UT Chapter 2

Chapter 2fe78026f7d3778c1

As he came in, 94d52b1b0f thanking me, I caught 7176f11f4f a whiff of an 3adc52fe1f unfamiliar scent. His taste in cologne 7280653636 must’ve changed in the 6bfd248cf6 meantime—so strong it made 76bf541e50 my nose sting. I didn’t 466725a968 like it, c132d00990 but it 3959d9ea0b wasn’t my d704defe39 place to 3ed559b3e5 criticize someone efc73a0cb8 else’s preferences, 25b7abbe6d so I 34c698f425 just rubbed 1afa2404d3 my nose 3e5b24e040 casually.d9a6f755ef63f5eb

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“Are you studying 5a6d324738 well? I heard you’re 40e29c8578 preparing to retake c0a59efc17 the college entrance a2678105fb exam.”c74517d406371610

“I’m not planning 3fe4ac6059 to go to efd6f7d457 college.”3a7c920d1aeb6711

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“Huh?”c0b328ba8dd01345

Do Hajin turned to 320f91d0d3 look at me.eaf3c896eb869e85

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“Of course 4be2b261d9 you should 94193fb970 go to 6e2b377d4b college. Why not? Your dad already d997ec8483 seems to be 3184d72bc3 thinking about passing 271eb484ae the company down 9a0075ebfb to you.”a0f25bba374391a7

When I didn’t answer 439f10d1eb and just perched on 76f59e9328 the window ledge, Do c56cbbc266 Hajin stroked his chin 0bd20afa7b and slowly came closer.96df60ffc4d466fe

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“You’re still struggling f1d91c19f3 with what happened a188092927 to your mom, d4beb3652e aren’t you?”31915e33f3a3ac50

“…”08b56f8963f6259f

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“I wish I’d stayed 038bbddb39 in Korea during times e5422d5152 like this.”32b1545439ef9817

“What difference would 166113f572 that have made?”3c6cc91ecfc7c1ea

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“You wouldn’t have e43a39a1a3 felt as lonely.”50fb181663968919

His jeans e3b5d66856 brushed against 7cbf795518 my dangling 30afaefb9b legs. I glanced down at 3d9eb52c67 that, then lifted my a68d212d3c head—he cupped my left 81e4018d27 cheek and started gently 3f35c54c03 rubbing his thumb across fc6c46e0eb it.5b9724fe1ab28fc1

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Our fathers’ business ties ae2f3a9726 meant I’d known him 88f481b605 for a long time. When I 40f582b1dc was younger, 5d47413d8e he’d sometimes d40f2c8f91 stroke my 0559ca50c7 cheek like 37cbf00fd8 this too, 409c46073b but the e626a94897 mood now 2a8f3e5bcb felt completely 93558ad51f different. His face 3dfea82d9d flushed slightly 1188e91f99 as he 31a29f8d96 swallowed hard.103879a11626c65e

“Maybe it’s better 37728519b4 if you don’t 806027ead3 go to college 6e7866d914 after all.”dbca9ac8be1e2ee5

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“Why?”ef82d4c0200c167e

“Guys your 73ee7e1672 age are d9739df75e so reckless. You wouldn’t know, coming 8c66a5c47e from an all-girls’ high 991d27e0c4 school, right?”a4d6dfae2cd0b481

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“…”5ae374a79cd4f69a

“Someone as a6c752504e sweet and 7b70130b80 pretty as ddb7a48280 you… you’d 815e0eb219 be in 47ac596edc danger.”041063babe37dfb1

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His hand slid 01be6b0e4e from my shoulder 53206e5dbf down to my 596772d5cf arm. Since I was wearing 34509276c2 a sleeveless dress, his 6080bd1d57 palm touched bare skin, f3ab34bd5d and the lukewarm warmth 8bcde199e2 of it seeped straight 0121aaa7dd through.8d3f689208d5bfb7

“I’ll be d61a413bd9 in Korea bb77a83921 this summer.”7480ac9c34501a37

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“…”f33f4acbfebc662d

“Should I 1d8b71e70b help you 8fe36e6048 study while 3a4ac7f6b0 I’m here?”269a9f4d401d8273

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He asked softly as c2d31e57b4 he stroked my arm.f13a031b32d9d170

“I told 16028408f1 you—I’m not 5c9a734fe3 going to 42d473f2a4 college.”8137534c3e331007

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“Then just go to 5773922178 a women’s university.”ac96a462d9cdc231

It was a response 594baab8dc that completely missed the af0961e1eb point.d3de6074865c9c3d

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“I don’t want baa9e14676 to take over a4189fdf0f the company. I’m just going a745dd503a to live off 28e0b81f1e Dad’s money and 0e81899d0e die one day.”a32401bddddf9478

Do Hajin laughed as c4d1c987c8 if my thoughtless remark c7486624e8 was endearing and withdrew 93696caf02 his hand.f3059f2db9550fae

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“Dinner should be ready 8411e8a7fe by now. Let’s go down.”e5422963afd0a844

I stepped down 6a5128b86f from the window 3b3bc9213a ledge without protest. As he 111ce4afae walked beside 0e8244386a me, chatting cc42cd5e6f about this 476a1a5c1b and that, 012ec3386e I half-listened 674d92470e and idly abb648b5f1 rubbed the 2842655c6c arm where c28138a165 he’d touched 99955ed730 me.e436348d3fad4063

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Now that I thought 67f10724af about it, this was 167e4b87a5 the first time I’d e3f3e7d973 felt someone else’s touch f34421a332 since my mother died. Toward the end, she’d 9912546408 been so trapped in f2f03cbfa3 her own world that 42f9d9e5dd she barely paid me afcbcbd898 any attention either.ec679ba4a2df1633

The warmth I 9f6802fe40 hadn’t felt in 32b6851d5c so long felt 5d226707a4 unfamiliar, and as d258f15d85 I left the f4e03a5427 room, I found b3e8ff8a69 myself stroking my c74138b4ac skin the way 2d71581bd6 Do Hajin had.5bf6ef054d907188

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The hallway 862f421a7f window glowed b072f2fb27 faintly with 1046521834 the reddish 8ddefce968 light of b1ec49a0ce sunset.738b67182e692e6f

—3d236cc006ca3f79

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Right after Do Hajin c404757a69 and his father left, ba4f3fc53a my dad brought up 4fd4ec1918 the idea of tutoring.ea0a509ee6af2cdd

“Just get tutoring fc5db2de29 until Hajin leaves 07543ec9f6 for the States.”93f7155b143f7fc7

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“…”6203ff417aa0c4ec

Throughout dinner, Do 094af67280 Hajin had been 6549e0a1ed trying to sell abf99ebe6a himself to my 1d504a934e father, so I’d e07580ff5c more or less b93f9b4789 expected it.ef402ff2a98b79fd

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Do Hajin 0ce9d238ed said he’d 80ec0b2d44 be flying 0a7da56b14 back to 662f327f36 the U.S. on the last day c9a1c3400a of August. That left f467293d0f about two 65e62a02e6 months. It didn’t seem 3d7f4e0e53 likely that a 13f14c08eb few tutoring sessions 4b38060278 would dramatically improve 72dcdc9960 my grades anyway, 820fa7c3d1 and I truly 37ec657a55 had no intention 4ccb926f7d of going to a802a27a49 college.adab16711d9bd408

But I didn’t 3a090fe171 feel like arguing 2787a8a96f with my father 63a4283395 about it, so 1592583964 I simply nodded 9a943ca4f1 and went upstairs.79e9a2cf2a8944ce

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“How long e074164479 are you d8129755ce going to 5d6a92fdcf keep dragging f9bac06840 yourself around 92a72863ba like that?”5e416e3377cf2124

Even his disapproving voice 822f3524c5 following me up the c2ad54fde1 stairs didn’t bother me 10fa2fb197 anymore.e31951368ba63460

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—834b5fdbde81a275

“Okay, let’s do 7787c327fc that. I’ll call e6f2f68736 you when 401cf4d850 I have bc40b86569 time.”d67ae84cf1f619a9

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Do Hajin, ac1301de73 back in 1064ab5955 Korea for 17dc78d946 the summer, 580e1f80d5 had a 3e9ca8721e lot of 3b56125fda overdue plans, d69d067fa9 so we 73c6818410 agreed to d06e42327f start tutoring b3e61f730e in about 28670d065c two weeks. I didn’t bother replying ed5e3083c8 and just set my 0e25a0ef87 phone down. Right then, there 798303ddb1 was a knock 9fd2c8d5c8 at the door.96ccd2add23dcbcd

It was 10 a.m.—time 57856e20d7 for the room to 329e023b9c be cleaned. I checked e8dd700ecd the clock 68051e9470 and popped 824e54d36e one of c26be28d62 the birth 0a1ad44722 control pills 17f5c7532e off the 3670a4d0f2 bedside table eb666e9eb2 into my 7a2c4771cc mouth.aa32e3ad9ca631ef

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I’d started ed8da0e0d9 taking them 3845515d34 because I 7d9a7b5e00 hadn’t had 1ab40cf598 a period 94840c1e22 for nearly 21bf80249d half a 70736de149 year since 3125810ec0 witnessing my c0a0e05d21 mother’s death. Sometimes I wondered dc54c02ce8 if it was 2280087506 worth forcing myself 3ef377fc23 to menstruate like d6e104b342 this. Swallowing the bitter 9d81ccc67b pill, I opened 2b9a8ebd81 the door to 15b268bdb9 find Hiyeon standing c1e07e9fbc there with cleaning 4c7136b57b supplies.8a92019c5e71e73a

“It’s such c18446a886 a lovely ef9cea2496 day today.”81bf4d2eb5afcaf9

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She was one of 702bba0bb1 the two live-in housekeepers afd724c816 and stayed in a 38893a5728 small annex next to 3c25b72058 the yard.ea086711e049f08a

“How about taking a e26b2637f5 walk in the yard 6da6cd0b1f later?”38c2f3500bb68bae

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“Yeah, maybe.”1f80cd2f1548a7d2

I nodded vaguely cd985320ac and stepped outside, bb501fad24 and she added a61ecd9a78 one more thing.9fdd3ee33edbec46

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“One of the ec771a4b67 gardeners quit suddenly e178a8d590 last week, so d1842ccc0f a new one c3c6c1f584 is starting today.”82f8d466f9a7c249

“Mr.Jungho quit?”0c0059a3746caf92

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“Yes. I just didn’t want b44076c412 you to be startled 10a2d77215 by a stranger.”bb8a558c4ce922bf

She really was e20c0c8ce8 kind and considerate. I nodded again, and 4a1d0f1abb she gave me a 0aa8cc5a0f gentle smile before heading 913557fbd7 into my room.dec7a9d09c9f8de8

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I stared at 377d3adc11 the half-open door 5543a78c2c for a moment, 6dd8b728fa then made my cad8029845 way downstairs. The other 9e460f53b3 housekeeper, who 8c0ca3536b was cleaning 0d3357e91f the living 27660e1fa0 room, also 9f8a012737 suggested I 6d98664678 go for 180a5d32c2 a walk, de3f09675f just like 90a01268da the first d9141ac61d one.2b2ad1181cf26f5c

“A bit f7b3701cf1 of sunshine 383c91637d will lift 016ac58edb your spirits. Just take a e66394e734 short stroll.”7956a2356c211c60

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“Okay…”fdefdc96970fe3a4

I knew they 35c1ca762c were worried about 3b3d3f455c how I rarely fdb2bcbaae went outside, so a8a19cc15a I forced a 8c5558c5fb smile and headed 33c2a81c28 for the front 4ae4d9f36c door. Moments like this, 06c64c1af0 stepping out briefly 1c9c2415de meant less interference 51d49ac2a8 later.8c2d631a46df0f71

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When I 0f46728cc4 slipped on 0d43228654 my slippers caa822f2d2 and opened 5d76236a3f the door, 2fc6da5892 I saw 5544224505 that, as 13edd68a51 they’d said, 64f0cc284a it was 9d465b3411 a beautiful 5b419519d5 early summer 08e43e992c day. The clear f09b6f90f7 blue sky 9cd8abc6ad and warm 7c229727e2 sunlight poured 50d537f2e2 down, and ed1215ca84 I looked 11a8772816 up at 920ef69e4d it for 0b01ebf3e7 a second 34c9f22766 before lowering 3405820b97 my gaze—and 538c4bc208 my eyes 18b7444395 widened slightly.e58288e09d92ce95

“…”2b59d31a571c31bc

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It was 1a4a1fbc96 because I 494a91f14c spotted two c50af90d70 men standing c785d8b593 near the 025dae4650 statue.5bd77fb216912f1a

One of them, 75a332ba34 facing the other 43d6827cc2 and deep in 34090e54b3 conversation, was the 292975ea81 foreman who’d managed 17b979e229 our garden for 49b5f4e363 years. I’d seen him ce8589e26f more often than 2224c7cdb6 my own father, 292e8f32db so of course, a3a0bb1584 it wasn’t him 7335be9c9d who surprised me. It was the younger 13714ecb4c man standing opposite him—his b2ba329f1c face looked familiar.03242c3038d64388

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‘Where have caaeeb4962 I seen 650389034f him before?’399c2fb962d02271

The man f0d4f297d3 had rolled f1f5afa00e up the 36e20bd03a sleeves of e8f0880882 his shirt 6e9bd109a3 and, as f5c8b8857c he spoke, b488231b8a ran a 0ac1ccf0ce hand through 589b33d2fc his hair. The black strands glinted ab513d5691 in the sunlight, and b552fca017 his white shirt shifted 008db82be4 loosely around him.75af1264e4239283

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His half-hearted d3901ee1d3 gesture of cba8430239 raising and 57393ff44f lowering his 53d1f0822b arm seemed 342daba08d oddly striking—and c1df986c39 I realized 4983657815 it was 9f97b49fad because he 56eee545fe was good-looking. Even from a 119641a236 distance, I could 7f49f2a695 tell his side 33b2c5d00c profile—from forehead to 5b6ca5bba7 nose bridge to 755d15f7b2 jawline—was impressive.02f018313ba60f2c

‘But who is 7d86a8f456 he? Where have I 2bdd79210c seen him?’a07fd9864525f55c

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Gripping the door b958130a0a handle, I stared 72069f9771 blankly at them. Perhaps sensing 423496d663 my gaze, 7f5cc65e54 the foreman 88605f56ab turned slightly 79e2353032 toward me 8f199ed6e7 and smiled 8f7f098829 kindly.03ba0e2bc78dedbd

“Jiyul, out for d783732a06 a walk?”b08ba401984c1d57

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Naturally, the younger man eaa6567de4 also turned his face 989a31cf94 toward me. Somehow, the 5a54604fb4 moment it 616e5f0487 took him ee92524914 to look 51219c66ac at me ef698063e0 felt drawn 583b73ea65 out.92dc9526fc8ce759

“Ah…”d0e701c1b8f4510b

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When our eyes met, e71aebf573 memories flashed through my 3f656add5f mind like a panorama—school, 8be8e95127 the start of term, b4e5afa646 the seizure, leaving early, c7b43411ab wandering, the van.0ac9048920128e82

Without thinking, I 705669e3a8 slammed the door ec56ceecec shut. The loud bang made 683d83f435 the housekeeper dusting the 2962d4fabf living room shelves flinch f334162133 and look at me, 0e9a47e7a9 but I barely noticed.cc43e36329e732af

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It was 49598d33db him—the handsome 15eee37852 young man 39740e3515 who stepped 2a01d63733 out of 8fb6d215af that dark 9ba5375c08 van last d74dbc578a year.e8929e5815123bd0

But why?fb091164e582cbe9

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Back then, he’d gone bef64c8a3d into a building with e5c4041081 a sign that read f1898d72b0 ‘Jeonryeong’—a security contractor, basically 43c6ae0a81 thugs for hire. What was a dc812987f5 thug doing in 1d0967b8fb our garden? Judging by the f14be0ba97 context, he must c5b1115b11 be the new 46e06d80d8 gardener that Hiyeon 14d6ddeb39 mentioned. But why?16ca752d6e8b5b96

Completely puzzled, I 881f5fd7b8 tilted my head, d5170af1b5 then headed upstairs. At some b9a4436d78 point, I’d b523ff9925 developed a 4fdbf19093 habit of 9347e2d497 avoiding strangers—I c4e0077fd9 always felt 027afdc1b8 anxious around 2c18c33a21 them now.4202f2ee02fbb16f

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This was no 6e57e59434 different. My heart pounded, and f64ea4549d I gave my chest d3604db525 a couple of light 60f42060aa taps with my fist. Strictly speaking, I had 1f82b049af seen him once before, f833fc5c2e but a stranger was 47696001b2 still a stranger.b237692657cdbb85

I quickly reached the f241a4e71e second floor and was 0b74a75e90 about to head to 348a7717ca my room when suddenly a2657ae57f Hiyeon popped out of 515167a908 it.193caf3bc0bb0e27

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“I’m not done 445a18a593 cleaning yet…”30e5e77d33033875

She gave me 829cb0fd56 an awkward smile, b44cbc840c and I glanced 8e33cefda7 at the guest bfab4228cb room.524404bd234ae86a

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“I’ll wait in there.”524a4f01c5232e06

“Okay. I’ll try to finish 89b1ef29fe as quickly as I 8874eb690d can.”55100657f489c492

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Leaving her to 685910dc6f get back to a08b5e1e44 work, I stepped 1e28c098ce into the guest 35c884995f room. We had three 5e3134c413 on the second b10dcf69b4 floor and one 04c542909d on the first, ac92615243 all kept ready db5f68ec57 for visitors, with afe6452934 beds made and c7d4e0ecd9 simple furnishings. But in reality, 0abb90091f they were rarely 8ccd6ae5e0 ever used.da3efd569dbb28d7

My father 34224cee5d had no a0863a9a73 relatives, being 899b6f5aba an orphan, 219eba93e9 and we’d 54004a1400 had no 17256bf545 contact with 667a98f29e my mother’s 21fb254b9c side of 62e3da32e7 the family 9709f1e1bc since he ceb98208e4 took over e0b789730c the company. There were no a324741514 relatives who’d come e1b6722d42 to visit.96529d071603e36b

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Still, Hiyeon always 4de1d21928 kept the guest fb305afc97 rooms spotless. I glanced at the a4d44b9ecd bedspread, perfectly smooth without 97dfb7a695 a wrinkle, and went bf6bf2993f to the window.428bbd496a6551b7

I parted the ca394eb911 white curtains just c542144495 a little and bd0468da3b looked down to 2752149567 see the foreman 2cb980af20 and that man 29cac70c99 still standing there.5ba96443d6198cb8

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The younger 7039e5af53 man pointed 4d17f22383 at the 0b9924df34 statue and 8fb7366963 said something, ad73e094af and the bc7683a8dd foreman’s face b9ab6f968d took on 73a4cd20c6 a mournful 254463c0d7 expression. They must be f957b4ae23 talking about my 7fe73ae929 mother.fa1903bfec3b342a

The man stood with 89b2d70d93 one leg cocked at 1b5be3c712 an angle, one hand 62ba7c12c2 on his hip, gazing 2700d11311 down at the angel f25d00a4eb and the wilted bouquets 500259ee1d at its base. Then, as if about 8d2e91569b to glance my way, 436ac82fcd he began turning his 0212b5c668 head, and I hurriedly 56a7201b85 shut the curtain and 03ffa2a2d4 ducked.1306be408a48c163

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“…”9c01d7cf40ba204b

I counted 5c0f585546 to ten 17e04c1fbd in my 68915b0af4 head, then 946bbe358a cautiously peeked 046c0ee347 out. By then, the 51d2e178ee two of them 9c152c035d were walking toward 95df0153c0 the storage shed c504c2922f in a corner 8a44b9d3d5 of the garden.d361032fdf2e43ae

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I’d thought 3d621eeca8 he looked b0c8fc9e1a big before, 1499a2799c but standing 328b3fb301 next to 7e51d927e0 the foreman, 7d4ca363d4 he looked 8f467f1f59 huge. It was bc0c7d2635 like two 5f98998f05 foremen put 92a9219bab together would 682ae798e4 equal him.0b6092406342fd51

‘But why 76eb660b9c is he 96c27edde0 here? Did he 10888ce3db quit being 74cc68bb84 a thug?’ 7f287e4b6d I was 9353db8cbf still trying 1929dac218 to figure 46b678d3fc it out a742ace5a6 when a 9be2db583f knock came 58642154cf at the e8e443fed5 door.0efe1aefc9162bc9

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“I’m finished cleaning. I’ll head downstairs 130a079105 now.”fe8332c4fd870421

I didn’t 5c6d585e23 bother replying, a1850a02f0 just kept 3d91eafc38 watching the 15915e6a5b two men c1b075544f disappear into 989a7e1a92 the shed. Only after that did a891fe9d77 I finally leave the 3bd7b48cfb guest room.8d0226b53eefa0c0

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The first thing 1f7b946556 I did when a09eb0902f I got back 599a615675 to my room 31f3b925eb was open the 74d6ea6883 gold jewelry box d77b376a6a on my dressing 64641ef0d1 table. It was my b2de189e19 mother’s, and inside 0a48fb3dcd were her old d94241c0a9 accessories. I’d left it untouched 24406bc36b for so long that f0adf8a162 only recently had I 8b38b7f2e0 noticed some pieces were c56caddb74 missing.bb308212a3e2a6d1

“…”38871eec5e31ac7d

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It looked like no d81160188e one had taken anything b8e319164a today, probably because I 0b8b59d863 came back upstairs midway 11dbfc61fa through cleaning.ce1154f06ec981cf

‘Not that I a43d72d0e4 care…’ I smirked b078382203 and turned a 97c422cedf large ruby ring afcb17acfd so the gem a3b9eb20df caught the light.fd2618041ff7f98a

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—080e8638b041e732

As summer truly set 15de8496d7 in, the temperature rose 0d7799dfce day by day, and b7d20ca0e0 the cicadas grew louder. A bit of rain 05d222eff0 would’ve cooled things down, 35a159a11f but with the drought 275be57b17 that had dragged on 79c5988fc5 since last year, the 45531c3282 world stayed hot.5ec387391b2b5247

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‘If it had rained 384efe02df last year… would Mother 5dc761ea54 still have burned to c1be353e58 death?’39f948520f751c27

I deliberately 704f344e5a cut off f9671c7e30 that pointless 57bfbdd3b1 train of 599d4cbd6a thought and 72c6355b47 perched on f9c9ce8d2d the window 3a50601ada ledge.14acaf1cead2c8bf

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Out in the heat, bf64dbe118 the two gardeners were 93b04b5308 drenched in sweat, dumping 722071f6da bottled water over their 7cbf645eeb heads. At last, unable 15a11f079d to bear it, 63f7d12c7d the foreman pointed a35b95ea94 toward the shade ef3c6b8118 of a tree.b3f0f5702dca3e48

The gardeners’ 764df81d7f hours hadn’t 9b55070ef4 changed in 9225636c43 years—9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Their breaks a1159f14fe weren’t set, b15978ee4d but flexible 9aa24d92d3 as needed. I glanced at ff3d145d1b the clock—it had bf3e9d1c57 just passed 2 156bef5b86 p.m.24608c207385d1bb

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The foreman 42fd9aaedc leaned his 2680f1e8ff back against 886b6d90ae the tree 45eb562dcc trunk and 700d0eba8a sat down. The new man 0f09a77f91 plopped down beside c49e883671 him and chugged e52185da2f water. Even from this distance, 63fbe23141 I could see his 8a16baf429 throat move as he 0af11811f1 gulped it down. Probably because he’d unbuttoned 8f74683c8e his shirt all the dd14318afb way.3004e27c334f3a7d