This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 627

Was it because Bora had been holding my hand tightly since earlier?

Or was it that sensation you only feel when you’ve poured out everything you’ve been keeping inside?

It felt just like finishing a confession.

Honestly, I had never done such a thing in this life, or even in my past life, but that was certainly the feeling.

Thanks to that, I was now silent in a different sense than just before as Bora, still holding my hand tightly, seemed to be contemplating something. After much deliberation, she finally opened her mouth.

“First…”

Her voice carried many feelings.

Reflexively turning my gaze toward her, I was met with Bora’s bitter smile in response to my stare.

“If I were to answer the part you’re most curious about, Dogun… it’s possible.”

It’s possible.

That answer flowing from Bora’s lips echoed in my ears like thunder.

It jolted me awake like a bucket of cold water being dumped on me.

“Possible… really?”

To be honest, I found it hard to believe.

I had come this far thinking that if anyone could find a way, it would be Bora, someone who possessed an extraordinarily unique talent.

But how could such a thing be possible?

Questions I couldn’t voice bubbled up inside my throat like foam.

I wanted to say even one of them out loud, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

To be precise, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

That’s because it seemed like Bora had something more to say.

So, I waited.

Instead of satisfying my own curiosity, I quietly waited for her to speak.

And before long, my patience was rewarded.

“Hmm, how should I explain this…”

Once she started to speak, it seemed harder to articulate than she had anticipated.

It felt less like finding the right words and more like struggling to recall them.

“First of all, as I just said, it’s possible. It is possible, but…”

“Not a hundred percent?”

“…That’s right.”

To put that differently, it meant there was a possibility of facing unexpected threats as well.

Maybe that’s why.

As Bora nodded along to my words, a shadow slowly drifted across her face.

Whether it was the influence of that shadow or not, the hand that had been gripping mine tightened a little more.

“First… do you know anything about my talent?”

“…I have a rough idea.”

I wanted to answer confidently that I knew all about it, but I couldn’t.

That would have been a lie.

And there was no way Bora wouldn’t pick up on that, sitting right in front of me.

So, I laid out the best I could offer among what I could come up with…

But on hearing my answer, a ‘bitter smile’ appeared on Bora’s face.

“Well… I don’t know how you think about my talent, Dogun, but it’s probably very different from what you’re imagining.”

That might just be true.

Thinking about it, it was natural since Bora had never straightforwardly talked about her talent.

Therefore, I could only rely on my guesses.

And my guess about Bora’s talent was… reality alteration through painting.

To be more specific, it was a talent that created what she painted into reality.

At least, that’s what I thought, but… in this moment, Bora was saying otherwise.

That it was not like that.

That whatever I was thinking was likely quite different.

Based on my half-assured assumption, I obviously couldn’t help but carry the appropriate questions.

What exactly is different?

I wanted to urge Bora to hurry up, but I held back.

I knew how difficult it was for her to talk about her talent with someone else, especially someone like me, whom she considered somewhat close.

Even though she loved drawing enough to make it her career, to her, her talent was a sort of curse, a trauma that triggered painful memories.

All her misfortunes before joining us stemmed from that talent, after all.

Of course, it actually wasn’t the talent itself to blame, but rather those who coveted it.

But what mattered was that Bora believed it was so.

The fact that she had to part from her friends at a young age, that she couldn’t enjoy simple things that others took for granted, that she had to live in a sort of confinement… And even the fact that her once harmonious family had fallen apart and collapsed—Bora attributed all of that to her talent.

That’s why she would always leave the table whenever the topic came up, wearing an awkward expression.

Even in front of me, a person she would consider somewhat trustworthy, she acted that way.

I couldn’t rush her, knowing how hard it was for her to prepare herself to speak about her own abilities.

So, while feeling the dryness of thirst consuming me, I waited for Bora to reach her decision.

Perhaps she would need more time, I thought—yet in this situation, it seemed like she wouldn’t keep me waiting too long.

“…Have you ever heard of a Parallel World?”

There was a mix of embarrassment for keeping me waiting and gratitude for my patience in her voice.

Of course, aside from that voice, the content sounded a bit out of the blue.

A Parallel World.

Why was that term coming up here?

“Um… I know about it…”

Despite the questions filling my head, my mouth dutifully responded to Bora’s inquiry.

Thanks to that, I caught a glimpse of what looked like relief on Bora’s face.

“I’m glad you know… to be honest, I don’t think I could explain it properly.”

You know I’m in the arts, right?

Bora added jokingly, perhaps to lighten up the tense atmosphere, but sadly, it didn’t make me smile.

Even though I tried my best to force a smile, it just wouldn’t come.

Parallel Worlds.

Or parallel universes.

Though it was about past lives, the term was dreadfully familiar from global blockbuster superhero movie franchises and, therefore, even I, a dedicated humanities student, knew about it to some extent.

Why it suddenly came up now was still a mystery to me.

“My talent is like… connecting worlds through the medium of painting.”

“…”

“And… where that connection leads is something I can’t predict.”

So, when you actually open the lid, it’s possible that the outcome is completely different from what you wished for, that’s what Bora said.

A result completely different from what you expected.

It wasn’t hard to grasp what that implied.

Probably the worst-case scenario I was thinking of.

Or perhaps… even worse.

But could you handle that?

Bora was asking me that right now.

The moment made me unconsciously bite my lip.

The pain from my bitten lip ached.

The sensation hovered between a numb sting and a sharper discomfort, sharpening my clarity.

With that newfound clarity, I considered.

So if, hypothetically speaking, though I didn’t want to think about it, what if as soon as I opened the door to Heogye, my worst fears awaited me—could I truly handle that?

Honestly, I wasn’t confident.

I lacked confidence, but… I had to.

As long as Yoonseo was there, I had to.

So, despite feeling guilty towards Bora, I nodded slowly.

Did Bora expect that response from me?

“Yeah, I knew you would say that, Dogun.”

With a bittersweet smile of relief mixed with slight bitterness, Bora got to her feet.

Then she said—

“Shall we prepare then?”

She turned to me and spoke.