This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 188

“Shall we move the stuff first?”

The way he said, “Just let me know if there’s anything to do,” made me feel truly supported.

That was only natural since, out of everyone present, Yoonseo had the best cleaning skills.

‘It’s just rare for her to do things herself…’

You could say her potential was off the charts.

For instance, if it were Nana or Chae-rim doing the cleaning?

They’d have to wipe and scrub everything by hand.

But Yoonseo?

With just a snap of her fingers, she could handle it.

Of course, she would need to focus a bit in cluttered areas, but still, not having to move her body made a difference.

So, I thought it would be great if Yoonseo helped when I decided we should do a thorough cleaning… For some reason, before I could even ask, Yoonseo volunteered to help on her own.

With me wanting to borrow a helping hand anyway, there was no reason to refuse when it was Yoonseo offering.

And so, the cleaning party was formed with Yoonseo on board.

The problem was… despite having such a powerful squad, the challenge ahead was not simple.

Just skipping a week of cleaning makes the house noticeably dirty.

And now, our house had been left untouched for a month and nearly a week, so I was sure there must be layers of dust rolling around by now.

I thought that for sure, but—

‘…Huh?’

As I walked in, it was much cleaner than I had expected.

Sure, dust was visible here and there, but it wasn’t as thick as I had imagined.

“What? It’s not that dirty?”

“Right…?”

What should I say?

It felt like someone had come by and tidied up in the meantime.

“Were you the one who cleaned when you came by last time?”

“Huh? Dad?”

“Yeah, remember when he dropped by to help with my clothes?”

I thought for sure that was it… but it wasn’t.

The touches I felt throughout the house weren’t from Dad… they were Mom’s.

At first, I didn’t realize that.

I could only connect the dots when I hesitated to check the fridge and found a note in the kitchen.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“What? A note?”

“I don’t know. It was just sitting there?”

At first, I didn’t even know if the note had been left by Mom.

I just thought it was odd to have a note in a house that had been left untouched for a month.

Initially, I thought that, but… thanks to Yoonseo and Chae-rim insisting that I check, I quickly realized as soon as I unfolded the note.

This note was just another sign that the house, surprisingly clean after being neglected for over a month, was all thanks to Mom.

The note, a little larger than two of my palms put together, held nothing of great significance.

It simply expressed that she felt a bit sad for not being able to see my face when she dropped by the house after so long and that having seen the place filthy, she tidied it up while she was there.

And, though it may not seem fortunate, it seemed Mom didn’t know about me.

The evidence was in the note, where she wondered if I was off traveling with Yoonseo’s family.

– You know Mom loves you, right? I’ll come by again when things settle down. Until then, take care.

And that was the last line of the note.

Perhaps it was because I suddenly learned that Mom was alive, a fact I didn’t expect.

Or maybe it was due to the words at the end of the note.

I felt a rush of emotions, almost overwhelming, prompting a break before even starting the cleaning.

But thankfully, I was able to snap out of it quickly, thanks to Yoonseo, who read the note with me and gently patted my back, assuring me that she would help if needed, and Chae-rim’s considerate support.

If it weren’t for those two?

I would’ve probably wallowed in that gloomy mood for quite a while.

“Shall we really start cleaning now?”

“…Are you really okay with that?”

“Of course.”

Though I answered Yoonseo, there was still a lingering choke in my throat from reading Mom’s note, making it feel as if discomfort remained stuck there.

I felt that way, but… that made me want to start cleaning even more.

After all, moments like this called for moving around vigorously.

That way, I wouldn’t have to think about unnecessary things.

“The question is, where do we start cleaning…?”

Where would be the best place to begin?

To be honest, there was more than one urgent spot to tackle.

Especially the fridge in the kitchen and the bathrooms on the first and second floors; I felt compelled to jump on them, considering how long they had sat neglected.

But from here, it made sense to start with Chae-rim’s room where she would be living.

That was especially so since she had mentioned buying a bed for delivery today.

But if the room for that bed wasn’t cleaned up at all?

We wouldn’t even be able to fit the bed inside.

That would lead to trouble not only for the delivery crew but for us as well.

“Uh, sister?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you take a quick look around and choose where you’d like to stay?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, I think once you pick, we’d need to start cleaning there first.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

In the middle of our conversation, Yoonseo’s cheeks twitched for a second, but that was all.

It was a bit awkward to bring anything up since the decision had already been made.

But while wandering around to choose a room, she made her displeasure known, but that was as far as it went.

Thanks to that, without leaving any room behind, we checked every single room in the house—

“Hmm, I think this one is the best.”

Finally, we could decide on a room for Chae-rim.

The problem was that the room she picked was right next to mine, which meant it had practically turned into my personal storage room.

As a result, it was also smaller than some of the other rooms.

“Are you okay with this? It’s honestly quite storage-like, so it might feel cramped after some time…”

But it wasn’t so small that it was suffocating like the space next to the bathroom, where it was debatable whether it even qualified as a real room, and it did have a window and even a balcony… still, I couldn’t help but worry.

That was only because of who Chae-rim was.

One of only three special-class heroes in Korea, Chae-rim was bound to have lived in a much larger room in a huge house before coming here, and now she was expected to settle into this storage room.

Given the gap between her previous lifestyle and this one, she would undoubtedly feel some discomfort. Was she truly okay with this?

Contrary to my thoughts, Chae-rim seemed to be quite fond of the room she picked.

“What? The balconies are connected?”

“Yeah, kinda…”

“This is interesting… I guess I’ll have to lock the doors when I sleep, huh? Right?”

“No, that’s not at all what I meant—”

What on earth was she talking about?

In a truly unexpected moment, with a completely unforeseen remark, I instinctively reacted strongly.

“What? I thought you were worried someone would break in through the walls or something? Why’s that nonsense?”

It looked like Chae-rim actually liked the room, humming along and checking the room and balcony while turning to grin at me.

Then—

“Huh? What were you thinking?”

With that same smug face, she pushed a bit, catching me off guard.

“I mean… when you were sharing a room before, it must have felt lonely thinking about sleeping alone after a month, huh?”

“…”

Please, no, I beg you.

Is it too much to ask for a special-class hero to uphold some dignity?

The longer Chae-rim teased me, the more those words wanted to bubble up my throat, yet I held them back, keeping them trapped inside.

It seemed like Chae-rim’s teasing was all for my sake.

She probably thought I’d still be feeling down about everything, and thankfully Yoonseo had left to grab some rubber gloves.

If she hadn’t?

Right about now, I’d be sandwiched between Chae-rim’s teasing and Yoonseo’s scrutinizing gaze on me, suffering double.

But since Yoonseo wasn’t here at the moment…

“…In that case?”

Is it really so bad to reply to a joke with a joke?

“Uh, huh?”

Chae-rim, who was just teasing me, perhaps never imagined that I would respond like this.

With her teasing demeanor vanishing as quickly as it appeared, surprise spread across Chae-rim’s face.

“What would you do if I actually felt lonely?”

I seized the chance and boldly stepped toward Chae-rim, pushing further.

“Uh, uh…?”

Startled by my sudden approach, she backed against the wall, her face turning beet red.

And there I stood, glancing down at Chae-rim, caught in the moment.

With a click— the sound of the doorknob turning echoed through the room, and before I could even do anything, the door swung open.