This World is too Cruel to Men

To be honest, I didn’t recognize her at first.

That’s understandable, considering she wasn’t wearing her uniform and her hair wasn’t tied back.

She wasn’t in casual clothes either; she was wearing a tracksuit.

‘Anyway…’

Our eyes met, and since she seemed to recognize me, I felt like I had to say something… but there was a problem.

It was none other than the issue of how to address her.

What should I call her?

Senior?

Or President?

*****

While Dokgun was lost in his bewilderment at the unexpected situation and the dilemma of various choices, Seol-hwa, who had unexpectedly run into him, was even more flustered than he was.

‘I didn’t expect to run into him like this…’

What was the reason she skipped her morning workout and came to school so early?

It was to figure out what time Dokgun arrived at school by waiting here.

But she never imagined she’d run into him so directly.

Because of that, her slightly startled heart had been pounding since a while ago.

Despite her flustered state, one thing was clearly etched in Seol-hwa’s mind:

‘So he takes the subway at this hour…’

That was it.

Which meant?

If she took the subway at the same time as today, she could continue to run into him like this.

‘Anyway…’

She was so surprised that she missed the timing to greet him.

What should she do?

She couldn’t just walk away without saying anything after making eye contact…

She was deep in thought when…

“Um… Hello?”

Did he have similar thoughts?

A greeting, slightly awkward due to being a beat late, was directed at her.

Hearing that, she pondered for a moment.

She had to respond to the greeting, but how should she do it?

How could she make it sound natural?

“Yes, um… Dokgun, right?”

After contemplating, she finally opened her mouth and replied.

As expected, he didn’t seem to think she would know his name.

Dokgun’s eyes widened slightly as soon as she answered.

She had anticipated that reaction, which was why she had taken the time to consider her words, despite the limited time… but it couldn’t be helped.

She knew it might seem unnatural, but she couldn’t miss this opportunity.

This might be the last time she encountered him like this, making it all the more important.

So, if she could formally introduce herself even if it felt a bit forced?

That alone would save a tremendous amount of time.

“Ah, yes…”

“You come to school at this hour? You’re very diligent.”

“Haha…”

Now it was time to smooth things over, but the conversation wasn’t flowing smoothly.

It was because Dokgun kept hesitating.

‘Could it be…’

Does he find me intimidating?

She thought it might be the case.

After all, Dokgun was a new student who had just entered school, and she was the student council president.

No, even aside from that, there was a two-year age difference, so it was natural for him to feel intimidated.

That’s what she thought, but she soon realized there was another reason for Dokgun’s hesitation.

To cut to the chase, it was all because of the issue of how to address her.

“Ah, if you’re worried about what to call me, it’s okay to call me Senior or President. Just call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

That was why she had been waiting for the opportunity to say that.

And… as expected, it seemed like her assumption was correct.

As soon as she brought it up, Dokgun’s somewhat uncomfortable expression relaxed slightly.

“Then… can I call you Senior?”

He then asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“Then, Senior, please speak comfortably to me too.”

“Okay, I will.”

To be honest, she wished he would drop the honorific “nim” after “Senior,” but that would probably disappear naturally once they became closer.

What mattered now wasn’t that, but the fact that she had formally introduced herself to Dokgun.

It was as if the foundation had just been laid, and now all that was left was to build a structure called “friendship” on top of it—

“Do you usually come to school at this time?”

She asked, both to start that process and to confirm the thing she was most curious about at this moment.

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

“Isn’t it tiring to come to school so early?”

“Um… well… my house is quite far from here… and… there’s a friend I come to school with.”

A friend he comes to school with.

But since he was alone when he got off the subway, that meant this friend went to a different school.

Thinking about it, one face came to mind.

“Is your friend… the one you were with at the uniform store before? Her name was… Oh Yun-Seo, was it?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“She goes to Whispering Willow High, right? You two must be close to come to school together even though you go to different schools.”

“Well… we’ve known each other since kindergarten… and we live right next door.”

“…Is that so?”

A warning light flashed in her mind.

If that was true, the cards she was preparing to play might become useless.

But what if… that Yun-Seo girl hadn’t made any moves yet?

There would definitely be a gap to slip into.

She might be accused of cutting in line or something… but would that really matter?

If it meant passing the Hero Qualification Exam, she was willing to hear those accusations a hundred, a thousand times.

Anyway… it seemed like it was best to drop the topic of Yun-Seo for now.

While she was thinking about what to talk about next—

“But, you have P.E. first period, Senior?”

A puzzling question came from Dokgun.

“Huh?”

“Ah, that’s… because you’re wearing a tracksuit.”

Was it supposed to be a joke?

But it didn’t seem to land well, so he looked a little embarrassed.

Seeing Dokgun scratching his cheek, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Ah, this? It’s a student council president perk. It says in our school rules that the student council president can come to school in a tracksuit.”

“Really?”

“Just kidding. It’s because of my morning training.”

“Ah…”

“I can’t train in my uniform, so I have to change into something comfortable to move in. So it’s better to come to school in a tracksuit from the beginning, it saves time, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Right?”

“But, um… the training, do you do it in that special training room I saw yesterday?”

“Of course. It’s well-equipped.”

As they talked about her usual training, she learned one thing: Dokgun seemed quite interested in that area.

‘Hmm… As expected…’

Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising.

She had considered the possibility.

It was inevitable, considering how natural Dokgun’s attitude was when he gave advice to Yun-Seo during the regular sparring match at the end of last year.

And Yun-Seo’s attitude was the same.

It wasn’t that she listened attentively, but she didn’t seem to have any resistance to the act of Dokgun giving her advice.

That meant similar things happened often… but realistically, it was absurd.

Considering the level of pride and self-esteem that those who awaken outstanding talents and dream of becoming Heroes usually have, it was even more so.

Moreover, wasn’t Yun-Seo being touted as a genius by those around her?

If that was the case, her self-esteem would already be sky-high.

Would she listen to advice from a ‘boy’ who didn’t even have a talent, let alone the possibility of awakening one, without any resistance, even if they had known each other since kindergarten?

For that to be possible, it had to be one of two things.

Either their relationship was that close, or… Yun-Seo acknowledged Dokgun to that extent.

But based on their current conversation, their relationship didn’t seem to be at that level.

In other words?

Unless Yun-Seo deeply acknowledged Dokgun’s abilities to the point where she thought it was okay for him to give her advice… a situation like that couldn’t happen.

Why would academies and schools famous for producing multiple Heroes try so hard to recruit retired Heroes who showed outstanding performance during their active days as instructors or teachers?

It was because otherwise, the kids wouldn’t listen.

Considering that, Dokgun’s status to Yun-Seo must be at least at that level.

She hoped so.

That way… it would be worthwhile to put in this much effort, investing some of the little time she had left.