This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 542

I knew, of course, that children’s names were important, and I certainly acknowledged that.

Well, unless they change their names midway through life, they will be called that name for their entire lives—how could it not be important?

And I don’t know how many people have experienced something like a second life like I have, but from the perspective of someone who’s gone through childhood twice, I think it’s best to avoid names that could easily become fodder for teasing when naming kids.

After all, when we were young, everyone had this childish creativity, and it was common to come up with all sorts of nicknames from just their given names, leading to a lot of teasing.

Is it just a temporary amusement from childhood?

It might seem that way to adults.

But from the perspective of someone who’s been on the receiving end of such teasing, it can be quite annoying, particularly that kind of teasing.

I can say with confidence that my opinion on this matter is entirely valid since I have the history of being called “Stone Age” in my past life and now being referred to as “Dogun” in this life.

The depth of experience really is different.

Oh, and by the way, Yoonseo hasn’t really been teased about her name.

In her case, it was unavoidable because the name “Oh Yoonseo” didn’t have much interesting about it to catch the attention of kids.

In other words, it’s a pretty standard name that wouldn’t develop any weird nicknames.

‘And by the way…’

When it comes to Yoonseo from when kids loved to tease others, she was at her worst personality-wise, so most kids avoided teasing her.

So it makes sense she wouldn’t know.

She wouldn’t know the potential ripple effect of the name Doyun when combined with the surname Oh.

While Yoonseo was complaining about the name Baeksulhwa mentioned by a senior, from what I could see, Baeksulhwa and Oh Doyun were honestly pretty much the same.

‘Oh Doyun…’

With that name, kids would definitely pretend to punch a punching bag next to her while singing “Ododododo.”

That future was as clear as day to me, yet here she was talking to the senior.

Is this what they call a “dog with a flea scolding a dog with poop”?

While I was having those thoughts, the debate about the surname sparked a quickly escalating controversy over names starting from the remark that “the name Dohu is pretty and decent, but Baeksulhwa is just… not it.”

“What about you?!”

The senior was essentially the type who hated losing and had a competitive streak towards Yoonseo, so she couldn’t tolerate being one-sidedly beaten like this.

I don’t know if she was conscious of my gaze, but surprisingly, the senior, who had seemed to endure for a while, finally struck back.

“Huh? Me?”

“Honestly, the Oh surname isn’t that pretty, right?”

“What’s wrong with the Oh surname?”

And as Yoonseo, who has a somewhat distinct personality, was genuinely offended by the senior’s comment, the atmosphere started to heat up further.

“Oh’s is definitely better than Baek’s.”

“What are you talking about? The Baek surname is undeniably prettier. Other people would think so too.”

“Even so, there are way more Oh’s than Baek’s, right? Being more numerous means it’s much more popular, right?”

“What does it matter if it’s numerous? The sound just is not appealing.”

“Yes, next is Princess Snow White.”

“…What?”

“Your older sister’s nickname was Princess Snow White when she was little, right? No need to even see it to know how obvious it is.”

For reference, in this world, there is also a Snow White fairy tale.

Unlike the original story I read, Snow White teams up with her seven dwarf servants to rescue her fiancé captured by an evil stepmother. Nonetheless, it still exists, you might say.

Yoonseo probably brought it up for that reason… yet somehow the senior’s reaction was atypical.

Until now, no matter what Yoonseo said, the senior would normally respond with, “No, that’s wrong. I’m right.” But now, her eyebrows were furrowing harshly, making her look clearly annoyed.

And Yoonseo wouldn’t pass up on that opportunity… as expected.

“I was just saying… So your sister was really called Princess Snow White as a child? Wow…”

It was a completely exaggerated expression.

Even so, seeing Yoonseo’s expression, honed from long years of observing the prank master ‘Dogun’, had something compelling enough to make onlookers feel moved.

So, how would the senior, facing that directly, feel?

For a brief moment, it was all out there, then just as quickly, it vanished, but when Yoonseo exclaimed “Wow…” and let out an admiration that seemed to drain the energy from anyone who heard, a visible vein popped out from the senior’s neck.

“Dogun, did you know? Seolhwa Unnie’s childhood nickname was Princess Snow White.”

I don’t know if Yoonseo was aware of that or was deliberately provoking it, but she wasn’t satisfied just by that and wanted to draw me in as well.

Stuck in the middle of the two, I found this situation to be nothing short of awkward.

According to plans, there was going to be a match after their little skirmish, so that just couldn’t happen.

Not that we hadn’t even started fighting yet, but if the atmosphere was heating up this way, the real battle wouldn’t fare any better.

Of course, that would mean they would both take the match seriously, but unnecessary seriousness tends to cause accidents.

And both Yoonseo and the senior, now preparing to be heroes, were no longer just candidates; they were proper heroes. Hence, accidents happening during a match could lead to serious consequences for their opponent.

So I figured it’d be better to either cancel the match or at least wait until the heated atmosphere died down before proceeding.

But—

“Well, this is perfect. Let’s make a bet that the loser has to stick with a nickname for a month.”

“Are you okay with that? You didn’t seem to like the Princess Snow White nickname all that much.”

“Of course, I’m fine with it. But Yoonseo, what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I win, I’m going to call you Squid.”

Calling someone Squid? I simply couldn’t fathom that such a ridiculous nickname would come out of the mouth of someone whom I referred to as “senior” across my lives.

It was that childish of a name.

Nevertheless, it was also enough to make Yoonseo’s cheeks twitch and wobble upon hearing it.

Naturally, Yoonseo, just like before, wouldn’t miss her chance.

“Why? Are you thinking that’s kind of wrong? If you think so, we can drop it.”

“Huh…? Me? When?”

“No, I just found… your expression a bit off, so I wondered if you were really bothered by the nickname Squid.”

Did she want to make Yoonseo feel the same annoyance she had just moments ago?

Having said that, unlike the embarrassing and cringe-worthy Princess Snow White, she insisted that calling someone Squid was adorable instead, trying to imitate a squid’s movements with her arms right in front of Yoonseo.

It was clearly a provocative gesture aimed at stirring up the other person.

This time, Yoonseo’s eyebrows twitched instead of the senior’s.

“So… are you going to do it?”

“…Okay.”

‘Ah… please…’

Knowing them for quite a while, I recognized that while their relationship wasn’t particularly good, this was too much.

We could easily face accidents just by having a match without stakes, and now they were placing bets amidst a completely heated atmosphere…?

It seemed far more likely for something to go wrong mid-fight rather than for the match to end safely.

‘Should I just…’

Should I call Chae-rim Unnie?

I knew better than anyone here that Chae-rim was incredibly busy, but I also understood that the only person who could pull these two back down to earth was Chae-rim.

But the reason I hesitated was because of the original cause of their heated discussion.

‘Somehow, if I call Unnie here, it feels more likely to turn into a three-way fight instead of diffusing the situation…’

Thanks to that, I hesitated on whether to make a call, while the match between the future special-class heroes was about to commence.