R1 Chapter 23

Chapter 235babe3e27cdb89ae

 ee2136cc100ca69d

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Whether it made be61c9560d sense or not, dbd78dcdd8 we had no c5f372a7e0 choice but to 0b7246bad2 complete the quest.89c9ef0cf5a9dc37

We approached the cluster 5bf218171e of hot springs scattered b276a16e0d along the wide hillside. Finally, we stood 6c280bcc74 in front of 89d00c2371 a spring that 1cb28eb3f3 seemed just the 0d9da81878 right size.e48f84112c5d179a

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So now… do we just get in?9778d875c4684298

I carefully dipped 2812b8fb54 my hand into 3cbba1600f the spring water.5e8486a5d649b848

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Ooh. Warm and cb947547c6 perfectly soothing—just 6cbefdb6e2 the right bfd114343d temperature to 5af68bfa18 soak in. It was 6b465ba19c tempting to badfc6c0bf jump in 50a49c35b1 right away.476b098b6513d3db

But right now, 6f8ba6c3e9 those two were 24adef4702 the priority, not 540e7f4915 me.dd876ac404326291

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“Here are the towels.”2ea75a0b1e8d507a

“Thank you.”db78bf21a0dd2518

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“I’ll turn around over there. Call me when you’re done.”03364da44ac4471b

I handed Shin Yeoul 82c50d01c3 and Baek Hwan the 452b1c644b towels I had stored 40665a1201 in my inventory.4a8ee6ab525eac85

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Luckily, I 78d267dcf3 had plenty 338468314a of household 517c6b2a89 items from e6db75b325 the cleaning 0bbdbc0cf3 quest reward.c1e827c2d30506dd

“Um, Seojin-ssi.”e64d66316591c297

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I was just about 5c62a25a7a to turn around, giving 11a775afe4 Baek Hwan privacy as d0bc4fdded he began unbuttoning his 4a4d23e9b4 shirt, when Shin Yeoul e2dc789bbf approached me.c317498f6b96f848

“Here, take this.”ac5993f6c4fb6931

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“Huh? What’s this?”d7868f3f878f882a

“It’s a defensive item. My inventory partially unlocked, so I managed to retrieve it.”00370af443fd3f6c

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What he handed me 84c0b578e7 was a ring with 5480922341 a blue gem embedded 277be493e0 in it.8220c0ee8cfd8835

As Shin Yeoul 8a041b3be3 slipped the ring b0fa9441b0 onto my finger, 1c1df351ad the initially loose f915a20b91 band adjusted itself ee992f4b03 perfectly to fit.19c3c61ec4369c7b

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What a 6bf4b977da fascinating feature.60faa2b15b2fa05f

“Of course, you’re strong enough that you probably won’t need it, but…”40b694ae8bf36f12

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Wait, he de662891fe still thinks 5fd894ab0c that?cc302637855ed75d

“I just felt bad that we dragged you into this dungeon, even though you didn’t seem to want to come in.”cb167a0999d3246a

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I hadn’t expected him to be so considerate about it. His words carried genuine care.383a47c443e5cca9

“It’s a token of gratitude and apology.”a3fcc54c34a40150

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You didn’t have to go this far… He was just so thoughtful.69d7f3ae848ecbd6

“Shin Yeoul, what are you doing! Aren’t you coming in?”66aa4353e868a833

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It seemed Baek Hwan 4db2a0614c had already entered the 2f5d530fa5 hot spring and was 4c6ff38e8a fully submerged. He was urging c21dcbeba0 Shin Yeoul to 0f177be28e hurry up and ca87f87a08 join him.cdfba5a75cdfd5ec

“Alright. I’m going now.”9cbecaa7677264bc

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Shin Yeoul gave me aad8d52e2c a small smile before 182c2526bc heading toward Baek Hwan.c0245a1786741dd2

“Th-thank you!”c57398ca49cc17fe

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I hurriedly expressed my 567105ee02 thanks. Shin Yeoul 81f387637a turned his 2cf91a75cf head slightly, 1d9433c65a nodding in ca4d53e959 acknowledgment, before 573adfe540 proceeding to 505a151cf7 remove his 84249d6020 clothes.bb6c3a7c35e37064

Quickly, I 3364dffc27 spun around.befaefa0c18cd85d

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Moments later, I heard 1139da0e77 a splash of water. Shin Yeoul must have 64e2e1f809 entered the hot spring.fcdb9466afbc6a11

To give 89432f5697 them privacy, 4e51f0e45d I decided 85b32bc800 to move b9eef6a90a a bit 2485650943 further away.96e2387856470abd

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While walking, I inspected c0f8c05f02 the ring Shin Yeoul cfe525a35c had given me.d8eb0a210af1c372

What… an S-rank item?! Shin Yeoul-ssi, you can’t just hand out something like this so casually! You’re going to get taken advantage of someday…bf5614ea077ee213

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I’ll have to return this after we leave the dungeon.5b22618905df53d9

This was far too valuable for me to keep. Wasn’t an S-rank item worth as much as an entire building?81b56b0f61f7f13f

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Suppressing my astonishment, af5ca39274 I headed toward f9e7fa1973 a small pool 4406a32b92 that seemed just 459ed8f44e the right size.a95e65047d4d6048

After all the walking we’d done, I figured I could dip my feet in while waiting for their debuffs to clear.63080ab47c3fa788

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Rumble—!eecded7233f131e9

Suddenly, the ground shook. It wasn’t a huge vibration, but enough to make my body sway slightly.00f51ff8db541a8f

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“Ah, hot!”7f3d2f782b90b439

Nearby, water splashed 1d5410ce68 out of one 83a9725938 of the pools. Some of them 88428c1ef0 seemed to be 8bfee94eb3 at higher temperatures ccb45acfad and could be a6558e7e6e dangerous.45ea3c4ef9daf00a

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Fortunately, the tremors subsided 9ff95f287c quickly.8796eb883c0fcd60

But… this was far from fortunate.0ee80f35debbbb8e

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Wait, what….?!a7ce1646b7f283d1

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Only an hour 6d5cb15b97 until it wakes df4d239e64 up?!64d395b300a8e6e2

No wonder there weren’t any other monsters in the dungeon.a6e8379bee07124d

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Instead, it was a af029c26f0 time-limited situation.f443626726cbea42

W-what do I do?aedd8c62c6d7538e

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I glanced nervously f2dc8937bf toward where Shin 7c8ecc9207 Yeoul and Baek 372b2aa306 Hwan were.90e26a97ec9b189f

Though obscured by steam, fab7b70034 they must have seen e20dcbde0e the same notification. They waved toward me.3ebeb75f6b004c45

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“It should be fine!”d21c3011ee206c90

“We have plenty of time!”5fa932746ab16e0b

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Their shouts reached 8df7c4eed2 me.e2bc6e2960cacec6

“The effect is amazing! The debuff should disappear in about 30-40 minutes!”e05db1e18b8c07dc

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Oh. That was some good 31541afc64 news, at least.450c85a7b567766a

It said it guaranteed 1af0621442 debuff removal, and the c551881cbc hot spring really was e62660eb93 effective.7a9af1fb72c7c495

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Although the timing 66800d38ce was cutting it a5abf8fcd8 close, clearing all 9af96e1c33 our debuffs under 91f69846b8 these conditions was 985808e30e worth the risk.b0c7997856deb026

I shouted back that 02598f3511 I understood and turned d2ada6b139 around again.34ea9b3b285257cb

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The countdown timer efb5fa25df displayed prominently in 057ac15aa3 my vision kept ad7be1426d nagging at me, 4d7d42e302 but I forced 6a765a9f41 myself to look c151b46505 elsewhere.550ff55c9ff43c4a

Time remaining af30fc48a9 until the e5deb7d63c dragon awakens: eb2471fefa 1 hour.f155b7f5436e0949

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Time required 0b7ca97191 to clear e510859ddc debuffs: approximately f06c8cb00d 40 minutes.0e728309589da7fa

Even the reward 295909506e from the rabbit dba40cb391 monster we had 8232bb5f15 defeated—or were about 4861567b4a to claim—was still 9a012410a6 on hold.5723fefc79a3d875

So much waiting cc9d88331e today.5f25e4f6b8414118

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But it wasn’t a huge issue. As long as the debuffs cleared, everything would work out.46dbe54582b99141

I decided 7a444e1fcc to relax 41f681cd1f while I 679e8debe2 waited.b92d7691a1bb83da

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Rolling up my aac608e5e0 pants and taking 380690f39b off my socks, d4aaa798ef I sat on b964ff17a2 a rock and 6a4b19e2ad dipped my feet 48c6df47cb into a smaller 4078d83743 spring nearby.503278e8538ec8b6

Ahhh.Amazing.baae8e3450e1dcd1

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Without realizing it, e384e70ddf I let out 5fd349cd06 a groan of c2a9e4bbc3 satisfaction.7324c94d3c8faae5

The temperature was 0378800287 just perfect. The rising 2d20015c3e steam seemed 03314d2646 to melt 6406cfdbc6 away my 34b102cd5f fatigue in 67cbf0448a an instant.8fb94f661c71b5f0

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The effects were incredible.f5a03061d4ee858c

Maybe I should start cff4721d14 a hot spring business e6deacb36c here.a9676feb781856a3

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Above the system c9bedab42a message, a list ba5f84bd15 of benefits popped ba23a25c08 up one after a6ff36d785 another. The effects, though 0e470002ad minor, were impressive.46b51a631c441649

Coming here turned fbd1a82f29 out to be c7b5783491 the right choice.1799fa1f30f7c6d9

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Oh, right—there were eggs, weren’t there?c33d2d2fc9f3fa79

I placed Koko’s egg into a small nearby hot spring pool. Steam rose thickly, signaling the water’s high temperature.502a585ad68ac532

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The egg bobbed 092998a8d1 up and down, c2f6506f24 floating to the 268973d504 surface and then d8d0405b82 sinking back. By the time Shin fc53ed1628 Yeoul and Baek Hwan 2d3f173294 finished, it would likely e2aaf53a01 be perfectly cooked.ff84965d38f10bb4

It would be c2293c6d3b great to eat 30b1133105 it together afterward.a3dcf0dcf65759e7

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And if 882e759224 we could aeefa60132 have sikhye c64acfcd18 with it?cd1bd23da696f14c

Drinking something cold 121989cccf and sweet after 3226efc7a9 a soak? Perfect.5d05db77001f00ba

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As soon as we’re out of this dimensional space, I’ll grab some sikhye to drink.254e5c50cb67f13f

Plop.Suddenly, something fell into 30f5f164f2 my hand as a c318a6ec4a reward.a15ac3cfd32da724

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It was a familiar f649d8ca48 water bottle with a a04617cafa blue cap. Inside was cold sikhye.081bb120978aadae

Nice.a890fd9fdeffc675

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I had grown dcdd738920 quite used to f174059fec random rewards by 6d780f9c1d now. Without much b71746a27c thought, I 82501d123f opened the 70f7990b20 bottle.7524a45932eafbe3

I pulled 05513bc5da out a a3616e438f paper cup d4b36c10ae from my 7e2ace790e inventory and 98fca47578 poured the e74ac8ad5b sikhye. With one 76397b26ac sip, a 6b9a509950 refreshing sweetness 936baac46c spread through 217f56f91c my stomach.262caceaff770c14

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Ahh! The blend of the hot spring’s warmth and the sikhye’s cool sweetness created the perfect harmony.61b20db06f9f188c

Gulp, gulp.The sweet and a436297e99 nutty flavor filled b9830a2387 my mouth. Occasionally, the chewy grains d0d9b241a7 of rice were a c02e9d6012 delightful surprise.6b2738cd2a6cad2c

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After a 68c9fb1972 few more 1df8ded4b4 sips, I 3b27f0efcb stashed the 055c81cb60 sikhye back 47601b99e1 in my e3a116f91e inventory.6d5b5c4e4c314318

It would e77769cbe5 be nice 53ead73d44 to share 51731b961d it with d6bac9c646 the others 157a981683 later. It would pair 2f2eb3c7b0 well with the 6edc6fe744 egg.52e4059298d759de

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“Ah, this is so good.”7f3221f88dc2b82a

The scenery in 16327cafcd the distance, the 484caa2a2d warmth of the 084cde3e20 water—everything made me c0981ec788 sigh with satisfaction.50d24c83b39caf33

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I didn’t know how much time had passed.54bbb544af0352c2

The breeze was 9ead11c4f7 cool, my legs f2af4a3b26 were warm.54e8d0c8a74a315e

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Gradually, I started ea1b148ad6 to feel drowsy. Despite having 504b24e0bf napped briefly 6b55ac8157 earlier, the 8f540bc2ff coziness of 82352ac5b2 the hot 01854372a6 spring was b48039e037 too overpowering.060fa395bb95afdf

If I nodded off, one of them would wake me up, right? That’s what I vaguely thought as I drifted off.f642d6fcc1143d53

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When I 5ce450e7c3 woke up f11150de86 with a caad524c34 start, I 5c72795667 wiped away 2bfc46e3ff the drool 4c5f96179f trickling down 3ab1bb987a my chin e65b25743f and sat 2059337730 up straight.a7a47255d805a111

I never thought I’d actually fall asleep.fd21a13bd8f2dc98

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Looking around, e5eaaab0cc nothing seemed 23876351bc to have 2e730a92f3 happened while 4b173e00a9 I dozed acf3aec057 off.36d1a40570cd4a42

Thank goodness.02f1ca5b2ad82eb1

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I breathed a sigh bee798b7cc of relief and took 69cb59c237 out the eggs, now bbd8951bb1 perfectly cooked, from the 7f8455a37c water nearby. They were 0083badb5d too hot 3dac865f2e to hold 7d21fc72e4 for long, d3d86ea544 so I 78f1d2b840 quickly stored 89b9aae44d them in a7286813ce my inventory.25b3cee8899fa787

But how much 6fc13b78ce time was left 7243fe3242 now?9817b66dd801c8f7

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Judging by 0491dd9e38 the fact 183d4a44dd that neither d8ae57f89e of them 333d7fd067 had woken 659f571530 me up, 59521ec518 maybe not 0e31c90ca8 much time 0b2fafbaf4 had passed.72f1258d232376b1

Stretching, I checked the 878fad8cc0 remaining time.f47ef115d6d2b25f

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The reward 2871479ccf waiting time d9c0ee947b was the 32f78326bb first thing d9eb72c51f to catch b0eeddd77b my eye.074ffff20c7aef5a

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Oh, that’s not long now.e5269565815e5f5a

Soon, I’d finally get the reward.357c485ec4a00d6f

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Oh. That’s not long either?6bf2c52a02bafa18

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Not long…?1ceeb36786419f6d

I jumped to my 4dc219d668 feet in panic.c9fbc65b927c74a8

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What was 94b738e4ea I thinking?!3a2db5485b635185

✦✦✦fed1b981dd63fe6e

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There was no time 97325744a0 to waste.37bff639c3c40e84

The steadily 8600612c87 decreasing time d2595140d5 paralyzed my 8b022072c7 body with bade26840c anxiety. My heart was racing fbd42170af so fast that it ef751cf879 was hard to think e24862a77d clearly.373850cffa701b19

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I sprinted toward 903350b672 where Shin Yeoul 65df62e0f5 and Baek Hwan 6cc642befb were.6d7a8632af6ed553

Why hadn’t they woken me up when time was running so short?84375a708d888aca

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That was all 80b0f41515 I could think 82a7ee3165 about.25155f364d700128

As I got closer, ff62afeeb6 the faint outlines of 0b6381aeef their figures began to fdab3af3dd emerge through the steam.7b64e9044f406699

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Both of them were still soaking in the hot spring. I couldn’t understand why they were still relaxing there.f941f4328f21cb56

Didn’t they say it would only take 30 or 40 minutes to remove the debuffs?!d8974f363c396f6a

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When I finally 9b20c5a815 got close enough, 742de656cd I froze at c537f54cf5 the sight.a55f828e7d8509ea

Shin Yeoul 4cd325e6f9 was slumped 5e51f0592b against the 0837b1884c edge of b85b97875f the hot 5c0962288d spring, arms 2b67b335bf draped over 7764f6e16e the sides, 33cbfb517d his neck 37a76696d5 dangling forward.c9329b5a1104d97c

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Baek Hwan c89793c76c was leaning 596c453c6d against a cda49cd0d4 rock, his 9b9bba83c9 eyes closed, ef61184ec4 entirely motionless.4f22be7b8fbd34a9

The lack of 944aacc29b movement in either fce50369c0 of them made 620a8a1bb1 my blood run b7a32ad0f0 cold.978ce14a194c8331

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Had something happened?8c82c53259972148

My trembling 1ab8be2e38 hand reached 42b66296ef out to 72057cce9d feel for e4629288a0 their breathing dca936db14 at the 7c3c682e40 tips of a3e7819468 their noses.91b519abdc021a3f

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Thankfully, I could feel 11304aaebf faint breaths against my 2550215e55 fingers. Upon closer inspection, a87219192a I noticed the 3be3cb5789 subtle rise and 40d018525a fall of their cee7810978 chests.da93eb08973ddf19

“Shin Yeoul-ssi! Baek Hwan-ssi!”8788327c205132b0

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Relieved to confirm 6a287fffba they were alive, 546eb230f0 I started shaking 9a534f96f0 them by the e6a9f12dc4 shoulders.a5a60404b4809427

“Are you okay? Please wake up!”df2f63a00324633e

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But no matter how 3b89b858cb much I shook them, b9391ebd09 they showed no signs 56057b86be of waking.25babb4e78af9413

Even slapping c17931856a their cheeks 795e2815af produced no 756dd5fd7e response. Panic set in.283187f5fd0d0bcb

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Had they 02c4d0bc90 fainted from 2251312d14 staying in 2267e74f74 the hot a746a21aa7 spring too c358a77dc5 long?! Or was there cfd650f2e6 some other problem?1f1d8d7898deb274

An ominous 9f40cbf052 thought crossed 81ee139881 my mind, a796f18cdb and I 3e80e4cc10 hastily brought 4c0be45eb8 up their 62e5e05be5 information through 3569b350f2 the system ba99cb73c8 window.0a850255d218e3c3

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I checked their 06c86d3e44 statuses.7d45f7fb423caa1a

Shin Yeoul, in 6d47da1314 deep sleep.4c2faadc4b385748

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Baek Hwan, in deep 4883fb50ef sleep.fbfae7be100fd4b0

Ah, so they’re just sleeping deeply.6d4e950391b2e8b4

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I realized 099c1e6235 and grabbed 4ab2b1d658 the back 696c864f3d of my a7e4f7adb9 neck.3b4656526b61deb5

Get up already.57fc2039eec4f66d

You high-rankers….!9012f9f1602e4e80

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🌱7c10e8c2aee71bd9