Double Junk - 141

The funeral was both very long and extremely short.

The time spent ruminating over Miss Flower’s death was horrendous.

When I came to my senses, it was over. A professional undertaker approached Seokju and asked what to do with the body.

Seokju looked at Ajin, waiting for an answer.

Ajin wetted his dry lips.

“She wants to be cremated. Auntie said that watching a body rot is dirty and unpleasant.”

“Okay. What will you do with the ashes? Scatter them or bury them?”

The undertaker asked again. Ajin raised his eyebrows, fidgeting and looking at Seokju.

“Ah, well… perhaps…”

“…”

Seokju waited silently for Ajin to speak.

This was entirely Ajin’s decision.

Whether to scatter or bury them, he had no intention of opposing or stopping him.

Well, unless it was something like eating or keeping them close, those would be problems, but anything else was fine.

After hesitating for a while, Ajin cautiously spoke.

“Could we… go to the sea? Anywhere is fine. Just as long as it’s the sea…”

Seokju’s expression twisted slightly at the unexpected words, a sign of his discomfort.

Ajin took a short breath, thinking he might say no. But Seokju’s discomfort wasn’t due to refusal.

“We’d have to drive to the sea. The nearest one is three or four hours away.”

Seokju expressed his concern in a gentle voice. Ajin’s face brightened.

“Oh, it’s okay. It’ll be fine. I can make it.”

“…Alright.”

Seokju nodded briefly. A smile appeared on Ajin’s face, the first since Miss Flower passed away.

They left early in the morning and reached the sea by noon.

Ajin stood awkwardly on the sandy beach.

The thickly layered sand felt strange.

It was different from the dirt yards or mountains.

His feet sank deeply with every step, causing him to wobble.

Each time, Seokju, who followed a step behind, grabbed his elbow.

Eventually, Ajin stood in front of the sea, staring blankly at it.

The sea he was seeing for the first time in his life was beyond words.

The land, sky, scenery, and air were all different.

It was enough to make him wonder if he had died with Miss Flower and gone to heaven.

The deep blue sea. It was so vast that he couldn’t believe so much water could exist.

The straight horizon stretched out. The salty smell of water. The fine sand. The enormous sun. The roaring waves.

The cold, damp wind pushed through his cheeks, forehead, and hair.

Ajin, holding Miss Flower’s urn, stared at the sea for a long time.

He had imagined the sea many times, looking at the wave painting in Seokju’s room. But compared to reality, his imagination was pitiful and crude.

So this is what the sea was like. This is what waves looked like. It was so vast and powerful.

How long had he been standing there, facing the sea breeze?

His legs started to tremble, and his arms ached. The urn was quite heavy.

Yet Ajin stubbornly held onto it. It was heavy, but light. If he thought of it as just a container, it was heavy, but thinking of it as Miss Flower made it infinitely light.

Adjusting his grip on the urn, Ajin looked at the shimmering sea and spoke.

“The weather is nice. The wind is strong, but it’s warm. The sky is clear.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Auntie won’t be cold on her way to the Dragon Palace. If she catches the wind well, she’ll be there soon.”

“…”

There were strange words mixed in, but Seokju didn’t question them.

Ajin also didn’t ask him, “Do you think the Dragon Palace really exists? The one from the story of Simcheong? You’ve lived by the sea for a long time, so you must know.”

He was afraid of being sad if Seokju said it didn’t exist.

He felt like the tears he was holding back would burst out. He didn’t want to disrespectfully pity Miss Flower, who lived well.

Ajin carefully set the urn down. Then he took off the shoes he was wearing.

They were the shoes Seokju had bought for him that morning.

They fit his feet perfectly, but they were hard and uncomfortable.

Ajin neatly arranged his shoes, took off his socks, and picked up the urn again. Then he began to stride towards the sea, towards the crashing waves.

Seokju quickly grabbed his arm at Ajin’s sudden action.

“What are you doing?”

He growled in a low voice, his black eyes filled with caution. There was also a fear of Ajin’s death. Ajin smiled faintly and removed Seokju’s hand.

“I want to scatter them up close.”

To make it easier for her to reach the Dragon Palace. I can’t take her there myself, but I want to see her off.

“…”

Despite Ajin’s words, Seokju’s stern expression didn’t relax. Ajin shrugged lightly.

“If you’re worried, come in with me.”

With that, Ajin walked into the waves. Seokju quickly stood beside him. Fortunately, Ajin stopped where the waves lapped at his calves.

“Do you think it gets deeper if I go further?”

He asked Seokju. Since it was his first time in the sea, he didn’t know how far he could go with a living body.

“It won’t get much deeper, but the waves will be strong. It’ll be a big problem if you fall.”

Seokju quietly advised. Ajin nodded and pressed his heels into the sandy ground. The waves gently wrapped around his calves and knees.

The waves, which had seemed fierce, turned out to be nothing. Standing on the shore, he felt only the remnants of the waves. They were warmer, lighter, and ticklier than he expected.

The waves in Seokju’s painting seemed like wild beasts. But they were this gentle.

He was relieved, thinking it wouldn’t be hard for Miss Flower to pass through these waves.

Ajin opened the lid of the urn. Seokju took the lid from him and tucked it under his arm. Ajin smiled softly in thanks.

Taking a few deep breaths, Ajin put his hand into the urn.

The dull gray ashes weren’t soft. Thinking of them as Miss Flower’s bones gave him a strange feeling. Even though he had been holding them all night until now, it felt the same.

Ajin grabbed a handful of ashes. He was clumsy.

He didn’t know the etiquette or rituals for the deceased. But it didn’t matter. Miss Flower wasn’t the type to get angry over such things.

Just then, a breeze blew. Ajin held out his fist with the ashes. The wind brushed past his fist, carrying Miss Flower away. It looked like white smoke scattering.

Ajin slowly released the tension in his hand. He had never done or seen anything like this before. Yet every action felt so natural.

“Auntie, I’m sorry.”

Ajin said in a small voice.

“My legs are in this shape, so I can’t dance. But I’m keeping the promise not to cry. So go to a good place.”

It’s really, really hard not to cry. I haven’t cried once since you died.

When you didn’t wake up in the morning, I was so scared that I cried without realizing it.

Please pretend you didn’t see that. Anyway, I didn’t cry at the funeral or now.

Ajin’s hand was empty. He reached back into the urn. He grabbed another handful of the rough ashes, then took only a half-handful. It didn’t matter, but he wanted to send her off as slowly as possible.

Ajin slowly released his grip.

“Auntie, let’s meet in the next life. We will definitely meet.”

Then he clenched his hand again. Biting his lip, he hesitated before correcting himself.

“No, then you’d have to wait too long. It’ll be a while before I can go.”

Ajin wiggled his fingers, feeling the ashes disappearing.

“Will you still wait? Try to wait a little. If the Dragon Palace or Heaven isn’t bad, wait a bit.”

Ajin scattered another half-handful. The wind carried Miss Flower away faster than before. It felt sad, but it would be sadder if she clung to his fingers, refusing to go.

“I might not be able to hurry, but I won’t be late.”

With a faint smile, he reached into the urn again.

But there was nothing left. Ajin, scraping the bottom of the urn, tipped it over abruptly. A puff of white ash poured out like a cloud and disappeared in an instant.

“…Goodbye.”

Ajin waved his hand in the air. He felt a bit, just a bit, resentful that Miss Flower vanished without a trace.

She was always talking about ghosts and spirits. Couldn’t she show up just once? If not now, then when? Or maybe she would appear in a dream.

As he was lost in these idle thoughts, Seokju, who had been silent, spoke cautiously.

“If we stay here, you’ll get cold.”

“…”

Ajin looked up at him, not with any particular intent. Seokju took off his suit jacket and draped it over Ajin’s shoulders. Then he gently closed the lid of the urn that Ajin was holding in dismay.

After hesitating for a moment, Seokju grabbed Ajin’s wrist. He slowly led him out.

Ajin followed obediently. Stepping onto the sand, his wet feet got covered in dirt, looking like injeolmi coated in soybean flour.

As Ajin wiggled his toes in amazement, Seokju signaled with his eyes to someone in the distance. Myungjin, who had been smoking near the car, hurried over with a bundle of towels.

Seokju laid out a towel and had Ajin sit down. He then carefully dusted off Ajin’s feet. The ticklish sensation made Ajin’s eyebrows curve gently.

When one foot was clean, Ajin softly called Seokju.

“Boss.”

“Hmm?”

“Do we have to leave right away?”

“Why, do you want to stay longer?”

“Yes. It’s my first time at the sea. Just a bit longer….”

“Then let’s stay a bit longer.”

Seokju nodded without hesitation. Ajin looked at the distant waves. The setting sun had turned reddish, and the once-blue waves now had a subtle purple hue.