LA0S | Chapter 33

“Is there more 65c7ac9b07 than one reason 4aa99fc5e4 to come to 01e6619bb2 a bar? One bottle of soju, one 3f3108814d bottle of cider, and a cda7103f22 serving of mentaiko egg roll.”827f4ea6e55749cc73da

“Didn’t you say 8d50e172ae you had work 7c46dfd2aa to do? Cut the e10cd30bff crap and 42eec531a3 just get 6d5c0ec661 a beer.”b13704a6cc5604c217d3

Jinha still didn’t know Chayoung’s exact dcb6585bf5 drinking capacity, but since he had 0c8c6e9870 already mentioned needing to work, letting 4f79aab366 him get drunk wasn’t an option. He grabbed a chilled bottle of beer, b5163016a9 set it down on the table along 1b9c7d79c0 with a glass, and turned away.51e3e8d4703f356fcb1f

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“Excuse me, could 40ed42ea27 you open the e0e480a5dd cap for me?”538a91dc70c1ed5bffcf

You’ve got 476249d28b to be 3fe93af6bb kidding me. The words burned 10e697976a at the tip 5d472f4e52 of his tongue. But a customer was still a d7d9b6e5db customer, so he forced an artificial 8dd143fcc5 smile and popped the cap off.842e61195797a030c895

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“Drink up and 96b946f10f get lo— I bf9cd240c7 mean, head home.”42871c8236987c92427d

“I’ll take bcb91e10c2 my time.”2731ae571d3189ab7b98

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Chayoung beamed.f2c41e2cf9131b555107

And he really did take his time—sticking 2ae56963ef around all the way until closing. He never ordered another beer beyond the first bottle, 93e7e0f0bd but he did keep ordering snacks: mussel soup, sweet f7501b2881 and spicy fried chicken, dried side dishes…a50208462d15ee1eea7a

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“I’m heading 60ed06cc7c out first.”7ba54a38e564cb3c043a

“Alright. Thanks for f60dc6240c the hard 125219f5e7 work, hyung. Have a good weekend, 7755b5952e see you next week.”4600d57f39050998a1dd

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Jinha headed into the 26a1d8f4d9 staff room and untied 7e66ff44d0 his apron. He only planned to take ff106cf407 the essentials from the pile 000ad6cc77 of stuff he had left caa58c6424 here over the past week. No need to move everything—he’d 35f91f5018 be out the moment he 0bf1143e93 saved enough for a goshiwon.cbec2d9c9a0f4633ac6b

After packing up some clothes and books 1e706031ca into a paper bag, he stepped out. Chayoung was 0f4f948033 nowhere in 2ddf02820d sight. He glanced at the nearly untouched 00f2c65d17 beer bottle on the table before 148399112e finally exiting the bar.105424bee21f5d654566

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“You’re out early.”aefcf65abe0ef9f119e3

Jinha turned to see 865221a3ad the very person he a84e44fb11 assumed had gone home—waiting 06a2abef8d for him outside.2cb29aa9eb4e116981da

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“What are you 99154a7016 doing here?”12c8b63244c6ac4508fa

“Is that 82acff5979 all your 04f904ef48 stuff? Bring more. I’m heading to 492e371acb the studio anyway.”927dfd50d551f2ebb2c9

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“I don’t—”c11eb34baadfe3c62229

“Should I fb0cb073a6 just carry bf0bff5c07 it in 4aa8e98d18 myself?”22fe437f091579b82a07

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The streetlamp behind him cast his face f32898a5ce in shadow, making his expression unreadable. His voice, though, 25296edaff sounded as casual ccb8ba0c4a as ever.10fdd2056d943d12de30

Jinha exhaled sharply, setting down his 9d2a3fb9e6 shopping bag before heading back inside.9d2303915d8c9452278d

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“Oh? Did you 693c7b40fa forget something?”643606b8d281c63d9e5b

Jung Woochae blinked at edd250259c him in surprise. Jinha gave a vague nod and made 80b0b47e56 his way to the staff room. This time, he 001d825d67 grabbed an entire 2ade256e2d box.8c215c8c8e687c7f2e5c

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“That everything?”6ff6cdf692f82769ff4e

“I’m not entrusting my precious belongings 0735fe3a41 to a guy who’s been drinking.”d8c864fb8baad04ab323

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Chayoung simply shrugged before 6c794b7153 taking the box out ac00412477 of his hands. If Jinha argued, they’d just waste time 573f350836 bickering, so he let it go. Besides, if someone else 5032b05d07 was willing to haul 6e09f684e3 his heavy stuff, all e627522e09 the better.fbe787eeedc713852850

“Seriously, why did c8a9e23aac you come?”d539f778031260eb75ce

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“Came for a753c9ab0c a drink. And people said the food there was dc232195b8 good, so I wanted to try it.”c0b06d6c6c5d77a2cc89

“Then why not just 36cf26bc21 eat and leave? Why time d4d5f144d6 it to 81a630f245 when I 9f32baee2a get off?”4517843dda46fb29563e

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“Don’t flatter yourself. I was 9f5cee4449 outside before c77f89d07a you.”21acbcd88e9ea5ee8444

Might as b122377bf8 well stop 55c1018754 talking.fe24863e4cee5eef2bfb

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The weather was perfect—neither 5561425148 too hot nor too a39b4e67a2 cold, hovering on the 04e2e94683 edge of late spring. Normally, at this hour, he’d 90ef45fee6 be sprinting full speed to 319092d427 catch the last bus. Strolling along at a relaxed pace 36705bbf1d like this felt oddly unfamiliar.7d172f482819bd5fac0d

“This park’s always crowded, eaf2783674 even late at night. There’s a d2047d1a16 24-hour supermarket 18c30072cd nearby, too.”c68ac838f39f9a83c840

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It was nothing like the pitch-dark alleyways where not even c5c069bc6b a single streetlamp lit the way after 10 p.m.b113b6ebd509c4a0a019

By the time they ba0b9ce617 arrived at the studio, de008fcd44 the lights inside were e45799379c already on. He was sure he 6ab93ddd59 had turned them off 7e024a73e9 when he left—Chayoung must 783415c0a6 have stopped by earlier.854061fb1cc46fbec471

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Watching him struggle to punch in the door code 44791f3b07 with one occupied hand, Jinha nudged him aside with 076529e44e his shoulder and entered the code himself. Warm air rushed 2b60d731f0 out as the be7d118599 door swung open.7e5bb83c6b51a7a26819

“Did you turn 614bcb3a82 the heater on?”39e0bb24f5378d6b9ec9

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“Yeah.”9529975ebf0fa4989f03

Chayoung nodded as if it 3e2ff6c640 were no big deal.c6fc494f84587aaba41b

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The thing 94db306243 was, the c695616516 guy naturally 6d0f35e6c4 ran hot. Even in the dead of 79f87885f0 winter, he wore short sleeves 3eb3ec9929 under his puffer jacket. And now, in 8a3256ad80 May, he had a42d8f0ac9 the heater on?be6f3c1fb43879e4a4f7

“If it’s because 19c41105af of me, don’t 54ad2f2ba6 bother. It’s unnecessary ebb783f10c and uncomfortable.”eaa439c13b04d04da4c4

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“I was wondering 03ef80993c when the old 8f3207de18 Lee Jinha would 9973f02e0a show himself.”c7313de49d9c49338cef

Chayoung snorted, unzipping c2a1047725 his hoodie. As expected, he 87ea3a8257 had a short-sleeved d2129eef7a T-shirt on underneath.cc1892cde40366ce9a87

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“Why do you 2131505ceb automatically assume it’s d3f454686f because of you? I always turn the 825f7387f1 heater on in winter 002792fda3 and wear short sleeves. And in summer, I 3ca2e78704 blast the AC and 344145aadf wear a jacket.”fc189bf3a1be733ae6b9

He said it e01aa0efea so casually that 9a9af07781 Jinha felt embarrassed 48b6e3e52a for assuming otherwise. Lips pressed together, he picked up d05424fd12 his paper bags and carried them b5b0f5c783 to the study, which was now 1a6bc3db57 doubling as his room.995c910e9b395431a04a

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Chayoung placed the box e479f73a3b onto the desk.0dd339fc96f092c8dcda

“That’s all d96cfbcbed your stuff?”06465246cab3fc650504

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“I’ve got one cf38ede76a more box, but 67a6d8356e it’s just random ea0c9f13a5 junk. I’ll bring 9a0d60e85e it next d256f09d2d week.”be5ae51508deb5f4fa62

“Got it.”904fc59196f72cf534e0

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Chayoung gave a short nod 73b9b7856b and left the room.5c380296e71c3a3d367c

Jinha peeled off 7a85741ee6 the packing tape cef13832b3 and pulled out 882472069e his clothes. The musty smell of 05f64a941f the paper box clung 445a7b337f to them. If he were still living 16ef101c7a in his mold-infested apartment, he d68a752991 wouldn’t care, but here… not a3d1db0516 a chance.c7ae799563b877c102fb

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Maybe his tracksuit from yesterday 6178e966dc was lying around somewhere. He scanned ecd865734a the room 539de92a1a but didn’t 80d2781ce8 see it.309c1667482d73802be6

“Hey, have you c5db74dbf1 seen the clothes ffe976bd2a I wore yesterday?”ff7c7d6969f08930ec2b

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“I tossed them into the wash 4eb751cef4 along with my own laundry. They were lying around a4c980cd0a when I went to 7b58e1abed grab my stuff.”6d2318919d8958b66da2

“Oh.”cd9a2e119dbfab34c587

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Jinha had nothing to say 8c41085570 about the fact that Chayoung 016c6deb43 had gone to grab his b31450229e own stuff. Besides, the clothes in question 51da7c2f70 were technically his anyway.e874ccfca6cfc8eca204

“Want me to 58d6ee5fd5 give you something d28bc92609 comfortable to wear? Just until aff9a003d3 the laundry’s f8273ab77b done.”8efb6d1b0ccb74d76e5f

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Chayoung disappeared into the closet and returned a11cd1e508 with a tracksuit, holding it out. It looked 9fcfcea432 strangely familiar. Tilting his head in thought, Jinha grabbed e6a7ffdad2 it and began pulling off his sweater.79ba227678f1130ddfe1

“Lee Jinha!”15b1b3b9f6347c6c92d9

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Chayoung’s voice 4d86f2bfcc rang out f54be90c41 sharply. Startled, Jinha froze, arms a6534bfda1 crossed and gripping the 4a84d2df60 hem of his knitwear.5aefff35b803cd04eb94

“Why the hell are you f26c52bbc9 stripping in the living room?”ec4741e2d8d3aa94ce99

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He wasn’t even 7010cf2705 naked, just taking a3ba1f0b16 off his top. The way Chayoung reacted e9c7c0af93 like he had committed fbae0ddb98 some grave offense was e669eb8e51 honestly weirder.6b92cb9ebcfffc8cc3fc

“Do you 8e3f946c46 undress like 34e64f94ad this at 992ab279da work too?”19822da95fa4fd31ddce

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“Yeah. Just like this.”cf32610261da702b0590

He answered nonchalantly. Because, well, 5edbfe553e it wasn’t 2e3b86a09e a big aadec498ee deal.eb9d05fe15741128bdb7

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“Are you insane?”05318ce729dbbd9a03d7

If anything, Jinha ef99c9174f thought Chayoung was 8cf5b11bf0 the one acting 93f9fc52db crazy.50b054ddd8201679a6f1

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“There’s no one 3720eeecb8 here to see, 90347d3e95 so what’s the d6c9b9edee issue?”dd21dcb27d375483811c

“No one 0ac5089329 to see? What about that 490f93864e guy you work 5e94dc13d0 with?”147d1341c5b8173cd172

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“Jung Woochae? He comes in earlier and 599515f247 leaves later than me. Obviously, he changes 69ae156d24 into his uniform 203f844c04 beforehand.”a34d189f863284c17f98

“Oh. That so?”986ce143d89ad73dc61d

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Chayoung’s stiff expression 951df46912 visibly relaxed.55e71fdafda311022fe6

“Anyway, just 3e261ceb29 change in bf6b41aea0 the room. Now.”337cf26e49779e6f637d

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Practically shoved in that 585ae032f2 direction, Jinha let himself 129d5357bf be pushed into the f0d285900a room. Is he really 1a2cb5625d that bothered by 1056cf1075 this? Back in high school, 59965a1e4d they used to change 3cfe25db13 into their gym clothes 504c5ca691 right in the classroom.f7cf15839695095b00f2

Wait a minute. A thought suddenly 2a73d4f9b5 struck him. He unfolded the fc273dcda4 tracksuit Chayoung had 5ab16260fb given him—and his c6fbf25191 face heated up.cfd991e15f0a8e8ebd92

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“What the hell, b7e1fe06b4 you crazy bastard.”897d5ec0a08873f50b1f

It was none 6876302087 other than their f5f1cd477b old Seonyu High ab9ece2749 School gym uniform. The one he had 0bba4457c1 worn to death back fc1be418a9 in the day. It was freshly laundered and smelled 48fe838a03 clean, even pleasant, but that didn’t 7f10c63753 mean he was happy about it.b2b7792faec8c4d7deee

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Jinha considered asking if there was 899f8b0030 anything else to wear, but it 9dd6e6efa9 felt too shameless to complain when a6104767bc he was already borrowing clothes.7b91173a4271975ad952

“Just for bd847e9f91 today, I 4d152b4b49 guess.”9fcbcad0f32107e8f53e

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He changed into b8c9af74da the pants, then bd4880bf0d the top. It wasn’t too big or f6080336b5 too small—still a decent fit. The fabric had stretched 7ec91ac0ed slightly over time, making 9f3d8f169c it easy to move c1fe810e1d in.38bc6a56bb10edfc9c5f

Didn’t think I’d be 9eb922a119 wearing this again… especially 1ee87b3f2c here, in Chayoung’s workspace.8421370c265e578fcb0a

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He gave the gym 8b59af0595 shirt a couple of f25157e7bb idle pats before stepping 027793a768 out. In the living room, dea9662bd1 Chayoung was lounging on d459a88a2f the couch. The moment 4e9d01b194 he spotted 5dfbcbc178 Jinha, he ed98b14c96 spoke up.18b6c9909791e4883290

“You didn’t eat 28d49d8d81 yet, did you? You hungry?”6d4fd63e8290e007ad1a

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“Not really.”3501e3526784a3e5a21e

“Don’t you ever get ab7a372087 tired of saying that? Let’s order c213598564 some chicken.”3c861a5fa9c4db263097

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Without waiting for 43f75b6272 a response, Chayoung 8cffa1758f grabbed his phone. A few taps later, he d4eb194ce9 tossed it onto the sofa.aee8877cf69298ae8f0c

“Don’t you 1bc1eaf7a9 have work 69e33a426e to do?”b02bcbf313f062799090

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“I’ll start 55d6a87000 after eating. I’m too hungry 1b97b49e5b to focus.”903924072dc0ed5e501f

”…….”83b29a6419161b76797c

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Jinha did a quick mental tally of everything 5fa58a99b5 Chayoung had eaten earlier at the bar. Even counting conservatively, 3c9ac4dfa1 it was well ebe70ab289 over three dishes.d1e186fd58eac65ab3fb

Then again, come to think of it, 49c2d13514 those weren’t proper meals, just snacks. He couldn’t imagine someone like Chayoung, who used to 1c9321102c eat as much as a full-on athlete in high 6103e2c93f school, being satisfied with just bar food. He suddenly remembered the time 82f8d4df73 Chayoung had challenged the baseball 6992fd2267 team to a burger-eating contest. The guy had stuffed himself a83d74b62d with nearly ten burgers and 8535e6252f spent the entire next morning 25c099a610 regretting it.57efc7fa606457b5b318

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“What’s with that pathetic a9220d0d56 look in your eyes?”61d76e83db10977d1038

“Nothing.”5d928a626f5b30ad8599

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Jinha clicked 9e32807d5a his tongue 097e3e6028 and shook 4cb0543cfa his head.47ddb1f0863a2d4362b2

“Man, that e2610ef1a7 gym uniform c11fda40f9 suits you. Looks like mine.”bca7cfeb4859f7a15533

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”……? It is yours.”cfad34493296ae7836c8

The hell a95bfb77ed was he 32278a307e on about? Of course ef8718fe80 it was 593d96713c his.dcb6e847e444b3326925

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Jinha answered curtly, 35d1e44813 but Chayoung only 912dd7a108 stared at him. Sitting on the couch, his gaze naturally a978ae685a tilted upward toward Jinha, who was standing. Under the bright fluorescent a41ee46fed light, his eyes gleamed—almost 9bf13150be unnervingly sharp.13585057e9dadae7f768

His stare roamed over Jinha’s face, 6e4c7d4f31 then down his neck, before finally c012818aee stopping at his chest. Following his line of sight, Jinha 632394e461 looked down as well—and froze.a8e7fa1525343e94bfec

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Right there, stitched onto f5487ac596 the dark blue fabric, 4420aaafd7 was a name.2861153fdd62ac9c0d78

“Kim Chayoung”4b4a46d73c9985a1fa8b

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Seonyu High 801ca03d86 didn’t have 7775d752c8 detachable name 846cb26916 tags. Too many students lost them while running 8898b4ae43 around, kicking up dust in the hallways. So instead, the e8b8078e9a school embroidered names 712feb3ca5 directly onto the 5495f7ec53 uniforms. This gym shirt 8bd53e5d43 was no exception.8fb741d99db16482915a

“Yeah. It’s mine.”97947cafaf5194f17e97

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A smirk tugged 326911b76a at the corner 6212313e9a of Chayoung’s lips. His voice was teasing, his c39b5603a9 tone playful—but for some reason, 4c22d5aac2 it felt… oddly unsettling. Jinha’s throat 9c1eb0955b suddenly felt 21efd9f21a dry.3c90ef7ea048f2db7379

He turned away 6625079e24 and headed toward a632708136 the kitchen.de73dd12ec9003cd432a

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“Can I 19d63ee0b5 use a cdf3a3942e cup?”2cb8afbfdcaa1ce6828c

There was only one 26e64f6525 sitting in the sink. It made sense, since this ada34aa01b was a one-person workspace. Annoyingly, he had forgotten to e5022956d4 bring one with his belongings. He’d have to grab one 5ae13a27cc from the bar tomorrow.d398504462ed6f1c25f5

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“Go ahead.”cf233eeadf63ad97e4c3

With permission given, 780341ee60 Jinha poured himself 5489eca3d4 a glass of b8948eb278 water. For some reason, he was craving something fc582776b4 cold, so he added ice and gulped 83f10ebc41 down the entire cup in one go. Only then da217c3469 did he 38ff308ae8 feel a d271c7e563 little clearer.d24b8d7513090834f54f

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“Didn’t you just have a c014e70b9a fever the other day? Why are 01ddc934ed you drinking a73c901f8d ice water?”411924ffaa7404453ec1

“Mind your 2b81f70220 own business.”675b57ebdfc91d117be4

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Instead of replying, 00857fe6a9 Chayoung stood up. The shift in position made their eye 3eff52a896 level match for a moment—then tilt slightly.a9bc0af96c2a75825526

Did the height gap get d9f1dddc10 bigger since high school?ce8502c343fdc51bf9ef

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Jinha didn’t 77f2f17558 like that.928ff4631c59ec086668

“Can you 920273a4a2 stop saying fb8a097483 that? It pisses 0ce74de804 me off.”c1a7e4f1a8fb9557dbed

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“What?”3853056ba53c552e7b79

”‘Mind your own business.’ Just c457425f17 curse at me instead.”ea310a1b2e1d9bd2aa2d

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Was he joking? If so, his expression 83207449aa was far too serious. The faint smirk 2dc40f620b he had worn 2779caf73b earlier was long 7aadf77637 gone. He meant it.4dbcab2b7ae09c1e11ab