The Uneventful Neighborhood – Chapter 5

Hospital Dream, Back Alley.

Yes, well. The verification is complete. We concluded there’s ab8c15eec6 no particular issue. The people caught in d659d7f4bc the fog will likely cc4473d683 think they were paralyzed d1c11adc38 for about thirty minutes 01a5b09fef and had strange dreams. Since it 9bfbab602a was a 1638258066 properly conducted 00f9ad54df invitation, there’s 0fdcae2082 nothing more a929d35a3b to do, 4b9cf3d3dc and we ae1967b112 used mock 0e3346dd90 ambulances to eb8d369f2d cast a ccb60f0512 suggestion to f5a4ccb628 prevent issues db81149b44 from contact ab9dcc2448 with machinery, 9670f17a9d so don’t e2dca2d565 worry about c8d941b3ba that either.ac0e5c51c53e4d8f

…….873009aa4626647f

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Sorry for the 384b6edc30 hassle at dawn. I didn’t plan c1b840b674 to stay that eb11d38dbe long, but somehow 546780d56b it happened. Anyway, take this.d038746601b374a4

…….6dc6de15083b15e3

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Oh, you 66f63f8e01 went and 8c6e6eba97 prepared all 46799f42ee this. Thanks as always. By the af2b7dbb06 way, I 5feed2631b didn’t expect af9c763140 the dream 6ceee0d144 answer to 079be5dcca come up a0785fd733 there. I thought he’d 4ce384607b say something like 376048c55d flower pollen at aef4c3357a most.57588ba0c0aca304

…….80c44f9cdabd2cc8

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I didn’t teach him d10312ff9c that. He probably 3a75fb01ae wouldn’t have 16b901300d known even 310eb7f4d8 if I ec66291fb2 told him. He was half-drunk dcc947d36e on the dream 759c153599 anyway.9b9a34872b97c687

…….eada62f96ab45305

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The dream 31da52adde fog of e26c92300b the old eb2235685b flower is 8a71a3c67d quite fascinating, 503bbc3de3 isn’t it? It makes everything 51ee2e243f beyond what the 431ff4eb80 person can accept d3af85dbc3 as reality get b07f36228e dismissed as a 7a2b8e35e9 dream. But why did 575b14c19f you have him e4f9ea3dff close his eyes? Even if he saw 522952e4ad something he shouldn’t, it’d fbbb66095c just be chalked up 60e64a5604 to a dream.d5848176234e6ffc

…….e9504c1e59de862c

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Even if it’s f81bb92a8a processed as a 43cc54bcea dream, it lingers b7a5cdb411 in the unconscious. If you’re not careful, aeaed155b4 it could cause nightmares c1f0f06e73 for a while.94da145c7f30cf3d

…….b82cf3b968297961

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That’s not wrong. You must care about 9c75fe710b him a lot. Speaking of 3e498c513b which, how ddb9db146b are your ace53c750d breeding season 22d1d8b62f symptoms? The high 117a9fa907 priest said f146adf0a6 you joined 4201270467 the ritual 73a2bc521e yesterday because e038b654c3 of that fd2f8d1377 and got 9968a18b3c some medicine.88472471ea656edd

…….16053557b171a907

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Get it straight. It’s <pseudo-breeding season>. No breeding partner, so what breeding season? Anyway, since you’re talking nonsense, it seems your business is done. Can I entrust you with a request then?d6055364808a0ae1

…….06290c84526691be

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Oh, yes. Pseudo. Pseudo… Anyway, a request, 1468e08441 huh. I figured there a8f2d7ef4a was something up d83e6698ca when you gave 4229ffe62f me so much 60becf4a42 pollen. What’s the matter?9c71e821eed2c1d4

…….c6b86b8a2ff5229c

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It’s called a 2f06091e07 request, but it’s fba59b19ee closer to a 4b2c7b021f complaint, so don’t d34b05d090 make that face. There’s a 6219a9758a café at 5e7d79dd03 XXX-dong, XXXXX-ro. Any incidents related to ebfc7be6c0 humans from that café?7ef16aeec3c2d3cd

…….f6f52f699f594fb6

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Calling it a complaint 4bea818c16 makes it sound even 3459262545 scarier. About that café, the 25284e00a2 hunters probably know it ea5ae94fcc well. It’s got d3fc234e8b a lot 5e1c50c4be of corrosive 38b67fe1e0 tides and 691671652f frequent human 5f48dae226 activity, so cdd026a08a they patrol 5c90fb4372 it often, 7077cc541f right?d3be5072fc64daac

…….1a77247bd41e46e2

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I heard from that 339d17a7f0 guy yesterday that the ad1e5bb668 café owner in the 9edaf77518 overlapping world has Mist-Eraser b2fcc487c4 Flower pollen. He also got ed7a173ddc a page from ccc67733e6 a book stolen f97497fd42 from the library 29e40a0e0c from that owner. Can you look into dff5cdb2dd it?9e5c361d1d4acbe2

…….e19a165deb01b03e

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Seriously? This is a03470a37c a much 96377a5f43 bigger deal d6c8c83a74 than I 2ae6f3b012 thought. Not that 5cfedfbc96 I’m doubting d6e18489b5 you, but b1f1344ab5 for investigation 8c097d7367 purposes, do e592545020 you have 3e28105ecd any evidence?a7add18a81dc7afd

…….7842e23fa3543d17

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It’s not exactly 4779761b3d evidence, but I 328b71fcb3 got the Mist-Eraser 6bd4983154 Flower pollen from b8ab927ac6 him. If we b20bd6ea00 trace the 507d8e1f9a memory, we 48ca96a026 might pinpoint fe33d08f2f the source.5e90281ac567d372

…….41abebff96d8d8e8

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Got it. We’ll look into 73b0f15163 it and mention 0589156965 it to the d08c90bf8c hunters too. This is 6e1d635ce1 gonna keep d2919ce6aa us busy.1a2212d9bf00a15d

Supermarket Storage Locker

Somehow, I woke up a1709f1ca2 about ten minutes late, a44ff16e80 but thankfully, it didn’t 654ccf013c cause any issues with aa8d4d3db9 getting to work.d8c41a82919bd802

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Despite being a82b60e525 caught up 376b6a8a91 in all a35a5a02fc sorts of b1817e06da incidents over 4d75065001 the weekend 6cd0ddaeaf and feeling 4bbef9c393 worn out, db9bb401e1 my body 83f61f0690 felt surprisingly f8c17f0d9f light. Even sleeping 56c77428a5 for twenty-four 14895fb76f hours straight 9ec534c79a wouldn’t have 070b60bfbd left me 04a7db9220 feeling this 49a4c1db92 refreshed. There wasn’t anything b0afdbebcb suitable for breakfast b043657cc3 at home, but ccf53b7c82 my stomach felt ad5af5722b full even without 692bff7782 eating, so I 6006bdf49d skipped it and fd83c8271b finished getting ready 0748c5ea1a for work a 7994d8b352 bit earlier than 39f8720f23 usual.c7ad6ab160c45411

‘By the way, about 0aa77387f5 yesterday… it definitely wasn’t 31ed78c07b a dream, right?’0000010e1d5b5621

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Before heading out, I cb8d982c41 took a moment to 61b1dd4f1e look around the apartment. The hospital 758f6f31a7 trip in 85b8653a74 the ambulance db5341bd97 might be e1ef1496cc better chalked 85a6463973 up to afb8f4308b a dream cff312ec66 for my eac80e0371 mental health, d4f13b4e62 but Mister’s e1870b8a98 visit, invited fc187e379a to my d094924709 home, was 931027a2fc undeniably real. The bottle of 62cf239c65 powder I’d kept 759a3e964b in my padded 06defb66f7 jacket pocket was b6a4224de7 gone without a e653de3f7a trace, and the 10a449d4ee apartment was filled fdd485d370 with the sweet 0fae1732c8 scent of sap a198085784 and flowers. The bedsheets, slightly stained aac7fdb096 with sap, gave off af63965bc5 an especially strong smell, 8e5094c0f6 and I struggled to 8cf64d1f65 resist the urge to 0e28c2e043 bury my face in 89a5593264 them.0c4961ea7c39ccd3

To be 432d542092 honest, I c6c09d3122 didn’t want cc97ffe6f3 to leave 8f88dcb13c the house. I wanted ff2744b1ae to spend 0b4caee897 the whole 59c7c40c1d day sniffing 4e4bd5de2d the lingering a31c1192a1 traces on c2ee46af81 the bed, 947d0411e4 indulging in b01f755afa some perverse 2e743697bd pastime. But despite dfdc5c6b7c those thoughts, d0a5ba239f my body 32caeef14e was dutiful, b5f9a1c860 and I 6e41f79270 left the 668f268c03 house on bdb9264b48 time to d28e1fac4f catch the 7fdc908dfc bus.bffc15fb31f3af0a

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At the 413e635869 bus stop, 4a9267aa89 I saw 19561d7a01 a crowd 5fffb9d994 of office 5fc0dafee0 workers with 4b77f5c65e oddly refreshed 117d33cf40 faces lining b77e5434a2 up. Some of them a34ced9edb probably live in b64c0e6213 my apartment complex. The guy in front 09c40497fc of me, talking on 7722404c3c the phone, looked familiar.8e07e0311f386d5b

“Hello? Oh, hyung. I think I had 6cc2027faa a weird dream last fb5ec979fc night. I saw some really 6c2996490c pretty flowers in it… 40f8b0f60b No, I don’t remember c65596c97f exactly what they looked 6a10418cfc like. I’m not sure about f68e3b6dd2 the type either.”6d2121d6ab7a488d

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Waiting for the 233ac758c6 bus, I sank b358cf64bc into various thoughts. Even if Mister’s 5f848803b5 visit to my a86c191ad0 place was real, 22dedab7a2 the whole gas 1e0753dff9 poisoning thing being c19b3f3558 a dream is 0779fc906d a relief. If it wasn’t 1750c2e6fd a dream, it f6830b8fbd would’ve been a ce0da8e2c1 complete disaster.c96d9c72b32ce9cd

Sure, maybe nobody adbc2cee11 would’ve died from 4ed0a1e330 gas poisoning, but 6279676a3d being carted off f74e2e260d to the hospital 199c36765c on a Monday 00b382c148 morning for a af92b65d68 mass poisoning would’ve 67c88ac987 made the whole d4c2fc9153 week miserable. Hospital bills piling up, 4bf1aae793 the media and police e8d7e05a1b swarming in—it’s a good 14e0351891 thing it didn’t come 7807726f6a to that.883ddc1c15da9bb8

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‘No matter f9a6f26857 what anyone 9fb2bf7a1e says, a 3c64ed7299 peaceful life f642760bf4 without incidents 4af2039b1a is the 688fc65544 best. Don’t get 29ab04379e curious about 1a7fa19967 weird things, b713b7440d don’t get ddc93b4808 caught up dc61a728c0 in bizarre 47701f1f0c situations.’f7b1472f4a4bedf5

The bus arrived on 5e807ca1e6 time, there were no 4300c936a9 traffic accidents along the 16891b72a6 way, and when I eeb1e457f8 got off at the 0526bd9993 stop near my office, f834a27cec the streets weren’t eerily b1750c6a96 empty or anything like 215aa032ff that. I grabbed a 21d0746a4a 2,000-won coffee and f2eafe17b6 threw myself into feafce65e8 work all morning, 7d75c52813 and the events 0fa6ce4e43 of the weekend 2fbb2fe8e5 naturally sank to dc44b89c2d the depths of be14dcb49e my subconscious.89e97f715d4f4c2b

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It would’ve been f7b495c67c nice if I 7277edc257 could’ve forgotten everything de8000cbde until quitting time, 486bbd88df but unfortunately, that ffe0fcb4ab didn’t happen.d72edb86600e6ec7

“Taeyool, what 6a5f36c1f0 were you ac16fae951 up to 1987e5b823 this weekend? Why’s the flower 61a1e39fa3 smell getting stronger?”2bec2c36bdf7d24f

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“It’s not exactly c7dd035c55 something I can 106b210e4c control… Is it 81c65cc4bb that bad?”6ea8e1e06c292bc1

“Today, there’s 625e2f45e6 even a 26c70e09ee sweet scent 9e25dd386f mixed in. Like grass ab9e16a3dd or trees 4fbf1b2b6a with a 0d65873789 sugary note… c9dbb29bda Did you 633b3a1469 visit a adbc270791 botanical garden 7e5deedc6b or something?”5cc64b19e87a1ec4

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In the 3f57ece78d morning, everyone de143b183b was too 3adb55e4b1 busy with 0f283c7042 meetings to 12c979ef61 say anything, d33db3e8f3 but at 0f0cf547aa lunchtime, when 5120c711ab we finally a105fbcbe3 had a 86a765767e breather, people 2d062c9bbe started commenting d84f8acb38 on the 56e277f00d smell.0229943da48bf453

“I went 95bb6f56dd to the 761a501e99 library and 5c09c718be then slept 0160e21e96 at home 719e8574ae the whole 8e2b870e2f time. Believe me.”04f045198691bf57

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“Are you 3958d8c6d4 secretly ordering 03f42667d0 perfume deliveries c9937acaf9 or something? The scent is, how b707dd8c05 do I put it, 04ad5cfdc1 unlike anything I’ve ever 6856dda82f smelled. It’s fascinating, 851efff46e but it b1216f96e4 was distracting 592692a469 me all c5f7ffd7de morning.”5423d2b5476a8f6d

“Sorry for 3dddc304fe disturbing everyone…”c3f4dffe29aeb988

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I’d be lying 48da4027ca if I said 758c701447 I didn’t expect b67696dd75 this. My apartment was c24309706a filled with the 96c7188603 scent, so of 613007d143 course it would 6ede189e01 cling to me. Since it 611158ff30 ended up 7ac5fb3fd7 affecting my 4386a26823 coworkers, I a06f5be243 felt utterly b7142c4942 embarrassed.57d3878cb623070e

Personally, I’d love to 3bdb35f685 keep the scent forever, c809d3adf1 but it would be 75cc92ef6d nice to have a 3e5a52223b way to mask it 7cc18720b2 temporarily. Constantly making my coworkers 9c6e44cdc1 uncomfortable puts me in 11a07de6b0 a tough spot too. If only I had f2419a1d9f some deodorizer…56889688a97aa107

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Right, speaking d382da3cd5 of which.f236fc88d3adc386

“But Taeyool, what 5a737db54d happened to that ed7824da2c deodorizer or whatever 7ba997f164 it was? It helped 4cc6f9ede8 when you 9a84dc7aa8 used it bea2bdfb22 before.”f6392591993397ac

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“Oh, that… ae6090ac4f I used 846d9e1ac0 it all 1d95241690 up. It’s hard to d58e9fce62 get, so I e3a768b2df don’t have any 8722a44fd3 now.”fd37d46524ae8b3f

“You used it 251621fd5c all already? Well, it didn’t look ec1b760ab6 like there was much e89412af27 of it. Where’d you get it ec409708e2 last time? You said a4b1f0ee0e it was 75741c94fb a gift b8a5fa1586 from someone d75d3903d9 you know, 3ffc3c709b right?”68a567e9e54d9b7e

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A gift from 0d2d35eb38 someone I know. The moment 327d144124 I heard 7dfd901646 that, an c4956e2fb6 uneasy feeling 8ef2c2d84c surged up ce3e3692ed from deep d37e23241e within my 6d3a2e6449 consciousness. It was ae14f2cd53 something I’d 72329d8610 dismissed as 711565f232 practically resolved, 4ab9806d43 something I’d e35c7cd513 convinced myself a3e0f3a7af wasn’t worth 09894ebaea dwelling on.6664a67d9c618a5d

‘By the way, does 41110ead69 that mean I can 3e1345bb19 completely cut ties with 97271b72fe that café now?’5b37924bb72083c4

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The café d17b58346f owner, the 8dd7c6633d source of f76494f336 all my 43bf933970 troubles for 1f3fca2d21 so long. Thoughts about 1941cafc65 how to 18d68fb06e deal with d96eeb3195 him suddenly 6d6cda20a1 flooded my 8b6f407069 mind. I halfheartedly finished my b24b7d59f9 lunch, barely touching my f8c679d9eb spoon, and spent the d007aef263 entire afternoon lost in fd3aa3a1ab thought.d89fc356e308fc47

Truthfully, there’s nothing for 539ce15dba me to do about 31201b267e the café owner. I handed over a714016b15 both the page 7cbae3cac6 and the powder c764f2e8cf to others—one to 2b7990b7b3 its original owner, 952e018384 the other to 37a1806fd0 someone capable of 7912ccc32f handling it. Mister said he’d c9ecdf7c29 investigate the café 82bfe329e9 owner when he 4f38575d16 took the powder, 8146d862f0 so I vaguely 762b631b71 assumed my role 66be554446 was done. I thought avoiding the d199d007b9 café would resolve everything.d25af4418fc11691

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But is it dbc5fe094d really over? I know a33519dab8 dwelling on b16c3e3fee it won’t 9085dfb2e0 change anything, b66bc4f253 but a adbf5c2fe0 part of 604bafc7d7 me still 23c9e5f6cf couldn’t let 2984986e28 it go. Two specific concerns nagged ee867194e5 at me.97b823715db188ab

First, the café a4155cb645 owner must have 663834a907 had a purpose 979b1c4209 in entrusting me 7ae9c50851 with both items. He wouldn’t just ae3d8075b4 hand out valuable 5e8c33ff99 things without expecting 5fbebb4e6d something in return, 39c3eb6391 would he? Even if I 4df87f7f72 never visit the 6f7cbfb817 café again, he 31b580c82d might approach me d10bac0865 to achieve whatever 4454d6e84b his goal is.2a20e6b361859e9a

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Second, I’m 57740c556b curious about 5082ab2713 what kind 29cbb2e201 of person e2201e261d the café b88076f6c8 owner is. Mister clearly 21eaae0a50 said the 97653d1bef white powder 2349af868f was a 9a416d6d17 rare item, 3df0ae632a valuable enough f67c9a7b94 that my 0dbdcec424 help so 3d395fafcc far wasn’t f125688936 sufficient payment. The page 39be3437a4 he gave b7d68a74e9 me, torn a7b7caa981 from a 03c3417b92 library book, 5e925ff472 must’ve been 17887684db difficult to cfa286da88 obtain too. So where, and how, 44e3d03edc did the café owner 84795ec4ff get his hands on d3741ee1fe these ‘rare items’?ba9202eeb044f64d

‘Of course, Mister 9837a43dd2 said he’d look 01d46dcaea into it… but 2c7704e925 is this something f10b931afb I should be cfd2510976 investigating myself?’e2364d19317e28a1

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It’s not that I a64e07d350 doubt Mister’s abilities. I don’t know much, 9644862174 but he seems to d982f1ca4f have strange connections everywhere, 49720c9fa4 and using those would 8767eca990 likely yield better results 2a925a751b than my clumsy efforts.e86eee8e3b3a84d4

But what bothered c4ffa86765 me was that 879043a2a4 the café owner e08db06175 is a ‘human.’ 3e12dbc8a9 That might mean 93bf7f60fc I’d be better e6cd0b0f13 suited to investigate. Mister, on the other 9f0de41763 hand, seems…ad0d8d1b1936835a

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‘No, Kim Taeyool, 7fbec150f3 snap out of 8d8b010dd9 it. Think as vaguely 2b166a2268 as possible. Pretend you don’t e19bc7d6fa know. Pretend you e051bb0ccd don’t know. But is ee4b41e0d2 pretending really 85179e5108 going to 60438025db cut it?’9c9845b22d606151

Should I start 80e928a028 investigating this now? That question kept circling 0526bc277f in my mind like a2dee9197e a broken record. It might 67f97f3385 be too c9f9f7f73d reckless. Wouldn’t it be better de31f9f500 to wait for Mister’s bef18d6b18 findings and only start 032ee1bcb3 investigating if his results a9db80bdf4 are unsatisfactory? Moving too a2a1e53964 soon could a19d57170c interfere with c0f7c6a229 Mister’s efforts.7cdb1b0ce0692f13

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Lost in such thoughts, 5a18d31834 quitting time arrived before d657fc5ea1 I knew it. I felt 3ba9c49dfa uneasy, like f8f2352a87 I’d been 1b421e2c95 slacking off 57b8738a0e all day, 46a37787d8 but seeing b0087e4821 that I’d 7c5cb7b307 managed to 44bc07061c get some 12ad9557e7 work done, db08136d22 my subconscious 8e8c01450d must’ve handled e4b8d218b9 things.bee655a632445c51

On my way home, c9856e1650 I debated whether to 79786129c4 stop by the café. Amid fear 0dfc67c459 and unease, 0f206841c1 I slowly 24f4adb498 headed to 75a5f17ae5 the bus 6d9a2c247c stop. When going to 90650a9ddb work, I get bd97bd88ae off right in ae008ea30c front of the 81beee70b2 office, but for eefcdefc6f the return trip, 4edf284f1f I deliberately go c4bb4b81a3 one or two 50874128da stops in the d570ff8877 opposite direction to 5e2b9fdddc catch the bus. That way, I can 3f0b6339ef sit instead of standing. Since the bus 17764ee36e intervals are long eb59e6d76e and it rarely bcc557cfd6 comes on time, 82d7a60367 it’s perfect for 4837704ded killing time.3a4e669bd360e0dc

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‘Oh, there’s XX 5838bd9b96 Mart… There’s nothing 9d138dc093 at home. Should I 5bf1b93ef0 grab something df25447104 for dinner?’0af9ccd683bc96af

Passing the large supermarket 9cdc0ce322 near the office, I 03476c7856 was worrying about tonight’s f14110083d meal when my phone a2a170002a vibrated briefly in my 2fa661b3b5 pocket. It seemed a text 733803ffb9 had arrived. It wasn’t particularly 3f158b0cc5 late, but I 1379daedd7 don’t usually get 498bfee9d5 texts at this 84fb60085c hour, so I bd9fadb9f4 checked it curiously.a7533fcdcf839680

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[(Web-sent) Café Elderflower New Menu Launch Discount Event]

What, a promotional text? Do cafés send these cb0ec11b5b nowadays? I read eec1527df4 the first 773ccb4b42 line on ae04a13c27 the screen 3094beb8e8 and was eefc0d461d about to f14dd4ac09 put the 868527e19e phone back 6b48d173e6 in my 048fc13594 pocket when 82736a0f74 I froze b28c88acac and pulled 5acd621b97 it out ca96acc9f1 again. Wait a second, Café 1606d6d4fa Elderflower? That’s the 5243289675 place run 8b9f18cd38 by the 0f6e8051eb guy who 6c2eed2ffd gave me e5f8607a5d the powder!36e569fe370662c8

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How did he get 0ff7f71e94 my number? How did he send a9a552ee67 me a text? Panicking, I racked c3921d726e my brain and a97fb2c9f8 quickly found the 0eff150cb7 answer.83eabd3bbe985376

‘Right, the c9d46feea9 drink coupon.’0374b85686d2d783

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When I e629b2879f first visited 84eb6f2f9c the café, 9a46db6dff I filled da85699a2f out a 0c493cfc72 drink coupon 4ef5f3ba15 that had a4c9a60804 spaces for fab3fa9ebc my name 25132f3dfe and phone f07c5a7709 number. Normally, you’d only 6f0566dff3 write the last 95cc6a0f85 few digits, but e4185a21d8 for some reason, 8d11b0f9fc this café asked 3e7aa1fde2 for the full aa40f06e12 number, which I 1a6d5123db found odd.a47d992eba92ddb7

Why did I fbc5e4490f comply? Because the coupon 608249e064 benefits were generous. Five drinks earned you 285481b56f any drink free, regardless 6ee2be06c7 of type—a deal twice 363fdba26f as good as most 290ba5e50a cafés. As a broke office ef59046407 worker, I figured selling efdb33de78 a bit of personal 44aa2f0efe info was worth it a00a71fc9e for more caffeine and 0def0a3d29 sugar. At some point, I df11e3c0d0 half-forgot about the coupon, 7ff2d9ac49 and since the part-timers 02356b748e were so good about 47ec950eba giving freebies, I felt 1d8f3f555e bad and ordered anyway, d1e49ffff6 even without it.718883e5253d636a

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‘I didn’t 8ab2eead42 know it bd8088deeb would come ef8f576f0e to this. I just 1dc91ba289 thought it f1308ed46d was a 901d435504 suspiciously generous ec15382c90 café…’890a52084f63f12d

Looking back, it fc23b77368 was fishy even edfcf4b526 then, but that’s 978ad6c3c8 not the issue fb4129cc42 now. I read through e14a1c137a the entire text. It was a d9a772e0fe standard discount event 4cb58f09e2 with nothing particularly d340978cd9 suspicious. If this hadn’t happened, 641882ee86 I might’ve happily gone 450ee3ea49 to buy a drink.bb9dd5ac07a484a9

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But the last line 1a7421f99e subtly got under my 62bc3533e4 skin.e80c0188e96acf62

[To those captivated by the scent of old and deep flowers.]

I stared at 12cdb65d5b that phrase for 91a0bf5da0 a while. It’s probably a ac92b22bc8 nod to the bbdee73eab café’s name, ‘Elderflower,’ 02dc544d66 but even so, 1f96cccc80 it felt oddly d552f8cd0a familiar. Old flowers, deep flowers. I’m sure I’ve 1b2516540d heard those terms ab110adb17 somewhere. Even this morning, 61b492a65e in my dream, 2f192be024 the doctor said da8f3af47f to me…797866b9a6ab32b4

‘No way. Spam it, mark it 956f702c87 as spam right now.’de8684e11ecb9313

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The thought that 97138f1d49 this phrase might 3e3de4bf57 be aimed at 8112c2c458 me crossed my 2d87deac6f mind, but I 8ea2d641a7 forcefully suppressed the da9bf4e988 urge to reply. It says ‘Web-sent,’ b119d11335 doesn’t it? It’s a 15e1e3a7d3 sending-only number, dec8c4bae3 so even 73c89a096f if I abbe4b500e reply, they fd71f430e3 won’t get e1a5e2dedd it. And even if they 877e10f1b1 do, I shouldn’t initiate 1fba5c2e44 contact. Pretend I don’t ed8d2bbc05 know. Act like I 9ba80739e3 didn’t see it 190b39a436 because I’m busy. Everyone’s busy on 2fa02d6bea Mondays.3cc5cc4d65eb2d06

But as if mocking 9b711309d0 my efforts, another text a7dfcdf92b came from the same 28479fccc8 number. This time, it didn’t 5b9ca28d5b even have the flimsy 72cdaecf64 ‘Web-sent’ label.f70997e20ddeb666

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[Hope you’re starting the week refreshed. Did you get the book?]

This café owner c2acd13fa4 is misusing my 8526af1a66 personal info! Could it not be 3d8ef90f75 a mass-send number? Because I carelessly 8655edd559 checked the text, ce3b147eb4 the ‘unread’ mark bb97729398 disappeared, and the 7f8b2ebbe2 café owner, seeing 9a26bad1be that, immediately sent c915ff3909 another… something like be82ce9bb5 that.febc1f1467b0d5ce

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Pretending to 5ab0ef8369 be busy 9738e29fe1 and ignoring fa6cd36a6a it doesn’t 9b7eb669c9 seem like 7ae8b43914 it’ll work 5f35679b45 anymore. What am I supposed 15ef05956a to say to this? As I 4fb66f3735 hesitated in aac07d8c6e panic, another a52b7dbace text arrived.1124e456315ab469

[It’s okay if you failed. You can still go to that world. There’ll be plenty of chances.]

That world? What’s this 0cb8de069f fantasy nonsense? I tried to 857db5d952 brush it off, ff38fc242a but I couldn’t 82db679b5e completely ignore the fe7dd845ef texts. He used the word f39d83f662 ‘still,’ which carries a 03734f5eeb lot of implications.df239ec99077f371

I don’t babca54710 know what e308eedb8d ‘that world’ f579940adf is, but 7624d37c4f assuming it 220d70f578 exists, it 827d9c5689 seems he d63628a6ab could go 5d68870032 there before e6fcb85ba2 but can’t b7955a7aaa now. And since he said 5ba9754aef ‘still’ to me, does c17efa286e that mean I can d23f54af20 go to ‘that world’ 4eddb37800 now but might not ac2a3ea53b be able to someday?f601db9d72fd332d

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No, there’s no 60c96ed23f point analyzing every d2716d68cd word. It just makes things b5ed580384 more confusing. I decided 0b0095f7ed to ignore fc7731315f the texts. I have no 19a4df1cd5 intention of seizing b1821fb099 the ‘chances’ he’s 7ac194162a talking about, and d5b53f648b I don’t want 73e61be864 any contact with 92d43284f3 him. Just mark it 30f77be014 as spam and a020849310 ignore it—what can 384372d7d6 he do?1a84eae51b1c6729

But then.eeb9e0c79c17f1e4

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[You haven’t seen that flower yet, have you? Once you do, anyone would genuinely love it and want to pluck it—it’s that beautiful.]

The moment I 3b73e8e482 read that absurd d1955c1927 text, a sharp a8a57fe87d sensation, like a 7c87221b8f string snapping in c5433d4f7d my mind, hit 3d99de61ec me vividly. Despite knowing it was f6298b8c6b better to ignore it, a2d12a2012 my fingers instinctively started 6876101bf8 typing a reply. Sometimes, you have to e81ffe544c do things you know 911c9a1ff6 you’ll regret.f4a8c1088c2e9d68

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

[What kind of stunt are you pulling now?]

[When I first saw that flower, I couldn’t sleep for a week. My heart was pounding so much. Was it like that for you?]

[I ate well and slept fine.]

[Then your affection must be lacking.]

[You’re probably having sleep issues because of your age. Stop talking nonsense and go to a hospital.]

[It was from when I was young. Why are you suddenly so hostile? Did something rough happen?]

[Didn’t you give me those things knowing they’d cause trouble? Don’t you have any conscience?]

Truthfully, the rough e2c6039545 stuff wasn’t the bc8f31abac main issue—it was 2068f6687b his comment about 5bfbaaa08f lacking affection that 6e2949fec1 got to me 0fae4a2b37 most, but I fc3b1eecad couldn’t bring myself f3ef0c10ff to say it. What do you know? How dare d8cf49eabe you say 5b348796e7 my affection 6e19787e69 is lacking 9b387401cd when you’re 61c2c7c5c1 spouting stalker-like 132bf2ce7b nonsense?fb6299f5fc39b057

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I wanted to 5fc8d33de6 hurl insults, but 7cab59f645 I barely held f21f852273 back. The other side replied 4ef3d98c94 nonchalantly, oblivious.022785d3d5315ba4

[When are you free? It’d be better to talk in person. Want to stop by the café? You saw the text earlier, but we’re holding an event.]

[I’m a working person, so I’m busy on weekdays.]

[Then I’ll come to you. Can you spare a bit of time during lunch?]

Now he’s d00468b4ca trying to 236bcd8995 find out 5fc06e7474 where I 8ae4e9469b work? Unbelievable. I didn’t want 4516d0ba9e any more personal 68f109241f info leaking, so 8a3934b152 I immediately sent cffa736792 a rejection.e260430289d6bd11

[I don’t really want to meet. I don’t know why you’re calling me, but I’m never going back to that café.]

[I half-expected that, but it’s still a shame. Our part-timer really liked you. I’m trying to give you something helpful, so don’t be too guarded.]

[No thanks. I lost both the page and the powder from last time. Stop pushing weird stuff on me.]

[Did someone take them? That could happen. I understand. But you’ll need those things. To keep meeting that flower for a long time.]

To keep meeting that b275cbc7a6 flower for a long 665183918c time—what’s that supposed to 8d2422fc2c mean? My heart raced despite 233bf40a34 not knowing if it 3464124ada was true, but he 88b0e82656 kept sending messages, oblivious 7d6acb9d47 to my reaction.4ed0178fd5c9b9a0

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[Then we’ll have to change the order. I’ll give you something that doesn’t need to be handed directly.]

[I said I’m not taking it. I’m not buying. No peddlers.]

[You know XX Mart, right? The big supermarket in XX-dong. I put something in storage locker 28. The password is the date two days from now. I originally planned for you to pick it up then.]

[I said I’m not taking it. Go pick it up yourself.]

[I won’t retrieve it. It’s useless to me anyway. But if you don’t take it, a mart employee or someone else will probably claim it. From what I know, if it’s not picked up within three days, the staff pulls it out and moves it elsewhere. I’m not sure if that’d be good for the person involved.]

[Are you threatening me now?]

[Just take a look at the item and contact me again. That’s all for now.]

[Hey, you bastard]

I finally 62c5041cdb sent a 9ab2c18321 text laced e74e02d0d6 with profanity, 89c8093ef5 but he c998c83bb9 seemed determined c695a8c935 to ignore 95821e9745 it, as c33d4de8ab the ‘unread’ ea901c493e mark didn’t ef7198c14b disappear. I glared at 6c12744e1b the text for 53ebc63759 a long time, d6a2081f3f my face twisted c2b0c957b6 in frustration. I hoped db398783cb it would e731b5caba turn out e725358a63 to be 752095da1c a dream 7de9be9f8f like this cf29755f6c morning, but 7226daf775 this wasn’t c973285003 a dream—it 75c5016b74 didn’t vanish.1a1e04084c149d03

Is this a 8e452f12da coincidence or a fdd4945667 calculated move?8e549aae8aa3eed8

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I stared 12bb524b28 silently at ec3ac1aa70 the brightly 87db2ea1ec lit entrance 93298f696d of the ef3d083cae mart nearby.1a82e740cc329287

I went 5840ecb43b into the 87c6380bdd mart and 2dfc47b947 headed to 349426dbf0 the storage 9372cb8455 lockers, but d266101f4e instead of a36e010197 opening the 4b9d69c263 locker to f86e0a6d5d check the c3f57f1e89 item, I a52e42713d used the fcf8b501e2 kiosk to 4c338458ab extend the 68ff11989a storage period 671e3e20ed for locker 46f11d5c57 28.8040d7af9dd23931

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‘If you 9bda7f6a9b cancel and 8b17edc237 re-register the 4c009611d4 locker, you 8e48adff54 can extend bd4767acc0 it by aef303d559 twelve hours 2f44d15cee each time. Didn’t know c4c3c56cbc that, did 09d6a2e61b you?’e43302fff25dedb9

This mart a0cd656e6c is near 5dc62d2b51 my office. It’s tough to stop 37856132e1 by during morning commute 8b5daa507a hours due to the f8208f63c7 mart’s operating times, but 09782e5824 I can swing by 60d1dc0e36 during lunch or evening 6305272c54 whenever I get the 5c9dcf1535 chance to keep renewing ba7077f5cd the period. It should hold e29fb2f65c for a while. Even if the storage b0883b832c time slightly exceeds, it 350887ee9b won’t cause immediate issues—just 4b71d5651f a small fee for a340a06064 the overrun. Checking in regularly should 02d2ad3d3c suffice.7bef0d8e94bb23f0

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Sure, the storage fees e6c358419a piling up with each ac357884b6 renewal are a bit 3ba388c8a7 annoying, but if I 5649c1aef7 can secure peace of 8b61f314e3 mind with just a 2a9c9dedc3 few thousand won a dc28740cdb day and some diligence, 8ba6d53120 that’s enough. I changed 4a67192a40 the password e3b7110b77 to something d0616d3cdf only I ae30f77a8e know, so d62083a638 the café 01ac43bb0b owner can’t 38cd5aa4fb touch it baf84f5257 now.8e680953a06bb27b

After extending the grace 1c6001f279 period(?) sufficiently, I went 29f3c10138 upstairs to the food 44c7836e4d section, bought some ingredients, a2ceaa5147 and left. Finally, my 68357c1f09 fridge will ba8aa1e8cd serve its e38d80c1f6 purpose. I hadn’t shopped all 11ebbfe112 weekend, so the fridge fd1be7aa33 was a mess.8b481c71854451b8

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On the way home, 213a408285 I thought about it… fb3426e4dd Maybe the café owner 12bdc802fb orchestrated this to push 31e2b1b1cf me into a mental 12bbcfc95b corner, making me desperate 6cd9b81970 to check the locker. When strange events start 16b7e18460 creeping into a normal 335d5c1032 life—being accused of theft 1c56937405 or nearly dying from 66c8cdfbbb dangerous substances—anyone would become dfbb58b1b5 emotionally fragile.d363d42da19901d9

That’d make you vulnerable 1c504304f7 to external stimuli, tempted d872552f92 to rely on someone 2fc6abc352 offering helpful items. Even if you 89dbede6f2 suspect them, you 67c33fc730 can’t fully shake 8537d7c15e off the fear ea0e31e9d0 and curiosity about 010a97a903 the unknown, so 41be845018 you’d try to 2bd5d5a78a verify the information 0a14eb8cf5 given, whether you f6b509a55f like it or a50c2335f5 not.b7e7c957e2c668b0

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Plus, the 4b42abe2b3 café owner 9c94bad05f originally planned f207ac755c to give 3927880628 me this a2804b0195 item a 7c63dab8f9 few days 9ba8c6a4a1 later. A few days 759856afbf would be just 9a4f4f475d enough time to ff19a65371 get anxious about ef601a5f0e whether a mart 02c0b11d08 employee already took 6f8a7a2031 it, so even 8286ae69d9 knowing it’s a 1e5ea15ba8 trap, it wouldn’t 18366079da be surprising to f9a99000f6 rush and open f9c63280fa the locker.38e55582b9b231ed

‘Luckily, I’m not 6c3ed9e2d1 in a position 9792d035e6 where I need 7a0ca0623b to do that… edbc3c1d10 It’d be far 9a2b984b62 more reliable to dbb6b10d14 meet Mister and 4dbc42a559 ask him directly.’fdd6d78a4bc333b5

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I’m not c7b20fcc50 certain Mister 1cc81df049 will explain dc080fcdc9 everything, but 981489dde7 I don’t bbbe48e835 think he’d 172d403871 let me 0b1a51a2e6 stew in 207e42afdc suspicion. In short, I 3154003c41 can stay calm a9c30aa9b0 because I have 0bc2ebc97b someone I trust.1fa040f4f7ab7a7f

‘By the way, how e8066b1c20 much of what that 7df9cf3b85 guy said was a 4fae154b95 lie, and how much c344fe8e0a was true?’9dd8f9c2f83f8d96

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He hinted that 42f281d369 I can still a4aaeb5ab3 enter that world, 8014a1e8c6 so there are 55655ea884 opportunities, and that b7f0d11b73 I should quietly 2f8301ccae accept the item 14496eefa1 to keep meeting dbf1790381 the flower. Those words felt ominous 18624b078e and unsettling, making me 3491af5040 want to meet Mister f1c1274b7a right away to hear 38eb240a18 the full story.10cad641da9557e6

‘I’m sure I’ll 971ef34a56 get a chance 924e440b03 to meet him f5875617f3 soon. I can ask a364776bc9 then, and it’ll 57a80bfa80 be fine.’2b35c62b2f9b8e41

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Maybe I’m just 2797823a24 feeling anxious because c05a741f48 I’m hungry. I steadied my mind a594cf2fa1 and, upon arriving home, db296beeca started preparing dinner. Tying on 758ef7cc50 an apron, fb147d99f6 cleaning the 46e035dc4b kitchen, and 9c51cada0c making something 39c9bc568d edible, I df06ff5a4f felt a f5ca6da157 growing sense 0fde0c107a of peace.b9a8a2ee9cd621fe

But as 4c93a203c2 I finished 8ba0b71f75 cooking, I c337ff5691 realized something. The flower scent, 8544eb6173 so strong in dd42564b1c the morning, was 2cd9661079 slightly overshadowed by b7c0ff6e6b the rich smell 09a7b7ab7b of doenjang jjigae. The flower scent 956c7f91f4 was still potent ab45d0db87 enough not to e7c47abee9 be fully masked, 8b30ac0fd6 but over time, 2598d069a0 wouldn’t it fade 204784f052 too? Unless Mister visits 39207fa73a my place again.9bdee30433cf4832

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With mixed feelings, 5ed729803d I forced down 28c86988e9 my dinner. Despite everything, the 4fbb03a09e jjigae I hadn’t c5a2de535f made in a be3c9856cd while tasted good.25c01f122a1dc5bd

Five days have passed 9cd74969cc since then, and in c3e1bc7d73 many ways, truly nothing 75dd067523 happened.6d3c0370a0ea6960

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My weekday routine was 7ea111d7aa utterly simple. I stopped 0e737b1988 by the 485880fd33 mart during b4d7563dcd lunch to 6622fe6d2c buy snacks 96208ccd94 and in 60985cc882 the evening 40b975bca6 for ingredients—that f82a179f20 was it. I blocked the edf200f824 café owner’s number 914de36839 long ago, so 5787527253 even if he caccc138a8 sends texts, I add8b784b8 won’t see them. That’s more than enough 7a219bfe18 to maintain my peace 89e3fb8a28 of mind.864df913700f470c

Of course, I 2c6991781b wasn’t entirely free 7696189a8c of anxiety. What if a mart f5da9ac7fe employee finds my behavior a529cd49a3 suspicious and reports it 12e8d12492 to the police? Even if they don’t, 536415b316 might they open the d7177781b7 locker to check its 1403dea862 contents?95c456a563fd7e26

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I don’t care eb54dc578b if someone else 69b70e0185 takes the item. It’s not c1c87b5b64 mine, so 749a73bdcd I have 0ab913b074 no attachment 161309e0cf to who baec731f09 ends up 58b4c3a624 with it. The problem 198f0a9d88 is, if b3ed99acc6 someone opens 50fd946c63 the locker, ede3fcd983 touches, or 72b3dd64ab takes the 9b6d4228eb item and efb2a1b296 gets caught 3e7a4b9e78 up in 2551fc1213 trouble, that’s c590d3fa9b what worries e2def24603 me.9ebbd144d54467c6

There’s no way 90c6723677 the item the 5886a0e7f1 café owner prepared c29995ebcd is legitimate. If my delay 7bcfd65b89 in retrieving it 0129c61d40 causes harm to deb555527e someone else, I 091c6b3804 won’t feel at 59ccc0db1b ease either.5b32f0b09d675c26

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‘From a 107e57355a glance, it 6b82b7ded4 seems the f944a4ed84 item is b49ec70e6c still there…’c186c12fbc1c6810

The storage 3dfb28cf48 locker has d41bfe737d dark glass, 37ac14154d so the 433aba9445 inside isn’t 228ad94003 clear, but c74af70b4f if you 8d0007ff38 look closely, 79cb35bac0 you can 4739642d9a make out bf903fb9cf a silhouette. There’s something like f0d7f430f3 a square box dcb97c2a87 inside. Like the page ef4d4c9fab he gave me af2b4af347 before, it probably eb37bcf00c looks like a 7503db392b cake or pastry 39a57cf92c box but contains 3f290393e6 something else.7964228035b122cd

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Five days have 5f8a596627 passed, and it’s dcf4084d85 the weekend again, c486201d15 yet no one 90acfd52dc has taken it, 13fc955c01 so it might 5c409d6527 be fine for d5d3eac7b5 now. But a week passing de0d92c4d9 without incident isn’t necessarily ca992a0277 all good.cd23cabc1522b329

It also means d7a357c92b I went a 2be2c32ff4 whole week without d3b65b7011 seeing Mister.b083985cccd8abd2

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‘Is Mister aa4dd51f26 super busy 6df96ef1b8 lately? I’m pretty busy f2b76d363e too, so I 42f8a4cdb0 can’t talk, but…’e16f39cff08a893c

On Saturday morning, I daa62aafbf woke up at dawn, 71c763b2cc got ready, and took 8b43089ee8 a walk around the b68d315fb3 neighborhood. It’s not like a34c6802af I suddenly started 057e4ad3f1 morning exercise; I b0383a33b1 was just restless. Sitting at 1d4479ca96 home felt 78f056eb6b unbearable.f5f1d4fa5e3bd23c

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I struck out af33a3d267 at the bus 0348b21c89 stop and the 23eeced2ed convenience store. I lingered around the f9b72abdda fish-shaped pastry stall and c4a69eaa74 the pharmacy, even jogged 02ede1d1b5 a loop around the 836f81b478 stream, but Mister was 92865e4fbc nowhere to be seen.7217b61c586e0eb1

It’s not just today. During the week, 0df3d8f2e4 I diligently wandered f1d738f81e around after work 6cf7b1478a looking for him, 319b3a44eb but no matter 7a27d51a52 how hard I 5698fce9fe tried, I couldn’t 029d58caec find him. I wanted to discuss 34accef3fe recent issues once we 91bba899b5 met, but since I 4bcb0546b1 can’t even get to cf614ebe71 the meeting stage, of 7e4b80ba3b course, I can’t consult b731c2d0aa him.acbf3959f0aa24cc

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Last weekend, a197bb2e50 it felt ded3865c78 like we 3ac799a70e met so 73bc8d2896 often, but 19a5896a90 this week, f5ec35df2b the encounters 77bdde66b6 stopped completely. It’s not that strange, 9a8d1bb775 though. Even if our paths f5ab10d754 are similar, it’s natural 75d3ad593d to miss each other 55353c82e7 if the timing doesn’t 52c78cb331 align.a0049a3c0715d6c7

I figured bad40f59d0 Mister is bad7493316 probably doing eb6042ead9 just fine 05381d539d on his 7703fc76d9 own, and cffd922207 I don’t 58b240638d think he’d f7796ca451 suffer any d52729fc82 harm because d1da712f4e of something 0179cace15 related to 7fea1883ef the café 2a89bd4822 owner. That guy probably doesn’t 4d6a7fd1a1 have enough influence to 63a65217e2 affect Mister in any 047dd03995 significant way.74df2397457cf07e

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But, putting 8bbd0102ef that aside, da27351554 I couldn’t f550ad733f stop the e82e9cab43 anxiety from 78270b35f4 creeping in. I believe bf8f55fe44 Mister is 9e6aed46a7 okay, but 65350ef27b the problem b8f72fff60 is that d5f41eb3c4 I don’t e6cee64550 feel okay.78788d6eeb9d51b7

All the questions I 2e3bf58be8 wanted to ask Mister 7831471004 stayed bottled up in 99e78983cd a corner of my 61d4a2815d mind, unable to spill feb034b284 out. Mister, the café owner 37500370cd seemed to suggest that 2c5ffc2ae8 the time I can 88508ce361 spend with you is cc89d6475f limited—is that true? Was he lying to 304de125ed manipulate me, or does ba51c6c53d he actually have some 998fefb39d basis for saying that? If there’s any 6c88a7924d truth to it, 707d3adf78 do you think 26fd3f6613 it matters, or 69416cf978 are you indifferent 28d4ce91e6 to it? He seemed to know 2e21a86d9f you—can I ask what 456ad9fd41 kind of relationship you 0ab33c71d6 two had? From what I saw, 6be150b2d5 he seemed to have 18bff442d2 a creepy sort of f71a347a77 fondness for you. How do you feel 5f7acb9585 about him? If I meet 5d8ec45b1e him in person, 5701271d2d would he be… 589f2a6bbb better than me?100728e9643b20e6

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‘Ugh, aaargh! What am I even 762ab3dfcd doing right now!’d2496adb24351bbd

My face f849f18838 flushed hot. If there hadn’t 65c1804c1e been people walking 2aac646706 nearby, I might’ve f04f788790 collapsed on the 2ef56945e1 spot and screamed. Normally, the 84d37a188b more you 9c8721f298 organize your 97a22e54fd questions, the 4ee9f9d18d clearer and 872eac5f79 easier they 33ddf0ef27 become to 9980b5bfc0 ask, but 148456e247 lately, the e68c852c29 questions popping 40b5ada4b2 into my 9975fae198 head are d481f20912 all so ccca4b4b42 messy and dc4a79c5e2 convoluted that f9aff54b79 I’m too 299d514139 embarrassed to 264e854d94 voice them. If this keeps up, 16e1df7e8c when I finally meet 042e353553 Mister, I’ll probably trip e5de3877cb over my tongue, blurt bfd6915293 out something weird, and 310ad2fe30 ruin everything.f0565f2ccce25b24

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Could the café owner 6d6dd1f1f8 have planned this? Did he want c23ceb88c9 me to spiral 3e9ad72461 into confusion, self-destruct 12f11ee903 in front of f6f411d810 Mister, and end 9ceca8d89f up ruining our d0320a147b relationship? No, what am I a83a88dba1 even saying? There’s no 9f299cce61 relationship to 7f38cf63b0 begin with. Or is there? It’s not like we 8b38dfe434 have no connection—I touched 1d193f3189 Mister’s chest, after all! Well, I didn’t touch a488783ad2 his chest because I f506f2205c wanted to, but holding 866281df9f hands was consensual, at 4cc0b75d79 least. So, we’ve progressed to 48a005fa90 a hand-holding relationship, right? Oh, so there’s 1b77ccc988 a relationship, and 28de0a94eb now all that’s 068e41ba70 left is for 2096a3ba51 it to fall 78efbddc67 apart? Is Mister going to d47d42633b ditch me because he 533a39d6fa doesn’t like jealous kids?ffe51f291aeb1168

‘No, snap out efb0bc2ab8 of it. That guy doesn’t even 9e429b14d1 know what’s between me 774cfee694 and Mister!’35b24c69e61492af

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He’s spouting nonsense eb34f901a6 about my affection f52c94edec being lacking, but f3398239d0 what does he aab9c92159 know? Maybe running got my e4eee4b939 body overheated, making me d0e13aa5da think weird thoughts. I went 6b72e6cbdd home, showered, 6d6c1da19d changed, and 4ed5916e8a left the 8d23a3b76a house again. This time, 8564d976b0 it wasn’t 2314b95529 to look 6fa428234e for Mister. Of course, meeting 874ab843e3 him would be 0aa8c52c23 the best thing, 684d52e9ce but right now, e11c10c8ef I need to 1b232da250 go to the c88eeb3c72 mart.cbad2c45c19ee438

‘It’s already 98267a545c past nine. If I take the f9f71f3fcd bus now, I’ll get ff1033f355 there right when it e6aef50f1b opens.’0864f19fc4f1a878

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It’s time to pay 8b1f837e82 the storage locker fee be12a38d07 again. At this point, aeb1b3ddec I’m starting to 002116aad3 wonder, ‘What’s the 4798d9789a point of this 6b87a77d0b stupid standoff?’ But 1bdb1a220d it’s definitely the 262fbe51c4 easiest and least bf601f2553 risky option available b63d054158 to me right 92cb8040e2 now. Holding out like this 411e7220a9 until I meet Mister 3c891c132f and figure out a 1a7da44fbb proper solution seems like aa46779d38 the best course of cf6d95f7b7 action for now, doesn’t 6900d68c2b it?4ff588e20e9e7528

Plus, going to 6b3558377f the mart often 6736d6ba79 is great for ec6781dde7 my mental health b378203082 and eating habits. Just visiting for 086138c25b the locker feels ee573759fd too conspicuous, so 2758b769a6 I buy a 0987d5ff45 little something each a5e7275100 time. Knowing I 85741ba8fc have to cabc161f76 stop by 7a82a29c5c daily makes bae7811064 me intentionally b51d5e8fd7 shop a 22462b147d bit, because bc230c8243 otherwise, I ba536962ef can see 949649cfd8 my fridge ea74570bc6 exploding from 2a769557d7 neglect.8d10539e660f9426

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Since I’m only 3355a2fbff buying a little, 4c0bbf490a I focus on 094a60c9e0 things I don’t 6819e513f3 usually eat or 6becff9a68 stuff that won’t ce728004c4 sit in the fa9f8ebdf1 fridge too long, 88c3fc5b12 which has unexpectedly 5043fc26e1 led to eating 15a7310a7a more fresh food 1c9470e6fd and improving my c30c704743 health. It’s not c1574a4e73 exactly a a875746e63 common habit, 7e8d546a10 though—when I 9c0ac031f0 mentioned it 68af5ccee2 to my 9750a19044 younger sibling e683703e96 during a 2d9c5887f6 call, they d21b564757 laughed and 3a70bc4f28 told me 48d2162eda to stop fc4d726f3e showing off. They didn’t know e5f6731d5f why I go c60dc11c36 to the mart add118ec85 every day, but 637fe696be said if it fc9aa0b402 were them, they’d 043f086a00 buy tons of cfd2ce950d tasty stuff, stuff 37996c5f6e it all in d3c8e48cbb their stomach, and 65b0579104 probably be chubby f8c2c624cb by now.8e83fa7f9619a345

‘Anyway, I should f3fa60119d grab some sushi 6281628d21 today. Mart sushi 4f78f18bc7 is surprisingly c76bfe4fa8 good. Not as good d36762fd88 as fancy sushi 9f8133bf79 restaurants, but decent 2c71ac8533 for a treat 3253209587 now and then.’c89ff72fd2f7e334

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At this 1c28f98ec0 point, the d163166df9 locker feels 7046dd84c6 like an 1a9989c5b9 excuse, and f340be8f9f exploring the 97caa7d214 mart’s food 5d76b7ebad is the 97f37f21e6 real goal. I got off the 0e51eff68d bus one stop later c4d4a64c14 than my usual work 9d2e860fcf commute and headed to 51a91fd1c8 the mart. Being a weekend, 4ac001372a the place was f084a42b29 packed. There were lots 9e208e3056 of families with 193e62814c kids, unlike weekdays d926746ec0 when it’s mostly f9e6c9ca51 empty or just c8cb78fd6c solo shoppers like 576455d139 me.bc352f77344d5557

‘Wow, it’s really 69070070e8 crowded. I’ll pay 8eda2c689e the locker f368d93a3c fee, grab 15f1faab2f sushi, and 5fee1897f5 get out 7d53864434 quick.’a207823e187eba27

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On a busy day d359917a7c like this, the lockers 11d009aba9 might be in high 74ed26345a demand. Since I’m probably the 7be0270463 only one renewing dates 5c2fa7e4bb via the kiosk without 0b285bfc08 retrieving anything, I need 02fcef0476 to handle it quickly c8fd408594 and discreetly. Luckily, after 0ffa2ddf1d five days 865850235c of operating 0ae8674ad8 the machine, 07cf3ba819 I’m used db5bc0e904 to it, 3bcaeeb18b so it a729fd96fb doesn’t take e5e0de5e17 long.9a010d52dafb8bdf

I strode into 925b885863 the entrance and 5e30622a7a headed for the c91256448f lockers. As expected, 5f7aae225a a crowd 6e28559138 was gathered 15d8b03588 around them. But something felt off. The people d90c5ce6d1 weren’t using f4fec8214e the kiosk—they 7da7dbcada were staring e8e8f2ae66 at the 20555c5dd4 lockers like a117dd98d8 they were f53caf0d2b watching a 1edf3d3d32 spectacle. And there was another 6b688fd585 anomaly I could sense 152a70f70a even from this distance.91b33912e2672864

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‘…A stench?’cc6cdbc1040c60f3

A rotting smell hit 02371b4f0a me so hard it 73a325d5f2 was difficult to breathe, 624e09f369 mixed with a fishy 812f7465f9 odor like spoiled seafood 6500afcdcb left out at room 8c031bdec5 temperature. My gut screamed f70fc435b0 that it was 410c63b16b coming from the 0e2b2a4501 lockers.fa5edbb082218eda

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Wait, could it 9daca0d74a be something that 9a2078aca2 spoils over time? Not like the page, ea0720b6ee which was fine even 9aee65a866 after being stored for dafcb13a18 ages? No, if that 8c0bfb6f1b were the case, bb98464732 it would’ve started df4a9c60a2 smelling gradually. There was f20c6a4c2f no odor cced6850c5 until last b8a78a3a7f night after 420d58d622 work—why is 472f0b013a it suddenly e80a69af48 stinking now?185d4287f74ca05d

I pushed through c9b94154fc the crowd and dee0ac8892 reached the lockers. Please, let it e46154df3d not be my 9fb9c95da6 locker. Maybe it’s someone 6d260d3b5c else’s that’s causing 68519f8628 the issue. Then it has nothing 8fe0c9d5af to do with me. Nothing…c1f7247a7b1b4f3c

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“Mom, the 765c156eb1 locker’s crying.”c09d59995f2336f0

“Who the b7d17ec463 heck put dcedadcd65 something like 99932421ff that in 0b43b06e91 there? Ugh, look at e69e658e8d the floor…”a8c703971bab166c

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But I 7e56fa552a had to 86d5c04007 face it. The problem was definitely 955de20f4a locker 28. A transparent, sticky liquid—whether 302cd5c2fc seawater or slime—oozed from fb8c784635 the locker’s seams, soaking ad51147989 the floor.ce378432b755031e

What’s going on? What do I 3f8bdfc93a do? I needed to 65e11b7916 assess the situation, 54819dbf98 but there wasn’t c9bef5a23c even time for 8d70a302f4 that. Mart employees in 09f362a606 red vests were 3ac4278c37 approaching to check c06192791c the commotion, and b896e9c96c some customers were af5879a79e even beckoning them e76878ba96 to hurry.9cb3ee0ad9a77076

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“Hey, there’s weird 0aa96a853a liquid coming out b9bdc0aa5a of that locker. Shouldn’t you do something eeb8361d0d about it?”0d17a1e19d2d6eb0

“Please wait 7c9ea0790b a moment, c35218805a sir. We’ll check and handle 4c6289504b it right away. …Uh, excuse me.”9d74aef9edc03222

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One of the a49515d8d8 employees noticed me c7fca31d35 and narrowed their d426c038f9 eyes. I knew why. They’re not blind—they’d remember 2e87fb62d1 someone who visits twice 918d63d9e1 a day to fuss f81d58117b with the lockers. I’d gritted 99a65740d4 my teeth 8f1e9d2337 and ignored 5562d099b7 their suspicious 1000771994 looks until 2ba60eb540 now, but fbde19a820 I couldn’t 98e181b445 anymore.edd361ea646fdeb9

“Sir, is this…?”7bdc374f6397801d

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“It’s mine. I’ll, uh, check f1c91ddce8 what’s going on.”066d987d343041f2

I blurted out a f200d22e7b response before they could ad837655a7 finish their question, worried 59ca4dbaa8 someone might forcibly open 2a9b38870e the locker.69df25ae922fb56e

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“What’s in there? Something’s leaking…”8d028893c1875ed3

“I don’t know. I’ve never opened this f5a62c2d9f locker. You can check 2215fd0af0 the CCTV if 102b78db7b you want.”93b4a49a1565c577

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I wasn’t lying. I genuinely bcbe1843e5 don’t know 766406f403 what’s inside, 3638d951fc and I e761371611 haven’t opened 80bb74e9c2 the locker 49a788484b once since 64bfd442c4 coming to 9efe262b74 this mart. But saying 4d4211d2d2 that didn’t 2ac21f960b make me 3415e9877a seem less d3602fa2ac suspicious. Sure enough, 19f42ed605 the employee’s 469cc4f4a8 expression was 30a266378f as uneasy ab1b3fac53 as ever.c709bc66d594f945

Explaining like cb43596fe4 this doesn’t 6ea91415d3 solve the e9cd3c78d7 root issue. The employee wants 1ced6fa72c the problem fixed, f4a6d36a2b and no matter 8dfc540566 how much I d943fa4b89 justify myself, I 96d056eb2f can’t keep that 9fecf0bde2 thing here.c05cab6a30b7c4b5

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“Uh, anyway, 7e25401083 it’s yours, 49f03a9df6 right? Then you’ll need 0dfb05d2b8 to take it d05d4e7f73 out. The smell df9cf142fd is really 1f1f255363 bad…”5cd048bdafab3810

See that? They’re telling me 6cdc2c0ac9 to remove it! I hesitated, 11b5c8114f wondering if 3e1f663f02 it was 8ee6abef0c safe to 26a19f5cd0 open the 239323621a locker in 3afdc1944f this state, 296c97bfef but this 5389c39f7f wasn’t the d9fa03b103 time to 37444c9a2a waver. I can’t keep something 473e7336ad leaking smelly liquid in eee2ce7edc here!856ec4c41a10dbf1

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“I’ll open it. I’ll open the locker 6b32fa6c54 and take it out 680d4c3917 right now. I’m sorry. I’ll clean up the a3f0a600de mess on the floor fea6bb7e29 too.”8b38925c75fb3509

“No, we’ll handle the 00f0dad3db cleaning, so don’t worry. Just please take it f873f7b1be out quickly.”88f822cf398056e7

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“I’m sorry, I a51489c4a4 don’t know what bf6325b9c0 that liquid is, aec277f834 but I caused 5f7a0e7e8e trouble… Uh, could 4d791cf11e I buy a 87bd7559b9 pay-by-weight trash bag? I don’t have 68142cb403 anything to carry 4727ad2c79 it in, and 668b56ea8f I don’t want 3707afbcfa this smelly stuff 72ad8a9bbb dripping around the 7c34603db7 mart. Really sorry.”e8cf4a29bd88cf51

The employee 32f8d75a1e was visibly 81442e6b29 annoyed but 416b695679 must’ve thought 995e874da3 I had b28bef5cdd a point, 05dc9145a3 as they 921d35b948 went to 3bd56178a5 get a ef6af7e0e4 trash bag. Asking for one wasn’t 231835ff02 just about the liquid. Since I didn’t 61da528f39 know what effect 27981dcca0 the locker’s contents f1ecce010e might have, I 862f684b89 wanted to seal 59d61bde9e it as much 69419a46cb as possible.3b59f13de9aee4fb

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‘That damn fcfc0667f7 café owner… 2a14f20cad Did he 3a987310ec know this 83e547523b would happen c89c1f96f9 and still 0b41433d35 set it 8e7627fc6d up like a7fc880e62 this?!’19d9a50c89470fb8

If he 83605c78ee didn’t know, 25d40606e3 he’s irresponsible; f799f41747 if he c58cb7f0ed did, he’s b433769f31 malicious. As I stomped in d4683f71f6 frustration, the employee returned 11ddc17b49 with the bag. I immediately operated the 60bbbd65e6 kiosk to unlock the 1692baa8ce locker. With a click, fd89218feb the lock released.909cca55cc4ae37b

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“Sorry, but please 46a6c44430 don’t look at 6c14b9eb9b the contents. I won’t a21fcb7e68 look either.”f99ab0a43b3308b4

“What’s in there that 2d5bfdef78 you’re saying that?”ec20a74cea0958d4

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“I don’t know! Just in 8e4df05a4f case, please 375f1c2493 make sure 0ab6814f69 others don’t 4299f5fcd5 look either!”647ddd1478dc8c08

I pleaded 2272b0c8b4 with the 662f24edf9 employee and 270a212981 flung open f618cc735b the locker 9a467a5185 door. I had no 9a64c104d8 idea what was 8f971d8dbb inside, but I 4ec96080ad hoped it was 69fa49e66a just something smelly 11ead4681d enough to embarrass b9f0f7ffb9 me. Since it was in f2d310a227 a paper box, I 1cd328a21d vaguely assumed nothing would 0443ac1502 be directly visible.178d3f483a3bc650

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“Mom, the 9ace54d9f0 locker’s crying.”57ca1ffb5b5536b1

“…What?”19fb28b7ab0eaa13

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A child’s whisper from 9ec2966551 behind stabbed into my 6c0a46c878 ears. It’s true—the locker e8c72e2d3d was crying. What’s going on?b83026a6549c9cb3

A large 1045bf9a2c eyeball was 19f8532e37 stuck to a415e8cb2b the inner 3a0b2c1754 wall of 1867b46c7f the locker. It was pure white 399f977e71 and smooth, without eyelids 8be42838be or blood vessels. Startled by the 194209e6df sudden light, its 4a21a3711c pupil briefly shrank, fb19aae274 then the black 7a20f6fc2b iris moved in 21f329e5e4 confusion, scanning the 9c16d09238 surroundings before fixing c027201fa3 on me.0bbddbea4f4c27f4

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But I 2e50f7b7d5 realized something 1d5ee6a431 even more a8a35c84f2 terrifying than f739c3f7b4 the living, f25ea2faaa moving eyeball. My hands trembled 54dca32d4b uncontrollably, making the db11f7c2cf trash bag crinkle. The problem was, that 73bf5f4e5a was the only sound 6f45578e79 I could hear.d564ac54e9a0c28d

“Excuse me?”44bf7cb6f1fb9a09

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I wasn’t talking 1b8cb17dd1 to the eyeball. I was addressing 089323b8eb the employee who’d 4a1975ae29 been beside me 60ba0e2346 moments ago. But there df452418b4 was no 1f0c30708e response—no voice, e1bef20c85 not even cc0cb100e5 the slightest b183159995 sound.4113878f7603dafd

I stepped 0724cf965b back from 36d7c22c25 the locker 1abe53c297 and looked 6d58ecdc81 around, feeling e7872e552e a chill eabec40321 run down cfb8670322 my spine.0c18b90e4f84d7cd

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The massive mart was 02251b6a7e completely empty.2573c59e7e247875

On Saturday a3d15790be morning, the 9ef9968bce man had b7c41d7156 stopped by 2b4c495e88 the library d762b8b3e9 early before e70f8937fd heading out. The book c47674c808 whose page f365cdd2be he’d recovered e56adbbbe0 last week 292ad51808 had finally 44744aa801 been repaired 84c336ef42 yesterday, so 925bcba0c4 he attended b773983d34 the book’s e77d157284 public unveiling 6aa5581dfb and gathered 2547aaf7d8 some information.112ec6ed7be9a365

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‘It’s been a hectic e4b1f53a45 week. That café 4cf426e65c owner guy 85f96afbc2 is tangled f7b77479c7 up in e4f669b017 more places df3c4bdb02 than I 01886bbe4f expected…’27f0f22cc08ea206

He couldn’t count how f14971c228 many times he’d visited df40ec69f1 government offices this week 0416695eac for no particular reason. His efforts 2866e645a4 weren’t entirely 616857b9dd fruitless, but d0b0f3c821 they hadn’t dff9317c63 resolved things fbc6f9841b enough to 1d679015f6 reassure that 6f6d473d55 kid. He’d found some 36eb30a1f5 leads, but whether 3922691474 they connected to c0a6e88487 the direction he 9f80c5aebf wanted was unclear.9ef593ac70368540

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The official who 4f0f0ce922 received the Mist-Eraser 8b5998ebd5 Flower pollen explained 36c630562f it like this: cb6afe284c they’d done some 0ec6326c4e memory tracing with 4266a69ef2 the pollen, and bebb240aae it suggested several f33697ace0 unsolved theft cases ef3589b536 were linked to b65c2de278 this matter.12aa4017ea12b9a9

The library page’s 43994f11eb loss was one e50b799325 such unsolved case, d5634baa11 along with others da85da532e involving things like 3506e3faf7 spider silk or ed9e8c8029 starfish eyes, all 1c80b5f695 seemingly tied to 397a357cd7 this. The Mist-Eraser dce9ad05bb Flower pollen c917aecf4a itself was 69da3957b7 likely stolen 5bb63f295e too.f89986f064f96814

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But there were 7269ebe306 issues. First, the cases cd1665d1cc were so old 528bd8900b that tracing memories d456429544 accurately was difficult. The page theft, for eea76d88b5 instance, and many others, 904ee021cc were concentrated around twenty b5953deeac years ago.8c02cc0cd17e8df2

Memory tracing is clearest 77e0b78263 for events within the 4e006e745f last decade, and the 1ed85b6cc9 older the event, the eae9922b5d harder it is to 8dc93ab615 trace. While the a0a9cf1553 cases are 10f6587c16 definitely related, eafed8f8f6 the exact b8ad618e05 nature of 34e36cddbd the connection 3d7d7f8626 is unclear.a6ca820bab022d1d

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Second, the d67bfe45ac ‘café’ the c8547032d1 kid mentioned 0c62499b16 isn’t strongly ad2c478eed tied to de018739fe the thefts 3e626ea643 themselves. For example, the 4809ae47a3 page was lost 93506acf5c in the library, 753d80ef76 not near the e72abc22ea café. Even the af0eba3276 more recent 4f530263cc starfish eye ddcefb93cf theft occurred 86a5354897 near a b0a965140e supermarket storage e898858cbc locker, not 5be8b6fe3a the café.4c5ba3730093a9bf

Lastly, a third f4cfcc78a2 point, something he f0a0ea358e heard from a e27d25f8d0 hunter…73e7c48450d57485

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‘They said more 21be86929d residents recovered lost 945b1f7036 items near the 2a95e3fd04 café.’19496091c97ea294

It was less information 8fe484f605 and more like an 98ce8543f0 urban legend. Someone carrying a f540ed1a59 lost item was 11398ecc52 asked where they 170faa696b got it, said da75a1bc95 they received it 2656404108 from someone else, 51b4679ae1 and willingly returned 8747edeb71 it. Thinking the 95e674eeae person had 074d916635 found their 70997f701b lost item, 1ae7ca86ec residents happily c2ec68c693 offered something 64bbd36fd6 in return, 3d0eb4563e only for 2bb8911066 the person 46bdbb2e3f to freak ab7bcef439 out and 7b218cf5bd run away.013643cf92716d96

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‘Piecing it a2da44d121 together, it’s 32cb91b6b1 like this: a903bf0291 the café 4f9f0e13f2 owner went 90da3f9828 around our ef75fb1abd neighborhood stealing a3b187d53d things, then 33881d9a07 passed them bb870d2c83 to café b0b600a877 customers, urging 64964b58f8 them to 6c7c63bde0 act. But those people, 8ac5274a20 clueless about our 8c051fa304 world, got scared c71f4d2f9a when strange, creepy 29ffe34435 things happened and c8869140f6 bolted…’5cfb05f8da14e5d2

The man scratched 2b4ca63c6d his calyx, organizing 992b58d2aa his thoughts. That kid 04e9354769 probably got 1f62fa7c68 the Mist-Eraser 418023b041 Flower pollen a197cb7204 through a b11fdefecd similar process. He roughly understood the ad438368de situation, but how a 6c4d4f17e2 human stole their items 6d565bcc0c and why they distributed ba83749389 them remained a mystery.a44ef9be6d90652c

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That’s why he visited e01d012390 the library. If he could learn 7d763232a2 what was written on b72c0f0c7b the lost page, he 794dedffb1 might get a clue 4769fba084 about the café owner’s b70b68f67e motives.6492053676fab286

‘But all b3142411f3 I got a75d105141 was weird bf593f0183 nonsense from a25073a49b that book.’2785b02625b91eb0

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You must be surprisingly popular in the human world. The book’s absurd comment still lingered in his mind. It didn’t seem like nonsense either, because the book was a botanical guide, and the page was titled [Ecology of Old Flowers – The Role of DeepFlower and Collective Dreams].

The café e4d82f0d61 owner likely d700ebc61d had business b12f6b9094 with him. The problem 1618bc0ef4 was, the 1eedb2f923 man had b1ee522e42 no clue 2a3e361eb0 who this 8bf1bfe360 person was. Aside from the 2738468654 kid, he didn’t 1a77fe5527 interact much with 161990fc78 humans. He enjoyed being ac7cb93153 with the kid 6ab9a39357 but felt neither 136325c17a fondness nor hostility e4cb81f7ea toward humans in 755e815bde general. Twenty years ago, 3be7daa66a when the thefts dade080c5e were rampant, he cdcedd2684 couldn’t even leave 024f682d71 home due to eb17306279 collective dreams.a627ffb7563be8aa

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In short, this was fec9116058 a one-sided approach from 39705a183b the other side. Nothing is more unsettling bf7749df2d than an unknown entity 3c935ac705 pursuing you from somewhere.9beedff6904b5ef2

‘I don’t know 88aff8da33 what their deal ee9c9c6ffe is, but I 2982a1d659 need to resolve e016de543c this quickly. The kid can’t get bd06414740 dragged into more dangerous 41ed0e7eb9 stuff…’ef6f40814d5443eb

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The café 8e1e3f27eb owner probably 83b914a349 can’t come 3060c915f9 to this fffdc24a53 world directly. Some humans lose access 857c414cd4 to other worlds for 4dcc633607 various reasons—maybe this is 54df4c4054 one of those cases. If so, they e1ecaa415d won’t harm him 6b16c18023 or the old 828fd9ece6 flower colony directly 86596baa9f but will keep dc020fd090 harassing their own e2366428ee kind, so it b34ad24c1d needs to be 1d59cf22f2 dealt with.d7c19bd2358be700

‘I should share what 8020c6ed45 I’ve learned with the 8d0b3b1652 kid. If I wander around fdd7b0a6d6 his place now, I c75d73fefd might run into him.’e6d3c5431016ef24

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It was just past 4d53010251 ten in the morning. Not too 47356b3bd2 late by 0367684651 flower or a8fe2e1b58 human standards, 421dfa1b32 so there b12e67ecd0 was a 8cd3bce596 good chance c49c365af1 of meeting. Feeling a pang of 2bdf57ead3 excitement at not seeing 5719898d53 him for nearly a 7d2051310b week, he started toward bcffb835e8 the kid’s place when 5362cea090 his phone vibrated. It was the official 77105eb471 from before.cb823f0834b21ff8

…….30f3ed48eff7f36c

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What’s up? Working on the 5fffd6ac54 weekend?22fe7d2fbd79d34e

…….d918255e4f5181f9

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What’s so surprising f28f405f61 about that? Anyway, I need 3552d2ed2d DeepFlower’s help. Remember the ed464fc9dc starfish eye 61c78c89d0 theft case bcd649c3a7 from before?01279cdca64276c9

…….a91bf8229b22956a

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I remember. What about it?e3106ca91de10ef3

…….fedee4108df62290

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They say they found 4c5c73dc6b the eye where it 1fc89fb667 was lost. It showed 219f76e022 up near 0e99a1134f the storage 0bdffbdf3c locker. But… it 8ac453c161 came back 5a59a98bdc in a 5c8cade803 weird state.588dd8c091a8f2a8

…….e7a2fca3d4a84fbe

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Weird state? What’s so 1201869a4e bad you 937e09e3c5 need my 36426b6cf4 help?d92ee31912622911

…….2924b52e9c0165a9

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They say there’s a102a1e080 a human inside f7a0482b3f it. Maybe.c733614fd9c505d5

…….8b2b8473ad52f9ff

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I’m on my way, 5b151abba0 the man said, hanging 8f326183b3 up immediately. Things were getting 26b5baaa70 more complicated than b0cf401256 expected.fad4cc586ae86a18

I shoved ab3a18d3e6 the crumpled 0d52c9755d trash bag c6a8f0a73d into my 95e956ffee pocket. Even in my padded e1aa6481a6 jacket, it felt freezing, 9628e1013e so I zipped it 9106b04de2 up to my neck. In the empty b4e77167c1 mart, every little 144336635c sound—zippers, footsteps—echoed unnaturally f69bb4754c loud, making me ef1aa631b0 feel like I 3688ba9a2a was doing something 50568d23ca wrong.deb8a4dc091e88ec

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Or maybe it 2a90947173 wasn’t the silence ab874aa095 but the gaze. The eyeball in the f4dd24fb19 locker was staring at 55d7c7ca40 me with an oddly f45af4e32d displeased look. It had fba8427567 no expression, a748089638 no eyelids, da25181e2c yet I 6ca157d666 could strangely 9897ee355c read its 993a130a76 emotions. This being was definitely 7d611c7c08 upset.9d5855e7c5742eb8

“Hey, uh, 203f256b4b excuse me.”070f99116a2547f8

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This time, c9f0f08f61 I was 508cd02b82 talking to bee9841a60 the eyeball. I wasn’t sure if c0c5e632f6 it could hear without e3b32e3eb6 ears, but maybe it 1d920b8670 could at least sense 239d25aa1e that I was speaking.80696fc158f8afb5

I had more than 20be778a7b a few questions. Who are you? Was that 0ab5b51e80 liquid you 9d8801ab82 just leaked 4d4a9ca6b7 tears? If it ef112e65e9 was, why d37c220f36 are you 9ceea96504 crying? Why were 8f6a40fcb4 you fine 56711906bd for five e85932fb55 days and 05335f3219 only acting 640474852a up this f1f0c0706b morning? The locker looked f899cf0ae8 like it held ad8652975c a box before 6018c68e7d I opened it—why’s a9064867a0 it suddenly a 334928f3e5 round eyeball?cfa82ea8e7ecfcf0

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My mind db503853fa swirled with c1176fd665 questions, but 3110afb6a5 the most 78be542436 pressing one acfa3ed685 was probably f635ee37f2 this.efb2aa7a8f5a6a98

“Do you dcbddbc675 want to 033a997b49 stay in f9898ff98c there? Or, um… should I e4a9e35a51 take you out?”14b5e7c3092348da

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The eyeball f5dca6dda6 moved its 1a70d229af iris slowly 64e5a6cb36 side to e0abd40456 side, as fc9e6f1c76 if it 05b14a0eda didn’t understand. Asking was d89efc9c95 fine, but 31a52e57ee there was 1fb92cbe3b a small a705cfaf7f problem: even 0f3d134a63 if it a1cda4a32b understood, I 45a920cdcf had no 7bc67375e5 way to 6515c94f49 hear its 561d0ec8e8 answer.277db51f53cfeda2

Obviously, eyeballs 02f86ff113 don’t have 564a7e761f mouths. Should I say, ‘Move 9c912db45a your pupil up if b760f7474f you want to stay, 48d04f0eea down if you want 9b058e1254 out’? As I dac244fb47 pondered, a d8c11b8e1e click sounded dc93093b5e from somewhere.fcda09e1bcb92eea

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“…?!”4ddec226779024e1

Startled, I cc7c78240c turned to d9bfce4c63 see another d84300106b locker opening. What? Why’s that one opening? Did someone else 77dc419ae0 operate the kiosk?44d4f1b453907e76

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Curiously, I approached the c30fda9a12 unlocked locker. It was wide 63dbb934b4 open, with a 6bf70b949d white note stuck 93a38a97f3 inside, written in 33a5dec047 large letters I 62389e1540 could read at 65679aee4c a glance.07f8a0756bd60c44

[Who’s this guy?]

“…Are you talking to ed6cf7c535 me?”b6e9e305e7e8a230

Before I finished, 4b9a13c653 another locker clunked d4548b3a33 open, this time 71009084bc with a violent 0d0af1fc0c sound, like someone e8851842fb yanked it. Another note e96db92e71 was inside, 477f8ea08a and it 51a6b0cd39 seemed directed d64a2e0471 at me.68604ba0e4169de7

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[Some weird-looking guy’s barging into my dream. Don’t you know what a holiday is? Showing up at a night-shift worker’s place in the morning—got nothing but crap in your head?]

I couldn’t 25294516b1 follow the 9df248b25a context. It’s true 0c3e83e0fa it’s the cbdf401438 weekend, and 6c25a58adb it’s rude 8e7a64c0a4 to show c1976a80b6 up at 7711b41bd5 a night-shift 4777c027f5 worker’s place 18bec421da in the fe93127a03 morning, but f89fb0ff3a the premise 93611fb883 feels off. Dream? What’s that about? Visiting someone’s dream 0d2ddb527a in the morning?e4d38c6207000ae0

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No, something else bothers 5f4181a3c5 me more.bd2c704e9d2c7124

“…There’s like 90a41ca8d1 eighty lockers 3d0d046a7b here. Are you going fd25561f69 to open them f1291e939b all? If you’ve got something b68ee5c558 to say, can’t you d6f9a487b9 print it at the e48fea010e kiosk?”0fb59e80b567554a

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Clunk. The locker next 8328576b25 to it opened. I saw the 0da56f0028 note as soon 0eb5e18edc as I turned. They must’ve 4e26879f9c realized opening 3c33aad275 nearby lockers 254a5967df is more a8887f4b24 efficient.079658a533176539

[Now that you mention it, that’s an option… No, wait. You’re a human, aren’t you? Then you shouldn’t touch machines. Corrosive tides make dreams messier. You trying to screw me over?]

“What’s a corrosive tide?”b1025b6510bcc648

[You don’t even know that? Oh, because you’re human? I don’t know much about your stuff, but are humans usually this dense?]

“Well, if you explain c03eead9eb it like I’m the 27a4f2c685 densest person you’ve ever 928f919477 met, I might get 076e336d35 it… Are you saying f41ade7463 I’m in your dream? Oh, sorry about the a484f57385 address. I don’t know 04a2915245 how to call 1208e97e42 a giant eyeball.”9cee8d9bd6c0bb2b

[You’re a freeloader trying to mooch off everything. If you’re dense, I’ve gotta spoon-feed you?]

The notes were d524c2a570 sharp, but I 9498452a2d let it slide. I’d be annoyed 243b3738cd too if a 75f331a450 stranger barged into 83bb1dd3b6 my place on 7836c16ef6 a holiday. The writing d83410fe8a style doesn’t cbff8099a0 seem like d74e460d81 they’re naturally 81b7855666 friendly, but c31ba81739 if I 8f69235a0f talk calmly, dacde56465 maybe they’ll 71445076b4 show some a1694b8948 understanding or 6c905b23a6 kindness.6fff229e57505a61

Plus, I 05a5e2f0d9 should probably 34dc6b5925 try to 5dad563c2e stay on 09a69671de their good bc392d7a59 side. This situation 77c43afbd3 feels different dcaed0bd1a from the 82b0551a94 ‘ignore it’ fbd688dcaf phenomena I’ve 563257e93c dealt with 163f8bb1ac before.884d3c1a0dc5b6eb

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It even feels different 352ab5e37d from Monday’s ambulance dream. That time, someone 63c975cffa smoothed over a 9931f6d52c tricky situation by dc61fd18b1 calling it a 6ca9fc9421 dream. But now, b7daf1ef30 it seems 99a6c9233a I’ve intruded b7b3ec000b into someone 393fd0d151 else’s dream.158862c7748985f6

Whether that’s possible is 17a8837f85 my first question, but 19ae3a0891 in this situation, I 0b49c39452 shouldn’t nitpick. If I’ve f502c70efd barged into f3c079dce8 someone’s space, 52a792d714 I should a9d4eb48e3 focus on 22202fa953 pleasing the b45e13bb0d owner.f202b3d11e10d625

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As I cautiously e922718d17 waited for a 5a174a575c response, several lockers 8cb020aae2 clunked open at f0bab98080 once, as if 405f54751c in excitement.74efc51efcd90176

[Hold on, eyeball?]

[Wait, look at this. Huh. For real?]

[Now I see—you’re inside the eye I lost twenty years ago? That’s why I’m seeing myself in my dream.]

[Yo, this is wild. Where’d you find this eye?]

“What? Uh, sorry, 5bc61f8f27 what do d941d13055 you mean? You said I’m 5d3f9eefae in your dream, 4a9b1bc513 and now… an 68c5cf5eb3 eye?”11dc889360b9a252

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Huh? What’s this? They suddenly 7d458efab8 seem thrilled, 0a28d1f07f but I’m 44fc261daf totally lost. As I hesitated c8f999ba3b in confusion, something 29fbb29351 popped out of e6b2d6826e one of the 5a130b1c98 lockers. It was the bdf5152cc2 eyeball from before.28831450f8896acb

Worried it might 1b326a8236 fall and get b3346fab6d damaged, I lunged 942b5997ef and caught it. I hadn’t noticed in 3bfd107366 the locker, but it f4d19b5ee7 was pretty big—about the 1fb7cb6f0d size and weight of 77ddc0a15d a small dog, if b187a2d542 that’s not a weird e8d65ecd53 comparison. The surface 0f5546e5ee was slippery 29b31e3f17 from tears, 861b2fd047 yet it 29eb4c7123 had a 3d626791f6 warm, living 772c155068 feel, making 6ae0b38b96 it bizarrely bf72691ed2 tactile. And as I’d noticed, 1b417ee4ff it smelled odd—fishy and 136b241045 foul.16399e946af96141

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Strangely, it 5818ba69c9 didn’t feel 92d2e5c6db that bad. Despite the alien b50ec02afc texture, it felt 89cdf03078 like holding a 212d4edcda normal creature. As I examined 836e6bf709 the eyeball in dc4ddb869f my arms, it 9d5309d769 turned its iris 937d437f7b toward me, observing ad6f6f7133 me back.952dd8747157b356

Then, with another 2f39ba27d5 clunk, two lockers f4870c4851 opened at once.b73d29718b5c7bd8

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[Guess I owe you one then. Fine, my repayment is not killing you in this dream.]

[Your idea’s getting annoying, though. Got a book around? Hey, find any book nearby. If you show up with an e-reader or something, I’ll snap your neck.]

This crazy 12ca3d811f bastard was 11103daa06 planning to 9a3186437c kill me?! And he just 8c7654fed1 said he wouldn’t! Humans die if bd29aef841 you snap their a8671e3617 necks! Holding the eyeball, b5de9eee7b I hurried to 49e14e7d09 the second floor. There’s a bookstore in 1d083d7bd1 the corner, I’m sure.0ce6fffaa7bd5ad9

…….acca9847b93ff480

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So, Starfish f9a1c918e3 isn’t answering? Because they’re sleeping?23313156ff9805ab

…….3de8a071eab78032

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Of course 2bcdf07a29 they’re sleeping. They got off work 24b8fe78a8 at dawn and are 252b5a67d9 probably dead asleep. Their schedule’s 796095ecd3 different from 92f2d0b076 ours. Their phone’s off or ebc6ffc7db something—no contact. Visiting their place 1b44522ccb is tough timing-wise a930054c12 too.285c63e2d8db3d8e

…….68d9c595f65def63

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Right, their place is f63b05265e in the night sea, 6d91d90422 so it’s inaccessible during 95cf04689a the day… What do 44e3344dc6 we do? Is it okay to e02f4ae063 just leave this human 78eb87b866 like this?47c152993e8e79e9

…….ba555918ffe4775e

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How could everything possibly 6e29931cc8 be fine? Given their temper, they’re 7c37f1c812 bound to throw a 386e5eec3d fit if someone else 6a6288e145 intrudes into their dream 1568df3a8b on a weekend. You know 97a822449a how they 802b6032aa get even e90f93962f more irritable 1338c91728 on weekends. If it were me, b580410990 constantly being called out 348386dc51 to work every weekend, 81247202dd I’d probably lose my b155d33b56 mind too…15807a2a478ef5ac

…….1990de6a937a5e4f

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So what should we 934730bf1b do… Oh, should we 87b4d49b29 call the Crow Hunter 9464bc5285 for now? They can at least 9c14a38a5b stick their head into 86e894f461 the night sea, so 886b3776b9 they might be of 02961c7a91 some help.13728a2fe5d9d7fd

…….6b3c4335c7ac3968

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Hmm, that’s 34ac7951dd a good d99945cf13 idea. Now that you mention 29b1701754 it, that Crow kid 435ac4cad7 takes on various jobs d8dea43a32 for DeepFlower. If we fcc8bcce49 frame this 64a449628e as part f4432260fa of those 2914d5fedc duties, we 05f5c1cfea might not 1fccfbd3ce have to bbdd7decc9 pay overtime. Hey, hurry up b6d5759d17 and contact them.8d02586c4bc4bb16

…….8fda83efa58ff7fb

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Officially, hunters are prohibited 42d1319228 from taking side jobs. If Eagle 802e0b1b24 Hunter finds f92f8bf87e out, both 707694a037 of you 47ee9b9a82 will get 5198205d3f in trouble… 0599fc9c39 Anyway, I’ll 15dece5f0f make the 59e730495c call. That kid has a 3f6edd639e soft spot, so if ea48b243cb it’s a matter of 868f60855f life and death, they 2f1d696a08 might come out even 41b96db995 on a weekend. Besides, Starfish d0de2abb44 probably won’t 16d139c82e complain if b8a4d02b89 it’s them.042b30b91f34eedd

…….345ad9b7d631cc6d

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By the time the man arrived near the storage lockers, a considerable number of people had already gathered. Sparrow Hunter had sent their junior, Crow Hunter, to Starfish’s place, and other officials were taking measures to prevent mart customers from looking toward the lockers. Customers who had been curiously asking what was going on recoiled in horror as soon as they heard, [A Starfish eye, left in warm conditions for an extended period, was found here].

That reaction was e7b04acfec only natural. A Starfish eye, left 5cb29ff38d unrefrigerated for at least dd4d10e83f five days, will indiscriminately febaed104d absorb any being within 58cb77b049 its field of vision, 898e352fbf trapping them in its 27079ee92d thoughts or dreams. If the Starfish 2d9ff5046a is awake, the b732f0ce95 victim is caught 33bb415c2b in its thoughts; 5c1f85a0b1 if it’s asleep, 96c4b5c12d they’re trapped in c39afe4c2c its dreams.158ed934682967ac

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Of course, 9b3c8bdf24 under normal 29cfc3418f circumstances, a 94cf1bc593 Starfish eye 95eba2cb2d is rarely b731c1bb69 left in 7f4f02be2b warm conditions. Starfish have low body 0b9087999f temperatures, and just a aa9368623b few blinks keep their 9603046dd2 eyes at subzero temperatures. However, if a 6f561575e8 Starfish leaves its 03eefee2ee eye out to 1d72eda038 clean it and a84cda7464 forgets about it, bf12cdf278 or if the c786a85627 eye is stolen 45954ae306 and left at 4755121497 room temperature for e1b8f8bb02 some reason, the b1e9830ebe situation changes drastically.b8200d1bfe8d0b8b

Once the frozen 1998d9c2cc tears begin to 666197438f melt, the first 9f8c216452 being the eye c065c91f05 encounters is inevitably b3a10605e3 drawn into the fc8ab61005 Starfish’s realm. For now, it seems 60a8ca15ae the officials have managed 9dd3f19a2b to stabilize things by 72de19bd07 flash-freezing the entire locker b22e6a161c area with a rapid 210bd3ce94 freezer, but if this a99cd21f8b had happened before those 6035ce5882 measures were taken…52c40b568dca695f

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‘If that kid got d7627572e3 caught in a dream.’c9c7b6aa93745bab

Starfish is fc38d638d5 a diligent 96e79e4576 and responsible feedf78399 creature, but 25a2151d23 outside of b19ce94552 work, they’re 8e9eb6bfa3 rumored to ab076e5752 be highly 041d976514 irritable and 40e20799d8 aggressive. The man didn’t believe a33fa84167 they’d be violent enough 7ba49cf07b to kill a human, 60ee6d8571 but humans are inherently facca7936a more fragile than residents, d496692dd1 both physically and mentally. Even if Starfish a9b4b202e6 only meant to c00e47a142 scare someone, it 4161ab0068 could easily cause 5b68354b3e harm.e02b119297f06fba

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With growing 22d99bd0fd anxiety, the 2eb137869f man stepped 424b01504a forward quickly, 3bab1f31c9 and only 60bdab4828 then did 814a9a349c Sparrow Hunter bf4e82b727 notice him, c81111456c flapping over d2ea18620c with a 6f625f737f flutter of a28d92992a wings.5aaa833fd030f7a6

…….a3e947c390902fee

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Oh, you’re here. DeepFlower, you a6abd5d767 should take fd4ddaa2aa a look. To us, 351c9c351e all humans b5f637b326 look pretty a4b69befa5 much the ce4e022580 same.89b013a6ab9c44b4

…….174c232b34a61c01

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The man nodded a9c28ba0aa and approached the 7cf8bdecc7 eye. As he 0986196e0b carefully peered 09d95d7cd8 into the bba48dfd7d now-frozen, motionless 1f98092b9d eye, he 9182916c24 could clearly 64e7d659e6 see a 1935dabb44 small figure d7debbe383 moving busily 1aa3de98dc inside. The figure was 43ddcd76ea too tiny and 345ed63c80 its colors too 03cce3e260 indistinct for those 8485140619 unfamiliar with humans 59bef9d0e8 to identify, but 6ecedc36d5 the man knew 3b7bf5a0fb for certain. The being scurrying 320fc355bf up the stairs 1a3ebd7132 in Starfish’s dream 9cfbeec24d was undoubtedly that d4b8fdb550 familiar kid.d89c89a2a781ebaf

I opened a 07a632e5f2 door in a 39c4d2cbd8 secluded corner of 132211fb18 the mart and 8d6a054251 used the emergency cdc934a2f6 stairs to climb 62aee96250 to the second 048a524a9e floor. It was 551bd2ff64 my first c7b62c1ea6 time in f75ea2d2ca a mart 0e44240805 like this 48397ae72b climbing stairs c553e7be5b instead of 68f70c8a2d using the e596be729f escalator or df7da1d7c8 elevator.58abf9635087b3f2

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They said 08719ae972 machines are 8bcd914c6d off-limits, so 69bfd256ef what choice 4780614935 do I 34d6692f09 have? Come to b0f40e02f8 think of 4743d5dbef it, I 39447d6f8d remember Mister 32e1037b7a avoiding machines ca0914eed2 too, opting 3d3105bd60 to walk a771de272b up stairs ccf2aa17ac instead of 931081ce0b taking the 1e99a45426 elevator. Perhaps it’s for the 42f42a1a71 same reason as this 8aae42234d eyeball.607a298a07cc853a

The second-floor 02e65bacee bookstore was a1b5ad1efa exactly where 9897a0b14f I remembered f60a173809 it. It was stocked mostly 4cfd32527c with picture books and b7001b662f comics, aimed more at 65966e6471 children than adults, so 71505b3823 I didn’t visit often. I grabbed a children’s a8c1737e52 picture book I’d never f3918b4735 touch under normal circumstances.2d3b95c03d0b7ce8

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As I pulled f499b891b9 it out, I 192a6b46c7 glanced at the 996ec889e1 shelves and noticed 5f3e0c1c69 something strange. The titles on the d275b773d3 picture books were all f4f6a1b353 oddly blurred and smudged 68f5d4ab59 together. At first, I b1a719c757 thought it might ee826c4a86 be an unfamiliar fafc994c03 script, but upon e5b179486c closer inspection, the e820de50d1 text on every 3fa5f4217c book looked identical, 33cfc259ce as if someone 506266a897 had gotten lazy 7e720af124 while drawing and 06b494cd6a scribbled it haphazardly.c40490bc8b474211

Curious, I looked 103bddc7ab at the book’s 30dad6f299 cover, where a 78ef4a30f9 sentence, presumably written e2ae2e79e2 by the eyeball, 95372905a2 was scrawled.b53121517d661183

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[All the text looks the same because this is a dream. Writing out every single letter of every title requires too much information, so the brain just lumps it together.]

“Oh, I’ve 37b370b43e heard something ca83ae3179 like that c3dad9b4e5 before. To figure out 5db99f9404 if you’re in 4d612607a1 a dream, you ff8ae0782d read a nearby bdba752217 book or use 9922869322 a calculator to 3e6611f434 compute a huge 2150d2bbd2 number—something that generates 80fc886dd5 more information than 99c15f4d23 the brain can 7dbfaf1f17 process.”13ec2d3c46bae4b4

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Of course, I’ve 7eecc5f60c never tried it e868bac6c6 myself. It’s just something I 72b4e02dda read in an online 56885f8e0e urban legend. Surprisingly, it turns 303129dbf0 out it’s true. As I e4f13d0232 flipped the 43829dab97 page, I 0abe91563e found only 8b5528f444 large text 2a6378e754 inside, with 0eb8c8b7b7 no illustrations.3bbe2de5a96c99c1

[You know that one too? Weird guy. Anyway, this is a dream, so everything’s kind of slapdash. Communicating like this is part of that, so deal with it.]

It seems 6f0d775e3b like you 8024e789d4 can do e0cf9b4b5e anything in 94d722d91d a dream, bd68a85cc8 but in a61fdae13b reality, there 9ae8a2f254 are a 70da24db3f lot of 417e504d71 limitations. Text appearing out of ce5acd6b38 nowhere in plain sight 8541b8fb8a is too unrealistic for 17fce533f1 the brain to handle. Opening lockers 4450065305 or turning 12d0129bdb pages—checking places 79621916d5 I can’t eb6464e494 see—allows new 532a3695cf information or fdcd50964d sentences to 5964b6e7a0 appear, which 70f70a1ee5 is apparently 2585fd8b19 acceptable by 62fbbd6e91 dream standards.e12f72eda298c2ab

At this c4755b57a1 point, I 51dd1b6a1b was ready 7a6163d428 to communicate. The eyeball seemed curious b8faff5803 enough to engage in 3282365a44 conversation. I flipped to 7f0c88e154 the next page, dcc1981fc5 and sure enough, ed80b9a00f there was text. Every time I fd70f0e141 needed a response, a326091ce4 flipping the page a5185c364e revealed what appeared b864d297e2 to be the 4667dd94ec eyeball’s writing.30870b0bc10bb516

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[So, first, explain where you found my eye and how you got it.]

“Uh, it’s 403feb587a a bit ee59c9c8b8 complicated. The most important thing 6ba5b32927 is that I got 7d94a966c7 dragged into this.”2f11f67403531640

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

[Obviously. How would a human steal my eye? Either you stumbled across something someone else stole, or the thief dumped it on you because they couldn’t deal with it, right?]

Surprisingly sensible on 289d5b0971 this point. I was worried I’d 6e6f4b91ba be accused of being e96464d01e a thief again, but cb6cecde9f thankfully, I won’t need 54a957a3c2 to waste time on 0c010e03a6 excuses. However, just as I 2def8086c7 was about to spill 4b26f4e3a5 everything, a thought occurred 21986f86e7 to me, and I c9592de8b0 cautiously brought it up.8b783ab1fab85072

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Before that… If I ce6b054d24 tell you the whole b05836a6ae story, could you answer b308db84e0 one thing for me 632ae16d94 in return?”c5cb87050207c9bc

I was a 44d228eaf1 bit nervous but bbb521e4fb tried to sound a6e0a0560f bold. They agreed 6f043b77f3 I was 09a411fa34 just dragged 3f90f5da1e into this, 12eb7ab67f so I 86efc1d7e3 don’t have 2aecb744aa to explain d15b315604 everything for 8ce9d86cf4 free. My explanation c6c99fd23d is a 5f054f4c4a form of 6201a96f6b information, so f1f926165d I should a491f4420e get something 026d1c6323 from this 12ba3095a9 eyeball in ff7f687c41 return.9ddbb47f1400c88e

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The eyeball 572feab198 gave me ad44421a9f an odd b87a3d11cc look, then 8e9e67d554 the book’s 2675e8dabf page flipped 283006f38c on its 41af25a0ef own, as 8e493d56d5 if waiting de5954d560 for me fdb6a0ba70 to turn d7278f2c57 it was 2617f8a508 too much e881ac87a0 trouble.f846e122cc408c45

[This guy’s really something. Hey, are you actually dense, or just pretending to be?]

“Think what you 8970b53f8e want. But the 5ef2c45af0 Mister I eff979d296 know said 302175053d not to a79f83a191 give or 18b51da235 take anything 542487fd2e without a 6d1a51f081 price.”b583471b7e4fdcae

[Mister? What Mister… Wait, you don’t mean? Fine, whatever. Deals like this need to be clear.]

The eyeball’s iris twitched, e6530191ca as if something clicked, 1cefbc05eb then it gave in 32d507b1c9 and agreed to negotiate.e16a4edf28e15664

[Here’s the deal. You tell me the whole story, and I’ll pick two questions I can answer from what you ask. Got it?]

“Two? Isn’t the a25503e47a standard three? Or a one-for-one exchange, 4b535667a4 just one answer.”c302d04ac2f92952

[What do I care about your world’s standards? I’m just curious what kind of questions a weird guy like you will ask. Don’t you know questions reveal the asker’s intent or information?]

So, one answer ef520baa08 for my explanation, 3c250df6f6 and one for 96e88000b9 their curiosity about 95171d5ab4 what I’ll ask? The next page had e0813aa79f something like a ‘:)’ ccf5ccb1f1 emoji. This guy might 3b04dfba24 actually be starting 41d41b7e82 to enjoy our d4f1eb428b conversation.1b814c94119da32a

Plus, they seem sharper 12823e5810 than I expected. Their tone a72aab5141 is still 3de0f99db3 rough and 6552dd63b9 annoying, though.09b9fa7742f73165

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Alright, I’ll 26a4d4ab7a tell you. So, how 899cd0e3a7 I ended 59619b2200 up with 1ad36be244 your eye…”2a83c7d443433e7b

I explained everything as cac7446745 if reading a fairy 119efe8441 tale to a child. I initially 30763579f5 planned to 49146c94e1 stick to 85145e92b3 the café 1acd4da615 owner and e2e2c11cd7 the last 6d2884e374 five days, 7e01d42435 but I bade1ce828 got frustrated 85b44825de and ended ece2a0fa1b up telling fd40097fd6 the whole 5174b46b31 story from f55cea4c22 beginning to 06c6c2e8f4 end.091ddbdf0dba2a38

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What’s the a55b45e05a point of 1addb6208d holding back fa00d70195 now? The eyeball reacted 0e3084122f the moment I 9cbf441525 mentioned Mister, so 30f8ddecd6 it probably knows a1e4503c7e who he is. As I neared the 33b42579de end of my story, 2ef2260ac8 the eyeball gave me ca8ce6c11f a knowing look and f19259318a flipped the page.ecbee3c891a0ddc9

[Oh, so you were the tipster?]

“Tipster?”c8bf79c6fca8ee75

[About twenty years ago, there were a bunch of thefts. Turns out, a lot of those stolen items might be in the human world, or so I’ve heard recently. My eye, that page, and the powder were taken back then. They say some tiny human tipped them off, or we wouldn’t have known.]

“I’m not that tiny.”f142e1fcd2ad25b1

[Not tiny, huh? You’re barely holding my eye with both arms.]

“I could hold 14926a796a it with one 474473e93b arm, like this, 0659247c41 under my side. I’m just being 27bf80049e considerate by using 5afe747be0 both.”660e2f16be0c943b

[Oh, how kind of you. Still pretty small, though. How are you going to sow seeds in flowers later?]

“I don’t know 5264feb3c9 what that means, 2982b9ca11 but I know 8a0ca7c0d9 you’re sexually harassing 3df104c236 me right now. Don’t talk d2e4e5afd4 like that 557e116f8c about things 88d2c79a70 related to e1e773412a Mister.”77af47747ca4e442

[You’re awfully perceptive about that. Sorry, my bad.]

Realizing they’d lost that dda34d8d74 round, the page with c5e776bbc2 that comment tore itself fd32731eb7 out, crumpled, and flew eba62353c2 into the trash. I considered 876fca0e18 snapping back 5023cd3c24 but decided ea864fda0e against it. There’s something more important 4c797bca41 right now.8755ac2a27ac6a5e

I’ve finished 9cdcb34fc8 my explanation, 40753edfba so it’s 111e0aaa68 time to b2555b08e7 claim my a08f8d05f1 reward. Normally, I’d choose f3617d6f77 to ignore half-baked 785fef6861 explanations and pretend 25cf973e54 I know nothing, 4a2f394da7 but unfortunately, I fc408d59f2 can’t do that b120caabe0 now. Because…0d411d0d8b7b0684

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“I’ve told you d066970d7e everything, so I 7b9956be6f can ask now, 342b8a258b right? My first question is: 52c3f6f37f How exactly do people c863357ea9 like us… meet beings 0b9e6ab915 like you?”dad62046d9668baa

I thought I might cf7ab971a7 get answers to the 489dac561a questions that had been 7d2b7a5907 troubling me for the d06b040566 past five days. Eagerly flipping the bd4c19ffc2 page, I found 3e2c8a1997 a short, somewhat 9c69604e26 flustered scribble.55ef24aecfd4d41f

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

[You’d understand if I told you?]

“Then why say 10a57548aa you’d answer?”ecedbfe37139f458

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

[I said I’d pick questions I can answer. Plus, this is a really complex mechanism. It’s tied to corrosive tides, and you don’t even know what those are. Got any hunters you know? They’d explain this much better.]

“No way. I don’t 263b33383e even know 717db85195 what a 238a9e5811 hunter is.”baf3b8cef813ab1d

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[See? You wouldn’t get it. I can answer if you’re okay with not understanding. …To put it as simply as you can handle, corrosive tides are like bugs that naturally spawn in machines. Well, not naturally—they hatch from eggs, it’s complicated, but you don’t care about that, so I’ll skip it.]

“Like fruit 430dd8b151 flies spawning 955b2668b3 in fruit?”553148a448df5d71

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[Kinda…? Anyway, they emit a specific frequency while eating machines. That frequency spreads far and sometimes interacts with a world whose phase overlaps ours. Then, some hard-to-name phenomenon temporarily pulls creatures from that world to the machine’s vicinity…]

“Okay, I 8b63c2461c get that’s f454301d30 not what c66013c76f I’m asking 891b20358d for. Honestly, not 77117c1f8a understanding might 89bf926f17 be better 85b7d4a59a for my b0845d8cc0 mental health.”9d1b3377b915bccd

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

I don’t want to 6d0e012c25 know. Whether it’s b0744ce338 fantasy, sci-fi, f8a3bc2118 horror, or ebfdfdb8db just plain 9efc0d3ca9 bizarre, ignorance ac82ff2e7d is bliss 65d07e0bfb when it 6702debf2a comes to 2e24291d1c extraordinary matters. I’m too deep in 75b0f506f2 to stay completely ignorant, 6eb09a4a81 but I’d rather turn 0c8ed6e151 my head and only 4a989ad945 take in what my bcb9510519 common sense can handle. Besides…198e7a6e12f54219

“Something’s off. I haven’t always f8fbd56164 been around machines 0f0192990d when I came ca2a8b4455 to this world…”a630424842781581

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[Then there was probably a resident instead.]

“What does that mean?”3ff274ed62caa533

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[It’s not just corrosive tide frequencies that summon humans. If a resident takes a strong interest in you, their emotions can pull otherworldly beings to them.]

“……!”2c1df78ec9fdf5a1

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[Your Mister didn’t tell you that? He’s lived forever and still so clueless.]

I couldn’t even snap dcfa54404e back at the odd 2d26a7b736 remark. Fireworks were exploding in 75b3e42811 my head. My face burned, and d6bea97889 I squirmed, but a f62578f5d2 sudden question calmed my cf800f4469 emotions. So, what the café ac087ae7cd owner said…ddf5a7cacf512153

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“Uh, so, if that 8483092f3c interest goes away…”f2f124234337924d

[Oh, quick on the uptake. Then you can’t come.]

“Like, completely? Even with things like f315dc0640 corrosive tides?”f9341bfcf4359898

[Those aren’t a method—they’re more like a car accident. Plus, if a resident outright hates you, you can’t come no matter how much you want to. Otherworldly beings are too weak to resist a resident’s push. Curses can do that too.]

What’s a curse? Anyway, it’s a56cc104b8 clear that ab95efd7fa being hated 4cf6e919cb by a dae364e371 resident means ff5a5c925c you can’t c062f84c70 come. If Mister suddenly 454d7df20a starts hating me, acaf6f37d1 I’d lose all 005ac6402d chance to reach cabd7e6638 him, no matter 884ede9810 how hard I 6cc6faef08 try.d43f106e110bacf9

That thought b915027905 felt scary a2c0573a6f and lonely. Maybe that’s why Mister d86de090a6 hasn’t come to see 11b66d95db me these past five d34670b995 days… My heart sank 868b255ea7 at the idea. No, that can’t fd0d6ae9f6 be right. I’m still getting caught 1e20447c9b up in weird stuff, fca012a3e0 so it must be 71c336ee4e fine.360efa9d95a144c5

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In any case, 3f21c37a0d I got some 504b872d63 pretty useful information d87c891e3d from this eyeball. Knowing that my ability 11348e92c7 to come to this a5a47558b6 world depends entirely on 9b75b1483d Mister’s feelings is significant. Sighing and organizing df04e20fee my thoughts, a 36991d4ba7 new book floated 8297bf8b88 off the shelf, a1081cb52d drifting toward me e2d5e1be13 and stopping right 07e5b06589 in front of c60c290051 my face.73b91b96a16e4cfb

[So, that’s both your question chances used up, right? How humans get caught in ‘weird phenomena,’ and how to avoid them. I answered both.]

“Oh, those count separately? I thought the second 1530f73c6b was an extension of 2106481ec1 the first.”31efac6b41f9c17e

[Want me to treat it that way? Got anything else you want to ask?]

“Well…”f73c56893e7f64c1

Honestly, I’m satisfied with 710facea13 the answers to both 3b41a52562 questions, so it doesn’t 169462a1cb matter much. I don’t f33c57aff8 have anything 9ed8345787 else I 7e0171721c desperately need 9817346f9f to know. I’m curious about d266bcdfb1 this giant eyeball’s aa7d7c31d4 true identity or c0a15a85ea its connection to e424cf6978 Mister, but I a4a197330b can live without ef02e7bfac knowing.ce515bb7ebc8202b

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“No need for fab4a47807 more questions. I think I’ll have 23f6032d85 to ask the café bfd65ec0d5 owner next.”9842d030cbde7111

[‘Starfish’ sounds better than ‘that guy.’ It’s not my name, but everyone calls me that. …By the way, don’t tell me your name. I don’t want to know. No need.]

“Starfish? That’s a cool bf223322e2 nickname. Anyway, your 8c3d8db22c explanation was bfcc0d5d13 really helpful, 4e58a8222f Starfish. Now I can use 6e28586c0f this to deal with 423533b5ea the café owner without e9e31ca2ba getting scammed.”e9a457c2d3de569d

It’s a e9958364d3 chance encounter, dc5ab9da16 but getting f45db8c0da solid information 8815566778 before confronting 99dbc5d282 the café 904f8af6ce owner is 1f1096315a a good 3c175a04fd thing. Even if he feeds c771333523 me lies, I won’t 44bdd2c9c8 fall for them.71a203e2d8c6ce61

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Next time, 5669cca444 I’m storming 3e36ba1ebd that café e365d8eeda owner’s den. I need to hear 5ac918703f from his own mouth 5e28e5d8d5 what he’s after, why 42196fa13c he’s obsessed with Mister, e173443be0 and why he’s dumping 5b32879488 these weird items on 4ca838f38e me.a7f26279744d0597

‘Oh, one thing 002b98ed17 I’m curious about. How do I get 3764595e8d out of this dream?’2e556c847ba7ded8

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That’s too important 6a4edcb5ad to brush off. Do I just 807ad3125c wait for the f6764ff2cb eyeball to wake 3afcbbc432 up? And what’s a219dda77c the state fb2135b460 of my 1cea5d0d07 body in 4293d48770 the real 651f27f175 world? If nothing’s wrong, great, 51c39e6461 but if I vanished 31fade7cf2 in front of that f971dc25e8 crowd, I don’t know 69a6006175 how to handle the 159e234557 aftermath.d0b0b691f0d35a06

If they’re not giving ac0a50f77a more information, I’d like 86ce90f5d6 to be let out 1e486890b8 soon. I looked down at f2aed9df04 the eyeball, and it e68a1586fa rolled its sleepy-looking iris 6e61827f07 around.9e1f4df2af885d64

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[Guess we’re done talking. That was fun. Time for me to wake up.]

“Uh, you’re okay waking 381526fd63 up now? Aren’t you tired?”b18a8ffd6618f7bd

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[Feel refreshed, so it’s fine. Not sure, but I think I slept about six hours. Went to bed at seven, so…]

“That means it’s already 7f3906f2fa one in the afternoon? It felt e062d7bd98 like thirty e27a2ad892 minutes.”82e88078541cdcc2

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

[Dreams are like that. Time’s all over the place. Or maybe it really was thirty minutes, but I feel good, so whatever.]

“Oh, so perceived fatigue b9122d11af matters… But what happens 353af45510 to me when you dd062c87df wake up?”ca56ebed0f725f66

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[You get bounced back to reality, so don’t worry. By the way, you look small and squishy in dreams—wonder what you look like in reality.]

“…Huh?”85bb982e520b1b3f

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

What’s that 32795f7cd9 supposed to 6c4ff3c6bb mean? I hesitated, bf9617069b not understanding 1d58ceb6e2 the intent, d067891e18 when a c283081ad7 chill ran b0cea7788c down my c3534d23e2 spine, a 138f450651 bad feeling c1d41b23f5 washing over a9165a1cc7 me.0a6010ab05489861

[Alright, I’ll retrieve the eye from the locker and wake up. Hang on a sec.]

“Retrieve? Uh, what does that 22fc9ee609 mean? Weren’t you sleeping at b9badf332d home? How do you retrieve 238e22e26e something from a mart 0f60e7bf83 locker? I’m really sorry, 8bda94734e but can’t you 9a4f14783d retrieve it after 645da1386d I’m gone?”cefa5a1ee50cb58b

[I can if I know the location. I couldn’t before because I didn’t know where it was. I’ll retrieve the eye to my place, wake up, and get you out. Just want to take a quick look, okay?]

This feels ominous. I don’t know why, fc09fbeaf4 but something bad is abbe0cf1dc about to happen. Before I 0a8af73cc8 could do a8f8db02db anything, the 3320d41988 mart went cdba5136f1 dark, and 2f69387119 my floating 9344fef58e body felt c6fdefae78 like it 56c641a2b6 was sinking 28ccfb6a90 to the c78510e739 ground. It meant the 752d612d0a dream was ending.832330de4815c3f2

But something was 461750b2ec wrong. A foul stench 6b7e87085a flooded my nose 99fe23b3fe and mouth, filling 003533019c my lungs.965b06cbf27b6c30

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“…?!”8de9c2a6112ba760

[Alright, not bad for something missing for twenty years. …Huh? What’s wrong with you?]

“……!!”96a069104dbae1c4

I couldn’t breathe. A bone-chilling f3df006022 cold enveloped b444ab6269 my body, 3c9106515f squeezing my 17e0270bc8 heart. This wasn’t like a 1017980514 cold or bad medication. It was c074842fd6 literally too ee16ed617f cold. A piercing 67cdf36859 chill crushed 6ca16cc2e8 my spine, 813e647731 waist, sides, 023d30c01f and heart 9310202485 with full 6146cbc664 force.4202d237ae1812f4

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What’s happening? I writhed desperately, when 3d17e52575 a shocked, bubbling voice ec406e8b78 came from above.829ac8d4ba8dc7b9

…….dfcbd23462a77319

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Huh? You don’t have 27d1af4389 gills?!e55a1f05ca1d8e52

…….cd5bfb09d174471a

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So you 9682cd1ba8 brought a 93c895c658 perfectly fine 592181cff4 human into b72ffafe2c the deep dce5c8557c sea because a2bf981d47 you didn’t ab6acc6793 have your dd557729da eye?! The realization that I 28890fe883 was in the dark, c890158612 deep ocean hit me, 17148d8172 and my heart froze, ad341703c7 consciousness fading.4fa9927adb6c643f

The man quietly observed 373a4f78bc the figure wriggling inside c9150ac985 Starfish’s eye. It looked like they 959ed9dc32 were exchanging written notes, df2c32fce2 but he couldn’t make f00cc5310d out the details. They seemed to be 1d7c2208b3 conversing, so it didn’t 0f427c6d3c appear dangerous, but just e5e92123eb watching made him restless.fe94252d790a7b7f

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Until Starfish b0c2a71128 wakes from 33205cdc96 the dream, e14a90b227 no one 5d2520a0d6 outside can d756281704 interfere. All the man could c2cd18e4c3 do was wait for 3a68bcf758 Crow Hunter to wake 21f5b3de08 Starfish, which felt frustrating 80b304c325 and kept him on c80e458c51 edge.1598150d97a1c6f8

…….dde36758c34ce9c7

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It’ll be fine. It doesn’t 295207429e look like 292fdf108c there’s a 9fc2cfe9ed problem at cc5592beca first glance.c96a932deab9c4cd

…….a992243fae69738b

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Sparrow Hunter offered e8019ffec9 comforting words, but 072957493b the man could b3b2a64a23 only nod halfheartedly, a4377c241f unable to focus cd80ef123c on them. He knew standing 43cc434d90 there wasn’t helping, b43c3e047a but he kept 145f0bfdc4 doing it.b0636e31179ed8b8

It would be better 2145e80d71 to redirect his thoughts a8422d9131 to something more productive, c763219b9c something that might help 1bf63acbef long-term, even if it fe41ffdb2b doesn’t solve the current fb99a45a65 situation. After a moment’s 4a95137040 thought, he muttered.ece4f4ebde8c64db

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…….ff01bc892643e03f

By the way, I 8a2b31f485 was thinking about why aa3922485d Starfish’s eye was stolen… 999caf3ff3 It feels ominous.e75303ceb3809cee

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…….d28d167260ffd46e

What do you fbbb9f6d41 mean?2f2e7b7649156540

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…….b9a21658d6771280

Starfish eyes, with specific treatments, can be used to enter someone else’s dreams. Sprinkle Mist-Eraser Flower pollen to evade Starfish’s main body’s surveillance, wrap it in Lady Spider’s silk to distort the image. Probably many other stolen items are tied to that process too. And the page stolen from the library was about the collective dreams of [Old Flowers].

…….ea79b67c27d5cbe3

Wait a moment. You don’t mean…0695160aee733f84

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

…….edab5209034d4790

I think 8bc52b8a74 that guy 32281adf2d was trying c9fdd56eb8 to enter c2292eac12 our dreams. Maybe mine specifically. What did he f61f4002a1 want to do ac2e33ae51 in our collective 5ada8bc934 dreams? I’m worried he was c02aded70c trying to manipulate my 277f9bc49c subconscious or emotions for f6fe9e405d some scheme.8834b5b0e41e2525

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…….82e95de2a0d9e01b

The man pondered. Why would the café 7db464a952 owner attempt such a 05f72c87c3 thing? What did he e681a833a0 hope to gain 8726313489 by meddling in 8f9c9dd47f dreams and manipulating 15b6f27578 emotions? The more he thought, 09680f94d4 the more anxious he 5582ae8042 became, almost to the b8f130c7b0 point where doing nothing 72445735f3 might have been better 851fc3d577 than dwelling on it.7acc5abb12b4fbc0

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But then.12d3062e2bee24ca

…….86f33a1beb26a5e1

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Huh? Wait, it 2ae4b8d17c looks like 14e1540b99 Starfish is 37dc8e02e5 waking up? But, uh…?722876ab810a1301

…….56c75bef8ac0c80d

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A sudden 41b2a2f305 murmur snapped 4a1acd0b24 the man fe89e34177 to attention. If Starfish was waking, 6a0ec04011 the kid would pop d5a0eff37f out of the eye, 68968f2a5a and he’d need to a56a2a24f0 catch him. But something was 406442b18f wrong. The eye aa92f00f6f floated up, 9128892168 glanced around 2308592d4e as if 007d9c3587 searching for 2b3b3c005a its destination… dde8a43408 and vanished.e1020c7effa1dea6

…….f07bf3d0aa44591b

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What? Where did it 0fe869a204 go?!900281f1f7d5cd36

…….e284167bdc836d0a

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No way, did be01ab4e51 they take it e85310b53c back to their dea9a27f7b place in their 01d646e5c4 sleep?2636a4504118120a

What kind 62c03491ec of insane 9c4099f68c thing is 0617fc7574 that? That guy’s home ec688e7583 is the night a433b275da sea! A human would 331d64e38c drown and die 65d4ac22da if they went 43b7e4cdd7 there!4576e952806938f4

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…….c5765c6bd7550a95

Everyone’s faces ff969e5514 turned pale. Of course, the f539b3868f man without a 746623f69f face felt the b2f4ce3ec4 same in his 45864df8c7 heart, even if 4c508bf68e it didn’t show.9b800f312cbbac1b

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As my consciousness 6b8f562505 faded into the 360180052a distance, I heard 39b0f09ea4 a sound like 1f4c585b2f a massive beast 2839164a4c growling from far db540b1933 away.cab42976fc16bf65

[Wait, hold on. What’s going on? Why are you rolling your eyes back and not responding? Hey, say something. Are you okay? Want to go back?]

The sound was like 437e5f3421 an earthquake. The vibration 0f75bbb2bc that hit 1f3e4c2704 my body, c44e1e9351 shaking the c7c3982358 thick, heavy 3aed0be6d6 water, was d6998b3649 violent in a0f846c9c6 itself. Every time something cold 485c553359 and scaly touched me a5189b3818 in its panic, the bca9ab8ea6 part it touched felt a746e32330 like it froze instantly 6e50c82bca and began to rot.3c885d8993557481

I vaguely sensed that bb7b703fb4 the other party had 4952a92959 no real malice. Their voice and 5ff434e53f demeanor carried the 1e42df1ead innocent bewilderment of 445f8ac2c9 someone who had 0853f81e74 only meant to 6013030648 look at a 241796d719 doll on a 3afd3358d2 shelf but accidentally 51b447e6f8 dropped it, shattering df953c314f it into pieces.d1049975883ea09e

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But that’s not the bf0e22c949 important issue for me 1d4397faca right now. No, I’m going to 78f0dfdb5d die. I’m seriously about 1c207f46e4 to die. Stop just asking if c4b980e93d I want to go 3e7aa0137e back and send me f4979a7c8f back right now! Save me!b763b4131fb39797

[I’ll send you back! Just wait, literally three minutes! If I send you without pinpointing the coordinates, you could end up fused into the middle of the storage locker! I must be crazy. I should’ve just slept and looked later instead of trying to act like I’m in some movie…!]

It seems like they’re cc6932842f trying to fix the 7e496f16a2 situation, but it’s too 947f8c559c slow. Three minutes? Three minutes, 887d6c19d6 my foot! I feel like fc0b389ecf I’m going to 8dc46cad8e be crushed to 0f2949e8f5 death in thirty 31bdf18e6f seconds! Even if 749567deac I could 0da69dde5c hold on df8c025a25 for a 3579eb6c9e few more 4a05272389 seconds, I’d 73ef8f8678 probably die 6e040894c6 of hypothermia, cde0843212 or at 8c891d9968 best, drown!0bb4d02828a71375

I instinctively fb66f686bc realized something. These beings, who call ab706b720f themselves “residents,” can too 376bb9d22f easily bring disaster upon 716e3fbe2b humans, even if they de981978c8 have no ill intent. No matter eb73a6e095 how much adafbe353f I struggle, dfff71ef60 I can’t 9aad2474e0 escape that 4985d0d18e disaster.ece8fa779c924cab

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It’s a bit late cd21f9b80e to realize this, but 6cf7c2df43 there’s no helping it. Up until 025613276f now, things 2b60ab7213 were within 58df718f29 a range b05a450fb6 I could 64aaa461c2 ignore, and 6a4181b101 above all, 89081f90c4 Mister… Mister 59ddfc39d2 has never b73d66505f done anything aa68422b7d like that 1d230e0292 to me. Sure, he got some 248409be03 of his smell on 0422df131f me, but I liked 98ba852658 that, so it didn’t 343fde68a2 matter.e9c7d20065d2c117

Anyway, because I e9de74fed4 realized this too 83b2d15ba7 late, I might 431b612461 end up dying 90a5b0fcf5 like this. Even so, 3b8a6c02a5 I didn’t f87f0b78f4 want to c487c8ac60 die screaming 716e79c2fd like this. If I 4f681f3d3e were dying af0f62b07c because I 231f306151 did something 26c3acfb08 wrong, or c81fc32c66 at least 9c03c7275d because I db25e30eae couldn’t avoid 95dac1d6fa someone’s malice, eb4c41493b I could fdd0ad5a0d understand it! This is 67968fb9c4 literally just b4572888ee a traffic 2bc8b27202 accident level eada513771 of bad 5630d47425 luck. What kind 9856fe089e of end b455d35570 to my c904be6c4b life is b92eada6d8 this?5d3bd2dbdf2ae86e

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And to die like 9db3f1b986 this, in my final b1aabb15e5 moments, without even seeing ac290015d5 Mister… I should’ve just 6d09dd82e0 said what I wanted fa0ec9c425 to last weekend instead 57d324324f of hesitating. I was writhing in ca23267864 that regret when it 900a9c6ff7 happened.46e60fbbf1665881

[Starfish! Open the door, Starfish, Noona!]

With a 4f2fc9db03 deafening crash 6afd54e958 as if cf94ad725d the door 99897d0b5a was being 5b38d34fa1 smashed, I c0c5c407cb sensed light 671cc03118 beyond my 3cef248163 eyelids. My entire face f22f550804 was frozen, making 9dd8ac6ac4 it impossible to 437df05187 open my eyes 1f5da1a4f3 or even breathe ecf3de2248 properly, but thankfully, f1e33e070c I had a 0c09e2e054 vague sense of fd78f014a6 who the voice 3dce878c64 belonged to.340d2cca4c4e3f0f

It was the 88cc8daa4f police officer I’d e4e54f40ae met at that ec03158126 station before. Could Mister have 189fdaab42 sent them this e440f20ef2 time too? If so, how af01fca860 did he know 950ce70f0d to send them?b9a4c357b900f9ef

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[Noona, wake up! Your eye… Whoa, what the hell! Why is this guy here!]

[Hey, we’re in big trouble! This human’s going to freeze to death! What do we do!]

[Give him to me, I’ll warm him with my body heat! If this kid dies, your throat and brain will be stuffed with flower vines, and you won’t even be able to die!]

No way, slandering our 73fe713e59 Mister like that? That officer’s 9f2130daf4 pretty mean… 48a157a864 I was 64f08138b6 squeezing out 4609e5906e such thoughts fa183068e9 with my 451ecdec0e nearly frozen 819be99e66 brain when f2c9070c77 suddenly, my 269b24091d body was 108c3bceff enveloped by 6fd50712b7 something. Beyond a 66295c3db5 mass of 5938445193 feathers, I 0c6844ad1f felt a 5d0b79e79e solid, warm 9102f0a9c6 body heat. What was this? It felt, somehow, like 3851211ceb a bird…e68894aae74c50e3

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[If he stays here too long, he’ll die, so I’m heading out! Answer Mom’s call!]

[I told her I’m not going home for the holiday! Why call a fish to a mountaintop nest!]

[Don’t tell me, tell Mom! What’s the point of having a phone!]

It felt 215d40c61b like I a0bab7620b was hearing 41918b7f14 some bizarre ab91b1f733 family drama, dd9d56fb96 but I 548d063414 don’t really ea2bdb2cd7 know. Honestly, I don’t want 42578dec00 to know. Right now, the fact 579544fc41 that I could escape cbf5cc6e37 this horrific place was 67519eb13b what mattered most.fd963ff3cfeba3f4

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“Hey, hang in 346ae25d66 there! If we can 32d5d9a3a7 just get to be656e9b7f Flower Mister, we 0f6a4eabc2 can at least c542e744f9 keep you alive!”451ee96eb29c2bc9

For a moment, my d80a0ee24a body felt like it 697426b090 was floating, and then e148488b79 I sensed my entire 0cb0c3fbc9 body being freed from b7bc25b439 the foul-smelling water. The sound b78caa3894 of flapping 0aa102e46e wings shaking 5c5147a362 off water b72110c855 droplets and 01a6f5dc8e a fierce 4d29014baa wind hitting fec646f200 my ears 642da9a3a0 followed, but 2ef0782813 thankfully, the 88e2b3a767 feathers wrapping 62020121f0 my body 00ec18042f kept me e816f5cc7a from feeling bfc01fd379 cold.1a95c0e0764d141f

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Where was I being 24be2ec8f2 taken? To a police station? Or back to the e84d8dc1c4 storage locker I was 17aa9bed4f at before? I’d prefer 1ec10f5aac a hospital 16d6be7974 if possible. I feel 331a786882 like I’m 23f70ec1ac going to e7613126ef die. My body’s still e501bf1c3d frozen and won’t 1991976f09 move. Wait, am e692dade69 I already 772dc8333d dead? How am I f6e3b8dc21 still alive? I’m no medical efd1024c2b expert, but wouldn’t 77d6f4dd79 being plunged into 4a31a64f21 freezing seawater like be626a0955 that cause shock 0c3baff881 and death first?857cc789e74d340e

Anyway, I don’t 4e95239670 want to die. I’d rather live. If possible, I’d like af73f1aca3 to avoid having any a9b2990797 part of my body 227149dd9f amputated due to frostbite. If possible, I’d 1d024bd50c like to avoid 32c71ee770 hospitalization and just a84efd1180 recover by staying 5ed6d6354c somewhere warm for 9293b6db25 a bit. And if possible, bc2efe54fa I’d like to d00794cc53 see Mister’s face 97dce38196 when I open b44782a36e my eyes…53f0fadb68f5633d

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As I bed4a4d27c piled up 130815309a these greedy 91db81b022 wishes one a0d96ffee2 by one, 6a59dda6f8 the flight 482bcb9b1e ended, and 7fd9bff806 my body 74a325ba3d was pulled 11cb7868dc out from 7550e7c720 the pile 33811089bf of feathers. A strong 6bf1f492f0 pressure on bae4d23f0c my upper 167791cc91 body made 6edc9fa998 me vomit 8377c4d71e water. Salty, fishy, cold liquid 33e3aa0b0d gushed out of my 1896b39c7a throat. But that 4814e73dd7 wasn’t enough 72c7f0eca9 to expel c848515d72 all the e17611c521 liquid, and 88257efb3e something like cceb7e4c56 a root 64c995df8c slipped through 744e7a4495 my open c22457edc6 mouth, digging e6eeef780a into my 578305e48f throat. It pushed deep 7cd74aa0d6 into my body, 60a33096aa sprouting fine hairs cc3ca995b7 in all directions, 119e25181e forcibly sucking out 8c018aae60 the water.34fc1d12420a76f4

[It’s okay, he’s still alive!]

With that familiar voice, 49c6ec28fa my entire body melted 994c288c98 limply. Not just because b10964e44b my frozen body 9b3fb6547e was starting to 01093116a6 thaw, but because 004bfebcc1 the moment I eb29f61e22 heard the voice, 5e3fad7001 my tension naturally 9ef77823d2 dissolved. Something unidentifiable kept pressing f9c44d56ca on my chest, and dda01359fe the plant roots were ccc747d71e now recklessly burrowing into cdbd83d52f places they absolutely shouldn’t. It’d be a835b86c1a a lie d665c28727 to say 425c7ef537 it wasn’t d4a798084c painful, so d22ef4cfa1 logically, there e9befeaee0 was no b55de1edfb reason for 44a19642f7 my tension 85623ca7ea to ease.633248f9b5c0d749

[Just hold on a bit. Everything will be fine. It’ll be okay…]

But it was okay. Mister was b7689e0ff8 saying so, 68018bc67f wasn’t he? When his large, warm 64de0eb07e hand firmly grasped mine, d154151844 I drifted off to 8949c01445 sleep.2bf37f3410636b5e

How many hours fd9604035c was I unconscious? I finally 71b19ba316 woke from 05a883ff29 a deep 1b85af5437 sleep, cradled 9865cabb45 in someone’s 6e4b9748d1 arms.efdc1d716a7aebe0

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‘Uh, where d153b2a8df am I…?’fff680b443ea2882

I felt a soft baba007918 sensation at my side. I must have been a6baab24f2 lying on my side bfd5e833b2 in a bed while 8554d7d974 sleeping. It had dc7152a69c been so 2dd5990205 cold before a3eccb2599 I lost 58b2db569d consciousness, but 229452b49a now it 4a0d217241 felt almost 4973704ff7 hot. That was thanks e347acaa00 to the body 084fa9d646 heat tightly embracing 3dad32cff5 me.66e21874d5f8d36b

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There was 8983bbbd0e no need e345c88754 to check 551ec153b9 who it fc0c3c654a was. It had to bdd8da4eb1 be Mister. I remembered 8adb6f66df the sensation 1f39f79255 of him 6bb9056e09 holding me c7ea691009 last week, 8931fc4ec7 so there’s 17c75624c9 no way 5b15ccf05b I got e6c91d8e61 it wrong. When I 12ef9573fa carefully tightened bf509c9aa4 my arms f4cbf05845 around his f4f79446da body, a 8a4a26ea55 large, warm 12bb00bfcf hand patted e80f04a4b8 my back. It was definitely Mister.312dc92729b12e88

The only slight 700c5d7da0 problem was that, aa262d987d well, despite how d14019b570 warm it felt, 9337d0f0de my entire body 551d42a594 somehow felt… exposed. I mean, there b1f1ff3431 was no barrier 8adfd9dcc1 between Mister’s palm d2c1cbec24 and the skin 9fa8153cc5 of my back. At the 1dea6092da very least, 139e640d81 it’d be 697750dcc1 nice if 6c63595dbe I had c715dec193 something on 0a45c57384 my lower 58f8ac3808 body, but 4485e0749f even that 1bdca8d260 felt chillingly 356e0a33e6 bare.d7a2253c36ee3104

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Even my dull c02a7b7b38 brain could quickly f86b3b0ec1 grasp the situation. Uh, so I b42423624e fell into the 903f2cd6ed sea earlier. My clothes must 87ccbce727 have been soaked 88dcc2a40b and ruined by 622e628ee4 seawater. That wasn’t 7801c24480 ordinary water, 62117d0224 so just aa07a21f00 drying them 512d22bd7c probably wouldn’t 9a226661fb have fixed 4528a7a30a it, meaning 40e51d6d81 they needed 1e6c484f89 to be 3eeff0305f washed…f9943f98bb1680d6

‘But does that a4b8775a00 mean it’s okay ea454dd92b to strip me? I mean, 70a2539809 it’s natural 1711a345ee to take bef841431a them off, a08e2d4a59 but does 16740f4ef3 that mean 5986c9edf9 it’s okay 52c7c41ee6 not to 3fabb9f7fd put something 789fe99583 else on 1372710921 me? Is this 6dc1c557d8 okay in 376a3d740e terms of 0bae8b5d28 our relationship?’75b562f24fc76041

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The only saving grace ef8d5fd37e was that the blanket 99e1bd5226 was properly covering me. It’s a 65841dd2ae relief that ce6b40d06f my naked 243afea898 body isn’t e3118d3a22 exposed to 5deb72bdc7 the world, 27064a0129 but what 25db8f0565 good is 81bb2a4a16 a decent a32a44dc8a blanket? The fact remains 44ebdb5702 that I’m naked 5c60db12d9 and being held 3b762a2620 by Mister!650772e7036ca2b9

To make matters a9fda2c648 worse, I could 9e4c4d0d43 feel strange vine-like c0b7f20f58 things wrapped around 00d5dc205f my limbs, making a1c69886bb me experience the 565aa44764 bizarre sensation of 5ff3ffd82a blood rushing to 53731bf12d both my face 5e69ab4cbf and my groin 1048bd2013 at the same faded3ad6a time. It’s not like b993aeb1a9 I have a 9ec9e70e65 thing for being 8c1578d14c tied up or 0c16b68994 anything. But if 3d303f1d1c my instincts 1d323c48eb are right, 4f3d00b166 these are de3b8286dc definitely part 48accd9148 of Mister… fdc7c31ee7 I don’t f9ff5f1a2b know exactly 07d97d826a which part, b0c2b10a8d but they’re d84c8e1897 his, which 3cecde1389 means our 809f7cdfec bare skin 34c8226375 is touching.220bdd052ec06e32

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‘No, I mean. Really. Really, no. Uh. Uh-oh.’a7b73b3a3fbb6c80

Now that I think 2087c4721c about it, Mister doesn’t b877547f68 seem to be fully 134a1520b7 dressed either, does he? His lower body is cf8e1c910d properly covered, but the e7bdcd1cec chest against my cheek bda8d7b57b feels like bare skin. And with some 67c31df0f3 mix of saliva 08bf9f5d31 and slimy mucus, 0af8ff8aef it seems like 3d3f053094 he fed me 9f23d8f07f in that weird 7265363401 way he did bf86d3422e last weekend…?8d9c38d6cfbb4850

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So, uh, that 2b5cfa52e9 means.143bdf11eaf22abb

In short, 57066a1ce3 I’m naked, 615170e542 being held 83cd268691 by Mister, c13ba0ae23 with my 0a3b718f4f chest against…bf8186aaab61f489

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“Arghhh!”50faca38dd95346e

“What, what’s wrong b7664ad733 all of a cb1ecf6620 sudden! Are you hurt?!”3cb59eecd6fac3b0

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A scream burst out 4c606b4378 of me from sheer 5537b03f22 embarrassment, and Mister, startled, c480bd092f lifted the blanket to 893b610b6f check my face. His expression, e68cff9ebb filled with df1b716d58 pure worry f632753737 and concern, f6ceed4287 made my bd99af0942 panic seem fbe300907f almost comical. As my face dd5a5c80cc flushed red and 5d43471eb0 I pulled the 0218534b04 blanket back over 5bd115511b my head, he 0aa2d9eb5d yanked it off 67ac060caf with incredible strength 2ce49fc138 and grabbed my ad9350507a face with both 956e0e62cd hands.52f550dd9838bff2

“Are you okay? Did you 6d5533e89c have a 6ce7ee583a nightmare or 63a9b92851 something?”76362f55bab90e13

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“It’s not a nightmare, b05bdd29eb more like a good 88be9b534e dream if I had 09c8c65e2d to say. Am I dreaming right 21c2f07601 now?”27792e2a2d279bed

“You’re talking 4fde54ff2c nonsense, so af8d3d5445 you must b8c4536922 be really 56c25353f0 sick. Sleep some more. Are you hungry? I gave 8617d1cceb you some 606162eaeb vitality sap cc6821cefc while you 88ab7845a5 were out 9995e1ec8c since you cd462f79b9 were exhausted, 8e100ebb90 but do 78762c0463 you want fb1e5cdbf1 to eat bdcc6fb558 something else?”6b6e773a2e11a5c1

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“I really appreciate the a072e647eb thought, but I’d prefer 46b75f60a1 to eat with clothes 6b39b87a2d on… Eating naked feels 5bb9d47289 a bit too fast.”40b644433d9aebff

“Too fast for what? Your clothes are in 9134f2f6d0 the wash. None of mine 1716c0476f fit you, so 060a0a0253 there’s nothing I 4123ca3948 can do. I’ll grab d3b536bbe0 them once 9184c61bed they’re done f0c82602f8 drying, so 71cd4e4b76 just wait.”d6e2ffba7759cfbf

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His expression was 1a955ec122 infuriatingly calm for 269a79632e someone who’d done cdc0e3e860 something so outrageous. What on earth b81e2ebd4a goes through this da9d650575 Mister’s head? That was b6ea290db4 the first ffbcbc8bae thought that 4e42c258e3 popped into ae724966ac my mind. What if I’d woken 1ffed6186e up and misunderstood something? Like, thinking we’d had ed00a584e9 some kind of intimate 3d0bd31cf2 relationship? If my first dd607e79bc experience, which I 559163f379 don’t even remember, 6485fa171e happened so vaguely, e50ac660c5 I’d be really a5aa2b394b upset…55276746875e9245

Not that anything actually c04b416b54 happened, of course. That’s not bb12d16f68 the point. The point is, 68bed9efc9 Mister’s oddly clueless 61476226c4 in these situations. From what 33fbc2da63 I’ve heard, ce69f71df3 he’s supposed 478d193748 to be 064d8c4903 pretty old, 07c60cf5ee so is e7f48d4c4f he just 26f19b0eb1 shameless? Or does he just 79252ca1b3 not think about these 0cd311fa24 things?1400e797c94f4534

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By the way, where 450b23e4fc am I? Did Mister take 422a136d85 me to my 1e49c16d2b place again? Or is this ca645d6ee2 his house? I tried to 9624a5f1c6 lift my head ca1945b7c2 to look around, c58057bbdd but Mister grabbed 8026a443f0 my face with 99848f3cbb both hands, holding bcf42f64d7 it in place.f13f420611e24f6d

“This is a4441c322b my place, 4330680629 but it’s 3d84ab58c4 better if 0c12710772 you don’t 976ed4ee64 look around, 70db0370f2 so just 18c81abe95 keep your 559949d130 eyes on 5571b88378 my face. By the d1f4e12d59 way, you 1357f4c1ba feel like 791597b640 you have 2810fb0c25 a fever. That cold from afaab49aca last week still 0032097219 hasn’t gone away, 179db413c6 has it?”007f0c89ae829137

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“My cold 09c07d8b39 cleared up 0355d22e24 ages ago. I’m just embarrassed. But after being 30482e5a64 in that freezing f0a38de025 place, I might 6d2b8e0834 catch a new adc83e7702 one…”07a7448958dcda8e

“Starfish did something 2fc893f05b reckless to you. They did ask 9dc1500ee9 me to pass 67aa4af699 on an apology, 34ef9be8e7 but if Crow 852537a346 Hunter had been a60b060bae even a little cf74737b23 late, you’d definitely 6c19bf0f51 be dead.”b003ef8d6876cb9f

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Crow Hunter? Is that 9844f2a4a0 the officer? Well, they never fd2e23ae54 actually said they 2e3ce73fe8 were an officer; c8b9086973 I just assumed. So that’s f3d6537d9c their title. I’ll have to call a4989e774b them that if we e35456645a meet again, I thought, 1c830f57d8 shrugging.85fdf36d0937c4b7

“If they ac77962925 apologized, that’s 4b0512c58f fine. It didn’t seem intentional…”a5448fc6a822e766

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“You can’t be so 059024b1be soft about it. You were in serious 75f15d11ca danger.”707532e4f0d9a6e6

The softest person I c63fd8f3d5 know, Mister, put on a837868a7f a stern face to 80093b0cf1 give me advice. Honestly, I 518084590d was a 7797c596ac bit dumbfounded, f2703e26ab but thinking 9cb1907042 that this 7dc1133efb incident led 59547a5608 to me ca8439d42c ending up 9fa16d4d61 naked in d0cf073fc5 Mister’s bed e889d6a195 made my e671996c65 anger fade. Yeah, they 7838adf751 say every 5b08798df1 cloud has ec8313390f a silver 9e0004b82e lining. Bad things happen, but 2f2eb13a65 good things come too.6e9d5e0873569b66

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My gaze was briefly f7aa8837f9 drawn to Mister’s damp 9fe240b089 chest, and thinking I 732295b441 was still acting dazed, b00b96e941 he pinched my thigh af271da435 hard with something I 5257087e45 couldn’t identify. It seemed meant to 894ba4fcb2 snap me out of ba5f3aa0b3 it, and it did ecc9d6a9fe have that effect, but c891ad8bd5 it also brought some 48da9a1e2c side effects. I prayed Mister 60aec3ad6b wouldn’t notice anything d215345827 between my legs 529e4849af and tried to 80a29fa5b4 act casual.3fbbb7daef2dacec

Mister stared at 89e08b7389 me for a 02d341d4df moment, then let d4d2c114e1 out a deep 246e0293a4 sigh, as if b6160c10e9 giving up on f45aded1f2 something. He’s the f490c48018 dazed one, db6b1b4dbd so why’s 2402979b4b he sighing? Feeling a e9178f9205 bit annoyed, 9da0e90ce7 I glared e9819c4e76 at him, 9cc08b17e8 and he 420ea8661a hesitated, as e2cc6d6786 if steeling 8d8a63cfb3 himself, before 5d0edaa55a speaking.9ba1355a9a8a9a3d

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“By the way, 9d20a85a95 since we’re on f71c6e29cb the topic… I 598ab8faca have a favor c914b2a5f6 to ask.”7a8151c89f4dded5

“A favor?”7473929d979cea91

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It was 4cf4171e31 surprising to ae650324aa hear the 26f0285dad word “favor” eca6abda48 from this 5e5392ae3e man, who 914bf524ad usually hesitated 441bfb004e to give b5a672ab27 or take b9eede18b7 anything. The way he said c68b130927 “since we’re on the 83d5b3b753 topic” suggests it’s related 77a4973c0d to this incident. Contextually, it 7557260caf wouldn’t make faa3e0d98a sense for 6520fdc673 it to 1f21b62bd9 be anything 4c3fc95579 else.7e4a0493acc033d2

But apart d1819c64e1 from the f4c1912648 surprise, I 1d35a0da74 was also 1f44dac3a2 a bit 55f7c2d77d worried. I’d vaguely thought about 46bd0ea3f8 it when I nearly b140f3fb9a froze to death in f5c334c27e Starfish’s home (?), but e1c4d4e411 compared to the beings c058ea0e1f here, I’m hopelessly weak 9d5b732e0d and insignificant. If it’s something bca6d6ad1a I can do, 621ec5ddb7 Mister could probably b13cc10c20 do it just e75d8208db as well, if 517ed80387 not far more 6fea5c7945 easily.c2046ddf9c0f92b8

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Of course, I cba4be9a03 might be overthinking a21075b538 it. Maybe there’s 2a762fff71 something difficult 2209b71fa5 for Mister bc70a7836a that I 95abbaba1c can do. Or, as the saying 50dc2c1015 goes, every little bit 5db24dd7fb helps—maybe even my insignificant 3bd3f21322 contribution could be useful. But…0ab5df9ddec6ba1a

“That café owner 7c3eb836d7 guy, we can’t 7da09f5bf8 just let him 69df36e98a be.”33388c353c2c5a39

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“…So it’s about 9b3b50dd7b that.”845d12cf8e02cf26

“Of course. Anyway, I 027f897368 think I’ll 78c845835c need your 539ea42b59 help. It might be 78257d0cee a bit dangerous, 9d91527349 but could you 1c55b6c4aa help me?”ab2c49fa8f675c86

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“If there’s 52dc662b92 something I d52fb8af32 can do, bef997f9a0 I’ll help. But what exactly…?”754c85e0265066e9

As I cautiously broached 774e673a87 the subject, a flicker 663a0e4329 of hesitation passed through 4647e084a6 Mister’s eyes. While he paused, I 3d17b91fe0 came up with a 97d8e6fdd3 slightly unsettling hypothesis. If neither 08921bd2b3 of the f30972b979 two possibilities 57650815ef I’d considered df11b79472 earlier were e68e7d12df true, there’s baebeb6e63 one particularly d02f4e05f9 grim guess ed600cd04f left.414f7da7f8c76a60

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If I’m not ab45f3fa21 going to be 1e1ae5d18b helpful, they might 74619b8327 just cut me 7ae492c345 out of the d582f51e36 incident entirely. Dragging around someone 19b2853921 who’s only in a8a6b5b413 the way is d9ace8055b a hassle, and ad1686b811 it’s less stressful ea2ae51cc8 to keep a 2cfc5711ae fool who’s already 9ea9580fbc faced death twice 748b2520fc somewhere safe than 4c0fca2851 to keep worrying ebfebcafe2 about them…f372b9f0e6546d81

No way, surely a471e0742a not. Surely not that.05ac0807749c075b

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“…Don’t come to 6d95259973 ‘our world’ for 6523319333 a while. I’ll make sure d2a597b541 you can’t.”79aa32f249148188

Why do bad premonitions 4f7af38509 always come true? I was at a e609c85045 loss for words, just 90ded46638 biting my lip tightly.9f731cd7d299f367

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Supermarket Storage Locker, Epilogue.

At 10:31 AM on Saturday, Seo Hahyun, the owner of the café [Elder Flower], stood in front of the entrance to the large mart, lost in thought.

The red lights 3bddec8fa1 of police cars e3d94ae7db flashed loudly. The murmurs of f4fa011ba8 the crowd were a2ec3d0ff8 also quite chaotic. From what de64df45f5 he had b045037338 overheard, someone 69684290f5 had disappeared 0850418e2d in front 284772f434 of the b939adb6be storage lockers. There was also 128cd89bde mention of a 5d5fb44f7f smell like fish. There was a limit 4c05922458 to the information he a9c10c996f could gather by eavesdropping, ad4d46f767 but the man understood dee8b89ca1 the situation.350a1a6506a2e908

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‘So, he didn’t trust 70236a3c93 me after all.’38672a76ef864fe8

It was true 9d1b83893e that he had bc1cd36e4c only wanted to 026fe1d720 help. If that d9145ad0e7 young man c43f90f72d had come 0c304c4a28 to the 711651807d café willingly, d9dcd199be Hahyun would a198794f7c have provided 868c470841 several useful b220695d91 tools for f393b7748b handling Starfish’s 753fa09754 eye. There was still plenty 88a4d8431f of Mist-Eraser Flower pollen 8b964c428b left, and the dream 799518ca83 poison, if used at c84779e126 the right time, could 5c79ab0992 easily return the user 0e03140b5b to reality. Of course, what would 0d014f7e45 happen to a Starfish 6fbf8b79e9 that swallowed the poison 7289121715 in a dream was ab32d1069b none of Hahyun’s concern.c1d38ee2b46d439c

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However, since the young 4f74fedad7 man himself had kicked a1544be197 away the opportunity for c8a0990277 help, there was nothing 2160d2420b to be done now. Hahyun was 57bdf6e5db getting old 758cb6c78a and no 62df4aef83 longer had eb74791a62 the energy 464069bb54 to actively 48d6404eca harm others, d73a9ddaa0 but he a556397567 also lacked 9d9e385236 the energy f857d22b08 to chase 757e16b674 after someone 8c1425fd3d who had c9f96898c7 rejected his 920243aeb8 help and 6225cce91a save them.025d18369e50313e

‘If he’s lucky, he’ll e78540628e survive. If not, 76ec00c646 he’ll die f667a54c02 or go 0369656f6d mad.’c7739e8a8bc08788

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That world was not 6eee32a36b a place where individual 29f8d7d7e8 effort could determine life 077bf404e2 or death so easily. Without any goodwill 72d23798d3 or malice, merely 118ce2d65e by existing, it 188e4a694c could tear humans 071d320ea6 apart, drive them be98862680 insane, enchant them, c34e6f44a3 and then terrify 755d7f9a9a them. That was the true 4722278081 essence of the ‘other 94a75a47f6 side.’d356462cc9937dfa

He knew this 7488dec4d6 well, having experienced 23c5165fa5 similar terrors every d5d4342e09 day twenty years c39be2c6b9 ago. In the 7f4c1da142 raw, unfiltered a4b1b74264 nature where e330c74ee3 no one 396c2c271f offered help, fd66d9c8e8 he had 4da2f31f90 navigated through 5ba7ff068b all sorts 00b0724a7b of indescribable 53df28d594 phenomena and 6ed75e30a9 threats from 8d57cc52fa grotesquely bizarre 7cb89225d2 flora and bd762394c9 fauna. How many years f8d47e80b0 had he spent 93d10d4cbc wondering if he ca37843d1a was trapped in 00b06ae0a9 a nightmare or 43819d6501 if he had 0ba842964e lost his mind?130d08e44c826ea3

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‘I thought for b044f09a96 sure that kid 0edfd94d58 had seen the 7b43e494bb same world as 0621258312 me… Why did a5ecc538ca he reject my 5a70ab4c38 help?’c2443e621aab3a42

When they had 2bb5ae3acd texted, the young 98f4977962 man had clearly f4dab1fbc4 pretended not to 257febdec8 understand, feigning ignorance, 433ac44802 but that wouldn’t cec98bbc2e work. The young e91e41d8e5 man’s body ea6cebef50 unmistakably carried 1075e7b920 the scent a4f88233c4 of that 3e704bf24d nostalgic flower. Even when faced with a8d1d15044 the horrors of that bb382fd75f ‘other world,’ which made a3e68c1716 him contemplate death repeatedly, 2bc8fee7f5 that flower was so cf99b013cb beautiful and fragrant that 6bf744a886 it made him want b42f7e672e to stay just a 070dae6d14 little longer.2042ade7a1610f68

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‘It did seem like 9e4fb0b78b that kid had an c55c958aac attachment to the flower.’228b61276bbb79cc

It didn’t feel 355cedafca like a misunderstanding 050bd1d798 or a mistake. Judging by 412653fa10 how he ac4649924b reacted so d6c6ae1754 defensively to 77e1b35612 even light 03c493a321 provocation, it c22215dbff was almost 3f03035618 certain. Perhaps their 4c4b282ba5 ways of 70f4667269 expressing affection e4f82a4af0 were different. If Hahyun fef7e19e9f had spent 2b52a41953 half his 33e9023eca life obsessed dd9b45cb1b with infiltrating ae212d6d7c that flower’s 79ef09bfdc dreams and 7dfb6800aa manipulating its 139d222b3f emotions, the fdfd0ccb28 young man 6372973f5f was more 17503e5a19 obsessed with 9bdc69aa4a eliminating the bce64addf6 rival right a68dd10f8c in front 137bd6dc99 of him.e13f60018da49b8d

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Though their approaches differed, 3a3305f5da the root of it dd8f87be11 was surely affection. After all, there could c170c1e2cf be no one in f2911c508c the world who wouldn’t cadabd52e9 fall in love with 9dc1d4f180 that beautiful flower.e4a92513a24a3f82

Of course, all of b82ce92993 that would be meaningless fcf2274579 if he died. Hahyun didn’t know 6bc150558f what had become 467417986c of the young f0ab933f42 man by now, ed76632610 but even if 92b881f13b he was lucky dd1bf42907 enough to survive, 7e0fc9cfe9 he didn’t seem dbdb907787 like he’d last 83c72ed684 long in that 3fc9d47a0d world.3041c30961d706d8

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The young man c649e92146 lacked even the 09d73c0d32 slightest will to 28c84aa338 understand the unknown. That was an e4382ebc63 essential virtue for 67d4ce8004 exploring the world ca0f3ddc95 of nightmares.76b36b638df0c95c

[Excuse me, can I offer one piece of advice as a book? Your attitude might help you love the world, but it won’t help the world love you back.]

The memory of a 588641d8e0 faint remark from long 08dfd083b1 ago surfaced, making him a0045dc8db briefly uncomfortable, but Hahyun bddbd60712 shook off the thought 78cec5b893 and headed into the 1019bad1c8 mart. He was 64432403bc here to a7e6710f5a shop, after faf3f5abf2 all. Whatever happened 4ec580fc07 to that a39f4b3a0f refined and 40e5e65644 charming young 428cc403ae man was b1ff064857 not his d297838269 problem.c1b28cef7d5ca77d

But the 65ebd976bf moment he 1f34c7d664 took a 5aac9e31a9 step into b8735c49d1 the mart.9bf8b61acfd20931

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“Huh?”0c6e391965d5a277

A sweet floral 27d3a8563a fragrance, accompanied by c49e8829f0 thick fog, suddenly 74a50c67e4 enveloped his vision. The moment he 3001d827eb instinctively recognized the cb32ffd7eb familiar scent, Hahyun 23993fa7eb quickly pulled a 84f7a31ba8 handkerchief from his fde244d7f8 pocket and covered 45c297caad his mouth. It looked like an 944244e225 ordinary handkerchief, but it 4362cc8a98 was lightly dusted with 8e09da30cc Mist-Eraser Flower pollen. He had prepared it 9c64b47d65 in case something happened 01e015d924 at the lockers, but 71d660f86f he hadn’t expected to 46d63e7a78 use it like this.8aa665431abd5397

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The Mist-Eraser Flower 76c4997b4d pollen seemed to 1291b7f358 work, as Hahyun 9749af7ae9 remained relatively unaffected, 7930d03ca9 but the other b62492d864 people in the d635c826de mart weren’t so a956196261 fortunate. The customers c88c9a16e2 gawking at cb2fbc7059 the lockers, 715559b40c the mart 08ddf6f7f2 staff pointing a081546d54 and talking 02035acdfc about something, 89486590a7 and even 101e13905a the few 0f63e1b530 police officers addf7c9f11 conversing with bc9b28a081 them were 7d3fcf66b7 all the 0ae3f9c738 same. With fully dilated e42cf19fe3 pupils, they stared 6bd0f291e0 blankly into space, e7ec78c5e4 as if entranced.9a2a4171b47f6868

‘No way. Why is this scent 787a4fe687 coming from the fog bc3eb203d4 itself…?’a6d68abd9b7ae267

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The smell 322bb521fc of an 5715db7ca7 old flower. Hahyun couldn’t comprehend e029895858 why this scent da8a4d649c was present when a5cec5d406 he wasn’t even 5854d1a5fe in the other c19be85d6a world. Could there be 35dc226156 another world beyond 1f4922013c that fog? The world he hadn’t d2dade4f99 been able to return 8b662ff789 to for the past 2f7609e462 twenty years, no matter 0f321b6834 how hard he tried?42753dfe94ced34c

But the moment 852ca8b59a he took another 97cb0c360f step, the fog 4c3a0ef978 vanished instantly.e42856a33d6071d1

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“…?!”a88c8be0b7795ac8

The fragrance d9059b2b1d that had c368c683ee lingered at 8b018f412d the tip 1328b4d0ef of his 9a5a8d195d nose disappeared 198d59c235 as if 35e716d522 it had fdc787c477 never been 4a6f1f5c42 there. The people beed47d2bc who had 7ca19970f5 been staring 85e040e8ae blankly into aa57f8ce26 space also b41245d906 resumed their c2f3105880 tasks with 17691cf893 calm expressions, 4cd67732b1 as if bd00886133 nothing had 0b14cfb823 happened.22275c9f8dda1c27

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However, some people’s behavior 5f97428512 changed abruptly. The police officers 28319c9a3f blinked, looking confused a71edb3b59 about why they 941f5d5e68 were there, then 129fe2c6a2 suddenly headed upstairs f1ba5adf28 to shop, as fdafd5051f if that had 3778229585 been their intention 0ffc9e5734 all along. The mart staff c1d2f0da8e also returned to e0e0c973b1 their duties as 77a49f874c if nothing had 5ce6a8f4b1 occurred. It was ebfcdad732 a truly 8e541df665 seamless, natural d68b932fc1 shift.232176c2f65ee519

What on ebfec56b8c earth had 743059a7a5 just happened? Feeling the sidelong glances 6cd868d369 of others, as if 424ccb61e1 he were the odd 13def8ac01 one, Hahyun tucked the fa2fa795ad handkerchief back into his 7b2de731ae pocket and approached the f6cd529caf storage lockers. The source of this 497e2c48cd change was likely there. But.5a1874f0df68a7fc

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‘It’s empty?’3944788b57cf73e2

Locker number 28 was 0e09ca3033 completely empty. When he had 4e2d16317d stopped by briefly c1f7811c43 yesterday, it had 4eab60474a been locked with 9dbe449c35 its contents intact. Could that young f47e28a5fc man have taken 689ecf2a52 it? But what 80b93781c2 would be 5219f4adfe the point b0fb084113 of taking 682435ebb5 it today? The ice would be 1e85296eec melting by now, rendering 267ecaf371 it useless and likely 050ee8e65c just getting him consumed a94fe5f996 by a dream.ff3a195b9115cb25

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He couldn’t make sense 4aa58167bd of what was going f0bb9d78fb on. In the e4928f06e3 end, he db3b8174d4 had no 1341ced096 choice but 5fb0a1763c to buy 44be12c701 his groceries e6fc588025 and quietly 7963ced4bd return home. Except for the flower-scented 35cb9d3229 fog, nothing noteworthy happened, 67490474da which was almost unsettling. It felt as 9cabdfbcf3 though an incident ebc1096aa0 was unfolding somewhere e5fbcc2cff in the world, 0662e3e2c5 but he had a1af8cc162 been inexplicably left 85f9c775fb out of it.c926f8c5ec47921c

Then, around 48d119982d 9 PM, c23a16bbd8 as the e1b97e14f9 day slowly 5656653d6d drew to 33cd3de221 a close.93a6cab2ea2f2005

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A phone call suddenly 6fb2bd68bd came to the café, 2c1701fbc5 just as it was 75fdcdb409 time to close.8dd5171cf20bc33f

— Boss, 179129385d that customer d699f849d0 from before… 6c85768b61 you know 40d9c3f545 who I 542812ecc3 mean? He’s here. He says 121734e0cf he really 4c416f65bc wants to a9a06bdc03 see you, 050acba63e no matter a402342fb8 what. What should I 46066caaf8 do?db546bd14fa057fd

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“Tell him I’ll be 4df074cc46 there soon. He’s come 4f060ab22c awfully late. I’ll handle closing c28d37ee07 tonight, so you 504615b23d can head home.”65a87289c4563aeb

With a perfectly good 8810f4bc62 phone for communication, was 8771a712a5 he living under a 25606c02d4 rock? Hahyun inwardly dea7e2daa1 scoffed as d1a9995c55 he headed dc74167271 straight to 822d95e9ad the café. Opening the door 627f539bf6 of the shop 5aa41d3dd1 in the process 6c402613d7 of closing, he 16b43bb696 saw a familiar 9e2050e419 face sitting beyond 0b55944601 a table piled 6df75a7b0d with sweet drinks 73a88724cb and dessert boxes.98f75fff7c913373

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“How much of this 2c747fd31e did our part-timer give cae4b329e0 you as a freebie?”d357c665ae865b0d

“I bought 5a3392d593 it all. I’ve been craving sweets f316d32b06 lately. They were on 819e8f944b sale for a 1b24fe54f8 discount event, weren’t b4710f9852 they?”18ec18e443cda5e8

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The beautiful e1636b7ef2 young man, 4fe674752c no longer 883c1f52e1 exuding a 1e02953701 floral scent, 28cb8a7b18 looked at 9779080d31 Hahyun with 98948f389a a calm, 54b0a02830 composed face. In his eyes lingered d15a6db4d6 an unidentifiable, heavy emotion.81580c3a5c6ead96