This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 103

“Shit…”

What is this?

It’s supposed to be painful, and thus hard, so why am I the one struggling?

“Ugh…”

Every time I carefully moved my hands to wipe Yoonseo’s back, the sound that erupted sent cold sweat trickling down my spine.

And thus, I made a resolution.

‘…Let’s finish up and get out of here.’

What if I end up lingering here longer?

I felt like I might start losing it.

So, while being cautious, I hurried my movements as much as I could.

“…Done! All wiped clean!”

As soon as I finished the task assigned to me and pulled my hands away from Yoonseo’s back, she turned to look at me with a sense of longing, as if to say, “Is it really over?”—well, that was probably just my imagination.

“Then I’ll clean this up and sit outside, so if you need anything, just call me, okay?”

But one thing was certain: it didn’t seem like a good idea to be in the same space as Yoonseo in her current state.

Maybe it was just due to a fever, but she seemed a little off.

The strange thing is, that oddness seemed contagious, and I felt it might cling to me too.

So what could I do?

I couldn’t move someone who was sick, so my only option was to keep my distance.

Staring at Yoonseo with ‘that look,’ Dogun instinctively felt a sense of rejection. Having dodged the situation in that way, he firmly believed he had dealt with it well, but that was merely an illusion.

After all, that was just the beginning.

*

If someone were to ask Dogun what Yoonseo’s strong point was, he’d probably say that despite her stubbornness, she shows an incredible level of acceptance once convinced.

In simpler terms, once Yoonseo realizes something, it’s like she transforms.

The fact that Yoonseo has reached her current level of handling her talent is largely influenced by that.

To young Yoonseo, Dogun’s way of speaking, based on the data and info he gathered here and there, must have seemed extremely smart. Therefore, whatever Dogun said seemed correct to her.

Well, anyway, Yoonseo’s strengths were once again trying to shine through.

‘Yesterday…’

Since I wasn’t feeling great either, I let Dogun sneak away without insisting he stay, but… I wondered if it was because of the thoughtful nursing he provided me yesterday.

Today, I felt light and my health was decent enough.

When I placed my palm against my forehead, the fever had definitely dropped.

Besides, thanks to sleeping soundly from the evening onward, even though I woke up early in the morning, I felt very alert rather than tired or drowsy.

I quietly slipped out of bed and headed downstairs.

It seemed like a good moment to put what I realized yesterday into practice.

As I left my room and headed toward the stairs, I heard the soft yet rhythmic sound of footsteps coming up.

That sound was quite pleasant.

So much so that I thought I’d like to keep hearing it even after growing up.

To do that… I’d have to do well moving forward.

Considering the amount of time I had already squandered, I needed to think of a way to do even better.

As soon as I reached the first floor, I headed directly to the dining area for that reason.

Since I was going to get moving in earnest, I thought it would be better to reference something instead of wandering around cluelessly.

“Dad.”

“Huh? Oh, you’re awake? How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

Perhaps my response alone didn’t reassure him.

Not long after I nodded, his clean hand came up to my forehead.

“It seems your fever has definitely gone down.”

Maybe only then did he feel a bit more at ease after checking it himself.

I could see the concern that had filled his face easing a bit.

And following that reassuring statement—

“Really… this time, I should get something like a present for Dogun. What would we have done without him?”

Those words made my lips twitch for some reason.

“You mean he even took you to the ER and got you IV fluids?”

“Yeah? Ah… I did, but I’m really okay now.”

“Can I trust what you’re saying?”

“…Yeah.”

“Still, you shouldn’t think about going to school today; rest at home.”

At that moment, I wanted to say that it wasn’t necessary at all, but I held it back.

Thinking about it, it seemed more advantageous to act on what I was considering.

Of course, wanting to skip school for that reason did stir my conscience a little—

“…Okay.”

I could only nod a bit late to my dad’s words.

Deciding that I would take a day off from school for today, I quietly pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat my butt down.

In that position, I gazed at the back of my dad, who was once again preparing breakfast, and when his hands momentarily had a spare moment, I threw in a question.

“Uh, Dad.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Not much… you used to say that back in school, Mom was immensely popular.”

“Huh? Did I? Well… that was the case.”

So far, things were going according to plan.

Now it was time to ask about ‘that.’

“So, how did you and Mom start dating?”

I thought it was the right timing to ask that question, and as soon as I did, the rhythmic thumping sound abruptly stopped.

In that moment of surprise—

“Well… I started by holding your mom’s stomach quite tightly.”

With a chuckle, the sound that had stopped resumed.

“…Holding her stomach tightly?”

“Yeah, as you know, your mom has a very picky palate, right?”

That was true.

That’s why whenever we had a chance to eat out, we would always go to the same shop.

“But… not all of them are bad, but school lunches often leave much to be desired. The schools Dad and Mom attended were some of those places.”

“So…?”

“So, what do you mean, so? Of course, I woke up every morning at dawn to make lunch boxes and sneak them in.”

“And then?”

“Uh?”

“Is that it?”

I expected some huge secret or know-how, but it turned out to be lunch boxes.

I thought it was slightly disappointing—

“Hey, you don’t know how fantastic that is.”

What came back was a rather stern expression.

“Really, is that so?”

“It’s not just ‘really’; it is. Just think about it! Do you remember when you were in kindergarten…?”

“Me? Why would I remember that?”

“Don’t you recall? You ate the rice balls that Dogun made for you and then came to Dad, always bugging him for more.”

“I… did I?”

“Yep, and when I went through the trouble of making them, you would pout because they weren’t the same as the ones Dogun made. Can you imagine how hurt Dad felt though he didn’t say it?”

“…Did I really do that?”

“You did! I bet you started following Dogun around ever since then.”

Oh, right.

That was when it all began…

Realizing when the moment that triggered my feelings started made me feel quite astonished.

So… to maintain consistent feelings for someone like that for so long.

‘Ah, well anyway…’

So the conclusion was that it’s all about holding onto the stomach tightly… and fortunately, it didn’t seem like it would be that hard.

After all, Dogun’s tastes were generally mild compared to my dad’s target, Mom.

As long as it wasn’t something really weird, he seemed to eat just about anything.

‘The problem is…’

Regardless of what Dogun liked, I was not particularly close to the act of cooking… but to be honest, that couldn’t be helped.

After all, both Dad and Dogun were great cooks, so I almost never had the chance to stand in front of the stove.

So if I ever decided to get into that, it would probably be better to learn from someone instead of just jumping in headfirst… but who should I ask?

“Oh, Dad.”

“Huh?”

“Dad, are you… pretty good at cooking?”

“Well… I wouldn’t say as good as those with a natural talent for it, but I’m not bad, I guess?”

Hearing that made me feel foolish for having worried about it.

There was someone right in front of me who could teach me well, and here I was fretting over it.

So I dropped my worries and immediately threw in my question.

“Then… can you teach me how to make lunch boxes?”

“Lunch boxes? Why lunch boxes all of a sudden?”

His response was one of confusion.

“Uh… it’s for Dogun.”

It was quite embarrassing to answer that question but… I did.

Somehow I mustered the courage—

“Um? Why? Is there another girl trying to get close to Dogun?”

What came back was a remark that couldn’t help but make me flinch at how accurately it described the current situation.