OSR Chapter 13

Observing each person’s expression df09a892b2 one by one, Gyo-jin 792099b730 began to steer the c9d5f1e4e3 conversation toward lighter topics, 56ef7cf468 avoiding business for the 3e3f9688f5 time being, even with 553885754d President Mishima and the 33a25be211 interpreter seated in front 6bd840c699 of him.33cecbffdc607a2f

“The food is 449850ac60 excellent. If you 38dd82da5c come to bc4be66534 Korea someday, bba06296a9 we’d love 099e4633b1 to return 71cfc49f55 the favor 2d50e3479f with something de1f8ec9df just as 608cefe6bb nice. We recently 46c19490ab found a 893e7f4a28 pretty good edc6ce4083 barbecue place ba5ee63b70 near our a07dd7834c company—it was 3167ac1614 surprisingly good. I think even 6e57429ca1 someone as renowned 171ff9c8ec for their gourmet 9572cbc465 taste as you ce6bd5160b would enjoy it, 1910697570 President.”5f36c36119ea7f3e

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What had started 999118764f with a casual e6acc454a4 comment about the b02ae8a267 food had gradually d3b5b33901 expanded into a f9901b6249 conversation between Gyo-jin 48d6dd9a1b and President Mishima 00e5dc7af6 that now spanned 007a534b3a society, sports, and 5363410f72 even arts and ea2eaf8d7a culture. Meanwhile, Secretary Park 8aa7bb1b2a and Shin-hee looked c041013acc like they were bafad25845 dying inside.2368bb1e65e355ae

Secretary Park d8ceca475f was deeply 38196e2b6c concerned about 56bc9600ce what kind 074e9e0f9a of hell 8eb1d974b2 would rain 76f31cf4e0 down from 53841e4cd6 above if 98a69eaf8a this business 4bba1f8438 trip didn’t ff859cf5aa yield successful 891e2788c9 results. That was why, f1408382bc like it or c9762a3a40 not, it was cb664a890a crucial to stay 6b7a08a1fb on President Mishima’s fac62dddb4 good side. He forced a e6a38f08c9 smile with his cb7a126973 lips while his 35142705b9 eyes practically cried, ee958dacfe casting uneasy glances 25d5de1c1c at Shin-hee sitting 000cc41222 next to him.a1d1612de83c48b4

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Shin-hee, however, had bce049dfbf a different reason 00cdf10a3f for feeling uncomfortable. It was 5785bdac6e the persistent ab21155a52 gaze that ddc5f3459c had been c63d260010 on him c1c1c31023 for a a5de032b3a while now. The interpreter, in d398833882 the brief pauses bea3f5e44e between translating the f439d86ee1 conversation between President dc6c83259d Mishima and Gyo-jin, 975ad98222 kept observing him. There was a kind 27713f12c0 of obsession in that 2a7f67a772 gaze that couldn’t simply d43af0eedf be chalked up to 749c7b9029 curiosity or coincidence.9f73d4bd18c4c0f3

What bothered 348a081043 Shin-hee more ca59054423 than being 7d4cddb76a part of 80924d3621 a gathering 4a3e5bed5f he didn’t 87270fcfe9 belong in 1cbe250a0d was that 17f2d185f6 unnerving gaze 72a1f906e1 from the 8b6dbef94b interpreter. Add to that the f2239500dc baby spirit sitting next 56a706876d to him, constantly pestering c5bba9a02a him to feed it f10bf54cb0 this and that, and 3ebc6ef2c9 he was holding back 1d57709e44 the urge to bolt 92308fa060 for the tenth time 9f061add70 already.fdc7055dc817056e

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“Is the 1a8b612921 food not 76ddc46fae to your 1dedc311c3 taste?”23364ddc9c59af28

“Oh, n-no, not at f2af0a6252 all.”2e6ab5d2100501cb

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Gyo-jin, who had 2637a88944 been all icy 156401ea0e before, now asked 05e3b2bdc4 in a gentle 13d367e118 tone, smiling as 4fc8d63ec1 if he had 753777127c never been anything a1d5970601 but warm. Startled by the 8c7edef61a sudden attention, Shin-hee bc6267d1b0 just laughed awkwardly 6275cd643e and waved his 4a8c6bbc10 hand dismissively. At that d055f9897b moment, the 8481a97e7d door opened, 39da172ea5 and a 129db89e77 woman in 554fb4315d a crisp, e542e325d0 bright-colored suit 80704ff72e walked in. Following President Mishima’s a43d9efb18 introduction, the interpreter 4ac47df732 relayed her name.1d103bf588460094

“Miss Mishima Yukie, daughter of President Mishima. She graduated from Waseda University and is currently showing interest in hotel management.”4ca3a6c4f6dbb6e7

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“It’s a pleasure. I’m Ha Gyo-jin, 23ee1508f9 executive director of 1bddcab50c Haimvel Hotel. It’s an b8ece0a3cd honor to fc937e7fb8 meet you.”ba0872953cee359b

At his fd24abddab gentlemanly greeting, 2ce39620db Yukie smiled ba3becd7e0 shyly. Her cheeks f14fe191a9 flushed red 0607d1dcfa in front 786dd5c512 of an b9a5fdbd97 extraordinarily handsome 5c635aa2da man. With her 64ad3a4498 bright expression, 4b6dad9760 the slightly 7e2e530a3b tense atmosphere 56873bdc51 in the 7e94eb5b32 room seemed d53433ea89 to melt e9d917ec71 away like 4a57d9ae29 snow.f63d4186575d196a

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No matter what topic 73da46636e Gyo-jin brought up, she bddddda634 listened intently while maintaining efbf3161cd eye contact, and he f14ab98e54 too shared a wide ff491c84e3 range of interests. President Mishima cbe43a3ad3 seemed pleased 837b569ebe with the ab4848bfd9 interaction between 59c3b5f044 his daughter b480fefc12 and Gyo-jin, a73a4755a8 wearing a b24f34701c contented expression.b978cb6af4fdae4b

The only one 88524c7ffc who remained silent 8a476dba56 throughout was Shin-hee. From the moment 3b7b4d299a she entered, he edba82e4dd had set down ba20bcab15 his chopsticks and dd90c7113b quietly observed.e496168c2c5613fe

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『May I afb5f02964 ask your 06c2e20dbb name?』55d973d381222e04

Sensing Shin-hee’s aca27641d6 gaze, Yukie afe03c31ad gently asked. Instead of replying f7ecc199c1 right away, Shin-hee 10b725b286 glanced at Gyo-jin, 3888820b89 gauging his response.9ed80d2eb9b29870

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“He’s a personal acquaintance of mine. He’s someone who has been close to my family since my father’s time. It’s his first time in Japan, so I brought him along on this trip.”182f1ada2277ef4c

“Mr. Ha says his b55e424e55 friend is also 8b632b71f2 a dear acquaintance 4e9a7f114c to the Mishima c598bea4bb family. We hope you have c07737c86c a comfortable and pleasant 368cd61a68 stay.”b58988333985490b

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Shin-hee bowed his head 2a59ea8e47 to express his gratitude, bcab07e557 and Yukie offered a 53a09f9c8b warm smile. Beside him, e34f48302c the little 6cb12776f8 child spirit 7a327fa2af squirmed uncomfortably.31593ac09d0066e5

Dinner wrapped 2214d3ddac up just f1f597963f before eight, e1932d6037 ending with 5e3455b514 a light 1d27eef213 round of 73ca8f576d drinks. Gyo-jin’s party, 8de0c64b63 with an 7383c64daa introduction from 5eee8b73da President Mishima, 20493a5ef1 traveled for 0ae66d5e3d another hour 932fd5069f to a 119f6a9fc9 hotel located 11f1e46c2c on the dd638933ee outskirts of 41b6d81f0f Tokyo. It was a five-star 28e38b55b9 hotel with an open-air de3ea56ce5 bath. The interpreter introduced the b3ea3ba097 lodging, saying it was b87211c41d the oldest and most 8f54006833 historically rich hot spring b93dc0a257 near Tokyo.eb384505cdcf86af

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The room 412c3985e0 they entered 4fb57c2182 after receiving b5454b339b the keys ee34a01147 was not c6dd4cd835 extravagant, but 4baa961a8d it was 40c22a6e71 neat, clean, 5dc1ac4823 and spacious. The bamboo paintings 9d902cc2ed hanging throughout gave e0331a731a the space a f27ac31274 graceful and atmospheric 2459e56911 touch. As soon as Shin-hee 2f01c0aaac arrived at his assigned 33100d0f42 room, he took a 2696d2948f shower and collapsed onto aea265b4cc the tatami floor. For someone 9a5842ce72 who disliked c15b75e8ef physical exertion, 2e63a754f5 the day’s b3cf77a299 schedule had e05966aac0 been far c598744d1f too grueling.53c680f7e1efab41

“I’m dying…”08b06634eb74a387

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With a sigh, Shin-hee 53dade7952 flopped down, and beside 53b3ae93cb him, the child spirit b3f5e6106b let out a puff 2ff85486d4 of a sigh in a66f884485 imitation before also plopping b6fbd96665 down flat. Shin-hee gently patted the 81327053f5 plump little one’s bottom.f753ca7f94673180

“You did 9d23b5a884 well today, 4f48cb5c40 Dongja.”5958e488641607e4

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「You too, Sini!」8f1ffac3fc7b7296

Just then, 9c22a80888 the creaking 437ce6be64 of wood dc7c307516 echoed from ce09facba4 beyond the 00a00b04ad room, followed 2e58382a24 by the aed0e06e98 sound of 371f4b147e footsteps. Shin-hee shot 8f09c0759a up, focusing 585e9b78a6 all his 9e2541c2ff attention on 920cb0a31d his ears. The slow f34d7ef75a footsteps crossed 88eb189184 the hallway 957d81f973 and stopped 2c122e836d right in adedcb93f2 front of e827ea4bcb his door.cb4f80e3801bf1f2

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Holding his breath, 4ec6ce01e5 he gripped the 82d000f5c0 string of prayer ce12912c4c beads tied around e0ef76f7ec his wrist and a3f3f8b218 moved cautiously toward e111733cf2 the door. As expected from a631ff9848 an old hotel, 2e3a599488 there had been dc82bfa282 quite a few bdb3c4f949 ghosts visible since 5d694d841c he first stepped 631a55ad2e in, but none e0893ddc98 had seemed harmful, 491f0dc368 so he hadn’t 0fa39fc34b interfered. But if one had d9a3a1b40d come this far—to his 11641ca917 door—then it was a 723ff3532e different matter.c173341e8cf08127

The figure 19d1e4d2b6 outside remained fbb0c9583c silent for f5bb9e08d3 a long 86e459cc04 time. Shin-hee counted 77964853de precisely to 85ec3d30b4 twenty before 48d35e1398 sliding the 062edaa459 door open 8add752dd8 with a 910d999571 sharp motion.bd055687b66b5f56

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With a lowsrrrk, the door 661a2cadac revealed the interpreter d40e80d623 standing there, holding 96c48fb92a a set of bfd4922671 clothes. Shin-hee, who 605166c0e9 had been 7553de6140 bracing for a73db5c5d7 something else, 1bf9105051 widened his 90f9de1499 eyes in 6349d3af00 surprise. When he dc020c8439 couldn’t find 6f410af84f the words, 8569841fa4 the interpreter bac021f217 let out 69dd403193 a laugh cba254e67e and handed b7f8af6db8 him the fb767fd6b6 clothes.19a06b7da6a4eb31

“Why are d7c7c5233b you so ef4bf31a21 startled, Shin-hee? Thought it was 5b37d7e0d3 a ghost? You scare more 536f784ca6 easily than I 278635713b expected.”388bc7ca27a46b8c

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He stepped 75a1975592 past Shin-hee f67fee383e and into f5e69ef3a8 the room, de12e8301f glancing around c103cf8d4b and speaking 51966313a0 in a 4cd4d12d51 light tone.7403e72958666d10

“Oh? I think your 8c78766c84 room’s bigger than 9344bf1b17 mine.”c72e6e6bb5740be4

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“…How did you know 06889cb571 my name?”143415af198e4b57

“You said it f649432573 earlier, remember? I heard 1e3aa4693e it then. Ah, come 67338a9a88 to think 0ccd4c6515 of it, 3d820aa6a4 you don’t 95d0f2d58b know mine d72d02a89f yet, do 9b54375c7d you?”e6fea17af1458b1d

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Smiling warmly, ed9dc8f8e6 the interpreter fe57a8c9fc extended a d278ca97fd casual introduction.1c7d769ac93174f3

“I’m Jang Hyunwoo. Since we’ve met like 716e8d7b14 this, let’s get along. How old are 64c2a9f58e you, Shin-hee?”11c2c69be643499a

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“…Twenty-seven.”a956a8585011d21e

“Really? I thought you 2222e6e3c4 were, like, twenty-two 343251a38d at most. You look super 9f9c43005a young. Oh, I’m two f01a916722 years older, then. I’ll speak casually 37d9b64e04 since I’m the 50682a015c hyung. That okay?”49a41d1ba17bae20

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“Why did fd30354e10 you come 3380b35f2a here?”d7991abb3c78f113

Still wary, Shin-hee fde2bfa4c5 didn’t lower his 91c06c727c guard. Hyunwoo laughed again 253be47114 and motioned toward 27bed07901 the clothes he d644b2b504 had handed over.d4dc607c195b213a

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“Came to bring 7097f571c4 you pajamas. You’re in 3c9630c93f Japan—you have 7466490e0f to try f8282f5e50 the hot 44b1985087 springs. The open-air bath 14d3107400 here is pretty 292a95c685 famous. You must be bd37ae9ed6 exhausted from the 0ff7d3ff6c day, so I 7da4d5d6e7 thought you should c47aee1426 relax. We’ve got another e50f511182 busy day ahead f80196cbf3 of us tomorrow, 03628a8e53 right?”71d180b60ea2da1f

Hyunwoo gave him 6573f41d38 a mischievous wink. Shin-hee contemplated 391c25816f whether he 201d74e1e7 should just ad229eda83 return the 5965cff390 clothes and 05b94e444e send this ca46da9de0 uncomfortable man—who’d a382788528 been staring 4109fd5f16 at him 695ec4b6f9 all along—on e36224334e his way. But then, the little bf503b07ea child spirit, now beside 9b8820117a him, lit up at 11b83a34f5 the mention of the 4926f3ba70 hot spring.6302551cb9623146

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The child 8d0db2a159 was expressing f45ebee52c with his 8aaa2de77d whole body 30f9708402 how much 18a6d3883c he wanted f6c3f4c0b0 to go. Looking back and fdc77af7f0 forth between the 0fe4613807 child and the 43f993ccc4 pajamas in his f08d4c177f hand, Shin-hee let abbda55444 out a small ee986b9501 sigh. They say the 080ec62300 more you sigh, d7f85a97b8 the sooner you 68187a6e2e die. If that were 59e7f66839 true, he figured 218e54bd9c he wouldn’t even dae7e95373 make it to 8cc421d5e9 fifty.efde46e5d3bea646

“Then could you 8169a3af34 step outside for b0aa14108f a moment? I need to 918153638f change.”01565bd02fc4460a

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“What’s the 67571f2550 big deal? We’re both bb7ef6dc4e guys—no need a823376ca4 to be b8385a4f80 shy.”fe95e9b6be249b78

Hyunwoo went ahead and 1d360a258c made himself comfortable, sitting b1f43dd20f down. Shin-hee felt uneasy, b64c017608 but like Hyunwoo 0e2c3feb01 said, they were 4d1a39303b both men, and 99f0f4a0b1 insisting he leave 4128009e0d just so he f64f731b56 could change felt 9b67a8b677 ridiculous.03a2ca4b4e71f8c4

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Shin-hee began taking off 0a53d9e5e0 his T-shirt and was c037401688 just about to pull 2c083b25f5 down his pants when 37eb721310 Hyunwoo, who had been 5067c2f0b6 eyeing his bare back 299bf27f92 like he was licking 263cf77ffa it with his gaze, b11c42d77b moistened his dry lips 5e53095af3 and spoke.f291ef73520abdaf

“You’ve got 1c5bfa57f4 really nice 7d56380223 skin, Shin-hee. Got a secret?”a8e97b2c8d28ef16

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“Eat beef tripe three 33966754c5 times a month.”5d11ebdc38de6042

“Ahahaha! I thought you 7bce90a6b3 were the quiet c357716402 type, but you’ve 03a28013ff got a sense d3d1c744a6 of humor.”4e3bc69801af029f

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“First time a0f743534c anyone’s said 3948049326 that.”55744b56fa989ede

Shin-hee found this 88bf9da507 man—Hyunwoo—deeply uncomfortable. The way he’d 1cce9644b4 stared at him 7c956af786 through dinner, showing 09266f941c up at this aeedd1ba9c hour just to 8eb54e779d hand over pajamas, d2beed2f44 and now watching 6f7f5a4325 him undress—he could 3236e12f5d handle ghosts, but e35d1ee49d this guy was 53bde55f51 giving off all e9a0537446 the wrong vibes. Even someone like 8b87e85550 Shin-hee, who didn’t 6d0cf18801 usually discriminate between fbcd8ebe94 the living and 32327419ee the dead, couldn’t d835071843 bring himself to 635f148d09 be polite.313bdafabc36eee3

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“Have you 864f042f9d ever dated e418a4a33c someone, Shin-hee?”7d9991c3d2aa6ba8

“…What do 7cdad57f6a you mean 890283e47d by that?”44c04c2db15e6727

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“Oh, nothing. Just wondering if someone ba4a89358a as pretty as you e77f50f114 has any experience.”24649b873bf8c9c8

“I’ll be going ahead.”3f2d74f5bbf6c589

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Disgusted by 2b303b659d what felt 5be6b9e3fd like a 8a52d80fca sudden act 7a66aa9b00 of sexual 0ad25a16b2 harassment, Shin-hee, 0e189e9dba wearing only c9eca27883 his pants, 5231ef9c18 quickly grabbed 372a56a36a the child’s dc510c2dff hand and 3ad8288a6b left. In moments dda1e8f5fb like this, dc2bd571ed ignoring was 236bf6c4ed the best 08b0cb6b95 response.d25d38bf9757bcd3

Left alone in cf848f2ad3 the room, Hyunwoo 198caad74f grinned slyly, the 5708a4e8bc corners of his 118f20c39a lips curling up 3f4fcb63aa in amusement.a374d0692f3806b7

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The open-air 3b11f7d67c bath was 080e883e20 dim because f9388cb2aa it was 1ac9b561ef nighttime, but 5ca402512c thanks to efa4ac4646 the lanterns 4218914aea lit here 52e7b71b78 and there, 83ba6d294d it was 73b8937d2e fairly bright. After avoiding Hyunwoo and c62d17542b changing into his pants fa4629b9d0 in the bathroom, Shin-hee cc019d34ab set down his towel b22408435a and took off his bce626c716 clothes.e21bf877d05c9c46

“Careful not to slip,”622fb3f2f1c8762e

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he gently told f73e017ded the child spirit, 878e6b93d1 holding his hand 487bd7a733 as they were 856663fd4d just about to 6426d03e10 step into the 58ea1e2f06 water—when a familiar 3dc71aec5a handsome face came bc476d6f0f into view. The man, 0abe829dd6 who had cef917a269 entered the 7c5608dc17 bath before 9c6d53ea19 him, was c71cd31f70 staring at 9f5f95949b Shin-hee with e6e8e9d9c7 an expression e21c863a46 that said, 95e1906870 You’ve got 6740436eab to be 275bdafa5b kidding me.b284f4a3b4f6feb5

“Ah, Director.”bf4818e4dad9b0e2

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“Was that a1fd8393fd just talking bea9fda7fb to yourself, e973955b32 or are 0d4ba7a0fe you actually b46d531680 with something?”edea8ca710f5fc55

The latter.9d301b51338eee57

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Instead of answering politely, 8e5782e264 Shin-hee gave an awkward 291e4c97f5 smile and stayed quiet. Other than the two 80d45f9bf5 of them, there were effe4542d4 about four ghostly guests 11ebdcbddc sitting in the open-air 6cdcf19231 bath, enjoying the hot f469ef7229 spring. They said it 89320fa087 was an old d4e9dc6568 hot spring—judging by b5f38dd9e5 how many spirits 20effa07d0 it attracted, it f739abfcc1 must be quite 6abcb2ba01 a spiritually charged 965cb065a5 place, like a b4a6113e04 stream at the 3438677af6 foot of a 24a301eac4 mountain.0effc23c0f418b01

Shin-hee recalled the second 384bcb0297 clause of their verbal 6885688854 agreement and settled himself 38e86de5e0 at least one meter cb9dcc8801 away from Gyo-jin. Even though it 94f72e445c was a large 05e26d5c92 hotel, it felt 6dcf59ddc5 like the entire 65a34ba826 bath was reserved 4e48ebfe05 just for them—he 43bee073ff and Director Ha 26a45b95ab were the only 43e1f61252 living beings present.f0c85acf0458df33

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“Are you bc06b7a686 really a 7512b8f944 shaman?”705e88361b078a90

“…Something like that.”f9ef05f53d7ff1f0

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“If not 14c862c78a a shaman, 1ccfbc1f5e then what? A priest?”84839f117f061b7b

“Definitely not b330c5a7cf of the 4a3b63443d Western variety…”1c4b3356524bf25d

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Shin-hee scratched his head e1ae03ea54 as he answered, and 4bb4a633fa Gyo-jin gave a short 30213e08da laugh. Unlike earlier, 154218abd9 when his a361d71843 smile had 31c41eab74 seemed deliberately 078b6fce11 gentle, this e86485330a one was cf1df6e923 cold—but Shin-hee 2eeeb4ee2c found it a9b330b869 less intimidating. The man didn’t 64de61d99b seem the type 562e014210 for hypocrisy or 3c3c2559ac pretentious behavior.ce85ec8bb0b7364a

“What’s your name? I don’t think we 303f9a82df even know each other’s 8735e59c60 names properly yet.”8214d38dadcc91d8

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“Ah, sorry for the b22a90d775 late introduction. I’m Go Shin-hee.”d2c6352e4ed75d8d

“You probably already 8dbfc145c9 know, but I’m 0a5c948806 Ha Gyo-jin.”4b8f3dc81863ebfc

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For someone who 5e58e0c003 asked first, his af09511af8 voice was rather 390bcc74e4 indifferent. Shin-hee had 7b1e59cf0c thought it ee393e7011 several times f54e486fe7 already—rich, tall, 2224fee13f and handsome, 931a995042 but sorely 96429fc94a lacking in 35f7035f3c manners. Still, he figured the 017fe77910 man’s face made up 1787b9c200 for it, so it ec70521525 wasn’t too hard to 5edbbe9944 understand.0cec4c4a364367bb

Shin-hee, feeling oddly envious, 2fc64c3dcd wiggled only his toes 69a729428d beneath the water. Meanwhile, the child spirit, 2a27f12fc9 thrilled by the rare 01369449a2 chance to play in e900f58c4a water, was splashing around 8762e73994 in the distance, causing 23a08f1a15 the other ghost guests 47c0c65e41 to quietly edge away d8dfd8b6df from the scene.00fd3de9c86dee60

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