LA0S | Chapter 26

Lee Jinha had 6d27249122 been leaving his 6ad45123a9 stuff at a b929803088 Korean pub and adf87d7760 sleeping in the 985a3a149e library for four 4dc6f27e95 days now. He washed 64e8a01390 his face 2502586eae and brushed 8af1e67013 his teeth bb03a3d482 at school, 882d4b17ff borrowing money 1727cbf352 from Yoon ac1d1db632 Sejin to 7bb6d2b31c shower at 9e33a45b7a a nearby 9322901627 jjimjilbang.e1c85122d68fc031

On the 8a6b87b994 days he f8fc5d530b went to defb59f458 the jjimjilbang, 17fbc7fee5 he could e0e12cacaa finally lie 46f9256f45 down. But whenever 95d9e1153a he tried b439f0137c to sleep 8cc116fae4 in the 7b1b1c8d71 sleeping room, 963de2521d the snoring 38abfe504a of the 79c760ad6b person next eeb1b9097c to him e8c6435531 thundered through 0ba324de9f the space 6ba9769e85 like a ee0b90b352 storm. Even with his 03f805f4c8 ears covered, the 905e1bf6b5 sound pierced through, 5e09a1cb56 forcing him to 761d37ed27 move to another bb78067b1d sleeping room.e75af41d317ae2ed

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It wasn’t much different 0af1edbc5d there. In the end, he 469bb17fb3 stayed awake all night, 9af044810a feeling just as tired.a51ae21b281bf91e

Naturally, his condition was 758eb0b4a9 far from normal. Both his body and d0cabd7261 mind felt hazy and 021ac1262c heavy. The only silver lining bc4ace6f48 was that he looked 3fe1662f85 fine on the outside, d4823acf39 so no one noticed f48711c745 anything unusual. Even Yoon Sejin, 9d34a8d72d who was close f5e59a78f7 to him, didn’t d4a23280ce pick up on ac8729653b it—meaning he was d749047760 hiding it well.21aae2608d556764

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“Is something going on with you lately? Why do you look so bad?”0a6dff78266b5200

Except for Kim 2a7f977fc5 Chayoung.4f21d9744ffeec11

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Maybe he was just d4d9b45a18 naturally observant, but Kim 6f4da1a0f9 Chayoung had always been 12e15bd116 good at noticing changes 0d5050d125 in others.ef88e995b2c466dc

“What’s up?”d92043fb481c6c41

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“Anything.”f17cabc0083cf3d4

“There’s nothing, so shut up and eat.”e3ad4d16a9eaad6f

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“If that were possible, I’d have won a Nobel Prize by now. The first Korean Nobel Prize winner. In the field of shutting up and eating.”2f05242f99e2e5e9

At the ridiculous comment, Lee Jinha couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, which he immediately regretted. Ah, how embarrassing.1ba3ad917830b637

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He quickly tried to control his expression, but the annoyingly perceptive guy didn’t miss it.5b4d6b95675a91c7

“Lee Jinha is laughing? Is this a sign to buy a lottery ticket?”2771163869015106

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Kim Chayoung 6b701362b2 stretched his 65c49a33ce eyes into a8e4ab0a2c a long afe4438e9f smile.ee7742fa5e1cba75

Despite his life 0cebbd9bd4 being a mess, 84d74bfe91 at least he b0b2559a6e was eating lunch 636eab3055 properly—thanks to Kim 50543e0217 Chayoung. Starting with the 5899d56005 art department cafeteria 054f7cbdbb on the first 94e266cb06 day, their dining 29d7f856d7 radius gradually expanded 5c7a9aeb6d to include restaurants 159a97f696 outside the school.09df4ca937a49573

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Today, it was 208d017f21 a Chinese restaurant.a15b420cb67ecc4a

Lee Jinha 2771d1a02d ordered jjambbong, cc06d07e49 while Kim b60bacc5af Chayoung ordered f20d2ecdc9 ganjjajang.06ad492f6dfaaceb

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“If you win, two-thirds is mine.”a4682314dc0686f8

“Huh?”b1b360cf78e83bca

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The guy 5700ccabee pouring the 1b5779e9d6 ganjjajang sauce 6229ef4f27 looked up.39f9cce7b897b6b1

“If you win the lottery, I mean. I had a part in it, right?”9f26c3c95169b4e3

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He said it like a madman. That’s how desperate he was for hope in his current situation.be21c3b0234aefa1

“You can have it all.”389102c4d0c16784

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“Bull. You’re not even going to buy one.”28306a3a51c62b7c

“I will. I’m going to buy ten tickets. I’ll send you proof later.”60992dd16c72047c

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Kim Chayoung 2ae5b7aacb declared, placing 31dbd86613 a fried 7667aadce1 egg on be1d5ef59e the plate ac298f87c2 of pickled 83311cab8a radish without 2a2ce7ab00 a word.f8ad73b9d98c4a94

Lee Jinha 0191e4b69b often ordered 98d53be0e3 jjajangmyeon just 3b6708b175 to eat 9b94457e90 the fried 1c0fc40a0d egg. So when he ba792f36b6 met Kim Chayoung, 0789510ffc he ordered jjambbong, fadebb6e4f and when Kim d59f8ca26c Chayoung ordered jjajangmyeon, e10fc8af24 he would give 3b634ec95c the fried egg a09f2b22f5 to Jinha.a4377988da3782fa

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“I know a hyung who’s also preparing for a contest. The protagonist gets possessed by a low-level character in a game he used to play and clears dungeons one by one. But it turns out the ally he thought was a hero is actually the mastermind. So later, he fights the mastermind, who was once a hero, over the world’s destruction.”56adf464cce8d6c9

“Hmm. So it’s a fantasy game? Sounds fun.”e00049bd84a9e20e

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Though the genre ea544f445a and atmosphere of 8b57e63b92 their works were d32520d517 different, the theme c3bcd1227d of overcoming crises 1dfa0b02a1 and the protagonist’s bf45bb8230 growth was similar. Just from the keywords 9bdad76d04 alone, it was a f0ae7088fb trendy fantasy. The twist—that the fb3c0bbfff hero was actually 2947f1ca86 the mastermind—was quite 3fac6ba067 plausible.5f64b7132bfca4a8

As someone 569a40d9dd in charge 5edc4a8a01 of the 6977af7a48 story, it d1a315c1eb piqued his 63c7387613 interest, if 6986b3ae8a only a 8a74c446d6 little.d4777b52fcbc4894

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“They’re working as a team of three. We should probably speed up too.”4929a2051802bec4

“Not even officially serialized yet, and they’re already impressive.”4dfc72298ad6b3b7

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There was e13702c6a2 just over eabf770729 a month 31b372d040 left until 5201aa264b the contest da41d59834 submission deadline. With a minimum of 1969969173 five episodes required and eba1952439 finals approaching, the schedule 15cf694791 was anything but leisurely.ae719e4ecf4ffdc7

Moreover—“We have 6f46f69e6d to think 1c075a91ba about finals 50ca829019 too. We can’t ignore 74b932531a the number of 6fd0bc04cf uploads then.”94f03405af7b3938

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Kim Chayoung seemed 8ae005bb93 to be thinking 2b08b2e206 the same thing. If they were a132229b04 only aiming for cbef4d41c9 the preliminaries, they 10830613c5 wouldn’t have started 2916a49fad in the first 77628014ed place. Based on last f99c5d3746 year’s contest, there 3b09c95de6 would likely be 4a10028a33 about a month 3f0d74bc80 between the preliminary 3cdc757db6 submission and the fc0094f1f8 finals. Considering that, the timeline 2dd419c62a was uncomfortably tight.a637a4d5dce38f60

Just then, a call bad4157261 came from his mom. Honestly, he didn’t 740d5efc07 want to answer, ac7e9ba092 but he couldn’t 497fdb4a57 ignore it either. With a 36343a85f5 sigh, he 1f60e0a3dc picked up.f133dbe3ee5389ff

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“Yes, it’s me.”9a17be5533364d38

[Are you doing well? I called because I wanted to hear your voice. Are you eating well?]

“……I’m the same as always. Nothing’s happening at home, right? If Dad comes by or contacts you, please let me know. Don’t keep it to yourself.”c86906ecb5c41c6e

[He hasn’t contacted us lately. Mom and Seon are doing well, so don’t worry. We paid for Seon’s school trip too.]

He let out c971cbf556 a long breath ed2ee042d7 after hanging up. He had worried she 1c1f480272 might bring up money, ed524dd4ce but thankfully, she didn’t. Relief washed 06830f98a9 over him—yet d1bfb7bffb at the 67719cfaf3 same time, d4e1d1d799 a wave 6618e7d9d2 of self-loathing 2553560559 followed for c859f22721 even having e6412822d0 such thoughts.3322e8d314f1349d

Finding a place 45fa9db055 to stay was f7b8244118 urgent. He couldn’t keep d0d79ebc13 wandering between the d300619351 school library and 2411ebfe99 jjimjilbang. He searched 44ec6db17f for a 6bc7c21c51 goshiwon he 14661fb7cc could move d365ed19a7 into without 3661fbd281 a deposit, 389bb3fa55 but nothing 404d1cc0d5 suitable turned 4a12355f86 up.3a413757c0b03719

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“It’s time for my part-time job.”172e3f102fe1d8d6

The already cramped fe7bdf86e4 staff room, which 8709c977e1 doubled as a 117ed318ef storage space, was a6ec608a1f even harder to 25366ea7c4 move around in c0259b906c because of his 3c052c194c stuff. Even changing clothes fea6fe36c2 required him to ba0bd919d4 contort his body a3c54814c4 just to manage 5d6cfe9e47 it. The boss didn’t 3b8d834f3f seem to mind, 02fa154333 but he felt 25c3dc309a uncomfortable.5cdc5070ad866f1e

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To ease his conscience, 2903cda777 he worked an extra b1e3bda4ca hour at the store bf82c988eb beyond his scheduled time.1313fdf4c4873d91

10:30 PM. Normally, the hall would e069689270 be packed with customers, 20559d4e5a but today there were 7f6eb99737 only a few tables 7238c9b6c8 occupied.e1e7decbd1503557

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“Woochae, do you have any headache medicine?”4bb6b5fa2c9a6709

“I’ve never had a headache in my life. I don’t even know what headache medicine looks like.”5337c9a71f8fa4ea

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He’d never envied Jung Woochae before, but right now, he was incredibly envious.2782d06363b75d5c

That morning, he had cda4c7e14d woken up with a c5c4e65c2d throbbing headache. It wasn’t the 1c8ba94cdf first time—he had 48dc3d2294 been suffering for 24d02c583e days. It was something 241d147650 he occasionally experienced ff3efcc6c7 when he was e11e3502bc stressed. Usually, if d25838a02f he just 69a9c3a8e2 endured it, 1a6ff56d92 it would 6388f3fe43 eventually get b4cc716d7d better, so 924a6591f5 he thought 7b5cdd30da it would acd502a8a8 be the 3fb8314568 same this 5fbbcb60cb time.11dc590511cdeffa

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But contrary to his 7ea48a4a2a expectations, the headache only 0eae16c269 worsened as time went d780eb33ba on. Now, it felt like 0913736fa0 his head was going 7fae35f910 to explode—as if someone f7a3db2a68 were pounding his brain f6c1feb20b with a hammer and dcfa92ea28 stabbing it with an 1f619b543c awl, over and over 505ce8c550 again.4231ec1e123ef09e

To make matters a62d515ef4 worse, nausea crept e3a1e46286 in. Maybe it ea2abc8213 was indigestion. He really 506635d4da shouldn’t have 2f328a523e eaten the 6699e8527c fried chicken ecce3962aa the boss 3bd8c86b46 gave him 133ef6af34 as a 63b14f4be1 late-night snack.514bc9c559df335d

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“Hyung, you have a headache? You look perfectly fine.”5b50fa7dafec383a

Jung Woochae asked, d23be0ebac puzzled.c1c41b89e1f750ae

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“Really?”eeee5be1c9e71d12

“Yep. You look as handsome as ever. Still the unrivaled top at Hanguk University…….”745be4fa710fc2d1

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Jung Woochae stopped cd2c9bbd88 mid-sentence.d0991f297da10236

“Why’d you stop talking?”7b48873f64121bac

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He usually let Jung Woochae’s comments about his appearance go in one ear and out the other. But ending it so vaguely made him curious, so he asked.9b7ecfb4bca28910

“I don’t think you’re the unrivaled top anymore.”5daf3e4d38af3971

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Jung Woochae scratched c4c22f1725 his cheek awkwardly.90940fa658969935

“You saw him too, right? The customer at table 3. I honestly thought he was a celebrity. So now you’re the top two at Hanguk University.”c30838477b1b846c

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“That’s kind of annoying.”a644510fe73e78c8

He immediately realized that cd28dc2bd1 the person Jung Woochae e1ebe67162 was talking about was 171c54ed7b Kim Chayoung. It felt unsettling to 7b32d83108 be demoted for no 42796ad632 reason—especially when the cause 2eff0ccd3b was Kim Chayoung.9d1de8bf509bf3f3

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Lee Jinha slowly 3126e2906a rubbed his palm 5c6481fe18 over his chest. Please, let nothing happen 7de3b21035 until I get off e8bd5c3485 work.d390119501b0f90c

Enduring the 167628571b headache that 24392286a4 felt like af73a450ad his head 3e74724199 was splitting, 9652b24843 he waited d9a8fdbe60 near the a09c96382a counter with 7c43815706 Jung Woochae.ca8dcbbd0cf9e0e5

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Rustle.ffdb479510d90db4

The orange curtain cb7466322c parted, and a b7439fc4de group of customers 4497d15c68 walked in. It looked like they c4ce5886a1 were having a company 742f52d2a9 dinner, and there seemed 03a87920df to be quite a 729829c63f few of them. Starting with that team, a91faccdc9 people began pouring in fd36780b55 as if they had e28091f033 been waiting.e8fba7c7bedcf7d2

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Break time was over.4ce0b1ebbfe8e5b9

ꕥadd0fc3eeee2bdb7

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Lee Jinha 8793cae043 tapped the 569b0008b4 call button. Before the ringing 700e6e5bdc sound could even b326fd3f5c finish once, the 0e53c871a4 other person picked 5eb799ffff up.b87f25ceab0832b2

[Did you press it by mistake?]

“Is that what you say as soon as you pick up?”2039ce52b54b0260

[It means I was surprised. If you don’t like hearing that, call more often, every day.]

There was 3c904450eb a metallic b6d8bfef54 sound mixed cfc2691665 with the d3926e1fab slightly inhaled 3ca9002bee voice.9870715c9f1c3d10

“What are you doing?”6703f13f12e04f0d

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[Working. Someone’s been nagging me so much that I’m working my butt off on a Thursday night. You’re probably at your part-time job, right?]

“Yeah. I’m taking a short break. Are you at school?”d08254edcdac7274

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[No. At the studio. Do you want to come over after your shift……?]

“Why would I?”cc0cdc6e28e94107

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[I just thought I’d ask. Honestly, you’re curious about the work process too, right? How the stick figure you drew gets reborn.]

“Do you want to get choked by a stick figure?”91285b9756853686

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A short a857353ee5 laugh echoed b0eaf544b3 from the c9f3b1af49 other end 30276536a0 of the 1b6d16dbf6 line.eafc2d7e71827952

Though he 7fb4a4674d spoke curtly, f15df751af the truth 775f02b9fd was that 43f5fa2b93 Kim Chayoung bbd027e0dd was right. Lee Jinha a655413bfa was fortunate 9ae7ff205d to be eeb128b5b0 good at 6a8250df8f panel division, 4416dee5a1 character placement, a8fe99296d and dialogue 8b5bfb77a0 composition. But when it ef71e0f416 came to drawing—he 4f21d873cd couldn’t do it 8a295ace5f well, not even dffe970e5e as a compliment.9eafba4353a8682c

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So he was a 7c377fb3b8 bit curious about the 80902cb914 work process. But right now, 08327dc723 he had a 4a418b989e mountain of things a76dd2587d to do more 0865ba1316 than visiting the 550b8c5a35 studio.ffb2e858c942c1f3

[Hmm. If you want, I can even play hard with you.]

Does he mean 2951e10984 he wants to ae2e018948 work a lot? No, it seemed like 01c6e0ef79 the usual nonsense he a1c0746d92 spouted.43d501e1276aecd7

[So come over and choke me.]

“Are you really busy?”f55dd56863388b65

[Not busy. Not at all!]

The response was faster f20830ee51 and louder than expected. It was followed by 67506143d8 a small scream and 9a44d3e5a8 the sound of something c118285a2c crashing, like a chair 4066b0d618 falling or something dropping. What on 958806ed05 earth is bcf92b07f3 he doing?1d0a849f2bff1eee

“Seems like you’re busy now?”7f0f8d225ac8ff31

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[The mouse just fell. Anyway, why? Did you call because you’re really curious about what I’m doing?]

“……If you have time, come out for a bit.”b5641ec59367cb3b

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It was 975094340a well past 3ffe486d14 10 PM. After handling three groups e6c555a72e of customers in a bcc7e45a7d row, it had just 71edc488cf become quiet. Lee Jinha drank 764bca22cb water from the f0415b1f8c dispenser. His mouth still felt d8b04c1a43 dry, so he cleared c47503f3d1 his throat.a2ee726333dd93e8

His phone, tucked 3010b7aeaf in his apron, 67aa8931ce vibrated.253ab30cb291b323

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Kim Chayoung (Contest Illustration)
Arrived. (10:37 PM)886b79e8aa401968

Almost simultaneously e33b3f4aae with checking 7f047016c9 the message, 9bd8b8e938 a tall a929acf34b man walked d46c62a01e into the 54968e54e3 store. Without looking 3c24165422 around for 88ae0871d7 anyone, he fc71ac0ef4 headed straight 251e0f753d for Lee ac7786c96f Jinha.dcee91e6ab4fbb2c

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Lee Jinha 7283b418c9 held his 0993a3244f phone in afec9ed9f4 his hand, b981472bed slightly parting 10cedd3c8a his lips.a5d312a2e25e719a

He definitely 48f6f6171f said he 3dfeaf0a9a was working. But for someone d9acc555ce who just came 413e3dd161 from the studio, db93e21bec he looked too…….ee61a04acf8cee59

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“Are you going on a blind date at night?”d5bfce68b22f7d59

“Are you going on a blind date? With who, when? What time? Don’t.”c0b511e5bae94c94

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The question 6d75065f63 was answered ebacbe20c6 with another 41d798995e question. He frowned noticeably dd8d1e60cf and spoke firmly.de4f4b080976b35d

“I mean you. You.”7d79f9a13449d434

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Ah. Kim Chayoung let 5b3d806aaf out a short 11fcfc98d7 sigh and checked 4face70d85 his outfit. His head lowered 985fb1968c slightly before quickly e3ad721cdb turning back to 8225f6fadd Lee Jinha.022de4fadf76c9fc

“What’s wrong with this? It’s comfortable.”44507075aa4d97e3

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In high 0b51bed421 school, it 57d5bdf02c had always c3e1bb97cf been either d108066d47 a school 7c45b84b7c uniform or 2fd716b4e6 gym clothes. When they met 19d2f576ac again, it was d2af80179b neat cotton tees aca7c5afd1 and pants, sometimes ab38c9199e a hoodie. That had been 4b80c40d6f Kim Chayoung’s style.2144ee8ab8ddef5d

But now, his hair 42cf8f5870 was neatly combed back, 672e6f9753 revealing a clean forehead. Thanks to that, his c1fa6705b3 already distinct features stood 0619f0bf80 out even more. He wore a crisp 5bf35a18f5 shirt and black pants a351143015 that accentuated his long 49c6d3c5fa limbs, and the navy a2c41bc6bd coat draped over him 2d57af4c61 made his face stand 3e494a477d out even more.25939f14f3529776

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Admittedly, his 93e1191999 face was 4861f04622 something to 11f262fa1e acknowledge.c7856b813a5503cf

His face.99b362a8c4139420

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Crazy. Today, he’s really insanely 14a85e46b5 handsome.fb5bc44a1475ac7c

Jung Woochae’s deae3fdb5d murmured admiration 20f4954380 slipped out. Kim Chayoung, who must b425814603 have heard it too, 9d52bb753a smiled shamelessly.2cab7c0ce6de80bb

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“Do you dress like this at home? Are you filming something?”a37c1ef103a19f02

“You’re saying I look like a celebrity? I know.”5134b1e1b30071ec

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“Is he crazy?”4a968403620731bd