This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 580

At first, I thought I had misheard.

Or maybe the other person had misspoken.

To be honest, there was a good chance of that since they had only recently learned Korean.

Of course, considering the proficiency they displayed, it was almost suspiciously impressive for someone who had just started learning…

“Mixing up words is something that can easily happen.”

Because there are just so many similar-sounding words, it’s easy to pick them up but hard to master Korean.

So it was surely just a mistake from mixing up words.

I thought they would soon realize their own mistake and correct the question.

“Hmm… Are you withholding your silence this time? If you keep breaking the rules like this, what’s the point of having rules in the first place?”

Could it be that it wasn’t a mistake after all?

Was it not a slip of the tongue, but rather a genuine question about whether I had a boyfriend?

But why…?

If I were to be completely honest at this point?

If I were to receive a question like that, it would undoubtedly be related to Chae-rim’s Sister.

Honestly, there really wasn’t anything else worth asking about.

Besides, I’m quite notorious for being known as the sister’s disciple among people.

So I thought this girl was aware of that and was trying to fish for some information with this lame game…

And the question thrown my way was, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

I was left in a state of confusion, unsure whether to be flustered by the unintended implication or shocked by the unexpected question.

Thanks to that, in the midst of all this chaos, the only clear thing was that I had to respond to that absurd question.

Unless they had asked the question first, since I had already initiated the conversation and the other person had answered me, I had no choice but to respond accordingly.

That being said, there was still so much I wanted to know.

So I needed to find a way to keep this ridiculous game going.

In that sense, speaking of boyfriends…

The moment I subconsciously repeated that in my mind, Dogun’s face immediately popped up.

More precisely, only Dogun’s face came to mind.

When you think about it, that was only natural.

Dogun was the only person I had ever liked, and I had no intention of liking anyone else at all.

But… if someone came and asked if I was dating Dogun, it would be a bit awkward to say “yes.”

Of course, if I were to define my relationship with Dogun, we were incredibly close, almost as if we were dating…

But it felt a bit ambiguous.

Usually, when people say they’re dating, they only have eyes for one person.

Dating multiple people at once would just be playing with them rather than sincere relationships.

However, treating Dogun that way felt kinda off; he genuinely cared for those around him.

Unlike those who just sought amusement.

So it was a bit awkward to outright say that we weren’t dating.

In other words, I was stuck in a rather ambiguous situation.

Given the reality was such, the kiss that had somehow stuck to me didn’t seem to want to part easily, but I forced my lips apart partially and answered the question.

“I do.”

“Really? I see.”

What came back was a somewhat cryptic response.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but at least that’s how it seemed to me.

Thanks to that, my previously relaxed mind, thinking of Dogun, tightened up again as if it had never loosened.

“It’s gone around, so now it’s Yoonseo’s turn again.”

The other person didn’t seem to care about anyone else’s reaction at all, which was slightly irritating.

Anyway… the turn had gone back to me, but what should I ask next?

“You said you came to Korea to keep a promise…”

Then should I ask about that promise? Or…

Should I ask who they made the promise to?

Honestly, when I first got the ‘game’ suggestion, I thought it was a stroke of luck.

At that moment, I couldn’t think otherwise because even if we took turns asking questions, I believed the value of the answers returned would differ drastically.

But now that I was faced with having to choose just one among many questions I wanted to ask, I realized it wasn’t necessarily a good situation after all.

Naturally, choosing just one made it feel like I suddenly had a case of decision paralysis.

And maybe it was also because I already knew there wouldn’t be time to leisurely ponder.

My mind started feeling uncontrollably anxious.

Feeling anxious means? In other words, it implied a high possibility of making a mistake in any way.

And right now, the person I was dealing with was someone I couldn’t afford to mess up with—no mistakes allowed.

“Could it be…?”

Had they deliberately set this condition to provoke such a situation?

Setting a condition that anyone could easily be tempted by just to trap me into making a mistake.

Honestly, the possibility was high; if not for this, there was no reason to set such a generous condition.

I had no choice but to accept any offer, even if the other party decided to establish a three-to-one question exchange!

Was this what it felt like to walk on thin ice?

I really needed to stay alert.

Of course, before that, I had to pick a question to throw.

What would be good?

While I was pondering that for a moment, a rather appealing question suddenly came to mind.

“The person who made it so you had to visit Korea… do I happen to know them personally?”

And as I voiced that, it seemed I had come up with a surprisingly sharp question for something I thought up on the spot.

For the first time, a hint of unease flickered across the other’s face, almost like a painting with a sudden change.

The moment I asked, their eyebrows twitched and trembled slightly.

Of course, it disappeared in a blink, but my eyes had caught that change.

“Hmm… I’m not sure? Maybe?”

“That answer lacks certainty compared to mine.”

“But it can’t be helped. I don’t know everything about you, Yoonseo…”

Just a moment ago, they called me “Yoonseo,” and now they switched to “Yoonseo”…

What changed? Why did it shift so suddenly?

Could it be an attempt to regain composure while monitoring my relaxing demeanor?

I was probably speculating that at that exact moment.

“Of course, if I had done my ‘research,’ it would have been a different story… but then I think you would have disliked me, right? Plus, dealing with things that way isn’t any fun.”

It was only a brief moment, but perhaps they were trying to conceal their previous surprise.

Somehow, their words were significantly longer than before.

As a result, it brought up many thoughts to consider.

“They said maybe…”

That meant, although they were not entirely certain, they were personally guessing that it could be the case.

This implied that the person who had made a ‘promise’ with the woman in front of me likely belonged to someone I knew—a connection within my circle.

The real issue was: who could that possibly be…?

At first glance, no specific faces came to mind.

When you think about it, it’s only natural; I’ve known countless people throughout my life, how could I recall all of them?

And among them, many I no longer kept in touch with acutely complicate things… even if they were in ‘another country,’ it remained a confusing situation.

“I should have just asked if they were a friend of mine…”

Even now, regretting it wouldn’t change the fact that the opportunity to ask had slipped away.

Instead, while I let myself let go of that regret, I was simply waiting for the other party to fire back with their question.

“…Wait a minute.”

Come to think of it, didn’t the gift box that Auntie sent as a graduation present have an address in the U.S…?