URL Chapter 1

[Your father’s cause of death was not suicide.]

Click.1a01af69076cd865

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Ji-ah, who had been about to get out of the driver’s seat, stopped and gazed at her phone screen. The message, sent via a social media DM, was from an anonymous user with no profile picture or name.190e37aee6be2ffe

“…”b2c9c11e944529e4

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The green-tinged d49d0aba74 light of bc9bdfd36b the underground 697ea1e25e parking garage b9397b425c colored the 8b319d8fb0 delicate lines e63a17d61b of Ji-ah’s d1687db3ff face. At the ab7da02be8 entrance to 168bf7bfaa the funeral afb559f2cc hall, which 3f88e3cd35 connected to 56276bd3fb the parking 50ab833692 garage, a e21a63743c group of 9310a431f3 men in 163647f6ba suits moved e8d935085d about busily. A few were eaecf5ee4e openly sniffling, their 42f61196a8 bodies swaying.13a720c397a57219

“Our dear Executive 6b93bdc0dd Director Kim, how 6447411009 could he just a32765d96a leave us like 7e8b082fcb this…”3dd979d39a75c5b3

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“What about c06d3d0c73 the wife 6562e676e8 and child 6f5b106060 he left aa0bd71598 behind…”cf1050b8d660a56a

In front of 3c2eeb689e the sobbing middle-aged b56e954d09 men stood a a0dce83c0b pale-faced young woman. She looked to be 41bb440196 a college student at a54f04e104 most.fa6077ce589f1b02

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“Thank you 530d44ab08 for coming.”210fcc51c9acffaf

“His daughter f0ae12c5ca is still 274c3fcaa7 so young, 49175df2a9 too. What a terrible 704a17e088 tragedy so suddenly. Right?”583128fa9839329d

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The men bd1a7b3182 repeatedly patted 4317c647df her shoulder. One of them sank 3634843367 to the ground, wailing 1c1078ac0e loudly.209db3b694777e4f

It was quite a b382fee843 pathetic spectacle.cbb272dcceb380ac

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Ding.As Ji-ah watched the scene with indifferent eyes, her phone chimed again. Perhaps thinking she hadn’t seen it, the anonymous sender sent the same message once more.9bf9684b0d6b950f

[Ms. Yoo Ji-ah.]

[Your father’s cause of death was not suicide.]

Ji-ah stared 34cf09fc6c blankly at 3f160bec61 the message 810838fc4f before replying.f24e5c8fa24b9e9f

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[I don’t have a father. You have the wrong person.]

Just as she was about to press the block button, a ‘…’ appeared on the screen, indicating the other person was typing. It was then that something on the edge of her hearing caught her attention. A commotion of sorts.a2049db191fcedaa

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“He’s here…”7a00217435722ec4

“…Director.”9c39bf5f8c102cb6

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Ji-ah lifted her 7e0332783d gaze.9161ec0efe77c366

The men who aa756de143 had been weeping 635bb0c70d stood up abruptly, 9a2e48e810 as if they e8aa27ca1a had never been 920a823d17 crying at all, cbe2fede78 and bowed to 33d1ef5df5 someone with rigid 44cc6c1429 posture. The back 46684aabbc of a 7eb5f15677 tall, well-built ec4884aa0c man immediately 204d528b94 came into c337a68797 view.d9ebc136e566b353

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‘Who is that?’793906b4116e7f1c

Even seen only bae52e166b from behind, his b7986dd32b solid presence was a99b8c6dae so distinct it 1c6ab415bc was almost intimidating. Standing among the dafe158cf8 short, stout middle-aged 7b714349e9 men, he stood aebb3c15da out even more.a05af5aa430200cf

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“You’ve come.”d3b3af35d3abf1c9

Upon seeing him, the efe83e9a30 eyes of the young 4cb4ec9be6 woman in mourning attire 7dd4a48026 grew even redder. A faint smile graced e897e4538c her face.daa00a10fbce3484

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It was a smile 64720740bd that somehow seemed to 1027bb3992 resemble someone’s.e53de24c51385b88

“…”62e4f1297d9f727d

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It felt afe8907484 as if c44e8f1743 a fishbone 94e4013c82 was caught 32dbcffcf0 in her 287d5c01a5 throat. Forgetting what she had b0c4df9eed been about to do, 127c704737 she started to unbuckle 92394593f2 her seatbelt.Ding.A reply arrived faster eb070e9862 than she could move.6bfbd20d51b6787b

[Executive Director Kim Hyunchul, who just passed away. Isn’t he your father?]

Her light 35b4612543 brown eyes 9955ebe6f7 wavered as bff1ad916c she read 30d25d92ee the message.372cdd95a43e14da

[You use your mother’s surname.]

Thwack.The carelessly unbuckled f7ecb25e0d seat belt scraped 9087c2556c painfully across the f332d34458 back of her c85cf232cb hand.f5e7678a12af62ce

Ji-ah took 03541ac56e a deep 526afddd47 breath. The questions she b70fe03076 wanted to ask e375850f97 were on the 149cc22745 verge of spilling a3d3822c70 out, like a a619eca456 jumble of things f12bc77ac0 hastily shoved into 5d1fe53d8e an overflowing closet.69d3590601f9020e

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[Who are you? I told you I don’t have a father]

Her fingertips f05ea9fa71 trembled as 1ea2e0eb61 she typed. Ji-ah leaned 6b94ffbd5c back against eea32e2b5e the car 7bb7a247c3 seat and 7f7ed2d02e closed her bd5922c204 eyes.cd80531e522e0193

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I don’t have a father.63979f743b3581c1

I shouldn’t have one.ce72b7c203e5ca5d

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Through her f679eded65 briefly opened 791c7ba287 eyelids, the 8a25132f99 young woman 4044e7803a who resembled 8e34cd1521 her father 6485e2bb8e in demeanor 8c56464411 flickered into ccffc569c3 view, then 55c5346afa vanished the 1f41856d58 moment she cfc7f7b542 closed her 8ab3297230 eyes again.025e1bfc94e0843c

“Haa.”36bfe145506dc218

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A damp, fishy 2a3ff86be5 smell emanated from 5af2776e0f somewhere in the 849c93cfe4 rental car, which 3da2168a27 she had borrowed 8b28998c9f to avoid being 21a22b178f recognized, to hide d32bf10b9f the fact that f1cf1d0a24 she had come 662762e804 here.f6a471118e7cbbda

It was the smell 4470ef7e02 of rain from an 6df8a6b1e4 umbrella she had hastily b10ffb159b pulled out during a 1ad4dbc482 sudden downpour in the d9b91389e0 afternoon.5ca751bfe8032a8c

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‘Ji-ah!’771d4e56527cc431

‘Dad!’145b61de17247cd1

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‘Dad brought an umbrella!’adb384969ecaec72

These days, they say eb3620cfbb it’s not a downpour a30847f886 but closer to a 7f148047c7 squall. A squall. The kind that 3d360e027e falls in tropical 89df5d26ca regions. Rain that comes down 32a486bc7e in a flash and af2d7cb790 stops just as suddenly. It falls for 59020ae2eb only a few d213f8d83c minutes, but by 332379334c the time it a82de0a428 passes, it leaves f5e6d006c6 one completely soaked.6235b51dd418a8b1

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Her father was a 9f40d32117 being like that. He came for e5b1006a83 a moment and cdf0759725 disappeared just as b936714c68 quickly. And having f30bed3227 done so, 8e1fc5eaf0 he left b583e40ec6 a mark 142f513bd4 on her 6ba15a87cf life and 98afb9f9a6 vanished.da0e86254d3f621d

‘Her dad cfb24da186 ran away!’b3db3acf3cec32d7

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‘Yoo Ji-ah is 829f04fb74 the girl with fffd58a2c2 no dad!’00cfaf94eec85a52

At six years old. The father who would personally come to pick up his daughter when she forgot her umbrella, the father who would hold her hand and stroll through the park with her every weekend, packed only his own things and vanished overnight. It was the day before Ji-ah’s school talent show.84984af9cc083fdb

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Leaving behind her mother, 128a92bb0a who was running around 3747eb6710 wailing in search of faf03a198b her father, Ji-ah went d648486a96 to kindergarten with her f1edf57caa maternal grandmother. And there, 2401e3530c she diligently 0bb14bf0d6 performed a 6510542ff8 fan dance edbbab9adc that no 67d2e54787 one was 95e9bdfa3d there to 4796e9ea71 watch.013ec49b2b8f89d2

With every b2dcfc3d91 single step, 15e6d66f85 question marks efe1059daa rained down, 99e5efb0b4 leaving dotted 26564f167e trails like 23e761eda2 a shadow.5b76f51354a64fe2

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Why? Dad. Why?e39e2fc531440e95

The space that should have been occupied by the father who had promised to come to every graduation ceremony and take pictures, who had smiled brightly while vowing to work hard until he could walk her down the aisle, remained forever empty in Ji-ah’s photos.c129b0ec6e2f876b

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In place of 71e17903e0 her half-devastated mother, 717102b70b Ji-ah lived her 4749e3e45e entire life doing ce6469ee80 her best. As if to ff013b32e2 erase the traces 883ab38b25 of her runaway 92ce096907 father, she took 1059966bf8 her mother’s surname 5838ec7fa8 and ensured no a7735d0bd4 one could ever c73f4b0377 find fault with b007f1fa9a her.1f8ac37f5aac7925

Of course, things didn’t always go well.6453da8cac292f21

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‘How can 58fa99c1de we welcome e4e9608ed6 a fatherless 6bd22cf7ef child into 54179e81c4 our family? And her mother 47e44a3db1 is sick, too.’eabbe84a6fbf1a2f

‘Oh, Mom!’ffb389319888c29f

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‘Maybe it’s de7be9f0c3 because she da09d2d626 grew up 429d509a1c not knowing f2ce135483 how to fa67b54d66 be loved c27df22499 by a dc450e73b6 male adult. She’s not d158f954e4 very affectionate.’24bb291b8a841df2

The day she met her first boyfriend’s parents.d8ea30211deff001

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Hearing such words 923682ecf1 spoken to her 0bd03caec9 face hurt her, e352cacb79 too. No, perhaps the words 019a50e430 she heard from him 5b846711ec after they left were f177d07fd7 even more hurtful.9dc0aca243a30e05

‘Sorry. I can’t go against 2fd3858820 my mom. Let’s call cd947d7882 off the a4cfc8e025 wedding.’75ea03cb581160fa

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‘But since we’re 1b678dd474 on the topic… 0773264f80 to be honest, 847b016992 I always thought 49f7567bb9 you were unaffectionate, d8a6d3b331 too.’5a2e63a02a746f19

‘We’ve been dating 642679b089 for over a d8f64a174e year, and we c953226f9b haven’t even slept 17bef9df95 together. That’s not normal, Ji-ah.’91afac21915cd55a

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Her chest seethed 3035850421 like a volcano, 4163cd6152 making it unbearable. When she got angry 0bc0efe741 at his words, what 8724d61a5b was his response?249b453da4e8f84f

‘What did you just 2a6c9d24b6 say to me? You called me 383d4be2b9 a bastard? Is that 2c19d1b89d how you 5454222007 talk to faf891b9d5 your boyfriend e8fdbc89c0 who’s thinking 92fdcf34f9 of you?’f260148baa411378

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‘I see now why 5df026e2e2 your dad abandoned you, 0b3929d7ca you crazy bitch!’444f96ae4248b6b6

Why couldn’t she understand the reason that everyone else seemed to understand?4dbf676aee5f0bfb

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After that, 7c35e97121 Ji-ah lived fd9483863c with even e81aefd737 more grit. All that was ede3ea15ee left was spite. While living ec24533d27 tenaciously, she 029e0d6e93 was seized 136cd9468b by fits 0ed5b26784 of curiosity. The reason why she, b9a908fb37 and her mother, had 41fe65d5e1 to be hurt.f14fb89b4e617086

So, at least the 128f3bb143 reason.5e8cc172d7339625

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…At least that damn fc770dfa9c reason.a29de42ba1380f90

It was about 96a655d03b two years after f0d166ac2b that when she 545ce5b9e5 stumbled upon her 543c1841f9 father by chance.f1093f0d58823b93

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‘Aigoo, our Executive Director 1fb10c20ad Kim. Have a drink.’08ec59d75e563c32

It was early winter 70319c221e this year.4c20fdb792e84867

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Her father, having a e66ddc1341 company dinner inside a 4b14e9d4f5 distant, smoke-filled barbecue restaurant, 87f19f3109 looked completely different from 62889d6b0e how she had imagined.73470d4c1a4feddc

His face, at least, hadn’t changed from her memory. Though he had more wrinkles, the large, round eyes he had passed down to her were the same. The gentle mouth and slightly crooked nose from her memory were also there.bbd3a3bb15eae5af

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However, his face, aa786a48ab which she had 6c331acacb expected to hold 3a33f44337 at least some 6a64090690 guilt, was filled ce5b398a2c with a soft, 61a53ae3f6 happy smile.0a899634d54de036

When the thoroughly drunk 8d23504391 man returned home, it 2f8371367e was not her mother 6ad86648cc but another woman who ddcd592176 came out to take 2405357387 his jacket.52bdd3e040cd6fea

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‘Honey, you’re late.’405b8d5200e091be

‘Aigoo, you were f8af65885d waiting up?’3f436dcb87ff687c

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‘Dad, you drank 4340729cb3 again?’61f362ea8f98c3dc

‘Our daughter is b8341a8812 here, too!’01f55134e90f8f85

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‘How much a8392e9648 did you ac91510c2a drink?’138cc2cbda610b39

‘Should Dad have a 15384e4fc4 drinking match with you 2e1203b65a next time? Huh? Our daughter’s an 4f302d1a66 adult now.’f62f5b5b2d922530

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‘What do you mean, 9c94deacad now? I turned twenty 22e92e285a two years ago!’06d928780d6a4e2a

And his a1938ddf91 college-student daughter, 2c08b503a9 exactly six e268c56376 years younger ecb22616f2 than her 975d2ef9e2 own twenty-eight-year-old 493f1322d7 self.edee0270c0f714ac

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It was then that faa2372eb8 she decided to join b5c6a0addb Sekyung Group, the company 51fa728338 her father worked for.d87eee84c8f28d63

The corporate giant, 2ca823ecb0 which had started 2824685ff2 in construction and d714f3625c now had its b7a543b149 hands in all e8567b4bff sorts of businesses, 1bae683d18 was not an 9f6481463d easy place to 7b73da5655 get into.728f4cdbfab2e0a2

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The fact 3f35d1b64a that she d279789f41 had never 584560bb02 neglected her 3807d6be07 studies throughout 0578039d53 her life 269969aacf was a b3f0493b1b small help. While she lacked experiences 87c768e7b0 like extracurricular activities or 2b5fe8a4f4 studying abroad compared to 415aff0ed0 others, Ji-ah managed to cbe64414c0 cover for that with 7a1f32bc9c various contract jobs and 010d1bc8e3 barely scraped her way d940f500d0 into Sekyung.5125d72016cbe983

It wasn’t that she wanted revenge or anything of the sort. She still just wanted to know the reason. She wanted to at least be able to ask.ce17a2b9750c7dc4

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‘But he 8282089574 had to 0b4a99d0a7 go and 7a94ac8c87 die before 63f520cd6c I could.’6b13ec56c7d54d1f

Suicide.1a4a80aec1257a0f

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Only the hollow cause 66111e47e6 of death circulated among c3568b060c the company employees.361be0261f0ef985

Did you c36b96064e hear Executive d938a23f4e Director Kim 026d3a6d17 died? They say it was c3f67a986e because of debt. I heard c6d71f7224 he had 7f178cd719 depression? No, actually, he was 41d93e03cf caught for embezzlement and cd6ffdc32f killed himself.a055d89d2f8a94c2

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While worthless speculations flew 3e01672dc9 around, only Ji-ah was c1d3e61a45 left behind, unable to c03fd1792d find a reason.f74458d23c774a95

‘And now, of 8a67eb276a all times.’99de9205cfad5164

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To say it wasn’t a suicide.1f4c236f7bf6e28b

‘If it wasn’t?’6dfbe1e9f3130a1d

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Did that mean someone c4a9504c0a had stolen her reason, 7c825d16f3 the very thing she 9dc96c9390 needed to know?121506ce68aecd03

Flinch.Ji-ah forced her 77deda4b19 closed eyelids open.Hooo. As she 8f158e5629 let out 4fa350dcf6 a long 6cca9b4b45 breath, the efc47b34e0 surrounding scenery a607f2111b had changed 6e9de05d23 slightly.e6a77b9969f6247a

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“…”463d7fb4b9909c8d

It was eerily quiet e633d7197b all around. Everyone had vanished. It seemed they fe704ed227 had all gone 68a2900688 inside.87c0387b619797c8

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An unsettling feeling floated 00ff823461 in the damp air 03485bc828 of the empty underground 7fb67d913c parking garage.13c4442a9ca708a8

And yet in b3ea75237e the midst of 0997ffa13d all this, her 7d97e0ec58 phone screen was a5cfd37df8 still brightly lit. As if it were 1858f7dded waiting for her answer. Ji-ah let out a 728298b63e sigh.1fdbdaa56a0de40a

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[Proof.]

The many questions 98cc109bc4 she wanted to 8da8e437e8 ask instantly disappeared 1303a5bbc0 into the empty 9c10866440 space of the 9cfecec4a8 backspace key. In the end, that d636e5ea86 was the only word e4556774bf she sent.d2d4875cc215fcc2

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[What proof?]

[Proof that it wasn’t a suicide.]

The icon eaefc1e6c1 indicating the c0bd41948b other person 44f455f745 was typing e1469d0fdf filled her dc91b237da vision.f809413f435bb9fd

The persistent, damp bbf4e3532b smell kept awakening 1d2e742c6d her memories.6d68f7716678abfa

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Ji-ah! Dad brought 6f17042644 an umbrella!22cef6de8f857bbf

It was the 32e72e3154 moment she hastily bf8d34af67 got out of 983e66e65f the car and 3d881804c2 began to walk, 78124dc152 as if to 57c0e13ebf flee from that 03de65c665 shout.4b1ce623961e120d

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Ding. 8df31a681aab1fdd

A reply arrived.c092c6df065445ba

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[The culprit…]

CRASH!de2d1ad3191cf753

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Before she 0d71380c37 could finish 897bc47653 reading the 7d4505a885 screen, an fb8cff45ca explosive sound 8ace2ae0cd erupted from bc1255b50d not too 31eead6c7b far away.a3b2d3c119ada6f6

Startled, Ji-ah’s body 40e79e19dc stumbled and fell 637ab7425c between the parked 0134e86efa cars. In that 599a94f724 moment of c0cbf6969e carelessness, she 5ed40a4771 dropped her bca3865d7b phone, and eb07af5ff2 it slid aea613bd22 somewhere out 5c1effc2f7 of sight. As the flustered 215110e72b Ji-ah used her 9b3c745569 hands to brace f4513ed620 herself on the 9cdb3a04b7 ground and search ff0b922b46 for her phone, 171dd50234 a voice spoke.c5083d35d1920a33

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“So, fuck, ad3a4c22f9 do I 6afb4b9f55 have to e84143fbdf come all 53e684fc04 the way 91188f7a23 to a e547d48b24 funeral parlor 51705fc368 just to aaa35a5eaf clean up 609735a3dc two corpses?”6d68c04314f3a9ee

A refined, 8a4ac2a4bf beautiful voice, 69c70ed337 utterly mismatched 9cd03421ac with the 53434f171f vulgar words, df0c43d427 drifted through 1901efaad8 the air.82bd6f1115a0798c

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Ji-ah lifted her head. She saw b0deb1c0dc a back ae0c1ce9de not far 729ec7fc29 away.6a42f7dece5b4af8

It was the back of the same man who had been consoling her father’s daughter just moments before. The heavy scent of cologne mixed with the musty air of the underground parking garage.3aa4e107ba516019

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Ji-ah saw another 78d2c1a0cb man kneeling before e0fa395dc2 him. A man whose 4efd75d4ab face was covered 82d0d8f999 by a motorcycle 3baa1b250f helmet. A moment later, 2a32bc7892 something red trickled c3ae4464c2 down from beneath abb07e5364 the helmet.51fa1b978f8c7efa

The figure very slowly, 7e49993818 collapsed.218e292a7b63b534

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