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      TIN 45

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      by Emerlyn — At first, I thought it was a joke. Just another one of his usual whims or a prank bordering on harassment. If not that, then some kind of test. I thought he would soon take back his words and laugh smugly, telling me to take a look at my face. If he insisted on sleeping here again today, I was confident I could just let it go and fall asleep as if nothing had happened. I was prepared to ignore it, pretending I hadn't heard the usual nonsense he was spewing. But unfortunately, Joo Do-hwa's suggestion…
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      TIN 44

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      by Emerlyn — The party continued until late into the evening. As the host, Kei continued to go around greeting people, while Joo Do-hwa watched everything from a distance away. On the surface, he seemed no different than usual, but his subtly reduced speech indicated his mood was not normal. Even as I kept an eye on things, the attention focused on Joo Do-hwa showed no signs of diminishing. Occasionally, some would muster the courage to speak to him, but they all gave up before saying more than three sentences.…
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      TIN 43

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      by Emerlyn — "..." I silently turned to look at Kei. He was gazing at me with an unusually serious expression on his face. "You know what happened to the previous dolls Director Joo played with, right?" 'They all died.' Lee Yuna's words flashed through my mind. The ultimate fate that Kei, I, and perhaps everyone else knew. "If you keep holding out, you'll just die like a dog." It was a scathing assessment, but it was true. Either die by Joo Do-hwa's hand or by Chairman Joo's. That was why I had made…
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      TIN 42

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      by Emerlyn — ‘What, you know it well.’ Kei replied with a disappointed face and let out a chuckle. Then suddenly, he turned to me with eyes wide open. His gaze was filled with astonishment. ‘Wait, don't tell me you…’ ‘Kei.’ I cut off his words and placed a whiskey glass on the table. Following what I learned at the shop, I set up the snacks and then opened the whiskey bottle, filling the ice-filled glass. The ice in the glass clinked, making a small noise. ‘Let me know before you stop…
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      TIN 41

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      by Emerlyn — I first saw Kei when winter was approaching my eighteenth year. It was a time when I was looking for boxes to cover myself from the suddenly cold weather, and always carrying the money I had saved bit by bit because I had nowhere else to keep it. It was a time when I had the nerve to ignore a corpse discarded in a pile of trash, but also a time to be wary of sudden presences. 'Ugh...' The black mass that I had momentarily thought was a corpse groaned in pain, proving my assumption was wrong. Judging…
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      TIN 40

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      by Emerlyn — "..." I instinctively hunched my shoulders. Both his voice and the content felt too ticklish. Being called pretty wasn't particularly embarrassing, but I still hadn't developed immunity to his breath next to my ear. "So hold your head up." His hand moved up my arm and gently massaged my nape. He seemed to think I was acting timidly out of intimidation, not realizing I had shrunk inward because of him. Or maybe he knew and was pretending not to as he fiddled with me. "The clothes suit you well…
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      TIN 39

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      by Emerlyn — Where should I start correcting him? Shouldn't I say that the corpse was fake, so his father didn't actually kill me? No, saying that would probably lead to an even worse outcome. It was best to avoid that. "You don't even know why your father is looking for Yoon Ji-soo. What if she owes him money or something..." "I know." "...What?" His brief answer left me momentarily at a loss for words. Joo Do-hwa asserted without moving his face muscles, his expression still the same. "I said I know…
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      TIN 38

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      by Emerlyn — I thought this might be an overreaction, but he showed no particular response. There was still a faint smile on his lips, and his gaze toward me was no different from usual. His mood even seemed to improve during this time. "There's nothing you shouldn't hear, hyung." His voice was as soft as a dream, seemingly pleased about something. He reached out toward me and smoothed out my crumpled sleeve. Then he continued to fiddle with the hem of my clothes. "You remember the party that's happening this…
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