Theatrical Regression Life

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“Perhaps you’ve had a difficult night, causing your judgment to be clouded. You’ve said quite a lot already, and it’s not good for this poor doctor’s heart.”

“…Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Oh my, you had a lot to say. I apologize.”

Of course, he didn’t seem apologetic at all.

Doctor Ha Sungyoon unraveled the bandages hastily applied by the elderly man in the early morning. Though he did a commendable job using handkerchiefs and torn clothes to stop the bleeding or provide support, it was still just first aid. Patients like Lee Jaehun needed more comprehensive treatment.

As Dr. Ha Sungyoon examined the torn and shredded wounds, his expression hardened slightly. It was a subtle poker face, so well done that if it weren’t for Lee Jaehun, the only person involved, no one would have noticed.

“…Who bit you? There are bite marks here.”

“Bite marks?”

It was not Lee Jaehun who answered, but Jung Inho.

The doctor glanced at Jung Inho and frowned momentarily, but it was brief. He seemed to consider Jung Inho as Lee Jaehun’s guardian, as he smoothly directed his words towards him.

“Yes, those are bite marks. But I can’t be sure if they’re from a shark, as they’re quite densely packed, like teeth marks. Ah, it reminds me of the flower monster we encountered at the flower shop.”

“Was there such a monster?”

“Yes, they were creatures with teeth instead of arms or legs, and they were quite large.”

Yoon Garam’s body trembled slightly at his words, but whether Doctor Ha Sungyoon knew about it or not, he smiled softly at Team Leader Kang, who stood quietly, with an awkward expression.

“Did you hurt your hand earlier?”

“Oh, no. I just realized it’s Monday, and you were at the flower shop.”

“It’s not that I played hooky or anything; I took a day off because I had someone to meet.”

“…But there’s a public holiday in two days. Considering how busy doctors are, isn’t it a bit of a waste?”

“Rather than a waste, um. Well.”

He paused.

“We meet up every first day of the month. I was buying flowers to give to that friend we meet up with… on the first day of every month.”

“…”

The leisurely voice that had been stretching out paused abruptly, and Kang Mina, the team leader, closed her mouth subtly. Giving flowers in a regular friendship was an unusual topic, so she seemed to think it was a sensitive subject in some way.

Fortunately, Dr. Ha Sungyoon didn’t pursue that topic further. Instead, he took a water bottle from Kwon Yeon-hee, a clerk, and spoke as he received it.

“Since the wound is quite dirty… we’ll pour water to clean the blood and then assess the condition. It might sting a bit.”

“Do we really need water? Isn’t it a bit wasteful? Just using some newspaper or something to wipe it off roughly…”

“…”

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

“If you say so.”

Though the doctor’s lips twisted slightly, Lee Jaehun didn’t notice. He was already pondering whether he should bother changing the bandage on his shoulder that was no longer serving its purpose.

Meanwhile, the doctor poured water on his leg, and the sight elicited sighs from the onlookers who watched with anxious eyes.

It wasn’t exactly a sigh of relief.

“Ah…”

“Crazy.”

“Ah, ugh.”

Sympathy, astonishment, disgust.

Various emotions mingled as the team was shaken, all because of Director Lee Jaehun’s injury.

As Dr. Ha Sungyoon had mentioned, there were tiny bite marks along the edge of his wound. As the blood and entwined grass were washed away by the water, the bright red injury became vividly visible, and the faces of the team paled at the sight of the severely damaged leg, too much to continue looking at it.

The only ones who didn’t shy away from seeing it were Dr. Ha Sungyoon and the protagonist, Deputy Jung Inho. Lee Jaehun didn’t feel the need to look at his wound, so he didn’t.

Dr. Ha Sungyoon was the first to speak up.

“…I apologize if this is intrusive, but are you conscious?”

“…What on earth was I just saying, then?”

“I’m sorry. But usually, um…”

Even under Lee Jaehun’s bitter gaze, the doctor couldn’t soften his expression.

“You should have at least passed out with this level of injury.”

At the very least, he should have fallen asleep due to exhaustion.

As a doctor who had to maintain a rational mind, it was something he couldn’t do, but he felt deeply sorry.

Because it was often portrayed in movies and dramas, fainting might seem like a trivial matter, but it was the body’s way of not being able to endure and shutting down mentally. In a way, it also served to relieve the patient’s burden. Imagine how agonizing it would be for a patient whose leg was severed in an accident to remain conscious.

But with injuries visible on his shoulders, arms, and legs, his body looked blotchy and worn-out all over. Starting from the shoulder injury, which seemed to be the oldest, Lee Jaehun’s body must have reached its limit.

‘Yet, he’s endured until now, thanks to his mental strength.’

Dr. Ha Sungyoon came to understand the current situation through his past experiences.

Occasionally, during overseas volunteer missions, there were patients like him. They would come in with seemingly endless injuries, having detoured from the emergency room to the celestial path, claiming they had a mission and alarming doctors like himself by suddenly collapsing at some point.

That was something that could only be achieved through sheer mental strength, but finding someone with such resilience wasn’t common.

So, it was even more poignant….

“……”

It was also intriguing and fascinating in a way.

Regardless of the circumstances, the fact that there was a patient in such a shocking condition under this grotesque sky was remarkable.

“…Aren’t you in pain?”

“Eh, not really.”

In response to all of that, Lee Jaehun simply blinked his eyes slowly. It wasn’t painful enough to kill him, and it wasn’t the kind of pain that would lead to his demise, so he didn’t really care. Ultimately, he didn’t suffer any losses from it.

In reality, he knew it was a significant wound that would require surgery, but this was a transformed park. The doctor could only clean the debris with the water he had and wrap it with clean bandages. He couldn’t even administer antibiotics.

So, in a way, receiving slightly harsh treatment might actually be a blessing in disguise.

“……”

His mind drifted off in a sudden drowsiness, but he quickly snapped back to attention at the voice that followed.

“This leg here… seems to be okay for now.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Jaehun didn’t notice that his own voice had become more subdued compared to before.

However, it was nearby Deputy Jung Inho and Doctor Ha Sungyoon who sensed that something had changed, but they didn’t bring up any further conversation. Only Doctor Ha Sungyoon continued speaking as he pulled up the pant leg on Lee Jaehun’s opposite leg.

“Did you trip and fall? Your knee doesn’t look too good.”

“…I was being chased, so…”

“So you did fall. With this much damage, you probably scraped the wound again even through your pants. You should have just found somewhere to sit and wait for us.”

“There were a lot of monsters…”

After a moment of contemplation, Lee Jaehun nodded slightly and continued, “I was worried.”

I worried about what kind of accident might happen, and to my surprise, Deputy Jung Inho perfectly lived up to his expectations.

I wonder how surprised I was to see him in such a state of confusion.

‘He definitely looked like he was about to face something big.’

But at Lee Jaehun’s words, Kwon Yeonhee started to sob again.

“Director-nim…”

“Ah, don’t cry, seriously.”

“Are you worried about us?”

“What are you saying? Of course, I’m worried. Why wouldn’t I be? I sent those yellow chicks out into the wild.”

Lee Jaehun clicked his tongue and shifted his gaze to his healing leg.

“But despite my efforts to find them, the kids are still out of it, and Deputy Jung was on the verge of an accident… What would have happened if we had just waited?”

“An accident, Director. He’s a capable talent in his own right, isn’t he? I’m already a deputy…”

“Ah, quiet down.”

To be frank, it wasn’t like he was absent for a whole week or even a few days. It was just one night, but the fact that the entire group seemed to be out of it was bizarre even for Lee Jaehun, who had been through all sorts of experiences.

‘These chicks weren’t like this in their past lives.’

These days, the kids lacked patience and perseverance. They were overflowing with baseless confidence. Of course, Lee Jaehun couldn’t really claim to have done anything right this time, but it was just how he felt.

He blinked his eyes, trying to shake off the impending cold.

“Well, I understand being surprised since we were dragged off by monsters…”

Having lived in a group for quite a long time in his past life, Lee Jaehun had a knack for assessing the mental state of others. As far as he could see, all the chicks were out of it.

Firstly, there was Kwon Yeonhee, the office worker who was clinging to the siblings. She seemed to be on the verge of losing it due to stress. The siblings, who were receiving her protection rather than protecting her, seemed to be reconsidering their escape plans, now that the power dynamics within the group had shifted.

The flower shop owner seemed to be a certified plant enthusiast, as he sat and examined the trees amidst the chaos. As for the intern Noh Yeonseok, well…

‘You’re quite something.’

Even before recalling his past life, Lee Jaehun had sensed that the kid was overly sane and soft, so it wasn’t surprising that he might lose his mind under the influence of the otherworld and experiencing various events. He had even thrown up as soon as they left the company, indicating how bad his condition was. Just standing there was exhausting.

Dr. Ha Sungyoon had always been a bit of a seasoned seed from the start, but Lee Jaehun couldn’t figure out what this kid was up to, constantly reassessing something. The protagonist could even anticipate his condition without looking, and partly didn’t want to see it, so Lee Jaehun averted his gaze.

And as for Team Leader Kang…

“….?”

Lee Jaehun blinked, his slightly furrowed brow betraying his feelings.

‘What’s up with him?’

He glanced around in bewilderment for a moment before nodding to himself.

‘…Anyway, overall, they need some care.’

In the brief moment he was away, he wondered what could have happened to make them lose it to this extent. But what could he do? Although Lee Jaehun wasn’t particularly fond of childcare, they needed to have at least a minimum level of mental stability to fulfill their roles.

Suddenly annoyed, Lee Jaehun directed his irritation at Deputy Jung, who was observing him like a bug.

“I told you to manage the kids well before I left, didn’t I? Did you or didn’t you?”

“Well, you did, yes.”

“Deputy Jung, if you keep handling things like this, it’s going to be problematic. I’m really at a loss for words…”

Deputy Jung spoke with a faint smile, seemingly oblivious to the speed at which Lee Jaehun was diving into frustration.

“Well then, are you leaving or not?”

“…Is it up to me to decide? How did things get to this point just because I stepped away for a moment? Huh? What’s going on here?”

“Shall I make amends?”

“What do you mean make amends? This isn’t the military, is it? Am I your superior officer? Clean up your act, you disgusting jerk. I wouldn’t want to get involved with you even if you paid me.”

If I had seen that jerk in the military, I would’ve gone AWOL at the very least. Usually, guys like him end up going on a shooting spree one day, but real soldiers actually have guns, you know?

Lee Jaehun felt the filter that had been covering his mouth fall off, but he didn’t bother to pick up his words. At this point, there was no one to say anything even if he acted a bit petty.

He was incredulous and bewildered, pressing his finger firmly against Jung Inho’s forehead as he spoke.

“There isn’t a single person in this world I can trust.”

“Do you happen to have a headache? It would be good to get some rest, even just for a bit…”

“Are you doing this on purpose…? Huh? Are you doing this intentionally right now?”

“What? No, of course not…”

I hope he just says “I’m sorry” with a sheepish expression, since I didn’t ask out of curiosity.

As awkward and comical as it was to raise his voice like an old fogey, Lee Jaehun couldn’t stop scolding even though his throat was getting sore. That’s how frustrated he was.

After dedicating himself to maintaining his mental and physical well-being, what’s all this about? Lee Jaehun felt dizzy just thinking about how the entire team’s morale had plummeted in the short time he was away. Although he wasn’t heavily invested in stocks, he could empathize with someone who had gone all in on a single investment only to see it crash.

‘And I didn’t even want to understand this kind of feeling.’

He just wanted to live a happy and indulgent life with both his body and mind at ease. Not to experience this precariousness in this bizarre underworld.

Of course, yeah. It’s not like Lee Jaehun can completely absolve himself of blame for suddenly leaving his post…

“To be honest, at that age, shouldn’t they be managing their own mental health?”

“Hahaha…”

“Don’t laugh, what’s so funny? Do you think I’m a pushover?”

What should I do with these youngsters?

Seeing grown men who can’t even manage their own mental health properly made Lee Jaehun feel exasperated.

He felt a twinge of annoyance seeing Deputy Jung smiling smugly. Honestly, I was planning to brush it off with a few old-fashioned remarks, since I haven’t really done anything special. But as soon as I saw that sincere and gentle expression, my previous thoughts vanished, and I felt a new sense of irritation.

“Hey, stop laughing. I saw you relaxing your eyes just now.”

“Oh, did you?”

“…Oh? Wait, you’re serious about this? Deputy Jung, I told you to sleep if you’re tired, didn’t I? I always advise you to take care of your health. Right?”

Feeling like his further criticism wouldn’t be well received, he finally sighed and spoke up. Even if he preached to a concrete wall, it seemed it would be more effective than this.

“So what I’m saying is…”

“…..”

“Anyway, I’m not just saying this casually. If you’re tired, take a break.”

There’s nothing more useless than an ungeased gear.

“You’re good at that stuff, aren’t you? Rolling with the punches, spinning like a top… You know?”

Being a spinner has its value, but even that’s worthless if you can’t do it properly.

“I’m just saying there’s no one else to delegate to if it’s not Deputy Jung.”

Among these squeaky wheels, the protagonist was the best. If this guy falls apart, there’s no way the others can be managed.

“Huh…”

And surprisingly, Deputy Jung seemed somewhat touched by those words.

“Hmm?”

Lee Jaehun didn’t intend to evoke any emotion at all.

After hesitating for a moment, Jung Inho nodded.

“…Yes, thank you.”

“…..”

What’s gotten into this guy, seriously?

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