This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 139

There are days when you just feel lighter.

For some reason, today my body felt unusually light, and I woke up with a delightful premonition that everything I did would go smoothly.

Right now, that’s exactly how Yoonseo felt.

She was so light that even though no one woke her up, her eyes snapped open on their own, and she couldn’t help humming a little tune.

How could I possibly express this feeling?

I didn’t know.

But one thing was certain: I was glad I forced myself to sleep early last night.

What if I hadn’t?

I would have surely spent a sleepless night filled with excitement.

Like the day before a picnic or something.

And as a result of pulling an all-nighter, I would have been utterly exhausted during the main event.

How could I be so sure?

Because it had always been that way every time this happened.

So this time, I promised myself not to let it happen, and I laid down in bed almost right after dinner.

Thanks to that, I missed the chance to reply to my friends’ messages that flew in right as the clock struck twelve, but I wasn’t particularly disappointed.

Instead, today felt even lighter, and maybe someone noticed that lovely sentiment because the sky was incredibly clear.

The weather report yesterday mentioned that some areas might experience sudden rain and a sharp drop in temperature, so I was quite worried before falling asleep, but now…

‘I don’t need to worry.’

Could it be that the little worries I had were resolved in an instant?

It felt like waking up with a present in hand.

Holding onto that feeling, I picked up the mobile phone that I had placed by my side before sleeping.

Sure enough, everyone had sent messages right at midnight to wish me a happy birthday.

Experimentally turning on my phone, I was greeted by a flood of notifications.

And among them was one sent by Dogun.

Did he send it right at midnight like the others?

Thanks to that, the timing was similar to the others, but the content was completely different.

While the other kids sent a happy birthday message and a variety of gifticons for cakes or chicken, Dogun’s message was just, “Don’t stay up all night replying to the kids. Get some sleep and let’s meet later.”

At first glance, it might seem like a lackluster message.

But is it strange that I liked it even more because of that?

Thinking back, Dogun always did this on my birthday.

Gifts were one thing, but even when wishing me a happy birthday, Dogun preferred to say it face-to-face rather than through a text.

So instead of greetings like “Did you sleep well?” on my birthday, I would get presents and congratulatory wishes instead.

So, I figured today would be the same.

Maybe it was because I thought about this.

Just moments before, I felt slightly lethargic despite feeling light, but soon that sensation vanished.

I shot up from bed because I wanted to see Dogun’s face as soon as possible.

So first, I washed up.

After freshening up, I changed into my school uniform and carefully packed the items I had prepared for today into my bag.

Then, as I walked downstairs, I was greeted with the delicious smells wafting from the first floor and congratulatory messages flew my way.

“Happy birthday to our daughter!”

“Come sit quickly. Your dad made all your favorite dishes for your birthday since morning!”

As I approached to check, I couldn’t believe it was breakfast, looking so extravagant and plentiful on the table.

“Since our Yoonseo set the birthday table for dad, I thought I’d show off my cooking skills. How is it?”

In response to that, I gave my dad a double thumbs up.

In answer, my dad filled a bowl with seaweed soup, rich with large pieces of ingredients, and set it down in front of me.

“Now, hurry up and eat before everything gets cold!”

“Wait? Where’s Dogun?”

He always had breakfast with us on my birthday; did he forget?

I asked out of concern, and my dad smiled with a slightly awkward expression.

“Oh, Dogun…? He dropped by for a moment earlier…”

“Really?”

“He said he had to leave early today. He asked me to tell you we’d meet after school, though.”

I thought he meant we’d meet in the morning when he said “later,” but I never imagined he meant after school.

With my hopes dashed like that, my lips almost pouted out of reflex, but I quickly calmed down.

‘Well…’

I just had to hold out for about eight more hours.

Since that day when I almost quarreled with Dogun until today, it had been over two weeks of waiting; surely I could hold out for eight more hours.

Once those eight hours passed, I could spend the entire day with Dogun, right?

‘Right…’

Since this was already happening, I decided to think of it as a good thing.

Sure, I was a bit disappointed not to have breakfast with Dogun, but I felt I could surprise him even more when we met in the afternoon.

Having that thought, I finished the breakfast my dad prepared and set off for school.

As soon as I arrived in class, the usual flooded congratulations greeted me, and my day began, which felt no different from any other day—

‘Ugh…’

Was it because of the eight-hour countdown?

Time seemed to be dragging slower than usual.

Not that a minute felt like an hour, but could I say an hour felt like two?

It would be nice if I could at least doze off like usual, but since I had slept so well, I didn’t feel even an ounce of sleepiness.

Because of that, the only thing I could do to kill time was chat with my friends in hushed voices.

“Yoonseo.”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing after school today?”

“After school?”

“Yeah, if you don’t have any plans, we’re thinking of hanging out with some kids from the next class. We’ll throw you a birthday party!”

Consequently, I received that kind of offer.

“Do you know Ji Chanwook from class 3? He’s coming too.”

I had heard that name before.

He was fairly well-known within the school.

I heard even seniors sometimes came down just to see him.

Of course, my knowledge about Ji Chanwook ended there.

I had just picked up on that rumor and had no particular interest in him.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’m sorry, I have prior plans.”

“Ah… well, I understand.”

That’s why I neatly declined my friend’s offer, thinking we had gotten kinda close.

It might have been a bit awkward for them since they likely put some thought into asking me, but I couldn’t help it.

Other days might be okay, but not today; I just didn’t have time for anything else.

“Instead, how about we meet up this weekend? I think that’ll work.”

“Oh, this weekend? Sounds good.”

As the time kept slipping away, I suddenly found the end of school was right around the corner.

‘Just a little longer…’

Thinking of finally seeing Dogun made my heart race faster than just moments ago.

Could that be why?

Thoughts that had been fine just a moment ago suddenly began to stir uneasily in my mind.

‘Can I…’

Do well?

Speak clearly, without stuttering?

I didn’t even dare to hope for that.

I just wanted to safely convey this feeling to Dogun, even if it meant stuttering.

To do that, I needed to make sure I was fully prepared.

So right after class, I headed to the training ground.

I could change in the bathroom, but if I got my clothes wet, that would be a disaster, so it was better to use the locker room attached to the training ground.

Sure, it took a little longer to get to the training ground, but it was the right thing to do for safety.

As soon as I entered the locker room, I pulled out the casual clothes I had carefully packed in a bag to keep them safe and clean.

I was worried they might get wrinkled since the clothes were big, and the bag was small, but it seemed my cautious packing had worked; when I unfolded them to check, they weren’t as wrinkled as I feared.

After changing, what did I do next?

I took out my mobile phone, which would guide me, and headed to the hair salon run by Chaedam’s mom.

Could the promise of a complete makeover, even if I had to kneel before my mom, really be just talk, I wondered.

Arriving at the salon, I had to be whisked around here and there in a frenzy as soon as I mentioned my name.

Even so, I could endure it because I noticed my reflection in the mirror changing dramatically every time I finished a step of the process.

“Wow… aren’t you incredibly pretty?”

By the end of it all, Chaedam’s mom, who had styled many active heroes, seemed genuinely amazed and said that.

Having completed all preparations for meeting Dogun perfectly—

‘He probably hasn’t arrived yet…?’

I headed to Central Park, where we had promised to meet.