Chapter 170
Theatrical Regression Life
After confirming that there were no monsters nearby, the whole party gathered together again for the evening.
âMister.â
Choi Min-hongâs child called Lee Jae-heon.
âOh?â
âhand.â
âWhat kind of rude language is this for an adult?â
Even as he said that, Lee Jae-heon obediently gave his hand to Choi Min-hong, and the child smiled broadly, pressing his hand with her little finger. Even though there was no cat jelly on his palm, Minhong Choi looked genuinely happy.
Of course, it was something that Lee Jae-heon, who had become a childâs toy, could not possibly understand.
âI wonder if they put honey on my handsâ¦â Even
with empty words, I couldnât say that my hands, which were bleeding, blistered, and cracked here and there, looked good. President Choi Jeong-man, the childâs father, seemed to have a fairly ordinary personality, but there was no way to know where his sonâs taste for clinging to his sonâs hands, which, as he said, was almost corpselike, was formed.
âEven Jang Seo-ah said that, but kids these days are strange.â
Jang Seo, who was slowly approaching me, saying she had seen a zombie for the first time, and Choi Min-hong, who was fiddling with his blue, red hand and using it as a toy, were all there. It occurred to me that these children were not preyed upon by the underworld for no reason.
âAt first, I thought I was out of luck after being around crazy people.â
Noh Yeon-seokâs eyes sparkled at the sight of Choi Min-hong now openly sitting on top of Lee Jae-heonâs legs.
âOh, isnât that it? Attachment doll?â
âYeonseok, didnât I always tell you to think three times before speaking?â
ââ¦Iâm sorryâ¦?â
âWhy is it in question form?â
It was absurd.
âI guess I looked calm because the company was concerned about me.â
In fact, the current Noh Yeon-seok was quite calm for a young man of his age, but now he was no longer afraid of âLee Jae-heonâ, and the occasional remarks that flew out often confused Lee Jae-heonâs mind. Heâs not a very tactful guy, but when I saw him do that, I wondered if he was deliberately trying to screw me over.
âNot counting the fact that Choi Min-Hong treated me like a dog, man. You canât do that. âIs the name âManagerâ worth it?â
âItâs not that, butâ¦â
Lee Jae-heon couldnât help but lament at the sight of him not losing his nerve even as he muttered like that and slowly cringed. Although this was aimed at creating an image, people no longer really accept kkondae-jil as kkondae-jil. In the long run, it was a good thing, but I couldnât help but feel bitter.
At that time, Choi Min-hong, a child who was snuggled in Lee Jae-heonâs arms, asked.
âWhat is the manager?â
ââ¦.â
Lee Jae-heon, after thinking for a moment, answered.
âA person in power.â
âWhat is a boxer?â
âA person who is rich and can bully others.â
âThen I heard it didnât work out.â
âYou are well educated.â
Jaeheon Lee nodded.
âYou shouldnât be this big.â
He didnât like his life, but he never regretted it. In both my past and present lives, I have lived by swindling people and taking advantage of my interests, but I have never once thought that this way of life was right. Jaeheon Lee was the type of villain who knew he was a bad guy.
Choi Min-hong, who blinked just twice at those words, tilted his head.
ââ¦why?â
âFriend Minhong Choi, what have we talked about so far?â
âThe manager is bad, but maybe heâs not bad?â
âKids these days are so smart. Should I give you a compliment sticker?â
âthere is? âI like that.â
âIâll buy it for you later. âYou have a lot of money.â
âItâs a line from TV.â
ââ¦?â
President Choi Jeong-man, what kind of drama are you watching?
âMy friend has a good vocabulary.â
âswimming.â
âAnyway, donât be like me.â
âwhy?â
ââ¦.â
âWhy?â
I was speechless.
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Is now the time for me to criticize myself?â
âChief, why did you dig your own grave and then say something like that?â
âYouâre not the manager!â
ââ¦.â
âThatâs right, Manager.â
âMr. Jeong, shut up.â
As I swept the corner of my eyes with my other hand, which was not grabbed by Choi Min-hong, Jeong In-ho, who was looking at me like that, continued speaking in his characteristic sincere tone.
âActually, it would be better if we didnât look alike. It really breaks my heart to think that a child with a bright future will resemble the manager in the futureâ¦â
âAm I so easy?â
âI donât think you have any sense of why you are like that.â
âOh, did you get hurt because I wanted to get hurt?â
And why did that bastard speak so vaguely from earlier?
âIs this bastard doing this to abandon Hong Kyung-junâs team?â
Lee Jae-heon, who already had a plan in mind, was quite anxious by the fact that he seemed to have no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding of Munsan-gun, who was still looking pale. I may not have intentionally abandoned it, but seeing those comments made me feel like I had given up halfway.
âThe response is to let things happen, but thatâs it.â
As he frowned out of habit, Choi Min-hong grabbed Lee Jae-heonâs hand and shook it. In response to a gesture asking anyone to pay attention to this area, he lowered his gaze and looked at the child.
âThe smell of your blood.â
ââ¦.â
âI smelled blood at that time.â
When Lee Jae-heon, who could not understand the flow of the conversation, looked embarrassed, Choi Min-hong continued.
âIt also smelled like medicine. âThis happened back then too.â
ââ¦ah.â
Only then did Jaeheon Lee understand what the child was saying.
âI got scratched by a nail.â
I was referring to the scratches I made on my arms in a panic right after I first remembered my past life. The bandages had come off quite a bit thanks to the stray dog monster rubbing his head. The child must have seen the red wound that was covered by the bandage. This long wound that never heals, perhaps because it was an injury sustained outside the other side of the world.
Lee Jae-heon took Choi Min-hongâs hand, which was gently touching the bandage that was almost completely removed, and gently squeezed it.
âEvie Gigi. âIâm not touching that kind of thing.â
âThis is not support.â
ââ¦.â
âAre you sick? âI know this too.â
Before Lee Jae-heon and the other adults could even sense what was strange, the child continued.
âThis is what happens when you stab yourself with a knife.â
ââ¦Wait a minuteâ¦.â
Hey, the atmosphere is getting weird.
âMy head already hurts from the small ball that Song In-myeong shot, and here you explode it like this?â
My head hurt from all the stares coming from all over the place. I couldnât figure out why they were making such a fuss when they said they were going to take care of my body.
No, more than that.
âChildren Choi Min-hong.â
âyes.â
âWhat does your father do?â
Why does a 6-year-old child know this hurt?
âI know, Dad⦠Boil this much soup. âThere is a restaurant.â
âOh yeah. I seeâ¦â
My mind was dizzy.
âDoes even a kindergartener have to do this much to get into the cutoff line of the secret world?â
This isnât really crazy.
In the original novel, Choi Min-hong died early in the story due to a car accident, so I donât know what the circumstances were, but considering that President Choi Jeong-manâs personality was very ordinary, it couldnât have been this heartbreaking. Why do you really know this?
At this point, Jang Seo-ah, who had approached the men with a harsh look without hesitation, also became anxious. I thought he might have a twisted side compared to his peers, butâ¦
no, honey. Why are the kindergarten students here set up like this?
âYou still liked the babiesâ¦â
As Lee Jae-heon was struggling to maintain his composure, Kwon Yeon-hee sneakily approached him.
âMi Minhongâ¦?â
ââ¦.â
âWe said hello, right? Nice to meet you, lady. Do you remember her name?â
âItâs not an ajumma, itâs a sister.â
âOh, thank you⦠not this.â
Kwon Yeon-hee carefully asked Choi Min-hong, who managed to mutter an answer worth 100 points.
âMinhong, have you ever seen a police officerâ¦?â
He seemed to be suspicious that domestic violence was occurring in the house. First of all, self-harm is something that people who are mentally burdened do unless they are pressured to do so, and cases of such burden are quite common even in marital relationships.
âmother? Is it from your motherâs side? Under what circumstances would a kindergartener remember the shape of a self-inflicted wound?â
Lee Jae-heonâs parenting stress was already saturated with just the Park siblings, but for some reason, he was nervous that Choi Min-hong and Jang Seo-ah would also have difficult backgrounds.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the child shook his head.
âUgh.â
âWhy are you so spoiled? âI should say no.â
âno.â
ââ¦Bossâ¦?â
Jaeheon Leeâs eyes suddenly asked why he was acting like a brat, so he pretended to cover the childâs forehead, blocking his view, and shook his head slightly. To be honest, I was a bit desperate.
âLetâs not make it more complicated here.â
Anyway, if you are a survivor of the other side, there is at least one point where you have gone crazy. Because of Yoon Garamâs destructive ability, he had no choice but to dig into the past, but Lee Jaeheon had no intention of taking care of those crazy people one by one. It was the same even if I was still a soft kindergarten student.
Kwon Yeon-hee noticed Lee Jae-heonâs extreme annoyance and embarrassment and nodded. It seemed like he felt he was being considerate of the child, but whatever his misunderstanding, I was just grateful if they could just let it go.
ââ¦Soâ¦â
Lee Jae-heon opened his mouth, feeling that he had to somehow pass up this topic.
âMinhong, is this child sleepy now? Or do you want to play more?â
âIâm not sleepy.â
âThen ask that older brother and older sister over there to play together. âUncle, my legs are starting to go numb so I canât do it.â
âI like it here.â
âNo, youâre already weak, your blood wonât work.â
âThen you dieâ¦?â
âWhy is this kid so extreme? âI wonât die, but it hurts.â
âah.â
Only then did the blood on Lee Jae-heonâs leg become visible. Nevertheless, his face looked so calm and not at all surprised that Lee Jae-heon had no choice but to once again doubt the family environment that President Choi Jeong-man had created.
âIs it nature or a product of education that a 6-year-old child is not afraid of blood?â
Fortunately, Choi Min-hong willingly ran to the Park siblings, and two high school students who were watching Jae-heon Lee also welcomed the child. In particular, student Park Da-hoon seemed quite happy that a child younger than him had appeared.
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Minhong seems more courageous than me, managerâ¦.â
âItâs sad that I canât deny it.â
Kwon Yeon-heeâs head drooped at Lee Jae-heonâs affirmation.
âBut what can I do? Iâm a chick.â
Itâs not that employee Kwon Yeon-heeâs soft thinking style was bad, but it wasnât particularly efficient. Lee Jae-heon had a headache wondering when these squishy chicks would grow up.
ââ¦.â
Oh wait a minute.
âIt really hurts.â
He suddenly realized that something was wrong with his health.
To be precise, my mental strength was plummeting. Since this is a world where people who would otherwise die due to their mental strength can survive, it was a situation that could not be ignored that their mental strength was being visibly diminished like this. To be honest, it is true that it would not be strange if Lee Jae-heonâs body fainted in an hourâ¦
ââ¦Ah.â
âBoss?â
âOh no, itâs okay.â
Well, I guess Iâve done a lot of bad things during that time.
âI needed to have normal physical strength or mental health, but I was too complacent.â
When I met the abandoned monster dog, my mentality was weakened, but I donât think I noticed it because Song In-myeong gave my brain strength. Maybe the mental burden just before and after the regression had piled up and I could no longer endure it.
âCan I get some sleep first?â
ââ¦It doesnât matter because itâs almost time to sleep anyway, but are you feeling unwell?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âNo, itâs really okay.â
In response to Jeong In-hoâs question, Lee Jae-heon shook his head. Youâre probably asking me if Iâm going to go crazy because of the green algae monster. Of course, but since he didnât have to worry about that, he was able to deny it with pride.
âItâs because Iâm tired.â
Jet-black pupils stared at Lee Jae-heon, but the smile on his lips remained the same.
âRest well.â
ââ¦okay.â
âI hope youâre okay.â
Jaeheon Lee clicked his tongue and turned his back on me as he slightly rolled his eyes.
âThey cause accidents like that.â
Every time the main character makes an expression like that, he feels like he has to hurry up and kill the green algae monster. To do that, he has to sacrifice his life to expose Song In-myeongâs identity.
Even if itâs for my own wealth and fame.