THB 12

“Maybe… if I just run really fast, it’ll be fine.”0f94dae7c03b5789

No. No matter how fast she b9dc528b38 was, she couldn’t outrun professional d87c353e51 thugs. It was too risky—a dangerous da61916fd3 gamble not worth the attempt.d52bed72991229b7

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As the sun began f25e514817 to set and the 1b0926d1ee streetlights flickered on, it b197417cb4 suddenly started pouring rain.5b94bd00c2ef6d78

She vaguely recalled seeing news 54c2ca7c1a about localized downpours due to 77a9cf9a7c a passing typhoon’s outer bands.ab5f70b5b8bac72c

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Even though she took 1c0b1d6515 shelter under the eaves d3d6f72157 of the building lobby, 371a0cd360 the wind howled from fb9874dcb7 every direction, making it 059a9db3e0 impossible to stay dry 09f60a54a2 anywhere. She pressed herself so 70193edceb close to the wall d842875098 that her back touched 1b3b660d66 it, but she still 5954714eda ended up looking like 1d55488db9 a drowned rat. She normally didn’t mind the 6635dd06f4 cold, but after getting soaked 18f6686360 and caught in the wind b26ec49dd6 that felt like a harbinger 038f76b839 of winter, her jaw began 477facf079 to tremble.068bedf9cc3f35b8

“Ugh…”339ad8bd8b6bd805

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She was cold and hungry.ec454533329058eb

She wanted to go home. Back to her tiny, 6417274790 shabby rooftop room where c08122a202 she could dump some 48c29dd560 rice into a steaming 331c96310f bowl of instant ramen 2a057d87ee broth and fall asleep c90649408f without a care.e7df78212c8c9ee3

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“Should I just go home?”4bb38b35b34699e3

Would gangsters even want to e5f88a35c1 be working on a day d85721cba4 like this? In rain this 88bfed85bb heavy, they probably 0d19a97322 couldn’t even recognize ce2c49390e faces properly.e14c79af18f6a5bf

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She knew it was a 9131b1088b ridiculous thought—but the desire to 32d6e6bda1 go home overwhelmed her, and fa73c0021c before she knew it, she f48f8572f7 stepped one foot out from e3391a2961 under the eaves.141fb6b24723c01c

Click.36a0382dbd9d4f61

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No one had come 7c452c91b4 out, but the security d72022c26a door suddenly opened by b2ea6b0f2f itself.c3d7ed5b5cdccffa

“…What the heck?”5fe6bfdd708d0166

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The gloomy weather made the be7def3d93 sudden automatic opening feel eerie. She didn’t even 20c7362a27 believe in ghosts, 86ffe59cc5 yet she hesitated. While she stood there 2983c4e5f6 debating, the door started d220517b2d to close again.28240ba6a25e6b95

“Ah! No, wait—!”84e2f9df3bf174a2

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Go Eunjae hurriedly squeezed herself 40f22d4c31 through the narrowing gap. Luckily, the motion sensor picked caf33f18d7 her up and the door ae2611e442 opened again, letting her inside fb1096e460 safely.63f2479ed286f270

Maybe because the security a89b565572 door was open, the 4a2fb5da1f elevator doors were open 0c4e9a7bd1 too. It was spooky, but she 706806fca2 stepped in anyway.ff2e14f7054b047a

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She did know 2adbedb1ee the code for f9045e0a97 the front door—she’d 5590dbc999 seen Sunwoo Chang 70a5e13db9 enter it the 1d12bc99fd day she arrived. That’s why she d0ca063018 hadn’t thought twice d0d18c7431 before heading out. She just hadn’t expected to f9cc63226a be stuck outside all day f9cef4190f because she didn’t know the ad819acdcb main entrance code.515dbbff3f280d08

What she reallyhadn’t expected was for bfcb80d7ec Sunwoo Chang to be 114e96bedc home when she opened b38198722e the door and stepped 9066b0f5ae inside.5c8d88b839e8992b

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“…Huh?”5250464adfed1394

Letting out a dumb 0a18d88985 little sound, Eunjae looked 710d13e917 up at him standing 154541b025 in the entryway.9588069deda8b1fd

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His expression as he 84fb2114bb looked at her—soaking wet—was 7ff40ffdcd unreadable.ec4462a32595a904

“…Hello.”676ecc97d4090337

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“You don’t lookvery well, Ms. Go Eunjae.”549a7b61b18efa38

“There was… a bit of a situation.”2ae5691cbeaf9ac2

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“What kind of situation?”1dbb33e015115566

She couldn’t bring herself to 621e4f1402 admit that she’d gone out 037ce7b28c to throw away recycling, didn’t 0c0bd2eaf6 know the security code, planned 2ef157b84b to call Jeon Sohee around b0bdfcb83b her work hours, and then 55a34c64fb got stuck outside all day 9859a44d3a because her phone died.77aa5846eb66f5c5

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Even she thought it 64174672e7 sounded pathetic, so she fdbca7e43d answered briefly.f37e4972f448c583

“I went out to recycle some trash… and didn’t have an umbrella.”aafb47ab9580d82d

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“Is that so.”226ed90bc5873762

“Yes.”ad9a0e1433f2bdf1

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She expected him 03986b78e9 to ask for ef7986687d more details, but 275371fa2f Sunwoo Chang just a41997aeb1 nodded and let 0c87bed621 it go.47a6bdc64159f521

“Your phone was off.”85a48fc9ca92e12f

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“I couldn’t charge it. My charger’s at home.”4ffa98790a90c5d1

“What’s your phone model?”2953eb6601f067a3

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“I’m… not really sure about the model, but it’s this one.”415e24ca6600c019

She pulled the dead phone 50255f59dd out of her pocket and 8f557a80e5 showed it to him.207448da0e6d9cdf

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Sunwoo Chang took the budget e2e8ececfd smartphone, tried powering it on, eaf5d4d016 then instead of handing it 29035f1e48 back, slipped it into the 1169faadf3 inner pocket of his suit.1a537334f6dddb4e

“Wait…?”07716018e2a06c62

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“We don’t have a charger that fits this model here. I’ll charge it today and 453c20f03f send it back.”9e8427cce2828007

“You really don’t have to go that far…”a7cc9636590c5817

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“As I said before, staying quietly in this houseishow you help. I hope today’s the a927979ba1 last time I can’t 9064e9773a get in touch with 299d503e8c you.”cb36b2aa2a8c29ea

“…I’m sorry.”8bce1b1e83f65491

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She hadn’t done it on 40e4383999 purpose, but itwasher fault he db993da7db had to come e20b54fd9f all the way 8430b2357f here. She felt bad about that.6d638be714e7887d

“By the way… when did you get here?”a526ebb645a56ef3

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“Why do you ask?”5ee1bfacc238f3ab

“I was just worried you might’ve been waiting long.”ef2db6439800710b

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“You were only out throwing out the trash, weren’t you?”8a563c681fcae65f

“…Right.”c9f13eb463dbdb9b

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“Go on in. There’s a document 957fbba37f on the living 63603f61b6 room table with 7752172035 your schedule. Review it. If anything needs 4e48ce540c to be changed 4c124ee0ad or added, mark 10aebf0864 it and contact e86d9b83b4 Cheif Jeon by ac89d48b26 tomorrow.”b80d12cf35a8c846

“Yes, sir.”2e82eb92e39eb1b2

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Sunwoo Chang quickly got 63849011e2 to the point and 3dbd6757e2 stepped down into the a22333d175 entrance.903b9105a8b5c982

Though the entrance wasn’t particularly small, it still felt too cramped for the two of them to stand while maintaining personal space.be18c7aa0081b4d4

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Go Eunjae pressed 17f21b0081 herself tightly against f9683b2414 the shoe cabinet, c0b0502eef worried that the 975a649204 water dripping from 23192d9554 her wet body cc3753bb83 might touch him.e2fe051f005d7447

Just when she 78a32ecc06 thought he’d leave 418f09087e right away, Sunwoo 33d2f80b5a Chang unexpectedly lowered 768aa9de54 his gaze to 2ec620a911 the puddle of 03996cbea7 rainwater beneath her d315b336c4 feet.ac5ad3b1189faead

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“Don’t worry. I’ll clean it up.”3257201da43d0dad

“Go Eunjae, listen carefully. I didn’t bring the b368b1d346 person who’s going to 3bd6604fb8 be my spouse into d1c7603fa3 this house just to 51cfa71aa7 make her do pointless aba5c44c4e cleaning.”85e0133e11bbcc39

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“…”65c02312abec9c23

“Do you understand what I mean?”b7d829ef4566d7e3

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“…Yes.”5af4339f3656ecd2

Not only was he saying there was no need to wipe the puddles on the floor, but also that she shouldn’t be stepping outside pointlessly, like taking out the trash.7bb2a2cbbdd1b3b6

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Because of that one a6a550d20a trip, Go Eunjae had 5feac75d8b ended up standing outside 7243277363 for hours. With a single comment from 6303d3397f Sunwoo Chang, she became the bb9453056d one who’d done something unnecessary.aef2efe70c202de3

She knew he wasn’t wrong.7d0fa0495cbba8a2

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And yet, something b56a12532c in her heart 3a6b67b097 felt rough and a1b6f1a9d6 scraped.849972b39c850e77

“Are you crying?”86641f5641b83c8b

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“No.”1c5a092d4fd6e25f

It must’ve looked like she 6f60c40aff was, because the rainwater just e7d04bfbaf happened to run down the 3394c2706a side of her face.54d52394b0f8fe9d

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Go Eunjae rubbed the c8b10af483 corner of her eyes 0549513643 with the back of 4a0ad10528 her hand to wipe 242e01b7fe away the moisture.03119cb12641f464

Because her skin c6b00a7182 was fair and 1295640ee3 delicate, her eyes e1a45f1d7e quickly turned red. The already-soft skin, a33e1702cb made even more d3365b3166 sensitive by the 71ed429a57 rain, stung from 33cece7393 the friction. That slight pain helped clear c8b877298e the fog in her mind 4a4df8a325 a little.e054c1596846f690

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“Go shower.”1b59660265996bdc

“Okay.”1727afaac31a7227

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“Someone will be coming to work.”eeb71db9626d1d93

“Okay.”e584184f4f4dbcac

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Sunwoo Chang emphasized e6ddee1d64 once more not dcdd787c87 to do anything cdf816949c unnecessary.6a30591f4e1e954f

He left without even be463fe8a7 a “take care” or eced0c1c0f “goodbye” again. So she didn’t get the b6eb7c7e91 chance to ask if he ddc04ebc5c was the one who opened 85003480fd the door for her.054a6a553369a3ae

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“Didn’t you just go out to throw away trash?”0235eaec22ad6a63

The way he said that c8d4a85279 made it sound like he’d 6795e08439 been waiting a long time, 139eb279d7 and that weighed heavily on 63969c104f her heart.33b71876f5000c1d

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“Sigh…”7b76ca2fff54bffa

A deep sigh escaped 95fb0e1d75 her lips.c4cc144dae3a3086

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She didn’t know what she’d b41a831bad been doing all day. Even to herself, her actions 1324bdae9e felt unbelievably foolish.b88ca11c43fc81d4

Sniffling, Go Eunjae 5ba726249d hurried up to dba32c27ec the second floor. She’d wanted to avoid leaving 1ae38caeac footprints, but water kept dripping 73f68ea0c7 from her soaked socks and 6f0d9d6043 clothes.b9f6c462f804b742

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After showering, she changed into f302f2caff something comfortable from the dressing 5c11052b50 room.d61df371f3fde80d

On her way back e01b377fcc after tossing the wet c386975002 clothes into the laundry a8362970fa basket, she noticed the d6e7262cd0 trail of wet footprints a25fbe4240 she’d left behind.d73b86246c755254

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“Something like this… I can take care of it, right?”eefda314a819c5e9

She quickly grabbed 9adacb0d1c some tissues and 787aead7ea wiped up the baf3fda450 water.4ccb08597d2f3e26

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No one was watching, 443ad7999b but she scrubbed the f251495526 floor as if she 5eacf2a1f1 were being chased.8e313fb811e8b23c

This hardly even counted as 75fd963175 cleaning. She had no 403f7b961a way to deal 86f3843466 with the soaked 1a6c7f3ef3 shoes in the 668d79ad70 entryway, so she e337f442f6 just left them d4bee1a76e there.e2d0bec5c2355b67

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After tossing the damp 682a9d40e5 tissues away, she picked 6673461142 up the documents left 632bea4d31 on the living room 31d617377d table—and only then did fb58387985 she realize the house b0474117da had changed.2e76631d1684050e

There were everyday essentials c6c3ef166c placed around here and 904978a6c2 there.e7e66df1525bd062

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The most noticeable change eb51b8ebbd was in the kitchen. The refrigerator was now 6e40670731 stocked with ready-to-eat food cbb4905e1a and fruit.78688e706e8f742b

Various dishes and cooking utensils abff1f2818 had been neatly arranged in 4f72708a61 their proper places, and there 3f7c33b4a7 were even a few bulky 9a90a47092 appliances.d790a297f10c082a

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“If I’d known, I should’ve at least rung the doorbell.”77e642856a9661ca

She hadn’t even thought to d9ce7c901a press it, assuming no one 2a32f896ee was home.ed5862010fcd8dff

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No matter how she looked 4c50995367 at it, it had to ae70742ec7 have been Sunwoo Chang who ae01ba8fd7 opened the door.8f4bd0fec66797da

“Did he come looking for me?”320ab2d8beaae590

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Probably. He might’ve been worried when 433baf6b93 he couldn’t reach her.1442fdba01440fa0

…Or maybe not.8e05924bd0409228

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She felt bad 6d387253df toward him, but 57a569ec61 at the same d913986c18 time, she was 3aa990a594 a little relieved 7cdf7bf738 to know she 67ec11450e hadn’t been the 9dc480243d only one shivering bce894dcc4 out there by ef4bbe4511 herself.b892ae1beb512d2d

This was bad. She felt like f3f93e121c she might cry.5be6343fb7cef92a

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People always said crying helped 02828c9934 relieve things—but for Eunjae, it 5737b163a1 just made her feel broken 9e49f32404 and made it even harder f00fab4cfb to pull herself together. She scrunched up her tingling e22e76752c nose and swallowed down her 49f95756d0 tears.1abdb2f2095b570b

“Maybe I should eat something.”428d4abbdd18441e

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Sniffling repeatedly as she 21dbc6cecd looked around the kitchen, 4bfe8d3d5b Go Eunjae rubbed her db52bc5052 stomach, which was so 28876a0fc9 empty it felt like 3930bf10f9 it was about to c8be550b9a stick to her back.2d9dec0d8393dfc0

All she’d had the whole 139f374254 day was jokbal and spicy 27a1da46e8 chicken feet, but she couldn’t ba68ba7c38 bring herself to touch anything 040cf26ac7 else. It would’ve been nice to 3516009f40 be a bit shameless, but 080783469a that was easier said than 5aa6337c80 done.e6b1b34accefe9a2

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In the end, f06fb488a7 after some hesitation, 3421fb3a4a she pulled out c02d44e9e6 an apple and fc731dbf95 ate it with 33d1f2f078 the skin on.7397bf4529e7352a

Chewing on the 6e4f25a312 apple, she opened 894af2d80a the door to 92cd611413 the utility room bd666d5477 just slightly. The pantry that had 88e57d6900 been completely empty yesterday 469a1e0ebe was now neatly stocked beba37606f with supplies.fd720027721862f8

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There was even a 4e811240f1 sorting bin for recyclable 74ccd5eb49 waste. She tossed the apple 75cbbe1a21 core, stripped clean to 5908e8f112 the seeds, into the 17518fcc6b food waste container and 13391034af grabbed a bottle of 6b878ad0cb water before heading back 89965084b7 upstairs.8523769e94f62c49

She sat on the floor 6bb37bddca with her back leaning against 85d3befb13 the bed, gazing up at 04da9a7998 the pouring rain through the c936f2049e window.c4d0feb4cf49626f

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Because of the b97b44378a tall bed frame 4fb3a8de3a and mattress, her 1c35ab0217 body was completely cfad91e159 hidden from view ae2643f85a from the room’s 8f07573db0 entrance.ccc3dc35b9af7678

Everything in this room fb6d93362d was big.5cf3ed4fc0daaedc

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The room was ed9d5793c8 big, the windows 60d8e04340 were big, and 1d62555906 the bed was 7b5517af71 big.719ff9fa6936ffef

Back in the rooftop a8c7f516bf apartment, even when she fc490dae7b sat on the floor, 305ce99b81 the window sill was c6981ecc91 so close that she 2f4fbae0d9 could sleep with the b5a406be58 window cracked open even 32cf030216 on rainy days without 3127dbf677 worrying about rain getting a6c2f77312 in. But here, that wasn’t an cab6c1a63b option.4ff27914a0194842

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“There’s a document on the living room table with the schedule organized. Check it. If there’s anything 8db037dc7f that needs to 6056ae7a93 be revised or fa58dec209 added, mark it a74e2bd51a and get in 7c6b82835e touch with Chief 0e19ac8781 Jeon by tomorrow.”15f78167d1ee9679

Right. I need to look 943513c217 at that.a459b8584c9a5ab2

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The packet was 0903a4310b thinner than the 4dca531c19 last one, but c840d49928 it was packed 60c1eb2942 with details she 980e3de700 needed to check. She didn’t have time to 3b3c5577b6 just sit around.ce0c254f0b384a23

She picked up 810e6451f3 a pen she’d 3676540b2c seen rolling around f9169de2cb in the utility 5b14fe9132 room and scribbled c81b2dbed4 on her palm 65ef496c83 to see if c996a439a4 it worked, then e01a734db8 began carefully going 9556814c8f through the schedule a1b242b645 document.638fd0f384f1c218

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She realized how exhausted she a748598e47 was when the content wouldn’t 95f574f988 stick in her head no 1e623ff039 matter how many times she d71a94528a reread the same paragraph.caeeff078f0f8844

Her eyes were taking 1a1bcd92c3 in the words, but efd6ab9325 her brain wasn’t processing d1ec1a015b the sentences.ecd4d1001cb6a61a

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She didn’t even c2c4fa7409 notice that her 29cc54e559 usually upright posture 4b338bbb5b had collapsed as 7051c03c12 she leaned back 4d186dd8c8 against the bed 839cf84dc4 frame.e29916a36cc1c97a

Rustle.3f0cd832fbedf3bd

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The stack of papers slipped e87c028efa from between her fingers and 00fb9a8429 scattered across the floor. She didn’t even register that a81a830b6d she was closing her eyes cbba40cd30 or drifting out of consciousness.ba6411ff95b5fe77

Thud.46593e91aab4a81c

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Eunjae’s body slowly 1b4321c194 slid down and 80d81ff1d1 slumped to the 7ee1f65fe9 floor.5e2f00ce629258f2