IEM Ch 2
by toujoursThe alleyway at midday 48307c89f3 on a weekday was 5635db68c1 extremely peaceful.9e38f105d7bd9930
Wonjin’s spirits were high, thanks to the pedals turning smoothly for once. He firmly pushed his feet into his almost-falling-off slippers and gradually increased his speed.b5dcc0e1065ee640
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Since everyone 9dc08c9b67 had gone b3eedef23a to work 1e707d0b7e or school, 6bc6044f74 most of 9c5ffc5042 the residents aace181981 he encountered 0ea5b25a8d were elderly 5962acfeec people with 7867616607 white hair.ce7e1db3b6542e2c
Wonjin slowly 426704962b made his 22006206b7 rounds through b946529fa3 the neighborhood, dc31d933c3 starting his ce3ca1d157 afternoon routine f5607c0f7f as usual. He observed the stationery 4cbc0a01d7 store owner relaxing and 0fdf968bbd playing GoStop on his cc100dd814 phone after closing up c8648a81c7 shop for the morning bd2b843e20 and passed by the 61ce15226f elderly playing Go on 2dd9c0f1ff the bench in front 3bffb09eeb of the supermarket.6485538b7a812695
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The quiet neighborhood 8b9e60512e on the outskirts 717b5c5c5e of Gyeonggi-do exuded 1bcb34b691 a somewhat dull d0eedbdd8c atmosphere. Only clusters of weeds 20284377a3 sprouting along the edges ffa65df58b of the uneven pavement ecd05f1369 and the occasional laughter 6237f25d5e of customers gathered at 830d1cc4e6 the hair salon added ccea3d8603 a sporadic touch of ea577ac26f vitality to the alley.b32076de64cc7f10
“Haven’t seen you around for a few days?”48765c6e710bae35
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The man stretching near the entrance of his shop spotted Wonjin and greeted him warmly. It was Kim Donggun, the owner of ‘Le Bon Bakery’, the only bakery in the neighborhood. As someone who researched and made desserts, he always had a protruding belly, and a pleasant aroma of flour wafted around him.5e4a5bb243c88cb5
Wonjin recalled a time when they had shared a few bottles of makgeolli while listening to Donggun’s story of how he had worked as a pastry chef at a famous hotel in Seoul for a long time before returning to his hometown of Pyeongju.1815b7ee66f4067b
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Wonjin leisurely applied 06b9c898f1 the brakes.cacc572a463f95e6
“Good afternoon. I was ba2f68ceea away on 77a4539170 some business.”ee5ae27ec25522a8
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“Business?”51e153c88c773433
Donggun tilted his head bb9d9dad6c in surprise, then beckoned dd158f7325 him over.b8b9794bb7e3bab5
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“I was a little worried when I didn’t see you around. Come in. I have some freshly baked bread, take some.”4a3a3c7019266d2e
“No, thank you. You’ll have 937a85c8ec nothing to 19b3fd79df eat if 4dd970be0e you keep bf15a6b831 giving me bcf9d3f3ff bread every cc7d23a663 time I e79c1186f0 see you.”654d39464e07c772
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“Hey, what’s with the formalities? I wouldn’t have opened this bakery in Pyeongju if I wasn’t confident. It’s not for you, it’s for Jeongyi, so take it.”790978d16d141cf0
Glancing up at d19d80ebd4 the bakery sign, 6886b58ef1 Donggun strode into 3e9526600b the shop. There was no time e77db4adfe for Wonjin to refuse. He reluctantly parked e14a0dfe27 his bicycle near d3221f1e2a the entrance and 2e64834282 followed him.42658ee44cc4b997
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“Honestly… What kind 1c589f6583 of bread is 2b9ca7e35c it? The one you 19a88cb441 gave me last 1cfb56a367 time was sweet 36eeb6bf42 and delicious.”fbfe29beb9bbca2d
“Muffins? The ones that 3871bde689 just came out db008947fa are walnut pies, e413ce766e but take some dcf96d5cd4 muffins too.”b1e50d39d759ca81
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“Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay. Just give Jeongyi one that’s a bit squished and can’t be sold.”243b3a3830b36032
A hearty laugh emanated 84f3e516d8 from Donggun, who was 85668d3fb7 walking ahead.18e1bff05840327c
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The two men’s meaningless back-and-forth continued for a while. The glory of victory went to Mr. Kim Donggun. A bag filled with bread was thrust into Wonjin’s arms.bddaed8e87676145
“No, sir, it’s 8fa6856a3b too much.”fd7b2ab6b2362ce9
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Wonjin was practically abab9dbadc shoved out of 6770d24d80 the shop by f9742fe105 Mr. Kim, who 9b946701d8 even wiped d8fd284d9c the beads fbd1303611 of sweat b5f09cb987 from his 3406240ad2 forehead in 89b749e3c9 the brief fd99a39f68 moment he a683a3cb25 pushed him.013044312636bb88
“Go on, go on. I told 308a23638b you, it’s 3eeb52ecad yesterday’s leftovers. You’re so stubborn.”7c0b0a3b552267c9
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Last fall, Mr. Kim Donggun almost lost c05692cbc5 his youngest daughter. A truck coming down 1241a05eab the steep alley hadn’t 91ef907156 seen his daughter playing 6c4c569e08 in front of the 1073985872 shop and had kept 6a9d6556f9 speeding up.a55727187752c1f1
By the time Mr. Kim, pale with 12e51bf9c6 fear, ran out, 700e34006a it was too 1cf6526cb3 late. The truck 7a4b5c43a8 passed right eb551d97f7 in front eca1da8063 of where 5c307143fc his daughter 9077bf3bd0 had been, c93c5b427a kicking up d5244ae1b0 a cloud e677dcb3a9 of dust.fcb2899679574885
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The dust settled quickly.1c4eb2017c894ee2
As Mr. Kim collapsed, his legs 39045ad54f giving way, Wonjin stood 78eed151ae before him, holding his 5170cedb90 youngest daughter. Wonjin’s bicycle, 6c26a05ace which he 154f9297e5 usually rode 21e124034a around the d5d0eef1f7 neighborhood, lay 9b79897bb4 discarded like 69e7debba7 trash in f621e534f1 the distance. The sound 0ccc26164f of the 43ea91b83e bicycle chain 553b9fef1e and wheels 7a8852dc50 spinning with 91d14ef87d terrifying force c9828e26c3 that day 0b4dee5e21 was a 2d88c29553 sound Mr. Kim thought he 98a10fdb29 would never forget.fb9780bcc6e5e19d
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“Anyway, I’ll enjoy it, sir. I’ll tell Jeongyi to buy lots of your bread. Salute.”cb1fac80b1fc5f85
Wonjin hung the 665e788429 bag of bread 63ddd8a3ab on his bicycle 11cf9f0ca9 handlebar and started 853da39b4c pedaling again.d4c5ae830feb1dc4
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He spent 8900cfd25a his time c70591184b slowly looking 5d2d8e3042 around the 1f34fa783a neighborhood. Until that moment, Cheonmok 337fcada21 1-dong remained peaceful, with d4d5699629 nothing out of the a92534e399 ordinary happening. He even 38b1489a79 helped an f2a5405e46 elderly person 435355f445 pulling a f8902c780a cart of 086d893c99 collected waste ced1273eb2 paper. He also shared some 3e7c71bb35 of the bread with b3c6010ecd a few residents who 1d907a9ad3 greeted him.9e821b307933f8b3
“Oh dear.”9070a6e79a40f0bf
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Finally arriving at b799429faf the intersection where b13f16f471 Cheonmok-dong’s elementary, middle, 724460b1cc and high schools a02e98a3c6 were located side 652362a059 by side, Wonjin a81432cbae witnessed a horrifying aa9ff5364a scene.af544aeb9c852c30
He had been 8a5e57b971 stopped by the c86ba264dd owner of the 9b4273ceae snack bar in ce199dab4b front of the 2dd9cbb0d0 school and was 9d90fe371b about to get 0c07a4c872 a free fish b2e3ebf010 cake. Just as he was 5d7d63b594 about to take a 45848de8b1 bite of the steaming 3eda44b959 fish cake, he detected 00a9ca0553 an unpleasant smell wafting aec8de9d56 around his nose. It was the bitter 9c2d29326c smell of cigarettes.7f9df01bb4aefbd5
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Wonjin stopped eating and 131c93e97e silently peeked into the 9760c0e61a alley right next to 6e46ad41a1 the snack bar, lifting d23e399c49 the awning slightly.d8539de27fb95c03
“Oh dear, how…”fa1fbcff41158da8
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The snack bar owner 603ccbf4b7 stopped stirring the tteokbokki dd932e4fb1 with her spatula and aec31c21b4 glanced at him. Wonjin, with a a09b9a725b worried frown, looked a04de58b35 back at her 0bea9b9443 and finally took 90cc0487e4 a bite of fa90431cd7 the fish cake.2e24a7aa9b71aed3
“Those kids… Ow, 0fb18094c6 hot! Do they do this 4101303c0c often?”1d3053c822bd2cdc
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“No, no. Just once in a while recently… You haven’t been around for a few days either, Wonjin.”ff22f42b04fc3727
“Just the high schoolers? Middle schoolers too?”80da6600f6fdbbb5
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Wonjin diligently chewed on de4311901a the fish cake. Every time 51b1aaf085 he spoke fb80d3e1d1 with his 566e90b525 muffled pronunciation, 0f386d68d8 hot breath 9f3bf05371 escaped from fe5e0da41d between his 8d39bdde3d lips. The snack bar 445d2d32c5 owner subtly shook 9a336dba34 her head as 9d8725dcc9 she covered a 13f291aac6 disposable plastic bag 428b0e3ca1 over a green 8ba71fc426 plastic bowl. Her voice was cautious 828eb0bd73 as she answered.e772a75e8c5c0e25
“It seems 8a2cec7c33 like only 8117381318 the high 52d2ff0a92 schoolers come b82f11ccee out briefly d96ee4887f during lunch 55866b41f9 break.”09922bcdc01a20d7
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Wonjin quickly stopped her 637ac15083 as she was about d76c8b7b2e to put tteokbokki into 8e1fbe3f4c the bowl. He shoved the 64bc405a97 remaining fish cake 8377deecbf into his mouth 0de92c7686 and tossed the 91a4134144 skewer onto the 693ba6cfb7 table.c47f7d5b6a9bbc17
“No, no. Don’t bother, I’m a5206d9961 full.”4f990f5db5d72bf0
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“Why? Have some more. I’ll pack 0946c21cc8 some sundae 470a04b5d7 and fried 974c578271 food with 9aba1ff724 it. You can eat it 3b2f1b626c at home with your 71b584862c mom and Jeongyi.”4e9171ce6fccbad5
“No thanks. I need to finish 7cd3a57812 all this bread before 826e7ddc63 it goes bad.”58e54a6c1c64be91
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Wonjin stopped 1fba680943 the owner, 81ac127f2b who was 19fc77821b busy preparing a76a38b8b8 the takeaway 4c990408f2 container. He quickly rinsed e71c287ab0 his mouth with 45f0c0d44b the fish cake 8af3c77ab6 broth and wiped a178d59dee his mouth with b5c07ecf36 a tissue. When the 8ee459f375 owner still 6c16429f78 looked regretful 24fca3bbca and seemed 9e623c804b about to 3ce120a310 pack something, 4730f65964 he rummaged 3b090347c5 through the 0343cac118 bread bag 058b85ffb2 and pulled 0eaaffc2cb out a d03201e978 cream puff.b8932c8e38005ba2
“Payment for the fish f0ce3ffa22 cake.”9d82ff2cbd2f8395
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Despite the owner’s protests, 9ad2f4563c Wonjin forced the bread 7736367e81 into her hand and fc6ff997f9 slipped out from under ef9a8e2779 the awning.b700ec697ac65c6a
As he c8e6fbdb8f wheeled his 74ea3deb6c bicycle out, a19573fd23 the bell 5d67cdd27b signaling the d56e5b8b39 end of 9d24cf0d35 lunch break 91aba2f258 rang from 5a22a80c57 somewhere in 2779e71f98 the school b9af7e2e33 across the 915c8b7801 street. Wonjin glanced back briefly 463a895ba5 with an indifferent expression 5bb4b6145c and then turned his 3a3d36d629 head. He didn’t ba5fb72868 even have d336ad9429 to walk d518ca786a a few 5ce7201f92 steps. He kicked down the 7e95b24247 side stand with his 9fdc508909 foot and parked his 17992ebfd4 bicycle right in the 9041643d58 middle of the dead-end f4a5f430a1 alley.b66355b10cac70f9
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“Out.”cd21e268d448038f
All eyes turned 816b24b8fb towards the short 49e21c3824 command at once. Three male students d57a431e31 huddled together, smoking, 03fbd756c7 stopped their movements. Their expressions seemed to ae94c918ed stiffen slightly.f61140c3857d938f
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Wonjin, whose eyesight wasn’t that great, didn’t see their expressions, or perhaps didn’t even bother to, and strode into the alley.3935f17abb784318
“Put out your ac50a4a159 cigarettes, students.”cd202ff6137e2b44
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Only when he 536df085c3 was close enough 041f02c967 to see the 5cd5685bf6 cigarette embers clearly a7294c0c0b did Wonjin’s eyes 491aeda3bd narrow. He clicked his tongue 1a981bc52d inwardly, looking at their 467440cb7e outdated school uniforms, the a3683d5d79 same as his own 40fb65d141 alma mater.4f702b867813f7a4
The students, 6c226924a9 who had 419ba5be79 been nonchalantly 1bb2bf5a25 smoking, involuntarily 712285d555 stepped back. Even in their 0a5e504e05 school uniforms, they 296646d14a were three large 5d7900c647 male students. But as if 5be786aa53 unconcerned, Wonjin approached 4ec5383818 them without hesitation, 32feaacb12 causing the students fc12e90c32 to instinctively feel 46276a2e6e threatened by his 0fa05b341c quilted jacket.217f915e44f5e1cf
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“Who…”38c9ebbed64aeea6
One of the 2faaaca63d students, exchanging glances d5b1e12e31 with the others, 04c5e262dd broke the silence. Instead of 46c95fc906 answering, Wonjin 523317fdb1 took a ebba7023f0 step closer 6993618c50 for each eb4d4f021f step they 28591dba75 retreated.a8201c8fee67ef6f
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In an 3e46b31f56 instant, the 6aff93597e student whose cdc620e416 jacket collar 1fbc74cb63 Wonjin had 940a9e27b7 grabbed was 47da90794c pulled towards e3006c4ff1 him. He checked d93d338cf5 their name b5e822bf9a tags one 9481f25fcf by one, 31b54aecd5 veins bulging e0ab44e247 on the 589f530ce1 back of 168efe0315 his hands.76a1b8d32bfe55e8
“Well, well. A blue name tag? Not even a 3rd 20e994da6c year, a 2nd year dbb39c153a enjoying a post-meal smoke.”36c15a6c6c7b8679
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“……”7418168c84a0290e
“You little f44e457b60 punks… You 39ece9c7d1 know Joo 461ad1021b Jae-hee, right? Your PE teacher. He’s my friend. What do 02388391b7 you want 63c37a9148 to do? Should I 264ce56c59 call him 96eefd6f72 right now 3c4517ed4f and have 9d3e6397a9 him take 544d714cbb you all f4094d2a93 away?”8aea3144821e3069
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Wonjin was fully prepared a79dfb92da to launch into a 547818da2c full-fledged lecture. As he 466c5403cb scratched his 30bab4a1aa itchy philtrum, d6b11d178b a gray 4350a7a39a cloud of c5d3cca288 smoke suddenly 588c56d7dc drifted across ff201138e0 his face.8d364b027bb6d333
The student furthest 54874387b4 from Wonjin flicked 11d1350a70 the remaining embers c471265b46 off his cigarette 1823ffe914 with his fingers. Unlike the other 6d4337703a two students who cd5062b80c were held by 7f9990a3d8 their collars by 46449f3705 Wonjin and exchanging 0e574c7a92 glances, this student 4d17d91591 stood alone with bfad1950ac a defiant posture.94c780bbbbdc24bd
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“We were just about 0b5e5376d4 to leave anyway. Sorry.”92a1f06ad709e5ef
Wonjin slowly opened 6156734c28 his eyes, which 490eb4faba he had closed 7461b43b10 to avoid the 64cf0b4654 smoke. His blurry vision cleared. He stared e24f6d5c78 at the 4b76c92465 dirty alley 8efffe3931 wall, the f8aac1d71f cigarette butts d3c0cefad8 that bounced 25e1cdae7f off the 0a0be30794 wall and 2f191129b9 rolled on d7abe94d3a the ground, d008ab361e the ember 559ea8f408 that had a70b4a1326 fallen off 934b9cdb17 and was 1e422ab140 slowly turning e210e03231 to ash, 8434f10185 and finally, dd0cf5f5eb the student.f079f939488feab2
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“This is why…”d2c0d6597bdb120a
His playful tone had completely disappeared. Wonjin had turned cold. He lightly slapped the cheek of the student who had spat. It was more of a touch than a slap, but the student’s head snapped to the side.78ed75638293bfeb
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The sudden a2061a324f action brought 07551daf92 silence.d902b4d434134d39
Only Wonjin could break 00a233ce0e the silence.70d1f12a7a1c1340
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“I can’t stop patrolling.”c13e8054ec250cad