This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 342

I was told to become a chair quickly, so I obediently complied and became a chair.

I didn’t really know how uncomfortable it would be until I was actually in the role of a human chair, compared to the couch and other chairs I usually relied on.

Yoonseo, sitting on me, kept squirming around.

Her fidgeting was relentless, making it difficult for me to focus on anything else.

At first, I tried to endure it.

Since it was an obviously uncomfortable situation, I endeavored to hold on as best as I could…

“Hey, what are you doing right now?”

As I sat quietly enduring, I wondered if Yoonseo was aware that I was trying to be patient or if she was intentionally making it worse. Over time, her restlessness began to increase noticeably.

When her squirming got to the point of brushing against my arm, which was clutching a drink, I couldn’t remain still any longer.

“Ugh, wh-what…?”

“If you’re going to use a person as a chair, at least sit properly. Anyone looking would think you’re the one in punishment, not me!”

“It’s uncomfortable…”

“Uncomfortable?”

When she claimed discomfort, her tone suggested she was sitting on a bed of nails or something similarly outrageous.

Well, I did my best to exercise regularly, but honestly, my legs weren’t that muscular.

And that wasn’t all, either.

I had also tried to create a bit of a comfortable experience for Yoonseo.

Yet she still insisted she was that uncomfortable.

Feeling puzzled, I asked her why, only to be met with a sudden flush on her cheeks.

“Th-that’s… you shouldn’t know! You idiot!”

“I was just asking to help, why are you getting mad?”

“…I said you don’t need to know?!”

“Okay, okay, does this make it any more comfortable?”

“W-what are you doing?!”

“I’m fixing how you’re sitting because you said it was uncomfortable. So, is it better now? Still uncomfortable?”

In my attempt to lean back more against the couch, it ended up making me a bit more uncomfortable, but I thought that might make Yoonseo feel better…

“Ah, it’s way worse than before!”

Really now.

“Really? That can’t be true…”

“It is, so just… get away from me!”

Maybe because of the things in her hands, she couldn’t turn her body, so Yoonseo started to poke and push against me with her back.

Honestly, it didn’t feel significantly different from when Miya sometimes did her kneading routine on me.

“Oh, by the way, what about Miya? She’s not the type to miss this kind of occasion…”

Indeed, it was true.

We always made sure to treat her to expensive and delicious snacks, but it seemed her street origins made her crazy for the smell of human food.

So she had to be kept in another room during meals.

“I saw her sprawled out sleeping in the hallway when I went upstairs to change.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, so for now, I put her in my room.”

“That explains why it was oddly quiet…”

“I gave her food and water, so if she wakes up, she should be eating that.”

Just as that last remark concluded our conversation, the senior quickly declared the game’s continuation.

And the person who ended up as the mafia this time was…

“Huh? What’s this…? I’m the mafia…?!”

Chae-rim, still dazed and confused, was unable to pull herself together.

A strange tension settled in the living room designated for our party right after Chae-rim let that slip.

Honestly, it was unavoidable.

With her sluggish tone and rosy cheeks, anyone could tell Chae-rim was definitely out of it.

“Umm… What command should I give?”

And yet, in that daze, Chae-rim was granted the right to give a command, albeit limited to a one-time use and randomly chosen.

In a situation where I might have to carry it out, it was only natural to feel a bit anxious.

‘Honestly, I feel the same way…’

If I had to pick what concerned me most in that moment?

It would definitely be not knowing what kind of order Chae-rim would give.

Had she been her usual self?

She would have surely ended it with something reasonable.

However, that was referring to the usual Chae-rim, and right now, she was unusually drunk.

That made predicting her actions all the more impossible.

And it was probably the same for anyone among Chae-rim’s acquaintances present.

‘But still…’

No matter how bizarre the command was, as long as it didn’t involve me, it would be fine, right?

So I waited with mixed feelings of concern and anticipation for Chae-rim’s tightly shut lips to finally open… and it happened during that very moment.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, an unexpected exclamation burst from Chae-rim’s previously closed mouth, and a smile that could only be described as ominous began to spread across her face.

The moment that smile was completed, Chae-rim’s action was to tap her cheek with her finger.

The real issue was what came next.

“Kiss.”

“…What?”

“The doctor must come over immediately and kiss the king’s cheek!”

Goodness, a kiss?

Even if it seemed fine in the moment because of the alcohol, what would happen when the alcohol wore off and I had to deal with the fallout from such a ludicrous command?

I mean, all that aside, what crime did the doctor commit to suddenly be forced into kissing someone else’s cheek?

‘…Huh?’

Wait a second… What did she just say? Doctor?

That had me slowly lowering my gaze to check the screen of the mobile phone in my hands.

And the first thing that caught my eye was—

‘…It’s me?’

There was a clear green cross symbol that represented a doctor, without a doubt.

It turned out that I was, surprisingly, the doctor.

This meant that I was the one required to fulfill Chae-rim’s command that just slipped from her lips.

“Uh… Noona?”

“Yeah…?”

“Isn’t that kind of command a bit… inappropriate?”

The shift in my mindset from ‘As long as it’s not me, it’s fine’ to ‘Even so, that’s a bit…” happened immediately because of that single response.

To be honest, I was concerned about our futures, so I said that out of worry…

“Why?”

Before I could finish, I was met with that kind of reaction.

Why?

Was she genuinely asking out of confusion?

‘…Oh.’

That’s right… this sister was drunk.

Somehow, despite being half out of it, she still had enough of her wits about her to piece together my identity based on the hint I provided.

“So, Dogun, you’re the doctor?”

Perhaps finding this situation amusing, Chae-rim looked at me and giggled.

“Okay, kiss.”

Then, she started to dot her cheek with her finger as if to show someone.

‘…Is she enjoying this?!’

What can I even say?

To my utter surprise, Chae-rim was genuinely relishing this situation.

She was completely soaking in the awkwardness of everyone, including me, who were staring at her in stunned disbelief.

Could it be that because she had to maintain her composure lately, the alcohol was causing this release now?

“Why? Can’t you do it? If you can’t, then get lost!”

So, even though I felt like I could die of embarrassment, the one silver lining in all of this was that there was still a way out, proving that even in desperate times, there’s a loophole.

Remembering that, I had almost forgotten it until Chae-rim’s remark reminded me.

Just when I snatched up the forgotten item, once buried in the memory of everyone, and tossed it right into my mouth…

“Ugh…?!”

Did I rush too much in my urgency?

Or was what Chae-rim had plopped down as punishment simply much stronger than I had anticipated?

My throat felt like it was burning, causing my eyes to widen involuntarily.

The real predicament was what happened next.

In a situation where I had already overdone it due to punishment, instead of holding back, I chugged down something many times more potent, leading my liver to rebel and scream for a break.

“Ugh…”

My vision started to spin erratically, and the alcohol I had been holding back within me began to rampage wildly.