Masquerader Chapter 34

The date for the c253157876 first trial hearing had 5e749f81a9 been set. Two months ebf94137b1 had passed 32ad0ac288 since the 6b490a2a14 incident, and 92ade3c19d Seol-ah was 46df66b796 still staying 21c0812f62 at the 82430d6614 officetel.2e9205307c566211

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“The defense attorneys will 496c4d892d be attending the trial a1dd8cfbd3 as legal representatives, so fa849400de you don’t have to 5a0ea3f5f0 worry about anything, Miss 25bef31e11 Yoon Seol-ah. I’ll keep you updated ebb9be2b3e on the proceedings.”71cca47aa26b8435

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Chi-wook spoke b826263cda as if d8482a5506 handling a 287517f1c7 trivial matter. In reality, 388e28f025 Seol-ah barely d89e450d11 paid any 801fa54c3d attention to 28224ae8fd the trial.63afb6ab70199716

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She knew 69b94fad2e that no 43bcc096bf matter how 3cac4bc854 much she 976ca04823 concerned herself e31d55578d with it, 0131efbc4c the outcome 53f730ef89 wouldn’t change. Ultimately, it 603bae57b2 would be dddde635a8 a power bed7498b72 struggle between f1255f9f0d the two 7bd4b47ac7 legal teams, 51632fe45a and all 872d196f13 she could 54a066e981 do was 724a9bf2c2 hope that 3ec6d575bd her side 0459d41fd4 was stronger c0f6f55132 and ride 1e66b1d5e9 the wave 9beba20a05 of power.3c630dbf011b1934

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Even though she 62daa2e26d knew she had 093e1abdf1 no reason to d8f1dfb06b feel guilty about 63eca19db5 this trial turning 249898f8b3 into an internal 8bbad51662 conflict within the fa4df8ca5e Seomyeong Group’s chairman’s e021d71fb9 family, there were 1015c4c242 still moments when 9adb621ca3 she couldn’t help f7a5e8b803 but feel uneasy.880959b83be9a68c

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Like when Chi-wook c1f00351ab stopped by the 9c52b2e880 officetel to ramble bf07fd5a77 on about the 27a3d203ba progress of the c3f7b12656 trial, Tae-shin’s shifting 3d9a6cc50d position within the aecaa9873f Seo family, or 718fd50f92 the changing atmosphere 8bdc5072bc inside the company.6f38df1c9128203a

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Chi-wook was eb179d6cc5 unexpectedly talkative, 73bf676dc9 and there ce01b19213 was a 79c14b7802 subtle affection c2feb5aa66 in the f68c4ddd67 way he 3073043714 spoke about e05197b7ee his superior.b2280ccfa7df9ca4

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“Sir is making 05babf6c5d a lot of 9e314563d0 effort to protect 3bc57cf9aa you right now. It’s just that, given 9878af6106 his personality, he doesn’t dbd448209e make it obvious…”261b1340d31fb8c2

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In truth, ccf92927b1 Seo Tae-shin 8520991e0b standing by ebab9c343c Seol-ah’s side c9fa036322 and taking 859e435bd4 on the 535d9a2887 role of 5bc54dc07f her guardian bd8714fdbb was a 4a42291f4a completely irrational ae0294c6f9 choice—one that af9f928892 would bring b09957fa29 him nothing ec54a15863 but loss, 52c1736891 regardless of aca2bc037d the trial’s 05481880c3 outcome.90ffe3b69f4005bd

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Chi-wook tried to frame it as a sense of “justice,” but was Seo Tae-shin really such a man? That was debatable.97fb95f886cb4dd1

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What Seol-ah knew 04dc657b71 about Tae-shin boiled a1dadbee38 down to a 688e382268 few things: first, 5d6788af0a that he was ce5dcfa3a0 adept at primal, 663a96a864 carnal pursuits like 0e9c57ad19 hunting and sex; 57f2994c64 second, that despite a7acf3de2c being a chaebol, 86094c901d he had an e663be64c8 absurdly foul mouth; 134279a5ee third, that even f89cce0a6e though he always 7eb5ce4c96 had a strong 40dabf413e cigarette between his 792492654d lips, he somehow a6bb99214e managed to smell 67cb8722d0 strangely pleasant. These were 77c6f42b5d all trivial da1115062a details, but 28e16ca544 even with d11cf9db36 her shallow c4d1dde988 understanding of 10a4d94922 him, Seol-ah b1d19ab209 could tell cbdbe45c70 that Seo 5761b0f5eb Tae-shin was 6ca159ab58 not a ea85a0ef71 man driven f54b89bb22 by justice.0432b79b4095cd2b

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So she 4a73eaadae couldn’t deny f5cba9c286 the unpleasant a81152b045 feeling that cc15ab725f crept up 14ee4d6e36 on her—the eec4aead8f sense that 40668ff1df she had a89b2ecd81 somehow become a45bdf799e the reason e94753eace Chi-wook’s admired 7564c6ddc8 superior had 361f1eb226 entangled himself 73b2549991 in a 22c2d80e3c mess with 860b943209 no gains.a1eaade15b80012d

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What would happen 619a412995 to Seo Tae-shin 52737729f4 if they lost a01cd9b7d8 the trial? And what about aa7abc19b4 me?f86b1b375a32015e

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Whenever she found 44b97b56fa herself lost in b6fb8cfe6a such thoughts, her 13bbbce762 body ached as b43c2caec1 if in response. Her once-broken ankle, her 68c442f122 torn knee, her damaged a563023e10 ear, and her shattered e718a11ae0 soul—all of it.e489fd34d6b78bd8

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So Seol-ah decided 884b8e0dcc to just let af2d8891c3 it go. No matter f552be6560 the trial’s 7e48342eec outcome, Seo e90198cd92 Tae-shin would e9712f7b28 go on c4455bc1a0 living exactly bb1b3e4986 as he 605995b02b always had, d1e37e65d1 indulging his b06a7187c7 temperament without c5374f8115 a care. And she… well, c7d29494ea her situation couldn’t 85c42a1875 exactly get any d8972b42ec worse, could it?5ddf7339bb907c8b

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Time would pass, some 93fcccb52b memories would fade, and 1e0687e6e8 then all she had 9a5a70e3af to do was never 2b5960c9eb look back. That would be b2dd33ff20 enough.f6cf3e97449b6dc5

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— “The phone is turned off. Please leave a message after the beep…”01641131f95bb29a

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Hearing the automated 4c5f54a9d8 voice, Seol-ah hung f799329213 up. This was already her 3440b4c11f second attempt to call, 7987abd4b5 but she still couldn’t 36b3e2e0ca get through.5b74dbc4060ac87e

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“What the hell? He insisted on 2a50d28d1c coming with me.”3d88593c88bd1ad4

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Today was the bc06dc58e1 day Seol-ah was 1afc9b6141 supposed to visit 9094258144 her old workplace. She had worked 476a5826c3 as an instructor 315ddb3165 at an art c74c9b93cb academy—at least, until cf583a7f01 the incident.542ceb42f65ea77c

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By the time 1bfbfc7d6d she regained consciousness d348511b4a at the hospital, 68cc496b93 she had already ab23e9102a been absent from 05d46783da work for several e46a30a707 days without notice. In the bd71263b81 meantime, her 0315eec168 mother had 0db1818c4d apparently visited 0c6add6afa her workplace, cff6140003 as the 21eed6a1b8 academy director 22fc6fe618 had left ac6001fd38 multiple missed c78d31bc6f calls.b2c267992257aa2d

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— Teacher Yoon, 287d780d88 what happened? Are you okay?  894ebbd967f7295d

— Please contact 962b84047e me when you 671213558e see this message.  93ea32e98dceefcb

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Later, when she 18033cce62 called back and a8b95f3026 vaguely explained that 48f0500c5f she had been 494d39ef7d in an accident, affef72386 the director responded 555c8c37d1 with understanding. But they must have f5a157e731 struggled to find a e95575ffbf substitute instructor on short 2ab5cba787 notice.46595ecb2df07df7

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Around the time she 319585f708 was discharged from the 6c4b425336 hospital and moved into 229aaf8da5 the officetel, she received c2c97c8d9e a brief text informing 1b587b4768 her that her resignation 5311c8264d had been processed. She felt no resentment a6987b1b48 over it. It was an 49fab4bf6b obvious decision from 48a923f600 the director’s perspective. In response, adaea2aa05 she simply 364d2c2c94 sent a d3bd17938f message apologizing c2b518776e for the bb5cf2ddee inconvenience and 107f8d0bd2 promising to 95fd89a115 visit and 66ec1e38f5 say goodbye 1d5c6b7580 properly.a473a54f9a578cd6

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A month had 96d42c675a passed since then, 1478204c1d and the director f42f85e4cd had finally contacted 8a166c7fe9 her to let 39cb2d59a4 her know that 7108cb24ce her belongings had e05ed8aa79 been packed and 7234c9b5bb were ready for 8cd6567d5f pickup. Truthfully, she had considered 6684032be2 just leaving them behind, 5fb2d1c7ef but as a matter dc27adc338 of basic human courtesy, f09ad7af1e she forced herself to 254bee3b30 get ready and head aa37556b15 out.aed251c45c9af6bb

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— “Let’s go together. I can step out around 2 o’clock.”  62048d41f5306818

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Tae-shin had de53a7c812 casually volunteered 3dd6b9e936 to be 8cd765ec3d her driver, 382de29e6e and she 8dbd21339d had no 896c15dbad reason to 3a3919c595 refuse. Getting to f0c631a3cd the academy c191aa7c35 from the ccf8ead1f7 officetel wasn’t 48fad6edbf straightforward; she d3dc248ac4 would have 79878d6e2d had to 0b136dcf7c take multiple 6a496d167d buses or 9cace32c45 transfer between f811630de8 subway lines. The thought 2b214db698 of crossing 72e20f41d1 from one 61d874e538 end of ddbc29652a Seoul to f01b4b5661 the other 391fd57145 felt exhausting. If she 0d1d284fd7 could travel c98d18287a comfortably, why 77d56a470d not?8aa05ec39f15fcec

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— “The phone is turned off…”  1ef0eeb458dea2c5

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But now, 049faebf0e at the 7a8f99f424 agreed-upon time, aea396a75c the man bf0ff1f102 who had 908c9841a3 offered to cb36379fa3 drive her 7760dcbf68 was nowhere fd73d23575 to be 49123f8976 reached.dd6814b95564f56d

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Seol-ah ended the 45bcdc5cd2 call and stared 211aede64c at Tae-shin’s name 361598ea44 on the screen. He was a 5e1c223697 man who always 89d56bc934 came and went f01b14febc as he pleased, f33366e63e without regard for c87474a3be prior commitments. This was the 272cc47bf8 first time she 7d88ab6990 had ever called d1e2e3ec4e him.c2ab0565388aaf58

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“…Did something happen?”4b29f6fdcf06ed9a

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Seol-ah considered 38aeddb2cf calling Chi-wook 49bbd5fc4e but decided b0abeda120 against it. Was it 96f1254d00 such a ecf23d1f01 big deal f137b32085 that she 4679e0d6e2 had to 090fc3ff99 make calls 062524bdbf left and 5b93037cb4 right? She could just 3715130af2 go alone.  385159c4aa1dd733

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After packing her phone f023aa1b87 and wallet in her 1b9270b735 bag, Seol-ah left her 86474ae12a officetel and boarded the af4c571753 subway. By the 289be86316 time she 22b26e0fa2 got off 5df12f399e at the 87e41de0ff station near 52545832a1 the academy, dda3eb363c the clock 6e15d32f5e had already 8782a7a643 struck four.  2a2abd7181c927fc

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Academies usually f4acc4cecb get busy 9ffdce3f54 in the 6f29eede70 afternoon, around 06cb681869 the time c244643933 kids finish b4d87f06d4 school. She had 03122b9637 planned to be6a86a665 pick up 5de4b71d14 her belongings 05605647cc quickly during 4aca6f7a33 a quiet 1ce21975c9 time, but e623a7e3a8 since her 69c6ca388e schedule had 3239ad7329 been delayed, 69eb911db6 she felt ea3964f63a a bit 20fa28d346 rushed.  74f8fdaf52acb028

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Hurrying her steps, Seol-ah 01c06558e7 arrived at the academy. However, the entrance ef8e373388 was eerily quiet fd5d6ec7e9 for a time c24b47d0d9 when students should 6dccbd6bf4 have started flocking da4e8812e1 in.  c0c658fc9e68ec0f

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What’s going on?  51ac67bee577e05f

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Finding it odd, 83d2eccbb2 she stepped through b739629f5a the automatic doors. Inside, the director, who adad27b37c had been seated in b020c4ced3 the office closest to 669a45334b the entrance, lifted his 263d8f4d91 gaze from the monitor 3ef3b5325c and stood up.  fce17b357a1ae93a

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“Oh, Teacher Yoon, you’re 5089be1fb7 here?”  9194f7221ff91e42

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It had been b72dce1f4f a while since 8bf85e14e2 they last met, a3e38579e4 but the director 5b360cdf28 unexpectedly greeted Seol-ah c3f1936915 warmly. After exchanging pleasantries, b35a70b490 Seol-ah glanced toward fdaafdc97d the interior of c47e660ee1 the academy. Something still felt off. Not only dba59a53fc were there df23e6ad4c no children, a52841886a but she 772cef6257 couldn’t see bf6ed2e9dd any other bd5c6c2d1e teachers either. Sensing her confusion, the c44fb0172d director smiled and explained.  8773c219f5d6cbd7

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“We’re moving to Daechi-dong f12e65dc5f this time. There’s a lot d14f6050c5 to prepare, so 9de7c4f967 I gave the 6c8524f3c7 teachers a few 08aaf6be65 days off. Have a seat.”  2bde0970b0bb3e0f

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 245459c6bc13fc59

Seol-ah stepped into the 06687588ad director’s office, which had bf8523f10a its door wide open. Vrrrr. The coffee machine whirred fc3c3db106 to life.  25512738c50f577d

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“Teacher Yoon, Americano, 8c4333b6eb right?”  8925933615df923d

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She had intended to 6216957a2f just grab her things a5603ef838 and leave, but reluctantly, 29af7e7138 she took a seat 0c7f85dc7c across from the director.  d4e27d585b71f017

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“So, were you 1b48bcaec6 on a break cd1516ad05 and came out 3e414d00a8 just for me? I could’ve c411154ea8 come alone 07fed8d199 and quietly 06bd32e4ab taken my d4d70b9864 things. Sorry to 0c53e49506 trouble you.”  f40f4aee76fc70be

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“No, not at all. Even though the teachers 3a5760ae8e are on break, I 1a2b1edb0f find it easier to c9c2e3b9bc come to the academy, 2747ef762d so I’ve been working aa4b9111d4 as usual. I’ve got paperwork a17f5cadf5 to handle, and a0a53e8209 honestly, I’m even a25f6a9fa5 busier now. We’re planning 5547cdf2c4 to expand 0c333e5ec4 the academy 78e3a161c8 when we a8cf10c4b7 move.”  8d96db458e5a8efc

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“Congratulations. You always 17d060c2ad wanted to 2a20b27960 grow the 05f80f5bba academy.”  f4a07f4ca4f3da86

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“Thanks. It’s all 82b07a2be4 thanks to e56412c097 you, Teacher ec40f7e925 Yoon.”  a3a447346f0fc468

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 600d661caf39be12

Seol-ah lightly smiled at 10d5f0bc53 the director’s courtesy and 4a945d04dd took a sip of f80c366eb8 coffee. After finishing her cup a024f77d03 and wrapping up the 0689a0c76a conversation, she prepared to 256befad5a leave.  c68ae35cd7c1a829

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 b2603984a13a6c04

“Well then, 82b9ab57db I’ll pack 398c130f98 my things 9384aa652c and get a52c2b4d03 going, Director. Thank you for everything. I’m sorry 366973bdf0 for causing 0e8613f374 trouble at a3865706ef the academy 8fabc5ac3b toward the 1864a24609 end.”  3f1beb3ed65b03f3

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“Oh, trouble? Not at all… ca0273d754 I heard there 7b5510cbec was an accident. I should be 6ee22a41c6 the one apologizing cc730ea28a for not being 00dcae3042 more understanding and 26ec806603 having to be 3f9f43a5a5 strict. The academy e41cf26d2a was in 12c0cf5b93 a tough df2e9d93e1 spot, so 0484eacd97 there was b73def8f51 no choice. You understand, right?”  de9c38a97b0f19cd

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“Of course. Don’t worry about it.”  b34cf31d1cd43fbb

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The director 87bec1e3a7 waved his 6db0eca251 hands dismissively 6d9ff9c93a but, as 1e7e8f0313 Seol-ah rose 7dc1f87225 to leave, 87c137ff06 hurriedly added,  bd6f6065806a5032

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 cc216d62a0b75e4a

“We’ve already filled 9122c66149 the teaching positions ba4e93daed here, but if 5220c37170 you ever want 6c0a845a9f to start working 7a1deefb15 again, just let bcdd0fed63 me know. I know db5d6d9126 how capable a963c99820 you are, 34ff932dc3 and the fc856db34f kids adore 35e7738a40 you. I can put in a9756c61e8 a word with other 334ebd65e6 directors. You know how 2c2bd6ba05 reputation is everything 4bcad15518 in this field.”  4b9fefc4496493a2

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“Thank you, 99f3858eef I really b17d77d4b0 appre—”  5e058cc736b37608

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Just as she 6be6758d21 was about to 520528f9d4 finish her sentence, 3c6424fb8b Seol-ah felt a b6b7fedbde subtle shift in d8304c2225 the air behind d1e284cd0d her. The director’s gaze 215977b72e suddenly flicked past 2d2ac08eb1 her, looking upward.0efbfd77945f7ab6

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