Theatrical Regression Life

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Jung Inho was losing his mind.

Though he had a knack for hiding anything, most people didn’t catch on. However, just as Team Leader Kang Mina, had glimpsed his disturbing side, Jung Inho’s inner self had become so twisted and distorted that his original form was barely recognizable.

Indeed, many things had fallen apart before him.

First, it was Team Leader Kang Mina and Noh Yeonseok, the intern, before they returned to the past. Second, it was Lee Jaehun, the director, whose death remained a mystery. They were all mangled like fresh meat.

And thirdly, it was the Employee Kwon Yeonhee, who had moved on from Lee Jaehun’s death.

“…….”

For the first time in his life, Jung Inho saw someone’s skin catch fire.

“Aaaaah, no, no, no…!”

“…Ah.”

That revulsion drove people insane.

In fact, just the fact that Jung Inho had rushed without seeing the end of Director Lee Jaehun’s death was already a testament to his patience.

He was sure he would regret not seeing the end of whoever was protecting them, but still, Jung Inho chose the path of regret. If he was going to regret it anyway, it was better to save at least one more person.

It was the right path and action as a human being, and it was courtesy to his colleagues who had been together all this time.

“Aaah, no, ugh…!”

“……”

“Uh, ah….”

But even that was shattered for Jung Inho.

Following Director Lee Jaehun’s instructions, he found Kwon Yeonhee, but for some reason, she was screaming with her whole body on fire, and he saw two students in school uniforms running away from a distance.

“…Water. We need water.”

“The lake is too far from here!”

“Then, use sand! No, cover with outer clothing…”

All sorts of jumbled knowledge came to Jung Inho’s mind.

If that fire was caused by oil, adding water would only worsen the situation. Then, should he block the air to extinguish the fire? But then, how could he possibly put out the fire clinging to her body? Am I speaking the right words? Am I making the right judgment?

He struggled to regain his composure. Despite his efforts, Jung Inho couldn’t regain his senses, and in the end, despite trying to remove the fire from her body, Kwon Yeonhee couldn’t survive.

She only wanted to live.

“I… I.”

“……”

“Wanted… to live…”

“……”

“……”

Yet, she died.

Her tongue, melted by the intense heat, stuck to the roof of her mouth as she spoke in a faint voice, with mangled words.

How pitiful it was to see a blackened corpse that couldn’t utter a single word before dying.

“…Ah.”

Suddenly, he wondered if putting out the fire would have been the right thing to do.

With no proper medicine or bandages, would Kwon Yeonhee, whose skin and organs were all twisted, have survived even if he had taken the fire away from her?

Since she couldn’t survive, perhaps it was more humane for her to die without further suffering, he thought. And then, he had another thought. Would someone who fell into the fire originally die so quickly? Well, perhaps it could have felt like time passed quickly due to the urgency of the situation. Or maybe it was just part of the influence of this world, where the mind had a significant impact.

Various ambiguous thoughts gnawed at his mind, but there was only one thing certain.

“…..Ugh, ugh….”

“……”

“Ah, ughhh….”

No one was saved.

Having witnessed the deaths of four people in an instant, Yoon Garam acted as if she had lost half of her mind, and Jung Inho felt a dissonance between reality and the glassy-eyed grief of her cries. Perhaps that’s why, instead of tears, he felt a hollow ache in his chest and couldn’t show any reaction.

Nevertheless, Dr. Ha Sungyoon demanded that he do something productive.

“It’s evening. The fire is spreading throughout the forest, so we’ll have some visibility for a while, but if too much time passes, it’ll be disadvantageous for us.”

“…So what do you suggest?”

“We need to find a place to rest.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t utter abstract phrases like ‘Those in the mountains must survive’. It was genuinely fortunate.

After staying up all night with bleary eyes, Jung Inho found the spot where he last saw Director Lee Jaehun. For some reason, the traces left by the fading flames remained vividly in that spot without spreading elsewhere.

“……”

“…Oh no.”

However, there were only bloodstains left behind, with no sign of a body.

He felt his heart sink, but unfortunately, he remained outwardly composed. Perhaps he had become accustomed to seeing too many deaths.

Dr. Ha Sungyoon, who was watching him, spoke up.

“There’s no body.”

“…But it doesn’t seem like he survived either.”

Merely the absence of a body wasn’t enough to speculate on Director Lee Jaehun’s survival; unfortunately, there was too much spilled blood. Even Jung Inho, with no medical knowledge, couldn’t imagine him surviving.

Instead, something dull had left traces of blood, and Jung Inho couldn’t help but hide a smile at the thought.

“If we follow those traces…”

“……”

“We might find out where that monster lives.”

That ruthlessly efficient person had disappeared, leaving behind gains instead of a body until the very end.

Afterward, Jung Inho, almost possessed, sought ways to survive the remaining journey against the leech monsters.

When and where the monster appeared, how it operated, what it desired. Eventually, he realized that the blood-filled larvae inhabiting the trees would make excellent bait to lure the monster.

Looking back now, it seems like Dr. Ha Sungyoon might have had some ulterior motives, but at the time, there was no room for thinking about anything else. We were just focused on surviving.

“……”

If Director Lee Jaehun had been alive, things might have been better now.

We found the bait, but even that had its limits. There weren’t enough blood-spewing larvae to save everyone. So, it meant reaching ‘all’ people, excluding our group.

Yes, the survivors in the park weren’t just them.

“I’m Detective Hong Kyungjun.”

“Detective?”

“Yes, I’m looking for people…”

And then, Jung Inho met the detective who introduced himself as Hong Kyungjun.

The detective, expressionless but with a tired face, bit his lips when his eyes met Jung Inho’s, and then spoke as if exhaling a sigh.

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

“……”

Upon reflection, if Director Lee Jaehun had been alive, things would have been better now.

He was already losing his mind from the beginning, unlike myself. Gradually going insane, he had already adapted, almost like creating a whole new personality, yet he remained remarkably adept at interacting with people.

If he had been alive, he would have been better off than Jung Inho at least.

“…What are you curious about?”

He would have made a better choice.

* * *

“Yeah, I’m the director. Can’t keep your mind straight?”

“……”

“I saw your eyes just now. Saw you exerting some force. What’s this guy trying to pull…”

“Director.”

Deputy Jung Inho, unfazed by the grip on his collar, repeated his words.

“……”

“Director.”

That call held a faint trace of fanaticism.

The eyes, previously unfocused like a distorted figure through fog, flickered a few times before settling into a dark gaze fixed on Lee Jaehun. It was a black light that could never be obtained from pigments or lighting, staring at him.

As Jung Inho’s eyes gradually focused, Lee Jaehun swallowed a sigh.

“What.”

“…You’re alive.”

“And? Want me to die?”

“No.”

Jung Inho smiled at him with dark eyes.

“Thank goodness.”

“……”

It was a disturbingly sincere face.

Lee Jaehun felt his consciousness slipping away, his mind wandering aimlessly. He had been pessimistic about his role in parenting up to this point, but honestly, it was all just a joke.

‘It was really partly a joke.’

Think about it. Compared to crawling infants, they were literally adults who drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. These kids were practically grown-ups; what parenting did they need?

After all, the word ‘parenting’ itself means ‘to rear children’. The parenting he had in mind for the group was more about managing and helping these grown adults with their mental states, rather than raising them like innocent children.

But yes, he had been wrong. Yeah, I messed up. Seeing the team member complaining about being left alone for a moment and the protagonist on the verge of losing it completely, even Lee Jaehun himself had to blame himself, despite the protagonist staring at him with dark eyes.

‘I shouldn’t have trusted this guy…’

Well, trusting this clueless chick was my own stupidity. I’m an idiot, whatever.

Feeling thoroughly disappointed, Lee Jaehun let go of the collar he had been holding with one hand.

“What the hell is going on during my absence…”

He frowned at the sight of the other members looking at us with round eyes.

“Why do you all look like that? Did someone die?”

“…It’s Director Lee…”

“…Oh, for God’s sake, what now…”

Lee Jaehun flinched at the murmurs coming from the group, hunching his shoulders in alarm.

As soon as he heard the voice, he knew it was Kwon Yeonhee on the verge of tears. Standing by her sibling, she approached him hesitantly, her movements reminiscent of approaching a skittish stray cat.

With a voice trembling with unknown emotions, Kwon Yeonhee spoke up.

“Why, why did you all come back like that, dead…”

“……”

“If someone saw, they’d think we’re zombies…”

As Lee Jaehun pondered those words, dumbfounded, he couldn’t help but ask.

“…Is that something you should say to the director?”

How much did this kid even see me for him to suddenly call me a zombie out of nowhere?

In response to Lee Jaehun’s words, Dr. Ha Sungyoon gave him a wry smile. Although nothing was explicitly said, the complex emotions were palpable, and as if waiting for it, Ha Sungyoon asked.

“Director, is it appropriate for you to say that? Concerning yourself?”

“Well, even in this situation, there’s still a position to uphold. Coming from a big-shot director like you, calling me a zombie, is this how a company operates?”

“This isn’t a company. Without laws, how do you expect to survive?”

“No one even died, what…”

Of course, it wasn’t a conversation held with 100% sincerity.

“I do look a bit like a beggar now.”

It’s understandable. Who could rest easy when the person who used to hold the team together got dragged away by a monster? There were probably more than a few people tossing and turning in their beds at midnight.

Wiping his neck, Lee Jaehun noticed bloodstains he couldn’t identify. It had been quite some time since they arrived here, so it should have dried up by now, but the blood on his hands and wrists still felt slippery, as if it had just flowed. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, despite being something he had always considered.

Separate from that, partly due to the familiar sensation, his mind momentarily blurred, but Lee Jaehun quickly shook it off, casting a glance at the group staring back at him.

“…Are you injured anywhere?”

Even though he felt like he could collapse from exhaustion, he couldn’t afford to neglect his image management.

“I was with that monster, so there shouldn’t have been any major issues, but still…”

“Is that what you want to say right now, Director?”

“No, I mean, people should just worry a bit, you know? Why are you so twisted up about it?”

“You come back looking like a zombie after being with that monster, and you’re worried about us, who are perfectly fine.”

“Don’t I get to worry too?”

Anyway, this was within manageable limits.

“I should just think of them as ten-year-old kids from now on.”

While Lee Jaehun conversed with Dr. Ha Sungyoon, he glanced at the other members of the group.

If they were in such a state that recovery or dealing with it would be impossible or difficult due to mental breakdown, even Lee Jaehun’s skilled management wouldn’t have been effective. However, seeing the members gradually firming up, it didn’t seem like it was a dire situation.

“I swear…”

Lee Jaehun let out a faint sigh and dropped the pipe he was holding in his hand.

The pipe made a dull noise as it hit the ground and grass, but the group’s attention turned to him as he immediately sat down heavily on the spot. Although they had been staring at him with wide eyes and smirking, the bodies of the siblings seemed to tremble slightly.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Dr. Ha Sungyoon approached and lightly tapped the shoulder of Deputy Jung Inho, who was standing next to him in a daze.

“….”

With a gesture implying he should pull himself together, Jung Inho blinked his eyes several times.

Ignoring Jung Inho’s condition, Dr. Ha Sungyoon knelt down beside Lee Jaehun, pulling off his shirt stained with Lee Jaehun’s blood and began speaking.

“You came back after everyone else had died.”

“Why are you suddenly picking a fight?”

“As doctors like us, there aren’t many patients as difficult as you, Director. You get hurt, we heal you, then you get hurt again…”

“…..”

“…Hmm.”

He paused as he looked at the bruise on Lee Jaehun’s neck.

After blinking once, he discreetly raised the collar of the shirt to hide it from the others’ gaze. It was a natural gesture, but Lee Jaehun knew that the protagonist was watching everything with his dark eyes.

After a moment of silence, the doctor chuckled with his characteristic gentle voice.

“It’s fortunate that you’re alive.”

“You don’t need to say that.”

For some reason, it sounded like an insult.

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