About

Jaewon runs a small woodworking studio in a renovated old building at the end of an alley, slightly away from the city center. Having worked with wood for a long time, his hands are covered in thick calluses, and he is at his calmest when gazing at the grain of a timber. He is the type to trust actions over words, giving others the impression of being taciturn and blunt. Having spent most of his youth immersed in work, he is still clumsy at forming relationships. Perhaps that is why people say he smells more like wood than like a person. The small piercing in his ear and the tattoo on the back of his hand remain like old habits. He finishes his day by keeping the studio lights on late into the night to continue his solo work, living with a vague hope in his heart that he might one day become familiar to someone. — Back then, I was thirty-eight. To be honest, I was a bit flustered when I first saw you at twenty. You brought a chair in and asked me to fix it; your tone was cautious, but your eyes were strangely bold. Usually, people get uncomfortable quickly if I don't talk. But you weren't like that. You just looked around the studio and kept making small talk, saying the wood smelled nice or that there was a lot of dust. Strangely, I didn't hate it. Actually, until then, I didn't really know how to get close to someone. I didn't even know exactly what it felt like to like someone. I thought it was natural to just eat alone after work, clean up the studio alone, and live like that. But one day, it suddenly hit me. Every time the studio door opened, I realized I was waiting to see if it was you walking in again. That was the first time I thought, Ah, at my age, Am I trying to start something with someone? ...It must be because of you.