Double Junk - 86

“I, I… didn’t do it…”

“…”

“Ugh, I really… didn’t steal anything…”

“…”

It was difficult to find falsehoods in the words mixed with tears and pain. Strangely, however, the expression on Seokju’s face washed away.

“I didn’t do it. Hyungnim, I didn’t do such a thing. You misunderstood. Hyungnim, damn it, Hyungnim! I didn’t do it! No, no. Hyungnim, please spare me. Hyungnim, Hyungnim!”

The words poured out uncontrollably. And among those who spoke, there wasn’t a single one who was truly innocent.

Ajin seemed to be heading down the same path as Seokju. His mind went cold.

Ajin didn’t notice Seokju’s change. Tears blurred his vision to the point where he couldn’t distinguish between the ceiling and the floor. Ajin was just eager to pour out his innocence.

“It’s all Choi Jingeol’s doing, Choi Jingeol.”

“…”

“Choi Jingeol framed me-”

“I know.”

Seokju, who hadn’t been listening, interrupted him. Ajin’s breath, which had been coming out rapidly, stopped abruptly. Seokju closed his eyes and then opened them. The tears that had blurred his vision fell to the ground, clearing his sight.

Looking at Seokju with a surprised expression, unable to hide his confusion, Ajin asked, stuttering, “You… You know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“But why… Why are you doing this to me?”

Ajin, immersed in confusion, asked hesitantly. Does Jingeol know about this? Then why am I receiving punishment? Why am I kneeling in front of Seokju in such a miserable state? This place belongs to Jingeol; why am I here?

“…”

Seokju didn’t answer. It wasn’t to ignore Ajin’s words. It was just that the fact he had to reveal was embarrassing, so he chose silence.

According to Seokju’s investigation and conclusion, Jingeol’s meticulously prepared plan with a life at stake was correct. A plan carefully sown by Kiheon, the “prank” he had set up.

However, the lukewarm response of the Jung-Ho faction to Jingeol’s death was because they were not the ones who planted Jingeol. To explain this, one must understand how the organization was formed. The Tae-Hoe faction was centered around Seokju. Though there was a simple structure, Seokju was at the top, and the rest were simply “family,” with blurred boundaries. They gathered around Seokju and moved around him.

On the other hand, the Jung-Ho faction did not gather around Kiheon. It was an organization formed by various large and small factions in Seoul, fighting, forcibly absorbing, merging, creating a complex organization. Even under the name of the Jung-Ho faction, if you looked closely, there were “factions” within them.

And these “factions” didn’t get along well. Who would occupy the second and third positions of power under Kiheon? Or when would they be able to pull Kiheon down and take his place? They engaged in a subtle power struggle.

In other words, Jingeol was not a prank set by the Jung-Ho faction but a prank set by Kiheon independently.

The fact that Ajin was able to set fire to the Jung-Ho faction’s business without hesitation was because the business belonged to a different “faction” within the Jung-Ho faction, not under Kiheon’s ownership. The members who were indifferent to Jingeol’s death were not part of Kiheon’s “faction.”

Due to internal circumstances, Kiheon couldn’t move recklessly.

He was waiting for the Tae-Hoe faction to strike the Jung-Ho faction first. Utilizing that justification and using external enemies, he planned to gradually weaken the Jung-Ho faction, trying to unite them.

Eating up the Tae-Hoe faction directly would only result in another small Tae-Hoe “faction” emerging within the Jung-Ho faction, making the power more divided and harder to manage.

Seokju could infer this by observing Jingeol’s provocative actions, revealing himself as the “prankster.” He was waiting for someone to scratch him lightly, stirring up a bloodbath.

Up to that point, it wasn’t a problem. Seokju occasionally felt genuinely angry about Jingeol’s antics, but he wasn’t foolish enough to unsheathe his sword and charge into the Jung-Ho faction without distinguishing between the front and back.

The problem was Ajin.

It was unclear where Jingeol’s actions ended and where Ajin’s actions began.

And chronologically, Ajin was the one who planted the prank first. The reason why Kiheon planted the prank again, this time targeting Ajin, right after planting it on Jingeol for the second time, couldn’t be understood.

What was certain at the moment was that Ajin planted it to deal with me and Myungjin.

He stabbed a knife into Myungjin’s chest, killed Doeun, set fire to the back of the house, and stole small valuables from the house, dissatisfied with the money provided by the Jung-Ho faction. There might be other crimes as well.

Countless sins. It was the first time a prank had so thoroughly angered Seokju since the formation of the Tae-Hoe faction.

It was my stupidity, Ajin’s excessive beauty, and also thanks to Jingeol for covering my eyes so well.

When Myungjin made a big move, Ajin, who quietly moved in the shadows, probably found something else to dedicate himself to. Perhaps exploring the back of the house that Myungjin had never set foot in, poisoning the seaweed soup, copying the keys to the house, and more.

He could easily figure out where my attention was focused, what I was thinking, and what my plans were.

And when the rough outline was completed, Kiheon would have tried to extract Ajin and me in different ways. But he failed. Myungjin died, and Ajin was still stuck between my thighs like this. I thought he would run and attack me with Myungjin’s incident, but he didn’t, so he must be in a state of great confusion.

Soon, cunning Kiheon would approach me again in another way. And I wouldn’t just wait for that approach.

Seokju, who was organizing his thoughts for a moment, looked down at Ajin.

“Choi Jingeol did all that, Choi Jingeol.”

Did Ajin know that Myungjin died? Is that why he’s trying to blame everything on Jingeol?

Looking down for a moment, Seokju lowered his gaze. Ajin stared persistently, waiting for his response. His eyes, with veins like spiderwebs, were filled with an unknown desperation.

However, Seokju ultimately didn’t give him an answer. He sarcastically smiled and caressed Ajin’s numb cheek.

“Do you hate it so much?”

“…”

“If you hate it, lie down.”

Seokju very lightly and casually changed the subject. Ajin, whose upper body was stuck between Seokju’s thighs, pulled it back abruptly. Despair and resentment filled his eyes as he struggled, trying to crawl away. However, his ankle got caught, and he was dragged backward.

“No! No!”

“I hate this, hate that. If you hate everything, what can you do, Ajin? You have to pay with money.”

“No! Stop! Aaah! Stop!”

“…”

Seokju pushed Ajin onto the sofa. Ajin hit the back of the sofa with a thud and slid down lifelessly. He tried to escape to the end of the sofa with his broken legs. But his ankle was grabbed firmly. And he was pulled backward.

“Ack!”

The knees pressed against the sofa felt hot as if they were burned. Ajin, groping his knees and grimacing, felt a chilling wind pass by. He struggled vigorously.

“Boss! Please, stop. Boss…”

At that moment, the scenery before his eyes suddenly turned yellow. Then, from the corner of his vision, pitch-black darkness began to engulf him. His body cooled, his stomach churned as if he had drunk poison all day long, and his head spun as if he had inhaled gas.

Ajin, who had been slowly blinking his eyes, collapsed. An unpleasant smile adorned his lips.

Ah, tonight I won’t have to suffer. That was truly gratifying.

It was late morning when Ajin finally opened his eyes. Lifting his heavy eyelids was agonizing.

“Ugh….”

Ajin groaned softly as he pressed his throbbing forehead against the floor. However, the floor felt strangely soft. It wasn’t as cold as ice either. Ajin slightly pushed his head back to look at the floor. Instead of the floor, he was lying on a sofa.

Only then did he recall the events of last night. He had fainted as soon as the cloth touched his lips.

Ajin quickly felt his own buttocks. It wasn’t damp or sticky. With a sigh of relief, he lay back down.

“…Didn’t do it.”

Was it because he endured it, knowing he wouldn’t be able to repay a million won if he just let himself die? But if he continued to neglect himself like this, he wouldn’t be able to repay even ten thousand won and would end up dead. Still, did it matter?

…It probably doesn’t matter to treat me like this.

Ajin laughed silently.

To Seokju, a million won wasn’t a significant amount of money. It wasn’t even a sum he would miss. However, insisting on getting money from me was just an excuse to inflict punishment.

Ajin was receiving the punishment of being stung by a bee while Kiheon was forced to watch. He was enduring the pain while being humiliated in this way.

For the fourth night, he was feeling this brutal punishment.

Then, grumble. Ajin’s stomach loudly protested. Ajin chuckled again. His body was in pain, and he didn’t have the will to live. Yet, amidst all this, his empty stomach seemed comical. His body looked different from what he had thought.

“….”

Ajin intermittently listened to the intermittent sound of his stomach rumbling.

He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to go to the bathroom to fetch cold and musty water to fill his stomach. He didn’t want to drag his body to the kitchen to beg for food. And where would those guys willingly give him food? They would probably wave a ladle at him like driving away a beggar, saying, “Did you give food to him and end up getting in trouble?”

Ajin looked around the empty room and lifted the drenched dudougi. Then, he tightly closed his eyes. Let’s just sleep. If I sleep, I’ll face another night, meet Seokju again, but for now, let’s sleep.

Trying to fall asleep under the hypnotic trance.

Creak, creak… the sound of footsteps on the floor echoed.