Double Junk - 5

Chapter 5

05

“Ack…”

Ajin swallowed a dry gulp and bowed his head. That’s what Flower-ajumma had told him. Try not to catch Seokju’s eye whenever possible.

He didn’t understand why, but he knew he had to do what Ajumma asked. After all, it wouldn’t lead to any trouble for him. Besides, Flower-ajumma was a respectable figure. She had been a shaman when she was young, and she had overcome many obstacles, she claimed.

So, there was nothing wrong with listening to her. But he never thought he would run into Seokju at such a close distance like this.

“I’m sorry…”

Ajin apologized even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. However, Seokju didn’t respond and walked past Ajin into his room. It was unclear if he even noticed Ajin’s presence.

His hand touched the woman’s back. It seemed like he was going into the room with her.

Ajin quickly walked to the opposite end of the corridor.

The smooth scent of cosmetics mixed with the smell of Seokju’s cigarettes wafted over him. The two scents oddly complemented each other. It was a scent from a different world, one that he envied.

Forbidden love, pleasure, a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

As Ajin walked down the corridor, he remembered a snippet of conversation that the servants often whispered.

“Doesn’t the boss call women every day?”

“She came again today?”

“If it were me, I’d have ridden her hard. They say he goes on for hours. He doesn’t stop until dawn. They say women crawl out of here.”

“Maybe because he’s young?”

“It’s not like he’s doing it for pleasure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, earlier, I overheard some gangsters talking. They said the boss… isn’t well.”

“Not well? What’s wrong? In bed?”

“No, man. Something’s wrong with his heart or something.”

“Why? Does he get headaches after drinking or something?”

“I don’t know, maybe. But there’s that shaman. The scarred gangster, you know. What’s his name…”

“Myungjin. Hwang Myungjin.”

“Yeah, that’s it. Myungjin keeps telling him to go to the hospital, but he won’t listen. Even if he takes sleeping pills, it’s not helping.”

“Oh my. Sleeping is the best medicine. How can he not sleep?”

“Does he have nightmares?”

“It’s not like he’s the type to be afraid even if the Grim Reaper came.”

“Still, isn’t it a good thing that he’s having s3x every night?”

“Oh, is it?”

The conversation ended with a hearty laugh. Ajin scratched the itchy scar under his nose with his fingers.

I fall asleep like a log every night. Thanks to that, I don’t have to endure the torment of the male servants who share the same room. And I wake up at the crack of dawn, even though I’ve slept soundly all night.

But he said he can barely sleep for an hour or two. Seokju. Even if he’s the boss, he must have a lot of work to do. He always looked so strong. Ajin felt strangely sorry for him. He always had a strong facade.

With his legs trembling, Ajin walked down the corridor, and behind him, a straight gaze was fixed on him.

It was Seokju.

Seokju, who had been entering his room, paused with one foot behind the door and watched Ajin as he distanced himself.

Disheveled hair. A slender body that was completely different from the robust men he had seen so far. A slender waistline visible even through the rough fabric. A limping gait. A pair of pink heels stepping on the uneven floor.

Seokju narrowed his eyes.

“Did I have someone like that at home…”

Ajin woke up late into the night. It was a time when not even the cicadas were chirping. The room was neither too spacious nor too cramped. The five servants who shared it were sprawled haphazardly, snoring loudly.

Ajin slowly blinked his eyes, filled with sleepiness, as he looked at the moonlight seeping through the latticed paper door. He was trying to figure out why he had woken up. He had grown accustomed to the thunderous snoring. The hard floor wasn’t uncomfortable either.

“Oh…”

He had to pee.

Ajin realized a moment too late that his lower abdomen was tingling. Since he met Seokju late at night and had strangely developed a fever, he had gulped down a whole bowl of cold water in the kitchen. It seemed that the urge had reached his bladder in the meantime.

Ajin instinctively bent his knees. Going to the bathroom seemed troublesome. The bathroom the servants used required stepping outside, putting on sandals, and walking across the yard past the well and the storage room. It wasn’t a long journey, but moving was a hassle.

Moreover, it was so late. It was pitch dark outside, and Ajin couldn’t even see his own feet properly. It was certain that he would stumble and fall if he walked unsteadily.

Should he endure it? Could he endure it?

Ajin turned his body to the side again and tried to fall asleep. However, the tingling pain in his bladder only intensified with each passing moment. It felt like a lump of lead had formed.

“Ugh…”

Unable to bear it any longer, Ajin sluggishly propped up his upper body. He then glanced at the latticed paper door, wondering why he had woken up. He had gotten used to the thunderous snores. His body wasn’t aching from lying on the hard floor.

“Ah…”

He needed to pee.

Ajin’s struggle with his bladder pain had caused him to wake up. His lower abdomen felt as if it were tightly clenched.

“Ugh…”

Ajin, unable to bear it any longer, slowly pushed himself up and looked at the latticed paper door. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether to go outside or not. Of course, to reach the bathroom, he had no choice but to go through that door.

But Ajin had another option. He could use the small bathroom next to the living room. That’s where the members occasionally used it when they were drinking in the living room or when Sophie needed it.

So, in the dead of night, the chances of running into someone in the bathroom were extremely low. In fact, Ajin had used it secretly in the past during late-night emergencies.

“What choice do I have? I can’t help it.”

In the late night, if a tiger were to come down from the mountains, what could he do?

Ajin justified his actions and stepped out of the room. The dimly lit corridor was quiet, as expected. To reach the bathroom, he had to turn past the kitchen and walk past the living room.

Ajin carefully walked down the corridor, lifting his heels cautiously. Occasionally, he would accidentally step on a creaky wooden board, causing it to let out a sharp creak. Every time that happened, Ajin would hold his breath and gather his legs.

“I hope I don’t wet myself…”

This was not something he should be doing. From now on, he vowed never to drink water at night. He tried to keep that promise as he continued on his way.

Creak… Creak…

There was a sound like a twisting tree. It was the sound of a wooden floor being stepped on. Ajin, startled, abruptly stopped in his tracks. He thought it was his own doing. But the sound didn’t stop.

Creak… Creak…

The sound was getting closer. It was much louder than when he had stepped on the floorboards himself.

With wide eyes, Ajin looked down the corridor towards the end. A dark shadow was approaching.

Was it a member of the organization? Or could it possibly be a ghost? Regardless, he shouldn’t draw attention to himself. Ajin frantically glanced around. Amidst all this, his need to pee was becoming unbearable.

Ajin looked at the small bathroom next to the living room, then at the one in the living room. After a moment’s consideration, he decided to make a run for the bathroom. Whoever he might encounter, it would be easier to explain his presence in the bathroom rather than in the living room.

His thin legs carried him quickly toward the bathroom. Meanwhile, the footsteps grew closer. And just as Ajin, sweating nervously, grabbed the bathroom door handle, a shadow stood before him. A hem of a skirt brushed against Ajin’s calf.

…A skirt?

Ajin casually lifted his head. In the dim light, the upper body, slightly tanned, was visible. Although the shadow was wearing trousers, it had a skirt on top. With a hollowed-out chest and well-defined abs, a sturdy chest, and a large build, it was clear that this was no ordinary man. And there was a subtle smell of cigarettes in the air.

Ajin raised his head a bit more, needing to see the face. It didn’t look ghostly, but he had to be sure. Maybe he doesn’t have eyes, nose, or mouth.

And as he looked at the face illuminated by the faint crimson light, as their eyes met, as he parted his lips in surprise…

“Ah…”

“…”

“Hello, hello, Boss…”

It was Seokju.

Unbelievable. Meeting him twice in one day. Especially here. He was certain to get scolded for wandering the corridors like a rat in the middle of the night. “Why are you wandering around like a mouse in the middle of the night? Who do you think you are?” he would probably reprimand him.

Ajin, trembling with fear, hunched his shoulders.

“Yeah.”

Seokju replied casually and passed by Ajin. As he moved away in his skirt, Ajin couldn’t help but ask.

“Where are you going?”

Ajin, as if making fun of himself, stopped suddenly, surprised by the abruptness of his voice. Seokju’s footsteps came to a sudden halt, and he turned halfway to look at Ajin.

“Do I have to tell you that?”

“No, no.”

Ajin quickly nodded his head up and down, shaking his hands. He shook them vigorously. So vigorously that his bony shoulders also shook. A faint smile crossed Seokju’s face as he watched Ajin, who resembled a broken doll. He tilted his head slightly and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, uh, to the bathroom.”

“Alright.”

Seokju was lenient. Ajin, who was so nervous, relaxed a little. Even if he acted a bit more foolishly, it seemed that Seokju wouldn’t get angry. Licking his lower lip slightly, Seokju asked nonchalantly.

“Boss, are you… going somewhere?”

“Uh, just to pee.”

“Alright.”

Seokju was accommodating. Ajin, the servant, was saying he would use the bathroom inside the house. He wasn’t even going to wash his hands, just pee. Seokju didn’t seem to mind or be displeased.

Ajin’s tense shoulders relaxed a bit more. At the same time, he became bolder. He thought that even if he acted a bit more uncivilized, Seokju wouldn’t get angry. Ajin licked his lower lip and asked subtly.

“Where are you going, Boss?”

“To get some water.”

Seokju showed him the crystal glass bottle he had in his hand. The bottle, the size of his forearm, was in his bedroom, where Isun always filled it with water. However, due to Isun’s forgetfulness tonight, this unexpected encounter between the two of them had taken place.

Ajin kept licking his lips repeatedly. His bladder was about to burst, but his lips kept drying up for some unknown reason.

Ajin cautiously approached Seokju.

“Should I… pour you some water?”