Just Twilight

Junyoung tilted her head slightly, pulling him closer by the nape of his neck. Their lips pressed together more firmly. Her cool fingertips rested against his heated neck. Beomjin’s mind went blank, too stunned to even close his eyes.

It was only a moment, but it felt like an eternity. When Junyoung finally pulled back, her eyes remained clear and steady, even in the dim light. At a distance where he could feel her soft breath, she spoke quietly.
“I’m not the same Yoon Junyoung as before, and you’re not the same Kwon Beomjin either. But I’m not letting you go like this. So what if we’ve changed? As long as you’re still the same Kwon Beomjin who’d throw a T-shirt over me before even saying hello when I was soaked in the rain, that’s enough.”
The heart that had been locked tight began to beat slowly, as if freed from its restraints. In a daze, Beomjin barely managed to say her name.

“Yoon Junyoung.”
“I’ll find out more about this Kwon Beomjin from JBK Financial. Whether you’re really someone worth dealing with—or just a terrible person.”
Junyoung moved back, opening the car door. She glanced back at him and let out a small laugh.

“You really chose the wrong way to handle this. If you truly wanted to cut ties, you should’ve ignored me, even if I was soaking wet or passed out. And you, of all people, who’s so obsessive about showering first to avoid cold water.”
The car door shut with a light, cheerful thud. Beomjin finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding, his head turning to watch her walk briskly toward her home.
Her every word stabbed at his chest. She was impossible to deal with. Letting out a dry laugh, he rubbed his face with his hand, his fingers lingering on his lips that still held her warmth.

He couldn’t live a normal life with anyone, let alone Junyoung. It would only harm her if they stayed connected. It was better not to meet her again, no matter how much it hurt.
At least, that’s what he had convinced himself. But now, this? This was cruel, Yoon Junyoung.
His mind cooled rapidly, but his heart pounded fervently, as if it had found its rightful owner. Letting out a short sigh, he turned to the vibrating phone next to him. Picking it up, he heard Samdu’s voice on the other end.

“Uh… boss?”
The drawn-out awkwardness in Samdu’s tone made Beomjin click his tongue in irritation. Opening the car door and stepping out, he spoke quietly.
“Whatever you saw, forget it.”

“Of course, boss. My vision went blurry for a bit earlier. Must’ve been from staring straight into high beams.”
“What are you doing outside?”
“Well, I went home earlier but got hungry, so I ran to a convenience store downtown. On my way back, I noticed a car parked in the alley. One I’ve never seen before.”

Walking at a steady pace, Beomjin froze mid-step.
“There’s someone in the driver’s seat. Been sitting there for two hours.”
“Where is it?”
“That white Benz behind you. License plate 3743.”

Sliding his phone into his back pocket, Beomjin turned around. Sure enough, a black silhouette was visible inside the driver’s seat of a white Benz parked just behind the utility pole. The tinted windows made it difficult to see inside.
Clenching his fist lightly, he strode toward the car and tapped on the window.
“I know someone’s in there. Let’s see your face.”

There weren’t many reasons a car like this would be in this neighborhood, and all of them led back to him. However, the fact that they were waiting so conspicuously wasn’t typical for his world.
There was no response. He knocked again and added, “Should I call the police? Who are you stalking? Let’s see… license plate 3743?”
Pretending to check the license plate, he finally saw the window roll down slightly. They didn’t step out, just lowered the window—a defensive move.

Smirking slightly, Beomjin didn’t approach the window. Instead, he folded his arms and stood his ground. There was no telling what might come flying out of that gap, so he maintained a cautious distance.
After a moment, perhaps understanding his unspoken message, the door opened, and a man in a pristine suit stepped out.
“Well, I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

The man’s soft, wavy hair framed a polished, princely face. It wasn’t hard to recognize him. Na Seungwoon smiled faintly, his eyes narrowing.
“It’s been a while, Kwon Beomjin.”
Could he see? From this distance?

That was Beomjin’s first thought.
“I work at the same company. I graduated thanks to a foundation run by Na Seungwoon’s mother.”
Junyoung’s words came back to him, though even without them, he would have known. It was written in the man’s gaze—a history.

Seungwoon hadn’t changed much, but there was an odd unease about him. His face was calm and sociable, yet shadows seemed to swirl behind his composed demeanor. Beomjin raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment and spoke.
“Did you come looking for Yoon Junyoung?”
“I had some business at a nearby branch, so I thought I’d drop by and say hello. What about you? What brings you here?”

Feeling Seungwoon’s eyes scanning him, Beomjin replied matter-of-factly.
“I work at a nearby site.”
“Ah.” Seungwoon nodded, smiling slightly. His faint smile made one of Beomjin’s eyebrows twitch upward.

In the past, Na Seungwoon’s smile might have seemed like an attempt to lighten the mood. Now, it was different. That brief smile carried so much more—arrogance, disdain, and a newfound confidence.
“Junyoung must’ve been happy to see you. But she didn’t tell me. She’s been busy; she works in one of our company’s core departments. She’s always been brilliant, hasn’t she?”
Seungwoon’s tone was calm, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke. Beomjin nodded casually and turned away.

“Go say hi before you leave.”
“When did this start?”
The question halted Beomjin mid-step. He had been searching for Samdu, who was likely hiding somewhere nearby, but Seungwoon’s words grabbed his attention. Seungwoon stepped closer, still smiling—a smile that now felt more like a mask.

“What do you mean?”
“You and Junyoung. Did you know she was here before you came?”
His voice was soft, almost gentle, but it had a sharp edge that scratched at the skin. Beomjin kept his expression neutral as he replied.

“Wouldn’t it be better to ask her that instead of me?”
“We had a fight. I was seeing someone else. You know how proud Junyoung is.”
The corner of his lips lifted slightly as he muttered.

“She misunderstood. It was just meeting someone. I made a mistake. We’ve been together a long time.”
Beomjin stared at him silently. Seungwoon’s composure seemed flawless, but there was one thing he couldn’t hide—the veins bulging on his clenched fists.
“If your long-standing relationship could be shaken by something so minor…”

Shifting his gaze from the trembling fist, Beomjin let out a small laugh.
“You must’ve already lost a lot of trust.”
“Don’t think about getting between us now.”

Seungwoon’s voice cracked slightly, his forced calm slipping. It was as if he’d peeled away a layer of composure, exposing his raw vulnerability.
“I’m not.”
For once, Beomjin answered sincerely, meeting his gaze head-on. Seungwoon was clumsy. If he wanted to deceive someone, he needed to at least hide his own nervousness.

Still living in a world where he didn’t need to be thorough, huh, prince?
“‘Us,’ huh? I’m not sure who you’re referring to.”
With that, Beomjin drove the knife in with a detached remark and turned away. As he walked toward the slightly exposed shoulder hiding behind the recycling bin, he felt the weight of Seungwoon’s gaze on his back but didn’t look back.

***
He had always known. He had sensed it, dreaded it, and resigned himself to the inevitability of this day. The day when it would finally come crashing into his life, no matter how much he wished otherwise.
Kwon Beomjin was a tick—a stubborn, unyielding parasite. Even though over ten years had passed since he last saw him, not once had the man faded from his mind. Like a stain that refused to wash away no matter how hard you scrubbed, Beomjin lingered somewhere in the recesses of his thoughts, inescapable.

Perhaps it was his own crippling inferiority complex that made it so. After all, Junyoung never once mentioned Beomjin's name of her own accord.
She carried herself as if she had completely forgotten everything. Perhaps it was because of her mother, or perhaps it was a deliberate choice, but she didn’t like revisiting those memories, and he didn’t dare bring them up. Only when alcohol loosened his every nerve would he finally allow himself to utter the name Kwon Beomjin.
And each time, he was reminded of the truth. Beomjin was a stain on Junyoung’s life too—a thorn embedded deep, one that would never be dislodged.

Junyoung always seemed indifferent when his name came up. If asked if he was doing well, she’d say, “Probably.” If asked what he might be up to, she’d reply, “Living his life, I suppose.” And that was where every conversation about Kwon Beomjin ended—never further than that.
But the more Junyoung acted indifferent, the more that stain gnawed away at him.
He couldn’t stay calm. He couldn’t pretend it didn’t bother him. Back then, when Kwon Beomjin disappeared without a trace, Junyoung had crumbled. Who knew how much further she might have spiraled if her mother hadn’t collapsed the way she did and forced her to hold herself together?

And yet, Junyoung never showed a crack in front of him. She always remained composed. Over the past ten years, he had come to understand just how impenetrable that wall of hers was.
Not once had Junyoung let him step into the place she had reserved for Kwon Beomjin. And she never would.
With each passing year, he became more certain of it. But he had no intention of trying to change the parallel lines of their relationship. No one else would ever be allowed into that space anyway. Even the men Junyoung had dated over the years never lasted. Their relationships were laughably shallow—most of them didn’t even figure out what she liked or disliked before she moved on.

The closest man to Yoon Junyoung was him. No matter how much time passed, no matter how wide the gulf between them, that truth would not change. Junyoung would always remain by his side, and no other man would take that place next to her.
If he just kept living like this, then maybe someday.
Someday.

Yet even as he clung to that nightmarish dream, a part of him was always on edge. What if, by some cruel twist of fate, he ran into Kwon Beomjin? Or worse, what if Beomjin sought Junyoung out?
Even imagining it made it hard to breathe. It was as if someone were tightening a wet rope around his neck, slowly and deliberately.
Junyoung would open her arms to him. She’d welcome him back as though he belonged there, filling the space she had reserved for him all along. She would show him a face he had never seen before, a smile that he had never been privileged to witness.

And that day.
That terrible day had finally come.