Double Junk - 73

The paper was thick and white, folded twice, making it crinkled. The organization member unfolded it, placing it on his thigh and pressing it firmly with his palm.

He turned the photo upside down and extended it towards Seokju. Seokju looked at it silently, feeling strange. For some reason, he didn’t want to receive it. He didn’t want to see it. Yet, it was just a piece of paper; he couldn’t understand why he felt this way.

Reluctantly, Seokju accepted the paper. It was a photograph.

Seokju took a deep breath, then exhaled long, flipping the photo. The photo was not particularly special, just a group photo of ten people. The only remarkable thing was that all of them were women.

The women stood in three rows, wearing short dresses or delicate traditional Korean clothing. It was evident that they all had dark lipstick on their lips. Their hair was elaborately styled, not like ordinary women.

They were, to put it plainly, prostitutes. Women with numbers from 1 to 10 attached to their chests, waiting for customers.

Seokju couldn’t understand why the organization member was showing him this. Seokju stared intensely at the photo, hoping to recognize a familiar face.

Then, he spotted a familiar face. Doeun, with her neat hair and a gentle smile. It was her. Although her expression was different from when she stabbed Myungjin’s chest, it was undoubtedly her.

Seokju scrutinized the photo again with a reddish face. Then, belatedly, he realized why the organization member had given him this photo.

Ajin was there. In the corner of the second row, looking sideways. He wore a shirt, and several buttons were unbuttoned, revealing his chest and shoulders. The collar of his shirt had the number [10] attached to it.

It was Ajin, but it wasn’t. It looked nothing like the Ajin Seokju had known. Yet, it was undoubtedly Ajin’s face. His large eyes, straight nose, plump lips, it was unmistakably Ajin.

Seokju’s chest, which had been agitated, suddenly stopped. However, his heart raced violently, as if his chest was pounding. The photo in Seokju’s hand trembled.

“I found this a few weeks ago while cleaning the company warehouse. It used to be a place where Chairman Geum hoarded various things… You’ve seen everything that came out, like ledgers, waterlogged liquor, money he embezzled. It’s useless anyway since he’s dead, but this…”

“But why didn’t you report it?”

“Sorry. You’ve been sleeping well these days, and… well, it’s not a big deal that the bastard sold his body… Anyway, he kept calling those sisters every time, and to me, there wasn’t much difference between those sisters and him, so I thought.”

“Huh?”

“Well, actually… Myungjin-hyung told me not to report it. He said you were finally sleeping well, so I shouldn’t disturb you with such trivial matters.”

Seokju let out a bitter laugh. Myungjin hid it. It was absurd. Of course, he wouldn’t have imagined that a simple photograph would stab him in the chest.

Looking at the photo again, Ajin in the picture felt unfamiliar. Being a body seller wasn’t a big deal. After all, he was the one who called prostitutes every night. It wasn’t as if Seokju had protected Ajin’s innocence throughout his life. He hadn’t spent his life looking at Ajin, guarding his purity. He had lived as a ruffian, so what did it matter if Ajin was with other men?

Yes, it could happen. It could happen, but why did this anger, burning his head hot, feel so intense? What was this betrayal that made his chest burn pitch black?

“Boss… I-I’m not, uh, not another man…”

“Oh, sorry. I’m sorry….”

“Ugh, huu… Uh, huuu….”

“It’s because I wasn’t in my right mind yesterday… I shouldn’t have… done that….”

Then why did he cry so pitifully? The sight of someone crying so beautifully, making the viewer’s heart ache, filled him with reverence.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll give you more. I can give you more money.”

Seokju’s laughter echoed in his mind. It was a laugh full of bitterness and self-mockery.

“Not another man!”

“You…”

“If I’m not another man, why are you giving me money?”

Why were bundles of money thrown at me? Was it because I had dug up and exposed the past I had tried so hard to erase? It wasn’t because I didn’t want misunderstandings or got angry to avoid revealing my flaws; it was to protect you and love you just the way you were.

But it shouldn’t have been like that. I shouldn’t have been deceived in that way. Even if I had told the truth, it would have been fine. You were still you, and I would have continued to appreciate and love you just as you were.

Why did I get caught at this moment, making me doubt you? Making me let you go.

Let you go…

Seokju, who was lost in thought, closed his eyes tightly and opened them again. Then, he folded the photo in half.

No, it might not be true. Ajin had said that. Since he was young, he had been close to the “sisters.” He said it was because they treated him well. Maybe it was just a playful picture.

Seokju wanted to make such an absurd excuse. He wanted to believe Ajin. He needed Ajin’s innocence to be true. He needed someone to vouch that Ajin hadn’t lied to him.

As Seokju was brushing the photo with his index finger, he ordered the organization member, Jin-geol.

“Choi Jin-geol.”

“Yes?”

“Bring Choi Jin-geol.”

“What did Ajin do at the gambling den?”

Seokju’s question to Jin-geol made him hesitate, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Uh… he stammered, as if reluctant to speak.

Jin-geol was no different from usual. His makeup was flashy, and he seemed short of breath, as if he had just come from drinking or beating the drum. He was strangely excited.

It took more than two hours for Jin-geol to show up after Seokju had found him. Seokju didn’t ask what he had been doing all this time. At the moment, he didn’t care about Jin-geol’s mischief behind him. There was something more important.

Jin-geol, who had been contemplating for a while, hesitantly gave an answer.

“When I came out of the gambling den, Ajin was sixteen… I mean.”

“But tell me anyway.”

“Well… I emptied the ashtray, cleaned, did the dishes in the kitchen, organized the warehouse, and if there were customers… Yes. That’s what I did.”

“If there were customers, what did you do?”

“Something similar to what the sisters do. I know he earned money through other means without going upstairs because he was young. I don’t know how it was after he turned sixteen.”

“…”

“But why are you asking about that?”

Instead of answering, Seokju scattered cigarette smoke into the air.

The two stood in the hospital garden. A little distance away, there were also members of the organization. Seokju stared at the black night sky visible behind Jin-geol from behind. Jin-geol took a step closer.

“Could it be… Hyungnim, you didn’t know? That Ajin sold his body?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know. I didn’t try to find out. Even now, I don’t… I don’t care. It doesn’t matter.”

Seokju replied with a calm tone. Jin-geol’s eyebrow raised mockingly. He lowered his body awkwardly and spoke in a low voice, as if revealing a secret.

“That bastard had a white face, a thin line, and… didn’t he look like a girl? But he was a man with a chili. The Chairman said, ‘What’s the point of selling him?'” – something like that.”

“…”

“But those guys, who couldn’t satisfy their desires because they were short of money, wanted to do something to Ajin anyway.”

“…”

“So Ajin had to endure, getting dirty-mouthed and living like that. Since he was young, he couldn’t do much work, and it seemed like he just stank of food, so they tried to drive him away or let him stay as long as he did that. Fortunately, he could at least sell his body.”

“Jin-geol.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, Hyungnim.”

“Are you uncomfortable living with Ajin?”

“Um… yes?”

Jin-geol asked as if wondering what Seokju meant. Seokju took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke slowly as he peered down at Jin-geol with a skewed expression.

“When Ajin was ten, he went out to run an errand with your younger brother and had a traffic accident. Only your younger brother died.”

“…”

“In that case, I would have hated him. It’s understandable.”

Jin-geol took a deep breath. Then, Seokju accidentally inhaled the smoke he released and coughed heavily. It was just smoke, but Jin-geol coughed so violently that his chest pounded, and his eyes widened as if in pain. Perhaps it wasn’t the smoke being harsh but something else.

After a prolonged bout of coughing, Jin-geol, with a bewildered expression, stammered, “Did you… did you hear?”

“Yeah.”

“Did Ajin, did that guy say those things?”

“No. Ajin didn’t say anything. I found out through my own investigation. Would I have let you into my house without knowing at least that much?”

Seokju let out a dry laugh. In fact, it hadn’t been long since he knew about the relationship between Ajin and Jin-geol. It was when Jin-geol lost about 5kg recently. In the process of investigating just in case, he discovered the truth.

Putting down the cigarette he had been biting, Seokju stared sharply at Jin-geol.

“When you were young, did you… hit Ajin a lot?”

At those words, Jin-geol tilted his head defensively.

“No. No, not really. Well, maybe not a lot. Just a few times because my little brother pitied him. That’s all.”

Seokju’s eyes narrowed slightly. He flicked the end of the cigarette with his index finger, shaking off the ash.

“He’s a commodity for sale. Even if you squeezed him like that, Chairman Kim didn’t say anything?”

“Well, it’s not like he’s a prostitute or anything. Why bother about a guy who sells his body, looking a bit different from the typical male? Chairman Kim valued me and Jin-soo, my brother, so he understood and let it slide.”

“I see. So that’s how it was. Chairman Kim seemed different. Quite a sentimental person.”

Seokju chuckled, and Jin-geol stared at him through his laughter. There was a strange rebelliousness in his gaze. It wasn’t clear whether he was annoyed that Seokju didn’t take his brother’s story seriously, disliked mocking Chairman Kim, or both.

Seokju found Jin-geol’s expression intriguing. Whether he doubted or scolded, Jin-geol had always been indifferent and expressionless. Why was he now revealing his feelings? Perhaps it was because the conversation was related to Ajin.

As Seokju brought the cigarette back to his lips, he asked, “Have you forgiven Ajin now?”