Double Junk - 105

Self-Destruction

By the time Seokju’s car came to a stop, it had started drizzling lightly. Because of this, even though it was only 3 PM, the surroundings were dark as if night had fallen. The sound of rain, the smell of earth, grass, and a hint of mildew filled the air.

Seokju stepped out of the car. One of the organization members who was in another car quickly held an umbrella over his head. Seokju stood tall, scanning the area ahead.

There stood a two-story traditional Korean house. The house was built with a mix of stones and wood, and its appearance was quite luxurious.

It was Gold Boss’s house. The house that Seokju thought would be taken care of by Gold Boss’s family, distant relatives, or greedy business partners after his death. Seokju had never been greedy enough to claim anything beyond what was promised regarding the Gold Hotel.

“…”

Seokju glanced around. The small flower bed in front of the house didn’t have any flowers due to winter, but there were no dry leaves either. No trash was visible. It seemed someone was taking care of it.

Seokju looked back at the house. At that moment, the curtains hanging in the second-floor window swayed. Seokju narrowed his eyes. As expected, someone was there. Hopefully, it was who he was looking for.

He casually adjusted his waist. He felt the cold touch of the gun against his side. Confirming its presence, Seokju finally stood in front of the door. He reached for the doorbell. Faint footsteps were heard from behind the door. Then, the door suddenly opened.

“I’ve been expecting you.”

A familiar face with unfamiliar attire appeared. It was Isun.

She was wearing a red outfit that bordered between a dress and a gown. She had a large gemstone necklace around her neck, appearing heavy, and mismatched pearl earrings in her ears.

Her fingers, clad in white gloves, were filled with rings, and they jiggled every time she moved, as if the rings were loose. So Isun held the last joint of her fingers inward, like an animal retracting its claws.

“Please come in.”

Isun greeted Seokju with a smile. She seemed to be acting as if she were the hostess of the house. Seokju twisted his lips in disapproval.

“…You didn’t inform me of your arrival.”

“Boss Park and Boss Kang told me you would come.”

Isun said, wrinkling her nose. Her voice was overly low and monotonous, almost like an actor in a play. She seemed like an actor playing the role of a noblewoman.

“But still… you didn’t run away.”

Seokju looked down at her. Isun chuckled softly.

“Run away? Me? Why would I? Why would I leave here? My home is here. My husband’s traces are all—right here.”

“… ”

Seokju didn’t reply. He just glanced around inside the house visible behind Isun. Isun was too audacious, which was suspicious. Perhaps, he thought, there might be members of the Jung Ho Faction inside, waiting to ambush him as soon as he entered. But the house, as seen with the naked eye, was silent. Classical music could be heard from somewhere. It seemed like they had put on some traditional music.

As Seokju cautiously looked around, Isun stepped aside from the door. Then, she slightly nodded her head and guided Seokju inside.

“It’s raining a lot. It looks like it’s going to pour. Come in.”

“… ”

“Hurry. You came to find something, didn’t you?”

Seokju clenched his teeth and then let go slowly. Then he took a step forward. Isun didn’t seem like an ordinary woman, even at a glance. Her aura was different from that of a weakling. Seeing her refer to the unmarried Gold Boss as her husband, as mentioned by Flower Lady, seemed to indicate a serious “illness.” It seemed like he wouldn’t get the answers he wanted unless he played along with her drama.

As Seokju entered the house, other organization members followed closely behind him. Then Isun extended her arm straight and broke the line that followed Seokju.

“I would prefer only Boss Kang to come in.”

“What is this crazy woman saying? Without any fear…,” the organization member threatened Isun, glaring at her. Seokju gently pushed his chest back, urging him to calm down.

“That’s enough.”

“Boss.”

“It’s okay. Stay outside.”

“… ”

The organization member protruded his lips discontentedly. Seokju reassured him with a pat on the shoulder. Behind him, Deokjae wore a worried expression. Seokju then entered the house after exchanging a brief glance with him.

Isun smirked at the remaining organization members before firmly closing the heavy door.

Seokju and Isun took their seats at a table in a room with large windows. Isun called it the dining room. Isun seemed to have known that Seokju would come, as she was already boiling water in a teapot.

She awkwardly poured coffee for Seokju. The cup felt heavy as if it might overflow. Seokju’s face reflected on the surface of the black coffee.

“… ”

Seokju, who was staring at the dripping coffee, raised his head. Isun, sitting across from him, was munching on cookies. There was a hint of blue mold on the end of the cookie, but she seemed unfazed. Her lipstick was smeared outside her lip line, leaving marks on the cookies and teacup.

Seokju observed Isun carefully, trying to determine whether he could trust her words that would come out next. It was an observation to decide whether he could trust what she would say.

After setting down her cup, Isun stopped swishing her coffee. The mismatched teacup and saucer clinked together.

“You came to ask about Ajin, right?”

“… ”

Seokju’s eyebrows twitched at the straightforward question. Was his expression amusing to Isun? She giggled softly. Then she brushed her hair behind her ear and spoke again.

“Ajin doesn’t know anything and didn’t do anything.”

“… ”

“I did everything.”

“What exactly is included in that ‘everything’?”

“Everything that Boss thinks Ajin did.”

“I need to know what exactly that ‘everything’ entails.”

Seokju said firmly. Isun sighed as if annoyed. Leaning her chin on the table, she glanced at the raindrops falling outside the window.

“Um… There’s so much that I don’t remember all of it, but roughly speaking, I gave Jin-gul the keys. A key bundle for the house. It was in the second drawer of Boss’s study desk. I thought it would make it easier for him to come and go.”

“… ”

“And I took drugs from the back house and buried them under the wall. I also set fire to the warehouse. Flower Lady found the fire sooner than expected, but thanks to the commotion, no one saw me sneaking around the back house.”

“… ”

“Then there’s something else… Ah, Hwang Myungjin. I spiked his seaweed soup on his birthday. I intentionally called Ajin to help me carry the seaweed soup.”

“… ”

“Um… I also called prostitutes to the house, and Hwang Myungjin even gave a knife to Doeun, who was going to the room with him.”

Isun spoke in a very casual tone. She seemed to have no guilt or fear despite listing her actions. She looked upright and confident, like someone standing up for justice.

Isun showed no hesitation in listing her actions. She even seemed to enjoy it. She couldn’t hide her laughter as she witnessed Seokju’s myriad of expressions crumbling before her eyes. It was as if revenge was still ongoing at this very moment.

Seokju clenched and unclenched his fist under the table. Then he began to throw questions one by one, filling his mind with doubts.

“Doeun. Did you also kill that woman?”

“Yes, Doeun… She was so pitiful. I didn’t want to kill her either…”

“Why her? And if you didn’t want to kill her, why did you?”

“Hwang Myungjin thought your attention would turn if that jerk fell. And as for why it was Doeun, I was already looking for a woman from the start. Usually, guys tend to lower their guard around women.”

“But President Park recommended Doeun. They said it would be easy to handle her since she came with her parents. They even fed her drugs. And that girl has been calling our Gold Boss ‘oppa’ for a long time, or, well, forget it.”

“Anyway, we agreed to take care of her later, but she kept hanging around Ajin.”

“Ajin used to be close with those prostitutes. He’d bring water, chocolate, and chat with them late at night, whispering. So I thought this might cause trouble, so I took care of her beforehand.”

“It was my first time killing someone, and after stabbing her, I realized I couldn’t do such a thing again. Isun shrugged. Then she suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled. It seemed like she was recalling the moment Doeun died.”

Watching Isun, Seokju clenched his teeth. The overwhelming truth left him speechless. Despite that, Isun urged, “Why aren’t you drinking your coffee? Drink up, quickly,” as she brought the cup to his lips and then pulled it away.

Although there was a chance Isun might have tampered with the coffee, he quickly dismissed the suspicion. She was already his enemy. She was the one who was always there, in his home, preparing his meals, and sharing his bed. If he had wanted to kill her, he would have done so long ago.

Seokju grimaced at the bitter taste of the coffee lingering on his tongue, then straightened his back. He stared at Isun with his dark eyes.

“If everything was done by you, then what did Choi Jingeol do?”

“Jingeol? Jingeol only… did petty, useless things. He was useless from the start, just a pawn in your game.”

“He approached me, risking his life, just to do such small tasks for me? Is that what you want me to believe?”

“Ah… President Park is too rational, too meticulous. So he couldn’t think of other variables.”

“What do you mean?”

As Seokju furrowed his brows, Isun tilted her head to the side. Then, in a soft whisper, she said,

“Jingeol… was the adopted son of Gold Boss.”

“… ”

“You didn’t know? You couldn’t even imagine, could you? Because according to President Park’s investigation, such a thing couldn’t be inferred. And Gold Boss thought he couldn’t be a rival. That man is dead, a forgotten person.”

“Ha…”

Seokju sighed at the unexpected revelation.