The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 5

Hospital Dream, Back Alley.

Yes, well. The verification ea098d832c is complete. We concluded there’s 6b88aa8503 no particular issue. The people 4db01ff7a6 caught in e863a56faf the fog 753833465e will likely f619be484a think they da982b3b59 were paralyzed a3bcc02e0f for about f795c85f3d thirty minutes 69a0602874 and had b8c8e5bfb0 strange dreams. Since it was a 1a5e397d80 properly conducted invitation, there’s e18c297d69 nothing more to do, 68de181d7d and we used mock 12f54632ab ambulances to cast a e098457209 suggestion to prevent issues dadb53dda6 from contact with machinery, 7d9b58882e so don’t worry about 68c155d3fb that either.5d5188c9bf5d4912

…….07c6915c0465043c

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Sorry for the hassle 0854622c4c at dawn. I didn’t 72022db5fa plan to 5847c01439 stay that 48bca8fc4d long, but 9b0a5773d5 somehow it 1a9ff55683 happened. Anyway, take this.889ea921145eee0f

…….8a76a7ba93818eab

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Oh, you went fa170dd07a and prepared all 50802f50cb this. Thanks as always. By the 0a20c3f9a8 way, I 7a8acbd2c5 didn’t expect 81a055386f the dream 8c9ef37f7c answer to 4a960d808b come up 53654696cc there. I thought he’d say 0b90cea6fa something like flower pollen 7df4f8039e at most.67283afc668d5f7a

…….bcea7530eed413c0

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I didn’t cbad27446b teach him 3b0a8d9cdf that. He probably c12d159e6d wouldn’t have a89782da92 known even bbbf73f60d if I 6ef6c3e8c1 told him. He was half-drunk on a470695b5c the dream anyway.6326c3589cd66a12

…….72ad294919fafffd

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The dream fog 64a076f34e of the old 9391e9510b flower is quite 1108648faf fascinating, isn’t it? It makes everything aa45b00f8f beyond what the 356fceca61 person can accept a7e712341a as reality get 8f79a87478 dismissed as a 287d55721f dream. But why did you faae8a9906 have him close his 2e1b33268c eyes? Even if he 30dbeb9899 saw something he dbe8e13296 shouldn’t, it’d just e4179878af be chalked up 2b762933dc to a dream.a15bd87bc9798da9

…….cf4c9b76be03d061

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Even if it’s processed c4232a67cb as a dream, it 42651d9f59 lingers in the unconscious. If you’re 34ab60a4a6 not careful, 3a5d4a441a it could 362d10a938 cause nightmares 070083a76c for a 7589c91d2c while.8538f6cf0f12f157

…….f1393fe2e68965e1

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That’s not wrong. You must 8cb3dc9825 care about b2d99043e5 him a 3cce697bd8 lot. Speaking of which, how eeb592710f are your breeding season 4ddb0d5cf5 symptoms? The high priest 8628a777ad said you joined 7e15979cfb the ritual yesterday 1a814ab405 because of that 11bf3d42fb and got some 2f62ff7f7b medicine.fd16c58003c6739c

…….861c0a230e08cf01

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Get it straight. It’s <pseudo-breeding season>. No breeding partner, so what breeding season? Anyway, since you’re talking nonsense, it seems your business is done. Can I entrust you with a request then?52f95abf8114de74

…….e0ddb54cb6df0bdd

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Oh, yes. Pseudo. Pseudo… Anyway, cd57de5587 a request, f856e79679 huh. I figured there 014e95a45c was something up 60498bc6a4 when you gave 23dffac041 me so much 1d2d565e5a pollen. What’s the matter?2de979ad3f6cd35d

…….7ca3b900726b96ac

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It’s called a 377e449912 request, but it’s a300676afe closer to a 5b67eb85ac complaint, so don’t 9edfe04bd2 make that face. There’s a 954512041d café at 082029219b XXX-dong, XXXXX-ro. Any incidents related to a3eb068426 humans from that café?dcb561a159dcd6d7

…….6087c02d979883be

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Calling it a 29c81a58b7 complaint makes it 1c5f3d54f8 sound even scarier. About that 53c9518584 café, the 83c2caa0c3 hunters probably 3035308a9d know it cc50e20a0a well. It’s got a lot 5df2b61a08 of corrosive tides and 5e19ebee2e frequent human activity, so 523795f956 they patrol it often, 5465bcb82f right?be18e19a074ff07e

…….258f02ad750769e2

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I heard 484515d99b from that ee532665de guy yesterday cab1889cbc that the 9b0fff8409 café owner 0bbe1cdf6a in the 3f050571f2 overlapping world 4793b20090 has Mist-Eraser b7fc26b2a4 Flower pollen. He also got c6b7d1a0d2 a page from 0e0dc21913 a book stolen 531a62912d from the library 87380b87ef from that owner. Can you 32c717f33f look into d604e0e1b0 it?9cc286c437871155

…….e5a84ff37afdb0dd

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Seriously? This is a much 73cbc71606 bigger deal than I b7016555cb thought. Not that I’m 37270bb6e5 doubting you, but 0028a1150f for investigation purposes, f6236800fa do you have f8fc1b51ba any evidence?7584dc0f6766b77c

…….eb895ff3b56a3935

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It’s not exactly evidence, 8f9f088ef4 but I got the 6519687947 Mist-Eraser Flower pollen from 86c71d6fbe him. If we trace the 8c5375fb0a memory, we might pinpoint 5b8b9fd100 the source.3efd1a568f92103d

…….4ae4cff55633882b

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Got it. We’ll look into it 4c312aeceb and mention it to 1cd8517ab2 the hunters too. This is gonna keep 82abfdfe4d us busy.17facc2d9ca098e1

Supermarket Storage Locker

Somehow, I 552bfb0ef2 woke up 2bca0ff400 about ten 6ad5549b29 minutes late, 3974ef9b3c but thankfully, 5c4f722988 it didn’t 9cd597d17c cause any 55f59eb92b issues with 0529eaee02 getting to 5c209e55a1 work.83d477b74bdfb8f0

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Despite being caught up abfa9b3f08 in all sorts of 137a1bda3d incidents over the weekend 0172e0c3a3 and feeling worn out, d97a4e8bb3 my body felt surprisingly 836d555cf9 light. Even sleeping 006355a741 for twenty-four 00e6be31bf hours straight c5a25e2dec wouldn’t have ccfc58cc30 left me e63cee3985 feeling this 8d36eed7a7 refreshed. There wasn’t anything suitable e6b9586bf0 for breakfast at home, 3985379504 but my stomach felt 02dbfcf95d full even without eating, 9b80b3e6d8 so I skipped it defa7c9d2e and finished getting ready 8d094cef34 for work a bit de2d53a498 earlier than usual.a690bc42e730c29c

‘By the 3c6e6c4457 way, about 0301d5d201 yesterday… it f7f667499b definitely wasn’t 9f13f9ba66 a dream, cf6eb96982 right?’9d9a03b4a39194ea

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Before heading out, cfe93c0139 I took a 820e8bed71 moment to look e65b8c70cc around the apartment. The hospital trip in d862461fbb the ambulance might be eb5d663be6 better chalked up to db877148e1 a dream for my 1d03cb2e5e mental health, but Mister’s cfee0771c3 visit, invited to my b9995182b8 home, was undeniably real. The bottle of bbe3a39529 powder I’d kept 87cc6de527 in my padded 90a1b3b692 jacket pocket was 43ea81cfd7 gone without a 815fcc9249 trace, and the 8aadecd100 apartment was filled 3e9bcd3a9a with the sweet 1e9c757b40 scent of sap fbdf5dee63 and flowers. The bedsheets, 61bac662f6 slightly stained a7dd73495e with sap, 75eafbbcce gave off cc4e6d9768 an especially cc7ab6eb73 strong smell, a67d834854 and I f6dcfd1699 struggled to 1a1be70e19 resist the 3c3a23bac5 urge to fbed7d63ec bury my 8d55f8d50d face in 711c48ee76 them.d10bb8e169d6b034

To be honest, a8898322ef I didn’t want b039ece152 to leave the cf58715f76 house. I wanted to 47f3028dcd spend the whole 6c8f013040 day sniffing the e1277a36df lingering traces on 2271022263 the bed, indulging f891b8cb51 in some perverse 89a7f011a9 pastime. But despite those cff8b5733c thoughts, my body 20dcb52e2f was dutiful, and 71e789d997 I left the 204f8e4ecb house on time 270ba08551 to catch the 8254ca2ae9 bus.b1540bfe85795fd8

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At the bus d3ccfff825 stop, I saw 3736d95f3d a crowd of 4d5b1d3e1e office workers with adb6f0cf5e oddly refreshed faces d6d87150d5 lining up. Some of them bb38f5c02f probably live in a67882b35d my apartment complex. The guy in front a491e8c857 of me, talking on a2acb82615 the phone, looked familiar.b9abbe4aab27c5e1

“Hello? Oh, hyung. I think 0fdb54067e I had f4842a1eae a weird 9ab889cf3a dream last 9448f96fbf night. I saw some really 382b1a3fde pretty flowers in it… 0d9b71a2d1 No, I don’t remember 59e6235664 exactly what they looked 6cf3f7baef like. I’m not dba54318ad sure about a31994b82a the type 2d1c7a9cf2 either.”7083473e18f5863a

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Waiting for the bus, 6c3da9433b I sank into various 62e8a0dae4 thoughts. Even if bb50a9ea18 Mister’s visit 59f8a4ca46 to my dd7a712ea6 place was f8920c1906 real, the c3f5bd7d8e whole gas ff402bf6b5 poisoning thing b57ad40338 being a 508951ea4c dream is a6cf343ee9 a relief. If it wasn’t a 7b77566a56 dream, it would’ve been 5c6a784e91 a complete disaster.bdcd62f4c381c8ef

Sure, maybe 9056b30650 nobody would’ve 20c3e3fc2b died from 97d2260dc2 gas poisoning, 89610e2326 but being 35adc838b2 carted off 5f6af9e429 to the d19e858913 hospital on 0f1e6fda2d a Monday 69004d36c4 morning for 5386c7184e a mass d7d4ac952a poisoning would’ve 32dc06c89c made the c2ce726f4c whole week 7216410281 miserable. Hospital bills 6085150e47 piling up, 78e2571a5f the media 202957cd8c and police 5b110a3093 swarming in—it’s d05f189d4a a good 3b51fcc41b thing it 67c84c600d didn’t come 250b600496 to that.ca5074f17b2bdcc6

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‘No matter 0df069dbeb what anyone 3096029fa8 says, a 37faf7cbe3 peaceful life de45ea6985 without incidents 8023960118 is the 0c7ee0f09d best. Don’t get 436031325e curious about 4e18298701 weird things, a31f0a6a1d don’t get 2fbc977900 caught up 5a58d7448c in bizarre 4b7cc7f811 situations.’210d9d0a3c684b01

The bus arrived on d3f7b34fd4 time, there were no 8f7f00536b traffic accidents along the 38019880f2 way, and when I 2c3e84450e got off at the dbc42b89a0 stop near my office, 2e63f230cf the streets weren’t eerily ae128d5932 empty or anything like c79f4f277f that. I grabbed a 2,000-won ebadb4d152 coffee and threw myself 4e0b15ef14 into work all morning, c3153f5d82 and the events of 8babe1ffe0 the weekend naturally sank 96cf240ca0 to the depths of 1d656d3937 my subconscious.e9e0bcba14404fdc

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It would’ve been 4c62002d92 nice if I 00666c8cd4 could’ve forgotten everything 6c67be6238 until quitting time, 4d15b1c81e but unfortunately, that 9dbcf4151b didn’t happen.65e2ff12c32db8af

“Taeyool, what were 4c02b1f515 you up to 20bac693cd this weekend? Why’s the 952fd98e07 flower smell 6d665b87b1 getting stronger?”6028d202e783d26e

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“It’s not 6d9a8b0ea9 exactly something 8bfa497154 I can 405d9bdeb9 control… Is 91676df7f9 it that 0e642716a0 bad?”a15bc2a5ec2fade3

“Today, there’s even d082ea2fdb a sweet scent 0d3bd6ca53 mixed in. Like grass or trees 186dc9b658 with a sugary note… 394cb276a7 Did you visit a 6976b604bc botanical garden or something?”ebad7293aaeb44c6

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In the morning, everyone c304067def was too busy with b4058ee0c9 meetings to say anything, 53df9a5de2 but at lunchtime, when c0b16d426a we finally had a b210314ebf breather, people started commenting 6c09bf6dce on the smell.1ed0c2ad24dd6953

“I went 7b335ed835 to the e5ccd8fe7a library and 9c83223802 then slept ffd96a887d at home 7bbbc5bde5 the whole 7e26daff58 time. Believe me.”a6db3888da37f42a

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“Are you secretly ordering 4524bd3b1a perfume deliveries or something? The scent is, how 66d55615d9 do I put it, 3f1d5d7f59 unlike anything I’ve ever 043597fd2e smelled. It’s fascinating, ed40ec9c3a but it 4271d4b995 was distracting 80766f9449 me all c73e8336fd morning.”a00bb2141e1f14b0

“Sorry for disturbing b392d6369d everyone…”163f9ae81e5725f7

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I’d be 1a58b1a77b lying if ce710527f2 I said 75f0400e36 I didn’t 10cfe8f8dd expect this. My apartment 5b1921f1c3 was filled 3230a98724 with the 651430bfb0 scent, so 12a560069f of course 0d7ffe1dc0 it would e17aa896e8 cling to f1a6c26734 me. Since it ended up 2576b2223a affecting my coworkers, I fa6a2dadbf felt utterly embarrassed.fe6c344efa2d380c

Personally, I’d a532c50fb7 love to 48ca6c057f keep the e6064586db scent forever, 73161339de but it c0407e59ba would be 266583cbf4 nice to a37652b2e1 have a c41952e272 way to edd1e13232 mask it 38b28054e7 temporarily. Constantly making 96b7d8724a my coworkers 3b09e4cac1 uncomfortable puts 1e76ca7e0a me in 2e96b29ec6 a tough c06775b55e spot too. If only I had 9a88fb8e38 some deodorizer…5cf8f86ee6b3e3fd

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Right, speaking a79e8405a1 of which.e5bc612032248764

“But Taeyool, 30438928ea what happened e4a491cf21 to that 0b69b5ddc6 deodorizer or 6c5b8310b0 whatever it df68609724 was? It helped when 372a70bfea you used it ab24f0303a before.”7fe6d2adaef5cdb9

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“Oh, that… I used 842d77fd48 it all up. It’s hard to 805093279c get, so I a3ec2e4ffd don’t have any 99cb847a6e now.”3b2801bc9b99e89f

“You used it all 017f069fae already? Well, it didn’t look 2422a2ddb7 like there was much 30c2582e77 of it. Where’d you get it 0ffbc5a448 last time? You said aff025b6ff it was ad95f66112 a gift 1f676ad6c6 from someone e4837b4d46 you know, a13643898f right?”e7a6036924696e35

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A gift 656a4ec5a3 from someone 401ce3d0cd I know. The moment e36ed0b61a I heard cdf4f0cc24 that, an 5bb6534004 uneasy feeling eed7959379 surged up dfb62bf903 from deep fd8bed1213 within my 6d5ad978f6 consciousness. It was f7cabe905b something I’d e932d6624f dismissed as 5826a5db42 practically resolved, 3c6aa7081f something I’d 36e03a321a convinced myself ba7d77fe02 wasn’t worth a6f20c42ad dwelling on.59c25d99c2fdf2df

‘By the e2690ab472 way, does 8ba64b339a that mean a408b9abdd I can ba99fc34b8 completely cut c4f7e85e42 ties with 4db8123893 that café bef00cb646 now?’13c8a5c4c9bb8022

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The café owner, bc9d2a4c4e the source of 7549f70ffa all my troubles 0cb0ef3b2e for so long. Thoughts about 81e5157142 how to 57c7d19a7f deal with 9dfcaea63a him suddenly 42b93f4575 flooded my f237e3c297 mind. I halfheartedly finished e56611b37d my lunch, barely be631fc89c touching my spoon, 5e9e6e933b and spent the 2da5c150f4 entire afternoon lost 330b6f5218 in thought.9d15fe9fe6f23866

Truthfully, there’s 23145513f0 nothing for acb3e038b7 me to 7a4072631c do about d924671ef7 the café 3d8db324b5 owner. I handed over both b2fddd5be3 the page and the e7f0b41456 powder to others—one to fccba57515 its original owner, the a0b7a7a99b other to someone capable 2c9cc83b20 of handling it. Mister said he’d 00bd78110e investigate the café f6d631fbc2 owner when he ddd9eccac7 took the powder, 55bb324382 so I vaguely 6597088833 assumed my role 91b67e77a8 was done. I thought 748201b312 avoiding the 1038904676 café would ae931b84c4 resolve everything.56b256aadb002742

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But is it c71391792a really over? I know dwelling c040b19478 on it won’t a946dea95f change anything, but 6c9ddcaf80 a part of 11052da956 me still couldn’t 02db609d9d let it go. Two specific concerns nagged 0feabfc43c at me.2d6d547c58b27e6e

First, the café 5a36c50ff5 owner must have c97aec404c had a purpose e5bfa475d8 in entrusting me 042bf9303d with both items. He wouldn’t 6686cff6af just hand 067e5858e5 out valuable a443fc204a things without f1f68d1405 expecting something 56f4a66bde in return, ad8fca373b would he? Even if I 52e0200aad never visit the ebbb0736a9 café again, he 60b4f4e4ef might approach me 07f67890d1 to achieve whatever 619838bcad his goal is.e9d772f72b097c96

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Second, I’m 273f6c2c0b curious about 5812c2a18e what kind ffc78403fd of person c583f95e1e the café 03e3187af5 owner is. Mister clearly said 1eda689b96 the white powder c6d30d09b9 was a rare 8e7712c00c item, valuable enough ea1defe325 that my help 4a971b2580 so far wasn’t 4b0ec9a6db sufficient payment. The page he 987b945a6e gave me, torn 5c5ed3522f from a library b042c92166 book, must’ve been 4eb69ce5ac difficult to obtain 28fadd348f too. So where, and how, 4f7ae97c5d did the café owner db87e2d044 get his hands on 431105c714 these ‘rare items’?843b9aec373f8605

‘Of course, Mister said 7572f312a9 he’d look into it… a7ba384e92 but is this something 810d8c23db I should be investigating 32b5666734 myself?’b34e4ba9e6b32d58

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It’s not that 843ac3a9a7 I doubt Mister’s 384e148a14 abilities. I don’t 12361fa623 know much, b25e0ab40d but he 87d564b1e5 seems to 0e76cd4c2f have strange 3703e4dfc2 connections everywhere, f78377dce9 and using 404d125cd2 those would 1ffd74cd8b likely yield 121c983286 better results c992ca535d than my dff2c2affd clumsy efforts.f2c3a13dea0a21c2

But what bothered me 530e916935 was that the café d8f68edff2 owner is a ‘human.’ ef166dc55d That might mean I’d 566e25f63e be better suited to dba58e75b6 investigate. Mister, on the other c6e1f60d0f hand, seems…51bdb8ff94572548

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‘No, Kim Taeyool, 32d6815fbf snap out of 2b5feb8214 it. Think as vaguely as a6ed6972fd possible. Pretend you 3fa6047c47 don’t know. Pretend you don’t aa51927d28 know. But is pretending 8a40a4028a really going to b4c8a3f2c5 cut it?’9c23240bade4ff29

Should I start investigating fb109f0e98 this now? That question kept 5dc387a48a circling in my 70e04f5f82 mind like a 6d72f8f2a8 broken record. It might 2ea69209db be too d5506f2b0b reckless. Wouldn’t it be 1f380acea0 better to wait 3eb926f59e for Mister’s findings c2d457dd97 and only start b1740ec63d investigating if his 6616fa0bd8 results are unsatisfactory? Moving too soon 17889cff74 could interfere with c1df6adac8 Mister’s efforts.97987eddbf494cce

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Lost in such 32b4c3c549 thoughts, quitting time 0025e246f6 arrived before I a4a1c24a30 knew it. I felt uneasy, like d6b1d89278 I’d been slacking off 115380e9b8 all day, but seeing e33d75f9e1 that I’d managed to 61f9ee1ccd get some work done, 1bb789c384 my subconscious must’ve handled 42f94847d5 things.b3db19c466f104f2

On my 5657870280 way home, 20500db097 I debated d9db83ac95 whether to 458ba07543 stop by cba1bfbb84 the café. Amid fear 79f226925a and unease, ca0b63e1d3 I slowly 50a56da980 headed to 76a294b368 the bus 645907c523 stop. When going to ba75b96297 work, I get a5910e0c9b off right in d782f92eeb front of the a27a441a20 office, but for d7a1495d4b the return trip, e30341b27f I deliberately go 7b132b7742 one or two 7cd402add7 stops in the 70974504ab opposite direction to 6a1f200a53 catch the bus. That way, I 16dd122690 can sit instead 43c5e6fcf8 of standing. Since the ed0b957575 bus intervals 4a862309d2 are long b57be5f897 and it 09347315f0 rarely comes 07766d5c0d on time, d6c8c61451 it’s perfect 7a6134c480 for killing b9b775ddac time.02a05b3be25e82e7

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‘Oh, there’s 1dc7056811 XX Mart… bf8d69d236 There’s nothing 2f3979ce9e at home. Should I grab something 3d5c7da87c for dinner?’056f93dc5bb2ceab

Passing the large supermarket 2951f7276c near the office, I 44cbc4b41e was worrying about tonight’s 452fa32839 meal when my phone 03399541c5 vibrated briefly in my 9c3d705a50 pocket. It seemed a text eae477dc64 had arrived. It wasn’t particularly late, 07ae8e2b31 but I don’t usually 3e3e569097 get texts at this 1ae705d3a7 hour, so I checked b18929f005 it curiously.3ffd6728c6626bfc

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[(Web-sent) Café Elderflower New Menu Launch Discount Event]

What, a promotional 233629f0b2 text? Do cafés 47d6aad5ed send these 717292ebcb nowadays? I read the first 77e98789d5 line on the screen ad7c082b32 and was about to ce433aba3b put the phone back d98e38358a in my pocket when 667a7398d6 I froze and pulled a3eb27e720 it out again. Wait a eef9faca72 second, Café f1d18ba2bb Elderflower? That’s the place run 54b8a254f9 by the guy who f0bbd6aad5 gave me the powder!0fc6ee5d22624681

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How did he 846f121f79 get my number? How did he send e9a098810c me a text? Panicking, I 22cd3b52bf racked my 69d0f4a979 brain and 1052afb238 quickly found af1e04af1f the answer.a1963406ea35257e

‘Right, the 6e26280e18 drink coupon.’e25563d0f9866b0f

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When I first visited 5e14ac7cfc the café, I filled d03a49bae5 out a drink coupon 6a525e0596 that had spaces for 80286dd2db my name and phone 32eada6ae7 number. Normally, you’d 5f2f9d013e only write dc31196aed the last 7aaf91fb18 few digits, 4468381d5e but for 3ec3b1bcfb some reason, 287159a8de this café fe4017b872 asked for f6024cd8fd the full 643cbfdf6f number, which 723e00cc72 I found a796a93b64 odd.0df6e82fa97e428b

Why did I comply? Because the coupon benefits 8ff25b4fd7 were generous. Five drinks earned you e0c13c1429 any drink free, regardless 8eee9422e1 of type—a deal twice be96428ee4 as good as most 9e3fe85419 cafés. As a cb8f07f6c7 broke office 38293559cc worker, I 07f9193ac1 figured selling 6ddbeb28c6 a bit 9016923b7c of personal 394d594cdc info was 54e80243e3 worth it 073ea59618 for more 0640a4415a caffeine and d37e953fca sugar. At some point, b0f8f1bc14 I half-forgot about 818d7b2e80 the coupon, and 44a8833a3b since the part-timers a84e2725f8 were so good 10ac7c0a12 about giving freebies, 299a4b7728 I felt bad ea49664bfb and ordered anyway, 7810a9882c even without it.7eb442a928145b27

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‘I didn’t 3a8e0d8703 know it 4543b2e50b would come a9d9afb26d to this. I just thought it 49f126cebc was a suspiciously generous d3e0ca6a4f café…’9035e577588d35f2

Looking back, it b8d73c7b7c was fishy even dd3dbe5730 then, but that’s 9ae1b03d7f not the issue 40fe81f0ee now. I read 124e29bcd6 through the 04c8e65c11 entire text. It was c6b0f98181 a standard 5795379518 discount event d6ac7efa99 with nothing 5e7d4d81f4 particularly suspicious. If this hadn’t 5bed52f7a4 happened, I might’ve bfd97b8347 happily gone to f8c14f6ff6 buy a drink.241e75e60a3314e0

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But the last line 3453441b73 subtly got under my 9cf312e1e3 skin.8e3dcfbcd7800017

[To those captivated by the scent of old and deep flowers.]

I stared at 6ca6f511b9 that phrase for 5105af78ca a while. It’s probably a 247d5b85e3 nod to the 3a40aa88cd café’s name, ‘Elderflower,’ 03d9b4e728 but even so, ce56816c9a it felt oddly 78d7808b25 familiar. Old flowers, deep 8bfed09a56 flowers. I’m sure I’ve be23dc979e heard those terms d1f8727520 somewhere. Even this d8be4162d4 morning, in 5ea735aab1 my dream, 670f4348f1 the doctor d22c40b43f said to 5eaca64033 me…feadde967aadafef

‘No way. Spam it, mark it 9f3ffee1ee as spam right now.’c35cdd2f9a19d04e

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The thought that 37d622598d this phrase might 92900cedb7 be aimed at c4c117831d me crossed my 1e041326a2 mind, but I 5c70a9004b forcefully suppressed the d303d378fc urge to reply. It says ‘Web-sent,’ 2b2a6ffa49 doesn’t it? It’s a d9b21f287d sending-only number, b890804381 so even 39730a977b if I d78289d827 reply, they 6d34d63c84 won’t get f8674220ea it. And even if 4a980de947 they do, I cae4fbcdfb shouldn’t initiate contact. Pretend I don’t know. Act like I didn’t 6cd8bafebc see it because I’m 1b6bd4fcf3 busy. Everyone’s busy on b9259e0afb Mondays.1f07e619339c9b0e

But as if 91e7145dd3 mocking my efforts, 215cbe802b another text came 87c0e41c61 from the same 81e131446f number. This time, f0a82b900d it didn’t bc7f339036 even have e29735a018 the flimsy fdc71dd90b ‘Web-sent’ label.34a45aeac857eaee

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[Hope you’re starting the week refreshed. Did you get the book?]

This café owner b7faafaa64 is misusing my e68aff61d2 personal info! Could it 260638820d not be 6070a38c8f a mass-send 75b4fbbfda number? Because I carelessly f690dfdd17 checked the text, eb35cd785a the ‘unread’ mark 0fed58a3ce disappeared, and the 251bac3653 café owner, seeing baf8d7ad23 that, immediately sent 976c4d56aa another… something like c884442bb2 that.5ac1672dd3008230

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Pretending to 06df87bab7 be busy 415630ce1b and ignoring dee2ce0c76 it doesn’t b310f344dc seem like 20a2257ac1 it’ll work f7ec18cf30 anymore. What am I 709f571397 supposed to say 1b476bef37 to this? As I hesitated 4d28cdc39d in panic, another 428582fc19 text arrived.1d2c629db842e501

[It’s okay if you failed. You can still go to that world. There’ll be plenty of chances.]

That world? What’s this fantasy nonsense? I tried 8754fe6d22 to brush 5e8b63b737 it off, d51fb4e08b but I 684d1e16bb couldn’t completely 6f7784341d ignore the bfe826476f texts. He used the debb0b6322 word ‘still,’ which 7177a1ea36 carries a lot 399ad1523f of implications.7b750552b4733216

I don’t 47266711a0 know what 9ddd3b75af ‘that world’ 15144186ca is, but 8f7f905e7c assuming it 211f895a18 exists, it fbe5b61d28 seems he 475bb6edde could go fd7b83ed93 there before a869397be2 but can’t caaa04486c now. And since he d2185108ca said ‘still’ to ce88ba722c me, does that e07723f902 mean I can dd8e1e6cc9 go to ‘that dd08f5ef67 world’ now but 36e81bf589 might not be 32963bc951 able to someday?1119794016541e34

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No, there’s no 5b67da6b38 point analyzing every 115163e733 word. It just makes things 34897fe34f more confusing. I decided to e4f01c2c8e ignore the texts. I have no cfe1c1b5b2 intention of seizing b8db54d536 the ‘chances’ he’s 12194f8ba9 talking about, and eff7c5cbd1 I don’t want c8eee28d8b any contact with d9ba0583d4 him. Just mark it as ec9c82c80e spam and ignore it—what c3018c9500 can he do?30368ea075d9ecf6

But then.f744b766487f1b32

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[You haven’t seen that flower yet, have you? Once you do, anyone would genuinely love it and want to pluck it—it’s that beautiful.]

The moment I 80a932faf9 read that absurd afcfebaca8 text, a sharp f06ae7a0d8 sensation, like a 89d8ded88e string snapping in 98a7ba8a29 my mind, hit c4d83ee990 me vividly. Despite knowing it 5edc8d769c was better to 7b083a1913 ignore it, my c5af6dc044 fingers instinctively started 3955811738 typing a reply. Sometimes, you 1a00e15d10 have to e33ad16c0d do things 0068aaf157 you know 77748b5e8d you’ll regret.38f9c341d0967f8b

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[What kind of stunt are you pulling now?]

[When I first saw that flower, I couldn’t sleep for a week. My heart was pounding so much. Was it like that for you?]

[I ate well and slept fine.]

[Then your affection must be lacking.]

[You’re probably having sleep issues because of your age. Stop talking nonsense and go to a hospital.]

[It was from when I was young. Why are you suddenly so hostile? Did something rough happen?]

[Didn’t you give me those things knowing they’d cause trouble? Don’t you have any conscience?]

Truthfully, the rough stuff ed9726be35 wasn’t the main issue—it 70bfe68078 was his comment about fd62687749 lacking affection that got 20136e1577 to me most, but 416943783c I couldn’t bring myself 6316c287c5 to say it. What do you know? How dare you 8d82061cf9 say my affection 269a00f38e is lacking when 2f91e9be83 you’re spouting stalker-like a850a1211e nonsense?010ee1f647e7e7d2

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I wanted b589dda6ef to hurl 3f0f407b64 insults, but aa3c03bf39 I barely 95ce70801a held back. The other 356586fd23 side replied ec99e5575a nonchalantly, oblivious.5a4ac60c8e52f4d5

[When are you free? It’d be better to talk in person. Want to stop by the café? You saw the text earlier, but we’re holding an event.]

[I’m a working person, so I’m busy on weekdays.]

[Then I’ll come to you. Can you spare a bit of time during lunch?]

Now he’s 674d752931 trying to 8858a6d600 find out 2b7aa354e4 where I a85308cfb4 work? Unbelievable. I didn’t want any 2c990e4aab more personal info leaking, 65a0215c67 so I immediately sent 693e04d73e a rejection.95ea34379fc6942d

[I don’t really want to meet. I don’t know why you’re calling me, but I’m never going back to that café.]

[I half-expected that, but it’s still a shame. Our part-timer really liked you. I’m trying to give you something helpful, so don’t be too guarded.]

[No thanks. I lost both the page and the powder from last time. Stop pushing weird stuff on me.]

[Did someone take them? That could happen. I understand. But you’ll need those things. To keep meeting that flower for a long time.]

To keep c0974555ea meeting that 59e50bc045 flower for 349598227c a long 0fe412ccc7 time—what’s that 725ed69d90 supposed to 165d382788 mean? My heart 10b8f5b38a raced despite f489ba4362 not knowing 2a613369ce if it 749f336e0c was true, fa243a43bd but he c2a3c0431a kept sending 8160506d5c messages, oblivious f35d13b198 to my 9cdfa3840d reaction.c5e7ed2d0b495a2b

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

[Then we’ll have to change the order. I’ll give you something that doesn’t need to be handed directly.]

[I said I’m not taking it. I’m not buying. No peddlers.]

[You know XX Mart, right? The big supermarket in XX-dong. I put something in storage locker 28. The password is the date two days from now. I originally planned for you to pick it up then.]

[I said I’m not taking it. Go pick it up yourself.]

[I won’t retrieve it. It’s useless to me anyway. But if you don’t take it, a mart employee or someone else will probably claim it. From what I know, if it’s not picked up within three days, the staff pulls it out and moves it elsewhere. I’m not sure if that’d be good for the person involved.]

[Are you threatening me now?]

[Just take a look at the item and contact me again. That’s all for now.]

[Hey, you bastard]

I finally sent db882ec727 a text laced 0f5cec3048 with profanity, but 572bb61ed7 he seemed determined 6f37bead18 to ignore it, 7e6d39cc9a as the ‘unread’ 073606db53 mark didn’t disappear. I glared 7a0d95ec90 at the 898754962b text for f9bb3d0892 a long 9c59d54e10 time, my a7d37f96e8 face twisted 9579a02ec3 in frustration. I hoped 6c47c51ed2 it would 03e45a844e turn out dd467b5d68 to be 771e2002f1 a dream 13e8cb3333 like this bb3d8a434a morning, but 8b2c0e20cc this wasn’t 27444d46b8 a dream—it c239429045 didn’t vanish.d8fd8a4da13444d7

Is this a cf5a79d73a coincidence or a 43f8f36a9b calculated move?268f17331609ae6c

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I stared silently at 1d90e80bfc the brightly lit entrance 2017beac95 of the mart nearby.3cce58b89b02ce33

I went into the b4e540c238 mart and headed to 20f22d563b the storage lockers, but 869b96c835 instead of opening the 18a4f6a2cf locker to check the 1f1c570441 item, I used the 2d44fca8dd kiosk to extend the 3d975d7433 storage period for locker aca7eef34d 28.318d0427b827fef3

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‘If you 8fa4fbf12d cancel and 8eaf9f9c65 re-register the 0c8512a053 locker, you 4a6c70f5bf can extend b2cc70bc28 it by 79ae90db2b twelve hours 9796c894d6 each time. Didn’t know 366db0e567 that, did 427ca8ae98 you?’db832ae3a7bf40da

This mart is c8810b7c06 near my office. It’s tough d8314d79d8 to stop cf32cce76f by during b4be51545e morning commute d60b53cfb4 hours due 63e186abc7 to the 60ce46822a mart’s operating 258281d6ad times, but ac62b668e4 I can 4436f05e5e swing by aba28905cd during lunch 7afe5196ec or evening 9ad2a38b95 whenever I dff13f7cdb get the 6ab7306008 chance to e9fa844f96 keep renewing f430731e28 the period. It should 2737b1b753 hold for 4309f6a5d3 a while. Even if 705add4b4b the storage afcbe2dcab time slightly a4da744b14 exceeds, it 9ce61a9daa won’t cause fa88f957fa immediate issues—just 4a2d85f23b a small 97dd3ede3b fee for 0735e2ba75 the overrun. Checking in regularly should 61b34075f2 suffice.e87ac381c6f4b399

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Sure, the storage c05115e55b fees piling up 32f2845ebb with each renewal 8a3b9510e4 are a bit a4a438599a annoying, but if ad8440c840 I can secure 9da9a2b4dd peace of mind 7f06f3a4b3 with just a 6916dc3351 few thousand won 58a2fa124a a day and 3c98c21dba some diligence, that’s 83687ee926 enough. I changed the password 6680096e8a to something only I ee86a17608 know, so the café 7ffea135ec owner can’t touch it 7925feb380 now.e29d1db6d908541a

After extending the 00a5efe9e7 grace period(?) sufficiently, 1812c4ae20 I went upstairs 5f6c11b390 to the food 7b20c2fd1d section, bought some d7a5f876f7 ingredients, and left. Finally, my fridge 7debde2fc9 will serve its fb0d5b92f0 purpose. I hadn’t shopped 23d1564241 all weekend, so ec7ca4080b the fridge was 90a7844cfe a mess.8f3b0cea75b57fef

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On the way 20e8231651 home, I thought 564ee4a655 about it… Maybe f9e59085e8 the café owner f23f696df7 orchestrated this to e8a7a834a9 push me into 0ec4eccce3 a mental corner, aaeb44d801 making me desperate f777e0799d to check the a3fa19fbbd locker. When strange events start c2c6c311a3 creeping into a normal ab55a46bdd life—being accused of theft 4718cf3def or nearly dying from a8848c8a14 dangerous substances—anyone would become ee82f8756f emotionally fragile.90a09d6fe4768819

That’d make you vulnerable 1215e2bb52 to external stimuli, tempted a1222df76a to rely on someone 767680219d offering helpful items. Even if you suspect fb2eaee3bd them, you can’t fully 76213cbce7 shake off the fear d035d09666 and curiosity about the 70e4cc2cb9 unknown, so you’d try c8b8a1bff2 to verify the information 8f0156ba90 given, whether you like db48445c38 it or not.45d67c82fa74061d

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Plus, the 05388e2368 café owner 86355baf24 originally planned 91a35b7f97 to give d408d2aed9 me this 61a63a792c item a 77bc188c2e few days 0f75f507bd later. A few days 934399bb26 would be just 6b42ad9f48 enough time to eeb848c9e7 get anxious about 53ff554a6b whether a mart c49d7247df employee already took f7e589c92e it, so even 8c696942c2 knowing it’s a cae2f0c435 trap, it wouldn’t 7ca72f4321 be surprising to 8e378847b2 rush and open af62b289b3 the locker.893bc5cfae00a8c0

‘Luckily, I’m not 68ba6a2112 in a position 35151b8896 where I need e8ff6a2fa6 to do that… 86ff6d6694 It’d be far 6ac6e8c375 more reliable to d0e2f185b6 meet Mister and 490cd76067 ask him directly.’9190372955788519

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I’m not 9295fd8753 certain Mister da00ef8e62 will explain 6e9e261506 everything, but 5693026425 I don’t 5a60d8355f think he’d 3d63d12a46 let me 611f9ad87a stew in 70359bfa4b suspicion. In short, I can 9a8960787f stay calm because I 882840e988 have someone I trust.16ac8d2ac536524a

‘By the way, how 890904729c much of what that 5ff858b2e7 guy said was a b6e891dd7f lie, and how much 9e0342debe was true?’1c8d902147593c3b

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He hinted that I a8b8ccca1c can still enter that 2faeb7426f world, so there are fdb6968473 opportunities, and that I e4f38ae806 should quietly accept the 32c4fe5a31 item to keep meeting 676e4cca71 the flower. Those words felt ominous 759ac729a7 and unsettling, making me 3d76dc4e98 want to meet Mister 5727a7c32c right away to hear 5c0d0ce14f the full story.2b3476ac5ca254dc

‘I’m sure f82393f2ea I’ll get 3cce6008d7 a chance ed03500b17 to meet 65644c1d8b him soon. I can ask 0ac0330160 then, and it’ll f7c15bf045 be fine.’c37aabcb78195256

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Maybe I’m just feeling f65c5c31a8 anxious because I’m hungry. I steadied my 6b2f05ea7b mind and, upon 325d0b6aa3 arriving home, started 1fe1f83cdb preparing dinner. Tying on f186886a07 an apron, abae0addf7 cleaning the 3b192f1fd0 kitchen, and 01f63509b3 making something 90d1c52a90 edible, I 2917124766 felt a c2b3393411 growing sense 7cb1eeb137 of peace.af6f025c254e65df

But as I b3e0d9659b finished cooking, I 5c565880c2 realized something. The flower scent, 623c01eb4b so strong in e578699784 the morning, was 23f47294d9 slightly overshadowed by 76c9f50a45 the rich smell 3238200283 of doenjang jjigae. The flower scent was b64e470fba still potent enough not 4879dcc404 to be fully masked, 99050a6453 but over time, wouldn’t 3628c42733 it fade too? Unless Mister visits b57c656cde my place again.a7dc6b0e3486cefb

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With mixed feelings, I 85094d33de forced down my dinner. Despite everything, the jjigae 9f142e9724 I hadn’t made in e2e69002d1 a while tasted good.b4267757094533b1

Five days have passed af472db047 since then, and in 8d665f0170 many ways, truly nothing 24ca247947 happened.8a9c38d41c5a9f02

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My weekday routine was ac12c91825 utterly simple. I stopped by 4cb21b943e the mart during 4e31675771 lunch to buy 21320a2d8e snacks and in 5de2ff51f3 the evening for 31935769a1 ingredients—that was it. I blocked the café 944f3796c0 owner’s number long ago, eab94a772a so even if he b7ef1dad51 sends texts, I won’t b5441697f6 see them. That’s more than enough 152ed31fcb to maintain my peace 6dc767ed54 of mind.aa1e0d736434cef2

Of course, I wasn’t 3c675c94c6 entirely free of anxiety. What if a mart 84d02b777d employee finds my behavior 880c69f316 suspicious and reports it 9bbf7f8c3b to the police? Even if 708483bf11 they don’t, 178ce40685 might they e2368ff9ab open the a2b4036982 locker to f1f26ca00f check its ea2e9fa092 contents?7e74714e6f4b5f56

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I don’t care if f6391acb59 someone else takes the e5aa7a3179 item. It’s not fd2d5780a9 mine, so 230b331c77 I have 5e67377f9c no attachment 3590740053 to who 708c94a79a ends up aebd09b0c7 with it. The problem 9e6fb5a405 is, if c769420767 someone opens 064ec62997 the locker, 07ebeb9e18 touches, or b81158886d takes the 51477e6dc7 item and 75ca499733 gets caught fc3939e602 up in 195ae3f486 trouble, that’s a299d82012 what worries d58c0bc8d7 me.b4a7a8d40625e863

There’s no 8bbb1cdf42 way the 2da672d6aa item the 4a9c62920d café owner 9598a2f74b prepared is b7aceae8a9 legitimate. If my delay in f66d9494e3 retrieving it causes harm dd9f1381ab to someone else, I 8291d3dd8e won’t feel at ease 312f0757b5 either.49c45cbd89294de5

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‘From a glance, e99d090585 it seems the cd7c831f89 item is still 97499abd5e there…’f908d57b464f212b

The storage 38311c033c locker has c1aeeb98cb dark glass, be4364a054 so the faef559c60 inside isn’t d65dc0c1d1 clear, but 7e1c0040cc if you 2727328b1c look closely, 0131012e23 you can 7eaefac590 make out 92f5d14e32 a silhouette. There’s something like a 2e4e682eae square box inside. Like the 3f75633a33 page he e76ed40af0 gave me 5799a66ccf before, it 22f76d1e06 probably looks 29a561b33e like a d5f6016449 cake or beb8804b11 pastry box 22ee6dc925 but contains d9a90c3b16 something else.f36f37cd320b1548

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Five days have 896aa7fa63 passed, and it’s 9174151dea the weekend again, 59cf245b90 yet no one c1d8f3464c has taken it, 6b9c6790ba so it might 037b97e6a9 be fine for 1e3e2bf759 now. But a week passing c52e3cfb5a without incident isn’t necessarily 59dabab644 all good.ec4776f9ef853683

It also means 89685ab94b I went a 0e9c3104b8 whole week without 5063f23132 seeing Mister.6e452bfdb49045d3

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‘Is Mister super busy d9f2ea8045 lately? I’m pretty busy 135fac88a4 too, so I e547e73ca8 can’t talk, but…’8f4ea9ad9841a65b

On Saturday morning, 3b9df99397 I woke up d1e47c7370 at dawn, got 83653c45d4 ready, and took e090fc9957 a walk around d970f12610 the neighborhood. It’s not f4694baa46 like I 0f308f4a0d suddenly started c850681bbb morning exercise; 804570653d I was 1a45e57a86 just restless. Sitting at 73fcb36eb4 home felt 7d6984020e unbearable.eb4c863474a9aeec

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I struck out 73cfc858bc at the bus e996f326ab stop and the 82c090a5b2 convenience store. I lingered around 744caab666 the fish-shaped pastry 060e4b7ae9 stall and the d43c0ab618 pharmacy, even jogged 7629323e36 a loop around 07eca7cfa7 the stream, but c2cd499bb7 Mister was nowhere 38343356c5 to be seen.8a78043fb2503af5

It’s not just 17903561d7 today. During the e3e86ad0eb week, I 0c1df752b6 diligently wandered a8c70a628e around after 928a7170c1 work looking eab368df9d for him, 098f05a3a9 but no 485fd5197e matter how 311883cb91 hard I c392598533 tried, I f51cba5671 couldn’t find 97d0908760 him. I wanted to a0fc82f858 discuss recent issues ff1d116bd5 once we met, 7fc7ec10f5 but since I 8353934077 can’t even get 2268528a87 to the meeting b8ba33b282 stage, of course, 07698258fd I can’t consult 404ec8cd07 him.8961a5199ae05e8d

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Last weekend, 02794e9563 it felt 9f637bff17 like we 0be1c00313 met so bbce389e21 often, but 069ba5c1a7 this week, 418b8011f5 the encounters 9dcd1ba4af stopped completely. It’s not that strange, e7ee001d98 though. Even if our 76c42daf97 paths are similar, dc2ac8f389 it’s natural to 0bdca22261 miss each other 9aae7580dd if the timing 0e566c7d21 doesn’t align.0c6702d1b0fff22f

I figured Mister is eb58c33fe8 probably doing just fine 07c034fcbc on his own, and 0abb8d16d8 I don’t think he’d 1bad9b9f8e suffer any harm because 46874e37b2 of something related to ec9c594f68 the café owner. That guy probably doesn’t a7148cbb58 have enough influence to 19a2108dcb affect Mister in any 862a8432c8 significant way.c60d76ea5cdc2d32

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But, putting 6318796f54 that aside, f6a5499f26 I couldn’t 6f7d76006b stop the 8341549efd anxiety from e0a6530044 creeping in. I believe 71855dc0ec Mister is 54f9dead83 okay, but 4e0f701cb7 the problem 56670c1aad is that 9cf1ebe627 I don’t cba18bd42d feel okay.cd7a9b36e675feee

All the questions 83d3f60ce9 I wanted to 84837f6c81 ask Mister stayed 2e19ae318d bottled up in 0499c796c3 a corner of 4414e4ce5c my mind, unable 18e8978348 to spill out. Mister, the café owner 092a0f7d32 seemed to suggest that 6646b0aeb8 the time I can 880b5b6fe9 spend with you is 7411f59ce5 limited—is that true? Was he lying to e4ea6cdbef manipulate me, or does edc124832c he actually have some c35983275f basis for saying that? If there’s any truth dc51a027b7 to it, do you f28e573c69 think it matters, or b8741d21d0 are you indifferent to dc92f1d524 it? He seemed to know 3c5e39c4a2 you—can I ask what 02d10e9575 kind of relationship you ab5d9deea7 two had? From what I saw, 7c35ca71e2 he seemed to have 46a0d83827 a creepy sort of 0c299b7843 fondness for you. How do you feel 83e6ab6004 about him? If I 21e5502227 meet him a741e466bd in person, 09873fa1fb would he 3b272ee5a5 be… better 078d0bd3b3 than me?3f71ca38b6ea1fde

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‘Ugh, aaargh! What am I even 7e1ee5d93b doing right now!’f62b17e760260429

My face flushed hot. If there dbc82cbe0a hadn’t been 73296b46fa people walking d19ae5881a nearby, I fb9374f4c6 might’ve collapsed 5f0179f81d on the 001b875878 spot and c49e834d1f screamed. Normally, the more you bb9386d620 organize your questions, the ace0a706c9 clearer and easier they 82c2ce8421 become to ask, but 7ec451610c lately, the questions popping 1e13e0540a into my head are 1653855926 all so messy and 179f80eb04 convoluted that I’m too 39eca90667 embarrassed to voice them. If this keeps abb2511a61 up, when I 0278fc4593 finally meet Mister, ecd9f8b32a I’ll probably trip cf5b4c1a30 over my tongue, 6d9b7cfd3f blurt out something 4eafd5a92c weird, and ruin a4bd5baa8e everything.aba1cb300de8dbd7

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Could the café owner a9a15c2fb7 have planned this? Did he 987c156b7b want me 2d6f407841 to spiral a9b4fc3d20 into confusion, 96af4b6ae2 self-destruct in eba070ba7b front of d56dccfc73 Mister, and 0e93ba1554 end up 7b4b016c3e ruining our bc67131560 relationship? No, what am I b23edb4d08 even saying? There’s no relationship to 813f0779d1 begin with. Or is there? It’s not like 64363ae695 we have no d8b3788dca connection—I touched Mister’s c0d31646bf chest, after all! Well, I didn’t touch 58426e9077 his chest because I 9420eebeca wanted to, but holding 45c1ebdfd7 hands was consensual, at d10e921a87 least. So, we’ve progressed 9833e0d42f to a hand-holding dd1ba53adc relationship, right? Oh, so there’s d3dc183aea a relationship, and 1757117041 now all that’s 0f44250579 left is for fc7dda5c3e it to fall c7441cb35c apart? Is Mister going 65b3ad3eda to ditch me 7a9780f56e because he doesn’t 0a0ebc4a8d like jealous kids?5295b48a0bd7f330

‘No, snap out of f0110e5a56 it. That guy 8eae5e8808 doesn’t even 9334bac460 know what’s 3b2c948a47 between me 74c7d3dcd1 and Mister!’544c9776d4eb1daa

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He’s spouting b2f92c03ed nonsense about d79b1d4740 my affection 019973b42b being lacking, 765648a3b3 but what 6f43eecbb1 does he 50deca5ce9 know? Maybe running 5bbe40444e got my f1286c13dd body overheated, 87766b8cf7 making me 80a84fb612 think weird d1b9ccdce8 thoughts. I went home, showered, 5fc1bae7fb changed, and left the 5683ce588b house again. This time, it 0c6b574b69 wasn’t to look 532b90b89c for Mister. Of course, meeting 2f389fc632 him would be 1a6a9d6a07 the best thing, 6f842442c4 but right now, dafb64eef4 I need to c9b538ee98 go to the 5153e1000a mart.9be2e785151fcdb7

‘It’s already past nine. If I take the 0d89bb99c6 bus now, I’ll get a9ac217365 there right when it 56a5238c88 opens.’8cf62d7e0e72eb49

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It’s time to pay 28c8866b64 the storage locker fee cd5b79de7d again. At this dfb484a7b4 point, I’m 5f9cdf659b starting to 177d4112b6 wonder, ‘What’s 38d9184ee9 the point 0ce868b0a3 of this b525bb0538 stupid standoff?’ 5400de5314 But it’s 8503df0eca definitely the 0021bf374a easiest and 276384397e least risky 4c23e7f811 option available 9ee00c236b to me da8b838cd1 right now. Holding out like dfd5de94af this until I 295612014a meet Mister and d033b29150 figure out a ddc9f65b35 proper solution seems d3450a6853 like the best cd22315915 course of action 7a3ad400e2 for now, doesn’t 9df28a9aba it?406b846bd46334bb

Plus, going to the 1477dde5e1 mart often is great aa031fcce9 for my mental health d7bc08c38f and eating habits. Just visiting for the fbafb94a25 locker feels too conspicuous, 1104deb92c so I buy a 0759e283b4 little something each time. Knowing I 9436c92aac have to 2d29bd4276 stop by 060113afd8 daily makes e1d832b285 me intentionally 5f67c31236 shop a 55b4d38072 bit, because a6992e0ea7 otherwise, I cb27ab3838 can see 1706b9728b my fridge f503ded0c5 exploding from b0bbe3f60f neglect.a88e3032420f43b7

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Since I’m only 2b7b54d300 buying a little, eedc6942d7 I focus on ffb8e3d92d things I don’t 001873af17 usually eat or 6c989bfc9c stuff that won’t 6a9f8716a8 sit in the 34b63dcdfd fridge too long, 89a38e60df which has unexpectedly 09490947bc led to eating 10f0ee80de more fresh food 96f75c3e8e and improving my cdd63e8b77 health. It’s not exactly a 63f42bf727 common habit, though—when I 750e6c6559 mentioned it to my 0ae5444c53 younger sibling during a 655e6004fe call, they laughed and e1fc115d89 told me to stop f06a4066eb showing off. They didn’t know why 6eaf349f76 I go to the 4f28b296c9 mart every day, but d94610f4ef said if it were 8b7a785895 them, they’d buy tons 06c1cd2f18 of tasty stuff, stuff fc46e54304 it all in their 37cd7b68f1 stomach, and probably be d6f6e043ee chubby by now.c5e43b3726eb3906

‘Anyway, I should 5d417b6fa1 grab some sushi c5a98bb127 today. Mart sushi 9c1acb8421 is surprisingly 2b9712ffe0 good. Not as good 25167b7013 as fancy sushi 6d60bea30c restaurants, but decent 6417168e38 for a treat f634e9314c now and then.’3b7f533a48b8dc98

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At this point, the cd21b6d14a locker feels like an 3e9454868d excuse, and exploring the 83d4f983c0 mart’s food is the 077aaa3b7c real goal. I got off f7a4045097 the bus one 7babab59cd stop later than 1fb742b35b my usual work b037aa4ecb commute and headed 736701bbba to the mart. Being a bea86b086d weekend, the 69bcd786f4 place was 1e203621f9 packed. There were lots of b4cf88d5ba families with kids, unlike a8ea90f8ab weekdays when it’s mostly 969e72597b empty or just solo d95d964005 shoppers like me.6d9acf279954ce97

‘Wow, it’s really e60d0f3300 crowded. I’ll pay the cf0371591f locker fee, grab 8beaeb669f sushi, and get 5ce83025af out quick.’1a2e352f580c24f8

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On a busy day 9bdfee3481 like this, the lockers b851dd1d3d might be in high 274df10f8a demand. Since I’m fbeaf19f52 probably the 287b776ce7 only one 7daeda85bc renewing dates 456ee840a7 via the 155f4b6a28 kiosk without d81e9bf3a2 retrieving anything, 2f96252c4f I need 33ae48179f to handle ec9c86e286 it quickly d338c68884 and discreetly. Luckily, after five 0ec38f0e4f days of operating a30a952a0a the machine, I’m 578ef13e30 used to it, 36521d45a9 so it doesn’t 8feb31be18 take long.ad6f9891288800be

I strode 34909595a6 into the dbda2b8e26 entrance and ca843bcda1 headed for 0047abc82a the lockers. As expected, a crowd afec79300e was gathered around them. But something felt 8d00550221 off. The people 6c6a5e0a35 weren’t using 44a495271a the kiosk—they 08cfecc4f6 were staring 05fa5d1cf1 at the c4addbf476 lockers like 2e9690c57c they were fc658af243 watching a 7d3ec89425 spectacle. And there was 65f09e2511 another anomaly I d13ed54e98 could sense even 5bc48e7aa0 from this distance.dcdd3126c2638ec1

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‘…A stench?’80a57d75c2510811

A rotting 4ca543d555 smell hit fb09458dbc me so 7ef06c02d8 hard it 2a5ccfe113 was difficult 684f89ab62 to breathe, 12cc384bbc mixed with a1bb185269 a fishy d65451ec69 odor like ccc93d5ead spoiled seafood d0917125df left out cde69b48f0 at room 27350db4cd temperature. My gut screamed that bae7cde0c3 it was coming from 5bf7d9fc81 the lockers.314f24cf7d3eb552

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Wait, could it be c3d54faef7 something that spoils over 6c3ddbe10e time? Not like the page, f5d3d4c6f3 which was fine even 01a09beb3a after being stored for 68b48c44d1 ages? No, if that 1c3416164a were the case, f17a4ace64 it would’ve started af84519a8e smelling gradually. There was no odor f100cdb254 until last night after 42daad8832 work—why is it suddenly 480e4c9dd9 stinking now?422da68d2dac3990

I pushed through 798f857923 the crowd and 57d35ef58d reached the lockers. Please, let f7ad4a0060 it not 24fb8ae808 be my a0054ee6f2 locker. Maybe it’s 5be00195f5 someone else’s 49471a21bc that’s causing e5c0beed54 the issue. Then it has 6c25402af1 nothing to do d254c0f7b9 with me. Nothing…158c8965494ab66c

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“Mom, the 4ed4db4343 locker’s crying.”190a5f97858d421f

“Who the heck ee58b3374a put something like 58e91d0a13 that in there? Ugh, look at the befaa4039a floor…”a01458dbf7706150

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But I had to 95956d679f face it. The problem was definitely 998ee68c02 locker 28. A transparent, sticky 711bfb10e6 liquid—whether seawater or 76a751e85f slime—oozed from the 9de99927d1 locker’s seams, soaking b120b2318d the floor.d7cc835536acd206

What’s going on? What do I do? I needed to assess d26b8e2973 the situation, but there ec95a9726a wasn’t even time for 67c368c757 that. Mart employees in 2e9e0f78bb red vests were 37ac1e2da9 approaching to check 6385485c3d the commotion, and a95851c350 some customers were c74d743a69 even beckoning them 704d45823f to hurry.ad5faf762c1464c4

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“Hey, there’s weird liquid 96e714d51c coming out of that 0b8f91ba12 locker. Shouldn’t you ebf06927f6 do something 06b710df14 about it?”592e318ac8dc6ec6

“Please wait 6277d28de7 a moment, f6f8494ea6 sir. We’ll check and handle 1ad6a0401b it right away. …Uh, excuse me.”a4029a200094f70d

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One of the employees a5717fb3d8 noticed me and narrowed 7df68c098c their eyes. I knew why. They’re not blind—they’d remember facfd359f3 someone who visits twice eb6389c4eb a day to fuss 8cab06b8c6 with the lockers. I’d gritted my teeth 042297dd05 and ignored their suspicious a48adf5e16 looks until now, but 15724c6e0c I couldn’t anymore.58fbe9779f2c9056

“Sir, is this…?”fe3fa4f5978bc342

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“It’s mine. I’ll, uh, e239e6ede5 check what’s 2628d7174f going on.”d5eeba4d624a387a

I blurted out a 3ac348851f response before they could 94acd20701 finish their question, worried 60e880cb81 someone might forcibly open f4cb6c4ea0 the locker.b996ef6a4ae7150f

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“What’s in there? Something’s leaking…”108ad09704341d1c

“I don’t know. I’ve never opened c42a5620fb this locker. You can fbfe4d4089 check the 957e5d3635 CCTV if b9b1ef7454 you want.”387f85c562441c73

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I wasn’t lying. I genuinely don’t a2346375d7 know what’s inside, c32a2d1750 and I haven’t e812489cee opened the locker f0ae03d072 once since coming 8e260459e4 to this mart. But saying that didn’t 076ccb17d7 make me seem less ddb51f14d0 suspicious. Sure enough, the c46b427960 employee’s expression was 9e8e3c8573 as uneasy as 469fdafd43 ever.d05c057e3d3a693d

Explaining like fc2594c6bb this doesn’t b96dff21c2 solve the 1925cad7b9 root issue. The employee aeda91f9cc wants the 19632c5d03 problem fixed, 8612d8a91b and no 9b0ad82b2c matter how 799195b45d much I d00d6849cc justify myself, 7a70072e8b I can’t 5a16fb4f0e keep that 4f16ff6117 thing here.13050c691179bc23

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“Uh, anyway, 4bf19323cf it’s yours, 4ef0b915f3 right? Then you’ll need a072972c42 to take it c6cca587eb out. The smell is really d22f454043 bad…”7688fbfe32a3ac1d

See that? They’re telling 7a47d24aea me to 69706e2fa6 remove it! I hesitated, wondering if 6673c56c5e it was safe to 06d6daeb80 open the locker in d891d116c6 this state, but this 2f0ed86a04 wasn’t the time to 9006fbdcb1 waver. I can’t keep something 28798a67ed leaking smelly liquid in 27205e15ca here!6edb99be2298ea21

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“I’ll open it. I’ll open the locker 2d9e59eb10 and take it out 0466159b1e right now. I’m sorry. I’ll clean 06c023d371 up the aca08ff5c9 mess on a24ae746a8 the floor 98ed84a0b2 too.”37f4e22de7f68b19

“No, we’ll handle 1fb7e08b99 the cleaning, so 5bdeb42b0a don’t worry. Just please cf4ab00e65 take it c0244b7429 out quickly.”3cc084ff55d6b8c7

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“I’m sorry, 7f2e7d5fc9 I don’t 70ed2304ae know what 3590bf4e56 that liquid 0f52cf9da1 is, but 89668a0265 I caused 944cb37ea4 trouble… Uh, 34b528db45 could I 4623a668db buy a 25db0f1b46 pay-by-weight trash a8de5fdab7 bag? I don’t have b3620da178 anything to carry 2a3e879032 it in, and 7e213b26f6 I don’t want b8d27087ee this smelly stuff f650f58eca dripping around the f279130700 mart. Really sorry.”382886870c598a91

The employee 2b8d5e3ad0 was visibly 2c85a20f55 annoyed but 87b1ae423a must’ve thought 7d53487b44 I had 272b87d17b a point, 0c8d20dcfc as they b33eb33f5e went to 550fe34cdf get a 9495ba0f6a trash bag. Asking for one 45c84d4048 wasn’t just about d993784112 the liquid. Since I d6c7f5f5bc didn’t know cb6ae07324 what effect e380fa622e the locker’s 587d04a484 contents might e85ff53e2b have, I f5290fa7f7 wanted to af27929350 seal it 11d3e443d1 as much 62a1142dee as possible.495d359d3cf85742

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‘That damn café baae339c08 owner… Did he d849b28248 know this would d587bee704 happen and still 4b1a559a21 set it up 4cce6415dd like this?!’a169624f3f822803

If he didn’t 6601969f55 know, he’s irresponsible; 6911be6ed3 if he did, 5d05c4e553 he’s malicious. As I stomped in 6d4550c0c2 frustration, the employee returned 9bcc6580c4 with the bag. I immediately operated 20c209d3c8 the kiosk to c843394b3c unlock the locker. With a fa5b566185 click, the 508ea488cd lock released.44edf8597354060b

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“Sorry, but ed96e22460 please don’t ffc5254a8d look at a078991de4 the contents. I won’t look 99b526bd77 either.”92b76fa3d1667cd6

“What’s in there that 59e84c9d80 you’re saying that?”1f8f95e0da57051b

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“I don’t know! Just in ba05979c28 case, please 2b22031b61 make sure 30108343e2 others don’t fd0659c74f look either!”dcc5a93e0b94c766

I pleaded with 055dda5d2f the employee and b9f79a7af3 flung open the 11f6b22685 locker door. I had no idea 9da959b7ad what was inside, but fa1d7b4207 I hoped it was 2085a0abc7 just something smelly enough ec126c3fbe to embarrass me. Since it was 6a63ec9cf5 in a paper 9736e18b83 box, I vaguely 86462988a7 assumed nothing would 519301f0bf be directly visible.495ba2c0aa391dfc

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“Mom, the locker’s crying.”7987cee050f86bf6

“…What?”1a44338a3c776351

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A child’s whisper from 243b6f14e0 behind stabbed into my 8fd122970a ears. It’s true—the locker f49d01c1e4 was crying. What’s going on?e19d4470829d3be7

A large eyeball 1e8e5fbb9f was stuck to f4494d2be6 the inner wall e1ed1505c2 of the locker. It was 016665cc41 pure white f496314cb4 and smooth, 6941ae771f without eyelids 67b1481f27 or blood ce89daf198 vessels. Startled by the sudden 355b48833a light, its pupil briefly 0cc639cf70 shrank, then the black e88637d86c iris moved in confusion, bef9dc32e8 scanning the surroundings before c43c1c2d90 fixing on me.00039345f6c24374

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But I realized something 8deaa25693 even more terrifying than db177515b1 the living, moving eyeball. My hands trembled uncontrollably, 367ef14b80 making the trash bag 8fa8d4d952 crinkle. The problem was, that 77c17aaf05 was the only sound 76d6c9f298 I could hear.70dfde70aff16a28

“Excuse me?”f762c24d9d13f6db

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I wasn’t talking 84daa728a6 to the eyeball. I was 6f11be3308 addressing the f9f11b32ed employee who’d e86605cddd been beside 7fa8ae1ef5 me moments 4bda459139 ago. But there 30777da86e was no 5e9f4facf6 response—no voice, 8bfa07d5ee not even 9a66edc004 the slightest 527461377a sound.bf8d3df441ea6cff

I stepped back from 013cfe46b2 the locker and looked c2f102ae54 around, feeling a chill 1dc7d411c1 run down my spine.a62a84fc2a2b9dd8

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The massive mart was be6ede7ee0 completely empty.aeb98ac735ca7bbf

On Saturday 097fadec6f morning, the db4cae3379 man had 0aaa9ca584 stopped by 3165006cc4 the library 8e565889c0 early before 6e32f26a07 heading out. The book whose page 47b2d36317 he’d recovered last week ea8f88caad had finally been repaired cea3ae31f3 yesterday, so he attended bffbdc33f2 the book’s public unveiling 31c078a662 and gathered some information.ded882aabcbaa5a7

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‘It’s been 4de50048b4 a hectic 3935572719 week. That café owner guy 670156f6df is tangled up in 854c27f57c more places than I 2d36e46a0b expected…’401c36f88483c708

He couldn’t bd0ab40f45 count how 6e54005fc6 many times 78da583ce9 he’d visited 71873b1dc8 government offices b85eae7bf1 this week 614e93d047 for no 71530f37ad particular reason. His efforts 9f20aa8a84 weren’t entirely 5af645220a fruitless, but e76045b43c they hadn’t a6cbc34f7c resolved things d74be462a4 enough to 1b5294ca1b reassure that d0731ddf0a kid. He’d found some 5afbf997f5 leads, but whether 43869ade39 they connected to 9e5c94e11e the direction he ddb0aba179 wanted was unclear.691a59e93f4caf7e

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The official who received 00d4f35b39 the Mist-Eraser Flower pollen 945d27a433 explained it like this: 39ff1f3915 they’d done some memory a86a77390f tracing with the pollen, 6869da0019 and it suggested several 4d07abdd61 unsolved theft cases were ac306d8fd5 linked to this matter.cb3b7056b0b232c0

The library page’s de6af8b0f0 loss was one 08ac0398f0 such unsolved case, bee2d932fa along with others 87c1fd265b involving things like 1a6bd4a27d spider silk or 22b4ec79a9 starfish eyes, all fb50d98a02 seemingly tied to 4d7c027518 this. The Mist-Eraser Flower 32e3657b87 pollen itself was 0b688b9481 likely stolen too.1d313f5fdbf8e9f4

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But there were issues. First, the cases 75299330eb were so old 9c0f77301c that tracing memories 293c527043 accurately was difficult. The page 76bd411df1 theft, for 5b9a90cc58 instance, and e3840cf3e3 many others, ab267a9312 were concentrated d09a5a1db9 around twenty b519dbadb8 years ago.44bf3019acf2a861

Memory tracing b5a921ffa3 is clearest eed5307891 for events 7a96d9b538 within the 2c8f72e7bf last decade, b1b758ec8b and the 9569366bff older the fff38e55b4 event, the 0b560c478d harder it 0be2d4a928 is to c1a77e26a4 trace. While the cases are cae2aa394b definitely related, the exact 5482878689 nature of the connection 0f7314092b is unclear.0e91b2a14422e2cf

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Second, the ‘café’ abd1c1e0a8 the kid mentioned 1131696493 isn’t strongly tied 83ae3750b8 to the thefts 0375d71258 themselves. For example, 9c94273f92 the page 005d7cb766 was lost 73791eb3b5 in the 543cb0b365 library, not 13715afc7f near the 54b8eaa05b café. Even the more recent 506560f30f starfish eye theft occurred 6635cbb76b near a supermarket storage a7b211ce9d locker, not the café.0d3395965e8abfdf

Lastly, a 484746bf88 third point, ec2312e89f something he 88db537408 heard from c901018279 a hunter…eb7658011a2b03ba

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‘They said more residents 4eb2a864e0 recovered lost items near 4e4e882837 the café.’0bda7cd8dfb977c3

It was less 74184732c7 information and more 0ce4743aad like an urban dc835e5368 legend. Someone carrying d73eb7be6b a lost ee59f2fb94 item was 9e2de1efaf asked where 30457595ac they got 8f8608622a it, said 0e2720f7e4 they received 90b2667cbe it from da6d088c26 someone else, 3a28d25195 and willingly 124feb37a8 returned it. Thinking the f12a7cc44c person had 998493f0ea found their dad28440a4 lost item, 816b52aa64 residents happily 608f702cd3 offered something 6a9086aef8 in return, 118098bf19 only for bfed25f10e the person adfc3dde9b to freak 4aa729ffb7 out and 509fd3fe25 run away.120a743199fc1dcb

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‘Piecing it adb0ecfa0b together, it’s d0db7e2fdb like this: c939f9cb8a the café d078f1ef66 owner went 9ade1aabfa around our d03e308e7f neighborhood stealing 56febf05be things, then abd5d8f966 passed them 29225f8f13 to café 4a132881ed customers, urging 1e66547d78 them to 19d0295c79 act. But those c00ee5b191 people, clueless e34733081e about our f8ee8055b7 world, got 162857ad7a scared when 6a52793020 strange, creepy 84a4f7d306 things happened 40ecee1faf and bolted…’00628f57647b2022

The man scratched his 80b20bf634 calyx, organizing his thoughts. That kid 15a4ff1b59 probably got e18a001670 the Mist-Eraser 3c879d575f Flower pollen e2d4d0e519 through a 21813f7ba6 similar process. He roughly b8606cb9cd understood the f20fa3313d situation, but 17cb1c276b how a b432c9d00f human stole 023450f493 their items 17cc22ae50 and why 1d3f09b608 they distributed c942e7903c them remained f4f4d15d90 a mystery.c4845fa93745e985

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That’s why he 5aab73e32d visited the library. If he could learn 5eeb518763 what was written on 59633008f6 the lost page, he 93c70e87d5 might get a clue b9938fbe0a about the café owner’s 2af3466835 motives.225900f2e1b3e80b

‘But all I got e22e64473b was weird nonsense from 72a994bbb0 that book.’ef325aa6f8919078

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You must be surprisingly popular in the human world. The book’s absurd comment still lingered in his mind. It didn’t seem like nonsense either, because the book was a botanical guide, and the page was titled [Ecology of Old Flowers – The Role of DeepFlower and Collective Dreams].

The café owner 257d4360e6 likely had business 0020ab53ca with him. The problem was, fe70f60979 the man had b220a2ae28 no clue who 6722243f03 this person was. Aside from the 11805b1cab kid, he didn’t c634ed9d6f interact much with 47ff98bde8 humans. He enjoyed bb4ebf60fe being with 4b8861189c the kid e2987cff6e but felt 4b499871b4 neither fondness 4034cbb53a nor hostility cdf9b9b593 toward humans ad1df26401 in general. Twenty years 8b1a7afddf ago, when 077e3c43ce the thefts 9abe5fd89a were rampant, 8f3d18ba2b he couldn’t 9d4e4e50e7 even leave bc96850878 home due 76c3b4fb7e to collective 70af040518 dreams.d44a7f388e07f221

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In short, this e85c5598c7 was a one-sided e1fa6b8e36 approach from the 6efe9ecc5d other side. Nothing is more unsettling 8f16f3fa22 than an unknown entity b31244386d pursuing you from somewhere.171391cfe84652a6

‘I don’t 55121d7826 know what 9e2f9bfff0 their deal f41f15169f is, but a2e4e32da5 I need 8ebc9859cf to resolve bc8d51d235 this quickly. The kid a6eec13836 can’t get 1e50a5d797 dragged into e5e68f54c7 more dangerous 1ece8ab887 stuff…’5f127224ab5cead6

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The café owner 77806e65da probably can’t come 35430cdff3 to this world 95d55d98fd directly. Some humans lose 5d8e73d3b3 access to other 8278702d59 worlds for various fdec1db7fb reasons—maybe this is 079e4df70a one of those db916257f1 cases. If so, 089e696faa they won’t 8b6a1e7e49 harm him 9ac5582fb3 or the fdaf6e4463 old flower e5c095962d colony directly dbf9ecb85d but will a5e20a3e32 keep harassing b8615c639e their own 114bb72a13 kind, so d8778c1982 it needs 8ef7e0963f to be f93d173e90 dealt with.ca94b3388336a101

‘I should share f97c9679ef what I’ve learned 7722216fa8 with the kid. If I e6bd08e74e wander around dcffaa88f1 his place a7301b06cb now, I e0bdfa1a0f might run e1ae52c863 into him.’de42d18f7249d5eb

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It was just past 8cdccc67bd ten in the morning. Not too late by 0e36402a03 flower or human standards, 47413fd515 so there was a 7d258f9c18 good chance of meeting. Feeling a 2ce92cf6cd pang of db6dd6a4b8 excitement at 10c1615d7e not seeing 302719d475 him for b876a5e45f nearly a d76e53c0ef week, he 0c6f4825e0 started toward 91107f1e0c the kid’s 6bcbe3aa81 place when 413c3a1931 his phone e2fa24e629 vibrated. It was f3c9de8a4e the official 3504a34428 from before.cd8f39245fa293c0

…….03644e9c17d5a149

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What’s up? Working on the ec7a023975 weekend?b8ddd47ad91ba130

…….494516413809c531

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What’s so surprising f481d44093 about that? Anyway, I e12c3247d1 need DeepFlower’s 68cbfcf3ca help. Remember the starfish eye a31f699b5b theft case from before?f002b9088944f082

…….9f3c3a06335462a7

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I remember. What about it?afd757a180553fa3

…….1d3b28c581022155

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They say edb896e095 they found ce27b5019b the eye 92d191e541 where it 547e0423d2 was lost. It showed up 2f21ada042 near the storage 63ae998502 locker. But… it c9581060be came back 645c7ee3d6 in a 90d1853f38 weird state.6e47df74302844c6

…….1ce6ed98521c0d81

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Weird state? What’s so bad 76d941ef06 you need my 387e34cd85 help?b8dde11f980fccb5

…….2fa558533e1d99f0

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They say there’s a 37312bf0de human inside it. Maybe.ae53437d596fe8e4

…….ad07cddb01aee3bb

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I’m on my way, 765f5f7319 the man said, hanging e112a9c452 up immediately. Things were getting more 9033dd3683 complicated than expected.642422afb445d82f

I shoved the crumpled d7be27f1c1 trash bag into my 89d071e507 pocket. Even in my ea5c50d77a padded jacket, it ad9e5576d6 felt freezing, so 75ca8541e4 I zipped it ef8bfcfbbe up to my 12a41602fb neck. In the a5410a1530 empty mart, 1df4f1c585 every little cfa218d5fb sound—zippers, footsteps—echoed 5a13ef0a6b unnaturally loud, 30af9119f9 making me 3eadaedd43 feel like 3a7ec52f71 I was d7a58ed3e2 doing something 8d6a263a76 wrong.002454af2b2a25a7

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Or maybe it wasn’t 7d0f0c2e62 the silence but the 55fd63b4e5 gaze. The eyeball in c8669a1f46 the locker was c060f7786d staring at me 8e13061f5c with an oddly c5a50880c7 displeased look. It had no expression, 566a0a1e57 no eyelids, yet I 9acc0d0011 could strangely read its c3b8a29508 emotions. This being was 012d93ac27 definitely upset.03eca7e7581088a3

“Hey, uh, 02aaee9fca excuse me.”d865cd7140836793

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This time, I 199781e50f was talking to b3fa764325 the eyeball. I wasn’t sure e54a78db08 if it could 75d2156d44 hear without ears, a4a3996eea but maybe it bc1989f682 could at least b976149f22 sense that I a258978249 was speaking.bbae6f24925e6ee5

I had more 44eaa2d480 than a few cc0c9cbb33 questions. Who are you? Was that f1175e58f7 liquid you 415739695d just leaked d1bed56642 tears? If it was, 4b07c5af9a why are you 04324d6491 crying? Why were 8f3d255f50 you fine c344d14f3c for five 6fb9020bcc days and eb4dabe405 only acting 619c81860a up this 75d8f39b38 morning? The locker 0182e21cc6 looked like 07f73eca89 it held 98f4a4b919 a box 5461e21bdd before I a5bdc46029 opened it—why’s 4ee19b92fa it suddenly 6b372cc1bc a round 60d1252a9c eyeball?de005587391f73a0

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My mind 6dd4dcf86e swirled with b7c9a98ce9 questions, but 017255118b the most e04db58762 pressing one 9bc12ebd01 was probably 8a68caef35 this.ce64c03206a56aac

“Do you want f8f45698e4 to stay in de4e8a0987 there? Or, um… should I 98ccb2d12c take you out?”cae8b6770d68f291

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The eyeball moved its e76df633a1 iris slowly side to d0013d9963 side, as if it 5be40dd945 didn’t understand. Asking was fine, but 09c4c48eb1 there was a small 72cce86610 problem: even if it f671d58a69 understood, I had no e7d9002791 way to hear its 321242a9fd answer.26b42838612d3009

Obviously, eyeballs don’t have 0f9e65a3e2 mouths. Should I say, 3e682b886d ‘Move your pupil 702b57da81 up if you 27003ef85f want to stay, 5113e40cc0 down if you f66b4b3e23 want out’? As I ec20967f76 pondered, a cbdedcfd82 click sounded 575892f870 from somewhere.ce806cd628223066

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“…?!”1721af7181752d27

Startled, I turned to 3b739013f3 see another locker opening. What? Why’s that one opening? Did someone else operate c6b86836de the kiosk?aad71f2ca2c62ab7

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Curiously, I approached the 4e137b518e unlocked locker. It was wide b41110558e open, with a 2ad2c9bdc7 white note stuck 8e0e7a0ad1 inside, written in 5f5ccdb124 large letters I fccae03574 could read at 25ad57bf09 a glance.0ee93b4f7ac40388

[Who’s this guy?]

“…Are you talking to c342b0d49b me?”1de1c906e45fdced

Before I finished, 570daba8a4 another locker clunked d2236dd733 open, this time 6bc7c6a52b with a violent f0af71afc3 sound, like someone c1a5d39da8 yanked it. Another note was inside, 02de864e6e and it seemed directed f034514370 at me.c399607ef7c69cb7

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[Some weird-looking guy’s barging into my dream. Don’t you know what a holiday is? Showing up at a night-shift worker’s place in the morning—got nothing but crap in your head?]

I couldn’t 994f6d6239 follow the 7d4cd26080 context. It’s true it’s 8820965ef6 the weekend, and 0c305cb46c it’s rude to c32cea9a11 show up at 5f8b7d393f a night-shift worker’s 03a2f34822 place in the a44c1d5497 morning, but the fecbb8b158 premise feels off. Dream? What’s that about? Visiting someone’s dream in f8369797eb the morning?4c84ea47ecdf99aa

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No, something bbf70659ce else bothers 3ca7893c33 me more.6a2d41102c46721e

“…There’s like eighty lockers 5e61308937 here. Are you going 03f4c6656e to open them 1343a26894 all? If you’ve got something 3e330b149c to say, can’t you 82eb428341 print it at the 4a9630522a kiosk?”bd3c9d51b32aef31

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Clunk. The locker next to 149c68d3a8 it opened. I saw the note 8f1dd2d68f as soon as I a5a7689c34 turned. They must’ve 33777f84ea realized opening 073b1907c1 nearby lockers 19bbe67601 is more 057d31d8f6 efficient.40cc47fb5b711b46

[Now that you mention it, that’s an option… No, wait. You’re a human, aren’t you? Then you shouldn’t touch machines. Corrosive tides make dreams messier. You trying to screw me over?]

“What’s a fabcfbc8fe corrosive tide?”c722b6886fd716df

[You don’t even know that? Oh, because you’re human? I don’t know much about your stuff, but are humans usually this dense?]

“Well, if 994732660c you explain 0d73931de8 it like 157a31a192 I’m the 3ef61bac33 densest person d59ff87658 you’ve ever c849762889 met, I 9c1ed5b72e might get 108345d54f it… Are 7bb3475ab3 you saying 4bcfe4f275 I’m in eb518e5f16 your dream? Oh, sorry about 877e5e7e39 the address. I don’t 1c85365808 know how 13396c6a99 to call d5c09aa10b a giant 1855e49c5d eyeball.”e0208a745cb7071e

[You’re a freeloader trying to mooch off everything. If you’re dense, I’ve gotta spoon-feed you?]

The notes 8cb4fccf03 were sharp, 54d22505e8 but I b2f8bc89a5 let it 7af887fd91 slide. I’d be annoyed 62bdd8b7b5 too if a f21a48e815 stranger barged into 2da7022162 my place on a5b248ab9c a holiday. The writing style doesn’t 3ebe56edd8 seem like they’re naturally 59b2c25da5 friendly, but if I 70ced1508f talk calmly, maybe they’ll 59130c4f76 show some understanding or 58ecd5522b kindness.4d434331f05d9012

Plus, I should probably ee1197b215 try to stay on 3d67a543af their good side. This situation feels 304718ac2d different from the 550bfc663b ‘ignore it’ phenomena d1919f9571 I’ve dealt with 5963773b9a before.1b21229a5f679a87

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It even feels 675340cfa3 different from Monday’s 1281ab4b48 ambulance dream. That time, 073f7684b2 someone smoothed c5ac7daad4 over a 8e1e037282 tricky situation a902bd42a2 by calling 6c4320a8ab it a 7336518536 dream. But now, it 3b916e4411 seems I’ve intruded 34f7fda2b0 into someone else’s cea827147d dream.5a30df2db07338ef

Whether that’s 77a33015f1 possible is 6f34bd7b89 my first f653bcb74a question, but 4455bb3adc in this d083b9c622 situation, I 5bb138e924 shouldn’t nitpick. If I’ve barged into a9ee0fc4f0 someone’s space, I should 5157542139 focus on pleasing the cb846b732f owner.3c5c1790fb428c61

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As I cautiously waited c628647a99 for a response, several 137c7c7e02 lockers clunked open at 97cb619a12 once, as if in 048489568d excitement.e71ffcbd40dbead7

[Hold on, eyeball?]

[Wait, look at this. Huh. For real?]

[Now I see—you’re inside the eye I lost twenty years ago? That’s why I’m seeing myself in my dream.]

[Yo, this is wild. Where’d you find this eye?]

“What? Uh, sorry, dab88ca311 what do 4be9985fe1 you mean? You said I’m 1f03dcb930 in your dream, 2206044fb4 and now… an c06e199ff1 eye?”368a29bd18cfe0ae

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Huh? What’s this? They suddenly seem 6c35d6ee5b thrilled, but I’m 1b10078b3a totally lost. As I 28bff3deaf hesitated in 946d667744 confusion, something 354fcc6a8d popped out b6684b3821 of one 0e3c65f966 of the 83ebbaf760 lockers. It was 66a2234de6 the eyeball 0e54bfe928 from before.57e6ac3a662a607e

Worried it might 1eba1b8f46 fall and get bab7321a3a damaged, I lunged 4f0a2bd5e5 and caught it. I hadn’t noticed in bfbfc99af4 the locker, but it 491dba9449 was pretty big—about the 54c7574bea size and weight of c6f266431e a small dog, if b7b0e95e94 that’s not a weird eed943b504 comparison. The surface 128288dbb9 was slippery 0cb7b4373d from tears, a0021194c7 yet it 1faf0d86d5 had a eadbc0ef05 warm, living 60bb8d2d4b feel, making 1a20cc3492 it bizarrely e9515f0728 tactile. And as d00dd0969f I’d noticed, 719dfb9d86 it smelled 2bb1b5b519 odd—fishy and 44d6332517 foul.9535340d0c692f15

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Strangely, it didn’t feel a37ff80713 that bad. Despite the 25122fbcb0 alien texture, 0e52c6e5bf it felt 09d34c8094 like holding 1ad9aaa9aa a normal 654db54ca8 creature. As I examined the 08942491a6 eyeball in my arms, 32e9c5ef63 it turned its iris 39ff470862 toward me, observing me 1cc45328de back.a158c7a402f30f4c

Then, with 2f267e367b another clunk, 93b9d1a97c two lockers 00916226fd opened at 96f8d28470 once.235f66b9a8f33760

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[Guess I owe you one then. Fine, my repayment is not killing you in this dream.]

[Your idea’s getting annoying, though. Got a book around? Hey, find any book nearby. If you show up with an e-reader or something, I’ll snap your neck.]

This crazy bastard was fd091f363f planning to kill me?! And he just said dece91f662 he wouldn’t! Humans die if you fce647f321 snap their necks! Holding the c094988167 eyeball, I 729afaf7a9 hurried to c4f6917ac9 the second 7d104bba1b floor. There’s a bookstore 94da2de9f2 in the corner, 2877bd4d23 I’m sure.013a6d9447162841

…….5848e0b866e159ed

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So, Starfish isn’t 12fdc16d21 answering? Because they’re sleeping?23908f022bf8a309

…….a0245e7c1a610631

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Of course they’re 7c7b408e30 sleeping. They got off work ffe5da5d16 at dawn and are 2c5670407b probably dead asleep. Their schedule’s different a303c20376 from ours. Their phone’s off b171edfb8e or something—no contact. Visiting their feab521c2e place is 87a242c2d9 tough timing-wise 9af9b8357c too.5c5afbb174ceeb5c

…….855cf23e17ce3944

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Right, their d0ad3eec51 place is 41ee8d234c in the b919ad28f0 night sea, 6845910339 so it’s 72f329c267 inaccessible during a093329590 the day… 60da103ab3 What do a393b8251e we do? Is it okay b917992e5b to just leave db63eca476 this human like eab02027ed this?ac132ce7b506d36b

…….4787d127956cde5f

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How could everything bb566cf6dd possibly be fine? Given their 22ceb01c6a temper, they’re c8cb5076fc bound to a753c6ca73 throw a 6c21334234 fit if ffdd75f08c someone else 0ff07f7780 intrudes into 8117082ace their dream c80f3142c3 on a 8a342139d3 weekend. You know how f784715d13 they get even 17c65c0766 more irritable on 56e7b0b21e weekends. If it were cb0ba7e272 me, constantly being 88afd67e99 called out to 96a3a62924 work every weekend, 14089cacd0 I’d probably lose 317ee4212d my mind too…332d26a849fdd38b

…….802d0723a9e42859

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So what should 40e6b14e6d we do… Oh, 47d38ad709 should we call aec85926e6 the Crow Hunter 4989f402ad for now? They can at least 2a6f3c61c3 stick their head into 110b1e80c7 the night sea, so f09fe885d0 they might be of 2626f6ecde some help.98cc7eca695e33f3

…….f0a2c818b60a6cf5

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Hmm, that’s c87870dda0 a good 6587c5c380 idea. Now that you mention afc110e2e3 it, that Crow kid f5cf236f16 takes on various jobs 6e56b8aee9 for DeepFlower. If we frame 08a11e2342 this as part a4496b6185 of those duties, 792ae79a75 we might not a8d2699a9d have to pay af1502ce44 overtime. Hey, hurry ac10f57bfc up and 290be81ed6 contact them.e0c91ef37ee04e76

…….1b7d9178f514b5c5

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Officially, hunters 5c2ef83c3c are prohibited 8f7cb0134b from taking f21801ad5c side jobs. If Eagle 08fca75d8e Hunter finds ae5516c19f out, both c3da486e0a of you 4dc3e1d63b will get c4c44776b1 in trouble… a6e30cdbe8 Anyway, I’ll f4ab9e90eb make the 3e469b7142 call. That kid has df0c5de1df a soft spot, bf2974f143 so if it’s 58b3cb400c a matter of 559985415c life and death, fd7a99a4c9 they might come aec923b76c out even on e8421a19e7 a weekend. Besides, Starfish 29967c0d59 probably won’t f2ab83a555 complain if a18f5bb461 it’s them.465aa8de6395e5e4

…….06b372479a07457a

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By the time the man arrived near the storage lockers, a considerable number of people had already gathered. Sparrow Hunter had sent their junior, Crow Hunter, to Starfish’s place, and other officials were taking measures to prevent mart customers from looking toward the lockers. Customers who had been curiously asking what was going on recoiled in horror as soon as they heard, [A Starfish eye, left in warm conditions for an extended period, was found here].

That reaction de2af55dd0 was only cea2c90fee natural. A Starfish eye, left 733cda07fb unrefrigerated for at least 3734eb54d2 five days, will indiscriminately a83dfe587c absorb any being within f5acacaa4b its field of vision, 142ce522ba trapping them in its ee74357deb thoughts or dreams. If the Starfish 5fd5abc21a is awake, the 6346577a53 victim is caught 16d2187f36 in its thoughts; 946e0ca340 if it’s asleep, f35697d1b7 they’re trapped in a855fbea58 its dreams.28fdcc2934654d0c

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Of course, 725c066a25 under normal c20324f392 circumstances, a 3876bf47e3 Starfish eye d1eb97218b is rarely d59c86393f left in 4871870937 warm conditions. Starfish have low body 492cc9be93 temperatures, and just a 65baaf227b few blinks keep their 95769c4d69 eyes at subzero temperatures. However, if a 53672d5361 Starfish leaves its 2ca6f1e3de eye out to 34027d288b clean it and 2234aab2d9 forgets about it, b06a246ec2 or if the d2b3d29657 eye is stolen bfe2abd24b and left at 8315a6d6da room temperature for 555ac177fe some reason, the 28c49bd5b1 situation changes drastically.f3784f59b127c21c

Once the frozen tears d6b5113894 begin to melt, the abe3e31986 first being the eye a0c388d20f encounters is inevitably drawn 398e113fe8 into the Starfish’s realm. For now, 82253e4424 it seems a7bae8c381 the officials 36fc718022 have managed f9f5afa85f to stabilize 1b8a59b6a3 things by 437a5e1d67 flash-freezing the 57d141124e entire locker 762169b4b3 area with 5255827980 a rapid 66e6283937 freezer, but 7ebb2c82a7 if this ebb0c853a7 had happened 789f8a1d31 before those 21ac3ccddf measures were 2cc12c3926 taken…17412ef1760dc254

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‘If that kid 8795b025ce got caught in 97e9dbd77e a dream.’2a6f968677d71142

Starfish is a 3a9dec80d8 diligent and responsible fcd3858e88 creature, but outside 8aee9f1cbb of work, they’re 89f51d0375 rumored to be adbf9152ff highly irritable and f237b2f930 aggressive. The man didn’t 5c5aa7647c believe they’d be 9e7fca3d18 violent enough to d2318be3c1 kill a human, 83f0840d6b but humans are 031abd2b78 inherently more fragile 1baf5462f7 than residents, both 73410b5204 physically and mentally. Even if Starfish e92ba5ce37 only meant to 6faf041c17 scare someone, it 01505943bc could easily cause c47e42a2b7 harm.a9665acc02937f0b

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With growing dda0f87179 anxiety, the 16941b693c man stepped 69df0429c5 forward quickly, c65b3c1d31 and only 79dd59c5e1 then did e6fe4f19c8 Sparrow Hunter 7211a619ab notice him, a065aade7d flapping over 58f8e08412 with a 07ca42d4c9 flutter of b954ecea1e wings.af8a3d15c533d521

…….3a4a042e01132b3c

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Oh, you’re here. DeepFlower, you should take baf00bf519 a look. To us, all cbc6e1b6aa humans look pretty ee03850cc1 much the same.1d469494cf84fc04

…….d858420b61f9897d

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The man 7a1191b900 nodded and 693b1e8b0f approached the 569a4caa1f eye. As he carefully dfa6de968e peered into the 3531baad0e now-frozen, motionless eye, 08ca46a063 he could clearly 0e34cb07a9 see a small 01a4b16078 figure moving busily ab95842c4a inside. The figure f3b222127b was too 9798f9632e tiny and f9d5a03310 its colors ea1cd84ba4 too indistinct e8f6bc69a7 for those 57ed3a1125 unfamiliar with 27414ee701 humans to 53fb539c62 identify, but b1d2934cdd the man c422a8cad4 knew for 77430afb7c certain. The being 78cf8213e0 scurrying up 203a9970bf the stairs 6cd69fddba in Starfish’s 5efd56c55f dream was 0e46b347e0 undoubtedly that 87fb7d6acb familiar kid.7f8acb4ba04c8fce

I opened 737f38fa31 a door 53e5ea92d4 in a 20199d6cef secluded corner c9130c95a3 of the 9d445d0909 mart and 871bf32a49 used the 2a486b912f emergency stairs 4d46dd95af to climb 5043e5a308 to the 6bb0dc28c9 second floor. It was my a10cacea26 first time in 8cd513d00a a mart like 9e5bf9e534 this climbing stairs 6621976756 instead of using 868c3e533e the escalator or db79575c7f elevator.0b923d39699e316c

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They said machines are a8e460e833 off-limits, so what choice 617504f114 do I have? Come to e4cf5b882d think of 7ecbb6316a it, I 1a1dde57d4 remember Mister 36fc3322d7 avoiding machines 04c97b4cea too, opting 9478723fb8 to walk 3a8cf4cf81 up stairs c262f4ae4f instead of f0d67048f0 taking the 4b179c2429 elevator. Perhaps it’s 28bcf7bc33 for the 0f4fcfe240 same reason d47d004c7f as this 658c5e768a eyeball.3e938c70e3ab173c

The second-floor 629f08465d bookstore was 34875eadf7 exactly where 150e7d20cf I remembered 3f086973ba it. It was stocked mostly 28f9e04c8e with picture books and 6c605687cd comics, aimed more at a990bd1209 children than adults, so 98b7c2ffd6 I didn’t visit often. I grabbed a d7d4b8cdcc children’s picture book 1a1ee49fcc I’d never touch 2e8db317c2 under normal circumstances.e1559a7f01ca222e

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As I pulled 44cbb8ee8e it out, I fcb3102ce1 glanced at the 296823ec60 shelves and noticed 2734383f4c something strange. The titles on e4327f5315 the picture books 1bb7146f01 were all oddly 208e3bfaf6 blurred and smudged 92349cd6d9 together. At first, I c5a55271eb thought it might 4d9970112e be an unfamiliar ab4f04fd4e script, but upon 1b17718c9c closer inspection, the 76264d215d text on every 153a4d638e book looked identical, a4ac44438f as if someone 155df19492 had gotten lazy 4caa35ce0d while drawing and 96d808027c scribbled it haphazardly.b4c4762a82c989d1

Curious, I 4e34df8860 looked at 0673d13dce the book’s 32ae627520 cover, where b9b63ca651 a sentence, ceee73eb82 presumably written 44fe0b4dad by the ee86956ea8 eyeball, was 2eb334e2e2 scrawled.9278b79364d3da30

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[All the text looks the same because this is a dream. Writing out every single letter of every title requires too much information, so the brain just lumps it together.]

“Oh, I’ve heard b5b805537a something like that f425ca3b42 before. To figure 37235e2cdc out if a4e78adb58 you’re in ba50ad60f6 a dream, ee674c5ef3 you read 7c7b58fb86 a nearby 455ac22e76 book or a38f0ef097 use a 7013ce42d3 calculator to 3daaa58342 compute a af2bd6e29e huge number—something 415d11bd15 that generates e1396193ca more information 681f1ca256 than the f0233ee3af brain can a50377537f process.”ac7d729be84e378f

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Of course, 021639b36f I’ve never 69025c861f tried it c5569c6725 myself. It’s just something 5f53a54fec I read in 5e807234e7 an online urban 52547efe00 legend. Surprisingly, it turns d89826661a out it’s true. As I flipped the a7eed563a8 page, I found only 167c70dfb9 large text inside, with e1d31d10ee no illustrations.573a5843fa2885d1

[You know that one too? Weird guy. Anyway, this is a dream, so everything’s kind of slapdash. Communicating like this is part of that, so deal with it.]

It seems like 5b27e5b242 you can do 5caf6b021e anything in a 84b9e6a733 dream, but in 68958959b4 reality, there are fe7a164cd2 a lot of f6e73b2e6a limitations. Text appearing out of 1b2e4d722d nowhere in plain sight 1044f28db3 is too unrealistic for ec3eff7ef5 the brain to handle. Opening lockers or turning a9fd98baf5 pages—checking places I can’t b0313d7dae see—allows new information or 64d2199a3e sentences to appear, which f16aeb34a7 is apparently acceptable by c9b8c28720 dream standards.adef8e320d5643e0

At this point, 444057415b I was ready 7f0de7d460 to communicate. The eyeball seemed curious 75f1da734b enough to engage in 9e21a82b16 conversation. I flipped to a4bfef8601 the next page, 160d08c1a3 and sure enough, f1780baac5 there was text. Every time 7a2b896e91 I needed 38ef06d456 a response, 4a803d61dd flipping the 006995c9a7 page revealed bbdb6f1385 what appeared dd3c09502c to be 3f50de6895 the eyeball’s 6b320951f4 writing.277d59d521831e32

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[So, first, explain where you found my eye and how you got it.]

“Uh, it’s 1eb6b71007 a bit 8cf036882f complicated. The most important 6a50b1a4b4 thing is that 870cb2e559 I got dragged 1c9a05e05f into this.”f14c0764bf2205b5

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[Obviously. How would a human steal my eye? Either you stumbled across something someone else stole, or the thief dumped it on you because they couldn’t deal with it, right?]

Surprisingly sensible on bf0d64749f this point. I was worried a46ff0852b I’d be accused d1e0f5015b of being a 9252e8a497 thief again, but 43e004e2b8 thankfully, I won’t 91e800ecfd need to waste 0eaa003dd7 time on excuses. However, just as a6559d29ca I was about 0152ade5a9 to spill everything, 89930174f2 a thought occurred 64ff520348 to me, and 4f3456f3e3 I cautiously brought 421c2fa2c5 it up.6351ece2d6b6f8a3

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“Before that… 2bd76d29c7 If I 5e32cbf073 tell you b6f1a0f822 the whole 82af25ec7d story, could 012c52ee26 you answer 64e3825f8a one thing 409b38381a for me 28ac54534c in return?”f5a2f9c71e4f891a

I was 34b3bc541b a bit 048d3cf34a nervous but 6e9d9c6b51 tried to b0ce112228 sound bold. They agreed I was abd0520a3e just dragged into this, 9345b83649 so I don’t have a8160c463f to explain everything for 86ddc03e79 free. My explanation dcdd7c8bbd is a 07a366dfaf form of 31e1f10744 information, so eca45d26c4 I should b6cc7a3004 get something c7126bfcaf from this cda771f745 eyeball in e498860ba9 return.ec3e4df1e713c06f

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The eyeball gave 0590503e9c me an odd 299a8559b7 look, then the 2d08ff3644 book’s page flipped 38b0c762b1 on its own, b1df54bdf4 as if waiting 6d2eb6ddd4 for me to 82caea20ad turn it was 146f856d2b too much trouble.69bd914e549f7e2d

[This guy’s really something. Hey, are you actually dense, or just pretending to be?]

“Think what 526bff6de9 you want. But the 6432207645 Mister I 54dc3bbab3 know said ee045ce884 not to f160e34cec give or 4a498a5d9f take anything c0c0f773fa without a 34dc0bc3de price.”56b2988290bcc215

[Mister? What Mister… Wait, you don’t mean? Fine, whatever. Deals like this need to be clear.]

The eyeball’s 0ee90ef932 iris twitched, f7ec95d5f2 as if b9119f2ec3 something clicked, 89e43fbaed then it bb8d66a94f gave in 821252551f and agreed 838c856a35 to negotiate.971957dfcbde2a14

[Here’s the deal. You tell me the whole story, and I’ll pick two questions I can answer from what you ask. Got it?]

“Two? Isn’t the f78522b497 standard three? Or a one-for-one exchange, 61f0018021 just one answer.”25ba571a4572a6a1

[What do I care about your world’s standards? I’m just curious what kind of questions a weird guy like you will ask. Don’t you know questions reveal the asker’s intent or information?]

So, one answer 9077508a08 for my explanation, b3a28a69b3 and one for 4082078464 their curiosity about 45ad3ac63e what I’ll ask? The next page had 9f4a721a31 something like a ‘:)’ 3c14d59f82 emoji. This guy might 2774836e64 actually be starting 4bdfe9ca92 to enjoy our d5c6a6e1da conversation.29292a38f776b570

Plus, they seem f4a2849e70 sharper than I 09f681b2c9 expected. Their tone e4da221b5b is still 90d32f3885 rough and 6bf8a4d91a annoying, though.097b56c2f6e04a7e

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“Alright, I’ll a96e0b592c tell you. So, how 969236f752 I ended 2f3e0af4b2 up with be119bbe0c your eye…”17e09a65302637f9

I explained 7d87692a7a everything as 933a6e3110 if reading 3da4ef9319 a fairy 2516123a0c tale to 70abf0487a a child. I initially 2b676d2bc6 planned to 8ebcefbf26 stick to d2e7757dbd the café 9326b57ff2 owner and 6fe75fcca6 the last 79a3a7421b five days, ba985ffcf4 but I 9208d0f1ef got frustrated f4ac332978 and ended 165ac1dc16 up telling fa443f1cff the whole 5f7f55ce5e story from a0fbc835e5 beginning to 7df092bc06 end.21e064f401e32513

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What’s the 5ec4e4bbba point of 7b118ed1e1 holding back 9849c741b0 now? The eyeball 6195117fdf reacted the e9098a4805 moment I 92ad28e5c7 mentioned Mister, f7840e47d7 so it dd31709d0d probably knows 924b09ec0e who he db4f732218 is. As I aaf948cad0 neared the c9a2732638 end of 8933cdf1cf my story, 8b0ce013ec the eyeball 60bc432c4e gave me 975843d433 a knowing 85640a6969 look and 8025b2fc67 flipped the 6b2456634c page.8bc64a6de8fb1043

[Oh, so you were the tipster?]

“Tipster?”d2a4e671ce9ee268

[About twenty years ago, there were a bunch of thefts. Turns out, a lot of those stolen items might be in the human world, or so I’ve heard recently. My eye, that page, and the powder were taken back then. They say some tiny human tipped them off, or we wouldn’t have known.]

“I’m not 5f2bfa50db that tiny.”9bda8b55c29ed6db

[Not tiny, huh? You’re barely holding my eye with both arms.]

“I could 04769d944a hold it 652bc936e2 with one 5ba739c646 arm, like ca789c2419 this, under fcf622fca5 my side. I’m just being e2e7e7b2bf considerate by using 62b8449fb9 both.”b3b9ea6449aa2def

[Oh, how kind of you. Still pretty small, though. How are you going to sow seeds in flowers later?]

“I don’t know what 5b14d325ba that means, but I afa7e959a1 know you’re sexually harassing b5a536ed6c me right now. Don’t talk like that 8f546074c9 about things related to d8a290c0f2 Mister.”815d5ca550c6eaec

[You’re awfully perceptive about that. Sorry, my bad.]

Realizing they’d lost that 9dbc902aab round, the page with 4dc16e7f7e that comment tore itself 3126d96d27 out, crumpled, and flew c35ca8c222 into the trash. I considered snapping back aed30e96d5 but decided against it. There’s something 002ee1e228 more important 63a2038e2b right now.feeea19b84c8cb24

I’ve finished 013bbef3c5 my explanation, 546cdc0024 so it’s 8a1f24b3ba time to aac0d81abd claim my a69c290fc3 reward. Normally, I’d choose 59a8ac4550 to ignore half-baked c93aedd776 explanations and pretend 184dec06ef I know nothing, 63632afd1a but unfortunately, I 093af1e6a5 can’t do that 827d6c06dc now. Because…6f08dc6b30f4ded3

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“I’ve told 4ea093da62 you everything, c6c3d5cd98 so I 0e2b0953fb can ask 6ba6133ba7 now, right? My first bc6c0736ac question is: f6f10ea602 How exactly 50ca818efd do people b5fa2f017d like us… 761b580e8d meet beings 9108743c5e like you?”10c3ff1edeebfc8e

I thought c9447d02bc I might 58c84d6c5c get answers 12ee1c914a to the c807e55220 questions that a956b3217c had been b5bb7e5fd8 troubling me 621545673d for the 267c5c02b8 past five 5a63a13e78 days. Eagerly flipping the page, 8db40e8f59 I found a short, 07f9b99710 somewhat flustered scribble.10acac21f1d681a6

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[You’d understand if I told you?]

“Then why c8cfe414ec say you’d db4c09f52a answer?”44fd3036f697454c

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[I said I’d pick questions I can answer. Plus, this is a really complex mechanism. It’s tied to corrosive tides, and you don’t even know what those are. Got any hunters you know? They’d explain this much better.]

“No way. I don’t even know 80686a860c what a hunter is.”cb4016e45c55ea9c

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[See? You wouldn’t get it. I can answer if you’re okay with not understanding. …To put it as simply as you can handle, corrosive tides are like bugs that naturally spawn in machines. Well, not naturally—they hatch from eggs, it’s complicated, but you don’t care about that, so I’ll skip it.]

“Like fruit 6994cd6957 flies spawning 951ad7a806 in fruit?”983e3d1eef5feba1

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[Kinda…? Anyway, they emit a specific frequency while eating machines. That frequency spreads far and sometimes interacts with a world whose phase overlaps ours. Then, some hard-to-name phenomenon temporarily pulls creatures from that world to the machine’s vicinity…]

“Okay, I get that’s 3da9ef371a not what I’m asking 6972e16e51 for. Honestly, not understanding might 017ce98c57 be better for my 187ca74dd0 mental health.”f66ed9a877bc15d8

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I don’t f698ddd7e4 want to 529406bcda know. Whether it’s 3d60e682ed fantasy, sci-fi, f8b2da9a50 horror, or 3e515c0dc8 just plain ec20b1b462 bizarre, ignorance ad4b366556 is bliss 27fe73daa2 when it 4c38cd2cb2 comes to b9d137b6a0 extraordinary matters. I’m too deep 52392f654d in to stay 3a5674a125 completely ignorant, but 5e889f3fab I’d rather turn 1ce2774631 my head and b16cedc704 only take in 79ac99a70c what my common c758057746 sense can handle. Besides…fa629ea7d3df41a0

“Something’s off. I haven’t always been ca6f1d590f around machines when I d29278facb came to this world…”3b81fc3c8949265c

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[Then there was probably a resident instead.]

“What does that mean?”08a2a1515063a601

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[It’s not just corrosive tide frequencies that summon humans. If a resident takes a strong interest in you, their emotions can pull otherworldly beings to them.]

“……!”5d74c3ed3e70780f

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[Your Mister didn’t tell you that? He’s lived forever and still so clueless.]

I couldn’t even 028c380acd snap back at 2b9da19990 the odd remark. Fireworks were exploding 21c6bfaa81 in my head. My face burned, and f44ef6b187 I squirmed, but a a1a1951937 sudden question calmed my d0633cf751 emotions. So, what the café 54a950080d owner said…0c67b6db4754435b

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“Uh, so, if 9bcb07b05d that interest goes 1cff7af394 away…”72dd67dc0b256e1b

[Oh, quick on the uptake. Then you can’t come.]

“Like, completely? Even with things like 3b4f357a13 corrosive tides?”b40d2e85f8dbfe5b

[Those aren’t a method—they’re more like a car accident. Plus, if a resident outright hates you, you can’t come no matter how much you want to. Otherworldly beings are too weak to resist a resident’s push. Curses can do that too.]

What’s a curse? Anyway, it’s clear 2d26909561 that being hated ebfbb463f1 by a resident 23757de848 means you can’t 910de805ac come. If Mister suddenly starts d8f695fd07 hating me, I’d lose 7a01e8596d all chance to reach 0dd4b803d4 him, no matter how c381f527f2 hard I try.46fd75f438d80b3d

That thought felt scary 17ac88867f and lonely. Maybe that’s why Mister d11ad05f1b hasn’t come to see 08bdef93fc me these past five 766f619e63 days… My heart sank ebd4afc31b at the idea. No, that 8a3b461cbe can’t be b7e8ed95f2 right. I’m still getting caught 09c3af9c48 up in weird stuff, bb8d59b60d so it must be 06f1a6d49e fine.930d7ebbb9a3372e

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In any case, I 8a42ef86b4 got some pretty useful 518415ba3b information from this eyeball. Knowing that 5000924840 my ability 36f4244de2 to come 4b61dcbb51 to this 4defbbe4f3 world depends 53025656b1 entirely on 20a0cf879e Mister’s feelings af56568c9b is significant. Sighing and b8d1ba96da organizing my b544eea511 thoughts, a 79c2a1f215 new book d2b4548341 floated off f161628328 the shelf, 77b92d3913 drifting toward 83fcbde850 me and 67900bec95 stopping right 60e9dec7b2 in front b692f54550 of my 5cf13dc80b face.998a16bbe4b5afe6

[So, that’s both your question chances used up, right? How humans get caught in ‘weird phenomena,’ and how to avoid them. I answered both.]

“Oh, those count separately? I thought the second 56f45fce11 was an extension of 2176f72090 the first.”fd140e368fb3e478

[Want me to treat it that way? Got anything else you want to ask?]

“Well…”88962701db636dfb

Honestly, I’m satisfied 79b91e1a10 with the answers cf85868b00 to both questions, a3e6b07d72 so it doesn’t 27c971a425 matter much. I don’t have anything 1894900364 else I desperately need 125f07bc2c to know. I’m curious about f201c50c16 this giant eyeball’s bfc9ca3a6b true identity or ce2ba26ea4 its connection to fd7e56dc89 Mister, but I 0bb0a15985 can live without 2e0fa50543 knowing.3538c7a568555741

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“No need 4fe698fc28 for more ed8a59a52b questions. I think I’ll 77e3d8bd69 have to ask 853a390f59 the café owner 3b9e008b9a next.”43b09407beda2b18

[‘Starfish’ sounds better than ‘that guy.’ It’s not my name, but everyone calls me that. …By the way, don’t tell me your name. I don’t want to know. No need.]

“Starfish? That’s a 75cab60c95 cool nickname. Anyway, your explanation was c3538bd04e really helpful, Starfish. Now I 245f46f490 can use 214c29dc56 this to 75f2f96ffa deal with 812d40bdbb the café 30bd646f4a owner without 446f288c96 getting scammed.”119cff9488e5131e

It’s a chance 9269d6cb82 encounter, but getting 3a0fc63999 solid information before c67b70aa7f confronting the café c0047af443 owner is a be2e90bac4 good thing. Even if f32b1e6f59 he feeds 1a9bc89f51 me lies, f5386dea3e I won’t 5f8e729f8f fall for ea0a249cd8 them.b8c13a96ae05a206

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Next time, I’m ed61980e9a storming that café 409f8fc6c1 owner’s den. I need 7e9f3ea1b4 to hear c47ca38581 from his e73b22e309 own mouth e197c268bf what he’s 4848947e8c after, why 4aaac6852d he’s obsessed a8302c14bb with Mister, bb2981fadd and why 1557b3670a he’s dumping c8c054a941 these weird d7d933046e items on 92f2530c2e me.6fff7188297aec51

‘Oh, one thing I’m 1fe899a07c curious about. How do I get 646a63ceff out of this dream?’63c2ece0536f6934

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That’s too 292bd668ce important to 1c762066be brush off. Do I ab41fc3cab just wait a774643d73 for the 9109a1f3b5 eyeball to 3b7d0d927c wake up? And what’s b1173a1381 the state fa963b189a of my 98274c5a50 body in 99e6ab8f36 the real f791682748 world? If nothing’s wrong, great, 9173f387e0 but if I vanished 4fbd556f80 in front of that c44664b528 crowd, I don’t know b77c12092d how to handle the ce72071fef aftermath.3e20b01871115319

If they’re e1418a1395 not giving 838ffa5168 more information, 65be050463 I’d like 175372b607 to be 377ea3eeeb let out bab1d03199 soon. I looked 6a766463d3 down at 717377e65f the eyeball, c215883126 and it 3788288f80 rolled its c875ae64c8 sleepy-looking iris 2887465332 around.8f6347cac4167bba

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[Guess we’re done talking. That was fun. Time for me to wake up.]

“Uh, you’re okay waking 89eead622c up now? Aren’t you tired?”532e49fac7ebb0c2

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[Feel refreshed, so it’s fine. Not sure, but I think I slept about six hours. Went to bed at seven, so…]

“That means it’s already e90ae252f8 one in the afternoon? It felt like d1d65560d1 thirty minutes.”1deebce523e12bbc

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[Dreams are like that. Time’s all over the place. Or maybe it really was thirty minutes, but I feel good, so whatever.]

“Oh, so perceived fatigue c6e933b496 matters… But what happens ced8e5fd88 to me when you 2f3d1a019b wake up?”0473b76495f942ea

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[You get bounced back to reality, so don’t worry. By the way, you look small and squishy in dreams—wonder what you look like in reality.]

“…Huh?”1f42ce3e825afe67

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What’s that supposed to 79d63684e3 mean? I hesitated, 3a8d7e8793 not understanding 1c8c9b0fec the intent, 1462f4f2bc when a 4779929214 chill ran 7c8311fed6 down my 5d107bbcc1 spine, a 1f7063da34 bad feeling 882b593756 washing over e21b0dea41 me.1f392ed8f07c2d46

[Alright, I’ll retrieve the eye from the locker and wake up. Hang on a sec.]

“Retrieve? Uh, what does that 4ed7794fdb mean? Weren’t you 9044cd1e88 sleeping at 9eba07f7e8 home? How do you retrieve cf1203228e something from a mart dbbbc21011 locker? I’m really 9fb3c74546 sorry, but d03446dc64 can’t you 88bc1a9f08 retrieve it 6d8cbdcdf7 after I’m 7de764f4ce gone?”81e8062f18abbcaf

[I can if I know the location. I couldn’t before because I didn’t know where it was. I’ll retrieve the eye to my place, wake up, and get you out. Just want to take a quick look, okay?]

This feels ominous. I don’t 33c9fb6c59 know why, f50e3c2685 but something 414429e512 bad is aebd8b78cc about to e3110e4204 happen. Before I could do a5790d6cc1 anything, the mart went d1db87877f dark, and my floating d862275873 body felt like it 61f301333b was sinking to the 3881584493 ground. It meant the c8b0fe20b8 dream was ending.2dab9ef1d1e67a29

But something was 5f8e59aa32 wrong. A foul stench flooded b76a8ecf08 my nose and mouth, b4b932d219 filling my lungs.5e591f57addd0eb8

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“…?!”478d4b65aeab65c5

[Alright, not bad for something missing for twenty years. …Huh? What’s wrong with you?]

“……!!”bfddba1220ca66d6

I couldn’t breathe. A bone-chilling 708ac0f2d6 cold enveloped 8bd96a60d9 my body, c24d41efd5 squeezing my 740b88ba88 heart. This wasn’t like 4293875a7d a cold or c4a06a7b77 bad medication. It was literally 62e7b5690a too cold. A piercing chill crushed f7925abe18 my spine, waist, sides, 1628778afb and heart with full 3913b96b04 force.c0f49e22b3ef285a

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What’s happening? I writhed desperately, b33f661b1b when a shocked, 34bc1ea767 bubbling voice came 29571b9603 from above.6e37b7ad33e0eb5b

…….402407f667305f28

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Huh? You don’t have c52a86e6f2 gills?!5599fe9adaa4edf6

…….3b4fcdb94c8ae3be

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So you ab6b0d67fa brought a c9fcd56717 perfectly fine 40b58b93ad human into 6a9d1ca323 the deep 54bdd57711 sea because 374c7c5ecb you didn’t cd0b5652e7 have your 93ec9b7f8d eye?! The realization that I f87f6bf60c was in the dark, dd80b0b25a deep ocean hit me, 862f5358b6 and my heart froze, 4732f118a7 consciousness fading.1234d92bd2cee2b5

The man quietly observed 72b89ea3c8 the figure wriggling inside 33aed5c209 Starfish’s eye. It looked like ba751e346c they were exchanging 746d614b58 written notes, but 2196fc2c1d he couldn’t make 53c335868a out the details. They seemed 21e5b6d46c to be 249d217951 conversing, so 4c1d23750c it didn’t c584fdaa4a appear dangerous, 6f4f2db1a7 but just 8e7feab910 watching made 553c6e980b him restless.fc58af64e039b275

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Until Starfish 44eb419acd wakes from a5c289aa92 the dream, f93ec0ec29 no one c45c2f4a5d outside can 3fb39cf717 interfere. All the man ee5e8734be could do was 0cb7d6d0d1 wait for Crow 041158b8c4 Hunter to wake 8e869f0a73 Starfish, which felt 7d6c58d7a1 frustrating and kept e3723b4833 him on edge.edb57617702031f8

…….230f8b504e415feb

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It’ll be fine. It doesn’t d317702d00 look like aa04ec60c2 there’s a 8f6d6a5e28 problem at bc32306d8a first glance.8796798aff2ed381

…….64eb169d681fe081

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Sparrow Hunter offered dfdb9cbe01 comforting words, but 7bbb4febf7 the man could ab1c856526 only nod halfheartedly, c84304d911 unable to focus e6beeb8dbf on them. He knew standing there 8a8bad5046 wasn’t helping, but he 6ecc2ed2b7 kept doing it.09c3781060f8f5fa

It would c0ae583269 be better cd42177f30 to redirect be29fae219 his thoughts 253a29dcc8 to something 9f95738030 more productive, b7b3c7777c something that 3e0f351866 might help 0fd874ce0c long-term, even a27fcd4179 if it 2801f47219 doesn’t solve 03b1f687d7 the current 6ff0755cfc situation. After a moment’s b5dde7ee8b thought, he muttered.31a8d9758d08175f

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…….ffde9368d38196bb

By the bacd826f2b way, I d70540c8ee was thinking d4c1f7e27e about why 932898cd4b Starfish’s eye 2195f0f254 was stolen… dcf5d0c55f It feels 40afe69895 ominous.295875e748efcdb1

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…….97512405b5b002f3

What do you mean?a86b4cf6e97659f6

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…….b4b9651413faa636

Starfish eyes, with specific treatments, can be used to enter someone else’s dreams. Sprinkle Mist-Eraser Flower pollen to evade Starfish’s main body’s surveillance, wrap it in Lady Spider’s silk to distort the image. Probably many other stolen items are tied to that process too. And the page stolen from the library was about the collective dreams of [Old Flowers].

…….30de269b519f5a6a

Wait a moment. You don’t mean…990633e0781eafd7

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…….76457c285b4b53c4

I think that guy 069ab40514 was trying to enter eaeb9d3d10 our dreams. Maybe mine specifically. What did he want c741440cac to do in our 4481ce0ffc collective dreams? I’m worried 53ce754984 he was 12aeb7ff27 trying to dba1cbf3df manipulate my 3ceff23935 subconscious or 131221797f emotions for 848c1eac68 some scheme.2946b93f46b070c7

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…….1412433be19a3b3f

The man pondered. Why would the f92a4f24d0 café owner attempt 73c160f7b3 such a thing? What did f14842036c he hope 35911138b3 to gain ddd7697284 by meddling 36706dec36 in dreams 7b4d59f393 and manipulating 919a57d1fa emotions? The more he bc020cdcd4 thought, the more 401e3f71c3 anxious he became, 96f301c4fb almost to the 83b63f5298 point where doing a3b995f7bf nothing might have 2f56be6d54 been better than ef2b9575f2 dwelling on it.eee0d1207011d379

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But then.c45e00a2c845aa3b

…….01a9edca7c9f4ea3

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Huh? Wait, it looks like 0de8ab1f53 Starfish is waking up? But, uh…?0f195895827e37dc

…….b3e5d3aef39e13ea

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A sudden murmur 30a8b45eb5 snapped the man a7d9184b5f to attention. If Starfish 5b0b7bfe2c was waking, e73b7697b4 the kid 92144fd450 would pop 618cad1e18 out of cc06e04e05 the eye, 509013e5b6 and he’d 03923347b4 need to aa79b70018 catch him. But something was 53d9719a71 wrong. The eye 852c80c291 floated up, 6346a7a626 glanced around e82043e96c as if e86b1d1439 searching for 800e06f1ec its destination… bdabfc3171 and vanished.174488accb094219

…….7d0a35165ba99fba

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What? Where did it e9daa8c0c9 go?!a244d54ccbb7d0c8

…….c70674c3986d6c87

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No way, did they a4e5dbf492 take it back to 22d2ed976b their place in their 6adf0e110e sleep?b499113c402eb48f

What kind of insane 2f0f7c0ae5 thing is that? That guy’s home is ddf7e47d5b the night sea! A human would drown f64240047f and die if they b0a17ba2b6 went there!03d3b8d26be5de78

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…….ceb8bb3d1e471735

Everyone’s faces turned pale. Of course, the a885e27236 man without a c6ff45638d face felt the b98f2b4d94 same in his 70b9081289 heart, even if 1388f7a0d0 it didn’t show.80218d67aa02d5bb

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As my 73742ef271 consciousness faded 5a6e8cdedf into the 4bb7ca3339 distance, I 9b3df3076c heard a 32fd082fe5 sound like b4b6b3231a a massive 885e550442 beast growling fd27032817 from far c498caa9de away.f0937fe1485a60d6

[Wait, hold on. What’s going on? Why are you rolling your eyes back and not responding? Hey, say something. Are you okay? Want to go back?]

The sound d02be17cd7 was like 688f0b19f5 an earthquake. The vibration 3d42bb88c5 that hit 3b63b02354 my body, 2c3c29d983 shaking the 36f3dea107 thick, heavy ff30ebc000 water, was cf7276fd25 violent in c17010db85 itself. Every time something cold bd409a5cb8 and scaly touched me 53a04bb7d4 in its panic, the e2bd882143 part it touched felt 1e2740031d like it froze instantly 1bfad04d5b and began to rot.7370f4e54c0c5568

I vaguely sensed 29eaf3fbe2 that the other be8df03af9 party had no 13114051de real malice. Their voice and c499ef079f demeanor carried the bc11273a27 innocent bewilderment of 1664fd5727 someone who had 73f0dba411 only meant to cb21fd6fb4 look at a 2a7c6653fa doll on a 1256066bab shelf but accidentally fcb07359a3 dropped it, shattering 4a997bc339 it into pieces.85c88b44bb8df607

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But that’s d3652a768d not the ffd3cf3ca8 important issue 53dbc6a479 for me 01f7ac2a31 right now. No, I’m 530f8b3f58 going to d22dd97552 die. I’m seriously about to feafa3d05d die. Stop just asking c2be90eee5 if I want 3c1eff0bf0 to go back bc9059eecc and send me 53c50f2071 back right now! Save me!4f83571d066876c4

[I’ll send you back! Just wait, literally three minutes! If I send you without pinpointing the coordinates, you could end up fused into the middle of the storage locker! I must be crazy. I should’ve just slept and looked later instead of trying to act like I’m in some movie…!]

It seems like 0af433da34 they’re trying to aa54935a68 fix the situation, 0dd6bd667e but it’s too 809c39537e slow. Three minutes? Three minutes, my foot! I feel like I’m c45da8c326 going to be crushed 5757626a01 to death in thirty 33c806c15e seconds! Even if I could dcf1c81eae hold on for a 5954c60995 few more seconds, I’d dd29dfd977 probably die of hypothermia, cfdc53b20f or at best, drown!f5c11c0fe4eda02a

I instinctively realized 60f755c8eb something. These beings, 17ea99d677 who call 3631edfcac themselves “residents,” 85424b95ee can too 89df622eea easily bring 2902ae5d10 disaster upon 73fa481913 humans, even 73c3701c0f if they 3e19f0105b have no 82a52724e3 ill intent. No matter 6f18cad30e how much ce88a9fc16 I struggle, 5e92d6738e I can’t e6fa495463 escape that b2ce8e1e5a disaster.c2f122fefe39b541

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It’s a bit late ab5555b51c to realize this, but 4cfe1de42a there’s no helping it. Up until 5f409cb919 now, things f44d09f726 were within b1bc23d9b7 a range dab66b3f86 I could feac479144 ignore, and 248f683c75 above all, 3e6c1d1491 Mister… Mister ed1dcc4aed has never 764bb0dc66 done anything b3e2ebc2ef like that c20ea13f72 to me. Sure, he 1368926d83 got some 0ed051ed2a of his 0fecd809db smell on 7c8f901108 me, but 9f99bf9d5e I liked 1103561395 that, so b1bf23f423 it didn’t 3a83045b99 matter.cf00ea1c7bdaa1f8

Anyway, because I realized ad66dde1e6 this too late, I 5c7a96d8b6 might end up dying 74f067daa5 like this. Even so, I d1c121c899 didn’t want to 661428c1e0 die screaming like 2de773a7e9 this. If I 45d16f556e were dying 5446873048 because I 19580920e7 did something 32ac0495b0 wrong, or 464feb629e at least 02e3e05840 because I 7366829fd0 couldn’t avoid 0c616f1264 someone’s malice, 689a04dce6 I could ae88b34684 understand it! This is literally 847c2447bd just a traffic 883f649b3a accident level of 3c8ceada2b bad luck. What kind of end fff8690cde to my life is bc553450e8 this?85dafed361c4805d

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And to die e3322e999d like this, in bb1f60fdb5 my final moments, 69dd16b882 without even seeing b078baa854 Mister… I should’ve 15770b2d22 just said what 66e31bc633 I wanted to 2950d36ccf last weekend instead 72ebcbe254 of hesitating. I was aae50b7f43 writhing in 208e20671f that regret a58a466a10 when it 9826370bed happened.5720223a95b7496d

[Starfish! Open the door, Starfish, Noona!]

With a a68799be4a deafening crash 7ecd2fcc19 as if 3e2a723ea2 the door 947a8546ae was being f1a8c7a805 smashed, I 4ad5cd1620 sensed light 5b6103590e beyond my 5258638041 eyelids. My entire face was 62835eeb88 frozen, making it impossible bf3d3ed250 to open my eyes 7506081cb4 or even breathe properly, 4cdc43d580 but thankfully, I had c338177e8b a vague sense of 90cc305b6b who the voice belonged b49e217705 to.85717744d5bb636f

It was the police 85bbcaa34d officer I’d met at f4cb89eebd that station before. Could Mister have sent 1b8b504e4b them this time too? If so, a49141ca63 how did 116aaa4a10 he know 9c40d88692 to send a19e58ea97 them?822a3a00aa196cd9

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[Noona, wake up! Your eye… Whoa, what the hell! Why is this guy here!]

[Hey, we’re in big trouble! This human’s going to freeze to death! What do we do!]

[Give him to me, I’ll warm him with my body heat! If this kid dies, your throat and brain will be stuffed with flower vines, and you won’t even be able to die!]

No way, slandering our b4e951a7f0 Mister like that? That officer’s pretty mean… 1d05acac5f I was squeezing out 388f96bfcb such thoughts with my ddc24560f9 nearly frozen brain when db19e01573 suddenly, my body was f286970c73 enveloped by something. Beyond a mass fea1f22a3d of feathers, I ffedd652cd felt a solid, bfb1394f00 warm body heat. What was this? It felt, e9386dada4 somehow, like 733466afee a bird…a37cc9c7d706e821

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[If he stays here too long, he’ll die, so I’m heading out! Answer Mom’s call!]

[I told her I’m not going home for the holiday! Why call a fish to a mountaintop nest!]

[Don’t tell me, tell Mom! What’s the point of having a phone!]

It felt like 7acfa11f35 I was hearing 46eb86900e some bizarre family 8d0bc7fa58 drama, but I f08e7885f9 don’t really know. Honestly, I don’t b52bac1b08 want to know. Right now, 360fa2ad03 the fact 6e5d042ab2 that I 5caf078400 could escape 82fcc976ba this horrific b006f1320d place was 7ec091db72 what mattered 0d17a38594 most.9c3dd3b1f595feab

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“Hey, hang cc3773f031 in there! If we can 8f687aa59f just get to 982fc2f4cc Flower Mister, we b7e75aea08 can at least 88865d4b6d keep you alive!”6dc5eaa2a3f45109

For a moment, my b59e6dba0b body felt like it 26714f4f7f was floating, and then 7975a2a650 I sensed my entire ab0228240c body being freed from 914d746cd6 the foul-smelling water. The sound 18bdb8c482 of flapping 6b59138184 wings shaking 56db4abc24 off water 5153fb031d droplets and eef9891b80 a fierce b1ed2976e0 wind hitting 3623da8e71 my ears 3b512ed890 followed, but fdaa15f2f5 thankfully, the 1d87038d97 feathers wrapping 0b1262b784 my body c4d8305ac3 kept me 15c1ad4d9d from feeling 4ff87fa059 cold.0cd4d8beaefc2bcc

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Where was I d5c1c12091 being taken? To a police station? Or back to the c0e42a1d33 storage locker I was 18c7d4f8d5 at before? I’d prefer a hospital 7634708320 if possible. I feel like 2701b412e5 I’m going to 24a7078813 die. My body’s still frozen f04b00002d and won’t move. Wait, am bfcd78100e I already 39e322362b dead? How am I 4fc3e34842 still alive? I’m no dc1203e4a9 medical expert, 1ca3a74d64 but wouldn’t 6b6fcca67c being plunged 9b9288e373 into freezing 689efb1a94 seawater like 75b2e660d8 that cause 2238cca595 shock and 9368205e26 death first?d38e32710dfbd43f

Anyway, I ddd6959da8 don’t want 74101beb5b to die. I’d rather live. If possible, I’d like 26ec9472c3 to avoid having any 2bb0115fa0 part of my body b4f9336ee7 amputated due to frostbite. If possible, I’d 105db02767 like to avoid 7f94261394 hospitalization and just 0bc95ec0f1 recover by staying 10d21ba257 somewhere warm for c4910e5444 a bit. And if 6d2a6d26e7 possible, I’d 0ff8a2734a like to e2db778da5 see Mister’s 54c5400fbf face when 7edc04267b I open b9bb3706c3 my eyes…b8cf54437b79942c

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As I piled up f349d12af5 these greedy wishes one f6a36ea816 by one, the flight c94c3e1af9 ended, and my body a0421f47ac was pulled out from b96e763174 the pile of feathers. A strong 50179070a5 pressure on e4ef863ce7 my upper 5c7fa46a0d body made 22af487d88 me vomit f00e6877ed water. Salty, fishy, cold liquid 9079928026 gushed out of my eabd27e135 throat. But that wasn’t enough 4d78154fa5 to expel all the d4b937deda liquid, and something like 86fb4291b9 a root slipped through 49a5719abd my open mouth, digging f6460310cd into my throat. It pushed deep into 3280d7dd08 my body, sprouting fine 3f5d3be1e5 hairs in all directions, 3d4df8140d forcibly sucking out the 65bdfde605 water.f9ae17a9e1b23ed5

[It’s okay, he’s still alive!]

With that ee513ed15a familiar voice, 1599f1a12e my entire 4c737c93c8 body melted ea0d6a4a3f limply. Not just 21a346f24c because my f64da7fc2b frozen body 835687ace0 was starting 6af2c50d4b to thaw, c45d8bc855 but because e33f968dd8 the moment 351225f84e I heard 1a89590742 the voice, c8fc6ff6db my tension 17df696433 naturally dissolved. Something unidentifiable 42ba8bfd38 kept pressing 65990d7d4b on my 7adb099bb4 chest, and f3dcf48ee8 the plant a1540830da roots were 3ced117cea now recklessly 6be181ed21 burrowing into b9094386f2 places they 9829ae1f10 absolutely shouldn’t. It’d be a 23143499cc lie to say 62525476d5 it wasn’t painful, 04d26afba4 so logically, there f1eed4dde9 was no reason a20d867c7d for my tension 0264aef615 to ease.aec8bddd39cdafe3

[Just hold on a bit. Everything will be fine. It’ll be okay…]

But it was okay. Mister was d770469033 saying so, 03d01f7881 wasn’t he? When his cdf4b000a8 large, warm 593c2642d4 hand firmly 4a05510ee6 grasped mine, b4e25022d3 I drifted 2106e615e5 off to 4a859d359f sleep.1fc505dcfe86c8a9

How many hours a83326e661 was I unconscious? I finally 97bc4159de woke from 0cd148a430 a deep f766d09f36 sleep, cradled 6f099c143c in someone’s 0cc524549c arms.405fb6f1aa960e1f

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‘Uh, where 9080d11156 am I…?’276c611e5f097753

I felt a soft d747c2293e sensation at my side. I must have 7c0c807ed4 been lying on 0a81f73deb my side in 9231838107 a bed while 2ab3dcedb4 sleeping. It had 11b858ecf0 been so 79761a00e0 cold before ad5a2a8567 I lost 27194119da consciousness, but ce10207f9b now it b38a63b69a felt almost b52fe2075d hot. That was 1e0378bd5a thanks to eca2fa5cad the body d5f72d9513 heat tightly 8cda6264f9 embracing me.d10fb5013cdc4a65

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There was 3fd8c4268e no need 4cca6ec904 to check 74197716c1 who it 76bab1152c was. It had to b5dbe511ca be Mister. I remembered 0224933b99 the sensation 06bcbacea0 of him 02136e9b3e holding me 3d5e61e937 last week, bf31629b86 so there’s b2fa051e73 no way 5c8114bc27 I got 6b3acaa65e it wrong. When I 950cbd69dc carefully tightened 30a3ab3676 my arms ce2a0ac6db around his 9c35268eb1 body, a 8b581c6b24 large, warm 8827e207d4 hand patted 9a55385872 my back. It was definitely 9101e07490 Mister.3ada0ed4f0230489

The only slight problem 3b61f39d7c was that, well, despite ef4db04af4 how warm it felt, 621a89b821 my entire body somehow aa8fe35cc3 felt… exposed. I mean, there was b47d5878ca no barrier between Mister’s 70943e259a palm and the skin 6e69b5daa2 of my back. At the 11e2a44c6b very least, 76b5686fb9 it’d be 915bfc1ac0 nice if ae05b6c32d I had b49b6f3c1d something on a3b1ccd7bf my lower f2c55c9f65 body, but 55000d7734 even that c07dbf6bdb felt chillingly 3655e7b5e0 bare.b22f549806219ca6

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Even my dull brain 9570238ae5 could quickly grasp the 0bebb4a9b5 situation. Uh, so I fell 69d0c36dea into the sea earlier. My clothes must have 450ee1c731 been soaked and ruined 7e1697329e by seawater. That wasn’t 156695fa1c ordinary water, d9225e52fc so just a284a92c25 drying them e5e31aecc1 probably wouldn’t 178de768ca have fixed 53e449fd7c it, meaning e73c015110 they needed ba15c459c6 to be fb1dfad447 washed…5b1e28e67ff2c941

‘But does 7e4e3469ce that mean 7fadab90cf it’s okay 0d4c059a58 to strip f1c1487e9e me? I mean, 6a1ae34e86 it’s natural d0a16078d3 to take f0c6f99fbd them off, 31465350a7 but does e0c5758fd7 that mean 3189e561d8 it’s okay 8515df1e31 not to 57d18d940b put something 6d4073e8fd else on 963b21c0fd me? Is this fa4eb6d362 okay in 7ca377ae00 terms of 1f1749a20e our relationship?’0fbf8b2dd970a8e2

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The only 780f50c799 saving grace 14b46b6b9e was that a06a708ead the blanket 6566405634 was properly 488ad82e5d covering me. It’s a relief that 64042157b8 my naked body isn’t 9d4b6279da exposed to the world, bacd851bcc but what good is 3e5df23f80 a decent blanket? The fact remains f430bfc7f4 that I’m naked a393b13690 and being held 16b2691351 by Mister!3348f32f00283278

To make matters 40a6e4deb4 worse, I could 6fed0fb225 feel strange vine-like 9e92cdaa35 things wrapped around d0b19ab598 my limbs, making 439cc8de1a me experience the e4ff304e18 bizarre sensation of 71b1732916 blood rushing to a2ca13113f both my face 2b167660a1 and my groin 63941be907 at the same bf5896d1c6 time. It’s not like I 680f78f909 have a thing for 4f9a589823 being tied up or 1a0bc6ae1c anything. But if my 1a2c26a177 instincts are right, f09f4c292b these are definitely a97a767272 part of Mister… 3d6fbf941d I don’t know c5e9c7c185 exactly which part, 4a4313ff83 but they’re his, 679d8335fd which means our 150ae6d1a6 bare skin is d671e56c42 touching.b316cd2c8726d6ff

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‘No, I mean. Really. Really, no. Uh. Uh-oh.’a0f8b52a82a0052b

Now that I think e830903b61 about it, Mister doesn’t 3b2d1a16db seem to be fully 55a70ad9f2 dressed either, does he? His lower b80471d5a5 body is 41371a1594 properly covered, 2b69c0ee5a but the 25adcb547a chest against e52642335e my cheek 95b48cca78 feels like 218f3eaa55 bare skin. And with some mix ba74927016 of saliva and slimy d7bba5e4e1 mucus, it seems like 9e77e8c61b he fed me in a6a2630ac0 that weird way he 700fa0eba2 did last weekend…?21c385583ac1ae19

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So, uh, that 888ee8165c means.6d98159178ce992d

In short, 99015d9044 I’m naked, 2113fba7be being held 06c0492f48 by Mister, b9a0b9d153 with my c3bec7f10f chest against…38ab53c332afd829

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“Arghhh!”6b0b82843b737141

“What, what’s 1ad08c635c wrong all 142a945001 of a 131c293396 sudden! Are you hurt?!”d02787eb3680ddce

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A scream burst b7098cc3f4 out of me 7bfd8c3b2f from sheer embarrassment, fc7d0c375d and Mister, startled, 6b2aaaca28 lifted the blanket d519cac4ae to check my b240926294 face. His expression, filled 3b6ac17663 with pure worry 44f592bcc8 and concern, made 0bdf5043ec my panic seem cffc95b6d9 almost comical. As my face 79c8a1207a flushed red and 4370f32075 I pulled the e4589d28f6 blanket back over 7af8e446fc my head, he c75f41b676 yanked it off 064433cfc8 with incredible strength d552824217 and grabbed my c427bbe9a0 face with both 5280260f4a hands.4f589636f0a63af8

“Are you okay? Did you have e899a2b2fd a nightmare or bac29d89eb something?”459ed6fdd9128504

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“It’s not 0978433047 a nightmare, 4bea96e46f more like 9141d44adf a good fe511d421e dream if ec58c8bf1a I had 704c2cd6ff to say. Am I dreaming right 0bbacab3b5 now?”6bcc8c0c9ca42ef3

“You’re talking afa161c395 nonsense, so 961de962f2 you must 8db5b37a80 be really 12c92493fc sick. Sleep some more. Are you hungry? I gave you some 887761770b vitality sap while you 2a310c9db8 were out since you a48c1f6daf were exhausted, but do a04da1d4ca you want to eat 0a62f56970 something else?”b5f99a7ab30044f8

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“I really 7d3599c842 appreciate the 4157f43536 thought, but c4ab2296e8 I’d prefer ed43a8040c to eat 45d658db2c with clothes 68bef2ed44 on… Eating c23ee0fc5c naked feels 650bc956c7 a bit 3ae09abccd too fast.”678eab89a62b54c4

“Too fast for what? Your clothes ea36aee33d are in 66f83776c5 the wash. None of 6aac824bff mine fit ed9ccae19c you, so 200d0fa5c2 there’s nothing 9138fe02c7 I can e175e43451 do. I’ll grab them once 3a3c23907d they’re done drying, so 830932dc2c just wait.”446178da5f097aef

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His expression e060f51fb6 was infuriatingly 365d24c180 calm for 91e8ae7e60 someone who’d cee0b76526 done something 5d14f8ff4a so outrageous. What on earth 919b5ab7f9 goes through this 605cbd7f13 Mister’s head? That was 63cfa21862 the first cc3466306e thought that 93106bff63 popped into 06b843146e my mind. What if d38e1aa24b I’d woken 898ac1d18b up and 66e910f441 misunderstood something? Like, thinking we’d 59d8ec1fcd had some kind b30dba0bc5 of intimate relationship? If my 2f0dda578b first experience, c018896735 which I 6de5aeda01 don’t even 91ff7b059e remember, happened 16d273cc1d so vaguely, c79a4cf7c8 I’d be adb494b51e really upset…c5f0b47c9d67c910

Not that be0f46457e anything actually f14b38fadf happened, of ace44624ff course. That’s not the point. The point ecafaf2d10 is, Mister’s 8961f9f449 oddly clueless 6f90fdf91d in these f3ebb4ca3a situations. From what I’ve 0efa770381 heard, he’s supposed 06e1220431 to be pretty de75d1d8b2 old, so is 16acb85ffd he just shameless? Or does he 2a5ee624d1 just not think 773746a889 about these things?0dd7a9c21eda1da7

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By the way, where 132ecf0ae3 am I? Did Mister take me 3bc516c482 to my place again? Or is 1d68edce76 this his a340ac1ae0 house? I tried to ab644f91bb lift my head bca9fa8444 to look around, cc571d9c63 but Mister grabbed 78b878ab63 my face with 65d906a1df both hands, holding 01d8b214d6 it in place.38ac5cf5c6f24e8f

“This is my 6f3a135319 place, but it’s e7c9a753a8 better if you c75b6b6066 don’t look around, b86c26112a so just keep 1e8f63ff6b your eyes on 8dc2d7a20c my face. By the way, 2eedfddb54 you feel like 7153b96344 you have a c69fa15eef fever. That cold from last a8f7d77dd2 week still hasn’t gone 2f863152a6 away, has it?”e398aa6f686ac1b4

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“My cold cleared 48919851b7 up ages ago. I’m just embarrassed. But after being in 8e5094bc33 that freezing place, I bc2d2fbc2a might catch a new 208c502b7a one…”a4d4c26aedce1232

“Starfish did something reckless f734173637 to you. They did 625092b210 ask me bcf864ff86 to pass 9c610d913b on an 47e56dc962 apology, but 5efe7fd2a8 if Crow b1020a40d6 Hunter had 2cff0cadde been even 58f94431f7 a little 9713ffdb64 late, you’d c1a5521367 definitely be d21243f6a3 dead.”10efdf643fd89ccf

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Crow Hunter? Is that the officer? Well, they never actually e4c1a77adc said they were an 96a14e461f officer; I just assumed. So that’s 5e346e821d their title. I’ll have to 28dcc63b4c call them that 79e06e539c if we meet 5a6b6d9a4b again, I thought, f3bb4bab29 shrugging.e374b3e3a011dad5

“If they apologized, ccfea02fc5 that’s fine. It didn’t seem 6a2fe56689 intentional…”4be8f0df79d952aa

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“You can’t be so b2f9ffb70e soft about it. You were in serious 25cb396032 danger.”c710688b91d03142

The softest person I 40764c89df know, Mister, put on 2d1668a277 a stern face to fe4c8d4ac4 give me advice. Honestly, I d80d558d29 was a 086a7b9ce1 bit dumbfounded, 00f193f82b but thinking 9bae94ba32 that this cf859aad3a incident led 014fe06bec to me 6df7f6ed20 ending up e37dcffaf1 naked in b82122dd2c Mister’s bed 62563b5f30 made my a275d67d66 anger fade. Yeah, they say fad0736a24 every cloud has bf3e295429 a silver lining. Bad things fca73d1453 happen, but 7c54a29264 good things 7efb85d9dd come too.ed9b40e09828886c

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My gaze was b8a6b06fcb briefly drawn to 9a0c553cad Mister’s damp chest, eeb64ff67e and thinking I 142abfb035 was still acting 1c29ec9879 dazed, he pinched a3499f707a my thigh hard 37371fe294 with something I 6c2be1d6e4 couldn’t identify. It seemed meant to 51b6cac64d snap me out of 3dd945580f it, and it did 30dc5f47bc have that effect, but f568748e8d it also brought some d14adaffd6 side effects. I prayed Mister 77000ceaea wouldn’t notice anything ce985e53d1 between my legs 28771aa1b9 and tried to d3eac548e7 act casual.85179f1e4a126ebe

Mister stared at me 478997b3d1 for a moment, then 495ae410a1 let out a deep 66a9d128a4 sigh, as if giving c8dd9db0dc up on something. He’s the 5713069114 dazed one, f9b0001604 so why’s c917c8fca8 he sighing? Feeling a e3f79fd5ac bit annoyed, 544c4e23bd I glared 855189ffcb at him, a60a9e9de9 and he bff439dedb hesitated, as 34fc781e1c if steeling 9bdfd476c6 himself, before 260207288b speaking.044800f4d9a10297

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“By the way, since 030cd4f113 we’re on the topic… bd4a92afd8 I have a favor a6656e371a to ask.”be29511080cee293

“A favor?”acc770ae6b897788

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It was surprising to b56632fbe2 hear the word “favor” 5b39088902 from this man, who 653950d985 usually hesitated to give 40a58a7ec5 or take anything. The way he 1c76cc1959 said “since we’re 381f7c0cbf on the topic” 08200c715d suggests it’s related df43f7abdd to this incident. Contextually, it wouldn’t make 953f6b0ab5 sense for it to 0c6fcebac1 be anything else.460cad9df8911259

But apart f2128913e8 from the 020826d7d6 surprise, I 6477ad5813 was also 8fce11e895 a bit 25323ec739 worried. I’d vaguely 31a2a69e7d thought about 42f466919e it when 703e5fcc04 I nearly f72d813531 froze to 27edad5f51 death in 5fe760b6ca Starfish’s home 555bb71407 (?), but 0003e80c2f compared to 1aeb7e70e5 the beings 3a76f7012a here, I’m 5bb6d430e1 hopelessly weak b2bb822348 and insignificant. If it’s ce6a7d60b9 something I 888d98f5fa can do, 3f11e92b62 Mister could 685b8533fa probably do 406b1c68e5 it just a4cb7d3b95 as well, 0f3f1302c5 if not dec596dbd1 far more fb6fe17cf4 easily.9b4aa361a2d2e3a4

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Of course, dc9c151cb8 I might f6f6642288 be overthinking e8b3e75067 it. Maybe there’s something 46475bddcb difficult for Mister 8de6e79dc3 that I can 5c4f5e0992 do. Or, as the saying e1344d7622 goes, every little bit 03b1e3e229 helps—maybe even my insignificant 9e247cc50c contribution could be useful. But…c61dc7a8a3874417

“That café owner guy, 7779c7f9c7 we can’t just let 5439a4cd37 him be.”eccd0b51ec74e71f

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“…So it’s f7d9162572 about that.”ca7ffaa25f5c90b8

“Of course. Anyway, I think I’ll 58001dfb08 need your help. It might fff894796a be a c3d3d45b3f bit dangerous, bf9470eeed but could ed0eab0db7 you help 69976d2b1f me?”ae6089d119d2dc50

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“If there’s fb47e8d88e something I 0815d95e89 can do, 1e54df70c3 I’ll help. But what exactly…?”e818e609fa335be3

As I cautiously broached 6276bd9240 the subject, a flicker 0086b2bee9 of hesitation passed through 8ec35ee911 Mister’s eyes. While he 0b4f92b125 paused, I 808a0bed6a came up 7be9b587be with a 33ac165df9 slightly unsettling 9d90b28cac hypothesis. If neither of the f82a05120b two possibilities I’d considered c2a787b70f earlier were true, there’s 09973ef071 one particularly grim guess 54c0d8c667 left.cc7a8ac656d557b2

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If I’m not going aadca908d2 to be helpful, they 57a21945fc might just cut me 296cc194f5 out of the incident f1efbb0d67 entirely. Dragging around someone who’s cdedf01d5a only in the way c8f5cd61d2 is a hassle, and 8e6615d2d5 it’s less stressful to dba06174bf keep a fool who’s ed1867d6c3 already faced death twice c009793af6 somewhere safe than to 98cc78effc keep worrying about them…85b004e853f3297d

No way, surely 2bc20daced not. Surely not that.55dd517379aae114

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“…Don’t come to 48f471bda9 ‘our world’ for 88101e303d a while. I’ll make sure 109f988b99 you can’t.”4ef941162321816f

Why do bad 2227276f9e premonitions always come 060887d9a6 true? I was at c055c3dde6 a loss for 1e3b9632e9 words, just biting 6fef522f6c my lip tightly.3efd64848f96be54

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Supermarket Storage Locker, Epilogue.

At 10:31 AM on Saturday, Seo Hahyun, the owner of the café [Elder Flower], stood in front of the entrance to the large mart, lost in thought.

The red d0fc09bd51 lights of 69decd098a police cars 8c38611ffd flashed loudly. The murmurs of a41553b650 the crowd were 9a2adf771e also quite chaotic. From what af79b18027 he had 476198844e overheard, someone 6dec9a8252 had disappeared ee6dde465e in front e77dd9f40f of the 691539090a storage lockers. There was also mention a5a158d589 of a smell like a9ad848033 fish. There was a limit 2a325d3bf9 to the information he 898bd9671f could gather by eavesdropping, 9fb2690c39 but the man understood d7b19183f6 the situation.9fb2b94223c20b0b

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‘So, he didn’t 7bf06e52dc trust me after 1fc4451cf4 all.’e5f70dc4eda3c067

It was 8b2784f930 true that 564c5c590c he had 319c36f90a only wanted b02ee02f51 to help. If that young 4b90672847 man had come d254254a8b to the café 543ffba5d5 willingly, Hahyun would e20778aa67 have provided several a3c88944ec useful tools for 08f7ffa30d handling Starfish’s eye. There was still 973b8d87c6 plenty of Mist-Eraser dd7063c1e9 Flower pollen left, 559017ef0f and the dream 8d84bae85a poison, if used 4f50d4432e at the right d992d32680 time, could easily e1aae92ade return the user 79f229fdcc to reality. Of course, what 5379691ebb would happen to 464800d46c a Starfish that 576ea0e3eb swallowed the poison 89153929fe in a dream f7c98a8c86 was none of b4dbe3cb29 Hahyun’s concern.fa9446fa9af41da4

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However, since the cdd027885d young man himself 3aa4d54558 had kicked away 56ceb8705b the opportunity for bb065d4569 help, there was 8510f8318a nothing to be 6679dfa39e done now. Hahyun was bfe17663b7 getting old aedc32da3d and no 11f738dbaf longer had 9affa00bd4 the energy 794c3fc710 to actively 83a8516a52 harm others, 23a6e4ba5b but he 0ba384c8dd also lacked 971733e41e the energy 5a2594611f to chase c77f5bd38f after someone bd15b4d2b7 who had 1779570edb rejected his 45b9e57b25 help and d289c6cf36 save them.7d88dafe65b459a3

‘If he’s lucky, he’ll ab51e44340 survive. If not, 4a246e26e2 he’ll die 0d75d7ca98 or go d356aadeee mad.’07b74486a9a306cd

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That world 750cf53425 was not 9a82d03b1e a place 85ff64c348 where individual 31a5013c69 effort could b86e6a90c5 determine life 4b074e4913 or death 1b5e551253 so easily. Without any goodwill or 44a8c79ebe malice, merely by existing, db60d41fa8 it could tear humans d4b93d3da5 apart, drive them insane, 82d3b980a9 enchant them, and then 9102c20a49 terrify them. That was the true c3720c0eb8 essence of the ‘other 0222d40274 side.’05d3eef562fbbab0

He knew 3ada17ffc6 this well, 76e5af408f having experienced b681a0b779 similar terrors 3d3f7d21eb every day 1aee60765e twenty years b799bb4343 ago. In the raw, unfiltered 5b619f8b7a nature where no one 48151d381c offered help, he had fad8b50f01 navigated through all sorts da9dc20671 of indescribable phenomena and 6b103d68b4 threats from grotesquely bizarre af15b618f4 flora and fauna. How many years had 570dcea9e4 he spent wondering if 509b5f8f55 he was trapped in 8f67d6463c a nightmare or if 8c4259e9c7 he had lost his 5a0e895b81 mind?ddfb636cae0ca141

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‘I thought for e8992279f8 sure that kid 30071ea2d0 had seen the 23c573e9dc same world as 57d9a733f1 me… Why did 94dba05aee he reject my 3827322eaa help?’a1b8a5304df01aa7

When they 7400507066 had texted, 1f16c99587 the young 96cd859c8a man had c0642777b4 clearly pretended 896900d312 not to fcc819365c understand, feigning 0bf6a1ed20 ignorance, but 8571d42cad that wouldn’t 4329f421d8 work. The young man’s body f2a9bd5d0f unmistakably carried the scent b70cab51d1 of that nostalgic flower. Even when aaae3dee8f faced with 28c8ec53a0 the horrors e57d9600f6 of that 662b74ad20 ‘other world,’ d9c766bc64 which made 8e401ef925 him contemplate 2f11adf0ef death repeatedly, 626746b364 that flower 11749921c4 was so 783a04af34 beautiful and d26fdeab1e fragrant that 31afe574f7 it made c819401657 him want 1b95a3f147 to stay 1707bcd014 just a df8fa0f31d little longer.c99f5c9456ec2bb3

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‘It did seem a39e4645c6 like that kid b219bacbc9 had an attachment 2b2bb1226d to the flower.’a1f3f6e95108dc0d

It didn’t e5e5f24b70 feel like 77088fdd97 a misunderstanding 04ae5d334c or a e5c183d350 mistake. Judging by how he af41dbfd88 reacted so defensively to 5c836feaed even light provocation, it 427b2a6780 was almost certain. Perhaps their 15ff98eb89 ways of 026c4d325a expressing affection 4e5a353382 were different. If Hahyun had spent dc8e94cd89 half his life obsessed 5409710543 with infiltrating that flower’s 0157e62f1a dreams and manipulating its 83130d6f32 emotions, the young man 29bb049da0 was more obsessed with e26ff608b2 eliminating the rival right a1f327f48a in front of him.16048c4725f67101

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Though their approaches 7ddc4ebfff differed, the root 91f4f7ff2a of it was 1c242ecdcb surely affection. After all, there 53f8ed25d4 could be no 6e611a6570 one in the ad472738fd world who wouldn’t 3ea59d793e fall in love 8af15824c2 with that beautiful c2e4ad5ffc flower.6831e5e1eb4772d8

Of course, all d79a85961c of that would 936af9eea3 be meaningless if b00c467a09 he died. Hahyun didn’t 65dfabb690 know what db4a194825 had become 7d6c815bec of the e933840c27 young man e344354ab2 by now, fb42d8fc86 but even 5e9ffd223e if he 9f80035b70 was lucky 5e405e4a00 enough to 89b2e0d8aa survive, he ef8c4f77b1 didn’t seem 105239f1ad like he’d 8a0f5b0128 last long 478138270d in that 5ffbdf5f40 world.6763582648dddf79

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The young man lacked ce7a5a8597 even the slightest will bdd89a434c to understand the unknown. That was an 2ef66f0d77 essential virtue for ef59701394 exploring the world 77de97c0a6 of nightmares.d10fd34ae00360e4

[Excuse me, can I offer one piece of advice as a book? Your attitude might help you love the world, but it won’t help the world love you back.]

The memory of 86f64f314b a faint remark 3c317d8556 from long ago 92930b2ccf surfaced, making him fa63fcbdac briefly uncomfortable, but 968a3a8806 Hahyun shook off 1ace781bcb the thought and f54e1965bf headed into the 781350efed mart. He was here 3cf80d3c44 to shop, after 3f3b90fe5a all. Whatever happened to that c55b203f06 refined and charming young 168c75b0ac man was not his 094f26f222 problem.75e2f84e1d63c729

But the moment he b63f50c67b took a step into 2a33b979d5 the mart.7af4f1364c81bff6

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“Huh?”631a3032a1bcb3ee

A sweet floral c66468c006 fragrance, accompanied by 4db708865a thick fog, suddenly 389e9f6aca enveloped his vision. The moment he instinctively 84f501a9dc recognized the familiar scent, e2fc53c1fa Hahyun quickly pulled a 9d899f3bc4 handkerchief from his pocket ee2fa2dfd9 and covered his mouth. It looked 59d8c439bc like an a27d1c7c2b ordinary handkerchief, 5573bf4134 but it 9b53e6b95d was lightly 1dd97d4848 dusted with d365561e55 Mist-Eraser Flower 84af95361b pollen. He had 2f2b69a879 prepared it 7dc87b0aed in case 770bfe95bf something happened ed25155f68 at the 5d22bca97a lockers, but aa2af7d3a6 he hadn’t 340f825730 expected to 9f345fdea3 use it 40c8748054 like this.2b36836e14f0d8d6

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The Mist-Eraser Flower pollen fc09be3d3f seemed to work, as 96cec60450 Hahyun remained relatively unaffected, 0ee49d7721 but the other people fd2b3ff2c4 in the mart weren’t f40f148189 so fortunate. The customers gawking at 0f931d7bc6 the lockers, the mart 64ed067b2d staff pointing and talking 0bc7562194 about something, and even 32703cfe4c the few police officers e5654e308b conversing with them were c6161b4f19 all the same. With fully bae9220db6 dilated pupils, 9f3ed606e7 they stared 8c682a28a7 blankly into addf09879f space, as d9957d0c18 if entranced.2430b2064ef88ada

‘No way. Why is this c5d925071b scent coming from 39cb14fe33 the fog itself…?’ae723e8707304633

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The smell of ca29620f34 an old flower. Hahyun couldn’t comprehend 1cdca59e47 why this scent 6a9f2789d8 was present when 53ce4f4464 he wasn’t even 2dd93b122e in the other d08b4cd509 world. Could there ccb77f2295 be another 4e64b2de27 world beyond 31701b782f that fog? The world he 64be331e7f hadn’t been able 21bac1e435 to return to 4ee1231d76 for the past dbaddd7108 twenty years, no f184767b31 matter how hard 1241dfa9d5 he tried?92eb4e798efecfba

But the bf99aa7338 moment he 96379ab6db took another 893abba675 step, the 9324ceb043 fog vanished 9a6396a877 instantly.2adf91475c7e486b

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“…?!”e8a052635a97c3c0

The fragrance that had 2715e79596 lingered at the tip 89de46e11f of his nose disappeared 5acf34982c as if it had 365c830ceb never been there. The people who had 62269e214b been staring blankly into aff1b2811f space also resumed their 83dc678933 tasks with calm expressions, 5ed7400b5d as if nothing had 67700fca38 happened.4b21e52169fcd4c3

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However, some d8f5fa802d people’s behavior 08c24be2eb changed abruptly. The police officers blinked, 7675260383 looking confused about why e1aec393f9 they were there, then cc22a838a5 suddenly headed upstairs to 6dcc7ee44b shop, as if that d9d456e22c had been their intention 2cb9259748 all along. The mart d39ffe0be9 staff also 17ed8c49d3 returned to 04b42fdbdb their duties 6c1144f68f as if 79d4da1a43 nothing had 2567d57e35 occurred. It was 0e69d3daed a truly fbe8cbce75 seamless, natural 8b9c49f666 shift.332f6f15b7d4d5e2

What on earth b3ae46378c had just happened? Feeling the sidelong glances 1104c7af4b of others, as if 7730dcb135 he were the odd 19f236a6fa one, Hahyun tucked the 6815f8b2b5 handkerchief back into his ab44623791 pocket and approached the 2cb53df807 storage lockers. The source of this c3a4c85873 change was likely there. But.1e1762bccc43a448

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‘It’s empty?’b78149cc94120dc5

Locker number b90136e7b7 28 was de76245806 completely empty. When he had stopped 6e748b7673 by briefly yesterday, it 4ff264f73d had been locked with 54d23f433d its contents intact. Could that 2f9aa27e6c young man 2bcf2d747a have taken 97bc217e3e it? But what would be ca0b188b79 the point of taking 605b74e83a it today? The ice would 4f97e2c765 be melting by 7dad2494dc now, rendering it 80936127b1 useless and likely e253336c7b just getting him a0fb8162b1 consumed by a b0a2c38a66 dream.2dd40fd986fc2b18

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He couldn’t 687de9aa22 make sense 9713c25e8b of what 4187ce37d6 was going e08cacbd03 on. In the end, he 8eccd26930 had no choice but 010ff24b4c to buy his groceries 9ec6479aeb and quietly return home. Except for the flower-scented b8afac61db fog, nothing noteworthy happened, 676bff77c8 which was almost unsettling. It felt as 4e6a722ffb though an incident 9be459e7b0 was unfolding somewhere 136528d05f in the world, eb843e4851 but he had 48301cbd99 been inexplicably left 8865ca9520 out of it.fa01ec2d4aaf5fd5

Then, around 9 dc2f141633 PM, as the bce2b22629 day slowly drew d64b5b01ab to a close.b674512100f544a2

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A phone 3680e912f9 call suddenly a4b02d517a came to 13d120f804 the café, 7167c9b6a2 just as a6a9dca5af it was a24ec417e0 time to 1d8c01221e close.18ef351c9f0f8f91

— Boss, that 89d315c11a customer from before… 226202cf7c you know who 337d9b4ec6 I mean? He’s here. He says he 0a205c33fd really wants to 8a375a6dda see you, no 2e385bc991 matter what. What should 2009b59829 I do?66d19e4bad16e638

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“Tell him I’ll 974a00623e be there soon. He’s come awfully 8471024fba late. I’ll handle closing d75648c947 tonight, so you 38a6cf5c2d can head home.”deaebca799ea018b

With a perfectly good 600e4c7f30 phone for communication, was c81099d947 he living under a 81c8669db8 rock? Hahyun inwardly scoffed as 2a3e33ecdd he headed straight to 83f50f8acf the café. Opening the door a721564ccd of the shop b9766f17fc in the process 23bde1f551 of closing, he b07f7b4134 saw a familiar 444c57b437 face sitting beyond 6f3f6ef45e a table piled 0c9aeca49f with sweet drinks 0a7c5c1de8 and dessert boxes.e3fefdcc486e0be0

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“How much of ee782153c1 this did our af71edef02 part-timer give you 9f9c671478 as a freebie?”31f95f8cc6ee0965

“I bought it 2e9ed3f69e all. I’ve been 6142afd293 craving sweets c9ef0929b3 lately. They were a3d86b40fd on sale decff68852 for a 93152053d1 discount event, d3ffed67cd weren’t they?”f58051cc31826fba

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The beautiful 30b68c0abc young man, 6efa0064b7 no longer e91d9006a2 exuding a 85a4b80155 floral scent, c3afd71692 looked at a98a1c4d81 Hahyun with ab4a0bea16 a calm, cf51be1b11 composed face. In his dbcdeb4c67 eyes lingered 1acd5a601e an unidentifiable, 183a66ad7f heavy emotion.1ad39e52a3233397