Double Junk - 158

“……”

Seokju’s clenched jaw quivered slightly.

The bullet that pierced through his back and lodged into his abdomen felt burning hot.

Every bullet fired by Kiheon hit Seokju’s back without missing.

The last shot pierced near his heart.

He could vividly feel bl00d seeping into his organs.

It was a fatal wound.

Seokju, being a fighter, realized it instantly.

Death was approaching with each passing moment.

But it didn’t hurt, nor was it frightening.

As long as Ajin, whom he held in his arms, was safe, as long as Ajin wasn’t in pain, he could endure hundreds more bullets.

Seokju gently stroked Ajin’s back.

Ajin had stiffened, probably from shock.

His body was colder than usual.

Seokju diligently tried to warm him with what little body heat he had left.

It felt like there wouldn’t be another chance to warm Ajin’s cold body again.

No, in truth, it was his own selfishness.

He just wanted to hold him one last time.

“Ajin, I’m sorry.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

Seokju whispered softly into Ajin’s ear.

It reminded him of Monday, when he had visited Ajin’s home.

He kept apologizing for trivial things.

Sorry for not bringing the sweets.

Sorry for being too harsh.

Sorry for coming over suddenly, and so on.

It had been embarrassing, so he apologized again.

‘I keep having things to apologize for.

Sorry.

No, ah……’

But Ajin had given an unexpected answer.

‘I like it.’

‘What?’

‘I like when you apologize.’

When he said that with a soft smile, it was… beautiful.

So Seokju decided to apologize to Ajin even more.

“I’m sorry, Ajin.”

Seokju hugged Ajin tightly.

In response, Ajin’s trembling hand grasped Seokju’s forearm.

The overwhelming emotion made Seokju’s lips curl up foolishly.

Cough…

A lump of bl00d surged from deep within his throat.

Seokju turned his head and spat it out, careful not to get bl00d on Ajin.

He wiped the bl00d wetting his lips with the back of his hand and looked at Ajin.

But Ajin’s chest was crimson.

His white clothes were completely soaked in red.

At first, Seokju thought it was his own bl00d that had stained them.

He was about to apologize again foolishly when he noticed two holes in Ajin’s chest.

Bl00d was pouring out from there.

Two of the bullets that pierced Seokju had hit Ajin.

Seokju’s face turned pale.

“Ajin, you…”

Cough…

This time, Ajin coughed.

Bl00d welled up between his injured lips.

Seokju quickly wiped it away.

His dark eyes sank in sorrow.

I tried to save you.

I wanted to save you.

As long as I could save you, it would’ve been enough.

But I couldn’t even do that.

I couldn’t even…

Even though he was already dying, he wanted to bury his head in the ground and die out of shame.

Seokju’s eyes twisted in guilt and self-loathing.

Ajin’s bl00d-soaked lips quivered.

“It hurts.”

“……I’m sorry.”

“I think I’m going to die.”

“……”

Seokju squeezed his eyes shut.

A single tear ran down his cheek.

Ajin’s navy blue eyes, watching Seokju cry, blurred.

Soon, tears began welling up in his eyes too.

“I don’t understand why I have to die because of you.”

“……”

“It’s all… because of you.”

“Yeah, it’s because of me.”

Seokju admitted it readily.

Ajin hadn’t done a single thing wrong.

It was all his fault.

Ajin’s tears, his pain, his cruel death—it was all because of him.

Seokju gently wiped the bl00d from Ajin’s chin.

He was afraid Ajin might shatter.

Then he remembered when Ajin had said he was already broken and couldn’t be put back together again, and he felt sorry all over again.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Seokju’s voice grew slower, more drawn out.

His eyelids moved sluggishly.

He wanted to hold on, but his body, pierced by seven bullets, was at its limit.

Seokju looked at Ajin through his fading vision.

And he made a silent vow no one could hear.

Ajin, I will come back for you.

I will come back and apologize again.

I’ll keep apologizing until I lose my voice.

I’ll kneel and beg.

And when my legs break from kneeling, I’ll bow my head and apologize.

When my head cracks and my eyes rot and I have no more ways to apologize to you…

Only then will I disappear completely from your sight.

I’ll never covet you again.

I’ll never… love you… again…

Ah… that’s one thing I can’t promise.

I can’t promise that, Ajin…

Seokju’s face slumped onto Ajin’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry…”

With that, a deep silence fell.

The rough sound of Seokju’s breathing suddenly stopped.

Ajin blinked slowly.

Confusion washed over his bl00d-splattered face.

After a moment of staring blankly, he called out to Seokju.

“Boss.”

“……”

“Boss.”

“……”

“…Hyung.”

“……”

“Why aren’t you answering?

Why aren’t you answering?”

Ajin scratched at Seokju’s forearm, but Seokju didn’t move.

Ajin’s eyes trembled violently.

Dead?

He’s dead?

He left me behind and died?

He made me like this, and I’m still here, but he died first?

He couldn’t believe it.

He didn’t want to believe it.

Ajin fumbled over Seokju’s body, his hands coming away covered in Seokju’s bl00d.

The bl00d flowing from Seokju’s body was still hot.

It was so hot it felt like it was burning him.

The bl00d that had poured out of Ajin and Seokju’s bl00d pooled together on the floor.

“……”

Ajin ran his fingers through the bl00d splattered on the floor, mixing his own bl00d with Seokju’s.

The bl00d congealed and merged, becoming indistinguishable.

The hot and cold bl00d met, turning lukewarm.

Then, it cooled completely.

By then, Ajin could no longer deny it.

You really are dead, aren’t you?

A wave of loss washed over him, chilling him to the core.

He had lived a life without ever having anything, so he had never lost anything either.

But Seokju’s death came as a sharp, clear loss.

Ajin hugged Seokju’s lifeless body.

He blinked slowly.

Every time his eyelids moved, heavy tears dropped down.

But even those tears soon faded away.

His breathing slowed.

The bl00d that had been gushing out now flowed sluggishly.

He could see the light and air swirling and dancing around him.

“Haa…”

Ajin took a deep breath.

Even so, something like smoke was steadily escaping through his mouth and nose.

With each breath, his body grew heavier, as if soaked in water.

It was a strange sensation.

Ajin was slowly transitioning to another world.

The death he had always imagined was frightening and painful, but now that the moment had come, it oddly felt peaceful.

The thought that all the pain and suffering would soon be over brought him a sense of relief.

He wasn’t afraid.

It didn’t matter where he was going.

He just had to follow Seokju, who had gone ahead of him by a few seconds.

Ajin buried his face in Seokju’s shoulder.

As he closed his eyes—

“Boss! Boss!”

“Seokju hyung!”

The gang members tried to pull Seokju away from Ajin.

Ajin’s eyes shot open.

No. He’s mine. He’s mine.

Ajin tightly grabbed Seokju’s arm.

But his dying body, and his few missing fingers, could not muster any strength.

In the end, Seokju slipped from his grasp.

At the same time, Ajin’s vision turned pitch black.

It wasn’t like falling asleep; it was a different kind of darkness.

What is this?

As he pondered, Ajin soon realized what it was.

It was death.

* * *

Ajin floated in a dark, blue void.

A deep darkness where neither time nor emotions flowed.

His ears were muffled, and there was a faint salty taste.

It felt like being deep under the ocean.

But it was a peaceful deep sea.

Occasionally, a heavy wave would wash over him, and the sensation of being trapped in that surge was comforting, even blissful.

Ajin drifted slowly for a long time before realizing something.

He had become the wave.

He joyfully rushed here and there, exploring the world he had never dared to visit with his imperfect legs.

Then, at some point, he encountered a dazzling flash of light.

He had already been longing for light.

Ajin swallowed it whole.

His body, filled with the flash, turned a warm, golden color and began to glow.

* * *

Sssss—

There was a faint hissing sound.

It was like the sound of steam escaping from a kettle of boiling water.

Ajin, who had been listening to the sound for a while, slowly opened his eyes.

And as soon as he did, he thought—

Why did I open my eyes?

How is this possible?

Could it be… am I alive?

No, that’s absurd.

I was definitely dead.

It was death, without a doubt.

But how did I open my eyes?

Is this heaven?

Or could it be the Dragon King’s palace?

Or perhaps… hell?

Curious to know if he was in heaven or hell, Ajin shifted his gaze from the clear ceiling around him.

He was also curious about what the afterlife looked like, something he had only heard of in stories.

But what unfolded before his eyes was… a strange environment.

If this were heaven, he expected to see clouds floating by, celestial maidens in winged robes wandering around, and rare, unnamed fruits hanging from trees everywhere.

But this place looked like a hospital.

More precisely, an expensive hospital room.

There was a strange machine emitting white smoke, a bed, a sofa, a large black screen, thick curtains covering the windows, the smell of alcohol, and an IV drip…

An IV drip?

Ajin, who had been in a daze, suddenly noticed the IV attached to the back of his hand.

At that moment, he realized this was not the afterlife.

Is this a real hospital?

Then, does that mean I survived?

I got shot, but I’m still alive?

…Then what about Seokju?

Did he survive too?

Or was it just me?

Ajin twisted his body to sit up.

As he pressed his palms against the bed, he realized something was off.

His fingers were intact.

All ten fingers were there.

Ajin hurriedly pulled back the blanket and looked at his hands.

Ten straight fingers came into view.

His nails were neat, and his hands, soft and unscarred, felt both familiar and strange.

“…Was it a dream?”

Was Suncheol’s death, Kiheon’s attack, the loss of his fingers, the gunfire, Seokju’s death… was it all just a dream?

Had he been dreaming all along?

But then, how did he end up in a hospital?

Ajin absentmindedly wriggled his fingers.

His intact fingers felt awkward.

So did his clothes.

Ajin was dressed in a white dress shirt and suit pants.

His tie was neatly rolled up and placed on the side table, and an expensive-looking wristwatch was lying next to it.

He hadn’t worn anything like this since Miss Flower’s funeral.

Why am I dressed like this…?

As Ajin furrowed his brow, the door to the hospital room creaked open.

Ajin turned his head in that direction.

“No, the test results didn’t show anything unusual.

Director Jang thinks the boss might have been overworking recently, but as you know… Yes, he was only in the office for two hours yesterday.

No, he didn’t sleep well either.

He complained a lot about the heat even with the air conditioner on.

But still, he’s never collapsed from lack of sleep before…

Oh, you’re almost here?

I’ll update you once you arrive.”

A large man entered the room.

He was tall, with broad shoulders and long, slim legs that looked striking.

In his hand, he held a small rectangular device, and he was speaking into it, as if he were on a call.

Then, his eyes met Ajin’s in the air.

Ajin gasped.

It was a familiar face.

The face he had seen right up until the moment he died.

Seokju.

Seokju in a suit.

Seokju, alive.

Seokju, perfectly fine.

His thick eyebrows arched upward, as if he were surprised too.

“Yes, I’ll see you later.”

Seokju hurriedly ended his call and strode toward Ajin with his long legs.

“…Boss.”

Seokju called out to Ajin.

“…Boss?”

Ajin called out to Seokju.