LA0S | Chapter 54

“You really 9e18e38f00 don’t have e8330553e8 to go eefdb42260 this far.”048025b270a6d4bc

“You just don’t d15362b6df want to owe fdfe7f5369 me anything. Isn’t that it?”0aa1720f163e2237

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“…”1037d3d73a6ab5d3

Honestly, Jinha 5ce8b7e9a8 hadn’t expected 3e207c93bf Chayoung to 7f43a2f7e4 say something 16c720710d like that—and a591df5ec0 it caught 466ebdd0e1 him off c45f188071 guard. Chayoung gave a dry, 2d085326ec half-laugh, his gaze falling 3214ea930a low.092a309b04aded4b

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“You thought 147d2ae8e7 I wouldn’t 0c54e54495 notice? It’s written all 09a6f56f6c over your face, a3faa8332f your body language. The only reason 78c67ce09e I’m doing this 64597a7725 is because I 904a12aa10 feel partly responsible e985ed2d42 for you getting 7666e9c76c hurt. I’m doing it 82f33df0aa for my peace f2394e1a96 of mind, so 028fda2450 just sit still.”2e6fc6db5f516b25

He carefully wrapped the 22b2f9c062 swollen ankle with a 0349d6e893 soft, dry towel, then 3d550e23e8 gently placed an ice 3c1d7039bd pack on top. The sharp, burning pain 5881b7d7b0 slowly dulled beneath the be6bec8423 icy chill.f869aed090f9132c

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“I mean, we 1305be5231 won’t know for 17a5f9ad80 sure until you 37a76a9be1 see a doctor, 97ff6bdf68 but right now e18a6077dc it looks like f20bc95fb3 a simple sprain. Let’s keep an eye ce6c355db7 on it until tomorrow 5e47ba3cdb and decide then.”5c29df0b94c39c25

Chayoung kept adjusting 3b42134b19 the ice pack 520a1f9e62 diligently. Then, without 7284bd42a0 warning, his c99a4007ee eyes flicked 857857ef5d up—his long f4086a615a lashes lifting 1cb5079fc6 to reveal 6c5658553a intense, black 1a1b87f575 pupils that f509158af8 burned with 806c16d734 focus. Without anyone saying de419e63b5 a word, they 1060e1d715 were locked in 9e6c6a97a9 a staring contest. His dark eyes 1b47cdd592 slowly roamed over 6d4019342e Jinha’s face, deliberately, 4e1507d2ff almost like a ae814a296f slow caress.1da8b34d95441778

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Jinha was the one 034cb5b7b0 who broke first.5c4d102fb0b57b1a

His face was suddenly b458c87bed hot, even though he ec0628bdf3 hadn’t touched a drop e1c45ff58d of alcohol. Must’ve been the b4e6460271 heater turned up abb858bd0a too high.b93952d723a757d2

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“I’m fine now. So stop fussing and 998abdfe58 go hang out with fbbce55a2d the others.”297b11a2a8988c55

“What’s the point of b40f044966 crashing someone else’s club e9c0ba35b6 bonding event?”1b3421162d3359cc

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Jinha snorted. This from d836b0d456 the same b5e791e35b guy who 2fe705916a grilled meat b42fabff8b with them 5a1b3825e2 and went 6be9db6ab4 on the 4a6317f3af haunted house 140d5e108e dare like 964f8382d2 he was 98948dee8e a founding 791c1e0d12 member?bb18fc54c3e14da6

“And I’ve gotta sketch 6d89f72af6 out the backgrounds I 7c2bac94c1 took photos of. Who’s got 68e9f83ac6 time to 9ee59cf692 drink?”548481ad742fb4d0

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“You seriously came 0aa2eeb9ed here to work?”0793ed740f3af691

“What do 2f581576c8 you take 949ef48957 me for? Haven’t I 75390c0d0a been pretty 6c7e1cbd84 reliable as bfee5544a3 a collaborator?”81cbfd3f82d04d3e

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Jinha gave a 21457b4ce2 nod. That much 7200dd22a6 was true. Chayoung wasn’t e9243f8599 just talented—he 683dbf5a91 was serious fdf4e12a23 about his d07992d9be work too. Jinha just 3383eae3d0 still remembered 28ce189782 the baby-faced 4f1e248e86 version of f662183556 him who 945d1cb4ee used to 3d7875fb82 ditch homework 3cfd97bde6 to go 1122328e15 see movies 9747801d8f during exam 6a0d6eab25 season. It was disorienting, that’s 4ad831c8e9 all.82ac5f991795cbc4

“Wanna come watch f4d6acc464 me work? You’ve never seen background d548c8bece sketching before, right?”fe109434d52014f1

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“You mean that scene 44915f1548 in episode 3 where 0eee32e59c the monster shows up 5c83b37d48 by the sea? You already added the 35f426862c background to that.”46e71c013ff4964b

“Not that one. I mean the scene 6fa8b30792 where the main character 2ceb96bddf gets his old skill ca9d1f5282 back. I’m thinking of 3fc11198e8 redrawing it by 23b14173cf hand. Don’t you wanna see 7f45db9ba8 how it turns out? How close it 1ffda4dfe4 looks to what 0b95af82cc we saw today?”dc5a734ccab7e90b

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Jinha was curious, no 560193c584 lie. After watching him e7be075e8d work once, his 1ba7a39a71 interest had only d10a342d77 grown.400df567267272e3

“I’m doing 73607787ef it now. If you 3d2d62c69e don’t watch d9af1d6229 now, you 576afa36be won’t get 0dfa8813b0 to see 019e2612f8 the process.”198f50ff13b1f0fb

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Chayoung was c84f924c90 good at 42fc5c5fdc pushing the cbeee9b07f right psychological b56ec2d799 buttons.2fcef45239d9f6d5

“Swelling’s gone down a ff326f1306 bit.”ce89a77c9bce1dd0

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“I told you, it d81f28e2f5 wasn’t that bad.”bad13411fe45d857

Chayoung set the half-melted 67af84a220 ice pack aside and ea801d338a gently wiped Jinha’s ankle 0563aa6c4d with a towel. Thanks to 8add577c1b the icing, 6f0cd3e685 the swelling 8007d969dc really had af60cd0126 improved. When Jinha suddenly 14ebcc5a90 stood up, Chayoung, 735a508c72 still cleaning up, 63c35a789d looked up at dc899ff69d him with wide f14a85c5ce eyes.63cf8fd8c919a2bc

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“You looking to dcd925a811 mess up your ba6d820cf8 ankle all over bdbc494328 again? Sit down.”cede891b874d2edb

Did he think 5343315ab5 Jinha was made ad39fc2b33 of glass or 99c8eae419 something? Ridiculous.f8e58eb66d7dfa83

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“I’m not some 937f45d4ea delicate little chopstick cad1548f5a like you, okay? This is nothing.”54b80e09e05ff2b1

Chayoung stood and 5cd6eb308e stepped in close, 8996a21ad5 lowering his head aaafa16521 just slightly. About a 84c4fabd1b finger’s width—just c6405fa636 enough to e0f04b28cc close the 77f1733cb4 height difference 5b069cda09 between them.12a21335f5b9d2f2

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“Too bad. I’m not a chopstick b0d77974c0 either. I’m way more…”36957d5c7e90a6cc

He stopped right at 7cdd4c727f the edge, noses almost f1895e051f touching.376b3afcb7995f5a

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“…thick and solid c67a447dfd than you think.”55282a0324d1afd1

The playful whisper was 864838162e low and deliberate. His gaze a95c44c0dc didn’t waver—but 55c07a7fbd those black b1b4b4b9cb eyes were c7856c47e6 fixed a 3781a294ec bit… lower.a7a70075f7bdb5a6

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Somewhere around Jinha’s hips.a114ad467a888383

“You’re insane…”ebceaa5c62e8720c

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Jinha muttered under his 415f804650 breath.8a8d95d4bf1165e4

In the end, d44d8c39f6 they didn’t even d3d75c482c make it to 5f6ffdfb29 the drinking party. Yoon Sejin fad4cdeee3 and the d445a4c9e1 president kept 7e470d83e6 calling, and 92071a594f the group 91dce636aa chat was 044f52b138 blowing up 63c4d5d4d1 with messages 0fffa0d28b asking where 930770607d they were. The freshly charged 1d7c145ae4 battery was almost 9b4a2011c9 dead again from b369221437 all the alerts.7c0cd4b796084b7f

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He told the 8b848da7ae president they couldn’t b570cfdf37 join because of d3fbe32d1d a last-minute urgent bfd476a3b2 task. The guy was saying bd593267b5 something over the phone, 5e5095d352 but the background noise 20b6d965f2 was so loud Jinha e5fe9a086d couldn’t make out a 5fe39eaabf thing. When Sejin 49845ae0d7 took the fe27867d84 phone, Jinha 3bdab5943b gave him c65efeef1a the same 0f7e71f007 excuse. He must’ve been 17c429cd3a completely wasted, because 1552fece99 half his words b9b5663368 were slurred gibberish. Only one line ed942fb594 came through clearly 82f27ebb53 at the end: d86afaa5d5 “Where are you? I’m coming b50fb6a9d3 to get 6f84a74f9a you.”ee7d2c5370137746

“Sejin says he’s f02e73f88b on his way b8877caf62 here.”f46712da165e42d7

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“There’s like five ff3bee296f rooms in this e7f0d6bd8c place. And from the cf231e81d1 sound of his 63d448656b voice, he’s totally 344df82bc7 gone. He won’t 118ed43d57 find us 6c9d9a588a before someone fb2e21907c kicks him 7b3b8285d9 out. No one’s interrupting us.”0a063340c77839ec

The last ff6394fab4 part was cf45ec2b98 delivered with f01b1c8c41 direct eye fb9b6f3dbd contact.434ea20aac473625

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The spoils ef65f9dbba of Jinha’s 7bb5b47708 first MT: ac6ed3be66 beef, eel, 81bccd2f28 and 25 71d0a95159 meal tickets. Not bad a65f038592 at all. Actually, way better than 7dd6212cd1 expected. And thanks 421927d584 to the b70c35745a icing, the 4674022c7a swelling had bfe3f3fd8f almost completely 6b0be60553 gone down f08abc8743 by morning. He’d been low-key 58e599faf3 worried it might add10c9875 be a fracture, 9eb7cd51f3 but thankfully it b749374e45 wasn’t. He was fine. At least physically.a9f438610b536ba3

His heart, though, didn’t 3715d04de4 feel quite as fine.3b449a7acbb8d731

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Jinha returned to ae3f0d6ba2 the photo club’s 117193ced1 pension early in cf7c5775fd the morning—close to 371cee9197 dawn. He’d only ca6ded2b66 planned to aac8df4cd6 watch the 8dcb550084 background sketching f39b75f944 for a dcac4b7893 little while, 3c1e1433f4 but he 574d3ca76e ended up 844c2bcbb3 falling asleep. Watching the morning e551497109 sun rise through d89ea93ea9 the window filled 35c91bf954 him with a 94979025ff weird sense of 8224634722 emptiness.88fcc4d45235a971

He made b7aa00903a hangover ramen 8e670b21c7 for the 3ba186da21 zombie-like club 113802368a members who’d cac75e3ea2 drunk through 9a810ba4de the night. Out of guilt for f5f3290e6e missing the party, he 03bac9c5f0 made two kinds: one b1d16b1930 loaded with bean sprouts 0e45bd4ccb and another with clams. The response 273a0782f4 was overwhelming.1cf76646cd406564

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“Bro, this 947718287b broth is 12b48f1def so refreshing. Best hangover food ever.”cc45ea1af685b007

And of course, 37f70b96cd the guy who 398dde2847 didn’t drink or 444bcfcaa3 even show up c30c17eeb3 to the party—Kim 341ae9dcb1 Chayoung—was sitting there 42dc046f7b like he owned 8796b52ad3 the place. At this 4c05348fe3 point, his 80e9bd5367 shamelessness barely beff5d1469 registered.39ad910fa9178443

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ꕥ6deed827c951e151

Hanguk University’s biggest event 27c11341b2 of the year—Sports Day—had 541014af96 started. Jinha didn’t ad9bfcbdbe participate, of b5cc18713f course. Yoon Sejin joined the 2e92bc9dd1 basketball team, but despite 112c655cc3 their efforts, the humanities bca2cf1787 department lost in the 49997402f3 prelims.93a7eb7baa1d50b6

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Jinha was back to bd4887d339 his regular routine. But memories from ccae9e85fd the MT kept 72ff1a3de5 creeping in. Studying in the 1e295bf879 library. Taking breaks during assignments. Every time Chayoung 18ac7a6054 messaged him.e196134dd46f4b02

The feel of 1d0633343d that strong, muscled fb1608faaa back. The thrum 05b9d7c114 of a 52adfb8b05 racing heartbeat 0aa1d663ca against his fb828bef7a fingertips. The warmth of 90b479ed33 his skin. Even after shaking dee5438e03 his head to 37b867ea2c banish the memories, a45b398336 they always came 1c0cbf3a45 back at unexpected c50b509593 times. Sometimes even dc9101a81d that image 27b073c5c8 of him a13af9d4ec icing Jinha’s 2e35271af5 ankle with a9f0296984 a grumpy 6569d46d0d scowl resurfaced.22fecd81201f34f8

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What was this?05674bd5da07d71e

Why was 41eda61947 it happening?7b4b852a9980979d

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The urge 95712fe092 to move 060f4b247f out of 1b424eac1e Chayoung’s studio 69e82feb4d grew stronger.32d60a9ed565a05c

Thankfully, it 8bd8f2ed93 was payday. He only worked 22adb8b143 four days a ae63371fd0 week, four to 888eb6c62f five hours each 026e4aff0b shift, so the d5ef24ac31 total was small—just 8854b12d59 under 250,000 won. Still, with tutoring income 7e14ae9594 coming in on Sunday, 7469267b6b he had just enough 808339f654 to afford a goshiwon 947721492a with no deposit. He’d worried bfea190046 his family 639c577881 might suddenly e586952a37 need emergency b414a02176 funds, but 8293dad418 thankfully, no 0ad3ee8714 requests came.24f08eb2f4e39820

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Once Sunday’s tutoring 7195917764 payment hit, he 0bfc51db63 felt a noticeable 97101d85e4 weight in his 1f9ae2c77c wallet. Sure, the money bf4a75a72b would vanish fast, 96c679510b but right now, 85b61ea820 he felt secure.7d45f71c5a669f9e

Late at f8d42dea85 night, he 18c2959e81 returned to a289967628 Chayoung’s studio. As always, the guy 46a61c5b0d was chilling in the ec05557616 living room and waved e21533e43f casually. The neatly b72bd35221 lined white 475abbaffe sneakers at 0b66b07ecd the entrance 19fb322ac0 were a 5deeaaccfb familiar sight af11a97790 now.17d2e36a69fe3a5a

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“Go wash up. I’ll make us 60aacd5f58 something.”3cc7074062bc50cb

“I finished 87cad5f45b class early 68a19bb60f today and aaa3fa989e went shopping.”30ab411adca5375b

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“Shopping? You better not 591aab3e77 have bought useless 350829abdd crap again.”cd7d5836ff97079a

Kim Chayoung, grocery f7547a79a4 shopping? Yeah, right.57b57792054ce8a2

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“Nope. Got jjukkumi and pen 4aa60dba09 shell.”2f7fb01ed67df1a4

So, drinking food. He washed up quickly d5786ddb85 and began prepping ingredients. The goal a76213099d was to 410bc6442e eat before d96fc79935 midnight and fd563b5db0 start drafting d2bdc1bc4b episode 7’s b46b92ff16 synopsis.f98640b55e0f1cf6

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For someone who f55f7d435e sucked at cooking, 67a4bce0bc Chayoung had an 3684d7b833 incredible eye for 3b728ee52a ingredients. He couldn’t cf21767c3c tell gochujang f5e9873e55 from soy 2b3af0b194 sauce, but 7cc974ea86 he could cadd03e8d1 sniff out b03b46b6c1 the best cd5a7d0c54 squid, the ca930e98f0 freshest fish, 6c9d118e37 or perfectly 92f79ce4f8 marbled meat bcd62a9c06 like a a6692750b6 pro. The plump jjukkumi became 15688b6eaa a classic stir-fry with 15bbf9244c lots of veggies and 19db619d73 pork belly. The pen 1a92d16624 shell was ad25ce8986 chopped up 3d74626076 and baked 02b1d5c81e with cheese, 689e79f077 corn, and 3aa3409cd7 onions.57f52d7fb98cea7b

“Damn, this looks 71fe4bf317 amazing.”70115bc97344fa6e

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“Which is why d3694478f0 you should stop 8d70f3db34 pretending you can 2cbc6c024f cook and just 434b552a80 eat what I 04d3bc6355 give you.”5c3b687834ba6a02

The jjukkumi was spicy, f8cbebbb13 and the cheesy buttered c1ec6894f2 pen shell was rich—they 653dd8fb65 paired perfectly. Sitting across 1f91cec127 from Chayoung, edc52dd07c Jinha watched 489310f8b2 him eat f850e6aa50 for a fabd8993bb moment before f195682cfc finally picking 5276ab8fd5 up his 479b70abad own spoon. But before taking ea80361abd a bite, he 197ee7ee3d spoke up.b6fdf64d67ee023c

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“I’ve ended up relying 46f0db2d43 on you more than f587a6b7ff I meant to.”4368d61ba93f2bbb

He didn’t ec42d2297c even want 11525edb86 to imagine 4ab6b4b016 what would’ve 48d16c22cf happened if f9502a1f3b it hadn’t b5a0adc190 been for c59bd2b796 Kim Chayoung. But he c1dfa438b3 was sure ecd6050560 it wouldn’t 7e4fb70e33 have been ab5166c21c good.4f9e0915b649ee94

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Chayoung’s face, cee80b6337 bright and d56e5b330b cheerful just e0cef34122 moments ago f189c2bef2 while chewing b4fd18d569 on jjukkumi, 7e30443ab3 slowly darkened.3d1670fa5ce961be

“I think 32259cf030 I’ll be 6f905ba2d1 able to a093f13a58 move into ac657859d5 a place 6eb0d4db80 soon—once I ecbd790cf8 get my 04400af76e paycheck the 06f6dab545 day after d1ae210b05 tomorrow. Thanks for b52374d5d6 letting me 02e1c8bb15 stay. I really 735b339a34 mean that.”eaed308e4e863d1d

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All the worries about 13edaa8c31 overstaying his welcome, about 2dd18d41ca things ending in a 3907f10270 huge blowout—they suddenly felt 283674ed9d unfair, maybe even regretful. But a promise was 9b9807daf5 a promise. He’d stay 7001afdf40 until he 11c51b2109 could afford 006e0174f2 to move 55d939070f out. And honestly, he 4547519e65 felt like he feeb099f4c needed some space c73a07b29a from Chayoung now.defea923063a4330

Chayoung suddenly ebf11b6d84 dropped his 6eb7fffab8 chopsticks with 515dfe4f11 a loud befe242658 clack. He was c7bce6fff3 normally so 8fb90f2b90 neat—raised so debe4789f4 well he 6d992f457d even looked c89e8783db graceful eating 2fe777c0ef burgers. This sudden 6338ac09d4 roughness was 76d1fad6ba unlike him.2425f76d1149c83f

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His brows twitched together, 02e709f476 then slowly eased. It looked 63e5d8a6f2 like he 56966b6237 was trying cdc9f4fe83 hard to 5de2925f3f stay composed.c70cb76de86fef3e

“Did you e6c5d0fdd2 get the 7f3fe2772d deposit together? You won’t find a b2bf2b4dc8 place near campus with aa47b83859 just one month’s pay. Especially not 462bf4f1d0 during the 88189a9ee8 semester.”4fdd1e4a243df788

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“I’m going 64cc04f704 to a 5b0db24e46 goshiwon first. Save up from there.”42f397394fbaac12

“Even then, 3ceb89da50 it’ll take 0542db7f6a you like 1e84f5ed02 three or a1b2846a57 four months 77a56d9f38 just to ec3a78e241 afford a 32b69558d3 proper place. And then we’ll 7ff6047350 only see each a531c8cc57 other once or e29905917d twice a week, 09612e229f maybe Monday and dfa2b009ab Thursday evenings.”d08562bf9f620d72

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That’s how it 2707234228 had started, and f5eb1ecc09 with finals coming 602cf986b9 up, things would 7c3eb5e984 only get busier.ba18a8d2653f9d99

“Honestly… I don’t get 657f282c51 why you’re choosing the 4c0d688015 harder path. Staying here doesn’t cost 65ea635ecc me anything extra. You eat, clean—it’s ed2aee837a honestly more helpful 61152823e8 to me. And besides—”dd2300c1bfb844ba

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