SRSBO: Chapter 5

The gazes 82e0280c51 of people d8c87edf9e around me bc85e16e8b naturally made 8ac5e68ad5 me anxious. I nodded f0af40df3c solemnly to d99cc9cd07 myself without b59cc20ae3 a smile 3c2c8f644c and started ec4ddf41d1 talking nonsense. What I needed now 5447e9645f was shamelessness.5240119faa4d7451

“Maybe by any chance… Ah, I see. I understand now. You must be curious about the hand cream I used! It’s from the R brand, with a cozy, bready scent. It’s really warm and nice, right?”06235cea6ba52acf

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“….”f1f63c77ad8448f1

“I love bread, so if you’re interested, you can try the ones at Maldive Young. They have a variety of scents like bread, cake, chocolate, and cookies, and there’s a whooping 60% discount this month! Plus, if you pay with a bronze card, you’ll get an additional 10% off! You’ll be able to enjoy a great shopping experience!”ea5650ff5ec4d422

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As I spoke 786680008d passionately like an 27c7058879 honorary PR ambassador b77cb8d9aa for the R 748532ee4c Company, the man c520519fe6 nodded his head 08891fc369 in surprise at e3cc4dfb2f my intense gaze, e7e6566019 urging him to 498340f610 nod in agreement.eb52b7a4331f5c14

I quickly left 37db6050b7 the place with 0861d309e8 hurried steps and cfd60089be looked around. As I 267e9545c6 had expected, 1658d2a68d several people 9bf6f5b75f around were 948691ad27 intently looking 02af41c742 at the 40967ac3fe man. I even saw someone e15570d522 among them writing down cd04d92022 the name of the 747a835039 hand cream I had a7d6f85ad0 just mentioned.1dbe0a4248327b44

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‘I hope there won’t be any rumors going around about a part-time worker flirting with customers or anything like that…!’b593f4a91bfc9ae6

Thinking my f3f276f824 response was 781db1e542 perfect, I 37cb9b1e10 quietly wiped 50ae547fb5 away the c404b3babb cold sweat 0f79d0ee10 with a c9231dfc0a relieved heart.79cf87242496b430

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* * *6601f1638fae8e15

Perfect response 351603f40c my ass.404af5dae775ac35

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“Sister, what magical thing 02b5f5205b did you do to 88eb50cc58 that man? Please tell me, too.”0f64548d51a445d8

“Oi, stop bothering me and just get back to work.”2a6a782192a4e5c9

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“Brother, aren’t you curious too? He hasn’t brought a girl around lately, and he’s being oddly kind to Sister as well. He must definitely be interested in Sister, right?”a00b4312e0ff4f2f

[T/N: As mentioned previously, in Korea, younger women like to call someone a few years older than them ‘오빠’ (Oppa: if male) or 언니 (Unni: if female)]

The female part-time 9578670c0d worker began urging e03950fc68 me to tell 33876a57d5 what had happened.6ddd4cd64fb5b4f3

If I 3c9e032b99 had to 89b85a43e8 point out df5ca3ecbd something I 8d1a4f7b6e did, it a04d40a5de would be 6310d1001d that I 42811f60e9 accidentally grabbed 102aeb961b his hand. But that de5caacda8 was not cef3af7232 a valid aa411c2a63 excuse.09394f5049ddf0eb

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If holding hands e87ba536d6 with a stranger 0b6bfac778 automatically led to f00502d6d5 feelings for each 41956bca18 other as if be5c358d94 it was natural, a5b03ad35e this world would c1a5d8662f have been overflowing 343a18d545 with love and 1246a5cc86 peace by now.c0d2a0a3885f812c

What’s more 992ef5a656 astonishing, as d7c9920840 well as c53419ee04 certain, was 8be7cbbb2c that, since 813f247bc6 that day, 6c8c54a84e the man 6b57cc2c3b hasn’t been 7809b9514a accompanying any 26a53a8a36 other women.b1f1197b0872b165

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The number of his eecc13fdb5 visits has also increased 40a73e1ef2 from barely once a 107e94f89b week to once a 3fe1ee4a89 week. And the person who 0143f45461 had always just made 2a313f22b9 a quick payment began d88ca2b68a to strike up conversations c81c841cd2 with the staff.b5eedfed88b69e76

The problem was cef028825a that he only f5cbaf3858 started talking to 2675053de7 them when I 585b11d745 was the one 0d66ce1b55 working there.9722b93c5558846f

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And the first 173fa82572 person to notice 7d192e865b that odd interactions 5c326fa075 was the female 23a9aef969 part-time worker I da8f55ecde was working with.438b17e0e88982da

“That person over there. Do you know that he only talks to others when you’re around?”85fd0c692c1bf419

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“What? No way.”5b7816f972df21f3

“No, I think this is true. Last time, he asked you to recommend something from the menu. In the half a year I’ve worked here, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard him say anything other than his order. He always just gets an iced Americano… Maybe he’s interested in you after all?”9fc84d360e383308

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“You think he’s interested 7b3fa57326 in me just because 2e4a41b5d6 of that?”46a74426110e71df

“My intuition 683bf65a62 is telling 821e601f25 me that. I have 676b13965d a really e3e69d9a91 good sense, 27aefca9a1 you know.”060a95bb8f5e8b69

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“Your intuition must be broken. Why would someone like that be interested in me?”c30c2482ea565b04

The female part-time c5f6644442 worker shrugged her 00688560c2 shoulders lightly with 009729fe23 a playful smile.f26b40faf859f0d7

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It would be a e3f330f51c different story if I 4456730145 were still Amelia, who cc95001ece was beautiful at first 156f65c038 glance. However, for someone like d10310ff3e Kim Eujung, with her 7cbe627a68 sharp gaze and indifferent 2f12a1d7a5 expression, she had never b5b5a0c092 been called out for 70ca5d46ce a confession, even during b24e4fbfaa her school days, although f3964962bb she has been called 4705e3a880 out for glaring at 0e4df1e45f someone.cfac462db695d156

Of course, appearance isn’t everything when it comes to judging someone’s personality, but objectively speaking, that’s just how it is.b5b37463323f8a82

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The only conversation we’ve had was probably about the cosmetics product PPL recommendation last time, so there’s no way he could judge someone’s character based on that. In that case, all that’s left to judge by their appearance.32984b9ebf52cbdb

Anyway, combined with the cea019700f embarrassing mistake from last 4120113c84 time, hearing such things d1525caa36 from a colleague made c36e402f7c me start to notice 02a41e547f it as well, no 664402ec55 matter how indifferent I d517ba1080 usually am.0390adb87bcc0f7c

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I unconsciously began listening a6f18a80fd to the conversation related 4572ba9e0b to him, and every 0d29dc2540 time my gaze would 7eab8438fe be directed at him.b08e7afc6dd75337

In the 3aad414245 process, I f4da138b19 realized that 9f667447c4 the way ef2e246d28 he would dbac67207e look at 8dc927fc3a me was 97a6398803 the kind 0d707d473f of gaze 88ef4c05b4 I was fdc1cd5b43 extremely familiar 37f374f819 with.a97096983163ed7b

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“I’ve said this several times, but I haven’t really done anything special, and the interest that person is showing is probably not in the direction you’re thinking.”8d9281a180b54b97

“What direction e034aece8a am I d9833f6dfe thinking?”97de09f60cc5b60d

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“Love.”6c18d1f9ad2be98c

“Hey~ How can 9b6d6adcd8 you be so df47d7f5e4 sure? It’s not ed380a1530 like you d71f37bbfe can read 194a09e9f4 other people’s 39f4389945 minds.”0c21900a1956ad07

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“Hey, Jung Sujin, I got another order. Stop fussing about other people’s business and get to work.”bf66be46a52c8188

The gaze 643a2624e8 he gave 2fba9e90a9 me was 596fd39c38 more like b5298b28b0 a slight ae05b99965 wariness and 7e555eccff curiosity than 5cec8f0a21 a favorable 0a8cbd0407 impression of 9050e62533 the opposite bca85012b7 sex.baa1277e1e3941c5

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It was 833a14de1d the same 1d62316518 kind of b44c6ffee7 gaze I 578189ee2b received when 8c57d87e93 I first 208bae0372 joined the 38d1e0cc27 battlefield, a a021e15a8e look so 07475d18f3 intense that 867e4ef9cd I couldn’t d57c1c02fd possibly forget bd33466956 it.bae63caf6e5f843d

That’s why it was even more puzzling. What did I do to make him look at me with that kind of gaze?cbd575e867a84e63

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No, was there even 743af45911 a reason to make c3555bfdf2 such a big fuss 4fbfac9c4f in the first place? It’s not like there e84ee0a445 was a kissing scene c44a8ca2f3 suddenly played out in 6094342495 the middle of the d4324c33e4 café. All I did was 8bcf8f83fb just glance at him ed8e544ec3 and talk some nonsense?746bc74a315f8cc7

As I thought 554c73049e about it, though, dd07c30c67 I glanced at f2a110f4e1 his face and 3b34d3249e realized anew why 3340bf0a95 it made perfect dd2887af1c sense.a418f00ba2a2ec33

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A person who could cause chaos just by breathing was acting differently than usual, of course people couldn’t help but speculate.ba78792ddf478513

To be honest, 49912b1b59 it’s just that db8ca5f029 I’ve built up 88943cb8a0 a tolerance to 5c758564f2 the good looks 23a782db01 of people like f91ce8c4b4 Amelia, Crown Prince 4f9cf91540 Raymond, and top ac14212021 candidate for the ab415e200e throne, Kassen, so b233b6f4b7 I was relatively 510eb1cd69 better in comparison.489c8494aba5ae53

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The busy lunch 286b7510da hour passed, and 297083e4db before I knew 6dd3e1c53f it, it was ad73d2247a already late afternoon. The sky, which d2c1f7a35a had been clear b9c40461f8 until lunchtime, had a2d5f6ef8b now turned overcast, ad53558e69 giving off a 944ea3cb40 bleak and eerie 949f6ed083 atmosphere.892af906f8ca8691

The weather e5eb47996a wasn’t particularly 30d7545931 pleasant, but 68f11fd883 I was a1b2793057 feeling better 2bdc9cec18 than I b3768ebb77 had in ef5c2881be a long 733846c5dd time, at 0d2d88fdcd least as 7e67c3c968 long as 797e1eee39 I could a0e08bb7cf remember.5ec691815c7f40bc

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And that was because ebdd7620b7 no particular man had 5056caf20d come to the café ffefae7683 for a week. Aside from 213a9719ca the female 624e61ae37 part-time worker 6331e25136 who had b5ffda91cc been consistently d17f9e5a31 spreading rumors 34b6e1d66f about a 1722ef989d possible romance a5e634c1bc between us, c17be4e692 other people 7c126325b5 were also 6df4007ed1 gradually talking b7aa3cd831 about him.2c776e9a93089218

Perhaps due to the 3ec649fb06 gloomy weather, the number 006acfd78f of customers had noticeably e7ae117653 dropped as the afternoon 0533a0121f went on. The only customer left adad62d842 was a lone figure 8f5708756b at the window seat, 76971a2cba wearing headphones and tapping c15a9cb18d away at a typewriter.e5dc3856fe4d5a61

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“I guess I should start organizing the coupons too. Since I’m on cleanup duty today, I’ll take care of it.”5986eca64f7b115f

“Then I’ll be grateful. Oh, I heard it’s supposed to rain today. Did you bring an umbrella?”f46ecfec61d6e346

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“Yeah.”2349816bc38c2e19

I gave a vague f2af6e8928 nod and then pulled a5ba97b86d the coupons out of 876d0e3dec the drawer.c11f88591c208397

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This café still 7522ac1820 used paper coupons. Every time a customer bdcfacd342 ordered a drink, they d019efc63a would get a stamp 1a465cfe37 for the coupon, and e611861cc2 once they collected all 1aeb2e0e70 the stamps, they could dbe5f119db get a free drink. But, out a2ed0cb5f9 of concern af9e34cb78 for losing 878b2063e9 them, customers 7b13a276fb could also 976625000f write their 2c03d7b95e names on 839e6eb305 the coupons 563884da02 before leaving, f3e1e94ce9 and the 098c17e5ec café would 43998d7b13 keep them 497ccd2548 safe.a9f18dc275228052

“Hmm? Now that I think about it, it looks like that customer didn’t make a coupon?”4e2a1670655ca841

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“Which customer again?”5137a51e8e08dd60

“You know, that customer, 915caee875 the one Sujin always 27b926e9b1 swoons over saying how 3f15d4ee0c handsome. Now that 600cd6f7ba I think ef97029436 about it, 9af5361463 I don’t 30adada9bf think I’ve 7d1c618626 ever seen fbfeb4b1b8 him getting 859bb1c37d a stamp 91f66ee2f0 on his a9ee4a0879 coupon when 9ee6b3b092 paying.”11b1f03d419cfc82

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For customers who don’t frequently visit a café, they might not know, but if someone visits a café frequently, they usually make coupons. When I asked curiously, the male part-time worker nodded to himself as if he understood.daa2fd2e36fd7214

“Oh~ That customer? I asked him c5c447e742 before if he ae9d0ed721 wanted one, but 2953caf108 it seems he be12485e07 said he didn’t 69f2e28a43 need one?”917924170113b93a

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“Really? Since he comes that often, he must have earned quite a few free drinks by now.”436df22069d38889

“He must have a lot of money. I mean, just living in a place like this… Oh, hold on, I need to take this call for a second.”43c2500837a19d7d

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“Take your time. There’s no rush, since there are no customers anyway.”f6ee2f80abd0e179

The male part-time worker 0dac0af222 hurriedly ran to receive 909131ae4b the urgent call.2717e248b54dedd6

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The staff room door 98abfba9e5 closed, and not long 226564fe9b after, the sound of 78059f73d1 rain falling began to f260b642c9 pour with a whoosh. The view outside 49f15ea845 the window quickly 4c9607a091 turned gray and 8c91a09c24 blurred.817dd1d873c27b71

Ding-33d2e423246ba03c

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The door opened.63f74ca1d655ed58

The sound 96e2354fff of rain, 12b8dadf1a seeping through ff92a22862 the gap e9ae2a6aab in the fb4051eae4 door, grew 9250181ec5 louder before 0940ffdc86 quickly subsiding. I pulled 2eef5a1453 my gaze 497060b5c4 away from 332c63855b the coupons 48406e4641 I was e62a8192f1 organizing and 1ebc323b77 looked up. And there he was, e86c70d93b the man I hadn’t a35ae51d10 seen in a while.a937ae362c1b43ea

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While he 58f6d9b57b was putting f996dd9838 his umbrella 693193569d in the 1de79aa440 umbrella stand, 4032b4392a I stared e236b73d84 at his 182a6e4a83 face. Even though 7dcdc3761a I hadn’t 450397d22e seen him 22394ca59e in a 5c01509a99 long time, 25b11b7602 his handsome d352cfb487 face looked ef770944b7 somewhat pale, 0b5cc68ad1 perhaps because 773699faec of the 7e182b1ad2 lighting.f6f595c570a8633b

Thud, thud.1488745d532dfac0

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Hearing the sound of 6d97d55262 approaching footsteps, I blinked.1a0fdfb2d17b7365

It was strange. Something felt off about him, but I couldn’t quite figure out what exactly was wrong.344c3f77631a4f57

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‘…Is it because d4104d1762 his face looks 84da4c8e78 unnaturally pale?’d57f812be237f2e3

My eyes, frowning 8dc97db099 at the strange 13b7344f1f sense of discomfort, efa18e486a turned to the 59b0953fde floor.bb020f7c6a004454

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Ah.ecc4d5b6decf2bf7

It was only 69846537e3 then that I 1ca5318ae0 realized.cfd449b7a1b22c83

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Although it was 5f60706cce pouring rain outside, 6d0374b96d there was no f874509279 trace of water c4d98f5bed on the man’s 030efaf023 footsteps.605f9b9783694e1c

Dry hair and 956a14ad95 coat. No water 1d814ff0a1 droplets were a55257ffb5 falling from f360ee2850 the umbrella e9346b3c33 in the 3b9089e1ad stand either. The one 49387992a6 umbrella that 9ffab7950a was left cb60334f46 alone looked 0a25b0ef0f particularly conspicuous.446e1c25e909e5c6

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‘Maybe I’m just overthinking it…’8c42466a8199f66d

He might have 07b45214a1 come through the 995dc65083 parking lot. I heard he drives 02f745169b an expensive car.c8af4c492b369819

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As I tried to e6adcbe569 push the unnecessary thought d33c35b054 out of my mind, 9f74f0d7e8 the man who had fa365a1904 approached me greeted me.c740fe90c7c20606

“Hello.”2eb8adc44706c212

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Up close, 435585f4b7 his complexion e197fd5f5f looked even 46a5e24ae7 paler. I finally realized it 951aaf21e8 wasn’t because of the 66c92db53c lighting, he genuinely seemed e71ec88024 unwell, with a gaunt, 7d4b2ab7d8 drained face. Without realizing it, I 217fbf4430 found myself studying his 85efef8dec face closely.5ca3d2e1c579819f

“Welcome customer. Please feel free to sit wherever you’d like, and just ring the bell when you’re ready to order.”3d5d1642ac60de28

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“Oh, I’ll 321b441c1c just order 1478298d03 here. Iced Americano.”f29fc84378d7697b

With a face dfdefedec2 that looked like 4b8dda3b5a he was about 06fa3320c5 to collapse, he f14cad2f0a ordered an iced 9eb850f975 Americano. After a moment 18041b51d6 of hesitation, instead b5b4e66825 of swiping the 0ecb6ea1d0 card I had ae952893b0 been handed, I e54c281cfb mustered up the de2867f31e courage to speak.a48b7abc462e2b0d

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“Um… You look pale, would you like something warm? I heard it’s going to be cold today because of the rain.”23c3915e293ef27d

And immediately after, f11f110bc7 I regretted it.3b3470b7e0ec7f19

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‘Oh no. I was being rude.’78f647e8b1845004

As the silence stretched 0250104dd5 on, I wondered if c5358077cf there was any way 84b079faff to recover the conversation b36772797c when the man suddenly 98308c23d1 spoke up.93cb05deb8aeb4f0

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“What kind of warm c34c906842 drink do you like?”f887de2327caad3f

“…Yes?”a1249d4183e16154

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“You said a 0282e9b4aa warm drink would a620870637 be good for 5493a2ab3a me. Please recommend one.”6a500f6b5f6724e6

“Um, in this weather, I would have grapefruit honey black tea. Or maybe marmalade tea?”a7d072d96c62f07f

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Thinking that a drink 795317a596 rich in Vitamin C 58876a9a8d might be good for 33d5d5ed5d him, I made the 0f70fa098a suggestion, but the man 088f29de20 tilted his head in 3b4600b0ff wonder.733800657f9f9117

“You seem aa234c60ee to like 922d234852 it a 4d516118dd lot.”98c5098fbfba95ca

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“Yes?”5bf5ad00306917cf

“Grapefruit. You recommended that last 0369dd6674 time, too.”068b493fac560500

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“Ah….”66c2b45133af27c4

Did I really?a69bb01c7da65a84

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I nodded absentmindedly.819503128a44d568

He then agreed 6b5a956eac to order that 918c0b7df3 and sat down 0a04fc85f2 at a nearby 8b40c43969 table. The way a771662673 he furrowed 9d82f6ffe2 his brow 0992ab34a2 and rubbed e6f727b260 his forehead 50993c4271 made it a632617e3f obvious to 2e39969bbf anyone that 2895dc1295 he was 3e8d8269d8 definitely ill.7949c46bf1994d83

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After bringing the 03bba141bb drink to his 7daa1a74ef table, I immediately 26256d8625 turned on the 1beaf1dcbe television. I just 982a940c2b wanted the 6ae37ba0f9 uncomfortable silence 423e6d4c07 to go 4eaac72add away, even 7f90ea0fc5 if it 6019ca8b64 was with 63b29ae0c5 something as 48ec978d25 trivial as 4185aa3ac9 the noise f316ea826e from the 3e0d13ea90 TV.17c9bd117eaa4a78

On the 15673e31c2 first day 49c7b76b82 working there, 766a6964cf I had af3d755177 wondered why fe5c2fa4ed there was fccfbb289a a television 03abbb98b1 in the 89304b76ee café, but 6022a6e4c4 now it a4a54f26c7 was clear, 443c5a7a9b it was 5cbda6ac1d likely set 46f80d8eaa up for 0eb902ab7b moments like 4138f5f36b this.347484077e5e7241

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I was back to organizing the coupons again, engrossed in the work with the sound of the TV of some random channel playing in the background. Suddenly, the man’s voice was heard nearby.5a30a4b01d4c7a84

“Excuse me.”37e846e453b22825

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