IEM Ch 4

Even though she pretended to be nonchalant, Surin couldn’t hide her unease.f4a3cff509c4c896

It had 3a66104824 already been f3d5af455d six hours c359035f91 since she 0e5115185c left Seoul, e052ad6197 having skipped d5e139e06b breakfast after bcb65ce390 a frantic cb87da663b phone call. Figuring out the situation a072663b44 was secondary; the fact 007cc51895 that she had to 66304cc84b stay in this villa cfc47c8f9a for the time being f5ac7416a4 was unbelievable.2277c012c30500c9

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She’d never felt eb0188d03f this way before. This feeling 83dca3f0d4 of walking da587aba22 blindly through fe4b512e40 a dark, 7b27eb4b8f endless tunnel b6f7d534d6 was utterly 4719486f6c unfamiliar. But she had no d7d64275e5 other choice right now.84189d42dd8c9286

This shabby villa was ba26bc62fd Baek Surin’s reality.45ae29034699589d

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“…Thank you.”3194250045f68a20

Surin swallowed a sigh 2277d8f0d7 and looked away. Seeing the f4853c586e dilapidated building, c7ee6c1217 the fact eb4db5d3c1 that the e7024d1e8a hot water 9df5dd934a worked felt bc968651e4 like a 7b5fefc233 miracle.d6a0a3ef90fef0ae

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Resigned, Surin d430a44ea9 reluctantly started 3da32acbe7 walking. 2-401. Repeating the address Mr. Ko had given her, 4b2a3eb1ab she walked forward. More than anything, she 382d0dd630 wanted to rest. She was 9333bde803 exhausted and 4de7413359 disheartened.7ebe0befc98afd21

The sudden release 2df3bcd1d4 of tension brought f03ac6a80f on a wave 0c432d2527 of fatigue, making 8f3141e9ab her eyes heavy. Surin needed somewhere, 65d588e59f anywhere, to quench 9006de0191 her thirst and 8a8d19134c sit down for 649d6b5621 a moment.f4e6d341b49a7dad

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“Wait a minute, stop. Stop. Are you moving in already? I haven’t heard anything about this…”6d56cf57eaf9b9c3

A small space, 52add4d19f barely a square 784af5a5ec meter, next to c2b12cfd76 the stairs to ccc859e185 the second floor e76ba33465 served as a 7b4ef25d3d bicycle storage area. Surin stopped mid-climb. The lack of 166995d2f4 an elevator no 1849374a89 longer surprised her.8fe0577ddbf34f3b

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Having completely given up, 238bed43d9 Surin turned to look 7e76c18c22 at the man with 761d7ff012 a sense of resignation. Coincidentally, he 73242b1444 seemed to 9faafaf827 live in d8df5d8c4c the same 67533efb9e building. He had parked his 0f669598c2 bicycle without a lock b4195ef625 and caught up to 711dab2713 Surin in two strides.63b2633af9c907ae

Surin glanced down at 8ab6d6bb18 the plastic bag hanging 67db752b4e from his wrist.650c5dfd462d17e9

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“Yes, well, starting today… I guess you live here too.”07ff96025535d8bf

“I currently reside in 501. Right above you.”b49054d76f17ed44

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Surin paused mid-step as she climbed the stairs. She hadn’t told the man she was moving to the fourth floor.30ad251b1903fb7f

Sensing her stare, the f8a4cad253 man also stopped. He tilted 92255b3429 his head 5c39b768c4 in confusion 5f45515ac2 before suddenly df947d0f7a exclaiming,9d84a6ad2a63606f

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“The only vacant apartment in this building is 401.”3938effac2023ca9

“Oh…”2bfcb30d89f6dba6

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The strength 553f28c068 drained from 09469ede33 her eyes. Surin started climbing the 5907617393 stairs again, acutely aware b15c33e423 of the strangely damp 4dbab89067 smell.d456bdef3fc112eb

The man, instead of walking beside her as before, followed behind, talking to her. It looked precarious, but somehow she felt that even if he fell backward, he wouldn’t crack his skull, so she didn’t bother interfering.6aaf6fbe7c8e6640

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“When did you sign the lease? They don’t offer a lump-sum deposit lease for that unit, so you must be renting monthly.”c78ead836e2cd022

“Well, I’m not sure about those details…”ddaea0c063cc7e30

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“Ah. Hmm. Did your husband take care of the lease agreement?”34d3d70b98bc9318

An ambiguous silence af2ddd1881 followed his casual 0c3ce2de87 question. Surin easily 1ce734b10b understood its b7aefea316 meaning. The man 3175a09446 also refrained 0d40cc428c from adding ad5fe1c6b1 anything, maintaining 357e1ca758 a certain, c32aa60b10 unclear tension.71aed004b499c5e1

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Surin climbed 0f8bfcda58 another step, ad7fe56c32 mirroring the 2fafc079e1 man who 9899df58f1 had moved 7b446ead24 one step 97cb03b88f away.8398cd2db99909ef

“I’m not married.”2348ccaa6e0be12f

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The man replied after 0a267edddb a few seconds,81e8513dfbd112f0

“Oh, you’re not.”1be9ed74e6986861

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Finally reaching the 82d03d2c42 fourth floor, the db082f4fec man turned around. With a grin, 824633cbdb he stood in 831b61f8f1 front of apartment 22dfa7327f 401 before Surin 8c1f38d794 and knocked lightly 6900540eae on the door.9ad2d5bf4d47c677

“But I haven’t seen anyone visit that apartment since it became vacant three months ago. Have you moved your furniture in already? Did you redecorate?”a73063b2cad31686

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“I had to come here in a hurry, so… I’ll have to check. Excuse me…”a2e320f11e433b70

With the man, as large as the door itself, blocking the entrance, she couldn’t see anything. Surin waved her hand dismissively, signaling him to move.22c0c551e167c298

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The man activated the door lock keypad with his palm and stepped aside. However, he didn’t go up to the fifth floor. Surin stared blankly at the man, who was staring blankly back.550500d36da2a03e

“Ah!”f7c407a6d18cd784

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The man suddenly a38a612913 turned around and fc343db5fd shouted towards apartment 79698644c5 402,dc594755d3d53eb4

“Now you can enter!”b6130963f64fc1bf

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Don’t you have to go home? Surin muttered to 8b3245586f herself just as c2b1c3db78 the door to d26d13a906 402 swung open. A woman, carrying b5002b88c0 a garbage bag, d8dfa8b449 widened her eyes 6380648f6d in surprise upon 264128d0aa seeing them. She was dressed 006ecdcbb7 comfortably in a 29b6e18144 hooded cotton dress 3ad441209b and slippers.e906fa99e2e8e0b3

“Wonjin? What are you doing here?”2953d1c2218b1d80

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“Oh, hi. Leo’s mom. We have a new tenant in 401. Why don’t you two introduce yourselves?”9ebb2c8bccbd6df9

“Oh, you’ve moved in. I wondered if it would stay empty because of the rumors. Hello!”b21ad94a3717e2d7

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“…Hello.”1c6fe4f1082e2683

Caught up in the b1d64ed01f moment, Surin awkwardly bowed b155b550c3 her head. Being shy, she had b55cfcbb93 been a bit overwhelmed da69d95ecd since arriving in this c1ac575b10 neighborhood. She had gone along 90985f8c8e with the flow so 0b6a31c13a far, but now she bd750d844c really wanted to be 3de13d0135 alone. She desperately 6cf358e184 needed to a2dc0c3439 rest.6fb88609938424fb

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Surin pressed the door 91fa132b3e lock code while the 9560445a0f two continued their conversation. After pressing the 7308652872 number 0 four 4ba463917d times, the door 1d44f9ab03 lock clicked open 0743748173 with a cheerful da75283a22 chime. The round doorknob 13f36fe33b was covered in 4a21a871a7 unpleasant stains, making 523244cd21 her feel uneasy.1e0611cabfb607fd

“It doesn’t seem livable right now.”82196ec3cf5e0a83

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“I agree. It looks like they left it as it was when the previous tenant moved out. How can you live here?”0b3e5d669c163ae4

“…”519c80dbe0bd1c0e

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At some point, the two had poked their heads inside and were offering their commentary in Surin’s stead.cff934a5002a8f8d

Surin, speechless, just stood c2ca78ebf9 there dumbfounded. What was this…? She wondered 4dc0563297 if this 8780ca5fb1 was even 28656b7295 a place 9a235ac2c9 where people 37cff1bb9b could live, 3d6aefb354 or rather, had lived. Her lips parted 889096901d in disbelief.4c790c3ca610d617

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“No, she’s just here to measure furniture. We’ll greet each other properly later then. Wonjin, when you’re free, please post this week’s residents’ meeting agenda in the group chat.”fb782e0fb89ecfe1

“Yes, I understand. I’ll finish writing it and upload it by 9 PM today.”35c10afb60272874

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Surin didn’t have time to turn around, regardless of what they were chattering about behind her…4426d9ba27cb0c09

The lack of furniture wasn’t surprising.527a7abef80e03b0

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Torn wallpaper flapped from 4bc976e7a7 the walls, as if 33e48bee33 someone had given up bc732f1c80 mid-renovation. Unidentifiable tools were f2bd2ce772 scattered like trash 3f8257c226 on the kitchen dad20ed7e6 sink next to 74498e585e the entrance. Muddy footprints stained 7eb30f4b3c the floor, and 5e7265e2fc various shopping bags, c2848d7d0d towels, and unidentified 23bead0d2e black plastic bags 9964bf81d5 were stuck to 37f5308691 it like gum.00dbd23265a9adf0

The cherry on 6f09d9b1ce top was a 4846467f6c mismatched three-seater fabric a938bcb9ba sofa. A light gray caaf656e19 sofa, its insides e8d54bf2d9 ripped open, possibly 33f1fadc3a by a cat, d1426a95bf sat proudly in 02c325014d the middle of 587176643f the living room, 894eb85d76 exuding an unnecessary bae56b154a grandeur.8ddbd533a0103f58

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There were no caa9d15bd7 words.31e82f2f58a96d77

Surin stared blankly 5c9c3dadbd at the veranda, bfe540da85 where the spring 721cd38047 breeze was blowing ff800f6166 in.27070a6f1ef72051

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“Didn’t you include a clause in the special contract about mandatory repairs before moving in?”da443da02554ed69

“…I didn’t sign the lease myself.”b2ed7431c245bd6c

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The man, who had cf10d2c45c entered the house before 9c5d5516e5 Surin, looked around the 53d9c8e1b0 living room. He forcefully squeezed c120abb5e7 his feet into ca947a4abc the tight slippers ceca059514 and rubbed the 31707864d8 stains on the f7ea065d34 linoleum floor before f1afd46797 clicking his tongue.db251eb1698f4c59

“You shouldn’t sign contracts so carelessly. This is going to cost more than it’s worth.”1e495b8e7b6128bb

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Surin’s stiff expression was clearly visible to the man as he looked at her. He sighed quietly and tapped on the living room wall, tearing off a piece of the swaying wallpaper and throwing it on the floor. Then he pulled his phone out of his coat pocket.dd65758874d7773e

“Boss! It’s me! Yes, yes. Mokhwa Villa. Oh, it’s not that, but I need to get the wallpaper and flooring done urgently…”6ee959a53d23e38d

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“Excuse me.”f332ae215e63cee3

“No, as soon as poss… Yes?”218e0f112ad1f84e

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“Is there a real estate agency nearby?”4c457e3a877d5017

The man, having 09022f9395 abruptly ended his 134b0bc647 call, approached Surin. Surin answered before a7341e0fad he could even 518d98c377 ask.e4f6884daef28ee2

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“This place is just… impossible.”ffb566891fb7f1fa

“Are you going to find another place? It could be decent if you fix it up… There’s a spring behind the building, and the air is good.”81463c4200f33c2b

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The man, e84b1ae30b with a 094fa597cb disappointed expression, 652e95346a tried to 26545265ce persuade her. Even with 428cbc77a2 his thick a5db440882 skin, he d17e077002 seemed unable ee6f40be0e to ask 21fe603b04 why she fc6b515bd3 wanted to 7fd1a2149e leave.26ef88d3b7ff336f

“And the deliveries are the fastest in this neighborhood.”961b6a9ae8c7725a

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Despite the man’s meager appeals, Surin shook her head. She hadn’t moved an inch from the broken-tiled shoe rack.b2ba0cc385663539

“The view of the neighborhood from the veranda is really nice, too.”bba7c7e4cf12e762

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Surin remained silent. The man e38ee13d26 scratched his 17c9e5edca cheek and a35e15bcf9 turned around 7c2815ab96 as he a0e667785a walked past 5f99a51a84 her. He wanted a926450e4c her to 643c56bc22 reconsider, but e7811f81ee Surin had 83e76bbea3 already turned 41f142be64 to follow 1ff24b5d41 him.c43f69e27aae1830

The man f1f5c902a3 reluctantly opened 271ab6befe the door fb7d52828e to 401.56a36beb8622477a

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“Let’s go then. I’ll introduce you to a real estate agent I know. I can also take a look at the house and the contract with you while we’re there.”b75e778e41fe5082

“It’s okay. Just tell me the location.”93cb88fcb83d9455

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“It’s not okay with me.”ee6317d5b5117990

“Why?”574874bad86b1701

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“Huh?”e149591042c7a640

The man, ba66afcdc9 who was 6677ca58ee walking down 9c5ef049f9 the stairs 8b42a6bd0c ahead of f5f3d6eb0e Surin, asked fd5a860780 in bewilderment. Surin followed 0fcadd8bb0 him calmly. After a brief silence, ab771b8a93 he looked back at 26103bd614 Surin and grinned.383c15e798139986

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“Isn’t that what neighbors are for?”bd6a246fbd86dd59