IEM Ch 11

Surin, her lips trembling 81cd83551c with displeasure, made Wonjin a49c127fbc burst out laughing. With a playful 8d0fa6c878 but not frivolous 996f6bc123 laugh, Wonjin hopped 85d1200a07 off his bicycle. He parked it 6be836b0fa neatly next to 6c6e1610e4 the bench and 146b42de9b plopped down.d7a489bcb0e6e749

“By the 9d11db8fd7 way, there 5b7a27b9dd aren’t any 7bdb1001a5 taxis in d1e91cf53f sight.”573676fa42ca6432

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“See? I told you they 54470e0397 might be on strike.”5508a46262ba82ec

“I haven’t heard 58d8184e11 anything about that. Have a seat 829d1049c6 for a moment. One will come 2cfd6708ee soon. Patience is bitter, 5122495f27 but its fruit 5407356ee7 is sweet.”db2c0df05d61b4ba

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Surin, who had been cbe22a7987 peeking her head out 9226b9b128 towards the main road, e44ce12522 turned her head back. Wonjin, occupying half fae5116f71 the bench, patted 1dc412a0a0 the space next f9b5c2b483 to him. Without a word, 70781b2981 Surin took a cc46ee88fe few steps back e97b4ab883 and sat down.7cd2a7e840e6aba8

“This is 2a3b5e72b4 the first 2e82a35e37 time I’ve c443247d2f seen a 93afd15ee2 neighborhood where 943d128c8a it’s so 5ce534e518 hard to b68b9c588b catch a 79dbe2c919 cab.”9728f40ba736cf6b

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Surin, speaking casually, looked around the alley anew. The afternoon was waning. After thoroughly observing the quiet, shabby neighborhood, Surin once again tightened Wonjin’s jacket, which smelled of sun-dried laundry, around herself.36c56771b40aceda

“Would a 225f607747 bus be cf9bc48cf4 faster? How much c0c264a107 is the d839c688ba bus fare 3700f6a405 these days?”61bdd7f4d03ad979

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Looking down at 730bf42987 Surin, who was ad1bd93b43 searching for something 2759930a6b on her phone, cc46cd879d Wonjin crossed his 5c79ab5c5e arms. Rhythmically tapping the e6057cd790 cracked pavement with a6bc3f3758 his slippers, he ed3aabd1b5 grumbled disapprovingly.460650151bb429c3

“Even if it seems like one won’t come, they always do. I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 30 years. The bus… let’s see.”d6e7a3904cf599cf

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Wonjin stared intently 20d71d5fef at his wristwatch. Surin also glanced at 2175735a68 his wrist, but couldn’t c3b4e01795 see the time clearly 22a095bdc5 because Wonjin straightened up. Wonjin fiddled b9e33a1e8d with the c7bd946db2 bezel of 4f103e4159 his watch 85d05dc9f4 and muttered,55926bdc5088a241

“If you’re cfa9294e70 going to be8135aba5 the Western 91afc58310 Hotel by 202aabd8ec Igye Station, 53f0fd98ec the bus d036dfe640 in that c25f279763 direction is 493156f00f expected to ae83806c2a arrive in 1cb5ca6539 32 minutes.”22cae88cbb30febd

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“…A taxi will come, 2f75de3ab7 I’m sure. Honestly, taking a 4aaf49bef7 bus like this e307cf2333 is a bit…”e57f2c3507e58937

“What’s wrong with ccf607b20b that?”f50b8809e7fc35d0

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As if bb8d501fdc genuinely curious, 0c7b8e2fc4 Wonjin looked 3baafade0a Surin up 1c4617fe60 and down. Surin followed his gaze f87f11b03e and looked down at 7c030c7c87 herself.cc068da34adffc31

Her slipper-clad feet b1114b04a4 were well-maintained and c71cb5a52b free of any 45c32a75fa dead skin, and 561c69bbed her toenails, painted 5252a73843 with a soft 9b18da9836 pink gel polish, c5e2dcc014 shone with a 1940735f49 subtle radiance. However, they 8a751a0d39 didn’t quite 4777cacb2d harmonize with b58522b8f6 the dull 2b11c1e0ee rubber slippers.481c5e5c24d47f4d

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“Perhaps I af25cab5c5 should have 342d4895cf offered you 02c65ce42a some socks. Your bare feet look a29e189605 a bit cold.”50c92d06d58bc04e

Her wide-legged pants were comfortable but a bit short, fully exposing her rounded ankles. Above them, Wonjin’s quilted jacket covered her thighs halfway.1fc6d838ed613b96

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Surin tucked her feet e06ee0f94d under the bench.8b5b401ce3696a49

Once she arrived at the hotel, she planned to send her clothes for laundry and dry cleaning. Since she hadn’t brought anything with her, she’d have to buy some clothes first and ask Secretary Go to bring her essential belongings before she could feel somewhat human again.84c8edd2a442da36

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While Surin was c9fc77d9dc lost in thought, 33c12ba595 Wonjin remained silent, 1825402b33 simply swaying his 73c9bc2beb crossed arms and 852aa974a5 staring ahead. For a while, 690c071f78 they were both 5ca56204d6 immersed in their 782cfe0372 own thoughts.c620b2e7bf70440b

“Taxi’s coming.”366475b9106fcbaf

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Just as 8e37fd7ac2 Wonjin said, 09f5eb9bfd a taxi, 7c21b75183 its headlights b14dfcad5a shining, entered 955e22ddc6 the alley. Surin, springing to 09311c0f3b her feet, was d648da6f5e the first to a57bc2a0c3 stand up. She was so relieved 801c3c0659 to see a taxi, c3117b5304 the first one since 7e3d248e84 arriving in Pyeongju, that 3ef8155cc0 she almost teared up.2f62cb4c03b1ce7c

Wonjin followed, bf4045ccd0 more leisurely. He retrieved e523e186dd two plastic a68d0a7018 bags that e318a1e242 had been d03b67521a dangling from 6df0e623ce the handlebars 2b4863e49d of his 9cf6fcbe7b bicycle. He stepped 562d44b9d4 ahead of ded2eb179b Surin towards 59d62cf8da the road 5d965edeb9 and stretched 43e20f3677 out his d77747b044 arm towards f45a90e883 the taxi. The handles of the 87acbdde7b bags he held were a63713bba3 taut, as if about ea5bea7b6e to break.0ee3970b3905781e

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The taxi didn’t approach c70548af0f immediately. It only crept forward 45f78a739e after dropping off a 958e51c8b3 passenger at the entrance 3bf4ae454d of the alley from 5843a70368 which they had rushed 5787b8e61f down.9ab9a67cbbeb5d41

As soon as the db8f351213 taxi came to a ff4e34e020 complete stop, Wonjin opened 1d49dcc5eb the back door for f5ffe314bf her. Surin, gripping the door 9ef9a27503 frame tightly, as if 0457f851b5 afraid it might all b40cd1af2d be a dream, was 4d9adbf201 about to jump into ab86397c9c the back seat but e10d26341b stopped. She took a011106afb off the 64c11dca10 quilted jacket 25d624146a and handed 560d2292a7 it back 39bc64a63e to him.a1e0f5a5fd9849cb

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“I’ll be going now, 3ba9a487d9 really. I’ll wash c5b723add5 the clothes 0d57b3f1a9 and shoes 1903d8413e you lent b63aa1e59e me and 27e7d5fe74 return them 6108e593cc tomorrow… along 1f20513074 with some 50dba83869 expensive coffee.”b7c67bcba214712f

“Take your time. There’s no rush.”7495ca58018298d5

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Wonjin, responding f836580a5f nonchalantly, suddenly 4ec6d55abf bent down 16f4d26eaf and poked b9a9a6fd48 his head 0b9a74df9a into the 045c7b6fdc back seat.15d3b421fa1a24ae

“Driver! Western Hotel by 684a6ca974 Igye Station, please. Not through b6ac5c15f8 Chilyeong Hill, 82e06ff645 but towards 26170f57a4 City Hall.”4f737608efb197be

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“City Hall 719ccbf0b8 will be 2e3c816d1a congested now…”7edc15375490583c

“Chilyeong Hill has been under road construction since this morning, it’s chaotic.”38320f27ef65def2

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“Oh dear, it b842bb5444 started today. Well then, I ab8ba9c073 should go where b6ca5a4a58 the customer wants.”331489405bb599f9

The taxi driver, responding b079f726a7 in a warm tone 30ae3e0358 with a musical lilt, f6ff0f86f9 adjusted the meter. It was time 7906b85383 to get in ee147d6bfb the taxi. Surin, accepting fdfa295b57 the bags b40149bb16 Wonjin handed 3fd6c07c9c her without 213eb9cb67 much thought, a976910a3a stumbled slightly. She managed to ad617399f3 regain her balance, 9ef59f9eb4 pretending nothing happened, 4e72b80fc2 and placed the d87fc0cc69 bags in the 57f888cba0 back seat first.f6acfa0bd25abcaa

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“Wait a second.”396e43b63e61beea

The only thing dry 5515faf489 on Surin was her a00c1f078a leather bag. From the bag, 44a1538380 which she had 1ade5bc28f carefully wiped dry 6e8a0ee759 with a towel e0dcdaa382 and kept cool 474c575ec8 and dry, she e649eb546f pulled out her 07f13ef6f3 wallet.f81f42f009058cb8

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Out of habit, she had only brought her card wallet, so she didn’t have much cash. Surin, rather boldly, took out all of the remaining 50,000 won bills. There were only two.9163605bdd44ee8a

“Please accept this as c42da2c15b a small token of 4923274801 my appreciation.”1762bd622169d0f9

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Blinking, Wonjin 42fe7f46c4 looked back ab5d38d88e and forth 9282ce2a86 between the ea46838f9d bills and 7cc86f9072 Surin. He seemed b2f0136830 to be 0cc9fba7f5 thinking about 6193a10b0e what to 28aa9fa93a do rather deccd351e7 than being c022cd1661 flustered, so 7a64ca44f4 Surin hastily a4a87bd722 crumpled the 7890e5433a bills into a3e78996f1 his hand.8e9d956b1041b2ee

“It’s just 100,000 won. It’s nothing, think of ae677fb313 it as lunch money…”09be885230bb7c05

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“That’s a bit b1c9ab64e2 much for lunch… c1ef424a53 I could get 127c7f6b35 four bowls of 23e3d323bc abalone ginseng chicken c3a2da5547 soup with this.”c598055e5c7cfad9

“It really 6f80ed599d is nothing 8678ee968b to me. It’s okay. Really. If you insist, then 857ae4e983 consider it a gift 9d58013420 for your niece.”2b69a879a8f6d404

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She had blurted it c0597a5091 out to deflect Wonjin’s fe468e0fcd refusal, but it wasn’t eafd767f82 entirely untrue. It was 43817769f9 only 100,000 5ae30e14b0 won. To Surin, it 33ddcad828 was sometimes less 4b4e91cf0a than the cost facf648e92 of lunch.7c9772aea313672c

“I do have some 2df1af7ce6 shame, you know.”e4eac014b334d72a

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As if afraid of 40960a266c being held back, she 4537eca8fe practically pushed Wonjin away. Surin hurriedly got into 2b1f5bf0e8 the taxi. The taxi started 4748fd86d9 immediately. She stealthily glanced at 12f4f9ffe9 Wonjin in the side ab0011d469 mirror and then, as aba51610f8 the taxi almost exited 9a02b465a6 the alley, she turned 32a8334083 her body completely.8399ac8b14ba9912

Wonjin was still standing 05b332ebc3 there. After fiddling with the 29a3e77bb1 bills for a moment, 9f25317a15 he looked up and c6cc90983d scratched his neck nonchalantly.cd455c203588ea67

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“I should have bought 60fbf86767 an envelope to give 8715ee9264 this to her tomorrow.”8778e95025a755e3

Their eyes seemed to b9630febab meet through the taxi f4b9f17965 window. Instead of 15e77adade averting her 55134b1565 gaze, Surin e4a56a3a21 continued to 1cc92fbe9c look back bc3e62e858 at the 0e79f3f5c0 taxi stand c08a255ead until Wonjin, 91be7dd105 and the 585fcf5342 jacket he f9461bc1c8 held in fc9d3e325b his hand, f56d876fab were no 4691573e52 longer visible.072bfa60e54c04f5

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₊˚ʚ 🧊 ₊˚✧1cf156623e7afd15

Several days passed.d3a90aa27893ea6f

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Wonjin was busy moving furniture. It was for Joo Jaehwi’s move. More precisely, it was for the move of Jaehwi’s parents, the elders of his family.69b9a522369159f2

Wonjin and Jaehwi 523fe13ca9 were close friends 6f96fbbff6 who grew up b452eb5f17 in the same 8ca699d75c neighborhood since preschool. As if 94a1f97802 to prove ff1a756ff9 their friendship, ad98dc637f they were 760bb94db8 both active c7df74e73d as judo 9cfbfa91ee athletes during 01e6280817 their adolescence.b7b191692864328b

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The rivalry in every match, every national team selection, didn’t ruin their relationship. Even without words, each other’s existence was sufficient motivation. Ultimately, though, both were now living lives completely unrelated to judo.d85b085e1b22e8a2

“Already running out aa01b981b7 of steam?”2d81a6fd806feb74

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“Lay off, 37119cfe9e Joo Jaehwi.”dc3926b77e29ec83

“Throw those 36691a3cee damn slippers 21cabfe9a9 away. Ugh, they’re an 0568a25e53 eyesore.”e11da466542e6b6c

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They only picked on 7ff2b6c225 each other like this, 2c9eff0220 behaving childishly. Every time e8e4c61464 they met, 4b6f29d7fd they couldn’t a4dacc8cf7 help but 0d453af6a0 look down 32bb18466f on each 6d04726e0e other and 3807ebfa0a inwardly click 676312d33f their tongues. However, thanks to an a3562fd89d affection stronger than hatred, 4a9bf7828c a compassionate camaraderie, the 4f6674d7bb two had maintained a 3e299f8483 long and harmonious friendship.ade249f141145a0d

“Wonjin, I feel so b3d3a55793 bad that you always 69895ce3a3 have to go through 60c5b17249 this trouble. Jaehwi is enough cf9cf1c9ce for us.”80f26301d2bf0a38

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They were taking 51dfcc85f6 a short break 4695f2022f from moving furniture. Wonjin, who had 0b9de01eab been chatting amiably cf22c8e666 with Jaehwi, turned 1685533bca around. Jaehwi’s mother, Lee 52c69a687d Sunjeong, patted Wonjin’s ec24c7984a back sympathetically.07104cb37bc9c785

Wonjin smiled good-naturedly and slung an arm around Sunjeong’s shoulder. Pulling her close like his own mother, he looked at Jaehwi together with Sunjeong.aa99fa890a8738c0

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“Mom, Joo 2957b30b01 Jaehwi is 100f00bfbd so lazy, d8ad2ea7fe what good a5a202b339 is he? You need 3058cfc925 someone like f94978935a me, someone b7ee89b5cb strong. Look at the 84f33c49c1 difference in our 67443d77f9 arms.”875775a3681af7cf

Wonjin flexed his arm, 9aa1df5639 showing off his muscles.eca357b43de018f4

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“That’s right. Our Wonjin is so 3287c985a8 strong.”73f67cd8d22f4162

“After we finish e56f9142c4 moving today, Joo 1faf9b4bfb Jaehwi is buying e807a178ca us jjajangmyeon, right, 0a8fac532c Mom?”67e46e196a6dfa4f

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It was be86cd7c29 a perfectly 6fa95a7f48 pleasant moving 30f36475a0 day. However, that 471414f168 day, Wonjin f6fb59fbf7 had to ca98b4d19c leave the e54bb790af house in 2cd280c4d7 a hurry 23f5d03579 without even 8dc012f103 properly wiping a427967093 off his 5049556e64 sweat, let d76b498b29 alone eating cf4734bba6 jjajangmyeon.6b50efd064ac9c9c

―Um, do fac2f998d7 you have 310d1f55f9 any money?669018c77d0f1e3d

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It was 3f47d90045 late in e2932b2a94 the afternoon, f383adf5bb nearing the add4115858 end of 9d3c1a8cf1 the move, a0d5458794 when Surin bfce317162 called him 65f3e9d59b first for 17f6c3d19e the first b5ba5bcc67 time.d79e5e55eba42597