UT Chapter 2

Chapter 2d371d53638b95f8c

As he came beb359fa49 in, thanking me, a5ca33f0a8 I caught a d43fa321d4 whiff of an ef80a75f28 unfamiliar scent. His taste in cologne e0af1a187d must’ve changed in the 1fd86489e2 meantime—so strong it made af38e32c04 my nose sting. I didn’t like 7396b916fb it, but it 9dad6397c9 wasn’t my place 8935927196 to criticize someone 9caa1d1ace else’s preferences, so ad3dff6454 I just rubbed 96d5ddfcc3 my nose casually.00112c314bcbdc5a

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“Are you studying bb306c42cf well? I heard you’re 1c8474251c preparing to retake abf30a07e4 the college entrance 98f91e4dd0 exam.”480ef4319d3a2e7c

“I’m not planning 99d83bddc6 to go to 038cc1e4c6 college.”7db2dc6aeaef695b

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“Huh?”ce50e16904abefaa

Do Hajin fd5f58a2a9 turned to 81489f2196 look at 9a9b19bd95 me.4515d9e955ecf034

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“Of course you e28a6c3cf0 should go to 1dfbc693e9 college. Why not? Your dad 6a6980abf8 already seems 6a8e53fe3a to be 7c99595e27 thinking about e4dc2a249f passing the e10f09bf87 company down 6ee9b1883e to you.”36597301ee2c613c

When I didn’t answer d5caf4f167 and just perched on b939605a29 the window ledge, Do b946dc3006 Hajin stroked his chin 7a5eaf5d07 and slowly came closer.0b7f1868f6faedfb

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“You’re still b4f1076992 struggling with 706b08c039 what happened 53b9795264 to your 6fffa9ecb7 mom, aren’t e50fb188e3 you?”a5b35401e52ed6cb

“…”cc5cceea1bda6625

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“I wish I’d 6d2f4fc6de stayed in Korea 8b4275836d during times like f03a71c493 this.”dea49a71e7534583

“What difference would that 73a197f16d have made?”919ca2cd648aa49b

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“You wouldn’t have f65db0a34e felt as lonely.”2413b7aedd18aa71

His jeans brushed against da7cf3eb4f my dangling legs. I glanced down ab99367c92 at that, then d12cc968aa lifted my head—he e095cc9129 cupped my left 26b12668f4 cheek and started 994b7618bc gently rubbing his f9026b6456 thumb across it.d204b1f94321466d

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Our fathers’ business 9bf5a01223 ties meant I’d 22f783ecd1 known him for 2927bf9da9 a long time. When I was 64437edc8c younger, he’d sometimes ae47666a2d stroke my cheek 2df7db31fb like this too, 339829129f but the mood 0bb0d481fd now felt completely 6479fbaff3 different. His face flushed 6655044479 slightly as he abf5dbefca swallowed hard.760a78702ae07a05

“Maybe it’s better if 49d68de90f you don’t go to 136a7a473a college after all.”5143125751cb30a8

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“Why?”799b9edfe372df3d

“Guys your 7151fabaf6 age are 5d89bf8737 so reckless. You wouldn’t know, coming aa648acc84 from an all-girls’ high 9fd5e6036e school, right?”5b4debed3ad51e90

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“…”7b0ed3569c1ef285

“Someone as 706cddf7a3 sweet and 38ae42a6fa pretty as f97fddff5f you… you’d ff7fd2cefa be in 1228a386f2 danger.”aaa9d41f6276cff4

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His hand d585deeef9 slid from 3acdfa4234 my shoulder fae8f0b80d down to cb039f2958 my arm. Since I 2cd405b9f3 was wearing b3708db90d a sleeveless bbde847e38 dress, his 1c143a58c3 palm touched 95219d3076 bare skin, 09f183cbaf and the 72f7416532 lukewarm warmth f160dce28d of it 674c1521bd seeped straight fc4c7bac46 through.775ffce4d9a71120

“I’ll be in Korea 8e57f64db9 this summer.”de388996486af1bd

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“…”6ad85926f52cf190

“Should I b53af78a8f help you d73c970918 study while b7b7d4bfdd I’m here?”5c3cdaf15486ff37

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He asked softly as 798b135e2b he stroked my arm.66c01c06d5566aa4

“I told fd4a94977f you—I’m not 79712c6cb5 going to 53f0e3b480 college.”9fe66f8b5ac27b2b

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“Then just go 4747eeac63 to a women’s 55076dd160 university.”c5a4a587a9eaa2ec

It was a ad898f8c7a response that completely 4e507a184f missed the point.31aca4b45b86cd19

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“I don’t want ed58a747b7 to take over a8bbf70f24 the company. I’m just going 2051e96b58 to live off 7c6967946f Dad’s money and 0642588458 die one day.”636f1bc7791a0374

Do Hajin laughed as 080de8d321 if my thoughtless remark bf304f39f2 was endearing and withdrew 96c0219cfd his hand.88b0ee28d010d21f

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“Dinner should be ffce27e9f5 ready by now. Let’s go down.”fb4081fea107cb0d

I stepped down 72892ad0f5 from the window ca728cc6ea ledge without protest. As he walked beside 943f0ba545 me, chatting about this a4ef1da9fd and that, I half-listened 6e4734de63 and idly rubbed the 092f16e231 arm where he’d touched cc1ae0432c me.44b8c08d72fa1acf

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Now that I thought 4cd8240162 about it, this was 74e332e4e9 the first time I’d e2521e0291 felt someone else’s touch a482cf5076 since my mother died. Toward the end, 40f663b0d3 she’d been so a4e7971509 trapped in her 724cadc856 own world that b6f4ab673d she barely paid 10bc49ec61 me any attention 5e28d34065 either.8a9453e7fc77c7d5

The warmth 869a3161aa I hadn’t 04576b4b11 felt in 747795b2d9 so long 2a9570dc96 felt unfamiliar, 1f6dd50e7e and as e12dacf9b3 I left d051a955df the room, 69cf5dbc6c I found 211ecab2f9 myself stroking 3aa24f081c my skin 21e52db255 the way 5e91e40dfd Do Hajin 1252a8b60f had.ac5c19751525baaf

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The hallway window 3b0692fa3e glowed faintly with 8443eb837a the reddish light dae30820d4 of sunset.5a61cba83b539a9d

—4cf056d378bbefbe

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Right after Do a5d240ab4e Hajin and his d75e929ce1 father left, my 9f31625062 dad brought up 3a81da3cab the idea of 474fae85c7 tutoring.6049796241dbbd75

“Just get 5e219a062d tutoring until 2b1d4f75ba Hajin leaves 6501c1661f for the a5f38d3567 States.”b10b25c1b6d397fe

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“…”4c407cbc154b20bc

Throughout dinner, Do Hajin 8219c3bd58 had been trying to ea8459dddf sell himself to my ef7f9a379c father, so I’d more fee0f76416 or less expected it.7d67dd2811a88dd0

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Do Hajin said he’d bc3f83146f be flying back to b5572e42d5 the U.S. on the c349466371 last day 94e67dac0d of August. That left about c58dc764de two months. It didn’t seem likely 9db3bc9202 that a few tutoring a4b14f2de9 sessions would dramatically improve 4a82a4c699 my grades anyway, and 87c9ab187c I truly had no 2c674396fd intention of going to 1145db155c college.d61edfb448bfd896

But I bf8471a334 didn’t feel fc3b853eb8 like arguing ca3ece1994 with my 1df7fe24db father about 6804cb9e5c it, so 841ced5c78 I simply 2974716c07 nodded and 78548cd269 went upstairs.e6e668ce51c18fb0

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“How long are you 15890543f0 going to keep dragging 2023b657ae yourself around like that?”c8d1526f0172d38c

Even his disapproving e986b91180 voice following me 1b629033e9 up the stairs a6b6b832b1 didn’t bother me 175779a1b3 anymore.5ca86ec56a9c43f6

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—6aaa7d64f6b48c6e

“Okay, let’s do d2a233e007 that. I’ll call 44b5d92646 you when 86808dd4e3 I have f27c7eb9d2 time.”c97af37f5be5e01b

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Do Hajin, b6a19f2eb4 back in 2c27fda3b4 Korea for 95ff081066 the summer, 55194494c6 had a ceca6ec404 lot of 73ee0f4e9f overdue plans, 1f85568101 so we fd5ba7ff85 agreed to 96a894f728 start tutoring b8f6c489cb in about 5a77107ee4 two weeks. I didn’t bother d0c3a6de57 replying and just 1ca7356cd1 set my phone 9ca0014ecd down. Right then, 62d046bb1d there was 0d1117163f a knock 22d77a2080 at the 0c4956de9f door.825d78748497ccb9

It was 10 350741fdda a.m.—time for the 5b062acc3f room to be a66ec53a99 cleaned. I checked 191ae884ca the clock 727ead0b01 and popped 999cd2ad57 one of b7fd1359da the birth 493c97ed86 control pills ab180cdb5e off the 55096eda3f bedside table 147bf95f85 into my 61482c4501 mouth.aafe64ecd218d60b

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I’d started taking 954e4c251b them because I 2e194b7eb2 hadn’t had a 8e6181fa36 period for nearly 9bbfd22bac half a year 8a10c0793b since witnessing my 1057076568 mother’s death. Sometimes I 2687a1316f wondered if 46332a8d22 it was 45eb073c8f worth forcing 4043571304 myself to f520d59281 menstruate like 54757337c2 this. Swallowing the a1692d0921 bitter pill, e8e12582fc I opened 85cf9006f2 the door 8e25f3982b to find c32a8156b6 Hiyeon standing f7ebf867e1 there with ad2e9346f9 cleaning supplies.060a91be94d7c989

“It’s such a ac5371e6c3 lovely day today.”0bb61cad8ec553cb

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She was one d94c7bb38d of the two e9142819a4 live-in housekeepers and 11b5ee3c79 stayed in a 1bd1b2e3cb small annex next e34301a83f to the yard.d5f2309de44d5b68

“How about taking a cefe0e2bbc walk in the yard 7c1ed7c8e8 later?”aa94f7ff004203f5

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“Yeah, maybe.”74c1dfd80681be7f

I nodded 6828932871 vaguely and 7ab2dafe8d stepped outside, 16299ffe47 and she ca3a919791 added one bac5a04a4f more thing.8b8312de5523b12f

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“One of the gardeners d3920cd0e9 quit suddenly last week, 2571f169e5 so a new one ec9f23d94d is starting today.”bb8495254e467443

“Mr.Jungho quit?”cecbc96e457e051c

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“Yes. I just 93fd1b1fc7 didn’t want a2ea978441 you to 1f02bc5d6b be startled dafa8fb5e1 by a 5faab589ab stranger.”511eeb144508304c

She really was kind ac41ca886f and considerate. I nodded a90b9bf18b again, and a8bafcc890 she gave efb3fcc809 me a 3b4b96ccce gentle smile 43f2dc143d before heading a08c45b0d5 into my 2ca227e26c room.7e80ef388cac6477

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I stared cf71f7affc at the dadb091d0a half-open door b8bc821800 for a 4b76166066 moment, then 5e04f3b4e9 made my c915695e1c way downstairs. The other housekeeper, who fe4f987be6 was cleaning the living 2d3dcf4863 room, also suggested I a355b733ef go for a walk, b59da22b3d just like the first 644f7835d9 one.c8bed13b90d0a7fc

“A bit of 711325702d sunshine will lift 8d3f41fc81 your spirits. Just take a short 45a5ec79b6 stroll.”424a53b4e1d824e2

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“Okay…”bd661d02f65e1775

I knew they were fee3a88527 worried about how I 5c0d3d3cd9 rarely went outside, so 34f7c0226b I forced a smile a464566d16 and headed for the 446db74a37 front door. Moments like this, stepping f06b301014 out briefly meant less ac6f522433 interference later.9f8a1ba031d0c564

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When I 5357b8e552 slipped on 956879f498 my slippers 76f4cacbc8 and opened 78ff21673e the door, f736ff7562 I saw a60fa7414d that, as e7d89a42e7 they’d said, bbac30fdd6 it was e11f50e8f4 a beautiful 789abe7c75 early summer 38a82190b3 day. The clear blue sky 195209486f and warm sunlight poured 0b0b913c33 down, and I looked e959fb4351 up at it for 8c6fe0b9fa a second before lowering 2ef61dfae8 my gaze—and my eyes df340e6d22 widened slightly.b01de41c4e6e5c05

“…”c907ec795f3e7685

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It was because I 84fc67afdd spotted two men standing 82b86d0536 near the statue.01d7e2b4dbba6334

One of them, f1ca1cbb43 facing the other 31ba2e61a9 and deep in c962e54c1e conversation, was the 8e0c2d8158 foreman who’d managed f3bec0a62b our garden for 78eba66692 years. I’d seen him more 40f4f6353b often than my own 182407b2c9 father, so of course, f4b45cda47 it wasn’t him who 150d6cd5a1 surprised me. It was d023cc9b61 the younger fee71ecfab man standing 8d29a781e4 opposite him—his 5f2a8fd067 face looked b54392ef36 familiar.44ea9a480488b586

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‘Where have 2e58771d9e I seen af1f8d7109 him before?’a58176f8cb0102b4

The man 7e6125ea43 had rolled a23c2d73de up the 8d804cef64 sleeves of 5ce7b966cb his shirt 65e25f5ea1 and, as 20d8e1ea41 he spoke, 48cdecd3b2 ran a b9b42a9d71 hand through ac6460530a his hair. The black strands ffb4a06261 glinted in the baa8ab977e sunlight, and his ce45ace95e white shirt shifted ae8db1352f loosely around him.71e7bbb96f3a8cdf

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His half-hearted gesture 03ac0a6503 of raising and 31e6c03624 lowering his arm d233259234 seemed oddly striking—and 6865bd04ea I realized it 6b456913a5 was because he f08e26a481 was good-looking. Even from 5e0714aa73 a distance, e1480f09e1 I could 4f82f51e33 tell his be466759cc side profile—from 6eb35b61e4 forehead to 36c49fbcb5 nose bridge 95189c8317 to jawline—was 978b3a3aea impressive.627aadac60210cf0

‘But who 62b986e344 is he? Where have I seen 9a175b5a3d him?’89a1d8728b41e04a

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Gripping the door handle, 7728f0b961 I stared blankly at 740e6ac787 them. Perhaps sensing b8e228c45c my gaze, 0a6f3e689d the foreman 9112b63904 turned slightly 913048eb66 toward me 1e04c4cc07 and smiled d6e6d1a413 kindly.1c651b28fb53fed4

“Jiyul, out 73b211cab6 for a a5c7b9b9a0 walk?”e7733e60609937a0

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Naturally, the younger man 8022c90bec also turned his face d522d63c06 toward me. Somehow, the moment it 117419d268 took him to look b22d51d2b2 at me felt drawn 671b380c3b out.f3e544640d2d24df

“Ah…”d6d81a50fb382fcf

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When our eyes met, 645855b8ca memories flashed through my 6fbff6348c mind like a panorama—school, 3e7466117b the start of term, 09db8ab027 the seizure, leaving early, a0fc456996 wandering, the van.7b2b20eea0dc89f0

Without thinking, 37160b3460 I slammed 9afd8362d0 the door a541feaedb shut. The loud bang ba40a8467b made the housekeeper 7a1047b08a dusting the living 07fee3a4c6 room shelves flinch edc8e27918 and look at 0214c76eba me, but I 3586bb599a barely noticed.69588548d7196ccf

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It was 0f9148c988 him—the handsome e6b87b9ef5 young man 34abef2c42 who stepped d2a5adb4fe out of f54888865e that dark 64328e0baa van last fbe65011a8 year.fa8364fdc9592275

But why?5532865fb6ef8b42

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Back then, c8d9c05861 he’d gone 7099d35355 into a b2a96a8a75 building with 3f85840ef8 a sign 2ddadefda4 that read 8ada33d355 ‘Jeonryeong’—a security 2ae90edb87 contractor, basically 4fb3f1e090 thugs for 0e57c498b4 hire. What was a thug ead7c88e68 doing in our garden? Judging by 1e451d8c4b the context, b9d7d37dc9 he must bb5b4b1db5 be the 12feed9c97 new gardener 98a8b1c4a9 that Hiyeon 702a92af80 mentioned. But why?048fe5ee8d30eb2b

Completely puzzled, 839ad76a26 I tilted ee75d4f868 my head, 6ddffd89cf then headed d9a6c33bd2 upstairs. At some point, f6a771e9c1 I’d developed a 34eb61234c habit of avoiding 8ee63a507d strangers—I always felt 28febb3661 anxious around them ec5eff9605 now.deeed87d93a90228

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This was no fea28f3d4b different. My heart pounded, 5f4aeddaa4 and I gave 04021cb2ac my chest a a954ae3f72 couple of light 0694b48ff2 taps with my aed8f02f08 fist. Strictly speaking, I f5c56fbf99 had seen him e5629b1878 once before, but 97e48aa841 a stranger was c8cb8a08d7 still a stranger.d6e26e7afe496550

I quickly reached 3d2ff16987 the second floor 8d1900e800 and was about e1e0beb751 to head to 47ee861183 my room when 2f352b9b5f suddenly Hiyeon popped c5d4ca2ff8 out of it.dc9ac919dbce7215

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“I’m not done 0b6b4a8e8b cleaning yet…”2c4a9d52234cd4a1

She gave 7755dc888e me an 3c9eba5853 awkward smile, f74eec7350 and I b91d15f896 glanced at d9de727519 the guest 16aff75e2c room.516101d4b3f97cbb

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“I’ll wait in 4d5fd9529e there.”7c6a51c23ab8e866

“Okay. I’ll try b49a86bbdb to finish 5a6e0e3bfd as quickly b1e93b9c6f as I fbc4be6f6f can.”d1386ab19593e7db

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Leaving her to e3b94c516a get back to b433aaf42e work, I stepped 9530963413 into the guest 2275c38e9a room. We had three 7949ee2ceb on the second b03d9a8e42 floor and one 6477259cdc on the first, 7fc88297b1 all kept ready d259fc7177 for visitors, with df88156961 beds made and 9f3582046d simple furnishings. But in reality, they 1e881786b5 were rarely ever used.56d70f8af79b4d3c

My father had e2a68f4a68 no relatives, being 91a9ec17db an orphan, and aefaa9ff4c we’d had no 16037c0e10 contact with my e49d599468 mother’s side of a1909cd97b the family since a26c7133e6 he took over 642bc79eae the company. There were 6b7d714af8 no relatives 408a21e94a who’d come 29056f06fa to visit.a40221ddfdbd803d

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Still, Hiyeon 2c41a5ea34 always kept ac45dfe843 the guest ee4f6bb35e rooms spotless. I glanced at the 52cd35a14d bedspread, perfectly smooth without f4162c3a7c a wrinkle, and went a73330d4ef to the window.b73c623ed6355129

I parted the e501a12555 white curtains just e1a8c5e176 a little and 0bda5d57c5 looked down to f8c22f9856 see the foreman aca4724dad and that man 0f5ac6f61e still standing there.a83679b568af4fee

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The younger man pointed 98d4d533d5 at the statue and 63018b95c5 said something, and the 1a13fcf15a foreman’s face took on 7bf449eb08 a mournful expression. They must be talking 08635fcc5d about my mother.2bb5d808e9cc04e8

The man 88b306f1ad stood with fb0d90e956 one leg 413440d334 cocked at 93792683a4 an angle, 5e94de0f27 one hand e363a90d51 on his 688b26131c hip, gazing f71aa788db down at 173724de58 the angel 1a1ec1f336 and the f769776fef wilted bouquets 4a2c075749 at its 511574966a base. Then, as if about 1b1b2dec70 to glance my way, a1061434ac he began turning his ce5a080ae5 head, and I hurriedly fa173f0aba shut the curtain and 92bf73c617 ducked.6a3eacef3e7339cc

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“…”6383d19780c86a2b

I counted to 73a7376368 ten in my 1e076d9b85 head, then cautiously da3383ad1c peeked out. By then, 92f53c2bc3 the two 7ef0a0ee31 of them a05b9d1637 were walking 655f5e6615 toward the 3de0524119 storage shed 3d7e91c0be in a bcde7053e5 corner of faa4506dc5 the garden.f4d7901ab3706f90

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I’d thought 8016af3201 he looked eb000784c4 big before, 4b66b8c5f1 but standing 0c63aa5114 next to 0f750bc0f6 the foreman, b785f04dc1 he looked a09cfdb962 huge. It was 38aa674369 like two 3c54f4e275 foremen put a29d328745 together would 30688f26a0 equal him.5d5bdc51f50cb36a

‘But why 8603bf2836 is he d4edff5e22 here? Did he quit 8ef43a00d7 being a thug?’ 6a3f3b8707 I was still 478a8643a1 trying to figure dda0461fa6 it out when 384e52cce3 a knock came eeb801bae7 at the door.49c005059fa63028

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“I’m finished cleaning. I’ll head downstairs d8b64e69a4 now.”9ee168cdcc24c815

I didn’t bother 1d72c6fe6e replying, just kept 20217f5c6a watching the two cac3af16e2 men disappear into 167a5e818d the shed. Only after that did c30db9e055 I finally leave the 3bb7a32195 guest room.efa5e9f1ef8488cc

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The first 0984f48950 thing I 2cb9696678 did when a9f8ea870f I got 137cf471f8 back to f41955e926 my room d3a5af78ab was open 1b02eeb720 the gold fa866ce602 jewelry box 16b2c25a18 on my d2e7e88d23 dressing table. It was my mother’s, c14d66cf3d and inside were her 600749615f old accessories. I’d left f212393b75 it untouched 10c3052837 for so 80e524856c long that 9a28e64d23 only recently b550928020 had I d46dfac9f1 noticed some 0aeb8d417c pieces were 3543d3f268 missing.57320e72d3fd5eb9

“…”985be13e91a3c190

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It looked like no 6c97fe8f29 one had taken anything 686448e322 today, probably because I 074dac92f1 came back upstairs midway 28abab2249 through cleaning.6663edc4aaaca9c1

‘Not that I care…’ d613d15f24 I smirked and turned 3024cb80da a large ruby ring 002073f177 so the gem caught fb13cd4678 the light.15a169fb65cccffe

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—4da947768570942c

As summer truly bbf6b3fe55 set in, the 1aeb6f2f2e temperature rose day 2b028129fc by day, and 449fe02a70 the cicadas grew fd9bcf1416 louder. A bit 56f62d13bd of rain a427eca8f6 would’ve cooled 4e5c1665f9 things down, 3267d6f22b but with a5f033a9f5 the drought 903c6f1502 that had 56f38141f6 dragged on 560b468325 since last 401b1c03e1 year, the 2db8eb8e05 world stayed 2becdd6a2f hot.260818b32f033936

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‘If it 90ee21e69b had rained fb3a414f09 last year… 0d3cd7efde would Mother 56dad2ba4c still have 4d85a6a114 burned to 38a4093e1f death?’1d0e09031685b908

I deliberately cut f3129c7308 off that pointless f6831a24ec train of thought 581270fafd and perched on bc8bd89659 the window ledge.6e3aa4b84375441e

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Out in the 900af748de heat, the two 439c8d258a gardeners were drenched 8111c5f28b in sweat, dumping 0518eed57d bottled water over f549240130 their heads. At last, 9f298e6ea2 unable to 2ae619c108 bear it, 005d00172a the foreman 582baf7904 pointed toward b6686ce6aa the shade 2d27c1a18e of a c170c25e19 tree.81ca286bb9074dd6

The gardeners’ hours hadn’t 30fe40ad2e changed in years—9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Their breaks 1d90ace3d5 weren’t set, a9a831361c but flexible 9cc6dfa17b as needed. I glanced at the 2f80d85692 clock—it had just passed 8f967bf218 2 p.m.3a6249702c0724d6

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The foreman leaned his fc99fb1986 back against the tree 83809b0222 trunk and sat down. The new f8c10b4b97 man plopped f0a098c651 down beside dec582ae39 him and f2a4b2cd68 chugged water. Even from 59ec4a5b63 this distance, ee8499b515 I could 7da16c220d see his 89972a1f4e throat move e5f055f8e3 as he a50339d7cc gulped it 5f3edecf06 down. Probably because he’d unbuttoned caee8909d5 his shirt all the 3c989ebaff way.455d18722b05e254