Double Junk - 17

Chapter 17

Ajin touched the mop and grumbled.

“Anyway, I don’t want to. When I sleep with the boss, my back hurts a lot, the boss keeps nibbling at me, biting, saying strange things…”

Seokju chuckled. He touched Ajin’s thin and cold wrist, and in an unexpectedly gentle voice, explained.

“I’m not talking about that. Just sleeping.”

“…Just sleeping?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I sleep well when I’m with you.”

Ajin cocked his head in confusion. How was that possible? Even if he smoked opium or drank, he couldn’t sleep. He was always busy working. If it were him, he would eat two bowls of rice as soon as he got home, lie down comfortably on a cool floor, and sleep until the next day. Did they have some kind of sleeping disorder?

Seokju leaned closer to Ajin, who seemed bewildered.

“You’re like a cripple in your legs. I’m a sleep cripple.”

“…”

“Shall we, cripples, help each other live?”

Late at night, surrounded by the echoing snores and the sound of people grinding their teeth, Ajin lay under the blanket, staring at the ceiling. He could see the solid, neatly arranged beams. Somewhere in that corner, he could see the envelope with money that I had hidden in the drawer.

‘You’re like a cripple in your legs. I’m a sleep cripple.’

‘Shall we, cripples, help each other live?’

Seokju’s words kept spinning in his mind.

“Sleep cripple…”

He had never heard of such a thing. Where could the problem be that you can’t sleep? A person who worked all day. If it were him, he would be so tired that as soon as he came home, he would eat two bowls of rice and lie down on the cool floor, falling asleep until the next day. Was it some kind of mental disorder?

Ajin turned his body to the side, facing away. The faint blue moonlight seeped in through the thin window frame.

What is Seokju going to do? If he can’t sleep, will he smoke another cigarette? Or maybe he’ll drink alone. He looked tired earlier. How will he go to work tomorrow? Will he wander around like the Grim Reaper with squinted eyes? He was worried that the drug buyers who had come might run away when they saw him.

“No, why am I worrying?”

Ajin turned his body back. Just sleep.

However, within a few seconds, he opened his eyes again.

“No, today, the sisters aren’t coming…”

Why didn’t he call the prostitutes? They said they’d last for two hours if he called them. Did he expect me to sleep with him? …It could be. I’m just a servant. If the boss orders it, I should do as told. He probably didn’t even think I would refuse.

“Ugh…”

Ajin pulled the blanket up to his head. And then, he kicked his feet gently. He couldn’t help but think about Seokju’s touch, which had been caressing him. His feet, which had warmed up from Seokju’s hot body, gradually turned cold and his toes became numb.

Ajin covered himself with a thick blanket, holding his breath. It felt like his lungs would explode, and when he felt like he was about to suffocate, he threw the blanket aside and exhaled.

“…Should I go see if he’s sleeping well?”

Ajin got up slowly.

Ajin, holding his heels, carefully walked through the corridor to Seokju’s room. Walking silently on the uncomfortable legs was no easy task.

And then, he hesitated at the door, standing there.

Ajin hesitated at the doorway. He thought it might be pointless to come, worried that Seokju would be upset if he entered after what happened earlier, and concerned that if he woke Seokju up, he might get scolded.

Ajin scratched his throat and then pressed his lips together, knocking softly on the door. After that, he quickly withdrew his hand and waited for the door to open.

But the door remained closed. Ajin’s face revealed disappointment. Seokju, who had suggested sleeping together, was sleeping alone.

“The boss is a liar.”

He had called him a sleep cripple. Ajin bit his lower lip and turned away. Then, he began to hobble towards his room. His spine slouched without support.

As Ajin approached Myeongjin’s room, the door creaked open, and a deep voice rumbled through the quiet night.

“Who’s there?”

Ajin quickly turned around. Seokju was standing at the door. He was naked. Unlike usual when he wore loose pants and a robe, today he didn’t even have a single thread of clothing on.

Water droplets dripped from his wet hair and flowed down his thick neck. His body, which usually had a soft, gentle glow, was now glistening from the water. He probably had just come out of the bathroom.

Ajin stared at him in a daze. Seokju chuckled, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“It’s Ajin.”

Ajin, now inside Seokju’s room, didn’t know what to do. He stood still, with his head lowered. Seokju’s nakedness made it hard for him to raise his eyes.

Firm and round buttocks, strong, muscular thighs, bulging muscles on his back, hair that was not slicked back, a solid and broad chest, and the prominent organ. It was different from the bodies of the men Ajin had seen before. Much firmer, larger, and thicker. He couldn’t help but think that this was the physique of someone who could be the leader of a gang of burly men.

Ajin unconsciously fiddled with his thin forearm. Seeing himself in comparison to Seokju, his inadequacy as a man seemed even more glaring. He felt irritated.

Seokju moved with ease. He dried his hair with a fluffy towel and put on his pants without any underwear. Occasionally, he would smile at Ajin with an enigmatic expression.

Unable to bear it any longer, Ajin turned his body toward the bathroom and said, “Should I go and wash up too?”

“Why? Do you want to do it with me?”

“No, no!”

Ajin vigorously shook his head, denying with both his hands and head. Seokju smiled slyly and nodded toward the neatly spread blanket.

“Just lie down.”

At his words, Ajin awkwardly approached the blanket. It was as white as snow. It seemed sinful to step on it. Ajin bit his lower lip while hesitating. Seokju passed by him, lifting the blanket and lying down on it. Then he gently patted the space next to him.

Ajin’s eyebrows rose.

“Sh-should we sleep together?”

“Sure.”

“You said we’d just sleep.”

“We’re just going to sleep.”

“I thought I’d sleep a little further away.”

“We’re not sleeping together. We’re sleeping separately.”

Unexpectedly, Ajin was left standing there, not knowing what to do. Seokju sighed and then reached out his hand to grab Ajin’s knee, pulling him closer.

Feeling like he was being dragged by a shark that had caught his leg, Ajin’s body flinched in surprise. However, he couldn’t resist Seokju’s strength. Ajin ended up falling into Seokju’s embrace. Seokju adjusted Ajin’s body in a comfortable position next to him.

“I won’t bite, just sleep.”

Seokju’s words took Ajin aback. He felt as if he were drowning. Ajin couldn’t resist his strength, and he settled down beside Seokju.

Seokju covered Ajin up to his chin with the blanket. Ajin looked at Seokju in surprise. Seokju, as if deliberately, lay down beside Ajin, leaving the blanket to Ajin, exposing his upper body.

Their arms touched perfectly. One was too hot to be normal, and the other was too cold. However, when they pressed against each other, the temperature felt just right.

It was strange. Incredibly strange, how strangely comfortable it felt.

Ajin’s eyelids grew heavy very quickly. Blinking sleepily, he felt like he could fall asleep any moment. He turned his body slightly towards Seokju. Seokju gazed at him as if waiting.

“Boss.”

Ajin called out to him in a hushed voice, heavy with sleep.

“Yeah.”

Seokju replied lightly.

“Goodnight.”

“Mm… sure.”

Ajin greeted him politely, and Seokju responded with a nonchalant sound, chuckling. “Is the boss a sleep cripple?” “I don’t like the boss.” “Whenever you want.” He was so good at greetings.

Ajin’s breathing soon became calm. The different shades of breaths, thin and rhythmic, couldn’t be more peaceful. Seokju, who had waited until Ajin fell into a deep sleep, reached out to Ajin’s waist as the moon hung high in the sky.

He had no intention of doing anything wrong. He just wanted to be closer. Sleeping with the cool Ajin in his arms, it felt like he might have good dreams.

Seokju wrapped his arm around Ajin’s waist, pulling him closer. Ajin’s slender body easily fit against him. A satisfied smile crossed Seokju’s lips.

He pushed Ajin’s pillow further away and slid his thick forearm under Ajin’s head. They got even closer.

Seokju’s breaths, as he embraced Ajin, gradually fell into a steady rhythm. When the moon was high in the sky, casting a serene glow, he reached his hand down to Ajin’s waist.

Feeling Seokju’s touch, Ajin, with his face buried in Seokju’s neck, mumbled in a tired voice, “Don’t keep touching me.”

Seokju, taken aback, pulled his neck back and looked down at Ajin. Due to his messy hair, it was hard to tell if his eyes were open or closed.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Not yet.”

“Then, can I at least look at your face?”

Ajin clenched his lips. Seokju couldn’t help but find their conversations strange. The process and the conclusions were always peculiar. Although Ajin had little education and was considered a fool, he could tell that Seokju’s way of thinking was odd.

After a brief pause, Ajin nodded. He didn’t mean to insert a pepper into his rear end, but he could allow this much.

Seokju smiled unnecessarily handsomely, gently brushing Ajin’s bangs aside. Under the faint blue moonlight, Ajin’s face was revealed. With tightly closed lips, Seokju gazed at him.

The face was getting more beautiful the more he looked at it. Words like “beauty” or “extraordinary looks” fell short in describing it. It was a face that couldn’t be expressed in ordinary terms.

It was a face harmonized with the night and the moon. It seemed as if the calmly twinkling night sky had descended to the ground and turned into a person.