WW | Chapter 21

Already half-asleep and weak, d3d189578c Yul couldn’t even grab f0464551b3 onto anything since her 83c29d1b31 hands were busy with 8d25143b45 her bag, so she 07703a0ae3 lost her balance and 0d66e7fab2 tipped forward. Her only 606a14b584 thought was be22d17f5f that she c8d7fe8a07 was about be7dfcd08c to get c4ab1e5abe hurt, badly. With barely 4e7b0b55d8 anyone in 63db2a1481 the aisle, 61f0b7dbb1 she was 7ab8861cda on the 77bf9b2933 verge of f5d8ed960c face-planting onto a316aaa022 the floor.a9c60e41119c07d9

Ah, seriously.9823e6765af5defe

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Why was her luck 9f91034bb3 so bad today? Just as the thought fc55b6c0d5 crossed her mind, Yoonjo’s 3bacd0dca9 arm wrapped around her d9f8462af8 waist.8de7613f2ce5853a

“Hmph.”3768e7db9faa4d65

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In a efbf6e9171 flash, Yul 986f5a09c6 was pulled 3b52f4ab8e back toward 6a2fb6d8ba him. Her back ade5d72779 fell against 171e641f80 Yoonjo’s chest, 85f058f330 and as 75aada311a she looked 3b43c477c4 up, he d216e2f540 lowered his c28ac07d7d gaze, staring a0392386be down at d545efe0ab her. Their eyes met, drawn de5f0f6c45 to each other like 34d340fe6e magnetic poles.f082be54e73b5533

How strange.5bee787ed949754f

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Oddly enough, 36042ec18b that’s the 2f447a985c first thought a405a17dd9 Yul had. His eyes, with 3191050b48 irises a shade 063f8b0ace between light and a267b42c07 deep brown, held 4cbe915a55 her wide-eyed reflection 4bf8531b09 as she looked 88bebc2d37 up at him, 5a93d0c17b startled.04881ed950c64b51

Only after he 5d8b0c705c blinked, seemingly erasing 3a290a2d11 her from his 4a540fa6fe gaze, did Yul afd90141fb feel a sense 3e16a6c827 of relief. Despite the unstable 9ed0b91b86 space, Yoonjo held d2fa408f1f her against him 1d349a3faa with a firm, 629752452e unshaken grip. His arm, 7db80c1e94 although strong, c16656ca48 was gentle 0a117f3396 as it b81d9821ad supported her. He was like a e1fa8632cc tree with roots anchored b461d0768b firmly in the ground, 2de3e1db51 and this unexpected stability 80caf7206d made her feel both 92c34254fb reassured and flustered.2947599d6768c4f0

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“Th-thanks.”c6417d29ea1098bc

As Yul 466e8b0864 stood back 07defa79f2 up, he 9d2ddcbb82 wordlessly released bb18070e1d his hold a4b6ffdb10 on her. She barely gathered 68df0eed11 herself and moved f7e213fd62 toward the door. The bus had stopped 669aff3578 again, waiting for the f63441061a signal, and Yul, feeling 609ba5fa7d awkward, grabbed onto a feff3f6e15 pole and looked out 6717d75783 the window. She snuck c80e743266 a glance 7bb2862e86 back; he fff818324d was sitting a203f776f0 in his 7fb866d5da seat, also 99ef1046f6 looking out fd81933a07 the window. She found 981c98a233 it strange 13125afeec and unfamiliar f99aeab009 to see 9f4a0313b9 him awake—she 8ef509e168 was so 06cd57b4c4 used to 330bccc6e1 his sleeping b708748b8d face.13b076b448928c1a

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Why did he 78be89878b sit next to 1bbd4f5d23 me? I didn’t see him 5ffd323140 at the bus stop—where 0e11447395 did he get on?1cb340a469a4ee85

Just as a 4ae0507c4d wave of curiosity 385a3aef5d hit her, the 625c9ed93a bus started moving ca5b70a9c0 again.92e7b9fdd704435f

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After getting off and 7ff99ace1d stepping onto the sidewalk, 02bf769902 Yul walked away as 34ae28a831 if nothing had happened. As the be1bd636e2 bus passed f78a6f3549 by her, f631729e58 she caught 994875c142 a glimpse 6467fc5cc8 of Yoonjo’s 0591b19924 side profile 2c32f27d04 in her 2c14178619 peripheral vision. Almost instinctively, 367a4c5e9f she turned f384aa8201 her head 0ba096d519 a bit 143dfe6ea6 more, meeting 02fbb0a16e his eyes. His gaze brushed 3e5b3b1645 past her, indifferent b03f7af9b6 and as dry 8f3b1eddeb as this autumn 853227ad24 air.cad55a52fb29f623

After the bus had 8da59fa1e2 fully disappeared, Yul stopped fb65668394 walking and placed her 0b7765d8ac hand on her stomach. The spot 0238803242 where his 891efc19f9 arm had 20608310d5 held her 15b0f69c8f felt oddly 0a5fd4a17e tingly.242a6f5d13ac18f8

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A few moments after 7fabb16b53 the bus resumed its efad3c092d journey, Yoonjo stretched out 60fa121f11 his legs, closing his 289b2c38e6 eyes. But then, 3bd5ac8d8b something nudged 40b7b76fb4 his foot df7a01805b and hit 95362a57ba the wall. What’s that? He reopened his 89e734c47d eyes and glanced e579d23ce2 down. He noticed the corner 414b1df52b of a rectangular object 067efe2070 sticking out from under e07729af93 the seat. He bent facb67dbd4 down, squeezed af29ed6be4 himself into e51ce3e5a3 the tight b0ad07f3ac space, and 2f9ecfc864 picked it 99eee10286 up. It was a 6e8066b753 blue hardcover notebook. When he 1fb87c5777 casually opened 035732c98f the cover, 1cc3e06c10 he saw c39aad1c5f a name, 5dbfbc0d6b birth date, 83b2d1f4e1 and zodiac c33270b145 sign scribbled ba490810ce inside. As he thought, it 59dce8eafe was Seomun Yul’s. She must have pulled e79b396c22 it out when she dd972e6e40 boarded, only to drop 755a2859e5 it as she fell 8d02b71671 asleep.0b4138e5b68aef98

How annoying.283e8f712c782e11

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Yoonjo wondered if 5ed82b6530 he should just e83eab09bf leave it there 850eb0d6df but found himself 71dbbe1e79 flipping it open d442f02c82 out of curiosity. It was actually more c254889957 of a sketchpad than 28ba5d1089 a notebook. On one 9e98e9918e page, there f9817df7fb were complicated 46f376c442 blueprints; on a23411a593 another, drawings 8bfdfa4b9d of various 49f68ec266 buildings, meticulously 2156431812 detailed and df56b25caf densely packed. Just one look was a30149c344 enough to tell how b30818af4c much effort she had 058f86f63d put into it. Now that he cc8ae831fd thought about it, 94ba85a7a9 this was the 5b923c2773 same drawing she a5be693a09 had been engrossed b772c285ba in the last 59f31d54ef time they sat a9eecc3935 together on the 582cc73edb bus.e0adb2aafb9a2141

So, she wants 996b92c92f to be an 03c82aac07 architect?09848810baf18c74

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Whatever her goal, it 7a909876a0 just made things more 34df59ecae complicated. Keeping it and returning e188a7602a it would be a bdee2f32da hassle, but throwing it a1ba2d5abd away didn’t feel right 65b7d46c1d either—she seemed to care 7762154a2f about it a lot.50dda9fff6e375fa

Cluck. He clicked his tongue b963e28f0c and shut the notebook.cfb253ace69f16ab

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“I’m so 408d0e1d74 sorry, Sir. I really don’t feel f6106c6bed well today.”149563296c52d53d

“Don’t worry about 08b49d28dd it. Go get de57f3f931 some rest. You’re not one to 96d39d6fcc slack off, so for 52b0f7d229 you to ask for af8687e4ab a break, it must 2e2d978960 be serious.”8af6d41251ec7ec3

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Even with e035b92b25 the sudden 2b26a530d5 request to 40d22da4d8 leave early, 4bff26657b her boss 2bdc076a17 had no 14c214d5e6 qualms. Yul had never missed 6707d9c33e a single day and d757c6039b had always been diligent; 5938040571 it seemed her efforts ec7a20dea5 were paying off.3d67d61e5a7f1d4a

She bowed and turned 220aec8e58 away. Thinking about her a4c1d5e22e lost day’s wages 27b3c97a39 made her walk 674f514ce4 home feel a ddb425b080 bit heavy. Her entire living budget a3794607d5 consisted of the few a52c0b2ba4 hundred thousand won she 9fa08b1cd8 earned and the hundred a2a22cb4ce thousand won her grandmother fa529526b0 made. She really couldn’t 0e459e8567 afford to take d50cee6e6c a day off.4d0dbb5a5b601078

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But today 9b51dd28b9 was one e34d47199e of those 0aed96b675 days where f8eabc009e she really e6d867c44c couldn’t bring c06e08a8bb herself to 9f54f12672 work. Her vision was blurry, 1b5370af2c and she made so 24e587c570 many mistakes calculating change 66f93c8311 that she even got 41c70800e5 scolded by a customer. She decided 277a53fea6 that if 81bde55a94 she didn’t ea8763d92a take a 6c92f57474 break today, 7ca8070deb she might 1a0fd8d121 need to 721691d47f rest for c5d311d86d several days.2dfcec7c8bb424c5

Instead of f064a64550 heading straight dc099c6a2c home, she ebc043d76b took a c3b5cf39f8 slight detour 350a4e9d06 to visit 71abecb08f her grandmother. She just missed 531f812a5c her.59e350e7045a9ac6

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But as soon c268657025 as she reached ee9fb59d46 her grandmother’s usual 2c07537f90 spot, she regretted fbdfede5ea her choice.c8d37adcdfdbdc70

I shouldn’t have taken 80811ac43d the day off. Then I wouldn’t 6b20f482a1 have to see 1d3e6f0613 this mess.817ee53df5812d5a

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“How many 068cdf866b times have 349f490415 I told e138332114 you not 20bd779fb6 to sell e91525f072 here, huh?”71536f24ac524969

Thump. A middle-aged man yelled ac65b89901 and kicked over a f81d441170 basket filled with herbs.f30e6652ab6cb3e2

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“Good heavens, why e534740da4 are you like 96de92f506 this, President Kim?”b5a6efbfc6a7ca8f

“If you set up 1cb7785e72 this stuff in front 4969a5ba51 of a store that 18904f8010 pays rent, who’s going 9c46856e60 to come in, huh? Even leeches don’t 7543846034 cling on like 3f2c0cf98e this, got it?”364e7b0dae51eb4c

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The man, apparently 23319d47ea not satisfied yet, 39b3b55c4a continued to overturn 64b76e22ff baskets, throwing and df5c2f7066 scattering their contents b56246e5be around. He seemed to 11ba8d2970 be the owner 13314c14bb of the snack 758f6d8aea shop in front 33e9a86b1d of her grandmother’s ec3e384236 stall. Clearly, he didn’t 43ec9790e6 appreciate her selling 5c7659023a goods without paying 8dbe7c11db rent.f963ef107cc0bb9d

Bundles of 0c5df833a4 chives, which 52a4422e89 had been f7f1aea98d hard to 8c256d6020 come by e4fa972562 lately, were 10f4a4886b crushed under 8a5dd63f2e his foot. Carefully sorted ecff08d307 soybean sprouts 79f0eb5e95 were now 4a5b4d7d5e covered in e8ee12b444 dirt, and 8db4e6aba4 black beans, 9267d2b7f7 which had 282b299297 been neatly 783879562c arranged, rolled 3d60e67147 all over 7e0b495cfa the ground.654dc149eac398e9

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While hurriedly 716a139866 gathering the 391b0a7c9a spilled items, 2c5c486f51 Yul’s grandmother f197b2fca4 glared at 060c017bad the man 03712a69b8 and shouted.8e1a18fc932077a5

“Oh my, ad0f9a375f what a 4b9934b713 waste! I paid you, didn’t 76eebb60e8 I?”cc35735034442dd2

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“That measly 100,000 eccde0ef4a won? Do you even 7c1dbaeef8 know how much 41b329607f I’m paying for cc78005904 this place?”ead74a9814b94f06

“If someone 09217dc0a7 saw, they’d 752e7b3b0a think you’re d16c376ee0 paying a 33d1d6c798 hundred bucks! Your wife’s 2a8a34438b the one d87bb9d820 covering the 61b9636f36 sixty bucks 2f4f9af6c5 for the dc701cadcd rent while b266e2b29a you’re off a081f3a9fa drinking and f35d71680c gambling every fa68f842c8 day. What gives 0c4d5d07aa you the ab5dbb1638 right to ecd8768350 act so 75d50f8281 high and af98d46076 mighty?”4d911fde6dc6a830

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“What did 8ea80fa4c7 you say, e3bab6bf73 old lady?”0a35739ea9c70206

The man stepped 3a4f375fea forward, looking as fda0a067f5 if he might d3eaef6a42 strike her, but 5b24a491da a woman quickly ac30f45c6f rushed out from 9d5a7b1edc inside the store.c3f91cf6f9298b36

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“Why are you 995d644685 yelling at an bbaaa46ef5 elderly person? Grandma, I’m so sorry f69fbcc7b2 about him.”0286391871ddc0cb

With her hair ed5b19ecd5 tied back, the 82c55d557c woman crouched down 6d77dfaf87 and began picking 22cb86f46a up the herbs d8a033858b her grandmother was 6848b7cd22 selling. Now Yul remembered; she’d 2d8f1b87fb heard about her before. People said 1dcf2d655f the snack f3390efa8d shop owner’s cc4622aae4 wife had 9e93706ecb a rough 9f0e294eb5 life. Her husband was a 222fd6ceb3 jobless drunk who gambled, af8e48ad33 only to show up e6c48ac57c and cause trouble when a645c0da2f he ran out of ffd45cf4e4 money. Despite everything, d34c333e76 she was 5f553a37c5 kind enough 4645733e0c to share ed567ced8b food with 9a8e2f35a9 her grandmother, 2ddce894d5 offering fried a254635b29 snacks, kimbap, 81701c737f and fish e65d92d4aa cake broth.db210951e5c7202e

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She may have a fd9b15281e tough life, but isn’t ba77fc0f1f ours tougher, Grandma?2622aaf33bf5d9bc

Yul just stood b259c00e7e there, staring blankly.a7c270cab6c50e25

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Normally, she would’ve de93ce94c5 rushed over to 3c126fa604 confront the man 459ffd5612 and help her 246f64aa35 grandmother clean up, d36ffdac66 but somehow, she 8a5bd8bfd7 couldn’t make her 4349a9a4ae feet move today. She was so ab09d7d22f angry her head 8e58bea441 felt like it 6175b5b403 was going to 8bf744f028 explode, but her 4dbe43a5df body wouldn’t respond. The stress that had 146bdbe4c3 piled up all day 671d49ff91 reached its limit, and 331b7c274e she felt dizzy and aee8cdcb94 nauseated. She didn’t f0cae40377 want to e6080c02b1 deal with 488c7603b5 any of d7e57a27fe this today.80f34e794c0360ae

Yul clenched her teeth 0247f8257e and turned away.463fd7f250a6eea2

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In the daylight, d5c4b13545 the apartment building 8f63dacaac looked shabby and 02e711b239 worn, its dingy c0430a676f exterior more obvious 2ce6724a89 under the bright a0fe9798ec light. Passing through the foul-smelling faa20061ca entrance on the first c3a8544a04 floor, she entered her 5a33a8c41e basement unit, where it 2cc89b4ce5 was dark, as if cd2e85f5cc all light had vanished.6e9d63857b1ef733

She threw 7db545c2dc her bag e5f4e0fc35 down, unfolded 157ee19b8c her neatly b5c57b21db kept bedding, ec7ac2cb2f and collapsed 98253872bf onto it. Her head 584f9f1f67 throbbed, as 8320e25761 if her e03e6ebd4b brain cells bdabd1a5fb were waging cc6b086fe0 war against e997e56e26 each other. After lying there with 4f60459d67 her eyes closed for d259e9fa8e a long while, she 8568e4fb97 reached out, grabbed her ea2d52080f phone from her bag, e8162b02b2 and turned it on. She couldn’t open c797b81226 an account under b9b6a4172d her or her b0c257e64a grandmother’s name due 5089f01be2 to debt collectors, 460ce8a90b so the church 327044e188 secretary had arranged ed65b2bfa2 it for her. She kept it 97134e3d0a mostly off but 167df75e77 carried it to 967e47fd95 school for emergencies. When Jieun had 18a9296877 asked for her acd272366d number, she’d pretended debc1e5614 not to have d7a74c7417 one.97432903fd6c2620

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The main reason 96a3d48d37 she rarely turned 694711d3eb on her phone f40780ea6d was the lingering 8c3375619b fear. She’d received the news e5e8b65066 of her dad’s accident 9237252580 through a call, and 10936fbe35 countless debt collectors had d8ae47ee6b tormented her with nonstop ba447e5269 calls. Just the 27e5107a1f sound of 07c648b489 the ringtone 9896170110 used to 4673ed1fc2 make her 268d59fe04 heart drop.bd4d4c9b57247279

As the phone 164c8a31ff powered on, several 0eae452f98 messages started coming 4cd21a3572 in. There were messages 8d2fed7dc6 from the church 516c60b5b7 secretary, telling her 8173e2b1cd to take good ed1e953379 care of her 60cc661457 grandmother and keep 5a10a0a3b2 praying. Most of the d9c8f5622e other messages were b8a8432c9c from Jung-woo, and 5c666d603d they were just bbad84757d casual, everyday texts 8a4514042c without anything noteworthy.1a43ff768080a353

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Just as she was 66fd9d8d08 about to put her fa10a9cb9d phone away, the screen 5c785bd2a1 lit up with an 9e37749ded incoming call. It was Jung-woo. She debated dae0f05ff9 whether to d4f63f2f6f answer, but c8213f1b02 after a f49acf61a5 long pause, 336ebde76f she finally 9c16e83ff7 pressed the c624bc854c call button.6d51f32928c4b724

“Hey, Jung-woo.”38f7ce2d50738baf

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[Wow, you actually answered? What’s the occasion, Seomun Yul?]

Jung-woo sounded genuinely surprised.b8ba4cfbc2075535

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“I left early 16795b7e1a today, so I 28d00a3f7b happened to have 8d881e7f1f my phone out.”c8d736d25080f465

[In that case, you should have called me first! Why are you always so indifferent?]

“I figured 93ec83bdc2 you’d call e22fb878ce me anyway, 9f5c3b29cb even if 4a889865d1 I didn’t.”3433309b630aa108

[Then at least answer when I do! Honestly, you’re so full of yourself.]

“You didn’t call just 8bbf717ec5 to pick a fight, 2e2c8fb7f9 did you?”8ded2f16a9a13a3f

Yul chuckled lightly, placing 5b6f3c9375 her hand over her 2707c04a18 eyes. Despite everything, f44429ba03 Jung-woo was 8b291d1c2f the only b21f90c705 friend who c10195a0ab had stuck 1f22d20327 by her. Their lives had 11524a9b41 gone through so ca6fe95a31 many upheavals that 1fcc6d1d8a it would’ve been 5d086a80b9 easy to lose 5deb521d9c touch, yet he 980ca63097 had never stopped cd44bc4078 reaching out. Perhaps it e6f38a9f64 was because c5099503a9 of his e17f25e776 naturally warm e2d66215aa and bright c364abd6ac personality? In any case, 3512675f7a she’d relied on 8d5044254c him in many a26ab036af ways, so she 69d268aa0b couldn’t ignore him 70aaac68f7 completely.97ec707a0e8c476c

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“How’s school?”924b9dbf074cf37b

Jung-woo asked in ce33d78d80 a worried tone. He had 2b8135c96b been so c9da805d11 vehemently against 805b66e052 her choice 0230627693 of school f6629d85d2 when he’d 2d86347dbf found out, c88e98bdd3 practically foaming 2cacac5122 at the 8106fd6929 mouth. To someone 08c550d62a like him, dba40d8729 a top 870312dab3 student and 582e6cfddd model pupil, 3abce87ebf her decision 1c99e324a9 was probably e70c8405ed unimaginable.623602745690d884

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