Just Twilight Novel Chapter 6

“How’s your body?”

“Huh?”

Junyoung blankly repeated the sudden question that had co out of nowhere. Beomjin asked gruffly, his tone curt.

“Didn’t you take the dicine from the nurse’s office?”

“Oh, I was sleeping the whole ti... And now that I’ve slept here too, I feel a bit better.”

It felt as if the sharp thorns that had been standing upright were gently lying down. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the silhouette of Beomjin’s figure beca clearer. He was sitting slightly hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Just a little fatigue. I haven’t been sleeping well. I think I still have a bit of a fever, though.”

Junyoung murmured as she touched her forehead. Half-turned toward her, Beomjin said, “Wait,” and abruptly stood up. He descended the stairs with long strides, as if he could see perfectly in the dark.

Suddenly, a bright light poured in, and Junyoung shielded her face. Beomjin had turned on the light in the anti. Watching him, she thought to herself, He really does have cat-like eyes, and then rubbed her own eyes as she spoke.

“From now on, turn on the lights when you go up and down the stairs. If you fall, it’ll be over in an instant.”

Beomjin paused as he filled a cup with water and glanced up at her. His well-defined lips curved into a crooked smirk.

“Who’s the one stumbling around? And you’re worried about

breaking my neck?”

“I’m not worried about you—I’m worried about being the first one to discover you.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

At her quick retort, Beomjin chuckled faintly. Looking down at him, she saw him pull sothing from his back pocket while holding the cup in one hand. She rembered him taking dicine from the nurse’s office earlier.

“I’ll co down.”

When she saw him preparing to climb back up, she awkwardly stood. But Beomjin frowned and shook his head.

“Stay put. You’re still dizzy.”

There was sothing about Beomjin’s voice that commanded attention. It wasn’t just because the light now revealed his piercing gaze in full clarity that she obediently sat back down.

Beomjin climbed the steep stairs swiftly, handing her the water and dicine while bent over slightly. Embarrassed, Junyoung accepted them with a sheepish expression.

“Do you have a headache too? These are the ones you brought from the nurse’s office earlier, right?”

“I have nstrual cramps.”

Beomjin sat a bit farther away, muttering irritably. A cold draft seed to blow in from sowhere, and Junyoung hesitated before speaking.

“...Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Shut up and just take the dicine.”

Beomjin’s tone was more of a growl, his cheeks taut with annoyance. Instead of intimidating her, it backfired. Junyoung couldn’t contain her laughter. She struggled to keep the cup of water from spilling as she tried to suppress her giggles.

“K-Kwon Beomjin has nstrual cramps! If I had even one close friend at school, I’d run to tell them right now! Hahaha!”

Unable to stop shaking with laughter, Junyoung braced herself against the bed with her elbow. Beomjin glared at her with clenched teeth and narrowed eyes.

“Yeah, well, not having any friends must be great for you.”

“I swear, I’ve never regretted not having friends more than I do now. I should’ve made at least one!”

Her laughter seed endless. By the ti she finally managed to take the dicine and water, she had spent a long ti wiping away tears of mirth.

“Won’t your family be freaking out right now?”

As Junyoung set the cup down and caught her breath, she looked at him in surprise at his sudden comnt.

“My family? Why?”

“You’re still not ho at this hour.”

Beomjin’s gaze was angled slightly toward her. Junyoung quickly turned her head away, knowing he had likely caught the flicker of hesitation in her eyes. She bit her lip before letting out a small laugh.

“Maybe I’ll just sleep here tonight.”

“What?”

“That might be better.”

An awkward silence hung between them. They both knew what neither wanted to say. Beomjin, who had been sitting quietly, finally gestured with his chin.

“Go ho. The bed’s mine.”

“You should stop sleeping so much. You’re always sleeping at school anyway.”

“Isn’t that rich coming from soone who’s been sleeping all day?”

“I was talking about normal circumstances. Today’s an exception.”

Junyoung’s responses ca as smoothly as if she were reading from a script. Clicking his tongue in displeasure, Beomjin waved his hand dismissively.

“Cut the chatter and get up. I’ll walk you ho.”

“No thanks. I’m staying here. You leave.”

As she made a move to lie down, Beomjin’s dark brows shot up sharply.

“Yoon Junyoung. Are you seriously being stubborn about this? You want to stay here alone in the middle of the night?”

“Who else would co here but you?”

Junyoung shrugged, and Beomjin took a deep, resigned breath, his lips parting slightly. She could tell he was using all his patience to suppress his irritation.

“Soone used to live here. Soone could still show up. Tonight, for instance.”

“Then you stay here too.”

Beomjin’s eyes, sharp and predatory like a bird of prey, wavered montarily. Seeing this, Junyoung felt an unexpected awkwardness and darted her eyes away. She smirked slightly and added nonchalantly,

“It’s not like I’m saying we should sleep together or anything.”

“You and that mouth…”

“Didn’t we already silently agree? Why we both need this place?”

Her murmured words seed to stop Beomjin from his grumbling. Instead, he paused, gazing at Junyoung’s profile as she stared sowhere off into the void. His voice ca, quiet but steady.

“For you, it’s a place to study.”

“And for , it’s the only place I can rest.”

She hadn’t expected to say sothing like that to anyone, but sohow, it felt inevitable that she would say it to Beomjin.

He was the only one with whom she shared the sa needs and the sa space, though they’d never spoken about it out loud.

Junyoung turned to et his gaze. As if hamring a nail, she spoke firmly,

“I can’t go ho.”

She figured that this much would be enough for him to understand. Perhaps it was even the sa reason he had co here at this hour.

Beomjin, who had been staring at her with calm eyes, eventually stood up abruptly. As Junyoung watched his broad back descend the stairs with heavy, deliberate steps, she impulsively called out.

“Thanks.”

His body staggered noticeably, as if her words had physically shoved him. Startled, Junyoung let out a panicked shout.

“Hey! I told you, one wrong step and you’ll die! Be careful!”

“Shut up. Just go to sleep.”

Dismissing her concern with an apathetic tone, Beomjin flopped into the chair she always sat in and slumped forward onto the desk. Junyoung peeked down at him, a small laugh escaping her lips.

Why does he always act like he’s sleep-deprived? It’s not like he doesn’t sleep at night, is it? He’s always leaving with

when I go ho, anyway.

…Still, even if I asked, he wouldn’t answer.

“Kwon Beomjin.”

“What.”

“Turn off the lights.”

Once again, that sigh, as though he were summoning the last vestiges of patience. But soon, the light went out. Junyoung chuckled softly and lay down on the bed.

Even though the place was unfamiliar, it felt oddly comfortable. The darkness of the early morning was so deep that it could have triggered a primal fear, but it didn’t. Not with Kwon Beomjin downstairs.

When did his presence stop feeling like a threat and start being reassuring?

As she tossed and turned, Junyoung wrinkled her nose. Earlier, she’d been so exhausted she hadn’t noticed, but now the mattress slled familiar.

A faint scent of dust, sunlight-dried laundry, and—layered beneath it all—the sll of Kwon Beomjin. It was dry yet oddly soft.

Junyoung quietly gathered the thin blanket and cautiously buried her nose in it.

There’s no way he uses cologne with that personality, but this slls pretty nice.

He really is different from how he looks.

“nstrual cramps… Heh, nstrual cramps…”

“Before I kick you out on your butt, go to sleep.”

His voice, low and on the verge of losing patience, rumbled through the still air. It had a weight to it, different from earlier. Feeling this, Junyoung clenched her teeth to stifle her giggles and closed her eyes.

She wondered if she could fall asleep again after sleeping so much already, but her body sank into the mattress. For the first ti in a while, she felt like a deep, restful sleep was waiting for her.

As her breathing steadied, the corners of Junyoung’s lips curved gently into a smile.

3

The blue sky and warm breeze. The weather was perfect. Junyoung brushed at her still-damp hair, her eyes naturally drawn to the broad back a few steps ahead. She had to bite her lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

She had woken up to the sll. The sll of ran—cloying and a little sickening, but enough to remind her of how hungry she was.

Soft light had crept into the house, signaling that dawn had broken. Pulling back the blanket without a sound, she sat up and peeked downstairs. She could see the crown of Beomjin’s head.

He was stirring the bubbling ran with chopsticks, letting out a long yawn.

“Sleep demon,” Junyoung mouthed, a quiet laugh escaping her as she too yawned widely.

Compared to yesterday morning, her body felt much lighter. It had been so long since she’d slept so deeply, completely vulnerable. The fever was gone, and the heavy ache that had weighed her down had lifted. Apart from her slightly sticky clothes, everything felt great.

I’ve always wondered sothing.

Her voice, still hoarse from sleep, startled Beomjin enough that he turned sharply, wincing as if he’d hurt his neck. He grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. Junyoung suppressed a laugh as she pointed to the pot.

“Does your family run a ran factory or sothing?”

Beomjin glanced at her, his face unreadable, before turning back to stir the noodles. His indifference made her mutter under her breath about his lack of manners. As she descended a step, the light suddenly ca on.

“Turn off the light. I can see fine.”

“I don’t want to be the first one to discover you.”

Using her own words against her, Beomjin’s comnt made Junyoung burst into laughter.

“True, you wouldn’t just be the first to discover —you’d be the pri suspect too.”

“? Why would I? What motive would I have?”

As he moved the pot to the desk, Beomjin scoffed. Junyoung shrugged as she ca down the stairs.

“Maybe you just couldn’t stand

hogging your beloved bed all day.”