This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 82

“Controlling the sound volume, that’s my talent.”

“Oh, as expected…”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, so?”

“…So what?”

“You said you would also teach me the training methods you’ve been using all this time.”

“Ah… right. I almost forgot.”

The talent my senior possessed was exactly what I had anticipated.

That being the case, I couldn’t help but chuckle at her explanation that followed.

It wasn’t that her training methods were absurd or anything like that.

She seemed to have done her best given that no proper guidelines existed.

What left me dumbfounded was the attitude of those instructors she sought out, trying to find a way.

“No way…”

How could they charge money claiming to be experts without recognizing such an outrageous talent?

Well, while that’s what I thought, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand their perspective.

Honestly, when it comes to making a living, teaching a widely applicable talent is far easier than managing a rare talent that has no precedent, starting from scratch and learning step by step.

Whether they approved a hero candidate with a rare talent or just a candidate with a normal ability to become a hero, in the end, it was just the same one person on paper.

In comparison, the effort involved was drastically different… most would understandably choose the latter.

Still, even so, isn’t it a bit crossing the line to suggest they should just give up on such talent and look for another career?

While they might have meant it as advice, I wondered how my senior felt upon hearing those words.

It certainly wouldn’t have felt good.

Hence, I guessed, she bore such a bitter expression even now.

“Really funny people. Who do they think they are…”

“Maybe… what they said might actually be true…”

“But you’re not thinking of giving up, are you?”

If her resolve was so weak that she’d give up over a few words, she would have done so long ago.

But the fact that she hadn’t meant there must be a reason.

So… there must be a reason she has to become a hero.

I was curious about what that reason was, yet I didn’t ask.

After all, I clearly remembered how she responded when I once asked her why she wanted to be a hero.

Thinking back on the reaction I saw from her then, it seemed unlikely she would give a lighthearted answer like “because it’s cool” or “because you make money.” So was there really a need to pry?

What really mattered now was that my senior had asked for my help.

At this moment, even if it was just my own hypothesis, someone who might have the qualities to become a top hero was asking for assistance.

If I handled this well?

It would surely be helpful in some form later on.

Perhaps… it might even help Yoonseo too.

“…Right.”

“If so… got it.”

“What does that mean…”

“Honestly, I’m not sure how much help I can offer, but… I’ll see if I can find something useful.”

To be honest?

I had a couple of ideas popping into my head right away.

Maybe because I had replayed the videos of my senior’s sparring sessions several times before to prepare Yoonseo, ideas on training methods and how to utilize my senior’s talent just burst forth in my mind.

Yet I chose to take a step back because I thought revealing everything right then might come off as unthoughtful and hasty.

“And… if I’m going to help, wouldn’t it be better to build up a favor for future reference?”

My senior was in a hurry, yet I felt a bit selfish for even thinking like that…

But what could I do? It was just my nature.

Anyway, well… the conversation at the café came to an end like that.

After finishing our chat and stepping out of the café, I realized it was well past seven o’clock.

“I’m sorry for making you…”

Did I really feel that sorry for making her work overtime on the very first day when I had said she could go home by six?

My senior seemed quite flustered the entire way to the subway station.

“No, it’s fine…”

To the point of offering to pay for a taxi since she felt bad, I had quite a hard time persuading her not to.

“Then… go inside, senior.”

“Yeah, um… see you tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

*

As Dogun took the subway towards his neighborhood after parting ways with Baeksulhwa, someone was staring intently at his dark house with no lights on.

It was none other than Yoonseo, with her lips puffed out and her face pressed against the window of his room.

Having been glued to the window staring at Dogun’s house for a while, Yoonseo’s gaze shifted to the mobile phone she had been holding.

And on the illuminated screen of her phone, the number 8 was boldly displayed.

‘Eight o’clock…’

Right, it was already eight o’clock.

Even though it was already approaching nine o’clock… the house next door remained cloaked in darkness.

“They said it would be over by six, didn’t they…?”

Why was there still no news?

Why?

What could they possibly be doing at this hour?

She wanted to confirm.

Were they still tied up with whatever task they were on?

If it wasn’t finished… when would they come home?

…Would they even come back?

What if something happened…

‘Could it be…’

Were they still together right now?

It was exactly why she had been deleting and rewriting the message she wanted to send to Dogun, making an excuse about the curry they were supposed to have for dinner.

If she had her way, she would have sent it to check Dogun’s reaction.

But despite having finished composing the message, sending it was a struggle… because she was scared.

If she sent the message and got a response right away, that would be fine, but what if there was no reply?

While she would be waiting for Dogun to read and respond, she felt the dread growing inside her, a feeling far worse than the unease she already had.

To be honest… she had even thought about going to Dogun’s school like yesterday.

She had thought it all out but hadn’t acted on it because there was no guarantee she would actually see Dogun, and she worried about what his reaction would be if he found out she had come to school.

It would have been a relief if it ended up like yesterday when he was just flustered… but wasn’t Dogun still angry about what happened yesterday?

He even stormed out without a word of apology, not to mention he wouldn’t take it lightly if he reacted negatively.

“Hah…”

The more she thought about it, the more sighs escaped her.

It was at that moment when the long-dark house of Dogun finally lit up.

Could it be… he’s back?

As the lights filled Dogun’s house from the living room to his room, she glanced at the mobile phone still clutched in her hand.

‘If I ask now… can I see him?’

What if he refused, saying he was tired…?

As she hesitated like that, her phone buzzed with a vibrate.

Startled for a moment, she quickly raised her hand to check her phone—

And there it was, a message from Dogun.

Except for the time when she told him she probably wouldn’t be able to head home together, she had been without any contact, so why now?

While she internally pondered this, her hand moved of its own accord.

Realizing it a moment later, she felt a bit regretful…but Dogun seemed to be totally indifferent to her reaction.

Or rather, it felt like he just didn’t care how she reacted at all.

Someone had been on edge, worrying about him all day…

Thinking of that, her heart, which had warmed a little from Dogun’s message, now felt prickly and irritated again.

Why was he asking her to come out?

While she wanted to refuse, her body had already picked up the hoodie lying on the floor.

Perhaps it was because she had been leaning against the window for too long.

Not wanting to show her disheveled state, she threw on the hoodie and stepped outside.

“Yoonseo? Where are you going at this hour?”

“Oh, um… Dogun asked to see me just up ahead.”

“Really? Dogun?”

“Yeah…”

“Hmm… alright? Be careful.”

Though her mom saw her leaving, she didn’t say anything and let it pass.

If it had been her dad, he would have definitely started lecturing her, so she was relieved it was her mom.

That last ominous smile had been slightly… unsettling though.

Anyway, she stepped outside—

“Oh, you came?”

It was Dogun, propped against the wall, who noticed her first.

He pushed himself off the wall and—

“Here.”

He promptly handed a shopping bag over to her.

To be honest, it caught her off guard.

She had thought he might have called her out to confront her about what happened yesterday, so it was more surprising.

“…What’s this?”

“Just… a little something?”

What could this “something” be?

Curious, she peeked into the shopping bag and found a notebook that seemed new and a fancy box that looked like it contained a piece of cake.

For a moment, she stared blankly at the items before raising her gaze to Dogun’s face and…

“Um… you asked me to help you practice cooking for your uncle’s birthday yesterday, right? But it seems I won’t have time for a while, so…”

“Ah…”

“I organized some recipes for common dishes served on birthdays, so you can practice using that.”

Avoiding her gaze, Dogun turned his head slightly to the side as he spoke.

For some reason, that demeanor did not please her.

Because it didn’t please her—

“And, um… I thought of you and bought that cake on the way. I know you like cheesecake, and I thought it was good when I tried it.”

“…Why did you go to the café?”

The sharpness of her voice slipped out before she could hold it back.