Chapter 155

Gold 19, Survival of the Impoverished, was secretly ranking various and personal rankings, although of course it was never directly stated in it. ‘Sunfish’ was one of them.

Simply put, it refers to a character with a high probability of sudden death.

“This is Lee Jae-heon. “Please call me whatever you prefer.”

Jae-Heon Lee was trying to sit with a reasonable distance between him, but he furrowed his eyebrows when he saw student Da-Young Park looking at him intently. He felt that Munsan-gun, who was patting the child, was startled, but he did not bother to look in that direction.

It was easy to read the mind of the student holding his long, curly hair.

‘I guess it means don’t spread distance for no reason.’

That’s probably why he was talking like that while he was visiting Munsan-gun.

Blinking his eyes slowly, he thought that standing like this was also funny, so he took a seat across from Munsan-gun. From the looks of it, it seemed that Ha Seong-yoon was still passive and the main character was mentally unstable and would not be able to have a proper conversation with the survivors.

“I heard you’ve been through some rough times. “I was threatened by another survivor.”

“Ah…”

“There’s no need to tell me. “I just said this to tell you not to feel pressured.”

Of course, Lee Jae-heon was good at gently warming up foolish opponents and getting them on his side, but there was no way he didn’t know that the more he did this, the more the leader of this group would come to me. Maybe the protagonist or the doctor is also aiming for that and taking a step back.

Since he had no intention of becoming the head, he had no choice but to change the subject of the story.

“Have you spoken to our children in full?”

“…Chief, you really look like a gangster leader now…”

“Yeonseok is watching the fish being grilled. “Where are adults talking?”

“Who can be fooled by saying that now…”

“Huh.”

Lee Jae-heon was dumbfounded at the sight of Noh Yeon-seok intern making a fuss, but he decided to ignore the sight of him crumpling his big body and looking at a fish stuck in a bonfire. It was a bit fun to see a subject who was awkward in front of someone who was entrusted with a small task and did it well.

Lee Jae-heon turned his attention to Munsan-gun, who made a strange expression at the two’s comical conversation, and continued speaking.

“so?”

“…Well, I heard your name and what you did.”

Munsan-gun stroked the head of the sleeping child and cheered him up.

“I heard you go to Oseong? Except for Mr. Garam Yoon and Mr. Seongyoon Ha….”

“Actually, other than that, they are all worthless.”

“It can’t be. “They are working for the country’s largest conglomerate, both in name and reality, so wouldn’t they have such capabilities?”

“….”

“Thanks to you, I survived too.”

He shrugged his shoulders shallowly.

“Seeing them stick together even under these circumstances shows how much they respect each other. “I’m just thankful that they came to us just because they heard the child’s voice.”

“… Assistant Manager Jeong does have a good personality.”

At those words, Jeong In-ho, who had been quietly staring at the bonfire, raised his head and smiled slightly.

Munsan-gun’s expression became strange once again when he realized that it was an expression that had become a habit on his face, but he quickly averted his gaze and pretended not to notice it. It was clearly like they were wary of us.

‘Well, it’s worth it.’

Regardless of his original personality, if Jeong In-ho and Lee Jae-heon’s thoughts are correct, they would have seen Song In-myeong kill a person. Even if you don’t know the details, it was a difficult situation to lower your basic vigilance toward humans. One might think that Song In-myeong is the average survivor of the underworld.

Nevertheless, the reason they sat there talking so obediently was, of course, because there were benefits to be gained from this team, but it wasn’t necessarily because of that. Lee Jae-heon rolled his eyes conspicuously and looked at the boy in his arms so that Munsan-gun could check.

Now the name is clear: Choi Min-hong.

“It is fortunate that the child… was not seriously injured.”

Thanks to that little boy remembering Jaeheon Lee, things got easier.

‘I didn’t know you would remember me.’

At the time of the incident, Lee Jae-heon was holding Choi Min-hong from behind, and immediately afterward, the child’s vision would have been blocked as he was blindfolded and crying. Nevertheless, Choi Min-hong, who met Lee Jae-heon again, tilted his head, grabbed his hand, and was startled, recalling him.

Looking at it objectively, Lee Jae-heon, who was covered in blood and had a bad appearance, was something to be disliked, and because of that, Munsan-gun was wary of him at first, but in the end, there was nothing he could do as the youngest child welcomed him with a big smile. Regardless of the case, both Lee Jae-heon and Munsan-gun.

Munsan-gun, who muttered his lips for a moment at Lee Jae-heon’s words, answered in his characteristic neat tone.

“I got scratched here and there on the way there, but… yes, that’s a good thing. “Even monsters seem to have a conscience and don’t want to mess with children.”

“Did you come across a monster?”

“I don’t know if you can call that a monster, but you can, right? “I mainly saw vines that writhe like snakes or monsters that resembled dogs.”

“You don’t have any serious injuries.”

“As I just said, I think it’s probably thanks to Minhong.”

His honest face revealed a faint sense of guilt.

“…I’m just embarrassed because I’m a terrible adult who took advantage of a child.”

It was the perfect greeting for a sudden death, like something out of a novel.

‘It’s such a shame. If you say that, then what kind of radioactive waste am I?’

Lament automatically flowed out.

Of course, if you were to compare both your past life and your current life, radioactive waste wasn’t a bad thing, but when it comes to chicks, I couldn’t understand what and how much I committed. If one of my teammates in my past life had said something like that, I would have been called out for being screwed.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t sincere. In the first place, the guys Jaeheon Lee named ‘Sunfish’ basically had that kind of frustrating side, so it was understandable that they were self-reflecting in front of us who had only just met.

“…It looks like the monster is avoiding infants. “This is my first time knowing this.”

Munsan-gun nodded at Lee Jae-heon’s rebuttal.

“I was surprised too. “I’m not sure that’s the case, but still… there are many cases where I came back from death in one way or another thanks to Minhong.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“….”

“Mr. Munsan?”

Seeing him biting his lip as he seemed to be choosing his words, Jaeheon Lee deliberately called his name, pretending not to know.

‘I think I’m hesitating whether to talk about Song In-myeong or not.’

Considering that their vigilance was so heightened, it seems likely that they did not meet any other survivors except Song In-myeong. I’ve probably never even met Seo Jang-hwa or Vivian.

“…If you’re having a hard time, you don’t have to tell me.”

If Song In-myeong had met those two, he would not have committed such a hasty murder.

So, it seems like these people are worried about whether or not they are acquainted with Song In-myeong, but it was difficult to solve that problem here first. Even if you say out loud, ‘We’ve never met other guys,’ it will only arouse suspicion.

‘But it’s not difficult.’

You may have to take your time, but this type of person opens his mouth on his own as soon as he gets caught up in the atmosphere.

Lee Jae-heon deliberately shifted his gaze noticeably and asked Noh Yeon-seok, who was grilling fish with great effort. Unlike before, the tone was light.

“Yeonseok, is it roughly cooked?”

“Uh… It’s my first time baking like this. Still, it looks like it’s all ripe. “I think I felt something similar to this when I went to OT.”

“You secretly have a knack for cooking. “Are you talking about when you were in college?”

“That’s right… I went and ate a whole grilled fish. “It wasn’t a bonfire like this back then, but it’s true that we ate it over a live fire anyway… so the feeling is similar.”

“Okay, from now on, you will be in charge of cooking. “When the kids pick up the ingredients, you take care of mixing them.”

“Oh, I’m good at that.”

After talking with Noh Yeon-seok, who has a brighter spirit than the high school Park siblings, the overall mood of the group improved. It was even more effective than Kwon Yeon-hee, who seemed to have a lot to think about.

‘Well, he probably had the healthiest mind among us.’

Up until now, I had been unable to adapt and was thrown around, so I was almost completely out of sorts, but after listening to Lee Jae-heon’s past history and having a few conversations with him, the mental burden seemed to have strangely eased. As expected, he was a guy who had to be gently coaxed rather than scolded. This is someone I need to talk to.

Noh Yeon-seok, who did not know Lee Jae-heon’s thoughts, continued speaking in his characteristic firm and round tone.

“But how did you pull out the intestines? At that time, I opened the stomach with a knife and pulled it out… but I couldn’t see any open parts. Oh, you pulled out the intestines, right? “You said that, didn’t you?”

“You talk a lot. Oh right. “If you gently put a long branch in your mouth and turn it, it will come out.”

“Yes yes yes. Can you show it to me later? “If you teach me, I’ll take care of the next one. I’m really good at that.”

“Okay, so let’s stop pretending that I’m in a good mood because I’ve had a hobby for the first time in a while. “Are you doing this because you know that Chief Kang is looking at you with such a happy face?”

“Ah…”

Kang Min-ah and Noh Yeon-seok, who were making friendly expressions, met their gazes, and soon their faces with a grim expression burned brightly. Being able to see the open face clearly while being directly exposed to the light of the bonfire also meant that it was noticeable.

Kang Min-ah looked embarrassed at the sight of Noh Yeon-seok lowering his head in embarrassment.

“…Stop teasing Yeonseok, Manager….”

“What did I do?”

At those words, Kang Min-ah smiled sadly, and at the same time, intern Noh Yeon-seok’s shoulders shrank even more. I had no idea how ugly it was to see a big guy in his 40s shriveling up.

“It’s because you don’t have this much spirit.”

“…Not everything in the world can be solved with just courage….”

“Your problem has already been solved, man.”

On the other hand, she seems to be hesitant out of consideration for the other person, but based on what I’ve seen of Kang Min-ah’s personality so far, she wouldn’t have refused if she confessed. Although it is true that even though their ages are not that much different, Jaeheon Lee thought that Noh Yeon-seok’s hesitation may have played a role.

‘That guy is also the type that will go on a rampage if he gets permission.’

He was holding back because he thought Kang Min-ah would be a burden to him, but if they started dating officially, he would do his best to appeal to her. Honestly, I don’t know why I was thinking this, but I did it anyway.

Kang Min-ah smiled sadly again as Lee Jae-heon’s words made her even more glum, but suddenly he was able to detect a strange sense of discomfort in Kang Min-ah’s face.

“….”

“… Manager?”

“No, just.”

He asked, gently tilting his head to one side.

“Because you look tired.”

And we still don’t know why.

I also felt the need.

“….”

“…Then let’s eat first. Mr. Munsan, could you please wake him up?”

As he turned his gaze to Munsan-gun, the other person opened his eyes wide and blinked several times. He seemed to doubt whether what he was saying was true.

“…yes?”

“Even though the time is like this, I think I need to feed the child and put him to sleep. “I think you drank some water earlier, is that correct?”

“yes? Ah yes. Thanks to Yeonhee Kwon… thank you again.”

“It’s not the water I brought anyway. Anyway, your stomach must be pretty empty, but if you find it difficult to eat, I’ll give you some fruit. Actually, we don’t know if it’s a fruit or not, but it would be easier to eat on an empty stomach.”

“Uh…”

“The fish… you can catch it again if you throw the trap. Minhong or Munsan can eat whatever they feel comfortable with. Of course, either way, it would be better to finish digesting and then sleep.”

Lee Jae-heon, who blurted out the words, pierced him with his gaze once again.

“So, let’s wake the kid up first. “I have to ask you what you want to eat.”

“…Ah yes….”

I muttered like that and frowned at Lee Jae-heon, who was looking at him with a strange gaze. Before I knew it, Yoon Gar-ram, who had taken his eyes off the bonfire and was quietly watching the situation, smiled softly and opened his mouth.

A soft voice flowed under the pitch-black sky.

“Manager, you are very much like a father.”

“…Who is it? “You mean me?”

Lee Jae-heon frowned greatly at those words, but Yoon Gar-ram continued speaking with his signature elegant smile. A voice in a quiet tone resembling Ha Seong-yoon spread over the bonfire.

“That’s how I felt. “My father always treated me like that. He spoke bluntly and comforted me while feeding me.”

“….”

“That’s what I’ve always felt, but you’re being very kind by pretending it’s not true.”

“…Huh.”

Lee Jae-heon, who shed a sigh of regret, quickly burst into laughter and answered.

“That can’t be right.”

It was nonsense.

(Continued in the next part)