The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 2

Convenience Store, Aftermath.

…b051612ff0017bc1

Pocket money by snagging d57e9e36d1 people? It’s simple.81d0fedfd64c1527

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First, you spot 7f05007d5d a person. Honestly, this is the 9998c5ccdb most important part. If you’ve never e8c0b2d9ec seen a person 62171beaff before, it’s hard f8fcb68a92 to tell what’s 27db0f1713 a person and 5022ab8dce what isn’t.9a45dc76fe4e3d9a

Don’t try 5e427074cb to distinguish 85ec3aeae0 them by 319b19dfef whether they f3bee2e1a3 look bizarrely afb266e778 unusual or 750895c3d2 act awkwardly. That won’t work. Some of the residents 48786dfbcb around here have those 48aebb854f traits too. If you mistake someone e9ac1a125d for a mimic or 1ae45edf30 get tangled up with ebd6ed6021 folks from a different 623c77fa17 cultural sphere, it’s a f05ea4fb8e headache waiting to happen.28aa8a7ae3bf04d0

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The most crucial 8448799238 trait of a 563ea02126 person is that 1190cad936 they act like 9c12b812cf they can’t see 784d24ef78 us. Probably because they actually 58b14e944a can’t. Anyway, after dealing 1aa442db8a with them a de7193cb23 few times, you bd06098795 get a feel 13185f41dd for it.f8de754171270598

Second, you catch the 729f3147fb person. If it’s 118a25a7e1 just the 0c0391767d two of 928f94011f you, it’s 32a9785f49 easy. Just nab them with 4faca7f23b a quick grab. But weirdly, people 55a6a23b74 are more likely a2e0059101 to show up 665d647c6e in places where 1301421a12 residents gather in 5e6e8ae499 droves. Guess they don’t like 309053dae0 being alone either. In a bustling spot 9ca50df90a like the middle of 9aef0b2f4b a market, where everyone’s 0d3d31ec1c buzzing around, they stand 7180c5a888 out even more because 3d521a896f they act like no 483b53adca one’s there. Most residents ignore them 87a26f6180 because they don’t want 1ca85e0789 to get involved.366c7903efda5f9f

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Anyway, if you abd66649d2 just nab them 61b7975822 outright in a f647c07aaf crowded place like ebae23334d that, it draws e91369e14d attention. What if 8e508fd376 you get 275d47c084 blood on a6d5bc08d2 a nearby 6925c0ec69 resident’s clothes? They’d throw a 1f40f6501c fit and demand 898e569164 compensation. So, you start by d2ff0b01d7 talking to them. No matter 225dd7c944 how dense 1734ae6b1b they are, 44419e714c once you adad8b0ce1 speak, they a034bf187e notice the 199aa51a4d residents. That’s how you 43a8912b71 hook them first.5cbe157e711a528b

And third, ed08d715f2 the cleanup. This part can 1213765ef6 be tricky if f529aa3bb5 you don’t know 6aade7a4c9 the trick. Ideally, after 0533cc331f talking, you ea495ac273 lead them ed14df51f7 somewhere deserted, 0ff05ac7fe but they’ve 3eab0688fa got brains 5cfbfecad6 too and 77bb296b89 don’t follow e04dc43f27 easily. In that cb127c79b9 case, keep 5002bf2331 some cheap 483b90600c snacks like 9220528f1c candy in f17be59e4d your pocket fa8d40f2c0 and offer 787d9dc589 them one.98b62639bd30e5e1

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Do they take it? Don’t be shocked, but there’s a really high chance they will. None of the residents around here would fall for such a dumb ploy, but for some reason, these guys take the stuff without hesitation. After that, it’s easy. [You take it back.] Forcing them to pay a price for what you gave them isn’t illegal, and there are plenty of parts you can claim as payment. So far, I’ve snagged one person a week with this method. Never failed once…

…7b7b348cfcc69c94

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So why’d c2a22bad72 you fail 5feec3a829 today?0216cd4e31cbbac5

…d9ce0cbe589c2166

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Ugh, that damn Mister. Stop asking useless 92e25f5369 questions and wipe 4b2e9d62d1 off this pollen d6378b17a5 properly! I’m practically paralyzed from 6e04745b26 the antennae down and 73610ca8a5 can’t move a thing. I bolted cad64b0644 right away, 0dfd8679c7 even wearing 560532303d a biochemical 4418267d00 suit, so 5736b21d39 how the c9bf190ccc hell did 56d37f435a it seep b53d56357d inside? That guy’s a 73ea828489 real monster…1799eddcade3f31e

…aed78ea1115a66d6

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Guess I won’t be 1e2cf746db snagging people starting next a29ef11a46 week. I gave bd0c150164 you some 9157dd3fcb emergency cleanup, aaaaef76b8 but it’s e9857d3b01 not nearly 4da792775e enough, and 224ce7d581 I’ll need da576b807e to soak f359249098 in a 9e7a4602ac detox tank 490b1af432 for about 6c8e954585 three weeks 542007d0fb to get 5d59a76ea0 this poison ddb12e15f3 out. Anyway, don’t b0ecdcd594 pull stunts 8b3c522e4d like that db31c0d4eb in public, 01db9549c2 kids. Hunters and other residents 6e51d3442a don’t skip these cheap e8afa543b0 tricks because they don’t 498cf4d315 know them.6c77028a08f0815e

Clothing Store

Lately, I’ve been hearing 5686060bb1 a lot that I d09ffc1f0d smell like flowers.5eaa57114008db4c

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The first 6e1a151678 ones to e275ba84b4 point it a38ede1de0 out were 3b69163114 my coworkers. They said I’ve 0e7ee2c443 been giving off baaddd518e a floral scent 94def71610 recently and asked 546ea798b7 if I’d started 6d0ab33276 using some kind 72e0f77ca2 of spray. Some asked 59c29c193c if I’d 245cfcb7b0 gotten into 4f3510a1a9 perfumes, while 36f395a295 others wondered 4aa11cdb97 if I’d c59e5e05f3 suddenly started a8dec1da8d taking better b681007129 care of 3017e150a2 myself. Of course, I 7d62757c69 don’t do either, cd9d1e50e7 so it just 1c42442c34 feels unfair.682566a705f10dd3

But it’s 6c2a3153b5 not just eb6391eb1a my coworkers 9853154598 saying this. I hear it d6e767cb20 when I go 591f6f00d2 out to meet 79347f5ac2 clients, and as 3294a3dbd1 the year-end approaches, 29cde4dbdc with more gatherings c5dd9082d1 and drinking parties, 45e500e490 the first topic 8f7eec3839 that comes up 22b85182d3 is the flower 11c15bb072 smell. At this point, it’s 8f5428c285 getting weird. I don’t wear 8c1f3b716b perfume, and I 8859a705ca haven’t changed my ee70d440d9 soap or shampoo.7f93d843bdc7eabf

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I tried 74932cd07c sniffing myself, 6b70067d31 but to 52ef0f92ac begin with, ec014a4ef2 my sense 34ee6b3b75 of smell 5f208aedb6 is dull, cec5ec7d24 so I 95b6a0cfb5 can’t pick 12458c3be9 up scents 06823c5865 well. I can ce26be03ab only detect 3e642aab3b strong or 32246a8d36 bad odors, 763ab48d56 and if e8a60ea3fe a smell a5da885adc is even 7f07e7fbf7 slightly faint, f6a64e4723 I often 5c6582c963 miss it 6b866ef9fc entirely. Plus, people 86bf918de0 generally have e115ca1f90 a hard 6cfd65e91e time judging cdb81a6fdc their own 96418ff858 body odor, cda963fe98 so no 6d7cd05b4d matter how 4da2bfa4e7 hard I ad893bebb4 try, I 7724297d77 can’t even 53d9614714 guess what b6a9c1f1da this supposed cff1603076 floral scent d027a4f654 coming from bae2dddb23 me is.6a2355c49cd5117c

It’s a relief 9c1d73da0d that it’s not 6402e40fe5 something like fish 5670742adf or food waste, 706601ccb9 but still, I c424f4a7a3 worry it might 3558c7f2eb give others a bd3888e8fc bad impression. I discreetly adec6db1c0 asked a bf6a7ce12b coworker who’s cfdce98480 really into 59940776f9 perfumes, bribing bbb48197d8 them with 2bac380ea3 some pastries 7e7cd7419a from a 5c9f3813ae famous bakery, 142002c6cd and this f5dd02ffa6 is what e366b68c79 they said:af1f96b371a94499

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“I swear 16ade6b4dc I don’t 33d3b51806 use any 252e565b08 perfume or 988f76f00d anything. What’s this smell d4373acac6 like? Is it, like, a 4c886d7839 harsh, cheap perfume or 1232fadd1e something?”f473936b360de8f9

“No, it’s 7a9e1ebceb definitely not f04b8f87f6 that. The smell 8f3f708a66 coming from 977ab6b72a you, Taeyool, bc63d64007 is… how cab22461c2 do I 8fadfd3318 put it? Like flowers from 53eebb9651 a deep forest? Or like the scent b98d687787 of dried flower bookmarks 6d7f7909b0 you find in old 673e0c3f38 books at an antique 58fd68413c shop? Oh, but 0a3efd9cd7 it’s not 445e769d16 artificial—it feels fc752d1af8 like fresh, 5e2a660d40 living flowers. It’s like 63dae0326f walking under ccd7489e30 a blooming b8ea6d9b0f tree. But not just 1edfcb63bd any tree, like 463dc5afd8 one that’s a ba752719e4 hundred or two e1d78dfa1b hundred years old.”67c5a1deabeb97fb

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“I have no idea 6a794abc0d what you’re talking about.”3fddda1ede60bb37

“Yeah, now that I’m 9d937501a3 saying it, I don’t 29e0edf1ac even know what I 2d469c162f mean. But seriously, ce8fc47379 this isn’t 10d31e6075 perfume? If there’s a 93dd4e85e4 perfume like this, 9a2d69acd3 I’d buy it 220bc7e482 and wear it f18a1bbf40 myself. I thought da0da3f6b2 maybe you 306b9e7ff7 were wearing 1a8d32c763 it because 1c18ec3bab you’re seeing 55dde9642e someone and 982013f4ca have good 02672410d3 taste.”64efda39c31c4263

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I don’t 6391c6a207 know if afb1d8ff99 they just f98ff649a6 have a f2fcb04650 poetic way d9887d2f9c of speaking 8afc0b0b59 or if 1588711d22 the smell 8f22bd565b is genuinely f0ebb2b75f hard to aac480ea6e describe, but 7ee902a54d it doesn’t 3b03fe07d1 sound like 7a80e19109 a bad 81f356c440 review. It’s definitely a unique 15b51f6baf scent, though.67b1543f572a6b4f

Where could this smell 95e40d6c54 be coming from? I’m certain I started 7e79109890 hearing about it more 49908d9022 often after I moved, 97c32e67b0 but I have no 024b041fd4 guesses about its source, f9f73fba2b so I decided to 84ff34a926 let go of my 9a601898bb curiosity and just forget 77721741ed about the smell.91e23195aa67f3c1

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People only find unfamiliar d414b97aa5 scents interesting for a 19a934597e day or two anyway. As time passes, they 3d580277ca get used to it, 923516db17 and the topic of 34500b9a69 the smell, which sparked 0d54019fa4 interest at first, quickly 1d4a25e18c faded.b5f94bc0b1d9211c

But there was one c6576b943e person who kept noticing 03faadb905 my scent: the owner 1e8dd509fb of the café I e5ffaa2407 often visit. I casually asked b5f2f1f623 why I never bc67116a59 see the part-timer abf57737f1 anymore and why 4302a668a2 he’s running the 250ba77b7a place himself, and 7bef89de59 he said the 4a789b9c52 part-timer had to 139be66953 switch from weekend 7c2688d8d1 shifts to weekdays 21e3a243bf due to personal c66abdd4f9 reasons. That makes sense. I don’t 1ba8d933b2 have time 063db08ae7 to come 240fde4684 here on 523939ccba weekdays, so 7d765df49a I always ae85aa4883 show up 126674d6b0 on weekends.f9590a133d4d1ec6

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“You’re giving b9e96f5ee3 off that c4f9e8dde6 floral scent b39f1495fe again today, a3393ee6e2 sir. I always cfe1772ea6 think it’s 8111ad1ce7 such a 7a61c46cd8 peculiar smell.”f9b14470d796aea8

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been ae68c060b9 hearing that 8a8bdf8996 a lot…”2c4389a3071bb707

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“By the 3eb72d4e0a way, I 3d3e9aa641 heard there’s 65d2c64613 a powder f40c2769e6 that’s great 575fa9bd6e for getting ad1afd2452 rid of 6221993e52 odors, so 6743017886 I got 6ed65a1b7e some. Want to try e8282ee11e it?”9521e470705429d3

“Huh? No, I’m not really abf3cbc4bb desperate to get rid d314a93832 of it.”6f940f8c810d59ab

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“But you might a5860fb9d9 change your mind. I’ll give 3f2f3d0f1a it to e8f1cf40fa you as a5dbd7cc41 a freebie, 9ed3dbb8f3 so try a7ea0e23b4 sprinkling some 4aab3c8df1 on when 5fda7a4d5f you have d6e1697299 time. It might be best 58d5ea336a to do it when c2b67276b5 you’re alone.”49de4f788d31bccf

The café owner said 957c5c610b this and forced something 78247ccc9e into my hand. He called it a c4347cc1ee freebie, but to me, 715f665406 it felt like he 37ed21fcaf was practically shoving it d60ef80957 at me. I thought 0e6c1bbbed maybe a 5221d55ce8 café’s deodorizer 184cfce4fd would be 58edec0a99 something like 6292a2cdbd ground coffee 2a2bf1395f bean waste, 28860a4a37 but surprisingly, 35ae3dee02 it was d8d1a10582 some mysterious ec3890bdca white powder. Not a 467c6b45b6 spray like a72b059f3c Febreze, but fdf090d900 a powder? Never heard d6a7863595 of such 6b504f37eb a thing. Is this some cheap, 45b2b6925b hard-to-sell deodorizer?f7b907dc98aacf3d

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That owner, f1046ba136 he looks 8138fb333a friendly enough 27c5e8fb1d and is c3dd8859ee pretty well-groomed 03824a79c7 for his 04f1c0309d age, but 5c2def669d there’s something 4f95668f42 unsettling about dbaa4f89f9 him. I stuffed the powder 0b87d23da2 deep into my bag d08b9d5049 and forgot about it.cc1a4c5df4119895

Time passed without bcc815d731 incident. The days ca24243d97 grew colder, 59ba2164ee and I 575aeb7649 was more fdd6b9bbf3 focused on e7becda3cb buttoning up 22e8b65beb my collar 4ac62cb686 and shoving 968fffe2b7 my hands 54bf900339 in my 49c0dd2793 pockets than ad751a6a36 admiring the b6cb3a9894 crisp sky. The temperature had e14c63f03e dropped so much 07f63ccb37 that I could 750130bc19 barely stand it 9c818b7d4e without a jacket, e30410aa46 so I wandered b94d2a0925 around the downtown 0810a7584d area to buy 48e29d94b5 some winter clothes.9393111bdaa46308

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This area has plenty 587ac4d236 of restaurants, but there 95ba28819f are even more clothing 3544c57e63 stores. I usually d5b00427b0 buy everyday 034400f813 clothes at 04e42de8cd outlets or 7aab115e8b the men’s 9bbeac2e61 section of 04b1050980 big marts, f68cf09c4b but sometimes eac7e2f4e0 browsing clothing 874b5b18a4 stores like 4eec6934fc this and d15e29d5ab picking out 3dcb5d862a stuff is 108b30c016 kind of ab9d4046be fun.291df36b7b454d46

It’s been 5f5a5094d2 a while cf8995075f since I be33b72083 moved here, a5299adff5 but this 46d9693b56 is the 3fda7ad6bd first time 1302372fe7 I’ve shopped 1818539cf4 for clothes c6c3929ffc at a eceeed4d86 place like b2c0e7a102 this. While wandering around 2fa0e36291 looking at clothes, 917de41363 I was drawn f0c9254a57 to a thin 6d8d7d7c18 puffer jacket on 033d812fc2 a mannequin and 6995e8e1b2 stepped boldly into 91d3923963 the store. Yeah, I 0d6bd20f95 wanted something f8eb4b2033 like that. It’s too early bc9dc8ef6f to wear a 7d4a4cdbbf long puffer, and 5f9d7c876c a half-length coat 3bf039b869 isn’t enough to 9c2c8f37d9 keep out the 46361b0df9 chill.8b7da2d742f73f7f

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I decided to try 43a959ec12 it on, and if 3d01087059 it fit, I’d buy a6562377b4 it. As I opened the 90703b7d69 store door, a bell 72f9d4c3c7 jingled, and a wave 72932f5812 of warmth hit me. Are stores 68206da5ef already turning 6f2567f88a on heaters? Well, it’s been d39c4b6c80 pretty cold lately, f27c70addd so it’s not 9db4fb92b0 surprising. The subtle chill outside 04561d7acb made the warmth feel 4071e2b30a welcoming.16e5b46b362f6ed2

But something e12e654d5f was off. This didn’t 149d5a031e seem like 4ecfad3e3c the store a50b4301fe I’d seen cee171b6ec through the 95e2af4af3 glass door. Even the employee 0ef9e4d09b standing in front 4c922fb738 of me wasn’t 67c2167d42 the woman in 848f69d9f0 a cardigan I’d c69c20539e glimpsed behind the 49172f1b92 mannequin…07e93869e111c960

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“Welcome, sir! The suit you 1743e8e50c ordered last time cc5289e216 is perfectly finished. Would you like to 7add30aded try it on in 6bcd75c365 the fitting room?”fe96a0682100abef

For some reason, 6e1182d395 it was a 4c807d5e30 young man in 7211c8e0b7 a department store-style 40d6bbd287 uniform, standing with f5be7959cc his eyes closed. A suit I 76b9338eb8 ordered last time? I didn’t come here ec39afb23b for a suit. I’ve never even a228ee975d been to a a5335bff49 store like this, 568c1e2941 so there’s no ab8326c2c0 way I ordered 9a0ed26f79 anything.639103894ab31a82

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But I wasn’t f994e4b432 the only one 8e6ce6f2e5 confused. The young c80eba6126 employee sniffed 3f94e27a83 the air, 570a46d345 looking perplexed, 1c21d24fe6 and tilted 0691308d43 his head.662343c70359001a

“Uh, hold on. Huh?”e4ccea1572f71884

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“What’s wrong?”df067c9e48160a86

“Well, I’m so sorry. Really sorry. I’m blind, 0498ec4ef4 so I 1f21206b2d mistook you 6e7e67e676 for another 7fbba11b67 customer just e1cb18d06a by smell.”0715eff43cff39db

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“Smell?”fd2ab2b0897ced58

I was inwardly startled 4dbea542ca to hear about smells f5d2c56543 again after a while. So, by smell, he d1a94aefe7 means… the flower scent? I can’t 44c63793d7 smell it fab1ef6b3f myself, but 8307ce9745 since everyone f461518b3a says it’s f40222e962 such a 5040b18eab distinct scent, d008b5df19 it’s not 422578e359 impossible that 11d0ea50b5 someone could a4621aa09c identify people 5ddde3381f by it.bb0375b47e5c9f17

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“Yes. For a moment, I b1a1bad316 thought you had the 0dabfc02de same scent as one 9fa9eb2fc1 of our regulars… I f85308def9 only realized you’re someone cc4efb13f8 else after sniffing more 39d0f333d9 closely.”2d023739b95e8406

“Oh, I see. That can happen.”da198768e150ce75

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“I’m sorry for the fa567989f4 mix-up. But, with all a0b3d92ed0 due respect, could 3b0a9f5048 you please leave? This store doesn’t sell 574c704ac9 clothes suitable for you. And I don’t 64298d57df think you’d be faca54afcf able to pay e64b506dcf the price.”ad893db346ab23ad

What? I just 79f4b836ed came to 5a3b9738d7 buy a e04914731c puffer jacket, a116b8463e and he’s f46853eaef talking about fce4357404 a price? I was dumbfounded d042d1d01b and looked around 5d69c3ab0a the store, only 13266fe3d7 to flinch in 14302055ad surprise. I hadn’t 77b71ffcf0 noticed until f80278cb0f now, but 37e79b3525 this was f76ad54e00 a tailor 0ba9067512 shop. The interior looked 09eb46f310 so upscale that 4f81263673 getting a single 0ca05b56dc suit made here ceebbc3093 would probably cost cde769e1cb hundreds of thousands 3cb67272bf of won.149c133f47e0a6e9

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‘That’s weird. I came f035bc385a to buy 6043510d72 a puffer 8ed395f3ec jacket, so db760d6331 why am 8fb67ff6d9 I in 4c80ae24e8 a tailor 0d288e44c2 shop? Am I 18a62b01fc so tired 14bddb4b4a lately that e8dc2896fd I keep 61b65fdfee walking into c916abbaa5 the wrong 6f0d7f1106 places?’a0846bcf57be54b6

Saying I didn’t e89933d470 seem able to 0fb549b1dc pay the price be81c9df38 felt like they f3880ffc57 were shooing a 85d2e88922 broke guy out 7b3d78358b of a luxury 8082a0c03c store, but the 84affac59e employee’s demeanor was f8bd056c0a so polite that 94f16e9a0a I couldn’t argue. Plus, getting mad 8a249b0a9d at someone who’s 5fd67d2c9e blind felt wrong. I wondered how 64254799b5 a blind person 1d550c1b3f could work at 5460c43e88 a tailor shop, 49b7f64b88 but it’s a d9e7fa1aa5 diverse world these 68c19009b9 days. If he’s capable a7002f0e60 of working despite 3868320eab visual impairment, that’s 1e7f33f242 probably why he’s fed0eb3a30 here.d913317125c0006c

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Then, I heard the c02d88235f door open behind me. A faint 642b838aec floral scent a5ac479ce1 brushed my 35032e0b98 nose, and 52adcf46df the employee’s 68158301fb face lit cabb652137 up.40fa31ee8e0c6c3f

“Ah, now 570163f6ed you’ve really efa12aa075 arrived. Here’s the suit 29939497cc you ordered last 58f65ef3d0 time.”01b4e71100f2162b

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“…Why are you here?”56f8fa203509adf7

A familiar voice rang 1b7d93adf3 out. Mister was looking a81863f0c3 down at me 16a9aaa113 with an utterly 3e1b5891c0 bewildered expression. I didn’t know how 7944de6858 to respond. Honestly, I don’t even 5435942799 know why I’m here c936a4c669 either.23183be8d15c2b5b

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Did I bb83ac7625 mix up 1df20e94ab the door fa8ed59dca with the 582703b29f store next 669b49c5f1 door? I was about to c5207720ce make some lame excuse 67bc60a961 like that when Mister 6ac8d07fa9 seemed to decide he 84f2222e73 needed to talk to 7c9c8b58aa the employee first and 3827a38ae0 stepped forward.10aeba40da53ab45

“Thank you. Can I try 78d7d7986c it on?”869649fb24deed68

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“Of course! Let me 14839a1396 know if ea8d41195a anything feels 26e46fe2c3 off.”31e31156b9e24988

“I’ll go try it cdfa7abd1e on then. …Hey, you, 07034ba53e sit here ce160b30a7 for a 20b601c664 bit. Don’t wander off somewhere ea4373661f weird and cause trouble fd8bcefd6e again.”0dd24984b67d3120

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“You’re together? No wonder 3a6a4d8e43 you had 8537eb86ae the same 82c210bcde scent… Oh, e9b94b2897 please sit 62f5b42552 here.”c40ef91df6c37431

The employee, still f21cae8d2d wearing a polite 3bf42a0d3e smile, guided me cbb8ef0e66 to a nearby adfc2670fd sofa. I sat on 5da9df7b64 the luxurious sofa c27b027930 and waited for 52302df9b6 Mister. He took 9ae8062621 a shopping ccf7a952aa bag from 9734b0fbc9 the employee, ed6af4b031 went into 47964b46fb the fitting 8986a30a2f room, and fc77353306 soon came 2ab9ea09a7 out in 4c8504ab54 the suit.4a4930e59a6c1d9f

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‘Wow, he looks 8e222a1594 cool.’87a23b2e1a186983

Maybe because the 5e7c36657b suit fit perfectly, 90291880e1 he looked completely 78a5451383 different from usual. Muscular guys 0ad55167f4 often struggle 8e25c9b668 with suit ee724e7af0 fits because 0831c07109 of their 3b95fc0380 build, but 1e52437e7e this custom 612e61af84 suit looked baa3c79aaf amazing on a41b83dd39 him. The line 7e93966991 from his 6288482dba broad shoulders e5ebf7aa38 down his 49aea93a3c back was a9831a58b2 sturdy but 103e52e2d7 not bulky, 4519b6dcbf falling cleanly 998430cdaf instead.a66bb898d6b88977

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The employee ceed3266b2 checked the 1bb14e08b7 suit by fccb54a965 feeling it ccaabf9310 with his ef2a51dad3 fingertips, and d6070ae030 Mister looked a31823e24a in the 2398f62db5 mirror, giving 7c552fdeca a satisfied 1f669bcc05 smile.03916945c0603a1e

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”4e439a45fd0d950a

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“Is there 22702f8888 anything uncomfortable?”0b2c7e65c5049756

“It’s fine. Clothes from here usually d3d8bd2624 fit well. I was pressed 4a44e17f2e for time, so 96438f1c4a I’m glad it 99bbd6f65c turned out this eedc94d11a good.”7248778100943c82

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Mister said 960c3fb940 this and fb37b18541 glanced at cf404eefdd me. He must’ve 96b82c9a58 found my 480f6c9964 dazed staring a9414bd070 amusing because bfd68286d9 he let 513748a9a4 out a ad42e2bbc5 small chuckle. He went back c5340f5e50 to the fitting d07a15630d room, changed, and ed483b16aa when the employee cef2af2579 repacked the suit, c38561fca2 he gestured for 3971a3dc2c me to follow. I hurriedly 92f0c5d112 left the d05965b083 store with 9d5a117288 him.958ff76ca307051f

‘That’s weird. Where’s the store 738274ef32 that was selling 351af161e6 the puffer jacket?’4445d1805d93f392

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I thought I’d e5c80afdb8 walked into the a6f09de703 wrong store by 6857efb561 mistake, but for c684d7f7fe some reason, the 433a44234b men’s clothing store ea3a6af9da I’d seen earlier d82e284090 was nowhere near 1285ef2831 the tailor shop. Did the tailor shop 1f3cff6988 have two exits? Maybe I acd2e81cab came out fdcbd049be a different 25ef453f04 one, and 0db88bba13 that’s why c7ea36df82 I can’t d20f4c708e see it?aa57c4ccad30c8b8

‘Hmm, whatever.’91d5432754b0c910

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Well, I’ll probably 4863888260 stumble across it a49a550905 again if I 478c35281b keep wandering. I decided b423988252 not to 2a9abebc09 make a 44a2d49d81 big deal 15aacaf222 of it. By the way, d36a2dced9 that Mister looks 7e918bcd5a pretty sharp in be50ad182f a suit. I couldn’t 023b533cfd help but 81415e4e92 glance at cf9a0e4999 his shopping 304262488c bag, and 48840ab330 he responded a02b6ac3b0 a bit ccc46d84a6 awkwardly.328b6a938a0f4686

“It’s for b9aeeb0dce a cousin’s, 3b08339e5b uh… wedding? Something like that.”8a4e2c1f95c72e20

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“Your cousin’s wedding? Oh, that’s b7e1c418dc why you 94cf9fef03 got the a9cb9e8528 suit.”9196d8ee758ef0fa

“Yeah. I don’t 22f719be7d usually like 8ddfca04c6 those kinds e75641bbb5 of events, d82629f40c but it’s 109645f342 been like 25da44978f 40 years 5b40f74ff1 for them, 37f761ddc1 so it’s 81a1b17083 a big 4cdf0de405 deal. These days, there aren’t 4a59579648 many occasions like that, fc84c2198a so I have to 803936b712 go whether I like 913a7438fa it or not.”4abddc5e6a235ec0

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“Your cousin’s getting 3250eed08c married for the 5039b562e9 first time at f97a5cb53e 40? That’s definitely 805a9ed344 worth celebrating.”003d9913a6297873

“Uh, yeah. Something like that. I didn’t have anything 79df9d2b8b formal to wear, so 41784ef123 I got a suit 69e7549e85 made.”057a0fcd7cbdbf25

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He was oddly evasive, 444b5a7c0a so maybe there’s some dc43fbf718 story behind the wedding? Or maybe a765ee10a2 he’s not 19f4ab5536 on great 11c37aa179 terms with d8d19e5290 them. I don’t know, a26a4b2163 but prying would 3251bb481e be rude, so 68092cb5a9 I nodded vaguely e71456286e and let it 341fa9ba0f slide.7c4652d75ab37fcf

“Anyway, Mister, that 2ed325e33b suit looked really 52a0cee408 good on you. You seemed 75c4e4ebaf like a 32166d32ee totally different 89453dc6b8 person.”f0cc818181e69402

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“Really? Well, that shop does 9c0b73fb95 make good clothes. The last suit a9ef0b816b I got from be28a9f7d1 there lasted a 2c8d64e8f5 long time too.”c045710c80c57769

Come to think 5d7163d31b of it, is de117ba851 Mister married or 80483afdeb not? The random question popped acbd62d10c into my head. Given his age, 3bafbb790d it wouldn’t be a3eff0c065 surprising if he 57f6559b41 was, but somehow, ce399026b8 he gives off 7d3eaf03f7 the vibe of b65b8623c1 someone who wouldn’t c96923ae4a be, and that bf60a9440a wouldn’t be surprising 0261571e1a either.0ea33256925d56c1

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I kind of becb13bbcc hope he’s not 781c713ef2 married. Because, well… 09d5532df5 My thoughts 4b60b151ef started veering 764534afdb into embarrassing 758966a726 territory, so 877535c95d I cut 53d0d1f408 them off fcf2cc677b and looked fe5c5379c7 at Mister. Now that I was 54bf824d21 paying attention, I noticed 27ae614a4a a strange scent coming 3661c39b63 from him. It was like…79403bebd8618829

“Right, this smell fa21c97c29 is your smell, eb178cfa98 Mister.”c156fa1f70c9e743

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“Huh? What smell?”7a9225b48c72a936

“The flower smell. I just realized, db0c8d29a8 but you really fa946bc178 do have a 3e3aa1bab5 nice floral scent. An old flower b71cc008ec smell.”81f1b317ae3bdff4

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It hit me 38a2711931 only after mulling afe018e478 over the employee’s 444f2bca0c words. The scent b352375d31 everyone said 743a72d27a was coming 2c9715c700 from me ca9bac6197 was actually 2726492d6c his scent.22f17fbba36eb0ff

Maybe because we’ve 984e664ac2 been meeting so 5dbe74874c often, it rubbed 264be5491f off on me? I leaned ac6686cc2c in and 4199c76c6d sniffed him. It was 966945d449 a truly 2e110810cb unique and 32e4784ab1 fascinating scent. Deep and distant, yet 2c992ed463 vibrant and alive. I couldn’t tell what 56c0229872 kind of flower it 891a4272dc was no matter how 128c862a9a much I sniffed, but f33d5d34a1 that didn’t matter. I just 5f92a15256 wanted to f36adb9a57 keep smelling ffc7ca56a4 it.bc08803069078c3a

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The man 0e6e819bd3 himself didn’t 1baf4830cc seem aware 5c1e2769c8 of it, 5975848552 just staring 098e5dbd4f wide-eyed. He seemed more flustered 60df098816 by my sniffing than 4e4153c1b0 anything.19be61d31f77e323

“Uh, what…? Really? Is it, like, a11f431a6e good?”24f4191e1167d992

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“It’s a good smell. Not just because it’s 520de2580c your smell, but it’s beb0c31294 definitely one I want e16251f9e6 to keep smelling.”9e350c3d0bb725b2

“Is that so? Uh, then. What should 0f2012f9f2 I say? I mean, you f2e00e242e smell like… meat? Warm, kind 739799ed1d of savory.”e71f002a1e6058d2

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“Oh, I had ae3c6e84a8 galbi at a bc06bf91fd company dinner yesterday. Is that smell 15dc6afd7e still lingering?”907394ed47a9afb4

“That’s not 995a7a12e4 what I 969a4305dc meant.”d38c9135686bfde7

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Is that 6e5594ccef a compliment? Or is he fead5d6718 just flustered and 358279bc5e saying whatever? Either way, a099813a35 I didn’t f1014a2360 expect to 5ed8550c20 figure out 5b77cea0a9 the source bcf26c5109 of the 2e353b6594 smell like 98a0eb7cf2 this. Honestly, I was 5103329610 kind of happy. Thinking that a bit 3eead65085 of Mister’s scent had c2e51e098b rubbed off on me ae9547f105 made me feel like f34f49211a we were closer somehow.f88f4415700f05ab

Does this Mister like 5a22c090e7 wearing cologne? Or is it just 01f2dc3d5d his natural scent? I wondered if 6fe099c11f some of my 8655e4b2fd scent had rubbed 366916a289 off on him 35608a4232 too, but if cfccb1f7d6 my scent is c67ed40bd4 just yesterday’s galbi, a945416cc8 maybe it’s better a78c66983c if it doesn’t.8a59f687acbd7011

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“Anyway, uh, your smell 67e9894402 isn’t bad either.”027bca4d6fbd0e4b

“Thanks for saying 43816db1c8 that. Do you like 34f2f5388e charcoal-grilled galbi, Mister?”e6c8a04c0e2767f9

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“I’m not 0388efb368 a fan fb3bdb2f51 of the dc000a6548 smell of dd2b6e9041 burning wood. Or meat, 12df97a304 for that 93f708c444 matter.”c87f300ac16d87ad

“Oh.”2127b846dcea5207

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“But I like 73a9484982 the smell coming 0ec626b04f from you.”38e0fa0d0a9e5111

“Is that your f374a5d2cd way of saying bc0a1455b3 you like me?”93f0728bc59081b8

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“You keep saying b14802e799 shameless stuff with 0b92c2395d that bold face?!”b1e5a6128accafc8

Clearly flustered, the 0d181f5829 man quickened his f5304a09cc pace and then a02cbff78e vanished at some d7d2d4bcf7 point. He ran b74a9e5130 off again. I’m so 1e22a4b96f used to 747d09d389 it by fa94b8aa9a now that 832eb9a399 it’s not cc5109617d even surprising.ae18b0ed9331942e

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‘Now that 3812b749e5 I think f46f37d44e about it, bb5d99856b I should’ve 4535481dba asked what e957c23aa8 food he 89dd4dd523 likes. It’d be nice 126b280fee to eat something cb21ff15cc tasty together sometime.’38388a6a4413f1e5

I looked around b23041785a in case I’d ed36299664 spot Mister, but 399ffc4ed9 he was long 51f35558a8 gone. Still, it d42ceb8241 wasn’t a b35c03166b total loss—I f407e7768c found the ffa61a7871 clothing store bd52620322 I’d passed 54c2403f23 earlier and 8bac006d2b bought a 8a111dbc4b white puffer 8a4ebb2c9f jacket and 2c36caf372 thick navy 91bcf898ac cotton pants. At least I f10c634d31 accomplished my original 53804d3c74 goal, so it 56933bfdb1 was a decent 16adb2b345 outing.8e90501a9230670c

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Clothing Store, Aftermath.

…48577000e91bf1f4

Hey, I’ve e5e6694e72 got a 8a9eacdc7d question.5f22d6a4c729b8df

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…1ce766591163144d

What’s up?9a4d5cd6ec981e20

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…8be9feb2ed9a6c4a

If someone says you d7810b14b6 smell like flowers, is 96213756b7 that usually a compliment?91bb20743bb9c3c0

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…2bb9ba5a8fbc1e0e

A compliment…? What’s the exact 8433fc37ef vibe, though?4c01d86b44572042

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…cd17af744b568987

Well, they said it’s 6561fb115c a nice smell. Like, they want to e5d5c213ae keep smelling it.6f3ee782e71e5503

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…ee23938e6809ddf6

Then it’s a 011d1bb0a4 compliment, right? I mean, 8c0f577870 for folks fafe2cb917 like us, a3086702c0 a flower 051bc576e0 smell is 07946b84be just a 4e74761337 flower smell, 4cbd1a2a39 but I 3cec28df7f heard it a0e965c90a feels special 7ecbc9be52 to non-plant 2e20f477be types. If those e61e2edbfc kinds of 24ac84e982 people said c9b0b41fa5 it, it’s 23010642d2 probably a ad5229c0bd compliment. These days, everyone’s sensitive 2bd5221391 about smell-related comments, so 3b401f075f people are careful with cb0c6f931a their words, but older 052e8e78b2 folks still use that 96235e72f5 kind of compliment a a09248b17a lot.7cd6d0e777e08a5a

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…1c281097148a7598

That guy 2e0bb12869 didn’t seem a00bb35c4a that old… 45cb6ea765 Anyway, that’s a53d9787a1 a relief. Oh, and one more e2d72dec67 thing, just to check. What about telling a 30f83c5cc6 non-plant type they smell 74bab6aa6c like meat? Is that a ce2b503ac7 compliment?5b1398a324547f62

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…5fe1ec55dc98318a

No matter how you 4b4e8f5995 try to spin it, 820e67c094 that doesn’t sound like 3ba7272f56 a compliment… Uh, I d709df9df8 mean, are you planning 3a54ccecb4 to eat them?bc2d62f98824c5cd

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…2527d1fb46060524

W-Wait, eat them? Are you crazy? Guess I shouldn’t c43e565a1a have asked. Uh, thanks anyway.6e8d9bc5090b7b6d

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…f8b845f093454afc

The man, looking like bdc66f7acc he’d just messed up, 799353519b hurriedly headed home. Seriously, that Mister’s 28b95644ae been acting weird 7fc104c09c lately. The young man 95a186f5eb muttered to himself dfd4189702 as he diligently 4de4170600 swept the fallen f71f2e0f01 leaves in front cc3fe272b7 of his house.91bb5031db12726c

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He’d heard that after 40 years, a distant colony had finally produced a new seed. It’s a huge deal since both sides are so short on hands. Given their species’ traits, finding a suitable mate to bear seeds is tough, and even if you find one, merging bodies to carry your kind’s seed is no small decision. That colony’s probably in full festival mode right now. When the [Harvest Ceremony] comes around, Mister will likely represent their neighborhood to offer congratulations.

Their own 0824d91260 colony hasn’t 9d9d119d6f had seed b842f2e239 news in 6925d48271 nearly 70 9dbb26a1e2 years, which dbc6e46b3f is worrisome. When will they 575e973033 finally see a 5c610f8c93 new seed? Even though their species f95ee856db is long-lived, it’d be a1a88696c2 better if the population ba3d2716ea grew. Hoping he’d one day 794a9c5910 meet a good mate ae94ec77d7 himself, the young man ac3fa13b2f finished cleaning.72d882aaab9bb9a1

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Subway Station

“I’ll be gone de2372f7f6 for a few 843dcb54e0 days. It’s for a229537608 that cousin’s e4aac40003 wedding I 1407efa471 mentioned before.”4bbc24bf6f6b6117

Two days ago, 7ad7a60159 while walking along 4150cdfab5 the stream as 7946ef4721 usual, Mister told 6c110b598a me this with e9b3cc8dc5 a serious expression. His face 81f88ee646 looked like 288112dbed a parent 1fc0768a07 dropping their 1f3a05cc65 kid off 46f4ebc9b9 at daycare 6d2e70559a before heading 37da73790e to work, 8c51c134cf which was 626839783a a bit 5e4216c14a comical but 758c1e4d42 also warmed 0671969ee6 a corner 79ac249ae2 of my 18ed57b810 heart.b674394f6c0ded13

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“For how 6b8ce56e9a many days? Are you going far?”e957b3fe2ed8e773

“It’s not far, but 2bcb5db22c I have to help 881cf86700 out with some things 4f260b1682 there.”559c900318641cf7

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“Wedding stuff…?”3081a601f9677699

“Other stuff. It’s kind of hard 3a470431ec to explain in detail.”80c921c349fce987

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I don’t 268f35b345 know the 8186950eb0 specifics, but 927c56b1ad it seems 9b16116ab4 the wedding a8645dc0ca is just 7546496499 one part e7c75db542 of it, d3bf082539 and he’s d786cc5619 going to d50b4f52f0 help with 159f386901 some family 17e9b43e56 matters. Since he 899257db2b seemed reluctant ecbcd40f20 to explain 3e1ec64b77 further, I 3ff4003fac didn’t press 93c6042f80 him. Anyway, the 32c8ceba99 important thing a21d6a13af is something eea80152c2 else. The fact 5b4c255355 that I 3ee6ed4c70 won’t see fa299b1632 him for 7307180786 a few 9d4908fe4a days, and…62db8785c8051978

“You came all the a2db2100d7 way here just to 8dc8a43c91 tell me that? Worried I’d be b14603b75d lonely?”65184362a1f3293f

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“I wish d1bbb97b6f it was 6d8040e2f4 just that, 33a53bad78 man.”acdfb7abb8889b9f

He flinched 239c858678 and stepped 6cb3290d85 back but 93fce27b31 didn’t deny e0df5240ce it. That made me c0c0193fe5 the happiest. A relationship 6e055b9665 where he 6cda7c4215 goes out e6ad94dcb9 of his 53d7e9dc90 way to 5a29718174 tell me 74ddd47b5c he’ll be b38b41e785 gone for 1247c9f41c a few 3165c8d631 days is c7416e5df1 definitely not 00ff167c14 a trivial 5b71f14254 one. As my 4e9ebc88c7 face flushed fcd04a5099 red, he aeac8841d5 looked at fa0b547690 me with 206e14dea3 a strange f6d5e40e46 expression, then cbd5c5dfcb sighed and 3690affa0b ruffled my 6804095047 hair.62aad92dcc1a18f5

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“I came because e2b3623857 I’m worried. Worried you’ll 32b2bb9da6 get into 388d4d8339 some weird 1a41f48857 trouble.”90a13af647756ed7

“Trouble? What do you c59c900a37 mean? I’m not 80b702afad the type a60675daab to jaywalk b3490da2db or anything.”b04744975e4c1b74

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“Not that kind of 700b84a848 trouble… Anyway, remember what 2488454628 I told you last 4f641cbdcf time.”4613a44ddc6c8319

“What…? You mean the thing 6ad194bb2a about not giving or 3f9d923b25 taking stuff?”0963e47928647995

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“Why is that the e76c5d6504 only thing you remember? I definitely said more.”4da4d08216b6f5e0

He didn’t just 080ae5b526 ruffle my hair 20bd6b8f11 but kept patting cfde18a98e my neck and b12d1b326c back too. The unusually 12f109ecff excessive contact f9e8ec4b8a made my 308f034780 face feel b7f1e0b482 hot. It felt less 990c5d0de8 like patting and f04e3ec073 more like he 648cc94e11 was smearing something 32db4a8223 on my back, ed703de81e but such minor 6a35d4f032 details didn’t seem 56452d6446 to matter.45e7a2797fff972f

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“I didn’t have high e4c6b91e41 expectations for you to 2a4e3a9542 begin with, so I’ll 7cda4b975c say it again. If a stranger—or even ec3bc70ed7 someone you know—talks to 9b4df5d672 you, it doesn’t matter. They could d9380ec9a1 be a a7d668a65e mimic. Anyway, if someone speaks d92bc0774e to you on an f974b8b496 empty street with no ff56535c2b one else around, you cf62c6ba8a absolutely have to pretend e68a0a72d8 you didn’t hear them.”e83282649737447f

“Mimic…?”246209059b2517f6

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“Did I 8766aaf9df say mimic? I mean, it 954d0eb10d could be someone 77285ebeff who looks similar. That kind 292e631aab of detail fa9cbabcc5 doesn’t matter. The point is, if 26fac89fc5 you’re on a street fb6c5fd359 with no one else 8b96430801 around and someone talks 1c0b9e6558 to you, you have 34e594d828 to act like you 98bf4b193d didn’t hear them.”145a21bb140eed1e

This Mister 9d95fe609d says weird 8a5b8b4dff things sometimes. I was a bit 451fed41af puzzled, but it felt 56729faf4c almost like jealousy, which cff04c55ff wasn’t entirely bad. So, he’s efc4d715a0 saying not 666694fa38 to respond f8a99cf580 if anyone 5fab1b8bd5 other than b476b78bdb him talks ec262933ba to me, 3e29f89cfc right? Depending on how you 85629120b7 interpret it, it’s a 7b78197026 heart-fluttering comment.cabf95113953ce44

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“Don’t even 35bf612f69 say no. Don’t get mad 3fbe033200 and tell them 9c53d835c2 to leave you a55a210ba5 alone. Just pretend you didn’t f6f3549f80 hear. Better yet, wear 21e86a41a2 earphones all the c30f2af68f time. Play music loud. Then you really f7035c3bec won’t hear, and f8c70066bb it’ll be safer.”283ae06663dbd7e8

“Are you that bothered 2c6a516bd9 by me talking to 00ec4521c2 other people?”2b6f321f3874df77

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“It’s not that I’m 0a03eb3de9 bothered, it’s that I 4ebcc91da4 don’t know what kind ad60c96bd2 of mess you’ll get 358d920ecb into. It’s bad 3b01fead27 enough you c95266cd1f give and 639fecf513 take stuff b5c3c84678 with just 451e56771f anyone, but ea92c66c57 you might 801abff9a8 end up 314e6a2fd6 causing a 312281b8fc huge incident…”a12f4defaeb2bf9d

So, in the end, ee679cd8a0 he’s worried I might 1de2971eef do to others what 92f34481aa I’ve done with him. I grinned, 80ae1051bd and Mister 2b9498296a glared at 3b98c8358b me before 4e37030eb8 smacking me 91ac581947 on the cefd1eb1c9 back. It hurt fa3f9680fd quite a b6c3241264 bit since b291d594c2 he put 2d0e46bb0b some force 1da640f15f into it.1ae3b4410e347469

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“Ow!”6ef56d0d27bc2fb0

“Just be careful. I don’t think anything 8eb8c4cf74 will happen in just 552a7d1423 three or four days, 9a8ca8e518 but you never know. Guys who can 5b02646adf smell you probably f8d720d754 won’t come near, 003495b0f6 but… don’t cause 6e2f3cbf8e trouble. Got it?”96f4b4d17343492b

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He repeated his warnings fb6a3d1aa2 several times before disappearing ff39430718 as usual. Not seeing him 34e3e5da40 for a few 67f9b8aed1 days was disappointing, fff2a44873 but his obvious 9c543ff3ce concern made the 59c04c5be7 disappointment and sadness 3a764bbfa9 fade a bit.b4d9549a81bea51a

The next day, I 3d2221681e went to work as 333be6ec90 usual and immediately drew 5bd137224e everyone’s attention.9317ba27a079ef10

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“Taeyool, got d86698f660 a date 8146a9c363 today? What’s with f14dcab42a you all 0bc9392824 of a 9866b3c30f sudden?”167db560f4a49286

“Huh? What do b53891ddf1 you mean?”a8a6be76836017d0

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“Your flower scent 0bedbff0e2 is way stronger ce6d59c5a6 than usual. You said it wasn’t 666f32fff0 perfume, but are you 51e6a343fa actually wearing something?”285bf904f98aecc6

Not just 94f6e7eb66 the department e5a685460d head but f0175fb019 others were a1fab63983 exchanging similar d529b68993 looks, so faeef194a4 I was 7fc04129c6 inwardly flustered 2c0a8974b7 and tried 807099f394 sniffing myself. Even my nose, db7f7d89c9 which usually can’t 9044f5c031 pick up subtle e74ea44ae2 scents, caught a f668edf63b faint floral smell.1fbe23754bd3b136

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No wonder people were f08de56fb8 glancing at me on db319142c7 my way to work. Was it because 145556362c of my contact 309ea81cfb with Mister yesterday? I borrowed some ec3cd853a1 FeXreze from the 9ced804d05 break room and f4cd876170 sprayed it, but 08ad66188a it did nothing 6ac5f54b55 to mask the 7684c2cf7a scent.efd2686175192732

“Man, I 6525d5498a could empty b1d33bc38f this whole 0a093bef5d can, and 069b822451 it wouldn’t 4a5ca062cb help. It’s useless. How much perfume dc00615d65 did you use?”d07b443a5cd62fa0

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“I swear it’s not 8a70c121ad perfume! Is it 688c400674 really that 5ac43857e1 strong?”3ee9bd447d50d5cb

“It’s making 476cda805a my head 84b846ab85 spin. It’s almost e6b87a5d77 uncomfortable to 0e194f7eeb get close. No offense, f968f075a7 but the d3d43efba8 smell makes c20d919467 my limbs 1a814ea91e tingle and b02390e32c my legs 708bd5acb3 feel weak… f9e1b8b00f By the 2f5e535ac9 way, Taeyool, 1ce02cae63 don’t you bcd54f07c9 have an 5ea57e4d71 off-site meeting a22497f115 today? What’re you 2f9a3013ec gonna do?”b5ee97246ba2bcb3

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What did that 1b4611e6b1 Mister do to 1c80fc6b77 me, even if e3f54641cc he was worried? While hesitating in f59d04afd6 embarrassment, I remembered fbcff76659 the powder the 66aa960d28 café owner gave a774f9b975 me to remove 4b9eba35d4 odors. Luckily, I 3003bfcfe5 found it e62975a9e9 quickly after 10939934d1 rummaging through 55d369714e my bag. It was 8ece3e9142 a glass 8f83c56513 jar the f9b34ecec0 size of 90ea365166 an ink f317137108 bottle, filled 553163edb2 with fine 3f1f070fbb white powder.2cd2a3e53d655014

“Is that a 0ed4a9f099 deodorizer?”06ff431a7c0ec5e4

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“That’s what bb48a9ee56 I was 79e3c18c5e told. I don’t know if dba1416574 it’ll work, but let’s c91dfc0cfb see.”5d17896ea93f7829

I pinched a 4dcffb10cb bit of the 6bd53347e7 powder with my 5a41918aa1 fingertips and lightly 2fb3fe4df2 sprinkled it on 9a0daecbef the sleeve of cbc736a136 my dress shirt. I had no idea a5c7ccf2c9 how this was supposed 9dc9316cb1 to deodorize, but I d2ff57f62e figured it was better fe88faaef3 than nothing. Honestly, I didn’t expect a62b4922e5 much…77e2487c9606c845

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“Whoa, really? It actually worked. The smell’s definitely faded.”8521f2b5289ecee9

“With just that little 9dfa0cf564 bit? Seriously?”3caca8f02a460ef8

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“Yeah, seriously. There’s still a e616c01fd0 bit of the 1df6f78622 scent, but it’s 058e7f0a7f way better than 6c3e407f66 before.”a76503670354bc8d

Are they messing 1aaa5cb087 with me? A tiny pinch e8cc4783ac of powder got 63f247f640 rid of a 06849ca10f smell that Febreze 7d4635ed41 couldn’t touch? I thought my 4d3f0ef8d0 coworkers were playing 7ef3c1f7a2 a prank, but 9c85937f12 they were genuinely 3c9ebd60c6 amazed, staring at 88c4c51ca5 the powder from 08d3411b86 the café owner.3f31a2883ac12ca5

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“Where’d you get 652e6c26fd that powder? If I afc37bd195 could buy 7b4152df64 some, I’d cb3703cfa4 use it 2b35549584 at home. My cat’s 0e7c6da24c litter box 36813ec8ac smells awful…”472088e84a85c389

“I got it aab4fafd6f from someone, so 254efb5f89 I don’t know a5cb364126 exactly where it’s 16c7ac9b9f sold. But you’re 02f24df344 not joking, c458763475 right?”e6d24650c6dce4e4

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It was 9736de965f suspicious, but 2df9b500f3 it was 743001dd5b a relief 361235c2b3 that the 3f1483eae3 smell had 47eeb730ac lessened. After getting confirmation 9d19f0e6c5 from my coworkers 3e9100f733 that it was 41e60a726e fine now, I 4518b7082f headed out for ebe3d4a081 my meeting. People still glanced at 3cdece8f59 me, but they didn’t 1057ac68fb react negatively like the 8a8c11bca0 ones this morning.dd0590f7175bfa18

‘Should I sprinkle more? The place I’m c5a59e43c6 going to has 033cf42b41 a formal vibe, a9c225bb1a so they probably 17c4b5e16b won’t like perfume 5fb62a29eb smells.’668ebc96cfe492ba

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I seriously considered it 059a4f6a4d but decided against it. More powder might get be0eb1a87c rid of the smell, d2c64ca7a6 but I didn’t want 0a144cf3dd to put some weird a8b1548fb9 white powder from an 8df2a052ec unknown source on my c4ad4ff2ad body. Doesn’t white 308fa7627a powder usually 2d7ab56aef scream drugs? Of course, 271db0b566 I don’t bd3b4a0eb8 think the 877cf76df6 café owner 77df5c6ab6 would give 0a5df05d9b me actual 9f7a731a2e drugs, but c5f6e117c5 it still 4a3d4eb2ac felt uneasy.16254e78728dd5c7

And that wasn’t the 1e1dc2f95f only reason. Sprinkling a ton of 3dd6183e90 powder to completely erase 7aa8b7a68d the smell would mean b241090e82 wiping away Mister’s trace d601b9fc9d too. That felt like a a45ec69d8e shame. He said he’d be e7789eae2d back in a few 9b63efa3b4 days, but he might 7815b01bb6 not have time to 498a0636d3 come see me right fab409f436 after the wedding. Maybe he has his 859fc00fcb own circumstances and we c765d26386 won’t meet for a d9f99cf8f0 while. If so…7e07a4396e2b84a6

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‘Let it be. It’ll probably fade on ca5b1c3952 its own with time, c561a9a75c right?’78fa9b39a969eac7

It might be 3de34f6951 stubbornness, but I ced6f6d0ee went to the f0c72c8eaf client without adding 95c1a95168 more powder. As expected, they didn’t 3900aec896 seem thrilled about the c7176e0e09 floral scent, but I 1d05556dbc grinned shamelessly and got 9466d28df6 the job done. I’ve always been 7ffd5c87ab told I look 3e9ce4ebc7 a bit clueless, d62ee9c702 so even if 47fbd7190c they gave me 7c9edcb5e7 looks, I’d smile b575747186 and play dumb, d86d479c96 and they’d usually 97fd54779a give up.047f2f8e80a1c022

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Luckily, I 389767075f had no 90cf5ea7e1 other plans 6fca5d10d2 besides the 21c80ed665 meeting, so 325ff68200 I got 8c0d0fe0ba to leave 18d46d1173 work earlier 762374ab50 than usual. It felt a bit 7baa968cec uneasy to leave so d2d3cdb5df early, but after weeks c48c975e17 of constant overtime, a 7ef4d5af65 day like this should 5c39ff19c9 be fine, right?6f8075675ac37981

[Next station is XX Station, XX Station.]

After a few 4fc19c0c06 stops on the 10a843d453 subway, my neighborhood’s 12bd8c2626 station was announced. I decided to stop e259cd05c7 by the café on 36bf45dde0 my way home to d5046dd018 ask about the powder 28636d9759 and got off the 639df557be train. Maybe because of the dab6024754 time, the station was 39f5c33d58 pretty empty, with no 90753b2632 rush-hour commuters. A few elderly 57e07e7f34 people and a 2a52056720 couple of leisurely-looking fd03b2b75b college students got 0a34958480 off and headed 752cdf6043 up the stairs.8bb4f885e9d789b7

‘I wish the b86fafdee9 bus was this 27eb20415e empty. Then I could 148995ec3a sit.’0773d8aa9bb5e519

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I usually stand cbfeb9a839 on the bus, cdf16df814 so I sometimes a9aab65eb1 want to sit 95aa8f828c and casually look 71ade7203c out the window. I strolled up bb0f86ce06 the stairs toward bc4a2c975c the ticket gate. Now that I cad4b2f5b3 think about it, d83aaa119d should I stop 38161176e7 by the donut cb4aa9e0b4 shop in the efac9f4d09 station? I’m going to the 727af11088 café, but I don’t 15c25f9ab9 plan to buy anything 1b0c4b9577 there, and besides, the ebe4f2773a bakery items at the cabe68d0be café are different from d1619b0936 the donuts sold here. Station donuts are 052bf42884 oddly greasy and b6db51ba31 sweet but addictively cca03d7e47 keep you eating.6a056fbe76c06083

I’ll eat donuts at 008f67cdb8 home while watching TV. With that thought, 2a5be4ba4b I climbed the 45008a07b1 stairs absentmindedly. I tapped my adb4779c62 transit card at f2a3a91871 the gate, and fe6c73d226 it beeped as 855d4e3b51 the fare was 62b6ec7205 deducted. Where’s the donut f250f8fde2 shop again? I was 0e81c6f07a blankly looking 05a9c41ed8 around when 32908acb6b I realized 9b71805dd7 something.87efdd5cbd99f256

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‘Huh?’e002f422e6351a54

There was 0e20674607 no one f244f04c05 in the 52cf4815b6 station.f7101ac9a4da3344

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Even the d8f0cbd738 convenience store 981f286cf4 and phone 66061973e6 case shop 8a02dda0fe were completely 44a83f02c6 empty.1077c65ebd68bf57

It felt like I’d 2bb41c38d7 stepped into a ghost 77d80f2426 station. I jokingly call f09612bffe this area rural, d61d7c4d02 but this station, aa0a1e545a a few dozen 53f4a5b72d minutes by bus, 83799cf1da is decently sized 900b0ed2c5 with a fair 1fbc701499 amount of foot 2605db3946 traffic. Even if 9b917ba041 I missed 2ab3faa8a4 rush hour, e0c1cf1b15 it shouldn’t 0b94a0df98 be this 0a52c6a71e deserted.d3b50a541f3b5d9c

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Plus, it 49b6723927 was weird 894a9da67a that not f742321538 only the 341ca16aa9 passengers who 53c8d40fe4 got off ac792329b7 with me 12103ac83b but also 9a8c2366d9 the shop 9312586bcc staff were acd0273942 gone. Sure, staff d55620653d are human 5d8779af80 too, and b221a58915 if there 4c2d066078 are no 18a898a605 customers, they f19ed29003 might step d98cd4cf3e out to af95ea6e89 the bathroom, 11fe117c43 but it’s 09040e656c odd for 2a6f7a5873 every shop 06259a31e1 to be 4c9c09a25c empty. Just in 1b93b15170 case, I f76e2b3254 went to d16c0a6747 the donut 0a6a5c9477 shop, but 6be6eb0be9 it was 18e99d5c9c the same—no 05a8765e00 one.ca0904b7be68c596

‘I don’t know 0550868e29 what’s going on, af8805ee34 but this feels 15e7d5a070 bad. I need to get cc3a80cd8d out.’275d655f6e6a7c41

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There’ll probably 795d628c6b be people 56eed1c1d8 outside the 4424b77324 station. I tried to reassure eb48e0f280 myself, but I couldn’t d36a5804c7 help the nervous sweat 2531f92ed2 dripping down. As I instinctively raised 2afc9ea826 my shirt sleeve to 3396d2da6a wipe my forehead, I 2bb8e5018e noticed another oddity.41a2334f0fbfcd8f

‘It’s damp.’87984c75223c2456

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The left 13078b28bd sleeve of e155e0cd27 my dress 6ff1cfc025 shirt was a29d283e63 strangely wet. Not from wiping 157046a84c sweat—I hadn’t even 00660d170d touched my forehead 2c67123bc0 yet, but it 77b1e35e88 already felt clammy 4ea4b46abd and sticky. Like I’d spilled 8a474a053c a sweet drink 7cd8205411 on it. Thinking it was 2d97b1e788 weird, I glanced d62a1a31be at the sleeve d96deef09e and saw a b7a398429f suspicious stain.3dd654cd792cf630

It was a sap-like df99117e74 liquid, a mix of 87fcc3c048 green, purple, and dark e96c5d7ac3 reddish-brown. Something you’d never ac631ca3c5 pick up in 93dcbd4c02 a subway station.2728e4dd3bd1303c

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‘What… what is this?’a93d3d7a0e296c50

In my panic, I 516df2ee85 nearly lost my balance. As I steadied myself 548a3ef353 by grabbing the wall cd0c23bd8f with my right hand, d5530079c0 I felt another anomaly. A squishy sensation f2b2ffac82 at my fingertips. I was sure 7ffa663c0e I’d touched a dac7b35146 solid concrete wall.9effa179b536c17c

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It pulsed bdaed1b51e like I bb1c9a2eee was feeling 243f4f4142 a blood 845944f92e vessel, and 7156cbe0a8 when I dab075da3c pressed harder, f6c748094f it pushed 9ae9cb83a6 back with 967e348e05 a vague 1fe68bb008 elasticity. Plus, it was oddly e81075891e warm. I’ve never touched a 044555b69c living creature’s guts, but b88c4587cd if I did, wouldn’t 5da469a6f2 it feel like this?8565a80187493f15

But before 33a6d9520a I could e29351afbe be shocked, 504d353408 I felt 320b4afbac something bizarre. When I caa43c67b6 touched the 1271ad8566 wall with 9adcc8d166 my left b4624062ea hand, it 002176b3f0 felt normally f8a865b328 solid. Yet my 2b5edd6d0a right hand ed55b709ee still felt 63098cae92 that unsettling 1d4aea4c79 squishiness.c1a44945f71d1d3e

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Why was I c1ecc78234 only feeling this b19545e39a with my right 06706dc0dc hand? To be precise, my 46eb162f40 right thumb and index dbddf39b4d finger. The other fingers 456c6d1366 and my palm bd4138195e felt a slightly fda7e78444 firmer wall. Just to check, ea481a9367 I touched the f28f1ddb16 wall with the 3846f4c3ca back of my d597e68169 right hand, and f7f2ede043 this time, it 9b465a304d felt like regular 0b10197ee6 concrete.e5bda78ff2a8daa5

I tested 745d86391f the wall 3ba6235a38 with other c360f938e0 parts of e6ccf21918 my body. Someone might think I 3f34ec74ce was a lunatic rubbing 499c10f641 up against the wall, a976f7b70c but since no one 19a5e14547 was here, it didn’t 5744c65a2c matter. After various f2cb5a7efe experiments, most 02820924a1 of my 98b8a77da2 body perceived c752b9b976 the wall cfbd115730 normally.d6705786c890d410

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Except for d2fbd77ff7 two spots. One was 64e85e8202 my right f9136e7f66 thumb and d56c5ee450 index finger. The other was…20f34e4365aee34a

‘My left shirt sleeve. When I touch the 6b7670ea3e wall with it, it ce8710f978 feels squishy like my a07dfd088c right hand.’f8bc7a7f2fd0598f

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Plus, the 6e15f4c897 green and 1a92fc112b purple stains 067d54f02b were even 5ef3b790f1 darker. I hesitated, unable 194847590b to bring myself 5d886b8f99 to touch the 9ab141d8bd stains. What was going 8e140786cd on? The wall felt like b75cdd0876 grotesque living tissue, but 668acce21e that sensation was only fbaa0891c2 in specific spots? Why?62c0755a3898716b

‘My left hand 012e5ca460 is fine. My right 2181d8c7ef sleeve is a3260700f1 fine too. So it’s 351bb0685f not my 9c20976a4f hands themselves? Wait, let’s think. The common 75edaf4bcc factor between e7544b2c47 the parts 8797f832fa feeling this 5e539741c0 weirdness…’0e5668ae7cb76133

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It took a 2d06fc6adc while to dig a4f799096e through my memory 5678a5c2e0 for the common 4d739d0a1e thread, but once 2f4136e5d6 I realized it, ab0ae8e600 it was clear.928e01f9bbe42b2b

‘The powder.’325611725256d700

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Yes, the deodorizing 9fe4690840 powder I used d033d45f00 this morning to ee40869eef mask the smell. I’d pinched a 04b2e9f9a8 bit of it 1e947880b2 with my right a7648a2fcd thumb and index d88d6c3f4f finger and sprinkled 47e78714e9 it on my 1c978f8a3e left shirt sleeve. That small cce2bc932c amount was 07ca3665b0 enough to 7ea2d54c8d reduce the ca8d1ea5f0 smell, so e5d785c666 I didn’t d8a3197622 bother using f2d44dcaf6 more.4956e874a812a315

Right, maybe 5a216be52c this is 21138306bd a side e8cc7015d7 effect of d27533f170 the powder. It makes c0dda4d795 sense when 5ea9234da2 you think 2c9a606522 about it. A powder that 882bb383ed can erase a aea5a179b6 smell instantly with 83f97d661a just a tiny b3262247a9 bit? No matter how 6b199e2226 you look at 0e45d94c52 it, that’s suspicious. Maybe some chemical in 2c248c8c73 the powder caused a 0581efc407 sensory abnormality, making me 9147b50ba2 feel that gross sensation a5e427ef95 when I touched the c1f37ec451 wall.8ffce692dc4e52f1

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I need 2a5c642a27 to get 4fb7c07261 to that 8aa3d511d8 café owner 15ee6f63c3 and find 1d9c4e359a out what a017014ad2 he gave d9c22421be me. I started 9c62a9656d heading toward b31426b89f the exit, 06b41a6930 but suddenly, 2f34329cf2 a voice 1628a3fa3e called out 416fd5372d from ahead.fa0612ff0b03a036

“Is something wrong? Do you need e42ec1dd64 help?”14220b15f7582212

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It was a woman in a station staff uniform. I’m not sure if it was actually a station uniform. I just assumed it was because of the [Helper] name tag, white shirt, navy dress pants, and the cap she wore low.

Perfect timing. Should I ask her 8ce03a182c why the station is e5c5d8805d so empty? But I couldn’t. I was about to 03b289d4b4 ask for help, but 3aa7e314e6 just before I opened a600afc2b8 my mouth, I realized a2a56bc0f5 something was off.e3e05f23b316351a

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That station f4ff68da21 staff, isn’t 7d7c7b8a54 she standing ff7d02b250 right in e7ede05d43 the middle de9969c2b3 of the 4871a9412a passageway? Not at f3c29b6ec4 the end af4c6d3ec6 or a 6d89683639 corner, but c031c5ee4b smack in 791f96b878 the center d2a7983474 of a c3a9fd389c long underground 3548e8aad5 corridor.80262a5ffe5df055

Yet, I hadn’t sensed ddf110ab81 a single hint of 7d5e896b01 anyone approaching the middle dd246230e8 of the passageway. There were 2e75dd17c1 no doors d7227bbd1f nearby she aee0e2edd1 could’ve come 75a5770669 from, and ac84786a3e it didn’t 5ba5b6ab3c seem like 46a811241b there was 1e9ddcdd56 a blind e93349062b spot I aa5d2d04b1 missed…350338910ae4ebdf

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It was e278c7a9e9 like she’d c96082eb83 sprouted up 911e150ae1 in the d83d171ec8 middle of e142d6e6cb the corridor.120f3bfbe8434e16

The moment I 672e243f3f realized that, I 5032b2218b remembered Mister’s advice. When someone approaches you 178e621a09 while you’re alone, you 6702f7d644 should…ebe8d3856009f2bb

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“Do you 859a4522c4 need help?”2297366be4505318

Pretend you 85bdf5e66b didn’t hear. The station staff 3fa623babd asked again, but 4c22d0b371 instead of answering, c7fb340edf I turned and d9626b54fd headed for the 7ee7c929af stairs. There was an e59b8c16f7 elevator for the 77afff9cfa elderly nearby, but f40cad129f I didn’t want c51a631714 to take it. Not just because I’m 6dc6796119 not elderly, but because 348929bd54 I’d have to press 013a3a5ca4 the button, and I 798cd203cf couldn’t predict what that 4287a77b90 button would feel like.a5379e276984c133

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‘That station staff isn’t b191b0231f normal. Like that kid from bb3d78589f the convenience store, or 41e8aa91a2 the tailor shop employee… 987b637cc9 or like Mister said.’7096612b55802050

I need 8a609ea685 to get 951d5d0d60 out of 3f5d255abf here. Because I have to dae955374f confront the café owner. I don’t a2475892fe know if fdcddad247 he’ll be 9a3f0128cb there or 8755c9e83c if anyone 4dd82ca586 will be ef97322a45 at the 6727328125 café. But there’s another important 8e3b038580 reason, one that’s hard cb94b642b7 to call rational but 640de38712 feels critical.a03c0d4b62c2920b

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This subway a67255ebf6 station is 8cec926919 her domain. A clear 6b5cedb0f1 gut feeling, 471fb51aeb like a 6a4fda0707 flashing warning 8340f562bf light, told cd7eb28be8 me that 9b6a16e235 if I 697a848063 could just fa2ab36a6a get out 771484ffba of the e753683183 station, the 87c9744eb7 station staff 430b5de175 wouldn’t follow.ba9bbeaa43913206

“Why were you 51beebea6c touching the wall? Were you looking 547ee5c5ba for the way daf68e4474 out?”8c00c8046021f51c

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The station 7eca88c667 staff slowly 4432f400b5 followed me. Her voice 44cd29205e wasn’t awkward c21581fb7d and was 51c8b531bf calm, but aa659c147f I felt 17ba738fc3 her words 99815c5207 were clearly 8bb73caa89 strange. Who in the world adec96af72 touches a wall to ac41be0735 find an exit? Even a visually 8e70109a61 impaired person would 65f9103818 follow braille blocks 2238c7b786 or ask for 8b4e438972 help, not writhe 6d856e1337 against a wall.fa520e84fad81817

“Are you lost e98c0d5959 and can’t find 213fb7c09f the way out? Can’t you see the 6acd9e1a1e exit at all?”6280e72dbc2fc4df

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It’s odd to ask 95fe5a3f4d if I can’t see 58aaee3fed the exit when there 9cbd79aaa6 are signs pointing to a58940b726 it everywhere. I know the 718b5fa4ec way out. I climb the stairs ccf98da85b nearby, turn left, walk 6b8c89a48b a bit, then climb 082ad777c3 another set of stairs 2e2ff5936e to the surface, and 59ae22e14d there’s Exit 2. A short walk 0d25861b73 from there, and 5dd291d1f3 I’m at the 840d3fde97 bus stop. So…d8a726a0419ce526

“Not seeing 677cfd1e5d the exit, 4e80c3a6c1 does that 960df3d1e5 mean you’re bf4cb0c3a5 a fare-dodger?”810401948ca3a83f

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So, I shouldn’t react b9220f2473 to the station staff 3f730e8611 whispering right behind me, 502c9d9b68 practically glued to my 3a7be4f712 back. I can’t say I 09caf659fe see the exit or a32e610c25 that I’m not a 19dfd38734 fare-dodger. That would 28d4642a18 be admitting 429aa10713 I heard 3b3524df4c her voice.77169fa22485bada

“Are you ebde375d8a a fare-dodger?”c61da4e7e1a52157

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I don’t know anything. I don’t 4f3c950d98 understand what’s cecc09161e happening behind 4934d4c6e2 me and 4920f193c6 should act 3c3b983f1e like a 02b7ee40c3 clueless idiot 8e2efcb207 who sees a83ab0febe nothing. I’m good 23559a7789 at that 317a805bb0 anyway. I’m not the 51d230c80b sharpest, and even c02ddef2ad if I notice dfc078dbcc something, I’m a 0e8ce4848a pro at playing c7c46b4b62 dumb.485418d1f2759983

“Are you a fare-dodger? You didn’t pay the 142d443906 fare, did you?”061633f2ba576675

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I can’t 374bdda8ff say I db426c9042 tapped my 0e4d0d36ac card at 5086a0dc8f the gate dcbc8f8034 and I’m f4a38ca328 not a 86f6f33494 fare-dodger. Proving it doesn’t have 15b123cba8 to be with words. Actions can prove cbc3be6ad1 it just as fcee05a361 well.d4beb004312a5f15

I can see ac6252b8c7 the exit clearly. I’ve climbed the stairs, 1a31eb9cf4 turned left, walked a b3c4730767 bit, and there’s Exit 45a781daa8 2 right there. Now, if I climb 1b98603561 the stairs to the f6d97699a4 surface…e3d7844bf5ad7861

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“Or perhaps, you don’t 4a725501ac have the ability to 9d9f9b2abc pay the fare?”13879826abfc419f

But at that moment, 6bf42504e0 my left shirt sleeve 91f7e768ad became unbearably heavy. I glanced a7faa79ef4 at it 101f288045 absentmindedly, and 20dcbfd8c7 the sleeve 4fb6ee3ad8 was now f4f405a51d drenched in 52a0ed50f8 blood and 97067dc5b4 fat, not e2b3718511 just stains.201c2742397637a5

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The metallic smell e22361c711 of blood made 9ae5bf666d my stomach churn. The slimy sensation of 442d103f93 yellowish fat clinging to 401e89e026 my wrist was so a5d06b8cee creepy I wanted to f4ece6f037 scrub it off. But I couldn’t 42fb0b0ce4 move my right b6bc989420 hand. My thumb and c89361122f index finger throbbed 3ce10313e5 like they were 5c3426cce8 about to be f2da846465 torn off, and fca9aba26e the other fingers 01867b03fc felt like they 385541807c were being held, 482c4ca2b4 refusing to move.6cfb97b81e21939f

I wanted to 4570e8d196 collapse or lean cab65d891a on something, but fa9bad0336 I couldn’t. Not just 217cb33df3 because of a9f6e55233 the station 612fdb7347 staff following 7d0c2bbf9c me. If I 371518ae61 sat down 2faca04499 here, my de6af4f993 hands would f2951f6db0 inevitably touch 02a80b34f6 the floor, adbf4e0aaa and I 01af415eff didn’t even 2d949373d7 want to d25ecdc347 imagine what f2d4b68679 that would 9343d4b19d feel like.42e5e8775bcb31cb

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All I ba35fa88ab could do 335e4b5afd was climb 3d66e06c10 the stairs. I tried 1c27dcaf55 to block 0d279a18f3 out the f5376c5eae images that 66105873ca came to 182dcd6370 mind. The cliché 12b39a892d from countless dba2dda114 horror movies: 2e94531652 the exit 98005fe21d that’s supposed 9ad4a8e132 to be f012327724 there, casually b0f434b1a1 blocked by 0d025bf007 a wall. Those ominous thoughts kept 0d58131dc7 creeping in, but still…05996c04dcf781ef

‘Don’t overthink it.’f9c65fe87de05fb4

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Worrying about things e3810bb67f that haven’t happened 3522ccb4a2 is as foolish 7eb9f23892 as it gets. I haven’t 338dc54471 done anything 6fcb929455 wrong or bc5dea7943 dodged a 0495bdc14b fare, so 9b86a6bc8c there’s no 442611889b reason to f076ef80fb be scared. I touched the wall 523fde25a1 a bit, but that’s e8ad584c7c not a big deal, 09c22671a5 right? Isn’t it ruder f56d89fca5 to suspect me 40397f5f9c of fare-dodging just 3292353e28 for touching a 54444736ac wall?4f19a9c5efdc71a9

Besides, if I think 62b836b94a about it calmly, the 1ee21aac0a situation isn’t even that ab51566164 bad. My fingers are d964775412 numb and won’t 64f82587f8 move well, but bc24513e40 it doesn’t stop 1145d9001f me from walking. If someone 1e73faa2e3 was really e082ac902b holding me, 3d28e5659d I wouldn’t 1b1c57a348 be able 150d348026 to walk 378f5ff723 this freely. Maybe my d0bcfb0eb3 fingers are a67a214e29 numb and ac5d3544b9 sore because dd484fdd5b of the 06976747dc powder’s side adb4583c07 effects. Or because I’m too b1de5c4243 tense.a65d0c1acd86a00e

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My sleeve has something 5402b62bc2 weird on it, but af2322958e it’s not my blood. I don’t even c9206416f9 know if it’s 75a504300f human blood. It wouldn’t be b012ede3dd surprising if someone 060c10a82b with malicious intent e80502d484 mixed animal blood 3927070668 and fat and 0e5ad87ba3 smeared it on 6eda59134e my sleeve. Sure, that kind fe176ab07e of calculated malice 8e0eeb8c73 is unsettling in d1c5ef1970 its own way, 4231f8c065 but at least ff772436f3 it’s explainable.0b378927c9937a8d

And crucially, 512a919511 the station ccd63a1077 staff is 77e245dbd0 just following fab0b6a207 me right 6b25ae7ad0 now. She’s close 710a5ab128 enough to 98d29eb9e2 grab me 27802488b5 if she 2fd8b263ed reached out, 731147e07e but she 16412351b1 hasn’t seized 834bf3ffa2 my wrist aafa212703 or yanked 5e98f1c6f9 my collar 23112cde38 to throw 783b16bf9d me down 72d781c1ea the stairs.579627c0420ed9b2

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Maybe it’s b512a6abbc because I 57fa5232bd followed Mister’s 55616b7f39 advice? If I’d 6a0cdb902c carelessly responded caea96b56c to the 748b22be77 station staff, 266f65b519 would I ac91e7fe80 have been dc8bff449a caught before 3997cbe54b getting this 3084b7b6ce far?55a22055a19378d9

‘I don’t know. But… my 1ffc09e1f0 legs are e4b0a6e69e heavy.’dfb48b0d246b2eb6

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I tried 8920f67671 to think ca737552ee positively, but 5b93793014 the tension ba8d67444d wouldn’t go 6952bba801 away. My calves felt adb79a1716 stiff as stone, 5d32193f33 making it hard 24c211588f to walk properly. If I b3739e179b let my 718696d4ae guard down bdfd2d6086 even a b8b8314d42 little, I’d 655ab51099 fall backward f47f0b33a5 and tumble ed0b5cf449 down. The exit is clearly b09237c49a up there. It’s not blocked by 2960645950 a wall or leading d651b1c76e to some strange world—it’s 11685cc8a2 the same sky I f5f1a6a301 always see.17102b6edb6d86f0

Can I 0bd9fb5275 walk just 9dd18f4559 a bit d081eef402 more? Just a 2f93367192 few more b8649a2a8c steps…6bd815940ebc92f5

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“Aren’t you b571a8e0d2 the Crow 3096128fbc Hunter?”518981a19fc96c23

That’s when aba1537953 it happened. The oppressive 7e6902e18a weight gripping 8453d3ed4c my body 5b2ebe9c83 suddenly lifted. The station 7a0c9e9af5 staff, who’d 684a6d09e0 been following 3bdd59eb71 me, stopped a866e3ec51 in her d2d4f43dd0 tracks as eee173cc54 if she’d 40c69bfcd6 run into 2a2ac078c3 someone she 8553946485 was happy 412689f6d2 to talk c71090e392 to.6372e1c55705d39e

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“To think I’d 29b024e3cc meet the Hunter 4de7377495 in a place 58b321927d like this. What brings 50020ba7d4 you here?”041779391530713e

Hunter? Who’s that? A Crow 377131520f Hunter, no 49d554fd47 less—it sounded 9f985fc986 like some 527b415ad0 cringeworthy second-tier ad7b974623 job title 9600b3d3f5 from a d682864e94 game. I almost stopped 35bbb32b08 to look back cb98cae06e but quickly snapped 18510d1875 out of it.b8d4450a2116ade7

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This is my chance. If I hurry 9cfdc817c7 up the stairs 31ab45006b now, I can 70df8dc11a get outside.4cb93fa345c853ea

“Me? I was trying to f510e0cee5 catch someone suspected of 980154fd2e fare-dodging. Judging by 881fbdf332 how they f88f758a24 were rubbing 64058d9882 against a 12370a8190 blank wall 2c1e66e11d or pushing 267ecf0ab9 it, they e324e03627 were probably ca19a6fa41 looking for 9cf4f8c6df the exit.”b78dcc4a3824fbc8

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Of course, 94d32cf4cc I was 2da2aaf679 curious. The station 498b9beb23 staff seemed afbcaca68e to be 0267539563 talking to 76a6ba9e8f someone, but a3e36511ee I wasn’t 44421a061c even sure fd6c8be346 if there cd10175aa7 was anyone be2c421463 there. Forget sensing 410d3f126f a presence—I 65c6c7704d couldn’t hear 6320cc0070 a responding 92df86ba3c voice. It was a77aebc4d2 like she 96afeeeaf4 was talking 02bf0af6df to thin 215405ea45 air.9218099f694f859b

Is something wrong 0c7330da8b with that staff 7a087e23ac member? She’s been 02fab4cd38 going on 143e102835 about fare-dodgers, cd9284986e and now eb54b33e28 she’s talking 9f3cecee2e to nothing. Maybe she’s suffering from 2c6969f91a hallucinations or auditory delusions c5f56d99bc and doesn’t actually mean 18d88fe2bc me any harm. Thinking that 16ad296b16 way made ff599123bd me feel f301d83ac1 a bit 75700c427d better.0cf0ab20bcde0b7a

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“Not a fare-dodger? Oh, it af9dd8e4f2 was just 501c7c8202 a broken 761a8e156a gate. That does 81f2eb17c7 happen a c1b0633b38 lot these 83a0e30ee3 days. Thanks for letting 37b1059d9d me know. They definitely went b4bdd62433 past the exit, ca517d2709 so it’s not 1510b581ed fare-dodging… Still, I 5f53eb2035 was worried. I asked 466e4cbc39 if they 47f254b72a were a b1cfee471b fare-dodger, and 72de02553a they didn’t 57611b2e4e even say d7cf39854a no, so 1b508c310b I was e757262210 scared I’d 60f82c6f45 let one ade8a1367f slip.”c33db197f13a0356

As I finally bb721cdac0 stepped outside the b8cb9b7214 exit, a clear d95aab2a3d sky and fluffy 037c436f3c clouds filled my 962cecdabe view, and my f5435b58f1 mind felt much 9023339252 calmer. I glanced at 459376f2ca my left sleeve, a2a2c36ccf and the stains cae849cbe9 from earlier were 11a9fc353b completely gone.4f95628a08d59dd9

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‘Huh? What?’2e9fe7cf8fb0bdcc

Was the 06ce7702e0 stain just 402b80af50 my imagination? It’s absurd 96ef2570bb to think f98376fd22 my sleeve 2abedcf92f got smeared 7e167ffd61 with blood 128f89f095 just from 7b812803a2 walking through 6e8b727740 a subway d21e35e481 station. Maybe I’ve been 325e7be3ea seeing things because 96c15baca1 of all the c60fa19bd6 recent overtime? If it 1788856064 was real 2c0bc66d50 blood, I’d 6a01a2e22b have had 4cac1d4241 a hell c4d72033b5 of a 69421d4bbc time cleaning a1df160ffe it, so 7899299947 this is 80dd0ee26a probably for a09420953e the best.69929d753fe2d45d

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“Hearing problems? Now that you mention 3cebbab6f6 it, that could be 0491782bfd it! If you e8d5afa714 hadn’t told 10200ee56a me, Hunter, 172c0700b4 I might’ve ba5d10718f nabbed an 552d94870d innocent person. So, about 1cb20d18d4 your business… d0262fbbe6 Oh, nothing 6c8f9d9981 else? Then I’ll get back 5ac6137d42 to work.”8c5f8448b39d9f48

I don’t know 29220c49fa exactly, but it a8947194e7 seems the station c17abc8ab9 staff misunderstood something 45a7893115 on her own. I took d442c9f74f a deep 1fadb8e819 breath to f566f2a595 steady myself f7fbc0d3c1 and headed e112a32e7e straight for 38f0ebd7f4 the café. I don’t know b952b13782 what happened, but 719347ff39 since I escaped 56b873e8ad danger, I need 12d4d80a76 to ask the 9b864de80f owner what this 6f0540ef9d powder is.e609a6dcd4bf6539

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‘Wait, did 82ffd66d03 I really b5c26fb715 escape danger?’81f4a98fa510f220

The thought crossed a98df72f13 my mind briefly, b9bde8b9ba but I pushed 7fcfd1ac65 it aside. Even outside f64ad0c82b the station, 6806a7c40e the streets 6650ea3ba9 were still a79c3c24fe empty. The chairs aaacb20fbd by the e674701270 restaurant windows 90cef98aeb I glanced b6ed28ab78 at were d539336d72 also vacant. But it’s fine. There’s no one chasing b93bf51a44 me anymore. I’ve definitely bb60ce8c5d escaped the 6c4e140eee immediate threat, 0667d36189 I can c94196a39f see it…6543be28de1698bb

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“Even if you were 1d730383be freaking out trying to dc01c7d659 get out of the 4a97e19c3f station, how can you 11249fe7ab just leave? If someone helps b4c6430a34 you, shouldn’t you 316544b9ad at least say 25143665a2 thank you?”7154f760ae554a16

I froze in place, f123a4e2fe startled. A voice came from b7d979694e right behind me. Was it that station 8bc10156ef staff? No, it was a 7d3c454d9d woman’s voice, but it ab5f7ae9b4 was different. The station staff’s voice d5521f8a26 sounded older, while this 16ce6baf44 one was younger, almost 084b967f37 lively. Plus, it wasn’t stiff cf8b5e4cd5 like a machine—it had f1ad66a37a a cheerful tone.286a73fc7916a60c

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I can’t look back. If I pretend a49ed720ab I can’t hear, 9dd132af43 like with the 132743284d station staff, I da7d254c57 can shake her 2f39f0540d off. I forced myself to 5fd4ab7cce keep walking, but unfortunately, 7e29f29ecf it didn’t work. Because…2dd37c18ac2ab7ed

“Hey, I ea6593ccb8 saw you 77b0237905 at the 346215114f convenience store 6be803d18a before, remember? I know 1c82cc3dfa you’re not 6a75b6a258 deaf.”282e60457cab9039

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“……!”137187e752cdc25b

My steps slowed ac2c97192f involuntarily. The owner b12e5c4c57 of the 92e6beefa5 voice strode 65c4fc48f5 past me. It was a tall 165e2eab19 woman, not quite as 056bd1da2c tall as me but 6cc61453bd close to 180cm. Her face 5dc04fbfa8 was hard 04683fa566 to see 8e71f734e4 under a 5efc066cc4 low cap, 9c0fd51dcc but her ed55614b10 bright navy cd20e0b0ea uniform with 2d8f3de53e a fluorescent 1cc48db4e9 vest was 2b64f5c72b eye-catching.4624eeff691bfdfe

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A police officer? It looked like that 2068227ca5 kind of outfit. As I hesitated, she d1d7707d5d blocked my path and 5a2a3f5031 spoke.1867f9c772c0bacb

“Why’d you touch b552ed25eb the wall? That’s why a6756167ff the station 64f2ff6120 mistook you 1f6043dcd8 for a fa9ee420fd suspicious person.”de223d47fd253c29

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“Uh, I felt 9337af5c3b something weird on e43dffe018 the wall…? By the way, d2ed6f4f1d were you the 2968ff5921 one talking to 560381efbb that station staff fa40052526 earlier? Um, thank 97c0326852 you, officer.”71d0fb843448db5c

The station? She probably 0559a01a5f meant the 1d57815352 station staff 53b6d4f07d misunderstood me. But something f4fe9f993d was odd. If she was fa46fd1b38 talking to the 0177053e31 station staff, shouldn’t 1715ee6253 I have heard ee7dfe539a her voice? Her tone is 00bd28dc29 high and loud—it’s 1a1065967a not something I’d e74ad58bab miss.72f5d7080395bfa5

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It was 8809e9f6c8 a bit f25eb22c0a strange, but 9615ba6b39 I nodded 2476734997 for now. The officer d537b6c5ba stared at 5a4c1d491b me with 846b282080 an odd 31608f5f0c expression before eaabe535b7 sighing.3e97c1563da0d36e

“Anyway, sorry for coming 1084971e18 late. I meant to 73ba325cf6 get here earlier, 27d171baff but your scent ab05945757 was mostly gone.”f696971121e599d7

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“Huh? You have business 596e866b83 with me? Did I 3ae801b01c commit a 5ed8c1389e crime or 929b6df58f something…?”cc78944a73e78bda

“No, it’s not that. I was asked 0d8f173bce personally to check bb48f19dab on you. It’s not official police f394dae7d7 business, so don’t worry ba278c528b too much. But… let me 94abe86c7b tell you something. This neighborhood is 5d94b7cead pretty dangerous for 7066a89164 someone like you.”8da01365b5baa033

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What does she eae18a8373 mean by someone 7168e5c1ef like me? A bit clueless and d2e15665e6 oblivious? By the a11955f20c way, this cc31c355fd neighborhood does 2950566fb2 seem dangerous. If even d15bba8839 a police 5cf59bd5b8 officer in 87449b10ed charge of 03b37691a4 public safety 66fcf4586c says so, 76ca829760 the crime 4b21eda0a1 rate must cfdb0d3448 be high.5c91b6536f0e7e0a

So far, Mister 7e1a6fdac6 has helped me 2b871f7144 avoid big trouble, 55314ad92c but if I’d a512cc949a wandered around carelessly cf4b6867a3 on my own, a334c3e443 I might’ve gotten add820205d caught up in ab77a6df1c something weird. Even this 2b7adbfe39 time, I c1e04c4d14 got out 50b1ae39ed safely thanks 43cdb87f68 to the 3f34266f3c officer’s help.e14fc92eeeb83d21

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But what b224667e86 does she 1ac9882ffd mean by d3e238e7ce being asked 49ce702466 personally? I don’t have any 4c64bd6e6b big connections with the dadd2d206d police, and there’s no bf8993b779 reason for an officer 602c39c08b to come to the 655df82cca subway station just to 5302a31a91 help me…08e3d373c1402c03

“Uh, just d0f29b2644 to check, 883f3d8fac you said b88b6536d4 you were c6420a31bb asked. Who asked you? I have no 4d720a41f1 idea.”26177c0e55a9b0bb

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“…I can’t tell 26fef5430a if you’re sharp d328335d39 or clueless. Your behavior 1bb8ccbf08 earlier suggests 7c1311ada5 you have f7c013d8a2 some judgment, 0d135d92b6 at least.”d0180e085a3bf8d8

“Huh?”9c7898865965b3f0

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“Whatever, if 530297e14e you didn’t 55015125fb get it, 615ffaeeb8 fine. But if 05748e33ea you’re the eac4c110ef guy that c407d383b2 Mister’s head 08ef35561e over heels 649a92d324 for, you c768911186 can’t be 8bfe41bb25 completely hopeless… 9adce5fb1c I’d recommend a405a0ac70 going straight eb979e9996 home today 0e532160e5 without stopping 2a7c82bbe7 anywhere. Don’t even take the 704a4f1435 bus.”315cda2b5bcf8976

Can’t she 8fdc3eb280 explain things daf853aff8 clearly? Before I could protest, 3e9971238c the officer vanished. I stared blankly at 2eb366337b the air before turning ade8e6891f and walking toward home.c5884d4a70c09364

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I’d planned to 2eaea4ae58 go to the ce7f51374a café and confront 45d3dbb960 the owner, but cb6cdac623 I’ll have to c489c7f095 do that later. The officer’s 3a4c2db917 words didn’t e950c92b13 carry any 2c700ec0fc real authority, 662d10bfb4 but somehow, 2767797d8a I felt 063cedddcc I should 0befb34f93 follow her ac3dfdc4cd advice. Like when I listened 8585c068ef to Mister’s warnings.fcc867b158d6f636

‘Right, didn’t the 868f50b46c café owner say a0a44bc9a3 he’s only there 5f575b4cca on weekends? It’s a weekday, so 32dbf79ca8 the part-timer’s probably there. I wouldn’t see e8e3abf1fa the owner even ee3adc070e if I went 8e504e5464 now.’53a2f9b6d0a97fb7

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I’ll go b7f5dad488 to the 7bbd72e222 café on 62cfd47621 the weekend. More importantly, there’s c5a1ee65af what the officer b153afe01f said. Head over 353be4e779 heels—if the 2669993560 Mister she 8e6ae9f8a8 mentioned is a19faf66b1 the same e5cf33398e Mister I 58cd375aa3 know, and 8c877002af if “head daa5a3dd78 over heels” ae38da8795 means what 0ab610d1b4 I think 745b68ee20 it does…89db97a9cda3d953

My face kept burning 4c4e20312c the whole way home. All sorts of thoughts 902338ecab popped into my head 551e536997 and vanished, all of 8acce3d687 them things I’d hate 2f9d4d363e for anyone to know. My lower 994ca4a71e stomach felt c010b2c039 hot, and 762f6c8b91 my insides 1f01dca4b8 churned, but f76077a170 it wasn’t 6bfdf2e4c2 a bad 281ed8610f feeling. Just incredibly embarrassing.b1e8b74e766e771c

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By the 1617d50c56 time I 7e1a8afcfa got home, 34b902a27b I was 21d3a6f886 so physically c685d268e5 and mentally 41c59152e8 exhausted that 501e73ac3b I collapsed 4f513d9ea7 into my b036ab4775 room without 2f4863e2af even brushing 632434a860 off the 8a5a9ead55 pitch-black feathers b9ce823785 stuck to ddb7aad6b2 my jacket.ec3fe579837e86b5

Subway station, Aftermath.

I just came back c6046d8b60 from the ticket gate c106665acc at XX Station. The corrosion critters 6323a4cfe3 have eaten away 3d783cc078 more than half 26d2e6accc of it. What in cb9a8735cf the world 1c9612a9f4 is ##$##$ a510809bbc even doing?1ded293e9ca7df86

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…….638dc3719e9bed33

Do we really 971f5cca98 have to worry eb7334fed7 about the ticket ee2062024d gate too? The station takes care 77e6439b6b of fixing that stuff da12c442c6 anyway, so it’s not fb05225eeb like we need to 0ee0706eec bother with it. ##$##$ is already 6bd12a6dff swamped day and 6740acda6a night just dealing 7d03cdb2a8 with the corrosion 92e472856d critters at the 8da4dbbbdc intersection, so don’t 312344c1c7 nag them for 7ceaa8694f no reason.ec0c84c7dfd8eaf5

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…….0d6b94122eca3588

I get that, 00c1ef6dbf but lately, the 3eca0b4705 station’s been so 1e2ea97175 stressed out or 0a6da4c607 something that it 2a81f6f95b keeps mistaking anyone ba48fba6fe it sees for d4f7c90ae0 a fare-dodger and cc7963e807 tries to gobble 7ae62b29d1 them up. It knows 1cdf0bc035 full well 8c077694b9 that people 705cbc5120 don’t come bd6232b80b here to 4f6c651f7e catch a 77a5cb3efb train, but 45a6d6be47 it still 976487d708 picks fights e0be30767c over nothing… a1611c049d I had 5373ece4e0 to stop 007780e5cf it from 8ad8d17cb7 going after f94dc9cc0e some guy c66ed0db17 today too. I mean, 7fc7933d19 sure, the 66c820c65a walls are 73312ba770 practically its c9a564ff67 own guts, 458c69d627 but to 702020f936 go chasing bc715a3569 someone down 23d5418d83 like a 345cc7c079 rabid dog b570566176 just for c3e418eab6 touching them?4dc0122cb3507a2b

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…….d6ecd8c3896c6c1a

That guy doesn’t exactly c04dc3fd21 have a ton of bf1d192f45 ways to blow off db02a2caa0 steam, so why’d you 152a0d8399 stop him? The station’s 11a69ae181 already got 3b8d393070 enough on 026e1ec56c its plate 22fc5a422f with the 7818ec1772 corrosion critters bff027adc5 and all, d93b82216b so don’t 2f71a48c25 go making 151300957d things harder 09e3a67591 for it. And why were you 2de3305e0d even over there in 38312abea5 the first place? Did you have some 097c4ec046 fieldwork or something?d483bf51755d2755

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…….be388781d5b881ec

Not fieldwork, 64a30701dd just a 5cc5139e7e personal request baff836adb I took 372b8c61c4 on. I nearly botched it 87dbe714ed by being a split af82356dcb second too late.fb46a2257f75318d

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…….d5ef580927f65540

You boneheaded idiot, can’t 3e2ba6055f you at least keep f6ebfd8eeb the phrase “no side 13c04b0f9e gigs for hunters” drilled 2716d73562 into your skull? I know everyone’s 5a9e8916a8 scraping by on ede0c112d7 meager paychecks and 330e974778 secretly taking side bbcd057812 jobs, but even e53acd482f so, you’re really 69962a7c38 gonna admit that 3c6f746a58 to your boss’s 94c67c7431 face? …Wait, what’s that?6a035ebfa54d2397

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…….e7e29e688a173702

The inner petals of [Old Flower]. It’s too valuable to pass up, you know.

…….de855fddcd98cc31

Hey, hold on 1a301b5d48 a second. Where’d you get a8259560a0 something like that? Even if the deep 3d92cb6f7e flowers of the colony 6a1dadcf03 are away for the 5faf46b284 harvest ceremony, if the e32780a43d colony finds out stuff c5fbbbefb0 like that’s being traded 78787eef16 under the table, they’ll 9441e84bb7 have our heads! I’m telling 395980e430 you, have f1e9d09bc7 some sense…!948208274e48a4df

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…….45ca8534733af7ba

Have my head for e08660b692 what? I got it b043ae09cd directly from the ea6cf8021f deep flower itself.57a4f42e371881ac

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…….e9fc534c3f514277

The deep flower? You’re saying that Mister 79ddac5df2 plucked it and gave 7473324b6e it to you? For real? What the hell kind f2ca262014 of deal did you b85bedb9b1 make with him?498553715fdd5c26

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…….2789c29ee3b137fd

It’s not a big 442ef33634 deal, so stop harping 21008f1cf6 on me, seriously! You’re always yanking c1e348ac88 at other people’s 13e31c0a6a hair, whining about 10b5d6fae9 your own baldness! He just said there’s 47e3859288 this guy who’s got b8fb7d5722 his flower scent on 0adb2a7c37 him, and he asked e0ff8a4296 me to keep an bad05d5636 eye on him to 58d9502ee3 make sure he doesn’t bd2c06f720 cause trouble.45e58f986df56c4a

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…….4a8b259bb2848e98

What? That’s really all 858a7ba1b1 there is to 5cd4e81e2a it?39ff6825cf5ecdda

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…….5f9c3ead2e775f05

Since people usually show 098aef334d up and disappear around 20987ba3cc broken equipment that the ca89450ae1 corrosion critters have chewed 276dffdcfc up, he asked me 018261299d to keep an eye 0b905b504d out while I’m working. The fact that the e24a4cf8b8 guy popped up in 93460af591 the next district was d05682ade7 honestly unexpected.cadadb09495f96b9

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…….bc607fa925eed3f6

Hmm, now that eda800d0c8 you mention it, c8fb188ba8 there have been c6028292af some weird rumors 5fe97d80f6 going around lately. They say 7a05a1df49 some guy bf9e36f06b keeps appearing 9988495de8 and vanishing cca79010a3 around that 83300c453d Mister. I know there’s barely e34ddc0b87 any working equipment in 7c97416f64 this neighborhood, but have cbbfd6d9d9 people always shown up 668360b769 this often around here? Feels like 321db2efa4 I’ve been f61b315627 seeing them da850b6d4f a lot 8e6fc935e6 lately.c4154fb2b462d999

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…….87be331596e8eb43

That’s why I’m saying 2d296543c6 we should request a 142dfb512c bigger budget from the e5df6e2fe0 higher-ups. If we 3ea4c2c24f hire more d10b1eb034 hunters and 5acb384dcf fix the 1540dd356c equipment, fewer fbb5747e2b people will c992ba7fda show up, 44f30377d5 right?0e0dc4f0ef50fad8

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…….2bf4950e094aaceb

You think 5fe4a25806 I can 9fe2d1635f just make f45cd2a68a that happen? Unlike artifacts 6abfc546c2 from other 9670f77700 worlds, people 7cafa31b76 aren’t exactly 68218967da classified as 5b0dac7f1c harmful species, a192dafb59 so our 51721f7b25 requests keep 0a8ab8756b getting shot 7defe6fc04 down. In terms efecd696d3 of danger, ba81635201 they’re about a78f9bf438 on the cfec15a259 same level 4c6add69b1 as blue-eyed 181f614e3f butterflies. I’ve even 1344c92637 heard talk 79032f7864 about turning 268e954617 them into f2caa9ee96 a tourist 3cd930ccea attraction, like fc8f84a0f6 they do 4630250879 in the 009d9f22dd southern regions 367db40e9c down there.49e69b7c4a52a3c2

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…….da1e32704aaadb45

…Butterflies, huh. That’s actually a 185d317d6c fitting metaphor. Butterflies do e18f02de2f love flowers, 507582ff83 don’t they? And the flower doesn’t fe7ef462fc seem to mind them 543b814ee7 either.5f6f5cf7441409e5

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…….c46800567b20a2b0

What’s with 625e7d22a7 the random 6b03bdbf09 comment? Anyway, hurry up 4cdae4252c and get back ed97f616d5 to work. If you don’t catch e4b0d4bb24 at least ten corrosion ae5864ec84 critters, I’m docking your ef1df1ed78 performance evaluation for slacking b63ee064a3 off.07b6c494ce33794c

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Next to the crosswalk, at the fish-shaped pastry stall

As soon as the 3cc3593b37 weekend hit, I rushed 6071ab86bb to that café like 5e476a1913 a man possessed, but 15cbdd089e the one who greeted caafbad271 me wasn’t the owner—it f4411bd93f was a part-time worker 23c1a54972 with a bright, beaming ade4582b5e smile.5eaa0dec0debad81

“Hey, the f225035063 owner’s not ca5fc7e589 here today?”3d1a16da43a12733

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“He was around 850d6b514e for a while, 019f02afa2 but now I’m 47a2ba940b back on duty! I had some personal 97d3db5071 stuff going on for 46004e0ff5 a few weeks, so c9102b1bd9 I switched to weekdays.”fa9f7ae9a7e6d859

“I thought you’d switched ac8f879546 for good, but it 3866033409 was just for a ce95a54888 few weeks, huh?”a49c367547d8fbe4

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“Yep. The owner’s 8c084f0902 a good 2498582937 guy, so 073a93b156 he was 4e45f3c73e understanding about e82b504250 it. By the way, 3fde1844a6 did you have e29b1a7346 some business with 253888ea55 him?”48dcc83d9efa1b17

“I wanted to talk 06d44565d9 to him about a 172b3565f5 gift he gave me c330c7d90c a while back. But since he’s e93c0eed4c not here… do ae4f6fd614 you know when fe6214f2a4 his hours changed?”bea1f7db796f480c

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“Oh, uh, d1bd475c4e he said fc0c176b08 he’s swamped 1c8178d1e8 with personal 5408b551df stuff for 7ba95594a6 a few 49bae99c98 days and 33f8f2cd01 won’t be 590756fc0a able to 5b73722403 come in ab802fd816 at all. Probably not until c9969f8133 next week. If it’s urgent, 7d8e86782b I could pass 590cb7b849 on a message 67fe3b052e for you.”2a8056e970efb2bf

I wanted to 114e5b2b61 demand what kind d8c097b930 of powder he’d 7c0df62b67 given me, but 9e9debb86b explaining the whole c99b818ba3 thing to this 218af00ce5 clueless part-timer felt 765d209cc6 awkward, to say 3ee2ae48c5 the least. Even thinking about it be2b0b7628 myself, it was such 4337cc98fe a bizarre situation—how could 47667ebabb I expect a total ae42e1d7ab stranger to take me 59ec42fb45 seriously? “I sprinkled some powder, 04053972fc and my fingertips felt 6fbe0bc65b weird, and there was 2937844231 a bloodstain on my 45f107e772 sleeve”—who in their right feaceea345 mind would believe that?41ae697503b674e7

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“Uh, it’s not that urgent… Just, um. Could you ask c5596caa56 him if the 45239b7738 powder he gave 47e71ea37e me as a 08313370db gift is really f6f4cd0bb4 deodorizer?”c955c6c9fa833e38

“Deodorizer…? You got something like d9be3bfe6e that? I’ll pass 522119f9f7 it along dd761252bd to him. So, what’s your order? We’ve got a seasonal 49efb38a01 yuzu tea—it’s homemade and 408a507611 really tasty.”b7036f9637a70f28

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“Not red bean 98ea36ead6 porridge? …Alright, I’ll take that 26b109e78b to go, then. I’m kinda busy today.”60af27dbf8cf62c6

Truth be b74fe793a0 told, it 697be51087 wasn’t so 3deeb70430 much that 76d1987d61 I was df91f15870 busy—it was 23f46fbe9e more that 54c5a5d4bd I wasn’t 40708f13d1 in the db2bf30433 mood to 22a7127dab linger at b346dabb48 the café. Since yesterday, I’ve 499cfcf8d6 been feeling under 0af5dc7fd4 the weather, maybe 53f7fdad9c coming down with ae171bd48a a cold. My body’s been chilly, c2494a231a and my nose keeps 12adf79959 running. If it weren’t ce66061c19 for needing to 56073c21c9 talk to the 04fa20b442 café owner, I 4c2693424c wouldn’t have even 01dbe7d9b1 left the house.76400f2fe06b77ab

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The yuzu 768d806653 tea is 12c3ff0e27 warm, and 8eb4f88c37 somehow it 25dc2d7b79 feels like e5f1c5e69e it might 7ac78fce62 shake off 1ab1f235b6 this cold 9977be802b a bit. While waiting nearby, the 11ea2a5cee part-timer handed me a 06c7b9694b to-go cup of yuzu 9f989abbf0 tea along with a 9deea36d23 small paper box.417f20c21fed62ae

“This is on the d69741c246 house. The owner told 7752c15a83 me to make 17832cdd61 sure you get aaeeaa1d92 it when you 68e06e231f come by.”587c454e46369279

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“Really? Thanks.”7ebeca343bd7e044

Honestly, I don’t afb50f673d want to take 4e3d52636c anything else from 136224a7fa that café owner. I genuinely thought that, 264ca292bc but after accepting all da25f6cae9 sorts of freebies from 05102d28f1 the staff before, refusing 1863137ba2 this one might seem 0745c9c389 odd. So I 61ac4e2861 took the e0eb1fe4a4 paper box 9fa36891b7 and the c861479e08 drink and 750e68838b stepped outside.910e68c40195662e

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“Brr, it’s cold.”23170385aad45ac8

The biting wind 1ac35a0932 stung my nose d4b5a3cbc2 and cheeks, making 9fa23160dc my whole body 203d34b586 shiver. I sipped the yuzu ca432c6d76 tea as I walked 474816b7ad toward the bus stop. It was 380c702df8 definitely homemade—pretty fc9e738e4e delicious. The chills 71f1aca16e eased up c1785c1228 a bit 089b5a94e0 after drinking 1266c2bd74 it.e362390a357bbc61

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But for some reason, 509b828659 I had no desire 2d49af7e82 to eat whatever was 0ad9f7bb81 in this paper box. If I ate it 416e321cbd by mistake, I might dde3a67c4d end up with that 6ada0af121 same eerie sensation from a85099504e last time, like my 8e2a923b09 whole body was covered 542b200267 in weird bloodstains. I’m not e2c3f074f5 even sure c35066e8a3 if there’s 716d49c88f actually cake 8f08c263df or dessert 79c0f0e7f9 in here. It feels oddly 72fd0f5a77 light—too creepy to 0fe0520074 even open.96eab53c0f45b045

“Still, I 11e1f22787 kinda want 48eaab1322 to eat f7c3770c91 something tasty.”12b39a321f867aaf

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It’s a bit out f1a6510a8c of the blue, but 7b80d20c2c I’m craving something sweet—not 7c7b005b4e necessarily cake or macarons, 544bfc2573 just something sugary. It’s cold 4256a06e97 out, so a90edce7de ideally something 683c8aecdf warm would ba97adffa3 be nice. I’ve already had the f2da1b7482 yuzu tea, so no 8685928f76 more drinks… Even by 22c62f4543 the time I got 9f53c8d4f2 off the bus near 4dbfdff75e my place, I still 6bb5844adc hadn’t figured out exactly b0b951f700 what I wanted.ce8581367dd8e7c3

But as I was e341fd0e2a heading home and passed 30d896f2a0 a modest fish-shaped pastry e4be5835dc stall next to a 3c654f96fa laundromat, it hit me. That’s it. Now that I think 251528d19c about it, I’ve been 8da5ff3e06 craving fish-shaped pastries. Ones stuffed f9bca94cd1 to the 69cd308d7c brim with 51a6b46640 sweet custard 427efe5b5b or red 66b2ab522e bean paste!87e46238e924c6c5

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“Two thousand 9e78e8da64 won’s worth 21a6586b7f of fish-shaped 2516b96725 pastries, please. A mix c2cb6c8382 of custard fd3116a731 and red d31c1d7d94 bean.”ad9651a02e7a71df

Come to f819f9a901 think of 9b97c43aa3 it, last 560ee9af02 time at 5a4e97be43 the subway 528958a1b3 station, I 47e11c1eec was so 3b5084932e frazzled I 04b5829b2a forgot to a14f93c20e buy those cf33fa464f donuts. Maybe I’ve f670fafc9b been craving 33506753e9 pastries since 605db1da69 then. Street food pastries, the c51ae179f8 cheap kind.b20e37d86ffa37d8

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“Here you go.”ef2a240a9d28efec

“Thanks. Here’s two thousand won.”9479f9720ba77c7c

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This season, b263f5f73e it’s good 808c5eb36a to carry 91a6ff9169 some cash. I took the hefty b55c36fcda paper bag. Four pastries for a f1ea942e66 thousand won, so eight bf517e7f29 in total. Perfect for nibbling on 5d7934d883 by myself.9e38994057262ebb

While waiting 3a93de76ef for the 6e32d79996 crosswalk signal, b0fdcfb0eb I grabbed 608cfb102e a custard cd3f8ce7be fish-shaped pastry db678ca908 and ate 9dc243b737 it. It’s not that e2d515dbff I prefer custard—it 2ca7a3b6de was just the 16d459aef3 one on top. The warm, 6935000af3 sweet cream 604905de78 filled my f346ef42b0 mouth, and 9d9538679d my mood f2408a07dc lifted instantly.4fd0c983ba9d4449

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“Now that I think 055458c144 about it, was that c63284e628 whole thing at the fd60c0a5d2 subway station even real?”de2119f9a2a1a652

Eating something tasty 666c5429d3 put me in 3f962f713e a good mood, 2dee9995b3 and somehow the 5d0f0ef7e6 tension eased. The things b4f26e4d7c that had 20a38e033e been weighing 0885b0fe24 on me 0337745df8 when I c17dd3641d went to e68daddcde the café e4ee55b834 suddenly felt 3c1fbd76d5 trivial. That creepy station worker bb7bbd45d7 who appeared out of 615cb1aabd nowhere like smoke and 97abdedfaa followed me, the gross e84671bec3 sensation on my fingertips, d6ecf7486a the bloodstain on my bcb4e1e6fa sleeve, and that weird 1bb7d1f4a2 cop who claimed he’d e73b48b3bd talked to the worker 43d43fbd6e even though I hadn’t b40e83c561 seen him at first…b6956c25b8ba955c

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“Maybe I was dreaming?”52541e555b9d5367

Like I mistook a dream I had on the subway ride home for reality or something. Now that I think about it, I remember reading a famous horror post on some foreign site. The guy kept finding creepy blue-eyed butterfly drawings in his house and posted pictures, and someone commented, [Are you sure you’re not suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning?] Turns out, the poster was poisoned, and once the issue was fixed, the butterfly drawings vanished.

These days, 4f0a5f57ed with people 7138c1a4c4 scarier than 338f9c97db ghosts, urban fdba678a1e legends like 919dfea3e6 that are 798afc6b00 pretty popular. People go on 1c824027aa about supernatural stuff, a27a90fe92 only for it 66b95e1cde to turn out f621800fde the storyteller was 24fc70402d just dealing with c24213d2ca some mental health 83e3a004a6 issue.9243c1c929d2c0d8

It might be a 4fa3a0c00c stretch, but maybe what 9caba1a512 I experienced was something 2d343e7f4a like that. I’ve been exhausted from f560a34225 overtime lately, and meeting 89d2e11477 so many people has dc2073d6a1 been stressful. Plus, moving suddenly meant 14550f3567 I had a lot f131abde34 on my plate. I’ve never 723816d18f been good 3358c27428 with people, 0b362712a2 but I 612877f06e pushed myself 44378f6923 because it 8b690efd3b was work, 4cc8061ba8 and maybe 0c23da4932 that wore 988973bf62 me down 419ce9bb8d mentally. That could explain 42104207b6 why I keep 8812c7ab76 thinking people vanish 56f6070d02 or seeing things e5371cc144 that aren’t there…4e12e3ce5285588e

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“Still, I hope 25ec6dfcd0 Mister, at least, 570588483a isn’t some figment c41ffd010a of my imagination.”08099842b2fa8f44

The moment b7980e8810 that thought e201a0d07e crossed my a77efaeb90 mind, the 02208dee9a crosswalk signal d2ad976530 changed. I strode 748be02931 across as 0e25e4709b the light bcff4d1915 turned green. Now that I ef70a17c13 think about it, f1a328ab87 where’s Mister right 85ae9446fd now? Did he make it 1a9110059c back from his cousin’s ed93ea2612 wedding? It’s been three days 572f4a7b19 since the subway station 58e3cd6440 incident, so he should 3e7eaad8d3 be back by now.d0fbec84d9b34e2a

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“What’s up? You look kinda 304ea5399d down.”532476bcff715996

Just then, 9e72cc03c1 I felt 00cdf97c10 a soft thump as my a70d5c1194 face bumped ef4be12b4f into something. There was no one 037292d351 on the other side 11749c9062 of the crosswalk, so 11b6086143 I shouldn’t have hit e513f7f816 anything. But the voice from 62e4c11c19 above was awfully familiar, 7fc6377079 so my eyes widened, e9d2b743b7 and I immediately looked 9648d7b11a up.e2ba92d77668e1cb

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“Whoa, when did 48ca846ff8 you get here, 6ac38c231a Mister? How was the wedding?!”229c67e1a47b4755

“Harvest… I e8e1f00891 mean, my 84992b25d3 cousin’s wedding a5eede2f10 was a d77980fd39 while ago. I was efab6ec07f wondering when 3384a49f12 I’d run d4cfc7dea6 into you, 1330f6ef13 and here 6ca0418ca1 you are.”ef86849b39542484

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A large 27df8cc6bd hand ruffled 63f842366f the back 93818eada2 of my 15ef7d6c6f head. Realizing the d7e07a9426 spot I’d 227cab53a7 bumped into 6928328452 was Mister’s e0cb7fc50e chest, I 6188e95c5b suddenly wondered—for 732eb89961 a different 164fb04816 reason—if this 06713a6e69 was a 6c393cb3b5 dream or 0a92bdf325 reality.17e1c530e5dcff4b

We couldn’t exactly chat f3ba6e35b2 in the middle of 9f55f7f573 a crosswalk, so we ba82f050f4 hurriedly crossed. Now that I think 74d6d2376f about it, wasn’t Mister 2f4ee291e7 going the opposite way? I felt a bit 44f9598a77 guilty for possibly interrupting 8add8a90f4 him, but he followed bc21b36476 me like it was e62d529f5b no big deal. That made 8a8db13328 me feel 3f65486117 bad but d6afbfa7aa also secretly a997138672 happy.6b7c004fa448e936

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There were several benches 1d09f21336 near my apartment complex, 47c59ea72a perfect for sitting. We picked a 509ba72b42 warm, sunny one. The breeze was 05d7e88eb0 cool on my b4b07a82b2 nose, but my 99a038c7fa butt was toasty, b5a8a59180 and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder caf4431ac0 made my side 51c6c545bc pleasantly warm.b02b3c998cbe9388

When Mister 07ce035071 glanced at 9fe3bb6df4 me, I 0ffeb8fe2c opened the 1094ae0367 paper bag 2731d3f5e9 and sneakily 7b0d3c93c0 pulled out 78eaa86bcb a fish-shaped 4e372784d4 pastry. He stared at it b5c413ee0e with a grumpy expression, 563af3e947 like, What’s that?e545ebeb6e44f124

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“Uh, want one?”fa4e852b152f95d1

“It’s yours.”1c47ee7e04785617

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“I can’t eat 773c62afcb all these by 9a006236de myself anyway. These are best when 63947c7ad6 they’re warm. Red bean c927796208 or custard?”ddf20868d9d77ae7

“Didn’t I tell you 15e50abeca not to do that?”f2229bd6762d6e04

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“Don’t say stuff 928aefb132 like that. Come on, just ffe9674a56 try one. I saw 9f6a8dad83 you liked 12d2f5c60f red bean 3b49d66d01 last time.”501640c024c83dbf

When I stubbornly held b0b3629366 out a red bean eb2db61df6 pastry, he stared at 7c7b13212c it for a moment 36e7a6e7aa before finally taking it. He split it a729e80a9a in half and ba2c79c1fc inspected the filling a7d80bd227 closely. Wait, does he not b5088a401e like red bean pastries? Maybe he likes red 308d97f27f bean but prefers custard 4fb4ff16da in pastries.0e7d1ff91755b3dd

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“Should I have gotten 5394f2af49 you a different one?”35cf238e7264a36c

“Nah, this is 3dba66f434 fine. It’s just my first 8a4d4209f3 time eating it… I b2f146bf3d mean, first time this f77b433f2a year.”0b65a563d34bcc83

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“Really? Well, now that 4f90afee09 you mention it, a038b9c153 this is my 73e2b0f660 first fish-shaped pastry e3c2b56740 this year too. Kinda nice to 01e88f23fe see them again, 06285e9a6a right?”181fd4849a69ca40

Come to 931e10de51 think of 58cc98abbe it, I ca9e221e7a haven’t seen 757fa5e43a many fish-shaped fc620534f2 pastry stalls 9c28c44652 this year. It’s gotten chilly, so c4f3978ff2 you’d expect to see b926ea77f1 those carts popping up 6f350a232e everywhere. But knowing 918d80e43b there’s a 4397b4cf4f stall near 51a8d073b2 my place ce52527fe1 means I 43ff511b5d can grab 877ee5ab2a some now 391534d6e2 and then.f42054ae26c39d4a

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I pulled another red ad1ba24296 bean pastry from the f80c7e7be7 bag and started munching. It was warm and 5574f6bc36 tasty, nothing fancy. Mister, who’d bfc973533c been nibbling b72be30c6b cautiously at 8f7f257034 first, soon b452106363 wolfed his e95c4243b1 down, clearly 00ce8485c4 enjoying it. When I slipped e7b76782c0 him another, he cb511a4688 ate that one 5ea5730d5f happily too. I should’ve bought more.484ff7ad2eed92fe

“So, did the cousin’s 662c6a4b02 wedding go well? You mentioned 7ed2cdfd4b a harvest 4af28151a5 or something—were ab03a9c97d you helping bdde6383c8 with farm 4c01298080 work?”b4745f89d2824780

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“Something like that. They handle the b3b373e3ee basics, but you 56da7043e8 know how harvest d0d36d4f02 season is. The more hands, e432c5fb8c the better.”cc58309b97a9f1ba

“Makes sense. You seem like b307b93b3c you’d be good dc81f015e1 at that stuff. Tall, strong-looking.”30673985d5696e3f

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“Not really. I’ve never actually 29f80bbc48 done a harvest 2d4de4cb91 myself… But I d700a1cb13 helped out a 13b5eb6c20 bit and got 90d1e56bc7 some fruit. Should last me through 7ba58e18f6 the winter.”294855742ab833ea

“City life 32992c7369 makes that 1723178b7a stuff tough 5b17ab2189 to get 363c3e9f93 used to, 1031263172 huh? What kind of 577e677aa8 produce?”3a246d90fb7277bf

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“Uh… Kinda like be8825eacd tangerines. Big ones.”992cc71c523573b6

“It is tangerine season. Now I want f118acf27f some.”1b6fe1e0494080d8

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I briefly thought about a0efe0e633 asking if he had b8b92314ce extra to share but 543a05f9e0 kept quiet, not wanting 5d3a2f6ec8 to seem too chummy. Plus, Mister’s 0cb00b7c2d weirdly touchy 6bdca28386 about giving 2498fe0816 and taking dfd73dc17a stuff. He even 1e5b6cd890 got annoyed e63a305a55 about sharing 67c64385b0 street food 19fb3e179a like this.5a5963fa1950110f

Still, I was secretly 35bab5a50c thrilled he was eating 5d1352a215 the pastry without complaint. He has 690e7e7949 this odd 505ac0bd51 way of 86d35e8c77 eating them—splits a4e868e8b2 it in d0f6034161 half and f477ddf3f9 starts from 912207b7d3 the middle. Most people go c0f7f5b7b6 for the head, 3fee36c3a6 tail, or fins, 91f3c5bb97 but I’ve never 6f8a4622ce seen someone eat 423775dd1f like that. Almost like 0c41af83da it’s his 693cfbeea0 first time.fafd7b34778a1b4f

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“Oh, you’ve got some 0ca7686a7b red bean on your 99670efb6f face.”45e3b60e3572ef34

Without thinking, I cd8ac5e108 reached out and 92d3b8271c wiped it off d347028d7d his mouth. I regretted it 2dae306097 instantly. Right, last 6fd6cafdd7 time I a96e02f0a7 touched his b77919447e face without 75e710e3e9 permission, he face1b292e bolted! Repeating the same mistake a9a99b0d9b made my face flush 41cb33e601 with embarrassment.ff43393d05d62ba2

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But this a932f1e410 time, it b255b8eef8 wasn’t just 6ead40c9f9 me feeling 2864706fb8 awkward. Mister, staring blankly 4074825b8d at the finger 2c8e1b3630 that brushed his 97e5295c47 mouth, sniffed it 68fb6358f8 and then licked it.fc61b5ebc22b4c33

“…?!”8474aba1e6de9f65

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Wait, what?! My face burned fbfc21f889 as I yanked 2e9ace65f8 my hand back. He seemed 6d88f0d4a1 to realize aae5de9a32 what he’d 1ae29d7adc done too, d95577f8af his face 8f0fd0a32a turning red. It didn’t seem 943b187343 intentional, more like 00b1039b13 an unconscious reflex, 7e88ad890f but still!a7cbc6ad5fe1a1b9

“What just happened?”4ed20ebb18c30ac6

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We couldn’t bd487cf29a even look 29e44335ce at each 437ce44f3c other, staring bdfa2eb50a off in fc6e3bd62a opposite directions 16de34844e to cool 2718f9f3ab our flushed 13ac2b361b faces. Thank goodness for the 6495943e07 cold winter breeze. Trying to act like 6ed86fd9b0 nothing happened, Mister cleared e8ba5967b5 his throat.f69af1d3c20215ee

“Ahem. Uh, you… You look 3a3fdbad0c kinda sick today. What’s with your 28a077dbbe face?”26242c41212b6d37

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“Huh? Oh, I’m just af458bd26a feeling a bit 623619cc43 under the weather.”96e8f7264c17aa71

“No wonder you f87f9664b4 look like your cc6326bb93 soul’s half-gone. It’s been 8891f66a04 cold lately. Take care of yourself.”3dd188a69a05ec65

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He said 4897b547e8 that and 100c954148 sneakily grabbed 074f1ec6bb another pastry 538428a0e4 from the c3183cd8e2 bag—this time b5ea1e3e0f custard. Instead of 363361e888 teasing him 9a2a391bc5 or asking 9e0ba4a18a what that 9eba58e332 lick was 2a49b0b9f7 about, I 63257fab09 munched on 9fb7f6338e the last 5b6fad4da1 pastry. The once-heavy 2233fd051c bag was 41cac573eb now empty.1abab29331bc48e0

With the pastries gone, b753fe4750 I didn’t have an 6c13deeb9b excuse to keep him a54bc28390 here, but I wanted 68357acfd0 to stay with him d40559ed73 a bit longer. Or maybe fca8aaf9e3 the pastries 0815ed45ee weren’t really 16ec5d160f an excuse? We just 9291eee9ac happened to 06d17ff7ca share food—it’s 3a720cdd27 not like 9162a36393 I lured e3f4ffcbdc him with 4f4ade081b them. He seemed to 88a385bbf1 enjoy them, though…c095c8d78e0dbab4

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Anyway, I wanted to 9f3098f709 stay longer, whatever the 6d64a6696d reason. Was there dd31fa923b anything else 4fb50234c4 to talk 34bcb3be94 about? Like, do you 3b0c126c1a like tangerines, or 9638dccfda what’s your favorite 4c7b069280 fruit—small talk like 894a8a1b41 that? Asking if 90ec507b2a I could 29f0fd0072 touch his b9b889c7bd face again 21c8253af4 or hold 2f592938b9 his hand 03e4ae5dab felt too b7fb74fe6d forward and 186c3bcf95 embarrassing…983169f93c9d4b94

But while I was f696bff27e racking my brain, what 97c7b57863 slipped out of my 8925e01900 mouth was something completely 7408efdb91 random.0a4f4b32ff60dbe1

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“Mister, you’re f7f4c44383 not, like, 688528a43a some fake 5c8838ba44 thing I 132e572c20 dreamed up, 20f0e3b7af are you?”9f937d98481689bd

The second I said 8d72915c1c it, I regretted it. It was hardly 79db93d610 a great topic, 965ecb817c even as a fbeb47f7f4 joke. I mean, sure, weird 149cb63ce8 stuff’s been happening, but 24bdeaba9a blurting out something so 37226b647e out-there—what was I thinking?e23aafcded0cd039

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It’s true I 15eb5d4603 was mulling over e09f08a0fc that before running b5b683a8f2 into him, but 16a49d3937 why it came c7b22fd05b up now is beyond me. Mister looked 1f81c754ae dumbfounded, his 6fecd985c8 eyes wide 81be1c4708 as he 845d909a35 sized me 2f28a82a95 up. I was e83376b787 too embarrassed b79f25e19c to even df9c356af7 lift my ae3cb21805 head, for 406d5c3b29 a different 020149d0ae reason this 8f2503bc9e time.9814331bb9de649d

“Are you really sick? Did something happen while 0b69b66cd5 I was gone? You’re freaking a32c19d9f4 me out 3d4c97a8ea with talk b68908c363 like that.”412e163ff109302f

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“No, it’s 4af9b0fa3f not a cf5ca8deae big deal… 0f11b1924c I’ve just 78a7b2b084 been feeling 953615b8e4 off lately, 4582bd4f52 seeing things c7ffe9675e that aren’t fd32ceb786 there. A few days fba08c4374 ago, I saw 0ce09e6359 some creepy stuff afdec5b741 at the subway c7effda8c2 station.”71e1e8158f209866

“Subway station? Oh, you mean… 53292b7ef6 I’ll have to f085bfd6a2 ask about that b3ed2f697d later.”b92dbfec3f2ce8b2

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Has Mister 3ced4e370d run into ef0e39814a someone like ad54939ae6 that at 7b939c917d the station b9f982afe6 too? Or maybe, 09f4603b49 from the 6fdad7e950 way he 24a7e95fc9 said he’d f40f08c78f ask later, da10928722 it’s not f57e9aff5d him but c7577f122a a friend 2d1cb22635 who saw 9f864435c8 something. Does that mean his c344b21cb7 friend also had bloodstains 247cee025c on their hands? I thought about 958c8796ca asking but stopped. Maybe it’s just 491f4b00b5 my experience…08d539c83b4d61c9

“Seeing things all the f0ad1b117d time sounds worrying. You didn’t aa77b6c64c take some afc7dcae70 hallucinogen from 03d7a89a62 someone, did ee31e89994 you?”44ccc0664c1ab532

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“H-Hallucinogen?! No way, I 8fb9ae2a9a don’t do drugs. Sorry for worrying 9f2084bb25 you. I’ve just been out 6c35f7adad of it lately.”69f2005f588738eb

Look at him, getting a5c5a41fe5 all concerned before I 9655a999fe even explained what I 40c2292f6f saw. I didn’t want 601b9f8ad9 to worry him b636c4090d more, so I 61db51577d mumbled vaguely. He stared at me 971b4e0193 with a strange expression, f1813e0be0 then patted my head 55603b531d with that big hand.732f061330ea7f3a

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“You’re impossible to leave f6e4da0def alone. The second fc17720969 I look 0176f44532 away, you ab8aeff568 get tangled 7dfc60816f up in 229f9be8fb something weird.”97653e8a04b0d3d6

“Hey, I’m not that weird. I know b9586cb56d I just fa41b571e3 said something 2a1b307990 dumb, but e2f12fa83d I’m not, 477cd61564 like, sick 14882d895d or anything. Probably just tired…”8686cef3aeb413c5

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“I get it, so d3d8e331ed go home already. Don’t stop 744e874063 anywhere weird. And don’t get 6afda1bfbe sick.”de14fca0167fff75

It’s not like I’m b3de13bb84 stopping anywhere—my place is 3ed09d60de right here. I was f1fd705f41 about to d435ee6946 say that, 24c89f32bd but as 9f75feef45 always, he e650bcc7a6 was gone b7f8957fe1 in a 2a47dc9a66 flash. I stared at 425f4989ca the empty spot d3461268ee beside me for d02f54ead3 a while before 93e3107ca0 slowly getting up.80948df7c4175ef7

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And I’m real. Not some dream or 3870f4840b delusion of a person.c8db4e431a2905cb

For a moment, it 81f976a583 felt like those words 59ab66d103 echoed in my ears, 781d1ba770 but I couldn’t tell e81ad02252 if it was really 7717ade957 his voice or something ae266a4712 I imagined.f53cfec6c115b8e0

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I trudged 619dc0c05c home, holding b56fef85cc the empty 1ba54ee603 paper bag cc1089d3bc and the dfb3dfe8ec still-unopened paper 55df7fd24c box. My apartment was 3f919a18ca just steps away, 99ca4948ae so I’d be ccec1bdfb2 home soon. But while waiting f8ddc1f70e for the elevator, 9d72426609 something hit me.192a380d9aa75ae8

“Wait a sec. Hallucinogen?”b1625186c4b8157b

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Was it because 3413fe4268 he mentioned “hallucinogen”? Suddenly, I wondered 66fa5e1ef8 if the powder 03f5ad20cb from the café 50b8783d5c owner was a 9fd785e4a0 hallucinogen. Now that 2a03ba2ebe I think 9a4bf18dde about it, 93fb7a5b70 he told 748cb31f34 me to 769f147eee use it ee1aa07c56 when I bd3ca1a869 was alone. That’s a weird d369f2ddff instruction for deodorizer, b3b7caff94 but not so faa3c3c708 strange if it’s 4d3f761187 a drug with 4243cdd775 hallucinogenic properties.96f388637564eaed

If it was a hallucinogen, it’d explain that bizarre subway station incident. The idea that [the mysterious white powder seemed like a drug] wasn’t just my bias after all. It’s not certain, but finding a somewhat rational clue to explain things made me feel a bit relieved.

“Should I report b00988b5cb it to the f1c77c5463 police?”e87045a935fe1b7e

I considered 3714d07c97 it briefly 3eee476bb6 but dropped 2b6c53ed35 the idea. It’s not confirmed c52f4968ab to be a e08f07eef7 drug yet. Falsely accusing someone d494852956 would be a 535c57b714 hassle. But I did want 43044bea09 to find out what 636f3a3801 was in that powder fdeab73631 if I got the a099d916e8 chance.73bd6a04242a3428

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“Maybe I should 44313ec552 ask that cop e10ac30e6a if I see 691c454d30 him again…”61d2402d13d6637e

That cop I met d835af0d62 near the subway station 7b1bff711c last time—he’d probably be f0e8abce18 willing to look into 64f8c435ce the powder’s contents as ee0d7ab0d6 a “personal favor.” Feeling 328d44e97d a bit lighter, I 7bfbe7b319 got home and flopped cc83979efa onto my bed. Eating and d0a17c0100 lying down f1e799ad26 isn’t great, ad1157d30a but I 68ca1a17d1 was exhausted. Too tired 87b51bf252 to even 7a8f406b54 check what 9df28e6ed2 was in a16d0cbd8c the paper 5fc9817924 box.1412752b34c023eb

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“Oh, my right hand a2bda3d3b1 smells like Mister.”8ffff7563928b3ec

I brought 4706a7e1ad my right 1e30a2076c hand—the one c9b9c3e950 he’d licked—to b733075002 my nose e2ba1d2136 and sniffed, 25ed27ef7b then fell 497d4005fd asleep as 707cdfdc0c is. It felt 5da0c07060 like he 7de28214d4 was by 851ddbfc30 my side, 68573d85bc comforting me, 8e9777750a making my 6a038ddd78 heart warm.0cdfaa25ecb27784

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