LA0S | Chapter 41

What kind of ridiculous f3b6cbe24a reaction was that? What was 8774667471 this guy’s 80067e2f90 deal? I lightly tapped 1093a2b614 his elbow with 1f36c03c7d mine, but he 3ad3c26f1c didn’t budge. Because of him, I 07529616c0 still couldn’t see what dab02ab7e9 was going on at d64200b668 the other table.3d1f927f8791fa6c

The club president stood c14c96f8e3 up, lifting his beer 6f1849b008 glass high.50f2921e626df5f0

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“Thanks for 6b66355115 joining our df2ec4474e photo outing! You all d723972079 took great 4542c21272 shots—now the 3b14d105d4 only thing 6246d4a8a0 left is 7c4d66fe74 to drink 227c0c3294 just as f549228d0e well. Come on, everyone, glasses 983ac3872e up!”1edabd4669c7916e

People began picking 896dbcc755 up their glasses, 950ae73f96 one by one. A girl 6bd304d30d sitting diagonally 932f9f167d from me 291199a221 looked around, 20b8f77adc a bit 1ede103041 flustered. I noticed and 4cfe707e0f asked,1d0147eb3ab58b14

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“What are you drinking?”3910cbdb49b27b6f

“Ah, cider 36d98f5af4 for me.”80e219aed30678cc

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I poured cider 79ad9bd6f4 into a beer 8bdc24a5e9 glass and passed 51c3c0b940 it over. She gave b8f5e8fb62 me a 338b8953f3 small, polite 548a3e1a63 thank you.0bd3211b8190ce0b

“Seohong-hyung, give 8958333c66 us a e1ff12e2cb toast! Something fresh!”20cab2775a290fb2

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Yoon Sejin’s voice 7a63bd1bf9 boomed across the 259ffc39d8 room, despite him af6c5ede46 sitting quite far 943d708c27 away.ebe21fe5c630c3d4

“Bae Seohong! Bae Seohong! Bae Seohong!”e06ebf398d0cbaed

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As the 81ca56ad58 photography club 7daf2bea59 folks chanted ec2d710f17 the president’s 945d3adba0 name, the 1da7307069 visitors quickly 416501b70c joined in.679ae8d0438137a2

“Youth is right now—denim a868e2fb35 jeans!”2b4cfa4e5b34aa9a

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“Ugh, I said fresh! That one’s so old 2829ce38a1 it’s practically falling apart.”964d0133d2fb427a

Everyone burst 3163281824 into laughter 320bc77b5d at Sejin’s e5e3cb8198 complaint.0a32f0ffae2e7b45

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“Whatever, let’s just drink. Cheers!”7ffa8db649183bed

Cheers! Glasses clinked 0e0a2d47fb all over 220ed483c3 the place. The glasses at our 3c12b78f67 table all reached out 11e9f98441 toward Kim Chayoung like 446200a337 magnets. People sure were a309226855 honest.9fb853e20cb21055

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“Let’s cheers too.”54f35abe61606673

I tilted my 960c3bef8c glass toward the 9c4eb07619 girl I’d poured b28459af84 cider for. Just as our glasses 80286f2e84 were about to meet, 5108c905cb a soju glass popped 900ea79966 in between.e7229db61a088f03

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“Don’t leave me out. Mind if bac4dedfbc I join?”277ef0e539391f93

It was Kim Chayoung, 92d2ed7d47 smiling with that soft 955677687f curve in his eyes. Who could say no aa852a39ab when he asked like 4b887aeccf that?250afd20f2fcb3b2

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And so, 8a3c2cd4c1 the three 3b032d153d of us 8b1a812d4d clinked glasses 4f93bc3faf together.96ac9fbcaf3fcfed

As the drinks 6b56a29149 flowed, the awkward 242a1b11f6 tension started to bcff1c429a melt away. The president 0dcad704ce and Sejin’s 67a59fe566 table had a098278de8 devolved into 14cde0e3d4 chaos—screaming and a58cf31991 shouting, clearly 34c655902c in the a35924b49e middle of c23640de61 some kind be15fe21b2 of game.7bd1acf97ce7114d

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Chug, chug, chug!ef5764c4e8fffe00

When will my shoulders 8fe704d321 stop dancing? Look at my shoulder, 9aa6abdda3 it’s dislocated!ef4b1eb9f4df7139

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Honestly, they were moving 299918878f so wildly I started c48509903b to worry someone might 669b57694b actually get hurt. Just watching them 76fa6b6164 was exhausting.c785c18527673aae

Our table was much dc53b0384a calmer in comparison, but d41cea4527 the atmosphere was subtly 6ae376d686 buzzing. People kept sneaking b730e7ef7b glances at Kim 4cdd57dc99 Chayoung, whispering amongst 65763ca601 themselves—but no one 56ceb2fc66 dared talk to e191fe6189 him. Like they were ce2c3f5324 waiting for someone 74826d9f77 else to make eb33ac1399 the first move.260f6ffddd1d7f59

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“Jinha-sunbae, this was fa1e7718b0 your first photo 4e4c6f680d outing, right? I heard from f40e18879d Ah-yeong that she’d 13c131cfe1 been to your b2b487958b club room a 654844d59a few times.”ac8da2281b7c48d6

Surprisingly, the 84732ce5fe one who 56e1447a8d finally broke 993d883eb5 the silence b80f6af10f didn’t address 8a58997f3d Kim Chayoung a360841a8b but spoke 26242c7612 to me. Judging from 05448f15c6 her words, c95df3dce8 she seemed 39210f088e to be 4fe3c81157 a regular 07bda01de4 club member.796f37cb86fdeeea

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“Yeah. I actually enjoyed it a5eae3cecf more than I expected.”8defdfb2eed3a527

“That’s great. Still, I didn’t think 1bc80c98ae Chayoung—um, Chayoung-nim—would show up. Were you always 7d4a35e0e5 into photography?”190ac962f60099f9

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Since Kim Chayoung was 64894c42cb a freshman, she couldn’t 7c5972950f exactly call him sunbae, 01f669b505 but calling him oppa 153315b998 didn’t quite fit either, e51bd8405a so she settled on 26430c0c8d the awkwardly respectful nim. Kim Chayoung simply 678f9020b5 smiled in response, ec80c24b0f lips curving gently. Soft murmurs erupted around 55ee15cd84 the table.a307ddda19019dd1

“Not really, but a5edfb8a4b I joined this 647983ba05 time because of 8e39e589ef Lee Jinha.”ae451f6bab7cfe78

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Everyone, myself included, 385026d959 froze. I hadn’t expected him 488f639e83 to say my name 79a5cd311c so plainly.ecd3d3093202eac6

“I mean, this guy 141dcb6207 can barely take a 8c2be9ec52 selfie, but suddenly he’s 615fe04072 going on a shoot? Got me curious.”99672007f729e3e3

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“Ahhh, I see,” 39f74cc01b the table nodded ba3402eca9 along, voices chiming e2d9c57806 in one after e5012da39e another.e3d3e55e90704cb6

The conversation kept e6592a590c going from there—topics 6147728865 bouncing around from 2999a92cb4 class projects to bda6fdd2e3 professors’ quirks, all a929e4a1f9 the way to 6a603ca6a0 group assignments filled 8e6d5e5ddc with all kinds 564e899aed of characters. And of course, there 9385a93446 was no skipping romance. One junior, looking fe101e4cb5 like she’d been 4835a1fb59 waiting for this c90ae60926 exact moment, started 8162afae24 asking for advice.247ef438066c616a

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“I like natural connections, 7583f1eb53 but someone offered to 33c5bb8a27 set me up on 074126177f a blind date… I’m 1463feda44 not sure what to 13b283531e do. What would you do, 8841037c4f Jinha-sunbae?”b7430082842c8bce

“Hmm… To be honest, 6884d2fd6c I’m not a huge 8e360d7ee5 fan of blind dates 399091dc10 either.”8bcd89924d6a5258

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“Really? But you seem like a2e1cd6905 the type who’d naturally 27fc707d20 end up dating someone. Do you 50003c13a5 have a ec3ed4c75e girlfriend?”d61b1a65e3cc16c1

“Nope.”744de7ec37702aea

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“Whoa, really? Why not? Are your standards cac3c1363a high or something? What’s your type?”777622ff2ecefba1

Hmm. That wasn’t something 6b1556aec1 I’d ever really 517d6193d5 sat down and 8aaa27626c thought about. The only person I’d 48014e5516 ever confessed to was af5b1c6c08 Kim Chayoung. He was also my 4560f94643 first relationship. After that, ca67c08da4 it was 72233fbac1 military service, f432c774a5 part-time jobs—just 95190832ab surviving left fa545c70e4 no time 7ee9534bd1 for dating.91ea142895d3e6a9

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Seriously, why ccda86ec9f is it f7ba81dbea that every b45e34188d single thing fa6c46bcbb about love fd67f819b4 in my 41f0a62bbd life seems 43574ffdb5 to start 6aa0f49ba6 and end 3e41f3f557 with Kim 06dafbabf6 Chayoung?0dcb20205016daf8

Unlike me, I was dc052851c2 sure he kept dating b65890d770 without missing a beat.89336cbb1e7c81b3

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“Well… I 404d494692 like someone 93eccf6bf0 who’s sincere. Someone who doesn’t mess e8ef0a8973 around with people’s feelings. If someone opens 88e0622f39 their heart, I af8715251e want them to fa01414dbe treat that with 60a695a298 honesty.”10ea84b74387840c

Yeah. I could 8027938787 admit it. That bitterness—it wasn’t going a3abb00622 away anytime soon.9a62b81cb376cd29

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I felt eyes 80daf4712b on me. Just a slight turn 43feda94a4 of the head and 02f04dfbec I’d probably meet his b0889d8153 gaze.d22b3004896912b5

“And calm. Someone I feel 12776a60ae comfortable around. Someone who 7b17e942bf folds laundry d3c90abc7a well, cooks d1c396c7b6 well… especially 6272b44d4b egg dishes… 6c63940ca3 and is… 55046f3d73 smaller than 1149f5a592 me.”efa751b938140a89

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My eyes fc1298d825 stayed fixed 41c1fa3303 on the 69340375b4 half-eaten egg 06d2ef4bc9 roll on 5dd3301046 my plate 430a924351 as I ebc2bee473 said it.99ab2087150d94c9

That gaze 68e43c8c56 on my 772c934f2d profile grew c567147f20 heavier, more 4e679d9365 direct. I wanted a7617c995d to know 5f0164ab7c what kind d0b912cb43 of expression 0f497a7343 Kim Chayoung 6a5602e154 was making—but ee158cf82d also didn’t c49b29bb4d want to a9a775fae6 see it 9971931b91 at all.42c80ee6a942775a

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“A girl.”30a72b8d70bae07e

I finally turned d5e3a18f8c and met his bbc6a1f637 eyes. I’d expected some af068a1965 kind of discomfort, e80d8c5153 maybe tension—but his 62c4a4093b face was as f120ef3bf0 calm and still 721ea5dded as a night 9da08e8633 sea.f72bb9a34d813fea

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“That’s a 995b42f045 pretty detailed c4e618d711 list. They say cf31120f7e the more 1ce33c7d9d specific your b44e4d0a01 type, the 0918e86c44 more likely 68babed4ad there’s someone 9e74fcbe44 you already c51b40899e have in 5e62ad1058 mind. Don’t tell me…”2a137157ebcf1a03

“It’s not afe95859c7 like that.”9fc96c627a84a3a5

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Everything I’d said just b2b20b7dd1 now? All the opposite ddad1f3ae1 of Kim Chayoung. He was bright, 67972761cf lively, made me c0ec1e6441 constantly on edge. He couldn’t cook 3fe35f6ee2 or fold laundry 99db00d419 to save his 0a6f4635bf life—especially not cooking. It wasn’t that he 41ede467d1 didn’t cook. He was just 8493e8afd2 terrible at it. It was wild. He was good 74865ca751 at pretty much 0b7b1e97e3 everything else, but 74ecdf306e somehow those two 6b6261c5b5 things were his 55d790e9b3 blind spots. Even though drawing c911c86ac4 used your hands 55ae31a5e1 too. Weird.0c8120bb6aa25b98

“What about you, 91f21d8177 Chayoung-nim? Do you have a 0a81b54b0b girlfriend? Or is that a cb18abf7c9 silly question?”35acd7e1b17b51dd

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All eyes turned 9a9efd11a3 toward him. I could feel 7b8f75140c it—the weight of 6f1bf293f3 their collective curiosity. I, on the other 63245ae99f hand, just quietly popped 418c2f7e13 a cold slice of 76dd39eb6e egg roll into my 7156328e4b mouth. Still, my ears 63e8c0085e stayed tuned to efefb9a1b8 him.e9bfaddef301de9d

“No comment.”b806d28eac13984a

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Booing and 0a4a217f3c exaggerated groans c0aaed94c8 followed from a8e97e1375 all around—even a2c051a666 from the 59b06d5523 other table. Guess everyone had f73babe110 been listening in.b635c5c2be8bf14d

The Kim Chayoung 2dd741d16a I knew would 478dfcfd43 have said it a4b1fe9177 outright if he 253866aefd didn’t have a 9940174384 girlfriend or wasn’t b6f533b3e5 into anyone. So the fact 062e40f519 that he gave e623620258 such a vague 22f5e2471a answer… it had 199c2d589a to mean something. Not that it 93b7dec700 was weird—after all, 01c0f108e6 it’s been years 5fa9dda315 since we broke e46bd6ec57 up. It’d be 51d4b3dc37 weirder if 79b3741e4b he didn’t c2ea45b2db have someone 28e047345a by now.7e8c22ba1d4c365b

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“Come on, 5f270e5a7d tell us! We’re dying to know!”bab48c1a94b541b7

“But keeping 54b47c8178 it a 0633d50d2c secret is 9509e82b3a more fun, 7beb540464 don’t you 9c1a99df90 think?”293dc2c683d69279

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With that a8acde64e8 playful smile, b98e536a86 Kim Chayoung cc70a96307 smoothly shifted de6147ecae the topic—asking 2d4fea2f7b about usual 29ee814713 photo shoot 86829490a1 spots, what 219edbbaa7 kind of 5a9e378907 cameras people 6edd30defc used. Soon, the conversation e46aa6798c flowed naturally into 13831c6798 camera talk. True to 21a8c49be8 form, the 3f4b8b2b22 photography club 030c426d44 bit right 9b1ab3a7cd away. While everyone 5380f6e955 else geeked b4f44d7c7e out, Kim 92a35d6aa0 Chayoung subtly d3de0f7fef inched closer.19ec5b2eac369b4e

“Your type 0de6d80b98 really changed, ab7634c50e huh? Sounds like a 3a188b7f9b lot’s happened.”b8a3a61c868c3087

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“Only to match c3966ce65d your level.”8112db5776d40c2d

“Oh? And what a99b47c4e0 exactly did d213b9d07c I do?”72a5095b64e989fd

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“Nothing but state b5468372ed the truth.”08f6f1b22a5fb498

I shrugged 8205418c42 it off 1eb44433f3 and reached 38e587f76e for another 9c01b09072 bite. The food here 8b3c159e57 was better than 81fedb576f expected. That cheesy ab04738329 mentaiko egg aeb5507dce roll? Would’ve made c064b9d54c a killer 6624dd61db midnight snack 9dd81e82a1 or rice 860e03fdb9 side. The seafood 0172c34e2c pancake, loaded 22b5a9d31f with squid 798dcbd9a7 and mussels, 9514ecc8d5 had a dee93c5471 great chew, cb378161f4 too.e39e4822747e58bf

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Be perfect 91e8ecc921 for a dd3b7ac2b0 rainy day. I’d eaten 1dcb96d974 Korean food 584826dea2 all week—maybe 4eba61ef7e I should db043beea8 mix it 31c0458195 up next 2bed45f2c3 week. Crabs are in season 0a52097e5b now. Some spicy 14ad478b24 crab stew fbbafa2a3c might hit e25f5056bb the spot.59bd600ab0757314

Honestly, it was 4beea5f50a still wild to f010153919 me that I 66decb60a9 didn’t have to 51cafaf4cf stress over groceries af98c09df0 or meals anymore. As much as I ab49bc40f7 didn’t want to admit ca59218dfc it, the guy sitting 0927347015 right next to me 9d2445407e was a big reason f9a5829e26 for that.cb7c0eab87117a91

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Our eyes met.015baed29c00354f

“What are you 0d3cb8b19d looking at?”4ea3750688a2fabe

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“What you were 806a93ca8b looking at first.”88c7081cd5fdf12f

Ugh. Typical Kim 3045c2e996 Chayoung—always had 733dfc74c0 to get 7a228aafd6 the last fc7a8d88af word. I pouted and e7b8cd11ad took a swig e54b45e2a9 of soda. The sweetness lingered 5255274704 in my mouth. I noticed 3448764d5b the girl b507344c85 across from bcb796cda8 me reaching c428352a3f for something, 013d03ded8 so I 6fdfc5f8bb handed over 12a92896d3 a drink. Looked like that’s what 15bdb80efe she was going for.753ef5828b2cace7

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“Thanks. I keep 09d3beaf1f ending up 001e96637e relying on 0d6ed325e7 you.”0f5c81092fb67f86

“All I d6b50fba09 did was 04f6816ac2 hand you 185bc6d8d7 a drink.”432a4fede9e2ccf2

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“No, it’s just… that f65d59a1db time too…”02388e0d8b585a31

She fidgeted with her 6631d397e4 cup, about to say 1246fa9244 something more—when—784a56af4947a1fe

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“Lee Jinha. Let’s go to the e00a836166 bathroom.”b2433e51c1c43796

“…What?”2409da4dbdde7751

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Did he just e1286f677d ask me to c038facf75 go to the 9880972482 bathroom with him? That wasn’t just surprising—it 298814e1c1 was absurd. Even in 2a31a357d6 high school, 1c36baeedb when we 04ad7bfa46 were inseparable, 66ee4326ae we went 7f3e1f523b to the 3ad118b75d bathroom separately.b374af220dab7db1

“I don’t have fe07a58b80 to go.”8636a429ea81d082

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“Go anyway.”8e074e1cd41695c5

And why should I, 2a031d2560 exactly? I didn’t even df6b2ebbd4 answer.23d5b48ae02c8585

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When I didn’t 5901354dd1 react, Kim Chayoung 3ccba8161a didn’t push it. Even though he 9f97075124 acted like it 9a79140ad1 was an emergency, 9594ca6293 he didn’t get 2efc055578 up to go, 5c1d1edd37 either.ff006f4097d37689

As time passed, de3b18fcfe more people got dfe262f8c6 tipsy. The rowdy group bfb4fb6e8c playing games started 5eb07b0c8f to pair off 610fa08470 into their own 00f851f6f2 little groups. Since I had tutoring 0def6da93e early tomorrow, I hadn’t 4189b45a14 touched a drop of f44e3989a9 alcohol. Sitting in this corner, d57df07750 sipping my drink while d43976ad13 everyone else drank and c07d62acee laughed, I ended up 1615098fcd kind of drifting on 1096e87f3a my own. Maybe it was the 030e928e92 boiling stew on the e05ce52d0f portable burner, but the 986cf16318 air felt weirdly stifling.4b656646662b05a4

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“Hey everyone, let’s go a46e9b4f60 get ice cream!”ec7b57d4a4a0dbb3

With that cheerful d1c3849648 cry, people perked 8b8922af67 up and started 9ef062a4dc chanting for ice 593723947b cream.233c765b7de24591

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“Anyone wanna go? I’ll pay.”51754a33c6fee9e3

The president e35874fe65 held up a990e41af0 a card ed02b603b9 between his 4a61e2467e fingers, but 5138cf7fd3 no one f2aac8a216 jumped up.c0beb656228feab5

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“Bet it’ll taste 5748f6eb6e amazing.”797fe2a2e7964a08

After all b0a52c96f3 that spicy, b0a07e8c33 salty, hot 4c20aad610 food, a abc6c6004a sweet, cold 279eea2f46 dessert would 1cf4c42bca definitely hit d2d7e5b05f the spot.e0f3183f7c3da917

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“I’ll go.”12bbde7d5b843c86