Theatrical Regression Life - Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

Lee Jaehun, the department manager, was indeed not a good person.

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He didn’t lack regrets in life, not at all.

After all, he had lived so well up to this point. Born as the third child in a wealthy family, experiencing the perks of a large corporation’s parachute, and indulging in bullying as a spoiled brat, he had lived as he pleased.

Of course, due to his inherently dirty personality, there were times when he felt inferiority and similar emotions. Nevertheless, objectively speaking, it was an undeniable fact that he was living very well.

Honestly, in both past lives and the present, his personality couldn’t be described as good, so this kind of old-fashioned lifestyle suited his tastes quite well.

However, the reason he willingly threw away his life was because, with the sudden recollection of his past life, too many variables emerged. Consequently, he lost confidence in himself.

‘I inherited physical conditions just because I remembered my past life.’

Of course, this was an ability that didn’t exist before.

‘Lee Jaehun’ is a character who will eventually die in the hospital episode.

There was no reason to give him attributes like exercising or having good physical conditions. While he survived in the park thanks to having a lighter, the story was different in the hospital where monsters roamed.

However, by recalling his past life, Lee Jaehun inherited the abilities of his previous life in full.

Though not entirely the same, from the perspective of his current life, it was quite useful and even better for elevating his own value.

While not someone he’d want to be personally close to, he became a talent worth joining hands with publicly.

The crucial point here, however, was how much of the abilities from his past life he had inherited.

‘In the past, I couldn’t just die as I pleased.’

In the past life’s world, there was a predetermined lifespan. If one died without fulfilling that lifespan, they would immediately come back to life. As a result, the value of life was absurdly low.

At least for Jaehun, this was an entirely natural fact.

Considering that he inherited even his tattered mental strength by recalling memories from his past life, he judged that there was a possibility of transferring anything, not just physical conditions.

However, the concept of resurrection in this world was not as natural as in the world of his past life, leading to some doubts.

It was a very plausible question to ponder.

Is death here an eternal end?

‘Or…’

Is there a way to come back in any form?

If it’s the former, he could peacefully accept death, but if it’s the latter, the story changes.

If it’s similar to the past life, he would resurrect in the manner of his lifeless body coming back to life. In that case, it would be very awkward if there were other people around, and as time passed, his existence, capable of resurrection, might be treated like a tool by those who gradually discarded their humanity.

Naturally, Jaehun found such a situation uncomfortable.

He had already received enough of that treatment in his past life, and being treated like a tool implies that the other person looks down on him, which hurts his pride.

In this case, Jaehun’s resurrection must happen without anyone around to witness it.

‘Of course, there are many other possibilities…’

While contemplating this, it could also be as simple as dying just like common sense dictates.

Or the form of resurrection might be different from before, or changes could occur in his surroundings rather than him.

Therefore, Jaehun acted in a way that could adapt to all possible scenarios as much as possible.

‘First, act according to the setting.’

It’s uncertain whether he could die or not.

However, if he were to resurrect like in his past life, he needed to lay the groundwork while keeping in mind that he might survive until the end.

In that sense, Jaehun’s self-designed setting was quite plausible. It explained why he was familiar with this kind of world.

It explained why he, as a mentally ill person accustomed to pain, was familiar with suffering. It convinced why he valued common sense and principles differently from others…

If Jaehun had to continue living, actions based on such settings would later add legitimacy to his behavior.

‘Next, maintain a reasonable distance.’

To be honest, this failed.

While he wasn’t like this in the original world, entering the parallel world resulted in a decrease in mental strength, causing confusion between the common sense of his past life and his current one.

For instance, in the previous world, it was entirely natural for the strongest individuals to dominate the most dangerous places. They would stand at the forefront, even if limbs were torn apart, as they prioritized efficiency.

Of course, the person involved might curse a thousand times, but they couldn’t overcome the majority.

However, in this world, there existed a sense of courtesy.

Especially due to the high value placed on life, rescuing someone was considered noble, and there was a tendency to view the person who performed such an act more favorably than usual.

Even if it was the despised old-fashioned department head, within that context, Jaehun couldn’t escape it.

Jaehun should have taken this into account. People in this world were unexpectedly soft-hearted, like fluffy chicks, and as a result, they easily extended kindness to others.

And finally, the third.

“D…Director.”

“….”

“What should we do…?”

Pretending to be as altruistic as possible.

Jaehun bit his lips as he faced the three pairs of eyes looking at him with uncertain gazes.

“Well, what can we do? Prepare to run if necessary.”

“Yes, yes. Yes…”

“The same goes to the students. Is your leg injured, can you endure it?”

As his gaze reached the two students, they nodded quietly.

“…I can run.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“…Huhuhu…”

At the sound of Kwon’s weeping, swallowed a sigh.

She was protecting two high school students with a larger build than Jaehun, and these students, in turn, clung tightly to Kwon’s hand, listening for the footsteps of the monster.

Unfortunately, the situation did not unfold as it would in the novels Jaehun remembered.

The siblings, who were supposed to have their first conversation with the protagonist, Jaehun, had come looking for him first. He was aware that his existence itself was a variable, but the story had taken an unexpected turn.

Feeling the blood flowing from his arm touch the pipe he held in his hand, Jaehun quietly spoke.

“…That monster seems to consume blood.”

Recalling the behavior of the monster that lingered around the corpses of Ms. Kang and Intern Noh Yeonseok for a long time, it was evident that, apart from using toothed tentacles to rummage through the corpses, the monster showed no interest in human flesh.

If that’s the case, what it desires is likely blood. The monster had lured Deputy Manager Jung, who had gone to pick up a branch, by spilling blood, so there was no room for doubt.

“It seems like it can’t immediately find us, maybe due to poor vision or hearing. Perhaps its large size prevents it from running, despite its wide stride.”

“….”

“So, if one person can hold it down… we might be able to buy some time.”

At his words, Kwon and the students’ expressions hardened.

“Use someone as bait?”

“We have no choice right now. We’re all going to die otherwise.”

“But…”

The siblings, thinking that one of them would be used as bait, lowered their heads in fear. However, Kwon stared at Jaehun with round eyes, as if she sensed something in his suggestion.

Yes, to put it bluntly, he needed to experience death once.

“Director?”

“Kwon, do you understand what I’m saying?”

“No, wait, just a moment…”

“We don’t necessarily have to all die here, right?”

Since he didn’t know the outcome of resurrection, he needed to personally experience death to find out.

But being human, he also wanted to live if he could.

The life of the old-fashioned department head had been quite enjoyable so far, and given how tiring his past life had been, he wanted to live this one embracing his dirty personality.

However, despite that, it seemed impossible in this world.

Therefore, to determine the exact course of action for the future, Jaehun needed to experience death once.

“I’ll stay behind.”

And the most convincing death was one caused by such a monster.

“Yes, yes?”

“I can’t run anyway. You know that.”

Jaehun gestured towards his throbbing leg, and at that, Kwon, along with the siblings, tightly sealed their lips.

Jaehun had twisted his leg, not even at the ankle, while fleeing all the way here.

Due to the darkness, he didn’t see the creeping vines on the ground, and his already bad leg fully snapped after colliding with the mossy monster.

While the students seemed to have silently made a decision, Kwon, without seeing it, directed a trembling voice towards Jaeheon.

“…Director, Why are you doing this?”

“Kwon, take the kids and run.”

“What? No? Director, I don’t want to…”

Kwon, with tears that hadn’t dried since Ms. Kang’s death, raised her head without wiping them, and the siblings looked at them with bewildered eyes.

Jaehun roughly understood what the students were thinking.

‘As the last to join the group, they probably think they’ll be used as bait.’

In the face of this selfish prediction, he felt an inexplicable satisfaction. It was an efficient judgment befitting a main character, and the situation would have easily warranted such a decision had they gone in the other direction.

It was a somewhat appealing judgment, even if not as extreme as being a mentally ill person.

However, Jaehun had no intention of doing that. To be precise, while he also thought using the students as bait would be efficient, he concluded that showing actions outside the established setting in a situation where he might die immediately or not was foolish.

However, considering that this one death might be the last, he needed to make sure that even if he died, it would be a situation where it didn’t matter.

“Why can’t we just all run away together? If I support you, maybe…”

“If I kindly explain that I don’t think I’m in my right mind, can we not do it?”

However, that failed to create distance, and the conversation took a bit of a twist.

“It’s not that I won’t do it, but I can’t do it, Kwon Yeonhee.”

Therefore, unavoidably, Jaehun created a situation where he had to die.

Fortunately, perhaps due to his previous altruistic behavior, Kwon didn’t misinterpret his words. If her perception of the old-fashioned department head had remained unchanged, it could have led to an awkward situation, but thanks to Jaehun’s continued sacrifices for them, she easily understood his words.

Of course, she didn’t want to accept his words and resisted several times, but the situation wasn’t lenient, just as Jaehun had anticipated.

With the monster closing in, using toothed vines to search the ground like a predator, Kwon eventually had to accept the reality.

Jaehun looked at Kwon Yeonhee, who had firmly grabbed the students’ hands with empty eyes. Even though her actions of holding hands while needing to escape reminded him of Ms. Kang, he quickly erased that thought upon seeing the main characters, the siblings.

He handed his lighter to the older sister among the siblings, who was staring at him with a pale expression.

“That creature comes here by smelling blood. Kwon, is there any serious injury right now?”

“…”

“Yeah, it seems like there isn’t. The student hurt their leg, but there’s only one monster. If we split up, that thing will follow the one with more scent of blood. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks for answering.”

With a smooth motion, Jaehun stood up, leaning on a nearby tree.

“I’ll stay here.”

“Director.”

“It’ll take a while to unwrap the bandages anyway. Go, now. Don’t be late.”

“…”

Without further words, the students gently guided Kwon Yeonhee’s hand, still numb, as the doctor began to unwrap the bandages covering the wounds he had previously treated.

Perhaps it hadn’t been long since they met these folks, as it seemed much easier for them to leave him than it was for Kwon Yeonhee.

Although the siblings also left with pale faces, it seemed not as difficult for them, indicating that they weren’t complete novices in dealing with such situations.

At least, Jaehun was deeply impressed by their ability to guide even KwonYeonhee. These guys who survived in the park with just one survival skill – a knack for survival. If they resurrect, he thought, they should be looked after well.

As he unwound the bandages and examined the wounds, he sighed upon seeing the body that quickly started bleeding again and the monster approaching as if it had smelled the blood. It was a decent situation, considering the circumstances.

“Fortunately.”

Crunch!

Countless teeth pierced through his neck.

Despite trying to lure the monster away to help Kwon Yeonhee, Jaehun willingly sacrificed himself when he realized foolishly expecting rescue from Deputy Jung was out of the question.

If anyone thought they could save him by looking at this situation, then they must have misunderstood who he was.

Blocking the monster’s attempt to cut off his breathing, Jaehun had the thought of buying as much time as possible when he heard a familiar voice in his hazy consciousness.

“…Director.”

It was the protagonist, Deputy Jung Inho.

“Yeah, hey.”

In other words, Jaehun’s role as a manager was over.

“Yeah, Dep…Jung….”

“……”

“Shi…t. This, run away. Kids, this…”

He kicked the pipe that he couldn’t bring himself to hand over to Deputy Jung earlier.

If he gave that, he probably wouldn’t be able to escape. But he didn’t need it anymore. After all, what more did a person about to die need?

“Come… help.”

As long as the living ones survived, that was enough.

“Director…”

“Fas…ter.”

“Just a moment, no, wait,”

“……”

“Why…”

Even though it was the repulsive Deputy Jung Inho, whether his humanity was still intact or not, he seemed to be hesitating, not moving as if he hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

It was amusing to see someone who would probably discard humanity and everything else later still hesitating just because he was a newbie.

With a weary premonition that the conversation might drag on, Jaehun simply offered his neck to the monster.

“Cough…”

“……”

“Click.”

If you don’t move after this, you’re not even qualified to be a damn protagonist.

Honestly, I couldn’t recall what happened next. Well, considering how torn apart I was, breathing properly was a challenge, so it was quite an accomplishment to have been conscious up to this point.

However, it was instinctive to realize that Deputy Jung had vacated the spot according to his plan. Therefore, there was no one around to witness Jaehun’s death until the end.

Even if he were to come back to life immediately, there wouldn’t be much risk since there was no one around. Of course, when they met again later, there might be reactions like, ‘How on earth did you survive in that situation?’…

‘Well, it’s only to that extent.’

For such justifications, Jaehun had prepared himself. He wouldn’t immediately seek out the party upon resurrection, and even if he revived right there with his dead body, there wouldn’t be any issues.

If the group reunited, finding a new base wouldn’t be too difficult with Yoon Garam around, and the mental strength of the siblings who joined later would be quite useful, even for the repulsive protagonist.

At least, in Jaehun’s opinion, it was the best outcome, excluding any personal gains.

Jaehun stared at the monster cruelly opening its mouth towards him with a hazy gaze. ‘I’ve fulfilled my role as bait enough at this point…’

Snap!

He felt his body growing cold and his mind going numb. Soon, he let go. His hand, which had shaken off most of its blood, no longer felt any sensation.

Despite the roaring in his head and the queasiness in his stomach, Jaehun strained to glance at the spot where he had last rolled the pipe.

The grassy field, stained with fresh blood, was now empty. He could deduce that the protagonist had finally left with his pipe.

“…”

Disgusting bastard.

Now, it was time to die in peace.

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…And then, he came back to life.

“Huh.”

“Director?”

“No, I just had something on my mind.”

More precisely, he had returned.

Living is really tough.

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