Double Junk - 118

Awkward Spring

Ajin had a very long dream. It was the first time in his life that he had such a long dream. Well, was it even a dream? It felt more like reminiscing about days that had once truly existed.

The first scene was Seokju drinking coffee. Seokju usually smoked a lot when he worked. Whatever he drank was either cold water or cold alcohol.

But occasionally, he drank coffee. He ground the coffee beans he had bought from somewhere in the West in a drawer smaller than his palm, put them in a triangular machine, and poured hot water into it. Then, as black liquid poured down as much as cola, he sipped it.

Ajin, lying on his stomach on the floor studying, lifted his head at the faint smell of coffee that brushed his nose. And he watched Seokju drinking coffee.

Seokju, noticing his gaze, raised the coffee cup.

“Why. Do you want to try some too?”

“Yes.”

Ajin got up briskly. Then he approached the study and casually pushed his buttocks onto Seokju’s thigh. Seokju pulled him closer and helped him sit comfortably. Then he pushed the coffee cup towards Ajin.

“Have you ever tried coffee?”

“Yes. Flower Lady and the kitchen ladies drink it every day. They put a lot of milk and saccharin in it.”

“It’s probably a different taste from that.”

“Tasting different doesn’t change the fact that it’s coffee.”

Ajin shrugged and sipped the coffee. Since he had seen it somewhere before, he carefully held the handle and the sight of him sipping the coffee with his lips was quite cute. Unable to resist, Seokju kissed Ajin’s cheek due to his cuteness. He even scratched his own nose on Ajin’s neck.

“How is it?”

Ajin tasted the coffee carefully. Then, slowly lowering the coffee cup, he gave a deadpan review.

“It feels like drinking water someone used to soak cigarette butts.”

“What? Soaking water?”

“Why are you drinking something so tasteless? Should I get you some saccharin?”

I’ll be right back. Ajin looked back at Seokju and asked. He even seemed to raise his buttocks as if he were about to get up right away. Seokju hugged him, shaking his head horizontally.

“No. I like this.”

“…You like this?”

Ajin’s expression twisted oddly. He scratched his cheek while looking at the black, shimmering coffee. Watching him quietly, Seokju whispered in his ear.

“I just thought of this in my head. The boss is a moron when asleep, a moron when awake, and even a moron when eating. What can I do? Is this why people live pretending to be someone else? Later, I might even offer him some sleeping pills. Tsk tsk.”

Ajin’s shoulders trembled at Seokju’s imitation of someone else’s tone. He quietly lowered the hand he had been scratching his cheek with.

“…That’s not true.”

Seokju burst into laughter at Ajin’s shameless lie. Then he kissed Ajin’s neck and cheek recklessly for a while. After fussing over Ajin for a while, he pulled the chair back, opened the pantry door, and put down a bottle of cola.

“You should drink cola. It suits you better.”

Seokju personally opened the cap of the cola and handed it to Ajin. Ajin gulped down the cola hastily, as if rinsing his mouth dirty with coffee. The sound of it pouring down his throat was so cute. Seokju gently stroked it with his fingertips.

And that dawn. Ajin couldn’t sleep because his heart was pounding too much. So Seokju took Ajin for a walk in the yard. He also warmed up some milk for him and studied together by putting their heads together.

After spending some time alone together like that, Ajin, who had been leaning against Seokju’s chest while reading, fell asleep with a sigh.

Then, immediately, the next dream began.

Ajin was looking at the mirror. He had a black tie and a large shirt in his hand. He could hear the sound of water by his ear. It was Seokju in the bathroom, washing up. He had thrown off his clothes as soon as he got home, complaining that it was hot and entered the bathroom.

Ajin was tidying up the clothes he had taken off when suddenly he thought he wanted to try on a suit.

It seems like my outfit is very out of touch with the current ‘trend’ these days. A worn-out jacket and baggy pants. It was embarrassing to look at. But holding that loosely woven fabric made me suddenly greedy. I couldn’t even dream of wearing such clothes with my current wardrobe.

Ajin didn’t just stop at thinking about this greed but immediately put it into action. Normally, you wouldn’t dare to touch someone else’s clothes without permission, but Seokju wasn’t the type to get angry about such things. Even when Ajin behaved rudely, he never scolded him.

Ajin clumsily put on the clothes. When he put on the shirt, he realized how long the sleeves were. It took him a while to button them up because his hands couldn’t reach. He even kicked the floor with frustration when the sleeves kept slipping down.

But he didn’t give up and eventually succeeded in putting on the shirt. Ajin, just like Seokju did, raised the collar of the shirt and tied the tie. But then came the problem.

“….”

Do I even know how to tie a tie?

Ajin tried to tie the tie like he was tying shoelaces, but he got dizzy and choked, so he undid it.

Then, with awkward skills, he tried to tie a ribbon, but he ended up looking like a cat raised in a nobleman’s house, so he nervously undid it.

As Ajin struggled with the tie, a hand slipped under his armpit.

“Let me do it.”

It was Seokju.

Standing behind Ajin with only pants on and wet hair, Seokju was there. Ajin looked at Seokju blankly through the mirror.

“Did you want to do this?”

“Yes.”

Seokju chuckled and skillfully tied the tie. He looped the smooth tie fabric back and forth between his large fingers, repeatedly letting it drop. Ajin watched his movements absentmindedly. Strangely, his toes curled inward.

Seokju soon completed the tie knot. Then he straightened the shirt collar. Ajin stared at himself in the mirror. Wearing a white shirt on his skinny body, with a long tie, it looked quite…

“Silly.”

“Why? It’s cute.”

“What’s good about being cute? It’s better to be cool and manly like the boss.”

Ajin shrugged his shoulders, spreading his arms awkwardly to make himself look bigger. Seokju chuckled and embraced Ajin from behind, rolling up the dangling tie.

“It’s too big for you. Let’s go buy clothes next time.”

“Clothes shopping? For me?”

“Yeah. Let’s go to a tailor shop. Since you’re small, you’ll need to go and get fitted yourself.”

“….”

Ajin pressed his lips tightly together. He seemed to be pondering something and then shook his head.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Why? Are you scared to go out because of the car? Then I’ll call a tailor to come to the house. They just need to measure-”

“It’s really okay. It’s not my clothes anyway. I just wanted to try them on once, I didn’t want to have them.”

“….”

Ajin quickly took off the clothes. It was difficult to untie the tie, so he loosened the knot roughly and only exposed his face. He neatly folded the shirt buttons. He had to give them to the ladies in the laundry.

In addition, Ajin smiled brightly as he carefully folded Seokju’s pants and jacket that he had taken off.

“Are you hungry? Dinner will be ready soon. I’ll go help in the kitchen.”

Bowing slightly, he tried to leave the room. Seokju urgently grabbed his wrist.

“Ajin.”

“Yes?”

“It’s okay to want them.”

“….Yes?”

“It’s okay. Whether it’s the dragon robe worn by kings, the silk garments worn by noblemen, or a gentleman’s suit, if you want anything, just say it. I’ll get it for you.”

Seokju said affectionately. He had just washed his face with cold water, and he even stroked Ajin’s cheek with his warm palms. Ajin stared at Seokju intently.

He said he would even get the clothes worn by kings. He said he would buy expensive silk garments.

Just hearing those words made him feel good. It was also nice to know that if he just asked, he could have them. It felt like he had become someone who could easily have those precious things.

Resting his face on Seokju’s palm, Ajin pursed his lips.

“Then… I…”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I want some yakgwa.”

“…What?”

Seokju was incredulous. Yakgwa. Asking for yakgwa. Just that. Seokju clicked his tongue in disbelief. Ajin chuckled and said,

“When you come tomorrow, please bring me some yakgwa. A lot of it. I want to share it with people.”

“Hah…”

“Why? Don’t you want to?”

“No. Fine, I’ll bring some.”

“Thank you, boss.”

Ajin smiled sheepishly, bowing slightly. Then, with a sense of satisfaction, he walked out of the room with light steps. The tie that emerged from between the clothes Seokju had hugged waved like a puppy’s tail.

Leaning against the door frame, Seokju watched Ajin’s back as he crossed the corridor, chuckling softly.

And with that, the second dream ended. Many more dreams followed after that.

One dream was set on a midsummer night. That day, Seokju came home with a box full of peaches. He and Ajin sat on the porch, eating several of them. They roughly peeled off the skin and ate them, and it was so delicious that it felt ecstatic. The sweetness and softness melted on their tongues.

Ajin repeated how delicious it was, smearing the juice all over his mouth. He even sucked on his sticky fingers. Then, Seokju grabbed those fingers and sucked on them himself. Ajin twisted, saying the boss was doing something crazy again, but eventually, he had to let him suck not only his fingers but also his mouth and lips completely.