Chapter 87

The death of someone was a trauma for Jung Inho.

He had seen too many deaths. Some might criticize him by numbering those deaths, but to Jung Inho, they were not just numbers.

Unlike the ‘death’ people commonly talk about, the deaths he witnessed with his own eyes, heard with his own ears, and felt with his breath lacked any nobility or caution. Death, in its essence, had something that drove people insane.

In the now unreachable past, Jung Inho often thought to himself:

‘Have I misunderstood death?’

The emotions he felt at funerals for his own family or those conducted by others were not like this. The deaths that screamed through monitors or screens were not like this either.

The deaths Jung Inho witnessed firsthand were filled with chaos, not tranquility. They were marked by rudeness, not courtesy. People were too busy reviling it rather than respecting it, and the entire situation was disordered and miserable, engulfing him entirely.

The living could be broken in countless ways. They could be ground up like minced meat sold at supermarkets, shattered into pieces like a toy dropped from a height, or become soggy and torn like a book soaked with spilled coffee. It was only because he hadn’t imagined it that he didn’t realize that as long as one was alive, breaking down was possible.

And now, back to the present.

“…I apologize for shouting, Yoon Garam.”

Jung Inho was the only one who had seen such ‘death’ firsthand.

“So, run away.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t lose Kwon Yeonhee. Don’t stray onto other paths. Don’t let anyone die.”

“Yes, I will.”

“You’re always good at answering.”

He felt an indescribable loneliness there.

Even though it was a time he had run through on his own two feet and built with his own hands, in which he had surely accumulated something. Now, Jung Inho had to use formal speech with Yoon Garam.

The scarred woman, having forgotten everything, smiled.

“At least I should answer well.”

“…Let’s meet again later.”

“See you later.”

She smiled and navigated through the flames.

“……”

Her back seemed almost lighthearted for a moment, and Jung Inho bit his lip.

There was always something peculiar about her.

‘…As expected, the fire doesn’t touch her.’

When Kwon Yeonhee ran out, she had to struggle as sparks tried to cling to her, but nothing stuck to Yoon Garam’s steps. Even though soot from the heat was clearly present.

Yet, even seeing this strange phenomenon, Jung Inho wasn’t greatly surprised. More accurately, he had no reason to be surprised, and furthermore, he had no leisure to be.

“…Whew.”

Thwack!

Jung Inho struck the head of a beast that was trying to follow Yoon Garam and spoke.

“I have to go too.”

He had no intention of staying alone in the flames like Director Lee Jaehun.

He wouldn’t sacrifice his whole body to save his companions, nor would he behave like a split personality, bewildering those around him. He wouldn’t protect or take responsibility for someone to the point of becoming an unfeeling madman.

So, I was right, not Lee Jaehun. Having experienced both the death and survival of Director Lee Jaehun, only he, who remembered those pitch-black days, was reasonable and also correct.

I am the right one.

* * *

Noh Yeonseok was not particularly strong mentally, but even so, his physical abilities ranked almost second among the group.

Why was he ‘almost’ second? Because Director Lee Jaehun was first, and why ‘almost’? Because Deputy Jung Inho’s stamina seemed formidable as well. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that Noh Yeonseok’s abilities were excellent, given that he had been taking the rear when they left the office.

Of course, he had the weakest mental fortitude among the group, and after being consumed by the otherworld, he couldn’t regain his composure. Conversely, this meant that he had enough physical stamina not to collapse even under those circumstances. Though he might not have been eloquent, Noh Yeonseok followed through when necessary.

So, even if he was mentally scattered, would he forget the people following him?

“Ugh, ahhh…”

“Hey, hey. You can’t lose your mind now, okay?”

“Grr, ugh.”

Noh Yeonseok hadn’t left them there because he was stupid or weak.

“Ah, ugh, ack…”

He didn’t want to, but he had no choice.

‘I swear, I saw a woman’s hand…!’

While running through the park, Noh Yeonseok had clearly seen a woman’s hand gripping the trunk of a tree. He saw the white, slender fingers and the round, neatly trimmed nails. They looked strikingly similar to Kang Mina’s.

But the moment he turned and approached it, the lighter’s flame went out. Before he could wonder why the previously calm wind blew, something grabbed his waist, and with a sound of something piercing, he was lifted off the ground. More precisely, he was dragged away.

And his side hurt like hell.

“Aaaaaargh….”

The pain was so intense he couldn’t even muster the strength to scream.

Of course, Noh Yeonseok had never been seriously injured in his life. His protective parents never allowed him to get hurt, and before he became independent, he had to be cautious even about cooking a simple ramen in the kitchen.

After all, who in their normal life would ever think of being bitten by a monster and having a chunk of their waist torn out? He had seen Director Lee Jaehun get hurt countless times, but precisely because of that, it didn’t feel real. The man was always so composed that it wasn’t alarming unless the observers panicked.

But experiencing a gut wound himself was different. Unlike Director Lee Jaehun’s severe injuries, Noh Yeonseok’s wound wasn’t a completely pierced shoulder or a leg gnawed to expose the bone.

It was merely shallow teeth marks, like those of a centipede or shark.

“Breathe, breathe, breathe!”

“Hic, ugh, ahhh…”

“Isn’t this bleeding too much?”

“We need to stop it first, just stop the bleeding.”

Even that made Noh Yeonseok wish for death.

It hurt so much that he thought it would be better to lose consciousness or just die. Any rational person would normally have clung to life, but he didn’t have the mental strength to do so.

“Hey, put down the lighter in your hand first…!”

“Huff, huff.”

A lighter?

‘…Where’s the lighter? Am I holding it?’

He finally noticed the lighter tightly gripped in his hand.

His vision, blurred with tears, barely registered it, but it was the lighter Jung Inho had given him.

“Hey, hey, this thing… it’s hot, you need to let go. Your hand’s gonna get hurt….”

The unusually noisy voice hesitated, seemingly unwilling to touch his blood-soaked hand.

Attempts were made to pry it from his grip, but Noh Yeonseok didn’t let go.

He couldn’t.

“…Ugh, I, I….”

“Hey, isn’t it bad to talk right now?”

“Need to… find Team Leader Kang….”

If he let go of this, he might really die.

Only then did he start to feel the desire not to die.

“We need to find Kang Mina.”

He wanted to put in as much effort as his feelings for her.

Even if he didn’t have the ability or right to protect her, he at least had the right to help her.

Even if he often got scared, he could be a chair she could rest on when she was tired.

Even though he had long given up on their relationship, he still liked her.

“Kang Mina…? Who’s Kang Mina?”

“She must be one of the survivors he’s looking for. It seems they got separated and he got caught by a monster while searching for her.”

“We were lucky to catch him in the middle. He seems half out of his mind already.”

“It’s not good to speak like that in front of him.”

“Well, I wasn’t wrong… right?”

The voices sounded distant.

It seemed like the people who saved him from being dragged by the monster were just like him, but he couldn’t remember the process well. His head hurt like it was splitting open.

‘…I have to go.’

Kang Mina didn’t have a lighter. In this dark world, would she be able to secure her vision with just the two students? The thought of her getting dragged away by a monster like him made it hard to breathe.

But soon even that became hazy. The voices grew more distant, and he could barely feel the hands moving over his body. His whole body felt numb, like he was sinking into water.

Around that time, there was a commotion around him.

“…Oh.”

“Uh, uh….”

Voices filled with panic.

“…That’s a person, right?”

The voice that had been talking a lot quieted after uttering a short sentence.

Noh Yeonseok sensed a faint fear from him.

‘…That reaction….’

Where have I seen that before?

The familiarity of the emotion made him blink slowly. The man pressing something against his stomach trembled slightly, and Noh Yeonseok instinctively felt wary.

A firm voice called out to someone.

“…Lee Jaehun-ssi?”

Immediately after,

A familiar voice called him.

“Yeonseok.”

“……”

“You don’t want to die, do you?”

Only then did Noh Yeonseok remember where he had seen such fearful reactions.

“…Director.”

It was when they were running away from Director Lee Jaehun.

Seeing him stagger and vomit blood with a blurred gaze, Noh Yeonseok and the others felt terrified. His blood-stained body, pale skin, and red stains made him look more like a monster than a human, prompting them to flee without looking back.

Kang Mina was the first to run away, Kwon Yeonhee screamed softly, and Ha Sungyoon retreated. Noh Yeonseok couldn’t recall everyone’s reactions clearly, but at least he could now remember his own.

I felt immense fear and alienation from this man, trembling all over.

“Dir–ector…”

He seemed like he had died.

He looked like a walking corpse, a monster trying to act human. It was like seeing a wooden puppet moving on its own at night.

With difficulty, he opened his mouth.

“I, I…”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, I really am. It’s all my fault.”

“……”

“I’m really sorry….”

He apologized desperately.

“…Kang Mina….”

If it’s this person, this much better person than me, he can protect Team Leader Kang Mina.

Tears fell to the ground.

“I couldn’t… couldn’t find Team Leader Kang. Sniff, I couldn’t find her.”

“I understand.”

“…I’m so sorry, sniff, really. I’m really sorry….”

“I understand.”

Hearing the formal tone he hadn’t heard in a while, his lips trembled.

“Please, save… me.”

He wanted to live.

He wanted to save.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Please save me, Director.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“……”

“Everything will be alright.”

“I’m sorry….”

“It’s okay.”

At that moment.

He felt something round, like candy or a marble, enter his mouth. It was the first clear sensation he had felt since being dragged by the vines.

When he felt it spreading inside his body.

“……”

“……”

The pain was gone.

“…Ah….”

He could breathe.

Instinctively, he knew this situation was strange.

Noh Yeonseok clutched his throbbing stomach and raised his head.

Even as he lifted his body from its prone position, he felt no pain, and the small holes he had felt with his fingertips were gone.

With the pain gone, his mind cleared. He realized that the people who had saved him were four men, and he also noticed that they were all stepping back from Director Lee Jaehun. Actually, he knew the reason why.

Looking at Director Lee Jaehun, he saw him clutching his side with one hand.

“…Director.”

That was where I was hurt.

Not fully understanding the significance, Noh Yeonseok continued.

“I’m, sorry….”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

Then Lee Jaehun asked.

“Are you alright?”

“……”

His face was so calm, it was hard to comprehend.

Suddenly, he recalled the time when his shoulder was first pierced. The moment he had turned the corner, volunteering to scout ahead, and a black spider leg had driven into his shoulder.

The blood that had splattered onto the wall like a painting.

“…Yes.”

He had the same expression back then.

That same face.