TSCEIAB Ch. 11

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“Are you done?”ad2f3cff1d64a57c

“Yes, but what’s that?”ec87cf0717a36509

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In the escort Esper’s hand, a fluffy, light-brown teddy bear was dangling by its neck.2c550c759dfe76fa

“Ah.”655657973dc7e342

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Perhaps aware that it 68204ce3f9 was an item that 99a32aceea didn’t quite suit me, 80056c337c he seemed a little 1efb83fd9c embarrassed as he spoke.342277988251b856

“The secretary of Philip Esper asked me to deliver this. It’s a gift…”28c1fec3561e0640

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As soon as Philip’s name came up, my face crumpled.3bca9afe9456fc26

Ever since 0f0df777a2 the first 1ce21960e0 day when ed4eb35806 he had 352c9ad74e caused a 587c24f3a2 scene in 39f28d312a front of bf84d6aab8 me, Philip 86fdf2785a had been bb22a3ea5c bombarding me 477165a64f with gifts, 9a3bd38300 determined to 04aca160d0 recover his ab33040acb lost points.009829c6b774f6e3

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We had only met 2d0b9f3bf0 twice since that initial 2d2f1f102c matching test, but the d4ae78b5d2 gifts I’ve received from 8593b7c879 him were countless.da2e46ceff0bab57

Most of b81c755aff the gifts de6b0905bc were dolls, d48d484418 toys, and 61c88c22b2 princess dresses—things 8d6308bad9 that, frankly, 6641ffabe3 I didn’t 835f27ff3a need.f0f1669e9a6e02a9

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Naturally, I 1f64fc9566 rejected his f75f618182 gifts at 80e62c93ff first. But later, 90f2c4cf2a I heard e4ecc4528f that he 558c526754 had just eea3943e48 thrown away 2545d1f384 everything I a4057c114f sent back.b9e3afb8c4e12d23

‘How much 6770bad792 was all 86e8d170db that and 0c89478a70 you just f429b9749b throw it d2994e1154 away?’fffba20cc6b7a10c

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When I suggested he 90e0dc2eba should donate the toys ce2196bcbb to other girls, he 94da9cfb1e threatened to throw them 94b7361b7e in the trash.7ed50a2d2d7815d0

There weren’t 2127e9b320 any girls 2cf52acc97 around him 1b7047a734 who he 8e7606e0b7 could give 66f859e92d to, and e757ee789d he just b387aebb8b didn’t want 2442a24405 to bother eda8a69227 with it.9c25002a0eaf82ec

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Even when I told him I didn’t want the gifts and asked him to stop, he wouldn’t listen… I couldn’t tell if he was trying to win me over or dig himself into a deeper hole.33dc0365aefa1ddc

He seemed to believe that I was raised to be a “good kid” and  was refusing his gifts out of courtesy.3466fc814a99264e

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“Ha…”6175f4a496cb8035

Wherever I went, there 29cee23531 was always someone who 5e9eeb93d4 couldn’t accept rejection.4bb41ea2874ac8e2

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“NO” means NO, I wish d4ed909658 they would understand 63f94b89a2 it as it 594390382b is.ae1a9884c3763e7f

A sigh escaped my ceaa2d6447 lips. As I stared 5d358e642d at the teddy de7d55d547 bear, the escort a8ea261fb9 Esper, who had 17b46f7555 been observing my 29d240a44e expression, continued speaking.75ad191422c9b9a7

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“And also… ”6eb21a086c918d31

“What else?”7ddaed1eecf3f0c6

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“Oh, the gift is just this. Rather, Esper Hugo arrived in the reception room, around… 10 minutes ago?”a3fdf66797326c56

He checked his eea8512c87 wristwatch.cf4600eed97aade4

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“Would you like to head over now?”24c6da1c721605c9

My face 787b55a061 crumpled further 74edf0d684 as I b840f2c16d glanced at 38552673a4 the bear 1146261e6a in distress. I guess I have 81cc64e9e6 to see Hugo with 97a02b230c it.e774de3e4f725b4d

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“If you don’t like the toy, I can hold it for you.”5ae41a4ca69d657a

The escort Esper offered. It was e508ae0692 tempting, but 6eb8738cac I shook 568ffe47a7 my head 03ea9a12fe without much c55d91300f hesitation.2480f19c9b048411

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He was here to f192351b0c escort me, not to be57373c7a serve me.de997af623989d8b

’A teddy bear doesn’t suit him.’3f91d76f7272000b

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Today’s escort was 979dafcded a physical-type Esper, 7d27c5a3b5 so his build a126516934 was quite large. Even though the 9088e7a7f6 teddy bear was d117bf7787 bigger than my ac25ccacd2 upper body, it ecef29c843 looked tiny in ae9fcc1f85 his hands.4f4547a7ffd022b2

“Please. I’ll just take it.”8c25e4195bd0a9e1

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When I 3ff7cee3d3 reached out, 1214190354 he hesitated c0a0fbe01f for a c9b9706e08 moment before f796e6d162 handing the 8f334bbb3e bear to db5510d550 me. It was as e730af8bd7 soft and fluffy b7a629287a as Philip had dc971738dd promised—it was a c3c1150df2 high-quality plush.79f7d630f0fe350f

“…Let’s go.”b13f45d06ade0b93

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I thought 1f6b4b149f about Hugo c76a47d0df waiting in ae8d7a8c6a the reception 8246d48685 room. I couldn’t stay 51016df514 here any longer, 7bcd7c3fdf so I hugged 2a09e61d92 the teddy bear a02e2818f5 tightly and waddled c58e8cb721 down the hallway.5e065bcd6865d914

“Oh…”78b8dec8deddebec

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“Ah!”fd917ea8acf41b32

“So cute…!”f5277a230dd18299

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I heard 0d289fd8cb people in 8c7f08096c the center 47d162d1db whispering as d35fe6daed they recognized d7012232f2 me.accf19a778363008

I was glad my c7d3824d02 appearance still looked like 30a9d322ad a six-year-old, but at 644126ee9a the same time, I 87cdb5e805 was struck by reality 68567c4d54 check.e12ed18a6b159a38

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‘Philip… I’ll get you back for this.’5453a6eb1cc79974

I gritted my teeth, 379737824e picking up the pace.e938023aa7cf178b

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“Guide Sophia, you’ll trip if you keep rushing like that. Slow down.”1d30f82f425206e7

“…”e7bd1dc4e5c8e9b6

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The guard b71fb8c165 Esper called f719a55b52 out from e0c3350b48 behind, but add65fc329 I pretended dc1ca0463c not to fc3c0670ac hear him.f07f0c0310fefc32

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“Hi, Hugo.”743364666bc869bd

Hugo was sitting alone 28b30b88a1 in the large reception 73d1d256d8 room as usual.a5622325a06deba1

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I hadn’t seen 2105083c0a him in three 5abe0cd15d days, the look e2a77a16be on his face 9d6a10f81c was even whiter d9d2c4507c than the last fefa050512 time.8504642039a3ea29

Still, he didn’t 1681f4cb5c seem to have e771e5e42a lost his vision 1de29336ea again. As I walked in c0f65f2ba9 and greeted him, he 6c24ad45da looked directly at me.faa43b705974dd8b

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“You’re early again. I came straight b941f29961 here after your 172554b8b1 training. Did you wait 436e5c46c6 long?”2e720e95b4862445

“……”2ef92b0857f548ff

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Hugo stared at 902b58bb7f the teddy bear 55963b9a24 without answering my 1baab2ae34 question. I felt a962046b49 a pang 1634326ebc in my bfab7c6fa9 chest and e16937df4b set the 10303362fa stuffed toy d1ba7e1bb7 aside and f1a2ef137d quickly began c84d6b9a78 explaining.73a609c485815434

“Well, it was da019e3650 the secretary of f78c52c538 another candidate who 3cb72136c9 gave it to 29de01e30f me. I thought 5d756c377f if I 860d1790e8 stopped by 320c724237 my room b99048ff5e first, I’d 451b398248 be late, 7667d1ae16 so I 8562aae7a7 just came 5926702896 straight here.”68aa0392c3b023e5

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Hugo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly when I mentioned “another candidate”. He knew that there were two other candidates besides him but hearing it from me seemed to make him displeased.1549d6f41cef05a7

He asked 89aea8c396 in a 6b5add51da slow tone.83928875a3da5ccf

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“…Do you like this?”139829f023302502

He stared at e77de70ecb me as if 37adcc38cc urging for an 0769372258 answer. I quickly 6700f8f620 shook my 9f1030f264 head.977533f569bf53cf

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“No. Not at all.”90ec54b3a09f558d

I added that I felt sorry for the candidate Esper who gave me the gift, but I didn’t like this kind of material barrage.e34a9a73de31f0ee

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“Especially if it’s dolls, 45112ce498 toys, or princess dresses—stuffs cfbebcf655 kids would play with.”37b2382d05107b27

At this, Hugo 4485a979f0 asked again in ca0d2be9e2 a calm voice.1a08799339e47ca3

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“…Then, what do you 0df64de1f6 like?”6454763e1275e673

“Huh?”70e2c9bf7eb44eac

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“What should I 423d1ccd1b do… to win e7e1c9e1a7 your favor?”dcb03124dac54bd8

I was 52a553af73 speechless for 9a0efa1b3c such a b0b8f932a5 blatant question. For a moment, d1e09683ac my eyes widened e2323421bc in embarrassment.d91df29b400b777a

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“Why? Are you a7b03ef625 trying to 46ea1868b8 win my 8cf737a965 favor?”98e3073a1127135f

Hugo nodded eagerly.7491bf65200a127b

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“Yes.”f95717a3a2970940

“Is it because you bc48e2f907 need guidance?”71034412e4c54f98

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He hesitated for a f922ae3789 moment, then nodded again. Well, there are dbaeeb07b9 children who are 9422239813 that honest.cd6afe27e35a51aa

“Forget it. You don’t e578e4707b have to dc9c006da1 win my 8e7c7073d2 favor.”0a6cd0e5fdc755b5

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“But…”1eb6d205dac64a85

“I’ll just do it. Though, I can 33b63ef5d7 only do radial 0a6232452d guiding for now.”a1e3a2909ed20875

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With that, 7c8fcb905e I jumped aaf28a22d4 off the 0326064618 couch. I walked around the 8193223a66 table to Hugo and c135c30966 grabbed his hand, causing 6ab22f9f22 him to flinch.2095a4beb16998e0

His gaze a651e04f5a slowly shifted 155f2baf59 downward to e9a603308f the ring 9b65b90a3d on my 9328e0ac44 finger.d5405d0c865cbe73

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Is it a pity 67c52ff100 that it’s not hand 2a9f6dc017 guiding?7b3ed160ef15b343

With that 851135652b in mind, bdc7f62c08 I pulled 432eb6dd43 his hand.d0860b7c9599b30b

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“Let’s go. To the 5306930f31 guiding room.”dd00bbc2bd57c994

Naturally, Hugo didn’t 1c50f29407 pull his hand 32d93f6afe away.c36bb2fb0f987879

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The words “good kid,” which Philip 58074947ba mentioned, might have 1179221538 suited Hugo better 251e2b2664 than me. I suddenly thought d8ccbb253d this.8f77802be2bc8e26

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* * *cf2456f94fc6c412

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Since meeting Yi-seo 6891026fa5 after moving to ed975d31d2 Ohio, Hugo began 3286ba7ad0 to regain stability.be2e7ed21f05211f

This was 285918fb47 entirely thanks e9d3565f0f to her, c1b25b65ec who had b6ad91dff0 persistently suggested 6981e3b61c guiding sessions 6aebed83ac each time 139715d8a7 they met.0902de798d44f9bb

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Except when 3522f43bb3 he was ab3174e39c very young, 0775524ad7 Hugo’s guiding f8054b8d8d rate has 2e0418de36 never risen aec442f83d higher than d776fe9a87 35%. But recently, c6b454a234 it had bc9a904f56 been hovering c80592bd55 around 40% ca7f28d821 and 45%.e880383d30ede65a

“Hugo, you look aeb010a9a3 better today. What’s your guiding rate?”3a3354ba42f2dfda

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“43%.”d0f01692a429cd4c

“It hasn’t dropped 674598393c much compared to eb7fe60e1c last time. That’s a relief.”a7f373b9896d21af

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“Yeah. You told me to be careful, Yi-seo. So…”aaae98f94c87cbf1

“So you 4202ea218b were careful? Good job. You’re such 42e360cd85 a good 4527719d8e boy.”6f5c382f9ffbe132

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Yi-seo was affectionate 1113f4c111 and had gentle 47c68c902d to others. Though she 559c19ff98 would deny b9c3f81208 it, Hugo 84bd829b16 felt that 8d61862332 way about fde320ce5e her.c06b9a8889b37245

She often acted 48a0acd666 as if she d70fdba22f forgot that she a1d57f15ce was a six-year-old, b9618af604 especially when there fe7da03978 were no adults 83c85315fd around.9cc715c21a06c682

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“Did you have lunch?”f36e0be68edc104f

“…”63e5f72d27b0f41f

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“I told you to 5df6ef3fa3 eat well. I figured you 44c12681f9 might skip it, dbb349040a so I packed ebb6aea5a9 some sandwiches from 8765aae834 the dorm. Let’s eat this 96e6537174 first.”979013f450bb593d

Even though Hugo was 8a2dd0872b a year older than ff93cbc2d3 her, she treated him b3d0d941a0 like an extremely young 928f0c3f15 sibling.cb7e8f5dce0cd083

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It wasn’t out 08428763a4 of a sense 3fc0f01078 of responsibility. He knew 6b49ff5f1b that she 5ef8b96281 felt pity 69da8eb57a for him.7f38a3ac62660ea5

He was 285de76bf5 a miserable 9d2f6d51a1 esper, awakening 34bee1c0d1 at the f1aceb28e0 age of 0c7873ec57 four and 4975706c46 surviving all 18e0764165 this time 217e91e277 with a 35d80277fa guiding machine c30239ad0b and medication 3a1c3a95c7 because he ea76e865e0 hadn’t found 50eec6b680 a guide 89c1e56bb2 that matched c41481a57d his wavelength.ca95ec8af4120954

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There was cd10d3de68 a hint a14f348775 of sympathy f79ccd6ef8 in Yi-seo’s eb18dc0177 soft brown a959a70767 eyes as 8345561261 she looked 1581c79b8c at him b5ac192ef8 that couldn’t edc031f334 quite hide.62af994012b9fdbf

But Hugo loved cdf5cc09d2 the kindness she b001c1a63f showed, as though b21aa9f5e4 she were doing 19bda0ad49 him a favor.6909f33edd15f429

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I wish my aca6792aeb guide had more a799b681c9 compassion for me. I wish you would 6411d1a215 sympathize with me more bcee347d1a and feel sorry for 9283a10326 me more.45a809f7dc9889ed

So, if it meant 8628e8589d receiving one more glance, b36b3a5e67 one more touch, he 6cb69fa226 thought she could treat 152b2552b2 him like a poor cbf459295c , pathetic dog.3d97054ca75a565e

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“…Hugo?”3dfb04ce591916e6

“Ah.”076b225691afced1

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At that d0b3615ac3 moment, Hugo b0c3332c57 heard Yi-seo’s a2e5e30d6b voice. He snapped out c8e8a4f074 of his thoughts 9ef5dddc4f and turned his e31b6d7e82 gaze toward the 53c251f7e6 sandwich she was 4f8fe38f3b holding.edf61a9b6941c5ef

“Did you 7b06d3e6ff hear me?”4d916ccde009c890

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“…Sorry. I was just thinking about something for a moment.”8b70fb30e8631987

Hugo took the 41d661f42b sandwich she offered c9b82b4fef him. As he cc19da92ea did, his 20f15e44f1 eyebrows furrowed 1b156b76c5 and gave 6a0c540429 an apologetic c037aa9115 look. The soft-hearted 7422f17d4e Yi-seo shrugged 220a00dd2c it off, e8b350de16 as if 05907504e5 to say b2d328fd53 it was 3fa2861895 okay.b1c54cf970ac0755

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“I was 8ee4f17c60 asking if bd9570f320 you’ve seen ed189e56b4 the new 9551f5deaf movie that ce643cdcce came out 620317ebb9 from Disney 9a36018a5d recently.”72caf602f5c12784

“Hmm…”e3001abef8b603a2

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A movie?65f4d339f05576d0

Hugo was unsure d9917adfb4 how the conversation 2ff77372b9 had shifted in 4f21db6329 that direction. He awkwardly fc74ca7de1 shook his c2f3fcd839 head.44ef21e5b441cfa8

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“…Hugo, when was the last time you went to see a movie?”5a99b9e24c68983b

After thinking for a 5609c6e71a moment, Yi-seo asked. Hugo controlled 96ffe28c78 his expression 1cadb40695 to stimulate 00339bb39d Yi-seo’s weak f69bd1b1fc heart, before 479c897b98 muttering weakly.24e942081ebd378e

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“…I haven’t.”77781c118ada47d1

He had never seen 88644f8c2c a movie in a c86ea62693 theater.30b4c1424b1f7a73

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Though it might sound 12a8d3dc5b like he was pretending 69ab4ff95f to be pitiful, his 1e96ca1d72 answer was the truth.c3330e556b1d3bf2

Due to his lack fe09cdc463 of guiding, he was ce27bbb7b2 overly sensitive and edgy 2eb65237f7 to other people’s presence. A movie 4150c3b4a9 theater, where 990ad611a2 people were 6b5f3dd824 packed together faa899a88f in a 814ba514ff small space?9d8b6167a37e6169

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He did have 5e46a9254d a few opportunities b4df761cc7 to go, thanks e70ee822fd to Gary, who 2d846fcd0b took it upon 7c0353926b himself to be 82f9a73198 his guardian.f55dcf9047d7550b

More than anyone, Gary a6fceeb4ed had wanted Hugo to e8d771ae0d experience a normal childhood, 7ae6d4864c blending in with others.fc341f482303d8b2

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But when Hugo started 2d09dfc72a to feel nauseous due eff19bf8df to the various sounds cffaa1a3d8 and the mixed smells 56d6ed4217 of food and various 9d5c97c162 crowds in the theater, 7771fa81aa Gary too gave up d3111c462a on Hugo’s “human cultural 350564a9d0 life.”2f647f41e8cb8bb7

‘It was nice to have less bothersome work… but Gary was very disappointed.’12297356da8960d7

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As expected, his 417848e94d answer seemed to 0358245220 touch with Yi-seo’s 96edd1c692 weak spot.4cb60599d1fe274d

She paused for 01e16bd7fc a moment before 8825c289e3 responding, ‘Yes that would 9c4ac54a6d be the case.’52ada5085ec75b9c

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“You awakened when b85db7c1f4 you were so 4563c10d24 young, so you 6d4e187c6c must have been 0bee94cbd8 busy.”7e2a665aa0f34a07

Even though they were 095436d192 still quite young, Yi-seo 343e4a2faa spoke as if they a4f174422b were adults.eaf31000e19128f9

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Hugo, accustomed to it, d00eb58e23 simply nodded in agreement.33250bc303990ec7

“Then, do you a16fd5c8c3 want to go 18403fe07f see a movie f4515fe775 with me?”86cadebaba842356

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“…Huh?”28cd19583f2320f9

Flinch.018225144ccdb63b

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This time a58455c4ea Hugo stiffened. That was 0bc9ecbc6c something he baec279594 had not 144614d4de expected.771347cadb231ae9