Double Junk - 68

First, water poured from the juice bottle. Ajin pushed it towards Doeun, opening the lid.

“Sister, um… water… do you want to drink?”

“No. I’m okay.”

“Uh… how about chocolate? It’s really delicious. Have some.”

Next, he offered chocolate. It was something Seokju had given him. Out of the five he received, he carefully selected one that wasn’t broken or melted. Seeing it, Doeun let out a dry laugh. However, she didn’t give a clear answer about eating it or not.

Again, silence prevailed. Ajin scratched his throat. Then, he sat close to Doeun. Now, Doeun wasn’t frightening anymore.

“Sister, let me see your shoulders.”

Ajin gently brushed Doeun’s hair aside. Doeun lay there without resistance or agreement, appearing completely limp. She seemed to have no strength to move at all.

Ajin lowered Doeun’s soaked dress a bit more, pouring water over the wounds. He squeezed out the crumpled ointment rolling around in the plastic and generously applied it. He carefully bandaged the wounds.

“You don’t have to do this.”

Doeun spoke with a weak voice. However, Ajin stubbornly continued the meager treatment. Then, he tightly tied the bandages. Ajin pressed his nose against Doeun’s hand, stained with her own bl00d. He couldn’t understand why his breath felt short.

Ajin pulled something else from the plastic. It was a thick cotton shirt. Seokju had given him that too. Since he had a jacket, giving one to Doeun seemed fine. Ajin spread the shirt over Doeun’s bare legs.

After taking out everything, Ajin finally faced Doeun and sat down. Ajin caressed his own knee and moistened his lips. After a while, he carefully brought up something he had wanted to ask for a long time.

“Sister.”

“Yeah.”

“Why… did you do that to me?”

“…”

“Why did you speak as if I had asked you to? I’ve never seen you since the gambling den…”

Doeun’s breathing suddenly stopped at his words. Ajin quickly grabbed her hand. Doeun’s hand, with only skin and bones, was extremely cold. Few people had a lower body temperature than him.

Ajin gently stroked her hand with both of his, continuing to speak.

“Sister, I like it here. The boss is nice, Flower Lady is an ajumma, the floor is warm… everything is good. But because of what you said, have I become a bad person? So, um, when the boss comes later, can you tell him the truth?”

At Ajin’s cautious words, Doeun’s shoulders shook. Ajin was about to ask if she was cold when suddenly Doeun’s head drooped forward. Then, she began to sob sorrowfully.

“I’m sorry… sorry, Ajin…”

“Sister…”

“Sob, I didn’t want to… sob, do that…”

Tears rolled down from Doeun’s eyes. Ajin looked at her with a mixture of pity and confusion. She never cried, no matter what hardships she faced in the gambling den. Why was she crying like this now?

Ajin comforted Doeun, patting her back.

Ajin comforted her with a tender voice, raising the corner of his mouth slightly as he talked about Seokju.

“…”

Doeun stared at Ajin as if trying to see through him. Her glazed eyes flickered under the dim light of the flashlight.

Looking into those eyes, Ajin spoke again. If he spoke the truth about Myungjin’s injury and the real circumstances, if someone forced her into such wrongdoing, Seokju would surely understand. That was the intention behind his words.

However, at that moment, the warehouse door opened with a creaking sound. With a swift motion, bright winter moonlight invaded the warehouse. Startled, Ajin took a sharp breath and shielded Doeun with his back. Doeun, with wide-open eyes, stared at the warehouse door.

A black shadow stood against the moonlight. Ajin let out a shallow sigh as soon as he confirmed the identity of the shadow. It wasn’t Seokju or any organization member because the shadow was too small.

Soon, the small shadow entered the warehouse briskly. When the door closed due to the wind, and the moonlight disappeared, the face of the shadow owner emerged under the light of the flashlight.

“Uh…”

Raising his eyebrows at the familiar face, Ajin spoke.

“Ajin?”

The visitor also greeted Ajin familiarly. He approached Ajin and Doeun, holding something bulky.

“Ajin, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, uh, I… I was worried about Doeun noona, so…”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, but why…”

“I am too. It’s cold in winter. It would be nice to have a blanket or something.”

The visitor put down what he was holding. It was a thick cotton blanket. Although the fabric was rough and worn, it was perfect for warding off the cold. It couldn’t compare to the jacket Ajin brought.

For some reason, Ajin felt a slight discomfort and tensed his neck. Shouldn’t he have brought a blanket too? He bit the inside of his cheek and let go. The visitor patted Ajin’s shoulder.

“I’ll take care of Doeun, so you can go now.”

“Huh? No, I want to stay.”

“I’m going to change her clothes. The dress is too cold.”

The visitor pulled out a bundle of fabric from the blanket. Ajin sighed softly.

“You go and do the dishes. Your share is still there.”

“Yeah.”

“Quickly, you punk.”

Prompted by the visitor, Ajin reluctantly stood up. However, for some reason, his feet didn’t seem to move. It was because he hadn’t heard a response from Doeun yet. There were still many things he was curious about. Ajin, who was hesitating, sighed and turned around. Then, pushing the door, he glanced back at Doeun.

Doeun was looking at him without saying anything. There were no words asking him to stay or telling him to leave. She seemed indifferent, like someone who didn’t care if Ajin stayed or went, as if she had given up on everything.

Ajin, who had been hesitating, gave a short farewell.

“Doeun noona. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

“…”

Doeun didn’t give any response. Ajin opened the squeaking door and left. The bright blue moonlight briefly shone on Doeun’s face, then quickly vanished.

Ajin sat in front of the pile of dishes filled with soapy water. He picked up a dish with frost and roughly sorted them by size. Recently, organization members rarely ate at home, so there wasn’t much to wash. Still, he had to clean the pot, which was used every day.

Ajin poured plenty of detergent onto the scrubbing brush. As he scrubbed the dishes, his fingertips stung. Washing dishes always made his hands feel cold, but it was particularly different in winter. His nails felt like they might fall off, and his fingers moved bluntly and awkwardly.

Normally, he would frequently warm his hands behind his knees, but today, he didn’t even have the energy for that.

In fact, it had been like this since yesterday. Enduring the cold, letting sleep come as it pleased, and roughly living through not being able to eat. Unable to focus on anything, as he had no idea about the well-being of Miss Flower, Myungjin, or Seokju’s feelings.

“Ah…”

Ajin let out a deep sigh as he rinsed the pot. Then, he leaned it against the wall. He wiped away the accumulated water in the pot with his palm. After that, he straightened his stiff back. As he did so, he heard footsteps. Ajin absentmindedly turned his head towards the sound of footsteps.

And for a moment, he had to hold his breath.

“…”

It was a pig. A real pig.

Not the oinking animal but the pig that had been chased away, having its arm cut off, for stealing something from Seokju’s house. He stood upright between the kitchen and the outdoor hearth.

His left arm was missing below the elbow, and the empty sleeve fluttered. It looked quite pitiful. The pig still had a lot of flesh, and its appearance became even more grotesque. Although it was standing a dozen steps away, its breathing was clearly audible.

“…”

The pig said nothing, just staring persistently at Ajin. However, it moved the sickle it held in its right hand back and forth. The long and large sickle glinted whenever the moonlight shone on it. It looked like its head might be chopped off with each glint.

Ajin instinctively realized that the sickle was aimed at him.

How did it end up here? Why was it here? Why at this time? Various questions popped up sporadically, but he couldn’t ask them. The pig approached Ajin briskly.

“Eek…”

Terrified, Ajin started running in the opposite direction. He ran with his limping legs. He couldn’t scream because his throat was constricted by fear.

The frozen ground crunched beneath his bare feet. Ajin ran desperately on top of it. He had no specific destination. He just wanted to avoid the pig and figure out what to do later.

As he ran through the yard, turning a corner, another shadow blocked his way. Startled, Ajin couldn’t control his body, and he collapsed onto the ground. His buttocks landed on the cold ground, but it didn’t hurt at all.

“Hello, idiot.”

The owner of the shadow chuckled. Ajin slowly raised his head. A shiny razor-sharp blade was visible, and when he raised his gaze a bit more, he saw a face smiling in a circular manner.

It was Jin-Geol.