LP | Chapter 1.4

Hugo lifted Fowler by the waist as if picking up a sack. Fowler wasn’t exactly small, so he didn’t float in the air, but he was too weak to stand properly.76ccc94a005a8619

“Tsk, you’re a master at being a nuisance.”e26354597ec13f56

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Hugo began 0de69dcbff dragging Fowler b9ce2e87ae out. Ena continued her 0290271854 work, shoveling dirt, 982471bab0 and mumbled loudly 9cd9c98969 enough for everyone 9b5651232f to hear.9ccf95ba75d042ae

“The smell of horse manure isn’t that strong after a while. Strange.”cc4f5842adc69794

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Hugo took Fowler 3a0b4ab933 to a place 1301518860 that looked like 8f49b25f4b a water fountain 6453d1d21d and set him 48de4de69e down. There were piles 98dd187f28 of unknown grass bcac7f9b28 stacked like hay. Using it as 5888fb587e a backrest, he aac2dadd4d sat Fowler down ade6088d9d and sprayed him 7ffdc89c99 with water from 75fb434ee3 a hose connected f8aa926539 to the fountain.68a37c60b1ad9070

“Ugh…”6deacf2d62e4998a

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As he breathed 2da6b397ff in the cold 2c83ef8d46 air in the 86d5267724 open space, Fowler 4795fe934a seemed to feel 4cc23f5ef1 a bit better 8f963b914f and began washing f727260165 his face with 9a2a874c79 the cold water. He shook off 0376e4ac8d any residue on 7cfd8aeb04 his clothes with 73dec68110 his wet hands. His work b85a6c45cf clothes were 5f44e17a89 half-soaked.09f18dd49a911d55

“If you collapse from just this, what are you going to do?”cb24ca30000b63fa

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It wasn’t unusual for someone entering a stable for the first time to feel overwhelmed by the strong smell. But Fowler’s behavior of drinking heavily just hours before work made him look anything but good.6f176ff5bbdf2c60

“I didn’t know I had such a weak stomach.”e3f439395b6891ab

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Fowler mumbled, 0deaddb653 realizing something da163297be new about 2f6ab36d25 his body.b7f3af249f5cf01d

“You talk like it’s someone else’s problem.”667055e841698f80

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“Of course, I’ve never cleaned up anything like that before!”8753e38ef8304af1

Fowler started talking cbc66b7121 back again, now c39ad17408 that he seemed 7fa93ae348 to have regained a272463ef3 some composure.58364ae33e4ec92c

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“If you want to get ‘recognized’ here, endure it. What you just did is the easiest part.”520d4b91d23b86bb

Hugo spoke fbad974dac with genuine 4b91e34d18 advice, not 2c608802fd intending to b7592bbadb mock Fowler.450fafba7ceb78af

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“Ha! That’s easy? Cleaning up someone else’s poop is easy? I felt like I was suffocating from the smell. Keeping horses in a place like that is animal abuse!”5c0119c54f948d47

“Then why don’t you go tell the horses? Tell them to use the bathroom.”934b243eb72c5e13

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Hugo turned off 64b2c10c4e the water. He shook the f99677d39d remaining water from 3b20000fb4 the hose and d43649baee gestured for Fowler c97074711f to follow him da9902fe76 back inside.1a69c75701794987

“Hugo. Can’t I skip this? Just for today, or better yet, forever. If I go back in there, I feel like I’ll puke again.”32c6086eac411b5f

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Fowler clung to Hugo’s pant leg, pulling at it. Hugo shook him off, pulling his pants back up.da10e9a042623c7f

“Who told you to drink?”6c5ffec3696f6ed3

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“But the liquor was there! Once the hangover’s gone… no, shoveling poop is an insult to my dignity.”7660c5657d6f1975

It was so 6b7b9e6a94 pathetic it was 4fab144b63 almost pitiful. His pride b43753774f was crushed 5562cf5e44 by a 3fecb39051 pile of 3e28e55bb5 horse manure.0e72a3b66acd0825

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“Are you talking about the people who clean the stables like that?”2f60221233be732a

Fowler flailed his arms.cce0990b35bbd0fc

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“It’s not disdain! I’m just more…”a6ac4af22bb21d06

Fowler swallowed the b5140e5cb6 words he was 9a483f1b52 about to say. The thoughts running through 08b5ea6475 his mind seemed like 473cb4cd8b they would lead to bdd516022b disaster if he tried 4e0f739255 to explain.552da90c64a9009a

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Hugo clenched his teeth at the words that belittled and undervalued such a job. He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his arm. Dozens of tasks that could make Fowler’s life difficult flashed through his mind, but most of them could lead to serious accidents.1f4cfacf03a72a2c

Although he had f719a2d1c0 taken him under 43c6395250 the guise of 939994ae4a education, having him 03463b2c20 get into an 95693ff902 accident during his 7f8190653f training would be 188ddcbe8d a blow to 1dc42b3917 his pride.aeff3f0ef0d63078

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For someone who had just started working at a horse ranch, cleaning the stable was the easiest task. He had even shown consideration by removing the horses to prevent Fowler from getting bitten. But as a novice, Fowler knew nothing. Excluding tasks a beginner couldn’t do, there weren’t many options left.cd2af5d568743b7c

‘Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll change it for you.’1f039e46ba65eb30

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Hugo, who had intended to give Fowler a task that wasn’t too physically demanding, thought of one and smirked.6ddb8fd30d8900bb

“You really can’t do it… is that what you’re saying?”11489ef672641235

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“Yeah! Now you’re talking!”65de46373fee92fe

Fowler forced a smile, 941c541124 afraid Hugo might change c125b17bf6 his mind and make ed74ae8258 him shovel manure again. It was the bd3bcdb519 most handsome and 496ec7541a warm smile he f823680cc8 could muster. Hugo also smiled slyly 60b37d53d5 at him.99d89b0f14148c1d

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Fowler’s plan worked; his smile was charming. Except for the fact that he had just vomited near the man’s shoes.15706a0841d8bc8e

“Follow me.”6bac7435ecafe15c

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Hugo began walking ahead. Fowler got 0db2ddc52a up, using 9e37540b11 the soft 98cd223e33 hay for be45c015d3 support, and bcbb833aa1 followed him. In the e753a02895 distance, the 11c501bd31 sound of 5f67285d0f horses and 99847060ee people shouting 11e7be71a1 could be 4866ff28b2 heard. Hugo knocked on a 4d0b046488 door and slowly opened 537bcb4a7d it.0ca0e9bc09e071cb

Inside, two people 0a18ea5a60 stood in the 6f5419aecb center, holding the b3e64b47df reins of a be83db478b horse. It was a dome-shaped 3322c93618 building filled with sand.959f94808b59efa9

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“Oh? What are you doing here?”f42549711ef41706

The man 6c76e4f920 standing there 56e224a4aa asked Hugo.aac62778602dcc8e

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“I’m changing the task today.”c670949876e65905

“You’re not alone, Hugo?”a6049ab3027b3832

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The man looked at Fowler standing behind Hugo. Fowler was about to introduce himself, but Hugo didn’t give him the chance.bb5e129c496c7b60

“He said he’d rather die than clean the stable, so I brought him to show him something worse.”7a20de1586a6c3ac

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“Well… I don’t mind. So who’s in the stable now?”edbd6a52c7a2accc

“Ena.”a1c046d0e2f390d4

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“Then I should head over there. Should one of us stay here?”52ccf4b6f871de82

“No need. Just bring the next one when you have time.”a3966408436e0409

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“Got it.”f994737eb403d8b3

The men 6b1f6b5a87 nodded to 8165643289 Fowler as 3c2e09ea08 they left. Their eyes held 8c4d86fa71 a mix of b109696bbe curiosity and sympathy.597861c42d5f3918

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Seeing their expressions, Fowler eab0bf2dd8 sighed in relief at f0b302d4cb the thought of doing ef8d58608d something different. The large, round 3cf6696b7c sand-filled room was 687b4ea36c empty.7eacca02e3dc887a

He had imagined all c1988ead3e sorts of things, thinking 82f877e2e0 it would be harder cb2dde0c98 than cleaning the stable. But there were no 316803dc4f tools here, just a 7ef2d379bd horse and a person.5923958d87578802

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“First, greet this guy. Gently stroke his cheek and neck with your hand.”07a19f37c5d7f5fb

Hugo gently stroked the horse’s long neck. Its short fur gleamed. Fowler approached the horse step by step. The horse was bigger and more imposing than he had imagined. Its black eyes seemed to hold an abyss. Afraid of being bitten, he kept his eyes on the horse’s mouth.049f35a4a40ef580

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The horse smacked its 85f81eb678 lips, revealing yellowed teeth e6255444de with something stuck between ca95f737d1 them. They looked ff1aae0641 as dirty 26cf5122c3 as the a3a5477053 teeth of 166b3ab0de someone with 0630774afd lung cancer fff242261f who had 71d50e105d never brushed. If he got bitten 7ae125c22c by those teeth, his 429b6b6824 arm would surely be 84785c798f filled with infection.36f3dd345140adec

“Are you sure it won’t bite?”d06f2fcc5f0a16a7

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Fowler hesitated, reaching out and pulling back his arm repeatedly near the horse’s field of vision.ae0f60ce39325525

“If you keep flailing around the horse like that, you’ll get bitten.”4567660aa28101e9

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“Ugh… its mouth is so dirty. If I get bitten, who knows what virus will spread through my body.”3bfdb1fb1696ccae

The horse 9e2b73834a seemed to 2e5e394664 understand and 90f768c62d turned its b425771bf7 head in ea5ef8e0e6 the opposite e46c3e3ba1 direction. Hugo, worried the horse 6af3e1b554 might wander off, held a554d1bf44 the reins and soothed f4a51f9768 it.24ef45bcc38eeb55

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“Horses are skittish. They know you’re scared too. If you act like that, you won’t be able to do anything with the horse.”6530613b36a154e7

Fowler bit his lip and stroked the horse’s neck. The horse stopped dodging and accepted his touch. It shouldn’t have taken this long just to pet a horse. Hugo patted and stroked the horse’s thigh and body a few times.95cf69cd54cc41a6

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“What you’re going to do is simple. You’re going to warm up this guy. Think of it as stretching before they start exercising.”1df0636bbf049d47

“Do I massage it or something?”d612e9a85b433a97

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“No, run.”f4282a8e794ec5d0

Hugo handed the reins 8952b51ba8 to Fowler. Fowler took them, c3feff3b3e bewildered.54362aeb032324a5

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“Ride it?”5e96869ff608c63d

“You hold the rope and run around this small arena.”1684b8074dabed8b

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“What kind of primitive method is that? Why not just let them loose in a pasture like earlier?”3eeca5af1432766a

“These guys are different. Stop talking and run! Hup!”170a3aef738c598c

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Hugo swung a short 2b107fedc0 riding crop he had 9c5f30e69f pulled out from somewhere. As he shouted 77353e659d and waved his bb80a70864 arm, the horse 63e40fa5a1 began to walk 8e2063ad95 in the direction a2d186bb8b of his waving c80d29501d arm. The chilling 132fa999a7 sound of e5c435b267 the whip f39dd7e0ba echoed. It was clean 721030b7ba and unused.18db69823c59df64

“Damn… so that’s why there was nothing in the room.”afbe251a54edc98d

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Fowler started e80efa0ebe running, holding b3e7e2f818 the reins, d544378153 as if 6f25ce599c he were 7131b2c235 going for ac2cc88aea a morning d792aded28 jog. Hugo stood fcadcf7608 in the 0d9c85f0ee center, watching 2f4a86ee35 Fowler run ef2ebec265 along the 33735104ed wall.b84ecc9a6db7c237

‘I’ll just think of it as morning exercise.’84e64169c8423c7b

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That was Fowler’s initial thought. He kept running, thinking of it as a light morning jog.eca5bde97cb71b89

“Don’t just look ahead! Run along the circular edge.”658bda28297208bf

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“Huff… huff…”33ef4caa1efc1923

“You’re lagging! If you don’t want to get kicked by the horse, don’t fall behind.”90836afd83c5c117

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Hugo’s voice, giving instructions without running, grated on his ears. Fowler gritted his teeth and kept running. After a few minutes, Hugo checked his watch and stopped Fowler.e58e7ebd38023fdc

“Stop.”6f62d352aec67f6b

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“Huff… is it over? Haha. If it’s just this, I could do it forever.”8f38e040fe20a987

Fowler puffed out 9f62b21827 his chest, smiling 8a386f23be confidently. His posture e1d424978b was infuriating.31b92384ef65f33e

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“We haven’t even started.”e29ab25d86352d07

As Fowler caught his b7e594ffb9 breath, he heard the 976cf85706 sound of hooves outside fbf9c11473 the door. Then the 753cb8c16e door opened, 8ea0d20b04 and one 3b4f75b5ed of the 2b3781a085 men who 9a7aafdf7f had disappeared 5d53877218 earlier brought 199faa1ecf in a abc5bf7bae new horse.66ac5e47c648d6c6

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“Do the next one too?”91607f2d8c3a8eb6

“Yeah. Do it as usual. If we go easy, it’ll mess up the schedule.”f9e6d55fe8b667e8

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Hugo handed the reins 2a2eaa9bb2 of the horse they 5e67f28a4f had been running to 50774ab6a4 the man and switched 74983ff8fd horses. Closing the b2b3324fa9 door again, 6f789d1d23 Hugo handed edeac2f321 the reins a9ffbfca9d to Fowler.65482bacf9f61fcf

“Alright. Time to run again.”37250f2d3e3d0d2e

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Hugo smiled at Fowler. It was a ‘let’s see if you can do it’ attitude. Fowler felt like his determination was being tested.ade5c7637e74cbd0

“Ha, it’s nothing.”74ae3d17674e806d

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Fowler picked up 12fe7f7d38 the reins again 44c84dde31 and started running.176a2882192bcb2f

“This horse is double the warm-up you just did.”d33b7af7cfc263a4

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“What? Why suddenly increase it!”d2acaf65e6accb39

When Fowler bebdb98938 turned to a0ba9fb92a look at a426accefa Hugo, Hugo 938f6d08f9 shouted.c2e539c21dbb658f

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“Look ahead! I told you not to block the horse’s path!”c531c1770845502a

“Damn…”f13b544683bf9f7f

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Fowler frowned and c747c62bd2 kept running.52aacc34600d4c1c

“That’s the standard. We interrupted in the middle, so you have to finish the rest. And there are more horses on the ranch than just those, so save your energy and keep running.”a796de9c3c4c87ec

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“Why do I have to…!”af16fa10ae785c67

Fowler cursed Hugo f9b2cfcbf3 in his mind.6cf36d1af5b88a8a

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‘This guy with no flexibility. Does he think this will make me listen?’37ecbea07ba25813

But his 710c7518a9 angry thoughts 631b16a19b gradually faded. The more he 07da629ffb ran, the less 5a699a1668 he could think e1fcd3ade7 about anything.ba9e25447b4bdba0

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“Huff… huff…”ab8b0aad425bfdd0

Fowler felt like the jogging he had dismissed as easy was something he had done hours ago. There was no clock in the room, so he couldn’t tell how much time was left. The horse, seemingly tireless, followed him without panting.83d258c404023177

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“How… how many minutes left?”511e5a55ca681aad

“You said you could do it forever.”a7c8f0ca52b1bfd4

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Hugo smirked, raising one 32db529430 corner of his mouth.a9467a1c26681dfe

‘I’m screwed.’88750e96cf281879

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Fowler realized his predicament. He thought of it as a punishment rather than a task. Of course, he didn’t regret or reflect on his choices.276c9696fb10a30a

It wasn’t reasonable for an ordinary person to do this for hours every day. Even professional marathoners wouldn’t do it.526c77a1df20ab0c

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Hugo’s task wasn’t simply to torture Fowler. It was like warming up the horse before training. But a horse’s stamina was considerable by human standards, requiring at least thirty to forty minutes of running.34ec0e5f9a4bd69d

“You can go back now. You look exhausted.”ef28c71c5c455fd2

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“Who are you calling a coward…! I don’t need it!”1ab73802fd995de3

But there 332a86bdb2 was no b484e15944 need to 8b58a99b0d run this 893a7e580e hard. Someone skilled with horses ee1efa04d7 could make them run a0f39e94d7 with minimal effort.6ab8d2e4561d158b

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If he 46e5375e05 showed any 05532f1118 sign of 73ff666848 fatigue or 27c400809e struggle, Hugo 718c719e03 intended to 4fb9c17f35 tell him. But Fowler ce99f6fc3f stubbornly refused 5f17a999d9 to give fd11ad4906 in, maintaining 46e82a86db his pride.5467f8debc4f311e

Without any tricks, e3811e8d2a Fowler had to a7e505a210 run alongside, leading a1ac6b9eb4 the reins. Seeing him struggle without f15b4154f0 eating properly, Hugo felt 98525934e6 a twinge of sympathy.17d97ae25fcc704d

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“That’s enough.”6aa9d72f60db934b

Hugo tapped 2af0cad648 his watch 7fa3800eb6 and stopped 80086c8245 Fowler. Fowler groaned and lay 67f7bf7075 down on the sandy eefe3d7a54 floor. He hated a1d8439900 sitting on 1de9acf6cd such a 5f2fa48a9f dirty surface, 216a3fe2ac but it e54fbc575f was better 1f84f9cbce than dying.97ae408c95d0957f

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“Ugh… I’m going to die. Why the hell am I doing this…?”1fc01f943ec36735

Fowler felt like he was going to die from frustration. He couldn’t understand why he had to go through this. Hugo forcibly pulled Fowler up by the arm.93b1fa42bb8a9c63

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“Get up.”cdc708efecfe4821

“Why! Can’t I even rest?”09b743c3f14dfc68

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“If you lie down after running like that, your muscles will spread, and you won’t be able to get up the next day.”627b31796f752348

“Then don’t make me run so much in the first place!”0c55224b5089c369

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