CH 6

The reason he dared to draw the main character's attention was to break the stigma on 'Manager Lee Jaehun'.

Surprisingly, people don't care about other people.

In creative works, it seems natural to feel sorry for or care about someone when they find out that they have a painful past, but in reality, they are just troublesome people who cannot escape from their past.

That's especially true between co-workers. No one wants to know the deep circumstances of an employee who works in the same company unless they're close enough.

How uncomfortable and irritating it would be if the seat next to you was an employee who often hurts themself or has hallucinations and screams.

If you're going to have such a hard time, go to the hospital. Why did you come to the company?

One does not want to be nuanced by others, and at the same time does not want to be a nuisance.

You can sympathize with how sick and difficult another’s life is, but it doesn't have more value than that.

Manager Lee Jaehun was also in the same position.

'Should I say it's worse?'

He was obviously the boss of the same department, but nothing more.

If the person you dislike had a past or an illness, it was okay to be happy, as there is little room for compassion.

However, the main character of this novel was not particularly sane, he was a good person but not normal.

He has a strange belief about good and evil, and he defines everyone in the world by it.

Among them, Lee Jaehun would like to think that ‘Head Manager Lee Jaehun’ was somewhere in the middle between a criminal and just an evil person.

And because he is such a main character, Lee Jaehun knew how to be trusted by the main character.

Or he at least knew how to trigger it.

All he has to do is challenge his “justice”.

"Hey."

Kwaduk!

The black pupils that were looking at him widened.

“Run.”

Kaga gak gak!

[Note: I’m not good at translating the onomatopoeia so I’ll just leave them be.]

Lee Jaehun moved his legs along with those words, and countless spider legs that were pouring towards him were stuck in the corner of the hallway.

A bloody explosion pierced the cement wall as he prepared for the next attack.

Fortunately, the group quickly came to their senses and ran away with pale faces, and leading them was Roh Yun-seok, an intern who said he had been working out.

He must have remembered what Lee Jaehun had asked him to do when he left the office, and he seemed to be doing just that, which was quite an admirable attitude.

He sighed as he saw Kang Min, the Chief Assistant Manager who ran holding the hand of the junior office worker he had just met.

'This is much more efficient.'

In the novel, Chief Kang was attacked earlier and bled out.

Naturally, he, who has no tolerance for pain, loses his judgment in fear, and dies apart from his group without even checking his surroundings.

He doesn’t die right away, suffering for quite a while before passing. Lee Jaehun didn’t bother recalling that description.

Contrasting that, Lee Jaehun was tolerant of pain, so he was overflowing with confidence.

Perhaps the main character who met him on the weekend knew this too. That's why he now dared to get the main character's attention before he was attacked.

Efficiency aside, he had to act according to the settings he made last night.

The meaning of Lee Jaehun's gaze on the main character earlier was “I will go in first and see if there is a trap.”

Quadduk!

“… Fuck.”

Lee Jaehun twisted his brow as he broke a spider leg that he didn't see coming.

“This monster… !”

He hurt his shoulder because of these dogs.

Lee Jaehun stood with his back facing the fleeing party and diligently cut off the spider's leg.

He didn't know that the pipe he pulled out of the office could be put to such good use.

Thanks to these bastards, his pierced shoulder burned like it was on fire, and to be honest, his senses were starting to dull.

His old personality was gradually surfacing with the dirty feeling that his survival was being threatened, he had grown tired of this feeling in his previous life.

Perhaps because he was in charge of the rear, he could feel Jung In-ho looking over him.

"Boss! Are you going to be okay… !”

“Don’t you look ahead?! It's fine, I'll search for you, so just run!"

Of course, there was no time to have a friendly conversation.

Do you dare to chat when literally running like a dog isn't enough? If even one person dies like this, who will receive the resentment?

The main character and the other members of the party did not have the mentality to objectively deal with someone's death.

Of course, it will take a toll, and they will instinctively find someone to blame.

He sacrificed his shoulder at best, but he had no intention of ruining the plan by creating such an atmosphere.

Since the main character has excellent eyesight, if he has enough time, he will quickly find out the meaning of Lee Jaehun's gaze.

Whether affection overflows or melts away from warmth, a peaceful conversation is enough at another time. So there's no need to accept useless words in this urgent situation where you don't know when or how someone will die.

Lee Jaehun tried not to make his movements look too foreign, and only cut off the legs of the spider that approached him very dangerously.

‘Of course, by then, the definition of me must have changed quite a bit.'

His shoulder was sacrificed for such a reason in the first place.

At the time, Lee Jaehun only felt something strange, but he did not know what would appear on the side where the wind noise was heard.

However, thanks to the fact that he was familiar with the sense of dissonance in the setting, he went in to check it first.

That's because Lee Jaehun is used to pain. He’s the best judge of the situation and doesn't place much value on his health.

However, Lee Jaehun guessed that if there was a real trap in front of him, the atmosphere would quickly change, so he caught the main character's attention.

If Lee Jaehun was seriously injured by the trap, or even if he died, the person with the highest mental power had to take responsibility for the rest of the party.

Thinking so, Lee Jaehun purposely met Jung In-ho's gaze.

To be more precise, it means that the protagonist, once he regains his composure, will judge it that way.

“…….”

Of course, even though he thought so, his heart ached.

'Fuck, I’m getting sleepy from the blood loss.'

It was a pity that the main character's favor was wasted on his shoulder, not anywhere else, on a gamble where he did not know if he could buy even a piece of trust.

There are many things to be done in the future, should he be tired already?

Unfortunately, there was still more blood to be shed.

“Chief Kang Min, Kang Min! Hey!"

“Yes, yes, yes!”

“Get your fucking head straight! Is it time to run hand in hand? Are you crazy?!”

“Oh, uh, sorry… !”

Only then did Chief Kang realize that he was holding Kwon Yeon-hee's hand, and he let go of it in surprise.

Perhaps that ‘I’m sorry’ was meant for Kwon, not for him, the Old-Fashioned Head Manager.

It just didn't make sense to run hand in hand in a situation like this.

Mobility aside, what if one of the two lives was in danger?

As soon as-

"Hey Sir.... !”

This is what he meant.

Lee Jaehun grabbed Chief Kang by the collar, who fell halfway behind the railing while trying to avoid the spider's leg.

A spider's leg, which had been chasing right behind him, pierced his right leg, and Lee Jaehun tossed Chief Kang back into the hallway to catch his prey.

Lee Jaehun, who confirmed that Chief Kang had moved away from the railing, immediately struck down at the one that pierced his leg.

The spider's leg, which could not withstand the strength of the pipe, became fragments and scattered, he did not bother to remove the remaining fragments from his leg.

It would have bled much less if it just stuck there.

Lee Jaehun grabbed the arm of Chief Kang, who was faltering due to the influence of the underworld and the fear of the moment and started running again.

“This crazy. You, fuck.”

“… Whoa, whoa, ah... !”

“Excellent run. Run, just look at those bastards and run!”

He pushed Chief Kang forward and took over from behind.

The main character, who quickly sensed the series of events, was running ahead with the rest of the party, and Lee Jaehun liked the cold-hearted Jung In-ho's judgment.

It was not a situation where anyone could help anyway, so it was much more efficient to run away first.

Of course, not everyone's mind is the same as Jung In-ho, a psychopath, so if he had some spare time, he had to prepare for that too.

In a way, one might feel like they abandoned Lee Jaehun and Kang Min because they didn't want to die together.

Lee Jaehun looked at Kang Min, who ran desperately while shedding tears.

“Heh, heh, uhhh… .”

“…….”

Well, actually, it wasn’t so wrong to abandon them.

* * *

The maddening spider legs disappeared like ghosts as they entered an empty office.

Technically, it was more correct to assume that the monsters that came out through the wall went inside the wall again.

And when a certain degree of safety was assured, Lee Jaehun sat down on his guest sofa and pulled out the splinter stuck in his leg.

“…….”

It hurts.

'Fuck, it's so unfair.'

Everyone ran away together, but only Lee Jaehun sustained injuries. it's a miracle, and he expected it to happen like this, but it doesn't make it any less unfair.

He opened his mouth as he glanced over at the distraught party.

“Does anyone have a sewing kit with them?”

“… what, what?"

“No way.”

Lee Jae-hun sighed and got up from the sofa.

It's a small company now, but around the past month, instructions were issued to keep at least one first-aid kit in each office.

To be honest, he didn't remember, it was none of his business to have a first-aid kit or not. But it was described that way in the novel.

And, as he recalled, there was probably a first aid kit in this office as well.

In the novel, He roughly remembered it being said that ‘the composition was quite good because it was not long since it was installed’.

Limping around, Lee Jaehun soon found the first-aid kit and checked the configuration, one by one.

‘Disinfectants, painkillers, bandages… Oh, there's also gauze.'

Most of it was filled with pills, such as cold medicine and painkillers, but there were still bandages and gauze.

The company thought it would be quicker to just go to a nearby hospital than to consider using this, as the amount was not enough.

In fact, it was a waste to use a bandage or gauze.

As long as Lee Jaehun's existence itself is a variable, the content of the novel can be changed as much as possible, which means that he does not know what injuries he will suffer in the future.

If he sustained a large wound to the abdomen, he would barely be able to stop the bleeding with just this amount of bandages.

So, he wished that someone had a sewing kit.

If you put cotton or gauze inside and sew it on as it is, of course, there is a high risk of infection and it is not a very effective method, but still, there would be no need to waste the bandages this early.

Lee Jaehun briefly looked at the stapler on the desk, but after noticing the black eyes staring at him, he turned his eyes again.

“…….”

You don't have to show off that you’re insane.

He inserted gauze into the puncture wound, wrapped it with minimal bandages, and applied pressure.

He decided that this level of treatment was necessary as he had already lost a lot of blood when running while straining his injured limbs.

Among those who watched Lee Jaehun's actions, Chief Kang opened his mouth.

"…you know, sir."

“What is it?”

“Thank you…"

“…….”

Lee Jaehun, who instantly thought "What are you talking about?" at such an unexpected statement, quickly remembered that ordinary people have shame.

These were chicks who had not yet lost their sense of duty as human beings.

Thinking that, Lee Jaehun nodded his head to look as natural as possible.

"It was nothing."

Well, it was something to be thankful for.

'Because I prevented many people from dying.'

He recalled the death of Chief Kang in the novel.

He was the first person to die in the story, so he was able to recall quite clearly what his end was like.

In the novel, Chief Kang fell behind a railing that had been lowered due to the influence of the other side, and Office worker Kwon Yeon-hee, who was holding his hand, was startled and let go of that hand and ran away.

‘I don't think it was just because she was surprised.’

Afterward, Chief Kang fell over the railing and had his legs and arms completely broken, and his head was seriously injured and bleeding.

It was not properly explained in the novel, but I think the concussion did not come easily.

Then, without being able to resist the legs of the spider approaching him, he slowly became a skewer and died.

And, of course, the party's mental strength gets shattered and sinks.

"um, How do you feel about your injury…?

“…….”

Lee Jaehun blinked slowly at Roh Yun-seok's cautious question.

'Am I not at a level to be concerned about yet?'

Judging by how kindly he even asked how he was doing, it seemed that he was still in good spirits. You can't ask such questions if you're mentally exhausted.

Lee Jaehun couldn’t afford to take care of anyone because even he was having a hard time making ends meet.

After thinking for a moment, he answered.

“It hurts.”

Perhaps they were expecting him to say 'okay', but unfortunately they had to know.

No matter how much Lee Jaehun recalled his previous life, there was a limit to how much people he could cover for.

“I’m not blaming you guys, so open your ears and listen straight.”

“… … .”

“There were piercing wounds in my left shoulder and right calf. Until just now, I ran without even knowing that I was injured because I was in danger of my life, but my mobility will decrease as time goes by.”

Lee Jaehun met the main character's eyes and continued talking.

“Do you undertstand?”

In a word, it meant ‘If I fall behind, just leave me and go’.

'I don't know about the other guys, but that bastard must have understood.'

In fact, eternal death did not mean much to Lee Jaehun.

Right now, he doesn't know if he will be resurrected like in his previous life, so he’s willing to cooperate like this, but if he can die for sure and a situation comes that requires his death, he wouldn’t really want to save his life.

So, in the same context, neither pain nor injury means anything to him, and the main character must have realized that through last weekend.

If the other party was distracted, Assistant Manager Jung In-ho, who is good at objective judgment, would lead them.

If they don't want to die, these guys will behave well.

Of course, unless it was absolutely necessary, Lee Jaehunn was going to try to some extent.

Didn't he sacrifice his shoulder for the minimum trust in the first place?

'This should be enough in order to cling to the main character.'

Bang.

He closed the first aid kit and continued.

“I’m tired and on the verge of going crazy, so I’m going to take a break. Everyone must have been surprised by the sudden energy in their muscles, but now they are loosening up. I don't know what will come out of it, but if I can run fast, there's nothing wrong with that... .”

“…….”

“Because I have limits too.”

It's because he got so used to it, but Lee Jaehun was also being influenced by the underworld.