Theatrical Regression Life - Chapter 16

Suddenly, a sense of disconnect filled his lungs.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Really, he felt like going crazy.

Whether it was Boss Yoon bursting into tears or Dr. Ha SeongYoon saying something to him, he felt nauseous, like he was going to go insane at any moment from this sudden wave of reality.

It was like the seasickness of someone who’s been on a ship for a long time, or a person who is not accustomed to roller coasters.

The sense of reality that came down with a thud pressed on his stomach more than before, and he almost collapsed from his place without making a sound.

Jung In-ho grabbed Dr. Ha Seong-yoon’s arm who had approached, not knowing what he was babbling about.

It was just an instinctive act, like when you run away from a monster.

“… Jung In-ho.”

“… I don’t know.”

“Jung In-ho, we need to move. I can’t hear anyone from over there.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know.”

He shook his head at Dr. Ha Seong-yoon’s words.

He didn’t need someone to tell him what to do, he needed someone to take over this terrible sense of reality.

He wanted someone to take away this bloody, gut-wrenching sense of reality.

“I shouldn’t have left like that, I did the wrong thing, the wrong thing.”

“… Calm down, I know you’re very confused right now.”

“What would you do if you knew, damn it? I, no, I should have just stayed still… .”

He choked up.

It wasn’t that he had lived life so smoothly, and he didn’t love ordinary things too much, but he couldn’t get rid of the thought that things were gradually getting out of hand.

Even though he only saw lumps of meat.

Yes, he had just encountered it.

It’s not that he was the monster that killed them, nor was he torn limb from limb by the monster. it was just a piece of meat, moving or not moving. He didn’t want to see it, so his stomach lurched even more and his legs trembled.

Of course, Jung In-ho himself did not realize that.

But yes. Still, he had to figure out what to do next. He had to tell these people what he thought.

Maybe, just maybe, like those extra witnesses in the movies he’d seen, he could talk his way out of this play.

Knowing very well, of course, that this could not be the case, he slowly opened his mouth to speak, chastising himself for such a baseless thought.

He rearranged the pockets of his brain once more.

Weirdness becomes weakness, and revealing weakness is losing the battle for information.

“… yes, yes therefore… .”

He didn’t want to be the underdog.

“… Let’s find the other two first.”

“…….”

“Among Manager Lee Jaehun and Employee Kwon Yeon-hee, someone… There has to be.”

What form that “there” might take was unknown, even to Jung In-ho himself.

Evidently, the others were contemplating what to do after collecting their corpses, but his feelings did not follow them.

Jung In-ho moved on, hoping that they would be alive.

“… Boss, wake up. It is dangerous to be alone.”

“… But Mina is… .”

“I can come back and take care of it for you. Rather, if Boss Yoon is seriously injured, who will help Kang Mina?”

“…….”

Boss Yoon Garam, who was unable to even scream while shedding tears, stood up quietly, probably accepting Dr. Ha Seong-yoon’s persuasion.

Her pupils were empty and she couldn’t even close her breathless mouth, but she didn’t seem stupid enough to deny the reality.

Indeed, Boss Yoon Garam was a person who had only recently met them.

Rather, Jung In-ho himself, who should be crying, couldn’t even cry right, but he was angry at her, who was crying for no reason.

But he couldn’t reveal it.

‘That is the right response. It’s not something I should be upset about. that’s stupid… .’

Yes, isn’t it a human reaction to burst into tears watching the death of someone you’ve just become close with?

If you feel jealous or stuffy about it and get angry, you are lacking as a human being.

Jung In-ho knew he was at his limit. His legs were throbbing, and his hands were aching from holding the monkey spanner after each monster he killed.

He was out of breath and grumpy after witnessing the deaths of those close to him.

However, when he confirmed what he was seeing, he felt his blank mind clearing up.

“…ah.”

There were bloodstains everywhere, but no more bodies were to be seen.

“…There is no body.”

“No.”

“Then….”

Then,

If they were really, really lucky…

“…Did they escape alive?”

Jung In-ho felt that his voice had improved. Of course, a man-eating monster might have appeared and swallowed the two of them, but well.

The probability of that seemed low when thinking of Kang Mina and intern Roh Yun-seok, whose corpses were left behind.

“Wait a minute.”

Click.

Dr. Ha Seongyoon, who was walking around the darkened surroundings with a lighter on, nodded.

“…There are traces of escape.”

“Uh, Where… ! Where?”

Boss Yoon Garam, who had been staring at the floor with her head down, shouted in a loud voice.

As soon as she remembered the possibility of a monster nearby, she lowered her voice, but it was undeniable that she looked better than before.

As Boss Yoon stumbled and approached the place where Dr. Ha Seongyoon was lighting with a lighter, Jung In-ho, whose heart pounded for a moment, swallowed his breath and followed suit.

He needed hope that things would get better too.

When the two of them came to Dr. Ha Seongyoon, he pointed to the floor and said.

“Can you see the bloodstain here?”

“Bloodstains….”

“From here it leads that way.”

Normally, he wouldn’t have been thrilled to see the trail, but right now he couldn’t have been more pleased.

They were kind enough to show him where to go.

Feeling his heart sink a little, Jung In-ho turned his attention to what he could see.

“…There are also footprints, though they’re covered by a strange trail.”

“Footprints?”

“Yes, I think so… .”

That was a relief.

“At least they weren’t dragged away.”

If they had been dragged by a monster, they wouldn’t have such consistent footprints.

The two survivors must have moved their feet on their own to escape, with the monster chasing after them.

At Jung In-ho’s guess, Boss Yoon Garam also nodded.

“They could be alive, ri… right?”

Her expression was still dangerous, but perhaps because she thought Kwon Yeon-hee might be alive, she looked much better than before.

There was life in her eyes.

“We should move. It’s good that we’ve confirmed the possibility, but the situation isn’t exactly safe….”

“Yes, we should go after them right away.”

Jung In-ho nodded his head and moved his legs quickly again.

His legs staggered for a moment, but then they straightened and he ran as fast as he could.

He thought to himself as he ran along the trail.

‘They’re both in bad shape.’

Lee Jaehun’s body was so tattered that it was more surprising that he could move and run normally, and Kwon Yeon-hee seemed to be at a physical disadvantage because of her small body.

Even when they ran away from the company, Kwon Yeon-hee was right in front of Kang Mina.

He also noted that her run speed was slow, and her grip and power were below average.

Since she hadn’t been exercising regularly, she would have weak endurance, so if she was chased by a monster, he couldn’t be too optimistic.

Besides, there were other problems.

‘They can’t see well.’

There are many strange things to notice in this world, but the one that immediately comes to mind is the sky overhead.

Normally, the transition from morning to night would have to be dyed red with the sunset in between, but the sky in this world was slowly losing its light without any of that.

Since the moon and stars were not visible in the sky, this meant that visibility could not be secured without a separate light source.

However, it seemed difficult to expect streetlights that were easily seen in such a twisted park, and in that case, the only light source they had left was their lighters.

But….

‘The group only had one lighter.’

Jung In-ho bit the flesh in his mouth. He could feel it leaking blood, but he couldn’t afford to be bothered with such trivialities.

There were a total of three lighters in their party, and the ones who had them were Lee Jaehun, Ha Seongyoon, and Jung In-ho himself.

As two of them left the other four, naturally they had only one lighter left to share.

The day was already dark, and it was hard to see.

Manager Lee Jaehun, who had at least a lighter and could deal with monsters, would not have been able to use his strength properly as his body had become ragged.

That’s how Kang Mina and intern Roh Yun-seok died.

“… Whoa.”

Jung In-ho exhaled and tried to clear his head.

Sadness, fear, unease….

All sorts of negative and muddy emotions ran through his mind, but he couldn’t afford to dwell on them.

Nothing would be more self-defeating than to delay and find someone’s corpse once again.

The day had grown terribly dark, making it difficult to see around them, but it was surprisingly easy to trace the two people.

It wasn’t simply because of the blood that one of them had apparently spilled.

Dr. Ha Seongyoon pointed to one side and said.

“Over there, over there now…!”

Out of breath, he couldn’t finish his words, but that was enough.

Jung In-ho could see flames burning through the bushes in the direction he pointed.

Yes, flames.

“…….”

…A fire?

‘Why?’

Jung In-ho felt his heart stop as a chill ran up his spine.

Manager Lee Jaehun said before the group had parted, ‘There’s a limit to how much fire you can light with a small lighter.’

That is why, in order to light a fire, he said that the process of growing the embers with dry paper and transferring them to a piece of wood was necessary.

But how did he create such a huge fire? And while running from a monster?

‘It’s impossible.’

Jung In-ho swallowed his choked breath.

It would have been better if the fire had been lit at the spot where they had just left.

In particular, Lee Jaehun’s lighter was a luxury product that most smokers would know.

To start it, you first had to open the lid, then turn the side wheel. Like most high-end lighters, it must have at least one safety device. So it couldn’t be easy to light raw materials with such a cumbersome lighter.

Thinking that far, Jung In-ho remembered the vine that was wrapped around Lee Jaehun’s ankle when he left the flower shop with the two people next to him.

It burned in an instant and melted his ankles.

“… ah.”

Jung In-ho’s mind raced.

The vine, in the form of a plant, that burned red and blue. The monster disguised as a vine had been seen in a flower shop. The flower shop. It was connected to the park. To the plants. Plants. The park. And the monster that made the four remaining members of the group bleed exists in this park.

Will the monster be in the form of a plant? What is this fire caused by? If so, then, then….

“…….”

In this place, in a park full of trees burning with brilliant colors, Jung In-ho finally stopped his feet.

He felt his heart being squeezed as it sunk.

“… ah.”

“Ah, uh… .”

“…….”

He couldn’t move anymore.

“…Manager.”

Manager Lee Jaehun had come into sight.

He saw a monster that looked like a man covered in green algae, a vine full of teeth that had been plucked from his body, piercing Lee Jae-heon’s throat and savoring his blood.

It was burning with a terrible color as if a fire had been lit after pouring strong alcohol on it.

“Manager….”

“…Huk, ugh.”

“…….”

Manager Lee Jaehun was in a more miserable state than Jung In-ho expected.

His skin was half burned and blackened from the contact with the monster, and his arm was crushed by the numerous teeth protruding from the monster’s face.

His left eye was somehow empty and bleeding bright red.

The legs, which were already lame, were twisted in a strange shape and could not function properly.

In the meantime, numerous teeth resembling fish hooks dug into his neck.

“Keuk, keuheop. ぅ… .”

“…….”

“… Ugh, huh.”

Ptoo.

Manager Lee Jaehun spat out his blood.

They locked eyes.

“Hey.”

His voice was broken into a million pieces.

“Hey, Jung, I… Deputy.”

“…….”

“… Fu, ck. This, go, run away. Kids, this… .”

Thud.

He hit a pipe that had fallen to the floor with his twisted leg.

The pipe was covered with bright red blood that could not be determined whether it was from a monster or a human.

Confirming this, he spoke once again, coughing up his blood and licking his lips.

“… Help, come.”

Jung In-ho felt it intuitively.

Ah.

“…….”

He was not asking to save him.

Instead of dying, he asks him to help someone who isn’t here right now. He’s asking him to save those who fled, leaving Lee Jaehun behind.

In the end, you were never meant to survive.

“…manager….”

“Pah, hurry.”

“Wait, no, wait.”

“…….”

“why….”

Lee Jaehun didn’t speak anymore, or he couldn’t.

Instead, he spat a steady stream of blood from his mouth and clutched at the strange, toothy vines digging into my throat with both hands.

And then.

“Cheuk, kuk.”

He pressed it hard to keep it from slipping out of his neck.

The monster squeezed Lee Jaehun’s body without sparing a glance as if it was very pleasant, and of course, he couldn’t breathe properly.

A grotesque, cruel sound surrounded Jung In-ho and made him stumble backward.

The flames clinging to Lee Jaehun’s shirt burned the fabric and scorched his skin. The flames ignited again on the skin that had melted into a dark color, but Lee Jaehun nevertheless did not let go of the vine that gripped his neck.

Toduk, tok.

The blood that they had followed all the way to this point trickled down once again.

“… ah.”

The arm that held the vine, the wound on that arm, was the same one Jung In-ho had seen on the weekend.

Through the burnt shirt, the long scars he had hidden were visible. There were traces of broken glass on his wrist.

The wound on his arm was unbelievably clean to be a scratch from a nail, and there were lumps of blood on his wrist.

“…….”

It was only then that Jung In-ho was able to stare into Lee Jaehun’s eyes.

Clearly common dark brown eyes, but a gaze resembling gray. Achromatic, calm and composed eyes, as if they did not belong to a living person at all.

So much so that he preferred to call him an inanimate object.

Yeah, it was actually something he’s known for a while.

“…Let’s move.”

“…What are you doing? He needs help… !”

“It’s no use.”

He didn’t want to live.

“… no use….”

Since he didn’t want to live, he was still looking at Jung In-ho with those eyes despite his wounds.

Jung In-ho struggled to breathe through shallow breaths and moved his feet.

His gaze was directed not at Lee Jaehun, but at the pipe in front of him, and he leaned forwards, pressing his lips together.

The pipe that Lee Jaehun had kicked held all sorts of scratches on it, as if it had been scratched by nails or glass, and was blackened with thick blood.

Swallowing his breath at the slippery feel, Jung In-ho bit off the flesh inside his mouth once again, lifting the pipe and holding it in his hand.

Then he met Lee Jaehun’s gaze,

“…….”

…he was laughing

Bastard.

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End Note:

Was so immersed in this chapter, I translated it in one sitting.