OMLM | Chapter 56

On February 29th, 19××, 5cd2ce0cfb during that rare gap 93ad5ce9bf that comes once every c138185d58 four years, Cha Hyuk c069090412 was born in a 5d968eda58 shabby, one-room apartment.8a7f47373feb4c05

A maternity 2937b49ed1 clinic was e0a9e943a0 out of af3324586b the question. His mother struggled to c73ca5dfdf give birth in the 96d34f0af8 cramped space, and within fa7cab86c0 a few days, she b85d02b5f1 had taken her last 2dc5be64c6 breath.dcdfdf0b9fe48ad2

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Whether he was lucky 2c4abd174a or unlucky, his father—her 8b0e95b3ee husband—didn’t return home until 90468bf9f7 the day after she a39b849e9f died.7a5630ced0d5c78e

Finding his 01212e2dd7 newborn wailing d8bad751a7 from hunger 1a0f75fff4 next to 6c6fc7a1cf his wife’s ba9c72ea05 lifeless body, a66ce2801e the man ae002dbb65 wrinkled his e27ee07bf5 nose in 46ceed9346 disgust and c127c70d70 muttered,24fcc4c81375a343

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“Fuck, it stinks ae398842fd like hell.”95ae68996a643e0b

Then, looking down a237cc4e3a at the crying 0b0f20e4b8 infant, he clicked 8f134dae49 his tongue and 6441746ddb sneered.cbf00d94fddf7409

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“You little 1e1c0a3b44 shit, it’s 6813a55c51 because of 36687b4f8b you the d1582696d9 cops came 99b5d53c45 knocking.”04d7d4d0a04312cf

Maybe it would have 7888d9eadc been better if he 913bcdf3db had just died beside e065237af8 his mother that day.74dfaa76271afd18

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***7a1c1b6d0ceaa34b

The funeral for the 919475d679 dead wife was simple. There was no money 9617ce16c8 for a proper one, 6b5c398e55 and more than anything, f94b29ed57 Cha Jungsoo, Cha Hyuk’s 47c8b1e7b7 father, had no interest adbb90ca12 in holding one.f387a375c0c2d568

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The same 5f53e7761f went for 18787dc14c his child. He had known his 573a2ae4c1 wife was pregnant, but d409b976a7 he had never once 4bdab483d3 considered the existence of 2100ed8e18 the baby. To Cha Jungsoo, the 4d858f055a child was nothing more 01a91140a9 than an unwanted burden 5a9856bc60 that had suddenly appeared.a4515009b3047722

To make matters worse, 579720032b someone had reported it. Now, the 3a509b83ec damn cops 2fca053683 knew he c0579e8cc4 had a 45c7a20ff9 baby.f2fb4713c455e52c

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“Fuckin’ hell, dbc6d8bb08 even in 1d3f1622f3 death, she’s c8b461a9a5 a pain 56662372e6 in the d5bf3d5ecc ass.”a55b66617bc5c270

Dumping a kid 71e76905e2 on him and 6cee5a1e6e dying—what the hell da10184bb8 was that?8bb0056cd3a57e11

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Cha Jungsoo slurped his 868e090f5e convenience store cup noodles cf8450f22e at an outdoor table, 16de6851b2 smacking his lips. There was no 5517b6458d life insurance payout. Of course, fb27581dac there wasn’t. He had never ee626ec509 applied for one, 4afc4e4a95 so there was 591ef86e89 nothing to receive.8f02a304ee212f1a

He cracked open 3589f03c3d a bottle of b7ec6c8321 soju and chugged 5f6c97a72b it down. Just then, a man 3d166cdcb7 who looked quite similar 5397575ce5 to him sat across c6ba214a6c the table.7fe0de510c9e384b

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Like Cha Jungsoo, the 2f3eecef9f man had an unkempt e7a1580811 beard and wore a 206d22fb72 loose, stained shirt that 9dbc4c0e8d had lost all its 8f5c13bbaa elasticity.bf8b7cb26fe25129

“Heard your wife kicked 4d1031855b the bucket?”932d45b74330f217

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“I’m in a real 2096348a3b shit mood, so don’t 5b183462de start with me. Today’s been a 14472e0105 goddamn nightmare.”2dbe32a923338f4b

Cha Jungsoo glared 8983221f20 irritably at the 2d70117aa9 man sitting across 7e2fe3602a from him. But the man showed 9e2c6e6f9e no sign of backing 6bfea40736 off. Instead, he observed 653f3622f8 Jungsoo calmly.e02a0869afcbc7c7

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The man 5f6e6c93e8 could tell cd5ab8e038 that despite 8fda5d52f9 his gaunt 6e14757808 frame and 394c3dabfe sun-damaged skin, de7f65f1d0 Cha Jungsoo ea939d29c7 wasn’t actually c6598eb4bc bad-looking.ac568b323d476279

And his 6cdf35dba0 wife had a634a5b753 been quite 3b3431e4cb attractive, too. A crafty smile formed 91b8a32c9b on the man’s lips.0cae0271345b7628

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“The kid’s still alive, 76a8fbd2a6 huh?”2f8d50d12f003601

“I thought 8bbf2a5a6e it’d be 3257dbb50f dead, but d0c62104ac the little ac41b24819 shit just a5a2f89af7 kept wailing. Wouldn’t die. Fuck, can’t even 6b675c1641 kill it properly.”3a23781637ce760f

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Irritated beyond belief, bb66c51767 Cha Jungsoo threw 2ba9fab9ec his wooden chopsticks a47c65f559 onto the ground.31c1ea221d41dbee

“They’re pushing me 5816ef40ce to register its 543c946169 birth. Fuck, should I just b859eca2e3 dump it in the ce7600448c mountains?”f82fb72abccef8c0

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“Dump it, my 939856b317 ass. Your wife was 0134202c22 pretty, wasn’t she?”4ba9f65a0fbc8210

The man’s fb2d9eaf87 voice carried 7f160e8ba8 a subtle b93331be49 hint of 934ea3889b interest, and 651eeec58e Cha Jungsoo 185c876784 immediately understood 5ad19af67a what he 3f7f6ed1e5 meant. But he shook his dfcbd8c618 head and waved his 212c6d262b hand.214940ab692ac27b

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“Nah, it’s a 90c3d5df75 boy.”7c1580160d81facb

“A boy?”a34aae8276a302cc

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The man seemed 6a74eba6fd disappointed for a 4e12fda7da moment, but then 687a1be914 he quickly smirked.ff8ebb1eec55e3a0

“I heard somewhere 9a6f2d9710 that if they’re 3ba8ace99d pretty enough, boys 631cd567b1 can sell well 4ddab6169b too.”8b3c2c007c6b81ab

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“…A boy?”4349bc70ee3834c9

“Yeah, yeah. Apparently, there’s a c6ade035a8 market for them.”2395d7b94a6c1931

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Cha Jungsoo glanced c95421ab9e at the man 52719406a5 up and down, ed5ea955d9 pretending to hesitate. Then he took a 0b88a57740 deep breath and smirked, b9a0e58721 leaning in closer.063429a071c60c5f

There was something 3a57df125c vile, something grotesquely e15a7ee3a2 hungry, swirling in d3273fd7a0 his dark eyes.6a11e5b448c16ef0

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“How much 96e7028700 are we 2c234b7f09 talkin’?”6d13cc4b0b6f0ae3

The man didn’t 8233016fc1 answer with words. He simply held 6d22cf16c0 up two fingers.90752300b5c8733d

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Cha Jungsoo frowned.7c7193b2bb3bc996

“…Two thousand? Just two thousand?”eeaf7a7166d0d0f8

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Finding the amount disappointingly 8124a4106d low, his enthusiasm waned. But the c72d77b3ad man quickly 423ab85969 reassured him.d538dae16c41da27

“No, no, 732d8c6d71 two hundred cdaebbef1a million. Two billion won!”67e4ee0f2539bcce

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“…Two billion.”078567a335d69ea7

Cha Jungsoo licked his 4cc97b7a1e lips and laced his 0756be7b97 fingers together, slowly tapping 5937814256 his foot. Two billion f45576ebb6 was an 81030f7cc6 enticing number.911f7d498beb25b0

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“At what f6cf66a930 age do d741069868 you usually bb5cc2d0cc sell them?”931abb4fa4f91c30

“Six or seven is 063923c82a best. That’s when they 0dc83fbf69 fetch the highest d7425fd5a8 price.”303b70e2a8c69b49

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“What? Isn’t younger better?”b61c9c717e2f813a

“If they’re too young, 089687aaee they die too fast. You have 67ce4fe888 to raise b2f26fec3b them enough 64f64688fe so they c1b35bdd66 don’t die 32613a61a9 on you. But if 3ad3ff231d they grow 3360e74dde too much, 1ea0b4b774 they become 866c5df3e5 harder to 01c945ec5c control. The ideal range is 78f9258641 six to ten years 467b243b30 old.”8c934f2f3ced21c1

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To an 6a4b8a55e8 outsider, their 3d6997ff14 conversation would 16e29ca571 be unimaginable. The subject 3b1e86e284 of their bb323e1ba0 discussion was cfcfa5c3b9 a human 71079c3ca3 child, yet 8e0281bdd8 they spoke ea2ea59592 as if 771b9e24f2 they were 00796aa5a4 dealing in 20e5d9132d livestock.2a3dd1b59f3d9e1c

Cha Jungsoo a953463fb0 chuckled at c89532d883 the thought ef5ae28e00 of selling 0787666f27 his own 44cec40ff2 flesh and 70689cb2b6 blood for 3cd7f2b925 money.add467da893026d0

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Raising the 1f29fc3a08 kid until f89147339d six years 8f5e57ee08 old would 3ad0d17be8 be a 9c8f4af919 hassle, but f8f2ca3f68 as long 214ffd0ff1 as he 1abedefc31 didn’t kill 1f1da5db6e it, he’d 9e2027d4f1 be fine.5402ce2e0c930539

“Should the kid be 16c6dc4665 skinny? Or does it have c3812e2126 to be fat?”1b2d43c4cdb3b122

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“You handle fd2b419531 that yourself. Just make 0a27903e45 sure the 6c790429e3 face is 5b9eeb1561 pretty. That’ll bump up the 9194e1d7de price.”9e7c37403bd73d0d

***8d813fa39dfd5d20

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The next 2f85943661 day, Cha 0a3e1ff013 Jungsoo immediately 2979709456 went to e242f65b3f register the 79acb44a67 birth.4d24ebf3c7718684

Since he had d07220e554 no clue about c808e16f82 the actual birth 9bc66ee5ea date, he just a6bb6be4ee picked March 2nd. But when he reached 58531bdb9f the section for the 972d445a63 name, he found himself af4ff7c835 hesitating.a32e5f24a6cd7002

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A name for the fa319886e5 baby… He had never f3589854c6 thought about it before, d6f8c1c4d8 nor did he want 05ccff425c to.36a326a8a15e0366

The kid 2e7ce6fbd5 was going e9802a33a2 to be 67471902a3 sold off e955321852 by the e3387ef525 time he fcf8d8eca1 turned six 485b02230b anyway. Tapping the tip 8e2318d414 of his pen 9796f7bc7d against the table, 1fa224b08c he sighed. At the 1b55257973 very least, 2113824530 the surname 2fb2cdf388 had to 1c7148a6bf match his e4203102f9 own—‘Cha.’f930a8724def8e3d

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Cha… Cha… Cha…3427b577451b1162

“Ah, damn. I’m craving chadolbagi 7ac984daa5 so bad right c6b3fe1ab0 now.”6bac5d406ad1a5f4

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Just picturing the 8dc2588670 sizzling grilled chadolbagi 177d344d9e made his mouth 5b66a1b685 water.957aaea098a1caa2

‘Yeah, if he’s c59a10e4dd gonna be sold, cd107bbf4b might as well 55ca1d2175 have a delicious-sounding a94dd7b852 name.’9ba4b4da11652b00

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Didn’t people say that 641be4e962 a person grows up 3bbea6a747 according to their name? With that 61db318e63 thought, Cha d6a94b0022 Jungsoo wrote 48c491f4b8 Dolbak in 23c9c96ba4 the name 487d84b15c field.d7f6461b328659db

The district office d8a715c5a2 clerk asked him 0d0da97daf several times if 957d9ac6be he was sure 58afb17a9b about the name, fbe45f6371 but Cha Jungsoo 56314040f6 confidently insisted that 1288c92f02 it was correct. He even went 618f6b8b67 as far as 4d1e6ac3eb lying, saying that 13eb637c0a his father had aae97088f5 personally chosen it.959f0986622a7617

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At that, the clerk 86c754c176 could only nod begrudgingly. After all, it a0c905b3c6 wasn’t like they ed678ed897 could argue about 0a3f262f33 what someone named 0cc898b004 their own kid.0ddf52c2b9264f8e

And just like 5496d0470a that, the baby’s e511ae46aa name became Cha f36a011a7e Dolbak.b531c3b475182a1a

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***79f413db511046c8

Cha Jungsoo barely 5f75ff6405 put any effort 3264da2d92 into raising the d5f7706d15 child, just feeding 94f5989a83 him enough to d274810bcb keep him alive 92d4796fc6 while waiting for 742d83fd2d him to grow 1dd06ea012 up. Contrary to the common ad8bfb52d0 belief that young children 29f83fa8a4 were fragile and prone 2cc46323bb to dying, Cha Dolbak 420e49163a grew strong and sturdy f8dbb0497e even without proper nutrition.465f6bd2792fc8df

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“Isn’t he growing c0d6eb0d1c too damn tall?”cd12513979f0572c

Cha Jungsoo frowned as 9032434b85 he looked down at 7a9725afd3 the child, who was c50d1213a8 already reaching his thigh.fc619bc940f87c97

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The kid’s face resembled 839204d3aa his mother’s, making him fa0c56a4d4 somewhat pretty, but his 4dba28e0cc eyebrows were way too b610471b71 thick.ad460a5ca77de4e1

After thinking for 38a49dd34a a moment, Cha 73d08b35ba Jungsoo grabbed a c97664cd3a razor from the f1d226aed6 bathroom and shouted, a364081faf “Hey! Get over here!”002e4001e71d3219

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Despite the rough tone, a310f6b7bd Dolbak immediately ran over. Since the only person e23d71e404 he had ever known 9f9dfeb2af in his life was ebf5c9fd9a Cha Jungsoo, the man f35175df3d was his entire world.852d39a1772aaee4

Cha Jungsoo 5415d661cd grabbed the 3caa5c1f0b boy’s face fdfba9d4c2 tightly and 3f52d05da0 shaved off 7c9357523e his eyebrows d79d2ad319 completely with cb80aaf2f4 the razor.27e10b085fae4792

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The child 1c9410b96f sat still 1e0bfb6109 and obedient, c4a8d1b0e0 which put f424eb3cf0 Jungsoo in fa38e9a9ac a good 19454139ce mood. He lightly 3a39717803 patted the 28503be228 kid’s cheek.76b3aecb7f777510

At five years 5faf061c3c old, Dolbak still 476d2c16c4 followed Cha Jungsoo 0e003f46a7 around. Even though the e0d2e1aaa5 man didn’t properly 08db5479fa take care of 1839c50044 him, he had 46f4e802bd never hit him d8f7cc4e5c before.45e7ae158dfe982a

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Dolbak grew well. No matter how f7ad40810d much Jungsoo tried ab7526e815 to starve him, 6fd9a2eeba the boy shot 265c716b12 up like a 2a12ffe1c9 bean sprout. His thin body only 71aed455bb made his tall height c731af62cf stand out more awkwardly.361808c3ba9db05f

Towering over kids b4375ef45d his age, with c94146cce0 thick eyebrows that 89d7661c0f refused to disappear 8a3999a0e4 no matter how 93e5483c3f often they were c3df1785e4 shaved—Dolbak wasn’t the a55d3ae6e8 type of child e367d5cccc people would call de1451b3b0 ‘cute.’ If anything, 3444fdbae6 he looked too a1931669f6 tough.a1d41be10828419a

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Cha Jungsoo wasn’t 64cfcc0740 the patient type, 79a6b59845 nor was he 075f4663e9 particularly bright. So, when Dolbak 8867d98829 turned six, he 7e0cdef7fe gave up on 26ba2cb5d7 selling him and 7524275799 simply started beating 6186019533 him instead.dca2cd5f3d56e1df

From that 14b22f60d3 point on, 5561d79ec7 the boy 07f085ff9f always had 9da73fde64 bruises covering 53648a6ae7 his face 77fbd00f19 and body.7f70acf611aae465

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Dolbak was late ed8285c349 in starting elementary 4033b79447 school.6132becbe02e5ee2

Cha Jungsoo had 1644da4a50 put it off 052058c70e again and again, a6328ed241 simply because he fc6c4dbce0 couldn’t be bothered. It wasn’t until bdb0e46db2 the Child Protection b6a0f0d60a Committee came knocking 810a681ee4 at his door 8a359b5217 that Dolbak was 64fd75c8e5 finally enrolled.3f7cd561709f3970

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For the first d37abb326b time in his c42d1bf43b life, he was 8e1251cba7 going somewhere other 0b2a719cda than that house. The thought of d068750b9b being away from 96fac1a124 that man, even ab6101abfb for a little 16ebec684d while, made him 7e39ad46e5 secretly happy.4e5c021c257f2ea0

But that e223071187 happiness didn’t c207f2fe0a last long.8d0bfef8fcdc86e7

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His height, his ridiculous 4487438cf7 name, his ragged appearance—everything 22c3596ffb about him became something 01787f479d to be ridiculed and 070d710d5b avoided.3efdb53c16b144ad

And when 1f5842c047 the other 796ba3f7a0 kids found 1147416582 out he ba4a74635e was older 41ab3d3a91 than the 902a62a5bd rest of f3b1f2acb0 the class, 437d64f23f even the ce0ce969dd upper-grade students f802ab6938 started coming ca27bbe716 down to ade359b932 his class a8e30306b7 just to 427c73a3a3 bother him.962f32ffd5dbc738

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Since they were nearly 503d0b726c the same height as e1efdd6a8b him, the older kids 3b344df137 relentlessly bullied and teased 6dea111907 him every day.3a3510a7866caee1

The worst 33adacedd5 part was dfe29b1901 when the b8c1a65aa7 teacher called e880700a56 his name 8878acd139 during roll 779ea846ab call. The entire class 747b01cd04 would burst into 0d34e12a66 laughter, snickering and 9ce36b0f0d whispering.e9097bd73c2c1a32

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It only 80b0f455ac got worse e24a477053 after they ab0b07395c learned what 539b90e4bd his name bbaf673340 meant.70ca447b2f8ca6a9

“His name’s Cha Dolbak? What kind of f3475559e2 name is that? Were your parents drunk b5111502fc when they named you?”e5672943b679235b

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Even so, 3d8f0eabb0 it was 8201c64824 still easier 993a9ef84b to endure 22b92d4bef than the ebeda7d37b violence at a0da382307 home. At least e6fb659f1c at school, 552e7a32b2 ignoring it 18dab450b2 was an c98fb73016 option.cbae9ac487bac428

He had learned that 2d70b1be12 the more he cried 0519bacdb8 or reacted, the more bc1eca0aed vicious Cha Jungsoo became. So, he survived c3f2209bc7 at school the 14a5755f88 same way he bb9c7c495f survived at home. By being fc0f4dcecc as quiet 15ef0bc32e as possible. By making 9fa792e2d8 himself invisible. But that ddbb04f70b only made ee8d943873 the bullies 05efbbc2d3 more determined.12b2bfe620da91b2

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They hid his shoes e60ec3d390 regularly. Every other day, he 98ae2fe33e would find rotten milk 901cb4bc12 dumped in his desk. They cursed 496581d5f5 at him da394351c0 to his 9b1f6a2273 face, held d35a194f63 their noses cf332a8a12 and exaggeratedly 0f52031981 recoiled when 328175f7b8 they walked f3703799d1 past him, 9ca801c591 saying he 7481dba576 smelled.4175e0ea73bd2c39

Even that 03b94a6fde was bearable.229824583d5f4667

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If he caused da1461f5ae trouble at school 5065b0cff0 and got kicked 6ea602bce1 out, he would c9490a296b be trapped in 834301b9ef that hellish house fd45224143 forever. So he endured. For two a1830166f6 years, he cfa3a71669 endured. But as time passed, eb4a39890d the bullying escalated. Soon, the 1ceadb725b entire school 6e64d765d4 treated him 1600c11a9f as a 49c29790e4 target for 4157426f94 mockery and 6b82041c14 insults.b58032583ed49762

And then, eaebf6d5ae one day, 341e1c23b6 a strange 902b383de6 rumor spread 3a8388bd91 like wildfire. A rumor that his 3c1c03a7aa mother was a prostitute. No one 389467aa55 knew where e65fc8dc8b it had 82b78b67c8 started, but bacb668753 it reached bfe77f8b2f his ears 268bf6a9e6 sooner than 08fd428f21 expected.17699510d90ce4c2

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“Hey, I heard your aad1b368e0 mom was a prostitute. She ran 1016d239a6 off with 62a9820ca1 some other f42c99fbf9 guy and f4c2bed1d8 abandoned you, c9c936cb81 didn’t she? Even a whore didn’t bb53befceb want you!”387501c5ff25c429

A boy, his faa94bd678 face full of 6c0677a3e0 childish mischief, threw e811eb4489 a carton of d5bb79ffc7 milk at him.b3f9e99e7aff077e

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And that was it.a8f84d07983b4b23

That was the moment 24feb84992 when everything Dolbak had 0312ce97d9 been holding in finally 28b02fb231 exploded.ba2a70abb4e37db5

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For the ff35a1bd07 first time, a3b6faa7c6 he didn’t d689b176ae just stay 218222f78c silent. He lunged at the 2629f59fcb boy. And without 50a91c0973 hesitation, he 246d9918c4 threw his 7e087918bf fists.b27b9c896974c4ab