This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 7

If she had the personality to be discouraged by just one failure, she would never have reached the glorious position of the best at Hanbit Kindergarten.

Thus, instead of readily giving up after being cut in line by Yoonseo, Bora chose to steel herself.

This was the reason why a puzzled expression floated across the face of Dogun, who had been secretly relieved to have found a partner unexpectedly.

‘What the heck is this…?’

They say that living as a man, there comes a time when popularity explodes at least once in a lifetime, but could that time be now?

If it really is, wouldn’t it come later when I’m a bit older, rather than right now?

While Dogun was in a flustered state of having his collar grabbed from both sides, he witnessed Yoonseo confidently stepping on Dogun, even though she was the one who had come later to claim him first.

‘What is this?’

Unable to describe Bora’s actions as anything other than horrific, Yoonseo quickly recalled that she was the one who had asked first, and her expression reverted back to normal in an instant.

Then, she delivered a triumphant remark to the still-silent Bora.

“Dogun and I already agreed to be partners!”

With that, Yoonseo advised Bora not to linger around here and end up without a partner, but to quickly find another child.

Bora, unwilling to lose, retorted defiantly, “No, we agreed first!”

“I asked first, okay?!”

“No way! I asked before you did?!”

“When?!”

“The day before yesterday!”

“What the…? You’re lying!”

“I’m not lying! It’s only been a day since I’ve been here!”

Watching the two little kids growl at each other was honestly a bit dizzying.

There was no way to comprehend what was happening.

Could it be that I was the type to get eaten up by kindergarteners?

As I quietly attempted to escape reality amidst this unexpected situation, their argument had escalated into a debate about who was closer to me.

“You’re not even that close to Dogun!”

Surprisingly, the one to bring up that topic first was Yoonseo, not Bora.

Given that Yoonseo had just started attending this kindergarten two days ago, it was a disadvantageous topic to pursue, but did she perhaps have some confidence?

What was clear was that her unexpected shot was enough to fluster Bora.

Did she really think someone with only two days’ experience could attack like that? Bora’s expression quickly shifted, and she retorted back to Yoonseo.

“No way! We are friends! And you’re the one who isn’t! You’ve only known Dogun for this… this… this long!”

It seemed that she momentarily forgot the word “two days.”

Thanks to that, although she stumbled over her words a bit, her comeback was surprisingly fierce.

And how did Yoonseo react to Bora’s rebuttal? …Not an ounce of surprise was shown.

Instead of being flustered, she even looked a tad smug, making me curious about what she was banking on.

“No, I knew him from before!”

Well… she wasn’t wrong.

We had interacted briefly over the weekend.

But could she really believe that was enough to bring up this topic?

Before I could even register, Yoonseo fired back.

“And you said you’re friends with Dogun? Then have you ever been to his house?”

“U-uh…?”

‘Wait, what?’

At that retort from Yoonseo, Bora’s expression shifted to one of confusion, while admiration spilled out of my mouth.

I was wondering why she would bring up such a disadvantageous topic, only to realize she was using it like this.

Have you ever been to his house?

It might seem trivial, but in the world of seven-year-olds, it’s a sensitive issue.

It’s a question along the lines of whether you’ve ever been invited to a birthday party.

And if my memory serves me right… Yoonseo was the only one who had been to my house while everyone else had likely looked at Bora’s stiffened expression with victorious facial expressions.

“I-I…! But you’ve never been either!”

Bora, with no way of knowing that fact, shot back, asking if Yoonseo had been.

But that was exactly what Yoonseo had been aiming for.

If not, there would be no reason for her to smile victoriously the moment those words left Bora’s mouth.

“No, I have been!”

“Liar!”

“It’s true… Dogun made rice balls for me at his house yesterday… right, Dogun?”

Wait, at this timing, you’re gonna shift the arrow of blame to me?

Honestly, just that was already enough to leave me bewildered, but what made it worse was the look Bora was giving me alongside Yoonseo’s question.

Why was she looking at me like that?

From the way she stared, it felt like I had become the scumbag who abandoned a perfectly fine crush to drink and walk into the shared apartment with another girl.

Thanks to that, I felt my head spinning, and then suddenly, I was rescued from this crisis by—

“Hey? What’s going on with Dogun, Yoonseo, and Bora?”

It was the teacher, who had been taking care of the kids that successfully paired up.

Honestly, I felt a sense of relief as soon as the teacher appeared.

After all, I thought she would easily calm the chaotic situation.

“Oh dear?”

But it was all just my misconception.

The moment the teacher caught sight of Yoonseo and Bora, who were gripping my collar tightly, a smile mixing with mischief and satisfaction appeared on her face, which soon transformed into a full smile.

“So… Yoonseo and Bora really want to be paired up with Dogun, right?”

“Yes!”

“…”

Finally, while Bora confidently answered the teacher’s question, Yoonseo, still unfamiliar with the teacher, shyly nodded her head as a response.

Needless to say, the teacher’s expression became even more pleased at their reactions.

The problem was that her satisfaction was starting to extend to me.

“Hmm… what should we do? Dogun?”

“…Yes?”

“Yoonseo and Bora both really want to be paired with you, right?”

So?

Surely, the teacher wouldn’t make the dreadful and unreasonable act of passing the choice onto me in this situation?

Before I could even finish that thought, the words I didn’t want to hear echoed in my ears.

“Dogun, who do you want to be paired with? One of the two?”

That question must’ve popped out the moment the teacher opened her mouth.

The two hands that had been firmly gripping my collar suddenly strengthened their grasp.

‘Well…’

Thank goodness it was just two; if it had been four, I would have almost been grilled alive.

Anyway, although the choice had fallen to me… there was no way I could choose between the two.

How could I choose one when they were both looking at me with such sparkling little eyes?

And amidst our trio, there was someone else watching us with a pleased smile, and that was undoubtedly my homeroom teacher, who had put me in this awkward situation.

“Hmm… how about we do it this way?”

What exactly was she planning on doing?

“Let’s make it so that Dogun, Yoonseo, and Bora are one team.”

Huh?

Should I praise her for being a teacher after all?

Her skill at naturally encouraging positive competition among the kids was nothing short of impressive.

The problem was that I was left to bear the burden of that.

While others had the chance to draw one, I had to draw with two.

Could I manage that?

Honestly, I wasn’t too worried about it.

Even if I had to consider the fact that I was already in my second life at this age, it was just a matter of having to be on the lookout for seven-year-olds like them.

Drawing at this level would hardly take 10 minutes with two pieces.

‘Two pieces means 20 minutes, right?’

That seemed doable.

So, unlike other kids, we formed a trio and began drawing together, but as expected, the atmosphere was quite intense as we were competing.

Even while drawing, I found myself sneaking glances and glaring at the other two, and in that setting, all I could do was smile inwardly while pretending to focus on the drawing.

“Don’t peek!”

“I wasn’t looking! And you looked first!”

“I didn’t!”

“Alright, Yoonseo and Bora, enough fighting! Focus on the drawing! You only have 10 minutes left!”

‘Maybe it’s because kindergarten is expensive…’

The crayons were soft and of high quality, unlike any crayons I had known before.

That allowed the drawings to turn out much cleaner than I had anticipated.

After finishing the drawings and meticulously putting away the crayons,—

“Alright, stop!”

The teacher, who had been glancing at the wall clock since earlier, finally spoke those words.

Of course, this wasn’t some exam for high school students, so the kids wouldn’t willingly stop drawing just because the teacher said so—

‘Wait, they are?!’

Oh right, this was that kind of world.

Just like when she arrived, the teacher displayed her talents thoroughly and calmed the kids down, asking once again to the twinkling eyes looking up at her, “Have you all finished your drawings?”

“Yes!”

“Not yet…”

“I still haven’t finished…”

“Really? Those who haven’t finished yet, please raise your hands!”

As if just sprouting like bean sprouts, many hands shot up.

Among them were the two sitting right in front of me.

Did they feel slightly embarrassed that they hadn’t finished a single piece even after a good 30 minutes?

Both of their cheeks were flushed.

‘Seriously, how much effort did they put in the drawings…?’

Could they not even finish one yet?

Anyway, since the number of hands raised was considerable, I imagined the teacher must have been pondering what to do next.

“Hmm… then, how about we take exactly 10 more minutes to draw?”

Thanks to that, we were granted a precious additional 10 minutes, and using that time wisely, both of their drawings finally wrapped up.

However, the reactions from the two after finishing their drawings were drastically different; while Bora nodded satisfactorily at her completed drawing, Yoonseo’s expression grew sullen as she gazed at hers.

It seemed she had poured her heart into it, even furrowing her brow, but was it not coming out as well as she’d hoped?

“So, how about gifting your drawings to a friend?”

Unaware of Yoonseo’s dilemma, the teacher mercilessly announced, and the moment those words left her mouth, their reactions divided once again.

Both seemed equally embarrassed, but perhaps the nature of their embarrassment was different?

Bora’s rosy cheeks were from pride in the result she had created, while Yoonseo’s blushing face was pure embarrassment.

Had she realized all along that her skills weren’t up to par with Bora’s as she had been glancing over at her?

“Okay!”

“…Okay.”

So, perhaps because of that, when they were passing their drawings to me, their stances were completely different.

Bora confidently held hers out as if urging me to check it out, while Yoonseo’s hand extended towards me with a weight of hesitation.

And the moment I checked their drawings, I could only nod in admiration.

‘They really did well.’

This was enough to be proud of.

Considering that these drawings were made by seven-year-olds and only using crayons, it made it all the more impressive.

I must have ended up making an expression of admiration without even realizing it.

Seeing my reaction, Yoonseo puffed up her lips and eventually dropped her head in a sullen manner.