This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 137

“Can’t just use it all carelessly? Dad is trusting you, Yoonseo?”

“Yep!”

Nodding vigorously, I accepted the card my dad handed me, feeling an overwhelming sense of reassurance.

With the funds secured like that, right?

Since we were already in this deep, I decided to go out right away.

So, I got ready to head out, but by chance, I ended up with friends.

“Yoonseo!”

“Over here! This way!”

“Whoa… Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?”

“No, we just got here too.”

“Yeah, about a minute, maybe?”

And as soon as I joined my friends at the agreed spot, the first thing I heard was—

“So, what happened exactly?”

It was that question.

“Uh, what do you mean?”

“I mean, you usually buy clothes online, right? So what’s with the sudden shopping trip? Did something happen with Dogun?”

Considering Dogun tends to shy away from shopping, I figured he would lean into it, but still, how did they know?

“Oh, isn’t Yoonseo’s birthday coming up in a few days?”

“Ah, right! So then… Are you maybe planning a date on your birthday? Just the two of you…?!”

“Eek… Really?”

Watching them squeal and make a fuss made me feel embarrassingly shy for some reason.

Thanks to that, my face started heating up, but I couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

After all, I agreed to hang out with them because I figured they’d help somehow.

Especially since Sangah might be busy, but didn’t Chaedam mention she had a boyfriend?

So they’d surely be helpful.

“Wait, did Dogun ask to meet first? On your birthday?”

“Uh, yes.”

It wasn’t entirely true, but it was a fact that Dogun said he’d listen to anything.

That was practically the same as asking to meet first, right?

“Oh my, how unusual for him!”

“Then we better not waste time. Let’s go check out clothes right away.”

With my friends grabbing my hands, we dashed into the building filled with clothing stores, and just like that, I regained control of the situation.

“Alright, Yoonseo, pick something you like to try on first!”

“Me?”

“Yep! Then we’ll filter out the ones we don’t think suit you.”

Something I like, huh.

It was as puzzling as asking what I wanted to eat only to get “anything” as a reply, but I decided to move forward anyway.

‘Should I wear what I usually do when I meet him…?’

After agonizing over it, I finally picked something that looked decent. But when I changed into it and stepped out, the reaction was a bit ambiguous.

I thought it was fine, but maybe it wasn’t?

“Why? Is this not good…?”

“No, no, it’s not that.”

“It’s pretty. Definitely pretty, but… Hmm, how do I put this?”

Maybe it was hard to explain.

Watching the two of them struggling, I also started getting fidgety when I heard that shocking comment.

“Isn’t it… a bit childish?”

Childish, huh.

Considering what happened with Dogun earlier, this was one of the last things I wanted to hear, and suddenly, the outfit I’d just liked morphed into something unappealing.

“Then I guess I should buy something else.”

That made sense because I didn’t want Dogun to see me like this, at least on that day.

“Yeah, yeah! Since we’re here, why not try out styles you don’t usually wear?”

So, taking Chaedam’s advice, I took on styles I didn’t normally go for.

But… since they were styles I typically avoided, it made sense that it felt off.

After trying on what the others suggested and checking it out in the mirror, I felt unusually embarrassed.

Compared to my usual style, this felt way too ornate, almost like a costume.

Looking back, these could be someone’s everyday outfits, but still.

Anyway… enduring this bubbling embarrassment was quite tough.

Before I went to change, my friends had been chatting away, but now they were unusually quiet, making it worse.

Was it true that these styles suited Baeksulhwa but not me?

“Umm… Does it look really weird?”

Maybe it was because I thought of Baeksulhwa at just the right moment.

Feeling gloomy, I wanted to get these off as soon as possible.

So, asking that, I got a response that was a bit unexpected from them.

“What do you mean? Weird? What’s weird about it?”

“Um, I just… think the t-shirt’s kinda tight…”

“And then?”

“And the skirt’s too short…”

“Well, what do you think, Chaedam?”

“Don’t ask me… I’m so envious I might die.”

Envious? Wasn’t it more like it didn’t suit me?

As I raised a mental question mark at their response, the fuss escalated dramatically.

“Whoa… Yoonseo, this is so fierce!”

“I’m telling you!”

“How have you kept this hidden? Wow…!”

At some point, a hand playfully squeezed my chest from behind.

It felt so weird that I reflexively twisted away.

“Hey, quit it…”

“Oh, so this is reserved for the significant other?”

“Si-significant other? What?”

Just the repeated phrase made my face heat up in embarrassment, and as I stuttered, my friends jumped in with more teasing.

“Dogun’s in big trouble. How’s he going to handle this?”

“Exactly! Yoonseo, are you getting confessed to by Dogun that day?”

Confessed to?

By Dogun?

I might have considered it a possibility once or twice, but honestly, I didn’t think it was likely.

But if they were saying that, did it mean we looked good together?

Thinking that way, as I stared in the mirror again, the reflection that had felt awkward began to seem a bit prettier.

“Should I… just do it?”

Lost in thought, as if bewitched by the mirror, I suddenly said that.

“Huh? Just do it? Do what?”

“Uh… confess.”

Saying what I’d kept bottled up was extremely embarrassing.

“What?!”

“Like, all of a sudden?”

But somehow, managing to say it led to a reaction that was borderline shock.

“Well, strictly speaking, it’s not all that sudden.”

“Ah, right…”

As they said, it was an impulsive yet not entirely impulsive decision.

After all, I had been thinking about this.

I simply hadn’t gathered the courage to act on it.

But seeing my different self in the reflection gave me a little boost of bravery.

And if I could muster up this kind of courage today, then… it might just work.

Saying what I’d been keeping inside right in front of Dogun.

“Are you serious?”

“Yep, I’m going to give it a shot.”

Of course, I knew.

Just because I decided to take a chance, that didn’t guarantee everything would end in success.

And while I really didn’t want to think about it, what if I end up failing at the confession?

Just like time that has passed can’t be reversed, I couldn’t go back to how things were.

Thinking of that, it might be better to just stay as I am, but… after what happened today, I realized.

That I couldn’t just stay like this.

If I didn’t change myself?

If I got complacent with the ‘present’?

Ultimately, nothing would change.

Not to mention that if it went wrong, I might end up losing that which I had long dreamed of right before my eyes.

That couldn’t happen.

So I had to change.

“Huh, if Yoonseo’s resolve is at that level… then there’s no helping it.”

No helping it? What did that mean?

“I’ll help you as much as I can.”

What kind of help was that going to be?

Unable to contain my curiosity, I glanced at Chaedam, who, with a confident expression, pulled out her mobile phone.

“You know my mom runs a hair salon, right?”

As if I could forget.

It’s renowned and quite big.

I haven’t been because I assumed it would be super expensive, but I heard there are plenty of heroes that go there…

“I’ll book an appointment under your name for your birthday, so swing by.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll beg my mom on my knees if I have to, but I’ll make sure it’s a full deal.”

So ‘that day’ preparations began meticulously coming together one by one.