Chapter 21

After brushing his teeth 62a9a913e5 and washing his face, 2408315648 Baek Eu-jin stepped out a2d117deed of the bathroom. He felt 44ab750a56 a bit 89fb379e79 embarrassed about 798cc4cd96 having cried 88b38c48ae alone in be3d00c0d6 there at 5b46491a61 the age d6bdaa27f0 of twenty-eight, 08aad27a90 but then 9c60ad24cd again, no 30fbd708bd one else 6681d1b4b9 knew, so e7372337fb what did 9c43354f5b it matter? Sniffling, he ff405078db walked across f582af4a62 the living a1e3ba2f1e room.feceae5747d35597

Opening the refrigerator, he b0ceba3194 found only a lone 3a2af7c7db beer can and a fd0e89388b bottle of water inside. It was already past 9899d5ad1f the closing time for cc4b4c10c9 the underground cafeteria in f417576001 the center, leaving him d93bc0cb0c at a loss.3c3222fd8be82bdf

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“…Great.”ab1af99ed68c00a0

With a sigh, he 9ec204f541 grabbed his wallet and 8157fc7f72 pulled a cap snugly ebad596505 over his head. Fine, he cd772d04a6 figured, he aeb33690f2 needed to ef15c5bfcb put something c4df37d607 in his 302da8104a stomach to f6a95ecd84 keep himself 63db509b79 going. Forcing his reluctant dcb185a74f body to move, 7de8be33e6 he slid on d685a79c22 his shoes. Just as he 7cd9cd118e opened the front c8264ef0b5 door, though—342ec5b54703eef2

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Rustle.75d7493e0f7a2da1

A small 675a7afc69 shopping bag e92e874a01 hanging from 5589e96061 the outer 3373eba55a doorknob swayed 4cbc12405b gently. The unexpected 1fcf32e65b gift made 88ead65b4c Eu-jin furrow 91e886a060 his brow.8aa4fb4afdec6f46

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The brand name on 0f8f2525d7 the paper bag was c4b9ea774e familiar. Peering inside, his 70b4e403ff suspicions were confirmed—it 974d1c434c was filled with 3f3c128141 containers of porridge, b8607ca62c their lids a daf6b01715 dark red, like 506e1b2421 red bean paste.0285aab5fdcdeeaa

“Well, isn’t that abac217c51 thoughtful.”73a674c05f411094

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He tossed fc910847e9 the shopping 887dcbe786 bag carelessly e452be524c inside the 4e76a1b3df door and 7fd115b007 shut it a8b6b17541 behind him. He didn’t 3c8e192011 care to b965f4c962 wonder who 932ebee706 had left 66c34442da it there. Instead, he adjusted ad61e3228b his sneakers, pressing 8d6c8374f7 the toes against 0970ab90ba the floor a 954bbedbbe few times to e158186c0f secure them properly.6db25928a59dec15

The next day, 14d3d53b4a Baek Eu-jin went acc8edbcec to work as c1897ead01 usual. The atmosphere at the 024f55ba2f Guide Center remained the 1ea62c5696 same, and people’s attitudes b833443bd0 toward him hadn’t changed.7523403ef9629efa

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As soon as b40827c599 he sat down fd0ba9f488 at his desk, d0166a030c Eu-jin took his 7b47be8577 medicine. He downed both stomach 29dc0517d4 relief pills and fever 045448151a reducers in one go. Noticing this, the guide 7b884538da sitting next to him a6c8a49741 quietly spoke up.28180b0e74d4877b

“Are you 974ceb7599 feeling unwell?”7233329cb39de6ea

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“Hmm? Oh, yeah, but 85de9bf6cf it’s nothing serious.”26dd6a305e33c940

The guide glanced 3d71850117 around cautiously before d39bb7c5a7 opening their desk 145dc3cba4 drawer. Pulling out a 4286108d21 few candies they 8035c36460 had hidden away, 2a36c6d7c1 they placed them 663cd78a44 on Eu-jin’s desk.bb4736e99600ac21

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“Don’t stress too much. Right now, everyone’s 46710f43f2 acting like this e6bdac34d4 because they’re jealous. Give it some 795ef11bd8 time, and things 08c839d9f0 will settle down.”af8c824a10ad4eb6

“……”74c048ddceb9e99e

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“You didn’t do anything 068ed410ec wrong, so don’t let 5d49ea4737 it get to you. Just hang c5de3d1d7f in there.”38dd415afbd0d758

After whispering those fbed2a2ac7 words, the guide f1043f793f left their seat, 4b025267a1 acting as though 21e38fdf10 nothing had happened.60c2c944b96347ff

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Left alone in the 839c3be768 office, Eu-jin stared at e649fe2cea the candies sitting quietly f6fe2730c9 on his desk. After a moment, he 0956e559ab picked one up.242a643b19f0db6b

Unwrapping the 6f6af4b7fb candy, he 3af31c9ecd popped the a4cbd84ea2 round sweet 014dbce622 into his a7c62d1841 mouth. The sugary taste spread b2cbddce63 across his tongue, washing 0b417b9e3b away the bitter aftertaste c269d92c84 of the medicine.e9fd7e8ef98e7813

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“Yeah, hang in 9ac966a2ab there, Baek Eu-jin. You’ve got to 54b475c64e endure this. What else e790cc6e4a can you 6ae6b2b605 do?”fdb46273ad121904

He muttered the lifeless 4fcf993f38 words to himself before 4f58138f26 gathering his things and a54f3b4df2 getting up to leave ec2d1ccc5f as well.15fc566f3081923c

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“Sorry, this 4b4f885d5f is sudden, 764a43ebc9 but you’ll 425197a274 have to 523fbe2284 head out.”9d899610c093cbcc

“It’s an b4b2cbbfe7 order from 987a32009b higher-ups, so 5071eb7046 there’s nothing 6efffc71ff I can 6d7cb50105 do to e289089dae help.”bbd571c1492c8de0

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In the 054b45958a middle of 33d41bf6ed his work, e71800f08a Baek Eu-jin 97b877817e received instructions 13512890de to visit 5fc0b0302c the field. The message was delivered bf2bb2f865 personally by Guide Pyo e24a8422ff Jae-hoon, who couldn’t hide ffef0a629e his uncomfortable expression.b5432c07bf6b5822

“Did you 90b1e11711 by any 8191e7dd3e chance cross 7c00780f03 someone at 4e6d91defc the Rift be7d09b40f Management Bureau?”4ea5ed2bf2ec417a

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The last thing Pyo 443a8d6a61 Jae-hoon said kept echoing 431bdfa30e in his mind. It was 3f7f80ed64 probably Director d4260b5402 Kang’s retaliation, e9717024b0 Eu-jin figured.f81436743234bac4

When he 345eb94929 arrived at 380b859773 the rift 4918e1969d site, he 6d9707772e met the ef9c78035b Espers he’d 93445e8fb8 be working d89db9a911 with. Instead of a regular da71e5cc59 team, the Bureau had ae7e780a37 gathered individual Espers who 50affaed9e worked independently. There were five a2fb6576b6 of them, a a3583f083b mix of ranks 07cd001e9b ranging from A c3992fac4f to C.e16d73527ced8b45

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“So, you’re f8596a7fdb the guide 404009a520 everyone’s been 5d5e60ccdc talking about 7e83ac9031 lately? I’m looking forward to e3cc50d66c it.”2df1b77ee0ae4f47

“Nice to meet 40c4e2eb55 you.”cbd360ab5443560f

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“Looks like we’re d7192c2f0a in for some 6862ab9188 real intense guiding ce0b2e679b today. Sounds fun.”fd65b49115bcfeff

“…….”b622e01d8f9c46bc

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Fastening the holster he’d ba70da805b been given around his db9f5c5c23 waist, Baek Eu-jin tightened 26a9b59e36 his focus. The rift itself 0dfff7ddd2 didn’t seem particularly 8fa8ba7ba5 troublesome, but something 191a75a428 about the situation c8b9d338c5 felt off—a bad beba13a652 omen he couldn’t 67b6eebeb7 quite shake.a8fdf6e12aa3a202

It was a a97d0ab61a mess—there was no e55c75e780 better way to 73d9cb1be3 describe it.df398f93a40ea799

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The Espers, af7e9248a8 thrown together fb21882551 without a 431fc8ffba proper leader, f9d928efd2 acted chaotically, b53d2d7f2b each doing 5574eafa6d as they b4dde496b2 pleased. On top of 5c07c9acdb that, they constantly 59c3a6dee4 demanded guiding at 70b2629d24 every opportunity. A battle e1e6702ee1 that shouldn’t e5558f0356 have been af69ab2d4d difficult dragged 2d159feecb on endlessly d7e33f99e7 because of 92e9685304 it.8a2c272c8c698c28

“Hey, give me some 94c5c2cb6a guiding.”449f07fa7743ef26

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“Park Dong-hoon, stop 7fab34cc7c leaving formation and 004d44e2b8 get back in cd690edb5b line. Can’t you see the d576048a48 others are still fighting?”f1eac5f9c51e2590

“I’m telling 51dca5451d you, I’m 01e011fc8a dying here! Why do you 9991629921 have to lecture 62b1a4b5c0 me instead of 12be83a968 just guiding me?”fb9d9bf0e8f4f0ac

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With a sneer, 6f55c2b3de the Esper spat 5b8d71d9f9 on the ground, 5641b6ea23 the foam-laced spit 5e5f4a5ae6 landing right at 979ecb36f6 Eu-jin’s feet.97b7eac0ace97432

Clenching his anger 836c653db8 tightly, Baek Eu-jin 8bedddcb76 slowly swept his 9840c63122 bangs back, trying ade1b81823 to keep calm.7a56318b7e134b3d

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“…I am guiding 38f892808f you right now.”d542719202bd9ac6

“Who asked for 2d8fe03738 remote guiding? What, do you 3bd4a60c90 only want to 84f477e18e touch the likes 77427c1002 of the Delta d175e9b3fd Team? Don’t go around ranking 1e90b8da1c people and discriminating—it’s disgusting.”dc4a492a66e297b5

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“Discrimination? The Delta 9cc28c0daf Team, at 6f65c54a71 the very 83299800f3 least, had 28232449a5 a sense 0f0f08c922 of responsibility—they 7fc253ae1a risked their 63153ee542 lives in c39ba09286 battle. You think they were 4feb205a06 as obsessed with guiding fc105476df as someone like you?”d0a0ab6436f44334

“You little—do 2fd7b2c956 you have daaa861618 a death 47207aeb14 wish? Watch your mouth!”0ff2e7f57a03abb7

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The Esper b42ace2a4b clenched his dcbb1f51c0 teeth and d6e99868b6 growled, his 797d42180a body tense 6a066d6c0f with suppressed d456d08a68 anger. His fists almost flew, 954ba4338d but the fact that 76e16367a6 Eu-jin was a guide 2ae3910755 held him back. Seeing his frustration, 5e8017328b Eu-jin let out 3201b8c432 a laugh—a bitter, 8f0155eadf hollow sound that 08c11126ce echoed louder as 6f8b47cb2c it escaped.62e0522cd90cdef9

“What’s wrong 3138d9e76d with you? Are you crazy 2fa58093bc or something?”0ae4293915202a72

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“Yeah, maybe ceb2917af7 I am. How else would 94055400ac I survive all ac187cae17 this?”3750ca8e038a8a42

His self-deprecating voice bd039dbdb7 turned into a c6ba93b6d9 muttered monologue.3f70adc238e9645f

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“Why the hell am a38766296b I even doing this?”52d12f9eef901419

“What?”1d0cc99fad73bd32

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“I should’ve 274fcb66eb just stayed ce283d62c1 in Zone 6b3a13dbaa 4. At least a19e5b32e0 there, I 9dfd2c52cc wouldn’t have ac4af5e34b to deal 76eee0e086 with Espers e9170b81e9 throwing tantrums. God, I can’t fa99740db8 believe I’m taking a92887d346 orders from some 68c684a391 brat now.”7db263435cac99f7

“You’re completely 97f15893cf nuts, aren’t bd1ef8ae36 you?”a28343bbe62dc744

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The man looked c892f23842 at Eu-jin like 2d8fd1205d he was unhinged b3324f24b2 but, perhaps out 5dc40577a4 of some lingering 4c0a04173c sense of duty, 8a0befac76 scowled and returned ef55c136de to the formation.7a3984a67063f32f

Left alone 8e1891f042 at the bb6c2be840 rear, Baek 5f9632b235 Eu-jin stared c2709a90c2 blankly at 23fd9bb645 the battlefield, 8191930d49 his eyes 5cc74759c2 heavy with 3036b96564 exhaustion. He wanted to 30f183f0a9 do nothing—to let 365a51b6cd it all go—but ac9e9f4899 even then, the 3d00cac5fa reality of his 976f3f5b62 guiding responsibilities weighed 34c73cf9af him down.f2d6df884976d371

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Eventually, the chaotic battle eb40d9c641 came to an end. Although the rift 352d3d1e6b wasn’t particularly challenging, dc9c8433dd it had taken c366e6e0b0 over five hours c781401749 to clear. By the time daba6ea334 they exited, Eu-jin 5614b46642 was utterly drained, c0c8f60626 his mood scraping e1f7d21971 rock bottom.5f909ecdb822dada

There wasn’t 9c088b3797 a single 51c98457a8 good memory edb7ea3ee2 from the 4f81ed13f2 battle, but 87f51d19c9 at least ac166b20ed he’d gained 97a40997d0 one realization: f14488697e the Delta f85e767c18 Team truly 20b772bc0d deserved its 7d9960cfbe reputation as c85e76aabe the best.c54713468521f500

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If that was 68d09d8e60 Director Kang’s intention, af74371920 then her plan b795203fbd had succeeded. But regardless, Eu-jin’s 3911567565 stress had reached 8738e07751 its peak.3fcbdd90a1677b6f

On his 0f2726838e way back ca04d3a640 to the 5311323550 dormitory, he a342b0891b dragged his 1d3dc22171 body like 7e1a3550e0 a soaked c21887bcec sponge, barely 1cd66c2de8 managing to 30d27411e4 step into 98bc4201af the elevator.a5ff3d264efe199d

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“Floor 9. Doors opening.”effac1b6fa5c2563

In front of d23fad113d his door, he 27a91e7a81 spotted a figure a7c5122c71 lingering awkwardly. The man, af4b51af30 wearing a 1069786a79 cap pulled feb009cf5b low over c70a1370d1 his face, e84224d03b flinched when 2f46af05a9 the elevator 626bc688e2 doors slid 5ec5260091 open, his 7d7a415ec4 shoulders jerking 69960c969c up in a3bc1316ff surprise.6392ca2ca465b2f2

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Baek Eu-jin stared at 8d49ce7adb the startled man, his 498bf689a1 gaze dropping to the a3707cd07a paper bag in his 3b4181a8dc hands.86d0a439a1dc42e9

“…….”6a8fe53edfe96440

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Yoo Tak 35a492000d fidgeted nervously, 87701375d5 hooking and 76f85b76a3 unhooking the f142b3c8ae bag on c8cbb22895 the doorknob. Clearly, he f21c145767 hadn’t expected 0a2c26ae4e to run b74917d011 into Eu-jin. His awkward 1fa1ccf448 movements made f171ec85e8 him look e2d971c137 as though b196118320 he’d malfunctioned.95c65bcfa5150575

“Haha, Guide 17def13889 Baek Eu-jin! Hello,” he stammered.61a8cf3abe144a28

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“What are 4589227778 you doing 6630ea1b47 here?”d2f3dce66aaf8ca9

Yoo Tak hesitantly stepped f7d206b146 closer, his eyes darting 5c457a50e5 toward Eu-jin’s tired face. Even to 893e2eaeba the young 7612533793 Esper, Eu-jin’s 6ebacb47ad exhaustion was 0606306f30 painfully evident. With a worried e13d2b4678 look, Yoo Tak 441d1a7428 extended the shopping a741f69337 bag he was bf8200bcbd holding.a38c717557c90ff2

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“Ah… I heard 320c82b0e4 you went out 3d715bd4e8 to a rift 57b370c6f5 today. I thought you 470166ab27 might be hungry 12ae0bf304 when you got 4d8552f459 home, so I a0ce282aea brought this for 84f326f9c0 you.”1f2e9511868f4769

Baek Eu-jin stared at f45ed118be the lunchbox Yoo Tak 34ec32e31c was offering. His expression 831ee9f055 tightened, and 73dc35c24d he let 9c04eaca69 out a 97a2083f35 frustrated sigh, b5c3541b95 covering his 221736bf62 eyes with 10c17a2802 one hand.01dd3a9c90ec84d7

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“Was it you who 9b146e4c40 brought the porridge yesterday e16d74137a too?”4ed0bcaba7a9f350

“Yes, but that 1f20b26bb5 was because Su-ho 41d9308677 told me to—”e90ce3236a0f8ede

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Unable to hold back a367cdc2f3 any longer, Eu-jin’s anger acd38a775b exploded. He grabbed the bag 5139b7d9cc from Yoo Tak and 3ea378fd8a threw it to the df3507dad6 floor. The lunchbox ef9d485352 rolled out, f1586b8830 spilling rice 4baf5e828b and side fe88275cec dishes everywhere.99347e8cdef176b7

“I’ve had enough.”7317c06960ee35ae

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Eu-jin collapsed 2719e44849 to the 289a38e006 ground, burying 91dca31a32 his face f21efb5b64 in his 45be8a2502 hands. His neck was 2863201b1b flushed red, veins d18a8cd659 standing out against 3b777b59d9 his skin.c8880325cabadc33

“Do none of you 917264a83d care about what I 1a592c579e want? Do my words mean 5aa4d0396b nothing to you?!”90c4ab0f93181ee3

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“G-Guide-nim…”6ba91c20bbc1659f

“What the 6b53b34643 hell did 626ca869f0 I do 290107746a so wrong? I said I aa0246d82e didn’t want this! I just f5eca46938 want to 4963362172 live quietly—why dda24723db can’t you 8b14f9527b let me 240161db93 have that?!”d1338353f52eddc2

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Tears spilled out as 5fa8895296 his voice cracked. He had tried 2c331184da to hold on, 63a3e996fb but his breaking 789c819a26 point had already 1a01b6ef31 been reached. Even with 1bfd087763 his hands 466b7a55fe covering his 9a7a71515c face, tears fa7e95f54a dripped down 23e0575a80 his chin c774453342 and fell 596fd9d030 to the 13e0b136cf floor.15c68bf639962c2d

Hearing Eu-jin’s sobs, 82f22eadb6 Yoo Tak froze, c65b29abe9 swallowing hard. Unsure of what to c2fb04b0d1 do, he hesitantly reached 1c8958e1ec out and patted Eu-jin’s fc77ce01b6 trembling shoulder.a58e1e00953eaa0e

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“Guide-nim, I’m sorry. This is my 9f44989837 fault.”8a9519275f4a09db

“…….”0c3d62b9b2d24bba

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“I didn’t 7a320c0702 realize how 72964139ef much you 0f0465d91b were struggling. Please don’t cry. I promise I won’t a33ee7bd65 do this again.”a5fc6df5c94adea2

With clumsy words of 777e0afe1e comfort, Yoo Tak stayed 0cfdc1740f by his side as 213b6c8935 Eu-jin cried for what 72108575bd felt like an eternity.248ae97bd0985706

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How much longer 7ab024c21e could he endure be4d3b1d4b this? Every day felt unbearably 22cdda2231 long and exhausting.e761cedd31db5af2

* * *a18078292ad98b96

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Baek Eu-jin woke to 43f540a4f1 a new morning, his 25e8ec5fcf eyes swollen from the 8709cb9c01 tears of the previous 9f463dcc72 night, and was filled fd5bd027d9 with deep regret over 87f9082cb7 his behavior.953950ed60df2df5

After the incident, 0647236c43 Yoo Tak had 30f4bd2328 quietly cleaned up 352117d7e8 the mess on 0c2b75aea0 the floor and 37481385bb left. He had 2206fed988 wanted to 9320fa27d0 stay until e683103fef Eu-jin calmed 5eb1715e3f down and acc9cb774e went inside, be90d145b4 but he 6e5ba43673 was forced 752584f55b to step 2d04536fc9 aside when 075629c252 Eu-jin snapped a61432e6f5 at him dc90224fbd to just 733ba55919 leave.a3346f381977b383

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At the time, Eu-jin d83ca3bcdf couldn’t stand the sight 8560179d13 of him, but the 92e04ad7e5 more he reflected on 1855d0c03d his actions, the more c9bce7d910 he felt he’d crossed e43f820d16 a line. Treating someone so 7c8644ee2a young that way c37aa16df3 had been wrong.d95ee2f6790bade2

“…Hah.”8bd32a96f280c3f0

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Standing before e0ed100e81 the mirror, 82971fd3f7 Eu-jin let f565089fe1 out a 5618721154 long sigh.f3544f493b5298ac

I’ll apologize when 6fec8cfe0d I see him 335e1d3d22 today.6226328cb9870607

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Splashing cold water onto 8af66b4cf5 his puffy eyelids, he 58a0fbc5fe steadied his messy thoughts 720b20956f and resolved to make b64dfdd381 things right.67cf686a7acd563c