Chapter 88

* * *

* * *

Chapter 88

Noh Yeonseok was often described as a ‘child who grew up gracefully’.

He was raised in a family where the phrase ‘never got a drop of water on his hands’ suited him best. His parents were quite patriarchal and thus cherished their only son, Noh Yeonseok, immensely.

To be honest, he didn’t particularly welcome such affection. He enjoyed cooking to relieve stress, but his parents were always busy driving him out of the kitchen, saying, ‘What kind of man goes into the kitchen?’ They even made absurd remarks to his partner, leading to a semi-forced breakup. Frankly, even if he were in his partner’s shoes, he wouldn’t want to meet such harsh in-laws.

It’s not like Noh Yeonseok’s family was very wealthy either. They lived comfortably but not extravagantly, enough for him to receive a national scholarship for university. That was the extent of their financial situation.

Feeling suffocated by his home environment, he began preparing for independence since high school.

“Uh, I’m here to apply for a housing subscription….”

“Yes, for a housing subscription, right? You seem to be a student, but you’re early.”

“Ahaha….”

The first thing he prepared was a housing subscription account.

He didn’t know much about it, but he knew at least that the earlier he prepared this, the sooner he could secure his own home. At least that’s what the internet said.

Again, Noh Yeonseok’s family wasn’t wealthy enough to give him a studio apartment. However, he received a 100,000 won allowance every month, and he thought that if he saved 50,000 won each month in the account, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a house later.

Noh Yeonseok prepared for independence, successfully achieved it, and managed to get into one of Korea’s top universities, driven by the vague anxiety and pressure he always felt.

“Hey, are you crazy? You got into Korea University?”

“This is the level of your bro.”

“You’re insane, man. You only studied like a freak.”

After getting into university, he invited his friends over to his place. Middle school friends, high school friends, and new university friends came over, and they drank and had fun until they heard birds singing the next morning.

In that space, Noh Yeonseok could cook in the kitchen as much as he wanted. Some friends teased him, saying his hobby was very elegant, but at least they didn’t deny his desires like his parents did. They admired and were amazed at the dishes he presented. The whole process was fascinating and joyful for him.

But Noh Yeonseok didn’t stop there.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking at internship postings… Go away.”

“You’re doing that creepy stuff again, crazy guy. You’re just a freshman, why are you looking at internships?”

“Why are you complaining to me about your incompetence?”

He prepared to become an intern from his first year.

The reason was simple. The anxiety that had been with him since childhood flared up again, and driven by that compulsion, he wanted to achieve something significant.

So, this freshman blindly applied for internships and failed repeatedly, until one day, he succeeded. Of course, even if he was hired as an intern, few companies would officially employ an underdeveloped college student, so he was soon dismissed. But just that experience made Noh Yeonseok feel proud.

“All this is experience and skill.”

And one day, the head of his department called him.

“I heard you’ve been preparing for internships continuously. Is that right?”

“Uh… Yes, that’s right.”

“And your academic life?”

“I’m doing well….”

“That’s a relief.”

After a rather bland Q&A session, the department head suggested he participate in an internship recruitment conducted by a major company. It was part of a project that the company was running in cooperation with the university.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse.

“I, I’ll do it. I can prepare well.”

“Then I’ll keep that in mind.”

Noh Yeonseok immediately nodded, and the department head looked satisfied.

Entering a large company for the first time, Noh Yeonseok was overwhelmed. Although he had seen various types of people while interning at smaller companies a couple of times, most still respected him to some extent because he was still a college student.

But that wasn’t the case with Director Lee Jaehun.

“You can’t even do this…? What did you come here as an intern for? Just here to play around, huh?”

“S-sorry.”

“Bringing down the company’s standards. Do you think we’ll just let everything slide because you have ‘intern’ behind your name? Did you expect us to baby you? Of all people, we had to get such an incompetent fool….”

It was simply exhausting.

Of course, given the vast difference in ranks between a director and an intern, there weren’t many direct confrontations, but even that was tiring and distressing. His heart would shrink just by facing him without a word.

‘Does this guy come to work just to pick on people….’

It was true. No one actually believed it, but it was indeed the case.

The reason Director Lee Jaehun was so terrifying was that he initially treated Noh Yeonseok quite well. He had even kindly introduced Noh Yeonseok as the new intern to the team. The contrast made his mental and physical strain even worse.

However, many people comforted Noh Yeonseok.

“Yeonseok… Are you okay?”

“…Team Leader Kang….”

“Director Lee Jaehun won’t be coming this way for a while, so relax. He must be in a bad mood today.”

The most notable among them was Team Leader Kang Mina.

Team Leader Kang Mina was kind and gentle, with round eyes and lips, and everything about her was soft and rounded.

Though she wasn’t particularly short, when looking at her, one would wonder how she managed to surpass 160 cm in height. If someone asked why he liked her, Noh Yeonseok felt he could go on for an hour without lying.

To be honest, Noh Yeonseok liked Kang Mina, not just in a friendly way but in a romantic sense. But, given his status as an intern and the fact that their acquaintance was not very long, he kept his feelings to himself. It also seemed that she didn’t particularly notice him, which reinforced his silence.

He had neither the intention nor the right to push for something she didn’t want. Even if Kang Mina were his peer rather than his superior, the situation would be the same. Noh Yeonseok had already learned from experience that conveying his feelings would only yield good results if the other person were in a similar situation.

However, when the greatest danger struck…

“…Ugh.”

He couldn’t help Team Leader Kang Mina.

To be precise, he didn’t even have time to think, ‘I need to help.’

His stomach churned. The world turned monochrome as if all colors had been stripped away, and the sky turned an unnaturally bright white, as if he had never seen it before. It was like the aching sensation from staring at a fluorescent light for too long piercing his eyes.

His vision twisted, making him question if the ground was really solid beneath him. The noises around him felt like worms crawling, and unlike the pain of being struck by a hammer, there was an unbearable itchiness that made him want to tear his skin apart with his nails.

In such a state, Noh Yeonseok couldn’t possibly help anyone.

“…Are you… okay?”

All he could do was ask.

Although Noh Yeonseok had strong feelings for Kang Mina, it was Director Lee Jaehun who saved her. Despite seeming indifferent and untrusting, he was the one who saved her.

He stood there with blood dripping from his shoulder and leg, yet his expression remained calm. It was a side of him that Noh had never seen before.

“Feels like I’m dying from the pain.”

He was someone Noh Yeonseok had never heard of before.

“I’m not blaming you all, so listen carefully.”

“……”

“I have a through-and-through wound on my left shoulder and my right calf.”

Hearing that, the employees’ gazes turned to his shoulder and calf. Some flinched at seeing a living person’s injury for the first time, while others were startled by Director Lee Jaehun’s unfamiliar appearance.

Or maybe it was both.

“I was running to save my life, not even feeling the pain until now, but as time goes on, my mobility will decrease.”

Saying this, Lee Jaehun seemed like a different person.

Although his tone was polite, it sounded like a command. Unlike before, his words were purely practical. His gaze towards them was so impassive that it felt like he was looking at machines.

“Do you understand?”

It was hard to tell if he was the machine or if they were.

Knowing exactly where the first aid kit was, he treated himself with skilled hands. By then, his voice had changed from the mechanical tone to one of exhaustion.

“…I’m about to go crazy from fatigue, so let’s take a short break.”

“……”

“You all probably strained your muscles from suddenly running, so loosen up. We don’t know what else might come out, but being able to run fast won’t hurt….”

Noh Yeonseok realized that when people change suddenly, it can be quite frightening.

Sometimes he had such fantasies. How great it would be if that old-fashioned director suddenly turned into a true and genuine leader. How amusing it would be. He had once giggled to himself, imagining a scenario straight out of a comic book.

But the changed Lee Jaehun was much more rigid and scarier than his fantasy, and he resembled the monochrome world more than this altered reality. He seemed colder and harder than the blue iron door of the mortuary he had visited as a child.

Could someone have replaced Lee Jaehun?

Did he change along with this world?

Is there any part of the Lee Jaehun he knew left in him?

Even knowing that Lee Jaehun had helped several employees, including himself, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear. It was a small terror anyone might feel if a normally cheerful person suddenly became serious.

Noh Yeonseok tried to shake off this ungrateful feeling, knowing it was undeserved.

Then, Lee Jaehun spoke.

“…I have my limits too.”

From that remark, Noh Yeonseok sensed the pain Lee Jaehun was trying to hide.

He, too, was surely in pain. The large wounds on his shoulder and calf must be as excruciating as anyone else’s. Like Noh Yeonseok, he found this world repulsive. Yet he deliberately hid his pain to help them.

For a moment, Noh Yeonseok felt that Lee Jaehun was saying he existed as a person and was human like them.

However,

“……”

He just couldn’t believe it.

—

Watching the wound heal quickly, Lee Jaehun clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘It’s too late.’

Of course, not dying outright was commendable for a chick, but it was still a shame. He wished it had been another group that got hurt.

Unfortunately, the seriously injured person was Noh Yeonseok, so he had no choice but to heal him. Hearing a direct plea for help and not responding would make him a bastard. And Lee Jaehun had no intention of being a one-dimensional villain like in a novel.

Yet, he still felt a pang of regret.

‘Using such a valuable herb on this guy is a waste….’

The herb he used on Noh Yeonseok was one he had picked up near the Mirror Lake while harvesting glass apples.

The round fruit of that plant could cure most conditions, but the rest of the plant was so toxic that it was described as poisonous in the middle of the novel. Despite its incredible efficacy, it was only recognized as a medicinal herb later because it was so common in the park.

‘Usually, highly effective items are rare.’

Moreover, this herb had one major drawback.

‘…It stings a bit.’

The person who picked the herb would bear all the conditions cured by the fruit.

Of course, it didn’t mean the physical injuries were transferred to the picker. They just felt the equivalent or greater pain randomly, without any actual wounds.

But this was a rather harsh setting for the soft inhabitants of this pliable world. Even in the latter part of the novel, no one but the protagonist used this herb. Even the protagonist refrained from activities for about a day after using it.

‘How absurd I found that.’

He honestly wanted to ask the author if this was a setting error. The penalties for picking the herb were merely phantom pain and some mental instability. Even in a soft, chick-like world, it was ridiculous.

Lee Jaehun rubbed his smooth side a few times, then noticed the intern’s gaze and quickly withdrew his hand.

“…Glad to hear you’re okay.”

He didn’t want to ruin his plan now.

“Can you stand?”

“…Yes, I can.”

“Then, let’s move on.”

He shifted his gaze from Noh Yeonseok to a man staring at him.

A character who wore a suit that most detectives didn’t usually wear, one who seemed to lack only the protagonist’s social skills. The most frustrating element in this R-rated bleak survival story.

“Long time no see, Detective.”

“…Yes, it has been.”

It was Detective Hong Kyungjun.

“Long time no see, Lee Jaehun-ssi.”

There was a faint sense of wariness within him.

Although it was disappointing that he hadn’t built sufficient trust as he had hoped, Lee Jaehun was satisfied with the fear visible on their faces.

It was enough.

* * *

* * *