This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 218

What on earth is going on?

Now there was no longer a way to escape, and I was leaning against the fence, only managing a bitter smile.

In the distance, a familiar silhouette flickered before my eyes, and soon I spotted Yoonseo.

At first, I naturally thought, “Ah, it must be time to die, so everything looks like a mirage.”

It couldn’t be helped; I never thought Yoonseo would be here.

At this hour?

Yoonseo should be training at school.

She shouldn’t be here.

Thus, the figure I saw now had to be a hallucination concocted by my brain, intuitively sensing that this was my last moment.

No, it had to be a hallucination.

Yoonseo had a habit of acting tough so much that anyone unfamiliar with her would easily mistake her for a strong character, but in reality, she was a coward who couldn’t even handle a basic horror movie.

So, there was no way she could endure what was about to unfold.

Therefore, it had to be an illusion.

Still, the good thing amid all this chaos was that the creatures surrounding me had not noticed Yoonseo.

When I thought about it like that, the figure had to be real, yet it was impossible to shake off that initial thought.

That’s what I thought back then…

Suddenly, Yoonseo, standing far away, reached out towards me.

—Kirik?!

The sound that emitted from one of the creatures surrounding me, as if to say they wouldn’t give me a chance to run, followed immediately after.

At the same time, the arm of the creature stretching towards me halted abruptly in mid-air.

And then… it erupted.

The thick, tough exoskeleton, which seemed unscathed by most, shattered like crispy cookies, scattering everywhere.

Thanks to the scene that looked like it was straight out of a cheap slasher movie, I realized something.

The Yoonseo standing far away wasn’t an illusion; she was real.

And… that was the beginning.

Suddenly, it felt surreal as if each creature that had been standing fine just moments ago exploded with a ‘puff’ sound, like they were each embedding a bomb in their bodies.

Even the commander, who seemed satisfied after cornering me, exploded, making it feel like I was part of a hidden camera prank.

The reason I was in such shock that I couldn’t even think about cleaning off the mess splattered on me was precisely because of that.

But then…

A sound came from afar, something that seemed to belong to falling entities, jolting my mind to attention.

And as I quickly regained my senses and checked Yoonseo’s direction, I found her on the floor, hunched over, her upper body bent forward.

Could it be that something was wrong with her body?

Maybe that was a possibility.

What just happened had clearly been something beyond what Yoonseo could produce at this moment.

Even though my legs were shaking from being overexerted for quite a while, I forced myself to move towards Yoonseo.

If anything was genuinely wrong with Yoonseo, it was vital to act quickly.

And perhaps… there might be something I could do.

Anyway, dragging my trembling legs, I barely made it in front of Yoonseo, and I wondered if she had been waiting for me to arrive.

As soon as I crouched down to take a closer look at Yoonseo, her hand, which had been resting on the ground, shot up, and before I realized it, I was knocked over and landed on my backside.

Yoonseo’s arms had somehow wrapped tightly around my body.

I don’t know how she found out about the situation here, but I must have surprised her when she rushed over, only to see me surrounded by monstrous creatures.

Her breaths echoed in my ears, frantic and ragged.

I was even worried she might hyperventilate at this rate.

She seemed just as alarmed, squeezing me tightly, her body trembling with unregulated strength.

So what could I do?

For now, all I could do was soothe her shock.

“Thank you.”

I finally moved my uneventful arm, instead of the one that felt stiff from holding her, and carefully started to pat Yoonseo’s back.

“For rescuing me.”

Yoonseo’s POV

“Thank you for saving me.”

The voice ringing in my ears and the careful pats on my back made sure I felt that Dogun was safe.

Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, I wasn’t too late… this time, I could save him… I was grateful.

At the same time, I felt a newfound appreciation for something I had always taken for granted since birth.

What if I never had the talent I possess now?

Even though I had struggled to arrive here, I would have been helplessly watching Dogun facing those monsters.

Thus, in a sense, I felt grateful again for having that talent.

And as I regained enough composure to think other thoughts, feelings I hadn’t noticed until then began to close in on me.

For instance, it was like now.

The touch of Dogun’s hand gently patting my back, the unique refreshing scent only Dogun possessed that filled my nostrils, and the sensation of his solid body pressing against me with each breath.

Once I became aware of it, I couldn’t help but notice everything, but the most significant thing was that I was tightly holding onto Dogun.

I must have realized that fact all of a sudden.

Matching the rhythm of his pats, my heart, for a different reason than before, began to race.

Was that why?

I felt somewhat… embarrassed and shy.

It wasn’t like anyone was watching; there were only the two of us, yet I felt that way.

The thought was so strange that it felt more embarrassing, but I didn’t want to let go of the arms wrapped around Dogun.

I tightened my grip discreetly on the arms I was using to hug him.

While clinging to Dogun like this… I suddenly became curious.

If I felt this embarrassed, how did Dogun feel?

Did he perhaps feel something similar?

That would be nice.

Since I felt this embarrassed and shy, it wouldn’t feel fair if I were the only one experiencing it.

So I wished for it.

I hoped that Dogun… would feel this way too.

It was during that moment that I felt something poking me.

Something hard poked my thigh.

At first, I thought it was his mobile phone.

But realizing it felt exceptionally hot, unlike a mobile phone, I caught on.

The shape of the object that had been poking my thigh was something stick-like.

And perhaps… that realization served as some sort of signal.

The scene I had once secretly peeked at in Dogun’s room flashed into my mind, and an overwhelming embarrassment flooded through my body.

At the same time, my heart, which had previously raced, now started beating profoundly loud.

I grew worried.

My heartbeat felt so loud, like the drumming of a war, that it seemed it could be heard by Dogun right next to me.

As I found myself lost in such worries, I felt a small shudder pass through Dogun’s body.

It wasn’t just me who wanted to hide something; apparently, Dogun felt the same way.

Since earlier, he had been readjusting his seating position repeatedly.

It was like… he had some discomfort somewhere.

However, it seemed Dogun didn’t realize.

His movements to hide something could summon something in return for someone else.

That’s how it was.

Every time Dogun shifted positions, it was as if he anticipated my closeness.

And every time he did that, the thing beneath pushed against my thigh.

It felt oddly tingling.

Every poke against my inner thigh felt like something inside was tightened.

It was a sensation I had never felt much in my life, thus it was incredibly foreign.

Yet… it didn’t feel bad.

Not just not bad, but it felt pleasant in a certain way.

It felt satisfying to share the embarrassment I had been feeling until now with Dogun.

So I clung even more tightly to him…

No matter how much I tried to escape, it seemed I eventually resign myself to the proximity.

Dogun’s movements came to a halt, and a voice that seemed to belong to him but was unlike his regular voice reached my ears.

“Uh… Yoon, Yoonseo…?”

It sounded as if it were struggling to break free after trying hard to push something down.

The moment stiffened, and when I instinctively recoiled…

“If you’re calm now, could you please let go of me? I’m starting to bleed…”

A fact I had completely forgotten spilled from Dogun’s lips.