This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 112

To be honest, I felt anxious right from the moment those two decided to face off.

It couldn’t be helped since both of them were visibly emotional.

Given the circumstances, I wanted to intervene if I could, but… they both had that stubborn type of personality, so my words didn’t get through.

So, the alternative I chose was to watch them duel and jump in at the right moment—

“Hey, why are you bringing out the fog…?!”

I mean, who would have guessed?

As soon as Yoonseo started, she utilized her talent to its fullest and began by laying down the fog.

Of course, I wasn’t trying to blame Yoonseo for making that choice.

Objectively speaking, it wasn’t a bad idea at all.

So when the fog started to roll in, I was a bit surprised.

That’s because laying down fog in the training ground to obscure the opponent’s vision while using it as a detection tool was a tactic I had suggested to Yoonseo at some point with the idea, “Wouldn’t this be a good method?”

However, back then, Yoonseo’s control hadn’t matured enough, so it lacked practical use in a real battle, in contrast to how she’s training now—

“Looks like she’s been training hard all this time.”

I realized it today.

Even though to my eyes, she seemed carefree and playful, the truth is, she has been steadily growing during that time.

Such a feat was probably… because she put in that much effort behind the scenes.

“If only she’d show that effort when training with me…”

When she’s around me, she seems filled with thoughts on how to skip training, yet she works so hard out of sight—what could the reason be?

“Could it be… she’s shy?”

Showing her efforts to others?

Though, who would feel embarrassed about that; still, you never know.

People’s hearts differ from person to person.

Moreover, Yoonseo has just become a high school student.

It’s only natural for her sensitivity to be heightened, so showing that side of herself to others might feel weird from her perspective.

While I continued with such speculations in my mind, I carefully climbed onto the apparatus, thinking I might be able to see something different from up there.

As I settled in, trying to grasp the situation,—

“Ahh—!”

At that moment, I heard Yoonseo’s scream.

The fog that had been clouding the training ground vanished into thin air.

As the fog cleared from my line of sight, I was met with the sight of Yoonseo staggering as she clutched her right ear, looking like she was about to fall.

And then the Senior was… rushing towards Yoonseo.

The moment that scene burned into my retinas, I shouted without another thought.

“Stop!”

And I rushed toward Yoonseo.

Thankfully, it seemed like my shout reminded the Senior of our agreement to stop the session there.

The wooden sword that had been poised to strike downward was now resting against the training ground floor.

The Senior’s expression, which had grown somewhat vacant, was something I couldn’t afford to dwell on at that moment.

“Ahh…”

It was understandable because what I was worried about was right in my arms.

Was Yoonseo hurt badly?

She didn’t let go of her ear.

Her expression wrinkled in pain.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

Seeing her like that made it impossible not to worry, so I asked her—

“Ah, no… I’m just a bit startled.”

She said.

No way.

If you’re saying that, at least take your hand off your ear first before saying something like that!

I was already worried about the band-aids all over her hands, and now she was saying she was fine?

“This won’t do. Let’s go to the hospital.”

“H-Hospital?”

“Yeah, the hospital.”

“No, there’s really no need to…”

“But you said it hurts, right?”

“Well, it does, but… it feels like I’m okay now…”

Is she really that averse to going to the hospital?

Her face was plastered with a forced smile, flapping her arms around as if to deny any discomfort—she looked so sincere that it seemed overly exaggerated.

“Seriously, she’s just like a kid…”

A sigh escaped me, but at least one good thing was that there was no visible blood.

Also, it didn’t seem like her ear had gone numb or anything like that.

Of course, just because she looked fine on the outside didn’t mean I would let my guard down.

She might seem okay now, but that could change later on.

Thus, I felt the need to observe her for a while.

“If you hate hospitals, let’s at least go to the infirmary together.”

I said this while looking directly at Yoonseo, aiming for that possibility.

Since it had come to this, I figured it would be a good idea to check up on her while keeping an eye on what I was worried about.

Luckily, it seemed my firm words had an effect.

Seeing me go completely serious startled Yoonseo, making her shoulders flinch for a moment, but she slowly nodded in agreement.

“Y-Yeah…”

After confirming Yoonseo’s answer, I turned my gaze toward where the Senior was.

I thought quite a bit of time had passed, yet it seemed she still hadn’t snapped out of her shock.

The Senior remained where I had last seen her, with that same blank expression.

“Well, I guess it’s understandable…”

It must have been shocking for her too.

She had been trying to control herself and didn’t expect that one strike would so naively end the duel.

Maybe that was why her expression seemed quite vacant, but no matter what, I had to say what needed to be said, so I cautiously spoke up.

“…Senior?”

Had she finally regained her senses after hearing my voice?

“Ah… yeah?”

Her gaze, which had been directed slightly downward, finally met mine.

“I think it would be best to end today’s training here.”

I opened my mouth carefully, not missing that timing.

Thankfully, no words of disagreement came out.

Instead, the Senior said she would take care of the clean-up and urged Yoonseo and me to leave quickly.

So, without a moment to lose, I grabbed Yoonseo’s lunch that she had brought and rushed out of the training ground, heading toward the infirmary.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t receive the nurse’s help.

Whether she had gone home after school or popped into a meeting, I didn’t know, but despite the infirmary door being open, there was no one inside.

So, I settled for grabbing some band-aids.

If I could have had the help of the nurse, who had skills related to treatment, that would have been the cherry on top, but getting new band-aids was something I could handle just fine.

“Okay, sit there and let me see your hand.”

.

.

.

“Ugh… if you’re going to put on a band-aid, do it neatly. What even is this?!”

While I complained while taking care of Dogun, Yoonseo was thinking to herself.

Asking Dad for help was probably one of the best choices she’d made in recent years.

He had often said that showing unexpected sides of himself wasn’t a bad thing, so she had taken a chance and reached out… but who could have predicted this?

She remembered how Dogun always showed a strong side when they were together and figured she’d try putting on a weak act—she never thought it would have such a positive effect.

The effect was so profound that her lips involuntarily twitched upward.

Anyway… even if it wasn’t her intention, thanks to Baeksulhwa cooperating, she was monopolizing Dogun’s attention—

“…This is odd.”

That was the first thought that crossed her mind; she felt good.

So good that… it felt strange.

Dogun wasn’t declaring his admiration for her or giving her affectionate skinship, yet why was her heart racing like this?

With every little movement of Dogun’s fingers intertwined with hers, she felt a tingly sensation—

To an outside observer, she might seem annoyed, but a closer look would reveal her eyes were filled with worry for him—

And his lips occasionally parted as if to emit soft sighs, as if he were feeling hurt—

It made her happy.

What was once part of her daily life now felt overly delightful… and it worried her.

“What do I do…?”

What should she do, Dogun?

She had thought there was no way she could like him more than she already did, but… she found herself liking him more and more.

So… she didn’t want to let him go, even like this.