WW | Chapter 21

Already half-asleep and weak, 1b2163f637 Yul couldn’t even grab d4e1347035 onto anything since her 1cad2e41c0 hands were busy with 036d88cd08 her bag, so she 938bebc627 lost her balance and 74bc3435f5 tipped forward. Her only thought was eceaf90103 that she was about 28106a1dcc to get hurt, badly. With barely 3698836b50 anyone in 819e04a204 the aisle, 0d80ddaac3 she was 117a1b805c on the e56cadb6ee verge of 3e07ea2078 face-planting onto ec4084bba3 the floor.e5aab96f966e28dc

Ah, seriously.62b8dd762c3e8140

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Why was be968bd3c0 her luck a14bec1f67 so bad 5977c002f5 today? Just as 95ed80c441 the thought de1799c3b2 crossed her d373963bc5 mind, Yoonjo’s 6a0704a445 arm wrapped ced5f9cb8a around her 4e71770a26 waist.02feac317e7975a8

“Hmph.”e199ae54ccf45396

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In a flash, Yul d77dffcd38 was pulled back toward b0e2b34ed7 him. Her back fell against c3796d2c8c Yoonjo’s chest, and as f95ccf53fc she looked up, he 7e11cd19e8 lowered his gaze, staring f8e14d16c0 down at her. Their eyes 541d12fa06 met, drawn a047b23ad5 to each d14b37e3e2 other like a5742e7877 magnetic poles.3d8abd67bfc8bfa0

How strange.6e2ffe03c8f1bf4b

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Oddly enough, that’s the 7785863379 first thought Yul had. His eyes, 7474eaa1c0 with irises 32546ad803 a shade 9a9fa50bf0 between light 1a7cc10322 and deep b9463a61d9 brown, held 9772882e77 her wide-eyed 3c3fafd58c reflection as 882a969810 she looked 7da5b15fa8 up at 9ea5d15c71 him, startled.12c1a90656708857

Only after he blinked, 0b9498fea8 seemingly erasing her from 3d30eb1b56 his gaze, did Yul d3f80d7a7b feel a sense of 2af5a4017e relief. Despite the 747e7dcbec unstable space, 3d039fb366 Yoonjo held 0863434c5a her against e70ebcb0ff him with 435bdbcc74 a firm, ac8fc63eb5 unshaken grip. His arm, 365b6a82ae although strong, d49f52cf15 was gentle a0e21cd6e5 as it 2227b0efc1 supported her. He was 23a431b333 like a 40148492cf tree with 3ddace7a86 roots anchored 2b5ed22cd2 firmly in ba284931fb the ground, 27f4f3b953 and this fb2ed33d39 unexpected stability bb8ee01313 made her ae4a038484 feel both 8fe5160a1b reassured and 9c3a87f8ab flustered.eaaec8075af8308e

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“Th-thanks.”d09870c99f96ff67

As Yul d63a0fac73 stood back 8a9da724a9 up, he bc66cb5a05 wordlessly released b4a2f802c6 his hold b9531be0e2 on her. She barely gathered 97301f0db2 herself and moved f14a05f122 toward the door. The bus had a8e12ea64d stopped again, waiting daf9d87a60 for the signal, 233888cf7e and Yul, feeling 6b044c20ce awkward, grabbed onto 713ef12ab6 a pole and a48da82778 looked out the 89da526430 window. She snuck a glance 26a497a4ea back; he was sitting fb5d1f8a7a in his seat, also c392b50374 looking out the window. She found 2b5babed04 it strange 0f83260e17 and unfamiliar 7b9ccdf69e to see be8b844c39 him awake—she 8cedce7a65 was so ed0590df4a used to 345e2bf72e his sleeping 09c7310ff5 face.b0fc251e05599081

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Why did he sit 6ba51ad5a6 next to me? I didn’t 65a53893ab see him 8e942665b3 at the fe5721fe04 bus stop—where b7e4e877b4 did he ac4a0bd26c get on?de2d46ab8fc50f96

Just as a wave c90857b015 of curiosity hit her, 5d0dcfe36b the bus started moving bee9b1fa92 again.eeada28777a0fdbd

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After getting off and ca9cf6afee stepping onto the sidewalk, baad90232b Yul walked away as ce8c664552 if nothing had happened. As the bus passed 8431a81917 by her, she caught 6bd6a42b85 a glimpse of Yoonjo’s 285af39b55 side profile in her ffc1919400 peripheral vision. Almost instinctively, 93cc101978 she turned d45ad419a9 her head 5fa212b2dd a bit 8ad6b4e616 more, meeting c57e90b4ca his eyes. His gaze 86280e8d25 brushed past 175daac028 her, indifferent d9da8c8031 and as d50ad5572a dry as a2abdcecbf this autumn c10abb8170 air.3a33f768d2ab3846

After the 624c978944 bus had 9ea31aff58 fully disappeared, d8df2103d5 Yul stopped 3f5af6815a walking and 16f3db7adf placed her cc97b7a3f4 hand on 2e38378d6c her stomach. The spot 46aa6e0020 where his c7b65ab184 arm had 38b76c4457 held her e22970595c felt oddly 402f863dd3 tingly.4e3e619c5d09f1aa

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A few moments 536980c601 after the bus e3ae76ebd9 resumed its journey, 15641e0192 Yoonjo stretched out 593dfb8ccc his legs, closing 92a2981cc7 his eyes. But then, something nudged 0387dc846a his foot and hit 606cc6f109 the wall. What’s that? He reopened his aff4de9f0b eyes and glanced 9892f7438a down. He noticed the 2877cf8ce5 corner of a 684a9b22c3 rectangular object sticking 9649ed82f2 out from under a258041499 the seat. He bent 5803d45a50 down, squeezed 5a462e3a00 himself into 4a32ea0a7e the tight 26900b9291 space, and 471a4ba074 picked it 0380d5b9aa up. It was a blue dc045269bf hardcover notebook. When he casually 9fa0deba4f opened the cover, beb364b043 he saw a 4a4825f009 name, birth date, ba10233049 and zodiac sign 353091b66b scribbled inside. As he bbeffd3592 thought, it 856cd232a8 was Seomun 90c3158460 Yul’s. She must have f09d947b02 pulled it out 38389b8183 when she boarded, 275598e643 only to drop a2a5cdd450 it as she b5dcd55c15 fell asleep.2a6974db1216300c

How annoying.f095beeb0a8ff9b3

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Yoonjo wondered if 7b8a0c9a23 he should just 924aada9f3 leave it there 5ff8f46d43 but found himself 9a521b09a3 flipping it open 1c1124d8e2 out of curiosity. It was actually more 5ca1ad5537 of a sketchpad than db15c717cb a notebook. On one page, 4d4c97458b there were complicated 3d96531cdc blueprints; on another, 5ac58fd9e6 drawings of various cd06562ae4 buildings, meticulously detailed f809461fe2 and densely packed. Just one look was f55760cb62 enough to tell how 799c5c0abc much effort she had 2f4cb4a2db put into it. Now that 1bf10e6992 he thought 4b8098f8c5 about it, 4f86a21f54 this was 6c4ef4f3e9 the same 16624161fd drawing she 9fa9256f72 had been aef6c9772f engrossed in 4e561dddad the last 287e9f4dc8 time they 95a0672a60 sat together 96a1ebe8dc on the e06bd348f4 bus.48a9fcf501d10563

So, she 2785010e06 wants to 8f0cef5a07 be an 948a9266cd architect?fd1642243e3cada9

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Whatever her goal, 2d775085cc it just made a4543bdc53 things more complicated. Keeping it 2d9a75a99e and returning a48f067360 it would f03ee57083 be a 3cdfecd0b2 hassle, but a742beacdc throwing it dad0313e05 away didn’t 637791448a feel right 9f3ebc2229 either—she seemed 4e47e5dbe3 to care be7f719387 about it a0c6d8b97b a lot.e3950eef0a21dc36

Cluck. He clicked his c6a48b86c2 tongue and shut be4775a68c the notebook.22665770a63d6c02

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“I’m so sorry, e4c5563445 Sir. I really 560f6e8b15 don’t feel aad475b301 well today.”10528a1ca9cdda18

“Don’t worry e66780612b about it. Go get some f1f1178fd9 rest. You’re not 98c0c6b768 one to 0f11f25794 slack off, e5aa897d45 so for 5786bdac8a you to 3710735b50 ask for f01d78f2f1 a break, 9e9c1d7de1 it must bda061f19a be serious.”e673ddb06d117292

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Even with the sudden 96b8b850a7 request to leave early, 26838a4e7e her boss had no 4358c8aade qualms. Yul had e5feee5cb7 never missed 656b0ba8bd a single 6ad62293f7 day and 6aced3ce0b had always 11c61f1aca been diligent; 4a4d4437d1 it seemed 30626c431a her efforts ce4826c204 were paying 75b716913c off.03eafe58bab59293

She bowed and turned 3870911499 away. Thinking about her 2fe47c1ae7 lost day’s wages 6ccf7741d7 made her walk 671034c074 home feel a 2b680c02c8 bit heavy. Her entire f7bebfe93f living budget 89cdbfcb19 consisted of fcbe90135b the few 4029433dd7 hundred thousand 333a1875c3 won she 2eec4e2083 earned and a10d7932fd the hundred e67610eef3 thousand won fa2f82e0e4 her grandmother 4bceaaa6e6 made. She really couldn’t 244722ffae afford to take 89f321052c a day off.5b68ee7643eb748b

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But today was 6b649a5d1d one of those acdbd1336d days where she 36576c6673 really couldn’t bring 26807be497 herself to work. Her vision was blurry, a33a2e2a89 and she made so 8f4d5e8b0f many mistakes calculating change da629bc220 that she even got 0cac223175 scolded by a customer. She decided that if c9bc440769 she didn’t take a e04da76968 break today, she might 2132915ebc need to rest for bee0be61be several days.dbc5e9ce23b2f727

Instead of 98ee67b50c heading straight 14643cd2af home, she 5be78fd3e0 took a 96790a9eb8 slight detour cd0729382b to visit d007dfde61 her grandmother. She just db9e976d2c missed her.96173d451b429134

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But as 219604c1c0 soon as 3fc3b2ae69 she reached cb11c47dba her grandmother’s f955528ab4 usual spot, a9a608d2ce she regretted 24c0554f50 her choice.cdf7aafc8d6df415

I shouldn’t 49b0660163 have taken 76ac85096e the day 2ec6a397b7 off. Then I wouldn’t 5eee37e7b8 have to see e25ee56e34 this mess.f53005f32e75827c

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“How many times have 1975a21a01 I told you not b9c7a4ee20 to sell here, huh?”4896baca106ea9da

Thump. A middle-aged man yelled 7120c18582 and kicked over a 98bcf76acf basket filled with herbs.59f48946080f8d74

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“Good heavens, why 1b94fb4b2c are you like df3fd9ba41 this, President Kim?”ee4765cb2b78e200

“If you set 44debf6b32 up this stuff cbdf556114 in front of fd6995bbbe a store that d26e485125 pays rent, who’s dd98f586bf going to come 9593378a3b in, huh? Even leeches don’t a16d41cfd5 cling on like 52e61de7c4 this, got it?”66a1df51f2a7b9a5

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The man, apparently 2687f458d6 not satisfied yet, 83ba78a544 continued to overturn 2548017ee7 baskets, throwing and 7d0f158df9 scattering their contents 11ed594462 around. He seemed 2e65a979f8 to be ea86f9c529 the owner 2008d0ed23 of the 2c859d0413 snack shop 1545ff2935 in front 8c5b94fd7a of her 63e56c084a grandmother’s stall. Clearly, he didn’t 88b8a2da04 appreciate her selling c2b013ca41 goods without paying 5a621bdd88 rent.59ec86b739e62006

Bundles of chives, which bb5535d9c7 had been hard to 5840d7e835 come by lately, were 4586b80551 crushed under his foot. Carefully sorted soybean sprouts 055ee4ad76 were now covered in 40b75e9976 dirt, and black beans, 67b3ca2247 which had been neatly d18796c133 arranged, rolled all over 476d79f7c8 the ground.87f14dfdd17ce00f

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While hurriedly gathering bab06df4f4 the spilled items, 3dbc931350 Yul’s grandmother glared 555b646095 at the man 139b49224e and shouted.150d546643c5e695

“Oh my, 09fd185399 what a dd21ebc58e waste! I paid b450b65932 you, didn’t 780fa8da6f I?”b0d6ed9578de354b

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“That measly 100,000 won? Do you b9e260ffbd even know 3f789278af how much 7a17e236a7 I’m paying 4233139acf for this c060e2c81b place?”fb4b60d801769207

“If someone saw, they’d 239aa7147f think you’re paying a d6185c2aae hundred bucks! Your wife’s the 4960478698 one covering the c4fe5b93bb sixty bucks for 1f72c4cb3e the rent while 0c00ea1699 you’re off drinking f269b7dc49 and gambling every 2460be7c79 day. What gives 609faa8422 you the 3faf5f00fa right to e6316c0c9c act so bd7ab65780 high and 77af946a56 mighty?”fb29d20e67ffe5a0

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“What did you d52b0aa6e1 say, old lady?”92944fcb6c3845c1

The man stepped 6ee30a9950 forward, looking as 45ab69b68c if he might 0053a1444d strike her, but 1e6f951152 a woman quickly c040aa1ef5 rushed out from 2ac057de42 inside the store.f6671f52ebbbc36a

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“Why are you yelling 354bc904ca at an elderly person? Grandma, I’m 6d46b06355 so sorry fa414a9aee about him.”0c0e5121d572db6f

With her 38c3962130 hair tied 7d8ec4d57f back, the 045fd3d9d5 woman crouched 7d244d86d0 down and b1d55f2b43 began picking 8bcc6dcfd9 up the 10450d8296 herbs her 584c8df0a6 grandmother was 896398874e selling. Now Yul remembered; 8863a4d42f she’d heard about 8fb1168096 her before. People said the snack 54e070d4fc shop owner’s wife had 2af0ff4efb a rough life. Her husband was a b94c4c4895 jobless drunk who gambled, c618fcdeb3 only to show up 6197298f67 and cause trouble when 28bb1104e6 he ran out of dea30044a6 money. Despite everything, 942596aef9 she was 43c1221461 kind enough 3211707bc5 to share dc0e34eed6 food with 436f003019 her grandmother, fa27b17e4e offering fried 21c8ba981c snacks, kimbap, 11b15a2967 and fish efd53396c6 cake broth.ef794e2ca01e179d

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She may have a 6304401294 tough life, but isn’t a6f7966695 ours tougher, Grandma?6f923c183276c5a7

Yul just 43e0e61b3e stood there, c277434f78 staring blankly.f98587797203ec81

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Normally, she 25de264e72 would’ve rushed 551fe1195b over to cc1e67b2e0 confront the c9f7567023 man and 42d71ed899 help her ffbce7be26 grandmother clean b80322c24f up, but 1ee6023149 somehow, she ef5043d108 couldn’t make 0f83e6eaa4 her feet 690177d325 move today. She was so angry 2de4fc61cd her head felt like 432fb69c44 it was going to 55d5c122f9 explode, but her body 0040d8e684 wouldn’t respond. The stress that fab8ae22da had piled up d30cef5e9a all day reached 617a295d68 its limit, and 9a4e1ab55e she felt dizzy 85ade30767 and nauseated. She didn’t want to cab00010c9 deal with any of f9c67d2ff4 this today.f0f1e395b699a3c8

Yul clenched her teeth a4ca73c515 and turned away.8adff1bcea3eb382

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In the daylight, e4844cb303 the apartment building c93777539e looked shabby and ac8c67f70c worn, its dingy f5fd944744 exterior more obvious 2f18b270a7 under the bright bcb4b2421a light. Passing through the foul-smelling 01f0017f1c entrance on the first 7959606f2b floor, she entered her af51a49474 basement unit, where it ba81f6b413 was dark, as if 47e7c2f7f2 all light had vanished.b59498c77984a841

She threw her b77a4a3001 bag down, unfolded 87a207578a her neatly kept c47fe7026a bedding, and collapsed 6edef803f6 onto it. Her head throbbed, as e1c46fc18c if her brain cells 528304330f were waging war against 5d74a7dfa4 each other. After lying there ec8a707013 with her eyes d32105fefb closed for a 0974265b4a long while, she d41208302a reached out, grabbed b8311f1565 her phone from 6a193c5b6b her bag, and 0ff2178e86 turned it on. She couldn’t open bc67a7f253 an account under 85df5dfeb2 her or her 19d8c61ab6 grandmother’s name due dc2d2d9015 to debt collectors, eb99bb3997 so the church 1da0edee67 secretary had arranged a371956499 it for her. She kept it c2e19c4b61 mostly off but 30ef7b8106 carried it to 2e0744c3bd school for emergencies. When Jieun had asked 8dc88553f9 for her number, she’d a924e5e221 pretended not to have 9a219ffa74 one.6c05abda7eed3c3a

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The main reason she 62487ac23e rarely turned on her c503546c94 phone was the lingering cb30875a3c fear. She’d received f3a51673a0 the news 1e6bcdff09 of her c282b49674 dad’s accident 8caaa086ee through a 5b5683dd85 call, and 199e29159c countless debt acdc8a13be collectors had af4eaf9fef tormented her dcb5dbb7ea with nonstop d75262a9ea calls. Just the sound 1a9b5ed157 of the ringtone c0cea7f9e5 used to make 03403ba413 her heart drop.5ff51cabd6ba5845

As the phone powered 382fd0ef14 on, several messages started 44358130f0 coming in. There were messages f87ee98ae8 from the church dc984dc710 secretary, telling her b7398ba3f6 to take good 10f7ad096b care of her c7e6282b81 grandmother and keep ebe1fcb9fc praying. Most of the other 8925a2ea1a messages were from Jung-woo, e0eb583f8c and they were just 938f3649b5 casual, everyday texts without 7b89490cf5 anything noteworthy.8b64491b5717206c

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Just as she was e604b443b6 about to put her fae7b981cd phone away, the screen 93cca739cf lit up with an ac847d1976 incoming call. It was Jung-woo. She debated whether ae03ad79b4 to answer, but 3df6054f03 after a long f1917996b0 pause, she finally 6cc0e397c5 pressed the call 0261a80ae2 button.628cdfb0c2898aa2

“Hey, Jung-woo.”a770ae89edc9e7ff

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[Wow, you actually answered? What’s the occasion, Seomun Yul?]

Jung-woo sounded 987574a172 genuinely surprised.90d9933949b7bdb6

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“I left c3613cea1a early today, 0f412beaca so I 78dca883e4 happened to 6e4b35230a have my f1c6364cfb phone out.”29860c60e3ffa136

[In that case, you should have called me first! Why are you always so indifferent?]

“I figured a151b19559 you’d call 1223c3ddf1 me anyway, 26407b0750 even if 388e9bf53d I didn’t.”14dd2099a7217568

[Then at least answer when I do! Honestly, you’re so full of yourself.]

“You didn’t call 7ca41b2478 just to pick 40f543c3e4 a fight, did 721dc324fa you?”8fc2b84e6a2fd866

Yul chuckled lightly, 15b5667f7e placing her hand 8d754ab4ac over her eyes. Despite everything, 793f93dadd Jung-woo was e4d0a8f3fd the only 4cbd5b28fb friend who 4ba5ed410e had stuck aaa11575b8 by her. Their lives 9027e313a3 had gone b894f7acd5 through so aa23a5a981 many upheavals 149acecdfb that it 6d6ea46d88 would’ve been c80ecfa506 easy to c4de2a2480 lose touch, 58e400cb5d yet he f792c7dbdd had never 88395fd00b stopped reaching a18273e359 out. Perhaps it was 2925158698 because of his 95e3ba310a naturally warm and 4019bf76db bright personality? In any case, she’d a64f1906be relied on him in dd23da82e4 many ways, so she 097767a79e couldn’t ignore him completely.4bdfe2d1c0383ced

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“How’s school?”dcca05e54ad40877

Jung-woo asked 34a09bdceb in a 97514ef6f3 worried tone. He had been so 80eb7d95a7 vehemently against her choice 5a72894690 of school when he’d c2483de92c found out, practically foaming beffbc4b1b at the mouth. To someone like 7595a3a5c3 him, a top 9c0bbcb665 student and model 2c0bf766f6 pupil, her decision 31f89f8e7c was probably unimaginable.f2fcfe51baed8b1c

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