This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 92

“···Bae? Senior!”

“Uh, um…?”

“Are you okay? Did anything splatter or something…?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

What on earth is there to be relieved about?

“That Dogun guy, you…”

“Me? Of course, I’m fine. I dodged it at the last second.”

Liar.

That’s a blatant lie.

I clearly saw that hot liquid pour all over his arm; Dogun isn’t even a skilled talent holder to shrug off something so scorching.

And more than that, if he really was okay, he wouldn’t be hiding that injured arm behind his back, nor would his eyes be trembling like that.

“Stop that and show me your arm.”

So that’s why I insisted he show me his arm instead of trusting his lies.

“No, really, I’m fine…”

“Come on.”

Maybe he realized it was futile to keep denying it after being urged twice. Dogun awkwardly revealed the arm he’d been hiding behind him.

And the moment I saw it, his arm was already swelling red.

So what now? You’re fine, huh?

You idiot, this isn’t the time to be worrying about others…

It must really hurt, yet instead of showing it, Dogun was more concerned about my condition.

That attitude of his was both endearing and infuriating.

“Ugh… how much was this outfit…”

And to top it all off, someone, despite having caused this mess to Dogun’s arm, was throwing around empty apologies.

“Hey! Are you kidding me?!”

Isn’t that what I wanted to say?

At this point, it was just fascinating.

Humans can be this shameless, huh?

So much so that the anger brewing deep inside me threatened to bubble over.

Honestly, I didn’t want to talk at all, but… I still needed to demand an apology for what he’d done to Dogun.

“···Let’s start with an apology?”

“What…? What do you mean I did something wrong… And don’t you see that my outfit is ruined?”

They say the world is vast and people are diverse, but I never expected to meet someone like this.

“Can’t you see your clothes are ruined?”

I see them.

How could I not when I have eyes?

“Of course I see it. Very clearly.”

“Then…!”

“But what about you? Can’t you see that someone’s hurt?”

“What? Can’t see it? You look a lot younger than me, and your words are pretty short.”

In that moment, I realized.

What stood before me was something merely wearing a human mask, and not truly a person.

Which means… there’s no need for politeness anymore.

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“Ha… this is absurd…”

“What are you gonna do if I don’t like it?”

I asked out of genuine curiosity, not mockery.

But the instant those words left my mouth, their hand shot up with surprising speed.

Watching that seamless movement felt like time was suddenly dragging.

And while witnessing that slow-motion scene, I finally realized.

The words Dogun had tossed out casually while we trained weren’t just motivation—they genuinely believed it would come to that.

While I kept my eyes glued to the hand still rising upward, I slowly retraced my memories.

I forced myself to recall an elusive process buried in there, like a lingering shadow.

‘Only one side…’

And with that, I combined it with the techniques I’d learned from training with Dogun—

“Whoa…?!”

The long-held hand that had been poised to strike immediately crumbled.

In that moment, it seemed they could no longer keep their balance and were perhaps overtaken by a sudden fear.

“Y-you… what is this…?”

When they were acting all cocky, it was one thing, but to see them fuming, trying to mask their rising dread was rather pathetic.

“Huh? Are you okay? Why are you falling all of a sudden? You’re scaring everyone.”

“You… you’re a hero candidate, right?! Why are you using your powers on a civilian?!”

That just made me more irritated.

If it weren’t for this, I’d have dragged Dogun to the hospital by now.

If you won’t apologize, at the very least, just keep your mouth shut.

“What? Me? What are you talking about…?”

“No, how dare you act so innocent…”

Once again, irritation surged through me.

So, sounding unimpressed, I lowered my voice significantly before this audacious person.

“I’m sorry, but… do you have any proof that I used my powers?”

“···What?”

“Do you have proof?”

I squatted down to meet the shameless girl’s gaze, keeping my posture low.

Of course, there was going to be no proof.

There would be no traces left behind.

By the same logic, if you tried to search for evidence, you wouldn’t find anything.

Unless there were other people around, but even then, how could you find the lingering sounds that had already vanished into the air?

“None, right?”

“···”

If she kept insisting even now…

As I thought that, I could see her spirit deflating in real-time.

“Customer?! Are you alright?!”

The moment the worried part-timer ran over, it was truly absurd.

If you were going to intervene, why didn’t you do it sooner?

What was the point of waiting until the situation was about to end to step in?

Of course… I could understand her position.

She wasn’t the owner of the café; she was just a part-timer earning her wage and probably didn’t want to get involved in a mess.

But still… someone was hurt.

If she couldn’t step in, at least she could bring over a first-aid kit or something for Dogun.

Was it because of that thought that I just wanted to leave this place?

The very atmosphere was starting to weigh down on me.

“Ah, Senior…?”

I grasped Dogun’s hand and led him out of the café for that reason.

“Senior…? Where are we going now…?”

“Hospitals.”

“What? A hospital? Is that really necessary…?”

What on earth could it mean that it’s not necessary?

“Time’s running out. So why don’t we just take a look around the shop instead…?”

“···”

“Um… If it’s about my arm, I can just get some ointment from the pharmacy.”

“I know.”

“Yes?”

“I’m aware that time is scarce…”

Why wouldn’t I be?

But still…

“I’m not in any rush to wear out someone who’s already hurt, so let’s do things my way.”

I hoped fervently that she wouldn’t say anything more.

Each time I saw Dogun downplaying this, it twisted my insides for a different reason than before.

For once, it seemed that Dogun, too, judged it best to stop pushing back.

After that, he fell quiet, and I was able to lead him to the hospital with relative ease.

Of course, finding the hospital wasn’t exactly easy.

It was the weekend, and the timing was a bit awkward, plus the environment was more suited for shops than hospitals.

And above all, Dogun’s burn was a major concern.

‘If it’s a burn…’

Where do we even go?

Surgery?

Dermatology?

Not having a clue about any of it, I wandered around but thankfully, Dogun’s condition didn’t seem to worsen from what I saw at the café.

“Geez, how did this happen?”

Even so, when we barely made it into a hospital, we got scolded.

“You say this happened because of coffee?”

“···Yes? Ah, yes.”

“Then it must have been pretty hot… Thankfully, the condition isn’t too serious.”

“Is that so?”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay, though. Especially this part here—see? It’s worse than the other areas.”

With those words, an unidentifiable ointment was spread over the red swollen area, and a white bandage was placed over it.

“Of course, you know you shouldn’t get this wet, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

“And as I mentioned earlier, the condition of the back of your hand isn’t as good as the other spots, right?”

“Ah, yes…”

“After today, it’d be better to visit the hospital again to have it checked.”

“I’ll do that.”

“I’ll prescribe you some ointment, so use it diligently once a day, and they sell a thing called MediForm at that pharmacy?”

“MediForm?”

“Yes, it’s good for scar care. Purchase it and use it instead of the bandage.”

“Sure.”

“It might be tough to apply the ointment by yourself, so it’s best if your girlfriend helps you out.”

“Um…”

Did the doctor just casually link us as a couple? For a moment, I was taken aback.

I stepped forward instead of Dogun, who was sitting awkwardly in the examination chair.

Dogun had willingly taken the hot coffee for me. A little misunderstanding didn’t seem like a big deal.

“Yeah, understood. Is there anything else I should watch out for?”

Of course, saying that felt a bit strange.

“Just keep the things I mentioned before. Oh, and you’ll get the prescription at the counter, so pick it up there.”

With that, we took the prescription and headed straight to the pharmacy, which was conveniently located on the first floor.