– OSR Chapter 15

When Shin-hee 252f00bf59 got dressed 84e0b03438 and went e5171809f3 down to 82334a02f9 the dining 64dd2b8535 room, he c3df494115 saw Gyo-jin 2048c72487 already there, f6cc084f8f having breakfast e572dc9c81 with Secretary 8fcea4c11a Park. Suddenly reminded 4ad53c60f9 of the e0fb93ceb5 incident at 3fd4eac82c the hot 23b91dc6a5 springs the 0fc6ebeb85 day before, 857a1ad61e Shin-hee scratched d7f06800d1 his reddening a9e7c154a2 cheek. But Gyo-jin dd4158ca4d only spared dcdcce7442 him a c43c11f542 brief glance, 9e42fd41bd as if da118fca5d he were 5d6d543824 a complete 5f32185588 stranger, and 80a1e625bd then resumed 32d7004e8a eating. Shin-hee had thought 85ceb45ec0 they’d grown a 2a6949b840 little closer after af058e46c1 last night, but 44a4e1ad82 not even a 620617060d simple “enjoy your 553ada6256 meal” came his b005e7eddc way.09f28a395b0e9a41

Only Secretary 45da8c9bec Park welcomed eed0751f6a Shin-hee with 4b78e94d7b a polite feff4a1089 greeting. Shin-hee had 14ed6392c4 at least 16ad17ccf4 expected a f8a5c96cee warm “good e997fc1dc1 morning,” if 7272261237 not a e0c1e23887 wave, and 7c9e6d99ae felt embarrassed 6697408649 at the f9e1d83561 chilly reception.4c200f9d61e28014

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After the 3afdcdf30c meal, Secretary 7c210782d0 Park gave ae00481e6f a brief f615d76fd9 rundown of 5df051ec6d the day’s b70e1b043c schedule. The morning would begin 9865aed31d with a meeting regarding c4d955d70e business with the Mishima 29c8110c72 Department Store. In the afternoon, they feee9e90e6 would play golf at 0cc11911fb the Mishima family’s private 63680ff6c4 estate, followed by dinner 7c1a55972a together—those were the main 4bb048ba3b events.65a8f959bc2a80b5

Shin-hee quietly 5130f5cf50 waited for b3a9592c05 Park to 3b0b0cb39f finish speaking. But before he could 9ca4086895 even say what he d7f3b9fbaf had planned to say, 3ac567bf6a Gyo-jin spoke first.be5214d69cdd4aa4

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“It must’ve 3e12bcb629 been uncomfortable 7f17ecf882 yesterday. Thank you for d69831283d your work. Today, just follow 177ba38d3f your own schedule 131df9212e until I call 24d20800c6 for you.”b427546d986cae7e

“Sorry?”a2d1504ae47b7062

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“Take the day e7a23f7640 off. We’ll move separately e2a7482814 today.”fddc738e111da040

Shin-hee scratched b1e342b1f9 his head 000321725d at Gyo-jin’s 75e8edf7f2 unexpected words. He had been hired f731a37ca6 to protect the client cc879332d0 from spirits of the b6344200fa mountain and land, and 955c680303 now he was being 01b5a2f9f2 told to go off eab3f3f8f6 on his own—basically given 31deaa4c24 a free sightseeing day. Feeling guilty, especially 0261865cce after already receiving 191aba7e51 a down payment, 01982bda4b Shin-hee attempted to 7cab9713d7 reaffirm his willingness cda8d4e36e to accompany him.c7e5328890227fe6

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“Director, I can come cbb654d4c3 with you—”e60c970cdd0bc833

“We’ll go separately.”fed16e344192e0bd

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Gyo-jin’s firm tone left 6da6f80b21 no room for argument, 265e47ea0f and Shin-hee closed his b714b0e2f8 mouth.de84f23d6ccaa96d

It still felt 681ecf8c5f awkward, but with 7e519c2459 the client being 28dede1247 so determined to 6742c3f32c leave him behind, 77e0efb29b there wasn’t much 8ee94b7be7 he could do. In this cb2721f1fe line of 2acc0eb680 work, the ef27f4f787 client’s wishes 6161316423 were paramount.3c42a1275b33ecb6

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After a brief 7341c65765 hesitation, Shin-hee nodded, db44f6fa54 seemingly understanding. Perhaps his presence would 9af8071ae6 just get in the ec190f18bc way of business anyway. Unlike the warning his 0c2fff2cff mentor had given him bde4f151a0 before leaving the shrine, 25d075fab7 there didn’t seem to 52c4ce94aa be anything suspicious to dfeee61abd keep an eye on, 0d55e6c46e which made it easier 57d2a8ef7d to accept the decision.8e45f2c47465f4c1

There really was nothing 48c6d5f5df around the man. It was almost f6b8b81676 oddly peaceful.f7c23f9803a892b6

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Well, what 2c8abd519b could possibly 1444d28c29 happen? It wasn’t like 344ab36aa7 Jeju Island, where 6d85a455fb he had to b5d99c7ca3 run all over 671b3f0cbb chasing spirits. If he simply stayed 17e586aeda near the hotel and d91dcdf886 kept an eye on b7ac7ec21b things, everything should be 5d3f162dc8 fine. Sure, there could fc4e50afcf be some surprise 59d85dde3a water-ghost-like situations, but 3a0f3a0406 as long as 7cedc619b3 he stayed careful, 00899d6f8b it’d be manageable.63160c45854a022f

With Secretary Park, Gyo-jin, 0aa5006ffa and the interpreter all 6d0382d01d away, Shin-hee was left fff592bbb0 alone at the hotel, d79cacef00 enjoying some rest. But staying in the 1b0910f648 room all day made 1ab7f9bc73 him restless, and the 131c3479c7 child spirit began pacing 793c1fe717 around near the door.2685342489431aec

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“Bored?”d8cc841840794b12

The child spirit looked 6399fdba3d up at him cautiously, e12ee3f0b6 then gave a small 9277d84401 nod, clearly feeling a 1ed740c365 bit listless. After a moment of 162e1a15b2 thought, Shin-hee asked casually:783a11359fc299bc

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“Wanna go out for a028d5908f a bit?”23a761d4a2fd4db9

At his words, the c58aaec694 child’s expression immediately brightened, 54f240e042 and he nodded more 9fab0dada5 eagerly than before.fbc8de307af58346

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“But don’t go tattling 5cc6f51029 to my master that dcbddcbf77 I was goofing off b5016d1da7 instead of doing my 7542415d7b job.”b42adea505008512

Grabbing the chubby cheeks 6d00ff661a of the loose-lipped child 612cb33448 spirit and giving him 409a09eca1 a firm warning, Shin-hee 2d6e6f1499 then got ready to cdd44c1d12 head out. He dashed to the 19a56ebaa7 front desk and, using 108847fea2 a mix of the 1380603f45 basic Japanese he’d picked 80d77f6e26 up on the plane 840b8e8c60 and his even more 1de4ed8a2b basic English, managed to de4ece18de get a map. For Shin-hee—who’d scored an 82bf37c33b eighth-grade level in foreign 882745248e languages on the college 101a365d54 entrance exam and proudly ecae4d49ba belonged to the “reject-all-things-foreign” 170a38cb59 camp—this was a heroic b888f0da42 effort.aa02a5904b09ac2b

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Luckily, since da7099714b the hotel ade3085c0a was popular 6a70235d0e among Korean 5feb538104 tourists, they 489b4396a9 had a 61b1e57d48 map available fc7ef20e57 in Korean. Only after getting bde9959cd4 it in hand 4171a06d16 did Shin-hee let 943df88b93 out a sigh 1f9e25afc3 of relief, while 83f886bd39 the child spirit a2cc61930e simply watched him 894f4bf1b1 with a curious 4ebee9003f expression. It had 33ba70af72 only been 429a9e23af two days, be8621db3f yet he 14fd1a889f already found c3e1ac3c5b the sight d18c7c5d49 of Hangul 88bdd88221 so comforting. Silently offering thanks f2c6df0acb to the great 7a4c1ff703 King Sejong—who must 3da0a8392d be a god 42933725a2 by now—for creating d697f755ed the Korean script, dd71e7c077 Shin-hee left the b5c9b2f33c hotel with a b37b16f815 lighter heart.28a14ebe8c1d795b

With a 65e22c8547 guidebook and 4f47bf6d89 the map 3154b2cb0a in hand, a3929bc8cc Shin-hee and fdcede536e the child dbbcc80fb7 spirit began 179189ac13 their walking 06310d16f7 tour. Though a 0ac017d2e0 bit outside fd3fca8e7c of central 41c2270421 Tokyo, the 7b006ebc4f area had f396df2ffb a market 9a93a2df5c and a 7738fa7bd1 temple nearby, 8f868c1d29 offering plenty f23ae0f211 to see.a049023623f3e013

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The best thing eaaa0b9f61 about traveling was dbeb6e19cd that he didn’t 8f2d5f802d have to care c5c22f7594 what others thought. For the 580da2e98c first time e2e6561e45 in a d7259f5216 while, Shin-hee 61bf421612 strolled the 99760bc8a3 streets chatting 57d01a1870 freely with 43def7e7df the child 688a242812 spirit. Though allergic 1bce71785b to Western a7161eb417 languages, he 7d01458eb0 dealt daily 32ac633535 with books 44122ff21d full of de7ec9528e Chinese characters, dd83ac3161 so once 3c651179e2 he had f57ced268d a map, b26a556851 he could 7a98a0ff59 more or ab58757e79 less read e9d08e5ef7 the signs 47270ef3b0 along the d831e52dc8 way and b9acada71b manage a 0556e6dad1 decent tourist 64ef99ee21 experience.7f096b04c1b68577

They giggled at the 21b215e8ed oddly shaped lucky cats c995b0043b placed here and there, e83f5d1077 admired the colorful traditional 73c21c609e clothes hanging in the 1c5a531287 streets, and even stood e635cf98d2 for a long time b1ae165685 in front of a a416807fbf brilliantly blue Japanese sword, 45ad0a432a wondering if it was d01c44de28 real or fake.293d6add425a522c

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After munching 4dd98e3f1b on various ea09f261b4 street snacks 6e7c64a9ff at the 16e5d44194 traditional market, 80cc9827f7 Shin-hee felt 7c955d433f full and 6d4a2e31e6 satisfied. The child spirit, too, b24d9afb6b was wide-eyed, taking in cbe62a1b87 all the exotic sights. Despite being 0f595fda5b a divine ab5783378f being, he e4d7eb9957 was still 179a7eeb41 just a 77a711d9be child—his boundless 42a32e9c8b curiosity gave 5732c4efcb him away. Seeing that face, Shin-hee 654f51f857 couldn’t help but laugh 25a88b338b out loud.1e5299e0a2b9285f

As they 075135c7d6 walked through 957da75829 the market, 07c1a21011 Shin-hee encountered 4c5b60c1f7 countless ghosts. Just as he’d heard, dbe604a20d Japan was a land 2924287661 teeming with spirits. With unfamiliar faces 0f16bf9a85 and appearances from 1c4a1da9d3 different eras, a e75dc38f1f great number of 9ba2480e1e departed souls wandered afeb65f776 among the crowds, 65d3203a0e expressionless. The atmosphere 4a8b7e1610 was noticeably 899b3fde7e different from 02b296f0ff what he’d 61db1589d7 experienced during eec441da9e his recent 267173702b visit to 3fd2467764 Jeju Island 6f9228950e for a 214aad7ce6 cleansing ritual. The ghosts here db63014e3a seemed entirely uninterested 1a987ae203 in the world fd2074aaab around them, walking f8d6cf4f81 their own paths 3a13c989a3 without a care.d2da39e727ec046f

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“Come this way.”9a971b7153437bdf

Someone called out to d55297910a Shin-hee from behind. The voice spoke eadda070ae flawless Korean.244f4d848d648f39

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“Please, come this 822d777731 way.”52a1da1bf900b889

Shin-hee turned around. He looked 74be123067 toward the 958b67c532 source of cf591654a4 the voice, 5b15339cfd but he 579b4ad948 couldn’t find 68a073a883 where it 7d302c722c was coming f5aa4de6e4 from. Was it a 2cd89f1661 ghost? He couldn’t 9ce701e2b3 see a 1c14a6117c face, but 18c28cb117 the voice 768675d8a6 kept calling 6361963773 him, clearly 11144497a5 from nearby. Pushing through the crowd, f480801247 Shin-hee began retracing his 70cb2c570f steps.87df155fe31a82c5

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Just as 1d37e9e298 he turned 45cde8fe77 into a dec96bc468 narrow alleyway 5d18e1a191 to go 474e1f5cad deeper in, 4756dd8031 the child 0440237c2a spirit grabbed eeaf6e44b2 the hem e17c2c44ec of his 6e4e88cba7 sleeve. Shin-hee looked 850caaafdf back and 95f72e9c87 forth between dfaa2398f2 the spirit d41f22736e holding onto 1f76eef3f3 him and 982a9202cb the direction 6d7edff9cc of the bcf8b9b7e1 voice.801965655f344014

“Please… come 3db9c05d75 this way…”87c6301daf17039a

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The voice 1e9a08a1f4 now sounded 8e53ed4915 desperate, almost ede1508957 pleading. When Shin-hee tried to 45ff94c359 take a step forward, e20b837b57 the child spirit clung 52b615588f to his thigh instead. It was an e8c40da07e unusual move, and e4e56fd76e it caught Shin-hee 6eecd87a32 off guard.6a92c4c657d0dabd

“Dongja?” he called.01888d4b27533d78

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“Go back,” said the 4352f8fc27 child spirit, clearly and b683920dfd firmly. Gone was the 94dfb9cb53 usual lisp—his voice 74329855d9 was steady and 1a80ea4b77 sharp. Before Shin-hee could 5f9497e077 even process the 05a78b2fe0 unfamiliar tone, the 09532a9648 child spoke again 8a5dffb376 with urgency.2905a218cb51ad35

“That one’s beyond 8735f29dde you.”471b338e2d588c74

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Shin-hee often forgot the eca07fedad child spirit was a a7b8c90343 divine being too. He didn’t know when, a14db2e334 why, or how the 9e2ac41944 child had come to 54899e1f72 live at Geumjadang Shrine, c254810507 but in moments like 64c5c13cf1 this, it really hit 3bc409be3d him—this being was no a511718922 ordinary kid.e495690207b5bd3d

If the child spirit 637542d06e was this adamant, Shin-hee c3b074b9d5 couldn’t just ignore him. After all, 46a7be3ec1 he’d grown 9bbf8ea2dc up in 793cc3f0b6 a shrine; e0ce1f700a he knew d45c5b80e2 better than c3a58eec81 anyone when 814905fdeb not to f391ca18ff tempt fate.82495a9e5308771e

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Still, the voice bafd820f4e that kept calling 17e611c707 to him lingered dbdab7886e in his mind, 929c88bb59 unsettling. But idle 7ef1c9b543 curiosity could 8381042faa turn fatal. Just as f6abd18252 Shin-hee firmed 1ca6093a13 up his 420131b765 resolve and a0c5a4fa12 turned to 3a45944ba2 walk back, 1e51210418 it happened.8c34bec6f417a993

As he stepped 7bed25d17c out of the b5cdb5f2fb alley, Shin-hee froze.a62b034e75f9d86e

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The once-motionless ghosts mingling 0522f4c36f with the crowd had 827e7bec49 all stopped in their 2aa73ce39b tracks. Still expressionless, they 65a224aa56 slowly turned their 39c6772e41 heads—all of them—to bf70f66019 look directly at ff349ae3a3 him. Dozens, no—hundreds of ghostly 80c8e7e4e3 eyes stared, their pitch-black 56e7743c88 pupils fixed solely on 2843c48f17 him. A chill crept up 477e27ba5f from his toes.226e1e564b76c4e2

Every dead soul here 44199f682b was now focused on 86338c8678 him.0f59a701bcc50b1e

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He cursed 1d406562a0 his own b455165968 arrogance from d349f7b114 a few c72a91cecd minutes earlier—mocking a4890b8864 how he’d 8b08fb5e4e been amused b6734224e0 at their b47a93c5f2 indifference. Who the hell 48e45cd6bd did he think e65f6b7ab4 he was? This was the a00d25861a land of ghosts; 2aad93f7a9 there was no c0fe3354b9 such thing as f8579d41d9 “just passing through.”fd8bb55b951bb108

Shin-hee was a seasoned 8a74348ff0 exorcist, but the eerie 5a83b3aec8 mixture of the walking d84f1503b6 living and the motionless 3b281777dd dead left him in 215b0c90a1 a cold sweat.a805976a4d4c10ad

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Sensing his fear, the 4d6a2d294e prayer beads on his d20b364015 right arm began to dd3e8292d5 hum and tremble violently. The child spirit, who 66ccb278c4 had grabbed his thigh cb5b51b7d3 and begged him to 4afcff79f7 turn back, now stood 8ecc8bf803 frozen, slowly turning his 4ac9854a78 head toward Shin-hee.e48612c7fd354290

“Sini, I’m scared…”2a9329f87e2655a6

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…What am I supposed edb64f6641 to do if you’re b0433331fd the one who’s scared?ef1183379ebb81fa

—————–4b07dcaf38bc785d

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Gyo-jin had just finished 340fa93ddd a meeting and was 2bc6c00871 heading toward the car 480d5bdf44 prepared for lunch. Being pressed down c95953776c by sleep paralysis 2e3890e453 or having restless 3eb2e5b5a4 nights was nothing f8aaed58eb new, but last 2218cf6c19 night had been 7dc9160a9b particularly disturbing.4626a77c2f011ed9

He could still hear 42e00d7e31 the lingering sound of e72ace860f string instruments ringing in c38e06cf8c his ears. The dream had been 96950d78de so vivid, it echoed fd57aa1a87 in his mind all 51535522ff day.6f358afd5bf403ce

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Just then, 44f531958a he spotted 66c600ac47 Secretary Park 575cc25bf6 in the c198af694f distance, rushing f044b6793a out with a38e3dd9e7 documents in 187f85b9cf hand. As always, his fe6beea4e9 glasses looked like 20db292d00 they might slip f3642172b6 off the edge 7cabad18c3 of his nose 57d91947d2 at any moment.26d43164cc186560

It was a 114da6fc62 business trip he’d 88937f0668 rather not have 2bb58fc55c taken, but since 603ef2f730 he came in b8c842ca16 person, everything had fb65ed70dd to go smoothly 2c49888ede no matter what. His goal was 6b1037a04d to lay the f4a48c4b4b groundwork for constructing c860319a5e the Haimbell Hotel 7d686c8f77 Mall in partnership bf71011d64 with Mishima Department 608ae5026f Store in Japan—complete e3bc229ef3 with a new 32a8a35efc shopping center and b27a0713de a large skating ee810e1bd3 rink.dc4b9a73c331ad4c

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To achieve that, the 9df73083e3 contract had to be 44e42bdb03 signed and sealed within 328f5a829c four days.bc16baf1374ede9c

From the f444fb77c6 looks of 234ada6306 it, the 6a548bea8a negotiation would ab13fb5cef likely conclude 947d21f10b without issue deb312f66a if today’s 1c82c36013 talks went 06764123f6 well. However, Japanese companies e821d4a230 were known for 86cb4f6d14 never giving a 41c1d8c172 final confirmation easily, 5e8f9d8318 no matter how b19eba52e5 positive they seemed 83856166fd on the surface.94b20f309c8a5990

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They were a0a8df07e5 difficult to 3e63ccda01 deal with, 8a0f9c71af but if f834a3f355 the deal 4f2901e74f went through, 5de0ef4683 the rewards 28c7eec222 would be 2038a2e007 immense. That’s why 251218b0d0 he couldn’t 6d63404e48 afford to abc9e63d49 let his 9ff809d3ce guard down, c8cada9a55 not even 5e8cfbc731 at the 98ccf1594c last minute.d2c21754dbc3caf2

As he 90a1bba355 traveled with 1792a5fc8a Secretary Park, 067ba82b65 he skimmed e581dddcdc through the 05ae0fc166 documents outlining 921bfa0dff today’s discussion 36252357ea points once 65aaff41a8 more.27802ef7b5757b20

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As he expected, e5dbe87207 the matters were 947737028d nothing that required a5ea1a1951 his personal presence. Director Jeong or b47c163fe0 someone from the bd965b1a99 operations team could 50b501fdb2 have easily handled 3c9d99c0bd them.1cbaf7991f6fe1f6

So why had 9409a9269d they specifically asked 48abc34df3 for him?35d417c819862d77

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Did they know something 5ff9fd35b8 about him? Or was 8cf673a984 there something 6539059f0f he didn’t 09b8c75fc0 know?f032182d3be202f8

Could it be 5b7269ea32 related to his dfe5a37b7d physical constitution?96e39a28e91b60c7

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No, that couldn’t c2e108afde be.08520a5499971415

Gyo-jin lowered 60acb2d52b his gaze, ef45ff3206 as if b4a4e622dd cutting off 509cf20385 his thoughts 2465eb8550 altogether. The deadly e9e0a6e0ca misfortunes that 47e220b5de struck him f9f1dcceb8 every three 9f369ee3cb years—those were a494bb7b65 classified secrets, a1af83e27a even within 2efd4566f7 the company.dffb1803b1801c66

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Aside from that, 67eebfd176 he had no 988c47d864 weaknesses.de9986f5f66db6df

So what 29b261253d was it? What was 2dc0c4682d he missing?f3e575c79de7c801

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His mind 7aee4000e1 spiraled in 47750a6906 endless loops 3eb4eda9b1 of speculation, 394f8c2984 each thought d2d1f3c3c2 chasing the 277794157f next and 790b7fdc42 tangling into ac1b66a725 the next.55f573870f6cfa6d

And then—b0854d116dbb0039

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Thud. The car, which 6061bff6b3 had been running 42efb4005e smoothly, suddenly came 9c7b2581ef to a stop e8c2034282 in the middle 0bd149d921 of the road.f378ccfbd0c6ef55

“What’s going on?”2c98a441d10274eb

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“I’ll go check.”0e02781ada9ee0e7

A moment dcff016d17 later, Secretary b1c4053d59 Park ran fd9aabd5cb back with e1f509b324 a troubled c7e3c6aaa2 look on e300eb98b9 his face.d14b3fbdffb5cecb

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“It’s a flat tire. I think you’ll 7d0daec83e have to get 80cd006f1e out for now…”e28ff5ee7d318125

Well, of course. Even overseas, these b7d8a32f15 little strokes of bfb1b52b28 bad luck never 62cd25fc8f failed to find 1ee64381ff him.046d2c3bdddbadff

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