The Genius Construction Worker Who Moved to America - Chapter 5

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 5

A Rotting House and an Old Carpenter

Leo stepped back half a pace behind Kang Jun, his blue eyes darting with unease.

Extracting a construction permit from an old man with that look in his eyes seemed impossible.

But Leo was, in name at least, a construction company president and a salesman.

Whatever innate merchant’s instinct he possessed flickered to life—he cleared his throat a few times, forced a smile, and stepped forward.

“Ah, ha ha! My apologies for the intrusion, sir! I had no intention of startling you. I’m Leo Spencer, president of Pasadena’s most successful ‘Golden Gate Interior & Construction’!”

Leo reached into his pocket for a business card but stopped short when he caught sight of the old man’s clouded eyes, letting his hand drop instead. He raised his voice and pressed on.

“I happened to pass by and noticed your property. Your roof looked in poor condition, so I took the liberty of knocking on your door.
We have equipment and personnel to spare right now. I thought we might give your roof a complete overhaul at a steep discount….”

“Be quiet.”

A single word cut off Leo’s stream of words.

“Cheap salesmen counting their profits. The longer the tongue, the emptier the head.”

The old man’s jaw trembled. Behind his eyes, anger flickered.

“I know exactly what men like you do. You roll up in some noisy truck, hack away at the frame with a chainsaw, and hammer in cheap plywood with a nail gun. All while you ignore the grain of the wood entirely!”

The old man brought his cane down against the floor and continued.

“My house is not some testing ground for the likes of you. If you’re done here, get out!”

The door began to close. Leo’s face went ashen; he thrust both hands forward in protest.

If they got thrown out now, his contract with Kang Jun was finished. He could feel Kang Jun’s cold gaze boring into his back like a spike, and sweat beaded on his skin.

Then it happened.

Kang Jun, who had been silently surveying the house and its surroundings, slowly stepped forward.

The world he saw was different.
Beyond the decaying, crumbling exterior, hundreds of golden threads traced the building’s true skeleton.

The roof shingles had been torn away and the outer wall paint had peeled, yet the balance between the load-bearing columns and the main beams was flawless.

Despite enduring more than a decade of time, the frame stood without so much as a hair’s breadth of deviation.

Kang Jun spoke softly toward the narrowing gap in the door.

“You built this house yourself, didn’t you, sir?”

A craftsman knows a craftsman.

The door stopped.
The old man’s brow furrowed. His clouded eyes felt their way toward the direction of the voice.

“And who might you be?”

“I’m the technical director for that blond boss of his. Well, that’s not important. This house—it’s truly remarkable.”

Kang Jun kept his hands in his pockets as he tapped the foundation post of the entrance deck with the toe of his shoe. A dull, heavy sound rang out.

“This post supporting the foundation. Fine timber. Whoever built this understood the properties of wood that resists moisture and repels insects, and applied them correctly. The way the floor beam connects to the joists too….”

Kang Jun’s gaze swept across the structure beneath the deck.

“It wasn’t fixed with cheap metal angles and nails. The wood was cut and fitted together to interlock. That’s why the frame didn’t twist even when the roof blew away.”

It wasn’t flattery. If anything, he was restraining his inner admiration.

“You built this house yourself, didn’t you?”

The anger drained from the old man’s face. It was the melancholy of a craftsman meeting someone who, after all these years, had finally recognized his true worth.

“…You’ve got a keen eye. A good eye indeed.”

Leo was not one to miss his moment. He stepped in beside Kang Jun.

“Ha! What did I tell you, sir? Our Mister Kang Jun is a craftsman who’s hard to find! But the sun’s getting low—might we trouble you for a warm cup of tea?”

The old man let out a quiet laugh.

“A brash blond head, and a tradesman who knows wood. Not a bad combination. All right, come in. I’ve got some cheap black tea left.”

* * *

The interior of the house was far stranger and more poignant than the exterior.

Dust lay thick on the furniture, yet the deep scent of wood spoke to how carefully this space had been built.

The three of them sat facing each other at a heavy oak table. The old man fumbled about for three mugs and poured the tea.

“My name is Arthur. Arthur Harrington. As you can see, my eyes are little more than ornaments these days.”

Arthur gestured toward his clouded eyes as he spoke.

“Cataract. It’s been developing for a long time. Now I can only make out light and the silhouettes of people. I judge presence by voice and footsteps alone.”

Kang Jun sipped his tea in silence, his gaze fixed on the living room wall.

Dozens of hand tools hung densely from a pegboard.

Wooden mallets buffed smooth by decades of use.
Chisels with blades that glinted sharp and bright.
A Stanley plane worn to the contours of its user’s grip.
Saws of varying thickness.

It was like a history book containing the life of a single craftsman. Sensing where Kang Jun’s eyes had wandered, Arthur spoke slowly.

“Before I went blind, I had quite a hand with the hammer. In my younger days, there wasn’t a house in this Pasadena area that hadn’t passed through these hands. They used to say the joints I cut and fitted wouldn’t open up even decades later.”

The old man’s smile turned wistful.

“This house, I built it on my own terms, at my own pace. For my beloved wife, Mary. Every weekend I’d come here and work the wood.
I planed the living room floor thousands of times, just to be sure there wouldn’t be a single splinter. The kitchen window frame—I must have repaired it hundreds of times.”

Even Leo fell silent.

“But Mary didn’t live in this house even five years before she passed. Three years ago a tornado tore the roof to pieces. Now my eyes have gone dark besides….”

Arthur’s head bowed.

“I know. My eyes are gone, but I hear everything. The sound of rainwater seeping through the roof cracks, rotting the frame. The sound of joints twisting in the strong wind. I know it needs fixing right away, but….”

Arthur’s fists clenched tight.

“If I can’t fix it with my own hands, I won’t borrow another’s. Builders these days tear down the good parts first.
Rather than watch the timber that holds my memories with my wife get cut away…. I’d rather spend what’s left of my life rotting together with this house.”

It was the stubbornness of an old carpenter, clinging to the last shreds of his pride.

Then it came.

[Tutorial Quest: Foundations of a New World]
▶ Construction Start Deadline: 60 hours 41 minutes 20 seconds….

The red numbers ticked down relentlessly. Time was running out.

Kang Jun set down his teacup with a sharp clink.

“I understand your heart. But do you think your late wife would want to watch you rot away together with this house?”

Arthur’s head jerked up slightly.

“The frame of this house is still sound. Thanks to twenty years of care you’ve poured into it. If we carve away only the damaged roof and cover it with fresh timber, it’ll easily stand for another hundred years.”

Kang Jun rose slowly.

“I’ll take responsibility for repairing this house.”

“…You will?”

Kang Jun recalled the timber-frame construction methods he’d learned at temple restoration sites.

With an ability like that of a human protractor, he could calculate and carve those intricate wooden joinery puzzles on the spot.

Even without sight, Arthur could sense it.

The presence Kang Jun gave off. Not the lightness of someone speaking falsehoods, but the solid weight of a craftsman who understood the gravity of a job site.

After a long silence, Arthur’s lips parted.

“…All right. I’ll trust your eyes and hands this once. But the moment a single nail gets driven, the contract’s void.”

“Understood. That’s exactly what I want. I’ll keep that promise without fail.”

Leo quickly produced a preliminary contract and guided Arthur’s hand to the signature line.

[Signed: Arthur Harrington]

The moment the ink bled into the paper, Kang Jun’s eyes changed.

The relaxed demeanor of someone sipping tea vanished without a trace. In its place stood the sharp face of a craftsman who commanded a job site with the precision of a blade.

He turned to Leo with a resolute expression.

“Leo.”

“Yes, yes! Mr. Choi!”

“Can you source the highest grade Red Cedar, twenty four-inch square timbers, waterproof sheets for the roof, and Oil Stain right now? I’ll borrow the elder’s tools.”

Kang Jun emphasized again, pressing intensity into his gaze.

“Don’t let a single material slip through.”

“Oh, Jesus! Of course! You know who I am, the best in this whole—”

“We don’t have time. As fast as you can.”

At Kang Jun’s urgency, Leo bolted out of the room. Kang Jun was just beginning to roll his shoulders and take a deep breath when—

Ding!

[An additional linked mission has occurred!]

[Hidden Quest: The True Path of the Craftsman (Hidden)]
Inherit the great carpenter’s legacy. Abandon modern tools and rebuild the collapsed roof using only the principles of wood itself.
▶ Condition: Use no metal fasteners whatsoever during the roof repair process.
▶ Progress: Contract established.
▶ Preliminary Reward: To lend strength to your reckless challenge, the system grants you a new power.

[Skill Book activated.]
[You have acquired the skill: Voice of Materials (Lv. 1)!]

▶ Effect: When you place your bare hand against building materials such as wood, concrete, or rebar, you can read the material’s current durability, moisture content, and any hidden defects invisible to the naked eye in text form.

▶ System Hint: Use this skill to uncover a fatal flaw hidden somewhere in Arthur’s house. The roof is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Kang Jun’s eyes gleamed.

The roof is only the tip of the iceberg? There’s a fatal flaw hidden somewhere?
Slowly, Kang Jun raised his hand and pressed his palm against the surface of a pillar in the living room.

[The Voice of Materials skill activates.]

A soft whisper—

The grain of the wood transmitted through Kang Jun’s palm like a living pulse.
Red warning text flooded across his vision.

Kang Jun’s expression grew curious as he read through each line.

“This is getting interesting. Sir, this house… the work’s going to be bigger than I thought.”

“Are you getting cold feet now? If flawless carpentry is impossible, then this project’s off.”

Arthur’s face began to darken.

“No, sir. It’s not that. But something needs to be dealt with first.”

Kang Jun ran his palm roughly across the post.

Genius Laborer Abroad, Episode 5

Author
Kalman
Publisher
Titan
Planning / Editing / Production
Lee Sung-guk
Cover Design
Studio Inerus

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260819030.0005

© 2026, Kalman

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part of this work may be reproduced or adapted in any form without permission from the author and publisher.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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