Double Junk - 190

“About a girlfriend…”

“You mean a lover?”

“Are you saying I had a lover?”

Ajin asked as if such a thing were unthinkable. His gaze darted around, looking confused, as he tightened his arms around Seokju’s waist.

“Why?”

It was a strange question. Asking “why” to the statement “you had a lover.” As Seokju opened his mouth to answer, Ajin shook his head and rephrased the question.

“I mean, why don’t you have one now?”

“Because I’m not particularly interested in relationships.”

“But you said you had a girlfriend.”

“I did, but it never lasted more than a month.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ajin twisted his lips in dissatisfaction. He had a girlfriend, but wasn’t interested in women and didn’t date seriously? Ajin made a humming sound, pondering. Was it another instance of teasing Seokju? What was it again? Ah, yes. Like a sadist? Maybe having a lover back then was just another way to mess with Seokju.

While Ajin was lost in such thoughts, Seokju helped him put on his suit jacket. Sliding his arms through the sleeves, Ajin commented, “Then I guess I’m your first real one.”

“If we last more than a month, I guess that would be true.”

Seokju’s tone was subtly different from usual. Not irritated, but it was clear he wasn’t entirely in a good mood.

“Let’s go to work,” Seokju said, opening the door to the dressing room. Ajin grabbed his phone and followed him out. As they headed to the front door, Ajin started chattering again.

“Have you dated anyone before? You’re older, so maybe you have?”

“No, Ajin. You’re my first.”

The answer was firm and without pretense. Ajin chuckled. It was a satisfying reply. Though he wasn’t a first, the fact that he was Seokju’s first felt like a childish victory.

The two slipped on their shoes and left the house. Taking the elevator down, they saw a familiar car waiting. Seokju opened the passenger door for Ajin, who climbed in. After seating himself in the driver’s seat, Seokju started the car and turned on the air conditioning. Ajin gazed at him steadily.

But no matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense. Seokju was a remarkable man. Even Ajin, as a fellow guy, found him impressive—how could women not? So how was it possible that Seokju had never been in a proper relationship? What kind of life must he have lived to reach this age without dating, despite his looks?

“Buckle up,” Seokju said.

Ajin pulled the seatbelt across and clicked it into place. The car began to move. Without taking his eyes off Seokju, Ajin said, “Tell me about yourself.”

“About me?”

“I feel like I hardly know anything about you. But you even know my ID number.”

“Well…”

Seokju’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if unsure where to begin. Seeing this, Ajin decided to start with basic questions.

“What about your family? Your parents? Siblings?”

“I don’t have any.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, no family, no parents, no siblings.”

“…”

“My father was absent since birth. My mother had kidney issues and passed away when I was fifteen because she couldn’t get a transplant.”

“…”

Ajin blinked slowly. That wasn’t the kind of answer he was expecting. He realized he had been too thoughtless. Thinking about it now, Seokju’s limited social circle should have been a clue. They spent almost every waking moment together, yet not once had Seokju mentioned family or taken a personal call.

He regretted asking.

Ajin bit his lip and shifted his gaze nervously, but Seokju skillfully changed the subject while steering the car.

“And until I was twenty, I was a delinquent.”

“A delinquent?”

“To put it mildly. To be blunt, I was a thug.”

“…”

The word “thug” was familiar, but not in a welcome way. Ajin stiffened, his relaxed hands curling into fists. Seokju, either oblivious or indifferent, continued in a flat tone, recounting his rough past.

“I wasn’t particularly educated, didn’t care about school, but I was physically capable, so I got into all sorts of trouble. Back then, I was so full of anger and frustration. I wanted to destroy things, tear everything down.”

“…”

“But fortunately, since I was still a minor, there were limits to how much trouble I could get into. I was just an errand boy for a small gang.”

A smirk twisted the corner of Seokju’s mouth as he said this. Right then, the car stopped at a red light.

Ajin scratched under his ear and hesitantly asked, “But my mom said you went to a really good school. She said you were an excellent student…”

“I started studying at twenty.”

“At twenty?”

“Yeah. I studied like my life depended on it, got into a good university with excellent grades, and graduated with the help of government support, scholarships, and tutoring jobs. The chairman helped me, too.”

Ajin slightly furrowed his brow. A gangster turned college student? It didn’t make sense. Why the sudden change? Was he struck by lightning or something? What could have made him go from being a thug to hitting the books?

“Why… did you suddenly start studying?”

“Because it was the only way to find my way back.”

Seokju rested his wrist on the steering wheel as he spoke. His eyes, fixed ahead, seemed to be gazing far beyond the present. Ajin tilted his head, puzzled by the cryptic response.

“Huh?”

Find his way back to what? …A dream? A goal? As Ajin blinked, waiting for clarification, Seokju glanced at him with a faint smile.

“Just… I wanted to be a good person. Not a thug or a delinquent.”

“A good… person…?”

“It was a good decision. Thanks to that, I got to meet you, Ajin.”

Ajin hummed softly in acknowledgment. As the car rolled forward again, it wasn’t long before they arrived at the office. Unlike the main family’s house, the independent residence was closer to the company. It really was convenient.

The car glided smoothly into the company parking lot. Seokju parked in Ajin’s reserved spot and turned off the engine. Even while the car settled into silence, Ajin was lost in thought, pressing his lips together in contemplation.

Seokju glanced at his wristwatch. There was still some time before work officially started. He figured he could wait for Ajin to work through his thoughts. His eyes wandered briefly to the elegant hand resting on Ajin’s slim thigh. Something about Ajin’s expression wasn’t right.

“What is it? Are you disappointed? Because my past was so wild?”

Seokju’s Adam’s apple visibly shifted as he swallowed nervously. Ajin’s lips moved slightly, as though about to speak, his face unusually pale.

“No, it’s just… it seems similar to someone I knew.”

An absent father. A mother who passed away from illness. A thug named Seokju. He was uncannily identical to the Seokju Ajin once knew. The only difference now was that he was no longer a gangster, but even so, the realization was unsettling.

It wasn’t just the face or the name—he was living a life eerily similar to that man from before, just like Kwak Changdu.

So, are you that person? Are you really him?

The buried question resurfaced, nudging its way back into Ajin’s mind.

Ajin bit his lower lip hard, lost in thought. Seokju’s hand slowly reached out, gently tugging Ajin’s lip away before it could bruise.

“Don’t bite,” he chided softly.

His touch was tender, almost scolding. Then, Seokju asked quietly, “Would you prefer if I were similar?”

“No.”

Ajin’s reply was firm. His pale blue-tinted eyes seemed stiff, as if weighed down by fear or anxiety. His voice lowered as he spoke again.

“I’d rather you were different.”

“…”

“I really hate that person.”

Seokju blinked slowly. A dry, brittle smile crossed his lips.

“…I think I’m different. Don’t worry.”

Ajin stared at him intently. It was absurd for Seokju to make such an assertion when he didn’t even know. If Ajin were to bring up reincarnation, Seokju would probably scoff and call it nonsense. He couldn’t possibly understand what Ajin meant by “different.”

And yet, oddly enough, Seokju’s assurance brought Ajin a sense of relief. He nodded.

“Then that’s fine. Let’s go to work now.”

With that, Ajin unfastened his seatbelt. As he reached to open the car door, Seokju called him softly.

“Ajin.”

“Yes?”

“I like you.”

The sudden confession came out of nowhere. It didn’t fit the mood or the context at all. Ajin stared blankly at Seokju, who smiled faintly and repeated himself.

“I really like you.”

Ajin looked at him in silence for a moment, then slowly lifted the corners of his lips.

“Me too, hyung.”

With that, Ajin hastily got out of the car. His heart pounded, an overwhelming feeling of unease swirling inside him as if seasick from the turbulence of overlapping timelines.

The entire morning, Ajin struggled to focus on his work or even the drama script he was supposed to be reviewing. Only after having a chilled soy milk noodle soup for lunch did he finally regain some energy. The cool, nutty flavor restored his appetite as well. Across from him, Seokju was eating a steaming bowl of dumpling soup.

Afterward, they stopped by an ice cream shop. With the rainy season over, the heat had fully set in, and the place was packed. Being regulars, Ajin didn’t even need to look at the menu anymore and confidently picked his favorite flavors.

Holding the cup full of ice cream, Ajin smiled brightly. Seokju adjusted the slightly messy strands of Ajin’s hair and smiled back. In one hand, he held a warm Americano from the ice cream shop; in the other, he carried Ajin’s suit jacket.

The two strolled back to the office at a leisurely pace. Seokju kept stealing glances at Ajin. In the blazing sunlight, wearing a crisp white dress shirt, the tie Seokju had helped him with that morning, and eating ice cream with a smile, Ajin sparkled like a gem. He was beautiful, radiant, and precious.

Seokju loved moments like this so much that he’d been dragging Ajin out during lunch breaks, even in this heat. In the past, he would have just ordered full meals and desserts to be delivered to the CEO’s office. If Ajin regained his memories, he might scold him for this indulgence.

As Seokju sipped his coffee, Ajin called him.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

Seokju answered quickly.