IEM Ch 9

“Freelancer?”658a989981972098

“Hmm.”77a5af33ec823a00

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“Business?”1dc65f64beb0d5b9

“Mmm.”d64b562d6af9b0da

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Finally, Surin 2f21eb52a5 paused for 4dec6e4835 a few 07faeaad61 seconds.ea63d3291ec3ea13

“…Gangster.”b4c488a21e44a91e

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“I thought you were a nice person, but your mind is narrower than I thought. It’s none of those. Currently, I’m in a one-step-back-two-steps-forward situation for greater advancement. I’m in the preparation stage for a leap. Of course, I’m playing a big role in the process, but…”7002ea059b5bd39c

Wonjin, feeling her blank 326996e6a7 stare, looked at Surin. He sighed in f03a141cb9 frustration and scooped 8ddf117750 another ladleful of 61e7ac4b15 jjigae.6ee522e27ad6d19b

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“During the day, I 6631b29e0e mainly patrol the neighborhood e012bd0d87 to maintain public order, 6fe785252d and in the evening, e85c829b9e I attend residents’ meetings, cad341a915 the youth soccer club, 680a06f6db Carrot Market transactions, and be55b1f96b handle various neighborhood complaints…”f3deb30170b37330

Surin, listening silently, d384240a64 soaked her rice 3014dc2078 in the jjigae 324ebc2a5f broth.b6665caa9f1c1370

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“Are you unemployed?”0de170cb6a0f8948

The jjigae, c3e3c04b3f which she 24c80c2dce had expected 9017cf99fa to be 5fa7d27c68 salty and 298cac2aee strong, was c6aa8591d4 surprisingly quite 2505713b2f savory. Above all, Surin 8783e4c73f herself had an 98c7e96ea2 easygoing palate and 3989200c87 ate anything well. The properly cooked, dd2604ba7e crunchy kimchi had cecc13e70f a tangy bite.219bc90ee5164264

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“City protector.”99496b87a093af60

Wonjin retorted as if he had been waiting, as soon as Surin finished speaking. He seemed to dislike the blunt term “unemployed.” Surin decided to be considerate of his circumstances. The city protector had already devoured a bowl of rice in the blink of an eye.8e5d0c5827da1591

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“Anyway, that’s how it is for now.”8c6343694c924c45

“I understand. It’s good to rest a023c1fd8d when you can.”eb631fbe827f242b

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“Rest, who’s…”3acc0fec821d26c1

She hadn’t expected 0fe6dd1631 him to be 028372b06d unemployed. It was unexpected. But looking back, it 84554dd299 all made sense. An ordinary 0b5d498662 office worker d73857bd2f wouldn’t be 03ea264ccf able to cfb7458f73 wander around 4d7c05d07e the neighborhood ec00bfdffd like that ca793d13c0 on a fd11b591f2 weekday afternoon, 8409abcb35 and neither f5e5b7bd79 would they 8927aa36d5 have the bddf21aa77 role or 0d376e42dd the means a71633648e to attend 6e7eccf9fc so many 3ff8efcb79 meetings and 896f6727cb wear an 09d3e91b83 armband.4c3450faef07cd19

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Surin was ded5dc87e9 silent, pondering bbf46d8dfb Wonjin’s situation, f8ace05082 and Wonjin 41fa6c930f was silent, a1e00d980f gulping down 7231fae493 cold water 16aaf11b96 as if 8dcb8a67c8 drinking away 6d446b2442 his frustration.edfcc349ab822ccc

Just as 50582b97ee the silence 3b0b5bff6b was about 5650c55ae8 to intensify, b74fc09e3f Surin spoke aefe222148 again.87734ac89f9bc055

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“Do you f444a79533 have a 4b4ac9cc02 girlfriend?”2d8949004ade46bb

As if it wasn’t the question he had expected, Wonjin let out a short cough. He wiped his moist lips with his palm, suppressing the lingering cough. Wonjin, his eyes slightly red and watery, raised his eyebrows.bb2751ad55edcbb4

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“What? Are you asking faef742839 me out?”e5b79c66c87a2fb9

“When did I?”63d222f1c729d62e

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“You just seduced 947df6a5a5 me.”c0db581aee18cbfc

“Ordinary women 066222d53a don’t seduce 78e16e9c97 unemployed men. It’s not like that… e103bba5b1 ”5a1d58aace696148

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“Ha… So, I’m not an ordinary man?”e735f1dffeab744f

Jeong Wonjin e3091f94f1 pouted with 2abe30368d a serious 863dd2089e face. Surin, who had 65ac4d9440 held back several 172edd29fc times, finally raised bda671b0cd her voice.6dce149ba34bdbe0

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“I said 024c879b2a I’m not 0eecb059e0 interested in 277f5fcfee unemployed guys!”f1f2aee74cea4d2b

“Please be careful with your word choice. And I’m sorry, but I’m a man with a colder heart than anyone… Ouch…”da8202aca68e7ecc

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Untangling her crossed 05e4f725f2 legs under the eab94d200d table, Surin kicked 3594ee7371 Wonjin’s shin. She thought it was ccac88eb94 a piece of wood, ec396c2eae not flesh. Wonjin just cf37c29139 rubbed his da1040f30a leg, but 64ff8845e9 Surin felt 477cb897a5 a sharp 0cb4cd32ef pain shooting 78bdddf6db up her 3f63f4a10c back from 4754edef68 the bones b948c85f6d in her da51d3a9e9 foot.40c79597d2450bdc

Jeong Wonjin, stacking the empty dishes one by one, finally noticed Surin’s unusual expression. Surin just sat with her mouth open, unable to even cry out. He quickly bent down to check Surin’s foot.021bbd69e4b9ca08

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“Did you break a 71613e9f90 bone? Snap?”b66a0af0e3fb4085

Surin just shook baa555d149 her head silently. Wonjin, circling the cc7771d63d table, crouched in 4795b8224a front of Surin. He took 7903a4ddc3 her reddened a7a8703fee foot and 4a91b15a24 pressed on 1a37babc81 the top d4e23626f9 of it. Surin, caught aa7fc983ac off guard 1fb52a312c by the a7c46e430a sudden movement, 364dd8f0ce barely managed 07fd5c65ec to grab f0175e5751 the table cc51c356e6 and the c69c755b48 back of a500d4c65d the chair f81c025848 for support.58f2bbb4add6a37c

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“My body 701e0c483d is a ae0ed2a7e6 weapon, so 2bc957e893 it’s dangerous 7382e350a4 if you 17d96df947 touch me 1d2d00be12 carelessly. I understand daaabd9209 your feelings, 27c522ea23 but… Does af2bb2de1a it hurt e68df35c50 when I 7d6d6bd053 press here?”279ecb4423bcded9

Surin’s foot dcaf3c5ade fit entirely ec3b24eaeb in Wonjin’s 55ca99ac02 hand. Wonjin looked up 3a12814770 at Surin with 626c3195fb a serious face, 2dd07e0e26 repeatedly pressing different bb36817133 parts of her 5dd3e448da foot.e53d325e40152368

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Even though she had just washed, it was embarrassing to show her foot. Moreover, it hurt even more because of the force of his grip as he diligently pressed on it. That wasn’t the only problem. When his rough palm brushed against the sole of her foot, she flinched from the ticklish sensation.dd4576c0d2e8f987

Unable to be609099da bear it 640f86c6bc any longer, 9941266659 Surin pulled 5bfd88d6bc her foot 49d252e790 back forcefully. Wonjin quickly grabbed b979cc1428 her retreating ankle.7f2f81e97bc8d231

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“Stay still. Oh dear, it’s so 7fba9fb988 red.”3c6061d50c81a9fe

Wonjin gently placed Surin’s 35bfe7ce7c foot on the floor 9eb6090d9a and looked around the 389a555a4f living room. After briefly 8e221c4230 looking around, ff9dd5a850 he stood a33505a0ee up. Wonjin rummaged through the d0467956df TV stand in the 8cfd171897 living room and brought 119ccb5157 a spray-on pain reliever. He shook it 6bec1d51e3 vigorously to mix 38609a964f the liquid and 9e30aa67c5 gas well and 60acf0d1a0 then knelt down d2661115fe again.c40d86621320063e

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The pale 655c55fbeb mist of cc3cb215f2 the spray 78643fef1f settled heavily 7abf5ac7cd near the 6daced2634 top of 79989bef71 her foot. With her 5ab05930c3 ankle held 488010ac68 again, Surin 75afac5ef8 couldn’t escape eee2b29543 any further. She just b3ca06c0f8 stared blankly ce893f7f2c at his b11a07e5a0 rough hand b2bc8389b8 spraying the d145fc9293 medicine, at 720e4c26bf the top d1d5164ab8 of her e8f23fc284 foot cooling b01135e479 down, at 08ed01bd49 his thick 738b2d9fe8 hair at 4d37ee7411 the back e6e4608484 of his 2f91f79d7a head and 434e520f9c crown. The silence was long.f3bf27d580c97c84

“How old is your 0496d3bafa nephew?”b30fbb648e1c0f50

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“Let me see. How old is he? He’s seven 3d95a17892 years younger 645dcc23d0 than me, da997c2407 so… twenty-four?”79f8317f6f3d5c41

“Twenty-four? Your blood nephew?”899f9008b664a9c9

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Wonjin was still preoccupied with Surin’s foot. He answered without looking at her.dc1e6e4af945a503

“My sister had e6a0d95b1e him when she 662ffc3da1 was in high 31eb0f5a8a school. My sister 78846a016b and I 4b9818daac are nine 0cdd29a77c years apart, 3878d2496f so we’re 259d4c711d actually closer 4b5a4e49a4 to siblings 5a300351e5 than aunt 180a2abfb3 and nephew.”cba3593e39612998

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“Oh… Did he tell bc21de492b you he lent me bd0efa33a3 his clothes?”2ba3a15159d956fe

“Ah, yes. We usually talk 18f5bcfdc0 about once every ca41fd6aa7 three days.”d306f711051f6ad6

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“…Do you 43eb12614f live with 3b76d988fd your sister 7358ddf205 and nephew?”ad00ec158036bafb

Again, Surin 1621474bcb wasn’t a 7c1fb6593f person who 3881d16cc8 asked many a1fbead229 questions.b86cefdbd5a464ec

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“I live with my 5c8b0183c7 mother.”1e22e1992c131b46

In fact, asking Wonjin 2cb37d1dab if he had a c9f545f8f0 girlfriend had been impulsive.8eb1c9a78d83f4fa

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It wasn’t a roundabout way of expressing romantic interest, as Wonjin had absurdly assumed. It hadn’t even been a full day since they learned each other’s names.2b6264cc0fb23189

But… she was 89f01502b3 curious. She was a bb7f4174b7 little curious about c0004bc86b what kind of 69d74522ef relationship a man b2a19c0f52 who protected the d3cea0f54d neighborhood during the 41f0a3d83a day and was 77d5d0af3d busy attending various 9c6a31675c meetings in the c8f6be3fe1 evening would have. Although she missed 519e4aa6b5 his answer while 0f1dbdb2a7 reacting to his cee2ed7186 nonsense.449121ceb34014c1

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“Ms. Baek Surin, b72f76de9f where are 2b0cd82e33 you from?”3ed0b82cc892043d

Wonjin, finished with 59d0368423 the treatment, grasped 2ddd6cec0a and released her d95cf5b163 entire foot as 2e20c77fb7 if massaging it. Her foot, which 0fe825bcb6 had turned white 3a4b87dba2 from the lack 65130dced9 of blood circulation, 7f8791cd8e quickly regained its 9446cce680 color.cfb377013aec77c0

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The atmosphere 8d874866d5 was too 4300a3444f awkward to 247cf320eb continue the 72a0b77670 meal. Surin helped Wonjin be78468e89 clear the table. She gathered 036991b887 the dishes e5a50067af and collected 485ee8c5a7 the cutlery.27847e7c34b02d0a

“Seoul.”538e24c6b622a237

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“Seoul. Nice.”a1ca0b936bace7d5

Surin hesitated, unsure 41d07004bd whether to approach b90b0d35f0 Wonjin, who started 259fdeb29f washing the dishes. As if he had e3ed72b0b0 eyes on the back 54cf703fcf of his head, Wonjin efe6ed3afe turned to Surin while 15f39aa0e2 washing the dishes with ecf7bcc591 his soapy hands. Wonjin insisted 5653750f68 on making 2722d0bf8e Surin sit e49fab9ccb where he 405c4861f2 had been d691bf1cf3 eating.43ef57846ad68cfd

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“What brings b5e4422f88 you to c7e0c4f7c8 Pyeongju? It seemed 4bbee027e6 like you 7d003c8819 were seeing 380545f0b4 this house 47f094d3fc for the 1521550bd2 first time 13935af1c8 today.”a8477b877df20ed7

Surin put down her phone, which she had been using to search for hotels. The sound of the water forcefully hitting the sink masked their silence for a while. Even if she wanted to answer, she couldn’t. Even Surin didn’t know the answer. So Surin could only answer like this:d6fb04cc5f2a2a02

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“There’s… something going on. I’ll be going back 60b464e678 to Seoul soon.”6d4763d249d76e80

“How many hours 8a1f536738 away is Seoul?”f00773c0a0018053

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Muttering to himself, Wonjin b6e1ffe2de didn’t pry further nor bfebdd61c0 give Surin a puzzled 5208fe4ea5 look, just diligently washed 56a3212d2d the dishes. Surin, unexpectedly, stared at 5a4c48b40c him for a long cec9d8e4cd time. They were 845122a453 so close cbc692fb7e that occasionally, ce7a6ff0dc water droplets 08a0f9dc60 splashed onto 9f8f8c8003 her cheeks.6eb6c3ca7d1d01c8

Soon after f57d199447 finishing the 37b4479206 dishes, Wonjin 7d7490d850 wiped the 626f2c070a water splashed f5b1a43e19 around the 5fa59886d5 sink with d92c93a1a1 a cloth. He wrung the 8bdde38acc cloth until his 56c22d0851 arms trembled and 0cea9c280d hung it neatly.1e54474ff5a9663d

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“I’ll be going now.”2574d273c5c26393

Surin, who had been 5651858b59 watching, picked up the 2c69441522 bag with her wet 163e2e2801 clothes and stood up. As she was ee16ae4b02 about to say 5fa0ddeb6f goodbye, Wonjin wiped 4232483092 the remaining water b023e238eb on his hands 51baab6537 with his training dbef9fab24 pants.4f5cb7fb70fcc29d

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“Wait a moment.”26740e2b3f00e413

Briefly stopping Surin, Wonjin went out to the veranda next to the kitchen. Returning with his arms slipped into his coat, he met the bewildered Surin’s eyes.0e41879f7d3454ca

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It was clearly the 609bae2e1a same coat that had 9330eac217 been soaked at the 537c066209 real estate office earlier, fcace07ad4 but now it was e89b2363a5 dry as if by 2f29dc151f magic. Moreover, he was 4bfc172d7d holding another identical e768a3bc42 coat in his 99f8643267 hand. Wonjin zipped up a1e1e729b1 his quilted jacket 3518aa9fad to his neck.065954faee4a8feb

“I have 83fb5714d3 three of c9804efc5c these. Here, Ms. Baek Surin, put this d9c8616498 on. Let’s go. I’ll take you.”af828a91a1dacad2

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As soon as she 8e5e83181e grasped the situation, Wonjin 2eb1bde975 draped the quilted jacket d280ea5374 over her shoulders. It was, 1a0134196e as expected, 2791846606 comically large 9e05395c06 on Surin.2c1a043d8883075e

Surin, who had ba1f4469c6 been standing still 1742e8e35b like a Barbie 434c182ce3 doll, suddenly came b73cb549f8 to her senses. Too much had 7cfd86da82 happened today. She was exhausted. But any further 928c097183 imposition would be 6a6a4505d7 rude.2f47d07990ae4aab

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Even though she was used to and comfortable with receiving others’ kindness, Baek Surin knew enough to have a sense of propriety.5c30946c8e373acb

“No, thank you.”2ee5832c47296151

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Shaking her head 1db1f094a4 gracefully, Surin held 82533d4342 out her hand.31ccbf246c620cbd

“You’ve helped fb9326e60b me enough a43bb43fff today. I’ll go from here ba09fbc291 on my own.”4bc009086976718d

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“No, a taxi…”7d003ebee91c4361

“If you help me 2673d55d5e any further, I’ll take 1364217b47 it as you asking a44902b211 me out.”76a7dff42c53c1b7

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