This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 285

Yoonseo’s Perspective

I muttered quietly to myself as I observed Dogun, who was eating with a fierce determination on the opposite side of the table.

‘Something’s off…’

No matter how much I thought about it, there were more than a couple of things troubling my mind.

First, it was Dogun’s face, which was clearly visible before my eyes.

He looked like someone who hadn’t slept for days; his haggard face had become his default lately.

Could it be that he really had some heavy concerns weighing him down?

If that were the case, I wish he would just spill it out. If I could just understand what he was troubled about, I might not be able to offer a solution, but I could at least share in his worries.

‘Tch…’

He had a face that clearly showed he was troubled, yet he wouldn’t tell me what was going on, leaving me with a sense of disappointment.

Of course, from Dogun’s perspective, he probably didn’t want to drag me into his troubles, but still…

‘Or maybe…’

Is it possible that after miraculously coming back, he had started to feel increasingly trapped since he hadn’t been able to go out much?

Yet, unable to voice this feeling, he ended up wearing such a gloomy expression.

That could very well be the case.

When I thought about it, Dogun seemed to prefer being holed up at home, yet he also had a fondness for wandering around here and there.

Even if he complained about it verbally, once we actually went out, he was the type to enjoy himself more than anyone else.

But since he returned, aside from that trip to Busan with my sister, he hadn’t had a proper outing at all… How could he not feel a little stifled?

What if that were true?

I really wanted to help him.

Yet… considering Dogun’s situation, it would practically be impossible for us to go out just the two of us.

With how hard he had worked lately, I finally felt confident that I could protect him even if something happened, but convincing Chae-rim would be another story.

So even if I managed to persuade Chae-rim, she would definitely insist on bringing either my sister or Baeksulhwa along.

Even so, if that was what Dogun wanted, I wished to grant it for him.

Though I wasn’t sure if it was possible.

Anyway… it wasn’t just Dogun’s expression that felt strange.

There was something else that had been bothering me.

‘Recently, he’s been…’

He hasn’t overslept as much lately…

No, it wasn’t just a matter of simply reducing his oversleeping; it was practically non-existent.

In the past?

Even Dogun, who was usually pretty diligent, would occasionally sleep in at least once or twice a week.

Usually, it happened on weekends rather than weekdays.

But these days… such incidents were rare.

Even on weekends, when he didn’t have to wake up early.

It was as if… someone was waking him up just before he could oversleep.

If it had been in the past, I would have thought nothing of it, but… why had this become so concerning to me lately?

As I felt this question bubbling in my mind, I continued to watch Dogun’s face sitting directly across from me.

Just thinking that if I could somehow uncover what was hiding in his heart, it would truly be wonderful.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dogun’s Perspective

‘Um, uh…’

Why is she staring at me like that…?

I wondered if I had something on my face, so I subtly raised a hand to feel for anything, but nothing was there.

That made me even more conscious about it.

If there was nothing on my face, then why was she looking at me like that?

Honestly, since I was aware that there was something she might be picking up on, it was hard not to be bothered by Yoonseo’s gaze.

In reality, I pretended to be focused on my meal in an attempt to mask that I had noticed.

And just as I finally finished a meal that felt like I couldn’t tell whether it went in through my mouth or my nose, Yoonseo spoke up as if she had been waiting for me to finish.

“Hey, Dogun.”

“Huh…?”

I flinched instinctively at her sudden address, but she seemed too busy to catch my reaction and continued.

“Um, it’s nothing major, but are you feeling… stifled?”

Stifled?

What on earth does that mean?

In that moment, a question mark popped up in my mind upon hearing Yoonseo’s words.

“Um, it’s just… you’ve been in the house all the time lately, so… I was wondering if you felt stifled or something…”

“Ah…”

So that’s what she meant.

I had indeed felt that way a few times.

How could I not feel that way? I used to have no issue going out.

But suddenly, even for a quick trip to the nearby supermarket, I had to get permission and always accompany either Chae-rim or Senior… Naturally, that gap made it feel only natural.

Probably anyone would feel the same way.

“Well… to be honest, a bit… stifling.”

It didn’t seem like something I could hide, so I decided to be honest.

Truthfully, the most oppressive part wasn’t that I couldn’t go out freely.

It was more about having to be accompanied by either Chae-rim or Senior every single time I went somewhere, which was what really bothered me the most.

Because thinking about it, it felt like I was infringing upon their time.

They would be busy even without me around.

So, I thought they would want to relax at home while they can, but here I was, dragging them out.

If nothing else, my preference for seeing the ingredients I buy in person rather than ordering online had shifted recently, reflecting this influence.

And it was true; looking at the condition of the things that arrived often fell short compared to when I went out myself, but what could I do?

I had no choice but to compromise.

While I was lost in thought, I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

“Really…?”

I heard Yoonseo’s voice come in with a tone that said she expected this.

“But why do you ask all of a sudden?”

Out of curiosity, I asked her, only to receive a cautious suggestion in return.

“Oh, it’s nothing big, but… if Dogun is okay with it…”

If I’m okay?

“Do you want to go somewhere, anywhere?”

Anywhere to go? Just where is she talking about?

“Where?”

“Uh, well… I’m not sure…”

From her flustered response, it seemed she hadn’t thought that far yet.

Seeing her struggle like that, I felt a twinge of guilt over having my sister and Senior already on my mind, but at the same time, I felt grateful.

It looked like she thought of me first and opened up the conversation.

“Hmm…”

I pretended to think for a moment in response to Yoonseo—

“Is this a… date proposal?”

I asked playfully with a smirk.

Of course, if I reacted that way, wouldn’t it lighten the awkwardness Yoonseo was feeling at this very moment?

In other words, I had acted in a way that I anticipated her response would be—

“…Date.”

“Excuse me?”

Yoonseo’s reaction was completely different from what I had expected.

In my mind, if I asked like that, she would respond with something like, “What date?” and then get flustered; that was what I had anticipated.

“…Well, what will you do then?”

Instead of reacting as I thought, she turned crimson and asked what I would do now.

Was her response so far off from what I had imagined?

To be honest, I was taken aback.

My heart started racing, beating irregularly as if I had suddenly gotten palpitations.

And perhaps this had affected the way I spoke too.

“Uh, um… well…”

Forcing words out became harder than expected.

Just like that, an immensely awkward silence fell between Yoonseo and me, contrary to what I had planned.