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This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 616

What in the world was that?

That reaction was something else.

If someone were to see this, they’d think I was hiding something.

Was Chae-rim’s reaction just too conspicuous?

I suddenly had that thought, but quickly shook my head.

There was no way that could be true.

More precisely, I thought there was no way it could be true.

What about my sister?

She had never once lied to me.

And the same went for me.

‘Well, it was a situation where that couldn’t really happen…’

Right now, I was practically in a relationship with my sister—no, we had already transformed into a romantic relationship. But before that, our bond was one where we exchanged one life for another.

My sister owed me her life, and in return, I was protected under her name.

So how could I even think about lying in such a situation?

If I were to lie and get caught, it would obviously ruin our relationship.

Given the circumstances, I had always told her the truth, and that honesty established a rule we had maintained until now.

That’s why I thought it couldn’t be true.

It certainly started out that way…

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand the strange elements lurking in my mind, so I kept my eyes on Chae-rim and to my surprise—

Chae-rim was subtly avoiding my gaze.

‘…What?’

She looked like someone who clearly had something to hide.

Could it be that I witnessed something like that?

From my perspective, it was quite shocking.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Chae-rim would show such a reaction towards me.

But still, why was she acting like that?

I thought hard, trying to figure out if there was anything she could be lying to me about, but nothing concrete came to mind no matter how long I pondered.

Thus, I couldn’t shake my perplexing doubts.

‘Could it be…’

Is it related to the anxiety I felt earlier?

As ridiculous as it seemed, I couldn’t completely rule out that possibility.

After all, people’s instincts can sometimes be creepily accurate.

It wasn’t just a baseless notion; there was obviously something that felt off about the whole situation.

That’s why I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Chae-rim.

【Chae-rim’s Perspective】

‘Why is he staring so intensely…?’

Receiving Dogun’s fixed gaze made something inside my heart sting.

It felt as if I was being poked repeatedly by a sharp edge.

And that poking had a name: my conscience.

Yeah, to be honest, I was feeling guilty.

No matter how I tried to avoid it, Dogun’s gaze that kept silently observing me made it unavoidable.

I wish he would just say why he was looking at me like that; if he had, I wouldn’t feel so anxious.

Ever since getting to know Dogun, I had never once lied to him, and suddenly being in a situation where I was doing just that felt terribly awkward.

Pretending like everything was normal was much harder than I had anticipated.

Even if it wasn’t right now, the moment my lie was exposed later on, I could clearly picture how devastated Dogun would look as he gazed at me.

He would surely look incredibly disappointed.

Then he would begin blaming himself for it all.

Could I endure seeing that scene?

To be honest, I was uncertain.

I couldn’t confidently say if I could withstand that sight.

Why?

Because I liked Dogun that much.

I liked him so much that I didn’t want to see him hurt or blame himself.

At the same time, I also desperately wanted to see him live a normal life again.

Because of that, it was hard to choose a side.

‘Sigh…’

I wish he would stop giving me those eyes.

I came out to ask him something, and got caught in his gaze that made me flinch earlier, which only piqued his curiosity more.

It seemed like Dogun had no intention of looking away from me.

“Uh… So, that is—”

Though my lips were reluctant to part, I forced them to open.

It was because if I didn’t, this annoying and mysteriously uncomfortable tension would linger indefinitely.

So what could I do?

As the old saying goes, a thirsty man digs a well; in the end, it was me who was left needing to step up first.

And that was what I did, yet…

Maybe it was the fact that my thoughts weren’t sorted out before speaking, but my voice came out trembling.

Even I felt that my voice sounded pathetic.

If I felt that way, how must Dogun have felt listening?

He probably thought, “What’s gotten into her suddenly?”

That only raised the skepticism that had glimmered in Dogun’s eyes since earlier.

The problem was… that I couldn’t stop now.

If I hadn’t spoken at all, it might have been easier, but now that I had opened my mouth, it was like spilled water.

I pretended to clear my throat, trying to suppress any visible signs of fluster, and spoke in the most natural voice I could muster.

“Are you busy right now? I have a small request…”

Fortunately, it seemed my attempt was somewhat successful.

Or maybe… was he just pretending not to know, curious to hear what I had to say?

I couldn’t figure out which was true, but Dogun slowly nodded as he gazed at the stack of documents in front of him.

“Honestly, once I finish organizing these, my urgent work is done, so I’m free.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so what is it you want me to do?”

Go ahead, tell me.

He seemed to say that with his eyes, sending another sting to my conscience, but I held my ground and said what I originally intended.

“Um, it’s nothing big… Could you deliver a document to the management team?”

“A document? Ah, of course.”

It wasn’t odd to send it via the association’s messenger either, but for some reason, I felt anxious as Dogun responded so readily despite his earlier piercing gaze.

If only he had asked why I needed to deliver it personally instead of just sending it through the messenger, I wouldn’t be so on edge right now.

I had been living a life with hardly any secrets, and suddenly carrying a secret that felt as heavy as the truth of my birth was a significant burden.

Is that why people say only those who have lied do it well?

Lunch had long passed, and there was still a long way to dinner, yet my stomach felt like it had something heavy sitting inside it.

Ever since I had asked Yoonseo for that ‘favor’, I had been in this state.

And this feeling only intensified whenever I stood in front of Dogun.

Regardless of everything, the awkward tension felt the same, but the intensity was different.

As I handed the document to Dogun and immediately turned to leave, I let out a quiet sigh of relief…

But as soon as I turned around—

Clatter—

The sound of a chair scraping back echoed in my ears as if someone was standing up to leave right away—

“By the way, Sister.”

Dogun’s voice followed behind me.

“Is there something you’re hiding from me?”

This World is too Cruel to Men

This World is too Cruel to Men

Score 10
Status: Completed Type: Released: 2021
In this world, a man’s fate is one of two things. Either he becomes a cog in the wheel of society that can be replaced at any time… or he becomes a trophy.

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