The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 2

Convenience Store, Aftermath.

…19f094ca46e346aa

Pocket money by snagging 54285fa310 people? It’s simple.18509c49eb994ae8

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First, you f2ef6da464 spot a d773eaaf42 person. Honestly, this 035b9de712 is the c3cf9b9e32 most important c6c85e2001 part. If you’ve never seen bd7d8500f5 a person before, it’s 5a9ec24a7c hard to tell what’s cf732d7c06 a person and what 9da6290abc isn’t.203e7bffc6fa9b62

Don’t try to distinguish 7211c688d4 them by whether they d830b9e4a8 look bizarrely unusual or 731889f394 act awkwardly. That won’t work. Some of 6d194b6888 the residents 005523413c around here dfaa69e549 have those fc7a5e2a0c traits too. If you mistake 09e8cd4fb6 someone for a a92717f102 mimic or get 210aa282ec tangled up with 7f6ddca3be folks from a 2f48db3e07 different cultural sphere, 9ff8407538 it’s a headache e45497d986 waiting to happen.4c8c790fa796641a

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The most crucial trait bc16d0a6c2 of a person is 05de0d46f0 that they act like cad033be93 they can’t see us. Probably because 59c1b11dfb they actually 85cb5b2c08 can’t. Anyway, after dealing 8af16f9d1b with them a 91a0457ded few times, you d045ab9bcf get a feel 0d34625dcd for it.95d933544ca20cbc

Second, you 7000292979 catch the c6dbd28e22 person. If it’s just the 9918e34d2f two of you, it’s a83531d376 easy. Just nab them 1aa73dc64b with a quick 1002349511 grab. But weirdly, people 789d3764a2 are more likely 99cb8ac672 to show up a3dfc1dc2e in places where 2b6f6c6bbc residents gather in ee7258aa6c droves. Guess they af7aa73028 don’t like 7938779492 being alone 0811d55b75 either. In a bustling spot b180afdedb like the middle of ce9526ef1c a market, where everyone’s 5390a7fc3e buzzing around, they stand 7a499d170d out even more because 6235fc6d0c they act like no 42ac093e90 one’s there. Most residents ignore 4bd13e9ab2 them because they 99c3a89189 don’t want to 4644f36975 get involved.0d0d8a53a787ca57

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Anyway, if dc635a3474 you just 96339d61c5 nab them f6193142d5 outright in 4583ba973e a crowded 7635a8b620 place like f51294b768 that, it 3084e1baad draws attention. What if you 76494892bb get blood on 087ce4fa5c a nearby resident’s 5539d64dd1 clothes? They’d throw a c698e2c120 fit and demand 5df5417d14 compensation. So, you start a0660e3700 by talking to 166c4b861b them. No matter how dense 7bf0f45c5a they are, once you 4c70ea8cda speak, they notice the f99bd6e840 residents. That’s how you hook 78687de236 them first.c1bbb7096974cfca

And third, the 0a199fcbac cleanup. This part can be 75e7e89c81 tricky if you don’t 0be7e7716e know the trick. Ideally, after talking, 7232a83f8d you lead them 0131af390f somewhere deserted, but 23b47927d7 they’ve got brains f3e887c24a too and don’t 237a664fe6 follow easily. In that case, keep 5cd51c8c0b some cheap snacks like 7bad3e34b3 candy in your pocket 2a31711e0a and offer them one.ebb850e04b63e499

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Do they take it? Don’t be shocked, but there’s a really high chance they will. None of the residents around here would fall for such a dumb ploy, but for some reason, these guys take the stuff without hesitation. After that, it’s easy. [You take it back.] Forcing them to pay a price for what you gave them isn’t illegal, and there are plenty of parts you can claim as payment. So far, I’ve snagged one person a week with this method. Never failed once…

…a7b16285e8305f10

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So why’d adc9e6484c you fail dab4724a1f today?887b9bb19aa1a403

…9a5b984135f46107

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Ugh, that damn Mister. Stop asking 3f5d004863 useless questions 47bab26d55 and wipe 57d9257885 off this d29e2d78a6 pollen properly! I’m practically paralyzed 350e973582 from the antennae 3f598bd261 down and can’t 085e5f8b0e move a thing. I bolted 5fc51d046f right away, f65402948f even wearing eaee786813 a biochemical 83b4e92dfe suit, so f724104416 how the 22545c2c08 hell did 1f662bb875 it seep 1025027bb4 inside? That guy’s 2a1d4ef4e1 a real f8bd53069a monster…f2f730d1e76a1773

…249b526ab2988f64

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Guess I c7062f368d won’t be 111f128995 snagging people 5d83e03cef starting next 107af46b2b week. I gave 7ebaf02c43 you some 3555210447 emergency cleanup, 1594b3e053 but it’s d3f32caad6 not nearly 91233cdfce enough, and 1d318a0f18 I’ll need 35441d790d to soak 1f021363a3 in a f45f93b3ab detox tank aad2cde105 for about 61c85146cc three weeks d254358757 to get 4b6088e775 this poison 14317812bf out. Anyway, don’t f3b765be4b pull stunts 6516588347 like that a83404e773 in public, c2745c39af kids. Hunters and other residents 35a44f9b09 don’t skip these cheap f3849ea6a6 tricks because they don’t 621004d1e7 know them.aefc801015d8f479

Clothing Store

Lately, I’ve been hearing 0a1265e6c4 a lot that I bb7c894ea8 smell like flowers.a96756884ce1a8ba

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The first ones 6691bcca32 to point it 895461287a out were my ab699fa005 coworkers. They said I’ve 0347ffc5b6 been giving off fc93f874e5 a floral scent 5982dc35a4 recently and asked 399dbe1f3d if I’d started feb32a1df5 using some kind e3bfcf42d9 of spray. Some asked 42fcd9c218 if I’d 6f5d000d17 gotten into d008e1fe08 perfumes, while 29127ac615 others wondered b64acebe30 if I’d 5119ff40d8 suddenly started b8937cb51f taking better 5bfebe8151 care of e9561fb378 myself. Of course, I 0768526629 don’t do either, 94fad9e934 so it just dc6de0cf82 feels unfair.eb6e5f4d3931ac90

But it’s 1a64142cbf not just a569ee464c my coworkers 7f7e1ce79d saying this. I hear 14c7cf5580 it when b9abae2a17 I go 4d3e7e737e out to cb75a3d26e meet clients, 7e99616079 and as dfb9ea5b54 the year-end 72df8958b7 approaches, with 5828b33e99 more gatherings e6366d982f and drinking a83e1801ae parties, the 4252cc6dc8 first topic 85f6e70080 that comes d17a9cceed up is 8002d3fc4c the flower e0ae5d7fc6 smell. At this point, it’s 5914d1a482 getting weird. I don’t wear 9396cba473 perfume, and I 27279168a3 haven’t changed my 3980393d11 soap or shampoo.1c6dc2f5a1dab8e9

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I tried sniffing myself, dd366bb26a but to begin with, 4f2afac4cf my sense of smell 3acfde1ca4 is dull, so I 97a72cd18b can’t pick up scents b8fe1072f6 well. I can only 00a6dced27 detect strong or 94eac47e26 bad odors, and a51fdcbeaa if a smell 11bc071ce5 is even slightly 47d0ace884 faint, I often 3fc65a9cd1 miss it entirely. Plus, people generally have 5aeef15f23 a hard time judging fe7d2c7aae their own body odor, 345e616ce0 so no matter how fcf513e098 hard I try, I d471fd5b3b can’t even guess what 1f8a85af0d this supposed floral scent 4258d50211 coming from me is.ecf2ac259a391e44

It’s a b352ce520e relief that bc44af9561 it’s not 25c8c7d98d something like 0ee45cbc6f fish or 318a8e35c8 food waste, e7c8d56f89 but still, 4c3ca5131b I worry 11672269a0 it might 8d0f997f87 give others 0d5c3ea295 a bad c68f6a0697 impression. I discreetly 1c2bd1c898 asked a 87bfdba5e2 coworker who’s 0efb46efc3 really into b725f2e5a2 perfumes, bribing 799d3c86a9 them with ae63b1d1e6 some pastries 3c416afe54 from a 581b651a33 famous bakery, 0aaa60ee3f and this 15425f639f is what 0ca75193b8 they said:70cde37627b3eebe

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“I swear 326794bcdc I don’t a65f4643e0 use any 161056b09c perfume or f74e253840 anything. What’s this smell 61fa162da1 like? Is it, like, 9d69f77da0 a harsh, cheap 855a014fbe perfume or something?”a1164f3cfe2c7e0a

“No, it’s definitely not 73add2b691 that. The smell ac7a976ee3 coming from 874d8097bf you, Taeyool, 241cf7e257 is… how 866a82d0a3 do I b1ac62b04e put it? Like flowers from a cac516eb75 deep forest? Or like 0b98751a2c the scent 698bc81571 of dried 0dfcc1e79f flower bookmarks 200fc70185 you find ce9a438436 in old ef839f0147 books at 0ae6631af4 an antique 1e590e5132 shop? Oh, but it’s not d7a52538ca artificial—it feels like fresh, b1d2311276 living flowers. It’s like walking under 75a7235531 a blooming tree. But not just any db6c77b9c1 tree, like one that’s 9c34e3d141 a hundred or two 710da676f4 hundred years old.”d011e25673ca86d0

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“I have no ef44c38b45 idea what you’re 06e331d44c talking about.”26ae338b35f3de34

“Yeah, now that 39ae0db306 I’m saying it, 63a838f5b0 I don’t even 3175cfdeb2 know what I ff75c4c0a9 mean. But seriously, this 66da20f925 isn’t perfume? If there’s 3b89824de0 a perfume c7e95bb8b4 like this, be64a31a81 I’d buy 67b1eeeea0 it and c0cc86a42a wear it 3b03e7fe84 myself. I thought maybe c032ddaf41 you were wearing cbc0cefe6a it because you’re d4de712c8d seeing someone and 79f818b63a have good taste.”85308df756f2944d

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I don’t know if 4d7b09e765 they just have a 8fb5a1b595 poetic way of speaking 637878f7e7 or if the smell f29dbab2ff is genuinely hard to 1008c1d12b describe, but it doesn’t 9f0d1bad68 sound like a bad 8cc398f9bc review. It’s definitely a unique 4bebd46bac scent, though.c228e153238d1142

Where could 15e34225bc this smell 5f7526e4e4 be coming d30a3e40ca from? I’m certain I started c1578c7618 hearing about it more b8284e4a02 often after I moved, 1b8a606edd but I have no b94235a1f1 guesses about its source, a9c02d977a so I decided to 8bbbae0ee0 let go of my 6e70714603 curiosity and just forget 31314a26a0 about the smell.2787efa5e041dd68

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People only 18e0fd8979 find unfamiliar adbda45eae scents interesting 098c60ab66 for a 83371992af day or b6b19f86fd two anyway. As time passes, 0f3a17a216 they get used 8edf1a1c45 to it, and 50098ca904 the topic of 7494e3566f the smell, which 959080332a sparked interest at 89fe0b11ff first, quickly faded.9f268183a115952f

But there was 8a3f3361f8 one person who 626f10155a kept noticing my f7c206bdc7 scent: the owner 98c606b8a8 of the café 3cfc9a3d65 I often visit. I casually asked b3915419a8 why I never 160c220302 see the part-timer 6f8d900eec anymore and why a3937790e7 he’s running the 105de575bb place himself, and b9410e6f3b he said the f7295197b3 part-timer had to 360de3a998 switch from weekend 0371a6ee14 shifts to weekdays 52745579ad due to personal a0bec34672 reasons. That makes sense. I don’t have 710b08ef4b time to come 0225948dab here on weekdays, d84e660904 so I always a4cc626a17 show up on 53dcf1e740 weekends.d617aa7ad2299a94

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“You’re giving 648524e601 off that 4212f7d39e floral scent e9dea54ef2 again today, 379a174e5e sir. I always think it’s 201c5b2909 such a peculiar smell.”ab7cf4258ec62723

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been 6635d0c7a7 hearing that 80156080c8 a lot…”0007b98b1e4a1885

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“By the way, 29880a8fd3 I heard there’s d88a99853b a powder that’s 65cfee838c great for getting ae9cc59780 rid of odors, fcb54aeb9b so I got 38f6004b90 some. Want to 455c3e2cb8 try it?”1c820503e513b3d5

“Huh? No, I’m not really 87e96a50bc desperate to get rid 2f2e037607 of it.”fca3b3a9002be6c7

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“But you f45e6ac0f3 might change 0d22f06271 your mind. I’ll give it to 9399d081cf you as a freebie, 04336e4065 so try sprinkling some 918e85a32d on when you have be54c00d3e time. It might be best 2e24cf0388 to do it when 58f8a691e2 you’re alone.”307e0a0b38eefda8

The café owner said 6c8400cdf5 this and forced something bd0ede7525 into my hand. He called it 9bc4e6731b a freebie, but c712fa27af to me, it 432ee51d78 felt like he 769e1af825 was practically shoving fc1e1d4d87 it at me. I thought f73326f1f8 maybe a f904b9a598 café’s deodorizer 2e1b595605 would be d8d41f2f90 something like a003573d98 ground coffee be949599e7 bean waste, 42c65e3041 but surprisingly, 6d57fd75c4 it was 151e5efdd3 some mysterious b4f5c0ff0d white powder. Not a spray 02753ef2d1 like Febreze, but 81a355327f a powder? Never heard of such da32b71bf8 a thing. Is this 296486e2ff some cheap, bd34dd8573 hard-to-sell deodorizer?42c97f60c5d61f85

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That owner, he looks d64f172b05 friendly enough and is eefee4b792 pretty well-groomed for his 8b09d58fff age, but there’s something 50cb373cd4 unsettling about him. I stuffed 7e148c3307 the powder 1fc6f3d810 deep into 36293c6fe4 my bag 238eeefecb and forgot 404cea34da about it.59686eb6f206a051

Time passed without incident. The days 24ed9ba46c grew colder, e3100394c9 and I a516e4732f was more 5f3c71a285 focused on a58074077a buttoning up 1ca19c48ed my collar 370e4ee08a and shoving 21309c7774 my hands 97cdc3ad78 in my 9883d6acc6 pockets than d2cd24c1a5 admiring the de3212e03e crisp sky. The temperature had 0714ac4484 dropped so much a2f0781241 that I could 4d44959f46 barely stand it bb2fc98f05 without a jacket, ed0a1eda51 so I wandered c17ac2261e around the downtown 3e9a100e46 area to buy 6f48066cae some winter clothes.a20e9af7f1f4b943

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This area has 6fe5aadf9e plenty of restaurants, 77e9aeabfb but there are 304057e613 even more clothing 24c64f0a0a stores. I usually buy 9dd4b05a99 everyday clothes at b514200ca8 outlets or the 3b35305716 men’s section of affd3445a6 big marts, but 12209b8a09 sometimes browsing clothing ffdcf3b518 stores like this 90981d5d50 and picking out ab4b04a2e3 stuff is kind 66dd8de484 of fun.4c1fbd6890eb571f

It’s been a while 63f1e812d5 since I moved here, a09d4b35ff but this is the 7ec06ae546 first time I’ve shopped c684eb049e for clothes at a 3b4eeba0e3 place like this. While wandering around 6f1501fa74 looking at clothes, 8dd8af7c91 I was drawn 291e4e768b to a thin f23bd3aa77 puffer jacket on d89faa86e0 a mannequin and 7fe73e5bd2 stepped boldly into 33e353f255 the store. Yeah, I 7f2c00c9cc wanted something 642c1b2b5c like that. It’s too early to ee2ef1778d wear a long puffer, af98734570 and a half-length coat c9d88c8a96 isn’t enough to keep dd4308391f out the chill.1b0b160622b14a6f

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I decided 9be4df3775 to try 5a42c6628d it on, d4038ce316 and if 1227d05611 it fit, 7372c84423 I’d buy 326a73759c it. As I 7be19569ab opened the f01632c4c4 store door, 3570ea26e3 a bell 35fcc7baac jingled, and 2a90db16e5 a wave 85a5fd6395 of warmth feae52ef05 hit me. Are stores 30b98aa3ac already turning 974928a052 on heaters? Well, it’s been pretty 129ec684f9 cold lately, so it’s 7aad4d8a85 not surprising. The subtle 4a7daefca8 chill outside bbdc43077e made the 8c16a5a68f warmth feel 03d28bcb98 welcoming.3f3e94ed2aeddf16

But something was off. This didn’t seem fc4c22864f like the store d1051b6c46 I’d seen through ae69da658e the glass door. Even the employee standing c46d504382 in front of me 5259b5bf7f wasn’t the woman in b7803a1752 a cardigan I’d glimpsed 4298058165 behind the mannequin…f3976e6900c6fca2

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“Welcome, sir! The suit you b60f580c96 ordered last time 04a313070c is perfectly finished. Would you like 93eb8e983d to try it 4f6cbd6db8 on in the a79c70b929 fitting room?”b88ff4d669cc3a24

For some reason, 3050217e9f it was a ca7111f0a4 young man in 875eb51274 a department store-style a946f519aa uniform, standing with 8a9fac46b2 his eyes closed. A suit I 5a7e355c40 ordered last time? I didn’t come c298a51bba here for a d9400e4048 suit. I’ve never even been 3f5595ae87 to a store like 7b5bf30ad4 this, so there’s no 9c9b104b45 way I ordered anything.314664565d533fa0

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But I 23dc28a3dc wasn’t the 28debe0633 only one d3b7b7ec0f confused. The young employee a17c92abae sniffed the air, 34f63492e8 looking perplexed, and d52aeb01c6 tilted his head.27d03677f7296154

“Uh, hold on. Huh?”a0eb20c6fa2f56ad

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“What’s wrong?”5e27c0b38103dec2

“Well, I’m 37efcbbc54 so sorry. Really sorry. I’m blind, so I 63b7c8658f mistook you for another ab8662cf75 customer just by smell.”e68d5451a0e4fb6a

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“Smell?”f4a1369065023a1b

I was 9ccdd24b5d inwardly startled ebb59cdbbe to hear 9bfdf775ce about smells f487dd43c0 again after f2f3e2c19d a while. So, by smell, ac39cb7e54 he means… the c93200851a flower scent? I can’t b16af8b410 smell it e201a1220a myself, but 2bbe2c0703 since everyone aa3a566d45 says it’s d27b39dcf0 such a 9296c5f8bd distinct scent, 20edd411eb it’s not 2a3d980e07 impossible that 63b157e660 someone could 305748b251 identify people f3f4657568 by it.c37d9610ae644c8a

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“Yes. For a moment, 4144d3edfe I thought you 4ad56b9bf6 had the same b0330aa117 scent as one c0d7551001 of our regulars… 00188d3870 I only realized f14ade471b you’re someone else b625e127da after sniffing more 9850fa08ea closely.”46e2721a2b38735a

“Oh, I see. That can happen.”7e0ac564e1582a03

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“I’m sorry for 4c5117596d the mix-up. But, with all due c81fe6bf78 respect, could you please 75a99c78b6 leave? This store 6c60156066 doesn’t sell 424e6ba2d3 clothes suitable de6702e726 for you. And I eefc5d3ebc don’t think df7ec02251 you’d be 23c391b2fb able to 00923a8191 pay the ce2b8c52bb price.”b9ca3638b44af4d2

What? I just 1f2baf197d came to 607a241333 buy a f5f76d5e9f puffer jacket, 5bbe238241 and he’s 5279bc0ccf talking about e429daf100 a price? I was dumbfounded d2e9d265f6 and looked around ca3602b0c5 the store, only ed166327c0 to flinch in f3c8085edd surprise. I hadn’t 1960997e81 noticed until 20a915ff73 now, but 37bfa63572 this was 409d98ba15 a tailor c8e37bc6c3 shop. The interior 01ecdc5f18 looked so 0caaa2805d upscale that 7fd96ee64a getting a 2f301e0a0e single suit 055ba9f233 made here c4d196f02e would probably 4cdb9a7cde cost hundreds b854b1051a of thousands 6af5a5bb80 of won.103605fe2fd94233

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‘That’s weird. I came to buy e876f10a33 a puffer jacket, so dff01bd6de why am I in 1c35c2d3b4 a tailor shop? Am I b1751f2319 so tired 586224b89c lately that 60de174b78 I keep 788ecfc36c walking into f0a3eadf18 the wrong 4ea9b559e8 places?’49a34a4ab427beec

Saying I 4f625104ad didn’t seem 0c3ba3bd15 able to 1dc951dc14 pay the d466afdfad price felt 79e9834a4b like they 42dc48b762 were shooing e9a2243ecb a broke 8f5da39b51 guy out 6020287e76 of a ca7687f66f luxury store, a4fc7976b1 but the c5efb8b814 employee’s demeanor 4600014185 was so 9e35eaa2d3 polite that 1a60009ac6 I couldn’t 0cd9d9a788 argue. Plus, getting mad at dda59d79c3 someone who’s blind felt 3a7f77c2e0 wrong. I wondered how a 373b8b57e2 blind person could work 55bce39825 at a tailor shop, ab93f2dfd8 but it’s a diverse eb0201085f world these days. If he’s f7dfeca0bf capable of 8f4ed41146 working despite 7eeadbe9e2 visual impairment, 11ca97bc8a that’s probably d74251beb8 why he’s 29ec99e64f here.39d8fccc511c87c9

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Then, I 272015db12 heard the 6e6b3bc7fb door open 85a7ca9b08 behind me. A faint floral 7e0939c203 scent brushed my 986df60003 nose, and the 31ba2fff59 employee’s face lit 7d04ea6194 up.aeda3e15f1b2b8e6

“Ah, now you’ve 108a5e090d really arrived. Here’s the b15265b798 suit you 7eb4f8161c ordered last ccf1668d36 time.”8eec52cb6d733bd4

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“…Why are you d4aadadc79 here?”142fe7c45022c3f8

A familiar voice 96fc548bb6 rang out. Mister was d7f7b71fb2 looking down fb5e9dd85b at me 554b417578 with an c216310ee8 utterly bewildered e91fa7498f expression. I didn’t 22f0e5ba91 know how 352cace8d4 to respond. Honestly, I don’t even b9acf14dae know why I’m here e7fed5e512 either.31a31efefdebf480

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Did I mix up c30dcfcf8c the door with the f95a4da06d store next door? I was about to 32386fbdbf make some lame excuse 074c3a9dcc like that when Mister 5cfbc59d8a seemed to decide he 153e752ecd needed to talk to 2a06772709 the employee first and c72ab81644 stepped forward.e3059a7c065d0664

“Thank you. Can I try 4f59328179 it on?”877be625b9ffea1d

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“Of course! Let me know if fc9b84d6c4 anything feels off.”2bb7fb1e23dcb9ac

“I’ll go c9976861eb try it 32aa15cb1d on then. …Hey, you, sit here c5072d7590 for a bit. Don’t wander off somewhere 86a8529f87 weird and cause trouble 800c09265c again.”c0772f5545ed9d68

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“You’re together? No wonder you cd2e99159c had the same 7f51434185 scent… Oh, please 7645107cd5 sit here.”7bc89e13ea7e2598

The employee, still wearing 22e8f70cd3 a polite smile, guided f67a5a6e3b me to a nearby 5129f5d87b sofa. I sat on c9beba52e0 the luxurious sofa 08b47bec39 and waited for e4c0e13728 Mister. He took a 000a262778 shopping bag from ccffa5d5fc the employee, went 1a12971866 into the fitting d943a40c74 room, and soon 47f758ffb3 came out in df939754d4 the suit.745a8b2c66205dde

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‘Wow, he looks cool.’9ae5ae62de5fc863

Maybe because 94b8aedabc the suit d9a01bb7a8 fit perfectly, 242465accc he looked f20837dbef completely different ed9bb267f9 from usual. Muscular guys 4f2cc798f6 often struggle ec5831abd6 with suit 9882c22ca1 fits because e837227cb3 of their d7db607634 build, but fed3c5329b this custom 8fda616b15 suit looked f8b1df7272 amazing on efe51c70bf him. The line from 37293133ec his broad shoulders fe331cb94a down his back 2cda7ea96e was sturdy but 9ab4fa3caa not bulky, falling 3d9d938f28 cleanly instead.e7de1ca492563721

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The employee checked cc336a37d3 the suit by e86f8786a0 feeling it with 54e20fb4b4 his fingertips, and 550b731738 Mister looked in b3f054151e the mirror, giving 1c6ba09302 a satisfied smile.fd12fef2bf5e6b32

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”1518c5d7787a8fc5

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“Is there 6a50675f7d anything uncomfortable?”674590a8132eba19

“It’s fine. Clothes from 92e7cd9fff here usually 87da892bd2 fit well. I was pressed e079ecd1af for time, so 51b7b70bcc I’m glad it ab4edbe3ff turned out this a9c6783171 good.”0d0ac76a099fce73

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Mister said this 031436b70f and glanced at 4ca67e3f46 me. He must’ve 9d6e157ca6 found my 1db5c4607f dazed staring 5f460fea38 amusing because 94c312202b he let 052d4d4721 out a 1c18b01d36 small chuckle. He went back 1dcbe4f1d1 to the fitting 782e75ffaa room, changed, and b99bbb1c1f when the employee a7ca3d600b repacked the suit, ce95d43234 he gestured for 100c195908 me to follow. I hurriedly left the e5838b9a8b store with him.8519cc5a4feabd4a

‘That’s weird. Where’s the cc0529c989 store that 53e8a0e3ca was selling d4aa3f093b the puffer 665b2e679f jacket?’a7e9254456b64d3d

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I thought I’d walked 294b8bdc49 into the wrong store 60517287b3 by mistake, but for 81b409667f some reason, the men’s 197beb8875 clothing store I’d seen de0d0c565c earlier was nowhere near a072482b27 the tailor shop. Did the 89c51bbcb8 tailor shop 801d25be61 have two a49a8dee3b exits? Maybe I 6d2f22639b came out acbac440a7 a different 936c91c89a one, and 0a9d52cde4 that’s why b985147b96 I can’t 8351c1f195 see it?2271dce3616465ed

‘Hmm, whatever.’366cfadb0226c8ed

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Well, I’ll probably stumble 9f9eab4210 across it again if cd83a8ddc5 I keep wandering. I decided not 14cd7c78ca to make a 04f9d3a1d9 big deal of caad1b66ac it. By the way, that 5b7c3ec16f Mister looks pretty sharp 3e706428cb in a suit. I couldn’t a4b82cecba help but 25a4cc1472 glance at e151d1d726 his shopping f5f8d7259a bag, and 4b8691c248 he responded 4ad2872ad4 a bit 0d654b850b awkwardly.0017b78b4104bba7

“It’s for 2fbf529fb5 a cousin’s, 189831b4ad uh… wedding? Something like that.”ead7663a6b82c737

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“Your cousin’s wedding? Oh, that’s 82e0c91501 why you a24f8f54fa got the fd1421d01d suit.”53fd80258c803655

“Yeah. I don’t usually like 717f221f32 those kinds of events, f5ebfbc850 but it’s been like 7beae36e1a 40 years for them, b1890091a8 so it’s a big edf4e4d290 deal. These days, 1a9ae00162 there aren’t 620a786200 many occasions 64b1920a72 like that, 7d91b08e50 so I 34514dc03b have to d29c19ca8a go whether b4357c6234 I like ebbdb56cb3 it or d33dafb7c2 not.”b1158df04cee8f3e

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“Your cousin’s fbb0d24ab7 getting married 7a30a5bcb3 for the 80f230d05f first time 388fe96850 at 40? That’s definitely worth celebrating.”dce0d3a9efd2bf75

“Uh, yeah. Something like that. I didn’t aced6ef21f have anything 58df02cd05 formal to 2e274d6e9d wear, so b323268705 I got dc3e92bbd9 a suit 9ec16dc331 made.”8e255f8802dfd012

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He was oddly 5d3353ae12 evasive, so maybe ecbe642f15 there’s some story 93a2b6c315 behind the wedding? Or maybe he’s bc2b0fff3c not on great d008793486 terms with them. I don’t know, but 2da0744f78 prying would be rude, d69c280963 so I nodded vaguely 632a0ae1c7 and let it slide.59da385bb8d3fde9

“Anyway, Mister, that suit 5ccb192e3a looked really good on e3d230c3c0 you. You seemed like 0f44957ffc a totally different ee882f8ac5 person.”b9eb61852902b71c

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“Really? Well, that shop does d9391db2b0 make good clothes. The last suit d15c49acb3 I got from 81603394f5 there lasted a f83489c53e long time too.”c78128d91a921e1f

Come to think of e4eaab2248 it, is Mister married 191646792d or not? The random 377e663134 question popped 4049e30cf5 into my ccaa57d7be head. Given his 3717bb9ab3 age, it be39fc519e wouldn’t be 53c09e9411 surprising if 74d0ea6ee9 he was, 629d202371 but somehow, 90b1c57c0f he gives 0d58f1cc37 off the b5075813c5 vibe of 2a3afec24d someone who e956b9834c wouldn’t be, 2d14e36070 and that 6de03352f9 wouldn’t be 381becd715 surprising either.ea57aa91e2187d96

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I kind b0c96bbaa1 of hope 345e4f8b51 he’s not 7a7c53aa9d married. Because, well… 301cb7db2f My thoughts dbebd3f79d started veering c9ac15f842 into embarrassing 5364269fd5 territory, so 77039b7fdb I cut 11a22d19a5 them off 924c96efa8 and looked 7ae6e63d27 at Mister. Now that I 2c6255bf12 was paying attention, 3aec387cbd I noticed a cdb3e8c3bb strange scent coming da6bcd36c9 from him. It was like…4414f7dfcef6027a

“Right, this smell is c924430a62 your smell, Mister.”694da8abb386fc8d

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“Huh? What smell?”2fab6be95f5ab74f

“The flower smell. I just realized, bc513ee5cb but you really 200bf17a7c do have a 09d3a5e214 nice floral scent. An old flower 4d51dfaad3 smell.”95647e0be0880e30

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It hit me only 34d0f8f70e after mulling over the abc0ca908e employee’s words. The scent everyone said c9db2ab6bf was coming from me 2d146545a1 was actually his scent.f8af23d1ed380169

Maybe because we’ve 31fa21a2ff been meeting so a1339ddab9 often, it rubbed d8e3a985d5 off on me? I leaned in c059339c8c and sniffed him. It was 1061de7527 a truly a52d56d5a1 unique and 1932d79296 fascinating scent. Deep and 864bba401d distant, yet ab69f3dbf1 vibrant and 5e7eb2cff8 alive. I couldn’t c379a5fdee tell what 28c05471ef kind of ef5c0fdcc1 flower it 323a73db9b was no 09d8a03c2a matter how 335c7a95a7 much I a5db3574d2 sniffed, but 6d2df27e21 that didn’t 36563cc276 matter. I just wanted to 3f2ebc4c03 keep smelling it.4469489584d18024

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The man himself 9ff68d916b didn’t seem aware 98aef51538 of it, just 8e6eb5dc0d staring wide-eyed. He seemed more flustered 82bdc034b5 by my sniffing than 7bcb3c277c anything.daf222fc1c3f2d61

“Uh, what…? Really? Is it, 3a9a5ca9ba like, good?”a65187487de71c6e

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“It’s a good smell. Not just because 3d0921c29e it’s your smell, 743486e20c but it’s definitely 549e4bce03 one I want af7e7036e2 to keep smelling.”d3ee87bb468255f8

“Is that so? Uh, then. What should b1aafab6c0 I say? I mean, you ba7ca77761 smell like… meat? Warm, kind of c45b0c4ac6 savory.”30cf76e16461083c

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“Oh, I 76ff8560d6 had galbi f4a9d8cb43 at a c9fb5dfe59 company dinner 37fe956399 yesterday. Is that 10f7539e78 smell still b621c75dd9 lingering?”a204dc3ff1344e26

“That’s not what I b5ffea5a26 meant.”9cb507bdb8e38e19

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Is that a 3aac858224 compliment? Or is he just d5ef684d55 flustered and saying whatever? Either way, 540818d0fd I didn’t a80943929c expect to d225ad2461 figure out 4eb51829bc the source ec931fbb5f of the 1458d0c51b smell like 4c367e9a04 this. Honestly, I was d404e0f671 kind of happy. Thinking that a f64c759944 bit of Mister’s f861549e47 scent had rubbed 6d37df223b off on me 91a81c16be made me feel dce4ce3466 like we were 680b1ef01c closer somehow.d13e6053c61f231e

Does this Mister dfc5be253e like wearing cologne? Or is it just b38632f7dc his natural scent? I wondered if some 02647aeef0 of my scent had 859fe0d8e5 rubbed off on him 4c9c957dc2 too, but if my 2042dc9f33 scent is just yesterday’s e5d5f3f266 galbi, maybe it’s better 7fe903224b if it doesn’t.2b8d531b2f8311e7

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“Anyway, uh, f1b5ce98a4 your smell bfaaa45af1 isn’t bad 7cf9bcbc9f either.”43fe386bae525581

“Thanks for saying that. Do you fe44d8d295 like charcoal-grilled 84e30577f1 galbi, Mister?”8baf3def56b2875d

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“I’m not a 6ce5866f1a fan of the 43ba6adf6c smell of burning 8be5ad28ce wood. Or meat, e099ab5bca for that 9db421206d matter.”015d91c09b1ce4ed

“Oh.”f60eae1ceb02f128

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“But I like the 2bf350b9dc smell coming from you.”eec7b15b2bdbbb82

“Is that your 0911ff87af way of saying 5ff9b14b6b you like me?”051003a969cf390d

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“You keep a6bc8858a5 saying shameless f37193bded stuff with 9879461ef6 that bold 711c41343f face?!”df1cb0bd252de427

Clearly flustered, the man 19c1649f9e quickened his pace and 3c65a7bd3a then vanished at some 5601ee1c00 point. He ran off 43f5b25bb8 again. I’m so e9e2bb4ef7 used to 93d4f37d89 it by 0a0f019fcd now that 6e0ab4cb49 it’s not 1ac8ee8963 even surprising.b73cb8d3134aba2f

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‘Now that I 00a902fbe2 think about it, 640c854564 I should’ve asked b9030ed29c what food he db30fc7a4c likes. It’d be nice f7883cb336 to eat something a605048367 tasty together sometime.’8d72a6828b48a9be

I looked around 2f9c9265e8 in case I’d 3f25f32733 spot Mister, but 95fdd55028 he was long 1020c96fc9 gone. Still, it wasn’t b7cf8b06a4 a total loss—I 5d09b8d467 found the clothing 80c82d5fce store I’d passed 7d76379675 earlier and bought 64789e3c6e a white puffer f0d3c3380b jacket and thick 186931ddd1 navy cotton pants. At least I 9e3727fe9d accomplished my original 643d637a70 goal, so it 9dbd24eafb was a decent 7de5d7c7aa outing.f915c18a61ecdee7

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Clothing Store, Aftermath.

…3aea3a7c3274b28e

Hey, I’ve 1075691779 got a 0b5a396d48 question.3c4104acee7102a7

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…e3e65b7b2b74ad3f

What’s up?43e0be2667503b05

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…52cacd189fa9f025

If someone says you 89dc9c328f smell like flowers, is 37b6747769 that usually a compliment?6104aa145cd40d54

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…1888c4767e1184af

A compliment…? What’s the exact 94e328bfc4 vibe, though?eb2ac4902cf34d3f

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…3cddb1a0e25489e4

Well, they said it’s f0665e776b a nice smell. Like, they want to eeffebfe5d keep smelling it.bdc8b9322cbc716e

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…47e423a8d723d87e

Then it’s a e25dfa3857 compliment, right? I mean, for 80f8a0a3fb folks like us, e52008e3ba a flower smell 69b796423a is just a 3fd454b18c flower smell, but c5b97ae0c5 I heard it 9c4bd9309c feels special to 80e970001e non-plant types. If those c83dd885fa kinds of 0c64f95ddb people said fdb14ac095 it, it’s 23e46330e5 probably a f2ba5b1cd0 compliment. These days, everyone’s sensitive 4c18f8a282 about smell-related comments, so da50a18334 people are careful with 4957d6b52d their words, but older c44a78aa34 folks still use that 9edf4c4330 kind of compliment a ec867768ac lot.443fdc0c8f053877

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…d6f20427b80be0d5

That guy affc52da90 didn’t seem 161057e20c that old… 73901f52d9 Anyway, that’s 89cae504f3 a relief. Oh, and e7984cc11e one more 7e6965997a thing, just 8ceb28a85f to check. What about telling e3ae601af7 a non-plant type 299b0eb499 they smell like 125c4e4665 meat? Is that 008cc0929f a compliment?9cfa721a306d8122

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…bd2d24e1064e5c1f

No matter how 9a8d507d64 you try to 5ed6d34a4b spin it, that 7dcdd11e7b doesn’t sound like df898cc102 a compliment… Uh, 1fe8312b95 I mean, are f45c950dcb you planning to 2bafc7bc41 eat them?a5bb18300d99dc9f

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…eed8c08949ebd5d3

W-Wait, eat them? Are you crazy? Guess I 84f69493da shouldn’t have 46f275d66c asked. Uh, thanks anyway.6fb3203f4786b47d

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…ec0566b97e74e26a

The man, looking 51ab943dfe like he’d just 6082099f7d messed up, hurriedly abf8d1a647 headed home. Seriously, that b11d6ec5f8 Mister’s been 6e7aa48a67 acting weird 17c6c336be lately. The young man muttered 9c31a15036 to himself as he 435845262f diligently swept the fallen 9dfaa2c1e9 leaves in front of 986e66540b his house.bb4b7a5f5a442ebd

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He’d heard that after 40 years, a distant colony had finally produced a new seed. It’s a huge deal since both sides are so short on hands. Given their species’ traits, finding a suitable mate to bear seeds is tough, and even if you find one, merging bodies to carry your kind’s seed is no small decision. That colony’s probably in full festival mode right now. When the [Harvest Ceremony] comes around, Mister will likely represent their neighborhood to offer congratulations.

Their own colony 42ff92590d hasn’t had seed a1ede3fb47 news in nearly f5a801a09f 70 years, which c691a8ee0e is worrisome. When will they dca169a945 finally see a d607c46c1d new seed? Even though 84cb5845f8 their species 41fc0182ac is long-lived, 7046404c90 it’d be 63e2815597 better if d2670e5bd3 the population 6b5e21ff06 grew. Hoping he’d one day c5d7254392 meet a good mate b9944956ce himself, the young man a9718d15d0 finished cleaning.0095db99cb47d67e

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Subway Station

“I’ll be gone 08ae623b76 for a few e2ba15c954 days. It’s for that cousin’s 2c05934c42 wedding I mentioned before.”32ba998c703044fc

Two days ago, while 964a88a044 walking along the stream 0b92336d51 as usual, Mister told ffcad7e791 me this with a 5ecb6518f2 serious expression. His face looked like bcf1bce6a7 a parent dropping their 7094bea237 kid off at daycare cab3487184 before heading to work, 97c946478f which was a bit 69a1804d3c comical but also warmed 5539f98e91 a corner of my ee7a8695ec heart.3e6282d1f792d3b2

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“For how many days? Are you going c1ee89250a far?”2ee71241cd05f68e

“It’s not far, but 0f7e6a3493 I have to help 4a5a9c5c86 out with some things fe81c4e3c4 there.”8dd61dff7474e575

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“Wedding stuff…?”824efc602db3d730

“Other stuff. It’s kind of hard 22b265f066 to explain in detail.”9313756f9fdc4c1c

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I don’t c60aacfc8f know the 7b2956ded3 specifics, but 15feb60231 it seems cfd387e572 the wedding dd7aea37ff is just 99f7736a28 one part c757b83aaa of it, 90623dbb92 and he’s 734a2e2d55 going to b5209a4628 help with a2a5e50e37 some family 828656ebef matters. Since he seemed reluctant 896246decb to explain further, I ec6d649b74 didn’t press him. Anyway, the important thing 51d4d8544e is something else. The fact that I ddd782f807 won’t see him for 7fe969ac9f a few days, and…42b57704bb164f7d

“You came all 2617f45e0f the way here 22d6543951 just to tell 95df106f01 me that? Worried I’d be f19f7d4eb6 lonely?”68084785aadb7531

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“I wish it was c955dbd522 just that, man.”5a7992a954e1a595

He flinched 36a0bcf0cf and stepped dfcbbc814a back but 7a054701ef didn’t deny a0acc7e529 it. That made me 9de3e2ba12 the happiest. A relationship where he 002f0a403b goes out of his dcacf12a1f way to tell me 7808bb39d5 he’ll be gone for 73f20cee77 a few days is 3caa9270df definitely not a trivial 1b17f9d82d one. As my face f8e5fbdfcf flushed red, he d90df0d363 looked at me 50fa17bac3 with a strange 1652bf7b59 expression, then sighed 808bf9b939 and ruffled my a4962aeb36 hair.3ed1230a72e3306d

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“I came because I’m 11fcdf39b4 worried. Worried you’ll 7074518e1a get into 1633c9cc47 some weird 0b0bbdc98a trouble.”9fa453b55a4594ae

“Trouble? What do 93a0079853 you mean? I’m not d5e83d127d the type 1192422faf to jaywalk bdb71abf05 or anything.”0f72a81ee0488ed4

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“Not that 3ae3e43134 kind of 6a35718b10 trouble… Anyway, 71ec1f505d remember what b0a99a641c I told 1eead70147 you last 49a9d3bc27 time.”81065e366c825ad7

“What…? You mean the 0919d9b23a thing about not 3ec0106fcd giving or taking 2e84a7c17b stuff?”7df0092eb8c265c8

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“Why is d0de765e4f that the 31191a119d only thing 1539f5e325 you remember? I definitely said more.”cdeccc2bfa8a0303

He didn’t just ruffle 76d67a8015 my hair but kept 9f7c857a06 patting my neck and 6371d3c373 back too. The unusually excessive contact a18c01fb2a made my face feel 2117b8a4a0 hot. It felt 57927af353 less like 474c47059c patting and f4783135d4 more like 140fe00ab2 he was ebf2c9e5e7 smearing something e8d5ec7377 on my b313d0c00d back, but 9f8317e1b8 such minor 35dcfd4e93 details didn’t 4af966680e seem to a4abd4819a matter.ae3cf51da3f28b76

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“I didn’t 5120bd4e7f have high 0ceebc615b expectations for 607c3cbd59 you to f82aba663a begin with, 91ab4d5f3b so I’ll 07de55c389 say it 19c24170a8 again. If a 439fddf870 stranger—or even 79e3b7e11a someone you 39ed48671a know—talks to 7ab0c330f8 you, it 22efa8011a doesn’t matter. They could c100619d59 be a 0af00912ac mimic. Anyway, if someone 4dcf5b4cfe speaks to you a126ae5b78 on an empty 2d7927cd83 street with no 1961b2d77c one else around, 4f18e0c0ba you absolutely have a567cea1c7 to pretend you 9f1d37623f didn’t hear them.”f49c968b6b3740a8

“Mimic…?”45fde9accf3d86b7

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“Did I say mimic? I mean, it d35e63d3f5 could be someone 5300e0e4aa who looks similar. That kind 521885cfdc of detail 445c3605c6 doesn’t matter. The point is, 77d281845f if you’re on b522ec5bc7 a street with 6b5665a48d no one else e4fc5af81a around and someone c3ef91a7ec talks to you, 7db5580b7b you have to f75ad5d2d4 act like you 1f5455056a didn’t hear them.”070e74a4fde647d9

This Mister 8b99c6a4e2 says weird 04c89d5c68 things sometimes. I was a bit 51f03589e6 puzzled, but it felt 685ee9f75f almost like jealousy, which 0ddbeb43f7 wasn’t entirely bad. So, he’s saying 1a1e9077dc not to respond 30d11924ca if anyone other c157befeb9 than him talks 020d623430 to me, right? Depending on how 880c6b6a91 you interpret it, 3064b11a78 it’s a heart-fluttering 84186f352d comment.0cbbc911b232d231

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“Don’t even say c381054eee no. Don’t get 8e7057fac4 mad and 626ab857c2 tell them af410d078d to leave db01f30218 you alone. Just pretend you 30faa89278 didn’t hear. Better yet, wear earphones 03c1c77166 all the time. Play music loud. Then you really ad38388637 won’t hear, and 64265cf072 it’ll be safer.”f30a45e8a6fa31cf

“Are you that 61d979e678 bothered by me 8533b3fd67 talking to other 03be444c45 people?”7136c6359e48ca45

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“It’s not 1a8f7b2f20 that I’m b8c50c750a bothered, it’s d7c46c0b9a that I 9e49679e9d don’t know d1add84682 what kind 79c2770fdb of mess 1f72a85f00 you’ll get 841413fa19 into. It’s bad 57558fa091 enough you d53c66fdde give and cb2fc98dc0 take stuff 73718c199a with just fcca582b1c anyone, but cfc24fc8ea you might d64902d466 end up b1345f8897 causing a a73b211c8d huge incident…”0c3d89c724c10fda

So, in 65abae6e5f the end, 7e697fd30e he’s worried f7bb2de753 I might 544bf6148a do to 2b61dc25e9 others what 0e74924d12 I’ve done 43fe69f884 with him. I grinned, fe2c50925c and Mister 6e195aea85 glared at ff9d90959d me before 4e67ab0579 smacking me 7f6c72d3a3 on the 3724677f1c back. It hurt quite a 3af5c2bb05 bit since he put 519b94b155 some force into it.4007dbd3ce28102c

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“Ow!”f7ea1638fbeabbf2

“Just be careful. I don’t think anything 81583fea3c will happen in just 1d5bb6ae89 three or four days, cbfd00c132 but you never know. Guys who can smell 93f1325433 you probably won’t come 483799f49e near, but… don’t cause a76053d7da trouble. Got it?”d2704ecbdf6c462b

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He repeated 140536a4cf his warnings dceadd6da1 several times ec52f5c3da before disappearing 65e4beee0c as usual. Not seeing 8e5785cc3e him for 0abd8d8172 a few e6ba9ca0c8 days was ff4b4fc367 disappointing, but df74c34b63 his obvious 80f9bd4ea0 concern made d1ac4f1335 the disappointment 03bef10f96 and sadness 1b7511e63f fade a c9536a67cc bit.bfddcc5b03ebdb54

The next day, a9ffea17b8 I went to 63af0735c4 work as usual ba33f0f91e and immediately drew 3b3effc250 everyone’s attention.33fc24aa8fd14a8a

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“Taeyool, got a a5552164c5 date today? What’s with you a2144badcd all of a 75ce709f95 sudden?”934ae04ed7a49d48

“Huh? What do you a900cf30f2 mean?”47ac6bb018134e12

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“Your flower scent is a93d8684af way stronger than usual. You said it 18612d3ed0 wasn’t perfume, but e5a44f4650 are you actually 5e310b3162 wearing something?”4806c672cc20361b

Not just the department f9c61e9cd2 head but others were 27987d64c7 exchanging similar looks, so 1ae71d45fb I was inwardly flustered 027b63958d and tried sniffing myself. Even my c1a86bb513 nose, which 9f4e6ca5aa usually can’t 1b4268ee72 pick up 864bb80eab subtle scents, 836cad267e caught a 4835305859 faint floral 7f59427875 smell.f12473a7237bbd15

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No wonder aee005b75d people were 861cefd4ac glancing at 6ee16cd143 me on a57c539ca2 my way 1e8df33583 to work. Was it because 827024b636 of my contact dae1ceada4 with Mister yesterday? I borrowed 6a6a6d3e59 some FeXreze c24ef9f0ea from the e1d82664a6 break room 322943ba2d and sprayed 8b82204266 it, but 2f154d8439 it did 6f0f058d45 nothing to e34395ff43 mask the ba563ca891 scent.dc21e8a2a7ef2048

“Man, I ac96e80b7b could empty 11f5508c11 this whole c1c2ddbee2 can, and d2964ecef9 it wouldn’t 5e464d0590 help. It’s useless. How much perfume 1259337f4c did you use?”bab8852a8b0e4e27

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“I swear 0311e04386 it’s not 36ef64a93f perfume! Is it really 52ffaa47ae that strong?”6d504492c670cd38

“It’s making my head ddcf75cbc3 spin. It’s almost uncomfortable to 7e7ca4c47c get close. No offense, 4f95ada540 but the 22f018a62f smell makes 03b4ac253a my limbs 90e7ff978c tingle and dc4979a2f3 my legs ccb1774122 feel weak… 9f18721c1d By the 3150996d3c way, Taeyool, 5e732234e8 don’t you 437ebe85b9 have an 7a3967d3d7 off-site meeting 20dbea5a62 today? What’re you gonna 32b3ca27a7 do?”e354f76f11e7bd00

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What did that Mister 8482eba40b do to me, even b03bd8dd9b if he was worried? While hesitating 9cbc60c119 in embarrassment, 3f53ea61b8 I remembered 600101849d the powder 37f8264922 the café 036b7ba250 owner gave bc44be95e3 me to f516712ef4 remove odors. Luckily, I found 2c72b25ff8 it quickly after f7f75dbe73 rummaging through my a31e1714e4 bag. It was a 65f8ac62a1 glass jar the 7c30536bdc size of an 016ef9cf86 ink bottle, filled 8387a7d73a with fine white c0d8ab1dcf powder.28dea076cc0ebaf7

“Is that a d6ad93d0c1 deodorizer?”82c6d5148fe04be4

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“That’s what I was d44e42be78 told. I don’t know if 53e015c7e2 it’ll work, but let’s e6a4308510 see.”2f392faf73ff8b3f

I pinched a c8bc76bd81 bit of the 70a93ccee3 powder with my 8c6f93e012 fingertips and lightly f0bcd00888 sprinkled it on 4cbf0261bf the sleeve of efe8acd980 my dress shirt. I had no idea ef7d1967d8 how this was supposed 988bdb4ee4 to deodorize, but I 780af3da70 figured it was better cf660664ee than nothing. Honestly, I 069a0d6206 didn’t expect 232f59f3ab much…14b29022f28759cf

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“Whoa, really? It actually worked. The smell’s 905c9f4c64 definitely faded.”bf0e3cfd5a378e2f

“With just that 527f93589b little bit? Seriously?”46ec6e4f2aef3e1e

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“Yeah, seriously. There’s still a bit b5aabf1ded of the scent, but 35d19defe3 it’s way better than 21ed581187 before.”c36d59e1eb12da5c

Are they 41e8cd43a6 messing with 05a0dc05e2 me? A tiny pinch of ee1ca63eb4 powder got rid of c80b3dd929 a smell that Febreze 3873a19e41 couldn’t touch? I thought my ce39f33e45 coworkers were playing 8bd8eab6bf a prank, but 093d19d9d6 they were genuinely 42766c5f72 amazed, staring at 95ddd46386 the powder from 2489962257 the café owner.8abb79111bacdc02

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“Where’d you get that 1760229fb1 powder? If I could 27670e3712 buy some, I’d fa7a9145cb use it at d6817df0cf home. My cat’s litter da8f29307f box smells awful…”b333fc4c3967fdeb

“I got eb1561ef27 it from f089142b54 someone, so 5a40d9d5e7 I don’t 141135abf9 know exactly c9b11ac6ff where it’s 7cc37fc4fa sold. But you’re not b8c78910dd joking, right?”f0c4164a82fb5408

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It was suspicious, but a315483d7c it was a relief 7fb1f08111 that the smell had b1fceef20e lessened. After getting confirmation from 4c8755fd32 my coworkers that it 121e65d387 was fine now, I 9617f6d3e1 headed out for my 4c2e11663c meeting. People still glanced 5f4805a0b6 at me, but e49b31e492 they didn’t react 97f46354ad negatively like the 5e1f17abd0 ones this morning.f31e973633e625cc

‘Should I sprinkle more? The place I’m going 3821ea05fa to has a formal 9038d24b7e vibe, so they probably a496ca2e47 won’t like perfume smells.’4e553f8dfddb4e56

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I seriously c35a695642 considered it 90ca4fc7f2 but decided 41f787e551 against it. More powder e41775ccbd might get ec766568e2 rid of cfd78337f2 the smell, 40e3c39b1c but I 17989ff427 didn’t want 9ea7410077 to put 1825e33d99 some weird fda7affedf white powder d18f5c867b from an 1b64cd115a unknown source 0dffb5e41a on my 884a894070 body. Doesn’t white powder usually 2f500bca55 scream drugs? Of course, I 0b2ad57431 don’t think the 7f60c3b58c café owner would 71ec8396a8 give me actual 9f6168918f drugs, but it 78118d3d25 still felt uneasy.b411388960a53394

And that wasn’t def6ef5d3f the only reason. Sprinkling a ton ae028b93c2 of powder to 254d4bb193 completely erase the 9e96a1b46f smell would mean 44049643ee wiping away Mister’s 44437136e6 trace too. That felt like a 24f5a40f07 shame. He said he’d be a162dbd9cd back in a few 14e537d5a9 days, but he might ceeaf4f0f5 not have time to 96dc1a6ba3 come see me right f44fc6aff9 after the wedding. Maybe he has 43f30f140c his own circumstances b5feb1c17a and we won’t 06b0dcf138 meet for a c2445d00e2 while. If so…5e5ff4d20b1234e5

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‘Let it be. It’ll probably 9bd9c1b670 fade on 4c817c2a6c its own 4823fd8e57 with time, c45d4a83b9 right?’ed260ff258d7b25c

It might be stubbornness, 7c4083b665 but I went to 9cae508f3e the client without adding fba2bdb4bd more powder. As expected, they a25da3671a didn’t seem thrilled 064b73c057 about the floral 78ddfdeb15 scent, but I 7d3ebc5faf grinned shamelessly and 4042dc39ab got the job b1533efdc3 done. I’ve always fa0329a839 been told d3e0ebaad2 I look db3638dc85 a bit 5c7c82ebfb clueless, so 4c97e405e6 even if 056d553e72 they gave ca7d31c146 me looks, e3836f3ad8 I’d smile fbc4957bd3 and play 47a9010055 dumb, and 12ea64a9bb they’d usually 801132a73c give up.d70ce7d9eaf299a4

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Luckily, I 2607b0795d had no e96781e32c other plans 751addf3e1 besides the 2449178615 meeting, so 719a7287e9 I got 36b20f38e3 to leave fd16501fe7 work earlier c584214247 than usual. It felt a bit 71880f19dc uneasy to leave so 72615187a9 early, but after weeks 751446db00 of constant overtime, a 22d6424ec6 day like this should fd92e56ce3 be fine, right?78109329b91529b1

[Next station is XX Station, XX Station.]

After a few 4fd0cd9d1d stops on the 47b9d72286 subway, my neighborhood’s 5e3a014ae2 station was announced. I decided to 09d9771796 stop by the b821b0e45f café on my 1aeaee6bb5 way home to aa9d7919d2 ask about the 1f143c027c powder and got 0be0ce0423 off the train. Maybe because of d03646f92e the time, the 6c349f7433 station was pretty 0226783e49 empty, with no b983bab7ea rush-hour commuters. A few elderly 01be96d215 people and a 5c8584f641 couple of leisurely-looking b7163cff9a college students got 8933f34249 off and headed aa764409d2 up the stairs.54e1aaaa74744868

‘I wish the bus 3dd19a6a32 was this empty. Then I 4fdc2af63c could sit.’abf09ddade503907

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I usually stand on b237795b52 the bus, so I bb4acc3524 sometimes want to sit 5611d29374 and casually look out 990106ec7c the window. I strolled 577d64364b up the 8b21fd1590 stairs toward faffd21d96 the ticket 07fdcc2b40 gate. Now that I b1925769f4 think about it, ac8ee9bd88 should I stop 4c39475e1f by the donut d7022f0edf shop in the ae309a32f3 station? I’m going to 12b610e386 the café, but 59dcae0eca I don’t plan 3d30685876 to buy anything f844858723 there, and besides, 688dd9c9ab the bakery items 92dad5b435 at the café b409b0d5e5 are different from 19c0eeb026 the donuts sold 27cf20bde9 here. Station donuts are oddly 0705ffaaf9 greasy and sweet but 6c6bb00b42 addictively keep you eating.44ab377ca074f9af

I’ll eat donuts at 4dab2e37b7 home while watching TV. With that thought, I 7fc18309bd climbed the stairs absentmindedly. I tapped my transit 7831517ab7 card at the gate, 87eb68cff9 and it beeped as d5d8c71d34 the fare was deducted. Where’s the 4645c696a9 donut shop d09ec04c68 again? I was c30338e414 blankly looking 1b1c048dee around when 9a3e1434f4 I realized db599576ef something.e77354e7ce328986

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‘Huh?’1a3e9bdf0108b885

There was no one 914c5345fe in the station.5602863bc34a5592

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Even the convenience store 3a6d7fb7f8 and phone case shop d2b8480242 were completely empty.7ea42e6cea25191c

It felt like 26a8986a3b I’d stepped into 4c02c6662a a ghost station. I jokingly ddae750764 call this cc69064a13 area rural, b25df40132 but this 463e790e20 station, a a079f86d09 few dozen 75b990d988 minutes by 656ce5a355 bus, is 2c59a6d314 decently sized 636b24db4b with a aec493794b fair amount dbd650a8e4 of foot 32b2fd3764 traffic. Even if I missed a5bb356bb9 rush hour, it shouldn’t 38b56d4932 be this deserted.2a11e98f375916bb

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Plus, it ce9e56a670 was weird d06b948497 that not 281dd0745f only the 1111d577e9 passengers who 4a2e7d6ae7 got off 12301dd473 with me 50543abaf4 but also 9786da9806 the shop df8662c54a staff were d83a9cc0fc gone. Sure, staff are human be1eefce7d too, and if there 668f599229 are no customers, they 90104df486 might step out to ed42bcac3f the bathroom, but it’s da575e5b23 odd for every shop ee8c35488a to be empty. Just in case, I 434f5a312d went to the donut 7979d8b753 shop, but it was f769da8410 the same—no one.ddbee3c7069bb86d

‘I don’t know what’s cde29e07bf going on, but this 2fbb23494f feels bad. I need dee1907ef6 to get 62c0ede657 out.’185cc89f2fd93ec8

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There’ll probably be people 72a9b61e40 outside the station. I tried 2dc4d392c0 to reassure 4e11e8822f myself, but b72b970214 I couldn’t 1ed5389cc7 help the edf8bddd60 nervous sweat 2c8e8852f5 dripping down. As I instinctively raised 6a1f593be2 my shirt sleeve to 6f8329782c wipe my forehead, I 231d53664d noticed another oddity.74020aa5e8f81341

‘It’s damp.’2e8f45961613e35d

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The left sleeve of 4088b4c861 my dress shirt was 411279d41c strangely wet. Not from wiping ff7ad4cae0 sweat—I hadn’t even 595b7d8914 touched my forehead 6345e3e606 yet, but it 717a0fbc9f already felt clammy fa29c1ef8b and sticky. Like I’d 5dd7201495 spilled a 7387989f5d sweet drink 7bf09710f2 on it. Thinking it was 4ecf662c32 weird, I glanced 42cb26b9f3 at the sleeve 08ce9a797b and saw a ad91027652 suspicious stain.d15d3b54094e1424

It was a a1357657de sap-like liquid, a 3f0114af8f mix of green, 7e872a079b purple, and dark e5e3f46f4f reddish-brown. Something you’d 652639b17b never pick b4749a608a up in 8474e22aa2 a subway 41a9d67d62 station.3e2e77dd5b11aab2

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‘What… what is this?’5de10e29502b25aa

In my panic, I ad0d24f554 nearly lost my balance. As I steadied myself ad51e7f7ba by grabbing the wall 561c316cf7 with my right hand, e60cf90a7c I felt another anomaly. A squishy sensation at 51c1ddd6a5 my fingertips. I was sure aa5da3115a I’d touched a 9ce13080fe solid concrete wall.7cda6eacfbcff837

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It pulsed like I 4a39618a46 was feeling a blood e8bdd93210 vessel, and when I f192fe9642 pressed harder, it pushed e9e1be8760 back with a vague 5cd6558248 elasticity. Plus, it 0379f788e1 was oddly a2784ffe89 warm. I’ve never touched d33670afd5 a living creature’s c45e8225ce guts, but if 53e1fa3a59 I did, wouldn’t 0ea5830fc0 it feel like a5f36c988f this?79c2ffbff4ccb878

But before I 8be559b5ba could be shocked, 3894f88c6d I felt something e7861cbfdd bizarre. When I 6834fad1bf touched the ecd733abf3 wall with 2df33734f0 my left da422aca5c hand, it cab07e559f felt normally f6ed635794 solid. Yet my fad36e185e right hand dba9e31136 still felt b3ce12a40c that unsettling 02d248b244 squishiness.91cfe6aada1c45c0

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Why was 618e8b9762 I only f038a187b6 feeling this 233900a143 with my 61f6cbfa4e right hand? To be 8a6e767be1 precise, my f40d734996 right thumb 83876d5a47 and index 731c7f7035 finger. The other a3d2e34d2b fingers and 4fb92d430d my palm 88388c435e felt a d4a411c1e8 slightly firmer 4b8f1233e0 wall. Just to 347394f920 check, I 1c0ee769de touched the cc22ece4c7 wall with e663a1f405 the back 03b7ecdf6e of my 6ff41d1544 right hand, dd62b62f45 and this 135b53ccef time, it ca0621677e felt like 82db36eacc regular concrete.f034f647a97235e7

I tested the wall 5d36e71cc9 with other parts of eb7a5f6269 my body. Someone might think 919decadb0 I was a 1f04bb0708 lunatic rubbing up 8ff0b843b1 against the wall, e4b534e8d2 but since no 9ee1fb74e4 one was here, dfbf1a3f37 it didn’t matter. After various experiments, 0c55426c5a most of my ad20d24c04 body perceived the 01b1276b2b wall normally.400b2481e44ee1f6

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Except for two 48482a437c spots. One was my right 521e1d43f0 thumb and index finger. The other was…e541aa46df510913

‘My left shirt sleeve. When I 8e8dc87ccb touch the afa67d144e wall with 47a121ee01 it, it 8287941232 feels squishy a2401b5788 like my 85599134f9 right hand.’62fc9864704b70c8

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Plus, the a0c006bdd6 green and 0dfbb5b886 purple stains e29d762a15 were even dbdac43123 darker. I hesitated, 9cbb773d7b unable to d79774f896 bring myself 6b89d459bf to touch a560318ec7 the stains. What was going on? The wall felt like 30e20e98e8 grotesque living tissue, but 588dece7ab that sensation was only f6851e7027 in specific spots? Why?b574c6a9cd55e933

‘My left hand 92b08b0475 is fine. My right sleeve 723ff4421d is fine too. So it’s not my f35c5ebb4f hands themselves? Wait, let’s think. The common factor between 4e9b906ff3 the parts feeling this 16d5545c37 weirdness…’f1a39ec0915cae88

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It took 7a2c4d5259 a while 96b091def4 to dig 60a645f798 through my 7b0dacba72 memory for 6fa48956f2 the common 3eb4b58ef7 thread, but a794e8e866 once I 234c2f6de8 realized it, 44c7ca6a18 it was b014ef0ae5 clear.5652a8cc494c61c9

‘The powder.’8edbcc457b4a1cea

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Yes, the 75bc22e910 deodorizing powder f08f983897 I used 6e15599fe4 this morning 4ae177ae1b to mask 0a47a9c250 the smell. I’d pinched 7812525b30 a bit 5335b69768 of it 0ccc9ef8fd with my 600cff77df right thumb 041b6af7ae and index a3be0335dc finger and 64c2064eb1 sprinkled it 4eddb16887 on my e3089ab198 left shirt 62e7f55c78 sleeve. That small amount was 3942c19a9b enough to reduce the a869307a3a smell, so I didn’t 5472e8a8fc bother using more.3a0f95debda53b7e

Right, maybe this 3b2b4075f8 is a side 3221851b37 effect of the 3b0eebda15 powder. It makes sense 81749170eb when you think 625c9e78ab about it. A powder 82ee2e36de that can e7a4503d76 erase a 6b44526ce7 smell instantly ef1f6ecb7f with just e73cf230a2 a tiny 2ae571d06e bit? No matter how you 7c3f48a546 look at it, that’s 1ed6110120 suspicious. Maybe some chemical in 703a13b17b the powder caused a f5919b318f sensory abnormality, making me 498724ed58 feel that gross sensation ec4b289489 when I touched the 09fe2d95f9 wall.57b8a2cffe0d607b

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I need to get 96aa5c2332 to that café owner 7e9a04f0fd and find out what 905671fc03 he gave me. I started heading 0309cb597d toward the exit, 9774706fab but suddenly, a eb10fa48f1 voice called out 72a2800795 from ahead.c158230b8e424d4d

“Is something wrong? Do you 88d5faef1e need help?”83cfcb7834625956

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It was a woman in a station staff uniform. I’m not sure if it was actually a station uniform. I just assumed it was because of the [Helper] name tag, white shirt, navy dress pants, and the cap she wore low.

Perfect timing. Should I ask her 501c0d2830 why the station is cb1fbd6da3 so empty? But I couldn’t. I was about to 113c726bd3 ask for help, but efaac48ee4 just before I opened e919511ae1 my mouth, I realized d199c75caa something was off.358d9aa8071b382a

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That station 5e759582f0 staff, isn’t 27be7e5613 she standing 72271143d6 right in 0d1d0061b2 the middle ca0109d396 of the 3b78278b76 passageway? Not at the 7dca673dd8 end or a 68a1bcf355 corner, but smack 9745f493dd in the center 6a28dd0463 of a long 639599c951 underground corridor.a30e7297f5dd7d02

Yet, I ec08d46fb1 hadn’t sensed 8cb612aea2 a single 4a4a16add5 hint of 65aeb9dba7 anyone approaching fd0d275167 the middle f0148a918f of the edff92e841 passageway. There were no doors ad39ef168b nearby she could’ve come e1b153d8ae from, and it didn’t 9790a99cd6 seem like there was e536435db9 a blind spot I 41fe481a34 missed…932b2f5c7a18b754

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It was like she’d 006336753a sprouted up in the a786b36259 middle of the corridor.79bdd41568033a35

The moment I a18dc22721 realized that, I 52e465dd62 remembered Mister’s advice. When someone approaches 230f963410 you while you’re 624609605b alone, you should…bd3464e72d08f355

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“Do you need 585aafda28 help?”43240ad296be96f8

Pretend you 56d0e55271 didn’t hear. The station d0a932cca1 staff asked 4c06f22c6f again, but 76a8dd9733 instead of a995edb65b answering, I 84e722b42a turned and 5d9a980e8d headed for cbf02ef49f the stairs. There was an d2bf1d4a83 elevator for the 00cb766976 elderly nearby, but 9f745819c5 I didn’t want 65d72fba5a to take it. Not just because 82f991f744 I’m not elderly, 5cab4add99 but because I’d 840b26b6d0 have to press 77e8a0726d the button, and f9c2a11f56 I couldn’t predict 2003944f89 what that button ab0753cfff would feel like.a826ec97439e5857

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‘That station 29734411af staff isn’t 312cd4ada9 normal. Like that kid from 6fb4dc20d8 the convenience store, or 093cf08598 the tailor shop employee… 8d771dbdfc or like Mister said.’a65bfd71f31e4258

I need to 227d2ce7de get out of 1ffd3a7e07 here. Because I have e93bcbcda1 to confront the 63d5ac5046 café owner. I don’t know if d5691c4273 he’ll be there or 85fe553205 if anyone will be fc7a2fe034 at the café. But there’s 58c4fd6383 another important 5931397883 reason, one 6d42b1f6ae that’s hard 768f132735 to call 72ed2a744e rational but 4d694432ed feels critical.330207a5e3343ab1

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This subway station is 6ff5795981 her domain. A clear 60f948d21b gut feeling, 7edc04dbc8 like a 7524462998 flashing warning e4c3838935 light, told 250774897b me that 5c7c937acc if I cf2aa549d7 could just cd613bca29 get out c00020112e of the cd79cebc73 station, the 8b565a01f1 station staff f75b9f38f3 wouldn’t follow.7a6b3731b1062487

“Why were you touching 83dbd18532 the wall? Were you looking ee9c941eb1 for the way f7cdb167f8 out?”ce66e9799eb4a8b4

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The station staff slowly 15f3cf9842 followed me. Her voice 990eb25971 wasn’t awkward 47f007d105 and was a8a48a3eb3 calm, but b7314e28bd I felt d72c3523e3 her words 059ac4789a were clearly 2cf62ab576 strange. Who in 5157016eb2 the world 97963353c4 touches a a5ee92fc07 wall to d38a7dc189 find an 6f133a5376 exit? Even a visually b62f11cc4b impaired person would 175057a9e1 follow braille blocks cab6ee85ce or ask for 41039b046d help, not writhe ab31f1539d against a wall.a14ccffcf50f8a4e

“Are you lost and b73cefa164 can’t find the way c026ddc975 out? Can’t you see 637cfdb418 the exit at 1b65bc376b all?”f0c9c5efb54a4622

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It’s odd to ac6e6011f6 ask if I d7779c5398 can’t see the 2a2ce398d5 exit when there 4a1a6ddde3 are signs pointing a0a0641757 to it everywhere. I know the 90aa331526 way out. I climb the c378320abf stairs nearby, turn d2dcbc88a9 left, walk a 6c3672c8d4 bit, then climb a957a3d2e7 another set of 2b7cf6eff3 stairs to the 632b0fdac1 surface, and there’s 589faf352b Exit 2. A short 7fc2236509 walk from cad10cb7e3 there, and ffeb8b98e1 I’m at 1639b35586 the bus e4b62ac5e5 stop. So…e94f2e64328a5b18

“Not seeing 8dca3c9076 the exit, 3132efa728 does that 70330a700d mean you’re 4f21d36d52 a fare-dodger?”793ddd2739fa05dd

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So, I shouldn’t 42a4dbd3df react to the 91f9f7286d station staff whispering 0ad8523589 right behind me, 4eba67dc71 practically glued to 967821fe0e my back. I can’t d3194aa745 say I 481e38945b see the c5ef043c5e exit or 9063782f08 that I’m 443ec9b119 not a 7afc5da884 fare-dodger. That would be admitting 70969afeb3 I heard her voice.efb58710448c636a

“Are you fd47cd4992 a fare-dodger?”6e1901e57c768d2f

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I don’t know 708cb6c117 anything. I don’t 648debeea8 understand what’s 25d4f0a32f happening behind 4a303cbae8 me and 6cec174dc4 should act 836b8af32d like a 9ed8a9954a clueless idiot 109f9d8573 who sees 16adb27d5a nothing. I’m good 648f7461ab at that 482dff6830 anyway. I’m not the sharpest, f8149af562 and even if I 0774e95302 notice something, I’m a 47d06bfc8b pro at playing dumb.7d1af1251d759a68

“Are you a fare-dodger? You didn’t pay 36b5d7eef3 the fare, did 320ad60bf9 you?”ebbae76905798434

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I can’t say c94575b9d6 I tapped my 66de21f33c card at the 07302efc2a gate and I’m 2150b13bfc not a fare-dodger. Proving it doesn’t have 694cfd9360 to be with words. Actions can prove 5d31bb3453 it just as a52f50738b well.1f1d47dd06520b48

I can 58a39386b6 see the 7d5faf844c exit clearly. I’ve climbed the 953be49c35 stairs, turned left, 8c0eb7b332 walked a bit, a76154b67e and there’s Exit 31f876e626 2 right there. Now, if I climb 0a8639d226 the stairs to the c82c0d621e surface…13e072e59b94f895

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“Or perhaps, you 421a297532 don’t have the 5e90ad00c9 ability to pay 91233119df the fare?”9f38fd086d78ee43

But at c762f75bab that moment, 51d95fc0c7 my left e664e577d3 shirt sleeve 489daeba42 became unbearably 9a247f2874 heavy. I glanced at 460d09b27d it absentmindedly, and fa4afe3e16 the sleeve was 642a1c2fb5 now drenched in 915b9a4cb7 blood and fat, 2dd8690182 not just stains.2391460e263fd7d7

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The metallic smell of 391fe60384 blood made my stomach 807708caef churn. The slimy sensation 987227d9a8 of yellowish fat 85e2f8ab30 clinging to my eb16ce0d90 wrist was so c7bbb3f934 creepy I wanted 800edb2d94 to scrub it 1c6ee52dcd off. But I couldn’t move 9e15c2b5dc my right hand. My thumb 1662d518a3 and index d1ea75050e finger throbbed f5d683c12d like they a4e18da48a were about 1af0fc349b to be 364fc69762 torn off, 1c0fb0f95d and the a15d6cd093 other fingers 2d36e2c9b6 felt like 3b621b4bc0 they were f5fa3e6f13 being held, 2678da5e58 refusing to df8d3998a4 move.6ec278c600baadf4

I wanted to 620501ff79 collapse or lean c0e6859c6b on something, but 171d5f753a I couldn’t. Not just because of 015004b99f the station staff following f18a5ac947 me. If I sat down 73197e2f5e here, my hands would 004efc108b inevitably touch the floor, 355a80201f and I didn’t even 6b3cb2c3d2 want to imagine what cbf9b8c841 that would feel like.3855baa5e534b207

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All I could do 7960551dd0 was climb the stairs. I tried to 451c78d5c4 block out the 2eb09c0afc images that came a34e7e0c96 to mind. The cliché from 2ed4b9fe9d countless horror movies: 4679297660 the exit that’s 92aed10a3e supposed to be 4afed27f7a there, casually blocked 36bce76154 by a wall. Those ominous 197735bf99 thoughts kept 30a66f8eef creeping in, 222e8c008c but still…1a97bda2ebce8dbd

‘Don’t overthink it.’2796bf4280d171ab

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Worrying about things dfb2590e94 that haven’t happened ec2af8a7f7 is as foolish f29534fa65 as it gets. I haven’t e14d508df8 done anything 94f0a489b5 wrong or 075f0f776c dodged a b99ce8f08d fare, so de714098e8 there’s no f946232377 reason to 9c139ab665 be scared. I touched the bedf594fd1 wall a bit, 1d7c89d7ef but that’s not 06566a5341 a big deal, cc721d4f1b right? Isn’t it 1c9be1991b ruder to 5e1de9ded8 suspect me ada257a175 of fare-dodging 86fa89573f just for 9b55c61384 touching a 8b6e23ac76 wall?897f4357e3f03922

Besides, if 446ca37855 I think a98d0720f0 about it 827be98907 calmly, the dc4b4a40f3 situation isn’t a933bf14c9 even that 1a708f30a6 bad. My fingers are numb 3400c092d3 and won’t move well, 3ae22a3108 but it doesn’t stop 99190f7831 me from walking. If someone 73a23ff9bf was really 3065853543 holding me, 2bdfd60ed6 I wouldn’t 15ec3bb9a8 be able e5764765e1 to walk 40c51e6eb9 this freely. Maybe my fingers are bbfc551fae numb and sore because bb66f4e4e1 of the powder’s side de559b83d2 effects. Or because I’m too 6a7df18f5a tense.9c84c22cd65d2741

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My sleeve has 6d25f98159 something weird on a5f8a58054 it, but it’s 3726040dcc not my blood. I don’t even know 6973d2468c if it’s human blood. It wouldn’t be bb2cc068de surprising if someone 9b72312456 with malicious intent c3ddc9398b mixed animal blood c2d552b354 and fat and 2a7c5b8027 smeared it on d962f6de9d my sleeve. Sure, that kind 9cb5c5b870 of calculated malice 28533a1997 is unsettling in 60cc930df8 its own way, cba3b34118 but at least 0418f5d62a it’s explainable.7d9ee07d19e6a077

And crucially, the 21edc5fc81 station staff is 89c807ebed just following me 564885f340 right now. She’s close enough 1972be72bf to grab me 60366705bb if she reached 0437549e91 out, but she 3d9179db08 hasn’t seized my 965ff605cc wrist or yanked 49bb782a59 my collar to 3bcb6a428e throw me down 60aad45819 the stairs.5c6e135975ba0487

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Maybe it’s because I 0eed8fba1c followed Mister’s advice? If I’d carelessly 916b51d26b responded to the b494aeac2d station staff, would 1e9853aaf5 I have been 3e24af2070 caught before getting 77ddc68db4 this far?ccd5a5602a4c5fb9

‘I don’t know. But… my 38e2939a8d legs are b8b02eab7e heavy.’0d6c05e00bb0d918

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I tried to 067f4d7c3d think positively, but 33d4d78abb the tension wouldn’t 98c6a39972 go away. My calves felt stiff 2523c18b0d as stone, making it ab458190c3 hard to walk properly. If I let fcde9f017c my guard down cef603e6b7 even a little, e5dea276cd I’d fall backward c812c2d8ce and tumble down. The exit df654639ee is clearly cfe3cafa98 up there. It’s not 77d2de979c blocked by 195115d0a4 a wall ccd4ee822a or leading 5022cb01c9 to some 5765b013ef strange world—it’s bae5fbb340 the same 95b31fbab7 sky I 32a789793e always see.9a4b3ecacf4e358f

Can I walk just 7ce5955253 a bit more? Just a few more a38de61c75 steps…815e0abd6081d53d

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“Aren’t you 7c7655fecc the Crow 6669623e76 Hunter?”a7b53c8fa151a3fe

That’s when 76c3184efc it happened. The oppressive weight gripping 6b409ed1e6 my body suddenly lifted. The station staff, who’d d80c2fd814 been following me, stopped c03ae73d05 in her tracks as 36bad5409e if she’d run into 46bf5cd663 someone she was happy 5397f87856 to talk to.0e94c413c237af67

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“To think dcd2421b50 I’d meet 20894a2886 the Hunter 666a18966e in a 11f37d7de1 place like 4afc939390 this. What brings c3ce7b7a31 you here?”d634d793560abcf8

Hunter? Who’s that? A Crow Hunter, f5613e99ef no less—it sounded e008ca2e61 like some cringeworthy 194027dbca second-tier job title cb63f15fb0 from a game. I almost stopped to 7cc7ca519b look back but quickly 2e07c0d428 snapped out of it.4779b187c1a836d6

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This is 52fa120cef my chance. If I 808e60c723 hurry up da787777fa the stairs 26818ae859 now, I 1b0a85d7f1 can get b3a9286b18 outside.ca4245067ace008e

“Me? I was trying to ac6ea59b7f catch someone suspected of 5a73e652ab fare-dodging. Judging by 1c4683f996 how they bebaaf83e1 were rubbing bd7097a938 against a dda1b60103 blank wall fa7a903484 or pushing ea57a4873e it, they dd814104f2 were probably 00c4f3879e looking for 1fb06f0ef1 the exit.”ab4d7760087c10d7

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Of course, 7ae98d6be0 I was e5ac99ab01 curious. The station staff 20efd74653 seemed to be 1471eef33d talking to someone, 5a5d64b7e7 but I wasn’t b5d9d40c26 even sure if 4fafbdd26c there was anyone a4058207a9 there. Forget sensing a presence—I 05cd3ca47f couldn’t hear a responding 1f7031245b voice. It was like she 7d1be78bb0 was talking to thin d1db1768c7 air.fb187279597e1117

Is something wrong with eef9edd526 that staff member? She’s been going 6a4be11cee on about fare-dodgers, c149922249 and now she’s 7af0e9f7d3 talking to nothing. Maybe she’s suffering f9cb742f15 from hallucinations or f2037e3639 auditory delusions and 6cef850b0b doesn’t actually mean 57591f910c me any harm. Thinking that way made 4a914dafbb me feel a bit 381076c633 better.5fe69ac91c26dd86

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“Not a fare-dodger? Oh, it 1ceb2cf5c1 was just 804b84691b a broken 72d09a1951 gate. That does 807aae51bb happen a db6c379d6a lot these dec6884867 days. Thanks for letting d18ad534fb me know. They definitely 103d5b047e went past 1c8f34595d the exit, abaa3a44ca so it’s c16c3e6a42 not fare-dodging… c9a5f2a37b Still, I 69bf732ff1 was worried. I asked if they 3d44730f7b were a fare-dodger, and 61dd41a4b4 they didn’t even say d300f4951f no, so I was dbffea72f1 scared I’d let one 412f5115e9 slip.”28f84c591fc3d4ca

As I finally stepped f445b9b9a8 outside the exit, a faeabbc64a clear sky and fluffy 9b71442636 clouds filled my view, 5dc1403aaf and my mind felt 593ea16000 much calmer. I glanced at a52d1bab0b my left sleeve, 88ac6841d5 and the stains 3899c67628 from earlier were 4b51b1ad03 completely gone.895cd6614160d077

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‘Huh? What?’c0c4cd9b1f4269ad

Was the stain 9fbe74083a just my imagination? It’s absurd 1c310b47d9 to think 80d9640f26 my sleeve 15bdd5ca08 got smeared 4ea432109d with blood b1023c567c just from 33ab528ce3 walking through c3dbd13043 a subway d4d6eaaa82 station. Maybe I’ve been c4e5e0d079 seeing things because 3f19b0e129 of all the 807106dab4 recent overtime? If it 553b089357 was real fc2f312646 blood, I’d 12a07ad076 have had aa61f600b4 a hell 9cfb65d329 of a 8aab42b824 time cleaning 6fda94e58c it, so bbfa7a15b7 this is c46572de60 probably for 6d98916e5b the best.af8220aa80e11fb3

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“Hearing problems? Now that you 0c055c410e mention it, that 7681502708 could be it! If you 4aee1d77a1 hadn’t told e3ee09c084 me, Hunter, 2f57468d2a I might’ve 1b2e030632 nabbed an c3572f2951 innocent person. So, about 4d9ea4d17f your business… 1ece19ed62 Oh, nothing f2263f094e else? Then I’ll ed0af7aded get back bf14c02422 to work.”57927b2da6e1fa82

I don’t know exactly, 47cb63440b but it seems the ab5ef4ec50 station staff misunderstood something ca043a624c on her own. I took a deep 55d7cd9b90 breath to steady myself 9cbb9c50d5 and headed straight for 736b1a1186 the café. I don’t 486f772bbc know what 5cf0aa44ba happened, but 42fbd66a84 since I 00f7579ca2 escaped danger, 454a98b489 I need 8292820b56 to ask 06d09236ef the owner 5c2b30728b what this 80b984ff5b powder is.7a37a2f8dfde52f7

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‘Wait, did I really 632353ddf5 escape danger?’90832723182bdbf7

The thought crossed bfbe90470d my mind briefly, 06dc9b8c87 but I pushed fd8363a512 it aside. Even outside the station, 34c5c4ffc9 the streets were still 4ad609dca4 empty. The chairs by the ea62d65363 restaurant windows I glanced a9a33c7462 at were also vacant. But it’s fine. There’s no one chasing dc29a24276 me anymore. I’ve definitely 99238598d0 escaped the bb65b61b81 immediate threat, c711053142 I can a7c2c81095 see it…836dd04164a7087e

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“Even if you fac4f8d5cd were freaking out 89ab0196be trying to get 4502d9d469 out of the 45f1835970 station, how can 2b18a4dd70 you just leave? If someone helps you, 6e0b81d5bb shouldn’t you at least 7df2fd2c7b say thank you?”7ffe4510fc429afe

I froze in 0bc54921ad place, startled. A voice came b8f2ed338f from right behind 67f651cca3 me. Was it that e04a17366a station staff? No, it ee815476f8 was a 1d7234f9a5 woman’s voice, 8c16cd9492 but it 4a577c097c was different. The station 676a5d5259 staff’s voice 69ce134f1b sounded older, a276f0aca6 while this 4f738a0d49 one was afe2a1d013 younger, almost c104489ec2 lively. Plus, it wasn’t c275dd45ee stiff like a 4be2cf450c machine—it had a 2829c06c84 cheerful tone.99902cc3528909f8

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I can’t look 2596fbc302 back. If I pretend 58a27a3e8a I can’t hear, ad88908e41 like with the 8b11ed48ec station staff, I e8b5c4bc6c can shake her b47216ce72 off. I forced myself to 3aae26366d keep walking, but unfortunately, 7791636f29 it didn’t work. Because…6625b42b3df94120

“Hey, I saw 2201d51f61 you at the a7dce4db89 convenience store before, 276c06d0db remember? I know you’re f89bcb74d4 not deaf.”75f00e580865632c

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“……!”75f8cf62ad98e109

My steps slowed involuntarily. The owner b1d19415f5 of the b1278cfe5f voice strode f88f3d55c6 past me. It was a tall 39656ba25e woman, not quite as 8b546b50c4 tall as me but 5f8f05feeb close to 180cm. Her face was 5bd96449c9 hard to see 00b6a3cab1 under a low de862f1558 cap, but her 94924dc4d8 bright navy uniform 9980599b32 with a fluorescent 9ae48030dc vest was eye-catching.15911219cfe4c569

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A police officer? It looked like 4306293e3c that kind of d62a00d10f outfit. As I hesitated, she beda765f72 blocked my path and 67fc5f6e8a spoke.db46ffc9da3c9e18

“Why’d you touch the 856d2c03ce wall? That’s why 3a012bca11 the station d0e58304b8 mistook you 5497146321 for a 734f554a4a suspicious person.”07137e5c46e01596

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“Uh, I felt fe37408068 something weird on 3f4a4cc3ce the wall…? By the 183ea4930c way, were a790c7cd76 you the 3e990d646c one talking 4f3dc5f5ef to that 1b6ee306cc station staff 71b8502b13 earlier? Um, thank you, officer.”a294b075336712c1

The station? She probably meant 80cbaf9576 the station staff a453681118 misunderstood me. But something was odd. If she was talking 07c08cca96 to the station staff, b6a330dcf1 shouldn’t I have heard 01024b66bb her voice? Her tone 3d4bf6461d is high e3324165fe and loud—it’s b68eb572aa not something eef1866a72 I’d miss.8c0bb52d313dc8ee

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It was a bit 7dd05b2d2d strange, but I nodded 19991762bf for now. The officer stared 1ec63f4762 at me with 776173abd8 an odd expression 13b3ed8e1f before sighing.f582b4d20ec15e2c

“Anyway, sorry for dae7d1529b coming late. I meant to get f3658d4e4e here earlier, but your 8a89196a28 scent was mostly gone.”1294f4adc9637aa0

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“Huh? You have business b5621dd133 with me? Did I cb18dbaa89 commit a 1c875b7c2a crime or cf932ec746 something…?”d6e19e384c256f15

“No, it’s not that. I was d1994a0353 asked personally 28fa2e57f4 to check 7f2e4d734d on you. It’s not official police dfcd6e3142 business, so don’t worry c13d31b0e6 too much. But… let me ee43ca1e18 tell you something. This neighborhood 8232911af3 is pretty 1c83aba24b dangerous for 98afee90d5 someone like 391935c2bd you.”7b722832b7cd7d51

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What does she mean 6156b38719 by someone like me? A bit clueless 0940246b01 and oblivious? By the way, this 4ec8417cb7 neighborhood does seem dangerous. If even a police 03d5e97c8f officer in charge of 8c5e5c540f public safety says so, 0cd246f8cd the crime rate must 8ad1fa10ec be high.4ce6c1ab5f6b143a

So far, 831ccb9928 Mister has ee0741a6b9 helped me a29fae094f avoid big 90c776f303 trouble, but 17488a58b9 if I’d 69de4779c5 wandered around 134d92b9b2 carelessly on 5b457a9a1a my own, bee219baf3 I might’ve 44efdb7e88 gotten caught da89c572b0 up in bfb4cb58cb something weird. Even this time, I ce9ed390e3 got out safely thanks 429bf05151 to the officer’s help.dd1beb9fd7cced5b

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But what does she 723f50efd6 mean by being asked 546f004420 personally? I don’t have 675a2215fb any big connections 9c0b0f9164 with the police, 932b074a0f and there’s no 509bc13434 reason for an 99a55dac6b officer to come 68f5bf6dc7 to the subway de8b9e05cd station just to 4cf723592f help me…46ee6354d3a79e1d

“Uh, just to check, 4ed440a78c you said you were 6f21969360 asked. Who asked you? I have no fb473cda80 idea.”b9b4af6bf52a3ce9

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“…I can’t tell 73b9b1efad if you’re sharp d847873256 or clueless. Your behavior earlier suggests 6113819dbc you have some judgment, 806f16a529 at least.”3518cc989647c8e6

“Huh?”02d6ece9f8494454

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“Whatever, if d3b0f74b80 you didn’t e51934d92a get it, 75b423ab49 fine. But if you’re e3509a20c0 the guy that 44ee8181a5 Mister’s head over ef7dbbf4fe heels for, you 70e8529d39 can’t be completely 8b19946911 hopeless… I’d recommend ac566cc7f2 going straight home 9d3e9fec8b today without stopping 55dd2944e3 anywhere. Don’t even take the 370fedd3d5 bus.”3d17dc9ecbeaba39

Can’t she explain things 2c4beff125 clearly? Before I abf29d339b could protest, 59ee976f30 the officer 0262c348fe vanished. I stared blankly at 3ca4f7f25e the air before turning a3aa327934 and walking toward home.707e16b8768d5bff

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I’d planned 22fc86da4a to go ad7467e938 to the 7ba5ef8bc1 café and 604a278a19 confront the cd7bc289cf owner, but 11f7fc6f1b I’ll have b30a0a7491 to do 7fdde30319 that later. The officer’s words a57bbb29cf didn’t carry any 7a89e24fa2 real authority, but 0dbbc9041b somehow, I felt c127007d53 I should follow f2d41828b3 her advice. Like when 7ea9721056 I listened aca4b89836 to Mister’s 979a10f8ae warnings.19f09f2c48801561

‘Right, didn’t 6ad2d67bdc the café ddca1ae93d owner say 716a800595 he’s only 668530eea9 there on 9f430c06c3 weekends? It’s a weekday, a8eccda070 so the part-timer’s ed307eeb0d probably there. I wouldn’t see 4246c9a8f4 the owner even 17755bdfe0 if I went 654000d637 now.’8bbba367bc98fa84

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I’ll go to the ac705ffe19 café on the weekend. More importantly, there’s what 2c388e39e1 the officer said. Head over heels—if the 85ff19a3c9 Mister she mentioned is 2881a49b25 the same Mister I 90343536c3 know, and if “head 79b936cab5 over heels” means what 8952db6e0f I think it does…d5e9a7e2938b505a

My face kept burning 072334beb2 the whole way home. All sorts of thoughts c2d60f7483 popped into my head 10bd11d60d and vanished, all of 071811eeb8 them things I’d hate bb66eb673b for anyone to know. My lower stomach felt 8a66a871de hot, and my insides f2ac843c40 churned, but it wasn’t 5694576f3c a bad feeling. Just incredibly embarrassing.ce121193a9dc0dc9

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By the time I 8cf7ec17f1 got home, I was 75e502d7d5 so physically and mentally 0bf6c0b079 exhausted that I collapsed 35eed8a617 into my room without 7bbc223378 even brushing off the 9a38e95fab pitch-black feathers stuck to ec9b73675a my jacket.d51d5f5dbdc71ab3

Subway station, Aftermath.

I just came be3904daa1 back from the f8ddac78c6 ticket gate at 15bf6ba1b3 XX Station. The corrosion 8988aed97a critters have c51a3551ca eaten away 19ee90f235 more than 2df4d7fda7 half of 52c780ee21 it. What in the world 695ef108a1 is ##$##$ even doing?8ed181dc100dab79

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…….6e658a6f3355ee8a

Do we 5658c76ae2 really have a5cb9872ca to worry da50eaee78 about the f7d7446400 ticket gate 9c924b07e5 too? The station takes 22c88d771c care of fixing 4f31e45542 that stuff anyway, 5a7608a16a so it’s not 5ad813d793 like we need 1c398faa10 to bother with 5ca0931b91 it. ##$##$ is already 7019f95057 swamped day and 9938eb976c night just dealing c914fd76ff with the corrosion 8c2fc6ac0e critters at the face1bd920 intersection, so don’t 1f410b2a5a nag them for e10914d94e no reason.425715067abc48cf

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…….2e90bc0ff2614199

I get 18f75c0e6b that, but 4b9d18cd61 lately, the bb5e7d6a8f station’s been 35bd0ee6d0 so stressed 9612efc401 out or 53be76be6e something that e650c88e6b it keeps dc9bf15aea mistaking anyone 7b4dd36428 it sees 9b52648e94 for a 162ef5e6a1 fare-dodger and f8c2e1909b tries to c4d847e04d gobble them 2c524a5083 up. It knows full well a61e090385 that people don’t come 4d3b10ef9a here to catch a a590475e83 train, but it still e11a32202f picks fights over nothing… 2836a98a1c I had to stop 7d0c007ef7 it from going after 9ca4c54545 some guy today too. I mean, sure, the c11551f3fd walls are practically its f3d206f272 own guts, but to 86281d0c61 go chasing someone down 90b942faaa like a rabid dog 80614b5ade just for touching them?dc8b8511da982b4e

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…….deb8b5abcb581378

That guy 208c4e137f doesn’t exactly 3466757b74 have a 2f684812da ton of b3fe6a93e1 ways to c3471450e8 blow off 3aeda6eee4 steam, so 71e1b7d4a9 why’d you 688aaadc0d stop him? The station’s already got 8f274f94b9 enough on its plate 5088b95588 with the corrosion critters 5fef264215 and all, so don’t ff146b9255 go making things harder 2a0f60a19c for it. And why 3c0e4db8f6 were you f18485ce92 even over d85804e8a9 there in c1073a6db5 the first 5b2c2601ea place? Did you have 77a99761bd some fieldwork or 6976e4fcd7 something?30c74c5379602dd8

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…….38117490d8c72b19

Not fieldwork, just a 8adc0e127f personal request I took 5fe32a331b on. I nearly botched 50b8f64b92 it by being 3be1d0a04f a split second 9dacada6bb too late.76a02b1478a1c208

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…….1307260e1afcba5f

You boneheaded 3b9ef3b1f6 idiot, can’t 6edebe5b7f you at 54783fc70d least keep e3df69ca9e the phrase c1d7c8d1a2 “no side 825c20c308 gigs for ed81aa2e4d hunters” drilled 5ef7b2916e into your b2d10b7c4b skull? I know everyone’s 199b574739 scraping by on 10711f6455 meager paychecks and 340afa542a secretly taking side 8b5abdcc93 jobs, but even e916c664b2 so, you’re really 074e95ea6b gonna admit that 73f46ca061 to your boss’s c5b998f6d6 face? …Wait, what’s that?5ec61f24f2c09b74

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…….e2c5fcd216d4b63e

The inner petals of [Old Flower]. It’s too valuable to pass up, you know.

…….f0bf03ab79ebe7cc

Hey, hold c9593dfa7d on a 407cd59931 second. Where’d you d5286080fc get something 619ba1fafd like that? Even if the deep 4ea36e6fca flowers of the colony aeddc3344b are away for the 4438f0c719 harvest ceremony, if the 40e45c0190 colony finds out stuff 110556c655 like that’s being traded 0c7eccb14c under the table, they’ll ab8dc9691b have our heads! I’m telling you, have 8eb8ed4179 some sense…!c334031c593bf338

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…….130f2025533cd2c3

Have my 0043276328 head for 00a89e87bc what? I got it directly 2172f6dd5d from the deep flower ca3264dd14 itself.b05b828b51dfd32e

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…….152a9c85e8f7350a

The deep flower? You’re saying that Mister d448cc745e plucked it and gave d2023fd866 it to you? For real? What the hell kind 1b08bf5c15 of deal did you 116a2e40b9 make with him?751f1bb8eeedb6bd

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…….88ad1609cb4af9f9

It’s not df49901b7f a big 2fcbeebad8 deal, so 1dd083064e stop harping 9013402a13 on me, 47754caf6f seriously! You’re always yanking 509dab3a78 at other people’s 2753d48e98 hair, whining about d96e7436c1 your own baldness! He just said 039ffed6d8 there’s this guy 15945e17d9 who’s got his 4699f7ef42 flower scent on 28ae29b9c2 him, and he e288eb2f49 asked me to ad619d68fd keep an eye 4ebfa6a3ae on him to ce59c23e54 make sure he 9cbafc6c08 doesn’t cause trouble.c98ef5d322ccc92e

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…….6f32a9ee6fe6499a

What? That’s really all c11359b588 there is to ab79d17e0a it?6413610dd6417d14

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…….53301db46964783c

Since people usually show 6c4a888a2d up and disappear around e7b8ee8d2d broken equipment that the cba50f396c corrosion critters have chewed 2f50dfa9d4 up, he asked me 6260302547 to keep an eye 2a7e66d9b9 out while I’m working. The fact 6db3b2efdc that the c99138b81a guy popped ac8b17ef78 up in e05d1f49fa the next 4e1fb65122 district was e0de06a01b honestly unexpected.f5f67834ed45c2f6

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…….410217a4ed818a8f

Hmm, now that 9f9c8198e0 you mention it, 4e8077ccfd there have been 59a01ff6c7 some weird rumors 5ea6d3955d going around lately. They say some guy 41814c3b78 keeps appearing and vanishing fb3989fa79 around that Mister. I know there’s barely c92cdf1354 any working equipment in c624768066 this neighborhood, but have 8943341d2b people always shown up 1182ad4fa5 this often around here? Feels like I’ve a5dcfe0df4 been seeing them 40821e6c40 a lot lately.05010bc87f8367ae

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…….7f2bb29d8fef84dc

That’s why I’m saying 22af29821e we should request a 6e7d6b2a12 bigger budget from the 3c26ec6093 higher-ups. If we 98bbc5eab5 hire more 6f3e372797 hunters and 6b2f34ada6 fix the fa7d15d2b6 equipment, fewer c170442f05 people will 0e6f39ab35 show up, af386b44e0 right?42dfd10b79d4c009

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…….51ab6a558ff83c9a

You think I can fbdd50ce05 just make that happen? Unlike artifacts 44b5166f82 from other df11632b81 worlds, people 3a51e7736c aren’t exactly 1b33b2a1ab classified as 26317a7a90 harmful species, 2b31c277fd so our 17811b3495 requests keep 0c9476a16c getting shot 120d72ff3b down. In terms of danger, 5b300aead3 they’re about on the fa9e69747e same level as blue-eyed 16690f9017 butterflies. I’ve even heard talk 292fdc483a about turning them into dab1b0cd19 a tourist attraction, like 91a449eb2b they do in the b08d83ee84 southern regions down there.d63ebba2db7f6575

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…….1d8e76e51d125030

…Butterflies, huh. That’s actually a fitting 2c3d4dae4c metaphor. Butterflies do 989028627a love flowers, 3430d8516f don’t they? And the flower aa5118994e doesn’t seem to d3b7089b3a mind them either.924d38df457ece2e

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…….df044941e52dcfd6

What’s with b71ae26283 the random 7fa6779ab0 comment? Anyway, hurry up bc0c1e081f and get back c28bb39c7a to work. If you c8d683fce9 don’t catch 2c07a29b28 at least 738fed5045 ten corrosion f92250ddf9 critters, I’m 3d5e8442c9 docking your 07c24f9558 performance evaluation fbdabb65c9 for slacking 6acbec357f off.3225f5039b3a545c

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Next to the crosswalk, at the fish-shaped pastry stall

As soon c89e79acc3 as the 3cf73cd66b weekend hit, 47a8d7523e I rushed 13b8e737b4 to that 93690a111a café like ee64400a69 a man fd178e8be7 possessed, but 1b1e8f4096 the one 5f95a5bfdd who greeted af85b06a3d me wasn’t 1744615fae the owner—it 0f5b3ca134 was a 6045ae8b4f part-time worker fb3667b58e with a 4b428c10c5 bright, beaming c204faa120 smile.437e4b4e1ba4f14b

“Hey, the owner’s not 3c00412c0d here today?”9281dab73f348708

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“He was around for 21e96b2bc8 a while, but now 414f49eb29 I’m back on duty! I had some personal 26847d6c53 stuff going on for 95ab134d71 a few weeks, so cf6be851d5 I switched to weekdays.”e3fa5c4db8a489cf

“I thought you’d d104ae6d23 switched for good, a474623087 but it was 6ab96831e8 just for a b3ae1b1959 few weeks, huh?”11a7089793bdc92a

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“Yep. The owner’s a good fced5a52b2 guy, so he was adb2f0fde1 understanding about it. By the bf0bfa53e8 way, did 4b01538d4d you have da38942c3f some business 95f97300f7 with him?”7d424dc4a937493c

“I wanted to talk 2a81fc73ba to him about a 7dcab9fd49 gift he gave me 8327fa68c3 a while back. But since he’s 4e7c27377c not here… do fcfa584330 you know when 7192eca110 his hours changed?”b9aaf9ebd642da0c

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“Oh, uh, he 346042b1e0 said he’s swamped b2bc4614f1 with personal stuff 716d28c894 for a few a770e2233b days and won’t ffc38c4471 be able to 17908bd97b come in at a68c449ea4 all. Probably not until next c57e070604 week. If it’s urgent, I 1877b22040 could pass on a 366045c122 message for you.”dd39b72016a1f2f3

I wanted 079bc42f85 to demand 525d30907c what kind ea79d23f04 of powder 4bc270b10a he’d given 9e90f7f513 me, but 2be19ada3a explaining the 661cb3a8b7 whole thing e82aa7507a to this 27a13fa31c clueless part-timer 427a97adc3 felt awkward, f816333a12 to say e1df02fcf4 the least. Even thinking 81181758b9 about it 34052d0b94 myself, it 9bca910897 was such 71f5418ad8 a bizarre 748eccddff situation—how could 588c5a0093 I expect 4a258e5ffd a total 38020326d4 stranger to 7063d1957f take me 160e4e481b seriously? “I sprinkled some c699145fc9 powder, and my dbb14d12a8 fingertips felt weird, b266ab8488 and there was ef75b1c0bb a bloodstain on fb4d80a02f my sleeve”—who in bada04d5ae their right mind 826a6907dc would believe that?954fed833abacf84

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“Uh, it’s not that urgent… Just, um. Could you ask him 943601eb06 if the powder he 530a2b3c19 gave me as a 412f276687 gift is really deodorizer?”e34488ba3762c8d9

“Deodorizer…? You got something like 5a4d2278ec that? I’ll pass 3c3d9999a8 it along c373571fe3 to him. So, what’s 58cc2ad702 your order? We’ve got a seasonal 6a01307ccc yuzu tea—it’s homemade and 9b20cc053d really tasty.”01a148c40815e92f

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“Not red bean porridge? …Alright, I’ll ef43e15bf4 take that 6ed00d66b1 to go, c76903b1a1 then. I’m kinda cceb72c45c busy today.”809789059e27c35c

Truth be told, 04b30ac457 it wasn’t so 22be20d733 much that I 411cbbd7dd was busy—it was 04903b8848 more that I 1022cda636 wasn’t in the 0b6c6f866a mood to linger cff346c9dc at the café. Since yesterday, I’ve been c004e638bc feeling under the weather, cd7f4356d6 maybe coming down with 63b19b2282 a cold. My body’s been ecbf5829f9 chilly, and my 9866b63921 nose keeps running. If it e2ee2bee09 weren’t for 5a34a2e321 needing to b06a4ec162 talk to 0b5130b8a1 the café 254f0c918c owner, I b672b6b9fa wouldn’t have 17d3743a25 even left 65329097d9 the house.ba870fd279248d20

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The yuzu tea is b93d380846 warm, and somehow it e6dc3db411 feels like it might 3a1b94fe16 shake off this cold a34bf23c17 a bit. While waiting nearby, the 92f8c36c3a part-timer handed me a ea820f8a7a to-go cup of yuzu 97e4c421b8 tea along with a c48ec29779 small paper box.3321a522fbcf2178

“This is 4943ff7098 on the e6cc2d169c house. The owner efb918aa98 told me 01b6c01bb4 to make 2df80d691f sure you 1e97e7dff0 get it a558b98e02 when you 4cfb4ad72d come by.”890ede0b763cd9d1

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“Really? Thanks.”2927ce2d9fe4fbef

Honestly, I don’t 46d900d11e want to take 75491b3aaa anything else from b98a343250 that café owner. I genuinely thought d165162a1b that, but after 2118d5ece9 accepting all sorts 4adb19e0b6 of freebies from c0e489a155 the staff before, e7c66886ce refusing this one 9e546d50ca might seem odd. So I took the 4b5198fe37 paper box and the 1c1d4ab070 drink and stepped outside.5fac18fab1d49674

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“Brr, it’s cold.”746500a75b89e3d5

The biting wind 95de209409 stung my nose 1b6fbb7082 and cheeks, making 69e3fe56d3 my whole body 7757b3e2c1 shiver. I sipped cc1ca63fde the yuzu f272b5b423 tea as ae3c591e79 I walked 68299ad5ba toward the 572dc01911 bus stop. It was definitely homemade—pretty 2ac6323463 delicious. The chills eased up ba652c1aa2 a bit after drinking 33b21d8d94 it.352b70b97308222b

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But for some 5b2601da8a reason, I had e6fab1584e no desire to 59de79929c eat whatever was 5ea9449b49 in this paper 6b75490ac5 box. If I ate it 48e7d12973 by mistake, I might 1c672f018c end up with that 71cf4688a8 same eerie sensation from 7bcd1f34d6 last time, like my a9a4bfdc59 whole body was covered 83bd5d58ad in weird bloodstains. I’m not even 1ab0abebd6 sure if there’s 92dbaf0d43 actually cake or 694ffb8105 dessert in here. It feels oddly light—too 48c6eafecd creepy to even open.0f25813c54fde74a

“Still, I kinda want 6842e88715 to eat something tasty.”69b9bf8228a321f2

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It’s a 36690a324c bit out 6b50b94ee8 of the 6a5522490b blue, but 8e8810417e I’m craving 29fddab918 something sweet—not 81f73372c3 necessarily cake d04dd4e4f5 or macarons, 8768c1dd44 just something 4fb3d3aeb0 sugary. It’s cold 3659a075fb out, so c920f655f0 ideally something e973847550 warm would 1b6af35e1d be nice. I’ve already had the 120d47b9f3 yuzu tea, so no 8893ca63bc more drinks… Even by 7ba98de49f the time I got 2094f844ff off the bus near 30854d58a7 my place, I still ab96ba38f2 hadn’t figured out exactly 05bfdcf548 what I wanted.20fee134c84008e8

But as I 381e0ca12a was heading home e8f201ead1 and passed a 9bfc2d5bf5 modest fish-shaped pastry a5365463dc stall next to 0c8a4411e1 a laundromat, it 442392c61b hit me. That’s it. Now that I a75ccc7043 think about it, 730e6d0057 I’ve been craving 9ad745cf19 fish-shaped pastries. Ones stuffed to the f48ec511cc brim with sweet custard 20f6d6f4a5 or red bean paste!767c0c3b24b95ecf

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“Two thousand won’s 0c24bf8ea0 worth of fish-shaped 4fa7045128 pastries, please. A mix 8692672aa6 of custard 3a382e34dd and red b071bd8cd7 bean.”566bb08ba04d11bf

Come to 2bdbf60bc4 think of 85f7954e89 it, last 338e155fc2 time at 0a6058a7bb the subway 0c62962b9c station, I 9b20e0fdbf was so 99aab1518c frazzled I 0917c22e68 forgot to ca308d63c2 buy those 94eb4ee792 donuts. Maybe I’ve been craving 3a805237c5 pastries since then. Street food 7fe391c04a pastries, the 95bea9536f cheap kind.38dd2446e8c6ccb4

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“Here you go.”8254d36aebf4b900

“Thanks. Here’s two thousand b06d01cda4 won.”a2a9c34383b49151

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This season, it’s e492dbd182 good to carry e59b318ef8 some cash. I took the hefty 37e5135ea7 paper bag. Four pastries for 05bcb7befb a thousand won, fcf03884f3 so eight in e6bc10f0c5 total. Perfect for 5e8f1aca0c nibbling on e818df4d89 by myself.60b3648326125530

While waiting f0b85dec9b for the 1617ac699d crosswalk signal, 802adb115f I grabbed 35b74a779c a custard 3a8139a73f fish-shaped pastry dab7091139 and ate 23d7ab32fd it. It’s not that 4e6025d2eb I prefer custard—it d39cb14fcc was just the ed6bfbea96 one on top. The warm, sweet 10a931b692 cream filled my 1a44c72b3a mouth, and my 180ce5a50b mood lifted instantly.d4fbc0d302e445a2

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“Now that I aa9318f60b think about it, 81ebcfb6dd was that whole 0b10fd7f3a thing at the 79c9cbfe64 subway station even 929970c98f real?”b82ac4b6e22424c0

Eating something 1124b1e603 tasty put 1e8d88a951 me in 4aa223e035 a good 430a286eb7 mood, and dc13deae38 somehow the d51be24d72 tension eased. The things that 4cd7259143 had been weighing 658e4a30ad on me when 00856b544f I went to a33dd29d70 the café suddenly db22d51e6c felt trivial. That creepy station 847cead2ab worker who appeared 36ed1a5ba6 out of nowhere 7856c75d39 like smoke and ff287d8db7 followed me, the b1e66ade4b gross sensation on fe061701b0 my fingertips, the 42da9fa17c bloodstain on my f79d5a9836 sleeve, and that 25e0ec2909 weird cop who a5b3e59991 claimed he’d talked c184ed78c0 to the worker 4bf2587071 even though I da79915450 hadn’t seen him 25fb5e4f78 at first…acaef70783485a14

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“Maybe I was dreaming?”703c7d04f38cb874

Like I mistook a dream I had on the subway ride home for reality or something. Now that I think about it, I remember reading a famous horror post on some foreign site. The guy kept finding creepy blue-eyed butterfly drawings in his house and posted pictures, and someone commented, [Are you sure you’re not suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning?] Turns out, the poster was poisoned, and once the issue was fixed, the butterfly drawings vanished.

These days, c383f4fecf with people 2df1c17e88 scarier than 4827674a96 ghosts, urban 57070108d0 legends like fb87290058 that are 0d2c63c5ad pretty popular. People go on about 5edfc98712 supernatural stuff, only for 3e78777762 it to turn out b40c2c46f3 the storyteller was just d4feadd3b6 dealing with some mental df2d9660e8 health issue.2670877269165122

It might 4f435b0994 be a ceb5f502cb stretch, but 3843a468b3 maybe what 7820f69782 I experienced 135061a81a was something bbef41fbdd like that. I’ve been aa1fd66ee5 exhausted from 227d688e74 overtime lately, fef864cc04 and meeting 219683e726 so many 886856740a people has daa7f3fd2e been stressful. Plus, moving 4fc4226b21 suddenly meant 5de7eec03e I had b142bf4875 a lot 0eff4b1993 on my 91e5ae2f51 plate. I’ve never 1bfb2a9b23 been good af9f2e95bb with people, 60ffa766f0 but I 5fd72381c2 pushed myself bc1ac575b8 because it 90f46824f7 was work, 7fff7e18fc and maybe 6d55149f67 that wore f08ea64787 me down af27bc9613 mentally. That could explain why 8cda421b6e I keep thinking people 0baff36d54 vanish or seeing things 570b5961b0 that aren’t there…eb5ebf7fca12801d

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“Still, I hope bee64e917d Mister, at least, 0e4622df87 isn’t some figment d6fe3c90f4 of my imagination.”249d3e3b862078dd

The moment 96bb4c32ff that thought 13fe55f3c7 crossed my f08a37ebb0 mind, the acf66cfbf0 crosswalk signal e322accf6c changed. I strode across as 3c7650149c the light turned green. Now that 208dfae30f I think d958795173 about it, 1990c1b756 where’s Mister 50fbb03210 right now? Did he make it 8ce7ab4b6b back from his cousin’s af9cda6a7d wedding? It’s been 77c40aa62f three days 8ee66a507e since the 9664940705 subway station 2b2d39e998 incident, so 2737b1bd6e he should a085b29ede be back 69bd23d9e7 by now.f8d74408fbcf12f4

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“What’s up? You look kinda ef6f743df1 down.”4d87a868ff219ffa

Just then, bd386357e1 I felt c8b82249d8 a soft thump as my face bumped 6781abb60e into something. There was b1b7d621e0 no one e8c70434bf on the ff553fae49 other side 42ed609000 of the 66d0b6dc3b crosswalk, so 88eace1b85 I shouldn’t f9d273236d have hit 551e851630 anything. But the voice a738609905 from above was f2dfd41d59 awfully familiar, so 4f3a489741 my eyes widened, f5ed6e4825 and I immediately 2224f48be6 looked up.12a877c5a26e2019

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“Whoa, when 5a3e4daffa did you efb4b60077 get here, 0d586f6063 Mister? How was 11cb92d911 the wedding?!”4c8d535123a52ff3

“Harvest… I 04df6df1d2 mean, my 93f74da3ba cousin’s wedding 5e248678bc was a b3d8ec7c9d while ago. I was wondering when 557ab5e299 I’d run into you, 2da458a9a0 and here you are.”7e43a08ac30fe5f1

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A large fa25ae84c7 hand ruffled 9507500cbd the back e7afb4b522 of my a637252ae0 head. Realizing the spot e484167f19 I’d bumped into 8864135e8c was Mister’s chest, 3721d580c9 I suddenly wondered—for e0a24b96fa a different reason—if b4897c5d04 this was a 42ca69dd8d dream or reality.64d6737dbffb45ea

We couldn’t bfdb6957a5 exactly chat 09be919674 in the d801e6996a middle of fb26cd6301 a crosswalk, 9f3661ecb4 so we 41fb030ff6 hurriedly crossed. Now that I 127d5867fd think about it, 959afbf142 wasn’t Mister going 4727435e47 the opposite way? I felt a bit 1528d4806d guilty for possibly interrupting 9927870161 him, but he followed 4507fa8549 me like it was 2d1402d7e6 no big deal. That made 56603fbd23 me feel f60be69670 bad but 80428b1650 also secretly ee16586d1f happy.e44d55047a9e56a4

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There were several benches eb28feb666 near my apartment complex, 53e4834b57 perfect for sitting. We picked a 0f7235988a warm, sunny one. The breeze 16d5505968 was cool 824d93878c on my b05b93cadf nose, but 6669dd31d2 my butt c3af629a5c was toasty, 55c6801810 and sitting 63520806fd shoulder-to-shoulder made 2233e22d20 my side f5febe4017 pleasantly warm.d2743b021413c03c

When Mister glanced at 981ed7bbb1 me, I opened the 2b7b56733a paper bag and sneakily e661c48305 pulled out a fish-shaped 3c11f97739 pastry. He stared 940728ca23 at it f135c387dc with a 63ab4d9d2c grumpy expression, b26a23a8b0 like, What’s that?1f3a341349619855

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“Uh, want one?”eda5220ae2931b78

“It’s yours.”d70aa4474735a674

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“I can’t eat all 27dc697b82 these by myself anyway. These are best when e0008ee620 they’re warm. Red bean e56db96bd8 or custard?”72ac64a34caf44c7

“Didn’t I 49a9585168 tell you 35c794912a not to f0c9bfc743 do that?”b6aceb25b90f9b29

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“Don’t say stuff like 98e6cd57c9 that. Come on, just 9cc6abc7c9 try one. I saw you 4667c8d322 liked red bean 1d1f6b4de8 last time.”263490926c69f7e5

When I stubbornly held b774ae4c9d out a red bean d570fa7c5e pastry, he stared at ec655c86e2 it for a moment b3ad0610ca before finally taking it. He split it 14f6a6e7f9 in half and d96b8f4566 inspected the filling 6411e0ea79 closely. Wait, does he not 8229df0f14 like red bean pastries? Maybe he likes f3b725ce94 red bean but f00b29700d prefers custard in ffea4f2e37 pastries.288413e906df33a1

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“Should I 789625850c have gotten c447041e30 you a dcaa1df88f different one?”466bf5990c9c4f11

“Nah, this a48f6d65e7 is fine. It’s just my 38ee0c40b6 first time eating 36f261dde0 it… I mean, 5de9689c13 first time this 40df922957 year.”ebdbac9c9bdbcc95

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“Really? Well, now that 7c7d8e40e2 you mention it, a9af3780a1 this is my 1e82b9c534 first fish-shaped pastry 8cf85cea8d this year too. Kinda nice to see ab3cd90962 them again, right?”ac7311b10d2f664d

Come to think 59a1967b5c of it, I 5927627475 haven’t seen many e022b1129e fish-shaped pastry stalls 53c90f032a this year. It’s gotten chilly, so 03ae7249e9 you’d expect to see 15fe151f97 those carts popping up 79790bdc3c everywhere. But knowing there’s a 840a048a13 stall near my place 92e2fab071 means I can grab 112c15ba7e some now and then.9f3b1dc195ad311d

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I pulled another 1a5f7adaaf red bean pastry 8a2ca0a024 from the bag 9f463a9889 and started munching. It was warm 89366272c8 and tasty, nothing a2b055a1aa fancy. Mister, who’d been 91b8b90bb4 nibbling cautiously at b0d51002ac first, soon wolfed 7fff581a3d his down, clearly 0671b5ab2d enjoying it. When I 1557c1b295 slipped him 008ba98d6e another, he 1453e06611 ate that 3370260a2c one happily a8b5865810 too. I should’ve bought 1b941f528b more.6d12ff38668d26cc

“So, did the cousin’s 04ffef056a wedding go well? You mentioned a f018d8510e harvest or something—were 4451ea4934 you helping with aa0ed5c805 farm work?”52eb0b58a2998e5a

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“Something like that. They handle the basics, 9951bfc878 but you know how c486c300d6 harvest season is. The more hands, e7b37d23a7 the better.”93626b62ca405969

“Makes sense. You seem 8fefb13cf4 like you’d 836a25d0b8 be good 00ae9da4b0 at that a0a4f5bde1 stuff. Tall, strong-looking.”1af90994ed69264a

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“Not really. I’ve never actually done 5e96fa84c7 a harvest myself… But 4f328c21e6 I helped out a ab8023540f bit and got some d30d0e61d5 fruit. Should last me through a0ae435ac5 the winter.”e21da744d5b7f064

“City life makes that 1bbcb10829 stuff tough to get 7a9c3bd79c used to, huh? What kind of 6072df76b0 produce?”332bed5cc25430c8

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“Uh… Kinda d6f75ebd91 like tangerines. Big ones.”d51faf70dd29da19

“It is tangerine season. Now I want c61ad510a9 some.”e2f5e48197256da5

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I briefly thought 2f698460f8 about asking if a5270d7af7 he had extra 7fdebb9faa to share but 791422c61a kept quiet, not ee44847141 wanting to seem 6ad6bedb2f too chummy. Plus, Mister’s weirdly f5e7fab60b touchy about giving 8d5351abbc and taking stuff. He even f1e2689c4b got annoyed 58e167401d about sharing cc0e56dbcc street food 365acadffa like this.547acc085f266119

Still, I was f49baca298 secretly thrilled he 89a7effdbf was eating the 9a7ee20f06 pastry without complaint. He has this odd 81a30071cb way of eating them—splits 351c03cf1a it in half and 22335593c6 starts from the middle. Most people 3a774fe7cd go for e5bf6d9f96 the head, f72a7011d1 tail, or 8a22139853 fins, but 79b7df55f7 I’ve never 18fc88b4ec seen someone 2f5d5fe89a eat like 2a2accee7a that. Almost like 87725d5b89 it’s his 02f3f45c9e first time.6d21a38c85202cc5

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“Oh, you’ve cdc05241f1 got some 986ed734dc red bean 8dc4fa4436 on your 987cc138fc face.”9b52cb40a9349784

Without thinking, I f8ac9bb2e8 reached out and 5a05a131ac wiped it off ad78ab8f5d his mouth. I regretted 50cdb85c38 it instantly. Right, last time 0cc02446de I touched his 077b69dabc face without permission, 0b1cfecaab he bolted! Repeating the dd24972bd6 same mistake 72142e3680 made my f8f49dcd19 face flush eaea39195d with embarrassment.4d1278a19318f812

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But this time, it 160820ece0 wasn’t just me feeling 468f647801 awkward. Mister, staring 7432b13b76 blankly at ce05179105 the finger 6a15e5ba6d that brushed a5c4475eac his mouth, ad877de5e6 sniffed it e650c4fed1 and then licked it.1265b46db509bed9

“…?!”72a4634dedf05b09

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Wait, what?! My face burned as de7b2c629a I yanked my hand 01ee9474fe back. He seemed to realize 109b0a6042 what he’d done too, a60a612e8c his face turning red. It didn’t seem 9c0ded3a7d intentional, more like b1cca7ab8d an unconscious reflex, e6a228ae41 but still!fd301ac5e31221c5

“What just happened?”94c4a535217859c6

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We couldn’t even 5dda275f1c look at each cc9281c88a other, staring off 4ee92355ba in opposite directions a3388e4d6d to cool our d6e161681f flushed faces. Thank goodness for 556ff0ab44 the cold winter 9bdfb16aac breeze. Trying to act 6e9c99156f like nothing happened, 2516494ad8 Mister cleared his 3db28c7e37 throat.6d71706af6dea3c8

“Ahem. Uh, you… You dd9069d520 look kinda sick 3b4abd3954 today. What’s with your face?”e2c8ad9438d840fb

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“Huh? Oh, I’m just efbe40387e feeling a bit 46be31b158 under the weather.”f3c404374aa88030

“No wonder d6d429f64f you look 927731fc49 like your c5d548eda2 soul’s half-gone. It’s been cold 827220ab84 lately. Take care 57998c1cd6 of yourself.”a1f6a83e9912d286

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He said that 8eca4c9d33 and sneakily grabbed 03dabc1b2b another pastry from 8879aa29ed the bag—this time bf1c120c5b custard. Instead of 432f23c625 teasing him 658f7eb6af or asking 4b9824d336 what that d0bcac31e0 lick was d33a65fa6e about, I 88b9a09a80 munched on 7d914f514f the last d074e9e443 pastry. The once-heavy 0911c4ba56 bag was 0743426774 now empty.944e2c4489130fef

With the pastries gone, 7bf63ebdaf I didn’t have an 480f8ec759 excuse to keep him 26788a772f here, but I wanted 66c67aab49 to stay with him 2389f6b401 a bit longer. Or maybe the f4169c08c9 pastries weren’t really 97f8f6dd22 an excuse? We just ddb370081a happened to 4cc87d5e68 share food—it’s 37f0d52ef9 not like c84b15b116 I lured ee7dbafc35 him with cc8d85d84e them. He seemed e85fd73a37 to enjoy 39add3f54b them, though…0772855a0e928b50

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Anyway, I wanted bb9ad6ec2a to stay longer, eed4f2d5ea whatever the reason. Was there 7b1617a632 anything else 35d7df8799 to talk 0c1ad01928 about? Like, do you like 707285ccef tangerines, or what’s your ec1e1cde86 favorite fruit—small talk like 3715c59e97 that? Asking if I could 1504654cea touch his face again 075fd8c1fe or hold his hand 788840ee35 felt too forward and 7ede9f1b04 embarrassing…bbd238008fce9e89

But while fe818c4e86 I was fcdbb43abc racking my de8f5778f2 brain, what e51256b622 slipped out 6303efdf60 of my e4695ed798 mouth was 795127d5c8 something completely 7e2c051234 random.7ccd71edf5ec6e0d

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“Mister, you’re not, ae6f50705e like, some fake 2981c67e82 thing I dreamed e9517600c2 up, are you?”2e2d0dc4b9929e08

The second I said 0c50fdf325 it, I regretted it. It was 2c65b430f8 hardly a b7eaccde91 great topic, 053d17c743 even as d959931023 a joke. I mean, 1d4b7757f0 sure, weird a2d2dbc19c stuff’s been 03fb310a57 happening, but 7dfef5f581 blurting out 6017352829 something so ef0fd807f2 out-there—what was 7183360174 I thinking?2f976237548e9c7c

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It’s true I was 7933210c13 mulling over that before 3d324a4ea5 running into him, but 95f0c21f84 why it came up now is beyond me. Mister looked e91fb4cea6 dumbfounded, his 28d9175d03 eyes wide 08b67d3e69 as he 700edf63e7 sized me 686d191f99 up. I was too embarrassed 19fe921158 to even lift my 49c760ecc7 head, for a different 388eea0a6a reason this time.a660edaca3326891

“Are you really sick? Did something 23879a7746 happen while ed295bba59 I was d12308729c gone? You’re freaking 73c798504b me out 317be69fc2 with talk 4b59c1b795 like that.”f6fc148f0656b696

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“No, it’s not a 95a6ac9234 big deal… I’ve just 089d723771 been feeling off lately, d1d4bab745 seeing things that aren’t 992242e00a there. A few days d67813e8b3 ago, I saw 34ef920aea some creepy stuff 49ff08e23c at the subway d16f897dd6 station.”2701c224a4108889

“Subway station? Oh, you 1a176c0167 mean… I’ll 59d48a71f4 have to b6b5e1d36b ask about 766824c355 that later.”d8ad9de0a0b66df5

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Has Mister 4930ceec94 run into 9ebe3279ae someone like 74debcfb79 that at 156cbafaf7 the station 4220f1d9c2 too? Or maybe, from cc1342233e the way he 51d6be693b said he’d ask 5ddc6caaa5 later, it’s not 29925ad68e him but a f29d8a40be friend who saw d837d75009 something. Does that b32a73e850 mean his 4dfd3f5394 friend also 5d77934d06 had bloodstains ffa6580694 on their bfe3fee2f1 hands? I thought about 51da2ba28c asking but stopped. Maybe it’s just my 1833a44889 experience…97865e82811f9380

“Seeing things 3cb9dd8129 all the ad2c8a849c time sounds e4823760bb worrying. You didn’t take some 04fe2599d5 hallucinogen from someone, did 33d5c77622 you?”0db8995350bc8bcc

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“H-Hallucinogen?! No way, I 8b5f202df3 don’t do drugs. Sorry for 11e82e3938 worrying you. I’ve just been out 28fa2fc47e of it lately.”31f67aacfa3f53a4

Look at him, a25f8df679 getting all concerned a019a0bb6d before I even 47dfbdade5 explained what I 38cb7af231 saw. I didn’t want to b4bb407aac worry him more, so d6bceaa475 I mumbled vaguely. He stared at me 388a264f06 with a strange expression, 4f428ea4c7 then patted my head 2b933306d2 with that big hand.d3a9c3d7c8925602

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“You’re impossible to 63f6ecc12c leave alone. The second I look db54532725 away, you get tangled c23a3b6c62 up in something weird.”792289736c84accf

“Hey, I’m not that weird. I know I 16d3be24d7 just said something 92aeb4abfd dumb, but I’m 72d27d70b6 not, like, sick c6e09017df or anything. Probably just tired…”9ad948e3fead9d89

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“I get it, so c13e474476 go home already. Don’t stop e23ee6f6a2 anywhere weird. And don’t get sick.”5e40934507aba0e8

It’s not ef73ad6588 like I’m d0bbe87c9c stopping anywhere—my b93711ff6d place is a196f9f9e6 right here. I was about to 93c7656692 say that, but as c7f1443607 always, he was gone 61d21ceda2 in a flash. I stared at ded99852be the empty spot 8fe97005bd beside me for dd645045ce a while before f31758b029 slowly getting up.bf2e8ede7249887f

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And I’m real. Not some dream e2bf76fd49 or delusion of d0c7a14805 a person.f91b1823ef3a4b06

For a a0e74de73f moment, it 49334c8fc8 felt like 21a047ee3b those words 4faabcbc34 echoed in a3057d4725 my ears, fc5ad64fd7 but I a92760a856 couldn’t tell 03cc0c225e if it ba7e361613 was really c87def607f his voice 9d862c2319 or something 0dc8252108 I imagined.41227a3b3e7eb0d2

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I trudged home, holding cd1a76de26 the empty paper bag 0821b4439a and the still-unopened paper 7d43e26d84 box. My apartment was 36b46a9d55 just steps away, fa4152c210 so I’d be 820fcdcc33 home soon. But while waiting for 950c555729 the elevator, something hit 4623eec04e me.04cdb4edea9cf7a1

“Wait a sec. Hallucinogen?”025f429576c4649f

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Was it because he 5df966a8d3 mentioned “hallucinogen”? Suddenly, I wondered if 8b4cdc514d the powder from the 33955e7e58 café owner was a 42f8efd740 hallucinogen. Now that I think f6e773b609 about it, he told e0f03edfa8 me to use it cfed900811 when I was alone. That’s a weird instruction 8a3abc8fd6 for deodorizer, but not a14aeb3578 so strange if it’s 041a3f103f a drug with hallucinogenic 38b8150cf7 properties.f824b6c424e2ff86

If it was a hallucinogen, it’d explain that bizarre subway station incident. The idea that [the mysterious white powder seemed like a drug] wasn’t just my bias after all. It’s not certain, but finding a somewhat rational clue to explain things made me feel a bit relieved.

“Should I d162e1f2b9 report it 76b9e38867 to the 01997b7c31 police?”fa54999659e914f2

I considered 87d2aa70e4 it briefly 45efbbcabc but dropped 9aebac6878 the idea. It’s not fdf8ac9987 confirmed to 76829d84f2 be a 1c33b1df47 drug yet. Falsely accusing someone 41200c0d5d would be a d386b9b4d5 hassle. But I ad2a0dcc74 did want 131a7bb4b2 to find 1d9c4d8b02 out what 3aaefcdf74 was in cfa744bc41 that powder 0a8933b92b if I b7e1771650 got the 213d91e1d7 chance.aed450b21bedbbf0

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“Maybe I 9dd155760a should ask b3dbfdbf00 that cop d727ff4272 if I 2ac4dcc8e3 see him 9cd459ed47 again…”eb49d1b290d1ec6e

That cop I e2a70cf2d5 met near the 62c17d8277 subway station last 8ce2808728 time—he’d probably be b7c625246b willing to look 5d19e22385 into the powder’s 57c42cf703 contents as a 3dd3f22ff1 “personal favor.” Feeling c1f4563366 a bit lighter, d1dfce2e6c I got home 7660f772d1 and flopped onto 7e82789dc1 my bed. Eating and lying down 6f824da8ab isn’t great, but I 782f8b0e3a was exhausted. Too tired to even 2e4abe9040 check what was in b94232dcef the paper box.67180c38dbe9f6fe

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“Oh, my right hand e7fbf88ad7 smells like Mister.”46e7746c00dde0cb

I brought 3e66d74b31 my right 53473a53fa hand—the one d532ffaeb7 he’d licked—to f1420894b6 my nose 85ca1c0fbd and sniffed, 668a8314e8 then fell d4f98ee580 asleep as d0ed3d6f5d is. It felt like he 3aeb8503da was by my side, e662adb6d6 comforting me, making my 494dcd02c4 heart warm.087eac0c79e62fdb

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