Theatrical Regression Life - Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

The other world reflects upon the thoughts and morals of the humans.

In fact, saying it like this is quite ambiguous. We don’t even know exactly what these thoughts are, and it’s difficult to understand what among them is being reflected.

That’s why the protagonist in the novel described the other world as a ‘world full of monsters on the brink of destruction.’

Certainly, the structures and buildings resembled those of their original world, but because the overall atmosphere and components themselves were different, there was no other way to think about it.

As Lee Jaehun wiped the dust off the desk, he blinked his eyes.

‘Is it exactly as it was in the novel?’

Perhaps because their company served as the basis for the other world, the place that most closely resembled their original world was none other than this company.

In reality, too, except for the fact that the company was severely worn and broken, it seemed no different from before.

Of course, just the fact of being ‘worn and broken’ itself is strange enough.

If the place where you were sitting quietly suddenly changed into a worn and torn place in an instant, as if several decades had passed, even a person with a strong mind would find it quite eerie.

Even the protagonist in the novel couldn’t regain his composure when he was first caught in the other world.

“Where is this? No,isn’t this our company? Do you know anything about this situation? Why is this happening…?”

“…”

After calling his name, Lee Jaehun sighed as he looked at Jung Inho, who was in a panic.

Certainly, he was weak in the beginning, perhaps due to the shock.

‘Just breathing here causes a drain on mental strength in this world, so what can you do?’

The other world was not at all friendly to those it had devoured, and survivors within this vast world were constantly tested for their humanity and were subjected to mental trauma.

Merely surviving in this place was evidence of how strong one’s mental strength was.

Jung Inho was a survivor, or rather, the person with the strongest mental strength among the protagonist’s group.

Perhaps being the only adult male among the group made him responsible.

The remaining individuals in the protagonist’s party were two students, one of whom had never done any sports, a flower shop owner, and an elderly woman.

Jung Inho regained his composure when he left the company and met other people in the park ahead.

In short, he was in a state of panic until he left the company.

With this realization, Lee Jaehun, suppressing his irritation, called out to the protagonist.

“Mr. Jung Inho.”

“Ah, yes?”

Perhaps he had grasped the meaning of the address ‘Mr. Jung Inho’ quite well.

Considering how his gaze, which had been shaking like mad, now fixed on me, or it seemed so.

He pointed towards the restroom with his finger and spoke.

“If you search the restroom drawer, you’ll find some tools. Get those tools, a water bottle, and a few snacks from there and then come back here.”

“…”

“Do you understand?”

When in a state of panic, giving orders was more effective than trying to comfort the person. Of course, you had to adjust and consider the mental strength of the other person, but the protagonist’s mental strength, as read in the novel, did not seem to wear out much even in a panicked state.

Fortunately, it seemed that Lee Jaehun’s judgment had an effect as the protagonist, who had been staring blankly at him, slowly nodded and began to move. Though not running, his steps were swift, indicating that he might be feeling a sense of urgency in this situation.

Urgency, yes. Merely staying still in this world made people uneasy.

“…”

Lee Jaehun stood in place and scanned the surroundings.

Most employees were unable to regain their composure, mumbling aimlessly while looking at the empty space. Some, severely affected, were huddled in the corners, trembling.

These were scenes of people losing their mental grip under the influence of the other world.

So, in truth, the protagonist’s recent wandering could be considered cute at best.

Among the employees who managed to maintain some composure, there were at most two.

Lee Jaehun clenched his fist slowly and grabbed a pipe protruding from the wall.

“…Hoo.”

With a strong pull, a part of the pipe came loose.

*Snap,*

As he forcefully pressed down, a portion of the pipe detached.

Actually, I don’t know why there’s a pipe sticking out of my wall, but this place was the other world.

It wouldn’t be unusual for a pipe that originally existed somewhere in the building to protrude a bit.

‘I should be grateful that memories of my past life came back.’

More precisely, I was fortunate to have a body that could use the skills from my past life.

The original Lee Jaehun wouldn’t have been able to cut off a pipe, no matter how rusty or worn it was.

So, he tried to survive using some childish methods as depicted in the novel.

After checking the strength of the pipe several times, Lee Jaehun turned his head and looked towards the sound of footsteps.

“…”

Jung Inho was coming from the restroom in this direction.

With a pipe in one hand, Lee Jaehun, who hadn’t run but was breathing heavily, asked Jung Inho,

“Hey, are you back in your senses?”

“…Maybe.”

“Oh, Deputy Jung, are you speaking informally now? Not minding manners?”

At those words, the protagonist’s tense expression loosened a bit.

Probably because he saw the ‘Lee Jaehun’ from the original world, not from the other world.

It might have eased some of the uneasiness he felt, being stranded in an isolated place.

In order to calm the mind, it was sometimes helpful to use the methods the protagonist used in the novel.

However, it seemed quite peculiar, considering that this was the old-fashioned attitude of the original Lee Jaehun, which even the remnants of the original world abhorred. But he couldn’t afford to be picky about such trivial matters, especially when there was so much to do.

Lee Jaehun calmly recalled the contents he remembered.

‘In the novel, the protagonist only leaves the company with a few employees who have regained their composure.’

Right after being caught in the other world, it was still broad daylight, and the company, which served as the reference point, was in a less transformed state. Considering the future,the protagonist and the employees left the company.

Thanks to that, all the remaining employees were devoured by the other world, Jung Inho could only watch it happen helplessly as he didn’t know much about this world at the time.

Deputy Jung Inho had intended to look around with a few who were in a somewhat communicative state just to grasp the current situation that had suddenly changed.

And considering the coherence I created, at this point,
had something to say.

Holding the pipe skillfully, he said to Jung Inho,

“First, we need to look around. Bring those who have regained their composure over there, Deputy Jung. Let’s get an understanding of the situation.”

“Why… are you so calm?”

“Well, I’m fucking relieved if I look calm right now.”

This was genuine. Every curse word I spoke was meant.

But at the same time, it was a strategy.

‘It doesn’t make sense for me to be the only calm one in this situation.’

When the protagonist was devoured by the other world, he had asked him, ‘What’s going on?’ Even if Lee Jaehun instinctively sensed that the protagonist had some idea of the current situation, being the only one calm in such a situation would likely lead to misunderstandings that were hard to handle.

However, to successfully take the first steps into the other world, at least one calm person among them was needed, at least until they reached the park in front of the company.

It was difficult to expect this from other employees or the current protagonist. Hence, Lee Jaehun had to play that role, which meant he had to at least pretend to be tough.

Yes, the current Lee Jaehun was in a very confused state due to being devoured by the other world. Astonished, anxious, and uneasy. However, due to his career of being old-fashioned and the mysterious setup created last night, he was making an effort to maintain composure.

So, what could reveal his current state wasn’t his actions, subtly displayed, but words that conveyed a language with no real harm.

And there were no words that could express his state as well as curses.

Whether Lee Jaehun’s thoughts were correct or not, the protagonist’s suspicions that had been creeping up in his eyes gradually eased.

“Excuse me.”

“…”

At any rate, he was a disgusting guy. Although the suspicion hadn’t completely disappeared, he had expected at least this much.

From the start, the relationship between Deputy Jung Inho and Lee Jaehun was considered quite bad, so this situation might be considered relatively mild.

Generally, when people reach their emotional limit, they look for someone to blame.

If the relationship wasn’t good to begin with, it could be even worse, and the other world had the potential to drive people insane. Therefore, from the perspective of Deputy Jung Inho, who was mentally strained due to the influence of the other world, Manager Lee Jaehun was a suitable target for unwarranted resentment.

Of course, it’s unlikely that Lee Jaehun intentionally created this situation.

Even in his own opinion, Manager Lee Jaehun lacked the capability to do so. He was merely someone who looked familiar in this situation for some reason, and suspicion was cast upon him.

Lee Jaehun blinked his eyes slowly as he watched the protagonist bring an intern and a junior employee.

“I brought them because they seem to be in a somewhat communicative state, Manager.”

“Kang Mina, a junior employee, and here is… was it Noh Yeonseok, the intern?”

There would likely be many more incidents like this in the future, but he had no intention of creating obstacles from the very beginning.

‘ Let’s follow the script, for now.’

These two were the ones the protagonist had brought along to understand the situation in the novel.

Including two other employees from a different department they met outside, a total of five formed a group and wandered around the company. During this time, the protagonist’s party, led by Noh Yeonseok, the intern who supposedly enjoyed exercise, roamed around the place.

In short, until the park episode, the protagonist wasn’t in a leadership role.

However, their original goal wasn’t to leave the company but to understand the situation. Most importantly, only four people had successfully left the company.

Lee Jaehun glanced at the Assistant Kang Mina.

‘With this kind of opportunity…’

For a while, he might be able to make that disgusting guy look down.

Lee Jaehun thought so and looked at Deputy Jung Inho, who was blocking his view of Assistant Kang Mina.

It was reminiscent of the old-fashioned actions of Manager Lee Jaehun that he had seen before. The way he naturally intervened was irritating.

Of course, there was no intention of wasting emotions on this level of irritation. Moreover, considering the future, maintaining the protagonist’s tendency towards goodness was a good idea.

After all, he was recognized by the novel as a possessor of strong mental strength.

Lee Jaehun nodded approvingly at Assistant Jung Inho’s actions and opened his mouth.

“It seems like something unusual has happened, and you guys are the only ones who’ve got their heads together. We need to go outside and understand the situation, so follow me.”

“Uh, yes.”

“Noh Yeonseok, the intern. I heard you usually enjoy exercising.”

To his question, the intern seemed slightly surprised.

For manager Lee Jaehun, who usually didn’t treat interns as humans to know about his hobby, must have been the reason for this reaction.

“Yes, that’s correct, but…”

“Well, that’s fortunate.”

Even without looking at the protagonist, who frowned at his words, started talking with Noh Yeonseok.

In the novel, Noh Yeonseok, the intern, had taken the lead until they left the company, and Manager Lee Jaehun had relied on him as the person who seemed the most physically fit.

Even resorting to an absurd threat like, ‘If you don’t listen to me, you might end up being a contract worker.’ in the novel.

However, the current group had no idea what the other world was and hadn’t properly understood the situation.

Captivated by their roles in reality, they followed the instructions of the old-fashioned manager and had Noh Yeonseok, the intern, take the lead.

Naturally, witnessing this sequence of events only further diminished Manager Lee Jaehun’s value in the protagonist’s mind.

However, at present, Lee Jaehun, who had no reason to do such foolish things, smoothly spoke behind.

“I’ll be at the front, you at the back.”

“…Yes?”

“Can’t you understand a single word I say? When we move, stay at the back. Deputy Jung and Assistant Kang can figure out the order themselves.”

Regardless of the protagonist’s favor, this order was necessary.

Lee Jaehun recalled the memories of his past life, knowing how dangerous the other world could be. Even those who didn’t know that felt a threat in the current situation.

It was an instinctive recognition of the danger in this world.

‘According to the protagonist’s description, he seemed like he could be devoured by monsters at any moment.’

It wasn’t an incorrect statement.

Being devoured by the other world and anticipating countless monsters to attack at any time in the future, they could instinctively feel the survival instincts stronger than anywhere else in this place.

Thanks to this, even in this situation, they listened to Lee Jaehun’s words.

Once again, when panic sets in, the quickest way to regain control of the situation is to give orders.

Those who felt the threat of the other world’s danger must have understood the validity of this suggestion.

Realizing that communication with others was impossible at the moment, they seemed to have made up their minds to some extent. Observing this silently, Lee Jaehun opened the door to the department office.

Then he let out a quiet sigh.

“…Ha.”

The building’s corridors were twisted like a maze.

“W-what is this…?”

“…Is this really our company…?”

“This is…”

The employees who had been in a daze due to the influence of the other world were now in turmoil.

Those who hadn’t regained their senses either screamed or hesitated in their seats, and even those who were relatively composed turned pale.

The influence and atmosphere of the other world was gradually eroding the mental resilience of those who had been living in a peaceful world, just by witnessing it.

And since Lee Jaehun was also affected by this influence, he bit his lips and nervously grasped the pipe, fixing it.

The trauma from his previous life spread through his mind like a spreading stain.

Lee Jaehun didn’t try to hide the fear that accompanied it.

“…Manager Lee, shall we move?”

“…Yes, we should.”

He needed to show the protagonist that he, too, was a victim of this situation.

Lee Jaehun stepped out of the office.

The broken pieces of cement crunched beneath his shoes, making noises, which echoed loudly in the winding corridor, which was twisted like a cave.

A shiver ran down his spine at the mere sound of a light step.

The noise pierced his ears like a needle, but Lee Jaehun refrained from screaming.

“…”

Anyway, yes. Everything was just as he had seen in novels.

He slowly reconsidered what he feared.

If it was death, then for him, it would be a gift, as the probability of living a lifetime in the eternal otherworld was low.

As long as the protagonist was by Lee Jaehun’s side, the outcome would be one of two things.

Whether being devoured and dying in the otherworld, or returning to reality alive.

Attempting anything beyond that seemed impossible. In other words He had no other choices.

Therefore, for Lee Jaehun, there was no worst-case scenario.

“Does anyone have a name pen?”

Since he had already recalled his past life, there was no worse outcome than that.

* * *

Observing such Lee Jaehun, Deputy Jung Inho quietly spoke.

“…It should be on my desk.”

“Bring it, and if possible, bring a lot.”

“Alright.”

Doubt covered the manager’s pitch-black eyes.

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