Just Twilight

The sound of footsteps was light and quiet, but something felt off. Even though it was a familiar path and the stick in her hand was one she had often gripped, there was an unfamiliar tension in the air. Junyoung glanced up, stealing a look at Beomjin’s silhouette, now shrouded in darkness.

What does Beomjin think of me?

Earlier, she had been so irritated by Hye Soo, but now she wondered—what if Beomjin thought she had a bad temper?

So what? If someone misunderstands, what can you do? It would have been better if I explained earlier, but of course, that wasn’t the right moment.

She sighed, tightening her grip on the stick. Her hand felt slick with sweat.

This was the worst day for studying that she could remember. Every time she tried to focus, Beomjin’s words would pop into her head, scattering the English words and math formulas that had been taking root in her mind. The disruption was almost a force of nature.

"I couldn’t act like I knew you there."

His voice had a strangely nice tone to it, though if she removed the initial fear, it wasn’t so bad.

"You won’t gain anything by being close to me."

Junyoung narrowed her eyes. If it was because of the possibility of the storage house being exposed, she could agree. But if it was because he was worried her reputation might be ruined due to his own rumors...

“My reputation is already at rock bottom anyway.”

She muttered to herself, and Beomjin, who had been walking ahead, glanced back at her. Junyoung shrugged and held up her sweaty hand, showing it to him.

“My hands are slippery from all the sweat.”

“You should wrap a handkerchief around it, not tape.”

Beomjin casually handed her the stick, the part he had been holding not wrapped in tape. The rough texture of the wood felt better than the sticky tape, and when Junyoung took it, she could still feel the warmth of Beomjin’s hand on it. She felt an odd sensation but quickly brushed it aside, opening her mouth.

“Have you ever been told you’re kind?”

“Are you sleepy? What nonsense is this?”

His indifferent response made Junyoung furrow her brow. She glared at the back of his head as he walked, unaware of her stare. She rolled her eyes and smiled crookedly.

“Are you coming this weekend?”

“Why?”

“I don’t think I can.”

“Why?”

“I have things to do in the city.”

“The city?”

Beomjin slowed his pace as if listening intently to her words, his steps shortening as he moved closer. Junyoung leaned forward slightly, speaking in a whisper.

“By the motel alley.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Beomjin staggered. Junyoung quickly caught his arm and laughed quietly to herself.

“What’s wrong? Did you slip?”

Beomjin steadied himself, sighing deeply. Slowly, he turned his head to face her.

“What business do you have there?”

“Forget it if you didn’t hear me.”

Junyoung had said it to tease him, but part of her felt a bit anxious too.

She didn’t believe her mother would ever do something like that, but there had to be a reason why she was going there. Even though she had silenced Hye Soo, she felt the need to understand the situation better, just in case she needed to act on it later.

The alley was dark and sparsely trafficked during the day, and although going in the daytime would be safer, she still didn’t want to go alone. In this kind of situation, who could she rely on?

Everything about her mother was a weakness. Something she didn’t want anyone to know, or discover. She would carry that burden alone, but having someone like Beomjin unexpectedly see through it made her feel both relieved and embarrassed.

...That moment, when she almost wished she could disappear, seemed so far away now.

It wasn’t easy to bring it up. As she hesitated, trying to change the subject, Beomjin suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Why are you going there?”

Junyoung raised an eyebrow at his sudden serious tone.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“Why are you going?”

His grip on her wrist tightened, and she muttered.

“I need to check something out.”

“What could you possibly need to check out at a motel?”

“It’s about my mom.”

The shift in Beomjin’s tone was immediate, and the sharpness of his words stopped Junyoung in her tracks. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but she could feel his tension.

She had no idea what she was getting into, but she couldn’t avoid it anymore.

After a long pause, Beomjin finally broke the silence with a sharp exhale.

“What time are you going?”

Relief flooded Junyoung as Beomjin spoke, and she quickly leaned in.

“Why? You want to come with me?”

“Isn’t that why you brought it up?”

He wasn’t as clueless as he seemed.

Junyoung chuckled, shaking her wrist free from his grip.

“Around 11? I’ll buy you a hamburger.”

"Forget it."

"Why? You’re not seriously going to eat ramen after heading all the way to the city, are you? I’m being generous here."

"Forget it."

Beomjin shook his head and released Junyoung’s hand. The pressure of having it gripped tightly was now gone, leaving an unexpected emptiness. Junyoung glanced down at the stick he had handed her again.

It almost felt like it’d be fine to just hold hands and walk together.

Suddenly, Junyoung caught herself thinking this and was startled. She quickly grabbed the stick, feeling her heart tighten, and cleared her throat.

“Then I’ll help you write a reflection paper. You haven’t written it yet, right?”

“I already submitted it.”

Junyoung’s eyes widened at the short response.

“What? Really? When? Did you pass it on the first try? What did you write?”

"The basketball wasn’t thrown at the teacher."

Beomjin casually replied while walking slowly, his voice low. Junyoung blinked in disbelief.

“That’s all you wrote?”

“If I had thrown it intentionally, the teacher would’ve gotten hurt.”

"...You actually wrote that and passed it on the first try?"

“Yeah.”

“Why? How?”

“I went to drop it off at the house.”

Beomjin muttered lazily, turning his head to the side.

"Actually, I just slipped it into the mailbox."

Junyoung stood frozen in place, her mouth slightly agape. She let out a frustrated sigh, furrowing her brow.

“You do realize that’s not a reflection paper, right? That reads like a threat.”

“It says reflection paper on the top.”

Beomjin’s voice remained indifferent. But he surely didn’t expect it to go unnoticed. Junyoung’s lips curled into a surprised smile as she imagined the teacher reading it.

"Ha, ha! That’s hilarious! Seriously, this is the best moment since the period pain talk."

“Stop bringing that up.”

Beomjin lowered his voice, but Junyoung couldn’t hold back her laughter. She laughed out loud, and as she did, Beomjin sighed. Even though he seemed tired, there was a slight curve to the corner of his lips, as if he was secretly amused too.

***

Junyoung tied her hair into a ponytail. The weather was so hot, the sunlight felt almost unbearable.

After several changes—trying on shorts and skirts—she finally settled on the shorts. It wasn’t like she was going for a trip. Her original plan might have been wrong, and if things went badly, she might end up facing something far worse than she had imagined. Worse still, with Beomjin.

Though, even if things turned out terribly, she trusted that Beomjin wouldn’t tease or threaten her about it. He might pretend like nothing happened. She would just have to focus on the embarrassment she felt.

After taking a deep breath, Junyoung left the house. Her mother had already disappeared early in the morning. Thinking about it, her mother had been disappearing on Saturdays for a while now.

As she walked to catch the bus to the city, Junyoung kept an eye on her surroundings. She often went to buy books, but today, she didn’t want to be seen by anyone. Fortunately, not many people were out at this odd hour.

She had agreed to meet Beomjin in the shopping area, a little further from the motel alley. The area wasn’t very busy, especially since half of the stores were closed on weekends due to a shopping mall that had opened in the city center.

She passed a beauty salon on her way, briefly considering cutting her hair. Of course, she didn’t have enough money for that. She figured spending it on books was a better investment.

I thought I’d stopped comparing like this back in middle school.

“Trying to impress someone, huh?”

Junyoung muttered cynically, raising her eyebrows. Biting her lower lip, she quickened her pace. As she lifted her head, she suddenly burst into a quiet laugh.@@novelbin@@

In front of the hardware store stood Beomjin.

As always, he was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, but there was one notable difference: he had a black hat pulled down low.

Even though his face was hidden, it was hard to miss that it was Beomjin. At this point, she felt like she would recognize him even if he was lost in a crowd.

Why does he look so much more grown-up when I see him from the outside?

Even though he was bent slightly to peer inside the store, he still looked exceptionally tall. Junyoung glanced sideways at him and walked closer.

“Why? Need something?”

Beomjin, without taking his eyes off what he was looking at, answered quietly.

“Last time it rained, I noticed the roof covering was torn.”

“Which house? Ours?”

Beomjin gave a quick glance at her as she spoke, and Junyoung could swear his eyes looked like they were smiling, though the brim of his hat concealed most of his face. She peeked inside the store, but she couldn’t make sense of anything.

“How do you know that?”

“You figure it out once you try.”

Beomjin straightened up slowly and removed his hat. As Junyoung reached up and grabbed the brim of her own hat, she looked up at Beomjin, who was casually shaking out his messy hair.

“Why…”

“Do you want something?”

“How much for a roll of roof covering?”

“This? Thirty thousand won. Where are you planning to lay it? How many do you need?”

“No, it’s fine for now. I’ll come back next time.”

Beomjin nodded to the store owner as he came out, then turned around. Junyoung followed closely behind him, still with her hat pulled low.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“To cover your face.”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

Beomjin sighed briefly, then glanced back at her with a stern look.

“Have you forgotten where we’re going?”