Double Junk - 31

Chapter 31

Myungjin glanced at Seokju and raised his eyebrows. It seemed like he was saying, “Boss, I did well, didn’t I?” Seokju slightly nodded, and Myungjin returned to his place with a bright smile.

Meanwhile, Ajin had been leaning against the wall, rolling his eyes. Then he noticed the spilled galbitang on the floor. As he approached the broken bowl, a soft voice called to him.

“Ajin.”

It was Seokju. Ajin quickly looked at him. Seokju smiled faintly, squinting his eyes.

“Have you eaten?”

“…Yes?”

“Did you eat?”

“No… I mean, I was going to eat later…”

“Come here. Let’s eat together.”

Seokju scooted his own seat aside and patted it. Ajin widened his eyes as if to ask what that meant. It wasn’t a difficult sentence, but he couldn’t understand it. No, he didn’t want to understand it. As Ajin blinked, Seokju personally stood up. Then, he put his hand under Ajin’s armpit and lifted him up as if plucking him from the ground.

Ajin found himself seated on the cushion before he could even react. It was the seat at the head of the table where dozens of members of the organization could see him. Startled, Ajin tried to stand up again.

“I have to clean that up…”

“Let someone else do it.”

Seokju, who had lowered Ajin’s shoulders, stood by the kitchen’s back door, watching the servants clean up. His sharp gaze made the servant immediately start moving. Seokju sat down next to Ajin with a satisfied expression.

Ajin was staring blankly at the spilled galbitang, not knowing what to do. Not long after, a new bowl of soup was placed in front of Seokju. The steaming broth was filled with meat. The finely chopped green onions and egg garnish on top looked delicious.

Unconsciously, Ajin swallowed hard. Seokju placed his own spoon in front of Ajin.

“Eat.”

“…Yes?”

“Eat. You said you hadn’t had dinner.”

“Ah… um…”

Ajin hesitated. When he kept blinking, Seokju guided the spoon into his hand. Ajin clenched his teeth. Then, he looked at Seokju once and then at the members of the organization. They were looking at him and Seokju as if they were seeing a ghost.

After a moment of hesitation, Ajin slowly brought the spoon to his mouth. He scooped up the rice carefully, making it look neat and beautiful. When it was a suitable spoonful, he brought it to Seokju’s mouth.

Suddenly, a silence fell over the room. It had been quiet before, but this silence was slightly different. It was heavy and stifling. The members of the organization all looked at Ajin with wide, surprised eyes. Myungjin even dropped the glass he was about to lift.

However, Ajin didn’t care about that. Was it easier for me to feed Seokju? At this moment, in this situation, nothing made sense, and his mind was completely confused.

“U-uh, adults should eat first…”

Ajin stammered. Even though I’m not well-educated, I’m still Korean. I knew that the elders should eat first.

Seokju looked at the food in front of him with a thoughtful look. Then, suddenly, he chuckled and ate it. As Ajin picked up the spoon, he also confidently fed Seokju side dishes. By then, Seokju’s dimples had appeared as prominently as hills.

After chewing and swallowing his food, Seokju looked at the members of the organization.

“You guys eat too.”

“Yes, Boss. Enjoy your meal!”

“Enjoy your meal, Boss,” the members of the organization roared, lifting their spoons in unison. As they began to eat, the gaze that had been fixed on Ajin and Seokju naturally disappeared. Ajin let out a long sigh through his nose. His hand holding the spoon shook uncertainty.

Seeing this, Seokju patted Ajin’s head. Thinking about the impure hand of that pig touching Ajin’s pretty, round head made him feel a surge of irritation. So he gently and carefully stroked his head even more.

“Eat your food.”

“Yes…”

Ajin moved the spoon reluctantly. In the process, his hand reached for the soup brimming with meat instead of rice. Ajin looked at Seokju hesitantly as he scooped up a spoonful of meat. Seokju nodded slightly, and Ajin stuffed a mouthful of meat into his mouth.

Although the tender meat was heavenly, he didn’t feel particularly happy.

Today, Ajin finished washing the dishes first. He hadn’t asked for help, but the older girls had quietly taken over his share and washed them instead. The servants, who usually called him derogatory nicknames like “Legs” or “Limp,” didn’t say a word.

Yet Ajin didn’t feel the slightest bit of joy. It felt as if he was wearing ill-fitting clothes; his arms and legs kept getting entangled, and breathing was difficult.

Lying in bed, Ajin stared at the ceiling with wide eyes. Then, as the servants snored and fell asleep, he silently got up and left the room.

Ajin briskly walked down the corridor, the floor creaking under his weight, and arrived in front of Seokju’s room. As he was about to knock, the door opened first.

“Ajin.”

On a hot summer night, Seokju stood there with only a thin robe fluttering around him, grinning. It seemed like he had heard Ajin’s loud footsteps.

“Come in.”

Seokju stepped aside. He was holding a cigarette, so his voice was slightly husky. Ajin entered the room.

The room was dim, with only the desk in the study illuminated. Seokju lightly brushed Ajin’s cheek, then blew out smoke and headed for the desk.

“I haven’t finished work yet. Do you want to sleep first?”

“…”

Ajin didn’t say anything. He just stared at Seokju, who was moving leisurely. Sensing something amiss, Seokju turned back. Ajin called out to him hesitantly.

“Boss.”

“Yeah.”

“Please don’t do that in front of others from now on.”

“What?”

Seokju tilted his head slightly and asked. Ajin took a deep breath and spoke quickly.

“Don’t tease me in front of people.”

“When we were having dinner. If that wasn’t teasing, then what was it?”

Seokju’s eyes narrowed at the straightforward words. He took a deep drag of his cigarette. The long cigarette was reduced to a short stub, scattering red sparks.

Seokju turned back to Ajin, moving his long legs leisurely. Ajin, intimidated by his enormous figure, quickly lowered his head. He had come to argue, but now that he thought about it, it seemed like a crazy thing to do. What am I arguing with the boss for now?

…

Strangely, Seokju seemed uncomfortable. Ajin clenched his cheek tightly. He imagined himself being thrown into the courtyard like the pig a few hours ago.

…It must have hurt a lot.

With closed eyes, Ajin kept regretting and regretting. Seokju grabbed Ajin’s wrist. His touch wasn’t rough or forceful. It was very gentle and cautious.