This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 68

“Ah, got it.”

Since it was obvious that staying still would only lead to awkwardness, I instantly stepped in.

But… I stepped in, but what exactly should I do to help?

I soon found out.

“You just need to come and hold me when I ask.”

“Ah, okay.”

Standing awkwardly a bit away from my senior while observing, I realized that she put a surprising amount of effort into warming up.

To the point where, if I exaggerated just a bit, it felt like she was trying to loosen every single joint?

“Is that to prevent injuries?”

“Yeah, I guess so. If you get injured while training, it defeats the whole purpose.”

“Then, are the movements you’re doing right now…?”

“I learned them at an academy. Ah, could you come over and press my back?”

Saying that, my senior sat on the mat she had laid out on the floor, spreading her legs.

Then, as she slightly leaned forward, I immediately went behind her to press her back as requested—

“Uh, um…”

Something about it made me hesitate to touch her.

I was just hesitating for that reason, but it seemed like my senior sensed my reluctance as she maintained her forward-leaning position, turned her head to look at me, and spoke.

“If you’re worried it might hurt, it’s okay to press down hard.”

That wasn’t the only reason, but… well, she didn’t seem to mind, so there was no need to make it awkward.

So, feeling a bit reckless, I placed my hand around her shoulder and pressed down firmly—

“Ugh…”

What was this?

It went all the way down to the floor in one go without any blockage.

“Wow… You’re really flexible!”

“Really? I think this is pretty average.”

“No way, that’s not average.”

How could this possibly be average?

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah, someone I know can’t even get halfway to the floor compared to you.”

Did my senior immediately figure out who I was talking about just by that?

A shiver of tension transmitted through the point of contact.

.

.

.

Dogun thought that the trembling transmitted through his palm was from laughter, but that was far from the truth.

Unlike Dogun’s thoughts, Baeksulhwa, who was leaning forward, was not smiling at all.

Far from smiling, her lips were slightly pouted and protruding forward, clearly making her look a bit sulky.

Although she was completely unaware that she was making such an expression.

‘What is this…’

Until just a moment ago, I felt quite good thinking it was a chance to get closer to Dogun… but now, it felt off.

If you asked me what exactly felt off, I wouldn’t be able to answer clearly… but still, it felt that way.

How did it end up like this?

As I felt the hands pressing down on my shoulders with just the right amount of force, I started to think about when the not-so-bad feeling had begun to shift into this state.

Going back through my thoughts slowly, I realized that it was when Dogun mentioned that girl named Yoonseo that my good feelings started to deteriorate.

That was probably why.

The moment I realized that, my face flushed bright red.

There was no way around it… it was just that embarrassing and awkward.

This wasn’t the act of a little kid throwing a tantrum saying, “I’m not playing with you anymore!” just because a friend talked about another friend when they were playing.

I silently mumbled that in my head while feeling grateful that I was leaning forward.

If I hadn’t been doing so?

Then my flushed face would have been laid bare to Dogun.

Even though the time I thought I could stay in this position had long passed, I kept maintaining it mostly for that reason.

There had to be some dignity in being a senior and Student Council President, right? I couldn’t just let my face turn as red as a ripe tomato.

So, as I continued lying down, I began to feel a slight strain in my inner thighs.

As the slight discomfort made me internally groan, resentment toward Dogun began to slowly rise within me.

And it was only natural because Dogun couldn’t entirely distance himself from this situation.

If I just looked at the context, it made sense.

If Dogun hadn’t brought up that girl named Yoonseo in the first place?

There wouldn’t have been anything to sulk about after hearing that, nor would I have felt embarrassed because of it.

Of course… I already knew that Dogun had to mention Yoonseo often.

I heard they had known each other for nearly over ten years; at that level, they were practically family, so it was only natural she would come up frequently.

So, in normal conversations, whatever he said would likely involve that girl.

But… wasn’t I trying to help him right now?

So, it would be a bit too much to hope that he could focus on me just for this moment, right?

Maybe it was strange for me to feel this way since it was my first time experiencing such a situation, or maybe it was natural. I couldn’t really figure that out.

“…Senior?”

“Ah, um… you can take your hands off now.”

“Ah, got it.”

So I started to move more actively.

Whenever my mind gets complicated, the best thing to do is to move my body to keep unnecessary thoughts away.

“Uh… since I’ve helped you, can I ask for a few more things?”

The reason I pulled Dogun, who had been standing next to me like a lost lamb, into the situation was quite similar.

“…Huh?”

“Um, I mean… although I could use walls or equipment like usual… since it’s come to this, I want to try it properly after a long time.”

“Ah, I guess that would indeed feel a bit awkward to do it that way.”

I wasn’t sure if I should consider it a relief or not, but Dogun went along with my request without any particular suspicion.

As if he felt like he had to do at least this much.

Then, after dragging Dogun into doing moves I usually wouldn’t, since I primarily had to exert strength, there was no surprise that sweat was lightly beading down Dogun’s face as well.

Seeing that, I felt a twinge of guilt towards him.

“Are you okay? I hope I’m not making you…”

“No, not at all! Actually, this is refreshing.”

As he said that, Dogun waved his hand, saying not to worry, but…

“Still… it must feel uncomfortable because of the sweat… Ah! I can bring you a towel, so how about using that to wipe yourself?”

.

.

.

If I refused the towel, I felt like my senior would only become more restless, so after a brief moment of thought, I nodded.

Then, my senior immediately said she would go get it and dashed into the changing room.

It took only a minute for her to reappear.

“Here.”

“Thank you.”

To be honest?

Since she readily offered to bring me a towel, I had imagined it would be stacked like a mountain in the changing room.

So I thought she had grabbed one from there.

But then—

‘Huh…? Hold on a second.’

The moment I buried my face into the fluffy towel to wipe off the sweat trickling down my face, realization hit me.

This wasn’t just a towel lying around in the changing room; it was something my senior carried with her.

It couldn’t be helped that… it had the same scent as my senior had earlier.

As I dove into the towel, the realization made me freeze in place.

“No way…”

I wondered if people just lent out towels like this so easily…?

If my memory serves me right, most girls seemed to be quite sensitive about these things.

…So what was this all about?

Just then, my senior calling out to me snapped me out of my confusion.

“Uh… Dogun?”

The moment I heard her voice calling me, I realized.

“Could you pass it to me when you’re done? I think I need to wipe my hands before using the equipment.”

Which meant… my current posture was more than enough to be misinterpreted as creepy.

The more I thought about it, the more I understood the importance of staying composed to avoid misunderstandings, yet I found myself fumbling.

Fortunately, my senior, Baeksulhwa, had a kind heart, so I could just let it slide without any trouble… but what if it had been someone else?

Well, if it had been another girl who wasn’t Baeksulhwa, it was unlikely she would lend a towel to someone she wasn’t close to… but still, just imagining that sent shivers down my spine.

Even though there were dizzying moments in between, I somehow managed to finish observing unscathed.

“Today was really helpful.”

“What? I just did my usual training.”

“But still.”

“By the way… I’ve been feeling like this for a while, but Dogun, are you aiming to be a Hero Manager?”

“Huh?”

“Well… from how you talk normally, it seems like you’re really interested in training.”

“Ah, um…”

While I said I wouldn’t mind sharing other things, I found it hard to answer that question.

How would I clarify that?

I just jumped into it because a precocious seven-year-old was feeling down, fearing that any device could cause him to stray in life, and I had been frantically managing ever since.

“…I don’t know.”

So I answered like that, but what I got in return was something I genuinely didn’t expect—praise.

“Why? I think you could pull it off well.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah.”

How could she nod so confidently?

I wanted to ask about that.

But, just then—

“Ah…! I’ve got to go now. I completely forgot about this morning’s meeting. See you tomorrow!”

“…Huh?”

With those words, my senior disappeared faster than I could register.

“A manager, huh…”

Thanks to that, Dogun was left standing alone in front of the Special Physical Education Room, muttering those words without realizing that someone was watching him.