This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 76

‘Ugh…’

The voice was so thunderous that it made my head spin.

At the same time, I felt a slight confusion creeping in.

‘Wait…’

Did I ask if I could have a manager or not?

Yoonseo’s shout, the one and only Yoonseo, was still echoing in my ears, making things even more confusing.

‘By the way…’

Is this what they call a “0 confession 1 first time” situation?

I hadn’t even gotten to ask for support yet, and I was already being turned down.

Honestly, it would have been a lie if I said I hadn’t considered that possibility, so I felt just a bit disappointed.

‘I’ve taken care of her for how long…’

I never thought she’d react with such a red face in disgust.

Maybe this is why it’s said not to mess with someone with black hair.

I couldn’t help but think even that, but honestly, I had to deal with all the glances that were flocking our way because of Yoonseo’s reaction.

“Hey, hey! Are you crazy? This is the supermarket, you know?”

I gave Yoonseo a warning, as she seemed to be flustered and was rolling her eyes.

I mean, if she started yelling again here, the security would come and kick us out of the supermarket in no time.

I went out of my way to spend some pretty expensive taxi fare to get here; it couldn’t end like this.

After giving Yoonseo that warning, I pulled her cart toward a secluded spot, seeming to snap her out of her daze.

As soon as we arrived, I let out a sigh of relief—

“Ugh, seriously…”

“You! It’s your fault for suddenly asking something weird!”

Yoonseo flinched and tensed her shoulders at my sigh that had slipped out, and seemed to get angry.

Well, not exactly angry, more like slightly huffy?

In any case… this reaction was a classic case of “turning the tables,” and it felt unfair.

‘Really…’

If anyone heard me, they’d think I was making some really strange inquiry.

“When did I ever?”

“That… anyway…!”

“Are you seriously upset because of what I asked a minute ago?”

She had been chatting away just fine before, but now her lips were tightly closed as if she had no intention of answering that question.

Looking at her, I thought?

There was only one thing that crossed my mind.

‘Did she eat something strange…?’

Is that why she’s acting like this?

Or does she have a fever or something…?

When I thought about it, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, she hadn’t been quite right since we left school.

Plus, I heard that school let out early because they noticed something was off with her, so maybe they told her to take it easy.

‘Come to think of it, her face looks…’

A bit redder than usual, but then again, maybe not…

‘Hmm…’

After a moment’s thought, I called out to Yoonseo, who was getting distracted for no reason.

“Hey, hold on.”

“…What?”

As she turned to glance at me, I put my hand to her forehead—

“Y-You!”

She definitely wasn’t in normal condition; I could hear something like a kettle boiling coming from her mouth.

“Hmm, you definitely have a bit of a fever…”

“Get lost!”

“Wait, ah! Hey! Yoonseo! Where do you think you’re going! Hey…!”

Then she suddenly kicked my leg with a low blow and took off running.

“Ugh…”

Where did she learn a low kick? My calf throbbed like crazy, and I couldn’t help but think as I watched her familiar back grow distant.

‘Seriously…’

What is even going on?

.

.

.

The incident dubbed “Dogun’s Supermarket Low Kick Incident” ignited a cold war between us.

Of course, it wasn’t a perfect cold war.

If it were, we probably wouldn’t have even left the house together that morning.

We simply… went to school together but didn’t speak to each other.

It goes without saying, but even that was enough to create a different atmosphere than usual.

And because of that different atmosphere, Yoonseo was pouting silently to herself, trying not to show it.

‘Tch…’

Of course, she knew she had no right to feel that way considering the whole situation.

The day before… after running out of the supermarket, how anxious had I been returning home?

The image of me sitting on the supermarket floor, clutching my legs, kept flashing before my eyes.

Still, even though I had drafted a message for Dogun, I couldn’t bring myself to send it, constantly deleting and rewriting it…

Worrying about whether Dogun was truly angry with me was the reason for that.

And that anxiety continued to linger as we walked to school together just like any other day.

That being said, how could I not say a word at all?

Why wasn’t he asking if I slept well as usual when he came to pick me up?

‘Damn… Did he get really mad…?!’

What do I do now?

Typically, he doesn’t get angry, but when he does, it really lasts a long time…

So, while I watched Dogun walk without uttering a single word, I was anxiously pacing my feet in my mind… but the truth was, Dogun’s silence wasn’t for the same reason.

What was the point of speaking?

Dogun was also glancing at me, trying to gauge my mood.

Of course, the reasons were slightly different from Yoonseo’s.

‘What the…’

What is he even mad about?

Seeing him so silent made it clear he was quite upset, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a reason for it.

Thus, all I could do was observe.

He was keeping his mouth tightly shut, and I didn’t want to say anything dumb that might lead to “Hey, you don’t know why I’m mad, do you?” which could cause my past girlfriend-induced PTSD to flare up.

So, I kept my mouth shut until Yoonseo got off the subway.

“Ugh…”

Seriously, why is he angry?

I tried to keep my thoughts going until my stop came, but just as I was about to think, I felt a tentative tug on my clothing.

I turned to see who was pulling on my clothes, and it was—

“Uh… hey?”

Baeksulhwa stood there.

“Ah…”

And now that I think about it, there were things I needed to discuss with her.

This was just as urgent for me as it was for her.

You never know how rumors will spread, and when.

Of course, before that—

‘Is there anyone around?’

I checked the surroundings.

Maybe it was still a bit too early?

Thankfully, the only people around looked like company workers.

That eased my mind.

‘Phew…’

Honestly, that was a pretty close call.

With rumors circulating that my senior’s boyfriend is likely a freshman, if someone saw her greeting me—who’s clearly a freshman—it would really mess everything up.

If that happened, there would be no way to fix it.

“Why? Do you know anyone around here?”

Above all, I realized from the behavior she just showed and the words that just slipped from her lips—

She had no clue about the rumors going around school.

Well… it wasn’t completely impossible.

It’s quite common for those involved to be out of the loop when it comes to such rumors.

And more importantly… didn’t she just say that she usually stays cooped up in the Special Physical Education Room all day unless there’s a special event?

I mean, unless there’s someone else sharing that space, but that wasn’t the case here.

‘Wait a minute… does that mean…’

That I have to bring up the rumor myself…?

Just briefly, and I mean very briefly, I imagined it.

In other words… I’d have to explain to her the absurd rumors targeting us.

And just picturing that made my head start to throb.

‘No way…’

I’m not a narcissistic idiot; how am I supposed to bring that up myself?

As Dogun felt the frustration of reality closing in on him, Baeksulhwa was left baffled by his behavior.

It was only natural—this was the guy who was about to respond to her greeting but then promptly shut his mouth and clenched his eyes shut. Anyone would find that odd.

‘Is he… struggling with something?’

In a sense, it looked like that.

And perhaps that thought was the catalyst.

Suddenly, what Baeksulhwa had witnessed before approaching Dogun replayed in her mind.

In other words… the sight of Dogun and Yoonseo standing silently, not a word exchanged between them, played out in slow motion.