This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 461

To be completely honest… it was a bit unexpected.

Not just the fact that Yoonseo reached out first.

Thinking about it, it makes sense; there have been many times when I contacted her first, but it’s been rare for Yoonseo to reach out before now.

Of course… it wasn’t always this way.

‘After all, back in the day…’

She used to reach out frequently on her own.

At some point, though, that completely stopped.

When was that again…?

‘It feels like it started about three years ago…’

Three years ago.

Now that I think about it, that’s around when Yoonseo began to distance herself from Dogun.

Yoonseo, who once contacted me without hiding her fandom, suddenly stopped reaching out, and around the same time, she also started keeping her distance from Dogun.

Originally, I thought those two events were completely separate, but looking back, they strangely align in timing. Is it just a coincidence?

‘Could it be… did she see something?’

That suspicion briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it away.

Because it couldn’t possibly be true.

While I didn’t have to worry about anyone now, back then, I was super conscious about those around me.

To keep the strange secret that blossomed between us hidden from others, I meticulously spread detection signals like a net whenever Dogun and I met secretly in places like restrooms; I made sure to safeguard our secret.

Even though it was annoying and complicated, I never once skipped that tedious task…

‘And yet she found out?!’

No way.

For that to happen, Yoonseo would have had to break through my sensing, but if she could do that back then, she would’ve climbed to First-Class or Special-Class long ago, shattering records instead of rolling around as a Second-Class now.

But since that’s not the case… well, that means it was unlikely.

Then what could it be?

Where did the secret leak from?

I feel like it’s unfair to bash Yoonseo without reason, but given her level back then, unless I was completely wasted, there’s no way she could’ve fooled my senses…

‘…Wait a minute.’

Alcohol…?

Suddenly, a possibility flitted through my mind.

The message’s ‘1’ flag had long disappeared, but since I hadn’t reacted, was I feeling a bit frustrated?

My phone buzzed again, vibrating in my hand.

Checking it, I found a message indicating an urgent matter, asking if I could talk right now.

Even though the ‘1’ flag had been gone for ages, and it was obvious to Yoonseo that it wasn’t a good time for me to talk… yet she still pushed.

‘Could it be… something happened to Dogun?’

It was strange for her to reach out first after so long, and her behavior seemed almost desperate; both of these were unexpected, so I couldn’t shake that thought, but it probably wasn’t the case.

After all, today was Baeksulhwa’s day.

So if something truly had happened to Dogun, it wouldn’t have been Yoonseo reaching out, but Baeksulhwa instead.

Of course… it’s possible that Yoonseo was reaching out because she got stuck in a situation where personal contact was impossible, but…

If something that big had happened, I would’ve known about it.

So this was less likely to be about something happening to Dogun and more about something else entirely.

The problem was, what could that be…?

What on earth could make her act this way all of a sudden?

‘For now, it’s definitely related to Dogun…’

But beyond that, I had no leads.

With no clues, it was impossible to piece together anything.

‘Sigh…’

I’m curious, but as Yoonseo said, before I can talk, I need to get out of this meeting room.

The issue was, if I did that, the people around would be waiting, ready to swarm like drooling dogs.

No, even worse.

If it ended up as a normal drooling attack, I’d be lucky.

This meeting had the Association Chairman present.

Most of the people here were loyal to the Chairman.

So the moment I attempted to leave to take a call, wouldn’t someone at that table starting whipping into me, barking their heads off to make an impression on that esteemed someone sitting across from me?

And surely, they’d chime in with clichés like how younger folks don’t know any better and that those in high positions always need to be careful of their behavior.

They wouldn’t just say it, but make sure to end every sentence with “Vice-Chairman,” just to butter them up.

‘Seriously…’

If not for the last attack, or if there hadn’t been a massive fallout in the personnel the Association was dealing with, I would’ve taken out at least half of those people sitting there.

After spending years finally getting my hands on a perfectly sharp sword—thanks to a long process—now I couldn’t even wield it due to the surrounding circumstances.

The more I thought about the terrible timing, the more I could only sigh.

‘Anyhow…’

Given how things were, I honestly felt hesitant to step out and take the call, but… I figured I should at least answer.

Yoonseo usually acts a bit scatterbrained, but when it comes to anything concerning Dogun, she’s always serious; surely this wasn’t a trivial matter.

So it must be something significant related to Dogun…

If that’s the case, it’s best to find out as soon as possible.

I might not know what this urgent matter is, but the sooner I know, the quicker I can figure out a countermeasure.

As I glanced at the bickering support team leader and management team leader, who were still locked in unproductive arguments, I raised my hand at a moment when silence briefly fell.

And putting my hand up at such a pivotal moment ensured all eyes were on me.

As proof of that, the moment I raised my hand, the speaking rights shifted my way immediately.

“Ahem… Please, go ahead.”

“Oh, it’s nothing special. It seems to me we’ve been repeating similar discussions since earlier.”

It seemed they were aware of this fact as well.

Just as I pointed that out, I could hear the management team leader and support team leader clearing their throats aggressively from their seats.

I gave each of them a glance and saw them blush as if they had been caught with something embarrassing.

“It seems like you weren’t given enough time to organize your thoughts, so how about we take a short break and resume the meeting afterward?”

If I could, I would’ve loved to tell them to quit their senseless squabbling, but I held back that desire and softened my words to see if it had any effect.

It seemed it did, as the management team leader and support team leader looked like they were considering it for a moment before nodding in agreement.

They then turned their gaze back to their direct superior, starting to throw glances his way.

Both appeared to agree with my suggestion, but it was ultimately the chairman’s decision they had to respect.

‘Really…’

Should I be amazed or just say they’re thorough?

I couldn’t help but smirk inwardly at the two team leaders’ manners, which sparked admiration in multiple ways.

Just a moment ago, what felt like a boring play to me could have felt the same to them.

After being stared at by the chairman, who bore the burden of embodying the representatives of both supporting and opposing factions, he gazed my way for a brief moment before nodding appreciatively.

“Alright, just as the Vice-Chairman suggested, let’s take a break to organize our thoughts and resume the meeting later.”