Theatrical Regression Life -
Chapter 48
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Chapter 48
In many mediums, there are usually two types of senior supporters.
‘They’re either formidable or pathetic.’
At a point like this, it’s inevitable, considering they’ve embarked on the path to hell before the protagonist. Those who have endured the harrowing experiences they must face first either receive reverence or pity.
In the former case, ‘reverence’ is a kind of fear. It’s the admiration and fear of someone who has already done something tremendous that one cannot. But, ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ was not particularly worthy of admiration.
‘Yet, there hasn’t been any sort of human interaction.’
In the end, all that remained was his formidability.
However, sympathy, regardless of one’s rank or authority, places the sympathizer above the one receiving sympathy. Of course, this is just Lee Jaehun’s personal thought, but it’s somewhat implicit common sense. If you think about the word ‘sympathy’,which means ‘feeling compassion and pity for someone else’s difficulties’, the answer is obvious.
In that context, Lee Jaehun wanted to avoid being seen as receiving sympathy, if only to preserve his pride.
‘Why do I suddenly feel like I’ve failed miserably?’
Lee Jaehun couldn’t hide his confusion at the sudden gust of wind.
“…Um… What are those expressions right now?”
“Oh, excuse me.”
“I didn’t mean to say something I shouldn’t have.”
“You always speak the truth, Director.”
“No, I…”
After a moment’s thought, from their perspective, the current Lee Jaehun is the only survivor of the underworld. In other words, all the information he’s sharing is firsthand knowledge gained through his own experiences.
‘It’s only natural for them to feel awkward when he starts blabbering about heading into the underworld.’
Of course, it was all a misunderstanding.
He hadn’t even obtained information to that extent, and he was just a side character in the novel who happened to forget it….
He inwardly scratched his temple.
‘It does sound plausible.’
If they were still innocent chicks, it was a structure where sympathy was inevitable.
But this wasn’t what Lee Jaehun wanted. From the start, he wanted a strong image between the antagonist and neutral, and if he became a character receiving sympathy like this, it would disrupt the personality traits that would be shown later. It’s commonly referred to as ‘character bug.’
‘If things continue like this, there’s a chance that it might be revealed that 99% of what I’ve shown so far was acting.’
A character bug means there’s an error in the setup, and in this case, it’s like giving an opportunity to reexamine all the setups made so far, especially considering there have been cases where ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ has been acted out before, so it’s even more unsettling.
And even if it’s not a practical issue like this, personally, receiving sympathy wasn’t really his thing. Especially if the one sympathizing is the protagonist, Jung Inho? That would be more than enough reason to feel mortified.
“If I didn’t say something wrong, I’d prefer it if you didn’t make such expressions. It’s uncomfortable, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.”
“You didn’t say anything wrong specifically, but… perhaps as a subordinate, there are aspects that resonate with me. You must be very tired.”
“With the situation being what it is, it’s hard not to be tired, right…?”
‘As things continue like this, the problem only gets bigger…’
Lee Jaehun was perplexed.
Perhaps, he didn’t really want to think that way. But if things continued like this, all the personality traits that would be shown in the future might seem like a facade of trying not to burden others. Wow, that was truly dreadful.
Of course, with their mutual likability being in the negatives and not having personalities conducive to human interaction, Lee Jaehun had revealed fundamental discomfort several times. The difference in perception of death or pain had made him seem like a stranger even more than an alien.
So, while the thoughtful protagonist might have felt some strength, he couldn’t deny…
“…”
Suddenly, confusion struck.
‘Is it possible for sympathy and strength to coexist?’
He had never thought about it before, but with evidence suddenly appearing before him, Lee Jaehun couldn’t deny it. The protagonist was wary of him while also feeling sorry for him.
It felt truly disgusting.
‘These chicklings?’
To put it grandly, it felt like my authority was being questioned, and to put it bluntly, it felt like I had lost my edge. And now these fledglings who are just chirping around dare to pity me?
But because I’m not foolish enough to spit out those feelings, he casually continued speaking.
“…Anyway, that’s about all I can tell you right now. I apologize for the lack of information.”
“No… Thank you for sharing the important information.”
“Is that so?”
“Even though you must be tired, you’ve been answering my questions.”
“…”
Lee Jaehun considered adding a few more words to the wavering expression, but he closed his mouth again when he heard Dr. Ha Sungyoon’s voice coming soon after.
“It’s not a very serious condition, so there shouldn’t be any problems with anything.”
“…Understood.”
“As long as you don’t touch the wound.”
“…”
Wound?
Lee Jaehun blinked at the words.
“Did you get injured in the throat?”
“I didn’t know.”
“No…”
He felt his throat with confusion. With his fingertips, he could easily feel a swollen mark, and with a familiar touch, Lee Jaehun realized it was a bruise after bleeding.
And once again, he was taken aback.
‘…When did I get this wound?’
Right after, his mind raced.
Until just before falling asleep, there had been no injury on his throat. Maybe he got a bruise when he was choked in front of Constable Kim, but that would be easily hidden by his shirt. The problem was that he didn’t remember getting or causing such an injury that would bleed like this.
Since there’s no memory of touching it even after waking up, it probably means the incident happened while he was asleep….
“…”
“…You really seem to know now.”
“I didn’t know.”
“The context is a bit strange, Sir.”
Dr. Ha Sungyoon asked, lightly solidifying his smiling face.
“You’ve been touching your throat since earlier. You didn’t realize even after touching it?”
“…”
“You’ve done it a couple of times since we started talking… You must have noticed by now.”
“Well…”
“Weren’t you in pain to begin with?”
He wasn’t.
‘What’s going on?’
Lee Jaehun felt his throat again.
It seemed like he had been zoning out for a while, but it wasn’t just zoning out; there was also blood. And unless someone from the group he was with while he was asleep had gone crazy and hit him in the throat, which means…
The wounds on his neck right now…
“Did I cause this?”
The doctor’s smile twisted.
“It seems you have the answer right away, so I assume similar incidents have happened before.”
“No… No, it’s not. It’s the first time.”
“Ah, it’s the first time.”
Afterward, the doctor remained silent, but there was no hint of pleasure on his curved lips. It was a gaze that occasionally revealed disdain for Lee Jaehun, like he was an annoying patient.
Ignoring that frustrating reaction, he cursed inwardly.
‘Shit, what did I do.’
Honestly, this time felt a bit unfair.
How obediently he tried to wake up after dreaming in front of Constable Kim. He even went all the way to Lake just to get some enlightenment. The fact is, he could have been strangled or hit his head on a rock and died. And to top it off, it was the Nokjo monster that killed him. It wasn’t enough that the creature dragged him into the lake to drown quietly; it had to choke him itself. Starting from the lake water in his lungs, these wounds… Why?
“…”
Come to think of it, it seems like I scratched it a few times when my throat was itching.
‘…I messed up.’
I messed up big time, didn’t I?
I should have just stayed still when our Nokjo friend kindly scratched my throat. But no, I had to reflexively raise my hand to scratch it myself, ending up in this mess. Really, Lee Jaehun, why?
‘It was kind of itchy.’
I didn’t realize when I scratched it absentmindedly, but when I came to my senses and felt it, I understood. Maybe I scratched it a few times while half asleep, feeling the itch from the wound. It was almost funny how I didn’t notice anything wrong and just scratched it again.
‘No, that’s not the problem now.’
The problem was showing these chicks, who were already grossed out by me, that I scratched my throat in front of them again.
Lee Jaehun found himself looking at them incredulously as they conversed among themselves.
“Jung Inho-ssi, do you happen to have a handkerchief or something?”
“I don’t have anything like that… Oh, I think Mina-ssi always had one.”
“But it’s a bit off to inform them about the current situation. You wouldn’t want to inform them unless it’s necessary, right?”
“…That’s true.”
Clearly, they saw him as mentally weak.
‘I guess they think it’s because of stress or something.’
There are sometimes people like that. Those who have been mentally traumatized or exposed to continuous stress and seek relief through self-harm. Of course, it’s natural that people of this type find it difficult to survive in such an environment. Both the protagonist and the doctor are aware of this, so they try to avoid showing too much of a mentally disturbed appearance.
Despite his efforts, wow. He managed to mess it up again. And there was no excuse for hitting himself in the back of the head.
Moreover, Lee Jaehun’s condition would have looked worse considering he had scratched his throat while dreaming. Just like how an illness seems more serious when the patient themselves are unaware, there was a high chance that Lee Jaehun’s deep subconscious stress was making him scratch. Even if it was the result of his desperate attempts to escape the influence of the dream.
Bringing up such a dream story as an excuse would naturally backfire, so it would be wise to come up with a more unique excuse…
“Please refrain from touching your throat for a while, sir. There might be inflammation besides the scar.”
“It’s a pity we didn’t have enough bandages.”
“…I truly appreciate your concern and affection. Thank you very much.”
It seemed like reasoning wouldn’t work.
‘Maybe they misunderstood me scratching because it was itchy.’
Plus, he had shown himself scratching without even realizing he was in pain, so it seemed impossible to come up with a plausible excuse in front of these suspicious and thoughtful people. It would be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
Lee Jaehun, realizing there was no way to salvage the situation anymore, decided to resign himself to it.
“I won’t scratch my throat. I’ll let you know if it hurts. I’ll even scream if it does.”
The protagonist smiled sincerely.
“That’s good to hear.”
“You disgusting bunch.”
“I guess you really meant that.”
“Did you doubt it?”
“Oh, no, of course not.”
“…”
Those little chicks.
Just as Lee Jaehun was about to mutter a curse at the sight of his behavior slowly manifesting in the workplace, he realized the conversation wasn’t over yet and forcibly kept his mouth shut.
Considering the image, ‘Director Lee Jaehun’ couldn’t afford to show his authoritarianism here.
He didn’t bother holding back the sigh he had been suppressing and let it out.
“…I’m sorry, there isn’t much I can disclose. There are still many questions you may have, and many things you may not understand… But I’m not ready to talk about my personal circumstances yet. We’ll discuss it separately when the time comes.”
“So…”
“Just remember this about me.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll do my best to abide by the rules, but if necessary, I won’t hesitate.”
He paused.
“Whatever it may be.”
Now that the image had been firmly established, if there was no way to salvage it, he had to utilize it.
At this point, whatever Lee Jaehun did, his current image was likely to endure for quite some time. The protagonist was wary of him, but also sympathetic, and the doctor, who was close to being a third party, was unlikely to actively undermine him. He needed to carve out a new channel to persuade the rest of the team.
“…Are you talking about threats or murder?”
“Well…”
Though he said ‘well’, it was essentially an affirmation that wouldn’t be lost on anyone.
The doctor turned his head as if he hadn’t heard anything, while the protagonist momentarily kept his mouth shut. Given the clear distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people, Lee Jaehun’s insane remarks would have raised suspicions.
And before long, the protagonist, Deputy Jung Inho, spoke up.
“…In that case.”
“Yes?”
“If, sir, things would be resolved more smoothly if you were to die…”
“Then I should die.”
“…!”
Lee Jaehun raised his eyebrows.
‘When will these chicks grow up?’
It wasn’t at all strange for the most capable team member in the current lineup to be sacrificed. It was a rule of life to nurture the other healthy team members as much as possible and discard the useless ones when they became unnecessary.
Of course, he had no intention of being discarded so easily, and since he would only revert upon death, he didn’t harbor that kind of anxiety… But seeing the naïve protagonist, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Hoping he would grow, Lee Jaehun casually responded.
“That’s efficiency.”
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