This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 558

The world’s strongest Hero is set to visit Korea.

And according to the request of the Korean Hero Association, he will conduct a simple two-hour lecture for those who might become his juniors.

Once these two facts were announced, various communities started buzzing with excitement.

Among those, the most animated reaction came from the community primarily used by parents.

Upon reflection, it might have been a natural response.

From the perspective of parents with Hero candidates as their children, even if Chae-rim were to lead a lecture, packing a tent and attempting to secure a spot would be more than justified, especially considering that the one giving the lecture is none other than the strongest Hero in the world.

They thought this lecture might be an incredible opportunity for their children. Consequently, the daily routine of these parents involved repeatedly refreshing the Korean Hero Association’s website.

In the midst of it all, the announcement of the ‘detailed conditions’ stirred quite a commotion.

Although checking achievements recorded during mock battles was somewhat expected, the fact that even school grades would be taken into consideration was quite the shock.

Considering the Hero candidates already have their days filled with training, where would they possibly find time for studying?

Not all, but most parents thought this way, which set the customer service phones of the association ringing off the hook once the detailed conditions were announced.

Of course, that was only for a brief moment.

The reason was simple.

The person setting such conditions was none other than Chae-rim, and somehow an article detailing her school grades had been leaked.

Thanks to that, it was needless to say how the parents, who had been eagerly complaining about how unreasonable those conditions were, suddenly fell silent like a clam with its mouth shut.

‘By the way…’

Wow, my sister really studied hard.

Could it be that our mother’s job as a teacher influenced her?

Chae-rim had never slipped from the top rank in her school from the start of her first year of high school until just before graduation.

Even focusing solely on her studies would have been difficult, and yet she managed to do that while living the life of a Hero candidate, making it easy to feel admiration for her achievements.

“Why do you keep staring at me? It’s nothing special.”

“It’s nothing special? With grades like this, it’s definitely impressive!”

Chae-rim might have chosen to pursue a career as a Hero, but if she had wanted to go to college, she could easily have been accepted into what’s considered the best university in Korea.

“Aren’t you regretting it?”

“Regretting it? Regretting what?”

“I was just thinking that with grades like this, wouldn’t it have been enough to get into a place like Korean University?”

What is Korean University, anyway? It was like having an all-access pass to universities within Korea.

“Korean University? Do you think anyone can just get in there?”

After saying that, her response was more of a subtle dismissal rather than a serious rebuttal, and it didn’t really bother me.

Chae-rim chuckled softly, releasing tension, and smiled.

“Still… I honestly wish I could experience college life a bit.”

Then she added in a much smaller voice.

Of course, that made sense.

Chae-rim lives a life others envy, but people tend to long for what they don’t have more than what they already possess.

From Chae-rim’s point of view, that would include college life and similar school experiences.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I was thinking the next date could be near a college.”

In this world, I was just a high school graduate, but I had experienced enough college life to find it somewhat mundane back in my previous life.

Thanks to the recommendation from a professor who thought highly of me, I almost went on to graduate school.

Saying that, I had planned to give Chae-rim even a taste of that, which made her eyebrows raise ever so slightly.

That was one of the reactions she showed when she became intrigued by something.

“Really? What are we going to do there?”

“Well, if I tell you in advance, it wouldn’t be fun, would it?”

“But can we still go?”

What does ‘can we still go’ mean?

“No, um… students can only go, right?”

“You’ve never been there?”

“Well, I’ve been invited to a few events, but…”

Personally, I hadn’t gone.

After all, what reason would Chae-rim have to go to college?

“Don’t worry. Aside from a few buildings, we can get into most places.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Of course, it would vary from school to school, but if necessary, we could formally request a tour from the school.

Seriously, if it came to that, I would suggest that as well.

Once I said that, Chae-rim gave a small smile.

“…I’m looking forward to it.”

She then said that in a voice barely audible to me.

Seeing her like that made me realize something.

Perhaps the reason Chae-rim never ceased studying during her candidate days was that she wanted to attend college.

While all her friends studied to go to college, she may have felt lonely pursuing a different goal.

“Since we’re going to the college area, why don’t we do it right?”

“Huh? Do it right, how?”

“How about a school uniform date?”

“A school, school uniform?”

From my standpoint, I had merely suggested that to soothe Chae-rim, but her reaction exceeded my expectations.

Her face turned bright red, and her eyes darted around like she had just heard the most embarrassing thing ever.

“Th-the school uniform is a bit…”

“Are you shy about it?”

“No, well…”

Actually, it’s true.

It’s obvious that she’s shy about it.

“I want to see it. I want to see you in a school uniform.”

“W-what?!”

Was that really such a surprising thing?

Chae-rim sprang to her feet from her seat upon hearing my words.

As a result, one of the towers of paperwork piled up on her desk collapsed, scattering the papers all around like leaves in the wind.

Not only was that already thoroughly embarrassing, but it seemed to make her even more flustered.

Chae-rim, acting uncharacteristically flustered, began to gather the scattered papers.

From my position, which allowed me to help her with the task, I couldn’t just leave her to handle it alone.

So, I immediately headed over to assist her, but she couldn’t even look me in the face because she was so embarrassed.

Chae-rim started to retreat while crouching down.

Pretending to pick up the papers on the floor, I followed her closely until I soon managed to corner her.

With nowhere to escape, Chae-rim shyly handed over some of the collected papers while whispering.

“Don’t you want to see it?”

“…”

“You know, the school uniform.”

At that moment, Chae-rim, who had been crouching, froze and trembled ever so slightly.

“I-I saw it a lot back in the day…”

“Come on, that’s different.”

What’s different is entirely the mindset.

Back then, our relationship was that of a guardian and a protected. Now we are in a relationship.

With the relationship having changed, the feelings associated with the same outfit or situation cannot help but be different.

Once I expressed it in that nuance, Chae-rim began to swallow hard, looking as if she was deep in thought.

Eventually, she fervently shook her head.

“N-no, still the school uniform is a no-go.”

“Why not?”

“But…it’s dangerous…”

Initially, I couldn’t grasp Chae-rim’s statement.

That’s because I had no idea what she meant by dangerous.

It was only after I considered her position that I realized.

‘Ah, right…’

From Chae-rim’s perspective, it could straightforwardly be seen as dangerous.

That had to be true; given her position, her privacy was almost nonexistent.

Wherever she went, the eyes and cameras of the public would surely follow her.

Now, imagine Chae-rim on a date with me wearing a school uniform while it gets captured for an article.

Those standing beside the Association Chairman would definitely take that as ammunition to criticize her.

Knowing this could easily happen, I understood why she’d think that way.

“Then, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Sadly, I had to give up on the idea of a school uniform date and settle for a regular date.

With that disappointing thought, I began to focus again on the papers in my hands.