Chapter 12

It was late at night, with darkness settled deep over the quiet countryside.

In front of the blue-roofed house, Mujin stood at the familiar gate and quietly caught his breath.

Creak.

The old gate opened, and Mujin stepped into the yard.

A lone figure sat on the moonlit veranda, a drink in hand. Apparently unable to sleep, Iwon turned his head sharply at the sound.

“…Mujin?”

Bewilderment—and unmistakable relief—flashed through his wide, round eyes.

The cast was gone from Mujin’s injured arm, and he was dressed far more neatly than before. Iwon stared at him, his mouth falling slightly open.

“You didn’t go to Seoul for good?”

“I only went because I had some things to take care of.”

Mujin slowly stepped onto the veranda. His expression was clearer and steadier than it had ever been. Standing beside Iwon, he gave him a faint smile.

“I’m home, Iwon.”

The words were meant for one person alone.

A quiet declaration that something new was beginning.

Iwon blinked at him blankly.

In the moonlight, Mujin looked subtly different from before. The suffocating shadow that had always seemed to weigh him down was gone, replaced by something solid and calm.

More than anything, the way he looked directly at Iwon was unfamiliar.

His gaze was warm, deep, and almost unbearably intense.

“…What, you came back empty-handed? Have you eaten?”

Feeling strangely self-conscious, Iwon looked away and asked brusquely.

Inside, his heart was beating unevenly at the sight of Mujin’s return, but outwardly, he maintained his usual prickly attitude.

“Not yet. Is there any rice left?”

Mujin stepped fully onto the veranda as he answered.

His newly healed arm immediately caught Iwon’s attention.

“Your arm’s completely healed?”

“Yes. They removed the cast at the hospital yesterday. I can work in the fields and chop firewood now. I’ll be able to earn more than enough for my meals, so don’t worry.”

Iwon snorted and stood up.

“Who said anything? Wait here. There’s rice left. I’ll throw something together.”

As he watched Iwon disappear toward the kitchen, a deep smile spread across Mujin’s face.

The familiar atmosphere of the old country house—the sharp scent of mosquito coils, the smell of aged wood, and Iwon’s soft peach fragrance mingling together—felt like home.

A little while later, Iwon returned carrying a battered metal bowl filled with bibimbap.

Kimchi, leftover seasoned vegetables, a generous spoonful of gochujang, and a final drizzle of sesame oil.

“Eat. There’s no meat, so don’t complain.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Mujin picked up his spoon and took a large mouthful.

The flavor was simple and rough, nothing like the extravagant meals he’d once been accustomed to.

Yet to him, it was the most perfect feast in the world.

Watching Mujin chew with his chin resting against one hand, Iwon suddenly asked,

“By the way, what happened to Huiseong? Why’d you come back alone? Didn’t he leave with you to drive you to Seoul?”

At Huiseong’s name, Mujin’s eyes settled calmly for a moment.

“Something urgent came up with his family, so he went back ahead of me. He won’t be able to come down here for a while.”

The truth was that the moment they reached Seoul, Mujin had quietly pressed on one of Huiseong’s weaknesses and arranged matters so that the man would be tied down by his company and family, leaving him little room to move.

At least for the time being, he’d gotten rid of the irritating third-generation chaebol who had been hovering around Iwon.

There was no reason to tell Iwon about it.

“Yeah? Well, he’s supposedly a CEO. He can’t spend forever pulling weeds in someone else’s field. Good.”

Iwon nodded without giving it much thought.

“Iwon.”

Mujin set down the empty bowl and called his name in a low, steady voice.

“Hm? What?”

“From now on, I’ll do everything.”

Mujin’s gaze settled firmly on him.

“Fieldwork, housework, anything you’re about to do. I’ll take care of it.”

At the heavy, one-sided declaration, Iwon’s eyes darted around.

Looking down at him in the moonlight, Mujin’s gaze was so direct and intense that it was almost difficult to bear.

Why are you the one volunteering to do all that?

Iwon couldn’t make sense of it.

Considering the countless vicious things he’d done in the past, it would have been entirely natural for Mujin—and everyone else—to hate and despise him.

Mujin should have wanted nothing to do with him.

And yet this huge man had returned all the way to the countryside on his own and was now insisting on taking every unpleasant chore off Iwon’s hands.

Is it really okay to let him keep staying here?

Iwon’s brow tightened slightly.

He knew that Mujin had nowhere to go if he kicked him out. But allowing him to remain here without thinking too much about it left an unnamed discomfort lodged somewhere in his chest.

Mujin, as sharp as a wild animal, immediately noticed the hesitation flickering across Iwon’s face.

He read the confusion and wariness in Iwon’s expression and softened his voice, as though deliberately taking a step back.

“I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I only mean for a little while, until I find somewhere to stay. Once I have a place, I’ll move out immediately.”

“You’re looking for a place?”

“Yes. So I’ll only impose until then.”

Only then did Iwon’s stiff shoulders relax slightly.

If Mujin was only staying until he found somewhere else to live, rather than intending to cling to him indefinitely, there was no real reason to be harsh about it.

“Fine. Whatever. Do what you want. Just make sure you actually work.”

Iwon said it gruffly on purpose before turning away.

Behind him, Mujin watched with a faint, silent smile.

The next morning.

When Iwon opened his eyes, Mujin was already up and busy.

From early morning, he’d been hauling heavy loads for the village grandmothers, repairing a broken cultivator, and taking on every odd job the villagers threw his way.

By the time the sun had climbed high into the sky, he’d moved on to an entirely different project.

The abandoned house next to Iwon’s blue-roofed home.

The house stood on ownerless land and had been left untouched for so long that it was practically falling apart.

Weeds grew waist-high around the yard, while parts of the roof had already collapsed.

Every now and then, unidentified vagrants would sneak in to sleep there, causing enough trouble that the village chief and residents had long agreed that the place should be torn down.

It was a genuine eyesore.

Bang! Crunch!

Dull, splitting noises echoed through the yard.

After washing up quickly, Iwon stepped into his own yard and poked his head over the wall at the commotion next door.

There, beneath the blazing midsummer sun, Mujin was working with his shirt soaked through and his sleeves rolled up.

He was rebuilding a collapsed section of the wall and ripping out rotten floorboards.

Using the right arm that had only just come out of a cast, he showed no hesitation whatsoever.

He swept, scrubbed, repaired, and cleaned as though he’d been doing it his entire life.

“…What on earth is he doing?”

Iwon stood there blankly, watching.

Every time the muscles across Mujin’s back shifted, beads of sweat rolled down and darkened the dry dirt beneath him.

After watching him hammer away at the house for quite some time, Iwon finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

He walked around the wall and entered the yard.

“Mujin.”

Mujin stopped working at the sound of his voice and turned around.

He pushed his damp hair back from his forehead. There was surprisingly little fatigue in his expression.

Instead, he seemed almost energized.

“You’re up.”

“What are you doing here? Why are you fixing up an abandoned house?”

Iwon planted his hands on his hips, utterly baffled.

Mujin set down the claw hammer in his hand and answered matter-of-factly.

“I heard it was empty. I asked the village elders, and they said I could fix it up and live here.”

“Don’t tell me…”

Iwon’s eyes widened.

Last night’s conversation about finding a place suddenly came back to him.

“Are you planning to live here?”

Mujin nodded lightly, without a trace of hesitation.

“Yes. I intend to stay here.”

Iwon was rendered speechless.

Out here in the middle of nowhere, in a ruined house that looked like it could collapse at any moment.

No sane person would willingly choose to live in a place like this.

“W-Why? No, why here of all places?”

Iwon slipped into polite speech without even realizing it.

“It’s difficult to box out here. There’s no gym, and nobody to spar with. You have to keep training, don’t you?”

The moment the word boxing left Iwon’s mouth, Mujin went still.

His gaze dropped toward the ground.

He roughly wiped his hands on a dirt-stained towel before answering in an even voice.

“I’m planning to quit boxing.”

“What? Are you insane?!”

Iwon’s horrified shout rang through the abandoned yard.