This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 59

“Anything that’s the first time is definitely the hardest.”

I was pretty sure I had everything figured out last night before I fell asleep—like which stop to get on at what time and which bus number to take…

‘…Is this the right place to board?’

But suddenly, things started to get confusing.

“Ugh… What’s up with the weather? Is it crazy or what?”

In the midst of this chaos, I couldn’t help but feel like the chill was so biting it could be described as ‘cutting through flesh.’

‘No way…’

Isn’t March a bit early for winter?

Something felt really off; the weather seemed colder than the last camping trip I went on.

If I felt this way, how must Yoonseo, who’s usually worse at handling cold, be feeling?

Thanks to that, I had been hearing someone’s teeth chattering for a while now.

“Hey…”

Yoonseo called me in a slightly cracking voice because of the cold.

“…Yeah?”

“Is this the right stop to get on?”

“Uh… Probably?”

If I wasn’t mistaken in my half-asleep state yesterday, it had to be right.

“You sound pretty unsure about that.”

“…Yeah, it’s right. Here.”

“Then which bus should we take?”

“Um… Either 32 or 320.”

It didn’t matter which one we took as long as it headed to Seoul, but the former was definitely better since the 32 would arrive in 15 minutes compared to the 320’s 30 minutes.

“Let’s see… It’s either 32 or 320, right…?”

If the information board that told us when the bus was coming and how long it would take to get here was working properly, I wouldn’t have to be teetering on the edge of the curb like a meerkat right now.

Of course, it decided to break down today or maybe just wasn’t turned on, leaving me with no choice but to rely on my eyesight.

‘If I had known this would happen…’

I should have downloaded that bus alert app.

But now that I wanted to install it, that crazy public Wi-Fi wasn’t cooperating.

‘Tsk…’

Just when I was stuck in this tricky situation…

“…Hey.”

“Huh?”

“Are you sure this is the right stop to get on?”

“I told you it is!”

“…I don’t think so.”

“What…?”

A voice that made me feel even more uneasy whispered in my ear.

Not getting on here? What on earth gave them that crazy idea?

I was already thinking about that when, to cut to the chase, Yoonseo was actually right.

Because the names of the stops on the opposite side were exactly the same as the one we were at, we mixed them up.

“No way… How could we confuse that?”

“Come on, it’s the first day. On the first day, people are a bit out of it, it’s only natural to make a mistake.”

As I was letting Yoonseo’s words slide while trying to cross over, she suddenly pointed out, “Wait… isn’t that the 32?”

Just to make matters worse, the bus we needed, the 32, popped up right at that moment.

“Shit…”

“If we miss that…”

“You’re not going to care, but I’m definitely gonna be late.”

“Why don’t we just take a taxi?”

“You think money grows on trees?”

“Better than being late! I’ll pay for us to get to school!”

“I can just imagine the driver saying ‘Sure, I’ll do that.’ And honestly, if we’re doing that, it’d be better to just take separate cabs from the start.”

“…”

“And it’s not too late yet. We can run. Just run.”

On the bright side, there happened to be an underground passage right next to us that we could cross at any time, regardless of the signal.

And the 32 we needed was still stuck at the red light.

So…

“Ready?”

“Ugh…”

“Then let’s run…?”

Running is the answer.

So I ran.

Maybe all that jogging I did occasionally wasn’t a complete waste; I managed to catch the bus just before it pulled away.

Thanks to me arriving just a bit earlier, Yoonseo, who came a bit later, made it onto the bus safely too.

“Ugh… My hair is all messed up!”

Admittedly, it did look quite disastrous.

The school uniform jacket material did cling to static electricity, so my hair was a complete mess, sticking out in all directions after running.

“It’s fine. It’s fine.”

Of course, I had a few strands stuck to my face, so I gently pulled them off one by one with my fingers while calming Yoonseo down.

“…I’m not fine, you know?”

Fortunately, it seemed my reassurance made at least some difference, and her muttering stopped.

Though she didn’t seem entirely unbothered, I led Yoonseo, who was pouting her lower lip, to an empty seat that caught my eye.

“Alright, get in.”

I sat down beside her after making sure she was seated first.

As soon as I settled in, I felt the effects of all that running I did in the morning starting to kick in.

Plus, whether the bus driver was the type to feel chilly or not, the warm air blasting from the heater wrapped around me like a cozy blanket—

‘…Ugh.’

The side effects of waking up way too early on the first day started overwhelming me.

With the noises of people chatting around me, the sounds of the engine blasted in my ears, and my eyelids began to feel heavier and heavier… I tried desperately to shake off the sleepiness.

While I was doing that—

“What’s up… Are you sleepy?”

A question from right next to me broke through.

“Uh… A little? I think I woke up too early… yawn…”

“…If you’re tired, just sleep. I’ll wake you up when I get off.”

When I heard that, I thought ‘Should I?’ but eventually shook my head.

If she fell asleep too, that would lead to a catastrophe of epic proportions.

I just couldn’t fall asleep…

*

I pretended to focus on my mobile phone because I didn’t want Dogun to notice I was feeling tense sitting next to him.

So I grabbed my phone and kept my gaze glued to it, but at some point, I realized something.

Dogun’s breathing, which had been heard since earlier, had turned rhythmic.

‘What…’

He said he was a little sleepy, but did he end up falling asleep since then?

“Ugh…”

I barely glanced to check on Dogun after hearing a mumble that sounded like a sleep talk.

Before I could figure out what was happening, an unexpected event unfolded as I turned my head toward him.

“Ugh, mmm…”

Maybe he was uncomfortable, but a slightly disturbed mumble reached my ear. Then something soft bumped into the top of my head.

Recognizing that it was Dogun’s head didn’t take long.

‘…!’

The moment I realized what was happening, I panicked.

I might have imagined leaning my shoulder on him to let him rest, but this kind of makeshift pillow was something I hadn’t envisioned at all.

Maybe because of that, my heart started pounding with excitement.

It felt like a totally different sensation from the one I felt when I was running with Dogun in the underground passage; it surged through my body, sharpening my senses.

This was a first for me.

It was as if even my hair had feelings, a brand-new sensation that I’d never experienced.

Each time Dogun’s breath escaped from his lips while he was deep in sleep, it washed over my hair, causing an indescribably strange tingle.

And… I felt shy.

It felt like everyone on the bus was staring at us.

So while I tried hard to reposition myself and carefully moved my hands to push him away…

It seemed Dogun didn’t like that.

“…Huh?!”

I had no clue when he moved, but it was as if he was determined not to let go of being a pillow. He used his hand to firmly grip my side and pulled me toward him.

And in that moment, my body reacted all on its own and slipped away, my earlier strength evaporated.

At the same time, a sound erupted from my mouth that I had never made before in my life.

It felt like all my energy had left my body, turning me into a puddle threatening to melt away…

Dogun’s grasp on my side was what caused it.

I felt embarrassed and flustered… my face was about to burst into flames, and just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, Dogun took things one step further.

Was he dreaming about getting buried in a giant teddy bear, rubbing his face against it?

His chin, resting on my head, began to shift slightly as if he was rubbing against me… and my hair felt like it was getting tousled in real-time.

Still, I was completely powerless to shake off Dogun clinging on to me… because literally, not a single shred of strength remained in my body.

I felt like I was going to die from embarrassment.

Especially with everyone around us glancing over at us from time to time, it only added to my shy distress.

‘This isn’t good…’

I thought to myself that I had to do something.

We were almost at school, and if things continued like this, I might just have a heart attack before we even got off the bus.

So I gathered whatever strength I could muster to gently push Dogun’s body back and simultaneously attempted to slip away toward the window, but…

The moment I shifted him, Dogun’s body tilted back towards me again like a seesaw.

I realized then that there was no paradise waiting for me where I had fled.

Unlike before, the breath spilling from Dogun’s mouth directly tickled my neck.

With that itchiness, I instinctively tensed my hands and feet—

“Ugh…”

With another mumble that sounded ominous—

Slurp… ♡

Something soft, fluffy, and warm settled on my nape, and an audible sucking noise seeped into my ear.

The moment I recognized the reality of that situation… something exploded in my brain with a loud bang.