This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 86

In a situation where the same opinion is supposed to emerge, the fact that only the other side has a different opinion means… there must be something more they know.

What could that be?

“Why? Did you hear something from Dogun?”

I asked out of curiosity, and it seemed like there was indeed something.

“Oh, it’s nothing much…”

The way they said that surely meant something was there.

“Was it last night or something? I suddenly got a message from him and wondered what was going on.”

“Yeah.”

“But then out of nowhere, he asked if anything had happened with Yoonseo recently.”

What does that mean?

Unlike the usual patterns observed, this time it means that Dogun was not the one who caused the fight.

If that’s the case, it made sense why Myungwook thought this would last longer.

It wasn’t always like this, but usually when those two fought, Dogun would tease Yoonseo first, giving her a reason, and then she’d explode in anger and they would end up fighting.

Simply put, both had some fault.

Therefore, after a fight, the first few days they would ignore each other, but at some point, they would naturally reconcile—that was the basic pattern.

But this time, not only did it start differently, but it also didn’t seem like Dogun caused the fight, so it wasn’t surprising that Myungwook predicted this.

And this is merely a hypothesis, but… what if Yoonseo did something wrong and that made Dogun angry?

I couldn’t even dare to estimate how long this state would last.

I had witnessed Dogun getting angry just once back in middle school, which only fueled my anxiety.

In front of Yoonseo, he would joke around so much that it seemed silly, but the Dogun I saw back then was merciless.

‘Of course, they did cross the line first…’

He spoke so sharply and menacingly, different from the way he acted around Yoonseo, that I honestly didn’t recognize him as the same person.

But what if… this time that anger was directed at Yoonseo?

‘This won’t be easy…’

Especially since the school is different now compared to middle school.

So I had no idea how long it would take for them to reconcile.

To be honest… I felt like I understood how they ended up fighting.

“…So?”

“So what?”

“Is that all? Didn’t he say anything else?”

“What, um… not really? Anyway, is there really nothing going on?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“About Yoonseo.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, this person is in the other class, so they wouldn’t know.

Strictly speaking, something did happen.

I couldn’t be sure since I didn’t hear it directly from Yoonseo, but… over the past few days, she seemed unwell because of that rumor.

So it’s highly likely that the fight was caused by that rumor.

Maybe it was the trigger for something to blow up.

“Hmm… Should I step in?”

“Eh? Are you serious?”

The unexpected tone of the question made me shrug lightly.

“I can’t help it. If I leave them like this, it’s obvious they’ll be in a low mood until they reconcile.”

“Is it really that serious?”

“Yeah, it’s that serious.”

And above all, if our hypothesis is correct, and Yoonseo did cause the fight?

Then the situation would likely drag on for much longer than I expected.

It couldn’t be helped because Yoonseo seems to turn into a coward the moment she’s associated with Dogun.

I was sure her gloomy demeanor now was due to the fact that she needed to apologize to Dogun, but couldn’t muster the courage to do it.

It was obvious.

So what could be done?

The friend would have to step in when it’s like this.

“So, about that… Myungwook, do you have some time this weekend?”

“Huh? This weekend? When this weekend?”

“Anytime, Saturday or Sunday.”

“Honestly, anytime is fine for me… Why?”

“Okay? Then, um… Try to gather the kids this weekend. We can aim for Sunday afternoon.”

“The kids? Which kids?”

“Who else? Dogun and Jinho.”

If I could call those two over…

I was thinking of bringing Sangah and Yoonseo here.

Since it’s been a while, we could just say we wanted to hang out.

Once I get them together?

In the beginning, they might act like they’re ignoring each other, but eventually, they’d be fine again.

After all, they’re two who can’t live without each other.

If it doesn’t turn out that way, then Sangah and the others can join forces to make it work.

‘Alright, then…’

Let’s start by convincing Sangah.

*

Meanwhile, Yoonseo was still radiating negativity, completely unaware that her friend was plotting to intervene for her sake.

“Ha…”

Every time a sigh escaped from Yoonseo’s lips, those around her flinched.

It couldn’t be helped.

After all, Yoonseo had long established herself at the center of the school, having defeated even the seniors while being in the same grade.

Of course, she never bullied anyone using her position…

But given her status, her classmates had no choice but to be cautious around her.

Completely oblivious to the fact that those around her were worrying about her, Yoonseo kept replaying thoughts of Dogun.

“Ha…”

Why… what did I do yesterday?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand, and it just made me sigh more.

I couldn’t bring myself to apologize, but I still kept digging into things.

And then this morning, I even avoided Dogun under the pretext of training because seeing his face was too awkward…

‘He must be really angry…?’

How absurd it must be for Dogun, who was forced to endure my interrogation and then left hanging without any contact.

But there was nothing I could do.

I felt… too uneasy about seeing Dogun’s face.

To be precise…

I was scared.

If I faced Dogun now, just like yesterday, the words that were supposed to swirl around in my head would probably escape my mouth uncontrollably.

So… I avoided him.

To be exact… I ran away.

And if Dogun noticed my lies, I was sure he caught on by now.

The more I thought about it, the more I sighed.

I had no clue what to do going forward, and that only made it worse.

And… it made me realize something.

All the things Dogun managed so effortlessly were incredibly hard tasks.

Looking back now?

It was always Dogun who reached out first after our fights.

While I was suffocating with the thought of needing to apologize… how could he manage to do such difficult things so many times?

With my mind racing full of worries for the future, I was also driven mad by the constant thoughts of that Baeksulhwa girl.

‘Why…’

Why did it have to be her?

Why did it have to be that girl of all people?

If she wanted to be an interim manager, she should’ve come to me instead of clinging to her.

Then I would’ve just given her the role without any fuss…

Was it because we’re at different schools that she couldn’t say anything?

If I had known it would come to this, I would have forced myself to follow Dogun when I found out our schools split…

I thought that even if the schools were separate, it’d be fine as long as I tried harder, and that carelessness backfired.

Anyway… it was clear that I couldn’t just sit still.

‘For now…’

I should probably apologize to Dogun first.

I wasn’t sure if it’d be possible, but if I could calmly explain that I was sorry for upsetting him without meaning to… he would surely forgive me.

But…

‘What if…’

What if my earlier silence after avoiding him this morning makes him not want to accept my apology?

No, what if he doesn’t even give me a chance to apologize because he doesn’t want to see my face?

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I realized that I had circled back to square one, and yet another sigh escaped me.

I was about to let my head drop onto the desk in frustration when…

“Yoonseo.”

A familiar voice rang in my ears along with a gentle grip on my shoulder.

“…Huh?”

“Do you have time this weekend?”

“This weekend…?”

“Yeah, to be honest, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Sangah’s face.”

“Right?”

“So we’re planning a little get-together with everyone from middle school after a long time. What do you think?”

A gathering with middle school friends…?

Could it be… is Dogun coming too?

I wanted to ask right away, but the thought of him saying no made me hesitate to speak.

So…

“Will he come?”

I could only nod in response.