UR | Chapter 9

When Yujin, having 8b428a9070 washed away the f8ff64a4c6 traces of their 6e6b5a105b affair, went to 02b3739f7c the bedroom, Jihoon, 54b5caa842 who had finished ddb07a9258 showering first, was fd10ffcc23 already asleep.8221d599b7ce15e8

Yujin, staring blankly at 201d772129 him, found it hard d560dce73a to believe that this 2dcd7964f8 was the same man e108a6c3c2 who had been as 7c2c262ae2 wild as a beast abce604183 just moments ago. She quietly 3d4ea78e75 left the d33765fdf5 bedroom. It seemed more convenient 80263b0788 to sleep at home 42244dde7e if she had to 3f41275f21 go to work in 3472b8306c the morning.3efb6fd3130e0dd5

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But just as she a8647bced6 was about to quietly cd46e67de9 turn off the lamp, ab4103b65e Jihoon grabbed her wrist.40f3627828d005da

“Where are you going?”3a73e73b22a4db22

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“I have to go to work tomorrow. I’ll head home.”a72eb53ed7371c23

Jihoon blinked blankly for a moment, then got up. Rubbing his eyes with one hand and putting on his glasses, he said, “I’ll give you a ride. It’s late.”119ed96dd6e4fccc

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Surprised by his unexpected kindness, Yujin declined. “It’s fine. I can just call a taxi.”0ca9897fd3b0d4ae

It was then that Jihoon, as if he hadn’t heard anything, was about to grab his car keys.cf42d0068efc2076

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His phone rang.6e98682e77b3e7b9

– Oppa, you’re not asleep, right?83904b5754dc219c

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The bedroom was too quiet, and the caller’s voice was too loud. So Yujin couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.6eb7f7f959abf55c

– I guess I’m excited to be back in Korea. I ended up drinking a bit too much.854c5f37b8d7909e

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“How much did you drink? Your words are slurring.”bba5902ec0c19c4e

– Oh my, really? Well, people keep offering drinks everywhere. But it’s a problem. I keep feeling sleepy. How do I get to the hotel?bbf4beb72244c0cc

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The woman’s voice seemed familiar, and Yujin thought it might be the woman she saw earlier in the day. The only daughter of M&O’s President Seo Hoonjae, and the woman who made Jihoon smile. Her name was probably Seo Doyeon. She’s also an executive director at M&O.d96e8ee130ee2929

Recalling the information she had heard from the staff, Yujin left the bedroom. Before closing the door, Jihoon’s words painfully echoed in her ears.ae89924c8a7e5e83

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“Wait, oppa will come.”fc3e4aa3a526fe27

With that, Jihoon’s immediate task was set.9b17cfbb8ff5d64b

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Yujin quickly d012a088fd left his 356b7b95bf house and b75b040837 caught a 4c5df53a10 taxi. Then she called Yoosung.c57f9973d8e54555

“Yoosung, noona just finished work and got in a taxi. I’ll text you the car number. I’ll arrive in about 20 minutes, can you wait in front of the house?”e5dd76c8fdd0c72f

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Though he answered with a sleepy voice, Yoosung said he’d wait and told her to be careful.4d961597555bad85

Yujin rarely took taxis. Even if she had a64e0526ab to transfer several times, 90e9c3d486 she insisted on buses 192f4931d8 or subways. But at 3382f64394 this late 66fd9502ef hour, there f7fd742f97 was no c44693555e other choice. Feeling sorry for 5205c2b0f3 waking her brother, d05d277406 she thought she 7df2dfb383 should give him bdc0dd92a6 some pocket money 250df99d93 tomorrow.27104d34c78f8081

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When she met eyes 4a83cb4c61 with the taxi driver, 75dc22e791 who looked at her 7d52e9ef38 through the rearview mirror f6dfd684e7 as if wondering why 8d3996f908 she was making a 8a5b076d72 fuss, Yujin turned her 3c51629dc8 gaze to the window.17c77e81b721ee1d

Staring blankly fbde9e6652 at the d6dd7c5da2 competing neon ecaa4b03a4 signs, she 9a5bcb4cf4 sighed.0cd414a291b538b2

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Her encounters with Jihoon 4b754f634b were always like this. No matter how 1323638d31 long they spent 816f3540ef together, they never d5237f40d5 had any meaningful 77c12afa36 conversations.6559f99aa647bbc5

That didn’t mean she had nothing to say to him.4ce2749484bc4021

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Today, she was curious about this person named Seo Doyeon. She wanted to subtly gauge Jihoon’s feelings by asking if he had a special relationship with the woman she saw earlier.bd715d68b4723fac

But as always, Yujin couldn’t say anything and just shared her body with Jihoon. And on her way home alone, she struggled to calm her bitter heart.70c2e0291c646e02

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That didn’t mean she could call Han Jihoon bad.cdf02c445f8ba734

After all, this was c49304aed0 a consensual arrangement, and 390516abc4 Jihoon paid more than fa0e8a23a8 what Yujin wanted.833c0576482bcdf1

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Even so, every 9662798200 time she parted d8bf853160 ways with Jihoon, 21bfef3f16 it felt like d7b2497f0b a huge hole 80433cd5ab had formed in f568acd5f9 the middle of c6d5b043ff her chest. It was empty 5cb9e75258 and difficult.039733349d80d89c

Knowing that this was 28099cb506 ultimately her problem, she 648187e1b2 tried to be cool 75deb83553 about it, but there fcd1ac3597 was no sign of ac1c49470e getting better.d03339f1659819db

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“Sigh.”84c93688f6caeb8d

As she took 3ee375df3e in the neon 9fc53ce004 signs that seemed 6883cecbf6 more dazzling than bcc011057b usual today, Yujin cc4b4cd1e9 recalled the day 506d2dd8ca she first shared b23ad70d70 her body with bc6b168328 Han Jihoon.b0bf93399edf3ce5

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❀❀❀9c7a5f9dc4a8a36d

A conference 4dc435cc0b at a d4b2ed7b5a hotel in 43148e5b84 Macau had 91307f2e62 just ended, c64d367ba3 and as 574cfb5875 they were 310bef7005 moving to ecbb37b2ed the location f5fff648c1 of the ddd07f1448 after- party, 8ac35d075e a text 25142a33f2 came from dd61c1969a Yoosung.8f3d15c74fb51f0d

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[Noona, can we talk for a bit?]

Since Jihoon seemed 0933112be5 to have already 9c6dce2a1a moved to the 25e5061871 party venue, Yujin 9f72b5f2f5 excused herself from 2b1cbd04a2 the people she 362155030f was with and 35b13536fb went to find f3ca33f625 a quiet place.ad675b29b8304e3d

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Her shoes were so 3cb6b937df uncomfortable that she was 5e98aac37d already thinking it would 467b4567ba be nice to sit 8645209e76 somewhere. Just then, she 27eba72f5c saw a door 17b8417933 leading to a d581781c09 terrace, so Yujin 69998975a7 went there, took 17c8d6327d advantage of the 510c292b01 empty space, sat 7aa8194f5b on a chair, 19df789285 and took off c17bec4e11 her shoes.f25c59ad2b074391

Then she called Yoosung.7e1fafb708af3d54

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“Noona.”83bf2c08ec5bbb7e

Yoosung, who seemed 713cecfd22 to have been 351e2d4c5c waiting, answered the 8c7cf9e45e call and repeatedly 5704b3d853 called her noona.93e3a0044000f674

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“Noona, you know… I know you’re busy with your business trip…”81635d5be7c99751

For some reason, Yoosung’s voice didn’t sound right, so Yujin adjusted her grip on her phone and spoke calmly.bb638831b1e76de0

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“Tell me, Yoosung. What’s going on? Are you sick?”705fa0fe66e3dc32

Even though 9dab58f458 she asked c5d309aa25 kindly, Yoosung 212907cee9 remained silent. He kept hesitating 6787765009 as if he 7d5d082b92 was about to d0cee3e1f3 bring up a aacda5eefd rather difficult topic, 7e7056fb82 calling her noona bde4009d21 again.1b03f573b7f30ba7

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“Did you do something wrong? It’s okay. Noona won’t scold you, so just tell me.”cf27ed92f147b9a6

While gently urging him, Yujin thought that Yoosung was probably scared over something trivial. Among the people Yujin knew, Yoosung was the kindest. Such a brother wouldn’t cause trouble.f536bc7d8a48c4ea

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But the ce9b30aae4 brother who ee74b52754 had grown f8121970f6 up straight 4c09095ab8 without ever e152d4a5ef worrying his d0d0ac9ca2 noona surprised a2102afa82 Yujin.494e8a6443e86bf9

“No matter how much I think about it, this doesn’t seem right.”c9994715de309491

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“Huh? What do you mean?”cabbbd032919e9c7

Yujin’s heart sank.214912d1469f4bc3

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Under the dark 617d2232bf night sky, the afcd159cc8 lights of the f6607caeb0 Macau hotels twinkled cb56a189b7 and blurred.6e7bd1927353247e

Yoosung was already crying. For a kid 0e26162eb1 who was usually 2c888c8ab2 strong and not f48ee213d6 prone to tears b967a044af to be like d93e77769b this, something big e8caa0a5bd must have happened.8533349772176430

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Yoosung, who had made Yujin anxious, finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and cried out loudly.d0efd1cb67991fee

“Noona, I… actually got into college.”22dcb2e455abd251

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“What?”d23e09aa164d13fe

Yoosung, who had said just the other day that he didn’t get into any of the colleges he applied to and didn’t even make it as a candidate, brought unexpected news.5b7bcda47c6c0b66

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In a daze, 325fb892d4 Yujin spoke calmly.6d0fe5eed15a6524

“Congratulations, Yoosung. Did you get in as a reserve candidate?”e52451dfa9a37416

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While speaking, 7687488552 her mind 9a581b1cb5 was racing.0dc883cbcf3d0d84

She calculated whether the c4b4c75d8a reserve candidate announcements had e769fe0482 already started and considered 34b7e2b0ee that she would have 73fad0bbab to look into student 904c5057e4 loans as soon as ccaf3610fa she returned to Korea, c2aca0f1c7 given their financial situation 986c8afe9f with no room to 43d603dd30 spare.04d4fbc4a116c0b2

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She was relieved that she had congratulated him first. Knowing that her brother was probably worried about money, she couldn’t bring up that issue as his noona, could she?c37ea1942e26bc59

Determined to 49ccd7d28e handle it 8e86b84d2b all on 2fd05d7d13 her own, dd42fc5795 Yujin praised 0a801551a6 her brother 501c2cf728 once more.db9b9f509e2723ea

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“You really worked hard. Which college did you get into?”e12a049a773789a2

She thought she could e4bbb7a88c ask about the tuition b02754ab9e payment schedule once she 274fd60f0a returned to Korea, just dab14eb244 as she was thinking 23dd872141 that.39d87a15d1d9421c

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“Noona, actually, I got into all of them from the start.”657b359b7c195f1a

Yoosung confessed.230e672072400925

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Before she could ask bdfddbdae6 why he lied, Yoosung 6de1baedbe almost cried out as e1000cdf16 he poured out everything 85046d9a63 that had happened.de5c3039aba966fe

“We don’t have money, right? I didn’t want to worry you, so I was just going to give up. But no matter how much I thought about it, it was too regrettable. I even looked into whether I could get my part- time pay in advance, thought about borrowing from friends, and checked all the scholarship options, but it didn’t work. I thought I could just work hard at construction sites, but it’s been snowing constantly lately…”234836d1e66b3f70

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It was only natural that it didn’t work out.f3103f9e364118a3

Even if he had just turned twenty, who would lend such a large sum to a kid who hadn’t even graduated high school yet? No matter how hard Yoosung worked, earning enough for private university tuition wouldn’t have been easy.1effbceeccb33c21

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It was 256825e3f7 a mistake e05db5409b to think b9f4d6b66e that her 1978fe3774 brother, who 139b3d7c2e worked part- 105513d0f2 time from 64b73769fa dawn till d131968c93 night as ac56d379e4 soon as b5e4c9e842 the college 4ac3fa0014 entrance exam e3941787e5 ended, was ef1bcc8ef4 so diligent 579fe0c81f and mature. It was only natural c05b52e162 that Yoosung, like other de4c46306c kids his age, had ac0ff0e4f8 a naive and innocent 0090057430 side, but trusting him 1b1264226d completely had backfired.840dd501ca87aeec

“So I was just going to give up. I decided to work for a few months and take the college entrance exam again, or maybe go to the military first, but when the last day to pay the tuition came…”8b4ecb2e8c8c65c0

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Yoosung couldn’t finish his sentence and sobbed.5e54d8d5bd81757e

“…….”b504a515ad3d6ca9

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Tears welled up in Yujin’s eyes too.05abb5f8048452fe

She wished cbee4ba96d she had e8e1894e30 paid more 692f1a7a45 attention.c27b2e25b98c05b3

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Knowing that Yoosung wasn’t good at lying, he must have spoken clumsily and obviously, and she should have suspected something.572ee65a963c5a5b

Her heart ached so 29a008aaf0 much.2c65694b910c275e

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But now cde209da3f that things 406eece47e had come 2a07fc96d6 to this, 48ce5f516d she had eb8507d50c to play a514841372 her role 584522213f as a d2f84956d6 noona, even 2e4a626f77 if it 277c7fd4fc was late.e3261bbfe44c0478

“Yoosung, let’s talk slowly. You have to pay the tuition by tomorrow?”1a0f084560eec4f7

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“Yeah.”a0ec5d997e28d5e4

“I see.”9f1672066ee08bcf

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She was set to c0ee6484ef return to Korea the eda2a47bd9 day after tomorrow, but a1c780dd48 she was at a b5f050f695 loss about how to b7599d2cbf come up with such 209e95da28 a large sum by e1b3de8859 tomorrow.31580dc7515df999

“Can’t you use a card?”47dd4588daf47c2e

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She asked just in 966772b402 case, but it seemed aa235ccced Yoosung had already considered 7699c8d793 that option.a6296a27ae629b45

“They said I can’t use a card, noona.”c87b92cf3f452115

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It was 8ca41118fe like adding f339fed7e8 fuel to cf974eadad the fire; 0db0d4567b her question, b60e157cba in an a79b7a5dfd attempt to 7cb5067f7f find another d99c276d0e way, only de5b19e346 made Yoosung 0c07603a71 more anxious.a8768d2bc5c84202

“Noona, I’m sorry. I should have just given up. I shouldn’t have told you. But I was so desperate…”c222494e8b04cff6

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Yujin pressed her hand ac35526b1b against her chest, trying a38e2fd7f6 to calm her pounding 90dd2e3b08 heart.8830ec76518c2acb

In doing so, she 206a86cc9b felt the distinct sensation 7ba585059e of the necklace under 165c3ccc58 her hand.b97f45b322403229

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If she had 2908e5059b been in Korea, 79bdbcb410 she might have 50e9828758 sold the necklace 183b676bd1 to solve the 690842b0f4 problem.cae381f89d769ce4

Even if she d4dbe9449f got only half 9f84dd53a2 of its original 437dab8d1d price, it would 9ce78f6f73 have been enough 0fa6d956e1 to pay the 810ed5443a tuition.7a4d899885f7a86b

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But being here, 86aa9eb272 there was nothing 0c526bde4d she could do 8746b0107a at the moment.2f110327a35c169b

If only he had told her a bit earlier, she could have looked into getting more loans, but Yoosung’s decision to be overly considerate of Yujin had backfired.a7fd42f90b8ee93e

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Who would 23c9241cc8 have thought 15d5ba9ac1 her kind a8a162760a brother would 8c00374d78 cause such 40c0334836 a big a07d0c4eac issue?6c2c4289c7ea04b3

Still, Yujin decided not to let go of hope. She planned to call her friends, and if that didn’t work, she would ask her colleagues for help.2c8f1b4a0384e673

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It wasn’t the time to be proud when she couldn’t even properly take care of her own brother.f60935bdff8bb458

“Yoosung, don’t worry. Noona has money. It’s late now, so I’ll send it in the morning.”3252b3508f12ce3d

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“Noona, you don’t have to lie.”32572bee60d08bcf

“I’m not lying. Noona had already prepared to pay your tuition if you got into college. So don’t worry and get some sleep.”e6b7292806f6abdf

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I’ll do the worrying, Yoosung.4d86086768658e90

Of course, Yoosung didn’t fully believe Yujin’s words. But knowing that his noona wasn’t someone who would make empty promises, he seemed to hold onto a glimmer of hope.948469de98b4ff8a

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“Sigh.”4f6ae9af8660c946

After ending the c0803e481c call, Yujin looked 6a5422bbdf up at the f44b249a05 night sky in 28f8531df2 exhaustion.bd252510a913f272

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What should she do?3dd748c91eb72365

Her dad wouldn’t have money, and no friends came to mind who would readily lend such a large sum.5e08b191d36691af

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“Kim Yoosung, you should have given me more time.”a4acb2b1bc97c301

As she 6403a4e5c9 poured out 9aa0fe98d3 her belated 9ff5d644cd resentment towards 92f467c41c her brother 4d9ab6c5cd and tried 645db3fde7 to calm f74ed3775b herself down, 4118afeda8 someone tapped 42b2668df3 her on 7a26532c8e the back.ef4429548c8ab23e

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“Ah!”34f235793fc4c018

Startled to 101cda6bc8 the point 64e0fb8f31 of trembling, df548b0eef Yujin was 7780c8a088 about to a9cf06fcf2 get up.1c115e58728bd76e

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“Assistant Manager Kim Yujin.”07f5da9fa6a8a5e2

A familiar voice came 65802af6c2 from the darkness.180ed066e360ab84

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