This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 128

“I’m so embarrassed…”

It was embarrassingly intense to the point that such thoughts naturally crossed my mind, yet I still persevered and continued with what I was trying to do.

It was possible because of Dogun’s reaction.

If Dogun had remained completely unresponsive, I would have undoubtedly been too flustered to move. But he wasn’t quite to that extent.

As soon as I turned to sit sideways, he jolted and shivered, and through our contact, that trembling was directly conveyed to me.

That ripple made me feel strange.

The warmth being transmitted through our contact felt odd too.

Surely, where my hand was touching was freezing cold, while Dogun’s forearm resting against my heart was burning hot.

Thanks to that enormous gap, my feelings grew increasingly odd, but I forced my expression to harden to avoid showing it.

I had no choice.

If I didn’t, I felt like I would make a weird expression I’d never pulled off before due to this strange sensation crawling up my body since earlier.

So, I stiffened my face and started moving my hands.

First, I gently pulled at the left sleeve of the jumper to get Dogun’s arm, which was half-buried in the sleeve, positioned correctly.

Before long, Dogun’s hand popped out of the end of the sleeve.

Now that I had successfully gotten his arm in, there was nothing more to worry about.

I just needed to sit properly again, and that would be it.

“U-uh, Senior? At this rate, my clothes are going to tear…”

Sure, as Dogun cautiously pointed out, that part did get a bit caught, but that could be fixed by sitting closer together.

“If it tears, I’ll buy you a better one.”

With that, I dismissed Dogun’s worries and sat very close to him again.

As a result, our pinky fingers, forearms, and shoulders casually touched.

It was a contact so ambiguous that I couldn’t even call it skinship.

Yet, my heart raced because I never thought the situation would come to this.

Who would have expected such an outcome while out shopping for essentials for heroes?

“He’s hot…”

I didn’t mean the fire in front of me.

I was talking about Dogun right next to me.

How could this be happening?

Was it possible that Dogun felt the same thing?

Out of curiosity, I glanced toward Dogun, only to find him tightly squeezing his eyes shut and tilting his head back.

Seeing that made me somehow want to laugh.

A chuckle escaped me, but at the same time, a smidgen of mischief bubbled up inside me.

So, as soon as I caught sight of a droplet sliding down Dogun’s tilted face, I quickly reached out.

The moment my outstretched hand touched his face, perhaps startled by this sudden contact, Dogun flinched greatly.

“S-Senior?”

His voice, filled with bewilderment, was a bonus on top of that.

It was only after hearing that that I realized.

For reasons I didn’t know, my playful action was indeed quite embarrassing.

It felt like such a timing for this realization to hit me.

My face heated up in an instant.

With my hot cheeks, my heart thudded loudly.

And so, I became uncomfortable.

“N-no, it’s just th-the, w-water! Water is on you…”

My voice trembled from the embarrassment.

Even during this perplexed state, I steadily moved my hand to wipe the moisture from Dogun’s face, thinking it would be even more awkward if I jerked away in surprise.

That was the reason. But the moment I pulled my hand away from Dogun’s face, an awkward silence arose that made me question whether that was the right choice.

Silence settled.

The only sounds piercing through it were the raindrops tapping against the ceiling and the crackling wood burning in the fire.

Even though the awkward silence reigned, the rain continued drumming against the roof.

In hopes of breaking the suffocating silence, I opened my mouth, thinking it would stretch on indefinitely otherwise.

“I thought it might ease up after some time, but it’s still going.”

“You said there was a heavy rain warning earlier, didn’t you?”

Thankfully, it seemed the unbearable silence wasn’t just my burden.

My words were swiftly followed by an awkward agreement.

“Oh, right. That.”

“By the way, that’s bad news.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“The firewood.”

“Oh…”

“Well, I’ve been trying to dry it as best I can…”

Even while being a bit awkward, we kept the conversation going.

The moment I sensed the rain starting, I felt a bit uneasy, but I had been denying it, thinking, “It can’t be that loud,” when a sound slammed against the storage.

“Eep…!”

I flinched at the sound, and there was no way around it.

That unnerving sound brought back memories of ‘that day’ I wished to forget.

That day was unforgettable.

Thinking back, it had rained suddenly like this.

The heavens were pouring as if a hole was torn open, raining heavily with thunder crashing down.

Yet, I didn’t see my father’s figure who typically would have come to pick me up from school, so I was left shivering from the cold, crouched in front of the main entrance, waiting…until I eventually returned home, completely drenched.

And the moment I arrived home, I happened to look through the window.

The living room floor was drenched in bright red from the blood flowing from Mom and Dad’s bodies, and they lay on it, barely conscious.

‘Those bastards’ were trampling over them.

It was an unbelievably surreal scene, as if a clip from a movie had been transplanted into reality, and thus it felt implausible.

It resembled a scene from the black-and-white movies Mom used to show me.


It felt that unreal, and I couldn’t think straight…but instinctively, I hid my body.

And thankfully, due to that instinctive movement, I dodged their grasp, but in return, I had to watch, right in front of me, the place that had been my warm haven ablaze in the rain alongside my parents.

The suddenly pouring rain, the lightning, and the fire that was definitely burning bright, although smaller than what I’d seen that day…

Perhaps it was because all the elements to fuel the nightmare were in place.

Just moments ago, my sight, which had been just fine, started to overlap with that day’s scenery.

Things that shouldn’t be visible began to appear, and sounds that shouldn’t be heard echoed in my ears.

My body began to tremble against my will, and I was sure it was because of this.

I didn’t want to shake.

I didn’t want to, but my body trembled.

As if someone were whispering in my ear that I hadn’t escaped the memories of that day.

-You’re afraid of just the sound of thunder, and you think you can become a hero?

“No, that’s not it…”

I— I’m not like that—

I covered my ears and curled my body as tightly as I could.

I thought if I did that, I wouldn’t hear that whisper anymore.

And while I was doing that, at that very moment, I felt a strong grip tugging at my shoulder.

Then, the voice that followed was—

“Senior? Senior!”

It was none other than Dogun’s voice.

His voice, filled with urgency, instantly shook me awake from my daze.

It felt like being submerged in a deep lake, gradually sinking, only to be pulled back to the surface by someone’s hand.

“U-uh…?”

“Are you okay? Your face is pale…”

The moment I heard that, I realized.

Every action I took occurred in front of Dogun’s watchful eyes.

“Oh…”

The sudden tremor in my chest was because I didn’t want to show that side of myself to anyone, especially not to Dogun.

The more he considered me and saw ‘Baeksulhwa’ not as just a Student Council President or a Hero Candidate but as ‘Baeksulhwa’ herself, the stronger that thought became.

It wasn’t out of pride or rebellion.

I simply wanted that.

At least in front of Dogun, I wanted to be flawless, cool, and a dignified senior.

But then— what had Dogun thought after witnessing how I had just acted?

Upon hearing the thunder, I had plugged my ears and curled up, shaking like a leaf. What thought crossed his mind seeing such a sight?

Did he think it was pathetic?

Just the thought of that made my footing feel like it was crumbling beneath me.