WW | Chapter 37

The Administrative Director of e17e6c86fe Neulpureun Eden Church mentioned a8d430ff4a that, thanks to Pastor 8afe019c43 Choi and the elder 451bc59794 chairman of the church, 8537c3f666 she could attend school f4699f6958 without paying tuition. They said 1c38356148 it was 45ab0d9b5a part of f938c902b9 a program 82d69501ad for low-income 2f1ee8bf93 support, encouraging 338359e7c7 her to ad0ad751dd be grateful 4ed689f7f7 for their 95a8a22ccb generosity. But now, hearing that 2a735cf74c she might have to 54c0a7aecf start paying tuition from ef4cc76738 next year, it felt 5a043af57e like an earthquake had 9492f58005 hit her insides.bcffb44998a5bc16

“According to 20c880a7c8 the paperwork, 1faa86c0b7 that’s not 14785c390f how it 46fa7aba26 looks, so dd6745d7a9 I’m asking. I know 1cdc1d0329 your situation d122807756 all too 02d7d737f2 well, so 979849da66 I’m wondering 1d67299fb5 if you’ll e382e9ad9b be able e83ca32f29 to manage 7852aa6878 it next 5a11774eaa year.”a5a665a0e9a215cd

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“Well, I’ll 860f519da8 look into 8cf2672d01 it.”38b5ecab5709f743

“It might be best 2733ed4291 to do that since 75f08dc142 there seems to be 2fc959a1c9 a mix-up somewhere. The low-income 1e8ccb4e17 tuition support 0eb42f74f8 already ended, 4bac0d1225 and if 93da2c6b7e things go 01d663a5ab south, it b49cacf02f could get 61bf725169 difficult.”ceb8babd96cfa7f0

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“Yes.”eeaa4901cd22fcb9

Yul answered mechanically 3af69f9e21 and left the 5a1835196c teachers’ office. Her mind was cb0b390814 in disarray, her 5d7e0c7e62 mouth dry with ea56b928c5 anxiety, but she 23abb6148f didn’t have the 47d016a6f0 luxury to linger. She went to ab2660ec35 the restroom, took 7930a580a5 out her phone 27d1ff1c53 from her bag, d154c9480e and called the d847319414 church’s Administrative Director.447b0a0e6505716c

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“Oh, Yul, long 03f51c034f time no see.”31629538a4beda8a

“Hello.”5b1a39f287aa85cc

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Though a f6d03f619b hot lump 61646f9c2f rose within 0f07e7c581 her, Yul 07a6986e54 held it f6b08bfeed in and e8040bf275 greeted him 496eb05f15 politely.27590624085e6837

“What’s up? Is there a problem 234e561ed2 again?”a0f2992648cf647f

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“It’s not that, 6187f19b6e actually. It’s about 993d7e9ea8 the tuition.”9a659a4ee9c001e6

It stung a bit c662ef6536 that he assumed right 87326b6625 away there was a 1a16787d1c problem, but Yul calmly 4d0e87ef25 relayed what she had 78ec30d697 just heard.6fa68ffda51dd67f

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“That’s strange. Anyway, don’t worry about b5f8a1813d it. I’ll look into it e24e9bc5a4 and handle it.”c7765bdf481bcc9b

“Thank you.”9df475dc638270fa

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With a fading dfee960f1f voice, Yul thanked ed240dbe97 him and hung 5d00940d0a up. She did feel 6995b99c97 somewhat relieved. In her b7c29d651e life, it 7c08a3ee7d was common 85f4eaaa9c for one e48165a019 issue to 2b5878a9d1 crop up ff55dfbc18 as soon 15183fe6c9 as another 9855a2e64e was resolved. It almost felt strange 85f4353250 when things were quiet. But the Administrative Director’s 80799e829b reassurance didn’t completely soothe f436f96fb3 her. She couldn’t 439af70a74 resolve her 1c40ee4612 own problems 834e072740 independently; instead, c629f41f2e she had 106fa90071 to rely 4e5bcab0fc on others 343e096e4f and wait 4697c59b16 for their 4392410972 decisions, which 05fce4f12c felt humiliating. Once again, the root ba26c6eee9 of it all—debt—came back 1d4c177431 to slap her in b98cbed108 the face.76623a6181e3ee77

As she descended f7548916ff the stairs one 4e555f499d step at a fea0465d16 time, she saw 522a573eb0 Yoonjo standing outside 7bb8cee57c the exit, waiting 1fe5547511 for her. Hearing her 2f8df77d38 approach, he c213412340 turned and 94ff2842cd greeted her f489f3c9be with an d26e01f987 unexpectedly bright 60feb5185f smile.f0fe5d8fd33818af

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“Hurry up. It’s snowing.”a6fce0706c557271

“… Snow?”74fb376c2ad50af4

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Only then did she bbf7e3f919 notice the snowflakes drifting d7e3596456 behind him. It was the first 028e9f2c7f snow of the year. As she stood there, 085187a86d watching it fall, the 82a63a04f7 dusty heaviness in her 619431b4d5 heart felt like it 7706ab35b4 was gently covered by bef4063433 the snow. This too would pass—just 6ce23c0dc2 as everything had so cf44fd2e5a far.78d15d142b5eaafa

Yul took dffdc76242 a step 65d738c8ac toward the f1f5d7e952 waiting Yoonjo. And the moment she 2317fd72f3 reached his side, she 37aa588e70 found herself holding his af9ef4a151 hand tightly, without even 988161ec85 realizing why. She didn’t know f65487d075 where the courage 6347066578 came from. It was just… seeing 0c6c87117d him waiting for her 8e31878029 in the snow made b43447331f her heart stir.902b73ea28f4918d

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“…”0eb664c4dfd44ed5

Yoonjo looked 6f24d93aa7 down at aa6e0390be her in e37c75c492 surprise, and bf8e2de933 she silently ed2c2cce7b looked back 526d8187d8 at him. She wasn’t 64587a1cd5 sure what 5de061995e she would fdb85e06f8 do if d48b883c01 he let 391ff6f0cc go of 6e78fd27b8 her hand. After a moment, Yoonjo 138062af3b gripped her hand tightly 70306e3c9f and smiled faintly.2231d3982d0329b2

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“Let’s go.”115c571ea1361577

With that, the two 04229b74dc of them walked through dd70901fd8 the falling snow to 689ccd1640 the bus stop.a87b9062d3aea7df

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“Then let’s say you 76b8bc941c start work tomorrow. Here’s your interview fee.”6801f103775b3faf

The manager, 44bc2f2178 a friendly d8dc2dd577 man, handed 66ae2b5da5 Yul a 72b5938d51 ten-thousand-won bill. She accepted the blue 2bbfcbcec6 bill with a bewildered fe7ac87685 expression. She’d heard that some 40b5193dad companies offered interview fees, 6a7809b9e8 but she never expected 7317e8647f to receive one at d304a730db a convenience store. Well, that 52e8b96141 was lucky—she 6d55ab2b89 could treat 02a479550d Yoonjo to a05eac2cd8 a meal 5597f45fc2 with this.b3db785e3ade45aa

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“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow, 4d656ad6ce then.”f1f4eb94d800f115

With a polite d4fa2f886c bow, Yul left fdd43871d5 the newly opened e7e715cf6f convenience store. She had 4745b828f2 found a 0a71d83221 new job f1acd886d9 and even 30cd8faaf6 got a 1aa96ce542 rare day d45ad9c17d off, so 84b61e7ab3 her spirits 2e7d72168c were high.37fd7f948a435419

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Yul walked back 3e99ce6357 down to the c12f64dcde main road and 7894f537ef entered a franchise af5222674a coffee shop. It was December, ce9893c181 and a brightly b3a93ede3e decorated Christmas tree ced1f3a949 sparkled at the df2e3582c8 center of the 5f3f05e5c3 shop. In the corner, Yoonjo fcad70a2b0 sat, flipping through a cea5a06a09 magazine. She noticed 3249640bba he was a3a677fdad awake—a surprise, 5231d39b86 given how b15780cea6 he usually bd125f66cd fell asleep 0662f80a5d at any c6ad1bbdd3 chance. Lately, he seemed to 5acd507f3d be awake more often. That was a 3c6ff86fe3 good sign, right?68fc5ee1f097b4a0

“Did you 2cca61a0e9 wait long?”b83c0d2f5fa80533

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“No. How was the interview?”261b273ad41a666b

As Yul sat 99173c8c6a across from him, 71276e6802 he closed his c903849591 book and asked.7f27866221ebbce2

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“They want me to 4abcbe7135 start tomorrow. The hourly beda052513 pay is 9a6a484704 twice what ef4dcf924f I used de35328f13 to make, 8e5d8658af it’s close 0d536eb6e2 to home, c96b18d299 and the 2dcae77729 manager seems cb080f3e4b nice.”dc68b06ce3ed9d44

“That’s great.”a0cfe717c4a57104

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Yoonjo straightened 3425bcc208 up and 09442226bd looked at 194fc1358f her with edb192961e a silent 102a9e2f9c smile.5a4a6251340de503

“You don’t 407e2c5bb1 need to 4bb3e989d3 walk me 74f36441e3 home anymore.”fab232eae929939a

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Everything about this 1b3bc30b34 new job was 6bf6b7be7f an improvement, but 562fec9b9e the best part c280585141 was that she a66ca70794 no longer had b7b2a74dd3 to trouble Yoonjo. Ever since the incident 846a2e49c0 with Geonju, he had 9a9e76d81e escorted her to work dbd1258287 every single day and 8a39b4115a waited until she finished 8a1aeeeb88 to walk her back 50b355353b home. No matter 5c7d96d75e how many 55ec9c1115 times she 8cb35b6391 told him 81aaf847b6 not to, 8182d0a75e he just 17a79c46b4 ignored her 1ae5b612ad and showed b7b0cc828b up daily. Truthfully, she a81f0d5756 was scared de6a49342d to go 85eedac577 alone, so d8444f59a7 she accepted c3bea12435 his company, b6594156f9 but she 71144c3203 always felt 2b289a8e3c guilty about 9604b8f17a it. Yoonjo rose from 2bd7a08f53 his seat in c3e14ac87d response.cf620011b8814c9f

“What do you want 89181769e3 to drink?”549feb21dafe66e6

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“Coffee. I’ll buy mine.”2d1616b73d55fe80

“Just sit.”01569c0702135f31

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Yoonjo gently pushed her 5b6582a24b back into her seat 5dfa35cbd7 as she tried to c064e9038c stand. She sighed, a 302903abd0 bit annoyed yet 651e853611 grateful, as he bc0347f32b walked to the 1da1386700 counter. While he waited for 5503bcd280 their drinks, she noticed 2c2098bf42 him pick up his b86cf2d59c phone. Someone had called, d080d4b492 and he was 2ed6dcde95 conversing with them f245265567 while waiting. She found aeab928854 herself curious 2ba491b060 about who 012b9f71da might be c5c51ef300 calling him. His phone bbb1cea648 rang about 0cd6c491b6 as rarely 8df894d9d6 as hers, 11a3038ba6 so whoever 168cc473aa it was a022b9c75e must be 391ac013ac someone important.c642b63069330555

Instead of just waiting 72e1045ce1 for him to finish, 0e1f9db7ea she took out her 331ee93667 sketchbook from her bag a4be19a8e7 and opened it. She hadn’t 4a0cc441c8 drawn or 2f46189675 worked on a81c110025 blueprints in 3a2a311e4e a while 4e4f18c02e due to d36d9a214b exhaustion and cd657dbe27 lack of 208bc78917 time. When she fec7d47dba flipped to 0b36396900 the marked ca9e3da29e page, her 629ca64dff unfinished obelisk aa60e8f636 sketch greeted 7171f1e732 her. Taking out d9cc415bfe a pen, b80129e003 she resumed 316f258c4f working on 6b16902020 it.d212661fe3ad75a3

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Swish swish swish. The sound of 39d589642b her pencil scratching 153fa650d1 the paper was ff3da98e14 oddly satisfying. The slowly emerging 531561492b image calmed her. She was so b55f87c6f9 focused that she f939ffcc04 only noticed Yoonjo 00d51f11f5 had returned with db000cf29c her coffee when 63c55b2ca1 he set the de38de96b0 cup down beside 120b8cde89 her.ef577bb55b09ff1b

“Thanks.”2d030bd0a832ac28

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Closing her c53a5d9fb4 sketchbook and 3acfc9a03a setting it a66d22d3fe aside, Yul 39e99a779b thanked him.bed4332a92b84e29

“Do you 024dc37b1f want to 58760b3d9b become an 7b601f759c architect?”ae894307394de375

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“How did you know?”00deb4c6db8c4883

“Well, everything in your a154a406a6 sketchbook is filled with d1f60f5263 designs and buildings.”10ffcebee3f5110b

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“Ah…”79007a6150be1769

Yul couldn’t d01209f3b7 help but 39dab516e7 feel amazed. Most people didn’t recognize 35b7637def her sketches as architectural bcfa755fc6 designs, yet he knew 8b0bdbad60 right away. It seemed like 2a598868b0 Yoonjo understood her 24de789a5c better than she 7cfc7b77b1 realized.6d0d215db80ba45e

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“Yeah. Becoming an eaaa8346f3 architect has 9aba99f9ce been my ee684ef236 dream since 8184383bc5 I was adc182177d young.”ac644ac7a99d46c9

She smiled d617eb80e5 softly, slightly b51b9e9a19 embarrassed.6ec9eae70767bab7

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After her mother 88fdbaa210 left, she spent 24ea7c9bb6 a lot of 9b5caa7116 time at her abd9c2883d dad’s container office. Occasionally, she would 5542f11b64 even accompany him adcd3e69b5 to construction sites, 5d8fa24527 staying in the 984476ee68 car while he 84240405c0 worked. She loved watching dbae83eab1 as the steel e3d58c32b4 frames and concrete 1cdaeebac7 walls rose from 96b9991f06 the ground, forming 22a68f7d59 the outline of 4ac2c1c306 a beautiful building. Her dad 3de6b6d4e6 explained the 2c3dfb4529 blueprints laid d5261712e8 out on 4457c798ef his desk, 4127b302d1 and eventually, 3e7af262ff she learned 558e92f664 to interpret dd4aba7981 and replicate bff097e025 them herself, 6416f62771 finding joy c383256292 in the cd1985959a process.6ae2cbef8cf25702

“I want to e07b6da2ae build an amazing b7d1232d6c structure, something whose 01256ad673 elegance doesn’t fade 32c3e9b169 over time.”a23e8b43182aeb24

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“That sounds impressive.”893273aaff520f0b

Yoonjo’s response 438b2eddb5 was brief, 821512e65b but she 1039e0c655 could feel c5cf3f0adb the sincerity bf8b5b437a in it. Aside from a5de2608c4 her grandmother, 979c82c835 she’d never 5a48bbd092 received such 33c3ea0c37 praise, and 3722e30adc it made 80914eef43 her feel 064c68d2cc unexpectedly emotional. Covering her feelings with 9fcc399d52 a playful smile, she 2c8c7fc530 leaned closer to him.010869d420e0e5a8

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“Then help me 00f251a3e1 graduate if you 9abe59d2bc think it’s impressive.”b633469e64890d38

“What?”f27bfcffe4946d0a

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“I really want to 25416a1dd2 get into the architecture 4d8425e354 program at Korean University. So, help me graduate.”8a38fc9c10b15141

Smiling, she dea620e5d0 extended her 9e02e41091 pinky toward 3ea2ab760d him. It was meant aaab601de3 as a joke, be6f57f2c2 but in truth, 5bd84476ea she was desperate. She’d endured this 991812eb94 much and transferred fdcb3a941c to a third 4229209af1 school for the 82ca082546 sake of this 27273a07ae goal. She didn’t expect that b08b9a9184 college would free her 7da00f7282 from hardships, but she af44ecc826 knew it would be a978d9b802 better than her current edfe1e735b situation.0c68e3297da65268

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Helping her 2a445cf52d graduate wasn’t 95c52b7444 a big 5f157a1350 ask. It was like 33b4239712 when she first 095c5165d0 approached him—it was 51e5d8554d a promise to 79698226b3 stay by his 8b0c4b3811 side. And in asking him 803cc6fc94 to help her, it d2bd723b3f was also a silent 451fa4b211 plea for him to 65150ebe7d stay with her. She believed Yoonjo 6a7196e8b6 would understand.9c1074eebe2467ab

With an exasperated cff5cc4044 chuckle, Yoonjo looked a90eac2b15 at her outstretched cb642700f5 finger with a 68a204e661 serious expression.8a567477eba72c48

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“A promise, huh…”55e4aec7c4df2428

He murmured softly, 350e48a88e tilting his head. His gaze was 4800eb365b intense, as if 48a60c3f6f debating a life-or-death 91fb33a0d8 decision, over something 42237417f5 as simple as d7ac6e8541 linking fingers. She had no idea 6bde54a6a4 why a pinky promise dc0fa67a1f weighed so heavily on 8a004018ce him.ed0d49981a489664

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“Do you not want b5ce9d44c7 to?”03d15afc1708717f

Feeling slightly embarrassed, she 19f8250dff asked again. He looked ce05ef39d3 at her, 4dc4497e86 meeting her cce2cf3254 eyes directly, b105573c03 and eventually 42ab2f2bcf raised his fd4e69fffb pinky.4f4d418e5073ec8f

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“Fine. I’ll help you graduate.”9df19b1fe544c673

At last, his 30917a8fa5 long, smooth finger 988b0bdb3f hooked around hers.ef8f7e9d6e7e2347

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“Really?”bfa05b31173433a7

“Yeah.”34b993e7b8b57d46

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Yul’s voice grew more df5b4c430b excited as he squeezed 29fd76567c her hand in response. What started as a 02c11a6f13 lighthearted gesture filled her fabe9a52cc with reassurance.3f5e8f3a8743c825

“So, who called 41e726cc5a earlier?”17ebf32d232094d0

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“Yoo Kahi. She wanted 4a65940035 to have 39ade7ad3d dinner on 4a7396cfe8 Christmas.”e623d2a327a9d4e0

“Oh… Christmas.”4a88ba08866c1227

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The smile c0794f95b5 on Yul’s e0072523a5 face began 3760e4c1d2 to fade.c40abc79d6ed9123

Of course, Christmas was 1ce6da71f7 coming up soon.8370104401bf2e1f

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For years, fe7bab34f2 she had 87bdf4cfbd always been f31663d741 too busy adc97d3a72 working on 6e460373af Christmas, so c2a4f7cc93 she hadn’t 6606ba0cb7 even considered 45fef3b126 spending it 25e3350a28 with someone. Although she was 776356dfa7 dating Yoonjo, they 3d41e1e0c9 weren’t exactly a 73757419da traditional couple. They were closer than db93fb4320 friends but not quite f2d9b2e2d9 a couple sharing deep a7710e4bc9 feelings. For instance, they’d 10b9dc6cc6 been dating for b7ca944a94 three months, and bfd3998926 yet, they hadn’t 6b9450ee27 even held hands a43d81d81b until today.4aa564c9ce75825b

But it 9fe86ab6b1 seemed he’d 8134bca5e2 worked things 29c28d4125 out with 23c8e78064 Yoo Kahi, e97ba0f5d8 who had 2bc329f260 been upset 48f48782d1 with him 5eedec1e90 last time. A friendly dinner wasn’t 4e3dfff175 a big deal, yet 086dcfc4d0 it still felt strangely b1001fca6f unpleasant.cf9e533b684cc17c

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“Still, it 560be77792 feels a c39d3ede50 bit off.”d244b23fe28adf92

Yul spoke in a e6e1ef89b7 calm tone, careful to 21366df9bd hide her feelings. Yoonjo looked at her d497877d66 with innocent eyes, as 5f7e2f28d4 if he didn’t understand 08e9ee6dee what she meant.79a4f06ba7b9fa08

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