duty without a word, Director.”

“Inho-ssi…?”

Kang Mina looked at Jung Inho with a bewildered expression.

Regardless of why he was angry, she couldn’t overlook the fact that his words were too harsh. Calling Director Lee Jaehun’s protective efforts nothing more than being a shield was…

‘It’s like treating him as a tool.’

It was completely opposite to the diligent attitude she had seen in Jung Inho until now.

Why was Director Lee Jaehun so badly injured in the first place? It was to protect and save them, and he had been dragged by the monster and severely hurt. This was not something to say to someone who just woke up from unconsciousness.

Besides, when Director Lee Jaehun was taken, Jung Inho couldn’t even protect him…

“…”

“Oh, I might have been a bit too harsh.”

“…That…”

Kang Mina, with a slight smile on her face, eventually lowered her head without saying anything. It wasn’t a good time to blame others, nor did she have the right to.

However, amidst the sinking mood, only Director Lee Jaehun remained the same.

He spoke up.

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

“…Director…?”

The strange turn of events was palpable.

Intern Noh Yeonseok, who usually didn’t speak to him, was visibly startled. Director Lee Jaehun didn’t seem upset at all by Jung Inho’s words. Instead, he appeared to consider them completely natural.

Watching them, Dr. Ha Sungyoon finally spoke up after a long silence.

“I agree with Jung Inho’s statement.”

“…Why are you siding with him, doctor…?”

Yoon Garam, looking flustered, grabbed the doctor’s shoulder, but Dr. Ha Sungyoon continued with his characteristic calm demeanor. His tone was as smooth as that of Jung Inho or Director Lee Jaehun.

“Director, you have a role within this group. You’ve always acted as a central figure, and if you suddenly lose consciousness without warning, of course, it would unsettle us.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“Even if you used yourself efficiently to consider us, if you reached a point where you couldn’t perform your role, you should have told us.”

“…”

“So we could have prepared for your absence.”

‘Absence’, they said.

Lee Jaehun quietly touched his lips at those words, and silence fell over the group.

Intern Noh Yeonseok clasped his hands and lowered his gaze. Kwon Yeonhee stood frozen, unable to comprehend the situation, and Kang Mina bit her lip, looking between Dr. Ha Sungyoon and Deputy Jung Inho.

Yoon Garam stepped back, biting her nails, while the two students in school uniforms huddled together behind Kwon Yeonhee. The cracks that had started to mend between them when Director Lee Jaehun awoke now began to widen again, filling the air with an unsettling tension.

Amidst this atmosphere, Lee Jaehun, lost in thought, finally lowered his hand from his mouth and nodded.

“…I see.”

“…”

“That is indeed my fault.”

Kang Mina bit her lip even harder at his response.

In all her time working with him, she had never heard Director Lee Jaehun admit to any mistake.

He was not someone who said thank you or sorry to anyone. Even in situations where anyone could see that he should be grateful, he would brush it off as if it were nothing. When he truly owed an apology, he would instead get angry and move on.

But now, the first real apology he ever gave them was…

‘Sorry for not sacrificing more.’

Her breath caught in her throat.

That absurd apology was so natural that it revealed Director Lee Jaehun’s genuine feelings. It wasn’t just a hollow remark; it was undoubtedly his true thoughts.

As always, her mind became a tangled mess.

‘…Why was Jung Inho angry?’

Why did his anger lead him to say those things?

Was it really just an impulsive outburst? Or, besides his anger, was there another reason for those harsh words, treating Director Lee Jaehun like a machine or a tool? Was there an underlying reason we didn’t know?

If so, what could that reason be?

“…Oh…”

Kang Mina felt the previously sealed cracks begin to seize her.

The unease she had tried to ignore, the sound of the thick masks on their faces wavering, the quiet, crushing cry of a child pressing down on an ant—it all felt unbearably real.

So, in truth,

“…”

Maybe they had been broken from the very start.

Living on despite being irrevocably damaged. Realizing only now that nothing was ever intact from the beginning—a thought that consumed her mind.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to be more careful next time.”

“…”

She couldn’t understand what he was saying.

She didn’t want to understand.

* * *

…These guys, they’ve thought this through.

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