This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 330

‘What on earth…’

How did it come to this?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

I just wanted to thank Dogun for helping with the contest by gifting him a nice outfit that would suit him well… That’s really all it was! So why did I have to pick clothes in such a spine-chilling, nerve-wracking atmosphere?

And to make matters worse, I was the first to go.

Thanks to that, my heart thudded with tension, but I didn’t want to back down like this.

Given the current mood, it seemed like a competition to see whose sense of style was better among the four of us here. If it was that, then I actually did have some confidence.

It couldn’t be helped.

It couldn’t be helped because the part I dug the deepest into while drawing the comic I submitted for the contest was about the characters’ fashion.

So no matter who my competition was, even if it was Chae-rim, I was sure I wouldn’t lose—

‘The key is definitely…’

Dogun.

More specifically, it had to be Dogun’s reaction.

Even if the clothes were a perfect match for Dogun, if he didn’t like them, it would mean nothing at all.

Basically, that’s what clothes are like.

Even if something looks great on a person, if the wearer doesn’t like it, it could end up tossed in the closet for months.

So I had to pick something that suited Dogun and something he would actually want to wear.

I didn’t want to see him wearing something I’d gifted him just sitting in his closet.

‘For now…’

In that sense, it would be wise to avoid anything that looked too uncomfortable.

That would be far from Dogun’s usual style.

With that condition added, there were still endless outfits I wanted to try on him.

It couldn’t be helped.

Every time I looked at a piece of clothing, curiosity bubbled up in my mind, imagining how Dogun would look in it.

‘Ugh…’

All I wanted was to try on all kinds of things.

But due to time constraints, and I thought Dogun would feel uncomfortable if I actually went through with it, I had to hold back.

‘Honestly…’

This was all Dogun’s fault for being so good-looking and having such great proportions.

Some people can barely satisfy one requirement, but he satisfies both, making it seem like anything I put on him would look good.

‘So…’

Which one shoud I choose from these?

The more I thought, the deeper my worries became.

.

.

.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised.

Of course, I didn’t expect to ponder this seriously.

After all, it was just buying an outfit, but the intensity of my worries felt like I was choosing a dress for a fashion show.

‘Well…’

I was glad I didn’t have to go through the hassle of trying on all sorts of things.

If only I could comfortably stay like this until the clothing stores closed…

But that was probably too much to ask.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Bora finally seemed to end her deliberation and came over to me holding a selection of clothes.

“Is it okay if I change into these?”

“…Yeah.”

After all that deliberation, I had finally chosen something, but perhaps I wasn’t satisfied with it after all that thought?

Or maybe I was worried that what I ended up going with wouldn’t look good on me?

Bora nodded in response to my words, but her expression didn’t seem very happy.

Still, she didn’t suggest bringing something else.

“Alright. Just a moment.”

Considering that the heart of a woman shopping is as unstable as a reed in the wind, I thought it was prudent to hurry and grab the clothes and head to the fitting room.

Upon entering the fitting room, I quickly locked the door, hung the clothes on one wall, and started scanning the space.

‘Honestly, I doubt there’s a camera or anything, but…’

You can never be too careful.

It’s best to be cautious, even if the chance is small, when you’re revealing your arms outside.

Especially since Chae-rim had told me to be careful about that.

After quickly scanning the area and feeling like it was alright, I swiftly began changing clothes.

‘By the way, this is a big problem…’

While checking my reflection in the mirror as I changed, that thought struck me.

It couldn’t be helped; as it was cold right now, I could wear long sleeves or arm warmers, or even gloves, without raising any eyebrows. But that won’t be the case forever.

Eventually, there would be limits to how long I could keep up this act.

Especially as the weather warms up, there’d be plenty of people wondering why I was bundled up like this.

So I needed to come up with a countermeasure beforehand…

Honestly, there wasn’t anything that immediately sprang to mind.

And that wasn’t the only issue.

Dressing like this, with my left arm tightly wrapped, I often felt discomfort creeping up on me.

Little by little, it was growing within me.

’At this moment, I can hold it, but…’

Will I still be able to in the future?

I honestly had my doubts.

That was because, though it was mine, it didn’t feel like it belonged to me.

Emotions can be complex and don’t always follow one’s wishes, but in this case, it felt somewhat strange.

Like an impurity had mixed into my being.

Perhaps I’d been so wrapped up for so long that I was mistaking the discomfort for something else, so I hadn’t said anything to anyone yet.

Nevertheless, after a long time, staring into the mirror at my reflection summoned forth all sorts of worries.

But aside from that, Bora’s choice of clothes did please me.

Bora had brought a set of semi-formal attire, including a light beige trench coat, which was surprisingly comfortable to move around in.

For semi-formal wear, it was casual enough that I wouldn’t need to wear dress shoes; matching it with sneakers would suffice.

‘More than that…’

This should be something that Bora, who had initially expressed dissatisfaction despite the decision, would find agreeable.

Bora being pleased meant?

That I wouldn’t need to try on anything else or worry about it.

And that was precisely what I wished for, so I swiftly exited the fitting room and, with my arms wide open, displayed my look for Bora, who had been waiting outside.

“How is it? Do you think it looks alright?”

At that moment, I thought it was important to reassure Bora, unaware that I was not the only one who had been waiting for me to come out of the fitting room.

“By the way, why a suit?”

“Um, well… I thought you’d have a lot of occasions to go to the association…”

“Oh, for that outfit?”

“…Yeah.”

Well, there wasn’t much else to wear for those occasions.

I did have a school uniform that resembled a suit, considering my appearance, but it wasn’t appropriate to wear that to the association.

When I had initially received a request from a senior to ‘commute’ to the association, I had struggled a long while over what to wear.

After much deliberation, I went with the tidiest option I had, but if I had something like this back then, I could have just worn it right away.

“Thank you. I’ll wear it well.”

Expressing my gratitude sincerely to Bora, she dashed off to take care of the payment.

And that was just the beginning.

Not long ago, when Chae-rim had asked, ‘So, who wants to choose first?’ everyone seemed eager to retreat, yet somehow, Bora became the first to go and presented a pretty good look, igniting everyone’s competitive spirit.

Especially the reactions from the senior and Yoonseo were quite passionate.

For some unknown reason, the senior looked as though something had been taken from her, while Yoonseo was literally ablaze with energy as she started inspecting the outfits on the hangers.

However, what surprised me was Chae-rim’s reaction.

When it came to sheer competitive spirit, Chae-rim was the strongest among us, so I had expected her to jump in actively, yet contrary to that, she seemed rather uninterested in the clothes hanging around.

“Hold on, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Ah, sure.”

Of course, being uninterested was evident and just like Yoonseo and the senior, she took off, leaving me amidst the chaos of being a human dress-up doll for them.

“Dogun.”

“Yes?”

“I need your hand for a moment.”

Having changed outfits so much that my waist felt a bit tight, I had plopped down onto a chair in the shop when I suddenly heard Chae-rim’s voice from behind me.

Reacting instinctively, I reached out towards the direction of the voice—

Clink!

And with that sound, a refreshing fragrance began to fill the air around me.