This World is too Cruel to Men

They say the first time is always the hardest, and for good reason.

Last night, before falling asleep, I meticulously planned everything—which bus stop, what time, which bus number—and crammed it all into my head…

“…Is this the right stop?”

…But suddenly, it all became a blur.

“Ugh… What’s with this weather? Is it crazy?”

To make matters worse, the weather was bitterly cold, the kind that made the expression “biting cold” come to mind.

“Wait a minute…”

March might be a bit early, but isn’t it supposed to be spring?

Something was wrong.

The weather felt even colder than that time we went camping.

If I felt this way, I could only imagine how Yun-Seo, who was more sensitive to the cold than me, was faring.

Sure enough, I’d been hearing her shivering non-stop.

“Hey…”

Right then, Yun-Seo called out to me, her voice slightly hoarse from the cold.

“…Yeah?”

“Are you sure this is the right stop?”

“Uh… I think so?”

Unless I misread the information in my half-asleep state last night, it should be.

“You don’t sound very confident.”

“…It’s right. Here.”

“So, which bus do we take?”

“Uh… Number 32 or 320.”

All roads lead to Rome, as they say.

Either bus would get us there, but the former was definitely better than the latter.

The 32 would get us to school in 15 minutes, while the 320 would take a 30-minute detour.

“Let’s see… Number 32 or 320, huh…?”

If the digital display—the one that tells you when the buses arrive and how long it takes to get here—was working, we wouldn’t be precariously perched on the edge of the sidewalk, mimicking meerkats.

Whether it was broken or just turned off, it wasn’t functioning, forcing us to rely solely on our eyesight.

“If I’d known…”

I would have downloaded that bus arrival app.

But installing it now was out of the question.

This darn public Wi-Fi wasn’t cooperating.

“Tsk…”

Just as I was starting to get a little worried…

“…Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you really sure this is where we get on?”

“I told you, it is.”

“…I don’t think so.”

“…What?”

Her words only made me more anxious.

Not the right stop?

What was she basing that preposterous claim on?

That was my first thought, but… it turned out Yun-Seo was right.

The bus stop across the street had the exact same name as the one we were at, and I’d mistaken it for our stop.

“Seriously… how could you make such a stupid mistake…”

“Hey, it’s the first day! A person can get confused, especially when they’re not thinking straight.”

I placated Yun-Seo’s teasing and started to cross to the other side…

“Wait… Isn’t that the 32?”

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the bus we needed—the number 32—appeared at that very moment.

“Oh, crap…”

“If we miss this…”

“You’ll be fine, but I’ll definitely be late.”

“Should we… just take a taxi?”

“Do you have money to burn?”

“It’s better than being late! I’ll pay for it to school!”

“Like a taxi driver would agree to that. And if we’re doing that, we might as well have taken separate taxis from the beginning.”

“…”

“And we’re not late yet. We can run. Run.”

Thankfully, there was an underpass right next to us that we could use to cross the street without waiting for the light.

And the 32 was still stuck at the red light.

So—

“Ready?”

“Ugh…”

“Let’s run…?”

We could run. So we ran.

It seemed those occasional jogs weren’t completely useless.

We managed to catch the bus just as it was about to leave the stop, flagging it down at the last second.

Thanks to me arriving a step ahead, Yun-Seo, who was slightly behind, also managed to get on safely.

“Ugh… My hair’s all messed up!”

It was… a bit of a disaster.

The material of our school uniform jackets was prone to static cling, and my hair, which had been flying around while we ran, was now a tangled mess plastered to it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Several strands were stuck to her face too, so I gently peeled them off one by one, trying to soothe her.

“…I’m not okay.”

Thankfully, my efforts weren’t completely in vain.

Her grumbling stopped after that, though she still looked a little sulky, pouting her lower lip.

I led her to an empty pair of seats I’d spotted.

“Come on, take a seat.”

After settling Yun-Seo in, I plopped down next to her.

The aftereffects of our morning sprint were starting to hit me.

Combined with the blast of warm air from the heater—the driver must have been the type who got cold easily—

“…Whoa.”

The effects of waking up excessively early were making themselves known.

My eyelids grew heavy, despite the surrounding noises of chattering passengers and the bus engine.

I tried to fight off the sleepiness by shaking my head.

Then—

“What’s wrong… Are you sleepy?”

A question came from right beside me.

“Yeah… a little. I woke up too early… Haa…”

“…If you’re sleepy, just sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get to our stop.”

For a moment, I was tempted.

But I shook my head.

If I fell asleep and Yun-Seo did too, it would be a disaster of epic proportions.

So I can’t… fall asleep…

*****

I pretended to be engrossed in my phone.

I didn’t want Dokgun to know how nervous I was just sitting next to him.

So I kept my gaze fixed on the screen… until I realized something.

Dokgun’s breathing, which I’d been subconsciously aware of, had become regular and even.

‘What the…’

Had he actually fallen asleep after saying he was tired?

“Mmm…”

A small sound, like a sleepy murmur, escaped him. I chuckled softly to myself, then carefully turned my head to get a better look.

That’s when something… unexpected happened.

“Mm, mm…”

Another sleepy sound, this time tinged with a hint of annoyance, reached my ears… and then something bumped against the top of my head.

It didn’t take long to realize it was Dokgun’s head.

‘…!’

My heart started pounding in my chest.

I had imagined, perhaps, offering him my shoulder in a magnanimous gesture if he started nodding off.

But I had never imagined becoming a human headrest.

Overwhelmed by surprise, my heart began to race.

This was a completely different sensation from the one I’d felt running through the underpass with him.

It spread through my body, heightening my senses.

This feeling… it was new.

It felt as if my hair itself had become sensitive, a sensation I had never experienced before.

Every exhale from Dokgun’s now completely asleep form brushed against my hair, scattering it slightly.

The feeling was strangely… intimate.

And… embarrassing.

I felt as if everyone on the bus was staring at us.

I tried to shift, to gently push him away, but… Dokgun apparently didn’t approve.

“…H-huh?!”

His hand, moving faster than I could see, shot out and grabbed my side, pulling me closer.

My body jerked involuntarily, the little strength I had gathered dissipating in an instant.

A strange sound, one I’d never made before, escaped my lips.

My body felt weak, as if it were melting… dissolving.

Dokgun’s hand on my side was the cause.

Embarrassment flooded me, making my face feel like it was about to explode.

But Dokgun, still asleep, took things even further.

Was he dreaming of snuggling into a giant teddy bear or something?

His chin, resting on my head, moved slightly, rubbing against me.

I could feel my hair getting more and more tangled.

Yet, I couldn’t push him away. I was completely limp.

I was mortified.

The other passengers kept glancing our way, making it even worse.

‘This is…’

This wouldn’t do.

We were almost at school.

At this rate, I’d have a heart attack before we even got off the bus.

Mustering what little strength I had left, I pushed Dokgun back slightly and scooted towards the window… but as his body swayed back towards me like a roly-poly toy, I realized something.

There was no escape.

Now, his breath, warm against my neck, tickled me directly.

The sensation made me tense, clenching my hands and feet.

“Mmm…”

Along with another unsettling murmur—

‘Chuup…♡’

Something soft, warm, and pliant pressed against my neck, accompanied by a soft sucking sound.

The moment I realized what was happening… something exploded in my head.