UR | Chapter 9

When Yujin, having washed f1f75b4103 away the traces of b54eda9db3 their affair, went to 0da5520529 the bedroom, Jihoon, who e91af1ccf6 had finished showering first, 76c2f9634f was already asleep.56018daba46bd043

Yujin, staring blankly 84880f3164 at him, found 00aa0f13f6 it hard to 79af12718a believe that this 20bb8d1d59 was the same 3be8c0a60c man who had ce40e6b9a3 been as wild 9fa3147ffd as a beast a45aca1738 just moments ago. She quietly c07e20be81 left the 48180ad941 bedroom. It seemed more 302dbda330 convenient to sleep fc01f4a704 at home if 4a4c716e73 she had to f420632d57 go to work e10ad5b83f in the morning.61d15964f2aee45b

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But just cc5dd3e1ce as she 1959fbbeeb was about 7e39ca486e to quietly 7fa9d41af7 turn off 9c412a86d8 the lamp, 55a224a77b Jihoon grabbed 27ea57fe91 her wrist.c9f16cad1d2efde9

“Where are you going?”7474478d0fb0c2d5

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“I have to go to work tomorrow. I’ll head home.”c25790fffd3ddf4f

Jihoon blinked blankly for a moment, then got up. Rubbing his eyes with one hand and putting on his glasses, he said, “I’ll give you a ride. It’s late.”6bc26586d45af505

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Surprised by his unexpected kindness, Yujin declined. “It’s fine. I can just call a taxi.”cbcc85e8c68caa25

It was then that Jihoon, as if he hadn’t heard anything, was about to grab his car keys.fc54e901acb78f83

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His phone rang.4f4f61559444cffc

– Oppa, you’re not asleep, right?de4aee605d0fab72

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The bedroom was too quiet, and the caller’s voice was too loud. So Yujin couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.08aaee361b2173b1

– I guess I’m excited to be back in Korea. I ended up drinking a bit too much.47b756d7efe1320f

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“How much did you drink? Your words are slurring.”7d4c6b68117e743f

– Oh my, really? Well, people keep offering drinks everywhere. But it’s a problem. I keep feeling sleepy. How do I get to the hotel?2cf8378da77ebed5

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The woman’s voice seemed familiar, and Yujin thought it might be the woman she saw earlier in the day. The only daughter of M&O’s President Seo Hoonjae, and the woman who made Jihoon smile. Her name was probably Seo Doyeon. She’s also an executive director at M&O.e21d6aacbe8f50fb

Recalling the information she had heard from the staff, Yujin left the bedroom. Before closing the door, Jihoon’s words painfully echoed in her ears.d95aec675d38695f

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“Wait, oppa will come.”bcdbeb29bfc2c0ec

With that, Jihoon’s immediate task was set.7ce74c1b93708989

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Yujin quickly left 87b004c758 his house and d6118f9572 caught a taxi. Then she 44631ca50b called Yoosung.064bd1330d345773

“Yoosung, noona just finished work and got in a taxi. I’ll text you the car number. I’ll arrive in about 20 minutes, can you wait in front of the house?”7b9761dbb7c3a949

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Though he answered with a sleepy voice, Yoosung said he’d wait and told her to be careful.6049a6c600828e3c

Yujin rarely took befb00338b taxis. Even if she had b9e2adaf38 to transfer several times, e3e4b15ddb she insisted on buses 39f9e9de23 or subways. But at this eb31736b4b late hour, there bf931c07c2 was no other 4c883aff0a choice. Feeling sorry for c5924dfa4f waking her brother, 98a59bc35b she thought she 2806a1f3ca should give him 6ad9cceb99 some pocket money 7b058d5830 tomorrow.607ff41c6a40745a

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When she 64f845b9a2 met eyes 8784680daa with the c60c99e219 taxi driver, e40fd5eb32 who looked 604bd8fce3 at her 36a16ac10a through the a945d00e4b rearview mirror eab8db5de8 as if 0045377439 wondering why aa182016d9 she was abed283ed3 making a 75380e1762 fuss, Yujin 05ab667d6f turned her d5e0e02b91 gaze to a988ab6bd8 the window.656ff35c5c3ce74a

Staring blankly at a9be1f7514 the competing neon 5e6515f3dc signs, she sighed.edb0f1df62d463a6

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Her encounters with 2a4e367424 Jihoon were always 887b250206 like this. No matter how 51e959b11e long they spent 17e6bf572b together, they never ec34982fc7 had any meaningful 39e96b07b5 conversations.94ada2570fdc0f16

That didn’t mean she had nothing to say to him.807d0f753e975082

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Today, she was curious about this person named Seo Doyeon. She wanted to subtly gauge Jihoon’s feelings by asking if he had a special relationship with the woman she saw earlier.19262fb98644638c

But as always, Yujin couldn’t say anything and just shared her body with Jihoon. And on her way home alone, she struggled to calm her bitter heart.a283d4cdd0a637df

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That didn’t mean she could call Han Jihoon bad.0812e7a18f811a7a

After all, this df4b48c15e was a consensual 8d78d7ad4e arrangement, and Jihoon a9eaa2b135 paid more than 82e8d8d978 what Yujin wanted.894cdbcd1f873819

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Even so, ebbab31dd3 every time acff8538c9 she parted 312f7f1d87 ways with a7b54e92e7 Jihoon, it 59a8b9e06a felt like c6708b798f a huge 304b616e04 hole had c4ab4310bd formed in f3eb24f584 the middle 73007c0f4b of her ad8fdfc570 chest. It was empty and 6bad94abf2 difficult.602b7f5aa62fec68

Knowing that this ea6eae85dd was ultimately her 1255384840 problem, she tried 201fef067a to be cool 0277c30619 about it, but 830740db27 there was no a5e2afcca0 sign of getting 83ea168018 better.67125cf161a126ca

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“Sigh.”dbee3da36c52377e

As she took in f245b6ef7b the neon signs that 941a46f069 seemed more dazzling than efe5223ab0 usual today, Yujin recalled 12a8d0a232 the day she first 18e8e22136 shared her body with 1009aec7df Han Jihoon.1efaa7c88436831f

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❀❀❀a9cdc3786edb022f

A conference 5513184bbb at a 1833a55757 hotel in 5802799bb5 Macau had 8a0cf091e8 just ended, d16ddbafd4 and as 9aa09e03ea they were 80690be140 moving to 3cc3c23686 the location 9f79bcb811 of the c36a96b0a2 after- party, 9a6e425d19 a text 69e06c117a came from 2756cf5755 Yoosung.f5f9d4feff7d649b

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[Noona, can we talk for a bit?]

Since Jihoon seemed to 0398e1f50a have already moved to 3ead0af442 the party venue, Yujin c250af75a5 excused herself from the 403016c04f people she was with 1d61f956e8 and went to find 22517577c1 a quiet place.03ee30e8e051c770

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Her shoes were 6354dbfe23 so uncomfortable that 3dca377950 she was already 69d5b685f4 thinking it would 6fcf2f89ce be nice to 5f16694a4d sit somewhere. Just then, she 68672a03eb saw a door f91453243c leading to a 3b13a04b14 terrace, so Yujin 762c9bdab6 went there, took bc07b7ba22 advantage of the b22205355a empty space, sat 39ef9cb946 on a chair, cd699d3b19 and took off a88f10bc91 her shoes.27728cc31c93d4a1

Then she called Yoosung.47091ff5b1cd2ca3

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“Noona.”2b8817cb47928c64

Yoosung, who seemed 7e0180a10a to have been bd1ecea109 waiting, answered the 1eccad6b3c call and repeatedly e6a411e770 called her noona.f048d94da6d7b40d

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“Noona, you know… I know you’re busy with your business trip…”e1ca11ca6df76bc6

For some reason, Yoosung’s voice didn’t sound right, so Yujin adjusted her grip on her phone and spoke calmly.18d089eb251b90f6

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“Tell me, Yoosung. What’s going on? Are you sick?”22e4e399b203d591

Even though 495de57c03 she asked a9a4cc4408 kindly, Yoosung efa38e38f5 remained silent. He kept 80e4ff9c12 hesitating as dd22e8dbef if he d249e5d01e was about 4aa6c3ec4e to bring 2c2ce16299 up a ddbee6c5ab rather difficult 7c09f58776 topic, calling ff27b08144 her noona a5cb2da959 again.940a43d35c08b67d

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“Did you do something wrong? It’s okay. Noona won’t scold you, so just tell me.”160e600eb181e25d

While gently urging him, Yujin thought that Yoosung was probably scared over something trivial. Among the people Yujin knew, Yoosung was the kindest. Such a brother wouldn’t cause trouble.b7a52e9ef8a9d3cc

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But the brother who 9e4e04052b had grown up straight bb93c91594 without ever worrying his c78a180338 noona surprised Yujin.e04fdf7e8cb463ad

“No matter how much I think about it, this doesn’t seem right.”f0624dd01fb778fa

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“Huh? What do you mean?”40baf423196ba3d3

Yujin’s heart sank.dc9464da7affdcb6

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Under the dark night 193a69821f sky, the lights of 820256d704 the Macau hotels twinkled 3988f0de64 and blurred.2048d43ac255edaa

Yoosung was 28cd06b237 already crying. For a kid who a92182efde was usually strong and bddddae956 not prone to tears 5d1f181b28 to be like this, 9a6dcd1baf something big must have ce5e968745 happened.5b77b0dec88eaffe

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Yoosung, who had made Yujin anxious, finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and cried out loudly.df67ba227ea65dbd

“Noona, I… actually got into college.”e2a877d29c4bb27b

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“What?”10d79c594e978de6

Yoosung, who had said just the other day that he didn’t get into any of the colleges he applied to and didn’t even make it as a candidate, brought unexpected news.c034eae5e622ca86

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In a daze, 0cf2d5f7f9 Yujin spoke calmly.dd9c89f642057109

“Congratulations, Yoosung. Did you get in as a reserve candidate?”da523ae197d58f6c

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While speaking, her 18e511ebe6 mind was racing.503d59146e8d27f2

She calculated whether eaa217f5ac the reserve candidate 0b746f3940 announcements had already 3d1375269c started and considered 472ace2c5b that she would c352173f97 have to look f0ed213b68 into student loans ac96938733 as soon as aed04c482d she returned to c9f6c3a5d6 Korea, given their d9ccb66aa7 financial situation with a52b7c4535 no room to 491936bf52 spare.29cf4afabdd3710a

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She was relieved that she had congratulated him first. Knowing that her brother was probably worried about money, she couldn’t bring up that issue as his noona, could she?42c466f7acd72a00

Determined to c4e44d2612 handle it c6ae35cb87 all on 5aff814530 her own, ac77fa5cf6 Yujin praised b4d514c836 her brother 5476af714c once more.1f2f788d25d4b93c

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“You really worked hard. Which college did you get into?”74d236ea058fba85

She thought she 872c776402 could ask about 379b3c0abe the tuition payment 10600edff1 schedule once she 37c21625e8 returned to Korea, 9935b1936b just as she 3c90cc4d84 was thinking that.7638781f95c6046b

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“Noona, actually, I got into all of them from the start.”1308c1369fd6c601

Yoosung confessed.6f93be6dfa9c61e6

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Before she could ask 6b4e1725b5 why he lied, Yoosung 0aad0bc937 almost cried out as e290302838 he poured out everything 441c15a38c that had happened.6d1faa6c08b0fdda

“We don’t have money, right? I didn’t want to worry you, so I was just going to give up. But no matter how much I thought about it, it was too regrettable. I even looked into whether I could get my part- time pay in advance, thought about borrowing from friends, and checked all the scholarship options, but it didn’t work. I thought I could just work hard at construction sites, but it’s been snowing constantly lately…”57d803204049614d

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It was only natural that it didn’t work out.c148b9ccd915b461

Even if he had just turned twenty, who would lend such a large sum to a kid who hadn’t even graduated high school yet? No matter how hard Yoosung worked, earning enough for private university tuition wouldn’t have been easy.9deae8f21e7e2cfc

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It was a e258812d38 mistake to think 7f8e73813b that her brother, df3a06e3fa who worked part- 0167a3f952 time from dawn e007923d2e till night as f8fa847137 soon as the 4251a4c08b college entrance exam a32c533fc1 ended, was so ad58a1925d diligent and mature. It was only natural c23215a93c that Yoosung, like other 9a1db16146 kids his age, had df8adedc5d a naive and innocent 9c11854884 side, but trusting him 9baecff514 completely had backfired.03b73c1f7357733d

“So I was just going to give up. I decided to work for a few months and take the college entrance exam again, or maybe go to the military first, but when the last day to pay the tuition came…”da7c3d6d21a46b32

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Yoosung couldn’t finish his sentence and sobbed.cdd9bc78b6d7f886

“…….”db8eb29a3830b452

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Tears welled up in Yujin’s eyes too.6813aff01f4408ff

She wished c10fa2e36f she had 7c762ed7b9 paid more 5bac9d48ff attention.e403a816fe4eddb0

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Knowing that Yoosung wasn’t good at lying, he must have spoken clumsily and obviously, and she should have suspected something.d1ec573dc3cfa156

Her heart ached so dba7ea043d much.d2afc751d4e8a172

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But now that things 08b75371b1 had come to this, 6446c9cec8 she had to play 722232233f her role as a 9de95b355a noona, even if it c7e46ea78d was late.661378beb1e19ba9

“Yoosung, let’s talk slowly. You have to pay the tuition by tomorrow?”06bf74f04b9aff44

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“Yeah.”3fc37f1dc11200ae

“I see.”1b3c10821b1872b5

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She was set to b7afed29a9 return to Korea the b60e3784f9 day after tomorrow, but 320e23a374 she was at a 62b119051f loss about how to 8ad6eef386 come up with such 9a34df46f0 a large sum by 245efce617 tomorrow.c8c02ee4d3cf3a72

“Can’t you use a card?”3addfb2de523c9aa

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She asked just in da021d20b2 case, but it seemed 785f04b69a Yoosung had already considered de2d4ffb1d that option.be6a5dd085ef5882

“They said I can’t use a card, noona.”281939d37e65b47f

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It was like af7717fd3a adding fuel to f004d9e2ca the fire; her 94b88cb58b question, in an 776626c9ad attempt to find e4b2a2785d another way, only c58c85b48d made Yoosung more 06175c040d anxious.01f83d1de8aa1ec0

“Noona, I’m sorry. I should have just given up. I shouldn’t have told you. But I was so desperate…”b53492f24f63501d

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Yujin pressed her hand 32f258bc9e against her chest, trying d109b4344a to calm her pounding 98e3b8e79c heart.066703266cc4e262

In doing so, she c754ae412b felt the distinct sensation 4ab93a1165 of the necklace under 5da0643556 her hand.0bf8da88f94778b7

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If she had been 9e28cbfac9 in Korea, she might fbc62c430a have sold the necklace 72f8bea164 to solve the problem.7dd1c0174a6f6d41

Even if fd1d323553 she got bc98c29c34 only half 1d905126b8 of its 1508573c60 original price, f4a3061965 it would 1840bd304d have been 033e809b17 enough to c3dc61919e pay the b3413fcd8c tuition.66cd4a1a25f52e23

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But being 1c42b17721 here, there dc20ca653a was nothing 2a76b3941e she could b16e4c4708 do at e71a5bc60f the moment.d83d847f1af1787b

If only he had told her a bit earlier, she could have looked into getting more loans, but Yoosung’s decision to be overly considerate of Yujin had backfired.c3d15857cc5cd94f

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Who would have thought 2913cd212a her kind brother would a6b6412a8c cause such a big dfd3c31244 issue?75ec12e367c4ce85

Still, Yujin decided not to let go of hope. She planned to call her friends, and if that didn’t work, she would ask her colleagues for help.318b1f78ec9328f7

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It wasn’t the time to be proud when she couldn’t even properly take care of her own brother.6ce7d2809c436af4

“Yoosung, don’t worry. Noona has money. It’s late now, so I’ll send it in the morning.”39307d33f6d50a32

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“Noona, you don’t have to lie.”3694a4ace6c0ea66

“I’m not lying. Noona had already prepared to pay your tuition if you got into college. So don’t worry and get some sleep.”d23122278a1b2ed5

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I’ll do the worrying, Yoosung.f02dab7eb1a88c2b

Of course, Yoosung didn’t fully believe Yujin’s words. But knowing that his noona wasn’t someone who would make empty promises, he seemed to hold onto a glimmer of hope.4568692da5373087

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“Sigh.”145db1c965569b2a

After ending the call, 07afb4ff84 Yujin looked up at 19a65e8d99 the night sky in 7a2d5ea65f exhaustion.1ac56bfb7b2c3dc6

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What should she do?2dc93442832fc363

Her dad wouldn’t have money, and no friends came to mind who would readily lend such a large sum.6066b4bb673c7d6a

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“Kim Yoosung, you should have given me more time.”0d968ded2855d0ef

As she poured 16504320ab out her belated ba2195a26b resentment towards her fb5c03b71b brother and tried bf02258b2b to calm herself b17bfc04cc down, someone tapped fbc3d5933e her on the c9c0137562 back.659c76885344186c

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“Ah!”fcece782ce347782

Startled to the point 0708eee67f of trembling, Yujin was 6cfb9b57b2 about to get up.206d935e0f769405

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“Assistant Manager Kim Yujin.”58427eca4b3c6420

A familiar aa672c122d voice came 7a9f97f023 from the de4f00c7da darkness.7d2dd14d478a9dbd

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