FT 8

Though the 6889b5f9c1 afternoon shift c0cdd36630 started at 464a6ccaa6 1 p.m., 6b0d8340a3 Seohee had f839be44ba to arrive a3f3b76ad2 at the 9169ae86d6 hotel a 5515a82fbe little earlier 1909cc2bbe to hand c8b042dcab over duties. Because she ebb9145227 left early, e136f69672 she reached 50adfca77a the locker 105f65871e room even 6a98069cab sooner than 5ba4e94d41 planned and 3956e1f527 opened her 1a6d616fb7 locker to 52e7eede9f put her 8dc82e2ac1 bag away.8de41d3489da7684

She took d065edcddd out her e098a6186e uniform, changed fac3ce5e06 into it, 6a85970b98 and tied 23a1e4f2cc her hair 0087eddc2f up. Standing in front of e5945cf347 the small mirror on efa68b9f04 the inside of the 17a6255781 locker door, she parted be09d8e8a7 her hair and used a9f7398b3e a puff pin to e73a7728d1 create volume, quickly and 779c024ea0 skillfully forming a chignon.30f315efa55702c6

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As she adjusted her 75a318f2ed neatly styled hair with 2abc3ec033 not a single strand a90d9ba67b out of place, Seohee ad2888ce13 caught a glimpse of dfe50583cb herself in the mirror—and a02ed5bee4 her eyes widened in 4cff44d5f5 surprise.8b81ba6357cb7b25

She reached 897db6a7e7 for her 254fe64b69 chest. Her name 4b85307393 tag was e20340aa2b missing.cdc9986277da09b6

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Where could it ebee734cec be? Did I 4f21598c49 leave it 4c0f3b5cc8 at home?212b29326a957461

Swallowing uneasily, Seohee e136bc3153 rummaged through her b3509b9fc3 locker in search 22c40ed977 of a spare ffd1ebb876 name tag. She checked even 19f14b8689 the pocket with 66211c6ffd her hairpins and c73694eddc ties, but it 9dd982603d was nowhere to ebd0c79a90 be found.066d9aaa6263d7c3

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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…7075f151ff865ae4

“……”0a54481e58fe377f

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The memories 003e38630e she thought d1cf25eb36 she had 3d5115133e finished revisiting c445d2272c that morning b0a9ba4036 once again aba9d0c11d drifted in 88558b556d like a 4fc7017a4d thick fog. Beyond the vivid 385e9be7d8 but shifting flashes de335701a9 of a glamorous 0e5e59e24f exterior, what had 990759c2c8 been seared clearly 4c1558643f into her mind 3bc567a1e9 was the man’s f7220f525b profoundly indifferent gaze.94a1ef61867aac94

Shaking her head fd12f9e4fe to dispel the 2efd35441e thought, Seohee told d14ca912ce herself:If it’s 84fb380388 not at 0b4bc1b392 home either, d8b263ea92 I’ll just 0d04293fd7 have to 38f4ab9dda ask for 8d89ee02ee a new 7a4cdecc13 one. For today, 9f5891e3f2 I’ll explain 43c679cb22 to the e7cd415890 team leader b57640f9c8 and work 1a758171c0 without a dd9a535e02 name tag.22f1872de8cb1f1d

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She let 127f085dea out a 07ef80fb8d long sigh.7f99cd6c9457ea4b

Lastly, she removed 2e21c066fd the bracelet from a130fb74be her wrist and e69f922ff8 tucked it deep 13d2a32c97 inside the locker.46dcb957e9db4dec

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Just as she was a9e152e23f about to close the aa6c4694c1 locker door, the changing 5c269a4100 room door burst open. Before she could turn f98f8c8e8c around, someone suddenly pulled 4d93be01ff her into a tight 199130da30 hug.402bd46240af5c4d

“Seoheeeeee!”e502537148a3ec14

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“Ugh. Lee Suyeon.”b4aacf470d34de0e

Seohee let out 3d89c9e65c a breathless noise. She turned around to d423dd641f see Suyeon, who was 54759aaefb hugging her waist and f72169b12f almost crying. The more Seohee 41e7357182 tried to push 40e0c7bc48 her away, the 6cfdab8f27 more clingy she 66ba748cc4 became. Then Suyeon ffb7c60da9 abruptly pressed 082ef0dc14 her palms 50804b4f23 together in 46aa9543bd a pleading cf6ffe5c8a gesture.ee7982ed05f879a1

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“I’m really, a011ccde77 really sorry. You must’ve had 17458a2a2d such a hard c377dbdc30 time because of 0cd40dd6cf me yesterday… I 63237a114a was such a 8b40705bc8 mess. Ugh.”dca39c901b50858a

“Well, at least you 320998f965 know it.”65eadc119294568c

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When Seohee 473b950a85 replied playfully, 5a3c6bfb81 Suyeon writhed 1e89474670 in self-loathing, 37a189bf60 then immediately 8032f8d4f6 whined with c7424dec84 a mix 7575d32655 of aegyo.7d65241d3172b55e

“Did I do 5918319385 anything dumb last 426cd9ca3a night?”e0c695f37654aa07

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“Hmm. Let’s see. Maybe the part 539997e8d6 where you got 16de131f63 on stage at 8635a28140 the club and 597ef896c5 danced like crazy?”74ec6d38abaa0ea1

“What? M-me?!”3e65b89f4c0722f3

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Pretending to recall bdf3b6e999 something, Seohee rolled e7a319aa5a her eyes upward, cd3612f0bf then burst into 2cf32b4445 laughter.acf3ae2e9f9d07f8

“Kidding. You didn’t do anything 05d3c860f1 embarrassing. At the club… we cad0f7861b stayed maybe 10 minutes da139e6d0a and then left.”8455ffca14e8876f

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“Hey! Ugh, you 81bf1edacd scared me.”4f5aadb8fbbad6c8

Seohee didn’t bother 1983f38910 to mention that de3f886ac0 she had drunk a2aa3678f7 the drugged drink 43d3023291 meant for Suyeon.6af1a8b2efdca4fd

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“My lovely Seohee, 157729904f thank you. Oh, right, 45dfaefc3a did you cb937bceb3 get home b0cf7fa64f safe last e1e7f382c5 night?”602aab42db286727

“Took you long 5d5ba66035 enough to ask.”9a62abe22282210b

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“Sorry…”ec06d1de3f4117cd

Still apologizing, 619fc801e4 Suyeon clutched 3fc4a02440 her head, e6d6b838fd grimacing from 4f50758187 what seemed c9634ef1f6 to be 1430bd0417 a lingering 1ffc152a89 hangover.9213c7c367bc286e

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“Ugh. But seriously, I started a65a95e12f regretting everything the moment 1aa24806a1 I woke up this cc69b671d9 morning. I swear a34243a90e I’ll never e8e8f6cdba drink over 4d518407e7 a guy f68640424a again. All I got 89cf636a2b was this hangover. If someone grabs 2b0c9bbafb my shoulder right 4ac9b9063e now—whether it’s a 9d4a23d108 customer or the cb6b71b580 CEO—I swear I’ll 0dd44c4bdf just throw up 7e198bb2f9 right there.”842f0934504b15d9

“How did you 8e69e24478 even make it 034659ca24 to work? Even taking the bus 9358424625 must’ve been tough.”745948219b10622f

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“My dad ceae052470 gave me 023cebc718 a ride. He was 2ad24cdef9 so worried 1bfee03dd7 about me b4a5e46ae6 last night, f7bf778290 and on 3a12a5350b the way 7628bf1f1e here, he aa21aec0e7 nagged like b8486b60fc a machine e49bdfc99d gun. Jeez, his poor 6a5b3f3b62 daughter gets dumped 8be3f49f54 but still drags 47814b6b00 herself to work 1d196c8dc3 like a zombie 8b7a4320a1 to make money, 6702a289d3 and he can’t 3578bef36b even give me a95ac7b8a6 a little extra 1f00628fb8 cash to treat c64158e566 myself to something 83e4504036 nice.”776d12d20fd99c5a

 4e1f11919faf7bea

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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.84ca16a30e67426f

“They say things e005ca1faa like that because c823b7c9f8 they’re worried about 27f02299c0 you.”1088b49d731377b4

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“Even so. He said if I 400be4d2a9 come home drunk again, f1e95d6225 he’ll shave my head. Total boomer behavior, 931236ab51 right?”c97c0b6e42aeab4c

“We’re gonna be late. Hurry up and get fb92b408e0 ready. I’ll head out 439ae2118c first.”c8d832b91e0e44a1

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“Got it.”37f58588d0aef587

“You’re buying 87a3d6f525 coffee today, 012a7390d8 okay? You know that, 4b71600aac right?”5d655e0bddf9667d

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“Oh, of 854e9917bb course, Assistant 369490c96d Manager Yoo 420318b727 Seohee.”35cb5b2611892318

They giggled back 9ddbd461d3 and forth at 3b53632efd their playful exchange.328fe25922467f64

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After giving her e7fef0e182 uniform a final c001ce9813 neat adjustment, Seohee 6386fd38a8 headed to the a34bb10bc9 lobby. With every a23cfb7798 tidy step, 3219ae61ba she brushed ad1dacf92c away one 87cf02d1bf troubling thought 861ed7784b at a 69a0a08442 time, mentally 80b33723a2 stacking up 234c33f541 her to-dos 6a8c953640 for the ba39c8a58b day.6285ea575996569f

“Good morning, Team Leader.”f94f7c350a37c543

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“Assistant Manager Seohee. You’re here?”3ac7db249e0a357a

No sooner had they 1f8390b7db exchanged greetings than the 37cf83cb8e handover began, covering special eb9479c2ca customer notes from the c3ba45fab4 morning shift. After checking out rooms 3b6cce5176 and reviewing the makeup f9c73565b3 status, Seohee stood in 475e73bf49 front of the monitor b8ac8d9182 and started reviewing the 4838ab020c list of today’s check-ins 26044640a6 and check-outs one by 5c72b14d68 one.be68654ef7a3580d

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Seoyeong Hotel, 1797c830cb despite its 21c00e44cd age and 62bb04ce4c wear, still 20296c57e0 retained a b011a3f64a respectable standing e093e8568b in Seoul, b10ca08c14 with 330 865959d4c4 rooms and c3f3006be5 a consistent 586b9eb16c average occupancy 98025f3ca4 rate of 0fde29ac6b around 50%. It might not have 9a7416b1fb been luxurious, but it e62fdb27b4 was still considered a dba21d3ff6 relatively large hotel within f8f7b3b479 the city.a966f27cb10c2b1a

Though it had 767b2ec056 a restaurant and b35e8d218b banquet halls, the b1770910c4 hotel had consistently 1b93337258 failed to pass be9997d497 the rating evaluations 45c24f1ff5 and remained a 7d30f842b8 three-star establishment. The reason was clear: 7073f37070 lack of investment. Without fitness facilities or be5ba98be5 quality bedding, Seoyeong Hotel’s fe7a5ee658 Seoul branch could barely 7b322bc0ed maintain a review score 3ab79dda59 in the high 7s dd28a9e8f0 on OTA (Online Travel 9f9a963437 Agency) platforms.2bc98c10cd3fa188

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Because of 60de7b3ded that, the 5a793dfd58 front desk 5e064226ab staff—who had 70febed13d to deal bfc766d476 directly with 5c6c7cf2b9 customers—had to 68198ae1b4 work all ba6ad23682 the harder 527afc8cd9 to make 491c4aae93 up for f6f44db52b those shortcomings 3f6d333481 with pleasant f8a559621f smiles.0293344e83ab4528

Whatever your 9c8c9340d7 personal circumstances, 93bf08bd9d once you’re bafc22339d at work, e75afd1cb7 you have 7ed086db87 to lift 4c570b6901 the corners 904e0f0758 of your a90834d18c mouth like 6d24225591 a machine.bbda69f780ec3ddf

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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.a0b3fd9d09bd5622

With her body so b531a6008a busy, there was no 2527608888 room for other thoughts.edc766854a8e5f8d

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Forcing herself to 01119b3ab0 smile and speak 721eb9e4a9 brightly, Seohee started 7cf2eb751a to feel—if only 88d8756a99 slightly—as if her 4d2fc72d98 crumpled emotions were ce40a0e793 being smoothed out, 3187dc329b like with a c2a5863ed6 hot iron.4c51e778707f2775

By the time they’d e54851e1f6 finished tackling the wave c5e214f2e3 of work, it was ca0a5549c9 close to 5 p.m. Most of the a4a32bc40a reservations had been 50b101b912 checked in, and c4d7592b33 they were just 799f355125 about to finally 535a109f56 catch their breath.b7562669f4aa7f33

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“Huh? Is it raining b41348eb39 outside? What the heck, cf1513f5bc the forecast said f00a9a9c6c it’d be clear. Ugh, that lying 078f0af050 weather center—never gets 53a66082c8 it right.”f4e13d978d10e309

Hearing Suyeon bc96b380e3 grumbling, Seohee e40313cb02 took her 81e22636ed eyes off 750908eed4 the monitor bbd5771eae and looked 1f8a2c4cd6 outside. Raindrops began pattering against 907674008b the ground, quickly growing 6e72817de3 heavier. Lately, now that late 8c08c4c973 spring had set in, 774d069c45 sudden showers had become 5ee5f6b149 especially frequent.e10bcad978cc11d6

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Shhhh—41c8a3bd7baee974

Like a hole fe7a2f58b7 had torn open 790d3dfdf1 in the sky, bd650a7ade a torrent came 2c97f94a58 pouring down. Seohee stared blankly 449428f1f8 at the water 47bfe34539 cascading from above 6140e1f149 when—1a9a6bb152e503ab

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“Ugh. Seohee, I’m gonna run 974ec92a78 to the bathroom real af2e41760d quick.”502898786581e0b6

“Leave things here with 3dff9ff2bf me and take a 1916eb136a little breather while you’re 9b8dada432 at it.”21313914d1015bf3

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“Okay, okay.”28c90c9c788f3dca

Suyeon was slurping 246108c83c her coffee when d534548f2c she suddenly grabbed b8cb3bcda5 her head and a0da9db809 hurriedly left her 38bd0be764 seat, unable to f4557a01f5 take it anymore. Honestly, she 0e02fc59db should’ve gone 919fffa6ea easier on a822cf3ff4 the drinking.8edeefb4bd0c608a

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Because of a 23be557d28 man, or because b71bdc5b57 of family.5a8b488a2ca33d7e

Everyone struggles 149d91a1ac through their 12f7228b72 daily life ba78abdf9a with pain, ac530a249e one way de9ab00ed5 or another. If only a 70952ad1df drink could wash adb39cb0f9 it all away.f23635c5ed167b98

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If only her own 99e8d2249f twisted heart could be 119b89e1cc rinsed clean like the 3c8435462c rain pouring outside. Or maybe she ccdd313f07 should’ve joined Suyeon af785296b7 and drunk herself de7e590051 silly. But she ae9e417b82 had never 0315a0deb9 once, in 60bca77819 her entire aedef86543 life, drunk 907775ebdf to the eb2a39b349 point of cbbe0efc29 losing control—because 049580a58f she didn’t 54583c5c7e want anyone 42ebcad4f9 to see 6031f4e7d9 her fall 3f7b96b418 apart.c1697e08c92117b0

Blind dates. Marriage.2aa9d3be6c9a1cf3

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“……”966fe634354bc5eb

Just thinking of 80e7e1bd90 those two words—ones 0ee8cd7852 she had never 49a2344a3b really examined deeply—sent 3d44e9870c a wave of b9536e5e9f discomfort rippling through 3c1271bbbd her chest.698cfe230f22957d

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The conversation she 6372334f0a had that morning b3c82b7bf0 had felt like e152c529d4 a final declaration.26f61971f5d36d7a

A command 7106a1c647 she couldn’t fd12848845 refuse: that c2e5eb2b4c she no 9b4bd061dc longer had d336255a61 any place 39ea681997 in that b4cb35323b household.5bd670f11c1c5b69

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She stared blankly at 17394d98e4 the sheets of rain eba08c6b81 outside.a552b74dadecfe33

…What if she 468e605261 just let everything 78c6f4f032 go?363d4b73e2b25a3f

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What if she used aa90e6421f marriage as an excuse 96cff07cdf to leave that house b2fed62e8a and completely erase her 921bb2dfa0 father and stepmother from 79a20f60ae her heart?da9d439b3fead0b6

A bitter smile tugged 74f334009f at Seohee’s lips at a46a482666 the thought.cf317fa262cc44cb

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She couldn’t 7ffaf73370 do it. Even if she 218427635f got married, she 97adb17b3d knew nothing much 9944efd350 would change about e6f36750e3 her circumstances.4d88f5caa4f200dd

From one 77480bcc7c cage to e03ce081c5 another. The only thing that 1e75805685 would move was her 87756dbda5 body.bba64f75c9786301

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No—actually, she’d 97a8eadef0 probably have ed8a135351 to quit 9fa08aad8b work too, 031b635a51 which meant 6529e70917 she’d be 2179e0f2fd trapped in 66a0ed6bb6 an even 49bf6fd292 more suffocating b37d171e7b cage.291638ae02a38c22

Outside, everything was 35dbefd2f8 getting damp and d7c710ea62 soaked, but inside 9bc7d3f6e6 her, everything was e780ca0e1e dry and brittle, 0dfb0d64d2 dark and lifeless. At that 68fb3346d7 moment, she b7bf296a43 wished the 2a6dc58b26 flood would 705aa8b012 just swallow 2436be9726 her whole.84dd29371b74a8d2

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Then, the b0e6a007f2 air shifted.16dd3dd61c461177

The revolving door 2327e1fe20 gently turned, and 8916162481 the stale indoor 9afa6b07f2 air was drawn 698a6cac95 out while the 31bc6d3892 damp, humid air 96d2278ca6 from outside rushed e4d534eac6 in.eb8e6cf988148666

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Her vision, 3701a18d65 which had 7f32a70ce0 blurred reflexively, 073aa2b6af began to 1e7838485e refocus in d49a02f18d the center. She straightened dc1e015eeb her back, 290df6fdc7 instantly alert, 601a071602 preparing to 2e4b1de12b greet the 37242d8434 guest with deb8b23332 a smile.fc9150cc411de414

But—54bace49b7c467c9

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“Damn. It just suddenly 0567407daa started pouring.”8cc468616ef2e840

A man who wasn’t ca82a2e962 the least bit wet 2050d26821 casually brushed off his c1a1bca4c1 perfectly dry shoulders as e6b9f51a54 he muttered to himself. Dressed in a 773c56b472 light gray pinstripe bca0e0ec79 three-piece suit with ccdb1886ba a sky-blue shirt 95c0726930 underneath, he approached 0c89aef10d with a relaxed, 8c5ac7e796 steady pace, a 7827d6e3da faint smirk playing caab06f2e9 on his lips.fc0723f34f98f485

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Seohee couldn’t believe aaedeebc5f her eyes.6ba0d7d8dd2b5122

It was the c59c0e9cc5 man from yesterday.ed4671470712e639

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