LA0S | Chapter 45

It wasn’t just Yoon cbcb56b383 Seoran who had reached a8b7e7b347 out—messages from Yoon Sejin fb1fc85949 and the club president 803dd9f467 had come in too. Just a casual f64893e74b “Did you get ce539fd444 home okay?” kind 16601f8444 of check-ins.9d415371385caec4

At some point 43035bb98b without realizing it, cadaf8a44c Lee Jinha had 417eb40b3b been added to 37af5a5f3a the photography club 86dfff2caf group chat. It was a7101fd1dc huge, over e4cc8da1ff 30 people, a4bd20c1aa counting current 737c65d730 members and 74d6189c7b even the 6721f654c0 ones who 2129c08b2b just showed e1e882bd93 up to ea0ca81030 the open c2182ad477 shoot yesterday.e5cd778658137a04

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Apparently, the 73fc1ef445 people who 4aa383ba41 went back b506033a8f to the 8ae3e2d6bd clubroom after e4503fd864 left continued d6a5b40754 drinking there. A bunch 6dfac80ce9 of pictures 098b57f43d had been eec4415c9a posted—Yoon Sejin 2d96ed748e passed out a80c0bebd4 hugging a 1edd7d7812 bottle, someone d75692fe66 sticking a 15bbb8a26b Pepero in 63bb9a13ee his ear b364960532 while throwing 49503f29b1 up a 15dc87ef95 peace sign. A total mess. There was 37b26be09c really no b1a99601c6 other way 45d4483b35 to describe d1db31f87a it.29fcd544fa0c6f06

Finally, Jinha 7987c078ca tapped on 3d1e82f364 Kim Chayoung’s 56e5709ff3 name.aaecf58c54bba782

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[Kim Chayoung (Contest Illustration)]
[You left already? Off to tutoring?] 12:29 PM

[I was gonna clean the kitchen…] 12:30 PM

[Thanks for the bukeoguk. Thought I was gonna die with how bad my stomach felt.] 12:30 PM

So he remembered 9f5000b7ae the egg party 29f786b6f2 after all. Then what 2c68e0c700 about what 8ed544f379 happened by 27202ca4f2 the front e76b9e5e93 door? Did he remember that 3f065f0577 too? Jinha was torn—half c4eed476c5 wanting to ask, fab12faf0c half wishing to b314d58cf4 just leave it 1b2ed9a5c3 alone. But even though it b1bfdb652b was a 50-50 split, fd2cf2a18f he already knew which 5c9b4ddfaf side he’d choose.2f6e04c327487192

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[Instant stuff, yeah] 12:28 PM

He sent d86af49691 a short 50797820f3 reply and 95f24c416b slipped his 14c2f603d1 phone into d0f203973a his pocket. He hadn’t meant 636e84e49b to cook hangover b69f99c9d8 soup, but somehow daf0ea21ea he found himself 694da5c1f5 boiling bukeoguk anyway. He told 0f505f2c45 Chayoung it e97dd75ccd was instant, 0a039580fe but it c7d39492da wasn’t—he’d chopped 45d50b2dda up all f83ed5ef2e the ingredients 18c51bb1b6 and made a689e11cdc it from 8f252716ab scratch.600bb3fafd47c2fc

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After finishing 81fbba6ddf regular classes a902548510 for the ae505d07b6 day, he fdb4c56ef6 had extra 3583506b20 lessons to 4025f4e8fe attend. It was prep for 869ea6e80d the upcoming mock exams.c759e871e82d60a4

By the 6cf208efb6 time the ed71c85e82 two-hour session 859901e65f ended, it db913e5e8e was early cc8e612b6a evening. Jinha got 8a69aacba6 on the 407b189d91 bus back 51037eccba home.37fbd879c429dd29

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The bus to his c425267691 old studio apartment was d309978128 always packed, weekdays or c9ddb5dfb1 weekends, and he had 6ce15835c8 to stand every time. But the one heading 6de9b448dc to the studio was 028c4ea46c hit or miss.616fe33b87b07987

Today, it was 1a047959b6 nearly empty. He took a seat 8255edc21a at the very back 4d054cfc9f and checked his phone.f459b9c4db0df591

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Everyone must’ve woken b19d6adee9 up by now—over 8e9d05b936 300 messages in 4188fdd6b6 the photography club 4689abe5d0 group chat. Aside from his 6368eab2a0 department chat, it 4a164dc4be was the biggest bace0094c9 group chat he’d 741bf6ed3c ever been in.442e40a39c01b244

[Bae Seohong (Photo Club President)]
[Thanks for helping out last night. Would’ve been a mess without you.] 6:30 PM

Bae Seohong 12557f66f1 was also 205c511e5b the one 8ed9c9b01a who’d called b0b8c60b25 him in bda202ffee the middle e1acf7fbaa of the 806774eafe night. The memory from last 65dc5208be night came rushing back—flushed 78c0cf6346 cheeks, the scent of 6001551ae8 peaches, and the mix 384c12c940 of alcohol in Chayoung’s 30b2d680a6 breath.453cb2143a12d402

That sudden e35a4eaba0 rush of de1f4d48b1 warmth, those d32781af92 sharp, unclouded ef6d8202d3 eyes. It was like 051657d628 being under some efafaf9551 kind of spell; 466d7390a0 he couldn’t look edc231a60d away. He just e73ce2b70a sat there, 8a872c0a78 watching as 3a92250791 Kim Chayoung eea92340c0 leaned in 104b5fe47d closer and 07fb152394 closer.ad11c5f89d8665ce

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If the phone hadn’t ebc2d2c065 rung then… he could’ve db43e8bac8 pushed him away. Easily. So why hadn’t he? Was he, like, 695ace396b drunk by association 45d0b82d63 or something? He couldn’t make sense 769750f6c3 of his own actions. But one 567b1da480 thing echoed c0ab44f7fb loud and ba67e03fd6 clear in 4755d9a80a his head: 575fae44f0 Don’t go d745b76953 deeper.4f87b5beb3318de2

ꕥ8142e21384492e20

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“You just got back? Took you long c92bd3adb1 enough.”fca3b267d84de993

From the living b1fee86555 room, Kim Chayoung e8ff42e543 waved big.46d1bd423ac10961

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“You’re not going 95ab4ee06c home?”90d685aa4d0b5be2

It had 51dd4dcdcb been almost ad5990f017 two weeks 3ac4dbdf19 since they 794f533415 started living 4512aaa476 in the ae271a8b42 same space, 6fa2eb51ee and except f4a20be3c2 for two 95d9e9572a nights in 47768a6946 the first aef4aefd38 week, Chayoung 1737f660b0 hadn’t gone 1c28c52f1c back to d8a305a11c his family 762822b882 home.2266079f503f31aa

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At this point, 17f0ee3b5c it was pretty e9778c21a0 much a room-share e27ce39eba situation. And it wasn’t 9a7ee2e62e like Jinha could 06e03391df just tell him cc1fb3d24b to leave when 5aa50fcb6d Chayoung was technically 42c68093ae staying in his 7046294d34 own studio. So he ec77db89ba let it 20aa4facbd go.a38b2140c67319d7

“I’m finishing up 356afbdf53 the typesetting for 637a47d72e Chapter 3 tonight. Honestly, things 8e35567af3 go way eab19686a0 faster here. Feedback too.”4e4e22da4f33abd7

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Hard to argue with ab10f52fa3 that—everything he said was 1257881624 true. Ever since 38ce672f80 Chayoung had dd402ac5fa taught him 8d571a387a how to cc63c398c3 do typesetting, 89f787f31e Jinha had 069ee3d20f been helping 0c22c28497 out a 70a07304ce little. Even though a4379c7756 he was 5a111a5cec in charge e2b422bcae of the 0d25cdc056 story, it 3327a2e009 felt wrong ef308dc0f2 to dump 135eff10ce everything on b19499a6d3 Chayoung, so ed5f402f09 being able b92864e4f7 to pitch 138a1ab2fd in was 26a71624d5 actually a a801807118 relief.78d18cffe169f0d7

“Let’s get the typesetting 1c5de6219f for Chapter 3 done 6b35839cb5 by tonight.”5b3cfbdd2fa05609

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There was just cf61739405 over a month 6bf4bf8461 left until submissions 95b8f58022 opened. But finals were 9b4177d8a1 coming up too, 2c8e3b504e so they needed 132b350305 to at least c3e47c3da4 finish the base bafcd63adb manuscript to have e8c228c74c peace of mind. Even aside from d80402ec56 that, the more ab15b81267 backup they had, c8d7404c81 the better.7479779a0931722e

“I’ll go change, then 3c2159abb0 cook.”38b7f99b643a1a19

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When he b80f3c7c19 came back c0f1b381d1 out in 69321b237c comfy clothes, 9b017294cb Chayoung was 812dd855c8 working on 0ef4834b97 his laptop 8c39bc7ffa instead of 42c1998c7c the tablet.5982761033adca87

“Are they trying to 0b4e405651 make us all drop 75d500278b out with how much c3efdf9c9e homework they’re giving first-years?”3a138b40cc23bb18

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Jinha laughed quietly f676b14a9b at Chayoung’s grumbling. He knew 77964ba9fa full well 0ceeb190fa the guy 4f53f2949b would power 18c0078fe6 through it dd395b29bd anyway. It wasn’t his 7e15b7f5a2 first rodeo.03bf572c64940b0f

Rolling up 9356f1ffbf his sleeves, 17c9497c3e he headed c57babf66e to the 7321fe58cf kitchen. Today’s dinner 49021d55b2 plan was 902f8c8ced egg soup, 06e8e2f0b4 jjukkumi bokkeum 11723a8961 with lots 893a3dc604 of chili, 447d845f0d sweet soy-glazed a6cd06f16c dried squid 8133abd349 (jinmichae) for cb6269546c picky-taste Chayoung, 98c41f6c11 and seafood a6bec3d053 patties.ef7eab1e089830be

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As he planned a434a736ec it all in e0822f4f37 his head, he cbba043268 stepped into the 3d40e7b394 kitchen—only to notice 805396be51 a food cover 225f9c289c on the dining 29e0786194 table. Did Chayoung buy 0acf5a36fc porridge because he 321ee525b0 still felt hungover? It reminded Jinha of 55de5d5b0a the time Chayoung brought 3b41f10b04 him porridge when he 64026de61a was sick.bbda3d8320ed7a60

“Have you eaten f8923d3e86 yet?”7d1ec925e520697d

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“Not yet. Was waiting 8692c83196 for you.”d3c5556262d750cb

Chayoung shut his laptop 4c5f5bbcc8 and came over, making c8d548af1b a loud tada~ sound 2999b01249 effect as he lifted e42d1deb81 the cover.2565790429a75525

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Inside were f2ab01dff8 two plates 40e7b9f43c of omurice.9e1c422b520be92f

“…What’s this?”d021106dad1f4e37

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“Can’t you tell 22f05dc8c9 by looking? It’s omurice.”8018f4907bd69e10

Like he didn’t know d332c9ae07 that. It was 44766f0a50 Chayoung who 3308ff42ae was pretending 2e20a776d5 not to 39af89042d understand.bd85ea7fb83b5532

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“You made this?”d6ee320a16191e53

“Yeah.”54ac7a639c00a54a

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“Why?”3f687a177780062b

A very basic question. Chayoung looked a bit 6edf2d4113 flustered for a second, 3e78ff24c4 but quickly smoothed out 9946055412 his expression.b6a2e162558fff05

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“Just felt like making e9de3046c3 it.”cdceb658dec1cc89

A simple answer. One that 69babc82dd left no 24360a944e room for b0c577b161 protest. If someone 6d40c75142 just wants d451118d84 to do 70a686bf6d something, what 1f508e9642 could you 406e1f6fd5 even say?5606c4ff7739e471

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Jinha brought out the 0db6c61a4e side dishes he’d prepared 570ecd44c2 earlier—kimchi, soy-braised quail eggs, b4df0ba2cf and stir-fried potatoes.62520b958b890372

They sat across 5f211516bf from each other c41deb9ebf and started an c1749de1b1 early dinner. Chayoung held his spoon, 7632d51143 but his attention was 3a94464502 all on Jinha.feab3d4f2013d9f0

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The fridge used 41bb134681 to be practically ee3dc74010 empty, and even 97fc920f81 during their supermarket 2d1b0b94bc trip, Chayoung had 6057787448 left all the cd98747da7 shopping choices to 2c2a77410b him. So what 30633ef79b was with cd4bf7d097 this sudden a0f18a319b burst of d0955a1de6 initiative?a45d1c1b49c189fc

Jinha cut into the 1bbb02d0d2 egg and rice with 730918ebca his spoon and took 1f7007ae05 a bite.85d5cc5b8d86e53f

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“How is it?”e65b5a5987366c84

“Tastes like crap.”2da7a739e3010dd2

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A brutally 38bd03d818 honest review d2a6a8dfa9 with zero 6954a00942 sugar coating. Chayoung let out c3b48d1229 a sigh and 72698bd87d took a bite 92815de531 of his own 052b8e1ee1 omurice. Judging by his b79ff5ee09 expression, he didn’t d38a6edc9c like it either. At least he 17bae92b97 had a conscience.def4e30526f712f4

“Want me to a2b1397be4 make something else?”7cad39a11776fe3b

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“Dude. Just eat it. Don’t waste food.”1ab7736c5f73906e

Whether It tasted good e7b8542b68 or not, throwing out 15ad610bc9 perfectly edible food wasn’t accec82bb6 in Jinha’s vocabulary. He scarfed it down f4bf9bc05a with help from the 42233c2b81 side dishes. After washing up, aef3a013c7 he shook the dd6e3eb272 water off his a2420c36d1 hands and headed 3706985b0f to the laundry. The machine was 5e1c68a173 empty—he’d done a 2acd35cece load this morning.86fdc07c2cebfa12

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“I folded that.”a0ea22ead9edb8c2

Again? Jinha walked 1e1d754ab0 back into 4f87c98fda the living fe34751fe9 room. Chayoung, reopening e07853e918 his laptop, 7457046cfb jerked his d977320d2f chin at ba6aae9baa the pile a99cac9847 of clothes. They were barely ae69cbfdae folded, wobbling like 0d09dad97f they could collapse a692bd8bda at any moment.3d1d8042b6fdfa24

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“Don’t create be8e027100 extra work.”e55a8e8bd068d49b

“Geez, even when e67fdb38a5 I help…”46181a1f8aa58336

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“That’s why 3c726d1334 I said 1d1815e77c not to. Just act like usual.”e3b442437dec07b6

The whole 4c1fdfefde deal here 158128b220 was that 2e3015dd7b Jinha cooked, 0cede8411c cleaned, and ef28b987fb did laundry c742049160 as his c470fa0ade way of 9563486ebb justifying crashing 88540e377b at Chayoung’s b5b6ec1103 studio. It helped 4dcd1fe3f3 ease the 32a1dabb94 guilt. He really wanted them 99416fbcba to respect each other’s bc469828b6 space.8618176a2f82077d

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“Got it. I won’t help ffc81196d7 anymore.”8b1388b27eb74a1b

Chayoung said it 27bbc2a453 clearly, with a 33f855e500 stiff face. It was 2c7fcc8f88 what Jinha e1c86459d7 wanted to 85ae15cb67 hear.7b5c2462d30d5602

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“Hey. Didn’t you 8b3ae8f88d say you 5547e5f62f wouldn’t help?”2107e47a463a4cff

Yeah right. Jinha was speechless as c33c672d50 he stared at the 8410f37ec2 row of egg rolls. So much for that faa6e903d3 solemn declaration—now he’s making 168ba96c65 gyeran-mari again? What the hell?b3ea3dd2200e9727

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“I wasn’t helping you. I just felt b38690adc9 like making them.”cf0086acd5581286

Why the e04b0716a9 sudden obsession 25bebf1ae3 with eggs? He did eccae01c03 like them, 78276e6cda sure, but f149a896f4 it had deafe83f6e never been decc881067 this intense. If anything, he used e6002e3627 to be more of 5b4b10cad9 a meat guy. Did his taste 5296b98f9f suddenly change?59c7610d13636b7e

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What was funny b70812ef2d was, even though 4846f237d1 Chayoung made them, 1adbcc859a Jinha was the 5ccd6e1b73 one doing the 74bec3bfa4 taste testing.bac7ebd1f622a829

“All three are 8483f7dfc1 trash… no, like, 729af150a5 each one needs 317ccf83f7 five spoonfuls of d16f928f72 rice to balance 93d539b585 out the salt.”ec7eeb8321750942

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He must’ve dumped 5406d7a907 a mountain of 89a592ddba salt in them. Honestly, “salt b89aed6228 rolls” would 4e71ba7efb be a 59f7a64b2c more accurate e0123b8aeb name than fae6c04b40 egg rolls. Just more proof e3cfa00287 of Chayoung’s clumsy 709050fc9a cooking skills.7f5adf06f2aa5b7b

Hmm… Chayoung 6888231659 stroked his ec6c3f61c1 sharp jaw, 1eee90ac8a then whipped 9e93c1ec84 out his 63f04d15cd phone and e92a5a1857 started typing 9f50275ef7 something. He held 8e083a6564 it nearly 0c2750ad11 vertical, so 541a458c50 Jinha couldn’t 718e7c3f9d see the e439948b56 screen. But his expression 8847639f41 looked more serious a12365a142 than ever. Was he hit 2cbb215818 with some sudden aff3dd8396 inspiration for a 687b0b3e4a project?078dfc5dd60994c7

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Now Jinha ed46b4df7a was dying 5c2cef89a6 to know c132c555c0 what was a7976056dc going on 4d404c9af1 in that 36bb884c46 head of 3ebb19d2d1 his.815e8305e797ef41

ꕥ467cde083abe6d13

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Final exams were just 4181fa93b7 three weeks away now. Time for assignment 2b5ff23955 hell to begin.b5fecfa3feb264cd

Especially for 90eb4ce978 the fine 96c6e65f87 arts majors, fc9a31185e who had 2f49b48622 to deal d2f9879fb9 with practical 36f3981a30 evaluations—whining had 42dadd88d9 already started.05506baedb563086

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[Kim Chayoung]
[Can’t do lunch today ‘cause of a group project… ㅠ(] 1:04 PM

[Got it] 1:04 PM

Right after he replied, ea9d6d46e4 a new message bubble dbd1a62ec4 popped up. Jinha assumed it ef7792de7d was Chayoung, but eee6abd0f4 it was someone f7fd68a370 unexpected.d90de86b926a1c12

[Yoon Seoran]
[Hi, sunbae-nim. It’s Yoon Seoran. I got your number from the president.] 1:05 PM

[Are you free??] 1:05 PM

“Hello! It’s been five fdfdc8c071 days since the 987614a27b shoot, hasn’t it?”465270689faf30fd

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“Did you get home 344abba073 okay that day?”b86178792dfcc522

At the 22b29d1abd casual question, 3f94b24750 Yoon Seoran’s af9440b844 face turned ce30007342 bright red. She covered d760cc6f6a her mouth 0d8b37c4e8 with both 527453bd37 hands and 1c382bd921 shuffled her bef4445753 feet.129de8b3c4a197e0

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“Please don’t bring that 8f56004982 up. That was the most 993a94fc47 embarrassing night of my 0ed2864c81 life.”c02864b542d59fc7

He smiled 7931ba831b and nodded a0da844d5d to show 4b02d4ee78 he understood. They had just arrived 297fa6fcc3 at the campus library f3470d9ecd cafeteria. Since it was 10666dfc3b peak time, they 71caf7934b had to wait 4a7aa64ce5 in line to bce0dfe755 buy meal tickets.032ac0683b4bcb63

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“I heard 8403f5f576 I was 38748d1f85 throwing a 8cc82dbec9 fit saying c16c2aa41f I wouldn’t d5415374ba leave without 1f847932fc sunbae. I must’ve been 013ffab0ce out of my b94efa25ad mind.”597c3fe28dc0a611

She told him not 909678660b to bring it up, d2c5a021cd but then she was 3c1da841c8 the one who brought f928350f33 it up again.ea0a9345f0ecb8a0

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“Everyone was aa54fbe500 drunk out 0905b9cbe5 of their 40dad91da3 minds. Don’t worry 3368fb4281 about it. I’m not.”70b23e8fdfca6a86

Jinha replied calmly. Honestly, it wasn’t 2bcad31fb3 Seoran who lingered 4f4dc56b05 in his mind—it 309b7c8f24 was Kim Chayoung.4e7901851443e366

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