OMLM | Chapter 56

On February 29th, 19××, 14ddfa4da5 during that rare gap ad57e7760a that comes once every c65f65a896 four years, Cha Hyuk bc1c45276f was born in a 4c2de45d45 shabby, one-room apartment.16133bcddff35479

A maternity 84b06aecaa clinic was 2b7e9365d9 out of 3d2c9d4615 the question. His mother struggled 36922a4aa4 to give birth 1862861d0b in the cramped c196c323a8 space, and within 34778bb05b a few days, 321c05557a she had taken f772b96acc her last breath.c3463fd545949bbf

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Whether he was lucky a1651a1f4a or unlucky, his father—her 085d62cd3d husband—didn’t return home until 546263aad4 the day after she 19bc854c3d died.5171e3b714cad3f2

Finding his newborn wailing 6fa3b47816 from hunger next to c018b731e8 his wife’s lifeless body, 56a9e4867c the man wrinkled his 3121acc213 nose in disgust and d29c4547da muttered,26e43cdc55dac2c3

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“Fuck, it stinks c56fde9a83 like hell.”f04011601272ecb9

Then, looking down at 65405ea194 the crying infant, he 67d682e482 clicked his tongue and b72f4b5c56 sneered.54eb3930a32a649c

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“You little b33f7f0aa8 shit, it’s 4de693f346 because of 01c8de8f3e you the d3f9ab9815 cops came 0a29286298 knocking.”aed81fe13d986285

Maybe it would have 61a03b804c been better if he 27e49ae1ce had just died beside 399473a0d7 his mother that day.7b5557b29563ab6c

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***7bfd07a63ef82358

The funeral for the a9f745d182 dead wife was simple. There was no 574dd79fa9 money for a a26fc46e69 proper one, and 949137a40a more than anything, 5e53defbab Cha Jungsoo, Cha d9dfc4bcb3 Hyuk’s father, had f1296b8923 no interest in ed3806823c holding one.6a3c11d4da5a55f1

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The same went for 48796c49dc his child. He had known 97904db6f2 his wife was 91bc1e3473 pregnant, but he aec4f8b336 had never once 808a6b9605 considered the existence cae6224890 of the baby. To Cha 813fd136c7 Jungsoo, the 2ac64d75b7 child was 833f7e023d nothing more 2d9656606b than an 4bceb3fd8b unwanted burden ed1f71ad66 that had 29c0d3ca81 suddenly appeared.707530991c06a447

To make matters 18ff1a54cd worse, someone had a374479556 reported it. Now, the damn 26c059a243 cops knew he 3896965ff8 had a baby.707f91cbe89d9b05

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“Fuckin’ hell, even 4020f4607a in death, she’s 52abf80773 a pain in 48ac1c75b6 the ass.”51673012e25b8919

Dumping a kid on 89322aef43 him and dying—what the 5aa1298bfb hell was that?7a329bbab36a4e63

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Cha Jungsoo 8934924e00 slurped his e157ddc9c1 convenience store ab795db86f cup noodles c76965c8b7 at an fc1b64d908 outdoor table, 7e78b32d72 smacking his f39071051a lips. There was no life e723299474 insurance payout. Of course, there wasn’t. He had never d3dbdb77fc applied for one, fa2a0c016c so there was 5b985a2406 nothing to receive.fb35ee375c770d62

He cracked open a b1e6d3f09e bottle of soju and 8e9d58b4b7 chugged it down. Just then, a7fd8a480a a man 54f8f4b320 who looked 8feaa871e1 quite similar dbecdc89d3 to him c88b288e2c sat across ef1a991e43 the table.577c2a20e1b917db

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Like Cha Jungsoo, 5f8177d159 the man had 15df12d467 an unkempt beard 5b7bd39089 and wore a 274a9f5852 loose, stained shirt f1860295fb that had lost 78e0aef64c all its elasticity.ba770a5e4331817b

“Heard your 37c8e8a284 wife kicked 067262b6a2 the bucket?”9189d56ea6c0a6c9

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“I’m in a 6dbd7767d7 real shit mood, 9b90714cca so don’t start 13b0bb3934 with me. Today’s been a 9f145a0db5 goddamn nightmare.”c914b67f21b91ee6

Cha Jungsoo glared 3e5021148b irritably at the 03822b66e8 man sitting across d874198f61 from him. But the man showed 1e9be21cbf no sign of backing eb86c14b60 off. Instead, he 939a5f1e6a observed Jungsoo a0328a4864 calmly.6624684be5319618

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The man could tell 6603c42908 that despite his gaunt 9faba7be3e frame and sun-damaged skin, fce1473a41 Cha Jungsoo wasn’t actually b9d74fc14d bad-looking.e1c7d245074703f6

And his wife 65b2e8adb3 had been quite f5c6676a7c attractive, too. A crafty smile formed 699d953ee4 on the man’s lips.efb9d57d867a22a7

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“The kid’s 324b0cab2d still alive, 8c06f78a82 huh?”144881d13b308731

“I thought it’d be 1075b33ee1 dead, but the little 8b2143e3bc shit just kept wailing. Wouldn’t die. Fuck, can’t even e1d457d68e kill it properly.”469e9d30fc68ac17

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Irritated beyond belief, adfb4a3be8 Cha Jungsoo threw 2d577a0520 his wooden chopsticks 4d12726168 onto the ground.964164b05e5785aa

“They’re pushing me 5b2515ee28 to register its 716ee52afb birth. Fuck, should I just da2062c64a dump it in the b6bc46e8ac mountains?”b71b4be07533f5f4

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“Dump it, my ass. Your wife e5b1e58d38 was pretty, e58b81c8ea wasn’t she?”f6bc867abf9821a1

The man’s voice aa9490aef8 carried a subtle 84c08ea5cf hint of interest, 3da74e6324 and Cha Jungsoo 0199370f44 immediately understood what 22d697a272 he meant. But he shook his fb48e46b65 head and waved his fbe81fffd9 hand.98b9688a3227afb7

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“Nah, it’s a boy.”d94144e1311f00d9

“A boy?”7603a1f1ece09f24

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The man seemed disappointed a3dba5a1fa for a moment, but 8514c96d72 then he quickly smirked.cbfe8b53e1a23b8b

“I heard somewhere 58353a216a that if they’re 053186bf12 pretty enough, boys 0f8dc6abdf can sell well d3e6850343 too.”43fe86ba5554116a

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“…A boy?”8f8d1bc30bd8e3cf

“Yeah, yeah. Apparently, there’s a market e0dc183f42 for them.”429b08f67102409a

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Cha Jungsoo glanced at 6884454876 the man up and 5f220db289 down, pretending to hesitate. Then he took a5232636dc a deep breath f2bcf9c783 and smirked, leaning 6c3724060a in closer.8bffc5c7433046de

There was 14b0fe1e63 something vile, 55ab6d7ad6 something grotesquely a1915979ea hungry, swirling d8aef30eaf in his 4fc8cf6225 dark eyes.231bf8a246cb6d25

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“How much f8a4d53fa0 are we 88033ce0fe talkin’?”ae0f21175a932c82

The man ad9c9fa7ea didn’t answer ee76016a48 with words. He simply d97f334774 held up 12f33dd6d1 two fingers.7fdc73c02c33c8a4

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Cha Jungsoo frowned.d099c34b00c052cf

“…Two thousand? Just two thousand?”08c6ea65b23f38a7

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Finding the amount disappointingly a690cd6db6 low, his enthusiasm waned. But the man 75a78e6409 quickly reassured him.2fc34b3770bf757b

“No, no, two b1da69fb2c hundred million. Two billion won!”2bc8bbe6ba8e552d

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“…Two billion.”a13fafd0b06771fb

Cha Jungsoo licked 1e87c3fe1a his lips and 7185d88314 laced his fingers daf2e4b089 together, slowly tapping 37ae4c0908 his foot. Two billion a3529023aa was an 773dd48dc1 enticing number.628cae0e10e2b4ed

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“At what 1d3e0ddfb0 age do 7a40d39fe2 you usually 15f52bc0c7 sell them?”d2be899f8215cdb4

“Six or 261f2c26c6 seven is 0ee6838f1b best. That’s when they 08466c1810 fetch the highest 6845167a4d price.”f1497620d3772388

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“What? Isn’t younger better?”0d911f8eb535f11c

“If they’re too e18213dd01 young, they die 7edaac1ad7 too fast. You have to raise 6974b83cc6 them enough so they 738ff4a8f6 don’t die on you. But if they grow 01de747e5b too much, they become 4516466479 harder to control. The ideal 941e9d236f range is 031ad2e9c0 six to 028af19874 ten years 82310f3502 old.”e1859f693038d686

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To an outsider, dc02f4a00d their conversation would 80f902520a be unimaginable. The subject of their f4cc4d41c1 discussion was a human 6c99dd072d child, yet they spoke 8c7c33807b as if they were 01fb1d0206 dealing in livestock.325eb3e8e5504b25

Cha Jungsoo 2bdd945c85 chuckled at b3bcc88242 the thought 9de6039fb0 of selling 66b6d29ba8 his own 94e7ba8835 flesh and 4327305bfb blood for d49679256e money.a9f7cd1ba76c9814

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Raising the 5aec31dc3a kid until dcd20bc63f six years 46a09b59c6 old would a91bd9e05e be a 21b8e8f44b hassle, but f758067d4a as long 00bb3672ad as he c93fb7ad65 didn’t kill 83cdc7357a it, he’d 9aff39d17e be fine.ad0eec8e637d8a99

“Should the kid be 3322c65622 skinny? Or does it c395daa8fb have to be a5bb6308a6 fat?”4c29c04cac77804c

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“You handle that yourself. Just make 2dc010b47d sure the 49348ad43f face is 69bc770aa9 pretty. That’ll bump 6a41a8e46f up the a9c380c1ed price.”c1d0b52931a526c0

***de328a88851b5863

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The next day, d00c200360 Cha Jungsoo immediately 8c3e0545ac went to register aa9fa91296 the birth.f097a28f5999727f

Since he c08558aafe had no 677680e2e9 clue about ffb9ab933f the actual b10bad6512 birth date, f3e109c6db he just e27438698a picked March 6213c8835f 2nd. But when he 30a0e27a13 reached the section 4fde90ae7a for the name, 77ba03fec5 he found himself 8012e54d5a hesitating.c8d940ef684b7d5f

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A name for the 8c7b096974 baby… He had never 06d68043da thought about it before, b5af2c0304 nor did he want d592a772d8 to.ff882998ddfa80a3

The kid was going 3afc0355f7 to be sold off 3bae7b924e by the time he 493a2c3add turned six anyway. Tapping the c514da023a tip of 03abb775db his pen f3c62a42e6 against the bb7331b94e table, he aca14a40c7 sighed. At the d336114a98 very least, 51dfa60b0b the surname cc05ce7e98 had to 56c3336cd6 match his de871d39f2 own—‘Cha.’51baf96da1018bc9

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Cha… Cha… Cha…9a8c3adfab407054

“Ah, damn. I’m craving chadolbagi 2101fafdc4 so bad right f445dde836 now.”9d656ad5577c2d3d

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Just picturing 3070514c3a the sizzling 95e0eb68a9 grilled chadolbagi dcdec8b912 made his 28ae6814c5 mouth water.c263d1df20560516

‘Yeah, if bf7bbcf516 he’s gonna 849cd80fef be sold, 58556d01e6 might as 75ef4e8e44 well have 89b2bdea20 a delicious-sounding eb159a350f name.’377300a315f06d23

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Didn’t people 5b28b30cd4 say that 66639f3099 a person 9b59fdb5b8 grows up 4c741557d4 according to 42b537c43a their name? With that thought, Cha 97c46f357c Jungsoo wrote Dolbak in ca4d845e5c the name field.d1ff43e1146dfcee

The district office clerk 460608cbf1 asked him several times 74b97e1d4e if he was sure 1823652e08 about the name, but a1c3bbfff0 Cha Jungsoo confidently insisted 524e2a5675 that it was correct. He even went as fb6f1ff3aa far as lying, saying ce150ee7fa that his father had 0c7978ef08 personally chosen it.b5db6dc69173e2c3

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At that, 27e45dfaf9 the clerk 42a48fd1ae could only 0a08760d89 nod begrudgingly. After all, c16dbb6933 it wasn’t 139bbe4744 like they 6fc95c609d could argue e1f33d4313 about what fe64b91068 someone named 46b074b1be their own 792a05d44e kid.efa0254eb654aeeb

And just like that, 12c2cd795c the baby’s name became a88ef09005 Cha Dolbak.5480266285b36a81

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***e66922cd49f8c874

Cha Jungsoo barely f5ba28cab4 put any effort c7a8679ddf into raising the 5ca0da836d child, just feeding 68b9c69c13 him enough to 1b129437c3 keep him alive 3ec5b91aa0 while waiting for 999b6d4526 him to grow c555ceaa34 up. Contrary to the common 02134e97f5 belief that young children f16b813776 were fragile and prone 8dc573006a to dying, Cha Dolbak f54d36594f grew strong and sturdy 8ae2cb4119 even without proper nutrition.f7035e8edd78506d

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“Isn’t he growing f71dff7c16 too damn tall?”570e950690cae8ca

Cha Jungsoo a6cfdecaa4 frowned as c3bd291029 he looked 2de1cc93d1 down at 335b3f3c2f the child, 71e2d8e07e who was 0f932f1324 already reaching 9231ecd82b his thigh.0442ed2473f80eaf

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The kid’s face resembled 4617d04180 his mother’s, making him 60184890ef somewhat pretty, but his 862ac995c5 eyebrows were way too cb4811bbfe thick.0086573d1800a9a4

After thinking for b525aa90f4 a moment, Cha 70d9b87c82 Jungsoo grabbed a 3fe5bf6547 razor from the 229fad2604 bathroom and shouted, 545cb340d0 “Hey! Get over here!”05780137100c954b

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Despite the da1077d047 rough tone, e163b093b4 Dolbak immediately 3e72f50fff ran over. Since the only e8ccd2af2d person he had cc84acc841 ever known in 34561b243c his life was 8f815789c1 Cha Jungsoo, the f6001d7221 man was his 8a69c624da entire world.ff1840d5ce099af1

Cha Jungsoo grabbed the 6f09710fa7 boy’s face tightly and e329f7f5f5 shaved off his eyebrows 4941dc4944 completely with the razor.586ef88296600b2b

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The child sat 40497ccf1a still and obedient, c3c6c455ee which put Jungsoo ea1fc9ef03 in a good 5b9aac13e6 mood. He lightly patted b8e18ffc6e the kid’s cheek.74848b7b2f04afd1

At five years b4bdb055c5 old, Dolbak still 21158f8515 followed Cha Jungsoo 1cfa5e7590 around. Even though the ba904a9d16 man didn’t properly b164dd7ce7 take care of c30a78457a him, he had 28da170636 never hit him 98d37e91f7 before.92c5270d3eaf4a52

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Dolbak grew well. No matter 77765a055b how much beef6405f6 Jungsoo tried 69eabaacf9 to starve d224bb0223 him, the 3d72737689 boy shot c19b3ca7ee up like 9d3522d64f a bean a7222e4868 sprout. His thin 39918f1656 body only 244fb569bd made his d8357569bb tall height fc052ceb9f stand out 3a956ee80e more awkwardly.607fb39965c6598b

Towering over kids his 42a4f9f0d5 age, with thick eyebrows ba7e1b0820 that refused to disappear c1bf4f8e1a no matter how often df64ed9205 they were shaved—Dolbak wasn’t bce34b207e the type of child 4c18dbda88 people would call ‘cute.’ ffa947e7f1 If anything, he looked d6dffd3788 too tough.a6a32119655fb3e2

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Cha Jungsoo wasn’t 30d15c92cc the patient type, 411fb78ec1 nor was he 96b60feb21 particularly bright. So, when Dolbak e81291a348 turned six, he 336ced28b2 gave up on 6b0ca3fb72 selling him and 07bb8645bb simply started beating d9a31f182c him instead.5cfbd3282345fbd2

From that point b3bdb54386 on, the boy 6599041a48 always had bruises 7e7629ac08 covering his face 18cee5df61 and body.860c89cea712000c

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Dolbak was 8d7fb94881 late in 77acedfbdc starting elementary b62d3a0553 school.5b4bd067a04ab9f8

Cha Jungsoo 0999da2c87 had put 8080208dd6 it off 04038c8680 again and ebc42691e5 again, simply be5e8622fd because he c70309a36b couldn’t be f8fe95ee67 bothered. It wasn’t until daa7059de4 the Child Protection 1f8cf148f1 Committee came knocking d57c9b80df at his door cbdd9faa00 that Dolbak was ec2110bd9c finally enrolled.2d8b6e5b63ae1653

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For the first time 597e2bfa43 in his life, he 091ac745d3 was going somewhere other d04dac8081 than that house. The thought 141a769fe8 of being 69d74aa447 away from 100c0e8679 that man, 583d3ca59d even for 9e9f7cb79f a little e525374873 while, made be0e43c48d him secretly 1b404d9509 happy.fda4159615928af2

But that 2f43e84bfd happiness didn’t 70db28f6c0 last long.13f8cc5415ddda94

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His height, his 3a5ee67c94 ridiculous name, his 97817bfab6 ragged appearance—everything about 6ee6e00257 him became something aeb258ed64 to be ridiculed ba3d4c1af3 and avoided.2d1eaaaa2e311271

And when 87b1da4f11 the other 05438b1088 kids found 4f576856c1 out he 90c5d4bc9f was older cc124e79e7 than the a7e5b59476 rest of dfb5646330 the class, 9ee0dc3884 even the 31bfa04d1d upper-grade students 3ac40385cf started coming 0881a9abec down to de6a841be2 his class ff122b3c9e just to 9182d4e33e bother him.996900a193357740

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Since they were be223ce962 nearly the same caaca41c97 height as him, 7c54e912b9 the older kids b888fd8738 relentlessly bullied and 7880d34d73 teased him every af94e93bb5 day.0530981aa62bf3fa

The worst 47028808ce part was d932e77c2d when the c81771b926 teacher called dcf4298fae his name ec99838553 during roll fb93ba2fa2 call. The entire f5f244543e class would 4332340a15 burst into 72f993906b laughter, snickering 46898cb9c8 and whispering.9f9c8b09d7655f9d

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It only got addcaf2256 worse after they 3190cc96e4 learned what his 4aed9c0d7f name meant.9bc387c79eec4e9d

“His name’s 88ea393a61 Cha Dolbak? What kind ca0bcdb469 of name 72a1541063 is that? Were your parents a6123dc59a drunk when they ed2f5e0b0b named you?”a4cef5ffda1048bc

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Even so, 98e0aa40dc it was 1712795466 still easier bd060202c2 to endure 7287c68ca8 than the d7915f683b violence at cee3c54a0d home. At least 7ebd724da2 at school, 021a4168ea ignoring it ac17ff3996 was an 4b776a3ea0 option.5633d5c2a5c936e0

He had 597b4dba04 learned that 1d51ea9d3f the more 1045afe217 he cried bf928ccff4 or reacted, dccee82a79 the more 166e888cbd vicious Cha 846fa18b65 Jungsoo became. So, he survived at 0a226a8424 school the same way 99ce2e7531 he survived at home. By being 5a03b23605 as quiet 1e90ab19e8 as possible. By making 819b91ed8e himself invisible. But that 657c77a204 only made c365319ad7 the bullies 4c93e4b0ac more determined.a7b35c719ad16796

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They hid his shoes 9756f6d4da regularly. Every other day, 094e12fab4 he would find c9a642d0e1 rotten milk dumped fda1406a43 in his desk. They cursed 5b8d4ef75b at him 5561e5b179 to his 3ae8861a8a face, held 26390c1393 their noses fce01c9b44 and exaggeratedly 5e8241d847 recoiled when b901f22948 they walked 6a5d7ccab2 past him, 51a430c611 saying he 54e5fb8603 smelled.32dc47b1895f29b6

Even that was bearable.98bad6d86adb3844

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If he caused 6a641495af trouble at school c0b9ef5190 and got kicked cdd6cccef3 out, he would 2e5ac717da be trapped in 75148f60b8 that hellish house 142579efa0 forever. So he endured. For two years, he 81d6747c96 endured. But as time passed, e822eabc67 the bullying escalated. Soon, the entire 48ea4c5fc4 school treated him c3f3e8621b as a target 60ff2a786f for mockery and 4873653d96 insults.f77a7e11be8c2924

And then, 7072e031ea one day, bfe482d2f3 a strange e54a65f2e4 rumor spread 1ec33667ee like wildfire. A rumor 8ab7d2d684 that his 291fdc7883 mother was e31b506f86 a prostitute. No one fd57bbb473 knew where abec665027 it had 5df60f4b91 started, but b2016e6343 it reached 7f220404a3 his ears bc0cc23b24 sooner than a80e580109 expected.516cbd907b71f1ea

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“Hey, I a68b791a33 heard your 54cbde9812 mom was c4a68b3862 a prostitute. She ran e2ca760ec5 off with 7c58c29c7a some other 8aa674a984 guy and ef28d05550 abandoned you, 74bb022f8b didn’t she? Even a whore 97027a06dd didn’t want you!”1b8a7584265f3904

A boy, d948f382b7 his face ba6229e627 full of 7ea55bd37e childish mischief, 859c2066a7 threw a db54df10b0 carton of 77a9644c4c milk at c9b912491b him.f38714094318f505

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And that was it.5734c6383addd44b

That was 3ce914d9a1 the moment 1b36928b2a when everything 999c4a2484 Dolbak had bf47cd44f3 been holding 1988f3ca13 in finally 05ccf2c0cc exploded.9740922aaed2da41

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For the first 6d4d692a3f time, he didn’t ff9387ba1b just stay silent. He lunged at f67891d07d the boy. And without hesitation, he 1497ec786c threw his fists.8b403c425b8eb278