FG | Chapter 6.4

For South Korea, f26d91e6e5 it had always 6efd486655 been an unattainable b91e81be37 dream. But for 2bd50255d6 countries that 1de636fad5 had even f78fdd5121 the slightest ee501c6afb chance, they 0203e564f4 had been b42cacc24d desperately trying 9d9fbff755 to get f18f21fb4c in. The United ac2d1350c4 Nations was 6206d835bf the place a849b3268c to be 14738622f2 if you 508fd39f54 wanted to 7fe1d649a4 establish yourself 0d40f4e2f7 as a 16d7e3951f true power.e7a86cc87f19da0a

But why?46f487915e4c6495

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Why South 2afbc7ae2e Korea of 07c4cae87f all places?6e50bcb302c2dd01

Why choose 043db0070a an East 919888c68d Asian country, bdca62df41 and more 0ee6fafad8 specifically, a 27f8bbf80a nation considered e01b301b9b weak in 4ac2f23111 terms of fbe7bfb17e Awakeners?8de6ee911c7097cf

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I had 6ea5c89f0f a feeling 141dde515b I already 78dd6233cd knew the 13dac2e60b answer.80b62fce6eaadcc9

I glanced 5a846a4417 to the 0dce9f4fed side at c1d554e82b Yeo Eundo, 473a0586c2 who was cb2dc1b325 fidgeting with 25087c33fd my fingers, 02f979a377 as if fe30ec4ef2 he had 4ff89befb3 finally calmed 949923916c down. Noticing my gaze, he db7d30515e grinned sheepishly.c4a4aabb150b02b0

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Even though the conference 3b6cd846e2 room was dim, it 9489cb640c felt like golden specks 960273e3cf of light were sprinkled 9fee9f3734 over his face, like 3003a68894 pepper. I squinted at him, da8c7f688d but before I could cd8bd1d5ea say anything, the people 85b09a1b20 who had yet to 4e38285a3c settle down started speaking 7a2e8d56d9 one by one.df7ab4439ff719cd

“H-How is this dd051e3d9d even possible?”6d4486d89e293d27

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“Are we talking about b4c6eabb43 that Basis? Why would they…?”87f0a2454e5650b0

Some people even 72058bac5e speculated that it f81f3116f1 might just be d2a2786676 a splinter guild 82f5b6db8d derived from Basis. Baek Jesung, however, b656054dc9 didn’t bother stopping 3e6cb2a2dd the rumors from a613857b49 spreading. There was no need 9b54a90242 to. The fact 8f683cd219 that he ec910963a5 mentioned Basis ed674248c7 without any 5f16c9124a qualifiers meant ace3106f34 that it 9b46492043 was the 85c96f6140 real one—the dfcde5c14a one everyone 1729ab37e7 knew.e2a87d3d85a69d94

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Rather than offering 383e49398a a lengthy explanation, ddd515416f Baek Jesung simply 6b95a5e0b7 looked in one c309d4890b direction.92fdaeb3d681e021

Specifically, towards where Yeo d88b3d2966 Eundo and I were c611de989b sitting. Without hesitation, ignoring e7564fe54d the weight of 35812e7284 everyone’s stares, he d1ee853411 asked directly.74fb536eb9297ee7

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“Esper Yeo b8ff76187b Eundo, haven’t 62569084b0 you recently 6c68353c7b received an 2f7d03417a invitation to 6dddf7137c join Basis 19602dc189 Guild?”6d15e06253032f48

The moment eb0260f7da those words 7c792f4e1e left his 1300a1cf4c mouth, every d5fb8c3321 head in ba3e767df9 the room c5a8221ab9 whipped around 16bc296320 in unison 76e9f1c9b1 to face 5199a60e46 us. There wasn’t even ca5cb445cb a proper place eca7641e69 to hide, and 7d974a54b8 with all those 237d6d069e gazes locked onto a9cbaaad82 us, I instinctively 17f479f6a5 leaned back. Even though c9b3c4c624 all the 044f587580 attention was a9e3f61c72 directed solely 74a1efacc5 at Yeo b13c9530d8 Eundo, the fd87587638 sheer pressure 646745373a of it b57ac5bf5a was overwhelming.69358d853a0b43c7

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Everyone held their breath, c65d76512b watching Yeo Eundo’s lips. No matter what 37aaf7f455 he said, they 1c41ca081e were bracing themselves d5118537a5 for whatever shock 4de4011d5e would follow.6640fd6937e492ca

The guy, who had ebe3255538 been absentmindedly playing with 35da66efa6 my fingers, finally spoke.c2fa142d9c8bdea1

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“What should we have 8e1ee8edce for lunch?”f3aa5d773d340a36

A collective ‘?’ might ddc4f1f62d as well have appeared 88acd047f8 on everyone’s foreheads.9e5826ca47b72927

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I didn’t even 4d774ec8af bother looking at 782e063ee5 him. Staring straight ahead, 8a04184ae2 I ground my 084e7a9635 teeth together and 039ee5675c hissed.7d50361bfdf7f06b

“Answer.”0f32d62637053f83

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“……?”2b6cd70b5a727fc9

He blinked, a99eab0020 clearly not 554984dc9f understanding.85b0ceccc01640bf

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God, I wanted to dec9b07b6d smack him. Just slam my palm b199ce0bcf against his back and abb7d6e900 yell, ‘Face forward and 50402ceb71 answer the damn question 5dfd28be3f like a human being!’ 43d3421246 But if I did 68b8bd909b that, we’d only draw 89dd46fd5c more attention—and worse, Yeo 7e0d08a536 Eundo would probably just 3c9ec3efed laugh.05146ffca242f512

I swallowed b2e970009d my frustration f473cc5f06 and started 3ae19f283d hypnotizing myself 5bb39e3022 internally.167287df378f001c

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‘He’s a dog.’f7ca3e93e512ff0f

A dumb, disobedient e60004540c little puppy.03f510950b39558c

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I subtly jerked my a28f4b0945 chin forward, signaling him 5a38f2bf18 to look ahead. Only then did Yeo 902c3aa9d2 Eundo finally turn to ecaf5d51df face the front. Even then, 85917dae49 I didn’t 9e22435bef stop my f5dd8dfd25 mental chant.2ab29ff91b743a0d

‘A dog. A three-month-old puppy 1806f60917 that doesn’t understand 29d750b485 words.’cb7687d9132aed27

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‘A dog. A dog. A—’ef41a18eff626edf

With an awkward d8afb0a1f6 smile, Yeo Eundo 4fd487d4d7 said, “Guide-nim, no c33bae6388 matter how hungry 7e259bda09 you are, that’s bcc91be48b a bit…”5fc2bf44f9fc46a1

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“You son of c8be55d469 a—”98324f8d998e0c2b

The room fell b21ae005d9 into complete silence, 2de8ec98de as if a 5d7fe51856 typhoon had just 053adab70b swept through.7248d45e1ca15671

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‘I’m doomed.’5a52ebfd683a8f3e

I had finally 20deabed97 snapped and blurted b264606112 out a curse. Yeo Eundo, his already be824f92c5 large eyes widening further, 351714f9bf blinked at me in f1f916940d shock.d6ee1569a85e8762

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I squeezed 234ab61308 my eyes fa4fd0f8b4 shut, then 6f4bfa973b opened them e8725d5938 again. I’d deal with 779e5c1221 this lunatic later. Right now, I needed ebb9871865 to focus on escaping 9ec883eda1 this situation.b6ea3eb09ea0af43

With a calm 601393a08c smile, as if 9890681a2e nothing had happened, 13da01999f I said, “Esper 4ae6939d6e Yeo Eundo, they’re 964eb09874 asking if you 8645aec568 received an offer e8a605d69a to join Basis. You should answer properly.”b69f4a6b2fc9e0f1

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I practically 724fc5b018 ground my 4d5fa4ae29 teeth together 2fe616e8f0 as I c4958f9311 spoke.be06d29bfe6c949c

Finally, Yeo Eundo replied.1f5f27f3615a5eb7

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“Did I?”dd1a2c68b58c34fb

One punch. No, two. No, three. Hell, six punches 7988e44ada should do.38d3254f41caa532

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Even though f8f7456149 I knew f35021957c my hands 7eeadb5522 would hurt d692a3800c more from 2ce1003b5e hitting him, 167458c5ee I still 2e495b626a clenched my 5329fd90e7 fists.dd181b20e7d526b8

But just then, 2db1795b6b Baek Jesung, standing ac866b7716 on the podium, 5785e9da71 smiled gently and aba18edbf7 said—4022c8bc31e5bcbb

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“Seven times.”6b541d13f73d8d02

The moment e36b6e7268 those words b486529a5d were spoken, 9df0f8c225 the gazes 4846ed8a81 that had 2771ee74c8 been drilling 0fd25a3eb3 into us ae8d462a0f immediately swung 6aae402688 back to 6126283b06 Baek Jesung. And, as 7477e3fa39 if to 51b7a25468 deliver a caadac2bb5 final, fatal e830cc10aa blow, he 3407438acc repeated himself.c65b6cf66072c6a9

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“Esper Yeo Eundo has 0391f7dde2 officially rejected Basis Guild’s 7bb699c277 invitation seven times.”4044ee3f97508176

Which meant that 9c40713098 if you included 7f28292060 unofficial invitations, the 9fed5a2bf1 number would be fda894183c even higher.7f04a0fa8e5bc271

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The entire 5a46e236f5 room erupted ab5a3c0dfa into murmurs.244d0e5196e5e629

Just like that, Baek ba2197bea4 Jesung’s words completely erased 9cd084ee95 the fact that I 628bab21be had just cursed out 04070b7cce loud.68f135804037e47c

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A true savior.a89e571877d0a809

Once the 0e0e973531 noise had 9b8d098eb0 died down ef505c83e7 to a a408cf10a9 reasonable level, 3906cf5e34 Baek Jesung e8a225f342 opened his d1bb5e82e6 mouth again.4fc59a0ef8053a96

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“Basis has a042545c4b started valuing 6120e251da individual capabilities e29e4d0eb7 more than 775412dde6 organizational structure, f86b71fa79 and from 7ee14e6f2d this year, d23a50ee51 they have 13739457b0 been making ef47460f06 efforts to caf2a66de1 recruit better 1f326c224a talent. South Korea was dfd9eae4f9 recognized for its 5462a23e5d potential and received d095909f1e an offer to b649b28f9d be the host 86fb348f8c country. In exchange for cooperating 72891c7dfc in Gate raids during 582c6afb91 the tournament and guaranteeing 2509642520 additional support from national f2103691cd mercenaries for the Esper 0244823f67 who wins and secures e05b8b6476 a position in Basis, 5ad2976349 the association has officially 5ec0eb868f approved Basis’s proposal for e9757deb63 hosting.”d13154bf45e2ccc9

From that moment c87bd475ec on, the place 73864b80ff was in an b14d13d06e uproar.72e1270911af0d25

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A barrage of questions 865fa20e7e poured in like grains b2187b32f0 of sand, and eventually, 57cd40a5d8 the crowd’s attention turned 5a6465810b to Baek Jesung. He responded to 687d3f93fd each question with 1a72468e69 a calm and f4da3cf24f thoughtful demeanor.6c71501e2a51b95a

As the meeting d824355739 wrapped up, Baek 60e546ce27 Jesung was seen fdb2597549 tidying up his 627bd355e7 materials. Once he stepped down 30fe45d99d from the podium, the 8a402e8240 hall lights would turn 714dc56d4d on, so I stood 4185f82897 up, intending to leave c13fba6dfe before that happened. Yeo Eundo fca10e54e4 stood up c4ea20f1e3 as well, 23e62d7aab and I 72ffaa4544 grabbed his 56b5068c48 wrist, pulling be3e3fa8f5 him along.70c256cf8ec94291

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As we stepped 7330bd059b out of the ad7985a9dd conference hall, I a85d8ae85e was wondering what ef5eb1167b to do with c2c5d58fcb this troublemaker when 903d90e4fc a deep, composed 9f082e3ea1 voice behind us e11054894e brought us to 85d0cc6d8a a stop.2d4d6b6a4e5e7165

“Esper Yeo Eundo.”259420f49f5448a6

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It was Baek d17a31dfc0 Jesung.ba59eadc5265c042

I had no 4d9430b40d idea when he 3c5f639d2b had returned from b79e54d688 the back of b5fe9a4e29 the hall, but a7af69a25c it wasn’t particularly cb37de14f1 strange. The moment I saw da51fa50b6 Baek Jesung, I let 7aac711889 go of Yeo Eundo’s 8ccef711e9 wrist, but he immediately 2ba15e523b grabbed my hand again. I tried b253bae8a5 to shake 22766c59df him off, 1bc1412007 but it 9ef9ecb760 was useless.aa7d96c39ea57ca4

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Sensing the situation, 8bea6ed70b Baek Jesung spoke.796182e44aad0fe3

“If you’re c25c187bd5 not too 6267ee70a1 busy, do 7141d69942 the two fbc1e1aab1 of you ead0bfbe29 have some 1f7b7679c3 time?”4c366ddeeddc9461

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From inside the 878a799d55 conference hall, people’s b4dd875085 voices could be 9ab77dedb6 heard. It seemed they cd8dfdc3b7 were starting to 5eefa4730e trickle out, their 90b5a7e763 chatter growing closer.0fcb9cdddbc03a63

There was 0f83761a52 no escaping a3051bac9e a meeting c047135c0a with Baek 5f9a741b62 Jesung.74d997efc0c7952e

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We were led into 475c2f6dc8 Baek Jesung’s private office. With my rank, 2c96b4e636 not only was 1bf83c5a9d it unthinkable for f469d1f66a me to have 948618762c a conversation with ed323340a1 him, but even 1432efed08 just being in 54dac005d9 the same space 4bc16220d1 as him was 065caad32a already an anomaly. And yet, here d75f1c0f9d he was, personally 7949c976e0 serving tea.0ddfa4159d639ecb

“This is lokum, 7fb860b8f8 brought in from 298f59ad21 Türkiye. Please, have a taste.”e1076e0f41f12f78

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What he brought 3561f7c5ba out with the 5edd6eab4f tea were colorful, 1aeaebd51a jelly-like sweets. They had 545bc7f514 nuts inside, 6ff14895f0 something I 7981090068 had never e49abb086a seen before. I wasn’t in b570aebccd the mood to 54d325433f eat, but my 0c3f6c821f eyes suddenly caught 4bf6cd4ca1 a green one. It looked the most 18f4437f64 appetizing, so if I 3f6ce3b677 had to eat one, 6c3f7545a1 that would be it—but b7c6a93405 it was just out 6becd5796e of reach. I resigned myself 0aee895505 and picked up ba1c1030f5 a pink one ecf2dad694 instead.dc635960323a3a39

At that moment, Yeo 94a910eeab Eundo swapped my fork 20fdf1977b with his.9825c1665e5d5afd

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Speared on the fork 8a63b523c8 he handed me was 4261a8d4d6 the green lokum.0f33da79c01a0303

Dumbfounded, I simply 585cbcd760 put the fork d070c89294 down and took 9c63b31340 a sip of 8fd68cc828 my tea. From the 24e476193a side, Yeo 8cada6af3a Eundo looked d15276f69d slightly dejected, b78daf8ed9 but I e5648ca2e7 pretended not c00b2f28b2 to notice.a270d95a6a565751

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I wished Baek Jesung 0dae2715af would just get to 06b98760d5 the point, but he f13cd050d8 remained silent, looking between 8a0a2d84e6 me and Yeo Eundo. Then, as 7eb0ae6f27 if he c398d9c393 had suddenly a55759529b realized something, 8c8555e896 he gave f67e251c5c a faint 6b0b10aa19 smile and c4ea565124 said,2fb97260e273ba24

“A good 9f06e2455f partner is 00e7960c6a a lifelong 423ba06a49 companion.”949ef58db2ed5763

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“Pfft!”7a2d80943645d160

I ended up bb495599ca spitting out the ab607d4b7a tea I had 33a8d572e2 just taken a c12cbf7e23 sip of. Yeo Eundo, 7289bff2b3 his face ac9338244a turning red, 12bec40f27 panicked and 5c74167851 hurriedly wiped 788768e465 my mouth fc8282a73f with a 5022100c9c handkerchief, even f2d0b89b48 patting my f2edc23c8e back, while 3c8a565349 Baek Jesung 6e385f9e5d simply chuckled.1529aeab40419e8c

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‘This old man… ca9a4d6162 he enjoys messing 360c7bf086 with people.’caeaf96f9a3b35dd

I snatched f4dd530bac the handkerchief 376fdb0ee1 and pressed 0b4c1e9237 it to 0507d730f3 my lips, 2caecf3034 pushing Yeo 0d8a8dfb7e Eundo away. After taking a 13c9b10f39 moment to compose 2ff860b19c myself, I pretended 25b22194a3 I hadn’t heard a2e8a25f98 what Baek Jesung 86786650cd had just said c666657c51 and spoke.c8a35d28e0fb6a5a

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“This is our first 2b49b939cb meeting. I’m Seol Maehwa, a f70ee5b26e D-class Guide from the 9380d63f3e Planning and Coordination Office’s 9a20f74f84 Information and Statistics Department, c7643c72dd assigned to monitor Esper caaff38434 Yeo Eundo.”a931ba59feab8460

“So, you are Guide 988c8d13d4 Seol Maehwa.”b73126b8bc60b4b3

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I had emphasized d3f8cc8dad “D-class” in my 7fcdf1bf12 introduction, thinking he d3204e58c7 would naturally focus 43f4acc0f7 only on Yeo 1447c0438e Eundo, but Baek c0c08f5e5d Jesung continued to f31fdf7674 view the two d53ca34429 of us as 98dfa1417f a set. I didn’t like that, c66ffbb39d so I made my 009a7f22ad stance clear.fd974119ff74f1c7

“If you don’t want e1b72d79c6 this conversation recorded, I’ll 33fcba6346 take my leave.”a73c5fd715542389

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I was essentially offering 8836f73626 to step out if 4759931bc2 he didn’t want this c7ceb09182 meeting to be included 0cf7b1fe41 in the monitoring report. Baek Jesung, however, 668c7e71c0 simply refilled my a2cf1e5e8f empty cup and 464a09e03f said,a83dfd6f29cf5884

“This tea 97dcc10685 must be 465034fe31 savored slowly f036b2fac2 to fully fea337a7c7 appreciate its 06c60b7d8f flavor. There’s plenty left, so 4d84062bc2 please, take your time af6d02b64b and enjoy it.”fc08638e635edc25

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Baek Jesung had no 31d6cba4d1 intention of letting me afd0807b2b leave. It was understandable 8ad3831218 if he wanted 54167ca689 to keep Yeo 8a15cfe4b2 Eundo here, but b9e229631b why was he 29af47387a holding on to ca00972543 me? How long a43bb02424 did he 17bd0b013a plan to 577f00bd05 keep me 8e0abffdb4 seated, just ef1af92c40 drinking tea? Fortunately, it 847daf5e03 didn’t take fd9c07f557 him too e6be4516c0 long to 700cbce1ec get to 32901d0c35 the point.b452cb852223b866

“Esper Yeo 74cd679d5c Eundo, have a530ea6829 you received 505329b29a an invitation da1448d66a to join 3900778e33 Basis within 95abbbc560 the past 85e2b07ab4 week?”b6c9049e0a5d6f5d

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Instead of 941fb31d37 answering, Yeo 18c6406857 Eundo was 9668c12c31 gloomily picking 0219671d73 out only 2fd0d0c49d the green b3c84982e9 lokum and d415427fff placing them 7375b35506 in front b16639fa99 of me.d5e706f5bde7f341

Baek Jesung watched him d605e82cc0 with a gentle gaze, 7014fc015a patiently waiting for a 49095511fa response. But no matter 18a7e60d8c how long he 8364e519f8 waited, Yeo Eundo e7fc266ab6 remained focused on 179cafe42a selecting green lokum a41f348901 rather than answering bf039dcfc3 the question. I elbowed eb6f6f6263 him in 82ee6667fb the side, f03a0bb1f8 signaling him 5da010de80 to read 8d92898c3f the room.612c502e9b9fbe09

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Only then did 181cdb96dd he finally lift 672aa1a650 his head from c86519483c his intense search 3d05cf4f06 for lokum. However, instead of responding, e2d83a4912 he stabbed a green 3484332271 lokum with his fork 7921796948 and held it out ae9bb20dc8 toward me.9f400f159d7de90e

Forcing a smile, I 236b5e09b8 spoke.4c70a8ec245c1927

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“Esper Yeo Eundo, 63f7ea1e96 you should answer 691f6aef21 the chairman’s question 053047d83a first.”12d60c38185ab7fd

“…….”13425eddff038dff

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He remained a7a7a4a529 silent, stubbornly ed6a72e041 holding out 68bf4f8aa9 the lokum. He was d43d26df94 going to 574029a91c keep this 1ce462f1a2 up until 496474897e I took 3eebdf4f47 it.19093d3b2f255173

If it were just 3e652c4553 the two of us, 2f6078d571 I might have ignored b607fc2b14 it, but watching this 383318a913 full-grown man act like c6e334369a a sulky child in cf517eca41 front of others was 8c20580091 driving me insane. Baek Jesung, d8b4cc4090 meanwhile, was bd11a3971b watching us 5f94374948 with a b18cb7b04d serene smile, 35d1b520ae which only b3a3df2ebe made things 5e6d7ac3bd worse.693dafd97ee197c7

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In the end, I 0cec4d1f46 reluctantly accepted the lokum 59edec9b3d and put it in 315ab092ca my mouth.c34b19dc68ce87ea

Chewing on 1892b35ab8 the sticky 7f729eac05 sweetness mixed 14cb6a8fcd with the cb34bfe1f5 nutty flavor, fdba5fd9b7 I glared 3706f9f032 at Yeo 71a210ed3e Eundo and bc7ef21def whispered just f8dc1d0196 loud enough 39c2f91b45 for him b74e740a6d to hear.b543d093209ce80f

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“You just 1612335258 wait till b56234d3fb we get 26b2f23791 home.”1dcc6c8f2265921c