Double Junk - 57

57

“Do you know how to curse? I thought you couldn’t curse properly with that innocent face of yours.”

“Me?”

“A kid. A kid.”

“Ah…”

Ajin awkwardly smiled. No matter how you look at it, he was twenty years old, but compared to those around Myungjin, he felt like a kid, even when expressing dissatisfaction.

Ajin glanced at Myungjin, who was confidently smoking his cigarette. Although they had crossed paths before, standing this close was a first. It was also the first time they had a conversation. Despite Myungjin being a formidable person, Ajin didn’t feel the urge to run away.

Watching the smoke disappear through the gaps in the bamboo blind, Ajin asked casually, “Seeing the boss angry… it seems like things didn’t go well.”

“Yeah. It was a significant deal, but it completely fell through. They won’t sign a contract with us anymore.”

“Why? Just because of a single mistake?”

“Yeah. Just because of one mistake. But what can we do? We can’t blame anyone else. Spending three days and nights negotiating, and they still won’t accept the deal. Even if those bastards offer to add more drugs, I don’t want it. What the hell are they thinking…”

Myungjin gritted his teeth, visibly still angry. The cigarette that was between his lips rolled to the side. Ajin sighed deeply through his nose.

“Is that one place the only business partner?”

“No. There are about twenty.”

Ajin tilted his head slightly. He might not know much about companies, management, or business partners, but he had been rolling around in the gambling den for a few years. He had a sense of discernment.

The man who used to deliver alcohol and the old man who sold cigarettes in the gambling den had multiple business partners. They would visit not only the gambling den but also the theater across the street and the large pub at the intersection.

Even if one of the business partners out of twenty disappeared, it shouldn’t cause the company to collapse. Of course, 50 million won was a significant amount of money, but Seokju’s level of anger seemed a bit unusual.

“Wouldn’t losing one be okay then?”

“It’s a shame. It’s incredibly difficult to find a replacement for a business partner, but losing one is damn easy. Rumors spread quickly.”

“…”

“We don’t make medicine just for us in this world. Those bastards selling medicine in other countries are a whole different level. Since they have many options, if we can’t keep our promise even for a moment, they’ll quickly confiscate everything. Drug dealers are picky; if they don’t get our medicine within an hour, they’ll easily turn to other drugs.”

“But… Taeho Pharma’s medicine tasted the best…”

At Ajin’s murmured words, Myungjin burst into laughter. He threw the remaining cigarette butt carelessly on the ground. The extinguished butt settled in the puddle of collected rainwater. Ajin crouched down, picked it up, and then walked a few steps to a nearby ashtray and threw it away.

Myungjin took out a new cigarette, wetting it with a smile. He asked, “Who cares about Granado? You’re not doing drugs while talking about morality, are you?”

“No, no. It’s just that… people think…”

“Well, that’s true. Our stuff tastes good. Even overseas kids can’t use other stuff. But even so, we can’t break our promises.”

Ajin blinked. Breaking a promise once in a while was possible. Losing one business partner was also possible. They didn’t cheat anyone, didn’t take money and not deliver the goods, and didn’t even curse. It didn’t make sense.

Approaching Ajin with an ambiguous expression, Myungjin whispered, casting the cigarette smoke.

“Whatever you start, you have to see it through.”

“See it through?”

“Yeah. First place. King. The best.”

Myungjin raised his index finger at ‘first place,’ then his middle finger at ‘king,’ and finally shook his thumb at ‘the best.’ Ajin stared at his fingers piercingly.

“To become the best, you have to be perfect. Until then, each business partner is crucial.”

“Do I have to become the best?”

“Yeah. Only then will others dare not mess with us.”

“…”

“Seokju hyung is doing everything to protect us—maintaining business partners, making and selling drugs, paying tribute to the nation, gathering our people to build strength. If our organization is even slightly ambiguous, we’ll be swallowed up in an instant.”

Myungjin took a deep drag on his cigarette, pulling it forcefully. The long cigarette quickly shortened. Ajin raised his head, looking puzzled, and asked, “Swallowed up?”

“Yeah. We have money and many people now, so we live here in Seoul, building houses and all. But a few years ago, we were attacked from all directions, and we had to fight back every day. Damn bastards, they never let us breathe.”

Myungjin, as if reminiscing about the past, squinted his eyes, running his hand across his belly.

“At that time, Seokju hyung went through so much. They barged in at night, in the early morning, in broad daylight. They harassed us every day until the front door was completely torn off.”

“…”

“Still, we endured it because Seokju hyung was there. Without him, our organization would have ended a long time ago.”

Myungjin laughed, a genuine laughter, not a mockery. Tearing off the front door… Ah, the crucial thing was not the door but Seokju. Wiping the rainwater splashed on the back of his hand on his pants, Ajin remarked, “The boss is really good at fighting.”

“Yeah. Seokju hyung saved me so many times. I haven’t even counted.”

“He saved you?”

“Yeah. When I was young, I couldn’t fight at all. But Seokju hyung never scolded me, never kicked me out, always smiling and saying, ‘Good job, Myungjin.’ He said that to me every day.”

“…”

“I couldn’t fight back when I was in my twenties. But without scolding or kicking me out, he would just smile and say, ‘Good job, Myungjin.’ He always said that even if I got stabbed.”

“Even if you got stabbed?”

“Yeah. When I was young, I was really bad at fighting. But Seokju hyung saved me. Even if I got stabbed from my chin here, damn it, from here to here, he tore it off completely. I wasn’t scared because my face skin was loose.”

Myungjin moved his index finger from his right earlobe to his chin, tracing a path. It was a length with hideous scars.

“He got this scar because of me. Those Qingtae bastards were attacking me, and Seokju hyung fought for me, got stabbed, you know? If it weren’t for him, my whole belly would have been gone. Completely messed up, damn it.”

Myungjin chuckled. It was not sarcasm but a genuine laugh. Even if the front door was torn off… Ah, the important thing was not the door but Seokju. Ajin’s mouth twisted oddly. What kind of gangster talks about his boss like this? Could it be that Myungjin finds Seokju cute, he wondered.

Excited by the past stories, Myungjin poured out words without being asked. At some point, he stopped smoking. He was busy playing with his fingers, placing them between his lips to entertain himself.

“Do you know if your hyungnim has a scar on his side?”

“Uh… yes.”

Ajin’s eyes opened slightly and then closed. Seokju’s body was covered with scars, large and small, so he didn’t remember them clearly. There might have been something on his side.

“That’s also because of me. Qingtae guys were attacking me, and Seokju hyung fought for me. He was stabbed from his jaw, here, damn it, from here to here. It was a complete mess. If it weren’t for him, my whole belly would have been gone. It was completely messed up, damn it.”

Myungjin adjusted his tone at ‘messed up.’ He looked at Ajin as if to say, “You didn’t hear that.” Ajin smiled ambiguously.

“It seems like the boss cares a lot about Myungjin hyungnim.”

“Yeah. Hyungnim’s father passed away, and no one gave him a hard time, no one. It’s a breeze after cutting off the connection. This is a piece of cake, you know? Revenge was hard at first. Hyungnim and I starved together, slept anywhere, and so on.”

“…”

“Anyway, thanks to those days, now I can swing a sword and not shoot a gun much. And here in this fantastic organization, we even have my brother. If I ever have to die, I’ll definitely do it for my brother.”

Myungjin laughed, patting Ajin’s back as if he were boasting, even after saying this himself. His ears were tinged with a faint redness, as if he felt embarrassed after spouting unheard-of nonsense.

Caught off guard by his overly shy expression, Ajin stumbled forward. His slender body rolled on the muddy ground. Startled, Ajin couldn’t even scream, flailing his arms. Myungjin grabbed the back of his neck and placed him back in his original spot. Then he clicked his tongue and smirked.

“Geez, Ajin. Work on those thighs. Gain some weight, huh?”

“…Yes.”

Ajin awkwardly smiled. At that moment, someone opened the sliding door and discreetly withdrew their upper body. It was a lower-ranking member of the organization.

“Myungjin, sir. Dinner is ready.”

“Oh, right. Let’s go.”

“What about Seokju hyungnim’s meal?”

“Set a separate table and leave it in front of his door. He might not eat it, but just in case.”

“Yes, sir.”

The member bowed and disappeared. Myungjin was about to throw away the cigarette he was holding in the yard. However, after glancing at Ajin, he changed his mind and discarded it in an ashtray a bit further away. Ajin chuckled, and Myungjin put his hands in the pockets of his suit pants.

“You should go for a meal too.”

“Yes.”

Ajin bowed, indicating that he would go. He needed to lay out the cushions and prepare the side dishes. If possible, he also wanted to serve Seokju’s meal. Knocking on the door and saying, “I’m Ajin, I’ll leave the food here,” or something like that.

As he was about to turn away, Myungjin called out to him with a hearty voice.

“Ajin.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“…Huh?”

As if misunderstood, Ajin asked again. Thank you? All of a sudden? What for? Ajin’s navy blue eyes moved left and right in confusion. Myungjin scratched his stubbled chin and spoke.

“My brother couldn’t sleep well after our father passed away. It’s been over ten years already. During that long time here, huh? He couldn’t sleep well because his chest was tight with sorrow. So, he drank a lot, sometimes even took medicine… I really hated that. Humans who sell medicine become weak if they don’t take it.”

“Ah…”

“But since you came, my brother is sleeping well now. His face is shining, and he eats well. Lately, I feel really at ease.”