Double Junk - 116

Seokju easily found the photo.

The photo was very blurry. It had been folded since the organization member gave it to him, so it was heavily creased, and because of that, there were wrinkles over the faces of the people in the photo. The faces of the people were also faint. Like something dipped in milk.

At first, he thought it was taken a long time ago. But upon closer examination, it wasn’t taken ten or twenty years ago. Considering Ajin’s face, it must have been a photo from only 2 or 3 years ago. The quality of the photo taken back then couldn’t have been this poor.

Seokju squinted his eyes and stared at the photo intently. Then he noticed faint lines around Ajin’s face. There were lines even within the shadow where the neck and chest connected. It looked like Ajin’s face had been cut out and pasted.

But there were no seams when touched. It was a complete photo. How was this possible…?

“…”

Seokju stared at the photo for a long time. Then, suddenly, he sighed softly.

The photo had been manipulated, and the manipulated photo had been photographed again. That’s why it looked so faded and blurry.

Seokju smirked. Then, he looked at the photo again. The face of Ajin, who was turning his head sideways, was imprinted on his retina. It was definitely Ajin. His unforgettable face, even if he died and came back.

So where did this face come from? What was the original photo? If it had been manipulated, they would have needed a photo of Ajin. But Ajin had never taken a photo.

Seokju poked his forehead with the corner of the photo. Then, suddenly, a forgotten fragment of the past came to mind.

“Let’s take a photo, just the two of us.”

“Why?”

“Because I want your picture.”

On the day they took a group photo, they grabbed Ajin, who was going to do the dishes, and took a photo together.

“The hem of your robe is touching the ground.”

“It’s okay. Just don’t let your legs show.”

“No, that’s not it. It’s dirty. If it gets dirty like this, the fabric will get ruined when washed. It’s expensive…”

“It’s not expensive.”

They tidied up their appearance to take a photo. At that moment of trivial bickering, a sudden flash of bright light burst out. He remembered the flustered photographer waving his hands apologetically.

“Oh, sorry. I pressed the wrong button… Oh dear, what a waste of film… Let me take it again. Just a moment.”

Ah, that’s right. That moment’s photo was used like this. Eventually, this too was a lie that originated from me.

As Seokju pondered over the incident with a composed expression, Jin-geol’s voice from a distant time echoed in his mind. When there was no medicine left in the backyard and he doubted him. Jin-geol, who was kneeling in the yard, had said it seemed unfair.

“I don’t know what the backyard looks like, what’s going on there, or who’s there.”

“Because you didn’t tell me.”

“The only thing I did after joining the Taeho faction was memorize my family members’ names, take porridge to the company, change the broken light bulb on the second floor of the company, leave your shoes at the cobblers, and today. I went to the photo shop and brought back the photo.”

He said he went to the photo shop to get the photo. He himself had said that. He had stolen the mistakenly taken photo back then. He manipulated it and left it at the company.

Seokju rubbed his dry face vigorously with one hand. Then, he recalled the conversation he had with Ishun.

“If he did all that, then what did Choi Jin-geol do?”

“Jin-geol? Jin-geol did nothing but… trivial and useless things. He was set up by you from the beginning as a means of deception.”

Seokju let out a dry laugh. Yes. He really did nothing but trivial and useless things. He had played with such trivial matters.

And I truly indulged in those trivial matters.

Seokju slumped into the chair. He crumpled the photo in his hand. Then, fearing that Ajin’s face might get wrinkled, he quickly smoothed it out again. He even used his palm to stroke it like a leg.

“Haah…”

Whether Ajin was a man or a woman, it didn’t matter to him. What angered him was the fact that Ajin had lied to him. But even that turned out to be a fake created to misunderstand and hate him.

Seokju furrowed his brow in anguish. The sins he had poured onto him came rushing back simultaneously. His ears felt like they were being torn apart by his repulsive voice. His head ached, and his eyes felt hot, as if they were melting.

“You’re good at one thing, though.”

“…”

“You said you’d do anything. Buy me with your body. So strip.”

He forcefully dragged Ajin to his room, even though Ajin hadn’t committed any crime.

“Every time you whine like a worn-out prostitute, I’ll dock you 1,000 won. But if it hurts or you don’t want to, your value will be reduced to 100 won.”

He manipulated and threatened him, wielding the money as a weapon.

“If you don’t want to sell your body, then hand it over.”

“I…”

“If you keep whining, I’ll pull out your tongue.”

He brutally silenced him as he tried to confess the truth and express his injustice.

“Say you like it.”

“…”

“Like a prostitute, say you like it. Shake your hips like you enjoy it.”

He forcibly squeezed him, acting as if he misunderstood him, even as he cried out in pain.

“Would you sell your body to others too?”

“…”

“They’ll probably pay you only 30 won. Is that okay? You can’t charge more than a prostitute to customers, right?”

He made him whimper, cry out in pain, and pushed him deeper into the abyss, saying things he didn’t mean, mentioning other people, and frightening him.

“Boss… I don’t want to… Ugh, I don’t want to eat… I don’t want to…”

“Eat, Ajin. I don’t want to hear you cry while whining.”

“…”

“Every time you do that, it feels like I’m screwing an animal, not a man. You should consider the customer’s feelings. Understood?”

He forced him to eat the medicine, forcibly twisting his hair as he cried out in pain. Each word he poured out, thinking he had sold his body, thinking he was a man, was a misunderstanding.

Seokju bowed his head and let out a short groan.

“Ah…”

How many sins had I committed in just a few short months? Even if I counted my fingers and toes, it wouldn’t be enough.

He felt suffocated by his own sins, as if his body was being inflated. He felt like he would suffocate in that stench.

Seokju bit his lip. It was agonizing.

Seokju remained crushed under the weight of his own sins for a while. Then, gritting his teeth, he slowly got up from his seat.

He emerged from the room with a stake in the ground, chains scattered in the corner where the wrong master had been sought, and an empty room with no pictures on the walls.

He wanted to bite his tongue and die right away. He wanted to atone by swimming in the flames of hell. But he couldn’t.

He would only face death when Ajin allowed it. He would die only after clearing and cleansing all his sins.

I didn’t abandon you. I didn’t leave you.

When you abandon me. When you tell me to die without mercy. Only then will I embrace death.

Seokju stood in front of the hospital room, inhaling deeply and then exhaling repeatedly. He could see Ajin if he just opened the door, but he hesitated. He wanted to see him but also worried. What if he collapses when he sees me? What if he never wakes up?

After hesitating for a while, Myungjin approached him.

“Hyungnim.”

“…”

“It’ll be okay. Ajin is resilient. Nothing serious will happen.”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Seokju twisted his lips in annoyance. That resilient kid had hurt his wrist because of him. Would everything really be okay?

Seokju let out a long sigh through his nose. Then, he carefully opened the door.

A strong scent of disinfectant surged like waves as he entered the room. Amidst it, Ajin’s scent subtly permeated. Seokju entered the room, inhaling the smell deeply.

Inside the room were Ajin and Miss Flower. Miss Flower sat by the bedside, her back turned to Ajin, so his face was not visible.

Step by step, the sound of Seokju’s neat shoes echoed in the room. He was just about to stand in front of the bed when…

“Get out.”

Miss Flower said in a stern voice. Seokju’s steps came to a sudden halt. Miss Flower turned her head halfway to glance at him sideways. Her thin lips were pursed unattractively.

“You’re obviously still standing there even though I didn’t turn around. Your smell is too strong for Ajin, who’s been flipped over.”

“…”

“What are you waiting for? I said get out.”

“…”

“Our Ajin is about to wake up. Just leave.”

Miss Flower’s voice wasn’t loud. She didn’t shout or use vulgar language. It was plain and quiet, yet it carried a certain power.

After finishing her words, Miss Flower turned her head again. Seokju stared at the back of her head. Then, a thug standing behind him bluntly interjected.

“Hey, lady. You’re talking too harshly. Who do you think is paying for the hospital bills and medication?”

Seokju quickly turned around and scolded the thugs.

“Get out.”

“Hyungnim!”

“Just… Ajin is waking up. Go out. It’s okay, just leave.”

He raised his index finger to his lips and then waved his hand. The thugs left without saying another word. The room became much calmer.

Standing next to Miss Flower, Seokju asked,

“You’re not fully recovered yet. Shouldn’t you rest a bit?”

Miss Flower didn’t answer. She just stubbornly kept her eyes on Ajin. Her gestures of pulling up the blanket, gently touching the bandaged wrist, and brushing his bangs were filled with affection.

“He won’t take his medicine or get a checkup. If he doesn’t recover, Ajin will have to nurse you. He’ll be worried and upset every day. Is that what you want?”

“…”

Miss Flower remained silent again.