Woo-jin felt great.

Not just great—he was humming a tune, the kind of mood where everything feels light and exhilarating.

“Ah… this is it!”

To be fair, the current situation wasn’t exactly something that should have put him in such a good mood.

Carpentry was something he’d done endlessly in his previous life, to the point of exhaustion.

And it wasn’t as if he was fulfilling his dream of being a design director at the moment.

But there was one reason Woo-jin felt like he was soaring right now.

“Being young really is the best!”

The fact that his post-military, fit and healthy body was moving perfectly as he envisioned—it was simply exhilarating.

Compared to his body in his 40s in his previous life, with scrawny arms and a bloated beer belly, this body was in an entirely different league.

As a result, Woo-jin felt like he could fly.

“Wow… Woo-jin-ssi, you’ve already set up all the boards?”

“Man, how is a young guy so skilled at this?”

“Because I’m young, I can do anything well. Haha!”

Dragging a woodworking compressor, which weighed dozens of kilograms, with ease, Woo-jin displayed jaw-dropping precision, shooting nails into place with a nail gun without a single mistake.

Though the team consisted of only three members, Woo-jin’s team was working at the speed of a typical 10-person carpentry crew.

One person continuously cut the wood, another brought the prepared materials to Woo-jin, and once the wood was positioned, Woo-jin’s nail gun flawlessly fixed it in place.

With all dimensions and cuts already outlined based on the prepared plans, and with the modeling work he had done beforehand, Woo-jin had the entire carpentry structure etched in his mind like a picture.

There was no need to double-check the plans to match the wood’s position; he assembled the structure as effortlessly as if piecing together a puzzle he had solved dozens of times before.

The work flowed seamlessly.

“Manager Park told me to give it a try for just one day… but this guy’s a gem.”

Carpenter Kim Jin-Tae, who had reluctantly come to help at Park Kyung-Wan’s request, watched Woo-jin’s work with great interest.

Initially, an outside appointment he had lined up was canceled, so he had no choice but to show up. However, he didn’t expect to witness something this extraordinary.

“The way he handles the nail gun… that’s not something you pick up overnight.”

Within the hastily assembled three-person carpentry team, Jin-Tae was supposed to take on the directing role, not Woo-jin.

Based on experience and age, it would have made sense for Jin-Tae to lead.

So at first, Jin-Tae only intended to glance at Woo-jin’s SketchUp files and get a basic explanation.

Since Woo-jin had been on-site a day earlier, Jin-Tae figured he’d get a quick handover and then take charge.

However, as Woo-jin explained things one by one, Jin-Tae found himself swept into Woo-jin’s pace, almost as if hypnotized.

“Where did this guy even come from?”

Despite Woo-jin taking on the de facto director’s role, Jin-Tae didn’t feel the least bit annoyed.

After all, Woo-jin wasn’t just giving instructions—he was also working harder than anyone else.

If Woo-jin had only been barking orders without lifting a finger, Jin-Tae’s pride would have made him flip the table. But that wasn’t the case here.

Woo-jin, who handled everything with ease, was like a comfortable luxury bus that Jin-Tae could simply sit back and ride.

“Alright, you two, just a bit more effort!”

“Huh? What do you mean, Woo-jin-ssi?”

“Manager Park said that today’s yarikki-ri [the day’s allocated work quota] was set to end at this point.”

“Are you serious?”

Hearing Woo-jin’s words, the two carpenters looked a bit surprised.

In construction, yarikki-ri refers to finishing the set amount of work for the day, after which you can clock out regardless of the remaining time. Of course, the full daily wage would still be paid.

So if Woo-jin’s words were true, and they were almost done with the yarikki-ri, it was excellent news for the workers.

It was currently 2:30 PM.

With the sun still high in the sky, they were looking at an early finish.

“Man, that’s why it’s all about working with the right team leader!”

“Wait, who’s the team leader here?”

“Well, obviously it’s you, Woo-jin!”

“No way! Jin-Tae hyung is here—how could I be the team leader?”

When fellow carpenter Oh Young-Cheol gave Woo-jin a thumbs-up, Woo-jin waved his hands, feeling embarrassed.

Though Woo-jin had often been in charge in his previous life, he felt he had gone overboard today.

“Ah, I might’ve overstepped because I was feeling good…”

Carpenters typically have strong pride, and depending on how you look at it, Woo-jin’s behavior today might have been enough to rub some people the wrong way.

Naturally, Woo-jin was cautious.

“This wasn’t what I intended…”

While Young-Cheol’s younger age and shorter career didn’t bother him, Woo-jin couldn’t help but be mindful of Jin-Tae, who had over a decade of experience.

Contrary to Woo-jin’s concerns, Jin-Tae burst out laughing.

“Haha, on-site, the person who works the best is the team leader, isn’t that right?”

“Well, uh…”

“Don’t worry, Woo-jin-ssi. I’m not bothered at all.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Jin-Tae even added a playful wink.

“In return, until this job is done, you’ll keep calling the shots for our team.”

Hearing that, Woo-jin could only let out an awkward chuckle.

---

Time flew by.

Woo-jin worked tirelessly, sweating profusely, as if he had gone back to his beginner days.

Thanks to the good teamwork with the other members, the atmosphere at the worksite remained cheerful and harmonious.

From the third day of work, nearly a dozen people were assigned to the first-floor interior woodworking.

Despite the increased workforce, the construction progressed smoothly without any discord.

Of course, not everyone was pleased with Woo-jin, but at least no one openly voiced complaints.

Thanks to Jin-tae and other experienced carpenters supporting Woo-jin, any dissatisfaction was kept under wraps.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed working at a site like this.’

Thus, Woo-jin was able to finish his work on the last day in a good mood.

Even though the schedule was shortened by two days, Woo-jin was paid the full amount of the original contract by Park Kyung-wan, which added to his satisfaction.

“Are you really done working?”

“I told you, I have to go to school.”

“You’re really a college student?”

“Not yet.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll be starting next month.”

“Ah…”

“If I were already in college, it wouldn’t make sense for me to have three years of work experience at my age, would it?”

“Nothing about you makes sense…”

“…”

Woo-jin then wrapped up his final settlement with Park Kyung-wan in a friendly manner.

He even managed to snag a few extra business cards as a bonus.

Of course, he took Park Kyung-wan’s card, who had been practically drooling over Woo-jin.

“Here, take a card.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ll work during the holidays, right?”

“I have to pay my tuition fees.”

“Don’t go anywhere else; try to contact me first.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Hey, managers as kind as me are rare!”

Woo-jin also got a card from veteran carpenter Kim Jin-tae, with whom he had grown quite close over the week.

“Woo-jin, you’re starting school next month?”

“Yes, Jin-tae hyung.”

“If you’ve got free time during the semester, let’s grab a drink together.”

“Sounds good.”

“If you need help with anything, just let me know.”

“Will do. Haha.”

With that, Woo-jin successfully achieved his first goal.

‘The main reason I came to the Suseo site was to get on Park Kyung-wan’s radar. Getting Jin-tae hyung’s contact is just a bonus.’

Building a connection with Park Kyung-wan, who would eventually rise to be an executive at Cheonwoong Construction, was Woo-jin’s most critical objective.

However, he valued his connection with Kim Jin-tae just as much.

With a bit more polish, Jin-tae had the potential to lead most construction sites efficiently.

On top of that, Woo-jin intended to maintain good relationships with the other workers whenever possible.

‘Alright. This feels like a solid first step.’

Construction requires people—a lot of them.

For Woo-jin, every individual connection was precious.

---

In the week he worked at the Suseo site, Woo-jin earned a little over 2 million won.

His daily wage was about 220,000 won, so typically, a week’s work would total around 1.5 million won.

But since Park Kyung-wan paid him for the time he saved on the project, the additional amount made up the difference.

With what he had saved up, Woo-jin now had about 5.7 million won in his account.

For some, it might seem like a lot, and for others, not much, but for 22-year-old Woo-jin, it was a considerable sum.

‘Should I work just one more week? That would be enough to cover my first year’s tuition.’

As he briefly considered tuition fees, Woo-jin shook his head.

It was just a fleeting thought; he had no intention of using his savings—even if he had over 10 million won in the bank—to pay for tuition.

‘I absolutely have to take out a student loan.’

For someone like Woo-jin, who was always tight on liquid cash, it made no sense to pass up a near-interest-free student loan.

‘Loans should always be maximized and repaid as late as possible.’

In modern society, there’s no need to fear debt.

Especially in a low-interest era moving toward zero rates, the strategy is even more valid.

In his previous life, Woo-jin had only realized this truth in his late thirties.

‘Well, in my last life… I didn’t even have the luxury to think about investments until my early thirties.’

Of course, indiscriminate borrowing wasn’t the right approach.

But he knew from experience that reasonable loans within manageable interest rates could help grow assets.

‘First, I need to gather about 30 million won in liquid funds. That should be enough to lay the groundwork.’

As he chuckled to himself, imagining his future earnings, Woo-jin shook his head again, brushing aside his daydreams.

The next week marked the beginning of March, and with it, the start of his college life.

It was time to prepare for his university experience.

Planning for money-making schemes was undoubtedly important, especially since his financial situation now was far worse than in his previous life.

But above all, what excited him the most was his upcoming school life.

Unlike construction work, which he had done to exhaustion in his past life, college was something entirely new.

Throughout his years, he had craved academic life but had been unable to achieve it due to harsh realities.

‘Finally… Finally, I’m going to college!’

And now, as he checked his old, worn-out flip phone, the grin on Woo-jin’s face stretched ear to ear for a similar reason.

[To: Seo Woo-jin of the Space Design Department. Please confirm your attendance for the OT (Orientation).]

The heart of 22-year-old (?) Seo Woo-jin began to race uncontrollably.

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