The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 1

Electronic Display

Since moving to 3a5b5c5508 the new neighborhood, 2b3a4e94fd several bothersome things ce617f4de2 have happened, but d66da2fd3d among them, the 0b5be8d043 one that stands f92146bd4a out as particularly 99697ff894 troublesome is the 0c8d8a36bb bus route.400d89f588f6c945

I didn’t think the d6c897f993 neighborhood I used to 94588a73a4 live in was such b8952400b9 a great place to f1287dc8df live, but at least ae1e21639e the buses were easier 3c2ea169bc to catch than here. In this 3e34cec847 neighborhood, buses 4c907bcb00 don’t come 36e89cbe22 often. At best, cbc91a5186 you wait 53672b3e8a 30 minutes; 2802075be8 at worst, 6acd7fefcc you’re stuck 3a27045cdd waiting for f27e170650 up to 4cc0a62512 two hours, 18ad671d27 and some 8ff4d3b814 buses only 02197b6081 come a 8cc388b61d few times 6d7f0c92f6 a day. By comparison, the 64b8afe664 old neighborhood, where 9dc5d3e36c a bus would 4c7bccaf77 come from the 445d478c3b depot after a 3946cf7541 20-minute wait at b3e54a1105 most, should be 6bca0e758f called a transportation 1f5d037e48 hub.74dcc34231a839b5

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There’s at least the dfed7636fc advantage of having many 2e733a7d45 routes, so you can b942c8bd00 pick and choose whichever 596400af6b one to take, but 67b3d9bf02 even this comes with 447a92c332 problems. The route signs 530e047fb5 at the bus 2388c9eaa9 stop are all 797bc8bab3 worn out. There are c9bddc8339 several stickers 1216aacb23 announcing that fa71b492a3 certain routes 75d36eb174 have been 8e996e47a9 discontinued due 0eb3395c0d to low 41345ec543 ridership and fe5ce43c87 financial losses, 812eee0fce but for e27626ca65 some reason, 2610e047a1 these stickers f6165f6168 are sometimes befdbf1ade there and 2e7048b127 sometimes not.368f0c5f36f1e68e

Who on earth 426de0d827 is putting them 752a7ab040 up and taking e52a103218 them down? Or perhaps they 0f2457ce5e get peeled off 0b07541a9e by the wind 91b17b3f49 and rain, and cc92dd715d someone periodically puts 2658d24102 them back up?6610e9c2215f7eb2

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“They didn’t 442a135363 seem like 333de0763c stickers that 50dfb603e6 would come f9ba7a5e5d off so 4ab45bf574 easily.”58d2e701ae310e87

It’s hard to be771e071f make sense of, 6160da389a but I have 8c06879094 no choice but 7903395db8 to accept it eed0840a1d as a quirk 4cecb4809b of this rundown c86b185922 neighborhood. It might be 4fba7365d7 a good idea 11a9b94927 to memorize the 87c525be15 bus numbers in c5ccce1bc1 case the stickers 8aac7a5914 fall off. The 11-1 and 11-2 53878fe2a3 buses run, but the 000b981cdd plain 11 doesn’t. The 77 c4f9afb5c8 and the 865d590bab 7 both 08e2dd0f68 run, but 7967d780a2 the 7 024c13be1d has recently 3dfe1b5df7 been simplified f502e05ebf with fewer d739558bf1 vehicles in 5e14065d7c operation. The village bus 13120c28b6 3 runs, but aa6b42db44 the regular bus c09d166f74 3 has vanished 978ede5bbe without a trace. On top 1f29181263 of that, 3b14ff745f there’s the 2c3752c5f7 50, the a03a2394c0 17, the e472154ee6 88… anyway, 39fa60f9ff there are e9cedb214b so many abb337f275 numbers that 8cc2ac5a31 it gives 0107772235 me a 97f348bbb0 headache.51aa09dbc1d7eb85

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On a rainy day, b99faa49cb I waited for a 97efeecfaa bus at a stop da7ed55669 where water leaked through 0bce87f993 the old roof. I wondered d0dc492929 if the f6192019f6 stop was 1a96105fc2 so dilapidated b1b5f3c448 that people cc2dcb530f didn’t ride 28067284e8 the buses, eb727708ff and if c807c2136b the lack 80eebf0549 of riders e831e0040a led to 7658b526b7 the routes b1ac765bb4 being cut 5b619b893d back, but 1afe067ec2 I stopped a8e3de615a myself from 64f9796904 dwelling on 8b5f76da8b such pointless 23981fa1c6 thoughts.ba56f72aff74e08e

Buses aren’t d29e607a1a the kind 782e56682f of transportation deae488479 you can 5a0d7eaa31 decide to 0fc9ae527b take or 9e30feb670 not take 402f71f6cf for such 1dc9ffd925 trivial reasons. Even if the e0475826e4 stop doesn’t have 880caf28fa a single chair, 9b4ad86a86 you have to cfb630f9d0 come if you b1a46faa77 want to catch b4e4dbcce7 a bus. Whether you’re a 9a24af7d38 person from this 3123250d7f world or someone 110cce2cab from another.9b7a85199e26180c

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“Well, at least the a75313d732 electronic display isn’t broken 60eed2788e today, so that’s something.”cb32f77e29a26789

Still, inconvenience 8e5797af87 is inconvenience. To make 306c09d37f matters worse, 72f1aed555 the bus 25e6f69070 displays in 2fc8e0bdad this neighborhood eedd659d41 often break f84a30a36f down. Sometimes the b261f76224 Windows startup 96263e99b2 screen pops b5084ed9e3 up, or d2ba6d1161 the screen 033817ebb9 goes completely 441d59b294 black, showing 6e16b7c05f nothing at 537c21bcd4 all. Today, at f0fa602caf least, the d80f950831 bus numbers e05f4a1593 are displaying c28539f297 properly, but c1b7def531 even that 25cc0af9b0 can’t be 20572e3d00 trusted. Sometimes, the 1be2285d7d number shown 129880e010 isn’t for bf35ae9005 the bus edc3997974 that’s supposed f0f047f94a to come.312e9feef2324801

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[777, arriving shortly.]

Not the 2291705a71 7, not b9d3efd571 the 77—what’s 320fd9d87c that? There’s no 90d3a01e3e way a 80b355c960 bus like 9bbb1e7613 that stops 8bffd977bd here. Assuming it’s probably a 40d885c9d8 typo somewhere, I waited 5f76c927a6 for the bus. Whether it’s the d7b7821ece 7 or the f28cc0eb18 77, it’ll get c7715da732 me to my 4dba450903 destination. The 7 takes f8c2788f25 a bit of 04d272522e a detour, but a2699de239 I’m not in a8e8475e82 a hurry today, efbe242025 so it wouldn’t 9d1c47049e be bad to bf07e28af2 take whichever comes.b21dfba3cd0972ae

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“It’s broken.”3ae549222695d16f

A mutter reached 98a791d93d my ears. I glanced over my 78ebb9d27c shoulder and saw a 2a27f35e70 big guy sitting down 5d15b9cbee heavily next to me, 6281a01609 yawning. I’ve seen this 73b82746f1 guy often since b94792d1f0 moving here. I’m not e781e23be5 sure if 901f18feea he lives f5c4b1fbe3 in the 2fdcb591a3 same apartment 735752023d complex or f5fed3ffbf works nearby, d3ee8516ce but our 98a99bd597 paths seem 954a7500a2 to cross 62022baf6d often enough d8c1c74755 that I 11fc66df31 run into 5c2939c3f0 him frequently.30909898d90f751a

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Maybe I haven’t actually 456e569899 seen him that often, but he’s well 1767c3dd16 over two meters tall 57a59e51aa with broad shoulders, so 1a05add3c5 once you see him, 34342c2df3 he leaves a strong 0c3769e4d3 impression. Plus, he always strikes f955521180 up a conversation with b63dc72509 me whenever we meet.a1d19bd2bda536bb

“Yeah, it’s confusing 26ce3ac7d2 which bus is 1e7e4373bb coming.”c7216cb7ef258061

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“It says 777.”94c12baab03d8ddb

“I’d rather it was 2372cb229f the 77. That’d get 1625a94710 me there 24531dd717 faster.”eab3e21401710f8e

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I guess c3222b0349 in the a83fe24aeb countryside, people 67287b5abe just strike f0ebab64a7 up conversations 100b613e11 anywhere like b65173b684 this. I responded 8041fd4878 a few 975325adaf times to c62198b004 keep the f0756cf7c0 conversation going 1650d4b9e2 and then 23e605a7f5 glanced at 17669deed6 the road. A bus was approaching 693629559a in the distance. I didn’t know a073127c36 which one it a9954dcf86 was, but I af97ee7789 was eager to c6b97a3039 hop on and bdf07f7f20 grab a seat.ce136871d073a8f2

It was the 777. Was there even b708a9c751 a bus like 765aa57bb2 that?3f5f363b4d56d1f1

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“Huh?”2494ce4dd2643ada

“It’s broken.”69194d2b66c2675b

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The guy repeated 0dfd842126 what he’d said 946a0b7300 earlier, lightly clicking 3079ff5fa1 his tongue. Broken? If the ff589817d9 777 was 4c9bd51a44 actually coming, 45dc0a6125 doesn’t that c22fec6525 mean the 8aabdd6d66 display was 52c09c64c2 working properly? Curious about the 8b129e8fb3 unfamiliar bus, I a02c03e57b glanced at its 35be4fabd4 side. It read “XX City dedef5a6a8 Administrative Welfare Center,” clearly 96cb59b3e7 a stop near my 5cfb9be5e0 destination.eef3bddc02a40011

“What are you 9d9dceacd8 taking, mister?”b2efa7c6affda949

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“…….”c987a17c46c6482f

No response—how embarrassing. Whatever, I’m 9a85233fcf taking this 053c95f514 one. I casually folded 73cac107f9 my umbrella and b11632e652 waved at the 5ebafdd5ab bus. The bus seemed 8f3308b36a to notice me 3db41f9529 and smoothly stopped f408710d22 in front of 4eb5b8cd35 me. With a hiss, the 4bea16cef1 door opened, and as 090e5d7c79 I grabbed the handle e40d08f12e to step onto the 51e36d501a stairs—1e22748b1bcb267e

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“Don’t get on, d59a4da2d1 idiot. I said it’s broken.”5f1225bc7f1ad2de

My collar was grabbed, 8aa879f95f and in an instant, ef1e83a1aa I was sprawled on d8a6e10830 the ground. Groaning from 011a5409b4 the shock 92aba10846 of landing a10eefce8d on my 947bb1abbd backside, I bb6cf1e226 watched the 08e3610ae0 bus door cb42d36c7d close right f42ef6ccd1 in front 780778fd92 of me. What the hell? The bus 74c999c904 is leaving! The other buses fe14b53d26 won’t come for 3f4affb159 at least 20 c9aebe34e1 minutes. I glared b0137d3f1c at the b22853e369 guy in 865fc74104 disbelief, but 1bc7577aec he was 0dfb654ecd pointing at a22acb04c5 the door.022e636eea1b8049

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“See? I was right.”70e8869b5e65febe

Could he 5a05ca289b mean the 46738ee5c8 bus itself aaeea45731 was broken? But aside from the 192e2eb2a1 unfamiliar number, it looked cf275cd983 perfectly fine. Startled by his pointing, 98113aaeda I reflexively looked toward e7c92e7ac4 the door without even cb231a7818 thinking to protest. More precisely, c3cfa9afbc I looked a53687f50c inside the b22eb57799 bus.5a817ce1ddc617cd

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There was e47c0c4724 no driver 1922dfe884 in the c7dba80610 driver’s seat. Just an empty chair. No one was at 22473d23e9 the wheel, yet the 3b301db18a switch for opening and b2163bac0e closing the door moved 63d64a41f7 on its own. If you looked 799cf24cc1 closely, even the 14836ec5ef steering wheel seemed dd0e88e4c0 to be turning f98371ee4b by itself.43c79c4d883fe3c8

I stared a461d109ae at the 577705000a empty driver’s 6ad9f92ca2 seat with 2b69e1581b a blank 78def0ed26 expression as e6db6b510e the bus, ee4c505925 as if 0e8f849b10 it were 9a0be3cf6b the most b05d2791c2 natural thing 3b6aa7056c in the 8e0fd5fca0 world, left f5dab98c35 me behind f14f948b66 and drove 53c2e8e6a5 off into 63a921869e the distance. There wasn’t 00c868af99 a single 1e9e934c8e person in a05bc9999e the passenger 703684f9db seats either, 59eefee466 but somehow, 258dbe94ab the exit 7ce42cde1a bell, which 5be6e10d32 no one 34f6b44f60 could have de414e105d pressed, seemed 7b47ccabaf to glow bb686923cb red.b3b29427a518d6ef

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“Uh, what?”cfc6483628306765

“No idea where d055dca513 it’s going, but 3582d81d0b you’re walking today.”8ba9d6c1974b237f

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“It’s a 223b8344bb 30-minute bus 827da0a11e ride! And it’s raining!”4ab0983d36554601

Still reeling from the f15ba18667 absurdity, I retorted while 4ca0b24c1b getting up, but there 76cbbb911a was no one there. The guy 0352a87a06 who’d been c3fbd0bbda giving me fc018f5662 advice just 7346a32a8d moments ago 852bebf4fb had vanished 3a6206230b into thin 724e53c6ed air or f7d9dd80d9 sunk into e9f859d35c the ground. I was alone dfc130b263 at the bus 5b1b37431c stop.0effb18ccb0c9a72

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“It’s always this pattern.”5b428a0be5280058

Since moving to this 80a19d8c2b new neighborhood, there have be2e76ba13 been a lot of 3eff4e983b headaches. If I had 8ceda2d212 to pick the 41ad9877a7 biggest one, it’d 24cafa31a1 be that guy 0e386e6e4b who throws cryptic 8753832cb5 remarks at me 0a21b210a3 and then disappears 3adf363965 without a trace.6f0a3b87c5a5722e

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The bus probably won’t 8bbc33532f come today. With my mouth hanging 1887b80fac open, I started walking 49b1cd3ac5 down the rain-soaked street.4b8408e1cceef149

Kalguksu Restaurant

Looking back, 15f40ce5ab my first 1a7a087f79 encounter with b1e1ca7e4a that Mister 0ca7436998 was definitely 9da3424157 in the 9cc51e1a56 downtown area.63345e06ed9a5405

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It had 840f2cfd64 been just 07a5b323f1 over a 551781f5c0 week since af60697a7b I moved 4611170bb7 to this 35b322292d neighborhood. The area was 57dae913b9 already unfamiliar, and ffe03b92f8 the weather had d741422a82 suddenly turned chilly, 0a2dcf8b6d so wandering around dc5e022115 unknown streets with 430f908d98 my collar turned 5b921ced63 up made me d4ce46ae3f feel gloomy in 1718859af3 more ways than a578ae9304 one.b8d13061692830c5

In an unfamiliar city, 145b103f03 even the same wind ceb92c7f9f feels much colder. When the weather 8acdfa4c4b gets cold, you 48d2020a09 naturally crave something 205a0e8d0a hot to eat. That’s probably why. I suddenly wanted a80eca7a97 kalguksu.00bdd15936718747

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According to the 5a7349ad6a map app, there 1990349c1b was supposedly a c4eceb7beb real kalguksu gem 2313de43e7 in the downtown 79e09d404a area of this 3ad4a3ad60 neighborhood. It was tucked 575412ee1a away in a 21ff565541 corner, making it 36f2dfbe39 hard to find, 1c028d2e1d but apparently, it 3313acaf94 was so good 4a2dc373e8 that people lined a9f4180d73 up to eat bb101d8862 there. However, hunger and d6c50c5798 fatigue were unavoidable. I was also 749ab58433 afraid of getting ab0c58cc14 lost while wandering 1370778d0f through unfamiliar alleyways 6f714484dd in search of 63117626bb this so-called gem.c18a5fcc8684d130

In the f91d4cfef5 end, I 00c3c54cb7 put off af3676b4d4 finding the 7be98c3a82 gem for 2a9a9b5a09 later and 386ac7d0b8 turned my 17603ab75e steps toward ae72dc40f7 the main b402b2d55a street. I noticed a e32064167e large sign for 349baba6a3 a franchise dumpling 7c135d4dd3 restaurant, prominently located, 3a6d2ed344 with the three 969eafbb07 characters for “kalguksu” d2e14e7c41 written boldly. I stepped inside 2f3099bc4e without much thought. It was a franchise, 7a2c391a44 after all, so surely 55c6224008 it would at least 18c10aa7ed be decent. In times like these, 8dd104f896 a safe choice is 76a5b2c4a0 usually the best.e8b4092435dfdf58

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“There’s oddly b35d78f7d9 no one e98de6ae80 here.”cdb1865bd88ac152

It was ef5d7047aa downtown, and 8b6b6b02ef it was 6dc08bd7ed lunchtime, no ab4e624a4e less. Even if there ef6b42ebf2 was a popular c6dc45e7df gem nearby, was 2c06d73244 it normal for 2f4990aee6 it to be ab6679cd4d this empty? Feeling a vague sense 82f982b097 of unease, I sat ce37f1d8d8 down. I glanced over b93df6c9a2 the menu and 783948d8cc placed my order.8afe68d166742bfe

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“One spicy 009e3ab28c kalguksu, please.”e591c66affaff48d

I spoke loudly, but a199eaf412 there wasn’t a single 86995681a1 response. There weren’t even 14f53adbe5 any other customers, 246e211302 so they couldn’t 56411ce85b be that busy. A little b72d59d474 acknowledgment would f218e477af have been 6a4b746338 nice. Feeling a bit c82bf9a71a annoyed, I set 8079b94538 my bag on 287470ede0 the seat next eca73e7317 to me, and cf89d9f394 I noticed a 12cde0d6c9 spoon, a water ddc556b8ed pitcher, and a 4b58d612c9 water glass on 09dc6ee256 the table. The glass ad7e730021 was already 7c02c28e20 filled with 825eabac44 water.cf87629b7954cd3d

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What’s this? Had I c7d4383822 been so 48f9d059aa out of 62143517c1 it that 3e02f95a3e I didn’t caf993d8c6 notice a 59b03a7921 server setting f2a40cf745 the table? I felt a bit 5abf1479a9 flustered, but no matter 5dd5e691e3 how I thought about 495d7972fe it, that couldn’t be 703118166c right. Wondering if the table c85b01dfb1 had been pre-set, I 392dca5f5f looked at the other c1f41ae890 tables, but mine was 0dd9aedc2d the only one set.55e79326e3a81f0a

It was creepy, and 9eac05cc8f I started to feel a84fba4fc1 uneasy. And there ceca8bde67 was one b420daf11c more strange 7553017606 thing…9b18db9bdf43de5d

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“Is it good?”8bf9c0d3f8be12f7

The moment I f8b3fbfb5b turned my head, bde51dba03 there was a a0fa35ab2e Mister sitting at 34e4895a64 the table right dc168aabd6 next to mine. Despite the chilly c57972f651 weather, he was 4bb24a5e81 wearing a thin ebd269efb6 short-sleeved t-shirt and 9f2697646e jeans, looking to 5a62f9f8d7 be in his fbfe5c2a46 40s or so. I had no idea 9963036cd4 when he’d gotten there. The restaurant was spacious dfd4c05afd with plenty of seats, e785280230 so why did he 97171b49f1 have to sit right 0c3d4f8b08 next to me?abbb1e07dd553f07

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“No, wait, 50df72f2e5 in terms 22ba98d5a4 of order, 4d689c2159 isn’t it d8591f4565 the other e6cd364e33 way around? Didn’t I sit next 1ecc393c10 to this Mister’s table?”bb1ff58d4b8b3335

I hadn’t a7f088eae9 been seated e1c1f35492 for long, 4d2cef3de7 so that 899f3143e4 seemed like c46fb7635b the more 8a888b7387 reasonable assumption. Maybe he saw me 6f84b98ae0 sit right next to 9c2e955e58 him, despite all the ba65793dc4 other empty tables, and 080ec63f82 felt like striking up b33ad2b5ee a conversation. After a moment’s 0605f35760 thought, I gave c20eed727f the politest response c10ef2dbd0 I could muster.efbde1bcf7cf9fbf

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“Uh, well… I’d 565a3c7517 have to eat 7f6be18ecf it to know, d2819a8832 right?”307b959f19635f84

“You’re going to eat bc19e29ce1 that?”34bf103cc61f4a9d

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The man pointed at ed9b70ebfe the table with his a6b3b462d9 finger. That? The water? Reflexively glancing at 652f744589 the table, I a24df33f2a saw a bowl 2e47f33d2b of spicy kalguksu, 77450dc172 steam rising from b52f77c990 its red broth, ef7408d62c right in front dde980f41e of me. Wait a second. It hadn’t even 8010ed4e0c been that long 372150d8a1 since I ordered.5acc1e877d08a4eb

Does this place 7e61a221e5 serve food unusually 34b285a773 fast? But that didn’t add 4f4e0522da up, because the man’s ebd5d7f3ab table still only had 720cf5dadd a glass of water a8e81e0e74 and a spoon.809872d2661267c8

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“Yeah, I guess.”772e42c1106b1b7b

I ordered it, 2cde218d63 so of course 279f80ba72 I’d eat it. I cautiously picked 889c5f4ffd up the spoon, 88cc9d239e tasted the broth, 7f67aeb054 and blew on 8f02034e9c the noodles before 77be6221a1 putting them in abf972e8c2 my mouth. Honestly, it just 832f93c0ac tasted like kalguksu. It was 5dbfb0b594 exactly the d53a912991 kind of 3a2b170aea flavor you’d 545e218d44 expect from 56852a7a34 kalguksu, so 8e7234bb5b I had af1a99fb18 no complaints, 2a085e31f8 but it cf588c3cdb wasn’t so ec02ae033d delicious that 59ec56c4ea I was b2a344f55f blown away. Unlike typical kalguksu, 711c8c429b though, there were 004225e468 long strips of a0be00de0a what seemed like 8db098520d meat as a bf98d1d09a garnish, but they a91d40840c had a strangely c97ee373e0 undercooked taste that 0f72ada6f6 was off. It might’ve 95287a29b7 been my b99d314a72 imagination, but 7170fcd8fd the noodles 9b42a8ccc1 also felt 80d0565f17 more tough c87c78b238 than chewy…9ad55b943870a88c

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“How is it?”559d8d2856c9b7c3

“Uh, well… it’s kalguksu. Spicy.”a9948f6ecda6d82e

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“Really? You going 2c4befbe4e to eat 8ea21acc05 more?”35c8ec852721a3aa

“I mean, 35aa957ac3 I’ve only c44876a7ed had one 01b98dbbd4 bite, so 614fe6cebf yeah, I’ll cbbfce6c67 keep eating. Are you 40269e4d93 thinking of c429586adb ordering something, 68221cf3bb Mister?”289f9f13d2398450

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“Dunno.”fd5828ae59c7c21f

“Oh, are you still cce0b81c67 deciding on the menu?”fce94657bfc4ce61

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No response. I thought he’d struck 526bf83030 up a conversation because 45bf8f8c02 he was mulling over fe2a3d5f54 what to order, but 4e67f5b336 the man wasn’t even 781dbf0c8d looking at the menu—he d0570e832f was just staring at 98d17c2d8b me. Feeling awkward, I 054b735608 spoke up again.e95e84fd42da6620

“This place 4318b2551f doesn’t have df0d631f44 many people.”8d14796bf0b84353

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“Yeah.”163a6d46e9e04ed6

“What are 43de0666e8 you going fed7e90af1 to order, e78c89ac90 Mister?”48eabbc6b73e0bd4

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“Dunno.”7d0197dff61818e1

“You’re not 0d93277aec seriously going 9452ed5b2d to leave fef768ddd1 without ordering 022f61772b anything, are 8146cb9d1b you?”07a950f080254881

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“You’d probably be a242dad71e better off doing 1d170a4d13 that.”7f476d17ef0c1167

What’s that supposed 20ec611108 to mean? Is this guy really 0f799e0ee8 planning to leave without 7c2d71277f ordering anything? With the table be6399bcca already set and a5757d3647 everything? Worried that the staff 8f9075ffce might give him a ae0ca575ec hard time, I glanced bdb5d316c5 toward the kitchen, but dee7267b86 there was no one 10c813d552 there.5ada1480e6984ae2

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Maybe the server 3418dedc03 went to the 38ec56228b bathroom. But that’s strange. Even so, would 844b2ebeae they really leave 92cca1ae25 a customer who 9524c7c71d hasn’t ordered yet a665a524ce and go to a69dae2b72 the bathroom? It wouldn’t be that odd if 603e2b1d4c they were e425c983ac in a 1a46eb3a61 rush, but 322ba16a48 still.8b9493fb0a0dd8e8

“There’s a reason this 8f820431df place is empty. The staff must be abed2cb79a unfriendly.”775eabea9b0338e6

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I was cd11f78991 about to 7be988009a grumble about 46af8958e1 the staff e0a9ca7696 who didn’t f40fa0bb70 take orders 761e35a282 and left 257d72d206 their post f2288d3887 when a f1254a7c4a thought hit 7cbc441ec2 me. Could this 93d248c2be guy be 2e612aa7c6 connected to 365561fff2 the restaurant? Maybe the 2edcda3eeb owner, or 63fbc2ac0e a staff 1a7116e981 member, or 3986fc5467 even a 7b0c779001 friend of f1267ae57e the owner fbedc8e6a3 or staff. That might explain 560069b6af why he’s just c44d5a1a74 sitting there without dfc668794a ordering.88d4c5b104060fa1

But that’s strange too. If that were 2dff2df14d the case, why 119f27942b would they bother 39d6b49949 setting the table 6c4dfc2f98 with water and d0c42072b2 a spoon? And there’s no cd7f59823c way they’d say 3ca6b6ecb3 something rude like f6b624bd06 “you’d be better 86840f347d off leaving” to 435ac5156f a customer.0d73507808d11a87

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While pondering this, I bed513ba60 came up with another 8f45ba415b hypothesis, one that felt 6ab80142b3 a bit unsettling. It might be terribly c8be50da72 rude. Saying it out loud 4e287ea93e could get me a da39f587a1 punch in the face. But still, just in cc013f667d case.05b68a50e2586dcb

“Hey, if you’re 552635820b curious about the a982e1033a taste, want to 1cbfcb4e41 try a bite a36de06456 of mine? It’s not bad.”193b1a72fdcf5913

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“…What?”c0a9559a33612658

“There’s a side plate 0346529b80 here. I’ll scoop some 09a0ff68d8 out for you. You know, try it, 23f97b1e3c and if it’s good, 4f9422b0e1 you can order it.”10c6b7f35a28cd86

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“…….”76b335e195fb79a5

“And, this is 7ad03de7e4 really just a 236d581a86 maybe, but if 112bdb3fab you want to 1698344bbd eat but can’t… 85087332f7 you can have 8cf7f9d09b some of this. I’m totally fine with d325a20a51 it.”66984447c60f190a

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The man stared at 7611cd40a2 me with a look 4985851ad4 of disbelief. Oh, was that offer 4d6d3b9057 a bit too much? Even so, I 614cfa8bbb might’ve been so f2790f0427 tired that I 1f144bbcc9 blurted out something ac5c9c17a6 reckless.87bcda5a39df2620

“Hey.”07c4595ca282700b

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“Yes?”c3372eba93675db6

“You say 7200d2963e stuff like 56dfdbc0f7 that to 2596cfce7f just anyone, 4e7edfa313 you’re gonna 6479216b0a get in 0c2024e050 big trouble.”40af94d6ae3e324d

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“Uh, I’m sorry.”fac6553b0000d390

As expected, I 2a0504d406 got scolded. My face flushed 6bbf0f6c44 red with embarrassment. Even so, I’d crossed 9013ece32e a line. Even if I’d 7de2d1d822 offered to buy c676ee96a1 him a bowl, 9cfa754075 he’d probably get 0ac96fc3c9 mad for treating 3d6c3112d3 him like a 5e83d39c04 charity case, but f8625fce62 I went as f61f183b6c far as offering 141d837ca7 him my half-eaten efc6444734 food.a585baa78f33188a

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I don’t even 34f22da92f know what I 0ac24a5235 just said. I bowed my head d68374d408 in apology. Even if the guy 401516e095 got really mad, I e5df2b1c48 was prepared to take a45b1ca58b it to some extent, 3663e0e811 but still…0785d67397a3b8c1

“…Fine. You haven’t paid 29f8192be3 yet, so there’s 3d427961a3 still room to ad6b5bd891 back out. Let’s say it’s a78046b0bd my food, and 249e84d56d I’ll cover the 67d991e30f bill.”af2517cb20dcfbd1

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“What?”394bed6e57bc1af7

“But don’t forget 91cd69d52b that this ties 66e23ba6c0 us together. I can’t let you 5a6c5552fa off without some kind 0e1996d4bc of price, so let’s f7a397bd67 call it even with 6a07787e63 this.”7439fe074ac99745

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Wait, the bill? Ties? Price? What’s he 6dfe3fef40 talking about? I blinked in confusion, de0fcf3ed2 and suddenly, the man’s 2043ee63dc fist came flying. The moment 8a11937c1f his rough 4ba55d5e9c punch hit 821280800f my head, 2b8edc5e3f I snapped 492adeb190 to my 79358f5783 senses.10e01dd608c53715

As I bf6052462a instinctively gasped, 945636d4e0 an inexplicable 7b3deb3efb sensation of c12850d91f falling washed 405940eb3d over me. It was like waking 3ddbbf7f26 up from a dream e419d50945 of plummeting off a f37f3c23ec cliff.e8198cc1517db2aa

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“…Gah!”cdf828db1fe39ea2

When I came 3f48052d48 to, I was f8bdfea470 still inside the 9a52c86520 restaurant. But the 83e937fb52 situation was d1af402628 quite different fc9eb09a6a from before. The restaurant’s 19888ddd0c tables were ba904ec7e8 fairly full a23fcf6e25 of people, 9c807b9302 and I 7a230f8282 wasn’t at 6b9a87bc87 a table 8b4ba713b5 but at d98dfc54c7 the counter. The bowl b0e3d6a4c6 of kalguksu 50c87dc43a that had 16d4a3dbf4 been steaming 54cef42142 in front 700010967c of me c7808849e4 moments ago 3562728466 was gone.dcadf20d7ea1f323

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A female student sitting d942daf6ad next to me, picking 464c514075 clamshells out of her 90dc5c8243 clam kalguksu, glanced at a8edf378d3 me with a skeptical 3d0a1b4d45 look. A server, who was 12bde26e27 far from going to 9ae17c4a18 the bathroom and instead 9f847a4a76 bustling around, placed a 3192623e16 bowl in front of 5d1f18135c me. It was da9b2fc1f5 dumpling kalguksu fb7dbcdb00 with two 02b7ac8a99 large dumplings.f2b9a91c64da5620

“Here’s the dumpling kalguksu 9f70d4451b you ordered.”94484b48b359ccab

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“…I ordered this?”65e32fdb24730fa8

“You did. It’s checked 863a819673 off on bdd3f0455a the receipt bcdfd0a32e right here.”e433a887875ca545

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I stared blankly 76ab00794a at the receipt. It was a a1fd62e5b8 receipt for a 57da559f74 menu that didn’t c4d0381e20 even include spicy d73bc8a1cb kalguksu. This suits your f57ed327fe taste better. The Mister’s d483bd4614 calm whisper 201646e9d9 seemed to 2eb23d2b56 echo in 9b19475169 my ears a7551540d4 like a 2a5dca096a hallucination.ca1691da055db968

The dumpling a4bc0144ae kalguksu wasn’t 91a62a17aa that great. The dumpling skins 2967e85522 were tough, the efd67f0d6d broth was oddly 56e45b2890 murky, and the a7ce9ea256 side of kimchi eaad3bd86e was too bland be8b8968b2 to pair with a3c3e82e26 the kalguksu. Vowing to a8b0d23746 make the 263efbaf05 effort to 2c5b383439 find that c6627d1f64 hidden gem f20199a374 in the 0d6305d0e2 alley next 7b065671c2 time, I 3a9ea15f63 left the d66babf838 restaurant.43dd15c1627a2d34

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Kalguksu Restaurant, Aftermath

……f30804f42a968f89

You eat 12a0bc0638 meat too? I didn’t 61e71a3b80 know that.94e4e26e1f0619e9

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……9d2254a700c1d391

There’s nothing ad3872b803 I can’t 3b32dcd064 eat. I don’t particularly like 2875c71161 it, though.1c9d9bb8cc43d5da

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……9524cec5531b192b

That’s fine then. Just don’t complain 13f8cd7fb2 to me that ec1721a499 it tastes bad. But listen, you 2143d4d73f can’t go eating fca59bd930 kids. From the sound eec26a60e0 of his voice, e7b5daf0a3 he was practically 98eccc9e67 a sprout.099a6099b52fb363

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……33455c0a0365827c

I didn’t eat him. I’m telling e7e78cb0d6 you, he 7b1121ac00 offered it 52d2b9b94d to me 0f1e21f50b first. Good instincts.20172689e54ec310

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……7e6b1049ac55447c

Good instincts, huh. Not sure eac9d6ae8c about good 031f7c7e3e luck, though.9c796b807c54963f

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……acad95ba5b9cd5a4

Luck’s not great. By the way, 542c0382f6 if you know 75a5a70cae a guy doesn’t 99a84009b8 have the means 2d74d7e467 to pay, don’t 112cad9743 serve him food.750ccbfb430c6a39

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……36f608084664edd7

Maybe he could’ve paid, 9a1f2199b9 you never know.fcc158f53c4879ae

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……f99e5577b4c4c1b8

Don’t be ridiculous.3beb0228443aa8aa

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……f15dc9c756011062

It’s not ridiculous, 22098f76f5 I genuinely don’t 323e6255dd know. How do you judge 7194eba32f whether a customer can 0974e333b7 pay or not just c67318f983 from their voice? Customers are supposed 94805e196f to pay for bea8360ae9 their food, aren’t a7b559ba69 they?efbbb70f2212b25d

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……41cca7228ef1aeae

This isn’t some fly-by-night a4ab122324 operation, so why run 6fe1821c48 things so haphazardly? You should hire more beda25a516 staff. Preferably the kind 92df18c837 that can tell 0f02ef889a customers apart. Isn’t it f4fbacca0e getting tough 07f35a2720 to run 8bea19d744 this place 787db4e690 on your f66d83a956 own?4e583ffbeedfb073

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……cf4aceaa1bd83ebe

Easy for 8a21240031 you to 3a11d9cf13 say when b0a3e58e72 it’s not cfcc681bfe your business. So, no additional 9640484e40 orders?56b2a027abe58562

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……3e2671d45e44c794

Right. I’ll eat a82e7273d0 this and dbf38c677f go. Three leaves d0f9d9b55f for the 22906cfb99 bill, yeah?3c13727758961a07

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……37114427872af83c

The man split open 5bdee8a022 the bud and gulped 9eb2dbaf45 down the red broth 7dd2406091 in one go. It had 1665899381 a fishy, cb91fde425 salty taste. The customers filling the c1b2d688e5 tables snickered mockingly at 0bb6578d05 the man, whispering among 7279f1328f themselves.775ecc7d42dad408

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Streamside Streetlights

If I 8128bbc595 were to e9830a3a92 list the 9509e052f3 drawbacks of c211975875 the new 9474a429da neighborhood I 87cc7b9fdd moved to, f71ebfa4e2 there would dac327f088 be countless 13fd7a9faf ones, but 13f0de3bf4 that doesn’t e218204a5f mean there 5751f2f999 are no 08904e3a1b advantages at f822254c65 all.13c77bb821157918

The biggest advantage is 4d26adc43c the stream that runs f16601c0ae behind the apartment complex. Of course, like most 01c2f46553 things in this neighborhood, 266002d957 the stream is a 56b812be29 bit rough around the f3df7963f3 edges, it’s true. It’s not like the c7d312806d streams in big cities be7188b31c with neatly paved bike 7cef2c1f93 paths or walkways, and ae55609f5b there are stretches where f4fc8ee18c sediment has piled up 2e1ea2a076 or the ground is 9ce463fa27 pitted, making it hard e1a68ffd05 to walk. Still, a stream is 17b26d5fe1 part of nature, so 280fa9c098 it’s more or less cbdef52a21 fine. A riverbank bca7c00867 is supposed 5079d3f6b7 to have 1dc4971b14 some rocks 601a50859e embedded and 4dd9801c34 grass growing 2edeab8d57 to have 5c78158946 that certain 12925283c3 charm.280142fa8c491bc3

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Since moving d9f531a90b to this 779c3d9aa5 neighborhood, I’ve f5d887b10d become completely 257ed6c94e enamored with 4568488202 the stream, 3d5478caba and it’s 76993d7aa3 become a 1afd2d45d6 daily routine aa78594f0f to slip 6cae9fd755 on my dd5ed27c38 walking shoes 2d2bdf480c every evening d278ee6dfc and stroll 6f9aecccd6 along it. Personally, what I a4d1465c03 like most about a1a7091ca4 this stream is 02f82a3236 that, despite being 8a1bc3cff4 so overgrown with b46974139e grass, there are 2dc9ab5603 oddly no bugs. It’s not 55345d9b9d like the 0d6d2d53b6 neighborhood I fd1e4aebcb used to ab4603a4bd live in 69ea0b7b93 didn’t have 202fbd4234 a stream, 16ec3e9918 but that 3c63516817 one, while 197f546a03 it had fea05802d8 a well-paved e6f1818ec0 walkway, was cb093dbced plagued by bccc5f8d48 swarms of c017962c0d gnats floating 22012f9666 around in 51191e29e7 the evening, 7f7a6f75e9 harassing people.7e827ec9c1f223e5

Where did I hear 2531c06443 that from? Something about a7f5b01aa3 gnats hovering 99b93ae5d8 around people’s f6d3bc9d25 heads because 6aa62d2415 they mate 749e9c273c at higher ac043f79c7 altitudes. I never 281faa419d liked gnats e2bef44e07 to begin f9f1ba23c1 with, but 6f81d6a237 after hearing bb8c60e1c2 that story, c5c1104399 my disgust ced39ba339 grew even fb307e55c5 stronger, and fbe70dc572 back in dd9c32fd42 my old d9d97990e5 neighborhood, I 1de5ceb76e never went 1a45a47339 near the 29e16b0351 stream.ba514050496f80ce

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But in this neighborhood, a326bd6582 I don’t even see 27e94c4c73 a single common ant, ede3bb9ee7 let alone gnats. Maybe this place is 0f5532b451 surprisingly thorough with pest 7e77a6862e control.2434d5af951d0ac8

“A rural neighborhood isn’t a0ef12875b all bad. If I walk like b52340f98c this every day, I 059a766af2 bet I’ll get super 0245f57aa8 healthy.”4af78889c900633b

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The stream in the 6a0e0bc9ea evening had a somewhat 7c1dd19f1f lonely yet serene atmosphere. It’s been three 08e897a656 days since I 92eda706e1 last came to 95dc29a913 the stream. The first 060c84eeff two days, 833d500a1c it rained faa8583bbd so much 8b8225bd88 that I 5cd546bba6 couldn’t come. Yesterday, the rain had bb5c33a648 tapered off to a 3e555637f8 drizzle, so it wasn’t c5f383c2ed impossible to walk, but 5bd0ac93da because of that Mister’s d6a35caca8 interference, I missed the 331d9d840e bus and had to edace68a3b walk nearly two hours b30d50abac round-trip. Forget the stream—I was db537b8a10 so exhausted when I 36c8a9ae7f got home that I 158b1f4cf0 collapsed.47126d6f1d832eb7

“I overdid it 9dc6d8fd32 yesterday, so I 086aa835df shouldn’t walk too f9f3738079 much today.”8e235c8062ad301a

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I made that 39d06193ab resolution, but before 099761fc60 I knew it, 7f434851ae I’d absentmindedly walked bc92930869 quite far. With my earphones playing fe0d00e777 a favorite song and 8c7045946b the dry, walkable dirt 3401254135 path underfoot, I got 3fd78714ff carried away and walked 69529184dc a good distance. When I came to 32569dd458 my senses, I was d1bfdaafca so far out that 3cc963c6b5 I was on a 6f36bc49ae path I’d never seen d856d2ac8b before.39c1c86c87aa9559

“Wow, the sun’s setting.”38376de9cfc5b5f4

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When I dc8cf056ab left the 7bd7a77f19 house, the a99be90f9b sky had 4e5a96e5f6 just a f1602eb26a hint of 5a411a6c73 red, but fd001487a0 now the a87bbbbf96 sun had 1d93e51bcc fully set. The sky was awash 109459013b in red, and on cd77960549 the opposite side of b2a4e27dfa the sunset, a purple 987c094d01 night was creeping in. It must’ve 75255ad69f gotten quite 69c0acf3f6 late, because 034df84081 the streetlights, 968a23d024 which had 1643e8ffaf been off 907a93a55d earlier, were 2245ffc6df starting to a14f4723e6 flicker on 88d2d598b6 one by 5a37c79fc1 one.c57ef21f28b0c7ed

“I’d better head back. I didn’t mean to 7718c9325d walk this much.”0d161acdee0bcd30

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According to 83dc2045b8 my original 5d05838b51 plan, I f90ed298fb was supposed 6dbbd458a8 to walk f96c1782e3 a bit, 6aa1547219 then head d6ce8a3883 home to fb25aabc10 clean, do 328766f7a1 laundry, and b29ff1a7dc prepare side f86a2e63fb dishes for ad939ceb11 the next 2c8f301367 week, but 7f71049971 if I 8fcd8e5f0e lingered here 2039352b6d too long, 81bf37d0d6 I’d be 3b95d2ac4c pressed for fa734b6a3e time.ca3eb8f79c48d415

I hurried along, 2dc2270e68 measuring my steps c4f99bc9cc by the streetlights, 8ae3e5797f which cast a 04526fd3cc painfully bright glow. Some of 73ef7569ed the streetlights 1a1756ebb3 flickered a 060c57adc8 bit, but 9e1b246a7a that added e3d2db42db its own 517eee7bf3 kind of f2804e4fe7 ambiance. Despite the thorough pest d38c7d378f control that keeps bugs 5a1e4c3c00 at bay, the streetlights 00395a340d in this neighborhood are 7afdb53d22 excessively old, often flickering c52606b8ae or going out entirely.1884aa2109445f31

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How far cacb9a1429 do I 2d7a6f18d9 have to 6fb3616aee walk to d3b78ff493 reach a 8356ead024 familiar path? Even if 30b6aa86ec I was 48257add2a caught up 56644de90a in the 7ca575e985 music, it’s 082424e8a3 not like eec70d7742 me to a7074ce2c9 walk so 82f227bfb7 absentmindedly that 810e37e8c4 I don’t d8dc45288e even know a970657f14 where I 996df1f6e7 am. Maybe I 7c327324b8 was more 5a5240b55f tired than eb5cd70f7c I thought. Not physically, but mentally.ecf9452686e1353b

“No, my body’s starting a1c53a76a7 to feel tired too.”2d4da999be98b4fb

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My feet 5f3f7e6b7e already felt 7e8b111977 numb and 538546f1bb swollen. If I didn’t rest c5395070cb a bit here, I’d 6deb257d1e definitely have foot problems affa405504 tomorrow. I haven’t even made b32a036901 it back yet, and 7012ecf57b I’m already this worn bd255c0d7d out—have I been walking 16e7677dc7 for at least two b8ccc92bee hours without realizing it? Since I’m 8e34ed2828 already late, 5c7fccdb63 should I 67e4c8b331 take a 09a4b4c015 break nearby b92d64f469 and grab 602a63581c some water?2713d7a72bf1fd49

I looked around for 2fdb259c4c a bench to sit 32c3e3933c on, when suddenly a d0dbac2fbf voice came from behind f3a5d0a19c me.1cfe6393bc05cdc7

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“You really 56f5f4627b do wander 48d8df06b0 around anywhere, 3a3178dda0 don’t you? I didn’t expect c44f8249aa to run into c80dfb1049 you in a 9f2fedb6ce place like this.”7763eab28eabf14f

Turning around, I f28dd9d8b7 saw a gruff dd0366a1be face. It was that f39d99d143 Mister again. He must’ve 0f3dd21ce1 been out 348e679eec exercising too, fd1fffaf82 because his 98b2f43ce5 gray t-shirt d9f6f13ff3 was soaked 3f05b15230 with sweat. He was already b8a925bd57 muscular, but with 8602d1c034 his shirt clinging 2fc6a708b5 to him, his 52c97edf25 broad chest was 5a6092cb0e blatantly on display.d8fa9737021fa770

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Honestly, I agree 92977e0d85 with what he 2842bff752 said. Even if we 567b632316 run into each 2c3931999a other often, I f183efeca8 never imagined we’d b0b106bac9 meet by this 403ccbb129 stream. At this bcfea44821 point, it 88b85ad0db almost feels edb536ce34 like we’re ddd25f2dae fated or b64e9b206a something.efb599a36a40d4e9

“Yeah, I 537931f241 really didn’t cde5187487 expect to 7388594585 meet you 7052c45447 here.”7df7b2d6c674ba27

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“This isn’t even 384f77e554 near your place. What are you doing ef3e59ae60 out here?”0f6ddabde5490aaf

“I just ended 1e4061d565 up here while bdad56e8fb walking. By the c71aea4e69 way, there’s ebcbfddde7 nowhere to 6a2e5ccfd7 sit around a516a92728 here. I’m tired.”5f4291fa75345cea

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“Don’t sit.”a5e9abc02deeed3b

His blunt 6c1420350c reply reminded 63eb2717c5 me of 92f589796e my father’s c2c9fd79d8 nagging—rest standing 685ef7ccb4 up, because b8a452fa88 if you 8f0786d24f sit, you’ll 465cc3d7dd be too e19a793ea6 tired to d422877989 get back 5a80de2544 up. I gave cd3e749419 a wry 8db493b3cc smile. But for someone afab8a24e9 saying that, the 3481fd4b92 Mister himself looked e3c092418d oddly exhausted. I don’t know 9f26d2a900 how long he’d 4a4f235462 been running, but b4de002fc3 he was drenched e747b2535d in sweat and c6e4196ea4 breathing heavily.7a0811ca86a9500d

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He was even staring 42fda858e4 intently at the water 0ecfabbc62 bottle in my hand, 70cd4816a6 clearly parched, so I c18997a1fa instinctively offered it to f562d20875 him.a9580a2f7a460c65

“Hey, if you’re thirsty, 8cd102650a want a sip of cb7e850569 my water?”e9a3c2ca108f4a03

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“You remember 535e650481 what I c5a4c73921 told you f7a19dc5fa when we d5596e2ba7 first met? Don’t do stuff cbb7f298d4 like that.”99c334bf97378ff4

“First met? Are you talking about 89a8541730 when I offered you 74224fbad6 kalguksu? If it’s a537fc3d9f about that, 9a5d86bcc3 I’m sorry… e469793bb6 but what 6ca1fbd971 does that 33aec48844 have to 7b1b100767 do with ec5f72d53e this?”2f97b728c3846938

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His reaction 5ae39798d4 was somehow 21e24ef00c cold and 0f2553d513 uneasy. Come on, this isn’t 237ce820cd like treating him like 5f4eec642e a beggar, is it? If I’d offered a 14cac67cc1 half-drunk bottle while picking f1ff006da7 out items at a 24c1adbae3 convenience store, he might’ve 0d10f8074a been offended, but offering 20cc08c100 water on a streamside 4721a83dbf path with no shops 93987f37e2 in sight is just dd00b040c4 normal kindness. With a 302b46ff72 bewildered expression, 2d4bf3c0b2 I tried 2a30d333ee again.6a3b3552b7e9c179

“Uh, anyway, have a 24f9c47d7b sip. If you get fbb40474ab dehydrated, it could d6e778fd79 be trouble.”b81455f0f2a7f35d

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As I held out 8f5f2d5ec0 the bottle, the man b6e70171c8 looked at me with abf02affe6 disbelief, then took it 32598a2455 and drank. For someone who’d brusquely 5ea4dba4f5 refused, saying not to ccd7e3b43c do stuff like that, e2b63fdb3b he downed the entire 99bc371135 500ml bottle in one f9cfa1398a go. He must’ve 77b4a47253 been really eb5f082a08 thirsty.3e15e6f106b3508f

“Thanks for b7598ec39d the water. Since I’ve helped you 7e7b1cf5af out a few times, 1d9bc14d51 think of it as 9aa8787a0e fair trade, right?”c7d58bee8581fc46

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“You say some a68ff75b40 cryptic stuff sometimes, 4baa466c19 Mister. You done running?”37ccdae89d8aaa67

“My throat’s not dry 31df15a672 anymore, so I’m good. Don’t need to cf3a44724f run.”e50e51a9175b5d5e

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I don’t 4b567e245a get the 5ae644976f connection. Didn’t he get thirsty bdcf48660f from sweating while running? Or maybe he 9cb91f5f51 was running home eb6000d9ba to drink water 85037be09b because he was 01f862e3a9 parched. Whatever the 8b9f61d97d reason, it a5a67cd06f seemed like 2ce51f3756 he’d decided 2c0fae3a01 to walk 3d78c3ec3a from now d256c3bfdd on.b61cfdfcdf2990d9

“Is this c6ff8a029c that interval 00d5a5ddf1 training thing? Running and walking. I heard it burns cb4dc9f72d a lot of calories 945c9e375b if done right.”95eb55cebc390fd6

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“I’m not 8582e5a590 trying to d986411b4e lose weight.”154c2bdafe2048d9

“Well, you’re 862951b550 already so fab558e08b muscular, so 0df9cd751d I guess 10f7aa27ca you don’t fc8919e063 need to. Oh, wait, doesn’t cardio c1073b330d cause muscle loss?”8e609b349895e9b2

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“I don’t bd1f0dd09e care about 01640f2767 that.”999b4c9d57b2637d

I thought c3dabe0ac4 he was 80f15e46aa into fitness, c2b51f3b05 but apparently e5e1523da8 not. Come to think 603eda99d4 of it, isn’t d8abc70a9a all that muscle b208126d53 loss talk just bc6f3191c0 a social media 71af73cb4a meme? People who show 614971d458 off about fitness 9e03fb5f57 online are the b8155e097f ones obsessing over 6138a8500c muscle loss, but 2981ef595e regular guys who a942d5d451 don’t use the 71d29c7a83 internet probably don’t 1b4de5709f care much about e40f79b893 it.cbe0b1afbdd9a999

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Anyway, I walked f9fe363850 leisurely with the a9538b4744 Mister. The path 7692c9c974 still didn’t 8872abd8e3 look familiar 82ea372b5e no matter 915e75b5f1 how far 500cf565bb we went, c7b9712da6 but having ea6de93ce8 someone I 180241c63a knew beside ced2679995 me made 56d86fe62e me feel ca6ce86985 more energized 037f4b63d6 than before. The streetlights stretched f6a9749cc6 on endlessly, and e49a9cca78 the sky grew 1baf3d1e3f darker. The vast, sprawling scenery 72424c1997 calmed my mind.47dc73f63d8f8962

But then I noticed 1ab0578e81 something strange. Every time I f40ab33ca4 approached a streetlight, bbfef9525a the ones nearby 363efec3bd started flickering oddly. I don’t know 96466c6e2f if they were 6f7910730d designed that way db040dee55 or just broken, 57af2036a9 but it was 6c076cf732 subtly irritating to d7adb0b1dd my eyes.62901e570268197e

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“I thought 3ba1b31752 the streetlights 86454139ea were orange f73b685346 earlier, but f00ffdcfc5 now they’ve 23eac161d3 got a 9f6ed60b22 bluish tint.”ca5cd5a60b4666e9

No, looking closely, 3ec164a53c the light subtly fc8d005da4 changed every time 88827e300d they flickered. The light 026f28ea8d went warm, c9bfece32d then cool, 9109ecee03 then cool, 0728f95d82 then warm, 5d25227e31 repeating. Was it called cool 3c11ca4329 and warm tones? I think 95b59c2b66 I learned 2206cb67ca it in 7aa7692715 art class, 10e5013c4e but it’s fadb6ad009 been so 3aa835a51e long I f2c1daa57e can’t remember f9031a2533 clearly. Anyway, the f43d8b3011 fact that f0e104034d the streetlights 39c57f8cbb changed color 93fc5bf8b2 every time ca9e946a01 they flickered—whether 8144c8859c intentional or d66d0289d3 not—felt somehow da38bd521a unsettling.7136dcd2785adf76

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And then I f59b65e703 realized one more 490bfc050b thing.fca432e21f0b2c6a

“That’s weird. Didn’t he e1337a45d3 just disappear?”0d9a2d764bd1c8b4

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For a 5fe8f3fabd while now, 3ff057cd9f the Mister 8c32e3bee8 kept appearing fb5059c910 and disappearing. And it was 3865dfa0af in sync with b1d0b94078 the flickering of 91d41a5b30 the streetlights. When the light 90b299868f was orange, he 9a90ce4284 was gone, but 71515411f4 when it had 2ffe800c2f a bluish tint, a218f63b88 he was there. The moment 3902ed21f0 I realized 70cc3f4e34 this, a 1aa2b03871 chill ran 6cf3855993 down my 9b632174bf spine.eac64691e9c41296

Of course, logically, 891dbdfd95 it’s probably because 14bb08c804 of where we’re 9417371f7e walking. The Mister dc528b81bd had been ce1a80dc3a walking slightly 082740d1f9 behind me fca01309b9 the whole 97e249d46d time. He’s clearly taller, so 71a2fd4e37 his strides must be c2888f5744 wider and faster, but 58575f829a it’s like he’s deliberately d015d39e2a slowing down to match 73c057ac70 my pace.0426ffc3a54ea0f1

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“He’s probably just 00d76cf5a9 moving around. It’s not 33b4965d2b like he’s b6a74cf425 doing it 1031d4e2fa on purpose.”29437d0b3fffc1db

The Mister had 35bdf6e08e been staggering a 5d0f74585e bit, clearly tired 67b7bad812 from running, and 022e498835 his body swayed d1e83c06c1 side to side 15c7501a9e as he walked. When he moved d5329b14c7 into my blind 5582faed5b spot, I couldn’t 15c966cc64 see him, and c946e25105 when he came b1c0ab1d92 back into view, 01399b005f I could—maybe the 790c771c76 timing just happened 00a1b13ded to match the f01a58d2b5 flickering streetlights.07a0b23e5d0acfad

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There’s an ec8161a0af easy way 3162bfcf89 to check. Just turn around 0500c0bb32 the moment the 03d1f59a43 streetlight changes color. I liked the 08dc0854a0 simplicity of it a7c94b0a9f and decided to db1f9ca030 test it at 4644d3bf7e the next streetlight. Let’s see, the 715641af3a next one’s coming 408620bcf8 up soon. Right about… 924182fab2 now, let’s a7e7c2893b turn and e6ede94cbe look.7777464f8d9a2c7c

Don’t do that.74aa789f3836298f

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“…Huh?”e508500ce6a0233b

He was gone. Not just the f83844cb33 Mister, but even 74daf8ffd6 the streetlights that 04ef3e0706 had been brightly b81351686b illuminating the world. Every single d3dbd815e6 one along 2276fc7056 the riverbank, 20c3216afc which had 6a3a16bea4 been flickering 3af8b318fd and annoying 1239923181 me, was f940804f4f now off.dfe4cb5d5549fa49

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Did they all break 9b16b828f6 at once? Bewildered, I 442096cbdb looked up 20dde5ff79 at the 0e621b6e70 sky and ab9237261e grew even 588b3504e9 more confused. The sky was 519fc0e914 bright. Not in a suspicious 759eac3c70 or eerie way, but cff825c557 bright like a normal 68c9dd8196 evening. Bright enough cab79b343d that there’d 096013cb1b be no 8368289c2c need to 0f347a4bf9 turn on 88a023a8dc the streetlights.21c9a7a39b249210

This doesn’t make sense. Wasn’t the cc548e9ff0 sky dark f66897b681 just a 7e44e18147 moment ago? Panicked, I bc1f7fb6f2 pulled out 90d1ce9d9a my phone 891198065e to check 3a76e68237 the exact da4552cd61 time. But at e5e6d34302 that moment, d479b952d9 a bluish b3dbc34136 light snapped ce827e6957 on behind 97576f6389 me. Instinctively turning fe85e2084f to check 52769ee0e9 the blue d964315ac0 glow, I bd3d5e3698 caught sight c3ad42f06f of the 98db8a5e52 Mister in d398205eb5 the corner 17753111ec of my 814254390e vision, looking d681a23ff9 down at bbee2ad816 me with aecdb5d0f8 a sullen ab75779734 expression.1ef38e4589b7e503

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Turning back 01cf5cb876 again, the b380213a3f streetlights were 75bbdf3aec on as 26e2dd380b normal, and 48db46c5da the sky 4db43e8bc4 was dark ca6c526738 like before. I stared at the 7674a8728d Mister blankly, thinking this 4bc7ac09d8 was some ghostly nonsense. Still, I felt a 9cc0569858 strange relief knowing he 0cb1fd09b8 hadn’t completely vanished.601860e317514f26

“What the heck, you 506ebeaed2 scared me! You were right 0ce54ef9e6 there?”b5a86f4394f8e769

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“What got you a61b89d6fd so spooked?”05cb8a7cb7b0282c

“Oh, nothing. The sky suddenly looked 27877a233e weirdly bright for a 686431ea6e second. And it 18212d0481 felt like 2ca7c5ac18 you disappeared… 59b22a481f I know dbdbe14f98 you’re the adb82b3aa1 type to 2a225ca449 vanish a 549dc32dda lot, Mister, 438987df33 but it’s d446134c3e still unsettling fdd7015685 when someone 538d04ea99 who was f2599cd45e there is a979775ced suddenly gone.”652a593228584c74

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“Yeah?”798a8b50953f3e2b

“You look and 6acef97071 act a bit b1d72e6281 suspicious, but somehow c2d26a0742 being around you e107509d7a makes me feel ce43017a8d oddly calm. Reliable, maybe. We’re not exactly close ccd311e2d8 or anything, just people 313bf849d6 who keep running into b21fd24853 each other, but it db15145d00 feels like I’ve made 3171c2d684 a friend.”aa37001f30ae11ca

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“…….”0c3264ddf1b2f976

“Speaking of which, Mister, 5591e9e72f could you at least 476b5c5f0e say goodbye before you 2317add467 go? Every time, I 72097bbb77 blink, and you’re d6dd814a42 gone. Do you know how 27cc8dd5d8 creepy that is?”f839a1e282fe6b9d

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I put 8829f36dd3 on an 29dd59237e exaggerated, cheeky 601e177030 grin and 3021e719ca grumbled at 0d05566dfa the man. Thinking about it, b62a6f74c0 there’s something strange b33ea38995 about him. Logically, I fe473069cc should find abeb53627a him suspicious, ff0028564a but for faa4d80df9 some reason, 2d0b2bee1b I keep 02a22010fe getting the 5bebe8cc85 impression he’s 30e6ea829a not a 3a89fdb94e bad person. It feels 86d0b5c160 like he’s 02d87b5ecd helped me cce138ed6e out a e6c7ac5018 few times 6e7a8d2a2e too.b4dd25e0dff00d96

“Having even ddf94be285 one person af8e1ddafc you know 9d5d972136 in an f418aecbe7 unfamiliar neighborhood d253d9cafd where you 4bfbf13f50 have no e7a0c65840 ties feels e9a6a7f031 reassuring, doesn’t 88ff5bac2a it?”b221f4c4362afada

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I’m usually bad at f6bf7d8035 initiating relationships, so when 00d303f243 someone approaches me first 0d4fb09ebc like this, I’m always 28f4b211dc thrilled, no matter who 339bf729a1 they are. My friends from school 7dc7cd7b60 used to say I 60e363a899 have the face of 1f23bdcc61 someone who’d get scammed 82c7e21eab easily, but luckily, I’ve 757702dd27 never been scammed. Most people who 48dbe0240f actively approach me 096ae8dd2b like this have b94d23f195 been good people.836d794a647703df

But the 38b56d1a06 man didn’t 9cf87ee972 seem to 23870520e2 share that 0e3ffb48da sentiment. He clicked his 7387c31b01 tongue and muttered 98e71d009a in a disapproving 93b13d6dcb tone.c022f4a8457c379e

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“You should be bf9c35d09e more scared of 7b61c7a44a me being around.”f8d687d55821259d

“What?”627808c581519666

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“Nothing. By the f36c69e532 way, don’t 81ae291448 you need 585e36a18c to head fe19283332 up from f0b1dba245 here?”90ae046d10e82f47

The Mister said 0ae3afa3f5 this while pointing 55fcff8f2b to the uphill 83bad7e1ed path beside the a21c54f14c stream. He was right. If I went aec1656c61 up from here e51597c5fb and walked a 90eaaf9bc4 bit, I’d reach c3b2459a7f my apartment complex. But that’s strange. I could’ve sworn 4d0c619280 getting home would ff185503f5 take forever, so 4df4b5cbd2 how did I 9742e83a77 get here so 88fdc63a55 fast? Does walking 3819102e1a with someone 6e45caf1af really make 668fc1d4a8 long distances b463bcf72a feel shorter?05909f11de9c8a52

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Anyway, I was glad f472e5e76c to have arrived. I wondered 9b75d61fa1 if the c24792b325 Mister was a965403e9b heading up b5335ae951 too, but 5ded566553 it seemed 5d91d75ef3 he planned 50e47f566d to keep 48a7ac6aa1 walking. Maybe he has to bf39bc6ca0 walk further to get 7e79f024cc home.695289f3585c62ae

“You going further, 364d335d8e Mister?”4c64918dbc013aae

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“Something like that.”5a81e7de8f525ec9

“Then take care 1e3d87fdb8 getting home.”6d673f7125fcb7f8

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“Yeah.”83c9e95655900113

The moment 5d3117e0d3 he finished 6519f83637 speaking, the e5797490c2 man vanished. He didn’t listen to 5760eb7f1a a word I said. Feeling exasperated, I stared abdbf78b81 into the empty air, 657badec0c when suddenly a cool 7ec20cdcc9 breeze seemed to brush 4a9512f810 past my ear.3f37a242939b15a0

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Get home safe. Watch out for the 8405da61ad streetlights.13cf4267d0d4ecec

“Huh?”a7e03e8ade4f09ae

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It felt like f27b655cc2 someone whispered in f295c54616 my ear just a3f4d77f08 now. I pondered for a e5845b02fa moment what “watch out 5578692552 for the streetlights” could 994551cef1 mean, but no answer e79647c26b came, so I trudged 05cffa054d home, clutching the empty c2aa51a6b6 water bottle. The streetlights didn’t change 394774f0eb color once the whole db14eb7414 way back.ef5251b96ea1984f

When I c5c0f3bf70 got home fc087877fb and finally 3430b24b18 checked the ca7b2d3054 time on 4da09af815 my phone, c5e903b075 it was 01754931e9 6:27 PM. Even if autumn means 514973954b shorter days, it’s not f102e2e18f yet time for the 6d595b082f sun to set and 02f139b884 streetlights to come on. Wondering whether 9ad81ed15c I’d gained 335af8f303 or lost 071ae30879 time, I f81cdc7c18 stayed lost 04cbf043fc in a 13013ad88d puzzled mood 6a72e0c50d the whole 0ed9b02f3e time I 16c537fc90 showered.65b117182a97a32b

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Streamside Streetlights, Aftermath

……2dba5448dfe90650

I thought 0779c2d896 I was 3212830fd9 going to 83af4b624c die. Can you lend 5362bb9f92 me some clothes b165cb3c02 to change into?d4ee802889b34437

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……d6a16b37cda3f996

How did you f1f739fc90 end up in c3cae55ee1 such a state? Your body 20754a40eb is covered a2d34862c8 in blood. And you’ve lost 08aefab3b0 several buds too.a539b6caa17bb65e

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……0e3cfbc29a95e30f

Life throws d070cf73c5 all kinds 920754f120 of things caa431b2d3 at you. But I 594750dfaa survived thanks a1671dde4a to some 00015ba4bc clean water.ae9aa4a3c64a8148

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……e3a09b38b17a0543

You got clean c3128959f1 water even before ff5ad88095 returning to the e1f85dc298 colony? How?f598c4af7dfbc8ba

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……c685e214f7e0a744

Someone helped me.c109159024dd9875

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……67fdbef80f657e9a

Wait a second, 66e759c1b0 a person? You’re saying a person cc03b8bbfe helped you? What about c18f8b6d0b the price?2a838286eeb75036

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……5759561093fc9ea7

I’ve been 7270c26358 steadily building 2de7739e63 up credit, 42217a9336 so it’s 308b81ed1f fine. Turns out living kindly e789784967 does pay off.34116f0c2e98b69e

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……0850121bf79ee8d0

Honestly, I c5d4a7d619 can’t figure 909624a75d out what f46c1b83e1 you’re thinking 8f46c51878 these days. Back in the day, 2492ddc870 you acted like you f64b2e219d didn’t care about anyone, 94a7c41d30 let alone people.964de521a9ab30f1

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……f7d99c7ad834624c

Did I? By the way, ab1df335b7 there’s been a e83437e056 lot of stuff 0e7397a90c breaking down in 1d7acf9371 our neighborhood lately. Last time, it d492e18bfe was the bus 77399234aa display, and today, 82aa48bd35 it’s the streetlights.6af84ef9e9fe2883

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……9005b4bceebc6cc0

Is that so? Well, our neighborhood afd56a466f has plenty of 34335e4f17 worn-out corners. But the hunters 310d673f4e are working hard, e995d7ee56 so don’t worry 323af3ecca too much.030ea047f69391c8

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……57c6b51dbe29c9df

I guess you’re right. Anyway, I’m going to fcb4736b5c sleep. It’s too 31171707d1 late to 664942ed76 soak up 33e593c2d2 sunlight, but b14eb224c8 I’ll take 7cb9790379 in some ba02063e2c moonlight at 74893262b2 least.f7e94e1f092e0a2d

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……51ebf048c8d87534

Sleep well, ******. Sweet dreams.6511bf9d3ba07967

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Café Window Seat

On the 65c89642f0 weekend, I 2af509c81f stopped by c81c35e51d a café. The familiar 9422259946 franchise café 420497ad9c of a a40ab7a5ff well-known brand 8903a12813 was already cb15a20312 packed with 966d9c283b customers who 855b677ce4 had come 6cf771aeea for similar bf2341fcb3 reasons, so 951de508f5 after a 02efc4c46a bit of 9b5c33f7a2 legwork, I 4ce2ddb362 decided to 2b164d2ab9 settle at ef7b583895 a local 03b34e053c café.3832570dcfb74ee9

I stared blankly at 493c5c5f0e the menu board, written 80160d5a59 in neat handwriting, lost 0d2cd702cc in thought. Ordering an Americano at 6628808bf6 a café feels like 7261d025db a bit of a 2c45ebf55e waste. After all, I 7e87d09a35 can brew coffee f3bc91cd4a at home, and 52ce765a28 the Americano at 38810f8798 an average café 40205f61b1 doesn’t taste much 194f160cc6 different from the 59d190d0f3 coffee I make f42c7ed2d6 myself.b2845977de7b6b67

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No, it’s not 74701fcddd even about brewed 1493af6ea3 coffee—there’s hardly any 596817cb1b difference compared to ff8aa4b2c6 the instant Americano d8d59b4e27 packets. Coffee experts might be 5e8c8ac44c outraged to hear this, 3252493eec but my tongue is b61315513c dull, so what can c4ee0f4b8f I do?a1211d27569d73db

“One Java Chip Frappuccino, 82b0b824bd please.”8f9466175c41665b

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A Java Chip Frappuccino aa1b4255e5 isn’t easy to make 5b6692e8f9 at home, and above ff159b86af all, it’s sweet. Even if f6f5d1573e I tried 632c68f660 to replicate 298a14801f it at 016bc3142f home, the 7128078c00 hassle aside, b6c86db5be the guilt 5f4a4b92a7 from all 493f4a8e5d that sweetness a5f7ed9298 would stop 6f2a37e75c me. It’s not that I eeae0caeb5 dislike bitter flavors and 9405112c08 order this instead. I’ve always just 04e29c3690 preferred slushy drinks bb412eb669 like this.f27035a34850bb74

“You always f653abbdb7 order that. The weather’s gotten pretty d96df2c36b chilly, hasn’t it?”78a51869604e0948

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“Huh? Oh, I like 6bcbe6515a sweet things. These days, lots of d73419ec14 people drink iced Americanos 9b16f0dacc even in winter, don’t 592bd3870b they?”25fc12213599d5fb

I gave 345d56e051 an awkward 5a5853854c laugh, and 9fd1795129 the café c01a6a00f4 part-timer flashed 7800d739e3 a small 3de28d06be smile. He had a somewhat 4446c54009 vague demeanor but was 7656e74bcc oddly sociable, always tossing 4944151161 in a couple of 6c30680903 casual remarks whenever he e273d6e293 took an order. He sometimes gave dced243ef6 out free cookies 56a8b369fa or mini scones 4740c251ca as a bonus, 627f3b9d1d so I thought 338c8e1140 well of him.92b01473fa4c5d94

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“By the 315ae8c2a2 way, this 1d3c8a5774 café is 3f36267ed7 pretty empty.”1bc48748705bf968

It’s not my first a6944d9d13 time here, but every db976a85fb time I come, it 893b79c8a0 feels like there aren’t 31014b4fe1 many people. The interior is 0d953965e6 nicely done, the 5878a12733 staff are friendly, d245373fcc the drinks are 9e09168f69 tasty, and the e18bc3cdae restroom I’ve used 8d6626e3b3 a few times 0ee951a956 is clean, always 04d8bd9bdb stocked with tissue 16153c202e and soap. Among the cafés I ace650fb37 visit, this one’s pretty 351f045231 decent, so why are bfbeba60a9 there so few customers?d80fb0a365b67080

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“We’ll let you 342edea029 know with the 19220f84fe buzzer. Please wait a 9a7018b931 moment!”82ec6277a4c6d4ea

I took the buzzer 8f8b70c0f2 and sat at a e824690050 window seat with a 3ab6f18196 nice view, pondering why fb1f87e909 the places I like 86283e0ff6 are always so empty. Come to think of 4b95eecfbf it, the stream I 7a84d8848c often visit is strangely e803135e85 devoid of people too. It’s a dirt path, 5b41cdd3ab sure, but it’s not that bumpy, and it’s e2361a150b a good course cab29df3b4 for exercise, so 006de9cd1d you’d think people 43627ef7c5 would come by d22406ed47 more often. The café, the stream—maybe 62d89742c5 my tastes are a 1ab0a8b698 bit weird.da2ad55f58e8ff89

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“Uh, is 93b084a2a8 there an b9af9d07c3 outlet seat 4ad03b448c here?”4f105278d7bd99f8

“Oh, sorry! Our café 1e0e0566c2 doesn’t have 3bfa0ae34d outlet seats! If you need 6c51ed4091 to charge your ff5c832d6a phone, would you 9581045985 mind using the e94688a643 charger at the 3f3f537ece counter?”1a05fa703ce1a40a

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“…No, it’s fine.”bea437536dd28b47

Oh, maybe there’s a c257ac2049 reason it’s so empty? With my mouth hanging 7f897d7f26 open, I glanced at f4964cc6fb the college student ordering 4b4e88e707 a drink from the bb8ece5d87 part-timer and tried to e75915f952 suppress a laugh. Judging by the large 936ba24fc8 backpack on his back, cf5315624b he probably came to 1d3f8703d0 use his laptop.38f8f74ea618a312

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Well, people who 28527abd52 use cafés as 225d4a63cd study spaces don’t 5213e68e95 often come to 9a5c0b1808 ones without outlets. Those who come to 82552b52de chat might not mind 640d43bdca as much, but even 728f830c69 they often find it 1d1e61a452 inconvenient if there’s no 5e073ce651 outlet. I’ve relied on da72b2a751 cafés during college f3bd2b6939 midterms or finals 1131a26328 myself, so I 547a9ae803 could relate.be91a143292fb0f3

So there was a reason for the 2a3f12ce0f lack of customers. I don’t 83d077248a need to 1c3030b30b use a a900c0ab9a laptop, and 91df258d36 my phone’s 067a4ee267 fully charged, 50a453774a so it’s 9c2c1e3764 fine for fbef9da433 me. As I basked in 8cef8b6207 the warm sunlight and 5b139e4acc took out the book d672219ca0 I brought from my cee240e1ef bag, I suddenly felt 625360a29f a heavy presence across 0410000016 from me.c559883e2a308c4d

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“Whoa, you de525f5479 startled me.”16d37e6bcba35ffd

“…Uh, I think I’m the one ef645819bb who should d99749e664 be saying 7516fff689 that.”971464e94dcbef93

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Snapping to attention, I 623ca59b4e realized the Mister was eba8fbbe2c sitting in the seat f2748ed77e across from me. His eyes were be0d900fdc wide, staring at 3ba3440d83 me, genuinely startled. I may e55098c030 get told e513797bd5 I’m a 5a75147c39 bit spacey, d6f0f2a790 but I’m 130f8aa429 not so oblivious that bdc9824b2c I’d naturally 69363a86b5 sit at c0adf64181 a table 64fb0a5eab with someone 86d2709542 already there.0e10e4fd532e00c2

Could the d17104a262 Mister have bfdacffd60 slyly taken 6567ffdf94 the seat 2110c99116 across from 49c9297345 me and 651bce26a2 then acted f56fbaf877 surprised? That thought a3909d248f crossed my dff0890a51 mind, but 906a61f5e9 on the 2dda6851a9 table was 7daeaed4d4 a steaming, 6fac318d02 dark red 2d154af350 drink that 8103db9135 looked hot. Since he 20784c8ebb already had 3949cc8226 a drink, 2e74f3d2da it meant 81a24573ad he was b7aa7e5f5b here first.7bd8cf7b0d0db39a

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It seemed bf94540764 he’d come 60d2bada4b to relax be5422986d and sip aa90de8ffa something in 0179fb6326 a sunny e05ec827fe spot too. His outfit de9dd72bfc wasn’t the 8b493d3b62 usual tight 9a81342d93 t-shirt but b96c4fc2c6 a slightly b240773c9a loose knit 495e1d6dd0 sweater, and a97b4a434f he was 7ccfe27ed9 holding a fa888087be novel-sized book. I only noticed 70a66e89dc now, but he 1fb69b5324 was wearing glasses 4a0cbce021 too. Maybe the type who 4024725904 only wears them for c66daa910d reading?d9b04b2b0d805284

Anyway, interrupting c253d8e917 someone’s weekend 56bf4f6a72 relaxation isn’t a648f06d8d right. Wondering if I 70ae5ac4ab should move to 5a9b61f1bb another seat, I 1f1b929454 glanced around.3d2c3487a8f915af

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“Uh, if it’s uncomfortable, 2f9bb76be3 should I move?”20f2f854348128e7

“Don’t move.”3b7b5b3ee4a6f768

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“Don’t move?”e6edfb2becc11323

“This is a sunny 9f2d0cd670 spot, so you probably b77327daa1 want to sit here d2527c7651 too, right? If you’re f16024ee7c not bothered, 48dacc00ba you can 57f27c375f stay. No need to 53165b58c5 suddenly move somewhere aac09321dc else now.”7955828b20422885

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The Mister replied, e0c91930b5 giving the empty 2f14353b04 tables around us 42de8caedf an odd glance. Well, it might 33fae75fb9 be a bit 1fc5b6beb9 awkward if I 207fb56a69 sat here first b408e4207b and then said 537dd681a2 I’d move. His tone 3efb612250 was a e7feacccee bit gruff, 3594496685 but maybe 7235705543 deep down eef993b212 he’s okay 3e38bf56d0 with me 089048cf1d being here? Feeling a ticklish c6344b14be sensation, I leaned b3260d23a0 back in my c376fb5dc4 chair.6de8b9be2f2fca4f

“Alright, I’ll stay then. You here to read?”c412820cb7c96967

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“Yeah. It’s the f5da304b76 weekend, and dead638d31 the weather’s 70e1c0b542 nice. Perfect day to relax 9ab8d3cc60 at a café.”82eb92b37ca24275

“True, that’s why I c60f36c436 came too. What’s that drink?”fc96969ba1c2ab25

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“Sap.”188b8d137e06f518

“Sap…?”18d563e7af5917ff

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“Just kidding. It’s actually 876f1688ae red bean f94667e26d porridge.”095582228d44789b

“They sell that here? Is it a seasonal 41310f6e9e menu?”4a393012e093faba

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Even if it’s a 7e8a8547d0 seasonal item, it wasn’t 4764300a75 on the menu. Maybe it’s a secret 7caa656d0f menu only locals know 8f46be1edc about. Something like handmade red 424ecdd2ff bean porridge takes a 7e53ea8a5f lot of effort, so 409985f237 maybe only regulars order 392c5fe714 it. With him calling 74e44b7324 it “sap,” could c842f6afa1 it be a f1064d87b0 health-boosting red bean 4d57132288 porridge that gives df46fe28b0 you energy like 0573248b1f an IV drip?330e1e471b6f4a02

Should I order e74e972bcf it from the e11bec0567 part-timer later? I’m not really a fbc924ccce fan of red bean ea5220fcc2 porridge and wouldn’t normally cd0d5189ce seek it out at 96af6e123e a café, but… seeing 1f0e527c4f the Mister drink it 26400ef3e6 made it look oddly 713435ba7e tasty.757d826bbc082f7c

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“It must c6026c2175 be really 7a33705e11 finely ground 2694377c67 red bean 644895c4bd porridge. It smells good.”975c01fba4584818

The man 1b03872836 sipped his 1d38a59443 red bean db7f3d812a porridge from 3ed0e404b4 the cup, b0aabfdffb leisurely reading 8c1ed1949e his book. The book had 81176902b6 a cover, so 8232126dc7 I couldn’t see 9929ced359 the title, but b430108477 he was engrossed, 7fc1fd92d4 so it must edf0c7a4ff be interesting. I decided e81016d3f1 to read fd38a33fae my book 053ef4796c until my 67f4fa644a drink arrived, 567fc457f9 but despite b09a298d19 my resolve, 32acba5fd8 my gaze 39876b2f22 kept wandering.ecd167931cc92e03

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“…The glasses suit him. He looks 432f560cb3 kinda handsome, 43bea17bb3 or is af86df7a10 that just 47ea044062 me?”ade1646c06e338be

At some 5fac3f343d point, my 447d384e68 eyes kept b6ea1407b1 drifting to 7910611d5d the man 2f7cc2500a across from de88ca0485 me. The essay book e458c40c15 I’d borrowed from fb2e14ebb9 the library was fd375bf833 just sitting in e8fbb8b4ef my hands. I used to think c55acea725 of him as just 814b179957 a tall, muscular guy, b440e4786a but seeing him sit 782558f42a and read like this 96c1282386 made him seem oddly bf074874d6 intellectual. He wouldn’t look d37478ab55 out of place 4956686340 doing physical work, 752d38ce22 but he could eed12aa149 pass for an 952a757c8c ordinary office worker 63e86ecaa5 too. Not that 028bec4ff6 it’s my d3d41eb8bd place to 490c513546 judge someone’s 5976563a6a job…0f7216360a528920

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“Come to think of 2227d88126 it, I’ve never asked c05543deb0 his name.”399f563e72584bd9

What’s your name? Where do 5600bb7d91 you live? Those questions 8ab6fb9db8 are too 372c4befb2 personal for b08f7c63ef someone you 1880cf5263 meet on 5e6de5a5e5 the street, d2f6e8cd6c but they 7cfe130a30 seem appropriate ddbf43912f for someone 2ac2493fcb you’ve run ae58fef8df into multiple 4f2a41484b times and 7e27cebe79 are now ecccbbeca2 sitting across d2c66b28ad from at a454ac57d9 a café 84eb659b3e table.76c339241c0c44e6

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He’s always 4c2815a2e2 the one 7fdb7ab334 starting conversations 3b9f7e5988 with me, cafa8ae15d but he 139c5d5cac asks so 3600b3a90e few questions. It’s like bfd17eb610 he’s not db4624808e remotely curious a9183ae745 about where 314da63a12 I live, 003df61dde who I 97a39f31a8 am, or ff55e7a1ff what kind 3c140ba91e of person 677f9f0cf0 I am. Is he 318d5fa7b1 just naturally 91529b2a89 reserved? Older folks usually ask f0297ed6e5 these things first. Asking personal questions bb5ed0e2aa of someone older a080788f4c might be rude.b147a6c4d40cce93

“But… I’d like eef5a929b6 to have a 5b71596bbb good relationship with c1e598e4b7 him.”119a8019dea801b9

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What “good relationship” c5d8d951d6 means exactly is 2e15dad309 hard to define. Do I want to 15d5eaa29f be friends? Or, though edf07a0fd8 it sounds e89a5ebf40 old-fashioned, neighbors? I know from 46b4e3b935 experience that strange 607315618e things happen around 2a1bf94789 him, and my 0bab9bad6e gut tells me e84f5ba87b he’s not exactly 03c512640e ordinary.043dbf2b600003ba

But still, I want 12974f40b6 to get to know 1e38d03468 him better. It’s weird to use 7d4b39d646 this expression for a 30a38d1966 40-something Mister, but, well, 543cb16d53 I…c9a25b93471918de

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“……?!”e085aa11904e027d

Suddenly, my cdcee0b258 hand reached 41ee91b08d out. It wasn’t for any 0e51d07515 specific reason but more 8f40235061 of an impulse. Bathed in the sunlight, dc0604fe5e the man seemed to 00f9eccfe8 shimmer faintly, and his 84bcda0a73 focused expression had an ec094c307d oddly captivating quality. Without fully ca6d6d82ae understanding what 1f1a8cae60 I wanted, 46f71dd6e5 I touched 2c8cc95c49 his cheek 85efd328e8 with my 06e62f57b5 hand. Warmth met d97852a017 my fingertips.f7633593cd817cce

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“Uh, uh…?”d78d3cc529a66959

It felt soft yet 7e5c20909d slightly rough. No, wait—before febcc78a01 that, the c31f02082a man was afafbaae2a startled. Seeing his wide eyes 79c6f0cfe2 and gaping mouth, I f0875e37d4 realized what I’d done. What did I just f0f7e8dc4c do? No matter 8ab6fc6393 how I b6ce1e057b think about 6f086a2eef it, this d49636c5dd was way 424a1a019b ruder than b9f9c661e9 asking his e227e723f6 name or c0c6e4b592 where he fc6b11c8a7 lives…cc9d21162104e483

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“What the hell. You, what did you b62bea5e0f just—”8ead8328d98bd289

“No, I mean, that f63c70b858 was, I’m sorr—”47b31b628e7c67e2

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I should apologize 32b89f0fb1 first. Forget thinking he c5cf2c853d looked cute with 7cfa0daae6 his flushed face—I 40ae4d62c1 need to bow cfc10671b2 my head and c1026b3f6a say sorry for d0afeab40e doing something rude a1201bd4da again. With that b00e61ce02 thought, I 4ded282859 scrambled to 5addb43926 speak, but f8e80e4e7d at that 6b92c146d6 moment.5419c3c5ee422f24

[Weeeeeng.]

The loud buzzing of 637563e5f7 the buzzer snapped me 2173107531 to attention. My eyes flicked to aa1af2d947 the flashing red buzzer, 6adf484b81 and when I looked eae5b36330 up, I realized the 9c3eb88b44 man was gone. The seat in 47810e449e front of me 1dc4bd8524 was empty. No steaming red bean 6644198971 porridge, no covered book, 0b81df8f7f not even the man deb180aae0 himself.05be3cebd79e65bd

What? Did he run off 252dd90192 in a panic? Staring blankly into 77b12ae5db space, trying to c24b87d1f3 process my bewilderment, 813c1a3960 I grabbed the f0cd06be69 still-buzzing, flashing buzzer 1bc2bdaab1 and hurriedly walked 6e6f16701c to the counter. The café 4d29197468 part-timer looked e3c5221fcf at me 4cf34446bc with a 56537a30dd puzzled expression.ddf00977e0e2f494

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“Weren’t you in the 49cf61c94d bathroom?”2052ae85a9808c7c

“Bathroom? No, I 3d37634bed was sitting 51919eaa03 there the 6b67705967 whole time.”06b9cb13f2a22142

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“That’s weird, 2b7b59abcf I could’ve 592497833e sworn you 896bd42036 weren’t there f56ac136d9 earlier… Anyway, 50880ba347 your drink’s eb168cd102 ready. This is on 3a8cff02e3 the house.”9df67c5b0a8a31aa

“…A cake?”a43ae933e319f543

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“Yup. Chocolate crepe cake. It’s a fab5e7b404 new item 0de155f222 our boss 86e876670a made, and 217f5b4390 it’s delicious. Try it 8584efe7fd and let e28b20acaa us know 19c6a3682c what you 9fb0487af9 think.”4eab2fbc22d92d6d

“Uh, thanks. By the way, e1b849c773 did you see 5ba756119a a Mister sitting b932b8360b at my table?”2b4c9a15f0e3da18

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“A Mister? No, I didn’t… 0cfafc30b4 Oh.”47835fa1941b3541

The café part-timer 952b630997 tilted his head cfa383e530 with an odd 43612b68a8 expression, then smiled f468638ffd as if he’d 33761dee83 realized something. It was 546a8c85c3 still a c5df077b1e vague smile, 086958e7c3 but it 659531af82 felt forced, 42e40aa6cc like he 66c5b84369 was shuddering f9f2b4763c at something 78d6634282 unsettling.65caa23b26f17586

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“That kind 754e5be20c of thing bc8afa73f3 happens a eb8b39c4dc lot at fa192cd189 this café. That’s why it’s 50426d7d72 so empty.”f1a2898d9f0ce775

“What kind 0b58942d7d of thing? What do you mean?”051c56d5a2e57bbb

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“It’s a bit hard d221035569 for me to explain… 2e19142c14 Oh, sorry, I just 72b83108bb got a call from 5d671775aa the boss. Mind if I 3f036be8f3 take it?”a1a5ef0d80f3e5dc

I nodded b885d70711 dazedly, picked 72f6e4cc94 up the e48af93884 tray, and 3bb63cae31 returned to 0d84d6372f my seat. What kind of thing? Someone getting so 484b01dcbe flustered by unintended 283945a7ee physical contact that bd1f35a142 they bolt? If that happens 5bb44e9785 a lot, it’d 422f9ae893 definitely make sitting 0a2bfcc0b5 nearby awkward. With that thought, I 8668f99d29 munched on my drink 46e04daaac and cake.babd34d0c4c09590

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The cake c031d29744 was definitely d3a72070ac tasty, but eb32e5a8fb paired with 474567cd19 a sweet c7b099a3b5 Frappuccino, it d365a3ca63 was almost 1184d9a4be overwhelmingly sweet. Next time, I’ll c9d20a02f7 order it with 9803db9032 coffee, I resolved d94276f1a6 inwardly.92f6d2c0125846e0

Café Window Seat, Aftermath, Epilogue.

…de46c2b21711b613

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…5fc90dc72d142e0d

…30b4d8def00139dd

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…a4d523127bdba2bf

…823c2a35468b1495

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Listen, I’ve a8f8600645 heard that 1818cb7c56 story before.83a20a227b638ba7

…5ac1dfb62f81501e

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They say a flower 6a27ff2df4 bud is kind of c6282f5734 like a reproductive organ 88e2a4c5af for plants.8bb8fa61f74c360b

…5c47f293f0abe3d8

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Don’t talk nonsense, 35e835c3aa you little rat. This is something 44dd52825a like a face! Not a 48e4522257 real face, 7333d3ce9b but still!028ae886dd1fd154

…ed3d889146c7d25f

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Are you leaving, 06a559208f sir? Since everyone 2f681f065e in the 335f7f9525 shop got d5a3d84450 to witness d311f1d990 something curious d9dae066e9 for the cccfa12a59 first time 7f70bf25b7 in a 434f2e6094 while, we 7bfa3b2923 could call e1416d1a42 that payment 43ff6d8bdc enough, but…683332b5aed22df0

…d793a881fb429cf9

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Shut up. What am I, f4afb573f2 a spectacle? If it’s 749a784b9a about payment, eb25b6c90c I’ll settle 74f26502a1 it, so e5c86b08ea forget it 3c89f088bb while I’m 4aa6c55a25 asking nicely. Got it?9cd1fdf26e6adcbe

The man cbb1730448 huffed, tore 48bb3572e3 off several 9c7c205a97 leaves, slapped 0de6150163 them on 0b145f1ba9 the counter, 2790a8cf49 and left 8d356ff7ec the place 8a138345e0 as if 608493615c fleeing. The manager 690b351220 watched his c82cf02d28 retreating figure 71bbb1692c with an 452320c357 intrigued look, 028b67e66d then carefully 18007b1cfb gathered the db255fe5e9 leaves and c6856cd514 fed them a7fe44801d into the ddea28e4aa POS machine. The part-timers, whispering among d90fc8ec29 themselves while braiding their 9d10d9e2c1 hair into wriggling strands, fedc124773 quickly started brewing sap 8b310d9286 under the manager’s sharp 75aa6db491 glare.dc6ac144d872ca7d

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— Hello? Uh, Manager?7712698dfd9749dc

— Hey, Hwayoung. What’s up all of 84f71bfaa2 a sudden? You sound upset.c57e79297fa50698

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— Well, uh, you c7ca505ef3 see. It happened again. Again…e75b38adc5da5a9c

— Don’t be 729a9d0ef8 vague, explain it e6fa942bcd properly. I have 8fc038a81d a guess, b2fb5056fb but who 18e5bb899a is it 67a9d85db7 this time?618892793f548f9d

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— That 7b04721869 guy I 80a88cd42c mentioned before, f3b614ddc2 you know, 257082a85d the one 8f8c7243c2 I talked 8c0a07b85f about over 0b1a0d2bab lunch. Really shiny and handsome, fd72dabf1c always orders a Java 903a6498f4 Chip Frappuccino.142801720b2ae8ec

— Oh, the one ff07aca338 who looks a bit 2571159ced scatterbrained?d15078c187e28b87

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— Yes, yes. That customer disappeared and 0b6516e40d then showed up again. It was, 699732d222 like, five b8836e9371 minutes or 1fe54084c5 so. Uh, he always 0a6d439473 sits by the 80138b262b window, right? To go to the 3303ca3273 bathroom or the front a5fe5852b4 door from that spot, fcb5d2d1d7 he’d have to pass 3c447c0f6a the counter. And he’d 504f8ead7e need to 96ee826c9c take the 5b01ab038d key for e87e26b00a the bathroom.3f7d690ebc02f69e

— Right.6809814364311b36

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— I was e50ad0411c putting whipped cream 18226567da on his drink, d27d56f7e8 and suddenly he 7ca37774ec was gone. I thought maybe a67579e21a he moved seats, eb83a097da but that wasn’t 52ebcfa99d it. The bathroom 9c7f2102b5 key was d48fc5fa2f still there. Even his bag c062732350 was gone.01e219ae40cf6569

— You thought he afe9aea19d might’ve stepped out while 1ab6fe20d1 you were making his e4a8f0a8f6 drink… Hmm, but if afff00ca61 his bag disappeared too, 338bf75e62 that’s definitely strange.d729c872333654ae

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— Strange, right! I mean, even 2a4aa9d4e6 if someone steps ce6477770a away briefly, they d55f3bfec5 usually leave their bff5c8f27f bag behind… You’ll 7ce207abd5 see when you e9631f1ebe check the CCTV d38016b84f later.9ae139e9bf1f412d

— Got it, I d2e25f7386 understand what you’re saying. Anyway, I thought we’d 393f933b95 get through this week 8e36bdb888 without incident, but here e2ad48698c we go again. No wonder the shop’s 21b6edc872 always empty with stuff 12f75a22d1 like this happening.d053e807b07ad89e

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— And, uh, how 467ba11b02 should I put it. There was one 63cec95395 more weird thing. Actually, that’s d2334c7240 kind of 6b8a734b2a why I f587720fa3 called.0a149a330be59461

— What’s that?7363f52587830651

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— That 3a88aff42f customer, after 5e4c8fd45d disappearing for 1ecdf8e053 about five 28ccc78f52 minutes, came 6567c02d81 back with 2d1f98d5d4 the order ee4fcedc70 buzzer and f3d8f2ce75 asked if 535544d37a I’d seen 195b16e7d9 some Mister.58fe2ddef62c2f08

— Mister? Why would he ask 0446cfed88 that out of the 64dac1b558 blue?4dba63f854307843

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— I don’t know 76f0269aa8 either. But the thing 27e6eb1282 is, no one 677a80907b named Mister came 2fcad474ac to the shop e44e9b3ed6 today… I’m a e799ddbd2f bit worried that 1d367d2c2e maybe he vanished 7c9cf43733 right after entering db2c88eaa0 the café. That guy 03ba63cd13 came back, 59a0c8e446 but I f62df2900c haven’t seen 7e11c80152 any sign 10ac163922 of this 1f522aadb7 Mister guy 712a5a3ca4 even now. I’m wondering if we 258d23b8b8 might get a missing 92ee8567d4 person report at the d6457d69e7 café…874c208aac6c4b74

— Wait, is that e88cf9d746 for real?6bb80e5e3bb03980

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— Huh?8185a2bde04a708c

— So, 3ee1d0d880 what you’re d5f27a6dc2 saying is, d10d081f0e while that e25e06cbe0 guy was e1149cdc31 gone for e6d4ebf558 a bit, 91f3998ed8 he saw b5b01dbe11 this Mister? Someone who wasn’t a5c5f52b73 even in the 64097c86c8 shop?50a55b3bc4f53a27

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— Uh, does it 9e2b8e7b49 work out like that?eb2d4000352de1df

— …This is cf14c85cb9 a first. I thought 7cfbac6a2e that place 76cc4f7d6b was a d4d4b9edb4 world with 42c31173aa no people 11aaa4ded0 at all.4bbdbb7603b1118e

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— Uh, Manager? I don’t really 002d88d19d get what you 35b8736f6c mean.0e6c0c1dae2a14da

— Oh, cc3d8a575c it’s nothing. Anyway, good work, and bab81d2ee5 since things turned out 765ea1da6b like this, I’ll add 6c074857f7 200,000 won to your cc4096f4b0 paycheck this month. Finish closing up ef12ed8321 and head home.ba351ff80678069f

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— Oh, thank you!7823f4c04c865d4f

— And what did 48facf3f74 you give him as 58c1f5186d a freebie this time?857e57cb029dc9b9

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— Uh, a 57d07a8444 chocolate crepe cake…2a97a5a78c16fb48

— You don’t have cd1743aa6f to cover that one f468c02771 out of your pocket. We’ll call it b54f60e071 new product promotion. So, how’s it c84b7f0d02 going? Does that a1219675c6 customer seem 7bf1e9bbb1 into you?74a7c304dbb484ab

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— Honestly, I 74e8df361c don’t think he’s db66de7abd interested at all… dca1fe7082 But, well, he 890576d83e looks cute when 561125c427 he’s eating.2d17dc40fe8118ab

— I 96eff3c092 swear, I’ll a63b39ffab never understand 0a377557e7 what young d5453d7a70 people are 9e5b3cd043 thinking these 62b42f64be days. Alright, get home 4768653e42 safe.a40e4eff3ad34e55

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Convenience Store

I don’t know e55bfb6b9a why, but after babd185d2f that day, I f717fd827b didn’t see Mister f1493140c7 for a while.450335c317e2a372

‘Is he mad? Well, it’s 2921c076b0 true that 471af8cd89 he has fcbf065248 reason to 59cc4e5ca6 be upset, 0ee4a6361a but still….’7ced53325818e337

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I stopped d7835553ca by the d4387f8230 neighborhood café 2a04fe1c38 we went 1dadb8363e to before, cc81eea0d3 but Mister e36f4436a5 wasn’t there. I waited at the b36e157c73 bus stop, letting several f6636623a2 buses pass by, walked 815cf4a2c2 and jogged back and 69155615fa forth along the stream 43c29ae2ef we often visited, and 9237f4bb82 even went to the 9cc7f06619 kalguksu restaurant in the c7111a0262 downtown area where we 3bed1d2606 first met, but that 7521161492 Mister was nowhere to de41fa302a be found.0be80ff840700c50

‘It feels like d560781c54 I dreamed it 5179c7e6aa all.’9685068f6f67f3ee

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Come to think of 3100796a48 it, whenever I was b1aadfe504 with that Mister, it 1598b1f5e5 always felt a bit 71f04ba8a9 like a dream. Wasn’t there 2519f08542 a water 14f7e57be8 jug or ded35cac9e food on aed879f4a4 the table 2b4093180f without a f7305ef93a waiter ever ace3bfc2ab coming by? Didn’t the sky brighten 76998a7b81 and darken every time 9d4591a5c9 the streetlights changed color? Maybe that Mister was 7a312bd18c just a figment of 92efbf2ac8 my dreams, and I’m 5d4a51a09a foolishly clinging to it, bc0e0e8ac2 mistaking it for reality.8c789b6a15a6e407

‘…Or is ecb4709775 it just 2faa04a372 my imagination? Even without Mister, d2e2d30373 weird things seem fd164386c9 to happen from ef4220ea72 time to time.’f080bccd68d889ba

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I’ve never seen bus 6c7d316fbb number 777, but I d1105e04a4 have seen bus 999—1. Of course, e0753ba7d8 it’s not 8dfeb9cfca a route d70b31700a that runs 3947a40f84 in our 19ef75c74a neighborhood. I’ve learned my lesson 99069c1590 and didn’t get on, 10eb969fe4 but there was still 98348bc3b9 no driver in the 1f6672424d driver’s seat. The streetlights by the 5f7d6785c3 stream flickered even when 8138820bfb Mister wasn’t around, and e3ecfa6f00 when I took out f336f367d6 my phone to time 7aa1143215 it, the flickering stopped ce64041d33 as if by magic.9e38602bfa0532ff

On top of 78ae34765b that, lately, the 9a9dc87880 café’s manager has fe89092c27 been there more ed0b8e98c9 often instead of 79bb4a818d the part-timer, and 561421e009 he doesn’t give 6c079316c7 out freebies. He has faca80bb76 this strange 4dfb8b714f way of 37e5af64e0 looking at fab0bd29ef me, like 62f0c995d5 he’s observing 9f4795e534 me, which 8627317b99 makes me cba942d475 feel uneasy. Did that 0da91b0b12 part-timer get e5d4204e2f on the 085aaa7339 manager’s bad 3deaa224ea side? She was f72078d03d always giving a661fd8a29 out free ec4a180feb stuff to 675aac4293 people, so 613d7ea0d8 it’s understandable ccae7b684d if the 02327c7117 manager got 7a1b1007c1 annoyed, but ef78161ce2 I liked 2d684d7c92 her friendliness.a417c5abeae56830

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Anyway, despite ad1049f8cf all my 0fd3857f8c efforts, I 4756fbac5c couldn’t catch 9b8fe33eda even a 15d37c518a glimpse of 83cb89029c Mister’s shadow 27b97abd42 for a a5ae62b5e6 while. He’s so tall 73b6e0784e and well-built that 9c614c0259 I’d recognize him 2090df7232 from a distance.38429b7d2a021080

‘Forget it, let’s not d7f8325f15 do anything stupid. Work’s been hectic 532fb08891 lately, and I’m 3ae5182dce too drained….’9b9a0b0b38c3be64

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After about 973bc68007 a month, 23352b6f1a I gave 14dd143125 up looking c89b841b13 for Mister. With the 6c71d603b9 year-end approaching, 907c9911ff my company’s 782f9c3453 schedule got 284028ef84 busier, which 9b15a5cd55 was a f303791a07 big factor. Naturally, I had more 4873089392 late nights at work, 1903329cd1 and even if Mister e818d7e23a wanted to meet up, f2295471d4 I was often too 351ce31703 busy or got off 7e209678db too late to make 4e1d39e041 it happen.05076c46dc8dff29

Looking back, the company 3aee5f8f41 had been unusually quiet f05a8fec26 for the past few 55bba43daa months. Our industry 048ace4586 typically has 29dd17afb7 clear off-seasons, 411adf03fd but this 0b5e29421e year was 7df5217107 especially slow. I managed to move 7e6fa176fb to a new place 09a2207c1e during that downtime and 5aef3647be met up with Mister, 07329c4269 but now it’s getting ad51bf2271 overwhelming. Work was d4ae774f5d piling up 66cd84a141 as if 957d57ca25 to make 1be8d66e8f up for 5ba22491a5 all the 440e822584 idle time, c6bce15788 and I e42cb51c30 was practically 33d8fd9aab buried under 8e4e6630b2 it.9754ffc445f8fd37

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It was 186fb769f1 one of e8eae36204 those days. Exhausted from 50808ff094 work, I 28c3c79361 stopped by 5f1a4ecbf0 the neighborhood f9b95b28c0 convenience store 438948f577 to grab a9f1f028a9 some snacks. This store, f8a35f293d typical of 9c247c20f1 a rural 14ebb50a0b area, doesn’t e67049171e have a 363f4138db huge selection, 8d5e3e8919 but oddly 8feda68405 enough, it dab5d5242a often stocks 3f7399abc0 items you 7086e0371c wouldn’t find 13a0ba052d at downtown 1e1c9039e1 convenience stores.bed37220cdd93db2

‘Let’s see. Four cans of e4566a3855 beer for 10,000 873442109a won… Nah, I’ve 9bb85e5099 been drinking too 1c6540f7ca much lately. Let’s get 3628e8fd5e sparkling water a433092ec4 instead.’2f842d4b3b055ccd

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I’m not a big d0569f14ec drinker and don’t particularly 34c9368e42 enjoy it, but at b4372ba87c company dinners, I end 8142d88c76 up sipping a glass 11746ef9e4 or two of soju 5af10878ca whether I like it 888ab04781 or not. I don’t e045b3f674 even drink ca817f9199 much, but 6d8788b778 my liver cb9d8bfa13 already feels 9ef4bd7f3f like it’s b693d109f9 struggling. I don’t 889a7a3a4e want to c657e1730f end up c0d5bf9181 like our 94d413fe24 department head, eca5003e5c whose face c1c70c0d60 is always fd1ac4915d sallow.b9a9c6a3f2e4dff7

I picked out 377d88c05d three bottles of 5ef6a447e1 sparkling water from b00360092e a two-plus-one deal ebedaf7d28 and was choosing 9f3dec06c3 some snacks when 46e7b32073 I overheard students ac2867b347 sitting at a d2babfbc19 table, waiting for 56c3510ef8 their cup ramen 06bffeb5d2 to cook, chatting 39f2c1e215 away. These days, unless it’s ddd841c03a a tiny convenience store, 2db48339f6 most have tables like 1f8681a25b a café. I rarely 69cd582fed sit at e7f94d9d7a them, but a72cc91b3a they seem 72b977dfc7 to be dfa1ab5fca a decent 408138b4e7 hangout spot ab5a81e03d for students.37f6559a4cf3a9b9

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“Hey, speaking cbdb47f908 of, I d0eafa45ec heard some 0110e8acdb creepy rumors 3a4479c84b today.”37ffa7c396f64d0a

I couldn’t 43782f1ccb help but 4faebdd0d8 listen in. Kids that age 6a53f797c8 talking about rumors 3d0166c9e3 usually means something 9a68d6de7a about friendships or 130b09df41 school drama, but e346350b6b there’s something oddly b7a8e465c8 captivating about overhearing a1efa7fc8a strangers’ stories in 1104e6f819 a place like 689abcefdb this. Of course, 7a195f9585 since it’s 05f8963688 about people 5b04a9c5fb I don’t bace0fe097 know, it’s ebee857fbe not that 935b92ae4f interesting, and 2d5b538986 it’ll probably 012d93abef vanish from 754fe11268 my mind 4daf2d111d the moment 4f9e3cd1a4 I leave 529e54822d the store.9f9f00bd89765bb8

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“You know how 301e212a67 our neighborhood is 6d535efd99 pretty empty, so fb1f805d90 you often walk 83d3b8fc07 alone?”8d8fdd2b868c4889

“Yeah.”e046325ab60e3828

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“Well, when you’re 659b6eaad9 walking alone like c13334726b that, sometimes you 42dab596fd hear someone calling 4875572f79 you from behind 3b8a704ebe or beside you. Someone you don’t know, 603eacbc67 acting weirdly familiar.”d96d435654127e24

“Ugh, that’s creepy. Like a cult? Even in a b38cf846b8 backwater place like 345c54093e this, there are 32dc875b43 cult recruiters now?”2babd75d18c06fae

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But it wasn’t that. The story 680c047cd5 was more 3264ab03ba intriguing than 5b8ab2eed4 I expected, e8ff8d970f so I bc62b94ce1 pretended to 551c2458bc browse the 0d04257531 snack aisle a40d575a15 while lingering f274adc7a5 near the a13745774d students’ table. They were saying 42e5f63a04 it was creepy f6cd7e37f8 but giggling and a33273aaaa laughing.fc9de195b4ae93e2

You know, I think c8a7e584f8 I get that feeling. Running into cult 1fa207cb48 recruiters on the e8a0ea5d1b street can be 1304f7fe9b kind of scary. There are Christian ones, f348aaacfe Buddhist ones, and all 99a1db72e3 sorts of varieties these 5f8ef17ac4 days, and once you 8c45c2dd9d encounter them, they’re hard 1c6fba3bdf to shake off, which cc40a18ee2 is a hassle. I once e513f66db6 got caught 8d9b98f63c by a 53f1917598 cult member c4a48b2c8a at a b0caff67ff crosswalk with d7f6e8b99e a long 0cf6f622d9 red light, e9bcdb87e1 and they 2ff097b979 held me 4eb054e4b2 up with 85674a4636 all sorts 6de12dc9f3 of excuses, 2940ed6aa2 completely ruining 115a39dcb7 my day.41b42857f5ea8397

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“Yeah, feels like 082f6655a5 a cult, right? They say these 7b14f334fc people don’t even 101ef4ffb5 mention religion at 0de451bf89 first and just f1202df8fc talk about normal cfc42d5ea6 stuff, so you 320868e1d2 don’t suspect anything.”238f12cc9b014b6e

“No ‘you have a 32a23e6834 bright aura’ or offering bb82aa3566 personality tests?”e38106a024963507

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“Nope, none of e367cb5ff0 that. I mean, 61311269fd who falls e0a336f15c for those 579bd37df5 obvious lines 9f9e5d7976 anymore? They probably 42cf93590b wait until 89155dc627 you’re buddies cbcd9d825c before pushing b0cc71a857 religion. But here’s the important 0930b85282 part.”573d1fb77095f3f2

“What? What’s important?”f1872a50e552a0f0

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“Normally, you’d brush 0d6b7cb31c them off, saying 2ce268df1c you’re busy or 4d6b4a6b42 have to go, f918095847 right? But then 41dc3f237c they say, 9d7294cd7a ‘If you’re 809cbcfdef busy, I 728ff7694c won’t keep fd0b75cf6d you, but 06dbac5386 at least d1e12594d0 take this,’ 411da6e85b and hand 253a46dee8 you something. Like adrink, snacks, dc60740334 or tissues.”c6aab7fb26994435

“Oh, like that church 0295a04f72 near our apartment? They give out db63ab4a9d stuff like scrubbers 0a95a191c9 or trash bags e36c2f0447 while preaching. My mom loves 3051b0677f it when I 0b95f79de4 bring those home.”75920ab1ecf0384e

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“Right? But the 19f4abd5b7 thing is, 730151968e they say 358a380353 you should 8e34dfaea4 never take 29855098b4 anything these 2bc54977e1 cult people bc9a00ecac try to 1c6bb4be79 give you. No matter how harmless bbec70c47c it looks. If you 66f091dad5 take it, a15b14c171 even by 7af4251691 mistake, you bc2f572b38 get dragged 52f1d2c44c away.”e4f36aee47300aaf

Dragged away? Like to some 470c771098 shady basement where 8588a76790 they confiscate your 04cb606302 phone and force d7251667d8 you to study 8e1bfa49c3 their doctrine? Or like those human ee6d1dfb44 trafficking rumors that used a03430cce5 to trend on SNS? Maybe the cf6f8904da food’s laced 2449ee1d45 with sedatives, 1b412c35e4 and you a2f90ec150 pass out cf44d5e2de after eating 6f1a4ff437 it?1ab7e4bf3a9bfbc5

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Sure, these days, stories 2f67f58434 like that are mostly 24e4f7bbfb dismissed as exaggerations or fbe068f540 lies, but there are cbee1be544 still plenty of weirdos 6a057a9b97 out there. The chance of e11716b227 running into a 8f0b1aac96 lunatic is slim, 54a7eb3b63 but if you 3cbd875808 do, whether it’s 08df816f1d a 1% or 4864196a74 100% chance, it’s c37639386a all the same. Shuddering at the 0416468075 uneasy feeling, I 717390e50e noticed something on 72e8977195 the shelf.bb48e235bb955916

‘Oh, those snacks look 193f3ee816 good.’e0c818f4cab9337c

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It was a 9737eb00a6 ramen-flavored snack with a44c3b19c4 some unfamiliar language c528edaa14 on the package. Not English, Chinese, 180b15ae3b or Japanese, but 1fff9977ee some curly script—maybe 50df4a3a7e Southeast Asian? I’m not 54934c2592 sure, but af74f1cb58 I like a7586cad8b snacks like 612fbaf77b this. Foreign snacks 0dc7df11cd are surprisingly 69556cfac0 tasty. It’s only 1,000 e137e6608d won, so trying ccedf663c2 it out seems 8b4ae3e7e8 fine.0f1f2d3eb6de7650

Holding the sparkling 4e1fa22f7e water, PrXngles, BaXnana 961a5bef2d Kick, and the 5020cd61f6 ramen snack, I 3ecab1491c headed to the d3fc548195 counter. But there d665757d46 was no 58100e9714 clerk. I could’ve sworn someone 67ea621aff was standing there just f9f45a7d2b a moment ago.374ee7f6bd4f9dc5

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Did they go 3fafcf5bc8 to the bathroom? Or maybe a3110aae5f they’re restocking? I looked around to 08f0cc3f8c call for the clerk 596143e96f when a voice suddenly 87c96126c4 came from right beside f340f07593 me.fed65c3a93c1a26b

“Those snacks are good.”3eff3bdcfc60a8e8

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I turned to see b2a458a03d a boy, probably a 5be5cd014a middle schooler, in a b25188f0c3 school uniform. With chubby cheeks and 850064cf10 a youthful look, he d05502a51d could’ve passed for a 3dc9e31dec tall elementary schooler if 8538957437 he were in casual dc777a0997 clothes. But, what 0cdfe3d6c0 the heck? It was so out 200b3614aa of the blue that baf6cb266c I wondered if I’d 01e283b6da grabbed the last ramen d67e9bec66 snack he wanted.bcfd06c9914410b4

This felt eerily ff60dd65fe similar to the f22752be7b rumor I’d just 9d602e630d overheard. Someone talking to you f58e594873 from behind, right? Of course, this isn’t ef22a3edb7 an empty place, so 0e53910a84 it’s not exactly the deec5b87a8 same. There’s the clerk, 14d400f6fb and the students 4e003ce16d eating cup ramen a946f6ab16 and chatting at 98b931942a the table…6ad976cc9b4fab61

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‘Wait, it’s suddenly 8993a7abc8 quiet.’a0a1f8f2c99ca149

I glanced over, and b00dcac5c0 the students who’d been b7b2d3bf9c talking were gone, as 2b7caa72ef if they’d never been 1ed2ebcf13 there. Feeling like I’d 76f1bf027c been bewitched, I f65bfbcbbf looked around frantically, 1dcf33c108 but the boy, c5f490431d oblivious to my a932112a03 confusion, kept talking.d56240deb1b89eed

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“I heard ae8728f3e7 the rumors. Didn’t expect you 78d0f53cab to look like e2ff54682f this.”90e6352005d0c39c

“R-rumors?”c68fad362a7f29c0

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“They say 2ef5c0d5b0 that Mister’s e4c825510d been wandering b37fd0c44a around half e5a96d60bb out of 6f5458ea76 his mind 9a7c91c993 lately. You come here often?”3662eb0b9078789f

Mister. That one 8fee2d5220 word made 7f12b13790 my body e8aea3e764 react instinctively. Does this kid know 5a8af7b4b4 that Mister? I stared at him, 4719151e6e suddenly intrigued. The boy 026aa5b1f0 looked up 19e4357f02 at me adf424ef53 with a a8f7486b01 gleeful expression, 89f4c71fe3 like he’d 249c9ddf9c found something 498244fa3c amusing. It was oddly b26020b8f7 unsettling.f10e9a0cb045f7ab

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“I come to this ac642e7aef convenience store a lot.”d676a1d8b5155e09

“Really? This is the b2a9b7807a first time I’ve 884aa92906 seen you here.”5f84c80cf03a4ffe

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“Maybe our schedules a8019171f3 don’t match…”9e2c73cbf24a0a03

“Maybe. Could be. But, hey.”42c77c86fa4a6ff5

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“Yeah?”f4547e90e25720c1

“Since we d86c82de3f met like b449e7d874 this, want a2453c6a85 these snacks?”e2f85ad556aa9659

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The boy 3ba5b96d40 held out 7fba11bb9d the ramen 1f5533f00c snack. He hasn’t even paid 90d1860dfd for it, and he’s b11f3a6a1b offering it to me? Is this kid 7aa7afaf9f weird? His attitude seemed 4dbe61aeb2 completely innocent, but a9b605a9bb a chill ran 32eb81c391 down my spine, c7971155a9 like I’d been b6cb991f9a offered something incredibly 04b7c06b3e dangerous.c2d5bd03861f08a8

“You take these 1d9f6464e1 snacks, and I’ll 2a2022428f tell you about 0ece540634 that Mister. You look curious.”259efeb5fe41119d

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Seeing my 823d03fb7b uneasy expression, 5bae61f4f6 the boy 8469b5da0b quickly added, 0f8acdcb1c sounding eager. Honestly, I 138ff10c14 am curious. But something feels 290b862640 off, like the cc4f465be6 cost-benefit doesn’t add ac248b0e88 up. This kid’s 9abdd939a0 offering me 889ba1e75e snacks and 9192224b62 info about 985cd63c0f Mister, but 878d9d335c I have 815e54d888 nothing to d366a131d6 give him 81ffd668e4 in return.0e10fac3aef2aa74

[Don’t do stuff like that.]

Why do I keep 73118baacd hearing that Mister’s gruff, 58d2cf5b33 habitual phrase? Come to think 2158ced8f3 of it, he 8d14133969 always said that e976ea7018 whenever I tried 6b4d15d782 to ‘give’ him af40a84e54 something. At first, e8fde41b89 I thought 96b3c51d73 it was ea3a4464b8 just about 446fe01a1c manners toward 9a7b43f93e an elder, 159d17d2c3 but now…d2f84ebb143b3b0f

“Here, take it.”598fd65040358ef6

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The boy grabbed my b623cc00bf hand, trying to press 48b7296a54 the ramen snack into 4f1344a3b5 it. I instinctively knew I cfbd6a4b99 shouldn’t take it. I probably shouldn’t 74dde4caa2 hear about Mister faecfe53f8 either. The students’ story might 61374b1375 just be a rumor, 6fe7d5f1bf but in this moment, def550828e it felt like useful 215775b9b8 advice.7013abb76647c3e7

Still, it was 89dad8daa5 hard to resist e069b737d7 the impulse. I want f0853530ea to know 815c011acc about Mister. Who he 917cac6d61 is, where 797cab4e49 he is. If possible, 6fdc761773 I’d like 188f3d0db9 to apologize 59489a7eff to him 58d0851d52 directly…0ce672e31d6df201

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That’s when it happened.cd37970e83d6b856

“What are 74ae65a975 you spacing 491b0c8bbd out for, 29d6fdf47f you idiot!”bea4c2c533ef3a9f

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My collar 6483c4df36 was yanked 1394a55db8 back, nearly 23d46ac52f making me 95270294aa tumble. The unclaimed ramen snack 684c3fcfc9 fell to the floor bbf6b1c4ea with a hollow thud. Straining to cdd2a2c36c look behind 0f0bc94a1b me, I eec1fd4c69 saw Mister 57f9266307 glaring at ad25b0a99e the boy, 9676ba628d still gripping b42170b58f my collar.43519249249d7b62

“Ugh, bad timing.”fbed05a5e531000f

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Giggling like a prankster, 22d6b67b6f the boy bolted out dd8fbe21b5 of the convenience store. The man 3a18e38e16 muttered curses ec02e59022 under his 354cc58a09 breath, looking cad6981a4a like he 6fa182aa10 wanted to 82e99cada6 smack the 3075410c37 kid, but 1ded16e2d2 he didn’t 8083160cbb chase after fe0f15670f him. When he let ed2efe4aea go of my a11e129a99 collar, I stared 159939c02d at him, dazed.4287675bfdabf8d3

“Uh, hey.”87bc872dfed976a2

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“I told you before, 3be4051b3f don’t do that.”7016c3a30cb51eaa

“Huh? I didn’t 9eff7e6bb9 do anything.”5ac6afdaff696aea

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“You were about 1fbdda7087 to take it. You think I’m blind? Can’t see what’s 5ecdafafbd happening right in ceb1681c6f front of me?”66eb7fd6d9f31ad0

“You never 9a630e1b46 told me 3e1b34342b not to c55bcb20cd take stuff 4c4e26b7d4 from people…”f1b74775821246b0

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“Then don’t take 9dfc4dfa71 anything from now 96809db782 on. Seriously, where 1c3521f041 do you 5ac586466f keep half 263034dac5 your brain?”dd59d622142f94fb

Mister grumbled as he 74555b4455 put the ramen snack b9c51f4122 back on the shelf, 989a373bf3 and I took the dfc4d129aa chance to return the 27bd4ed723 sparkling water and other 763fe905d2 snacks to their places. The clerk was still 1b9e9d4da9 nowhere to be seen, cf1f601c42 and the sudden incident 6572ea2cd9 killed my appetite. We quietly left the 3ef9033968 convenience store and started b9a9345b5f walking.ea910c1166156336

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The boy f6a7112d0f was long 50f1cd8d82 gone, nowhere bcf2792bf9 in sight. But Mister stayed by f260c19bc8 my side, not running 61ceb992c0 off.7da074bd0aaeb724

“Don’t stop anywhere 6a71c7b8ff today, just go eb7feb11b5 straight home. You look like 14b8645f93 you’re about to 7730a8f329 get into big bc9568daf9 trouble.”4597cb8364fb4bda

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Snapping out of 4251f40159 it, I realized 8ef594fb91 he was holding f63a652ecb my hand tightly, df3944dcd7 walking with a f0942ba61b huff. He didn’t 0a7b737843 seem to 5837222529 think of 4aec6d8e18 it as 919e008079 physical contact, e347f8a4cb but my 64a4725bac face felt 0f8c9e1ad5 hot for dc2d6a58c4 no reason.a65634aaa7ed06ae

At least c836b26d4b he doesn’t dc5c981399 seem to e455c6948f mind touching bc4b48861c me, right? That’s not bad. Seeing him f2c2d44488 after almost 471b71fe7d a month 358d816803 made my 5296288d6a nose tingle bd413ecceb with joy. Maybe I missed this 8590063dd5 Mister more than I 3709b84ad8 thought.8de06041b32f118f

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By the way, despite f81de87a06 the sudden situation, it 367f3331d5 was pretty good timing. I glanced 2dc4d1f304 at him e5bd05d94d cautiously as 3987cdd034 we walked, 5c88144a4e then finally 8cee5a7af9 mustered the 0437a6259e courage to 17a498dc04 speak.84e4a73a4492a53b

“Hey, uh, Mister.”9bdbf71b881db334

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“What.”7d93446325f1a703

“About last time, a61a81845d when I touched 21cfb845e7 your face without fcfe425999 permission… I’m sorry.”da95f099a7942c59

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“You know you should c35de50088 be sorry?”7f36e63b620122e7

“But you f18e1d9d70 wouldn’t even ab8f6dd667 tell me 996aa73f60 your name.”e2e5a0b8551e5164

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“What’s that c72666bde7 got to 98abdaef95 do with 8fc6bb024b anything?”aeeea9fbb65534ac

“Uh, now that 48f3d0deff I think about 5205b0ea1b it, maybe nothing…? But are you 2b785d844f really not gonna e0f5caa654 tell me your 26fd3dcdeb name?”cf491fb6b7c4802a

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“Nope. Why would 880f2e5965 I risk 3605576ab8 that?”2fb35ea8770734a3

He answered d7e1ea346e as if 9fb3f6d89f it were 2ce4e5f87c absurd. Even I 6b635fda58 had to 148db32697 admit touching 024bc600e7 his face cbce563601 and his 030134d35b name were 648d876a50 unrelated. I’d hoped to sneak b1e6b2e8b1 his name out of ac1eac8b81 him, but he clearly b2d52a46e5 wasn’t ready to open ea48ad9841 up that much.09f913dc80331e11

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Well, with cd1b300afd all the d68cf72326 stalkers these 475a27384b days who 57c24a0c31 pester you 537829467a once they a964f0baff know your 39c5f67523 name or 86087a666b workplace, it’s 0523d8ae2c natural he’d c7ed8a88dc be cautious. Feeling a 99f2519e17 bit embarrassed, a720de3b7b I scratched 68a2545804 my head, 39b9628079 and he 1de21345e6 let out 3000adeb39 a deep 2d1f3b910d sigh, as 870ed678d8 if giving d02e69d793 up.b489730e67dbff8d

“Don’t people ever call c166cf183a you dumb?”c07233702e13b1c6

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“I get told 446b8d4437 I look like 54c4aa8feb I’m missing a 6feae6ca8b screw a lot.”315da9816d7a2ed6

“You hear that 230dddf90a all the time 9e66582895 and still haven’t dbb532af13 improved… Damn.”e61c93f22ce8e829

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Mister stomped along, his 1d8f6906c7 mouth practically a foot c554530050 wide with frustration. But despite his angry 285bc07b35 act, his grip on d8bef0071e my hand was strong 59549ed600 and steady, making me b9d8d62f0c feel oddly calm. He glanced at cbac986861 my face out 94bcd69ff1 of the corner 5c5b943243 of his eye, f933b8f7b2 then muttered disapprovingly.4244946b893a112d

“Anyway, from 3dada180a3 now on, 409c559ad7 if someone 3d655a9358 talks to 5cf3dcb277 you, pretend 68d0e63822 you can’t c6f4e93ff5 hear them. If you act like afd19634bb you really can’t hear, 21a288b292 they’ll think you didn’t fe9404aa6d and back off. Got it?”783e4e54c7efa1ae

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“I guess I’ll have f3fe82d1b5 to do that. The world’s scary b4f5e91b57 these days, with b83e21b812 all sorts of 09afcc6e66 weirdos.”cbe600379b4e57ab

“Yeah, some real weirdos dc3175cacd out there. Trying to 58370e2731 give stuff b82d439457 to people, 878ba5966a almost getting 7967e6f315 you suckered 9dd557efc0 by that 1c3e9223bc little roly-poly ef8cee1341 punk… The 015c8d13ad way you ad9a1cdc57 space out, ca25a599a1 you’re bound bb3fde0110 to mess a2412e501a up someday.”91769460ab0e2525

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“But you’ll help me d5a16422f3 out, right, Mister?”4345bb86d17242bb

“You think I’m f0b3f1434c your personal cleanup a5f8973e8a crew? Annoying jerk.”a5396ce05c3ef82d

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We chatted leisurely as 71136ac5f7 we walked down the 0d6689500b empty street. It felt almost like b9a6c97fa4 a date, and my f219585626 neck stayed warm the b537886c29 whole way home.67bb831e70d7a425