Double Junk - 133

His well-dressed suit and silk overcoat gave the appearance of having just gotten off work. Ajin’s eyelashes were deeply lowered.

“Uh, why……”

For the master to be home at this hour…. He didn’t even ring the bell. Why is that? If he had rung the bell to signal his arrival, I would have fled. There should not have been this excruciating moment of facing him.

With a stiff expression, Ajin slowly rose to his feet. He intended to pass by Seokju. But Seokju stood squarely in front of him, then slowly bent his knees and sat down. The wide overcoat rippled like waves.

Seokju sat close enough that his chest nearly touched Ajin’s knees. Thanks to this, Ajin was trapped sitting in the chair.

“Move aside.”

Ajin said in a low voice. However, Seokju maintained silence and forcibly grabbed Ajin’s wrist. It was an extremely rude touch after a very long time. Ajin ground his teeth and twisted his wrist, but Seokju did not let go.

“……”

Within Seokju’s gaze fell Ajin’s wrist, or more precisely, the bandage loosely wrapped around his wrist. The discolored bandage was loosened. It was speckled with drops of bl00d here and there, and there were even stains as if pus had oozed out.

Anger spread across Seokju’s entire face. Seized by sudden fear, Ajin flinched and trembled. But it was a misjudgment. Seokju’s anger was directed not at him, but at Seokju himself.

Seokju had thought Ajin was fine. He had suffered withdrawal symptoms for a few days, but after that he had been quiet. All the eyewitness accounts reported to him by the organization members had been uniformly peaceful.

He had taken walks around the house with Flower Lady and admired flowers, they said. Flower Lady herself fed him his meals, they said. He spent all day watching a small puppy, they said. He enjoyed the spring sunshine, they said. He even watched the fish in the courtyard pond, they said. He seemed to pick at the basket of food Seokju painstakingly prepared for him daily.

So Seokju was glad. It seemed Ajin was gradually becoming happy. Since he had been stripped of the right to look after Ajin up close, he could only believe what others told him. That’s all he knew.

But it turned out Ajin was regressing. That he would neglect caring for his own body like this. That he would speak of death. That he would be so unwell that Flower Lady would ask for Seokju’s help.

“Why are you like this? Why don’t you take your medicine? Why don’t you change your bandages?”

“I told you to move aside.”

“If you can’t do it, just say so. If you dislike me doing it for you, ask anyone else. If you dislike that too, I’ll call a doctor, just say the word. Say something, anything.”

“……”

“Even a wound that seems trivial can turn serious in an instant if left alone. Moreover, since your body is weak, it could really become grave. If the flesh rots, we may have to cut off your wrist. If you’re unlucky, we may even have to cut off your entire arm.”

At the litany of potential calamities, Ajin deeply furrowed his brow in annoyance. He couldn’t understand why he had to hear such words from none other than Seokju. Ajin tried to push Seokju’s shoulder away to free his arm.

“I said move aside!”

Then Seokju forcefully yanked Ajin’s hand toward himself and shouted.

“Ajin! You’re going to die like this!”

Seokju’s low voice boomed throughout the courtyard. At that moment, a breeze blew from the sky, rustling the leaves and creating ripples on the pond. A cool stillness settled.

Ajin took rapid, shallow breaths. His pale nape flushed red. His navy blue eyes became piercingly sharp.

In a tone laced with defiance, Ajin calmly murmured:

“So what? What’s wrong with dying?”

“……”

“Why is it not allowed for me to die?”

“……”

“You have no right to stop me from doing so, Master.”

At those words, Seokju’s face fell ashen. Rights. If they were to argue over that, Seokju had no grounds to utter a single word. His grip went slack.

Not missing that opportunity, Ajin twisted his wrist free. But as he tried to break away, Seokju reached out and seized Ajin’s elbow instead, gripping it with even greater force than before.

Ajin looked at Seokju with a flustered gaze. Seokju stared directly into his eyes and parted his lips.

“Yes, you’re right. I have no such right.”

“……”

“But you know full well I’ve never been one to care about rights.”

At the brazen, almost terrifying words, Ajin’s eyes wavered. Seokju seized his other elbow as well, digging his fingers deeply into the skin.

Now Ajin could not escape from him just by flailing his arms. He would have to struggle violently and cry out like he had in the past. No, even then he likely couldn’t break free.

Fear gradually spread across Ajin’s cheeks. Staring at that fear, Seokju spoke.

“Ajin-ah. To keep you alive, there is nothing I won’t do.”

“……”

“If you act like this, I will lock you in my room, tie your hands, and shackle your ankles. If that’s what it takes for you to live, I’ll do it without hesitation. I’ll repeat those actions hundreds more times.”

“……Master.”

Ajin’s face drained of color. Looking up at that delicate face, Seokju’s brows contorted. A crack appeared in his previously firm and resolute voice.

“So…if you dislike that, then live. Live stubbornly and take revenge on me. Show me you can live well on your own. Prove that you shine even brighter without me, because I’m not there.”

“……”

“Then, then I will grieve and let you go……”

Seokju slowly lowered his head and buried his face in the bandages tightly wound around Ajin’s wrist.

“Live. Live, Ajin-ah.”

Don’t die, please.

Seokju headed toward his own room, bringing Ajin along. Ajin obediently followed him. It was unclear whether he did so knowing Seokju would just carry him like luggage if he resisted, or if he had other thoughts.

But when they reached the door to his room, Seokju’s steps halted abruptly. He glanced at Ajin’s face, then at Ajin’s hand in his grip, then at his own room door, before slowly releasing Ajin’s hand.

“Wait a moment…wait.”

“……”

“You must wait. Definitely.”

After those words of caution, Seokju flung the door open and hurriedly entered. With the door wide open, Ajin could easily see what he was doing.

Seokju took out a medicine box from a drawer. He dampened a clean towel with water, then after a moment’s hesitation, also grabbed a bottle of cola and a straw. Carrying this bundle, he came back outside.

Taking Ajin’s hand once more, he headed to the large wooden floor right in front of his room. There he tossed down a cushion from a pile and gestured for Ajin to sit.

Only then did Ajin realize the reason for Seokju’s strange behavior. He seemed reluctant to have Ajin enter his room. Or more precisely, he thought Ajin would dislike entering that room, no doubt full of unpleasant memories.

Hence the cumbersome act of bringing the medicine supplies out. And in the midst of that, he even remembered to bring a bottle of cola, probably to curry favor…

Anyway, such a fool…

In any case, a madman…

If this was his plan, he should have done it from the start.

Despite inwardly cursing him, Ajin sat down on the cushion. Seokju’s face brightened. Sitting haphazardly on the bare floor, he removed his overcoat, folding it in half to set it down, but then glanced at Ajin and asked:

“Cold?”

“……”

Ajin shook his head no. Seokju jutted out his chin and set the coat down. He then removed his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

After opening the cola bottle, he even inserted a straw and casually placed it next to Ajin’s knee. Then he retreated slightly before pushing the cola a bit closer to Ajin. Ajin stared down at the dark liquid, bubbles fizzing to the surface.

‘Is this soy sauce?’

‘It looks like toilet water…’

‘They say it’s from America? But why are you showing this to me? Are you bragging?’

He recalled the day long ago when Seokju first gave him cola. How foolish and naive he had been. Seokju’s words telling him to just try it as he opened the bottle, his promise to buy it daily after Ajin said he wanted the empty bottle because it looked pretty – those memories surfaced as well.

Ajin let out a snort of laughter. At that small laugh, Seokju’s broad shoulders flinched. Mistaking Ajin’s smile as mocking, he spoke in a mollified tone:

“…If you dislike it, you don’t have to drink it. Myeongjin can have it instead.”

That made Ajin laugh again, imagining Myeongjin’s expression receiving the flat cola. He wouldn’t be able to throw it away since it was from Seokju, and would scratch his heavily scarred jaw, saying ‘I’ll drink it, hyungnim.’

It seemed better for Ajin to drink it for Seokju’s sake.

Ajin picked up the cola and put the straw to his lips. He took two big sips, eyebrows rising briefly at the fizz tingling his palate before lowering again.

“……”

Watching this, a broad smile spread across Seokju’s face. But worried Ajin might dislike such an overt display, he quickly pressed his lips together to suppress it.

Seokju gathered his persistently wandering gaze that clung to Ajin like a tick, and began treating Ajin’s wrist. Unwrapping the bandages, he gently wiped away the bl00d and pus matted into the wound with the damp towel. The mangled injury looked excruciatingly painful – Seokju’s brows furrowed deeply, as if feeling that pain himself.

After wiping away all the bl00d, Seokju squeezed out a generous amount of ointment to slather on. He seemed to believe, like Flower Lady, that applying more ointment would speed healing, using nearly an entire tube.

Then he carefully rewrapped the bandages. With a body full of scars, his hands were very practiced at bandaging. Seokju swiftly finished the treatment.

“Don’t get it wet. Even though it’s troublesome, be careful. If washing is difficult, ask Flower Lady’s ajumma for help, or… uh… you can tell me…”

“……”

“Can, can I also take a look at your ankles?”

Ajin did not respond to the worry-laden question, simply continuing to sip on the cola straw. Perhaps because it had been so long since he last drank it, the taste was quite good. He suddenly felt a craving for yakgwa, the traditional honey cookies. If Seokju left yakgwa in the basket today, he might sneak one before Flower Lady could eat them all.