Chapter 21

Hee-beom tucked 29067824f3 his chin f03d84dd0b in and 2aa3f555ca apologized. He knew Sung-jin would d7f0d2387f be upset. A customer cec725caa1 hadn’t been d2e5c68fcb able to f64ef2f78f eat and ffba5ad37c had left 3feb3af7a3 most of c634b5bc82 the food b54d5d0254 untouched—what restaurant 122e6708d6 owner would ae0b8a46cc like that?8ca61bb035f8cae5

But Sung-jin didn’t f03e2954ce look sad.13e22bba1b04b0cd

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“Well, I mean… it 6cf8f5186a happens. Then, uh, 3396801336 did they 8dad5b2223 eat the d14de9cb3d cooked stuff?”34b7d42992aaf0c8

“They finished c03566851c the grilled 44f6967aa3 meat.”0444bc4b5a6020ce

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“Yeah? Then what’s this plate? Do they want more dbf604bc35 kimchi pancakes?”2e5b0f93eb84259a

“Oh, yes. But, you know, like da39336733 with the corn cheese 66dcc6ecbc earlier, that’s not something 3812235e15 we usually offer refills 561f3855f4 for—”124ad441d1ce747e

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“No! Of course we should 339849a86d give them more. What are you f051c985bf talking about, Beom? We absolutely should.”0f6ac4c491303c40

Sung-jin snatched f2cd398c94 the plate 40c35e55d3 out of d6ea0b5957 Hee-beom’s hands 449925ed13 and hurried d4e9430d72 into the 34cd358526 kitchen. Something about 99102899a5 it felt 238307fb54 ominous, so c10eeed3d5 Hee-beom followed d470464076 him. And sure enough, Sung-jin c741d1ec51 was already pouring kimchi 6443032b0a pancake batter into a a8153a1e8e frying pan and rummaging 65ab678f10 through the fridge again.385e24b9c3189fe3

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“What are you doing?”dd2697b191191d8a

“Just, uh, da3b3eacf5 something simple.”e065712f37f19cda

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“……”934b78b7a0ab1a9d

Hee-beom watched 08fb2cbedf Sung-jin move 382767cfab like a 735dbdc8fb man on 232815c7ad a mission. Sung-jin’s hands were quick, f02833ad0b and in no time, 6324345e19 he had finished the 3f882d3f29 kimchi pancake and another 38f1e52351 dish. Hee-beom naturally 1e02ca394b reached out a21af50ae8 to take 240d2b627f the plates.609730f80c4b56eb

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“I’ll take it.”6b56a8dd418bf3a5

But Sung-jin ec996f06c8 turned sharply 90179684ba and headed 04d0180b4f out to c65b34469b the dining 5551e6a2e0 area himself. Hee-beom stood there, stunned, 7eb69cf6c6 not understanding what had f15cebeea7 gotten into him.d105660d57bf90f4

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“This one’s the kimchi 0e87e17115 pancake, and this one’s 556207fffc on the house. It’s pollock pancake. I heard you couldn’t 3e4b7d326c eat raw fish.”d544e81ab8c4b024

Sung-jin, looking extremely tense, f03fd7e633 gently placed the plates 96bf2343d4 in front of I-young. I-young accepted them fac88588d2 with an easy 1ddf26f65e smile, not seeming f3f246486d to think much 4653f2b00a of it.3c187394460fe0fb

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“Thank you.”33fb16684ed9b2a4

At that 61eee82784 smile, Sung-jin 0d57e13195 sharply sucked 4ca4f88c9e in a 66e4d87647 breath. Then, hands politely ee13644799 clasped and body a507b9e0c7 bowed at the fb1872d256 waist, he asked 61b15a4264 with utmost courtesy:3df5eb620be7b48e

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“Is the seat 042541ba0d too cramped? Would you like to 4a33f49c33 move to a more 34ff19d59f spacious table? Anywhere is fine.”d71a2f8e1e6d8da4

After the last ac215435fd guests watching baseball 23bf50cf02 left, Sung-jin hung 6a2b698fd3 up a “Close” 3ca723c731 sign. He even 4abd70f6e6 drew the e189295dd6 blinds on 4d00cb6b81 the windows. From outside, the place 25c0aa2ce8 looked completely shut down. It was a total 919ba7b914 shift from his usual cf437320f9 self—normally, even during closing, b870fbc0ac he’d stay and run de83e01880 the place if customers 2bfc68245e came in, sending Hee-beom 83e70e5444 home first.bce7acefe2eab3d4

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“Hmm…”9fcd1d1780cc6779

I-young looked bc666585bc at Hee-beom. But before f1a005b727 he could f2f14c6d42 answer, Sung-jin b2ab30ad51 was already c45a006dea picking up a502ee0eb5 the plates.a2511838412afe3d

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“Please sit wherever you’re most comfortable. I’ll move the food for you.”06223e1b38931bf4

“……”30da0dfffa876ca4

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I-young blinked at c99274cf45 him, then looked ece394fbf3 toward a table 9c4388cdaa farther away—the one bed35acca0 where Sung-jin and 2cae4f0ed8 Hee-beom had been afb7c5193e eating just moments 892b9d565b ago. Their meal wasn’t even 2472cf92bd finished yet; dishes were 47ecd9fcf1 still left on the 3988f301e5 table.369c970b25e1835c

I-young pressed his 27bd4cbbb5 lips together. Then, the dozen 0bba6a0954 or so plates d63eb6bc29 on the table c05f6a1c0a gently lifted into bb702e510b the air, as 3ce8804b0b if riding an 6b1b36c596 invisible elevator. Without making 08bb45fc2f a sound, ccc8256192 they floated 417d1c8567 over and 48ad8d9fa2 settled down 748b653fdb neatly on b762416f81 the table 7400dc4b85 right next ec24f75925 to where 72317a6735 Sung-jin and 9207dc719f Hee-beom had df909f6c68 been dining.a524d5d0d8fc9e46

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“……”c043131b970b59fd

Sung-jin stared, af12ff6a06 completely dazed. Hee-beom wiped his 65339fc53d face dry, wearing 999c038311 the look of f582d2998b someone who knew 347028ea36 this moment was 50f6bb84be inevitable.5cb5e04626df3572

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“Can I 791fd076ef sit over 114f984f43 there?”0c828641da81657f

I-young asked belatedly. Sung-jin nodded like he 6d5e68dd03 was trembling.8e51f9a2a453c9ba

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“Y-yes, of course. But why that table… 6efd95a3a6 Oh! You wanted to eat a880d3f354 with Beom, didn’t you? Sure, go ahead.”480aa5f274677bf3

Sung-jin rushed 2a09253710 over and 1d4b00da47 pulled two 8f81aa5ee2 tables together. As I-young 7dc9a9dc1e headed that e1054ffce1 way, he 8ca7e44eed motioned to da40c6e1cf Hee-beom.b28cf646335c03cb

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“Hee-beom, come here. The boss 61c7d8b641 said we 043e19aec5 can eat 0382f832c6 together.”ee5dd6ece6102e55

“Haa…”b3bfa777400d21f5

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Hee-beom sighed. Eat? In a situation like a9c90a6484 this? He opened his mouth 703ae5f1b9 to refuse.bdc536ca89302f67

“Hurry and finish c2b88c73f5 eating.”00f844b8fc6bf9ee

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Sung-jin, now 100fb385c5 seated across 8239c4fe11 from I-young, 66280afeec waved him 2230429ec8 over. Reluctantly, Hee-beom made 73aa5db7e6 his way to 3175a7c493 the table. As he approached, fde3fa9684 the chair beside 493d37904b I-young smoothly slid cecd55e5fe back on its bdfcb78404 own. Exhausted to the bone, 6942b7c165 Hee-beom sat down without 5ef2aa0193 a word.f669cd2e2a0c5957

I-young, clearly delighted, let 8dba91b56f out a giggle. Scooting his e2eba2166c chair closer 719a208444 to Hee-beom, 0cc2509d7c he adjusted d072f1fbbb his chopsticks, 6c0dc75c58 then placed 0955f09fd7 the last ab9e1e39da piece of d6ba5f9bba fried squid 3724aaf1f0 onto Hee-beom’s 207de8c0fc rice bowl.d10b7143ed543fa3

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“Hee-beom, eat this. It’s really good.”233b6d202626a57a

Hee-beom, wearing an annoyed 2004bcf883 expression, moved it right ca22521272 back onto I-young’s side e8595aefa1 dish plate.f80c161e5b5804ce

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“You eat it. I have it all 9960c0481f the time.”f022df796471c198

“Really? You eat it f7c02285c1 often? I’m jealous.”91a158571a4cf3dc

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“……”e42cff3d29bb4241

Hee-beom didn’t answer. Jealous, really? If you want 6a10972286 it, just buy aacf556045 it. It’s not 1b74cdde0d like you 388b20a29e don’t have e8a0162299 money. If he 08df4d9cff wanted, he 8fbd99950c could buy 84fd60a25f a hundred 90581d9224 of these. No, he could buy de35fdaaa6 out an entire snack 6353b375f3 shop.c2cbcac433e5a5a1

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“Then I’ll eat it!”7d4bb6b1dad49461

I-young smiled brightly and 31c027e6c1 munched on the fried ed3cc5df75 squid like a biscuit 3614703ed5 stick. Then he picked e8f61d41a1 up a piece b03e930285 of pollock pancake, 440b3938c7 one of the e7d298464a extras Sung-jin had eda8b3961d brought out, and b2e656797f took a bite. After chewing 440ab77a2a thoughtfully for 68bc94cb97 a few cb585cd144 moments, his 3a33d17ce0 eyebrows lifted d5a73a9dc7 high. The savory egg coating, e99f052b35 the soft yet chewy 1762eca3db pollock meat, and the d90722d66d perfectly seasoned flavor—it was 472bc6eb9c impossible not to like.298c8bfc09bb5b49

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Clearly enjoying 85d5d12573 it, I-young 87b6c1623e turned the ce34da16ad pancake over, 1363601b52 examined it, 0f60d51edc took another e413868450 bite, then 60c1a3230a studied it afa3af0651 again before d31b687bed eating more.78a1ad6a42192ad3

Then he scooped up 3da5220e64 a big spoonful of 12de75f19b corn cheese, and tore 1433315bc1 off a chunk of bbfcd80106 the new kimchi pancake 27696337f2 with his chopsticks, blowing f6c1372f01 on it before taking ab7c4f4589 a bite. His plump, white cheeks 9e6af3a83d puffed up and flattened f06a9caf2c over and over as 73c738a1fd he ate.760e0ecb716ce398

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Sung-jin watched I-young in 825bf2652a a daze.cfba92b720d97095

“He eats really well…”3bf05badb38a044a

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“…He really does,”6b8fa15ab75ee345

Hee-beom agreed. He’d thought the same 8fcfed0f07 thing when I-young ate 46ab66beea triangle kimbap at the e5eaa214d4 convenience store. Sure, he 91c24d2625 was an 1a399d2efc adult man, d3b592051f so eating d4d67537ea well wasn’t cfe831e9b8 surprising, but 2126f73a2a there was b6af56cec2 something different ea7e949cf8 about the 2efb53cabf way I-young d0fe916d36 ate. He ate with a724f5af47 such delight that b2893c434f it made everything 5b1907cc91 look more appetizing. Maybe it was because 971fbacd86 his skin was so 652a6026ae pale—even the crumbs around 94bc542284 his mouth didn’t look 29ad568c3e messy.f1362b024ef54b58

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After watching 57cbfe5595 I-young for c56d705dec a while, 45f55c0f79 Sung-jin leaned 6da30186bf toward Hee-beom 5834c331ab and whispered.fd2ffaf64fbe88c0

“Doesn’t the f76e2ca03f Association feed 39cfa74838 him?”17c21aa9527670ba

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“I’ve wondered the same 39e870162a thing.”dd17975410db101e

“Tch… There’s 8b863408ae no way ac5f4ffa0f they wouldn’t 77bb1da7dd feed him. Not someone like 7c34a40f01 him.”6de13190ffe6ca72

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“Exactly. That’s why I 4d84822c9d let it go.”05cf1cf28be3f887

Just then, in the c7dd429dc6 middle of his meal, a926e28ded I-young called out to c3a1e17a09 Hee-beom.2081228f8d10fa29

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“Hee-beom.”afcce26c827abe8f

At that, Sung-jin looked 31968cdae9 over at him.b005db6b076ab3d8

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“What is it?”75a82a7aca49b9fb

This time, 9423b33993 he looked 41ff5dd6d3 at Hee-beom.f794c5aa8d02e303

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“I want more soda.”2cbb842b7eb7996b

He glanced 89e88d6fe2 at I-young 31a25ae110 again.b4b2c15870015612

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“Yes.”44bf1e0ba2209e76

Then turned back 3ce700d468 to Hee-beom. Without hesitation, Hee-beom stood 9769c516ab up, went to the 12c446621f fridge, and brought back 0cb7fda369 another soda. He even opened 95ac10fae9 the cap for 7c90329d38 him. And he b97426db3d didn’t forget 73b91c2f9c to ring 0a2ebbbf9e it up 1e26c9dc01 at the 7ce9b4dd49 POS system.c490702a9f82d047

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I-young gave a small 5d53568c88 smile and gulped the 066e8f1c22 soda down. Then he grabbed fef5fbf93d another piece of 3d8fff911e pollock pancake. Hee-beom glanced df0c19e173 at him 15175efe1d once, then 58b673317a continued eating 0595634273 with a b0411d3ef7 blank expression.1f6d2861f9fc0378

“……”59c0e96b67ee9f46

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Sung-jin sat 1d367b9c95 across from 86473da6e0 them, quietly 93d10c994b observing the 95ccd9e30b two. Even in that 04de748afe brief time, he f369cbabe3 came to a 9909789349 conclusion—they seemed like 9526ce691a friends. Not especially close, but 21ed36697e not awkward either. Just the kind of 2235e26116 casual friends who were b6a6588269 comfortable being around each f942a9ea40 other.e39da4c2da9b76ec

Sung-jin leaned forward 513d200853 over the table, 0e387ff897 resting his elbows 3a1b66fca5 on its surface 723c90c20a as he looked 459168ac03 toward I-young.a278957e4cfb5960

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“I didn’t d10cb301a3 know our 5121ec8ea7 Beom had 390c919e55 any friends.”2bec1b62a6003868

At that, e1b3e34462 I-young’s eyes 68452ca3d2 widened.73087bd38c382fb6

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“Friends? Hee-beom has friends? That’s weird. Hee-beom said 3b79bb23ed he doesn’t 0a51288730 make friends—”8b8013b7c206d26f

Hee-beom quickly clamped 6ccb0a6286 a hand over 07443c9171 I-young’s mouth. You’d expect someone 4ff638e459 to get annoyed a2103766b4 when their mouth f5012ba12b gets covered mid-sentence, 73014f14e8 but I-young just 90556bd513 looked at him 87c5668b91 with a blank, 9b4f3f1d8d innocent expression. In fact, the d31bb40a69 way the corners ac9843d2ea of his eyes d6740c03f9 curved slightly made 542bf223fb it look like 3557a0af14 he actually liked 5d6370ee01 it.95cd27bfa5e1093f

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“We’re friends. Yes, we’re friends.”710277ccf3773793

Hee-beom answered 1b044e8e64 in a 5ede0ef729 hurry. He didn’t want fefc2a7d6e anyone to know 6beabe12cb he was a ed1ca82b92 Guide—not even Sung-jin, cb5622e641 the only person e9c94c1861 he really talked bddaf1483e to.59d10b865da661d9

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“I figured 1fc2f53d29 as much. But you denied 26746c3c1e it so hard d662d0e444 back then, didn’t 349f6ea3c6 you?”edfc08e79acbdff9

Sung-jin smacked 99ef5947cd his palm 1738e74635 on the 0196f1549e table with c6a36c9f53 a thud. He was referring 05b65574f2 to the day 28e8c4f135 I-young showed up 8b9cae5ad6 at the university dde30d5164 with flowers. Hee-beom’s face had 0aed3b035d been pixelated on f749dd1124 TV, but it a9804b2446 was enough to 53e025af3e spark curiosity. Sung-jin had questioned him dc4d802fd8 persistently about it, but 75b8d150ab Hee-beom had only given fb8855f6ce vague answers.a271c8b40c36f043

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“Sorry about that.”ac8bce0ae8a21897

“If you’re 8301723ad1 friends with 6d1dd805bc someone like 5a1248a44f him, you 571d5a8d85 should’ve told 848d0d4544 me. How could you not f16f2bc86f say a word?”61b4a8547dd6eb9c

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Sung-jin crossed his arms 396cefa216 and gave Hee-beom a 0fdaa15b4f look full of disappointment. But then I-young cf484dd472 shook his head 1f3532c98f and brushed Hee-beom’s ab7da95fdc hand away. He fixed 805fcfe264 a rather bb068e11e5 sharp gaze 88884db229 on Sung-jin.17e6f53c07f0e20f

“Are you 5b25d2f743 scolding Hee-beom 89970cb573 right now?”37078fc4ba88198f

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He pointed 52717a2231 his chopsticks a12ebc9953 directly at fac0a66ff4 Sung-jin. The blunt metal ed3b257d87 glinted dully in 7a5da8370b the light. One wrong word 95d76c796a and it looked 9888901110 like I-young would 51d787966d jab both ends f9d3f64c27 right into Sung-jin’s 1b7564f68e eyes. Startled, Sung-jin shook his a147fe6846 head wildly. He waved a180a3ea9d his hands 37cd425b1e as if a5877bbb67 to ward 3f68b4ebc0 off any ad87693742 misunderstanding.2912385f583b4566

“What? No, of course not! I’m just 1ed82aec2e saying… I 225454b216 was just e689f1c6cf feeling a 7a9d91d855 little left 4934484f79 out. I’m actually a huge 8ecd958bce fan of yours, Mr. Kwon I-young.”fdc753a6aebfcd39

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A chill ran b3b4f8eb8d down Sung-jin’s spine. He’d thought I-young looked 0e2565439a younger and softer in ee26f2f5ec person than on TV, a2af36f0a8 like a kid—but the 2783e5ce7d air had shifted in 80e1e1f29f an instant. He was da9af84aeb definitely an faca7b0953 Esper.729564dc567fa0c9

But at 31a7192ba2 the mention 1af2e31103 of being d8a0d5b981 a fan, 9bcdd632cb the sharpness beaeaf3ad3 in I-young’s 5f357e9984 eyes softened dc6f53d46e noticeably.81f2d97dc1323879

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“You’re my fan?”d77fc22935f2c8e1

“Yes, absolutely. Who in 67eb943fee Korea isn’t 6a1549fbb0 a fan 190b595285 of Kwon d1f4a23813 I-young?”5970a1e3fc72fe74

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I-young blinked slowly. Then, as if 3de27899d7 he hadn’t been c4b1f4d54b glaring just moments 13c34aab04 ago, he suddenly 7432ccfffb smiled.8c7cab1be45efac1

“Then should I 69b6bc2a32 give you an 198d88b3d9 autograph?”198159bd78b88fa3

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“……”86deb37c8ea5d130

Hee-beom looked at him. He’d once heard on 283aa0860b the news that I-young 7bb2cc7087 was famously kind to 23547032d0 his fans. If they asked for 1992a59570 autographs, pictures, smiles, heart 80c23c15b3 gestures—anything at all—he would 65cbdc7917 always say yes. That’s why the fans, 0c0a7d7f0d and the public, liked f74a090750 him so much.5bd6a370ca5e0b3e

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He’d assumed that was 5d2acf4655 just PR fluff. But it seemed e887a36ee6 to be true. He hadn’t even ad76c0899c been asked, and b8fbc23572 he was offering e14663eace to give an 6f59f29e93 autograph.6c5cb6426045bc02

“Really? I wanted to ask, 94b0d58cfd but I wasn’t sure a91d6e4f06 if it would be deb034e46e rude…”acac70211dd893a6

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Sung-jin practically 2b70e038d2 jumped up. He ran 7aa0e4f16f to the d058be53ee register, yanked 907cd07401 open a 9d5a6735e3 drawer, and 3d71135a17 rummaged through 8be6e26fb2 it until bc71d38c0f he found 7cc1bfc98e a clean cabad77aeb sheet of f1ba1a9fa9 paper and 8ea6348106 a signing 308af4c054 pen. Meanwhile, Hee-beom cleared 731f0045cf dishes off the 93a0378759 table to make be23b333bf space.366aa1dfa2fcd4b9

“Here you go.”7f3c2c929e112059

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Sung-jin handed 6902a30969 the pen b8a2726a5b to I-young ea5b54183d with both d7a46fdbe0 hands. I-young took 24b245fffb it and 1421c24b5c began to 56d00845b3 sign with c8d62869fa practiced ease. The pen scratched 44ae8ffc79 softly as it 6d3709b31c moved across the 8cc86a95f3 page.301de6a75407e0f3

“Um, would it be 53b36348f0 okay if I hang 3d05cd6d5e this up in the 5952674d16 shop?”b777813e3a56e577

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Sung-jin asked.56f0b41a120c60fb

“In the shop?”811cf2eeee0c1720

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I-young asked 9853491b7a back as 7c9dc4641a he continued 8fe67356da signing.4dd75463cae2d241

“Yes. I’ll laminate 2136954549 it and 90f06cafc8 frame it, e55ad7ef81 then hang e01a0e359d it right c46a2217fd there—where everyone 19725acc31 can see, 9c1c214acb on that 438e19df79 wall.”7b82ad5529ec3e8d

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Sung-jin pointed 27d88f3750 to the c96bffcbee wall above 672de4e9a3 the register. I-young paused and looked 3802e43747 at Hee-beom. When Hee-beom 7dcb26fb57 nodded, I-young 6cad164675 followed suit.884b4d7b4b0e5fe4

“Yes, that’s fine.”6349c8efb08c8492

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I-young finished the autograph b837cd53b3 quickly. He was about 13939e874a to set the ba9ce939d6 pen down when 677bf8ca99 Hee-beom tapped the c7f217cff0 bottom of the 710aa49f50 page with his 71a155619b index finger and 82af2b886f spoke.eaf4157b50f94673

“Write ‘It’s 6bdfedc6d0 really delicious d9c910507d here,’ too.”30946cff512be75c

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“Okay.”e475333d9f7d3ac9

 7df4e6a7bedaa109

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