FG | Chapter 6.4

For South ca0da9537b Korea, it 3082822c6b had always 88f1ffd375 been an 9e8b311046 unattainable dream. But for countries 90ead9af3d that had even ee5777d7ad the slightest chance, 80c17e74a2 they had been 0e02de4782 desperately trying to 638e658783 get in. The United Nations was 460dd46e2f the place to be 47b18d6a6f if you wanted to b295c2c4c4 establish yourself as a 9a83b2e75e true power.d10ccb6f6b7e4cb2

But why?eecef97dea89049c

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Why South Korea of 593c966ef1 all places?a22b1852da12c729

Why choose an East a2608433a9 Asian country, and more a2c3d0549e specifically, a nation considered e68e6a3f76 weak in terms of 4ad992380d Awakeners?c93c92187e5abc95

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I had 560e6976e0 a feeling 80304159d6 I already e33140e382 knew the a474c53411 answer.9be0a48d37640cf1

I glanced to 50863541dc the side at aceb852b76 Yeo Eundo, who aa71a4de53 was fidgeting with 93b7d819c5 my fingers, as 65c07fb320 if he had e7d2c4e751 finally calmed down. Noticing my gaze, 46c8933e51 he grinned sheepishly.b6b4b167ff68068e

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Even though the conference d97c32b831 room was dim, it 9bd5881b80 felt like golden specks de0a526ca8 of light were sprinkled 4a196374e6 over his face, like f2f4dd7224 pepper. I squinted at 128dcbf2ea him, but before 5d6295b72c I could say 9f9f4a754f anything, the people 086dab14bc who had yet 3c367fcd83 to settle down b91b28edb7 started speaking one ce3e3de70e by one.b41b766d05ef2ce9

“H-How is this even 76f1359293 possible?”94af47d397c2520d

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“Are we talking 06e8928a83 about that Basis? Why would they…?”bd5c71927bd1b1b6

Some people even speculated c0a167df56 that it might just 2645a8ff6f be a splinter guild 5be040baee derived from Basis. Baek Jesung, dec36b288b however, didn’t 5617e8fb86 bother stopping d1a65147cc the rumors 80107fcf33 from spreading. There was no 5bafdafdbf need to. The fact that he eeb78e26ae mentioned Basis without any fdb4eb6f2f qualifiers meant that it 7c5a053e23 was the real one—the 34084ecb99 one everyone knew.d685d77bdb60ab2f

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Rather than offering a b56c1e9996 lengthy explanation, Baek Jesung 804461629a simply looked in one 54a305ddca direction.7bdece335fadbcd6

Specifically, towards where Yeo 0c434c5964 Eundo and I were beffaf14de sitting. Without hesitation, 018435467f ignoring the 53c3fb9c54 weight of a8fc199b4f everyone’s stares, 4b5ea2b21a he asked 8d21d456db directly.7a8f38a8ef6eb4eb

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“Esper Yeo Eundo, haven’t d1ecd9a2d2 you recently received an d53bbb9ffa invitation to join Basis 454672febc Guild?”8a6752fd04ec3f78

The moment those words 87c66c1bdb left his mouth, every 7fcf35c64b head in the room 4c3ba261ac whipped around in unison 74c53c33fd to face us. There wasn’t 39f6bbb09f even a 31dbfcbfbb proper place 0479a11e34 to hide, ff78a6d74e and with 6446bc71c6 all those b9f299c78f gazes locked 8fb68d2bda onto us, adcd488d04 I instinctively 18478fc496 leaned back. Even though 3b97bf9fdc all the 4a8cbd4292 attention was 120002b6f5 directed solely 4c24a0b440 at Yeo 05bc83785a Eundo, the de2cb803e9 sheer pressure ca06209762 of it b932f067eb was overwhelming.750a8cc8f18c7673

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Everyone held 3c6af66dec their breath, 0f4064b618 watching Yeo 73cc8a8d15 Eundo’s lips. No matter d6ca9f84c1 what he 86a5323477 said, they abf1e38b03 were bracing b92c55ac9f themselves for 75f02c6882 whatever shock 4049d092fe would follow.84b115c54aee658b

The guy, who 2bc0d10e99 had been absentmindedly 70a1856640 playing with my c9d9b40f5e fingers, finally spoke.ad15a91bc23db453

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“What should we have a4404e2883 for lunch?”317723667f97a98d

A collective ba01c65967 ‘?’ might 820b41ed78 as well 44b954e742 have appeared f7a89522f9 on everyone’s 2e8b1dc7c4 foreheads.e7cf3d3ec51d52d9

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I didn’t a03b45a543 even bother 42b013e6b4 looking at 7817213a86 him. Staring straight ahead, ebf20f6271 I ground my f9df5e3332 teeth together and 43dc5ad3e7 hissed.8e78dbefd601b13a

“Answer.”a2a79b7c5563b2d4

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“……?”48c4458d4fc132a3

He blinked, c6d5b91bc1 clearly not a9303c3164 understanding.9643d58217a901d0

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God, I e4ca630228 wanted to 0442d63910 smack him. Just slam b0f040b680 my palm aa5fdf0d41 against his 494f99e7d5 back and 34e60e7f28 yell, ‘Face 547794db4f forward and 5a45ae57af answer the 30d92171b1 damn question 7d817dd9e2 like a 011fc49bcd human being!’ 7c493d2b04 But if f0a55f301b I did 35c771db41 that, we’d 03bc2ff3be only draw b40113b41b more attention—and a1a38aaa48 worse, Yeo f642f1531f Eundo would b17f29675a probably just db1363d48d laugh.82637fbc6a93fda8

I swallowed 3abe8eb943 my frustration 09cd0a9e99 and started e80a5fcb92 hypnotizing myself eabefd7996 internally.bf182e8cf077d906

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‘He’s a dog.’13836f0be0d04020

A dumb, 8e947a36aa disobedient little 17c6e50d73 puppy.e060a3445675dc08

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I subtly jerked my 97785e7dea chin forward, signaling him 62ee78d13f to look ahead. Only then d29d594a13 did Yeo f6e7fad036 Eundo finally 5fb170ab12 turn to 6f1bb8a158 face the 5072a61234 front. Even then, I didn’t 322ee5b3e6 stop my mental chant.3f6e54531b53649c

‘A dog. A three-month-old d3cd367dcc puppy that 305ed7d2a6 doesn’t understand f8583a3317 words.’733ffbcaf8c0f009

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‘A dog. A dog. A—’afa50d262c684a8a

With an awkward smile, 1bf69cb42f Yeo Eundo said, “Guide-nim, 02e9c19ad5 no matter how hungry 536693a62e you are, that’s a e03a212c5c bit…”c91ce354eef6980c

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“You son of a—”0bfe9d73c058a5fd

The room 9f78904832 fell into b92a15bf56 complete silence, 7958737836 as if c9fc5fe6d4 a typhoon 55495e300b had just 91a4d7a64e swept through.c30ff6c3a704f2a5

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‘I’m doomed.’63f55bd9bcc75d64

I had ca8725d078 finally snapped 6415d301fd and blurted eecb16f6f1 out a 37dccf958b curse. Yeo Eundo, 08e721b4c4 his already 999880fe84 large eyes e6f2eb3953 widening further, 26abe4c611 blinked at 57ce4bda05 me in d1a7f84104 shock.f878176c7542e3ee

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I squeezed my eyes f98c557481 shut, then opened them 8916dfaf55 again. I’d deal with this 0ea5711d73 lunatic later. Right now, I 2d8746d01d needed to focus fb94b3856d on escaping this ea062eea05 situation.4b8729d199490d04

With a c51f38baf5 calm smile, 5285152caf as if c4067736cf nothing had a126d6b7c3 happened, I 352c171818 said, “Esper 30cacab646 Yeo Eundo, 3405e2a946 they’re asking 09978a6f80 if you 2e6b9caf0c received an f165971236 offer to 2ff393e431 join Basis. You should answer df1bfd3c88 properly.”bdf2aab5fcdb74da

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I practically ground 788b07d2eb my teeth together 18db121243 as I spoke.1d57a46dd78449f9

Finally, Yeo Eundo 4591be1b26 replied.bffa53b6c3c41807

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“Did I?”df0ec0206a038f01

One punch. No, two. No, three. Hell, six punches should 83fef77de9 do.338a1840d24cef80

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Even though 9f5e7be804 I knew 526bbf40ea my hands 676fa0733a would hurt f106c70df6 more from 6d831efe70 hitting him, 7614f11f01 I still 1b7b931de5 clenched my 156af1ebc5 fists.e3299ee5611a6040

But just afbaebf9c6 then, Baek 8f183a65d1 Jesung, standing 623953f12f on the 5e71bd7627 podium, smiled 6b6b05b792 gently and e0183cd97e said—a443f6315dec81da

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“Seven times.”9f6dd7472fc80f54

The moment those 3d17acb926 words were spoken, 91559247d1 the gazes that 87c04f9f82 had been drilling 08fca4e793 into us immediately c1da28882b swung back to 45925f7175 Baek Jesung. And, as if to 4f3f8c2b0d deliver a final, fatal 2f94ac5847 blow, he repeated himself.50c69d675f8a7180

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“Esper Yeo Eundo has b321dafb6c officially rejected Basis Guild’s 293812f614 invitation seven times.”55c9edac073b1037

Which meant that ba5cbb0b64 if you included b846ab1c26 unofficial invitations, the c6d81f3ea6 number would be 675574670b even higher.44869214eb3c51dd

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The entire aa1fa3b405 room erupted f3494d1e15 into murmurs.0f140f87603282fe

Just like 3491161656 that, Baek e50ef2fa5c Jesung’s words 29587264da completely erased 38f60fdda0 the fact 9b2cce527b that I f05db192ac had just 58369cb2f8 cursed out d2c7f69e0b loud.8b9cf74535d4f06b

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A true savior.48ab23a7ad195434

Once the noise had f8c3373f23 died down to a ce09b5a1d9 reasonable level, Baek Jesung 3f7f622ebd opened his mouth again.ef526421f339809b

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“Basis has started valuing 15a80a1d0a individual capabilities more than 64fb54b8e1 organizational structure, and from 4f48f50eac this year, they have af0caa941d been making efforts to 812d8fb585 recruit better talent. South Korea 60d6c47fe9 was recognized c94788dc1b for its a58421d643 potential and a622216ce8 received an d6a0ccfc2c offer to 1226f9c25d be the 50b04688ab host country. In exchange for cooperating 7ede9e2353 in Gate raids during d06dc412ae the tournament and guaranteeing 54001302e4 additional support from national b0f9dd3638 mercenaries for the Esper 08e055c1b8 who wins and secures e757820d28 a position in Basis, 93dc768d02 the association has officially a6df492836 approved Basis’s proposal for 3a13f2dd4c hosting.”aa3a7629577e15fa

From that bd372a1e68 moment on, 26ab36a452 the place ac9c214ddd was in 69ec33f647 an uproar.ad7f192e52a89cfa

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A barrage of questions 273db6c157 poured in like grains bbe09bea85 of sand, and eventually, 88c406b45f the crowd’s attention turned b5607681cd to Baek Jesung. He responded to e349805b0c each question with 18e1e96b95 a calm and b8ddda04ba thoughtful demeanor.fac73d3c7f3faa15

As the meeting wrapped 6c11f78331 up, Baek Jesung was 5a4c4cba73 seen tidying up his c093d1d6f1 materials. Once he stepped f946eb9d12 down from the 684e71c757 podium, the hall a23a7a26b2 lights would turn 039d8f85ba on, so I f06d1e4eb4 stood up, intending 9b7bb95bf4 to leave before 4230a74e1b that happened. Yeo Eundo stood acd16715f3 up as well, 306f5bdb37 and I grabbed cd2c0ba8cd his wrist, pulling 161dc20bf7 him along.fda9d8d5e16cf533

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As we stepped 47c799b2fd out of the e475e220ba conference hall, I fc285ce680 was wondering what db6df33ab3 to do with 9e99eee9a7 this troublemaker when 27bae34ad5 a deep, composed 60888e3abe voice behind us 5d9813fb12 brought us to b3b9efb71a a stop.837b0a646ff0c166

“Esper Yeo Eundo.”96367bc6d284efc3

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It was Baek b82bc1ae3e Jesung.5d2d83683881c91c

I had 38fcd2dcf1 no idea a546e7959d when he e3fc8b4275 had returned 8e4fe2b3ae from the 41f9e01bc7 back of 7ceb34bab4 the hall, 607605137c but it c9cfdb875b wasn’t particularly 4f91e23a21 strange. The moment I 5993b87c5c saw Baek Jesung, 5f2965c032 I let go 8ed28c594e of Yeo Eundo’s 9ec29e2e27 wrist, but he c1a4d2f12c immediately grabbed my f6a48a3d27 hand again. I tried 4ce586d3ad to shake 8f0b0038db him off, daf3879ed6 but it c8c231a490 was useless.fc63ee3af9216523

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Sensing the situation, ce6fa5fb47 Baek Jesung spoke.a8ecfac30d7652bf

“If you’re not too 12687aef37 busy, do the two cc67643391 of you have some b66350ff4c time?”5db698e9a343edc8

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From inside de63202401 the conference ba96c13bc4 hall, people’s e12068d495 voices could 8b21be58d0 be heard. It seemed c06b1821a6 they were 51d7b201b8 starting to 675240dc19 trickle out, 9b38857fe7 their chatter 7cc574960e growing closer.1c50bb63683d2219

There was no escaping df77503207 a meeting with Baek 6d5823ce71 Jesung.67877bb6c16cefeb

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We were led into 896c4aeda0 Baek Jesung’s private office. With my 6f987a18cb rank, not f29fc2c078 only was b200048471 it unthinkable 86516de220 for me dae6cf5f35 to have 0f7dd5796f a conversation 876441e1ae with him, 8e3f2e49a9 but even 260e5dcbc4 just being 39b69cc709 in the 6f49b7d96c same space 1f11afc577 as him dc963c0ff1 was already 7ae11d622e an anomaly. And yet, here he c89c563153 was, personally serving tea.c3b907f6030bdf8c

“This is lokum, brought 1171f496ef in from Türkiye. Please, have 35e099aa18 a taste.”458cbdb2b06d81c3

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What he brought 5178ea1f48 out with the 3e3c87da97 tea were colorful, 9de726e571 jelly-like sweets. They had 20c1d09a63 nuts inside, 1bbcc58a9c something I 56607d42fa had never 3af136f240 seen before. I wasn’t in the 22eca1c900 mood to eat, but e7e8c64c61 my eyes suddenly caught 40e82bcb0d a green one. It looked the ba0ca8828a most appetizing, so 80ffbe31c3 if I had 4857a2f863 to eat one, 95b4a5da8c that would be 37dbc19c0d it—but it was 3cc663fcaf just out of 23ba82c66d reach. I resigned myself and 8056b8603d picked up a pink 97472cc5f6 one instead.114da8cefde8917e

At that moment, cf775bc117 Yeo Eundo swapped 4bf7e978e6 my fork with 0f86b1c643 his.0b397b3b1d3cbe46

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Speared on the fork e8e0000fcc he handed me was c828a6b759 the green lokum.e0aa666721c0c34d

Dumbfounded, I simply put 73e6cc25e7 the fork down and f4cc2dc500 took a sip of 36deeb8b5f my tea. From the side, Yeo e0821f51db Eundo looked slightly dejected, c6c598c1e1 but I pretended not 961893b5d5 to notice.4cc629ea40d8b3c0

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I wished Baek Jesung 536acbe4c8 would just get to 54fbed0e1b the point, but he 45382f5ee3 remained silent, looking between 9d8fa0e869 me and Yeo Eundo. Then, as if 0f629764b5 he had suddenly c1b00f072f realized something, he b901adfa14 gave a faint c234e5ac5d smile and said,908697f4023c5742

“A good 95e50552eb partner is b4b9953d3c a lifelong d32e30f9b1 companion.”df911ce2152b717a

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“Pfft!”3d3ba9b250660350

I ended up 13881ca68f spitting out the e01674e2f9 tea I had 773b113415 just taken a 31ede04c98 sip of. Yeo Eundo, his face dd88ceb247 turning red, panicked and 2ec12e1ccf hurriedly wiped my mouth 92ef2b1d8e with a handkerchief, even 0de345eaa3 patting my back, while 33d38f0a70 Baek Jesung simply chuckled.bad4af28c923a8b6

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‘This old man… 8a1bcf195b he enjoys messing ba84b6b0d3 with people.’bdca4014798dcbd9

I snatched the handkerchief 953c6a4e9a and pressed it to 2f2336ac09 my lips, pushing Yeo 203b0031f8 Eundo away. After taking ad9daaf230 a moment c0a9c87e0a to compose 558e993d88 myself, I 1e525b50a2 pretended I 32d1fffa1f hadn’t heard def5caba85 what Baek b5592b3537 Jesung had e5a57f8c15 just said 8b0fe37adf and spoke.c84949ab2d5a9ef4

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“This is our ec227bde72 first meeting. I’m Seol d1b94737ad Maehwa, a ad3ce2cbad D-class Guide 6f9cb1afa0 from the 7d67ad2352 Planning and 3578d8114d Coordination Office’s eac97a270f Information and ddf58d2a73 Statistics Department, ffd345c9e6 assigned to 3a8db08e5a monitor Esper fe8e07fff9 Yeo Eundo.”5806df080f4e1f1b

“So, you are 3e53463aa6 Guide Seol Maehwa.”2c7301b69755e932

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I had a11904a1b7 emphasized “D-class” 5319243736 in my 5185f7a39d introduction, thinking 109eb74ffd he would 01b721bd62 naturally focus 574d528183 only on 78eb749711 Yeo Eundo, 91de4d78ee but Baek b8950a0f2d Jesung continued e9dfc2042f to view 218b05cabb the two fc02d2ec31 of us 45879a6f15 as a 66fb0669a3 set. I didn’t like that, c7f1d43916 so I made my 8e3e0ec5ab stance clear.18df8b6eade0c2f4

“If you don’t f324eab7f0 want this conversation 66930f310a recorded, I’ll take 2aa31c499a my leave.”6e63c63ffea039ac

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I was 9b94cdb120 essentially offering 3d158d461f to step 45e870b9dc out if b6f92f9ef6 he didn’t 7b495791a7 want this dea330ca91 meeting to ffd99f8242 be included 69347732e6 in the adb236f75a monitoring report. Baek Jesung, however, c2e90909ba simply refilled my a0bade3593 empty cup and 48a0856e8a said,67d6b015f138c5cb

“This tea 996d984018 must be bf509cc749 savored slowly acca08cb92 to fully 26b655a439 appreciate its 2e048b7cec flavor. There’s plenty left, 68764abf1d so please, take 8ec1f5debd your time and ca2b43c938 enjoy it.”6be66d5d0a58daf7

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Baek Jesung had no 45e4263949 intention of letting me 22987d1fbd leave. It was 16f1beee77 understandable if b417fdf560 he wanted de313a470f to keep 35b65244a6 Yeo Eundo b1f6221937 here, but 3d0baa8ea6 why was b8e3aab8b7 he holding 455106248a on to 19b213a6f8 me? How long a6dbfce4dd did he 70117768ad plan to 4bf60ad69a keep me a8dc2d0653 seated, just 268bd88d03 drinking tea? Fortunately, it b79f6c6ef5 didn’t take b3c18e9302 him too 46d5c0fbf0 long to eeba5a3b00 get to e61fca740a the point.64b08cba3c54a333

“Esper Yeo Eundo, have d6ecddf88d you received an invitation 6074b4789b to join Basis within e3b49b5fed the past week?”23a55072d8ffec19

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Instead of 79113caf01 answering, Yeo ae9ce532e2 Eundo was 341f42bc89 gloomily picking a67816e470 out only b35f25bf2b the green 18fda566fd lokum and 61b2316ef9 placing them ea18308969 in front e1b16a101c of me.fd351750b4912e5f

Baek Jesung watched him c8bd47e0a1 with a gentle gaze, 0e7e14928c patiently waiting for a d15e61fa90 response. But no matter how 23f2e311e6 long he waited, Yeo 12cc18f8c0 Eundo remained focused on 814bce668e selecting green lokum rather 8125927f30 than answering the question. I elbowed him 1df4f91497 in the side, 9ad0a1d8da signaling him to 731656d5ef read the room.a2f75cf6a23f990f

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Only then did he c1aac74362 finally lift his head f4a936d881 from his intense search 0960fea4d4 for lokum. However, instead of responding, 863d249242 he stabbed a green 4157a9ee1c lokum with his fork da87d42a40 and held it out 00cc299f56 toward me.ce8b73872fe47a42

Forcing a smile, I 941273b2df spoke.6db200216540fdbc

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“Esper Yeo Eundo, you 091d2c9967 should answer the chairman’s 28df184689 question first.”a21e0749857e1dc3

“…….”de836ba1f3708495

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He remained 7661b4d883 silent, stubbornly 4e3b64c4b1 holding out 670f8b8d1c the lokum. He was going to 60a1f4c43b keep this up until 6055e249b2 I took it.13df31307d4e355f

If it were 7dd731e6e2 just the two 9ccfe88d0c of us, I 987a0fcd1d might have ignored 5587ec1a3c it, but watching cbaaa5af6b this full-grown man 6086530bba act like a 4332180c73 sulky child in db6c4a4b94 front of others 02516b4567 was driving me a9433353cc insane. Baek Jesung, meanwhile, 214e67448b was watching us 4e1b6809a9 with a serene 4cdf316ed7 smile, which only a1a3c2c41c made things worse.3a85e9ebc591e2e7

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In the end, I d3e710c728 reluctantly accepted the lokum c49f0f669f and put it in 43a73e1699 my mouth.4a4ef7b9179ee7ac

Chewing on the sticky d944fd34b5 sweetness mixed with the bdf975f857 nutty flavor, I glared f8d44db619 at Yeo Eundo and 03c4e1a935 whispered just loud enough b809cd86af for him to hear.f7ce9928f369cca8

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“You just 12b61416be wait till 0483c67636 we get 306b6e9b16 home.”9edf3d30120a7deb