Chapter 54 |
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To the observer, Lee Jaehun probably appeared as someone who could do anything to achieve his goals. It wasn’t just a matter of mindset.
Before his noticeable personality change, he maintained the image of ‘Director Lee Jaehun.’ He was old-fashioned, yet had a sense of altruism in helping others, sensitive, and not very honest… Of course, these traits were imposed by others rather than self-created, but it wasn’t entirely inaccurate to say that he was always acting.
Anyway, the transformation he showed in front of Detective Hong Kyungjun was all based on that ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ persona. When his mind tangled up and he appeared resentful towards others, it was showing the moments when ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ was too exhausted and desperate to even plead with others. Since it didn’t deviate significantly from his usual demeanor, the detective wasn’t particularly surprised.
However, if he revealed a new personality excluding the one he initially showed, Detective Hong, who was cautious by nature, would have been quite surprised.
‘Well, there are hardly any people in this world with messed-up personalities like mine.’
‘So, I’ll remain vigilant here.’
Lee Jaehun not only had the mindset of ‘doing anything’, but he also had the ability to make it happen. He clearly demonstrated this through the instantaneous change in his personality.
If it were a past life, perhaps, but in this current life, ordinary people don’t switch personalities for the sake of efficiency like Lee Jaehun. Since it had been less than a day since they met, they might not have realized that the change was merely a matter of efficiency, but Lee Jaehun had hoped countless times that he could step aside. He must have sensed it to some extent.
And what was needed here was nothing but method acting.
‘I’m a survivor of the underworld, recently dragged back in after a long time, very tired but managing my expressions mechanically for efficiency as a mentally ill person…’
That’s what he said.
To summarize the situation, Lee Jaehun had been a survivor of the underworld for quite some time after escaping. For some reason, after days of acting as an old-fashioned director, he suddenly came to his senses and found himself back in that disgusting world.
However, he couldn’t abruptly stop his previous act as the old-fashioned director. Unfortunately, he was caught up with his colleagues, and if he dropped the act here, it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings or suspicions. At least for the sake of his companions’ mental stability, Lee Jaehun had to continue acting as the old-fashioned director.
At the same time, he continued to protect others. After all, Lee Jaehun was quite self-sacrificing. He had a sense of responsibility to protect others and felt obligated to lead them as a survivor.
‘If someone has to die or get hurt, it should have been me, who has already died once, as it would be a much more efficient choice.’
And this wasn’t far from his true feelings. Of course, it wasn’t solely out of sacrificial spirit, but also based on genuine values.
As a result, his keen subordinate and the doctor caught glimpses of his past, and that night, as he slept and vomited out the blood he had been holding in, Lee Jaehun continued to act as the old-fashioned manager as best as he could, but the other party didn’t easily back down.
The tiredness and the disposable conversations in the afternoon were more insane than imagined. Lee Jaehun knew he couldn’t keep up the act forever, and eventually, he revealed his true self. He knew that this version of him could pose a significant threat to the other party.
‘But, I have to be different from that murderer.’
So… Lee Jaehun, knowing that he could be seen as a threat by the detective, still chose to reveal his original face.
‘Because I’m tired.’
However, no matter how tired and exhausted he was, he didn’t want to reveal that to a stranger.
The reason? He wasn’t exactly sure. It could be because of pride, or out of respect for others, or simply because he didn’t want to be caught by a detective who seemed to cling to the weak. What was certain was that Lee Jaehun was not an evil person, but rather a victim of the underworld, aware that he could become a perpetrator in some sense.
Lee Jaehun had resigned himself to quite a lot.
“Well…”
“……”
“…Do you need to talk?”
The end of his voice was faintly melancholic, contrary to his expression.
“I don’t think I need to.”
This way, Lee Jaehun could avoid becoming a complete enemy to the detective.
Tough people and those with troubled backgrounds are treated differently. The same actions can lead to criticism or support. Lee Jaehun, who had long abandoned any conscience, hoped that his image within Detective Hong Kyungjun’s mind would be shaded in gray.
‘His nature is good. But mentally unstable. There seems to be a reason for that…’
And he was a victim of the underworld.
Since he was already in the concept of receiving sympathy from the protagonist and others, adding sympathy from the detective wouldn’t be a big issue.
“…Does Lee Jaehun’s-ssi group know about your condition?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s… a problem.”
Sure enough, the detective’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I’m sorry to keep repeating the same question, but are these people trustworthy? You have a lot of injuries everywhere, and have you ever received unreasonable demands?”
“…I heard similar things from Constable Kim Yeonwoo, but no, not at all. It was all my choice, and I have no regrets. Thanks to that, nobody died.”
“That’s not right, Lee Jaehun-ssi. At least you should let them know what condition you’re in and accept help.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“That’s not true.”
“I mean, I’d rather not need help than have someone die because of it.”
“….”
“…It was unnecessary talk.”
Lee Jaehun let out a light laugh.
“I’m sorry.”
He wasn’t in his right mind at the moment.
Even aside from being originally mentally ill, he was actually physically weak and exhausted to the point of vomiting blood. The only thing certain was that Lee Jaehun’s judgment had significantly declined since the bloodletting.
Therefore, he revealed his face, which he wouldn’t have shown normally, and spoke words he wouldn’t have otherwise. Despite trying to maintain his expression mechanically, his insides were complex and tortured. Lee Jaehun didn’t like the current situation where his mask was quickly torn off and his inner thoughts were exposed to someone he had just met. He felt frustrated, irritated, and unfairly treated.
Those inner thoughts were only revealed for a brief moment, and Lee Jaehun quickly flipped back to the personality of ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ he had initially shown.
A slightly thick-toned voice flowed out.
“I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“…No, it’s okay.”
“You must be tired. Go inside. If they ask about the patrol at this hour, the other members, well… including Yeonwoo-ssi, must be worried. What kind of patrol is this in the early morning?”
“….”
“…I’m satisfied with the current situation.”
For a moment, the voice sank.
“I have the right to feel that way.”
Honestly, this was genuine.
‘These rookie guys, they’re so disgusting I can’t even touch them.’
Why is everyone making such a fuss when I just want to do what I want? He was on the verge of feeling the guilt. Throughout, Lee Jaehun felt pity for his past life.
He corrected his tone of voice and spoke again.
“Your kindness is appreciated, so I said some unnecessary things.”
“…One-sided sacrifice is not good, Lee Jaehun-ssi.”
“I should go in now. I wonder what they’ll say when they find out I’m not there.”
“It’s not strange to ask for help. I understand you have your reasons, but that doesn’t mean this approach is right.”
“I’ll gladly accept the intention to help.”
“….”
“Let’s meet again in the morning.”
He smiled softly.
“I hope we’re strangers to each other by then.”
“……”
In short, it was a warning not to mention what we saw today anywhere else.
At Lee Jaehun’s words, Detective Hong Kyungjoon furrowed his brow, then returned to a blank expression. Soon, our fingertips tapped against each other as we blinked. Lee Jaehun could recall this habit of tapping fingers when trying to figure out the full story of a case and come up with a solution.
Tap, tap, tap.
After tapping fingers about three times in that short period, the detective on the other side answered.
“…Let’s do that.”
It was Lee Jaehun’s victory.
‘As expected, appealing to emotions won’t work on him.’
Lee Jaehun inwardly smirked as he glanced at him.
Detective Hong Kyungjoon was the type who relied more on reason than emotion. It meant that Lee Jaehun would need to approach him in a completely different way from how he had been dealing with his group so far, and caution would be necessary when dealing with him in the future.
The reason Detective Hong Kyungjoon had seemed to want to take him away until just now was probably because he thought Lee Jaehun was emotionally agitated. In fact, that’s how Lee Jaehun had wanted to appear.
‘Ordinary people wouldn’t want to deal with someone who loses their cool due to pain, especially not at this hour.’
However, Lee Jaehun had to go through the ordeal of expending his composure for momentarily forgetting that the other party was crazy. If he had shown any more agitation, the detective would have definitely taken Lee Jaehun away, and in that case, Lee Jaehun would have to show that all the excitement so far had been false in order to return to his group.
And now, coming back to the present, he realized that Lee Jaehun himself was in a calm state, and even recognized that he was a stranger type of mentally ill person.
‘He probably thought there was no need to take his companions with him.’
It wouldn’t solve the problem of vomiting blood, and since the patient himself was too agitated to understand the situation, not to mention bringing them to an already unstable companion, it would have been a loss for both parties. Very rational.
However, what was a bit surprising was that Detective Hong Kyungjoon seemed to be unusually cautious and sensitive to the fresh-faced Lee Jaehun…
‘Did the radar malfunction?’
It was a big difference from what was expected, that as soon as they made eye contact, he would immediately become guarded. If that reliable detective’s intuition hadn’t broken down, there wouldn’t be such smoothness. He scratched his brow with the feeling that the plan was falling apart again.
‘…It’s hard to make a living.’
Nothing was going right.
“If you have an unreliable companion, please let me know anytime, and I will take appropriate measures.”
“…I appreciate that.”
As expected.
‘These guys have met.’
It seemed that the protagonist and the detective had made contact.
Of course, I had some suspicions, but now I could be completely sure. With the help of meeting Jung Inho, the detective’s anxiety about the serial killer he was chasing must have increased.
‘Because of his keen intuition, he would have known that the culprit was among the survivors in the park.’
There might have been someone among the ‘companions’ that Detective Hong had just mentioned that made him uncomfortable. Suspects based solely on his own instincts, without any legal or material evidence. But with the situation like this, there was no room to properly track down the culprit.
‘Why do I seem to not suspect anything at all?’
“Even in this situation… Aren’t you tired of being a detective? Doing patrols and all.”
“It’s only natural to help someone in trouble. Don’t you think so, Lee Jaehun-ssi?”
“You leave me speechless.”
Anyway, at the moment, the biggest suspect seemed to be Jung Inho. But Lee Jaehun, who was already in a mess, showed signs of excitement, and even mentioned having separate companions. Considering that Jung Inho was already suspected of being a criminal, he might have thought he had been treated unfairly. In that case, the tough attitude he had shown so far was somewhat understandable.
In such a situation, Lee Jaehun himself seemed to already know the situation, so even as Detective Hong Kyungjoon, there was nothing he could say.
‘He was trying to help the victims, not an accomplice.’
Of course, he didn’t think Lee Jaehun was an accomplice to the serial killer, but the difference between knowing and not knowing was significant. Even if the same thing happened, it would be seen as less severe. Especially in a world where judgment becomes clouded.
‘…More than that, there’s an unexpected loss.’
He felt a lingering bitterness.
If they hadn’t met here, or at least if he hadn’t shown the act of vomiting blood, Lee Jaehun wouldn’t have needed to change his approach. The fact that he now had to manage Detective Hong Kyungjun and most of the survivors was a significant blow, even for someone as seasoned as him.
‘Sure, there’s a chance the situation might change if I keep observing, but…’
He doubted that would happen. It was a frustrating situation, like getting hit from behind on a dark street.
After a moment of thought, Lee Jaehun, who had been about to walk away, stopped as if something had just occurred to him.
“By the way, how is your group doing? Are they alright?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I mean, do they have enough water, food, and such?”
The detective caught on quickly.
“You seem to be doing alright.”
“It’s not too bad.”
After saying that, Lee Jaehun frowned, then relaxed, biting his lip slightly before letting go. Showing a brief hint of internal conflict, he spoke again before it was too late.
He pointed towards a small lake.
“There’s a lake over there.”
“…A lake?”
“The water is clean. It’s not a small lake, either. We boiled it just to be safe.”
“……”
“It looks like a decent water source.”
Of course, this wasn’t just out of kindness.
‘Since I’ll have to manage their mental states anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to start now.’
Though the future was uncertain, there was a high chance Lee Jaehun would have to take care of most of the survivors in the park. In a world where death had significant repercussions, this might have been the correct approach from the start, even considering his plans for his later years.
‘Yeah, it’s better to lay the groundwork now and reap the benefits later.’
But based on the novel, their situation was likely not good.
If he hadn’t remembered his past life, his group would also be in terrible physical and mental condition like he was, so no further explanation was needed.
“Isn’t it a bit risky to drink just any water in a place like this?”
“……”
“It’s hard to stop by a convenience store or a supermarket. I’m not one to talk, but going there feels like a death sentence.”
“…You’re right.”
However, this could cause conflict between the teams. If one group is struggling and sees another group doing significantly better, it’s natural for humans to feel anything from jealousy to outright resentment. Even if he couldn’t do anything about injuries, Lee Jaehun wanted to minimize this disparity as much as possible.
And there was another reason: the potential danger of the small lake.
‘The more test subjects, the faster the results come in.’
He remembered the reactions of Team Leader Kang and the collection team. He hadn’t been there himself yet, and couldn’t fully trust the novel’s description, so caution was necessary.
But if the other team got hurt, he might be blamed for telling them about it, so with a bitter expression, he added,
“Still, be cautious. Some of our group went there and said it felt strange.”
“…Strange, you say.”
“There could be monsters out to kill people, after all.”
Lee Jaehun forced his expression into a neutral one as he said this.
‘There actually is a monster in the water.’
The hesitation and bitterness he showed when mentioning the small lake weren’t just from sharing valuable information with the other party. It stemmed from the fear that he might be giving them imprecise information, potentially putting them in danger. Lee Jaehun wanted to appear that way.
And fortunately, the detective followed his lead exactly as intended.
“…Thank you for the valuable information.”
“You’re welcome.”
For an unexpected loss, the result wasn’t too bad.
Hopefully, someone would take the bait.
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