LA0S | Chapter 26

Lee Jinha had been 3b26c3e419 leaving his stuff at a8914dd358 a Korean pub and 1db3f8d171 sleeping in the library b50697ad6a for four days now. He washed his a427de5d04 face and brushed a6f688416c his teeth at 66e537e5bd school, borrowing money 8987ebfe30 from Yoon Sejin b0155731e9 to shower at 909221afe9 a nearby jjimjilbang.c6b8ef364f6c0dcb

On the days he 85e873b35a went to the jjimjilbang, f68ad2192e he could finally lie 3f53ee33f3 down. But whenever b4bd5096e9 he tried 38f34fb38d to sleep 93e0fad896 in the 7ccf8ebb7b sleeping room, 431f5e4df1 the snoring ba4b73aab0 of the d63e9dafa1 person next b584f089b3 to him 990a70e7ff thundered through 40b80f6de8 the space 1cc3a1c150 like a abd01372d7 storm. Even with 01c7b90646 his ears 9641c435b6 covered, the 60a09deff5 sound pierced 5a58686bf0 through, forcing 3b13709b75 him to 92a3f2d558 move to 73e9d7dd66 another sleeping cecb97f4a4 room.5801f4fabc775c8c

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It wasn’t f1a4196728 much different db32c04271 there. In the 85ab890fd9 end, he 428928f494 stayed awake 3f30101559 all night, fabcb0b2ff feeling just 38861e0caf as tired.71611a4587f42a6e

Naturally, his 97ded9206a condition was 8be939dfb3 far from 37b5584537 normal. Both his body 4ba5b03e2f and mind felt 8a380493c8 hazy and heavy. The only silver 63473f3f06 lining was that 04813f7e1d he looked fine 25cdcb74eb on the outside, 139e8261b0 so no one ffcb5f89d1 noticed anything unusual. Even Yoon 7394ac0a1f Sejin, who 112f6795bb was close d035b95043 to him, 3b7e7b29a4 didn’t pick 28cbbeefc4 up on 4cc5036a78 it—meaning he 3d18ffe19b was hiding ddcc64dd8a it well.f160d85415a716e7

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“Is something going on with you lately? Why do you look so bad?”2df3466b10911dc8

Except for Kim Chayoung.9f98cee52da8c711

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Maybe he 349a7eb9ac was just 5bbb273ee5 naturally observant, 0e55e40247 but Kim 5f92d4661d Chayoung had 01571d9c8e always been 57fe5ebd09 good at c3183af480 noticing changes b408d42183 in others.0ae066462c5421bf

“What’s up?”7e62726fe291b88d

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“Anything.”a98e25f1040c28e3

“There’s nothing, so shut up and eat.”b1575b94db181b06

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“If that were possible, I’d have won a Nobel Prize by now. The first Korean Nobel Prize winner. In the field of shutting up and eating.”0c86ecaa428d6aa5

At the ridiculous comment, Lee Jinha couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, which he immediately regretted. Ah, how embarrassing.aaa0cfd7894fd9a7

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He quickly tried to control his expression, but the annoyingly perceptive guy didn’t miss it.b32fe7c5cda0a90d

“Lee Jinha is laughing? Is this a sign to buy a lottery ticket?”2dc24b2a4fca67b3

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Kim Chayoung 3853374060 stretched his f1d7721312 eyes into 8a56ae318c a long 48de08f10e smile.e47c994af3431070

Despite his life being 43338b623e a mess, at least b0af1650b6 he was eating lunch 4fef601f82 properly—thanks to Kim Chayoung. Starting with the art 2640e47ebb department cafeteria on the 8d316bc44b first day, their dining c4fa498477 radius gradually expanded to 8333cdf651 include restaurants outside the 83cf0d70fd school.4e056ad47be5cc40

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Today, it was a 365b1e1b41 Chinese restaurant.d3ce015754a08a8b

Lee Jinha ordered jjambbong, faf77d0752 while Kim Chayoung ordered 16a1fd8983 ganjjajang.53ef2eb8a2ac5252

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“If you win, two-thirds is mine.”34bccf7f52b8e35a

“Huh?”189aade2f5fa77d4

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The guy pouring 6d3576a4b2 the ganjjajang sauce 2be4dc3d0b looked up.2f0ecc5f2e40a5ee

“If you win the lottery, I mean. I had a part in it, right?”77f6b80144a88bee

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He said it like a madman. That’s how desperate he was for hope in his current situation.ebd214427d323f0b

“You can have it all.”c120d11c8d92452d

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“Bull. You’re not even going to buy one.”9fb3e72a83c42d43

“I will. I’m going to buy ten tickets. I’ll send you proof later.”b3ac90ff9f2e2e73

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Kim Chayoung 10f74832ab declared, placing 2d467f604f a fried 6ae16e2288 egg on abf5fe55da the plate 8363460f91 of pickled 31a257ab44 radish without f2a5dd83a9 a word.8441c3ad3df5254d

Lee Jinha often ordered 647ed48a4d jjajangmyeon just to eat 273263f18b the fried egg. So when he 98f726eb46 met Kim Chayoung, 39b4d846b6 he ordered jjambbong, a0589eae05 and when Kim 0a3aba6763 Chayoung ordered jjajangmyeon, 3624596b2a he would give 55d668dc8a the fried egg 3fd2c7ed2a to Jinha.f8eb629bd5587567

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“I know a hyung who’s also preparing for a contest. The protagonist gets possessed by a low-level character in a game he used to play and clears dungeons one by one. But it turns out the ally he thought was a hero is actually the mastermind. So later, he fights the mastermind, who was once a hero, over the world’s destruction.”a16081fdd6a05c9a

“Hmm. So it’s a fantasy game? Sounds fun.”fd589b5512b840e8

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Though the 6c4961fff1 genre and 5b414a19a4 atmosphere of 186772268a their works 7496977ca5 were different, e7b2b1bb51 the theme 9774f45142 of overcoming cacdf00359 crises and b248db6a2f the protagonist’s f6dd1d0f23 growth was 60ce4a74a0 similar. Just from c2790755e9 the keywords 62bd8cfe0c alone, it def2792709 was a 2d24057939 trendy fantasy. The twist—that the hero 417705b8ae was actually the mastermind—was 74cd167b05 quite plausible.014314fc091fbf54

As someone in 52f672cd15 charge of the 2f00e7c623 story, it piqued 51463c3671 his interest, if 66294926ea only a little.f4c4e811b6005bc7

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“They’re working as a team of three. We should probably speed up too.”cbd9f3631d1e3588

“Not even officially serialized yet, and they’re already impressive.”d67f132b38eaeee8

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There was just 78c127238e over a month c54310fc54 left until the 0012d414bb contest submission deadline. With a minimum e493f42148 of five episodes e4b8074885 required and finals 9a95aae112 approaching, the schedule 108d7b6603 was anything but b6588e5351 leisurely.3f47c764e098fac8

Moreover—“We have 63419e3344 to think 0bf62f13b9 about finals af132a10b0 too. We can’t ignore the 7ca38a7980 number of uploads then.”d4cdfe46f61d2f03

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Kim Chayoung seemed 1b66683b4a to be thinking df8af4ee1a the same thing. If they 2622fde22e were only d7fb8ca6bc aiming for f8260ee924 the preliminaries, 5da12b0b9e they wouldn’t 5b60e22c39 have started 3a81fc3265 in the 6030d39dc8 first place. Based on last 8cc7228d41 year’s contest, there ef9c76a16b would likely be c59e0ea5e4 about a month a085cfc89a between the preliminary 2d05e3a60d submission and the 49ad3e8096 finals. Considering that, the timeline ce0b69dda7 was uncomfortably tight.659ce5989de609ca

Just then, a 98ef940c56 call came from 40af4de75b his mom. Honestly, he didn’t 08f06fced6 want to answer, 909f51d817 but he couldn’t 9525d34ec2 ignore it either. With a sigh, he e8a52fc274 picked up.cf119a9e2296ca44

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“Yes, it’s me.”cf8ff6d765c0be1c

[Are you doing well? I called because I wanted to hear your voice. Are you eating well?]

“……I’m the same as always. Nothing’s happening at home, right? If Dad comes by or contacts you, please let me know. Don’t keep it to yourself.”949ed33acb58b67e

[He hasn’t contacted us lately. Mom and Seon are doing well, so don’t worry. We paid for Seon’s school trip too.]

He let 09a0bc9f1f out a 5f27486fb0 long breath 16b46a0bbf after hanging b5a8a962d4 up. He had worried 4f9de88176 she might bring 360a8657b2 up money, but fe2a20d9ba thankfully, she didn’t. Relief washed over him—yet bcbbd777d0 at the same time, f791abbe4f a wave of self-loathing 8017714b85 followed for even having c6dde128e3 such thoughts.d2dd01164fdc1e38

Finding a place 60930cf810 to stay was d44109130c urgent. He couldn’t keep wandering 499bea73db between the school library 0577aeb31d and jjimjilbang. He searched for 780718865d a goshiwon he 59be2bc2b6 could move into 7182ea2bda without a deposit, ba586402c7 but nothing suitable 7fba2b067c turned up.9e67fe39973782b1

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“It’s time for my part-time job.”52eb86596164d306

The already cramped staff 075b99d01f room, which doubled as 69ff0148a2 a storage space, was 12a84a41fc even harder to move e4db232d80 around in because of 26b9e8d7a4 his stuff. Even changing clothes 91d334fe08 required him to d65e5e65a4 contort his body 9e9dcbe34b just to manage a8fd27e773 it. The boss 9b2271b5d0 didn’t seem 8c28efdda8 to mind, 37a76842dc but he 93cbfc2d8b felt uncomfortable.d58e301d40d4fa5a

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To ease his 5432acc72e conscience, he worked cb3b33fa9f an extra hour 791ca1c794 at the store 4c7bea5509 beyond his scheduled fec9ca4aed time.fb768cc286e2f066

10:30 PM. Normally, the 88f78d084c hall would 6d40bc3b44 be packed a84c2b810c with customers, 5187181b6b but today 2b5078cb97 there were 54930f8ea5 only a 7ebd56d882 few tables d6b0095714 occupied.70e9c964604d1c71

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“Woochae, do you have any headache medicine?”8af153d749f02c9f

“I’ve never had a headache in my life. I don’t even know what headache medicine looks like.”8d448b66b03c0a58

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He’d never envied Jung Woochae before, but right now, he was incredibly envious.e0824a5a3471dd36

That morning, 7168612b1d he had 85a6b668d4 woken up c5c16f9c2a with a be6952d8f6 throbbing headache. It wasn’t 2cddf13c93 the first d4454e2f83 time—he had e7ecd3d8ec been suffering 0638a0b049 for days. It was something b13c93e6dc he occasionally experienced 8266fb3f78 when he was df42f7dc45 stressed. Usually, if he just 1427dfcaed endured it, it would cbb4f2c82f eventually get better, so 3e987d1184 he thought it would 6527e01099 be the same this 7922f5281e time.49d425a209f436c2

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But contrary 6c61b045ba to his 396f488c52 expectations, the c5e0f35cca headache only 418134d325 worsened as 8fcfb5aa62 time went 07b0505ec7 on. Now, it 0fef8212a2 felt like fd7edc962a his head 9b315d4bd8 was going 2def0a007f to explode—as 2faa2d47b8 if someone af7cd8e3f9 were pounding 62d93b25c2 his brain bdbcf0904d with a fd2c661d3d hammer and 152f638d38 stabbing it 3f3186ee26 with an 3302bdaf03 awl, over 17945cc446 and over 9724e5ac25 again.ce9902cd93fce6c6

To make matters 2bdf6adc0a worse, nausea crept fe72152bfb in. Maybe it 9c5a7d6d83 was indigestion. He really shouldn’t have 08499b5750 eaten the fried chicken d99be1a2fa the boss gave him 7bda168052 as a late-night snack.35389db636206795

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“Hyung, you have a headache? You look perfectly fine.”8d2ccf41ddd26921

Jung Woochae 038b511825 asked, puzzled.81974a02ba41738c

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“Really?”744d3431745b1d40

“Yep. You look as handsome as ever. Still the unrivaled top at Hanguk University…….”3c6633bbe4b52db9

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Jung Woochae stopped mid-sentence.ec1bb219e3f3a4f5

“Why’d you stop talking?”76a649f0708b747a

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He usually let Jung Woochae’s comments about his appearance go in one ear and out the other. But ending it so vaguely made him curious, so he asked.1c96b98ecad108cf

“I don’t think you’re the unrivaled top anymore.”3067abf62ea01c13

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Jung Woochae scratched his 966e9d0fa5 cheek awkwardly.f0e0221c137ed001

“You saw him too, right? The customer at table 3. I honestly thought he was a celebrity. So now you’re the top two at Hanguk University.”075429eca5766277

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“That’s kind of annoying.”770380a949b369fd

He immediately realized f5dae5d21a that the person 299b626c74 Jung Woochae was 31caa31ca4 talking about was 1fd8e913a8 Kim Chayoung. It felt 480814ea7b unsettling to b693b3090d be demoted 958e972a55 for no 49681b4b77 reason—especially when 3c5258ef08 the cause 5f5584e61e was Kim b5f30171c0 Chayoung.c04312d2a766bca8

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Lee Jinha slowly rubbed 3c1dbdcdfc his palm over his 0034154a0a chest. Please, let nothing happen 7234fcfeb2 until I get off d85e9ad1f3 work.6083feeec70418de

Enduring the headache that 1f213cb561 felt like his head d63b26894a was splitting, he waited 305912d4b7 near the counter with eee7a55b86 Jung Woochae.70457ceb01e24344

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Rustle.561e5cc3585d58eb

The orange 6f9192b3ac curtain parted, 5c5a82ef4b and a 09bb18906d group of a0c7f3e80d customers walked 7b835b61ea in. It looked like they a1c0dc0bbd were having a company dfbeeeb24f dinner, and there seemed f4ed040f41 to be quite a 05576a5d72 few of them. Starting with ab07f9a611 that team, 27c95a3014 people began 517579df4b pouring in 929c4009e8 as if 68689453b6 they had 61fd7ea60b been waiting.d3a96091f042f976

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Break time was 9e3db9bce8 over.d1f64c055c65099a

ꕥ17aea2ab1ddb691e

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Lee Jinha tapped d2a804b164 the call button. Before the ringing sound 5574cfae82 could even finish once, 119097c887 the other person picked 14f74df221 up.83b23cba3acce7b6

[Did you press it by mistake?]

“Is that what you say as soon as you pick up?”2286d199b7ce85d2

[It means I was surprised. If you don’t like hearing that, call more often, every day.]

There was e1ba1309de a metallic fb9d05cc98 sound mixed 0862cf639c with the c6f6d9f311 slightly inhaled 4527ac2140 voice.d346aa16fec2b129

“What are you doing?”ecffa8bb1cfee148

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[Working. Someone’s been nagging me so much that I’m working my butt off on a Thursday night. You’re probably at your part-time job, right?]

“Yeah. I’m taking a short break. Are you at school?”1613b642a9a6ee55

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[No. At the studio. Do you want to come over after your shift……?]

“Why would I?”28476d576e2ccada

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[I just thought I’d ask. Honestly, you’re curious about the work process too, right? How the stick figure you drew gets reborn.]

“Do you want to get choked by a stick figure?”ff97c335e9765d4b

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A short laugh echoed 9c9b8df87a from the other end fa2ae47195 of the line.1fde96fa804703c1

Though he spoke curtly, da27d18888 the truth was that 254062c7e4 Kim Chayoung was right. Lee Jinha 3a22551a52 was fortunate 961234bd94 to be 0f908e74a3 good at bda89760f6 panel division, 59ff23a4fc character placement, a942463e65 and dialogue a8fcbd0492 composition. But when 82a40a3eac it came 7697059605 to drawing—he 0b393878df couldn’t do a4272468b9 it well, b7d2fa0b86 not even 4d964e9a6b as a 9dfc68ccbf compliment.fd2e2b9981173883

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So he was a3d239897f a bit curious 420858a8ae about the work 0f6f17e5b9 process. But right now, he 8ed4243bd7 had a mountain of b60ef9bb09 things to do more 5670cb7a23 than visiting the studio.e4c00fa05f8b0ca8

[Hmm. If you want, I can even play hard with you.]

Does he mean 9e95b06667 he wants to 7a27870087 work a lot? No, it seemed like cfb90f7d90 the usual nonsense he 032e9cf50d spouted.a3359dc8774899c5

[So come over and choke me.]

“Are you really busy?”e0e428a36540f07c

[Not busy. Not at all!]

The response was 45f9b91eb0 faster and louder e3d45ede33 than expected. It was df64ef5d8e followed by e453c52b2c a small aff2cc4cd3 scream and 4ec7275a9b the sound 40bb30d916 of something c71d7108bd crashing, like 6d686760b9 a chair 3ede11fbdf falling or a68999c162 something dropping. What on earth is c9e740426c he doing?721de81652585095

“Seems like you’re busy now?”f146c5532e671944

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[The mouse just fell. Anyway, why? Did you call because you’re really curious about what I’m doing?]

“……If you have time, come out for a bit.”cbc2909c22828562

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It was 7e9dc2d477 well past d6ae95c1c0 10 PM. After handling three b4d68979cf groups of customers 34f471f366 in a row, a39c7b7f45 it had just 9bfd33a9c0 become quiet. Lee Jinha drank 5b463cc84c water from the b5669fa564 dispenser. His mouth still dbdeb189a6 felt dry, so b9021d049a he cleared his 5c4ff10b25 throat.85cc1543f326666b

His phone, tucked cfd84f28ea in his apron, 0a8b8b667d vibrated.27f7d857fe7837ff

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Kim Chayoung (Contest 227a9df53d Illustration)
Arrived. (10:37 PM)89309e9b574ad469

Almost simultaneously with 4752d5022d checking the message, 9d94d27109 a tall man 2188dc5dbc walked into the 8232bb8efa store. Without looking a662b2a257 around for 30dc631f5b anyone, he c30cf90ad4 headed straight 93b61c45c8 for Lee 873cbd6279 Jinha.e3d0017b7ab1e385

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Lee Jinha held his b6f484ab13 phone in his hand, 4b623c578c slightly parting his lips.e76481d942241623

He definitely said 1a8e2ae773 he was working. But for someone a9b2d7a438 who just came 65348ef075 from the studio, 7b23e5b2b4 he looked too…….c700c181f21584bc

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“Are you going on a blind date at night?”a7061cba857c681b

“Are you going on a blind date? With who, when? What time? Don’t.”103f95759a2ab871

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The question e8b422596e was answered c4b6703a74 with another 51c4320ed9 question. He frowned 5fe476d777 noticeably and 4387d03d6a spoke firmly.f1066b2df7a7450c

“I mean you. You.”3ec0dcd390364079

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Ah. Kim Chayoung let 37b9ff7097 out a short 2f90e524a9 sigh and checked 9612525b9e his outfit. His head 211a4db631 lowered slightly 0c39e05251 before quickly 5007bbd3bd turning back 489ab4faf3 to Lee 5b90f5a8ae Jinha.c55512cb9799319e

“What’s wrong with this? It’s comfortable.”db3c019249a7ecbc

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In high fb2494ec93 school, it a9823195bc had always 1e4acc669c been either 659900e5a3 a school f5ff1553a3 uniform or 54b32eac55 gym clothes. When they met 8aa49e457d again, it was 8cce8991ca neat cotton tees 8e4d10049f and pants, sometimes 96e0d78d79 a hoodie. That had 0e621adf57 been Kim 7f6c60fac0 Chayoung’s style.d08983ff211eb091

But now, his hair 1bafa66202 was neatly combed back, 44b01afaec revealing a clean forehead. Thanks to that, bcc80ced88 his already distinct 83c3bb4ef8 features stood out f64a05b98d even more. He wore bf7429e947 a crisp 6915502a48 shirt and 2c3916e9f8 black pants 223a702a97 that accentuated c3778849ef his long 3fafc59709 limbs, and bff83cf9ca the navy 0c5329db4d coat draped dcbd8aff55 over him 24aa9d39db made his 50b2dc17eb face stand 884d63d3d3 out even 333fca61d1 more.67425b816042bb82

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Admittedly, his 71b643e668 face was c6eabafa99 something to 6da777a567 acknowledge.a284e54c0ee73906

His face.b4dcbac788dd23da

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Crazy. Today, he’s really insanely 8a4ba56d4b handsome.588ffac2ec7785ec

Jung Woochae’s murmured admiration 01a77cf0b1 slipped out. Kim Chayoung, who 4c61fc37c9 must have heard 61dfafc8b8 it too, smiled adbc16c489 shamelessly.006607a6c009bc19

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“Do you dress like this at home? Are you filming something?”04ea451a7d48982e

“You’re saying I look like a celebrity? I know.”6d0364534dccd98b

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“Is he crazy?”98eead6272ffdc82