The night shift had already started.
Workers moved endlessly between shelves, carrying boxes and scanning products.
Meanwhile
Fang worked silently like a machine again.
Min Jae watched from a distance while drinking canned coffee.
"...Something's wrong today."
Another worker looked confused.
"What now?"
Min Jae pointed toward Fang.
"He looks tired."
Everyone immediately looked over.
Fang was still working faster than everyone else
But compared to his usual terrifying efficiency, he looked slightly slower today.
One female worker suddenly laughed.
"Maybe he finally discovered human limitations."
Min Jae walked closer dramatically.
"Brother."
Fang glanced sideways.
"...What?"
"Why do you look exhausted today?"
Fang calmly lifted another heavy box.
"Went outside with family."
Silence.
Then the entire storage floor exploded.
"WHAT?!"
"You actually go outside?!"
"Wait with FAMILY?!"
Min Jae looked completely betrayed.
"No, seriously."
Fang frowned slightly.
"What kind of face should a family man have?"
"Less serial killer aura."
Several workers burst out laughing immediately.
Fang looked mildly offended.
"...Rude."
One older worker grinned.
"So where'd you go?"
"Amusement park."
Now people laughed even harder.
"I'M IMAGINING HIM ON RIDES."
"He probably scared children."
"Kids definitely cried seeing his face."
Fang answered calmly,
"The rides were inefficient."
"Yet you work this fast, my body hurts like hell."
"..hmm"
That only made everyone lose control again.
Even the manager looked over, wondering what chaos had happened.
Meanwhile, Min Jae wiped tears from laughing.
"This is unbelievable."
"What?"
"Warehouse work couldn't exhaust you, but one family trip destroyed your stamina."
Fang stayed silent briefly.
Then answered seriously,
"...Children consume too much energy."
The workers laughed so hard that one guy almost dropped the scanner.
For the first time since joining
Fang actually felt slightly integrated into the workplace.
Not fully.
Still strange.
Still distant.
But less isolated than before.
Min Jae suddenly narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Wait."
"What now?"
"You smiled earlier."
Fang stopped moving briefly.
"...No."
"You definitely did."
"Hallucination."
"EVERYONE SAW IT."
Fang ignored them completely and walked toward the inventory section again.
But behind him
The workers kept laughing and gossiping.
For some reason
The terrifying new guy finally started feeling normal.
Hours passed quietly afterward.
Boxes moved.
Products got scanned.
Workers complained endlessly.
Nothing unusual happened.
Yet Fang's thoughts kept drifting elsewhere.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
He picked up another box and placed it onto a shelf.
Then suddenly remembered Noah's face when she received the balloon.
Her eyes had sparkled like she had been given treasure.
"...Humans pay money for air?"
At the time, Fang genuinely thought it was stupid.
Now
He wasn't so sure.
Min Jae noticed him staring into space again.
"Brother."
"What?"
"You did it again."
Fang frowned.
"Did what?"
"That look."
"What look?"
"The one where you're physically here but mentally somewhere else."
Fang ignored him.
Min Jae grinned immediately.
"You were thinking about your daughter."
Silence.
Several nearby workers instantly became interested.
"Oho?"
"Family man."
"Look at him."
Fang looked mildly irritated.
"You people talk too much."
The workers only laughed harder.
But after a few seconds
The laughter slowly faded.
One middle-aged worker suddenly spoke quietly.
"My daughter is in middle school now."
Everyone looked over.
The man smiled bitterly.
"Feels like yesterday she was still asking me to carry her."
For a moment
The atmosphere became softer.
Less joking.
More real.
The worker looked at Fang.
"If your kid still wants to spend time with you, don't waste it."
Fang paused slightly.
The man continued calmly.
"They grow up fast."
Nobody laughed this time.
Even Min Jae became quiet.
Fang remembered Noah pulling his sleeve at the amusement park.
"Dad."
"Dad."
"Dad."
The child seemed able to say that word hundreds of times a day.
Annoying.
Yet strangely
The apartment felt quieter whenever she wasn't around.
Fang suddenly clicked his tongue.
"...Troublesome."
The older worker laughed softly.
"That's what all fathers say."
"I'm not."
The worker raised an eyebrow.
"Not what?"
"...A father."
Silence.
The answer came out before Fang could stop it.
For a brief moment
Nobody knew what to say.
Then Min Jae spoke carefully.
"Maybe not originally."
Fang looked at him.
"But that kid definitely thinks you are."
The storage floor became quiet again.
For some reason
Those simple words felt heavier than they should have.
Fang turned away first.
"Break is over."
Min Jae immediately complained.
"You're running away."
"No."
"You definitely are."
Fang grabbed another cart and started working.
But this time
The usual cold expression on his face seemed slightly different.
Slightly softer.
Far away
The manager watched everything silently.
Then looked toward Fang.
Strange.
When that man first arrived, he looked like someone who could disappear tomorrow without caring about anything.
Now
For the first time
He looked like someone who actually had somewhere to return to.
The night continued quietly after that.
Workers returned to their usual rhythm.
Boxes.
Scanners.
Inventory lists.
Endless work.
Yet for some reason
The atmosphere around Fang felt different now.
Less distant.
Less cold.
Min Jae suddenly pushed a can of coffee toward him.
"Here."
Fang looked down.
"What?"
"I'm investing in friendship."
"...That sounds stupid."
"Just take it."
Fang accepted the coffee anyway.
The workers nearby immediately reacted.
"HE TOOK IT."
"No way."
"Progress."
Fang looked confused.
"...What's wrong with you people?"
Min Jae pointed dramatically.
"First day here, you barely spoke."
"Hm."
"Now you accept coffee."
"Hm."
"Next day you'll smile."
"...Impossible."
The workers burst out laughing again.
Meanwhile
Fang quietly opened the can.
The bitter smell spread into the air.
Strange.
Not long ago, he would have spent nights surrounded by blood and corpses.
Now he was standing in a warehouse listening to tired workers make stupid jokes.
Life truly enjoyed mocking people.
Suddenly
His phone vibrated inside his pocket.
Fang looked down.
A message.
Unknown number.
For a brief second
His eyes became cold.
Old habit.
Unknown numbers rarely brought good news.
He opened it.
Then froze.
The message contained only three words.
"Dad works hard."
Silence.
Attached below is a blurry photo.
Noah.
The picture was crooked and badly taken.
Half her face was missing from the frame.
Behind her, Seo Yuna seemed to be asleep on the sofa.
The image quality was terrible.
The photography was a disaster.
Yet Fang stared at it longer than expected.
Min Jae noticed immediately.
"Who texted you?"
"...Nobody."
"Liar."
Fang put the phone away.
But something strange remained in his chest.
Warm.
Annoying.
Dangerous.
He disliked it.
At the same time
He didn't dislike it.
The feeling made no sense.
A few minutes later
Break time ended.
Everyone stood up again with painful expressions.
"I hate my life."
"My legs are dead."
"My back is gone."
Only Fang remained standing quietly.
The older worker laughed.
"Look at him."
"What?"
"You look less tired now."
Fang paused briefly.
Then remembered the photo again.
Noah's crooked smile.
The words were written with terrible spelling.
Dad works hard.
For some reason
The exhaustion from earlier felt lighter.
"...Maybe."
The workers stared.
Min Jae immediately pointed.
"HE ADMITTED IT."
"What?"
"Something made him happy."
"No."
"It definitely did."
Fang ignored everyone and pushed the cart forward again.
Yet this time
The corners of his mouth almost moved.
Almost.
Very slightly.
And for the first time in many years
The long night no longer felt quite so empty.
The workers slowly gathered their things as the shift finally ended.
Everyone looked exhausted.
Everyone except Fang.
Min Jae stretched dramatically.
"My soul has left my body."
"Hm."
"One day I'll find out what you're made of."
Fang ignored him and headed toward the exit.
Near the entrance, the older worker from earlier walked beside him.
"Hey."
Fang glanced over.
"What?"
The man laughed.
"You always answer like that?"
"Hm."
The middle-aged worker shook his head.
Then casually asked,
"How old is your daughter?"
Fang paused slightly.
"...Seven."
"Seven?"
The man looked surprised.
"Then she's already in elementary school, right?"
Fang stopped walking.
For a brief moment, he said nothing.
Elementary school.
His memories searched through Chung Soo's past.
Then his expression slowly darkened.
No school.
No enrollment.
Nothing.
The old Chung Soo had spent money on alcohol while completely ignoring things like education.
The middle-aged worker noticed the silence.
"...She does go to school, right?"
Fang looked away.
"I need to go."
"Huh?"
"We'll talk later."
Without another word, Fang walked toward the street.
The middle-aged worker stared after him strangely.
"What was that about?"
Meanwhile
Fang walked through the waking city silently.
His thoughts remained fixed on one thing.
Noah.
Seven years old.
Yet she wasn't attending school.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
What kind of father forgets something like that?
That useless drunk truly was beyond saving.
By the time Fang reached the apartment, his mood had already worsened.
He entered quietly.
The apartment was still peaceful.
Seo Yuna sat near the table while Noah drew pictures beside her.
Both looked up when Fang entered.
Then looked directly at Seo Yuna.
"...Why isn't Noah going to school?"
Silence.
Seo Yuna froze.
Noah slowly looked up from her drawing.
The atmosphere immediately changed.
And for the first time
Fang realized there were still many things about this family he didn't know.