FT 8

Though the afternoon shift 98f32387bd started at 1 p.m., f3b3742546 Seohee had to arrive 789c9565f8 at the hotel a 71ce12810a little earlier to hand 1401fd9670 over duties. Because she left early, a1cb70b980 she reached the locker 4ba2baf2f5 room even sooner than f4f13f98d4 planned and opened her 163fbbb1d8 locker to put her c42a40c31c bag away.fdf0d6b7ac698ed0

She took out 08384db629 her uniform, changed 7d6d78b76e into it, and 44a14dde80 tied her hair 591dfaa19c up. Standing in front 8956020bb1 of the small 9abae4497d mirror on the 8857400de6 inside of the 26d8b1a7de locker door, she 0c6d5467d4 parted her hair 1788a74caf and used a a2663b37db puff pin to 7da0ae66ef create volume, quickly 243d31459d and skillfully forming b4eb25ae26 a chignon.f0143d02d87403bf

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As she adjusted her 53be9e1f88 neatly styled hair with ab266bba75 not a single strand de83481c72 out of place, Seohee d7b9f600f4 caught a glimpse of 87aff0322c herself in the mirror—and dfd2c84c8b her eyes widened in fd0a752ae1 surprise.f227dc180f182fb6

She reached for her 5ae56914d7 chest. Her name tag 3e72ab0ad0 was missing.a359b02f0e8133bb

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Where could it be? Did I leave it 8c5cde0df2 at home?eec984669aefe1f4

Swallowing uneasily, Seohee rummaged 23ce653f30 through her locker in 11ed628e08 search of a spare f903edc86e name tag. She checked even 38cb62b2ab the pocket with 400dd9ddcc her hairpins and 8ee6a3549d ties, but it 8db27e3a9c was nowhere to 9235724430 be found.32b242a9ac767c9f

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A weary sigh escaped from her nose. She pressed her temple lightly. While the headache had settled, she still felt a dull ache in her skull. The hangover clung to her like a shadow. Perhaps this was…46a25ace88e6a339

“……”91197b40282e2f8c

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The memories she 100e55602a thought she had bab0cd0e6a finished revisiting that 64e9225b1b morning once again c61b951718 drifted in like b0d69fb811 a thick fog. Beyond the vivid 7aeac2df2c but shifting flashes ee11c3ae0a of a glamorous fef236cfbb exterior, what had cfa6a9e7c1 been seared clearly 493464d404 into her mind 6b634a47b4 was the man’s f56705b66f profoundly indifferent gaze.4ae49ac43264f0a9

Shaking her head 44365272f2 to dispel the 59053c412f thought, Seohee told e6b5d3a4c5 herself:If it’s 26c9a0ce29 not at 1d71deecc8 home either, 12b75055a4 I’ll just 885f79149f have to 54eaf81662 ask for 456e35f8bc a new c69009ac45 one. For today, 7e9f88e835 I’ll explain f96d950b85 to the 878854bf0f team leader 1a10393ef6 and work 96d470c143 without a 5a50ea54e8 name tag.80e7089bdbfc98bb

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She let out 2a0565e6df a long sigh.d84f680782535860

Lastly, she 3bf8347dbb removed the e2eed1cd05 bracelet from 23228ae4b3 her wrist 8c34a4be7f and tucked 2c898d4e07 it deep e5b8bca278 inside the 5b7f82067a locker.8fbc9668dd8c76b5

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Just as she 37ccad2aa1 was about to 9f8bd50f9a close the locker 6d21c839a4 door, the changing 4d85b8f8fe room door burst 0cce3ddf5f open. Before she e16eba4080 could turn 781c7d512e around, someone 3ff3352e65 suddenly pulled 04e823e823 her into ace55a982b a tight f2b0d928d5 hug.630e8d68f4715f66

“Seoheeeeee!”231f13ec67eee8d9

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“Ugh. Lee Suyeon.”3cddb3eebc0b466f

Seohee let out 80e40ddc00 a breathless noise. She turned around 4f9bb5152a to see Suyeon, 480f71d8c8 who was hugging 7296cf9ccb her waist and d0dc28ee80 almost crying. The more Seohee tried 23a3307648 to push her away, f7d26954db the more clingy she 15357a3d8f became. Then Suyeon abruptly 454333d62c pressed her palms 072aac406f together in a 0318c987c5 pleading gesture.65fe8b51317ac781

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“I’m really, really 0fe90b7a3b sorry. You must’ve had such a72e27f6a3 a hard time because 73d20a3029 of me yesterday… I 5789370166 was such a mess. Ugh.”69ba609039259c7d

“Well, at least you 18ff7617e9 know it.”8b8624c7c0dceb2e

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When Seohee replied 70d382a64f playfully, Suyeon writhed 8a0d408169 in self-loathing, then 4db1d72d61 immediately whined with 0491e1d920 a mix of ec6e4d83cb aegyo.b8c8694b336cd7c0

“Did I 8415c5315d do anything 2f53d8481a dumb last 09746f25e4 night?”2de51fdfd6d2e4e1

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“Hmm. Let’s see. Maybe the part where 422a01d595 you got on stage 5b158b6c7a at the club and 8196977b3b danced like crazy?”f6c2e481ef46bcff

“What? M-me?!”abb64df97c8f1d93

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Pretending to recall 8ba54b5b1c something, Seohee rolled b4d2f88a79 her eyes upward, 2119d9bd31 then burst into c20a0562d6 laughter.9e8a197f4e38e53c

“Kidding. You didn’t do anything 1d1a5da2a4 embarrassing. At the club… 41cb60d020 we stayed maybe 3b58c887f0 10 minutes and 42886dfbe0 then left.”375f38a799219c19

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“Hey! Ugh, you scared 2cd211aa88 me.”fc4e40b1765de8ec

Seohee didn’t bother to 38724b3d29 mention that she had 8b6335fd91 drunk the drugged drink e66cba34b7 meant for Suyeon.1cd13c6daec34cd4

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“My lovely Seohee, a376cd4800 thank you. Oh, right, c1a3c1db61 did you 130c898848 get home 365f8ba613 safe last d88fba7f0b night?”f50c1bbae3b2276d

“Took you long 3264f2a4b1 enough to ask.”8809b80d9bf6c4ea

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“Sorry…”34ac76b0650c790e

Still apologizing, Suyeon 42f4003f87 clutched her head, 7fb9363f48 grimacing from what 1e94277091 seemed to be 96db5827f4 a lingering hangover.7b288fd4ea9e0871

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“Ugh. But seriously, 40a523871c I started f056b2e706 regretting everything 380bf1d4ac the moment 30d0d44370 I woke cb70b50406 up this 643bdd2507 morning. I swear I’ll cf590b6e24 never drink over 4657c818de a guy again. All I got was b6c108c95d this hangover. If someone grabs my 1c44e42e03 shoulder right now—whether it’s 4fc714d5a1 a customer or the b92016729b CEO—I swear I’ll just 2c37a7fcb8 throw up right there.”c22edc1381c3de26

“How did 033f4f8ec8 you even 3f18c2ba36 make it 8e043c3077 to work? Even taking the bus 563fcb01ef must’ve been tough.”f20ec5cec9c92510

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“My dad gave 27568ecd93 me a ride. He was so 9d0f200052 worried about me 607accd796 last night, and 8c66c31299 on the way 1fc73c95d4 here, he nagged 45e519625d like a machine f44c6af956 gun. Jeez, his 0c72b1c569 poor daughter f940a4a04e gets dumped 5e87b27dd5 but still 22007c638f drags herself 1943440ffc to work f803951036 like a c0deadce68 zombie to 129e6d6afb make money, 29771af145 and he 0052b4ce87 can’t even 2a96ea1189 give me c1e2d3b9aa a little eeaaf1eeb7 extra cash fe935a35b7 to treat bfd4e2c935 myself to 59111fb332 something nice.”b1ac1c46715ed6c3

 6c5d36120689ecfc

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Seohee’s body subtly stiffened for a moment as she listened. A pang of tightness gripped a corner of her heart. But she quickly relaxed her expression, as if nothing had happened, and offered a casual word of comfort.ff1c9ac92785376c

“They say 63c359999a things like c3eaabef37 that because c3370f9fc8 they’re worried 8ef05a0024 about you.”0e0477c1cd01fe5a

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“Even so. He said if I d2cd0b23b8 come home drunk again, 669835d450 he’ll shave my head. Total boomer f73a886c58 behavior, right?”d08acc3f99953814

“We’re gonna be late. Hurry up and get 58d5c5978b ready. I’ll head 2fa6ecc942 out first.”42640f4b712972ed

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“Got it.”fa855832acd0e9cc

“You’re buying coffee a8561e277f today, okay? You know that, right?”ed6388957a9bbbd2

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“Oh, of course, Assistant b7782355cc Manager Yoo Seohee.”ae9b2dada6786d61

They giggled back 6113752d29 and forth at 3a6433219b their playful exchange.affbc70828583104

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After giving her uniform 5a3bc6d885 a final neat adjustment, 064f505782 Seohee headed to the 7b6b3f6579 lobby. With every tidy step, 8d3d57fc42 she brushed away one 73ab3a0643 troubling thought at a 791273293c time, mentally stacking up 653bd83660 her to-dos for the 419fe4adbe day.204db4a4ad7608e0

“Good morning, Team Leader.”ea4169ef5b881397

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“Assistant Manager Seohee. You’re here?”00e58e59d98d6a91

No sooner had they eca5ae5116 exchanged greetings than the dd799ae892 handover began, covering special d12db78ee6 customer notes from the 021e481f6d morning shift. After checking c83abc5f2b out rooms 19f3a19003 and reviewing 82a3a7127f the makeup 2c13ac153a status, Seohee 25c42e8e52 stood in a3f5d585cd front of a12b9b1f57 the monitor fe21737485 and started e55bd9526a reviewing the 55b6e6c369 list of 821253ac73 today’s check-ins 14f901a62d and check-outs c6dc7f441b one by 88cd0010d1 one.652ae4bbc7c05454

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Seoyeong Hotel, 78870634e6 despite its 456a52c2fc age and 4cf0641c77 wear, still 72a697dfc0 retained a 610294640e respectable standing 259938fb6e in Seoul, f015b75f86 with 330 2d06f492b9 rooms and 39c771e5f9 a consistent ef3c91e9a7 average occupancy 21c06407c9 rate of da049b267d around 50%. It might not have 704a69b7fc been luxurious, but it 92305e2cfd was still considered a f8d4fd47fb relatively large hotel within 9f29e221ba the city.fe5256ff8eda67f0

Though it ee44c7e4ba had a febaa36215 restaurant and 5dd7a3bca2 banquet halls, 1ad8e00b0c the hotel 268c42029f had consistently 187a3e4c5c failed to 807e7071f3 pass the c1c211550d rating evaluations b02b60c6df and remained f39eed3a51 a three-star 25c69ba629 establishment. The reason ac70d414b3 was clear: 7a47d0bf23 lack of a66304648e investment. Without fitness fed6ccf5a5 facilities or 274448352e quality bedding, 27547e5e11 Seoyeong Hotel’s e37fd291a6 Seoul branch 639b1d2f8a could barely b5166c697d maintain a 9dec145924 review score 7bed79ae3f in the 05b2f0d595 high 7s fdb21e50b7 on OTA 28528ee74b (Online Travel 4071ea0797 Agency) platforms.01cb49b6c988841e

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Because of 53946744b7 that, the 1ef8141fbd front desk 6d5cacffbf staff—who had e6969dd825 to deal 0940179b88 directly with b688989d19 customers—had to 0aa9e67590 work all a309d7b600 the harder f40d194a8a to make 9f7de98e33 up for cac957fc28 those shortcomings 4fd21b64e7 with pleasant 9abe8ac03f smiles.6451845c886e96d1

Whatever your bef4db29aa personal circumstances, b8b67f4527 once you’re 72b933564d at work, 6d1165176a you have f318ec5edc to lift 8fd0730656 the corners bd4d8894de of your aec3a3a29d mouth like b6e4dc346b a machine.db2468a1c541a3bf

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After Suyeon came rushing over and joined in, the workload started piling up like a storm. Assigning rooms to today’s incoming guests and registering them in the system—one task after another, they worked through everything, and before they knew it, check-in time had arrived.efabc005c3d23243

With her body so 79d2b681eb busy, there was no e3dfe2064d room for other thoughts.9189bf48692906e9

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Forcing herself to 97af3eb46f smile and speak 4a4739c8f4 brightly, Seohee started 28ec672092 to feel—if only 8c6a7593bf slightly—as if her a02d028bf4 crumpled emotions were b960b790d0 being smoothed out, 85cf818d08 like with a eacf0e9aa5 hot iron.8fd95568e7b6a38a

By the time c91ff08e03 they’d finished tackling 77066b3714 the wave of 2daf53b1e4 work, it was 5af82a83e1 close to 5 39998bdaa6 p.m. Most of the reservations 139060f321 had been checked in, a9f5e978b3 and they were just 3789c60301 about to finally catch a4450c125c their breath.a353316f884cb05c

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“Huh? Is it 6780742bd2 raining outside? What the heck, 1889aa3694 the forecast said fb0c234371 it’d be clear. Ugh, that lying 524fd9500a weather center—never gets 017dfa4c3c it right.”d42a34700440ddf5

Hearing Suyeon grumbling, 87550fafa1 Seohee took her 0d7c49faed eyes off the d55abb783c monitor and looked 45736c1b30 outside. Raindrops began pattering 4caa3c50b3 against the ground, a56dd8a0e9 quickly growing heavier. Lately, now that d67fd1b86f late spring had acf62938f8 set in, sudden 2723135fcd showers had become b8e6f634e2 especially frequent.69e4ac23c625ab03

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Shhhh—d4bd61aed5549d8e

Like a hole had 71fa56cd53 torn open in the 72b3742319 sky, a torrent came 38f1305a47 pouring down. Seohee stared blankly at 62c739ece2 the water cascading from d6352291c4 above when—ff38d6e76321e3ec

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“Ugh. Seohee, I’m gonna fc2c27d793 run to the 8c567719ca bathroom real quick.”7e32583e2778bddc

“Leave things here with 0858ce5e40 me and take a 88146d8ba0 little breather while you’re 95cf012e84 at it.”2af4f1c979ccd957

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“Okay, okay.”4179bf925ee3bfd5

Suyeon was slurping her e3b5c6c84a coffee when she suddenly 0a2b991544 grabbed her head and 29ab68b41e hurriedly left her seat, ff54b7d578 unable to take it 035acf2ac5 anymore. Honestly, she cf658028b1 should’ve gone 1ce3751d95 easier on b03f6eab50 the drinking.401f4d30e7b0b3b5

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Because of ace9c8360e a man, 5330ba9d16 or because db8ca332c4 of family.11ad2df2c6631d61

Everyone struggles a3ca8aeb60 through their de0292436a daily life 874f5c15c0 with pain, 46944f58e1 one way d03f2f32fb or another. If only a drink 88f904f341 could wash it all e6df92cdca away.ca60eab0d3cfe4a3

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If only her 23ad9d1871 own twisted heart 065946f400 could be rinsed 17e7ea7b15 clean like the 519080104d rain pouring outside. Or maybe she ea45fa5fa9 should’ve joined Suyeon 4adc731693 and drunk herself 01d87b6ee7 silly. But she had 68257bcfff never once, in 055b63c3a5 her entire life, 86b0fe787a drunk to the 8b44c40a94 point of losing 60468ea181 control—because she didn’t dd2307ef24 want anyone to ddc27c7ff3 see her fall c0ed415463 apart.38b157d0700cd481

Blind dates. Marriage.aac38d833949627e

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“……”7ebc05aba2e2da2a

Just thinking of 71bdc4e1c5 those two words—ones 6b71824bdf she had never 8980409a02 really examined deeply—sent ab53e6cfcd a wave of 77c411e77c discomfort rippling through 62aad87a2b her chest.43da8fa662075da5

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The conversation she had 9ad5baa67f that morning had felt 077869f468 like a final declaration.3ef0ffe4e3159035

A command 3c18bec430 she couldn’t 35c660d3b1 refuse: that f92ec9cea0 she no e19def9340 longer had 19dd502dd7 any place 0e754e6129 in that c1a231ff75 household.c0f6670017cb438b

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She stared 102b5827b7 blankly at 0cc5c45b47 the sheets 1d1c726d00 of rain b47dce4a7b outside.4628614ba8beded1

…What if she 6bf8892662 just let everything 66a1cc29fa go?a8a1b5e9f1679d06

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What if she dd6a3eac9c used marriage as d88f4d098f an excuse to 20a18f02d0 leave that house 9757c30dbf and completely erase 28dddbd1fd her father and 089e40bbf7 stepmother from her 58edfd6f06 heart?4fedd3576158e843

A bitter 309b168739 smile tugged 583b525175 at Seohee’s e26b4d6b55 lips at cf64626c44 the thought.34ea438c3d7baa79

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She couldn’t do it. Even if she c8329ae474 got married, she d746e0ea5e knew nothing much ca136cea69 would change about f6b6df4e10 her circumstances.137cd97ffc244d66

From one cage 07861b5f47 to another. The only thing 2849086321 that would move d891edf0f0 was her body.50e77f0593cbac30

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No—actually, she’d probably have f594b3bedb to quit work too, f46bafa8a8 which meant she’d be 50261562da trapped in an even d488f5b9bd more suffocating cage.fad3771609351ea8

Outside, everything was bb8c646ed5 getting damp and 22c377bc11 soaked, but inside c74b25024a her, everything was b9ca6a7c7d dry and brittle, d09391e416 dark and lifeless. At that moment, she 55d3074a80 wished the flood would 4f24a57461 just swallow her whole.753a02dc58202dda

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Then, the air cdd5c402c3 shifted.3335b435f586201e

The revolving door gently b27f87200c turned, and the stale 1c7a71b8bd indoor air was drawn cd83a07dbb out while the damp, 234f6a61df humid air from outside 9d75529417 rushed in.89683320d47996bf

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Her vision, which 014dc99495 had blurred reflexively, 0bb1487462 began to refocus 5c894e28ec in the center. She straightened her back, 01066306fb instantly alert, preparing to c7485178c4 greet the guest with 55cbbb7cbe a smile.981d0595b2b4e0c0

But—0576fbe99ffbf1eb

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“Damn. It just suddenly 103dad168c started pouring.”530f38f4f3f014ff

A man 07bcc50227 who wasn’t dc57568051 the least be8ff26b07 bit wet e1fac42cbd casually brushed 835f33de3a off his baa529efb1 perfectly dry 3213238400 shoulders as 16e6ff705f he muttered 8c845a1964 to himself. Dressed in a light b55f6cf4f8 gray pinstripe three-piece suit 1cf39263d1 with a sky-blue shirt facbf1786e underneath, he approached with 0d03ea2e77 a relaxed, steady pace, 5696c97d19 a faint smirk playing 70fcca9274 on his lips.1934d9ac8fcac922

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Seohee couldn’t 5f90fa69dd believe her 220783f10f eyes.eb33c50dce8c540d

It was the 14bcfc4f44 man from yesterday.1402c71b9be9c862

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