This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 331

“How’s the scent? Isn’t it nice?”

“Ah, yes. It seems so.”

Honestly, what do I know about perfumes, but even so, the scent Chae-rim just had me smell wasn’t bad by my standards.

If it had only been sweet without any refreshing quality, I might have found it a bit overwhelming, but the fragrance wafting from my wrist felt increasingly refreshing the more I inhaled.

It’s like a scent you’d expect to find deep in the midst of giant coniferous trees in a forest.

Such a scent gently lingered around me.

Thanks to that, I could somewhat regain the energy I had lost from shopping.

“But why suddenly perfume?”

Setting that aside, why on earth was there suddenly perfume?

Had she really left claiming to go to the bathroom, only to return with this?

“I just happened to pass by a place that sells it while going to the bathroom.”

“Ah…”

“So, while buying mine, I got one for you too.”

“Oh, what?! Then, could that be…?”

“Yep. That’s for you, Dogun.”

With a hint of laughter in her voice, she revealed what was in front of me.

“Here, this is a gift from your sister.”

It was a shopping bag stamped with the logo of a brand so famous that even those uninterested in luxury goods would recognize it.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but be utterly shocked.

Luxury items at a time like this.

Of course, since what’s inside is a consumable perfume that diminishes with use, it wouldn’t be as expensive as clothes or bags… but still, it’s luxury, isn’t it?

So, this would likely be more expensive than I imagined.

With the thought that it would definitely be so, I found myself unconsciously showing a troubled expression.

“Why? Are you worried it’s expensive?”

As if she could see right through my thoughts, Chae-rim said that.

“Though I’m not sure if Dogun will believe me saying this… it’s really not that pricey.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, what’s inside doesn’t even cost 300,000 won!”

If Yoonseo had said something like that, I would have scolded her right away, saying she was getting bad ideas and smacked her backside until it hurt.

Or I might have secretly informed an adult about it.

Even though I passed the special exam, I still receive allowances, so a 300,000 won gift didn’t make sense.

But since Chae-rim said it like that, I thought maybe this was okay.

It made sense, as I had a vague idea of Chae-rim’s financial means.

Of course, unrelated to that, I hadn’t really done anything for Chae-rim; rather, I had received much from her, so receiving a gift like this made me feel a bit pressured…

“If it bothers you that much, just spritz it on often. It makes me happiest when you enjoy what I gave you.”

With Chae-rim saying that, I had no choice but to accept the gift.

It seemed Yoonseo, who had gone far away to pick out clothes, appeared next with a rather triumphant expression right after that.

After searching for quite a while, had she finally found something she liked?

Did she believe that the things she found would also please me?

The confidence was literally oozing from Yoonseo’s face as she alternately looked at the outfits she held in both hands.

However, such feelings didn’t last long…

It was simple—when Yoonseo finally approached me, holding clothes in both hands.

“Hey, first with this…”

When she reached me and seemed about to say something, her cute little nose twitched a couple of times.

As I murmured to myself, ‘No way…’ upon seeing Yoonseo’s slightly contorted face as if she were sniffing something.

“Hey, did you really just put on perfume?”

“Uh, did I…?”

“No, where did this perfume come from all of a sudden…?”

“Why? Is it bad? I thought it was okay…”

“No, what guy wears perfume?!”

Why was she getting all riled up like that?

I was utterly confused, struggling to follow the context—

“You know that’s a stereotype, don’t you, Yoonseo? There are plenty of guys who wear perfume in the world.”

While I was trying to take a look at the clothes around us, Chae-rim, who had been standing slightly away, naturally stepped between us.

“Uh, well, I know that, but…”

“Then is it because you don’t like the scent? I thought I picked the one that suited Dogun the best…”

After hearing that, did Yoonseo finally realize that the scent wafting around was Chae-rim’s doing?

Yoonseo’s face, which had slightly frowned as if she’d found something unlikable, froze in that expression.

For a moment, it remained frozen, but then the expression that emerged on Yoonseo’s face was one of ‘frustration.’

I didn’t know what was so frustrating, but even until we finished the long shopping session and arrived home, that feeling didn’t leave Yoonseo’s face.

Even Yoonseo wasn’t alone; the Senior was the same.

I didn’t understand why everyone was reacting like that.

It felt like a whimsical turn of events that left me dumbfounded towards the end, but anyway, the shopping itself concluded smoothly, and time passed until the day of the year-end party finally arrived.

To be honest, there wasn’t anything special about party day.

The morning was just the same as any ordinary morning.

If there was something special, it would be in the afternoon.

Considering various matters, the party was set to start in the evening, so what did that mean for preparations?

We would need to start party preparations in the afternoon.

Well, party preparations were mostly about food anyway.

‘Although it wouldn’t be bad to fill up with takeout…’

Given this area is a residential neighborhood, to fill the table with things that really bring out the party vibe, we’d ultimately have to prepare things ourselves.

Thus, we decided to divide ourselves into two groups: one for food preparation and another for decoration.

Among those who would be responsible for food with me—

“Is this how it’s done?”

Though not quite as much as me, the Senior, who had been cooking a bit on her own, and…

“Gee…”

Yoonseo, who had witnessed and picked up so much over the time she spent with me that she had become quite adept at ingredient preparation, was part of the food preparation group.

Watching Yoonseo struggle to tie her apron by herself made me doubt whether it was really the right decision to assign her to this task.

“Ugh, come here. I’ll tie it for you.”

“I can do it alone, you know?”

Though she said that, maybe the method I had her use to tie it behind her wasn’t easy to handle solo.

“I was just worried it would take you all night.”

After a while of her struggling alone, I couldn’t watch anymore and stepped in to tie it for her, resulting in a rather unexpected utterance.

“…You didn’t spritz it on.”

“Huh? What?”

What didn’t she spritz?

I asked out of curiosity, but it seemed it wasn’t meant for me to hear.

With her face turning beet red, fidgeting as if she didn’t want to get caught, it was definitely something like that.

Anyway, it seemed she had been caught muttering something in secret, which meant she couldn’t let it slide.

“No, um… about that thing yesterday…”

With her face bright red, Yoonseo spoke in a whispering tone.

That thing yesterday.

If it was that thing, could it be that perfume Chae-rim gifted?

Honestly, that was the only possible explanation.

“Are you an idiot? Why would you put on perfume while cooking?”

That’s why I said that—

“…Right?”

But why did it look like she suddenly felt good?

I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Anyway, let’s hurry and peel the potatoes, okay? We’ve got a lot to do today.”

“Yes, yes, I got it.”

After neatly resolving the apron issue that was bothering Yoonseo, just as I was about to return to the work I was doing…

“Ah…!”

I heard a sound from the Senior’s side…

“Um, sorry Dogun…”

This time, an SOS request came from the Senior.