This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 523

“No way…”

Even if today is an unexpected turn of events, telling a person who just got discharged from the hospital to come to work tomorrow?

I was a bit dumbfounded by the unexpected situation, as I thought they’d at least give me a day to get my surroundings sorted out.

But before I could even react, it was Yoonseo who jumped in first.

“What? That doesn’t make any sense! You know Dogun just got discharged today, right?”

As she spoke, I couldn’t shake off the weird feeling that it made it sound like I had been severely ill and had narrowly managed to recover.

Still, it made sense that Yoonseo, who had just returned from a week-long trip, couldn’t accept this reality, especially since she’d surely be entitled to a corresponding vacation from the Association.

Her fierce stance was rather striking.

If left unchecked, she looked like she could start a protest with a red headband, declaring, “I will not yield!”

The problem was that Yoonseo wasn’t the only one rising to the occasion.

Even our Senior, who typically steered clear of such matters, immediately chimed in to support Yoonseo’s claims.

Even she thought it wasn’t right.

And even Bora, who was practically a third party, added her two cents, which resulted in a look of ‘awkwardness’ appearing on Chae-rim’s face.

Well, I suppose that’s how it goes. Chae-rim wouldn’t just sit back and let this slide.

The moment she heard about it, she’d likely respond with resistance, just like Yoonseo had.

However, despite Chae-rim’s protests, the fact that I was treated this way meant—

“This must mean the decision came down from a higher authority than Chae-rim…”

That had to be it.

Which also meant that even she couldn’t overturn it.

Someone above Chae-rim.

As far as I know, there’s only one person I could call that in the country.

The Association Chairman.

And if it was indeed the Chairman who made this decision… opposing it directly wouldn’t yield good results.

Especially since everyone was already on edge in these times.

That’s why I stepped in to stop Yoonseo and the Senior.

If Chae-rim had been feeling better, it might’ve been a different story, but given the current situation with the Chairman and her followers still strong, standing against them wasn’t the best move.

Especially since Yoonseo and the Senior were in a prime phase of their growth as heroes.

That made it even more crucial for them to exercise restraint.

“Facing them can wait until we’ve grown a bit more…”

After all, the Chairman and his group were all adults, while this side was still just young.

Even Chae-rim, our leader, was young. If it came down to a war of attrition, we’d inevitably lose.

It was obvious that would be the outcome, so was there really a need to rise against them now?

While it’s nice that they care for me, I didn’t want to be the reason they acted rashly, so I decided to end this matter at this point.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’ll adapt quickly, it’ll be fine.”

“But still…”

Even when I heard assurances, I couldn’t rid myself of the guilt swirling in my mind.

A gaze heavy with concern flew towards my face.

That made me think it was a good idea to change the topic.

“Oh, right. Sister.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Earlier, Yoonseo came to me and asked if I could help her with her training if I had the time.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah, so what about it… any chance that’s possible?”

“Um…”

Coming to a clean conclusion about that wasn’t easy, even for Chae-rim.

The worry that had been so clearly written on her face was replaced by a look of deep contemplation.

After some time, Chae-rim finally spoke up again.

“First off… Dogun, you want to help Yoonseo, right?”

“Yeah, well… It’s been a while and I used to do it anyway.”

I realized that Yoonseo’s insistence on training alone for the past three years might have stemmed from that.

Thinking that made my desire to help her grow even stronger, but I didn’t want to push against Chae-rim’s opposition.

That would just turn everything upside down.

Looking at Chae-rim, who was presumably feeling my determination, she said,

“Initially… you probably guessed this, but I can’t give a definite answer right away.”

“I know.”

How could I not know? My release from isolation wasn’t just Chae-rim’s doing, but also a reflection of the Association’s collective intent.

Using me as a kind of billboard to shift public attention towards me, they were seemingly trying to calm the restless sentiments of the populace.

Even Chae-rim couldn’t bear the burden of making all the decisions alone.

So I could wait as long as necessary.

Nodding my head, I sensed that Chae-rim felt my resolve too.

“First, I need to check, but… it shouldn’t take too long.”

With a somewhat relieved expression, Chae-rim added that.

“That’s somewhat a relief.”

“What relief? This should have been an obvious approval…”

Thinking about it, that was true.

After all, I didn’t go out for personal errands.

Cultivating the heroes’ skills was a pretty significant concern for the Association. Helping Yoonseo with her training could be seen as a public service.

Moreover, I didn’t even ask Yoonseo first.

In terms of sequence, Yoonseo had approached me for this, so if I informed the Association of that, they’d likely grant permission.

Knowing the context, the Association would find it hard to refuse outright.

Of course, there would be some conditions attached.

Those conditions were likely to stipulate that training could only take place at designated training grounds.

But that wasn’t too big of a deal.

What mattered was not where we trained, but that I was training with Yoonseo.

So when I mentioned to Chae-rim that I would pass along the details, including how Yoonseo asked first, she nodded as if understanding my intent the moment I finished.

“Then… let’s head in and rest. You’ll need to wake up early to go to work with me tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes.”

That’s right.

Since being together with Chae-rim all day was part of the condition, I had to go to work with her too.

So following her suggestion, I headed to my room to get some rest—

Beep beep— Beep beep—

Seriously, I just shut my eyes and opened them, and the sun was already up outside.

Even though the bed in the hospital was cushy and comfortable, it often took longer for me to fall asleep than I realized…

Could this be why everyone says home is the best?

‘Speaking of which…’

Despite having finally slept well, my body felt strangely heavy…

It was like something was perched on my stomach.

I wondered if Miya had snuck in during the night, but when I opened my eyes to check, plunging into my field of vision was something that made me want to smack it for no real reason—a forehead.

What can I say?

The unexpected visitor sprawled across my stomach, one leg lazily draped over it, snoring lightly, was none other than Yoonseo.

I was certain I had seen her head to her room with my own two eyes just yesterday, but why on earth was she here?

Caught off guard upon waking to this unexpected sight, I found myself a bit bewildered.

Knock knock—

The sound resonated in the room, snapping my mind to attention, as if I had just been doused in cold water.