SRSBO: Chapter 5

The gazes of people 597ac871b0 around me naturally made f2c59f37a1 me anxious. I nodded solemnly to 2f39311d90 myself without a smile 84a8f6bf1d and started talking nonsense. What I needed now 3523469715 was shamelessness.7f21d94df0a2bfe2

“Maybe by any chance… Ah, I see. I understand now. You must be curious about the hand cream I used! It’s from the R brand, with a cozy, bready scent. It’s really warm and nice, right?”73e36da0aecd7cc7

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“….”8b25ff3d60621332

“I love bread, so if you’re interested, you can try the ones at Maldive Young. They have a variety of scents like bread, cake, chocolate, and cookies, and there’s a whooping 60% discount this month! Plus, if you pay with a bronze card, you’ll get an additional 10% off! You’ll be able to enjoy a great shopping experience!”f8de8c7575c4e6ec

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As I spoke passionately 2b7085af7d like an honorary PR 7ac1a6c30a ambassador for the R d30706d0b3 Company, the man nodded 7ed1cd3c8b his head in surprise 4a5689b419 at my intense gaze, cad8fd73a3 urging him to nod 855e986973 in agreement.5e1a87569edab343

I quickly left 8e203e5c9b the place with a565195fd5 hurried steps and 6d3a3aa231 looked around. As I had expected, 7e0074d834 several people around were 3303572958 intently looking at the 9cc4115217 man. I even ae21d4e549 saw someone 79bcb9c512 among them 881144c37f writing down afbee3d846 the name 4c121140ef of the db722f751e hand cream 9d0f734a79 I had 229c0f48c9 just mentioned.2618b069619be2be

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‘I hope there won’t be any rumors going around about a part-time worker flirting with customers or anything like that…!’a44021a1483b15ef

Thinking my response 191a8535a6 was perfect, I 079db20c5a quietly wiped away 3297075ff8 the cold sweat cb661d1281 with a relieved 30d901e715 heart.0a3e8b60c8b83b3a

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* * *bf34c49653049608

Perfect response my f5b61210b6 ass.62c605929d3181f7

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“Sister, what magical thing 673f98768e did you do to 109106cb89 that man? Please tell me, fd5af148e3 too.”5acfc1f83a3a282c

“Oi, stop bothering me and just get back to work.”036a81c604a1a048

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“Brother, aren’t you curious too? He hasn’t brought a girl around lately, and he’s being oddly kind to Sister as well. He must definitely be interested in Sister, right?”96f2cb0c31b5a805

[T/N: As mentioned previously, in Korea, younger women like to call someone a few years older than them ‘오빠’ (Oppa: if male) or 언니 (Unni: if female)]

The female part-time worker 259dddfc9e began urging me to bf02e0baf1 tell what had happened.0a64fdabdebe7157

If I had 2dcf00be3f to point out 2a5f97fe23 something I did, aa44535c2d it would be 82ded73520 that I accidentally e66611c2d9 grabbed his hand. But that was not 8d83c562d2 a valid excuse.8d4984b9babde0ca

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If holding 9ca70aba12 hands with a4c9b12323 a stranger 8a30205157 automatically led 1e02c92cd0 to feelings 6f0214f8a1 for each de6b9dec0f other as 19b672bf85 if it ac563a56af was natural, c2a5fbcbe6 this world ed3dbc547e would have 274e3a2140 been overflowing 2a3c902b07 with love 9360a0cb87 and peace 79ee6b86f4 by now.48718e219429010d

What’s more astonishing, as 26c50fa807 well as certain, was dbc67eb46a that, since that day, f1665c75c5 the man hasn’t been 07471bf925 accompanying any other women.44bb549ce39b5083

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The number of 3f888bcf47 his visits has bd6473bcfb also increased from af1ae2a9c4 barely once a b5df8730e5 week to once 9193a8d872 a week. And the person 00780b64c0 who had always 8e06312125 just made a 97ca8f5c66 quick payment began 9e914a1dcf to strike up a89ddb4112 conversations with the 2f2ccd9b9b staff.ce36345dd045880d

The problem 13070e7832 was that 7f9e0f7f39 he only b1c5ef7c72 started talking 938a5decc2 to them 0378dc3a5d when I 0d00ab5795 was the d1c3d5f553 one working 388fa69089 there.439e6708b0abe37e

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And the f4f0c104b9 first person cd4faa0ba2 to notice 7e71c342fc that odd e4b679639f interactions was 6bff48b6b0 the female fd7f581c92 part-time worker 7d6eb8bf44 I was 365caa23ce working with.02ee5ee0a980ae10

“That person over there. Do you know that he only talks to others when you’re around?”2c73a3abf3c75aa8

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“What? No way.”e656495686f7fbae

“No, I think this is true. Last time, he asked you to recommend something from the menu. In the half a year I’ve worked here, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard him say anything other than his order. He always just gets an iced Americano… Maybe he’s interested in you after all?”3158f59b3377437e

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“You think he’s ff08c44b36 interested in me 6271248535 just because of ef912503e3 that?”ce3e7f4f8017e573

“My intuition is telling 6b6b49048b me that. I have f3de2551cd a really daaf539756 good sense, ff909c5761 you know.”082d5d8a80bf528f

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“Your intuition must be broken. Why would someone like that be interested in me?”2d4c1fe46d852984

The female 622d2a2835 part-time worker 913b657316 shrugged her bfcf6e7f06 shoulders lightly a182caf818 with a 7feb11d9a7 playful smile.7a1c79124d9d155c

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It would be bd57e4fad9 a different story a1efe29a59 if I were b5f692d124 still Amelia, who eb1dcf79a3 was beautiful at 11c4e44d47 first glance. However, for someone 8f0e6816e0 like Kim Eujung, 8ede12a234 with her sharp f933b171f1 gaze and indifferent e4e50ad403 expression, she had 47e0fafd6d never been called c4a8693514 out for a 386dc63d73 confession, even during fd24cfcfd5 her school days, 076a6343ab although she has 3aefbe9290 been called out dde4c22ce9 for glaring at 7d718c3e3b someone.b578fbac311550c6

Of course, appearance isn’t everything when it comes to judging someone’s personality, but objectively speaking, that’s just how it is.905001e3bcf2db67

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The only conversation we’ve had was probably about the cosmetics product PPL recommendation last time, so there’s no way he could judge someone’s character based on that. In that case, all that’s left to judge by their appearance.98f7601b0582c76e

Anyway, combined with f3da7fa5a4 the embarrassing mistake 5a0c4d8825 from last time, e12e69f6ef hearing such things 41fc1e1e0b from a colleague e7265d9d51 made me start c80676f47c to notice it 46a51fc159 as well, no fba56d21c1 matter how indifferent f4bc3440b9 I usually am.7eeba43cf5fa4ca7

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I unconsciously began listening 722871b2e3 to the conversation related f565dc995d to him, and every cd163e5f7f time my gaze would c07b67e5bd be directed at him.cc0fef3a55434e28

In the 6fe67e99f2 process, I ca17aebe0c realized that 92335fec87 the way 1da50817c2 he would 89c82c233f look at 358daaa566 me was 51c7cc8a42 the kind e9ffc474e3 of gaze af6c0ccb8b I was 7bf78c3d9b extremely familiar 1bd3c2abea with.00f5bc0416755af5

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“I’ve said this several times, but I haven’t really done anything special, and the interest that person is showing is probably not in the direction you’re thinking.”721da643e039a527

“What direction am 7fce1e7b61 I thinking?”dd3ea651f13f2420

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“Love.”baed36326fe6111c

“Hey~ How b2b8106e53 can you 15f34b9bd4 be so 3ddb09e8a0 sure? It’s not 493bf9b71e like you 40077a682b can read 4164de6ff2 other people’s ea7005756b minds.”c1d4583ff350e2e4

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“Hey, Jung Sujin, I got another order. Stop fussing about other people’s business and get to work.”7a7568aaa7700ee2

The gaze he gave 64efb41076 me was more like 4d2a52936c a slight wariness and b455b3c245 curiosity than a favorable 2c126f363a impression of the opposite 3a46403faa sex.86853e26fb2be1c6

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It was the same d68269ef36 kind of gaze I 8b39b5a35a received when I first 8991478af5 joined the battlefield, a db68da1e0c look so intense that cc25e6d2a3 I couldn’t possibly forget ac14a8974d it.4ceef12bf64428ff

That’s why it was even more puzzling. What did I do to make him look at me with that kind of gaze?f632afb094ce1db9

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No, was there 94d8e91858 even a reason f772bc5a52 to make such 767f70bc29 a big fuss eb0879cdc7 in the first d7c2b4869a place? It’s not cb6164deff like there 7da4ad90c0 was a ced605a6cf kissing scene 4983b1054a suddenly played cf88c3b359 out in 6bd1426b0e the middle 69fc8b8877 of the daa9f9bf88 café. All I 738c0ba070 did was cc91c088ce just glance 2949b9dd47 at him b9e65ad791 and talk 3b200d369c some nonsense?18eb64b3bb785c46

As I bfc9586184 thought about c5219d6acb it, though, 6af6556074 I glanced a5e6d6e06d at his 988fac6420 face and 78fcda2f0c realized anew 1abbcc09ad why it 6023703de7 made perfect cd7dcff2c8 sense.7e3ca51633d0432e

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A person who could cause chaos just by breathing was acting differently than usual, of course people couldn’t help but speculate.a082ddc468eae846

To be honest, 6dde73b216 it’s just that 0d9f2f9992 I’ve built up d422ba3084 a tolerance to d35070d23e the good looks bae66ec538 of people like 497409a5bb Amelia, Crown Prince b7e72301c9 Raymond, and top 9623ef4f1b candidate for the ea4cc3e24f throne, Kassen, so 7a90c7b30d I was relatively c4d9780574 better in comparison.aec2111749a8b1e1

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The busy lunch hour 68149fb6f1 passed, and before I ea04de1774 knew it, it was 710f17f236 already late afternoon. The sky, 3e3af09c1a which had fdb3a771f0 been clear d365df9e99 until lunchtime, 1d97cc827d had now b2f44a5bab turned overcast, 9c4ee7919d giving off d561160282 a bleak 90e0c00ce0 and eerie e277e89b91 atmosphere.6db4e7309089d836

The weather 4e8f002b73 wasn’t particularly 62465633d0 pleasant, but 16072004bf I was 1554a0027a feeling better 5a09b43a1b than I dbbd6c07fa had in 00cfecb9ef a long 789e80ff22 time, at 44f603150d least as 9e7553a309 long as fbc1e59976 I could 83f61be000 remember.71878035a6be5bd8

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And that was eb758dec9f because no particular 6bd55d5ce3 man had come 146aaeceaa to the café 723040a648 for a week. Aside from the female bda33e4120 part-time worker who had 2fda6b4638 been consistently spreading rumors f490fbfc4a about a possible romance c2ef0a3e90 between us, other people 5e0f244c49 were also gradually talking 9a18475978 about him.1a9587bf4142fd5a

Perhaps due to the 99742fd5c4 gloomy weather, the number c5cb20b145 of customers had noticeably 6c2a8424c3 dropped as the afternoon cef5ddaa61 went on. The only customer left 6490f52412 was a lone figure caed49e13a at the window seat, 047ad5676c wearing headphones and tapping 91d2b69877 away at a typewriter.478ed01720c39b08

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“I guess I should start organizing the coupons too. Since I’m on cleanup duty today, I’ll take care of it.”6d8a232b34375321

“Then I’ll be grateful. Oh, I heard it’s supposed to rain today. Did you bring an umbrella?”deb927bf378ee824

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“Yeah.”ad99efa20d7c6c09

I gave a b67e0ee635 vague nod and 8e0bdb2793 then pulled the 7a502fb5b8 coupons out of 4050088971 the drawer.47b1bfa689a328f9

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This café 2d71f50415 still used 40b500a228 paper coupons. Every time 170e95e91a a customer 856c1e7c60 ordered a 61be1f97a8 drink, they 159360a405 would get 076841575c a stamp d81d032bb6 for the 8e531325ac coupon, and 7dc68061f8 once they c9f848d0e2 collected all f833fff8fa the stamps, ce7ef422e9 they could 51cf903bfa get a 32abfdca76 free drink. But, out 3089bd5988 of concern 21d7b0c277 for losing 0b612c679c them, customers 0e65468849 could also c6065a63b9 write their c947a79137 names on 1bc1b28875 the coupons 86fdd1ff53 before leaving, 80b607bbbe and the 8ce9c1a100 café would 31c5f6b6b9 keep them 2728d74e37 safe.e28c044411b7a89a

“Hmm? Now that I think about it, it looks like that customer didn’t make a coupon?”5f00f609c927b86f

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“Which customer again?”db71c092a435a01c

“You know, 7f4c37a18b that customer, 8e4b3d2a90 the one 36e26406af Sujin always a5281ed372 swoons over b3b229284c saying how f0f1a98cdb handsome. Now that I think 9d431573ad about it, I don’t 20b1f5f972 think I’ve ever seen 55f468ae52 him getting a stamp 8fab7d6940 on his coupon when 34ad0f25f8 paying.”faf95755efdf4e13

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For customers who don’t frequently visit a café, they might not know, but if someone visits a café frequently, they usually make coupons. When I asked curiously, the male part-time worker nodded to himself as if he understood.203e5582d5b7bf7a

“Oh~ That customer? I asked 6b4d8491f9 him before 36c06a594c if he e1bfd9d8a2 wanted one, a185878cd8 but it 3b8ae3831c seems he 49076be7aa said he a111eae56f didn’t need e0d08aa782 one?”bf9584f0a9f2c3c9

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“Really? Since he comes that often, he must have earned quite a few free drinks by now.”697f752b49f03e23

“He must have a lot of money. I mean, just living in a place like this… Oh, hold on, I need to take this call for a second.”8e1d10466864ce63

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“Take your time. There’s no rush, since there are no customers anyway.”7d17d2b7a257014d

The male part-time 1e040e717d worker hurriedly ran 05cb41f41a to receive the ed4370f99b urgent call.97910689d57cf735

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The staff room door d04d4da1c0 closed, and not long 6cdf67e8e2 after, the sound of 0fdb10d000 rain falling began to f87345f670 pour with a whoosh. The view outside the d7cd9e3a41 window quickly turned gray 730dade1fb and blurred.dd9467590812676e

Ding-7e22fdd4230eca6e

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The door opened.d4b0968147aa5bc5

The sound of rain, 70deba762f seeping through the gap 71c8c5dc5e in the door, grew e5fb0f3234 louder before quickly subsiding. I pulled my 0acccd8ce5 gaze away from 1d4f91285f the coupons I 14797580fe was organizing and 9d4266418b looked up. And there he was, 6e0171c398 the man I hadn’t 3f76bd8489 seen in a while.18be63b80870b6aa

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While he was putting 82079d2f30 his umbrella in the 997cee0ce6 umbrella stand, I stared cd1e37b851 at his face. Even though af142e3580 I hadn’t a9aca0817b seen him 94e058b010 in a 9160588194 long time, 80b9eb6eee his handsome eacd4a9a42 face looked 55aeed1207 somewhat pale, 553c2982d8 perhaps because 0d52bde5c5 of the 250c56ef16 lighting.eb5a4eb968ddd8f9

Thud, thud.c1fedbcbbce46f1a

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Hearing the sound 75f0fcb45f of approaching footsteps, 1213f4114f I blinked.8105aabf98a7a10c

It was strange. Something felt off about him, but I couldn’t quite figure out what exactly was wrong.cf349a80650c9ed5

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‘…Is it because his 5b53bb3814 face looks unnaturally pale?’0f7a038f436dd84b

My eyes, f2cecd00ac frowning at 579f3ae61d the strange 25979ad789 sense of 993d3b6810 discomfort, turned abb831785b to the 246d47e9b5 floor.e8921eafde2fbea1

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Ah.22af35189c3c5707

It was only then ccfc5bcbd6 that I realized.c2e44d3713ae131e

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Although it was pouring e663f3ffe9 rain outside, there was 56a89c5e04 no trace of water 5a08c55661 on the man’s footsteps.ca83d672871f1fd4

Dry hair and dac7e41a92 coat. No water droplets c2020cc784 were falling from 9e2e21bc38 the umbrella in 63c05c3e04 the stand either. The one 00bc011a17 umbrella that 02c744519b was left 4e071d8352 alone looked 1e0d66d6e5 particularly conspicuous.61fbaf73e0c065f8

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‘Maybe I’m just overthinking it…’0620c169f25fbfe1

He might 99bdd5c12b have come 278782bd72 through the 0a4fbc45e8 parking lot. I heard he drives 11807ee87d an expensive car.e7038b620b3a0fa4

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As I tried fc0d5b5fde to push the 21025da4c3 unnecessary thought out d2e091f4e2 of my mind, 5804c155d4 the man who b6ef500115 had approached me 1672cf4ae6 greeted me.5933ec6f9ac71847

“Hello.”769ceb7f651e9476

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Up close, his 0fed44562c complexion looked even 37767a1964 paler. I finally realized it d837a8a2ca wasn’t because of the a8a7ad7602 lighting, he genuinely seemed 3b6b82dbf7 unwell, with a gaunt, b52ca65e3f drained face. Without realizing bf807829bb it, I 5261b6b715 found myself 0d3d28889f studying his 3a76d191cf face closely.626ff46a0d1ef54b

“Welcome customer. Please feel free to sit wherever you’d like, and just ring the bell when you’re ready to order.”07ff5f7f0ae3e626

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“Oh, I’ll just order 27cff41a67 here. Iced Americano.”9498a985d08dcaaa

With a 528221ce01 face that 4f817b8008 looked like 990b65e1db he was b058b1f697 about to b3f02926be collapse, he b3502e5874 ordered an f28f61d9ef iced Americano. After a d4419226b0 moment of f936b49883 hesitation, instead b811a56a94 of swiping e53884515f the card 1e49fcba3c I had 5d634ccbe4 been handed, 73700db7cf I mustered f27682e888 up the 755b068bc3 courage to 17089160e6 speak.eba79bfda53629cb

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“Um… You look pale, would you like something warm? I heard it’s going to be cold today because of the rain.”3515e3b33e60b413

And immediately after, be80869dc2 I regretted it.c82b985c376a6ea4

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‘Oh no. I was being b718b6d484 rude.’2c3a8ccea20c6259

As the silence stretched ca5cd59008 on, I wondered if 4d7fcf8daa there was any way 90424b312d to recover the conversation eab854be24 when the man suddenly 178a931827 spoke up.163249dd09341c66

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“What kind 3c13124cfa of warm 7d05717ac1 drink do ae0b68ddfa you like?”c4eef0e2204b3a78

“…Yes?”7ddb07e6f77c1c1c

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“You said a 225aa1b63d warm drink would a36e5f2ed1 be good for ad4e4df181 me. Please recommend one.”11c3a464cb171df6

“Um, in this weather, I would have grapefruit honey black tea. Or maybe marmalade tea?”ae5fa6b4e5b66f6c

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Thinking that a 4d72d848e1 drink rich in 378665f736 Vitamin C might 48b903aec1 be good for 9f855f4bf4 him, I made 52355a822b the suggestion, but 0c55650e2e the man tilted bc646a883e his head in 47fa1d5ffa wonder.d39a66858f96242b

“You seem b1b12cf689 to like 2eee8c08b3 it a bfdd9c30fa lot.”7313f5af454bbc64

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“Yes?”0e2023eb43b7038c

“Grapefruit. You recommended 422f9beaa4 that last 8556b2ac55 time, too.”89390e3477647959

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“Ah….”ed8681dca7e1f7f0

Did I really?0e19becfefcc1f7e

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I nodded absentmindedly.8a3d772a4ad049fb

He then agreed to eedaa1efbd order that and sat ac1ceb10ab down at a nearby cd4b72b1c5 table. The way he furrowed ddcc761baf his brow and rubbed 4903d7d766 his forehead made it e16c1294e4 obvious to anyone that cfa6b714c6 he was definitely ill.0ea10ae8173e4a32

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After bringing b899e86f10 the drink 14312a1009 to his 856e7065db table, I b03856eff4 immediately turned e2f4fe1e00 on the f02a1eb6be television. I just 8c7f15f51a wanted the e2efe22ed9 uncomfortable silence 2db373cba5 to go eadfedd424 away, even a9cdf5a751 if it a9fc13f712 was with b9e5ba29ac something as 18e6ba0818 trivial as 253584a214 the noise a10e63e4d5 from the 5290a7361d TV.d64d9dde30703c48

On the 6088817dc1 first day 6bd3ea6312 working there, b48341ecd6 I had a52318b176 wondered why e094edbff0 there was 5bd1444349 a television c724f98244 in the f650bcc90d café, but da671659a7 now it 27ee19dfa4 was clear, 74b9cd3668 it was ec31f25dbe likely set 0bf6d5b954 up for eaad052109 moments like 8856c5f536 this.0a54f51f8ae688d0

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I was back to organizing the coupons again, engrossed in the work with the sound of the TV of some random channel playing in the background. Suddenly, the man’s voice was heard nearby.971ffa00cd37975b

“Excuse me.”b61feddb4cc8d856

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 aac37f78ac08d13b