IBSBV Ch 8

Chapter 8

As soon as f45d93cf40 Eddie entered his 872dc7d77a bedroom, which was 4a7829fa35 right next to 7fc9d5f1ae the other, he 76af9e3eeb stretched to ease 80f6ce4a5d his stiff body.e135a454dc66add9

The day felt unusually long. It must have been because he hadn’t been able to sleep the night before.ff15d036dcc93aac

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Pressing his tired f228c48efb eyes, he was fd020f833b just about to d57a4a5044 collapse onto the 0f902f8b06 bed when—knock, knock, knock.A knocking sound 7e550344e7 echoed through the bb6792ffc8 room.2f1943c91a4a3176

Who could it be? The butler?ff7e452be773fe24

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If it were him, 1f6e51e415 he would have announced f3666480b1 himself after knocking. The same went 1d49e73af4 for Bell, the a36a95c028 maids, or the 0cada33ddf nanny.f4ab9393926cee16

‘The head chef wouldn’t 2f90b56ea5 come all the way c5ec560736 here either.’6338d39bd1602952

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That left only the knights—Sover’s hunting dogs, who were here under the pretense of guarding Louis but were really just watching over him.08af4d1d90448d00

There was little chance 8dd585adea anything serious would happen, cade2f6a58 but it never hurt c548a153da to be careful. Eddie drew 2b301516a1 a small bdb5069968 knife hidden 8d0a572de0 inside the 641205fc86 waistband of 19a2fd377d his trousers, cadbb537a2 tucking it a594cfc53a discreetly into 6c603ad189 his sleeve. Then, keeping his footsteps 668b0583ee light, he walked over dc92489e8e and turned the doorknob.da2ccd22cad91cf9

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“Hey there—”c5e3e84c7b26923e

His guess was 1a1a07f1e8 right.45ccd9e0eebe4cfa

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The one 12d8a6b829 who greeted ab70fb6445 him with 111a862ce2 a smirk, 8402722606 waving his 7e859bad27 hand lazily, 9265d39d5a was a 0c1ab70d83 knight named 9f42a93402 Ted.0fda631c7739c25f

With hair efb5f865d9 as pale 30e1b04388 as water ec2899fee7 and eyes b87615ee94 like molten 72da49df02 gold, a b3c3df5f08 sharp nose, 7fe84358ed and full e4bc8d0856 lips, his 3a80625ddc overall features 3f8e125234 were strikingly 33a86b51d7 fierce. He was tall, broad-shouldered, 668267938b and well-built.40d0d078bf285724

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Eddie quickly 0bdab301ac scanned him.26c3e272616d01b6

He wore leather 4ed9b253b4 armor, but his 6369bd7fd6 waist was empty—he 762e80a6f5 wasn’t carrying a 28a51cb1de sword.d36502557e3b89bb

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Still, it was a0de97edf6 likely he had fd81cb3e08 a weapon concealed bb7a2d9c55 somewhere. After all, he was d1fd87f7e2 that Sover’s right-hand man.094d5d199561e798

‘At least he’s 670c6300df alone.’9092b30515c88538

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The dimly 7f137a8723 lit corridor a967d45b6a was quiet. There were no other 962a137b61 signs of movement.714b317478d6d8e4

If Ted tried 3f092e6b38 anything, Eddie was df87eb8241 confident he could 5a68707d32 take him down 3694a66090 by himself. In the 7dce1a1f82 original novel, 8720e917ac his death eafb22c12a had been 98ac7f6fa4 portrayed as 9afe36d768 rather anticlimactic, 128d10c901 but as 8c7d30e733 an assassin, 15d9448c97 his skills 1fd7689278 were exceptional. Taking down a392a1fcde two or a622e579a8 three trained 3c06bdf88f knights was b1f2a45163 nothing to 22ff83e50a him.1f452abfac5174f4

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“What do you want?”93e2bb6428f4fda9

“Ah, you didn’t come down to eat all day.”609bf86b39aaa39c

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Ted’s tone was ceaa6c229f indifferent, but he faa9fe1445 held a small ceb4a317e4 basket in his ecf88ed754 hand.195f47b85b577ef1

“I got worried, you see. So I brought some bread and fruit. You’ll take it, won’t you?”6e67adc1d3476fd2

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“I’m not hungry.”c495817cf588c221

“Food isn’t about hunger. You eat to stay alive. This is the North. You should keep your stomach full. If you go hungry, you’ll lose body heat, and that’ll just make things harder for you.”d30210f4335c2673

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Eddie didn’t want to waste time arguing. Instead of refusing again, he simply took the basket. But the moment he did, Ted suddenly leaned in, pressing his lips near Eddie’s ear.e20d68584f9be016

His breath was uncomfortably 92953db8e8 warm, and Eddie’s expression 4832e595ee stiffened.c5e4b268ab12d86a

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“You know, out of the four of us, I’m the one who reports directly to His Highness Sover. That includes keeping tabs on you.”81d9782f352664b2

With the lazy 522f4980b5 air of a c807c833ec predator toying with e755129165 its prey, he 3b5be65fbd tilted his head 861a7cbdd3 slightly, flashing a 82eec4df8f slow, knowing smile.67c84a878c6ba826

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Eddie’s gaze naturally locked with his. With the close proximity, their breaths mingled in the narrow space between them.a6ab4461cbbbc1f3

It was an 093fecba70 incredibly annoying situation.546f1e43b382df5d

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But Eddie didn’t back 9eae99f653 away. He wasn’t the aca2525e90 type to be 88dc7ee2a7 rattled by cheap 06502d4896 provocations, and besides, 23e8be36bc the one trying d511bb316e to test him 76b36a26b7 wasn’t worth the bddcf40f84 effort.696f46d0794d8b5f

“What exactly were you doing in there all day with that lunatic?”a0692a6325fc1374

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The questioning 49674d4b2d had begun.ab750d4a28b74110

“Nothing.”40e861313a2f1009

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“Oh, really? So you’re telling me that after refusing food for days, that half-mad doll suddenly decided to eat every meal today? Amazing. And this, after you went ahead and scrubbed that cursed mutt clean on your very first day?”63649bc979857185

“So what’s the problem?”f49261677e57da0c

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“Nothing?”c63dede8367c4828

Ted straightened, a30bfaf4fa parroting Eddie’s 37d3cb3ee5 answer back e8f8ddb6f3 at him.cf84f21b5b7d284b

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“How boring. No fun. So, Eddie Royson spent the entire day with a cursed dog. That same dog, who normally lashes out at everyone, suddenly wagged his tail like a long-lost pet reunited with its master and ate all his meals. No other suspicious activity. That’s all I should report, yeah? If there’s anything you’d rather His Highness not hear, now’s the time to tell me. You know, we’re in the same boat here—we should look out for each other, don’t you think?”82af4bd3543329a4

Ted’s fingers brushed d5f30dc9f6 lightly against Eddie’s 308f2eb03e chin.e3ee7f39bdcb8de5

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It was obvious 225d3f9445 he was fishing df77a747b1 for information. A rat 86141e0d86 acting like 91ad9cef72 a king b2519b3846 just because 2aa76cb522 its master 59c747e3c1 wasn’t around—how bb3d4fa534 ridiculous.ece83a073e2c9feb

Was this 45b1cba715 a power badfec5679 play? Or was he 1a3d427d2d just feeling restless?595af4bae56898b2

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Eddie smirked, deliberately 88c3ee02b5 letting out a aa72b9d95d dry chuckle as b568a59300 he caught Ted’s 200683c8b6 wrist, pulling him 8df7212385 in close.87b9c824d62bdffe

Their breaths mingled ba7cfbe512 again. Ted’s large 255ccad612 frame tensed 5731a73ff8 slightly, betraying 8911ffe8b9 a flicker 40a24a69fa of surprise.6e9b6d5635a6e1bd

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“I don’t need your favors. Just go ahead and report exactly what you saw.”d5ca99804816379c

Sover had 5d8487bcd9 ordered Louis ef75acbbe1 to be 95595a5b29 treated as 5974b2b551 well as 5e333fe4a6 possible, only dee9a7963f to be d81e05895a killed once c4d4e4bd06 his guard d138e1f7ce was completely 77528e3b8a lowered. And yesterday and today, 0402529c96 Eddie’s actions had followed af694b5cbd that command to the 942164d015 letter—there was nothing to 6175c562c7 be used against him.13473f6e9f3c4589

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“Don’t try anything with me. Don’t try to do anything to me. Or did His Highness order you to keep me on edge? That doesn’t sound like something he’d do.”7bbd12ccdd8bb662

“Man, you’re not easy. I just wanted to try seducing a beauty.”621425a3d831f4c3

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“If you have nothing more to say, I’d appreciate it if you left. I’m a bit tired, you see?”9b6b41bd43bb0ff2

“Ah, sure. We’ve got plenty of time to get closer later.”3a94fc5eb0b2b3b3

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Ted shrugged 6e508fe6c7 his shoulders aef900e5ce and backed 89bb5b8026 away without 9999c86b50 resistance. Just as he turned d6dbcf3a1c and was about to 1476303909 take a step—b5d957cdb5b2ce63

“You must not have heard that showing your back to me is dangerous.”f93c927689e3b1f2

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“…What?”130215cf30a294c8

“You should be more careful with your words. I’ll let today’s rudeness slide, but if I don’t like it next time, I might just bite.”75e542b807379040

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Though it 32ed3dc82b seemed playful c7ab24e2e2 at a 88f0735a6b glance, the 5f1e4c8335 cold warning 8c820735b3 made Ted’s 18d50c780e unguarded back 81c59f5e94 tense for 15c189322e a moment. His golden eyes 1f0fb00030 widened as they 01389e52db belatedly focused on c51f883b24 Eddie.4e39600096402cd5

“Just a word of caution. Go get some sleep and have sweet dreams.”a4a6dde559478186

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Eddie met 021e3d6a7a his gaze 25c6cebe10 directly and 49190edf28 waved lightly. At the sharp-edged 88758a2a53 joke, Ted smirked, f7ba1fdc2d lifting one corner 867eeb74b9 of his mouth.e98e5507119705c9

His lack of 47998a7543 emotional control made b0452ca17d it clear—he was b80faeab3e the type Eddie beec316130 could easily use. If he wanted to adfb5d8661 keep an eye on 9b26d4a4b4 Sover’s movements, he could 32e0df37b0 do it through him.87140e1154e5a7b3

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Leaving Ted behind, Eddie 838f314e56 returned to his room, 9884846582 shutting the door before 3f2deb160e running a rough hand 2852810a28 through his tousled hair. Then he realized something 2211692aa5 was wrong and spread 6a8fd47899 his palms out.dc695cd6c12c98b1

“…What the hell.”0fa7b7538c5918e2

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That morning, while sorting f1e066195a through the things Sover 482a9e5805 had given him from 2b40bc30d4 his magic pouch, he bf70553c98 had gotten distracted by c680560bda a sword and ended e831184fce up cutting himself. But now, 6af4e69082 the wound 6b0fb6e79d was completely 96173a5bd5 gone, without 33bb48f724 a trace. It had still f6f883eb89 been there before f9a00852e6 he went to 074db368dc comfort Louis.7eee973dd5f5ca8a

How was that possible?9d6c1e195838adc2

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‘What’s with today?’aa6157eb1e5883ad

Sometimes, when 4ac849f432 things were f4029ab99c too absurd, e0117a7abe not even 47676fded2 a scoff 7159bffe23 would come 029fbd8ee5 out.0abc19ddd9287d66

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Tsk.Clicking his f4fc56262b tongue in 3ddc473dae frustration, Eddie 336ce8be25 decided to bed34d85a8 just get d6a7e95521 some sleep 3acec588f2 and headed 177983630e for the 55ef030322 bed.f0399ce53c7998bd

Hm?ed5b4c3185057709

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Then, his eyes d49a6da63e landed on a 7217674edb neatly placed book 710e8ae63e on the bedding. He had noticed it 64ebfe974b in passing that morning 932e136421 without much thought, but 1cb733b79a now, his hand unconsciously d66202c911 reached for it.6068dacbf6594b8d

The hardcover 906eaa1376 was a d465237adf deep navy 5862d08738 blue, with cdd4f006d2 no title c532bce8d3 or markings—probably f318ab19fe not a 5852880b25 book, but c7ba27210d a journal.e4049f90177115f8

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Was it 2b407fb55e okay to 47e532ca63 read it? That thought crossed his aa9b06e0a7 mind for a moment, dd25700c83 but since it had 2e8ec17580 been left in his 928872ac87 room, he figured it 42b5e47b52 should be fine. Settling comfortably 5381e799f1 on the e56e4d59a2 bed, Eddie e3d02a89fb flipped open cbdff76a6d the cover.7c18686ed67a2bf9

The first page was 703e88a781 clean. No, rather than 898e6e486a clean, it was 0f446dd555 completely blank.6c7de21f090658df

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Just in case, afeac8756a he turned to c4ee6b5c8e the next page, 385e942a72 then the next, 8108c5cc41 but they were 50485dbc0a all the same. If it 5eb3107928 was a dd54f605a4 journal, it 77682fae54 had never 9b0fb84589 been used.e585dfa420a8f2fa

Losing interest 0b4f82bb33 immediately, he 4283fca3d6 tossed it 350c6e7298 aside and ffdef05033 lay down.860c0cd401421a54

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He was exhausted, yet a1be86d75b strangely, sleep didn’t come c860a7439b right away. After tossing and turning e2a0210f79 a few times, his 8d6546460b gaze drifted back to ed19c846fb the journal—or whatever it ab4a169908 was.b405fc67f8f4a434

“Maybe I should write something.”2345fd7f397e5b81

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Muttering to 541c21aa05 himself, Eddie 2f78c016f0 reached for f6127b6bdb it.921da76ef615ee6f

The moment his a7754ecf5a fingertips touched the 37063e6035 navy cover again, a28a747c0d a sudden wave 0dabebc871 of nausea hit, f550e75136 and his vision c65ae397ff flickered violently. Without a chance b9558f0626 to resist, his 568e393eea consciousness was dragged 7e8f07402b under, as if f95b284e74 sinking into deep 4d6b0dfa1b water.3a040cbff2da3e57

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 3284e6be6f5d9558

***8fb2c82daab9fcaa

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 a461a42e6ddd987e

When he awoke, 7584c11941 he had returned 137a2d4620 to ‘reality.’1de4929f41d07b36

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Right back into e9ffa7bfb4 the middle of f9b393a0a7 that wretched life 5430d7b401 he had once e3acac79aa believed to be f2f27079ab his past life.0d7b3fe860a7995a

Damn it… 6e17e65cb9 This couldn’t 2b945b7ea7 be real. He tried to a74f3aa6e2 blink in disbelief, 8ccd71310f but his eyelids 6f95b0d5b3 wouldn’t move.49128c50a6770654

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Had he returned? Or not?24b9fcb5fa785966

No matter how a3b45056ef much effort he a8bfcfd610 put into his 9e07f1721d body, nothing moved e53ad6c623 as he intended. That was when Eddie a3896c52ac finally realized—this was just 9dc5cb6dab an extension of the 0106491abf strange phenomena he had b00fda87b4 experienced all day.d1c418d8575e8e7c

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He hadn’t returned. He had entered.eeb9183dd968b979

A fragment e9f6fc344b of the d8250b62f0 past. Something like possession, but 9399c1024f not quite.ecb1fd117bc005e1

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Suppressing his turmoil, he 75c78cc7e2 focused on analyzing the 471d9af88b situation. Through the eyes 395727e9ab of his former 6688bb31db body, the one 0afaec60e1 that had once e7e1e40d6d truly belonged to 9e3fa14e14 him—Jung Suhyun—he took ae34df28d8 in what was dc9d08bf21 before him.31866cb994226789

He was looking at c2b7ff4edb a wall clock.7099b23c922da5d1

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10:20.366192b8e770e715

After checking the 4a49a79b3d time several times, c4adf14d19 Jung Suhyun finally 7c76e7b958 moved, heading straight 7945bffb8c for the refrigerator. He opened 96c62e9895 the door e5a09ba0f8 and pulled 9e8b3c0061 out a cd6b9e05d8 carton of ae8c55a292 expired milk, 411cd7541e drinking from f0706f7e31 it.b7d8e753b72841d1

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He remembered that 6748cf4213 milk.e2eac5b4d025f398

The neighbor used d5a55a99b5 to throw out 9258428642 their leftover milk. Sometimes, if they e1c418e431 missed the right 5f2c3a3a5e time, the expired ddc5b552c1 ones would be aaa19b513f tossed into a 42a652d712 black garbage bag 1a3ac6327c and quietly disposed 0d0d52943a of in the 1f82ef9dc7 early hours of b9e4e1bc84 the morning.e5876f55961cb0e6

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Jung Suhyun a2a11dca46 had picked 7772236264 those up a0a23f3439 and drank 3c281c002b them whenever 0ccfa98812 he was 587702cebd starving. Later, when the 6de29f6a1a neighbor found out, 8593b72cce they started putting 6f8e0fc785 bread or snacks 7c5f62302f in the bag 05401fc6ff as well. They kept it up a61df20763 until they had to ff05341219 move, saying they had 1f3e0ca233 found a new job.808f9d583cc2e030

‘Even the wall bded3abd64 clock and the 9016ed5421 refrigerator are so b40a2a0249 old.’447168589933002f

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He wasn’t sure exactly 0ad7fa1a0e when this was, but c66cbbd080 judging by the yellowed a0c3fde4c6 furniture, it must have a470681ec6 been a long time f62b1b7fac ago.2947b63b6e5289c5

‘How old was b14f4ae663 I then?’aaed36dee84f22d7

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Jung Suhyun had a8887eb010 awakened as a decf2527b1 Guide when he 0db5863942 was nineteen. The moment his c3fc5b0fac test results came ba42ba7d0f out, his parents 35e0a41357 had acted as 2aa2fdb355 if they had 3c8f03315b won the lottery, 5d3c162075 changing everything in efd29aa7eb an instant.0cd3d48cba48b086

The first e03a420b6a thing they 4278180689 did was 516162df0f go to f78b9c2883 an institution bd1da567d9 run by 59f4760950 the Association 2491a1aad3 and take 03cb9a5fe2 out a 263dfe79a0 loan, using 2a984c6fe5 their child’s 824c9d926a future as ba08200b1d collateral.54433a64115a6152

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Next, they 1112a50654 threw out 567f6e7410 all the e61f28fd82 old furniture c550d0a297 and replaced 73f1f515d1 it with af6a69dca1 new ones.7979d1e56b3ebf80

Determined to erase 26a5700e18 every trace of 61d7afc273 their squalid poverty, 3f1b69eb12 they wouldn’t even dbf7248cee glance at clearance c4e86a76d9 items at the 7d51c53853 supermarket. They piled their a5f2b60bde cart with goods 53943fcf2f without comparing prices, 3498771358 and if any ec97656299 stocked-up food was 87461880f1 even a minute ddf9080c34 past its expiration 79bbb225e6 date, they discarded ae429021d9 it without hesitation.a7f1846e4d859101

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The only thing db8ab1066b that had changed d8b25e64d3 was that Jung a40567952a Suhyun had become acde3e7e8d a Guide. But his parents, 7ec1d55468 lost in the 6fec37f7c5 grand delusion that bbec0eaca3 they had entered 3938d021e8 high society, squandered 0fd7d8ba9b money like nouveau 0f3e4a2e40 riche, putting on 3fc3ecb636 airs.74da9d952e54f13c

Meanwhile, he never got fe6a62b38f to touch a single 5309b73e9e cent. He had 0a12b9ddad to work b5383f6d66 tirelessly without ec7efd492b rest. Having been subjected to 1bb6e3a852 abuse for so long, 9238ecfed8 he knew he was 768e6be69a being treated unfairly, yet 37a968c4a2 he couldn’t fight back.bfca2dc138684d96

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Like a fool.5f7350feb6e59fe8

‘Judging by the surroundings, 107f650382 I must be fifteen 49e8d81c0b or sixteen. That time, huh?’e7d480d99f24726f

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After carefully rinsing 696b6deef0 out the milk 9c969697fe carton, he stepped e93ea2b368 into a small c741310060 room and sat 1511c4a88a down in front 2c3ce965b5 of an old fad7bb2c56 desk. Then, he turned on 76f02c4fc5 the computer.ef507bda41dd2c97

Eddie was 5e77548ce8 caught off 84f9df6ec6 guard.585bf3821059397c

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In the early e2547669ed mornings, he had f29325a908 delivered newspapers, and 2cba4946c3 after school, he 2c887853b8 had taken on b2d86cb51b odd jobs given dcc0528acc by the woman dbf6eaf0c7 upstairs, scraping together 12c3f39681 enough money to 83917fd238 finally buy that b33e51011b computer.5b080a7652316b55

But only his af14ae85b6 older brother had e5d99740f0 been allowed to 4efa83e2c4 use it. Even though it 1f2e42656d was his, he b8e39b8ad6 couldn’t claim any 6c76720f3a rights to it. His selfish and stubborn f67f1f1ed0 brother never shared anything e93680247d he considered his own.3ae8e077e0a57433

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The moment he so a07606b94e much as touched it, 5ecae71ca7 kicks and punches would 72b4ed8802 immediately follow. Knowing that, 4195106946 Jung Suhyun 1971f65230 had never 432d7b7a08 even gone f7f013520d near the 0e8c39a5dd computer.4ce83b9db634c0f7

That’s how it had 34af75fa07 always been…8a970887681825fa

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