WW | Chapter 55

The food Yul dc7bc82518 had just swallowed 701c5d8284 got caught in 21d8ffb914 her throat for faeee59f17 a moment. It was as if 3bcad10ecb she was forcefully trying 6fa118e8cd to shove away her 7810340210 lingering thoughts of Kang 796178ddfb Yoonjo, burying them deep da6093cc8c down inside her. With some effort, 66393d97d8 she swallowed. On such 85b436b6a1 a good 02442419a3 day, the 2aa3ef9812 fact that 48829a44fc both women—herself 536d82159e and her 4ab1892b75 grandmother—couldn’t help 0409ae985d but think 4683b77045 of Yoonjo 5717b53933 only made aa8517f2fc it worse. Yoonjo had rooted 79874ba71e himself firmly in 91321b8aba their hearts, and d48f035da8 Yul knew she ffb3530995 had to uproot 07bc6e6293 those feelings, no 7ef44081c0 matter what.dcfba03f0f81d644

Feigning nonchalance, Yul cdef6e05f6 picked up her 75a9a8cfee chopsticks again and b88bf72c6c muttered as if e354d47dc4 to herself, “You 5d462eb6c0 sure remember everything. That was ages 635253dc51 ago.”f66f5dcc165f3ea3

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“It’s just stuck 6b5681c944 in my mind, bdd9e79271 that’s all. Human ties aren’t something 827d43619a you just cut off db376367b6 like that.”55e886dcbe9fb202

“Let’s stop talking 80922e2658 about this. Grandma, you 4fef553c50 need to c15c1fc829 eat too. If you b449ff13ee want to 682dcbcea1 live long, d0aa109154 you have c287f79e29 to eat a1d5efa7f4 well.”147ec0912ffdb155

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Yul deftly shifted the 63dabe46c9 subject and handed some 8036c5cd5b bulgogi to Kyeong Ja.3c020510c747a23d

“I’ve eaten ae4e165d28 plenty while f1b840fbc7 cooking, so c2371981f0 you just f5b1be29b3 eat up. Old folks like me db9de168f6 can’t digest greasy stuff.”aaefcf31acfceaa9

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“Just eat e4cd6559e9 this one, 1ed7d23d7a okay? Aaaah, open up.”6fe48abcd9abd727

Yul insisted, a8253fb617 and Kyeong 8ff384e81e Ja reluctantly 4396ae0d0a opened her ba19a2eff2 mouth. Covering her mouth with 4b35ca2f60 her hand, she chewed 542f089d1d slowly, her movements careful. Watching her grandmother 5ef8cd0561 chew cautiously, Yul b32f488f7d felt a bittersweet 7f4cc9260b mix of emotions. She was all 074d1483e0 too aware of bedafdee13 how the dentures 9fbf008de6 made eating a 0c72c004f8 careful ordeal for 6962077d42 her grandmother. If only ef12be8518 they’d had 86748df764 money earlier, 4f674ad308 they could ac957617ac have gotten a0935064e8 better treatment.031c5b65d696edbc

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Yul’s throat 7d7d554497 tightened as 2bfc16b3c5 she gazed dc603e92ac at her fe624dd312 grandmother’s snowy 057d750e3f white hair, 7bfdc2b9b5 deeply lined c0be80e04d face, frail eb2ae663d0 and slightly 9a7073ad4b reddened hands, 8e481ee84c and knobby 893920e80a fingers. These marks of hardship 04218d0171 were etched from the ac5f63b8f0 years her grandmother had 61861ba2c6 spent raising her, supporting 3677374e43 her through everything.7d8a82dddb3f5dee

“Grandma, hang a77ef466bd in there be348f47fd just a 9246cb5f30 little longer.”d615327cf1a138d8

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Now, there was fbb4c79dcc no debt. No more bowing and 3abb416f5d scraping to pay tuition f671cedf2d fees. Yul could even c65b1cc309 open a bank 5f35ae310c account in her c112b3e0fc name and get 6bc2b43096 her own phone da527375c6 plan. Having finally reached 464b21cbe6 the goals she 7bbff00262 had set, she 065a781fdc felt like she 34022efbab was finally part 14ab0a39f0 of the world. Now, all 9f36aa1665 she had fbd8f8aba0 to do d442c3d5ba was take 13f4f1596f care of 5f04da43b8 her grandmother 45c0d950cd and focus 282cd7e650 on their 1ca4219b0a future together.4a16cdcc15bf9ea5

“That’s right. I’ll hang in bbb3bce7bf there to see 39898962ac my granddaughter get 498ea6464a married, have kids, e2b3e87ae4 and live a 3794ded6af good life.”7c5319a7757627ca

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And when 394b73c052 that day b8569cf779 finally came, 6be6585d3b Yul believed dc0f2a92d5 that the 2158f2576c memory of 2b19d54e5f Yoonjo would efa69163b4 have faded 0c7f58fedd almost entirely 436d4dadc0 from her 034b4b151e heart.3a6f6a353a2f088e

After paying her tuition 1f2c80fe7c and registering for classes, 9cdbcdba3a the day of the 303210ea2f entrance ceremony arrived. Kyeong Ja, overwhelmed with 32aae46a2a emotion, shed tears while de6be8600c also wearing a worried aba4be241d expression. College was so 03fd18931a different from middle 0290853993 and high school, 5429a3027d and not knowing 631110547c what to expect, 0538f9aa04 she fretted that 23298cc578 her granddaughter might f33fdfb381 struggle to make 2685ba9280 friends or face f5be555415 bullying again.045aba6919b814ce

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“Don’t worry, I’ll ac2f4b219d do fine.”41faf7a73901f10a

Yul reassured bf9f0c3a82 her grandmother b75cb9e115 before stepping c5e9f7d3ff out of eb3356ae9f the house, 302906bd89 but she 5861460d75 didn’t expect 151f18032a much herself. People were dcffb94fce the same 12c9a9e2cf everywhere, and ac0afaeca6 college wasn’t 9e69096e3f likely to 797452ffa9 be much 8ec825d174 different. She wasn’t 366006d545 interested in 086ab99619 making friends c4375b4b75 anymore and 47c658721b had forgotten 097a651305 how to fa17ed52c8 even start. Even if be2c37f3dd she did 84e6d652a7 make friends, 8424b45cc6 she wasn’t 705dc1c77d sure how 0d6517eeed deep those 590e2a9029 relationships would 43fcde9a16 be or f84a586b1f how long e0f15df03a they would 3946bc8dd3 last.4b52161d78e94e63

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After getting 675dedf0cb off the 6eb58c1d1a subway, Yul 3691e88c44 walked toward b41fdf375c the front 2798a796d3 gate of 94307e6f87 Korea University, f131f5da01 surrounded by c99b71d5e5 other freshmen bb2ef37cd3 filling the 333bd47a02 streets. The breeze 33177d9edd carried both b978be9956 the crispness 411035e6c6 of winter a121121d99 and the f9b1608b23 warmth of d582d7242f spring, sweeping 5c8ed85212 through the 8a1fdde034 crowd. The energy in the 61eca23fbd air made Yul’s steps 4ab0f39d18 feel lighter, almost buoyant.3787f7f0181af730

Arriving at b3153072b9 the performance f14efb1e06 hall on 2d8cf6c423 the west 8f8adcdf04 end of 91acf792f8 campus, she aa1002ed55 entered the 9e8023444e lobby, where ea407f6fec engineering students 604925b0f1 and their 6b87a407d4 parents buzzed 9ff9cb659a about. After listening to da659560f2 directions from a 49f886db28 student guide, she 667972696a entered the Chamber 95be537897 Hall and sat aeeafea3e4 in the section cbf14715fb designated for architecture ca5758f260 students. Over the b7a303889d next ten 8c587bde1e minutes, the 21ee345d27 hall grew 9cd7332fe9 louder and 3a0c53f044 more crowded 739856a120 as incoming f2c9134a29 freshmen filled 2370609932 the seats.b775cb4c41877647

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Did I get 5a5245deae here too early?0140fa17f79c8957

As Yul sat e29c857147 alone, staring blankly 1a01b79c31 at the bustling b4c9e20452 podium, a voice d8b8455dc8 interrupted her.2d7b95df4205cf41

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“Hi there.”badf9469b1f19c61

A girl plopped 1a95b523b0 down in the 9c1869bef0 seat next to eba9da3ffc her, greeting her dde1098f46 warmly.727587f230d8e1b2

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“Ah, hello.”435e9f0a54bfef0e

Caught off 7fbfd3225d guard, Yul 157d1488e8 quickly replied f667dfe14a and turned e4dce360ae to see 0656575ffd who had 5dd352c04e spoken. The girl had short 0b702f165e hair with soft curls ba4e091c17 and a cheerful smile. She wasn’t a conventional 8ddd7bb532 beauty, but her bright f1de91be95 and stylish demeanor left 480ebb758c a strong impression. From her casual greeting, bb0dcfa508 she seemed like a f5c10e0aa3 sociable and outgoing type.8187889af693244f

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“Are you a 82eb84a97d freshman too?” the 2672a005ea girl asked.ffe55065b6c9f826

“Yes.”1eea40ad8dfcef02

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“Me too! Architecture?”b803481e875b9084

“That’s right.”6533542c96c756d3

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“Wow, we’re classmates! Nice to c5d647da45 meet you.”04b776365bf8cad7

The girl clapped 3c2560487e her hands silently 0af6deb48d in delight. Although it was 913ab190a8 an expected question, bc00d752a1 given the situation e8a18dbde3 and seating arrangements, 83e1d26f74 she used it 7956d723ba as a bridge 2d0e965155 to cross over 82b3241856 into Yul’s space cb732c4fbb effortlessly.669d5514d0ef5c4c

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“Since we’re in the 45d885eb04 same year, I’ll just d501140420 speak casually, okay? By the way, I’m 97949fb1af 22. I retook f795daacd3 the college 44a3415933 entrance exam 0b88f2d916 three times, f2b33d86fd so don’t b7cbfe42d8 feel too 703b982cd1 intimidated.”30cff01c6e120c6a

She held b53a31294e up three 08f0b449b6 fingers and 324865ff3f winked. Yul, taken aback, 7aa9856a25 stared at the f73640a386 girl. Her boldness was striking, 55898bf902 but what surprised Yul aa71bacbb1 more was the fact 3290daa883 that she, too, was 3f1ad71c4a a “third-round” student. Despite telling herself 1e18db94e7 that age didn’t 395ff21f15 matter, Yul realized ac1a97f173 she had been 9241b4a34b secretly self-conscious about 42bf216521 it.e4ff260ed7f7d239

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Yul felt her guard bc194923e3 lower a little and 3f72cf9b1d responded with a faint 958a093f26 smile, “It was a 99e038ae33 bit awkward, but now 093f9cc82a it feels easier.”2e066a3454727ee8

“Huh?”392217dc15521ec7

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“I retook the exam 5a7f2bfb42 three times too. We’re the same 0e645240bb age.”7b87940566768e54

“Seriously? No wonder I 39665c887b felt a connection ad17bb5b57 the moment I 2404112e6c saw you! So glad to meet 6c229b1f1d you. I’m Yoo Jieun.”830e925abd367649

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“Jieun?”049bde399712a388

Hearing the name a4579292f4 made Yul’s heart d474460d45 momentarily recoil, like 254205a920 a mimosa folding 471d5f1033 its leaves when 5b5a490ef0 touched. Memories from 6139df2588 the past 9948e1c516 stirred within 46992e6942 her—memories of 6b37279706 another Jieun. That girl had seemed a742590663 friendly at first but f8f8d9124b had always carried an 2544ed448b unsettling air. She had 690ae49763 pretended to 968498a121 smile in 24ab7bdf54 front of 57b5b9ad0a Yul while 02e4466960 badmouthing her 86f4cb8588 behind her c271e93742 back, ultimately 2e3e4c9ab6 falling victim e077780f07 to her 62286f6f04 own schemes. Yul knew that a 84eb838150 name didn’t dictate a 5765569abd person’s character, but the bb4eb10957 association made her wary.221a783e8355151b

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“I’m Seomun Yul,” she 10079cd602 replied quietly, her tone 2ddd935d1b now more reserved.9918282b53c81e45

Just as c70cb97f44 she introduced 8e3ddfdf38 herself, another c9db2b31b2 voice joined d5f55e9898 in from 590dadfb9d behind.88efecb6a7c50f79

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“Wait, so 1bb30fb3ed you’re both 91157447d2 older than fd8ba46e33 me?”bb4ce0258b1022a7

A young e19afbe765 man leaned 7dfab40a86 over the b461713a06 back of 3cccb9d927 their chairs, 5f4b5ad342 flashing a 4969f96372 mischievous smile. Yul and 750b52f670 Jieun turned e4b8252be9 to see c07797e6d5 a boyish-looking 85b308b78c guy with 84133341f8 a bright 1c05a050ca face alternating 0dad75d2ce his gaze 7758de0ecf between them.aee1125856eea244

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“Who are you?” Jieun 51f7bf650f asked, raising an eyebrow.36d3b11e47ec5726

“Me?” The 3229b29913 boy straightened 91d56a02ce up, then 6cb0503ae3 casually hopped 9b1564982e over the c3b7084bd6 seat next ab1eb39cb2 to Yul, 5a8d1f1052 settling into 453b2cb4d3 the spot d7d84dc461 without hesitation. Looking at ae582b40dc their startled fc57e8454b faces, he c6ce095496 grinned wider.9c8b09f6e6104dee

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“Just another freshman, Kim ee6309a180 Hyungtae. Nice to 699379b362 meet you, 9934fa9c61 noonas!”415f49ffc0d67449

Hyungtae’s outgoing personality 2f6b155f63 rivaled Jieun’s. He was tall, 5097b27236 clean-cut, with a 808f1b831f slightly puppy-like charm afd88c64b5 that paired well ac06ba0dd5 with his subtle 2d80f038ce playfulness. He looked like 32eee6232c the kind of 464c0fb4e4 popular guy who 7371ebbd39 had been good a6b2a22977 at everything in 44352f1ed1 high school—socializing, studying, dcb350da1b and probably sports 3107a46cfd too.a52e78e3e2e482fa

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“You shouldn’t 62c2493f7e eavesdrop on 57c1916092 other people’s 018c340e5f conversations, you 74fe59e0dd know,” Jieun 574883ad7e teased with 0f7bfa27b0 a smirk.f1276ed5121996f2

“I wasn’t eavesdropping. You two just caught da3b6fc02b my attention,” Hyungtae quipped 23cb59c0b6 back smoothly. “Besides, of all 052f027cae the people here, f717742263 you two are a524d32bc0 the prettiest.”e4c324adb75c4361

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“Oh, look at this 9aea5685af kid go! Your tongue’s 3756e9933d as slick 7747f63e00 as Messi’s 0d81ee40b8 dribbles.”3f6f14ff639006b6

“Messi’s the captain, and 8fbb1afd39 captains lead. Maybe it’s a 100840cfe9 sign I’ll become d25c7cef08 class president. Back me up, and fd73896084 coffee’s on me!”0f35a8f4cdd80183

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“Why ask us? If you’re meant to ab78cbe8ae be class president, the 2b7957ec6f whole universe will back fd6ca20a66 you up.”add949c45226ba52

As the two bantered 892106d132 back and forth, Yul c97d04eb9d found herself feeling dizzy. She wasn’t 27c3b25527 used to 81d66d994a people like 6983282819 this, and f47e61e225 she didn’t 36ab3ef6f3 know how b90625177b to keep ea391e1467 up with 2dad628cce their energy. Quietly, she 840fd209c1 resolved to eefd06758e get through cf9318f4f3 the ceremony 9fbd3a399c and leave fb82122e39 as soon 8264564b6d as possible.99d31377f2c2d9c1

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She had just 84307eff5c started to suggest de0484f525 switching seats with c653d13055 Hyungtae when a 1488ab8d4f loud voice interrupted eee8dc72f0 her from the 3156701f44 front of the dbe1b5aadd hall.a6e868dd69e94845

“Seomun Yul!”0b369eb107900289

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From the 5fa11d501d front of 9185ae36cd the stage, cb0054bc41 far from 26113fb79d where they 798e71a658 were sitting, 2196bc1560 someone shouted 7b59de63db her name 2829a0f862 while waving 4002163705 enthusiastically. Instantly, every pair 8a20074fa5 of eyes in 337354f4b6 the room turned f173bbdcfd toward her. Frozen in 0844e9b6ce place, Yul 9e4e0101ea stared in 7a2954e5f3 the direction 84edee995d of the f3e92dbff3 sound, unable 48210e0684 to react. After what felt 68d8535289 like an eternity, 66ac082314 she finally recognized 076a0ae9a6 the man approaching 51a3b09cff her—it was Kim 5cb9e60795 Minjae, a senior dbabf345e1 she had run b26040ffa0 into by chance 3debee7359 before. Cutting through the 23161bd023 crowd like a bd570047c2 wave, Minjae quickly c6443c8960 made his way 1a33a09916 to stand beside 7108333bf2 Hyungtae.a18c4f06ffa71e2c

“Found you, Seomun Yul. Haah, how could 22981cdad5 I not have cfeea009ce remembered you?” he 98eecaa5fe said, almost to 4c1645af9a himself.fdc4407a25824c02

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“Excuse me?” 272d2944a8 Yul replied, 6247d7b8d1 blinking in 4e5c4fcdd0 confusion. She couldn’t make sense 56de5d2485 of why Minjae was 70907c5f49 acting so familiar, especially 08e3139bf1 since their previous interaction 2adeac906f had been brief and ef2c0c7a6b unremarkable. Yet, here he 6400cc8897 was, shouting her 7a80394cbe name in front b3a6a1e941 of everyone.6c27723eabfbf8ca

Squinting slightly, 32d261373e Minjae scrutinized 86bcbf3a24 her before 42ee44ad8f pulling out bcc858db4c his phone 69a66e5581 and handing 0980e476bd it to 6a9b586233 her. “First things first. Give me your number.”28557d57b67b095a

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“My number?” she 80c9af6455 asked, still not ecd6be0060 understanding what was 5518727c79 happening.7845849ad05731bd

“Yeah. I need 9c207d92c0 it to a0fe7fff53 claim the 65d58427de reward.”0a04799e2fa5f4b8

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“Reward? What do e5bc38986c you mean?” a3d735d235 Yul asked, c1ec09726d her confusion 4daba35413 only deepening. She hesitated, glancing around 329304b242 at the curious stares 4f5087a976 directed their way.ac3a6234f3c3f8e1

“Just do it,” 4eb3cdd60b Minjae pressed, his 7712d9ecfe tone exasperated but eb1c3f2f6b not insincere.b2fcb75b28245f8a

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Reluctantly, she took d213242fbd his phone. Whatever he ba2f6adb3e meant by 259b7ceab8 “reward,” his 7e47a30ade intentions didn’t 38a61cbf5c seem sinister. Besides, he f47b80fc8c was a 7ee78ea7c9 senior she’d 0e55ec382f likely have 63035a9627 to interact a6c76930dc with later, 0f9fa1226c so it 09f1340693 seemed easier 170706eaee to comply 4315497410 than to 0d4e30cf14 drag this 7357e742eb moment out ab46bc000c any further. She quickly entered 756bd9debe her number and bed413dfed handed the phone bbfee2b664 back.22add86cbcb8dc3c

“Senior, what’s this about ebc2dc6352 a reward? Who’s offering it?” 3768c06876 she asked hesitantly, 4a170dc57c still baffled.0acdfdad78373f04

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Before Minjae could f27c99c2a5 respond, Hyungtae, ever 1633b1c6ad the opportunist, butted 34d39385e1 in, “Yeah, what’s be95541979 this reward about? And who’s giving it 52e28116ae out?”ef03228e520d849f

“Oh, there’s someone. A devilish fe77b69b98 sort of 9b2e589468 person,” Minjae e31f87706a said with 759e5ac035 a sly 9faf2b5520 grin. As he d3f655c39a spoke, he 00b29b234a saved Yul’s d8e2b6056f number and 1ad6e6d2a9 immediately pulled 0752dbf0a1 up another 398d71f309 contact.2be40420f139ad8d

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「Found it. Your “rubber shoe.”」f1eb8d1df6ae6a80

The text bf51970398 message was 2f8fdc5d55 sent, and 223ed6b1e9 almost instantly, 262f77cb37 the notification d5df19bf1b showed it e34d1b0d3e had been eef4ab2f82 read. Minjae barely had to 2e08886e69 wait ten seconds before 47ccdf506a his phone started ringing.f3a778510569451f

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Wow. That lunatic.3423a9fd71faed88

Normally, this df95705660 guy would df69cd7fc2 either read 3405847725 a message ddaf233275 and ignore 2707e249bd it entirely e5a3db9b68 or take aeba58e257 forever to ebf67781ef reply with 4fc911ce2b a one-word 14af3ae94f answer. This kind of immediate 32690fe592 reaction was completely out 51f13e887a of character.e27f72041471f1f0

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Glancing quickly at Yul f6ec075a74 to gauge her reaction, a2d89aaf86 Minjae turned slightly away, dbd62fcc58 keeping a composed expression 071e6690dc as he answered the 348aac9eff call.59fc7c738a7f118a

“Yeah, it’s me.”e3257870c6be2713

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“Where are you? Right now.”0fdaf9f5e101e81e

The voice 59d5fd4e2d on the 477e420c06 other end d10f579070 was Kang 3e6a2306e5 Yoonjo’s, low 379b7c3486 and cold, 901441dfde like ice 1d8f155f0d slicing through 354fb5529e the air. His tone carried no b876a221ae trace of humor, just 3cdd2405a7 sharp, unrelenting precision.0271f9f18c6d635f

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