Just Twilight

At Junyoung’s last words, Kim Cheon-gyu’s expression wavered slightly. His eyes, unstable and restless, closed and reopened before he asked in his hoarse voice,

"How did you find my house?"

"I asked around. I also got some advice from Foreman Choi Yeongbok."

"Choi-hyung?"

His brows lifted in recognition, a flicker of familiarity softening his features. Junyoung nodded.

"Yes. He’s one of the strongest voices for safety. I lost a lot of arguments with him before I started running around doing all this. But I believe in what I’m doing. Keeping workers safe should be our priority."

"That man still hasn’t tamed his temper, huh…"

Kim let out a small chuckle. The familiarity in his reaction made it clear how close he and Choi Yeongbok were. Sensing the slight shift in atmosphere, Junyoung added with a grumble,

"You have no idea how much he scolded me when I first stepped onto the site. Kept yelling about how a woman shouldn’t be wandering around construction zones."

"He was probably worried about you."

"What?"

Junyoung blinked at the unexpected change in his tone. Kim Cheon-gyu leaned against his crutch, tilting his head slightly.

"He must have been thinking about his daughter. She passed away when she was young. If she had lived, she’d be about college-aged now. I bet he saw you stepping onto the site, imagined her doing the same, and got scared. He’s always been especially strict with young women. One time, he grabbed a drunk girl who could barely stand and scolded her for hours."

A bitter smile crossed Kim’s lips, and Junyoung instinctively mirrored his reaction, her gaze lowering slightly.

"He seems to live alone now."

"Yeah, but he doesn’t seem like a man living alone. He’s always so well-groomed. He even smells good at the site. People used to joke that he had a girlfriend, but he’d just laugh and say it was his fabric softener. Turns out, it’s the same one his wife used when they all lived together."

Come to think of it, Junyoung had never noticed any stale or musty scent on Choi Yeongbok. Unlike the other workers, whose sweat often left strong traces in the air, he was always covered in that soft, familiar scent.

"He must have suffered a lot. I say this as a father myself—there’s no worse pain than outliving your child."

Kim let out a heavy sigh, unable to continue.

Junyoung turned her head slightly.

Nearby, a young girl stood next to a frail-looking woman, speaking to her in a bright, cheerful voice. Her hair was tied up in a tight ponytail, her cheeks plump and full of life.

• Where are you?

• Do you hate seeing my face?

• You have no idea how lucky you are to be living in the same country.

• I have no plans after this.

• Instead of nagging, if you don’t like it, just send me back to Seoul faster. That’s the best way to guarantee I get some sleep. Hanging up.