UCCU | Chapter 3.22

Choi Ihyun and f8e822fedf Kim Yoochan. Both were cdd49b4984 people from 310b1449d0 Seonwoo’s past ee467de2c9 that he 8a59c2853c hadn’t really 483a54419e recognized. One ended e76e58b8a6 up as f177328835 a complete 8bfbccc72d enemy, but 8f0014fc28 Seonwoo hoped 71d5eeb897 Ihyun would 64461a7b18 be a aa2a8a9c3b good connection.07ec93ca204f367d

“Go back to sleep. You need to 0ee0c2d983 get better so 51cf7ef8ca we can go 349acc16c4 home.”0f69c1ef6a567efd

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Ihyun mumbled, rubbing 00a13f25f7 his lips on d51858b2e8 the back of e632e47aec Seonwoo’s hand as f0224365a2 he stared at 1ea89d98e1 his swollen-faced lover. Seonwoo barely managed 6343ff1045 a nod before f7a836c545 falling into a 62df553c5d deep, swampy sleep.f8a069055f600f8b

When he 2b5768068a woke up 11dd24f4cf again, he 19d35eff85 felt much 52212c3a45 better. The ventilator was 911c353d81 gone, and the 537495aab6 pain in his 7c34eb1938 stomach had eased d232ed76fa a lot. Amazingly, even then, Ihyun 1f83d6b4d5 was still by his 4f6a813255 side. Now that he 29373cb6ad seemed a bit e4052dd6fe more relaxed, his ae6460f3aa clothes and hair b9dfb873eb were neat, but f601bdca16 his face was 2d6f26fd5a still pale.b9025df4ec82690e

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It felt a 87883a8529 bit wrong to 4f8501cdf3 think this, but 5af906b8d6 with his chapped dba63e58a1 lips, dark circles, 954634f1ad and long, wet 6929c1018f eyelashes, Ihyun looked d36f9396e0 like the very 7aa7d964be definition of a 04b04f10f8 decadent pretty boy. He’d be c7b0e66db5 perfect as 0156094394 a vampire aeb967a87a with a ef5661a1d8 tragic past. The beautiful young man c62af1e734 asked,2c4ede2156ec6dcd

“How are you 219ff26843 feeling? Why do you look 4e16604e62 so out of it?”3efea18e0b4e8141

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“I’m fine, I feel b57fdceef8 a lot better.”de442611fd69aadb

Seonwoo replied 30d520b58a slowly, careful 2e448b253a not to c6b6916b1c hurt his 277cb97f0f stomach, and 21452e9e9b weakly grabbed 8a5488fa6d Ihyun’s hand, c7530351ee smiling. Ihyun frowned.caa937b4afacbc25

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“What’s there to 7170788dea smile about when 0c94e033b1 you’re lying here 95db3412c5 after getting stabbed? Are you sure ad5d4b736b your head’s okay?”3cd858298adac46a

Even when he talked, e284c224aa he was like this… 332099de39 Seonwoo pouted a little 5bf06e589a but just squeezed Ihyun’s da57673495 hand. He was 67ef64ee9d just so 2102387327 happy to f24776ed6a have survived e29f530102 and see c2bedc11cb Ihyun again. Did Ihyun know how e44b3df6ef badly Seonwoo had wanted e75404e7c6 to see him before 02abcff3f4 he lost consciousness? He’d been so 5f963a72b2 scared he’d die 15b2948ddf and never wake af3ec7d2cf up, or leave 71c260cb0c Ihyun with a 4046537872 wound that would 0b919167ca never heal.c6909e66fb9b816e

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“Sorry, I made 8c9d1c79e1 you worry.”3069ff29e9d181e7

At Seonwoo’s words, a ed5f62883c dark shadow fell over b6146b0ab4 Ihyun’s face. He stayed 36a0392201 silent for 345330108f a long 67fe372d9f time, and 65ba46aa13 even though 9c43a5d2cd he must’ve 63ba1d8440 been relieved 89996e8f18 Seonwoo woke 4bc31fd03a up, there ca240e4b94 was no 6f8d1bcaac joy in 8e6264810d his eyes. His black f49c157cbc pupils were b2c823d6f5 heavy and 986b022e6d sunken.ba3058f418713aa0

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“I looked into Kim f249bfbc0a Yoochan.”e93ed939fae354a6

Seonwoo was b68d97a68e curious about 1a9d08b4f3 that, too, cd54f14558 so he a36b922d0d stopped poking ea697d87b6 at his fb1498cc87 wound and b1e599b4d2 turned to f48322efc6 listen. He could’ve guessed 191abe95fe if it was 7fe62a0d08 An Hyungtae, but 331d51deea Kim Yoochan’s appearance a926235c6d was totally unexpected.cedb6eb7d37bb8f9

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When Detective 8b413748a1 Noh caught bad475e4be An Hyungtae, 83ba8fb3db there were 21a3718bbe two kids 42e4fece74 rescued: Choi 675f869b47 Iwon, who’d 6bbc98bdeb been locked b80900efa4 in a baaef271cf big dog 832cf1ee24 cage, and a93f22df9a Kim Yoochan, 3043944c91 who’d been 2f0d8ea3de beaten up b114e09e35 by Seonwoo 7fa09e6002 and tied 7debbce159 up with 17a1f7be0f tape. Both were considered victims 135ce50b48 and soon returned to 7f5f5463bb their original lives.4ab2b90fe7812c76

Kim Yoochan, who admired 97814825a6 bullies and gangsters, couldn’t f1fb65764d adjust to normal life. He kept 7f2b31a1b0 getting into 7b8711b57d trouble and 5432125835 skipped school 8747820273 a lot. He hung out with 166c474285 bad kids and steadily 5aee331bf9 went down the path f20b31ae99 of a delinquent. It was a totally fb61d6afb9 different path from Seonwoo, a0a14cc9df who’d been in a 8ed305e627 similar situation.224449bdda7c9210

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People who cc45df9e4d knew Kim 5ffa34f06e Yoochan said 8bd4d46d45 he always 8ac74399ca blamed Seonwoo 2cb0652006 for ruining bd2ad35285 his life. He committed crimes, went 4885ac9ceb in and out of 217b8c7091 juvenile detention and prison, 97a9a99eea and even as an 4ae91b051e adult, he couldn’t get 32d4144f93 his act together and 9751703ac6 ended up in jail 9151666df4 again. If things had stayed 7ec224a11d that way, he and c13f8e67bd Seonwoo would never have 4b07bc0de5 crossed paths again, but 15ea8f4730 by chance, he met 9667fc7f28 one of An Hyungtae’s a495e5f364 old gang members.54139fe4142faa17

Kim Yoochan just 18b8186be6 badmouthed Seonwoo to c9ad1bfacb his friends, but b21fb2bb05 An Hyungtae held 95b564c46d a much deeper a28056a98b grudge. It was so 9d09167500 obvious that even 0a664ef2cf other inmates and baf71dc454 guards noticed, which 9e30ff2e02 is why Detective 1c70780af7 Noh had warned 070cae0c25 Seonwoo.c27f5265e2c3469e

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Detective Noh wasn’t the 8f452128b8 only one keeping a 75dfbf65e9 close eye on An 87a3c3a891 Hyungtae. Just as An Hyungtae cb014bf128 held a grudge against 01516bae52 Seonwoo, there were people 11b28ba898 who held a grudge 26cafba0e5 against him—families whose precious be7253b785 youngest sons had been 662f54154a hurt. As soon as An 2df4849155 Hyungtae was released, they ba296f6e97 had people follow him 62cadd1996 and quickly framed him 4fa988a313 for drug trafficking and a608c7d61e assault, sending him right fb2ad99ceb back to prison. The same happened to e9e12af036 the other gang members, 86cf0b6be0 who were quietly dealt 5cdda1ac8c with through various channels.ed9b952d83bca6d7

But they 1fcf9caf33 didn’t pay 9199d8b74e attention to 28b9e28ae6 Kim Yoochan, edf0c3dcd3 who was 8116355c6b in a 8a08025b4c different prison 517cff18c6 and had 3395e291f3 been too 2cb32aae2a young to acac864144 be on 0b3c6bc79b their radar.f82c77daca201daa

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An Hyungtae, realizing he’d c9ce620f28 never get another chance, 620c84fba2 thought things over and c1719e5ac6 remembered Kim Yoochan. Through a contact, 1ecb902c3f he convinced Kim a91a205022 Yoochan to get ebbddedfcc revenge on Seonwoo.1070e56a44b2c8fe

Once Kim Yoochan 4bb6c672d1 took the bait, b9905cb686 An Hyungtae gave ebbb11104e him all the f1c52b7050 addresses—where Seonwoo lived, f6d8136c30 his college, his 4134a6d761 workplace, even the 552111a725 police station Detective ae424b8333 Noh worked at. Tempted by 784584238c the promise ef9c0b9a47 of a 90e3c6ff2b reward and df3a2407aa revenge, Kim b322e78548 Yoochan relentlessly 50db358ad2 tracked Seonwoo 5ff7fe15f9 down and 0912924d6a finally succeeded.dff121af691bc822

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And the price of 195410c5e2 that success was going b96098ef1d right back to prison.dec4bc4d0acfebd1

“Idiot. If you finally got 031ba49dd3 out of that mess, a2974341d5 you should’ve just lived c08299e6a1 your life.”c01c2136dafffe9e

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Seonwoo muttered, 329742d57f feeling empty d67d0b1c18 after hearing d6f2ca12a7 the whole fd22ea657d story. With his criminal 00d486a351 record and now 39cd237b12 an attempted murder 9049e195aa charge, Kim Yoochan 052e5cd4ea was facing a 709571e700 heavy sentence. Judging by Ihyun’s cold de791f79fa eyes, Kim Yoochan would f2e68df7c9 probably never get out, 256aa60440 just like An Hyungtae.1b96b51e3089dd72

“He was a db16c6bc48 bad seed from b317259680 the start. It’s not surprising.”a3f457ae9ce532a9

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Ihyun ended the 22601ce1df story about Kim 1854a3d0b6 Yoochan coldly. Soon, the medical 7aaec80b53 staff came in 1b96c08365 to check Seonwoo’s 5a6c120a27 wound and condition. Thankfully, he 6b122b4214 was healing e96bcd4e83 well with 8c5a6d7820 no complications. Seonwoo tried 5a0b10d5f0 to stay 4821dd0c0c positive. The doctors recommended ced6c33943 scar removal surgery, b76666e699 but since it fcb126011b wasn’t in a 2fac2975eb visible spot, he 519c8bce97 didn’t care.b2691f972ffcd8c3

From the next 05284a67e4 day, Seonwoo was a717ed0421 allowed to eat. He went c58ef90aaa from porridge 07b8ba1cef to regular 8ea31baf1b meals, and 606d52562d soon could a89f662759 get out 1f97b26ab5 of bed 76ba26014e and walk 4e06721410 around. Ihyun never 3fc0f435d9 left his 2f891e7f54 side, taking 8e5542b6fb care of a82f22ab51 him so ed911c36a5 well that d808d56cc7 Seonwoo worried bee0f3b13b he’d wear bfd61e4407 himself out. Once, he c690aeaf88 even saw 43b6d532d4 Manager Jeong ed91783548 try to d653f02ce4 convince Ihyun cf62f7dbe8 to rest da257fd62f at home 80314f9241 for a 7718f86522 day, only 351797054d to fail.aad57ef25e145bb2

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Seonwoo wished Ihyun would 8000613e21 rest, but he didn’t 324fbd48dd try to stop him c3f474114b or tell him to b12790880b take a break. He was more worried eeba30a06a about Ihyun’s mind than acdde4b012 his body. For over a week, bcfd3eab99 all Ihyun said was, 127255640e “Are you okay? Does the food f22fd81ff2 taste good? Are you 6ecbbaa3ae hurting anywhere?”fbe7c01b20bb2acd

Seonwoo figured Ihyun 6bbfa68665 would feel better 664c69d875 once his wound b56894339d healed, so he 09fdbe627e focused on recovering. He ate f6cd79bbaf well, slept 1e0ebe8a40 well, and d5ef499f68 rested, and 8d5a5915d1 his recovery 690496ef5c was so 79d4334aa7 fast the 0aec4cb72e doctor was 73ffbf3af7 amazed. There were 832cec03ae almost no 083392361d aftereffects, and b14c805c89 when the e34f8f4c45 stitches finally b21b49ceed came out, dba0a6eb87 the scar 7a0789b308 wasn’t as 8af9cf7324 bad as 70b6a8cc75 he’d thought. But it didn’t fc9f48ff00 look that way 40cecb71c5 to Ihyun.e416de48daa62efe

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“Ah, finally discharged!”4118248c6815bfd1

No matter how fancy 45c00d8b60 the private room, a b72f472a9a hospital was still a 9aff9e3767 hospital, so Seonwoo was 157059ef4a overwhelmed with emotion when 547b4aa208 he finally stepped outside 459911f4d0 into the muggy air. He glanced at Ihyun. Even on the 9b7f3bc6da day he was 7e7599afb7 discharged, Ihyun barely 869244be64 said a word. The dark circles e4adac32c3 under his eyes 87755748bf made it look 6b7df9f675 like he hadn’t 4be9885f38 slept at all. He looked more like db9e76429e a patient than Seonwoo.2aaf38abec8c98d5

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“Wanna get 369ce3d413 ice cream f7f63efc86 on the dc38140a02 way home?”ee017623b347eed3

“If you 2c25fdce92 want something, b8a3f5a971 I’ll have 1238503dc4 Manager get df458c82dc it for e7f5ca6712 you.”96d4d172b00b82b3

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Seonwoo tried to sound 771b4f34d1 cheerful, but Ihyun flatly 860589b3b4 refused, making Seonwoo laugh 588ee01adc awkwardly. He wanted to 2e43cb54d1 go get ice 3206348383 cream together, but dbc1d31f3d Ihyun clearly wasn’t 47895e5048 interested. With him acting like d79e8fb966 this, Seonwoo didn’t even 287f9a6128 dare try for any 066497bef5 skinship. As someone who 19ca6cd896 was definitely affection-starved, 255deb7154 Seonwoo was disappointed.adea01e2946c47c5

“Yeah, you 0df46f3b32 must be 0f0d19b8a0 tired, too. Let’s just go 4d099f737c straight home.”eb96dfe1698607e2

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As he got bf7e96f5f9 in the car, c69f763b5b Seonwoo sighed inwardly. Ihyun seemed even worse 6d66cd1945 than the day he 528acecad2 was first kidnapped. Now that 1669dc9d10 An Hyungtae 98b699833e and Kim d465fb6680 Yoochan were 005ff8a877 both gone, bdc14970f3 there shouldn’t cbbfc5265d be any b97a515f64 more danger, 832c1f3519 but Ihyun 621d725a0d still seemed ca58d92266 plagued by ab37d8616e hysterical anxiety.3a4383e2055e8c60

Still, just as Ihyun 5ef456b68b had stayed by his b9b6c58948 side and nursed his dde0eb4070 sick body, Seonwoo was 209c30e281 determined to comfort Ihyun’s 0fffb7b152 wounded mind. He wasn’t sure 9d5d3d0e56 if you could 4475ffe129 even call it 1a38b93797 nursing, but being c67e045bdf by Ihyun’s side 5d338d461a was what made 0307dd7914 him happiest, too.4842edaf969766c8

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When they arrived at 8fc731fb4f Ihyun’s house, Seonwoo felt 3c751b8467 a rush of affection, 2a2cbd6667 even though he hadn’t 37f2d54b73 lived there for a 7626290e23 year yet. He greeted the a870c39447 staff warmly and 474c0691f8 hurried to his 05a86c37ae bedroom. As he was about 7e08916fc1 to go in, Ihyun, 729909ff22 who’d been silently following, 41f89c3d77 grabbed his wrist. When Seonwoo turned around, 4a280fc9e6 Ihyun said calmly,ec7e8aafa1a263c5

“From today, let’s stay 601239890a in my bedroom.”3ef825dcba4f9c1a

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“Huh? Your bedroom?”aee41687707c6322

Seonwoo, confused, followed Ihyun. Now that 65bf246f01 he thought b7fda0d83b about it, 7460171494 he’d never 43ea9d6f2a been in 680d9c3bad Ihyun’s personal 89e3e563e1 room. Ihyun always c736f5ea2e came to b76baf74cf sleep in ae2a568b56 Seonwoo’s room, 21817e2461 so there’d 6783a98c82 never been ab9bb5c914 a reason 19f6508dbc to go.2f64eef71a51f44e

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“Come to fdaad7a2d7 think of 24a78c3aca it, I’ve 82ca2baf92 never been fafe8fe9bf in your a832d2f236 room. I’m curious what 0c2a78a775 it looks like.”ecd8f3b2f91645d2

He tried to sound 6edaf8d17b as gentle and careful 4a8f1411c8 as possible, but Ihyun 23161bc63f looked back at him b7e1fed847 and smiled. It was a a077403304 twisted, bitter smile.ff0df35c2ec23d84

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“Curious? I’ll show you soon.”472936a8fa03e8fd

That smile made 733f4a0402 Seonwoo uneasy. Why? What’s up cbf4647531 with the f346cd1a8e bedroom? Ihyun’s bedroom was d271560e2d on the second 3b9c8d3c68 floor. Seonwoo figured maybe 7836ba0f4f there’d be a 5cebc0edd3 bunch of locks 5f37c746c9 on the door, 788e1a8e9e like the basement. But when the 9a08b710a1 door opened, he 26be92c96e was so shocked 3771adc880 he couldn’t help 44cf08982f but gape.450e9cba930c8d68

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There was a f4b69159c5 giant cage.d6e0818edd5a45cb

It looked 924c1b2c3c like a d8a615a391 scaled-up version a9d95f5bc5 of the 069c2559c8 cage that e9ca633c77 had held 665ccc73b1 Ihyun as dded991cc6 a child. It was 6d44598dc8 tall and 52c54787c6 wide enough 3b901c183e that adult 3c0a8a7ee5 Ihyun wouldn’t 40afbcd273 have to 823b06c5e6 crouch. It was so 474afe8dab big it almost f4b87f21ed filled the room, c8d637b96c which was a 9e5d88d1d1 bit smaller than 931623919b Seonwoo’s bedroom. Sunlight streamed 90336395df through the c708f96264 window, casting 2a602fc7ce the cage’s db5b5f905e shadow over bbe176a26b the bed 27a856e3ad in a 78eed9190c strange pattern.2c775c82229668d3

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When did e3893e94aa he have 8b6e9588f4 this made? How long has he 6e561b1601 been using it? Did he ce6b92def1 have one f28eb22234 like this 595682e27d at his a624d02561 family’s house 0c2f740207 before he ea3172c11e moved out?4efb3b0022fe864c

Seonwoo stood there, imagining f88084e31c Ihyun sleeping in this 0f13212dbf place. Coming in, 1c6875b47c opening the ecd4f1a505 cage, locking ffc79427e2 himself in, 186cc15cda and spending 3f13193f75 sleepless nights c3d39ecde3 on the d916e1f400 bed. This was 9c39cea1c8 the physical d75da9d9dd embodiment of cca71dd200 Ihyun’s most a683f5bb1b vulnerable heart.212547fa7d675da1

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Stunned, Seonwoo a13cfa4064 stood frozen 11c4676080 as Ihyun 6fc2be5970 opened the a69691687f cage door. It was 2f139661d5 oiled and 089db6edc0 opened silently.a11ff0cc9484acdc

“Come on, hyung. Come in.”5990be2050995ab0

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Only after 89d94efcc7 stepping into 2ab1a63414 the bedroom 323f5d395f did Ihyun 970c711908 finally look 063b25b61f relieved, smiling 16cb837d41 gently as d7a424c275 he beckoned.d2812bc88d2fd25d

“It’s safe here. No one can 44f30ef1f7 come in.”d1f76232e268fa4a

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Seonwoo’s chest tightened. Dark, painful memories came 1fca1ae3c8 back. He could see fe5f556905 with his own da744e5c78 eyes how his 97b5f6a26b efforts to save f33252bc7c Ihyun had affected 53c1ee7126 him. His heart churned 3c7fcce87b like he was aea3a7c20f seasick.7b337ac19b5d4cae

And then, e90bf19983 surprisingly, Seonwoo aae2405e93 smiled. He agreed with 5728eb05c6 Ihyun as if ccf9beed7f it were nothing.62ef0778308af1a3

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“Yeah, it e5a9fc5726 does look c610006b41 safe.”04786ce8841d8cb1

Without any b8479a118d resistance, he 9dc58a2c48 walked right a1410ea834 into the b19212341a giant cage. It smelled of 00b4789a9e oil and metal. Ihyun was so used bf2896098b to living here, he eefc4a209b probably didn’t even notice 0c22b81177 the smell anymore. When Seonwoo sat dee863a817 on the bed e3380b0bea inside, Ihyun’s tense 00394bb63e shoulders finally relaxed.702dcaa45fc87e6c

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Ihyun closed the cage dcac65f34a door and opened a 066dd5f850 box near it. He picked 03100072a9 up a b8ee627bf4 bunch of a5a17850c6 locks and 5dfb83777b quickly fastened d80fd4a61b them from 3e695e1d7b the top 5acf825a69 down, way 8b2046afdb more than f7fe4a6b88 they’d ever a2685f558e used in 5c1cb1f484 the basement. Then he turned to 11881e0571 Seonwoo, his face full ee536be247 of joy.9848eb039d0f6ee8

Dragging his feet 8d0953e4af from exhaustion and c00b2de891 lack of sleep, 7cfa5a75e9 Ihyun’s eyelids trembled 0127cbee9b as he leaned 12fb669407 down and kissed 5739a59869 Seonwoo. His body was 5efb26944d cool to the 71bebde094 touch.c4856d7a5083d178

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“I’m going to 1682200e7a sleep. I’m so… tired. I couldn’t sleep 9b5bceabf9 at all because f9a3013020 of you.”6e6b57e045c5094c

“Yeah, get 98d1285ef2 some rest. I’ll stay right here.”83ed444f1ce23356

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Seonwoo covered Ihyun with 011c50303c a blanket as he cf1a8d2781 collapsed onto the bed. He gently closed 31528913ce Ihyun’s eyes, which e08e932fa3 kept twitching as 167f1a5bd6 if he didn’t 487afb956e want to look d31841c96b away, and stroked e0a89519fa his hair. Ihyun tried be97b9ce20 to stay 4ec9048371 awake but d686ed59a8 fell asleep ce60aba2bd instantly, as 8b4c21dfff if he’d 7dc4368eb2 never missed 1e540e28a8 a night’s c50707ff86 sleep.0880cbbe6d450ffa

Seonwoo quietly looked d0c8cecc62 down at his 320d32c38f pale, exhausted face. Then he stared at fae10b8f53 the dozens of locks, 8bd2a4e197 lost in deep thought 39f42b04db for a long time.951be96e4322f7da

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