This World is too Cruel to Men

After that day, I ran into Seol-hwa every morning.

After bumping into each other three times, four times, and eventually more than ten times, we became close enough to exchange casual conversations naturally.

“Are you going to training again today?”

“Yeah, well… that’s right.”

“Physical training?”

“Yeah.”

And one of the things I learned as a result of becoming close was that Seol-hwa was much more of a hard worker than she appeared to be.

It’s a bit strange to say, but don’t you often see those kinds of people in life?

People who exude the feeling that they are incredibly enthusiastic about everything.

My first impression of Seol-hwa was actually close to that.

But when I actually checked, she was putting in even more effort than that without any difficulty.

So, I couldn’t help but wonder why she was trying so hard, and so I subtly asked her once when the mood was right.

So… I asked her why she wanted to become a Hero, even to the point of working her bones off, literally.

Of course, the moment I asked that question, Seol-hwa’s expression became drastically awkward, so I immediately folded, thinking it was a landmine, so I couldn’t hear the answer.

Anyway, well… the fact that she consistently puts effort into physical training every morning was certainly admirable.

It was even more so because right next door to me lived someone who struggled to even wake up early in the morning, let alone exercise, and I had to help her get ready every morning.

What if I told Yun-Seo to try the same morning routine as Seol-hwa?

‘I wonder if she could last three days…’

Honestly, I couldn’t guarantee it.

Maybe she’d run away after just one day, saying she couldn’t do it anymore.

Yun-Seo absolutely hates physical training.

Well, I don’t think it would be much different if I were in Yun-Seo’s shoes.

‘Still, I’ve been working out for a while now…’

I’d last a week?

Wouldn’t I last about that long?

I’m not sure about anything more than that.

But Seol-hwa has been doing this every single day for about five years, from middle school to now, with about a year left until high school graduation, so how could I not feel respect?

So, I also thought about this.

That is… shouldn’t a Hero be someone like this?

“Oh, right. Did you have breakfast?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t have time…”

“Then, how about you have this at least?”

As I said that and took out a snack from my pocket, she looked at me with a question mark on her face, so I quickly waved my hand.

“Huh? That’s…”

“It’s nothing. I just thought it would be hard for you to exercise on an empty stomach in the morning…”

It wasn’t just something I said to make her feel less burdened, it really was nothing.

That’s because what I offered Seol-hwa was the same snack I had received from Yun-Seo before.

I originally brought it for Yun-Seo… but she’s been waking up early these days, so she must be getting tired, because she keeps dozing off on the subway, so I couldn’t give it to her even if I wanted to.

Anyway, that’s why I gave it to her, but from Seol-hwa’s perspective, it must have seemed a bit random.

She silently looked at my hand, which made me feel a bit embarrassed.

If it had been something fancy like a homemade sandwich, it wouldn’t have been like this, but this really was nothing.

‘…Did I do something wrong?’

As I was thinking that—

“…Okay, I’ll enjoy it.”

A slightly delayed reply came back, and Seol-hwa’s hand reached out and took what was in my hand.

“Is it a foreign snack?”

“Yes, I learned about it from a friend, and I bought it myself and tried it, and it was good. The price is cheap too.”

“How much is it?”

“Uh… roughly about 250 won each?”

“Really? That’s cheap. By the way, if it’s a friend, is it… that Yun-Seo?”

“Yes, she’s quite curious, so she likes to buy snacks she’s never seen before.”

“I see…”

She placed the snack I gave her on her palm and turned it around, as if comparing its size to her hand.

After a while, she seemed curious about the taste, and Seol-hwa opened the snack’s packaging.

And then she took a big bite of the snack, which anyone could tell was chocolate flavored—

Seeing her eyes widen right after, I smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

I could tell just from that change in expression.

That the snack I gave her was to her liking.

‘Well…’

To be honest, it was hard to dislike unless you absolutely hated sweet things.

And Seol-hwa liked the snack more than I expected.

So much so that she even asked me quite detailed questions about it.

Like where to buy it, and how many are in a box.

She said she thought everyone would like it if she bought it for the Student Council room.

“If you’re buying in bulk, it’ll be much cheaper to buy it online than at a mart, right?”

“Would it?”

“Well, there will be a delivery fee, though.”

“But what if I buy a lot and it goes bad before we can eat it all…”

“Ah, it has a pretty long shelf life, more than you’d think.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it can even be stored at room temperature, so I just stack them next to the refrigerator and eat one a day.”

*****

Dokgun perceived that Seol-hwa’s condition wasn’t much different from usual, but that wasn’t the case.

Unlike Dokgun’s perception, Seol-hwa was currently experiencing a strange feeling, albeit slightly.

Of course, she tried not to show it in front of Dokgun.

‘What is this…’

What is this feeling?

This was the first time she’d felt this way, so she didn’t know.

The only thing she was sure of was that… this feeling started when Dokgun offered her the snack.

‘Could it be…’

Was there something strange in the snack Dokgun gave her?

Or was it just… because she ate something sweet?

She couldn’t tell which one it was.

That’s why it was even more… strange.

Had she ever received food as a gift from someone else?

It was a bit embarrassing to brag about herself, but it had happened quite a lot.

And not just food.

She had also received gifts that were so expensive they were bewildering.

However, it was clearly the first time she had felt this excited after receiving something.

Why was that?

Because it was Dokgun?

Maybe that was it.

Since he casually offered her food like that, it was safe to say they were quite close now.

From her perspective, where she was planning to get closer to him before making a suggestion, there was no more positive sign than that, so it might be natural for her to feel excited.

But… was that really all?

“Then I’ll go to my classroom now.”

“…Okay.”

After parting with Dokgun, she stood in front of the trash can to throw away the now-empty snack wrapper.

And then, just as she was about to throw it in, she realized.

‘…Ah.’

At some point, she had become very… comfortable with Dokgun.

It didn’t mean she saw him as easy.

Literally… comfortable.

Considering they hadn’t known each other for even a month, it was quite strange.

How could this be possible?

Her contemplation on that didn’t last long.

Because she soon realized why she felt so comfortable with Dokgun, whom she hadn’t known for very long.

Dokgun… didn’t want anything from her.

Unlike the student council members who wanted her to be the student council president, and the people who called themselves fans who wanted her to be the aspiring Hero Baek Seol-hwa, Dokgun didn’t seem to want anything from her.

It felt like they just knew each other because they ran into each other often.

As proof, if she recalled Dokgun’s gaze when he looked at her, she couldn’t find any feelings of admiration or longing that were commonly seen when interacting with others.

That’s why she felt so comfortable with Dokgun.

Because in front of Dokgun, she didn’t have to try to be the person others wanted her to be.

Similarly… the reason she felt a little excited after receiving the snack from Dokgun was also part of that.

Every gift she had received so far?

Whether big or small, there was always a price to pay.

But there was nothing like that in what Dokgun just gave her.

He just gave it to her because it was in his pocket.

It felt like he offered it because he happened to have one left.

How long had it been since she had received such pure kindness?

Is that why?

She felt at ease.

It felt like… she had been constantly tensing her shoulders to maintain a straight posture, and then finally relaxed them.

Was this the reason why that Yun-Seo kept Dokgun by her side?

‘What should I do…’

She thought it would be enough if she got close enough to him that he would take her suggestion seriously.

She thought she didn’t need to get any closer than that…

But it seemed her thoughts were about to change.