This World is too Cruel to Men

I was startled to see blood trickling down from his nose, now red from our collision, but honestly, I wasn’t in much better shape.

My upper lip was split, probably from hitting my teeth, and every time I swallowed, the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

What could we do, looking like this?

We had to stop.

To be honest, continuing felt wrong.

The fun had completely evaporated.

What glory were we hoping to achieve by continuing?

It was obvious it wouldn’t be enjoyable anymore.

So, I dragged the handcart we had parked at the corner of the trampoline area and trudged back to the pension.

“What the…? Did you guys… fight?”

Those were the first words out of Dokgun’s mouth.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Nothing like that? You clearly look like you’ve been at each other’s throats…”

“I said it’s not like that.”

“Then what are those injuries?”

“This is… we just bumped into each other.”

Even though I said it myself, it didn’t sound convincing at all.

And so, I ended up being dragged off for interrogation.

“You fought, didn’t you?”

“No, I told you! We didn’t fight. I’m not a kid. Why would I fight with her?”

“Okay, let’s say that’s true. Let’s say it is… Then why the awkward atmosphere?”

“That’s…”

I didn’t know.

Of course, I had a hunch.

Since I was the one who goofed around and slipped, making myself the sole victim, it was natural for Yun-Seo to feel awkward.

But even considering that, it felt a bit excessive. Too awkward, if that made sense.

“Anyway, we really didn’t fight, so don’t worry too much.”

“Really? I believe you.”

“Yeah.”

While Dokgun was being dragged off and interrogated, Yun-Seo was also being questioned by her friends.

Unlike the serious atmosphere surrounding the boys, the girls around Yun-Seo were relatively lighthearted.

“You didn’t fight, did you?”

“…No.”

“Then how did this…?”

“We bumped into each other… by accident.”

“Oh dear… be more careful…”

“It’s a good thing neither of you is seriously hurt.”

“So, what about the mood? What was it like?”

I couldn’t answer that question. How could I?

The atmosphere had been good, and I’d ruined it by acting foolish.

So, I stayed silent, mouth firmly shut. But that seemed to be answer enough.

“Sigh… Well, I didn’t expect it to work on the first try… Let’s go with Plan B here.”

Plan B? There was such a thing?

A bit bewildered, I nodded in agreement.

Then—

“But Plan B needs a bit of preparation… We’ll take care of that, so Yun-Seo, you go inside and find the first-aid kit right now.”

“…Huh? Why the first-aid kit…?”

“Are you going to leave Dokgun’s lip like that?”

“Oh…”

Only then did I realize.

I should have done this first.

I’d been so out of it that I’d put it off… Was there a bigger idiot in the world?

“If you understand, take Dokgun inside. Chae-Dam and I will keep the boys occupied.”

“…Okay.”

Before going to Dokgun, I went inside the pension to find the first-aid kit.

I didn’t want to drag him along only to find out there wasn’t one.

Thankfully, I found it in the shoe cabinet after searching the likely spots.

As if prepared for emergencies like this, the box contained more than enough antiseptic and bandages to treat Dokgun’s lip.

After confirming that, I went back outside to look for Dokgun.

But he was nowhere to be seen—

“Um… Excuse me…”

“Yeah? Looking for Dokgun? He went inside a while ago, said he needed to use the restroom.”

I approached someone who might know and got my answer.

Inside?

I hadn’t heard him come in.

Did he come in while I was searching for the first-aid kit?

Anyway, I went back inside the pension, and sure enough, there he was, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, examining his lip.

“Ouch… It’s really split open…”

That was the first time I got a proper look at his injury.

And even with my rose-tinted glasses, it looked bad. Much worse than the nosebleed, which had stopped quickly.

And… it upset me.

Dokgun was worried about me even with that injury, and what had I been doing?

Something inside me felt like it was rotting.

‘Idiot…’

If he’d just gotten angry and asked what I was doing… then I would have felt better.

Why wasn’t he angry

Did he not trust me?

Was that it?

Did he see me as someone who needed taking care of?

Standing by the slightly open door, I bit my lip.

Maybe the sound was too loud.

Dokgun, who finally noticed me, feigned surprise, his pained expression vanishing.

“Yikes! …Shoot… You scared me. What are you doing there?”

That reaction upset me even more.

Each reaction felt like he was drawing a line, saying I didn’t need to worry about him.

So, even though I was upset—

“Are you a pervert? Spying on someone in the bathroom?”

“…Come out.”

“Huh? Why? You need to use it?”

“I… I have the first-aid kit ready, so come out.”

“Huh? Why the first-aid kit?”

“Are you going to leave it like that? You need to disinfect it or put something on it.”

I was worried he might refuse, but thankfully, he seemed to agree that he needed some treatment, so he came out of the bathroom.

As soon as we reached the living room where I’d left the first-aid kit, Dokgun reached for the ointment, intending to go back to the bathroom. I made him sit down.

“Stay put. I’ll do it.”

“…What is this, adding insult to injury?”

“You might manage to apply the ointment yourself with a mirror, but it’ll be hard to put a bandage on neatly.”

“Well, yeah… that’s true, but… Come on, it’s fine. I’ll manage…”

“I said sit down.”

“O-Okay…”

Why did he always make me frown when he could just listen the first time?

I carefully leaned towards Dokgun, who was sitting primly with his knees together, clearly uncomfortable.

He seemed unable to face the amplified awkwardness.

He looked flustered for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut.

That reaction, something I’d never seen from him before, made me feel strange.

“Just… be gentle, okay?”

“I still need to disinfect it.”

“It’s not like I scraped my knee or anything. Why do I need to disinfect a split lip?”

Ignoring his quiet grumbling, I picked up the antiseptic, opened it, and dabbed it directly onto his lip.

“Ow!”

He acted like he was dying.

“All done now? Are we finished?”

“Now I need to apply the ointment.”

“Seriously… this will heal on its own if I leave it alone.”

“Just be quiet and give me your lip.”

“Hey… Have you forgotten? I’m the victim here, you know?”

“Just stay still!”

I said, pushing the ointment-laden cotton swab towards his lip.

He finally quieted down.

As I applied the ointment, I made a silent vow.

I wouldn’t let Dokgun get hurt again, no matter what.

Even if it meant I got hurt instead… I would take the injury myself.

‘So please…’

Don’t get hurt anywhere else.

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.

.

.

.

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‘Wow…’

This is incredibly awkward.

It’s understandable, because, honestly, I never imagined this.

I never imagined a day would come where Yun-Seo would be taking care of me like this.

I’d overreacted to the antiseptic earlier because of that.

I had to do something to shake off the strange feeling that washed over me.

It was like… like I was about to break out in goosebumps.

Maybe it was just me, but the bandage on my lip kept bothering me.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t touch it if I wanted it to heal quickly, I kept reaching for it.

“Stop touching it. You’ll make it worse.”

“It bothers me, what else am I supposed to do?”

“Are you a child? Can’t you stand it?”

Wow…

To think I’d hear those words from Oh Yun-Seo of all people.

I sulked a little, but Yun-Seo must have thought it was for a different reason.

“…Sorry.”

Her belated apology reached my ears, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was a little late, but the fact that she apologized… it was so like the Oh Yun-Seo I knew.

Of course, she’d made a big effort to apologize, and my chuckling didn’t go over well.

“…What are you laughing at?”

“Well, a person can laugh, can’t they? You’re making a big deal out of it. What? Do you have a problem with it?”

Since I challenged her like that, Yun-Seo, with her guilty conscience, couldn’t argue back, at least not right away.

She had to swallow it down.

“Geez…”

Unable to retort, she glared at me and fumed… and seeing that, I nodded to myself in satisfaction.

‘That’s right…’

This is Yun-Seo I know. That’s definitely her.