This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 253

Chae-rim’s Perspective

‘No, wait a minute…’

Sure, it might be okay to let Baeksulhwa or Yoonseo step in if things get out of hand, but isn’t it better to keep Dogun in the dark?

Of course, logically speaking, it would make sense to inform Dogun about the current situation.

He should know what he’s getting into, right?

However, my only concern is the stress he might face if he learns the truth.

Right now, he’s merely a traitor, but even the doctor, who deserves some recognition for his skills, did mention that I should manage Dogun’s stress carefully.

All this effort I’ve put in to protect him, and now unexpected interference arises like this.

‘Seriously, the headquarters and branch are no help at all. None!’

Would it hurt them to just mind their own business?

Why are they so anxious about not being able to touch someone?

This won’t do.

First, I’ll tell Yoonseo and Baeksulhwa about it and then we can discuss what to do.

It’s why I quickly pulled out my mobile phone from my pocket.

‘Telling them over text feels a bit weird…’

I skipped the detailed explanation and simply suggested we meet up this evening if they had time.

And thankfully, it seemed neither of them had any significant plans right now.

Not long after I sent the message, replies from both of them came back.

Naturally, their texts contained acceptance to meet.

‘Alright, now that the appointment is set…’

Shall we quickly handle the remaining tasks?

There were many urgent matters that needed attending to.

Among them, there were a few I must deal with now, even considering future implications.

‘By the way…’

If I had known a day would come when I would have to pay such close attention to the Association’s affairs, I would’ve hired at least one manager.

But now, the timing of finding someone feels awkward.

Not that there’s any other choice; if the headquarters genuinely starts aiming for Dogun, it’s clear that even if I sift through candidates here, I’d ultimately end up with the Association’s influence.

It would be better to live like this alone rather than stress over every little thing while trying to maintain distance from the Association’s grasp.

‘Or maybe…’

I could just hire someone who wouldn’t get easily swayed by the Association’s schemes to act as a manager.

Who could that be?

As I pondered, the first image that popped into my mind was Dogun’s face.

If Dogun were to become my manager, there would be countless advantages to gain.

Of course, his age is a downside since he’s still just a high school student.

Just that fact would surely cause people who love to gossip to make all sorts of wild claims about him.

Undoubtedly, they’d ignore everything else and only chatter about Dogun.

Their narrative would probably be… how Dogun charmed his way into the manager position, and so on.

Honestly, it’s a foregone conclusion.

It’s a given but… still, the benefits of having Dogun in that manager role felt far greater.

Especially appealing would be taking Dogun along for official events or schedules.

But I had no intention of forcing him into that role.

What matters most is Dogun’s opinion.

But still…

‘Maybe I should just casually bring it up…?’

I mean, casually suggesting the idea wouldn’t hurt, right?

‘Honestly, Dogun isn’t incapable…’

Setting all else aside, if we’re only talking about his capabilities as a manager?

How many of the active managers out there can confidently say they’re clearly better than Dogun?

‘In the administrative department, sure, he’d naturally fall behind…’

But that’s only because he wouldn’t have any experience doing that kind of work. Given the occasional brilliance he shows, I bet if he starts learning, he’d quickly adapt and become proficient.

‘…This is no good.’

I have to at least ask him.

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Yoonseo’s Perspective

While Chae-rim was busy planning to hire Dogun as her manager, Yoonseo, not giving it much thought, replied to Chae-rim’s message with a simple “got it” while snugly sitting next to Dogun, enjoying the remaining lunchtime.

To be precise, she was dragging Dogun along as she introduced him to various places around the school.

Of course, having already received a tour beforehand, Dogun was well acquainted with most of the locations, but despite that, he still willingly followed Yoonseo.

And who could blame him? Yoonseo’s face, gleefully explaining the school, looked quite nice even in Dogun’s eyes.

Watching her dart around excitedly felt like seeing a small, curious puppy wagging its tail everywhere.

So, he felt a bit flustered.

Just a little while ago, all he could think was, “Oh, how nice…” but suddenly, his lips couldn’t help wanting to curl up more and more.

The reason Dogun had been covertly turning his gaze away from Yoonseo while covering his mouth with his hand was precisely for that reason.

His lips were twitching so fervently that he felt the muscles around them pulling slightly.

Moreover, he thought it might be embarrassing if Yoonseo caught him grinning all by himself.

That’s why he had been looking elsewhere, but did Yoonseo notice his excitement and was it seen differently in her eyes?

As if she could read his mind, Yoonseo’s lips suddenly pouted.

“What’s up, I’m explaining this whole thing to you, and you’re listening, right?”

“…I’m listening.”

“Then what did I just say?”

“Um, you said this is a place where kids often come to skip class.”

Well, okay, so he was listening.

That aside, why was he blocking his mouth like that?

Could it be he accidentally bit his tongue while lost in thought?

Maybe that was the case.

Even the slightly brusque response might have stemmed from feeling embarrassed.

‘Really…’

He always gets shy over the smallest things.

A human might occasionally bite their tongue or something; what’s with his effort to hide it so fiercely?

Trying to avoid taking medicine?

‘Well…’

Applying medicine to an inside wound is indeed… horrendous.

If that’s what’s going on, it’s understandable he’d try to hide it, yet at the same time, his behavior seemed unusually immature and cute, making Yoonseo realize how deep she had sunk.

However, regretting it now would be too late.

One thing was for sure: it wasn’t common for Dogun to display such a side of himself.

Maybe that’s why an impulse to tease him flickered in her mind.

‘Honestly…’

After all that harassment, isn’t it time to pay him back?

The real question was, how would she even begin?

Lost deep in thought while glancing at Dogun walking beside her, she said, “By the way, if we go that way, we’ll reach a place cats often visit. Wanna check it out?”

“Cats?”

“Yep.”

Feeling a bit unnecessary standing still, she led Dogun to the back yard of the school, but while they were moving around together, she suddenly recalled something she had momentarily overlooked.

That was none other than Miya’s presence.

“By the way, what about Miya?”

Don’t tell me you left her all alone, right?

Given Dogun’s character, it shouldn’t be the case, but if it were, she’d be inclined to deliver some punishment as a mother cat.

No way.

That can’t happen.

“Ah… Miya?”

“Yeah.”

“I originally thought I’d ask my senior, but they said they had something else to attend to and it might be difficult.”

“So?”

“So, I asked your dad! I didn’t realize he really loves cats.”

What’s this? So that’s how it went.

Well, he wouldn’t handle things that poorly.

If her dad’s taking care of Miya, then she could freely tease Dogun without worries.

So with a pretense of looking for a cat, she thought she’d take the opportunity to cheekily ask him why he was covering his mouth.

But just as she started to look around, she heard an unsettling conversation from around the corner.

The rather sticky and overtly straightforward dialogue had an additional awkward weight to it.

That’s when… her face flushed completely red.