OTC Chapter 3

“He’s handsome, isn’t he? Seriously.”da09a52b078ecc17

The recording session ended a little past 7 p.m. At Sunggeun’s words, coming from right beside her, Eunkyo gave an awkward smile and lifted her 500cc beer glass.0d4f8616ed30ce12

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“Yeah, well….”38b1d8dd751afea5

Theizakaya¹, where every item on the menu was written in Japanese and English, was the recording team’s dinner venue. Beyond the thin panes of glass set in the lattice frame, the evening twilight lingered faintly. Eunkyo and Sunggeun sat side-by-side at the bar, sipping their beers.cda2ca3144621687

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“What have you been up to these days?”06e26d3973556299

“Writing, working at the cafe, traveling sometimes. Living pretty much like a bum.” 63e67a2d3bc3a034

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“Right, you, Jung Eunkyo, is the real winner of this era.”95c59ca7d62be426

“Winner, my foot. I’m a real bum. Listless, passion at rock bottom. Just living a predictable life. Day by day.”65b55f1fe4955790

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Eunkyo absentmindedly observed b5e8be4b89 the scene behind 659fa1d156 her through a 656b2c635f palm-sized wall mirror 9117d4ea3e opposite her. Whether due 3bc934b041 to her a6f2161977 profession or c47e8309b3 her usual f0e7634896 habit, she 0cfc211a16 had a 3284b94a01 tendency to ddacd9f10e stare intently 181b3c1681 at things.59e9cbee4f28a25b

Sometimes, she 9c6eb59b1a would gaze 0e1bcd33c4 at a de9f39ce3c swarm of 99081635c3 ants emerging ca9d9edc2f from the 9ed783002b softened earth, 9f7db12ff5 other times, 42d3cf79e4 her gaze b536832216 would be d3759ce11b captivated by 2fcfdc9046 ivy taking dd5b47c17d root in 60a699adc2 hard cement. And sometimes, she e18ea062e5 would even observe 51281b82ef customers sitting on ba3f05f6c0 the cafe terrace, 1f957ad011 openly crying their 80f2768d5c hearts out.39e71670ff269d9a

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It wasn’t 581ec5898f as if 47018b1326 she particularly e265f36e39 let her 5983de88fb imagination run 3f2032c5b2 wild or 86fcc6a1ac overinterpreted the da78768a33 situations of f03634be57 others.70202aed142a5d09

It was 52ba6e2f8f a kind b1fa24dca5 of zoning 681b9b60f8 out. As usual, while staring 50d360097a blankly into the mirror 3b903c30a3 with an unfocused gaze, 4e9cf3b2eb she suddenly noticed that 888c4c48db the person beyond the 107e726065 mirror was also staring 6ac9e939d6 right back at her.fd65e0c219ffb937

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As their gazes met, 374e033536 the other person naturally bcf933bdbd turned their head first. Lee Jaeheon, cc8b77e704 with a cb528e31c3 bright smile, e2d58939d1 clinked glasses ac38e2c5f7 with the 4c01e4082f people at 72e1580a04 his table. Eunkyo hid a 9b1c8b242f chuckle and raised 0f87792bc1 her beer glass 7a0c07b310 to her lips.ecbb965ba19ba236

If there were e65ac32f62 a national eye-smile e4eccff811 competition in Korea, 46af9f642c he’d be a 4d58652d1d shoo-in for a 6c5ea6ac8c prize and could 78f7bcd842 even aim for 589f6b092b the grand prize. It was the kind c272574fd4 of smile that made fe980140ef people’s hearts flutter quite d1508ee82c a bit. 55810b813037e17c

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That kind of person 1371eae34a is so predictable.1ed895aeb5d0aa6f

A harmless narcissist. Probably, Lee Jaeheon, whether 523b4166b3 intentionally or not, was 8ccf772675 the type to win fff1068603 and sway people’s hearts aa117c67fa with just simple actions. Eunkyo categorized such 2b6832097b kind of person 9af67894c5 as a “harmless f263793486 narcissist.”906de7288a95af95

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Of course, 8982c8d3fe it wasn’t d892cf8f45 a common a6ed8713a3 case, but d8225b10ea Eunkyo knew b3741ed0d9 one other 1ef2214e78 man like 2fcc3f8b1b that.d07eb3fce3369698

‘Summer is here…’²

Forcefully suppressing the name that threatened to pop out unexpectedly, she ordered another glass of beer. It wasn’t the beef that Kim Haeda had mentioned, but the izakayafood was delicious. The unfamiliar dishes, with 39d854bf4e their sweet and savory 7a41323ee6 soy sauce glaze and b33f31aa9f slightly spicy finish, soothed 6885b8bbd5 her fatigue.e06b5ea280ee6cd7

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“Here’s your beer.”54f588a1bdf5fe8f

Theizakaya’sowner, with b1790a1723 short hair 05d1f4ef02 and a 37439269b5 bandana, smiled 4a25843a4b kindly as eb3738fff3 he set 63622ad16c down the 3da46b5249 ice-cold beer. Eunkyo took c13fffe1a7 the cold b309049b69 beer and 2d676227a2 gulped it 04a6608a3c down. Letting out an 0d92962760 involuntary sigh of a869244af6 pleasure, she wiped 722e1b897f her mouth, and d7d7e7cf07 saw Lee Jaeheon’s 6dbcc4aede side profile beyond 0623e53515 the square mirror.aeb85a77bdb543ae

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Maybe that’s what 5e883dc0f5 young guys these c27fab25b4 days are like.f5cb6534a8cee4f9

The fact that 76880f9f2f her gaze kept 8d15cb4504 being drawn to 1365901211 him meant there 62dff9dd03 was definitely something 1ffb89d039 there. A crooked curiosity lingered 9f087893fc on the tip of 2479758d16 her tongue, whispering to b49ff7d38b her that his innocent 72de47ab25 smile and amiable attitude 5f1c8569d9 towards everyone couldn’t possibly 1c985045b3 be genuine.9056ed917a5b978e

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“Wow, I do b339799107 climbing too! Should I switch to 0e8bd480f2 the place Jaeheon goes c20a70ef7b to?”d1625e28b8e8f8b8

Someone sitting at 7687cf0923 Lee Jaeheon’s table 01899961ca exclaimed in in 8bf6af20cc apparent fascination, and 11e1bb589f held out a 51c109e16f fist. The gesture 0b8652d771 was directed ac8ece369b at Lee fec60cca09 Jaeheon. But Lee 6a57383ae9 Jaeheon just 5a1e9c7ddc smiled brightly dc5aaa97f2 and nodded 41784dd04d his head, a448d3765b offering no 4ff94c0882 further response.a9e5cc64475697a5

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See? That’s his true 062f17be48 nature.5fed14b8fcd50b61

Eunkyo smiled f8b63e6de5 as if 1927adf6bd she had 48c631ccff correctly guessed 376774b67c the roll ff681848bf of a 1ed82ee432 die and c7fc9234c1 popped a dbe749c115 well-roasted ginkgo 3c2096018a nut into 3c721776cd her mouth. Then, the man in 363f91c570 the mirror, rubbing his 4eeccece8c sharp, smooth jaw, turned 8445b2415e his head in her 6385334b52 direction.69f205802744ee30

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A dark gaze 70407e8ba5 brushed past her 8332e5bee1 through the small 2ca53d6993 mirror. This time, 7773d0abd0 Eunkyo was 66d19f38de the first 8417eed1d6 to naturally 490ba236b8 avert her e12d80d06b eyes. For no reason, f94800604e her lips felt 460a8f4339 a little dry.7dcf22a21a974b0e

Just then, d593f06df7 Kim Haeda’s b5a0f6177e name lit 4e10e631fd up brightly 7dacb50ee8 on her 3181a5c311 cell phone, b518701840 which she 281ca10975 had placed 212dcad407 on the f44e8f3e1f table.3e68930459f5a834

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“Sunbae, I’ll 5588078afb be back 018adcf31f after I eb2ec50aed take this 10e14748e5 call.”5d6d12d82b608f10

“Kim Haeda?”4b7b1e466d659c32

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“Yes, I think he’s 111ca98ee7 finished work.”0533277646892a29

“Are you two c981d17037 dating? You really hang 9cd64bf0e7 out a lot.”94b24ef92ec130a5

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“He’s like a ridiculously clingy family member, you know?” 93b9d5f4a34b50fc

“Well, I can see that.”a37de1f88c021c4b

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Eunkyo slipped out of 9341fcf38e the noisy, crampedizakayaand answered the phone.903fe0d196c9087f

“Hey, what’s up?”98b8c8a81b8549bd

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-What’s up? You’re not done yet?8d8baea348a3d903

Checking the time, b0f239c69f she saw it 1f9df2436c was 9 p.m. Remembering the b37889f41a basement cleaning, af7cd56b01 she stamped 7e651f4df9 her foot, f0cb83d0ac exclaiming, “Oh 0cb283cee8 shoot!”f7b64f54d0ffe924

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“I’m going now. I was having a beer.”f02ceefd6db1531b

-With who?a8e2e2c2a263c04c

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“With sunbae, and the recording studio staff.”4717f00ab1ef49ef

-I’ll pick you up.72ab8443710029a2

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“Now? No, it’s okay. I can go alone.”e2d3084418247c67

-I’m near the recording studio anyway. Don’t waste time, just tell me where you are.7176f6c63ccd73bc

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What’s he saying, e5185e1ede pretending to be 448efe68c4 concerned.7f3ab933ca81e63c

Scoffing in 50c85b6b35 disbelief, she 99365d9ab0 told him fff8e56309 the name 04aa50e00f of theizakaya. Kim Haeda said he’d arrive in three minutes and then hung up abruptly without saying another word.34979d1f9e019344

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The streetlights flickered on 0f045c7709 in the darkened alleyway, fc1d031e04 and the number of 05029ef7e7 people passing by increased. People filled the d3f5f9f267 brightly lit shops, e7b775bb06 and the sounds 3def841a60 of loud music f8a100a065 and murmuring conversations 83bded2eff filled the night f67318a76c streets.1cc5bf810dd92329

Eunkyo, who 7a00f2bea7 had been 2cc17ac9f6 standing blankly, 73adede3d4 suddenly felt 864f08787f a sense c1b92df230 of urgency. Although she felt a32646c481 bad about leaving 44c68ed2d9 the remaining food ce1935e522 and beer, she 33d0a46489 couldn’t bring Kim b75f3804d4 Haeda, a mood d69d2943d0 killer, into theizakaya.83bb95a61beccb27

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Kim Haeda would probably ruin the atmosphere by saying things like, “Why are you doing something that doesn’t even pay?” or “Talk about working for exposure,” the moment he saw Sunggeun. 9e69dd16265d08a7

Her mind made fc1f516bcc up, she went 0c91a29eac back into theizakayaand said,831c3e963ae93099

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“Sunbae, Haeda’s coming 66862f16d2 to pick me 6d8a82ae8b up. I’m going 0d0ecd553c to head 2510b72e64 out.”fd507a9da6c9d6b7

“Suddenly?”46f05ff018fcafbb

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Sunggeun stood 31e88bf57c up with fdebb1aa3c a disappointed 15dda8b5bc expression.66f3c6fb047d7fe0

“We have something 5a8c7ca4d2 to do together e2000890f6 today. He says f7c550f3d6 he’s in 7063c72ed3 front of df272cb519 the recording f11c1410b4 studio now. I think he’ll 391ce030a1 be here any 33c6e4d24f minute.”f199e1e75d390a7c

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“Then have a e7fb540d1e drink with us f403ff9113 before you go. Thanks to you, 164d549d6e the recording finished 9304e11843 without a hitch.”24c4f3236e5436f6

“Kim Haeda doesn’t drink. Instead, buy me some beef when the recording we did today is released. Everyone seems to be having a good time, so I’ll quietly slip out.”127ad4443e8a3758

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Eunkyo said goodbye to 6775d1802d the dejected Sunggeun, picked 583e7952f8 up her bag, and 6d54adf89d left theizakaya. As she 794225ed01 crossed the 57f30333ca alley, avoiding 8ac0617933 the acrid 37fd880398 cigarette smoke, c331ecef12 someone suddenly 894925d222 grabbed her 420f83efa8 arm.1cf0f4b0f4bbc708

It was Kim 482eb967bf Haeda, his face 55f7497cb2 creased in displeasure.0d4d6e8011f7ddf4

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“This is c28a7a9b89 where you 625246d787 were drinking?”9f941e3a99b20863

“Huh? When did you 7810419960 get here?”c8429936110e90a5

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“As soon as 81f2778d01 I hung up 271429c0f4 the phone.”faff0c704e5b96bc

Kim Haeda shoved 22817b80e9 his phone into a6a07f4b3e his back pocket f2f2de3b02 and glanced over 8e5388c285 the interior of 93e4968ea3 theizakayathrough the f0a74b4fae glass pane fc1d4c6a88 with an 97856e4937 irritated look. A smell of b58285b669 soap and cleanly 60e814f35f contained cigarette smoke 340a86cfc5 emanated from him. Eunkyo stood on tiptoe, e2ac1b2224 sniffing, and furrowed her a25ab6dcb7 brow.521ec054b940fdcc

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“You weren’t 99f1f081ec supposed to a633e27b99 quit smoking?”b308650745e74fa3

“Ah. You have a 6439241ab3 dog’s nose, Jung 210d3d093e Eunkyo.”5b6790d888eb29bc

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“You know I hate 98a1ce557f the smell of cigarettes.”f4e6ac719f7dc695

“I know. Just let 3b59ab5ed2 it slide 407ec32c67 today.” e15b772e517476bb

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Kim Haeda chuckled and 3c8b67272e ruffled Eunkyo’s hair.9d55b7d3e90ec868

“Hey, stop it! Ugh, that’s seriously gross!” c39987871cb3a7f3

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As she recoiled and 3eb13c4bec swatted his hand away, 51ee91aecb he chuckled and turned 17244f8f68 his gaze back to 98e7c6a65e theizakaya. Once again, Kim f2412a004f Haeda’s eyes narrowed 8d3b2d171e in a strange 7ed0549d79 way. It was 3b5e98e011 the expression 5a98a9a3aa he made 1943a17715 when he 46a9629a78 suspected something.a05f133b622f2f11

Eunkyo nudged b49b7dc59f his arm.5790b1cbccdfd599

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“What? Do you see 15754e67ca someone you know?”c5bc8fa33f34196c

“Ah… no. Not really.”e8fece88e3b104e3

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“Then let’s go. I’m so full, can’t 30e4651e34 we walk?”bd1d2cbec1f6faf8

“No.”4982feae537f231a

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Eunkyo pouted and got f58ae703f5 into Kim Haeda’s car dd5d9f1a24 parked in the alley. As she 12cd9e251f closed the 3ca68e27de passenger door 16774fd765 and fastened 20da426cd7 her seatbelt, e21ba08f0f the entrance c24315c95c of theizakayawas reflected in the e9d4f557ab side mirror.e59dfb80bfa96e18

Eunkyo saw 3d80839f62 the man 4458db0bb0 through the 3bf2c67fd5 mirror again.28e28d22250f7f65

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The door fed1bd519b opened, and 13530aa5c9 Lee Jaeheon 9bd77e3e7d walked out. He looked left and 75b6804feb right with his hands bf8158acd6 in his pockets, then de14018664 stared straight ahead. Someone who followed him a53a852694 out offered him a fffb393e3b cigarette with a bright fd235b0b8d smile, but as expected, b924f55738 he politely declined with 8d7914f0f1 a gentle wave and c77d489c85 went back inside.4a2d8999b70e2544

It’s a little… strange.d33313078313194d

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Feeling a laugh bubbling up inside her, she scratched her lip with the tip of her finger, which was propping up her chin. To Kim Haeda’s nagging for her not to laugh pointlessly, she responded with her middle finger.15cf21bc670c92d3

* * *9cc8a399d274c729

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“Why are 80e43ba331 the lights a15ed0d0c4 out here?”af69caf82b3fa466

Eunkyo, changed into comfortable e554742024 clothes and with a 4a4b1fd61a cap pulled low, stood 1a28a7ebae in front of the 0c09d4705f dark basement. Kim Haeda, 1bdeeb10f1 standing next 64ed85136b to her, cf90178fb8 took out b9c823ecec his phone d2f120fab0 and turned 4a54620044 on the db9af95b29 camera flashlight.9b699ba085615208

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“I’ll go to the dd2dfd7a5d electrical panel. Wait here.”bcaa2476fc7ab24b

“Can I go 8f4b885931 in first?”fa7f0a54dca04968

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“Are you afraid of 83e91d1768 ghosts?” c79f302d7636708d

“No. Just hurry up da52257e63 and check the dc33ba3029 electrical panel already.”767c138ef44cf671

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“Wait.”ba97c5e414d3b464

Kim Haeda’s cursing faded away as he quickly strode up the stairs leading to the basement. Steeling herself, she also turned on her phone’s flashlight and opened the glass door right next to the roasting room.3db3b81acd7da185

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Beyond the smoothly 6bcd647e5f opened door, a c8b7a13fb1 fairly large window 93208b0600 came into view, 49cc47d4fc with streetlight spilling 11b681aa96 in.66c38bcb23b17f5e

Since the 61e85a454b building was 09c1463dc2 built on 031182bba7 a slope, a2b5f1d63b the window, 4f56cd1549 tilted at 8d9248704c an angle, 31e4acde31 reflected the 6c061e6a9f windows of 8c2e72c6c9 another building.f84bd78031d5e31f

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Eunkyo, her eyes now c5d821b63f accustomed to the darkness, b5475f45aa sighed as she spotted bf695e2138 furniture and mattresses piled a9c9ae3c20 up in the corner, fda18ef488 along with a clutter 970918ee31 of miscellaneous items.b6e463d575b963cb

She wasn’t Indiana df4f20d2ef Jones; what was c0e6627960 she even doing? With a reluctant expression, 74d1fd39a1 she stood in front 66ba46001a of the piled-up belongings. While the 71c8a26e73 furniture might 7a94c8166a have been a592e1bb62 usable in 0983459edd the past, ccbb4dc099 now it 56ba31af31 was just a34dd00c7a junk.fc076bf2f47d2b07

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A suitcase that bb84419fcb looked like an ae62b2c985 immigration bag contained 0b4cf00ce7 Dohyun’s clothes, and 1f827d6287 inside a wheeled 34993365e2 drawer, she found e3b0b6b8c2 a few intact c3201141bf spiral notebooks.c11938ced249510c

But Eunkyo d4840ea326 closed the 6c4b6e4319 drawer without ded2b16604 a second 3ebdd7b8e3 glance and 0d4a6dee3e squatted down 4b4f3e445f to pull cec4fc8776 out a 51d8bc51cf box from af67e0acac under a 278dbe48db large printer.6f253d755a921b7f

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One of the reasons she didn’t want to come into the storage room was because of this box. This box was filled with lingering attachments she couldn’t bring herself to discard.fcce2db7c4e3fe48

Because they were photos 416eccc1d6 taken together, because it 51a03e3f60 was a travel journal f6623d1fcd meaningful to her as b3e0ad841d well, aside from the e627557754 fact that it was b29954fbf8 with Lee Dohyun, because ff0feeabd4 it was expensive, because… 3653a29a25 just in case he 2f0f15ae9c ever came back… she b8ec0f9bee could return it to 1ac38bf1a9 him.ab027f92a209ebec

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Kim Haeda dc815e65ab had said c000f56c71 it would 93e93b0fda be easy 7476d3efd3 to just 324d28cfa1 classify them 385df7ba72 as trash eae1e86a15 and dispose 7506ff3f75 of them, 41ea96c189 but even becb8e9638 now, she c5ea4a8d22 hesitated.aa940ad2d8d73858

As she opened the box and looked inside, heavy footsteps approached from behind her. Kim Haeda seemed to have returned. The fact that it was still dark meant he hadn’t found the reason the electricity went out.c2acda01b0813de1

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Picking up a ring 06d620030d case from inside the f306cd42be box, she turned around, a5a8655714 forcing a casual expression.281a50d8c08901d1

“I’ll tear the photos 025e7dd768 we took together in 243a0e1dc4 half… Eek!”7dffc4543c1f16d8

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Suddenly, everything 9e01b371ab went black c4673d76d6 before her b77320e232 eyes, and 689cbb5c63 the back 392475db2c of her 82cffc1fdd neck was ee8cfd977b seized by 8e7f50caf9 a strong dcf5f1de0d force. Someone slammed 021e394122 her body b714ce0b33 roughly against 4527b6e4d9 the wall, d9956ea790 their arm aad48f6376 pressing against 5a8a49b6e9 her throat, 2e6ba82e7d and snarled bda7da8eb5 fiercely,88c75adc6b05e52c

“What the fuck is 9868872412 this… What’s there to c0208c2f20 see in someone else’s 4a291df885 studio that you’d sneak d39bae7be7 in and rummage through cd53504049 their things…”50229c6c44d7d42a

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The fluorescent lights 35cea86670 flickered on with 492c93581a apop.bad4ef22ef096dd3

Eunkyo, her 0819dac9e4 hands raised 84f083faff in surrender, 22dff1c779 felt her b07b0f1f09 heart plummet fa3707f894 like a 62194ca09a basketball, then 7693e2e358 bounced back f516f69be7 up. And then, it began 200645fccb to freeze over.6830f55b642a527c

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The man’s face, e0a7472779 who had subdued 6ac3ff5be1 her by pressing 2019178cb1 his arm against 8ad40c812c her neck, showed 3380747568 surprise that quickly a359fbefd1 changed into bewilderment.2c337241fe1bb71c

The strong scent of da974b2462 fabric softener that had 65e7d5fa5e bothered her all day.b06477d8bdb4f1a1

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The dark 01be037317 eyes that 83c52c71ed had subtly 1ed2aceaf5 brushed past 38963dffb8 her through 30b773388d the small, 3bf38de0b1 glittering mirror e9040aecd7 surface were 3650e1bd9e right in afdf3cdf0d front of 1dfba918a1 her.ba183d107fde6065

And those eyes were muttering, “Shit….”3eca391d499aac78

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