Just Twilight-Chapter 69

"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.

"Middle school?"

"She starts high school next year. There’s so much I want to do for her, but with her dad like this… all I do is make her life harder."

"You’ll be okay now, won’t you? Your debt’s been settled, and you’re moving to a bigger place. Doesn’t seem like you’re incapable."

Junyoung’s flat tone made Kim tense up immediately.

"I paid for it with a permanent limp. That’s not something to be judged for."

"When you fell."

Junyoung’s voice slowed as she held his gaze.

"Did anything feel… off?"

"When you’re falling, what could you possibly feel? I just thought, this is it."

His response was sharp, defensive. From behind him, his wife fumbled with something, the sound of something dropping breaking the tense air.

Junyoung nodded casually.

"This has nothing to do with me. The compensation came from Samjin, and I work for Hankyung. I’m not the police. But I thought you might be curious."

Lowering her voice, she murmured,

"Who it was. And why they did it."

Kim Cheon-gyu turned deathly pale.

His fingers trembled as they clutched the crutch.

Junyoung continued,

"If it was personal, this might not be the end of it. Is that why you’re moving?"

"Get out. Get the hell out!"

His voice erupted, raw and furious.

Junyoung remained calm, glancing toward the door before speaking evenly,

"The police will investigate. I hope you don’t get caught up in a bigger case. For your daughter’s sake."

Leaving behind Kim Cheon-gyu’s frozen, rigid figure, Junyoung stepped out of his house, exhaling deeply.

Kim knew.

He knew someone had pushed him.

But instead of confronting it, he had chosen to turn away—for money.

Without witnesses or strong evidence, there was no proof. There was no direct motive, either. Simply being at the same site on the day of the accident wasn’t enough to convict anyone.

The case at her site was as good as closed now—it had officially become a criminal investigation. Whether the police would suspect Choi Yeongbok was uncertain, but that was their job now.

Still, with lingering suspicions, Hankyung’s stance was to monitor the case until the investigation was fully wrapped up.

She had no idea how much longer she’d be stuck in Busan.

"And what am I supposed to do? There’s no evidence. Unless Choi Yeongbok confesses, there’s nothing."

Grumbling, she pulled out her phone from her bag.

Because she’d been meeting people all day, it had been on silent.

When she saw the number of missed calls, her eyes widened.

Two men had been desperately trying to reach her.

Samdu’s urgency was understandable, but the fact that thirty-one-year-old Kwon Beomjin had only called four times while Samdu had called thirteen times…

Junyoung’s mind quickly processed another possibility.

The reason Beomjin had only called four times.

"...You’re not coming, are you?"

A while ago, she would have dismissed the thought as ridiculous. But just yesterday, Kwon Beomjin had shown up just because he missed her—and then left again for a meeting.

What guarantee was there that he wouldn’t come again?

Sighing, she rolled her eyes and pressed the call button.

The call barely rang before it connected.

Where are you?

"Where are you? Don’t tell me you’re on the highway."

The deep voice on the other end let out a soft breath, one that sounded like tension dissipating.

Junyoung’s mouth fell open in realization.

"You’re seriously coming, aren’t you?"

Do you hate seeing my face?

Beomjin’s question was calm, but Junyoung immediately waved her hands at the air as if he could see her.

"No, that’s not it! It’s just… who the hell comes to Busan twice in one day?"

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

Junyoung let out a disbelieving laugh, running a hand through her hair.

Her face felt hot.

Pressing her lips together, she muttered,

"There’s nothing wrong, so you don’t have to tire yourself out coming here. I had my phone on silent because I was meeting people all day."

I have no plans after this.

"You probably haven’t slept at all. If you’re coming all the way here, when are you going back? Tomorrow? Tonight?"

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.

The call ended with a curt click.

Junyoung stared at her phone.

For a brief moment, she could almost picture Beomjin’s deadpan face on the other end.

Wrinkling her nose, she muttered,

"Who said I didn’t like it?"

Lifting her gaze, she noticed the sky, streaked with the colors of the setting sun.

She exhaled deeply.

The warm, humid breeze brushed past her skin.

***

"Will you be alright alone?"

"I’ll just finish sorting these and head out soon."

Junyoung waved at Minsook as she left, then sat back down. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but the real reason she stayed behind wasn’t because of work—it was because she planned to leave with Beomjin when he arrived.

Well, if he had time, maybe she’d need to find a decent hotel in the city.

With Samdu and her grandmother at home—and those thin walls—it wasn’t exactly the ideal place for… anything.

Especially considering Kwon Beomjin’s persistence.

She caught herself making a suspicious expression and slapped her cheeks lightly.

Telling Samdu that "the boss is coming, so go home first" should be enough to get rid of him.

After reviewing a request from the head office for a TANDOZ project report, she typed up her response and stretched. It was about the time he should be arriving, yet her phone remained silent.

"Wow, I look pale as a ghost."

Checking her reflection, Junyoung pulled out a lipstick and applied it absentmindedly.

As she glanced out the window, her hand stilled.

She thought she saw something near the site.

Grabbing her phone, she stepped outside the office. The night had settled over the construction site, but she scanned the area once more.

It wasn’t a mistake. A faint, flickering light appeared and disappeared intermittently.

"That’s…"

The spot where Jung Mansu had fallen.

There were no scheduled night shifts today. All the workers had left before sunset.

Which meant no one should be there.

Frowning, she grabbed a hard hat from the rack outside and started toward the site.

She carefully climbed the stairs, mindful of making noise. When she reached the fourth floor, a sudden bright light flashed directly into her eyes, making her flinch.

Momentarily losing her balance, she stumbled slightly.

"Deputy Yoon?"

A deep, rough voice called out.

Junyoung’s lips curled slightly as she brushed a hand through her wind-tangled hair and looked up.

"What are you doing here, Foreman Choi?"

Yeongbok, holding up his phone flashlight toward her, slowly took a step back.

Junyoung ascended the rest of the stairs. Now on solid ground, she felt the dull ache in her calves from the climb.

"I thought everyone had gone home."

"I left something behind during work. Came back to find it."

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

"You could’ve looked for it in the morning. Must’ve been urgent."

"And you? Working late all alone?"

"Alone?"

Junyoung tilted her head slightly, slipping her phone into her back pocket.

"How did you know that?"

Yeongbok’s gaze was steady, unreadable. The orange glow of the safety lights cast shifting shadows over his face.

A strong gust of wind rushed past, sending a chill down her spine.

The back of her neck felt cold where sweat had begun to dry.