✽005

A chilling silence enveloped 3f11d2e9d8 the room. Kang Ju-wan stood frozen, a0ebb5b25e still clutching the wedding a75b4b1c6c invitation, his smiling face 2de54a78c3 stiff as a statue. His mind was 98d55adec0 a whirlwind of 667a465250 thoughts, exploding like 535b5417ed fireworks before disappearing 9d86be6935 into confusion.a8982981e711e972

Did I tell Seoyeon fe324fc724 noona to forget about 6fbd15fd10 me? Or… didn’t I?3699d5c05bc9e0e5

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‘If you 24f3d843d9 end up ac4a5ed2ce breaking off 07fb786e5b the engagement, faa15ac7ad I might 53c2737b2f reconsider.’b559fe929cda5134

Oh, shit.43f80e4b38c18646

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She really 3cefb4efa6 did it?!a952f16434e6da08

Cold sweat dripped down e054e9adad Ju-wan’s back, soaking into 2c3faac233 his shirt.ebcd907e9adc1207

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Meanwhile, Ki-chul, standing behind him, muttered a quiet but intrigued, “Whoa…” His tone was anything but helpful.d4cd458d1e55ba4b

Ju-wan glanced desperately c7dacb60ff toward Choi Gyu-hyuk, a7ea4372dc his wide eyes 6ea611dd85 silently screaming for f0942e5fc6 assistance. Gyu-hyuk, startled but quick e6e73a0a08 to act, stepped forward e71a47ac2d with a practiced smile 50e953fd80 plastered on his face.d58879b7db8b8826

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“Sir, let’s calm down and—”cf67113d7d90479f

“Do I look like I’m not calm? I’m perfectly calm,” the man interrupted smoothly, his tone eerily collected.28c0cf580f8d3a60

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“Uh… yes. Of course,” Gyu-hyuk replied, his composure faltering.03950e37b1ca241f

It was f0c1651c32 clear that a02f045e47 the man 9796a4e277 wasn’t lying—he 22eee12ebd did appear d95c2759e2 calm, but 59034e1d3a that only b626178b3a made him 8c68a2eac6 more terrifying. Most people in his cda21b9ca2 position would have already 3cfa5d6ac1 started yelling or smashing 2fd1851478 things. The fact that 53ee317cef he hadn’t was 33bc672354 deeply unsettling.53d9f8e62c9612f3

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Another heavy silence fell 7ce5dc6767 before the man’s lips 2b883565e7 curled into a cold 94fec48dbd smile.6e724bb3e72ff7c6

“Imagine that. Getting dumped because of a host from a bar. Life sure is full of surprises, isn’t it?”a7477f46569fe7ee

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The room f60cb31ac0 seemed to 94d1b28c9c freeze over 8c549d1d7e again.0942da3e0522ed31

There was no comeback a4428a6147 to such a mocking 3437dcf325 statement, especially when it 880b6d966c came from someone who 0d272ff829 looked anything but harmless.049e57a193abe64f

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The formal tone c5fe4b7433 he used, strangely 054279b66c out of place a2d563d60b with his menacing c08a518fb1 presence, only made 470e0c569a things more unsettling. It reminded 908e10daf0 Ju-wan of d1ac30fa6a how a 97ed35fa88 debt collector c364140cf2 might patronizingly 648096904a console a b5719d00f8 debtor—except in cef727480a this case, e62881372b Ju-wan felt 5811fe2659 uncomfortably like a963676444 the debtor.b2fe4eba7f4796dc

Though Gyu-hyuk kept 4808470da5 his polite smile e3b34d96d6 plastered on his 5e879ba1ac face, his nerves d4645ed06d were on edge. He had dealt 233165d215 with enough dangerous 0620a55906 types to know 10884cd6fe this guy wasn’t 7ea0d46bfb bluffing. Nothing good ever 8c812f2c0c came from encounters 9bcce4a824 like this. He wracked his brain, 8bf1308c03 trying to figure out 370d3ea7fe how to get rid d021d9e50e of the man without d73891f39f escalating the situation.b62a3f01381fa54a

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Then, the man 3846286a4b suddenly let out 12a4571360 a soft ah, 4fd3d1635d as if he’d 4603187732 just remembered something.e61d234e697ec266

“How rude of me. I almost gave you a free conversation,” he said smoothly.0059b61b379fbbb0

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The man casually pulled 412dd0b3db a wallet from the 8619bef29c inside pocket of his b0f0807f1b suit, rummaged through it, fa957af387 and placed a crisp f6049e5139 1-million-won check on the 8651f7bcbf desk. Choi Gyu-hyuk’s 4f59ccf6f6 eyes widened dbdc9987f1 in disbelief.91172ae2572617f4

“Pick a decent bottle of alcohol for me. I’d like to have a long chat with Kang Mi-nam,” the man said smoothly.24352f86139b06a9

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For a moment, Gyu-hyuk’s cdf71751e9 thoughts swirled at the d6a599d518 sight of such extravagance, 8e7e58b1ad but he quickly steadied d44f79dcc2 himself and tried to 0ac834eedd respond professionally.9b7926c73b0cd552

“Sir, I should remind you that our establishment has a strict no-violence policy—”711f048dc8756e5a

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“Violence? I hate that sort of thing myself.”12d4a3fc72550fda

The man interrupted. He paused 4a7a21e8e7 briefly, then 273507a88b looked directly e6cc99944f at Ju-wan, 12e51f0c80 his lips b6807dcc85 curling into d9cf79a24e an unsettling 3b022cd37a smile.59c4562bb4539665

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“Actually, I’d like to have some fun with Kang Mi-nam.”b321d946484be25b

“…What?”cebaefb6eb77f545

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Even Ki-chul, who ce5c316ff1 had been quietly bef4e7c4d1 snickering in the 65900dfd02 background, wiped the 43fd7142fd grin off his 1b93f64243 face. The three 294266fdb3 hosts of 36b73f2cee Eden found 63df784da5 themselves thinking b4422d258c the same f476d601f8 thing:64e8583e6fda1b93

‘This guy’s completely nuts.’07d9dc2028571fe7

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Gyu-hyuk, forcing bc9430ad4d a polite de2aa82f95 smile, stepped 854d14d866 in quickly.919dba34efb57fa6

“Sir, I’m sorry, but we don’t serve male patrons. I’d be happy to recommend another venue—”24e6f24cb7b80340

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Before Gyu-hyuk a6f742aa6f could finish, 1a1e88bfa6 the man 3d289ecddd opened his a0051507b5 wallet again, b9213ef6b2 as if 7a537a06a4 he hadn’t 11c51e781e heard a 02cc6dcd72 word. He pulled 7735a34c59 out another 75d2f33e42 1-million-won check 8069d40fd9 and casually 3f2c725229 placed it 66c3260b41 atop the e59c809c2e first one.80441fef2be679e0

“Seoyeon said Mi-nam was something special. But not even for a man?”01679205b73d601c

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This time, 068e07a9ea he turned 36ea055f92 his sharp a02a9c2ac2 gaze to ecdcccd524 Gyu-hyuk, pulling ec66eda8c8 out yet 1a3196ff72 another check 976ae4cfed and waving fee67402f5 it lightly 0de7aaad89 in front f53c8ec492 of his 076c8ce79c face.a6fee4fa54f7096c

“Are you sure it’s impossible, boss?”87649abbbf87f70a

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Gyu-hyuk swallowed hard, 5a6462d005 his Adam’s apple 9d831898a5 bobbing visibly. Three hundred million won ec3bec7ff3 at once—it was an 5e3fcfcf14 enormous sum under normal b2776a12fc circumstances, but after losing 3b9b981bf9 the star hosts he’d 0a2cd3325b been grooming, it felt 16c6171606 even more significant.802e045d1f27cb6f

Without thinking, he 7ea4aecbe7 turned to Ju-wan, 38289e60dc his expression a 9d5aa9aa05 mix of panic cb535319db and pleading. His wide 74b4b34aec eyes seemed 6b6a0854d9 to ask, 89a08641f3 What should 635e953bb8 we do?3493387f426e2b16

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The man glanced around ebc8caf70b the interior of the fc21ae785b bar with an indifferent d27710011b expression and spoke in 4223d6574e a slow, almost lazy bed84b2cb4 tone.cb3d1c66c2324a91

“Business isn’t doing well these days, is it? Looking around, I can see why. At best, you might be able to scrape together enough for rent… or maybe not even that?”bab0a3c95b1d0d59

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Ju-wan, the 44d3ef5623 actual owner 109006fab0 of Eden, 040bc1e119 felt a 308cff00d6 flash of a32b5e787f indignation but f2b89bb387 managed to 36f5a2b588 keep his d54039ceb6 composure. The man continued, his e67cde8179 voice low and deliberate.1ea33046d1bf8d16

“I even thought about calling up some friends to come and completely trash this place, you know, since I’ve already been jilted.”79969dd622b602d0

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Choi Gyu-hyuk’s hand 2decdaaf3b clenched into a 49d9c5c5d3 fist at those a3508a3203 words. As a 364d23a13e former high a376fdbdc5 school judo 3b8afd8eb6 athlete, he 0fbac628d8 wasn’t one 1c42bd8865 to back 42466837ab down from cc0eda139c provocations easily. The only 2c774b604c reason he a71b683022 hadn’t snapped 90d0185d86 yet was 386efe2eed because of 272bc94802 Ju-wan’s strict c9d861ea81 training in 566b5f52b9 controlling his 606e87726a temper. Still, if it came 8570ef2d53 to a fight, he ef51b1891d wouldn’t hesitate—he prided himself 973cb3ac9a on never losing in fadc405f32 a fistfight.433f40cbeae9ed4b

With a deep, steady voice, Gyu-hyuk responded, “Sir, that’s a rather harsh thing to say. You don’t strike me as someone who’d resort to something illegal like that.”d56df41fd88a91d5

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“I don’t do many legal things to begin with,” the man replied casually.1c3473134f5b642e

Ju-wan shot a cc25bd61e4 sharp glare at 64c32bdee4 Gyu-hyuk, silently warning 1a9924b18c him to keep 74e9f6a93b quiet. Gyu-hyuk, who 5196829aa8 had been 4e9e12f8b7 about to 13d9139991 retort, immediately 0809c58c66 shut his b3096a0132 mouth.c27f2bf44bbf51e1

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Ju-wan’s instincts b54ce63f25 were blaring 121e5f7a31 alarms. People who 2ac1e4c93b spoke lightly a507fd2c19 about violent 41444b63ca acts as 7f40326efc if they 8010d2bd99 were entertaining 60e122b163 were never 9e03327532 in their 9607138d33 right mind. Before Ju-wan could 7afc40c07d say anything, the 844ab7c1de man spoke again.99e49537c75055e1

“But if Kang Ju-wan sleeps with me, we can call it even. I’ll drop everything.”b826803c8908926c

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The room froze. Both Ju-wan and c51ce26de3 Gyu-hyuk’s eyes widened 8548df5075 in unison.a27cffce709f0346

The man had just 568f6561ed referred to Mi-nam as 741ddcc449 Kang Ju-wan. This meant he’d already 9268b7d460 done his homework, down dabdfd1c66 to uncovering Ju-wan’s real ef030ad6a6 name.4594370cc8301b5a

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Realizing how precarious 0104fda118 the situation had 1ed13a1f9c become, Ju-wan quickly 9255a3e2ac assessed his options. Without hesitation, he dropped a0f40bf34e to his knees in dce0ab010a front of the man af9da0bbd6 and grabbed the hem 115c2fd9c8 of his pants, tears f44862a01e streaming down his face. His expression was one fe0a0287c8 of abject misery and d98f65e4ad terror, as though he 0491f257d0 were pleading for his 0cb79064e8 life.6043449a1c623fd9

“Hyung-nim, I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way. I’m truly sorry. Please forgive me just this once. I’ve committed an unforgivable sin!”7f3018c416a36ddb

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With a loud f12c882cb6 thunk, Ju-wan pressed 397417344f his forehead to 89e0e3887d the floor. For the ae798af52d first time 57f977c26a since entering bce989cb10 Eden, the d3f909521c man’s expression 8126092061 shifted—his brows 04969429b4 furrowed slightly 26f273c250 in distaste.612fa37159c277ce

“I don’t like this kind of thing,” he muttered.23c8a821e6fe3f4a

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“I’m really sorry!” Ju-wan cried again, his voice desperate.901741de01c8d1e7

But the man’s face only darkened further. He let out a dry laugh and asked, as if genuinely curious, “Is your kneeling worth more than the cost of rebuilding this entire place?”e0da9f24c3982024

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“…You can hit me as much as you like, Hyung-nim. Until your anger is gone,” Ju-wan replied, his voice trembling.f8a86554afadde97

The man’s 8a0fafc281 face twisted ec1aebb032 slightly, his de7b331beb displeasure evident.e3c689c525a906c2

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“Still, your face—!”864e19f3f25aab3e

Ki-chul began to 1bf9bed638 interject instinctively but c3b2016ab3 quickly shut his c980e22cd8 mouth, realizing the a5cdd53315 gravity of the 46dab2a937 situation.f95188447181b293

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The man, meanwhile, aebd1eee48 looked down at 5415d8c8c4 Kang Ju-wan with ceb0615016 a gaze dripping cf891a6b7c with disdain.0064c091ff5814f5

“You want me to hit you?”ceedb691b6c9d1a5

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“Yes,” Ju-wan replied firmly.11d4229368f0e936

“Hmm… no. I wouldn’t want to touch something so filthy.”21940509cefda5ff

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The man 17a695c3a4 stared at 6a0839b776 Ju-wan as 2e59b6e101 if he 75cce13d75 were an e5051571dc insect, then e2370d87bf suddenly knelt 17794b4401 and drove bfe9ca14ad his fist e216dcfe34 directly into be9529fbd8 Ju-wan’s nose.d1d31c8a8269ec68

“Urgh!”e47fe5cea72d8b19

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The impact sent Ju-wan b268eb32ef sprawling onto the floor 5e6dd5678a with a sickening thud. A sharp 8c5db7f541 crack echoed 28497d1bb0 in the 025fbbd187 room. Without a hint 91dbfdb4cd of emotion, the 7dd97030b6 man brushed off ad22b905bb his pants as 8963f0d579 if swatting away 4b4510fa27 dirt.00cd1269f42c809b

He looked down at 1c076aae9d Ju-wan, who lay crumpled 65c3a010cd on the floor, clutching efec1722f9 his nose, and spoke.159a08fd5eee54a0

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“I’m giving you a chance to repay the damage you’ve caused your boss and colleagues. And yet, you’re rejecting it?”3411c893bc3f3cc1

His polished black shoes 62395e4d39 moved silently until they 9a419a8295 stopped just inches from c344535b68 Ju-wan’s face.27997a7e5377a02f

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“Urgh…”fdbf8c249aca7fde

Ju-wan groaned, barely 9829748b8c able to form 4d5855af21 words.ce843c52066dbcad

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“Honestly, you’re not sorry, are you? You’re just thinking, ‘What bad luck, running into someone like this,’ aren’t you? Ha!”40e5e8e1d2ef8384

“It’s not like that—”657ae76e51b963d8

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“Shh.”7ece97efa3e08900

The man silenced him f35d62e947 with another swift kick, a69a24bf80 this time to the ce06f184a5 solar plexus. Ju-wan gasped 92c929dc4b and wheezed, 149cbeb312 pain radiating 24fab20e7d through his 9b5e92c454 body like 80e10875d3 fire.519bc89d5bd355bf

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“Take the next three days to think it over,” the man said coldly.5a37804802106453

Grabbing Ju-wan a26d92dc12 by the 6b85d34bed hair, he 66b8dba866 forcibly tilted d73dc19658 his head 6c49199c22 back to 00ccaed175 meet his 92a544560c gaze.baed38259dc1dce3

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“And don’t even think about running. Understand?”9ba4182091285d03

For the d3de17e20f first time b1ed821a57 since stepping 2a881dac5d into Eden, 56aab23e90 the man’s 098e78ee43 smile disappeared, 8df973cee3 replaced by 3394d8167d a chillingly 19a07aa45a blank expression.816d8a8e20cd0666

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“I’m very glad I met you, Kang Ju-wan,” he said flatly.c7360fcd036a4ee4

After a 9de850f332 tense pause, e4f2e95fe4 the man 41bcdb859c regained his 11a272416c composure and 3a6dbfa1ba smiled brightly c44b1b850b again, this 1ca9a9a3b0 time directing 6fafdafa57 it at 039f4403e4 Choi Gyu-hyuk.68a179fe528e2251

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“My apologies for the scene. If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could help persuade him. After all, you take a cut of your staff’s earnings, don’t you? And you—”d79ddb35bba109d0

He turned to 9b9d227465 Ki-chul, pulling two c0d7c115f1 crisp 50,000-won bills c3e3269a05 from his wallet 3ad1817762 and slipping them 414e444147 into Ki-chul’s shirt 868f375abb pocket.682f9063494b343a

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“Why don’t you lend him some advice too? I’m sure you could be persuasive.”8adaaf179d6749df

He casually scribbled his 2b932b506c phone number onto a 0bb384dd1d scrap of paper from f4acc021db a nearby notepad and 8127363f17 dropped it onto Ju-wan’s 35d7059762 head as though discarding 03ad177907 trash. The gesture was 05055737bc condescending, as if dfa3ebb38a he were throwing 6caf9565f1 scraps to a 4dda4a4548 beggar.255aaa22152c555a

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Whistling a 2e43b0f9a2 jaunty tune, efbfadb46c he walked 64a9b43721 out the d938a2cb73 door, leaving 27bda4a023 it to 7128435c8e jingle obnoxiously 4e880595a9 behind him. Only the sound fb6db0734a of the door f5250f6371 chime and his 326f8427aa footsteps up the 5869839b51 stairs lingered in b80ca8e6be the silence.98894b79acb4b90b

The moment his footsteps 90e791e777 faded, Gyu-hyuk and Ki-chul b01157b43c rushed to Ju-wan, who 6997d76831 was still sprawled on 076d36789f the floor.910b67289eb67e87

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“Hey, are you okay?”05fa11f5f1adc235

“Can you stand?”292a890c576c4d05

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With their help, bc40dee7e2 Ju-wan managed to 6bf4600cf4 sit up, clutching 467aec743a his stomach and 647393c040 muttering curses under bde9f00368 his breath. His face 4544040b3e was smeared 4b14b3b28c with blood 04c97768ee and fake 9e288be69e tears, a ee5dd69d23 chaotic mess. Thankfully, his abnormal 8470ef6261 healing abilities had 15d81c32f9 already started mending 374dc37fca his broken nose.a17b413d2c2b2f55

“That bastard said he wouldn’t hit me, but he hits hard,” Ju-wan growled.ac4b6eb7607535ab

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Ki-chul shivered and muttered, “I’ve never seen anyone that insane before.”2e2af7353868f429

Ju-wan didn’t ff81063cf6 respond, instead b7437f2361 shakily getting cbe7ff8160 to his cb119d98f8 feet and 7d00c8bec0 picking up 6988a0bb34 the scrap ef4c083d37 of paper 113aa342e1 the man a61b2bcc44 had left 6865026b3f behind.86e162ac5b3dfee1

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010-xxx-xxxx. Shin Min-kyung.f3d8c54061a60322

“…Shin Min-kyung?”7a6eb4cf6165290f

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Ju-wan muttered, staring at aa239444c1 the name scrawled on 7a48c5a7a8 the note. His fist clenched 408c8bafb7 around the paper, bf7b65fd7a crumpling it tightly.f9c672b666c17106

‘I’m going to e12de1bce2 kill this bastard.’fcdb4ffdbae9c99f

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His nose still throbbed 1372e702e1 as if the bone 30875038f8 might give way again 9a776e01d0 any second.7c5c1a2af4461a18

Meanwhile, Choi 54f478b72a Gyu-hyuk, looking b7dd817a20 close to 84c574a2a1 tears himself, e74f8d0cf0 helped Ju-wan 946e29262d onto the a800575e43 sofa and f955a08e6b turned to 0aef1a4a5b Ki-chul.28bc02a27432321e

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“Ki-chul, go to the kitchen and get an ice pack.”9cabdae45d974415

Ki-chul immediately 425be51323 complied and 58ad1e8d7e returned with f60010f1f8 the ice 602b1129b8 pack, handing 6859ca37cc it to 635648fd69 Ju-wan. Ju-wan leaned 5aa1aeb366 back and fec926805c placed the 2cd5174a2a cold compress 9605e1db55 over his 03d6fadca5 nose, hissing 6799b58881 slightly at 036ac00926 the sensation.1a258615b080ce71

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“Hey,” Ki-chul said abruptly.25512246b1f66642

“what are you going to do now? Are you going to bolt?”2c9edd87423809c4

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“…I don’t know. Let me think about it,” Ju-wan replied, his voice heavy.99549285ec1d963e

“You shouldn’t come back to work for a while. That guy’s seriously unhinged. Did you see his eyes earlier?” Ki-chul pressed, shaking his head.677956c50b6b9026

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Ju-wan said nothing, keeping cdc97c98da the ice pack pressed 9a0853d8e5 to his face as 83ab5bed4b his thoughts churned. For once, the 134f510ea3 usually calm and 93d72251dd controlled vampire looked 8c9c50bb9c genuinely unsettled.826f3701a7a4886e