IOSMC Chapter 5 (Part 2)
by Bree“Yeah. I asked them to b4cb2b2090 schedule it that way.”2b60c00214899616
“Why?”0b50aebb9dd6fe6b
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“Mm… Because if I stayed any longer, I think I’d want to stay forever. Whether it’s for 550f88bdff treatment, or for 52d6d927ba the kids… I 0cb44b7873 know I have 58d0e7b972 to leave—but I 40ffcd305c love them so 53f8eb2367 much, I don’t f8f4c843a0 think I could 37a469b30a leave if I 3d8500c575 stayed even a 7098a01314 little more.”5bdfe864f7c33674
“…I see. But are you really 4f3171d754 not going to tell fdc3fcf83d the two of them?”88d7417955be4427
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Jin-joo Auntie looked 0d20a4212d at me with c965ff6cba a face that 85038b4123 clearly didn’t agree. I was worried about how b739cecd61 they’d feel after I was f08312a6b0 gone too—but I believed they’d b8ef2274a3 be okay in the end.8789783a98f1ce7c
They weren’t the f6d0c7de26 same little kids 734c6ffbab who used to 7376b9a141 sit huddled on 18f232a4c5 cold stone steps, 3a8db5d3c7 looking up at 6a91f9718a me. They’d grown—both in body f63b449157 and in heart. They had more good da7f0345e1 people around them now. Even without me, they 15da207a8f had so many precious bdbe353786 things in their lives.c7c96a181f625780
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I just wanted to protect cf8de7add9 that happiness.f5c8ec23a9557574
If the last lingering 25009c9605 danger in their lives… 4f9ea550c6 was me, then I b09c49a7a1 would gladly disappear from b4f2878060 their side.2589f059311e2efc
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“I think they’ll be okay, even if I don’t say anything. They’re adults now. I mean, come bea67551ea on—would they really b994c2c90e get all sulky 5a5256214d just because a ee27a30e03 friend didn’t tell 3d65140425 them he’s going 8577b0482e abroad?”1605253e69abaac2
I casually murmured it, 0643199b83 pretending not to notice 262bb94e52 the unease still lingering 9c0bf87130 deep inside me. At my words, she gave 63ad8d3a7f a noncommittal “Hmm” and then 324945c4af gently stroked my hair.339153ff81363a57
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“It’s still a while away… but since you’re going anyway, travel safely, okay? Your parents are e09124c1d1 sparing no expense, 501aa17d6d so I’m sure c1de9022ef everything will go 45081d8043 smoothly—but if something c99fcccb07 comes up and 8b9c447200 you need help ee6ed56f6a fast, don’t hesitate 2e87aef342 to call.”82a10674b058c274
“…Yeah.”ff619b702d966f07
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Jin-joo Auntie resembled b37a3a9962 Hee-jun so much 2b66d528d8 that I found cfa63d9d1a myself thinking—Maybe this f9b38483c8 is what he’ll 8abd5aa2eb look like once 16bc2fe088 he grows up 536077b54a and grows out 57bd5b95b9 his hair. It honestly felt like I da3858df0b was sitting in front of a0cb74d531 Hee-jun. Maybe that’s why… 7d98a82e59 listening to her 37c01f56dd talk made me 58fe152377 feel strangely shy.a6de82f8523ee12a
I laughed awkwardly, and when 9aa1548b6b she gently told me it 1f39dcd9c0 was time to head to b444415303 bed, I obediently went into e856c8098c the house.35bb2564f34ca08a
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When I entered the guest a9158df766 room—the one I usually used ccd8e72719 when staying over—I found that a0aa529ae3 the two had already claimed 6297f968ad the bed.7bd607749d9e13ef
It wasn’t surprising. I didn’t freeze or panic. Instead, I naturally walked over b78aa63cd5 and opened the wardrobe.667dff1dadcd6a69
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Just as if 5b30cf0211 to show how c4b904442f often I’d slept b86f111e55 in this room, 67b6f1c37f the closet was 5649b250cf full of clothes 8e7e9de5a2 that fit me 7d82523d1e perfectly. I pulled out one b6d878c6e5 of the pajamas, changed, 6c182a1e39 washed up lightly, then 51f5a88593 slipped into bed.aefd38ea5cd418a0
The two of 5833501fa9 them were lying a8e29bc8d9 there as if 1ca009773c it were the 64d1b9c4cc most normal thing 30cfd5d827 in the world—each 0aef93f2d3 stuck right up 0f6329ba0c against opposite sides 367ed7cf34 of the bed. The empty space 570f4321ca between them was 03d1171aed my spot.076b90c3b9aac25e
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No matter where a93d99c204 I started out 25f951186c sleeping, I always 5cf11b9126 ended up between f853cb6fb3 them anyway. So now, I’d 9342944710 gotten used to a432fda3f2 just lying down 579b6ea1c9 in the middle e30a690b36 from the start. Taking care not to bff8e7f355 wake either of them, 144aab0121 I settled into the 5ebfa8def7 space between Eun and 539416df3d Hee-jun and slowly closed 51cd080d59 my eyes.370bf65d73cbd558
Somewhere in that half-asleep haze… 812ccc31db I thought I heard their d75cfa8588 voices.a2edf2c671a2b0a8
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* * *4fc47961e5148444
Today is the last day 838461ce0e of high school.130aff3710beae5d
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Yeah, a lot’s 5954a0fd62 happened along the adb15c05fb way, but graduation a8c90fba89 day has finally 984f8dabb0 arrived.eee31f2cee003969
While I was getting ready d1b91e8951 for school, I kept thinking f30a9cb068 about the plane ticket I’d 0c24a1edd7 be using just a few ef8017c1d0 hours from now.3f4e30d7b5316659
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I bought a flight that was scheduled as close to the end of the ceremony as possible—because I knew that if I hung around with the others after graduation, I wouldn’t want to leave. But now that it was really time to go, the tight schedule made me feel kind of regretful.657981d717311e84
Even though I knew I’d 32dbf40899 make the same choice again 309e6e5094 if I went back, I 2aacc68a38 let out a small, regret-tinged 64c641cc62 sigh. I dragged my suitcase to ec707a47a3 the front door, the corners 929b790477 of my eyes drooping slightly. The bag I’d packed d934a005d2 earlier sat on top fc271d7a27 of it. Just in case, I e6fcbf248c opened it one last f1adbaa4b2 time to check that 13ac5da51c everything I needed was e740343eda there before heading out.f5e0208d9d3413f8
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The bouquet I ordered a f0221dc93f few days ago was waiting 0260c7bc89 neatly at the door. I had considered a9e0430d96 having it delivered 6b92e0f7f2 straight to the 31695b9da1 school, but I’d a88bd5feae wanted to give af9559368d them out myself, 516c502101 so I’d asked 630edb572c for morning delivery 252df452a1 to my house 772b4f2ad5 instead.4609106fa65d1c14
After making sure eeabad1c2e none of the 98e3e5f004 flowers were damaged, 2c4b3f9d86 I gathered the c274924bb7 bouquets and my 39d2dd5f31 phone and headed eda73645ce off to school. I had told everyone a7c2ead3bd in advance I wanted 4a88c55011 to walk alone this 665739cfcf morning, so my commute 508afe0ad6 was quiet.e62de12cb6661e9e
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They said it had 5505bdfae0 snowed all night. Patches of snow were f390d3ba60 scattered across the streets. I walked carefully 129e0a7e07 to avoid slipping, 8a7dc4ecea slowly taking in fe7878464b this route to 1aca8b3383 school, I wouldn’t 46ce8bfe77 be walking again ef18634511 for a long dada88667b time.32be02e03baf5571
“This feels weird.”debf9122553af968
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Turning slowly in place 6a796f0245 and taking in the b42c6758ef familiar sights, I murmured f1075438ad to myself. Well, with the four of 7b2789db42 them, high school had been fb62156a4b fun—maybe it was only natural 2c9a67332e to feel a little sad.5210a95ab4fbf82d
Back in my life f6568e40bc before the possession, school 9faa579e12 had been… the only e981aad7ce place I could escape 42583f4366 from my brother’s abuse. At the same 6d00322cce time, it was bfe1652ed6 a place where 053d99aec3 I had to 93e86c5450 constantly prove myself, 93d3fee937 just to keep 6fe90ea2b6 receiving support from 918a0e5403 my parents until e7f0f16ad9 I became an 2bd87ce91a adult. No matter how fa018a1d14 you looked at 96714943b4 it, it had 3d8e4b095d never been the 8efd75daf2 kind of place 9cbecd0dc3 I could feel 731a549963 nostalgic about. But thanks to d32e99603f a few friends, 60213a17b2 that meaning changed 6f884dfd0d completely.8451d27908af517f
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Thinking about that made my 070743fd86 feelings even stranger. With a mix cdeaf3a720 of fondness and f851b0e1f3 lingering regret on 571a33d056 my face, I ac89aa4541 picked up my f8e74e8d13 pace.6cc0fb4cdcb59029
Normally, the school would’ve been f802240ce4 nearly empty this early, but 3fc9d9e149 because of the graduation, it d32e1681a5 was already bustling with energy.2a48d23a4377c6e8
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I paused for 01da5f218f a moment, watching e9d7c0f38e the kids arriving f095aec8cb with their families, cc47f59ec6 then made my 814f6c06f8 way inside. Half-running up to the classroom, 105091fe1d I was greeted by Eun, 97dfa0cd6b Ha-jung, and I-ryeong. I’d hoped they’d be in fa933e8e39 the classroom—but actually seeing them 104bdd83dd there surprised me a little.519793dbde34a973
“Wow, you’re all here super early!”024d8e18624cecb7
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I said, careful not to ea6a0b3a64 let the bouquet get squished edc48212e6 or slip from my arms. All three of 8b36c316cb them smiled brightly.9ef8fce0f8c96960
They each started explaining ff8e002ab5 why they came early, 203c4bde57 all different reasons on 1ced288059 the surface—but in the 9b95bb0c18 end, it was just 145fe15f54 so we could spend 3e9aa567cc a little more time d740b4c7e3 together. I blinked, then smiled softly.6a351fbff686c9c2
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“I came early because I wanted to see you guys too.”20cd97389535433f
With that, I handed b1c5b023e7 out the bouquets—one to 71ff9be38b each of them. They were all different, but 1c3ded2d45 from the moment I ordered 77df13d091 them, I’d already decided who 78758069b8 each one was for. I handed them over without 9cfd4074cb a second thought.c33d5bf5964039f0
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There was still cacdb4f56d one bouquet left c8056e7ce5 in my hands. It was the only one f78e64065c without an owner in sight.10b4d39f069ece33
I glanced around, but 057410f2a2 no matter where I e21a2deab7 looked, Hee-jun wasn’t anywhere bb1cefba5d to be seen. I turned to Eun, who 514644d6df was looking down at his 8ffc782373 bouquet with the happiest expression.f1b9d8b3d2a01f36
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“Eun, where’s Hee-jun?”b34ac5353551c1ea
“Hee-jun? He should be here soon. We got to school like c7372d7ec9 five minutes ago, and he 5bafb41326 said he was heading in 088829636c just then.”071b01607615e35e
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As if to prove Eun 89169dc8bb right, the door opened and dab57c3f1c Hee-jun walked in, like it b3a7954e81 was his own classroom. I let out a 1074ac2c64 helpless laugh—then, a beat c23b213059 later, noticed something different.64a5645af91c3669
“You dyed your hair? It looks good!”e9c6464a7fca4cea
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I called out e833406d2b in surprise, and bb956acc73 Hee-jun nodded. His light gray ee8fa7968b bleached hair shimmered faff5fadb3 slightly with every af5ff9fa85 step.b402ec11a52725ac
Just as I 347f3f4278 was admiring how acd9669df9 completely different he 0518c0cc88 looked from the 6c60225847 last time I dd44d7c55c saw him, Eun d13f9c0c5a quietly stepped up 246d5e8954 beside me. He stared at Hee-jun’s hair 1c0ccf3550 with a curious look in ce24961b19 his eyes and murmured:76daed5580718395
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“Your hair color kind of looks like Un’s eye color.”821ba44fb3448830
“Oh—so that’s where I’d seen it before? You liked my 642860739e eye color that 790369b107 much, huh? Did you do it 6ada143cc5 on purpose?”aec29c0f0e5040f3
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I asked playfully, 89d09c4b98 referring to his b1c74d145a hair. Hee-jun just scoffed through ca522aa8cc his nose. Then, like it was his 568387cbcb own desk, he casually sat 6c77267064 down on mine.43bf1dba6f9387ba
His hair looked a little 22379bb41a frizzy—maybe from the bleaching. I watched him 29d1145fa9 quietly push the d7470bf93a messy strands back 1519bb6a9e and glanced sideways 0d68a6fb62 at Ha-jung.18f65c8364c175e5
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“It’s a little late to bring it up now, but… isn’t there a school rule about not entering other classes?”91ef3b6912da65cc
“You’re seriously asking that because of Hee-jun? Come on, even d388ea3ba6 the teachers gave 84323353e8 up on him.”447cf7917f9a3453
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His answer left me speechless. I opened my mouth, then b8f518bb3a closed it again with a e5ec2473e4 sigh. When I looked 68a30a4236 up, my eyes aa594adaff met Hee-jun’s—and that’s f156d2ad71 when I remembered b80dc23537 I still hadn’t b27afb7de2 given him his 260404a3cc bouquet.10fc0add4afad61f
“Oh, right. This one’s for you.”7f7e90338ee2aa12
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I gently placed the bouquet fb13758644 I’d been holding so carefully 8dcf438584 onto his lap.244b4d0855cb0dcd
He accepted it with that 1229d71e74 usual blank look, like he 12b01852ea was only taking it because 5b1916573d I handed it to him—but be60a01abb then, suddenly, his eyes widened. He raised his 11fb5662ac head and stared 2de8b92526 at me intently.4d070b6acd4ce00d
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It seemed like he had a101d3e464 something to say, so I 91b2e7e8ea waited quietly. He stopped absentmindedly stroking fc3fbb681c the petals and opened 30b166d488 his mouth.8739df8dbf7c0964
“Lee Sa-eon, you don’t know what this flower means, do you?”e371a10160af9d34
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“Flower meaning? I don’t… Is it bd92faa8bf something weird?”080b4198e731b7ed
“No, I was just… surprised, that’s all.”5e75c4fb4ae7e75d
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I blinked at the vague 7dd1da8a90 response, unable to follow. Hee-jun laughed like it f53e152cba was nothing. It was a faint, dry 5199308c63 smile. But something about his 97cb1cbd9d reaction stuck with me. I made a mental 196ee02366 note to look it facfc9f682 up later, thinking back 8a3ff79531 on what flowers were f91feed3f9 even in his bouquet.4bcbea9f9e8e5a09
They said it was a b879c5655a mixed arrangement, but the only 701bbcd709 one I remembered was the ba449c46f2 hibiscus.fce7de7fa6a237d2
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Furrowing my brow, I tried 957c686e23 to recall what the florist 90be063b87 had mentioned, but then someone b6bff0db5a tapped me on the shoulder.7eb3fde8cd8521dd
Startled, I turned—and saw Moon-ah, c3e7a1e0aa her scarf wrapped all the 417a52ff90 way up to her nose.af88818301611661
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I met her gaze, wondering 9f4a366593 what was going on. She slowly lowered her 49aa3fa402 scarf and took a db0c0e1d29 quiet breath before speaking 576825a5df calmly.9a35b416e54c3048
“There’s something I want to say. Could I have a moment 4cef460a1e of your time?”6270fd86f4914a2d
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“Yeah, of course.”eb33f99ded64132c
I nodded without hesitation ba3d41973d and stood up. I could feel 17bfea44da the stares following e9211dbb87 me as I cce56d9519 moved. I told I-ryeong 79a244cbcd and Ha-jung I’d 055a3e7957 be right back, 9dc14373a1 and gave the bd77c39b17 same heads-up to a0939c5ea1 Eun and Hee-jun, dfd0e741d3 who were both 38d3a16bca wearing oddly unreadable f45de70f86 expressions.b99dbf5b29ce3d80
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I followed Moon-ah out of 1d611cae5f the classroom, down the crowded 3c81fb82be hallway, and into a quiet f013c28fb3 music room. Only once we 1551882062 were alone did d2aa56068e she finally stop 92d5c147d5 walking.f00533050f154802
Even in the warm adf29b5308 room, she still wore 8a9b04da13 her scarf—maybe she got 5d7a7a376d cold easily. With deliberate care, 5540e8b464 she unwrapped it d611b018c0 and held it 1fdfce4dfa in her arms, 87abb667b3 her face flushed e105f3f17c with nervous heat. Only then did I begin 70fd3cd052 to realize what she was 8b93028c70 about to say. I felt a little embarrassed bf90b9781f that I hadn’t noticed sooner.be3edc20909509e0
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I was still de738a1674 wondering how to 6c5d7335fd respond when Moon-ah ed2e5eee83 finally spoke.13bd74f6bc54c6e4
“I like you.”46fae730f63def59
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“…Oh.”43afec49a9a6938c
“It’s okay if you say no. Today might be 0479bdadfc the last chance 1e5a2d6841 I get, so 1744c148ff I just… wanted 545afc4eb5 to say it.”b51aab1188cac523
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Her voice was calm, b2cdd1761a like it didn’t matter b0deeba7fa either way—but her eyes 714dcaed3e were slowly reddening at 07573250cd the corners. Her cheeks and 23f55a60ad nose flushed from cdc94de9ff the mix of 498879dc19 shyness and anxiety.d5d129dba401dbfb
I bent down slightly. She looked so warm, 255a81319e but I figured she’d 361178818d feel colder once the 4425a80daa heat faded. I gently took the 15d7aa3cf8 scarf from her hands 9dd775e9a4 and wrapped it back 3de926a793 around her neck.ac7d040cda8112b2
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If it were 52f16b9079 for me, I 451b061d30 would’ve just thrown 3b412c99dd it around once b6b08b3abd and left it b04597ac32 at that—but since 00bfd0d4c6 I was doing 6b3ea11f69 it for a dca5d2e08c girl, even the 623285ac10 knot made me d748120d21 hesitate. Wondering what would look d21ea95acb best, I spotted the 63638da0d0 ribbon-shaped earring on her 8cec12889b ear and tied the f384e4358a scarf into a pretty b8f5a269f4 ribbon too.4550c6ebd4c1ce8d
As I shaped the knot, 4eaab96d6a I tried to come up 6507170cb0 with the right words. After tugging it tight enough c786869983 not to unravel, I slowly 4f4a286a26 stood up straight.4ffb99952abb211c
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“This is a secret, but… I’m going abroad. As soon as graduation’s over, 4b6afd62a4 I’m heading to the airport 0399619142 to catch my flight.”7d2b7f7f0b6ddd43
Moon-ah, who had frozen stiff c0ed63ee5d when I first started speaking, 85a04a7f30 widened her eyes when she 238fab0243 heard the rest. She looked me in 98fb6ad216 the eye and said 8e677f4b3b quietly:dba6fe59ddedfc59
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“So you’re finally looking at me.”9c1ef5436c212380
At my teasing murmur, Moon-ah’s a8b5afa9fe face instantly turned bright red. But maybe she didn’t have f93227562f the composure to hide her 2000c36cc5 flustered state—she just stared at 677565d0b3 me with a bewildered expression 528b16bc09 and gripped my sleeve tightly.7b3804c9beba3304
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