Double Junk - 178

For a while, Ajin kept repeating Juhyeok’s words in his head. “What’s wrong with meeting again?” Those words stayed clear in his mind. He didn’t know how badly they fought and broke up, but despite having broken up nine times, it was truly amazing that they kept meeting and reconnecting again.

Ajin pressed his lips together, deep in thought. Juhyeok, with his elbows resting on his knees, stared at Ajin intently.

“You’re a bit strange.”

“Huh?”

“The atmosphere is oddly different from usual. Are you sick? You seem strangely down. Is it because you didn’t come with Seokju hyung? Should I give him a call?”

“…No, it’s not that. It’s just… I haven’t been sleeping well.”

Ajin awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

“Again? Well, it’s been really hot lately.”

Tsk, clicking his tongue, Juhyeok stared at Ajin for a while, then started talking loudly again, drinking. Ajin sighed in relief.

The birthday party continued to grow livelier as time passed. Ajin, with a slight smile, chewed on a cookie topped with fresh chocolate, watching unfamiliar friends talking.

The topics of conversation varied. Silly jokes and swear words were thrown around, hard-to-understand economic discussions took place, and there was talk about stocks and company management. Then, Ajin heard stories from his past, stories from school and college. The time they drank and caused trouble, someone’s first love, someone running away, and someone’s travels.

He didn’t understand half of it, but it was still enjoyable. With a faint smile on his lips, Ajin reached for a tart. Then, he casually checked his wristwatch. The short hand was nearing 10. It had already been three hours since he arrived.

Seokju was probably still in the parking lot. He must be. Was he bored? Was his leg falling asleep? It would be uncomfortable if he folded his long legs.

Ajin, lost in his thoughts, called out to Juhyeok. There was something he was curious about.

“Hey, Juhyeok.”

“Huh?”

“Seokju hyung…”

“Huh?”

“He always came with us when we hung out… right?”

Juhyeok quickly nodded.

“Yeah. Once you turned twenty and we started drinking openly, he always came with us.”

Ajin hummed, thinking. Maybe he had a look on his face as if he’d been tricked when he said he was going alone. Maybe he should’ve just asked to go together. Or should he go now and bring Seokju along?

As he scratched his cheek, Juhyeok, still chewing an unlit cigarette, leaned back on the sofa and muttered.

“I’m saying this because there’s no one else to say it to, but it was so uncomfortable. Seriously.”

“What? Seokju hyung?”

“Yeah. He swears a lot.”

“…He swears? Hyung?”

Ajin’s eyes widened at the unexpected statement. Juhyeok, with his eyes wide open, pointed to his own eyes with his index and middle fingers.

“Yeah. With his eyes.”

“….”

“He swears with his eyes. Like, really a lot.”

Ajin found it hard to understand at first. As Juhyeok started ranting about what had happened, Ajin tilted his head in confusion.

“Every time I poured you a drink, he would stare at me like he wanted to burn me alive.”

“….”

“Even when I told you to go smoke or asked if you wanted to go somewhere, travel, or to the club, he would stare at me. It seems like he hates it when we talk about things from middle or high school too.”

“….”

“It seems like he hates the idea of you and me even hanging out together. Or, no, maybe he just hates that I breathe.”

Juhyeok rubbed his neck as if strangling himself. He seemed to recall Seokju’s angry, beastly glare and pulled his chin in.

“You know, I often touch you, right? Your cheeks, shoulders, and sometimes even your butt. And then he looks at me like some filthy bug’s clinging to you.”

“….”

“It’s like he’s thinking, ‘I need to take you home. I need to get you out of this dirty place. Take you home, clean you up, and put you to bed.’ That’s the kind of look he gives me.”

“….”

“What do I call it? It’s like a strict old-fashioned family head guarding his youngest daughter? You know what I mean?”

Ajin, who had been silently listening, took a deep breath. Juhyeok seemed really upset, but it didn’t seem like a big deal. He didn’t actually curse; he only did it with his eyes. Since Juhyeok didn’t have a particularly soft gaze, maybe he misinterpreted it.

Ajin thought that perhaps Juhyeok had imagined Seokju flipping the table, cracking someone’s skull with a bottle, or cutting off someone’s arm with a hatchet.

Yeah, there was no way Seokju would do something like that.

Ajin smiled faintly and shook his head. Juhyeok leaned in closer, and in a low voice, he quickly whispered.

“Last time, I was drunk and joking about wanting you to piggyback me. Seokju hyung caught me and dislocated my shoulder. I ended up in the ER, damn.”

“….”

“While drinking, I kept singing, ‘Look at my shoulder, it’s dislocated,’ but I never thought it would actually happen.”

“….”

“That guy, he’s quietly calm, but I’m sure he’s secretly training in martial arts. The strength… damn… ugh.”

“……”

Ajin opened his mouth slightly. That’s a bit… well, that’s a bit much.

No, from Seokju’s perspective, he was just doing his job as a secretary, right? Juhyeok clearly has a much bigger build than him. Seokju might have thought that if he fell or got hurt, it might interfere with his work.

Juhyeok poked Ajin’s soft cheek with his finger.

“But you’re the biggest problem.”

“…Me?”

Ajin asked with a blank face. Juhyeok nodded without hesitation.

“Yeah. You. You laugh like crazy every time.”

“…Laugh?”

“Yeah. It’s obvious that you’re doing it on purpose.”

“Doing what?”

“You’re purposely doing things that piss Seokju off. Like a total sadist.”

“…Sadist…”

Ajin furrowed his brow slightly. Sadist? It sounded like English, but the meaning didn’t come to him. It seemed like it was an English word that Ajin didn’t normally use. He decided he’d search it up on his way home.

While Ajin was trying to figure out the meaning of the new word, Juhyeok clicked his tongue and called Ajin a ruthless guy, saying that Ajin liked using ways to annoy Seokju without directly bothering him or putting himself in danger.

Ajin easily recalled an example of that. He once had a dream where he fought with Seokju using the title “Boss.” In that dream, he had threatened Seokju, saying:

“Hey, you bastard. I’m leaving! I’m going to a club to drink all night! I’m going to hang out with some stranger I don’t even know! Just like last time, I’ll take some weird drug and get taken to the hospital. Do you want me to call an ambulance again?”

“Want to try me? I’ll kill you. I won’t let it slide.” That was the kind of threat he made. And it was quite effective. Seokju immediately came over and apologized.

Ajin fiddled with his champagne glass and pressed his lips together. It was a strange relationship. It seemed like Seokju valued him more than himself. Seokju was blind and obedient, but still, they weren’t lovers. Seokju had even said he didn’t want to become one.

What exactly was this?

As Ajin was pondering this, Juhyeok put his arm around Ajin’s shoulder and gave him some new information.

“No, wait. Actually, I think Seokju’s the bigger problem here. He’s the weirdest one.”

“Weird? What do you mean?”

“That guy doesn’t look it, but he’s got some masochistic tendencies.”

“…Masochist?”

After hearing another word he didn’t understand, Ajin raised one eyebrow. He really wanted to search it up immediately. While he took his phone out of his pocket, Juhyeok continued talking, not even asked, with much energy and passion.

“If you don’t like something, just say it. Say ‘I don’t like it when you drink, I don’t like it when you meet your friends.’ You could say something like that. Of course, I doubt someone like him would listen, but still, at least you could try, right?”

“…”

“But he never says anything. No matter what you do, he just watches and suffers. He grits his teeth and endures like someone who’s being punished. If it’s too much for him, he should just back off. But no, he sticks to you like glue.”

“…”

“That guy’s a masochist. You’re a sadist. Ugh, damn, are you two both perverts?”

Shivering, Juhyeok pushed Ajin. As Ajin staggered from the rough push, Juhyeok grabbed his elbow and put him back where he was sitting. Then, he closed his eyes tightly, pulled in his chin, and hunched his shoulders like he was preparing to be hit by Ajin.

“…”

Ajin stared at him blankly. Juhyeok opened his eyes slightly and then, with a look that said, “What’s with this guy today?” began to scrutinize Ajin’s face.

At that moment, a very drunk boyfriend whispered,

“Hey, hey. Did you bring my birthday present?”

The friends lazily nodded. Then the boyfriend made a signal to the staff, who disappeared. After a moment, the staff returned and carefully placed a large gold tray on the table.

The friends cheered or whistled and crowded around the table. The boyfriend who had made the order even kneeled on the floor and leaned over the tray.

While Ajin was searching for the meaning of “Sadist,” he glanced at the tray.

On it was a plastic bag about the size of a phone. The bag contained small portions of some white powder, and beside it, there were about ten small white pills, each about the size of a fingernail.

The moment he saw that, Ajin felt a chill run down his spine.