SU | Chapter 1.6

Squeak—The door to the c3db1ba1e5 second floor staircase quietly 85b05c9fd1 opened. The sound of rusted a7c430e2ba hinges rubbing together echoed 94875aa18b loudly through the silent ca47e0df53 building. Yoo Han 1e831a1fb7 bit his 24d458119c lower lip a59df11e15 hard as 44e7b84dc2 he stealthily 62e33ebae1 stepped into 9537dde15c the corridor. The building at 543f5f3687 midnight, completely dark, ebbaad6922 felt eerily like 16ffc32f74 ghosts could pop 896df7851d out at any a2c6bbdb14 moment, but Yoo 89d5722b71 Han had no 4bd88e1db0 time to tremble 32cecd2f3c in some formless 6233f0a1f6 fear.7898a6967121d9e0

Using the f38e5ef2ba glimmering green 3f94a8fd44 emergency exit 83767a34f6 sign above 1d79b5936e the stairway 623b3fd4e1 door as 67d39ff70b his light, 9b398a0b50 Yoo Han d01387132f took careful 56215c3e4f steps forward. Having spent all 62eb3dd839 day cramped in 4a66ecf491 a corner of c2630fe5be a café to 0ed2ef3d44 avoid Ji Youngwon’s 8b18bf50d2 notice, his back 1f243a1984 was aching. He winced and carefully 0b66454f74 grasped the round doorknob. Creak… creak-creak… He turned 5b0ecc9439 the handle and pulled d95a4589b2 it forward. Thud!81e7a04769c21e81

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“Ugh.”c1f1c6cf0b07dbc0

A sigh of ea6bf46974 tension escaped him. The door didn’t open 53ca927956 properly after pulling it bb88c6006c ambiguously. He turned the d9bdcdb193 round handle again. Creak-creak… Thud! The noisy disturbance echoed 29959f138e down the corridor once b2e8b3c4b3 more.f89f0275233ae5ca

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“No way.”e6dd4f0af0082332

It was 5507a7c346 a disaster. The door wouldn’t open. Cold sweat trickled down b99e26aaac the back of Yoo a6bd797b8c Han’s neck. Come to f62b69344f think of d0b3a10e2d it, Gu 5e7aa12665 Kangsan, the 8b945b947e manager, only 048a363baa mentioned he 260b6511bd could secretly d83c7ad741 stay in 78ac63d8b1 the office 2347d1cd0e on the f5d8ea1425 second floor; 9f8dfaa6f8 he never 6e2bace99d said he’d 4af7a3b897 leave the 15b92b2bd8 door open.7f3e506fa7387c53

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“Shit… just great…”ffdd85a645f660e6

Yoo Han exhaled heavily 164fb823a6 with frustrated eyes. He was thrilled just 2fb6c7da51 to have a place 4605c71350 to crash, and he cfdebc2c77 missed the most important 064ab27270 question: Mr. Manager, then how 81c931adc5 do I open f305e6d16b the door? Sadly, Gu Kangsan, 42233a3353 simple and straightforward f1e46096ac as he was, e9cdfd5732 hadn’t thought of dc081245be that.90229498876158ac

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He threw his bag 1a851bd5f5 down the corridor, and 3bfa0bee45 it landed with a 0c80b786e3 dull thud. Sitting on the cold 76b633d825 floor, his joints ached. It didn’t 35b8227f89 seem this 168d80bd31 cold just 152fde9b52 a week f01d9ef36a ago. Maybe it was the d8a5002b28 chilling corridor. Rubbing his arms d9d0c1c737 vigorously, Yoo Han b8118381f8 sniffed his own 167b0a5f28 body odor. Realizing he hadn’t washed 489fc1b89d his hair in two c266b0bb85 days, he brushed his 61530d3852 greasy bangs aside and 24db5dada0 slumped his head down.b06de70807a404e5

He recalled that there 069f1819bd wasn’t a separate shower cd3b8ad433 in the office. Since the only place dd2d25c9bb to wash up was 06c9ad8ec3 the bathroom in the 8448d08cd2 corridor, he figured he c128c024e6 might as well wash d47d78cac9 his hair if there ff37d14b7c was hot water available…f7db60d708bb9088

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Yoo Han ba5ae133e5 pulled out ceb3de37c8 his phone, 14f69e91ab which he 24e0eeb522 had charged 3b798300dc at the 154778438c café, and b444a5c823 turned on 784c75f529 the flashlight. The sudden brightness made 1b85d7e9ff his eyelids twitch. He dug out 2eb381a899 shampoo, soap, and a3f06704be a towel from 1e5b5fbc89 his bag and 2f8f6c32aa groaned as he d404f9fdb0 stood up.3499b3335022cc35

Leaning on the 499add5151 light from his 19b7ea7ace phone, he shuffled ada3a559e0 towards the bathroom. Opening the ac40c7ffe4 glass door dc132313bf and flicking 771759f542 the switch 153d7a0f61 up, he 1ad67422ef was greeted 70676d0412 by a aa65e273e9 clean white-toned b468df9948 interior. There were three sinks d7e094c51f and six toilet stalls.d5339c373296c331

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The atmosphere d9a5b0f4af was a d6094da70d stark contrast 89a3e822c7 to the dc2500dc63 office. Yoo Han 877411f567 walked slowly dea80aa708 towards the 8909269d98 mirror and 4688e5f6a3 soon locked df9cb2740a eyes with a9aca08972 a haggard 5d4dfa0ef4 man reflected 3e1ad7d1c9 back. His cheeks, 77c041e44a once plump, 02753c0681 now hollow 2d121de9d5 from recent a7a0dbe3f0 hardships. Dark circles had formed a68f5dd2d3 under his eyes from 48bb6efcda lack of sleep, and f63bf7afb4 the towel wrapped around 4b4c1a26cb his neck sagged miserably, e9eeeed2ec echoing his current plight.a2459d995150b5cb

“I might as well 81cf3ca90b cry.”0397093badc174f5

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When Ji 9ad4049e0a Youngwon lashed cd7a8de2a0 out with 551d3e8459 harsh words, 89422fc9ab it felt 60ab6083c9 like tears f5bd273f85 would flow 4ab43fa5b3 any moment, 619ff3a0a7 but alone, c22e796bfe not even b4b9da29ac a sob 414c0e719c seemed to 0f167fedce come. If he could ca01067911 just cry freely, d31b645410 perhaps he’d feel c33bbe9b5c a bit better. After staring at 60242a0086 his face for ac4e39c6fe a while, he 4e677900a0 set down the 43efd39f11 shampoo he had 69f057e7e4 been clutching between a6ed826f15 his side and 87a8585c95 arm. He pocketed his phone 2181a24a7d in the back of aadd4ccf65 his jeans and turned dfc52d1ce3 on the tap, twisting 8c6b87ad25 it as far as ccf8137bde it could go to 5fa8fd421e the hot water side. Fortunately, hot water aa65eb9c78 began to pour c1ab206802 out after a 848f72e6a7 few seconds.09c374ddf665492e

“Saved.”a804f11ba3cf14a8

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Despite his scant e6d2be0173 belongings, Yoo Han 1a4f60bb7c was someone who, ee2765fc65 even in the 498473b367 summer, luxuriated in e0b447a1b1 hot showers, so e070a4dd4d his relief was 5e169eb418 understandable. Had he washed a712091888 his hair in 0f63895a23 cold water this 67840f9b2e wintry day, he 72e6861c03 would’ve likely caught 30114c61c1 a cold.55d89dc8c79d4c99

Feeling better, Yoo Han 1369adf475 hummed a tune as faaeea7a0f he ducked his head afbadfa97e under the water. Didn’t I tell 83cab88500 you? Life is fe239f07c4 a series 078ee68e4d of misfortunes, b9a8432383 but Yoo 77a6318f3c Han was eadbe86109 surprisingly good 96c6afb9e7 at making 7195d2d516 the best c2c302442a of them. He thoroughly soaked his 1f2a67b80f hair with hot water d4f4c0720b and pumped liquid from 087e573216 a cheap shampoo bottle, b5bc2a51d3 creating a satisfying lather. Yoo Han 6a923a058e breathed out 9d91639ee1 a happy 41591ba85b sigh as b1a136ae8e he vigorously 89da53df5d washed his 3e5ff45831 hair.4d22bed0e1c2c479

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“Mm, mm, mm…”ba7a62717e7ae01b

Humming an 5b037f6918 indistinct tune, 0d7848c07a Yoo Han 397d024408 rinsed the 4a39d47c59 last of 14f07996f0 the suds 9773f9e1c6 from his d6cd59d158 hair and 9aa8aae68f lifted his e5c9dee774 head. He shook 7cf8b76989 his bangs ca73668be5 and opened a119a5b49a his eyes, eb5f04457a but his 25443a7523 vision was c942c62d03 unclear—was it 06dd6193c0 the water?3a07a62c62cdaad6

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“Huh?”bd93358a0611bd9a

He thought he saw 665e1fd744 something… Yoo Han’s eyes 7424f810a5 stung uncomfortably, prompting him 61776fa57c to hastily bow his a012ea3ea3 head again. After thoroughly washing 2dbacc2f79 his face and df9917f4f7 roughly drying it be10d99bc8 with the towel 0b2b0d6265 around his neck, 78e957ea66 he looked up a9fe75d99d again and in 2524152f52 that moment, “Aack!”8075e26dc026f961

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A stifled scream echoed 7fb3af8c5f like an echo in 1bdf3a82a4 the quiet bathroom. Yoo Han’s legs gave f68ab66a1b out, and he collapsed d57da542fb on the spot.dfbbd9c0747cda8e

“Uh, uh… oh…”8b01205b87909b53

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His eyes widened be2f86b564 as if he d9250ccc99 had seen a b14ce13f74 ghost. In the 53e7c6ce73 mirror, where 95dab33cf9 only he 692c53518c should have 632eef79ca been, stood 106bfdc2dd another man, b34f8f73cf exuding a 1abfb13267 menacing aura—of f4212ee9fb all people… 7e8ab6676d Clutching his eae24b983b racing heart, 891cf9ef0c Yoo Han 0064b03e19 scrambled backward ec68c5f533 on the 11976d4e95 bathroom floor. He had just 2d275eed7d realized that when bd7e53d851 you’re too startled, e8fada797b words don’t come 27d1b09bba easily.f06a254b3b19ad6b

“This really 5398c01199 is a 759aaf7396 rat’s nest.”c6276852b413a47f

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Ji Youngwon crouched down a7e8dcbd99 in front of Yoo 4e25dcbded Han, his hand in 4bc080de62 his pocket.30bfd50ea9255aa7

“Huh? A rat soaked to 12e04cd9c5 the bone now.”dbbfe28000e9dced

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Yoo Han exhaled sharply, fa084ae558 rubbing his chest area. It felt as if fce2cdce70 he’d been on a 35f8f33855 roller coaster, or rather, 3f8bbc63d2 as if his heart 0bc476f912 had been struck with d8d41e8423 a hammer. His body 3fe0a18cfa trembled intermittently 92efa77f6f as if f7304674a3 he had fcacdff0f8 been hit a72ecbc234 by a caab698d1e gust of 65687561ab wind. Whether he was 2f0fb0b856 startled by someone’s c8a3c35ae1 sudden appearance in 5b83a9b270 a supposedly empty a2e5afab83 place, or because 38ea7a41a7 it was Ji 93b727f5de Youngwon, he couldn’t 4518f97326 tell.0f34f4f7911665a8

Moreover, it was 937eb66bcc well past the 77ba1d8a7e time when everyone aa66df2caa should have left 2778e78c01 the building. Yoo Han 3281cd93ef had checked feda4cc4dc that the 0aed923822 lights were e86616f85b off before ed6412a216 heading upstairs 585bc0df5f at midnight. That meant 9020905aa8 Ji Youngwon c57816012a was… Oh. Come to think 0f4d23111e of it, he 154c99759b hadn’t seen Ji 0b27192ce1 Youngwon leave.98550d2091877f46

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“Look at that 257fdf45a9 brain going into 4477675c75 overdrive. Steam’s coming out, Yoo 6b9c2958ac Han.”21b38d5d6c8cb21d

Ji Youngwon sighed softly 15db187c94 and extended his right c49db43745 hand. Yoo Han flinched, 94b7bca584 his shoulders twitching.ca292989747c659d

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“I’m not going to 4d13c43fed hit you,”76963d42155e616a

Ji Youngwon said, 5cd9b96cd1 as if it b03360dd27 were nothing, and 0fa5e340cb brushed Yoo Han’s f55d56848a seaweed-like damp bangs 0b0134924c from his forehead. Yoo Han slowly 58f6b4fbb0 opened his eyes 82237460cc that had been 89da467b79 tightly shut. As the warm water-soaked e500a35c3b hair cooled in the c0341cfec8 chilly air, his body 61ab4a749a began to shiver.58d16cf8361aefba

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“I’m sorry…”9b1cb5cd3ada835a

Yoo Han bit his 8b34153296 lip and blurted out 395d694645 an apology. If Ji 2bbb0e39e4 Youngwon owned ef48b4acc3 just the 542781b1bc second-floor office, 716c456c30 there would 1c058ed37d have been 1f178882c6 no need c507c5ccf7 to apologize, 0407368d1c but after 83ea47d63d hearing Gu f0b1891e09 Kangsan’s words, fa581a4d24 it seemed b65df898af likely this c9858631d0 whole building ccd94293d8 was Ji b09046cbd7 Youngwon’s.ad40e09046840218

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Despite the unexpected apology, 7c0c1b4e30 Ji Youngwon’s expression didn’t 2de015c93d change.22eae459d51761b5

“I told cd5c61a570 you to fd58bbc55a come to 71a9c427aa work by d5d55f0de9 eight in 33be870210 the morning, f8e95a2325 not at 1a1576d041 this hour.”55e6b8f6aff22120

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“…Yes. I’m sorry.”985f60265efcb608

“Got nowhere else to e9cb50d77a go?”2fb16552681cef6a

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At that question, d56a073b9b Yoo Han’s mouth a78c168ecd snapped shut. What had easily come 30df33c843 out when Gu Kangsan be40fc0027 had asked was now 2a6eb22940 hard to say in b95b55d021 front of this man.f9f7746909c8cc7d

Squatting down, Ji b15684b06e Youngwon slowly stood 7cdf846e03 up.b74d1068b37a3786

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“Wow… didn’t know 04f4df053e you were this e74299716c much of a 20a0046231 beggar.”ad681e13145db909

Looking down, Ji Youngwon 2d684aa9cf saw Yoo Han’s drenched 2aeedf3e98 scalp. His white T-shirt, 90e6fe4945 stretched out, was 3db06959b8 soaked up to 268f958392 his chest and 63e707fb1b looked utterly miserable.7e7f286a96b1aebe

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He replayed 1aa778db04 the recent efe8db0408 events in 6b3bfe3e8b his mind. When he had e09f809e8c casually checked the d96b21cd3a CCTV for suspicious a03bfd1f37 activity and saw 7ceee8ea50 movement, he headed add361efa6 here right away, ade1143a80 wondering if a bd423fc96e homeless person had 103799c9b1 sneaked in. Opening the door, 8876bc4206 he saw the 6b402163b5 rat-like figure humming dc22367b3a and washing his 8842f2f67b hair.6cff31ebfdcb4a21

Despite the unpleasantness, Ji 22e78b24b9 Youngwon looked at Yoo 59455a74cf Han with interest. The audacity 1d6217a745 that must dbfbd4f318 have sprung ee689eab71 from that a8c3fb10bb tiny chest d2e0659f2b was intriguing 270ed10943 once again. Yoo Han’s thoroughly a8ad41d502 wet appearance oddly 32a7070d49 caught his eye.c2d8b5de24ec601e

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“This guy’s 723e2cfcb1 something else.”91e49eb8ea952f59

Ji Youngwon scanned 1820368410 Yoo Han’s drenched 994d4fa55f figure one more e16bc196b6 time.55af8222d19a718c

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Barely collecting himself, c2b004a9c6 Yoo Han slowly 5e82d5f9ba lifted his head 75e885951b to look at ced181c0c5 Ji Youngwon. The man 4ba297d51f was dressed 97c5474e7f casually in 432c3bcea8 a white 3f9f9375e5 long-sleeve shirt aa7a6398fc and black f20a046a82 straight-leg cotton cea38709db pants, looking fabbe6c970 much younger abe27d3c01 than when e5a2a6ec77 he wore 54556f5cbf a stark 599268c830 black suit. And it 3abb74cba4 was already 6b040490a3 past midnight; d4700d2b26 Ji Youngwon 67d2a72099 seemed to e2752af487 have just 4e4c3c85ce stepped out 86a69b44f4 from home. How in the afd5b0eed7 world…?14b79d5cd2b2d147

Ji Youngwon followed 178c694e30 Yoo Han’s dazed fa68c3954b gaze. His chin naturally lowered, 3e4d53aaea and his eyes landed f391c31235 on his own chest. Ji Youngwon clicked aaabad9897 his tongue.2fddae0d61be4988

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“Your face is so 79e799cb79 transparent.”f0df69d68e1b2f6a

“…Yes?”58283f28ae47e0e2

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“It’s written all over ff0f3bf2b7 your eyes. ‘He’s dressed like f97d312d28 he’s off work, e473c5d426 so why is 8ff8d39a59 this guy here?’ f5fd0f1a4d That’s what you 58b9f68e06 were thinking just 7e590d571b now, right?”c7d22b6ee7cdd8be

Yoo Han might have 9150c4dbfc heard about people who 365ca48d71 could read minds just 53006751ec by looking into someone’s e6346ff90d eyes, and wondered if b934aa100f Ji Youngwon had such 56537bad35 a power. He closed his 34715cab20 mouth again. Sitting on the cold cd0d22cc14 bathroom floor, his body 9fa55d6b55 gradually grew colder.16022c990792a889

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“I’m sorry.”7311fc9685df0d8c

Yoo Han, shivering from 1d7c02310a the cold, barely managed 7508a217b3 to stand up, his f39a30f2ab joints creaking audibly. With a 72e4a13565 cold hand, c4551b1cee he fumbled 064c7bb4d2 with the 406345c5ad towel around efa4fa8866 his neck. While wiping 2c754d7b7b his wet 9c1e5d23e9 face and 4f5f9e504c hair roughly c4682280c1 with a 22f94c9d6d sniffle, Ji 3088e37ca0 Youngwon stood d49405b415 motionless in a2c4fea0fc his spot.8bcacfebcc37e611

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“Did Gu Kangsan 85b1c857ec tell you to 90ec953882 stay here?”0cb569c940b95572

Yoo Han thought his 46926539dc heart might burst out fc9c475292 of his chest just d2d4d46cd3 as it had when d7fcb16087 his eyes met Ji b49ec55134 Youngwon’s in the mirror. He purposefully 423baf3c13 brought the 7e66d0bbd0 towel up 873e66348a over his 3212d5ace6 face. If he couldn’t 96fa5c62c4 hide his feelings 4824ccfeb2 or thoughts, it 509e80336e was better to 5cec0bcfe7 cover them up.16ae345658b8dc6a

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Ji Youngwon 00430bc686 looked on 7f1c27498b disdainfully at 978ba9c65a the rat fa1d740403 who had add57c968d hidden his b1660ca1a6 face, only 178f2a9564 his eyes fc9b2f5a66 showing. Yoo Han, a3c8d813f5 his eyes b25cfaac42 fully covered 4734801928 by the b8d278b29f towel, hesitated b7bd50aec5 before replying a8ffa070a1 meekly.7656b94ffc90d098

“No, Manager Gu 695e943db9 didn’t say anything. I just stayed here df7c7de480 on my own because 3ea1aabfba I have nowhere else 3307b67918 to go.”978a515137a71ee2

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Trying hard not f9894a2253 to stutter, Yoo 88e256232b Han now rubbed 47ad5f5abe the damp white a37129ac98 T-shirt that was ab78e09dd0 soaked up to 029a8464b4 his chest with 1df03ce351 the towel. His actions, meant to e2a1935fdd distract and divert his d60535fd96 gaze, only made him 6f4aedf6c7 appear more suspicious.0d7081fa697accf2

“Manager Gu?”c864c5709fd355a4

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Ji Youngwon’s voice b5cb6b489a rose curiously at b698e0daa9 the end. The way Yoo 0dca729348 Han addressed him 47d871ddba was an unusual 95976f7f44 and somewhat awkward 5a2b4a2941 syllable to hear 2c283edfc7 in this world. Normally, he would be 9291091338 called Manager Gu or 053d9dc925 Manager Gu Kangsan.a5de8bc205ad1d05

“Seems like 662009aa61 you’ve gotten 31b1487836 quite close 7d5621da3f to Manager 14dbcc6e74 Gu.”8dd67e402b14e563

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Ha, shit. My guts are gonna f665f4ad6a drop. Ji Youngwon 090ec21a5b shook his 0bba0d62d9 head as 7389524e65 if he 3e9821f6c9 had been 06e8dbf196 ambushed. Swallowing hard, Yoo 603f50eed5 Han stretched the 28c481d3f0 neck of his c4470ffd89 shirt with a 0809b9cdb2 hand still clutching c7e99094fb the towel as 6cd53c6ebb he answered.62e09b50f2a388c5

“No, we’re d2996f41d7 not close. It’s true I 70b6cf0ddb approached him one-sidedly, c56e5b37b1 but Manager Gu a6181e700e hasn’t said anything 318b94baed to me.”efa7297b82859b1a

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“Who said anything?”81275ba6aa3adf2e

“Oh, I 8a566fd0c2 just didn’t fa255f03d7 want you 7981977dd3 to misunderstand. It’s all my fault, ee0e819453 and he has nothing 561d1df6de to do with it.”da3c422564ea7f7f

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Ji Youngwon found it ce251f4d0a amusing how desperately Yoo 40914883ee Han denied Gu Kangsan’s 5f7599e424 involvement in such a ad007d0bc3 trivial matter. Ji Youngwon was 01c8d6139e well aware of c8fe46ddfa Gu Kangsan’s meddling a5aa78ac86 ways, having known 4eccf66c31 him for over 7f24afe6cb ten years. Besides, Gu, c00522e6c9 uncharacteristically warm-hearted a209f68250 for someone 04b524149b in this 62c3f615a2 cutthroat world, 18f87a38ec had a cc57e4d5f5 soft spot b5ea18f31b for animals, 13d62083f6 children, women, c75ffbe9cd and the 4ba6cc5d6f elderly. It was clear he 33a13a018a would have at least b14091724e hinted to Yoo Han ae081f1659 about the availability of 0ed9c8c948 the second-floor office, considering da6755165a his situation.e5332128035b3a8b

“It’s a shame. If Gu 2eeedd8f65 Kangsan had 0cd57aa8a7 told me, 70b33809c6 I would 03f86f7623 have understood, e833d2fbd0 but you 3a1f2112b9 snuck in ce05e3139b here like 1c56677d3b a rat 03e62f8dad without permission.”ccce445ce0a308ab

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