Double Junk - 39

39

“Did you have a bad dream? Did a ghost appear?”

“….”

Ajin pursed his lips. Seokju in front of him was unbelievable. He still felt as if he was in the midst of that bloody dream. It was always like that after he had this dream.

The dream of a traffic accident, Jinsu’s death, and my leg getting mangled were dreams he tried to forget. But even then, it was getting better. Before he became an adult, he dreamed it every day. And he would wake up at dawn, crouching alone in the darkness until morning came.

It was the first time someone had comforted him and embraced him like this. It was funny to say, but it felt like he had someone on his side. That was because Ajin was always the one blamed in the traffic accidents. Everyone pointed fingers at him.

Ajin rushed into Seokju’s arms.

“Boss…”

“….”

Seokju trembled for a moment. Then he lifted Ajin’s buttocks onto his lap. He embraced Ajin’s skinny body tightly. The peculiar, cool, and clear smell of Ajin wafted over. Seokju, burying his nose in Ajin’s slender neck, asked softly.

“Why? What kind of dream did you have? Hmm?”

The affectionate voice soothed Ajin. Seokju also lightly stroked his back with his big hand.

Seokju was genuinely worried. It had been months since he had spent nights with Ajin. But it was the first time he had seen him wake up from such a bad nightmare.

Ajin usually slept through the night without waking up even once. He had to move his body all day long, and his legs were uncomfortable, so the physical strain was no joke. Moreover, every night, he was tormented by someone who came and went all over the place. There was no way he wouldn’t be frightened.

But waking up like this, with tears streaming down and his body trembling, was different. Even during sleep, he groaned as if something was pressing him down. It was clearly not just an ordinary nightmare.

“What is it? If it’s a ghost, give it a pat on the back, and if it’s a person, scold them. So tell me.”

The affectionate voice eased Ajin’s tense shoulders. Seokju’s embrace felt very secure. Ajin, who was calmed by Seokju’s warm body temperature, subtly lifted his head.

“Accident… I dreamed of the accident…”

Tears glistened on his eyelashes as they swayed slowly. Seokju gently brushed it away with his index finger and asked.

“Accident?”

Ajin hesitated to bring up the memories to anyone for the first time, so his throat didn’t easily open.

Seokju didn’t rush Ajin but quietly waited. He patted Ajin’s cheeks, stroked his hunched spine, and gently kissed Ajin’s lips. Ajin’s breathing, which had been rough and ragged due to the rough touches, became much calmer under his gentle touch.

Ajin buried his cheek in Seokju’s shoulder. Then, in a low voice, he told the story of that day, that day when he was ten years old, the day his leg broke and someone died.

The story wasn’t long. It was an incident that happened in an instant and ended in an instant, leaving a long-lasting story only on Ajin’s leg.

“So… so I can’t go outside. I’m too scared of cars. I’m afraid of getting hit by a car again. I’m afraid the car will crush my head this time, like my friend… afraid my head will burst.”

“….”

Seokju exhaled deeply through his nose. The accident at that time seemed to have had a very big impact on Ajin in a bad way. Seokju stroked Ajin’s hair gently, and Ajin continued to speak softly.

The one listening to him was only the second person after the Flower Lady, so he couldn’t stop. It wasn’t so much venting as it was the feeling of a heavy burden on his chest being released.

“So money is useless too. Since I can’t go out. I can’t buy a house and live alone. I want to work at your house until I die.”

“….”

“Your house is spacious, with a garden, and you can see the sky, and it’s like heaven because you can see the changing seasons. The gambling den was dark day and night.”

“That’s why I don’t want to go to school either.”

Ajin nodded. School. He only heard about it, and he didn’t know what it looked like, what was being taught there. Ajin was an idiot, a fool, and a simpleton. The accident that day had made him like this.

However, it didn’t mean he wanted to go outside now. The hole without a lid was comfortable and cozy. Sitting at the very bottom of that hole, Ajin felt like the sky was only as big as the palm of his hand.

Seokju gently covered Ajin’s lower lip with his own and then released it. He ran his fingers over Ajin’s delicate jawline and whispered softly, almost as if he were murmuring.

“Then just stay here.”

“…Here?”

“Here, in my room, sit on my lap.”

“…?”

“Then I’ll bring the world, the whole world, into this room.”

“…?”

“You just sit still and watch.”

Ajin’s lips trembled. His white and small teeth and the slightly reddened tongue peeked out. Seokju gently brushed his lower lip with his thumb. The tip of his thumb touched Ajin’s moist tongue before he pulled it away. Unsatisfied, he let go of Ajin’s lips and kissed them entirely.

Ajin looked at Seokju, who was acting like this, in a daze. Seokju was acting strange. He had become a different person from the one who had watched the amputation of a pig’s arm a few hours ago.

Ajin was confused but also relieved. He felt that Seokju, who held him every night and put him to sleep, was still there.

At the same time, he felt a kind of superiority. He was different from the people who stood in the yard like weeds, the pig with its arms cut off, and the gang members who bowed to him. As Seokju had said, he was one of Seokju’s “special” people. He could feel it.

Ajin gently squeezed Seokju’s hand, which was holding his cheek.

“Why do you treat me so well?”

“I told you. Because I like you.”

Seokju smiled with a chuckle. His handsome lips curved into a long line. His eyes narrowed gracefully, and his thick eyebrows softened. Ajin stared at that fantastic smile in silence. And unknowingly, he began to smile as well.

“I… like you too.”

Really, I like you very much.

Ajin slowly approached Seokju’s lips. Seokju waited silently without responding. Ajin was coming closer with his own feet.

Finally, their lips met. At that moment, Seokju wrapped his hand around the back of Ajin’s head and turned it to the side. The kiss became passionate in an instant.

Seokju freely tangled his tongue with Ajin’s, sucking it as much as he wanted. He licked with his teeth, probing the nooks and crannies of Ajin’s small mouth with the tip of his tongue. He also sucked Ajin’s plump lower lip, making it hurt.

“Ugh…”

The kiss was long. Ajin’s nose, which kept brushing against Seokju’s nose as they kept touching and parting, turned as red as an apple. Seokju only moved away when their lips were about to get chapped.

Ajin bowed his head deeply. He felt strangely embarrassed. Even though he had already done everything with him, he still felt that way. Ajin stroked his chapped lips with the back of his hand. Seokju hugged him. Ajin rolled his eyeballs like a rolling doll, and Seokju held him tightly.

Seokju chuckled silently.

Seokju felt good. It was like finding a gold mine while walking down the street.

It was a relief that Ajin had such memories. It meant that he wouldn’t run away from his arms without him having to break Ajin’s ankle. He wouldn’t run away.

Men in clean suits with haori draped over them strode down the hospital corridor. Their wooden clogs, dust-free, glided across the white floor like silk. In the heavy and dark atmosphere, doctors and nurses all stood by the wall.

However, whether they spoke or not, Seokju, who was at the forefront, put his hand in his pants pocket and walked leisurely. His eyes, which were crumpled and bloodshot, were scanning the corridor for the hospital room.

As Seokju stood in front of the hospital room, Myungjin quickly opened the door. The thick scent of the hospital’s unique disinfectant wafted in. Seokju stepped inside.

“Have you come, sir?” The gang member who had been guarding the hospital room hurried over and respectfully bowed. The others also bowed their heads in unison. Seokju responded by lightly patting the shoulder of the man who was in front.

The one-person hospital room had one patient and four gang members in it. With Seokju and Myungjin’s arrival, the room had gotten even more crowded. Myungjin gestured to them.

“Hey, guys. Can you step outside for a moment?”

Upon hearing this, the people guarding the room quickly left. Only Seokju, Myungjin, the patient, and a few gang members remained in the room. Seokju dragged over a small chair next to the bed and sat down. Out of habit, he took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Myungjin jumped up and approached him.

“Sir, this is a hospital.”

“Oh…”

Seokju extinguished the cigarette in a small wastebasket. Even as a gangster, there were things he had to abide by. It wouldn’t be good if rumors spread about a gang leader causing trouble in the hospital. Moreover, there was nothing to gain by clashing with the hospital.

Seokju crossed his long legs and looked at the patient. The name “Choi Jin-geol” was written above the head of the bed.

Jin-geol had a good build. He was smaller than Seokju or Myungjin, but still significantly larger than the average man. His jaw was squared, and despite looking like he had been through a lot, he appeared in his mid-twenties.

His skin was rough, his cheekbones prominent, and despite having lost a lot of blood, his eyes were fierce and wild.

He was sitting at the head of the bed, leaning to the side with thick bandages wrapped around his abdomen. The look he gave Seokju was dry. As Myungjin stood next to him, a vein popped out on his forehead.

“Hey, you didn’t even say hello to your boss.”

“Hello…”

Jin-geol reluctantly nodded his head and then straightened it. Myungjin clenched his fist. It was appreciative that Jin-geol had taken a hit for Seokju instead of a knife, but that didn’t mean rudeness was permitted.