This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 169

Thanks to the articles related to Dogun and Chae-rim flooding the internet like this, it didn’t take long for stories surrounding them to take over the online world.

In a way, it was expected.

After all, they were the first to survive after being caught up in a devouring rift.

That alone was enough to make headlines, not to mention the fact that the famous Lightning Lady was one of the survivors.

The timing of the articles wasn’t too shabby either.

Although some time had passed, public interest in the rift situation hadn’t completely died down.

For those who firmly believed that they had completely escaped the threat of Another, the rift incident from about a month ago came as a shocking revelation.

Thus, it became impossible for discussions about them to not catch fire, and thanks to that, several places on the internet began debating primarily about what Dogun had testified.

Among them were some sites that got completely hooked on sensational articles and were jokingly discussing Dogun and Chae-rim’s relationship…but there were also plenty of places having serious discussions about the incident.

And in those places, the opinions being voiced were usually one and the same.

If the statements in the articles were true, shouldn’t the Association be working on a way to save them even now?

Or are they planning to just abandon them?

Of course, not everyone thought the same, and with every wave of such discussions, rebuttals inevitably followed.

Sure, it’s good to want to rescue those suffering at the hands of Another.

But how exactly are you planning to do that?

In order to save them, you’d first need to cross into the world where those Anothers reside. How would you even go about crossing over, let alone returning?

Are we supposed to push heroes into the rift without any assurances that they can come back?

Logical counterarguments followed, but that didn’t quiet those advocating for rescues.

And it was no wonder that the rescuers were often people who had been affected by Anothers or their acquaintances.

The logic they employed to rebut those counterarguments was simple.

Aren’t there methods to return? Lightning Lady made it back, didn’t she?

So if the Association figures out that method, they could freely traverse into the world of Anothers.

And if they have free access, they could overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Surely those guys wouldn’t be too much of a problem?

In fact, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to wipe them out entirely in the long run.

That was the kind of logic they predominantly relied on, and naturally, those raising opposing voices weren’t about to back down easily.

Even the most timid of pets have the upper hand in their own backyard, so it’s understandable that they found the idea of confronting Anothers in their world extremely risky.

And let’s not forget, it wasn’t just ordinary Anothers existing there, as was revealed by the interview with the man who returned alongside Lightning Lady.

One of the three Special-Class heroes in Korea.

And it was said that even the one dubbed the ‘strongest’, Lightning Lady, found it challenging to deal with advanced beings disguised as humans.

The concerns voiced by those opposing this idea stemmed largely from the existence of such threats.

The article mentioned only one, but what if there were more monsters like that?

The difference would inevitably lead to the Expedition Team’s casualties, and how could they deal with the resulting gaps in security?

Villains definitely wouldn’t just sit back and watch a gap like that.

As discussions escalated, those regularly voicing opinions grew increasingly emotional, to the point where some even condemned Chae-rim for returning with only Dogun.

That was how heated the discussions about the two had made the internet, and before long, the initially simple online narrative spread to other media outlets in no time.

From internet articles to social media, from social media to video platforms, and then to TV news and radio.

All these changes took place in just a few hours, making it so that anywhere you went, no matter what you watched, it was impossible to avoid the stories of Chae-rim and Dogun.

Despite all this, the person among Dogun’s acquaintances who first learned of his survival wasn’t Yoonseo or Seolhwa, but a third party.

It couldn’t be helped.

Seolhwa was completely cut off from outside contact due to taking the hero qualification exam, and Yoonseo hadn’t yet overcome the wounds of loss.

As a result, Yoonseo continued to flounder in a swamp created by guilt and sorrow.

For Yoonseo, the fortunate aspect was that the one who first learned about Dogun’s survival was none other than her father.

When he found out through a picture attached to the news, the first thing he did was simple.

He headed straight for his daughter Yoonseo.

Of course, that had originally been the plan, but the article he had read online was enough to spur him into action.

He wanted to relay this information to Yoonseo as quickly as possible.

And he hoped that once she found out… Yoonseo wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

So he hurried along.

As soon as he arrived at the hospital, he made his way directly to his daughter’s hospital room.

There she was.

She sat on the bed, looking as vacant as ever.

Seeing her like that made his heart ache once again, but at the same time, he felt an odd sense of relief.

This would be the last time he’d have to see her like this.

However, he was troubled over how to bring up the topic—

“Dad…?”

Today, her condition seemed a bit better, as she responded first after being nearly unresponsive over the past few days.

That made it easy for him to continue without any hesitation.

“Yoonseo, don’t be shocked and just listen carefully. Dogun…”

“…Why is Dogun?”

“He’s alive. Dogun is…!”

Of course, there was a difference between bringing it up and Yoonseo accepting it.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden, Dad? Dogun is obviously alive.”

After hearing about what happened to Dogun, Yoonseo had locked herself away in her own world.

He needed to pull his daughter out of that space.

And it went without saying that a picture of Dogun would be far more effective than a hundred words.

Just earlier, the first thing he had done upon learning Dogun was alive was to shakily save a photo, all for this moment.

So… he displayed the photo of Dogun on his mobile phone and held it up before his daughter’s eyes.

And after some time passed…

As he impatiently tried to gauge her reaction, Yoonseo’s previously vacant eyes suddenly seemed to widen.

Then… emotions began to fill them.

It didn’t take long for those emotions to overflow from her eyes.

Teardrops rolled down her gaunt cheeks.

And just like that, they plopped onto the phone screen where the picture of Dogun was displayed.

“Really…?”

Her mouth opened just moments later.

“Really… he’s alive…?”

Her voice was cracked and dry.

Yet, it was the most vibrant voice he had heard in the past month.

After all, even when she spoke, it had only been empty words until now.

Maybe that’s why her voice made him well up.

Feeling that way, he found himself silently blaming Dogun just a little.

‘Seriously, making my precious daughter go through all this emotional turmoil…’

Watching his daughter tightly clutch the mobile phone she was given, shedding tears silently, he felt that it couldn’t be helped.

‘Just wait till you two start dating. I’m really going to…!’