This World is too Cruel to Men

If she were the type to be discouraged by a single failure, she wouldn’t have achieved the glorious position of top dog at Sunshine Kindergarten.

So, rather than giving up and backing down after Yun-Seo cut in line in front of her, Bora chose to put on a brave face.

That’s why a puzzled expression appeared on Dokgun’s face, who was inwardly relieved to have unexpectedly found a partner.

‘What’s this…?’

They say that once in a man’s life, there comes a time when his popularity explodes. Could this be that time?

If it really is, why now of all times, and not when I’m a little older?

While Dokgun was flustered, caught in the middle with both girls tugging at his sleeves, Yun-Seo’s face crumpled as she witnessed Bora’s audacious move of clinging to Dokgun despite Yun-Seo having called dibs first.

‘Seriously?’

For a moment, Yun-Seo was taken aback by Bora’s outrageous behavior, but then she remembered that she had asked Dokgun first, and her expression quickly returned to normal.

Then, before Bora could even open her mouth, Yun-Seo delivered a decisive blow.

“Dokgun promised to be my partner.”

Yun-Seo’s “advice” implied that Bora should quickly find another partner instead of lingering around pointlessly and ending up paired with the teacher. Bora retorted, refusing to be outdone.

“No, he promised to be my partner.”

“I asked him first!”

“No, I asked him first!”

“When?!”

“Th-the day before yesterday!”

“You’re… lying!”

“I’m not lying! You’ve only been here for a day!”

Frankly, my head was spinning watching the two little ones growl at each other.

I mean, what was going on?

Was I, perhaps, the type to be popular with kindergarteners?

While I was trying to escape reality, their argument had somehow escalated into a debate about who was closer to me.

“You’re not even close to Dokgun!”

Surprisingly, it was Yun-Seo, not Bora, who brought up the topic.

Considering that Yun-Seo had only been at this kindergarten for two days, it was a disadvantageous subject.

Did she have something up her sleeve?

That unexpected attack was enough to fluster Bora.

She let out a groan, clearly not expecting such an attack from Yun-Seo, who had only been there for two days.

But then, realizing that it was actually an advantageous topic for her, Bora counterattacked.

“No I’m not! I am close to him! And you’re the one who’s not close! You’ve only known Dokgun for t-t-t… t-this many days!”

It seemed like she couldn’t quite recall the word “two” for a moment.

She stuttered a bit, but her rebuttal was quite sharp.

And Yun-Seo’s reaction to Bora’s rebuttal?

She wasn’t fazed at all.

Not even a little.

She even seemed a little smug.

It made me wonder what she was so confident about.

“No, I knew him before that.”

Well… she wasn’t wrong.

We did hang out briefly over the weekend.

But did she really bring up this topic based on that?

Just as I thought that, Yun-Seo continued her counterattack.

“And you said you’re close to Dokgun? Then have you been to his house?”

“Uh, uh…?”

Bora stammered, and I let out a gasp.

I wondered why she’d bring up a topic that put her at a disadvantage, but she was using it in such a clever way.

Have you been to his house?

It might seem trivial, but in the world of seven-year-olds, it’s a pretty sensitive question.

It’s almost on par with “have you been invited to his birthday party?”

And if my memory serves me right… in this kindergarten, the only person who has visited my house was Yun-Seo, who was now looking triumphant at Bora’s frozen face.

“N-no! B-but you haven’t been there either!”

Unaware of this fact, Bora tried to counterattack, but that was exactly what Yun-Seo wanted.

There was no other reason for her to grin like that as soon as those words left Bora’s mouth.

“Yes, I have.”

“L-liar!”

“It’s true… Yesterday, Dokgun made rice balls for me at his house… Right, Dokgun?”

Wait, she’s throwing me under the bus now?

I was already flustered enough, but what made me even more so was Bora’s gaze.

Why was she looking at me like that?

Her look made me feel like I was some jerk who ditched his girlfriend for another girl and then walked into his apartment with her after a night of drinking.

My head was spinning, but I was rescued from this crisis by—

“Um, Dokgun, Yun-Seo, and Bora, what’s going on?”

—our teacher, who had been attending to the children who had successfully formed pairs.

I was inwardly relieved when she appeared.

I thought a teacher would be able to easily resolve this chaotic situation.

“Oh my?”

But I was wrong.

As soon as she saw Yun-Seo and Bora clutching my sleeves, a mixture of slyness and amusement appeared on her face, which soon transformed into a full-blown smile.

“So… Yun-Seo and Bora both want to be Dokgun’s partner?”

“Yes!”

“…”

Bora answered confidently, while Yun-Seo, still unfamiliar with the concept of a teacher, simply nodded shyly. The teacher’s smile widened at their responses.

The problem was that her amusement began to extend its tendrils towards me.

“Hmm… what should we do, Dokgun?”

“…Yes?”

“Yun-Seo and Bora both want to be your partner.”

And so?

Surely, a teacher wouldn’t do something as ruthless and inconsiderate as passing the decision on to me in this situation, right?

Just as I thought that, the words I least wanted to hear rang in my ears.

“Dokgun, which one of them do you want to be partners with?”

That was probably the moment the question escaped the teacher’s lips.

The two hands gripping my sleeves simultaneously tightened.

‘Good heavens…’

It’s a good thing there are only two of them. If there were four, I would have been drawn and quartered.

Anyway, the choice was passed to me, but… there was no way I could choose between them.

How could I choose when they were both looking at me with those adorable eyes?

And there was someone watching us with a satisfied smile, and that was, of course, our teacher, who had put me in this predicament.

“Hmm… How about we do this?”

What was she planning?

“Dokgun, Yun-Seo, and Bora, let’s make you a team of three.”

Huh?

As expected of a teacher.

Her skill in naturally inducing positive competition among children was extraordinary.

The problem was that I was the one who ended up taking the hit.

Two people to draw for when others only had one.

Could I do it?

Honestly, I wasn’t worried.

Even if I had to worry about the future already, I was living my second life.

Honestly, drawings at this age could be done in 10 minutes, not even needing the full 30.

‘Two drawings, so 20 minutes.’

That was doable.

So, unlike the other children, we formed a group of three and started drawing… and since it became a competition, the atmosphere was intense.

They kept glancing and glaring at each other while drawing, and all I could do, stuck between them, was chuckle inwardly and pretend to focus on my drawing.

“Don’t peek!”

“I wasn’t! You’re the one peeking!”

“No, I’m not!”

“You’ve been glancing over this whole time!”

“Now, now, Yun-Seo and Bora, stop fighting and focus on your drawings. You only have 10 minutes left.”

‘Maybe it’s because the tuition is expensive…’

The crayons were different from the ones I knew. They were so smooth and high quality.

So, my drawing came out much neater than I expected.

After I finished drawing and carefully put the crayons back in their place—

“Time’s up!”

—the teacher, who had been glancing at the clock on the wall, announced.

Of course, this wasn’t a high school exam or anything, so the children weren’t going to obediently stop drawing just because the teacher said so—

‘They did?’

Ah, right, this was that kind of world.

Just like when she arrived, the teacher, demonstrating her talent, calmed the children down.

She then asked the children who were looking at her with their wide eyes,

“Is everyone done with their drawings?”

“Yes!”

“Not yet…”

“I’m not done yet…”

“Is that so? Those who aren’t done yet, please raise your hands.”

Hands sprouted up here and there like newly grown bean sprouts.

And the two in front of me were among them.

Were they a little embarrassed that they hadn’t finished one drawing despite being given a full 30 minutes?

Both of their cheeks were red.

‘Wow, how much effort did they put into their drawings…’

To still not be finished?

Anyway, since quite a few hands were raised, the teacher seemed to be in a bit of a dilemma.

“Hmm… how about I give you just 10 more minutes?”

So, they were given an additional 10 minutes, and after using up all that extra time, they finally finished their drawings.

However, their reactions were quite different.

Bora nodded with satisfaction, letting out a pleased “Hmm!” while looking at her finished drawing.

Yun-Seo, on the other hand, looked dejected.

She seemed to have put a lot of effort into her drawing, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, but it seemed like the result wasn’t as good as she’d hoped.

“Alright, now let’s exchange our drawings as gifts, shall we?”

The teacher, oblivious to Yun-Seo’s feelings, made the announcement. At that moment, their reactions diverged once again.

They were both shy, but the nature of their shyness was different.

Bora’s blush seemed to stem from pride in her creation, while Yun-Seo’s blush was pure embarrassment.

Had she been glancing at Bora’s drawing and realized that her own work wasn’t as good?

“Here!”

“…Here.”

Their attitudes as they handed me their drawings were completely different, too.

Bora presented hers confidently, as if urging me to check it out quickly.

Yun-Seo’s hand, however, was filled with hesitation as she gave me her drawing.

And the moment I saw their drawings, I couldn’t help but nod inwardly.

‘She’s really good.’

She had every right to be confident.

Especially considering she was only seven and had only crayons to work with.

I must have made a surprised expression without realizing it.

Yun-Seo pouted and then hung her head dejectedly.