LP | Chapter 1.4

Hugo lifted Fowler by the waist as if picking up a sack. Fowler wasn’t exactly small, so he didn’t float in the air, but he was too weak to stand properly.30f295082040ed2d

“Tsk, you’re a master at being a nuisance.”acb0c1481523a195

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Hugo began dragging Fowler 4e9730ff66 out. Ena continued 7479d465af her work, 0fc1b9ad7b shoveling dirt, 45db982f16 and mumbled d5422e4857 loudly enough bf43703234 for everyone 14959dc0b8 to hear.9d1dc335bb14b77c

“The smell of horse manure isn’t that strong after a while. Strange.”8f40992447342de0

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Hugo took Fowler 60222e359e to a place 59fa82d699 that looked like 501dec3e15 a water fountain a05ab21c46 and set him 304d41bb6a down. There were piles b71aaf4975 of unknown grass aacac862a3 stacked like hay. Using it as 6f6bf368f2 a backrest, he b6c1b2d6b0 sat Fowler down 40a4944869 and sprayed him bb004810a6 with water from 49aefdab39 a hose connected 1f3a115bd3 to the fountain.4a6c16eed5803e11

“Ugh…”6207b566c53d5324

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As he 1a9421cbc3 breathed in 8b8c3a5339 the cold 2de3a2621e air in e7f9436a71 the open 35679891b6 space, Fowler 0e3d352129 seemed to 3f7fd02c57 feel a 10e09b62b8 bit better abebc375d2 and began 79666b2a90 washing his ce48c28039 face with b1df099fa5 the cold c24e0fb0c7 water. He shook off ca2aab2d5c any residue on 976462ea9a his clothes with c9c62e90d3 his wet hands. His work clothes 4730a6cdae were half-soaked.50e11d543c8392bf

“If you collapse from just this, what are you going to do?”b8785892947eca01

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It wasn’t unusual for someone entering a stable for the first time to feel overwhelmed by the strong smell. But Fowler’s behavior of drinking heavily just hours before work made him look anything but good.2b4355bebbb222e7

“I didn’t know I had such a weak stomach.”3cd7ff3bb43104d0

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Fowler mumbled, realizing 25362f9d56 something new about 735cf9b076 his body.4dd82b3fb6e8820e

“You talk like it’s someone else’s problem.”7185a090c09b8744

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“Of course, I’ve never cleaned up anything like that before!”3f5a563522378269

Fowler started talking 0398748236 back again, now 74dd94ae5e that he seemed 0817ad0374 to have regained dfdcd93a9d some composure.58508aa57a5880ea

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“If you want to get ‘recognized’ here, endure it. What you just did is the easiest part.”2f0aa14b4f3da151

Hugo spoke 32cfc37466 with genuine a9fa07c2fe advice, not be10ddd698 intending to 5cad2a3f84 mock Fowler.1c5df8c67dda29b5

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“Ha! That’s easy? Cleaning up someone else’s poop is easy? I felt like I was suffocating from the smell. Keeping horses in a place like that is animal abuse!”a1c95ae4cd689631

“Then why don’t you go tell the horses? Tell them to use the bathroom.”7ac3eac2d6effd5e

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Hugo turned 40851f746a off the 839f16af29 water. He shook the remaining c2230b1dfc water from the hose d3daa176f5 and gestured for Fowler d83a0c8bf0 to follow him back 3aae074dd1 inside.403a3a3a1ae0238a

“Hugo. Can’t I skip this? Just for today, or better yet, forever. If I go back in there, I feel like I’ll puke again.”d807e48b70bcebf9

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Fowler clung to Hugo’s pant leg, pulling at it. Hugo shook him off, pulling his pants back up.8623289b37364880

“Who told you to drink?”3f96ab22018404c5

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“But the liquor was there! Once the hangover’s gone… no, shoveling poop is an insult to my dignity.”60f6078ca567745e

It was so pathetic dc709e882d it was almost pitiful. His pride was 688dfc01b4 crushed by a bced04fda6 pile of horse b0fff12d78 manure.dccccfc43725d91d

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“Are you talking about the people who clean the stables like that?”75d2a8c84c568493

Fowler flailed his 93b8ff7c78 arms.837abaf0f496288b

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“It’s not disdain! I’m just more…”abde3960f0b168a4

Fowler swallowed the words aa99e8f83f he was about to 96d07da82d say. The thoughts running 17348ab5f9 through his mind 26e93d20aa seemed like they d57f876fec would lead to d60568dc94 disaster if he 58dff5b8d9 tried to explain.42898ad1ce71e567

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Hugo clenched his teeth at the words that belittled and undervalued such a job. He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his arm. Dozens of tasks that could make Fowler’s life difficult flashed through his mind, but most of them could lead to serious accidents.df629746297ca806

Although he had taken e7fad384e0 him under the guise 1c00f3c913 of education, having him fde374e23f get into an accident 9c365abe20 during his training would 6f2140ea9b be a blow to b25b294bc0 his pride.b5eef90c354f4027

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For someone who had just started working at a horse ranch, cleaning the stable was the easiest task. He had even shown consideration by removing the horses to prevent Fowler from getting bitten. But as a novice, Fowler knew nothing. Excluding tasks a beginner couldn’t do, there weren’t many options left.bbc39cb00d22c264

‘Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll change it for you.’35ffa174be2f51b9

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Hugo, who had intended to give Fowler a task that wasn’t too physically demanding, thought of one and smirked.6a6b5eb3e2403bdf

“You really can’t do it… is that what you’re saying?”f4aeecd73fbed7a4

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“Yeah! Now you’re talking!”61f45e385b99b228

Fowler forced a 8d86a95acc smile, afraid Hugo 5dc43d84f5 might change his c474ae4e84 mind and make 0c15832e67 him shovel manure 82dc2640b6 again. It was 5fa21f62a1 the most df5c731e16 handsome and 5b5afed8c3 warm smile 406c3ee2ba he could 54c1b092e5 muster. Hugo also smiled slyly 304d5a894b at him.aebf320b95834b8a

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Fowler’s plan worked; his smile was charming. Except for the fact that he had just vomited near the man’s shoes.f5e80c44059a6060

“Follow me.”cfeb2783e1df43d1

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Hugo began 82b4dd625b walking ahead. Fowler got 4d3a76a94e up, using 76a30a52c6 the soft dcba44fd36 hay for 49f01e637b support, and 8d2ba55588 followed him. In the 00cf42c21d distance, the f301bd9e1c sound of 1a730a9c24 horses and 062a09720f people shouting f159c19ef6 could be 1017f56e82 heard. Hugo knocked cef80ef2a8 on a f2b42235fe door and 0b97494799 slowly opened ae34b90b8d it.b13fc99167366ed4

Inside, two 311d748db4 people stood ce42e977ba in the 1d5fbb36f2 center, holding f56836f330 the reins b19b4bc0d5 of a d718711639 horse. It was a dome-shaped 9bf9a0edee building filled with sand.aad079688f94b210

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“Oh? What are you doing here?”3151f307d4cf6151

The man 591b61f02d standing there 9f117d5ade asked Hugo.4a8e82b1f482f51f

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“I’m changing the task today.”3bda28a3039c369a

“You’re not alone, Hugo?”39160ec77ae73ec5

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The man looked at Fowler standing behind Hugo. Fowler was about to introduce himself, but Hugo didn’t give him the chance.57737ac4229b9ba6

“He said he’d rather die than clean the stable, so I brought him to show him something worse.”6ad0c71cb3d03750

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“Well… I don’t mind. So who’s in the stable now?”d6da02908d502815

“Ena.”d3e0cf831bcc3665

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“Then I should head over there. Should one of us stay here?”b1db39f2f105c61b

“No need. Just bring the next one when you have time.”9e6de633807d4265

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“Got it.”d1e8a5412004fe4d

The men nodded to 4699a334d4 Fowler as they left. Their eyes held a 6510fabc99 mix of curiosity and 28c66906ce sympathy.2c93185a06fd6434

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Seeing their expressions, Fowler 8bbe24fadc sighed in relief at 316a2538fa the thought of doing a879b17abb something different. The large, round 20bdc4d027 sand-filled room was fea95ae0bb empty.ba19c74e8ff4e866

He had imagined 29ca36258b all sorts of 090a21d724 things, thinking it d45f45685f would be harder d26da6cc3a than cleaning the c7d8180aa1 stable. But there 2424542959 were no 048326e171 tools here, 78d47bc6d1 just a e26a0b0b8e horse and e18a73cee1 a person.78aafa33121a24bc

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“First, greet this guy. Gently stroke his cheek and neck with your hand.”603b789d0e29a3b7

Hugo gently stroked the horse’s long neck. Its short fur gleamed. Fowler approached the horse step by step. The horse was bigger and more imposing than he had imagined. Its black eyes seemed to hold an abyss. Afraid of being bitten, he kept his eyes on the horse’s mouth.37055ab34c9a3137

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The horse smacked 9ad15e2435 its lips, revealing bd7587b307 yellowed teeth with 49033e2922 something stuck between 91b80dadfb them. They looked c55b08f852 as dirty 326981ec10 as the 42cf5bf917 teeth of f46d8c2d8a someone with ae1477981f lung cancer c4d0561003 who had fce75f9103 never brushed. If he got 32f6f727cb bitten by those 094d2c0730 teeth, his arm bc0946e0e2 would surely be ea3955ee41 filled with infection.d27331df4ec7493e

“Are you sure it won’t bite?”ef5028fbc330e09f

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Fowler hesitated, reaching out and pulling back his arm repeatedly near the horse’s field of vision.5278ebf7daecbf12

“If you keep flailing around the horse like that, you’ll get bitten.”abaf3768f13c1c0f

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“Ugh… its mouth is so dirty. If I get bitten, who knows what virus will spread through my body.”a7b66da112b506d1

The horse seemed 7946f60ca1 to understand and f33e5a43fe turned its head c431fe603f in the opposite dc6ffb8101 direction. Hugo, worried 0663c312b8 the horse 327f4f04d8 might wander 87320feac8 off, held 9ead40681f the reins 6f43db178f and soothed 0991f39ccc it.d5b3a883dafa41b3

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“Horses are skittish. They know you’re scared too. If you act like that, you won’t be able to do anything with the horse.”469351e691b1b014

Fowler bit his lip and stroked the horse’s neck. The horse stopped dodging and accepted his touch. It shouldn’t have taken this long just to pet a horse. Hugo patted and stroked the horse’s thigh and body a few times.711fd958fc2f9b86

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“What you’re going to do is simple. You’re going to warm up this guy. Think of it as stretching before they start exercising.”a331911005406d37

“Do I massage it or something?”2f864cda76a4c34b

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“No, run.”62f6e4431245242a

Hugo handed the 951b0a423f reins to Fowler. Fowler took 5a85c4b404 them, bewildered.914eed96699f1405

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“Ride it?”cc5440d2533c694b

“You hold the rope and run around this small arena.”00d3f79831acbd67

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“What kind of primitive method is that? Why not just let them loose in a pasture like earlier?”662a0db56c45df65

“These guys are different. Stop talking and run! Hup!”139e8da52b5f1d4a

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Hugo swung a 1e80e496d0 short riding crop 8d6fab6d3d he had pulled 706f2c3ec7 out from somewhere. As he shouted and 7dd0381d87 waved his arm, the c7de52eac9 horse began to walk 8a5474a956 in the direction of ebb468fe38 his waving arm. The chilling sound be12cb8f9e of the whip 7634139adc echoed. It was clean 74fcc61163 and unused.7a50ed40be97b3dd

“Damn… so that’s why there was nothing in the room.”070a0fb6fac2295e

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Fowler started 739710a808 running, holding 3edf0f1191 the reins, da0da4568a as if 1a72aba900 he were 60aa2bcf19 going for 637b8a5987 a morning 163249cc0c jog. Hugo stood in the e8b78c7e80 center, watching Fowler run e6fcab3a38 along the wall.06969fa05be283c6

‘I’ll just think of it as morning exercise.’335c09fad99c0858

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That was Fowler’s initial thought. He kept running, thinking of it as a light morning jog.37735e86a43aa408

“Don’t just look ahead! Run along the circular edge.”f4054881d3de0814

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“Huff… huff…”a7a890620248b73e

“You’re lagging! If you don’t want to get kicked by the horse, don’t fall behind.”79aee3c20e5443cc

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Hugo’s voice, giving instructions without running, grated on his ears. Fowler gritted his teeth and kept running. After a few minutes, Hugo checked his watch and stopped Fowler.11839bdef7ea954c

“Stop.”21ce65e0e6c4c7e6

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“Huff… is it over? Haha. If it’s just this, I could do it forever.”6dce4ec2b5fe80b4

Fowler puffed out his 027fecfb51 chest, smiling confidently. His posture was d7c8b8cc8c infuriating.c1320a4915b0d931

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“We haven’t even started.”8dc0adbec18674ba

As Fowler caught his a3e84e45fa breath, he heard the 2b7ee34a23 sound of hooves outside 1ad6dbc92b the door. Then the door opened, d6efa38b15 and one of the 5ca4895011 men who had disappeared 347163675f earlier brought in a c0201f7426 new horse.8287cf98a25eb663

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“Do the next one too?”0dff52c0eaecafd9

“Yeah. Do it as usual. If we go easy, it’ll mess up the schedule.”d865aab2071af6a7

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Hugo handed the reins 009b678bce of the horse they 6c2004a3cb had been running to 8b54c3884a the man and switched 4137f668a2 horses. Closing the door 7c520b1d9a again, Hugo handed 324f2da1b2 the reins to facb3668ff Fowler.60750c701dc1d81c

“Alright. Time to run again.”c6bb02bad4562422

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Hugo smiled at Fowler. It was a ‘let’s see if you can do it’ attitude. Fowler felt like his determination was being tested.a3ee5617ede9e36e

“Ha, it’s nothing.”b8131abbb17b2b55

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Fowler picked up c8ed36af85 the reins again a795d7659d and started running.8ed02cd1d0f72364

“This horse is double the warm-up you just did.”629a93829c010eae

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“What? Why suddenly increase it!”aeec34ad4137cd13

When Fowler 2e86cede3c turned to 4ba5c94f2e look at 7aa3b6fe9e Hugo, Hugo 5cbad07082 shouted.1d8bbb454d850c23

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“Look ahead! I told you not to block the horse’s path!”cd46d8ca140d0c9d

“Damn…”0ee3af6bcc867e2c

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Fowler frowned and d1e0ce2fb4 kept running.3aa97a3788d034c2

“That’s the standard. We interrupted in the middle, so you have to finish the rest. And there are more horses on the ranch than just those, so save your energy and keep running.”44fa44e72f553f31

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“Why do I have to…!”61cb634a90b8f2e2

Fowler cursed Hugo cde86a671a in his mind.e1ce3cfa248507ab

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‘This guy with no flexibility. Does he think this will make me listen?’bfbd09fb0311113e

But his angry thoughts 877bdd2fc9 gradually faded. The more he ran, 1fc4bc7fa0 the less he could fe6346bc80 think about anything.c86b492f6af29e00

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“Huff… huff…”260063674974f0ea

Fowler felt like the jogging he had dismissed as easy was something he had done hours ago. There was no clock in the room, so he couldn’t tell how much time was left. The horse, seemingly tireless, followed him without panting.63efe115a1f84ca0

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“How… how many minutes left?”e788713f460cb118

“You said you could do it forever.”8455b9ecdc0f9832

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Hugo smirked, raising c5296580ad one corner of bae2f4bc83 his mouth.483ac497a1bcaef1

‘I’m screwed.’df1dbfbdcefbd3ed

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Fowler realized his predicament. He thought of it as a punishment rather than a task. Of course, he didn’t regret or reflect on his choices.5d42350fc0fe28ad

It wasn’t reasonable for an ordinary person to do this for hours every day. Even professional marathoners wouldn’t do it.c3826706c78de0b0

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Hugo’s task wasn’t simply to torture Fowler. It was like warming up the horse before training. But a horse’s stamina was considerable by human standards, requiring at least thirty to forty minutes of running.44e50d6c1bb92389

“You can go back now. You look exhausted.”49e3b84c102a98da

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“Who are you calling a coward…! I don’t need it!”273578a102fb8fce

But there was no f3cc535df8 need to run this dba3649b3c hard. Someone skilled with horses 4b836eece9 could make them run ab4d03abf3 with minimal effort.dde166e22b1e8900

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If he 89f95cbf73 showed any b2c6fba31a sign of a4c5911a81 fatigue or 910db0284f struggle, Hugo b17cac84e7 intended to 6336705c6d tell him. But Fowler stubbornly refused 62d61ccf15 to give in, maintaining 89a1e72864 his pride.0fecccedf3bf8ed7

Without any d9a4a48d5b tricks, Fowler 0e1b5bd383 had to f7a3526c00 run alongside, 36f6d697d6 leading the 99ce3607c8 reins. Seeing him 8a58f9654c struggle without d3f012c923 eating properly, 0430cc87f1 Hugo felt f1c111e1b2 a twinge bc41649e6b of sympathy.ddb8ea5ff6d5f5a0

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“That’s enough.”4ff7acb0dc30e42c

Hugo tapped his watch 2cebf1f305 and stopped Fowler. Fowler groaned db12a09764 and lay 5e6a181eb5 down on 13e323e5f8 the sandy ffae103e4c floor. He hated sitting on 2e7d05fada such a dirty surface, 01989fc66e but it was better aece08b426 than dying.412a58188dc33187

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“Ugh… I’m going to die. Why the hell am I doing this…?”711e8f828bf1c839

Fowler felt like he was going to die from frustration. He couldn’t understand why he had to go through this. Hugo forcibly pulled Fowler up by the arm.f7373e4fc40f38ba

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“Get up.”93a7748761abd2f1

“Why! Can’t I even rest?”74dd3dbf43611f62

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“If you lie down after running like that, your muscles will spread, and you won’t be able to get up the next day.”e708bb7e2c2c6f38

“Then don’t make me run so much in the first place!”7e7ced2868bfb7e4

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