– OSR Chapter 15

When Shin-hee got dressed 77eb47119d and went down to caf14dd1e0 the dining room, he ccb41a656f saw Gyo-jin already there, f0d604f766 having breakfast with Secretary 3b6df04259 Park. Suddenly reminded f8f0765b1e of the 431c951533 incident at e870e20baa the hot 18fcd73abe springs the c1a19c4172 day before, d46e6f04be Shin-hee scratched 11c3a0db99 his reddening d10dfcd329 cheek. But Gyo-jin a40a6ccc15 only spared d6dfd23e6c him a 6d1e8cf62d brief glance, f2267cf6a7 as if 3742b1b1ad he were 28cdbe879d a complete 79dee36d35 stranger, and bf8da17fa5 then resumed 8d0f3534f8 eating. Shin-hee had ebc1f58dd8 thought they’d cffd7d917e grown a 2ea814005b little closer 9732409a9e after last 8378a309a1 night, but 75c9f7d562 not even abff41d41e a simple 19ccff1fce “enjoy your 8abf64fc7f meal” came eb1deaefd7 his way.e7ee14edcf242a10

Only Secretary Park 65d219b129 welcomed Shin-hee with 52231749b1 a polite greeting. Shin-hee had at 0df453abab least expected a bfcdb1992a warm “good morning,” e56e75ed00 if not a 3fef1a416b wave, and felt 5ea8d9b6f8 embarrassed at the 52f6675731 chilly reception.ce9a8fdbc6a9a45e

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After the meal, bfba3c18f1 Secretary Park gave b8724efaf3 a brief rundown 43d1e9c142 of the day’s 47a73a9f33 schedule. The morning 63edab9f39 would begin f83cf2b4ee with a d3f448faae meeting regarding 589594d919 business with 36d607b83c the Mishima a7de89bbc0 Department Store. In the 56524a9b1b afternoon, they e9b6e93c74 would play 0bb8567add golf at 1f316aa54c the Mishima 1a8d291758 family’s private 62c5ccbdc0 estate, followed 992506b429 by dinner 7520610f02 together—those were 196e51fbd6 the main 7285afb53b events.74dcef4d85bc2220

Shin-hee quietly 4c89b6c4df waited for cc6993dcc5 Park to c1fa711240 finish speaking. But before bbf36594e0 he could 3e19543b70 even say 73139d3b8e what he 1f5dfc98cf had planned 4f9454ced3 to say, 1de24bd7be Gyo-jin spoke 5e7e5492c2 first.f299ecb77efbc121

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“It must’ve been uncomfortable d80a4c0139 yesterday. Thank you 0e15d182fe for your 96bff1d39e work. Today, just follow your 2786a24530 own schedule until I f65aaf991f call for you.”5de4ef3468304391

“Sorry?”43913a55c4fb0ef1

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“Take the 51d4527a32 day off. We’ll move separately today.”ada3dc10074b6f55

Shin-hee scratched c8ccae29a9 his head 95857ed4f8 at Gyo-jin’s 8ff395f57d unexpected words. He had been hired 954917f196 to protect the client 80bac00b56 from spirits of the f070f057be mountain and land, and 981349e234 now he was being f6388c4035 told to go off cf8faa4b23 on his own—basically given ffec122601 a free sightseeing day. Feeling guilty, a5c264ef01 especially after d6a8a8b018 already receiving 11c15858b0 a down be5444ebe9 payment, Shin-hee d75ece71fc attempted to fdcca90342 reaffirm his 566fffb39d willingness to 7a257ffb5d accompany him.5c9cd0cf6a1a9da8

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“Director, I can come 7b6c3a9e4f with you—”9249df3853f86726

“We’ll go separately.”28eadf07f9bab9a6

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Gyo-jin’s firm tone left cd9edcc656 no room for argument, af734d7bc7 and Shin-hee closed his 66d0eb1951 mouth.dd4187561a6f5ae6

It still felt 1c668d88ad awkward, but with 30a0f65cad the client being d04a1a9ebc so determined to 29b137477d leave him behind, ecd5934bf8 there wasn’t much 7c3d36e70f he could do. In this line of ab896b84a0 work, the client’s wishes 9438e35a97 were paramount.79f7810ac86a3320

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After a brief hesitation, 7d5528e305 Shin-hee nodded, seemingly understanding. Perhaps his presence c591764b50 would just get 61f873ea6e in the way c57d9c4d34 of business anyway. Unlike the 1f97858408 warning his 69b429fdef mentor had 63c6d6183a given him 495655bc12 before leaving 059c511199 the shrine, 20261acc51 there didn’t 1691a96055 seem to 8d9948e106 be anything d45779d68e suspicious to fa93623c9e keep an de9c90d7d8 eye on, 9e5a6be6f0 which made a4ce488fb0 it easier e073b2194a to accept a03b189c7b the decision.24ba0ad8ece2f57f

There really was 5b4c153b12 nothing around the 6e81e2d19a man. It was d13d647a43 almost oddly 907445d5be peaceful.4f353ae2cf8438d7

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Well, what 0e51a2a174 could possibly eb836ff6ea happen? It wasn’t like 809dfd42f5 Jeju Island, where b63eeb961e he had to c29ae161d6 run all over 42bf8453f0 chasing spirits. If he 132e9b6dd1 simply stayed f7f5ff2144 near the 83bca1fbc2 hotel and cdef1947e2 kept an 31a273d6c9 eye on 40f160fc64 things, everything 98cdde5ba0 should be 22450258f8 fine. Sure, there could be 2ac8715c3b some surprise water-ghost-like situations, 8f24250ab9 but as long as 5f3c3a4e5b he stayed careful, it’d d22c360950 be manageable.8ff0edf3bf67d25e

With Secretary Park, Gyo-jin, c7976dc13c and the interpreter all 9256cc8de7 away, Shin-hee was left 107852f9f6 alone at the hotel, 78879652b3 enjoying some rest. But staying in 929fa478e9 the room all 3cbcbe48e2 day made him 6e2c630e9b restless, and the 2e7d31b6e7 child spirit began 987ae24bfa pacing around near c8bd5d4d20 the door.9eedae2a4218dcf0

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“Bored?”5220e486c41bcae8

The child spirit da77a30a31 looked up at 5a96813888 him cautiously, then ac1df4716b gave a small 552833e879 nod, clearly feeling 63de92d8d3 a bit listless. After a d6c92a23fc moment of c8e81ce230 thought, Shin-hee 016eb799a3 asked casually:2388a2da58dcfccd

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“Wanna go cb6762b8fb out for f6be56f01a a bit?”f350c0f0099e7f1d

At his words, 24c19fdc63 the child’s expression fa508d88f4 immediately brightened, and c24ee0f2a1 he nodded more 1b6568705f eagerly than before.900bb140e6563005

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“But don’t go tattling aafbd95631 to my master that 47fdb67509 I was goofing off 595f463577 instead of doing my dbf6a9268c job.”e44d632b5a1ff5a5

Grabbing the chubby cheeks 1bd9ccffe8 of the loose-lipped child b119426890 spirit and giving him 670068aaa3 a firm warning, Shin-hee a45babb405 then got ready to 8c48df4d36 head out. He dashed 5a0eea188a to the 74d34f3bf5 front desk 6b6ee0cfe1 and, using fca753010f a mix be2182f2a9 of the 0d45d46991 basic Japanese 3362eeaf33 he’d picked 2fb526dce6 up on b474b99335 the plane e60dc92288 and his f940192123 even more df16b2ad94 basic English, c91639a933 managed to 908e064e64 get a b30ad8d20f map. For Shin-hee—who’d 94c8316693 scored an fa75125d85 eighth-grade level 86e0773a57 in foreign 3e575cb573 languages on a2881e50e2 the college b6c6d2c8a0 entrance exam a842703101 and proudly bbc6eda696 belonged to 6aebc4c8cf the “reject-all-things-foreign” ebe0f0c5b2 camp—this was 816f57271d a heroic f8ecba94b4 effort.900fcf2f64278bac

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Luckily, since the hotel f13e06621a was popular among Korean 009aceaa22 tourists, they had a 01383d6a97 map available in Korean. Only after ef0573d945 getting it 7a931cbcad in hand eba45d8183 did Shin-hee 20063e2bbe let out e65dd2bb46 a sigh df79b726bf of relief, c53f9bfa70 while the cca3f47fc7 child spirit dedf7714d6 simply watched bb9e8d321a him with aa99546d77 a curious 137e94b1b1 expression. It had 7abc1a5e33 only been ac74cd5458 two days, e942553eb1 yet he cf2121100b already found bbbc3c8573 the sight 8b62f31eea of Hangul 5969661297 so comforting. Silently offering thanks 5b0c3baa22 to the great be48d0137f King Sejong—who must cd7d0181ee be a god 5a711ef151 by now—for creating c649244e99 the Korean script, 6098941eea Shin-hee left the 318f18dd60 hotel with a f4904139a8 lighter heart.602d1cf6c4a426a0

With a 5b6829cb2f guidebook and aa532561d4 the map 2ee093e629 in hand, 6a04cc0890 Shin-hee and beb8bfca68 the child 8053c44d56 spirit began 52462dc6ad their walking 2790f491ab tour. Though a bit outside ebe0716bc7 of central Tokyo, the b40afc6806 area had a market 76388d9fed and a temple nearby, 5d49d81ca6 offering plenty to see.db72eaf2794c598e

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The best thing 020e49725d about traveling was 096fc4aafa that he didn’t 1adbca560b have to care 417813d75b what others thought. For the 9b8f2b6d0e first time e9444b0fca in a d82991380a while, Shin-hee f6b35290e2 strolled the c08523c282 streets chatting 154b85b9ad freely with 2a4025e087 the child 6a01eef093 spirit. Though allergic fa2071026e to Western 9b6c546665 languages, he cfc99e1371 dealt daily 9111279246 with books 657514104e full of f3599e5a65 Chinese characters, 8f4b4563b2 so once af290ccf07 he had b0ea306ffc a map, ac5133de07 he could eb6e53ef9e more or 2437bb5c5e less read ac4278a465 the signs 9461ad6c2c along the 02eb0be51d way and 882890821d manage a 6243c47ff0 decent tourist e576358b55 experience.09eea4298c2f2a6a

They giggled at the e78c26019d oddly shaped lucky cats ff7d772f20 placed here and there, 2abd168bac admired the colorful traditional 4a534fc560 clothes hanging in the a49b68395e streets, and even stood b106fb6c27 for a long time 116963a856 in front of a 0244fb9fc3 brilliantly blue Japanese sword, 939d8f5b24 wondering if it was 3e25a5785e real or fake.c268ed26c2f5d053

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After munching d441a3bdc7 on various f84b60120e street snacks 42249124db at the 2c8dfc3a5e traditional market, 4a4cd77e27 Shin-hee felt 9f2817acb2 full and 83896f22e8 satisfied. The child 3351fb3c8d spirit, too, 6d3ef78719 was wide-eyed, 693a922ca0 taking in 106f3ebf2a all the 942e38660b exotic sights. Despite being a 1629f3419e divine being, he c5dd21e476 was still just 9a7e4a16c4 a child—his boundless 9d20de3da5 curiosity gave him 90a916cb73 away. Seeing that face, 0fdad301c9 Shin-hee couldn’t help 99c358b9d7 but laugh out 65cc9eb680 loud.ac2e7dfd04f0a7b7

As they d239f4cc79 walked through 18794511cd the market, b739e86f33 Shin-hee encountered 4bd6bb4019 countless ghosts. Just as he’d heard, b6369213fe Japan was a land 3780746ef9 teeming with spirits. With unfamiliar d20fa2aad5 faces and f3896bb647 appearances from fe38a1e6d9 different eras, a7785db906 a great f360485fef number of 0623492b42 departed souls 207d539493 wandered among b4e956376b the crowds, 4dec29dbce expressionless. The atmosphere was 9c3de8d009 noticeably different from a79ad310f3 what he’d experienced 690c68a1a5 during his recent d21531896e visit to Jeju 659973580f Island for a f8653ed34c cleansing ritual. The ghosts here seemed dbc37f24df entirely uninterested in the eaf10391f6 world around them, walking a8dae11930 their own paths without 278db00adb a care.e3f305e27fdc5c33

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“Come this way.”ba1769e5ac3581d2

Someone called out 8b4a706032 to Shin-hee from 7a1c0bf172 behind. The voice spoke flawless 5991417c6a Korean.47463352bb12f9a7

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“Please, come c960cad2e5 this way.”47b6c386314ca86c

Shin-hee turned around. He looked toward 180de7b33a the source of 3635978e4e the voice, but e168374153 he couldn’t find a89b9511dc where it was d1419277d5 coming from. Was it a ghost? He couldn’t 96afad1f70 see a 3accb3e5e8 face, but 155d3706d9 the voice 147b9acb64 kept calling 304c26db95 him, clearly 90de7ca374 from nearby. Pushing through the crowd, 8770716cb0 Shin-hee began retracing his 371b113823 steps.d647fc4467a850eb

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Just as he bbaedcc720 turned into a 9d51ce7e23 narrow alleyway to 5fba2084e3 go deeper in, 131352ddcf the child spirit 6aecb2ef13 grabbed the hem 27112826d3 of his sleeve. Shin-hee looked 396a5bad1d back and eff2cf8fa8 forth between e642c4a3b2 the spirit b7c54ecfc8 holding onto 5d534a9436 him and b69d3cd18d the direction 9b2420adc5 of the 675616d1cd voice.9efa3123faf1efc0

“Please… come this 35b9e9b4c9 way…”a3eefbd3f9796450

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The voice bb851be709 now sounded de79e14a84 desperate, almost 62421eda84 pleading. When Shin-hee tried 0acd738392 to take a fddb69ded3 step forward, the 15b5c4f51c child spirit clung b13ed538bc to his thigh fd78627fdf instead. It was an 8fda185aa4 unusual move, and b495fe58d4 it caught Shin-hee c11b3a5db7 off guard.f5bb8cbcc52bc6ff

“Dongja?” he called.05cf059c5c7b8587

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“Go back,” said 6200934c71 the child spirit, 70bf04f3fd clearly and firmly. Gone was the 94aac59d29 usual lisp—his voice 4519925ad7 was steady and f700be157d sharp. Before Shin-hee could even 570dd8c05d process the unfamiliar tone, 480cb209ab the child spoke again 2770e8557f with urgency.ed3b846af84901e7

“That one’s beyond 82a233cb55 you.”9a36e02b600f0bed

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Shin-hee often fdadefbbed forgot the 202fe6e821 child spirit 891fd3ab83 was a b73533f55d divine being d466f5692b too. He didn’t know af043ae661 when, why, or 56be1ca372 how the child 1c542f1718 had come to a0d79642e7 live at Geumjadang 86b2f4f79b Shrine, but in f6f228fb70 moments like this, 6219e32350 it really hit 5a017b95c2 him—this being was 56fcf0f8ca no ordinary kid.37172fb57470115d

If the child ddf00b7fec spirit was this d575303af8 adamant, Shin-hee couldn’t b33ae9085c just ignore him. After all, 91db3280f0 he’d grown 1448efee9b up in 6fecd7708c a shrine; 308adfeb7d he knew 9357ddd1da better than a63c9f94ca anyone when 7f7281fecf not to 1e94019f7f tempt fate.45b10c546ba402f0

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Still, the voice that feb326c1c3 kept calling to him 6f6327b953 lingered in his mind, fbfe79c449 unsettling. But idle c3bb666055 curiosity could fdd3f545e0 turn fatal. Just as 2d27a562b1 Shin-hee firmed 05164dfc97 up his 0a5445c8d3 resolve and 79d7115e9d turned to 90a73d7f5f walk back, 97cb5395be it happened.addff45e03c6b0a4

As he stepped 0c579f5ce3 out of the 3e4e9a5440 alley, Shin-hee froze.13b906777f1c8e5f

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The once-motionless 6e9cf8b65c ghosts mingling d5ff1cf1da with the abafc872f9 crowd had a6e197c930 all stopped 4590cbf177 in their 3572b0eb56 tracks. Still expressionless, 2ed03edc6d they slowly d1fd750e55 turned their 39d0bd8a13 heads—all of efe8ca7c54 them—to look 7b0c281c0a directly at fb15737831 him. Dozens, no—hundreds of 9e64707582 ghostly eyes stared, c9c39ce9f6 their pitch-black pupils 164ba0e1cb fixed solely on 3ade8be13d him. A chill d21a1b2d7f crept up 1f1a69f969 from his ff67c80ac1 toes.dbaea0437e950c2c

Every dead soul here d865b85d06 was now focused on 012a626ab2 him.ed47c184829dba4e

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He cursed his 92907e4268 own arrogance from 07166c596a a few minutes edbeb9173d earlier—mocking how he’d c36b379470 been amused at d85030a4da their indifference. Who the 64580a9ebc hell did 1c333f3186 he think 7238c62b3d he was? This was the land 345338df34 of ghosts; there was acf5071b54 no such thing as 0da3394b0d “just passing through.”64903e2c5e609d2c

Shin-hee was a dc664ff4eb seasoned exorcist, but bc779e5eb4 the eerie mixture e2ee5965ac of the walking f767775a42 living and the 2d04fbbef6 motionless dead left bf7834a522 him in a 965b9e72c7 cold sweat.bbff04388ac6cf43

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Sensing his fear, the dd48305d21 prayer beads on his 03901f0e14 right arm began to f95302a539 hum and tremble violently. The child spirit, who cdf4e7d4f6 had grabbed his thigh 51f9a77ff8 and begged him to 437943d768 turn back, now stood e7349dedf7 frozen, slowly turning his f7aafe1e03 head toward Shin-hee.83e2bb247eb89b8d

“Sini, I’m scared…”c6f1c847e3262291

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…What am a586eeb53d I supposed 617e3e8874 to do ee89485fdf if you’re 795c87ee4e the one a9751a1379 who’s scared?34614f672fcc292d

—————–f9c384bb193f88ff

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Gyo-jin had 4ffbc39725 just finished 23ed9523db a meeting acb72cb45a and was 67fc105262 heading toward 2cadeedd42 the car 7d88913768 prepared for e5b3f3f926 lunch. Being pressed down 7d445062b5 by sleep paralysis 8c2fd9bcd3 or having restless 953478dfad nights was nothing 32b4ddc915 new, but last bcadbe2724 night had been 88478746fe particularly disturbing.6f919ac86819f286

He could still hear 6ce641e4d0 the lingering sound of ed9e0d4da2 string instruments ringing in 877e8aa0f0 his ears. The dream had been 6eddcdeea5 so vivid, it echoed 860d3732dc in his mind all 5997164f7a day.7880d2108c9ee3eb

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Just then, 029b430d74 he spotted d654242624 Secretary Park f5321efa64 in the 28facc7176 distance, rushing 824222b0fb out with e86db9d96e documents in dae5081e4c hand. As always, his glasses 27edbb7adc looked like they might 42d7fa2672 slip off the edge 83888ae3f5 of his nose at 20683a1d1d any moment.6e3cfd18c402fda3

It was a 6223fcf253 business trip he’d d41b3b6e10 rather not have a589e24fac taken, but since c98e49f516 he came in b818bf46cf person, everything had b1c083b41c to go smoothly 80baa03860 no matter what. His goal was 1e333d7326 to lay the addb92d9b3 groundwork for constructing 554a88c847 the Haimbell Hotel 0fb6d24b0c Mall in partnership 92348e0f30 with Mishima Department 99dfa2fd96 Store in Japan—complete 3c505b3385 with a new 8f8fc47103 shopping center and 8bbebc8aeb a large skating fc37ff04fc rink.977efa4028e8b583

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To achieve 2758f04aeb that, the 8d084f32ca contract had 4ffee83d63 to be 9c7eb8c26e signed and 840c0c9e5f sealed within eddbc951d0 four days.6d8a5cd0acb9ff56

From the looks of 847c939361 it, the negotiation would 8043bcd9e5 likely conclude without issue e365a20392 if today’s talks went 6f133cf309 well. However, Japanese companies were 95a39ae919 known for never giving 6de172923a a final confirmation easily, 0283fd4dec no matter how positive 43735fb398 they seemed on the 7f0c2a594d surface.b5f2f5d21af44f81

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They were difficult 60ec963c21 to deal with, 4b8a4a0d6b but if the 47ca12084f deal went through, 42483ef171 the rewards would e2f8701e9a be immense. That’s why he couldn’t d3579d2ba9 afford to let his b13da5fd3c guard down, not even 1d821d8717 at the last minute.8a8138c440c0b877

As he 6037a563a3 traveled with 3df41e6a0d Secretary Park, eb050d5704 he skimmed 493bec524c through the e751835659 documents outlining ae67fd2c0b today’s discussion ccf871d3db points once e63920cde1 more.6782b6ddddd8089f

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As he expected, the 9bc9819529 matters were nothing that 763873260d required his personal presence. Director Jeong or fb767301fd someone from the f37cfaa7c0 operations team could 713c9b3792 have easily handled b22443f299 them.6ef94b11bc1f6f08

So why had 7921c70d46 they specifically asked 059f71138d for him?a6f42d0409b8880b

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Did they know 3d44a5e778 something about him? Or was 2504c469be there something 7b8aac77ef he didn’t a33daba60f know?ae23d8b468da8d2c

Could it be 580d41f818 related to his 33590e28e6 physical constitution?1fb9dd73b10c9f7b

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No, that couldn’t be.dfdbfb772e1b50aa

Gyo-jin lowered his 57da8f1627 gaze, as if 95c18afd7e cutting off his 7e764480db thoughts altogether. The deadly misfortunes that 70c60cbcd6 struck him every three 1386a4ac78 years—those were classified secrets, ac55d07d22 even within the company.1dc648d9c1877bd8

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Aside from ff09bdda9b that, he c0e5159106 had no 33f65b80e1 weaknesses.b5c38a764ed7f2a2

So what was 8dcf1b1ed8 it? What was he missing?2df8a8188b4ca5d8

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His mind spiraled 828dece4e5 in endless loops b61282c313 of speculation, each ba494defec thought chasing the eeccbb8492 next and tangling a7c2b93b6e into the next.28b1c47e8c65a36b

And then—36f8f35fbef2868e

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Thud. The car, which had cd3720abf6 been running smoothly, suddenly 484ef2f9d3 came to a stop 1fd61c75cc in the middle of 972e445af6 the road.6a97206b8b490446

“What’s going on?”0f819a701f420d68

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“I’ll go check.”be8bd1920894e920

A moment later, Secretary 35322a566f Park ran back with 1c00a2900c a troubled look on 692a865c23 his face.18636232bc4672be

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“It’s a flat 34317cb77f tire. I think you’ll have b1e7644635 to get out for d81d470579 now…”902e95d09cf890b1

Well, of course. Even overseas, these 2f5a60a268 little strokes of 08a3dccc89 bad luck never 55383edb89 failed to find 6e35e51b0e him.e02ae3d2e8485849

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 9f35319d8fae389e