This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 237

Dogun’s Perspective

Was I worried that I might feel burdened?

“Ah, um… if you’re not inclined…”

After a brief silence, a slightly trembling voice followed.

Realizing this made me acutely aware once again of how much courage Senior mustered to say that out loud.

Because of that, I couldn’t even dismiss it as a joke.

“No, that’s not it…”

I hurriedly shook my head at Senior for that very reason.

If left alone like that, she seemed like she might dig into the ground and break through the mantle to reach the core of the Earth!

And that just didn’t suit Senior.

“Do you have any idea when we might go out if we do?”

I bravely asked, but perhaps she hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Senior paused, looking for signs in my expression, and then awkwardly started to creak like a rusty door.

Seeing that was like watching a robot malfunction, so without realizing it, I let out a laugh.

Before the laughter could escape too much, I tried to tone it down, but it still felt loud enough to reach Senior’s ears.

As she tilted her head toward the mug she was holding, her adorable ears peeked out from her hair, resembling ripe persimmons in color.

And her cheeks, slightly visible amidst her hair, only added to the cuteness.

After gulping down the milk mixed with a hint of embarrassment from the mug, she opened her mouth again right after swallowing something six or so times.

By then, the embarrassment that was making her face and ears flush had somewhat settled.

“When is a good time for you, Dogun?”

Her voice directed at me was much closer to her usual self now.

Of course, the caution wrapped inside was still there.

“Me? I’m totally…”

Hmm, how should I answer?

What would help lighten the mood a bit?

I mulled over those thoughts for a moment, then shrugged my shoulders in a showy manner and continued.

“It’s fine anytime. You know? I’m a time billionaire.”

“Pfft, what’s that?”

“Anyways, I’m totally okay as long as it’s not at the crack of dawn, so Senior, just go ahead and shoot your shot.”

“Time billionaire, and yet you can’t do dawn?”

“Well, billionaires need sleep too…”

While we were exchanging such idle banter, Senior let out a thoughtful ‘umm…’ and fell into contemplation.

Was she thinking about when we might go out together?

I noticed her slightly furrowed brow twitching away, so I quietly sipped on my milk to avoid interrupting her.

“Then… would tomorrow work?”

“Tomorrow?”

“…Yeah.”

Tomorrow, huh.

Since I had mustered up my courage, I probably wanted to make sure it didn’t fizzle out before taking action.

If that truly was the reason, then I wouldn’t have a reason to say no, but first, there was something I needed to clarify.

“Ah, I mean, is it alright to rush into it like that…?”

“No, that’s not it… I just got a bit confused about what exactly you meant by tomorrow.”

“Uh, yeah…?”

I gently explained to Senior, who looked bewildered, that it was already well past midnight.

“Oh…”

Had she been so deep in thought about her dilemma that she hadn’t even looked at the time?

As panic crept into Senior’s wide round eyes, they spun around like they were being fueled by the very confusion she had consumed.

This might sound strange, but the way she was caught off guard gave her a cuteness I couldn’t easily imagine in her usual form.

Especially since she wore her hair down instead of tying it up like she usually did.

“If the ‘tomorrow’ you’re talking about is during the day, then I think I should go to sleep right away.”

“Then… let’s go with tomorrow…”

“Would that really be okay?”

“Ah… um…”

If it were up to me, I would want to finish it today since I had made up my mind. But with the time so late, making a decision wasn’t easy.

“If it’s okay to leave a little later, then let’s go with today.”

If it were the usual Senior, she would have made a decision by now, but considering the emotional turmoil of the past few days, she was certainly not her usual self, confused and fumbling instead.

So, I spoke up to represent her feelings.

And with my words, Senior nodded, and we had officially decided to go out today.

Baeksulhwa’s Perspective

Was it the warm glass of milk Dogun had brought that worked its magic?

Or perhaps it was Miya’s warm, cat-like body heat that gently savored my weary spirit?

After receiving the envelope from Chae-rim, I hadn’t been able to sleep well for days, but strangely enough, after Dogun left with Miya, I dozed off as soon as I lay down.

And it was Dogun who roused me from this slumber of sleep.

“Senior?”

Knock, knock. A soft voice came along with the cautious rapping on the door.

When I suddenly woke up, two feelings greeted me first.

The regret of knowing Dogun’s voice was just beyond the door and relief at the thought of not showing him my undoubtedly terrible morning appearance.

Those two emotions danced around in my drowsy mind for a while.

Thanks to that, I was caught off guard when Dogun’s voice jolted me awake.

Hastily, I pulled myself together and changed my ‘terrible appearance’ into something a bit more presentable before heading downstairs, where Dogun awaited with breakfast prepared.

To be honest?

I wasn’t that hungry.

More accurately, I couldn’t muster the thought of putting anything in my mouth.

That was only because my mind was already filled with other thoughts.

Thus, there was little room for anything else to invade my mind.

Still, I sat down at the table… surely it was the result of the sincerity of Dogun, who must have woken up a few hours early for this, even though we had gone to bed around the same time.

His words following “Please take a seat” made me concede.

“I don’t know what your plans are for today, but we need to fortify our stomachs first, right?”

Seeing Dogun, while saying those words, reminded me of my dad, whose face I could hardly recall… it made me sit down like I was bewitched.

And just as I sat down, I suddenly became aware of how his ‘thoughtfulness’ was embedded in every part of what I initially thought was an ordinary breakfast.

Was he worried that I might choke or something?

The meal was composed primarily of easily digestible foods.

The moment I realized that, a sense of fulfillment began swelling up inside me, like beautiful bubbles I had seen in my childhood.

Until just before I sat down, I truly thought I wouldn’t be able to eat much, but the more I ate, the more strength seemed to flow into me, and before I knew it, I had emptied a whole bowl.

Thanks to that, I could finish preparing to go out more smoothly than I anticipated.

I thought I might hesitate for quite some time, but it turned out that wasn’t the case.

After wrapping up the preparations, I was waiting at the entrance for Dogun.

The sound of steady footsteps echoed down the staircase, and soon enough, Dogun appeared.

He seemed to have put in extra effort compared to usual.

“Um, I, uh… I didn’t know what to wear, so I went for the neatest option. How does it look? Is it weird?”

Was he worried about his hair?

As he frequently ran his hand through his bangs while glancing at me, I found myself unable to respond.

The moment I opened my mouth to say something, I feared some ridiculous sound might come out instead.