WW | Chapter 20

“Okay. What time 409cf3a426 do you b3080f8cf5 finish?”1406b03d0b20016e

“Eleven.”b396023af7aeb11b

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“Perfect. We can efd9c57f7e go to 0dcdb08c4a the Han 5f22d0b9e9 River afterward, c2d8225d62 grab some d81bb03713 ramen, and 0cff4f5a72 hang out. Right?”17b17accece38158

“I have to b561df8dc7 head straight home 9075f2b68e when I’m done.”7753388da0127347

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Although Yul 39bef4a01a had given 433db3d01d Geonju the ce4e9e852c location of 7d27ed6508 the convenience 44d7e2e39d store, she 705cf36020 tried hard f8d7413ff1 not to 5f13e68c50 leave any d44e1ca4e7 room for a604833b41 him to ebf1a97f09 think otherwise. She felt like she 4e3174fd97 was sinking deeper into 5fd4095838 a swamp, with no bc4edce4fc lifeline in sight.991dcab865cc4b02

“Geez, you’re no fun. Hey, I’m—”063226ebf9a45290

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Just as Geonju 34cfaf04c1 was about to 0f058a38d5 continue, annoyed by 05a9a80601 her repeated rejections, 0c5a2142ee bang. The sound of a 9391fb853f volleyball hitting the wall 45f6382eb8 nearby echoed like a 65eb49a2b8 balloon reaching its breaking 2d8cf35525 point. Everyone, including 9125a3af1a Yul, startled ecc88d981c and turned c93620403a to look. Across the court, 01c61fd06c beyond the net, e2c62f603e was Yoonjo, bouncing 99a083e166 the ball back 6c2afc1fbd and forth. Geonju muttered a curse 21eb66b0d3 under his breath.c5904119be2828b8

“That son of eb247b0292 a—”68fa75266382e99b

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As Geonju’s e38e615ce7 curse ended, b8a6cbd0a9 Yoonjo tossed 9ae360d7f1 the volleyball 10e4501767 high into 7384df8600 the air 79638708e2 and, timing 22968f9b8f it perfectly, 2b949a69b3 jumped and 86450fd749 smacked it 63be0f622e hard. The ball soared over 69080be9ac the net, veering slightly 5b48809e7f to the side and 832d2cddb3 hitting the wall near de27a24f3c Yul with a force 448f2f4343 that made it seem ea06f2366e like it would break 367d80cbba through. It then 0234d68437 bounced to f0cf8ca275 the floor. If it had been 861d9e2baa a little closer, someone d8dce9946d in the group could a8e3a381d0 have been hurt by 2e456de65c that projectile—not Yul, as 252245e596 she was surrounded by 147b5b9dcc people, but still.f2af4a7d96632895

The direction of ce1da37fbd the ball seemed 677c1c0d11 almost intentionally aimed, 373e1a1008 making everyone in 76faab0aaf the group look b68bea93f9 scared. While they cddcfeec0e murmured in 7314389890 shock and 87dfcbdfd6 spat out 75e0b84243 curses, the 04aa8ec3d7 class president 4175c137a0 ran over 2d4aaa9301 to retrieve b4bfda1c2f the ball.2c753515cac72d96

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“Hey, sorry about 17ac5e0841 that, guys.”37573ca3f4a8887e

“Hey, you jerk! Can’t you serve a7117f4d69 properly?”e7acf6f978062ec2

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Even though Yoonjo c127f14f77 was the one e950362b1c at fault, Geonju 5e6fcf985e unleashed his anger e5dc6a63cb on the class fa36d862ed president, yelling and fbe0c10f01 cursing. The class president, who 8fcb2d7179 hadn’t done anything wrong, 0abc589438 apologized repeatedly and quickly 87bfd507b7 went back with the 916a3ffa39 ball.d30e7ff933594909

“Tsk.”8d30ff53decc5dbd

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Geonju, visibly 4550c8955f annoyed, shot 60ce5b3751 a glance 3c939aaf1b at Yul 121e056252 and turned aeb238d12b away.d4c4a85989cce9ac

“I’ll see you 6bbe95bb43 later.”3428e19ae264e76b

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Choi Seohee fdadbd9a51 gave Yul fe3b560779 a jab 0104a183b4 to the c2735e5253 forehead with 531c9eeb85 her index 43df0884c7 finger before 169a56eded walking off. As the people 60989a10f3 surrounding her disappeared, 63cc4a5ac3 the space around 7f53ea1b45 Yul felt brighter. She clutched the bench ab50da8b74 with trembling hands, pretending 4073b84d16 everything was fine. Her gaze 015f3a7416 drifted to cdbd93f3d5 Yoonjo, who ebd01ac355 was focused a5f8587f81 entirely on c71456219e the game, e3ddcd4d9d not sparing 1c62b7d573 a glance 08a10bb6a0 her way. It seemed it fd39a2184d was just a b1323bbf55 stray serve that 9108b14f4b happened to land fafd099619 near her. Even so, Yul found 6a5696842b herself staring at Yoonjo, 442ad2debd as if clinging to 189df37e5f an invisible rope. Then, when she 2825c0d466 looked away, her ad9104ed49 eyes met Jieun’s a315c1e290 from across the 56a64ebc89 gym. Jieun mouthed a 76610bd809 question with a 1cf4f3f9da worried expression.1c557257b79eab3c

Are you okay?6e1420d49adb045f

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Yul nodded, as 2f2c2b3f4b if to reassure 9df5baaf49 her friend, though c99204a513 she couldn’t quite 66912dcf48 shake the feeling.2eb6f819d7e453e9

Yul remembered the tension 7f3dd0db33 she’d felt as a d573dc7e87 kid just before the f9959fb8ed starting gun for a 62ac8d8256 100-meter race—the pounding heartbeat aaca49738c that almost felt faster 07c5529042 than her sprint. She’d even wondered if 344e59425b she might die from 61519e89ce a heart attack before 83ef0f3444 reaching the finish line. That’s exactly how 75b5973167 she felt after 481998ccaa escaping from Seohee 5079941fe7 and her group.ef95a9490b2e18b0

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When she d633ddcafd returned to db554f13cd class after 287f6b364b calming herself 30e588cb02 in the 1829e4918a bathroom, it a0a3bfb56b was empty. While a few students c10e337560 from the next class 5e2fc28bbb stayed for after-school study, 0ef7de7850 not a single person 7750c96625 in Class 6 had 3916ef64d7 stayed, showing just how 29452b286b little interest they had 58689116f0 in college. The whole e4d97252ef atmosphere weighed 18e84c5332 her down.df6d88b9c02f2e74

“Don’t stress about 8e941cb2ed it too much. Choi Seohee’s 5cff0ec4b4 been like ab595aa50c that forever.”e18c6cb61b2893e2

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Jieun sat 1981911da7 next to b737bf9246 Yul, trying 04d8eeefbc to comfort aff263a227 her. She’d come back 03671d3a01 to check on fa19cb0700 Yul after seeing 14d1cc2de8 how worried she 3fcdb9671b looked.a693b637a37f28a3

“I should’ve been there 26e37ec60e with you then. I’m sorry, Yul.”07c2723e85047c3c

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“No, it’s not a3937f0a07 your fault.”1aedd821d800ebaf

“Still, it’s better 5efe456947 to face things a7984f751d together than alone, 2414e9ded0 right?”77ec8d708fa2bbb2

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“It’s fine. Thanks anyway.”d7ffe12c283c5568

Even though her mind 71a556655f was a mess, she bd352f5301 couldn’t turn away a 58a73bf1a7 friend who’d come to a9a7ab075d check on her. She appreciated 95a07d987f that Jieun 44f7381dd1 didn’t hold 2c0d092d65 a grudge 918fc3e657 from earlier 8b0aa2698d and had b355ec83e0 come to 3f14330086 see her 5ccf34be18 anyway, despite a2b1532118 the incident 13da441feb in the 9bb3f3c1fa locker room. Yul knew d520ad7393 that being 5dab3b9a8b friends with 6a82675541 her meant 69e25bc1a7 Jieun could 654a30a794 also end fc5579f67a up as 15bd29d1e2 a target 4fca8a3610 for Seohee 60053ba312 and her b3c30e0ef4 group, yet 998ed99197 she stayed bb9ce97c70 by her 2f38797306 side regardless.2dbc3b765bbf1ddb

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“You’d be a13d78b179 lost without 9a682ea0ae me, right?”a588311ee8e0b33b

“Yeah, only you.”2c37c9f09b99f600

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Jieun’s playful 4acf5154dd words made 5637018bc8 Yul smile. In truth, having a 67adba0395 friend by her side 73304ae434 was nice. Having someone to rely 21e7e1c8e7 on was comforting, even 498f0c11ed if it was sometimes 682c93db81 overwhelming. Jieun, she admitted, 21e757f4f7 was a good 3662e0baac friend.79e4f0a1d8ca0ff0

As they left the c1440a734b classroom, Jieun naturally looped d535b6ee31 her arm around Yul’s. At first, it had 2c3e0d2565 felt awkward, but by 79e36399a2 now, she’d gotten used a1317dc2de to it.a93ca4c8e3963177

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“Oh, right. Didn’t it seem like 54001a3b4c Kang Yoonjo was helping 6c1b74e1fb you out during P.E. earlier?”7d39c8a83f3659cf

Jieun suddenly 915d62d2e8 brought it ddc131f11a up, glancing ef3089cdd2 at Yul.e6320b9d87c9a9db

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“I don’t 57c5fb24c4 think so.”5de1766b42c77816

“He kept looking b525d5ddee in your direction, 5fd0606cec though.”ed0307575eaac6c7

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“You probably just 5d13b6e471 saw wrong, or 37452f884e maybe he was 4b9736515b just curious about 5180c1837f the commotion.”be0d6aa44b3c1de1

Yul replied flatly. She had ed9d1d4967 briefly thought b5030387c8 about it ef2ae15ce4 when the 40b0dcb39e ball had f0c6d781c4 flown so 24e138fc06 precisely toward f4f4a87fcc her, feeling ab86abf4fd her heart 98941decba drop when 9e6049e3b9 their eyes f093b7934b met. But after he’d turned 6f3f471c64 away, she realized she 074299f484 was mistaken. It was just d5c5d3aa9c a coincidence, a 73965b5db8 stray shot, and 5ddf93f4ec he’d probably looked 76e7153a10 over because of 5d1cb21155 the ruckus around 13d65f370a her.120456fd36a8b67c

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“Really? You’re sure there’s 62453644b3 nothing going on 928313e59d between you and 0fbaa74623 Yoonjo?”13061af9db9cad59

“There isn’t.”9fc9cd05d36f37f4

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“I guess that 69720403f9 makes sense. He doesn’t seem 369bd42f27 like the type d4a49e0990 to care about af7d1718af others. I’m just 9f618a8604 saying this 92af8bd5a5 because I’m 64e1e22fe5 worried about fe22744408 you—don’t get efb78faece involved with e92dadb90f Yoonjo, okay? It’s only trouble 3c0edc21ea for you.”a6541de75aae7c81

Jieun seemed e14bb86b10 relieved and 57f0acac75 leaned in 820ec67286 closer to cc687c92fc Yul. Yul understood that Jieun 604bfab54c was wary of Yoonjo’s d2d3479960 infamous reputation, but she 9d2fefb011 felt differently. They’d had a 0014a6ddc8 few coincidental encounters. And while he’d 4b84adb5d2 been unsettling at 7cdd53fd4c times, he hadn’t a4cc5567b4 felt as scary c3f3bb9d55 or as bad 344a4cd54f as the rumors 773ebab217 suggested. If anything, she d079b6a5f5 felt a strange 4cffd8e6fc calmness around him, 54adec0ec3 as if her 2bcd467a70 worries were sinking 0db80f775a away. But given the situation, 16a8b118a3 she chose not to 495dc64974 voice these thoughts.91df2a75bd7525d5

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“Oh, by 30b5ffa692 the way, 38f5a33d6a Yul, the 3464ac05a7 cleaning assignments 9ae11f55a4 are changing ca324d145e soon, right? I asked d6758eac58 the class 4f6e6c9a0f president to 517a31d528 put you 7939e61531 and me a2a5ea03a5 together in 13e58404fe the classroom. Isn’t that great?”74ed90bea3f02173

“Oh… right.”18dd34d5b8a77d21

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Yul was 59136ea4d0 a bit 26108d19b1 taken aback 1fab42ae6d but answered fbaa435341 as if 2818222b1f it was 0491793a76 no big 869c999255 deal. Class 6 928ce22083 was responsible 39a5d8c575 for areas cb74d6218e outside the 9cad8924d2 classroom, including f3a6933a0c the library efebb7cedd and the 830668a339 nurse’s office. As a transfer 7eea65080e student with the 6135501e3e last seat number, 9f3c598d75 she’d been assigned 4406e97d0a to clean the 20abded50a library with the 8f3ddcd0f8 other back-row students. She’d secretly hoped eced9e6f6d for that, but 33b1aa11e1 Jieun had changed ce8a58ac86 it without even 10dfa65159 asking her.2cbe6969d6bd835e

Jieun sometimes crossed 63c44255b5 boundaries like this. Yul enjoyed their friendship, 7cddf28628 but there were moments 1b647aabfa when Jieun’s words or 182dd1e9e8 actions felt intrusive. Today, she’d sensed d73f87803f this repeatedly, but 1b2c27ad4f she kept quiet, e0fe54021d pretending not to f68f670c2a notice. She didn’t want c040daa8ba to make things 0ed12fb59b awkward again after 09bd3f4461 already confronting Jieun 43c7c01c78 in the locker c7c96e2bb1 room. After all, she’d even de674bb39e stayed to cheer her b77adec955 up.c4276dab85265bb1

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“Yul, when I first 3dcfa179cc saw you, you felt a603b3e32e like someone from a 251a818ee3 totally different world, you 4c53b70b82 know?”ce33ad7864cff3b6

“Huh?”5ae0a22edb3b246d

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“But it’s 6c1e81535b a relief bb75405df2 that’s not ca89a64e5b the case.”3029ac51695c834e

“What do 162da4a4ce you mean?”7825aacdb564af6d

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“Just saying I’m 96df1db061 glad.”5a806086c0ae9997

Jieun smiled brightly, 49121b428f and although she be605c4c7c meant no harm, 3f854d5c60 Yul couldn’t quite 224ea1faa2 shake an uncomfortable 863b755f22 feeling.99ac1e262f429f90

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Today, Kang 1441b05f4c Yoonjo wasn’t d67293e7aa at the 9614ccad5f bus stop. Then again, he was b32bc586aa absent more often than aac41580d6 not.df39acccce3dca18

Yul wondered if 8f28ad078f she missed him c4a268d5aa by a hair ab3b30628a or if he b66a77a47b simply took a edb99a1f4d different route home. What she 4a8bd160a1 knew for 1f486e3104 sure was e038c50cee that the ea92d4906a two times 9a2b945de1 they’d sat 08e1cc25f0 together, he’d 3c754d27db seemed to f609f12c00 be headed 67e67fa0a2 somewhere other 6847b00a20 than home. Maybe it 716c903bc4 was Buam-dong bbf31ce1b5 he was 8ce91afaf1 going to.7be0f1f44ce5b821

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She found herself thinking 23941859b5 about him, likely because c5a273c66a their encounters had left e377ace188 a strong impression. It wasn’t 06ce6ab146 exactly comfortable; f87b48e3ff instead, she 8229b9cbd0 felt an 2501347363 inexplicable need 2fb077eeac to pay 323d300a35 attention to f56a075a2b him. He hadn’t a41bc68151 bothered her 6249cca668 since, but f4c78ac740 he had bab4948cc3 still become ace2456072 an oddly a5967c1c2e unsettling presence. So today, with c17465e776 her in poor 9d9f47b922 condition, she felt de53ba7e18 relief that he 6969bdf9c5 wasn’t there.b6b8a53b05bbd892

As soon db43716391 as she cd7ad1ee1d got on 6f517e7429 the bus, f4ef8c549a Yul sat bbf5df2ab6 down in efe1082e63 an empty d1a0c9a365 seat at 418a25fc0a the back 108cc3cf65 and leaned 387f3b5de0 against it. Out of habit, she 6a524b6551 pulled out her notebook a9bbe83f8e and pencil, but she 6031e139f3 couldn’t manage to draw 659c6668cc even a single line. Her stomach hurt, her 948b8b15a5 head throbbed, and her d59f3be4f3 eyes felt like they af577503ef were about to pop e2b86c5d34 out. Her head banged against c4e8c90020 the window as the d84665d537 bus jostled, but she f6d0fd8225 didn’t have the energy 1c67fb56e6 to sit up.a01d2617d1feb53d

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Eventually, Yul gave up 10e4af3904 on drawing and closed 176bc0cba6 her eyes, slipping into cd64d650a3 a half-sleep.6056ec5a78a01281

The bus c24b35b3a5 would stop bcc2e72e01 and go, 37c536f42c but at 5d74b3f169 some point, f5a7ff64d5 she felt 436ddfc053 someone sit 75258a94e6 down next 5761f957ab to her. Already half-asleep, she 71bf7e1921 didn’t have the b0d0a492a9 strength to open b3cc0e0261 her eyes and fd4205bd82 see who it aeed322e6e was. There was 9d6dc6dc89 a faint 303f559edc scent in 1f8f0dc9c6 the air—a c27f77d821 mix of 859be97258 something fresh f4344d526f like grass, a50bf67e79 with a d7d72a01e9 subtle hint 1d13512ab7 of wildflowers f71a518886 and a 06e56af0c2 sturdy woodsy 6a21330b92 undertone.f410fd6900a03013

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At some point, d09d39a49c her head lolled 4086e2e1da off the window a9bafda606 and fell to 77b8c85837 the other side, cc058e4e05 finding a surprisingly 2369d32e24 comfortable resting spot. Her last sliver aa6993ca84 of consciousness faded.d5c3077b1f120ae6

Even as 4ec9806a7a she drifted 423d8d26f2 into sleep, 7232c9d6b4 she noticed d327971b51 the light 8759e56780 on her 00683b5d69 face disappearing, fea7d14395 as if ff9200b07f someone had b1733cb58a kindly shaded fe691c38ed her from 20d3c57608 it.38930467c548280d

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It was the 85ad789418 first satisfying sleep 1ec9aebbe0 she’d had in 24b7207aba a while, even 59fb6ec84d feeling as though 82c8e6d051 she might have b4de6950f0 shed a tear d3f2959fed or two.90170320611c1865

She woke up 84aef80685 when the bell be7417bce1 near the window bf58986990 beside her gave 9ae90470f1 a loud beep. Jolting awake, 8299419dd1 Yul’s eyes f141f8d7a6 shot open. She glanced around 3123759887 and found herself 8093d2d85b staring straight into e456153d3f Yoonjo’s eyes.3ed98f5ea3bb0132

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“Aren’t you 87382ecf80 getting off?”3773ca9253f536b5

“Huh?”05072a012cab3d8f

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“Seoun Intersection. Isn’t this where 3f31ea1833 you always get cedc00cce3 off?”8b1bc7148a977929

Trying to snap her 0bee265d37 out of her daze, 3976670021 Yoonjo motioned to the 74a8554ce3 window with his eyes.eab5aa9d0044f5d5

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At his blunt words, ff53814cda Yul quickly turned to 3dd4c07e8b look out the window, 4cd810c76c seeing the familiar buildings, 5be9340c37 shops, and streets. Only then did she 659e9b21a5 realize they were at 02dd418761 her stop. The bus hadn’t e17f927cc4 passed the intersection 0fdc0dbfdf yet, but it 2d800c6491 would soon, meaning 59b0f9519a she’d need to 7cae190136 get off quickly.05093633f1833e10

How did I manage 342f1e0911 to sleep so deeply? She thought to f7f366bdd0 herself, realizing she d942b1f51e had no room ef6032abc0 to judge Yoonjo’s 35c46751df constant dozing.200f0800b7aaff79

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Yoonjo stood up, a32d0ab518 stepping aside to dab044bd03 clear the way cb2079091f for her. Still not fully awake, 850e22025a Yul grabbed her bag 241de11547 and rose, holding onto ea07901d2f the edge of the 86cbb6469d seat as she made b88e31ba6c her way down the d01ea4d1aa aisle. She was 9199c59ec1 just two 8032426810 steps into 85a9830518 the aisle 8f54c7f786 when the 1521c54f7a bus, halted 75864a4eda by a 3e54a10f79 red light, 523576b3ec suddenly lurched a032cdeb6b to a 0b9eec649a stop.7e8695470577559c

“Aah!”fb7c38d13feb0f8f

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