Theatrical Regression Life

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Lee Jaehun knew a man named Jung Inho well.

He knew him from his past life as a character in a novel, and in his current life, he knew him as a subordinate. The protagonist of this world, Jung Inho, was truly an exceptionally repulsive guy.

He had a lot of thoughts.

‘If he just stumbled on nonsense, it would be annoying enough.’

But instead, he was not only not very smart, but also repulsive.

Once he defined someone, he would find the 1% of facts that even he couldn’t agree with, and then he would doubt it. He behaved somewhat normally, but if not for that, everyone around him would have run away.

‘In that sense, thinking of my past life, I must be a difficult existence for Deputy Jung to understand.’

At first glance, it seemed like he had just changed a bit, but in a way, it seemed like he had been hiding his true personality all along. Just when you thought someone was selfish, they would sacrifice themselves to save their companions. There was no one more perplexing to Deputy Jung, who used to despise the old Lee Jaehun.

Thanks to that, Lee Jaehun always received suspicious looks from Deputy Jung.

‘I think he constantly watches me because his perception of me keeps changing.’

Is there a more troublesome chick than Lee Jaehun, who hides the fact that he remembers his past life?

Deputy Jung Inho was truly a repulsive character even for Lee Jaehun, or rather, precisely because he was such a character, Lee Jaehun worried about the protagonist who was looking for him. More precisely, he worried about the events that would occur because of such a protagonist.

‘I hope nobody loses their mind and starts hitting anyone.’

Having finally managed to break free from Constable Kim, who had been clinging to him, Lee Jaehun crossed the park, trying hard to swallow his unease.

Back when he used to run, it was so dark that he couldn’t see anything, but thanks to having memorized the layout of the park in advance, it was not difficult for him to find the desired spot.

So, the unease came not from Lee Jaehun himself, but from the mentally unstable chicks.

“At my age, dealing with parenting, damn.”

Crunch.

He stepped on a vine that was creeping towards him with the heel of his shoe.

Although he had somewhat stopped the bleeding, the smell of blood still lingered. Even though the vines weren’t sea monsters, occasional sluggish vines caught his eye. Actually, even though sea monsters were nocturnal, it wasn’t an absolute truth, which made him even more anxious.

It was somewhat like humans. Even someone peacefully sleeping could suddenly wake up at the smell of crispy chicken grease, or be jolted awake by an external shock. Similarly, if there was a tempting smell or any other issue arose, even the sea monster peacefully sleeping could easily wake up.

And because of that, Lee Jaehun was extremely anxious by now about what the protagonist and his group might be up to.

‘If blood spills here, it’s all screwed.’

Though Lee Jaehun wasn’t one to drip blood everywhere, precisely because of that, the protagonist needed to stay calm. Mentally, it wouldn’t be good for the less experienced chicks to become targets for monsters.

But the timing was not ideal. Just when the protagonist’s mental fatigue was about to reach its peak, Lee Jaehun got dragged off by the vines, partly intentional, of course. Deputy Jung Inho, who had been somewhat relieved, might have been at least somewhat shocked.

‘Even if he’s a stubborn old boss, seeing someone being dragged away right in front of you can’t be ignored.’

So he was uneasy. Normally, one would think the repulsive protagonist would handle things decently, but such repulsive characters tend to go into overdrive when they lose self-control.

And based on Lee Jaehun’s experience, situations where they went into overdrive didn’t end well.

‘Of course, the likelihood of internal turmoil is low.’

If it happens, there must be an external cause.

After Lee Jaehun disappeared, the group would have all turned to Jung Inho as the focal point. In that case, Deputy Jung would temporarily become the leader, which meant that the only members who hadn’t been favorable to him, the siblings, would likely defer to Jung Inho, who was strong and astute.

Looking for a silver lining here, the fact that Jung Inho had become the leader meant that they could pass off their burden to him. It would have been even better if there were no other survivors in this park, but alas.

Lee Jaehun muttered with a bitter expression.

“…I shouldn’t kill.”

He recalled the contents of the novel.

The sacrificed character, Constable Kim, had wanted to live till the end, yet was sacrificed, and it was then that Jung Inho first killed someone. It was needless to say that the naive detective went wild even more. Even if the deceased were a murderer who had taken many lives.

Then, the situation would get really tangled.

Primarily, the detective’s guard would be upgraded, and directly, the protagonist and his group would likely lose their composure, and above all, the ecosystem of this parallel world would go crazy.

Since the parallel world is influenced by human consciousness, acts of murder here result in far more terrible consequences than one can imagine. The less experienced chicks had enough power for that.

Of course, in this sudden situation, the protagonist wouldn’t kill someone. Regardless of the chicks’ humanity, there was no reason for him to do so. In other words, there was no benefit.

‘But then again, you never know.’

There’s a difference between directly killing someone and indirectly causing their death.

Sometimes, dilemmas like this arise.

Humans could push the same person off a cliff edge directly, or they could indirectly lead them to jump off the cliff themselves. Which one is more sinister has been a puzzle with a long history.

In the latter case, it’s even more perplexing because the perpetrator may not even realize that they’ve hurt the other person. After all, there are no easy answers when it comes to issues intertwined with humanity.

However, if the protagonist were to become such a perpetrator, he wouldn’t deny responsibility even after seeing the outcome.

And that’s why Lee Jaehun had to find the group before the friction he saw in the novel occurred.

The character who committed suicide in the 19-rated gritty survival story was none other than the detective.

* * *

I’ll kill if necessary.

* * *

Kang Mina wasn’t a brave person.

“…”

Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s ever sunk into intense self-loathing.

Though it might have been the case when she was very young, now she was an adult, and part of being a proper adult meant acknowledging and accepting one’s limitations to contribute properly.

However, the reason why she, who hadn’t shown much mental strength so far, could work at one of the leading domestic corporations was because her limitations fell within socially acceptable boundaries.

Squelch.

“Ugh…”

Kang Mina sighed as she looked at the crushed mass of vines.

“Mina, Mina-ssi. Are you okay?”

“Yes… Yes, I’m okay. I’m okay.”

Even to herself, the voice that involuntarily burst out sounded pitifully strained. Within her field of vision, she could see Jung Inho’s round pupils.

“…Uh….”

Lowering her head, Kang Mina looked at the vine she had crushed herself.

“….”

It was a form she had never seen before in her life.

Suddenly, Kang Mina struck the vine that had sprouted out with the hammer she was holding. At first, it glanced off, and Deputy Jung hurriedly approached her upon seeing it.

But just before he reached her, Kang Mina managed to crush it with a shudder of revulsion.

However, for some reason.

“…Hm.”

For an unknown reason, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the repulsive form, rendering her unable to even speak.

As if those vines had turned into forks and pinned her eyeballs, her head throbbed with pain, tingling, and brain freeze as if she had indulged in a full serving of ice cream without restraint.

Despite the liquid scattered by the vines showing no signs of red, why did it smell like blood? Why did it appear red? Maybe because I was already crazy, I couldn’t even recognize blood as blood and ended up hitting someone.

Just as she was about to suffocate in this agony, a familiar voice shook Kang Mina awake.

“Are you injured anywhere? Your hands, are they okay?”

“…Yes, I’m okay. Just… just.”

It was just because it was repulsive.

She felt a wave of nausea rise momentarily and she bit her lips hard, covering her mouth with one hand.

She suddenly remembered a habit of someone who was not present in this place now.

“….”

The boss sometimes used to cover his mouth with his hand like this.

As if hiding something. As if suppressing something that shouldn’t be shown. It seemed like he covered his mouth like that without even realizing it.

Hesitatingly, Kang Mina bit her lip and ultimately kept her lips tightly sealed, unable to utter a single word. With her courage as low as it was, there was simply no way she could bring herself to say anything, and the current atmosphere among the group wasn’t conducive to introducing new topics. She didn’t want to speak out.

Instead, she decided to express her frustration, which she couldn’t vent anywhere else.

“I just… don’t feel well.”

“It seems like this world has that kind of effect. Just like Yeonseok threw up right after leaving the company.”

“Ah…”

Kang Mina blinked and then glanced at Noh Yeonseok, the intern.

“Why… why?”

“Are you okay?”

“Well, not really…”

He uttered such brief words and then closed his mouth again.

It wasn’t so much that he had nothing to say as it was a reaction to the sudden nausea that had come up physiologically, just like Kang Mina’s reaction earlier.

And with that, the atmosphere among the group sank even further.

“…If you’re feeling really unwell, I’d like to suggest staying back and resting, but since everyone seems exhausted, it would be risky to go alone. I apologize for having to make this unavoidable decision.”

Kang Mina nodded at Jung Inho’s words.

“No, really, it’s okay. Of course, everyone must be tired, but…”

“…”

“If you’re alone, yeah. It’s even more dangerous.”

She didn’t expect everyone to empathize with her words.

In a situation where one’s stomach is churning and ears are ringing, nobody would want to walk on such a rugged forest path, and it was actually more dangerous to have only a few people left, just as Jung Inho said.

Kang Mina wasn’t brave and was quite timid, but she had risen to the position of a supervisor at a major corporation. Occasionally, she received scoldings from her boss for being ‘scatterbrained’, but it was a testament to her intelligence.

She realized that speaking up like this would empower Jung Inho and quell the dissatisfaction of those who disagreed with his choice.

“…We need to rally around Inho-ssi.”

Kang Mina was a fearful person.

Despite her efforts to wield the hammer, the sensation of the vine being crushed still sent shivers down her spine, and she thought that among them, the person best suited to lead them was Jung Inho. If she could empower him with a few words, it would be better than putting on a facade.

In response to her words, Jung Inho looked at Kang Mina with his dark eyes and soon flashed his usual smile.

A gentle and neat smile.

“Thank you.”

“…”

Kang Mina felt an inexplicable eeriness.

“…But, something….”

Something seemed to have changed.

She looked at the hammer in her hand and then quickly adjusted her grip on it.

When they entered the cold, empty underground room, it felt like the eerie anticipation just before a horror movie begins. In Jung Inho’s smile, she sensed a discomfort reminiscent of that chilling feeling.

Of course, it was inevitable for people to change in such situations. Kang Mina was well aware of that fact. Even she felt overwhelmed and on the verge of breaking down. Despite being timid and seemingly insignificant, it was an excessive reaction.

“….”

This world is a bit strange.

Just by moving around and looking at the world with her eyes, she felt a sense of unease with each step she took. The world she saw with her eyes, though undoubtedly filled with color, appeared black and white, confusing her mind. It felt like watching a glitched program that was meant to be created but failed.

In such a world, people could change in any way.

Even those like Yeonseok, who were usually sociable and talkative, became noticeably pale as their words decreased significantly. And even Kwon Yeonhee, who used to exude lively charisma at work, had a stiffening expression.

‘Others may not have seen it for so long, but they must have felt at least some minimal change. It’s a change that living beings instinctively experience.’

As Kang Mina gripped the hammer tightly and looked around at the people, she quietly muttered to herself, thinking about the empty seats.

‘Even the director… has changed.’

Whether that could be expressed with the word ‘change’ or not, Kang Mina wasn’t sure.

Normally, Kang Mina harbored a faint sense of fear towards Director Lee Jaehun.

He always seemed stern, quick to anger over trivial matters, and occasionally, when he laughed, it felt oddly uncomfortable. Kang Mina could easily sense that there was no hint of consideration or softness in his gaze towards them.

Even Director Lee Jaehun, after coming to this world, had changed.

His tone had become a bit more composed, although the lack of consideration in his gaze remained, his actions were consistently helpful towards them. Occasionally, he still got irritated or clicked his tongue like before, but strangely, it didn’t feel as unpleasant as it used to.

“Yeah, that’s true but…”

“…Mina-ssi, are you okay? Should I take the hammer?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Really, I’m fine.”

Kang Mina shook her head gently in response to Yeonhee’s cautious inquiry. While her hands were trembling slightly from the recent incident with the vine, she still didn’t feel comfortable passing this task on to someone else.

Instead, she recalled Director Lee Jaehun in her mind. His gaze.

‘It’s not that he changed, it’s not that he changed here…’

Wasn’t it like peeling off a layer of covering cloth?

The moment she recalled it, Kang Mina suddenly remembered the time before leaving the company. It was when they were resting in an office after being chased by monsters, and Director Lee Jaehun asked them a question.

‘The one with the safety pin.’

‘Y-yes?’

‘Well, it’s unlikely.’

And then maybe he went to find some bandages.

At that time, they were too preoccupied to dwell on it, but no matter how she thought about it, it seemed like a strange context. Looking back, Director Lee Jaehun seemed to have been looking for a safety pin to treat wounds.

Kang Mina remembered Director Lee Jaehun with red blood flowing from spider legs piercing his body. Specifically, scenes where invisible wounds were mended as he staunchly pressed bandages onto them with sutures and needles.

Having never seen such wounds before, Kang Mina didn’t know what Director Lee Jaehun intended to do with the safety pin. However, even with limited medical knowledge, she knew how sutures were used in surgery.

She knew how it would happen, imagining the rough thread by the thick needle, crossing through the holes in the skin.

It was an unprecedented situation, but just the thought of it made her feel queasy…

“…”

Suddenly, a question arose in her mind.

Had the manager, Director Lee Jaehun, truly changed after coming to this world?

“Hmm.”

Stopping her train of thought there, Kang Mina consciously halted the flow of thoughts in her mind.

The weariness and lethargy, along with a lazy urge to scratch her throat, made her pause.

Kang Mina turned her gaze to Jung Inho standing at the front.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“….”

“Just…”

As usual, Kang Mina was about to swallow her words, but in a sudden surge of impulse, she spoke out.

“You’ve changed.”

Many things, including her, were changing rapidly, without a chance to intervene.

She felt fear in that change.

* * *

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