FT 9

The tall man striding f31820f45d through the not-so-spacious lobby 029b9f16dc as if it were 28435adc28 his own domain was 270f3d3378 just as flashy and abe57bbe4b loud as ever. From his be2a13402e freely tousled 3f9d4aef00 hair to 87e42a790b the metallic a5abd6b734 watch gleaming 91a81e1e5e on his 4d2657f161 wrist, his 670b141008 imposing build, 0ff3e08f6c and his f816223d44 distinctively flamboyant b18b854d4d features—everything about de269d65ce him stood 5d50e6a2d7 out.1a8d72f982e97464

Even the 9bec66cdbc vibrant flower f5b871e8b3 tattoo, vividly 1adb433dc4 imprinted on 3e0c39a5b7 the back 37fa87cb23 of his ca28edc9e5 neck, surfaced abf120de7d clearly in ee2410ac97 her hazy 2178796199 memories.943f24b4b6ac5cb7

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Was he planning to eca6f8cf40 drag her to the 2a0e81a6b3 police station now?9826753f4530c431

Though she 8408b24da0 tried to 4623663552 suppress her 9b32a816a5 wariness, the bd45f8dcfa sharp glint 7cf344e621 in her f0ac5b1573 eyes gave d1ae69131a her away.3ad099510e1f1bd2

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Eventually, the e3c95cb8d1 man came 9edeaf5c04 to a 56a3312cd3 stop. A faint scent 8c6f4b690d of mint, moist 4892304d34 and cool, wafted 183b0db861 into her nose—so c108e11854 clean it seemed 3aff1d21dc to wipe away 88b30e07e7 the humidity in 59d03a343f an instant.3884d956dd7400e7

Now facing each other a55ce460ce across the front desk, 331207dbc9 their eyes met.cd85d7069be24213

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“Hello.”042381cdb8e276c9

Wearing a smooth smile, 8c0b4e3b1f the man’s deep-set eyes fa14434830 curved in a teasing 89a1003289 squint.18bb0477f026a2c9

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“Does Seoyeong Hotel always 3bc665d4fd stare at guests like 0cb133d4c1 that when greeting them?”90da623410de8275

His soft-toned 3dc05f1c62 question came d41c951ac5 with a 3f5336866f gaze full 60a69983c5 of arrogance.d66b26ddfd5faa2c

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“I’m a little worried someone might get the wrong idea. Or maybe they already have.”015b4aed46b1ba31

A soft mutter, 4b4912d6fd curled with a d19f2cdcb2 crooked smile, snapped e24925b6a2 Seohee back to 857f0abba6 herself.80d78144d1cda40d

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It hit her then—she 63f4a19de8 had been standing there a36f2577c1 blankly, all expressions wiped 420a52d72c from her face without 7229999b4f even realizing it. Quickly, she 0a65f1aeb3 put on ddd6198931 her rehearsed 1bbba5b755 smile and 3460d8e99a summoned her c42c9956c2 voice from 520a580724 her lowered ff02c4c44a throat.1d8aa0983c6efbe1

“Welcome, sir. How may I assist you today?”aa29d27f6e271397

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“……”d252a48e1fd1f469

As she smoothly ecdf2e750e delivered the customer d3aff2bf5c service line, the 5270ec9ad8 man’s tilted expression 2e26c2d252 shifted to one ebd94b0ac6 of growing intrigue.29befdf4b7be14e0

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His eyes lit 97e1027fb9 up like a 0da61618e0 five-year-old discovering a ae6d9bbaee new toy.d65e7b6bd071a52b

Still wearing her practiced 8ee7d5143b smile, Seohee met his 3d270c8c8a gaze squarely.c7f7b59dde74f193

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A moment f21fff6a70 later, he 07bf41bc65 let out 28d8479dbe a thoughtful c0f10db016 hum and a581aa134d leaned in 02aea49bb3 with a de2323388c deeper bow.86f005139d49cfd5

“You don’t a3f9a72db9 remember me?”9c256e65d79e7a9e

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“If you’re planning to stay with us, I can check room availability for you.”09bf8f435188e48b

“Yesterday, at Blossom 693c95b04a Club…”44e24bda9d054af2

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“If you’re here for the restaurant, please head up to the 18th floor.”9296b101c98bf74f

“Ppong—”2c9414a2937430ad

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“If you just 406c735fb6 came in to 2df8b5c439 take shelter from 72914b6628 the rain, we 9772fc12b8 offer umbrella rentals.”74e07e1f4e1d0a9d

Every time the 806c4da543 man opened his 57acd35328 mouth to speak, eb66976828 she cut in 61a5f64dce like clockwork with 6255ea9564 memorized responses straight 205a9a87ae from the manual, 85acef7568 sweet smile and 6260ad4b90 all. But inside, b8e38467b6 the pressure 68fea48fea was building.bf1143bc4cc3af3d

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“……”3efe4cc2a98b46f1

“……”2cb4a897fa9bfa65

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Silence stretched between them. He stared 0cdae9e895 at her 79fe1be3ef with such 8d827ae6fd persistence that b6a880ec25 even the 273cbffe28 muscles holding 8fb460a9eb her smile df4c01a177 began to 10993cbb2c feel strained.407a6ecf919b8ece

So thiswasabout dragging her cdaac94d90 to the police be395e3754 station after all.949807bd394f7c7b

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But there was 74380190fd no need to 7a208dfd3c act flustered. Most importantly, the 6a065e3d74 man had no 2a1da92833 proof that she bd6cc01250 was the woman 50a609285d from last night. He didn’t even know b7c0b8726e her name. If it came 9cd456e5f9 down to it, 9de7f937b3 she could just c105a58abf say he had cd4f4852bc the wrong person. She had made 8aa6bfb0d4 up her mind 73f31261ff to brazen it 3fb6eb3958 out, and deepened 3a9f1244db her pretty, polite 3efb294b13 smile.496fc329982cbc09

“What would you like aae434fa06 to do, sir?”8c39e02969f72b17

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At that, he—cc3a13de855d1af8

“Pfft.”469552677209afac

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Suddenly, the man burst c9be17cc1b into laughter, his shoulders e49913209c shaking. It was as 52016f2d0b if he truly 48c1024ad3 found this hilarious, ad8709ae88 like he was 38e2e4cc3b watching some comedy 2585547355 show. Like a stale joke 6a2e088463 that only he found 9f81231e80 funny.0284cb8488c58563

Seohee couldn’t hide her bewilderment and embarrassment at his unexpected outburst. Without realizing it, her stunned reaction was written all over her face.6f75f4f7fdfbd813

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The man, still chuckling bb6029b6bc to himself, pressed his 10bb7f689c palm against the back 3bf4a7a7c6 of his neck and a443c1cce5 tilted it side to a68a93dee4 side. Perhaps because of e0793ac597 his already imposing 690d0ed563 figure, even those c0ca5ef53c small gestures felt a7069841c7 exaggerated and overwhelming.4d044e05346883c9

“I mean, sure, 288954a96d maybe I’m funny—but 257b400857 there’s no need 495aa46c71 to look at 85f92b015b me like I’m b60249d2cd a complete lunatic.”a6d0a6a56934b36c

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“I didn’t do that, fc04eea67b sir.”dd8fef96ae410e6d

“You’re more interesting than 990729eb91 I expected.”d73d0e6da3ff0658

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His voice dropped so 7ce20301e2 low it made her e0ab721ffd ears tingle. Then he flicked his a3f2ee8c63 tongue across his lower f71fdc5fdc lip in a quick 21ffb63191 motion—strangely sensual and chilling c84b39d229 all at once.b8a08a5f97778570

He stretched his arms 5237e08122 wide across the desk.30c87f481d294455

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“Ahh. I wasn’t planning on df6858f4a3 going this far, but…”bf0c34bb3fbdafd1

“……”1da117816d3df35b

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“I’ll be staying e4f981b9b7 the night.”0e84ab1d6ead8466

For a split fcac5f07ac second, her heart b125bf0236 made a dull, 92a37cd693 heavy thump. His low 49fabe3295 voice made 7e611d2999 her palms 755e1b43af sweat. Something about 1eaa2154ff his tone—too fb01c448e1 loaded with c7a9d7ead4 implication—made Seohee 24ef469aa0 feel like dc2b02ae0f her smile 0c554da0db was gradually 7ed18c5b68 losing strength.ce643a24d6d4f92b

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“It’s raining, 4cffe639d4 after all,” aaa6392c26 he added, a6b3541719 a meaningless 338c056ebe excuse—nothing more, 06a294342e nothing less.8e151b6116ef28b2

Unless, of course, one 5f4e2d6803 considered that his demeanor 5c358bedf4 didn’t resemble a traveler ba22adcf06 in need of last-minute bea7deb3e0 lodging, but rather a c8ac70d58d thug or gangster here e517b8ac04 to stir up trouble.2a8c49f4e63cd7c0

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Seohee quietly dd3b1a5d03 swallowed a 362b8a1234 sigh.611f55d5ef5da7fb

“Please wait a e9c7f03e8e moment.”484265362ad96b7e

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She pretended to c533a2d3d2 check for vacancies 472905d7ef with great effort. Should she 600dd721a9 say they aa45ebca26 were fully d2250dd280 booked?34c40f4d880197bc

“Thank you. I really 227dda9c7a hope there’s 59af57020e an empty 8d318113b9 room,” he 3d667a6018 said.d704a29eddfa7ad1

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Seohee’s shoulders stiffened, as 0ba90e645a if caught red-handed.07bd71d79931cc0e

“You’re not going 587c2c624c to kick out a9840a7f54 a guest who 03075ea666 braved the rain fd709b82f5 to get here, c23807c0d1 are you, Assistant f273cdbe18 Manager Yoo Seohee b7946db156 of Seoyeong Hotel?”cc86c3555c3cb949

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“…What? What did you 0584580de4 just say?”96e3d366835fc993

“What do you c02bd09482 mean? What did I say, fbfe6ca577 Assistant Manager Yoo Seohee?”2a6260a1fd0da99c

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“How… do you bdace01ebd know my name?”7974ddbbc816ebb3

“Who knows?”433fec02161e8aa8

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“……”aeb3d72c968b5b25

Her heart, small 599586629c as a bean, 9899b1a95a pounded wildly. She had to grip 5cd7eb9099 the floor with her d24ceafab4 toes just to keep 2bab8bccb5 her shaky pupils from b7a778d1a4 giving her away.a9ca6d080e3b299f

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The man 4430210b75 simply shrugged d11e1ebd0d with that 47877d70f4 same lazy, c5d9f8e177 shameless face. A troubled sigh 6ba30fc8f2 pooled in her 109167e713 nose. With resignation, Seohee 2bfb4e8055 looked away from 33dc9a8f6d the monitor and f570410d1b said:7cdfdc4b9c65f124

“…One double 8f9fd608e3 room is 56c3969a5c available. Fortunately.”310ad7112d8864c7

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“How much?”98611bb3f3d74df2

“120,000 won.”92cd4d8da47e1b60

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“Ahh.”800718eef74e6b56

Letting out a 06fcd41449 soft breath, the ab62d357d5 man pulled out f403557fc3 a card from 6bc74734f6 inside his jacket. It had a 4b4510b863 sleek matte black 843fc4f642 design, completely blank 630db22d22 on the front. After completing fa26552579 the payment 00519bdc3c with ease, 542fe5cca1 he received 407031aef3 the room 07dd9f342f keycard from 1ac6083f47 her. The whole process flowed 6ef7b9dc09 smoothly. Her well-practiced motions 660d6ce2a7 left no room 4ede972efd for hesitation. Or perhaps she had e1bc7de424 been too dazed to 4f6f588b94 notice otherwise.00ea8aa08ffe1ee8

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The man a509f4fcac tucked away 6f20692397 his card 1b5dd26815 and twirled cbd392e326 the keycard a995c03793 lightly in 8cb8a59eae his hand. The thick 78489e6689 bones of 7048b6cbd4 his fingers 29545bc4b3 moved in 72024dfa51 a way c4cedc5613 that made 87db74c054 the dark 005b61bee3 text on 666a037244 the card 71f4a2f3b0 seem to b7c5637d90 dance. His carefree, 8797800a3d almost brazen 73688e3088 gestures radiated a363c977c2 amusement.3e9c1d45dc27c00d

Meanwhile, the radiant 8f337c1ace smile had completely 0d9cc6efd5 vanished from Seohee’s f1e752b3ed face.44f238f79328abbf

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“I don’t think 4769a0e2fa I’ll be able 6862a0acc4 to find the 5c00bf9996 room on my 5129d1476a own. Would you show me 5746d76cf0 the way, Assistant Manager 445a346b61 Yoo Seohee?”065c8eec273cccd0

“……”034a51711e06a1e8

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His leisurely f6cc68c84e expression was c4ea4c656a grating. If Suyeon a209883d1e were here, 25497e1ab2 she’d probably bb5a08f238 gush over 3496f80bc2 how handsome ccff5a454a he was 2278423529 with sparkling 868e13433d eyes.5821d8ded97a9e1d

Suppressing her 3f16d63248 fake smile, 50ce561ad7 Seohee still 2729fec738 kept her 7f596ce9e5 professional demeanor 5e78e19e77 intact.a26ce1de66f254f3

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“Of course, sir.”05e7a52044bb1678

Seohee stepped out 9d842c1337 first.5cd215bf3b18df63

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“This way, please.”d3e4904711327ef3

They took the elevator dd1776cc0d up to the 10th d8563090c0 floor. All the 1fb53dfc32 while the 91274459c6 floor numbers 12a8dd0e5a ticked upward, 30a7f1e3bc Seohee could 27a2d3cb0f feel a bc6a5f9d1e prickling sensation b1ce83fcde along her 9d39d96e2e back. Whether she wanted to bd0594935c or not, she couldn’t 7eb3cebef1 help but sense someone’s ee2ac3f6c5 relentless gaze. Her spine straightened 860577015c on its own 8f0e53995b in response.9fea286642b083cc

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It was 86e609c818 the same ddb0a01052 while walking 480d565495 down the cf79a7428d hallway, lined 46aec1fa0d with thick e1cceccf62 carpet. The man’s unyielding e96820b509 stare clung to 1c9d869ba9 her, leaving a 8f64eea067 sticky feeling, as 69dfe4fd10 if it were b81853eedb licking her from 40848b26de her ankles up 3d830b1794 to the nape c9c14ffb44 of her neck.2f7d42f39235b768

Cold sweat 12f804e722 began to ad29c66737 bead on 9bc7e8bcc2 her skin, 725e5972bc but she 5b3dce45eb skillfully kept e96a37db31 it hidden d3ec5fe2d8 beneath a 24569219e5 composed exterior, 6cee5e9554 just as f1c79dc2f7 she always 311bb60e86 did.edf8db5855358252

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“Room 1023. Here we are, sir. Please rest well.”d67bc92cb705f829

She bowed politely in edf5156392 front of the door. There was e83245af72 absolutely no f8052d5ef2 reason for 26b6b8fb53 her to 283b7db205 go inside. The man, who stood e55f228472 in front of her 9b669c0bb6 with his hands in b07f1862f6 his pockets, let out 1338b36e25 a low hum.2be4baf4101d23f2

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“That’s strange.”ac34d4b3addc650a

Another cryptic mutter.4e5789e46864c32f

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“What’s strange, sir?”8a7cde803e7f2a18

“Back then… you smiled so beautifully when you thanked me for saving you. Totally different from now.”7ff36b204d944d3a

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“…”2c3ea3a977da052e

“Oh. Was it because d5effe15bc of the meds? Do you usually act b8736f859c all fluttery like that 2d79bc9f2f when you’re drugged up? Is that f00616440e a habit d72238e870 of yours?”1d354e47f01436d2

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“I’m not 0d8d6997a1 sure what d4e0c9ca62 you mean, 147008a899 sir, but c3fb158222 your words 1fbcccac6d are extremely 41ced98a06 insulting and 3e75e0e7cc inappropriate. I’ll give you 7a084fe1ca a refund, so 67ce85118c could you please 4a47c6ff4f just leave?”c23de7eea019592f

She had cc352f8672 reached her 243a6edce6 limit. Dropping all cd8b061939 pretense of ac73d9f33a politeness, Seohee f12768e6be lowered her 1f074669f2 voice and bba2f3e82a sharpened her 2df4c95811 tone, worried c971cec512 someone nearby 1f9d3bfb07 might overhear.e231e85f0b7d98bf

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The man, 0fa3afa348 clearly not 3ab923a4c0 expecting her 3090a77591 sharp reaction, 5a54f79e0d raised an 06710e2a17 eyebrow.5815b202b1963d1f

Everything about 61b7ab99ba him was 66218b5802 shamelessly rude. Seohee barely 69457b5856 managed to ba8f7d9963 suppress the 889b753716 urge to f640a073b6 grab him 66f8750231 by the 43532063b9 collar and d594cd8e9b shake him. But to him, ab53ef8a1e her frustration seemed 7e00e55bfa like nothing more 3bdc1b4e89 than a feeble fa0210bc0a tantrum. He just smirked, 7f57941270 his chest moving fdf8310f9c slightly with a 04fcb677ff stifled laugh.afb26864323155ce

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He was completely unhinged. For the first time, 8dbdf870f6 his appearance and personality 799a03cf31 clicked into place — 2c59582e48 it made perfect sense cfbe3ff8b7 now.ac4154af862331e5

“You hate the 5650646267 police, don’t want 766ed69f6e to be recognized d5ded4fb7f — how selfish. Do you know 822ceb6217 how much crap 37928e84c4 I had to 259c41cb05 deal with this 96130be1b3 morning? I was stuck at 0d715208fb the station all night 6ab42e3ebd trying to get the 6c5c0f1146 bastard who drugged you 4898f5e4bb into jail. But without any witnesses 7524d5e167 or evidence, they let 8803059a51 him go.”fd099ecc3416a1ef

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He muttered his 64099d2e29 complaints casually, casually 08d590bd23 dropping shocking information fd67c118f7 like it was 27fc8e6740 no big deal. Seohee looked around nervously, 84c1c19fe6 worried someone might overhear.0cdcc58101a4b0c7

“And so, Ms. Yoo Seohee—”586c9d6865b75827

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“Wait.”43e748ca0e9e2dbf

Her heart 1b076987b5 pounding, Seohee 9c88991915 quickly snatched 94bbe3b634 the card 9fc9a38840 key from 08be2e982b the man’s bd01b28b45 hand and aeb8bffac3 touched it ae7dca02f7 to the 3916da51b3 door lock. Caught off eacd3f9524 guard, the 681483f3c3 man let 575fa88cb3 out a 8d552741a0 breath of 9bdfb8333e surprise.Beep!As the door dba3acc3a3 clicked open, she b13c99ac99 hurriedly pulled it.0f506e646e725d2a

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Then, grabbing his 2e3e8a9e33 forearm, she pulled afff2c2985 him inside.d98cc9adf47e284b

His heavy build 58af6166ed followed easily.ddd9af01edea341c

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Click.6fa3e5b717f31c2f

The door closed softly, d4ca1336ce shutting off the outside 676842f28f world.2fb917798ab88d03

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Only then did c5ffb53dbe Seohee face the 2bf380f30b man head-on and aa3896d228 speak in a 7e52e69d4a firm voice.ffdfb05dae7e70ad

“How do you 4f3e3d6d97 know my name? And how did you 468405d2ef know to come here?”70ef6c3cb0af582d

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The two of 8f5bbeb2c4 them stood in 86297d4f1f the narrow entryway, 193b1a30ad facing each other, 736d1c6c09 the darkness of 4498b6eff2 the room behind c2fe485555 them. Their gazes locked 940f7accca in the air. After a b352cd04f8 beat, the 28bea915bd man slowly 5c02b31cec pulled the 687e1e6f14 hand from 1dd012a938 his pocket 724a2a5118 and suddenly ec0087e4cb reached toward a7ec759161 her.be6acd2717657d6e

She saw 507ad75e94 the hand 4c930c72ab approaching slowly 868a887f92 — and e4b9762db1 yet had 1ea2cf52c4 no chance b4e00b26e6 to stop de34b6a0c0 it. His dark ba5af4385d eyes, where 1d5754fed7 iris and eb8f045b9d pupil blended d0faed11f3 into one, d056f872a1 pinned her 598a85f80d in place e83345c666 like a f36d9de9f7 chain, not 3c24d21cef allowing the a0cd17ef09 slightest movement.b5da303ad1ccc381

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In the midst of 60fb9b44b3 the darkness, between shallow ec259f5fcc breaths, she caught that bd80604451 familiar cool scent of d2b23e7e08 peppermint. It soaked into 30e9189ac9 her, and she 3094e2b8bf felt as if 9d661b55dd she had wandered f1b6c25d85 into a dense 921b09e1de forest at midnight 2c2c217c2f — completely lost, 71f3128968 suffocated by the bd3f436b78 unknown.befd25c427c0f9c2

Her body d86352aa02 went stiff, ae3ab8cc5d like it 3fc4cc7ad7 was nailed b272516b7f to the 5149add307 floor.a248e26cd34d1791

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His hand f893f9a856 wasn’t reaching 0ad1001f35 for her 5e67a15dea face or 8171f86cb1 her neck.06bae3cd221ef54d

It was clearly aiming 62e1def623 lower — directly at 951b330a21 her left side.7205f9a88e5c8b06

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Right where her c639eb514f heart was.64cca1838e06e960