This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 405

It wasn’t just one person; Bora too, not to mention Yoonseo, who had gone through her fair share of chaos while being a Hero, had a similar expression. Perhaps Chae-rim felt she couldn’t just let it slide.

“Really? What happened?”

Chae-rim looked back and forth at the two, trying to take on the role of the elder for once.

As her expression mirrored theirs, it dawned on Yoonseo, who had been thinking of brushing it off, that she couldn’t do that anymore either.

In a moment of awkwardness, Yoonseo scratched her cheek with her finger, as if trying to articulate the right words, sighed lightly, and finally spoke up.

“It’s really nothing…”

“So what’s this nothing about?”

“Well, on my way back with the porridge, the entrance to the hospital was super chaotic, so I thought I’d check it out with this guy.”

“And then?”

“And there… a lady was waving a knife around, threatening people.”

“Ah…”

So that’s why the expressions weren’t so great?

When you think about it, Yoonseo had every right to look like that.

Well, for anyone, it was an absolute situation that would make anyone grimace… you work hard all day, clock out, and suddenly find yourself smack in the middle of a serious mess.

Especially since that mess could risk lives if things went sideways.

That was when I thought of it.

Yoonseo continued, “Anyway, this hospital is pretty big, right?”

“Uhh… yeah, I guess?”

Just looking at the size of the building when I peeked out the window earlier, it was easily the size of two decent university hospitals combined.

In terms of private hospitals, this place must be one of the biggest.

“Maybe that’s why there were tons of people coming and going.”

“Well, that’s expected.”

As I mused over that, Yoonseo naturally kept talking.

“Anyway! You can’t just let someone running amok with a knife go free, right? I mean, if things go south, someone could get seriously hurt…”

“Fair point.”

“And the Security Team guys were hesitating, so I just decided to step in and subdue her right away.”

“Really? Good job.”

I didn’t say that to cheer her up just because she looked down; I genuinely thought so.

In situations like that, a swift and firm response is key.

After all, that’s the only way to prevent unnecessary victims from piling up.

And Yoonseo had pulled it off perfectly.

Even though I wasn’t there to see it live, I could still picture her handling it beautifully.

That made me even more curious.

After all, I was wondering why, with everything going perfectly, her expression was still so bitter.

As I chewed over that question in my mind, it might’ve shown on my face.

Yoonseo spoke again.

“But that lady, as she was being dragged away, said something to me.”

“What… did she say?”

What on earth would the lady, who had been caught red-handed swinging a knife and got thrashed by Yoonseo, have uttered?

What could she have said that made both Yoonseo and Bora make those faces?

I was about to find out.

There was no way to avoid it since Yoonseo revealed it with her own mouth.

And the moment her words reached my ears, I immediately thought…

“She basically said… if you heroes had just done your jobs and not acted like total goofballs, my daughter wouldn’t have turned into a monster!”

“What? That’s ridiculous…”

I couldn’t believe it.

It’s not just nonsense; it’s the kind of nonsense that would even make a dog feel sorry for being associated with it.

No way, now that I know.

The lives of those called heroes aren’t nearly as glamorous as they look.

With three years as a manager hustling in the field, I couldn’t possibly be unaware of this.

Sure, heroes get treated way better than people in other professions—that’s an undeniable fact.

For instance, there was a time I overheard a senior mention how much she made in a month, and I almost fell out of my chair, it was such an unfathomable amount.

‘That was when she had just started out as a hero…’

Now, several years later, it must be even higher.

So it’s understandable that people might grumble about heroes doing what they do.

From their perspective, they might assume it’s naturally the case, seeing everything through a twisted lens… but that’s just numbers talking, without considering the overlooked details.

Most of the generous treatment heroes receive is basically life insurance.

That’s just the nature of the job, since heroes fundamentally put their lives on the line battling Villains and Another Ones.

In our country, it might not be as apparent, but it’s the reality.

‘Of course…’

Not every hero has that unwavering sense of duty.

It’d be nice if they did, but that’s just not realistic.

No need to look far; just look at the active heroes, and you’ll notice that some of them have their fair share of attitude controversies.

Nonetheless, one undeniable fact is that even those heroes fight with their lives on the line against Villains and Another Ones.

If that’s the case, what about Yoonseo, my senior, and Chae-rim?

“Just ignore it; it’s just a crazy person saying crazy things.”

So what about the lady, who was brandishing a knife and got subdued by Yoonseo, as she was dragged away by the hospital Security Team?

Her words were just meaningless ramblings from someone who knew nothing.

So that’s why I thought it wasn’t worth worrying about.

I was relieved that my thoughts must have reached Yoonseo without any issues.

“…Maybe that’s true?”

Yoonseo’s face, which had been sour just moments ago, brightened up a little as if a switch had flipped.

After that conversation wrapped up, Yoonseo and Bora headed down to the first floor to have porridge together.

What landed in front of me was none other than ginseng porridge… which seemed salty yet somehow bland at the same time. I slowly scooped it up while eavesdropping on the conversations around me.

What I overheard was…

“So, what happened with the meeting you mentioned?”

“What do you mean, what happened… it’s the same as before.”

“If it’s the same as before… I guess they’re still leaning towards isolation?”

“Yeah, for now.”

“But dragging it out like this isn’t going to change the situation…”

“Still, when we had the meeting this time, it seemed like the research team made some progress.”

They were chatting about the recent circumstances.

“Really? Is that so?”

“From what I could tell. But who knows? Seolhwa, you probably have a decent grasp of the situation now, but… basically, the research side is pretty much under the Association Chairman’s control.”

“I’ve heard there’s a strong tendency for that. Is it really that severe?”

“Yeah, it has to be. After all, the research budget is all in their hands, right?”

“Oh…”

“Anyway, we’re trying to find out what they’ve managed to uncover, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“Could it be clues regarding a treatment or remedy…?”

“That’d be nice, but… from what I heard from the head of that department in the meeting, he said it’s realistically impossible.”

And based on the snippets of conversation I gathered, I eventually pieced together the situation the Association found itself in.

So it seemed… over the course of the week I had been unconscious, the Association faced an unprecedented crisis, one that could be described as a once-in-a-lifetime catastrophe.