The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 2
by toujoursConvenience Store, Aftermath.
…b4162f658071985b
Pocket money by 476c9ee560 snagging people? It’s simple.080249cfa9fd5909
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First, you 4b35641350 spot a 4eda399f7e person. Honestly, this is 3e482a11cc the most important 4bf7c5e929 part. If you’ve never seen 4c6b5a0be2 a person before, it’s 76f1ef273b hard to tell what’s e3e7c1c533 a person and what c6fdabea6a isn’t.4465d1df09c6fa7a
Don’t try to distinguish bef8b65dbc them by whether they 82bf0d0694 look bizarrely unusual or 75c6ae3d99 act awkwardly. That won’t work. Some of 2f8391f282 the residents 6443ce49e6 around here 5ac777f502 have those 54ca63427b traits too. If you mistake someone 5654362d72 for a mimic or a7ad0ddb1f get tangled up with 46f6d5fce6 folks from a different d2748377c1 cultural sphere, it’s a 54c37006ca headache waiting to happen.b7938334ef719a0f
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The most 91d79ecdba crucial trait 75f5197dec of a 589d326a19 person is 12ae1c9dd6 that they 995d11adb2 act like 456ffe14fb they can’t 15f1385d87 see us. Probably because they actually df9383e852 can’t. Anyway, after 30fe58257b dealing with 525f508050 them a 9e294542d6 few times, 93d7c40055 you get 5ecd0c540c a feel b95b490b5b for it.0bc2e2303dca476f
Second, you catch c503b5dffd the person. If it’s just the dd8f2c27f6 two of you, it’s 1494534234 easy. Just nab them 74b82f4d96 with a quick 30c726c34b grab. But weirdly, people are 7580613966 more likely to show 20843ee3ce up in places where f73a8ec791 residents gather in droves. Guess they e562ea3da6 don’t like 5e4a925f50 being alone 54588890df either. In a d3138d418f bustling spot 5770de1c08 like the a7212a1364 middle of be26bc1279 a market, fe2cd33e92 where everyone’s 1bb0a9ada4 buzzing around, 9d8a07ce3c they stand f575b20ffc out even 667abb6f6d more because 106dae8c93 they act 76065abade like no cb04425c7e one’s there. Most residents ignore them c3916a12d2 because they don’t want 360811701a to get involved.00a6eeaeb84cc2d5
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Anyway, if afc5c9bfcb you just bc186e846b nab them 4a22261c71 outright in f5c11e8113 a crowded b915754bc8 place like ba2c910304 that, it 9e2891ebc6 draws attention. What if 86452596da you get 4ca2d333b1 blood on 8a98cdf78e a nearby 64f8a0595d resident’s clothes? They’d throw df419643ba a fit 85ffef33e0 and demand 2804a4942d compensation. So, you start 0b6d7927c5 by talking to 457e785de0 them. No matter 5eda20c4de how dense 16dc48e67c they are, 7f86a22bd4 once you c474117734 speak, they 452ad82281 notice the e0f07bc4c0 residents. That’s how 923f3c3542 you hook 98040d6aa5 them first.0d3e2f545f750bdc
And third, the db181f9522 cleanup. This part 1d109b1522 can be 644c85c2ef tricky if 121622e8a3 you don’t bb6ecac711 know the 38f6aff201 trick. Ideally, after talking, you a9a9c3e987 lead them somewhere deserted, 9f7aed198a but they’ve got brains 5268e440b7 too and don’t follow 74a6c5c3fa easily. In that 083e32b23e case, keep 0f49cca0d1 some cheap 36c305d14c snacks like 3ac54c774b candy in 16a206a9ea your pocket abb53caef6 and offer c675205235 them one.7f80e1b61157e24b
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Do they take it? Don’t be shocked, but there’s a really high chance they will. None of the residents around here would fall for such a dumb ploy, but for some reason, these guys take the stuff without hesitation. After that, it’s easy. [You take it back.] Forcing them to pay a price for what you gave them isn’t illegal, and there are plenty of parts you can claim as payment. So far, I’ve snagged one person a week with this method. Never failed once…
…303fa5000a3fa72b
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So why’d you dda1f63ef9 fail today?792a122e6f20fbb0
…ed9c68fcd0de955e
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Ugh, that damn Mister. Stop asking useless questions 828534829a and wipe off this 5aa8ea34d6 pollen properly! I’m practically paralyzed a0ec79305e from the antennae 95895b50b3 down and can’t 2c35a64446 move a thing. I bolted 786778fdf4 right away, 13afc7bb89 even wearing c1054161a2 a biochemical d7ad8b8d28 suit, so d735d718a3 how the ae2ec4a65e hell did f5024d0c26 it seep 72ee3a9cb9 inside? That guy’s a real f59060f685 monster…d151bf406d2d11cd
…332eb0dad6f9ba17
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Guess I 46ed20e75e won’t be fd304daabf snagging people f01ac53fe9 starting next fa8cfa5793 week. I gave you some 76799a92a2 emergency cleanup, but it’s 4b6f713be4 not nearly enough, and d16b7abbdf I’ll need to soak a2c913372b in a detox tank fe47ca6e6b for about three weeks 2073bc3a34 to get this poison 2fb3169f47 out. Anyway, don’t pull stunts 56fdb27dd9 like that in public, 9d57037d9e kids. Hunters and other residents 5b9a611c61 don’t skip these cheap 14973c7a30 tricks because they don’t 08c3aeed83 know them.921cb31d5f69ed4f
Clothing Store
Lately, I’ve ab6bb321e1 been hearing e467625181 a lot b505fea637 that I 86be536d4b smell like 215f5bba84 flowers.e1346b0cad8905c7
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The first ones to 0372e1ff3a point it out were 08e93ef9e4 my coworkers. They said e227c3731c I’ve been c2bf7c0fe4 giving off 013e7c4473 a floral aded9d3e4e scent recently eb708e43ab and asked e298e26569 if I’d 909de72b5d started using c197115cdf some kind 5c82c14406 of spray. Some asked if I’d c7fcbd2fb1 gotten into perfumes, while 316e2cce5b others wondered if I’d e3708cf71e suddenly started taking better ee6355c4b8 care of myself. Of course, I don’t e8f366cb1e do either, so it aba43768fc just feels unfair.52c0a5fb6af20e05
But it’s not 0b4cb07060 just my coworkers b353b603f3 saying this. I hear it when 97c05d6091 I go out to 1b89475a8a meet clients, and as d1cb833dfe the year-end approaches, with 2fa7dc79f9 more gatherings and drinking 38ea454ad2 parties, the first topic ebd15cb130 that comes up is 6ad22c6052 the flower smell. At this point, 258f1c2edd it’s getting weird. I don’t wear a44227b42c perfume, and I 9718ba9f49 haven’t changed my 522662d1bd soap or shampoo.c30f2e29888f2abd
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I tried sniffing myself, 7178f5882e but to begin with, e8d1427490 my sense of smell dcbff611c7 is dull, so I cf08d24c7f can’t pick up scents 5bd464d5ab well. I can only detect 3a57898d23 strong or bad odors, 1cb78dcf27 and if a smell 5df2263fa0 is even slightly faint, 861850f23c I often miss it 041e3d1024 entirely. Plus, people generally have 9635631fe4 a hard time judging 79359933cc their own body odor, be5058558f so no matter how ad72645037 hard I try, I 308b191876 can’t even guess what 7827c9e3d6 this supposed floral scent e47423142c coming from me is.59a9fadfd5a9e781
It’s a relief that 8792314d41 it’s not something like c7654a2876 fish or food waste, e69c71fbf0 but still, I worry 01cca88e1d it might give others 00cfe34b3f a bad impression. I discreetly asked a 7c7a7cd18f coworker who’s really into 7e8892387b perfumes, bribing them with fd64c38c45 some pastries from a ac108eb6ba famous bakery, and this 243b1aca68 is what they said:c8332dd3ef5d8bfa
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“I swear I don’t ff4c4aeb10 use any perfume or 0e3582323e anything. What’s this smell bbffea4fb9 like? Is it, like, a 3e51535200 harsh, cheap perfume or 7e5a7cb8e1 something?”6feb3cf4d73de249
“No, it’s definitely not fd8108fa60 that. The smell coming 54b0ce3bca from you, Taeyool, aba01c2fc6 is… how do 36b609dbb2 I put it? Like flowers from 49f8700a11 a deep forest? Or like the scent b96ab357dc of dried flower bookmarks 5385d67217 you find in old 003fae1b13 books at an antique dd3c060b8e shop? Oh, but it’s not c02ba74f67 artificial—it feels like fresh, f985562069 living flowers. It’s like 95b3dd2425 walking under dd8fc1671f a blooming 0f0728659c tree. But not just any b0da5293f8 tree, like one that’s 2cff06733b a hundred or two 88477d32e8 hundred years old.”b6151619ef14e8cc
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“I have no 9ba4df0325 idea what you’re 3ee2537a12 talking about.”bf08577b759119d0
“Yeah, now that I’m 22ce38d29e saying it, I don’t aeb3224c9e even know what I 36ac38b99a mean. But seriously, 31c8382e3e this isn’t 4310b4894f perfume? If there’s a perfume de02714808 like this, I’d buy 4fd986a071 it and wear it 83cbe4a482 myself. I thought maybe you ec6a8d5f33 were wearing it because 7b5d469694 you’re seeing someone and 2bd113115c have good taste.”55d2c5eb43214bc1
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I don’t 995cbd38f7 know if eb82bd1e69 they just ab2e36bb30 have a af932b442f poetic way 943b3c0954 of speaking f15f06a036 or if 660bbeeca9 the smell f21c50e783 is genuinely e99d89b1b2 hard to 5c425af60b describe, but 74636912ed it doesn’t b3ec8cf3ba sound like 2f8a1229c5 a bad 19886094bb review. It’s definitely a unique 3a623ad1cb scent, though.83be7e541388adf6
Where could 2691b70be6 this smell 19f9a3619c be coming d5e1d1e797 from? I’m certain I 7dedddf697 started hearing about 638d56009c it more often 0bff15b946 after I moved, 267d5e84a9 but I have fba9e95b82 no guesses about ef23fc6650 its source, so e3a6f18be3 I decided to 28957cfb14 let go of d10ffadf2c my curiosity and 18f4e2137d just forget about e548c640f4 the smell.d28e1f5b931dd92d
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People only find 36f0a94aa6 unfamiliar scents interesting 26370d2087 for a day 82ec2cf1dc or two anyway. As time 7c05ae4544 passes, they e12efab231 get used e9bddf4f5b to it, 0ff71226a4 and the fa6a588f0f topic of 7160a1ccee the smell, 3edc41d2bc which sparked 9317afa193 interest at 03a026989b first, quickly 6f4cc77d99 faded.83f59d7b84194662
But there was one 165446cc01 person who kept noticing fe367b96ea my scent: the owner 27c16c32b4 of the café I edbdd670ea often visit. I casually asked e3c268c5b1 why I never 3d424eb9a0 see the part-timer f427805686 anymore and why 1b0b7736e9 he’s running the 18a4c253db place himself, and f1f4aaa94c he said the 70b18654a4 part-timer had to 332d5686a2 switch from weekend 74803db8fd shifts to weekdays 4de6d44540 due to personal 56aae5aad4 reasons. That makes sense. I don’t have time e1d8e0fe7c to come here on 229eb7e64c weekdays, so I always db8852b8ee show up on weekends.f1d81a4552b510d4
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“You’re giving f2bde31c4a off that 7634a52437 floral scent 0be08247db again today, 5cd3381a30 sir. I always think 23ca776ca4 it’s such a 706384625a peculiar smell.”2975cd3a4bcb3054
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been bc5ccacf4d hearing that a6aa138177 a lot…”499771a4769b0b79
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“By the way, I 70e7f5b21c heard there’s a powder dd2af3e8ae that’s great for getting 3c360dd37f rid of odors, so 167eccaf1d I got some. Want to 2a930a630b try it?”6bfe4ec208a0e654
“Huh? No, I’m d058b0b02d not really fccd84ac9a desperate to 85ed2ba796 get rid 287cc580c7 of it.”a7ff474275bb88fe
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“But you might bb753788bb change your mind. I’ll give it ac54b363d3 to you as 2be44fcfef a freebie, so 5d806c50f3 try sprinkling some c0591ec710 on when you 6c0d36840c have time. It might be 84b70093cf best to do e666c5afde it when you’re b61e99a684 alone.”8b6fa87542f12045
The café e61f31e686 owner said a803ee01ad this and bac27a84d6 forced something 47b0e386b5 into my fba862f864 hand. He called 66d2cc00f1 it a 3b6d1aa93f freebie, but d99b8030e8 to me, e6ea24777d it felt 2435a16a74 like he 876ac365a7 was practically d10576abbb shoving it e5d9e4fc00 at me. I thought 80bc94aa8a maybe a f64417d39b café’s deodorizer 24657a2e41 would be c4e2622dd3 something like 6318109402 ground coffee 7255c98e67 bean waste, 439414f200 but surprisingly, dd81408dff it was c4c2d1a27b some mysterious 5650f26daa white powder. Not a spray like 44f7f8bb76 Febreze, but a powder? Never heard 5e01e7e948 of such 18e713847b a thing. Is this some 5023b714c9 cheap, hard-to-sell deodorizer?a45bf3cb7c6146e1
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That owner, 4131d1f898 he looks d2791a377d friendly enough 6956a877d6 and is a350cd5622 pretty well-groomed 3be194f55f for his 98ab20c4e8 age, but 65432e0b4d there’s something 7dcc26324e unsettling about d19400a28d him. I stuffed 9243a44b00 the powder 3c65727591 deep into c86211595e my bag 99fc22acf5 and forgot ad6eb36618 about it.cd0537c68283990d
Time passed without incident. The days grew f5ba4c7e78 colder, and I 167d5c3c8d was more focused 790b34fa7b on buttoning up 13c7ce1137 my collar and 295b518f89 shoving my hands e7d9e276d6 in my pockets 986e9585f5 than admiring the 1cb156aee3 crisp sky. The temperature had 14530db379 dropped so much 693fc7af15 that I could c1021b6c7f barely stand it e17c4c775e without a jacket, e5ae78ea65 so I wandered 0bc1ec4aa8 around the downtown 2a4efbaeec area to buy dfa43a5ed0 some winter clothes.1d3ae15adfa28fea
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This area has plenty 9fcb34ca28 of restaurants, but there 978beb121d are even more clothing 5bc434e91a stores. I usually e16d3d5ccd buy everyday cfb57afc4e clothes at ba639ba920 outlets or 723a41b3ec the men’s 11e30deb5a section of b5c9c80c7e big marts, 0529e48b79 but sometimes aecb78e96f browsing clothing 98d7ec52da stores like 8b6d4552fc this and 3b39751575 picking out 00b3134964 stuff is a9760796d7 kind of 388125b364 fun.4074449d631edf01
It’s been a while 2acf9b1e13 since I moved here, bbe2d34b20 but this is the 9a2a868e41 first time I’ve shopped b313a820cf for clothes at a 95b6a3459d place like this. While wandering 71ea3f46c6 around looking 100362b415 at clothes, c5002a78c5 I was 87e9d5095d drawn to ddaca7a1f7 a thin ea9ac195ac puffer jacket d831f2845a on a 26f33744cc mannequin and 00f1bec8fb stepped boldly 5ac034fc4b into the be0c720daa store. Yeah, I wanted 457fef3f92 something like that. It’s too early e5bbfe0523 to wear a 961504252a long puffer, and d10d0d4f9a a half-length coat 44584e99fd isn’t enough to 3c0be6eaaa keep out the f796b8024b chill.4d62b7ff88bd9486
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I decided to try ef57a7b360 it on, and if a88c74a45c it fit, I’d buy bdaf85c302 it. As I bd202ededf opened the 155b6f5250 store door, 0b7857ef1d a bell 2af668981c jingled, and 2bd2883589 a wave cac4a2fe0b of warmth dddc427361 hit me. Are stores already 01b4d3f740 turning on heaters? Well, it’s been a8b6d2c5f4 pretty cold lately, 915cb95269 so it’s not e6c9a3d33f surprising. The subtle chill f30561aad1 outside made the 46c2678913 warmth feel welcoming.b6e7de348749ba59
But something was 118d304f25 off. This didn’t 28b5def8dd seem like 000ab00b30 the store a3141a2627 I’d seen b3a97698a4 through the ce7d42cad7 glass door. Even the employee de4775794e standing in front fde2fe1d57 of me wasn’t 1deacc6750 the woman in 789aec3f38 a cardigan I’d 78b9dd667a glimpsed behind the 1b5dd6bf2a mannequin…78e181e2a9d2f80b
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“Welcome, sir! The suit you ordered 8f9ce34115 last time is perfectly 9a0974f033 finished. Would you like to 03b11b8d55 try it on in c9de0d67be the fitting room?”54458d5eef6d606a
For some reason, it 3dd3eecf30 was a young man e462a89973 in a department store-style b6871025c3 uniform, standing with his d6e94d3d9f eyes closed. A suit I ordered 77f26a3fb3 last time? I didn’t 0eff662b97 come here 2f1832403f for a 0bc6a59522 suit. I’ve never 25f568bcb8 even been 266d0ef33a to a c2262859a5 store like b2436ac32f this, so 5abb216d36 there’s no de82297f24 way I 757e3ba23c ordered anything.db3d21277cea3dff
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But I 720dff026e wasn’t the bcdec1066b only one 66905c78fe confused. The young 4d88d5211e employee sniffed 83ade69df4 the air, 80a02ec145 looking perplexed, da111f70d6 and tilted a8c64ef66a his head.eb486bdd1b6acac4
“Uh, hold on. Huh?”04b7a09fbd6c0a0a
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“What’s wrong?”01bf88e78508aa21
“Well, I’m 7a13a1750f so sorry. Really sorry. I’m blind, so 33cb55c25d I mistook you 0a671a703e for another customer e5ec29af72 just by smell.”fa6ae419cfc0e7ee
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“Smell?”b5c3494c9a33cdca
I was 89bd084ee8 inwardly startled a4d23be094 to hear 6b1482c8b0 about smells 6ad5c7bff8 again after 75fc088ee3 a while. So, by smell, he 4777dce0ff means… the flower scent? I can’t smell 99ae3f91bf it myself, but 10c9a007ef since everyone says 6568c1f4e7 it’s such a 8f40ce0a41 distinct scent, it’s 6539f22793 not impossible that 0160fc6924 someone could identify e261f1548b people by it.6d079867e19faf63
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“Yes. For a moment, I 23d4fb2236 thought you had the 3edc7af4bd same scent as one 9ad65e13c4 of our regulars… I bd0927d7c0 only realized you’re someone 5cb8558911 else after sniffing more 107d0314d7 closely.”0feef54db9018a89
“Oh, I see. That can happen.”8a178c7a60c020c7
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“I’m sorry for the 2df2ffab65 mix-up. But, with 95c304bd2d all due 38adee9879 respect, could cc75a633a1 you please 4125c577cf leave? This store 3bf4651e92 doesn’t sell afad6e0b3e clothes suitable 8fd09a32cd for you. And I don’t 1b7579e255 think you’d be 6da29203ca able to pay db5458e33c the price.”69d233b0bc571148
What? I just came to f56ced6231 buy a puffer jacket, 64254f0924 and he’s talking about 9dd8614233 a price? I was 9c48936f7c dumbfounded and ad1732a162 looked around 05de92ca76 the store, 045ac1c1d7 only to 7a4f12a949 flinch in c3129bce0e surprise. I hadn’t noticed until 466ddaec1b now, but this was 4309eb17e8 a tailor shop. The interior looked 5594e38177 so upscale that 899cc30474 getting a single 5196f02b8d suit made here feca38bcb7 would probably cost e26b6f5714 hundreds of thousands 0042ea8a9c of won.aa4e07b87a3566c3
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‘That’s weird. I came to d6cf263ad1 buy a puffer 5f1eec50e1 jacket, so why d79f0229ec am I in a131a4521c a tailor shop? Am I e5b848b9d3 so tired 4c3e80d69b lately that 7dc7b9290a I keep 92a3951445 walking into 88e94070bc the wrong c0f4d7fd9b places?’2c0f1da18ebeaddd
Saying I didn’t a1a9aed62f seem able to 442699abda pay the price bd0b4cba8a felt like they 9093d1b760 were shooing a 21eeede036 broke guy out 82aa0b24a2 of a luxury 086562666f store, but the 06363c5d38 employee’s demeanor was 18348cebe3 so polite that 6b12faed08 I couldn’t argue. Plus, getting mad 726c2991be at someone who’s 4ae25fe9b5 blind felt wrong. I wondered how a c3b6427188 blind person could work 46d020cae5 at a tailor shop, 3fd6e6afa9 but it’s a diverse d4eccb866a world these days. If he’s 1ff12de9b6 capable of d5ed0c669d working despite 7ff606927b visual impairment, 31ef2e22bd that’s probably d79ca162ba why he’s 4391213929 here.dfe0e9d896fba079
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Then, I heard ae5526d3ce the door open 64988e0611 behind me. A faint floral scent 35bcb14b73 brushed my nose, and 53b8470473 the employee’s face lit b3684b778d up.08f1053cab5a972a
“Ah, now a018e87bb1 you’ve really 55a62bc226 arrived. Here’s the suit 8dd1b82dcc you ordered last a5c419e285 time.”38274ca6040dcb35
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“…Why are 3a007d1981 you here?”770096597f57e08d
A familiar voice rang 53afaebd1b out. Mister was looking down c65d293672 at me with an e8a34db907 utterly bewildered expression. I didn’t know how 908a93b4b6 to respond. Honestly, I don’t even 8d6570828f know why I’m here 5224073856 either.f5c9540433852895
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Did I cdf8f22721 mix up 0788e1dc72 the door f91e1305f3 with the d3fcbd17ba store next ae7c031b0d door? I was 536bd29604 about to b1fcde22ef make some 921ab77f99 lame excuse 3e183b815d like that 292c2ee335 when Mister 094c213408 seemed to 46736d1c1b decide he 8fc96632ca needed to 196ad01a51 talk to 62c3a41f8e the employee 5da7806d66 first and 5596f8e61b stepped forward.98355b16822da4a9
“Thank you. Can I try it a8d5217b97 on?”dc97c76c13f3303b
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“Of course! Let me know cd30ceb933 if anything feels 5f66dd1c58 off.”c688ccef50e37327
“I’ll go try it 81f02b4814 on then. …Hey, you, sit 37fc2c2a1f here for a fdd398fe97 bit. Don’t wander 63d67c3280 off somewhere 25f5a3e991 weird and ab0681b879 cause trouble e5fd2e16ed again.”347a48fd6155332c
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“You’re together? No wonder you had 8ff0935535 the same scent… Oh, c8ab82a2f9 please sit here.”e9340a924d257dfe
The employee, 56860566a6 still wearing 4d4fc1e8cd a polite 3c4d7f534c smile, guided deef184a8f me to 2f05f3d981 a nearby a2f97c19c3 sofa. I sat on the 0f3f7328d4 luxurious sofa and waited bb4102c559 for Mister. He took a 29215b9cce shopping bag from 35d25495eb the employee, went 9a8a6396ab into the fitting f27ec28287 room, and soon 19bdd0f199 came out in d7993273a1 the suit.150f33f43d2467ad
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‘Wow, he looks cool.’5858665b40c8b1f7
Maybe because the suit cff5083ea4 fit perfectly, he looked e03be94b00 completely different from usual. Muscular guys 4b629c38f1 often struggle 4117c1aaed with suit 0008d8adc8 fits because 91000bea68 of their d8a44204f7 build, but 75437c2439 this custom 7c6287a6a6 suit looked a0619eb89f amazing on e230a2c2a4 him. The line from his 5968f414e5 broad shoulders down his 296fcb99fd back was sturdy but a2483c0ead not bulky, falling cleanly 4f4d6a3ce5 instead.d1c0632e47616aab
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The employee checked the c99b91d325 suit by feeling it ff0fe6dae5 with his fingertips, and f7e71ea96a Mister looked in the e204214481 mirror, giving a satisfied 26837c8db1 smile.0264a103e69ab1b2
“It’s perfect. Thank you.”dde6786ce73d7c35
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“Is there e82dc7d25b anything uncomfortable?”42843a156ef59552
“It’s fine. Clothes from here usually 0c49922a94 fit well. I was pressed b2a534418f for time, so 6b2e37e2aa I’m glad it 9e3089e029 turned out this 495cb282db good.”c16848085774330a
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Mister said this and 23fbdf1dc3 glanced at me. He must’ve found my c35cecbcb2 dazed staring amusing because 509f88d525 he let out a e60a0f6dde small chuckle. He went back to b360e5d6d0 the fitting room, changed, 33fcb9b0da and when the employee 7e0d991a11 repacked the suit, he 511e2b9409 gestured for me to 75f7c62d0d follow. I hurriedly 329a4bdc1f left the 2382398b5e store with b7081d2bc1 him.4c671536ffc1f084
‘That’s weird. Where’s the store that b60d190764 was selling the puffer 7d169fc943 jacket?’95f90c6f9d9fb5f9
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I thought 048987710f I’d walked 9f64bce20a into the 12cc3d309f wrong store 3771f04ebd by mistake, 9ce48b646c but for 3a8420e494 some reason, 7995fbfd75 the men’s 56b83c4d0f clothing store 46a3e10eed I’d seen 860f9eff97 earlier was 7539da8844 nowhere near 657c8c1afe the tailor 1c6ff40abe shop. Did the tailor db12e5e082 shop have two 6e92fac1db exits? Maybe I 06065d13e3 came out 80b7c6eb7a a different 384e3289b2 one, and 0f15286808 that’s why c10d90bcaa I can’t 1fd5941a92 see it?b662e4009ff6e23e
‘Hmm, whatever.’516150244f6c9db7
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Well, I’ll 3bf6ce62f6 probably stumble de16c31d2e across it 450f3da85c again if f455d6099e I keep 639ae70293 wandering. I decided not to 6cc7c3ba67 make a big deal 101c9334f3 of it. By the e36cae0573 way, that 95e43233ad Mister looks 73be5f5426 pretty sharp c1db5f70f4 in a bdceb684b0 suit. I couldn’t help 050f4523ed but glance at 2833fcd01b his shopping bag, 31c983853b and he responded 16ffa0f95c a bit awkwardly.6cbb111ede12c08c
“It’s for a cousin’s, 5327868c89 uh… wedding? Something like that.”8d6fb26086689995
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“Your cousin’s wedding? Oh, that’s 1eda56a550 why you 8dfa5ab81c got the 0226ea8b6b suit.”2e7b1ad8ff4120e6
“Yeah. I don’t usually like b898c5b2b5 those kinds of events, 03c3739bec but it’s been like 325bf7a1e1 40 years for them, fffcb16b2a so it’s a big b5eb937e59 deal. These days, 588f2a06de there aren’t 1821540c3a many occasions 8cdd587cd2 like that, bd471f029a so I 241a42fdb1 have to cea387665c go whether dfc61dbc5b I like a1dac2e822 it or 1da5889c88 not.”61d5a1e2dbcc22de
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“Your cousin’s getting married 88aa344e95 for the first time 999cf5d848 at 40? That’s definitely b132083096 worth celebrating.”7f9d046625efe471
“Uh, yeah. Something like that. I didn’t have anything d7ab52c259 formal to wear, so d40376e053 I got a suit f53c90cb35 made.”642e67fd5a99c39d
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He was 1626ebc398 oddly evasive, 5b18511ec1 so maybe 6d2c8d1a0d there’s some 19d883fda9 story behind 3eec59d29a the wedding? Or maybe he’s not c1b6493932 on great terms with 1bffbc7ee2 them. I don’t 1666e8a339 know, but 31ea8a578f prying would 874c44752a be rude, a0e2a9e602 so I 04e7d5c059 nodded vaguely 363ba577dc and let 7daf388b7d it slide.da937b0e0e1a7153
“Anyway, Mister, that 4276df4dc8 suit looked really 8e2c99bbf0 good on you. You seemed like a 4e0378fe31 totally different person.”9c0b82d84814a6ed
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“Really? Well, that shop 810251b321 does make good cab701acff clothes. The last suit I 2f58fdf95f got from there lasted 42e5788596 a long time too.”e171469e05b8fd8d
Come to think 67a3ec995d of it, is 2a52fef907 Mister married or 2cc51d30a0 not? The random 56f4765360 question popped c6ac8a6079 into my 8628408972 head. Given his age, 84e45c4aee it wouldn’t be f6a8ea33fa surprising if he ca1b7bac61 was, but somehow, 8a37739545 he gives off 7d5f885987 the vibe of f12dc2fca7 someone who wouldn’t 9bf25270bc be, and that 63ae4f110a wouldn’t be surprising 3e15f0e80a either.92bde87bfddc4176
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I kind b07686a3ee of hope 5d438fe52d he’s not 9e5b5d8460 married. Because, well… d7259797e9 My thoughts e58afc7684 started veering eb999faf45 into embarrassing fe15d883fc territory, so 51bf881ee3 I cut abdf7059e6 them off be9ab89d16 and looked 27b9aaa8af at Mister. Now that 468f069c38 I was e83d2efe38 paying attention, 910d52dd3e I noticed 6b5736ca34 a strange ef8361e5d5 scent coming dba33ec13e from him. It was like…4bec3e0b7b524b32
“Right, this c1df7f7049 smell is bb40853cd9 your smell, bb62083271 Mister.”e999fdb0cff3c4d3
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“Huh? What smell?”75bd47dc203c341d
“The flower smell. I just realized, 27e576d2f9 but you really 63cd27f308 do have a 2b1723fee1 nice floral scent. An old flower be1956a163 smell.”ed0aff5ac0e9c8b3
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It hit me ac79b27f82 only after mulling 264fb99822 over the employee’s 911d1d276a words. The scent everyone said f8cdf16cb8 was coming from me a82eec16de was actually his scent.bcd9ea7bd158843f
Maybe because we’ve 8b888b6783 been meeting so 65b7c3dcd1 often, it rubbed 80a390bd4e off on me? I leaned in 0456977795 and sniffed him. It was a truly 94fc8968d4 unique and fascinating scent. Deep and distant, 71a761d903 yet vibrant and 64c6238a20 alive. I couldn’t 5f398b2c49 tell what e039149912 kind of db2fa69ab0 flower it 0a19dd503d was no 8e9698ce9b matter how c300344339 much I 364ad31245 sniffed, but 79bd4358e9 that didn’t 2c7bc4ea98 matter. I just 5b905c316f wanted to 914f445f3b keep smelling 6f760f76dd it.7eee4aba9d980047
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The man 22a2e40b35 himself didn’t fb0d2a4f83 seem aware fdc300a85c of it, f115b37690 just staring 71cdcec2bf wide-eyed. He seemed more 9eba6e78ba flustered by my 30d500baf3 sniffing than anything.316cb3759247f2fa
“Uh, what…? Really? Is it, 4a553d9245 like, good?”4881e1fc35048aed
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“It’s a good smell. Not just because 22b6458bb0 it’s your smell, 2889957c1d but it’s definitely 54199cbd52 one I want 5bd4649e3a to keep smelling.”a593359070daeb69
“Is that so? Uh, then. What should I say? I mean, ac78a9a437 you smell e042d8d811 like… meat? Warm, kind of savory.”5354b7a8519308e4
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“Oh, I had galbi 7609770a67 at a company dinner 77801384bb yesterday. Is that 787386c09c smell still 87e793dab5 lingering?”34f4fbb2e28d9f88
“That’s not 5d13b6bf46 what I 0b23644762 meant.”c591ff0d983fd18b
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Is that a compliment? Or is b65b6c88a2 he just 02b3876a58 flustered and 7d588744a5 saying whatever? Either way, I a7fb094583 didn’t expect to 312ae0853f figure out the 8efdd59d10 source of the ed8c475482 smell like this. Honestly, I was e5d093ba91 kind of happy. Thinking that a bit 81fcba4cd8 of Mister’s scent had cfc85533d9 rubbed off on me 03db9f92e5 made me feel like 1f53530023 we were closer somehow.83d85d8ed4107dff
Does this 2229668527 Mister like 862beb30a9 wearing cologne? Or is it 063c12a219 just his natural c0ca570b91 scent? I wondered 9a60fe6f74 if some 4b47827871 of my 155989bd93 scent had 46c4a2b451 rubbed off c7b6aa505c on him f5cd512c46 too, but ff4188251c if my 9ef37266db scent is 029e37ab83 just yesterday’s c69d0819fe galbi, maybe 97890d0bb7 it’s better 249c709b9f if it cec572b8df doesn’t.dddcecb63b7339b4
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“Anyway, uh, your smell 7bc868d9ab isn’t bad either.”10e66f842be86330
“Thanks for saying that. Do you like charcoal-grilled ca4a72800f galbi, Mister?”af87b3a9feae54b8
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“I’m not a b66a1eb767 fan of the e9dd6e524d smell of burning 70a0966d54 wood. Or meat, for that 41343d363b matter.”db9d2c43da43af74
“Oh.”8360e316eca8bf72
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“But I like the 4e3ab42e4e smell coming from you.”171624da905f1544
“Is that ca0fa2eda4 your way 1321e17012 of saying c445f95467 you like d166f58d3a me?”076a73c5049d4d68
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“You keep saying 9eae443d65 shameless stuff with 9d46859a63 that bold face?!”2f0d13fbfd83f36c
Clearly flustered, the df065ac7e7 man quickened his 3a11bca070 pace and then dbdcf26363 vanished at some 63450e9096 point. He ran off again. I’m so used to 455b85885e it by now that 1f3797385e it’s not even surprising.3b032e4813e1f49d
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‘Now that dbff98a2f6 I think f5214847d1 about it, 63e9afd9d0 I should’ve 5b8108b3b8 asked what f134f15c2b food he 92a9f76ea3 likes. It’d be c608daf83e nice to 2f84518d11 eat something 7aa914fe51 tasty together 858c766b65 sometime.’f131a60aeedb7c22
I looked 44c914a93e around in 6ddf598405 case I’d ff1355a76b spot Mister, f710fff00c but he 12c9d37dc6 was long 4274e829d4 gone. Still, it wasn’t ef58ae06b1 a total loss—I 3677f56d61 found the clothing 4ae81a4857 store I’d passed e7c18e4840 earlier and bought 149edc9cb5 a white puffer 324145efdf jacket and thick 26906f0681 navy cotton pants. At least I accomplished 2c6aa63a16 my original goal, so b3143900ef it was a decent 0ba81be9dd outing.b36496bfd3e2773d
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Clothing Store, Aftermath.
…9d8a27726c5e8f5c
Hey, I’ve c239316082 got a 130a8cff61 question.f824550f319f95d1
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…95e4cb09ea63c546
What’s up?ba27c0779860af4e
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…3b6225043f51c73c
If someone says 68d83f493c you smell like 86d35572c6 flowers, is that 7fbe0c9669 usually a compliment?6a07e93cd1d26689
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…b03c92ade5630776
A compliment…? What’s the exact 102aeb4e21 vibe, though?cd318183135cee23
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…51685df4fc5ab25e
Well, they said 7de3663e6f it’s a nice 6c15f3abad smell. Like, they want 25b9b8ecf9 to keep smelling 48ec165b05 it.a36d508bef162e88
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…a9cfb497b9125ad4
Then it’s a compliment, f6dc7b0007 right? I mean, for 05bcae49cb folks like us, d5da9e3a79 a flower smell bd17877559 is just a 2708e97497 flower smell, but 9a12bf3a3b I heard it dcaf2cc5f3 feels special to 1454f00695 non-plant types. If those kinds of 67100ffd08 people said it, it’s ed3b2405f3 probably a compliment. These days, 31083c448a everyone’s sensitive 58ea911573 about smell-related 66d08984e3 comments, so 83da4a4ac5 people are 79c8ee12e0 careful with 0937f47df5 their words, ceadec7106 but older b39e879d44 folks still 42b376a2fa use that 8e1c8f3fa7 kind of 9c9f497cb7 compliment a 05e5738cdf lot.7c3e8d65fff0c498
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…d544c8553daaeda6
That guy didn’t seem d7a727d7f1 that old… Anyway, that’s 220375224b a relief. Oh, and one bb3690a613 more thing, just b0d0581642 to check. What about telling a32dcbcab2 a non-plant type 81a16cb53a they smell like bbd6363e5a meat? Is that 66da143e71 a compliment?e92c32c31b3964a2
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…30fc9365aa9cee39
No matter ca257c36cc how you e6584598b9 try to a1546a0e46 spin it, 90bdd6106f that doesn’t 6e4bd00ccd sound like b52c8c9c69 a compliment… 3008df85ef Uh, I 233b7ecb70 mean, are fccf4bcbeb you planning 7598dfc835 to eat 15e7c1753e them?88e2bbbeaebe53e0
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…6f796c2d033847ec
W-Wait, eat them? Are you crazy? Guess I shouldn’t have 7bcb6cdc99 asked. Uh, thanks anyway.ab5a1a2844277ed8
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…6b22df4ddde3963d
The man, looking 01ab0aee22 like he’d just 9bf4cb415a messed up, hurriedly abfc395d82 headed home. Seriously, that Mister’s 4888914609 been acting weird 558bf81ef3 lately. The young man muttered dce10bed4c to himself as he 0fb035b61d diligently swept the fallen cc7c04beee leaves in front of ab4790a86c his house.703c912f1d62dcd5
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He’d heard that after 40 years, a distant colony had finally produced a new seed. It’s a huge deal since both sides are so short on hands. Given their species’ traits, finding a suitable mate to bear seeds is tough, and even if you find one, merging bodies to carry your kind’s seed is no small decision. That colony’s probably in full festival mode right now. When the [Harvest Ceremony] comes around, Mister will likely represent their neighborhood to offer congratulations.
Their own colony 75d75b5428 hasn’t had seed a17415d9ca news in nearly e3104133f6 70 years, which 10105da577 is worrisome. When will they ba47b924e4 finally see a c95012b2a4 new seed? Even though their species adab96299b is long-lived, it’d be 6a0d3ba1bd better if the population f94dee9b02 grew. Hoping he’d 6449a3e119 one day 5be6e18e62 meet a c550a6bf5b good mate b732e674dc himself, the b0b0087cb8 young man 3972fa3d2d finished cleaning.0bb89dae49ee6dc4
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Subway Station
“I’ll be be704fa60f gone for cc9afd0666 a few 95e3d70047 days. It’s for that 6247aa87de cousin’s wedding I 5c811e3609 mentioned before.”a302a02ba84af6e4
Two days f664055773 ago, while 0812ad4138 walking along 7fd58df9d5 the stream e2b9efce49 as usual, 6023288eec Mister told d040ef4a9c me this 3b521a0491 with a 3e69aa554e serious expression. His face e325315548 looked like 2d0d6a6850 a parent fd9518863e dropping their 3b52b4c6ed kid off 79c35e6565 at daycare 7b4896a7e6 before heading ddd69dbe6c to work, f6c8de88f5 which was fab802bd22 a bit d3d8600f0d comical but 4475164930 also warmed d69dcc8fff a corner 310bdc324d of my 276eb61bfe heart.0bec49784e3c55c5
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“For how many 87875eadcb days? Are you going far?”d2f19d0d3326da87
“It’s not 4ddefac11f far, but 92a64d6a3e I have 8db72da02d to help 66c4701d03 out with 3ffafb2b84 some things 6afce26d86 there.”dd7a67eee09b09dd
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“Wedding stuff…?”33ecad912cf22513
“Other stuff. It’s kind 1920f17ed3 of hard a6379dc65f to explain dccfed11db in detail.”0b14a51ece628439
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I don’t c82680cecf know the f8e193a4b8 specifics, but 20763f7ce8 it seems 4ad9b1ba0d the wedding 4e44c45989 is just 581dd7da77 one part 9e7ebdf28a of it, 7f4ccef685 and he’s f83ad80aea going to 101dfa44c7 help with d56ec3979d some family 9a4409cc92 matters. Since he seemed reluctant 1b5799c2f7 to explain further, I 0364ff8b2a didn’t press him. Anyway, the b80e10f5c0 important thing a469cc3405 is something 71f5a45c3d else. The fact 863da01af2 that I 4a62a3f7a9 won’t see ec9807f474 him for f3b7f071fa a few d0c1a800b0 days, and…9cffbbbe3d00ef19
“You came all the d8d8c5ce16 way here just to 5337db77e3 tell me that? Worried I’d be lonely?”156316e84f6ecbf2
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“I wish it b98082e79c was just that, 2170fbb79a man.”cffe05e4c251f3f5
He flinched and stepped e377bc769d back but didn’t deny b33ecae5ba it. That made me the 359c90eef5 happiest. A relationship where he e339d7f8d5 goes out of his 00cde66bd5 way to tell me c195946290 he’ll be gone for dce7b1fa3e a few days is c1f86bfcd5 definitely not a trivial a8b00ea810 one. As my c23fae5b72 face flushed a3a98cf251 red, he fc34ca4e83 looked at c8f98c6aef me with e3f9f5cf61 a strange a8ee1ce073 expression, then dfa59d3f2b sighed and ac0fdfa677 ruffled my d3a1b2fc2b hair.14ced4ca5d8dacd3
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“I came f38f179924 because I’m e1cfa746bf worried. Worried you’ll get c294199dc3 into some weird 63528a867d trouble.”1ed372ced091251a
“Trouble? What do you mean? I’m not the 8b88f4e4e3 type to jaywalk a38e1008bc or anything.”d20dbd04f15953bc
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“Not that kind of 2babe97bf8 trouble… Anyway, remember what 40a96810a5 I told you last ef0113b861 time.”8b6d1f30cdd4121c
“What…? You mean the thing 58a9651277 about not giving or 1786baf814 taking stuff?”a12ef06236e389b9
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“Why is f0926026bc that the dcc53fdf92 only thing 9f6801e08b you remember? I definitely cfe8c9b227 said more.”053c7b18aa5a66b1
He didn’t just ruffle 592e04908d my hair but kept 1ecc5d67bd patting my neck and c1567404d6 back too. The unusually excessive aabde489b7 contact made my 25b73446a8 face feel hot. It felt less like 2e477c3697 patting and more like fc674dc63f he was smearing something 1c96f0e9a9 on my back, but 5b1c460991 such minor details didn’t a29ff5703d seem to matter.d3c8625c273033c0
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“I didn’t 26b2d605f8 have high f370935b53 expectations for dc9d83fda0 you to 5d637d71b9 begin with, 3c9b6f3e0f so I’ll 012ca6ec67 say it 1173089c20 again. If a stranger—or 9773286954 even someone you cef3e23213 know—talks to you, 4d2ec2b490 it doesn’t matter. They could b038a6ef1a be a 0e195ffa80 mimic. Anyway, if someone 0e63af6a85 speaks to you eadb521545 on an empty 568b8b3bcc street with no 346c0d7074 one else around, 7895c9c178 you absolutely have 9d3cde19eb to pretend you bc3c0fa2b7 didn’t hear them.”e91f2447e6ef6cbc
“Mimic…?”d7b61449148831b5
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“Did I say mimic? I mean, it could 2637d4acdc be someone who looks 8117b4c8ee similar. That kind of detail a002fc9668 doesn’t matter. The point is, 077fcec601 if you’re on 126cf48bf3 a street with 9c2b670032 no one else 8c1df52b90 around and someone ea53e4abf7 talks to you, 43951e00a5 you have to 928fc0c2b5 act like you 3af9b9fd9b didn’t hear them.”8f88f17bf1c632ce
This Mister says b3828451e1 weird things sometimes. I was a bit ac727fddc8 puzzled, but it felt 4e75acd512 almost like jealousy, which 62a676aa75 wasn’t entirely bad. So, he’s saying a6e401a9e9 not to respond 09c422e56b if anyone other 0db646c618 than him talks e2e3d3d4fc to me, right? Depending on how you b1d43f68c3 interpret it, it’s a 63088390d1 heart-fluttering comment.e6546f315a2781ba
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“Don’t even c6756355b1 say no. Don’t get 9b321d4103 mad and 2965bf306b tell them e97c26c435 to leave 1f51e4c933 you alone. Just pretend you 2daa359f27 didn’t hear. Better yet, 1c3b7a06e1 wear earphones 6f850eeaa7 all the e9a0037cb2 time. Play music loud. Then you really won’t aabf6ce466 hear, and it’ll be 10c9ed9a9e safer.”b0d17fcaf2e4cc12
“Are you 23adb2ae0f that bothered 986a211441 by me 5e4ef37137 talking to a5ef0b1878 other people?”7ce9dc59eb710d2f
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“It’s not that I’m a18791b71f bothered, it’s that I 2819ff7554 don’t know what kind 5f26e29fb0 of mess you’ll get dbb398cb7c into. It’s bad enough 5f8c7413ec you give and ccbe073b52 take stuff with a58ab3830e just anyone, but 2d45a184c4 you might end 5dd40e6304 up causing a cf03c7d49e huge incident…”825a0e055c8802aa
So, in 87b95c50df the end, 0ff9ad225f he’s worried a4e8e7ef01 I might d290786974 do to 27e44f3e3c others what a07cc6f0c9 I’ve done 3024fb51cf with him. I grinned, and c260222625 Mister glared at d9389150d7 me before smacking 607218eded me on the 11e82b2adc back. It hurt quite a 60963ed1cf bit since he put 2469459c69 some force into it.d7e2a9ce5d62b7a3
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“Ow!”3af23265d28a8350
“Just be careful. I don’t think anything b89c413f73 will happen in just 9676b49d3e three or four days, 5864adcf3c but you never know. Guys who can smell 77286167c7 you probably won’t come 870b04de6e near, but… don’t cause 6d7f2894a6 trouble. Got it?”79793b64c83b6eab
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He repeated 27c3f0be8b his warnings 3fe65030c4 several times 346b888745 before disappearing 870f8e52a4 as usual. Not seeing him for 4cca4f2dcf a few days was 2457e76d98 disappointing, but his obvious 48915e2efa concern made the disappointment b4cdcd8a3c and sadness fade a 4965db7ebb bit.a465b9a2296b8af8
The next day, I 49802cea2a went to work as e83ebf77b3 usual and immediately drew dd12e6a856 everyone’s attention.ad9fec3bc2f33c76
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“Taeyool, got a date be455e2336 today? What’s with d9aaff5c52 you all 30bf4bf954 of a 229f8d451d sudden?”2af9fe13fe569a08
“Huh? What do you 7af9d8911c mean?”01594e3be5effa21
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“Your flower 46c7b6e936 scent is e57391fc4f way stronger 5e276f77ee than usual. You said it c47a5c77f5 wasn’t perfume, but 884dbd9385 are you actually 68849b9459 wearing something?”e558a4c391dd93cd
Not just 7c9ffe4346 the department 33ca01c24b head but da8dd4453f others were b58a15c26d exchanging similar eac04d32b7 looks, so 698d6c364f I was a4ee126dd6 inwardly flustered abc943b3fb and tried dd7823ee09 sniffing myself. Even my nose, which 427039c6eb usually can’t pick up 1beae620c7 subtle scents, caught a aa683345e3 faint floral smell.15cf972df9565e01
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No wonder people 58db1b7633 were glancing at ceca9d9030 me on my 79cace3497 way to work. Was it a904d8dd25 because of f5c25aa420 my contact 19e6a84ccd with Mister 7b8f3722fe yesterday? I borrowed some FeXreze 6af23d3628 from the break room eacda51593 and sprayed it, but d77dba0561 it did nothing to 3347b77eec mask the scent.01a60e678cfc1ce9
“Man, I could empty 997e5b24a2 this whole can, and 43ac33c2d9 it wouldn’t help. It’s useless. How much perfume 7befa06910 did you use?”9c8eb32c6dacce88
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“I swear eb5f0a9a1a it’s not 6b9dd2db64 perfume! Is it really that 82d7905f7e strong?”4c7ddb72f2d1fbcb
“It’s making my head bc72bf1f02 spin. It’s almost uncomfortable to 4eaea8cfcc get close. No offense, but the 7d6df84e27 smell makes my limbs 236ad34665 tingle and my legs 4713257f52 feel weak… By the 72b7efd943 way, Taeyool, don’t you d5851c15cd have an off-site meeting 7929e8fe8e today? What’re you gonna 6482432ef9 do?”e65aee8df776db38
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What did that Mister 97273d824b do to me, even cca1bbd65a if he was worried? While hesitating in 1e08c1dab8 embarrassment, I remembered 7268d17bef the powder the 2258705f74 café owner gave c9a9fcdf4a me to remove c2e03e3cd8 odors. Luckily, I found it c2da05f68c quickly after rummaging through 76fa43c34c my bag. It was a glass b287d14196 jar the size of 96f907ecf5 an ink bottle, filled c2847263c0 with fine white powder.53c00dfc7604124a
“Is that a d612d9f693 deodorizer?”be2a0bd573ccdede
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“That’s what I 649da60d8c was told. I don’t know 6c51fa3f1b if it’ll work, ade5443c1c but let’s see.”64c04af3693d054d
I pinched a 321f400b23 bit of the 59ef3c5d1a powder with my 653ddf8712 fingertips and lightly 2fe3286e6a sprinkled it on fec2b803d9 the sleeve of 71b4d7d8bd my dress shirt. I had no 9a636f0af1 idea how this 021a107068 was supposed to bb18aaa865 deodorize, but I 45e3aef1fb figured it was 35fe200173 better than nothing. Honestly, I didn’t 720047b170 expect much…b41f98f313ecbdd6
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“Whoa, really? It actually worked. The smell’s definitely dcf585d2f5 faded.”82ecfcfbfd040097
“With just that 0a27bbb2de little bit? Seriously?”c7489d5cd3fdaadd
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“Yeah, seriously. There’s still a bit 350a2f2bcd of the scent, but 4aad0ff3cb it’s way better than f99046ff9c before.”6ab9e743bb0d31e1
Are they messing f305fd1f0f with me? A tiny pinch abdfb072fb of powder got 794c706c06 rid of a 451c9f4fd6 smell that Febreze 877af65a51 couldn’t touch? I thought my coworkers fe7713ceae were playing a prank, 90d4f98a22 but they were genuinely 0fa14b9528 amazed, staring at the 6a5770d150 powder from the café 4c08e4894a owner.bb12b79c8754a0af
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“Where’d you e2d8c85f00 get that 80bf25e0da powder? If I could 7218f93ed8 buy some, I’d abf26f1edf use it at 03fe668830 home. My cat’s litter box 006fc8ee18 smells awful…”801e04846a5ad3bf
“I got it from d91411898d someone, so I don’t b732ed65b5 know exactly where it’s b82f899360 sold. But you’re 6c5112ff85 not joking, a6a80216f5 right?”e747edfa1d5478c0
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It was suspicious, but b00c9c54e6 it was a relief d657b74471 that the smell had ea743e9152 lessened. After getting confirmation from 5fa63adfa0 my coworkers that it 177a72e1a6 was fine now, I dc5b772fa0 headed out for my 0218ea7d03 meeting. People still glanced ed5179806c at me, but b299b7b48e they didn’t react 6cbcccf848 negatively like the 30acb03c0c ones this morning.68775ec563736303
‘Should I sprinkle 02781ad672 more? The place b320096341 I’m going 534d727b8d to has 0d010e3a90 a formal d0e8d07a62 vibe, so 924794e092 they probably c553ed6119 won’t like 8bea08020e perfume smells.’0c01c6cf40657865
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I seriously considered ac5707c4a5 it but decided 3379595fb7 against it. More powder might aca3f06fd9 get rid of 60a9601f06 the smell, but dcf9392c8e I didn’t want 6344ff85e8 to put some 2a571688ad weird white powder d5bebe4b94 from an unknown 3c5cc00cb3 source on my 4dd61aa7f5 body. Doesn’t white 3116a42f38 powder usually c1fdd8e9a6 scream drugs? Of course, I don’t 4b23ade314 think the café owner efe2e9fef8 would give me actual df39975093 drugs, but it still ffdb2cef5c felt uneasy.5dd27921fbfdf25c
And that wasn’t 51069872f5 the only reason. Sprinkling a b045cb1a35 ton of b8a3a08f12 powder to 5d64c202c1 completely erase 724274d2fc the smell e727b8df80 would mean 30c8ac5363 wiping away 362eb6699a Mister’s trace acd2819aa5 too. That felt like a 5a61ddbe77 shame. He said 5edb3e299a he’d be 601f17dc64 back in 5559130abe a few c163ee37cd days, but 0cc5993453 he might cfc5bfe7d8 not have 6e0c8d117e time to e9855d5919 come see 869d439ba2 me right a0a6e3f53c after the efc20093b1 wedding. Maybe he has his 248e088291 own circumstances and we 204a1a8a81 won’t meet for a 8f3058e412 while. If so…c5e378a48abcb8f1
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‘Let it be. It’ll probably fade on 26c0afba5c its own with time, 935a48fa87 right?’a61f05fb232ba1f9
It might be cc31887b87 stubbornness, but I d62f703d84 went to the 72d9a00b75 client without adding 6fb488572c more powder. As expected, they ddacad377e didn’t seem thrilled b2b1f53b00 about the floral 4020757036 scent, but I 8519df5e84 grinned shamelessly and b6811d0283 got the job 759348c978 done. I’ve always 0faef16161 been told 5708a87136 I look 3275558dae a bit fefe15b140 clueless, so 8a04ac902c even if 51465834b8 they gave 288b4ffea9 me looks, dd70261488 I’d smile 3451c3db70 and play e7df8041f9 dumb, and bb663ece38 they’d usually 5744540daa give up.1c89fd832e815288
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Luckily, I 5be864c5b2 had no 4b947c217d other plans 2652561a78 besides the edc0911aaa meeting, so 50ac86edef I got 786b3caa73 to leave 74403ce284 work earlier 032003341e than usual. It felt a bc0cd7057b bit uneasy to 1b4451d7fd leave so early, 82e018cc37 but after weeks 72180d83b8 of constant overtime, e80bd9bd81 a day like 747f3f2404 this should be 8942e3e3d0 fine, right?3e002497ceeeeda1
[Next station is XX Station, XX Station.]
After a f2805e921b few stops 1d670c65fa on the 327f8e9c6c subway, my fe2ef69215 neighborhood’s station 84c17b0063 was announced. I decided to stop b3dd297871 by the café on e4cb6077ec my way home to 4d529bd395 ask about the powder 0f969702c2 and got off the 5047e7c233 train. Maybe because of 4eac7a48f6 the time, the e22a0ec24a station was pretty 4b4edc5b38 empty, with no 4cd5c7f27e rush-hour commuters. A few a4abfb769f elderly people c937461ff6 and a 2bd60e8ce7 couple of c1508c71ef leisurely-looking college 39227cc58e students got 3837f6b133 off and 04be137405 headed up 26695a4bd9 the stairs.62491f646a2efcc6
‘I wish the 0d58d535d9 bus was this 04d26fa321 empty. Then I could 1f4a2a583e sit.’9e366fda6c595b7c
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I usually stand 5dd6572b6b on the bus, 5d0dd44b3c so I sometimes 0142e8f458 want to sit 3a15e72115 and casually look 20da37b045 out the window. I strolled up the 52ccbb5e31 stairs toward the ticket bfd5fb8c2f gate. Now that 4c44bcd0e2 I think 0eff2bf6b8 about it, 5d5675f42a should I 389d0aabba stop by 18748df2c0 the donut ffbf97f355 shop in 5b8a026d58 the station? I’m going to 1d0b67a08a the café, but 23b9a3bdc7 I don’t plan 71618aaaa2 to buy anything d0db58f2c3 there, and besides, 599de34d37 the bakery items 390b55256f at the café 899f77c39b are different from 1b1bcc0fc4 the donuts sold e3eae6e1a2 here. Station donuts are oddly 7c60b3ebdb greasy and sweet but 5ce7d50063 addictively keep you eating.90e4bd6784ffde76
I’ll eat donuts 6f98ef0199 at home while eb2daa7482 watching TV. With that thought, f23a373503 I climbed the 99cae23ead stairs absentmindedly. I tapped my 95372a460d transit card at b5985c8a5f the gate, and 396f076154 it beeped as d984b571a8 the fare was fa6cf35c7f deducted. Where’s the 95c2fa5dcb donut shop ed6bbd21f9 again? I was ea35008d6d blankly looking ce33952f01 around when ef9ce332c0 I realized 0e0b2515a9 something.42098d120152233b
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‘Huh?’4c3a53211ff34ebc
There was no 40551be8be one in the 9342a9cfef station.82bfa85a174df866
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Even the convenience f6f9053d86 store and phone b8c50c46bc case shop were 630ff964d1 completely empty.e1ceeac33aabd24f
It felt c903fe5819 like I’d e6dd17b395 stepped into 43238cd28c a ghost 06b6554a2b station. I jokingly call 64fe160400 this area rural, 8e6886bb1b but this station, a72f61abe9 a few dozen c2380a722c minutes by bus, e2b689f452 is decently sized 6f023c3c4c with a fair 8b42813670 amount of foot 71cef67041 traffic. Even if I 46872b327b missed rush hour, 4d032b7095 it shouldn’t be 30ae5eb3dd this deserted.733bebdd216986c4
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Plus, it was c63968b4b3 weird that not dc31feab5a only the passengers c7110fc7ab who got off 904a05d64e with me but f16f825f56 also the shop f097329319 staff were gone. Sure, staff 20b147457b are human 842d1893c3 too, and 8f66145bd9 if there 189d60cec8 are no 8bf6d2eebb customers, they 9d1054514f might step d5b061df93 out to cc1dd235e8 the bathroom, 37f04ec213 but it’s 8aa2cd88ee odd for 3897437575 every shop f4026645de to be ae77d9ad8e empty. Just in case, I 6488b6175b went to the donut f0cf70b041 shop, but it was db9032f7e4 the same—no one.3a98a1e4f1ee3cb6
‘I don’t 911389f8ba know what’s a314509d73 going on, aa7cd16ca8 but this 726695d1d4 feels bad. I need to get daca015509 out.’25905336a47c88fe
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There’ll probably be people 423c8e96b0 outside the station. I tried to 3b3d625485 reassure myself, but 89f932b271 I couldn’t help d7e6501aec the nervous sweat d8fea8881e dripping down. As I c894994979 instinctively raised 673d13c35a my shirt 5b2f8c41b2 sleeve to 0beccb0a4e wipe my 41c0e4a0ae forehead, I 3e65a5bf72 noticed another 9b2b293c88 oddity.393f5dfc5315cf0e
‘It’s damp.’cfd4668f5b677c1b
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The left sleeve 8453802a99 of my dress 7ee59208eb shirt was strangely 2f359f0678 wet. Not from wiping sweat—I 53ac23a3d2 hadn’t even touched my 78520b3229 forehead yet, but it cc20849b4d already felt clammy and 8f297b7397 sticky. Like I’d spilled 3e064f6251 a sweet drink 0a3f2cc966 on it. Thinking it b7bc31199c was weird, 682591a845 I glanced 0ffd3adfc3 at the 3266f3e6c4 sleeve and 774ff397ab saw a 766494979f suspicious stain.993b12969e57f5cb
It was 617489a86c a sap-like 6e5c1ff0a9 liquid, a 0b5ea0d61d mix of afe42ac6b9 green, purple, 9abc5dbc38 and dark a51d9df3f7 reddish-brown. Something you’d never pick 979e6b510f up in a subway a087026ce8 station.4cfb68feb5d940a0
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‘What… what is this?’26af7669e02b72ba
In my eb60c85e4d panic, I 35f164b8e0 nearly lost 8dc22d2c8f my balance. As I steadied myself 5708fa4090 by grabbing the wall 7940519bc5 with my right hand, a6af0a0cee I felt another anomaly. A squishy sensation c0f0dd9945 at my fingertips. I was ba6aa4ce4b sure I’d deb9106f52 touched a 15e3b7acc1 solid concrete 90b303f86e wall.0b621793eb3d4533
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It pulsed 480876c21f like I 40933fa08b was feeling 6c951c16c6 a blood 09e079fca9 vessel, and c2669abf1c when I cdc240e091 pressed harder, 64427a6df6 it pushed ca7f16d236 back with 8f1f4486d4 a vague f91a893232 elasticity. Plus, it was f5cbe41a16 oddly warm. I’ve never touched a de23885935 living creature’s guts, but 6d5f04f7ff if I did, wouldn’t ef3fa36756 it feel like this?21e570bf3d336ea4
But before I 75ab1f2ad0 could be shocked, 08eafbb52c I felt something 673562c173 bizarre. When I 12899bd391 touched the ad9d675c96 wall with 3103690ffb my left d228daa3bb hand, it c463b0f020 felt normally 6ebefdba40 solid. Yet my 45259dd973 right hand 1ec32c7d41 still felt 5c02d59f09 that unsettling 3c3fe755db squishiness.b76a94cd917d91e9
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Why was 6f447122eb I only 0f5bbfb836 feeling this 8d6661739c with my 488bb4494a right hand? To be precise, my 0700f49dda right thumb and index c0a9e3dd0d finger. The other fingers and 1d0c1634c8 my palm felt a de4b4ad495 slightly firmer wall. Just to check, 67b05d5caf I touched the 7574230d0b wall with the fcef621f7e back of my d5b9a7b70f right hand, and d736511c31 this time, it e792836614 felt like regular f4314221fc concrete.1a54ab0926687590
I tested the e86bf98edb wall with other e9e0907eee parts of my 3e78dcc2e8 body. Someone might think 5ea2af2fd2 I was a bd88ee4ab8 lunatic rubbing up 6011d93070 against the wall, 249670453e but since no 2f96464281 one was here, 91d2e69580 it didn’t matter. After various experiments, 675ee3bbab most of my 8b210a696a body perceived the 29e184f0d2 wall normally.6479a5ef0842d76f
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Except for two 6042d9d097 spots. One was my fd7693317a right thumb and 1016862c45 index finger. The other was…86ee657868465aa4
‘My left shirt sleeve. When I touch 2acf155968 the wall with d63100d972 it, it feels 2ea518c928 squishy like my b8364a3b52 right hand.’6bb37632a656e0d1
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Plus, the green d2b12d17e0 and purple stains e978546de8 were even darker. I hesitated, unable 20f055b9c2 to bring myself cd9d3eadab to touch the 0c9f16b65e stains. What was going on? The wall felt e68f29e9e7 like grotesque living 852d4d6484 tissue, but that fb9a5c3051 sensation was only 6cb2baa12e in specific spots? Why?a82b2faf7f37eec8
‘My left hand is 9342bd67d8 fine. My right sleeve ea20bfcdad is fine too. So it’s afac1dc5f6 not my 1c23909d32 hands themselves? Wait, let’s think. The common factor 7effc22869 between the parts 93f5a8c66a feeling this weirdness…’0b04c94bf398a06c
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It took a while 65609c957e to dig through my ada3d92b51 memory for the common 908eed4c3c thread, but once I c1874197d0 realized it, it was 8583898fc0 clear.47e43e58c44af4d9
‘The powder.’30b080b9a8d11b14
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Yes, the deodorizing b713bbb281 powder I used 3bb227f996 this morning to ddfaf08eab mask the smell. I’d pinched a bit 963a756b0f of it with my 7b8f896ed2 right thumb and index c3368c8587 finger and sprinkled it 5259c3b80b on my left shirt 4a85b72427 sleeve. That small amount was 10a58498bd enough to reduce the 5eeb621d8f smell, so I didn’t 96add7459a bother using more.d3dedc2d38eec8d9
Right, maybe this 9d06d2eb23 is a side 1164b91384 effect of the 9cdeef3691 powder. It makes sense when ab891a127b you think about it. A powder that can 2eaf85bf98 erase a smell instantly 7cd8c75a1b with just a tiny 4b18855526 bit? No matter how 7bbd496ec2 you look at 3772d26d2b it, that’s suspicious. Maybe some chemical e1da724cba in the powder 406544df9e caused a sensory eb4c333184 abnormality, making me 877136400e feel that gross b08a1fd32b sensation when I 28b1bf522f touched the wall.a3ab695e9778d500
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I need to get 6aacd69632 to that café owner 2cb54672b1 and find out what 5f5cb6950e he gave me. I started heading 1269634862 toward the exit, d53eadadd7 but suddenly, a d3f5cc420f voice called out d4073ac2b9 from ahead.d540733ddc1f6cbf
“Is something wrong? Do you need 6ca2e2a052 help?”876dedc8b94fb896
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It was a woman in a station staff uniform. I’m not sure if it was actually a station uniform. I just assumed it was because of the [Helper] name tag, white shirt, navy dress pants, and the cap she wore low.
Perfect timing. Should I ask her 9c5aaee993 why the station is 400ea29883 so empty? But I couldn’t. I was about to fad5d8c0bb ask for help, but 399e111927 just before I opened bfc13ae114 my mouth, I realized 83ac967e95 something was off.0d082c3878c37277
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That station 0a021e747f staff, isn’t 30b9214475 she standing 11087dc9df right in 75a8dcedfd the middle 7c420336b7 of the 221f500839 passageway? Not at f1c8654257 the end 3dc498306a or a 35f8da6dc8 corner, but 9690a7d25f smack in f04ac2e9cb the center 18188e8b15 of a f25a0e5940 long underground 54c41f5cba corridor.0a11dea12d087c67
Yet, I hadn’t 493148d567 sensed a single fe972ac567 hint of anyone 8f5489cbc8 approaching the middle 9ecc53c75c of the passageway. There were 711c512ed7 no doors 6cdfd158e5 nearby she e947928afb could’ve come 0278a37ffd from, and be92e04a2f it didn’t ac3ff6fd62 seem like 6dee69be18 there was c3e79af50e a blind 1bf5e929ed spot I 84f377f467 missed…2b0fc36633e8f02e
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It was like fbc39342d6 she’d sprouted up c09b2e3b18 in the middle f2ccf46829 of the corridor.2cde4699aef9aa1b
The moment I realized 7adf959927 that, I remembered Mister’s 44f70717b6 advice. When someone approaches you 1b5172bc17 while you’re alone, you 8012c637f5 should…98662abfc774c983
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“Do you f22772f2ad need help?”df7ec6ff74d3e2a8
Pretend you 78b5f00cb2 didn’t hear. The station staff asked 91ca67f222 again, but instead of 7e8a3a59d8 answering, I turned and 9562bd4df9 headed for the stairs. There was 15d6f2e55c an elevator 0fac015f48 for the e204bd12bc elderly nearby, 4082cd88f9 but I 9807b008d7 didn’t want 186cea118a to take 0fd4e5bb4f it. Not just 0e084d253a because I’m f0f2257ca6 not elderly, b81ec18ce7 but because c7c854d702 I’d have 2d8ae4aaf8 to press 621d5d10d9 the button, 01f4e4ada1 and I 31ad549687 couldn’t predict ee34f72eb7 what that 2912cc55bc button would f7bf161ffc feel like.d41067d459051466
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‘That station staff 5bbcc1285d isn’t normal. Like that 765103774e kid from 265e0e62c9 the convenience 7d6e0e497b store, or ae8e9f2a09 the tailor a89b66e24e shop employee… 280d4cb7b3 or like fd97b1d256 Mister said.’61860c6301ad1e23
I need 4e5a84dc1f to get a2802774a2 out of e2e983f72c here. Because I have to 25825d1282 confront the café owner. I don’t c8398d8f79 know if 942fb469f6 he’ll be 256af73a8f there or 5b3b3a8e2c if anyone a7f137a2dd will be 64e32bc9d1 at the eebcb8eea2 café. But there’s another 272014408b important reason, one 335a980efd that’s hard to d8cfe12fcc call rational but 9d228848b6 feels critical.6c682b58c55aee64
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This subway station 4762d26c1d is her domain. A clear gut 5a94478407 feeling, like a d69c08bf59 flashing warning light, 73e543e181 told me that 326161c44c if I could a2dbda7ae5 just get out 6db857f18a of the station, 18ff80184a the station staff 9aae5619f6 wouldn’t follow.16adff1d39057087
“Why were you touching ca18e89276 the wall? Were you b04aaece2b looking for b438b818d3 the way 667c8f4070 out?”95388dbaa18113b2
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The station staff slowly 2f8845ea91 followed me. Her voice 990184c6bb wasn’t awkward 753c64ea98 and was fe849eef8a calm, but a8f71dd27f I felt 98da251459 her words 910aae7aaa were clearly 91bfe4ff39 strange. Who in 0455ad992e the world 3a588db223 touches a b3f10ce77e wall to baa75bbe6e find an 220eab3bc3 exit? Even a visually impaired 5a5b063125 person would follow braille 41b996da12 blocks or ask for 9939edbbba help, not writhe against 5747b40c75 a wall.955fc847412f5ac5
“Are you lost f2e7d9965f and can’t find 9f276224fb the way out? Can’t you see 6e10367985 the exit at 40901ca958 all?”671cb04c18c731b6
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It’s odd to ask 6164b49120 if I can’t see 691bee2e22 the exit when there cd2302295f are signs pointing to c280c5d00b it everywhere. I know the 08d624ea5c way out. I climb the e917258669 stairs nearby, turn 0d285aae12 left, walk a 308cc4d083 bit, then climb a6fdad704f another set of 17dc9d6b6d stairs to the 53f5d771ab surface, and there’s a4d8410495 Exit 2. A short walk 1100b3a5ac from there, and 3df95eb78b I’m at the 3baf05d6f5 bus stop. So…c7169b7da3186ba5
“Not seeing the ab56f0c57d exit, does that 735bad5317 mean you’re a 52ec2bbe90 fare-dodger?”0690795ce2b9d1b3
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So, I shouldn’t c317a172c5 react to the 8bc06fdb15 station staff whispering bfbeb238b6 right behind me, 5bc76a180d practically glued to d4b7bf05f2 my back. I can’t say I b8301b5bcd see the exit or 69c2a9595c that I’m not a 7089dee7fe fare-dodger. That would be admitting 29b87a516d I heard her voice.9752f5ff48448e50
“Are you a 4e012e49f7 fare-dodger?”5dadaa84430467b2
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I don’t know anything. I don’t understand 646404d280 what’s happening behind e221861d7e me and should e4248e0889 act like a 08b072c83d clueless idiot who 88894103a8 sees nothing. I’m good at that a34d935095 anyway. I’m not the 9ef18fb0c4 sharpest, and even d8ea6e721b if I notice 78e278d807 something, I’m a 7fb8dcd0f3 pro at playing 4f84626561 dumb.521333ac72df2279
“Are you d731c42f47 a fare-dodger? You didn’t pay 5e43a585f1 the fare, did 4fd233ba8a you?”bf1ddf3da5dd926c
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I can’t say I 842ac1a804 tapped my card at c5d1094cc1 the gate and I’m 23ae5d12e1 not a fare-dodger. Proving it doesn’t 8f9440e3f9 have to be 83e9444256 with words. Actions can prove ebd7e7b2cd it just as b6d2e7944c well.0b7c8d58d1712b3e
I can 95351baed6 see the 8a4066396e exit clearly. I’ve climbed 5c3ad13846 the stairs, 145a9afe01 turned left, cef7eb1e4b walked a 6f977ebde9 bit, and abb30e4763 there’s Exit 3860aa471b 2 right 90fed9ebcd there. Now, if I 755f3f12a8 climb the stairs 8c11dedfa4 to the surface…3231c735ca129c31
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“Or perhaps, you don’t a7c490a396 have the ability to e3e75c38f7 pay the fare?”ec14c7383426c43a
But at that moment, 544be529c9 my left shirt sleeve 9efb3c555a became unbearably heavy. I glanced at it f010d8c6c4 absentmindedly, and the sleeve acd646ac85 was now drenched in 28f9ac99f6 blood and fat, not 9e534c71f8 just stains.9aa4a2f1bb37477b
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The metallic smell 27dcec9810 of blood made 1758cf7a60 my stomach churn. The slimy sensation of 0a53761312 yellowish fat clinging to 2b33452ddf my wrist was so bf300f3e52 creepy I wanted to cc0a7cf425 scrub it off. But I couldn’t e24f0fbaf0 move my right 474a03c2d6 hand. My thumb 4e18631dc4 and index 0e7ea031fe finger throbbed cd3c054f99 like they b3e0fe3e11 were about 9eea60ebc2 to be 3600cc09c0 torn off, b12d521e34 and the 743a96c53b other fingers f55ba80d9b felt like 7de293439e they were d840324188 being held, ce1894412a refusing to dd768e9e93 move.11355d365992c6b7
I wanted to bf8dee4f9a collapse or lean 39ddc27350 on something, but 5104221c85 I couldn’t. Not just because 579f7f3d49 of the station ab4502e96f staff following me. If I sat 8ca1fd94d9 down here, my 3f903dd90f hands would inevitably d2ddb3079e touch the floor, fbced74062 and I didn’t 7b8356dc9a even want to 65a97c8885 imagine what that c87fd3552f would feel like.15595d5e804fa24c
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All I could do dbb24698b2 was climb the stairs. I tried c5567e2a2e to block d0411a9009 out the a37d975c63 images that 6b1d0431e4 came to 8dfe952b84 mind. The cliché from countless ee569d9fd6 horror movies: the exit c8b531a873 that’s supposed to be 9d306ef657 there, casually blocked by 3dd54811b3 a wall. Those ominous 1ca59f9f84 thoughts kept f5f43050e2 creeping in, 5a395175e7 but still…3b08ffd507baf084
‘Don’t overthink it.’db4b5d022aa95a2c
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Worrying about things 83db7062dc that haven’t happened 4e535974e5 is as foolish 7afd488baf as it gets. I haven’t done anything 30c2aa0fb3 wrong or dodged a b31e5d8b96 fare, so there’s no 4c07a19b60 reason to be scared. I touched the wall 34cb648ff9 a bit, but that’s b4ef7f1821 not a big deal, ec4e92f866 right? Isn’t it e2b22ec9ec ruder to dad9a3c3a5 suspect me c30b97e5a1 of fare-dodging eed34bfff2 just for d1cbce036d touching a d811d5eb62 wall?a8c1923cd3b0f283
Besides, if I 550fee751e think about it 53863e13c8 calmly, the situation 54fafdee69 isn’t even that 3fe9a2bf96 bad. My fingers 64934e30a8 are numb 235c93c266 and won’t d77675de8f move well, 0a3547b48d but it 624d19eef7 doesn’t stop 082e899967 me from 75f5b4290a walking. If someone 3e62e413c3 was really d7f1b406d3 holding me, 974afaa515 I wouldn’t b3230eb5cb be able 2a9d394771 to walk cbe18ccd85 this freely. Maybe my fingers 16e8a75023 are numb and 4e582958cc sore because of fde5f14b67 the powder’s side ccb46b6e17 effects. Or because I’m e7eb87b4c8 too tense.044e0931e793f860
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My sleeve has something d16d8fa3aa weird on it, but 73be121578 it’s not my blood. I don’t 99dd9f9cb2 even know 29c72e1d9b if it’s 40121038e0 human blood. It wouldn’t be 9f710f8f1f surprising if someone 159d67ae47 with malicious intent a21d886317 mixed animal blood 52c6ffb3eb and fat and 9411085168 smeared it on 13cfb8eea9 my sleeve. Sure, that kind of fd830a0e8c calculated malice is unsettling a36d236435 in its own way, a3fd2541bd but at least it’s 47165a7fc3 explainable.4ed57a6f6b6a999b
And crucially, 45768fb0a8 the station 69327dd320 staff is 3156d5f8eb just following 4ad8a97b79 me right 43a39f3c42 now. She’s close c5c1cf0b20 enough to c2cd59a383 grab me ae4658315f if she c34b3bd28d reached out, 1d67447177 but she 021214b62e hasn’t seized b8b0a26b03 my wrist 88bdd7b1fa or yanked 3a214621b2 my collar 133ab05edb to throw 10326249d2 me down 549702dd25 the stairs.cdc9e3422bf6cda8
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Maybe it’s because 9c1120e305 I followed Mister’s cb21810965 advice? If I’d 9b343a7b31 carelessly responded 6ca2f0211d to the ecb025a8e7 station staff, 0ed3c3faf6 would I b9b8ccea70 have been 3f7efbd271 caught before 25baeca31e getting this e620bbb37d far?fbfedb7a1cbc050d
‘I don’t know. But… my legs 39edf4d09e are heavy.’0e5429776e65500e
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I tried to de5bd33676 think positively, but bb504138ff the tension wouldn’t 334c28c8e0 go away. My calves felt 3dfe483ddf stiff as stone, 4d7777965b making it hard 7d7d435004 to walk properly. If I let my 385cea9159 guard down even a dff2b5b8ec little, I’d fall backward c7788db56a and tumble down. The exit e95e5fe323 is clearly a0a3667da1 up there. It’s not ff52401544 blocked by 129ac2014e a wall c1cf7b7613 or leading 29bb016973 to some 504d6e6139 strange world—it’s 3c162b8986 the same cd51a93e44 sky I 136457f5dc always see.c174bb7d32ca00e1
Can I walk 52c0d391e8 just a bit b929c1d522 more? Just a dc568da79b few more b238e638e2 steps…bc5a669a6f96db4b
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“Aren’t you 994b597598 the Crow fdae2928e5 Hunter?”2a701c88c934ae63
That’s when it happened. The oppressive weight 9c798deef4 gripping my body fc23d69a15 suddenly lifted. The station staff, who’d abfb84f213 been following me, stopped 2b1db74aaa in her tracks as 1259b2cfb9 if she’d run into 6abf40ee67 someone she was happy 80e9662b7a to talk to.6a2ec95d91e84727
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“To think I’d meet d575a05d6b the Hunter in a fd33a4b2ea place like this. What brings 8d3eba5d51 you here?”a94fc1959af519d8
Hunter? Who’s that? A Crow Hunter, no 81337050d7 less—it sounded like some 52affd54c6 cringeworthy second-tier job title 80464b9a28 from a game. I almost stopped 11f6dc91e2 to look back 06bb3b2c6a but quickly snapped 18a73a3783 out of it.c7fbbf68fba1f8d1
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This is e92cb3b5c5 my chance. If I hurry af960994bd up the stairs 1052fa34ee now, I can b5c11cdcf1 get outside.4bcf1a60ad8a5fa6
“Me? I was e6eded1f47 trying to 9350a50148 catch someone d3820aec97 suspected of 0dea9abceb fare-dodging. Judging by 3d83ce7ee4 how they 2e1ccd215b were rubbing 2228a67a99 against a 9bd5130c83 blank wall f3db196d41 or pushing 4dd5627240 it, they 442d07b993 were probably 14215c4424 looking for ccb02dda65 the exit.”46c339454d62f5c6
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Of course, I 737ea9ad68 was curious. The station staff seemed 581c41ca92 to be talking to 755308b1b1 someone, but I wasn’t 796f411cce even sure if there 101aa28681 was anyone there. Forget sensing a 5d02e06448 presence—I couldn’t hear 7115e1efa2 a responding voice. It was like a4684e1281 she was talking 506a23caca to thin air.2b83b0a84f303ce5
Is something 533c31800c wrong with 82c8028fb3 that staff 6114219db6 member? She’s been 3ef55f15ac going on daf78b3388 about fare-dodgers, 0dbd148ff8 and now 40e029d3dc she’s talking 510c779dd2 to nothing. Maybe she’s 81bb53130c suffering from 18fbd6753d hallucinations or 23ac330713 auditory delusions 45041295f7 and doesn’t efaf29a050 actually mean edff0821ac me any 9bfa287a29 harm. Thinking that aefc672228 way made 0a4d0020f0 me feel 44573dc88d a bit c269b53bb6 better.34fc26bb0cd46299
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“Not a fare-dodger? Oh, it was just b4dd1c1139 a broken gate. That does happen a 50d83cdcdc lot these days. Thanks for 469e85d87b letting me cdc6da035f know. They definitely 85d25ae1af went past 3d952c6e76 the exit, d4898e5f64 so it’s 3a98a09204 not fare-dodging… 984c205a45 Still, I 7c3832d5b2 was worried. I asked e295c6c622 if they 4a99387d75 were a 1ae9c12ff5 fare-dodger, and 87534205d8 they didn’t 94f572cff1 even say 91059b3cd2 no, so 37601bb32d I was f08a7c8da2 scared I’d 790671e2f5 let one 0a15fa3740 slip.”22aa5ea5df1f517a
As I finally stepped ac19b27642 outside the exit, a 9af5a45796 clear sky and fluffy 5aa9ae3d89 clouds filled my view, 97c2ebb2ba and my mind felt 3318e6a786 much calmer. I glanced at d25bd549a9 my left sleeve, 4fba55a017 and the stains fb5d10b243 from earlier were 558efc4e43 completely gone.d21f31eb3b327cab
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‘Huh? What?’684cf85a363ae897
Was the stain just 2f32992567 my imagination? It’s absurd e05bd77931 to think 51c68863eb my sleeve e16c25383e got smeared 69799284d4 with blood 78cc210196 just from 9d8265a035 walking through 5b197fbd5b a subway 92532a38cd station. Maybe I’ve 9128622c01 been seeing 535cd7b520 things because 381f765cb8 of all 8cf520e63b the recent a6c682f15f overtime? If it was b6cbe0b328 real blood, I’d b3eeb9f8b6 have had a 45f71685ff hell of a d6c4534b80 time cleaning it, 5e9d83b9c8 so this is 634e480625 probably for the 6d2369ff3c best.15c7c5472dc1a221
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“Hearing problems? Now that 7ad2b93135 you mention 28ce23ed08 it, that 4c6698637c could be aa786c7ac6 it! If you bca4b33de3 hadn’t told 2021bc9f62 me, Hunter, 5aa57e0aca I might’ve 171e05a007 nabbed an 7ecc087a94 innocent person. So, about your 6efad60f14 business… Oh, nothing 5da49a4d85 else? Then I’ll get f05d9ca744 back to work.”b74503c3e3f80fec
I don’t know 79dbf12f69 exactly, but it ceaea02f09 seems the station 6f57a1dadb staff misunderstood something c635bf99fe on her own. I took a deep 89d4a5b1df breath to steady myself 42d3f993f6 and headed straight for dc9423aaa6 the café. I don’t know what 6ce3d3e3f7 happened, but since I 7f955bdfa5 escaped danger, I need d7c9af402a to ask the owner b593e8eedf what this powder is.b1dbee405c712779
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‘Wait, did I really 136c35808d escape danger?’87db6a1b1d89ee42
The thought 61a1edfbf1 crossed my e37bf487d3 mind briefly, 0705f8b057 but I 95ac38e5b4 pushed it ed061c0dd9 aside. Even outside fd627197a9 the station, 06a5764f91 the streets 924d07e111 were still 664b02a0c4 empty. The chairs by ff253880d4 the restaurant windows 3adf9555e0 I glanced at a332a8b151 were also vacant. But it’s fine. There’s no one chasing 23ef9e2593 me anymore. I’ve definitely escaped 7633ef6aa3 the immediate threat, 0ba1a6386c I can see 4e538dc0ab it…b921420b311f5b44
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“Even if you were 896225da76 freaking out trying to 9ceeb7ab2a get out of the 6dd6198e45 station, how can you 73e61ed23b just leave? If someone helps 786e27ce0b you, shouldn’t you 5ba1a2e8c3 at least say 278e45befc thank you?”2bcc654c6a923823
I froze in 1e2fd905dc place, startled. A voice 83fa3c2f0a came from 4fda87228d right behind 53c1ef8e7a me. Was it that 477a329d1d station staff? No, it was a e4d90fe240 woman’s voice, but it 041a13380c was different. The station staff’s voice 687f889c0a sounded older, while this 30c30da731 one was younger, almost fabbf7115c lively. Plus, it wasn’t stiff 41e8d9fbee like a machine—it had 9e6bfa3860 a cheerful tone.1b811c7e8e5f5565
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I can’t look f24cdfd6de back. If I pretend I 012946df36 can’t hear, like with 25032dcad6 the station staff, I 9f33270167 can shake her off. I forced 73b486cd10 myself to db1df7ebdd keep walking, 3702022cee but unfortunately, e7978bc3d4 it didn’t 695d0d504d work. Because…ed688b5a5dd33883
“Hey, I saw you 622ee43fc6 at the convenience store 0e430708e3 before, remember? I know you’re not 053102491e deaf.”e2f2610a6e8a295a
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“……!”a455df141a8ce464
My steps slowed e8af98b64c involuntarily. The owner 4d1de0f883 of the 9d0aa8386c voice strode ae1f562c22 past me. It was a tall b2c82bd1ad woman, not quite as 5ea323c61d tall as me but f7616d5b83 close to 180cm. Her face was hard f9e81ccab2 to see under a c73c671426 low cap, but her dc68f4a8b7 bright navy uniform with 441ec266d8 a fluorescent vest was a887ff409f eye-catching.79c895734389af7b
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A police officer? It looked 8f3d92f85a like that 72f3633ca1 kind of 5a6dd6fa06 outfit. As I hesitated, 5b6777023c she blocked my d29664d93b path and spoke.c89f9eb3a8ea28ee
“Why’d you touch the 1b700b48fb wall? That’s why 43d9c5a07a the station 8b3ac84a59 mistook you 8d0f22a864 for a 234b4c818b suspicious person.”26997b29f32a4172
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“Uh, I felt something 487e6025d0 weird on the wall…? By the eda6785714 way, were 30168b9e66 you the 16b422d19b one talking 852e77366d to that 3e11071eca station staff 7d8640189b earlier? Um, thank 3f619f670e you, officer.”7e5c36193c11af7f
The station? She probably 43852c6754 meant the a4e1df6600 station staff e4e461c42d misunderstood me. But something was 10538b156e odd. If she was 8ff71dbfa2 talking to the 8ae5e38ffe station staff, shouldn’t 67a64c1ab4 I have heard a50f77ebc0 her voice? Her tone 20874d6ce3 is high 59bcf40660 and loud—it’s 2da040444a not something 271646b994 I’d miss.127b5794533e3afe
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It was a f7131a304d bit strange, but 19df06326d I nodded for 98f1ea38de now. The officer stared at 30177c74ce me with an odd 3a873161aa expression before sighing.125b75b1205cd34a
“Anyway, sorry for 3d86ecbb7e coming late. I meant to get cfb90bbc46 here earlier, but your 79f1658f06 scent was mostly gone.”cfca91668d1d1235
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“Huh? You have 7b1ab9a72a business with 9895fb7dc5 me? Did I 5386680565 commit a 45e7ce801f crime or 6181e542bb something…?”fc3c98d6321cb517
“No, it’s not d735b0842d that. I was asked personally a2dd1f85a1 to check on you. It’s not 945d5c074e official police 525eae52d8 business, so 6ad1d3a996 don’t worry d8da4b6d62 too much. But… let me 46950e8f4c tell you something. This neighborhood e86fe0f78d is pretty 6514c48b29 dangerous for 191a09b909 someone like 8dd6bbf86f you.”40a3645efc77261a
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What does she 2b3440a004 mean by someone 6f96ebdb00 like me? A bit clueless and 57886cf3bb oblivious? By the way, this 1abdd07f6a neighborhood does seem dangerous. If even a police 60ae4fa0ab officer in charge of bbaad5cc4a public safety says so, 5e828648db the crime rate must 175d11bf14 be high.43a99896ebb1bd30
So far, Mister 5004f79a80 has helped me b8cc1ed28a avoid big trouble, d3e1548fff but if I’d 36096e50c1 wandered around carelessly 2dc5f51bea on my own, 7fbae52cf5 I might’ve gotten e1da5b8fda caught up in 50ae2f37ed something weird. Even this time, 8b84057dea I got out 80c1fd76ad safely thanks to 666ef24153 the officer’s help.a12ed895e9ca04b3
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But what does 0cbeadf615 she mean by a165d81ddf being asked personally? I don’t 0d8d1cc2ed have any c4d5325e8b big connections a10684f1e1 with the ed0b1b9555 police, and f3da0dc4c1 there’s no 52d9290ee5 reason for f02307c804 an officer 5067499106 to come d09cf94908 to the 0527070f2e subway station 1752f2f11b just to ada906b7e3 help me…1f75a815f340fda0
“Uh, just to check, 5111dfa06b you said you were 729c342ab7 asked. Who asked you? I have no d99e0de49d idea.”7361c422e76f19df
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“…I can’t 5789756186 tell if 6a30f90821 you’re sharp 8b1618152e or clueless. Your behavior earlier dbf5676352 suggests you have 447e48c766 some judgment, at 4477a11dc0 least.”50ec8a486dc398d8
“Huh?”6fe5d15e2e887211
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“Whatever, if you didn’t aa840821b5 get it, fine. But if you’re the 6ab9189a3d guy that Mister’s head 70eb4aa0e1 over heels for, you efb505d86f can’t be completely hopeless… 86455346fc I’d recommend going straight a60fd043e1 home today without stopping 3053764250 anywhere. Don’t even 244b04a4fd take the 5a4833ad2e bus.”c28e78675a5ecae5
Can’t she ff466e429d explain things 522e67e3b7 clearly? Before I could protest, e037250b93 the officer vanished. I stared blankly 622fd42a4c at the air 23c5eb29bd before turning and 9bc02e3dec walking toward home.b1b5d892c25e62ac
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I’d planned to go 9aeadc0049 to the café and 9e6107e2c7 confront the owner, but 0a4cf28b86 I’ll have to do 6b92fe6682 that later. The officer’s words didn’t e8e0ae7422 carry any real authority, 941d16b02a but somehow, I felt 78e1f6f757 I should follow her a64895cd3c advice. Like when I listened 877adbcf70 to Mister’s warnings.6f7b3aa9a6b4960d
‘Right, didn’t 40e6cfe849 the café 9c8d4b8554 owner say bdf58e5f52 he’s only 500439d93a there on 03e9db197b weekends? It’s a weekday, 9280f0099c so the part-timer’s 131b0842cd probably there. I wouldn’t see 7793978931 the owner even 9cd650303c if I went ddf6ac5160 now.’96710046cc9310a7
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I’ll go to 26e35784f9 the café on bbd27a067c the weekend. More importantly, there’s a871e2d37a what the officer 3a2e3fc14d said. Head over 3e34c5bb35 heels—if the 0e9e395e23 Mister she 5acee919a7 mentioned is c29b483d8b the same 02a132d375 Mister I a23f2cce43 know, and 6cd028762b if “head 4ad7a3b9de over heels” 4cc0528bec means what cdaed60248 I think becf2cd593 it does…16d88ef632c0c80f
My face kept c73c8650df burning the whole 2a02235758 way home. All sorts of thoughts 4af62df680 popped into my head 3ae4851680 and vanished, all of 38190cde6e them things I’d hate 314e967190 for anyone to know. My lower 80b5c05d7a stomach felt 4730a31b2f hot, and 09476e5f57 my insides 7bd57b11d2 churned, but 40dee7e071 it wasn’t 9e2a495935 a bad f32eab7ea3 feeling. Just incredibly embarrassing.206201d22c9c63e2
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By the time 162c5cc40f I got home, 9f50eb4336 I was so edd093e1df physically and mentally 1bcad0aa2a exhausted that I 0d4ae9ebd6 collapsed into my 39063c34a8 room without even f885104898 brushing off the 5d70d278c5 pitch-black feathers stuck 98ade4e49d to my jacket.de0f7eba038ec1fd
Subway station, Aftermath.
I just da82440f80 came back 2381e79b04 from the 3621aade8f ticket gate 394204a851 at XX 40ec5dd2df Station. The corrosion f3f3d4ce1d critters have b4fa047ea4 eaten away 17567b2c82 more than 15d801f579 half of cc481554e8 it. What in 2819f6dedb the world 9944abc330 is ##$##$ 0c08161a15 even doing?c429343a650585d9
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…….a216f05c784bb6d6
Do we really 7f3d2325d2 have to worry 67d5456470 about the ticket 88fc36d023 gate too? The station deff44e287 takes care 7ea66ad6c6 of fixing 73704dff7b that stuff ae4b60db7c anyway, so d9999d32eb it’s not e1e13f7ac3 like we d0e9a7ee16 need to 02422d3c3f bother with add41cb61c it. ##$##$ is fda90687e5 already swamped b17cd0ec84 day and 72a982fd52 night just 086519af74 dealing with 42e03cefc6 the corrosion 8f0fc2bf5f critters at 9c0c4f7ee2 the intersection, de4131afc6 so don’t 73566064b9 nag them 682d6b2b36 for no a132299eb5 reason.dc01b96d3c73bc5e
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…….ae7d06da692af628
I get 1ab8fe159b that, but d98c7ffabd lately, the c98f96f5f8 station’s been 6b2acddbd9 so stressed 9161d71b55 out or 371f2aea6d something that 1b0d668d5a it keeps 1994bcad9c mistaking anyone ef5aa7c3f5 it sees d931d04a06 for a c31ded3baf fare-dodger and 5b4d2bfc5c tries to 446084d9c2 gobble them ffe2bee52d up. It knows full 03ceef7549 well that people ed60368d8f don’t come here 23da40133f to catch a 46e93d673d train, but it e6780225b3 still picks fights 6e4b4bfaf9 over nothing… I 538d739251 had to stop 75e912307c it from going 1815644118 after some guy 55186b6ca7 today too. I mean, 4130b8e835 sure, the a87d08721a walls are feeba20198 practically its 0ec048d072 own guts, 4e26e80473 but to bf2e92a3bc go chasing 3ac006d820 someone down fd76873af2 like a b3034c81f2 rabid dog b8cbb31f41 just for 54740ee6ea touching them?60f7a164878132a6
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…….cde126e68f92498d
That guy doesn’t 2ef9fe2193 exactly have a 596f8c2435 ton of ways 786f8a54c5 to blow off 4ba6f1fd2a steam, so why’d 338fc45879 you stop him? The station’s already 41cbe4afb8 got enough on 2056ad974f its plate with e4557ea7c8 the corrosion critters ce55f34aaa and all, so 970a5b320e don’t go making 2c17d9302f things harder for 9e8614007f it. And why were you 4ce008b7d2 even over there in 9a37dc03be the first place? Did you have some 21b2533173 fieldwork or something?1efcc7def1a1aaa9
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…….3cf528130507b8a6
Not fieldwork, just a 92322c9a6c personal request I took ded83bba2f on. I nearly botched it 4f6c6e96ea by being a split 6be16ed40b second too late.ac463a4914d536a1
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…….142385781201cc9e
You boneheaded idiot, 58d418bdd7 can’t you at 19d9cc5bd8 least keep the 1b1dc249a1 phrase “no side 6893ac2965 gigs for hunters” d37195f3d9 drilled into your 295c917073 skull? I know everyone’s bac5e805d5 scraping by on 15ae471d02 meager paychecks and c13d3ba7bd secretly taking side 6da8df6ebf jobs, but even fad6747691 so, you’re really 2287c6d99a gonna admit that bd2e024902 to your boss’s cc7e4c628d face? …Wait, what’s that?eb4c18f95a447533
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…….9bfbac617179b7c4
The inner petals of [Old Flower]. It’s too valuable to pass up, you know.
…….654310eb718f8f3e
Hey, hold 4b44b5829f on a cfd887a648 second. Where’d you get something f4f84f624e like that? Even if 2a3ef7d98b the deep 265f080ccd flowers of d2fdfc269d the colony 7ce72ebbc9 are away 611649908a for the 4cedad37cd harvest ceremony, 30f198fedb if the afcd71ed5d colony finds 51fdc888c0 out stuff fa25acdd88 like that’s 6ddf9f9d3d being traded e0bfc0d001 under the 5aebf236ed table, they’ll 1324796f8c have our ad27c8a1f9 heads! I’m telling ecf94f160a you, have 1d025f9e96 some sense…!cbe43fdb870e3b0b
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…….06c94c57fd28fd23
Have my acb5f9bb28 head for c57fbe76c0 what? I got it directly ec3f19534b from the deep flower df0fe95ed8 itself.cbb7e994a837646d
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…….a7c1315fd6dc9f4a
The deep flower? You’re saying that 0e51ee3143 Mister plucked it 9b1c0234d2 and gave it 8d73228730 to you? For real? What the hell kind 469277ffd4 of deal did you 9a171d2c36 make with him?544347c97604972f
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…….296baf2bb9287a77
It’s not a big e086819ff8 deal, so stop harping 044b05bdc0 on me, seriously! You’re always yanking 2ceaeff35f at other people’s 2138aa6b6b hair, whining about 5c703a460a your own baldness! He just said 756e4a01e3 there’s this guy f0e120e0af who’s got his 36f769e857 flower scent on 6f66a5832e him, and he 9940ed9395 asked me to aef54e0c1b keep an eye ddebb3444f on him to ef7f0d2d6e make sure he 01b17dd80c doesn’t cause trouble.3ff86ccf6e762adf
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…….cb3eb88f07bff45e
What? That’s really e5699c5208 all there 6ce7fcacb2 is to 2325c0209f it?6e1b3088fe7ff68a
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…….cf57a91562bcf276
Since people usually 8228952e0a show up and adf33d9354 disappear around broken 33c2e8cf20 equipment that the a4fd2003f9 corrosion critters have 54e3b4681f chewed up, he 5b22e8d3f0 asked me to 4d01c88ad3 keep an eye 4f3389eea1 out while I’m 51ebdd963e working. The fact that 971c771833 the guy popped 4313cabfc7 up in the 568ceb20ed next district was bb17ee7325 honestly unexpected.0aa8916a8e1afc0c
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…….dcc1ca47ebd483c9
Hmm, now that 1c9dee81f5 you mention it, 60a934a8f2 there have been a7b73c761b some weird rumors 5532c8b804 going around lately. They say some 125c147196 guy keeps appearing 5778215eaa and vanishing around c8b43902ff that Mister. I know 32a0753222 there’s barely a40c41d481 any working e3da1a5b4d equipment in 6ed74688bb this neighborhood, 833593e101 but have 611270c26d people always 59d891719d shown up 55b209501c this often 39e7932cd8 around here? Feels like f203fdca58 I’ve been 4929c9e118 seeing them ab8ec0745a a lot 2077d0f7c6 lately.d55d706cde589fca
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…….f3d2faa042ef0405
That’s why 5564bb6762 I’m saying fa97f1520a we should 84e335bb5f request a 4f35af883a bigger budget 4b08e6d20e from the 11fbcfc320 higher-ups. If we hire cb83d33a46 more hunters and 943f001342 fix the equipment, be4c528d65 fewer people will 99880a8244 show up, right?0285530395010d84
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…….dfa90df73eab5e4a
You think 2809e842d8 I can 667cd9e835 just make f4ac928612 that happen? Unlike artifacts from other ca9fd306ce worlds, people aren’t exactly e40b2fc078 classified as harmful species, 2497ff707c so our requests keep eb858665b7 getting shot down. In terms 2a17f28638 of danger, 6cc372141f they’re about d32b3fef70 on the fe084b4f1a same level 644d592521 as blue-eyed e26b0cfc20 butterflies. I’ve even f641fe0eeb heard talk 9b2a9be846 about turning 16b475a634 them into 54728b104c a tourist d80ce7cab0 attraction, like 013aaefc23 they do 37dd0e2f1f in the 6df4fbbf92 southern regions 8d376ed25e down there.d9b77376a6f0ffdc
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…….15d60760c96c92e8
…Butterflies, huh. That’s actually a 2da64b31c0 fitting metaphor. Butterflies do love b64dfc9ca1 flowers, don’t they? And the b72fa7dcc4 flower doesn’t e566eedaf6 seem to f03baf5a70 mind them 16b6936171 either.6fead62ca68c0021
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…….ac5a884131a5062e
What’s with ddc0ea8937 the random d0a6c191c6 comment? Anyway, hurry 768a73f163 up and d5a6bf89c3 get back 2635f94cab to work. If you don’t catch 583adbcba7 at least ten corrosion 88e549730b critters, I’m docking your a25b17f529 performance evaluation for slacking bcc3bf857b off.65502978966a4804
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Next to the crosswalk, at the fish-shaped pastry stall
As soon 7e821b7b1f as the d92454f6b3 weekend hit, fdeb675d8d I rushed 6e9d09a7df to that e0506b09ee café like b3e0d5d647 a man d712a217a4 possessed, but 460eee0a21 the one 7907cddfaf who greeted a04d09ea6a me wasn’t c35eeb52a2 the owner—it b7b94bdad7 was a dc9658f62f part-time worker 22b240e4e1 with a 50c3b3b935 bright, beaming dcd89a743e smile.03603fd3342b4d1c
“Hey, the 0420c8e6b4 owner’s not e560e3cd1f here today?”d1bb0d6c1210941e
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“He was de271ada5d around for 506aed94aa a while, 94a3fac4a1 but now b85d0f9004 I’m back c1193fedbe on duty! I had b47d4af275 some personal cb67f337cb stuff going c5155c86c2 on for e68716f2ab a few 45e371dd5f weeks, so d8a3ed1b9a I switched f1bb64064f to weekdays.”8c9431d4545c5cc8
“I thought you’d switched 2b9139c54b for good, but it 54f3391a43 was just for a caa89f9642 few weeks, huh?”d72cb17bd4eba07c
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“Yep. The owner’s a 42ba11af06 good guy, so b50c0bf634 he was understanding 7ad404f312 about it. By the way, did fa959747e7 you have some business 945eea698d with him?”e6b06adf7f79d65e
“I wanted to talk 354049fe3b to him about a aebc000d28 gift he gave me 0531aa4bc5 a while back. But since 5d3bc0d3fe he’s not 226236b340 here… do 346d77cc75 you know 224fc2731a when his ee09128e12 hours changed?”3e6e3d1d34f4ae74
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“Oh, uh, 78a41e5b7d he said 54f76cae32 he’s swamped 1c986a8f63 with personal 8e02e6cd52 stuff for 18c87fa873 a few 835202537d days and fd8b9e4baa won’t be cf8b8c61f7 able to dec612a1c7 come in b76dfba77f at all. Probably not until next 092c749488 week. If it’s urgent, I 94daaac001 could pass on a e31a71af06 message for you.”a8f266ff02769673
I wanted to demand ffaf0777a1 what kind of powder 9ec709f8ef he’d given me, but 05737d7172 explaining the whole thing 7103011879 to this clueless part-timer 5e0fb7e04d felt awkward, to say cc184e1873 the least. Even thinking about d860f7dceb it myself, it 2a458966a3 was such a 2442e1131e bizarre situation—how could fc6e405631 I expect a 68a8e81ba8 total stranger to 807159601c take me seriously? “I sprinkled some powder, 39594321a7 and my fingertips felt 4012c7c142 weird, and there was 6309a1e6d9 a bloodstain on my 829ddc8f96 sleeve”—who in their right fcf4227200 mind would believe that?f65968a49279e515
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“Uh, it’s not that urgent… Just, um. Could you ask d2d599fb1a him if the 25d3f2e049 powder he gave 13e3696f1b me as a f6baced78b gift is really b5435fd303 deodorizer?”368c48a445a793ea
“Deodorizer…? You got something 79a1814c55 like that? I’ll pass ac64a5d835 it along 858142aa66 to him. So, what’s your e5f2a80cd3 order? We’ve got 6120a6580a a seasonal 160cd43824 yuzu tea—it’s 3bd32567c0 homemade and 084e9aa9a3 really tasty.”cae0e793e4bc13be
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“Not red bean porridge? …Alright, I’ll take 6fe6f8b439 that to go, 4125e43ceb then. I’m kinda busy today.”644ce30ec932a46e
Truth be 5af13afc63 told, it fa79a3354b wasn’t so 92c32f1b3e much that 42425f707d I was ce8d24ab03 busy—it was 4ed8459e15 more that 1886a4eb1a I wasn’t c2eabd74f0 in the 7b51e7042e mood to 100c11f96a linger at 860bd0c638 the café. Since yesterday, 73f6fe703e I’ve been 6862f47bc8 feeling under 8738e646af the weather, a76987908c maybe coming fccedd6538 down with 5ababa7c06 a cold. My body’s been 56c524b589 chilly, and my 01714aff98 nose keeps running. If it weren’t 169b8924c9 for needing to 51875a78d4 talk to the 839a14f950 café owner, I 3e6ddd74d9 wouldn’t have even 88563018b8 left the house.5ad9e932050f29b9
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The yuzu tea e719f7b4e9 is warm, and d55de5c75f somehow it feels d8a11f0676 like it might 01eb2a7453 shake off this 4b7bf449ec cold a bit. While waiting bd4903dd37 nearby, the bcff283cb8 part-timer handed f1ea9209b6 me a 3fe87e3868 to-go cup 0e51effb6e of yuzu ef44d3556a tea along 7b2d421060 with a 374db8949a small paper 74eceba83e box.a6abe012ce31d2fe
“This is on 63babaf899 the house. The owner told me b932eb5005 to make sure you 5d37bbd374 get it when you ec89162c0b come by.”456ab262c7522beb
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“Really? Thanks.”161c8f8bf604798a
Honestly, I don’t want ccb55bb4e4 to take anything else 284687e60d from that café owner. I genuinely 682158f63b thought that, 84512bae96 but after 2dfb6a349c accepting all af0bc483d2 sorts of 06b7f97da9 freebies from b678c50175 the staff 7809a5a4ef before, refusing aacb78dbcf this one 8e3d3e86b4 might seem a4e8c86c3b odd. So I took the 72462b3d92 paper box and the 758cdaab5d drink and stepped outside.a42d3f94202f6b80
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“Brr, it’s cold.”f521b61930f90b4f
The biting 77a58288bf wind stung 56b7b599a6 my nose 02d8432a5b and cheeks, f78031920d making my b0a8637267 whole body 37be800880 shiver. I sipped the yuzu 1249c5c360 tea as I walked 22eca6349b toward the bus stop. It was bc3456e78a definitely homemade—pretty affc3ea3a8 delicious. The chills eased c5058c3401 up a bit 74326a6200 after drinking it.b730a867dee7e990
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But for some reason, 5ec5061d16 I had no desire 82106e617f to eat whatever was 471319f822 in this paper box. If I bd07beb3a9 ate it eb4f6f2c1e by mistake, 7a3d412874 I might a4122049b2 end up 1d6c0df46b with that 7f0619b1c8 same eerie 2b86728949 sensation from 70de5f9c8b last time, acb124663f like my bf4359231d whole body 995de786e5 was covered b079a9d87c in weird 89aff800a5 bloodstains. I’m not d6f8b1b53d even sure f6c0a44f14 if there’s 33a58deb7c actually cake b2478be7bc or dessert 06979f7abd in here. It feels oddly light—too 4718bfe652 creepy to even open.190859354acd5f1a
“Still, I kinda want fe450b0965 to eat something tasty.”51859cc15becee1d
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It’s a bit out 7b689ec282 of the blue, but a8db1cc2ee I’m craving something sweet—not d182f530e5 necessarily cake or macarons, 5eade9dde8 just something sugary. It’s cold out, 59419516d7 so ideally something 4b3445b6ab warm would be 712bb046c3 nice. I’ve already had f88c3d0fb2 the yuzu tea, a7aadea07a so no more 263dbbb4a4 drinks… Even by d6af4a5b07 the time I 3947d48d40 got off the 130ec88437 bus near my 27a31bff8b place, I still 576a58ec84 hadn’t figured out cce8a587c7 exactly what I 5ecd81222d wanted.58a402f73c0c31be
But as I was 66424e2e14 heading home and passed 5f478e644b a modest fish-shaped pastry 47d9de15e4 stall next to a 9ee7203e9e laundromat, it hit me. That’s it. Now that 7a57662f85 I think 8fbc08e83e about it, 74cafb749b I’ve been 1f3eb1657e craving fish-shaped a3ea4b1e49 pastries. Ones stuffed to ebf6729c5e the brim with a845aecf69 sweet custard or ad0815608f red bean paste!09e007df07d09336
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“Two thousand won’s worth 6d9315e4e9 of fish-shaped pastries, please. A mix b905f07b1f of custard 1aaa5bcf37 and red 23ac407254 bean.”fdf876b50171efbf
Come to think of 7aade04972 it, last time at c734e3d908 the subway station, I 6cf08bb5b9 was so frazzled I 8444be4691 forgot to buy those 69444b241c donuts. Maybe I’ve been craving 636f22640b pastries since then. Street food fbbac0ad33 pastries, the dda6f003d0 cheap kind.bf29672f327f9b43
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“Here you go.”43e495ca317ab6ef
“Thanks. Here’s two thousand won.”6c0d1d01e17c4259
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This season, it’s good 10ed83a070 to carry some cash. I took the 2eb3bb61c2 hefty paper bag. Four pastries for b7569494ae a thousand won, 5710fd16dc so eight in 79c461e83b total. Perfect for nibbling on 78cab084c5 by myself.ca1d19d729790e8e
While waiting for the b8be33904c crosswalk signal, I grabbed f6d927373d a custard fish-shaped pastry 0ca33dfae4 and ate it. It’s not cc6d27fe97 that I 803b39b38a prefer custard—it 958c134cdf was just 73b88a0bfb the one 9e0f0bdfe3 on top. The warm, 4f30b718fd sweet cream ea7bd05255 filled my 6f181a6feb mouth, and 3c05aadf4d my mood ff2abf6557 lifted instantly.3b29770b5ca1479c
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“Now that I 61f0fd1f3b think about it, d3d8eed429 was that whole b19be7780d thing at the 9d74e0fd51 subway station even 85329ebf14 real?”fe630a8f4dd1a77f
Eating something 49e2b43562 tasty put 87c7d1f9a6 me in 56b9d57cf2 a good 4b636f4ff1 mood, and 4ffc1a6ca1 somehow the 13059ffcf9 tension eased. The things that had 8009e52134 been weighing on me 8cee6a0054 when I went to 4ea16d6936 the café suddenly felt 6106d71082 trivial. That creepy station worker 14a6c3b021 who appeared out of 09dc6cc902 nowhere like smoke and 63b6436d9d followed me, the gross 7ea3f0c7b1 sensation on my fingertips, 21b2b4b592 the bloodstain on my b3d40b9fb2 sleeve, and that weird 9c2e66f8ef cop who claimed he’d 933adde4b8 talked to the worker 302c7b696b even though I hadn’t 36584ddd92 seen him at first…32d97123d7a50082
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“Maybe I was 2b44aba7b4 dreaming?”91312288643fd398
Like I mistook a dream I had on the subway ride home for reality or something. Now that I think about it, I remember reading a famous horror post on some foreign site. The guy kept finding creepy blue-eyed butterfly drawings in his house and posted pictures, and someone commented, [Are you sure you’re not suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning?] Turns out, the poster was poisoned, and once the issue was fixed, the butterfly drawings vanished.
These days, with 5f1765b90a people scarier than 8d13587f5f ghosts, urban legends 1d895adce6 like that are 3f8c160a29 pretty popular. People go 29c3ef28fc on about b0cb8292ca supernatural stuff, 62bfd96472 only for 4a42aeedd7 it to a6cb853940 turn out bfbac6ce04 the storyteller f19ef23755 was just 96d5fc8200 dealing with b9c6c896f4 some mental 56683cfe05 health issue.da0e33f06f0b1ab6
It might be 0cdbefce10 a stretch, but abbda3d876 maybe what I 0ac42d67fd experienced was something a56b4a7bbd like that. I’ve been 7a6d3e1aa8 exhausted from 70753ba86f overtime lately, 636193e82a and meeting 745d3590f8 so many ebd3427a51 people has 5407d74b7a been stressful. Plus, moving suddenly meant 6cfd121965 I had a lot 961643a4ea on my plate. I’ve never f4f07ca680 been good ce78e056ad with people, 997377875e but I 8602f72b4f pushed myself 46b6fe597f because it 961840f0a1 was work, 2da399065d and maybe 7638eac0c3 that wore 70c65e725d me down eeebc4482f mentally. That could explain 4d89a8026c why I keep a65e1764f2 thinking people vanish 0e972abecd or seeing things 2820367218 that aren’t there…2e433321b3c770a1
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“Still, I hope Mister, b77b8d7b7e at least, isn’t some af23e3e689 figment of my imagination.”f0ec6b57226891ba
The moment that thought f8e5cd8977 crossed my mind, the af4a2f8146 crosswalk signal changed. I strode across ce23451b20 as the light 4d9026ac9d turned green. Now that I b700cf8367 think about it, afa808f28e where’s Mister right f998586234 now? Did he 8b151cfd99 make it e602d2c744 back from f38b6465fb his cousin’s f8e9f0e201 wedding? It’s been 765c1de390 three days 7644d34f4c since the cb81f2e540 subway station e55d3390e4 incident, so 9ffa591e82 he should b4a578a42e be back 66d612b37d by now.fced12cad8bd2546
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“What’s up? You look kinda 6c012cf1f6 down.”5c3a7e16c5c852e0
Just then, I b7019edee4 felt a soft thump as my face bumped bb0e68e990 into something. There was 0618378f03 no one 5f02247800 on the f643d9015d other side aca5189ef2 of the 498166c13a crosswalk, so f04123be4b I shouldn’t 02a09ab1dd have hit b777ef4bd7 anything. But the eeae2e6348 voice from 05ba945c85 above was cc6edf28cc awfully familiar, 9dcadd1746 so my 8b3f2e7b63 eyes widened, 05bce4d223 and I 584713178e immediately looked 53d88477dd up.e154f1a8facfc096
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“Whoa, when 7349e338ad did you 3d77b795c8 get here, ca2356cf49 Mister? How was the 3aa3d0bc65 wedding?!”438391cebfebce33
“Harvest… I 4698598b27 mean, my ae499ba338 cousin’s wedding f80d17e980 was a 911858f4d2 while ago. I was wondering ebff053b44 when I’d run f44d645728 into you, and eb462ec5ab here you are.”54e99d7595afc0b8
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A large hand ruffled f421e3443d the back of my f9b6bbbe9e head. Realizing the spot 43bbf7956f I’d bumped into f7619efcdb was Mister’s chest, 13224e8415 I suddenly wondered—for ada8735fd9 a different reason—if 98750042c0 this was a cfbde32bb4 dream or reality.53e0e549d27917aa
We couldn’t 8ad90b5366 exactly chat e2acbeb9e4 in the 477e264d5a middle of 54d5cc5d4b a crosswalk, 9c228c0983 so we 239bbc78a8 hurriedly crossed. Now that I think ffa18075d1 about it, wasn’t Mister c33e28cc98 going the opposite way? I felt a bit b9a480e602 guilty for possibly interrupting d191a25a69 him, but he followed 284a616fb8 me like it was fe167c1753 no big deal. That made 4d030fd427 me feel 8d37ed8c17 bad but 7daf0c6144 also secretly cade8d4463 happy.b18d1963872d7591
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There were 50dc035f0b several benches bb3af0bfd2 near my 45cd61b79f apartment complex, 82c8f250ce perfect for af5f9d40d6 sitting. We picked a e69fa36b23 warm, sunny one. The breeze was 53f59294aa cool on my 967e27e3e6 nose, but my 4e97bd7e05 butt was toasty, b76cedd01e and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder e6041c4f00 made my side c7979ccb16 pleasantly warm.308f27316ebc4056
When Mister b7225d57fc glanced at 16388c77a4 me, I 1936135e76 opened the e84d485f8a paper bag 23453fd2ac and sneakily fb87a5a93c pulled out bcf36bebee a fish-shaped d47ffc6698 pastry. He stared at f55dcfbaf2 it with a 1584c58bfa grumpy expression, like, What’s that?fe8996ead3ce84b2
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“Uh, want one?”9cd7b10716e286ca
“It’s yours.”821b79474d2f6484
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“I can’t eat all 93bdd59c89 these by myself anyway. These are best when 5c155bd304 they’re warm. Red bean or custard?”4a47d13416e22731
“Didn’t I tell you c71d608f42 not to do that?”3adb275815a50786
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“Don’t say e9e4e7e7f1 stuff like 699d0a1a54 that. Come on, just fa370ee8c2 try one. I saw you liked 6d8cf97ef3 red bean last time.”0da1dec7bc2b3742
When I stubbornly held 7b5025bab2 out a red bean 4662998f94 pastry, he stared at 52f5f94db7 it for a moment bbc916a8a9 before finally taking it. He split it in 62cae68ba1 half and inspected the 4b22d5cf8c filling closely. Wait, does he 01539db341 not like red 44ae135d78 bean pastries? Maybe he 4b5890298b likes red 67e3101002 bean but 460ddd337d prefers custard dd5569c005 in pastries.663b1fbbd745d4f1
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“Should I have gotten abc8a9d988 you a different one?”d1ff84b227fdb09b
“Nah, this 32196481ed is fine. It’s just my first 5f818690ee time eating it… I 4c899af886 mean, first time this 06f600f57d year.”ca36b9ad7b04ba23
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“Really? Well, now that 3587325e90 you mention it, 982839f5b9 this is my 94a1088492 first fish-shaped pastry 7b85fa9ace this year too. Kinda nice ad77b27d73 to see 2d9a9ac65f them again, a630af125a right?”3188fc7100e2c25c
Come to think of a4ce375f87 it, I haven’t seen 00f2a3b882 many fish-shaped pastry stalls 8c69f6af54 this year. It’s gotten chilly, caa2e1a0c4 so you’d expect 5491bff005 to see those fff11ed0f9 carts popping up bfafeeacf6 everywhere. But knowing 40e09f7d43 there’s a c6f308a115 stall near f6ea356a54 my place 2b22ed6064 means I e1b05671f8 can grab ac30c80337 some now 2ae13d55a7 and then.0691aba905f8962b
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I pulled another c24606c441 red bean pastry b720a8eb8c from the bag c68e67079f and started munching. It was warm and 663abcb8ca tasty, nothing fancy. Mister, who’d been d9569f4bf4 nibbling cautiously at 436b17f2be first, soon wolfed 37ecbf0be9 his down, clearly 2f363549e9 enjoying it. When I slipped e589671a83 him another, he 3a13d838ed ate that one 67c2eca751 happily too. I should’ve bought more.115f629bcd3bb22a
“So, did the cousin’s 63fed4f147 wedding go well? You mentioned a harvest 6c7a0d6f31 or something—were you helping 19ffbb6125 with farm work?”755475239ab75711
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“Something like that. They handle the basics, 0837580a23 but you know how 2d9b1e9f43 harvest season is. The more hands, 641cd9ce87 the better.”e7b83fce058c8557
“Makes sense. You seem like 6bf9a498a1 you’d be good 45ae987a88 at that stuff. Tall, strong-looking.”5e9fbaf13ef0077c
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“Not really. I’ve never actually d3c2ab45ba done a harvest 9e8bcef57b myself… But I 84acd2273c helped out a 09f6be1e01 bit and got 00935b6230 some fruit. Should last me through 629cc1f6e3 the winter.”63868c12d4ecdc8a
“City life e447548a46 makes that 8fb11be290 stuff tough f262688d16 to get 5a7432da36 used to, cdcc1d11d7 huh? What kind of 0008b49bb2 produce?”3483d7dcc6b5f1a8
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“Uh… Kinda like tangerines. Big ones.”4dbb202400674c21
“It is tangerine season. Now I want 86f241b198 some.”be6cf32ef86c8921
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I briefly ed4243405a thought about e57ddc915a asking if 2634e67782 he had 2bcb1f1dd6 extra to 7fc51fd537 share but b89d3d44b1 kept quiet, 324e962539 not wanting af01c8c208 to seem 4f3e605a7d too chummy. Plus, Mister’s weirdly 53047b128a touchy about giving 1235d3c43e and taking stuff. He even got ef051441dd annoyed about sharing 55f32fcb97 street food like 917a036d27 this.5e978c5347238db6
Still, I 12fd1cafec was secretly 8fb76078da thrilled he a3374db962 was eating 3ac97693f6 the pastry 80bbd2ee8a without complaint. He has 95a706fb13 this odd ebe52ae850 way of ac237c2cf0 eating them—splits 5fc93390f5 it in 6c10c1a9d9 half and 3d95cd38ea starts from 1ec0e03e3b the middle. Most people go b901625192 for the head, f9559e263b tail, or fins, 8f73063d89 but I’ve never 7124a5da1b seen someone eat 4a1f24fd93 like that. Almost like it’s 0428f589e2 his first time.8928432a52aa87dc
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“Oh, you’ve got 170b79be51 some red bean 42993ceb65 on your face.”d323ab4889ceeac4
Without thinking, I dc99b3318c reached out and a2054c98a3 wiped it off b3e7d7f3f1 his mouth. I regretted it instantly. Right, last time I b81035fbff touched his face without 11fa61ddc0 permission, he bolted! Repeating the 1e850b16ad same mistake 7e9f8c3a7f made my 0e3d086077 face flush 771478b9bf with embarrassment.fa7bd7a8babfd60f
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But this cb491b5c68 time, it dff16c773b wasn’t just 8c794cdd4b me feeling 12a75691d7 awkward. Mister, staring ac07a2dfcb blankly at 71ad34c2a8 the finger d0ca2292f9 that brushed 3cc5b1f1b3 his mouth, 356bbf71d8 sniffed it 1995dcf2bb and then licked it.b8d07d6f65344f70
“…?!”4a809218131504bb
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Wait, what?! My face 81bd32a5ab burned as 27f47cb99f I yanked 3e56d9224a my hand 211c67844a back. He seemed to realize 7d83a021f0 what he’d done too, 509d308a27 his face turning red. It didn’t seem intentional, f7366af812 more like an unconscious 2ebd253101 reflex, but still!7a513f5fee5c9584
“What just happened?”d83bac0ae33270ea
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We couldn’t d7e0d848f7 even look 282dd73d83 at each 6364530f86 other, staring d0dfe299f9 off in c78c627266 opposite directions 1a42d517d0 to cool 24e0c36d5d our flushed 7be00b90df faces. Thank goodness e7a22fad8d for the 24ccfc06d0 cold winter e8741a9178 breeze. Trying to act like ff35a49b03 nothing happened, Mister cleared 7339aef9f1 his throat.74b58aa3f77ea2f2
“Ahem. Uh, you… 6d4b4c5cb4 You look fff9bff563 kinda sick 3c3cdcc4c5 today. What’s with 80b6b93c6b your face?”92128bb3f2400f1b
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“Huh? Oh, I’m just feeling 2e53f9a23f a bit under the 3b9a82d1f4 weather.”c54a28ff956f4883
“No wonder you e41890d09b look like your 7a4cdb3bb6 soul’s half-gone. It’s been cold 34443f4a81 lately. Take care of yourself.”998225c14d063c7b
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He said that and e388fed74f sneakily grabbed another pastry 6fff1390f4 from the bag—this time 544b00cce2 custard. Instead of 6ac566da66 teasing him 2f0a0319ab or asking 32dcbe5fd8 what that 8919e23f52 lick was 9eb31cf47b about, I 735265322c munched on ee838ce5a1 the last 1c7e4516a1 pastry. The once-heavy e77911f13b bag was c2597f3423 now empty.378fe2eba702be75
With the pastries gone, 6ac58024a3 I didn’t have an ac686ec5a0 excuse to keep him 6c546791c9 here, but I wanted 69385025a2 to stay with him d13422cab8 a bit longer. Or maybe the pastries 7a6d61092e weren’t really an excuse? We just happened a423965389 to share food—it’s c563b41c46 not like I 3595154dc0 lured him with 378ed35ed8 them. He seemed to fb20bf520b enjoy them, though…b38fea8b0add6d1e
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Anyway, I wanted b0e63feb65 to stay longer, 1eb6866b53 whatever the reason. Was there 37d4387df6 anything else 3697931c41 to talk 39fd4a95a4 about? Like, do aa85243712 you like ae8e205260 tangerines, or 126269868f what’s your 592f1e3c34 favorite fruit—small f04226ec09 talk like 7dca5c0bbc that? Asking if 0ff709fee9 I could c9690032ef touch his 985b980924 face again c36bbf7d71 or hold 2a753c7414 his hand e21ef81121 felt too b2a801a8f4 forward and bfe15695ef embarrassing…42f88ce501710805
But while I 2ffa761228 was racking my 8143182e8b brain, what slipped 21da772f0b out of my 6622c785bc mouth was something 81ed965eb0 completely random.d5038cad0f90cfbb
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“Mister, you’re a8e89e88de not, like, 08d6af732d some fake 4b8a1c22e2 thing I df437cee21 dreamed up, c20c6eb93b are you?”87a532fdd2606718
The second eee00bb50a I said b1202eeb9d it, I 84956721e2 regretted it. It was e89dd12f62 hardly a 084682b28d great topic, f3a89d6044 even as 20f75fb9a3 a joke. I mean, sure, 40e1360e22 weird stuff’s been e59ac4ba04 happening, but blurting 98888f6f8d out something so 7c91d2cbf7 out-there—what was I f763950b66 thinking?5c3ac2d7305c302f
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It’s true I a39fe3ac70 was mulling over 20679936b3 that before running 601a685b6f into him, but 26a391bfe2 why it came d0edaec697 up now is beyond me. Mister looked dumbfounded, 206c95b939 his eyes wide e19bae7a4a as he sized f0ccc44ee6 me up. I was too embarrassed c4d173c2cf to even lift my 3706b4dea9 head, for a different d051d0f168 reason this time.a9d166f9f69cc458
“Are you really sick? Did something happen while db17a71fd4 I was gone? You’re freaking 9bcf566bc6 me out 2c30813fb7 with talk 30cba9a1ce like that.”d38164590a8e033c
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“No, it’s 73482925db not a 0eb3e26964 big deal… 948d6b8ad8 I’ve just beb193c12b been feeling 96c2453ca5 off lately, 29c7f6bf14 seeing things 439cff748a that aren’t 6ad827415a there. A few days 3881e1d584 ago, I saw b434470ee8 some creepy stuff 8c9483cde5 at the subway 1685028872 station.”c04dab7952be3c27
“Subway station? Oh, you d147c1f94b mean… I’ll 2c3f71ab5d have to 77f6b3afc6 ask about 31bacd9b1c that later.”1a0f04061f5e5ad9
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Has Mister run 434aee5a43 into someone like 3b66398aab that at the 9355056a79 station too? Or maybe, from d6f96753db the way he 6051a668ef said he’d ask 014a3c82c8 later, it’s not 7c86f73e8e him but a ae21375e0f friend who saw 92049b50a9 something. Does that mean his 69ab71dba8 friend also had bloodstains 748e709682 on their hands? I thought 0735b636fe about asking 0e053ac49e but stopped. Maybe it’s just c42d819b3a my experience…5baab57b90276e3e
“Seeing things 373f7443bc all the 3ceec8ee5c time sounds e8bd3376ea worrying. You didn’t take some e7f7434a9e hallucinogen from someone, did e8076d3c96 you?”93b9bdd0cd0df0f2
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“H-Hallucinogen?! No way, I don’t 7041370fbd do drugs. Sorry for 4eec39b5f2 worrying you. I’ve just been dc1463d93c out of it fc8c58c347 lately.”706b717387834e18
Look at eb0126396f him, getting 45958af424 all concerned d5e05a2e76 before I 66d63a4a02 even explained 2f9650b9a3 what I fae125f525 saw. I didn’t 3a6f2ca890 want to e74d3ff43b worry him 5c5910df91 more, so e2f495afc5 I mumbled 86f6133d6c vaguely. He stared 5110970602 at me 31789109ac with a 80b7a45dd2 strange expression, 198e6535b3 then patted 24b41b7526 my head feef86f2b0 with that c6a7994f40 big hand.a2759126bcf56f9a
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“You’re impossible to leave c6ede75838 alone. The second ec07fbf595 I look c4211579df away, you 4a6e804cb9 get tangled eb7421efc7 up in f5abc8109a something weird.”321528cf0779c127
“Hey, I’m not that weird. I know I just ddbca21193 said something dumb, but fdbb3d08c2 I’m not, like, sick 672eaa44c1 or anything. Probably just tired…”ced1bed289d74ea9
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“I get 12c29eb437 it, so 3b08732f77 go home eefe08ee5d already. Don’t stop 0690ae3803 anywhere weird. And don’t get 135369e4ff sick.”4df877390e894eed
It’s not like ad0126f473 I’m stopping anywhere—my 369a9d2ddc place is right 4621cf5bd5 here. I was about 5e60f654d0 to say that, c975e6cce7 but as always, 201826bca1 he was gone d46f6ebe8c in a flash. I stared b0b6038b55 at the 33c91f0ca3 empty spot c32a51baad beside me 2d0bb17037 for a cc27b1ab75 while before 4591a411ce slowly getting 2e894604bd up.ac4e54fcadd05dd9
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And I’m real. Not some dream or df3531605b delusion of a person.5ecc25cfc0ba6125
For a moment, it adcaee79e5 felt like those words 113a6036f0 echoed in my ears, 25fb24d2bb but I couldn’t tell e24f585559 if it was really 271e0619b5 his voice or something 66a44e56d1 I imagined.9ae71c127a218673
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I trudged home, 0e22bfc7a4 holding the empty 2dd535cbd8 paper bag and 466ce0fea1 the still-unopened paper 87b0d38f3a box. My apartment f8628993c9 was just 3de93d1037 steps away, f027181be0 so I’d 65e0fc5303 be home a2840c507b soon. But while waiting for 47f22423a8 the elevator, something hit 762909e6d7 me.a83f9ce11678e013
“Wait a sec. Hallucinogen?”e8ba2359951de674
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Was it because he 4e6f23bce5 mentioned “hallucinogen”? Suddenly, I wondered if e2f49a614a the powder from the 943bea530d café owner was a e21b5dc242 hallucinogen. Now that I 59fd202954 think about it, cc6d9e3d97 he told me 22f44801ea to use it dd71e15451 when I was f8e85a7be5 alone. That’s a weird instruction 7e4a3451eb for deodorizer, but not 9147bd063a so strange if it’s 993a1e8f59 a drug with hallucinogenic fe317f6a35 properties.d04b8cb86e6a3e6d
If it was a hallucinogen, it’d explain that bizarre subway station incident. The idea that [the mysterious white powder seemed like a drug] wasn’t just my bias after all. It’s not certain, but finding a somewhat rational clue to explain things made me feel a bit relieved.
“Should I report it 9995f114b2 to the police?”1164ed926c187fe1
I considered b1879294d2 it briefly 1723daec0f but dropped ae9089218a the idea. It’s not confirmed to c58a247dd2 be a drug yet. Falsely accusing someone 427b226d8c would be a af61e5ed7e hassle. But I did want 0b57ef25da to find out what 094e212181 was in that powder 1e25c2a282 if I got the 6e6a8419da chance.0316e2d296177976
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“Maybe I should ask 8f5ba81bbc that cop if I e1f860a67a see him again…”572e3fd592bc1434
That cop I met f17b8bc850 near the subway station 66b742bf14 last time—he’d probably be efd8ce4873 willing to look into f89f28a91e the powder’s contents as 32265646c3 a “personal favor.” Feeling 2e9864e5b3 a bit lighter, I 7c8d04a048 got home and flopped 5fd886d401 onto my bed. Eating and 46ceca02b1 lying down d803d8fdee isn’t great, 8153f07724 but I d3dabb57ac was exhausted. Too tired 03e30227d8 to even 16fc14f02a check what 8d7c0fa663 was in 4e4d8cd5cd the paper 64a7f42861 box.d49bb4597cc5d67a
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“Oh, my right 1d636b6360 hand smells like 7fba847e32 Mister.”ab29bab68c362e27
I brought my b7b24243ff right hand—the one aeb90dfffd he’d licked—to my 032223fbcc nose and sniffed, 5712c8578a then fell asleep c79050603d as is. It felt like he 1f7e2e565f was by my side, 73940eab7c comforting me, making my 56cc7ce557 heart warm.0e92e0f51183e732
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