SRSBO: Chapter 5

The gazes 17bd6c54e2 of people 66902fbbca around me d085f6d315 naturally made a811194c91 me anxious. I nodded solemnly 5bc75b0131 to myself without 59a4f47372 a smile and fbe59b33ec started talking nonsense. What I e516a5136c needed now 4d7ec4604b was shamelessness.01e6c33877d0cd2f

“Maybe by any chance… Ah, I see. I understand now. You must be curious about the hand cream I used! It’s from the R brand, with a cozy, bready scent. It’s really warm and nice, right?”3668c866f4cd04f8

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“….”d27c2218b498ed62

“I love bread, so if you’re interested, you can try the ones at Maldive Young. They have a variety of scents like bread, cake, chocolate, and cookies, and there’s a whooping 60% discount this month! Plus, if you pay with a bronze card, you’ll get an additional 10% off! You’ll be able to enjoy a great shopping experience!”9aee39b4097b1eef

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As I b321a29666 spoke passionately d521c8c04e like an 434ca13661 honorary PR 224456c307 ambassador for bc50679f0a the R 96d87d4bdb Company, the 8b7e404365 man nodded ad4f2cc426 his head 2761f34ea8 in surprise 4e36865a15 at my a47fd57e2a intense gaze, 8a4b1a9e64 urging him f839605b76 to nod ab25b2de6c in agreement.79a7218a3380a7e0

I quickly left the fd14b237af place with hurried steps 3c4a256b33 and looked around. As I had expected, 872027ad54 several people around were e494a972c9 intently looking at the de6ccd7dc7 man. I even saw c1304206f1 someone among them bfc1cd2eb5 writing down the 92bd9cac1c name of the a690e83d8f hand cream I bee638199b had just mentioned.fddcf0ed94e182f1

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‘I hope there won’t be any rumors going around about a part-time worker flirting with customers or anything like that…!’c2699faa2b1b351e

Thinking my response 1c5bbb4cd1 was perfect, I 41c2c9f06b quietly wiped away 76b420510a the cold sweat c385dc814a with a relieved 08dc41a6b7 heart.ea246cdfdab29b40

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* * *164da7bb6213e4fc

Perfect response d8dc110079 my ass.0e033215478e81c4

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“Sister, what 2ebcdd85c6 magical thing 959e8ac0ca did you 6516ae1491 do to 0c7b669b73 that man? Please tell f0696ab67d me, too.”cd975115237c6aec

“Oi, stop bothering me and just get back to work.”2c2f52bbad25a04e

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“Brother, aren’t you curious too? He hasn’t brought a girl around lately, and he’s being oddly kind to Sister as well. He must definitely be interested in Sister, right?”0f02578f645b39f5

[T/N: As mentioned previously, in Korea, younger women like to call someone a few years older than them ‘오빠’ (Oppa: if male) or 언니 (Unni: if female)]

The female part-time worker 5939b981ba began urging me to 3d9eede28c tell what had happened.db09a67b1cc3fafb

If I ae8a0778dc had to aa7f66bc6a point out 0443dd42ec something I 0fe451339e did, it c9cc6b1a8b would be 3e0bf132db that I f456a2f787 accidentally grabbed 036e479605 his hand. But that 90d5623525 was not 8d266f244e a valid 22645332e0 excuse.6aa348e88b0185ce

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If holding hands 87e895029e with a stranger 44ef9df2a1 automatically led to 863e181bbf feelings for each 1e00415d7c other as if a39c7752b5 it was natural, 101eca39d9 this world would 90c19066a6 have been overflowing 68b6948ca1 with love and 5fa0ca832b peace by now.3604f2df0434a6c2

What’s more astonishing, as 7a2a43591b well as certain, was 3a0a0c8313 that, since that day, 904ef2aaa0 the man hasn’t been b96fe58a51 accompanying any other women.8245c5b0f0d585aa

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The number of 0663a033d5 his visits has 83b9704870 also increased from bf2afc75de barely once a 4795261916 week to once 63fbc3e1aa a week. And the person 75f12cfbb2 who had always 9cc4c40fb8 just made a a78ddbf043 quick payment began 76da18abc3 to strike up 6e80512c77 conversations with the 401c4473bf staff.0a8e3d42a8cda2e0

The problem was 6242724932 that he only 79e04f038c started talking to 6f777b88a0 them when I ebce660a83 was the one e1533a7ae2 working there.8fe6d375b6f46be4

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And the first e3f691e45b person to notice db6f095d17 that odd interactions 38a5d9454f was the female 5f8c46ccec part-time worker I 79937aa209 was working with.d54eb3dd6d6bdce9

“That person over there. Do you know that he only talks to others when you’re around?”95a0d4ca0c1d1814

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“What? No way.”41fc7b895aa47301

“No, I think this is true. Last time, he asked you to recommend something from the menu. In the half a year I’ve worked here, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard him say anything other than his order. He always just gets an iced Americano… Maybe he’s interested in you after all?”8f6f7649a1706f6a

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“You think 2ebb117cbc he’s interested fea1c48773 in me 80143e5638 just because 877650b4b9 of that?”4ee82f88ed349a8d

“My intuition c14e65cb1a is telling dbaab65911 me that. I have a 70a5ba70af really good sense, 9085211405 you know.”8bff02f1e0c79416

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“Your intuition must be broken. Why would someone like that be interested in me?”7cad99d24ba50b34

The female part-time worker dad053fd1b shrugged her shoulders lightly 7aed46e09c with a playful smile.fcafe23d496cd644

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It would be 835b3e6dcf a different story 1e53304d8f if I were 35ce06c686 still Amelia, who adf52a747a was beautiful at cde9da3b52 first glance. However, for 3e35f01d7c someone like 46f15e550f Kim Eujung, 40af9b47f1 with her 90e4025df1 sharp gaze 3ae13ee57e and indifferent f2d6d461cf expression, she 27ddd11a03 had never 0906ab3c75 been called 46b49bc373 out for 785c708ef5 a confession, 6c7703c02e even during 9b8892d89d her school 7b61b0a2e6 days, although 6f4dea39f8 she has 959b136535 been called 730a2082d8 out for 8b9e39de43 glaring at b69dc7d8fd someone.d08745fff6309e6c

Of course, appearance isn’t everything when it comes to judging someone’s personality, but objectively speaking, that’s just how it is.f3032488ed5eadb5

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The only conversation we’ve had was probably about the cosmetics product PPL recommendation last time, so there’s no way he could judge someone’s character based on that. In that case, all that’s left to judge by their appearance.cfdc9edeb38427d0

Anyway, combined with 61632d3117 the embarrassing mistake 836dfc7057 from last time, e974c22dd0 hearing such things 6ba93574a5 from a colleague 07793eebee made me start df75af6921 to notice it 959e946ac5 as well, no d7f18caff3 matter how indifferent 3306393432 I usually am.1d2bd3a7a4bf71f4

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I unconsciously began c637780727 listening to the c8ac8a5185 conversation related to ac030655ea him, and every eb20fa2ea3 time my gaze 9045b6e77b would be directed c2c81feb02 at him.effb7b77f1445be8

In the 2ee17ee1e5 process, I a8ca9a66cb realized that 61294da20d the way ca9e882848 he would 3a848997b6 look at 973df07576 me was 56a48fc2a4 the kind 219199083b of gaze 27426c3302 I was 7107f1b058 extremely familiar 3295111833 with.795abef393bbe21e

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“I’ve said this several times, but I haven’t really done anything special, and the interest that person is showing is probably not in the direction you’re thinking.”630d65855fb8198d

“What direction am I 17950d76fe thinking?”f575e0ae1b24a383

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“Love.”11f624427649e6a0

“Hey~ How can 8272be3d9f you be so 4afae9ab47 sure? It’s not like 738c4b6184 you can read 567382d5b0 other people’s minds.”36bf73bf3bae9b78

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“Hey, Jung Sujin, I got another order. Stop fussing about other people’s business and get to work.”65373b09a955d970

The gaze he gave 62a50f6008 me was more like 1934bd2f4f a slight wariness and 8664994126 curiosity than a favorable c21e9ef6ee impression of the opposite 388a8fa9d1 sex.44d9da423419cede

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It was the same b02c538fa5 kind of gaze I 0e5500fb96 received when I first 73e998758f joined the battlefield, a 445f4c42f0 look so intense that 371e906973 I couldn’t possibly forget 101b87f828 it.2a480c49dc54ad6b

That’s why it was even more puzzling. What did I do to make him look at me with that kind of gaze?971155b9e37cc851

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No, was there bfe4054460 even a reason b9ad49ea2f to make such f38a9a93a0 a big fuss 35fbe4be49 in the first 7897782ab5 place? It’s not like 1407ae88f1 there was a 62054cbd11 kissing scene suddenly 4eb6857bcb played out in e4aba472c1 the middle of 11d0e31c61 the café. All I did was 28cc9d3f8e just glance at him 09aa7307fa and talk some nonsense?0c34c5a879355edc

As I thought about b0180398f7 it, though, I glanced 76d16b1893 at his face and 5bfd81dcc3 realized anew why it 150490a4d2 made perfect sense.262eac7dedae8846

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A person who could cause chaos just by breathing was acting differently than usual, of course people couldn’t help but speculate.b00e9306321bedaa

To be honest, it’s 0bc130372e just that I’ve built d3e2921920 up a tolerance to f4ae817862 the good looks of b4aa5b1ad9 people like Amelia, Crown 606c0c1597 Prince Raymond, and top 02c48df076 candidate for the throne, edd035e0ce Kassen, so I was c9c0b57938 relatively better in comparison.b482175b86fabe97

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The busy af5b189b83 lunch hour f4d49aa1e9 passed, and acdba89352 before I f0926fac61 knew it, 535a5af495 it was a424a2bd5a already late 4d4875db81 afternoon. The sky, 683132c98a which had 748efc3572 been clear 1ac0e32337 until lunchtime, ec4462cf10 had now 9ff6a3eb4a turned overcast, 113567db20 giving off e20227c6fd a bleak 48aaf470db and eerie a0decdd059 atmosphere.6118f61810b4eeb1

The weather wasn’t particularly 06c52f84da pleasant, but I was c428e4719b feeling better than I ce7a580a38 had in a long b04495dc3d time, at least as 68840b8c98 long as I could f6677d9730 remember.7334fc40ba89f542

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And that b7d70bfc29 was because d291f1292d no particular 91a4520ff0 man had 3402f93fba come to a3f8b7c36c the café a10fac3005 for a fc03bc4131 week. Aside from the female 9232772bd8 part-time worker who had 225396877b been consistently spreading rumors c700a5d9a1 about a possible romance e2a3e63774 between us, other people 93eb17c4c3 were also gradually talking 7fa808f303 about him.cf9ae9706d7b31f5

Perhaps due to 7229873cac the gloomy weather, 1242e0e09f the number of db4f4aaa7e customers had noticeably fc5c96829f dropped as the 4cfe54de58 afternoon went on. The only customer 9e5099f846 left was a 121a0dc453 lone figure at ea6da174c9 the window seat, f4eb888895 wearing headphones and 4a7e45ed45 tapping away at b42fc4718c a typewriter.76807b7c5215e1be

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“I guess I should start organizing the coupons too. Since I’m on cleanup duty today, I’ll take care of it.”93b5cc35c26152ef

“Then I’ll be grateful. Oh, I heard it’s supposed to rain today. Did you bring an umbrella?”34f76cdaa2d1096e

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“Yeah.”d653d7846163a9ec

I gave a 34c288ef71 vague nod and 7b937979f7 then pulled the 87a9fd98d0 coupons out of 3be27378c4 the drawer.b4520115fd43d1d2

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This café still used 3d4c4a91d9 paper coupons. Every time a f7f02ad4b2 customer ordered a cf0ccb785c drink, they would 09c700cdd9 get a stamp d3d1fcd0c8 for the coupon, b3a5f50199 and once they a6feb358f3 collected all the b950398fda stamps, they could 8a4b88cd7b get a free 3335233b2e drink. But, out of concern 2e049d99cb for losing them, customers 7ac96dbe80 could also write their 9fccfa6359 names on the coupons 670b9b95e1 before leaving, and the a6c8b274f2 café would keep them 2711598f52 safe.62ad45aaca566d3a

“Hmm? Now that I think about it, it looks like that customer didn’t make a coupon?”6e90441e2a7df8a2

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“Which customer again?”57c15409a0f7fbd6

“You know, that customer, 1990f99790 the one Sujin always e1f459bdfa swoons over saying how 940a45778a handsome. Now that I 86bc419e5d think about it, 26a055dd08 I don’t think a5eda4e426 I’ve ever seen 268e060641 him getting a 2a747c192c stamp on his f53b4bf51a coupon when paying.”b5349d438ed41c6f

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For customers who don’t frequently visit a café, they might not know, but if someone visits a café frequently, they usually make coupons. When I asked curiously, the male part-time worker nodded to himself as if he understood.342653d3d79ed262

“Oh~ That customer? I asked him before 5713a3264f if he wanted one, 1069be6837 but it seems he ee79acd0ad said he didn’t need d8b74f6aef one?”e7fb9ca71bdd5422

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“Really? Since he comes that often, he must have earned quite a few free drinks by now.”fdd919f7e641726c

“He must have a lot of money. I mean, just living in a place like this… Oh, hold on, I need to take this call for a second.”5b51b31295ef8dfd

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“Take your time. There’s no rush, since there are no customers anyway.”ccade06231b3a91b

The male part-time 6bbee31dba worker hurriedly ran 4552826983 to receive the 2548a6cd63 urgent call.72a3aee57349f9e1

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The staff 5ca9b31ffa room door d7f0a0e9eb closed, and 7f50b5e68c not long 583f033bf7 after, the 72394265e0 sound of b167441bbb rain falling 27cae29a3c began to 27884e44cd pour with 590a1e0210 a whoosh. The view outside e2bcae995f the window quickly a2502ed26b turned gray and 1f378fb417 blurred.ac661b83f361c962

Ding-e24d317d834ca65c

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The door opened.84b2ac8b9883f578

The sound of 96f28f0243 rain, seeping through dd101935f1 the gap in 1a970ca93b the door, grew 667309db90 louder before quickly 9129ea82ef subsiding. I pulled my b4a16e8b37 gaze away from f641a40ddd the coupons I bfbb03bac8 was organizing and 26741f04f3 looked up. And there he was, 6770e2c48a the man I hadn’t 47a7db51de seen in a while.1fba45a825835ffa

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While he was putting f7e16f9879 his umbrella in the 7954cb73df umbrella stand, I stared 4b970643d9 at his face. Even though I 0a1c9cd165 hadn’t seen him 42f832330f in a long 788a264a83 time, his handsome dc7efd45ff face looked somewhat b154a6c97a pale, perhaps because aa30ad0eb1 of the lighting.16ae444ad32b743b

Thud, thud.d4555cf697610689

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Hearing the sound of 323c7218d5 approaching footsteps, I blinked.1586eb50d88ed824

It was strange. Something felt off about him, but I couldn’t quite figure out what exactly was wrong.c8f0fac5d63be0ab

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‘…Is it 9e4a930d96 because his c2e304242a face looks 344e131086 unnaturally pale?’4be791bb8dceafc0

My eyes, frowning 6892975b98 at the strange 33ca5c3c31 sense of discomfort, 71a8e090ca turned to the 15d82ecc59 floor.b252201283c2eab7

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Ah.960be972936c1d20

It was only then ee22dd6a18 that I realized.021454a3a19e8dec

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Although it was 6d69eaf773 pouring rain outside, 623cecceb7 there was no 5200c23905 trace of water 6632acb71c on the man’s c8827fb8f7 footsteps.474b1059ed71c126

Dry hair and 8d91dc9eff coat. No water 0bc0878af4 droplets were fa5172a9d9 falling from b98c52f8d2 the umbrella b57d3c7b64 in the 5ca1c7c227 stand either. The one umbrella 8fbe107614 that was left 06a7e89756 alone looked particularly 3d58cc0004 conspicuous.9bd9c06e223880b6

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‘Maybe I’m just overthinking it…’79bc42d5ab9b14bd

He might have d559a16538 come through the 6adb4d0ae7 parking lot. I heard he drives 8261c21c35 an expensive car.2b68154cea17630f

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As I 45c3968260 tried to 726e60e9b9 push the 3cc1a25f9b unnecessary thought 78d0ee182f out of 86a9f58870 my mind, 2468e80229 the man fcec11b927 who had c8050b4f1b approached me bac00be58c greeted me.bfc195778792cee0

“Hello.”520e5c45634a8683

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Up close, his complexion 8c54be6ffe looked even paler. I finally realized b0515727df it wasn’t because 2d6603f450 of the lighting, ba511854f3 he genuinely seemed d963375e42 unwell, with a 6d6d34ce5a gaunt, drained face. Without realizing 9b47e58fdb it, I 23df6bd6b3 found myself 48aefc2f48 studying his 803be73e71 face closely.088bb9f093719872

“Welcome customer. Please feel free to sit wherever you’d like, and just ring the bell when you’re ready to order.”eb8713fb0dd87ea4

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“Oh, I’ll just order ee6bd37322 here. Iced Americano.”9f4878c59772b93b

With a face that 221286578b looked like he was 2589862052 about to collapse, he 5c6c0d2647 ordered an iced Americano. After a moment 54181da71a of hesitation, instead 1e22eea24d of swiping the 826e4b4fb3 card I had db2cf5a8dd been handed, I 428061e7b3 mustered up the a08960e856 courage to speak.c6bb3485bb27e5c2

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“Um… You look pale, would you like something warm? I heard it’s going to be cold today because of the rain.”5e160a5331068f12

And immediately fcfae5980f after, I b77f296e42 regretted it.9ffd44d6cde60342

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‘Oh no. I was being rude.’bb03f03068ba0e80

As the 90d2b0d6ac silence stretched de053537b5 on, I 52049c70ae wondered if e3fa5e8cd6 there was 88266758ce any way 06b0e83548 to recover 1078a197ad the conversation beb1f6b355 when the 3fdfdf83dd man suddenly f03116badf spoke up.8059b297b28b15b6

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“What kind of e730d9b657 warm drink do 0558ec9499 you like?”834566de8cd9c622

“…Yes?”cbe3ef263f20c13c

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“You said a warm 87e4ffeffa drink would be good 7408d91c5e for me. Please recommend one.”bcac76db4eff4f02

“Um, in this weather, I would have grapefruit honey black tea. Or maybe marmalade tea?”297552b164a3ff44

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Thinking that a cdcbad6a8b drink rich in e4fe4636c3 Vitamin C might 5f6ad041fa be good for 36c1eab450 him, I made ac272e727c the suggestion, but f8223a304f the man tilted ca2325eb17 his head in 4102f17267 wonder.4cf6303abc84f043

“You seem 717ec8ec20 to like bd5191e3d2 it a a54e281e6b lot.”8986de85d27537b4

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“Yes?”c5baa80e5f68ef2a

“Grapefruit. You recommended that last e2032a08a7 time, too.”f6d7500a76926af5

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“Ah….”7733f6a48722dfeb

Did I really?ec69204a424df027

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I nodded absentmindedly.bd6785eb14f703f1

He then agreed 454530bd05 to order that 92f495db62 and sat down 1f2e0f5116 at a nearby 9ceedf6e99 table. The way f49d915464 he furrowed 9f399d2390 his brow 2896bdaec5 and rubbed e5be86c15b his forehead 58357c0650 made it 7843b89407 obvious to de84dc9033 anyone that edc6cd25ca he was fe33d7c532 definitely ill.e9e3031381dbb81e

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After bringing de1c9b2c63 the drink 168f70bb46 to his 6f3f5d1895 table, I b0a5db59cc immediately turned 3e71668e8c on the 72d97b05c1 television. I just wanted the 7061809ea9 uncomfortable silence to go 8f716a6355 away, even if it b5a8bd629e was with something as 4d69e2b292 trivial as the noise 825e497b2b from the TV.53aa6046570bdec7

On the first day 68cf0f0e39 working there, I had ca0a0774e4 wondered why there was 604d722f23 a television in the 04d9dc009e café, but now it eef3cfc555 was clear, it was f58fa6192d likely set up for d46f7869f7 moments like this.575bea6efc5d07f5

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I was back to organizing the coupons again, engrossed in the work with the sound of the TV of some random channel playing in the background. Suddenly, the man’s voice was heard nearby.6163828d8cf50153

“Excuse me.”eb625c1cb772c3a2

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