This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 127

As soon as the door, which was tightly shut, finally opened, what appeared before my eyes was not a snowy plain but a mountain range completely covered in white snow.

The two peaks rising majestically were particularly striking, their summits cloaked in something dark gray.

From that grayish something, a single droplet trickled down, rolling over the pure white surface like a snowflake.

‘···What a crazy guy.’

Was the saying that one’s sexual desire spikes in dangerous situations actually true?

Still, how could I even think such a thing? I muttered under my breath as I leaned my head back, hitting it against the ceiling.

Yes, I literally banged it.

If I didn’t do that, I felt like I would get lost in the grandeur and beauty of the snow-capped mountains.

After forcing my gaze to remain focused in one spot, I opened my mouth to reject my senior’s suggestion.

“Eh… No way, that’s just a bit much.”

To be honest, I thought that should be sufficient.

“Why?”

But apparently not.

Why would she even ask?

It felt unlikely she was genuinely wondering.

There was no reason for the senior’s face, which I had caught sight of just before lifting my head, to be blushing all the way to her neck.

With that level of embarrassment and awkwardness, it was clear why she had awkwardly brought up such a suggestion to me.

She must have been that concerned about me.

‘No wonder she seemed to change her mind suddenly.’

She had intended to do this from the start, huh?

My senior was just too kind-hearted.

‘Sometimes, she could really afford to be a little selfish…’

Well, given that she was consistent like that, it made sense that she garnered such expectations and admiration from so many people.

Anyway, I had to give a response since I was asked, but what should I say?

I thought it would be best to avoid any awkward answers if possible.

Any clumsy response here would only serve to make her attitude more stubborn.

‘So what kind of answer should I give… Ah.’

While I had been racking my brain without showing it on the surface, I quickly slapped a new expression onto my face.

With that, I asked my senior.

“If we do as you say, we both won’t be able to rest comfortably, are you really okay with that?”

“Why do you think so?”

“While you might not care, I’m a guy too, you know. A guy in the prime of his life…”

At 27 years old and 17 years old, that’s a total of 44 years! Saying something like that directly made me feel like bugs were crawling on my body, but I had to say it nonetheless.

If I showed any sign of backing down now, I’d surely end up doing exactly what my senior intended.

‘Well, it’s not entirely a lie.’

There’s a saying that age can’t be hidden for a reason.

27 is still considered a prime age, but the body of a 27-year-old and a 17-year-old is a completely different dimension.

If I were to exaggerate a little, it felt like just the essence itself was different.

Thanks to that, there were times when frustrating situations arose against my will, and spending time sharing a jumper with a senior who was like a bundle of stimulation?

What kind of event would unfold in that situation? Even I, the owner of my body, couldn’t predict.

So I desperately prayed inwardly that she would step back at this point while observing her reaction discreetly… and thankfully, it seemed my ‘threat’ had somewhat of an effect.

The senior, already rather flushed, reddened even more.

The way she seemed to bite her lip was an added bonus.

‘Got it!’

Seeing those changes in her, I thought I’d successfully fend off the temptation of chaos today.

“That’s right? No matter how you think of it, that’s just not it—”

“No.”

“…?”

“I’m… fine.”

“…”

“If the other person is Dogun…”

If it’s a man, or honestly, regardless of gender, such a remark could only hit me hard in both the back and the front of my head.

Caught completely off guard by a statement like that from my senior, I momentarily lost my mind.

Is this how it feels to be left alone in a void where nothing exists?

It was so absurd that I even started having thoughts like that. My mind kept trying to drift away somewhere, and I had to shake my head multiple times just to stay sane.

Meanwhile, my senior continued to gaze at me with the same look in her eyes as when she first made that statement, as if she was waiting for me to respond…

Receiving such a gaze that made me feel inexplicably tingly, I suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.

What the heck was going on?

It’s a night filled with climbing up and down a mountain, so desperately tired and freaking cold that it wouldn’t be odd to freeze to death at any moment.

In such a situation, thinking about this kind of issue felt utterly ridiculous—

“…I don’t think it’s going to work out like this, so let’s start a fire first.”

I decided to just go with the flow.

“Thank goodness we brought a lighter.”

“Indeed.”

Saying that, Dogun, who was tearing up valuable tissues and magazines purchased from the convenience store to gather burnable items, seemed quite skilled at it.

I heard he went camping with his middle school friends before entering high school. Maybe he learned it there.

‘Camping…’

Thinking like that, it felt a bit as if it were just the two of us camping together.

“The problem is that all the firewood is soaked from the rain…”

Unfortunately, reality wasn’t that romantic.

“By the way, how long do you think it’ll take?”

“Until people arrive?”

“Yes.”

“Probably… longer than you think. Just in case, I checked, and it seems there’s a windstorm advisory and heavy rain warning.”

“Excuse me…? What did you just say?”

Hearing my words, Dogun seemed to doubt his ears, but sadly, that was the reality.

While he was selecting what could be burned from the things he bought at the convenience store, I took out my mobile phone to contact members of the student council, and saw it with my own eyes.

For whatever reason, neither texting, nor making calls connected properly.

Signal was strong for a couple of times, but it cut off suddenly after that.

So, the only point in time they might start looking for us would be after some time passes to figure out something’s wrong or when the downpour eases up enough for communication to recover.

I didn’t challenge Dogun’s view of starting the fire first because of that.

If things went wrong, we could end up stuck like this until the next morning, and if we lost more body heat here, it could get really dangerous.

“Wait, what… Even if today’s not a good day, isn’t this kind of too much…”

To that, Dogun seemed quite incredulous, but despite that, he didn’t stop his movements to start the fire.

And how long passed?

A gentle crackling noise soon echoed as something caught fire—

“Ah, it worked!”

What initially was subtle quickly devoured everything Dogun had laid nearby, expanding in an instant.

As a result, the dark warehouse, apart from the faint light of the flashlight tied to the pillar, became instantly bright, and the heat that could actually be called warmth began creeping up my body.

“Well, now that we’ve successfully got the fire going—”

That said, I didn’t plan on allowing Dogun to escape without keeping his promise.

I quickly grabbed his hand, which was subtly attempting to create distance, and pulled him closer.

I sat him immediately beside me and shoved the loose left sleeve of the jumper toward him.

“Here.”

“Uh, um, senior?”

“Remember, we promised we’d share this after starting the fire. Hurry up.”

Being thoroughly factual, there was no room for Dogun to protest.

For a moment, he looked as if he had a lot to say, but eventually started moving obediently.

As his arm slid into the left sleeve of the jumper, the previously limp fabric quickly tautened.

“W-wait, senior! I don’t think this will work.”

“Why not?”

“Well, even though it’s a bit baggy, it was ultimately made for one person. The idea of two people sharing it…”

Maybe I was trying to express how absurd that was.

But saying that would be difficult given the attitude Dogun presented.

Just sitting a bit apart was manageable, but if we scooted closer?

Sharing would definitely become possible.

So—

“If it’s hard for you to do it alone, I can help.”

Saying that, I cautiously closed the distance between us.