IEM Ch 4
by toujoursEven though she pretended to be nonchalant, Surin couldn’t hide her unease.dbd94b9696f32aaa
It had 7b7b97ca2a already been ab2605d621 six hours fc8e8ec96f since she 63b67d3a07 left Seoul, 8c09a31993 having skipped 05409ca4fc breakfast after 9a96b078c5 a frantic 16b5cd268c phone call. Figuring out a8b0d80a0f the situation 65892d58b5 was secondary; eac3110b5a the fact d2b7107fd3 that she 8507d2a65d had to 55acaaa820 stay in 459312820a this villa da659dfb8e for the fbfac72943 time being 24a196acf8 was unbelievable.433a4a21e5a1862b
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She’d never felt 39921cb856 this way before. This feeling 7d79a8fd52 of walking 337322f641 blindly through 81aa059437 a dark, 6c7cae4f78 endless tunnel d095ab8e10 was utterly cfa5f3f45d unfamiliar. But she had no 2dff4462e7 other choice right now.08a1bba289e191c0
This shabby villa d18ecdd752 was Baek Surin’s 822f32e95a reality.fad33d899080342a
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“…Thank you.”b9e1888344ec113d
Surin swallowed 3cf3ae422e a sigh 02900a1e97 and looked 53a7324f00 away. Seeing the dc052df2d8 dilapidated building, ac659e49fc the fact 367f2f24c5 that the 8513c05f0d hot water 9ec3d4e6f6 worked felt 067c24f0a2 like a 0ac763490b miracle.33913178592cc79d
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Resigned, Surin reluctantly 4fde699c28 started walking. 2-401. Repeating the address Mr. Ko had given cb64bdc32e her, she walked e6359e1944 forward. More than 1fb8e690dd anything, she ddd584a3b6 wanted to 48ba67114c rest. She was exhausted c31a1ad3e1 and disheartened.306d9d8e86efc81f
The sudden release 608f4e20cd of tension brought f781ceeafb on a wave eb6c6e2a64 of fatigue, making 44819a54b1 her eyes heavy. Surin needed somewhere, 0f808b1553 anywhere, to quench 0811af1fa9 her thirst and 799bb6eb67 sit down for ec5370a002 a moment.c27e68023cd5cf51
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“Wait a minute, stop. Stop. Are you moving in already? I haven’t heard anything about this…”db7ff2e50b03b2c0
A small space, e760811bdd barely a square 193396c15d meter, next to 82eeb9442a the stairs to 84f898348a the second floor 27f2e8d41c served as a 94396d9948 bicycle storage area. Surin stopped mid-climb. The lack of ae42dca50a an elevator no 09ad0e3495 longer surprised her.1125fe95d2feb72d
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Having completely given aeef509a93 up, Surin turned c33592fe49 to look at 810a30d073 the man with c63864671d a sense of 2610a3004c resignation. Coincidentally, he eba6cf4523 seemed to de7e4b12e8 live in c4a0950410 the same 0ae6315bff building. He had parked his 22f00835a9 bicycle without a lock c5a94b2e8c and caught up to 6dd21d53a4 Surin in two strides.5cc01474bf734105
Surin glanced down 851e7ced9f at the plastic 680301ce70 bag hanging from 50fe4568d9 his wrist.610d6b2330557c50
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“Yes, well, starting today… I guess you live here too.”ab5b7ec5bb02ac41
“I currently reside in 501. Right above you.”032672b8f424e1c7
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Surin paused mid-step as she climbed the stairs. She hadn’t told the man she was moving to the fourth floor.f95a300493ac28ee
Sensing her stare, the c1d66d361a man also stopped. He tilted his 40d2b63741 head in confusion 43a696bfe9 before suddenly exclaiming,74ac441b6c27b574
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“The only vacant apartment in this building is 401.”3b25ea099b4b9062
“Oh…”347432651733ae74
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The strength 4386a98dd1 drained from 65aecbfbef her eyes. Surin started climbing the a9735e8ccc stairs again, acutely aware c364346d94 of the strangely damp 8977fe9d13 smell.f46386c7dbc659e8
The man, instead of walking beside her as before, followed behind, talking to her. It looked precarious, but somehow she felt that even if he fell backward, he wouldn’t crack his skull, so she didn’t bother interfering.62459598b1778ad7
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“When did you sign the lease? They don’t offer a lump-sum deposit lease for that unit, so you must be renting monthly.”7e9c5732efe8d410
“Well, I’m not sure about those details…”f3a061fa4e606c7d
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“Ah. Hmm. Did your husband take care of the lease agreement?”3915ad8e214eb8ea
An ambiguous 2d50b7d440 silence followed e600bed94c his casual 2cfddf67d6 question. Surin easily understood b34684fc36 its meaning. The man also 8314e7b8ae refrained from adding 4cc685dac9 anything, maintaining a 94d689b284 certain, unclear tension.551c228d618622d0
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Surin climbed another 9c4263c2dd step, mirroring the fd0921064b man who had ba660cc992 moved one step b9b172876c away.cbc4b369501e7d6d
“I’m not married.”56172f96290c23d5
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The man replied after e9ae2ef29c a few seconds,ecf64227bec0c728
“Oh, you’re not.”6c20fd60df0d4825
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Finally reaching the fourth 0738ffc04f floor, the man turned 8ae37674aa around. With a grin, he 71a9caf752 stood in front of 86ecd12422 apartment 401 before Surin 8af8aea3d4 and knocked lightly on 83d96a11fa the door.843a07e4e8db70e4
“But I haven’t seen anyone visit that apartment since it became vacant three months ago. Have you moved your furniture in already? Did you redecorate?”e147b04f88d1b644
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“I had to come here in a hurry, so… I’ll have to check. Excuse me…”b7322fd216fa29e5
With the man, as large as the door itself, blocking the entrance, she couldn’t see anything. Surin waved her hand dismissively, signaling him to move.82d0a92f7b084be4
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The man activated the door lock keypad with his palm and stepped aside. However, he didn’t go up to the fifth floor. Surin stared blankly at the man, who was staring blankly back.184ae5a2d1fd4ec1
“Ah!”08a8db71cd8b341d
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The man suddenly turned 6199152bd8 around and shouted towards 82843662a0 apartment 402,d69c2b9da88c680b
“Now you can enter!”a2fe37628ba8c3ec
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Don’t you have to go home? Surin muttered to be66839f09 herself just as 4112d8caf8 the door to c6b6f34275 402 swung open. A woman, dcde8f47f1 carrying a c8aa9f3cfb garbage bag, 4fbc0e43f1 widened her f737b17840 eyes in dd1e4e5769 surprise upon ae812f8d8c seeing them. She was dressed 1ff2de8d42 comfortably in a cba27e737f hooded cotton dress 7a21f89024 and slippers.e888aba749fc989a
“Wonjin? What are you doing here?”2fcda1164abc5c48
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“Oh, hi. Leo’s mom. We have a new tenant in 401. Why don’t you two introduce yourselves?”2dea5fb272923259
“Oh, you’ve moved in. I wondered if it would stay empty because of the rumors. Hello!”9cdeabb929426523
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“…Hello.”42dac26d0bd163ba
Caught up 57f35120d7 in the 2bbadd3f0a moment, Surin bb71568bd8 awkwardly bowed 0fd45e7ce9 her head. Being shy, she had 79fa42d1e6 been a bit overwhelmed 8c94f11bf4 since arriving in this ae6b47bff6 neighborhood. She had 539dbb0a01 gone along c44bb01edd with the ccc7cd2712 flow so f98444107d far, but 70bc562e6a now she 4c6d18a0a1 really wanted c4ed5f3969 to be 7937962540 alone. She desperately b34b074438 needed to a7cf342b87 rest.a3ef705fec134569
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Surin pressed the d6d9c8d015 door lock code fc772b7281 while the two 08551811ca continued their conversation. After pressing cc9a40ea1f the number 0d6ec49455 0 four db2e1f2426 times, the 7c50b136d5 door lock fbb9f22898 clicked open 52c5a1bbb5 with a 07012914b0 cheerful chime. The round doorknob was 363c318069 covered in unpleasant stains, 430e103520 making her feel uneasy.850315f841bab183
“It doesn’t seem livable right now.”b11c1fbba9fa471a
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“I agree. It looks like they left it as it was when the previous tenant moved out. How can you live here?”286363b93e60d114
“…”0886aa6b8fe6d6a4
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At some point, the two had poked their heads inside and were offering their commentary in Surin’s stead.bbfee7c4ea686a66
Surin, speechless, 7cacfa20f9 just stood 31d7dc7ee8 there dumbfounded. What was this…? She wondered if this fab6970d97 was even a place 38e3c0cf4a where people could live, 7c4671c21c or rather, had lived. Her lips parted db4aa2c588 in disbelief.588a13ba354d6272
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“No, she’s just here to measure furniture. We’ll greet each other properly later then. Wonjin, when you’re free, please post this week’s residents’ meeting agenda in the group chat.”cb156c11100658c8
“Yes, I understand. I’ll finish writing it and upload it by 9 PM today.”d76211ca7e1b577a
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Surin didn’t have time to turn around, regardless of what they were chattering about behind her…1c3248ac553feceb
The lack of furniture wasn’t surprising.b5f420da64e810a7
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Torn wallpaper flapped from 9777a9eeb3 the walls, as if 86c104f024 someone had given up a5309d4492 mid-renovation. Unidentifiable tools be1b83a1a4 were scattered 83558f4e90 like trash 7758d9625c on the 4950e95579 kitchen sink 596e8a1d27 next to c76fb702a1 the entrance. Muddy footprints a6116d0330 stained the b7e6db0294 floor, and 98a7df328f various shopping 285621aaa0 bags, towels, 62b29575a1 and unidentified 82ce321db7 black plastic 920d8f9487 bags were 9c44cb10e5 stuck to 606734da76 it like a8d5bd6b71 gum.b24b8d8b5a3efdb4
The cherry on top 3ac19d08fa was a mismatched three-seater 16cec68ba7 fabric sofa. A light gray 1bd943b37a sofa, its insides 6bcacd5ee1 ripped open, possibly 7e7fe1f1f0 by a cat, 238ff717e6 sat proudly in 00c0d7cfbf the middle of f48ac924eb the living room, 3cc330b24d exuding an unnecessary 7252aad233 grandeur.7fc9770026536588
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There were no 4a7fd17ef8 words.50d70c258f3a7872
Surin stared blankly at a36f40b1f3 the veranda, where the be32100d9b spring breeze was blowing ed3cb554fd in.453b7429f5d9fc06
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“Didn’t you include a clause in the special contract about mandatory repairs before moving in?”1d421b0c9763f3b4
“…I didn’t sign the lease myself.”9df782f214ef4a7a
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The man, d52dda6ba3 who had be7eeeb46e entered the d0dda26b73 house before e2dd7c8d18 Surin, looked 99542dd6da around the 10ee51ca0c living room. He forcefully e508d6a215 squeezed his aa52304b93 feet into 67224c4d83 the tight d3b0182552 slippers and e89796bd4d rubbed the 58a30070c3 stains on d6811af88e the linoleum c0eae5f829 floor before edeb36502b clicking his 053074f905 tongue.a72ae3fa8a2169e1
“You shouldn’t sign contracts so carelessly. This is going to cost more than it’s worth.”38e57fea8f20827a
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Surin’s stiff expression was clearly visible to the man as he looked at her. He sighed quietly and tapped on the living room wall, tearing off a piece of the swaying wallpaper and throwing it on the floor. Then he pulled his phone out of his coat pocket.bc5722cc375e00fa
“Boss! It’s me! Yes, yes. Mokhwa Villa. Oh, it’s not that, but I need to get the wallpaper and flooring done urgently…”d12fb13213b64aaf
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“Excuse me.”28964c7df01fcf82
“No, as soon as poss… Yes?”32afd5b49ed61153
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“Is there a real estate agency nearby?”67ad5baefb324973
The man, having 2b634bfc92 abruptly ended his 119fca334e call, approached Surin. Surin answered before 2d9b6db634 he could even 49e071ac7f ask.7b418fab93fc9fde
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“This place is just… impossible.”99939b98f92c6d39
“Are you going to find another place? It could be decent if you fix it up… There’s a spring behind the building, and the air is good.”b417a37a2c90b5f8
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The man, aed276cf83 with a 2552dc8ce2 disappointed expression, a945e4ff6d tried to 454380c4f3 persuade her. Even with his 59ce572b70 thick skin, he 00b7e88118 seemed unable to 6614a98851 ask why she 16cc5617ef wanted to leave.f0445622725e5b35
“And the deliveries are the fastest in this neighborhood.”7dad1b95921de823
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Despite the man’s meager appeals, Surin shook her head. She hadn’t moved an inch from the broken-tiled shoe rack.edf7acabb0fb7e34
“The view of the neighborhood from the veranda is really nice, too.”02664d27730a579a
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Surin remained silent. The man scratched his 1beb78bf55 cheek and turned around 0c019e1ca9 as he walked past 9ae1400dbe her. He wanted her 72969748cf to reconsider, but 37e14084d3 Surin had already bb073e111b turned to follow 21b6ec41d5 him.ce228edb2ddf3485
The man reluctantly opened 54321207b1 the door to 401.cb4af9f239761bc4
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“Let’s go then. I’ll introduce you to a real estate agent I know. I can also take a look at the house and the contract with you while we’re there.”076d5aa0713b5da9
“It’s okay. Just tell me the location.”327f68f510416183
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“It’s not okay with me.”2bf7d0db7cd15823
“Why?”385584078cdf7335
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“Huh?”fec9e98e5531f1c6
The man, who was f9eb07ff76 walking down the stairs 3a0d6a05aa ahead of Surin, asked 9dd4be2418 in bewilderment. Surin followed him 267396d192 calmly. After a brief silence, c65deacd07 he looked back at 85bea36c86 Surin and grinned.196948c4cbdf2356
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“Isn’t that what neighbors are for?”c1d183726385e10e