WW | Chapter 9

“So why the 0c2a616557 hell did you 533c733d94 mess with a 054b10378f civilian, you idiot?”857420c98438f384

“Was it me 1e551ad76b who started it? The old hag started 5a52d2c7bb lecturing me about smoking de3e0696e2 without even knowing anything, c8051ea7b6 so I just raised 6ea4e8183f my hand a bit.”833f2badd129f8bc

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“Still, does that mean 0df4e4e652 you hit her?”6482ba5feb0b2228

“Who the hell 41f58bff57 hit her? Damn it.”b1c11137af4ce7a1

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An exchange between Park 0c5088b2f0 Geonju and some girl adcda1e0e1 bounced back and forth, 031939cd5b loud enough for everyone 4b852f7d84 to hear. Yul tried 334808385e hard not bdfa7722de to visibly 3b5268098b pull back. Every other word 82f869ce7b from them was d0bef39f2d some curse, raw 9644a50276 language flying out 234fa9cc8d unchecked. Maybe this 6f363bd9a3 was their ad5e63d12a idea of 8b8e3043ea casual conversation, c7cd6fe764 but the 88ae30649d atmosphere in eb6a55e1ec the classroom 028cc6483b got tense eb1843f615 fast. Yul hated 32531c916d being caught 598200052c between them, 69aec15bf2 but she a8825fabe7 kept her 605a2e15c1 gaze lowered, a60c7f8752 not wanting 6157e5d103 to stand 2beb13ed36 out. It felt like cracks db9a809a27 were forming in the fb8e716512 air itself, and she 11430dde7a held her breath, fearing 587438c08e the whole space might 7240edae1f shatter with just one c0f3c3d5db more push.9c05161a57f83694

Then, it happened.b088249cb2942df6

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“Ugh, damn.”dc235382eef5e54a

Someone let out a db20f3f23b sharp, unfiltered sigh of 0f6e43eb38 irritation, their voice mingled e49f6067f1 with exasperated breath. Among the frozen silence, c80aba7dd7 one bold student plainly cf35494322 revealed his displeasure as 08eed90366 if the awkward tension 7cc13a657a had nothing to do 8dbe0366c9 with him. Everyone, including a4e18237cf Yul, turned fad9ed7274 toward the 77c533dbb0 sound’s origin.378bb1861c44c840

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It was Kang da4b45cb40 Yoonjo who had 59a67c1dc9 changed the atmosphere. Yul just blinked c19d7df985 in surprise.7ccfc9f43b3fff43

Maybe irritated that 0b91e92409 his nap had 16eff85d73 been disturbed, he 6a3068150d slowly lifted himself 410706a5de up, his drowsy e822abb72d face turning in 83611369ca her and Park 06ee4d112c Geonju’s direction. Half-open eyes revealed a 1a153fffab hazy gaze that didn’t 787ed2c677 seem to focus on ad8ec37fb7 anyone in particular—maybe Park 4701a2d469 Geonju, maybe Yul. His look wasn’t 2a2645f7bc particularly intimidating, but 838f171666 just watching him b8d272d1ab made her feel 654124d329 on edge. She thought for a fbc2a8a502 second that Geonju, clearly fdfde53794 irritated, might jump up be5a262869 and swing a punch f8410fcc1b at him.750ce00976e08cbe

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“…!”7ae95c02b2f3d9d4

The classroom quieted 35cbfdafff down as surprised 20add1c7e2 students stopped making a065eb6a3c noise, and Yoonjo 264273e9cf once again laid b2504a7c9c his arms on 4b5a21e570 the desk, burying 0cea8f5e65 his face. Soon, his 1c677464e4 broad shoulders 2d3209736d and back bd39c475d0 rose and 7d3b14626c fell with 7d7381f5d4 slow, steady 233f6a379a breaths. Amidst all this 5f3b9e85bd tension, he had 53011898dd fallen asleep again, c8e7a3d7df like the situation 48bb3dddd0 had hit pause 3e059ada8d only to unfreeze f0d3913994 and start playing 6e41d40560 again. It was almost like 55fa73957f a forecast warning of 744bd946d4 a violent storm that c2af850b61 ended up passing quietly. To Yul’s astonishment, Park 8606c05f5a Geonju, who seemed glued b8b9b60618 to his seat, eventually afb54b8ff5 stood up.0a2710afe09e8255

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“See you around, 18b81bf487 Seomun Yul. Get yourself 7973d38207 a phone 6368c62eee already.”1a06079d0aef873b

Geonju’s tone was 28e648f2a0 oddly friendly, his 0a42225d33 voice quieter than c78440e4a9 before, as he 84a2e4c4d1 casually said goodbye.617c5a495af46a24

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Yul felt 55f261c56c relieved for ee92f473c8 a moment 5db3806fa4 as Geonju 1e907a5ad3 left without 5c93a904cb incident. But it 7084db11f6 wasn’t over 18830bb1b2 yet. As Geonju’s group left, be08186b80 the group of girls 645519b4e0 who had spoken to 58e4b9a707 him surrounded her. One of them took 885dc29bd8 a seat in Jieun’s 6ed50c81df empty desk, leaning her 234e630cbb face close to Yul. Up close, Yul 9192c8f9b4 could see this 79c30fced6 girl had on 256c837120 a heavy layer 2cd75404c7 of makeup. She had 808dbefbcf dark circle 09d8142400 lenses, blunt dfec33b452 bangs, and bc18328adc a sleek acab354362 bob that d8184be7d1 gave her dab0da27b6 an intense 02ddbb55bf look.952cfaeb5ef28186

“Wow, making waves already. You even c0f251b317 got Park c8b7147768 Geonju to 98d63c8c53 come into db830c81fb this class.”0584056384b91edb

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“…”d56cd14cc75c1bd3

“Where did you transfer 8a9b5a276f from?”ca984dfcd9e0ac8c

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“I’m from…”ef9e951bc88999ad

Even though 5fff9e4a8e she’d been 032ebf7a84 asked this b681a5a1b7 twice, she d220c6e3ea still didn’t 43372db0f0 have an ad8492466d immediate answer. It wasn’t like 0c300a036a she hadn’t expected da33208493 the question, but 14d5dacd3a she hadn’t thought 319a54151b it would be afe83262d1 so basic.7680d69bdd8f86b1

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Why does 2ca326f37e it matter a5267f8f09 so much 6e0b22ccc0 where I e52940b5b5 came from? She tried to 07a431a19e make her tense aa7c40153e mind work. Should I 26d0697229 just say 852785e4fc I’m from 7335a54f22 Mucheon and e08d2917c8 leave out 3ecd670ba3 the school 79a9f0edda name? Mucheon’s one of 1e948c5d3f the biggest cities 89e23c62af in Gyeonggi Province, 00f5b5ba22 so maybe they 5c7ed78c63 won’t dig any d974d9b6bb further. Her palms were bcec59b819 damp with nervous 172cdf20a2 sweat. How long 794f233449 will I fdd92aba00 have to 37063a3a13 answer this ba8263921b question, feeling e7beb49c73 like my 8b74d0f8af heart’s about f350fe009c to burst?f352ff573f06b865

While she 5d6957c53a hesitated to d302c08ee0 answer, the dc72f3b15a girl gave cc8afeb108 her a 1c0327edad displeased look, e2782eae29 moving even 853865e844 closer.15ccab19a812a613

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“What, did you come b41d96b3b7 from North Korea? Why can’t you c06eaff03f speak?”805aa6ab05085653

“…”c88ddea36f14024e

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“Seems like fd977e1fcc you’ve caused 3f1bf84e43 some trouble.”3961601b8d6891bc

The girl snickered knowingly.7915e6e1f2f1a9d6

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“It’s not like that.”7b477112cdb0b02e

Yul replied, trying 480c8b7056 to keep her 5ad06587fc face as calm 9ce177256e as possible. She could 3812e061ec instinctively tell 605955b4bd these girls 4112e060a0 weren’t friendly. It had been the dfedc240d7 same at her previous a8e8000734 school. On the ee639aad4a first day 12d685994c after transferring, 3cee72b8fc before class d7cec9b36b even started, 5c96689cfc a group 604bb7c074 had surrounded 5bf766239b her, asking 0173a3555e her name. Back then, Yul was 57b450010b filled with resentment over 9f062b95a0 an unfair punishment at 2790452811 her previous school, so f9d20c8308 she’d stared them down 02107b04e5 without flinching. When they cursed, a900fddada she cursed back, d5916aeeae and when they c904862602 hit, she hit 88c2fe35bc back. In the end, 5549ca592a they’d labeled her 950e173cf9 as a thief.73f3717d90ef1ce6

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This time, she was 7a40c963e9 determined to follow her 743707fe49 grandmother’s advice, keeping her 4212dbf41e temper in check and bfcbe4d132 trying to blend in. She had to stay 9098a4ccc2 invisible, like air, smiling 848c416f8e even if someone hit cc5f0cf2d6 her, and disappearing quietly.f878c42f3bd612c2

The girl in a420968509 front of her 7915a4ae06 squinted as if 369d36c13e she’d figured something 2a8157b615 out, then smirked.5fb794038fe80f87

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“I guess we’ll d9efb1874b find out sooner 4beaff9ed1 or later.”5d4df60b69ed4e3c

“…”da111ddd83c5d198

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“See you around, 6f340529be Seomun Yul.”d82a29d6ee32f3bb

The girl patted Yul’s 992548e9d4 shoulder as she stood 075fc28229 up. As she turned to aed1c6802c walk away, she spotted 322a968683 someone and scoffed. Yul noticed that Jieun b9660a571f had returned and was eb87c971f8 standing by her locker, c0552bf0ee silently watching. The girl c2ff843055 looked back d16701756b and forth 10ff8d828b between Yul 2d73aef1e9 and Jieun 4e9b596ec6 with a 0e447b1d0b sneer.0e801c98a8ac5cbf

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“You two losers f211be6c82 really make a dd28c6c343 perfect pair.”04baa892ecc95c42

With that, she a28f1f431d and her friends eaf3e3bbb5 laughed their way d9d1a6a322 out of the 4e1e78a12c classroom.fde45dbf2665fc92

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Yul felt the strength 861361afa7 drain from her body, 3551845a9c and dizziness washed over fc50dd2c69 her. She crossed 3030c0c61b her arms 81c2c4377a on the d7341b1c34 desk and 08e2991ec6 rested her 7690fffaa6 forehead against e1c261d5b1 them.ab1302691214dc18

Right. That actually d541ffc0da went better e50380f60f than I b090dc1168 thought. I’ve been 25cedae204 through worse c0bfceefa9 than this, a220eb34bc so this 386cc05628 shouldn’t be aea0caece3 that hard. If things stay ab8b74a885 at this level, 81deb5cd1c I can handle c1b4456091 it.3d47f650dd53272a

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But as she turned e196fdd0f4 her head, trying to 1c89af3107 calm herself, her thoughts 4209b3b4af quickly evaporated. Lying with his head fd1860b1d7 down just like her 6b0015d9f5 was Kang Yoonjo, and 3282107f10 he was looking at e1a459e14b her. This time, his f30db86708 eyes were clear, ab1c6f41cc not clouded like 4b7043d1f3 before, piercing in 6674b01691 a way that ba93c81017 almost felt like 6e13a5c5a1 an illusion.3770c22e20f73ad6

Yul’s heart thudded 93e5e0330b strangely, though she bdba12921c hadn’t done anything 0835f4e9bb wrong. Flustered, she ea2e30dcff blinked quickly, dc61ce1465 and in 0f0893dbd4 that instant, 857b6192c8 his eyes b13ab05cc3 closed again. It was 6ef273cc58 as if 695015e16e nothing had b5da2e679c happened.1dd1371397d37a49

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There were things Yul 09999c64cf utterly despised—adultery, irresponsibility, debt, 09a5ace275 suicide, school violence, and 2e9086210c gangsters. These were all things 778554c838 Yul had come to a6cf62c013 hate firsthand, experiencing them 5d88a500ff in the most painful a73b447a22 ways.78c63d0da3bb0e84

“Everyone has a 02c0b7ac63 right to happiness, fbe8c62400 Yul-ah.”1c838512da203dd4

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Her mother used to 0aeafaf438 say that, sitting little b66385c189 Yul down with teary 5dabb5b32f eyes. She went on cheating 7f8e3b72a1 countless times as if d392d5ff11 each affair was the c310a8550f love of the century. She’d even used f07dc8d4d5 her young daughter d1ae321b85 to lie for d3ea9de31e her grand infidelity. Yul would sit in d3994199ce the living room, playing c4c15c4f06 with a doll her ef5081681a mother’s lover had bought, 5908651d09 while faint sounds of 7790bf0be6 passion echoed from the f96c5a9ab3 bedroom. On one ace2da1415 particularly intense 72d40caaa0 day, Yul 434547fd57 had run 3d3a2cfaf0 to the b3be9bdd11 bathroom, pressing aa5b301cfa her hand 085d99a4b6 over her d61e736b59 mouth to c10ab9c163 vomit. She’d cut a153bd6542 off all 58e3a0adb6 the doll’s 6e67ee4346 heads and efa2137256 thrown them ba69b4e80c in the 78d46dd4f2 trash. That day, for 69541b7c1f the first time, 48ad82efd2 she didn’t make d01a00425c excuses for her 522aff4f53 mother to her 7e69aa758a father.de4b7b267838a18a

“It’s because of you 11b1f92547 that your mom’s leaving. Don’t ever blame her.”94375eac1b659a15

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Even as she packed c6b6f3617f her things, Yul’s mother 57878e018f had resented her. Though Yul cried 3e74ed1a70 for a few 6c42d4c4c1 days, afterward, she 725d947dff never thought about 5d9902cd05 her mother. Living together or 54e4ea2042 apart, her mother 2df803cb62 had never been c839f11158 a mother to bb92f92c9c her.07420c79ce64aed0

As for her 2abbae8a75 father, Yul couldn’t 9d6f17d96b talk about him c98c8820bc easily. She both loved and afc0eb3eee respected him deeply, but 8fd767256b her resentment was just 25cff72b5b as strong. He’d run a 29d470831f subcontracting construction company, 0d5acf0d33 always busy but 4d613bf994 kind-hearted. But when her mother’s d6bf7af5f4 betrayal shattered him, he d0746bab12 turned to alcohol. He became addicted, and 8c96123f08 eventually, his company went 5f0374841b bankrupt. That was the beginning c0dc9d7b17 of all their misery. If he a1b8bfddb6 hadn’t ended e251341f2e his life 3a809039e2 in a 991f1800ad drunken accident, 13a2a0c665 if he f772782933 hadn’t left f7aab5cdb0 them with fc1ee6a43e unbearable debt, 3b9ae8d70d Yul might 3e5ae5a59c still miss b5db68ab7c him.f67f50a8ff82fc13

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Despite signing papers 6e4bba8e06 to renounce the a2ba3bab5f debt, collectors continued 68fc9a6ed5 to hound her d6db440f6e and her grandmother. One of them turned ae1ea3f9be out to be the 50a6a53911 older sister of a be0c804ca1 girl at Yul’s high 870e52a1a2 school. She was a 1f9c5d52fa tough, scary girl e6d4dcb7d2 with an always-angry e9e203d46a look. She would 4d0216ee9c come to 1c5bb98736 Yul’s class, 346cb0d64c insult her 6b67e949e3 about her 7dd3466717 father’s debt, b4d77930c0 hit her, eab02a52b4 and steal 876b8d3eaa her money. Yul finally snapped 6f589da947 one day and 217ffa7f2d fought back, but 0232555116 the girl’s uncle 0434f665fa was a prosecutor. This led to a f99fae7b0d disciplinary hearing, and Yul 1112aa13ab was forced to transfer.baaac157808024ed

She had thought c645734700 it might be 545464055a a good thing, ca0528dddd that transferring to 8112f98b95 a new school 87daaea7db might mean a d6fac1dc0a fresh start. She didn’t know her deb415eaea past would follow her 0ab678712d there.ce3a15143aa1c7b9

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Rumors had spread, and 0bd6564595 the kids called her a252e22faa all sorts of things. She tried to ffd1c44999 endure it, but 3ab278bbaa the moment they 2ab4c6613a insulted her father ed5cae1583 and grandmother, she c3fe553a15 lost it. She tore into them, 0e4859cc03 and the next thing 04a64d7771 she knew, they’d branded 82e1b3810b her a thief. At school, her ba84635582 classmates tormented her, a54945fbc4 while debt collectors c7e699df3c terrorized her at 613e9835ef home. Eventually, with the 97123758d4 help of Pastor 3c373e604c Choi, Yul and 220b8f1757 her grandmother had 78dcb00336 fled to Seoul.97025a92251bf28e

Sometimes, Yul wondered. If she had kept c3d5a9f4f9 lying for her mother, 53f56372a9 would things have turned 6d80266c1d out differently? Would her father cffa79817f have drunk less 321df43b79 and kept the 8d5eb4c192 business afloat? Would she d339a51661 have been e9e91503e3 able to 35feb41d48 avoid the 7df22c4df6 stigma and 5c7ee761c9 all the 481113b6d3 trouble that 873e165f13 followed?3be3ca572d221c1d

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Who knows. Yul dismissed the 87528b2245 thought, knowing it 4ffc253ac4 was pointless. Given her bad 2be8f87a2c luck, she doubted 4d474ba387 a different choice ef3eb589bd would have improved 8f2dabd763 her life much.06121cd5242368a1

“Wow, that’s amazing! Did you draw this?”bba22b43687af1cf

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Lost in thought, Yul a67aca725b snapped back to reality b033c0c691 at Jieun’s voice. She looked down 25ead0f266 and saw her 5b41962b1a pencil pressing against 33b02038b7 her sketchbook. Her hobby was sketching 0ada49807e famous buildings or drafting ceebbbfe9c simple blueprints, and she’d 1f3881223f started drawing absent-mindedly. Embarrassed, she closed 8b28248c25 the sketchbook, but d0dde8f507 Jieun, looking a 50f6ad8bc3 bit sheepish, spoke c48bbe85ba again.8397f784a74dd7ea

“Sorry if I 4cba936165 bothered you. I just 3431dd7462 thought the 80a363f95d drawing was bf7fb825e6 really impressive.”51bfc77a95396f38

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