This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 355

A voice that seemed genuinely curious.

Hearing that voice made me want to ask questions too.

What does it matter to you if someone else refuses?

Those words almost bubbled up to my throat, but I refrained from letting them out because of the woman’s strange gaze directed at me.

It felt almost insane, if I had to describe it.

But that didn’t mean I was scared of her gaze.

‘Not scared at all…’

It was more like I felt no need to provoke someone with such an intense look.

Even though we were having a conversation as if we knew each other right now, it troubled me that I didn’t know anything about her.

‘She seems to be associated with the Association though…’

Judging by how freely she entered and exited the Association building, that part was certainly true.

The issue was that I didn’t have any other clues about her.

‘What if…’

Is she someone of high status?

Since she asked why I turned down the Association Chairman’s proposal, she must be from that side…

If that was the case, then I had no reason to openly oppose her.

It’s true I didn’t like that Association Chairman, but that didn’t mean I wanted to beef with them.

I generally didn’t want to make enemies…

“Isn’t there something you want so badly that you’re willing to go to such lengths?”

Why was she digging into me like this?

Did she not realize I was being patient with her?

Well, she really didn’t seem like the type to read others’ feelings…

Was she asking if there was something I wanted so badly?

Of course there was.

There absolutely was…

But the reason I turned down the proposal, despite that, was simple.

Grabbing what I wanted that way would hold no meaning.

If all I wanted was Dogun’s body?

I would have accepted that proposal without a second thought.

If it were just his body, that’s what I would’ve done.

However, what I wanted wasn’t just his body.

I wanted his heart, his mind, everything that made up the person he is entirely.

Of course, I intended to let Dogun possess me in return.

To connect with Dogun while wholly owning each other—that was my desire.

That’s why I may have been momentarily tempted by that proposal earlier, but I felt no need to accept it.

However, that woman wouldn’t have a clue about that.

Moreover… there was no need or reason to explain to her why I turned down that proposal. I was sure she wouldn’t be the type to understand, thinking, “Oh, I see, that’s why you said no.”

How do I know that?

Well… the woman in front of me looked like she had a zero capacity for understanding and empathizing with others.

If she really had any understanding of others from the start…

She wouldn’t just blurt out such sensitive questions like that.

“…Ah! Maybe the reward proposed on your side seemed too abstract, and that’s why you couldn’t trust it? So, you turned it down?”

And here she was now, still talking nonsense instead of getting closer to the truth.

That’s why I didn’t feel the need to engage with her any further.

It was clear that any more interaction with her would only lead to more probing questions, and there was no need to listen to more of that nonsense.

I was already busy enough, dying to keep up with everything!

“Well, maybe it was just a clear refusal that led to my refusal?”

With those final words, I turned slightly to pass by the woman blocking my path.

Just as I was trying to walk away and focus on what I needed to do…

“Is that so? Then how about this?”

A playful voice slipped into my ear, seizing my ankle and forcing me to stop.

“How about this,” huh?

Seems like she really was someone from the Association after all.

And she seemed pretty high up in that hierarchy too.

The way she suddenly appeared to propose a new condition right after I refused their offer was quite the move.

Regardless of what she was suggesting, I wasn’t going to fall for it.

That’s why I started walking again, picking up the pace.

There was no point in listening to a proposal I had no intention of accepting.

As I tried to distance myself from her, she said—

“If there’s anyone sick among Yoonseo’s acquaintances… I can heal them.”

I heard that just as I had taken a couple of steps away from her.

I stopped again, surprised at her sudden and, frankly, random proposal.

I paused because it caught me off guard, but did she interpret my reaction as a positive sign?

“Don’t you have anyone like that around?”

It felt as if she was eagerly waiting for my response.

Unfortunately for her, there was no one sick among my acquaintances.

Mom and Dad were in perfect health, and although Dogun’s face crossed my mind for a brief moment… he wasn’t sick, after all.

I wanted to ignore her, but—

“Any symptoms are fine. For instance, if someone’s body changed due to some reason… you know, something like that, right?”

At that moment when I was about to ignore her, she threw out something I couldn’t shake off.

She claimed it was just an example, but come on, who else could she possibly be talking about but Dogun?

But how did she know?

The matter concerning Dogun’s arm had been kept so secretive—Bora, who lived with him for years, had just found out recently!

Could it be that some information about Dogun leaked from somewhere?

Was she here to test the waters?

“I’m already so busy, and you’re talking about this nonsense…”

I made up my mind to dodge this question, but I suddenly thought that she might have some sort of inkling about it.

I forcibly twisted my expression, trying to convey how busy I was, as if to chastise her for stopping someone as busy as me with such absurdities…

“Surely there’s someone?”

Maybe I looked awkward in her eyes.

Or was she already convinced?

My act didn’t work on her at all.

“She seems like a pretty valuable person… Are you really going to just leave her as she is?”

And the moment I heard that, I was hit with a sudden realization.

‘She knows.’

I didn’t understand how, but she was aware of something about Dogun’s left arm.

Why was that?

“Even if it seems okay for now, over time, the changes will weigh on him, making it harder for him to live an everyday life.”

Her words started to grab my attention little by little.

There was certainly some truth to that, which bothered me more.

Especially since, as she said, during the three years that had passed, Dogun had slowly been venturing out less due to personal reasons.

So lately he’d barely left the house except when he was going to work to manage Chae-rim or Baeksulhwa.

And at this rate, if time continued to slip by like this?

He might very well stop stepping outside altogether.

Could that even be called a normal life?

The moment that thought crossed my mind.

“Shouldn’t we try something before it gets worse?”

Perhaps sensing my wavering, her voice followed suit.

A perfectly timed jab! Because of that one line, I could no longer keep my mouth shut.

“…Will trying something really make any difference?”

“Well, who knows? That’s why we should investigate more.”

It seemed she was just as clueless about solutions as I was.

Just then, she adjusted her glasses, quickly adding more.

“If we keep researching like that… who knows? A method might just appear.”

Her words did not carry much conviction.

So, was it strange that it made me want to trust her even more?

“…What do you want?”

“What I want? I want a lot, but… first, how about we introduce ourselves? I just realized I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

She presented a card that was impeccably neat.

It contained her name, phone number, email address, and various other pieces of information, but…

“Just call me Doctor. That’s what everyone else does anyway.”

With that, she dismissed all the details on the card with a single phrase, as if those things were trivial.