This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 531

No matter how fast a person is, they cannot surpass the speed of light.

However, there are occasional instances where some individuals seem almost as fast as light, primarily these are the reporters.

Thinking back, it might be quite obvious.

After all, speed is just as critical in their industry as it is in the delivery sector.

The moment an exclusive story breaks, the number of views can vary drastically depending on who first reports it, making it pretty much unavoidable.

Sometimes, you even see headlines pop up with no content at all, which also reflects this urgency.

True to form, the reporter who happened to snap a photo of Chae-rim and Dogun’s cute interaction was completely consumed by the thought that they needed to publish this story as quickly as possible.

“I was just planning to take some pictures for a regular article…”

Who would have thought this would turn out to be such a jackpot?

Is this what they mean when they say you never know how things will go in life?

Just moments before, I was filled with dissatisfaction due to the chills creeping into my body, but now it had shifted.

Now, all I could think about was how to craft the article’s headline.

What should I come up with for the title?

Honestly, I wanted to throw in all sorts of sensational words.

Considering the subject matter, once this is published, the views would practically be guaranteed, yet I still felt a twinge of greed.

Still, I hesitated to make it too provocative because of the presence of Chae-rim, who was in the photo with Dogun.

She wasn’t just sitting in the vice-chairman role now; even when she was a Special-Class Hero active in the field, she was someone you couldn’t just poke fun at.

And now, here she was acting all cozy with Dogun?

Who knew when or how the backlash would hit?

So if I wrote the article, I should probably avoid any titles that might provoke Chae-rim.

The focus should be on grabbing people’s attention without being sensational.

What could work?

Perhaps it’s because I usually write articles targeting an audience with eye-catching titles, but suddenly not doing that felt much more challenging than simply saying it.

It was like staring at a blank notepad, feeling as though my mind was blank too, yet… ultimately, I managed to write the article and send it to the desk.

Of course, a fleeting thought crossed my mind before sending the mail—what if I sold this photo to another newspaper?—but… money would surely come after I find success as a reporter.

This scandal piece would be the starting point for that.

While a reporter was alone in their car, dreaming of a rosy future and grinning like an idiot, the article in question finally made its way to the portal site via the editor’s inbox.

And surprisingly, the first person to stumble upon this explosive article wasn’t Chae-rim or Dogun, but rather Yoonseo.

In hindsight, it was probably a natural outcome.

Unlike the two of them, who were just getting off work, Yoonseo had enjoyed nearly a week off and was lounging around the house.

Because of that, she was glued to her mobile phone.

Thus, when Yoonseo first encountered the notorious article, she thought it was just another celebrity saying they found Chae-rim to be their ideal type and brushed it off without checking.

It wasn’t until later that she clicked on the article, driven by an overwhelming increase in bizarre, clickbait-style articles.

At that moment, she thought she’d confirm if someone was using her sister as a shield again… But who could have guessed?

That a seemingly mundane scandal article would turn out to be a real scandal.

“No way…”

While others were suffering against the Another Ones and just returning to rest, there was someone having a lovely romance at work?

Is this what they call deprivation?

Sure, choosing to enter Heogye was a result of her own will, but it’s only natural to feel a little irked when looking at the attached photos used as “evidence” in the article.

She couldn’t just stay trapped in the hospital room forever, so she squeezed it out under the pretense of Dogun’s benefit, only to find out they were having such fun…

It looked like a picture taken on their way home, but that aside, she never thought Chae-rim would behave like this at the Association building, which is supposed to have strict separations between work and personal life.

It felt a little shocking.

“I can’t let this slide…”

That thought flowed naturally into her mind.

It wasn’t just Yoonseo who felt that way after encountering the article showcasing Chae-rim and Dogun’s wonderful moment; Seolhwa, who wasn’t as quick as Yoonseo but eventually stumbled onto the same article, had a reaction similar to hers.

“Geez…”

Was there no one trustworthy in this world? Who would’ve thought her sister would be the first to break the rules?

This was something she could never have imagined.

Along with the frown of displeasure came an odd lightheadedness.

Even so, it felt a little awkward to confront Chae-rim directly about it since, strictly speaking, everyone was equally not complying with the previously established rules.

Until now, it had never been blatantly obvious, and everyone had just let it slide.

Given that reality, it felt a bit tricky to use this incident as an excuse to impose penalties on Chae-rim for breaching the rules.

Of course, given that there was a certain justification, if she really wanted to, it wouldn’t be impossible.

But somehow, it just didn’t sit right with her.

It was just that once someone received a penalty for breaking the rules, it would inevitably lead to a nerve-wracking environment where everyone would be keeping tabs on each other.

Rather than experiencing that kind of atmosphere, wouldn’t it be better just to give a warning and let it go?

“Besides…”

If you consider the role her sister took on at the Association, as long as she didn’t pass it to someone else, she’d have to stick with Dogun all day.

There’s no way she could ignore him just because it’s not her scheduled day.

Even if she wasn’t fond of the article, letting it get attention could potentially distract the public’s focus from Dogun and shift it back toward her sister.

If she aimed to stop the scandal article beforehand, Chae-rim certainly had the ability and power to do so; her choice to let it slip could have been calculated.

Although the method used to achieve that—a scandal article featuring the two—wasn’t very pleasing, it was hard to deny that it was incredibly effective.

Just look at the current situation.

Earlier today, the portal site’s news section was filled with nothing but stories about Dogun as if it were his personal diary, but now, Chae-rim’s name was back in circulation.

Of course, since they were intertwined with this scandal, there was no way Dogun’s name wouldn’t appear, but…

Still, it was clear that mentions of him had decreased compared to earlier.

Even those commenting on the article were focusing more on the fact that her sister finally has a man in her life rather than discussing Dogun.

So while it wouldn’t be impossible to just overlook this…

“If I had known this would happen…”

I should have just spilled the beans myself.

Feeling a tinge of regret over that was absolutely unavoidable.