This World is too Cruel to Men

So that’s it.

Today is Pepero Day.

Thanks to my friend who made my heart skip a beat with his wordplay, I realized this fact. Looking around the classroom again, the atmosphere, which had previously felt noisy and chaotic, now felt different.

It felt…charged with a strange tension, like something could explode at any moment.

That feeling was flowing between the girls and the boys.

Of course, the girls seemed more relaxed.

‘Well…’

It’s only natural.

They’re on the receiving end.

It goes without saying that the one confessing is more nervous than the one being confessed to.

Surely, none of those guys huddled together over there are actually going to try and confess, are they?

Even with so many eyes watching?

I doubt anyone would attempt such a crazy thing, but kids this age are often blinded by their feelings.

Especially since today is not only Pepero Day, but also the day high school placement announcements are made.

Plus, with winter break just a few days away, some of the boys might think that today is their last chance.

Of course, if they give in to that impulse and confess in front of everyone only to get rejected… they’d probably want to die.

‘Wait a second…’

Could it be that Yun-Seo kept asking me what day it was because of Pepero Day?

‘Nah…’

She was probably just asking because of the high school announcements.

…But there were too many things that didn’t quite add up.

If she was asking about Pepero Day, that means she was trying to get me to give her some…

‘Why?’

Unlike someone ‘cough’ who hasn’t received a single confession even in their second life, she’s popular. Why would she need to…?

From ‘me’?

That thought crossed my mind, but at the same time, I could understand Yun-Seo’s feelings to a certain extent.

Not everyone obsesses over these kinds of commemorative days.

Some people don’t care about them at all.

But even those people secretly care about whether they receive anything.

Even if it’s obvious that something was given out of obligation, receiving at least ‘one’ makes you feel good.

You think, ‘Well, at least I got ‘something’.’

On the other hand, not receiving anything leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. That’s the nature of these commemorative days.

And Yun-Seo’s pride is anything but ordinary.

It took a hit after she was brutally rejected by that Baek Seol-hwa, but she still has one of the biggest egos in the class.

But what if she doesn’t receive a single Pepero stick today?

She’ll be incredibly embarrassed, obviously.

There’s bound to be a subtle competition among the girls about how many Pepero sticks they received, so it’s a given.

So, maybe she wanted to secure at least one from me as a safety net.

Zero and one are definitely different. Having at least one, no matter how you get it, gives you a sense of security.

Yeah, that must be it.

‘Ugh…’

Should I try to get her some now?

Honestly, I think this is how Mom felt when she used to sneak me chocolate or Pepero sticks on these kinds of days during my first life.

But it feels weird to suddenly go out and get her some now…

‘It’s like begging for it…’

It just feels wrong.

So, caught in this dilemma, I was busy telling my friend, who was teasing me about when I was going to give Yun-Seo a Pepero stick now that I knew it was Pepero Day, that it wasn’t like that.

My friend, who had been chattering away, suddenly shut his mouth and looked behind me.

Wondering what was going on, I turned around to see Yun-Seo, who had rushed out of the classroom as soon as we arrived, saying she had something to do, walking back in.

And right behind her was our homeroom teacher.

I wondered what she had been doing. Maybe she had some kind of consultation with the teacher?

Anyway, we had just been talking about Yun-Seo, so maybe he felt awkward that she suddenly appeared.

Just a moment ago, he had been teasing me with a sly expression that made me want to punch him, but now he suddenly averted his gaze to the window, looking around nervously.

Then he said—

“Whoa, it’s snowing!”

Seriously?

Frankly, I was dumbfounded.

If he had used that excuse towards the end of November, I might have played along, but it wasn’t even mid-November yet.

‘Even if he’s feeling awkward, it’s not even close to November. How can it snow…?’

I thought, but then…

“Dude, why would it snow in November?”

“No, really, it is! Look for yourself.”

“Look at what…”

I looked out the window, and to my surprise, white flakes were actually falling.

And it wasn’t just a light dusting; it was coming down quite heavily, enough to accumulate.

And perhaps because of that…

‘Oh, crap…’

I started to feel a little uneasy.

‘Is this even possible?’

It’s still early November, and it’s snowing? This heavily?

.
.
.
.
.

“Whoa, it’s snowing!”

I heard that as I returned to the classroom after finally managing to compose myself in the restroom.

I spotted Dokgun’s familiar back as soon as I entered and headed straight towards him… but as soon as those words reached my ears, I saw Dokgun’s face slightly contort.

To be precise… it happened after he looked out the window.

Seeing that, my mind, which had been cluttered with various thoughts, cleared instantly, replaced by worry.

Dokgun probably thinks I don’t know, but… we’ve been together for years.

From kindergarten to now, just before entering high school, we’ve always been together.

So I already know.

That Dokgun… dislikes snowy days.

No, to be more accurate, it’s closer to fear.

I’m not entirely sure, but that’s the impression I’ve gotten from observing him over the years.

Of course, I don’t know the reason.

He tries so hard not to show it, and it feels wrong to pry and ask him why he dislikes snowy days, especially since he’s never given me any hints.

So, I just assumed that he must have fallen and gotten hurt badly on a snowy day a long time ago.

‘…I wonder if he’ll be okay.’

I was worried, but I couldn’t ask him if he was alright, so I just swallowed my concern.

I forced myself to say something completely different.

“Wow, it’s snowing.”

“…Yeah. And it’s coming down pretty hard… Do you think they’ll cancel our movie trip?”

“Hmm, I wonder?”

“It could be dangerous… It hasn’t been snowing for long, but at this rate, there’ll be quite a bit of accumulation by the time we get out of the movie.”

Judging by his words, Dokgun seemed to be subtly hoping for the movie trip to be canceled, but unfortunately, I couldn’t agree with him.

If it got canceled, all our plans would go down the drain.

“By the way… do you have an umbrella?”

“Does it look like I do?”

“Ugh… So, if we do go, we’ll have to walk in the snow…”

“If it’s that bad, we can stop by a convenience store and buy one.”

“…I don’t have any money.”

“What? Didn’t you just get your allowance?”

That was true.

To be honest, I did have money.

I said that… just in case.

You never know.

If, by some miracle, I confess successfully today and start dating Dokgun, we’ll go on dates, and it would be awkward if I didn’t have any money.

Of course, knowing Dokgun, he’d probably scold me for spending my allowance carelessly and pay for everything himself… but I wasn’t going to let that happen.

Dokgun already tries to save money wherever he can because he lives alone.

I didn’t want to burden him like that.

I hated to even imagine it since I haven’t even confessed yet, but if that became a burden and Dokgun… left, that would be the absolute worst-case scenario.

Come to think of it, confessing to Dokgun was a gamble.

If I hit the jackpot, nothing could be better, but if I fail, we might never be able to go back to how things were.

Maybe it would be better to… just keep things the way they are…

‘…No.’

I didn’t want that.

It’s highly unlikely considering how he’s acted so far, but… what if he goes to high school and develops a crush on someone else?

Then I wouldn’t even get the chance to start, and I couldn’t bear that.

Especially not if Dokgun liked someone else and was constantly worried and nervous about them.

“Well… I spent some of it.”

“Seriously… So you’re going to walk in all that snow? It’s coming down so hard.”

“I could… practice my powers and melt it as I walk, couldn’t I?”

I’d never tried it before, but it was probably possible.

It might even be good practice.

That’s why I said that, but all I got in return was a look of exasperation.

“…Sure. Go ahead and do that.”

“Hey! I don’t have any money, what am I supposed to do? You could lend me some!”

“Do you really want me to lend you some?”

“…Forget it.”

“So, do you want to borrow some money or not?”

We were bickering like usual when our teacher, who had been standing at the teacher’s desk checking attendance, clapped her hands to get our attention

and announced—

“Alright, everyone, shall we get going?”

And with that, we were off to the movie theater.