This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 40

“Huh··· Hah··· Heh···!”

The sounds of breath escaping from both my mouth and Yoonseo’s filled the air.

“Huh, huh··· Ack···”

In sync with this, the thick steam rising turned the glass door, which we had been leaning against for support, completely white.

Both Yoonseo and I were in a state where we could barely catch our breath.

“My heart··· Hah, I thought it was going to burst···”

Of course, if I had to pick who among us was in a worse state, there was no contest—it was Yoonseo.

While I usually jog here and there, Yoonseo typically avoids exercise unless absolutely necessary, so this might have been the expected result.

Anyway, for that reason, my recovery was much quicker.

“Phew··· You act like you ran a marathon or something.”

Was Yoonseo too out of breath to respond?

Aside from the sound of my hand, which was still gripping the glass door, making a cracking noise, her only reaction was her heavy breathing.

“So, when I’m running, you should jog with me··· Ack?!”

“If you don’t want to get soaked again, be quiet··· Who do you think almost made us late right now···”

“Wait, are you blaming me?”

“If you hadn’t been so focused on that necklace, we wouldn’t have had to run at all.”

“Well, that’s··· true.”

But honestly, what do they expect from me?

And more than that, Yoonseo was standing right beside me, watching me while I marveled at the necklace, yet she had the audacity to get mad…

Suppressing my urge to voice that frustration, I wiped my face with my sleeve, and finally, it seemed she calmed down a bit, standing up straight from leaning against the door.

“…I hope we’re not late?”

“Time-wise, we’re cutting it close but still safe···”

“Let’s hurry up.”

Honestly, I had imagined everyone would already be settled in the auditorium, ready to stare at us when we walked in, but thankfully, that was not the case.

It seemed that we still had a bit of time since everyone was gathered in the classroom.

Of course, our class was no exception.

But being late didn’t give us the confidence to stroll in nonchalantly, so after exchanging a glance with Yoonseo, I quietly slipped into the classroom, bending down to enter discreetly.

“Ah, look, Yoonseo and Dogun are here! Come up and get your albums.”

“…Yes.”

“Uh···”

Just when I thought I had snuck in like a protagonist from a covert action film, I ended up getting caught right away.

“Alright, now that I’ve handed out the albums, I’ll head to the auditorium first. You all come when the bell rings.”

“Yes!”

“Don’t sneak off somewhere like some people do and make sure not to be late!”

“Yes!”

It’s the last day, and they’re really going all out.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the graduation ceremony itself that we’d be late for, so Yoonseo and I exchanged sighs of relief, glancing at each other.

When the teacher was at the podium, we had been behaving properly, but as soon as she ran off, we began to gather like hyenas catching the scent of blood.

Among them were the friends of Yoonseo and me.

“Hey, so you actually showed up? I thought you two might have run away hand in hand, given the silence.”

“I’m about to keel over from running here, and you’re spouting nonsense.”

Even though my breath had returned to normal a while ago, my limbs were still sore, and I waved my hand dismissively, signaling them to back off.

But those hyenas were as persistent as flies.

“Huh? Wait a minute, you guys didn’t suddenly—”

“Didn’t suddenly what?”

When on earth would the bell ring?

Is this a joke?

“Did you finally decide to date?”

“…What?”

Before I could respond, someone beside me suddenly choked on their drink.

‘What the?’

It had been so unusually quiet for a while, but now it all made sense—he was just amusing himself with his drink.

Never mind that I was also dying of thirst from running here, how dare he drink alone?

I felt a surge of indignation, but first, I needed to cut down the source of this noise.

“Are you crazy?”

As I said this, I raised my hand threateningly, only for the annoying guy to flinch dramatically as if he was about to die before I even swung.

“Ouch···! The newlywed is attacking me!”

“Looks like you really needed the graduation snacks, huh, buddy.”

“Of course you’d give it away and then act innocent. Come on!”

“What?”

To be honest, I found it ridiculous.

What exactly did they think I was giving away, and how was I acting innocent? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

So, I genuinely looked puzzled, only to find the friend’s dumbfounded reaction staring back at me in return.

“You’re saying that’s not true?”

“No, I’m saying there’s nothing to be true or false about···”

“You’re wearing couple scarves, and on top of that, matching necklaces too?”

“…Huh?”

This time, rather than just confused, I was shocked—and the guy continued his jab with a look that said I should check for myself, pointing at Yoonseo and then at me.

Following his finger, I finally realized.

That’s why they had that ridiculous misconception.

To put it plainly… it was indeed easy to misunderstand.

The necklace I had received this morning as a graduation gift was fine, but the scarf genuinely looked like it could cause some confusion.

‘Ah, so that’s why···’

Now that I thought about it, it did look familiar when I bought it; it wasn’t because it was a common design, but because it resembled mine so closely.

Of course, I had something to say.

Even though Yoonseo and I were wearing similar items with a red background and brown patterns, they were technically different things that happened to look alike, not the same.

First off, mine was bought at a market stall, while Yoonseo’s was from a department store—how could they possibly be the same?

It was on the tip of my tongue, but for some reason, I held back.

Given how everyone was looking at me with expressions that screamed ‘You guys are totally caught!’, I knew anything I said would fall on deaf ears.

So, I decided it was best not to drag this out unnecessarily—

“Cut it out. You’re all piling on meaningless nonsense, which is just making her mad.”

Blaming Yoonseo was the way to go.

*

“Cut it out. You’re all piling on meaningless nonsense, which is just making her mad.”

I heard those words while feeling the heat on my face from my friends’ teasing and trying to maintain my composure in silence.

‘Mad···’

But I’m not mad···

That was about to spill out, but my lips wouldn’t move.

And I guess I understood why··· it was embarrassing.

If I said that, it would basically be a public confession, so there was no way I could.

So, secretly, I hoped my friends would keep it going··· but unfortunately, that was where it ended.

Dogun’s ridiculous warning seemed to have been effective; everyone instantly shut their mouths, as if they hadn’t been laughing just moments ago, and subtly began to observe us.

‘Sigh···’

Had I known this would happen, I should have been nicer to the other classmates.

Regret flooded over me, but there was nothing that could be done at this point.

As I wallowed in that disappointment,—

“Huh? Looks like it’s time to go.”

A voice from the speakers on the ceiling announced it was time to gather the scattered students to the auditorium.

“Hey, hey, stop being mad and let’s go.”

‘I’m not mad!’

Despite having pouted under my scarf, I finally got up and moved next to Dogun.

Once we shifted to the auditorium, we’d probably sit in a long row of chairs anyway, so I wanted to sit next to him.

“Alright, now that you’re here, let’s fill the seats without talking.”

Of course, that didn’t mean my mouth would stay shut.

“Hey, I said stop talking!”

Eventually, the head teacher brought something back from somewhere, using it to make a loud bang on the podium before everyone began to fill into their respective seats.

“Hey! Back there! Don’t sit in the back; start filling from the front! Do you want to go till graduation day like this? Huh?”

This triggered a struggle for the back seats among those who wanted them.

Avoiding the scrutinizing stares coming from all directions, I turned to Dogun and asked,

“Uh… hey.”

“Huh?”

“Where do you want to sit?”

“Um… I guess just anywhere.”

“Aren’t you going to sit in the back?”

“Well, the back isn’t bad, but with parents probably coming in through the auditorium doors, I’d be shivering the whole ceremony if I sit back there.”

I thought having someone behind wouldn’t be ideal, but the further I thought about it, that didn’t appeal to me either.

“That said, sitting in the middle would be uncomfortable too, so let’s go to the end.”

“Left? Right?”

“This one’s definitely left.”

“Because of the teachers?”

“Yup.”

Even if it was graduation day, there was no way they’d sit by blankly while a student slackened off right in front of them.

So based on that strategic judgment, I sat down at the left end of the middle row, and before long, all the remaining seats were taken.

And once the seats were filled up, a sudden rush of cool air swept in from behind as our parents began to enter through the wide-open auditorium doors.

Just when the population density inside the auditorium was about to reach its peak—

– “Attention everyone! To ensure a smooth ceremony, please turn off or switch your mobile phones to silent mode.”

Finally, the graduation ceremony began.