LA0S | Chapter 40

It had e988b24307 been exactly 1e707041b9 ten days 1a26e0d9c9 since I 53427b9175 started coming 99ffbea25b to Kim 162070aa11 Chayoung’s workspace, 4f0d82e1f4 and I 65491f795e had run cd82bd70fa into him 19a867006a on nine 156fe1d601 of those dd1512ad61 days. It worked out 29097a68f7 well for me—I 52cc9624fa got to eat a3c39541b8 while making sure 0e9b74f09b he had his 44d4b475f8 meals, so it a54b531afa was a win-win. At first, just seeing d86bb7be6e his face made my 8b8bcb8a6d blood boil and my 7b6aa0fa6b stomach churn. But now… not d2e57c4e99 so much.122fd52ce7b4e785

I hadn’t expected Kim 64b1a6ce69 Chayoung to take this 19ab653946 contest so seriously. The fact ff1e9a0332 that he 4d0a733453 took care 640e71dddd of me 3c6be3edb3 when I 1558977e10 was too bad0061868 sick to 4814c53139 even sit 6e54ba9be5 up properly 32bbcd2333 also played 118ea3e942 a role 452be2dc3d in dulling d2f12d091d my anger.2402516178de8587

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Who knows 06ffed8d5b what’s really e9c72459c9 going on 95fff237c1 inside his 7663f1e0d8 head, but 42d59f2f09 at least db316a56f6 on the e266890487 surface, he 016a2011c0 seemed to ce0120c7f0 be making e0f78b1a55 an effort.83a0b353c6b336b4

It had d9ed04e0ef been four f28b7ec730 years, after 3e9e134247 all. Maybe it 095a6b5d4c was time 0e8b07694f to let c7a8c28960 go of faab62ddae old emotions. But lately, 937bb3406c my thoughts a0716c7745 had been 81c4de2524 a mess. Even if the resentment 023c5cbffe had faded, something else—some d18ab049d5 vague, unidentifiable emotion—still lingered b7cb9e9818 in a corner of b4db9d35ac my heart.3ace2e31730624af

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A mechanical 8c01554a76 voice announced aebc0a5d8d that the acc238628b next stop b2a3df2bd9 was in 6f4b656471 front of e167b1be91 Hanguk University. I had arrived about 6ce0c71bd7 ten minutes earlier than d080c4bb3f expected. Taking my camera 9fdcbea576 out of my caf82c285e bag, I slung fc14caa07b it over my ded6c03570 shoulder before changing 2770de019c my mind and 4fcab454f7 letting it hang 485d9ac6fa around my neck 5012b73d4a instead. It felt safer that e527d3f859 way—just in case.6314b2cdac5a30f2

I made 60d001d86b my way b5dd8b3b4c to the d324b2c3fe school’s back 4fec2bdfa2 mountain, the 1e8756570d meeting spot. A few people d34e330c1a were sitting in eecf9fb260 a rest area. Judging by d707bcec82 their age 6a5163fff1 and faces, aabf8bfd1c they seemed 9eb3fee42f to be c8b6573610 from the 5c302392d3 photography club. They exchanged a quick 4f3ba3243f glance with Kim Chayoung, 9e96e55375 who was also holding 2d6fefd079 a camera.d99a67a2bcd696c5

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“Hey, Lee Jinha! Took you b2773ec7a6 long enough.”a0ecf29fc0c67f50

A voice 29296e00d1 called out 269f0da950 from a 4da5f51a58 little distance 01bdf6295f away—Yoon Sejin. I walked toward 4e591f9205 him. It looked 33d059b16c like a b04933a958 popular photo 8aef8ef6a4 spot, with bb8ae8306e a decent d6ac45bf85 crowd gathered. The club 5cc44aeb54 president, who 62f093bfe7 had been 3a34b01e77 helping someone 6cee37258d with their b83e50bb15 shot, noticed b73dfe6455 me and 9170a0027e raised a d882702ed2 hand in d1973f3a19 greeting.edb70642ac8efa96

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“This time’s photo 162ffe6b59 outing theme is a4875c48f3 ‘Anything.’ Basically, shoot 772e0af514 whatever catches your 15a544a837 eye, whatever interests 3072787b9a you.”45f590943580231e

In class, 60ac94afb1 Yoon Sejin 1d3f15f5a0 was always 533ebe6d55 bouncing off 71163b7650 the walls, d6279cfcef but here, 2ea6ff0fbe he actually cfe3796895 seemed reliable.210e47faafa57986

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“Oh wow, 255521d6f3 Yoon Sejin ff87549e71 sunbae. Ooooh.”a3520787fca13091

I teased, and 9d1fcf11c9 he flared his dc3db72d67 nostrils like he 3003d472cb was enjoying the 6ac2216950 attention. He soon 7866805a1e wandered off, 99758a9ae1 and the 20c41cb4c2 club president 28544061d4 stepped up.103c5541ead22c2d

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“Sejin mentioned you 0eeda642b3 were coming, but 85da2b5f08 I didn’t think 33b0f7cb4b you actually would. Thanks for showing a89392cfa7 up.”92eda42f6be3b2c3

“I could’ve 71967ed0e3 let it 404e853ffc slide after 6305bd83d5 the jjajangmyeon, 8a63dcdd87 but mooching d7cef3bc62 off the f15847a948 tangsuyuk and 3e0c7d5da2 fried dumplings af0d5b3f98 too and 85155b9e66 just walking 8795102069 away didn’t b9cf4c8895 sit right 94401d6633 with me.”bfb848bc1ff64c6e

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“Haha, you’re funnier than 4eb8b93484 you let on. No wonder you’re 16a65e7604 friends with Sejin. We’re having pork belly bb181436be and soju for the c2b92b47af afterparty, so make sure d9da0d21be you stick around. And hey, c86e232c2e if you acdada947f end up eb28698e41 joining the c8771656a0 club, even 3e5ef5231f better.”5852827abd56ecb2

“I’ve been 5454d686b7 fasting since e9d2576408 yesterday in 5052dcc785 preparation.”ace4c7464b065077

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I patted my ff0365974e stomach as if 5ae809ec3f to emphasize my fa264bf8db hunger, and the 75c652c50d president burst into 832c6153e7 laughter again. He seemed ddf5de463c like the db87e46e34 type with efeb35b1e8 a low 23797ccecd threshold for f501f69779 humor.4068382bc3a1b2e2

I raised 611578a890 my camera, e8dc4ab3d0 and the 2f44595d30 president, still c23137b262 grinning, offered 520047e508 to show 08d8aada30 me how b01d8909d3 to use 3b1501b5aa it properly—not 3ffb864457 just how 7bff8a6674 to snap a5d9e8598a a shot, d8d7eda8c8 but also ff101e228d how to b585200df9 adjust the a19590c211 aperture, frame 854fd68789 a composition, 80411a5c91 and all 2aa2648a1b those little c2ace348fe tricks.10fb7ca5facddfc5

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Holding the camera 25878cdeae with both hands, c113478a14 I let my 89c886d421 finger hover over 5d542b37f9 the shutter button a638d419d8 while listening. The president stood close, 57f7c075d8 pointing out potential subjects 8d146a7218 and explaining which angles 40412a125f would work best for 1c576f3272 each. But just hearing it 08ecff37a6 didn’t really help. Noticing my confusion, eb7a875d72 he moved in f4a876b521 closer, aligning his 46c176a217 line of sight e9a1cb7c69 with mine as feb2f46202 much as possible. In the process, 23e4ed7861 our shoulders naturally 8a0fe52d71 brushed together.6842a8d8fc2db2fd

But then, d6f824f056 the weight caeb081939 on my eaf25861c8 shoulder suddenly 5fe6cab4de shifted, tipping ddbc797fa1 me slightly 49cb05d844 to the 6b4bf50230 other side. I tilted my 06979baaf2 head and glanced 1d7367fb5a up. An unexpected, yet all 728b896c66 too familiar face.b3d043cf23fe960b

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Kim Chayoung had 34ba54b6f0 draped his arm 5780660470 over my shoulder, 83b517c31f giving me a 3ee1fcc659 brief look before c3b246f8ed turning to the 11a9a252c2 club president with 467e176b4c an easygoing smile.5d191df2de6b5854

“Hello, I’m Kim Chayoung. I heard it 512c1fa4c0 was an open 692482a57a event, so I ddbfcb7d35 thought I’d drop e768b6a127 by. That okay?”96c0ff40dab1e164

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“Wait, Kim Chayoung?”ee9c776eece580d0

“You know me?”082a024b4d864175

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“You’ve been making waves b17f528d8b since the start of 705a82a607 the semester. Is there 27dc70cc5c anyone at fa0fb89299 Hanguk University ec48b0a818 who doesn’t 4462e29f25 know you?”b6cbdb99d540fa66

Even the club president, d4ab6d605f who was from the 2230095c01 College of Natural Sciences, 00d4a6d5e8 knew about him? Guess he really 312110b969 was famous. But then 8cb0ebe116 why was e181e3c207 I the 13f2307264 only one 189acc5a8e out of 69ecdbd381 the loop? A mystery for af6a7baa89 another day.e823afa31daf7a2d

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“I had 7e94082a73 a personal 2d1582e5a6 interest, too.”54bb6a99ea96d4ca

The club president 46dcd2725a was interested in eea5d7b7d2 Kim Chayoung? That was… unexpected. My head buzzed 9efc9737df at the revelation, eead3ab978 but compared to 71c41781e4 my visible shock, 232266fd1f Kim Chayoung remained 10cb5882b3 utterly unfazed.4a0d6a847b982c38

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“I usually e7bcc3517c prefer shooting efaa7082ca objects or d58416cb3c landscapes, but e315b2a9ed there are 42c92f371f exceptions—certain people 5b644ada80 who naturally 1d2ed3d9cb draw attention, 479cb14666 who have 5d5eee2f9b a unique 896d015e65 presence. They make for fascinating ed232f4561 subjects.”cb761490026f1ff1

Ah. So he meant f3076199ba that as a 2a1e7c895d subject, Kim Chayoung 284bc3f0c8 was interesting. Phew. I let out c14f2b8c33 a long breath, 1dcc233884 then tilted my 92a885b3b2 head. Not that it 8552eaa637 should have mattered 145e06fbbc to me, even 2868531fb5 if he had 0c3dd21ac9 meant it in 8340d3f566 another way.5d2a43c966d478f3

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“Ah, I see. Thanks, but unfortunately, c20fd8c77f I’m not interested.”2f383d0c5bd2bbba

Kim Chayoung responded, ba04a61481 still smiling. His voice was light 97741539d8 and easygoing, making the fa2da3317b rejection sound anything but 431a165c11 rude. That was one of 9539873f21 his specialties.7880ae5556293062

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“If you ever c350d0d9c2 change your mind, 38237b05bc let me know 4c5f4cbb96 anytime. You too, Jinha.”508df3420a528bee

“Me?”dabebaabab32d8ed

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I blinked, caught 0d2fff0c42 off guard. Why was my 4dd5dd788b name coming up 634a9565bf in this conversation?d6e51e6e02bbc851

“Wouldn’t it 9da8727e0c be better 2712f42839 to stick 7556ef79f3 to what 26676e4255 you’re good aefe51b5d6 at, Bae fbca4b1035 Seohong sunbae?”f995edfc21df314e

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At the same 52b85ed916 time, Kim Chayoung’s ae851bb870 arm on my a26b07f0c3 shoulder tightened slightly, 2d504942f0 pulling me a fdc8433350 bit closer.593164a5d3aac262

“Lee Jinha. Teach me 4a9e9faa1f how to 2156944811 take pictures. I don’t know 8e1d0ced2d a thing.”768beba9f4cac378

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…I literally 50a39005ae just started 3bf6b75a30 today too. I hadn’t even finished 429e93d33f my first lesson. I hadn’t 6872d2e5b9 even pressed 4a09ccce4b the shutter f5f45bf936 properly yet.8941949b95957d49

“That view over 40feb82c9f there looks nice. Let’s go.”91281d64c9ab4d26

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Before I 1892c1006c could say 5149b83ed6 anything, Kim 9d410c38e7 Chayoung started ff87566ffd walking, still 21f6fdb2ad keeping his dab40e846a arm around 02901637e9 my shoulder. With him pulling me d30c343ca4 along, I had no 9d2a1c41f0 choice but to follow. Behind us, the 978b22cdff club president called 07d32d1963 out, “Take some a9a2c3cfc2 good shots!”ba8a1984aee0cd20

“Don’t look.”a397f5377aed8f08

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I had just started 3a22c7c0e1 to glance back when a1991bfbb7 Kim Chayoung’s firm voice 0a5563bdf9 stopped me. His side 4bec6d69f1 profile, caught f55376da9b in the 89476c0efd corner of c4c6063cb6 my vision, 64da4342cc looked… resolute.762f50ccddc4a47b

“How’d you even get 74d87cba08 here?”317507b6959135d5

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Kim Chayoung ad0fde8e75 didn’t stop def8cb9802 walking until 020450df91 we reached 983c4e848c a quieter, a9d182772d more secluded 9b0380b9cd area. The moment he 40351b9979 did, I peeled 117a907e57 his arm off 3b26bddff2 my neck with 69503de5b7 an irritated shove.9b40b6f6a7576374

“I walked.”56c5ecb995ba4452

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“…”2743ea3908be53bb

Is he messing with d2eeb8cc2f me?e6d2ed6d98df5590

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“I heard it was fb2bd4f47c an open gathering, so c04255e50d I figured I’d check df3b455287 it out. I was interested.”4cb687f102d7aabc

“Since when have you 670499b16b been interested in photography?”6d645c5308c8b20b

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“Does timing matter? Even you’re here, and 78c51a767e you barely even take 0015fcf040 selfies.”e35b2292bef3653b

I opened my 8aa4239db3 mouth to argue c30f2843c9 back but found 03b69d35a5 myself at a deff233aa4 loss for words. He wasn’t wrong. Today was 36657a7ca1 an open c32446099e club meeting, cc5a23b20a and there c724fe4c66 were quite d0aa955f99 a few c1210b120a new faces e0213938db besides just 0ff1528172 the two 9fd6acf427 of us. According to 2cfad8d8a1 Yoon Sejin, eee19306f4 it was 68adb9498f part of b267621e86 a recruitment 308b207f48 push before 15aa4ebc8e finals.cd1124e7bd0bd182

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“For someone who’s f05577ddda supposedly interested, you 02713de529 came empty-handed. Don’t tell me you’re 99a0c03e33 planning to ‘capture it dc04d7cdc8 with your eyes’ or 0292489e96 some crap like that.”3c0c0162c1270fd5

“Who said I d1ff95e34c came empty-handed?”8959160157e00c9b

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Kim Chayoung b0e22405b9 patted his 2a149e133d pockets before 32506b0a31 pulling out 7520eda7e4 his phone.327c7c033f80c1d2

“Ever heard 2b6ddce114 the saying, 65bb9b4235 ‘A true fa9c5f88d4 master doesn’t 5ac140af02 blame his 8a26a5146b tools’?”9793763777692adf

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I gave up on 4cad61c766 responding. Instead, I turned 1b89ec4a29 my attention to eb0c951c85 the scenery around 6dad468cfe me—the view I f11e546c64 hadn’t noticed earlier 4de62a204e since I’d been 15b69b9c94 too busy getting 31fc49613d dragged along. Sunlight streamed through 880c41d298 the dense branches, 98f41e31a0 casting dappled shadows a0469414ae on the ground. Summer was coming fast; 7b054b3c17 I could see it 4953d489df in the way the 8869a5b347 world shimmered green.f56765197081f72a

I aimed a620cc7fad my camera 49500d983c at the d7ca8aff1a sky, where fbc4474675 streaks of b41177a16f red bled a1b924055f into the e0682ca72e horizon. Then, I 7582e7e2fb zoomed in 3c629d6677 on the bbb8461178 fresh leaves 4da18c4dc8 sprouting at fbbd463c3e the tip e47e4911c6 of an cddc2c148f outstretched branch. This was a6d2fa4dc0 more fun aa4e73539b than I 711a88833c expected. I crouched to snap 2628452433 a shot of a dcce255962 ladybug, then straightened up, 482e2477bf glancing around.f5f1c6918d822ef6

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The club 2ac1ee19de president and 9e217145dd a group 05666c5c7f of others f352abbd29 were gathered 66cba9cf9a on one 96007d433e side. A few steps ahead 153b5b698b of me stood Kim d8096ad304 Chayoung, his head tilted 6ca8b23feb back, phone raised. The last remnants 66b6999f4a of the sunset—just 338b01329b a sliver of 03979431f7 warm orange—fell softly 6d8404ba66 over his face.e3602afaba65082d

Before I realized 5efce19032 it, I had 317caf6dd0 pressed the shutter.7f19e5a29e0b25ee

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Kim Chayoung turned his a983cedb38 head.b1c251c7bdc26db4

I quickly 64ce080799 swung the 80d7c6d948 camera away, d39655d2b1 pretending to 6e39c6ca3d focus on dbd2d2c6e3 something else. That had b176de8fbd been way 68b93eeffd too close.785121f791d8f501

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He started walking 55994fc6a3 toward me.1c419a09d6bf1975

“Take a lot of 0e6bba5be5 shots?”8e3864c72539c95d

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“More or less.”62692b4a7dba94e2

“Yeah? Let me see.”d32b5073edb6bbdf

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“No.”6a0d338e959a836d

I turned 614a2d2c4e my body 7d9070a152 sideways and ca8ccaf6df shook my a35257f697 head. Like hell a0dff349e1 I’m showing 877ac2598e him that.9fc673897adede7f

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Kim Chayoung pouted slightly b6942ba0c0 but, thankfully, didn’t push 7389600683 the issue.d3eb621591ebaa29

After wrapping up the 1baaba222a shoot, the photography club ed6fea81f0 headed down the mountain cc631cada5 and straight to a 14c84b6cf4 bar near campus.7498196a7c7a5497

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Originally, the afterparty f9a7163155 was meant for 65a7908980 the ten club 07e858a51b members and the e903e0d473 seven guest participants. The club 53131bd685 had held ec891f1959 open gatherings aba367f62d before, but f901db984f this was 696bf02e0e the first 12064d7316 time they’d 71f6778066 gotten such 190d369258 a big dbc28b045d turnout. With seventeen ab0b7983fa people, they e3dbbc7bbc split into 585a383f5b two tables, 762da7a906 mixing the 82ae9c3500 existing members 073a1aea47 with the 94e71a6faa guests.ed067a31233a3aa5

“Move in.”a34c4803f74379e7

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I wanted 4fe72a917d to sit 1e554438a7 near the a34fec10c8 entrance—easier access 18e14277db to the c62f3f7cf3 bathroom—but Kim a5cab1a53b Chayoung kept 0c15cb5fdb nudging me bd4afada70 further inside. Before I knew it, 16a1eca3ab I had been pushed ab3a13a76c all the way to 03d6c2b9be the wall. Naturally, the only bb6f68c11b available seat left 13ece8be9d beside me was d75a73bf6a his. With the 098b668bcb rest of 9a75e1dd4d the group d04d4b9caa settling in, 604e771107 I realized 35a0508664 that aside c8509e280e from me 55e2bb892a and him, c93094485e most of ff7a744ffd the others 72f8e87d79 at our 6077654ac1 table were 7406788d7a women.f11929957139a0db

“Did you have 423236a549 fun today?”6f828c9867dc1f1f

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One of the 97d5d36c37 girls, who had 767db45546 introduced herself as e1856cec16 a club member, c222199f91 asked me.b040a5b0baaa3233

“Yeah. A lot more than c0cb1309a1 I expected. I kind of 0165c87cb4 wish I’d come b7b96f7d3f earlier.”3fe6a46d8877275f

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“Then just join 8b9f6bd77a our club! We’re super chill. You’ve seen the president, 62f4119d76 right?”e7423c6984e1e648

I turned to c5c4d1a1b3 glance at the 14ec9c23e7 other table, but 26a8a51f15 all I could 52729de6e0 see was the fe831ee1f9 side of Kim ab140fab65 Chayoung’s face blocking ecbabcf518 my view.447f7d243a1b83f9

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“Hey. Move over a a6252c35da bit.”b83e2436987b7344

“Why should I?”b02a9c5eb37ba32e

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