This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 386

Was I really that flustered?

The pressure transmitted through our clasped hands was far from negligible.

‘Is this…’

Perhaps it was an unspoken warning not to pry further into that matter.

I might have guessed that might be the case.

Maybe it truly held such meaning, but nonetheless, I maintained the same attitude until the end.

And did my behavior come across as frustrating to Yoonseo when she saw it?

“Ha…”

A sound filled with exasperation cut through the surrounding commotion and reached my ears.

And following that sound came—

“Do we really have to discuss this right now? Can’t we just talk about it later?”

It was a voice pointing out the reality we found ourselves in.

Of course… as Yoonseo pointed out, I was aware too.

I knew that the topic I had just brought up didn’t suit the situation we were in.

Surely, I couldn’t have been so oblivious to that simple fact.

Yet the only reason I insisted on holding onto my stance was one.

“…That’s why I want to ask more now.”

Who knew when we’d have a chance to talk openly like this again?

If this chaos settled within a day or two, it would be fortunate, but… realistically, what were the chances of that?

Putting other matters aside, there were the peculiar sounds coming from beyond that icy wall that could become problematic.

And if the confusion did not settle?

Not to mention Chae-rim, who was seated as the Association Vice-Chairman, Yoonseo, and the Senior would naturally become busy being called here and there.

So… when this opportunity was knocking at my door, shouldn’t I seize it?

“By the way, didn’t you… start to dislike me?”

Watching Yoonseo biting her lip as if in distress, my timid voice asking that might have been part of it…

“That makes me…”

For some reason, Yoonseo’s reaction felt strange.

It was as if she seemed… on the verge of tears.

The evidence was right there in Yoonseo’s face, which was now flushed red, though for a different reason compared to before.

Of course, I had no clue where that emotional reaction of hers was coming from.

“If it wasn’t like that, then why…?”

Responding to Yoonseo, who was glaring at me as if wronged, was also part of the reason why I said that, but… which part of my words displeased her so much?

The look of deep grievance on Yoonseo’s face intensified.

And coinciding with that, the grip she had on my hand tightened.

It was so tight that the back of my hand, which had been normal just moments ago, now turned pale.

For a moment, she expressed her frustrations using her entire body, but in some instant, whether from something that triggered her or not, the strength drained from the hand that was gripping mine.

“Ha…”

That sound resonated almost simultaneously.

What can I say, it felt like the air just fizzled out at that moment.

“Right… you wouldn’t have known why I did that. Why… I had no choice.”

Was that why?

Yoonseo’s voice that followed was equally listless.

“Do you remember Christmas three years ago?”

I certainly did.

After all, it was right around that time when Yoonseo began keeping her distance from me.

So in the beginning?

“We had a party together back then. We drank too.”

I thought maybe I had made some sort of mistake in my drunken state.

Indeed, at first, that was my thought, but as time passed and the situation prolonged, I naturally came to realize.

There was no way Yoonseo would be this angry over something so trivial.

The problem was… even though I had reached that conclusion, I still didn’t understand why Yoonseo was angry.

And since there were no clues to guess from?

Naturally, it became impossible to soothe her anger.

‘…We spent three years like that.’

Honestly speaking?

It was a time I never wanted to experience again.

After all, someone I had known for over ten years and considered family suddenly began keeping their distance.

The sense of loss and emptiness that came with it was immense.

And because of that, I came to know.

The weight that Yoonseo held in my life as ‘Yoonseo’ was far greater and more significant than I ever imagined.

Once that realization hit me, I had been waiting for another chance to reconcile with her… and just at that moment, Yoonseo had sent out a signal for reconciliation.

So… I chose not to think much deeper about it and instead seized the hand that Yoonseo extended.

It was likely right at that moment that the memory struck.

“I… saw it back then.”

Yoonseo, who had been opening and closing her lips repeatedly as if she wanted to say something, finally spoke.

And the moment her words echoed in my ears, all I felt was… a question mark.

There was no way around it… it had been three years since that incident.

Added to the fact that I had been heavily intoxicated, my memories from that day were a bit fuzzy.

So even hearing Yoonseo’s words, I couldn’t grasp what exactly she had seen…

“You and… Chae-rim in the bathroom.”

When Yoonseo’s subsequent words reached my ears, that question mark transformed into an exclamation point.

No wonder, as soon as those words rang in my ears, I figured it out.

There was no way I could have not understood what Yoonseo was referring to.

It was impossible not to know… as soon as ‘Chae-rim’ and ‘bathroom’ were linked together, there was no escaping it.

And perhaps because I realized that, despite it being three years, I had remained in a state of not understanding at all, suddenly… it began to make sense.

For instance… Yoonseo’s suddenly cold attitude and the reason she kept a distance from me could finally be explained.

After all… for Yoonseo, it would have been inevitable to feel that way.

She must have thought me despicable and not wanting to see me.

How could I be so sure of that?

Well… because I would have felt the same.

Back then, how had I treated Yoonseo?

After knowing her for so long, it was hard to see her as just a woman, but still, I had tried my best.

In fact, it had seemed like things were leaning in that direction.

But then, in the midst of that, she saw it.

The guy who said he would try was making out with another girl.

So how betrayed and angry must she have felt?

Having her trust, built up over ten years, shattered in an instant, the betrayal she felt at that time must have been immense.

And thinking about it that way?

It was surprising Yoonseo just didn’t cut ties with me outright and instead kept her distance, cooling her attitude instead.

“How… does it feel to hear it all from beginning to end like you wanted?”

“Is that… so. So…”

Was it because I had just realized that fact?

It felt like I’d just been hit over the head with a solid stick.

After all, I had genuinely… never considered that part.

“In fact… at first, I was so angry and incredulous that I even thought about confronting Chae-rim!”

Before she spoke, she seemed hesitant about whether to say it or not, but once she began, the relief seemed to outweigh any regrets she had.

Not knowing how to respond, I fell silent, while Yoonseo continued her monologue.

“But once I thought about it after falling asleep, I realized what good that would do. And then… ”

Every time she looked at my face, she felt betrayal and anger, so she began to avoid me or treat me coldly whenever we crossed paths, was Yoonseo’s explanation.

While she spoke in a tone of slight incredulity rather than showing her betrayal or anger, I could only guess the journey she had gone through to reach that point.

So all I could do was maintain my silence.

As I bit my lip in silence, it felt like I might have been immersed in that thought.

“You asked me earlier, why did I do it?”

“…”

“Do you still… want to know?”

Something so faint, it felt like it would scatter into the air any moment, reached my ears through the surrounding noise.

In response, I reflexively leaned my head to nod—

Kuhung—

“I’m sorry! Have you been waiting long?!”

The icy wall surrounding us shook violently, and through a small hole that opened, Chae-rim appeared.

There, she was hanging Bora, who was all tipsy, by her side.