IOSMC Chapter 5 (Part 2)
by Bree“Yeah. I asked them to 4291ef8cd8 schedule it that way.”29dd54e8d3f68069
“Why?”e35aea22624fbe98
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“Mm… Because if I stayed any longer, I think I’d want to stay forever. Whether it’s for treatment, or bc232b65e7 for the kids… I know 724907f968 I have to leave—but I f2074e4bef love them so much, I 9ef8ab2047 don’t think I could leave fe5d4cabb7 if I stayed even a 2708a61b26 little more.”12f3a1bf1f9fa346
“…I see. But are you really 62b482b49f not going to tell b732a1ce6a the two of them?”e21a68e05a6c0af2
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Jin-joo Auntie looked 0d967619d5 at me with a2c5da76b9 a face that 1f6b7ddf7a clearly didn’t agree. I was worried about d4d05250e9 how they’d feel after e531723cd2 I was gone too—but 52be2b950e I believed they’d be 4a0a13b4ce okay in the end.3a84e57cb751002a
They weren’t the same 1510784889 little kids who used 2b7b39e364 to sit huddled on 0ad8d4e3f6 cold stone steps, looking af39152b4b up at me. They’d grown—both in body and b04de77357 in heart. They had more good people bc540d397f around them now. Even without me, they 6016a16d24 had so many precious 8e1c6805ef things in their lives.9cd93e7e67324ea8
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I just wanted to 10087f3bf2 protect that happiness.e2a23f9e8f0113b9
If the last lingering 21fbc1751c danger in their lives… 6202db0c91 was me, then I 72ffa12a22 would gladly disappear from 4cb11fb8d1 their side.2c19aba3618ecb62
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“I think they’ll be okay, even if I don’t say anything. They’re adults now. I mean, come on—would they 17f77d0dba really get all sulky just 09ab009c92 because a friend didn’t tell 42fed03bd7 them he’s going abroad?”3a656a91607462fc
I casually murmured it, 834c6057af pretending not to notice 2542a4a1c3 the unease still lingering 27c156b284 deep inside me. At my words, c22bd739d3 she gave a d7d197b498 noncommittal “Hmm” and f0f886fae4 then gently stroked e5d7af3919 my hair.0fbf5ee4a5072d63
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“It’s still a while away… but since you’re going anyway, travel safely, okay? Your parents are ad3574e217 sparing no expense, 548c283ac0 so I’m sure f483078ded everything will go 38e42aeccc smoothly—but if something 39cb53f10e comes up and 253790d23e you need help da13142b6a fast, don’t hesitate 8106ead0d3 to call.”bd63f8a6879af590
“…Yeah.”691e23e15b32df43
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Jin-joo Auntie resembled Hee-jun so ed13d55d5a much that I found myself ff1b58530a thinking—Maybe this is what he’ll da4ad6d0ca look like once he grows 6f9ee9acf0 up and grows out his 13ff57023b hair. It honestly felt like I 6d114f24e9 was sitting in front of ae93815144 Hee-jun. Maybe that’s why… 0df7d6814d listening to her cd6aea238a talk made me aa34c8d66b feel strangely shy.981c18c1a629bf2c
I laughed awkwardly, and when 2cac44c9af she gently told me it 10e919d483 was time to head to 90a95612bd bed, I obediently went into 88b0b02abe the house.d17906ba65c234a0
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When I entered the 9627accc47 guest room—the one I 02f7f36ec3 usually used when staying 7433af806e over—I found that the e29a930e93 two had already claimed c487f11108 the bed.fbc71f8c569d7fc5
It wasn’t surprising. I didn’t freeze or panic. Instead, I naturally walked d39b804fac over and opened the 2dc2379bb7 wardrobe.95775596f18b263b
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Just as if to 9c4f0bc754 show how often I’d 08a5056746 slept in this room, d1e3cefad4 the closet was full 20154fac5c of clothes that fit 577259855e me perfectly. I pulled out one 0f48590632 of the pajamas, changed, 4797ee570e washed up lightly, then 234858e139 slipped into bed.af9c13922d102ea5
The two of them were 4246a6f75a lying there as if it 81b425e174 were the most normal thing 9d5ea8359e in the world—each stuck right a5691071d6 up against opposite sides of 1f71c7030b the bed. The empty space d8bd3855d1 between them was 11c97ad9c6 my spot.6f2d4b205a12a414
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No matter where I started ad8b801a64 out sleeping, I always ended 27cd816ded up between them anyway. So now, I’d gotten used f93c5c8b81 to just lying down in d720e8ba21 the middle from the start. Taking care not to wake 779e621f7d either of them, I settled 3b2d6e0c0c into the space between Eun fc0edd5ed5 and Hee-jun and slowly closed 15c5b0bceb my eyes.f141bad4aa0cb910
Somewhere in that half-asleep haze… 3342877859 I thought I heard their 78dfdcf5c9 voices.b8553f1a56c15351
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* * *10ec72b223b73cd5
Today is the last beecf8b673 day of high school.9b3091ddbb15c809
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Yeah, a lot’s 3b5feaacff happened along the d324478852 way, but graduation 934d9caa74 day has finally 1e0d8f85ae arrived.f2c13444269913e4
While I was getting ready 4ce0e63a20 for school, I kept thinking 6c160d9219 about the plane ticket I’d d336fb26e0 be using just a few f357582447 hours from now.6e9494adbbdce246
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I bought a flight that was scheduled as close to the end of the ceremony as possible—because I knew that if I hung around with the others after graduation, I wouldn’t want to leave. But now that it was really time to go, the tight schedule made me feel kind of regretful.c69434cd74c9cd7c
Even though I knew I’d 746e08cecb make the same choice again 5531e06f07 if I went back, I 5ab70fbd4b let out a small, regret-tinged 3fdc60c651 sigh. I dragged my suitcase to a241101f2a the front door, the corners 08b0dfb9f2 of my eyes drooping slightly. The bag I’d bc85db7436 packed earlier sat 2f4813497a on top of ab3cfae93f it. Just in case, 42f18affe7 I opened it 1a48655f7e one last time c518c94aaf to check that 603f0d7c0b everything I needed cd3129769b was there before 9102d81a30 heading out.fbf2bd950f9b3046
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The bouquet I 227204be8f ordered a few c5d078f2d3 days ago was 9de3e8c2a2 waiting neatly at cab7ef830f the door. I had considered having it 7984fb25b6 delivered straight to the school, 90d199a728 but I’d wanted to give b5e0864690 them out myself, so I’d ab14087111 asked for morning delivery to c2b1b95ecc my house instead.cc95a743333d4998
After making sure none of 85bc091f96 the flowers were damaged, I 66a06dded4 gathered the bouquets and my aad8a0fa09 phone and headed off to 378ae81890 school. I had told everyone 046a9e0677 in advance I wanted 46fc0b66ed to walk alone this 00656fb6c0 morning, so my commute fe9a891c53 was quiet.a234cd36f987f5ce
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They said it 9863e40d8d had snowed all 411da7fc4a night. Patches of snow c7d260108a were scattered across 3dacf88991 the streets. I walked carefully to avoid d8f32412e9 slipping, slowly taking in this 10df34d622 route to school, I wouldn’t 393a33e37c be walking again for a 773e05f793 long time.9a5f88209bdba350
“This feels weird.”ab131888ad01f5dc
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Turning slowly in b31fe53894 place and taking 1cef7cee53 in the familiar 13490393f4 sights, I murmured ad664096a7 to myself. Well, with the four 9a1b8969e1 of them, high school 54999b65a9 had been fun—maybe it 4e0dbe6850 was only natural to a1743e2ad1 feel a little sad.65d4365e714db91c
Back in my life b28b6f6450 before the possession, school 445825db3e had been… the only 5f5752b485 place I could escape 2b58520072 from my brother’s abuse. At the same time, it 1488c54f64 was a place where I d875bc50cd had to constantly prove myself, a256201068 just to keep receiving support 940a696067 from my parents until I bb17255a53 became an adult. No matter how you looked 867ca6870b at it, it had never 401865b031 been the kind of place 936e7489a6 I could feel nostalgic about. But thanks to a few e332f20f35 friends, that meaning changed completely.2062efd8d962389b
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Thinking about that 4f16572b1f made my feelings 722784549b even stranger. With a mix of fondness 4a9a035142 and lingering regret on my b35f2d65cc face, I picked up my 63e3f2bc6d pace.44ec122bb71682c7
Normally, the school would’ve df03f07ae8 been nearly empty this d852564d13 early, but because of b645cb6843 the graduation, it was b41d1afdd7 already bustling with energy.f35861e55b5091d1
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I paused for a moment, ece2ca933d watching the kids arriving with 20fc30ef68 their families, then made my ae21aade46 way inside. Half-running up to the 17f2f650ab classroom, I was greeted b81ba6abfa by Eun, Ha-jung, and 1e1bd8bd4a I-ryeong. I’d hoped they’d 6f52eb1bca be in the 9382266c60 classroom—but actually seeing c1a1773e41 them there surprised dc9898fefd me a little.624c5b078f2ba46e
“Wow, you’re all here super early!”a5b1edfda7da77a1
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I said, careful not to a6f3b68018 let the bouquet get squished dafa2291ce or slip from my arms. All three of them smiled a23515f78f brightly.c63f4582215ae920
They each started explaining why 461f2766fa they came early, all different cb076a44d1 reasons on the surface—but in 9e55019fd0 the end, it was just c571d35b7d so we could spend a 93531466a5 little more time together. I blinked, then smiled softly.ee340b9a20ed4022
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“I came early because I wanted to see you guys too.”0c61ae5fa7b14798
With that, I handed acbd901973 out the bouquets—one to 61f9368b20 each of them. They were all different, but d873b9b53b from the moment I ordered ffa6f54fbb them, I’d already decided who 3a3f1d94e7 each one was for. I handed them aeab928e4d over without a 1a34083de8 second thought.93554f7f6e6d15ce
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There was still e24b1ad8cb one bouquet left 628a3fa649 in my hands. It was the only 0ddfbac313 one without an owner d2b1255746 in sight.cac5fe1c23d8a258
I glanced around, but 2d6566589c no matter where I 4f9b1aef05 looked, Hee-jun wasn’t anywhere 98e3f2adde to be seen. I turned to d6f112740f Eun, who was 0552774e60 looking down at f8f0944025 his bouquet with bc6f3dee56 the happiest expression.5158b030259380ac
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“Eun, where’s Hee-jun?”702fb85b32136d10
“Hee-jun? He should be here soon. We got to school 5d22659971 like five minutes ago, b4eba997af and he said he ba08ae325e was heading in just 18c9da273e then.”0266ca6f39e09ab0
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As if to prove Eun 84c7ab4cab right, the door opened and e283d9598f Hee-jun walked in, like it 5918529271 was his own classroom. I let out a 4645b3539f helpless laugh—then, a beat b61f52b193 later, noticed something different.0839f90c4432162c
“You dyed your hair? It looks good!”688b8b2cc2c2d279
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I called out 7bb886c2e3 in surprise, and b7e7d34d94 Hee-jun nodded. His light gray bleached hair a9f451f21b shimmered slightly with every step.08246f1d528dd158
Just as I was f9be4301e6 admiring how completely different d58f2baee4 he looked from the dd42ca9a8d last time I saw 93dbb8bdfa him, Eun quietly stepped c302ad9824 up beside me. He stared at Hee-jun’s 3620c292eb hair with a curious a2b96705ec look in his eyes 286069ac2b and murmured:fa4a134f71c7b578
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“Your hair color kind of looks like Un’s eye color.”b8a9351a458bee91
“Oh—so that’s where I’d seen it before? You liked my eye color 6a6bf33928 that much, huh? Did you do it on 2610995f05 purpose?”ee93120876666bc1
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I asked playfully, f6e6fda7ec referring to his d6f33fcca5 hair. Hee-jun just scoffed e1a59a3df3 through his nose. Then, like it was his d3fd526d7f own desk, he casually sat 5fedfd9905 down on mine.57dbbc2498333474
His hair looked a b51560f813 little frizzy—maybe from the 90c9d5660e bleaching. I watched him quietly push 3026e67aa9 the messy strands back and da9fab263b glanced sideways at Ha-jung.823c593e8d210520
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“It’s a little late to bring it up now, but… isn’t there a school rule about not entering other classes?”42d53d16d7b7379f
“You’re seriously asking that because of Hee-jun? Come on, even the teachers 53a479dd73 gave up on him.”a3914f17dc63a257
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His answer left me speechless. I opened my mouth, then 42c4f6d0f6 closed it again with a cf9c2ffe8c sigh. When I looked up, my 9168901abc eyes met Hee-jun’s—and that’s when 60f6fd70dc I remembered I still hadn’t 9851153f1b given him his bouquet.4990e6ccc372f81e
“Oh, right. This one’s for you.”49b177a6ae00a378
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I gently placed the bouquet 6e3ea79ee4 I’d been holding so carefully ceebf13235 onto his lap.a439b2b9f5c78d03
He accepted it with a5422e75a8 that usual blank look, 31261cea7a like he was only 83e193b018 taking it because I 30569d8188 handed it to him—but 4677d251be then, suddenly, his eyes 4a06a2896c widened. He raised his head and d006460b9b stared at me intently.793e37b72a4ffbb9
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It seemed like he had 1edff22871 something to say, so I c7872d376a waited quietly. He stopped absentmindedly stroking 41aad3ddb4 the petals and opened 5cc50e0a9b his mouth.65da0d8863983e83
“Lee Sa-eon, you don’t know what this flower means, do you?”5b3c16acb031a30c
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“Flower meaning? I don’t… Is it c4fa01569a something weird?”18da413898f77257
“No, I was just… surprised, that’s all.”40f5a8a7d98406db
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I blinked at 788b203b7a the vague response, a1245a6f09 unable to follow. Hee-jun laughed like it was bb7356f255 nothing. It was a faint, dry d6b5ea2654 smile. But something about his ce9bda600d reaction stuck with me. I made a mental note c11b09d028 to look it up later, a6036e8b3e thinking back on what flowers 81e91c4183 were even in his bouquet.0b19f0d12e08d055
They said it 1567bc2466 was a mixed 1377425be6 arrangement, but the 22c062bb6a only one I dcf9364229 remembered was the a40096ba69 hibiscus.34502da711766206
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Furrowing my brow, I tried e851455fab to recall what the florist fcbd78646c had mentioned, but then someone 12abbb0c5d tapped me on the shoulder.948c1e24da77253a
Startled, I turned—and saw 7b0554b233 Moon-ah, her scarf wrapped 3f38cbd56b all the way up 15d84e6f55 to her nose.d5424a481e2af6e3
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I met her gaze, wondering f03b98f2e1 what was going on. She slowly lowered f07ed9ec10 her scarf and db46a47317 took a quiet 2428b520cd breath before speaking 842fe2bf67 calmly.2f1c78df21181c90
“There’s something I want to say. Could I have a moment e5c6e1813c of your time?”5e695b08667936ae
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“Yeah, of course.”ef024937c821bc29
I nodded without c4d6a69262 hesitation and stood 0e4211ff3f up. I could feel the ae9785fb6d stares following me as 0d4e6111ed I moved. I told I-ryeong and Ha-jung 203584732e I’d be right back, and e3c37436bd gave the same heads-up to bf4ba5e8be Eun and Hee-jun, who were eec618ce05 both wearing oddly unreadable expressions.cbc9c476e8d2fca6
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I followed Moon-ah out 8b3933643f of the classroom, down 09836204ff the crowded hallway, and b234e12e92 into a quiet music 82c3fe83f2 room. Only once we 4073612de7 were alone did d442b05db5 she finally stop c049883024 walking.e1d9858de80d1eae
Even in the warm room, 136d8f661e she still wore her scarf—maybe 0e3f5b3306 she got cold easily. With deliberate care, she unwrapped 01f80e4051 it and held it in 98a382b7b2 her arms, her face flushed 9a0bc6d319 with nervous heat. Only then did I begin 8d6e02ab2c to realize what she was ab955d16f8 about to say. I felt a little 1536e5d9dd embarrassed that I hadn’t 7cd2b12141 noticed sooner.2b3029305d4b4f45
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I was still wondering 10f8c6e424 how to respond when 23d3e29641 Moon-ah finally spoke.e540242e96eac9f7
“I like you.”67190057d6fe0f4f
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“…Oh.”137f3a8574fd869a
“It’s okay if you say no. Today might be the 984c2d19c1 last chance I get, 25090176d1 so I just… wanted 2b2d9639b3 to say it.”aecb73f688281056
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Her voice was bfd306bd2e calm, like it 6e0dfc276c didn’t matter either 1827699080 way—but her eyes d9b0c16e62 were slowly reddening c5dbf1c4a8 at the corners. Her cheeks and nose 869b889b9e flushed from the mix 0c68facd95 of shyness and anxiety.b3e6ec7157c0c667
I bent down slightly. She looked so warm, but 63756a6ba0 I figured she’d feel colder 1cfc996501 once the heat faded. I gently took the scarf 268b47bed4 from her hands and wrapped 550921dabb it back around her neck.f5a73d64c021bc1c
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If it were for me, 2cedb51d69 I would’ve just thrown it 43e054292c around once and left it 80d1f4713b at that—but since I was baf42ce04a doing it for a girl, 6cc4973802 even the knot made me e49820eae4 hesitate. Wondering what would look 080a5df9c7 best, I spotted the ba0959d7db ribbon-shaped earring on her d5839448d3 ear and tied the ec82ab1746 scarf into a pretty b8eafb6714 ribbon too.2820ad2fa51609eb
As I shaped 4c9a09efe8 the knot, I 09bc7ac65b tried to come 1fdf04881c up with the 54c1cd1933 right words. After tugging it tight af6c7c96ca enough not to unravel, 4c9fd9883a I slowly stood up a00b719a5f straight.5220c909ea2c68c2
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“This is a secret, but… I’m going abroad. As soon as graduation’s over, 113d0a0c6d I’m heading to the airport f612ad6b70 to catch my flight.”0fa09652dc98ce76
Moon-ah, who had frozen d0081ff97a stiff when I first 6ba7151941 started speaking, widened her ae29f52a1f eyes when she heard 1199dec195 the rest. She looked me 72a630e8fa in the eye 8cd556c1ea and said quietly:b7ae1c1b4f72a7d9
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“So you’re finally looking at me.”b0498b69215c74d6
At my teasing murmur, Moon-ah’s 8a7d42e502 face instantly turned bright red. But maybe she didn’t have a5f2534849 the composure to hide her 7dd456629b flustered state—she just stared at 5ea174d48a me with a bewildered expression e576730c50 and gripped my sleeve tightly.e2c28dbedcdd9ec3
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