This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 454

It was a story confined to the beginnings, but unlike Yoonseo’s case, which had moments that seemed a bit precarious, the following turn for Baeksulhwa passed relatively smoothly.

The reason was simple.

Baeksulhwa, who had been observing Yoonseo and Team A’s sparring from start to finish, managed to control her strength perfectly and remained vigilant throughout.

If she hadn’t done that and had approached it as if facing a true enemy, the situation could have devolved into a major disaster, but thanks to her, it was navigated with relative ease.

And just as the first live action that could feel long yet short came to a swift end, the three, including Chae-rim, were gathered in the meeting room located within the temporarily set-up Association building.

“Alright, we need to write a report now…”

Who wants to do it?

The moment Chae-rim broke the ice like that, it was met with an incredibly heavy silence in the meeting room.

It’s no surprise, as among the three gathered here, none were particularly friendly with paperwork.

Among them, Chae-rim was somewhat more familiar with documents, but she was in the position of receiving documents, not writing them.

Therefore, she wasn’t exactly accustomed to such tasks either.

That led to a rather prolonged silence, and it was none other than Baeksulhwa who could no longer stand it and spoke up.

“U-Um, can I give it a try?”

“Baeksulhwa, you?”

“Yes, I’ve done similar tasks a few times back in high school. Of course, it was just a few times, so I’m not overly confident…”

It would be better to at least start than to just sit around like a bunch of mutes.

Baeksulhwa was stating just that.

And both Chae-rim and Yoonseo agreed.

It had to be that way. While they lived together, it was awkward to face each other.

So, if they could finish quickly and get it over with, that was the right call.

Staying all huddled like this and then suddenly igniting a strange situation would just hurt each other’s feelings.

“Right. Unnie was the student council president back in high school, right? Then you should go ahead.”

As soon as Baeksulhwa voiced her thoughts, Yoonseo clapped her hands together as if it was perfectly timed—

“Then can I ask you to handle it?”

With Yoonseo’s words backing her up, Chae-rim turned to Baeksulhwa, wearing a pleading expression typical of someone asking for a favor.

“Sure!”

And with that, just like Dogun among the trio stuck in limbo, the laptop made its way to Baeksulhwa, marking the start of their earnest meeting.

“First, let’s discuss the facilities…”

Honestly, I’m a bit skeptical about what the connection is between picking those who can participate in the Heogye exploration and the company’s facilities… Nonetheless, since that’s one of the evaluation criteria, it has to be done.

So, turning my head toward the other two, it was Yoonseo who spoke up first.

“Isn’t there really nothing to critique there? From what I can see, some places actually seem better than the ones set up temporarily by the Association.”

“That’s…”

It was an undeniable fact.

The facilities previously provided by the Association for its members were the epitome of cutting-edge technology and convenience, but that was only true for the prior setups, not the current situation.

However, that didn’t mean the quality of the facilities now provided by the association was lacking.

They were still quite good facilities in their own right.

It just showed signs of being hastily prepared.

That being the case, I found it hard to counter Yoonseo’s opinion.

Had it been before, I would have eagerly jumped on Yoonseo’s bandwagon and completely roasted the Association for what they were doing… but the title of Association Vice Chairman held me back, and I could only feel regret.

“What about Baeksulhwa?”

“Uh… What?”

“Yoonseo’s opinion is like that, but what do you think, Baeksulhwa?”

The arrow that had been directed this way was subtly nudged toward Baeksulhwa.

There happened to be a solid reason, too.

“Baeksulhwa, you’re quite knowledgeable in this area.”

As mentioned, among the three gathered here, she had the most interest and as much knowledge as well.

Of course, Dogun, who wasn’t present, wasn’t half bad either, but calling Baeksulhwa another level would be fitting.

Probably, there’d be no one among the heroes who memorized the specifications of training devices, their max output, and their prices as well as Baeksulhwa did.

Thus, the question was posed to her… and perhaps she had secretly hoped for this inquiry.

“Um…”

A brief sound echoed, followed by a barrage of words, or rather, explanations.

Everyone knew well she had been quite studious to the extent that she played at the top of her class in high school, thanks to the countless reminders they received. But even so, had she memorized every single detail about the training equipment that had come up during their facility tour?

It felt like watching an endless spring of water.

It naturally crossed my mind as she continued rattling off names and explanations of various devices… to the point I was getting a slight chill.

Is that saying, “Those who work hard can surpass those who enjoy,” possibly born for this reason?

‘That Baeksulhwa is just…’

It wasn’t just talking; she was expounding as if singing a hymn in a strangely elevated tone… and as such, interjecting to break that flow seemed impossible.

Still, what was fortunate amidst all of this was that Baeksulhwa at least had a shred of awareness left.

“Ahem… Anyway, my point is… Honestly, there are some things to nitpick. There are, but…”

“So?”

“However, the RK Guard is a company that needs to make a profit, unlike the Association. Considering that point…”

“That’s the best we can get?”

“Yes, that’s right. Even if we include the foreign companies that have expressed their intention to participate this time, there are very few places that have facilities comparable to those.”

“In that case, is the facilities section full marks?”

“Um… Honestly, saying full marks might be a bit much. After all, there were still some disappointing aspects…”

“Then how about a 9?”

“How about we lower it a bit more to 8.5?”

“Baeksulhwa thinks so, Yoonseo, what about you?”

“I think that level seems appropriate too.”

“Okay, confirmed.”

“Then shall we write it down like that?”

“Sure.”

No matter how much they say starting is half the work, why do I feel so drained when we’ve only just finished the first item?

Perhaps it’s because those sitting with me are the ones competing against Dogun.

“Alright, next item…”

I found it to be quite an enigmatic situation and continued working on completing the report.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, at that very moment when the three, including Chae-rim, were in a subtle game of power dynamics during the meeting, what was Dogun doing…

“Dogun…”

Thanks to Bora’s visit, who mentioned switching places with Chae-rim, he found himself in an unexpected crisis.

No wonder; it appeared that Yoonseo’s secret kiss earlier had genuinely enchanted him, as Bora had been setting the mood in that direction for a while now.

Kissing Bora?

There was nothing wrong with that.

If he hadn’t started at all, it might be a different story, but since they had already officially kissed once before, there was no reason to outright refuse unless he wanted to pretend it never happened.

And her adorable, flushed face, eyes tightly shut, lips pouted like she was about to cross the threshold of embarrassment, made it somewhat cute, so he had indulged her a few times initially.

But while kissing like that, he suddenly felt a mischievous urge, differing from the earlier attempts, and subtly introduced his tongue this time.

Given his inexperience, he failed to control his breath and inadvertently slipped his tongue into her mouth while inhaling, sending shivers through Bora’s body as if she had experienced an earthquake.

Since then, they remained in that state.

It was like watching someone completely intoxicated after downing a hefty amount of makgeolli.

The flush on her face and her narrowed eyes perfectly captured that moment.

Thus, in a situation he had never intended to induce, he felt utterly flustered.

What am I supposed to do now?

At this rate, she might just take it too far until her lips are all chapped…