This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 621

It felt as if I were a mermaid straight out of a fairy tale.

There were so many things I wanted to say, far too many to count with my hands… Yet none of those bubbling sentiments could find their way out of my mouth.

It was all because of Chae-rim, who was crumbling right before my eyes.

To me, Chae-rim was the most reliable person in the world.

It hadn’t always been this way, but before I knew it, that’s just how it had turned out.

And yet, that very person… was now disintegrating in real-time right in front of me.

What on earth could I possibly say in the face of such a scene?

It was disheartening.

This whole situation, Chae-rim crumbling silently in front of me, and me being unable to do anything but merely watch… Everything felt like such a heavy burden.

There was a prickling sensation deep inside my heart.

What amplified that feeling even more was… the fact that I already knew.

What was there to say?

I already knew.

The likelihood that Chae-rim was merely going along with Yoonseo’s nonsense was extremely high.

And it wasn’t that she had lied to me because she hated me; she was just struggling to protect a secret of Yoonseo’s that she had somehow stumbled upon… I understood all that, yet…

Even knowing those truths, I couldn’t extend my hand to Chae-rim.

And who could blame me… I had come to realize it.

The moment I caught a glimpse into the eyes of Chae-rim’s expression, which had slowly begun to crumble, I couldn’t help but recognize it.

Perhaps… it might have already been too late to turn back.

I pulled out the mobile phone I had tucked away in my pocket.

Forcing my trembling fingers to move, I dialed Yoonseo’s number.

I didn’t need to look for her contact; of course, I had memorized the numbers of the people I lived with.

So I could call Yoonseo right away, but the call only emitted meaningless ringing without conveying what I truly wished to express.

“…Dogun.”

As I gripped my phone tightly, I was sure my eyes were filled with a glaring intensity.

I could hear Chae-rim’s voice calling me from the side, but I ignored it.

It was a text from Yoonseo arriving at that exact moment that threw me off balance.

[What’s up? I can’t take calls while I’m on the move.]

Yeah, you wouldn’t understand.

You have no idea what feelings I’m harboring… nor do you know that all the lies you’ve stitched together alone have already been exposed.

“Don’t tell me that trip to China was a lie too…”

“Tha—that’s…”

“Ha…”

I couldn’t believe even that could be a lie.

Since when had you been dishonestly talking to me?

I was angry.

I didn’t know what it stemmed from or who it was directed at, but something was boiling within me.

It felt like I had swallowed a ball of fire.

That much… I was seething.

That damn stubbornness only displays itself at times like this.

My head throbbed.

When Yoonseo reacted this way, I felt utterly powerless, which only added to my frustration.

‘You’re going to contact me later because you’re busy?’

Just when would that later be?

And would that later even come?

I couldn’t dare to be sure.

Having experienced firsthand how much of a hellhole Heogye was, and how the Another lurking there was a relentless and wicked bunch, I was deeply concerned.

This could be our last contact.

Couldn’t I be afraid of that possibility?

…It can’t be, right?

Even if Yoonseo often gets tagged as having a fierce personality due to her sharp words, she actually possesses a fair amount of fear.

Her usual heavy words were a big part of hiding that aspect of her character.

Thus, there’s no way she wouldn’t be scared.

But even so, she did this… all because of that annoying sense of guilt or whatever it was.

Why was it her fault that my arm ended up like this?

Could it really be because of the misunderstandings we had back then?

Did that thought lead her to be this way?

What happened that day was just a mere accident, a stroke of bad luck.

Yet here she was, regarding it as her fault.

It was maddening.

It was so maddening that I felt an urge to give her a playful slap on that smooth, flat forehead of hers.

“…Noona.”

That was precisely the purpose of my sudden call.

Chae-rim, who had been grimacing with her lips tightly bitten and her head hung low, jumped slightly at my unexpected call.