This World is too Cruel to Men

“Seol-hwa…! Our Seol-hwa likes playing hide-and-seek, right? How about a game of hide-and-seek with Dad?”

The moment the familiar yet nostalgic voice, one I could now only hear in my dreams, echoed in my ears, I realized.

Ah, that dream again.

I’m dreaming of that day again.

If so, I knew exactly what would happen next.

My innocent self would simply nod, and following Dad’s lead, hide inside the wardrobe.

“You know you absolutely can’t open it until Dad says ‘Ready or not, here I come!’, right?”

Why didn’t I know back then?

Why didn’t I realize that Dad’s face was as pale as a ghost when he said those words?

“Yes!”

Don’t go.

Mom, Dad, please don’t leave me alone.

The words that left my lips and the words echoing in my head were different.

Just a moment ago, I was speaking fine, but now, trying to voice the thoughts in my head, my lips felt as if they had turned to stone.

It was frustrating.

I just needed to say one word.

No more, no less, just one word would be enough.

If I was going to have this dream over and over, couldn’t they at least allow me that much?

It was unfair, but I didn’t feel a surge of anger. I had already dreamt this dream hundreds of times.

So, I could only pray desperately.

Please, let me say it just once.

Just once would be enough, so please, let me say just one word, I pleaded silently to whomever might be listening.

Of course… since the same thing had already happened hundreds of times, I already knew.

No matter how desperately I pleaded, nothing would change.

It felt like a whisper, constantly telling me I would never achieve my goal, threatening to break my spirit.

Yet, I had endured it countless times because… there was something I had to achieve.

I had clung to that single goal since I was young, enduring everything… but lately, I felt my resolve chipping away.

It was because of the people around me, constantly saying I wouldn’t make it with my talent.

Of course, I knew there was little malice in their words.

I knew, but… I couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment every time I heard them.

I already knew that talent was important.

How could I not?

This world was a place where one’s life was determined by their inherent talent.

But… just because I possessed a talent deemed unsuitable for the title of Hero, didn’t mean I should give up without even trying.

What if my talent wasn’t appropriate?

I would simply make up for the deficiency with effort.

With that thought, I had strived continuously, and I intended to continue doing so until I reached my goal.

However, as graduation drew closer, the constant negative remarks began to shake my resolve… and what added fuel to the fire was the sparring match against the middle school students about a month ago, held under the guise of exchange.

Talents so practical and powerful that they sparked envy the moment you saw them.

Among them, the talent of a child named Oh Yun-Seo, who was about to enter high school, particularly stood out in my memory.

Even without a nearby water source to manipulate, she created water out of thin air, controlling it as freely as her own limbs.

Yun-Seo’s talent unearthed feelings I had long suppressed within my heart.

Inferiority and envy.

That’s why I wanted to win even more.

But it seemed impossible.

Honestly, if she used her talent to simply envelop my face with water, the match would be over right then and there.

There was a way to hold my breath and move, but… she wouldn’t just stand still while I did that. How effective could that tactic be?

Is it really impossible?

Is achieving my goal with this talent… truly impossible?

It was around the time I was starting to get consumed by negative thoughts.

My match against Yun-Seo was coming up, and I couldn’t afford to wallow in negativity.

I was heading towards the restroom to wash my face and try to shake it off when I heard voices.

Yun-Seo and… a boy I assumed to be her friend, their voices drifted from around the corner leading to the restroom.

The moment I realized, I initially tried to leave.

From what I overheard, they seemed to be strategizing for the upcoming match, and I wanted to avoid eavesdropping.

I didn’t want to resort to underhanded tactics, even if it meant facing inevitable defeat.

So I tried to leave, but… the voice that followed stopped me in my tracks.

“It’s best not to be careless. If my guess is right, that Baek Seol-hwa… her way of using her talent is strange, but if she uses it properly, she’s someone who can easily pass the Hero Qualification Exam.”

That unknown boy was the first person to speak about my talent in that way.

Whenever I revealed my talent, everyone would say it was impossible or offer empty words of encouragement with a bitter smile.

That’s why I had been desperately clinging to what I had built up through sheer hard work, without revealing my talent…

“Could I… could I really do it?”

My heart pounded with anticipation.

Perhaps that’s why…

I wanted to turn the corner and ask that boy right away.

Why did he think that? I wanted to ask.

But I couldn’t… because my next opponent was Yun-Seo.

It seemed like he had come to offer advice to his friend Yun-Seo before the match… and I couldn’t ask for advice from him, her opponent.

So I hurried back to the waiting room and thought hard.

About what he meant by “proper use.”

Fortunately, there were plenty of hints.

One of them was the comment about being careful in the beginning.

“The beginning…”

After discarding all my preconceived notions and thinking long and hard, a possibility struck me with a jolt of “Perhaps…” I immediately applied this idea to the match.

And the result… was astonishing.

Contrary to my initial expectations of a crushing defeat, I won with surprising ease.

The match ended so quickly that I was left dumbfounded.

Perhaps that’s why my conscience pricked me.

In a way, I had won by doing something akin to cheating.

However, the feeling of joy was far greater…

The joy of washing away the negativity that had been eating at me lately was so overwhelming that I had no time to dwell on guilt.

“I can…”

I can do it.

I don’t have to give up.

One victory achieved through a shortcut, and yet, my heart, once filled with negativity, was now brimming with hope.

It seemed that the seemingly complex human heart was indeed quite simple.

Anyway, after finishing the sparring match and returning to my daily life, I focused on honing the talent I had neglected.

But it wasn’t easy.

Perhaps because I had neglected it for so long, even figuring out how to hone my talent proved difficult.

It would be nice if I had a friend to advise me, like Yun-Seo did.

But it felt awkward to seek help from those around me.

Even if I searched everywhere, it would be difficult to find someone who could look at my talent without prejudice and offer advice, like that unknown boy whose voice I only remembered.

It was frustrating, but… I couldn’t stop trying because I had tasted a glimpse of possibility.

So, Mom, Dad…

“Where did that kid go again? Ah, damn it… so annoying…”

“If it’s too much trouble to find her, just set a fire. Then she’ll crawl out.”

“Should I?”

I will… no matter what… I will avenge you.

As soon as I finished that internal vow, the appointed time arrived, and I was jolted awake from the dream.

Perhaps it was because I had tasted a glimpse of possibility.

Every time I woke up from that dream, I used to be filled with helplessness and despair, wondering, “Can I really do this?” But today, there was none of that.

So, I got out of bed more cheerfully than usual and headed to the training hall that still held traces of my dad—

“Are you sure this is the right place? Not the building next door?”

“Ah, seriously… I told you, this is it.”

“I don’t think so… Is there really a uniform shop here?”

A familiar voice from my memory drifted through the walls and into my ears.

“Ugh, then why don’t you look at the map and lead the way!”

“I’m too lazy for that…”

“Then stop being annoying and just follow quietly. Got it?”

“Yes, yes.”

Perhaps this is what they mean by “necessity is the mother of invention.”

This morning, I was thinking about how I needed someone to give me advice and help me figure things out, and now, I was about to discover the identity of the only person who seemed fit for that role.

Whether they would accept my request for help was still uncertain, but perhaps because I was finally going to see the face behind the voice, my heart began to pound with anticipation.

What kind of person are they?

What do they look like?

I didn’t know if I could bring myself to speak, but… it would be great if they helped me.

With my heart fluttering with anticipation, I cautiously took a step towards the direction of the voice.

Unaware that an unexpected connection was about to be formed in such an unexpected place, Dokgun was simply busy following Yun-Seo, who was walking ahead.

“Oh, dear…”

She’s all grown up.

When she first started middle school, it felt like she was just a little bird, happily chirping along while my uncle and I spoon-fed her everything.

Who would have thought that in just three years, she would grow enough to go find a uniform shop and get her uniform fitted all by herself?

I was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside when Yun-Seo, who had been intently scrutinizing her phone with a cutely furrowed brow, as if something wasn’t working out, suddenly lifted her slightly bowed head and whipped around to face a certain direction.

You know how puppies sometimes lie down calmly and then suddenly get startled by nothing and stare into empty space?

Yun-Seo’s behavior just now was exactly like that.

No, putting that aside, why did she suddenly do that?

“What?”

“Um… nothing.”

“What is it?”

“I said it’s nothing.”