This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 325

From my perspective, having prepared for this duel as if I were eating my meals, the result was a little disappointing, but regardless of the outcome, it was probably due to the fact that I successfully passed over the significant mountain of the duel with Chae-rim relatively unharmed.

Yoonseo’s Auntie, who couldn’t attend the exam due to work, must have felt she couldn’t miss the modest gathering prepared as a way to congratulate us on finishing the exam safely, and joined us late for the meal. As soon as I returned home, I collapsed onto my bed.

Was it finally the aftermath of the nights spent preparing for the duel? It wasn’t anything severe, of course. Just a mild cold, at best? Maybe with a day or two of rest, it would just shake off on its own. Surely, it was bound to happen, so there was probably no need to head to the hospital for this… The problem was that I couldn’t even lift a finger at that moment.

‘Ugh… I don’t want to move…’

To be precise, it was more like I didn’t want to move a single finger. The unique lethargy of a cold combined with the typical dullness of the morning was so overpowering. It felt as if I had turned into a stuffed bear filled with water. I was literally doing nothing, just breathing, yet my body felt heavy and sluggish.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t muster the courage to get out of bed and was just blankly staring up at the ceiling.

Knock, knock—A cautious knocking came from the door, accompanied by Chae-rim’s voice.

“Dogun? Are you still sleeping?”

Normally, I would be bustling about in the kitchen preparing breakfast by now, so I wondered if she had come looking for me just in case. By the way, when did she come back? Was it in the early morning? But I hadn’t heard her come in at all. Had I really slept that deeply?

Realizing that remaining silent might make it seem like I was intentionally ignoring Chae-rim, my mind was a whirlwind of useless thoughts. Eventually, perhaps worried about me being quiet, the door opened with a click.

“Dogun?”

“Ah… I’m sorry, noona… I was going to respond, but…”

“…Are you feeling sick?”

The moment that question echoed in my ears, I instinctively realized that denying it here and insisting I was fine wouldn’t mean a thing. After all, Chae-rim’s voice held a strange certainty as she asked it.

So what else could I do? I was forced to admit the truth.

“It’s not serious… I just feel a bit chilly. Maybe I’m coming down with a cold.”

“Are you feeling very unwell? Do you want to go to the hospital?”

“Nah, it’s not that bad.”

Even though I forced a smile to imply I was okay, perhaps it was too unbelievable for Chae-rim.

“Did you take any medicine? You haven’t, have you?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Then just rest for a bit. I’ll get you some porridge or something, so eat that before taking your medicine.”

“I’m really fine, though…”

Honestly? I thought it wasn’t serious enough to need to eat porridge. If I were experiencing a sore throat, I would willingly accept her kindness, but without any signs of that, I was simply feeling sluggish.

“Enough of that. Wait here. I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” she said, refusing to hear any objections.

In an instant, she changed into clothes suitable for going out and started grilling me on what kind of porridge I wanted. It was undoubtedly a well-intentioned act. To be honest, her kindness felt a little burdensome.

After all, hadn’t I just openly sided with Yoonseo until yesterday?

Of course, I knew Chae-rim wasn’t the type to sulk over something like that. She would obviously understand it was just necessary given the situation. But… maybe it was like a thief getting anxious about their own actions.

Somehow, I felt a little embarrassed to face Chae-rim. Because of that, I couldn’t bring myself to look directly into her eyes and instead lowered my gaze slightly.

“Why? Are you feeling that way because of yesterday’s duel?”

Chae-rim caught onto my demeanor like a ghost, laughed softly, and placed her hand on my forehead.

Was she checking to see if I had a fever?

Her hand was slightly cool, which felt oddly nice.

It wasn’t that I was running a fever or anything, but still.

“Well, um…”

“What… um… Honestly, I feel a little… left out because it seems like you only care about Yoonseo.”

So that was how she felt…

Honestly, I would’ve felt the same way in her position.

Before I could even think about how to respond, Chae-rim continued speaking.

“After actually sparring with Yoonseo, you two seemed really impressive. So I’m okay with it now.”

Still holding my forehead, she gently pushed away a strand of hair that had stuck to it. Upon saying that, she seemed slightly embarrassed.

Scratching the now rosy spot, Chae-rim sat up from my bed.

“So, don’t bother trying to guess my feelings and just rest comfortably, okay?”

After she left the room, the next person to come in was none other than the Senior.

“I didn’t see you, so I thought I’d check… Are you okay?”

As soon as our eyes met, the first words I heard were about whether I was okay.

Was my state that bad?

I wanted to confirm for myself, but getting up felt too tiresome.

“Do I look that much like a patient?”

“Not really… You just look a bit unwell.”

So, saying that in place of an answer, I replied and got this back.

“Have you taken your medicine?”

“Ah, well… Chae-rim said she’d bring some porridge, so I’ll eat that first before taking it.”

“…I see.”

She nodded understandingly for a moment, then reached over to place her hand on my forehead.

Just like Chae-rim, was she worried that I might have a fever?

“Glad it doesn’t seem like you have a fever.”

“Yeah. If I had a fever, I’d be in quite a state right now…”

“Anyway, you’ll recover, so make sure to rest well. I’ll take care of the housework for now, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ah… Thank you, Senior.”

“What’s with the gratitude? It’s just natural given our situation.”

And that was the last thing she said.

Looking at her expression from above, I could tell she had more to say but didn’t push it further.

After the Senior left my room, the next visitor came—Bora.

“Are you okay? I heard you were sick…”

“It’s nothing that serious, just a run-of-the-mill cold.”

Why does Bora look so gloomy when it’s me who’s sick?

Watching her with her mouth turned downward and an overall downcast expression made me suddenly think of a certain possibility.

‘Ah, is she feeling this way because of what’s happening tomorrow?’

“Speaking of which, it’s tomorrow, right? The awards ceremony?”

I asked this just to confirm, and it seemed I was right about why she looked sad.

She flinched and shrank back as if I’d hit her nail on the head.

“Uh, yeah…”

“That’s a relief.”

“…?”

“If it had been today, it would have been hard to attend, but if it’s tomorrow…”

It didn’t seem right to say such things in front of someone who was sick, so I hadn’t let it out, but perhaps I had addressed it for her sake.

Suddenly, her lips, which had been drooping since entering, twitched at my words.

Afterward, Bora and I chatted about various things when Chae-rim returned with her arms full of porridge.

“Here, just in case, drink this too.”

After eating the porridge Chae-rim brought, I took my medicine and chugged down the electrolyte drink she had also bought for me. Just a little while after eating, I began feeling drowsy, as if the medicine was kicking in instantly.

Before I knew it, I had dozed off, only to be gently awakened by someone petting my head.

“Ah… You’re awake?”

That someone was none other than Yoonseo.

“What’s with that expression?”