This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 181

Was it a reaction to the word “text” that the Senior mentioned?

Yoonseo, who had been sitting a little distance away, flinched her shoulders.

But regardless of that, the Senior seemed completely unconcerned.

Was it just not caring?

The Senior was thoroughly acting as if she had excluded Yoonseo from her view.

And at that point, I couldn’t help but acknowledge it, whether I liked it or not.

Perhaps the Senior liked Yoonseo far less than I had thought.

What more could I say?

I already knew that the Senior wasn’t particularly fond of Yoonseo.

Why wouldn’t I know?

I had seen her face tense up many times at the mere sight of Yoonseo.

That said, it felt a bit awkward to confront the Senior about it.

It was understandable—considering from the Senior’s perspective, it made complete sense to react that way.

Yoonseo wasn’t slacking off on her training, but the Senior was the one most dedicated to honing her own skills.

For the Senior, Yoonseo’s occasional appearances during training sessions must have been nothing more than an unwelcome interruption.

Given the circumstances, it felt a bit inappropriate for me to intervene, and I kept hoping things would gradually improve with time…

‘This is…’

It seemed I had been too optimistic.

The atmosphere inside the hospital room was proof of that.

How should I put it?

The air brushing against my skin was adequately warm, as it should be in a private room, yet the perceived temperature felt like it was below freezing.

The Senior’s actions, blatantly ignoring Yoonseo and only addressing me, created that chilling atmosphere.

The strange thing was Yoonseo’s demeanor.

If it were any other day?

She would have stood up and left without hesitation.

But today, she was unusually quiet.

No, it wasn’t just quiet; she felt like she was watching the Senior’s every move.

‘Could it be…’

Had something happened between the Senior and Yoonseo in my absence?

That thought crossed my mind.

Even while I was acutely aware of the odd atmosphere enveloping us, the Senior continued asking me questions to check on my well-being.

“How’s your arm? With the bandage on, it looks like you’re really hurt…”

And finally, the Senior let slip ‘that question.’

“It’s not that serious. See? I can move it just fine!”

Of course, I had anticipated this and prepared myself, so while I winced inwardly, I didn’t show any outward distress.

I even waved my bandaged left arm up and down for the Senior to see.

The problem was… Yoonseo, who was obviously unaware of my condition.

The moment the Senior mentioned my left arm, Yoonseo flinched unconsciously.

Her shoulders, which had been slightly slumped, suddenly trembled intensely.

And it seemed the Senior also couldn’t help but react to Yoonseo’s extreme reaction after having been deliberately avoiding her presence since entering the room.

With a look of suspicion, her eyes shot toward Yoonseo.

Needless to say, Yoonseo’s response, which had almost been just a flinch, became even more intense.

And eventually, Yoonseo blurted out ‘that.’

Hic—!

With the sound of a hiccup, Yoonseo’s shoulders jerked sharply.

Not long after, the Senior’s gaze, which had briefly drifted toward Yoonseo, returned to me.

It seemed the sudden hiccup startled Yoonseo enough that she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. The Senior might have felt there was no longer any worth in paying attention.

In any case, I could finally take a breath of relief.

“Ugh… Especially these sudden hiccups… Should I get you some water?”

“I-I’ll drink it on my own.”

And while I took care of Yoonseo, I thought to myself.

‘As I thought…’

Should I reveal my arm to the Senior?

But I couldn’t bring myself to take action.

There was no way I could.

I couldn’t because… I had no solid conviction within me.

By chance, Yoonseo had discovered my arm’s condition, but that was just a coincidence.

Thus, it didn’t serve as a foundation for my confidence.

Moreover… I never intended to keep my arm a secret from Yoonseo, to begin with.

With my mother’s fate uncertain, even Yoonseo—who could be the person I trusted more than anyone else—felt like someone I was reluctant to confide in, let alone the Senior.

Of course… I understood.

While I hadn’t spent as long with the Senior as I had with Yoonseo, I felt that nothing I feared would come to pass after everything I had seen of her so far.

To be fair, it feels odd to say this, but I was something of a benefactor to the Senior.

And from everything I had seen, the Senior was a straightforward and honest person.

So even if I spoke the truth about my left arm, I doubted anything to worry about would occur… However—

‘What if…’

What if, in an unlikely event… it were different from what I envisioned?

Could I handle that gap?

I genuinely couldn’t guarantee that if I were honest, the outcome would align with my expectations.

The reactions from people who knew nothing about me and those I had believed to be friends could differ entirely.

Thus, I decided to keep my arm a secret for now, and despite my worries, lying to the Senior wasn’t an easy task.

And perhaps the Senior felt there was something odd about my attempts to hide the truth.

What had initially been a tolerable atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.

And in this awkward atmosphere, Yoonseo wasn’t being much help.

Normally, she would have jumped in, even out of sheer awkwardness, but today, for some reason, she was preoccupied with reading the room between the Senior and me.

Previously, I had wondered if something had actually happened between the Senior and Yoonseo while I was gone.

I found myself growing increasingly anxious about Yoonseo’s demeanor, and the painfully awkward mood between me and the Senior didn’t help.

Then, suddenly—a loud rattle—

The door that had been closed slammed open, bringing forth someone to rescue me from this painfully awkward situation.

To be honest, at first, I thought it was an uncle just by hearing the door.

Surely it must be about the right time for him to come back.

But when the door opened, it wasn’t an uncle—it was Chae-rim.

Had she finished her business at the Association already?

“I was going to ask if you were okay, but this doesn’t seem like the right atmosphere for that.”

Chae-rim’s entrance drew markedly different reactions from the two of us.

“…”

Though it had been months since we met, the Senior, who recognized Chae-rim from that one encounter, chose to remain silent.

Meanwhile,

“…Who are you?”

Yoonseo, however, showed her wariness.

The problem lay in Chae-rim’s response to Yoonseo’s reaction.

“Well? Who could it be?”

“…I’m sorry, but you can’t just barge in here like this.”

“Hmm… Since I can tell from your reaction that you must be Yoonseo?”

“No, I mean seriously, who are you to say someone else’s name…?”

“Hey… Hold on…”

At that point, I couldn’t help but intervene.

‘Didn’t she sing praises about being a fan…’

Why on Earth couldn’t she recognize a face she had seen before?

Or is it because she couldn’t recognize her without her normal face?

Then again, I had also realized who she was primarily due to her car and hair color.

Compared to that, there was hardly anything to recognize amidst the current hints around hair color alone, so I couldn’t blame her.

Regardless, if we stalled any longer, it would be Yoonseo who’d end up embarrassed, so I hurriedly whispered Chae-rim’s identity into Yoonseo’s ear.

And that made all the difference.

As I leaned in and whispered, Yoonseo’s narrowed eyes exploded wide open with confusion as she stared at Chae-rim, who wore an unhappy expression.

“Wh-what? R-really…?”

“Yep.”

And with that final detail, Yoonseo was left utterly paralyzed in her shocked state.

“Looks like you heard my name from Dogun. So, am I free to sit down now?”

Taking advantage of Yoonseo’s petrified state, Chae-rim naturally slipped into the space between the three of us.