This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 420

If I moved all at once, I worried that my startled self might just run away upon seeing that sight.

Yoonseo, inching closer while holding what looked like a rather thick eye mask, reminded me of a zookeeper trying to calm an overly excited animal for some reason.

She was moving very cautiously, keeping a close eye on my reactions.

And among all the countless images in my mind, maybe that’s what prompted me to think of that comparison.

The eye mask that Yoonseo had been holding earlier started to look like something other than an eye mask.

“Wait, just a second!”

The main reason I frantically held out both my hands towards Yoonseo to stop her advance was that I felt this way.

It might just be in my head, but to me, the eye mask in Yoonseo’s hands felt like a leash.

Is that why?

I felt like the moment she put that on, I would be crossing some irrevocable boundary.

Considering my position, that’s why I shouted out, and thankfully, the urgency in my voice seemed to reach Yoonseo, who was approaching me.

As soon as I stretched out both hands wide, Yoonseo, who was frighteningly nearing, stopped dead in her tracks.

Then—

“Why?”

She shot me a look that clearly indicated she didn’t understand why I was suddenly acting like this.

Thanks to that, I ended up feeling equally frustrated.

There was no way around it since until now I thought she was half-joking and half-serious, but seeing her expression now, it seemed to be 100% serious.

“Why, are you really going to put that on me?”

“Is that a problem?”

In the meantime, why was her expression so innocent and pure…

Is that why they say late-night winds are scary?

“No, it’s not that it’s a problem, but…”

Anyway, with Yoonseo’s expression being that way, it felt a bit wrong to just flat-out refuse.

So when I hedged my answer a little, Yoonseo jumped in as if she had been waiting.

“And Dogun, don’t you honestly want to know? If you cover your eyes, does it really happen?”

“That is…”

If I spoke completely honestly?

I had my own curiosity, so it’s true that I was a bit curious.

While I was curious, I couldn’t just straightforwardly reply here.

“I’m not curious at all!”

Instead of answering sincerely, I opted to evade the question, and the response I got back was quite amusing.

“Really? I’m curious…”

So what was I supposed to do about that?

Just as I was thinking that, Yoonseo’s hand holding the eye mask suddenly thrust it toward me.

“So come on, hurry up.”

If she’s that curious, why doesn’t she become the test subject and check for herself?

Why does she keep trying to put that on my eyes?

For a moment, I stared blankly at the pitch-black eye mask that was shoved into my line of sight, then looking at Yoonseo with that expression, it seemed there was honestly a guilty part in me.

“No, um… wearing it myself feels kind of off.”

Just glancing at it, a prepared line flowed from me.

Honestly, I could accept that point, but what does it mean that it feels off for her to wear it herself?

I couldn’t comprehend that at all, but what could I do if she felt that way?

“You’re not planning to do anything weird after putting the eye mask on me, right?”

“Hey, I won’t do anything.”

“If you do something weird, I won’t just let it slide?”

“I said I won’t! Don’t you trust me?”

“Could you trust someone who suddenly tries to put an eye mask on you?”

“…Hey, but this is a different situation.”

Since I had to swallow the fact that I had done wrong, I might as well accept the wish once.

“Ugh, fine, put it on me.”

As soon as I said that, it was as if Yoonseo had been waiting for those words.

In an instant, she came close and swiftly placed the eye mask on me.

Without giving me a chance to object, the situation unfolded, and I found myself internally chuckling at the absurdity of it all.

“Can you see?”

From somewhere in the pitch-black visibility, Yoonseo’s voice reached me.

“Do you think I can see?”

“Is it really that you can’t see?”

“That’s right?”

I couldn’t help but wonder how they found such an effective eye mask…

Moreover, the comfort fit was annoyingly pleasant; that made it all the more infuriating.

Because if it felt so good to wear, I had no excuse to remove it.

“So what are you going to do now?”

I thought I had to quickly get this eye mask off my face.

Naturally, I couldn’t help but think that way since everything in front of me was disappearing. Gradually, an odd feeling began to wash over me.

It felt strange, breathing but doing nothing.

People who’ve tried walking with their eyes closed would understand, but doesn’t it feel a bit dizzy at times while doing that?

That was exactly how I felt now.

So as I stretched out my hands toward what I presumed was where Yoonseo was standing and spoke, could it be that I looked uneasy to her?

“First… let’s sit. If we keep standing here, we might fall…”

As those words came along, Yoonseo’s hand reached out and grasped my hand, leading me somewhere.

So where was she taking me?

Curiosity made me tilt my head slightly, and without much time passing, Yoonseo gently pushed my body.

As I was pushed back, what I felt against my back was?

An incredibly soft sensation.

‘Is this…?’

A sofa?

Considering that it had a backrest, the probability was quite high.

And at that moment when I sat down, leaning against what I guessed to be the sofa, Yoonseo didn’t release the hand that had been holding me; instead, she held my other hand too. I wondered what she was trying to do.

Just when I was curiously tilting my head, I heard a sound—

Click—

No matter how I heard it, it just sounded ominous.

Along with that, I began to feel a chilling touch from my wrist…

So what’s this play about now?

“…What is this?”

Could it possibly be… handcuffs?

I asked that, half-jokingly, to see if it was really handcuffs, but before I could react, Yoonseo’s tone remained unfazed.

“Handcuffs.”

“I mean, why are there suddenly handcuffs on my hands?”

“Well… it’s because Dogun, you can’t take off the eye mask.”

If that’s the case, then why not just say it verbally before doing it?

What kind of method is it to put handcuffs on me just to not let me take off the eye mask?

No matter how many times I go over it in my head, ideas to suppress the rising sense of absurdity from deep inside me escaped me.

So when I was just silent—

“So… how does it feel?”

A question that sounded almost like a whisper flowed into my ear.

“How does it feel…? If you’re done confirming, quickly remove this?”

“I haven’t confirmed yet?”

After going through all this, there were still things left to check?

“What else do you want to confirm?”

“Hmm… well, that is…”

Wouldn’t this be enough by now?

Just as such thoughts sprouted in my mind, Yoonseo’s voice continued.

“Dogun.”

“What? What is it?”

“Sorry, but… can I ask you something?”

“Just because you say it’s not allowed doesn’t mean you won’t ask.”

“True… that is also the case.”

“So what is it that you want to ask?”

“Um… that is, you know…”

What was it?

What on earth did she want to ask, thinking this much?

I couldn’t ponder that for long.

No doubt because—

“Did something happen with your sister?”

The moment I heard that line, I couldn’t help but feel a chill in my chest.

“Oh, I mean the sister named Baek… Seolhwa, not Chae-rim.”

Thanks to that, I reflexively flinched, and Yoonseo struck the nail on the head with her follow-up.

“I secretly hoped I was wrong, but…”

From Yoonseo’s perspective, seeing how I reacted while waiting for an answer must have been more than enough of a response.

“So Dogun, you… really did something with her, huh?”