Chapter 413
Theatrical Regression Life
Episode 413
ââ¦Soâ¦.â
Click.
Lee Jae-heon asked after returning from seeing off Jeong In-ho and Ha Seong-yoon.
âAre you sure youâre going tomorrow?â
âI donât have a tight schedule like the two people who just left.â
âI guess itâs easy to make a living as a detective?â
âIt canât be. âItâs a trick.â
âHuhâ¦â
Lee Jae-heon placed a new snack across from Hong Gyeong-jun, who was still sitting at the table. Unlike before, which focused on sweet cookies and cakes, it was a salty pretzel with salt in it.
ââ¦Are you going to get me some alcohol? âItâs closer to a snack than a refreshment.â
âIf you want, bring out whatever you like.â
âHaha⦠no. âI donât enjoy drinking that much.â
âThat sounds like me.â
âis that so.â
Hong Gyeong-jun, who answered softly, immediately closed his mouth.
ââ¦.â
Emotions are maximized in the hidden world.
Hong Gyeong-jun was particularly susceptible to stimulation from the underworld, and as a result, he often did stupid things when he went to that world. Part of that was seeing Lee Jae-heonâs ability to be a good shooter.
ââ¦I never thought I would find out about my seniorâs current situation like this.â
But now I finally understand it a little bit.
âItâs almost like a ghostâs current situation, butâ¦â
âGhosts or whatever, youâre living well on your own, arenât you? âThereâs no way that obnoxious person is making excuses for being a ghost.â
Thatâs why they looked so overlapped.
âSo, I wouldnât really worry about him.â
I guess it was because Lee Jae-heon learned a lot from that obnoxious senior.
Hong Gyeong-jun also learned various techniques and ways of thinking from him, but in terms of actual period, the time he was a pair with him was not that long. It was natural that there was a difference from Lee Jae-heon, whom I met when I was quite young and continued my relationship in the secret world.
âWouldnât that gentleman be disappointed?â
âItâs good to hear that you grew up well and that people donât like you. He showed great interest in my growth⦠well, even now that I think about it, I feel a little disgusted. âItâs an ambiguous sentiment to have against a ghost.â
âA vague sentiment?â
âYes, itâs ambiguous.â
Hong Gyeong-jun answered while touching the already cooled tea cup.
ââ¦There was an uproar when my senior was arrested and sentenced to prison. âI killed not just another person, but a serial killer targeting children, so I wondered if maybe I would get some leniency⦠There were many colleagues who secretly hoped that I would be released, even though I knew it made no sense.â
ââ¦.â
âBut there were too many issues to believe it was an accidental accident caused by excitement during the suppression process. It was a planned crime. He cleaned up the house, which was originally empty, and even abandoned me, who was his partner, for fear that his crime would disadvantage other colleagues, and he also took away the tools of the crime and other thingsâ¦.â âI guess he went with a plan in mind.
â
âI had no choice but to see it that way. Moreover, the body of the criminal you killed was so horrific. âIn addition to the premeditated crime, the brutality that was clearly demonstrated⦠it was a situation in which leniency could not be received no matter how one looked at it.â
Hong Gyeong-jun still hasnât forgotten that day.
âIt was bright red⦠holding a sharp knife⦠its smiling face wasnât much different from usual, but its eyes were different.â
âSnow?â
âIt wasnât the kind of eyes that made me feel like I was going to die because I couldnât bear the boring daily life, and it wasnât the kind of eyes that made me click my tongue at the stupidity of my colleagues but didnât hate them. âIt wasnât the playfulness he showed while teasing me, a stubborn junior, or anything like a faint affection.â
ââ¦.â
âHe just looked relieved.â
It was joy mixed with sadness.
âThat was the first time I⦠saw him emotionally. âI committed suicide not long after I entered prison, so it would be fair to say that it was my first and last time.â
Hong Gyeong-jun still didnât understand why he looked so relieved. I didnât even know that someone who was always mean-spirited, but in essence was cold and vicious, could make such an expression. There was nothing to guess other than that he had shed some heavy burden at the time.
ââ¦What was so frustrating? âWhat was so difficult and painful that he smiled with that face?â
Hong Gyeong-jun asked Jae-heon Lee.
âIs it that difficult to be the main character?â
ââ¦I donât know what to answer.â
âI have a rough guess because I heard the story from In-ho Jeong and others. You must have stepped away from the role of the protagonist before committing or planning the crime. âEven if I died, I couldnât die, so I must have been relieved to finally be liberated.â
âMaybe so.â
âBut I still⦠donât understand.â
My voice trembled.
ââ¦Why did he do that?â¦â
I couldnât shake off the question for a while after my senior died.
âDid I really hate interviewing victims, chasing criminals, catching them, putting them in jail, and ending the day applauding each other for a job well done? âWhen we had free time, we would rush to our favorite restaurant, eat soup, drink a cup of cheap instant coffee, then come back and talk about various things before leaving work, and I wonder if our daily life was really that boring.â
I felt resentful.
âYou didnât have to⦠do that. I ended up having to grab that person with my own hands. âI donât understand why he acted like that.â
âIsnât it because heâs such a twisted person?â
âIt was a mess, a lot of mess. I knew that from the moment we first met. My intuition kept telling me, âWow, thatâs really someone who will do something somedayâ⦠Actually, his face doesnât look that good, does it? âIt caused a lot of big and small conflicts from the beginning.â
âDidnât the criticism with his face stop with Ha Seong-yoon? âWhy is everyone like this?â
âIt is true that it is a harsh impression. As I tread dangerously between the law and the law, my hands naturally become tense⦠and I start cursing when I donât want toâ¦.â ââ¦.â â
â¦
Hahaâ¦.â
Hong Gyeong-jun I laughed helplessly.
âItâs really disgusting even thinking about it now.â
I respected that obnoxious person.
âSenior, you changed me. By massaging my stubbornness with both hands, he made me more flexible. There were many times when he treated me like a child and ignored me or led me into danger⦠but when it mattered most, he always kept the line. And it showed in the results.â
âWhat did you show me?â
âIt was a result of how much better things get if you act flexibly. I respect that man. Miuna Gouna is my senior. I respect that flexibility and competence. In the end, you taught me a way for the greatest number of people to be happy.â
of course.
ââ¦I donât think you were happy.â
If he was happy, he wouldnât have died like that.
ââ¦I feel hateful, resentful, and angry. Thatâs why I lived my life forgetting about that person. âI lived with the confidence that my damn seniorâs death wouldnât have a big impact on me.â
âFor something like that, wasnât the reaction always strong?â
âI only found out about it when I went to the other side of the world. Oh, I really had a hard time. The shadow of that character destroyer was so dark. I thought I had forgotten everything, but no. How can you be so stupid? âIt shouldnât have been like this, it shouldnât have been like thisâ¦â
Emotions are maximized in the behind-the-scenes world.
It even leads to some realities.
ââ¦All my colleagues knew that I was trying hard to pretend not to know. They paid a lot of attention to me in one way or another. I received a lot of help. âThey are good people.â
ââ¦.â
âEven though I know now that they are already dead and have become mannequinsâ¦.â
âAre you sad?â
âmaybe.â
He took a sip of the cooled tea and said.
âI guess Iâm not very tactful.â
âNo, you found out about it now?â
âThey say people who donât notice are naturally like this. âHe doesnât even know heâs oblivious.â
âYou have finally become self-objective.â
âSenior always criticized me for being a tactless bastard, but Iâm starting to admit it now.â
âHuh.â
âI was always late in accepting it.â
He continued speaking while looking into the almost empty teacup.
âMaybe thatâs why I still feelâ¦â
ââ¦â
ââ¦Iâm not sure how I feel.â
Is it because it was so sudden?
âI found out the whereabouts of the dead gunner. Shouldnât I have reacted more strongly? I want to⦠but I donât have the strength in my body to do thatâ¦â
What is so sad about the person who died like that that he remained as a ghost and why he stays in the mirror instead of Lee Jae-heonâs mannequin? How on earth was that damn protagonist in such a great position that he ruined so many people and even made a respected senior commit suicide? There were many things I wanted to ask and know.
No, no. Even if itâs not like there are so many questions, itâs just.
ââ¦.â
Justâ¦.
ââ¦I donât know.â
I didnât know what I wanted to do.
* * *
Rumble â
rumble â
thud.
ââ¦.â
The man opened his mouth as the phone connected after an uninteresting tone.
ââ¦hello?â
ââ¦.â
âYes, this is Seong Dae-young. âItâs been a while since I contacted you.â
ââ¦.â
âNo, really. Iâve already received a lot of support, so Iâm not greedy enough to ask for anything more. Haha, sure.â
ââ¦.â
âItâs no differentâ¦.â
Slurp.
Thick blood stained my shoes.
âThe event on Friday and Saturday this week.â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Yes, Iâm a little interested.â
Seong Dae-young glanced at the corpse lying on the floor.
âNo, how beautiful the event held by the sponsors will be⦠grand and sophisticated. Since Iâm only going back and forth between school and my studio, I feel like the scale of my work is getting smaller. I felt the need to ventilate the whole thingâ¦.â
ââ¦.â
âHahaha, sure. If I had the backing of a teacher who supported me, wouldnât everyone look up to me? The only person who can make me like that from a humble person is my teacher. You know. Yes yes yes of course. âYes, thatâs right.â
ââ¦.â
âIf itâs okay with you⦠Oh, sure. yes. It is an honour.â
Tuk.
He hit the corpseâs head with the toe of his shoe. A familiar face comes into view.
âIntention? What do you mean by intention? I really wanted to go there just to vent. I canât believe Iâm trying to get another line from the teacher who cares for me so much. Wouldnât that actually be a loss? Ah hahaha. âYes, thatâs right.â
A woman with a ponytail.
Until yesterday evening, she was the secretary who accompanied Seong Dae-young.
ââ¦Oh, is that so? Friday is hardâ¦.â
ââ¦.â
âGood. That too is an honor. Rather, donât you say that the second part of the event held by sponsors is the peak? âA party where you get together with only people you know will have a different taste.â
ââ¦.â
âYes, thank you. Iâll see you then.â
Pop.
Seong Dae-young quietly placed the disconnected cell phone on the table.
ââ¦Hmm.â
His gaze was focused on his former secretary lying on the floor.
âWhat should I do with this?â
If, as Song In-myeong said, the youngest member of the Lee Dang group was hiding his true personality, then that was incredibly important information. So, I killed the secretary who was listening to the story just in case, but I had no intention of turning it into a work of art.
Even if something that was already dead was turned into a work of art, its value was not great.
âHaaâ¦.â
After all, I have no choice but to just clean it up.
âI donât know what this is because of that kid.â
It was a calm tone that matched his gentle appearance, but the bloody smell of the workroom added to the sense of discomfort.
Seong Dae-young did not trust Song In-myeong. Simple-minded and extremely selfish, he was a problem child who gave me a headache when I met him occasionally, even if I didnât meet him often.
This guy who was wandering around because he couldnât decide on a style for his work is proud of being loved by sponsors just because of his dexterity.
âI canât stand it against a brat who doesnât even have a signatureâ¦â
Song In-myeong is bold enough to look like an asshole, but Seong Dae-young admits that he is also shrewd. It was not wise to meet the youngest member of the Lee Dang Group unless you knew what his intentions were. Unlike Song In-myeong, who was like a crazy colt, he was cautious.
But if you just watch from afar.
ââ¦.â
That might not be that bad.
Without any expectations, Seong Dae-young promised to meet Lee Jae-heon.
(Continued in the next part)