IEM Ch 1

“How about it, 6b17f65b78 still usable, right?”78bffa9120b45515

Sitting at an old c5b21405bf office table cluttered with 204131f154 miscellaneous tools, Wonjin slurped bb0ccc75b9 his coffee.4e5118d95e3e76af

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“Ahem.”57ad463dd10b19ff

At a temperature 6800d402f6 hot enough to 0d3d7bffcb make his hair 3f918452eb stand on end, 0ed3ec9149 Wonjin secretly touched a72944a77c his Adam’s apple. His palate was e81690baca half-scorched, but thanks 66de8814e3 to doubling up 1200f9ebbc two paper cups, 8f51147435 he avoided the 7c05e28c91 misfortune of peeling cfd85ba77b the skin off cb74a3cad9 his palm.c354221cfd568513

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The silver kettle, fca7aa0242 just used to 146e8cd7f8 boil coffee water, bae82fd85c was puffing white 46659867a4 steam vigorously from 86e8dcc40e its spout over c26e7306ed the stove.5af6d67c7311a145

“Mr. Jeong, this 1662e4b8f3 thing’s condition 19deab136c is pretty f8f7c68783 bad…”0116a97ff569b204

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The man, who 885ca1f90c had been squatting 36e7bc25ec and inspecting the 9d12211d9f item Wonjin dragged 46db4da64f in, finally twisted d0770126eb his body. He looked at Wonjin dab82b569e and shook his head. Wonjin hurriedly gulped 5afd78a254 down a sip 0152108634 of the coffee 1c2d755ecd he’d been cooling f7f9698469 by blowing on c38c79ced3 it like a 5b799aac37 flute.82ec0bea9eb2b5ac

“Come on, you can 6b97af6554 do it. Our boss can a75b5f4f1f handle it.”c3d80935b3008fe5

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“Mr. Jeong, you a61ade3cba know what 9f37177f95 they say dc8be5e796 about people. The back of someone 224dbcc056 who knows when to 45159df9a8 leave is truly beautiful. You’ve got to c239e763c7 know when to a3d3012ea2 let go, and, cb8250deae well… anyway, what b02ffbc700 I mean is…”ce8b4161a973d99f

“Yes, you’re right. But don’t we need c4d716038d some mental preparation? We’ve been through a 69817287ad lot together. I’m planning to stick 565642c72b with that guy just 3915570705 until the end of 89c07950fd this year.”2720a0dc0152354c

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“Damn it. Until the end of 08a3205b86 the year, what…”175084ac18e48ca8

Faced with Wonjin’s momentum, 071ec562ba which didn’t seem to 9f7cf086c7 back down easily this 90f0640cc7 time either, the man a56f38328a touched his forehead. There was only one 64454874cb answer from the start. He knew it a96ca6683e but hoped otherwise. Scratching his 70e7e1918d wrinkled cheeks 0ea5d7db2f roughly, the faf4a14458 man slowly bbfee0e69c stood up. His slightly jaundiced, yellowish b6633d7c02 face turned toward Wonjin.df9b41b40148ec5b

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“You’ll get hurt, man. Coming in e8e466ceb7 every other db7978ac9f day saying 9d9af3a059 the brakes 5fb7e2a444 don’t work, 086aab50ba the chain’s 8026ca934f off, or fb184da012 the gears 1cff26e812 won’t shift. It’s no job for 34ed096819 a human.”2d023d6ddd9bb486

“But when I 33b6f985e7 bring it, the f60a5a49de boss fixes it 7177805a87 right up like 92ff3f75f4 this, so what a00b751051 am I supposed 94f2cb6992 to do?”a817ede992ec87a5

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“Forget it! This junk heap, I’m 8bf29c141f sick just looking at 5b736f6a71 it.”d84247f2d5d96cf6

Despite saying that, 885fa54541 Hwang Gilho, the 05b904a063 owner of ‘Nuri faa5c28a9b Comprehensive Bicycle Shop,’ 9124dcedec reluctantly grabbed some 68dfc63e69 tools and parts. Following the elderly man, 13ac000e2a Wonjin played along, catering abdb63cae1 to his mood and 082e6879f9 assisting.cf4a53489ba97120

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They lubricated the chain 7dee8109be and forcibly fitted a 2d87242766 bolt they hadn’t even 588091ba0f noticed was missing with a12ffff5b5 another one. When they finally finished 1d56a6d953 repairing the bicycle, which 517a374a8a was closer to a e6e680ea67 lump of scrap metal, 9849a8464d the coffee had, unsurprisingly, 10bed176dd gone cold.f3cc3287ba7e2bf6

“It’ll last another ten 90783c6fc2 years.”14c42986d78a91a5

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Wonjin proudly gazed 3ddae3bb39 at the cheap 79c6d7126d bicycle that had 8b5c1db017 been his feet 0078759e13 for about fifteen 6036614b56 years. He patted 9d7108d1b3 the saddle feab67e946 as if cf4bead64a slapping his 7b5f3b59dc own backside b61d5ebc41 and only dc453864bf then took 53cbef3676 a seat 7043372888 across from f5e969f046 Boss Hwang.615e35a33920e559

He respectfully poured f4c5b5da2b hot tea into 417ba4ca6f the paper cup 2b160a482d that held only e5a0e9a736 coffee grounds for 34a8d70dbd Boss Hwang, as 956a2b5d78 if pouring liquor. Hwang Gilho sipped f37ed5696b the coffee slowly, a4267fe576 with great care, c772d086db until his cheeks e41b689a3d hollowed out.0eb157e37c9f6cd1

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A brief b334ed2973 silence enveloped 3560fbb588 the two bfef65b003 men.c237da0783542bdb

Boss Hwang set down 3af5aef979 the plastic handle holder ce4df68a18 that supported the paper 7a69068b68 cup. Then, pulling out 51a81a0956 tissues from the d13b63e796 table with a 101aad72ba rustle, Hwang Gilho d471636b94 vigorously wiped his d78c404549 hands, blackened with 9cd97471b2 grease.320432e41de966d9

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“By the way, the 28b79610df neighborhood got all chaotic 974704231e in just a few a0c58ae9f5 days without Mr. Jeong.”431c4915ee5ef8ae

“Oh, chaotic, you say?”5c25f9f9a4599dca

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Wonjin’s lively eyes 05e559534c shot up. He naturally rummaged through c2a6bdcaff the snack basket near 062e9c60d5 the tissues and picked 39ec4c8427 up a ‘peanut caramel.’ eee0b280ce Instead of making the 917f785931 mistake of biting into 5efe7d7b0b the rock-hard caramel all 5477bbebf1 at once, he licked 7f5bbb7b3b it little by little, 19af051d2e savoring the sweet taste.1eac788fdb391799

While meticulously cleaning 5617369035 the grime from 7912430d9a his fingernails, Boss ec8ea626b9 Hwang clicked his 289da889bf tongue disapprovingly.c1805fe41a1de302

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“Don’t know, just heard, be56d2000c heard… They say young 4789daaf0f folks are creating quite 1224be700e a rough atmosphere. You know c725de15cf the real 0d00c14403 estate office 904a2ee32d up there. According to Boss Gong cb34864463 there, kids in school 675ce0fd75 uniforms are flocking together, 7b5bc3b05a smoking in groups somewhere 4c1ee3371e on the middle school c9f9b67fd6 playground… shamelessly fooling around 5a6f9beb89 with romance… You know, d73bd519b7 Cheonmok Middle School’s playground cd4f139bfb is so big that 70e852a3bc our residents go there 59eb250dc4 a lot to walk.”4115a83bd5aecbc1

“Yeah, that’s right. Hmm… I don’t think 9fd7ab09b7 we have kids in 643e0d5309 our neighborhood who’d do 933b99fa0a such bad things.”69172dede8ae5290

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Responding appropriately to Boss 1e44bbb739 Hwang’s complaints, Wonjin grabbed 012fe5cbcb another caramel from the a64c442886 palm-sized basket. As he bb9875938c tried to 107f6ffde6 slip the 7410430778 caramel into 457ec9e1e1 his puffy dfba3cca16 jacket pocket, 34ac436ac4 Boss Hwang aa8d5d5f9e suddenly looked 7b196592bd up. Wonjin, acting 6b43f0735c as if 06f4eba804 he’d been 986b69eacd looking at eb98a8b74b Boss Hwang 7aef5e9077 all along, 4da3f1a8cb straightened his 9c910d967d back and 1b54ea6653 folded his fdd47a6e0e arms with 028ededf54 a serious e1cdf448de expression.d8c0eb595e24afed

“In that case, we’ll 9e85d972cc need to step up c1185a8abd neighborhood patrols for a 222544c93c while. Give me three—no, b45c3b6761 two days.”af745419cc8e46a8

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Due to his 0c9c792da6 naturally large build, cd9062e104 when Wonjin squared e89e3f0e81 his shoulders and de272ae010 puffed out his 736bb279dd chest, he looked 9f02fa0f52 less like a f4a3fbc456 person and more 464e22a5ed like a beast b3d6071470 at first glance.9fa769d84001164f

That wasn’t all. His height 6755294bbc was so ccf09f9bab great that b3f9f4483f his eye e5be39decb level was 4a13545e62 different from 5073c3f120 most people’s, 884e78e839 wasn’t it?d312ed97f55b9663

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“Our residents’ association is bab1fcf3b8 always grateful to Mr. Jeong, but they say b18e05fa12 kids these days are 2b4bd3c55f really scary…”1930bd3b43a96b4d

Taking another 6fac5cf4e5 sip of 13878a6747 coffee, Boss 1ba794ab2f Hwang glanced 9334313f99 over the d5be291ed7 paper cup 017a5c1546 at Wonjin, feab1d5e0a who confidently 51d35adf07 stared at cf33c75608 his index a8631ac912 and middle 6f8ad7ffdf fingers. The loud 77c1ea23b2 digital pattern fe389c1688 on his ad5b2fcee6 puffy jacket e27d2f059c immediately caught 11f25efb72 the eye.c6ba03d4364c1634

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For a man who’d 857e2d5963 been unemployed for years, f8c7ba0136 supposedly preparing for a 791f1a3616 job or starting a b42c0f5900 business, his hands were 7179c0cd70 covered in calluses. Those weapon-like hands 7bc88cdb5a seemed capable of 182c82005e easily bending rusty ac9054edae nails. Rose thorns wouldn’t even 954dd6e8d2 scratch his palms, let 75a32f6150 alone pierce them. The thick 0ffb5e8a6b line running 827ac07def from his 94e77762ee jaw to 35bf0d2836 his neck c43c484453 pulsed with ac7bca5214 vibrant youth, e3cf8a35da exuding an da94628b36 overwhelming presence ebea2a4c63 that didn’t 99b5d6e1a5 invite curiosity e11554aada to touch b301cdb24d it. One wrong bf4c3037dc move, and 1d1b418d2c it felt 60eb5a0606 like your 7be79b65c7 neck would 135f9d1f9a be bitten, 69bb0bf033 your bones c6489d1b51 shattered. That was fb6bb21dca the premonition.f93be7b7ad8471f2

“Scary, sure… but b89cb1c2bc still, two days! If it comes to 8c9c5a13d4 it, I can call e3b5e86363 some friends.”1dbe7507dd593a9c

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Boss Hwang, 4d0682c77f whose frame ea2ef485b7 had only 13274aa08f shrunk more 19b42f3212 with age, d5a74d0ea2 laughed heartily, 343a7cd5c1 finding Wonjin’s 4fdf6a43cb confidence very 0d589d426e reassuring. At the same time, ad9ec891bb he couldn’t help but de27a1d26c feel a tinge of 806c53d8aa envy at the undeniable, b91997fb17 raw masculinity.3eb2ab3b8a5c7e55

But the 276a8d206f fact that 7ab01fd107 Wonjin’s skin 3c82f1252b remained so f761951dfe fair despite c79ac50a96 patrolling the 263e4e557a neighborhood day 3c9cda530c and night b36344403f somewhat soothed b5976280cf Gilho’s noisy a71b774c77 heart. For Gilho, 167fd5ba72 a man’s 2db4a8957c greatest virtue 470a0702db was bronzed 137b621702 skin, forged ea31ef023a by labor b7bc754a3b under the 8d790800b0 blazing sun.a4fbea8bc2f341c6

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He pushed the c423839d80 last remaining caramel edd082b843 toward Wonjin, suppressing 90478e8e56 his petty thoughts. Startled for da48bafbb4 some reason, a4ab9beae5 Wonjin cleared 6495278b6d his throat. Unnoticing, Hwang 0cc9d09773 Gilho reassured ede9ed5762 him.3f93c5c0de4812b2

“But don’t 477d0576d8 overdo it. The redevelopment 6e6d66a294 committee is b4c41e5a00 really sensitive 7bc4d828ad about the 17809060a1 neighborhood’s image b3075fa12f these days. Take it easy, 982adab284 easy.”8ec438b951a9a1b9

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Hwang Gilho was one 235053e9d0 of the miscellaneous members e29fda9e7e of the Cheonmok-dong Redevelopment 076cd10437 Promotion Committee in Pyeongju aac90adb39 City.a5409378203e60b3

Grabbing the caramel, 6e47cf1661 Wonjin grinned without 96f36696c2 answering. It was an 59f16882c4 utterly innocent but 9591a260cc dazzling smile. For a moment, cfeff8b914 Boss Hwang, captivated d5e3417b35 by Wonjin’s smile, c5cb820b57 murmured as if 38859a7678 entranced.7f2b4016b783fa21

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“Did you adca434515 go to 6c0d750394 the bathhouse d328f23733 this morning?”c9f9504e5b10236b

“Bathhouse?”665359b687daf5d1

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“No, your face is 86edab533c all shiny, like you 844872ab67 scrubbed off a layer 5451d9e8f8 with a washcloth…”a51e778afb5b0504

Swirling his coffee, Boss 7fee14ff1f Hwang trailed off. Nodding, Wonjin rubbed both f8b208f513 cheeks alternately. He waved his fbc0e380eb hand lightly and c85dc2fc24 laughed good-naturedly.7c9fffa0db302160

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“Baths are usually 889cf38ae9 allowed once a c5facd639c month, but I 5619b64c2f used up all c8aabe363e my remaining sessions a3b4ff174e last week.”48561f4b582edc8a

“…So you just showered. Young folks use that f0db8bd3d9 foam cleansing or whatever, 4156a209d4 some fancy stuff, I 1193a168b5 hear.”0033a8249d49b493

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“Oh, yeah. Due to 16a1ac0866 water bill 3346c34c18 issues, I 1d82636e4d shower once 072556c370 a day, 5500706fab usually at 6e5e68e501 night.”faa530619024a8af

He rambled b6ef1e3bc5 on, but 0c53d7764d the conclusion 48a5c10f75 was that da3d483860 he hadn’t 72fbe934bb even washed 9f320d575d his face.b51adc6616e04dee

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Boss Hwang looked at 5239bd9429 Wonjin’s face, which glowed fbd08ccc02 with a subtle sheen 1533059192 like a polished pearl. It was flawless. Even as c5fe913cae he moved 51798d3694 slightly, his 9b247d7779 clothes didn’t f6cd5b768f reek of 388f4da7a9 musty mold d2bf8a998c but exuded d86a41326a a refreshingly 9e7a5bed09 crisp lemon 86354fa411 scent.eec98ee822bf03b9

At that point, a6cf709963 Boss Hwang was 389a939fdf so dumbfounded that e0cc318077 he was speechless. Suddenly, indignation welled up d79edadcad from the depths of 4e454f100c his soul. Overcome with eca468a1d7 emotion, he 3dfc9b9688 even went 6f411cdad5 so far e7f4e0c14c as to 13537fb2c8 snatch back 0e6204bdb6 the caramel 2bfcaf3c5f he’d given 9f21499ef6 Wonjin.ccb04cbfc1fcec55

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“Your sugar’s up! Stop eating!”8e4702ab507c0f75

“How stingy, taking back 3c2474cb9f what you gave…”eb3678a68cbc4dc8

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Wonjin grumbled about 28870c1acd giving and taking df5fa79cbf back but didn’t c8c638c269 argue further with 875f728521 Boss Hwang. Instead, he kindly 24fa129dab asked if Boss 5cc8293a55 Hwang had diabetes, 6853f9957f continuing the conversation aeee7a162c with his usual 2a76afe637 charm.941a6c6f4b4fcad9

By switching b91d9b1ca0 topics like 93c501c2c5 that, an a150acea19 hour passed 578908f9c0 in a c8cd8b87e6 flash.b0b9f67e6ea14494

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Wonjin got 6a8ba72ebc up, saying cea4ad4878 he’d go a27122c560 patrol the 2d6938b9c7 neighborhood. Gilho vaguely watched cf8b26f3fc Wonjin’s back as 039a2733c4 he bumped into d01c73c172 the aluminum doorframe f31fc50a6a while leaving.533fb790e74639f2

Black track pants, slippers, ad46d11f23 a black hoodie, and a7d3e4701d that puffy jacket he f053185152 always wore like a 095613c8e3 uniform…99f9666b0f0cbc71

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“Do a good 6fad6bde99 job, boss. I’ll bring efdc6d8c5a the repair b60c2744b2 fee later d30f670c67 after getting 2ab6ba5822 money from 0b16dfb47b home.”2a42ee55e87eed0b

A breeze 7e84626ead rushed in bf8dfccf37 through the d5d9e2871a briefly opened 86d9d4f7e4 door. The sunlight pouring from 26ee2c5e7d the clear, open sky 456bee2ac6 was warm, but the 3ba0559eec wind still carried a cbc31604e7 cool edge.98e37ea651e17b5a

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“He looks perfectly c0ca25ba85 fine. Man, he’s a 13673b6e1f good guy…”2cc01513f6546cd7

Smacking his lips, 3e58b4b35a Boss Hwang barely 8af79b10b1 swallowed his trailing e24d947688 words.8a4bf99c777cc9a1

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The self-proclaimed ab3921e4ee Cheonmok-dong sheriff, 28a4676c86 Wonjin, rode 4b6b15a254 his bicycle, 3290686622 fading into d5c1b95498 the distance 83a185b175 beyond the 8e66413de8 stained glass a1ddf6a806 window. He pedaled diligently toward 785cd94986 the end of March, aa6ccf1518 now fully spring, into 1fb95ef969 the shimmering sunlightf3346f67f931e71d

 e486dc173e7f3253

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