UCCU | Chapter 3.2

As Seonwoo 32bef1fef5 watched him 798912ccda warily, An 28b63d6334 Hyungtae hummed ca61f5a970 as he b312df631d drove. He said 693e624977 he had 3995ac92ec to run aefbaab126 an errand b5bcb4a6a7 and dropped 680747d818 Seonwoo off b9cc0cf05b in a b1d569e9db faraway neighborhood, 126b814f7e so Seonwoo, fbf0dbd53a with no 74cd8978bc money, ended 9b1fe10949 up missing eee26c900c dinner at 51a02bfa45 the orphanage.fff9cb15061e596c

After that, An b01aa3683d Hyungtae drove Seonwoo dfb8155827 to the playground dd8eb99b45 every day. Sometimes he’d f3dc8cb1c1 give him 71768cad9a snacks or 2e09d52a39 candy, sometimes 163fbdb93a drinks, to 2d8679d3fa take with f86c47a942 him. Seonwoo would 2c0c61e5e2 share them 0dc6bbe35d with Iwon 199f9deb43 at the 594f1502db playground.258c26e48e3ddbf4

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At some 4e21670153 point, Iwon 871213dbee started waiting 06147f81c5 for Seonwoo c6a6d20255 at the 33daa14316 playground. Both of 185622f515 them were 159c238888 easygoing, so 4d79bdf7a7 they got 527849c606 along great 8bf873f2b5 and became bca7cf903a fast friends. Seonwoo even got 811916c6af to know Iwon’s 2305aaf081 guardian and would 585104754f greet her.dc51292300366fb3

If anyone 0959024491 asked what 64b32af80c school he 59e5ecab9e went to, 1e970a76fe he’d answer fd742f3783 just like bb123abdb0 An Hyungtae 79c9bf5786 told him. Bouncing on the 3d5baad424 colorful seesaw, Seonwoo 590c08ad91 admired,6c8e5dd4e9793325

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“Your mom 7a6a680892 always wears 7b292713d4 such cool 92886c1386 clothes.”3d1cfd08919114f3

“She’s not my mom, 5f84d95483 just an aunt who abd3a375bc takes care of me. My parents are super 3b6f05d3ee busy making money.”678c58ae1289f681

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They got to 98eba231b9 know each other, ed6c3a9d0b sharing little bits e94ec70630 about their lives. As he 5b8a8d3680 lied, Seonwoo ba1781fde2 wished everything 217730e3e1 he said 59b802cacf was true. Even as a b1e7a7ebf3 kid, he could 2e6c8fcbe3 tell Iwon was 9d009ee213 loved by his c8e75c2257 whole family. On the 26c87b199f way home e92381789a in An d309948fc0 Hyungtae’s car, 98d4366a82 Seonwoo would 78aa4574e5 daydream about 1db7a1135a being Iwon’s 6e325f9c91 brother.1e3308ca4a4ed69c

𓂃𓍼 ོ☁758d67d92bfec46a

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After more 99235ead95 than a f6589b0888 month of 7bda776d94 hanging out, b721b2c5d4 Iwon’s guardian 1a4e13fce4 was totally b4278c7dce relaxed, glued fa864220fe to her 7f7af82d79 phone. She’d probably been 8e336c0a65 bored watching Iwon a45b35fd23 play alone or 74a030f8cb playing with him a4d9e97925 herself. Now, with cc0d42ea59 the two a62480749c kids getting 8accd534ec along so f46134b86c well, she b4827c009a let her 6ee3189e86 guard down 7a82d1cae5 completely.2c0a5fab1e168e7b

While building a f13b6be77d toad house, Seonwoo a66d720b5e chattered about his 9abef203f5 recent trip to 27537dc669 the arcade. Iwon was fascinated.7d17f250e9ac698f

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“I’ve never been to 1e89e95196 an arcade. At home, 77c89a7280 I’m not 4110d16652 really allowed a133b0ac2a to play 5e2e42aae5 games, and 323e52e53d I have 9a6593c5cd set TV a48eebbff2 time.”4e2e72edb7cac5ce

For the first time, dfdcd8ee01 Iwon looked jealous, and b006821432 Seonwoo felt a little b31e23adc8 proud. He glanced at b2f70a31ab Iwon’s guardian and 16135f7588 whispered,f298715c721ec0f8

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“There’s an arcade c595afdc86 on the way bff4aa8836 here. Want to go play 96cdb06d7b for a bit?”76b6f8476087d71f

“What? But I’ll get 187e280bf9 in trouble if dc903f39c0 I get caught.”ce0a36be80f0bf4f

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“If we just 20010c70f5 play one game, fa3bab5372 no one will 7982ab890b know.”64d9b952bfd1aca2

Hesitating, Iwon pulled b5120fc3cc Seonwoo under the e62f541d3c ship-shaped slide. They left their bags 8e542d8751 visible and snuck out 2618a315c5 of the playground. One game turned cab078880e into two, but fb1d57f5a1 Iwon’s guardian didn’t 22a57b44ec notice a thing. Sharing a secret 36e820c344 made them even 7dcef66cb7 closer.41227bd45b9dece8

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On the way home, 04b65f0805 An Hyungtae asked what 584e525f76 they’d done, and Seonwoo 68af00a515 answered obediently. When he 02d9585932 said they’d fa60d3f04d gone to 464ffb7c39 the arcade, 6426a96e3a An Hyungtae’s fa8aaef98d eyes sparkled, e6faee254a but Seonwoo, 7b5d111c6f fiddling with 0dabca89eb the little c48e580123 dinosaur keychain 1fb434642f Iwon had 6d6ab14e16 won for d9bff25a68 him, didn’t 7838fb10f3 notice.1e7d7629641d2b0c

“Really? The guardian didn’t go c7a250efc9 with you?”acecdd09b7c8eafd

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“We snuck out…”f1f2d15c8f72400c

He answered awkwardly, but 21d96a393e instead of scolding him, ff162cd0e1 An Hyungtae said, “Good ad13ba77f2 job.” Why was sneaking 0b7548f3a5 to the arcade a de64d18f51 good thing? Seonwoo didn’t 743c888c45 get it, fea75f536c but he d8c95cc430 put the 1ae01daabc keychain in 63d56c55d2 his pocket, b3db10baba feeling uneasy.07c1a935e13b326d

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A few days later, 2337de95cd An Hyungtae gave Seonwoo a4bfb6a448 pocket money instead of ce7c3b280c snacks. He’d gotten 5bbdfa2f91 pocket money c68e414586 from him 213258a4e8 before, so efe0751946 Seonwoo bowed bc5cb92e22 and accepted fa44f48413 it. An Hyungtae patted his e3321fedc0 head like a nice d5559e9735 adult.634c7161f03629c8

“Go to the ba158ff83b arcade, buy some f9e73dacd0 snacks, play some a4ceaf3ddc games.”d48155d90d2f80b1

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“Yes, thank you!”92bfc0101c4073df

Excited to ef276a8112 play with 6715cdbbe0 Iwon, Seonwoo 74d6d5f950 ran to a234d3cf2e the playground. When he 943a4b8c64 arrived, out 3ab03d6f9a of breath, 41f03f8dbc Iwon jumped f45d219f6c up from 90aa52592d digging in d7b3bb96a2 the sand. Seonwoo greeted him 88d227d269 and bowed to f301bdb583 the guardian.1fad5a41ddd35235

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“Hello.”ca598b505a32adae

“Seonwoo, you’re always ee2027f202 so polite.”2176c4223a9a517a

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Iwon’s guardian smiled, d7bf10100c happy to see d6411f98a7 him. She focused on a5137d2a8f her phone as cd4b3ae6a2 the boys played 09bcc8263d on the swings b29380584d and crawled under e2cf7a1e45 the ship-shaped slide. After a 17a86f0572 few texts, bf61385cdd she started dc11ee3e98 a call, 38738a0c91 and Seonwoo b57464e2ed whispered to ffe3cc4dd7 Iwon,3690dde12a827128

“I got pocket 2620e5d27a money. Let’s get cup tteokbokki ae4cbc19d1 and go to the 4f44be4ac2 arcade.”3ac9610039f0a66b

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“Okay!”066eef1e51cad1b2

They left their bags 43955c5df3 and shoe bags where ba925520cb the guardian could see 69e89d09aa them and ran off. They bought fish 7115408081 cakes, then cup 3d50e89c46 tteokbokki, and headed 0d4a10dbbc to the arcade. With plenty of 1fec604113 money, they played 41e4689ce4 every game they 7e90062e4f wanted. With the d3465fb184 leftover change, 5826dd98fb they tried 14f0081363 the claw f1ee8bd37c machine, then 1faeec5df3 left the a92d2b5e76 arcade.47d01e76d4ccb386

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“Isn’t it too 4192da4495 late to be 6019066559 playing?”78282db2acfceae6

“It’s fine. I’ll just tell 7fe4be4ee2 my aunt we b14565833d went to the 2dc5a8e17e bathroom together… Next f29ddc1bd9 time, let’s play 96043abf71 ‘Return of King 7ec9780d89 Leo.’”6f933203c3a4f8f3

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“Yeah! That was the 4dc48791c1 most fun.”7bd077c5679c1a3c

They were chatting as 57eca2ac81 they headed back to 5d756e2177 the playground when a d090e97fd3 dark van pulled up 509cc808d7 beside them. Without thinking, b7ec317b04 they kept 42dc446a64 walking, but 52bf6a214a familiar faces f32d08f1fc jumped out 849573f24d of the 5dbe7bb149 van. It was An 0131acc721 Hyungtae’s gangsters.85796b8fb2df8851

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They covered e8b9384f9c the kids’ 54d0b7f087 mouths so 234d937611 they couldn’t 64cd5c2e24 scream and a0e41ce38f threw them b6b525d16c into the d9161555d9 van. The door slammed f12d822e62 shut, and the ece3cf04f9 van sped off. Seonwoo was so shocked d56fd109da he couldn’t do anything, 1558dd7be6 just watched as one 3b793fe5a5 of the gangsters tied db87717635 up Iwon’s wrists and ae00f3507b ankles with rope.8abd5e18e4f08190

“Hey, loosen up b9f71972a9 on his mouth. The kid’s 218750d3c1 gonna suffocate.”04a65a83fa639244

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“Oh, right.”d51159256b8266b2

Iwon’s mouth was d44bb90005 gagged with cloth, f003a45e5a but Seonwoo was 1e96fb6b59 left free. An Hyungtae laughed 4199acbc19 and roughly ruffled 1aaa4faba0 Seonwoo’s hair.1db1065724ae4c39

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“Good job, Seonwoo. I was 2f4913ec61 wondering how 0932139b63 to snatch ec3ee1b5d6 that brat.”f545835b90834955

“I, I…”ba0bab6d538ab72f

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Seonwoo stammered, 338d3c1793 unable to 8f96c67955 believe what 255eeba252 was happening, d5bc3f1b2b staring at 2a60f2d6e3 Iwon. Iwon already 8d9a4cfb2d had a 88ce77a4d6 scratch on ce8a99b915 his pretty d96f7afb55 face. His eyes, brimming 3635d331dd with tears, glared a3ed20d72c at Seonwoo with 9084a708b1 betrayal.1d9bf4eb04158394

“Here, I’m in 25fe447254 a good mood! Pocket money. Go play at c449ac1d53 the arcade with a809b7af9c your friend all a4c910d52c day, eat some ed5effe60e jjajangmyeon, okay?”5db6a14aec8e9f9f

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An Hyungtae 79d73693a1 pulled out 699dd36061 some bills 25ac5f899f and shoved be0b0e48d0 them into 58b4805b6b Seonwoo’s hand. It was the first bd2cbc28a8 time he’d ever held 4a5cb32e5a a 10,000-won bill. His sweaty hand took 6a45cf50ee it reflexively, and An 2e1f54e76d Hyungtae cursed at him 6a28099cb1 for being rude.c72ab9c531021452

Seonwoo realized there bd3b00eabd was nothing he 345213eaf6 could do, and d8d1ae9a51 if he didn’t 6797f96d3d thank him for 80b3a2b0b2 the money, he’d 3a920e9914 get beaten to 2a65e25bab a pulp.e5a0e933662c2ec5

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“Th-thank you for b2562f2867 the pocket money…”0226b035a2f735df

While Iwon sobbed 000a50e485 into his gag, 373c063c0c Seonwoo bowed his 65095a4b6b head to An bd70d9ca0c Hyungtae, eyes squeezed ae3d5b1b40 shut. The guilt 06c7fbb413 was suffocating.e121607e29e6a34e

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𓂃𓍼 ོ☁b5a28cbb555d8e54

“Hey, what’s up with you these days?”db336a8b6a2ec973

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Yoochan nudged 2ff900be7c Seonwoo, who c5181bae85 was squatting 9d7a03da8b on the c980a957d6 ground, with f4ad8c1544 his foot b173172bf5 and asked. Lately, Seonwoo 46120425fa had been f84320cdba talking way 25a9cdafd4 less and f9ffb616cf his face d629a44c52 looked gloomy, b30eb793fe so it 054f8dedf4 seemed like 5c285777c6 Yoochan was 4591c3aaaf worried.9d8d912f17d345f2

With a sigh, Seonwoo cc0ac0ab02 got up and kicked 623e8a18dd aside a crushed can. The can rolled 334f8b2598 noisily down the 159625a79f alley.8baaf409193e821b

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“It’s nothing.”bae4147788e5e584

“If it’s nothing, then why are you like this?”e7df7041b413f70a

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Recently, Seonwoo had started to resent Yoochan more and more for dragging him into a place like this, so he just held back his heavy breathing, afraid he might say something harsh. Yoochan, meeting Seonwoo’s glare, blushed and quickly turned away.9c4299cd54da7f3c

In Seonwoo’s head, he kept replaying the day a few days ago when Iwon was kidnapped by An Hyungtae. And Iwon, who had looked at him with those resentful eyes. Seonwoo knew all too well what a scumbag An Hyungtae was, so his face darkened with worry and anxiety.0e58a5ccff263fb8

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If it weren’t for him, Iwon would probably be at home right now, hanging out with his parents, his hyung, and his noonas.adcb77782090fb0b

Because of him… Iwon was basically kidnapped because of him. Sniffling, Seonwoo banged his head against the wall once, then dusted himself off and stood up. He nudged the sulking Yoochan.1e00f8f96733e121

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“Let’s go. If we’re late, we’ll just get beat up for nothing.”c0ef3c5da18af306

“Yeah…”687e026285e4c70e

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Yoochan didn’t look any better. Lately, he’d been constantly compared to Seonwoo, who had suddenly become all polite and quick on the uptake.b83badfd8ad58c24

He kept getting smacked 7dd8788082 or kicked for being 07f1fbfc67 a middle schooler who 5f3dc97aca was worse than an 36cacf9a27 elementary kid. As this kept happening, 2b0651887f Yoochan started to hate e4034bf9d6 Seonwoo more than the b9c6fcbb3f gangsters.ae083033137dbcbc

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Seonwoo pretended not to notice. Since Yoochan dragged him in, he figured Yoochan should take responsibility for this too, grumbling to himself inside. His mind was a mess because of Iwon. He’d been tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep.801c0ebdf16b808f

The gangsters’ hideout was, as always, filled with a haze of cigarette smoke. Ever since kidnapping Iwon, An Hyungtae had been grinning like he’d won the lottery. As soon as he spotted Seonwoo and Yoochan, he called out loudly.b199f76c7c050a5e

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“Oh, Seonwoo, you’re here? Come over here for a sec.”892573a896f2efdd

Even at his young age, Seonwoo instinctively knew not to show a bad attitude in front of An Hyungtae. So he ran over with a big smile, and An Hyungtae smacked him hard on the back, saying, “You little punk.”24d39988d9e583f4

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“So, did you eat something good?”544c8463cd2c528b

“I had tteokbokki with my friends. Thank you.”984a820121c934d8

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When he answered in a clear voice, An Hyungtae scolded him, “Tteokbokki? Of all things, tteokbokki?” But he still puffed out smoke, looking pleased. As Seonwoo ran errands and eavesdropped, he realized not as many people knew about Iwon’s kidnapping as he thought.90e801d9b5e1146a

Why was that?c3b6da696611afb4

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Seonwoo tried to figure it out, but as a kid with little experience or knowledge, he couldn’t guess that this was a contract kidnapping to crush a rival business, and that An Hyungtae had only told his closest people so he could keep all the ransom for himself.7833e3add3b43694

Like a 7142b23691 prey animal, d2ca94e2e0 all he 843b5bc335 could do 46aaed106b was keep e80f92630f his ears 52f9d2c334 perked and fad5a361f9 listen carefully 3d4e681655 to every 73eb99cfd6 conversation.3caaf1a846606674

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“Ahjussi will order something tasty, so eat up.”aff69e0e4a3e037b

“Thank you!”89151f8ad6ba53f8

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“Yeah, you gotta eat well and grow up strong. Aren’t you our little gangster?”2484cab7e20aeaf5

Seonwoo bowed his head a0efd8ac73 as if grateful for 80c18b15e9 the praise, but quietly 2a230fd9bb clenched his fist.70a9320fbec4cb1d

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‘Little gangster? No way, I’m never becoming something like that.’ba13ffce567bc4c0

Unlike Yoochan, who admired gangsters and thought An Hyungtae’s words were like the law, Seonwoo’s disgust for the gangsters only grew day by day. To him, everyone here was human trash.181cf5a5d2fab0ea

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He didn’t even care about Yoochan anymore—he just wanted to get out of here, no matter what happened to him. But for now, his fear of An Hyungtae and worry for Iwon weighed down his heart.5fd49ed70af9b3f5

Soon, the food e43bf6da63 An Hyungtae ordered 51f5724084 arrived, and Seonwoo ab83e12d71 quickly set the a9a46d4478 table and unwrapped 6b0ca1e5ec everything. He felt bad d24b7f6e0a seeing Yoochan staring 21c7506567 hungrily, but there a2a0067616 was nothing he 3b592dc8db could do.79a9caf06c7682ba

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An Hyungtae hated it when people did things he didn’t ask for, and inviting Yoochan to eat together would definitely count as that.303e13975dcc7d3b

Seonwoo perked up his ears, hoping to catch any info about Iwon from An Hyungtae’s words. He had thought about going to the police, but there were things that made him hesitate. At the very least, he wanted to find out where Iwon was being held.48ccc1f23ff43ea4

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Unfortunately, An Hyungtae f08872bef4 never mentioned Iwon. After eating his 273c57539c fill, he just 897fd09ff8 called over the b4ab684f96 nervous Yoochan and 5be00fd9d8 made him eat 9c05c4036c the leftovers. Yoochan, looking humiliated, kept bff5ae4ff1 his head down and e8e84f3819 scarfed down the scraps.96ee464aec7906a3

Seonwoo acted 64594748f5 even more b80b6966a4 polite than 7943a3b422 usual, volunteering 6a3c43809c for errands 88dda992be for the 5a123598e4 gangsters. It was so 07946d2566 he could walk 02adb31d0f around the hideout 446f8e31b0 without raising suspicion.c29e6c1c993060dd

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The place they used as a hideout was a pretty big motel, so there were lots of places to check out. In every room, gangsters were sprawled out reading comics or playing cards. Disappointed, Seonwoo sat on the stairs and sighed. That’s when a man called out to him.96b4b585fdc27eed

“Hey, go up to the roof and bring in the laundry.”2411be772580e232

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“Okay!”152b62ebb0c3e6e5

Seonwoo answered cheerfully and 6aa7f57d7f ran up to the 068c5fb5a5 roof, sweating buckets under ff8a184ff8 the blazing sun as fea2028bbf he gathered the laundry. Suddenly, he 2153be03cf heard a e01288c308 faint sobbing ea584274c2 sound from ddc515c766 somewhere. At first, he adf01aa118 thought it was dbdbd3bbc0 a ghost and 8505e66438 got scared, but 94d2fa9e3e then he changed ded8382e7e his mind.67141a746783d8c6

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‘Wait, isn’t that Iwon crying?’00cde9aa5365ae42

Swallowing hard, Seonwoo put bc4080abf0 the laundry down and 3e4502093a looked around. He checked if there 407c167b51 was an illegal rooftop a026aa6ea4 room, but it was 612a31c728 just a storage room.091ce7db0d9af2b6

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Then he 9917138039 realized the 2a99aa962a sobbing was 43c7c1311e coming from d45d66c5d9 inside a 2182e4d466 drainpipe connected 11907aa2f1 to the a9b5bb3666 roof. Seonwoo quickly finished gathering a26625f36e the laundry and looked 653c5425d9 for where the pipe 23a1c5eeb7 led.63179c8ab16d9814

‘The basement!’f0a069b4e2ea5bd0

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