Chapter 89

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Chapter 89

Detective Hong Kyungjun considered himself a man with good instincts.

In his profession, having good instincts was often regarded as a remarkable talent. As a police officer, he couldn’t always rely on data to catch criminals. Despite narrowing down the possibilities, he still had to find the most plausible answer among countless scenarios.

Of course, this wasn’t a logical basis, so practically speaking, he couldn’t arrest someone just because ‘my gut says that guy is the culprit!’ For police officers, such instincts were nice to have but not essential.

However, among those officers with such instincts, Hong Kyungjun was particularly extreme. Both in the ability itself and in his confidence in it.

‘It’s a talent, so it’s right to use it.’

That was his reasoning. Just as some people are born with good brains or good looks, he believed he was born with exceptional intuition and should use it as much as possible.

If his intuition never produced results, it would be different, but Detective Hong’s gut feelings were quite reliable. When he sensed something odd or out of place, eight or nine times out of ten, the person was the culprit. Thanks to this, he had considerable influence within his team despite his relatively young age for a detective.

And in Hong Kyungjun’s opinion, Lee Jaehun was… a rare and dangerous individual.

‘…Like a monster.’

Like those monsters he had seen many times in this world.

It exuded an unease that he had seldom felt during his career as a detective.

“I met you once before… and then you disappeared for a while, I was worried.”

Hong Kyungjun started the conversation nonchalantly, glancing around.

“Now that I see you again, you seem to be in worse condition. Is it just my imagination this time too?”

“I never said it was just your imagination.”

“It seems you still don’t want me involved.”

“That’s understandable…”

Lee Jaehun tilted his head slowly, glancing at the man fumbling with his own abdomen at his feet. Even so, showing little emotion, Hong Kyungjun scratched the back of his neck.

‘Those eyes… where have I seen them before?’

One thing was certain, there were no normal people with eyes like that. Half of the people he had seen with such eyes were either in prison or no longer in this world.

And then it suddenly came to him.

“Yeonseok, shall we get going?”

“Yes… yes, Director.”

Ah.

You resemble the kindest and cruelest person in the world.

“…Lee Jaehun-ssi.”

He resembled Hong Kyungjun’s mentor.

He realized he had to keep this man somehow.

His mentor was apathetic and unmotivated in most things but was different in the field. While comparing the two felt unfair due to their different personalities, Hong Kyungjun, who had seen many people’s fates, was almost certain how Lee Jaehun would end.

Although not a common type, people like him always ended in one of two ways.

“……”

“Did you call me?”

Either they killed someone.

“Yes, I did.”

Or they died in someone’s place.

What Lee Jaehun would choose remained unknown.

“I don’t see anyone accompanying you. Have you been alone?”

Hong Kyungjun didn’t realize his initial wariness of Lee Jaehun was fading. Even if he had, having been reminded of his mentor, he wouldn’t have easily rebuilt that same level of caution.

“…If you’re planning to lecture me, I’d like to decline. I’ll be hearing it for the rest of my life anyway, and it’s tiresome to start so early.”

“I don’t plan to lecture you. There’s no reason to. I just wanted to make a suggestion.”

“I’m listening.”

“Would you like to come with us?”

Hong Kyungjun thought that he had to keep this man within his sight even more now.

“The person who was being dragged by that monster vine seems to be part of your group. Sharing the situation with each other wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

In fact, he didn’t think that man would do anything immediately.

Of course, the rest of the group, aside from Hong Kyungjun, seemed to have a different opinion, as their faces turned pale. But from what he saw, Lee Jaehun wasn’t a mad killer.

‘People like that do tend to go crazier once they get a taste of blood, though…’

All the blood and flesh on this man’s body was his own. Considering how ‘Yeonseok,’ who seemed to be part of his group, relied on him so much, it wasn’t surprising. He didn’t seem that bold, but he was acting as if he knew everything despite his messy appearance.

Lee Jaehun, who was pondering Hong Kyungjun’s words, glanced at the man who had awkwardly stood up, looking flustered, and then turned his gaze back.

“…Dragged, you say.”

“He was being dragged by the waist by a vine. We found him halfway, cut the vine, and rescued him, but we could only stop the bleeding since we had no way to treat him.”

He rolled his eyes and continued.

“Of course… Lee Jaehun-ssi, you healed it in an instant.”

Putting aside his impressions so far, Lee Jaehun was suspicious in many ways.

Having personally stopped the bleeding, he knew the injury was severe. The thorns on the vine weren’t that large, but they were strong and hard to remove. The injury worsened during the process of being dragged and freed. If left untreated, death was highly likely.

Yet, such an injury was healed with just one thing being fed to him. Moreover, the person who received the treatment seemed unaware of his own condition.

“I don’t know how that was possible.”

“Everyone has different talents, don’t they?”

“Well, it seemed more like experience than talent.”

“……”

His opponent couldn’t answer immediately, and Hong Kyungjun felt satisfied.

For now.

“I mentioned this before, but trying to handle everything alone is not a good habit.”

“…So what are you planning to handle together?”

“At least you won’t keep getting hurt like this.”

He continued calmly.

“It looks almost like you’re dying, doesn’t it? Like a monster.”

Hong Kyungjun blinked, recalling the sight of Lee Jaehun emerging from the bushes. The black and red form filled his mind.

He had once seen a criminal mutilate a corpse right in front of him. There was a chainsaw-wielding killer inspired by a movie. He had seen a severed hand fall from a transparent glass box and the teeth of a stray dog that had feasted on abandoned flesh.

Those days came to mind, and the moment he saw Lee Jaehun, the red and blue images flashed before him.

‘But.’

He was neither a murderer nor a corpse.

What would become of this man remained to be seen.

“If you’re looking for your other group members, that’s fine. If you’re looking for a place to rest, even better. Last time, your stance was so firm that we let you go…”

“What authority do you have to try to keep me?”

“Isn’t it more efficient that way?”

“……”

“At least, that’s what I think.”

The most important thing to his opponent was efficiency.

This was evident from his words and values. Even before, he had kept changing his expression several times just to shake off Hong Kyungjun quickly. Pointing out that his actions were inefficient was a sufficient basis.

‘…Besides, he doesn’t seem to be in a normal state.’

Though the others didn’t seem to notice yet, his eyes were unfocused. He appeared to be a beat slower in his responses than before, indicating he wasn’t in a clear state of mind.

Using the word ‘efficiency’ to provoke someone in such a state should make it easier for them to come around.

“…Well, it’s not a bad idea.”

Lee Jaehun smiled faintly and looked behind Hong Kyungjun.

“Shouldn’t you ask their opinions too, Detective?”

“……”

“I seem to be quite… frightening to them.”

As he glanced at the others, they exchanged troubled looks with Hong Kyungjun. While the degree varied, they didn’t seem too keen on Lee Jaehun joining them.

A tall, thin man cautiously opened his mouth.

“Uh…Lee Jaehun-ssi?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m really sorry to ask this but…”

“It’s okay.”

“……”

After a moment of hesitation, he asked.

“…Are you… human?”

There was fear in his question.

A fear that Detective Hong Kyungjun hadn’t felt.

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Inside the hidden world, the emotional gap between people was enormous.

In reality, people’s reactions to the same event were usually similar. Hearing about a fire on the news would make people feel sorry, listening to a deep romantic line would make them fidget, and hearing about a sudden disaster would make them anxious.

But in the otherworld, the degrees of these reactions varied widely. Some felt sympathy seeing a bloodied person, while others felt a rejection similar to what they might experience in a horror movie.

Detective Hong Kyungjun was the former, and the rest were the latter.

‘Let’s see if things go your way, you bastard.’

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Thinking this, Lee Jaehun smirked inwardly.

Even if he joined them now, it wouldn’t cause a significant problem in his plan, but the smug look on that detective’s face sparked a rebellious impulse. Lee Jaehun generally disliked people, but he especially despise those who seemed full of themselves.

With his personality, this kind of contrary mindset was almost natural. If they found it annoying, they could try to use force. But of course, he knew they wouldn’t, as the detective before him wouldn’t throw a punch even at a serial killer who had killed 30 elementary school children. He knew this and acted accordingly.

Unlike Detective Hong Kyungjun, who had dealt with all sorts of craziness from criminals, the rest of the group were just ordinary civilians.

‘There’s no way they could be as calm as a detective in this otherworld where the emotional gap is the widest.’

Could these chicklings, who would jump at the sight of blood like a cat seeing a cucumber, not be scared of seeing him in such a state? Could they not be terrified of someone like Lee Jaehun, who seemed clearly abnormal?

That’s impossible.

“…What kind of question is that to ask a normal person?”

Detective Hong’s brows furrowed slightly at the man’s question. It didn’t seem like he was particularly displeased; rather, he seemed unable to comprehend the question properly.

The man flinched and shook his head vehemently as if making excuses.

“No, no, no…! I really didn’t mean it in a bad way, I swear. I was just curious, that’s all.”

Despite his timid gestures and trembling voice, his words came out like rapid fire. The tall, thin man in the group seemed quite nervous, even breaking out in a cold sweat, and Lee Jaehun had a guess as to who he was.

‘Conductor Kim Kijeong.’

In other words, he was a musician. According to his own story in the novel, he had gone abroad to study as a child and followed an elite path, and he was quite famous in that field.

However, despite the power suggested by the word ‘conductor,’ he had a rather weak presence.

“Of course, if I offended you, I truly apologize. But just now, when you walked out from over there… you didn’t seem very human.”

“Ah.”

“…Honestly, even now, I can’t shake the feeling that you might be a monster disguised as a human.”

Indeed, despite being timid, he didn’t hold back his words.

‘He’s definitely a different type from Team Leader Kang.’

Both were timid, but Team LeaderKang was considerate of others, whereas this conductor was not. He was generally polite, but that was it. To put it positively, he was straightforward; negatively, he lacked thought. Or perhaps he was just bold.

Lee Jaehun actually preferred people like him over those like Detective Hong.

‘He’ll be easy to use.’

He could instill negative emotions through fear or threats, or he could coax and brainwash them. It wouldn’t take much to mold him into the desired form.

As Kim Kijeong spoke, the two people beside him nodded and chimed in.

“I think he’s right. I’m really sorry, but we were just fighting monsters a moment ago… Why wouldn’t there be monsters disguised as humans?”

“It was also hard to understand how you saved someone who was dying just now. Instead of joining us right away, how about we gather all our people and discuss this again in the morning?”

The first one spoke out of fear, making excuses, while the second genuinely believed that it was better to be cautious. The former was simply scared of Lee Jaehun, while the latter felt the need to be more careful.

They had never felt fear from a human being.

‘That’s why they’re like chicks.’

They couldn’t even imagine feeling such fear from a fellow human.

They had probably seen a lot through screens—murders over noise complaints, drunk driving accidents, knife-wielding rampages leading to police intervention, and so on.

Lee Jaehun thought that humans were the most terrifying creatures, but these people had never experienced it firsthand. It was inevitable since they had never encountered someone brandishing a knife right in front of them. The world was generally soft, and its inhabitants were no different.

‘Besides, this is the otherworld.’

A place where emotions, trauma, and fear grow just by breathing. With the darkness of the night and his bizarre appearance, it was natural for them to think he was a monster.

Detective Hong Kyungjun might be different, though.

“…Why…?”

He still couldn’t grasp the group’s state, unable to say more as his face contorted in mild confusion. He looked like someone isolated by unsolved questions.

Satisfied, Lee Jaehun slightly opened his mouth.

“Since the consensus is like this, I suppose there’s no choice…”

And then.

A voice filled with indignation suddenly burst out.

“No!”

“…Huh? Why?”

Lee Jaehun was taken aback.

“No, it’s not true! You saw him heal me just now…!”

“…Yeonseok, Yeonseok-ah?”

“The directorr isn’t a monster!”

What the hell, why’s this guy suddenly so angry?

‘Shit, what’s going on?’

Lee Jaehun had no choice but to abandon the blurred focus he had maintained in his shock.

Completely taken aback, he looked at Noh Yeonseok, who was yelling despite having been on the brink of death not long ago.

In the end, he tried to calm down his fledgling intern.

“Hey, hey, hey, listen, Noh Yeonseok. Hey.”

“But they keep calling the director…!”

“What’s the problem all of a sudden?”

His bewilderment was so intense that the words slipped out without passing through his brain.

“You’re scared of me too, Noh Yeonseok.”

“……”

“…Ah.”

And he immediately regretted it.

Damn, I need to do something about this damn mouth.

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