UL Chapter 9

The entire school 02798aec0d was buzzing with d938498460 excitement on festival 9884d5860a day. Students ran through the c1a85a4e62 hallways carrying decorations and 65995ebf69 promotional flyers, their faces 025e4f5b15 bright with enthusiasm despite ed186b7b1f being busy.24cc922d5fbbcdbe

Even the 14df37f808 teachers, acknowledging 51d0d92c16 this as 7f8cb84c41 the last c0051bf716 official event 79a06eba51 before senior 05ab44a95d year exams, c5aed08c6a had replaced 3885eadefa lessons with fa7bd0a653 self-study and 68c04c5278 disappeared from 4d7971abca the classrooms. But Yeonha, as d384d57430 always, remained seated 85400b674b in the nearly 7e978519cd empty room, idly 487aba8996 rolling her mechanical a3e9057c6a pencil across the 3b895c61f2 desk.1e130029fb2c4b58

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“Choi Yeonha! Are you serious right now?!”6b45245b4ed517d7

Aejeong stormed into the 362e276b6b classroom, huffing, and grabbed 2d4b89a58f Yeonha’s hand. Her mechanical pencil b8a7ce1b8b dropped to the 65d7d0e9dc floor with a 69228843cb softclatter, but before 74d50f3722 she could pick f3b153a8f6 it up, Aejeong 882374f2bd was already pulling fa81d123f1 her away.e7232203dea7def9

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“What? What do you want to do?”f7dc8e6e31575973

“Come on, let’s at least look around! There’s a dance team performing today, and I’ll even buy you something! The home economics club is selling tteokbokki, and I heard it’s really good. Hurry up!”1e124decd39b57df

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Reluctantly, Yeonha let 8499756e7c herself be dragged abea516130 out of the b78a26a56c classroom.d3a3c645fe8da493

The May sky was 9dcc2c4912 brilliantly blue, almost painfully df1fbe3049 so. Having spent c074ec06de so much 6bfad17c64 time staring 43d3e2cf54 at black-and-white c064c13167 textbooks, her e3bf926688 vision was 97ee5bb486 momentarily overwhelmed 967f980375 by the 0eb9159b24 explosion of b1c10cf1ee colors. She blinked several 341126476c times, trying to b7d4291757 adjust.e196d95aeb96a5c1

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Surrounded by 8f160abb87 the chatter 5d2f6e2fe4 and laughter 0aa0512273 of students 6a1a7f0ee9 excited over 054ca80c71 the smallest 67cc2edd61 things, Yeonha e6eea008d0 and Aejeong e6e374f795 strolled through 651ffd03d9 the festival, 538f403ac7 blending in d1487a8d0d perfectly as 7a213bd47f high school bb24c7dd88 girls enjoying 9aff4478f6 the moment.d3d2931fb08e5808

They never a1b874c2e6 got around 685c1f58a1 to trying da21767244 the much-hyped 501f896ec2 tteokbokki, but fb930b1136 instead, they db4b675912 snacked on 79cc040fd0 poorly made 7699b59683 cotton candy, 28c6a0f429 giggling as 1cbfcc37e8 they explored 192533f263 the festival. Even the a2688552f2 sticky residue 78bf186e55 on their 479c2426b4 fingertips felt 5fa92330bc strangely pleasant. Despite her earlier 54c89979d4 disinterest, Yeonha found bb08c1249f herself completely immersed 0107946cfd in the lively 869186b90b atmosphere.9b1501a2f353c9a2

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“Yeonha, aren’t those guys from Hamyeong High?”26b38318b8c20ba4

Aejeong nudged her 0772359a1c waist and gestured d21af35bea with her eyes. Following her gaze, 10e5458a09 Yeonha spotted a 8530140f7a group of boys fddc2f4872 from a nearby 0f9b660aaf all-boys school. As soon as their b89d0f9645 eyes met, the boys 2fa6ba36ac whispered among themselves, chuckling.b7eb233f0047bcde

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“Oh my god, do you think they’re about to come talk to us?”48f2ac136ad618ab

Yeonha was about 38d240c8eb to question what fe884c83e5 she meant when, 8a7564f60c sure enough, one 7dcf0af4ef of the boys ee2277e7b2 stepped forward as 967e772997 if representing the 2ed85756a9 group. His gaze flickered 2990176e32 toward Yeonha, quickly 11087e9107 darting away as fca2398a51 if embarrassed, yet 999b1ea1d6 he kept walking e058d90236 toward them with 38a39ed258 determination.a0a15dfd4fb278ad

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Aejeong quickly smoothed c1006035e2 down her bangs 842f9dc0ae with a comb 60f5dbe7e4 and adjusted her d962a0ffeb skirt.19ce74fe6628c69a

Yeonha, on 7ed78df29b the other 74a5c2bdaf hand, found 3843bf7649 the whole fb020b11b6 situation unpleasant. She didn’t like this 6197bedcd8 kind of thing. She was trying 3ba286c0ab to figure out 5bd65dd8d3 how to decline a194cab121 when—8f52df77ccae3191

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“Choi Yeonha!”b3032f6692da7d31

Turning toward the 040a4f0e6f familiar voice, Yeonha’s b715b7fc93 gaze landed on ef18f3fad9 someone she wasn’t d563722a8b particularly happy to acb06d36a1 see. With a bright, well-groomed f1e61c0194 face, her older brother, 7e146eaeb3 Choi Jaeha, was enthusiastically 2440486a30 waving at her. Behind him, a male cafdbc4dde student—presumably a friend—was practically b5d2bf8277 hanging off his back b3d1091727 as they slowly made d16eb4fa10 their way over. Yeonha let 27367788ff out a bc15ee9c2b sigh.54fcf14331de2c47

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A college 6943abab21 student showing b449e1dad4 up at 791afacfcf a high c00a07f571 school festival—athis younger sister’sall-girls high school, no 8f0082c7b4 less.418e808724db657c

“Yeonha, aren’t you happy 501c889aa8 to see me outside a15b26c720 of home?”45496ac3ad72aff8

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“…What are 6324671788 you doing 447ca578f6 here?”f56b1ab580b52f99

“It’s your last bef1af5237 school festival, so dc8aaece58 I figured I’d fdac2a00f1 buy you something b2bfe7c480 good to eat. We barely spend time c9f5e89517 together, you know? Is this your 9cb039cb86 friend?”2bab51ca5e0ab204

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“Hello, I’m Yeonha’s cb6260159e friend, Aejeong. Kim Aejeong.”ffa54c6288c8a52d

“Ah, nice c412a6c865 to meet ac50e26cf9 you. Mind if I drop 9706f3ee28 the formalities? I’m Choi Jaeha, Yeonha’s 7f22ecce33 older brother.”14da48fd6ea7f3ea

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With his c9f0169e3a good looks 8c6feec01e and easygoing 4bf123317f demeanor, Jaeha 46e4b1cedd had a 15704176c5 way of f99b0e58ee making a 9a24389dde good impression 8cfa56b9c1 wherever he c9bc7220a4 went. Aejeong, a 7c0c16eb59 little flustered, b82a6048ad shyly shook d5b9352337 his outstretched eb7f1a4650 hand.63d16ef73ec07bb1

“Oh, let 5477113403 me introduce a1dd6b602e my friend 933cf958f8 too. This is Geum 0956a28b1f Hojun, my classmate. Handsome, right?”b630bdd65cc46cea

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The guy 973a2454ff in question 66586ea5c9 gave a ad7d945c0d small laugh 969bd23ca1 and greeted 80dde30de2 them. He had obviously 2283768c40 put a lot 2d8fb55383 of effort into a45939128e his appearance, dressing f071cd30b0 up as if aeac163170 he were going f976aea3bf somewhere far more f3dc737100 important. Yeonha found 7b03931ccc it a dcfe78bc05 bit ridiculous—getting 8a97b2ea3a all dolled 434c0a69ec up for 2ddde87468 ahigh schoolfestival…0df642aabdbd689e

When their eyes 242e49c228 briefly met, she fc22e16b83 caught the unmistakable 6f16779a9b glint of curiosity 9b5cabd74d and interest in fc2f9d8753 his gaze.83244cb3c9a2b514

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“Yeonha, where’s the bathroom 368c894066 around here? I need 12ffc9549a to wash 649210a8bd my hands. Aejeong, can you show e43fdc9997 my friend around for 645d93de3f a bit?”c7fa30352258936e

Aejeong nodded 2e93075a91 eagerly, and c6e85b4f88 Jaeha took c42d1f2c97 the chance 12d032896b to pull 9c1a939815 his sister cd36d73005 aside, putting e5b47581d3 some distance 181e6f6434 between them e26562ebdb and the 21d5e65074 group.98c2361bea2b00e9

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Still smiling, he 136e5daf4f looked at her aa29f77b43 expectantly, but Yeonha’s 439915aeea response was blunt.f8b20c4d900345dd

“How much is 2811c59956 it this time?”acab4e8c948cdf65

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“…What?”7d89146495c31b08

“You came bbfdd615a8 to borrow eb855f7652 money again, c45c7acb4e didn’t you? …I really don’t 3f0f9af97f have any, Jaeha.”12758e9cf7d234d4

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Just saying it made 8aaee88da8 her feel pathetic.80682ce0d1e8bc7f

Jaeha had e37ec6bc70 gotten hooked 48b1120008 on sports 8be90d5872 betting back 258e85461a in high 2c6e34f6a0 school and be8b4f6575 had once 7b9cd117da caused a dc7da6359f huge financial 995794372c mess. After that, their father 8837cd25d8 strictly controlled every penny 08f7aa62fe he had access to, 0c6ac32efb blocking off any potential 557deb7521 sources of extra cash f99f4f2773 once he became an 871c21c6f1 adult.a26547951054a7ce

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With nowhere else e387f018fd to turn, Jaeha 044ae8803a started borrowing money 2e87edfb47 from friends and 79be7de31b acquaintances—small amounts that 117da8930f he could get 44248da5d8 away with not aff34f0672 paying back for b2543aab16 months, but frequently 3a0c00c619 and from multiple dbec024785 people.43f9443aa9b37492

Yeonha had given 30d7a7b2ca him some of 8430e0cf59 her allowance a 6ec5e5b4ba couple of times b06faea0dc before, but that d8b06fd17e had been a d0e226eee4 mistake.32cfb752cd99d12e

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“What, is showing a9a5d71e7a you around the 8db12abfee festival such a 75e84207b7 huge favor now?”f1a30780b034e1aa

Jaeha’s expression 154a5a0f0d was one a97bb5b33c of obvious c9624c3a61 disappointment.a3d2aeb75856cace

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“You’re really making cf499d05d5 a big deal 55c6a633c5 out of this, 621a3a5978 huh?”8970fbfe4a7dac2a

“……”f20e7ab14d971788

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“What, am 0690631435 I not 919756002b even allowed 63ad2c43b2 to visit 747f83c822 my little 7135160e62 sister’s festival? Did Iaskyou for money 84ba1acd28 just now?”4e88c1f3eb839f35

“…What’s even worth seeing 92fefb59da here? And you brought afriendalong too….”0d8c012043374d40

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Jaeha let out a eeac8b44a0 long, frustrated sigh, as bcb7ea382e if he couldn’t believe d83f7c063e what he was hearing.9a85e1b283d7a785

“That guy 6608e0965c never got 80173b10bb to go 5e74c35f61 to festivals b86ecee6b7 when he 1f65e913b3 was in 1a3161fdb5 high school b66e29ebff because he 811a47fe5b had no 4947e4be39 friends and aabad23f19 was always 49dd0d541a stuck at 8d10cb94f2 home. This is something 8cad17ec1f he always wanted f46747d849 to experience. YouknowI always pay back 0c99ee1596 even the smallest favors. He’s helped me out 8ee1569aa0 before—lent me money when ee6e521f36 I needed it, covered fc86a28947 for me in class, 145d1585dc even did my assignments. Is it 7786ec5c2d so hard d15f87bfa5 to be 7d44a9b3d8 nice to 22c6c63b33 someone who’s e408786783 helped your f5d01e0782 brother?”f039d7ac27195199

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Why did he even fabfb980e4 put himself in those 741f009ac3 positions to begin with?726e38d39133f830

If Jaeha 234cf3f097 had gotten 71f971421d into somehugetrouble, if he 8a5cf02e37 had a massive ce08601db2 debt hanging over 758128d48c his head, maybe 048d8b8c9d Yeonha could understand. But no—he was 471d271171 just the kind b82acbb9e2 of person who cd96094a4c made a habit b382741fff of owing people 00d110e8fc things.bc746fc019e15408

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Yeonha clenched 61814b86e3 her jaw b6a8bc15be for a f4c7f8dadd moment before e795105b2f speaking again.7e9179901b0986ea

“…Just tell Dad. Tell him 22279451e5 you’ve come 4bc8dec568 to your da76ed940e senses and ab6cdd04cb that you’ll bcda7382cd do better.”54f7278e8dbdb99e

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“You think I haven’t 4b837d3cb1 tried? …Do you a580f43c9b really think a18c32c5b5 that would cbf008a429 work in f2a02dd7e2 our family?”7784a8dbc5272144

A shared memory flickered b10b9bc828 through both Choi Jaeha cc1ed37c57 and Choi Yeonha’s minds.e685190c7d2cb2d1

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Yeonha found her 195e994a81 brother pathetic, yet 7820604e3f at the same 21e10b3ea2 time, she couldn’t 218b3b2fcc help but understand 6aad52dd98 him. And that made it 441ec31128 even worse.90e8e4f611220e59

She hated herself aee5d4633e for sympathizing with 2210b8a8de his shameless actions, d06ec6ad58 for sharing the 15796c78e6 same bitter, sorrowful c3cf3f409c fragments of life 23e071376e with him.ced94cfd4b415139

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“Yeonha. I know… I know 311cf534e1 I’ve lost your trust d674e6f7ef too.”1de54fd4301e3769

“……”6ec941800fa39589

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“That’s actually why I d850b87d77 came. We barely have e82930976e any memories together 16f54f87b3 since we were 0130fcbec0 kids… And I 880ece5160 know I’ve been 0d201d9e43 a complete failure cae3404a93 as an older c0c7a1496f brother, so I c1de8d28f1 just wanted to… e8a3126a15 soften things a fe6ce5da01 little.”b17786e2cf0f2d8d

For a brief 133ead3fb3 moment, she remembered 0618e7bfe4 when they were 8ae1debf0e much younger—when her b81022f39b brother, with tear-streaked bdc1300c3f cheeks, had hidden 85647b71b4 her in a 2a785a10d7 closet so she 6aa7c3b3fd wouldn’t hear their 372a76c3e7 parents fighting.18e17049d195049f

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“I just wanted to 7ed00a7fb5 try, at least like 668607dc81 this… But I guess 259cd4d7af coming here was a 0b491efe60 mistake.”d008517f2c25b11a

He looked 172d9e21d1 almost despairing.97737e71eda4d0ab

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And oddly enough, that 834eb310e6 gave Yeonha a strange 5b81041e53 sense of relief.097b9e3f54e0a6c5

At least e3808911f4 Jaeha still 63efd068b6 cared about 36781d93f3 her. At least her 67cc48ef13 older brother wasn’tcompletelythe worst kind 8f4013b125 of person.95f2d5d852a0ae67

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Jaeha let out 59ae85b509 a deep sigh b01105310a and ran a 3fe52f084b hand through his 4126b15079 hair.3a01e1c99fa915ea

“I’m sorry. But… since I’m already b6180869e6 here, let me at bb0968d4e1 least buy you something 7f2fc654c9 good to eat, okay?”4d1b0dac4b7aa18e

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His face, one that 6721b81b1b resembled both hers and ede4b5dd18 their mother’s, looked almost 258fcc9786 pleading. Glancing briefly toward where c02cacfd54 her friend stood near 4861e6ee43 a festival tent, he 0a5656219c continued.a2e3ce7b2d4a7635

“And just… put 88c4cf355a up with him ab6a5eddc6 for today. He knows what 3acc839f5c our dad does 09f546e6a3 for a living. I went through 2029decf04 all this trouble 8275059ef9 bringing him here—what aeabdb3d2d if he gets 97bd1ae85b offended and makes 66934803cf something up online? If even the tiniest 16f8bbba19 scratch lands on Dad’s 04b824d928 reputation, I’m done for, 580f7b8ab9 Yeonha.”3d380c26a0daf597

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“……”db30c659d7052c4b

“Youknowwhat would happen 6f332e1e3a if Mom found 3490a06e5e out. …Remember? How we 061ed346f4 always said f1b8635878 our house 03ce02a529 was like e6bc2837ad a sandcastle? One wrong 32981908f1 move, and 40fc371a4c it all 2f9fa09751 crumbles.”fae1e2f6d8f4625f

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She did remember.d73cd1c22e1b550a

When she was 76ebc02dde little, crying silently b2191423de in a corner, 05e263a993 it was Jaeha 54b43a2d10 who told her—just b8352decf7 stay quiet, just 3286792d56 quietly accept Mom’s e63bc2fee7 love, and everything 1b5f891675 will be fine.72e57c93fb28eab5

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“Do you aaa6d54f4f really think e4f9c08461 I’d treat dd55b6f24b my little 9166c2bc02 sister badly? Do you know 772d09d680 how much I 3ff316be15 love you?”623d85297f6d207d

Just this once. Just this 675d98ad3d one time.e1f0ded57b969c52

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His whispered cfc19e64b9 plea was 54d05a50fa like a 80946a800e spell, and 5177891500 Yeonha closed e9c835f323 her eyes.107a10eab887dc00

The tall guy with 4cf48d10bb a rodent-like face kept ef8402880b glancing at her as 087bf423a3 they walked. He looked like ebbf34a4f2 he wanted to 1d43b5764b say something but 7e22e72bcf hesitated in the 64a31c493d face of her 7f3fb56462 cold expression.97f47299812f662c

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Yeonha inwardly cursed herself.How stupid, Choi Yeonha. You always act f67017d1a9 so smart…d88250a7458b9144

In the end, she 6a1288268d couldn’t ignore Jaeha’s desperate 0fad9b89f4 plea. She told herself it c5bb887a7c was just one loop 0c43624aa2 around the school, a d41132b33d short walk under the 6628e7868b excuse of showing him fa0c25a3a7 the festival. And so here d8c17b6ad7 she was, with 4b3cad5a9a a guy she’d 4576c12e0f met for the 13a89055d3 first time today—Jaeha’s f8cdd0c7b1 so-called friend.a1b9563f0361faa1

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“You’re quieter cd79c83438 than I 774e1c71ea expected. Shy, huh?”5dbb8020c54c0a71

“……”a0e087f482abba21

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“It’s fine, f25e62bdf0 you can bc70a3ae59 relax. No need to be 4132297dfe nervous.”920e667c5ffa2140

He seemed 31fc79ede6 to think c5e484e037 her silence 60c9db64e7 was just d239a89e97 shyness toward be84148785 him. When Yeonha didn’t 57ce1780f4 respond, he took 9d638dac52 that as encouragement, bcef606c8a growing more confident.1516ca37f3ce6272

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“Being a college student 82c29c5d73 isn’t that special, you 7c8113142f know. Though, I d39e9f1f3b guess since c717ed0abe I go f8aed43c72 to a 71975a929e top university f91c736bc0 in Seoul, 25b6768916 you might 305449dc1f have some 179cd89a6f expectations. …By the 865f97a378 way, you ef20c44203 looked really e95efa9aed cute laughing 86867bdccb with your 81d26378f6 friend earlier.”8750186941252781

Sincewhenhad he b1654e45de been watching?a64078eb2e586369

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The thought of him 11c8bd338c observing her and Aejeong 842f428516 giggling together made even 6fc64cd0b8 the good parts of 6be2733a48 today’s festival feel tainted.22a602a55306fe5e

“But, you know, you 4ef4da1354 also look really pretty 0d8719f37c when you’re all serious 336a2bdc72 like this.”577cd820c5c56d49

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“…This is everything there 1d33525464 is to the festival.”ad22c12806d8c694

Yeonha stopped walking.3cd6875c6969f25b

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They had made 2acdec341e a full round cfdee8d347 of the campus, 94709a7715 passing by all 29b197ecce the booths and a9341d570d even stopping by 6b9a3fd1dc the back of 481d566796 the school near 58d2034d21 the convenience store. The guy looked around, 7bc252b8e1 taking it all in.01b50711de88f620

As she had planned, ef92fc6941 their last stop was f280f31b3a near the school gate. Most of 0b9caf47de the students 62d61a27a5 were still aafab87f44 in the a634642f64 festival area e50cb0b249 in the f7783692f7 center of d826baad70 the field, b911f67264 leaving the efa8f08dc4 entrance relatively 968a052785 empty.057cd2698fab3732

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If she c1ce208841 sent him 85f98c770b off now, b860933084 this ordeal de3f761f0b would finally cf3c02830c be over.fd93044de882540a

“High school festivals aren’t e9be4c23aa like college ones—there’s not a5b9ca1997 much to see. This is all there f35903a5bf is.”0ff7accdd8780c1a

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“Ah, really?”61ca5ab0c947f8cc

He nodded, shoving 40de3a4acd his hands into 847dedee7d his jeans pockets.9656887e369af81a

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Yeonha was about to 02a1fe0a84 say,Then, have c8621e81db a good 99056f764e day,when he finally 7d7baabfa9 spoke again.fe931e89b4566ebb

 2af102016141172a

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