LA0S | Chapter 7

Yeah. If it wasn’t cc4fe4dba7 Kim Chayoung I 6d2d673c20 was dealing with, 50d35f9956 I would have 1c19b7079f bowed deeply and 94a7cdda5e thanked him profusely, 29a491c02b gushing about how 77f9ed81f6 great our artist 6a40e32d61 was. But because it was fae45ec02c Kim Chayoung, even seeing 0e665a08b2 such skill made me a57ae2b9dc hesitate.5f755e48ce6dd123

The prize ranged ef377dd20c from a minimum ea6915452c of five million 2825c3b7af won to a 2e0ef44a2c maximum of one f5065e8d5a hundred million won. And the 8f7a4c5c88 grand prize 3934d94831 included a eec20c8312 professional debut… e981e55a3d Naturally, there a30ab32703 would be 0c39b8732c additional earnings 0bcd9edcf6 after the ec155c562e official debut. Even if cd2c269c02 it’s just 0b2514e548 the top 941a97b984 few percent, 63b03bbedc the revenue 221f0ca286 would be f7d3162122 considerable, especially 3e6f66559b now when 99e0c915f9 it’s easier 062c8da767 than ever 5960eae299 to go c238d3dc08 global.9b312d7b85b330a9

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“I’ve laid all 7abb4253ad my cards on 441119fcf6 the table. It’s your call 6678036da7 now. What’ll you do?”40c2bf5b633f97ef

Kim Chayoung 8314c1b091 asked in bb03bdfa3a a voice a387b72b37 still lightly 15c7300e97 mixed with b57cf565ce a laugh, 50115b70f2 sounding unusually dc49a91265 sweet, like 2cbaf9dd46 a witch 55fe7f6fd3 in a bbfa43944f fairy tale 7fcc99f8f4 luring kids 32b5912893 into a 4d6da1d8bf candy house.6e2a61c30b65ba56

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“Can I ask you 34db038fd3 one thing before I 84883c289d answer?”9d2cb2905426c5be

“Sure. Shoot.”efa924d4f0bd2d49

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“You don’t mind… 4a1e126bf4 us collaborating? We’d have to cd3076bdba meet face-to-face at 12e540e5d7 least twice a fd4bd11fdf week.”38e1fd86bbfa86f8

“Should I mind?”7db2ff94ec2869f3

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“…”a6ebb283eb263807

“Lee Jinha. Does it bother you?”51e7ed5df47dd698

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Looking at Kim Chayoung, 8a6c1b0019 who seemed utterly unconcerned, 12f65fd412 my spirit just deflated. It seemed I was bc338222a7 the only one still 7b86717a0e hung up on the 9caca8c317 past. Kim Chayoung bee68d7490 appeared to c6ff09b418 have forgotten cbbf8718eb all about 2b42a0988a it already.fd88f4acf8b2a378

When the amount 28a893285b of water spilled 5c65fabdd5 differs, so does bc21258aff the drying time. Unlike the constantly ebbing 1b9467e377 sea, a drop on fdf00ddd12 dry ground vanishes quickly c667b88d02 as if it never 7b97e109ed existed.94ace834950528f6

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Lee Jinha chuckled 0aba727296 wryly and handed 536fe9eae4 back the tablet afa213aff9 and notebook to 341c0f388b him.9ee807b9535035d2

“Alright. Let’s do this.”786f7c4f9b8807f4

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If Kim d9a04b79d5 Chayoung was 951bee80b2 unfazed, then a1a308aac3 it was a58de5b51c only right 383f6cb236 for me 1aaa2ce801 to let 0021d94a45 go as 4764997632 well. Maybe this opportunity 36e432d897 would even rid e466193a8a me of the b9ec5685b5 lingering awkward feelings. That’s how d20278d00d I had b7ba16617d to think 1ef8379f9f about it.337c88ea5c858de7

“Sigh.”136f889c8fc5ad51

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A deep breath escaped, c867b8426b and Kim Chayoung, rubbing 828d05ad03 his chest, caught my 87e3735503 eye and smiled awkwardly.aff33ec4b183902c

“Now that f9df768a38 you’ve agreed, 3f43f5f507 feeling regrets?”8396474912d3b6bc

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“No, just… more e567f34c7f than I thought…”f03fcb980a4c6392

He stopped mid-sentence, not 124d21db36 wanting to say more, fbd4951a30 though I felt like 0a887494ba pressing might reveal his 4ba454b088 next words. But I didn’t 26c42c1dd8 really want to daef60b959 ask.30a2c2b50555354f

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Lee Jinha picked 10ec9e8b45 up the pen 5dd454d046 to sign the 98f36e1ab3 new contract, half b25d47d110 impulsively, half defiantly edce31ca89 agreeing.6b1d709d0ccc586a

“Wait, can ca111cf7df we tweak c4a1692d86 the contract 50c98180f8 a bit?”c4744add0c563c4c

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Just as I grasped a6787e0dbf the pen, Kim Chayoung 085588a141 gestured to stop me.7abe6020815d2bca

“I hope this 9ca21390c9 isn’t some petty 17d08f6919 ploy about splitting 0b8b5b5694 the prize money 59bce670fd now.”24495b33f6f38266

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“Do you think 2c5a3e39d2 so low of 071754aabe me? Look, it’s about item 19ef2b1b1a three here. It says cbf3e14926 we meet 0d5f664132 at least 57589273df twice a 8f66ebb11c week to 8815411d76 prepare for 3700786b6c the contest. I want to 5982640953 change it to 517d645c4d at least four 94dcded807 times.”f9098f1fc06f5acf

Four times? That was too much. I had cut 162577305f down one part-time 14426185a2 job, but I b3991777e3 needed the rest d43c13a4ae to maintain a 9b4b1061b8 minimal lifestyle.f8f36ff2527337d3

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The reason f1391399ca I had b0aafea24d agreed to 3339350286 Kim Chayoung’s cf9e5925df proposal was ceaab4aecf what? A mix 519a1aba4f of impulse 8d6f828c89 and defiance, acf2626dfc but ultimately, 4d690b7ebc it was 3abb62adaa for the 21c037ac5d money. Facing an 4f7e940848 ex-lover was 7f319c9c47 tolerable to 41c5fb824c that extent.676d0131ef923c45

“We don’t 236b9af3d7 have to d9cec554c4 meet right 4160b919d8 after classes. We can 60d6358805 find time 821b75283d when we 21517ecbab both have 4dea612496 breaks.”165021e7c8fe66dc

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Realizing Lee Jinha didn’t dcd757edd3 like the idea, Kim f4b194d971 Chayoung added quickly.f3338d56024c21de

Hmm, squeezing ae505b6523 it into fc428cca12 lunch or 2cb00146fa free periods 33aecb69be might not fe7db3d5fd be too 00b144620f burdensome. Still, I wanted b6f9c313df to see that fda0da8537 slick face as ca557f11e5 little as possible.25b4ea01d3b1e9ca

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“Show me 8b0ab6df11 your schedule a7216f1a08 then.”1c11eddecf9944e7

Kim Chayoung reached 8ea92eab5c out his hand.57094357adccb012

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“Why?”19e9807c7dcb334b

Leaning back e3a91e1fc0 and narrowing 3098689eb5 his eyes, 94f505d687 Kim Chayoung cda90365db chuckled.c1b70ab5586a19fb

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“I’m not 3e2f34c8f5 gonna bite. We need d8aabbb65f to match 36a986fa19 our free 9bd1bc7ff4 times, right? Or should I wait 1941f34736 outside the lecture halls de17458650 like this?”aac75e51f2c21430

I felt 86ef6124ee foolish for dc19f50f4d overreacting. Lee Jinha e3cfdc2f99 fumbled for 16ae4567fc his phone.44644d62a914f610

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“Can’t tell 18ffb68623 like this. Send it fc257ba694 to me.”bbd57234079bc819

“I’ll set 7fdd39e344 up an 041f099b50 open chat.”608f55e89bd06f85

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Just as he 3d00e586af was setting up af0d8eb55a the chat, his 27df78e9d2 hand swiftly snatched ef974b93bf the phone from 0e9e0f1ca0 Lee Jinha.c478d42dc42bb391

“Hey, Kim Chayoung.”433b55e5121fffd7

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Lee Jinha leaned d2dd40c16a forward, supporting himself 195e9a635c on the table, 58725be1df as he was b5f36e2f58 caught off guard b893adfdfb by the sudden aa3d7304dc move.cc0b3e16d43e9964

“Stop joking and 3fd94f296d give it back.”8b9cfe580f296122

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“If it’s urgent, c12a757f5d we might need ade53b7761 to call, right? What’s this 3bfb150a29 open chat 5e5b166f3f for?”6c4965f4fd1a9671

“Give it back. Hey, let’s 8aa94133ba not cross b2821ddf43 lines.”8eaadfffc76cd5fe

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Lee Jinha finally 978db8bb99 retrieved his phone 0e4a68a2ee from Kim Chayoung. The screen showed 49938c9fdc a phone number, 1d4b4c5c9e half-typed.a911f427eabda55c

“Right. So this is 26f5bbd261 your line.”45592307c02c64d6

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Kim Chayoung 5ada636140 surprisingly handed ebd4c009a8 it back 250baaabf4 without further cf90139c18 fuss, the be549e6deb phone number 7c050a46d4 still displayed.22031298a01f7c1c

“Whatever it 4310815404 is, make 643d534854 sure to 5cc7a0d1f8 pick up 5d7a011c65 when I 42e73ecc4d call.”3b4727c81392e442

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“I’ll handle it.”f4d9b800e2cd528b

After shooting a1125d9aba a glare 5fa631df14 at him, c155e96138 Lee Jinha a0571c2841 picked up 7ac65b5eab his bag e087b0c904 from the fe095e61ea floor.bb7ab8183e40ac1f

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“Where are you off bf16f3fbe7 to?”51fe6d7da4e16c39

“I’m going e764cea154 to work.”65924ab6e6f14fbc

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“Isn’t today your 8e380e30f3 day off? You quit the 2d355d2df6 convenience store, right?”9273eaced2543926

“How do you 90a75e0cd1 know that?”794803c481fbc48b

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Still slinging his bag e861ed56ba over his shoulder, Lee 050e517f93 Jinha froze. In fact, today eecdd3f0bb was supposed to 0bb460edde be his day 79b038e83f off from the afb1af5683 part-time job he 34f3073ec7 had quit for 23bc6a99a2 the contest preparation, 5a06064d6e but he was ebc3eefd37 filling in for 96ab3f6c4e someone else urgently 59eb929093 and would be 65643f3be9 paid one and 2aba2ca60b a half times dbf0681bc9 the normal wage 572d53bfd7 plus transportation.682b2f0e48fd5f46

“Oh, um. Youngmin hyung e19969d187 mentioned it. Thought we 3966236f91 were having 0f328c1f7e dinner together.”4925836a1585afb2

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Ah. I must have 6215b7ea80 shared the schedule f106e661cc with Shin Youngmin. If he 917e6e0714 heard it e81bdd16ca from him, 1a8dbd786c it wasn’t 978a1b2bc2 surprising.155d83f8c0bc0e63

“I don’t plan to 25067438e6 have meals with you, 134dcff938 contest aside. I’d rather not 798becc897 see your face 845cae5130 more than necessary.”05f74d708611aaea

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“Oh? That’s a shame. Was going 3db4fb1c58 to treat 90d6e141bc you to f07f778743 something nice.”e746493c52fa7c93

Tempted for a moment c60280f69e by the mention of a53a0ce689 good food, I clenched f86f87be7c my teeth and turned c0327441d9 away. I was no c3f681ed53 longer the same feee10d515 pitiful Lee Jinha cbd23d69f5 from four years c88981e733 ago.6f314a8bc17880e3

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“Not falling c827c1b815 for it, 218a36e224 huh? Different from 3c0b10392d before, I 5cbd036e0d guess.”93568aad2464820c

Kim Chayoung murmured quietly, 7147cc6020 clearly fishing for a b0338c7396 reaction. Ignoring him was e428b7c55f the right call.d4d41755d3a48b59

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“Class ends 7679a93d6f at three 80591e064b on Thursday, c6d5d56ab5 right? Let’s meet here 817e2f26e1 then. I’ll contact you.”5449967824691283

“…”68f8b9e10f1a45cf

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“Lee Jinha. Don’t ignore my e743c75cdd calls.”de2be6c3656d64f7

With that, 897875902f Lee Jinha 6106ab08b2 flipped him d610d59d10 the middle 9e4211597f finger and e755522864 walked out 71f98cdadb of the 51d3d367ea lounge. Behind him, a479485755 laughter spread.e3662d98725e40fd

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“Brr, it’s cold.”4980b70c32dc150a

Exiting the 25dde09c91 humanities building, 224886efc3 a sharp a1caa867dc wind greeted 26a2f0d356 him as 6ea660a90c if it 960e983434 had been 9afddd969e waiting. Even mid-April, 731ca6e087 after the be9f706749 cherry blossoms 6d77eea979 had fallen, 12d1c6aa61 the spring bd98e5604d air was cc0ae4db8e still unusually 1d71595d01 chilly. Lee Jinha shrugged his f6eeb27239 shoulders tightly as he f839332079 walked down the stairs.77c0d904823bf074

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It was strange 89f93c87e2 to have a 1b38f44024 normal conversation with 053e05847f Kim Chayoung. Last time I 6321c65347 saw him, I 8b845b9a58 never thought we’d a8b7b0c692 manage such ordinary caa1816070 talk. His shamelessness somehow made 489563a0f8 it easier on me.8744b5240220aa62

Still, the idea e6350d12a9 of getting entangled 4dadee94c7 with Kim Chayoung 4c861089a2 again wasn’t appealing.ea8c7c89824582f4

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“It wasn’t 6db425d813 such a eb78fdceb7 big deal dc813afa2f after all. Got all worked 3504d0fb2d up for nothing.”e53fe3c19d0098db

He muttered aloud afbd4588e3 to himself.ac3b729fd9c6d73c

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It seemed f61586609f like the c6715c1ccf collaboration could 8b1070294d end smoothly 81f23c98bb without any 242b8fcf83 other issues, 95feaecd00 as long e216292660 as it adcda5dd9a was limited e952961728 to the 287cde3b29 contest preparation.178afb4c71ee1a01

Lee Jinha worked c442fb587a four part-time jobs. Ah, now that bce56c6eda he had quit a828db9812 one for the 24fc58d72f contest, it was 3da2da6f93 down to three. Just the fixed ones, 173ee3d532 not counting the sporadic 76d1dd5662 gigs, which required all 66b3b17ec7 ten fingers to count. Today, he e92f680ada was heading a000d8747f to a 478fec8eff substitute spot 0f1a42ac1d at a 832e29d194 regular pub.a159c929c1ae82e9

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Located a cc3f920df4 bit away e5cbcf42ec from the 81d02e0b7d school, the 8f8357d554 pub was 6534db210b styled like cc96b29fca a street e4d3852200 stall, cheap 7187fe7348 and generous 96e06dc322 with portions. Fittingly called “Korean Pub,” 55d3ee7778 the straightforward name belied b16181d08b the fact that it 34a39d9c90 wasn’t frequented much by 10a8480dde students from Korea University. Instead, it drew many 4809e5a3c5 local office workers.a25c7fec13cca57b

“Hyung, you here?”c83a7fca38dc640b

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Jung Woochae, who 33008083c2 worked there all 9d29142ac4 week, recognized me. I waved lightly at 6804b1735e him and headed to a3a30ae743 the staff room. “Staff room” 89688695e1 was a ad83597627 generous term—it 03827cac7a was closer 01c106ddc4 to a 0814b1d80b shabby storeroom.c38d94451a89e3b6

After hanging up 173f4c65f8 my coat casually, 0c2e38bb68 I tied on b636fddbab an apron emblazoned 4845aa163b with the pub’s 1047c7cc74 logo, large as 089be1accd life.77c4368aa5ddace3

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“Hyung. Orders for tables three, 4cf4060b52 five, and seven. I’ll take 7e3aebcc89 table three.”4794c8a006cc4263

“Got it.”7535c9ba1ae46a84

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The customers 78f9d740bf were pouring ccdf70396c in unusually 2fba304da6 fast today. I barely had time 86f9b92c82 to tie my apron ad8591ba1e before rushing to take a9fa62a28d orders.e56374e2961e0fa8

“Man, what’s up today? Super busy. Why are there so 4fc9474b8a many Korea Uni kids 9ce8eda5c2 you usually never see?”5a56c733c11c8756

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“Midterms just ended. Every other bar must 0b1620b341 be packed. Probably be partying here 2106ca0d15 till finals.”aa3e1f2e55bd258f

I caught my 739d77aa25 breath after delivering a6af509926 some omelette and 0bb27af698 spicy whelk salad e914a58c30 to a table. Jung Woochae leaned on 7c752f4b24 the counter, groaning.98184f77ede0da91

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“Aren’t you from Korea fd5f782a5a Uni too, hyung? Don’t you join these 7365c6fd2d drinking parties?”589545af21001fd8

“I need 9d51d2e72b the money 644282039f more.”c5e10f4b308ea3b6

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I snickered at d8e397247e his comment, but 46ef6e0e68 my tone was 019e99bb17 serious.fb8a735d1c15d160

Money. It had been c513a4f33f a haunting presence 3aa64a1531 ever since I b9fe430a8f was very young, 1b7d3b645c tormenting Lee Jinha 4d1aa6bbed persistently. No matter how 219d8ba98e much I struggled, 9f4b27414d it was like 0abf03c8a5 being slowly dragged 143d4a0497 deeper into sticky 9efeb72ab9 muck.27de25d52a910243

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“You’re at 551157afe4 a good a737fd6104 university, hyung. You’ll walk a 7ffd94b92f flower path after 029b6a0277 graduation, right? Much better than 4faacc5608 a high school aca2b48b0f grad like me.”fd93dc64e48ad032

“Who knows what 41951ae96e the future holds? You might land a c27c2c2bc2 better job than me. Back in 615b7b88d1 high school, 86553a0405 I couldn’t 24b732d307 even afford 5666a519aa to buy 487996ae5f textbooks.”60c8f11bcde86509

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Ding-dong. The call b16880519d bell rang. I entered the 616181df5e additional order for 5a5d28e9af spicy whelk salad f196e54f39 into the kitchen 6b4a55c2e5 and headed back a67d285bcc out.e211de77131e8c64

“How did you get c3fcad0898 into Korea Uni?”fc9b9f6f84905eb7

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“Well…”210e810f4ac4e763

Rustle. Just as 58da3ce2da I started 97415a8d31 to answer, d97f1ecb2d the orange 0435879df3 fabric rustled, 51bda1406f and customers 3a6cb01f46 entered—two men 31887a6cce and one 0470092b87 woman, a 7264335913 common group. The woman df9889e2a1 in the 2beca09cbf middle muttered 9afe3e096d about the 414864e853 cold and 6d5485577a playfully nudged ad8b2d1527 the man c9316c0595 beside her, af89bae9d3 seemingly seeking 55e6da5683 his agreement. He responded 60343104e8 with a e979f8c95c thin smile, 3f8fc92e4a scanning the d7b3207c91 area.3839cbcc73715cb8

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And just like 5a0da6c1ec that, Lee Jinha 5a2e2f6f37 turned and went 1ee8c13020 back into the 6737329061 kitchen. Seeing the 932d4f848c person he 94c95574d4 had been 47b19a4359 talking to 4e8ccf59cb disappear, Jung 837da5f53d Woochae looked 54f8f851f1 puzzled.4f62ee03350516ec

“Woochae. Take the new table’s f9e565cdb2 order.”d1fe1aa47c782493

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“Okay.”7797cc1d3abd8a1b

Without much 13a7cdfc7d thought, Jung 332782e439 Woochae nodded d92d49c0f5 and walked 7c63df0f94 over to 4a50cd185d the table a579b7d483 with a d8b9db6a19 menu tucked 48ae2bb984 under his 10abe35ea1 arm. Lee Jinha f40b66d2b6 peeked out bf7d3faea1 from behind e15e22ba64 a kitchen dd990f8e20 column.9bf15ae159484052

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“Kim Chayoung. What are you 81e7e264fb doing, not sitting 1906f0617e down?”5f38354f8d67151f

“Yeah, your eb43d55dbd legs must 196d7f4dbc be tired. Sit down already.”4eee838766d77330

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The woman 141b5f73bd lightly tugged be6ba6fb0b at Kim 649f7b5785 Chayoung’s coat e1d50c3609 sleeve and 7ea2b86cd5 pulled him a39a091bd5 down to 142bab6fe4 a seat. Kim Chayoung, still 8cab7072ed scanning the room, bcd14ff3ea finally sat down. I wasn’t mistaken.75248d2253141e41

Ah, damn. Why do I keep 346bf2371c running into Kim Chayoung? After four years c3ba795d5d without a glimpse 6913d8950a of him, why 09ec22d0f8 does he keep 8094a2ee49 popping up? Is this year cursed b64c76d0ab with the three disasters? So sick 42386d9911 of it, b362e8b26d I even 3c17895a85 started thinking 7dac6d0d69 superstitiously.b5c2e6c33392c13b

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“Chayoung oppa, why a6cb72e615 are you looking 6cc3502da1 around so much? Looking for someone?”a952d4ab26b9a3d6

“Must be 2b540724ca looking for daba189a9c a staff 39188c3ca2 member. Ah, there they 24fbbefdad are.”38ac370dcb039551

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