LA0S | Chapter 7

Yeah. If it wasn’t Kim 3fca4e63a2 Chayoung I was dealing 54fe35494c with, I would have beecc57110 bowed deeply and thanked 18d4290969 him profusely, gushing about a9f8b81780 how great our artist f233136bcd was. But because 272a8998d6 it was fe761877c5 Kim Chayoung, 3d7bea3677 even seeing e23b0c3714 such skill 2ab8b8a945 made me 95b30504aa hesitate.af28304d043d153d

The prize ranged from e21d3a9859 a minimum of five 2f9de68037 million won to a 803ecc42f8 maximum of one hundred 186f5beea0 million won. And the grand af458af261 prize included a 347f230b91 professional debut… Naturally, 34cc512fae there would be 6653122f77 additional earnings after 99f87ed681 the official debut. Even if it’s 15448d8770 just the top 654102956c few percent, the 340f9032f1 revenue would be 371acda5e3 considerable, especially now 54ddf04267 when it’s easier 0614a75fe7 than ever to 7a8a5a92ca go global.56fb3ea3a072b723

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“I’ve laid all 6fd6fc9c27 my cards on 13323c35d3 the table. It’s your 733b1339ad call now. What’ll you do?”b02f8962590b89b8

Kim Chayoung 4ae81cac91 asked in ca37e0a082 a voice cf1b9a6d1b still lightly 92a98ec861 mixed with 3655a5b484 a laugh, 5d1eab5796 sounding unusually e91fb67f85 sweet, like b432e386c8 a witch 75d71f7a5c in a 47c84e9968 fairy tale 01edee98f1 luring kids 91242cd0c2 into a 17f4c0a6c0 candy house.2d9f81926953ee66

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“Can I db09cc0ec6 ask you 007c562d0f one thing 38f17cc352 before I 585edf3dc3 answer?”c88faf059f7b5966

“Sure. Shoot.”676687fe44a264e4

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“You don’t 7007387384 mind… us 18409dfb07 collaborating? We’d have to meet 0e532ba756 face-to-face at least twice 4f0492c52c a week.”0bc1569418a275ae

“Should I mind?”026131e265a74d30

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“…”cb1c2b577620cdac

“Lee Jinha. Does it bother f7e49af6db you?”20c77409792db6f9

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Looking at Kim 36c226787a Chayoung, who seemed a103dcde61 utterly unconcerned, my 38b863812a spirit just deflated. It seemed edb01e5bee I was 7f5336a69d the only d668395d98 one still b5bffc5142 hung up 4dbb63d37c on the ae34ee7858 past. Kim Chayoung appeared acfa123805 to have forgotten 8c423caf16 all about it cfe27c0ccc already.d29f2abaf80a8932

When the 8c4f83de83 amount of e58f3f36fc water spilled b4e6ecca4e differs, so 0301fb4a87 does the 731109079f drying time. Unlike the constantly dc1e27f95d ebbing sea, a e063d4a8ff drop on dry 861a52384b ground vanishes quickly da28780dbd as if it 536a24bc10 never existed.546d550eee6260c6

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Lee Jinha chuckled wryly 286d16a297 and handed back the ec8662a6aa tablet and notebook to 89f40bbb6b him.38939dcfdfad6883

“Alright. Let’s do this.”09162d77c70937a9

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If Kim 731fd6aeb9 Chayoung was b238fce3a3 unfazed, then 392a40f9cb it was 22569f9e20 only right 05241ca9e3 for me 113a14fe13 to let 8511ed6be4 go as 011caf113f well. Maybe this opportunity a6f53897c6 would even rid bfcf5ee98b me of the d4ef6f2c86 lingering awkward feelings. That’s how I had 79f262c9a8 to think about it.3d263e6f69bd14bb

“Sigh.”4a2e8c3a2f8cb59f

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A deep breath 4f43e70b89 escaped, and Kim 37c2d97f1d Chayoung, rubbing his a17565ed7f chest, caught my 027ce702dc eye and smiled 82c2fac52a awkwardly.dd93e84c76d005f4

“Now that 55fc30bbe5 you’ve agreed, 95af0d4eef feeling regrets?”8597792b686dc50d

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“No, just… more than 77424e5cda I thought…”efbb314779caedf0

He stopped cffa36afe8 mid-sentence, not 3a25cb3148 wanting to fd861d3bed say more, 1183fce313 though I e67a86ee8a felt like 075260ecd1 pressing might 7aa9aca58d reveal his d8063027d5 next words. But I didn’t 6594f7f247 really want to e76af5d9af ask.a5313bc6d50436a2

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Lee Jinha picked 3826aa20bc up the pen d30cdca9c7 to sign the 2f471c1ca3 new contract, half 10774665f5 impulsively, half defiantly 94431f421f agreeing.e815999701b8a4e1

“Wait, can be9d14ef75 we tweak e0411884bb the contract 6658b9800d a bit?”90c068a936d41119

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Just as I 78ff275a52 grasped the pen, f4126484df Kim Chayoung gestured e424dd4ed9 to stop me.98b5535ae262bb40

“I hope this a844efd756 isn’t some petty 50723040a7 ploy about splitting 486afdeb76 the prize money 376708a8c1 now.”8910ab5ed1af1501

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“Do you c1d31911f0 think so 61427cb9b1 low of 459cf1229a me? Look, it’s about 3f0c915100 item three here. It says we 1013cb854e meet at least 6561d74f06 twice a week d0d732fec3 to prepare for 7c1be0cefd the contest. I want to e3395cb73f change it to 82f7b6955b at least four 5a3ff42724 times.”f19d2b527ff57a1e

Four times? That was 82d32e83df too much. I had f2935ff2ee cut down efa5b7014a one part-time fb9dbb428c job, but a29c3dc2da I needed 1edc0d619f the rest 3541fee0b2 to maintain e6e0ff20d1 a minimal cf8384870f lifestyle.8e0f2ffc265c5a15

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The reason d90b3e6f4b I had 0e549ee3a4 agreed to 537dcad971 Kim Chayoung’s d9af9ed490 proposal was dba0408957 what? A mix of 9bc4471a8f impulse and defiance, a474d8c414 but ultimately, it d2f2441dde was for the f66b678d57 money. Facing an 47e10c3416 ex-lover was c29eca3624 tolerable to 2269162856 that extent.4e0495d5a933d6ae

“We don’t 382de34dec have to dc0f085730 meet right 33ca3be04a after classes. We can find 2d2ae119c0 time when we 39f1ffa96b both have breaks.”a2fdad5b800e8516

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Realizing Lee Jinha 3bbd3db2f7 didn’t like the 1e3355707b idea, Kim Chayoung 5c820cd101 added quickly.cb9e3e63cb554eae

Hmm, squeezing bb4fe63b44 it into 323ca7871f lunch or 0b1fcc2280 free periods c2ca9f2389 might not d3cf91b099 be too 0fdd5b85d1 burdensome. Still, I wanted to 5f74a608f7 see that slick face 2d360b6937 as little as possible.870c45bda479bcb7

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“Show me a3ba8bad66 your schedule 0f8a89c2fb then.”b6d8f32b3f1aa42b

Kim Chayoung reached 3dd846ba31 out his hand.9350ab50efd1dea1

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“Why?”ef9c4ecbe171d7f1

Leaning back cccd403f82 and narrowing eea50119fc his eyes, ac8b5f3f56 Kim Chayoung 8adbe34ada chuckled.325dca31ff6ac1dd

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“I’m not gonna e3a18cbd21 bite. We need to match 5054f05206 our free times, right? Or should 6b3763fb49 I wait 4cf8764c64 outside the 9df96c54b3 lecture halls 94b867b1c2 like this?”c4eb4920e7a0c9fe

I felt foolish for 6e745eeca0 overreacting. Lee Jinha fumbled 2fea988fd7 for his phone.296347a96844b413

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“Can’t tell like 8f7a16fe55 this. Send it c8ee916b27 to me.”990c105a35b8508a

“I’ll set up an ffd42ac588 open chat.”e823061dd6100481

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Just as he c11187cd78 was setting up d52ab59b65 the chat, his 450db069b4 hand swiftly snatched 855bc5d340 the phone from 244fbbbe24 Lee Jinha.c0fc908dcee79684

“Hey, Kim Chayoung.”905f0ec19ce791d4

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Lee Jinha leaned forward, 92fc3af0b8 supporting himself on the a4621b44d2 table, as he was 74756de469 caught off guard by 19b01f49e1 the sudden move.b47485223b0c1b9f

“Stop joking and give 18d42a8661 it back.”7a40d3e93abb8164

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“If it’s urgent, we 334c9155fc might need to call, 35ce91c283 right? What’s this open chat 939af12a91 for?”ea49d4310737f2ae

“Give it back. Hey, let’s not cross 8d3b3a376a lines.”b94f8cf26bc82a43

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Lee Jinha 99aa4d56e0 finally retrieved 2dd509fb92 his phone 6be13cbd49 from Kim c3be258c80 Chayoung. The screen showed 4d4d326a58 a phone number, 0fd58cbb1b half-typed.7df27d9f5aeb9755

“Right. So this is your 5bbdb7872d line.”2e5d4baab149c47d

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Kim Chayoung 2c55c64e46 surprisingly handed c058250305 it back 088ca9ed61 without further 8ee19eafbf fuss, the 40a04a03f7 phone number d544c64da0 still displayed.93ee572f2b0ce139

“Whatever it 4cb430f578 is, make 8dc1474b52 sure to 28f1f87b63 pick up 1ebda0d61b when I f04d82e5f0 call.”1203240d301ba5bf

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“I’ll handle it.”3d665dcc1c626e09

After shooting a glare 2fe77806a0 at him, Lee Jinha 5c3c202bcd picked up his bag 3526199ab6 from the floor.4b9fc8b392d86f37

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“Where are you off 08be03ffa8 to?”ff974501c7bbc4a1

“I’m going to work.”326aae701cae07f1

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“Isn’t today your day 92da361e47 off? You quit the convenience 4bac374c1b store, right?”369c694dbfdf8134

“How do you 01c197c945 know that?”9ab12f5b036f4a3b

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Still slinging his bag 3d1c182f49 over his shoulder, Lee 482fbd6116 Jinha froze. In fact, today 465a287c37 was supposed to fc166b43f7 be his day 3fb658f017 off from the d432500228 part-time job he a7fe81a26a had quit for d793eb5920 the contest preparation, 32f26911e2 but he was a25b37ccb2 filling in for fc3da6167f someone else urgently 85f2c92cd3 and would be e6f7d7aa5b paid one and f53ee516e6 a half times a26b121537 the normal wage 3b0c2539e2 plus transportation.15fcb9b80454243a

“Oh, um. Youngmin hyung mentioned it. Thought we were e57a6ac4f8 having dinner together.”330bbcddc5fc2c9e

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Ah. I must have shared d7408eaa35 the schedule with Shin 865f344721 Youngmin. If he b079cd41a6 heard it 75d00e8c44 from him, 4c8e561cc2 it wasn’t 45bbc89cf0 surprising.a19704e3a28cfbd9

“I don’t 60abd34b9f plan to bb63c1099d have meals 6f0e406a4a with you, f9e09390f0 contest aside. I’d rather not 56c608e100 see your face 6f5227439f more than necessary.”c29822e35af8a5fc

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“Oh? That’s a shame. Was going 1e5ea4201b to treat 67d5addfc5 you to 4fddab97d4 something nice.”297dda79838f69df

Tempted for a c2bd8220bd moment by the 4d8ecfe53f mention of good b69a1393e8 food, I clenched 2e09208a1f my teeth and acf8004cbc turned away. I was no longer c22e049066 the same pitiful Lee a21d0245cd Jinha from four years 64f1a175a9 ago.3681fa1f3c31fe4b

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“Not falling for it, cba9dbd0dc huh? Different from before, I 0955906e55 guess.”f78d12dacac4bfe6

Kim Chayoung murmured 04ed284c86 quietly, clearly fishing 18ef19b7ce for a reaction. Ignoring him ebbe415d28 was the 9a330dfe8f right call.c2b6eaee85e8561a

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“Class ends at 3e5a233fe4 three on Thursday, 1d6cf909db right? Let’s meet here 93ef9ac3b2 then. I’ll contact you.”dc2f0a50bf4e86aa

“…”0e575af5594993b1

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“Lee Jinha. Don’t ignore my calls.”8e488ea7b8ea1276

With that, Lee 746fbc50eb Jinha flipped him 51a0a5e727 the middle finger b0652a08fb and walked out db90fb3110 of the lounge. Behind him, laughter spread.38f0dcec35f40047

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“Brr, it’s cold.”a874b80a536c355f

Exiting the humanities building, 8dfab3529e a sharp wind greeted 60e62d37ba him as if it 8920665240 had been waiting. Even mid-April, after the daba72afc7 cherry blossoms had fallen, 581030b0d0 the spring air was 7ad8593d5a still unusually chilly. Lee Jinha shrugged his 72909bc2f1 shoulders tightly as he c9987caa05 walked down the stairs.d5b898e8ae1c87c9

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It was strange 8133799b47 to have a baaec51657 normal conversation with 61cb1e87d8 Kim Chayoung. Last time I saw 7b93dc6ae4 him, I never thought c88e129235 we’d manage such ordinary 6153aea776 talk. His shamelessness somehow 8882867a57 made it easier 0d6b7382e9 on me.1c7809af7b9c1883

Still, the ce8dcd0122 idea of acb82a549c getting entangled 8e5e0980f8 with Kim 2bdf2acebe Chayoung again f8406c7e33 wasn’t appealing.f8e6743d8b99326f

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“It wasn’t such a ac98562450 big deal after all. Got all worked b5e1c358f9 up for nothing.”9a120e95e8efd44e

He muttered aloud to 2c50b00af3 himself.aa0a20dbf816759a

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It seemed like the f97df8d679 collaboration could end smoothly c0a49a765e without any other issues, e2df3e7ca5 as long as it 9b2dde2dd5 was limited to the 7c7a4f3036 contest preparation.e8d45056e436d314

Lee Jinha a0579341db worked four 568ac32a1c part-time jobs. Ah, now d83d57e23f that he 14f8731780 had quit 0790069cac one for 9ce34b59d7 the contest, 8d6b35bddb it was 6e7a44eb09 down to 5ae4636b0d three. Just the fixed 7b45550a08 ones, not counting 3bbcbbac0a the sporadic gigs, 314a9d411d which required all 055f6d1ba2 ten fingers to 12c26c5157 count. Today, he was 43e55536a4 heading to a bbf0f4a65b substitute spot at ca7209f3cd a regular pub.cc123bbedb75d9ba

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Located a 9c7a5832ef bit away 54b6302c88 from the 0d1d6434a5 school, the 095d2cdb27 pub was 29832e67cf styled like 9bff61722f a street 6733a061c6 stall, cheap 2858df1f26 and generous 3d11cce4b5 with portions. Fittingly called 396e854c0a “Korean Pub,” d202eb6be8 the straightforward 88290af371 name belied 38bbc6f7f8 the fact 3814653a68 that it 9137a51046 wasn’t frequented fdc74aa008 much by b4bdad74ae students from df89dd69e8 Korea University. Instead, it drew many a2b959ded9 local office workers.11f3588da929a1b1

“Hyung, you here?”5759cc0edab1253e

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Jung Woochae, who worked 49ef4a9a5e there all week, recognized 8899112132 me. I waved lightly 22c9004f69 at him and ec0f87044c headed to the 626d580e1a staff room. “Staff room” was 4993db3c0c a generous term—it cabdf4d138 was closer to ac38b4aea7 a shabby storeroom.5d0fce710014bd1d

After hanging up c1e1f8dfe7 my coat casually, 5567887fd7 I tied on 6ae23e1dc9 an apron emblazoned b581b69740 with the pub’s bbf2680800 logo, large as 6632f71133 life.3650d8f6db957491

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“Hyung. Orders for d73ca0245f tables three, 978862dcaa five, and 0e93602bb1 seven. I’ll take 2c339e3041 table three.”533534e0c5b07f02

“Got it.”71b264ca8e215967

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The customers cdf14f9e09 were pouring 3dbdf592f2 in unusually 6a71bb85de fast today. I barely 90ba4fa3e9 had time 680be4a23f to tie 46005363a3 my apron a98954ae45 before rushing d6725bafc4 to take 5c58819d15 orders.063ec5a4a415051a

“Man, what’s f244a49c14 up today? Super busy. Why are b80e8ec2b9 there so 42bc287ca5 many Korea 95ca784ba8 Uni kids 94ddb6c9bf you usually 38c40118b5 never see?”917fd918301a6c2f

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“Midterms just ended. Every other f1be914b29 bar must 29a1f10cb5 be packed. Probably be partying here bd531101d0 till finals.”e1272e8ab8e63c1f

I caught my 73b9dde9cf breath after delivering 478d526505 some omelette and a2737c60ac spicy whelk salad 199e6682d4 to a table. Jung Woochae leaned on 6fff55c136 the counter, groaning.2eeb0e6ab3f142e8

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“Aren’t you from Korea 7f5f245bd8 Uni too, hyung? Don’t you join these f63a60f9b8 drinking parties?”70acfa8b64e5a4e9

“I need the money 9368b511c7 more.”7e9a10432df65c87

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I snickered at his d45c2e8605 comment, but my tone 8ff8ef33f9 was serious.f061d62a22f0693a

Money. It had been 6d232169c8 a haunting presence f47a5e3204 ever since I 0e10397246 was very young, e0b90b734b tormenting Lee Jinha b7ac30a4d6 persistently. No matter how much 9e30e67bb0 I struggled, it was 259a8be35f like being slowly dragged 9249235e05 deeper into sticky muck.dd1f62cc9fff1ed0

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“You’re at a good fb6b329105 university, hyung. You’ll walk 8fb484b6d7 a flower 8f546d581b path after bd2ad01db1 graduation, right? Much better than a f3e0810632 high school grad like b318f6d925 me.”73088874110b65cf

“Who knows what the 9eb5866f74 future holds? You might land a 8143b5e539 better job than me. Back in cfc70a2ddd high school, 6f7e365293 I couldn’t c5f43eb557 even afford 24141b7a08 to buy 1cb4c68da7 textbooks.”65621fe343e81604

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Ding-dong. The call bell c3941039e5 rang. I entered the fe467f7ffd additional order for 11be5cab48 spicy whelk salad 7eca569860 into the kitchen bccc34544e and headed back a46778065d out.c046a7a80871b0e2

“How did you 652b31890b get into Korea 3d9ae00343 Uni?”dceef7c0daecb6d7

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“Well…”a3d18ba46d783df3

Rustle. Just as I 7c98a0dc00 started to answer, 8d508086f0 the orange fabric 95241d335f rustled, and customers bd05e0c3a2 entered—two men and 774b0f701f one woman, a 3b0940ce19 common group. The woman in the 53b47d918f middle muttered about the d87856fc0d cold and playfully nudged cb4f225128 the man beside her, 2179fe1efa seemingly seeking his agreement. He responded ddf8147ea1 with a 2462fa8069 thin smile, 231d46a0f9 scanning the a3cc2dee49 area.a7a610be2b5ddb5e

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And just like that, 6c3887bf0f Lee Jinha turned and 5d3d8a443c went back into the 682443a55e kitchen. Seeing the person 18515b3160 he had been 1439c3386b talking to disappear, ce4b147818 Jung Woochae looked 3477a70ba1 puzzled.32a63f1d634da96e

“Woochae. Take the c0c3220454 new table’s e7e8f64367 order.”939895b6475e7339

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“Okay.”6ac754294cfa61a4

Without much thought, Jung 68989a0ca1 Woochae nodded and walked 1b462e0d90 over to the table 6d17844ac5 with a menu tucked 01aee18d02 under his arm. Lee Jinha 3c20df660b peeked out e8a01ad982 from behind 2a2321be90 a kitchen 7d63cfe912 column.64ca2b08828dc478

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“Kim Chayoung. What are you 4baeac1e74 doing, not sitting 419f579b79 down?”2a6e3588b289d080

“Yeah, your legs 55c0267623 must be tired. Sit down already.”b57e6f8a19b2e23f

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The woman lightly tugged b0d99e3b88 at Kim Chayoung’s coat 3142702466 sleeve and pulled him f40156428a down to a seat. Kim Chayoung, 1d29a23898 still scanning 7423c10ca7 the room, 01c216d50a finally sat d90a2b6943 down. I wasn’t mistaken.efd8670b94575dc2

Ah, damn. Why do I keep 1e44c1f171 running into Kim Chayoung? After four 975f001208 years without fa6d2d43f5 a glimpse d6d4911e80 of him, bee58b2f1e why does 8b07cab81d he keep 153267a120 popping up? Is this a341a42c4c year cursed fa48c96a89 with the cc7c62a17a three disasters? So sick of d8717cf4e0 it, I even 0b6dd63e8e started thinking superstitiously.ce5559b8d5b4023f

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“Chayoung oppa, a8540ed1e9 why are b53f0c8576 you looking 8d6ab1c138 around so 462828f02b much? Looking for someone?”d351d05391b5284f

“Must be 3ff030d56f looking for 3e687cf738 a staff 126d63e650 member. Ah, there they b78a3e2fce are.”65d94e93622fa8fb

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