Double Junk - 52

Chapter 52

Staying in the room all day made my body feel stiff. Every time I went to the kitchen during meals, it seemed like everyone noticed, just eating and coming back without doing any other chores. If I even tried to do the dishes, the servants would quickly stop me. If water got on my hands, the boss would scold me.

“Just lightly hit the rice cakes. I’ll never say that sound even if I die….”

Anyway, the boss is strange… Pretending to worry a lot, but if there’s work to be done, he comes like a beast.

Ajin is still scratching his tingling buttocks and pursing his lips. Beyond the door, a heavy sound of steps on the floor echoed. Thud, the sound of footsteps continued.

Ajin quickly stood up. As soon as he stood in front of the door, it creaked open. The fluttering hem of a robe appeared, and the sharp creases of a well-fitted suit pants were visible. Without checking his face, Ajin bowed deeply from the waist.

“Boss, you’re here.”

“Yeah.”

Seokju grinned, or as described in the Korean textbook, ‘smiled with his mouth slightly open without making a sound.’ Ajin followed suit with a single smile. It was a cute smiling face, ‘naturally smiling with charming eyes.’

While Ajin was reviewing the words he learned today in his mind, Seokju, who had taken off his robe, pulled him into his arms. Then, he buried his face in Ajin’s neck, which carried the scent of his cologne.

“Ha… I thought I’d die wanting to come home.”

“Are you tired?”

“No. I just missed you.”

“…”

“Only thoughts of you all day. It feels like I’ve taken medicine even though I haven’t.”

Seokju stroked Ajin’s spine with his large hand. Then, he let his hand down and tightly grabbed Ajin’s buttocks before letting go. Now, Ajin, who was used to his buttocks being fondled, was calmly nestled against him.

“Are you studying again?”

“Yes.”

“What did you learn today?”

“‘The Beauty of Our Language.'”

Seokju patted Ajin’s back approvingly. If someone sees it, they might seriously mistake him for a son. But what can you do about a proud son?

Seokju, who temporarily separated from Ajin, took something out of his arms. Then, like a father who comes home from work and gives his child a chicken to cuddle, he hands it to Ajin. It was a white paper bag. The bag seemed bulging, and there were grease stains as if something delicious was inside.

Ajin took it and looked inside. There were flower-shaped medicinal candies glistening. Ajin’s face brightened. His eyebrows rose, and his mouth widened.

“Wow…”

“There’s a famous traditional Korean sweets shop in Jongno, and Myungjin said it’s very delicious. So, I bought it. Do you like medicinal candies? If not, I’ll buy you traditional Korean sweets tomorrow. They also sell sweet rice jelly and gangjeong.”

“I like medicinal candies! I prefer them over chocolate.”

Ajin laughed as he put his hand into the paper bag. Seokju laughed along.

“Really? Isn’t chocolate sweeter?”

“After eating chocolate, you still feel empty inside, but medicinal candies make you feel full.”

“Pfft…”

“Of course, it would be perfect to eat both medicinal candies and chocolate….”

“The pinnacle.”

“Yes, the pinnacle.”

“Now you even know difficult words.”

“I don’t know how to use them. I just pick them up somewhere.”

“But still, commendable.”

Seokju, sitting down, pulled Ajin towards the sofa to make him sit. “Why did you leave the door open? It’s cold,” he said, not forgetting to tightly close the window.

Ajin buried his face in the paper bag. Everything looked the same, but he pondered on what to eat and picked the shiniest one among them.

And as always, he took it with Seokju’s mouth first. Seokju, sitting beside him, chuckled and took a bite. Ajin bit into it without paying attention to the part with Seokju’s lip marks.

It had a sweet taste. The outer layer was sticky and firm, while the inside was chewy and pleasantly sticky. Ajin’s shoulders rose with happiness. He diligently ate the medicinal candies, and it took less than ten minutes to finish three in his seat.

Seokju occasionally took what Ajin offered and enjoyed watching his cheeks move as he chewed. He seemed to be thinking foolish thoughts, like whether the taste of the medicinal candies would come out if he sucked on those white cheeks while eating.

Soon, the bag became lighter. Ajin looked into the bag with a serious expression. There were only two medicinal candies left. Ajin licked his lower lip, then looked at Seokju.

“This…?”

“You can give it to Grandma.”

“Thank you.”

Ajin chuckled and neatly rolled up the paper bag. Seokju touched Ajin’s ear with his thumb and index finger.

Beautiful…

At that moment, Ajin bounced his buttocks as if he was going to get up from the sofa. Seokju quickly grabbed him and pulled him to his side.

“Where are you going?”

“To the kitchen.”

“Why?”

“To give it to Grandma from the flower shop…”

“Later, later.”

Seokju took the bag of medicinal candies Ajin was holding and placed it on the side table next to the sofa. Ajin pressed his lips with determination. He seemed eager to have it right away. Seokju poked Ajin’s cheek with his index finger.

“I just came back. I came early because I missed you. It would make me sad if you just take the medicinal candies and leave.”

“But I just need to…”

“I’m sad.”

“I’ll be back in a moment…”

“I’m sad.”

“…”

Ajin sighed deeply and buried his body in the backrest of the sofa. Seokju smiled and molded Ajin’s waist and forearm. Then, he pulled something out of the suit jacket that was spread on the floor. Ajin’s curious gaze turned in that direction. Wondering if he would give something delicious again.

But this time, it was a flat yellow envelope. Disappointment flashed across Ajin’s face. He turned his head away, losing interest quickly. However, Seokju extended the envelope towards him.

“I got some photos. Want to see?”

Ajin’s head turned back towards Seokju in an instant.

“Photos taken at the welcoming party?”

“Yeah.”

Seokju opened the envelope and took out the photos. Ajin was half-climbing Seokju’s thigh, and behind him, people were lined up under Seokju’s spacious house. People I know so well. It was fascinating.

Ajin looked for Seokju first. Standing in the middle, proudly showing off his broad shoulders, Seokju looked similar yet different from the Seokju who was holding him now. Even though he was undoubtedly smiling thinly, he felt like a hard glass doll. The flash caused his high nose and distinct eyes to blur in a somewhat ambiguous way.

“Boss, you look handsome even in photos.”

Ajin pointed to Seokju with his fingertip, speaking while looking at the photos.

“Is that so?”

Seokju responded as if it were insignificant. His mouth was lifted noticeably.

“Yes. But still, the real thing is much better.”

At Ajin’s words, Seokju chuckled, then quickly closed his mouth. He couldn’t help but smirk at the compliment of being handsome without reservation.

Ajin belatedly began to search for himself in the photos. However, someone else in the picture was drawing much attention. It was Myungjin, who closed his eyes tightly and grinned. Ajin burst into laughter.

“Oops, Myungjin closed his eyes!”

“He said we had to retake it after seeing that.”

Ajin laughed cheerfully. Jin-geol standing under Myungjin was also visible, but Ajin pretended not to see him desperately. He thought to himself, “Laughing so loudly and acting crazy.”

Then, he belatedly found himself in the picture. It wasn’t as weird as he feared. He was standing upright, his eyes were open, and he was awkwardly smiling. However, somehow, he looked… not quite human. His eyes, nose, and mouth seemed faint, and his complexion appeared dark, giving the impression of a child with a ghostly presence. Standing at the edge made it even more eerie, like he was captured as some kind of spirit.

Ajin pursed his lips.

“I don’t look good in photos…”

“The photographer said the flash didn’t reach you well because the distance was far. And your face is too small.”

“Still…”

“There are bigger prints where you look good. Myungjin will frame them and hang them around the house. You’ll see them when we go to dinner later.”

Seokju quickly grabbed the group photo. There were thick stacks of the same picture, indicating that he had printed many. Seokju said he would distribute them to people. Even though they were expensive photos, Ajin seemed indifferent. He didn’t particularly want them.

Seokju pulled out another photo from the envelope inside the bag. While the previous photo was the size of two palms combined, this one was the size of just one palm.

There were only two people in the photo: Seokju and Ajin. Ajin took a deep breath, holding the photo in both hands.

The photo was impressive. Both Seokju and Ajin had clear facial features. Strands of hair fluttering in the wind were clearly visible. Smiling directly at the camera, they looked like familiar actors. Both in their well-dressed suits, Seokju and Ajin didn’t seem any less magnificent.

While Ajin was absorbed in looking at the photo, Seokju smiled and caressed his cheek.

“I printed ten copies of this one too. Take as many as you want. If you need more, we can print more.”

Ajin’s eyes widened. Really? Excitedly asking, he was about to say more when a knock on Seokju’s door interrupted.

“Hyungnim, it’s Myungjin.”

Myungjin announced himself loudly. Seokju sneakily checked Ajin’s outfit. Just in case Ajin accidentally pulled down his pants or messed up his clothes. Fortunately, Ajin’s attire was fine.

“Yeah, come in.”

As soon as Seokju finished speaking, the door creaked open. Myungjin appeared with a flushed face, as if he had been drinking. Both Seokju and Ajin tilted their heads to the side at the same time.

“I think you should come out. There’s an issue in the back.”

Myungjin spoke in a stern tone, and an uneasy atmosphere filled the air.

“…”

Seokju’s eyes narrowed slightly.