Theatrical Regression Life - Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

I am well aware that I have a filthy personality. It’s not just empty words; recalling my past life makes it even more evident. I truly had such a dirty personality that people around me were ready to leave with both hands and feet.

But to be honest, it was a bit unfair.

“If my previous life was so damn awful, shouldn’t this life be a bit better?”

How can life be so consistently crappy?

Lee Jaehun muttered to himself as he lay sprawled on the bed. His mind was so scattered that he hadn’t even properly changed his clothes. Fortunately, it was the weekend, or he might have ended up absent from work without notice.

Staring blankly into the air, Jaehun ran his fingers through his hair, muttering,

“My life, damn it…”

Although he had played the role of an old-fashioned person, he wasn’t usually one to use vulgar language. However, recalling his past life seemed to have attached foul language to his lips. Observers might comment that the old-fashioned trash had evolved into a cursing scoundrel.

But Jaehun wasn’t too concerned about that. He had faced a world where life had no value, where there were no human rights, and people died frequently. In such a place, survival required a sharp tongue.

‘Understanding the situation comes first.’

It was a kind of compulsion, a habit he couldn’t shake off even in his past life. In that ridiculous world, Jaehun always sought a better life. Even when he fell into the worst situations, he learned to calmly assess them to avoid an even greater catastrophe.

Despite the gruesome experience of recalling his past life, there were no exceptions. Rising from the bed, he headed straight to the kitchen.

Perhaps due to recent reliance on takeout and lack of cooking, a chilly atmosphere lingered in the kitchen. There, he grabbed a Damascus kitchen knife, if he remembered correctly.

After inspecting the sharpness of the knife by flipping it between his fingers, he clenched and unclenched his hand.

“Let’s see…”

Whirr, thud!

Jaehun threw and twirled the knife, testing his sense of touch. It wasn’t common for an office worker, even one holding a high position like a Department head, to play with a knife like this. However, Jaehun wasn’t like most.

Even if he used a knife, he could probably manage no more than cutting a steak. Yet, Jaehun effortlessly performed a skill that was seemingly impossible until just yesterday, leading him to entertain a plausible hypothesis.

Considering the brief moment he thought about it, the hypothesis was quite reasonable. Could it be that he inherited not only memories from his past life but also the skills and strength of that time?

‘Merely having memories wouldn’t enable me to replicate actions.’

If he wanted to use a skill, he had to build the corresponding muscles and master the timing.

Even if he vividly remembered his past life, there must be limits. However, surprisingly, he could replicate the habits of his past life just as they were.

The fact that muscles that weren’t there just yesterday had developed overnight meant more than just simple memory recall. He had become a body capable of learning the skills from his past life.

‘…Of course, recalling memories from a past life is unrealistic.’

It seemed a bit perplexing. The world of his past life and the current world were entirely different. Abilities that seemed like they belonged in a novel here were commonplace in the previous world. The environments of the two places couldn’t be more different.

However, if he could acquire the skills from his past life, how would abilities that shouldn’t exist in this world manifest?

“…It feels a bit uncomfortable.”

Jiik.

Muttering softly, he reversed the knife he was playing with in one hand, bringing the blade down against his forearm. With the familiar sound of skin tearing, bright red blood flowed down like water.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jaehun tilted his head while observing the wound that didn’t immediately heal.

“Is this also not going to work?”

The standards here were quite strange.

Jaehun muttered while searching for bandages in the living room drawer. In his past life, his body would regenerate within 10 seconds if he got injured. However, judging by the fact that it wasn’t happening now, it seemed that the quick healing ability, unlike the skill with the knife, wasn’t inherited.

Having found a first aid kit, Jaehun applied medicine to the wound and wrapped it with a bandage. He inserted gauze for hemostasis and pressed it down. His natural actions suggested that not only his knife skills but also other behaviors had been learned along with his memories.

Moreover, he was feeling the pain from the wound very mildly. Before recalling his past life, even a small scratch on his palm would make him exaggerate, but now, even if he cut his arm with a knife, it didn’t seem to bother him much.

Perhaps there was a similarity in the psychological aspects with his past life.

Afterward, Jaehun thoroughly examined his whole body, trying to figure out how much he resembled his past self.

Knowing what he could do, what kind of accidents he could encounter, and understanding the extent of his abilities and limitations—Jaehun spent about three hours contemplating these aspects. Around that time, he could draw a simple conclusion.

Jaehun muttered under his breath,

“I can only do what is possible in this world.”

Even if it was a peculiar ability, as long as other people, when witnessing it, would say ‘Wow, it can actually be done?’ instead of dismissing it as nonsense, it was considered possible.

Having reached this thought, Jaehun soon found himself lying on the living room floor, staring blankly into space. The sunlight streaming into the living room carried the scent of blood.

“…”

I’m screwed.

“I’m really screwed.”

Snickering, he burst into an incredulous laughter. Although he panicked slightly after recalling his past life and conducted a body check, the surreal feeling he should have felt a little while ago now overwhelmed him.

It was an unbelievable situation, but yes, he had truly been reborn. But well, even the concept of rebirth itself was inherently unrealistic.

Given that consideration, how could life become so twisted? Why did I only remember my past life now?

Jaehun muttered with a disheartened voice,

“If I was going to be reborn, they could’ve done it properly.”

This place was the world from the novel he read in his past life, and the predominant genre was an 19+ gritty survival story. Just for clarification, it was rated 19+ not because of explicit content but due to its cruelty.

***

In this world, there existed a place called the ‘Otherworld.’ Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a universally recognized term. Most people were unaware of the existence of the Otherworld, and those who did know about it used different names to refer to it.

However, because the novel he read in his past life referred to it as the Otherworld, Jaehun also called it by that name. In the novel, the other Jaehun had died inside it.

‘He wasn’t killed by the protagonist’s group, though.’

Jaehun left his house wearing a light coat, intending to organize his thoughts while exploring places from the novel.

The Otherworld was another world reflecting the original world. As they shared time, the structures built in the original world were also constructed in the Otherworld.

Much more weathered, burnt, or mostly shattered, they might not be entirely identical but close enough. In this Otherworld, there were no humans, only beasts, and monsters created by the collective consciousness of humans from the original world existed. These monsters attack people caught in the Otherworld once a year.

The Jaehun from the novel had his limbs torn apart by such monsters.

“…”

Even thinking about it now gives me the chills. The novel he had read was rated 19+ due to its cruelty, and yet, his past world was already cruel and gritty enough. The fact that it was deemed 19+ even in that world didn’t need further explanation.

Of course, the Jaehun in the novel was someone worth dying for. There were a couple of high school students who had been caught and eaten by the monsters in the Otherworld. He deceived them, used them as bait, and escaped alone from a building where monsters roamed.

Although he was devoured by the monsters as soon as he escaped, the vivid descriptions made the memory clear. Jaehun drove to a park near his workplace.

Recalling the recently renovated park, advertised as the city’s only forest within the urban area, he parked his car near the park and stared at it through the window.

“…The first place was here, right?”

This park was where the people swallowed by the Otherworld first gathered. The main characters were people near the protagonist’s workplace: a grandmother taking a stroll in the park, a high school sibling buying cake at a nearby cafe, the owner of a flower shop who had taken a break after making a bouquet for a customer, and a few pedestrians passing by the park.

By the way, excluding Jaehun and the protagonist’s group, everyone else in the park was torn apart by the monsters. Even Jaehun died shortly after, so we could say that the proper protagonist group consisted of only five people.

‘There might have been people not mentioned in the novel.’

According to the described scene, those who gathered in this park were confused and assembled here, as it was the only place where signs of life could be heard amid the empty streets. Some who didn’t move hastily or hadn’t fully grasped the situation might have been outside the park.

Considering the detailed descriptions, it seemed unlikely that anyone other than the five mentioned survived.

Surveying the park’s layout, Jaehun drove his car back onto the main road. His destination was none other than a hospital.

‘The second place the main characters visited in the novel.’

Although the medications were too specialized, prompting them to visit a nearby pharmacy again, the protagonist group, having left the park, had already found this hospital.

He remembered stopping by to treat a female student whose leg had been severely injured by a monster. For some reason, Jaehun approached the quiet hospital counter where no one was present.

“I had an appointment with Dr. Ha Seong-yoon.”

“Oh, if you go to room 12, you’ll find him.”

“Thank you.”

With a nod, he headed towards room 12 as instructed. The characteristic white examination room of the hospital greeted his eyes, filled with equipment for treating patients. The doctor, who had been sitting in front of a monitor, looked up at him.

“Are you Mr. Jaehun?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you hurt your arm. May I take a look?”

Jaehun nodded, removed his coat, and pulled up his shirt, extending the arm that had been bandaged. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, perhaps because he had received proper treatment. The doctor, briefly surprised, then returned to a calm expression and found a small pair of scissors. He held it up to Jaehun’s bandage and asked,

“I’m going to cut the bandage. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Snip, snip!

The well-maintained scissors easily cut through the tightly wrapped bandages, and Jaehun, who had heard that sound countless times in his past life, blinked his eyes lazily.

A reflexive drowsiness washed over him, but it vanished with the doctor’s voice.

“…The wound is bigger than I thought.”

“Is that so?”

Unable to find words, Jaehun simply closed his mouth. Whether it was due to not considering his regeneration ability from his past life, or perhaps it was panic that prevented him from making a calm judgment. He had unnecessarily made a large cut when a small one would have sufficed.

‘I wasn’t in the right state of mind.’

Jaehun silently nodded to himself. When he wielded the knife, he was engulfed in panic, lacking composure. He had intended to test his regeneration ability by inflicting a wound, but in haste, he had inflicted a larger one without considering the difference between his past and current regenerative capabilities.

If I had any presence of mind, I should have thought about dealing with the aftermath of reduced abilities.

However, there were no medical tools in Jaehun’s house except for a small first aid kit.
Especially, there were no threads or needles to stitch up the open wound, not even for clothing.

Therefore, since it happened, he decided to visit the hospital to not only treat the wound but also to avoid any potential complications. He saw a faint furrow appear between the doctor’s eyebrows before quickly smoothing out.

It seemed like the wound was bothering the doctor as much as it was bothering Jaehun, so he averted his gaze. As the doctor removed the gauze stuck to Jaehun’s arm, he asked,

“Did you take any medicine? Painkillers or…”

“I brought some just in case and haven’t taken any.”

“It must be quite painful.”

“….”

It was only then that Jaehun realized he had reacted incorrectly.

“Yes, it hurts.”

The Jaehun from before would not have shown such an indifferent reaction even for a wound of this size. It was probably the kind of reaction most people would have.

It was just a long, slender wound on his arm, and blood was flowing steadily, yet he was so nonchalant about it. Such a reaction could only be seen if one was accustomed to wounds.”

It seems like there might be a misunderstanding, so Lee Jae-hun observed the doctor’s reaction.

“May I ask how you got injured?”

“….”

Oh no, he’s misunderstanding something.

Judging by the doctor’s awkward expression, it seemed like he was making a somewhat optimistic assumption. Jaehun pondered the situation, fearing that the misunderstanding might lead to awkward consequences.

To avoid further complications, Jaehun pulled out the excuse he had prepared at home.

“I got hurt while cooking.”

Of course, it was a flimsy excuse. However, given the circumstances, it was the best he could come up with.

He couldn’t say, “Doctor, I recalled my past life and tested if regeneration works the same way, but it seems it doesn’t, so I came to the hospital.”

Even coming up with a convincing excuse was a difficult task.

Among the ten doctors who saw this wound, all ten would consider it a wound from a knife.

Moreover, it was not a superficial wound, so it was clear that it was intentionally inflicted with determination. In this case, the problem was also who had that determination.

If someone else did it, it would be a crime, and if he admitted to doing it himself, it would be self-harm.

It was an unsatisfactory result considering that he had to be dragged into another world in two days.

However, he thought that if he just changed the subject, the doctor would likely overlook it. In any case, if it was something related to such a wound, it would be quite troublesome, so from the busy doctor’s perspective, if the patient let it go, he would probably handle it on his own.

However, the doctor in front of him seemed to be a person with a strong sense of duty, more so than Lee Jaehun had anticipated.

“There’s no way. This is clearly a wound that someone deliberately inflicted with force.”

“Uh…”

“If you need the police, I can contact them for you.”

It was incredible. In this day and age, to find someone like this doctor was surprising. Lee Jaehun was half amazed and opened his mouth slightly.

Even setting aside the idea of reincarnation, doctors who paid such detailed attention to the patient’s circumstances were rare in the current world.

And, of all people, it was this rare kind of doctor that Lee Jaehun had chosen for his medical appointment. Somehow feeling a headache coming on, he lowered his head.

“It’s okay. I did this to myself, so please treat the injury.”

“Is that so…”

The doctor nodded silently. Perhaps he had expected such a response, and without making a fuss, Lee Jaehun sighed once again, not bothering to conceal his frustration.

“It seems like we’ll need to stitch it several times. Would you like anesthesia?”

“It’s okay… No, I understand.”

He made another verbal slip.

‘Who in their right mind would refuse anesthesia when they’re getting stitched multiple times?’

Lee Jaehun, who almost became the modern-day Guan Yu, the crazy guy, couldn’t help but harbor unnecessary resentment and inwardly clicked his tongue. Even if he recalled his past life, his rather flawed original personality hadn’t disappeared.

Partially anesthetized, the doctor calmly asked while stitching the wound with medical thread,

“Have you ever studied emergency treatment?”

“…I studied it on my own.”

“Yes, ordinary people just apply bandages to wounds, which doesn’t promote proper hemostasis.”

[Note: Hemostasis is your body’s natural reaction to an injury that stops bleeding and repairs the damage. ]

Swoosh!

The doctor, threading the needle along the edge of the wound, continued, “People usually don’t think about inserting the thread into the wound itself.”

“….”

“Even thinking about inserting something into the wound can be painful. I’ve seen people faint just from trying to control bleeding like this.”

“Is that so?”

“You seem to have good patience.”

Lee Jaehun’s expression became quite sour. The doctor’s skill in subtly extracting information aside, there was no doubt that he was misunderstanding something about him.

Once the treatment was complete, the doctor, wearing a calm smile, spoke, “Since it’s a dissolvable thread, you don’t need to come back to the hospital. Just try not to use your right arm for a while, and even if you do, avoid any impact. You can get the prescription at the counter.”

“Thank you.”

Jaehun, with a casual nod, left the examination room at a leisurely pace. Though he had never engaged in any illegal activities that would warrant significant injuries, he couldn’t shake off the unease caused by the doctor’s possible misunderstanding.

After stopping by the pharmacy to pick up the prescribed medication, he drove away in his car, visibly more at ease.

***

“…I’m tired.”

Jaehun returned home after the drive, and it was already past 8 p.m. Whether it was due to wandering around, contemplating the locations and places mentioned in the novel, or the aftermath of going quite far after a long time, or perhaps the worry about being dragged into the otherworld two days later, he was in a considerably lethargic state.

Quickly changing into comfortable clothes and lying on the bed, Jaehun blinked his stiff eyes while looking at the calendar on his phone.

‘Tomorrow is the 28th.’

And the next day would be March 1st, the starting day of the novel. The timing is truly remarkable. If he was going to recall his past life, they could have let him know a month earlier at least.

Tears involuntarily welled up at the thought of being dragged into an R-rated post-apocalyptic survival story right after recalling his past life.

Lee Jaehun, staring into the empty space as if it were a habit, spoke with his phone laid aside.

‘…I wonder what happens when I die.’

In his past life, he had a body that couldn’t die even if he wanted to die. If he died before the appointed time, no matter how miserable his broken body was, he would revive. Of course, nobody liked that kind of resurrection, but now that he had experienced recalling memories from a past life, and could replicate the technology of that time, things were different.

There was nothing consistent, and Jaehun’s head hurt.

Will I resurrect like in my past life if I die? Or would I just die for real?

“…..”

‘…I don’t know. I’ll find out when the time comes.’

Lee Jaehun closed his eyes, trying to clear his head that had become appropriately complicated.

In any case, being dragged into the otherworld was a predetermined event, and surviving in there was challenging. Eventually, Jaehun, too, would face a situation where he had to die. Then he would know whether he would resurrect or just die.

‘It would be fortunate if I just died, but if I come back to life…’

Lee Jaehun sighed.

“It’s driving me crazy.”

He didn’t know what form it would take, but he might find himself in a situation where he couldn’t face death and would come back to life. In that case, for his minimum safety and survival, he would have to gain the protagonist’s favor.

In the story, only the protagonist found the right path.

‘Of course, our relationship now is the worst…’

He quickly reached a conclusion. If he could achieve his goals by acting in a ridiculous play, he would do it. In any case, he would cling to the protagonist, so it was better to discard any semblance of pride. If he had to live, he should live a better life than before.

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