Episode 75
President Garam Yoon has a painful past that every character in this novel has.
‘To put it bluntly, it’s just trauma.’
I once explained that the reason why I can enter the secret world and act like a human is because I have high mental power, but to put it another way, I also meant that it is thanks to my immunity to some extent to the disgusting nature of the hidden world.
Of course, they say that pain is incomparable, but there are differences in each degree. While there are people who cannot recall their personal trauma without being overtly stimulated, there are people who are constantly triggered and cannot even look at the object itself.
‘President Yoon is the latter type.’
She did not see ‘severely burned hands’.
“…What kind of bullshit is this…”
Jeong In-ho, who frowned with something between absurdity and annoyance, immediately approached CEO Yoon Garam, as if it was a waste of time to mutter like that. I could tell his nervousness from his fast, running pace.
And then he immediately covered his mouth.
“Eupheuk.”
“…Mr. Inho?”
More precisely, it covers the nose and mouth at the same time.
When employee Kwon Yeon-hee stiffened as if hiccuping due to Assistant Manager Jeong’s sudden action, Doctor Ha Seong-yoon, who carefully walked away from President Yoon Gar-ram, shook his head and said,
“…This is the correct treatment. Don’t be too surprised.”
“yes?”
“It’s a symptom of hyperventilation.”
He touched the corner of my mouth with his finger and continued speaking.
“Difficult breathing and dizziness can lead to fainting in severe cases. “Literally, the problem is excessive breathing, so I need a paper bag to control it…”
My gaze landed on Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho’s pitch-black eyes.
The protagonist responded.
“There are no paper bags. “The plastic bag I used last time was torn.”
“…As you can see, it’s difficult right now.”
“Ah…”
“Now, could you please let Garam lie down? Have them place one hand each on their chest and stomach. “It’s a big mental factor, so if you reassure them, they’ll be okay.”
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon looked puzzled even as he said that. He seemed curious as to why Assistant Manager Jeong In-ho knew how to deal with hyperventilation, which is not that obvious but is not very famous.
“…Anyway, I think Garam will be resolved…”
He then approached Lee Jae-heon, who was quietly observing the situation, and said.
“Give me your hand, sir.”
“….”
“What can you do without going crazy?”
In one word, it means ‘Are you crazy?’
“…Please use your words more politely, doctor.”
Jaeheon Lee obediently held out his hand.
The burned hand was where Lee Jae-heon had cut his arm with a knife, and although the shirt he had put on was not burned, the bandage covering the wound was scorched. The good news was that the bandages didn’t catch fire properly, so he didn’t get burned all over his body.
However, it was true that the embers did not catch on the bandage and that the hand had been in the hot fire for quite a long time. Especially since the chaos was caused in a world where the risk of fire was strong, there was no way that the hand that had been burned by a direct hit would be fine.
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon sighed as he looked at his bright red hands.
“If you’re going to say it’s okay, just shut your mouth.”
“….”
“And if you don’t think you can keep it, don’t make a promise in the first place.”
“…I will keep this in mind.”
It’s not that you ‘won’t’ keep it, it’s that you ‘can’t’ do it.
“Because this was really a mistake.”
Jaeheon Lee laughed inwardly.
‘I mean, it didn’t look like he harmed himself.’
It seemed like the decision was made based on the thought that perhaps he was mentally ill to that extent. No sane person would think of suffering such burns, and Lee Jae-heon had been acting like a pretty normal person all along.
The protagonist asked Lee Jae-heon’s words.
“Then I guess those injuries weren’t a mistake.”
“…You have a knack for making people feel really bad, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
“If I did that, I apologize.”
What a disgusting bastard.
‘Every word you say is sharp.’
Lee Jae-heon thought to himself as he watched Doctor Ha Seong-yoon treating his hand.
In fact, there was nothing to say, given that most of the injuries he was currently suffering were intentional injuries. The main character must have felt this from the company as well, so it was clear that the words were meant to prick his conscience to some extent.
Of course, that didn’t mean Lee Jae-heon was intimidated. It’s impossible to prick a conscience that didn’t exist in the first place, and an injury of this magnitude would have been cute in order for this plan to proceed successfully. Lee Jae-heon was quite proud as he could have died once and had to start over if he was too careful.
There were more than one problem that could be solved if this job went well.
‘…Still, if you see something like this, you’ll call it a mess.’
Jaeheon Lee thought as he glanced at the messy surroundings.
President Garam Yoon’s hyperventilation had subsided, but she had not yet recovered from the panic, and Assistant Manager Inho Jeong was sweating trying to comfort her. He seems quite skilled at what he does, so I think there may have been a similar situation in the last episode.
‘Isn’t it difficult to do this when there is a monster that burns on fire?’
There is a high probability that the trigger was pressed upon seeing a piece of meat burned at the stake somewhere. According to his prediction, Dr. Ha Seong-yoon would have survived for quite a long time, so he may have learned how to deal with seizures such as hyperventilation at the time.
But what was important right now was not President Yoon Garam’s seizure.
“….”
“….”
Those chicks who froze and couldn’t continue speaking are more important.
‘At this point, I’m sure you feel certain.’
It had to rain once.
So, the ground melts and recedes and hardens only when the sun rises.
Now, the stage of just watching and shaking has passed. It was time to reassure the chicks who had been trying to deny the anxiety they had been building up, and at the same time, they needed some time to calm down for the next step.
The current team that I thought was comfortable is shaking. Manager Lee Jae-heon doesn’t seem to be as sane as he thought, and President Yoon Gar-ram, who was thought to be sane, was suddenly overcome by trauma. Even if he couldn’t explain it clearly, he was definitely feeling a sense of discomfort that couldn’t be ignored.
Now that they knew that the place they were lying on was on the sand, it was time to run away before the floor collapsed. It was time to muster the strength to run away.
“What, what, what’s going on…?”
And just in time, intern Noh Yeon-seok and director Kang Min-ah arrived out of breath.
“Boss! Manager, are you okay?!”
Lee Jae-heon was momentarily shaken by Chief Min-ah Kang’s call.
“…Why are you calling me?”
“Are you hurt? Oh, of course! “You got hurt…!”
“No, bear with me.”
It was CEO Yoon who screamed, but why was it I who was actually called?
Suddenly, the story of a butler who raised a dog came to Lee Jae-heon’s mind. I don’t know what he’s doing, but since he can’t see it, all the deacons in the world who call and see him before they cause an accident can sympathize with it…
Lee Jae-heon, who thought that far, was dumbfounded and asked back.
“Chief Kang, do you think I always get hurt? “I’m the dog that causes trouble?!”
“Be quiet, sir.”
“….”
“I heard the guy who farted got angry…”
“Huh.”
Jaeheon Lee seemed to have no need to go against the wishes of the only doctor on the team any longer, so he closed his mouth after a short lament. I couldn’t help but look dissatisfied.
Director Kang and intern Noh Yeon-seok asked with puzzled expressions.
“Someone screamed earlier…”
“Wasn’t that the boss? Why are you so scared? “Has a monster come?”
“It’s no big deal.”
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon, who covered the burn area that had been soaked with water with a well-dried bandage, spoke in a strangely gentle and stern tone.
“Manager Lee Jae-heon threw his hand into the fire and President Yoon Gar-ram was just surprised by it.”
“….”
“….”
There were many things that could not be explained with just those words, but after a moment of silence, their eyes focused on one person. This is Manager Lee Jae-heon, who turned his head away with a sullen expression on his face.
Intern Noh Yeon-seok, who had been quiet, cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Boss?”
“what.”
“Why are you holding your hand…? “In the fire?”
“I dozed off for a moment.”
“…Sounds like…?”
“What man?”
“Oh, sorry.”
“….”
Now there’s a lot of fuss going on.
When I glared at him, he quickly lowered his tail and cowered, but his suspicious gaze towards Lee Jae-heon did not disappear. It’s true that they were aiming for that, but the reaction was very damp, perhaps because they didn’t see it in person.
I just wish I was so dispirited that I rolled around on the floor.
‘Ji is so excited because she went somewhere with someone she likes…’
Tsk.
He clicked his tongue inwardly.
Of course, in the long run, it would be better to raise your mental strength as much as possible now that you are on the verge of a storm, but if you leave aside the plan and think purely from personal feelings, there is nothing more unpleasant to see than a subordinate who suddenly revives.
Lee Jae-heon glanced at Doctor Ha Seong-yoon, who was removing his hand to see if the treatment was complete, then slowly blinked and said.
“…thank you.”
“I don’t know if you know how grateful I am.”
“I am always grateful, teacher.”
He shrugged his shoulders and walked away without hearing the doctor’s answer.
It was a step towards President Garam Yoon, who was still sitting on the floor and not standing up.
“…president.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do this…”
“I’m sorry, boss.”
“…yes yes?”
Lee Jae-heon thought to himself as he watched her remove the hand covering her face.
‘As expected, recovery is fast.’
It was a resilience rarely seen in the underworld where even the smallest trauma is maximized and causes people to go crazy. If he hadn’t read the novel, Lee Jae-heon might have thought Yoon Gar-ram’s trauma was a lie.
After thinking that far, he continued.
“I was out of my mind and surprised my boss. “This won’t happen again, so let’s take a deep breath.”
“…I’m sorry….”
“Now, take a breath. Exhale. Shall we try again? Inhale and exhale. great.”
“….”
Yoon Garam was looking at Lee Jae-heon as he said that with a bewildered gaze.
Round and harsh gaze.
“…Very good.”
I laughed.
It probably resembled gray.
Or, it resembles a damp, sunken bush or a mossy bathtub. There was a lot of greenery, but something with high saturation flickered inside the dark green gaze that was stuck without a single bit of vitality.
It burns moist moss, climbs on top of it, and gnaws at tree roots. Also, that bright red thing that eats up the sky, turns the forest to ashes, and even burns people.
Was that really Jaeheon Lee’s hallucination?
“I’m sorry for surprising you.”
“…I’m sorry I missed you so much.”
“Everything is okay now. “The kids who left home are back, shall we have something to eat?”
Probably not.
“….”
“Everyone must be very hungry.”
Garam Yoon, I’m sure it wasn’t really the fire that only I saw.
The trauma in the other world returns thousands of times more stimulated. Although Lee Jae-heon clearly touched on Yoon Ga-ram’s trauma, she was allaying her despair and fear much faster than expected.
Behind the laughter, a tired thought came to mind.
‘There is no one in their right mind.’
It was so funny to see all these crazy people gathered together.
President Garam Yoon’s screams were sincere. It was a scream that could not have come out unless the situation was truly dire, and the symptoms of hyperventilation were not something that could be seen as intended. It is true that Garam Yoon was weighed down by trauma when he saw Jaeheon Lee’s melted hand.
But was that horror really so horrible to her? Was it expressed in those words? Would I have said it was terrible? Did it really feel that way?
“…I…I’m okay now.”
“Thank goodness, boss.”
“….”
“It hurt my heart to see you show weakness.”
“…yes.”
Lee Jae-heon could not sympathize with the tears that President Garam Yoon occasionally showed.
‘Of course, it’s true that my empathy skills are poor…’
He thought, recalling his past life, that it wasn’t just that.
Her tears were often empty. The meaning of her screams was unclear. The collapsed legs did not resemble those of a person in despair but of someone at rest, and the eyes as black as green forest seemed to be looking at a cave with a clear end.
Garam Yoon’s pain was always empty and could not make us sympathize with her.
Unfortunately.
“…great.” There’s something
I
‘d like to ask you at least once.
“Let’s get some rest and calm down.”
“….”
“All of us.”
What you felt when you looked at my hand was…fear?
“How is it?”
Was that really all there was to it?
Then why were you smiling?
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