This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 162

“I need to strike first.”

Yeah, that was the only way.

If we take the initiative from this side, it naturally means we’ll seize control of the situation.

Some might say, what’s the difference between that and getting caught by the Association, but… there is a difference.

First of all, if the initiative is in our hands, that alone could eliminate a large part of the worries we have right now.

For example, the possibility of Dogun becoming the Association’s experiment subject, like a lab rat.

Of course, that’s just our opinion, and ultimately what matters is Dogun’s thoughts.

Dogun’s views might differ as well.

So, we had to wait.

We had to wait for Dogun to wake up and make his own decisions.

And if Dogun concludes that living the rest of his life treated like a monster is worse than being one-armed…

‘…Then I’ll have to help.’

As I said earlier, I was prepared to take responsibility.

From start to finish, all of it.

That would be the only way to repay the debt of life he saved me twice.

I don’t know if it’s fortunate, but it didn’t seem like I would have to wait long.

“Mm…”

During my time in that other world, perhaps the chilling cold that had suddenly become closer due to winter was bothering me as it seeped into my body.

Dogun’s body shivered once and then his eyelids started to flutter, too.

Watching him, who looked like he would open his eyes and regain consciousness any moment now, I organized the words I would tell him upon awakening.

However, it wasn’t easy.

Everything I could say would be too harsh for Dogun, who was not even an adult yet.

Let alone when he earlier expressed that he received the news of his mother’s passing, saying he was now alone without family.

Of course, he mentioned that he had a friend he had spent as much time with as family, and if he returned to the original world, he would surely overcome it, but… no matter how long they had been together, a friend could never replace family.

Friends and family are certainly different.

But now that his arm was like this, worrying was unavoidable.

Both the news of his mother’s death and the grotesquely transformed arm were too harsh realities for a kid who was only a high school student.

But… I had to tell him.

In front of a reality that would be hard for adults to handle, if I hesitated to speak for fear that Dogun might crumble, it might turn out to be an even harsher reality later on.

So, even if it meant Dogun might resent me, I would tell him.

I would explain the current situation as objectively as possible and then do my best to help Dogun to achieve what he wanted.

Of course, that wouldn’t be easy.

After all, this was likely going to be against none other than the Association Chairman.

Still… if I mobilized everything I’ve built up until now, maybe, just maybe, it could work.

As I vowed that inwardly, Dogun’s tightly shut eyelids twitched a few more times before they slowly lifted up.

“Ugh…”

At the same time, hearing the groan that came out of Dogun’s mouth, I carefully held his grotesquely transformed left arm with both hands.

Through this action, I sincerely hoped that he would understand that I didn’t see him as a monster and focused on warming up the hand I was holding.

“Are you awake?”

“Is this… Are we back?”

“…Yeah.”

“Haa…”

For a moment, Dogun visibly showed relief, but then as if realizing for the first time that someone was holding his hand, his gaze shifted to his left hand.

My heart tightened with anxiety as I witnessed the series of events unfold right before my eyes.

I really hoped he wouldn’t be too despairing…

Just as I was inwardly praying fervently, Dogun’s slowly moving gaze finally reached his left arm—

“…Ah.”

A sound of breath escaped Dogun’s lips right after that.

But that was all.

There was no reaction I had expected.

Instead of despair or frustration, Dogun merely stared blankly at his own transformed arm, not reacting as I thought he might.

Could it be… is he okay?

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but… that couldn’t possibly be the case.

This wouldn’t be okay; he must be pretending to be okay.

Logically, no one could feel okay with an arm transformed like that.

I heard before that his mother was busy with work, making him live alone since childhood, so perhaps he learned not to show his emotions to others because of that.

I once heard that kids raised by parents so busy they can’t care for their children grow up fast; maybe Dogun was one of those cases.

“Um… I’m sorry, but can you let go of my hand…?”

If that is the case, then I definitely shouldn’t let go of what I’m holding onto.

Just because he doesn’t show his emotions doesn’t mean they disappear.

In fact, suppressing them only allows them to fester inside.

“I don’t want to.”

Responding like that to Dogun, who was awkwardly asking me to let go, was precisely because of that.

“Yeah…?”

He seemed surprised that I would respond like that.

Having kept a calm expression since awakening, looking as if he was wearing a mask, Dogun’s face finally showed an emotion, something that could be called ’embarrassment.’

Finally, he shows a proper expression…

In that case, I absolutely couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“What? Your older sister just wants to hold your hand; are you unhappy about that?”

“No, um… that’s not what I meant…”

“Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I told you to call me ‘sister’ last time, but you only did that a few times and then kept dodging it, huh?”

My teasing behavior toward the flustered Dogun was entirely for that purpose.

And as I acted so brazenly, it seemed Dogun initially tried to use strength to pull his hand away, but eventually gave up, lifting both his hands in surrender.

“Haa…”

Instead, he let out a tiny sigh, barely audible.

“Why? This pretty sister just wants to hold your hand; are you really not okay with that?”

“No…”

It was right after that that I truly began a proper conversation with Dogun.

Since it was an important discussion, I momentarily cast aside my playful demeanor and aimed to convey the situation and the things that concerned me as seriously as possible.

As soon as I finished talking, I asked him.

“…For now, this is what I think. What do you want to do, Dogun?”

As I said earlier, I was prepared to respect whatever choice Dogun made.

Even if it harmed his own body.

“Um… it’s tough.”

Well, that’s to be expected.

No matter the option chosen, these were not choices that could easily be made.

“Actually… when I first regained consciousness, I thought losing just an arm wasn’t a bad trade-off for coming back from that place.”

That’s true.

The world where Another Ones live could undoubtedly be described as hell for humans.

“But now, when I think about actually cutting off my arm…”

Could he be feeling fear now?

That’s understandable.

Seeing Dogun mumble as he wore a bitter smile, I thought without a doubt that was the case, but the reason Dogun himself expressed was somewhat different from what I anticipated.

“As soon as I think about it, Yoonseo just pops into my mind.”

Yoonseo was a name I recognized.

That made sense as Dogun had shared it himself.

If I was remembering correctly, it must be referring to the friend he had known since childhood.

“You’ll probably see for yourself, but she’s really a fool, you know?”

There was a hint of a smile on Dogun’s face as he said that.

“And she constantly runs her mouth, but she’s really quite fragile inside… If I return looking like this, she’ll definitely blame herself for it, you know?”

Why did he think that way?

I couldn’t understand.

I couldn’t know, but I accepted that there must be some reason for it.

And just as I thought that, Dogun suddenly changed his expression.

“So… even though I know it might be the best option, I don’t want to cut it off.”

Staring directly at me with that changed expression—

“In that sense, could you tell me? What should I do from here on out?”