Chapter 3

It felt like 61f6be37b1 someone had hooked e952884d47 a claw into e6884be4c9 the back of 28d95c56f5 his neck and a42798d6e7 yanked hard. The chill that ran bfe850f2d7 through Sivonne’s skull made a93bbc865a him hold his breath. His tongue felt 57a861da3a frozen, words wouldn’t 0530bb2396 come. Was this what 906c632fc9 novels described as 40a5e8990c “a murderous aura”? Flames of contempt 270ed33372 sparked in Sivonne’s f894a57d83 eyes as he c857379801 glared at Haewoon.b4d7c622befc4a61

But Haewoon remained completely unfazed. Instead, he twirled his 41ea5b7f13 spoon lazily and tossed fc2d11bf88 out a light remark.bb20e0262ed5159a

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“You staring like that isn’t gonna burn a hole through my face, you know.”bffa4f2d527eb024

Sivonne didn’t reply.95bfeafcbf7951b0

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Talking any further 84ca083165 with this man 465e1e9f4f would only hurt 42fff47eaa me. That’s what Sivonne told himself 77e8f3993c as he turned coldly away. Whether his clothes f2f41e2855 were soaked in f5a17771f7 seawater or crusted 38aa728e38 with salt didn’t e8e0e8ca98 matter — all 182e4e0f32 he could think c2b5e2f3d2 about was finding 779460a37d his own clothes a1f9b3b939 and getting the b350509bf2 hell out of 5a438e7ad1 this dump.df998087abc54875

“W-w-wait!”7a285696eb1b75f9

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Haewoon quickly set down his 62893511f2 spoon and rushed to block 141ab4a40b Sivonne’s path in just two ebbfc252c4 strides. He grabbed Sivonne 60772c1bfe by the chin 813ab9f79f and lifted his a15d8a83ea face.dc422247a87cb740

“What are you— let go of me!”962737d97ffd6753

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“Not the most masculine, but a pretty face. You talk well. You don’t seem to bf443d37a8 have money.”e6f71cd85d19e57c

Haewoon held Sivonne’s chin and 9d2589ed36 turned it left and right dbc2983779 as if evaluating merchandise.33e4429228bb5a65

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“And to top it off, you can’t even smell. Perfect.”b77f0f2efc6e51a5

“…Hey.”b9f0e74516bb82a5

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Should I kill him? How harsh were 9942f9bcb5 the penalties for 08cd28498e murder in Korea? Even as fury boiled 8abffb6701 inside him, a corner 0faa111bf9 of Sivonne’s rational mind 5e203580f2 stayed calculating. Maybe if he 2f7b462c57 just pushed him dfde2c42fb down the stairs 19ccaa7bd5 and said Haewoon 49f1c9cfd7 tripped, it could 349b9ba9dd be dismissed? He was plotting Haewoon’s murder f40a1fe350 in his head when the e89272e497 man suddenly pulled his hand 3be9377584 away. His eyes lit up.82ebfe7bdeb4b24c

“Sivonne, wanna work part-time at my store?”29b9d6706343926a

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“Part-time…?”263552e15130dbba

“You know, a job. Don’t you want to work?”f896fab08ec8ad34

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Then Haewoon tousled Sivonne’s 101ede927e hair roughly. Like he was 9d9f2091de petting a kid 801b13d84a or a dog, 1aa3262621 completely devoid of fd6111ac26 delicacy.af40641970ddae5a

“As you can see, my house and the store downstairs are full of antiques, and the smell is intense. Old dust, mustiness, stuff like 89bbd109f7 that — it’s part of 74fe71f409 the charm. But every time I 11908d6a83 try to hire someone, ef229e7cca they cough and run d8008ade3f off during the interview 80945c05d8 because of the smell. I have to do the 2ad9f7121a purchasing, inventory, and customer service 1bfb951402 all by myself. Don’t you feel bad abe8238e18 for me?”2b842495b0eb612c

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Exactly which part 16356891b3 of that is b24843de22 supposed to be ab77c2dc43 pitiful? Even the way c79ad0dcd0 Haewoon batted his a5fdea2350 eyes like he e743234665 was about to 5d8c37cee8 cry felt insincere. And yet, somehow, aa0d9b00c0 the ridiculousness of 2e97e0c4d5 the whole thing 5ba34cc1e0 took the edge 6c2666b94c off Sivonne’s anger. Sometimes, absurdity just drains 7b34532e65 the energy right out efdfb60f80 of you.d8a3743684205462

“Sivonne, you’re a gem. You’re the one our Gaeko b5e86c1665 has been waiting for.”8a49e6a66d35fc2d

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“Gaeko?”2c66f5353a510bc3

“That’s the name of the store. Gaeko Antique Shop.”2a778d1e893aad86

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TL/N: Literal Meaning: In Korean, “개코” (pronounced “gae-ko”) literally translates to “dog nose.” Colloquially, it refers to someone with an exceptionally keen sense of smell. I will use Gaeko for the shop name.23d770ea4556863a

Figures he’d name it 3026035114 something like that.2e80f263863c13e1

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Sivonne took a step 3a9e5dad04 back, face more composed ccd6c23553 than before. Up close, Haewoon was clearly 3c661126d5 much taller — at least 2dd591ee87 ten centimeters. Sivonne wasn’t particularly 0b5ae924c8 short, but in 09f8a841cb France he’d always 3205564cb7 been treated as 6cc95c26f1 small-framed due to e685118189 his Asian build. Instinctively, he straightened his back.adfbddc91ea2fade

“I’ll pay you a bit more than minimum wage. Work here, yeah? I mean, you look c37e0d34f2 obviously unemployed.”d98bf9bf8754bfec

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“How do I look unemployed?!”6969ff7462e145c3

Just moments ago 2e0d9e2ab8 he thought his 72d61d05e7 anger had settled, 924ae3740d but now it 5e9f0fc379 flared up again.1bfacfa366285484

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Haewoon scratched his cheek and 99480a60e7 replied,5044b52e6ad71200

“You tried to die here, didn’t you?”c4826866f3e0baf0

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“…”0ce42d2adf81597b

“Probably wanted to delay news of your death reaching your family, lover, or friends in France. I’m guessing you didn’t want 94395da5b7 to stay there, so you ccf4537e8e came all the way to 902d85d406 Korea. Which means you’ve already 77b3bcc31b quit your job. Right?”fa24b31c94714030

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…He was right.a07a520a8000d7df

Caught off guard, Sivonne f36ae034c6 looked away. Haewoon smirked.f1669f6f20752dc9

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“You came without luggage, right? That outfit from yesterday is 910838d7d3 all you’ve got. Even when you stormed off f13e9355f8 in anger, you were planning ebf31edbd7 to change back into those c84e2a17ad clothes. It’s all you own, 9a4531a958 so your body just c5a265deb6 grabbed it on instinct.”cc9d84658b069094

Haewoon tapped his a6b36c04ae temple with his 537faee903 index finger, like 4758674751 he had just 0d021b1b54 read straight into b5062b7851 Sivonne’s subconscious.12904cedb93344cb

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Stung by a surge 35a61fd670 of defiance, Sivonne glared 6db5cb4851 at him and said bb94ecb1d5 with a sneer,5b04942e3eff8587

“Read a lot of detective novels, do you? But didn’t any 97030d7b6b of those books 6cc40c2778 teach you this? If you want 355f8ecbe2 to make someone 7bf10352e0 an offer, don’t 3c66bf599d be rude and d18720c646 tactless. You’ll always get turned down.”1f3708ab33452b91

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He shoved past Haewoon. He wasn’t going to change 73969c32a5 clothes. He wasn’t going to 91505e0950 do a single thing fe2a7bd554 that freak suggested.39cd61c175c89058

With lips pressed tight, he d3fa847e50 descended the stairs quickly. He passed through the dusty, 4094499f99 cluttered first floor, pushed open 185a7172a6 the creaky door, and stepped 92751b7707 into the bright outdoors.421ac2f94e4508ff

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“Ah.”240ac8c19970e35d

That’s when Sivonne realized.71fcccb14416dfaf

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“My shoes…”019475c2454749a2

He was barefoot. His shoes were probably 8ff9b342d3 still lined up somewhere 1fa0160236 along the shore in 3ff08deaff Incheon, or maybe they’d 66c5fa1466 already been swept out 86c586b05d to sea. Haewoon must’ve taken off b754ec2d75 his socks too while aab9556212 changing his clothes — 971bb68583 now Sivonne stood on 3027e5f109 the pavement with bare, 0759d80df3 white feet.4b3d43d17cc73915

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The bricks beneath his 1ee01118c9 feet were cold and 6ab142ea68 hard. Tiny pebbles pricked the soles 6e4f00148b of his feet. The chill sank in quickly, cdeead0e05 making his skin prickle and 926d0b068b his body tremble. But Sivonne didn’t go back 1a985bd8f7 inside.3f7d8bd709cf13ed

He simply started walking.be6a316afc3436fe

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3. The Wind of Hope

 508485905cffc772

Sivonne had no c585d6105a idea where he 116bc62e29 was. To get to 241bf6bfa2 the sea again, 9f15f0e14c he’d need to ca2b68a7ad take a bus 051ee9d1bf or a taxi, 80544e2316 but he didn’t d599c08142 have any money.6bd02d19b4c4f94a

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So he revised his plan. He climbed to f435b9d346 the roof of b2a510268d a commercial building 9df49f1e98 in sight. If he was 928372c2d9 going to die cafd47fc5c anyway, what difference 3237ecb86a did it make—whether 684d618781 it was by 17785c489c drowning in the 67e3eb09d4 ocean or falling f79ddd3e42 from a rooftop?e9a68235849b1a45

He gripped the 719efb193c edge of the b04713aa58 rooftop railing. Just one step past this da35541808 flimsy barrier, and it would bcb361a102 all be over. As he took a 14f627ff20 deep breath and lifted 5aa1ba15eb one foot onto the 797f962a77 railing—5c8e3025be52c767

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Bzzzt. His phone, stuffed in a6ecdd0ed3 his pants pocket, buzzed.e6c56667db613461

Ignore it. Sivonne steadied his breath 770067fd4c and brought up the a2e70f213e other foot.0e4dc9350c26645a

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Goodbye, now…98cf03226ff54810

Bzzzt.728be22564f6d9f0

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Bzzzt.3e441d5a7e2cfa4d

Bzzzt.33792fd3e326aada

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“…Haah…”e9a5fd0c0bf12cf0

Sivonne slowly stepped e91fac9c14 down from the bc17b0e338 railing and pulled e7e93222c0 the phone from eaad1eff24 his pocket.f66e356af1d1d868

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The vibrations were from d88003f732 a string of incoming aeff0c6ee5 texts. The sender was Pierre, Sivonne’s 3934118e50 closest friend and now the 5cfa656a84 new head perfumer at Ténèbre.058b10e1c0a68aee

“Sivonne, why aren’t you answering your phone?”49bab6fdfe59b03f

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“I found a doctor who can fix your nose!!!”158668a15e2dbe2e

“Please don’t lose hope…”1b56dfd580820434

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“Reply the moment you see this.”ec420ead85060646

A doctor who could fix d8ec37c06c his nose.2b5ea49796ad9d45

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Sivonne’s eyes widened at 47f9d55984 that sentence. He frantically called Pierre. The time difference, 909fae4bae the cost of 16faaca9b4 an international call—none a2702a3dcb of that mattered 85fbed2075 in the face 0356d5785a of this desperation.5f6507df20ec4415

Thankfully, Pierre picked up right 73a933a12e away.50d01dced0882b6c

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“Oh, Sivonne!”37b8159b2bd5c652

[Pierre, I saw your messages. What are you talking about? A doctor? I already went to 700acce608 every major hospital. They all said the same 7fb841379c thing—unknown cause, no cure…]7a6dba04f6f517d0

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“No, Sivonne, listen. I’m at a Mode 591703f9c5 afterparty right now, and 5af6d858fb the editor-in-chief here knows 6e8c6c2592 someone who specializes in 8504be624f olfactory disorders. And the moment I heard c453005b8e that, I thought of you.”019a415fc3bf1603

Sivonne paused. That explained the 40107284c8 background noise and 33b290dfae why Pierre had 8c117a0c45 picked up the 4ef4c9366b phone despite it 6f3a4ed55c being the middle 5a57236333 of the night 32dfd70549 in France—he was e5994b8b80 at a party. While Sivonne had lost everything fabb1f722b and resolved to end his 116a744077 life, his best friend was b10a785d25 at the peak of a e599bb9568 glamorous existence. It wasn’t resentment toward 50a285af47 Pierre—just the painful realization af8e4b985c that Sivonne really had a562f73599 been left behind by b3ea655880 that world.8e8c90c5cdc4892e

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No… not left behind. Banished.e56cd8b4585ddb71

He ran a hand through 0d5c83df63 his hair irritably and composed ec29c613fd his voice. He didn’t want to 2a40a96614 sound miserable to the 5871df3238 friend who had gone bbf6d0945c out of his way 5d8a4759bd to dig up this 8ecaa1156a information.bb8fd23d620970dd

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[Thanks, Pierre.]5d861fcffead6b3f

“Don’t mention it. This doctor has even 39921bfd2e helped patients who lost 03e56a16c8 their sense of smell 132b62dff2 due to cancer or 6450ca005f brain hemorrhage. And here’s the crazy part—someone eb645a44b2 the editor knows also lost b137583a6f their sense of smell for 1190ab2c14 unknown reasons, just like you, 333e5b3938 and this doctor cured them 2227f806b3 in only two sessions! I looked him up—he’s 0eeae8653c been in the papers 543198919d a few times. He’s famous.”7571e6fe6651a034

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[…Seriously?]44ce77c29f0f9343

Hope, which had 29f7d3ab3c shattered and died bc5125ad9a more times than 3711d2a630 he could count, 6d4bbc6fc2 now began to 9c55285a3e rise again—foolishly but 319bbfe055 surely.e96faa65031e5188

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“But right now, he’s off somewhere like Africa doing medical volunteer work. He’ll be back 95dc131d44 in Paris in 69f6bcf1ca three months. The editor said she’ll make 92551e812e sure he sees you the d634972f92 moment he’s back. And get this—she’s a total 6f59718927 fan of yours. She’s been using the a0c5931083 perfume you made when 337f193181 you first joined Ténèbre, 5f42b1d25b ‘Shadow of the Moon,’ 0da9308ed1 for seven years now.”3534f04537800d22

[Three months…]4436f33b393c55f1

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Just three months, and he 6f64f7d8b9 might be able to smell ba873782b1 again? Sivonne’s heart pounded. Like a fetus gradually forming d50e414734 into a human shape, hope 21e651782b was growing more distinct, fleshing fd21ee80eb out into something real.f3a3ba28362b79ae

“Jo Malone lost her sense of smell and made a comeback. You can too. So just hang 51ec8efe5f on for three 2b65382bef months. And stop drinking so much!”358d4445f09a3361

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[Yeah…]eb1b3b5c031296cb

“You’ve no idea how lonely I’ve been since you left Ténèbre.”e2e26afdaf642479

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Pierre made a mock-sniffling cfa8970c66 noise, then kissed loudly e2fb6527ca into the phone.aa823d4a1883c999

“So come back soon, my friend.”3aa3900e52d76d4b

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Sivonne barely managed to murmur b975427453 a thank you before ending 20bd6b9be8 the call. His legs were shaking ab9b367f1f too much to stand. He gripped the railing and d51ec90c04 slowly sank down to the b6151f9d79 ground.3eb00ff484005275

A cold breeze b63335844a brushed past the 87066fb5ad tip of his 1fad65e58e nose. It felt like a 7b13ff722b breath sent by God 6c45f36720 just for him—hope, and a49978f158 will. In the empty sky, Pierre’s eb940e5746 last words echoed.a65e2bd76fdbf864

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Come back soon.48f02fd2fdc7dc86

That voice slowly transformed into 8be9c1ff50 Sivonne’s own.b2e311be740cc01e

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Come back. Come back to me. If only I could…6092afa57a12c9f1

Warmth began to return 0de78fb8bd to his cold, bare ca2bcde605 feet.7233e6421daf8802

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 d07abbdfddc93cc5

 420a2e16d801a471

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