Double Junk - 188

“Who buys everything they want?”

“Right here. The immature youngest son of Han Seonhwa. Head full of flowers. The only thing I’m good at is wasting money.”

Ajin pointed at his own head with his index finger. Seonhwa clicked her tongue, leaning deeply into the sofa.

“You’re so greedy. How will you manage?”

“I know, right? I think I go overboard too. Don’t you think so?”

“You’ve been like that since you were little. You wanted everything, from the most trivial things to the most expensive ones. And if you didn’t get it, you cried, threw tantrums, or got angry… Your brother and sister were so laid-back that they gave in to you, and that’s the only reason it worked out.”

“Thank goodness I have such a good brother and sister.”

“When you were younger, it was just small, petty stuff, so we let it slide. But now it’s cars and luxury goods…”

“It’s a relief that you’re rich, Mom.”

Seonhwa chuckled dryly at his indifferent tone, placing her teacup on the table. Crossing her legs the other way, she smiled faintly.

“True. Now that I think about it, I do have so much money. Why shouldn’t I buy whatever my kid wants? Go ahead. Buy it all. Do you want anything else?”

Seonhwa asked sarcastically. Ajin, pretending to be clueless, made a humming noise.

“Hmm… There is one thing.”

“What is it? Another car?”

“No.”

He suddenly got up and crawled over to her, resting his head on her lap. His bright, innocent face was fully exposed—a face Seonhwa couldn’t help but adore. Looking up at her with his big eyes, Ajin whispered softly.

“Kang Seokju.”

“…Seokju?”

“Yeah. I want Kang Seokju.”

“That’s not something Mom can buy for you.”

“Then let’s live together. I want to live with Seokju hyung.”

His voice carried a stubborn edge. No one had told him not to, but if refused, he seemed ready to stomp his feet and cry. His expression, filled with frustration, showed how unfair and upsetting it felt. It was always like this—Ajin couldn’t hold back when it came to Seokju.

Seonhwa gently stroked Ajin’s soft cheek and asked, “Why?”

“Just because. I don’t want to be apart from him. Ever since he started working at your company, he’s been so busy I hardly see him. Maybe five times a week if I’m lucky, and even then, not for long. It’s so annoying. Why did you even make him work?”

“To keep him close to you.”

“What kind of ‘close’ is this? If you really wanted him near me, you should’ve made him my personal servant or something.”

“A servant? What century are you living in? Besides, if I hadn’t recruited Seokju, he would’ve been hired by another company. With his education and grades, do you think they wouldn’t have snapped him up? Then you wouldn’t even see him five times a week. Probably not even once.”

Ajin blinked quickly at her words, his lips pursing inward and his eyebrows slightly raising—a look so adorable it made Seonhwa laugh silently as she rubbed the corner of his eye. Ajin tilted his head, squinting one eye as he nodded.

“Oh… That’s true. As expected, my mom is smart.”

“Mom always has a plan.”

“But it’s still annoying that I don’t see him as much as I used to. I can’t even sleep well these days without Kang Seokju.”

“Oh my, really? No wonder. I noticed the dark circles under your eyes.”

Worry instantly spread across Seonhwa’s face. Ajin looked up at her, seizing the opportunity to make his request.

“So…”

“Yes?”

“Can I live independently with Seokju hyung?”

“What?”

“If hyung lives here, it’ll be uncomfortable for him. He’ll feel like a burden. So I’ll just move out and live with him.”

Seonhwa’s lips twisted at his words. Ajin pulled his head back slightly, preparing to act cute—predicting she wouldn’t agree. But her response was completely unexpected.

“…Even if you live with him, Seokju would still feel uncomfortable. You’re picky, difficult, and rude… How did I raise you just like Jungjin and Mijin, yet you turned out like this—”

“Mom! That’s so mean!”

Ajin recoiled dramatically. Seonhwa laughed out loud, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him back onto her lap. Ajin pouted but obediently rested his face there again.

Seonhwa gently ran her fingers through his soft, silky hair. Even something as ordinary as her son’s hair felt precious. It was because Ajin was her youngest, born late and with difficulty.

“If you want to move out, go ahead. I’ll find you a house. But you’ll have to get Seokju’s permission yourself.”

“What? You’re letting me do it this easily?”

“What’s the big deal? Your brother and sister went abroad to study by themselves in high school. Living independently in the same city isn’t even real independence. But do you think Seokju will agree?”

“Kang Seokju will definitely say yes. Hyung always listens to me.”

Seonhwa looked down at Ajin as if to say, You can’t be serious. But Ajin confidently grabbed his phone from the floor and called Seokju.

The monotonous ringing echoed until it stopped. Then Seokju’s voice came through.

“Yeah, Ajin.”

And in Ajin’s dream, he said:

“Hyung.”

“What’s up? I’m on my way to a meeting. Can I call you back later?”

“No, you can’t.”

“…What’s the matter?”

“Nothing much. Hyung, do you want to live with me?”

“…What?”

“Let’s live together, just the two of us.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“Why… are you saying this?”

“Because I want to. I hardly see you these days. I couldn’t even sleep last night. The day before, I got a nosebleed—bl00d pouring out like crazy, and I got dizzy. It’s all because of you. It’s because you’re not here.”

“Did you go to the hospital for that?”

“What’s the point of going to the hospital? I told you it’s because you’re not here. I think we need to spend more time together. I won’t ask you to quit your job anymore. But instead, let’s live together. That way, we can see each other at least once a day.”

“…”

“Hurry up and answer me. We’re going to live together, right? You’ll live with me?”

“…”

“Come on, hyung—Seokju hyung. Let’s live together. Please?”

“…Fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Let’s live together, Ajin.”

It was surprisingly easy to get Seokju to agree.

Ajin had expected Seokju to avoid him. After all, running away right after they kissed must have left things awkward.

But on Monday morning, Seokju appeared as usual, the same stoic personal assistant he always was. He handed Ajin his clothes, drove him to work, briefly outlined his schedule for the day, and escorted him to the CEO’s office.

There was no sign of discomfort, no embarrassment. He acted as if nothing had happened—or maybe he had genuinely forgotten about it.

That indifference started to irk Ajin. So, as Seokju was about to leave the office with a polite bow, Ajin blurted out, “That wasn’t our first kiss, was it?”

Seokju stopped in his tracks. After a brief hesitation, he turned back around.

“No, it wasn’t.”

Contrary to Ajin’s expectations, Seokju answered calmly. Ajin raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Seokju had anticipated this question ever since their kiss yesterday. He’d even braced himself for Ajin to slap him. Though he initiated the kiss, he was ready to admit it was his fault if Ajin blamed him.

As memories of the intense kiss resurfaced, Seokju bit the inside of his cheek. Ajin pressed on, his voice curious. “So, we’ve kissed before?”

“Not often.”

“Then what? How many times?”

Seokju exhaled briefly, his tone flat as he listed their shared moments.

“Three times. The first was when you were drunk. The second was because you wanted to see how I’d react. The third was out of anger.”

“Anger?”

“Yes. You bit so hard you split my lower lip.”

Recalling Ajin’s teeth digging into his lip, Seokju instinctively licked the corner of his mouth. He felt an unwelcome heat pooling low in his stomach and had to shift his gaze to the ceiling.

“…”

Ajin looked dumbfounded. He bit someone’s lip?

Wow… I really was a lunatic back then.

He had already known he wasn’t exactly sane, given the recurring dreams that kept haunting him. But hearing it from Seokju’s mouth was something else. It was shocking and humiliating.

Ajin rubbed his face with both palms, then peeked at Seokju through one hand.

“Is that why you’re acting so casual about this?”

“Sorry?”

“Because it’s already happened three times. Because this is the fourth time. You’re just going to act like it never happened again, right?”

At that, Seokju blinked slowly. He mulled over Ajin’s words before responding, his gaze heavy.

“If I don’t treat it like it never happened, then what should I do instead?”

“Well…”

Ajin started to say something but shut his mouth. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. What exactly had he been expecting? What did he want?

He only knew he wanted things between them to change, to flow in a new direction. Like that day years ago when they first crossed a line during a thunderstorm.

He wanted their relationship to evolve into something more than CEO and assistant, something more personal and profound. A relationship where they meant the world to each other.

So… what kind of relationship was he imagining? Ajin bit his lower lip, lost in thought. Then Seokju, now standing closer than before, spoke in his deep, signature voice.

“Are you asking me to date you?”

Ajin inhaled sharply. Date him? Was that what he wanted? Did he want to be in that kind of relationship with Seokju? Was his desire for Seokju ultimately about that?

Maybe. It made sense. He hated seeing Seokju smile at others, hated not being by his side. He wanted to kiss him again.

Ajin folded his hands lightly on the desk and asked back, “And what if I am?”

“…”

“What’s stopping us from dating?”