Chapter 160

Episode 160

If we take a moment to reflect here, it is true that the secret world has a history.

‘Of course, it’s not at the level of civilization.’

Still, it was true that it had its own history. Wasn’t it said that the existing world existed in the first place and that human thoughts were placed on top of it, called the other world? As time has changed along with the real world, it was inevitable that they would have their own history.

However, such history has never been greatly highlighted in the work. Occasionally there are traces that hint at the time in the other world, but Lee Jae-heon’s descriptions were so sparse that he wouldn’t have paid much attention if the author hadn’t told him about it himself.

‘In fact, what is the use of history and traces in living things?’

In the end, the main character was a survivor struggling to survive, not an archaeologist exploring the past.

“Then I’ll be back.”

“…Have a safe trip.”

Lee Jae-heon furrowed his brows as he saw Jeong In-ho answer with a sincere smile.

“Do it in moderation.”

The protagonist did not respond to those words.

Jaeheon Lee, who saw Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon heading towards the lake in harmony, lowered his waving hand and returned to the bonfire. Noh Yeon-seok was sleeping nearby, curled up in his arms, probably tired from cooking for the first time in a long time.

Lee Jae-heon rolled his eyes and glanced around discreetly.

“….”

Those remaining include Noh Yeon-seok, Kang Min-ah, Yoon Gar-ram, Mun San-gun, and Choi Min-hong.

‘The rest went to pick up firewood.’

During this limited time, Jaeheon Lee had to proceed with the story.

However, Munsan-gun has not let down his guard against us yet, and since they have already saved us, their problem is not that urgent. It was a problem that would be solved on its own when he encountered Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s team anyway, so it seemed like if he was left to his own devices, he would recover on his own.

‘But not Yoon Garam.’

President Garam Yoon was the first among the survivors to reveal his uniqueness. This also means that the idea that the outside and the inside are different is distorted. There was no way I would be the first to tell it, as I have been the one to keep quiet ever since I was traumatized by the fire.

After thinking that far, Jaeheon Lee naturally moved closer to Garam Yoon.

“What’s your problem?”

“…yes?”

“You keep staring blankly at one side.”

I wasn’t asking because I really didn’t know.

‘Maybe Ha Seong-yoon is worried about why he and Jeong In-ho went alone.’

Since the amount of resources a person can carry at one time is limited, whenever a gathering team is formed, they always send as many people as possible together. Anyone with an eye for insight would have been able to tell that Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon moved with different intentions than collecting.

Garam Yoon smiled awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. “I was distracted.”

“It’s okay if you haven’t had any problems. “I asked because I was worried.”

“Have I caused you this worry?”

The unnatural smile quickly changed into a unique, soft and neat smile.

“Thank you, Manager. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a cigarette in my mouth, so I guess I thought about it without realizing it.”

“…Is that so.”

It was a plausible excuse.

‘Because I’ve introduced myself as a smoker before.’

It is true that cigarettes are bad for the body, but that is why people in society do not easily touch them. You might be a little close, but the relationship between Lee Jae-heon and Yoon Ga-ram cannot be said to be very close. It was probably something he said with the judgment that if he said it like that, he wouldn’t touch it.

In fact, Garam Yoon must have tried all his life to hide his innate temperament, so he could have become accustomed to small lies like this.

Just like Jaeheon Lee.

“I hope it isn’t too hard.”

However, this type of person pretends not to be this type of person and the wall they put up is so strong that it is difficult to hear their true feelings.

‘Well, I already knew this.’

In the novel, Yoon Garam was the main character with a high importance. This also means that Lee Jae-heon had a lot of room to interpret the character ‘Yoon Garam’, so should we say that it is a benefit for those who read this world through writing? I was able to get a rough idea of how to approach it.

Jaeheon Lee sat next to President Garam Yoon with a calm expression. Although they saved him from death once, their relationship is ambiguous as they do not have much interaction with each other. In a location where you can feel just that level of distance.

he asked.

“Are you a bit cold?”

“…your body?”

“Every time I check, he’s always by the campfire.”

“ah.”

Garam Yoon, who let out an artificial exclamation, rolled his eyes a beat later and smiled.

“I’m not cold, but I get cold easily.”

Another lie.

‘It’s not something I would say, but I live a tiring life.’

But I could understand it.

Because Yoon Garam’s blind love for fire was generally not tolerated in society.

People who had something that made them ostracized inevitably became good at lying. Lee Jae-heon and Jeong In-ho can also be said to be of a similar type.

‘But now I’m actually better at controlling myself.’

He recalled the events that occurred in the previous episode.

As she looked at Lee Jae-heon’s burned hand, Yoon Gar-ram lost some of her self-control after that, and even though she didn’t openly reveal what she wanted, she didn’t hide it as desperately as before. I especially remembered being silent and just sticking to Ha Seong-yoon’s side.

“…The weather isn’t very warm, are you okay?”

And what can be seen here is that ‘Ha Seong-yoon’ was that important a person to Yoon Gar-ram.

“yes I’m okay. “Because the bonfire is warm.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“Thank you for your concern, Manager.”

“Well… because anyone can do this.”

“….”

Yoon Garam, who hesitated for a moment, continued.

“…As expected, you are very considerate.”

“…You mean me?”

“It’s true. “Be kind.”

As Yoon Garam said that, there was a strange look of goodwill on his face.

“He’s really like a father.”

“….”

Yes.

“…is that so.”

I thought it would come out like this.

‘Because that is the ideal that Yoon Garam desires.’

The family was so close that they went on family trips together. The trip at the time of the incident was led by Garam Yoon’s father, who was a man who made efforts to ensure that his family could enjoy cultural life from time to time. Garam Yoon loved his father like that.

For her, ‘father’ was the most ideal human being that Yoon Garam could not be. It usually refers to a strong person who cares for and cares for the weak, has a kind heart, and can make any sacrifices for his or her family.

‘I experienced such an incident on a trip led by my father.’

As much as Yoon Garam loved and hated the events of that time and her own constitution, her ‘father’ was a person who deserved to be respected and respected, and the reason she followed Ha Seongyun was because she saw her own father in him.

‘There are other secondary factors, so it may be followed that way…’

In conclusion, Lee Jae-heon also had to rise to that position.

“…It’s still not a story I can relate to, but I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“Oh, that was a compliment.”

“I’m not a very good person.”

It was also a possibility.

‘Otherwise you wouldn’t have said that last night.’

Garam Yoon seemed to be greatly impressed by the way he consoled and comforted Minhong Choi. Even if it wasn’t necessarily the way he treated a young child, I thought he might have thought of his ‘father’ while watching Lee Jae-heon gently coaxing the minor Park siblings and other people.

So, Jaeheon Lee only had to show a few aspects similar to Garam Yoon’s ‘father’.

“I think Jaeheon Lee is a pretty good person.”

“That’s a generous assessment.”

“He’s not that generous. He’s always busy taking care of other people.”

“Because I’m worried.”

“But there are not many people who help even when they get hurt.”

“That could be true.”

“…I wanted to ask you every time.”

she asked.

“Why do you do that?”

“…I don’t know the intent of the question.”

“There was no need to help you while you were in pain.”

After hesitating for a moment, Garam Yoon opened his mouth.

“…Do you know what? “I was scared of the manager.”

“….”

“Actually, I still think it’s a little scary.”

The appearance of President Garam Yoon saying that was very different from the appearance of the previous episode that Jaeheon Lee remembered. This is different from the way he just stared at the world in a daze, half entranced by the fire.

The current Yoon Garam seems like a fairly ordinary person. His smiling face became stereotypical for his lies, his voice became softer to imitate Dr. Ha Seong-yoon, and even though he tried to look away to avoid revealing his obsession with fire, he took on a much more human-like form compared to the previous time.

The seditious person who had not yet realized that I was crazy continued speaking.

“Jaeheon Lee looks like a dead person.”

There have been hundreds and thousands of dead people.

“Sometimes he blinks or sweeps his hand over his mouth. My gaze spins like a glass ball. “I have to say that I feel like I’m not human.”

“…Is that so?”

“The fact that we calculate pain as value rather than pain makes us feel like machines or monsters. It seems like the way I think and the way I live my life are different. Because ordinary people can’t do that…”

“….”

“…So, we were grateful that you told us Jaeheon Lee’s story.”

It gave me an excuse to understand things that were different from my own, and

“thanks to that, I’m not nearly as scared anymore.”

Well, isn’t that why he said something strange like ‘he’s like his father’?

Fiction and reality are different, and the author tried to reflect that as much as possible. In a world like this, it was only in creative works that you could break down all the walls and feel gratitude just because your life was saved once. President Garam Yoon never considered Jaeheon Lee friendly.

‘But I heard an explanation as to why it ended up like this.’

Garam Yoon heard the reason why Jaeheon Lee went crazy and was convinced. I was able to see the person named ‘Lee Jae-heon’ rather than something I couldn’t understand. She says that Lee Jae-heon is an ideal father that goes beyond Yoon Gar-ram’s prejudices. It seemed like he might have been thinking.

Of course, this is something Jaeheon Lee doesn’t really understand.

“…Should I say thank you for not being scared?”

As someone who had to massage this woman’s brain, I was very grateful.

“There’s no need for that.”

“If you say that, I don’t have anything to say, but…”

Lee Jae-heon, who had read the world they were in now, was actually receiving quite a big benefit. Unlike others who could only know the results by directly hitting each thing with their body, he knew a kind of instruction manual.

It wasn’t just something that applied to the underworld.

“…I’m just saying that.”

He continued, recalling the contents of the novel.

“Are you afraid of fire?”

“…yes?”

“Or maybe it’s because I like it so much that I don’t know what to do.”

“….”

“Isn’t that so?”

Ha Seong-yoon was a doctor who treated Yoon Gar-ram almost exclusively at the time of the incident. He was the first to notice her unusual constitution, and he was also the person who embraced Yoon Gar-ram despite it.

Therefore, it was Dr. Ha Seong-yoon, not Yoon Gar-ram’s biological father, that Lee Jae-heon had to imitate.

“There was no way I didn’t know.”

It’s a good thing.

‘Because I don’t know what this man’s father said.’

Even Ha Seong-yoon barely appeared through Yoon Gar-ram’s reminiscence of him, so is there anything more to discuss about the story of his parents who only briefly appear in the past? Lee Jae-heon was thankful that there was someone who was easy for him to follow.

He remembered Ha Seong-yoon’s ‘line’.

‘Because I was always keeping an eye on my patients’ condition.’

“I tried to pay as much attention as possible to the current state of the group.”

‘I knew Garam was particularly weak to fire.’

“I knew that Garam Yoon was particularly sensitive to fire.”

‘I may feel bad, but… I want to help my patient in any way I can.’

“You may feel bad, but I want to help my people…”

And then

he said something.

“…So, if you’re having a hard time, could you please let me know later?”

If you’re having a hard time, can you tell me anytime?

“….”

“….”

How did you respond to that?

Garam Yoon was staring at Jaeheon Lee with his eyes slightly wide open, and he saw that there was something grey-green stirring inside him like fire. Clearly, Garam Yoon was reminding Jaeheon Lee of something I knew.

After hesitating several times, she nodded faintly.

“…yes.”

It was an unusually short answer.

Therefore, Jaeheon Lee knew that this situation was the correct answer.

* * *

“….”

Even the fact that Kang Min-ah is watching it.

‘Damn life.’

It’s so hard to make a living.

(Continued in the next part)