This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 315

Pretending to be nonchalant, I casually tossed out bait without any particular intention, waiting for a reaction to come back was definitely no easy task.

Was that the reason?

My heart was pounding faster than usual.

‘Why…’

Why was there no response?

If it were any other day, a reaction would’ve come back without a doubt.

Could it be… that I looked a bit awkward from Dogun’s perspective?

The time spent feeling slightly suffocated and anxious didn’t last long.

“Um, well…”

Of course, as if he had never been silent before, Dogun finally opened his mouth.

His voice sounded heavily loaded with contemplation.

The moment I heard that voice slipping through Dogun’s lips, I instinctively realized.

Right now, Dogun was standing at a crossroads of worry.

Perhaps it was because something just happened earlier, making it impossible for him not to be conscious of it.

So was he hesitating to let out whatever words had been turning over in his mind?

The thought made me feel not so bad.

As a result, I felt the corners of my mouth twitch slightly—

“Um… if it’s okay with you, I could… maybe massage your shoulders?”

Finally, the words I had been waiting for flowed from Dogun’s lips.

Of course, I didn’t jump at the chance immediately.

Instead of reacting joyfully as if I was the person who had been waiting for that very sentence, I raised my eyebrows slightly.

And with that expression, I continued speaking.

“No, you must be tired helping me out on a weekend morning…”

Clearly, that was effective.

The moment I spoke, I could see the trace of hesitation on Dogun’s face evaporate without a trace.

“No, I’m not tired at all. I just sat around.”

“Still…”

“You’re the one who’s been struggling. Riding a bike in this winter—ugh…”

Seeing Dogun shudder as if he would drop dead never to rise again made me smile.

“It’s actually not that cold. Believe it or not, that stuff… is pretty expensive.”

It wasn’t just a throwaway line; it was actually true.

I had no idea how they managed to cram such functions into that thin clothing, but as long as I wore that, the cold wasn’t really an issue.

In fact, it felt slightly warm, and because of that, when I responded to the fire scene earlier, the heat that hit me felt like I was a dumpling thrown into a steamer.

Well, thanks to that, I succeeded in making Dogun consciously aware of me, so in the end, I was winning this deal.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, and… when you’re riding a bike, it oddly feels freeing.”

“Now that I think about it, you really were stepping on it.”

“What? When did I!”

As we playfully teased each other and engaged in light bickering, I leaned back comfortably in the chair.

“Anyway… since it’s come to this, can I ask a favor?”

“Uh, sure!”

Dogun, who had seemed to relax a little, displayed a tensed reaction right after that.

“Do I just sit here? Or should I maybe… lie down here?”

“Yes, yes?”

Did my intention to lie down take him by surprise?

The way he flinched his shoulders had a uniquely delightful feeling to it.

So… I wanted to see more of that.

“Would it be easier for you if I lay down instead?”

“Ah, no! I don’t really need that!”

Although he said it was just a shoulder massage, I didn’t quite get why he was so busy preparing.

“By the way, why suddenly wear gloves? Ah… is it because of sweat…?”

“Huh? Uh… This is because… my hands aren’t clean.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better just to wash them? There’s a sink right next to us…”

I attempted to stop him from putting on the gloves, but Dogun was remarkably stubborn with that, so I couldn’t succeed.

“Then… shall I start?”

“Yeah, please do.”

The massage from Dogun, which was something I hadn’t expected much from, was surprisingly good.

It was like… he was someone who had done this kind of thing more than a few times.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t utilize my original plan.

The original plan was to use the massage as a pretext to revive the tense atmosphere that had flowed inside the Rest Area just a while ago.

But focusing on that made me acutely aware of Dogun’s surprisingly skilled hands.

“Phew, you’re definitely a bit tense.”

“…Really?”

Seeing how adept he was made me wonder if he had a lot of experience massaging others.

In that case, who might it be?

Honestly, one face popped into my mind.

Yoonseo.

It was undoubtedly her this time as well.

They had been training together since before I met Dogun, so it must have been.

It couldn’t be helped; she was the type to leap into anything physical just for the sake of it.

So surely after finishing the training, would they have truly engaged in proper post-stretching?

No doubt, she must have collapsed in exhaustion, leaving him to ease her fatigue by giving a massage.

Then he’d have grown proficient like this.

Imagining that scene made the buoyant feelings I had moments ago fade into an overcast sky as clouds loomed overhead.

“How… does it feel? Are you feeling refreshed?”

“…Yeah, you’re good.”

“Right?”

So was that why.

“Seeing how well you do it, you’ve had a lot of practice, huh?”

What had filled my insides suddenly spilled out, unable to be restrained.

“What? Well… I guess so.”

The moment I heard that indifferent response, I felt my heart drop.

I should have stopped there…

I had to stop…

“So… what did Yoonseo say? Did she say it felt good too?”

Once my mouth had lost its reins, it went off on its own.

And the result I pulled in was—

“Huh? Yoonseo? Why her?”

“Um, it’s just… I was curious.”

“Well… I don’t really know since I’ve never done it for her, but if it were her, she’d probably scream that it hurts.”

“Uh, really…? You’ve never… done it for her…?”

“What? Of course not! Honestly, why would I massage her shoulders? If anything, she’d be the one massaging mine.”

“Then how is it that you’re so good at it…?”

“Oh, this? Well, um… you see… I used to massage my mom’s shoulders a lot. My mom happens to work in research, so she spends most of her day stuck at her desk…”

It was a mortifying amount of embarrassment that could annihilate at least one person in one fell swoop.

To think it was skill honed by being filial to my mother instead of Yoonseo.

Unaware of that, I—

Was it the sudden rush of embarrassment?

Or was it the awkwardness?

My face, which had turned bright red in a flash, began to burn uncontrollably.

“Um… Senior…?”

I ducked my head down, hiding my face beneath my hair as much as possible.

Thus, Dogun’s bewildered voice rang out behind me, but I couldn’t help it.

I felt that if I didn’t do this, if I didn’t cover my face, Dogun would figure out how foolish I had been.

“Se-senior…? You might catch a cold if you keep this up.”

And what if I were to be found out by Dogun?

“Why are your ears red all of a sudden…?”

“….Don’t look.”

“Huh?”

“I said don’t look!”

I honestly feared my face might explode at that moment.

It was that embarrassing.

It took what felt like forever to regain my sense of composure after I was so thoroughly burning with shame.

And as I finally succeeded in calming myself down, I naturally came to realize.

This was no time to be like this.

“Um… sorry!”

So I started by apologizing to Dogun.

I had no choice.

It couldn’t be helped… because discussing his mother in our House was somewhat of a taboo.

I had just crossed that taboo.

So… more than anything else, I needed to apologize first.