This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 66

From that day on, I ran into Baeksulhwa every morning without fail.

After bumping into her three times, then four, we eventually surpassed ten encounters, and it became natural enough to exchange casual conversation as we grew closer.

“Are you going to train again today?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Strength training?”

“Yep.”

One of the discoveries I made as we became so friendly was that Baeksulhwa was much more hardworking than she seemed at first glance.

It sounds a bit odd, but don’t you sometimes encounter people who just radiate an intense seriousness about everything?

My first impression of Baeksulhwa was pretty much along those lines.

However, upon actually witnessing her efforts, she exceeded those expectations effortlessly.

Naturally, this made me curious about why she was so dedicated, so when the mood felt right, I subtly asked her.

I wanted to know why she was going to such lengths, literally training like it was a matter of life or death, to become a hero.

Of course, the moment I asked that, her expression turned awkward, and I quickly backed off, realizing I stepped on a landmine and didn’t get to hear her answer.

Anyway, the fact that she consistently put in that much effort into her strength training every morning was definitely something to respect.

Especially considering that next door lives someone who’s struggling even to get out of bed every morning and often needed my help just to get ready.

If Baeksulhwa asked Yoonseo to try the same intense morning routine she had?

I could just imagine Yoonseo barely surviving three days…

Honestly, I couldn’t guarantee much beyond that.

She might even throw in the towel after just one day, crying about how she couldn’t take it anymore.

Strength training is definitely not Yoonseo’s cup of tea.

But then again, even if I were in Yoonseo’s shoes, I doubt I’d fare much differently.

“Still, I’ve done some exercise on and off…”

I gave myself a week?

That was probably how long I could handle it, maybe?

Anything beyond that was hard to gauge.

Though Baeksulhwa had been training non-stop since middle school and continued to do so until just about one year before graduation, how could I not respect that level of commitment?

It led me to a thought.

Perhaps this is what a true hero should be like.

“Oh, right! Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t have the time…”

“Then how about you at least have this?”

As I pulled a snack from my pocket and offered it to her, she looked at me, puzzled, and I quickly waved my hands dismissively.

“Huh? That’s…”

“It’s nothing much. I just thought it might be tough to exercise on an empty stomach…”

I genuinely meant it when I said it was nothing special.

After all, the snack I offered her was something I’d learned about from Yoonseo.

I originally brought it for Yoonseo, but after waking up early these past few days, I felt like I was losing my stamina, dozing off repeatedly on the subway and couldn’t give it to her.

So, I ended up offering it to Baeksulhwa, but from her perspective, it might’ve felt a bit random.

She silently stared at my hand, making me feel somewhat embarrassed.

If it had been a fancy sandwich or something, I might not have felt quite as awkward, but this was genuinely not much at all.

‘…Did I do something unnecessary?’

As I contemplated this—

“…Alright, I’ll eat it.”

After a slight delay, she reached out and grabbed the snack from my hand.

“Is this a foreign snack?”

“Yeah, I found out about it thanks to a friend, and when I tried it, I thought it was pretty good. It’s also quite cheap.”

“How much is it?”

“Um… roughly around 250 won each.”

“Really? That’s cheap! By the way, is your friend… Yoonseo?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty curious and loves trying out new snacks.”

“I see…”

For a moment, she placed the snack in her palm, turning it this way and that, seemingly examining it. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and she tore open the packaging.

She took a big bite from the unmistakably chocolate-flavored snack—

And right after, seeing her eyes widen in surprise made me smile inwardly.

Because honestly, that change in expression was enough to tell me that the snack was to her liking.

‘Well…’

To be frank, unless one absolutely detested sweets, it was hard not to enjoy the flavor.

Besides, Baeksulhwa seemed to like the snack even more than I anticipated.

To the point where she started asking me detailed questions about it, like where to buy it and how many came in a box.

She thought it might be popular if we stocked them in the student council room.

“If you’re buying in bulk, it’d probably be cheaper to order it online than to get it at a store, right?”

“Really?”

“Well, you might have to pay for shipping, though.”

“But if I buy in bulk and can’t eat it all before it expires…”

“Oh, don’t worry! It actually has a pretty long shelf life.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, you can even store it at room temperature, so I just keep mine next to the fridge and grab one each day.”

*

In that way, Dogun perceived that Baeksulhwa seemed just fine like usual, but in reality, she wasn’t feeling quite so simple.

Despite trying hard not to show it in front of Dogun, she was experiencing a somewhat strange feeling.

‘What is this…’

What on earth was this feeling?

Having never felt it before, she couldn’t quite comprehend it.

One thing was certain though… it started from the moment Dogun offered her the snack.

‘Could it be…’

What if there was something odd in the snack he gave her?

Or was it just because she enjoyed something sweet?

She couldn’t tell which it was, making it all the more puzzling.

Had she ever received something to eat from someone else before?

It felt a bit awkward to brag about, but she had received quite a few gifts.

Not just food, mind you.

Expensive items had come her way as gifts that made her feel rather flustered.

Despite that, this was clearly the first time she felt excited after receiving something in such a way.

What was it about this that made her feel so different?

Was it because it was Dogun?

Maybe that was part of it.

If he felt comfortable enough to casually offer her food, then they must have become quite close.

In her mind, having to think about becoming friends before considering a proposal, made this a positive signal that could understandably elevate her mood.

But… was that really all there was to it?

“Well then, I should head to my classroom now.”

“…Okay.”

After parting ways with Dogun, she found herself standing in front of the trash can, ready to toss the now-empty snack wrapper.

And just before she threw it away, she realized…

‘…Oh.’

Somehow, she had come to feel incredibly… at ease around Dogun.

Not in a way that belittled him, but rather… genuinely comfortable.

Considering they had only known each other for less than two weeks, it felt quite miraculous.

How could this happen?

The reflection on it didn’t last long.

It dawned on her pretty quickly, in fact.

It was the reason why she felt so at ease around Dogun, despite their relatively short acquaintance.

Because Dogun… wanted nothing from her.

Unlike how the other student council members might expect her to act as the Student Council President or those who referred to themselves as fans expecting her hero persona, Dogun didn’t appear to desire anything from her.

It genuinely felt like they just knew each other because they bumped into each other often.

And recalling the way Dogun looked at her, there was none of the admiration or envy she often saw in others.

So it made sense why she felt so comfortable around him.

In front of Dogun, she didn’t have to try to be what others wanted.

Likewise, the joy she felt when accepting the snack from him was also part of this.

In all the gifts she had received up until now?

There had always been something expected in return, be it big or small.

Yet what Dogun had just handed over had no strings attached.

It was simply because it happened to be in his pocket.

Just a casual act of kindness.

How long had it been since she received a pure gesture like that?

Maybe that was why…

She felt her heart lighten.

It was like the sensation of finally relaxing after keeping her shoulders tense to sit up straight.

Could it be that Yoonseo stayed close to Dogun for these very reasons?

‘What should I do…’

Just casually dropping a proposal to Dogun and having him genuinely consider it felt pretty nice.

She had thought that getting to that level of familiarity would be enough for her… that she didn’t need anything beyond that…

But it seemed her thoughts were changing.