Double Junk - 173

‘…….’

Ajin glared at Seokju with eyes that seemed sharpened. He didn’t seem ready to accept an apology easily. Seokju, looking at Ajin’s puffed-up cheek, spoke quietly.

“Come here. I’ll let you rest.”

He called Ajin over but took a step closer to him himself. Just before he was one step away, Ajin quickly walked to him and then jabbed his forehead into Seokju’s broad chest.

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

“I don’t like you.”

“I know.”

Seokju gently stroked Ajin’s sharp elbow. Feeling his touch, Ajin mumbled softly.

“…Hug me. I’m hot from being angry. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“…Okay.”

Seokju wrapped his arms around Ajin’s waist and pulled him closer. With his other hand, he gently ran it from the back of Ajin’s head down his spine. It seemed like Ajin’s body was really heated, as it felt warm to the touch. Seokju carefully patted him. The heat transferring from his body was comforting.

“Don’t call me ‘President.’ Call me Ajin, just my name.”

Ajin, still in Seokju’s arms, mumbled in response. Then he lightly wrapped his arms around Seokju’s waist. Seokju, feeling the touch, smiled subtly, almost imperceptibly.

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

Seokju answered simply, but with a lot of affection, he held Ajin tightly. They stayed like that for a while. As Seokju buried his nose in Ajin’s hair, he apologized again.

“I was wrong, Ajin.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry.

The short words of apology echoed over and over. His voice, deep and thick, spread out, as though he were lying on a bed made from his voice. Ajin rolled around there for a while before mumbling,

“Ha…”

He woke up from the dream.

As soon as he became aware of reality, the sound of rain filled his ears. It was loud and heavy, like a downpour. Moonlight filtered through the thick curtains, and raindrop shadows shimmered on them.

Ajin, listening to the sound absentmindedly, kicked off the blanket that had loosely covered him. He pressed his palm against his eyes. His eyes were warm. He waved his hand and found the air conditioner remote. Now familiar with it, he lowered the temperature without even looking at the remote, but the already lowest setting wouldn’t go any further down.

His back was damp. He wasn’t scared or disturbed by the dream, but he was sweating. His body naturally produced a lot of heat, so sweating while sleeping had become normal for him.

Ajin, tossing and turning, couldn’t take it anymore. He got up from the bed, took off his clothes, and went into the bathroom to stand under cold water.

“Ugh…”

Ajin shook his head while being hit by the cold water. It felt like his brain was rattling. His body felt heavy and tired.

Lately, he had been dreaming more often. The heat building up in his body made it hard to sleep, and with the constant short dreams, it felt like he hadn’t slept at all.

This dream had been longer than the others, but only two hours had passed since he had fallen asleep. This pattern had been repeating for days now.

The night was unbearably long and hot. The moon felt like the sun.

The more he dreamed, the more it felt like he was blending with the “Ajin” in the dream. Or was he the original “Ajin”? Had memories from his past life just clouded his mind?

Everything was a mess. His personality seemed to be changing. Sometimes, when it got unbearably hot, he would curse without meaning to, surprising himself. He often found himself searching for something when his throat was dry, and even while sleeping, he would fumble around as if looking for something, but he didn’t know what.

Ajin raised his head and splashed cold water on his face.

Seokju’s hand flickered in his mind. He missed the cold and firm warmth of Seokju’s arms, the refreshing temperature from when Seokju had rubbed his back in the dream.

In the summer night of his past life, with the noisy sound of insects, Seokju, desperately searching for him, must have felt the same way.

“No, no…”

He shouldn’t think of that person. Ajin muttered to himself and pressed his forehead against the cold bathroom wall. Then, he rubbed his chest. He recalled the bullet and thorns lodged in his heart.

On a rainy and gloomy morning, Ajin was busy preparing to go to work. There wasn’t much to do at the office. He usually just read books, ate, or watched movies on his tablet. But still, getting washed up and dressed and leaving was a big deal. In his past life, he never left every day. He had stayed in one place, whether it was the gambling house or Seokju’s house.

Ajin, now dressed in a suit, put on his wristwatch with a practiced hand. Finally, he grabbed his phone, which he used as a dictionary, and headed toward the door. Just as he was about to leave, a knock came, and the door opened. It was Seokju.

“President. Your tie—”

Seokju’s words were cut off as his gaze moved to Ajin’s neck. Ajin was already wearing the tie. Seokju’s face tightened.

Ajin, either noticing or not noticing, smiled and raised the corners of his mouth.

“I did it myself today. I searched for it on my phone. I can search well now.”

“……”

“It’s a bit crooked, but it’s okay, right?”

Ajin grabbed the tie knot and gently shook it from side to side. Seokju couldn’t take his eyes off the fingers doing that.

“About the tie… you never knew how to do it, right?”

“Really? Then, did you always do it for me?”

“Yes.”

“Every morning?”

“Yes.”

“Not a single day missed?”

Seokju paused for a moment. Then he spoke again.

“Sometimes, there were days when I couldn’t take care of it.”

“What happened on those days?”

“You brought your tie to the office.”

“Wow… I really bothered you, huh?”

Ajin laughed awkwardly, as if embarrassed. Then he shrugged.

“I saved you some trouble. You don’t have to do it for me anymore.”

“….”

That was good news. The boss, who didn’t know how to tie a tie and needed help every morning, no longer required assistance. As Ajin said, it meant one less task for him.

But for some reason, Seokju didn’t seem that happy.

After they arrived at the office, Seokju safely dropped Ajin off at the CEO’s office and immediately turned around. He needed to grab some work documents. It had become a routine by now. Since Ajin started coming to work, Seokju had always done his work in the CEO’s office.

“I’ll grab my stuff and be right back.”

But,

“No, it’s fine. You can work at your desk,” Ajin rejected as he turned on his tablet.

“….”

Seokju glanced at Ajin, who was casually tapping on his tablet. Ajin smiled faintly.

“I’m fine being alone now. I think I’ve gotten used to it after a few days. You must be more comfortable at your own desk, so go ahead and work there.”

Saying this, Ajin shifted his attention to the tablet. The movie that the company had produced recently started playing. It was about a terminally ill boy who travels back in time on a bus and meets a simple soulmate living in the countryside. The rural, peaceful setting was soothing, and watching it made Ajin feel calm.

Ajin, holding a sofa cushion, focused on the screen.

“….”

Seokju, watching Ajin quietly, gave a slight nod before leaving the CEO’s office at a slow pace.

They had lunch together. Ajin asked a lot of questions about the movie, then later asked in-depth about how much it costs to make such movies, what kind of movies the company was producing, and what kinds of movies people liked.

Seokju answered enthusiastically with the warm smile of a parent proud of their child. Ajin listened quietly and, when difficult words came up, asked Seokju or looked them up on his phone. His fingers moved quickly, switching between dictionaries and encyclopedias.

“What was it… um, do you choose the script, hyung?”

“No. There’s a department for that. I’m not very talented in that area.”

“Then, what do you do?”

“I handle the business side. I review the marketing, personnel, and investment decisions that come from other departments. It’s usually the CEO’s job, but I do it instead.”

“Ah, I see….”

Ajin nodded. No wonder. There were many soft and warm items on the company’s media list. While he couldn’t know Seokju’s preferences perfectly, the plot of the movie he was watching earlier didn’t really seem to match Seokju. He imagined Seokju would like movies where people get stabbed with knives and bl00d splatters everywhere… as Ajin thought this, he shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again, shaking off the thought.

The Seokju in front of him wasn’t a gangster. He was just a polite, hardworking, smart person.

Let’s not get confused.

Ajin adjusted his spoon, letting out a short sigh.

After the meal, when they returned to the office, Seokju asked,

“Should I teach you how to use the computer?”

“The computer? The one on my desk?”

“Yes.”

“Sure.”

Ajin nodded enthusiastically. Seokju taught him the basics of using the computer. Since Ajin was already familiar with his phone, there wasn’t much difficulty in explaining. When Seokju placed Ajin’s fingers on the correct spots on the keyboard, Ajin found it fascinating as his fingers moved automatically.

After the brief lesson, Ajin smiled and thanked him.

“Thanks, secretary.”

“Yes.”

Seokju gave a slight nod and stood next to Ajin. Minutes passed, five, ten. Seokju kept watching Ajin as he clicked around, pressing buttons and hearing the clicking sounds. Ajin wasn’t playing with a bomb, but Seokju looked seriously concerned.

Ajin, noticing Seokju’s gaze, casually said,

“I’ll keep trying it on my own. If I have any questions, I’ll ask again. You should go back to your work.”

“….”

Seokju’s expression softened, then slowly returned to normal. Ajin’s words were polite, but in the end, they meant that Seokju should leave, since his presence was uncomfortable, or bothersome.

Seokju bit the inside of his cheek for a moment, then forced a smile.

“…Okay.”