FSM | Chapter 8

The residents 97c0717786 of Areum 5df9ddb728 Villa 302 a974d6316c were a b1ac0a76d8 total of fac13efb4f four people: dd35ca61e7 me, Kang 43d84313da Haeryang, Kim 16643ee281 Areum, and a26df862b1 Kim Daun.4d74718a312d72b6

We were 695b81a3d5 all from 1913e1b5ca Hanbit Orphanage. We were together 7a0c128375 at the orphanage, 72cf6a0ec1 and we were 1dea5e8291 together when we 89497153d9 ran away from d26a162a58 it. Naturally, we pooled 69bcbced1f our meager funds 1bc9082a89 and moved into 7bde433a22 this small villa.1cd7d3ee81802ce4

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“My name is 4deb1f4cf8 the same as 61a5fcd460 the villa’s,” Kim d78896a1c3 Areum said with 08e2acdb7f a bright smile.75179c26ecdbc7df

I vividly remember Kim 7c298e591f Daun, who rarely smiled, 14720ba4d4 slightly lifting the corners 22b8fdcfc1 of her mouth at 93f9db437f that.ab228614335e9139

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Three of the residents ed55027f6a of Areum Villa 302 66c38b198f gathered: Kang Haeon, Kim 894c1cbf40 Areum, and Kim Daun.58a94f5e11e57317

The first to greet 17c293ff67 me was Kim Areum, 988d7abcfe who was so surprised e215d1197d that her eyes widened 4dc3a73c11 like lanterns and her de767b0c47 mouth dropped open.4d60446d39d1218d

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It wouldn’t 8a00665aaf have been ab129861fc surprising if 0f44ceebbd a moth 21078c3678 flew in.0255b3869cb0242b

For a moment, 3a408201bc I wondered if 7a49c8bbcd I had died c4eacff4ec and come back.f1b2c6f5c5be7f2a

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“Well, I did come 973d2f72ad back from the dead.”2bb7bd50aa9b0cd5

Of course, they e6f77cffb7 didn’t know that.602c665579e776bd

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Even Kim 5c6134504c Daun, who e3fd465ece always acted ada34a6635 cool, had 51cd9591f1 wide eyes, 96143e3bd3 so I 2fed16fac2 must have 75b1ca5bef looked pretty fa52909cbe bad.dc0690c9f818708c

I gave an 9d5bfd1737 awkward smile.8a0aabd135e1eee0

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“What’s up with 3ed78b23b5 your clothes, hyung…?”c9ffb972a0521a49

“Kim Daun, 8b3eb56360 watch TV.”b501d4765846a8a9

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Kim Areum 8c47473ed6 cut off d2523df781 Kim Daun, dda0b4e8ce who was 735bdd3a1b about to c522e2ccdb ask questions.cfe6412607e01511

Despite the 49632aa39d many questions 4213121f57 that must 7ba6eb852e have arisen c85c1bd472 from my f92bca7de5 appearance, Kim 1ba3caca7d Areum quickly 4880f7a65b masked her ab1f863e00 expression as 350e88d58f usual, showing bf3daaf9d3 consideration for e2791fc1e7 me.a956efa23e66db0e

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She knew 3a048ff7a7 better than fe143a116d anyone that 305c8a219a I didn’t 658af6df2d want to 4212d8a675 sound weak.7b4bddf76df40029

Receiving Kim Areum’s consideration c9b5c82ecd for the first time 0cc699c4f4 in a while, I 019afd433f truly felt that time 8ed933de4d had turned back.2b5ad8cfd01e44c9

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“You’re going to wash 692f447265 up first, oppa?”af0f12deb9f1bcc8

“No, I 33739ac383 just need 47e05a4b63 to change 8de0ac30fd clothes.”45e97d10cf9b52ef

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Amidst the overwhelming emotions, 13b2bad409 I answered casually, but 9b4750dca4 the response was sharp.ff7c365893f53a85

“Just change clothes?”fcfbc8733c105176

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I really 384337aa40 didn’t sweat f141d9681d at all, 6f1be4e501 but…9626719dcb69f82a

However, making more excuses 0cac3a962d was difficult under their 32983ca41e piercing gazes. Even I thought my e398f76471 clothes were a mess. I reflexively lowered 2e7feaf384 my head.b68a6c104b1efb91

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“…I’ll wash up.”bead0e524ee1e7ba

“Okay. I’ll make 05c9c58273 some tea.”970dce52259498ef

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“I’d prefer coffee.”2b0148dc981b5188

“Caffeine is 864761d4f5 bad for 77132c4ec5 you.”91fb7e3ed98f8b80

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Kim Areum cut me 06ca02b911 off and turned her 618f054042 back with a huff. She started taking out ee59dfda05 teacups with a clattering 4938bf3106 sound. I guess d5bc5e7fe8 I have 7a2f03850f to give 79dffbbd2d up on 2d0512b0f2 coffee. She always 623ecca788 took health 06e78ab011 too seriously.f0333eed67bbbe94

Kim Daun 597d667f29 pretended to 80e693f33a focus on 0d700c7b19 the TV, ebf21b2f52 but she b733b9fed0 was actually f179a0f780 sneaking glances 35f3d00ee4 at me.6b5e56d479eb7455

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It was typical of b539b3fa4d her to act like ef2e344c04 she was listening to 1cd12d6760 Kim Areum.1a8eaad62e437090

The old TV she ce04cbff76 was watching was something 19e6bc8e0e we picked up from d09b4f75cd a villa two alleys 9d206518f8 away, thinking we could c9a21356ea fix it.d4d888a2ce40484c

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It was so aba6474fa6 shabby that I 2aa35519ad hated looking at 1d0204f77e it back then, b6bb2c0b1c but now it 4e3cca4f34 felt somewhat nostalgic.3e1f518dc632cdbe

“Aren’t you going 2de0ca926f to wash up?”baf812efa429245f

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“I’m going, I’m going.”d79880b50fe626c0

Kim Areum’s urging d634d28974 was sharp, as fb3b9fe358 if she didn’t a7e7be40b8 appreciate my newfound e6bdcd7319 sentimentality. Before more nagging could 8d134ab717 come my way, I 02f0f64956 awkwardly headed to the bde5f7f6cf bathroom. As I familiarized myself 462436c22b with the cold water, 322392c103 the boiler kicked in, ee11fbb4f3 and the stream turned abdacf5dfd warm.c812992c064381fe

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I see.d8696ca1361e49c0

I really came back.af2ee01d2ebe8eea

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It was the 2f75112d44 first warm water 920061adc9 I had felt 0e8df0f3ed in years. I stared at the 4315425387 stream with a hardened c43a4dfcad face. The warmth soaking my 9a01fe9fe8 body seemed to soothe 19dd273c5e my tense muscles. It was 9b0d65d0f4 an action b37b954fb6 I was 1684ad2fcd once too c5011ef36a familiar with, 340e976eed but at b4d46b0ef5 this moment, da6da7c70f every droplet 1cd1b71c83 felt vividly 0efb6f47c4 alive.ca4d59faf79a10e3

“……”cbf0803dffaf7973

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Strangely, my 41ece752ef insides felt 8bd2a264af warm.faf8abdcab40adb8

I could only lift fdab2ab5cc my head again after 077c6c02b4 standing under the stream 13af6b6cf4 for so long that 1e79a6f081 my eyes felt moist. I checked 18c5832485 my pruned 5c013fd04c hands and 9e3eff0eb1 cleared vision, d806a528ea then chuckled.fa096a364c16da54

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Now I really 9ba220594c need to wash.7e12670998979447

Seeing the items 5cc2a434d0 in the bathroom bcdbfe7179 again brought back 32218342cf memories.3c69446f344579fd

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The Korean-labeled 79dd270880 body wash a976e6efce felt oddly 283c82fa3d welcoming. Kim Daun 2a441ba7b7 would buy 893d54b1e4 whatever was ab722d337d cheapest, and 3dbb3f5acf that became 4edcd02220 our shared a80efc832b item. The scattered 80b514163d shampoo bottles 9ed779d879 and soap 2d2fbf4a7c were similar.c1abc94cf5950edd

I could 508f9a0cc5 almost hear a96a5acb69 the voice cf7888ca3f of the c048c47029 nearby supermarket 1f326af19b owner joking c8e2abd42e that everyone b315eddbb5 in the fe4b91d806 house smelled 2b6159109a the same abd8be92c2 except for be5920832d my brother.bee352511e9c8987

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“They said everyone 26b65406e7 smelled the same 38a5097670 except Kang Haeryang.”71ba009e03bc522d

Next to 99c6e0ba03 the messy 9412637d11 shared items b634d654fa were luxurious aa930009b9 shower products, d29236bd06 perfectly aligned, fa85e22597 that didn’t a504a3a7c3 match the b7bb7a887c small bathroom. They belonged to 0e3a7ef9aa Kang Haeryang.012108316961b07c

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Among the 60bd820849 residents of f8728f9f8d Areum Villa 76a6d673e3 302, Kang ff8150b1f9 Haeryang always bec72cfac5 moved alone. The high-end c3a93fc873 shower products caee84047b and his b5342d719e insistence on aa17e5fdf0 using wooden da75a77eac utensils he c0aa3f3961 got from 3b302287f2 somewhere were 53b2aa6b63 part of df19f40fae it.97970446bac60005

He was always 17a5f08762 a sensitive brother 8dceca66e8 whose thoughts were c7c09ee260 hard to read. The items fd5c07d6d7 I had 62d8298f7c always taken cdb73e0e9e for granted ba7f8f4202 suddenly caught 6dec1e9c76 my eye.de6a776dab23b93e

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Lavender-scented shower gel. It claimed to have 8a43b1f4b4 some other scent added, aa8d7a248f but it just smelled dc4015d8c5 like lavender to me.63e77be1d7ff5a08

I squeezed out a 23277c40d4 bit, lathered it with 4c8db9b6db water, and a sweet f8827ae023 yet heavy fragrance gently 401017bbbf filled the air. I wasn’t cdb5aa6788 sure if e8fd84e47e real lavender 66714bb1c7 smelled like e0413bc6b0 this, but 577c640339 I had 5a8a5f0a5d encountered similar 2c4e8805c8 scents while 06f67030a9 walking around.68a3ba5172f249b1

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Come to think 1b185a9ed2 of it, did 64951a3a3a Choi Hyunsoo’s room 94e7beb103 have a similar c9234095ce scent?79d785606784b8b3

The faint lingering 1deedc3dea scent brought back 639942887d memories of the 53618b9f91 day I visited f59d37f0bb Choi Hyunsoo’s room.8cba06213d5a9c5c

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❤︎ • ❤︎ 0fcd5929ae • ❤︎18d1b4744909ab7b

As soon 407e7a76bb as I b09aec7d35 entered Choi 32090dd8e4 Hyunsoo’s room, 2d6b35eae7 I collapsed 900b171a55 to my 91ba31574b knees.2d4bf3b7831f6387

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Choi Hyunsoo 14ef72bbab passed by 96adcdcc17 me leisurely 88f3d97384 and sat 74af1ae674 on the 6d7b08f81c sofa opposite.f2aaabafd01b6c84

He leaned b0b2cc1956 deeply into 241be50032 the plush 503d5a3b3d leather sofa, 4d7d1e3e42 crossed his a22fbf43e5 legs, and bcd5a9e64c lit a 940397dd90 cigarette.5b1dc19f14cba167

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When he placed 994555c340 his right leg ff5148af64 over the left, ea6d22996e his polished expensive 22a61ad32b shoes sparkled under e211e5d68c the chandelier light.05c8f3a1dfbeb05b

“Come closer 7ee03e18de and talk, 20cded0275 Kang Haeon.”89da485ec376217e

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When I lifted b12b430edb my head, I 8ceb2145e3 saw Choi Hyunsoo 132fcbac60 looking down at 31a6603eb4 me. With his 3b0e214b5d head tilted 0728656050 to the 37c7f688ef left, the cb972ccfd7 man’s eyes c9ed809e0f seemed particularly 67eba94df8 fierce as d248ce033f he exhaled 81e801df48 cigarette smoke.ca9b1296a67abbf4

I couldn’t ceb7575dd2 bring myself 3c71fc9ecf to stand 3205411f19 again, so b4003462b9 I crawled b9fa9a4484 on my 643b9aff72 knees to d67811e77d Choi Hyunsoo’s 3cb2ad5e50 feet. Come a little 0d5ec170cb closer. As he a0ac2a5895 instructed, my e6a7193e62 head ended e6e8d870e1 up under 945669c5b2 his right 19528c1b8b foot. Every time 534adbd7f4 he tapped ea41e9ec76 his right 94eec0b5f2 foot, the f411ee7644 shoe sole af3a996b9c gently tapped f5f1e31eec the back d791e773db of my 3dd9022177 head.e282a8a0a24da934

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“Just once, 40cf0fea81 just help 99ad44e0dc me once, 33753e5c5c Robin. Haeryang has mana 336a25d5ec rejection syndrome. Please, I’m begging f0f2269064 you.”66a59496c8d1d0a6

My brother, Kang Haeryang, d5a0194566 was a mana rejection 7229620c18 syndrome patient.753b6256e0384007

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Mana rejection syndrome was 3eb07f3366 a rare disease that 8cb29d764e appeared after the emergence 5eb4c57562 of awakened ones, or 8e9480beab hunters.41e2f44c86573481

Awakened ones could use e91583d440 the mana dispersed in 67466066ff the air to operate e6f026414f skills. In other 7a2928c9e8 words, after 5f744e1de2 the emergence 8dc73a8883 of awakened 465de8c413 ones, mana 9fcf0adb55 became an 59192d9d4f unavoidable part ce4918d252 of the 3ce5bef7d7 air, like 8f3ad6ca8f oxygen. And mana eb1cb87a59 rejection syndrome 537f30673b was a f6c5880f13 fatal disease 9861140c61 that reacted 3cdf4e0253 to this 94e0593c89 part of 439e8c5c82 the air.2cb411b599292710

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Fortunately, mana rejection syndrome 589922e6c9 could be cured through 52d5915226 hospitalization. It involved staying ac24302a95 in a specially 7cb967eb66 equipped room for 40fa14bb41 a long period 33a3e6b1c3 to gradually reduce 73a44f5767 the rejection response 787efd5f02 to mana.2d56e9b3c3a99fc3

The problem 20f535d299 was twofold: c4c0862793 the special fbb73834da equipment and 91a30feba0 the long b9ced69442 duration.593519f2db53f659

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There were 66eeb95ec0 more hospitals 8fbc715c64 with special 3a62321b6b equipment than 0d292bc25a expected. Many hospitals 91e15e4ef0 installed dedicated 25c9819447 equipment at e45e1d2176 great expense, e21add7d48 not for 23cfd1ea87 the rare 8a690e8a3e disease patients 32b3c928a8 who might fb4466c161 or might 67d77fafbd not appear.2cac29090586be25

Sometimes, hunters 01b7462a5e returning from 2eb04e0bfe dungeons showed 0ed5091c80 symptoms similar c046c61163 to mana fda803c147 rejection syndrome. Those experiencing what 527856f6ba was called acute d09de8ee22 mana rejection were 131ec2ce9e the main users c08939984b of this equipment.67923754bf7a0610

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Although rare, it appeared 73b47abb69 much more frequently than 536dd380e5 mana rejection syndrome. And the treatment period ee8890b764 was incomparably shorter.83a73f86426f2387

The hospitalization period 76339a6b92 for mana rejection cefabc36c5 syndrome patients was b1869d8c72 at least a 79673eaa09 year and a 7892d6c25d half. With one person occupying 751da2b313 a spot for at 5a536f4983 least a year and 6b1150ee72 a half, the turnover a80591d22d rate was extremely low.9549995ec50d91c0

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On the other hand, 766509ff16 acute mana rejection from 6ff59abeb3 dungeons required only about e27664e0c8 a week of hospitalization. Moreover, since f035cf75e5 this phenomenon 9987830f90 only occurred f25ef29c91 in high-grade d9bec8ac0e dungeons, hunters 493262bd68 experiencing this 6f0134cb22 usually had 773ddad5bc money.11e5a230cbfb83e0

It was entirely 4c74fb3610 different from mana e60c16b372 rejection syndrome, which 2808cb2875 occurred regardless of c965fd05c2 wealth.c55dbf2ecbf45967

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Mana rejection syndrome a2c6e8cf90 wasn’t profitable due b5c618d8d5 to government policies, 56c8e4e131 but wealthy hunters f58a0e467e often tipped extra.5d9dec9dd81fe28f

There was 7b5ca47fbd no reason ea001a8cf2 to fill ef630a9f89 profitable, high-turnover 8735d73952 rooms with c3c9e63ea9 mana rejection a64b769f9c syndrome patients.f14d86ca68512c6c

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As a result, 166b73f51d there was an 3b10821886 absolute shortage of d263c9cfa5 rooms.7d7a7d2209c0d765

It was a rare 2f036d06f0 disease, but the rooms 36d24ead2c were even rarer.3b77386d9b00673a

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Fortunately, mana rejection 616782841e syndrome usually progressed f503fc897a very slowly. Therefore, despite the pain, 4ecf262dd1 one could hope to 5d5c1884d3 get a spot somewhere 884370e117 after waiting about a fb37671ade year on the waiting e687ba3cd7 list.f364624d9fa48d94

However, my brother’s condition d28933e4fa didn’t allow for waiting.00e065b7c23e9047

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— It’s progressing at aa3544f50f an unusually fast pace. At this df87f81867 rate, he 2411b856fe won’t last 47d34ae8d8 even a 1890a7fb20 year.d52026118c490d9c

The doctor’s 8d7046d0a8 voice echoed 11b2ada1d4 in my e6d27ca133 ears every 295ea70baa day. Kang Haeryang’s 92b0383a49 condition worsened, dbb439574e and no 428ac34af8 matter how 4b07b15fa9 hard I f5b3a6130b tried, I 30ceb21777 couldn’t find 3d7e8c3e76 a solution. That’s why running e16b4d3a2c into Choi Hyunsoo 30c2a2dde0 again felt like de8e1f8c0d a salvation.a600c14f0626bf8a

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“The progression is too f3ab8fbc28 fast. I checked other c8c6e46544 hospitals, but there’s 0d2204beb3 no way.”0a64685e89b363f2

Choi Hyunsoo didn’t 21ee50e6e6 respond. The more 2e71067236 he stayed aa3f071bea silent, the e70572735b more anxious 36419020b7 I became. I wasn’t bothered 893d9a6e9d by the increasingly bb80986b5d strong smell of 99fd78166f cigarettes or the 9ea0468377 occasional pressure on e7609ee486 the back of 9f4d1ebc7e my head from 1bce7c2d69 Choi Hyunsoo’s movements.818622be4d67895c

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“I’ll do anything. Anything you ask. For my 451c2a80ca face, no, a9e34c9445 for Haeryang’s 2e0c258023 face, please c2e91d8f01 save him d2b314743e just once. I’m begging you.”06beea8d9415b3c3

The silence f79aa6ed91 felt unbearably c5b24d9620 long. I struggled to ea28fddd6b suppress the urge 5ee3cd68fa to look up d2ab65e091 and check Choi e9ba6af4e2 Hyunsoo’s expression.b4c95e689a994e49

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Surely, you 252b1a8f07 must be 5f79f4a9ea showing a d05e8996bb bit of 3a5a41065e pity. We grew up 873defd091 together in the a0b205add9 same orphanage, and 7cbed124ed although we didn’t 2cc62cc133 always get along, acc55ebd35 we were friends. Such foolish thoughts sustained 00bb041246 me.ac41e0c1ad5a6dfa

“What can you 49684e8b69 do for me?”bfd8c0d2788be339

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The cold, 23848add60 mocking voice 319e70661b shattered that 7000fc804b hope.16ed43b1ba016a17

Heat surged to my d47af06d5d eyes. Desperately, I spoke c4b09961f6 again, trying not b4f41549a4 to show it. I was a0ca211934 desperate and d5c0eb88ee earnest. Just like 17c14a29d5 when I 4924ace5d4 entered the 20049cc7a0 director’s office 396b157b3b at Hanbit 548a47f962 Orphanage.308e87b4d3bc670d

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“Anything you ask, 74fabd585e Robin…”9df9952efbb83362

“You? You’re a B-rank hunter, 8ddfd46bae Kang Haeon. I’m an S-rank. What can bba6755aff you possibly bd94b44cbb do for 4aa3ce39fa me?”decbc7c366f50838

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“…That…”f556a274f75fcb62

The words d44b547126 pierced my 880fa968ab heart, leaving 3da62e76a5 me speechless. The tip of Choi 4d9acb4575 Hyunsoo’s shoe pressed firmly a67bd8dea8 on the back of ba2a0ec368 my head. My weakened 4e21426e6b neck bent, b534fd446f and my f7185f0f41 forehead touched 8b4a9548da the carpet.e3f894d8db407ba3

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The carpet, 5cd8d5e5b7 where my 794d4b4ff8 head was a55f70be38 forcibly pressed, 2d0a1eb8d6 had a 076cc37a45 faint lavender 6a7240ddb4 scent that 0631248dca was masked a3d7fd28cc by the e7ed2b1c6b strong cigarette 92904b7ae6 smell. Strangely, the soft, sweet 793eba813a lavender scent felt more c0b3800dfc unbearable than the harsh f69c8fff6a cigarette smoke. With each breath in ad414250a8 the silence, I felt 6f4913dd8c like I was suffocating 1cda03999d in the air.02d040fa8c9ab528

“Haeon.”284d9a183f8cf1c1

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But when 49cd08a43e Choi Hyunsoo a4a35dd86a called me afd288d99b in a d9543267c7 gentle voice.2abf5e6e0e0a2f14

“Should I 21582bc7c3 help you?”f2b296523b2319f8

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I couldn’t help but fb7d144f75 grasp it.594fcb520735c40d