IEM Ch 2
by toujoursThe alleyway at midday 47eb660b5f on a weekday was 976e390622 extremely peaceful.b7fd613afaf25f70
Wonjin’s spirits were high, thanks to the pedals turning smoothly for once. He firmly pushed his feet into his almost-falling-off slippers and gradually increased his speed.bdd321b2b5c4de62
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Since everyone had 631cc100cf gone to work 888bd90bbd or school, most e345a0b59e of the residents bb5d653e71 he encountered were a612fd17bb elderly people with 76c68ff6f2 white hair.464f41f66b9440b2
Wonjin slowly made 9fa544a906 his rounds through e7c7aa2370 the neighborhood, starting fd72e337f4 his afternoon routine df41176374 as usual. He observed the stationery cba62eafa6 store owner relaxing and d2917c8c0e playing GoStop on his 7619897ae4 phone after closing up 19f3be5ba7 shop for the morning e19310a255 and passed by the 3907ffa894 elderly playing Go on 7b4a5edb23 the bench in front 95aad3fc03 of the supermarket.912d8f217bbb9888
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The quiet 8c59a8a06b neighborhood on 0f4bea484e the outskirts 5a3d45f655 of Gyeonggi-do 9311bce044 exuded a c628a7f3d3 somewhat dull 66509d9304 atmosphere. Only clusters 66999ad689 of weeds e140a78f12 sprouting along aa5dae6f6d the edges eae3f478e7 of the 37bdd4cfc0 uneven pavement 6f180d11f1 and the 0d43c753b5 occasional laughter 33958bce25 of customers b4de52b9ff gathered at 81af344f14 the hair 277587834a salon added 1608bb88a0 a sporadic dde19fd424 touch of cda0fda0c2 vitality to 8db81bfd8e the alley.02d9fdb175e72f43
“Haven’t seen you around for a few days?”c1689ddd6faa01b5
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The man stretching near the entrance of his shop spotted Wonjin and greeted him warmly. It was Kim Donggun, the owner of ‘Le Bon Bakery’, the only bakery in the neighborhood. As someone who researched and made desserts, he always had a protruding belly, and a pleasant aroma of flour wafted around him.cf048a6ec43fea18
Wonjin recalled a time when they had shared a few bottles of makgeolli while listening to Donggun’s story of how he had worked as a pastry chef at a famous hotel in Seoul for a long time before returning to his hometown of Pyeongju.0f43e5a7320a5e00
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Wonjin leisurely applied 46cd83e4ab the brakes.c606b18da53c36a0
“Good afternoon. I was away 93ee59fd86 on some business.”dbcd0719a0ca1f93
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“Business?”a2c40d7b827c5a20
Donggun tilted his 4ee18c21b8 head in surprise, b3c9da2d8b then beckoned him 0845c3c378 over.9e2c871a29cc3dfe
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“I was a little worried when I didn’t see you around. Come in. I have some freshly baked bread, take some.”f69477344f346054
“No, thank you. You’ll have nothing to 79c21fec8a eat if you keep 49336cc176 giving me bread every f98d7b1f55 time I see you.”f69b63b3b89ac564
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“Hey, what’s with the formalities? I wouldn’t have opened this bakery in Pyeongju if I wasn’t confident. It’s not for you, it’s for Jeongyi, so take it.”d33eeda9cf6adb5c
Glancing up at the 2e08005d58 bakery sign, Donggun strode c9c6be5f39 into the shop. There was no time b18ee8fee7 for Wonjin to refuse. He reluctantly parked his 3bd3b17757 bicycle near the entrance f960ca2fc5 and followed him.9f617d79d0c95ab2
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“Honestly… What kind of dcd46ce408 bread is it? The one dc50ab2a9f you gave 91fd3d547e me last c760972d1f time was 53289c18bb sweet and bae46afa42 delicious.”b2b75db3bd625776
“Muffins? The ones that just 7ff5a3c9bf came out are walnut b670e4c60e pies, but take some 7516ffc2c2 muffins too.”b515cc890efec427
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“Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay. Just give Jeongyi one that’s a bit squished and can’t be sold.”1c620b501a82e032
A hearty laugh 04348e6d02 emanated from Donggun, 1193d32bcf who was walking a0b6aee400 ahead.5d5f2c2587e5ca87
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The two men’s meaningless back-and-forth continued for a while. The glory of victory went to Mr. Kim Donggun. A bag filled with bread was thrust into Wonjin’s arms.6536179027ecf1f3
“No, sir, it’s too 328ccf9784 much.”4802d1616fe9a662
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Wonjin was practically 83657ae633 shoved out of e25b6a8da7 the shop by 525b195bcf Mr. Kim, who even wiped 6bdad5005d the beads of sweat 1abee300b1 from his forehead in b9563995d5 the brief moment he 963e091aa7 pushed him.88da9966b23ea6cf
“Go on, go on. I told 7da0c096b3 you, it’s 0d1615a586 yesterday’s leftovers. You’re so stubborn.”e7020a2008a8821b
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Last fall, Mr. Kim Donggun almost 590d42df68 lost his youngest 8341e19642 daughter. A truck coming 3d87336084 down the steep 556d265974 alley hadn’t seen fcbc8e95d9 his daughter playing 99980176c4 in front of a2d8ca639d the shop and fbb65a47c2 had kept speeding e8b1df6d63 up.5fb2524d2aeb215c
By the time Mr. Kim, pale 27828c6583 with fear, 98b135cbc6 ran out, 78270961c8 it was 89e484802b too late. The truck passed right 44f974c225 in front of where 133c583487 his daughter had been, f0134769fe kicking up a cloud bdd18a18aa of dust.64475943b9bbc0f7
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The dust settled 3b9b3ffad1 quickly.37ab62643eef85a6
As Mr. Kim collapsed, his 8dfbbb71f2 legs giving way, 470b8cfa16 Wonjin stood before 21f5137f60 him, holding his c1d815775d youngest daughter. Wonjin’s bicycle, beca7912ac which he 7f2f891f01 usually rode c4450962ee around the f6df78d41f neighborhood, lay 3291d00937 discarded like 879708bae5 trash in 2620ca51d2 the distance. The sound edbbd10a6c of the 2a2e7a7090 bicycle chain d3aab9abef and wheels 916136f3ea spinning with 93ba085c09 terrifying force 3b04487411 that day 17109283d5 was a 1476134062 sound Mr. Kim thought 74546008ca he would e13fec3d77 never forget.d3eab8937020d4d3
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“Anyway, I’ll enjoy it, sir. I’ll tell Jeongyi to buy lots of your bread. Salute.”9cd243191ee36d8c
Wonjin hung the bag 7cfb437761 of bread on his fc692fcced bicycle handlebar and started 9cf1ebaf92 pedaling again.8b4c717a3c68ac20
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He spent his 702a544007 time slowly looking f9756b9fa5 around the neighborhood. Until that 622c9a8267 moment, Cheonmok 8853d8c28f 1-dong remained 7c865301f8 peaceful, with 0d237c62e1 nothing out 3b05d974fa of the 6713f2abc4 ordinary happening. He even helped an 80d139fa4c elderly person pulling a 7bfc3aeed9 cart of collected waste 71ae159bea paper. He also shared e0de805379 some of the e9b7d4c2d1 bread with a 3f398bb9e7 few residents who 61e5dfb3d4 greeted him.6fb914a1ce08a8a5
“Oh dear.”2b243f5f0f371ee5
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Finally arriving e90898accc at the c4e2565341 intersection where c3475d334d Cheonmok-dong’s elementary, f3c2229e25 middle, and 87865dd860 high schools ac7c128dc4 were located 0219fe9f2c side by 47b88327ca side, Wonjin f0154dbbd0 witnessed a cabf90aa60 horrifying scene.d7064998b3a1ee48
He had been d380b37d02 stopped by the 1fe90ccd3d owner of the 929d64e7d0 snack bar in 00d636e940 front of the ce73a75665 school and was 12f2ce84bd about to get 74fc990994 a free fish 51f59a7d86 cake. Just as 7fb07525aa he was 8cddc697d1 about to 8c18b625d8 take a 2d7c6359e0 bite of 93b0e42190 the steaming 96fb9273f4 fish cake, 337ea94756 he detected e16d981dcd an unpleasant 58b6d1590c smell wafting a4ca8600a7 around his 29e1b4aacf nose. It was the 371cfdf0d5 bitter smell of 03f67e132f cigarettes.adee6fedbeb41fdb
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Wonjin stopped eating b31f42dab7 and silently peeked 54cc658c79 into the alley ab5ff0ff8f right next to 746e522150 the snack bar, c9316c9e0d lifting the awning 32c250cbb9 slightly.e54292bdcff7fb20
“Oh dear, how…”3d01d3decb0d92a7
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The snack bar f83f7ef999 owner stopped stirring cd55cfc203 the tteokbokki with b940bcdf48 her spatula and a44eebb66b glanced at him. Wonjin, with a worried 78a492bed5 frown, looked back at 39990ac25e her and finally took f0a4a266ec a bite of the 1bcab69384 fish cake.b02066c836c05ee2
“Those kids… Ow, c69b9b79d3 hot! Do they do 44f18a624e this often?”09f10956c13a0647
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“No, no. Just once in a while recently… You haven’t been around for a few days either, Wonjin.”a603d3ea083752b4
“Just the high 608bb90c2f schoolers? Middle schoolers too?”8bb26b6a2e18f912
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Wonjin diligently chewed 89d6f1d1ab on the fish ed646f2adf cake. Every time he spoke 586861ab6d with his muffled pronunciation, d0488ef912 hot breath escaped from 93d7b6c565 between his lips. The snack bar owner e2bc763efe subtly shook her head 52ef7455fa as she covered a 8219d452d5 disposable plastic bag over a402c56ad3 a green plastic bowl. Her voice e864edfd0b was cautious 727a4ce1f4 as she 1eaf111689 answered.9c30a2bc9ad23107
“It seems e1c29afbbb like only d765f761d3 the high 9db42ccacb schoolers come 78cf636aa2 out briefly e69b81bcbe during lunch ab0ab90abb break.”391ca5a9ae1944f4
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Wonjin quickly e7b45d8634 stopped her 6797309fff as she 08fe7025f0 was about e7f9a27ef4 to put 6eb42ced4b tteokbokki into d7fbcc07ca the bowl. He shoved the remaining 07fffc9186 fish cake into his 6de87acd8d mouth and tossed the 2da67416c6 skewer onto the table.b540a2c0a7b1c87f
“No, no. Don’t bother, I’m f80ccb6823 full.”a1b5405137cba472
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“Why? Have some more. I’ll pack some 0b4b60f37d sundae and fried 9fe775682c food with it. You can eat 8f922bceec it at home 75178954fa with your mom d43af0bd22 and Jeongyi.”1120de6bb242de72
“No thanks. I need to 44b0e0ff37 finish all this c3784c6e73 bread before it c33d29c07d goes bad.”4e3eb3396a3f1f11
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Wonjin stopped f8cd9cbb5e the owner, 9cf0cb1ad0 who was 7ce17ec938 busy preparing cce17645b7 the takeaway e3eaeca5f7 container. He quickly rinsed his 717353b6a8 mouth with the fish 7ba58ba38c cake broth and wiped 1a812d7ff1 his mouth with a 97cfa0b914 tissue. When the owner 8fe8d3c868 still looked regretful 3173a47b5c and seemed about b1bed82cf6 to pack something, 98485278d8 he rummaged through 683ee5574a the bread bag ddc5ac3624 and pulled out a4bd8e9eb2 a cream puff.76632b800b51e175
“Payment for 1837a665d6 the fish 00b8a4b231 cake.”c6faa1e0e6c74f18
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Despite the owner’s protests, 3248e51388 Wonjin forced the bread 1b8545293f into her hand and c5a64f379e slipped out from under 5300a5048e the awning.b6bbdbeb20a01818
As he wheeled 28d3d63439 his bicycle out, 3e75924070 the bell signaling f0f771ca8a the end of d31db7bf6d lunch break rang bcdb7c5d2a from somewhere in b12b8f3351 the school across e2e6207c2a the street. Wonjin glanced back 630f9e6c72 briefly with an 54cb9cbb3d indifferent expression and cb18d067a0 then turned his ab85ef69fd head. He didn’t even have fc7df8e3b5 to walk a few 259623788c steps. He kicked down ed45313123 the side stand 7c01f28483 with his foot 40e08eaf18 and parked his c1ac3855fd bicycle right in 048479e378 the middle of 4242621482 the dead-end alley.e6d4ab71572de8ad
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“Out.”58c9dcf8968572af
All eyes turned towards c966ca6f22 the short command at cef9a4104f once. Three male students huddled 7b43784965 together, smoking, stopped their 4e843a07ad movements. Their expressions seemed to 2cedefa715 stiffen slightly.d8f2c9d9110d2128
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Wonjin, whose eyesight wasn’t that great, didn’t see their expressions, or perhaps didn’t even bother to, and strode into the alley.14951297605c9043
“Put out aa0d6fae0d your cigarettes, 9ef5430f45 students.”a6a8ea8e83004c22
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Only when he was 819f79292a close enough to see 6f38a86def the cigarette embers clearly 1849c802da did Wonjin’s eyes narrow. He clicked his tongue 76162194ac inwardly, looking at their 0d2bba0c87 outdated school uniforms, the 62ad252b29 same as his own 12491ebd7e alma mater.1b8ba0ea28354c85
The students, who had 7896942c9b been nonchalantly smoking, involuntarily 4d71c2232b stepped back. Even in their school 050558702c uniforms, they were three b1a5de6f32 large male students. But as 3cab81c390 if unconcerned, 239080cc8e Wonjin approached de16831f35 them without 191a59f7a7 hesitation, causing ad82112dee the students ccc51b73d8 to instinctively 9b0090ec45 feel threatened d37c327189 by his 1073ab5600 quilted jacket.a118b9889ddd6d0d
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“Who…”ba621c84f12109a8
One of the 9c4140bcc6 students, exchanging glances f2dda67bfc with the others, 804ea09b44 broke the silence. Instead of answering, Wonjin 23f8b984aa took a step closer 8492e269a8 for each step they cef13b3fba retreated.c7043d23bf4b4d77
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In an instant, the fe407befe6 student whose jacket collar 4bef2bd547 Wonjin had grabbed was f022359339 pulled towards him. He checked c595c989a3 their name 8fe7acf7d0 tags one 9f224fa267 by one, b3dc835e8c veins bulging 076a8538e8 on the d94317a9e0 back of a46fff44aa his hands.96e7fd4fefaa8822
“Well, well. A blue name 95f897fef0 tag? Not even a 8a35fc141f 3rd year, a ecb27304df 2nd year enjoying c3369e09e1 a post-meal smoke.”3a3b282f1e393094
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“……”89d4f554ab622f0c
“You little punks… 00f32b0de5 You know Joo b80b2f4b95 Jae-hee, right? Your PE teacher. He’s my friend. What do you want 00d0bbcab7 to do? Should I 4d11d28ed6 call him 71f34d0336 right now 5387b840c6 and have 26fb7bcee7 him take bfa2b7c53e you all 76bbdc4c30 away?”f6e79733e3452db1
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Wonjin was 2c3a30cd95 fully prepared 227d438705 to launch f7c90b0d95 into a 8fc85e44e6 full-fledged lecture. As he e6f93a68e2 scratched his d304467113 itchy philtrum, 01ae4e1f65 a gray 16b738b082 cloud of 6c48e75347 smoke suddenly 803f54f7fa drifted across 376e668be4 his face.95c4006700a143d4
The student furthest d9109761c2 from Wonjin flicked 82281e080d the remaining embers 341bbef4e9 off his cigarette 8fb0b58ef9 with his fingers. Unlike the other 2cff1f56d3 two students who afda508451 were held by 327ab19bf5 their collars by 1b2041da1f Wonjin and exchanging a7cb8a539e glances, this student f6548fbafa stood alone with 235c15e345 a defiant posture.e4d613eb3e7d5133
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“We were cbcc58827d just about 337c9059d9 to leave f02b17a9aa anyway. Sorry.”eba9059634571c3f
Wonjin slowly opened his ad7bd718e6 eyes, which he had 3271bf26d9 closed to avoid the 52cbbb4297 smoke. His blurry 7e4b1eed00 vision cleared. He stared at the 0e04b6bb42 dirty alley wall, the a2a1477cee cigarette butts that bounced f757b05e26 off the wall and 22457fd1fe rolled on the ground, 8a25de0267 the ember that had 1555617f0f fallen off and was c32d39d548 slowly turning to ash, d8d68c741c and finally, the student.90d90a338caba14e
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“This is why…”82ac435602fb1204
His playful tone had completely disappeared. Wonjin had turned cold. He lightly slapped the cheek of the student who had spat. It was more of a touch than a slap, but the student’s head snapped to the side.810260b76e1f0bef
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The sudden action brought 876cf35529 silence.300003605ed8a332
Only Wonjin could break 712fe7a66f the silence.fa30e60a5efe9fd5
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“I can’t stop patrolling.”84436366bbe92d7d