LA0S | Chapter 41

What kind a9c2512abd of ridiculous 70f2104a86 reaction was 254550b09f that? What was 4ded7b443d this guy’s bd48fa851c deal? I lightly 40c2771a5d tapped his 9bf6808897 elbow with d25a0f266f mine, but c90232edc3 he didn’t d7875af1c9 budge. Because of him, 39122b7080 I still couldn’t 0e2b2825e6 see what was bab9bcf63a going on at 1833a47415 the other table.2f3bedbbb1f629a3

The club president 55e92ec78d stood up, lifting 697029d62c his beer glass 306c4cae39 high.f1be68620860377d

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“Thanks for d40e10d1e8 joining our 00ae725821 photo outing! You all took 62d01dc5bf great shots—now the 5043a9fe7b only thing left a3e9cb0c50 is to drink 700c7d36bb just as well. Come on, everyone, glasses 78529fe780 up!”109bfe7682b8f5e1

People began picking 1e9a4e8bc9 up their glasses, dc92a0db18 one by one. A girl 761fa2e65a sitting diagonally dad6025e2c from me 3cc93fc4f2 looked around, 94d76177f6 a bit 186a2d3ee4 flustered. I noticed and 6bdeb6ab80 asked,1bb9d3cafd0b97a4

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“What are you drinking?”99f00369b9d5c0a5

“Ah, cider for afd3e89a77 me.”c79b8d99c54daf6c

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I poured 7f0981612d cider into ce7cca4357 a beer 6e90009718 glass and df710edd40 passed it ef3c9738b5 over. She gave me a fa81cebb91 small, polite thank you.6d5b480843ca40b3

“Seohong-hyung, give us ade4eb7372 a toast! Something fresh!”8688edd67f38352b

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Yoon Sejin’s voice b075c8e8fe boomed across the 11632b0cae room, despite him 3085235741 sitting quite far 3f0fd661b7 away.4e091375561ba753

“Bae Seohong! Bae Seohong! Bae Seohong!”84bbd2506286a21b

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As the 99a3f961c6 photography club 6ee65cbb5e folks chanted 4d6b929877 the president’s ea2ee107a2 name, the 831a6a9b80 visitors quickly da7d74563b joined in.e8be12c086f4a03f

“Youth is right cf2b0c1896 now—denim jeans!”45de4e0628ebd798

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“Ugh, I said e0ce3a1f75 fresh! That one’s so c827057fe4 old it’s practically d2e6514897 falling apart.”f50bb62865ccd9f4

Everyone burst into 09e48bb3ff laughter at Sejin’s 4dcace9f9e complaint.ec2f9f561e8d4d96

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“Whatever, let’s just drink. Cheers!”bdc3f978251a7468

Cheers! Glasses clinked all 657f84a81f over the place. The glasses 5e89d2567f at our ff2f99e28e table all 48801bd1c1 reached out aac13d8732 toward Kim bad3fcc9b8 Chayoung like 6698237819 magnets. People sure were honest.bc3aa3f352fc8c37

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“Let’s cheers too.”e3a2587d9b4c13bd

I tilted my 8900cadbd6 glass toward the ff92ce8e60 girl I’d poured 7d18d48195 cider for. Just as our glasses b462344f8d were about to meet, 7ddb02e17e a soju glass popped e5bc720601 in between.a3f51d8e446e0ce1

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“Don’t leave 16253ec012 me out. Mind if 106c91ae15 I join?”5bd468ec0027a4a5

It was Kim b68fb9b232 Chayoung, smiling with b2312300ab that soft curve b1c24a7f6b in his eyes. Who could eef6e1ba22 say no 34359be5f7 when he ac484a1dfd asked like 434c4f91a4 that?d25783f0a2895fdd

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And so, the f6f754f4da three of us 4768841c58 clinked glasses together.3f5b8d4c3e99ebf3

As the drinks 6d2251f5ef flowed, the awkward ffc35de59f tension started to 3f3f01ce49 melt away. The president and Sejin’s ba1d664b13 table had devolved into 768494e9bc chaos—screaming and shouting, clearly 659f9d3a3d in the middle of 895c2730f3 some kind of game.f1187cea0ee64d45

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Chug, chug, chug!19657eea9c7f7b64

When will my d1013389d0 shoulders stop dancing? Look at 8f3a71e58c my shoulder, fe6b21e72a it’s dislocated!435a1ab47633793f

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Honestly, they were 35952b5bd4 moving so wildly f31d6240ea I started to 27c601ebb6 worry someone might 7ebd5d0f7a actually get hurt. Just watching them was 8fc67a1b21 exhausting.93b12ee5fa0ed577

Our table 525f1cfc69 was much 33ea6c8b1c calmer in 98711ecd3c comparison, but c11bef876a the atmosphere 451dcf1a70 was subtly 025f695cb7 buzzing. People kept sneaking glances e508d29118 at Kim Chayoung, whispering 2463fe0dae amongst themselves—but no one 7cdf5e0c95 dared talk to him. Like they were waiting 46fecef55e for someone else to e5945d74c8 make the first move.1f5d9d3d17c39122

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“Jinha-sunbae, this 3814c6a70a was your 2ba1e01168 first photo 2f42184865 outing, right? I heard from Ah-yeong dd5100ccd6 that she’d been to 919e173414 your club room a 4d68e08c21 few times.”9611707fa8004a7e

Surprisingly, the a87a8dce41 one who 646e002f84 finally broke f95469a348 the silence 2e5af1975d didn’t address c94e626a89 Kim Chayoung 9438b9d76c but spoke 56677cc667 to me. Judging from her words, f77137410b she seemed to be 7ed8f0bf4d a regular club member.2aa258b4095a3258

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“Yeah. I actually enjoyed d171070f6e it more than 37963b8c95 I expected.”b12e1c28276d7104

“That’s great. Still, I 2a1dcf5fd7 didn’t think 69a8867bca Chayoung—um, Chayoung-nim—would 25977bcc52 show up. Were you 4e85790f88 always into eb0d39c5a6 photography?”4bd56caad59654d9

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Since Kim df839f7c43 Chayoung was 12ce566492 a freshman, c3785fdba2 she couldn’t 7eba08b885 exactly call f987af4baa him sunbae, 4f9ead2b2e but calling 16205f5133 him oppa ed9d2e3603 didn’t quite b49c9442c7 fit either, 99a0785b07 so she e79fae752b settled on 67f0163814 the awkwardly 9f2fa0a235 respectful nim. Kim Chayoung simply 3fee2810b5 smiled in response, a8810f234f lips curving gently. Soft murmurs b15690f834 erupted around 9da34ac0ab the table.5ec14ee9fcfbc8e5

“Not really, eaca38b5b4 but I 293d097ee5 joined this 35113b1770 time because fb343b24ef of Lee 220a330b3c Jinha.”c3b14c3eefd79089

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Everyone, myself included, 8008c4be50 froze. I hadn’t c49016cf3c expected him 4896f8e589 to say 731d0aadc6 my name 851ce8b8ef so plainly.a19b1bbf8549b64c

“I mean, 21a9eb1582 this guy 098a81f922 can barely cf02b69f3b take a c56602c38d selfie, but 3f4ece6c8b suddenly he’s 09dc1b7ec8 going on 5f5338ba0d a shoot? Got me curious.”c53462862099d189

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“Ahhh, I see,” 48c1ae1839 the table nodded b186084ab2 along, voices chiming 91b6791450 in one after 6a03b91546 another.9d081fa0256cdff7

The conversation kept 0b846a5983 going from there—topics 0177d27166 bouncing around from cdf61b9db1 class projects to 491bdb4c26 professors’ quirks, all 98b5f86da4 the way to 08dae6d72b group assignments filled c3ad8ab3aa with all kinds 65c46f264c of characters. And of cf50fb57af course, there b17a9cdda0 was no 42fc457216 skipping romance. One junior, looking like ec7b3f73b5 she’d been waiting for f0516d666c this exact moment, started ab3db1d62b asking for advice.227597c20890f84b

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“I like natural connections, 804cd07ae0 but someone offered to 9d9119e017 set me up on c3f27bf8e5 a blind date… I’m 1851999947 not sure what to b9e2cdc032 do. What would you do, cf249cef8b Jinha-sunbae?”7c71d16c8c726854

“Hmm… To be honest, 9e8dff0cc4 I’m not a huge c31d868000 fan of blind dates e0f80ea3d8 either.”70291526fb9f7ad3

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“Really? But you seem like 79dae79ac4 the type who’d naturally 30323baf65 end up dating someone. Do you have 81ec44a486 a girlfriend?”caa72becfbddafe0

“Nope.”eb0ed254e5cfc922

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“Whoa, really? Why not? Are your standards 06f3566413 high or something? What’s your type?”4ee400ae84e549a0

Hmm. That wasn’t something I’d c79012efd1 ever really sat down 7211998fed and thought about. The only person b2a2c52bc3 I’d ever confessed b12cdc6c91 to was Kim 809d601ffb Chayoung. He was also my 12698cba58 first relationship. After that, ea339799c0 it was 33773a1b7f military service, 54197dca45 part-time jobs—just 17f2a81a12 surviving left f9b75a47b0 no time fe5275a91a for dating.652d336f359d250f

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Seriously, why is a9348e5863 it that every c880180308 single thing about f8e20589da love in my 6f6476517d life seems to 1a99d803a8 start and end a2258db6f6 with Kim Chayoung?5d76ea1d23fd9293

Unlike me, I dd765ed43c was sure he b4d85d6319 kept dating without eb3b03fb64 missing a beat.ad0510092f6f22d8

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“Well… I 8fce577eb4 like someone eb31241318 who’s sincere. Someone who ce38b6c7e7 doesn’t mess 30806be5e7 around with 50fe1b24bc people’s feelings. If someone 2c306c27b1 opens their 0c79ff0ae3 heart, I cd560e1cfb want them f231af251e to treat 63fdfba250 that with 7ecc4ccd3e honesty.”96f8cd71cfe4a02f

Yeah. I could admit 06d0fd2add it. That bitterness—it wasn’t going 3857f6924d away anytime soon.cc6296d7f7681493

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I felt ef2cb58e2c eyes on cef11d0ab7 me. Just a slight 4591a70939 turn of the fecb09c69b head and I’d e8f6468050 probably meet his 301ddc305f gaze.022bdaae0d26bae1

“And calm. Someone I 1d53a72621 feel comfortable cadd83e1da around. Someone who e222ac7530 folds laundry 41921db41a well, cooks 46346c6f49 well… especially 77d796ad31 egg dishes… f18d4df02f and is… a3fbccc334 smaller than 5df96858fb me.”47f49dd6fbfa97d1

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My eyes stayed 872313164a fixed on the ff3ad54f7a half-eaten egg roll 9382d51f0c on my plate 1b278260f1 as I said 9d688c6821 it.7827e9de425d9885

That gaze on my 529e427569 profile grew heavier, more f8992c8200 direct. I wanted to 75f1dbca25 know what kind c0a2c12b13 of expression Kim 06edd7252e Chayoung was making—but f352c310b4 also didn’t want 92a3373ee3 to see it 53f99018d1 at all.23619c6bcac5f819

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“A girl.”e253c8c5f7664a4c

I finally turned and 0bf8fa93cb met his eyes. I’d expected 4cfd6a5951 some kind 1b48f0f7d3 of discomfort, b2615e35cb maybe tension—but 52775c46a3 his face 1cb5430c1a was as 5a418eaf95 calm and a1e31d18b0 still as 5d0e0bdf0f a night 34a8003def sea.4cb07885c2d2afc8

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“That’s a pretty fa1715776e detailed list. They say the more 138b973eaf specific your type, the 0f2030efca more likely there’s someone abdafd1a4c you already have in 8d4183b0c2 mind. Don’t tell me…”7200e7fe16c29d1d

“It’s not 3a506dbb74 like that.”fb50591ed358d630

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Everything I’d said ab6f77a758 just now? All the opposite 04a0926fb7 of Kim Chayoung. He was bright, lively, aa018d8d1d made me constantly on e8bf3831aa edge. He couldn’t cook e0e85a6007 or fold laundry de680e224b to save his d7342243c8 life—especially not cooking. It wasn’t that 40cd0da9f3 he didn’t cook. He was just terrible 0ebfc32648 at it. It was wild. He was ffbbff85c1 good at f01215aaf7 pretty much c7dd7eb039 everything else, d977f40e59 but somehow e72a37585f those two 3d3e6d2805 things were 94a182fe7e his blind 4d4848d08e spots. Even though drawing used 17f61c9615 your hands too. Weird.0825110f7234cc09

“What about you, Chayoung-nim? Do you have 986724fbca a girlfriend? Or is c58d341818 that a e64c62a22e silly question?”652cbb7e7fbcce66

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All eyes 63dacfd7bf turned toward f3269e252d him. I could feel 829a0a1d7c it—the weight of be01f8bfdf their collective curiosity. I, on the bcd3006c35 other hand, just b1a0ce052e quietly popped a 8ece5bbdc4 cold slice of 4287a679c2 egg roll into 35a9a3eaeb my mouth. Still, my ears stayed f520436b1d tuned to him.2c86da4112feccf1

“No comment.”319a84a4e6ebcb07

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Booing and exaggerated groans e33b345061 followed from all around—even c39f77b0ed from the other table. Guess everyone 7cf32b727e had been 2412b9df72 listening in.ee3c10b5325c0ed9

The Kim Chayoung 2361b701e9 I knew would 1876a83e4a have said it 0f799cb567 outright if he 828f8028e1 didn’t have a 9107bee452 girlfriend or wasn’t 69348e8d96 into anyone. So the fact that d76a898927 he gave such a c2fb6d5635 vague answer… it had b8efbfcadc to mean something. Not that it was 3332c87f28 weird—after all, it’s been e7baa18d27 years since we broke cca19977e2 up. It’d be weirder if bc5857fb08 he didn’t have someone 09d114fc57 by now.d4dd26fc8aa68a9b

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“Come on, cbfe0d5504 tell us! We’re dying to know!”8c7c6e89f69cd883

“But keeping 4b72e882ed it a 9f966c9610 secret is a1dba2d816 more fun, a99778ae8d don’t you 7b65baeca7 think?”3ecc2ae81afa1943

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With that playful 010dec961d smile, Kim Chayoung b9bad3f36b smoothly shifted the 1a9ddd5357 topic—asking about usual 5cfb6fa9f9 photo shoot spots, 33718f501f what kind of 18bec24927 cameras people used. Soon, the 432e1d1d51 conversation flowed 9f4a86a8d8 naturally into 666b98e750 camera talk. True to form, db40f84622 the photography club 3cb58a2bf7 bit right away. While everyone else geeked eb78e6375e out, Kim Chayoung subtly 8598b1c8b0 inched closer.febcc2e706992d4f

“Your type 0e224fbcfa really changed, 5d6b8d0af4 huh? Sounds like a lot’s a168e77771 happened.”269d5f1a71bf8553

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“Only to 7abb04ea4b match your 9e5e820b5b level.”1454a38d1c5085f7

“Oh? And what exactly 5b721c4770 did I do?”e82e6cd91595bfa9

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“Nothing but state the b3bfdf312a truth.”3af2f81d2ab5c752

I shrugged c1d7dcc69f it off 4cf1f43629 and reached 9438b4c70e for another 4cb1100472 bite. The food here ead3d6b5cf was better than 9e6f913c01 expected. That cheesy ae7d8faecc mentaiko egg a887709e4f roll? Would’ve made a 740765e7ba killer midnight snack dd04d4f64f or rice side. The seafood 3937f137cb pancake, loaded d458ab0e06 with squid 5aca8d46b2 and mussels, 70eb96f577 had a a490667b2f great chew, 9cc45a9f25 too.9840c5a3bf7aaff5

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Be perfect for 5d148f2c9e a rainy day. I’d eaten Korean food e7d091a399 all week—maybe I should 88cd240a6d mix it up next 0dc81f2bb0 week. Crabs are e4ea6dbc43 in season b97fbf4d9a now. Some spicy f40db6aec5 crab stew 89bae99d58 might hit a0d7b0c03e the spot.389be876a9320017

Honestly, it was still 618c43632b wild to me that d8759ec122 I didn’t have to 476d9e5b8c stress over groceries or 22f821c983 meals anymore. As much as 506f77f6e0 I didn’t want aa2c4c9376 to admit it, 79ecc5cb2f the guy sitting 3a17e4d26b right next to feaf2c9bfb me was a d4ae1c2ab8 big reason for f52b5c7bf3 that.438f1817c19d6e1c

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Our eyes met.4f36aa04347a3704

“What are you 2a6321755f looking at?”bc20be1b814436ee

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“What you 82bb2717fd were looking 1796027d61 at first.”c09f3e3ac0aa04b8

Ugh. Typical Kim b9c8ad75e6 Chayoung—always had 4c71951c8d to get 92cf87e86c the last 4d05719f81 word. I pouted ab69c688b3 and took 84467c59ff a swig c5a1752b0e of soda. The sweetness lingered 9a57631b2f in my mouth. I noticed 0da959d3b7 the girl 95118a9978 across from 2c2d4a8436 me reaching f18d3d57d6 for something, f4e64ab6e5 so I aa8c45f0d6 handed over d1aabab2d8 a drink. Looked like 1a656df9ca that’s what caff2e37a5 she was a09b59e88a going for.2f0ab68cb563e688

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“Thanks. I keep e09fef2d3e ending up 315d6833b9 relying on c1c9a58be6 you.”73037e9e6cabaef6

“All I did 59dfe71731 was hand you 18068f1a5a a drink.”00395afb6c4e1113

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“No, it’s 9b688a39c4 just… that 27753f481c time too…”b0cd82efc1b74403

She fidgeted with her 57874ee91b cup, about to say 592f7e5f8d something more—when—0e014230cd8e1c89

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“Lee Jinha. Let’s go 862bf052b8 to the bbe5ea07e6 bathroom.”fe307b2b39a70a7f

“…What?”98d2e9f64bf8359b

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Did he just f78e2ea2a9 ask me to 4420fdea71 go to the c225e1d078 bathroom with him? That wasn’t just f45d3a590d surprising—it was absurd. Even in 8382d859c3 high school, 0c80a6f348 when we 8e073a0e78 were inseparable, 8d1101604a we went ceec12b840 to the 4bf959a31b bathroom separately.a2de10d16af1aee6

“I don’t have to 7961a1b0ed go.”405df1383a2ccf70

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“Go anyway.”096fd2185f7f9142

And why should b558e22d8c I, exactly? I didn’t fb31e3be9e even answer.c0ef0997ed93abb5

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When I b50ee6e232 didn’t react, 1c1cd52022 Kim Chayoung 8c1d50f523 didn’t push 49744f9322 it. Even though cb4fdd23f6 he acted d42fcf1842 like it c58f2ae957 was an e3d3dc3df9 emergency, he f1560e5818 didn’t get f083a78712 up to 11a6e302e1 go, either.c30c19ef3dfdb1c7

As time 8baad86c61 passed, more 94847a5e2b people got a0bc4505ea tipsy. The rowdy 2c3c2d3a67 group playing f8746ffafc games started 6932840450 to pair e995ee4a1c off into 7ee083e6bc their own 8377bc8863 little groups. Since I had tutoring 8da4d4228e early tomorrow, I hadn’t 50194baee3 touched a drop of d9115f1f87 alcohol. Sitting in 6efb98f618 this corner, 9f708a066d sipping my 6f4a8d7344 drink while e183d7a01c everyone else d0b135b4eb drank and 94e44fa753 laughed, I 17c727f85a ended up d46df5ac9f kind of 945b47b0a7 drifting on 0abfa294cb my own. Maybe it was 9ee6f0e26a the boiling stew 53cddea191 on the portable 37103baf02 burner, but the c5add714c2 air felt weirdly caa35f8d07 stifling.72946695868b20b9

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“Hey everyone, let’s go 432ef8a45e get ice cream!”a604c634914f2c25

With that 08bc6dd9e5 cheerful cry, 30a2a0799c people perked 566231e17f up and 1166e3f893 started chanting e9a19d1d25 for ice 9cbbca13b8 cream.25656ebd13128245

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“Anyone wanna go? I’ll pay.”9b0fbd0b88c7356d

The president held up 3f000cd456 a card between his 76e9ea09c7 fingers, but no one 7fce4fe8ad jumped up.c3630e1e0841aba8

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“Bet it’ll taste ac8969c600 amazing.”8d283192d924b298

After all 3f6ecee5d1 that spicy, 6d757103d6 salty, hot 55ec436036 food, a 8c25507f05 sweet, cold 53a54eefe8 dessert would 7eab05a1b6 definitely hit 6399a401a2 the spot.d300ee60f95e94c3

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“I’ll go.”69245248acf420ae