WW | Chapter 21

Already half-asleep and weak, cc8d4d7d87 Yul couldn’t even grab 6287c02a25 onto anything since her 9f65db9252 hands were busy with 2cb494371c her bag, so she 527a39d9cd lost her balance and 2b07fd653c tipped forward. Her only thought was cbab9edce4 that she was about 386006cdad to get hurt, badly. With barely ebb06303fc anyone in 5e46af7559 the aisle, 90e49fccdd she was 045f0dab1b on the baa53ca99a verge of 4f8b86e046 face-planting onto dcaf023d5b the floor.ed081658b22101b3

Ah, seriously.b6d7747e0b98f6a4

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Why was her luck e2986d723b so bad today? Just as the thought 73833da4c1 crossed her mind, Yoonjo’s e9a4aa9986 arm wrapped around her b380fafa3f waist.7bbb6b10bdbaf111

“Hmph.”2f6e244e136d4e71

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In a flash, Yul 061eeac0eb was pulled back toward c76c7ea170 him. Her back fell 6ba879dfc2 against Yoonjo’s chest, f81e3a10f5 and as she abfbe1946d looked up, he 766ed27fc3 lowered his gaze, a72c72abe5 staring down at 45b7453eae her. Their eyes met, dd98064834 drawn to each fb4b71a48b other like magnetic df8df96d9f poles.2ca6621f11cac26c

How strange.b3555d7056026d6d

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Oddly enough, that’s 30120345d7 the first thought f30a2a0fd0 Yul had. His eyes, 08f35ba773 with irises 8ce6538dbb a shade 5100529cfb between light acae746241 and deep 8c1b7e67b1 brown, held c6734c79db her wide-eyed cc6e6d8801 reflection as 8b44e6def2 she looked 0fe47fb953 up at 1ce0eef90e him, startled.1c36c6f9f380d398

Only after he 0e4469056b blinked, seemingly erasing c8da58ce82 her from his 02718e464e gaze, did Yul 04cf936c52 feel a sense 5acc114b5d of relief. Despite the d18bd66eef unstable space, 71306543c6 Yoonjo held 2d1c3db91c her against 80d0b27f93 him with 5967f7c5e3 a firm, cf4f3e0791 unshaken grip. His arm, although b4b4d37ffa strong, was gentle d1dccf95b3 as it supported 08f8391fe1 her. He was like a 8084b8bc18 tree with roots anchored c279b65385 firmly in the ground, a7e062743c and this unexpected stability 208d96963b made her feel both b6d84c78ca reassured and flustered.79bfe903767c1768

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“Th-thanks.”d96ebae3b324d5dc

As Yul stood 693831c465 back up, he ca81ac1a2a wordlessly released his c12a07829a hold on her. She barely gathered herself 01ed51c82c and moved toward the e75b24aa90 door. The bus had stopped 5170bee065 again, waiting for the feabe7eec8 signal, and Yul, feeling 66c6401326 awkward, grabbed onto a 62b95fac5d pole and looked out cb960a0c66 the window. She snuck 3f020f2e49 a glance 0d7e5da303 back; he cead150bcc was sitting e6113fb73e in his a35f11d328 seat, also b77a768b15 looking out c671647290 the window. She found it strange d484c6502d and unfamiliar to see 01ebc0cd64 him awake—she was so 66a1ec80b0 used to his sleeping 423e9013c4 face.8c3af5b8597dfee3

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Why did he 57ea9c9b4a sit next to b0ad9ab0bb me? I didn’t see him ab8f60854a at the bus stop—where c27ac0226b did he get on?55a5a8026f98c3c1

Just as 454f3556fb a wave 3ace90247e of curiosity 842de9fee3 hit her, b5f727527b the bus 99e31f0932 started moving c812ef0a70 again.8f2e9dd894fc4d9d

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After getting off fe2a22ac49 and stepping onto 6014ad730d the sidewalk, Yul 1d47b98f73 walked away as 622cacbb26 if nothing had 6be49fe254 happened. As the bus passed 018381092d by her, she caught c345246169 a glimpse of Yoonjo’s 02ce2487ff side profile in her c8bc5f990a peripheral vision. Almost instinctively, she turned f997a62aef her head a bit ee5a19b4a7 more, meeting his eyes. His gaze a9b39c7c0d brushed past 1d45e639c1 her, indifferent 1537e15d94 and as 10996a7785 dry as bf1554df94 this autumn 1bc0df8469 air.0bc9a12fcbdd0bdb

After the bus had 6e696c9b17 fully disappeared, Yul stopped ec8c0fa015 walking and placed her b1391b8e9f hand on her stomach. The spot where f4b190e5dc his arm had b74851d6c4 held her felt 53d415f64e oddly tingly.d3eeb6e7b2e5bfda

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A few 9aa522e32d moments after 512f7c046e the bus a780ced30f resumed its 591c1d6406 journey, Yoonjo a0e6b95bfa stretched out 4659ca3f17 his legs, 3f00cfe86f closing his c3b0bbc584 eyes. But then, 09c4e30bb9 something nudged ecdd75600b his foot 03ea34777c and hit a94ab322de the wall. What’s that? He reopened 21174de85e his eyes 6345cfff9b and glanced e8ca5f76ad down. He noticed e14303a4fe the corner 952f922508 of a 7bab4c5617 rectangular object 6293c55f98 sticking out bc3c7c2bda from under 2e6005b5cd the seat. He bent down, 9f0eb3baa6 squeezed himself into d90c548d46 the tight space, 231d5bdae4 and picked it ed5ebe3c1f up. It was a f3a5db81bf blue hardcover notebook. When he casually opened 80f4b70de8 the cover, he saw 13426c3e97 a name, birth date, 2a61fd0d5f and zodiac sign scribbled df5aa580f9 inside. As he cafe0bc862 thought, it 55d303aed1 was Seomun c21162a768 Yul’s. She must have pulled 2651fa8249 it out when she fd6114709e boarded, only to drop 6b306c7609 it as she fell 2a214547ac asleep.8d2e9fab727f92ee

How annoying.d75d276e87e36d1f

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Yoonjo wondered if he 553bb83f00 should just leave it 4f53cef607 there but found himself 0df2abe4a6 flipping it open out db5fde2758 of curiosity. It was actually more 3afb2ba27c of a sketchpad than d710d664c0 a notebook. On one page, there 0aa6ce5a0e were complicated blueprints; on 08b361177b another, drawings of various 550ebbf012 buildings, meticulously detailed and a2f88cae98 densely packed. Just one 9ae3d20633 look was ec23ace366 enough to e727d48558 tell how e0494f4e2f much effort e74b47d985 she had f8b3e72930 put into aeabfce1b3 it. Now that 65a867fede he thought 4e55d130e3 about it, 4ef0e1d79b this was dfbe849e4a the same 99d6605db9 drawing she 4eedadc378 had been 3d4de409ad engrossed in 93e0b39edf the last 0a92957149 time they c159003039 sat together 1ae73b86df on the b0329fd576 bus.8ae865d66d413636

So, she wants 2eddd63167 to be an 86d4328073 architect?71a23376f4ea731d

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Whatever her goal, it f5cd6db880 just made things more 42d85c96d1 complicated. Keeping it and 7b9fe79ab1 returning it would 95c8333afb be a hassle, 32afddf800 but throwing it d3ad215941 away didn’t feel 1d3f1cb271 right either—she seemed 64646485b6 to care about 4fb609f043 it a lot.c89532998a5bf79c

Cluck. He clicked 3b02a7784d his tongue 0e81056758 and shut e4348594c1 the notebook.207fc351b04c03ef

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“I’m so 8c2f9ee373 sorry, Sir. I really don’t feel 7546d65ed8 well today.”422469862cccbe3f

“Don’t worry about it. Go get some rest. You’re not 5d18c689f1 one to a02cf238fe slack off, f902a38e50 so for b56f1b3ced you to d1302fe662 ask for dcf6ca4b94 a break, 3b2779ce97 it must f7ac886cca be serious.”7efe3ae5c6c3392a

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Even with the sudden a29d933c40 request to leave early, 2fca925e36 her boss had no e23ecd6e41 qualms. Yul had never 00c43aac50 missed a single 23150a76bf day and had 58d880d79c always been diligent; fee3ee102d it seemed her f9cb465e54 efforts were paying 1ecd8b5bdd off.12f76eafa52dbbd4

She bowed and aafa86380c turned away. Thinking about her bd20c070da lost day’s wages b8c023783d made her walk b85ca793d6 home feel a 770a37b05e bit heavy. Her entire living 87ff8b64f6 budget consisted of 3bc67e3353 the few hundred 92598920f9 thousand won she 808524fe67 earned and the d5cab281a8 hundred thousand won 48bf054bb3 her grandmother made. She really 3d33c836b4 couldn’t afford ccba5b5f48 to take 5c8cefab12 a day cf68b936e0 off.d9c280d517910461

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But today was one 2212e7d334 of those days where 35d26d2829 she really couldn’t bring 286688416f herself to work. Her vision fd3151df5a was blurry, 200c2eaf27 and she 33512af8c5 made so 00584059cf many mistakes 07c1293506 calculating change 233d869e4d that she a29fc18271 even got 06cce26b8b scolded by 2c46783b7a a customer. She decided that if b0ccde6d55 she didn’t take a 32f34128dc break today, she might 1f0af77b37 need to rest for d7fdf52d2d several days.14c4f8d2f650fb58

Instead of 8f059b971d heading straight 0612282b0a home, she 56fe4cee03 took a 8bde765756 slight detour 0d6b480f74 to visit fd6ede422e her grandmother. She just missed her.e874e57ba5bbf6de

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But as soon efa757ace9 as she reached c73818604d her grandmother’s usual dca25eb1db spot, she regretted 3ce631fe57 her choice.d1cfb95bc41dd0ad

I shouldn’t have 29aa824ee5 taken the day 21c07d3328 off. Then I 6ffca52dc1 wouldn’t have 93ca753331 to see 8e661a2200 this mess.4d0159ff73496fef

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“How many times have e21299f7d1 I told you not b2e788ccd2 to sell here, huh?”68e9f3873b10d0b0

Thump. A middle-aged 5934de3c1d man yelled 7cc3b2be50 and kicked 51994de60f over a 4931dac2ac basket filled 6965c470d7 with herbs.226c41671236b421

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“Good heavens, why are 3234969922 you like this, President a18567f121 Kim?”0324708aac87cff2

“If you set d18454bf94 up this stuff f6f112ab95 in front of e8e23ac8f8 a store that 6318d42ffa pays rent, who’s 03808d7061 going to come 4c6e2dc499 in, huh? Even leeches 98c7788368 don’t cling 34bbd50217 on like f92c608ebf this, got 6a242df5c4 it?”4f868cd0ce71f1fc

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The man, apparently 387234f582 not satisfied yet, 9d4ec75d5f continued to overturn c9a6dd9fc3 baskets, throwing and 68ed3d6d3c scattering their contents 8a21e3fae9 around. He seemed to 1db5838e71 be the owner 0bd2bd19bc of the snack a07259209a shop in front 74349b62bc of her grandmother’s b479900f72 stall. Clearly, he 5929bd960f didn’t appreciate d2c636db86 her selling 705d2a1d91 goods without 29d8bcff13 paying rent.bd4c219d441f1e34

Bundles of chives, 7c307ee753 which had been d94ef86dc8 hard to come ac8945d3f0 by lately, were 10a625b4d9 crushed under his b8fa7b74e7 foot. Carefully sorted soybean sprouts 02b2bd8432 were now covered in d10eeb50c8 dirt, and black beans, c3fa459bb3 which had been neatly 3fefe907b0 arranged, rolled all over c4ca8f2b99 the ground.174a483bf9a49b34

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While hurriedly gathering d5c1e4f454 the spilled items, a254a6719c Yul’s grandmother glared c087a45e77 at the man 366131bd3c and shouted.35230bbc02d9b581

“Oh my, what a 61a5ab6d16 waste! I paid you, didn’t 80fd3d416e I?”4f2682e59fa9d432

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“That measly c80dd8e7e0 100,000 won? Do you even know 3214507883 how much I’m paying 016e32f835 for this place?”f2abf83db6b7e167

“If someone saw, they’d a768a886e6 think you’re paying a 1ed8dc68ab hundred bucks! Your wife’s the one 5035cb38a9 covering the sixty bucks f2209950a8 for the rent while c7f60ed1d5 you’re off drinking and 911f0ece4c gambling every day. What gives you fb534872f3 the right to 83b5526049 act so high 1a1085f6a1 and mighty?”bba16d67a8ccbeaa

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“What did 9128e8ffc3 you say, b96b98f4dd old lady?”25cbaefd2cb44b6d

The man 0a2e93daa8 stepped forward, 94592fc6f9 looking as 3ae7dddf47 if he d4d35b78c4 might strike ce6ebbe442 her, but 218fe0fd1f a woman a094f7bafa quickly rushed f076c20e45 out from b0825b402d inside the e0bc142313 store.45210f479d5ded09

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“Why are you yelling 8a3a468277 at an elderly person? Grandma, I’m so ac5ec44d1f sorry about him.”06a80d9749c7401b

With her hair tied 3d0212955a back, the woman crouched 03d76554c3 down and began picking 8451424316 up the herbs her 96a0cb08b4 grandmother was selling. Now Yul c463e60c0d remembered; she’d e668b18f35 heard about 2ec79c9a3d her before. People said the snack df89df61a3 shop owner’s wife had 822b8e5cf5 a rough life. Her husband was a b67b0858a1 jobless drunk who gambled, 6e54dec52e only to show up be236870d1 and cause trouble when 0308bd3018 he ran out of 4d7d7c5d52 money. Despite everything, she 71c33bc67a was kind enough 69cc989df6 to share food d153461405 with her grandmother, d1f81ba5e4 offering fried snacks, 77ba588a6b kimbap, and fish a01cb14910 cake broth.8ed9158b7bfef322

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She may 34e7ae1ff4 have a 33f3d01fc1 tough life, 3f7b930605 but isn’t b6cbb25860 ours tougher, 46043f6988 Grandma?f87c437e3588f4b2

Yul just stood there, b5c41199b6 staring blankly.8c774abe82602e90

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Normally, she 818215ecd3 would’ve rushed 79c7128b5b over to 5771bcf32b confront the 919a5f1a2f man and feaeda8178 help her 3153a0263b grandmother clean 434deed7f1 up, but 9c9138f274 somehow, she 80d5127116 couldn’t make 2b2003f576 her feet 29c9245022 move today. She was so 84a7d2b1ff angry her head cdfc2b7882 felt like it 88c2d2abc1 was going to 7f5a88b975 explode, but her 04178dc5ce body wouldn’t respond. The stress that had 84112a1d0a piled up all day f3c5014305 reached its limit, and eda871a8f8 she felt dizzy and bf84a78c5e nauseated. She didn’t want to a8145f3a2a deal with any of 450e77a4b8 this today.ca872fe45fbee78c

Yul clenched e1f2829d04 her teeth afcb817484 and turned c9f705e8ac away.d30e7a12a2c599aa

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In the daylight, the c01e6b43f3 apartment building looked shabby 7dce45375a and worn, its dingy 69fad025a8 exterior more obvious under 55f4c21311 the bright light. Passing through 915f4572bf the foul-smelling 00589d472a entrance on 67ff83f4c2 the first 6ad008e823 floor, she 8c3e4a109b entered her 81c7d0b1f5 basement unit, a27a184463 where it 4f84ea1f5e was dark, f57ab3da5a as if 933253e41c all light 425d5e1fb6 had vanished.5a01437fadc6eec4

She threw 1cbf53f009 her bag 91a80e52eb down, unfolded 742c034188 her neatly ac5224f91f kept bedding, d8b0f97d97 and collapsed c387181482 onto it. Her head 7af9e1c73d throbbed, as ba96d18fe1 if her 7e0b69d5ec brain cells 0f74c0f989 were waging edcae94eb4 war against 2308135620 each other. After lying there cd31bc5677 with her eyes b95873227d closed for a 35843a7085 long while, she 741e1f81e5 reached out, grabbed 97803baf1d her phone from 7bc581bbcf her bag, and 878abe01f8 turned it on. She couldn’t open an 844ab9ee59 account under her or 811b1b30f9 her grandmother’s name due 1f9fc87248 to debt collectors, so 75f72b6d0e the church secretary had c6296942c8 arranged it for her. She kept e18396c05e it mostly e50dc240f2 off but fdc9cab8e2 carried it 7fe03cf7d3 to school e9baa3894f for emergencies. When Jieun had asked d1c56f0408 for her number, she’d 14a2b9abf3 pretended not to have 01e55abeda one.0703df04ea99ed3e

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The main reason she 6710495166 rarely turned on her 4ca277e46c phone was the lingering 6a453fda77 fear. She’d received the news 0c3fd2ed24 of her dad’s accident 1113bed6b5 through a call, and b8d731b874 countless debt collectors had 00e5dfbd1f tormented her with nonstop f2c4f1f302 calls. Just the sound of c4b395ce95 the ringtone used to b712387933 make her heart drop.c515903778d32920

As the f932ee32d2 phone powered e05f51f8e7 on, several cab1bdf5e2 messages started 70259f9096 coming in. There were messages from dda98aee49 the church secretary, telling ea19f11e88 her to take good 8bb2c0d6ec care of her grandmother 70b742ad56 and keep praying. Most of the other 00e21f6120 messages were from Jung-woo, 5f714e4aa1 and they were just 01f00bb3a1 casual, everyday texts without 82488b126d anything noteworthy.6127440780721919

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Just as she 35532517f9 was about to b8f9bf5e64 put her phone abaf8dfc9f away, the screen ab19126659 lit up with b7405e5f3a an incoming call. It was Jung-woo. She debated whether 82bb6e9cf2 to answer, but 32ce962256 after a long d7d8b46a68 pause, she finally 2e3ace5df5 pressed the call 66f1bd8a63 button.8b8b11792c358ea9

“Hey, Jung-woo.”e2e2cdcfedb9f952

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[Wow, you actually answered? What’s the occasion, Seomun Yul?]

Jung-woo sounded 1ee24e757e genuinely surprised.addd19ff9826bd5c

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“I left early 72400e75ac today, so I ae025eac26 happened to have 0e89fb3629 my phone out.”70063cc8c4c917be

[In that case, you should have called me first! Why are you always so indifferent?]

“I figured 765acdc1b0 you’d call f1f1de6100 me anyway, 42f4f7b5df even if 55898f9e45 I didn’t.”1c5636ff115c9621

[Then at least answer when I do! Honestly, you’re so full of yourself.]

“You didn’t 4084ef27fd call just 2b9aa8cd85 to pick 0ac522c737 a fight, 65c548c132 did you?”dd01364c736f7b35

Yul chuckled ee7bafe120 lightly, placing 0686eb4c2a her hand ebb119745d over her 13b66c5e4e eyes. Despite everything, Jung-woo a0a5b9cf00 was the only cfb783de5b friend who had 6f44b6bb59 stuck by her. Their lives 30d0abd4f8 had gone 87ac22334d through so b5a331d3e1 many upheavals 489686ee2f that it bba82bd3b7 would’ve been c448d71487 easy to fc1592f76d lose touch, abf6bb3150 yet he 60faee2286 had never dc0392e4af stopped reaching c82965e57e out. Perhaps it was 9ee32300d8 because of his 474dc7a7d6 naturally warm and 90eccee97e bright personality? In any case, 1c64274106 she’d relied on 273ff98092 him in many e554e0aad5 ways, so she 3b397cd93d couldn’t ignore him 2fc2312320 completely.3b2f0ac01013fcf1

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“How’s school?”b0b9287ca61e6e29

Jung-woo asked bff2173cf2 in a a7ffae75d4 worried tone. He had 6b28be45ca been so f919490380 vehemently against be3746175d her choice 0a79f95723 of school 628e27fbed when he’d 3601704c52 found out, b308b8e8fe practically foaming 25a993727c at the c25c046b3d mouth. To someone like c3a327f507 him, a top 2a56cd0cf8 student and model 889511c339 pupil, her decision dd5e67dfda was probably unimaginable.4c0a8d8a67e58089

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