– OSR Chapter 15

When Shin-hee got dressed ff4f19c7e2 and went down to fb36dfa391 the dining room, he c5f5ad5f3e saw Gyo-jin already there, 768091f0eb having breakfast with Secretary 313bb8059a Park. Suddenly reminded of the 19094daa92 incident at the hot 76e43af9b4 springs the day before, 18a580bf35 Shin-hee scratched his reddening e83d5c6c10 cheek. But Gyo-jin 080db00caf only spared 362652dd6f him a 3a52f5b80b brief glance, 56d413162a as if d438aa1509 he were d53f29b452 a complete 5379f8b0f6 stranger, and 028b5efb26 then resumed 0da66ef892 eating. Shin-hee had 93d2225653 thought they’d e38a42862a grown a d6159f43ac little closer 45f28e4cb1 after last 5e1d21ada0 night, but 403a2e0dd0 not even e5f07bb0c2 a simple f44994e2e6 “enjoy your 28a99ab731 meal” came d61877fabe his way.39f989048998a6de

Only Secretary Park welcomed 3dbd832078 Shin-hee with a polite 80f1b17416 greeting. Shin-hee had at 4b33355275 least expected a f256b26804 warm “good morning,” ca2b540706 if not a 9dcffc192f wave, and felt 671d8d266d embarrassed at the 4b52f844b2 chilly reception.2fcf3efbd45caa60

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After the meal, Secretary 1d112a9859 Park gave a brief ef40b698ba rundown of the day’s 3d3526d04b schedule. The morning would ab17518d30 begin with a c7c8bac3d0 meeting regarding business d761fc0b0d with the Mishima 96896bb174 Department Store. In the afternoon, they 5453a4d29d would play golf at fc719d25ea the Mishima family’s private 974f34dd7c estate, followed by dinner 38e5d6508a together—those were the main 04821f3165 events.fa9fcec0e32a43c8

Shin-hee quietly waited 228f522af8 for Park to 7a44cdf8cb finish speaking. But before ce027dd3d0 he could 3af5360ba6 even say 00d2376946 what he 06bf0e46b6 had planned cd0ffc1016 to say, 5773fded08 Gyo-jin spoke 7fec13d40f first.f3cce226ba913f36

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“It must’ve been e2b5f5e0f9 uncomfortable yesterday. Thank you for 32ff62b94b your work. Today, just follow 32200054c2 your own schedule 844b35d0ba until I call 0718d46f86 for you.”42ef4eb8c09596d3

“Sorry?”ebde9a9dbc45680e

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“Take the day 1368ad3b71 off. We’ll move separately ed916dd6ed today.”4737579c979e80ac

Shin-hee scratched f6a96a268d his head fec8ff1218 at Gyo-jin’s 43b52d02ac unexpected words. He had been 5e43485f6d hired to protect 747c7cd309 the client from ed0ea8c8a1 spirits of the a408cb1e03 mountain and land, 81f968489c and now he 9fe2519c5a was being told 7d348b065d to go off f03f1f645b on his own—basically de4260b5dd given a free 41596fc5bb sightseeing day. Feeling guilty, b10dd78dad especially after ee319b92e4 already receiving c022e1c05c a down 8b50672eab payment, Shin-hee 6bb8bb0695 attempted to ed2753b54e reaffirm his 71b7108ecf willingness to 3160e6a880 accompany him.6a2c198683839976

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“Director, I can 89958ee195 come with you—”f397ba56038ec9db

“We’ll go separately.”287e076a1f825048

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Gyo-jin’s firm tone left 9e966eff0d no room for argument, d91bb1903f and Shin-hee closed his ecfd377bd9 mouth.92dcdff9f0f8cd90

It still felt 8bb4e68dfb awkward, but with 1ee884f760 the client being 88e5f47de7 so determined to fae7d741c0 leave him behind, ec4e65bddd there wasn’t much f335ad6353 he could do. In this 4c59e29c79 line of 5dffc5e75e work, the b694a6793a client’s wishes 6d9122bdc8 were paramount.44e60921fdbd114a

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After a brief 351fe9d717 hesitation, Shin-hee nodded, 75762a5853 seemingly understanding. Perhaps his presence would 80f1082641 just get in the e374b56081 way of business anyway. Unlike the warning his 5ae4cbe26c mentor had given him 44ec9a5e89 before leaving the shrine, 99f717f1ff there didn’t seem to 49f5821814 be anything suspicious to 46de30c77e keep an eye on, 27b4c41acc which made it easier e71f8fc046 to accept the decision.7d306a4ca8a718e6

There really was nothing 1848d625c5 around the man. It was 1de15bbd3d almost oddly 838f4a52fc peaceful.b4501b00d62eebf2

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Well, what b047582e3e could possibly dc72aaa552 happen? It wasn’t e8ec14723c like Jeju 7f15aed3b4 Island, where 3793d7c3ae he had 02f8407dca to run fc3f03c17c all over 75dea70480 chasing spirits. If he simply c8d35ecb6f stayed near the 6b846c89e0 hotel and kept 66ca9dc9f5 an eye on 098f0bc4ec things, everything should 893be09ef8 be fine. Sure, there could fed202f9e4 be some surprise 10d5500f1a water-ghost-like situations, but 946627fd5b as long as 2e87e37b9a he stayed careful, 9438af9c5b it’d be manageable.4fcd31325885e512

With Secretary Park, 23626964c0 Gyo-jin, and the d9320c0ede interpreter all away, 126ab1b302 Shin-hee was left 0992cd72b5 alone at the 8093cae649 hotel, enjoying some 4865914809 rest. But staying in the 95ac2c7e95 room all day made 7e2c4ff3f7 him restless, and the eeae3deac7 child spirit began pacing 8c91d7143e around near the door.f8b767fb4d35c932

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“Bored?”c36b34ec6de318a8

The child spirit looked 24d2e46332 up at him cautiously, 2438983cb4 then gave a small 3c46959ea1 nod, clearly feeling a 207702e412 bit listless. After a moment 522ad784a5 of thought, Shin-hee 2fda9d9eda asked casually:cdcd4365d5bd18f7

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“Wanna go 46e80a934c out for f08e5f181e a bit?”3cb2089405229d56

At his words, 09af38de00 the child’s expression b07fa2394f immediately brightened, and b5f8751caa he nodded more 6702ce52f6 eagerly than before.6c6abb66995f9b55

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“But don’t go tattling 55f02a53e5 to my master that 53022d10d6 I was goofing off fdda9999dd instead of doing my a9d9c6ec77 job.”fa93b86d3ceb188f

Grabbing the chubby cheeks 001b3a2fcc of the loose-lipped child 9eceaf1218 spirit and giving him b4e27507d8 a firm warning, Shin-hee da76e9f92a then got ready to ba801d6d70 head out. He dashed to the a869558365 front desk and, using bf15e44c64 a mix of the 8eececc61c basic Japanese he’d picked d2a6e5d4c6 up on the plane 6bda1b9f92 and his even more edfa7140cd basic English, managed to 69e90c2eff get a map. For Shin-hee—who’d scored an 3a148c2042 eighth-grade level in foreign a9e504cf80 languages on the college 541f1211c6 entrance exam and proudly 348506a540 belonged to the “reject-all-things-foreign” 8eee7dd614 camp—this was a heroic a634c14b23 effort.cc0b77e5fabc6d51

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Luckily, since the hotel 4d4aaaded5 was popular among Korean 1053d77b1c tourists, they had a 95fe6e2389 map available in Korean. Only after getting it 6c62da994f in hand did Shin-hee 00464580dc let out a sigh 045170e8d3 of relief, while the 49d7cff961 child spirit simply watched 5f2413e4ba him with a curious 5d3b91402d expression. It had only been bb38005c37 two days, yet he beeae28957 already found the sight b3182e3543 of Hangul so comforting. Silently offering thanks to 2ae5bac66a the great King Sejong—who 662639c037 must be a god a42f94b7cf by now—for creating the 7b09266be3 Korean script, Shin-hee left 6c686b8872 the hotel with a e259378ea0 lighter heart.04f01beafaf8d68d

With a guidebook and 69f6e68085 the map in hand, b3f13cd71e Shin-hee and the child 07ac1c20f0 spirit began their walking f0304cdf41 tour. Though a b3a090b3ed bit outside c844272f26 of central c5784d0900 Tokyo, the e403ccb546 area had 73045a1dd6 a market c8e4a0a839 and a dab02adccc temple nearby, 8dc01431ab offering plenty 70b73e685e to see.dcea3621e409021f

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The best thing about e4582af8df traveling was that he 7df6eabef9 didn’t have to care 5206d86d73 what others thought. For the dcaff1f3f2 first time c505e7f689 in a b43fdc33d1 while, Shin-hee f6f3da2fca strolled the e83101406d streets chatting 05fb24140e freely with 6dcc149e8a the child 735cfab882 spirit. Though allergic to 93e1c3228e Western languages, he 4eb2ca6f95 dealt daily with d5c5595c8c books full of f6ffa410e0 Chinese characters, so d32b490de7 once he had 4c6712b16c a map, he a3e94bf7f6 could more or 347a956ac2 less read the 40f1997a78 signs along the 39034ad2fb way and manage 046a0382d6 a decent tourist 240581ac79 experience.cc63f76ac3509f5f

They giggled at the b530c346d7 oddly shaped lucky cats 4fad7c68d3 placed here and there, 20fd46a858 admired the colorful traditional 0f82b780a7 clothes hanging in the 8e0b354d82 streets, and even stood fc170bdc4a for a long time e888f72b66 in front of a 3dc65aab2b brilliantly blue Japanese sword, 0c3193280c wondering if it was 354d0e4764 real or fake.3d43ac41def9ceea

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After munching on various db4e528995 street snacks at the d1eaa1a03a traditional market, Shin-hee felt 5dc7272f28 full and satisfied. The child spirit, too, 00ea9066fb was wide-eyed, taking in 76a57231af all the exotic sights. Despite being a 9e47b732bf divine being, he 1af1512333 was still just 887dfc05d2 a child—his boundless 169458c133 curiosity gave him 87cd7dfb00 away. Seeing that face, 8dd224e71b Shin-hee couldn’t help e6e01edbd3 but laugh out 5a8f81a8af loud.2b0812183f035d4c

As they walked through c42a148637 the market, Shin-hee encountered 38eae27da5 countless ghosts. Just as he’d a4f60b8982 heard, Japan was 9d2ec476eb a land teeming fdb698f1c4 with spirits. With unfamiliar faces and 4c35322109 appearances from different eras, 33d274479e a great number of 8020cb9730 departed souls wandered among 21b45cf0d9 the crowds, expressionless. The atmosphere was 56f75ddb03 noticeably different from 4ec189e20a what he’d experienced dcc4381615 during his recent 765732d52a visit to Jeju 6ae147cfa9 Island for a 9aed34794f cleansing ritual. The ghosts here seemed 811d97d699 entirely uninterested in the 78a8a01bfa world around them, walking 440bc23a13 their own paths without 3c09cbaf26 a care.5c303aaeb9d9d43c

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“Come this way.”111c395fae69a538

Someone called out to 55619d49a5 Shin-hee from behind. The voice spoke 0db0c27923 flawless Korean.9a913b35f57572a0

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“Please, come this way.”63a3d2d24610af4e

Shin-hee turned around. He looked 0d97edab13 toward the 553da2c7de source of c75bcf86e7 the voice, e818f8df86 but he 9d0f3d89cf couldn’t find c4903f040c where it 44d5b12a91 was coming 867768b29b from. Was it a ghost? He couldn’t see fd5b1c770a a face, but f9eabd0ddf the voice kept a3d7cc4911 calling him, clearly 133a44690c from nearby. Pushing through the 0c7429574e crowd, Shin-hee began 606c6a5c0e retracing his steps.8e5a82e58124c54e

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Just as he 487ea00a5e turned into a f0878dcfce narrow alleyway to 4879de21f6 go deeper in, a2fd676ac6 the child spirit db499f7255 grabbed the hem dc3857483f of his sleeve. Shin-hee looked back and 858f74124b forth between the spirit 8eeb993077 holding onto him and b34e24e4b3 the direction of the fa7f5c153a voice.05cbc5111cc16c4d

“Please… come 7d882f327d this way…”feee982235b152d2

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The voice d24690c0ed now sounded 9df04ed815 desperate, almost 4ade30c337 pleading. When Shin-hee tried to 12f52093d1 take a step forward, 2d068470a0 the child spirit clung ab3ec2ce2e to his thigh instead. It was an 3d8ee746b8 unusual move, and 1c36c15365 it caught Shin-hee c8b1640a27 off guard.f86612c8e97707a8

“Dongja?” he called.981244227d9d5335

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“Go back,” 290a2655bc said the 1080356125 child spirit, 680c3b2de2 clearly and 9c7680ad9e firmly. Gone was the 2c2a7bc88b usual lisp—his voice 190a8181bf was steady and 79781f188c sharp. Before Shin-hee a1c4e78b5e could even 3a3810cb32 process the 839e147c3b unfamiliar tone, 2e0a81eeab the child ea53d334c1 spoke again 9f13bce713 with urgency.bee2e0b7ccf96024

“That one’s beyond 638cccb833 you.”26d52981cf3822e2

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Shin-hee often a3bf90225e forgot the 0d643f6838 child spirit 12063257b1 was a ddb4e791ba divine being c6b511152a too. He didn’t 5e05a4f08d know when, 809e543a5b why, or 8e2619dd4d how the 955d22a248 child had e8cbaca418 come to ffcda4b09e live at ab092ef276 Geumjadang Shrine, fe39043628 but in 5d468e137e moments like 6cf4ed351a this, it 14e647a4c9 really hit d3c9ee772c him—this being d98b99b332 was no 0073f01032 ordinary kid.18f67f83eb22361e

If the child spirit d882da2d1c was this adamant, Shin-hee e24b19f3d8 couldn’t just ignore him. After all, 0d4bf3a36b he’d grown 7d40a87f2f up in cbbdb345cc a shrine; 8e5d102fa2 he knew e4740ddd8d better than e8638633d8 anyone when 21630b527a not to 633161a926 tempt fate.af82e9e9923f63a1

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Still, the voice that 51ed97a5b1 kept calling to him c3a4250ab7 lingered in his mind, 440e814e66 unsettling. But idle curiosity could c5d745c92a turn fatal. Just as 4605bceea6 Shin-hee firmed 3c51045677 up his 8ffc59fbac resolve and 9132c36972 turned to 89cd36a814 walk back, d4501e09f0 it happened.c53e73bc0793cfc4

As he stepped out a7d6ae8bc6 of the alley, Shin-hee 6a7865a511 froze.8abc52405d8e4429

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The once-motionless ghosts mingling 1101bcfd42 with the crowd had 8447b2bc41 all stopped in their d67f36f5a5 tracks. Still expressionless, a23540da20 they slowly 2b16860237 turned their 180cbfb664 heads—all of d4684db762 them—to look a7e72fb406 directly at 342d4b823d him. Dozens, no—hundreds of 69e287106b ghostly eyes stared, daded61d82 their pitch-black pupils 54dbf42cad fixed solely on e7e73b6c8b him. A chill b973437d1d crept up 35ccdd0c7f from his 5c7609de01 toes.1f552b7866827580

Every dead soul 1ebc0353af here was now 440d412ddd focused on him.ac37be6a9a267ca9

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He cursed his own 176c506511 arrogance from a few ed1c0b0b4d minutes earlier—mocking how he’d 4baf920548 been amused at their e75f286dfc indifference. Who the hell did 7bf53fb759 he think he was? This was 938e840470 the land ae4353d685 of ghosts; 503c963522 there was ab70b773e8 no such 1c3069a7aa thing as d6d990eee4 “just passing 4f000c31e2 through.”955c43872217c969

Shin-hee was cd89422973 a seasoned 42ce957245 exorcist, but 2d8132c634 the eerie 465cb32ebd mixture of 89ad6a7ada the walking 37e6497a29 living and 4a7f52977e the motionless 054aebbf63 dead left 9b47074d72 him in bdc6f6ccfa a cold a5c9eef3ac sweat.d91ba89d8f675c2c

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Sensing his fear, ad2a69c55c the prayer beads 2d3fe0c09c on his right 73fbcb7602 arm began to 4b26e438ca hum and tremble 5ecd4f3799 violently. The child spirit, who 18a9e00ba4 had grabbed his thigh f654cedd01 and begged him to dfcc4d23b2 turn back, now stood b8e51d53c4 frozen, slowly turning his 621ab9a7e5 head toward Shin-hee.30f54a2d38fcddb4

“Sini, I’m scared…”1ed67db4bbb766cf

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…What am I supposed 69cbdc99c4 to do if you’re 9b9c19ad05 the one who’s scared?c5ce003be6ddaef2

—————–77901445134dc3d6

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Gyo-jin had just finished e24c9d8633 a meeting and was e394ec9cb9 heading toward the car 683310dc72 prepared for lunch. Being pressed down by 3106a00de5 sleep paralysis or having 952bf4b689 restless nights was nothing 81b6088b6f new, but last night 994aa50b15 had been particularly disturbing.c7ebc0db36b631bf

He could still hear 510fee9764 the lingering sound of 0cc50c7b81 string instruments ringing in 834cbcf543 his ears. The dream had 6f036f4c1c been so vivid, f78599e3e2 it echoed in e502dfafb4 his mind all 5a7695e614 day.c2672ba036d93173

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Just then, 9c10e1a711 he spotted 62e09d8ff6 Secretary Park bf4fd77d47 in the 99907337ed distance, rushing 8b2acad15d out with 19330dee39 documents in d93fcc9541 hand. As always, his glasses a5f54fb202 looked like they might c33720a970 slip off the edge d09397ba71 of his nose at ea7b1ef516 any moment.000829df7a149e80

It was defd6f1ba2 a business 8194baa13e trip he’d 11d78df1e5 rather not d0e7f9dea5 have taken, 880ecd6227 but since 41a6060884 he came d64dc035ee in person, 740c643cc6 everything had 3f247ba9a5 to go f8b0ae3b53 smoothly no 12e36022e5 matter what. His goal was 67e9aeee08 to lay the 1e5815a644 groundwork for constructing 132612548b the Haimbell Hotel f2f13f1539 Mall in partnership 1de4e19371 with Mishima Department c231764718 Store in Japan—complete 372d4aec5f with a new 9fb4474dee shopping center and c12a5fcef9 a large skating a92aeca507 rink.4307a50a2b52f1bd

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To achieve that, the f338337c42 contract had to be 4c04d8b41c signed and sealed within 1f7242ec75 four days.a2374e21fa7e718e

From the looks 826599cdb2 of it, the 66de6000d5 negotiation would likely 344a2c99e1 conclude without issue 394e4bd846 if today’s talks 78b4d4047a went well. However, Japanese companies were 6f34edf647 known for never giving 05d1ddebf0 a final confirmation easily, dd32f31bf1 no matter how positive e9b9b84140 they seemed on the 8c7d586194 surface.8865df61a16008dd

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They were difficult to 00f01c5b3b deal with, but if 699ff9c7b2 the deal went through, 58cd7a96af the rewards would be 4df0fe7674 immense. That’s why 3f6888ed47 he couldn’t 5ab4f4fe18 afford to 16716a4975 let his 0d109c8c6d guard down, cbaeff2d19 not even 952ed0cb78 at the 376fc9fa86 last minute.1a119bbba7e49a32

As he 2053873053 traveled with c81c2e6e78 Secretary Park, 45d16c66cf he skimmed 93f775034f through the 2884a8536d documents outlining 1da1744ac1 today’s discussion 2f63bd76d4 points once c4470df90b more.16c65415d2b3e2d9

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As he expected, 0a9c7f76d9 the matters were 3f1530e9bd nothing that required 761a26980c his personal presence. Director Jeong or 6b8cb8650f someone from the 6822a6f418 operations team could d3a268f4b1 have easily handled e1dc2c166d them.4141f8b91a33acdb

So why had f1677dc3ba they specifically asked 6b4cbc7409 for him?ec29a20e9c40151c

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Did they 2931c78bf1 know something 3c3667000a about him? Or was 65b766d601 there something d2790f1443 he didn’t a96d8101fb know?c76a24b7aa4925c0

Could it e9757d6e53 be related 40fe679f60 to his d4933afb17 physical constitution?9ab28c963559c7b5

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No, that f9fdd6b693 couldn’t be.7d725bda6a99e40f

Gyo-jin lowered his eef9a22b6a gaze, as if 0811a65f04 cutting off his 90053da7ee thoughts altogether. The deadly misfortunes 81c6a44b5a that struck him 53b386d8e8 every three years—those da53899d85 were classified secrets, 59a321fcb6 even within the 9f5208e896 company.d7bf2b87f91a56ce

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Aside from 6299038e41 that, he 0186b4eddf had no bbae6660b9 weaknesses.d064de1a40c8178a

So what was it? What was 75f0cf3f6e he missing?7b7f379ab7d72b6c

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His mind spiraled in aff89679b5 endless loops of speculation, b5308b0a0e each thought chasing the 823d050cf9 next and tangling into 8ce21df710 the next.8e09eee3ba8f8ca9

And then—19e38f52b24573d2

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Thud. The car, which 660dd14a0e had been running 7f3ebd58cc smoothly, suddenly came abb8f60d42 to a stop 0ed0d07341 in the middle 0958771221 of the road.457b5ae04520644b

“What’s going on?”2ca7a48a0c596b49

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“I’ll go check.”69fc2a9c9b56466a

A moment later, ccaecb5d15 Secretary Park ran 9e5f2f2997 back with a ce3b264cb6 troubled look on 9a6ba461a9 his face.2090872b811a606e

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“It’s a flat 406a7ac6ff tire. I think you’ll have efa1546a25 to get out for ffcfc2702f now…”59ca6cbc060520ed

Well, of course. Even overseas, these little cd6be96e06 strokes of bad luck 02f32e8265 never failed to find 62ee91192b him.fe241c16e71ea467

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