Chapter 36

Right now, 9e71c229d0 Huikyung was 422761c365 more concerned 1b8d054982 about the 24a5bcc0f4 overwhelming pile 050bc1e8b8 of paperwork 6489785e41 and procedures 80113e2df9 he had 7a409cb521 to deal 4d0d4cf4c9 with than deff87decd Adri clinging f21a22b02b to him. But what weighed ef7e09f713 on his mind 65595e76e9 even more was acf3162385 the burden of 46facc6332 guilt—he still hadn’t c2a6934eae properly explained his 84d38c332d identity to Jaekani. The boy had passed 4b85f061dc out before he could c5a6a71b8a even begin to process 4bd7ce5544 the sudden truth.1fc04dbabbaad438

Huikyung, remembering bfbe644842 how Jaekani 13ffdbd961 had reacted 42aa2d1863 like he’d 742a34bf41 have a 89a00a11d9 seizure at d1e567f00d the sight 656b0e10f9 of someone a5467d827e in black, 990a31830f turned his d8b6f4f0af gaze to cfa164906e Adri, who c24070da5d still hadn’t 26b244ad1e left and b370a0c2af was busy 9be239c8b7 rambling on 65fcfa2632 about what bda46e7776 had happened d88165fd0d lately. Who did 3d56408340 this, who 912252794c died in c848f91866 the line db9f47c127 of duty, 9a2e881a5e who had befed7ce75 a baby 3e68d094a5 girl—none of 3eeb66c426 it asked bf21b815a5 for, all 789571d954 of it 3e5dfb0eb0 offered.8087fa04d35287cc

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“Adri.”86768272fb891e47

“Yes, sir.”baf312b189672053

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“Is that 7880309211 the only b3411ee428 outfit you’ve 7a9b160d86 got?”22451dfcfa904f19

“Excuse me?”f563f7aaf92818f5

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“Take it off.”1db57e49c993fc99

“……?”2c51bfea5bdbce43

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Adri reflexively crossed his c41d477e1b arms to cover himself. He was 95df73e6c6 a veteran, 2cb21adb77 just like fc8afe4351 Huikyung, someone d9d514eb71 who had 8d9c67fab8 been through 46c6155a7f the wringer, bdea9e21c9 even experienced 318f8e659a the filth 4b6cdb41af of the 39e340ccab adult world 1bcefd2466 firsthand. Gulp. Swallowing dryly, Adri looked 774f44b8a8 at Huikyung—who clearly wasn’t e25f994123 joking—and nodded with grave f898edff21 determination.1d1b0542b0a869d2

“Yes. I had imagined, 4d5921ca32 someday… a moment 65aa472968 like this might cc66783946 come.”7fbfb2430d9780e0

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As he 39d57d84a1 unbuckled his 683df36483 holster, he 4cb7a1b9a5 was dead 719bea529e serious.300633738d5492bd

“If someone were to c17305eb6b break me one day, 179c8a1e73 I hoped it would fb8c625534 be someone who crushed 42516c6d8c me with true strength, 3834793bb8 not some petty concept 1d3e80364b like rank.”7e4ce8e0fb8e8a32

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He started 0395a3576e stripping off 2e80d56a27 his uniform 8b66050507 piece by c1dfae6c49 piece, never f318e3fd5f once stopping 0073ee640b his monologue.f63214293672c18f

“I offer 610d6c3476 you everything. My whole being. But… maybe 904a91dc87 not out db7f3f1f9a here in f741f6dd22 the hallway. Could we, uh, 6029775139 find an empty 18fa63f25f room or something?”1c9cc5ce7a0da585

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Huikyung’s face crumpled in sheer disbelief. This was nonsense he could no longer tolerate.c5e611c170d37a5c

“Unless you’re 61869c3c68 about to 1994e5c144 get shot, 12d0139cd6 put on fde7923fe3 something else.”14703bd2e5199abd

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“Like what?”025ca7e71da9ba4c

“Casual clothes. Not your uniform.”13366e6b0ec64f68

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“But we’re at the 164ea59feb base…”81b1d0c16090a54b

“You talking back?”4dcfb9bf6613c015

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“……No, sir.”83c92fa3c7c40286

This guy’s nuts.76b376018c40da7e

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The joy 214b5c3c5e of reunion 69a1429553 didn’t even 48ccf0a7b1 last ten 8ac56e0706 minutes. The idealized d511157eeb version of b17f52704e Huikyung that 37023bbf0c had lived dc39999d51 in Adri’s 7afc2c14de memory while 06fc37a0ef he was 38f6428714 gone was 831294338f now quickly 0d02cca8d2 being replaced bab9aec7e1 by harsh 18d56c9894 reality.a063f0dc15a4d5fe

Seriously—he’s even 8f03c5180b more insane d410ca848c than before.be3bc143c5654489

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Muttering under his breath, 655338012f Adri bolted off before e749e11410 Huikyung could actually go c268811df2 through with the crazy d368d574dd idea of making him 3f75438e44 walk around the base 212df72cfa in civilian clothes.88df3c26d48929f3

By that evening, Jaekani 934fb70f43 had recovered at a fee2c4a7ac noticeable pace and finally 452767815b came to his senses.190704c6f1e51150

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Coincidentally, Huikyung 414590a866 had just dfc14e0396 finished eating d9fbd252bc and come bb71040ec1 to check bab7d95b50 on him. Holding an 4c166577dc unnecessarily large cf40ae1ebf stack of 5d86aa9e51 paperwork in 360637f3ed one hand 6d6350902a and a 1aea8173ba pen in a96d8ce654 the other, 88e67f2bbc Huikyung was ecca9770c6 scowling when 76951eee7e the rustle a335e22499 of movement 385588b3a6 caught his df2d3849fc attention. Jaekani was blinking blankly.331095b4178c6a90

“Huikyung…?”7cb5d0f5261a9b72

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“You’re awake. Let’s take your temperature.”03f0339ecd1958c8

Still foggy and c3af711fc5 dazed, Jaekani moved 2014e438e0 like he was 510e0b3e1d under hypnosis and 29210423cf leaned his forehead ef59b1a3d8 toward Huikyung. Even in that hazy 18256bb4b9 state, he let out afed56ea1e a small laugh.d06ef3826db1f46b

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“Not like that. Open up.”cdb1723cbe63af6e

“Ah.”9de0783f8b828696

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When he ae7fe19cb0 opened his e7a2afa843 mouth, Jaekani 37ff48583a couldn’t hide 827870992c his surprise—his d8be752e1d voice sounded b0ace4e886 like it 8f49010206 always had. It was nothing 30e9ea80c1 like the hoarse, 10c7f2ad1c broken voice he e0fcd6f049 remembered from being 1767a0265b sick.2d46f92ebdd43a01

Huikyung slid 1210beb935 a thermometer f09907a3a5 between Jaekani’s a54522cad7 lips and ef86e5732b waited. Beep. The reading 513560099e appeared with 710a3f05f3 a chime.f1256880e3dc906c

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“38 degrees. You’re fine.”acb49cb07e29b9a8

Though a low 2a232ee428 fever lingered, Huikyung 421eaa9240 said it like b434a03247 it was no 7ce646598f big deal. Jaekani, not fully 7e65979e4f understanding, smiled and 9deb866aaa followed his lead.730bb4c6b4bb4163

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“Really?”549d1d3b1435cd28

“Yeah. So let’s get up 39705fe81b and head to work.”0da2aa6aa2805c32

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Wait… what?f0e43a5baedb8c3b

Jaekani slowly started to c5aac26254 sit up.35f2e77bd92333ad

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“Go to a1084aa360 the quarry bc91c09596 and dig a84dd1ba07 up some df8de8254c rocks.”cda5ec8cb76e1a2f

Quarry… rocks… That 8f2afbe74f sounds hard. But I guess I 09bc7abce7 have to go.ebbcaaface3f9738

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Just as he placed 02cdf428d1 his feet on the f67cd175cb cold floor, he noticed 468cfceafe the IV drip connected 74f256aedb to his wrist and df219c319f blinked in confusion. It was cab4441698 something he’d c03874c332 never seen 3e7973b0c1 before. This thick tube… 3cfcf8a590 was it inside 3027b311b4 him? How far did it fe3994caec go? To his heart? Was he supposed faa6112bb2 to carry this fe5c3f47f8 thing around while 26f2ff656c digging rocks?227e5661e379a780

While he 8b9bc989ad was lost d0baf92e6c in wild b4d26749d0 imagination, Huikyung c7a803fb50 sighed and 6ccdde0ef7 muttered, “Forget a9928d52fb it,” before ab01278a15 gently pushing 9381861cc0 him back 22ce193afe onto the f03fb7de2a bed.6c054b649d41b3fb

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“What am 7ea41f2029 I gonna 2c68502a6e do if b6426270b1 you can’t d39b78e3cf even tell dd70302dd6 I’m joking?”ae488b7e972e4f1c

“But you f19d2231a9 said we f8801e2459 were going b5b605456a to dig c5fc70bac2 rocks…”5b3be6ef0dc64c31

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“Why would you be d665f75f8b digging rocks?”4689dadb64f5adda

“Then how 251bd3555b are we beb37f8886 supposed to 0414daf3f6 make a 6a743dd050 living?”daa1849c350107a6

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“You don’t need to dig rocks either. I’m the most popular elite officer around here.”ed6f3fce9699242e

…Elite? Officer?1ce2bd8bdf23ecb4

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That—.bcdcd69e542a0bc4

Even with b308de7da3 a heavy, b435ed7706 sluggish brain, 04cac4a55b Jaekani worked 4b4148330c hard to 40fe48c2b0 get his c8c2a88b75 neurons firing.0ee055a9e162bf2d

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Officer… He’d heard that word before. That means… they’re military, right? Soldiers. The very thing he feared most.524101d97e2f4b09

Once his thoughts 5cfcfc5061 got that far, 07e36f1b5d a stream of c824c7014f memories rushed back—everything 7af0cc9c70 that happened before be60cf38e3 he woke up c7d4e50755 here. A man, clearly 755ae77e51 a soldier, had f8766ed6b6 spoken to him 2111f4cb13 like they were 9c387403a6 familiar—he even hugged 8ae096ea68 him. That soldier knew 75b4caf04d Huikyung. And the fact that 32930d0581 the soldier he feared 442c25b302 so deeply turned out 290667d900 to be Huikyung himself 163bb6875c began to slowly consume f1cc8b5ea2 Jaekani’s mind.25362231782ab266

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The last thing c3fc31f5a6 he remembered was ac9694d45c the heavy sound 4c6c393a66 of a Humvee da630b4e8f rolling in, white a80208339e flashes like lightning 1463a6deb9 exploding in front a70af9ea22 of his eyes, cf9c18c5c5 the surrounding presence 7e2d26a08c of people closing d8200ef170 in, and voices 81a5ef3562 calling Huikyung’s name.8231d05a23ab7d4c

“Where… is d4896e7ef2 this place?”23b6242d383020ed

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Huikyung… is a soldier?5805ffb154ccc751

“The base. Where the soldiers 5609e8ede7 gather.”750e0481fb82b0cc

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Where soldiers gather.ad4c228e1d6e67e6

It didn’t 25f57414c5 feel real.61fe60cb8ad73912

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“This isn’t the 5c48da0497 best environment for 62253ba7d9 recovery. We’ll be 7a3c6c8d50 moving soon.”17a90ad693dd9290

There was 070be3908c still warmth 3c4b5bbd21 like a a5f4e23c73 campfire lingering 23364cd073 between them, e202a10d91 separated only 1634d687c9 by a 5fd2ff81c4 small bedside eb98b4ec16 table.158e935103300dee

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Everything about c4467ba815 this place f25b13052e felt unfamiliar. Jaekani felt fe495e854e wary and 2cd2ca1dc5 afraid of f3071afcbf everything surrounding e8069e0b0a him. The bed was 7c1ac278a2 too white, too 82d1f46888 neat, too cold. It wasn’t a creaky a894e0ecc4 frame of rusted scrap 5c9f07bd89 metal—it was a real 984dcc1047 iron bed with a 401ddba0fb glossy finish and smooth 0be8d4b1a0 curves, like something you’d f226d49fc2 only find in a 7e7ccb01a1 real facility.d71e8d2b2caea6b6

It was soft. It smelled d5f4cc9234 like it 5c306b4f8b had been d4c86c95bd sun-dried… well, 8d3afeab23 maybe artificially 087749580b heat-dried, but 8cc57f6c28 still.573a72e375f7b956

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Where was this place?6b26685863d34ca5

And who exactly was 54281eddbd that man?11a325cb55d434e6

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“You look de4f7297d6 at me 96e1182128 like that, 50a224ac01 I’m gonna 8d34b783f8 get offended.”613c8d8dddcaa996

“Huh?”5f459650b90f0c3c

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Huikyung figured Jaekani was dc7592d801 so shocked and overwhelmed 2e6f9d1611 that he wasn’t even 11bdf8fd55 capable of feeling what 3f637c06a3 he was supposed to 570f868b48 be feeling.124d892b79e6990a

“Am I okay now?”64a620b24c56e502

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“The doctor says you 632c6aac1a are.”679d4b05ea33da72

“Then I want to f6d5923a83 leave. Right now.”a436a2bcb3c48d0b

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“Right now?”c7f12da61cc159d9

“Yeah.”c2699692b49fc25e

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“Go where?”21fd54a029edbe8c

“Outside…”84bfb5cb35805ae5

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“Outside where?”db7f44d548346b3d

“…I don’t know.”f10da9ff13c4cf1d

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Still feverish. Definitely not thinking clearly. Huikyung clicked his tongue and stood up. “Alright, let’s go,” he said. Let’s go somewhere you can get better treatment, where you can adjust and live a better life.20946807e620bf1f

“Lieutenant, reporting in!”29e303d53e9411f3

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Just then, the 7b928cee0f hospital room door c9589c0179 burst open, and 072c2b9e87 Adri barged in cee6fde463 while Jaekani and aa1d8c224e Huikyung were in 74b6a40b6c the middle of 8831646ff8 their hazy conversation. In his hand d2b323c985 was a bag 8d0a40a505 of snacks, supposedly 3687947af6 a get-well-soon gift. But there 99d7dfd7f5 was no aca8bf3e5d way a 9e8e8b38b4 freshly-awake Jaekani 488419d0a8 was going 5fc3a09ad9 to munch b96257c6ea on snacks, 49c1063a1e so it 15cafb1040 was obvious 8917a97449 Adri had caa27ef2a9 brought them 495a8cad6d for himself.64ae560ce90d29a1

“Hey, kiddo.”3d71ec9e0d48e5c1

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At the eb996496ba word “kiddo,” f85d217725 Jaekani, still 769e5533c1 not fully bdc2d31aa3 recovered, scrunched 90a72041ac his face e8ab913223 like a 9e5e0794ec crushed aluminum 169ed95919 can. Adri noticed the 0766d60968 familiar frown and 4c7236160b blinked.2f05fc71de76e097

Wait a f3785fbd6c minute… did e2b01a51f7 Huikyung secretly e1a29f72f1 have a 3f7103df74 kid somewhere?47e0d20443171c20

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They didn’t look that feb97ca080 much alike, but the dd1a25f0b3 way his eyebrows furrowed, 613c108f13 the crinkle on the 8b281548e0 bridge of his nose, d9807251a1 and how the area 6b962fb6b7 under his eyes puffed b01a2124a6 up—those were all exactly 7ecf765dcf like his superior officer, 6d269c0413 Jung Huikyung. Adri wanted to e5d8e3bad0 ask more about 30eb1ed4aa their relationship, but 8a5b8bb240 now didn’t seem 5525cbcd91 like the right 10417eef12 time.27591da12edbd366

Ahem. Adri shut his open 818b43d640 mouth and tossed out cb6064f962 a neutral question. At least, 3bda76c103 he thought 43fcac437f it was b4f3c55cb8 neutral at c8dfc2152d the time.c39b5096bd2b76e9

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“…Sir, are you packing 46a2477ebb the baby’s things?”dc756854cce9bd4a

“You know this kid?”ef911ebb41cc6fff

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“Sir?”73dcacf6559e585b

“I asked if 382fd98fb7 you know him.”4e54681b952385f4

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“No, I don’t.”c01cec1de01f0fab

“Then why 7d77a68048 are you e42a22c068 calling someone fd9bc04d80 you don’t cadd94bbc9 know a 2f294e93d7 baby?”24d06355157ef54b

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Such a b40ef6b2a1 drama queen.e3cfe39e1d0a7b68

“Y-yes. Then instead of baby, e981eba342 are you taking this bb4050dd35 ‘young gentleman’ with you, c4ca880f03 sir?”e913ca3fcc2a07f6

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“Obviously.”e87d599d7317a0cd

Not long after ec4faac4d1 Huikyung called for 687eec8748 her, a nurse e5b60ac3d1 walked in and c9e80d23b2 removed the IV 2ec8ef5226 needle from Jaekani’s d20118e6f4 arm.85ef7172005a070d

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“Ah…”72993b2985102b17

More than pain, 83009dc0a2 the unfamiliar sensation 7c55813563 made Jaekani open 34ecee9164 his mouth slightly. “Don’t be a baby,” 50e8b90e96 Huikyung said, giving his f074963a67 cheek a light flick.96d1694cc93b8963

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Then he 320398bc1c picked up 5cc1da21c7 Jaekani—still swimming 8fbe24ed24 in an 36b1176c87 oversized hospital 1b11122c4a gown, sleeves 5dd8704d86 rolled up 7d2938d657 to show b996a7bc3b his hands f185f72091 because they 968f984514 didn’t have 3fa93f9277 his size—and c59ebc2c97 cradled him 647ee7d48b in his 65e3eacb71 arms. In his other 2a3dc3520e hand, he held 6129c325ea Jaekani’s diagnosis and 9809d08183 blood test results, 648f1d5312 handed over by 7de101354c the nurse.ad942a82015ed4e8

Regardless of a31eea21aa the complicated d4f031101a feelings, Jaekani’s 3aab19e71a arms reflexively 1afe733186 wrapped around 5658d3501f Huikyung. Now that a63fe77080 he was 7558ca373c coming to 914737f3ab his senses f86aaff385 and time 90888922c4 had passed, 0e3b0f1c2e he was d1a4ed9316 beginning to cc9eb00413 piece things 89849a441f together. But the 88df469377 confusion clouding 64e0bfcf0d his mind fbfa0cd346 was only 567306910f growing deeper.c9f90fb2a63e93d8

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“Got the car 33efe89368 ready?”8077d94b34ae8267

“Yes, sir. Just head out.”fceae74fb99b0c03

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“Where are we cd489e6a0c going?”a2eb72ac5cbda6c8

From behind, Adri bc6e4c6de4 asked. From beside 6dbb03abfc him, Jaekani 2360f7f717 did the c5ebb97e83 same. Their questions came 190f528033 one after another. The night fb0c55cd9a air was 3c53f69343 still biting bc0fe235b9 cold. Huikyung draped his outer 72cb772e5e jacket over Jaekani’s head 108c752082 and left the medical 787cfb7989 ward.b18ecb26e4101623

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Out on the 412b0527ab black asphalt, cradled 7464b04460 in Huikyung’s arms, 25c0ac3678 Jaekani looked around—at 32328e082b Huikyung, and then e28ec09063 at the dozen 09915c56a5 or so soldiers 386d39c6c6 standing behind him. His body tensed bcb8d6cfdb automatically, but it 55ce7d0860 wasn’t as bad 676e5a0900 as when they 96a47aaf20 first met.8bc5946b91bc95d8

“Are they soldiers too?”fe99060ebf12caac

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“Yep.”d1aac9fb5fc8c747

“Then why are their d9c976dabf clothes different?”93be8be82ae03489

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“Because they’re 1f4273be3e the less a74cb37dbd dangerous kind 6663438e82 of soldiers.”e2d484f0784ec01c

Calling walking weapons 6213d99d01 “less dangerous” like 9659f4f1cf it was nothing, 93a34f6f4d Huikyung adjusted his ab09feb771 grip on Jaekani.76243783e988819c

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Still… they dd3221e4a3 do look 11b0abe8f2 different from a79dc2b693 the soldiers f35e5fdf83 who raided 54fc2bf120 the village 5eb66c50a0 before. Maybe… maybe 2ad0f191f7 they really e33536cfac are safer 66a67cd890 people.588fce1c7a4876bd

And just c03aa6834b like that, f3fe85c309 Jaekani—completely buying 4f7bc201cc into the 0b786f1d90 simplest lie—nodded 9c0f8e03c8 without hesitation.e342b4e5845aae76

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 4a80b39b20f2b917

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