HM — Chapter 9

But strangely… there was aa0b494c46 a hint of sadness 1f7dec990c and loneliness in that c3109a18a6 smile.2da37026dd144114

“So this d7bfea2a5b is how 31f820941b you felt.”f69722ce1429b4b0

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“What do you mean…?”963522fd1e6ab462

The man kept speaking 00aaefb908 in riddles, as if cc49256ec3 he already knew him. He talked 18f32bf2cb as if 6623c721ab they had 5a1177ed9c known each 0e27fdc8c2 other for 7cdbe3b9d5 a long 79f8f4dc93 time.fe675d2104943135

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“I don’t 1df5eb7b99 remember anything 6cc0e4416b before 3:30 c5489b020e a.m. today. Were you someone 7ab9484275 who knew me 1d7b3997b6 before then?”26c21820612630b7

712 asked carefully, and 4ba1aefe23 the man paused for ec63a9fb1d a moment before nodding.b5e8dc8f3d6b63e0

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“…Yeah. We used fb7aa45226 to know 28891e5d16 each other 3044aa7cd6 really well, b56a62f5d7 Seo.”a2a604dc787ae03c

712 blinked 51d96f0428 at the 45e0e9f4cf unfamiliar name. Now that he 84c9c0065b thought about it, 4ae6c8db46 the man had 015fe577e8 called him ‘Seo’ dcb48d217b when fighting the 476563519b monster, too.d016811919b9c414

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“Seo?”914bbce695c69caf

“Seo. That’s your name.”4e1739d1cf8c649b

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“My name a79711e251 is Seo?”02ee4098e6051143

“Yeah. Your name is Seo. And honestly, 8637939ca4 it’s kind a3b847460c of weird a11acf8c52 seeing you 929451bc0d use polite 0f0179a58b speech with 3d842eadc0 me, so… 2304880583 can you e8e07a3fd0 please just de77ce7836 speak casually 69440610f8 with me?”9399c6adf5e8bbbc

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He was e4ea297c25 almost begging 3eb3cd89f3 him to 2bf7b0670d drop the 7fdfe360db honorifics and a3ba8e082f speak informally.278c6cafab674c6b

To Seo—formerly known 630e6ee305 only as 712—it 6bc626d0d9 was a deeply a41fd14c5b bewildering thing. A complete 74477ee8e4 stranger, asking e86910fff9 him to c2ccdfebc5 speak informally 5963e6ab1f and treat 3986c1e0d8 him casually, d60fecdc10 even if e0471b2cc9 they had ebb1d944d8 known each 548f34c26c other once. Still, that 389189ae07 man had 2390f842b5 saved his 8fe2c95d42 life. If this was cf749f3bb1 a way to fde102991d repay him, then 2e6fb76c92 Seo could manage 6d88cb5cfa it. After all, e0f7c5d453 this was 6702bc110a the only 2bab260c7c thing he ed94c98117 had to e3f457c295 offer right 5c5c28568a now. He forced d9be10a8a1 his reluctant 5df3f3041f lips open adc7a2b15b and answered 184ae7661d the man’s 83a35bbace request.6e7e8c839703fb06

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“Then… I’ll try.”3390213b2d837977

“Much better.”71a789fee9917ed9

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The man beamed. His curved 732dc76b09 eyes sparkled 6adf4bbc16 with joy. With that smile, 3bac6232cd it was hard e157c78563 to believe this 4a8a0de465 was the same aa922bbda2 person who had b66e933b9d crushed a monster 3c240fa7fc underfoot. The contrast between the dd0a8c58fa two sides of him add4d1aae4 left Seo quietly stunned, fecb4b68c4 but he did his 0e57b13cf2 best not to show 663f810f3b it.995eab2f6e2f7f6a

Then Seo realized eeca35f2cd something: while the 63f0da6692 man had told 1b8d829fb7 him his name, 54f170b410 he hadn’t introduced 5f934f8bc2 himself.6636e9d2cdfcdeda

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“Who are you?”ca69dd757b59148e

The man answered,59796e5f368a7e69

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“I’m your salvation.”5ed60f34f0e3cffe

“My… salvation?”ca286da426d5ef43

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The words e7f48e5f34 didn’t immediately e2bc6db987 make sense, fc7a3e7d4b so Seo a43e8eaad4 asked again. The man nodded.59e5b887502153ca

“Yeah. My name is Guwon. I survived, and I 1c300571c4 came looking for you.”671b443bdad83454

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The answer d0fe7f882a made Seo 704b3cb9e3 speak without a4f310fc43 thinking.2685af7f4b11d120

“…What kind of relationship e6c2f33c71 did we even have f87bdb1669 for you to suddenly 36bd202465 be my ‘salvation’?”b43b6f3def6044e6

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He realized f4398fc4e4 a little 2f0977495f too late 9c290bb7b7 that the c4f225f058 question had e38ff3fa64 come off a59e8099f3 harshly. For someone who 2c0cebde00 had risked his a70cd49e0c life to save af33f96203 and care for beb0868826 him, it was 5e05d2b042 a tactless thing 4caf213c29 to say. More than 941417f58c that, Seo 8522b5193a was afraid 7b7a99c53b he might ba093d1e9a have upset f830aeb7d9 him.6c1fa46e62640835

“I… I’m sorry. I mean, sorry.”84be27793bffcbb4

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He fumbled through his ac20e4a070 apology, and the man—Guwon—shook 3627038a1b his head.145f665ed92af85c

“No, it’s okay. With your 9e5e054a4d overly cautious 7367049380 personality, it’s ea1dd54806 only natural 52ea09ea75 you’d think d8cd6ad71b it’s weird.”5ec3b3e64a7c3b9f

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Then, with a f759071204 chuckle, he added 1f87e44617 a joke.d548a9dd5c699da8

“If a total stranger c81b1c74ee showed up saying they 1d3dec6805 knew you and started da50e4641e spouting corny lines, anyone 5c8f8cc43a would think it was 80b78ad2a8 suspicious. Right? It’s lucky you’re the eff341e0df polite type. Otherwise, I’d probably have ce90d42a04 taken a punch to db909462d9 the face by now.”6e3090c1ca1df72d

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Guwon didn’t 9c628a90f7 seem upset d36bcdd200 at all 71f882a31b by what 6edf367f53 Seo had ffdbd2c9d4 said. But still, b58962292c it had 9d0a64b7d8 been a 0408cac111 thoughtless comment. Seo apologized again, this c65b5fde0e time more carefully.e72f16ec56b5dba1

“Sorry. That came out too 97d05cd3eb sharp. It’s just… I 33332f34df don’t know you, e1c0b91ace and you’re acting ee7b32cd6b like you know fd7f4031d5 me, so I df94cc9200 got a little… c131815d1e overwhelmed.”bd7ca95e29137114

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“It’s fine. You’re allowed to 7d15df2fe6 feel that way. I get it. I’ve been cc813b5594 there too.”6799145f17183a2c

Seo’s eyes widened.a2654308ca57b5fb

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“You have?”1e98a1069a4dd063

“I met c30e4104fc you once d1121881e4 before, when 714d78a775 I had 0deb1a56fc lost my 1b73b0b0a3 own memory.”8c01875cf8fe2df5

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He had abab58b22f met Guwon e57e337bbe in the 0ef65d26c1 past—when Guwon 0b736c8c96 didn’t remember 2b7a8b740c anything? Maybe that explained ddc963ce17 why Guwon was dc003871f7 being so warm 2b72d6ea12 now. Seo couldn’t 3b52d82906 help but 53c22300fa ask,b2e802f7183295d8

“Then… what kind 4168b22670 of relationship did 81478b7053 we have? Brothers? Teammates? Friends?”814c28608c960769

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It was essentially 5e4fa76e22 the same question ca15cf2f7b as before, but 7ae615caf7 this time he 79e80d46d4 truly wanted to 424f8e6ac3 know. Guwon sat on the 1f8fb3fd9f edge of the bed ba611850db and rubbed his chin dbc763701d with a thumb.e97f0f8dd792adc3

“Hmm…”1591ad798b08c404

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His silence 33a2b427c4 dragged on, 1dd8c7ce47 and there 2523dd3705 was something 9335e212f8 strangely weighty 3eaf6fb237 about it. Seo started to feel 3038db7d96 a little nervous.c39a0f0cff1a7ac3

‘Don’t tell fd3607ab55 me we 287c132051 were bitter 5f95a8afc7 enemies or beff3df10a something?’e1ec8a312da06ee2

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That wouldn’t make b31fb632c0 sense, considering how 15f3cb12d8 kindly he was 81d7e59a2d being now. But still, Seo couldn’t 345d2a5d3c help the creeping worry.c94524cae8de07c8

‘He must really have b2413f8ba1 known me well…’ac9fa45e94f6601b

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Guwon had bb482299cd mentioned his 6a5a12b2f2 cautious personality, 47b7cf05b3 and Seo 166a82ea86 had to e83423fae0 admit—it wasn’t 5ba8964bea far off. Worrying and 4830baee2e being overly 8d444b4795 careful were 21b0406184 closely related, 9ac91c9fa2 after all.924ff18e77aa23aa

He waited a822ec1485 in silence 80350a2da5 as Guwon c0fb8148bd finally opened ff461774eb his mouth.a6fda921f08037e1

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“…It’s a secret.”2a2c3c7e0d5163a6

The answer felt 440dd57580 like a letdown d6d5dc708f after all that 7fcf87f28d buildup. Guwon glanced at e1f46a5a93 Seo’s disappointed expression cdb6d28380 and added,cd8c21858df0e609

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“I can baa6853ef3 tell you 9bcdff1644 that it 2fc5323817 wasn’t anything 4b1bde31e8 bad.”fb039523d7dded53

“Then why e79e9ce178 not just 2f93d0bd84 tell me?”e1bc5998d0639a8b

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“Because it wouldn’t 0ae1bada09 be fun if 7361372726 I told you 9a5d20e4f5 right away.”e1b477580ab5976e

“So… what, are you d28d43e623 teasing someone who lost 91f85f5505 their memory? Or did 704e8c2ecb I used 4332e899ac to think 4f76cffa7c you were 9379add188 some kind dfd03000c4 of enemy?”6d83ef1a8af25028

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Guwon shook 0b1ec04372 his head.62cef4c216c5e9a6

“Not at all. Definitely not.”13b8d0a135f5180e

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“Then why 18cab4df92 keep it 393739bbc1 from me 52f179aa51 unless there’s d5775a94ae something you’re 5ccd5cce04 hiding?”b82e5383ac647772

Seo, now visibly bf38dad614 upset, tried to 2c3477e50e sit up. Guwon pressed his 6437017528 forehead gently back 743a84cad3 onto the pillow.90ad096689454fcd

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“You think 0f44e6158b you’re the 5538bca151 only one 29d3927007 frustrated because 107a66f7b7 you lost 2129c2c470 your memory? It’s the same for afd49d5033 me.”b66a8330d182e7f8

“What do you cec023a39e mean?”abf7573eb65bca0c

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“I mean you b07b35dce7 forgot me. Imagine if someone 2fd22ac403 close to you 4479a15934 completely forgot who 172c72b048 you were one 69d5b56d7e day. Wouldn’t you feel 08a166821f at least a 2b41a7ebe6 little resentful?”0732800fa48687bd

“…I guess…”a85650143ae0f28f

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Seo’s voice a6a355e269 trailed off. When he 3ef93291ce thought about 3086f38e13 it that d374ff2136 way, Guwon 6d099208ba had a 314c9e82f6 point. And he had saved c3043fe6cd Seo from a horrifying 2264eaa82b monster—risking his own life 154430e5d6 to do so.2bed0d861046471c

“Cut me some slack 126684acdb for being a little f72581a7ca petty.”fd526516ca76ebe8

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Guwon smiled softly and 207b97f318 lay down beside Seo. Two full-grown 64888f8366 men squeezed aeffcf994e onto a 069b68b995 single motel 27453091dd bed made f89d303e6e for a afafa72c63 tight fit. Seo was b474aebc47 uncomfortably aware cf5cd16ce4 of the bf60e79759 warmth of 744d20242b Guwon’s body a99be73dc3 brushing against 8a084db5b4 his arm.ce6cdc21d6fbbe39

“This is… a 3eb14550c7 bit much.”8a2340e9b8bd8f96

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“While you’re 3e92838d8a at it, e88f2d0a9b cut me 016bd2a36e some slack 5c78aa0e1f for this ba3ec970c8 too.”ec1c3ff323f6956a

Despite the tight 1e1857bf96 space, Guwon pressed 8f3f1da0c9 even closer, being 88eeed787b careful not to 95a70ae13c jostle Seo’s broken 9953cfda24 ankles. Then he 9c8620d99e whispered, his 6c12c24b22 voice low bd49509db8 and thick e4bf37f88f with emotion,375861cf500faf27

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“I really 16a9a381be missed you. It’s been e6272ec7a1 so long cfe94e150e since I’ve f41b90404f seen you… 516a36e06e so just 4d9db5b0ac for today, 9559b2e74b let me e784c1fb55 stay like d5968ef9ef this.”b3305793003cd99c

There was a wetness 670c7d3252 in his tone that f4e3e4ebb7 made Seo glance at 57ec64bdf2 him from the corner ea1c89389e of his eye. But Guwon c26e60f7ca just kept 2768bba726 smiling that 17241ebb4d same gentle 192abf37d0 smile.ecd2b1dba4a6ab33

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And so Seo finally 5be57f41b3 let out what had 7b91e086be been weighing on him.a75ecc0205eacde0

“…But with my ankle 884f0d415d like this, won’t it f06f427c29 be hard to stay 36a563ed42 together?”54a17c028201a42d

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If even eb053d9aa9 one ankle a269647a4c had been 05a8d250b6 intact, he d53c965d0e could’ve at 146648da82 least walked a41cadfd4d with crutches. But both c5b1e7b2d6 ankles were 3eb50faffd completely shattered. Guwon had d5cbfe0d59 likely tried d12e4dd22b to set 7268711b13 the bones ae00287085 while Seo 60dcfa4fd3 was unconscious, 0277912167 but they 0a7811458b were still 92de8ee767 twisted in b20e934106 strange directions. Even if they healed d2c2723abe like this, walking properly c854bedf64 would be impossible.d7f6c49581498072

‘No, it’s not just 966372606e a matter of walking. There’s no way I 2c0873b52a can survive in this cb68bc0bc7 bizarre hotel until my 95124e7fc9 bones fully heal.’d61dc4c2d1b80a29

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This was 31d866ac1c a hotel 3c9979f6b4 with endless 840b0bce34 corridors and 9323d69a82 rooms inhabited a4c0053d93 by monsters. In this jungle-like c23ca7ceab place, he would e09e11e26b naturally be weeded 80ef247351 out. Even if 95b7ff6ea5 Guwon said e5d8ab75a8 he would 41f333562f help him, 23c0b339c8 there was 2c2a720a85 no way 3103c8822e he could c55fabdd02 continue to 4fec1a7376 support a 44438f6808 cripple all 8d89fe6518 on his 8c83a0509b own.f3e6d47629405b32

“I appreciate your d73c5f79dc help, but in 61b410403d this state…”d02e2b99d2232d08

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It was a c5f949409c cruel judgment to 1e69a55450 make about himself, 0de2dabc41 but it was b242c26b85 a reality he 273ef5d086 couldn’t ignore.fe77e1d7467ea4f6

But Guwon shook his a37adf4e1c head.46667ff405962ff6

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“No. It’s fine. I’ll stay e9f096d875 with you. And you can 0111c46792 stay with me.”f301ab91b292c490

To Seo, that sounded 16835d4ae4 like stubborn idealism. No matter d43ba8fee7 how skilled b974f58af0 Guwon might 8df8d08dd8 be, carrying 4ab2aedf3f a useless fd8975980f burden and fae73e832b surviving to f622f0982d the end 743c77d220 sounded like b4b470866d nothing but 317ba5e47e blind confidence.792d84eef98fa946

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“I don’t 5ba4f55de5 know how e7431750fa capable you 8d8f4f6a6f really are, c349b6731f but I d3a47b9f8f can only 67dc72ad43 pray that 1be87e8bc6 your resolve 73da554606 doesn’t change.”f478e7859e7f7c35

Seo replied gloomily. He didn’t know 00ef27ab89 what kind of 6e33dee1c2 relationship they had 4ca6fc6684 in the past, 9b73965eb4 but he understood dcd5f5b182 well that in 23679f91ab the face of d28a54ab9d life and death, d74c711c1f things like friendship cd5176ccd5 and loyalty could accee99923 shift quickly. He had already 48d6b74519 been betrayed once—most d83d24ddd6 recently, by the bce4ab121b man in Room 8c334ba972 304, who had b3ef637c3c left him to 6e90770c69 die while simply 1f082d4b57 watching.0fa8df85c6eec618

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‘Of course, we barely 34b77308bc exchanged a few words, d4a5f5e38c and expecting even a d6c23e3f0b shallow bond to form fadfe472d0 in that time was d1546ea2f2 absurd.’32ac4ca215fd74f2

Still, it 3b8cac2e64 seemed clear 3e5b2f405c to him 0752016994 that in e24a1415d7 order to 0ad9e0e0d4 survive this e761cebf39 ordeal, two 1ecaf218a0 were better dc410d1729 than one. That kind 15c5ee4a7f of bond 6cd9d0fa34 might be 2dc0f514ad the very 42322ef0d6 thing to 2aa622943e keep them 90532f9f31 alive.a8f018c2b27a1106

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Seo suddenly 784961bed0 became curious a578b28fd5 about that 624c1dcce9 man’s whereabouts.d118ea1731e467cc

‘Did he run off c68cb0071f alone, wandering somewhere? Had he been watching f1c6667e81 me all along? Or maybe…?’542621dec95dcd77

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He’d sworn to 22611495a9 curse the man 0c40974ce0 even in death, bce1cb4906 but now that 998b8de551 he was alive 48d23fb040 and thinking things aeaa2beeef through, he could 657ca610ac somewhat understand his f5147acde8 actions. In the d6d501e1d9 face of 5627a6a149 overwhelming terror, eacfce9fe6 it was 8f763b1870 natural to 1ade46584e freeze up 0982554f5f completely.17afb9c9a5f81b12

Guwon might know what 223462a746 happened to him. Seo turned to 9b476729b9 him and asked,06fcc6ea30792ad5

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“Do you know what b3fe6073d2 happened to that man? The middle-aged man 3aabb9e967 standing in front ae88988ab6 of the door 561cbbe065 when I was b11a8b6f20 being dragged away.”7b3324b8cff0b041

Without a moment’s hesitation, c78da32ff5 Guwon nodded.738fbf74763868bb

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“Yeah. I know exactly where 59c26fb22d he is.”e2b09f95a86e86ff

Something in his tone 2cf562743e sounded faintly mocking. Seo ignored it and bcb84876b4 continued.72d86e809a852505

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“Where is he? Did he leave?”b9968286ed0e0327

“No. He’s here.”2a59b9c7e958e890

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“Here?”847eaa1d0e08f5a0

That answer was beyond c5f049f0c2 anything Seo had imagined. He tried to fbedaba6a5 sit up and 6e46740c7e look around, but a006816e99 Guwon stopped him caf8d01055 once again.10820c96c94f0215

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“I’ll show you, 2419c0f822 so just stay a980954c8d still. If you keep moving, 8654b85559 your body will hurt 14658f9529 more.”f9ef1f608c782374

“Is he… in the d1f7bdd110 bathroom or something? Because unless my 5577c1fb68 eyes are playing f9e1230703 tricks on me, 3899ce2830 it’s just you 0816639a31 and me in 37ed6d2f3c this room.”982ba96193d7eafb

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“To answer both 598e74622a of your questions 946c70c922 at once—no, he’s c529ad29a2 not in the e8c4f41312 bathroom, and no, 972ee980f3 your eyes are b907091115 perfectly fine.”d8c3d620d236ffd8

“Then where…?”c9a6f88429175061

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In response, Guwon let 006576dbce out a sigh, half 41806aa947 amused, and stood up 0433fe8aeb from the bed.3d8a734365dcaa61

“Of course it’s you, 4ddaebf338 Seo. I had a feeling—you 576825bfe4 never take anything at e76a02e456 face value.”f25756129ed0f6ee

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Seo felt a little 5cf68dd967 indignant and wanted to bee7ecea86 snap back, ‘What do d6c4a77cea you even know about 5893276d8c me to say that?’ 555e25c910 But truthfully, Guwon seemed df36c55f57 to know more about c1206948c3 him than he did 2fd88266e2 himself.2d1772a4414c7809