UR | Chapter 9

When Yujin, fd5d48ceed having washed 0de2acc4f1 away the 2fa0b0c091 traces of 2164e44ab9 their affair, 5b3548a4f0 went to d36bf2784c the bedroom, 5ce9b3f13d Jihoon, who 5e5ab9d5ab had finished 7429785682 showering first, 8bcc96d2b5 was already 8156b77e9b asleep.9c156be69163a62e

Yujin, staring 46674ea560 blankly at ec7ce1ec65 him, found 01d0374b27 it hard 2915e42446 to believe 0385f02791 that this 2a48c4439f was the 6f7f5df9b0 same man b13dfcd86e who had 2b9bcdea8f been as 8989898196 wild as 040fd27417 a beast 52c6e00cb4 just moments a5d09b49f4 ago. She quietly a560df821a left the 6273749e14 bedroom. It seemed more 4f8c56ca7a convenient to sleep e541f0e1ee at home if 71d1f55a5e she had to b7e3e446ae go to work 1e59b3374f in the morning.854254847bb5e7f8

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But just 59d54dc793 as she f5fb291823 was about a52a28613d to quietly 67a0dc8fc8 turn off 568e3b9a7a the lamp, 54eaf899ed Jihoon grabbed a8189dbb1d her wrist.b9080394f80cffde

“Where are you going?”fa0fa1bf74d55fca

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“I have to go to work tomorrow. I’ll head home.”7c74afb778aa1af6

Jihoon blinked blankly for a moment, then got up. Rubbing his eyes with one hand and putting on his glasses, he said, “I’ll give you a ride. It’s late.”7844720cf42d3cc2

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Surprised by his unexpected kindness, Yujin declined. “It’s fine. I can just call a taxi.”6a6d92e94bf85bd5

It was then that Jihoon, as if he hadn’t heard anything, was about to grab his car keys.98fd63dfd8a3cbb0

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His phone rang.83eb6a138e5a2958

– Oppa, you’re not asleep, right?74de5c90058db92a

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The bedroom was too quiet, and the caller’s voice was too loud. So Yujin couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.143968e261050cbb

– I guess I’m excited to be back in Korea. I ended up drinking a bit too much.06315caf82e1d16c

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“How much did you drink? Your words are slurring.”12a8d80ff2a025bb

– Oh my, really? Well, people keep offering drinks everywhere. But it’s a problem. I keep feeling sleepy. How do I get to the hotel?084304b5b2bd14d4

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The woman’s voice seemed familiar, and Yujin thought it might be the woman she saw earlier in the day. The only daughter of M&O’s President Seo Hoonjae, and the woman who made Jihoon smile. Her name was probably Seo Doyeon. She’s also an executive director at M&O.5936c2f36b59603e

Recalling the information she had heard from the staff, Yujin left the bedroom. Before closing the door, Jihoon’s words painfully echoed in her ears.b05767d2d7ab2edd

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“Wait, oppa will come.”69c2663954d9564e

With that, Jihoon’s immediate task was set.c7625805212c8291

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Yujin quickly 6ccbb1da5b left his f5facf55bf house and a62afd900f caught a 54f5a72ecc taxi. Then she called 6bcb549ed5 Yoosung.5a4c12297bb75c2d

“Yoosung, noona just finished work and got in a taxi. I’ll text you the car number. I’ll arrive in about 20 minutes, can you wait in front of the house?”707fa4d685678d0e

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Though he answered with a sleepy voice, Yoosung said he’d wait and told her to be careful.ca3a381b6bb01815

Yujin rarely took taxis. Even if ab76623e7d she had f8fed942c9 to transfer 2adf9dddd7 several times, 6e410e60af she insisted 5a685e0578 on buses fc8ba9d17f or subways. But at 98becd2c19 this late 3ad80e3149 hour, there dca06218df was no 902d379402 other choice. Feeling sorry 895e61701f for waking 5af676139f her brother, 43e9e6a3c0 she thought 2c5db8fbff she should 2a5cf59c4a give him 66814efa26 some pocket 19a7f0bbab money tomorrow.16b296e16a40069d

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When she met b011170874 eyes with the 986fdb3ace taxi driver, who 43521ecf7e looked at her f5bd247981 through the rearview 834d0d6914 mirror as if c2312be189 wondering why she 4017f0c9eb was making a 6b1c657abf fuss, Yujin turned 3e8d077975 her gaze to 83d2399696 the window.ec87eea207d5ee34

Staring blankly at 9347f2b2c0 the competing neon 0214126b00 signs, she sighed.347469e45e107d79

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Her encounters with a475182728 Jihoon were always 7b9670999d like this. No matter 43afeec907 how long 3ea37efde5 they spent b3202df67e together, they 4829be56d6 never had 174bd319a3 any meaningful 94c035cdf2 conversations.ba66e09a78959528

That didn’t mean she had nothing to say to him.489d42f06379479b

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Today, she was curious about this person named Seo Doyeon. She wanted to subtly gauge Jihoon’s feelings by asking if he had a special relationship with the woman she saw earlier.f5a9165dfb1456a1

But as always, Yujin couldn’t say anything and just shared her body with Jihoon. And on her way home alone, she struggled to calm her bitter heart.5ce667757fea4ac6

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That didn’t mean she could call Han Jihoon bad.c21f8a630c7fc4ea

After all, this 9b631bfe08 was a consensual 51a1efd2dc arrangement, and Jihoon 2721308686 paid more than 39b29602d3 what Yujin wanted.eb0cad6fc22bdf6d

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Even so, ef3fb5f28b every time ac015cf024 she parted 54a955ebc6 ways with 4e480f2b5b Jihoon, it 19a8b39375 felt like 002a1e6f40 a huge 89b302b3d3 hole had cb0f140ba5 formed in f92fa64924 the middle 53631d7a54 of her e4645461b1 chest. It was ed9d3441d0 empty and 7cf664a3f1 difficult.cffc8b6bc1cab1d5

Knowing that this was 620eb9de90 ultimately her problem, she bd97636687 tried to be cool 09c9b7f11f about it, but there c0e1b4a298 was no sign of 279c4cec2c getting better.524096bc97f55fb7

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“Sigh.”d635518e950c679e

As she took in 9d8e6306e4 the neon signs that 3b312511de seemed more dazzling than f76d0b4550 usual today, Yujin recalled f04df6f0eb the day she first bb19bcaeed shared her body with adcb753ee7 Han Jihoon.c8ef00991d68ac3e

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❀❀❀dfb1747bbfc65d01

A conference 5ad016c45f at a 93b165f44b hotel in 3921ed89c9 Macau had fc851fc40a just ended, d6e9424e44 and as a4cf301ac0 they were e06b52a771 moving to 7dd9ab0fcb the location 460df6e50f of the 8c2f232aea after- party, 643f3c7c93 a text 88dff752d9 came from a336e86bdd Yoosung.56b6720112b2bf7c

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[Noona, can we talk for a bit?]

Since Jihoon seemed to 44bea140f9 have already moved to 89fdffdacc the party venue, Yujin 0f39d31be9 excused herself from the 3c8d049963 people she was with da39caa63d and went to find 72a7de4c04 a quiet place.72f784b6cdb8a33a

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Her shoes 5d50aaa0a6 were so bb1ac30aaa uncomfortable that 62be6c263e she was 642637d4cb already thinking 5af71606cb it would 821bddeef6 be nice 74677d729a to sit ef4bc96e6c somewhere. Just then, she 108320528a saw a door a7af907b29 leading to a 3886c8e4d4 terrace, so Yujin 14844c794c went there, took a726da54c2 advantage of the 8816a13031 empty space, sat f9203fc4b1 on a chair, 389fb9dbdd and took off df80dd2f2b her shoes.c8028dda86dc215d

Then she called 3d184c80d2 Yoosung.2d3040e844ce328e

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“Noona.”3d92fa19e74a6eb1

Yoosung, who d495b532f7 seemed to 940421e080 have been 008f37d553 waiting, answered 8f50cd98a2 the call 900a83e49a and repeatedly 420f5b55cc called her f18b12fdc9 noona.d18113df8789ae07

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“Noona, you know… I know you’re busy with your business trip…”a7531ff2a7503c64

For some reason, Yoosung’s voice didn’t sound right, so Yujin adjusted her grip on her phone and spoke calmly.6cc6cbd03ff148f1

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“Tell me, Yoosung. What’s going on? Are you sick?”e4585eeee55b7ac5

Even though she asked 9bc3d3a37d kindly, Yoosung remained silent. He kept hesitating as 140bee534f if he was about 188832b825 to bring up a aaca39ab3f rather difficult topic, calling 0a0bcd5a07 her noona again.47d6f88c1488aa38

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“Did you do something wrong? It’s okay. Noona won’t scold you, so just tell me.”3736a102f29cf2a0

While gently urging him, Yujin thought that Yoosung was probably scared over something trivial. Among the people Yujin knew, Yoosung was the kindest. Such a brother wouldn’t cause trouble.5c56aebf130bb19d

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But the brother 2984873238 who had grown fe025356b5 up straight without 28c51ec92d ever worrying his 697a9d4bd0 noona surprised Yujin.8488acbfc025c131

“No matter how much I think about it, this doesn’t seem right.”3ff88b218e13aa2f

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“Huh? What do you mean?”890fad65211ac86e

Yujin’s heart sank.60a9f8501ebd26de

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Under the dark night 67dc6192da sky, the lights of ffa938d600 the Macau hotels twinkled c010204e40 and blurred.3b668e15a48c75f3

Yoosung was already crying. For a 4d300a6bec kid who cf06bb0b97 was usually 840e79e70f strong and 22100933a3 not prone 9b2b8986e1 to tears 81ab9694c1 to be 6bfc3b1365 like this, 53e193c571 something big 257eeb1c92 must have 13aa00be6b happened.2ff86cf42f8dd17f

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Yoosung, who had made Yujin anxious, finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and cried out loudly.9c5e4f0eaead9878

“Noona, I… actually got into college.”16f241006d1f5b31

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“What?”e96d01b3199858d8

Yoosung, who had said just the other day that he didn’t get into any of the colleges he applied to and didn’t even make it as a candidate, brought unexpected news.e0bf5cf3af130d86

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In a daze, Yujin 5aad421ae4 spoke calmly.64da0bf33b88bd51

“Congratulations, Yoosung. Did you get in as a reserve candidate?”42a193eb2b164213

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While speaking, her mind 6b8fbeab75 was racing.fbaa6b52d2292853

She calculated whether eff55f62a2 the reserve candidate 913dccadd4 announcements had already 43259681dd started and considered 45c51b87d3 that she would f745ee9ee8 have to look e24acfd2b3 into student loans 4c660f95f2 as soon as 5731b52d37 she returned to 9fa31eee55 Korea, given their 634721b783 financial situation with c9a7334364 no room to 086e3baa9e spare.c6e2d1004eb15ab3

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She was relieved that she had congratulated him first. Knowing that her brother was probably worried about money, she couldn’t bring up that issue as his noona, could she?ad105e91ba669332

Determined to handle it 8c6e4c46c9 all on her own, 92ed7f1ee7 Yujin praised her brother b74f2a394d once more.8e25f2f29f1c5230

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“You really worked hard. Which college did you get into?”61859b8470176242

She thought ad5dda4d93 she could 3e6ec361b7 ask about 069fa9b767 the tuition 0c1a057f82 payment schedule cef520a9cf once she 52621bb29f returned to a76005c8a6 Korea, just 9d44a0ac57 as she ec7d02c34a was thinking 5dab4a909e that.dbe7efba5a6b0def

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“Noona, actually, I got into all of them from the start.”51cece8d45d4ea40

Yoosung confessed.cad17bd6950f94bf

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Before she could d22b5e9e29 ask why he 566994548f lied, Yoosung almost ba1043497c cried out as 9d137f2c32 he poured out 936eb99ccd everything that had 1e895fa8e0 happened.c2fa1454c4ca178b

“We don’t have money, right? I didn’t want to worry you, so I was just going to give up. But no matter how much I thought about it, it was too regrettable. I even looked into whether I could get my part- time pay in advance, thought about borrowing from friends, and checked all the scholarship options, but it didn’t work. I thought I could just work hard at construction sites, but it’s been snowing constantly lately…”39e842e058b4a562

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It was only natural that it didn’t work out.20c333c68c1522dd

Even if he had just turned twenty, who would lend such a large sum to a kid who hadn’t even graduated high school yet? No matter how hard Yoosung worked, earning enough for private university tuition wouldn’t have been easy.8981181fecf802ea

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It was a mistake 49faf2e906 to think that her 6b1e0bbf07 brother, who worked part- 8371107d95 time from dawn till e482191b65 night as soon as 34fc4be79a the college entrance exam 3fb27b3d40 ended, was so diligent 39b95b278a and mature. It was only eec56f5f08 natural that Yoosung, 0a29016a3f like other kids 494762114f his age, had 44a93b3cc0 a naive and 555f224272 innocent side, but d6951e2342 trusting him completely fac0170de6 had backfired.754367a249d28675

“So I was just going to give up. I decided to work for a few months and take the college entrance exam again, or maybe go to the military first, but when the last day to pay the tuition came…”b72c25dc8b5517b6

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Yoosung couldn’t finish his sentence and sobbed.8e595e4f605dcf44

“…….”33d749835daf4349

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Tears welled up in Yujin’s eyes too.8eeb0fad8ec0cf71

She wished d01c65b197 she had 1e1fae17be paid more 30d9987a8b attention.f58a93abf0eb1a07

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Knowing that Yoosung wasn’t good at lying, he must have spoken clumsily and obviously, and she should have suspected something.825b2f34ae57a376

Her heart ached e4efef8290 so much.2af973b7c88bef6d

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But now that 4c3538da5b things had come 2b397ce46b to this, she 39681390ee had to play e04a4f1079 her role as e734711eef a noona, even d4a57ecd4f if it was 627548148a late.d12d14c1b49574c9

“Yoosung, let’s talk slowly. You have to pay the tuition by tomorrow?”bd1554aafbd9fab0

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“Yeah.”d29cff21a7b3d134

“I see.”6d3be5534bac70e1

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She was set to 5a8a15d39a return to Korea the 0474aedc9e day after tomorrow, but 675574a463 she was at a 84b15130b4 loss about how to c9bfd11fc9 come up with such 179b1b6f84 a large sum by 3a6438b30a tomorrow.fd41a3c5fbf82406

“Can’t you use a card?”17cca2136e5da2ff

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She asked just 89def0f4e2 in case, but d1dfcbcadf it seemed Yoosung e6d0193eef had already considered 03983ebc54 that option.a9177bf1a361d2f5

“They said I can’t use a card, noona.”775e72ea28448052

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It was like adding e9aa1cdd0f fuel to the fire; 14593aad32 her question, in an 86447b7f70 attempt to find another 9f3af5f99b way, only made Yoosung afd479dbb1 more anxious.4f0519124a16782f

“Noona, I’m sorry. I should have just given up. I shouldn’t have told you. But I was so desperate…”242b1d95b5a093d9

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Yujin pressed f278297664 her hand 30a02248b4 against her 1ce795c5da chest, trying 5a4558c6bb to calm 944f771f31 her pounding 9bf2bc8dd3 heart.fe52f9da4b3f3abc

In doing deb442b209 so, she 5f1958e80d felt the b580b9a8bb distinct sensation 6ee229773b of the c56d578181 necklace under 4f46098605 her hand.07a0339c3d392afb

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If she had 0b6a164ed0 been in Korea, 3f750a1285 she might have 9483173444 sold the necklace 7afcd69561 to solve the b7e83aea95 problem.a94b325ee81e8e53

Even if she got 4da107f739 only half of its 1a25375f99 original price, it would accc415d79 have been enough to 014bcb2472 pay the tuition.86e4af154ab1bf95

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But being here, there 7386a3e32b was nothing she could a03fd8fb19 do at the moment.6dc61c3e9e19e47a

If only he had told her a bit earlier, she could have looked into getting more loans, but Yoosung’s decision to be overly considerate of Yujin had backfired.08a934a851340edc

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Who would have 06839ee519 thought her kind 1a225326c8 brother would cause 92088a649e such a big 0bba425931 issue?94719f67acd7c313

Still, Yujin decided not to let go of hope. She planned to call her friends, and if that didn’t work, she would ask her colleagues for help.5dae339adbf20509

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It wasn’t the time to be proud when she couldn’t even properly take care of her own brother.f987974a03afcf54

“Yoosung, don’t worry. Noona has money. It’s late now, so I’ll send it in the morning.”8745de6d4c1bfb72

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“Noona, you don’t have to lie.”1f9c542a76a755d7

“I’m not lying. Noona had already prepared to pay your tuition if you got into college. So don’t worry and get some sleep.”d3742d7a74f7d939

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I’ll do the worrying, Yoosung.dc70a994fbda300b

Of course, Yoosung didn’t fully believe Yujin’s words. But knowing that his noona wasn’t someone who would make empty promises, he seemed to hold onto a glimmer of hope.e5fdd11e2583544c

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“Sigh.”7595d37dce346413

After ending the 7eaa84f539 call, Yujin looked 2614526b6e up at the d20e065318 night sky in f417e349fb exhaustion.0a02dea43ff26069

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What should b8a85ef732 she do?42e90e6c37719ab8

Her dad wouldn’t have money, and no friends came to mind who would readily lend such a large sum.f8d5590eed904b5e

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“Kim Yoosung, you should have given me more time.”3f1edacae42a2379

As she 2d8ee1aa55 poured out 23851a97a1 her belated 3e73b3816e resentment towards 36ab4c396c her brother f5e4685075 and tried 0eae796102 to calm 2460501dce herself down, 4247371fe5 someone tapped 068f38bf31 her on ec71421048 the back.c5760d0d99cca45a

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“Ah!”d0253459c9669503

Startled to 2a69563a20 the point d33051060e of trembling, ee14aa396e Yujin was 25993238b1 about to 41e44b9159 get up.545cf7f5e6fb0893

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“Assistant Manager Kim Yujin.”0a7b174f60a12682

A familiar voice 9a6287f8f9 came from the bdf2986acb darkness.9c5b9b1f7c2c7dc2

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