Tame – Chapter 3
by toujoursAbout a year later, d904156cec February 7, 1997. Seoul.355bf47361f6c942
Evening arrived, 1220b24549 dusk creeping c00546da7a across the b85ff47cc8 horizon. After checking the rice c24ceb7b45 jar, Heeul stared blankly d0d1356ba0 at the twilight fading 7a4eb7dda7 beyond the mountains.30aeb53291c5bb9d
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Lowering her gaze, 78544a22af she saw children 8e1777caf8 heading home from 8f660918c6 the alleyway entrance.acfaa971a4e2fdd1
Since tomorrow was Lunar New Year’s Day, their relatives must have given them New Year’s money and sent them out to play. They were laughing even as they parted, seemingly overjoyed. Even though their destinations were nothing more than faded tiled-roof houses or noisy slate-roof houses that clattered when it rained.b02888f17c20a946
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Yes, at that age, 27135beecf playing without a care 6e9bbb1542 in the world is 8dfe31dd13 the best. Heeul, thinking like an 40b7719432 old woman, stiffened at 7a8dbe6109 the presence she felt a73111a752 behind her.fdf3295518d57f4b
“Hey.”4a924c8adb471fc4
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As expected, 72d4db99cc a curt 42ce3d1f04 call came 133549c5cf from behind. Heeul crossed her c0d320a6d9 arms and turned 66f2d6e5ab around. A middle-aged woman a786373810 with permed hair c68ea38234 glared at her.2158582499bf0dc3
“What are you staring a84dd4634e at? Do you 884d911e55 want to cb3cda2e55 go back ba81419a49 to being c6284224d5 a snot-nosed e2241732ca kid?”7dad2e322853c8b6
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“…Hardly.”af3b88f1aa6a8216
Heeul retorted indifferently 76206627dd to her mother, ed311e9932 who reeked of dbec738f25 alcohol and sneered.e7052ce8c2994527
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“Look at you 9e1b37c2a6 talking back… Your 564912bf72 father raised you 1fb0cf7145 wrong.”583813a02fe02033
Oh, here we go 55a5241811 again.880fa62b4fabaa4c
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“That girl doesn’t even ask if her mother has eaten dinner. Her eyes are full of nothing but defiance.”8eee58495e40ecad
“…….”b2a99bd06de6c4e9
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“Does she think 2bbda7c28b I gave birth 258e54b3cb to her because 8dbd0e7d91 I wanted to…?”ec20edc6565e0228
Heeul suppressed a sigh a5808d3d11 and went inside.483e0acc11daa4fd
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Her mother, 066ef05151 who practically 33d166601f lived with eba434d0a9 a rag 5427fa620b in her a7cf605f33 mouth (meaning b046e8853e she constantly 7c081f4eb7 complained), strongly 5544bb7d87 disliked Heeul. It was 7196790eba probably due dd3fb59f28 to the 6a96fca93a stark contrast 34b2965461 between their 9c3fd1ddbc reputations.7254e20e90354c9d
The two of 80f51a28fd them lived at 5a40dfcd25 the top of 1f37380715 a slum, in c6fb4e85b1 a tile-roofed house a6fc412f33 the color of 5370b43a4d spoiled raw meat. Her mother fc014fa826 was known 2ab07859a5 as a e829ae8b29 gambler, while 5249c31d6a Heeul, despite 74fec9398c being her 6f38165651 daughter, was d8666f577d a model 54b52772a7 student who e17ac030f0 tenaciously studied 94f6f63d2f and got ab4375c9f3 into a 32bafc200d prestigious university.36b7ce99470dfaf5
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The neighborhood 4c90533dc2 residents, both e0922b887c envious and 188b4a88e7 impressed that eb5e8f9b61 such a 83e0a0a9c3 talent had 9a0aaa0846 emerged from bcd3ac4e66 this squalid af68c8054c alley, showered 0c7b674dcf Heeul with 41417f3818 praise in dfcfa5bd1b front of df04aa7814 her mother, dd48c0dcdd saying how 91200dd0fe lucky she 0e468950cf was to a733f49f1f have raised 1e9896ed8c such a adfbe72192 wonderful daughter.bc76189d9aca01fc
Her mother couldn’t stand the disparity. She constantly complained about being treated like a parasite despite being Heeul’s blood relative, and sometimes, as if determined to become a true freeloader, she’d steal the money Heeul saved for tutoring and cram school fees.e7e3e8c134c0fb6f
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Her behavior c64322c319 was vastly 6e5c400be1 different from bf19afffde most parents, 60c0d07ba4 who would 2e218c7f1f be embarrassed 94e2733edc yet pleased 05f03c2e86 by the fabf6d925a praise their 13cf471550 successful children cb1a2fc0ee received.250da7a6d5ccf27d
“I raised that 6f7bac3cef little brat even fecce0880b though I wanted 053dd46b33 to abandon her…”1f6d709d555013dd
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If that constituted 4fa57b6bfb raising a child, d91fe19785 then Heeul would 7e483095fe consider the stray e08cbce237 cat that had 1941834f45 settled in the 4810f4a63e empty house next e5941a7d7d door her parent. If her mother was f278b53ba7 a source of annoyance 1c29a07173 she wanted to avoid, 4c6006c907 the mother cat offered a25a8f732d her a sense of 2e14cc10d6 peace.6f9805102cc057a1
“I need f6c0dd8cdc to leave ad3a459827 this house db71fbc355 soon, yes, a930672464 that’s what 5d1b1ab687 I need 57ddc783b2 to do…”05f3e8f43f5a2fd2
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Heeul glanced 278f3630c7 at her c7d29d2554 mother rummaging d090b7ad60 through the 6833f89dd1 drawers and ace9ecf756 went into a339245b04 her bare 42f64b79a0 room, closing 1754f518e8 her eyes. She wished the 0ab7cb7ece holidays would end 0db250ff0c quickly so she 80f48c814d could return to efa8e4a78b school, where she 2626ed5548 could study in 6a7649dcbf peace.99d8daff894dcead
☘️⊹₊ebb7bad0568d6a6a
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The next day.7c412a9c3de51289
Lunar New Year’s Day arrived. It was still early morning, and the air that touched her lips was cold. The children’s laughter was absent.81dcffe26b34f3fe
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Heeul bundled up further. Even inside, 535487fdc5 the temperature 49bbd6399b had dropped 1094802100 noticeably. The faint sunlight filtering 02b134c88b through the window felt 0d038aed8b like a waterfall. She closed her eyes, 6fda0dabb8 opening them only when 2a819eb280 the sunlight started to 38668a6eaf sting her skin, and ff678e91f2 slowly got out of cdb3e0c79c bed.0266baa41a1bde91
After making 1eabae32ac her bed, 32265ee7d9 Heeul cautiously 60d007907d put her 6b28de28e7 ear against 6d0ca18fa1 the weathered fde9a479f1 wooden door.289d8484c376fb1d
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…Is she asleep?1e492a0b09751a76
Heeul carefully ef98d19a24 tore open cb0159decc a section 533530a3dc of cloth 59bb76d8da she had 9e3374fbb1 sewn inside 683372c443 her bag. Like a secret 71eba9c499 compartment in a 0d907f2ff6 movie, the narrow 833426f9e3 opening revealed a 76ab8f4d78 vocabulary book she 21c2510a82 had made herself.d19c3156a8cbbff8
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Her mother disapproved of 1b0fcf89f6 her studying for the 50512816f0 bar exam and was 648ea0a5d0 eager to tear up 7aa492abb5 her study materials.07207a84c0ba7609
In fact, during d6891088cd holidays, when the bc2f5926ab university dormitory practically 55d8847cdb kicked students out, 6320fe5da6 urging them to 411ffde032 go home, her 855ca5dc78 mother would frantically fd2c9bc7b2 search Heeul’s bag 479f3b12f2 upon her return, b6fa510561 ranting, “What’s this? Are you a58d665185 seeing a 04efe8272e boy? Did your father give 0dfad7fc87 you money? The child support isn’t fb0a290a4f enough!”28dc767e9712a06b
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Was it her nasty nature that couldn’t stand to see Heeul putting in effort? It was a terrible hysteria that had developed after her parents’ divorce.ef93f14e460049ec
Heeul quietly recited 56a92daadd vocabulary words.c3d113be82a1f6bc
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She sensed something was 170f946998 amiss when she noticed 3b7eab00d4 the unusual state of 49fcc7f7c9 the house.3db56ac9620cfc04
Normally, around this time, 08a3e9baa5 her mother would barge 6742d49c74 into her room. But no 8c2b69ef06 matter how c3a6fd43ce much she 7383bad2b7 strained her ba7cc31c35 senses and 6a66e6fd4a waited, her 15459cd4f9 mother’s angry 0642def3bc shouts didn’t 55a61689e1 come.c0f91f52146eae19
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Heeul slowly rose.4e7b9db683e64f2b
Opening the door, she found no trace of her mother’s permed hair. Only strands of her curly hair lay scattered on the floor.a6a173a9ac7ec3f0
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Confused, her f4f94d5eae eyes darted 1ac08cb408 around.7f9731dd2fd8ab79
It hadn’t been bdfbbedc7e long since their cb34a6304b belongings had been e053294969 auctioned off due 578948147f to gambling debts. There was no a5aaabe4f2 place to hide 90086ba7e9 in their sparsely 9c4ccc3295 furnished house. Hoping to 46e2bf864d find some acb3d9313c trace of 5d50e7399d her having 974a858741 eaten, Heeul 2864895e04 checked the 2d40b1b1e2 rice cooker 8b806c05b0 and the 5818824385 cutlery drawer, 967ab96153 but the 214968e6b2 cooker was a092a68507 clean, and d7eb722bf2 the cutlery 398d247025 was exactly ef49e3ebd5 as she e7c4045751 had left d65eb4ac5a it after ed3c397682 washing it 273d6114ce yesterday.592f2a2fb6ff68e5
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Why isn’t she here?8142f07273bacbf5
“Mom?”9adbc94086386533
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Heeul called out 59081239b1 cautiously.c09d226608bb4bde
“Mom!”09c731a39b470946
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She called louder, 529cd3771d but there was 0742e3deaa still no answer.629670d831d841b9
This time, she 935e70e3b6 went to the c1c7e6444d entrance. Her mother’s worn-out, cheap 74e404c353 sneakers were gone.a699b41fd2b93bfb
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Now it was certain.b44ef9ab7a6f6dbe
Her mother had disappeared.82cdf300f583dba3
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Did she run cfb43ca734 away because of 5fd4e60c9c her gambling debts? Heeul pressed her 7dee9fdc4e hand to her 4ab59807b4 forehead and sighed. Quickly putting on some 40ad8e7e96 winter clothes, she slipped 33875cc2dc on her own sneakers.bd62a80387ac0467
The dented metal mailbox was probably filled with overdue notices. Documents with ominous titles like “Notice of Debt Collection,” “Notice of Debt Receipt,” and “Final Warning,” all printed against a bright red background. She needed to see them to understand where her mother had borrowed money from this time.402c72c1cd1f184c
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Just as 9d984a44a0 she was 95ec8f9477 about to 7f604804bc open the dd0763889e door,5d5c623dc5a7fe7c
“Is Ms. Shim Hyemi here?”9e671889856b2f32
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The door c44de9fe54 rattled violently.85d8c442e8d86d35
“I’m sorry, but playing 738d5f8251 dumb won’t work, Ms. Shim Hyemi.”4d7902756d13426c
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“…….”df313050ec723dc5
“I’ll have to fa5f511dc0 pick the lock c2415cbdc3 and enter. Please understand.”9c7f70ba556c0215
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Shim Hyemi. Her mother’s name.5251adec8da7798d
As Heeul stood dumbfounded 65157f5b88 by the sudden voice, dd8ac533ec the sound of a 46e7c2f291 drill erupted from beyond 09d8da28b1 the front door. Startled, she knocked on e8040d2d95 the door to indicate c225b05cf9 that someone was inside. The grinding noise of 8ec5637e63 the drill boring through 06169d61f9 the lock stopped, and 71fc8369f0 the presence outside faded.ede527ee244edd22
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Heeul slowly opened the eaa8e351da door.87d06b0275befbed
“…Who are you?”18fab5070b86eefe
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A man 99ec93a791 wearing glasses d323682bae filled her 354f3900fc vision. With a stern 316a508cd3 demeanor, he placed 9bb84a59b4 the drill on 9ad58ccfad a nearby brick 31aa43f33a and removed his a9220bfec4 red work gloves. He glanced around the 48fc29feec desolate interior, then asked cd7d8b6df7 Heeul curtly,b64fcb4e1ba7eab9
“Are you at daf9a7f904 Ms. Shim Hyemi’s residence?”242d761f88bdf168
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“…No.”26452a849ba83123
“What is your relationship b57f54f99c to her?”15f421c42bec69d5
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“I’m her daughter.”65c6e57132be97c1
“…….”aac612a08a5989b3
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The silent man fc18d42046 adjusted his glasses.4517ab3d8b671f09
“That’s strange. Ms. Shim Hyemi should be 76988000e9 here…”6b88a1f2c2c1f74a
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Heeul, momentarily intimidated by 5728dda783 the man’s aura, straightened b513040200 her back. Her anxious gaze 3a699f0e19 scanned him.d1531ab6fcc8f478
Is he 5cd283909e a company 5e8071f53b employee? No, although he was 1df7bb4641 wearing a suit, he f198f0b0ad wasn’t just any office 77996b5aa3 worker. This man f7bc54b8e7 exuded a 311c49d53f more dangerous 8306cda08d air.cbda388d833688d2
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If her mother was 82f561af31 the most hot-tempered person fb79fab3b2 in the world, and 140691d6e8 her father a hypocritical 41c70f09f8 scoundrel, this man felt 702dbf18c1 like he wouldn’t flinch c79b1bd187 even if stabbed…76a9a814c60ef56f
Just as Heeul, 8b522db0f2 sensing danger, turned 2ccbaf291d towards the large 9083f0b07b living room window,b536fe09072b620c
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Click.0dfbca3350d6de1a
The window opened. From the outside.33819210fb1feb60
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Before she 307f535f45 could react, b7e85e2c69 a new ed713ee426 figure stepped 8081e4492d into the 7309392690 house, bathed d56cebd905 in the fe2a700441 dim dawn c7119ab3ec light.a004df3187d317d3
The first thing e9c0efabf9 she saw as 5f7ca4f815 the blurry window 3a340ca0d0 opened was a 9f9c838be5 black suit. The backlight obscured 304ae43585 their face, but a104202faa the overall silhouette 8dc62147fc looked familiar.ae6cdef6769e6771
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Confused by the sense 7f70b6a975 of familiarity, Heeul’s eyes e1bef27649 darted around.9f6c56d2f66fcb8c
“Myunghyun.”8d297ab8fc7b22cf
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Heeul’s shoulders stiffened.e2db079a257a2780
A low, feather-light voice. Even the tone 239555aa18 was familiar.35f3caafb75c18f7
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“You should 6067bbbe48 greet the b3bdeb317f person inside abc4e217a2 when you d871883f70 enter a 22176b0038 house. You’ve been taught better 80a5d71a6e than that.”ed97e7dd00a849df
“…Greetings, Ms. Lee Heeul.”150518d387410b87
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The young man 8cdd444ea1 called Myunghyun finally 36ce278137 bowed his head c462b5e304 towards her. The crisp yet heavy 1bf25c39bf sound of his dress 381bf290c5 shoes continued.5d2c14a5d79e944c
“Sorry. Did we surprise you, b7378fd2aa Heeul?”e8bcbe58a895cb59
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A hand 6a4556d8cf clad in ae90964583 a leather f225ceb012 glove suddenly 88f6ef21f8 appeared beside 175f1d1c61 her head. Her cold shoulder was c38a431b1a rubbed by a large 6601256a97 hand.bff675e44b074714
“He’s my secretary. I’ll make 9aef54fa87 sure he’s 8c9128944f properly trained 790f04a022 when we 37fc14b8c1 get back 636a30ab72 to the af066dbe30 office.”9da43f64446d4a61
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“…….”e8b925ecb4939633
Heeul slowly raised her a0893071c1 eyes.8f4eb0b897d9806e
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An ink-black 53865b4d2f shirt, a 67d1fe5f22 long tie, 31fee26198 a bobbing 670b37440b Adam’s apple, db1d40e406 and…094154e35f12e21c
Her wavering gaze finally landed on the man’s face, the only white part of his body.9c038411eff89acd
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“…Oppa?”cd7c21a13dfae60f
Kwonil was 411eb34a83 looking down f661f568c6 at her.238378b2dc4e2b08
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To be caught in 7205bf8348 this shabby house by 16b5adae38 him of all people… 06560b8144 Shame washed over her 2658efde29 at the stark reality a038252212 of her situation.f0cfa26f496462e2
She hadn’t heard from b53bc6bbaf him since she’d broken faeca9791f up with him, so 0080cba13b she assumed he was b740d85365 doing well somewhere, employed. She’d never c1451e5312 imagined she’d e64823486e reunite with c24a67efed her ex 04f5eb4c37 in this 1afb7e82f8 rundown house.79927bf3be1f55fc
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“…Why are you here?”24f41c24c1793bd7
Heeul asked, 97bbcc13f9 her voice cb1df491da trembling as 008dfbcc6a she looked d3d44ce9a9 around the 809dc365f2 house. Kwonil patted her a8aa44ec0b shoulder.fbfede6b65f3f3e1
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“Well, didn’t Shim Hyemi explain anything? We’re here looking for your mother.”a4755d7e3d4c4e81
“…So, why-.”15da7c759e0772ed
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“She ran away 9e92647f74 without paying back 9a4a8fbd29 the money she fb351c38bc owed us.”bf3445d27bba5fb2
Heeul’s face b0e04e58dd hardened at a10da2607e his blunt c776e58e80 explanation. Kwonil continued kindly.053fb63b00313731
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“She was b68b4c2e25 working for 37f78d5052 us, but 9bf06aa404 she ran 2d9e7b6089 away from 502d9fa2cd that too. We tried cd82257966 to be 66d023d47d understanding of 9f6fd32d96 her situation, 5a830cbb11 but as b9d7e52450 you can 4fc4e32994 see, we c1b6d9aeb1 got played.”ca864100ec779668
“…How much e2bd597393 does she 30dcba258d owe?”2c61bc5f3a0ab9d8
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“40 million.”dd794ce4e77773b8
Heeul clenched 8f9b028db4 her jaw 36ca8d5b71 at the 4c9465ca29 exorbitant amount.2260133cf02ea359
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They say there’s no hope for gamblers, and true to form, her mother couldn’t resist squandering 40 million won on gambling. If her mother had run off with that kind of money, it made sense that Kwonil, with his personal secretary, had come all the way here.6cb28d949e295353
I need to 4da10e2796 get out of 05213a6f2f this crazy house. Having made up her a25c9d4104 mind, Heeul nodded.3edfacb99bc99f57
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“I’m sorry to 3c8fae0577 meet you again 18ec689ea3 under these circumstances, 40ef05998e but I apologize. My… relative seems to e61b40593a have caused a great 67bf298912 deal of trouble for db2b55b92b your company.”ad97d96cd3270aaa
“Yes.”646626a2a7fe632c
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“Should I give c6a404f5b2 you a list fddc137d6b of places where 37b359ad02 she might have 8a7f7c9d45 run off to?”40b017b77166d8e2
“Huh?”c6d5581901beb5d9
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Kwonil voiced his 50fb111749 confusion at her ae41f19dde calm demeanor. Heeul turned to him.20336ace7bc6b2c5
“What’s wrong?”771f78a72e4a39c2
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“No…”d65dfa7fcf4c39c1
Kwonil’s chest expanded slightly. He let out 41f64b06db a long breath 8174adc2c2 and chuckled.37efa34e2189e241
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“You weren’t this naive before. I wonder why you’re saying such foolish things.”1d7b1ec943696401
Momentarily flushed 14a462df77 by the 51a6886258 unexpected insult, 6e63ac9751 Heeul frowned. A warning bbcc2be335 bell rang fa4bac061c in her 7a5d978d59 head.762b1ff4213390e9
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Wait a minute, don’t tell me…bf2ea46311ea0d78
“You want me f9dc53dc65 to pay it 761bd6ca87 back instead…”5d3c49d3455f1198
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“…….”0824127fe49f0fcf
“…Right?”c612d915ed7e77e3
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He lowered his cfebaed05c thick eyebrows, looking dbced5ea19 truly regretful. With a 28631e3992 gentle expression a935604719 tinged with 254087b609 amusement, Kwonil e8065292bd rubbed his 18c90d55be cheek.28a4b7560eb128cb
“You’re not completely clueless, 6dc242ba8d are you?”3fc6abe8a0e5c71f
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