Theatrical Regression Life-Chapter 86

Chapter 86

She didn’t know how useful she really was, but in the end, it was clear she wasn’t as capable as Director Lee Jaehun. Unlike him, she couldn’t act as if fear had been stripped away and calmly walk through a thorny path.

In the end, Kang Mina couldn’t survive without relying on someone.

She couldn’t save anyone either.

“I’m really sorry….”

Well, it’s inevitable since I’m utterly useless.

Knowing one’s limitations was also a virtue of adulthood.

* * *

Lee Jaehun left Kang Mina up in the tree and immediately departed.

Feeling some guilt, Kang Mina tried to follow him a few times, but what could she do with such a weak mind? Lee Jaehun wasn’t foolish enough to miss the rare chance to wander alone.

‘This will be a rare comfort.’

In truth, having the chicks around made things hardest for Lee Jaehun himself.

When they were around, he first had to manage his image, second, protect those fragile chicks, and third, his actions were restricted by the situational narrative.

However, the current circumstances weren’t great. Since they were in the otherworld, monsters could appear anytime, so Lee Jaehun had to stay close, and the chicks seemed aware of that too. Ideally, he wanted to abandon them in some remote place, but that would only incur the protagonist’s wrath, so that wasn’t an option.

‘But now, things are different.’

They were naturally scattered without him having to do anything.

The reason he sought out Team Leader Kang and was now moving to find the others was out of suspicion that they might have ended up in some weird place and died. It wasn’t because he was running with a sore leg to reunite with them.

‘We will gather eventually, but the idea of properly reuniting now is laughable.’

That was his intention from the start.

Lee Jaehun remembered how the others looked at him before they scattered.

Kwon Yeonhee was visibly terrified, Dr. Ha Sungyoon was confused as if looking at something incomprehensible, and Yoon Garam covered her mouth with one hand while running away, her pale green eyes fixed on him.

I couldn’t see clearly, but he was sure she was smiling.

‘She felt fear.’

Yoon Garam had a very peculiar constitution, she felt a thrill in life-and-death situations, especially those involving fire.

In the original novel, she realizes this in the very early stages. Although it wasn’t directly depicted, it was inferred based on the protagonist’s narration that it happened about three or four days after being trapped in the otherworld, while repeatedly recalling the death of Dr. Ha Sungyoon in front of him.

Yoon Garam enjoyed thrills in extreme situations while simultaneously wanting to live. Though she felt disgusted with herself, he came to accept it more as the story progressed. By the end, she openly enjoyed it.

The most crucial point is this:

‘Yoon Garam only smiles like that when her life is threatened.’

In conclusion, she felt fear toward Director Lee Jaehun.

‘The protagonist felt something similar.’

That’s more than enough.

‘Kang Mina and the siblings reacted differently, but they are unique cases.’

Kang Mina inherently had low self-esteem. She was too naive to criticize others and too eager to prove her worth to feel fear.

Additionally, the Park siblings were inherently different in temperament. They had grown up in a dysfunctional family, constantly alert, so they wouldn’t feel fear just because Lee Jaehun pretended to cough up blood. Although they did sense the danger and ran away.

So now, the most important thing was….

‘Noh Yeonseok, the intern.’

Who would find him and in what condition?

‘Hopefully, he’s still alive.’

With that thought, Lee Jaehun adjusted his grip on the pipe.

The wound on his palm had burst open, soaking the bandage the doctor had wrapped around it to the point of being useless. He wondered if it might be easier to just remove the bandage altogether to grip the pipe more comfortably.

“So, this is….”

Limp.

Ignoring the pain in his leg that was starting to flare up again, he muttered inwardly.

‘…Near the algae lake?’

It seemed like this was the large lake Yoon Garam had mentioned when they first entered this place, the one filled with so much algae that it was visually unappealing.

And he sighed.

“Geez.”

Of all places to run to, why here? It might be convenient for him, but not for these chicks.

‘Pathetic idiots.’

He’d thought this while tracking Team Leader Kang’s traces. He wondered if these chicks even had any sense. If they didn’t hear any insect sounds nearby, shouldn’t they think something was wrong and run away?

When Lee Jaehun was following Team Leader Kang’s traces, he noticed that Kang Mina had been tracking someone well before something seemed to have happened. A group of about three people had lingered in the middle before turning left, and another individual’s traces started to head off in a strange direction before turning completely right.

‘The traces of those three are probably Kwon Yeonhee, the doctor, and Yoon Garam… And the lone trace must be the intern.’

Additionally, there was another trace following the three. That would be Jung Inho’s trace, who had left to find the others after talking to Lee Jaehun.

‘So, those three should be okay.’

The protagonist would naturally lead them well, so the last person Lee Jaehun needed to check on was Intern Noh Yeonseok. Once he confirmed that everyone was scattered and safe, he could proceed with the story.

He also needed to check the whereabouts of the other group of survivors, but…

“……”

He had already found them.

Lee Jaehun thought as he looked at the traces made by three or four people.

‘Looks like they met here.’

Judging by the torn vines, it seemed to be survivors vs. monsters. Seeing the sawdust-like wood pieces scattered around, the weapon used was probably a wooden club. The shoe prints at the end of the vine and the crushed spots suggested that they stomped on the monster’s head while striking it with the club, much like killing a snake.

For reference, wooden clubs were the preferred weapons of the other group of survivors, and only the detective could systematically kill monsters like this from the beginning.

‘So, to summarize….’

It seemed that while the intern was running, he encountered a monster and was on the verge of being eaten. Then, a few people from the other group, including Detective Hong Kyungjun, helped him. Judging by the fresh blood stains scattered around, it looked like someone got injured in the recent fight.

Sure enough, the ground full of dirt and grass was pressed down as if something had been dragged. Having been out in the field with the chicks multiple times, Lee Jaehun recognized those traces.

‘Is he seriously injured?’

The traces showed someone being supported as they were dragged along.

It suggested severe injuries, rendering the person unable to walk, or perhaps an injured leg. But given the wide distribution of blood, the former seemed more likely.

Lee Jaehun hoped the owner of this blood wasn’t Noh Yeonseok.

‘That guy has a weak mental state.’

In this case, it would be better if the injury had happened to someone with a stronger mental fortitude. It would make the aftermath cleaner and result in fewer lingering effects. If the intern were that badly injured, it would be difficult to manage.

Moreover, if one of the other survivors was injured, it would be an excellent opportunity to gain their favor. Most people feel grateful to those who heal them. If Lee Jaehun treated the injured, it would at least prevent them from grabbing him by the collar.

‘Well, it’s harder for that guy not to get hurt in this situation.’

As he fiddled with the herbs he had gathered on the way, Lee Jaehun thought of the protagonist he had parted with some time ago.

“……”

Well,

They’ll manage just fine on their own.

‘The guy who used to live with such tenacity wouldn’t have changed just because I did.’

Lee Jaehun nodded to himself, thinking of the protagonist in the novel.

Honestly, it was strange that Deputy Jung, who had lived as an ordinary office worker until now, was doing such a good job of stopping the monsters. But from the start, he was the protagonist of this world. If he couldn’t handle it, he wouldn’t deserve to be the protagonist.

The fact that the last place they saw traces of Jung Inho was in an area engulfed in flames was a bit worrying, but the ones there were Ha Sungyoon, Kwon Yeonhee, and Yoon Garam.

Considering that three out of the four had brilliant but unstable minds, they wouldn’t die so easily.

After thinking this far, he checked his physical condition once more.

‘…Legs are shot. Dragging a bit? It’s better not to hide the limp. My shirt is already soaked. As for my head… it should be fine. I haven’t been attacked there.’

Then he nodded.

‘Pass.’

With this condition, just approaching without doing anything would make them wary. He remembered vividly how he had been harshly scolded when he approached covered in blood in his previous life.

Lee Jaehun followed the traces leisurely, thinking to himself.

‘But since these are civilians from this weak world, they won’t scold me openly.’

However, he hoped they would feel a considerable amount of fear or disgust towards him. So that he would look like a monster, not a human, and they wouldn’t be able to accept him.

That was more comfortable.

* * *

“…Ugh!”

Thunk!

A dull bursting sound was followed by a small groan.

“Jung Inho-ssi, are you okay? Should I come down…?”

“No, no! Stay there!”

Shouting like that, Jung Inho swung the monkey wrench once again.

The decaying leather twisted and tumbled, accompanied by the pitiful whimper of a dog—a sound he had heard at least once in his life. The shiver that ran down his spine from his own sentiments was almost palpable.

Feeling sorry for that thing.

“…Damn it, this is so messed up.”

Grinding his teeth, Jung Inho wasn’t even aware he had cursed.

‘Disgusting.’

It was truly disgusting enough to make him want to throw up.

That was his impression of the monsters wandering near them.

Their legs were certainly four in number, but some had tails and some did not. The skin, seemingly stitched over human muscles, had vibrant colors that didn’t fit this monochrome world.

A slimy, translucent liquid, nauseating to look at, dripped onto the floor. What fell from the monsters’ mouths was too filthy to be called saliva from a living creature. It looked like the gooey remains of ground-up snails, with a strange color.

And that fluid splashed onto the monkey wrench in his hand and his clothes. The leg that had been pierced by one of those creatures throbbed with pain, making his mind even more foggy.

“……”

However,

It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar sensation.

“…Whew,”

Thud, whack!

He kicked the stomach of a monster that had approached him, knocking it off balance, then struck its head.

Its screech, reminiscent of a distressed dog, pierced his ears. The wheezing whimpers and the limping leg, the button-like eyes that seemed to be watching him cautiously, were both pitiable and repulsive, causing him a headache.

Those things had a knack for eliciting sympathy from people.

Even when one absolutely didn’t want to.

“…Really.”

“Inho-ssi.”

“Really, don’t even think about coming down.”

Ah,

Disgusting.

“…If you come down, I might kill you….”

His voice wavered with tears at the end.

‘I can’t let that happen again.’

He was determined to ensure that no one got hurt and no one died.

Because the future he had seen was too miserable. The things he had to endure as a survivor were a hell he could never handle again. So he couldn’t let that happen once more. Anyone capable of rational thought would want the same.

Jung Inho, devoid of any rational thought, struck down the things in front of him. He kicked, tore, and relentlessly smashed them with a heavy iron club until the disgusting sensation crawling over his skin left him barely able to breathe.

It was as if a mosquito has bitten his eyelid, leaving it itchy and sore. The light pain spread through his body, making his stomach churn. He wanted to scratch his entire body with sharp nails.

His heart had already plummeted to the ground several times.

“Get away… Get away, you bastards…!”

Thwack.

Crack.

Crunch!

Once, twice, three times.

And probably thousands of times more, he struck down.

‘…What do I need to do next? What’s left? What’s there…?’

He pondered in a daze, soaked in the dark red fluid.

The fire was spreading. When he found Kwon Yeonhee and Yoon Garam, the monsters were already closing in, and moving them wasn’t an option. The best he could do was to keep the two in that unknown dome and fend off the monsters below.

Once he cleared a path, they had to escape. They needed to run to safety, to see the sun without getting burned. While Kwon Yeonhee might not be swift, Yoon Garam’s agility was decent, so it wasn’t impossible.

But once he held them off? After they escaped?

‘…Where did Dr. Ha Sungyoon go?’

Had he done everything he needed to?

“…Ugh.”

Doubt gnawed at his brain.

When he arrived, Dr. Ha Sungyoon wasn’t with the other two, and despite calling out for him desperately, there was no response. It would have been a relief if he was just hiding somewhere out of fear, but considering it was Ha Sungyoon, that didn’t seem likely.

Neither Kwon Yeonhee nor Yoon Garam knew where Dr. Ha Sungyoon was. They only mentioned that the lighter’s flame went out and the footsteps stopped simultaneously.

So, where was he amidst the flames that chased them to their toes?

―Yelp!

“…Come down now, now!”

Through the bright flames, he saw a way out.

As the space cleared, Jung Inho quickly called to the two people inside the dome. He saw their long, slender figures clumsily make their way down but couldn’t focus on them.

Pushing the people who just touched the ground forward, he shouted.

“Head towards the area without fire, cover your mouth and nose with your hands!”

“Ah, okay…! Got it!”

Without saying more, Kwon Yeonhee ran with her mouth covered, and without time to be glad at her obedient action, Jung Inho yelled at the remaining figure.

“Yoon Garam!”

Jung Inho already knew how to handle the situation. He had learned it that way.

Taking a brief moment, he grabbed Yoon Garam’s shoulder and shouted.

“Listen carefully, damn it, listen carefully…! Are you listening?”

“What? Oh, yes, yes, I’m listening….”

“I don’t care what drives you or why you’re doing this, it doesn’t matter at all! Got it?!”

“……”

“We don’t have the luxury to understand each other. You won’t understand me, and I won’t understand you! If we can’t act like humans, let’s at least listen to each other, please…!”

They didn’t have the luxury of exchanging many words like before.

Yoon Garam’s eyes widened momentarily, but to Jung Inho, who had seen that expression countless times, it wasn’t a significant reaction. He just needed to ensure their survival.

Jung Inho took a deep breath and spoke right in front of Yoon Garam.

“Don’t look back and run.”

“……”

“If you die, I’ll kill you again.”

“…Wow.”

Her round eyes widened, and her lips curved into a brilliant smile.

She was impressed.

“Everyone’s really gone mad.”

Jung Inho agreed.