This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 196

It felt as if time had come to a standstill.

Perhaps it was because I had just woken up, but Dogun’s eyes seemed hazier than usual, making it impossible not to feel that way.

And since Dogun had been sleeping so soundly that he could have been carried away without ever noticing, maybe that was why he didn’t even consider the possibility of being caught.

My heart pounded so hard that it echoed up to my ears, surprised by a situation I never could have anticipated.

I knew I had to do something, but I was so flustered that I could neither move forward nor backward, just gulping down the feeling of embarrassment.

My heart raced so fast that I felt like it would burst with a pop if I moved even a little.

Not to mention my face, which was certainly flushed bright red.

“W-what do I do…”

What should I do?

Unable to think about anything else, that single thought circled in my mind.

Was Dogun just as shocked by this unexpected situation as I was the moment I opened my eyes?

“Uh…”

As Dogun blinked multiple times, a slightly dazed voice escaped his lips.

And then—

Thump, thump—

“Dogun?”

It sounded a lot like someone had pulled Dogun out of the depths of confusion.

Thanks to that voice, which seemed ready to burst through the door at any moment, my senses returned.

“M-mosquito!”

“…Huh?”

“A mosquito… was on me…”

It was a terrible excuse, to say the least.

A mosquito? At this time of year, when the cold wind blew close to freezing just by opening the window, it made no sense.

Even though I said it out loud, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was believable.

So… my face flushed again, this time for an entirely different reason.

If I had to pick out one small blessing in this embarrassing situation, it would be that I had definitely leaned back enough not to be too close to Dogun.

And maybe Dogun had too much on his mind to pay attention to my distress.

Seeing him scramble to pull up the blanket as if trying to hide something without much success certainly gave that impression.

Even while flustered, Dogun responded to Seolhwa’s call with a semblance of calm.

“Yes, yes, Senior! What brings you here?”

“No, remember we said we’d train together from now on?”

“Ah… right, we did.”

“So in that context, I thought we could start with a light jog. What do you say? Want to join?”

“Yes, yes, sounds good.”

“Great! Then let’s—”

“But, Senior…”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry, could you please wait a moment? I just woke up…”

“Ah… r-right. I’ll wait in the living room then.”

“Okay, I’ll get ready as fast as I can.”

“No, no, take your time.”

I thought to myself, observing Dogun’s composure as he dealt with Seolhwa, who must have been feeling just as flustered.

“I’m envious,” I mused.

If only I could be that calm, I might have been able to come up with a more believable excuse instead of something as ridiculous as a mosquito.

Then maybe I wouldn’t be blushing like this, and the atmosphere wouldn’t be so awkward.

As I was lost in such thoughts, Seolhwa was on the verge of entering through the door but ended up leaving, and with her departure came an indescribably awkward silence.

I wished she would just say something, as she had earlier.

After a moment of delayed thinking, Dogun was silent.

And that made me anxious.

If Dogun asked why I acted that way, I wouldn’t know how to respond.

Just as I was nervously fidgeting, after a long silence, Dogun finally spoke.

“Well… I think I need to wash up first…”

“Ah… uh, yeah! Sure!”

In this situation, he didn’t seem interested in probing further.

So I couldn’t help but feel both grateful and frustrated at Dogun’s statement, which implied he was leaving.

It was inevitable…

“Maybe…”

Perhaps I should just take this opportunity to turn a blind eye and act boldly.

Of course, I wasn’t sure I could follow through, but what if I made Dogun aware of my feelings this time?

That decision could have shattered the invisible wall I felt whenever a pivotal moment arose.

And if I succeeded in breaking that wall, maybe something would change, but my hesitation stretched out too long, and I missed my chance.

I regretted it once again.

So… I sat alone in Dogun’s room and quietly vowed to myself.

If, and I mean really if, something like this happened again, I wouldn’t hesitate—no matter what.

With the owner of the room having left, I sat in a slightly melancholic atmosphere and made that promise.

…

Today was strangely peculiar.

Normally, when running hard like this, I shouldn’t be able to think of anything else due to exhaustion, yet reality was far from that.

Even though I felt like I was about to choke on my breath, my mind was filled with random thoughts.

And all those thoughts were related to Yoonseo.

‘What was…’

What did Yoonseo want to do to me while I was asleep?

That thought had been occupying my mind since I left home until now.

It couldn’t be helped.

I was that startled by it.

I hadn’t demonstrated it clearly when I was with Yoonseo earlier, but my true feelings were in turmoil.

How could it not be?

The moment I opened my eyes after being called by the Senior, I was met with Yoonseo’s face.

The distance was so short that when I opened my eyes, it felt like only Yoonseo’s face existed in my sight.

Of course… while Yoonseo made some excuse about mosquitoes, I couldn’t fall for her clumsy response.

Her expressions, her face that was flushed with embarrassment, and her eyes that were darting everywhere were all too telling.

Thus, it was inevitable that I would be in a dilemma.

‘What was…’

And throughout the jog with the Senior, those tormented thoughts continued until we finished.

No, in fact, they grew even stronger after the jog ended.

So much that I unconsciously started grimacing.

“Um, are you… feeling tired?”

“…What?”

“I mean, your expression seems… off.”

Seeing the Senior cautiously gauging my reaction made it clear I must have looked that way.

I immediately relaxed my expression and waved to the Senior, perhaps because I realized that was the case.

Fortunately, my action seemed to have worked.

The Senior’s worried expression and gaze softened a bit.

“No, that’s not it…”

“Then?”

“Um… just a lot on my mind.”

“Ah, right… today, huh?”

I was worried about what had happened with Yoonseo that morning, but the Senior interpreted it as concern for Bora, who I was supposed to meet today.

Well, truthfully, I was just as concerned about that, so I nodded along with the Senior.

Afterward, I reached for the doorknob to enter the house, but before I could even apply pressure, the door swung open from the inside.

Emerging from the now-open door was Chae-rim, who was smartly dressed since the morning.

“Hmm? Where are you going?”

“Ah… it’s nothing much, I’m just heading to the shop where I bought the bed and linens yesterday.”

“Why there…?”

“Because they promised to deliver it that day, and I haven’t heard a thing since.”

While I was fine since I could lend her some extra linens, I had slept on the floor for the first time in a while, so it was okay to say I hadn’t slept well.

Chae-rim’s response came off as quite low-spirited.

So I couldn’t help but silently pray for whatever poor clerk she might run into.

“Anyway, I’ll be back soon, so if anything happens or you need to go out, just let me know immediately… okay?”

“Sure.”

And just how long after Chae-rim left did it take?

A huge truck with a roaring engine came to a halt in front of our house.