Double Junk - 165

Ajin carefully flipped through the books. But somehow… he couldn’t understand any of the titles.

[Klaus Schwab’s The Fourth Industrial Revolution]

[The Wealth of Nations]

[Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy]

[Nietzsche]

[The GOAL]

[Things Money Can’t Buy]

[ZERO to ONE]

Ajin could tell just from the titles that these were not books he could read. Just a little while ago, he had been reading Shimcheongjeon, and it would surely take him half a day to turn even one page of these.

“Do you have… easier books?”

At those words, Seokju led Ajin to the most remote, furthest bookshelf.

“These are the books the President read when he was a student.”

To be precise, these were the books the chairman had bought for the president when he was a student. Seokju held back the rest of the explanation. Ajin raised an eyebrow in interest. The color of this bookshelf was completely different from the previous one. It was much more colorful, and the font was round and cute.

Ajin seriously examined the books before picking up a crimson-colored one.

Seonhwa woke up to shocking news as soon as she opened her eyes. It was as surprising as hearing that Ajin had collapsed. She put on a knit sweater and quickly ran to the study, as if she were used to the chilly house. Just then, Seokju, holding cola and roll cake, entered the study.

“President, have you woken up?”

Seokju gave a slight bow. Seonhwa quickly asked.

“Is it true? Is it really true?”

“Pardon?”

“Is Ajin really in the study?”

Seokju nodded.

“Yes. He has been here for the past three hours.”

“Ha…”

Seonhwa let out a breath, almost a sigh. She then opened the study door about half an inch. The cold air, which had been made even colder by the air conditioner, rushed out. Seonhwa pressed her face against the crack in the door. Seokju, who was much taller than her, stood behind her and looked inside.

Ajin was sitting at the desk. The bookshelf was behind him, and his gaze was forward, so it was easy to spy on his posture and expression while he read the book.

Ajin was sitting upright, reading. His legs, which hung under the chair, swayed slowly. The pages of the book turned at a slow pace, and he furrowed his brows, either because he was reading something serious or because he didn’t understand it.

To anyone who saw, he looked like a young CEO carefully reviewing important documents.

“He’s really reading. He’s actually reading.”

Seonhwa muttered in an airy voice.

“Yes. That’s correct.”

Seokju lightly nodded. Seonhwa, still not taking her eyes off Ajin, raised a question.

“…Why? Did the TV break? The computer? Did the electricity go out at our house?”

“He briefly watched TV, but he got motion sickness… I thought he might find the computer hard to handle, so I didn’t recommend it.”

“So, he’s reading books? Our Jin?”

Seonhwa shook her head in disbelief. She tightly closed and opened her eyes.

“What is he reading? Management books? Philosophy? Humanities?”

“Momo…”

“What?”

“He’s reading Momo.”

“Isn’t that a must-read for middle schoolers?”

“Yes.”

“…Do we have that at our house?”

“We do.”

Seokju awkwardly laughed. Management books? Ajin didn’t even know how to turn on the air conditioner, let alone operate a TV by himself. But Seokju kept that to himself, thinking it might just make Seonhwa more worried.

Seonhwa kept staring at Ajin for a long time. Then, with a pale face, she turned around.

“Alright, alright. Let him read as much as he wants.”

“Yes.”

Seokju bowed lightly. Then, with a knock, he entered the study. Seonhwa looked at Ajin one more time before closing the study door.

“…Should I really do some sort of ritual?”

With a serious expression, she walked briskly across the hallway.

The family’s tea room—no, dining room—was large. But the dining table wasn’t big. It was a six-person table with only six chairs. Ajin, Seokju, and Seonhwa had a late breakfast there.

Ajin slowly moved his spoon, glancing sideways at Seokju and Seonhwa. Seokju seemed very used to this meal, in this place, at this time, with Seonhwa present.

He’s the secretary, right? Isn’t the secretary supposed to be like a servant, not sitting down to eat with the higher-ups? How can he be so familiar with this? Shouldn’t a secretary just be a servant of sorts? Well, Myungjin used to sit beside Seokju and eat too.

Ajin, questioning and answering his own thoughts, put down his spoon. Then, unnecessarily, he cautiously asked.

“Do you have… a dictionary at home? I came across some words in the book that I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you just look it up on your phone?”

Seonhwa lazily responded and pushed a rolled omelette towards Ajin. Ajin poked the omelette with his chopsticks and repeated her words.

“Poo-on…”

What could that be? Is it more English? To understand that, it seems like I need a dictionary. Or maybe an English dictionary. Ajin bit into the omelette with a serious expression. Having finished his meal earlier, Seokju put down his utensils.

“There probably isn’t a dictionary at home. I’ll buy one for you today.”

“Really?”

Ajin’s eyebrows lifted at the pleasant words. Seokju nodded, as if promising. Thanks to that, Ajin’s knowledge, which had been blocked by ‘Poo-on,’ could grow by one step.

Seokju drank some water and then tightened his tie. Now that he thought about it, Seokju’s clothes were different. His shirt had ironing marks, and the suit jacket hanging on the chair was different from before. It seemed like he had a separate room somewhere in the house.

“I’ll get going first. I need to go to the company for a bit.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Seonhwa waved her hand lightly. On the other hand, Ajin’s eyes flashed with fear and confusion. In a rush, he grabbed Seokju’s coat.

“You’re going to the company? How long will it take? Will you be back at night?”

He looked like a foolish son who blocked his father’s way to work. Seokju blinked his eyes several times in succession, then gently asked.

“…Should I come back early?”

“….”

Ajin realized late what kind of fuss he had made. He quickly let go of Seokju’s coat. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned his head and tried to look indifferent. However, it was already too late. A barely noticeable smile appeared on Seokju’s lips before vanishing.

“I’ll come back early.”

Saying that, Seokju bowed slightly to both Seonhwa and Ajin, then strode out of the dining room with long steps. Ajin listened to his footsteps getting farther away. When the sound had completely faded, he turned his head and stared at the long corridor with lantern-shaped lights. He absentmindedly sucked on the ends of his chopsticks.

How long had it been? Seonhwa, who had been sitting across from him, sighed deeply.

“No matter how much you stare, he’s not coming back. He said he’ll come back early. If he said he would, then he will. Have you ever seen Seokju break his promise?”

“…”

Ajin pouted his lips and let go. He had broken promises many times before. He was the kind of person who always broke promises. Ajin suppressed the words he couldn’t say and straightened his chopsticks.

“Wait calmly. Anyway, you need to fix your separation anxiety with Seokju. You must be annoying him.”

Seonhwa scolded. Ajin’s eyebrows shot up.

“…He’s annoyed?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Seokju? Annoyed with me?

…How dare he?

How could he be annoyed with me? He has no right to be.

As Ajin grew angry with such misplaced emotions, he suddenly came to his senses. This man was not the Seokju I knew. He wasn’t the Seokju who had hurt me. He wasn’t a gangster or someone who made drugs. He was just a servant from a noble family. Completely different.

However, while reason could separate that, emotions struggled to distinguish it.

Ajin squinted his eyes tightly, then opened them, scowling at his rice bowl. Seonhwa sighed again and placed some 떡갈비 (grilled short ribs) on his rice.

After finishing breakfast, Ajin returned to the study. With nothing to do and nothing he could do, he thought he might as well read a book. While doing so, Seonhwa, with an uncomfortable expression, left some fruit on the table. Ajin smiled and accepted it.

Then, around 2 p.m., Ajin went to the kitchen for some water. Despite the air conditioning running full blast, it still felt strangely hot, stuffy, and thirsty.

In the kitchen, there were three unfamiliar people – two men and one woman. They seemed to be servants working in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and marinating meat.

Ajin, awkwardly searching for a cup of water, was greeted by one of the servants.

“Hello, young master.”

Ajin awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth. “Young master”… He never expected to hear such a title. He felt embarrassed and awkward, scratching the back of his neck. The servant wiped his wet hands on his apron and spoke.

“You’re here for some water, right? I’ll get it for you.”

He found a large cup from the cabinet, then scooped a large amount of ice from the machine and poured water from a glass bottle with crooked handwriting on it.

Ajin, who had reflexively taken the glass of water, blinked his eyes wide.

“Is it really okay to give me this much? Ice is pretty rare, isn’t it…?”

“…Pardon?”

The servant asked, as if he had misunderstood. Ajin quickly blinked his eyes and shook his head.

“No, never mind. Thank you.”

The servant bowed gracefully and left the kitchen. Ajin’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He kept forgetting that this was the future. Machines blowing fresh air, and dishes being washed – in a world like this, how could ice be rare? There must be machines for making ice as well.

Ajin rubbed his cheek with the cold cup, trying to hide his embarrassment. Just as he was about to return to the study, he heard music coming from somewhere. Ajin, without thinking, turned his head toward the sound and realized that it was coming from his own room.

After sipping the cold water, Ajin headed to his room. Even after just one day, walking to his room had become familiar to him.