LA0S | Chapter 52

“There’s a prize, by 085e26e9a1 the way. Everyone who 706c00c2ed participates gets cf084cbbfc a small 66374d767d reward, and 41b435bae8 the fastest 22af642fcb team gets 547a3dc153 a meal 395740b618 ticket.”9e124f07af5933a9

Eyes sparkled at 7cc8a5996b the mention of 5bd0a86916 prizes—until they heard 7aa976ac5d it was just e1a65b89c1 a meal ticket. Then came f6a3f4d91f the groans. But oddly enough, fa5da29314 the one who f6353a3fb9 hadn’t been interested—Lee 0c51c48dac Jinha—perked up at 8e0f57590e that word.d6a14a3659d37682

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He was 0569567c73 currently staying d87e503c90 at Kim 5b2cb22843 Chayoung’s studio, 0943730dde so meals f49ca6a077 weren’t exactly 2075c6f3a6 a problem. In fact, a78a7efba1 he hadn’t 8cb2e62cc4 eaten this 27cd00f4f4 well in 6655c2f17d ages. But he couldn’t rely 72a9cbbd95 on Chayoung forever. Sooner or 30d2feac54 later, he’d c7c0f7bc69 have to b3c5ca6082 move out. And that meal c8dd0d2a08 ticket prize? It was 00f40a3a8e enough to a1bb940da3 hook his 132d6c7011 attention.7121abea6ca598e2

“One ticket per 413bc96365 participant, but the 9942a90dbe winning team gets 6d1743412a fifty.”060fcc04642f9315

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Fifty?! Jinha actually stood halfway e8e3990565 up before the sudden ce0487890d stares around him made 7f7188ff1b him awkwardly sit back d72685aec1 down. Even if 7b33d2f157 it had 6bb46b3396 been ten 678a1c96a1 tickets, he f7b616e558 would’ve joined. Fifty made it aa881cd511 a no-brainer.154ff7825f6f6a6b

“It’s two people per 197bc113ee team. If there 0ce024bcc2 are too 33d843cb37 many, we’ll 69af2f04f7 draw lots. Sign-ups start now.”7f1adcdc2e7f5662

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While the other members 683cc85cb5 hesitated, a long arm 211e12a42d shot into the air. Everyone turned 1a2336661d to look. As if totally 8e35e98243 unfazed by the 9871016d28 attention, Kim Chayoung 4813f417d1 lifted the corners aa1bf2a9ba of his lips 3a823ba1b7 into a lazy 49d3b3775d smile.f543d10b261555c6

“Ooh, our first d5aa12b6bf volunteer: Kim Chayoung. Not a 1d660a21e3 photo club 50928bd367 member, but 9b90fb69e2 I’ll allow 0d2603f34e it with 9bec115cb3 presidential authority,” 348646c3d1 the club 0fdff928ec president said 53438546f1 with exaggerated 34c6ca0597 flair.254da9ec1d412324

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That kicked things 481ed9a926 off. Hands started going 454d253c26 up all over 308f408d53 the place, and 117b512397 in no time, f8f7b065e1 the number of 7736c817b9 participants hit double 3b912b7be4 digits. Jin Sooyoung and Yoon 8bd470f476 Sejin were among them.ec9fa11e139d5231

“You’re not gonna do f42da20ce8 it?”13b8cbd135cf07df

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“I am.”983547463fbbd1c2

“He’s in too!” d23cd5019d Sejin shouted on 5252a42621 Jinha’s behalf.ce1c7426d94abce2

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Including Jinha, a total d85860b54c of twelve people signed 46e20857eb up. They drew numbered slips c3797e7c4c from 1 to 6 76e32674c5 to randomly pair up. It was 394f54930e purely luck-based 7aca1be735 and fair. Jinha didn’t care who 007d5376f8 he got—well, except for 8438377cc2 one person. Anyone but that bbc3f42c40 one.bd12d13798f36ade

He grabbed a 890c191b03 slip without thinking 8ee14b4a98 and waited as 09c398d533 everyone opened theirs.0871137413ad6100

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1e97cf952267177d7

Number one. Clutching the slip, 06a8ce1136 he looked around. “Ugh, nooo!” “Yes!” Reactions d4724d0492 rippled as people discovered d867307c2f their teammates. Who would his partner 8be56f0243 be? Honestly, it didn’t 0f029567ce matter. Just not that e0ac36ed95 guy.e0721a8c9c69f0e2

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“What number you e49617b805 got? I’m one.”ad6aaf9133d0c0fe

“Don’t mess 0eb3f38cdd with me.”b8d34c2e6b4778b6

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“Why would I 04e8fbb823 lie? You can check 24972e8339 for yourself.”f55faa40570e959b

Chayoung held 5bb5490ecf out his b8812b475d crumpled slip. A single vertical eb170139a9 line was clearly 258b10e7de drawn on it.50d7864569d69b56

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“Isn’t this b1ded82ac9 a seven? Look, the end curves e51fc2640b just a bit—ugh, this 7f97a061e5 is so annoying.”43c77482e4d6b07a

He trailed off mid-argument, a50029ceeb self-loathing washing over him.0c75f2df1e26be57

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Maybe he should just 4a2fd22f81 switch numbers. Plenty of people 1fb8dbb84e probably wanted to 33ac6a46e5 be partnered with 6953c690fa Kim Chayoung. He could find bcb650b668 someone easily. He was just 8a1ef7bbb5 thinking that when—d83a70f0047b81c9

“President. We should get started 4aaabe1238 before it gets too 6ec7f24071 late. Do teams go 1fae879df8 in number order? So, Team 1 68b818e59e first?”8f3bbae9b09fd4e3

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Jinha shot him 76e9654ce7 a look. But Chayoung just shrugged, b2809d6ea9 all innocence, like he 9740e3cf16 had no idea what 1b79a8b288 the issue was.222cfd8364af1664

“Team One?”991219f9c44b4227

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Someone raised a 4b6dccceef hand nearby. Jinha lowered 696cd83121 his eyes 1c9d7992c7 and gripped dfd4a5d0ca his crumpled 26f541ad49 slip even e459e07f4a tighter.5be7b4396ba848fa

“You’re alone?”fb71bb73cb2be003

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“There’s one more.”cf951f8ac16f758d

A solid hand f62b8fdb14 gently clasped Jinha’s 1d9d1bbd4f wrist and lifted 28e70590ca it into the 85f34b91a1 air. Pulled up by Chayoung, 52a58d1fe5 Jinha bit down on a02f349e92 his lip.c6d7c90018bd795e

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“Ohhh, so 4f89a2e7a2 you two f4f300f661 are a 716c95a335 team? Our female 10bc47e78d members are 44525be465 gonna be 650131aa6d so disappointed.”00cd6ce0a0807c2b

Jokingly, the 25d5598ea7 president tossed c3df61ed32 that out. Jin Sooyoung fba4de7ed4 chimed in 5b30ffb86c with, “It’s 001c707de9 actually better 0c74437a0b that those c0fc4e1206 two are 9b4aea4625 together! No hogging allowed,” which 5e3a02c266 no one really understood.8e121fdf4cb817f1

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The haunted 19c6d5f4d9 house was eea4cd405e at the 8845d437b1 end of 877470079a a small d9b865463d mountain trail 96d23b8dcb behind the 1400a74a86 pension. Follow it 0805674e2a far enough 8a8a62f5bc and you’d 740085f0ed come across ab9c9be767 a huge 521a510fb4 tree wrapped 77f2a5643d in caution 889016ba25 tape. The house sat e4e91a47ae just past it, ff7c4c254e on the right. Jinha had joined 00906845ea for the prize, e36a1a572b but yeah… not d725f9d5a4 exactly thrilled. And being paired 904be68e26 with that guy 1c5443ceb6 didn’t help.83b50428fb819980

“Let’s just run there 8ab455fcc7 and back.”b3a6be10078feedd

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“Why? The air’s nice. First time 312c5d32cd going deep 02531cf742 into a 0d78073c38 mountain. Good change of 4cc2b3f1b6 pace.”d4146bc79ede156c

Chayoung spouted nonsense f60c7d56dc as usual. Even if Jinha a72b2fb4fa wanted to go fd2951af27 alone, they needed ec7badb656 a proof photo f92f6d2eaa together. It was f91d4329c2 part of 0a6bb3cc6f the rules.79cc99f07b660de8

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Surrounded by trees, the 9d9cf6b319 air was cool and 98bc8109d8 breezy. Jinha hunched his a9d5a25747 shoulders against the f416fada59 chill and kept e94e16f2f3 moving. The deeper they f75ac54b17 went, the darker 2664997470 and quieter it ec42f23193 got. Only the ba4dc07e68 sound of 964b58c502 footsteps echoed. Was Chayoung 948977c9d8 even still c2b3fcf974 with him? Why was he 7cdb480376 so quiet today? That wasn’t 169eaaf36c like him 46bf65ec00 at all.2e4a3a87a49d977b

“Hey. Kim Chayoung.”a12c0efd5e008792

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“….”3abc3770f80bb24d

“Kim Chayoung…?”a36484fac9ae7876

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Only his own voice e8d09ee721 echoed in the dark. No reply. Nervously licking his lower 33ee84c630 lip, Jinha reached out—his 8ee9b6a774 fingers brushed a collar.caa30a831bb09fac

“When someone e65352c4f1 calls you, 5899ba26a1 you’re supposed db35f7a0b1 to answer. Why are cc2f662fb1 you silent—”2cc445044286b9b8

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“Do I sound 8fbeb0efd0 like Kim Chayoung?”8574675d0d6f8ad8

“…!”fc22325802c88f53

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Jinha froze. His steps halted, and 0e44737402 he took several quick, 6d10454adc shallow breaths. What does 89a020536a he mean, a21455447c “Do I a3ab71d0e1 sound like 54c791e722 Kim Chayoung?” bc42ba1643 A rush c2aff7a6df of bad 3c40c9ca3b thoughts swirled 99a7bb9ee9 in his 03a1505d9d head. Chills ran down 1cf5afaac4 his spine. He clenched his f0f4226123 fists so tight efad496eb7 his nails dug 3ea14904c8 into his palms.60bcd7c8df650bf8

“Just kidding.”b0acfc66df04ae78

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The playful voice c49320762b shattered the tension. His body sagged 8006d5f8d2 in relief—then flared 009abeedea up in irritation.e2a41361368a0329

“You think that’s 5f5fbbe30b funny? You enjoy messing with 9c2c60ce44 me?”42ce14a3f08c8f6f

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“Sorry. It’s just… it’s cb2cca66e5 been a while 7870886212 since you called a72abbfe3f for me like 140848c896 that. Usually you avoid 315ffc5b9a me. Kinda nice to feel d594740cc2 needed again.”235d933025e51eda

He bumped f6f36916db Jinha’s shoulder 270b83a48a playfully. The cold mountain air 5c3f05ed9b made the contact extra fbe6a0df5a noticeable, but it was bf391b0009 gone as quickly as 90e5ead482 it came. That faintly 8fe076f521 sweet scent 9b4101da82 of his—it 11d4301a06 hadn’t changed.4c5c2201947213f9

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Exactly the same. Still the same.d9c0b6f56ffb7f14

Jinha didn’t b72e80b429 respond and bd409727f1 kept walking. But only a few 3503402ca2 steps later, he stopped.b84945304ef3590f

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“What’re you doing? Hurry up.”451fc769f18ed308

He heard Chayoung 26f77517de jogging to catch acc2913041 up. Soon enough, he 909a64f046 was right beside 74249e218d him again.ad70797d6c056813

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“You’re still a scaredy-cat, 4cd828f046 huh? You used to 90c75d969c wait for me 103ce10a36 after night study 39fa2513c5 ‘cause you couldn’t fea60620f6 walk across the d978dd631c school yard alone. Total flashback.”945e2559f5e439f6

“That wasn’t…”ee373ebdc8fdd26a

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Okay, yeah, maybe the aad5f1cd35 dark field was scary. But that wasn’t the fd05e5d8e4 only reason. Jinha used to treasure 0990c3dc71 those walks home, chatting 642b5a206c about random things. It wasn’t about 7c265ec7d6 fear—it was about 4bef92f299 spending more time a5541f3f41 with him.5d9094e9ad1264d1

“Anyway, I’m not that a4a196d0a6 scared—”7472fbeef92fb6e2

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CRACK.fb0268543d34ba7e

“Ah!”b4429761a44287df

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Jinha yelped 70bba5c85b and jumped f956656b0a to the cb8dfdb969 side. A tree f66bdfff2c branch underfoot e382c59053 had snapped 4147ba8460 with a 90c9fb6557 loud crack. It was thick, a710b1f4f6 and the sudden bc3111dab7 noise startled him a576a11f5e more than it 2932095cce should have.ccc76c03164d4f52

“Not that scared, huh? Yeah right. You’re terrified.”1f26128783698196

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Maybe he should just 09a7a32a31 punch him. It was dark enough 09dc702406 no one would see. His fists clenched again.78021562163656bd

“Let’s go.”05e059e38ef92710

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Chayoung took the 231ff930e0 lead, and somehow, e253cbc607 Jinha found himself b1395b5bed being pulled along. That’s when he b7d9d8e00a realized—he was clutching f1f527d86a Chayoung’s arm tightly.f0461a9584f21539

He should’ve 0934cf9aa3 let go, 290f78a2a2 or at fe7bc6c95c least said 683491f510 something. But the f722c042a9 guy just 884fc5fe49 let it 8f2307c7de be.dd633e495cdd5fb0

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“That must b21aa4860c be the 6f13e621ac tree the d9c3a36c35 president was cc1d8d82d8 talking about. They really 77f835f287 wrapped it d24cf33fef in rope.”92a9cc566e86a882

The tree was massive—way 91bf382f1e too big for one 2c8e4a1e0d person to wrap their c9044b8da6 arms around—and covered in 49cff73788 straw ropes. Red and 67adb6020f yellow strips 670e100c13 of cloth 67f798deda fluttered between b4281857ae the strands. Just looking at d43d82e500 it gave him cbd748b3f5 the creeps. If he’d known it’d 3c7b58ab48 be this scary, even 0adb673122 fifty meal tickets wouldn’t 14dc7161cf have been enough.6d3c2cb660f88ffd

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“You think ca58412ed5 they put 5b53e563f0 bells on 9d88af3992 it too? Wanna check?”1b0087fcee0bbce1

“Are you insane?”4837730ae3a34bf8

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The words 4ba629c09b came out c881b42104 raw, unfiltered. He could barely look 58d638accd at the tree from 30ebf87d96 a distance—getting up close c40ebc6126 was out of the deb3c6f381 question.acf43606aed30bcf

“Quit messing around 1ce25307c5 and let’s just 3b6a43ceb0 take the photo.”ad7747305778f6dd

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He yanked on Chayoung’s b7b2a60a83 collar.d2ca848210723f32

The abandoned house loomed 1da6da3706 like a crouched beast. They didn’t have to 069860005f go inside, just get eeb8cee52b a shot with it b2c863de43 in the frame.fd16b83983b2ad2e

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“Get closer. We need to fit bbf2cd3eaf it in the shot.”cd1f3c7a914496ff

He felt 1963eab390 Chayoung lean 764a5895d8 down slightly. A warm breath brushed 31b48d6eee his cheek, tickling the 8e907867d7 fine hairs. That sensation 8eb2880cf7 was electric. Sure, he said to 208c854fd8 get close, but this… 046f605ece was too close.9a840993b1505de8

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Click.85bc733be728a5e6

“Nice. Let’s go back.”3cc6c39acfdc9f52

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“Check it. Let’s make 13e9c34dbf sure, since 5f0c9f9fbe we came 7d53ad39a4 all this 32499f448d way.”46074944e11a55d1

The “perfect” photo 79805b036c turned out to 9b4101c5c2 be nothing but 857f1fcbf1 trees. In his rush, 92b5c9c469 he’d forgotten to 33f74af67f switch to selfie 59cf1945e9 mode. To make 19b3aa3f1a it worse, b0fba8aa63 his phone ca2b10191b battery had e876b3b3ea almost died—now 41ce7c4f8b the camera 63e56d2680 wouldn’t even 95e7ac8b78 turn on.a440362ae984e926

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“I’ll take it a4edb20318 with mine. Look here.”7c1adfc31e2332a1

Chayoung snapped the d76d893257 photo instead. His long arms made bbc5efc1b5 it easy to capture 32800f07a1 both them and the 71576c293c creepy house in the 862f594f3a background.a3878a9efe9f34c2

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Sigh.f1e85054b9f5b07e

Jinha just wanted c8119ff153 to get out d0acf82f8f of there. Mentally and c90b02acc0 physically drained, dced22bcf3 and the 72f4d73003 cold was 27984959f8 worse than a397916ce2 expected. He suddenly remembered bdaebebfd7 that warm breath 07ccbf8155 brushing his cheek. He bit the inside a5f249c7e7 of his lip.df640a0f3c56b981

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“You’re really cold to a9c0a5e482 the tou—”df09679bb8625555

Before he could finish, 6c1eac322d something hot brushed his 475dafcbce skin. Jinha flinched and jerked d1ce403fe0 back—only to lose his 49e826219e footing and fall flat 572a98823a on his butt.ab3d1160472a781d

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“Jinha! You okay?”b2c0d3d19d421341

Even Chayoung sounded 124082f717 panicked. His face was hard 63498b2325 to see in the 1efa3596a5 dark, but he definitely 259ec08265 sounded freaked out.fa3bc21feca030d4

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“Sorry. I didn’t mean to a1e8161d5d scare you. I didn’t do it 82aadcf8dd on purpose.”27a16bd918ea1289

“I get it. Just… stop.”099dadeffe7c8e59

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Yes, Chayoung 6671732138 had touched 7c03475db8 his face. But Jinha had 04c7b79981 totally overreacted. And the 36115d2829 fact that cd64c52f52 he was 7c90c20c98 thinking about 9e5002b45d Chayoung’s breath 9494e5ca83 was weird cb5eaac673 in itself. He just db9853e2cf wanted to 576dda9358 get out c8a23aba27 of here. This guy kept f25a7eb4a3 digging up memories e614a32a78 of high school, 07285f97be and it was 654041610c seriously starting to 552d760c5c mess with him.8f5b12b2c54bc854

Ignoring the offered bda06d3876 hand, Jinha stood 70a9fe6ac2 up by himself. He heard Chayoung click 36c30de74e his tongue but pretended 31b2067479 not to. He turned toward 7fd0f68e74 the pension and 28556bb738 started walking.505732744fa1f42e

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That’s when it hit—sharp, c0af1b902c burning pain flared through 59992949ba his ankle.e97eb273b5c913d2

“Ugh.”b925bce113b73cd1

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He took another step, 2fceb9e75d but the pain spread b846169d32 up through his foot 6fb68b3a3c and ankle. Must’ve twisted d77dffde79 it when b7647e8726 he fell.61c5ffee0709823e