Theatrical Regression Life - Chapter 134

Episode 134:

I had an absurd intuition that if there was a character who existed but disappeared, Song In-myeong must have been killed. Even when I was almost at the level of an idiot.

Of course, to put it bluntly, it was an intuition that could be criticized as a delusion, but Lee Jae-heon had nothing to do.

‘What can I do with her being like that?’

I was confident because I knew the ‘Song In-myeong’ created by the author.

That bastard was created to kill someone, and it had a similar purpose to ‘Lee Jae-heon’, which was to be used for a moment of pleasure. It was only expected that Song In-myeong would not be able to escape its purpose.

So, he vaguely thought that he would have killed a character who did not appear, and now that he can think more clearly thanks to Jung In-ho, Lee Jae-heon is convinced.

‘I killed you, you bastard.’

If you think about it, Song In-myeong never once took out the jackknife.

In the story, Song In-myeong boasts bulging muscles and acts as a worker in various situations, and the item he most usefully uses is a jackknife. It’s called a contact knife or pocket knife. Song In-myeong had no hesitation in showing off his knife, even cleaning fish with it.

‘Because there hasn’t been a lot of time to kill someone directly.’

He does not directly kill people unless it is something he really likes or it is a dangerous situation.

‘I think I was talking about art and philosophy, but let’s skip this.’

However, because he had a knife, he was immediately treated as a dangerous person. What he had was a multi-purpose knife that enthusiasts would normally buy. Before the jackknife, it was also called an all-purpose tool, and it was not only a sharp knife, but also had small features such as drills, scissors, and saws. Anyone who saw it had the courage to appreciate it.

Above all, when Seo Jang-hwa tried to use the jackknife as an excuse to doubt Song In-myeong, Seo Jang-hwa immediately refuted it and became quietly angry. Due to his personality, he didn’t scream and get angry, but his low voice and even harsher expression were enough to give an idea of how he was feeling.

But why don’t you take out the knife you’ve been using so well?

‘What is the reason?’

no. 1. There’s a reason I can’t show it.

No.2. Does not have it.

Whether it was number 1, number 2, or a possible third option, it was doubtful from Lee Jae-heon’s perspective.

However, if there was blood on it or something that could hurt, there’s no way Detective Hong wouldn’t have known about it. The situation has become more relaxed and unlike the original novel, it is quite resolved, but where can that nature go? He was a great man who even smelled the blood that Jaeheon Lee was spitting out in the dark, where he couldn’t see well.

So Song In-myeong will not have a jackknife. When Kim Yeon-woo secretly said, ‘It would have been nice if I had a knife,’ he himself felt very sorry for that. If Police Officer Kim, who was part of the detective’s initial group, was unaware of the existence of the jackknife, it should be assumed that Song In-myeong had thrown away the knife even before joining the detective group.

And one of the characters who would have originally joined the park also disappeared.

‘Isn’t it worth doubting at least once?’

They say Song In-myeong was killed.

It is true that the killer is less influenced by the underworld, but that does not mean that he is completely free from it. If anyone commits murder and witnesses the consequences, the world behind the scenes is sure to be shaken by the deaths involved.

‘It means a monster has gone on the rampage.’

Also, it turned out that the abandoned monster dog was so excited that it ran amok, and the child was killed while being used as bait.

At this point, it was safe to assume that Song In-myeong used the child as bait for an abandoned dog monster that went on a rampage right after the murder and that he ran away. The question then arises, ‘Why is the distance between the adult and the child’s corpse so great?’ But for now, that was the only way to judge it.

However, in this case, the results vary depending on how excited the abandoned dog monster was at the time. It is said that there is an adult man by the child’s side, and there is also an unseen character.

‘If a child had witnessed the murder scene, the monster would have gone wild…’

I couldn’t remember that far. Because Lee Jae-heon was out of his mind when the abandoned dog monster went on the rampage. This means we don’t know if they were just aroused by fish intestines or by witnessing someone’s death.

But right now, the most likely route is this.

1. Song In-myeong kills ‘a character he encountered in the park’ or ‘the child’s companion’

2. Song In-myeong and the child victim witness the murder and the monsters are agitated

3. Sensing a sense of crisis, Song In-myeong uses the child as bait for the monster Give and run

4. I casually join the detective team

…I guess.

‘But I have no idea who was killed, when, how, and where.’

Both victims in number 1 were adult men, and even in the case of the former, his appearance was not well described in the novel. In addition, half of the corpse’s face was torn off, so it seemed difficult to figure out who killed the person using the remaining body.

‘Of course, considering that neither of them has shown their faces so far, it looks like they may have already been killed by the monster even if they ran away…’

I have a question.

“Why did you kill him?”

This means that ‘Song In-myeong’ was not a very stupid character.

He was a little different from the scum who committed murder in the throes of momentary pleasure and ended up in prison. He knew how to cleverly use his talents to build a strong following, and he also learned how to persevere until the subject of a piece was achieved. Of course, from Lee Jae-heon’s point of view, people naturally say, ‘That bastard is so damn stupid,’ but whatever.

‘But why?’

Why at the beginning of the park episode? At that time, I would have definitely been with other college friends. Even at the risk of being discovered by them, they had to kill a person who didn’t even fit the topic? In such a sloppy way?

Regardless of humanity or anything else, it wasn’t Song In-myeong’s taste.

“….”

So.

“…I had to kill him.”

why?

Otherwise,

“the plan will be ruined.”

If we put aside all these issues and just think of ‘Song In-myeong’, the time when he became so urgent was when there was a flaw in his art. Or the situation just before it occurred.

And besides ‘Sacrifice’, there was one project he was working on.

‘friend.’

It’s a crazy project where when you die, the two people around you have to die as well.

“…He almost got his identity discovered by his friends….”

What on earth did this corpse say when it was alive to end up like this?

‘Then you knew that Song In-myeong was a murderer? ‘With what talent?’

Song In-myeong is a maniac who cares about neatness, but he wouldn’t do something that would flaw my plan. Even if something like that happens, haven’t you created a dangerous background so that you can make art? But how on earth did you find out about his danger?

As Jaeheon Lee was walking around looking for a better excuse, something suddenly caught his eye.

“…What’s this.”

Blood stains that would make anyone think he was dead.

“Why is there no body?”

And there wasn’t even a single small piece of meat left to be found.

But no monster could eat a corpse like this, leaving only blood behind. At least as Lee Jae-heon remembers, all the monsters in the underworld left traces of cruelty, and Song In-myeong was the same. Rather, I couldn’t understand it even more because the current scene looked similar to an accidental murder.

Doesn’t this look as if someone erased only this part with an eraser?

As if erased.

“….”

…I’m going crazy.

“How come things are becoming more and more complicated?”

Fuck, I don’t even know.

Lee Jae-heon, who consciously stopped the flow of thoughts, quickly left the scene with a jackknife and latex gloves in his hands. He had just witnessed two murder scenes, so the monsters were going to start running rampant.

Yes, this was the reason why he proceeded with the work even though he was not sure that the green algae monster would do as he said and did not trust it.

‘Because monsters are bound to run rampant anyway.’

Lee Jae-heon was confident that he would be able to find the murder scene of Song In-myeong. If you think about the retreat path of the abandoned dog monster that was obediently retreating at the time, the direction of movement of the existing group of college students, and the space between temporal events, you can roughly figure out where it is.

And, fortunately or unfortunately, the location was not far from a small lake. It was a bit far away from the center of the park where Lee Jae-heon’s group used to stay. At least, it was far enough away that even if someone screamed in a suppressed voice, they wouldn’t be able to hear it.

I don’t know when he was killed, but Song In-myeong, who was skilled, would not have let him scream carelessly, so it was not surprising that those nearby did not notice.

“….”

If you think about it, right after Lee Jae-heon came back from a small lake, an abandoned monster dog came and the chicks lost their mentality.

“…Should I have seen that as excitement?”

Since I wasn’t there at the time, there was no way to judge.

I wasn’t sure exactly when Song In-myeong killed who and how many people. It seems that Song In-myeong killed both the faceless character and the unknown adult man. However, because there were so many cases, it was difficult to understand in detail the other time periods and the resulting results.

Lee Jae-heon sighed and quickened his pace before things got too late. The detective’s attention would be taken away by the rampaging monster, so now was an opportunity to go out and search with Song In-myeong.

Also, Song In-myeong was not going to let this opportunity go to waste.

‘If the plan is going to fail anyway,’

you’ll want to at least prepare the ‘materials’.

And Lee Jae-heon was probably quite mouth-watering material for him.

* * *

“…Mr. In-ho. are you okay?”

“…Huh….”

“It’s not okay….”

Kwon Yeon-hee lightly adjusted the clothes that had been placed on Jeong In-ho’s head and then hesitated, unable to touch them any further. Unlike regular wounds that can actually be physically treated, Jung In-ho was in a situation where we couldn’t do anything more because he was in pain.

Kwon Yeon-hee lowered her head as she saw Jeong In-ho sweating coldly and not being able to speak properly.

“…Everyone is really crazy.”

How can one person not remain still like this?

‘If no one gets sick, I might have a fatal disease.’

It was quite common for Lee Jae-heon to get hurt by himself all the time, but Jung In-ho was close to stopping Lee Jae-heon. However, when I woke up to the noise in the middle of the night and looked at the situation, I realized that the person who caused the accident this time was none other than In-ho Jeong.

Kwon Yeon-hee was dumbfounded. Intern Noh Yeon-seok probably had similar feelings, and was pressing his temples with an ugly, distorted face. It seemed like he was dizzy. There’s no way you wouldn’t feel dizzy when the team’s mental leaders throw themselves into one accident after another.

It would have been less surprising if he had received some kind of tip, but Jung In-ho ended up doing it without much notice. Kwon Yeon-hee, who was sleeping well, had no surprises.

“Should I put something like a wet towel on my head….”

“…Water aside, a towel…?”

“Yeah…yeah, I guess. “No, yes.”

“Rather than that, in this case, isn’t the wet towel a bit unexpected…?”

Noh Yeon-seok and Kwon Yeon-hee, who confirmed the safety of the siblings sitting around the bonfire, gathered together and whispered. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do anything right away, but even so, anyone would be nervous if they were in front of a person groaning as if they were dying. That was their situation now.

Noh Yeon-seok, who was scratching his head in embarrassment, immediately looked at firefighter Han Do-yoon, who was stroking his legs with his head down.

“…Is your leg okay over there?”

“hmm? Ah yes. “Thank you for your concern.”

Noh Yeon-seok hesitated for a moment at Han Do-yoon’s unique sly smile, but then he wiggled his fingers and looked around. I was reflexively thinking about whether I could help in any way.

And not long after, a sonorous voice was heard.

“Oppa, play with me.”

“Huh?”

“…please.”

The youngest survivor, Jang Seo-ah, was a child who carried herself proudly despite being the youngest.

“The teacher is sick.”

“Ah ah… I see.”

He continued speaking a few times as if he was still having trouble forming clear sentences, but there was no major problem in understanding his intention. He wanted to show off his vitality, but when the ‘teacher’, who seemed to be his protector, was sleeping, he seemed to have found another adult.

Noh Yeon-seok’s face was quite scary with the corners of his eyes raised, but fortunately, Jang Seo-ah had a strong heart and was able to approach Director Lee Jae-heon, who was covered in blood, without any hesitation. It wasn’t a very difficult opponent for him, who had previously volunteered at a kindergarten or daycare center to gain a variety of experiences.

Noh Yeon-seok glanced at teacher Lee Yun-byeol, who was sleeping with both hands clenched into fists, and immediately focused his gaze on Jang Seo-ah, who was approaching him.

“What do you want to play?”

“paper. Ugh, paper… folding.”

“Origami is good.”

The child was pleased with those words and immediately took out another small piece of paper from his small bag. It was pure white paper with no color, and judging by its thickness and texture, it looked like it had been cut from A4 paper, not the folding paper sold at stationery stores.

“….”

Above all, the small letters written on the back indicated that this paper was recycled.

After checking up to that point, Noh Yeon-seok scratched the back of his head and asked Jang Seo-ah.

“Then what are you planning to fold?”

“dinosaur. “Hey.”

“How do dinosaurs fold?”

“You don’t know either, right? “You don’t even know.”

“Mister….”

Thinking of Lee Jae-heon at those words, Noh Yeon-seok looked at the paper the child was folding one by one. It looked like it had a plausible shape, but no matter how much I looked at it, it looked more like a rabbit than a dinosaur.

Seeing Noh Yeon-seok like that, Do-yoon Han spoke to him in a high-pitched voice.

“It’s unusual.”

“…yes?”

“I just don’t have any other intentions…”

For some reason, his voice was a little cracked.

“Your team is a bit. Basically, what can I say… I think people are really nice.”

As Han Do-yoon said that, he slightly opened his hand into a fist and then clenched it again. Noh Yeon-seok’s eyes were caught by his actions as if he was holding something in his hands, but his eyes naturally returned when he heard the voice that followed.

“I’m a firefighter by profession, but when I got hurt like this, I didn’t have the strength to help anyone.”

“It’s… it can’t be helped because you’re hurt.”

“That is also true. I was confident that I was good at managing my physical strength, but it was especially difficult here. I got tired in many ways…”

“….”

“….”

Do-yoon Han was quietly staring into space as if he was thinking about something.

Azalea, who was not sleeping, glanced at him, and Park Da-young and Park Da-hoon, who were checking to see if the bonfire was burning well, also looked at him. Noh Yeon-seok blinked, unable to understand the situation, as his gaze seemed to contain a lot of intent.

“excuse me.”

“…yes.”

“Shameless, but…”

Just as I was listening to Han Do-yoon’s words again,

“――It’s a monster!”

Kim Yeon-woo and Vivian, who were on guard outside, returned and shouted.

“A monster is coming. Those of you who can move, please help prevent the monster from getting inside!”

“Oh my, what is going on….”

“Yes yes?”

“Choi Jeong-man, Noh Yeon-seok, can you help me?”

“Ah ah…! Yes yes yes!”

Noh Yeon-seok urgently got up and lifted the wooden block, and Park Da-hoon, who was near the bonfire, pushed his older sister inside and guarded the outside.

In such a sudden situation, firefighter Han Do-yoon slowly stood up, but soon fell down again, perhaps because of his legs.

Looking at him like that, Han Do-yoon said with a familiar smile.

“….”

“…Let’s talk later.”

“…yes.”

It just didn’t look like he was smiling.

(Continued in the next part)