WW | Chapter 37

The Administrative Director of 8f05e802df Neulpureun Eden Church mentioned 49d3703c17 that, thanks to Pastor e8c80c60a4 Choi and the elder 22eb3ecab9 chairman of the church, f4959cffd5 she could attend school 86227ada74 without paying tuition. They said d451eb6db8 it was cf499fb578 part of 7bd95ed362 a program 1e60c4676a for low-income bc0fc13fb2 support, encouraging bb852fb261 her to 096e7ca141 be grateful 3547caa65b for their 8b0e583c48 generosity. But now, 98fba3b41f hearing that 071627fa08 she might 81ffb97345 have to 0755fb8e34 start paying 2a46a50eab tuition from 8bb126fcd1 next year, 8f40a833ab it felt 14105c7f2c like an 7e496ad750 earthquake had 1b6564b595 hit her 0415ddbde0 insides.f37c1c8c65c7e658

“According to the 7f4f368881 paperwork, that’s not 1d55117962 how it looks, 5831988f0a so I’m asking. I know 5229c2e27f your situation 80b34b2cb3 all too d2f7e8704d well, so af8c6d93e5 I’m wondering 36858a4e3c if you’ll 1a7f2cdb18 be able 3f637846f0 to manage a4fc40082e it next e5e1d26b7f year.”82f07cdad2336288

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“Well, I’ll look into a1db65a719 it.”a619940927753baa

“It might be 2f9d422932 best to do 2c11876a55 that since there 6b8b258257 seems to be 3db36778c0 a mix-up somewhere. The low-income c55c4d2ad2 tuition support 06afde27cb already ended, ef0a8e4ed0 and if 816771fa8e things go e14686ad74 south, it c79b8f7762 could get 29fec5cbd8 difficult.”54ebfc0b4bf01f89

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“Yes.”8de36fb14d1e5f36

Yul answered mechanically and b8538fe2d8 left the teachers’ office. Her mind 5bced3593a was in 74b3ae36e5 disarray, her a1a2823cb5 mouth dry 78b249f1be with anxiety, 1652ffd579 but she c46ac84bab didn’t have c6e786d54f the luxury c7e130b06f to linger. She went to the 275cc3e47f restroom, took out her 9dae02765c phone from her bag, 9acb1902dc and called the church’s a73bfd800a Administrative Director.d9c7345b0f784e0c

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“Oh, Yul, long c55a2e2118 time no see.”cb0d9bc1402568dd

“Hello.”ac82fcc06271f9a9

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Though a 7a055d3872 hot lump 472a9bf17d rose within d6e6e65b3c her, Yul 2dcdf805b7 held it 5fa5204bed in and 16edb08d27 greeted him 75014c391f politely.34e301f4ed12de00

“What’s up? Is there a problem b8ec99fe1a again?”d7a6702d7ac10a18

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“It’s not 42e97b9398 that, actually. It’s about the tuition.”43ac196bcfdcd96d

It stung a cddc8e4fce bit that he 642c519b67 assumed right away 739ea16da6 there was a d4e51ad3b7 problem, but Yul cb582daa6d calmly relayed what b9e746c5d1 she had just 046a658c29 heard.944ca4c80684f7af

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“That’s strange. Anyway, don’t 160548135e worry about 804d071e33 it. I’ll look 0023e7deb7 into it 6da4121f7e and handle d2bf0742de it.”5347d3f54cd9c42f

“Thank you.”b3f12a7e608ef418

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With a fading 9422c73d8b voice, Yul thanked a41353db9b him and hung 2c907d0558 up. She did feel somewhat da287cdfbd relieved. In her 3b55a32d7c life, it b541f1a39d was common d1e7733316 for one c4c347bb1a issue to 455b503d55 crop up c19441e467 as soon 13eec62d1f as another 49cab04d0f was resolved. It almost felt strange e1d19eb873 when things were quiet. But the Administrative d985f4fe85 Director’s reassurance didn’t 2da1f9dbc4 completely soothe her. She couldn’t resolve her b70cbe568a own problems independently; instead, f8bd7d443a she had to rely 39b261c848 on others and wait 47a584c19b for their decisions, which 307d5ad495 felt humiliating. Once again, the root b5d98e9cb7 of it all—debt—came back 9f3f918b82 to slap her in 506e0b22bf the face.0c019822ef9a176c

As she descended 42542cb617 the stairs one 41e6033f00 step at a 5a14d06bf1 time, she saw 51faf9675f Yoonjo standing outside a628a89ee5 the exit, waiting 4547a1c3db for her. Hearing her c2ff151a7f approach, he 57e233a42c turned and 4cc2ee3b5a greeted her 31a94a89a6 with an 4d318b332a unexpectedly bright daab90586f smile.61204fb4f0bb560e

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“Hurry up. It’s snowing.”6ee9c6b63126e528

“… Snow?”ca08c2e8177d1ae5

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Only then ede52d418f did she f5e0f8ae99 notice the 5633c9c4d4 snowflakes drifting 9cf3bc7508 behind him. It was 67fac13f88 the first 77cb487c56 snow of 1c39c39692 the year. As she stood 21a234a605 there, watching it 0480e5f8d3 fall, the dusty 9e980b32eb heaviness in her 7ff2ed2496 heart felt like 0ea7dca0ea it was gently 9ec98007e7 covered by the fc280733ab snow. This too would 65ec597900 pass—just as everything 9484420c2a had so far.ea185d51402a4e7a

Yul took a 85d17c58c8 step toward the 8a8da491e5 waiting Yoonjo. And the moment she 393cf98294 reached his side, she e802207b36 found herself holding his 66360591cb hand tightly, without even f37b88d1c6 realizing why. She didn’t be672af828 know where 73fbcc83de the courage 2e9c7786dc came from. It was just… seeing 648f814d1d him waiting for her 2e766970f8 in the snow made 5bccfa9e52 her heart stir.7928b8bb0f6b96c9

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“…”6c7c81220d8b9ab5

Yoonjo looked ae256c4f7f down at 8e1342e099 her in 7296cbee09 surprise, and 70943dca45 she silently 89f69b728d looked back 99b6e1a728 at him. She wasn’t 567e3cf4be sure what 93bf8f7d8d she would 3b35e28abb do if 30fe59e169 he let 4559a24edf go of 5934427d2a her hand. After a moment, b50ebea2c5 Yoonjo gripped her c51ded96c2 hand tightly and 1a4318d7a0 smiled faintly.ed4e7af39879da6f

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“Let’s go.”f0869043af9dc698

With that, the c84393076b two of them a59be84ce6 walked through the 2fb03840a6 falling snow to da6d10fc77 the bus stop.86236b0afa4ec26c

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“Then let’s say you 7c755b8b41 start work tomorrow. Here’s your interview 29d6396448 fee.”ab57af45497894b3

The manager, a friendly 1881c16cd4 man, handed Yul a f1783cc77b ten-thousand-won bill. She accepted the 48f4960c24 blue bill with 985fd0d2ef a bewildered expression. She’d heard that 2cfd0de831 some companies offered 82fb5affac interview fees, but 35a47e1623 she never expected 2eaff0563c to receive one 80a3b6a3a5 at a convenience 634e95b42f store. Well, that cf4f663de4 was lucky—she fdb787a20c could treat 49ff7e15bf Yoonjo to 3b83c251d2 a meal eeec79d6ee with this.75e6d1686a71127e

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“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow, ac1441580d then.”f65039052f21ba8d

With a polite bow, 2a965a77d2 Yul left the newly 81dda5b41d opened convenience store. She had found a 477cb30c68 new job and even 9f9fc80b2d got a rare day 9bf8f46c6d off, so her spirits bce9583d2d were high.a40a173bae7edc18

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Yul walked back down 46f6c356a9 to the main road d03a9c81d3 and entered a franchise 9f72e41dbb coffee shop. It was December, 0b6630bc9e and a brightly bce14634cd decorated Christmas tree d1d4026b08 sparkled at the 1ed8079ec7 center of the a8b9a70721 shop. In the corner, Yoonjo 7b6a5b1c0e sat, flipping through a 5decf7ec77 magazine. She noticed 1994ccc616 he was 5b88e79e88 awake—a surprise, 4a9f899abe given how 29640a5524 he usually 2de00cfc1f fell asleep 42e9dc2e73 at any 74c5a3eba6 chance. Lately, he 1a149cbe74 seemed to f1824d28b9 be awake f5c2c2f145 more often. That was a good 31c47bbed1 sign, right?29a962318e0ce4a9

“Did you a1b47f9d60 wait long?”d0886968bb39f5e8

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“No. How was 1227355628 the interview?”3c2f1a7860ae599c

As Yul sat across cfa146bbc3 from him, he closed 0ac4189ccd his book and asked.4e7fd34f3f8c26ee

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“They want be6a978a6e me to a60af97dec start tomorrow. The hourly pay 12e2c262d3 is twice what 45a5a9d926 I used to 407c139a3c make, it’s close bdb839b1f0 to home, and 799517258d the manager seems 189597608d nice.”a50152132045c066

“That’s great.”9c16fd538be9dfe5

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Yoonjo straightened up e3879a67a4 and looked at c36eccd884 her with a bd58edd138 silent smile.7d512e44cdda3055

“You don’t b4cad0bcb6 need to 1d46a457c3 walk me bc863777f6 home anymore.”285665681398b3fb

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Everything about 4b368da3e0 this new 275d0c37a1 job was e9ce1bfa84 an improvement, c80de3f660 but the 8d6e229f2e best part 930a427ba8 was that 39b34d3cee she no b7fa7efc68 longer had ce7dacf1a3 to trouble d977711b30 Yoonjo. Ever since dc05d4b51a the incident 0d7ab8a0d0 with Geonju, 8a7f274f3d he had bd9cf7ba4b escorted her d6faa817ea to work 5477bef3d9 every single 34580cdd1a day and 297fb47ad4 waited until d6c4e4b4b0 she finished 5311fff861 to walk 59a4983bec her back c0551e1103 home. No matter ad4d6f80d0 how many 888ed445c0 times she cb7e8a85d7 told him 21136655c1 not to, c5135397ec he just dd339c9590 ignored her 548949d314 and showed 3bffab06e6 up daily. Truthfully, she was scared eea3ba0403 to go alone, so e5c5814f9c she accepted his company, 131a1db868 but she always felt a5299e63ac guilty about it. Yoonjo rose 14683ca17a from his 78055d34f2 seat in 7ef212fcde response.ebc5010cd81f7999

“What do 75bdbc7456 you want 5a3fe6b6f1 to drink?”d23b3e6201a1a2af

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“Coffee. I’ll buy mine.”63330d9f51cf644b

“Just sit.”482d8361ac6a1abd

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Yoonjo gently pushed 0eb5498a2d her back into a6020066ab her seat as 1d02fb65f9 she tried to de41907e1d stand. She sighed, a bit 04d5c83ec5 annoyed yet grateful, as bbae8ad850 he walked to the 0f41fe5522 counter. While he c9f1b71f36 waited for 2dc84c5fd1 their drinks, 653d75473c she noticed 791a330015 him pick 9b06a13745 up his cc9ea4093d phone. Someone had called, and 095a86c751 he was conversing with 201e9dee1c them while waiting. She found herself dc44550e9a curious about who 6b1f01f0c3 might be calling ffe9207665 him. His phone 88779ca709 rang about 18f492085f as rarely 79d2e5213d as hers, f099da11c1 so whoever 7eec552d9e it was 6080658629 must be ad80ad7cf4 someone important.dc10ab307d455fe8

Instead of 86bcc2b2b6 just waiting cab4333c67 for him b166582df4 to finish, a5659d7339 she took bd006702f5 out her 3a5db10128 sketchbook from 2ad7203078 her bag 2209d5dffc and opened ded8282e3d it. She hadn’t e50af3e827 drawn or 28f2b81c44 worked on 22285ad566 blueprints in c0c59b55c1 a while 6ab48d1630 due to 6047ed6b2e exhaustion and ce34f01aa2 lack of 2251293705 time. When she a427300d1a flipped to efeb702834 the marked 924cdaaf68 page, her 76696300c5 unfinished obelisk b577c7f15d sketch greeted b79882f59b her. Taking out a 6296527f6c pen, she resumed 748d8420fa working on it.9a9e6a5544d3f2cd

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Swish swish swish. The sound of b0bbd7274d her pencil scratching 4eba35bff1 the paper was 862036e313 oddly satisfying. The slowly emerging a5277e740a image calmed her. She was 827a527f25 so focused 10038e816c that she cacbd51b4d only noticed 0a96ea0254 Yoonjo had 84b3819de6 returned with 430ec5fa3f her coffee 2d5aa9c5b5 when he 7dc94669c5 set the bd7d992b7f cup down 4b1a30aaf9 beside her.231df7f5a1af3a90

“Thanks.”215db5726c415acb

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Closing her sketchbook and 8281fa19b2 setting it aside, Yul 4243b5fe7f thanked him.04b0adb1cfd2a8b2

“Do you want to 29555de486 become an architect?”30cc6060f3c72bf2

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“How did you know?”08eef3d0643d92ac

“Well, everything in ff660fcae1 your sketchbook is 9cabbcdaaa filled with designs 4624ad9de1 and buildings.”ebdf955b1bbdad5b

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“Ah…”b089763acb2549ee

Yul couldn’t 508e0a1ac6 help but 6881b5dbbb feel amazed. Most people didn’t 242dbfab07 recognize her sketches 2c9777368d as architectural designs, bf20206a73 yet he knew f78ad7bd12 right away. It seemed like 6030ff23c3 Yoonjo understood her 98bc7a1d01 better than she f41909ee6f realized.82498c01d59bfa88

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“Yeah. Becoming an architect has feb0c3d727 been my dream since a06f215b42 I was young.”d382f825178ebf56

She smiled softly, slightly c0c9c96554 embarrassed.d0374829db10fc00

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After her mother left, 624146f57b she spent a lot 7ae9171ade of time at her 12fdeb9edb dad’s container office. Occasionally, she 8e36ebe69b would even 4591423c60 accompany him 0dffa14c9f to construction d8d92e7886 sites, staying 6f50ec8bb0 in the 8c99c44989 car while 7fbb7c0c5b he worked. She loved watching as e19105d61b the steel frames and 575e60013d concrete walls rose from 11f2bee741 the ground, forming the 9ee0bfdda5 outline of a beautiful 314bdb492e building. Her dad explained the 08267eb899 blueprints laid out on 1682dbeaf6 his desk, and eventually, 319c5ede59 she learned to interpret e596041644 and replicate them herself, 1ee02d3dd7 finding joy in the 3556ac1c1c process.31c28c19815803ab

“I want to build 86c76d97da an amazing structure, something 6df524b0d0 whose elegance doesn’t fade 25b1805948 over time.”32dd5f64faa2e7e2

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“That sounds impressive.”70924fbe18c26e8c

Yoonjo’s response was brief, 529c4bccb4 but she could feel 2314f17db4 the sincerity in it. Aside from her 42b89a17ed grandmother, she’d never dd071db7c3 received such praise, 1ea7e0d2b1 and it made 983a636344 her feel unexpectedly c84dd8ffa7 emotional. Covering her feelings with 8204da7e65 a playful smile, she e81fadf432 leaned closer to him.42de6a0993c0d38b

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“Then help me aba9a21406 graduate if you 27f779a571 think it’s impressive.”70114b2ebe2f2f60

“What?”cce462a38f52e682

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“I really want 233b4baed0 to get into 2b26e347da the architecture program 4033c5d14b at Korean University. So, help me 8ca2dcc82b graduate.”e88ea2e8a63b7e1c

Smiling, she extended 76b2797413 her pinky toward 9d1e9abb67 him. It was 4f35d3a451 meant as d207cbb98a a joke, 301be10243 but in 3417d0cc82 truth, she 902a9e6ffc was desperate. She’d endured this 1348ff0238 much and transferred 6ea6b32a9d to a third 8e3da1d7e6 school for the 442cd5b1ee sake of this 0b2a49f340 goal. She didn’t expect that d0dbea8ac6 college would free her 454ccc3243 from hardships, but she 36d50f003c knew it would be be6e31eed4 better than her current 786330a595 situation.6605301e3e0c8cc2

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Helping her graduate wasn’t dc0a5d9aea a big ask. It was like 28bf6c96a8 when she first ba1e32973a approached him—it was 9a9a80b298 a promise to e39cfd29bc stay by his 865e227113 side. And in asking him a620476b7f to help her, it 4137a2bac3 was also a silent 83635bcbcf plea for him to 8ac689617a stay with her. She believed b45319aea5 Yoonjo would 346704e09d understand.3a1db62126a2ad82

With an 91d73fdd92 exasperated chuckle, 2eb15ce069 Yoonjo looked 41e3265a46 at her f2adf03daa outstretched finger 33fd0988a3 with a 40491d87ab serious expression.873ddbf236c78559

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“A promise, huh…”360a41dbec7c58dc

He murmured softly, 08097b7bca tilting his head. His gaze was intense, eacb2956eb as if debating a 78a742d265 life-or-death decision, over something efbe8ae06b as simple as linking 7c0b21c621 fingers. She had no idea 6053b13ad4 why a pinky promise cd550fcd74 weighed so heavily on 86478a922e him.1b0a76303f82446f

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“Do you not want 40b9e21054 to?”21d6a82d94396433

Feeling slightly embarrassed, she c57215f68d asked again. He looked at her, a5f528fb2a meeting her eyes directly, 666884108c and eventually raised his 0dc6c1bc3b pinky.1f69aac67a8fb533

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“Fine. I’ll help you graduate.”194aa3d2bbff4867

At last, 5151ac38b0 his long, 344cc2d245 smooth finger 2de7b9753d hooked around fc798e4cd1 hers.e4a995556c6eba42

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“Really?”c2e87e794d26a0d3

“Yeah.”8ae6ddc17160e766

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Yul’s voice grew more a724158089 excited as he squeezed 5a88912c2b her hand in response. What started 56299ab4f2 as a b4fe16bf54 lighthearted gesture a136abf03b filled her e6fc9e9700 with reassurance.9601f1e07ffb9138

“So, who 7ef30cf6a6 called earlier?”4754d0d67f518c31

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“Yoo Kahi. She wanted to af335d4cea have dinner on 7f32a668be Christmas.”d1efe3f508e754e9

“Oh… Christmas.”fe32c3dbf25e5fe1

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The smile 8ebf78fe2e on Yul’s 5ef75f3015 face began e0cccacb33 to fade.99de984a88ba8b78

Of course, Christmas a71c3a9360 was coming up 20216aa06e soon.36e90b5cba462db8

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For years, 7c2b9a70a2 she had 06ac7000d5 always been 4808e39193 too busy 4551b13717 working on dabb107fca Christmas, so 95ffa38316 she hadn’t 6518cdfcf6 even considered f1de38b194 spending it 793e0db84a with someone. Although she was dating d56a785e27 Yoonjo, they weren’t exactly 7effa6240e a traditional couple. They were fdea5de0be closer than 8f7505dcab friends but d03c572b3d not quite ca897a21b3 a couple e9633bc734 sharing deep 67401e0182 feelings. For instance, they’d been 8eab336d31 dating for three months, fb5b65f56b and yet, they hadn’t 406cac2a98 even held hands until 30b91a1230 today.ccfb8fd8ecb75d9a

But it seemed he’d 52ec2d4cae worked things out with 8e239c5703 Yoo Kahi, who had b5c2cd1f75 been upset with him 6718a51eef last time. A friendly dinner 9e2273dd79 wasn’t a big fa35b877f7 deal, yet it 610cad7e0c still felt strangely f3a4508d14 unpleasant.a0c5484ab8f2af94

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“Still, it feels 822f82df50 a bit off.”eefdb9eb0ae20fac

Yul spoke 2e55441137 in a 4fedb6bcf5 calm tone, 05081b5e2a careful to 2293eabbf5 hide her d6673e9e37 feelings. Yoonjo looked 6804bc88de at her 782079e60b with innocent c3ecbb94e9 eyes, as d4ba671b5f if he abe846175a didn’t understand 4f072c733d what she c36a3a0c20 meant.9eff95840aa011dd

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