This World is too Cruel to Men

Perhaps they were getting impatient, waiting for us to show up.

Jinho’s aunt came looking for us herself.

She started walking, naturally taking the lead as if telling us to follow.

Trailing behind her, I cautiously ventured a question.

“Um… Aunt? About the trampoline in the middle of the campground…”

“Hmm? Trampoline?”

What was this, a ‘never-heard-of-it’ reaction?

Flustered by this unexpected response, Yun-Seo, who was walking beside me, chimed in helpfully.

“The ‘bangbangi’.”

“Ah, you mean the thing the kids bounce on?”

I’d wondered why they called it ‘bangbangi’ when it had a perfectly good name, and now I knew. So ‘that’s’ why it’s called ‘bangbangi’.

“Yes, yes, that one.”

“What about it?”

“We were wondering… if we could use it?”

Since we were staying for free, thanks to being Jinho’s friends, we had to be careful even with simple requests.

It’s human nature to mistake continued kindness for a right, but that’s not how it should be.

That’s why I asked so cautiously, but my aunt agreed much more readily than I expected.

“You’re guests at our campground, why not?”

She added that once we reached the storage shed, she’d give us the key to the trampoline area and we could gather any equipment we needed while we waited.

“Just don’t break it.”

“Yes, we’ll be careful.”

“Eh… but it’s no fun if you’re too careful!”

Well, she had a point.

What’s the point of getting on a trampoline if you’re going to be cautious?

“It’s funny, you know… We set it up for the kids, but it seems like the grown-ups enjoy it more…”

“Ahaha… Really?”

I suppose anyone who hasn’t been cooped up inside their whole life has probably had the experience of joyfully bouncing on a trampoline, so it must be hard to resist.

She shared an anecdote, chuckling, about a time she had to stop a drunk person from trying to get on the trampoline. Following her, we arrived at the shed much faster than I anticipated.

However…

“Can you two carry all of this?”

I understood why she asked.

There was… a lot of stuff.

From a grill to a camping table, and chairs that looked like they belonged at a fishing spot – all the camping equipment imaginable was spread out in front of the shed.

“Huh…”

With all this, we could have lived luxuriously even without the pension.

But we weren’t planning on taking everything.

“What are we taking?”

“Well… I think we should prioritize things for the barbecue and cooking.”

That seemed like the best plan, and Yun-Seo nodded in agreement, though her gaze lingered on the camping gear.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

She was clearly looking longingly at the tent. “Nothing,” she says.

“Hmm… Should we take that too?”

“The tent?”

“Yeah, the kids would love it if we set it up in the yard.”

To be precise, a certain ‘someone’ standing right in front of me would probably love it the most, but… she was technically included in the “kids,” so it wasn’t entirely wrong.

‘That’s strange…’

The Yun-Seo I knew was generally an indoor person.

Not a complete shut-in, but she preferred the comfort of being inside to bustling around outdoors.

I never would have guessed she’d be so interested in camping.

‘Or… maybe that’s why…’ she was ‘more’ interested? Perhaps.

People tend to romanticize experiences they haven’t had.

In any case, Yun-Seo, who had been hesitant to suggest taking the tent due to the sheer amount of stuff, lit up at my suggestion.

It was almost as if I could see a tail wagging behind her.

“It, it would be atmospheric to have a tent in the yard with a bonfire…”

She was trying so hard to play it cool, but she was practically bursting with excitement.

I chuckled internally at her attempt to hide her enthusiasm, then corrected one of her assumptions.

“We can’t have a bonfire.”

Apparently, the bonfire played a significant role in the image she had in mind.

As soon as I said it, her shoulders, which had been busily moving as she gathered supplies, slumped.

Then, in a very cautious voice, she asked why not.

“…Why?”

“Because the yard is grass.”

And what would happen if we lit a bonfire on grass?

I didn’t need to conduct an experiment to find out.

We’d end up with a spectacular display of expensive, burning grass.

And perhaps it wouldn’t end there.

With Yun-Seo’s ability to control liquids, the chances of the situation escalating were low, but… you never know.

“Oh…”

Yun-Seo deflated.

She’d been envisioning a tent-and-bonfire combo, and now that was off the table.

Her lips pouted, just like when she lost at rock-paper-scissors.

‘Good grief…’

She really wanted to play camping, huh?

“Well… we could take a brazier instead?”

“A brazier?”

“Yeah, we can’t light a fire on the ground, but we can have one in a brazier.”

And so, a brazier was added to our growing list of supplies.

‘This is…’

We hadn’t even started moving the stuff, and the pile was already getting bigger.

I was starting to think about calling the others back at the pension and asking for reinforcements when Jinho’s aunt, who had disappeared to get the key, reappeared with a handcart, the ‘kkeulcha’, rattling along behind her.

“It’s a bit much for you two to carry, isn’t it?”

We loaded the handcart like a game of Tetris, thankfully managing to fit everything in one trip.

“And this too.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure, don’t lose it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With the key to the trampoline area in hand, we headed back to the pension where the others were waiting.

“Food…”

“Feed me…”

The problem was that the moment we stepped back into the pension, we were met by a horde of starving zombies on the verge of collapse.

“Seriously, if you’re that hungry, would it kill you to prepare something in advance?”

“I’m too weak…”

“Wahhh… I’m a baby… I don’t know how… Cook food…”

While Jinho earned glares for his ill-timed, ridiculous jokes, I parked the heavily laden handcart and gathered the sprawled-out group.

“Alright, if you want to eat soon, you know the drill. Get up and cooperate.”

“Shouldn’t you at least feed us ‘before’ making us work…”

“Boo! Down with the evil, food-withholding boss!”

“Oh yeah? Then I’ll do it all myself. Dinner in two hours, then? Deal?”

“…What should we carry first?”

I knew that leaving the cooking to these guys would result in some culinary monstrosity, so I agreed to handle the meal.

But I wasn’t about to do it all alone.

I wasn’t stupid.

If they couldn’t cook, they could at least prep.

They weren’t seven-year-olds.

Surely, they could peel potatoes and chop vegetables.

“First… Sanga and Chae-Dam… hmm…”

What should I assign them?

“Ah, can you peel the vegetables?”

“Potatoes?”

“Yeah, potatoes, onions, please.”

“But… we don’t have a peeler…”

“A peeler? Ah…”

She meant a vegetable peeler.

“You can use a spoon.”

“A spoon?”

“Is that even possible?”

Why not?

They looked like they’d never done it before, so I grabbed a potato from the bag we’d left on the side and demonstrated the technique.

I held it out to Yun-Seo…

“…What am I supposed to do with this?”

She responded sullenly, for some reason.

Hadn’t she been excited just a moment ago?

What was her deal now?

“Wash it, please.”

“Tch… Do I look like a water purifier with a button for that?”

Despite her grumbling, she complied.

With a snap of her fingers, a small whirlpool of water appeared, engulfing the potato.

It spun, rinsing away the dirt.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Wow… that was some impressive cleaning power.

Even scrubbing with a scouring pad wouldn’t get it that clean.

It was so clean we could probably skip peeling altogether.

But I had to demonstrate, so I grabbed a spoon, positioned it correctly, and—

“Whoa…”

“It really works?”

I quickly peeled the potato, the spoon scraping against the skin.

It had been a while, and I was honestly a bit worried, but my hands remembered.

‘Well…’

I’d peeled countless potatoes in the army.

There was no way I’d forget.

“See? Just like that. Got it?”

“Okay.”

“As for peeling onions…”

“Hey, I know how to do that, okay?”

I assigned the girls the task of handling the potatoes and other vegetables that needed prepping, then sent Yun-Seo over to help.

“Me too?”

She seemed reluctant to get her hands dirty, despite her ability to control water, but what choice did she have?

Leaving the two novices, who had only just seen a demonstration, to handle it alone might mean dinner at midnight.

Yun-Seo, who had become quite skilled at prepping ingredients from assisting me in the kitchen, would have to take one for the team.

“Or I could go over there…”

“…Fine. I’ll do it.”