This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 637

Baeksulhwa’s Perspective

It felt just like returning to my high school days.

So, should I say it felt like going back to before I met Dogun?

The feeling of helplessness weighed down on my shoulders like a heavy burden.

No matter how much effort I put in here, or whatever I tried, it all felt like it would ultimately be meaningless.

A creeping sensation crawled up my body, like getting lost in a fog where I could see not even a meter ahead.

This sensation was all too familiar.

That’s why I never wanted to feel it again… I had thought I had completely overcome it, yet here I was, feeling it anew in such a way.

Maybe that’s why.

My hands clenched with a tight grip.

What should I do?

What can I do to shake off this damn feeling?

It must have been a moment lost in turmoil.

“Bora.”

Had we shared enough conversation by now?

Dogun’s low voice, poised as if ready to jump in at any moment, coaxed Bora.

In that instant, the scene pierced my vision.

I realized what I could do at this very moment.

Step by step—

I quietly took a step forward.

“…Senior?”

I thought I had enough conveyed my intent, yet my actions seemed to confuse them.

The reaction to my quiet step came swiftly.

A gaze questioning whether I was going to do more.

Feeling that gaze piercing toward my face, I opened my mouth.

“I’m going too.”

As soon as I said it, I saw Dogun’s eyes widen, as if he had heard an entirely unexpected remark.

Watching that scene, I felt my deeply submerged emotions lift a little.

Even Dogun hadn’t anticipated this development.

“No, um…”

“Don’t bother trying to persuade me. I’m not going to be persuaded anyway.”

There, that’s how it should be.

If I was anxious about sending Dogun off alone, couldn’t I just follow him and protect him?

Of course… it made me just a tad uneasy.

Thinking about it, it was natural to feel uneasy; after all, it was an accident. But unlike my sister or Dogun, who had already experienced Heogye, for me, it was literally the unknown.

So how could I not be scared?

What if I couldn’t protect Dogun? The worry started from there and flooded my not-so-large heart with various kinds of fear, but I didn’t let it show.

After all, at this moment, showing fear wouldn’t be helpful at all.

The moment I let that fear show, if I appeared shaken, they would likely tell me to stay behind while Dogun went alone. Why would I want that?

So I forced my gaze away from Dogun and threw it at Bora, who was standing beside him.

Thinking about it, one of Dogun’s characteristics was his uncanny ability to pick up on strange situations, so lingering and making eye contact would only reveal my hidden feelings.

So I turned my gaze to Bora and met her strangely watchful eyes, then spoke.

“Just don’t mind me and continue what you were doing.”

As I spoke, I worried about her pretending not to hear, but fortunately, it seemed she had no intentions of doing that.

Bora, glancing at me as if trying to gauge my thoughts, adjusted her grip on the brush and returned her focus to the canvas wall.

Then she began to continue her previous painting.

Seeing that the preliminary sketch wasn’t even completed yet, it seemed it would take quite some time to finish. Just how long might that take?

I suddenly grew curious, but I couldn’t just ask.

When I snapped back to reality, an incredibly heavy silence had settled around us.

I wanted to tackle this situation on my own without relying on others, but the sudden intrusion had messed with my head.

Since the conversation had ended, Dogun had remained silent, lost in thought.

It seemed he had a lot on his mind as he absentmindedly chewed on his own lips.

And it was that action of Dogun’s that added to the heavy silence weighing on my shoulders.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Only the sound of Bora’s brush moving roughly and stiffly across the wall echoed in the room.

It was a moment filled with nothing but suffocating silence, except for the sounds that needed to be there.

Out of nowhere, an alien presence intruded into the sensor net I had cautiously laid out, just in case.

When I first realized this, I thought it was a homeless person seeking shelter from the icy cold wind or some thugs trying to create their own hideout out of sight from others.

This building, clearly long abandoned and neglected, had conditions that would appeal to both types of humans.

Given the reality, when I first sensed the presence, those thoughts crossed my mind, but…

It didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t the case at all.

After all, there were far too many of them to be considered mere homeless people or thugs.

Ah, of course, it might just be that the thugs, being thugs, had gathered together with their own kind, but… even by that account, the movements I sensed were far too organized.

What kind of thugs in the world would behave like well-trained soldiers?

From swiftly taking cover the moment they entered the building to systematically checking every room on this floor, ordinary thugs couldn’t possibly move like that.

That’s precisely why I quietly removed my back from the wall without caring about the dust on it.

And in doing so, had I reacted to the presence?

“…Senior?”

Dogun, who had seemed lost in thought, suddenly turned his gaze toward me.

I had intended to deal with this quietly, but… since I was caught, I might as well say something.

“I’ll be down for a moment.”

“Down? Why down there?”

“It seems like uninvited guests have paid a visit.”

Honestly, that line was a bit comical.

From the perspective of the building’s owner, both sides were uninvited guests; it was as if I was claiming to be the owner of this place.

Anyway, I must have been understood because Dogun’s expression was turning ashen in real time.

He seemed unconcerned about heading into the dangerous Heogye, but this was worrying him.

Of course, it was natural for Dogun to feel that way.

It was a situation where, with a single misstep, Bora could also be put at risk due to his choices.

There was even a possibility that those approaching might be targeting Bora rather than Dogun, yet that possibility would not have crossed Dogun’s mind.

What mattered to Dogun was the fact that by involving Bora in this matter, she was now exposed to danger.

He was the type to have an almost pathological aversion to inconveniencing others, and seeing his increasingly stiffened expression made me wonder if I should attempt a negotiation once again, but…

I refrained.

If I did that, I might be able to keep Dogun anchored in reality, but it would likely ruin my relationship with him.

And that was not what I wanted.

So—

“…Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”

After assuring a stiff-faced Dogun and Bora, who seemed affected by his tension as well, I headed toward the stairs leading to the lower floor.