This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 175

The earnest voice I tried to use didn’t seem entirely ineffective after all.

Yoonseo cried a bit more after that, but eventually, she stopped.

By that point, I had been holding Yoonseo so closely that the front of my hospital gown had somehow become damp, but honestly, that wasn’t a huge issue.

Clothes? I can just change them.

Surely, in such a large hospital, there must be at least one extra gown lying around.

The important thing was that Yoonseo had stopped crying her heart out.

So, I didn’t have to worry about ‘What if she collapses…’ anymore.

Up to that point, everything was fine.

Up to that point.

The problem arose after she stopped crying.

I had noticed it the moment she burst into tears upon seeing me, but had she really been going through such turmoil all this time?

Was it that she felt if she lost touch with me, I might disappear somewhere again?

I don’t know if that was the reason, but even while she was utterly exhausted from crying and slumping down weakly, her grip on my collar remained strong and tight.

In such a situation, it felt a bit odd to say this, but at first, I found Yoonseo’s appearance somewhat cute.

It felt as though I had returned to my kindergarten days.

Back then, it was the same; after squabbling with Bora, she would always come rushing to me, pouting her lips as if asking for comfort while tugging on my clothes.

‘By the way, I wonder how Bora’s doing…’

Well, she liked painting, so I bet she’s living well by freely expressing her talent by now.

Anyway, I briefly got sidetracked with my thoughts, but one thing was clear: it was okay at first.

“Ugh… I’ve completely turned into a goldfish.”

Unlike back then, the one sitting next to me wasn’t a pufferfish but rather a goldfish, yet it still brought back memories in its own way.

Yoonseo hadn’t said a single word since a while ago?

That wasn’t a problem either.

If I were Yoonseo, I’d probably be the same.

After crying so much, I could imagine her eyes being just as swollen as her throat.

In addition, after having a good cry, one tends to feel drained and a bit embarrassed, doesn’t it?

I figured that Yoonseo was likely feeling just that, so her silence didn’t seem strange at all.

The real problem was with me.

As soon as we arrived at the hospital, I contacted Uncle, and feeling relieved that we managed to connect, a sudden thirst hit me, prompting me to chug down cold water, and that was the issue.

‘Hmm…’

The disaster I brought upon myself was slowly growing.

But still, I was okay.

…So far, at least.

However, if this situation continued, it would only be a matter of time before I felt overwhelmed.

Wasn’t it as simple as saying I was going to the bathroom and just going?

If it were that easy, I would have done it.

‘If I say I’m going to the restroom, Yoonseo would probably want to follow me…’

I couldn’t help but wonder if she would really go that far, but I also couldn’t fully relax; Yoonseo’s hand gripping my collar conveyed the determination of not letting go.

That said, I couldn’t forcibly push her away since Yoonseo was barely holding back her tears because of my request.

But what if I tried to pull her away in such a situation?

She might end up crying again.

And at that point, she might really collapse.

Thus, the best course of action now would be to make Yoonseo leave her spot on her own.

So what should I do?

I was likely lost in fierce thoughts in my mind when suddenly—

Growl—

A sound echoed loudly in the hospital room.

Of course, it didn’t come from me.

If it were me, it would have been more like a gurgle.

And if I wasn’t the culprit, then?

There was only one person who could be the culprit.

Glancing at Yoonseo, I saw that her ears were bright red, probably feeling embarrassed from having made such a noise in this situation.

‘…Oh.’

I could use this.

“What’s this? You didn’t eat anything, did you?”

My voice was filled with playful disbelief as I directed my words at Yoonseo.

Thinking about it, I also felt like I should eat something.

So that’s why I asked, but why was she nodding her head so earnestly?

“Hmm, now that I think about it, I should eat, but… it’s still two hours until dinner… What to do…”

I felt a bit incredulous, but without showing it, I noticed Yoonseo quickly pulling out her mobile phone as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Earlier, she said her phone was dead and couldn’t connect, but had she charged it during that time?

As Yoonseo was about to eagerly launch a delivery app, I quickly intervened.

“Hey, hey, are you crazy? This is a hospital, you know?”

“Then… if I ask Dad to bring something back…”

“I feel terrible asking Uncle to bring me some clothes, let alone food…”

By now, it was about time that remark popped up.

Just how much did she not want to be away from me?

Yet on the flip side, perhaps she thought it was unacceptable to let me go hungry.

After hesitating for a bit, as if struggling to say a phrase she didn’t want to, Yoonseo eventually spoke up.

“…What do you want to eat?”

With that, I nudged Yoonseo gently to push her out of the hospital room, then headed straight to the bathroom.

I quickly tended to my business and was standing in front of the sink to wash my hands when—

“Hmm?”

I noticed the bandage wrapped around my left hand felt loose, as if it could fall apart any moment.

It had seemed fine until a moment ago; when had it become this way?

Anyway, since I had to avoid the situation where the contents inside the bandage might be exposed while with Yoonseo, I thought I’d quickly rewrap the loosened section before she returned.

Thus, I started unwrapping just enough to retighten the bandage around my thumb and index finger…

As I focused on rewrapping discreetly, I must have unintentionally lost myself in that one task.

Or maybe it was my foolish confidence that I could finish this before Yoonseo returned which led me to not lock the bathroom door.

“Ah…”

Even if I hadn’t locked it, I thought I had at least closed it, but it must have opened at some point because I heard a voice from the side of the door, a voice I least wanted to hear at that moment.

I reflexively turned around, and the moment I did, the convenience store bag that Yoonseo had been holding slipped from her hand and hit the floor, spilling its contents all over the bathroom.

Regardless of that… Yoonseo’s gaze was locked onto my left hand.

Her eyes were wide, fully focused on the sight of my left hand.

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A moment ago, Yoonseo had reluctantly gone out of the hospital room because Dogun had said he was hungry, but even so, there was only Dogun in Yoonseo’s mind.

Even while stopping by the convenience store in the hospital basement to grab something quick to eat, that fact remained unchanged.

And Yoonseo’s focus was none other than the bandaged left arm of Dogun.

The reason she was fixated on it was simple.

Because it felt strange beyond comprehension.

‘I don’t think it’s broken or fractured…’

When I first saw Dogun, I thought he was stuck like that.

That’s why I had cried more.

But the moment Dogun began to pat my back, I had realization hit me.

It wasn’t that serious at all.

For if his arm were broken or fractured, he wouldn’t be able to move it so naturally.

Then, could he have been cut deeply or something?

Maybe that was a possibility.

‘Thank goodness…’

Of course, it was heartbreaking that Dogun was hurt, but still, that was better than a broken arm or fracture.

So, I thought the bandage wouldn’t be on for long before it would come off.

With such thoughts swirling in my head, I quickened my steps.

Naturally, this was all to bring something to Dogun as fast as I could.

And maybe because I hurried, I was able to return to Dogun’s hospital room much quicker than I thought…

Yet his figure was nowhere to be seen.

As a result, something stirring within my heart jolted suddenly, but I quickly regained my composure upon hearing the rustling noise coming from the direction of the bathroom.

And in regaining my calm so swiftly, the thought emerged that Dogun might be in distress.

It made sense; Dogun was in a state with one of his arms injured, after all.

‘He seems okay moving around, but…’

If he moved in earnest, things might indeed change.

I opened the door cautiously due to that worry.

It was for that reason, really…

It must have been the moment I opened the door.

With a cautious intention to squint my eyes in case I needed to shut them immediately, I was prepared, yet what unfolded before my eyes was utterly unexpected.

The fingers of Dogun, which had been hidden under the bandage, were now visible.

Those fingers, slender and long for a man, which I sometimes envied—were…

“Ah…”

In a most peculiar state.

…As if they were like a monster.