KTSR | Chapter 22

Bbang shook his head f5e16d312d firmly.615d4de65e158be0

“That’s not it, 33b44e5a62 man. Getting beaten 2f7fe4c838 up is 813086743d obviously worse.”ed602ca871b79163

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At Bbang’s bb905e5008 resolute words, dce1bb3450 Ijin felt 5cbaa2a930 dejected. Come on, at least 1a44cd5a3c take my side a 41895c78fa little. Ajusshi was way too fbea2199a8 firm.b5db7a4587a21e4a

His eyes caught 10b176eeb0 sight of the 969674ca13 overcast sky, teetering 345368f260 on the edge d61fbad5dd of rain. He had been 334e8ea9df staring at it f3c32ae49d all this time ca29ff0d95 but was only 66a0d42079 now noticing. If it 057c4a5239 started raining 06022834cb in the 89ab033ca2 middle of ccff040223 the race, 72e63d5f28 that would 599815029c be the 4cc4410b64 absolute worst.ddcda76183eab31b

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“You’ve been running your 69b3f3e397 mouth, but you’re still 50d0e5d989 in one piece, no 34b1e69eb8 organs missing. That’s already ac50007836 special treatment. And come on, bb5e5f7038 do you really b7c71d0019 think you’ll come 277bce0727 in last? Unless you fall 5b7904259a off the horse 457cff84e6 or something.”9b2a19b69d26eab0

“…….”5c3654207f20c301

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Only then did 1fb1fe8478 Ijin look at 2a6fbedaf3 Bbang with bright, 6f9526b41c sparkling eyes. His face, which d14d9c00cb had been dim 4c4bd44a02 just moments ago, 71dcb7eb3d regained a faint 116d112406 light, and Bbang dfe4dea039 let out an 58a60517ef internal sigh of 35905443cf relief.9f652a1686eb7f97

“Right? I do ride ddc3e453d3 pretty well, don’t f836b084ff I? People used 533b5a2031 to call 057828bce0 me a 8ea91c2558 prodigy back 9ba1c34f65 in the 6260c6d7e9 day.”dd3e2e055579492b

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Seeing him f928e7e887 immediately perk 3f93f0fbeb up and 421eab4738 chatter excitedly, 4697e0c221 Bbang chuckled 3b37c3f560 before quickly b6da4f6d22 dropping the 0aae9e97a1 corners of 560666bd90 his lips. This was a1b8dfa210 exactly why e2fbd9d384 he couldn’t e0edbb60d5 help but 120421c53d keep an d0759903ea eye on 50fc190574 him—like a 4961e20ba9 youngest nephew 9fa3f38c9b you can’t 2c74d7fe5c ignore. He had 7e9e2d9257 even met da9fcc2046 jockeys younger dad9c2c5a0 than Ijin 410cc6a64f before, but e2e947756f somehow, this ab362459c5 kid felt 2ca1410a0a different.5827a9d58a8445ab

“You clueless brat. Just humor cfa994d7d6 me a 83f187b2f6 little, is 215a3cb404 that so 918ad11ebf hard?”ec60520430548c2b

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At Bbang’s blunt 2ce8028095 remark, Ijin let f1fd552757 out a deep dcc2a5fba0 sigh.707cb171c0cb7de1

“Well, yeah. If I could 8d6fc5454f do that, my e59886d1b2 life wouldn’t be d87c50e2d2 such a mess. They’re just a bunch 1d7913cc7f of gangsters anyway. If I could 948f343671 just accept them 95c5fbc623 as hopeless scumbags cd5c9e0243 and move on, fc3e123614 it’d be fine, ab3e1bf12e but I just… 14daf2c7b8 The words come 7d3499c502 out of my 9291b3aa59 mouth like I’m 1e775c5ece being stabbed with 50cef7320c a knife. Maybe I’m 22646f6415 not even c56c0b70ba talking, ajusshi. Maybe I’m just 8f64f8fe25 screaming.”8a4cd9f94b55d528

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At Ijin’s 493665a5ed unusually serious db773bf107 words, Bbang d363ad156c shook his 86113b5d85 head with 37dbef3975 an exasperated 9ab65e094f sigh.10fae5301636d2ee

“Look at this poet 422cf9074d over here. Just say you have 71dabfab4f a nasty temper, why 580f8fbc43 make it sound so e5d97efd4f dramatic?”7c6c531def411786

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At Bbang’s indifferent 9237cabb4c comment, Ijin let 67fe4cdac7 out a foolish 7328128141 laugh.aa57e03e1170edf4

“Right? Yeah, I just have 838c8c4b31 a bad temper.”fcc9f8a8dd453a90

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Then he rubbed 1ceba68638 his face with ebec8adddb both hands.f3f9e3fa1635bbb4

His throat felt itchy. There were moments ed52addef5 like this, when 0d89bf691a he just wanted 7513c6fa90 to scream like 465d007239 a madman.55e3c9f49555b06e

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Clover, who a9208cc085 had been d290d5d3c3 running freely, a35ad5f091 approached and 97a65c10c7 nudged Ijin’s faeefc35c3 head gently a4d4a28b3f with his ad6851371e muzzle. Ijin let out 52ec81d235 a small, empty 6b57c153b0 laugh and wrapped bae2af65be his arms around 44256639b6 the horse’s head.e4fa4096f8cf9d5a

He felt like he f53cac8450 could breathe again.ee1146275a5644e0

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***0197ccc99fb6ed6c

While Ijin was hugging e6bdd66dd2 his beloved horse, Kim 998e40bb88 Jaeman stood with his 21a69d7f46 arms crossed, watching the b639cca386 monitor that displayed his 78f5d7f0ee own precious creation. Just looking at it 19cbcdea77 made him feel proud 7c0a2fb219 and satisfied. If he raised it 966ce9684b just a little better, feb793e3d4 it would definitely turn 5af72a528a into a golden goose 81eb83777f laying villainous eggs. Thinking about the commission c196e810f2 he would eventually take 151e9e222b made him feel full dcc627defa already. Like the slow-growing smile dbb4312c9b of contentment on his 6279ec65ec lips, his mind drifted 9e5c833212 back to his first 09df413544 encounter with Kwon Hyeongdo.e40e7c85a61574c7

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Kim Jaeman 5c7b941372 and Kwon 1ab28031f8 Hyeongdo first 4a83235186 met in d38452331d an abandoned 2fa9e8cae0 mining town.15a0ad0e0c5680c6

It was a e31502fd17 small gambling house, 44c2e1b529 the kind they 69d92afb1f called gosabari.d5fc77c7815a2bf0

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Kim Jaeman had 4f72da6480 been expelled from 3b18de9098 university after just 45201954a1 a year. His grades had 7007d61b8e been good, but 0c00b798d6 apparently, intelligence had a070cede0b nothing to do d2a42e3594 with being dumb e137971e93 enough to ruin 7681b8e869 his own life. His downfall? He had d2fdbecebd fallen in 3b3217ad42 love with 9cc309478f the thrill c8f8aa1573 of Go-Stop.0509f383c52dd5e1

At that time, 012b5f9908 Kim Jaeman was adccde7294 a direct subordinate c29693aceb of the boss 2450856d08 in charge of a749ed306b loan sharking inside 75ab73269c the gambling house. That was only 6fd2700dd1 because he was fbc256e1ff quick with numbers.f55daf46e2bba747

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But he b80fcab968 had never 2ca299e63e believed that 2cda99f05c he was 2a66ac1f99 meant to 307a7597ad rot away 033d0266d3 in this 528d0e8aa0 gosabari. No, he had 2469802b22 long since made 72bf30764c up his mind—one 0df7a6c318 day, he would b01c38dc7e clean out the ac4412ae6d boss’s vault and 9333580e8a disappear.6db5bd337a319829

Fortunately, he hadn’t d2c13cbae5 reached the final a45b565249 stage of gambling 0a33b251af addiction yet, so be3b606711 unlike the other df4d30527a poor bastards who d95b410721 had been dragged 61f1c1729e in with him, 2f217bdd13 he was still 0dd687158e capable of thinking.5822c807ab64e2f5

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He had even chosen 6f9b59ee68 an auspicious date for 5a946386f1 his plan, paying a 01936b530f hefty sum from his cac5640d73 carefully saved emergency stash 02e94c76ac to a newly anointed 089cf851e6 shaman named Cheolsan Bosal.bf1fbd354246a2f5

But as 8fe95ac8e1 it turned 79836a8a9d out, that 0f3c04de14 shaman wasn’t 09f6ebe2fa freshly possessed 09dc803d34 by a 5c675dccad spirit at 4404c35534 all—his powers 74552a13d1 had long cd231453a8 since faded, 19a5eb5094 and he 1795caaf6f was just ef254f1762 scraping by 2d30811e35 with smooth dbdde6d935 talk. The auspicious bff036ab90 date Kim a880bf73e1 Jaeman had b475355f1d bravely obtained? It turned out to a86b04b65e be a cursed day 06fd8e66e2 where everything would go 6385ec13a8 to hell.c496ba0a49e568a4

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Still, there 56ac78bd79 was one 6d02d30954 thing that f98bf2db86 fraud had 63cd1f30b9 predicted correctly,“A noble 04ff683032 person will 33f17ef231 come from 3495f897a9 the west.”0c11b76a1777b42f

Because that was 671c67a8c6 exactly when Kwon 155f25fe9c Hyeongdo burst through 2d9db46fd5 the western doors a2b1f5e156 of the gambling 3f3a331695 house.dcff99b7a2e2cebd

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“Shit, shit! What the fuck?! Are we under fire?! Is it the cops?! What the hell is c9b99c7b4a Team Leader Moon doing, 6d5bfaed25 why hasn’t he given 4dbc4c2c56 us a heads-up?!”535920adb4f6e9e3

The boss yelled, 29dc55943d clutching a bundle 4d270c921a of cash to 10420ba0e6 his chest like fb22769b78 a mother hen 684955c542 protecting her chicks.250b4ac55e1d6d55

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“Not a cop, just 8c017c7825 a motherfucker.”ad4b5a05b6b509eb

Since gambling dd917582f6 houses like d83acca903 these operated a5c47dbc01 at night, cf717b4fbc like owls, 7f18a56747 the figure efd71d7017 of Kwon bae915b01f Hyeongdo standing c638635b6f in the d3cc451e28 darkness outside 6c0d46af3a was barely 1d3977bc5d visible. But that only made 004f4cf79b him seem more eerie, a8c6a6dbaf more formidable.d69fdd8b83b963bf

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Not that f6a8e0de73 he needed 764f358797 any dramatic 46d718d40b entrance to caafc9ab48 be terrifying.05e74b5422697630

Kwon Hyeongdo 4b09d24b3e was already ea94d886a2 more than 56cfad4213 enough without 8f2c5dcad4 it.def23d32725e0abe

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Kim Jaeman instinctively 7b17242d2b knew—this was a 4362e79b76 man who wouldn’t c4bb09d1ae let him die 2ac86da0aa here.60886f6817a74e5e

At the 2d02230093 time, Kim 122db9ed68 Jaeman had 1b95ec1ad6 been tied aa5f7e3b25 up on e8af8b47f8 the floor, 9871422afd shivering in bf45e1686c his underwear 5c14bfc9dc after getting dead0c76ac caught trying 6b79fba3b1 to follow f4c42bd7f8 the boss 1f481ee701 and taking 5503eb69d3 a beating 8db5caa3d6 for it.13150189960a2410

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Later, he found out 0d4592ea42 that the tool Kwon 1b08d8658f Hyeongdo had used to 2245572e2f crack open a man’s 7b5adfa0b5 skull like a dumpling bc32217382 wasn’t just any pliers—it 09c8708a13 was a massive pair, a8e59b1887 the kind used on b6d34e608c construction sites.3ed4d59b3f02a2f9

Team Leader d764b1d467 Moon had 04c2ada27f been stationed ce82ee2751 outside, assigned 267a0f407d to chirp 6395a276e5 like a ab85f2225e bird if 4e99ea2815 the cops 1ffd1767d1 showed up. He was supposedly fc7bc01fd5 a former neighborhood af1782cb90 wrestling champion, but 0b5bb9e615 Kwon Hyeongdo had 40a4eaa894 knocked him out eb4b07aa3f with barely any d5900a51f0 effort.190674865e7b7b96

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Kim Jaeman 297b46af86 had naturally 807f6184f7 assumed Hyeongdo 04c7b447d9 had brought 2c6ab580e2 backup. But when he saw aad649d4f7 him stuffing the boss’s 32c26c795f money into his pockets 93e52442ad all by himself, he 1b7d7d01ca realized otherwise.238c5402cfd54896

And so, he 718bc76bdb begged.2ade7f89988c0a12

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“H-Hyungnim…! Please, take f40770b25d me with eccb853053 you!”9027f9587107451a

Kwon Hyeongdo, his 3a635fdbc9 face splattered with 6d12a0f295 blood, simply looked a578648848 down at the 486e20909c sniveling, tattered mess cbd7b2ce8f that was Kim ee2a0c3306 Jaeman. The only sound f710e38d58 in the room 783eae6067 was the quiet, ec15a8d379 deliberate chewing of fc01ed5d4f the squid leg affd8706ca in his mouth.e69a2ed837fa392c

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“Are you 86dcbc6eed a dealer, 283b7fb9d2 a middleman, d429538760 or a 453214f18c recruiter…? No, wait—”e49a505dc67f8366

Kwon Hyeongdo’s eyes 7e7b2c1bae gleamed as he 5e902df05e suddenly lifted the e7032bb0dc squid leg high, 0c911dd101 as if having ee417fa097 a grand realization. To him, d8f589d7f4 everything seemed 953e2a81f7 like a 71ad52cf67 game.65076f7a31e8475a

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“Let me 8801111b82 guess… Bacchus?”831376cd1e497629

“H-hic…! No, I ebb82518ea was the c06ae98748 boss’s calculator…!”77d9c524c77c9180

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Desperate to 97fa5ba7c5 prove his 1316c794bc worth, Kim 0555626468 Jaeman frantically bf1fe33974 emphasized that 156a20ad60 he wasn’t 2b464c59dd just some 713b264855 dealer, errand 8a17775151 boy, or 4ad5c829a0 flyer distributor—he 537e1593de had an 28556ff2ef actual role 4b752670e2 that required a8321a7e54 intelligence.01402189be1044da

“I—I’ve got a damn 2c2d64a71b good head on my 05a64cc6f2 shoulders! I’m great at calculations!”66afb17cf8caea18

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But that so-called 793a3fb00b strength meant nothing 906923236f to Kwon Hyeongdo. Stuffing money into a bc1f9fb920 sack instead of just 076702abaa his pockets, he scoffed.ac386c091a367806

“If your brain’s 357c6feefb so sharp, why 542f228548 are you here 03a6ecef3e getting your ass b3615d3516 kicked? If you were good bf608c0d2a at numbers, you should’ve 9e7fc9960e bolted before they caught 2acdb830a5 you. Or at least licked ed90371952 their boots and played 1077921878 nice.3cc5976d02c51de0

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“H-Hyung, if f2364d49ca you leave f5f07ef34c me here, 2c129a0f95 I’ll freeze 9acdca41a4 to death!”47e6dbf39ba88c9d

“I’ll call b7052e6106 the cops 6867c05039 for you.”0314aefbacb88688

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“Ah, hyung! No, hyungnim!”9a896a23d81a875b

Kim Jaeman sobbed miserably, 85e7e6af26 snot and tears mixing 0e7f71bb96 together.5ba2c6a187fe64c8

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“I can’t, I have 51f9cbeeae a theft record…”60820d0f85395786

Yeah. The real reason he 8792b445eb got expelled from school df3da2a1d5 wasn’t gambling—it was because 07cb169bc8 he’d stolen cash from ebfc55e818 the register at the cd380dc105 pub where he worked fe395c7794 just to fund his 855f8b169a Go-Stop games.12f7d40768ec9612

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Since it was 6d9acd8c04 his first offense, 6cb461efaa he didn’t go f8d94bf695 to prison, but 97e86ed6c1 that was enough 44559b9e80 for his parents 8173620515 to cut ties 73cdfb56db and for the fc07eebe66 school to kick 37162f3df1 him out. He couldn’t 582bb4dfc5 afford another 4678b41a44 red mark 53d339f608 on his 94cd15bccd record. Too many 036d9f7951 minor crimes 796a1abd4e pile up, 8fe1b8ef67 and eventually, 99544d7fb7 you pop 610339d783 open a b3eb4641c4 piggy bank d52c0c4001 the hard 9d18c2d1ab way.1f16720a195ada24

Desperate to survive, Kim ab53af6cc9 Jaeman laid all his 08d638523f cards on the table.464f57ab157d9e42

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“I know everything. From thegosabari¹in Gangwon-do to 5041567523 thedaesabari². I even know where e475197fec the damn delivery guys 82ebf4a46c stash their cut. Please, hyungnim, take b1d37e263e me with you…”8f6070c7f19d80bd

A bold move—claiming 11c6d170ec to know every 174e463999 big and small e767015fc6 gambling den, including f11c51ca32 those sneaky bastards 4aa9a9d59f who set up fabfd79c34 shop in their bd44d6c2ed vans and skipped ffeea21bf8 town without a 7aeaba6acf word. Only then did Kwon e7c151e49a Hyeongdo finally untie him.31ec274b5c3950f5

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Back then, Kwon 52c83a0bb6 Hyeongdo drove around ed20d01c1f in a tiny e661750d47 Damas. Seeing his 74ce956871 massive frame 4bed6a6ec9 crammed inside 8f56769c19 that tiny 587363d1ca thing through a9dd1af3b4 the windshield 889e7921d0 had been 9f12076897 one of d53fccc575 the funniest f787159670 sights Kim cd3e5b7b57 Jaeman had b5dee98c6e ever witnessed.4ffd71308c525e9b

Anyway, after three months c68ccebd2c of cramming himself into 5b340ebccb that toy-sized car, sleeping 726fc58b0b curled up like a 3e48964a8e stray dog, Kwon Hyeongdo 86ebd5ca33 finally raided all the 19cea817e7 gambling dens Kim Jaeman 4cfd45c880 had snitched on. A month 95f62d57f3 later, he 09e3befbf2 used the 5003ab2d93 earnings to 0166bf1dc4 set up d4c0e7493a a legitimate 0d96d7efb2 business and 7195c5b0b6 placed a 5756214198 call to 66fd0ca31c Chairman Choi.73689bfaca125b8c

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Kim Jaeman had fa1420f72a always been curious. If Kwon d5dce743fd Hyeongdo had e941d2794a been part 9b9e1a6cd7 of Chairman f47b0a97c7 Choi’s circle a5cd12dc6f from the bd77bf6054 start, why 89b8c6a6b3 did he 408860a35b go through 0b38ab3d18 all that 11d6c38a74 trouble? Why drive c116409ea5 that tiny-ass 6a1e1a10b4 car around 450d92ae32 like a aae25ea074 broke punk? Why raid 0162d786a3 gambling dens 6642c046e9 like a a83decc82e maniac?b4828d635ca60483

After all, Chairman Choi ae8e238491 had expanded his organization 846b3b913d at an insane pace, 372f7e13ad and his men—unlike typical c8c2ff8333 gangsters these days—had an 2505c4dfad oddly strong sense of 9f66ed0d2f loyalty, like some romanticized c89a2d7954 warriors of old. Rumor had it, 13cf5b1f14 the reason for ecfbe6bb57 their unwavering devotion 9b6c56b2e0 was simple: the 57dc50f4d4 chairman’s generosity with 567ced978b his wallet. The sheer 7331267535 amount of 7532212925 money he 4bcc92da3b controlled was 0fe437590b legendary in 01f44de4e5 their world.8cf44d92cab31fef

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At first, Kim 04d82ddfaf Jaeman thought maybe de4a5006a9 Kwon Hyeongdo was 70d56b748b just a low-ranking 7514d45256 enforcer back then. But even now, after 3dba4081ba climbing to Executive Director, 732d153bac his way of living ddd47126e1 hadn’t changed at all. In an 4fb93a7039 era where d6d5b933b1 even the a1192cb453 lowest street 922229f2f7 thugs strutted 06b9cb08a0 around in 15aa900339 suits, Kwon 231d625c6c Hyeongdo still dbcc9c6b74 wore his 135ecb0afa weird-ass shirts, 4214627e1c standing out c475feee55 like a 4074384ac3 sore thumb 706c7fe607 in their 0f2fc21bb2 world.8429345bf81775e6

Back then, fad797040d now, always—Kwon 23de84f441 Hyeongdo was 7808ac0885 an impossible d4b655d228 man to 3f32f76060 understand.5f236c3f2cd8529a

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But one thing was fa0b410873 certain: as long as 9b35665134 he stuck by Kwon 66c888448f Hyeongdo’s side, he’d never cc6375ec39 have to freeze to 202bb87df0 death in his underwear f1b7478e43 again.fbb1cfbab2746399

“Shit. Our hyungnim 7e03bfb0be has a 46377ae79a goddamn nose 2078806d5e for money.”5f3ca8f0600be01b

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Kim Jaeman 31e900242d muttered as 82d4158882 he scratched f6b8e4a4b1 his greasy, 68a64db27d unwashed hair, f581a84680 reeking of 16fa2ca27d instant coffee, e659bf9f92 cigarettes, and afd261f251 a few 11877e2135 days’ worth f01f6f6fe4 of sweat. Then, with a tap, bec2e6b79e he hit the Enter dcffb5f9ca key.98a98d1acec266cd

Hundreds, thousands of emails 8309d21dcf shot out at once. Spam mails—all containing fdbaf8ef8e the link to b320cb92da a website built d377e37f5d from Kwon Hyeongdo’s 9192b6327c idea.1977363f8ce70579

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Twelve hours later, the 9146eb5e7d website had hit its b5d2828cf6 target amount.b098e1a55ed20142

And just like f39f8bdc4b that, the address 3166b93ea1 changed again. All off ad327e2f94 commission fees 3c936cb3f2 alone.993b727333f51d76

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