Theatrical Regression Life

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Kang Mina didn’t seem like it, but she was quite curious, and while her actions might seem awkward, she wasn’t stupid. That’s why she inevitably had accumulated some insight while rising to the position of a team leader at a large corporation.

Moreover, unlike with others, Jung Inho had been her colleague in the same department for quite some time. They hadn’t had many heart-to-heart conversations, even at company dinners, but despite the age gap, they could easily call each other ‘friends.’

With such a person, Team Leader Kang couldn’t help but notice the changes.

Jung Inho is diligent. Whether it’s handling tasks or even his appearance, he’s consistent. He’s been asked to introduce himself to peers from other departments occasionally, thanks to his smooth face. It seemed like he had it all covered.

But occasionally, he’d make some silly jokes on such topics. Sometimes they’d genuinely elicit awkward laughter, and sometimes they’d just leave everyone feeling awkward. Yet, regardless of the reaction, Jung Inho would smile cheerfully, seemingly enjoying the responses.

Diligent and capable, yet not perfect. A somewhat sloppy friend…

To Kang Mina, that’s who Jung Inho was, sometimes a source of support, and sometimes just frustrating. And in society’s eyes, perhaps such traits were seen as humanizing.

But when she fell into this grotesque and strange world, Kang Mina couldn’t see Jung Inho’s silly side anymore.

“You’ve changed?”

“…Just a bit. Yeah, you have.”

Suddenly, Jung Inho’s voice seemed to falter. But Kang Mina didn’t have the time or the composure to backtrack on what she had just said.

“I thought maybe it was just because you were tired… but I don’t know.”

“…”

“I’m not sure.”

Well, actually, she had a hunch.

Maybe everyone hides so much.

Director Lee Jaehun does it, so does Jung Inho, who they were chatting with last night, and even the doctor. Though everyone pretends to be adults, they all seem to hide a lot and be quite sensitive.

That’s why Kang Mina knew that Jung Inho had changed. Perhaps she had always known that Jung Inho had a lot hidden beneath the surface.

However, there were facts that were better left unknown, and Kang Mina still wished she didn’t know. If she hadn’t noticed the strange gap and the gradual changes in many people, things would have been smoother.

As she felt the void left by just one person, Kang Mina realized something else.

“But… you’ve still changed.”

Aside from the fact that Jung Inho was hiding, there was something different about him.

“I’m not sure what you mean. Why would I…”

“You’ve been particularly attentive to me and Yeonseok. It wasn’t like this before, between us.”

“…”

“Why are you worrying about us unilaterally?”

Though she wasn’t angry, a hint of irritation seeped into her tone.

Both Director Lee Jaehun and Deputy Jung Inho, they were so selfishly one-sided in their kindness that it became almost painful. Nobody had ever agreed to their kindness.

It wasn’t that she disliked it, no. Well, she couldn’t say she entirely disliked it, but Kang Mina, being a person with integrity, couldn’t bring herself to resent their kindness. Especially if that kindness involved the other person’s blood and flesh.

So, when Director Lee Jaehun came back without a word or when Deputy Jung Inho stared at them with those dark eyes, it felt somehow eerie and suffocating.

As someone not very articulate, she couldn’t express it properly.

“It’s just…”

However, from some point on, Deputy Jung Inho would sometimes look at them with an intensely silent gaze.

Like looking at a corpse. So, it felt like he was looking at something weak, waiting to die.

“Say something.”

“…No, I’m just feeling a bit sensitive, I guess.”

Kang Mina managed to swallow her words.

Regardless, the fact remained that Jung Inho was concerned about them, and that was kindness, in whatever form it took. Associating the word ‘corpse’ with such kindness was not only impolite but could also cause unnecessary hurt.

“I guess I was just being sensitive. Sorry, Inho-ssi.”

“…I guess I’m feeling sensitive too.”

“Yeah, we’re all tired…”

Kang Mina felt like Jung Inho’s words sounded like an excuse.

Like a child making various excuses when scolded by their parents, he seemed to be hiding something within the word ‘sensitive’, hoping to avoid further reprimands. It was quite odd, indeed.

‘…No one else heard it.’

For a moment, she felt relieved that nobody else was listening to their conversation. The conversation just now was not at all mature; it was simply straightforward and childish. It was fortunate that nobody was listening, for the sake of Jung Inho’s dignity or her own.

Embracing the sudden silence, Kang Mina slowly looked around.

“…”

The trees swayed in the windless air.

With no airflow reaching her skin or ears, she wondered how the trees could sway so naturally, as if responding to something.

This world seemed to behave strangely, almost as if it wanted to erase people’s gaze completely.

A common roadside tree towered above her head. Even though March had just begun, the chirping of insects could be heard. The sky, devoid of any color or clouds, loomed grandly through the lush foliage. The world had a talent for driving people crazy to the point where all of this could be considered our hallucination.

She lowered her head and scanned the group.

Kwon Yeonhee was trying to engage in conversation with the siblings, while Yeonseok seemed to be concentrating on calming his jittery nerves, as he mentioned earlier. Yoon Garam, the flower shop owner, was inspecting lush trees and plants, and Doctor Ha Sungyoon, who was rescued with her, was organizing his belongings inside his coat.

And Deputy Jung Inho was staring at the freshly crushed ivy with his dark eyes.

“…”

It was eerie,

Spine-chilling.

Despite the presence of someone undoubtedly speaking among us, it felt as if we were simply in the midst of silence, and although everyone was together, each seemed blocked by their own barriers. Like insects or dolls clinging stubbornly, with meaningless roles assigned, staring at me alone.

Kang Mina lowered her gaze and saw the hammer I was holding.

The shining metal lump, which had never been used in the company before, exuded an inexplicable disgust as it was covered in the juice of the ivy I had just struck down.

Just as my mind was beginning to go blank, a strange voice was heard.

“…Who are you?”

“!”

The unfamiliar voice shattered our silence.

Kang Mina unconsciously tightened her grip on the hammer, and Jung Inho, who was standing in front, took a step forward in front of everyone. Unable to confirm anything further, she suddenly felt like she saw Doctor Ha Sungyoon putting his hand in his pocket.

Whether it was a startled reaction to the clear boundary or a calculated judgment, the man raised both hands to indicate he had no intention of attacking us. It was an uncommon gesture in gun-free Korea, but strangely, it didn’t feel awkward at the moment.

The man spoke with a slightly hoarse voice.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“…..”

“I apologize for approaching you so suddenly, I was in a hurry.”

The man who emerged from the bushes seemed awkward even saying that himself.

As he slowly lowered his raised hands, he seemed to think that he wouldn’t pose a significant threat due to the number of people present.

Clad in a beige coat, the man instinctively reached towards the inside of his jacket, then hesitated and withdrew his hand.

“….Oh.”

It seemed like he had intended to retrieve something but realized he couldn’t, so instead, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“I’m Detective Hong Kyungjun.”

“A detective?”

“Yes, I’m looking for someone…”

The tired-looking detective met eyes with Jung Inho and for some reason, bit his lip, then sighed before continuing.

“…If it’s alright with you, may I ask you a few questions?”

* * *

The conflict between the protagonist and Detective Hong Kyungjun is inevitable.

Firstly, the protagonist was as repulsive as Lee Jaehun himself would admit.

‘Right now, he’s just a chick going through some minor adolescence issues, but…’

Secondly, the main reason lies undoubtedly with Detective Hong Kyungjun. Being an important character in the story, his name was remembered accurately, and his consistent demeanor was unforgettable.

He harbored a deep hatred for criminals yet believed in punishing them according to the law. While admirable as a detective, it was frustrating how Hong Kyungjun upheld the law even in the underworld where there was no distinction between humans and beasts.

Even with a serial killer among them, he persisted with his rigid sense of justice.

‘No wonder the protagonist is irritated, right?’

While the protagonist pursued kindness, there was a missing piece in his character, and in that absence, Jung Inho’s flexibility shone through. At the very least, he could accommodate the results of humanity’s erosion in this lawless underworld.

But Detective Hong Kyungjun was different. He sought to uphold even the minimal standards of law in this repulsive underworld, which, considering his professional duty, was righteous and noble.

‘The funny thing is, he himself has reservations about giving criminals the minimum treatment they deserve.’

Initially, South Korea had essentially abolished the death penalty long ago. In the underworld, where it was impossible to escape and properly punish criminals, insisting on following the law only frustrated the protagonist.

‘Even to the point where Constable Kim died.’

Human nature tends to get arrogant when things are going well. Despite relying on others for safety, some people confidently assert their opinions without any basis, usually ending up in trouble.

It’s a predictable repertoire, but then again, what creature is as predictable as humans?

Pushed by the arrogant remarks of both the protagonist and the serial killer, Constable Kim died. She, who was just a small flower of hope in the hands of a mere human, died, leaving the protagonist mentally shattered.

‘Amidst all this, talking about laws and justice, sitting down, that’s the kind of ending they’ll get.’

While Lee Jaehun could adapt himself to others if needed, Inho wouldn’t, and with other members likely to support him, the chance of chaos when Detective Hong Kyungjun and Jung Inho meet was incredibly high.

From the start, the protagonist and the detective didn’t have a good compatibility even without any other reasons.

One lacked flexibility, compensating for his shortcomings with adaptability, while the other, despite having flexibility, was fundamentally naive.

‘Yet both claim to pursue righteousness and justice, which is quite ironic.’

After Constable Kim’s death, Jung Inho calmly undermined the detective’s mental state with his surreal logic. Despite appearing fine until the protagonist left the park, Detective Hong Kyungjun eventually succumbed to the swamp-like depths, drowned by various reasons, including the fact that he was overwhelmed by the tide of facts and ended up making an extreme choice after a series of conflicts with Inho and the uproar of the gathered people.

Of course, all of this stemmed from the intense conflict between Jung Inho and Detective Hong, the relentless questioning by the gathered crowd, and the detective’s extreme choice after being overwhelmed by fact-based violence following Constable Kim’s death.

‘It’s not just about the bad compatibility.’

Besides the poor compatibility, there were many other problems, and among these myriad issues was one that turned Jaehun’s stomach inside out, a factor that even he, who had read this world like a book, almost missed.

He muttered through minor pains, “So when exactly did the regression happen…?”

The fact that the protagonist had regressed was the crux of the matter.

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