This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 281

Baeksulhwa’s Perspective

“A bird, is it my birthday…?”

“Yeah, actually… it’s today.”

“What?!”

Is she surprised to suddenly hear it’s my birthday?

Dogun’s eyes, looking at me, somehow grew as round as lanterns.

Well, that makes sense.

I had expected that kind of reaction, having deliberately kept it hidden for so long.

What exactly is a birthday anyway?

The word “birthday” is like a cheat code.

Even if you don’t know each other well, if you bring up the fact that today is your birthday, you’ll likely hear someone say ‘happy birthday.’

If that’s the case with strangers, how much more so with someone you think you know well?

If they’re not on bad terms, hearing ‘it’s my birthday’ naturally makes you want to do something nice for them.

Especially if you didn’t even know it was their birthday until just now.

So, could that be the reason?

“No, um… if it’s my birthday, I shouldn’t be here doing this…”

I noticed Dogun fidgeting for a different reason than before.

“Why? What’s wrong with training?”

“Training is fine, but still… it’s your birthday. You should enjoy it…”

“I’m having plenty of fun right now!”

Maybe Dogun thought that was just empty reassurance to calm himself, but it was the truth.

Since learning about Dogun and Chae-rim’s relationship, my mind had been filled with various thoughts, but now it was just filled with thoughts about Dogun.

“Well, it has been a few months since it was just the two of us.”

Did hearing those words remind him of everything that happened in those few months?

In an instant, a slightly bitter smile crossed Dogun’s face.

“…That’s true.”

“So I’m more than happy now. It makes me think about the time not long after I met you.”

So I said it in a way that downplayed my concern, but if it were that easy to feel better, Dogun wouldn’t have been so restless just now.

And more than anything… human psychology has this annoying trait that the more you tell someone not to do something, the more they want to do it, and the more you tell them not to worry, the more they worry.

So I figured Dogun was probably even more anxious right now.

Just as I thought that, despite the sudden silence, I caught Dogun glancing my way more and more.

“Why? Are you worried or something?”

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Dogun’s Perspective

“Why? Are you worried or something?”

Of course, I had no choice but to be worried.

Honestly, how could I not be?

As I was feeling a bit nervous, the Senior’s voice continued.

“If it bothers you that much, Dogun…”

Was she planning to ask me for something?

That thought made my ears perk up, and then the words I heard earlier echoed in my mind.

It was something like not just relying on Chae-rim but also on me.

“No, um…”

Of course, I had my reasons for not easily agreeing to that.

After all, relying on the Senior meant not just on Chae-rim but also on her, too.

Honestly, after becoming close with Chae-rim, the first few days were so awkward I thought I might die; what if the same happened with the Senior?

I might not be able to hold my head up in the house anymore.

It was bound to happen because at that moment, both the Senior and Chae-rim would find it awkward to look each other in the face.

“Hey? Dogun…”

That’s why I couldn’t help but hesitate, but whether she knew my feelings or not, or if she was doing it intentionally, the Senior kept nudging me gently.

Since it was her asking, no matter how I felt, it was hard not to be swayed.

“Or… how about we do this?”

“…?”

“Let’s think of it as exchanging one thing each.”

Exchanging… what exactly?

With my mind already in a chaotic state since a while ago, I couldn’t quite follow the flow of the Senior’s conversation.

So I decided to listen first.

“You already know, but… as long as I don’t completely stop my activities as a Hero, the Talent Organ is bound to be consumed, right?”

That much was true.

The Talent Organ would inevitably be consumed not just in actual combat but also during training.

Unless I focused solely on physical training without using my talents like before, that was how it was going to be.

So, while that’s true… so what?

“So… you use that power you have to help me recover. And during that time, I…”

If I help manage stress, it’s an ideal relationship where neither one of us has to depend solely on the other, the Senior tried to convince me.

The funny thing was that, upon hearing those words, my thoughts began to wobble which I thought I had tightly grounded.

It was only natural since the moment the Senior’s intention to persuade me washed over me, a thought began to rise within me that maybe I had been patient enough.

“Yeah, honestly… haven’t I endured plenty?”

When it was a beauty like the Senior earnestly persuading me, I didn’t nod right away.

And once I started to waver like that?

The next thing I knew, that uncertainty rapidly spread uncontrollably.

That’s why I eventually nodded.

And how long had it been since I nodded?

“Good thinking.”

A voice filled with a sense of satisfaction echoed in my ears, and a strangely sweet scent suddenly enveloped me.

….

Honestly speaking, I still had a slight sense of resistance.

It had to be, as today was my birthday, which meant that the Senior had officially become an ‘adult’ recognized by the country, but that also meant she hadn’t been one just until yesterday.

Thanks to that, as someone who thought of himself as 27 years old, I couldn’t help but feel like I was luring a just-became-adult girl, who still didn’t really know much, into doing something bad.

“They say there are times when popularity suddenly explodes…”

Was this the influence of that?

Just like with Chae-rim, now I was doing something like this with the Senior, too.

As a guy, I naturally felt like I should be happy, but since I had already gotten closer with Chae-rim first, I couldn’t completely shake the feeling that I was being unfaithful.

Perhaps sensing the existence of that conflict settled deep within me, the Senior knelt in front of me while sitting on the equipment I used for exercise.

Had it been from working out hard up until that point?

The sight of her, slightly damp with sweat, kneeling in front of me was incredibly captivating.

How could I, as a man, possibly not react to such a scene?

Her tight-fitting white t-shirt and yoga pants clung to her body after being soaked with sweat, revealing what shouldn’t have been visible, making it even more so.

“I can’t believe this…”

Surely, just a moment ago, I was aware of her, but it hadn’t captured my attention this sharply.

Could it be that the situation and atmosphere surrounding us had changed?

My eyes kept drifting toward her.

The reason I had tilted my head back was truly because of that.

And, while I was trying to keep my gaze fixed somewhat uncomfortably at the ceiling…

“If you want to touch me…”

With a voice that whispered almost directly into my ear, the Senior’s hand, which had stretched out without me realizing, gently wrapped around my left hand, which was gripping the armrest of the equipment, and she began to lead it somewhere.

If I wanted to shake off her hand?

I could have done so at any time.

But… strangely enough, I couldn’t find the strength in my hand.

And as I was helplessly pulled along, where I ended up…

“It’s okay to touch me…♡”

Wasn’t this the touch so divine that it seemed like I had found heaven?