This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 130

Is this what it feels like to be lost for words?

In the face of my Senior speaking calmly, I couldn’t muster any words.

It wasn’t out of pity or sympathy for her situation.

I just… couldn’t imagine it.

I couldn’t even dare to guess what kind of time my Senior had spent to be able to say those words with that expression.

Yet, to comfort her with half-hearted feelings?

That kind of comfort couldn’t even be considered comfort.

It would surely just result in more wounds rather than touching her heart.

At the same time, I realized something.

I understood why my Senior had pushed herself so harshly until now.

Why wouldn’t I know?

When I piece together the images of my Senior’s blind determination, the stories she shared today, and the responses she exhibited, the conclusion was painfully obvious.

“That is, could the culprit…?”

“He hasn’t been caught.”

Just as I thought.

If that’s the case, then it was clear what my Senior aimed for by becoming a Hero.

“You plan to catch the culprit yourself, don’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“And once you catch them…?”

I couldn’t finish the question.

It was no wonder, considering what I had just witnessed.

At the moment I mentioned it, I saw a blue flame surge in my Senior’s eyes.

And it was a feeling not even I, a mere bystander, could assess.

So, I remained silent.

As I did so, I noticed a self-deprecating smile rise on my Senior’s face as she stared blankly at me.

“Isn’t it just terrible? To want to become a Hero for that purpose?”

What kind of answer did she want from me?

What kind of response did she hope to elicit with such a question?

I couldn’t tell.

I couldn’t know right now, but one thing was certain: she had no intention of denying the goal she had been honing until now.

“Well, I guess I’m not really sure.”

“You don’t, really?”

My response seemed to surprise her.

Her demeanor stiffened somewhat.

Did she perhaps want me to slap some sense into her?

If she’s been longing for that from me, it would be truly unfortunate for her, but I couldn’t do that.

I couldn’t, because I already knew one person who was blindly dedicated to just one goal like my Senior.

And having observed that person closely for years, I understood all too well that for those people, the goals they obsess over are the very driving force of their lives.

What happens if they lose that power?

Whether it’s a machine, a human, or something else, eventually, it will come to a halt.

That’s why I couldn’t casually blurt anything out, but I still wanted to say this.

“Just… I hope you don’t ruin yourself over it.”

And that was something I couldn’t say to my mother the day she left me.

Perhaps it was because of that memory.

My mouth felt bitter as if I had swallowed a handful of powdered medicine.

So, I intended to leave it at that, but—

“Then… Dogun, will you help me?”

“…What?”

An unexpected comment slipped from my Senior’s lips.

And it didn’t stop there; it continued.

“Even after I become a Hero, stay by my side, make sure I don’t ruin myself.”

With those words, her face was shaded with something that made it seem even more unstable than before…

So—

“I’ll… think about it.”

I couldn’t force myself to refuse.

Thus, unlike my initial thought, I answered that way.

—


Thud… thud…

My heart raced strangely.

In a way, it was as if it was beating faster than usual, yet somehow also slower.

This must surely be due to this strange feeling wrapping around me.

How can I even express this feeling, a mix of joy and sadness?

If I searched through the dictionary, maybe I could find a word or two to explain this feeling I was experiencing, but at this very moment, nothing came to mind.

It was just… happiness.

That I didn’t ‘refuse’ the offer to keep Dogun as my manager moving forward but instead left it as ‘pending’.

Thanks to that, I felt a bit better after feeling down lately, yet at the same time, it felt sad.

The fact that I had to resort to such means to keep Dogun by my side felt sorrowful, as it seemed this was the only way to hold on to him.

What if Yoonseo were here?

She would undoubtedly be furious, lecturing me not to act cowardly.

Of course, I knew.

I understood that using Dogun’s sympathy to keep him by my side was a cowardly act.

But… I couldn’t help it.

If I just stood by, it felt like I would inevitably lose him someday.

I thought I couldn’t allow that to happen.

So, I tried to do something during the upcoming training camp, where we would have to be apart for a while… but things didn’t go as successfully as I had hoped.

And now, here I was.

So I couldn’t care less if it was considered cowardly.

I just didn’t want to lose him.

After long enduring, the first desire I ever felt was for Dogun.

And now it seemed that could be taken away from me too.

Especially if the one who might take him was someone like Yoonseo, who seemed to have grown up cherished by those around her… isn’t that just unfair?

“So this time… please yield.”

Muttering an internal plea destined to never reach the intended target, I quietly watched Dogun, who was doing his best to revive the dwindled campfire.

It’s likely that the weight of our conversation made it a bit awkward for me to act normally around him.

I understood Dogun’s hesitant feelings just as well.

The awkwardness went both ways.

Anyway, to ease that awkwardness, I found myself focusing on Dogun kneeling with one knee on the ground, and I couldn’t help but notice my dry pants gradually soaking up the moisture from the ground.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Since Dogun had stepped away, I cautiously raised my body, clutching the front of the jacket I had draped over myself.

But in my attempt to help Dogun, it seemed I might have been a bit too late.

“No? No, I’m almost done.”

My words borne out of awkwardness were genuine, as the campfire, which had been nearly extinguished, began to blaze with new life.

Seeing that, I plopped myself back down, only for the之前 palpable awkwardness to fill the space again.

It felt like it was solely my fault, leaving me hesitant to speak, only my eyes roaming around nervously.

“Well, since we’re at it, shall we talk about what to do moving forward?”

“What to do moving forward…?”

What did that mean?

“No way, after going through this, are you planning to just stay idle?”

As soon as I pondered the question internally, the answer came swiftly.

And it was undeniably something I couldn’t overlook.

Whereas on their side, it was more like a grudge, my side was genuinely threatened.

“No way, of course, we can’t just stand by.”

“Glad to hear that. This plan can’t be executed without your help, Senior.”

“What is it?”

I was genuinely curious about what this plan entailed, so I asked.

Dogun smirked slightly and said—

“The opponent is an adult, right? So we must make sure the adults deal with each other.”

He spoke meaningfully.

“In that sense… Senior?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know the Principal’s phone number?”

Why wouldn’t I?

Of course, I knew it.

She was someone I was grateful for in many ways.

Unlike other teachers who felt it was enough to just fulfill their duties, she was a person who prioritized students and the school.

“I’m glad to hear that. Could you give the Principal a call right now?”

“Now? At this hour?”

“Yes, since it’s ‘this hour’, we should definitely do it now.”

I suppose saying that sounds a bit questionable, but the way Dogun smiled with both sides of his mouth inclined reminded me of that cruel Hero who made me do errands.

So… I just nodded automatically as if enchanted.