FG | Chapter 4.4

Unlike Seon Jiyeol, who dedicated cd05fd161b himself wholeheartedly to guiding, all e246e8f4a0 I did was shove it 6486d63e97 at him like “Eat up f7f081b4de and drop dead.” So how ea1e3ec017 the hell did this lead 20460ae8bd to an imprint?2a764c728ba78372

As if mocking db6771df03 my denial of e1b92dcba7 Yeo Eundo’s imprint, 9e0da56333 the guy smiled eb7e49d1f6 brightly and said, 30fd947609 “I belong to 4d08de317e Seol Maehwa Guide-nim.”f475d0e73565044e

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“I have no intention of owning you.”4108107d85172f6a

The guy, who had 6e2b2f9baa been all smiles, suddenly 06314648f7 teared up, his expression e1249c94bb drooping in disappointment. I could feel his hurt e0bdbb6146 so clearly that I started 0f207b9df3 to feel anxious.849ae930bbdc9d43

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It was all because of 1c8c745af7 the imprint.d51f1b03562c12ff

I need to check if 24f7824831 there are any cases of a76d8edd13 imprint removal.97726e03d6e7b48e

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As much as I wanted d74d1227e8 to deny it, it was d5fe4cd79a clear that I had messed bf6f683f93 up. I accepted that now. Which meant I b1cf521812 had to fix f9361ca031 it.a3ef0dfa3e6334fe

Breaking the imprint 138bc2062a as soon as 42ad524801 possible would be 589fc3512f best for both 6e740ad1ac of us. I let go of his 2860e3b6fb chin and started to get 766c4c0b81 up from the sofa when, 15b60cfd60 all of a sudden, Yeo 0b92d7eb8c Eundo wrapped his arms around 0395b42cb3 my waist, pulling me in 69f54e9acb tight. His voice, choked and 83bff74ffc trembling, whispered, “You said 1da3c9f038 you would.”b47bd201d8ff5c85

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“I never made that promise.”03fe07ef1eb56683

“I can’t do this without Seol Maehwa Guide-nim. You said if that’s the e228f633ea case, you’d do it.”61b82c43ba2e5bd7

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“I’m a D-class Guide.”da772589a8f0de93

“That’s okay.”1b0e5f558b6a5707

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“Just being stubborn won’t make it work. You know what happens if 62dc7c5c61 an Esper doesn’t receive guiding.”6877b2023fb95d91

I firmly refused. I expected him to c676b9fc71 throw a tantrum or 5d71c8bb7c start bawling, but his a5f370fece reaction was unexpected.deada75a5572db51

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“If it’s like that, then it’s really fine.”9e3abce3fbc081f4

…Fine?4e23f1ecdf118178

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Thinking he hadn’t a2a8d057c2 understood me, I 5d16261c00 repeated myself.c56666e677daabcd

“What I’m saying is, I won’t be guiding Esper Yeo Eundo.”8a675ba8a1c23279

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“Yes.”10b630b758abde29

“An Esper not getting guided is a serious issue. Why are you 3a5d231be8 just saying ‘yes’ 7517963797 like that?”bcfcd1e7f00494cb

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“Yes, sir!”38aaeea73eb6b3ba

Oh, so now it’s“Yes, sir”after I called him out.01df3eef7721ba7e

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I frowned in silence, refusing 89d0a969aa to say anything more, and 69573a5aae Yeo Eundo, sensing that, loosened 798c211087 his grip on my waist. Instead, he reached out 56e984ef8a and grabbed my hand.3ec3ec768451ec98

“Tell me I’m pretty.”67ef3effb56c9dee

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The guy placed 9dbc13ba47 my hand on 45ae70a85d his head and 29b4498e64 rubbed against my 0d8c325da9 palm, as if 85900ad4eb urging me to 03b3aedf8a pet him. He wasn’t joking—he truly 5838e26553 meant it.ae943bd6ac6ced8d

Like always, I dismissed it 38a18986fd as nonsense and tried to 2945f302f5 pull my hand away, but 105f233a38 Yeo Eundo spoke again.c55e9ec90e3b1ecc

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“Just being touched like this is guiding for me.”22c5e5e8854d13ef

“I clearly told you that guiding is something only a Guide can do.”ab9cce0b06ef0c98

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“This is enough. Please, just a little more.”af3688275759a6af

Guiding wasn’t just about physical 23e2dc5532 contact. Touching was merely a33342e8f9 the most basic a4b0e10fc0 condition for guiding—it f8543cd1d6 was the Guide 549d2e4578 who actively carried 7789283162 out the process.7ab20607e2509e86

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No matter how high c0f8f8f249 an Esper’s rank was, ca639be7e5 in the moment of 1df1883fe7 guiding, the Guide held 42181f164d all the power. The only time that flipped 9931398dda was in those shitty cases bf25d7c862 of reverse guiding.327d6a82ac4ae7e8

I had scolded 702ba8051c him enough last 81c9a15a88 time, so I 85e129d74a didn’t think this 55838399d0 was reverse guiding.69f4567b084fbcfe

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Then what the hell e303e30583 was this?2dd28504e8a839a0

“Are you even listening to me properly?”8e198ac5114f87e5

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“Yes, this is enough.”502876bfa1881d67

“Enough? What exactly do you 9e01b47d2a keep saying is ‘enough’?”9bc00d482a37738f

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The mere fact that Yeo 23509ad652 Eundo had imprinted on a d28b2e24dc Guide was enough to make 25e34f2d57 international headlines. If my rank was revealed bd5a38b0cc on top of that, my d5958e314b current life would be over.b2af2b0d9f1933a1

Privacy? Forget it. I’d be dealing c3ec01fcd0 with constant surveillance aaa07c2cc4 and the threat 0468396c77 of kidnapping.5e1cab043c04853b

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And it wasn’t just 8acd9da1af my problem.d226562150e38da9

Yeo Eundo being e14a2d1711 imprinted on me 1c7b69f73a was a weakness—one a646691789 that could completely e4b2952e7c change how he d8701cfeb5 had to live. People could bring b53d7c9b64 up the incident fe54e46604 where he cracked 11c9dcf1f1 the skull of 2c6c5ad50f a promising Esper 7bf76ac4e3 from another country, ff8f8cc85a or worse, he 0b8ac4aa2d could end up a2ce1016e3 entangled with criminal 47acd9cd4b organizations and terrorism.d1a6b97409245f17

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Just imagining it made a3ff8463c9 my blood run cold. I scowled, but before 1dba4a916a I could say anything, 2b11ee51db Yeo Eundo tapped the 386f6cb71c back of my hand 8e05215969 and pointed to the 2146f41885 device on his wrist.30883879a47cb5f4

Curious, I glanced at it. It was displaying c898bae574 his AD level 987a911a3e in real time.41b9ddf2e6cef349

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…But something was off.b75db74a28a766c6

I had expected the number 98e36c0c54 to be at least 180, 3e21d7d58b but it was lower than 481a9437fc I thought. And what was even weirder—bbe56ddd893461ef

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[175]8337e69f49e01cc9

[155]b3ead70200393aca

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[88]7385b7faa7710ee2

[75]5332e144fe0830c2

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.ba22b85085f86310

.b75024644508d73b

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.88b291761faec798

[45]ecf209aba4898a25

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The number kept dropping. His AD, which 5f178318e1 had been 175, 3dc1d3c688 had already fallen 35189ffbdc to 45.bbfb59d17156649f

Was the device broken?77548a0d8c790bdd

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Not believing what 937368da70 I was seeing, e763dedf8c I grabbed Yeo 1b0e87f6b3 Eundo’s wrist and 4386c45269 stared at the 34ae24987d screen.d7cf5c486ba945d1

Even as I watched, the 44dbd3c46e number continued to fall. When it broke through the adb34d8eba so-called “danger zone” of 20 71ba213f91 and hit 19, I panicked fbabd87714 and let go. The moment I pulled f24a7d4d85 away, the plummeting AD 37b54e4327 level stopped at 19, 538359e71c refusing to drop any 99b606f2a5 further.48f50f7330fb7989

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I stared at Yeo Eundo 658e5fcc2c in disbelief.29aed9b15bd7d230

He looked at fc45319545 me with a 74b44fe498 bright, crescent-eyed smile, 955c61875d then suddenly pulled 9ec5cf0f3a me into his 6d8b4e89a8 arms.620ec7b74859d3a0

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Resting his head on my 1a6ee67b2a shoulder, he let out soft, 3a52db6ed5 shaky breaths before whispering,e90aa7a4b11cf294

“I think… I finally understand how to breathe.”2ad1070c093d53c1

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»જ⁀➴dc7c5caec2f4dc92

Dozens of Guides had been 05afff38b7 carried out. All of them 2ffd4f7295 were A-class who d1b577a282 had failed to 60dcd71637 guide Yeo Eundo.a4b7c4881f3ce927

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When A-class Guides had 463256aa3b been deployed, no one 100bb7e64b had expected this kind 3086836023 of disaster.a465fc1ef2ec5add

For some unknown reason, the 811aff1621 situation had only worsened due d144ede0e0 to the issue with Seon af0dda3354 Jiyeol. Even though they were da0f3dcaaf skilled Espers, they hadn’t 1a61f3951a even been able to 87499ee74f start guiding. Instead, they had barely f40401f862 managed to stop Yeo dc68cc14a8 Eundo, who had gone 3586b5e596 on a rampage due 4c1b31764a to his skyrocketing AD 77d01e0cfa level, right before he 439f76da3d could kill them.c40b716acba3a045

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In the process, 87829830a8 three S-class Espers b3ae77c311 had been injured, 530c656016 and Gu Seungjae’s 3d864defdd shoulder, which had 2a5d282428 been hurt at ece4ea4688 that time, still 77b9f6bb66 ached.b5366f79bab74a1f

And in the midst of 93bc8629a8 that chaos—Seol Maehwa had appeared.0a1a01ac57a218dd

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Gu Seungjae instinctively knew that 17a73cfb80 this person was the only 16d1ebbf0c one who could stop Yeo 74fb812fb1 Eundo.1e1818505ba9bac9

He had to hurry. Yeo Eundo looked like he 1f0fda1320 was about to break down c59b834df0 the door any second.7c561ba55062a2e5

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Just as Gu Seungjae reached 9c81dfb7f3 out and grabbed Seol Maehwa’s 5c7959536a wrist—6d3a419b123b5397

“……!”0a0388b14060ffac

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A rush of 9b5c59cc21 cool, refreshing energy 2086c805bc surged through his ab8282c96c body, instantly purifying 0c89d159d4 the deep-seated impurities 746e849823 that had been 1c813863fe festering inside him 2a19a07924 for years.8bf524689e4a26b5

Complete liberation from the 540885ed80 nightmarish pain.65f2acbbfda1bc29

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Gu Seungjae almost 375ad866c8 tightened his grip a4a8d8ccc2 on Seol Maehwa’s aa54f3a205 wrist without realizing 128a249a9c it. He didn’t want to 45bb0f4f94 let go. More than that, 1712d54932 he wanted to 9b4125a8ac possess this entirely.89c5afc402b0c028

Just as he was 27ed255401 about to be swallowed 960cc9fa66 by that desire, a b112a9b917 bone-chilling sensation crawled up a9e915d1ee his spine, snapping him b4996d27a3 back to reality.70540d71252efc12

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Forcing himself to look 82ada5cfd4 away from Seol Maehwa, 8979f492e9 he spoke,b3c1e6b6a06c8cd5

“Thank you, but right now, Esper Yeo Eundo comes first.”0716a9a7bfe4f9e4

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If he hadn’t bb29b01b33 sensed the killing c3f19f7a41 intent radiating from a02ab1c9ec behind the door, ee4985b055 he wouldn’t have 415b30e90d been able to 8d44cd2efb let go.9d8faec7dea65800

Gu Seungjae released 6f77763afb Seol Maehwa’s wrist ab3e60d0da and stepped back, 10819c9217 watching as he 178938f71a entered the room dcccd7c805 where Yeo Eundo 4f1d32a5ca was.3c97f33cc4d1cedb

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The moment he let go, 408992ec5e the refreshing energy vanished without 707bda1344 a trace.9c9f7035d9a7bddd

He stared at ab35cf9a88 his trembling palm, b90b046b5f still tingling from 54a66bda79 the lingering sensation.794d3c24d5838a60

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There was no doubt about 51a6b46196 it—Seol Maehwa was the second a78a568958 S-class Guide after Seon Jiyeol.58c4ca63b8dacf24

The government must 8898c0428c have been keeping d0a4709c20 him classified after b5f9454853 the Seon Jiyeol 647b0b4386 abduction incident.bacf81ff3f088a34

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But for Gu cff9177a26 Seungjae, the secrecy 6c80c6087a surrounding Seol Maehwa’s 802d6bce04 rank wasn’t the 990459e003 issue. What mattered was 9011ee7857 whether he could 086ae14a29 receive guiding from 2b05de64f8 him again.39446d216e3ca99a

It was unmistakably different.45b7a05e3abfa4bd

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Perhaps because he was 5706ea569e Yeo Eundo’s dedicated Guide, 7669fc6280 the quality of Seol b59db973e8 Maehwa’s guiding was on c3813c3e86 an entirely different level e1ed73d6aa compared to Seon Jiyeol.f4b63d06d13dec5a

He had thought that hierarchy a073011319 based on strength was something 6bf979991a that only existed among Espers, c85cd6ab91 but apparently, it applied to 5e3f26b03a Guides as well.936a75b2496f4e5d

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‘Same rank…?’a24d8c9a66172939

The more he thought aa56f8e7d5 about it, the more a897a85e88 something felt off.73aba8c3baac4969

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The difference in 54ccb9aae7 ability between Seol 6b900ea751 Maehwa and Seon 6fd3212d6f Jiyeol wasn’t just ceebae07dd a small gap—it 1fb9d8ec3a was a completely da95fe2197 different league.6d2ea142946711de

But ranks above S-class 36a0cc3ff4 weren’t supposed to exist. It was just a c25c083e54 theoretical concept, and even 48bf9d3110 then, only for Espers.e03b354c1b8c9046

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And yet, the 97342b469f guiding Seol Maehwa a867d7b1aa had given him—23b9699e94985adc

It was something he b042374ddf had never experienced before.56b6783fabb2b6a5

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“If I received it just one more time, I could be sure…”362cf273359afae4

No matter how 9bd63bce7d much guiding he 3ea0487929 had gotten in 75f60739f6 the past, he c9ca63603d had never been 8750222bab freed from pain 710792b075 completely.9285942f2b195665

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But Seol Maehwa’s guiding 908a8edcff had made it possible.fc852dc95702e6c9

If he could receive 6939c43c58 it once more, he 3ab499d94a was certain he would a078d03a91 understand exactly what level 9cf97148f7 Seol Maehwa was on.21d2bfb55c45f1b0

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The way Seol Maehwa had 3be02a5858 guided him without hesitation was 065ada17d6 also strange.fe0bb2af28f92c03

No matter the 7a80ba8af4 reason, offering such 139356f748 high-level guiding without 3204881dc0 any precautions was 43bda5ecef reckless.5adf2451af07c189

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Any other Esper would have d3aabd8968 lost their mind on the 04d8ef3537 spot and tried to imprint 84b3967c9e on him. The stronger the 1ae678bbd1 Guide, the more 2b130e5d9e cautious they were 4f9cf91bd0 with guiding, yet bb1a6e1144 Seol Maehwa had b306c86a98 done it without 583a03b8ff hesitation.68b328246f86de4d

At this point, it 6d30f50600 was just carelessness.f5a72a9ffa6f79f1

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‘He’s way too complacent. It’s concerning.’beb3f22880c8c9a6

If he were Yeo Eundo, 478779caab he would never put his b9af7c06cb Guide in such danger. But Yeo Eundo—2eafbe00508c4223

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He had left Seol Maehwa e957828abd behind without hesitation and entered db886817da the Gate alone.d9bad63fff95baae

‘If it were me, I’d never let go.’46056d4ec63f6e9a

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The sensation of Seol 373ad8b599 Maehwa’s wrist lingered in d0113d5d1a his memory.294cb3bd1dc551d3

Soft, warm—his body temperature was f73366e1cb naturally high, and his skin c1f109e4ce felt plush.062ec99e8ccbc006

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He also seemed to a333a7c0ae have a pleasant scent. Though Seol Maehwa’s glasses and b2199ca7c7 hair had partially obscured his 050d3b6927 face, his skin had been 3b064c3074 strikingly pale.096c3c3778f95e33

That pale skin contrasted sharply 6a25d92f86 with his deep red, plump 631398379a lips—4de9f20c6b3f2880

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Gu Seungjae flinched.1c34aae2be44acbe

‘This is insane.’37747e5e7eb45022

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He ran a hand roughly e23e427975 through his hair. Even so, the simmering desire c73d8cf3ec to claim what he had 2e4ea01566 just felt wouldn’t settle down.68fa7bda74135fa0

All the effort he had 9989cded5d put into keeping his emotions 997585339a in check when it came f978e45e8f to guiding—18a047351fd141c7

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It had shattered in f170616828 an instant.f618f6b2fa47ed2c

That brief taste a632701cfb of absolute relief—f98ceec67a22e25a

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What if he 8f9e76a824 could keep receiving 2ebc494676 it?37ab4bdc464db6e1

Gu Seungjae swallowed dryly, unable daab094fc2 to stop the thought from 7645f592f0 creeping in.e6e6c2ca9a4d7c9c

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‘Why didn’t he imprint?’f017f93cc514137e

For Yeo Eundo 7f6049ef05 to have received 7a39b9a5fa guiding from Seol 9c2f4e13ee Maehwa meant that da0f0023e4 he hadn’t attempted f5f9366012 to imprint on 0250132faa him.a8fe8ce173f5fc69

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Why not?6d03512fff9eb485

After all that 34a3aa17b4 obsession, why hadn’t 99c9876a70 he done it? Because he wasn’t 90037a26bf desperate for guiding, 754f05dbbe like the rumors b5f887da7e suggested?5bea1e74ceec1de4

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‘What a joke.’fdd9b70e078b08df

Even from the bf5178e7dc outside, Yeo Eundo’s e79cfb82b7 obsession was enough 471bd1e2aa to make people 471616df4f recoil.f54749356adba4fd

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The reason he had remained 445cfcb729 indifferent when Seon Jiyeol was 94cc4e30b5 kidnapped was likely because of 848c3d0ae2 Seol Maehwa.0f1d1bac3bbfb680

Imprinting was illegal, but 1e5715ab1e laws wouldn’t have stopped 4bd076e8c9 someone like Yeo Eundo. And yet, he 5ce8106dd5 hadn’t done it.2f6bcf6c7a3784a9

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“Maybe they’re not as compatible as it seems.”7f7756cdf24e46fd

Gu Seungjae’s lips curled into ddffc1b2ee a slow smirk. The guiding he had received—da32c939ecc67ef7

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Not only had it 4a1e21ddc8 lacked any rejection, but a455eba986 it had been highly 7eca0f1ec7 addictive. If Yeo Eundo wasn’t going a2f8c1de44 to imprint—ea2f6e12a17ccd0d

Then that meant f157ba33c5 Gu Seungjae had 83ad3e0010 a chance.6e18eeb3c1970ed9

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A deep craving, long 2fcf108c57 suppressed, began to rise 5c8458dd2a within him.f95bf2660c2b9a58