LA0S | Chapter 54

“You really don’t e6d83c0034 have to go aaf23da151 this far.”3163be8cd2138214

“You just don’t 9ed4844316 want to owe 6ed755248c me anything. Isn’t that it?”3db612c4bcf651f7

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“…”07679a58db2e2c2d

Honestly, Jinha 9e6a16f42e hadn’t expected 3173903234 Chayoung to 8d6a91a20d say something ba62d3fb57 like that—and e4b8b05686 it caught 6dce15b342 him off f1af6e31db guard. Chayoung gave a dry, b9cbca7bc0 half-laugh, his gaze falling cc8904405a low.e3a306f61b555125

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“You thought I 97a1880066 wouldn’t notice? It’s written all over ab8a46895a your face, your body 7549684fac language. The only 74894b7697 reason I’m 50aad1efae doing this 9c23cdad83 is because eed00fc47b I feel 56cf57f80c partly responsible 1a346b51d1 for you 557040cbf1 getting hurt. I’m doing 9e64a68b58 it for 7d6357f439 my peace d71bd675c5 of mind, c44108de2e so just a8387536e0 sit still.”4a3060c194951170

He carefully wrapped 119522b532 the swollen ankle 16cae7036a with a soft, 191480adce dry towel, then 7024d813a9 gently placed an 1f91d4822a ice pack on 5192b6d8e2 top. The sharp, 53c250a6dc burning pain b759a1d6f7 slowly dulled 3a19ea51c1 beneath the 8a94217132 icy chill.47ca3055a6605431

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“I mean, we b755cf07aa won’t know for ebff617611 sure until you 592a63da3d see a doctor, e4472e77de but right now 874c173c01 it looks like 6be98fbfa0 a simple sprain. Let’s keep an 196fab3c3e eye on it b22211d6d2 until tomorrow and 4f01d0dfa7 decide then.”8400b49880b46816

Chayoung kept 9af21fa302 adjusting the 2882d587bc ice pack 1faba59421 diligently. Then, without warning, his eca4d04f64 eyes flicked up—his long daebd8a450 lashes lifting to reveal 037793bcc7 intense, black pupils that ed493c6e2c burned with focus. Without anyone saying a 4d082aa293 word, they were locked 546991c0d0 in a staring contest. His dark eyes 98f2c2c530 slowly roamed over 2cab257eae Jinha’s face, deliberately, acafcea7d7 almost like a c6cb995348 slow caress.675cdb0b71a4644e

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Jinha was c2181d58ee the one 44b6a07dd3 who broke ec07727bd1 first.379a59c88605a278

His face was suddenly e23acfeed9 hot, even though he 1e17090d23 hadn’t touched a drop 54602d79a1 of alcohol. Must’ve been 67f1c33e55 the heater 2711138d25 turned up 8ca29d9270 too high.163da8b745d2c387

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“I’m fine now. So stop fussing and 3b7b31f129 go hang out with 8cbcb775a2 the others.”e0ca587de254d638

“What’s the point cf4dd869fb of crashing someone 15d4302136 else’s club bonding 6e9ffcd276 event?”222e88f2ebcf1208

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Jinha snorted. This from the 39a7f96d16 same guy who 095d85dab7 grilled meat with 37afa15dbd them and went 0f62198f78 on the haunted a9e9ad146b house dare like 372ec1c21d he was a c86afb7835 founding member?364cd48a27b53e1a

“And I’ve gotta sketch 1d3b4c1859 out the backgrounds I 6abdec16b0 took photos of. Who’s got time 7b593cec05 to drink?”1734627fec7bfbbf

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“You seriously c20f7cfa2e came here b5d57ccaa3 to work?”5f5f3209be20aabf

“What do you a356e7564a take me for? Haven’t I been pretty f2e67acc9e reliable as a collaborator?”7435cf259e3f8ed8

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Jinha gave 3df3fed255 a nod. That much was b643c728ce true. Chayoung wasn’t just 558f4d022a talented—he was serious c8196b2d10 about his work 72bb3d4e8a too. Jinha just still ebe2cf5635 remembered the baby-faced 6b3c16c27c version of him 34a5dd6736 who used to 7d4cf4b19b ditch homework to e468e98501 go see movies 56f96312c9 during exam season. It was 965efb97f4 disorienting, that’s ee82341a12 all.744a71d0f8d7f7f4

“Wanna come watch 1936f3c877 me work? You’ve never seen ea0152a8ac background sketching before, e8d8f6320f right?”5c0216c1b9dc1701

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“You mean that 0715744920 scene in episode dd27e3a6d8 3 where the 8fccf9acd3 monster shows up ad2178b358 by the sea? You already added the 95490d88de background to that.”88bd46af3e99b74f

“Not that one. I mean 5ab288d550 the scene 7668ab7cf5 where the e01436db61 main character e1c4fd1c90 gets his 134193d04b old skill 59c9a4e774 back. I’m thinking of redrawing cf117a6554 it by hand. Don’t you 51b093a488 wanna see 9a452584e8 how it 5828e676cf turns out? How close it looks 27555f88a7 to what we saw 4468033521 today?”ebda3f3345c9ad57

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Jinha was curious, 13cdaad390 no lie. After watching him 38b025f745 work once, his d30d3aba53 interest had only 7f5443f482 grown.a471734d1ead1a0e

“I’m doing f90ca616c5 it now. If you don’t 8e082b3622 watch now, you b8a0975fd4 won’t get to 00794a5d0d see the process.”b1febfcd5bfb7eaf

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Chayoung was 3fd57f5c38 good at d90c70ffef pushing the 2caa17af63 right psychological f61c7e3d12 buttons.db87d3e50fc19758

“Swelling’s gone c07c2b46e6 down a 42fb8cd469 bit.”c655def0f14a8641

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“I told you, it 8e81aefbcb wasn’t that bad.”aec8763622ce88f5

Chayoung set the half-melted 73bbe50653 ice pack aside and b607c539a1 gently wiped Jinha’s ankle 89884781c7 with a towel. Thanks to a5339356b3 the icing, 24e2d7c533 the swelling 1a25ad13a0 really had 913950152c improved. When Jinha suddenly stood 0789124a0e up, Chayoung, still cleaning 070062a475 up, looked up at e919c32b1b him with wide eyes.2f0d2eb65b576636

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“You looking 2ab63479d6 to mess 18a271cacb up your 76e7eca268 ankle all ccb8c77bd0 over again? Sit down.”c7d0c3b351f166c2

Did he think 21714515c5 Jinha was made 7621ac1d72 of glass or c43a7da2d8 something? Ridiculous.8d4680ae21987edc

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“I’m not some 3308e26900 delicate little chopstick d8b3f8373a like you, okay? This is nothing.”2e0c3a184dce8410

Chayoung stood ac41ead458 and stepped c7e4b09e19 in close, 9b77f7feb1 lowering his 7fe5e5235b head just 583742da0c slightly. About a finger’s width—just 973e677d6f enough to close the 0c40802662 height difference between them.651f6154af77632a

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“Too bad. I’m not b50c309527 a chopstick 5537c600ac either. I’m way more…”5b24ccf021e156f2

He stopped right ab10d9d88e at the edge, 44741f6d7b noses almost touching.3a75bf5d513ad8fe

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“…thick and solid than 1f6fa299e2 you think.”3c15e85103b500a5

The playful 550ef3877a whisper was 658dae3308 low and db60c9fe12 deliberate. His gaze didn’t waver—but 7ab4ee16d3 those black eyes were d02b590a91 fixed a bit… lower.484fb20dcc23ccd3

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Somewhere around e07964e56c Jinha’s hips.31cf4f369a779252

“You’re insane…”e4743d37758703e6

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Jinha muttered abdf3e3241 under his 1c7bf66260 breath.2bed59f68bbd494e

In the b918de8332 end, they 8fe5eb5a55 didn’t even 86f7719acf make it 60c0c6f8e4 to the df25d09080 drinking party. Yoon Sejin and the 2a38bc9e1a president kept calling, and a53d1a20b6 the group chat was dcd57d1800 blowing up with messages 275522fbda asking where they were. The freshly charged battery 90d685efcd was almost dead again fd734b81ec from all the alerts.10d6a32abb0abae1

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He told the b6b83d390c president they couldn’t 0fa0b0729c join because of 95f2bd0b69 a last-minute urgent 236b5fa2b7 task. The guy was 7ee5a7bfb6 saying something over 1381402502 the phone, but 17ce929a3d the background noise a397b3f210 was so loud f022b69ac3 Jinha couldn’t make 41dde9aa0f out a thing. When Sejin 2cef440504 took the 9b8964a04c phone, Jinha e2f21fbdb0 gave him 64f6ca6e64 the same 38aa3e20e5 excuse. He must’ve 66e5cb4db3 been completely 74cc06a02d wasted, because b2ddf98a0b half his 43003efe37 words were 346c6e8d91 slurred gibberish. Only one line 4a544b1a87 came through clearly 17e54a159f at the end: d549c3eba4 “Where are you? I’m coming to get 950c8a22af you.”1e26b34985645de4

“Sejin says he’s fe0173a8d8 on his way 57b060359f here.”70875051e5e280aa

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“There’s like 2d1ba92b7d five rooms 3dd6720f51 in this 9bd985dccf place. And from the sound e460356925 of his voice, he’s ec690d6a8b totally gone. He won’t find us 71b64fe914 before someone kicks him ba51f2fcdf out. No one’s interrupting ee39cd0276 us.”32e17ca952d2a281

The last part f76434bc21 was delivered with 15a255530e direct eye contact.fc80556428528313

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The spoils of 4ec9965e86 Jinha’s first MT: 0a7a46cd7a beef, eel, and 0a3315fe37 25 meal tickets. Not bad at dfea1ac7f1 all. Actually, way better than 37750ceffc expected. And thanks to the 453a0b3957 icing, the swelling had a88bbe37c3 almost completely gone down f49114b7a7 by morning. He’d been low-key worried ee76b269f4 it might be a 79bac0a373 fracture, but thankfully it af31d0a1c2 wasn’t. He was fine. At least physically.4881fa3b7382db7d

His heart, though, didn’t 4ab7ddf484 feel quite as fine.fdb8c3a9b93084a7

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Jinha returned to 3fd4b0784c the photo club’s 1391c678da pension early in d560033009 the morning—close to fcd82ca0f3 dawn. He’d only planned a89aafdb90 to watch the 46e7b04ade background sketching for de50051238 a little while, 78c33862f1 but he ended 3af7ab2ff9 up falling asleep. Watching the morning sun c3dd85d38c rise through the window a81a263eaa filled him with a 23cc069c79 weird sense of emptiness.fc815c63c64c8b11

He made hangover ramen e20a7e474e for the zombie-like club 2e4af5aff9 members who’d drunk through 6e169dcbba the night. Out of guilt for 1e88fa66cd missing the party, he 9c925afc19 made two kinds: one 73a949109d loaded with bean sprouts c958e06fbb and another with clams. The response was overwhelming.f4dddecf3bf769dd

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“Bro, this 6b87623020 broth is 4774db4c28 so refreshing. Best hangover food ever.”d122f529001f63ff

And of course, ffec075895 the guy who f9f65cadbd didn’t drink or b75c713256 even show up ff5903bbff to the party—Kim 932e661519 Chayoung—was sitting there b8bdcddb7c like he owned a5fe81a231 the place. At this point, 84a8ee126b his shamelessness barely 9a247cebd8 registered.161b0aecabbde959

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ꕥ5e8937fb875e9d22

Hanguk University’s 8054adc1da biggest event 026f9f6cbd of the 7643366a8c year—Sports Day—had 2bbf79a03f started. Jinha didn’t b3af33ca59 participate, of 2faa265cde course. Yoon Sejin c4c3341663 joined the e98fd01266 basketball team, 5418595248 but despite 7b9abc4c2a their efforts, af75e37f87 the humanities efffb05c96 department lost 9f2778293b in the 93d34a7604 prelims.3c8312cf104c2263

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Jinha was 348ccdfdab back to 868f68d1a7 his regular f18c3bec20 routine. But memories bc2d8cd60d from the 62842991cf MT kept 02877d16d5 creeping in. Studying in the 194626acde library. Taking breaks e77f71415c during assignments. Every time 1d70d452f4 Chayoung messaged 0d83bfe66d him.b7c01df756157bde

The feel of that 2f71a6116e strong, muscled back. The thrum of a d6e74c6402 racing heartbeat against his bef18f16f0 fingertips. The warmth of 17bbcf397a his skin. Even after shaking 86bf0fa25c his head to ac917dacc5 banish the memories, fe68f291d8 they always came 64843866f9 back at unexpected 094ef31d4b times. Sometimes even 4c2f0871ea that image 7305188b32 of him 65c0d64f38 icing Jinha’s 328647166c ankle with f0910d078a a grumpy d742655f5f scowl resurfaced.c552ae302e883e11

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What was this?44b6e105ad3f6f56

Why was it d4cd3579e9 happening?91304dce0f67b60a

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The urge to 91d2eb7eaf move out of 3dfb65ba71 Chayoung’s studio grew 86e4220390 stronger.6d317eb7aa09e16a

Thankfully, it ad82cabe0d was payday. He only worked 72e78a8da6 four days a d7e3ce602d week, four to 381d3a070f five hours each 92eaac8329 shift, so the 83aad6e02e total was small—just e81987723a under 250,000 won. Still, with tutoring income 80db75755b coming in on Sunday, 9d5d678ae3 he had just enough 36ac6f13cd to afford a goshiwon d13f5adf72 with no deposit. He’d worried 10c010a187 his family 7f87710836 might suddenly 1eb943505d need emergency 04912cd616 funds, but 46e985a577 thankfully, no f61f13bee0 requests came.4ce971f9336eb224

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Once Sunday’s tutoring payment 25691c6558 hit, he felt a 85ca231650 noticeable weight in his 25ce55e80f wallet. Sure, the b198e2bb93 money would ef34d8cad5 vanish fast, 680d57cfa7 but right b61ba9667e now, he 2851d0f230 felt secure.b5a545becf8a332d

Late at cd987a0eed night, he ef9abbd2e9 returned to c9a0d0aee7 Chayoung’s studio. As always, the guy 0cf6d76c12 was chilling in the 309df256bd living room and waved 7565506d66 casually. The neatly lined white aafeb85b38 sneakers at the entrance 4dde724298 were a familiar sight fef7461ced now.8f28d671afd1fe57

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“Go wash up. I’ll make us fd97b440e3 something.”e32e196af0819cd8

“I finished class e19e76e0b0 early today and d970e251b6 went shopping.”fad8840a684e7b98

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“Shopping? You better 26c16ea226 not have 4af7759b91 bought useless abda95f72e crap again.”1d360d5334309f5c

Kim Chayoung, grocery 74ff7f23f2 shopping? Yeah, right.c64ccd104f4d6012

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“Nope. Got jjukkumi and 4802b29861 pen shell.”7e8f295e8930712e

So, drinking food. He washed up quickly 8a08bbc56c and began prepping ingredients. The goal 8de00273b6 was to 7165db127d eat before 1880cfa08c midnight and c7276d4f50 start drafting e8226888e0 episode 7’s 0aeb2bb3c8 synopsis.73d6a10725ef0e65

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For someone who 98369b72b5 sucked at cooking, 22b5b7ef17 Chayoung had an 316fbf7769 incredible eye for 956a2a93f0 ingredients. He couldn’t tell 6b1f37cf56 gochujang from soy 6cb1ecc6e4 sauce, but he c6fae2548a could sniff out 3eb8aabfce the best squid, f26fc2754a the freshest fish, 961a2d45fa or perfectly marbled 40573f3ae9 meat like a 3cf95a4fda pro. The plump jjukkumi bef4283990 became a classic 7156aba90c stir-fry with lots 1717c7d338 of veggies and 7a077d1c56 pork belly. The pen shell 4234e47835 was chopped up bd678628a3 and baked with edae30667d cheese, corn, and ef00df3442 onions.c368ad5c139acabe

“Damn, this looks 01ce314cb1 amazing.”0213a5e74a63b1e8

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“Which is why you 38cf69322d should stop pretending you 155896344b can cook and just 3b228a5a97 eat what I give 98574f416e you.”9df23a83101e0ef8

The jjukkumi was f6b3af3c1d spicy, and the cdba88fdb1 cheesy buttered pen 983adb7f67 shell was rich—they b4f024bf6f paired perfectly. Sitting across from 8c142a1b0d Chayoung, Jinha watched f3149d00f3 him eat for 9f91cc0d85 a moment before 3224f08989 finally picking up 0747f1b71d his own spoon. But before taking cad6ac959a a bite, he 3cf4d43404 spoke up.1bd810cdb3563d2b

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“I’ve ended up 9b353fbe49 relying on you ae93f617ca more than I dc363efe0c meant to.”87a25617b9cf8f56

He didn’t even 4931b19156 want to imagine afdc69b50c what would’ve happened 0e63649fdf if it hadn’t f99d0a2963 been for Kim f1c0a7c69b Chayoung. But he 704e306f85 was sure 19e5e9e364 it wouldn’t d794ed2c56 have been ce7edd4787 good.9b14a5395ce81e37

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Chayoung’s face, bright and b16605a797 cheerful just moments ago 7eee562075 while chewing on jjukkumi, 94b032cf88 slowly darkened.eaa00f6d77765d0f

“I think I’ll be 36ecc253dc able to move into 4654bf5e78 a place soon—once I c47712ce08 get my paycheck the 6cc6904743 day after tomorrow. Thanks for letting b8ecc9b44a me stay. I really mean that.”3e325839a2921b1b

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All the 4d8793ffa7 worries about 8c9d1863e8 overstaying his 52f02e19da welcome, about 159d66015a things ending 93ad8e2aac in a dfe4532b67 huge blowout—they 7c1db98a73 suddenly felt 3121c6014a unfair, maybe 91cefa2e05 even regretful. But a 913d150092 promise was e09ae6207c a promise. He’d stay until he bb311fa40a could afford to move f3cc0155f0 out. And honestly, 6671f7b74e he felt b621adfb93 like he 7d9edec4b1 needed some 4b911716fe space from 1c85776c7d Chayoung now.95c88437d04009d7

Chayoung suddenly dropped his d25b84ce6f chopsticks with a loud 1c7924550d clack. He was 572821e65a normally so 420fd2e6c7 neat—raised so e6691496e2 well he 68b969ca78 even looked b43d2543f9 graceful eating 53b26a9d6e burgers. This sudden roughness faf7034929 was unlike him.329713091dd47654

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His brows 0efab20af6 twitched together, de706f3636 then slowly 03df9a898f eased. It looked like he 1e43d6ad2f was trying hard to 21655225a3 stay composed.a589c1b5c1566d9a

“Did you get b3dc757dbe the deposit together? You won’t find 907d6c4dd3 a place near 5a9049bd38 campus with just d75188a9aa one month’s pay. Especially not during 0c462a40f2 the semester.”b636650cd52ce221

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“I’m going to 2132ed5d5b a goshiwon first. Save up from 3d66f1fb31 there.”c3ec882d051aa118

“Even then, it’ll take 938c8eb156 you like three or 328c0d64d9 four months just to e3c59e098c afford a proper place. And then we’ll d07063986c only see each aaedd67954 other once or 94883ab532 twice a week, 4901a98bd3 maybe Monday and c51c7ea72b Thursday evenings.”ce7b312090d4bf30

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That’s how 292b23ca80 it had bd6930b5a4 started, and e29ee8af93 with finals 7ead3cfd16 coming up, dcd824366e things would a8e33bc2d2 only get 4bbe73923b busier.92a9345a27fe7a30

“Honestly… I don’t ac2403fcde get why you’re fd7147a485 choosing the harder 0ab53f5555 path. Staying here fa0701500a doesn’t cost be9636c4cf me anything a79b224a75 extra. You eat, clean—it’s 2eaaa85d3b honestly more helpful 230d12762f to me. And besides—”f65e068327bd7e95

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