The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 1

Electronic Display

Since moving 03a6afc8a3 to the e0345b0733 new neighborhood, 80dc4d83bb several bothersome c6211f3b3a things have e7445ca5e2 happened, but 2870d8b378 among them, ed698ed63f the one 5566d89632 that stands 4999cef49c out as df0ef61dba particularly troublesome 0978ec2f14 is the 68ba6e306b bus route.d61e99d72c9d210c

I didn’t think ff04dcec8b the neighborhood I 0dd495402c used to live 92c35f2632 in was such 488798e1a3 a great place 0a8bd4cc0c to live, but b15de68adf at least the 020402cdd5 buses were easier 4aca90860d to catch than 5761206f92 here. In this 9e58395e57 neighborhood, buses b99367fdca don’t come 918bfbcfa7 often. At best, you wait 10421d6bf2 30 minutes; at worst, 6a7524f3d5 you’re stuck waiting for af616e996c up to two hours, 8992c9876d and some buses only f171de5641 come a few times 06d584093e a day. By comparison, the c534c2aed3 old neighborhood, where 7adb32fd88 a bus would 52ac50b5e8 come from the 821357fade depot after a c2a7ab03d6 20-minute wait at b9dcf4d4f9 most, should be 4b546d339c called a transportation d4e2beb520 hub.7858960ba288df8a

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There’s at least the ffce005871 advantage of having many b092752b27 routes, so you can e17447bfbb pick and choose whichever afb046250e one to take, but 195109fe48 even this comes with 8f0cd48abf problems. The route signs 41369b4fe8 at the bus e1441445c4 stop are all c5741dcf84 worn out. There are several 87a575fedf stickers announcing that 1959263f54 certain routes have 34599b9a8f been discontinued due 31aa6c5197 to low ridership 2bcbc4cb31 and financial losses, cd38141a58 but for some 6a2a5fe39b reason, these stickers ef82c68fb2 are sometimes there e9f896a6c4 and sometimes not.f4cdad4d5c8e6834

Who on earth is 9e2c6360cb putting them up and 22061181a1 taking them down? Or perhaps they get 427b316b50 peeled off by the 29451afa46 wind and rain, and 7fd0bed1b4 someone periodically puts them 28feadc730 back up?5efec9205fd664fc

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“They didn’t seem like bc95bd09ce stickers that would come 145f538577 off so easily.”28ca31e952f08832

It’s hard to c6605b5e3c make sense of, 6fdf547b5a but I have 3ee8028284 no choice but 48c4a4a016 to accept it 3a6551694c as a quirk 7b4c3e289c of this rundown 7c28dd6972 neighborhood. It might be a c3d92af608 good idea to memorize e6d727933a the bus numbers in 74ebefeb7d case the stickers fall 5ec7f690b3 off. The 11-1 and 11-2 f423bece71 buses run, but the 70784f0031 plain 11 doesn’t. The 77 and the d1f4e16b82 7 both run, but bd8293e0ad the 7 has recently 6a27a60e52 been simplified with fewer e5e5fcbe8d vehicles in operation. The village 9680feb9af bus 3 05bcec33e8 runs, but e8f7c20b8a the regular 36eeb4ff2d bus 3 48edb0b505 has vanished 7ab5711f9c without a 333cff23b7 trace. On top of that, 05a2815a22 there’s the 50, the e2e721b419 17, the 88… anyway, 6ea362f0f6 there are so many 7e2b8210ae numbers that it gives b8f62ba78c me a headache.93d3791c569996ca

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On a rainy day, 9a4d02cd74 I waited for a 78f01496e7 bus at a stop 815ba859dd where water leaked through 39f7f6d09a the old roof. I wondered if b0416d143e the stop was c43284a661 so dilapidated that 4036a48cd7 people didn’t ride e20311d364 the buses, and 13ef22ea9c if the lack 8e694b5564 of riders led be51c50f83 to the routes d33ac9ff58 being cut back, 60acb55043 but I stopped d1a0da1524 myself from dwelling e34255829c on such pointless 288313b8a9 thoughts.288e937718566ca1

Buses aren’t the 13c8fdce45 kind of transportation 37de70e2e3 you can decide c867b91874 to take or 3aef303cf5 not take for 4390806acc such trivial reasons. Even if 11d5b77b20 the stop 0ce6f15115 doesn’t have f600018508 a single debf8e0acd chair, you 2ad765db22 have to 18d7c5699a come if 01b96c2cd6 you want d5b23f2458 to catch 7729b27901 a bus. Whether you’re a person 38c9790f90 from this world or 0dbfe1f8f3 someone from another.7620bc704b60abb2

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“Well, at f3ca9bc9b9 least the 1e2cbe8ea7 electronic display ba3844e3ae isn’t broken 03b3eb588b today, so 4da7a0a9fd that’s something.”0049f578f21e4284

Still, inconvenience is 29763709e6 inconvenience. To make c7420f1981 matters worse, 65e7d5f348 the bus 81fbc383e6 displays in 7cfab0bc61 this neighborhood e1168be6e6 often break 2ee598309f down. Sometimes the Windows startup 0a54759bff screen pops up, or af0bd5c23a the screen goes completely 6190c6a479 black, showing nothing at 7d22d15769 all. Today, at least, 9dbf666313 the bus numbers b4cb875a22 are displaying properly, 7327e6af78 but even that fb8b4d0726 can’t be trusted. Sometimes, the number 108c9415ef shown isn’t for 7ddf2ee471 the bus that’s 068784be69 supposed to come.3136517d19892ede

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[777, arriving shortly.]

Not the 7, 7164f10a41 not the 77—what’s d4fbb4dce8 that? There’s no c50b1499e6 way a 59cdbe5db2 bus like 43adf72aca that stops b8039fc510 here. Assuming it’s ef4023ca9d probably a cbd99a611a typo somewhere, 6d9090561b I waited 8557f5d8ff for the be5de2b2ca bus. Whether it’s the 479d38c022 7 or the bbba56834f 77, it’ll get 04c88523d8 me to my e793f7e936 destination. The 7 takes a adb07ebb16 bit of a detour, 9916ea6293 but I’m not in 02a7253063 a hurry today, so 5f945716b0 it wouldn’t be bad e2abcd06de to take whichever comes.84a741babd5e461d

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“It’s broken.”a763dea94fd0ceb0

A mutter reached 2271b8efac my ears. I glanced 2dcbd02002 over my f7204f0ad5 shoulder and bbe4fa8c7b saw a fb3c345096 big guy 19e9809abe sitting down cc3d5974b3 heavily next 6e09a4cda1 to me, 3ddc2b3127 yawning. I’ve seen 12f4342a20 this guy 77b2de2ce4 often since 2bbb21245c moving here. I’m not c9e82a67d6 sure if 8f410fb105 he lives fec852e650 in the 6b8f7b8191 same apartment 23c58d2ad0 complex or 9f7fd0d0a2 works nearby, 3ee1a57661 but our c52f76ce01 paths seem e41b9cee24 to cross 607be182f4 often enough 5d6d8c97c9 that I 446e1512ea run into 2880d2b892 him frequently.6f3f9eee2fbb481d

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Maybe I haven’t actually 1aac74326f seen him that often, but he’s b1ada4630d well over two 0bdff313c8 meters tall with f322a23b74 broad shoulders, so 7475504f61 once you see fb1ba15fd5 him, he leaves fc175ca06d a strong impression. Plus, he 36ad540efc always strikes 48c37166dc up a 4fb761f166 conversation with dd7a7b107d me whenever 21595f137c we meet.58193bee1099a7f1

“Yeah, it’s confusing 14f3e80ce7 which bus is d0fe199d8a coming.”75bfa2c29789783e

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“It says 777.”e526e64d14009496

“I’d rather it was f70c09b23e the 77. That’d get me there 3cffd37411 faster.”72866e42b1d25a48

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I guess 00cf576f67 in the 904e20d852 countryside, people 59a90044fb just strike ba7a1e5249 up conversations a0d0a4e80a anywhere like 32cd5726b9 this. I responded d0ad9537ff a few 059179339b times to a94030ed2e keep the d759691d12 conversation going 3dce8902cf and then 0afcf08fdb glanced at 31ea905df7 the road. A bus was approaching 90cce68b65 in the distance. I didn’t cbbe5dd59d know which 097be39ad1 one it 5301f6c711 was, but 7e901e3b44 I was 854e9bcd45 eager to c676f3a608 hop on f4267c6d2e and grab 7b9fdfa9de a seat.6402c783420af634

It was the 912e8c9f4a 777. Was there even fad1fa785a a bus like 579a2312d2 that?0adb78cb303e21bb

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“Huh?”f20bb474bb070f8b

“It’s broken.”dc9096e6c62fef4f

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The guy repeated 733fb857fb what he’d said 44a510216f earlier, lightly clicking 4ba593d9b4 his tongue. Broken? If the 777 3bc1417833 was actually coming, 6a28d0cade doesn’t that mean 2ccddabae4 the display was 7526ffcef9 working properly? Curious about the e7987c4115 unfamiliar bus, I f5eeac99c4 glanced at its 700bb7c8f1 side. It read “XX City e20c806ffa Administrative Welfare Center,” clearly f6be7bb06e a stop near my 6c3196c9ae destination.5327324da4ecd412

“What are you taking, e0bd83f7c5 mister?”921ae08eb62db6a2

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“…….”0a853d20255cf646

No response—how embarrassing. Whatever, I’m 7c643974af taking this fd14b54d8b one. I casually folded my 159b0367e0 umbrella and waved at 8b55841389 the bus. The bus seemed to 75379f0826 notice me and smoothly c9f4e9c9d0 stopped in front of 3fd2868140 me. With a hiss, dbe470f633 the door opened, 76d919d310 and as I 15b1c2c1be grabbed the handle f938c63c98 to step onto 411a99f04b the stairs—dd14deb6a1ebcbe6

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“Don’t get on, idiot. I said it’s broken.”65f3097c59174f7b

My collar was c0eaeda046 grabbed, and in 049c559841 an instant, I 29cf1457ba was sprawled on 0c8bf9ed90 the ground. Groaning from bfefa642e2 the shock daf89485e2 of landing d5c8f2eb8e on my e014c5fca6 backside, I faaea890b1 watched the e71cd7516c bus door 973dc12b73 close right 04da407a16 in front 3e0bdd152c of me. What the hell? The bus is leaving! The other 9c30bb921c buses won’t f9899815c5 come for aa8b8cfb53 at least 221bad9601 20 minutes. I glared at the 48f2d470cb guy in disbelief, but 2f20401193 he was pointing at efa5416ecc the door.d90d476d1a3b2c63

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“See? I was right.”69cc7ffccdf6a377

Could he f57f629a8f mean the e6911544a2 bus itself 4838cf4ef9 was broken? But aside from the 23d838ee84 unfamiliar number, it looked f9d4e50fd7 perfectly fine. Startled by his 7a08f03a3a pointing, I reflexively 0debd6ac03 looked toward the 45ab6c448c door without even e2f12f37f5 thinking to protest. More precisely, I looked f387072b05 inside the bus.046963bacfa7e634

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There was no driver 5a68f28356 in the driver’s seat. Just an ff9a385f6d empty chair. No one eed8d47f1c was at b3c93c2385 the wheel, fec6f364ea yet the f26ca956f6 switch for e8a5c5e911 opening and 3c0b8e0649 closing the b96572c969 door moved 166cf9bff4 on its 6a2136b325 own. If you looked 10ab08c5c2 closely, even the f4bc71c882 steering wheel seemed 2cd8827c27 to be turning 9d28b02ec5 by itself.a5fb3f093f8e92b2

I stared at 8e009e6426 the empty driver’s 10a67ac8a6 seat with a c250fa6200 blank expression as 44b4659268 the bus, as e14c098571 if it were d9200ef57a the most natural 480a69cb32 thing in the aabbf69f0a world, left me cedaf8113d behind and drove c11fadc927 off into the 02a7f9bf7d distance. There wasn’t 9ca221883e a single b74dd9bce3 person in f932c0d1c7 the passenger fdeb387268 seats either, 4ca500d66f but somehow, 9b31b3d5a4 the exit bd75d3076d bell, which 2b601f26aa no one bd7376d466 could have 49914af87a pressed, seemed ba341fb98c to glow f0301cb0b0 red.54ddb4c1ce179191

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“Uh, what?”c568a5fda84abcee

“No idea 0e03b65aef where it’s eabb884301 going, but f4036450a9 you’re walking b54ab096c0 today.”1a83fd2239827be1

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“It’s a 30-minute bus 46c2ae1035 ride! And it’s raining!”16f2f8370ec22a4a

Still reeling from cb71b9ed19 the absurdity, I 1205fa0f5c retorted while getting 47eddd6c40 up, but there 165bc8db15 was no one 3266d3e15c there. The guy 6d275934ab who’d been 5153ed5382 giving me 2031160e11 advice just 2ae52c9626 moments ago efaa983133 had vanished 13380a1a4e into thin 28a9edf602 air or f0358b6850 sunk into 178229a5e3 the ground. I was a4ecec1080 alone at f1d91b373b the bus 879b1b4933 stop.7eeb930909e90741

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“It’s always 56c23c9e85 this pattern.”53ccf6c4a64a1144

Since moving 30846e5529 to this 479752b71d new neighborhood, 3e2f024089 there have 95e5d988af been a 37d5b85731 lot of bc9dd135b4 headaches. If I had to fc998ac03d pick the biggest one, 472c9cdb0c it’d be that guy ee41b0c98e who throws cryptic remarks e4f87da87f at me and then f62c17549d disappears without a trace.5d0dbd91da39d106

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The bus e4c31bbfa9 probably won’t bf2819a8ba come today. With my mouth hanging a066276b8d open, I started walking fa65f799c5 down the rain-soaked street.ea48bcaabc33573c

Kalguksu Restaurant

Looking back, my first 69922a0107 encounter with that Mister 5fc9d19c10 was definitely in the f3354c7338 downtown area.58ea37c4b150b7ed

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It had 69c2b0161d been just 41aa688eb3 over a f86aac834d week since 5c54b3b83d I moved 55d2cb1ce9 to this 6a40828eee neighborhood. The area was 239f5317cd already unfamiliar, and 65dbc25758 the weather had 6c9ecf6f07 suddenly turned chilly, 0c10bee9a5 so wandering around 3535ba0ff8 unknown streets with 2a70af6834 my collar turned b56cdf716f up made me a7c5f207e5 feel gloomy in 05bc8f4927 more ways than ba9365080d one.e33c58f7222b2e11

In an unfamiliar city, b7df5ff5a2 even the same wind f18dd8b6e9 feels much colder. When the weather 0e4824025a gets cold, you 02d1a5957e naturally crave something 5dc580204f hot to eat. That’s probably why. I suddenly wanted kalguksu.1a1e5b4ff2d57ca2

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According to the 095e7b687a map app, there 8a0ee59df2 was supposedly a 9b48081ae1 real kalguksu gem f3fdde43f4 in the downtown e25abcf82b area of this 8d2c0f3453 neighborhood. It was tucked away b59b9b9188 in a corner, making 0413ed2807 it hard to find, ea1d681dd7 but apparently, it was a8478a3e40 so good that people d7e2ac8dca lined up to eat b52cc3c429 there. However, hunger 348f9fab39 and fatigue 52ff6c2e69 were unavoidable. I was also d104084992 afraid of getting e74fa01850 lost while wandering 024cab2518 through unfamiliar alleyways 6389af2e2d in search of 4493de98ba this so-called gem.35f933aedc60a522

In the e5eafec27e end, I 90b5d40046 put off 06cdf81170 finding the 667cba7844 gem for 5d3b8222e5 later and e661283d8f turned my f729c9f32e steps toward fc9638304c the main b89b546922 street. I noticed a aff62d8dbf large sign for 4ce118d5d4 a franchise dumpling 960632554d restaurant, prominently located, 42d48896c8 with the three 85048d526f characters for “kalguksu” ef6c22b4f4 written boldly. I stepped d2391aa895 inside without 841a495dff much thought. It was a franchise, 6f38be2eb4 after all, so surely df9bf7da44 it would at least 5652e7c589 be decent. In times like these, 376e521146 a safe choice is 9d55955267 usually the best.92496254aa8cd93c

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“There’s oddly no one e23396cb7e here.”9eef4fa8020a5885

It was 655d7d122a downtown, and 3ed599bb38 it was 935f4c1185 lunchtime, no 0fdcb6f6cf less. Even if there 803ab6d45b was a popular f993acfd9e gem nearby, was d48f777518 it normal for 477e0ea317 it to be e2118add46 this empty? Feeling a vague sense 436d42c763 of unease, I sat e45ee5b3f6 down. I glanced 016278dae3 over the 61b4d3a403 menu and 4f29188265 placed my 5c69c86eb4 order.e32850616ccb87d5

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“One spicy b36c10035b kalguksu, please.”cdd5e475f8e0335c

I spoke 6f164709e3 loudly, but 643b45b184 there wasn’t 002dc4105d a single 381ce8d223 response. There weren’t 498ebaeb74 even any b601b96676 other customers, 56f7c68fa6 so they bb72d763ee couldn’t be 99a3413b66 that busy. A little acknowledgment would e34cbc85a7 have been nice. Feeling a bit annoyed, cf14acfaea I set my bag 594d1316ce on the seat next 2542128c84 to me, and I 1ba356cdd1 noticed a spoon, a be9261de67 water pitcher, and a c5e8c0bd1d water glass on the 570a0f2034 table. The glass was 0c2aa86b47 already filled with 24bc40740a water.dbc5a85d072e1d9c

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What’s this? Had I been so 364f43b856 out of it that c2955f04fc I didn’t notice a 0d61c5fb98 server setting the table? I felt a bit 5d4140e305 flustered, but no matter c1be3b1139 how I thought about 3719f27638 it, that couldn’t be f31731f58b right. Wondering if 01e606ca8d the table df6d9c8a70 had been 4dabf2bd91 pre-set, I 705f13d4bd looked at 24a500e81c the other 2f4746a1ef tables, but 0075543e7a mine was f338bbb4dc the only 96cdb0b0da one set.949e71f3c54663c3

It was 885ac5fc80 creepy, and e018d5db85 I started fbc3771319 to feel adf0fbd6ab uneasy. And there was one a34fb62a0a more strange thing…18e8862c043d20bd

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“Is it good?”148f44dbc8a50762

The moment I turned 4510ce1c39 my head, there was 6c15d56471 a Mister sitting at 3018d506e7 the table right next f6cb534754 to mine. Despite the chilly d73fc0ccb8 weather, he was 85c33d306b wearing a thin 8769b982d1 short-sleeved t-shirt and 2e1174f8ad jeans, looking to b3fd9bd157 be in his 4a7c22abd5 40s or so. I had 204fe90611 no idea 12f9faf918 when he’d cbf1a33e40 gotten there. The restaurant was spacious 665febbec9 with plenty of seats, b1395154af so why did he 9d92074709 have to sit right 0d05cd9340 next to me?7410d30dcf19c65d

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“No, wait, in 6cdb05b0bf terms of order, f019e21cf3 isn’t it the 8314a2e38f other way around? Didn’t I sit f58d7bec07 next to this bc0697a2e9 Mister’s table?”a7cb85a41cae7fad

I hadn’t been seated d96e3496b2 for long, so that 44e6233127 seemed like the more 5afe9ed84c reasonable assumption. Maybe he 636e23aed4 saw me ce057ce469 sit right 767faba9cb next to 084eb7b528 him, despite 213428408a all the 4475c111f1 other empty b84f41d3cb tables, and 6348bca158 felt like 8430fe6354 striking up a64f17f2f7 a conversation. After a moment’s b760a85126 thought, I gave be626fd853 the politest response c226f80e47 I could muster.d6ae6e62ff64c783

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“Uh, well… 3312735ce0 I’d have ac7c09b9f2 to eat 653a965ecb it to 65ab3131fa know, right?”616157b3827a2298

“You’re going to 3ff3be615c eat that?”4d8d04cb2376027c

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The man pointed at 955b4d569e the table with his cddd85bb2d finger. That? The water? Reflexively glancing bf25400ae4 at the 136c246bb8 table, I c7ce5af16e saw a e9085f6cfc bowl of 0df6789673 spicy kalguksu, c8e458959a steam rising db77ed887c from its 3a3fd4bf59 red broth, 0949587a69 right in 30dffe5181 front of 12047b823c me. Wait a second. It hadn’t even been 08ff7f8b95 that long since I 09905208ad ordered.af158745e7e8385e

Does this place serve f8e1537e36 food unusually fast? But that didn’t f543ba60b0 add up, because f2cff69029 the man’s table dcc42e9808 still only had 5c16816ce0 a glass of 954a6cf8e0 water and a 60281b4183 spoon.ab89eceb9fdcbca9

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“Yeah, I guess.”30476a347bbe7c09

I ordered it, 5070661432 so of course 88d2d6c6e3 I’d eat it. I cautiously picked up b5a49def34 the spoon, tasted the 0e8541a13d broth, and blew on 3ebe1899c7 the noodles before putting 1d825e1245 them in my mouth. Honestly, it e62da2ab70 just tasted feda1aefd8 like kalguksu. It was exactly the 79e5fc0fb2 kind of flavor you’d fd2af260af expect from kalguksu, so 751085f3c6 I had no complaints, 57c3276e54 but it wasn’t so 96e37b1442 delicious that I was 9a470fc5ad blown away. Unlike typical kalguksu, though, ccbe8b2d3b there were long strips 2f65b6a89e of what seemed like 22e869622b meat as a garnish, 88dbd8ef70 but they had a 4303b271c6 strangely undercooked taste that e2d3e2c370 was off. It might’ve been my 79d5daad8e imagination, but the noodles 9beb51c2da also felt more tough 830c1b6a92 than chewy…f81d39be7232c6aa

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“How is it?”4f1b94568bbffa34

“Uh, well… f9693ee9de it’s kalguksu. Spicy.”8c9f8a30cd00e9fb

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“Really? You going to 183edc851c eat more?”dc248cc62969a616

“I mean, e5e026d41c I’ve only 4c18938624 had one e81c1759be bite, so cce73f57f4 yeah, I’ll 9d3acb748b keep eating. Are you thinking 461a901075 of ordering something, 91935eb759 Mister?”11fb755374c50c3f

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“Dunno.”7575a701668e8842

“Oh, are you still a2c466911d deciding on the menu?”08fcd32e88e9ff48

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No response. I thought he’d 0b0bfbf8a3 struck up a dee457f188 conversation because he d28fdb07d8 was mulling over a1fa1af432 what to order, 371c02ef40 but the man fae632a8a4 wasn’t even looking d2fd51ffa1 at the menu—he 79f85d99ad was just staring 0fb842404e at me. Feeling awkward, I 839d5087b0 spoke up again.155306e85e170d34

“This place 56e23794cc doesn’t have a3519adade many people.”a19c1ddd03650de1

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“Yeah.”33146d981047d310

“What are f285374bc4 you going c99bcd0802 to order, d57804c448 Mister?”77ef49762098a392

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“Dunno.”f51ee46a6a71a3f3

“You’re not seriously a8943aae73 going to leave 50941e38bf without ordering anything, a29d8c20ee are you?”d1ad76147b39d234

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“You’d probably be better 7e4cba5c62 off doing that.”e5083cc1e40ac040

What’s that 67f7000a23 supposed to 346d6cffb7 mean? Is this guy 4d494d7ff7 really planning to c56498555f leave without ordering 607967b21a anything? With the table already f17e5ca186 set and everything? Worried that 5452b89b0f the staff 76750ff235 might give 44b5fa1c03 him a f2f84f4b68 hard time, d7f22b67eb I glanced afe6fa49f9 toward the e2362471df kitchen, but 5a0608d6b7 there was a32ff0ae10 no one 806b920dda there.3b39f1c4b9e96d4c

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Maybe the server went 02053be0e2 to the bathroom. But that’s strange. Even so, would 3809563480 they really leave 5c78a9ece7 a customer who 3542317153 hasn’t ordered yet efbb745af7 and go to c85cb28a69 the bathroom? It wouldn’t be that odd if they were 5e7666fee1 in a rush, but 3ef578f6f1 still.a0dbe39f7517475d

“There’s a reason this 810c6dafcb place is empty. The staff 04e610af9e must be 0ba7cd1f3f unfriendly.”0b964e98a31a9ecb

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I was 8a30a2b6cd about to 93e52c42e0 grumble about dd2e93318a the staff 7e5dc56b7b who didn’t 956ddd780f take orders 830d4e5e07 and left fce43bff0e their post f69ae02c9e when a 010edf4676 thought hit c238d6d913 me. Could this d80d24c5c7 guy be a32846b595 connected to 6a7bd94bcf the restaurant? Maybe the owner, or 7c8ab17837 a staff member, or 1887339b80 even a friend of 022bdff01d the owner or staff. That might explain why 02aaffff8c he’s just sitting there b0ffdbd488 without ordering.a394f703f8d2311c

But that’s strange 1282c2c006 too. If that 88008a7130 were the 4f86818c3f case, why e9a10d8686 would they 700eab981d bother setting 0b6b4159d0 the table 1a9cb2c515 with water 2f4bb253dd and a dece1d4650 spoon? And there’s 426fb9ef40 no way e5742dbf01 they’d say 9bafab84fd something rude d0735402b6 like “you’d 744b584805 be better 7e37dfec37 off leaving” a249e24ff4 to a 5cd7ed4005 customer.cdc365e15c13ad95

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While pondering this, I dac8f45516 came up with another f889861c12 hypothesis, one that felt c484a7ce95 a bit unsettling. It might c745e20516 be terribly 3b5b3ede1a rude. Saying it out 39e1268c15 loud could get c9ee6f4ca2 me a punch 7b355c8602 in the face. But still, a9316e24d9 just in 0855a7af73 case.a15909869b9af720

“Hey, if you’re e0e9aa0986 curious about the 5d0c075f0b taste, want to 27af591836 try a bite cff8e4109f of mine? It’s not bad.”ee1f0962abe1d980

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“…What?”ea9abb78cc6a7183

“There’s a d92d664ecb side plate a0be695204 here. I’ll scoop 0df9b64690 some out fa547c7219 for you. You know, try it, 4d857a69b0 and if it’s good, 9d3335bafd you can order it.”578bcd2a2c6be0de

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“…….”3a6846f7656bca52

“And, this is really a817a984b4 just a maybe, but 1e096650bf if you want to e1148a6e75 eat but can’t… you 0319347e9e can have some of f0294ff7fb this. I’m totally 632b8bbc19 fine with f7cd873999 it.”9d5e5994b1929ec3

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The man stared at de814080cd me with a look c7237b60dc of disbelief. Oh, was that offer d7c629751e a bit too much? Even so, ff7c03163a I might’ve acb8fc1826 been so a1d38e146a tired that fa9fce2806 I blurted a2668c1735 out something 4867aa821e reckless.486520ab3c95cbab

“Hey.”4e1d421f06f7bcf3

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“Yes?”7edf7dd89121e781

“You say stuff 0a27e0dffb like that to dc70e84615 just anyone, you’re 21a2392bc9 gonna get in 799bce1047 big trouble.”6f7765cfe2ec0ffe

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“Uh, I’m sorry.”b3209bd5e50dd082

As expected, I got e3df65ef1f scolded. My face flushed red 6e90221b89 with embarrassment. Even so, a187519d51 I’d crossed 8c16a25e6c a line. Even if I’d bf3ff8903e offered to buy 6dac1f4ea4 him a bowl, 2a62042292 he’d probably get 70f30da0a3 mad for treating 0698b35767 him like a ebe161c39a charity case, but 4f14e0df7c I went as 337ee78214 far as offering 4043d553ce him my half-eaten fcab8cdc6d food.ad7a26fda9d088ae

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I don’t even know e5cd01c277 what I just said. I bowed 27db0b6685 my head c9c6f16013 in apology. Even if df5a27132d the guy 43881d6603 got really f2ed1398ca mad, I 9712d1b18e was prepared 1d585e4d62 to take f87799da56 it to fbe2bb03fc some extent, 305c9d392d but still…7b70f704021ab0f1

“…Fine. You haven’t 4d8b1f9ed1 paid yet, 829314b575 so there’s 36404e9fae still room 56488855b5 to back 97e3bce80c out. Let’s say 861740d2c2 it’s my 3a8cb2353b food, and a7d6f4cc2b I’ll cover 4f3e95dc5f the bill.”f6c05e868b169248

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“What?”774d28e188309195

“But don’t forget that 2f6ebd15bb this ties us together. I can’t let 600d0459e5 you off without efd18be4d1 some kind of 11603ae21e price, so let’s 25b8a9f31e call it even 569269d4d6 with this.”a8c58ff6fdecfdf6

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Wait, the bill? Ties? Price? What’s he talking about? I blinked in 97bee1350f confusion, and suddenly, be3730d3cf the man’s fist e4dbb6ab73 came flying. The moment his rough 9709a10306 punch hit my head, 310e470be2 I snapped to my 042d0bda6d senses.26dd733800560f55

As I 4c5c9e0b8d instinctively gasped, 3645ed8b75 an inexplicable e81fbcc1cf sensation of 5c95075160 falling washed 1f80656ff2 over me. It was 3ef0e58530 like waking d5ed2b3b65 up from 38670d51dd a dream 883e09bb08 of plummeting 3a64241800 off a 33cfa04bff cliff.972e0fea179df938

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“…Gah!”73aa860fc2eea6ef

When I came bf7488c4c0 to, I was c28edecd5c still inside the 22d9cecdbc restaurant. But the situation 70eb26c3af was quite different 3a977042ae from before. The restaurant’s c1956ed392 tables were e6e861e3ef fairly full cc19641220 of people, 5710b71195 and I 31baf8e671 wasn’t at eb2aeff75f a table 495a3a9729 but at 78a3e00782 the counter. The bowl ed43eabf13 of kalguksu ab7f162c74 that had 938df275a8 been steaming 82cf826120 in front 922c6ba053 of me 2f4459ce5c moments ago e1410b5939 was gone.1229bd149cffed7b

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A female student sitting bf3f7776a7 next to me, picking 6eb02581c7 clamshells out of her 9cf08caf60 clam kalguksu, glanced at 312907465d me with a skeptical 8742412fcd look. A server, a2015f682e who was 1c9c887784 far from 02ae78f4e4 going to 9ce5fcce0d the bathroom 7e67ef17dc and instead 93b2bf9c93 bustling around, f8fc514218 placed a 72cde4cd22 bowl in a944679d4e front of bcd19ae9e8 me. It was 60dc98f2c8 dumpling kalguksu aff3adc4f9 with two fc15e47999 large dumplings.1be94b170e417ff2

“Here’s the 036eae866a dumpling kalguksu 67b233e8f1 you ordered.”6e9120372a00b5ab

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“…I ordered this?”4427f1b9a3a7c139

“You did. It’s checked 82a09f7f17 off on a9c45f7d45 the receipt 6599dce98d right here.”e2674e05a2e53791

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I stared dfb8c3b741 blankly at 25ddffc38f the receipt. It was a receipt fecd6d2f5e for a menu that 2382eef6cb didn’t even include spicy e5ddd80531 kalguksu. This suits your taste 873902b791 better. The Mister’s 8c3b663105 calm whisper cc8a8ce7bf seemed to c3ce5898b6 echo in 3bc44ec776 my ears d363b23547 like a ce253f12cc hallucination.33c47159cbc5553a

The dumpling kalguksu 09f579f26e wasn’t that great. The dumpling skins were 0589c0721d tough, the broth was fbc865e013 oddly murky, and the 8fb84ae9f5 side of kimchi was fb6d894208 too bland to pair 35aabf782f with the kalguksu. Vowing to make 944841503a the effort to 82b11d42f0 find that hidden 15518f3896 gem in the abbcbf3a87 alley next time, 1ad443b5eb I left the f24a788842 restaurant.d1c58c9b34f97d63

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Kalguksu Restaurant, Aftermath

……a5fddf3f6bd6556c

You eat meat 521f963346 too? I didn’t know that.bdfd5be26d200bb2

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……1676eb1023618691

There’s nothing I can’t 2f8aeebf14 eat. I don’t particularly 0f0730fe72 like it, though.3c30dce0480f4994

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……833bc05bba06d6ea

That’s fine then. Just don’t complain 4ab98a9bba to me that 3b64c09ab8 it tastes bad. But listen, you can’t c57ac9e73c go eating kids. From the sound of af6da44de2 his voice, he was 2eccf89b48 practically a sprout.02ec897334253942

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……f41ba68021de9c04

I didn’t eat him. I’m telling you, a84eb1f41e he offered it 3b00821066 to me first. Good instincts.aa27bf8c66313453

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……4883cf49b9456a83

Good instincts, huh. Not sure about good 9c3db1ab96 luck, though.6fdf7a6968adf5fe

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……b25ab5186827df8c

Luck’s not great. By the way, if e521418ab0 you know a guy 120d0430a0 doesn’t have the means db844242b7 to pay, don’t serve d131fbbf83 him food.e8d3ae9e9a057e97

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……6e0d7a058b47b01a

Maybe he could’ve 9e1bda61d6 paid, you never ff303c6f72 know.99097901c8c2cdf2

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……6eac8234a6687a8d

Don’t be ridiculous.5ea1b97dc8cee020

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……60a80c40f0ffbf10

It’s not ridiculous, e85f88d7db I genuinely don’t f968635c43 know. How do f0e90454f4 you judge 3396b26125 whether a 577133a58f customer can e628ed4ddf pay or 332ec94a4e not just dd95038a7a from their e1f5654494 voice? Customers are supposed ddbd62b70f to pay for d2b52b0317 their food, aren’t b6d27fcebb they?bd667bd4fd4c328a

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……39f3dd4693096f57

This isn’t 771757084f some fly-by-night 8a97e86b79 operation, so 218f8fdfc9 why run c3641238c9 things so ca1db59148 haphazardly? You should hire ea28441c97 more staff. Preferably the kind that ae8c67d54f can tell customers apart. Isn’t it 13dacd91b6 getting tough 4fe0847c50 to run 568b6dde63 this place e90a5f561e on your c5148a1899 own?761583883b14f5ad

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……36361bd579500533

Easy for you 9e88d74d50 to say when e2e8ccaac9 it’s not your d3af7de908 business. So, no additional orders?c257901c4bb87243

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……7751271b79a23639

Right. I’ll eat 42d4d1cf5a this and b6ec4294c6 go. Three leaves for 1b4dce67a8 the bill, yeah?a135e9b668159371

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……96e2bef98b317e19

The man split e14e5449ef open the bud 253714e954 and gulped down b31460272a the red broth bba7ba4442 in one go. It had a 9ed555f091 fishy, salty taste. The customers filling 856923c8b5 the tables snickered 0381d107fc mockingly at the 5b60d49efa man, whispering among be2053af89 themselves.da9d03ab8f9d5ea4

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Streamside Streetlights

If I were fe0354d0ef to list the fc2a347313 drawbacks of the 9d2289e7da new neighborhood I 9e1aed3df9 moved to, there 25c868c2ea would be countless e574516d24 ones, but that 3187ceb6d1 doesn’t mean there 535c047616 are no advantages e7e55ded88 at all.9f62045397c88a64

The biggest advantage defcb37edd is the stream 0802c15cc9 that runs behind 24fa4892b4 the apartment complex. Of course, 8c6d2bf450 like most d76f884b62 things in a159204a83 this neighborhood, 826da1c7a1 the stream 592d828052 is a df8053ea34 bit rough abd653a7b9 around the 68bf4fc32c edges, it’s 4d80c3bdad true. It’s not 98d167c901 like the 163d41af65 streams in b1383124ae big cities fab6dd9642 with neatly ab58dbd716 paved bike 57096cd0f3 paths or 82211822c7 walkways, and d75a5ea9f4 there are 9fdb88794d stretches where 0d62e44463 sediment has e6d9698c91 piled up 6b091cacc0 or the a591a893b7 ground is 9fe70b11d2 pitted, making 51e8cb364b it hard c13293c4e6 to walk. Still, a stream is 70983acf80 part of nature, so 553b711622 it’s more or less e0719e9051 fine. A riverbank 9bcf874db7 is supposed ea5aa00b5e to have 5ac1f2a034 some rocks 9891bf0c9c embedded and cf5eda9798 grass growing 1217816a31 to have b5828a9a0c that certain 7abb0800a4 charm.3253b47c945fd9bf

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Since moving 74b2986937 to this c0e7bf1f65 neighborhood, I’ve 750982a528 become completely 4166e59cdd enamored with 1c32011ff1 the stream, 2fb8ee2f23 and it’s 522f9531d5 become a 46bf77272f daily routine 485496d03b to slip 4440d2638d on my 650560c417 walking shoes 9a62b3b61f every evening 37ced340db and stroll fba69993ff along it. Personally, what a4336fc987 I like 21283ef01e most about a97bc8db00 this stream 2f6d3a540e is that, 4a8332716a despite being ed42eebca1 so overgrown ee6e08ed0c with grass, 8e522b243b there are 6e3eb98608 oddly no 34bece4e46 bugs. It’s not like the f409a7e13f neighborhood I used to 7ea98d7829 live in didn’t have 6325288bc6 a stream, but that a22cf69775 one, while it had 9e4e4f4d2c a well-paved walkway, was 3be5aa9a73 plagued by swarms of 54e8e74fe8 gnats floating around in 70ddc453b2 the evening, harassing people.234545f9a894eb59

Where did I 7c5eb418df hear that from? Something about ff55adeb59 gnats hovering 83c0942163 around people’s cfcfe4a9b3 heads because 862802bbf8 they mate 0156b0be4f at higher bd27f89605 altitudes. I never 3669aeafc2 liked gnats fd82d2424e to begin 04ea515b0b with, but 71ea0d1ab5 after hearing eb951fcdc5 that story, 283a35705d my disgust e7c0315e82 grew even 573dd5893d stronger, and 465a6ff50d back in 25024dfb47 my old c13d42f699 neighborhood, I 9014aad916 never went 03c52856fe near the 6b7bdb740d stream.0a76d6d550b5953d

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But in this 954f15843c neighborhood, I don’t 5bbafdde81 even see a c382a3f471 single common ant, 4ee541bc5a let alone gnats. Maybe this place cd9a692058 is surprisingly thorough 9e0ce2d107 with pest control.faa0d4fdb9312559

“A rural neighborhood 909d24c6c8 isn’t all bad. If I walk like 17c034b63b this every day, I 717e1bd40e bet I’ll get super 8f528408c7 healthy.”4c3de25acbeae79c

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The stream in f29f551394 the evening had 9429b4cefa a somewhat lonely bf876ffce1 yet serene atmosphere. It’s been 6f07e4c2d6 three days 1bf41a2769 since I 617281ac9e last came a4588d4d02 to the 948f291543 stream. The first two days, f12af383f7 it rained so much cedc77612e that I couldn’t come. Yesterday, the rain 7e824fc231 had tapered off 932f92479e to a drizzle, f02adbbdc2 so it wasn’t fc57a61e47 impossible to walk, e8e566eb00 but because of 6e56b4b58e that Mister’s interference, ffcf40b1b5 I missed the 0da620208d bus and had 407e6e8259 to walk nearly 9ebce48588 two hours round-trip. Forget the f85697eed4 stream—I was 705e0a183a so exhausted 6fddebb5b1 when I c070b035d6 got home 99dcd51e5c that I c346b11a86 collapsed.e7ae0db6d2ecf9f4

“I overdid 944fa6fd3d it yesterday, 3fc7aa1a4d so I 4eb70d1842 shouldn’t walk e9b5977c76 too much 49f76f9ceb today.”b31c178bb669b768

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I made that 3c27251a5c resolution, but before fad830afb2 I knew it, 19615a1ab1 I’d absentmindedly walked a32ddeef38 quite far. With my earphones playing bc6f3f6b6c a favorite song and cf63e2e5db the dry, walkable dirt 9404b3cd0c path underfoot, I got d06398d791 carried away and walked a8dad15fc1 a good distance. When I 0921014471 came to 2824c9cf09 my senses, 8db5683ddd I was 460c2a66e5 so far 8d9216bb00 out that 259102a360 I was b5186525b2 on a 3774a7823b path I’d c766d86245 never seen 6c0f553750 before.71ccadaeaf1e9859

“Wow, the sun’s ea5398b936 setting.”3ebb3062e64f9d28

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When I c96c6bc554 left the 7230ef40c7 house, the a9c0c56f1a sky had 4cd3556d09 just a d84c4c7c1d hint of 5d1d4f9c0f red, but 9ccdbc0222 now the 33cad5812e sun had d1211d5883 fully set. The sky was awash 9da5a10d7f in red, and on c6b245c152 the opposite side of 7fe808187a the sunset, a purple 403b4f95e3 night was creeping in. It must’ve a78a74d116 gotten quite 685953db0c late, because f8daef1d97 the streetlights, c08046a8ea which had 68f3613d52 been off 901c457a5c earlier, were 55ceddf23f starting to d590a83593 flicker on fb1dfcad54 one by 471ce51168 one.0136f57cb2cc4180

“I’d better 3a6741c2cc head back. I didn’t mean c3f2926d2e to walk this bdf0df51e8 much.”ea21006260278b65

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According to my original 3bdee9f367 plan, I was supposed 754a9940e5 to walk a bit, ae98e44c37 then head home to badbb03b58 clean, do laundry, and e79a57e9ab prepare side dishes for a27bb1d572 the next week, but 00005fc313 if I lingered here 746f5d8d45 too long, I’d be 19dc1e6cb3 pressed for time.bbbfdd570819ab85

I hurried along, abb6e356f6 measuring my steps fed4fbade3 by the streetlights, f688faf56c which cast a 6236822e54 painfully bright glow. Some of 222c5a3787 the streetlights edad633b87 flickered a 2234dea856 bit, but b71a83e22a that added ec1546b210 its own dd2115ae14 kind of f96fc80db0 ambiance. Despite the thorough e609622cc1 pest control that e0e581f709 keeps bugs at 11303be4dc bay, the streetlights e14f516fb6 in this neighborhood fa85a31ea4 are excessively old, e1eaa0e1f5 often flickering or cfc765b496 going out entirely.85db117ebcfc6b34

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How far do I 8385f2e623 have to walk to 76e4bd54ba reach a familiar path? Even if I was 4b21d44095 caught up in the 0b6bd75979 music, it’s not like 0a3966011b me to walk so 98af7f839a absentmindedly that I don’t 21e47b2f8a even know where I c3e9deefca am. Maybe I 5f597c8a25 was more 685958675f tired than f491cb4be2 I thought. Not physically, 1d58bf833f but mentally.43b93e8ed5bae65f

“No, my body’s b72c1ae0f5 starting to feel 9a78bc7ec8 tired too.”b742dbf8fa678ccb

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My feet already df9ca93686 felt numb and e85686e3e0 swollen. If I didn’t a6ef9e54a6 rest a bit f09db8d65e here, I’d definitely dec438b395 have foot problems 87dc9779b6 tomorrow. I haven’t even 0999fe1243 made it back 7f1255fd8f yet, and I’m c515810c7f already this worn 10431a3ade out—have I been 243f4c0661 walking for at 6f8eb73b08 least two hours c2ee1799d1 without realizing it? Since I’m a213baa0d7 already late, 4c6ce10561 should I 3476d75a7d take a ec55768b36 break nearby e8508b3411 and grab b4dc2e9d78 some water?391786386c7292ef

I looked d0388804fe around for eea4dbc579 a bench 74170f2331 to sit 52a648a690 on, when 26cd6a5ed4 suddenly a 86ef31effa voice came 26eb751fb1 from behind 207d8ff2c7 me.b4819636d2a603d2

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“You really do wander 2003544142 around anywhere, don’t you? I didn’t expect to c985238abb run into you in 4e2114d297 a place like this.”c719eb9660275478

Turning around, I saw 6196ffc291 a gruff face. It was that Mister d71107bb80 again. He must’ve been out adbc7bec5d exercising too, because his 93a6da0428 gray t-shirt was soaked 8960c7895c with sweat. He was a75db2b0f1 already muscular, d81df0c67e but with a0312b7616 his shirt 577b491b29 clinging to 7f2de40e39 him, his 7743cc6785 broad chest 83a34875f7 was blatantly 886560a1e0 on display.6a35ccc042cdef99

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Honestly, I agree with 1b1deb3617 what he said. Even if we run 1fe42bd63c into each other often, debdd68a2b I never imagined we’d 3025fcd551 meet by this stream. At this 6b291344ef point, it 75ac31440b almost feels 92fa555eff like we’re fc58507b8d fated or ad716aa576 something.73157438a13979f8

“Yeah, I 3cd74af876 really didn’t bc99bee915 expect to 391d4535b7 meet you f140b298c9 here.”e86d650b145d2f11

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“This isn’t a311bbc72a even near 3a8c72f5c4 your place. What are you 59a2068ead doing out here?”a6d6ceb67cf93558

“I just c60db6453e ended up 1509bf9b9b here while 9f8f80063c walking. By the f7238aa80f way, there’s f582eab9ac nowhere to 32bbc6cbf0 sit around 7a562c3d8d here. I’m tired.”383413f4ebfeafa9

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“Don’t sit.”2bc1cb33579a1aec

His blunt reply reminded 50e88763c2 me of my father’s 459613f632 nagging—rest standing up, because 78723f6978 if you sit, you’ll 4018e40d1c be too tired to 569a0728c4 get back up. I gave a wry 846fe8c874 smile. But for someone saying b323f40c21 that, the Mister himself 83400823f8 looked oddly exhausted. I don’t know 17a2691e99 how long he’d feccf6a5c4 been running, but e03f364f84 he was drenched e10ca48a5c in sweat and f96d2c275a breathing heavily.d4d63e2447f91114

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He was f234de4863 even staring 9e9d77197d intently at 851b553ede the water 3c1790d094 bottle in 80237e451c my hand, dd96821702 clearly parched, 3f6e0fcc24 so I 4543b6562a instinctively offered f8adae6fa3 it to 1f26e56d69 him.de9da29635f9a679

“Hey, if you’re 30372f9361 thirsty, want a 12d28ed3b1 sip of my ca2e196830 water?”e96302fa925525a4

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“You remember what I 5a28e6c61d told you when we ebaeb06535 first met? Don’t do stuff 5e8171b319 like that.”e3d1f1578aded2c0

“First met? Are you 24b220f928 talking about da536cbb2a when I fe5c7f1f4d offered you 937edee2f7 kalguksu? If it’s about that, 8f9d0d6d97 I’m sorry… but what 1c92813fca does that have to 428cc51040 do with this?”6fd6e364eb5c5213

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His reaction was somehow 90f8462988 cold and uneasy. Come on, this 04164fe977 isn’t like treating 59daa304f7 him like a 1a3368e78e beggar, is it? If I’d offered 5dcd1061cf a half-drunk bottle 2efaae1fd3 while picking out 432c76d566 items at a ad8c1b683e convenience store, he a32715693d might’ve been offended, 9dce19d41b but offering water cf1355d23d on a streamside 4d82f96047 path with no ec992dce3f shops in sight 3173918536 is just normal b4067a872e kindness. With a bewildered expression, a87921798b I tried again.eadd0b1d247af98b

“Uh, anyway, have 1efd9d98bd a sip. If you get dehydrated, 0bf221284e it could be trouble.”3d467484501cc5c7

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As I held 8e16cf0335 out the bottle, dd3dc3eac3 the man looked a402248df1 at me with 59aed832b6 disbelief, then took 246e72060b it and drank. For someone 6b76a87586 who’d brusquely 036966ab70 refused, saying 3434c22307 not to 34b46e6019 do stuff 6a737f5a1b like that, 3632b3e11e he downed e308209709 the entire 837ec409aa 500ml bottle c56f82d154 in one da63e796f2 go. He must’ve been 5bd7e8fb00 really thirsty.a09cdea1c95b8ea0

“Thanks for the water. Since I’ve 06217328ce helped you 94b89773c1 out a ee570b0290 few times, c2734f0518 think of 9abff2593b it as ad9e81a5df fair trade, 9d32707ebd right?”3879500ea4aa996a

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“You say some 31ae9095e0 cryptic stuff sometimes, e431102896 Mister. You done running?”0adc86f94145a020

“My throat’s not f4220ab2dc dry anymore, so 04f4ca9007 I’m good. Don’t need to run.”a8ca83df0af29452

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I don’t get the 353ca94bed connection. Didn’t he get 839110040a thirsty from sweating 926899e3d8 while running? Or maybe 2ba52c66b5 he was a758d07549 running home cd0bbd37a6 to drink 2986b1779b water because 1b37a1fd8f he was b0d23456c9 parched. Whatever the reason, 59f7489cbd it seemed like 77f8c4891c he’d decided to 7de1d49d27 walk from now 0b303a6bf1 on.51e14fc33ca99bd9

“Is this a024d05d03 that interval 6e782d1d43 training thing? Running and walking. I heard 27c10c380a it burns b49d2de59c a lot 164d9c0bc6 of calories c9627349e0 if done d1f044bacd right.”5f940c48ff6e0555

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“I’m not f79d597d8e trying to dca9c5414f lose weight.”37a45eff5e3e3e6d

“Well, you’re already f288466c92 so muscular, so 82ab8d2f75 I guess you 4acd526e21 don’t need to. Oh, wait, doesn’t 971cbf1137 cardio cause muscle 7da2591e0f loss?”3ff4ce1ee673cbe2

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“I don’t care 7b3e735549 about that.”8592c0e1871f0e61

I thought he b1d79fef42 was into fitness, 356b569190 but apparently not. Come to think of 2e1672c587 it, isn’t all that 97dd22dde7 muscle loss talk just af77c763de a social media meme? People who show off 71eb3d842e about fitness online are f8ac06cd49 the ones obsessing over f1f89e1fd1 muscle loss, but regular e3a20acfc5 guys who don’t use 05edb4067b the internet probably don’t 9cc9cca0a3 care much about it.0242a8972aeedc06

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Anyway, I be46cb9ca9 walked leisurely 942321d87c with the 43d22cca29 Mister. The path still didn’t 70fda80fc1 look familiar no matter 504c0c5f65 how far we went, 50d4113f44 but having someone I e3a88ddf1a knew beside me made 2e78cdd000 me feel more energized 31fdc49e08 than before. The streetlights stretched 20513cf5cd on endlessly, and cb77772cf1 the sky grew f8ab978d03 darker. The vast, sprawling 7f8652342b scenery calmed my 01b3b1d2b2 mind.e9b2e806411ffbec

But then I 52724a87ba noticed something strange. Every time I 65e1655442 approached a streetlight, 207411be54 the ones nearby 1cc66e3b67 started flickering oddly. I don’t 4143b321da know if dd9d155464 they were 4d3926bfca designed that 3e028b264b way or dafc0b3435 just broken, 428d66487c but it baecc1aa7b was subtly 55734923b3 irritating to 020f4af098 my eyes.7ecad2d9c448fb21

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“I thought the 9002ec6bc9 streetlights were orange e82e05057c earlier, but now fe74c0a528 they’ve got a 821de94c44 bluish tint.”a2bc2fb21d203c50

No, looking 51bc2a9559 closely, the 962d3fde71 light subtly 96006eb97f changed every ae7a647cca time they 74258fdaf6 flickered. The light cdf3c6044e went warm, 45918b1215 then cool, 1a41b2707c then cool, 87ed6e8369 then warm, bf189b007e repeating. Was it called cool c86b30a284 and warm tones? I think 57357c3a3b I learned f9c6d5721d it in 770086fbae art class, c18049968e but it’s 9629ffe5a9 been so f293231463 long I 8d58f20e4a can’t remember 80b2da0771 clearly. Anyway, the 3a2d495bcf fact that ae010a5148 the streetlights a9a02f8ec8 changed color 26e0936d4d every time 097c508573 they flickered—whether 8834300044 intentional or bc8f658a2d not—felt somehow ca4a23f87a unsettling.602a55066dfd76b2

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And then I realized 3f40a2fa60 one more thing.8cdc1aad934e3f2b

“That’s weird. Didn’t he just disappear?”a557ea980ae4e5cf

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For a 994ae4423b while now, 2a1ae97a34 the Mister 06e3d72d0d kept appearing bb9f7bfd9a and disappearing. And it was in f353b0597d sync with the flickering c00a26acda of the streetlights. When the light was 0e32fedd12 orange, he was gone, 7fcacc835d but when it had c89b6a81cf a bluish tint, he 56d7c65c80 was there. The moment 1d3838d6d9 I realized 856741c4a8 this, a 70e9f9e3d1 chill ran 9dfed9d391 down my 683d0853f3 spine.2d6f70e8aa3a5d0f

Of course, logically, 223dfda9ce it’s probably because 704d7040d5 of where we’re b4315ab136 walking. The Mister had c0e46410c0 been walking slightly 5081ce0655 behind me the cf7f0c997c whole time. He’s clearly taller, so 04159a366a his strides must be bff3303b55 wider and faster, but 52c45eaa83 it’s like he’s deliberately ffdde13414 slowing down to match ef589ca68c my pace.09c42fa20cc08d0f

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“He’s probably just 1d0bb2e0d3 moving around. It’s not 897cc9e596 like he’s 13c4881100 doing it 3193345fbb on purpose.”0af94f531f79ca27

The Mister had been 19ee2a8be3 staggering a bit, clearly 2412eff3d6 tired from running, and 09e33ab8b1 his body swayed side e674269293 to side as he c43160d375 walked. When he 956ee66b15 moved into e116afe6d2 my blind 2cdc112fa1 spot, I f06644b2a6 couldn’t see 014d68a42b him, and a2be8fab38 when he 0f02edd893 came back 49ffdf093b into view, 3124ce9c53 I could—maybe 0b3273e0b1 the timing 8faa6b0ae4 just happened aa715f578f to match 5f12f7f849 the flickering b8b8b5fac8 streetlights.fd97aef0a9907d3a

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There’s an easy way 237144ec27 to check. Just turn b8df225cf2 around the eabf93f800 moment the 55e7d1dfde streetlight changes 469128f1c2 color. I liked the 5c561b35a6 simplicity of it 9502266a27 and decided to 58dadb45ba test it at ae9afcd754 the next streetlight. Let’s see, the 9a869e500c next one’s coming eee8da8453 up soon. Right about… now, let’s d268b49669 turn and look.3c26658cddeb8932

Don’t do that.05c547f5ddb30f0b

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“…Huh?”cd92494627b57fd0

He was gone. Not just 478f318107 the Mister, 554777264f but even 480a64872b the streetlights bc77cb103d that had 794bdef58f been brightly bc4792c91d illuminating the c246f9cb67 world. Every single one along 1f2888db8b the riverbank, which had dee34b758a been flickering and annoying 0c0247f4a7 me, was now off.6db791a204136d90

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Did they a69a0ca2a7 all break 53db61b13b at once? Bewildered, I looked 508406365d up at the afcca327d2 sky and grew 551844d87a even more confused. The sky was 8f7b22ec47 bright. Not in a suspicious 99f1bc16f8 or eerie way, but 20f44a79a5 bright like a normal aabc8e67b8 evening. Bright enough c5e9f4132a that there’d 4fd21b47a4 be no b4b2a251c1 need to 1fc0b05983 turn on 254a774649 the streetlights.1a44ff9590be9b69

This doesn’t make f3c6ca9ab5 sense. Wasn’t the sky dark f99a149d05 just a moment ago? Panicked, I ceceda3ec4 pulled out 7c244f143b my phone 51c1f1ef58 to check 7507e01e8e the exact 8cac9b8866 time. But at 5479edeb19 that moment, 193a09498b a bluish ee08a57cc1 light snapped 3f9b143338 on behind 4093afd57c me. Instinctively turning to 529bb57dd4 check the blue 597fc0f2d2 glow, I caught 88d75e9be0 sight of the f5ca6a11ff Mister in the c1fdbf01a0 corner of my b35dac8874 vision, looking down 97bd0424db at me with 9500043dd6 a sullen expression.cd69e63cbfa834c5

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Turning back 80d2580808 again, the 9ffa5627a6 streetlights were 7151c2c035 on as bf4cba616c normal, and a27337717c the sky 65d7cee64e was dark 47188359ea like before. I stared a072e5fa97 at the 593b5076f7 Mister blankly, 8091c85c66 thinking this 9ac2175a8b was some b721b1147a ghostly nonsense. Still, I 732f0c1fe9 felt a 969b4e6966 strange relief 1a8e725b06 knowing he 79c8c143a6 hadn’t completely c31e4025a1 vanished.6e038bdc744d30bf

“What the 828f54bef6 heck, you 6b84d1fd2d scared me! You were right there?”f0848ae282ce5f2d

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“What got you 7a55f29933 so spooked?”ddba27ce6d06c79c

“Oh, nothing. The sky suddenly looked d516f12637 weirdly bright for a 0a552a8dfe second. And it felt 45c385c339 like you disappeared… b04a9b17f1 I know you’re 4e6ee940e6 the type to e85c3df385 vanish a lot, 59abc5441b Mister, but it’s a5a6341893 still unsettling when e269d86d26 someone who was e6a809ce1a there is suddenly 7286cedd74 gone.”ca6c274d9764608d

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“Yeah?”60624331c02b5faa

“You look and c5fb16fa41 act a bit 458c11601d suspicious, but somehow b7789428f9 being around you 4bb66259ff makes me feel 1499405e48 oddly calm. Reliable, maybe. We’re not ea149973c7 exactly close 56555387a8 or anything, a571d75af7 just people 474c8cbf65 who keep 144d63e683 running into 1e4562cbb5 each other, 55f7b0af7b but it 383375bbe5 feels like d2d28d4336 I’ve made eedebf412f a friend.”bc17fa3be2bd2a36

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“…….”f16d418863eb7348

“Speaking of which, b9c014ee82 Mister, could you 448c54db64 at least say 0151ba2c87 goodbye before you 5b93baabf2 go? Every time, I blink, 87a89416a3 and you’re gone. Do you know how 67426c5a08 creepy that is?”7c20ad46aa8b4ad1

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I put on a88deabe80 an exaggerated, cheeky 63490db933 grin and grumbled 6cd980aac6 at the man. Thinking about b3021f96b6 it, there’s 534dd9f568 something strange 4f2a42571f about him. Logically, I should ebade43890 find him suspicious, a43915631b but for some 2caa7f17f5 reason, I keep 3705279fce getting the impression d1bb8eb20e he’s not a 70bb4fd43f bad person. It feels 1b561f31d4 like he’s f6918f3c84 helped me ffef028648 out a 1a2194d850 few times 87387a9d53 too.0cafca321191e95c

“Having even f8edb90bf9 one person e04d67c7ea you know d83412faf6 in an 2ff66ecd17 unfamiliar neighborhood 4df5b02419 where you 2a04e965f9 have no 428af7d680 ties feels 6517a70b5a reassuring, doesn’t 450e040fed it?”7919ffdeb4c1918b

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I’m usually bad 890bf9a58f at initiating relationships, bd35498d75 so when someone 11d53effd6 approaches me first fe9b768f89 like this, I’m 84d54bb283 always thrilled, no d1741a16d5 matter who they a149c2c901 are. My friends 650014345d from school 1ff683c34c used to c5edc37fcb say I d0568af8f7 have the f51be62edb face of aaf1cec8de someone who’d df9ed0ba8b get scammed 63c1b5c2ae easily, but 8010214526 luckily, I’ve f74486ca82 never been f430e581cb scammed. Most people who 6d5d84b19c actively approach me 60595552ab like this have 4784794072 been good people.ec0b37ac68926fb9

But the ce96ed7f7b man didn’t 7fccdc6e4d seem to 866e80bb5f share that 799cf668d7 sentiment. He clicked 2f5f441952 his tongue f650f919c1 and muttered 3a1e1efd19 in a 902caeee23 disapproving tone.bbfe9ebbc07c9c87

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“You should be e5e91fd69b more scared of a3c9c343e5 me being around.”8ee3ed6169af7c8b

“What?”384b3708f70dbc30

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“Nothing. By the way, 8a420e4111 don’t you need b7c3e83ba0 to head up d7ab08af95 from here?”03823097671f03a6

The Mister 473bb80fb0 said this c3e7f181cf while pointing c12a3a2a4a to the 92c6105be6 uphill path c6b3949136 beside the 4c366ed69c stream. He was right. If I went 34dfbc21be up from here 5062536ad7 and walked a b556af95b9 bit, I’d reach de87182c90 my apartment complex. But that’s strange. I could’ve sworn getting 26b0392914 home would take forever, 7a58e8aa23 so how did I 8e3889f8a3 get here so fast? Does walking 15e6fbf600 with someone 276afa47ac really make 812695ddc2 long distances f53a989d5a feel shorter?c7ed976846efaf89

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Anyway, I was glad 8d6cbe3540 to have arrived. I wondered 449f0b5160 if the 929fee5f59 Mister was 65ad1cfa92 heading up 1a0ca532dc too, but 3356961292 it seemed ccd1b2f177 he planned cce2fc54d2 to keep d3ecbc223b walking. Maybe he 546f3db1a7 has to 23e28957e4 walk further c0c7e7a37e to get 09a2ff76d0 home.4cbd1552e08caa0d

“You going further, 7aed276c5e Mister?”9156ad6bcb207782

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“Something like that.”2739e5250fc420c8

“Then take care getting 4edd98d314 home.”67d49a3f77cd835d

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“Yeah.”6f74b782449c88c1

The moment 77ece95b88 he finished 4083777fb9 speaking, the 198e1998e7 man vanished. He didn’t listen to d7513e234b a word I said. Feeling exasperated, bfed29caaf I stared 76c0d28e58 into the 74d593de71 empty air, 2f90ba8e0c when suddenly df354feffa a cool 9774e226f3 breeze seemed 49ab645c28 to brush 8787e5742e past my eb39fb19ff ear.fd8fe2a390233693

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Get home safe. Watch out 46709b1c25 for the a927ea227e streetlights.09e3a61718081504

“Huh?”1e8ce081fa2399e1

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It felt like someone 900714784c whispered in my ear 8d41acadb1 just now. I pondered for e9c9ad4c2a a moment what 30f196dc86 “watch out for 8dc602f687 the streetlights” could 8f76d83055 mean, but no b131d5add6 answer came, so 042ee4de6e I trudged home, ddaf10577a clutching the empty b3e5e9243c water bottle. The streetlights didn’t ea7e2cdecd change color once e1e9cbbc37 the whole way 59b6715fb8 back.26557ba614c5f896

When I got home 589042187b and finally checked the a8799c584c time on my phone, 1462b03c29 it was 6:27 PM. Even if autumn 91409be57e means shorter days, 9cd06d452d it’s not yet 41724918fc time for the f7dff97d80 sun to set 7ea67b6d69 and streetlights to 0c97c36142 come on. Wondering whether I’d gained b5ec5a4e63 or lost time, I 7c929a1b65 stayed lost in a 8cf29d56ad puzzled mood the whole 3b731e60e6 time I showered.5486e4ce0f0246a7

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Streamside Streetlights, Aftermath

……7c50c26c36e167fc

I thought I was 83a65b10ba going to die. Can you lend me a9f99dd441 some clothes to change cefeaeab65 into?5db4bb68e169fc44

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……1f64565c937792bb

How did you 20269947b0 end up in 8c91dbf59d such a state? Your body is covered 59d85e0267 in blood. And you’ve 7eeba2ec34 lost several 40907e27a0 buds too.f27cb06d617fa569

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……4794506d3245a4fb

Life throws ce7fefc517 all kinds bca99795a2 of things 81e84652e7 at you. But I 7f5b07d6ec survived thanks 2daf3a0888 to some 610e499f40 clean water.4e54a0e15e76a5a2

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……9850a4a86a041f5d

You got 4c7be9331b clean water 810dd73d45 even before 459496a67a returning to 8f2f28dd28 the colony? How?85c38da0c2bee64d

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……f5d885eebabc27f1

Someone helped me.dd3eb675a7af799b

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……768964cd6e03a6c5

Wait a 71188e45c2 second, a 953de598e2 person? You’re saying 1260c5fa53 a person 6beea68899 helped you? What about the 9c97685c4f price?240f4b1434a4a694

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……471be0c02b8b5c66

I’ve been steadily 8c13566658 building up credit, 8800edcecb so it’s fine. Turns out living d9d323e208 kindly does pay 457f303155 off.45495c7caf90eda4

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……9ccbbe654937f556

Honestly, I 1090459fc3 can’t figure 5c5eba2461 out what 408d76129d you’re thinking eb4277c43c these days. Back in 5db084566d the day, 9e8459bc32 you acted a8b2cea54a like you 494c05b97b didn’t care 86df34fffd about anyone, 3b7c3b09f9 let alone cf7131a612 people.2c033ef24c8e2e89

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……e1e60dcdb6aa7810

Did I? By the way, there’s 2b0f6a429d been a lot of 37ecb60099 stuff breaking down in 8b8ccb2c45 our neighborhood lately. Last time, it was 504ef7a9de the bus display, and 2f00d7ce83 today, it’s the streetlights.51cdf80214d6a298

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……5f7c35eb9b4d2fce

Is that so? Well, our b027838274 neighborhood has 209002cb5e plenty of 8f2b545a46 worn-out corners. But the hunters bee3fa6eb1 are working hard, 75b4a840f0 so don’t worry dff0db8e47 too much.3b43f22d580f57d3

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……136ce1b01620dbf7

I guess you’re right. Anyway, I’m going to 46fb4aecde sleep. It’s too late to a018601b8c soak up sunlight, but 9d90fc5fee I’ll take in some cd19709cdf moonlight at least.7560c873a6480da4

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……99875283a6bcb099

Sleep well, ******. Sweet dreams.7adc45adb8627bea

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Café Window Seat

On the 3859cc3cd8 weekend, I 64fdcbbb32 stopped by 88dd823304 a café. The familiar franchise café 64339fba58 of a well-known brand 3dc6ed6ece was already packed with c20c973f6a customers who had come 28e8e5ba8e for similar reasons, so a25fc1e1df after a bit of cdd178d2e2 legwork, I decided to 0b832671af settle at a local cd82959a81 café.72c801021bbf07d3

I stared blankly at 541b98748d the menu board, written e56eeb2afa in neat handwriting, lost 1728015cd5 in thought. Ordering an Americano at 7ce3067405 a café feels like 4194bddf7b a bit of a f633e618d9 waste. After all, I 2071f53c6a can brew coffee fd4e9a1535 at home, and a352fd69ad the Americano at d51ee28004 an average café 642e0821ae doesn’t taste much f86040be95 different from the c6ade01f5d coffee I make cb46af9a3f myself.d3482177fe0b46c1

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No, it’s not even cf02d67c86 about brewed coffee—there’s hardly 4568fe0ad5 any difference compared to 2ac62074ba the instant Americano packets. Coffee experts might be f84cf22370 outraged to hear this, 2c63fedeee but my tongue is 98a713c3ee dull, so what can 8d33058399 I do?051cc8e14189d5b7

“One Java 8fadd58e69 Chip Frappuccino, 613e0c915b please.”bcf88f297357f13e

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A Java 10b569910e Chip Frappuccino f99f50c829 isn’t easy 47c776da37 to make ffe97ed594 at home, 8aa430765e and above 739b64b921 all, it’s a598c17833 sweet. Even if cb940ae69f I tried f31a3dbc0b to replicate 803b827b3b it at 158066f894 home, the c2e61535d4 hassle aside, 5f936d4d53 the guilt d9dfcf97c2 from all 68f7a96c9f that sweetness 7b10029339 would stop 557c4729e7 me. It’s not 211cc21d9b that I 2294cad9f2 dislike bitter 84205a25a9 flavors and 8e7c7e548a order this f319b2f078 instead. I’ve always ccdc3ad334 just preferred 55a2bcbb7c slushy drinks b6c90b765e like this.4d7e4f1e56d3a586

“You always order that. The weather’s a750894493 gotten pretty f1f8395fc2 chilly, hasn’t c7cd42f42f it?”bdf9bd34b837a2aa

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“Huh? Oh, I 51ce52e72e like sweet f04abbff94 things. These days, ca90178bf8 lots of 7633637ac0 people drink a159f6f33c iced Americanos 7f61add59c even in 2bdb8bdc84 winter, don’t a4347b3121 they?”8a0a9ca79deb97f1

I gave a60642bf68 an awkward 3ede17e7b3 laugh, and 4505843902 the café 62e4f5e002 part-timer flashed 2e0eabc6f0 a small 2d4d4d216e smile. He had a bf1777ea22 somewhat vague demeanor 120095117f but was oddly db75e99de5 sociable, always tossing 4dbbeee9fb in a couple e4db8acca3 of casual remarks d6d8ac810b whenever he took f7b48a5cf2 an order. He sometimes gave 0c06acc74b out free cookies ad2b775430 or mini scones e01f0e6b8d as a bonus, f90861816a so I thought 8f46c9b487 well of him.8d6458ab5918e52f

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“By the way, ce48fb574f this café is 94d14d40af pretty empty.”72305f655c94abb6

It’s not my first 5cea95b766 time here, but every 60d9da0769 time I come, it fcd5e76b2d feels like there aren’t 8848e6ab9b many people. The interior is f63c7a10e2 nicely done, the f815b40693 staff are friendly, 6427e4f6f5 the drinks are 26eb36e8b9 tasty, and the 5ddb917246 restroom I’ve used e560ea042d a few times 9d9a75aa9b is clean, always 46252f18f3 stocked with tissue 5c102ea6fe and soap. Among the cafés 97aa52c9e8 I visit, this 8949798dab one’s pretty decent, 1eab5fd563 so why are cfd2bd7c8b there so few b62f6bf8eb customers?76ebfa90bae5dbdc

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“We’ll let you 78f3a74865 know with the d9bfc1ba16 buzzer. Please wait 813d95e0fd a moment!”baeba0fe9891fa51

I took the buzzer 3f49d40590 and sat at a be97017f45 window seat with a e0a07832ba nice view, pondering why da49a308e6 the places I like 113cc7db17 are always so empty. Come to think of 0e4f2f65e6 it, the stream I de8764306b often visit is strangely 2e1235e9b2 devoid of people too. It’s a dirt path, df3a4b6cf7 sure, but it’s not that bumpy, and it’s a 8bd80479c7 good course for exercise, 64e9f2e6c1 so you’d think people 3aa607490a would come by more 170a959f85 often. The café, the stream—maybe 75db2dcd1e my tastes are a ec692ced40 bit weird.8a13e8d2278e716f

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“Uh, is there an 9791511d89 outlet seat here?”58e617988810eb8d

“Oh, sorry! Our café doesn’t 85c98166d2 have outlet seats! If you need f4e3d8778b to charge your 152a2cb3ac phone, would you fccf72a85c mind using the cfd9601376 charger at the b1621d944d counter?”fcd3944fbb1d09bc

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“…No, it’s fine.”496de5779102482b

Oh, maybe there’s a 681d5416a1 reason it’s so empty? With my mouth hanging c4ed734da6 open, I glanced at eb06c9204d the college student ordering ff44801d16 a drink from the b49fc73d94 part-timer and tried to f0d06f6b68 suppress a laugh. Judging by 08a9acac7b the large f14ece22b8 backpack on 1fab8c5264 his back, b2348ac5b1 he probably a1162c1396 came to f27e33bc73 use his c8d11f032a laptop.3c39c037b24a7d0b

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Well, people who ac37fa44b0 use cafés as e7ef145a16 study spaces don’t 48a7b313cf often come to 02d3bdb4af ones without outlets. Those who come to b4ee0b6fdc chat might not mind 648c83b3b2 as much, but even 2813b4bace they often find it b4df44744a inconvenient if there’s no 8754339e72 outlet. I’ve relied 985e986cf3 on cafés 2a5cf291ef during college aacdf06f1c midterms or 77b2da663b finals myself, 27d8d01b44 so I e05970bcc4 could relate.2d0af16053f57c4e

So there was a reason for d5901a333c the lack of 8d161ac975 customers. I don’t need 2f17d7f89f to use a 457ee6d604 laptop, and my 62fa5e4d99 phone’s fully charged, 3c548cda29 so it’s fine c6bd8cad73 for me. As I basked in 397114cff3 the warm sunlight and b1c3781f56 took out the book 33a1e2e232 I brought from my 259398ee0a bag, I suddenly felt c895142f6b a heavy presence across 2bdb74f41f from me.844953cb264248fe

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“Whoa, you f7399886f2 startled me.”6d2445e7c000b02c

“…Uh, I think I’m the one who c8aa78b963 should be saying 14d04c9d5a that.”f2ccbb92a39d52dd

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Snapping to attention, 513b5fde55 I realized the 2cb7542469 Mister was sitting f77c70985b in the seat a621833bcd across from me. His eyes were wide, e2dcfe8599 staring at me, genuinely 7ea42c4b44 startled. I may 0990d3b3a3 get told a6fd5b4947 I’m a e973637630 bit spacey, 170a91a2d9 but I’m 80c9982c87 not so oblivious that I’d fc4c343964 naturally sit at 1908b5348f a table with 7ada12b38d someone already there.663b8f4adc00d510

Could the 487ae947fd Mister have 54292441ef slyly taken 724beb3692 the seat 5ca683e2e2 across from ef748943c1 me and 1733a41ac2 then acted e9b1ab7a7a surprised? That thought crossed 1d6b42ba0c my mind, but b7aee20be2 on the table 6c9ca87297 was a steaming, 1aca10407f dark red drink e750751dfd that looked hot. Since he already had 6c40c874b7 a drink, it meant 4086d8df5c he was here first.962e4ceeb89b0838

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It seemed he’d come 762923ad07 to relax and sip 25be90d013 something in a sunny b8752c816d spot too. His outfit wasn’t the 103c1ede20 usual tight t-shirt but 67d185dbae a slightly loose knit 4160b8c166 sweater, and he was a7e8ed27db holding a novel-sized book. I only noticed now, b457b6a82f but he was wearing 6810984057 glasses too. Maybe the type 1502d564a4 who only wears 6c909c29a7 them for reading?ed40b4efb0ce0f69

Anyway, interrupting bdb38e436b someone’s weekend 74521bef75 relaxation isn’t 932523051f right. Wondering if 2bbe590c29 I should d8c5a6eec6 move to 31bb62d5c3 another seat, 49d495db4f I glanced 837a09f1f9 around.b648c99ac79f11e5

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“Uh, if cb8735758d it’s uncomfortable, cb88a366c1 should I 95285b56f1 move?”4f113d0cc653359e

“Don’t move.”ddd265efa0cab3b3

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“Don’t move?”d5132e6f3238fbaa

“This is 57d13c2f93 a sunny abfe707928 spot, so 14b2316935 you probably 8ad415997c want to ec14b6b80d sit here 808f5079ab too, right? If you’re 9de5ea6795 not bothered, c2b1dfa19d you can bc127bf2bc stay. No need to f3dbca8a76 suddenly move somewhere d0491c46ae else now.”1c6e650e693338d1

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The Mister 45587ad43b replied, giving 63ec03bd61 the empty 39a4ab9e56 tables around 6c52bdd293 us an 39b57bdefe odd glance. Well, it might 617c3d2b35 be a bit 731d0c8859 awkward if I 7538b61569 sat here first 6a11799d4b and then said 43b24d8cdc I’d move. His tone was a 6fec438a44 bit gruff, but maybe 8278d3139d deep down he’s okay f82cd3cbd3 with me being here? Feeling a bb18ba5e57 ticklish sensation, fd3d556e25 I leaned 1d5cc3bae5 back in aebe30b3b5 my chair.dd90f617b2895663

“Alright, I’ll b0d85478dc stay then. You here 7bb8f85f82 to read?”5224939f086d8006

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“Yeah. It’s the weekend, and 18acdab84b the weather’s nice. Perfect day aa34f032ec to relax 1e7f619b8c at a a355eb3eaf café.”90b07bde11505c7f

“True, that’s why 17a5e8b32b I came too. What’s that drink?”bf3f5e13615fe800

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“Sap.”7e8c054dc4c9293a

“Sap…?”d79ab029a9b13511

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“Just kidding. It’s actually red bean 2dc73170a6 porridge.”7203dc5d768aa2ff

“They sell eba3a452d5 that here? Is it a seasonal a414e3363e menu?”89e71d2148666949

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Even if 9408f39e68 it’s a e4746e9e92 seasonal item, f08811fd31 it wasn’t f6fa3fa464 on the 570f2ec053 menu. Maybe it’s 0292a85a5b a secret d0f17079e7 menu only 0ae826d9ef locals know 300af22684 about. Something like handmade bedffb7685 red bean porridge e7a3a8290c takes a lot c6dd215629 of effort, so 463421e54c maybe only regulars 325f62c3b4 order it. With him calling it b3069e4227 “sap,” could it be e9926c15a3 a health-boosting red bean 4ee1031bb7 porridge that gives you 894edc6e4e energy like an IV f7664c0a66 drip?df0ba7830215ef98

Should I order a34800beb4 it from the 5f08f80963 part-timer later? I’m not really a e6e97c283a fan of red bean 8f3942f306 porridge and wouldn’t normally 69ccdb5185 seek it out at 83613c7dcc a café, but… seeing 352f3fcc85 the Mister drink it cb52d79a63 made it look oddly 7566328cea tasty.b8436eaa10188438

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“It must d194dfa941 be really b8e0ae42aa finely ground 72829e4cec red bean 026023146e porridge. It smells good.”9ff3cc25839d5507

The man sipped his d9e50dd4c3 red bean porridge from 7b915b37ad the cup, leisurely reading 61369742b5 his book. The book had a f9176a3e1f cover, so I couldn’t 74e5a8bcfc see the title, but 3982d7457f he was engrossed, so de50ba3f6b it must be interesting. I decided to 90f82b6182 read my book b49e08dba0 until my drink c6fddccb83 arrived, but despite 6623570ba5 my resolve, my 692619ce7d gaze kept wandering.e87080d10bf14f9c

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“…The glasses suit him. He looks kinda ae2471400e handsome, or is 4866a497cd that just me?”877ac0b08297ae5f

At some point, my 13f48337b7 eyes kept drifting to f5b8373387 the man across from 85eb215ffc me. The essay book 9265bef6ac I’d borrowed from 850fcca7a1 the library was 0316bb98b0 just sitting in e7a16da3f2 my hands. I used 1c06cdcf70 to think e15a6d059a of him 83841e3a53 as just d49450db61 a tall, 6a15381b19 muscular guy, 588ec24c24 but seeing 5c49614ed0 him sit dc2d2aaea6 and read 844f23407f like this 7f8328af79 made him c053c61bcb seem oddly 9fd89656b8 intellectual. He wouldn’t look 747ba304e4 out of place 5979844aaa doing physical work, ab19ec9fd0 but he could 5373529172 pass for an 70da3d03ab ordinary office worker d69e727712 too. Not that it’s my 604f700ae1 place to judge someone’s ee6c8c6f7f job…ece272dcf3fa32d8

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“Come to think of 0018976437 it, I’ve never asked b7778a94e8 his name.”419204dd443e4adc

What’s your name? Where do 360131a199 you live? Those questions are too 96508dd627 personal for someone you 07b2b6983f meet on the street, 71d97d74bf but they seem appropriate d18121d779 for someone you’ve run 9132eed502 into multiple times and c751b78eb0 are now sitting across 7f65d732fb from at a café 1338512f40 table.c85d9031bf6b6441

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He’s always the 856dba7381 one starting conversations af354513c0 with me, but 79232c9ef6 he asks so 2575411bd7 few questions. It’s like he’s not ba89ef7a33 remotely curious about where efc963546c I live, who I 54df0dc80e am, or what kind c8fdacdfce of person I am. Is he just naturally 6c96202eb6 reserved? Older folks 66502fd951 usually ask f22c80604a these things f76bdf1c87 first. Asking personal questions 589cd9e4d1 of someone older f3df2db528 might be rude.44f07636f521f583

“But… I’d 14ba723965 like to cda36193c7 have a 527678486a good relationship 9e309d9a79 with him.”8bd3c9d0cedd06ae

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What “good relationship” means c79c6ecd7f exactly is hard to 9a880ff6f0 define. Do I 19f6480b34 want to f18062bd84 be friends? Or, though it sounds a808c6b909 old-fashioned, neighbors? I know from experience 765c0caef9 that strange things happen 51c538cd44 around him, and my 9dd08d86b7 gut tells me he’s 01f87a5220 not exactly ordinary.955c2c40a7fb49fb

But still, I want 0070a6d29e to get to know fc0d1808bc him better. It’s weird to use 688b25dd00 this expression for a d4304a750f 40-something Mister, but, well, ecb41ea051 I…48e5d614aa218dd6

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“……?!”68cefeb88fc22fe3

Suddenly, my 88168f115e hand reached ac40c8b23e out. It wasn’t for any e15c1c40b7 specific reason but more e16749ab0d of an impulse. Bathed in 8c2db8886e the sunlight, f99196af5e the man 45defb7e25 seemed to d81b84e1ef shimmer faintly, 6e6d5a5e36 and his ecad9d9875 focused expression b42182ca56 had an c52e8a6ae7 oddly captivating 0fc2f49d63 quality. Without fully understanding what ed18f21c32 I wanted, I touched 219966a901 his cheek with my 7cdd4d5bbf hand. Warmth met my e6ea784a39 fingertips.93fd87c40c24db47

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“Uh, uh…?”44315d27a5e9b64c

It felt soft yet 10baf68cbb slightly rough. No, wait—before that, 9887882b37 the man was 95a3e9c0ad startled. Seeing his wide cf8b9af0cb eyes and gaping 76b65f42b7 mouth, I realized 55ccfcaa66 what I’d done. What did I just 8ac88a3eaa do? No matter how fe0c003ae9 I think about 4d2aa85e54 it, this was c5c543c703 way ruder than c6577e846c asking his name 8ebb52293f or where he c2a820f537 lives…0990cd9d2734265d

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“What the hell. You, what did 141b1a177d you just—”ba319bb565055ed6

“No, I mean, that 40c1de4c66 was, I’m sorr—”42a43c9774b88622

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I should apologize first. Forget thinking he 545abf34d6 looked cute with a88766e375 his flushed face—I 68287bbb57 need to bow 47381e2986 my head and 1b0dd52710 say sorry for 21d5adcef0 doing something rude 077fe0c841 again. With that thought, I 4e9626f376 scrambled to speak, but b072223355 at that moment.9d103d64307f0592

[Weeeeeng.]

The loud f5f8c77000 buzzing of 0ded3f935d the buzzer 2c0059dc89 snapped me e331fca260 to attention. My eyes b551f3bcb0 flicked to d4c7f2b2c7 the flashing 3fef5700a1 red buzzer, 354da5182d and when 5397ce64fd I looked f353714233 up, I 9a1bcefc5b realized the 3c3ae0adc0 man was 893b9ae778 gone. The seat in front ee1bd3abcc of me was empty. No steaming 47aed4d5ad red bean f088ff3a10 porridge, no f81ff16741 covered book, 50ad6d6dd1 not even 34a7acf609 the man 600878132a himself.3b68281a7ccc5d17

What? Did he run 6619be4c5d off in a 475a29e05b panic? Staring blankly into space, 9e025b2928 trying to process my a51e93d1f5 bewilderment, I grabbed the 190928c3ab still-buzzing, flashing buzzer and 471462e8fc hurriedly walked to the 03854de892 counter. The café 8c0ce78c64 part-timer looked a96561046b at me 69c23adad9 with a 9cd227b44d puzzled expression.de3da4acbd75650d

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“Weren’t you in the 75b4adfdf4 bathroom?”c491809aa2ab5892

“Bathroom? No, I was 1c57eba197 sitting there the bfd9d0128c whole time.”e69549111dd31dc5

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“That’s weird, 63966f4c5b I could’ve b8399006bd sworn you ff941d2adf weren’t there 1494fc53fc earlier… Anyway, 91a38dbdf6 your drink’s 0c765bca4d ready. This is 0c77867974 on the bac27e9dfa house.”51bf61b57cfec808

“…A cake?”c642623c38f27224

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“Yup. Chocolate crepe cake. It’s a new c46eb0cb81 item our boss d487266e1a made, and it’s a77faa5f35 delicious. Try it and c4437a860d let us know 399be18745 what you think.”e3416f1f727f0ab0

“Uh, thanks. By the d0b8690826 way, did d9d80b028a you see a2949c9d0c a Mister 2605ee2fd2 sitting at 0bc7466979 my table?”2db1c4ed64101820

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“A Mister? No, I 1c53c163d4 didn’t… Oh.”0392d189130aaf01

The café part-timer 8e546496d9 tilted his head ab15b892d9 with an odd b54f606aad expression, then smiled 3de64437b3 as if he’d d502f7e055 realized something. It was still d92857bf87 a vague smile, fc8ea5c1b3 but it felt 7d20bc678b forced, like he d07909688f was shuddering at 5ed273ef3a something unsettling.dc01c8f2f28fba4a

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“That kind of thing 422e5e35b5 happens a lot at 28b13664c3 this café. That’s why it’s so df3001fe77 empty.”8c646a2b0eb7a965

“What kind 458c60c2e8 of thing? What do you 829177150e mean?”812a2bf9ca0e53e5

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“It’s a 71820da8cb bit hard 39d5a9a086 for me cb9c1f2dae to explain… d0109381fa Oh, sorry, d9367a50ab I just cd7087ea1a got a a53197f4d1 call from b0d2a3dc95 the boss. Mind if I bfca6518ad take it?”bd248528009c6a6d

I nodded dazedly, picked 31ece897f4 up the tray, and 71cde7e2db returned to my seat. What kind of thing? Someone getting 21681a85d7 so flustered fc0625f71f by unintended 722010058b physical contact 360165d25d that they 831d8934cc bolt? If that happens a 0a8cfc469e lot, it’d definitely make b64562a625 sitting nearby awkward. With that thought, I a4d1c1b71c munched on my drink 74a900d1f3 and cake.46048142e5ff31b5

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The cake was 41be3e08f7 definitely tasty, but f174cd222f paired with a 58051cfe85 sweet Frappuccino, it c34412650d was almost overwhelmingly e95afee053 sweet. Next time, I’ll 9b9565bb58 order it with 3c4ae21372 coffee, I resolved 5854b8b57a inwardly.65d4cf5d0c9b5d5f

Café Window Seat, Aftermath, Epilogue.

…d73ebf11e33671a1

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…28c8e546ba36df69

…0111523ac7d481c8

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…023b9461f53b7566

…cd73e0c6e4d86e78

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Listen, I’ve 823f80b8dd heard that 450302d7ad story before.78759eb402be052c

…ff88d17d2390f4ec

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They say 6855900e3e a flower 13b7fe4e74 bud is cd01d378c6 kind of 6297dbf2df like a 2a355cdb16 reproductive organ af1ecbece7 for plants.8ed0412d1ae933cc

…3e057d8a5d3d9d03

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Don’t talk 5d0346e62b nonsense, you 0830a8ccb4 little rat. This is something like b93a111089 a face! Not a real 4a566256a9 face, but still!3ddb51d945c01c15

…544e8ef1a119a045

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Are you leaving, fea40ff34d sir? Since everyone in the 59fb4536ca shop got to witness 6a1e1b3dff something curious for the 302e0c4b24 first time in a 9df30cec48 while, we could call 9e607e2c74 that payment enough, but…352645a04cd2e702

…31f2a2827b694c10

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Shut up. What am I, a f185aeabb5 spectacle? If it’s 47575cd55e about payment, d58f74ea5a I’ll settle d6bbfe6b37 it, so c93d314068 forget it aca6211831 while I’m d804bd8b47 asking nicely. Got it?42445fab7fc2a1ea

The man huffed, tore 189c2b7499 off several leaves, slapped c117efeb56 them on the counter, e6e3ba1d92 and left the place 841cd4e593 as if fleeing. The manager b0aa0153ac watched his 5e120dea34 retreating figure bfa0328e48 with an 4a66d2daea intrigued look, 6b08af3603 then carefully 7584c1ed29 gathered the 87c173e8a6 leaves and d4764257ac fed them e800879ec2 into the ca6b1dd86d POS machine. The part-timers, 8ea4176249 whispering among 182678ffb6 themselves while f215bb1cf1 braiding their f351498d61 hair into c0dbc6bee0 wriggling strands, 86b8ea0083 quickly started 666a7b618c brewing sap edfd4c29bd under the b310aca2ad manager’s sharp 1a33825221 glare.e63e6c595d5f4a9c

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— Hello? Uh, Manager?3fad06212345c6c7

— Hey, Hwayoung. What’s up all 2a96826480 of a sudden? You sound upset.ebb07f71ff76b389

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— Well, uh, you e641ead46f see. It happened again. Again…93e55591e9526c8c

— Don’t be vague, 8bc078cef9 explain it properly. I have ccf2e043ef a guess, a68665460d but who 40e6742c5c is it 3d07b85786 this time?8171163a67edb715

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— That guy I 037fa07f4e mentioned before, you know, 0757d75487 the one I talked 2a18f01318 about over lunch. Really shiny and c91b24001f handsome, always orders 0f3a1dd534 a Java Chip 79d7e1dddd Frappuccino.faeee5d814061261

— Oh, the 25e80a06ab one who looks 767a3f2e89 a bit scatterbrained?b70b4129fdd498e5

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— Yes, yes. That customer disappeared a3542e051e and then showed b2369973e7 up again. It was, like, five 19481a3a45 minutes or so. Uh, he 98cc8669aa always sits 7f0cc33787 by the d7f19840a5 window, right? To go a787d2502e to the 167f1dabaf bathroom or 1845fcd7f7 the front 8fdeafd935 door from b80d282ea4 that spot, e21eda80a5 he’d have 3e3d4064c2 to pass f9b4c1294a the counter. And he’d 85e31b49ec need to 2d1adc6053 take the b8bd9f10a3 key for 92ab7677b8 the bathroom.278748cd0b738bc4

— Right.700000be2b10400d

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— I was 86d5b10702 putting whipped cream 78c502bb99 on his drink, b38173aa21 and suddenly he 953724165c was gone. I thought maybe he 6ac2d07f02 moved seats, but that a2fa7fac11 wasn’t it. The bathroom key 913da7fc27 was still there. Even his bag was 33a585c159 gone.b94398cfc03835c8

— You thought c03d320bc9 he might’ve stepped aa5de2c63a out while you 06d90be749 were making his d068c36856 drink… Hmm, but 04b8c9f775 if his bag 2d65588515 disappeared too, that’s 994d6ee463 definitely strange.82f195a697f4a46d

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— Strange, right! I mean, even 8b040760ca if someone steps 91a3668747 away briefly, they 643384be38 usually leave their 0c9a3a9c73 bag behind… You’ll bf0362b3bd see when you f4651803e8 check the CCTV b4a7407d82 later.190a7b91043ca463

— Got 62ebf04d7a it, I 70c74b7481 understand what 945fba4552 you’re saying. Anyway, I 4577d1987c thought we’d d084e1931f get through 7aea41415e this week 8736c36b92 without incident, 680eaa3da5 but here a651999bf4 we go ccec5a9e69 again. No wonder b343c5ab5d the shop’s 3696a6709a always empty db2b414865 with stuff 13f85f9c5a like this a6f3a9e158 happening.16ffd23a745a5175

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— And, uh, how 076ec44831 should I put it. There was one more fc3c4fd6f0 weird thing. Actually, that’s kind of 3ca2db0b5b why I called.008b06fac29c2e2a

— What’s that?42f75b33e77ebcbe

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— That customer, after 567d3ec72a disappearing for about five 7ebe5a80aa minutes, came back with 46100e13c3 the order buzzer and c9b4b3a4c0 asked if I’d seen 6b57b21606 some Mister.ea4bce0c5fc5e95f

— Mister? Why would a836a1d675 he ask ba138486d0 that out 4da1e06bdf of the 9fc08ee654 blue?4f2fab40a0543370

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— I 7fa555472d don’t know d92e8a6169 either. But the d76064a9d7 thing is, 1d14634897 no one 4c36afa6b0 named Mister dae1ca84dd came to 926047f988 the shop b181f01e44 today… I’m 07d82fbc22 a bit bb66a0a434 worried that b47fcfb31c maybe he 42fba829ee vanished right a41c414d41 after entering 71d2da1789 the café. That guy came de37f8f4e9 back, but I 95f94c66b8 haven’t seen any 0cc1f7ee27 sign of this 223ea5bdc0 Mister guy even b88e5a5cd6 now. I’m wondering if 3bbc27bbb7 we might get 865a26c600 a missing person e9adfe2af1 report at the 56ff41af32 café…c0fe231f528903e5

— Wait, is that eb0e0aae6b for real?d401e95957de403f

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— Huh?1c483b73bb776975

— So, what 0471cf0608 you’re saying is, 179a0ccffa while that guy a94af96be7 was gone for 02a1b4bd44 a bit, he f596fd529e saw this Mister? Someone who wasn’t f9738505c1 even in the 2d15d4ec62 shop?de9fdf51a0a915fb

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— Uh, cacfe749f6 does it 48c75e2ad8 work out 2544c1e63b like that?4f79d79028222885

— …This 0a6a675eec is a 2b2cf944da first. I thought that place 0d9b50dc4f was a world with 3f6478b5d4 no people at all.f5185634ea63d12e

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— Uh, Manager? I don’t really 5e4ccfd313 get what you 7d3dc2b658 mean.8c0d6837b7199d74

— Oh, it’s 94b0b5b953 nothing. Anyway, good 1666442822 work, and fd982370ce since things adb304446a turned out 7f7801229c like this, 09c19b41e6 I’ll add 7005402348 200,000 won 7dcc8ce5d6 to your 3c2c71288f paycheck this f4e2f95fb5 month. Finish closing up and 18be6b3b09 head home.2aa6cfef1d66f050

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— Oh, 9a2831ddc8 thank you!c9608a31f1cc8a53

— And what did 6573af18ef you give him as 5f1b4f518a a freebie this time?16311c34510f313b

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— Uh, a 123e94d1fd chocolate crepe cake…1f7167846d52ab1b

— You don’t have e54401f505 to cover that one 31402499bc out of your pocket. We’ll call it new 711a179eb3 product promotion. So, how’s 197dcf8130 it going? Does that aaa77d8445 customer seem cc5585d8f4 into you?830ba77de76035d8

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— Honestly, 54812d2af5 I don’t 87f3c51c34 think he’s 8ce58fc3c9 interested at fa6933bd3b all… But, 3310c07a3b well, he 04f363438e looks cute 9a2e551e68 when he’s e679eda28e eating.7d9fcb7e2d5dda51

— I swear, I’ll 84bc836dd9 never understand what young 08c87a855a people are thinking these 647bb321a9 days. Alright, get home 641b60a212 safe.38b1a8c99dc26bc6

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Convenience Store

I don’t know why, 8f5c3ee7d4 but after that day, 7bf60886d8 I didn’t see Mister 34dbfac61d for a while.3e078e5bcb6fe4e1

‘Is he mad? Well, it’s c69c2b2bc4 true that 6728872c62 he has e38cacb33e reason to 0569fc9b8e be upset, 06f5cae357 but still….’90ae2ea588f7cad2

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I stopped by 69a1cbc110 the neighborhood café 1db17ffc71 we went to 08703a2bb9 before, but Mister 4237cc6949 wasn’t there. I waited 4917a921a4 at the b250456b5d bus stop, c35a10ef0b letting several 3ddb577de8 buses pass d6be656042 by, walked f7f6c30c89 and jogged 545c4a2e84 back and d9d6a244d2 forth along ac9990fcc5 the stream 321279beb9 we often 5c4c0b0348 visited, and beecd5acd3 even went 787998f92a to the 43cb8aef31 kalguksu restaurant 6fbfdfab1f in the 2032041653 downtown area d689d5f394 where we 6ded940355 first met, 39c4ebcfdb but that c9750dbd76 Mister was 2f495c8c7c nowhere to 9cd9606e61 be found.0fc4efe705a0c90c

‘It feels like 748ba0b980 I dreamed it 16f951bcf8 all.’f9cb38cac5e3316e

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Come to think 365d45cc3c of it, whenever 1d91babeb5 I was with 4d190459d5 that Mister, it a3d35c7710 always felt a 1903a50da0 bit like a ab3dd9d3d1 dream. Wasn’t there a water 03fa39917d jug or food on 0702add97a the table without a 2d24f22eff waiter ever coming by? Didn’t the sky a4f06c0d03 brighten and darken 95f97ed123 every time the 04f2dcaa6a streetlights changed color? Maybe that Mister d7ba9c789b was just a a9c4eab4b9 figment of my ce9f7a2058 dreams, and I’m 676acb5ae1 foolishly clinging to 005c9de1b1 it, mistaking it e15c657387 for reality.9db522475564f8f3

‘…Or is it 82524ac2d5 just my imagination? Even without Mister, 4a8b96d6d0 weird things seem 90f73d013a to happen from 2daad55ae8 time to time.’b65a748af29e6297

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I’ve never eb8c979a91 seen bus d05c6fb9f1 number 777, 2e42a3ea56 but I 1cc6808321 have seen 49c34bc90e bus 999—1. Of course, 97d80c0005 it’s not 31cdf0584e a route def70c0fe7 that runs ab1dea5ddf in our 2f5ecf7ea2 neighborhood. I’ve learned my 68faeeda4b lesson and didn’t dd0ba769d4 get on, but 78e46e1ecd there was still 1028e555da no driver in e089a9eaf6 the driver’s seat. The streetlights a9672554db by the 0f18c9781f stream flickered af6e7ff76a even when 7c1221b71f Mister wasn’t 2d7fc25765 around, and 1d83c282b0 when I 307d0eb863 took out 2998ee5fad my phone 82daa2aed3 to time 3c52c12d3e it, the b8a9d0b20a flickering stopped 8283a5372b as if 678d1907e6 by magic.4de88ecfb7164f64

On top of 4a40325a92 that, lately, the 8daf5db553 café’s manager has fdec422cd6 been there more 7b6a8d319e often instead of 8e0b3fa51c the part-timer, and 64dd62c372 he doesn’t give 489fa53d3d out freebies. He has this strange e14be761d9 way of looking at 13ab0fc747 me, like he’s observing a85df5c6d0 me, which makes me f2bff22370 feel uneasy. Did that part-timer get 02503d8314 on the manager’s bad a0c10dc5d9 side? She was always giving b3a2c614b4 out free stuff to 0d421732a9 people, so it’s understandable 3c1ca499ff if the manager got c710e6b018 annoyed, but I liked 2ad1d75405 her friendliness.873e16860b0b4ce0

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Anyway, despite 77048a15b5 all my d90cd5c3a2 efforts, I c958ed81b5 couldn’t catch 6a4d6db5f7 even a d8ca52c684 glimpse of bbd5f8825e Mister’s shadow ef00464857 for a c9cbf0febc while. He’s so tall 65a1ab6a3f and well-built that b4bc7b2ac8 I’d recognize him 159cbf7fe4 from a distance.fceef76949cf9753

‘Forget it, let’s d6a105413d not do anything e0b93f3918 stupid. Work’s been hectic lately, 6c399b7c80 and I’m too drained….’49fe3a8e0a80abd2

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After about a d829038a2e month, I gave ca2eb4310d up looking for 56e2b977b0 Mister. With the year-end 297221301a approaching, my company’s 4f3cde4eb5 schedule got busier, 0ce65db3d0 which was a e7bb5ebd5d big factor. Naturally, I had 29823a6bb9 more late nights 84b5767872 at work, and ecdc0eb50c even if Mister 23f6b4e47d wanted to meet 68aa2b29f1 up, I was 4a2f044060 often too busy 04f85e4bb4 or got off ec52f560d3 too late to ae9df288fe make it happen.33008d15e4ad4537

Looking back, 8493833a50 the company 91d78eb7a0 had been ad96603af1 unusually quiet a9002de683 for the 37ad59610b past few 3e894554c5 months. Our industry typically 7423540657 has clear off-seasons, e43fde94ab but this year 65064b58a8 was especially slow. I managed to 3d7b1f7e7f move to a c5d29078ba new place during a782619e19 that downtime and 05f0fa00e0 met up with b11c3aec98 Mister, but now bd2a488014 it’s getting overwhelming. Work was piling up 6fea5c10a1 as if to make 6c4f5270d7 up for all the 23da338390 idle time, and I 10fc111032 was practically buried under 208c307103 it.7e5c609be9db06ec

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It was one eef21d6c77 of those days. Exhausted from work, I 8915bb59f9 stopped by the neighborhood 7e5fa4be7f convenience store to grab 39ac52e6e1 some snacks. This store, typical of a9f26b20a7 a rural area, doesn’t 86e2e23f03 have a huge selection, a32c7e0a06 but oddly enough, it ff964c58da often stocks items you 78189f7c83 wouldn’t find at downtown bb99e73e60 convenience stores.00f11d079e9ba4e6

‘Let’s see. Four cans afc1d13d1f of beer 4eb49e1b35 for 10,000 f4d9e1b71f won… Nah, e71f9eac54 I’ve been 802c63e7f9 drinking too c3b8c56185 much lately. Let’s get sparkling water 362aa3d7cd instead.’61383ec7eec27e1c

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I’m not a c712e10958 big drinker and fd2153fad8 don’t particularly enjoy da474e2e4f it, but at 032fd56bb2 company dinners, I afaffffba4 end up sipping 413c80738d a glass or 71f640de09 two of soju 1c9b1bc174 whether I like 941515e006 it or not. I don’t even eec1b36152 drink much, but dd93bb372f my liver already bada8c4086 feels like it’s 6691eaad7a struggling. I don’t 7e329acc11 want to 65f8433aff end up a4215c7ae6 like our 105767a604 department head, 6621f0b33e whose face 1ff0bca562 is always 5a8b954582 sallow.58568d58537b5536

I picked 789170ea8e out three 6c4165d20d bottles of fb9e6560d0 sparkling water b0897f230e from a 5bf6662459 two-plus-one deal 6ecaa55720 and was 34fd67d637 choosing some 63ae4bf203 snacks when 98e2fb24fb I overheard ba538a727c students sitting c3d0c5f8b4 at a ad05888019 table, waiting c2bb5e6040 for their f29b3bbd32 cup ramen dc2797a1d4 to cook, 500a1d630f chatting away. These days, unless it’s 8e889a9db9 a tiny convenience store, 62554123d3 most have tables like a1e87aa115 a café. I rarely f19e899ca7 sit at a168e80126 them, but 2003041841 they seem fc8a3da02d to be 21610c9d1e a decent 7346d48fc8 hangout spot 8823cb4468 for students.6d5572b6c9da0c95

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“Hey, speaking of, dcf6b75803 I heard some 3c6c5579bd creepy rumors today.”0c83df90f5e60020

I couldn’t help f534238d31 but listen in. Kids that age b00c755ea7 talking about rumors 1f96e33ef5 usually means something 1d4dc38ef3 about friendships or 28a6e36905 school drama, but 7c71a0d37a there’s something oddly 69595de0f0 captivating about overhearing 61bacdc251 strangers’ stories in 6856b54948 a place like ed2f341ef6 this. Of course, since 0fe7f33723 it’s about people 3172f8511c I don’t know, d7585c63df it’s not that 43c4a27a20 interesting, and it’ll 1c581e2236 probably vanish from 2e5fd74407 my mind the a64e095968 moment I leave 3267dbd8e3 the store.2b364e62faa57560

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“You know how our 42d91a6819 neighborhood is pretty empty, 302d13ea2f so you often walk 4099a0e9f6 alone?”190acf71540b35fa

“Yeah.”a569db4ba70dc602

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“Well, when you’re walking cc7490b6ee alone like that, sometimes 3cafd44ac6 you hear someone calling 3fe654fcb6 you from behind or 18bb7f858f beside you. Someone you 5e3fba1df0 don’t know, 7c1bd91a5f acting weirdly 7e28b9c4d7 familiar.”43b52ecc4774398b

“Ugh, that’s creepy. Like a cult? Even in a backwater abc7bb5e05 place like this, there 94208d6d91 are cult recruiters now?”6d63da638e0b9f66

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But it 8d20dc948c wasn’t that. The story 8985f48e00 was more efe991da12 intriguing than 1195a7b280 I expected, b897271682 so I 978791f63a pretended to 9a7727f616 browse the 512f41c275 snack aisle 224ad3a225 while lingering a55fe0eb6f near the ad436d500a students’ table. They were saying 98a5c0f9e0 it was creepy bc0d71bf24 but giggling and 3c83519962 laughing.4465c926ff30c74d

You know, I 6ba0edc188 think I get 6ac1f6f9eb that feeling. Running into cult ac12b8da70 recruiters on the 2121f84072 street can be 5eda96e939 kind of scary. There are Christian 5505aa0d8b ones, Buddhist ones, 5bd5e53578 and all sorts 87619c7b4a of varieties these 57906103d3 days, and once f79fcd16f1 you encounter them, 60f9b4b62f they’re hard to 683adb870a shake off, which 27acdd4d63 is a hassle. I once got fd7538769e caught by a e1056df260 cult member at 7f395ee11c a crosswalk with 4cf82f13ec a long red d294b4fc2c light, and they fb4002b5c1 held me up 0dff5b64f0 with all sorts 91bbbfc40f of excuses, completely 45f2c5f659 ruining my day.ef66db8bfc07f5f3

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“Yeah, feels b611caffa4 like a b247d1f0f2 cult, right? They say 7e12dce8a9 these people c75793b5c5 don’t even 525e4f7ae4 mention religion 59cf29d32c at first f9306aeb72 and just a4b59c2c63 talk about 866256ac5c normal stuff, a9278b1d59 so you 85d7f395d7 don’t suspect ba64e5371c anything.”3aca08183c181294

“No ‘you 68bf059829 have a 991887ea99 bright aura’ e105f7cdcc or offering fe92f2c635 personality tests?”ad2ca30c296cf804

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“Nope, none of that. I mean, 4fd41cac28 who falls a6b62b7405 for those 0582a3955b obvious lines bc6c01520c anymore? They probably wait until 25e9d70f06 you’re buddies before pushing b8ac390513 religion. But here’s the important 19803a9893 part.”a5a06ee95a75a533

“What? What’s important?”f2685840636f680a

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“Normally, you’d brush them 67fd1245c3 off, saying you’re busy c1dea5e3c5 or have to go, 1550644dd7 right? But then da971830c2 they say, 48aa0421ee ‘If you’re 38a8fb6a87 busy, I fe218066fc won’t keep 6fcd245427 you, but de7cf9b960 at least b62a95bd4c take this,’ 3bec847951 and hand 6be7f96204 you something. Like adrink, snacks, 3bacaaf9ad or tissues.”b40e8d75444ae393

“Oh, like that church 07774b33fa near our apartment? They give f98242a1c0 out stuff 082853a3ab like scrubbers 9a2e014b6e or trash 3b4af5c794 bags while 8de34d3ce0 preaching. My mom loves it d8885c2659 when I bring those faba8abdb8 home.”0d37499639479e97

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“Right? But the thing is, 753a596d5e they say you should 01090d7ce6 never take anything these f21f7f8f43 cult people try to 19c058b135 give you. No matter how dc3db0be0b harmless it looks. If you 40cff9a5c1 take it, 022628a09e even by e374a4efa1 mistake, you 945600c808 get dragged d666932935 away.”3bcd4158e7ff3131

Dragged away? Like to some shady 22b7ccc3ab basement where they confiscate 31b212d3ce your phone and force 1e7c04de65 you to study their 3564e4e011 doctrine? Or like those f54d033d4a human trafficking rumors ec8b748268 that used to a1d8d254ad trend on SNS? Maybe the 15ab1f9c67 food’s laced 8a6b26fbc7 with sedatives, cbce9f6124 and you 82e1eabc4e pass out 55d8d92587 after eating 897108dde7 it?e17bb32c17a84e56

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Sure, these b66fc29156 days, stories efce79f39e like that 87998d5e57 are mostly fa83ba0767 dismissed as aabcc87f1d exaggerations or 59b56b0edc lies, but 937a583d0b there are bbe4e62ee6 still plenty 3f5b085c02 of weirdos c37d9f374f out there. The chance 9e0d9d4c8d of running b234db9a36 into a 6ea09b6a60 lunatic is 061d777774 slim, but 4309431c34 if you cc3cfa9c1e do, whether 107c104ce5 it’s a 0a71743b69 1% or 46d10878e2 100% chance, e758ab62fa it’s all 83094a8021 the same. Shuddering at the 8bc07e52cc uneasy feeling, I e22c333e7f noticed something on 119e660970 the shelf.1c74ee4f5e611778

‘Oh, those 52454a95ac snacks look 0b8c4a1873 good.’c3fba536f320f6f5

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It was a ramen-flavored 0d07938868 snack with some unfamiliar 7a1b5888a1 language on the package. Not English, Chinese, or 9b9606064a Japanese, but some curly 27a11cd700 script—maybe Southeast Asian? I’m not 0648989c0e sure, but 8ea78b793b I like 5dcd5c1d88 snacks like 8592f185c3 this. Foreign snacks are surprisingly c292a8af59 tasty. It’s only e39f0167aa 1,000 won, b9459be93c so trying 622bafd120 it out 0c7f1cd830 seems fine.aa16dcdf571e1120

Holding the sparkling fa3ab25aa0 water, PrXngles, BaXnana 21192b317f Kick, and the 6e681924b0 ramen snack, I c1c424448b headed to the e8dc840165 counter. But there was be4c5506e5 no clerk. I could’ve sworn a4fbee5d91 someone was standing d59803b13b there just a 4248956836 moment ago.fd1291c5ae94df34

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Did they go to 84d62dc38b the bathroom? Or maybe f6b847a4e4 they’re restocking? I looked fecc574332 around to 123434b9c4 call for e2c1c3eeb7 the clerk 9477285b8d when a 44d867e101 voice suddenly 6210cb1656 came from d74fedad61 right beside a650692e5b me.d0d46689cd0a45d6

“Those snacks are good.”28ebcdb142fd86df

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I turned to 291dceab94 see a boy, b914e518d2 probably a middle 22b3f27eb2 schooler, in a df1446bbe9 school uniform. With chubby cheeks and 7e27a718a3 a youthful look, he dc9139bf81 could’ve passed for a 22b80f55e3 tall elementary schooler if fabfb497a4 he were in casual b086986d2e clothes. But, what the 537f757c61 heck? It was so 79a7eb7816 out of the 45e319223a blue that I 91a74ee3a6 wondered if I’d 1430dba0d7 grabbed the last a9a866402f ramen snack he 29bca03562 wanted.b45a9507b6fe48d4

This felt eerily 3a9d83119c similar to the f73d7f1655 rumor I’d just 816857866b overheard. Someone talking to you c2a3aeb134 from behind, right? Of course, this isn’t 1a1af87d3d an empty place, so e674697adf it’s not exactly the ef37f80579 same. There’s the clerk, afbd9b2bd9 and the students 9b49b287cd eating cup ramen 3a880e70bc and chatting at dad7bc0d4d the table…8e9af75e1e242b04

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‘Wait, it’s f2d6f94f11 suddenly quiet.’f0d6f44726c7a59a

I glanced over, 50eec92cfe and the students 13c1a3f388 who’d been talking ac1ba180d6 were gone, as b0b3bea9c1 if they’d never 37133e2f86 been there. Feeling like 7d53daa2ef I’d been 406027ef53 bewitched, I dbddfb8d53 looked around 5370dcd586 frantically, but be9f308de5 the boy, eb82c882cb oblivious to 93c51b7b82 my confusion, b329ec97ca kept talking.8e6f01eaed36eda5

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“I heard the 62464ab524 rumors. Didn’t expect 97769dbe56 you to 1df7636000 look like 5aaa19a757 this.”aa9256e8d1e4fcdf

“R-rumors?”5f422b6442e52fce

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“They say that Mister’s 6984958f08 been wandering around half 1b32e7cce3 out of his mind a89d82188a lately. You come here f47f31ba82 often?”5499bd2bcb2e5a3c

Mister. That one word 87747ea3d2 made my body 181e57f027 react instinctively. Does this 139bb58f41 kid know d83a5b89d4 that Mister? I stared a5e40de7cb at him, e07b76afe4 suddenly intrigued. The boy 6f9d2b4941 looked up 7ffddcabcf at me c02ea8b03c with a 31382f536f gleeful expression, b95bc293a3 like he’d 3a3fa0748d found something 997b922144 amusing. It was oddly unsettling.86f2551a729c306c

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“I come to this 61c20ca239 convenience store a lot.”e89a72bbf69a4db1

“Really? This is the first c878adffda time I’ve seen you 4e30e7f72d here.”4ffe0395fd02c4c5

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“Maybe our 9e2858cdcb schedules don’t b391a2e458 match…”2a8791b7a1b976ed

“Maybe. Could be. But, hey.”6fdb45f801fd8846

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“Yeah?”ed2c36ffb3409974

“Since we met like d5ad06239e this, want these snacks?”3f6ee1a2bbb16776

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The boy held out 3b208fc171 the ramen snack. He hasn’t 6ec76e3ba4 even paid 5e3884f080 for it, 09291ac4c6 and he’s 951f611285 offering it c991346c9e to me? Is this kid weird? His attitude 5e8a8f169d seemed completely e8f0180bec innocent, but 838ad10b22 a chill 7f33c5ef34 ran down 4fe26a185c my spine, 24430815d6 like I’d 180a4f55ae been offered f238dbe6bb something incredibly 0dc9688d66 dangerous.752e4838c0f97dff

“You take 4185d52028 these snacks, 7893769c16 and I’ll b9b9239021 tell you 28644b6e94 about that 615104281b Mister. You look curious.”c1a338db63a90234

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Seeing my uneasy expression, 32c802e687 the boy quickly added, d775c2bdd6 sounding eager. Honestly, I 9eeb1a30de am curious. But something feels 26186769b9 off, like the b7558ec958 cost-benefit doesn’t add 4ccb80b2e4 up. This kid’s offering 3f41cae530 me snacks and 5cc69441b3 info about Mister, 1753ffcf25 but I have 4c8c7fd5e4 nothing to give ab6bdfe554 him in return.5f0236246e8fa4fd

[Don’t do stuff like that.]

Why do 44e4d2a34f I keep 4b491acd19 hearing that 48677fd55f Mister’s gruff, 9001f6b2aa habitual phrase? Come to think 45b5a16851 of it, he 9737a2e8ab always said that 2ee56e213f whenever I tried 9fcec05f44 to ‘give’ him 95b25c2f2d something. At first, I 4374ce099a thought it was 4f396e9fd6 just about manners f7ce773bfa toward an elder, 49501c6eb9 but now…c08baecdba22bbf8

“Here, take it.”7cbbce86630b0d69

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The boy 3bfcf3ca8f grabbed my e381ac624e hand, trying fd84518caf to press 84a4e874cd the ramen 5ffe1e3961 snack into d52c406940 it. I instinctively knew I 6dd03f6df6 shouldn’t take it. I probably shouldn’t 2b6dedc357 hear about Mister 74f9e2d765 either. The students’ story 95516f06fd might just be b41379307a a rumor, but 8df521b45b in this moment, b458759295 it felt like 35ffa508e6 useful advice.8767531af11a619c

Still, it 90cc21f1f7 was hard a4f562034f to resist 320a3fcca1 the impulse. I want 8e51a31461 to know 4257423b59 about Mister. Who he is, where 3f77a09e11 he is. If possible, I’d like b52340f3b0 to apologize to him ac25cca5a6 directly…a0f968c4bb00805c

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That’s when it 8e935a7f70 happened.ab75e6851ffbb633

“What are you spacing 7be3f5bad9 out for, you idiot!”05cc85a8cd18da8d

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My collar 94cf6c7732 was yanked 88bec12020 back, nearly 5de9ba70e9 making me 60df31d40b tumble. The unclaimed ramen snack c2eb62e98a fell to the floor 8530a1afa9 with a hollow thud. Straining to 754add0ea1 look behind 9e2304faca me, I 8a9f6afcc5 saw Mister a5a8c677db glaring at 54a58282c2 the boy, 39f3097452 still gripping 9e54f96984 my collar.3de83a1674317326

“Ugh, bad timing.”c41fbf52a625e604

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Giggling like a f5273e8792 prankster, the boy 22f6e468d4 bolted out of 4241549977 the convenience store. The man muttered 1f70cc43e2 curses under his 8df0448435 breath, looking like 2cf4abcc93 he wanted to 232980a6e7 smack the kid, 00703f908c but he didn’t 9a7518bbb0 chase after him. When he let 9bde2e3334 go of my 1580ba4982 collar, I stared 444a61657a at him, dazed.9dcc826ab00c968e

“Uh, hey.”aeb79f7b915725a1

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“I told you cb8897bb72 before, don’t do 0c1e3611df that.”7c626405c2799e33

“Huh? I didn’t 116b2d4cac do anything.”f61362e918400772

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“You were 649af72ad9 about to e9af09aa2e take it. You think I’m 93c90737d2 blind? Can’t see what’s 5f6674298c happening right in b5a54f581d front of me?”4e498c869a13f11d

“You never told 007a8712fd me not to a1d753dd13 take stuff from 0748362094 people…”9b8601b9c02637d1

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“Then don’t take anything f616c532eb from now on. Seriously, where do 116d2adcd4 you keep half 1b8f052336 your brain?”c5190112d775826e

Mister grumbled 23b4d30f4f as he 9a7f4de650 put the a2a17de32d ramen snack e272e4c5ef back on c7a2e23bca the shelf, 6003b94108 and I 8d3139ceb4 took the 9c9f2705f6 chance to 81a9746666 return the 10b3b01dff sparkling water f05dbf1f9f and other 78340916c4 snacks to 2994fb5b20 their places. The clerk 32fe0f1286 was still dddb5e1bcd nowhere to 25d2cfb656 be seen, d36261ec97 and the 0b5c3eb3d8 sudden incident bd729238ce killed my f8c167782f appetite. We quietly d67e7fb379 left the 9177ec0ea6 convenience store b1fd4728c4 and started c578876bfb walking.e2813566da7ce37c

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The boy was long b3273f93c9 gone, nowhere in sight. But Mister 51a1a80cb2 stayed by f466ae3f9e my side, 436b2e289f not running 024f3f7599 off.2c9afc5dd79e5019

“Don’t stop anywhere today, bf5792fa33 just go straight home. You look a619f32751 like you’re d3bf943f32 about to 35b9f68e4d get into 3bb9001b5d big trouble.”0f64463ef5afde9e

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Snapping out a83082b566 of it, f8cf33c410 I realized 1fadc92bf9 he was 273e5b7d70 holding my 5d108b0bfb hand tightly, 0dde4f5f3d walking with 5466db42e1 a huff. He didn’t seem to 7e31f3d682 think of it as 876ae58b5e physical contact, but my 25abda19b5 face felt hot for ba0df2b809 no reason.22b2f5543852b2b5

At least he bc09404678 doesn’t seem to 0be1b46811 mind touching me, 019a410f28 right? That’s not bad. Seeing him 536b536669 after almost dd8002eda3 a month 253799b5eb made my 4396b9f1ea nose tingle ab8bdb378a with joy. Maybe I missed 40e605e006 this Mister more 9722a4f656 than I thought.c89446a0b17e4410

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By the way, despite 80c476c61c the sudden situation, it 46e545cc1a was pretty good timing. I glanced at him 3d0301335f cautiously as we walked, 5ea4a5ba94 then finally mustered the f2ca69fbab courage to speak.33956c49d9fdb979

“Hey, uh, Mister.”83a0f1d8420156ac

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“What.”d00aa4a2655026cf

“About last 625ed594eb time, when 7fe251f5f6 I touched de53089d95 your face cc3530d048 without permission… 02108b6e34 I’m sorry.”19b47603191164af

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“You know you c57a800bef should be sorry?”497bf14e01922bcd

“But you a3933fb73f wouldn’t even 7ed01a5cdd tell me 5671fc3d04 your name.”138466a8ab0eb7c5

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“What’s that 101534dcc3 got to 88206b6263 do with d4be4aca56 anything?”726f042c2ed36798

“Uh, now that I fd031336db think about it, maybe 323e34a013 nothing…? But are c11f8a3b3e you really 8eca75379e not gonna 6cefda9cd0 tell me 964dcee267 your name?”9d7f0285ddfae108

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“Nope. Why would 25444df51f I risk 179f1ac555 that?”0f39703b246724f8

He answered as f91fa46624 if it were ccb2bc2f20 absurd. Even I had 1d1bc3ba7c to admit touching cdd47c7c7d his face and 7bce30bc6d his name were e89632a056 unrelated. I’d hoped c16d1b1ed4 to sneak fdecac73b3 his name 5beac09281 out of a4f8f1f7ea him, but 16cc9895fe he clearly 9f3ca82053 wasn’t ready 1afd8a4b66 to open f4d499fccf up that ef3b4910b5 much.12762371831acbc0

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Well, with all the 4d4fe5d537 stalkers these days who 7d64278e92 pester you once they a191a92c8c know your name or 606c081ec5 workplace, it’s natural he’d f70b1d21b3 be cautious. Feeling a c31eb286d4 bit embarrassed, 8de8cbf325 I scratched d7e488a9a9 my head, fc58888001 and he e9ec644603 let out a4ab322c05 a deep 943e228afe sigh, as c38eece6b0 if giving 59c666a66d up.e8c570cc68351fe3

“Don’t people ever call 56a4dd6a48 you dumb?”a7ad9c69068a7e41

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“I get 7e141b1dce told I 802a65638b look like 8d4b5ff42e I’m missing 1c09a90131 a screw 964b0faca5 a lot.”2d8412f01753dbf7

“You hear e414d75a9c that all 7e2220e218 the time 643a1bb0fa and still 63f68dc7e5 haven’t improved… f35e54cef6 Damn.”2e8d8e283168456c

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Mister stomped along, 4e971c3f9a his mouth practically 5913bdd34d a foot wide 2d57254699 with frustration. But despite his angry eb6bb5f823 act, his grip on 1ea6ee3b47 my hand was strong 5eecb21fd3 and steady, making me df48642ac5 feel oddly calm. He glanced at fa92d8e77a my face out 9c2b7497f8 of the corner 8dab44e35b of his eye, 20d30c6ce1 then muttered disapprovingly.2d856a46738c20f4

“Anyway, from now f3a2a40b4a on, if someone aa88c583e9 talks to you, 61c36d9c47 pretend you can’t 93caa9cfbe hear them. If you act like f4fd089493 you really can’t hear, d70be6bb45 they’ll think you didn’t 6a739cfe35 and back off. Got it?”f502a643f6299bdc

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“I guess I’ll de77748727 have to do a6c7f71216 that. The world’s scary these 201edc118c days, with all sorts 7d49e5b312 of weirdos.”357a792effce1ea8

“Yeah, some real 0c47aae880 weirdos out there. Trying to 874a274fc1 give stuff 177f203b55 to people, beb4bd24b8 almost getting 7da5cfcc37 you suckered 489b540e25 by that b0f1d0be92 little roly-poly afceb89f98 punk… The 2ef581aa44 way you e3783ae988 space out, b7e881e5e4 you’re bound a776023a0f to mess 089b184ee9 up someday.”932f89e786fca751

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“But you’ll help me 458978a2cd out, right, Mister?”f66f2557ab149655

“You think I’m d72a0e1dab your personal cleanup e07eae32d3 crew? Annoying jerk.”1a6b6bb8fdb82aba

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We chatted leisurely as 6365ef8ed7 we walked down the 1424ac0d83 empty street. It felt almost like de64b74fd7 a date, and my c14c3793a4 neck stayed warm the 6eea6beca2 whole way home.a48132a33252cf4a