The Genius Construction Worker Who Moved to America - Chapter 9

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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 9

In the Storm’s Wake

Roooaarrr—!!!!

The clear California sky had vanished without trace, replaced by darkness and torrents of water cascading down from above.

An Atmospheric River.

A massive band of water vapor that had spawned over the Pacific was now bombarding the American West Coast with rain like a detonating bomb—a freak weather system. It was exactly the deluge Leo had warned them about.

The wind howled with terrifying force, and raindrops hammered against the residence’s outer walls and roof like scattered gravel.

“Oh, Jesus… Jesus Christ….”

The first-floor living room of Arthur’s Residence.

Leo stared out at the rain and wind thrashing against the windows, making the sign of the cross over and over again. His bitten fingernails had begun to bleed.

Both men’s eyes were naturally drawn upward.

More precisely, toward the arched roof that Kang Jun had covered without using a single nail.

“Mr. Kang… are you absolutely certain this is safe? If even one of those wooden panels comes loose, the entire roof will collapse like dominoes!”

Leo cried out, trembling with fear. His concern was not without reason.

In modern construction, thousands of nails are shot into roofing materials precisely to withstand the aerodynamic lift generated as wind rushes over the sloped roof surface.

But a roof assembled with grooves and tenons, joining wood to wood without a single nail?

In normal circumstances, it would be a work of art. But before gusts exceeding thirty meters per second, it seemed nothing more than kindling ready to scatter.

And yet.
Kang Jun’s expression, as he lay on the sofa, remained utterly serene.

“Relax, Leo. Stop the fussing and come sit here with me. Let’s watch some television.”

Kang Jun raised the volume on the Remote Control. An old CRT Television set in the corner of the living room was broadcasting an emergency disaster warning for the Pasadena area.

[…Currently, water levels in streams around the Pasadena suburbs have exceeded warning thresholds. All residents in low-lying areas are urged to evacuate immediately.
Particularly in older wooden residential districts, reports of roof damage and wall collapse due to high winds are flooding emergency lines. Fire department authorities are….]

The reporter on screen, wearing a rain jacket, swayed as though about to be blown away while transmitting from the scene.

Behind the reporter, street trees were being uprooted and sent tumbling, while a neighboring house’s roof shingles peeled away like paper scraps, flying through the air.

“See that?! Out there is hell right now! Even sturdy homes are getting ripped apart, so how could our roof—put together like Lego blocks—possibly hold up….”

Creak. Crrreak—!

A strange, grinding sound of wood friction echoed from the ceiling.

Leo, startled, dropped flat to the floor with his arms wrapped over his head, and even Arthur jolted upright from his chair.

“It’s really caving in!”

Yet Kang Jun’s expression remained perfectly calm.

“That’s not the sound of collapse—it’s the sound of holding firm. You have a sharp ear; why don’t you listen for yourself?”

At Kang Jun’s words, Arthur held his breath and focused on the sounds from above.

The ears of an old carpenter who had spent his whole life working with wood read the ceiling’s voice beyond the rain and wind, deciphering what lay hidden overhead.

Creak. Rustle. Tap.

It was not the sound of wood splintering or tearing away.

“Is this… the sound of gaps grinding together?”

“Exactly. That clearance makes it possible.”

Kang Jun rose from his seat and gestured toward the ceiling.

“If you fix everything rigidly with nails, when a typhoon strikes, the wood will hold and hold and finally shatter. But this roof is different. There are minute gaps between the Oak Tiles, you see.”

In Kang Jun’s golden-tinged vision, the residence’s roof was alive and breathing.

Each time a powerful gust battered the roof, the twelve hundred Oak Tiles connected by their Groove and Tenon joints trembled ever so slightly, absorbing the wind’s energy.

“The harder the wind blows, the more fiercely the Groove and Tenon wedge together, locking tight like a wedge. And when rain drives in and the oak absorbs moisture—what happens then?”

Arthur’s eyes widened.

“The wood… expands.”

“Exactly right! That one millimeter of clearance closes completely the moment the Oak absorbs rainwater and swells. A perfect Natural Waterproof Seal forms—not a drop can seep through.”

After Kang Jun’s explanation, silence settled over the living room.

Leo’s mouth hung open in disbelief, while Arthur clutched his chest with trembling hands.

“This is… a miracle.”

Leaving Arthur’s murmur behind, Kang Jun lay back down on the sofa.

The exhaustion accumulated from consecutive all-night work was crashing down on him now.

Though the Master Craftsman’s Grip halved his fatigue, it could not shield him from mental exhaustion.

“This Atmospheric River or whatever it is looks like it’ll blow over in seven or eight hours. Don’t worry about the roof—get some rest.”

With that, Kang Jun surrendered to deep sleep, the driving downpour becoming his lullaby.

* * *

The next morning.
Kang Jun’s words had proven precisely accurate.

The torrential rain that had poured through the night ceased the moment dawn broke, as if it had been a lie. The dark clouds retreated, and California’s morning sun spilled across the land.

Creek.

Kang Jun opened the front door and stepped onto the deck. Leo and Arthur followed him out into the yard.

“Oh, my God….”

The words tumbled from Leo’s lips like a prayer.

In the wake of the storm, Arthur’s Residence stood pristine—as though someone had just finished cleaning a brand-new house.

The sawdust, charcoal ash, and dirt that had been scattered across the yard yesterday had been washed away by the downpour.

The hole Kang Jun had dug to set the wood had naturally become a drainage channel, swallowing all the pooled water from the courtyard.

But what was truly breathtaking was the roof.

The twelve hundred Oak Tiles had swollen from the night’s relentless rain and locked seamlessly into place.

The Perilla Oil he’d applied on top had formed a transparent seal, and as morning sunlight caught it, the tiles gleamed like dragon scales.

Not a single tile had come loose. Not a single drop had leaked through.

“It survived…. My house, my memories—they survived!”

Arthur cast aside his Walking Cane and fell to his knees in the center of the courtyard, his arms spread wide toward the roof as tears streamed down the old man’s weathered face.

But the moment of triumph was short-lived.
From the CRT Television left on in the living room, an anchor’s voice cut through with an urgent news bulletin.

[…Citizens of Pasadena, we’re switching to an emergency disaster briefing. Mayor David Scott has a statement to deliver.]

The screen shifted. Mayor David Scott stood at the podium in the City Hall briefing room, his face gaunt—hair disheveled, dark circles shadowing his eyes. He was a man who hadn’t slept all night.

[Citizens of our city. Last night’s Atmospheric River deluge has inflicted severe damage upon Pasadena.
Fortunately, there have been no casualties, but the overflow of streams on the outskirts has claimed numerous roads, and the residential areas of the Old Town District have been hit particularly hard.]

The mayor shuffled his papers and continued.

[According to current assessments, approximately one hundred and fifty wooden houses have had their roofs damaged or torn away, and dozens of buildings are at risk of external wall collapse.
The municipal government will immediately petition the state to declare a Special Disaster Zone, and we will commit all available resources and personnel to recovery efforts….]

Leo swallowed hard, watching the news.

“Hell. The place is completely destroyed.”

Kang Jun methodically gathered his things. He fastened his Tool Belt around his waist and picked up his Hard Case Carrier.

“The work’s done. Time to pack up. And if you find any leaks later, just give me a call. I’ll take care of the follow-up.”

Arthur gripped both of Kang Jun’s hands firmly.

“Mr. Choi. I won’t forget this kindness as long as I live.”

“Not at all, sir. A craftsman simply did his job.”

Kang Jun offered his characteristic quiet smile, then climbed into the passenger seat of Leo’s Pickup Truck.

Clang!
The truck pulled away from Arthur’s Residence and rumbled down the mud-slicked road.

Kang Jun’s first Tutorial Quest—and the Hidden Quest along with it—had been flawlessly completed.

* * *

At that same moment, in the mayor’s office at Pasadena City Hall.

“God… if the council hadn’t cut the budget for Old Town District roof repairs last month, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

David Scott gripped his head in frustration.

Before him stood his chief secretary and aides, arrayed with disaster situation reports in hand.

“M-Mayor. For now, we’ve submitted an emergency funding request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, approval will take a minimum of two weeks. The temporary shelters currently have hundreds of citizens….”

Senior aide Tom wiped his brow as he reported.

“The bigger problem than money is that there’s no construction company capable of handling the restoration work. Most are tied up with major municipal projects in downtown LA…. We’d have to scrape together whatever carpenters we can find.”

“Damn it…. We can’t just leave it like this! There has to be a way…. We have to find a way!”

The mayor loosened his tie. Worry about the approaching rainy season weighed heavy on him.

“No good sitting here. Get the car ready. I’m going out for a site inspection right now. Let’s start with Elm Street—the area hit hardest.”

With that, the Black Jeep Wrangler carrying the mayor and his aides splashed through muddy water as it sped away from City Hall.

The state of the city was devastating.
Uprooted street trees blocked the roads, and the windows of dilapidated shops lay shattered.

Especially when the jeep turned into Elm Street in the Old Town District, nothing but a heavy sigh escaped the mayor’s lips.

The wooden houses lining both sides of the street looked as though they’d been through artillery bombardment.

Homes with half their roofs torn away, houses with collapsed rafters, and hastily patched dwellings with blue tarps weighed down by sandbags.

“Heartbreaking…. This 1,200-series section is particularly old, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Mayor. It’s expected to be the hardest-hit area. There are likely plenty of houses that have collapsed entirely.”

The jeep lurched as it entered the 1,200-series zone.

The abandoned houses around them had, as expected, crumbled under the gale—not even their frames remained standing. Only debris scattered across the streets.

But in the middle of that desolate wasteland, Scott’s eyes suddenly gleamed as he gazed out the window.

“What…? Why is that house the only one intact?”

The mayor’s gaze fixed on one spot.
Aide Tom followed the mayor’s eyes and turned his head, his mouth falling open.

“S-stop! Stop the car!!! Right now!!!”

Screeeech—!
The jeep locked its wheels, pushing mud aside as it braked hard.

David Scott leaped from the jeep before the door was even fully open. Heedless of his shoes sinking into the mud, he walked toward the residence before him.

1,242 Elm Street.
Arthur’s Residence—now freshly restored under Kang Jun’s hands.

Genius Handyman Who Crossed to America, Episode 9

By Ji Eun-yi
Kalman
Publisher
Titan
Planning / Editing / Production
Lee Sung-guk
Cover Design
Studio Innus

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260819030.0009

ⓒ2026, Kalman

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or whole of this work may be reproduced or modified 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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