Double Junk - 42

Chapter 42

Ajin stepped back hesitantly, then quickly lowered his head.

“Uh… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry, and what? Damn it, the taste of the alcohol is ruined. Leaving a disabled person at home, what a pain…”

The man seemed irritated and pounded the table. The plates on the table shook, and a pair of chopsticks even fell to the floor.

Ajin’s throat tightened at the raw profanity, which he hadn’t heard in a while. He apologized once again.

“I’m truly sorry. There was a bit of leftover alcohol, so…”

Ajin’s voice, which had been shrinking, faded away. However, the man’s irritation only grew.

“What did you say, you filthy guy?”

The man lifted his butt as if he might slap Ajin across the face at any moment. Ajin’s face turned a shade of blue. His heart was pounding violently. His face trembled as if it were shaking left and right. It was when he clenched the empty bottle tightly.

“Ajin.”

A low voice called Ajin’s name. Ajin jerked his head up. Seokju was looking at him, his expression rigid. He seemed unfamiliar, as if he were watching the Seokju from back when they were gambling.

“Yes, yes?”

“Get out.”

“Oh… okay.”

Ajin bowed and apologized again, then picked up the heavy liquor box and left the room. As he closed the door with one hand, he heard Ki-heon’s voice.

“I heard you had a cripple at home… Your tastes are quite broad. Leaving a disabled person at home. President Kang doesn’t seem to mind, but people are truly kind.”

“We’re all the same kind of people, aren’t we?”

“Even so, it’s a bit different.”

“….”

“But President Kang even remembers the names of his subordinates.”

“Whether they’re organization members or regular people, when you live under the same roof, you think of them as family.”

“I see, maybe it’s because you’re young. It’s different from how an old guy like me thinks. I should learn from you.”

Ajin, who was walking down the corridor, heard the mocking laughter. The liquor box he was carrying contained nothing but empty bottles. Yet, it felt oppressively heavy, as if his arms were going to fall off.

By the time it was close to midnight, the kitchen had become quiet. Food was no longer being served, and only one of the attendants occasionally brought in empty bottles. It seemed the main hall was still lively, based on the sounds.

The attendants began their meal late, reheating the cold rice and side dishes lightly. Even though the rice had cooled and stiffened a bit, the taste was still delicious. It made tears well up in Ajin’s eyes. However, it wasn’t because it was delicious.

In the end, the drinking continued until past midnight. One of the attendants informed that it was okay for him to go to bed, leaving only two male attendants. People yawned as if waiting for the signal to rest and made their way to their rooms.

Ajin was also heading to his room, his lips mumbling and trying to apologize again, but he didn’t want to lie down. He couldn’t sleep, even if he tried.

It wasn’t just that he couldn’t fall asleep. He didn’t want to sleep. Even if he lay down, sleep wouldn’t come.

However, the main reason was that sleep didn’t come.

Ajin took a seat on the porch next to the kitchen. As he lightly tapped his knees that had been worked hard all day, he gazed up at the sky.

The autumn night was clear with not a single cloud in sight. The moon was large and bright, almost like the sun. The night was quiet, with no sign of the summer’s fireflies and cicadas that had disappeared as soon as the summer ended.

It was a bit regrettable. It felt like the world had turned away from him.

“Ah…”

Ajin sighed and closed his eyes, feeling a warm tear running down his cheek as he swallowed it.

“Ajin.”

“Get out.”

The words Ajin had heard from Seokju a few hours ago still echoed in his ears. It was just two sentences. In fact, they were such simple and common words that you couldn’t even call them sentences. But for some reason, they felt so piercing, frustrating, and heart-wrenching. Perhaps he had deluded himself into thinking he was special to Seokju.

“Still, there was no need to say it so harshly…”

Ajin muttered under his breath with a wry smile. He didn’t want to scold that man for telling him not to treat his family that way. He just… he just wanted… Ah, he didn’t even know. He found it awkward and irritating to feel hurt and frustrated by someone.

Ajin sat down on the porch, tapped his knees repeatedly, and gazed up at the sky. His heart was still racing, and he couldn’t sleep. Not only was he unable to sleep, but he also didn’t want to sleep.

However, the main reason was that sleep eluded him.

Ajin slapped the floor lightly with his palm, and a dry twig happened to get caught in his hand. He looked at it for a moment and then reached out with his hand.

Ajin wrote one letter at a time on the hard dirt floor with the dry twig.

[Ajin]

Now I can write my name easily. It was ridiculous to struggle with a name when I’m not even writing about a baduk match. Ajin added something else beside his name.

[Kang Seokju]

Seokju, who had been called Seokju a few days ago, had returned to being Kang Seokju. His name was hard to remember because it had many strokes. He had made mistakes several times, but Seokju kindly corrected him without getting angry.

Ajin smiled as he remembered that time, then his expression stiffened. He used the bottom of his foot to erase Seokju’s name he had written in the dirt. The name he had written so carefully was covered and disappeared into the earth.

Ajin tossed the twig away.

“Annoying…”

It was such a trivial matter, but he felt disgusted with himself for making a fuss about it. Even in the midst of his annoyance, he didn’t want to resent Seokju.

It’s embarrassing to put a disabled person like me out there. It seems that business with outsiders is more important than someone like me, a mere servant. If Seokju loses interest in me, I will live like a pitiful weed, appearing and disappearing in this world. All kinds of thoughts ran through his mind.

Ajin repeated the sighing as his tongue felt dry. Boom, boom. He heard footsteps.

Ajin turned his head towards the source of the sound in the pitch-black darkness. Someone was approaching. The footsteps were slow, and the person seemed to be taking their time, looking around.

Soon, the light from a lantern revealed the shadow’s face. It was Ki-heon. Ajin quickly stood up, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and lowered his head, hoping that he would pass without recognizing him.

However, Ki-heon stopped in front of Ajin. His leather shoes were uneven. Ajin raised his head briefly as if he was glancing at him, then lowered his head again.

“…Yes.”

Ki-heon was sober. When Ajin had seen him at the main hall a few hours ago, his face had been red, and he had seemed unsteady, as if he were drunk. Now he was standing straight, and his gaze was sharp. Ajin couldn’t tell if he had sobered up quickly or had pretended to be drunk earlier.

Ki-heon lit a cigarette and exhaled with a whoosh. He then lightly tapped Ajin’s arm with his elbow. To him, it might have felt like a light nudge, but Ajin’s frail body staggered.

“Those guys are a bit rough. Understand that. But President Kang, too. A precious guest came, and he made a cripple like you carry food. Shameless…”

Ajin straightened his back and stood tall, trying to show that he wasn’t a cripple. He couldn’t stand that damn label “cripple.” It still made him feel bad.

“…”

Ajin remained silent. What could he say? Would he say that our boss is not a shameless person, that he is not like that? Would he argue that Kang President shouldn’t make a cripple like me carry food? Would he ask if the food he’s carrying is dirty? It was best to stay quiet.

“But damn, where’s the bathroom? This house is unnecessarily large… He called you here to annoy you, right? That bastard…”

“…”

“No, no. You can do your business anywhere; it’s all dirt and grass. It’s all natural fertilizer, don’t you get it?”

Ki-heon chuckled and pulled his belt tighter. Ajin, who was startled, took a step closer.

“The bathroom is over there, through that door.”

Cleaning the yard was Ajin’s job. With the clear weather, it didn’t seem like it would rain anytime soon. There was no intention to endure the smell of urine for days, even from someone as insignificant as him.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want me to pee here?”

Ki-heon raised an eyebrow sharply. Ajin retreated, swallowing a deep breath. Ki-heon was about to say something in frustration when a gust of wind passed between them, causing a rustling sound. The early autumn night breeze was quite chilly. Ajin’s bangs swayed dramatically, revealing his face in the moonlight. The moonlight was so bright that his face couldn’t be hidden.

“You…”

Ki-heon squinted his eyes and reached out to Ajin’s head after carelessly tossing his cigarette. Ajin, startled, trembled when Ki-heon touched him.

“You’ve been here…”

In a low voice. Despite the distance, his long shadow extended all the way to Ajin’s feet. The sound of his square-patterned robes fluttering in the wind.

Ajin turned his head towards the voice. Once again, Seokju was standing there. Thanks to him, Ki-heon’s hand, which was about to reach Ajin’s head, hesitated and was pulled back.

Ki-heon turned his head casually, unlike Ajin. Then, he spoke very casually.

“Oh. I couldn’t find the bathroom. But this guy here showed me the way.”

The atmosphere was strange, so technically it wasn’t a lie. Seokju stared at Ki-heon in an unprecedentedly cold and piercing manner. Ki-heon, in contrast to Ajin, looked back at Seokju with interest. The square-shaped sound of his robe flapping in the wind was noticeable.

“Oh. I see. You showed him the way because he couldn’t find the bathroom. Well done.”

The atmosphere was so peculiar that it wasn’t an incorrect statement. Seokju looked at Ki-heon with a gaze colder and sharper than before. Ki-heon met that gaze as if he found it amusing. The wind seemed to have become colder than before.

“The bathroom is inside. Please go in.”

“Yes, of course.”

After exchanging those words, the two of them didn’t even flinch. Ajin just kept nibbling on his lower lip between them.