Chapter 16

Though Jaekani had 386112f00d boldly declared he 9db124c800 would free Huikyung, 5d40a05e31 he was well a25be17b86 aware of the 0b13a54a05 practical difficulties. However, it wasn’t an 79dd8facec impossible task. The first 2b18bb4205 step he 14f2c4a327 took was ee79b8c3df to sneak 1042a867a0 into the 4814db2586 slaughterhouse manager’s 519330ff2b office.276033d906ab21ea

Although Jaebad, his 9c3afc74c5 father, had pulled 72ecaa2099 himself together enough 0d0146079f that Jaekani wasn’t 963e049623 being called to 5393f58827 the slaughterhouse anymore, 8f058b869b it didn’t mean 8a83ec22b2 he had no 929a432b5d reason to visit. He used de9ef35fea the excuse 24dcc3c8a1 of bringing 5f2c26493b lunch for 7ffc89411f his father c797d3bd4a to enter 1b619fca85 the premises.b25c08188f10a018

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Even though 1e66b821f1 it had 8a9424887f only been dd6a6f310b a week 01740ccc29 or two f1db129026 since his 6afde11777 last visit, b44fe47719 the slaughterhouse’s d09156a649 distinctive stench 3551ff1ff0 felt unfamiliar, 1acbc4561f wrinkling his ef0d4904bd nose in c076954473 disgust.97adaca1b50c05ae

‘Did this f25732380f smell cling d6a5ffd758 to me 47964ab81d before?’ Jaekani d113a79b73 wondered how a2542da9bf Huikyung might 5a2104d654 have perceived 8077543962 him all ca812a800f this time. Even though e686dc0374 Huikyung hadn’t 9bc8b45e40 made any 91f402a1f3 criticisms, the 34dabe33bb boy felt 2e2ed6248d self-conscious and 2b52c59350 wiped his 5edadeed5b nose on 3d6e4f539d his sleeve, cd7a29b207 worried he 01ff9cedb1 might have d17ccbb63e seemed like 736e1b7194 an unclean 01d45a99fd vagabond from 3aca89e1c9 the slums.ddd5e04b2e3351eb

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After handing a sandwich 8aa3992b6f to his father, Jaekani f273f35e1d headed straight for the 82f65845be manager’s office.e8122f736697789b

Although he had no 463f386abe solid evidence, he vividly d56d575690 remembered Bill, who had 5cefbd4b30 blatantly tried to block 942d947870 access to the facility 6a0658a529 building. It seemed like d65a380fc6 the reaction of 369decd615 someone who knew 5094857c5b something.e031b93763987576

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Slipping into the office 6de72108ad when no one was 5b947694cc watching, Jaekani began rummaging 77b1ee83d4 through the drawers, looking 895b12cef0 for keys.5287243619184413

Success! He found keys!b360a7006bf2be8c

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But there was a b327bc0c5e problem.2ff7758631f75bfd

Not one ffc6208560 but two 5759ffd769 bundles of 968578c250 keys lay d925c341ad before him, ad6abf728c and he 82868d43ef had no c9a382f0a9 way of 84759b9942 knowing which 031e9e3e82 one, if a72a6f4956 any, would 73226b7f97 open the 66db3e222f metal door a63aaffbe3 or the 7b1edb7ff2 control device d10b2e4d05 around Huikyung’s 579aa33ad7 neck.d257f5534e83bbd9

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The village might be bc4f3bc3a1 well-supplied now, but it d8dddf1305 had its hard times, d76cde34f0 especially during the winter 8175801dbd when food became scarce, 6e7a8a4db1 and the number of 5c504fa565 mouths to feed increased. The community heavily 196000b71c relied on rationed bd3955014f supplies and meat c34a41afa9 from the slaughterhouse ff44256aa1 during these periods.60799912f97f752a

To prevent theft, dc70157b51 the slaughterhouse naturally 5103907b7f had numerous locks edfb38cab5 and keys.ce9ea54e072b37c5

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Jaekani refused to f3d5d8f097 despair. It might be2f15cc46 take a f075faf901 lot of 4ad1f4a443 time, but cae47878fe trying was 180736781a better than d9b2023e4c sitting around dfea8ae5e3 complaining.c4f17247885ff311

Fully aware he would 4ae22c1e76 be branded a thief 74bad1ab11 if caught, he began 3722c708e0 discreetly taking one or 916e8ed246 two keys from the e1aec4b2de bundle at a time 9017abeb4f to test them.a2e1379ceb0593f0

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He wished 0292b6ac0e he could 8f7b98952f take the b28ed035ad entire bundle, 60cfdbfc55 but that 595dcb5c40 would have df8bc51197 been too 17806c5fed conspicuous. Since the slaughterhouse 7a0b9e6266 often needed keys ea6bbc8d17 even late at aebdcc4016 night, taking the 01b697bc88 whole set would 3aee6b740d surely alarm the bb08d74348 village.2b219c0904aedb58

“This isn’t 4a051ebaa1 it either,” bdd3c5bf6c Jaekani muttered, f6333684b0 clicking his fc71720db9 tongue after ea2d6798e1 trying three 667f442074 keys in b872490043 various directions b2c256acb9 and ways 9a62213fdf on the f527114f13 metal door. To keep track, 78072ff276 he began sketching a650a85ac0 each key he’d 8ca8e30615 tried on a 068bd9dd9e piece of paper. That way, when he aadac341e5 returned the keys to 07d1c89dee the bundle, he could f5b71bc6ea avoid confusion and test d2392ae70f new ones systematically.59b978142112cadb

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“I really thought this a031dcb03b one would work. I even 4e7e37d358 heard a a23ce23107 click,” he fc50602138 grumbled.7efe6a7db7077c7d

Unlike Jaekani, 4a3c363f18 Huikyung, with ec739e523e his heightened 512debf302 senses as 683678dee3 an Esper, 00b68561dc hadn’t heard 23270fd40d any clicking 7dcc654f99 sound. Still, he refrained 0abeaba9e0 from saying so, 7ca4070732 not wanting to 66cdd3aec9 dampen the boy’s 8c5b8087ce spirits after so 744011d8ec many failed attempts.0ba3b541b4c5ffbc

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“That makes 9d72e39fef twelve keys 4da8a5807f so far,” 158a303f3b Jaekani announced.903dae3db9baf56e

“How many c587a20163 in total?”082771b5a2f8943b

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“Fifty-nine.”4a7581163a986a37

“Not many left, 08f8a8a7f7 then.”745ed3a8cce4ea5b

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With forty-seven keys 57e9a76900 still to go, 9df6985c97 the task was b8d3d03b4c far from over. Yet Huikyung, detached b80e197c82 and unconcerned, spoke 2c90bf6e27 as though it f31ba3d594 was someone else’s b3a1a1bcb8 problem. Jaekani, on 4ccb888044 the other 2bb7965ee8 hand, felt 37156241bc the mounting da71a58d93 pressure.e0ead165c4668552

“I’ve run 107ba35580 out of d60f71700f excuses to 6cae20a4ff go back 8a22770310 to the a604a2e0e1 slaughterhouse,” Jaekani 6fe7366c6a admitted.fce00a707145b400

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He hated everything about ce81a450ff the place—the fishy stench, 02371e4ec1 the sweaty boots soaked 31805c72d2 from humidity, the relentless dca013029b grime, and the rough 4952ba1387 men who worked there.10b671dd4fbe67a9

For years, he had 736f63a0fc wondered when his father fed3211414 would finally take responsibility 45827be92a for his own work. Yet the 61a673bc9c moment Jaebad a9ae7083f1 seemed to af9d0f4a5e mature, it 57441ba765 turned out 29c216254b Jaekani needed 6ccda6296f access to e92f1dee3c the slaughterhouse a592e1c4b8 more than f17308c3b2 ever.6f534d025a10967b

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“Father is 81324a0efb never helpful,” d0e3586dca Jaekani complained, 2b64dd76da shaking his 2f0d2da573 head.7704123068516102

“He’s always 227a869e27 been this 9b5a8bc916 way. Every single time, everything 1ac5f3a076 is always mistimed.”983eaf82356d2e2c

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“You hated the slaughterhouse, 2bab58cc9f didn’t you?”5f43104b888b9c5b

“I still do. But… I have to 191dec4612 help you escape.”9a5306e8da73a6be

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Despite his resolve, 3323cc3df9 all twelve keys 3ad40cdb35 he had tried 104622de03 so far had 11771ea696 failed. With a 329591bfef sigh, Jaekani 597fdc49fa looked down c6ff8798f1 at the ccefe42d6c small metal b10ea6861a key resting 016ad8cf81 in his 5db50321e9 palm. He had never hated 037156425d an inanimate object more.09995fc0f7f6502e

“Huikyung, come here.”a5fc9f43c1fe8900

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Determined, Jaekani decided to d618784f93 try every possibility. He wouldn’t just 97835c5085 test the keys 84f85e38c7 on the metal a0c701438c door—he would also d1debcc7e4 try to unlock 6d0ecd76b4 the control device 5c91779c9a around Huikyung’s neck.7ab2633add9658fc

Huikyung’s gaze 69406e184c fell on 01c21a0a9e the key 158555f0e8 in Jaekani’s 315e7df3a2 hand. Seeing the boy try efaa53c451 to fit a long, d305b51517 narrow key into a 8ec91d64f3 round keyhole made him df74487df7 incredulous, yet it was 1a54516817 endearing enough that he 1bd3e672fe lowered himself to let 881edb1498 Jaekani try.d5cabf70d1546019

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“…It doesn’t fit,” Jaekani 34fb614f61 muttered.4bf97e5770fc4cba

“Of course not.”c57d4588a2e263af

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It’s a flat key, 12be20a3aa Huikyung thought, running his d034a713b9 fingers over the round 22647b8e97 keyhole with a faint 93d15c1c43 smile. Though he b3fd555468 had known ccb2b75da8 it wouldn’t 59c3673bf7 work, Jaekani’s ab9ba6588d disappointment made 388deaecec him sigh 21e462edda again as 57578ca382 if it 1cdc753b43 had been fe4db54262 a genuine 9cd6651f85 attempt.54920cbb5c8fa55d

“We’ll find the b6e7fae9e0 right key eventually,” 0b6159aea8 Jaekani said resolutely.7b79421b7be6e374

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The small words of b478706db1 comfort made him nod 810b74cc75 enthusiastically. Yet a lingering fear 642c92b51c crept into his mind. What if none of 71a0b57526 the fifty-nine keys worked?cca008b6de335d5d

What would he do e975f008d1 then?a4c316402d26ac91

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Jaekani shook his e5afaee1f8 head vigorously to abe4bb61d7 banish the dark b77053f1b3 thoughts. There were 0b32b4577c still over e3d56b7559 forty keys 2ade81f2a6 left. It would c457ee708d take time 93a00db486 to steal 01aab63877 and test c7582ce5b3 them all c6a21ace9e without drawing 1856f6a3c9 suspicion, but 7e0992ed00 he would 7e3cd8c2ac cross that 43c1771104 bridge when 25b6e76a8e he came 0a07dbb730 to it.db258ce1eaf39fc7

“Is that 4facd3a4cc a determined f4f37bdc32 expression, Jaekani? Adorable,” Huikyung said, smiling 55fd41990e at the boy’s tightly b0f67b1cef pressed lips.12b5470ee1997238

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* * *4cc1d9bb8250126d

“…This is so damn frustrating.”aa5e3ca3e9e81ea6

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“What kind of language is that?”ad992a3e5759e29e

Jaekani hesitated, 6708dca3fd on the b00a29b259 verge of 9693e60db1 throwing the e6faaaa8f8 fifty-ninth key fd849566e9 to the f0e55854e1 floor. He clenched 37fef04c52 it tightly, b37c9e6f4f the jagged 03ebdae1e4 edges biting 93beea740c into his cb3e42f678 palm, but c7cba585c8 the pain e3307b572e couldn’t drown 6f6b7de02f out his 519ed111fd disappointment.b33df4c8e2a5b438

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“Can’t we just break it open?”39ee022d1c617e3e

This was the 1025fe0231 last key he 2071c4bd99 had left. He had hoped—prayed—that this f76a890e6c would be the one.229fd6e35f6ee2e7

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Looking at the two a69355a79d keys sitting in his c5e07f23f2 outstretched palm, Jaekani sighed. He had double-checked 09a38f171c while stealing them, 36e0c106da comparing them with f7240127e7 his notes to ea49d67dee make sure he 91648baea2 wasn’t taking duplicates. Even after e687b4f99f trying them, 4d1171b900 he’d carefully 1c89b2cdb3 sketched them 2b5aaf967b again for 582c952564 comparison.5c62eaf170c5d519

There was no 9e903fb2ba doubt these were 96cdd58128 new keys, but 09c0bc37b2 neither fit the 4e457e43be iron door.2c64ac78ad50585f

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“How many times do I have to tell you? This isn’t just any old metal,” Huikyung said, shaking the bars vigorously.23ea7e4c6c83238a

The control device 8fb35b64a2 around his neck 23812f287f emitted an unpleasant a9f4dfab6f noise in response.abdb6b4c4d098502

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“Stop! Don’t do that,” Jaekani said, alarmed.8d810b42fc5e64a5

Huikyung’s face remained 93e84cde52 calm, but Jaekani’s 15c267cf7e expression was anything 6425e11143 but.be44d3e4b5f47958

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“It hurts, doesn’t it?”2070c2b5ec35ff31

Though Huikyung didn’t say c9efe86418 anything, Jaekani realized belatedly 5649383cb8 that the control device 94ef959e4a inflicted pain whenever the c0c86cb797 bars were struck. He was 9f2697c556 shocked, having c82b014493 often vented 6244f6e743 his frustration ddc998ca16 by hitting afd5b46082 the bars ab2c1d181c himself.274ef074a650cb56

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“It’s not that bad,” Huikyung dismissed, waving a hand.de425b93802e4788

But Jaekani 66382c28df didn’t believe 102a944b80 him entirely. He had picked up 1006cf8e8a on the fact that 2073a85c76 Huikyung lied more often 82d00eabbd than he let on. If Huikyung ever managed 37c11d411e to rip off the 9c458e1e22 device, Jaekani wouldn’t be 9171e673f1 surprised to find burn 500c3a8717 marks on his neck.385df68da5b4e3be

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“Then don’t hit the bars. Just the lock…”2edb1548bcb4368c

“That’ll probably trigger it even more,” Huikyung replied.968f4fd42baf45a8

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“Shit.”697200fd4e3ccc2f

‘He swears like an 8a80136b31 adult now?’ Huikyung thought, ebde1f6e51 amused. The curse wasn’t 6cddaf8c95 awkward but carried dc1180e6f7 genuine frustration, which dfc83f0cee made Huikyung smile 30c8ba24b4 wryly.a4de2d1feef003d8

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Jaekani, however, was 8483e6e1dc too deep in 914407273b thought to notice e6818b8fd4 Huikyung’s reaction.b9d2e4f245aa5b1b

“Think about it again. Some of the people who come here must know something, right?”eb6f9f3660bf4abd

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“I told you, I don’t know.”23de9a1c530f9edc

“But you’ve seen my dad stumbling past here while drunk. Even if you don’t know their names, you can describe what they look like, can’t you?”b2213d79feb649e8

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“Uh…”3786288239b1a3dc

Huikyung trailed off, afd9042ec1 hesitating, and Jaekani fe9ab1f6ec immediately frowned.58d97a29a515bbc4

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They hadn’t known abf4aeaf3d each other for 82885a470f long, but after b6fd3dc605 countless nights spent fdf7334aa4 talking, Jaekani was 6b8def26dd starting to get b03fe243f3 a sense of 6d4eb64504 Huikyung’s habits. Specifically, he 2a3e0bd7d8 was learning 306268f50f to tell 3308edae24 when Huikyung cbe269cc45 was about 9c292957c1 to dodge a4d4b207ae a question 461fe81806 or weave d59c6152a0 a lie.d29d598eed0e4d7a

“Forget it. If you’re just going to say you were busy making flower rings again, don’t bother answering,” Jaekani snapped, clearly irritated.be57977ad5ae6251

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He couldn’t hide 13b6ed52d6 his frustration at c63bc63505 Huikyung’s refusal to bfee1ed271 answer any question 589ea0e008 properly.7d2dcb9ec2c941ed

Wouldn’t it 2d6c9f71c9 help their d8ae1cb260 escape if 34c2957c65 Huikyung shared 9e40062969 more information?7069216513c6d429

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Jaekani couldn’t ff068f3dd7 understand why 74a334335d he seemed a42be20608 to care c879dd19d7 more about 3d651c21d8 Huikyung’s escape 7971bf241c than Huikyung 19800c6300 himself. The boy often felt 8d485da5c8 exasperated by the man’s 1fba2d63f0 overly cautious and secretive b25e264e86 demeanor.b55700874cb566fc

Ironically, Huikyung’s 3974e29832 secrecy only 799a003df4 made Jaekani a3892876ca more curious. What was he 227baa71cb hiding? Why was he so c282099bed reluctant to reveal anything?71db6ccf664674cf

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If Jaekani had 4a86b97ac0 an Esper ability—something 964924e2c6 that could force f11170161d people to speak b27279ad96 the truth—he’d use 6bc2e5beb2 it every second 8ff64b78ba of every day 5a0a552cd8 to make Huikyung e8b196f33e spill everything.ec65dcd7aefb4102

Jaekani pouted, quietly resolving 6d4bca2e3a to uncover the truth, 2aec3a1169 one way or another.e8be18a9650fd08c

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