Double Junk - 157

Seokju aimed his gun at Kiheon, spitting out a curse.

“You son of a b****…”

If you think about it, neither he nor Kiheon was much different from Ajin. Both were the same kind of scum that should disappear from this world. It was laughable that he, of all people, was angry, but what could he do? He had to vent the burning red rage somewhere.

I’ll kill him. I’ll definitely kill him.

Seokju gritted his teeth and was about to pull the trigger.

“Shoot? Then I guess I’ll have to shoot too.”

Kiheon grinned, aiming his gun at Ajin’s head. He had been pointing his gun at Ajin ever since Seokju entered the room, anticipating what Seokju might do.

“…”

Seokju’s gun wavered. He didn’t need to imagine what would happen next. A bullet from Kiheon’s gun. That bullet piercing Ajin’s head. Ajin bleeding to death. Ajin, dead. Seokju holding his lifeless body and crying out. Despair flooding in. Darkness closing in. All of that.

Seokju’s face twisted with every passing second, and Kiheon, as if mocking him, pressed the muzzle against Ajin’s temple.

“Love is a strange thing, isn’t it, Mr. Kang?”

“…”

“And you really came alone, just like I told you to.”

Seokju squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. He spoke in a flat tone.

“My people will be here soon. They’re not ones to follow orders well. When they arrive, you’ll die. I’ll cut off your remaining arm and both legs.”

At those words, Kiheon shrugged, completely unfazed, even pursing his lips.

“Doesn’t matter. I came here just to make your life miserable, not caring if I live or die.”

“…”

“I’ve only lived a few months with one arm, but life’s been pretty miserable. I’m embarrassed to even show my face to others.”

“…”

“Damn, I couldn’t even go see my family. I was afraid they’d freak out. Showing up like this, I’m better off dead, don’t you think?”

Kiheon shook his right shoulder as if to show off his condition. The empty sleeve of his shirt flapped.

“Living like this, I started thinking, what’s the point? So before I die, I figured I’d make you as miserable as I can, Mr. Kang.”

“…”

“Judging by your face, I think I’m doing a pretty good job.”

Kiheon chuckled, his yellow teeth showing. His eyes, reflected in the light, were unnaturally dark, with pupils as large as marbles.

Seokju took a sharp breath. He’s on drugs. From the looks of him, he’d probably taken a large dose.

This wasn’t good. Drugs strip away fear from a person. Even if Seokju tore off Kiheon’s limbs right now, Kiheon would still laugh and pull the trigger aimed at Ajin’s head.

Seokju glared at Kiheon, searching for an opening. Kiheon crouched beside Ajin and lifted his wrist. The cloth that Ajin had been holding slipped away, revealing a hand missing the ring and pinky fingers.

Seokju closed his eyes in anguish before opening them again.

“Look at this, Mr. Kang.”

“Don’t touch him.”

“How does it feel? I cut them off. Snip, snip, just like when you cut off my arm, snip, snip.”

“I said, don’t touch him, you b****.”

Seokju moved his gun slightly. Then he pulled the trigger. With a bang, a dark red hole appeared in the forehead of Chang-du, who had been laughing beside Kiheon. Chang-du’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed face-first. The ground trembled from the impact of his heavy body hitting the floor.

The others, except for Kiheon, aimed their guns at Seokju. But Seokju didn’t care and shifted his aim back to Kiheon.

“Next is your head. Let go.”

“…”

Kiheon blinked rapidly, looking like a fish with newly formed eyelids. After a moment’s thought, he threw Ajin’s hand aside.

“He cried and cried so much. So, I told him everything. I told him it was all your fault, Mr. Kang. All of this happened because of you. Soon, his neck will be cut off too, and that’s also because of you.”

“…”

“Hey, kid. Look, Mr. Kang is here.”

Kiheon lightly tapped Ajin’s cheek with the muzzle of his gun. But Ajin didn’t lift his head. He was too overwhelmed by pain and fear, lost in shock. Clicking his tongue, Kiheon used the gun to lift Ajin’s chin. Then, he carefully adjusted the angle so Seokju was reflected in Ajin’s eyes.

Ajin’s dull eyes slowly regained focus. His cracked lips moved slightly.

“…Boss.”

His voice was hoarse. He must have screamed so much that his throat was ruined. His throat felt raw, but it wasn’t too noticeable. He was in too much pain. The emptiness of his lost fingers felt bigger.

Ajin gazed blankly at Seokju. Standing firm, Seokju looked as strong and unshakable as ever. Despite bl00d dripping from his left hand, where he’d been shot in the shoulder, he didn’t blink an eye. The gun aimed at Kiheon was steady.

Yes, this was a fight between people like them. People who could endure pain. People like Kiheon and Seokju.

Ajin slowly blinked. Before Seokju arrived, he remembered what Kiheon had said as he wrapped Ajin’s severed fingers in newspaper.

“How did you end up with someone like Mr. Kang?”

“…”

“When you left, I thought you two were done. But every night, Mr. Kang was at your door.”

“…”

‘If it weren’t for Mr. Kang, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this. It’s not like I wanted to hurt someone like you, who’s barely a man.’

‘…….’

‘It’s all Mr. Kang’s fault. Mr. Kang.’

At that time, I didn’t pay attention to his words. The shock of losing my fingers was too overwhelming for anything else to sink in.

While waiting for Seokju to come, there was a gap in time, and I started to think about why all this had happened.

Why did I have to lose my fingers? Why did I have to be beaten like an animal? How much more pain do I have to endure? How much more do I have to cry? No matter how much I thought about it, I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Maybe. When I was ten. When I was hit by a car. Was I supposed to die then? Or should I have died when Taeho Faction raided the gambling den, slaughtering everyone? Or when I was misunderstood by Seokju? When I slit my wrist? Or perhaps, when Miss Flower died?

Was it the world, or God, who ordered my death, and I’ve been blindly surviving when I should have died?

Ah, I should have listened to Miss Flower. Maybe this is all because I didn’t listen to her and cut my hair. Or perhaps it’s because I didn’t follow her advice to go to Seokju’s house after I was discharged from the hospital. I should’ve left then.

I should’ve cut ties with him when I finally got out.

I shouldn’t have worried about his well-being. I shouldn’t have answered his calls. I shouldn’t have waited to see him.

I was never destined to be loved, or to be happy. I should have lived a bleak and desolate life. Then, even if I had nothing to laugh about, at least I wouldn’t have had anything to cry about. Suncheol wouldn’t have died so tragically, either.

Thinking like that, I became resentful.

Why. Why. Everyone else gets happiness, love, and companionship, but why can’t I have any of it? Why can’t I hold onto anything?

Anger welled up.

No matter how I looked at it, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I’ve just been trying my best to survive. Every moment, every decision I made, I wasn’t ashamed in front of God.

So… so…

It’s all Seokju’s fault.

It’s all Seokju’s fault. No matter how I think about it, I didn’t do anything wrong.

Ajin’s eyes sank to the ground, deeper and deeper into the abyss. He slowly opened his cracked lips.

“Seokju hyung.”

Seokju’s ear twitched. His name coming from Ajin’s mouth always moved him, made him grateful, and brought him joy. But now, it hurt so much, he felt like crying.

As Ajin stared at Seokju’s crumpling face, he continued to speak.

“Hyung, I don’t want to die.”

“……Ajin-ah.”

“It hurts so much… It hurts… so much…”

Ajin’s eyebrows furrowed. Soon, his eyes began to blur, and heavy tears fell, one after another.

“It hurts, huh… I don’t like it…”

Ajin hunched his shoulders and dropped his head. His fingers hurt too much. His beaten face hurt. His feet, scratched and torn as he was dragged here, hurt. It hurt even more than when he injured his knee in the car accident, even more than when Seokju stomped on him.

“Ajin-ah…”

Unconsciously, Seokju took a step towards Ajin. Gihun’s henchmen gripped their triggers tighter. If they even twitched a finger, three bullet holes would simultaneously appear in Seokju’s body.

Then. Tap, tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap.

Urgent footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway. There wasn’t just one person. It wasn’t hard to guess who it was.

Seokju’s eyes sharpened. Gihun glared at him too. He staggered to his feet and shouted at his men.

“Hey! Someone’s coming outside!”

The henchmen scrambled, looking between the door, Seokju, and Gihun. Their guns waved, unable to find their target. Then, Seokju’s eyes flashed sharply. Sensing the threat, Gihun instinctively turned his gun from Ajin to Seokju.

In that instant.

Seokju let go of his gun.

The heavy pistol fell slowly. As Gihun raised his eyebrows in surprise, the door burst open with a bang.

“Hyungnim!”

“Seokju hyungnim!”

Myungjin and the other gang members rushed in. Without hesitation, Myungjin immediately shot the nearest henchman. The henchmen fired back.

Bang, bang! Bang! Gunfire exploded all around. In that moment, Seokju sprinted towards Ajin.

The gunfire didn’t stop. Smoke rose from the barrels, and bl00d splattered everywhere. “Ugh…” Someone groaned and fell. A bullet struck Gihun in the stomach. Another bullet pierced through his cheek.

“You bastard…”

Gihun coughed up bl00d along with curses as he collapsed to the ground, firing his gun at Ajin. Just before the bullet reached him, a dark figure stepped in front of Ajin.

Bang, bang! Bang-bang-bang!

Gihun didn’t stop and fired all five bullets in the same direction. Even as the gang members’ bullets lodged in his chest, Gihun, high on drugs, kept his eyes wide open, still alive.

Then bang! He fired his last shot at the same target.