Episode 229
Jaeheon Lee quickly figured out his brother’s intentions.
‘Are you doubting?’
No, I’d rather be more confident than that.
Lee Jae-hyung was not a particularly great person or a genius, but above all else, he was a man of great resourcefulness. The fact that he cared about the eyes of others, despite not being particularly interested in their personalities, was proof of this. He was capable enough to protect the position of director against his eldest sister, who was not easy to please. In front of such a person, a bolt from the blue called ‘Lee Jae-heon’ fell.
‘You want to gather as much information as possible.’
Putting aside the annoyance, I wonder exactly what kind of guy ‘Lee Jae-heon’ is. Can I handle it? Is there any benefit to be gained by handling it? Or is there any loss if I don’t?
And the best material to figure out such things was already in Lee Jae-hyung’s hands. It was the errand boy Lee Jae-heon had used.
“I think this is the first time we’re seeing it in person.”
“… … .”
“Right?”
Lee Jae-heon tilted his head at the sight of her silently slumping forward.
“There is no answer.”
He was already dead… When I muttered softly, the man’s body trembled. He said that he was very upset when he was first caught, but he was quite calm, either because he had been helped or because he had given up on himself. It seemed like he didn’t understand why Jaeheon Lee, who was just a customer, had come into this room.
Jaeheon Lee spoke to him in a soft voice.
“I was there just a few hours ago. You know?”
“… … .”
“Personally, I think it’s the most vicious way to tie them up. One arm to each armrest. Another to each leg of the chair in front. The neck is also lightly wrapped with rope and secured. The chair’s waist and torso are tied together as well. Look, even the chairs are custom-made.”
“…I….”
“You spared no effort in torturing someone.”
At those words, the man’s body jerked violently.
“Didn’t you know? Did you think I just came in to look at you? No way.”
“I, I, I…”
“My brother must see what I am doing. He must kill you.”
Lee Jae-hyung must be watching all of Lee Jae-heon’s calm words and actions, but it was actually an opportunity for Lee Jae-heon. He had to use this opportunity to make his brother look like a ‘crazy guy who can handle it’. So how did he do it?
‘You have to show a situation that is so monstrous that it can be considered art.’
Lee Jae-heon smiled awkwardly as he thought of the protagonist of this world.
“Until then, neither of us can go out.”
He added a backstory to deliberately create a sense of kinship. It was not likely that this would ease the mind of a man trembling with death right before his eyes, but it was better than keeping his mouth shut.
“What is your name?”
“… … .”
“Introduce yourself first, is that it? I know you know.”
“… I know, Lee Jae-heon… Manager.”
“Oh, thank you for remembering.”
“… … .”
“What’s our friend’s name?”
The messenger answered, his eyes filled with confusion.
“… Kim Chan-hyuk… .”
“Okay, Chanhyuk. It’s not a situation where I would be happy to see you, but it’s nice to meet you as a comrade locked in the same room. It’s all bullshit though.”
The easiest way to recognize a person at first sight is to judge him by his role. Just as Lee Jae-heon had called him an errand boy all along, he must have recognized Lee Jae-heon as a customer. This distant relationship broke down the thinnest and weakest first wall by making their names known.
Lee Jae-heon continued speaking with a hollow laugh.
“Do you know? I was called out today because I thought I was going fishing. My brother said he was going to make me some spicy fish stew. The only thing I was worried about the most on the way here was, ‘Oh, how much longer will that guy tease me?’”
“… … .”
“But they suddenly gave me medicine, tied me up in the middle of the room, and tormented me. I don’t understand what the hell is going on. I feel like I did something wrong.”
The errand boy probably took drugs too. When Secretary Jeong was putting Jae-heon Lee in the car while he was pretending to be asleep, he said, “I took the drugs and threw up,” so he must have had a bad memory of sleeping pills. He was tied up in the middle of the room, so he probably sympathized with a lot of what Jae-heon Lee said.
Judging by the strange expression on the other person’s face, it was clear that he had not been able to properly communicate with the people on this ship since being captured. It was not the face of someone who knew how the situation was going at the moment.
“Where does Mr. Kim Chan-hyuk live?”
“…Mars….”
“Gyeonggi-do? They say that if you live there, you spend 20% of your life on the subway. Is that true? I’ve never been to Hwaseong. Is that your hometown? Since you were a child…”
“…yes.”
“What was Mars like when you were a child?”
Lee Jae-heon continued asking easy questions so that the other person would not feel as if he was difficult. Starting with questions that could be answered with a short answer, he went on to ask questions that would eventually make the other person recall their past. He gradually created an atmosphere in which the other person could come up with a smooth answer.
It wasn’t a good situation, but it was true that the atmosphere had improved a lot since Lee Jae-heon first came in. The errand boy continued speaking, hesitating.
“… They say there is a cultural heritage, but… well…”
“Oh, I know. If there’s something like that near my house, I don’t really go there. But doesn’t the school send you there? If there’s a cultural heritage site in the same area, I think they would send you there whenever they have time.”
“… I did that when I was in elementary school. In middle school, I didn’t do that… .”
“Oh, where did you go to middle school? I heard that one of your subordinates went to middle school in Mars.”
“… … .”
The errand boy, who had been thinking with his eyes narrowed, spoke.
“… I think it was, west, snowy, middle… maybe…”
“That’s a nice name. What high school did you go to?”
“Uh… high school, huh…? Danhwa High School… ? But, but…”
He had a look on his face like he didn’t know why he had to answer like that, but he still answered steadily. He was almost dying because of the staff on the ship, but it seemed like he was thinking that since Lee Jae-heon was higher in rank than him, if he listened well, he might be able to spare his life.
I couldn’t allow myself to have such wishful thinking.
“Are you going to continue living on Mars with your family? All together?”
Since they were never going to be a happy family as long as they were errand boys, I pretended not to notice the sore spot and poked at it. The other person’s face hardened. It was more like emptiness or resignation than anger.
“… was isolated.”
“Uh… Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that…”
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“… Because you don’t understand me… .”
“… … .”
“Always swearing… and getting angry… .”
He started telling me stories I hadn’t even asked about. It was a good sign.
“I, I did so well. You kicked me out… I…”
“… Are you kicking them out? The family?”
“Father, my parents. Brother, they only like you. You were the one who did more wrong.”
“Why, hyung….”
“That kid always hates me… and pushes me away…”
His hands and feet tied to the chair were shaking. Even so, if he had been an errand boy, it meant that his mind wasn’t completely incompetent. However, he seemed to have lost his reason and his mind was in a haze due to the fear of imminent death and the sense of isolation from knowing what was going on outside. It was obvious that he had become so easily agitated.
“I, I. I… I’m a really smart person. I got good grades and never got into trouble. But my brother ignored me… talked behind my back, and made fun of me in front of my parents.”
“ah….”
“I was a better person. A better person… doing better, everything. More, more…”
And it was easy for a deprived person to squeeze through the gaps.
“… I really don’t understand why these authors, who are called hyungs, bully their younger siblings so much.”
“… … .”
“So you left home and came to the errand center? This is the first time I’ve asked Mr. Kim Chan-hyeok for help, but he’s really good at gathering information…”
“… That’s, just… .”
“I was impressed. The information I was curious about was organized nicely.”
He creates a designated enemy and shows a friendly attitude so that the opponent thinks of him as an ally. Judging from the way he speaks, it seems that he has a sense of inferiority or a sense of entitlement in terms of ability, but now that his reason is clouded and his emotions are running high, such one-dimensional praise cannot go unnoticed.
The other person kept his mouth shut, but to anyone who saw it, it was a silence of affirmation.
“Thanks to you, I also met good people.”
“…thanks….”
“I really liked it, and the information was just as you told me… .”
The messenger asked in a trembling voice.
“Those, people… are… .”
“…yes.”
“Kill me…? Are you… afraid?”
“… … .”
He blinked and consciously looked outward. He seemed to think for a moment, then nodded his head slightly, awkwardly, and apologetically. It was to make him look like he was somewhere between a normal person and an abnormal person.
“…if possible.”
The flow of conversation that Lee Jae-heon had had up until now was extremely normal, but the situation was the complete opposite. The errand boy, who felt a strong sense of alienation to the point of losing his sense of reality, must have asked because he couldn’t hold back his questions. It was strange that a crazy person was acting like a normal person.
The moment Lee Jae-heon answered, hope disappeared from the errand boy’s eyes. This was because he realized that the madman in front of him would eventually take his life.
“… I’m sorry we had to meet like this.”
“…why….”
“… … .”
“Why, why, why… why on earth… .”
Just now, the denial of ‘it can’t be that way’ has ended.
“I did a good job… I said I did a good job…! I’m good at my job. Why! What did I do wrong!”
“… … .”
“Why are you all?
I’m angry at everyone around me and at others who still enjoy life after I die.
“Please, please just let me go just this once. Okay? I’ll really do well. I’ll do well. I’ll do well. I can do well. Just this once. If you save me just this once, I’ll do anything. Anything, I can really do anything you ask me to do. Please…”
“… … .”
“T-Then, can’t we do it a little later? I. I, I’m not ready yet. Just give me some time… Okay? Then, again, again. Please… save me…”
They try to negotiate everything possible to delay the situation in any way possible.
“How did I get here… how did I get here… why did it have to be me… .”
“… … .”
“… What on earth have I been living for… .”
And the sadness about the things I have to leave behind.
Lee Jae-heon opened his mouth.
“…you look tired.”
“… … .”
“You must be very tired. But there is no need to go back and relive the process. You are already tired enough… and have done a lot.”
He got up from his seat, slowly approached the errand boy tied to the chair, and met his gaze. His hazy gaze that had been staring into space turned to Lee Jae-heon as if he was possessed.
“I will put the information you provided to good use. Thank you.”
“…I am….”
“I know it’s sad to leave behind everything you’ve built up over the years… Mr. Kim Chan-hyuk.”
“I have some kind of meaning….”
“Mr. Kim Chan-hyuk is a lonely person.”
Lee Jae-heon recited in a heavy voice.
“Abandoned by his parents, framed by his older brother… He left home and grew up alone until he came this far. But don’t you know? In this world, everyone meets a death like this. I won’t deny that Mr. Kim Chan-hyeok is unlucky, but…”
“… … .”
“I can help you, just a little bit.”
The errand boy, who was looking at him like that, muttered quietly.
“… Lee Jae-heon… .”
“Yes, that’s my name.”
“… Mr. Lee Jae-heon.”
“Please speak.”
“Lee Jae-heon… .”
He muttered as if he was crazy, and tears fell down his face.
“It’s scary.”
“You know what? You’re just afraid of being forgotten.”
“I’m scared… .”
“Such fear comes to everyone equally.”
Lee Jae-heon slowly reached out and stroked his head. It was like stroking a well-behaved dog, but the messenger didn’t notice it at all. It meant that his clever brain, which had been so good at gathering information as an errand boy, had stopped functioning.
Those who are deficient are blind to those who fill what they lack.
“But I will remember you, Mr. Kim Chan-hyuk.”
“… … .”
“You won’t be scared at all.”
The hand that came down from the head went down to the neck that was tied with a rope. The hand that was positioned somewhere that the messenger couldn’t see was holding a short, thin skewer that seemed to shine white. The messenger, who was blankly staring at Lee Jae-heon, flinched at the cold sensation, but didn’t cry anymore.
Lee Jae-heon smiled without avoiding her gaze.
“… come talk to me.”
The errand boy lived for another three hours.
