This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 60

“Uh… What on earth happened?”

I remember desperately trying to stay awake, only to finally doze off and dream about a giant rice cake monster made entirely of glutinous rice cake.

I was planning to execute the operation of ‘punishing the bouncy Yoonseo by eating her’ when suddenly, my eyes were dazzlingly bright, and I woke up.

Upon waking up, I felt a throbbing pain in my cheek, and Yoonseo was glaring at me, her face twisted with anger.

Her face was not just red—it looked like her entire neck was on fire, indicating something was seriously wrong.

With that sight alone, my curiosity piqued.

From my perspective, what on earth had caused her to be so furious?

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to solve that curiosity.

Before I could open my mouth, Yoonseo stormed off the bus through the open door.

She was so mad that she skipped the card punch and just got off.

The only person who could clear up my confusion had slipped away like that, so the only option left was to speculate alone.

“Could it be… did I drool while sleeping?

And did Yoonseo suffer because of it?

Or did I accidentally headbutt her while dozing off?”

It seemed more likely I had done the latter rather than the former.

If that were the case, it would explain the dazzling brightness I had seen while dreamily dozing off.

Of course, even if that were true, it didn’t justify her level of anger.

Those were indeed reasons to be upset, but I’d say they weren’t enough to warrant such fury.

As there was a limit to my solitary speculations, the answer was clear.

“I should apologize after school…”

I could do it right away if I wanted to, but honestly, it felt a bit awkward.

If I knew the reason for her anger, I would have confidently attempted that!

But right now, should I just call her and say I’m sorry?

If that could calm her down, I’d be relieved, but if I messed up, it could have a counterproductive effect.

So, letting her cool off naturally until the emotions eased would probably be the wiser choice.

“Tsk…”

*

Contrary to Dogun’s misconceptions, Yoonseo wasn’t angry at all.

Of course, she looked angry enough to make anyone think so.

With her neck flushed as red as her face, and her glaring at Dogun, even if he had just woken up, Yoonseo’s demeanor wasn’t noticeably different from that of an enraged person.

Well, that was how it looked on the outside; the emotions occupying Yoonseo at that moment were anything but anger.

It was an overwhelming embarrassment she had never felt before in her life.

That was the emotion taking over Yoonseo’s body, forcing her to crouch down the moment she stepped off the bus.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped my lips uncontrollably.

It was just that… embarrassing.

The lingering sensation that had crept down her neck remained vivid in her mind.

Even though she tried covering it with her hand, how could she still feel this way?

Realistically, something like that shouldn’t be possible, yet it felt like her heart had moved to where Dogun’s lips had touched.

The heartbeat radiating through her fingers as she covered it made everything feel really strange.

Given the situation, she couldn’t muster the courage to check the mirror.

Even without seeing how it looked, her heart raced like crazy. If she confirmed Dogun’s clear “mark” on her neck, her heart might just explode.

Yet, she couldn’t avoid checking, so she took a deep breath and forced herself to ignore the curious gazes flying in her direction, finally standing up.

Then she rushed inside the nearest building.

First, she had to escape the sight of everyone, using this building as a temporary refuge before looking for a bathroom or somewhere with a mirror to check the state of her neck.

Fortunately, it seemed she wouldn’t have to go all the way to the bathroom.

Whether she could call it fortunate, there was actually a sizable mirror mounted on the wall near the entrance of the first floor.

After confirming that, she walked cautiously toward it.

Once she arrived in front of the mirror, she stood there for a moment, staring at her own reflection, then slowly removed the hand that had been covering her neck.

She had taken her hand away—

“Ugh… Ah…”

The moment her eyes landed on the sight before her, she couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

It was inevitable because there, in a very noticeable position, was a striking mark boldly displayed.

A kiss mark.

The moment she laid eyes on the evidence of Dogun’s mark on her neck, a single word echoed in her mind, completely shifting the rhythm of her wildly beating heart.

And suddenly, along with her heart racing uncontrollably, her hands and feet began to feel oddly tingly.

It was an inexplicably strange sensation that made it impossible to resist applying pressure to that spot. Biting her lips, she leaned closer to the mirror to examine her neck more closely.

“Wow…”

She couldn’t help but admire it.

Because the positioning was so exquisitely perfect.

How could a person asleep manage to leave a mark in such a precise spot?

The placement was so impeccable that even the slightest collar wouldn’t be able to hide it.

“Was I pretending to sleep?”

Maybe that’s why, but suddenly, that thought crossed her mind.

Unlikely, though.

“What to do… What on earth should I do?”

If the weather were a bit more spring-like, she could have blamed insects for it.

But in the current chilly wind, that was impossible.

Well, theoretically, she could, but… no one would readily believe it.

If she had known this would happen, she would’ve worn the scarf Dogun had given her on that last visit.

Seeing that Dogun hadn’t worn a scarf when he’d come to see her that morning, she thought it would be a bit odd for her to wear one, and thus, she had made a regrettable choice.

“Ugh… What do I do?”

To be honest, if she wanted to, she could just blatantly walk out without a care.

Sure, it would be a bit embarrassing, but surely she couldn’t go around all day with her hand covering her neck.

If need be, she’d have to use that method.

However… just one thing was troubling her.

If she did that, unnecessary rumors might circulate.

You know, those kinds of rumors.

The ones that say someone has a significant other or that they have an intimate relationship.

If that person related to those rumors was Dogun, then fine, but what if it was some useless guy she had no interest in?

And what if those absurd rumors somehow made their way to Dogun’s ears?

It was hard to imagine how he would react upon hearing them.

If he showed a negative reaction or even jealousy, that would be ideal, but if he happened to say congratulations while looking at her, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to stand it.

Of course, she knew it was unlikely that things would go that far.

But still… she hadn’t even properly begun this situation yet.

So even if the possibility was low, she wanted to clear away any potential obstacles.

Ignoring the possibility might lead to her tripping over them, which would be all the more painful.

To tackle the problem of this… kiss mark somehow… was there a good method?

“…Ah!”

Band-aids!

Right, there’s that.

As that thought hit her, she quickly unzipped her bag.

Then, she dug into the front pocket and, to her surprise, pulled out a still-packaged band-aid.

It was something Dogun had insisted she carry, claiming he often found himself needing one for odd reasons.

She had reluctantly accepted it back then and promptly forgotten about it, never suspecting it would be needed like this.

She couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought that both the cause and the solution were Dogun; nevertheless, she hurriedly began unwrapping the packaging to attend to the urgent matter.

*

While Yoonseo was busy with damage control, Dogun had just stepped off the bus in front of the school.

“Wow, this took longer than I thought…”

Maybe that’s why they say not to trust the internet blindly.

The guide said it would take 20 minutes, but it actually took 25 minutes!

Luckily, he had moved a little earlier, or he would have probably been staring blankly at the locked school gate by now.

“By the way…”

It was bigger than he had expected!

Of course, it was no rival for Huiseo High, where he had visited before, but he’d heard that they received a different level of funding from outside sources.

Considering that, this seemed perfectly reasonable.

His thoughts wandered as he noticed how clean the school buildings appeared through the neatly painted walls, devoid of any common graffiti, as if someone had prepared them for the entrance ceremony.

“Alright, everyone planning to attend the entrance ceremony, please gather…”

Possibly a member of the student council, the voice flowed into his ears, prompting him to join the line he could see.

As he moved inside the auditorium, which had begun to fill with people, he suddenly spotted someone’s eyes light up at the sight of him.