Double Junk - 115

As Deokjae let out a sigh, Seokju asked again.

“Is there still no trace of Park Ki-heon?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like we can find him easily. The Jung-ho faction establishments have been closed for a week, and we’ve dealt with the remaining small fries.”

“…”

“We’re sending whatever money or goods Park Ki-heon stashed away to places like orphanages and schools, as you instructed.”

“I see. Well done.”

Seokju nodded briefly. His demeanor lacked vitality. It was a stark contrast to his usual confident and solid self. Deokjae shifted the robe in his opposite hand and spoke.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to stop coming out now, hyung-nim? Your son is waiting. Everyone has a dead expression on their faces while working as if they’re eating sht, and the atmosphere is depressing.”

Seokju smirked as if he could see the situation. He felt guilty for what he was doing to his family. Seeing Seokju’s smile, Deokjae hurriedly continued.

“The police are also nagging you to leave quickly. Now that the Jung-ho faction is finished, they seem eager to mend ties with us.”

“…”

“Isn’t this good for us? Things will get easier from now on. Your concerns will decrease too.”

“…”

“Really… Are you not planning to come out?”

Deokjae asked hesitantly. Seokju bit back his bitter words and apologized softly.

“…I’m sorry, Deokjae.”

Deokjae tightly sealed his lips. There was gloominess in his eyes.

What about us then? What about us who have come this far just by looking at you? The words lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. He knew how much Seokju had done, how much he had sacrificed, and how much bl00d he had shed.

Even if Seokju said he would leave the organization and go down to the countryside to live, they couldn’t stop him.

As Deokjae scratched his forehead with a grim expression, Seokju pulled the chair forward. And from earlier, no, from the morning when he heard there would be a visitation, he gently brought up the name he had been scratching the ceiling with.

“…What about Ajin?”

The name spoken out loud felt unfamiliar after so long. His lips tingled just saying the name. Seokju rolled his lips and asked. He didn’t want the remaining traces to disappear like this.

“He’s still here.”

Deokjae slowly nodded.

“…”

A shadow fell over Seokju’s face. As he endured the pain from the wound on his side, dripping bl00d and cold sweat, he wondered if Ajin had opened his eyes. Whether he had inherited the pain Ajin had suffered. He had hoped for it, even though it was an unreasonable expectation. He sincerely wished Ajin had suffered a bit less. It would have been better if his flesh had rotted and decayed to the point where Ajin could have opened his eyes. He even thought that way.

“Oh… I had a seizure. I… stopped taking the excitatory agent. It’s withdrawal symptoms….”

“Haah…”

“My body couldn’t handle it, so the doctor said if I suddenly stopped taking the medicine, I would get seriously ill. So, they gave me multiple small injections. That’s why I calmed down quickly.”

Seokju clenched his lower lip tightly. Then, Deokjae brought some good news.

“But the doctor said he’ll wake up soon. He’s in a decent recovery state.”

“Is that so?”

Seokju’s lips formed a faint smile. He wondered what would happen if Ajin couldn’t wake up, but it seemed like he was coping well. Seokju relaxed his stiff shoulders, which had been tense.

“Yes. This wound won’t heal easily because it’s been lying there for so long. They say Ajin couldn’t cut his wrist deeply because his hands were weak. If he had cut it deeper, he would have needed surgery to repair his wrist. But fortunately, Ajin’s cut wasn’t that severe, so… it’s a relief.”

“…”

“But for some reason, whether it’s because of his weakened body or something else, the doctor says he’s waking up very slowly and is quite perplexed about it. Still, he’ll wake up soon, so…”

“…”

“Miss Flower is by Ajin’s side—she’s combing his hair, wiping his body, and such. Physically, she’s the one in worse condition, but she’s taking care of Ajin first.”

“Be careful what you say.”

Seokju’s expression stiffened. Deokjae trembled and closed his mouth. Then, he sat down, bowed his head slightly, and apologized.

“…I’m sorry, hyung-nim.”

“…”

“Anyway, since he’ll wake up soon, shouldn’t you see him for yourself?”

At Deokjae’s words, Seokju clenched his fists tightly. His knuckles protruded and turned white. He raised his head and murmured as if carried away by the wind.

“I’m scared.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m scared that Ajin will wake up.”

He was afraid of what reaction Ajin would have upon seeing him. He didn’t have the confidence to witness him waking up. He was afraid of what expression Ajin would have, what kind of gaze he would cast upon him.

“I hate you, boss.”

“The boss is a liar.”

“I wish you were dead.”

“I hate you so much. Even if I die and am reborn, I’ll still hate you. I’ll keep hating you.”

It would probably be the same as when he said those words. He didn’t have the confidence to face Ajin’s resentment. He didn’t know what to say first. Saying sorry, admitting fault, and apologizing felt too light and superficial. The very act of confronting him might be a sin.

Seokju tightly closed his eyes. He was receiving punishment now, but at the same time, he was escaping, hiding from Ajin, from Ajin’s resentment, from Ajin’s tears.

Deokjae looked at Seokju’s damp face and then furrowed his eyebrows.

“So, are you just going to leave it like that? Then Ajin… won’t he feel abandoned again?”

“…”

“Isn’t he going to feel abandoned again?”

Seokju took a deep breath. His heart felt like it was being squeezed. His stomach churned, and his throat felt parched. Seokju, who had been biting his lips, covered his eyes with his large palm.

“Ah…”

Right. I’ve abandoned Ajin again. Because of my selfishness, I’ve left him alone again. Regardless, the wounds Ajin bears are my responsibility to tend to and care for. Yet, I’ve turned away from that responsibility again.

He felt ashamed. It hurt his heart to think that he needed to apologize to Ajin.

As Seokju scratched his face as if digging out his eyeballs, Deokjae suddenly stood up. The metal chair scraped loudly as it moved backward.

Seokju stared at him with reddened eyes. But Deokjae’s expression was strange. His movements as he adjusted his robe seemed clumsy. After hesitating for a while, he stepped aside from the chair.

“Hyung-nim.”

“…”

“Actually… there’s someone else who came with me.”

“What?”

Seokju twisted his head arrogantly. Deokjae headed towards the entrance, grasping the doorknob and turning it. Soon, the door opened, and the bright light from outside flooded in. Seokju furrowed his brows at the intense light. Standing amidst the light was someone. It was a well-built man.

He stepped into the visiting room with heavy steps. Then, he bowed slightly and greeted.

“Hyung-nim. How have you been?”

“…”

“I came here personally because you haven’t been coming. I wanted to escort you myself.”

It had been so long since Seokju had seen his smiling face. His habit of scratching his chin when embarrassed was still there. He had lost some weight, and a few fingers were missing from his hand, but he still looked the same.

Seokju stood up abruptly after confirming his face. A bright smile finally appeared on his lips after a long time.

“…Myungjin.”

* * *

Myungjin was still the same. He casually mentioned that if he didn’t get out of jail soon, he would cut off the rest of his fingers himself. “After I cut off my fingers as punishment, will you personally feed me like you used to, hyung? As you know, I’m as hungry as a wrestler,” he said with a smile. Seokju had no choice but to come out.

After leaving the police station, Seokju intended to go straight to the hospital where Ajin was. However, he felt his appearance was too shabby, so he came home instead. He showered, put on a neat shirt, and took out a new robe.

Finally, as always, he grabbed a cigarette. As he put a cigarette in his jacket pocket, he noticed a photo he hadn’t paid attention to before.

It was a photo taken on the day of Jin-geol’s farewell party. It was a group photo. He didn’t remember putting this photo here. Did Ajin put it there? They were excited about taking pictures for the first time that day.

Seokju chuckled faintly and quickly scanned the photo, looking for Ajin’s face. But, Ajin wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Instead of Ajin, Jin-geol’s face was unexpectedly next to Miss Flower. Seokju naturally looked at where Jin-geol used to sit.

“Ah…”

Ajin was there. He was sitting next to me, faintly smiling. It seemed like he had moved because he didn’t like Jin-geol being next to him.

Seokju lightly patted Ajin’s blurred face with his index finger. It was amusing to see Ajin’s small face against Jin-geol’s sturdy figure. But he was trimmed well, so it didn’t look too odd at first glance.

“How cute…”

After looking at the photo for a while, Seokju turned around. Seeing the photo made him miss Ajin even more. He was about to hurry to the hospital, but suddenly stopped. He had noticed something strange in his usual thought process.

For the first time.

Taking pictures for the first time.

The day the photo was developed. Ajin had said he had never taken a photo in his life. But Seokju had seen a photo of him before. It was a photo of him with prostitutes, with numbers pinned to his chest.

Ajin was innocent. He always was. But he couldn’t have hidden the fact that he was a male prostitute from Seokju.

“…”

Seokju, who had rolled his eyes for a moment, strode purposefully to his study. Then he began searching through the desk drawers for something. Not too long ago, when all the incidents were pointing to Ajin, a photo given to him by one of his men who found it at the company was what he was looking for.