Chapter 69

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Chapter 69

Around two days had passed since the algae monster in Lee Jaehun’s dream had prevented him from escaping back to reality, and during that time, he had come to a realization.

‘This thing must be the ruler here.’

He felt this instinctively, without any logical reasoning.

By now, it was hard to consider Lee Jaehun’s lucid dream as merely his own. It meant that his dream was influenced by something else. Hence, it wasn’t surprising that the algae monster wielded power within his dream.

The question then arose whether this algae monster was the same as the one from the hidden world or something separate. However, for Lee Jaehun, who couldn’t escape the dream, this information was of little relevance. After two days of being unable to wake up, he was growing increasingly anxious.

‘If I can’t die, will I never wake up?’

‘How much time has passed in reality?’

‘What does my attempted suicides look like to the others outside?’

Lee Jaehun was deeply concerned about how his companions might react to his desperate attempts to escape, like diving into the lake or trying to strangle himself to avoid the monster.

By then, impulsively attempting suicide was no longer an option. All he could do was sit quietly, staring at the algae monster or occasionally getting caught and restrained by it, unable to move. It was as if he might die of boredom.

Around this time, Lee Jaehun realized another fact.

‘This is less repulsive than the otherworld.’

Despite the lucid dream resembling or being even more grotesque than the outside world, the discomfort and nausea he felt were much less.

In the otherworld, just looking at the monsters could drive a person insane. Their slick surfaces made him queasy, and the shimmering insides of their petals hurt his eyes and head. Even their movements, while not entirely strange, pushed him to the brink of vomiting.

In contrast, the current dream didn’t evoke such strong aversion. Even when the clammy hand gripped his wrist or he was bound by vines, he felt surprisingly little. Whether it was because the dream world and the otherworld were fundamentally different, or the algae monsters within them were distinct, something was different.

With this realization, Lee Jaehun’s mind began working clearly for the first time in a while.

‘If it doesn’t want me dead, then it must want me alive, right?’

The critical question was whether this algae monster wanted to keep him alive for some purpose or out of some emotional respect.

It seemed unlikely that the algae monster, which had killed him multiple times, would respect him, but there was the stray dog monster in the park. While not all, most of them respected and loved survivors. Survivors just couldn’t handle such affection, but from the monsters’ perspective, it was different.

So, maybe the algae monster wasn’t much different.

“Maybe after killing me a few times, it got attached…”

Or perhaps it had a specific desire.

After some thought, Lee Jaehun decided to try an extraordinary negotiation with the monster, something a sane person wouldn’t attempt.

“……”

“……”

“…If that’s all it takes.”

With a trivial price, he managed to gain the cooperation of the algae monster.

It wasn’t a particularly satisfying deal, but it wasn’t unsatisfactory either.

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He needed a play for himself.

* * *

Altering the existing context wasn’t that difficult.

To escape the dream, Lee Jaehun made a deal with the algae monster and needed to create a conversation flow that would lead to his goal. And he had a natural talent for such things.

They were no more than fledglings who had just left the nest, incapable of seeing high-level intentions in others’ words.

‘Since I already had a plan in mind, starting everything at once shouldn’t be a problem.’

Manipulating those with pliable minds that took his words at face value was a piece of cake for him.

“……”

Hmm.

Of course, despite his confident words, the situation was rather tangled, but what could Lee Jaehun do? He wasn’t a god, after all. The variables among humans crawling under the sky were endless.

But perhaps fortunately, the material he had at hand wasn’t too bad. If roughly three days had passed in the dream, significant time would have passed in reality too. If it suddenly turned out that ‘Ta-da! Three years have gone by!’ that would be quite disconcerting, but given the context, that didn’t seem likely.

As he expected, time had flowed similarly in reality and in the dream. His companions, unaware of Lee Jaehun’s exact state, must have felt cornered. It would be even more baffling if, after multiple suicide attempts in the dream, nothing reflected in reality. Surely, his companions would be worried and fearful, having lost a key member.

This allowed him to grab the protagonist by the collar more freely. Of course, 80% of it was genuinely because he was frustrated with the state of these fledglings, but if he hadn’t planned on putting on an act, he wouldn’t have shaken them up so easily.

‘They must have spent all their time trying to mend their broken spirits.’

But to satisfy the deal with the algae monster, he needed to push them further rather than mend their spirits. He slowly started to provoke his companions to bring up the topic he wanted.

The starting point was Kwon Yeonhee, who practically ran to him.

“Director, you’re awake?”

“……”

“How are you feeling? Is your stomach okay?”

As expected, Kwon Yeonhee was the first to rush to him with questions about his well-being.

‘A good start.’

Lee Jaehun hadn’t spent those three days idly. He thought about what to do first when he woke up and how to progress the situation to link the two survivor groups.

First of all, Kwon Yeonhee was someone who wasn’t immune to being seen as a bad person. She paid more attention to her outward appearance than average and was adept at adapting to others. Fundamentally, she respected and tried to be kind to others, so she rarely faced criticism.

In the novel, Kwon Yeonhee was deeply shocked by the death of Kang Mina, who died because Kwon Yeonhee turned a blind eye to her, and she was almost driven to suicide.

Recalling this, Lee Jaehun realized later that he probably felt guilty about it too.

‘I almost died, after all.’

Such a person had told him not to go searching for the medicine that could save him.

Some, including Jung Inho, had expressed their disagreement, but Kwon Yeonhee seemed relieved despite herself. That likely became her guilt.

Of course, it wouldn’t be as severe as in the novel. He wasn’t abandoned to die like Kang Mina; he got injured while acting on his own. Given the difference in autonomy, it wasn’t an extreme situation as in the novel.

So, this level of desperation was what he wanted.

“We were so worried….”

“……”

“…worried….”

This level of guilt was necessary.

With her current reaction, Lee Jaehun could draw the group’s attention more effectively. He could bring the fact that ‘Director Lee Jaehun was unconscious’ to the surface more clearly.

Seeing Kwon Yeonhee’s gaze fall on her split fingernails, Lee Jaehun pretended to be ignorant and asked.

“Kwon Yeonhee? What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“I’m sorry….”

Plop.

Tears she couldn’t hold back fell from her lowered head.

“I’m really sorry… I’m so worthless….”

This meant that while he was asleep, Kwon Yeonhee had been uncharacteristically deep in thought.

Seeing her trembling and crying, Lee Jaehun felt a hidden satisfaction. It seemed she had been trying to mend the rift within the group during his unconsciousness, overwhelmed by guilt.

And she probably failed.

“Because of me, Director…”

“No.”

“…But, I…”

“No, Kwon Yeonhee.”

He comforted her with kind words.

“What kind of idiot would blame you for this, huh?”

“……”

“Did you kill me? No. Did you summon some monster?”

He raised his eyebrows and furrowed his brow, looking a bit troubled, as if lamenting the current situation. His intention was to mend the rift created while he was unconscious with these comforting words.

He, the victim of the current fragile atmosphere, was consoling and reassuring everyone. With all eyes on him, he could patch things up without any resistance.

“…What, why. What.”

Since a warm consolation didn’t match his established image, he put on an awkward expression.

“…It’s nothing.”

“Good.”

Ahem.

Lee Jaehun cleared his throat and looked around at them.

“Anyway… no one else is thinking like this, right?”

Though his question wasn’t directed at anyone specific, his intent was aimed at one person. That person wouldn’t let such carefree words pass without comment.

Sure enough, Jung Inho spoke up.

“Of course, Director.”

A faint anger was hidden behind his sincere expression.

“…Don’t you think I’d be annoyed if you were all smiling so brightly, Inho?”

“Honestly, Director, this time it was your fault.”

Lee Jaehun couldn’t quite sympathize with why Jung Inho was so upset. He understood the reason while being captured by the algae monster, but still thought, ‘Why is he acting like this?’

It seemed like an unnecessarily exhausting way to live, and he also felt that, in a way, Jung Inho was still just a fledgling.

‘But it’s commendable he’s trying.’

Lee Jaehun adjusted his expression to blend into the conversation and responded to Jung Inho’s words.

“You were unconscious for two days and one night.”

“……”

“With all due respect, if our shield was unconscious for that long, how do you think the atmosphere would be?”

“…So, it’s my fault?”

“Director, you abandoned your responsibilities without a word.”

Kang Mina, who was standing nearby, looked at Jung Inho in disbelief as if asking what he was talking about, but Lee Jaehun knew what Jung Inho was aiming for with this conversation.

‘He’s trying to limit my actions.’

Additionally, he was probably trying to find out what happened with the algae monster that night.

The story was surprisingly simple. Since the persona of ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ had been revealed, Jung Inho and Lee Jaehun were in a symbiotic relationship. They both knew the team couldn’t function without each other.

There was no way the perceptive Jung Inho would suddenly self-destruct. Using such a tone that treated ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ like a tool wouldn’t be done without knowing how it would sound to the others. The fact that he went through with it, even risking tarnishing his image, meant he knew Lee Jaehun would somehow handle the situation.

Returning to the previous point, Jung Inho was still someone Lee Jaehun found very useful.

Lee Jaehun wasn’t the type to let someone like that fall out of favor with the group, and Jung Inho knew Lee Jaehun well enough to corner him, ensuring he couldn’t avoid the topic.

‘If that happens, I’ll have to promise not to do it again…’

Moreover, once the situation reached that point, Inho would probably ask about the algae monster incident. With Lee Jaehun backed into a corner, he’d have no choice but to provide the answers.

‘He must be curious about exactly what happened.’

Scratching his neck, coughing up blood, spacing out, doing dumb things, getting hurt.

They probably thought Lee Jaehun started acting strangely after the algae monster incident. Even if their thoughts varied, anyone with a bit of sense would have noticed that was the turning point. Naturally, they’d want to hear what happened that day directly from him.

But Lee Jaehun had no intention of revealing the details of the algae monster incident yet.

He needed to review the coherence of the hastily created narrative and needed more time to craft a more solid story. Most importantly, to proceed with his plan, it wasn’t time to discuss the algae monster yet.

‘Still… this was pretty clever.’

A thin sense of elation filled him.

‘Yeah, this is why I nurture them.’

There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing the results of your efforts firsthand.

It seemed Lee Jaehun hadn’t done nothing while he was unconscious. There were awkward attempts at building a barrier, and Kang Mina looked better than expected. The protagonist seemed to be shedding his fledgling status, which gave Lee Jaehun a faint sense of pride. It was a growth much faster and healthier than what the novel depicted.

This world valued both physical and emotional strength. Despite their instinctive aversion to treating people as tools for extreme efficiency, the fact that the protagonist himself took that small step made Lee Jaehun feel a swell of joy he had to suppress.

Still, he found the sight of the cunning fledgling calculating away rather unpleasant.

“That’s right.”

“……”

“It’s definitely my fault.”

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

‘They must be quite shocked.’

Lee Jaehun smirked inwardly.

What Jung Inho failed to realize was that Lee Jaehun had no intention of keeping the group harmonious at the moment.

Jung Inho probably expected Lee Jaehun to smooth things over after extracting a confirmation, hoping to clear the animosity against him. Normally, he would have played along with Jung Inho’s intentions, but now he had a reason not to. A clear, compelling reason.

First was the seamless integration of the other survivor group, and second was the deal with the algae monster.

‘It’s time to cut down the excessively built-up goodwill.’

They had been a fairly harmonious team.

That was because Lee Jaehun had been taking care of the most painful and challenging tasks. He had managed his image to gain the protagonist’s group’s trust, so it would be unfair if they weren’t harmonious.

But Lee Jaehun was willing to go to any lengths for the development of the fledglings and his own share of wealth. He covered their mistakes, managed their morale, and ensured they had essential supplies for survival. It had only been a month, but by now, they should have felt a minimal level of comfort with the current group.

And now, Lee Jaehun created a rift that couldn’t be easily mended.

‘By showing them I’m a madman,’

The group would question their comfort so far.

Their comfort came from a semblance of trust. But seeing this different side of Lee Jaehun, could they still trust him? They’d likely feel betrayed, thinking their trust in him was misplaced.

Given the environment of the otherworld, they might not fully comprehend the situation. But even fledglings would instinctively feel that something was wrong.

“Sorry.”

“……”

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

They might have thought everything was fine, but they’d now realize it was flawed from the start. With this, Lee Jaehun could turn their affection into a negative.

Despite everything, he still felt like part of the ‘protagonist’s group.’

‘…Ah.’

Satisfying.

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