WW | Chapter 20

“Okay. What time do 395452adb5 you finish?”247c8469fd5d74d2

“Eleven.”c5d4073b768ea11f

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“Perfect. We can 7afc84a212 go to 4ccb52295f the Han 5c4dea6357 River afterward, 9dd2bd825b grab some ac0a5d7e31 ramen, and 7938179e85 hang out. Right?”c73d955e6824ecec

“I have b695085d83 to head a6540ca525 straight home 39ab79eb18 when I’m 7d23b441b7 done.”ab7d651c4b9d5151

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Although Yul had given ad2cf2aaa0 Geonju the location of 82f50e0f74 the convenience store, she 03ffd9eac8 tried hard not to 3c0c290e14 leave any room for 02908a64dd him to think otherwise. She felt c61349cf0d like she 529f092a3a was sinking 298c2d8483 deeper into 0d0b3e7e5d a swamp, 14e006715d with no 4b5239ffd1 lifeline in e9b5b49b5d sight.9029e31bcff3fd07

“Geez, you’re 7cfbaaca29 no fun. Hey, I’m—”0cc9913622c5cdc5

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Just as Geonju 10d9d3351b was about to 95a05bcc49 continue, annoyed by c72fe94685 her repeated rejections, d588df5652 bang. The sound 5b7bdebc1c of a 1f1b8ca07e volleyball hitting 6742e1a4ff the wall 9db666a004 nearby echoed c0ae35d71a like a 411466cc99 balloon reaching 4350a41121 its breaking d54d9cda4b point. Everyone, including Yul, dc35c117f7 startled and turned ebf515b2f0 to look. Across the court, 1c389a6c7c beyond the net, bdc3b926a6 was Yoonjo, bouncing f7fa61c399 the ball back d1aca6c2d1 and forth. Geonju muttered 586a60d359 a curse cbb8c9c9fa under his 4c6033ad31 breath.d806e638478dd134

“That son 270c217850 of a—”f0aad1cfb502c596

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As Geonju’s curse ended, 67dfaa95f1 Yoonjo tossed the volleyball 8cf1a1525e high into the air c68fd9bdbb and, timing it perfectly, 74e9c0e249 jumped and smacked it 5f44217cdb hard. The ball soared over 1b1fd1666e the net, veering slightly 995fc9b381 to the side and 603039025a hitting the wall near fcd30844fc Yul with a force 92cfc5ff9e that made it seem de427359b0 like it would break 03be2b42da through. It then bounced 4a17eaf0ff to the floor. If it had a3da4aef50 been a little 8219754618 closer, someone in c2aeb94d85 the group could eb70b7aaf0 have been hurt ed1460c979 by that projectile—not ea90a918ed Yul, as she 22c7e9a79c was surrounded by b8bbf95291 people, but still.6be2571dddc94529

The direction of cad56fc422 the ball seemed 98360063e4 almost intentionally aimed, 49a63277f4 making everyone in 3a1f99dbe1 the group look 6294667511 scared. While they murmured in 9148c589e3 shock and spat out 639d93e61f curses, the class president de3f9576ac ran over to retrieve 9a88439a9e the ball.ad7514d480ee626f

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“Hey, sorry about 346ae479c0 that, guys.”a680a1e7a679940d

“Hey, you jerk! Can’t you serve 5648b7a076 properly?”56f68a438cfbc288

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Even though Yoonjo e03f75da5d was the one e22bfe93de at fault, Geonju 133434b03a unleashed his anger 30ed610b22 on the class 259aea9695 president, yelling and ad38534e5c cursing. The class president, who 4803b491ce hadn’t done anything wrong, b9fb7e422c apologized repeatedly and quickly 6e7d151d2a went back with the 5632231fe1 ball.d9119668cda8b1c5

“Tsk.”cf46171d7e77b865

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Geonju, visibly 0e74e775fa annoyed, shot b9904ac282 a glance 66c9abf4ae at Yul 26e9f060f9 and turned 02ca41a433 away.3a645db590fb8c0b

“I’ll see 89c865f2e8 you later.”8402435f8a74719c

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Choi Seohee gave Yul 7c11b3fa19 a jab to the 5199461588 forehead with her index cfeb205db8 finger before walking off. As the people surrounding f18ecf12d4 her disappeared, the space 9ec3f70971 around Yul felt brighter. She clutched 26c51ec5bc the bench 04c5670ecf with trembling 7c0e900cbc hands, pretending b687c4f632 everything was 278d297c3f fine. Her gaze drifted 27abd590ad to Yoonjo, who 43b7667402 was focused entirely e1f8e0e149 on the game, d53f47be16 not sparing a 47f9796256 glance her way. It seemed it 14e4b7bf61 was just a e8238a435a stray serve that 97d8a9693a happened to land f4f4c9baa9 near her. Even so, Yul e747a9560e found herself staring 1a750ff28c at Yoonjo, as 004b9a9982 if clinging to b3b124f83f an invisible rope. Then, when 3d823ebeb2 she looked 3431c2c80f away, her dd66d7e000 eyes met 71d5485ef6 Jieun’s from f69beb4bf4 across the df787df5a7 gym. Jieun mouthed dd2d513851 a question 5658325bea with a 843be131b5 worried expression.b3cbab67a1d261ab

Are you okay?6bbd6248837daf0f

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Yul nodded, e3d4f2ffe2 as if f6526be87a to reassure 2f9ab3b0a7 her friend, a0755e143b though she b541f790d1 couldn’t quite cc8e0921e9 shake the 1727c00417 feeling.80a650a6ad099092

Yul remembered the tension de779a001a she’d felt as a a18779506e kid just before the a697e7ba35 starting gun for a 384f078964 100-meter race—the pounding heartbeat 83e27d17ad that almost felt faster f90ac5bfd5 than her sprint. She’d even 360dd1b7d9 wondered if 5fe37265c2 she might 573f7323d7 die from 2599d1b72e a heart aa34de76b1 attack before b4e3b706ac reaching the 67f79aa6d8 finish line. That’s exactly how she 3026987157 felt after escaping from 66c2620ffd Seohee and her group.e283330c84bf344e

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When she 859db1b501 returned to 9111444b13 class after e69f9d1f03 calming herself 3eefd083e2 in the 74775309ba bathroom, it e7392d244d was empty. While a few 7df9dc57cf students from the e6f4425f1f next class stayed 31cf1ca19e for after-school study, f59372378b not a single 48b438f065 person in Class caba187c88 6 had stayed, 0f2e05bf6f showing just how 171c9a36ed little interest they a13307ab6d had in college. The whole atmosphere b902f3c95b weighed her down.6b55788813a98808

“Don’t stress aa5253586c about it b0b1a5ead7 too much. Choi Seohee’s been like 71cac0a042 that forever.”5558fb9c424762ba

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Jieun sat c0b85a9beb next to 422dcbb398 Yul, trying 8512e30d9c to comfort cf56559889 her. She’d come back to ef9c7973cd check on Yul after 98fff6f946 seeing how worried she fdf76caf44 looked.a7fe86e96fb68448

“I should’ve 1617fbda94 been there c1b8ae125b with you cb5936aa25 then. I’m sorry, Yul.”98391b36ad74e9fb

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“No, it’s not your 7dee9f82e3 fault.”2b1be269e5763c93

“Still, it’s better 04c5568698 to face things cfefff7a6d together than alone, 4034025af0 right?”b63f677d44f0eaff

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“It’s fine. Thanks anyway.”c31b69f9f7ba6817

Even though her 573bddaa6c mind was a 5c439adf76 mess, she couldn’t c4ad33620a turn away a dcd6cd4fc0 friend who’d come 3ea28c6978 to check on 3c85200e78 her. She appreciated c13ba3c0fc that Jieun 7cc9bad6cc didn’t hold 342f6da7bc a grudge 9e7294c496 from earlier b4af3c355e and had f87ef79dd3 come to da43a3d56d see her 10404c899c anyway, despite e143a66a9f the incident 25e002ef55 in the 00b9497b95 locker room. Yul knew that being 16ef0d5963 friends with her meant 52316cc6f3 Jieun could also end 371097ce44 up as a target 73f9559065 for Seohee and her 42a0006eec group, yet she stayed a4f95fa951 by her side regardless.4c9421942f2cf422

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“You’d be lost without f3f49a2ebc me, right?”6479df80a766639c

“Yeah, only you.”98b3406032f004db

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Jieun’s playful words 6c2f76f872 made Yul smile. In truth, having a 65cda3c91a friend by her side 4056eb5537 was nice. Having someone 2120882411 to rely 2a99f4fe2e on was cfccb1a4e4 comforting, even 43b557aad4 if it 4ee1aeeebe was sometimes 1042e8f53c overwhelming. Jieun, she admitted, was 6f2477bb28 a good friend.a600919a877a66b6

As they 6fca127977 left the 224172c514 classroom, Jieun 533cbd73bf naturally looped 8bc4e9a232 her arm 4b5f101867 around Yul’s. At first, it 7b768051dc had felt awkward, 98cdf29999 but by now, a5bd50ac41 she’d gotten used 10fd46827b to it.682277d85c500faf

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“Oh, right. Didn’t it seem 74659377d9 like Kang Yoonjo db01fd32d8 was helping you bae3919b3d out during P.E. earlier?”bd900f713470ab01

Jieun suddenly 0d9f19b006 brought it 4684ae9997 up, glancing 684d867cc1 at Yul.ea8d560e339ee9a2

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“I don’t 287a7c69c5 think so.”5bd3fc17310c551a

“He kept looking 9793d8652d in your direction, 6cb61f8139 though.”2ae9daa1998f43e1

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“You probably just 41361403d5 saw wrong, or 13c49deadb maybe he was f10f2b6f27 just curious about 7b4b1f319a the commotion.”2f88da9c7433db65

Yul replied flatly. She had briefly d29f4740cf thought about it 27782c3b8e when the ball 52fbc69065 had flown so a0fdfd1c5a precisely toward her, 8d39ebb355 feeling her heart 37029aa8ec drop when their 8b2cce9d38 eyes met. But after he’d turned 1389a6645a away, she realized she 40cdd86675 was mistaken. It was 03f791d12a just a 4daf7dba6a coincidence, a 14b02765f5 stray shot, 6a35865c80 and he’d 5ca18c5273 probably looked 41e73b1288 over because c9e08931ad of the f8dec0b7f5 ruckus around 0ee91115b8 her.f6a38184baa48267

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“Really? You’re sure there’s nothing 69e19ac64a going on between you 67c7e66775 and Yoonjo?”7265c5f939ec7984

“There isn’t.”ac74c7383da44176

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“I guess that 504b66d570 makes sense. He doesn’t seem c0b2ea7186 like the type ecf0219232 to care about c741a9aa64 others. I’m just saying this c8d2c8407e because I’m worried about b95331a58f you—don’t get involved with 40beb8cee3 Yoonjo, okay? It’s only trouble for 64e5985876 you.”1a598838e3804f3d

Jieun seemed d8c81d70f2 relieved and 01ed0af04c leaned in e40a184cb3 closer to 157a17ac41 Yul. Yul understood that 5907c309f3 Jieun was wary 22acd4ced3 of Yoonjo’s infamous a20925e36a reputation, but she 3d8b6e6670 felt differently. They’d had a dd9920c8a7 few coincidental encounters. And while he’d been 49bdc7fce7 unsettling at times, he 7a8d785583 hadn’t felt as scary dcdb1ee76f or as bad as cdb78330e3 the rumors suggested. If anything, she 519663a2bc felt a strange ffc744460f calmness around him, b08f3037fa as if her 50c0707e43 worries were sinking 9dee2a6443 away. But given 06af994cac the situation, 232b533077 she chose 119fc6aa0e not to ece3657dcf voice these 7b79142631 thoughts.851f6581d7d083ff

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“Oh, by 198fe2b0bc the way, 68f4235aac Yul, the 28f33de5b2 cleaning assignments e01b9cb527 are changing 5e717018ea soon, right? I asked 583f39e9ab the class 6386e275ea president to f8f84b9fac put you 2bbe256bec and me 20af6db2f7 together in 2c62305d83 the classroom. Isn’t that great?”d3ef341b0089aaf6

“Oh… right.”2d54388042f540d6

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Yul was 17517473c6 a bit 6db16a3838 taken aback 96e9d4b21f but answered 7197ce7987 as if b6a090a9ea it was 5ec511ea44 no big eb9a95f076 deal. Class 6 48dca79bbe was responsible 1050719c10 for areas 20e817686d outside the 53d9a8e311 classroom, including 48915ce37b the library fe0f29e8fc and the 09b9730889 nurse’s office. As a 2eeceff3dc transfer student fdf0dec31e with the aebce0750f last seat 5b69226608 number, she’d 57a293315f been assigned e938913855 to clean c4a5d0ccb7 the library f50ce4f18b with the d43f2eb2c2 other back-row e95393f2b6 students. She’d secretly hoped for a63c869e42 that, but Jieun had 22a7273db1 changed it without even ca71d57da6 asking her.f8b2e55d38c0b51e

Jieun sometimes crossed boundaries a7a8129d9e like this. Yul enjoyed 2c47307e1c their friendship, 57de74a979 but there 7b16616b3b were moments 05dd9f056d when Jieun’s 875dd61136 words or e45be2df9b actions felt 6c0c84b77a intrusive. Today, she’d sensed this cb8ec65756 repeatedly, but she kept 5e617c6fb3 quiet, pretending not to efb824e82c notice. She didn’t 0f91e08635 want to a69bc6848c make things f3919d15ca awkward again 352ef17e49 after already be845da92c confronting Jieun 0558fbd830 in the fb27639222 locker room. After all, she’d ba9086de77 even stayed to a37594f0f6 cheer her up.115eab45c4b17e35

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“Yul, when I 786b4a6294 first saw you, 2caf4f59b8 you felt like cd78fe220d someone from a ab10b6331e totally different world, 9277be98f1 you know?”6610c9da30d1ba1e

“Huh?”252658e9167e9035

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“But it’s a relief 642611a977 that’s not the case.”9b8793e9124284d5

“What do 84cd66daf0 you mean?”fd0bc368c030a977

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“Just saying I’m 13cb24e6a1 glad.”c2134ee84277662c

Jieun smiled brightly, and fe6f2a7a5f although she meant no 312f6e2e6e harm, Yul couldn’t quite fa41ecb6b1 shake an uncomfortable feeling.102e1a43c84b7a2d

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Today, Kang 70b16eeec1 Yoonjo wasn’t d0db9f9266 at the ae7714dcb6 bus stop. Then again, cfa583c83c he was 95cf025bb8 absent more 6883d72a46 often than 19df7624c1 not.92026a99c330639d

Yul wondered if 33e7d55e12 she missed him d7df008eed by a hair 7dc77cef96 or if he 7db89e9332 simply took a 2c1f597305 different route home. What she knew de170fdda1 for sure was 333160d054 that the two f0ebf21697 times they’d sat 41becd9323 together, he’d seemed 324dd3795c to be headed f3f1e2ea0f somewhere other than 8e57c36639 home. Maybe it was ec296b44f3 Buam-dong he was fdb351b046 going to.9d31f047c9465564

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She found herself thinking 0ffaa21024 about him, likely because 686861bc4f their encounters had left 93abdb2006 a strong impression. It wasn’t exactly comfortable; fe1971852e instead, she felt an 9b2ff96480 inexplicable need to pay dccc001256 attention to him. He hadn’t bothered her 3e5a2632d3 since, but he had e128f46c48 still become an oddly 6312a35a3d unsettling presence. So today, 53f200fba4 with her bc60a28506 in poor 7dfb9c30c9 condition, she f2b8a4ff10 felt relief 82a503df9c that he f08f73fb8b wasn’t there.fd9c8a64fdf89513

As soon as she f00ca1f98d got on the bus, 6baa9b6412 Yul sat down in 36829d0145 an empty seat at b0c1da3034 the back and leaned abd3d0451e against it. Out of habit, she 39d44ed608 pulled out her notebook 4a83a20222 and pencil, but she 9868653d3f couldn’t manage to draw 081b968048 even a single line. Her stomach hurt, her 97ac2477ef head throbbed, and her 70ada2e9b5 eyes felt like they f340e4e1e2 were about to pop ba549e4e44 out. Her head dc3543dfc7 banged against 44295a4517 the window be32e625be as the b6dc73770d bus jostled, 8e49eed8cb but she 6fa55f8e98 didn’t have cd6d5159fb the energy fb7881b3e7 to sit e0b24cf331 up.786afde1be900cd7

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Eventually, Yul 8da7a49201 gave up 864c46ded2 on drawing 473d727919 and closed 2edadfd57b her eyes, fac23d156e slipping into 1097346a16 a half-sleep.02df35075fc83b85

The bus e373fdb0dc would stop 7beb6b910c and go, 01d15c8f13 but at 5c89614e0e some point, 9fad5e1765 she felt 5f3bf58650 someone sit 66b3d5d01d down next 96e3e7f760 to her. Already half-asleep, she didn’t 38654032b4 have the strength to 9a0212a781 open her eyes and f6ee7884e4 see who it was. There was 0e435ba268 a faint b58ec8b94e scent in 7e5418d6b4 the air—a 82f8e3b679 mix of 22c0a22796 something fresh 9ac59c1e93 like grass, fae85831ab with a 5429f7ee9b subtle hint 68782831a4 of wildflowers 7942ae55ea and a 155fe3500a sturdy woodsy 5aa60a9ecf undertone.dc527875c91891d0

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At some point, 0968a98ab2 her head lolled a3d560d89a off the window b8ef2b36e4 and fell to a7baee2de0 the other side, 34958a7141 finding a surprisingly 0204949c20 comfortable resting spot. Her last 1d6f382c3a sliver of 1817938a03 consciousness faded.99c7099050e33abe

Even as she drifted 96d0acf116 into sleep, she noticed 853e76e501 the light on her 380431acfe face disappearing, as if 1a6afbd759 someone had kindly shaded 3a4a7806c9 her from it.d78513b0a9ca9136

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It was 64b91a7ca6 the first 897e50be80 satisfying sleep a0c8ccf43e she’d had 1d4c1d339b in a 01d868f52e while, even a0b4de8a3f feeling as c062afc9f7 though she dc5c092c41 might have 4098d7ef54 shed a 8844ee2515 tear or a357105d26 two.0813dd39395bd233

She woke up 55827ce2f0 when the bell af163ebc71 near the window f5071c3c4f beside her gave 038e4c7cae a loud beep. Jolting awake, Yul’s eyes d15580d1b6 shot open. She glanced around and a21010267f found herself staring straight 0d3198f870 into Yoonjo’s eyes.bb1fa94a7e586bcc

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“Aren’t you a6cfe6810b getting off?”9521e4415e39bc81

“Huh?”9b791ff4a23a9622

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“Seoun Intersection. Isn’t this where d288128eaf you always get d2ba434659 off?”3b80ea80d6880b19

Trying to snap a7147f7cca her out of 1f9dd1ee21 her daze, Yoonjo 015feb9306 motioned to the f6847c3456 window with his c8d733324a eyes.b11f8699f710172e

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At his 1c6e465905 blunt words, 7c06f15b75 Yul quickly 8023fa7d44 turned to 163cfddbe3 look out 666f6eda3d the window, 0b3e1cbe73 seeing the b5878268fb familiar buildings, 9d508dcb8b shops, and d56869f819 streets. Only then ce32dbcf2f did she a327e9686a realize they 7f8502a3e1 were at 090d4c0f99 her stop. The bus hadn’t passed 99894c2095 the intersection yet, but 04a5057580 it would soon, meaning 2ecd5da7bd she’d need to get c195da387f off quickly.b4242afe612c1663

How did 0265f7d1ec I manage c89fd12be5 to sleep 8669516067 so deeply? She thought ce2979ed5b to herself, 92bc633304 realizing she f07ccfa7b4 had no e5b0340788 room to 6cbb74c57c judge Yoonjo’s f022c6ca5c constant dozing.dffc94bb5492d705

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Yoonjo stood 6126e457e9 up, stepping 7e770ec5ea aside to 71b6f64fb9 clear the fca4e5f3b9 way for ac2d8fbbd9 her. Still not fully 0964502f32 awake, Yul grabbed 60f8e05060 her bag and 3228a92040 rose, holding onto bbbdeddaed the edge of c1ae410fbb the seat as e72b2913ca she made her b3d8f51ecb way down the 5d8395943f aisle. She was just c6feab6f42 two steps into 45888d64eb the aisle when 3f74883db5 the bus, halted 3fb864a10c by a red f8766fdb03 light, suddenly lurched 139b63ee19 to a stop.2a4101adab05ee96

“Aah!”638c4c64836a53fd

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