This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 136

What is this?

Is he… calmed down?

For some reason, just listening to his voice made it seem that way.

I mean, he may be gruff, but he wasn’t as icy as before.

So I figured I’d better not miss this opportunity.

“Just saying sorry doesn’t settle it, right?”

With that thought, I kept my eyes fixed on Yoonseo’s back as she turned slightly away from me, her voice awkwardly changed from before.

I would listen to anything she wanted, as I had my share of faults.

At that moment, I noticed Yoonseo’s shoulder flinch and tremble.

It was seriously unsettling how her reaction made me feel.

“Still, nothing weird, okay?”

I quickly added that remark, and this time, she didn’t just flinch—her whole body jumped.

Could she really have been thinking of asking something strange?

“W-What do you mean by something weird?!”

Before I could think twice, her response was as if a thief was caught red-handed.

“Anyway, so what are you gonna ask?”

“Ugh… Do I really have to say it right now?”

“Yes.”

It was a little embarrassing to suddenly act all serious after I just promised to listen to anything she said, but it felt necessary.

Thinking back, Yoonseo had indeed pulled off some wild stunts at the most unexpected times.

It wasn’t like it happened often, but still—

‘It’s about time for a cooldown period, huh?’

So my judgment was it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.

As I drew that line for minimum standards and waited for her answer, Yoonseo hesitated for a moment before finally opening her mouth.

“Um… Would you be free in two weeks…?”

“Huh? Two weeks from now? When exactly?”

“Um… Friday!”

Two weeks later, on a Friday.

“It’s possible but…”

Why did it have to be that day?

Was there some kind of event on that day?

‘Hmm?’

Wait a minute, two weeks from now on a Friday?

As I mulled that over, the shape of the calendar I casually glanced at a few days ago suddenly appeared in my mind.

And I remembered the markings that were still there.

‘What? Why that day, of all days…’

So that’s what it was.

I thought it was just that moment.

“Then just spend the whole day with me!”

Yoonseo insisted on her request in an almost fearfully cautious voice.

“Just that is enough?”

“…Yep.”

“Okay, then.”

I nodded readily at her words, beginning to find Yoonseo’s presence cuter by the moment.

What was I so anxious about? And all she wanted was this?

‘Well…’

Thinking about it, we’d spent quite a bit of time just the two of us.

But honestly, it was unavoidable for me.

I couldn’t carve out time to meet her on weekends under the pretext of helping a senior with exams since the test was only a few months away.

Whenever I managed to squeeze in time, it was always hanging out with friends from middle school.

Maybe that made Yoonseo feel left out?

So every time I planned to head out on the weekend, she would desperately tag along.

That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

It became clear why I had shifted my attitude slightly and started engaging more actively in conversations with Yoonseo.

“Then, where should we meet that day?”

“Hmm… Central Park?”

Of course, Central Park was the rule of thumb when one didn’t have any ideas.

Alright, I decided we would meet in front of Central Park. But what time would be best?

“What time at Central Park?”

“What time is good for you?”

“For me? I should be back home right after school, so at least 5:30, I think?”

School usually ended around 4:30, and it took about 30 minutes to get home and 15 minutes to Central Park.

Considering the time it would take to change clothes, 5:30 seemed just right.

Of course, we could meet in front of my house and head there together, but… I guessed Yoonseo wouldn’t want that.

“…Then let’s meet there at 5:30.”

“By there, you mean the fountain?”

“…Yeah.”

So it was decided that in two weeks on Friday, we would meet in front of the fountain at Central Park at 5:30.

Just confirming the plan seemed to lift the tension that had been building up in Yoonseo a bit.

Her shoulders, which had been tense, slowly went back to normal.

The problem came right after, though.

After she calmed down, did she feel embarrassed about throwing a fit over something so trivial earlier?

“If you’re late, I’ll, I-I will kill you?!”

With a slightly shaky voice, Yoonseo yelled that and swiftly brushed my hand away, dashing out of the living room.

She moved so fast it made me doubt if she ever dreaded her running training.

‘Geez…’

It would be nice if she could show that kind of speed in practice.

But every time we did strength training, all she did was complain—what a pain!

As I contemplated that while tracking Yoonseo’s rapidly disappearing figure, she slid right through the door of Dogun’s house with an unprecedented speed.

‘W-What now?’

What on earth should I do?

My face felt like it was about to explode.

Not just my face, though.

My heart was racing as if it would jump right out.

It was unavoidable.

This was clearly—

‘A date…’

Meeting up on her birthday—wouldn’t they call that a date?

Sure, there had been a few similar situations before.

But this felt… somehow different.

If you asked me what was different, I couldn’t quite explain it, but it certainly felt that way.

‘…Ah!’

Thinking about it now wasn’t what I should be doing.

The fact that I agreed to meet Dogun in two weeks meant there were only two weeks left until that day.

That simply meant there was a mountain of things to prepare, but only two weeks’ time to do it in.

So?

I had to get moving right now.

‘F-First…’

I should decide what to wear that day!

I thought carefully about what was in my closet.

But no matter how hard I tried to think, nothing seemed suitable to wear that day.

Every time I thought something might be okay, a barrage of disqualifying reasons followed.

It seemed like all the clothes in my closet had that kind of fate.

They were wear-worthy on regular days, but not on a day where I needed to make an effort.

So clearly, there was only one answer.

That’s why I sprang up immediately.

If I didn’t have anything nice to wear that day?

I could just buy something decent!

Plus, two weeks later would be my birthday—a perfect excuse!

With that thought in mind, I sprinted back home.

Once I entered the house, I immediately sought out Dad.

“Dad!”

“Huh? What’s up? You were going to see Dogun, why are you back already? Did you two have another fight?”

“Geez, if someone hears that, they’ll think we fight all the time!”

“Not all the time, but you do argue quite a bit, right?”

I had nothing to say to that.

So, I had no choice but to change the topic.

I plopped down next to my dad, who was folding laundry, and slowly extended my hand towards him.

“What’s this hand for?”

“Um… Can I have a card…?”

“A card? If someone saw this, they’d think I entrusted you with my card.”

Maybe this amount wasn’t enough, huh?

Then I had no choice.

It was embarrassing, but I had to be bolder.

If Dogun caught me in the act, I’d be mortified for real, but… he isn’t here right now.

So there was no need to feel embarrassed.

The “cuteness attack” tactic I tried proved to be incredibly effective.

The strict-looking corners of Dad’s mouth, previously set in a straight line, softened into a smile.

Maybe he felt a little awkward?

“Ah hem, but why a card?”

With a cough, that question followed.

“Um… I-I want to buy some clothes!”

“Clothes?”

“Yeah.”

“Why the sudden impulse?”

“Well… it’s my birthday in a few days.”

“Ah, so Dogun wants to go on a date on your birthday, huh? But it seems like you don’t have anything suitable to wear for that day?”

I had planned to keep that part a secret, so how did he know?

As I awkwardly laughed to hide my surprise, Dad looked down at my face and chuckled lightly.

And then—

“Geez… Raising a kid is completely useless, huh? Go get my wallet.”

In the end, he let me have it.

“Dad, I love you!”

I yelled that as I dashed towards the room where Dad’s wallet was.