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The Interest of Love: Episodes 1-2

The new JTBC drama The Interest of Love is a complex tale about romance and hierarchy that likes to take its time. As the drama slowly establishes its love square, we get introduced to our characters and the content of their hearts (not to mention their bank accounts). So far, it offers deep feeling and high tension — which is more exciting than I imagined for a show about bank employees.

 
EPISODES 1-2 WEECAP

The Interest of Love Episodes 1-2 The Interest of Love Episodes 1-2

Set in a bank, you know this is going to be a story about money. But it’s shaping up to be about how wealth — particularly, not having it — creates lifelong effects, no matter what we do to shift into a better social position. More than a black-and-white story about the haves and the have-nots, it’s a complicated tale about how people can move into new social categories, but never really escape where they come from.

The premiere week gives us a ton of setup, as there are a lot of characters here and everyone has a backstory. We open in the Yongpo Branch of Korea Credit Union (KCU) where HA SANG-SOO (Yoo Yeon-seok) stares longingly at his co-worker AHN SOO-YOUNG (Moon Ga-young). We come to learn that Sang-soo has been working at KCU for three years, and has had a crush on Soo-young for just as long. The two have never moved beyond bank talk, but Sang-soo is just waiting for his chance.

Right away, we get a lesson on discrimination. In voiceover, Sang-soo tells us that it’s not just the bank’s customers who are put into a hierarchy — with the rich and well-connected getting VIP treatment — but also the bank’s employees. Later on, we’ll find out that Soo-young has been at the bank longer than Sang-soo — in fact, she trained him — but he’s already moved into a higher position because he has a college degree and she doesn’t.

The drama is very careful to show how competent and ambitious Soo-young is, but that her bosses refuse to give her any work outside of her role, keeping her firmly in her place. It also makes a point about how Sang-soo and his two male co-workers (all at a level above Soo-young) are known as the three idiots because they make so many mistakes.

The Interest of Love Episodes 1-2 The Interest of Love Episodes 1-2

All this context paints an important backdrop for how the romance part of the show plays out. In Episode 1, Sang-soo looks for ways to be around Soo-young at work, finally asking her out on a date. She says yes, and the two go to dinner and a movie. On their walk home, he asks to see her again. She wants to know what it would mean if they go out again, and says, “I don’t like undefined relationships.” (Whoa. Her pushiness just made me swoon a little.)

From that information we (and Sang-soo) assume that she likes him and wants to get serious. He responds that he feels the same way and they agree to go out on Tuesday night (her day off). When Tuesday comes, Soo-young gets pretty and goes to the restaurant. At the same time, Sang-soo is stuck at the bank unable to balance his cash drawer. He doesn’t contact her, but instead finishes, running out of the bank — and breaking his phone — arriving more than an hour late. He looks around but Soo-young is already gone.

The next day at work, Sang-soo tries to apologize to Soo-young but she gives him the cold shoulder and from there on ignores him. It’s not clear how much time goes by, but he keeps leaving small gifts on her desk every day, only to find them untouched when he leaves to go home.

Not long after, a rumor starts that Soo-young is dating the bank security guard, JEONG JONG-HYUN (Jung Ga-ram). The bank is a terrible rumor mill, with two skeezy team leaders being the worst offenders. These guys constantly talk about Soo-young when she’s not around, because she’s extremely attractive, and everyone secretly wants a shot with her. (In a gratifying early scene, Sang-soo sticks up for Soo-young by pouring beer for one of the team leaders — “accidentally” overfilling his glass until it spills on his pants.)

Once the rumor starts about Soo-young and Jong-hyun, the team leaders interrogate the two at a team dinner. Both deny that they’re dating, until it’s so uncomfortable that Jong-hyun excuses himself to go home.

After dinner, Sang-soo follows Soo-young out and asks if she’s okay. She finally talks to him this time, but it’s to ask why he’s bringing it up if he knows it was an uncomfortable situation for her. Does he want to talk about how she feels stupid for sitting there and smiling? She continues, “It’s more annoying to see you acting like you’re different.”

Sang-soo responds by apologizing again for missing their dinner. But she says, “Do you think that’s why I’m upset with you?” He brushes this off and goes on to pronounce that he likes her, and that she liked him too — it was her idea to define their relationship. She then tells him that those team leader jerks were right: she’s dating Jong-hyun.

Episode 1 ends here and when Episode 2 begins, we get a shift in perspective. Everything we’ve seen so far is from Sang-soo’s point of view. This time, we see the missed date scene again through Soo-young’s eyes. She’s at the table, patiently waiting for Sang-soo for more than an hour. She sees him in the street, running up to the restaurant. She looks excited for a second and then gets overcome by something. The camera does not go back to the street, but she has either seen something or had a realization.

We then see the confrontation after the team dinner again. In this version, when Sang-soo apologizes for missing their dinner that night, she asks, “Are you really sorry for making me wait?” He doesn’t answer. The two are looking at each other, and then her face tightens and she turns and walks away.

Whatever underlies this conversation is purposefully left unclear, but I don’t think it’s an accident that this episode gives us the class backgrounds of our leads. Soo-young appears to be positioning Sang-soo in a different part of the social hierarchy than where she sees herself.

We learn that Soo-young comes from outside of Seoul, where the family business is oysters. She moved to the capital wanting a better life, working service jobs until she landed the position at the bank. She thought it was how she would move up in the world, but they’ve always drawn a line, saying that college grads should make more money than non-college grads, independent of performance. She says to herself, “I’m on the other side of the line,” and it’s a remark on how devalued she feels.

I get the impression that Soo-young sees Sang-soo on the opposite side of the line from her. What we learn about him, though, is that his father died when he was young and he and his mother lived in a basement apartment in Gangnam while he was in high school. Even though they were poor, and their living conditions weren’t good, their address meant that he went to school with rich kids. He studied hard and went to college, moving up in social position, but he still has a nagging sense of unease when he’s around his wealthier friends.

To add to this mix, a new team member, PARK MI-KYUNG (Geum Sae-rok), joins the bank near the end of Episode 2. She’s from a wealthy family and went to a good school, but wants to make her way on her own and not take money from her family. As soon as she enters, all the other employees start falling at her feet because she’s attractive and well dressed, and speaks to everyone with ease.

It turns out that Mi-kyung and Sang-soo went to college together, and straight away it seems like she has a crush on him. They go to dinner to catch up, as well as act friendly at work, and Soo-young looks angry every time she sees them together. From the looks of it, Soo-young really did/does like Sang-soo, and it’s not totally clear what her relationship is with Jong-hyun.

The Interest of Love Episodes 1-2 The Interest of Love Episodes 1-2

But to make sure we’re really confused, the episodes end when Sang-soo shows up in front of Soo-young’s house while she’s out on a blind date (that she agreed to go on for a friend). He has been feeling tormented by the fact she’s on a date — and has come to the conclusion that she’s not really dating Jong-hyun (since Jong-hyun continues to deny it).

We see Sang-soo text Soo-young that he’s at her house because he needs to tell her something. He waits outside as she pulls up in a taxi. She gets out and runs to the door of the building — and into the arms of Jong-hyun. Sang-soo looks confused (as do I) and turns to leave.

We have to wait until next week to try to understand what is going on, and I know I’m invested in finding out. The narration and perspective shifts in this drama are interesting because, on one hand, they’re trying to fake us out, but on the other, it feels like you can’t totally trust whoever’s telling the story. And it’s not necessarily that they’re untrustworthy, but that the characters are seeing things differently. I hope the show keeps this up as the episodes go on.

The only thing that has me a little shaky about this drama is that it’s bringing up a lot of uncomfortable topics. Aside from social mobility and the nuances of class, we have a very male-dominated work environment that’s leaving me somewhat queasy. Many of the bank scenes that involve Soo-young show a downright hostile work environment. And even the male lead is giving off a wee bit of the toxic vibe. My hope is that the drama will delve into these issues and explore them. And I’ll be happy to go along for the ride if it does.

 
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Thank you for the weecap @dramaddictally. I was looking forward to this drama but now I don’t know how to take what they presented, I feel manipulated into accepting half a story and having to use that to interpret the rest of the story is not working for me. This is the first time I was pulled out of the story in this way. I did not like the fact that we only saw her reaction but not what caused the change to being extremely cold so now when he presents as aggressively pursuing her it’s no longer sweet but harassment. Him describing her as a B**ch because she said she was dating the security guard was just wrong. The security guard looks like he is being used as there was no need to hug on the street he just looked awkward rather than happy to see ‘his girlfriend’ back from a blind date. If they were really dating she would have said to the blind date from the time she sat down ‘I am filling for someone else, only because when I told them I wouldn’t come it was becoming awkward and you know how it is with work colleagues’. That would have set the tone rather than listening to him put her down as if she could never be a viable consideration.

Also the whole mobile phone etiquette on dramas is ridiculous she could have responded to the call and texts by stating her lack of interest and that coming to her home uninvited at that time of night when she was out on a blind date is stalkerish and needs to not happen or she will report it.

I was also confused by her family turning up at her work place as that was never going to help build their relationship.

The work place bullying; verbally and physically was not a pleasant watch.

I will revisit when it’s finished and if after watching the second week’s episodes I am still not interested then I will drop. 2023 is the year of discernment so dramas that don’t meet expectation will not be given my limited time.

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thanks for your impressions of the first episode. I was trying to decide if I was interested or not so now I have something to think about. I will try the first 3 episodes and decide. That is if I get past 1.

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I’m not watching this but want to co-sign
“2023 is the year of discernment so dramas that don’t meet expectation will not be given my limited time.” SO HARD

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Calling her a bitch was not wrong. It was well deserved. And he didn't call her one because she's dating the security guard, it's because she's been doing so while also dating Ha Sang Soo. She also cuts him off cold turkey without an explanation while he's genuinely sorry about a mistake out of his control. She works in the same place and should know his reason for running late is a legitimate excuse. While he continues to pursue her she's been with the security guard behind his back the whole time. She's sneaky and stuck up and needs to explain her behavior or else she will continue to come off as just that. A bitch.

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Thanks for sharing. Certain words hold different meanings for each of us and I totally understand the context you are using to confirm the appropriateness.

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YYS and MGY have got to be to be the most boring couple ever because they literally have 0 chemistry between them. The ML's characterization is also not helping as he is coming across creepy rather than cute. With the drama titled as "Interest of Love", there is nothing interesting about the story or lovely about the characters. Dropped!

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The bank employees and team and team leaders are so nosy and infuriating like How is it your business whom Soo-young is dating? The teammate literally pressured Soo-young to go on the blind date even though it was obvious she was only doing it to get rid of the rumors regarding her dating Jong-hyun. The scene where they were talking badly about Soo-young when she was about to enter the room made me feel for her. Despite all her hard work, the fact that she didn't go to college kept haunting her and causing her to get less than she deserved.
The four main characters are multi-layered and that is what makes the ride more fun. I am looking forward to what the drama has in store for us but I hope the drama maintains the interesting aspects it built throughout the whole run and not fall through midway.

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I really wonder what she saw that made her change so much.

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has everyone become DISinteresed in love?

she is so mean, i don't understand... and we're not supposed to yet, i gather? i'm still watching but it is rather hard because the reveal - if there is one - is being led to so slowly....

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It's clearly a slow-burn kind drama. You need to be patient and it won't be nice people against villains but grey characters.

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Another k-drama, another instance of positioning itself wrongly through the trailer. Ugh. I was so looking forward to the release! </3

I kept thinking it would be a secret, sordid affair between a junior employee & a team leader, who kept manipulating their colleagues into believing their 'smokescreen relationships' with the respective second leads. YYS definitely does not look like he could ever start off as MGY's junior unless he had a mid-life crisis & decided for a career-change. Which, clearly isn't the case.
Instead of a story about a covert office-relationship, this somehow became a preaching class on 'social difference'. And instead of a sexy push-and-pull, the ML is coming across as slightly stalkerish, and mentally juvenile. The last I had this reaction was watching Rowoon in that Lipstick drama (apologies to the fan-base here)... but even that show was less baffling than.... *this*

On hold for now... and potentially a drop for me. Meanwhile, off to write my MGY x YYS ff. :P

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Re: whether YYS could in theory start as MGY's junior.

I thought about it. Hard. So here is my explanation.

She has not studied university and has thus started working early. Say she was 20. He, meanwhile, finished university (4 years)+served in military (2 years) + traveled (a year?) = he started working when he was 24-25 y/o.

Currently, I think she is in late twenties and YYS is in early thirties.

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It's interesting you said that because I thought the trailer made it very clear what kind of show it was - which is why I didn't even bother starting it 😅. Many of the dialogues mentioned in the recap were already shown in the many teasers of the show.

Also I'm 100% with you on the reaction to Rowoon in that Lipstick drama 😬.

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I should clearly turn on the subtitles while watching the trailer! xD xD And no, Netflix-kr... your instagram posts of cleverly edited trailers will no longer fool me! :P

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I genuinely loving it. It might be depressing so far. But i love the nuance. It seems they used bad workplace and social difference as obstacle. This is the first role i really love Yo Yun Suk. He is really nailing the nuance, something I don't see in his previous roles. Our ML and FL has some flaws they need to overcome and I'm loving it. Definitely my type of drama. It will categorized as melodrama.

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The drama doesn't seem to want us to make snap judgments, but isn't giving us enough to root for our ML. I like Soo Young. I like that she made her home formerly "cold" home into something comforting and soothing. I hate that everything seems to be from the ML's perspective. I also really dislike her co-workers and the system that prevents competence from rising because of innate prejudices about who is more deserving. This drama intrigues me, even if I don't particularly like it.

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I loved it. MGY's character is really intriguing - behind a sweet exterior, she seems cold, manipulative and narcissistic. In her position it is perfectly understandable - her female co-workers have her as a cautious tale and male co-workers either have a crush on her or are bitter she rejected them. Her walking a fine line to neither trigger nor give hope to her supervisors was painful to watch.

The main lead is whatever tbh. He likes her because she is pretty and kind. It's about time, he finds out that she isn't made of marshmallows and candies.

The one problem I had with the show is that it's difficult to take the class differences/social injustices seriously when everyone is a bank customer service desk employee. I love shows about people with down to earth, normal jobs, but the stakes here make it sound as if it is Go Jun Pyo deciding whether it would be better to marry the rich girl for the well being of thousands of his employees. What is the problem here exactly? Your mom will not be happy? Well, she will get over it. You wouldn't be promoted if you have a poor wife? Well, I am sure wife with a dentist dad would have been ~very~ useful in getting a better banking job. I frankly don't even get why the FL can't just get into some university. She is a smart woman and now she has an income that can cover her study expenses. Her co-worker studied fashion, so even by the show's logic any faculty would do.

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I was only slightly curious about this drama and it still didn't give me that much to go on. the lack of chemistry between the leads is an issue for me when it comes to romance stories. and I just don't think there's enough story for 16 episodes without resorting to kdrama nonsense like amnesia/truck of doom/etc.

for a moment I thought the drama had mislead us with their photo teasers and the security guard could be her little brother LOL

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Ditto for last sentence. I think security guard is her brother.

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I have only watched 2 episodes by now, but I think his donsaeng died, thus the white ribbon hair pin when she arrived in Seoul.

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Dropped. The drama is so suffocating. One major thing that annoyed me was the transition of FL. It also left me confused. I mean what exactly does she saw? Why couldn't she say that right to the ML's face instead of expecting him to magically understand what exactly she meant? Why does it have to be a big mystery?. I feel like this is just being too rigid or sensitive on her part. I am curious but I don't trust the drama to pull it off in a logical or reasonable way. I like YYS and MGY but their chemistry is zero here. MGY's acting felt so expressionless. Like another beanie it gave me "she would never know" vibes. SO much negativity.

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Y'know... the longer they keep dragging out the 'mystery' as to why she got p*ssed... the more monumental the reason has to be (scriptwriting-logic wise). And I'm pretty sure it's going to turn out to be lame af.

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I don't like that Yoo Yeon Seok acting too young for what he is in real life. Plot-wise, it is confusing. It's like they are deliberately making the female lead storyline look complex and I think it is unnecessary.
Sang Soo is borderline creepy. She denied his advances but he still waited in front of her house unannounced, just because he likes her.
I'll wait for the next two episodes whether this is what the scriptwriter/ director wanted to show that this is unacceptable. Or if they are just out of touch.

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This.
Yoo Yeon Seok is 38 playing a character who's probably just stepped into his 30's. Which is perfectly okay! But the character's brain is wired like a 25 y/o? Baffling. I wonder what motivated him to pick this script? Then again, it was a choice between Interest of Love & Love in Contract! xD xD

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I really want to like this because I thought Mun Kayoung was so funny and exhibited such a range of emotions in Link. And I’ve liked Yoo Yeon Seok since Mr. Sunshine. So far the story hasn’t grabbed me though. I was trying to think why I found My Liberation Notes so much more interesting as they both deal with suffocating workplaces and characters who are looking for more meaning in their lives. I think there was more variety in characters in MLN (particularly the siblings) and there was also the mystery of Gu and where he came from that moved the storyline. There were also some very funny moments in MLN (I still laugh remembering the face of the company employee while listening to the pitch of the liberation club as an after worm club). There were some interesting moments in these episodes but not any humor or compelling storylines yet. I’ll try a few more episodes and hope it will get better.

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*after work club (not worm lol)

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Seriously toxic workplace. But I'm completely intrigued by what's going on even though I don't particularly like any of the characters as they are portrayed. Not sure where things are going, and not sure if I'll still be here at the end, but at the moment I'm still curious.

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Omg i would look for another job after an hour there!
The new girl fumbled some food, Sangsu handed her a tissue and from that they must be dating?? Omg it wasn't a tampon!

But I really wanna know what's going on so I'm in for 2 more eps *le sigh *

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Watching both episodes was important in getting more insight into both leads.

Sang Soo is a little more clingy than I would like. He kept questioning Soo Young's responses. He waited too long already, 3 years....
He made a mistake by his lack of communication when he was late. He should have sent a quick text letting her know what was going on despite being behind at work. Well, she still saw his rushed attempt to the dinner date. I think the realization happened when she looked at her reflection and thought about her social status and the gap between her and him.

Kyung Pil said, "No secrets at work". So much gossip and nosiness, sheesh! A lot of uncomfortable moments for Soo Young.

I feel for Soo Young. The blind date dinner was awkward. She was brave for swapping in for a friend. She was brave for moving out to Seoul on her own and starting a new chapter in her life.

I disliked that she was under scrutiny so often. Just because of her beauty, people were jealous and liked to talk down to her. I'm interested in her character arc.

I wonder what is her dream? Her goals, if any? She thought she had an opportunity with this new bank job, but it turned into a rut when she realized she was stuck on one side of the line. She doesn't have a degree. She doesn't want to start from the bottom in a new position. Where does she go from here? She could be happy accepting her job as is. But again, people keep gossiping about her and her career.

She should have replied to Sang Soo after his calls/texts. He should have waited and not gone to her house. All this for the dramatic cliffhanger.

Really don't know how this drama will manage 16 episodes.

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swapping in for the coworker* (not friend >_>)

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I’m probably the only one who struggled with this show. Yoo Yeon-Seok looks a little too old to be playing a smitten love-struck man. He’s almost 39 and he seems too mature to play a character this inexperienced and naive. I’ll probably get a lot of flak for saying that, but I found his behavior unbelievable in a man his age.
I’ve always liked him and respected his work, but he seems miscast to be pursuing a woman 13 years younger than he is and acting so wide-eyed and innocent.
What do you guys think?

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Agree! He appear too old. He is one of my favorites, starting with Mr. Sunshine and Hospital Playlist. In those dramas he seemed more self-assured so it is tough to see him as hesitant.

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I have just finished these first two episodes, and I loved them. I was really liking Sang Soo, I felt he was so real in his crush with Soo Yeong, he felt so helpless in trying to find the way to her heart, I thought he was cute and nice... until he become a jerk sending all those toxic texts to her just because she didn't give him a reason why she's nor forgiving him. Because right now I'm pretty sure he knows what he did to offend her.

I can say little after watching half of the points of view. I have the feeling we will get the other two leads' in next episodes.

I just love the quiet vibe the drama is giving. I have just checked and it's Brahms PD. I hope are spared of the total angst that drama was.

Anyway, I hope I can catch up with the episodes soon.

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Great comments, fellow fans. Did anyone get vibes of "Our Beloved Summer"? We as viewers are tossed about as little snippets and "fake outs" about the relationships are presented. I am wondering what kind of interest I'll accrue from investing my time in this drama.

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I honestly came out of the first episode convinced that she is simply tired of being harassed at work by men angry that she won't sleep with them since she must be sleeping with somebody and how dare it not be them. Especially with her being lower on the hierarchy than they are. Basically standard toxic masculinity.

If I were her I'd believe that he was the same as all the others and just Nice Guying her, especially when he turned so nasty at the end. In fact in the argument in the alley she basically said as much - that he was no different from the other men in the office, pretending to be nice and then turning on her when they didn't get what they wanted.

In fact, I found him incredibly not sympathetic throughout both episodes. I see no evidence he actually likes her as a person. The parts of the first two that were from his gaze framed her as being this passive, ethereal, untouchable object rather than a human being. And his response to her potentially dating somebody else was juvenile and sexist.

There are some people whose opinions I respect greatly who absolutely love this show. Maybe I just need to see a few more episodes but so far I'm just finding it frustrating. All I want her to do is quit and get a job where she doesn't have to deal with these people anymore.

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agreed!

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