This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 135

Well, there were a few things like that, but I decided not to go around talking about them.

After all, who would want to make a big deal out of something like this?

And more than that, I didn’t think people would believe me even if I told them the truth.

That’s only natural, considering I could hardly believe it myself—that the “Lightning Lady” was actually the youngest daughter of our school principal!

If I were the principal, I would have been proud of my extraordinarily successful daughter and dropped hints about it, but he never did, which made it even harder to believe.

“So, how was it?”

“Huh?”

“No, I mean the training camp. Wasn’t there anything strange?”

“U-Um… not really?”

I was caught off guard by Yoonseo’s sudden questioning as soon as I got home. That’s why I just tried to fumble my way through the conversation.

Given how many big names were involved, I figured telling the truth would just earn me comments like “Stop spinning tales” or something. Even if they did believe me, it didn’t seem like it would lead to anything good.

More likely I’d just end up watching her blow a gasket over why I didn’t do anything about it.

And calming her down would fall entirely on my shoulders.

So it was probably best to just keep my mouth shut and let things slide.

That’s honestly what I thought back then.

But who would have guessed?

Thinking about how things operated at the Association, I figured there was no way any of it would get out. But lo and behold, shortly after my senior won an award, it ended up making the news.

Of course, if that was the end of it, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Sure, the Association’s reputation might take a slight hit, but that was a problem for them to deal with.

The real issue was that someone who usually couldn’t care less about the news somehow saw it and, without a doubt, put the report up on their mobile phone screen, thrusting it in my face.

“Is this about you, right?”

Yoonseo pointed to the part of the news article that mentioned “Student A who was with B at the time,” and surprisingly, her expression looked rather calm.

That made me even more anxious.

If she had just exploded with anger like she normally did, I wouldn’t have been sweating bullets like this.

But seeing her bottle up her feelings made me feel far worse.

It was understandable—I had already learned through my experiences over the last decade.

That expression was only seen when Yoonseo was genuinely peeved.

You know how some people become eerily calm when they’re truly angry?

That’s totally Yoonseo.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Maybe that’s why.

Even though her tone was mostly the same as usual, I felt chills run down my arms.

That’s what made me think I had to make some excuses.

So I hurriedly opened my mouth—

“No, it’s not that I was trying not to say anything…”

“When I asked you back then, you definitely said there wasn’t anything strange.”

Yoonseo seemed uninterested in listening to me.

“Didn’t you get lost in the mountains? If that’s not a big deal, then what is?”

“…I just thought you might be worried.”

“Ah, so you were just thinking of my feelings, huh?”

I couldn’t help but awkwardly nod at that, knowing I had some guilt hanging over me.

Yoonseo’s reaction to my acknowledgment was a sharp laugh, almost incredulous.

“Who asked you to care about that?”

“What?”

It didn’t take long for the bitterness on Yoonseo’s face to turn into a sarcastic smile.

“…And if you really were considering my feelings, you should have acted differently. Do you even realize what kind of mood I’ve been in all day after finding out like this?”

I was at a loss for words.

It didn’t help that I knew I wasn’t innocent.

And I was left speechless, but I didn’t know how Yoonseo took my silence, but her previously tense shoulders slumped down.

“Thinking about it, it’s kind of silly to get worked up over something that happened months ago. Let’s just drop it.”

At the same time, the mobile phone she had been thrusting at me disappeared back into her pocket.

“Honestly, even if I explained more, I doubt it would make a difference.”

Yoonseo added that in a flat tone.

“You’re always like this.”

I couldn’t deny what she’d just said.

It would have been impossible to argue against that—but—

“Am I really your friend?”

There was no way I could just let that one slide.

That single question felt like it denied the whole ten years we had spent together.

“Come on, no way that’s true.”

“Really? Honestly, aren’t I just… your ward? The kind you need to protect?”

I tried to argue against it, but when I heard her next words, I was left speechless.

Was I really treating Yoonseo like that?

Of course, sometimes I did find her to be almost like a niece.

With the memories of my past life still nestled in a corner of my mind, I couldn’t help it.

But she was undeniably my friend, and I thought I had managed it well in my own way…

But maybe it was all just a delusion on my part.

And while I was caught in my delusion, Yoonseo had been continuously hurt by it.

Was it all pent up for so long that it eventually burst out today?

If that was the case, then I needed to apologize right away instead of delaying it.

Letting something like this stew would just make it worse.

I stood up and grabbed Yoonseo’s wrist to stop her as she turned to leave.

Maybe she hadn’t expected me to grab her like this.

Yoonseo flinched slightly as my grip caught her off guard, and this gave me the chance to say the first thing that popped into my head.

“I’m sorry.”

I thought she might not have heard that, so I repeated myself.

“I’m sorry. I messed up.”

“I’m sorry. I messed up.”

Hearing that come out of Dogun’s mouth, in a tone I had never heard before, felt really strange.

No, the situation itself just felt strange.

If things had gone according to plan?

I didn’t intend to blow up at him like that just now.

Because I understood the reason behind his actions.

Just like I mentioned before, it was probably due to him being worried I’d stress out over it.

Knowing that, how could I really get mad?

Of course, even so, I still felt a little let down.

I felt a bit resentful, so I intended to tease him just a little and use that as an excuse to spend some time alone with him, since it had been a while.

Thinking about it, we really hadn’t taken the time alone together recently.

So I figured this was a good opportunity.

But then, while trying to keep the conversation going as per the original plan, I suddenly had a thought.

“Ah…”

If this kept going, he’d see me as nothing more than a seven-year-old kid forever.

That thought gripped me unexpectedly, filling me with anxiety that maybe that’s how it would turn out.

That’s why I had hastily tried to get away.

I felt like I couldn’t keep doing this.

Sitting here with those thoughts swirling in my mind, I was afraid I’d repeat what had happened before without even realizing it.

I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want it to happen again, for it was all too clear what sort of miserable time it would lead to.

So as I tried to escape, before I could even move away, Dogun’s hand caught mine.

Was he not about to let me run away like this?

His grip was surprisingly firm.

Thus, I involuntarily flinched at his touch.

Then, the one simple line that followed melted away the tangled knot of feelings I had built up over time.

Which, naturally, made me feel like bursting into tears.

Maybe I was overwhelmed in that moment.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill over.

I didn’t want Dogun to catch me like this.

So—

“So?”

I deliberately crafted a brusque voice and shot the question back at him.

“Is just saying sorry enough to make everything fine?”