Double Junk - 1

Chapter 1

01 A New Home

Bang!

A loud noise shattered the silence and jolted Ajin. Before he could even hunch his shoulders in surprise,

“Kwaaaah!”

A deep scream followed. It was a familiar voice, but he couldn’t discern who it belonged to. It could be Mangwang, the bouncer at the entrance, or Pilwook, who kept an eye on the girls. Perhaps it was someone else entirely.

“Ugh…”

Ajin let out a faint groan. He squeezed through the narrow gap between stacked boxes, his body trembling. The wooden crates emitted a musty yet tangy odor from the things packed inside. In the corner, someone had apparently vomited.

Although it was a disgusting place to wriggle through, Ajin continued to dig through the gap like a rat searching for a home. His pants seemed to have been lost along the way, leaving only his white underwear in the darkness.

The noise continued. Things broke and fell, someone yelled and cursed, and the floor thudded with a heavy sound. With each sound, Ajin’s spine, filled with fear, twitched. Even his round buttocks trembled.

Red playing cards were scattered around Ajin’s feet in the midst of his trembling.

This place was a gambling den, where Ajin worked. He had rolled into this place at the tender age of nine, battered and bruised. Since then, he has never left.

The three-story building in the center of Jongno bore the sign “Gold Hotel,” but it was, in reality, a place that engaged in all sorts of illegal activities. The basement hosted the gambling den, the first floor was the lobby, the second floor was a brothel, and the third floor had small rooms crammed together like chicken coops.

Being a place filled with all sorts of entertainment and pleasure, there were always many customers. No one left once they entered. They would gamble in the basement, drink with women on the second floor, have s3x on the third floor, take a nap, and then go back to gambling in the basement.

Working in such a place, Ajin was used to the commotion. The men would often gather and engage in brawls. After fighting for a while, they would soon giggle and touch women’s br3asts or throw playing cards. Noses would bleed, teeth would be knocked out, and that’s how it went.

Ajin’s role was to quickly clear and tidy up the mess they made.

But today’s commotion was different. It wasn’t the customers fighting each other.

It was around 5 o’clock in the afternoon when they were preparing for the gambling den’s business. Dozens of burly men, clad in black suits and long coats, stormed in with various weapons like wooden clubs, thick knives, and hatchets.

They were all imposing and had impressive physiques. The way they swung those clubs showed their tremendous strength, making a whistling sound through the air. There was no hesitation or negotiation at the entrance that had remained silent and unguarded. The employees of the gambling den feel like autumn leaves. Bl00d and screams reached the ceiling.

Ajin, who had just come out of the restroom, absentmindedly walked out and, terrified, crawled to this storage room. Due to the chaotic situation, his pants, which he had pulled down in the restroom, seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

And so, Ajin had hidden in the storage room for about an hour. The noise began to die down. The deafening screams had lessened, and the sound of destruction had faded away.

However, for some reason, Ajin became even more fearful.

Sound. Are the people who were shouting dead? What do the men who gathered want? How long do I have to hide here? What if those guys barge in here? Could they grab me and start hacking with those knives?

Ajin had already bitten his swollen lower lip until it was puffy. Then, he suddenly got up and began moving random objects aside. He needed to make a hiding place. He couldn’t have men in coats with their heads down like squirrels, not noticing the overcoat.

The boxes were heavy. Even moving them to the side made a creaking sound. Ajin, who had a deformed body, wobbled without strength.

Still, he managed to move the boxes. It was for survival. Just moving a few of them made his fingers tingle. In the end, he couldn’t lift it, so he dragged the box. His bangs, brushing against his sweaty forehead, were annoying, so he brushed them aside.

That was when Ajin finally created a bunker barely big enough for his body.

Thumping footsteps echoed. Startled to the point of trembling, Ajin hurried to the door. It was a futile attempt to block it with his feeble strength. The bunker he had painstakingly created didn’t even come into view.

However, before Ajin’s hand could reach it, the door creaked open. The shadow of the man who had lit up the hallway lights swallowed Ajin in one gulp.

“There’s another one here!”

Ajin was seized by the rough grip and dragged outside. Only then could he see the scene of the gambling den.

“Eek…”

The gambling den was in shambles. More than half of the gambling tables were overturned, and there were knife marks everywhere, as if wild animals had scratched them.

On the money-giving counter, in other words, the counter for handing out the rewards, Mangwang, the leader of the actions here, lay with his neck half severed, and bl00d dripped below him. Other familiar faces were scattered around like empty sacks.

Men in overcoats lined up the surviving employees. There were three rows in total.

One row consisted of ajummas who worked in the kitchen and miscellaneous staff who did cleaning and such. Another row had sisters who wore short skirts and neatly applied makeup. The last row consisted of gangsters who managed the gambling den. They were Mangwang’s subordinates.

The men in overcoats surrounded them. In their hands were wooden clubs and knives stained with bl00d. If they attempted anything futile, they might end up having their heads smashed or throats slit.

“P-Please spare us…”

Ajin begged the man holding his arm. But the man didn’t respond at all. He simply glanced up and down at Ajin, his eyes lingering on the exposed skinny legs, then pushed Ajin toward the row where the sisters were standing.

Ajin collapsed weakly to the ground. His knees and palms were covered in an unknown person’s bl00d.

Ajin’s round shoulders, with their protruding bones, trembled. Doyeon, who had been standing behind him, nudged Ajin. Her long hair lightly brushed against Ajin’s cheek.

“Ajin, are you okay?”

“Uh, uh… Yeah. Nuna, where are you?”

“I’m fine.”

Ajin took her hand and slowly got up. His slightly shorter left leg awkwardly dangled on the floor. The deep-set double eyelids on Ajin’s eyes quickly became moist. Meeting someone familiar made his heart flutter.

Doyeon gently stroked Ajin’s back. There was also bl00d on her green high heels. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be her own bl00d.

Ajin wiped the bl00d from his palm onto his jacket and rolled his eyes.

“Who are they? Why are they doing this to us?”

“They’re from the Taeho faction.”

“…The Taeho faction?”

It sounded like something he had heard before. Ajin gathered his thoughts, but his mind, tainted by confusion and fear, didn’t readily provide answers. Ajin squeezed Doyeon’s delicate wrist.

“Are we going to die? Are we?”

“I don’t think so. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gathered us like this.”

Ajin found comfort in her words. Doyeon hardly ever got things wrong. She, like the other women working with her at the bottom, had a good sense for these things.

Ajin sighed silently, and someone shouted in a thunderous voice.

“Hey, the boss is here.”

At those words, the men in overcoats turned to face one side, and everyone’s attention naturally followed.

A dark shadow was entering through the entrance. At first glance, he didn’t seem exceptionally tall compared to the others. However, he was even taller than Piluk, the tallest guy in the gambling den. He seemed to be around 190 cm.

Like the others, he was dressed in a black suit with an overcoat draped over his shoulders, but the quality was different. The suit had not a single wrinkle, and the overcoat, loosely hanging, glistened with a unique luster whenever it brushed against the dim lighting of the shabby gambling den. There was a subtle pattern revealed every time the fabric met the harsh lighting – waves. Waves running across the sea.

The man took big strides toward them. The wave pattern on his attire moved majestically with his every motion.

Soon, the man’s face was revealed. He had fair, flawless skin. Unlike the other men with rough complexions and uneven skin tones, his skin was as white and smooth as porcelain.

Above that, his thick eyebrows arched upward. His slender double eyelids gave depth to his gaze. His nose was straight, and the tip of it pointed like an arrow. His cheekbones stood out nicely, and his firmly closed lips and square jaw were undeniably masculine.

His jet-black hair was short, just enough to lightly cover half of his forehead. It suited his face perfectly, even though he appeared to be in his mid-thirties.

Despite his good looks, the exclamation of “handsome” didn’t come easily. It was because the atmosphere surrounding him was as black as charcoal. His pupils were so incredibly dark; it felt like they were sucking everything in.

Ajin instinctively knew that this was a fearsome person. It was obvious.

Ajin hunched his shoulders, which were already tense, even more and hid behind Doyeon. It wasn’t a manly action, but Doyeon, who had seen Ajin since he was nine years old, generously shielded him.

The man stood in the center. As he got closer, his imposing figure became even more apparent. His hands were large, his forearms and chest were thick. If anyone dared to provoke him, their faces might explode like watermelons.

“… ”

The man surveyed the people in the gambling den without saying a word. Everyone joined the silence he led. They pressed their lips together, careful not to even disturb the rhythm of their breathing in his presence.

His gaze moved smoothly but heavily. He looked at everyone, without exception. For a moment, Ajin’s pupils were caught in his gaze before disappearing.