This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 89

I generally consider waking up early on weekends a sin… but I can’t just lay in bed forever after suggesting we meet at 10.

So, I woke up about three hours earlier than usual and, as I got ready, suddenly found it was time to head out to the meeting place.

“I’m going to be wandering around, so…”

Instead of especially dressing up, it would probably be better to wear something simple and comfortable.

After dressing like that and heading out, my gaze unintentionally flicked towards Yoonseo’s house.

Sigh…

Just thinking about it made me let out a sigh.

What can I say?

Yoonseo and I were still in a cold war.

To be honest, when Yoonseo started avoiding me with excuses about training, I was a bit… emotional myself. I thought, “Let’s see how long you can keep that up,” and I tried to retaliate, but that didn’t last long.

We knew each other too well for it to go down that path.

While pretending to be fine in front of each other, I could clearly see she was suffering alone behind the scenes.

Still, I couldn’t attempt to mend what had happened because Yoonseo kept avoiding me.

There was a moment I thought about just sending her a message to meet up, but even that didn’t come to fruition.

If things resolved well, that’d be great, but seeing how she kept avoiding me, the chances of that happening seemed slim.

I don’t know. What about her…

What was she planning to do?

After spending a decade together, I believed I knew Yoonseo better than anyone else, yet this time, I truly didn’t know.

Maybe it was because we were now separated in school, but I couldn’t understand why she was angry, or why she was so mad to begin with.

Not knowing the cause of her anger left me feeling helpless.

In the end…

Was the only way to wait until Yoonseo felt better?

If so, how long would that take?

As I sighed again, gazing at where Yoonseo’s room was, I briefly stopped my steps but eventually started moving again.

I was indeed bothered by that side, but I couldn’t afford to be late for the meeting.

With great effort, I dragged my reluctant feet away from where I stood and made my way to meet my Senior.

*

While Dogun, who left the house early, was making his way to the meeting place, Baeksulhwa was also in prep for going out.

However, her expression wasn’t particularly comfortable… and that was due to the items in front of her.

“Between these two…”

Which outfit should I wear?

With pants in her left hand and a skirt in her right, Baeksulhwa muttered to herself.

Originally?

She never thought about worrying over such things.

No, she couldn’t even imagine being in a situation where she’d have to.

But while preparing to meet Dogun, she suddenly realized.

This was the first time she’d arranged to meet someone alone outside school.

Maybe it was that thought that made her overly concerned about things she normally wouldn’t think twice about.

Especially… her outfit.

When she met the student council members outside school, she didn’t ever freak out over such details because there were multiple people. This time, it was just her and Dogun, which made it different.

Choosing clothes to wear was harder than she anticipated.

What used to seem fine suddenly looked shabby today.

In the midst of that chaos, if there was one thing she was certain about… it was that she didn’t want to come off as weird in Dogun’s eyes.

And furthermore, while Dogun didn’t seem like the type to compare people based on looks, if there was a chance of comparison, winning was always better than losing.

If she were to be compared, it was most likely with the little brat from last time, so that made her even more cautious.

Still, the reason she picked up the skirt instead of the pants was because she felt a bit embarrassed about going out in a skirt.

The reason for that embarrassment was hard to articulate, but… it was just how she felt.

Honestly, she doubted it would even suit her anyway.

As long as it’s not awkward, that’s fine…

That sort of thing would probably only suit someone like Yoonseo.

Recalling Yoonseo from when she saw her at the school gate, even though her personality seemed a bit off, she was cute enough in appearance.

Based on that, was Dogun’s preference for cute girls?

She briefly startled at that thought before realizing this wasn’t the time and quickly hustled to finish her preparations.

Once she completed her final steps, she headed straight for the meeting place.

How long had Dogun been out there waiting?

As she reached near the meeting spot, she spotted Dogun leaning against a wall, looking at his mobile phone.

Despite that, she hesitated to approach him… probably because of Dogun’s attire.

After their accidental encounter at the school uniform shop, she had only seen him in school attire.

Seeing him standing there in casual clothes felt so unfamiliar.

When she saw him in his uniform, the name tag made him only look like a Junior to her, but now he felt more like a Senior.

Maybe that’s why he looked taller than she remembered.

Even standing right in front of Dogun, she couldn’t move closer, likely due to that unfamiliar feeling.

And from exactly that moment, her own outfit—which she thought was decent—suddenly felt oddly embarrassing.

Comparing herself to Dogun, who clearly seemed to have put effort into his look, she felt like she had just randomly picked out comfortable clothes from her closet.

That made her hesitate even more as she wondered if her appearance caught his attention.

“…Huh? Senior!”

Finally, his voice, tinged with a hint of surprise and joy, reached her ears as he spotted her.

She heard the sound of his footsteps hurriedly approaching.

“When did you get here? You could’ve called when you got here… then I would’ve come to find you.”

Today, Dogun was definitely different from usual.

Up close, it was even more evident.

Especially… it was the scent he was giving off.

Usually, he didn’t emit a fresh fragrance like this… did he perhaps put on perfume or something?

…Why?

Was it because of the meeting they had scheduled?

If that were the case…

Maybe that was the reason.

No, it was likely.

That meant he dressed nicely for her.

…That seemed probable.

For Dogun, this meeting with her was probably more like “work,” compared to the other arrangement.

Was that thought responsible for the sudden shift in her mood from nonchalance to feeling undeniably heavy?

“…Belly! Senior!”

She didn’t even realize when Dogun called her out.

“…Huh?”

“Is something wrong?”

That made her receive a look from Dogun filled with concern.

I…

What was I even thinking just now?

Even if there was a reason for it, how ridiculous was it to call my younger Junior, two years younger than me, out on a weekend morning and think such silly thoughts?

Is that why they say human greed knows no bounds?

At first, she simply felt grateful for Dogun’s help—then, before she knew it, she started wanting more and more from him, hoping he would pay a bit more attention to her.

Realizing that left her feeling strangely shy to look him in the face.

Regardless, she had to respond to Dogun’s question, so she hurriedly spoke up.

“Oh, no… I just… had some student council stuff on my mind…”

The issue was that she ended up lying again… but thankfully, Dogun seemed to wholeheartedly buy it.

Seeing him nodding along as if he understood reassured her.

“Ah…”

“Anyway, what about you?”

Feeling guilty about her white lie, she quickly changed the subject.

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I found a few places to check out yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, so I thought we should start checking those out first. What do you think?”

“Uh…”

She hesitated to answer Dogun’s question, mumbling awkwardly, because the moment those words left her mouth, a strange thought cropped up again.

She knew she shouldn’t be acting this way, but greed was starting to re-emerge.

Normally, she would feel grateful when he showed appreciation for her beforehand, but instead of feeling that way, she thought of something else.

So…

Maybe… is Dogun wanting to finish quickly and get home…?

With that thought, she felt a pang of sadness.

But she couldn’t show it, so she insisted…

“Or maybe if you have places in mind, we could start there.”

“…No, let’s check out the places you mentioned first.”

She half-heartedly shook her head.