Double-Piece

—

“Hi-ck…”

Ajin took a deep breath, quickly lowering his head. Kkot-nim Auntie had warned him to avoid being noticed by Seokju whenever possible.

Although he didn’t fully understand why, he knew he had to listen to her. It wouldn’t be bad for him, after all. Besides, Kkot-nim Auntie had once been a shaman. She had been destined to live as one when she was young, but somehow managed to escape that fate.

So, there was no harm in following her advice. But he never expected to run into Seokju so closely.

“I’m sorry…”

Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, Ajin apologized first. However, Seokju didn’t respond and walked past him into the room. It was hard to tell whether he had even noticed Ajin’s presence.

His hand touched the woman’s back, and it seemed like he was about to enter the room with her.

Ajin quickly walked toward the opposite side of the hallway.

The sweet scent of the woman’s perfume mixed with the smell of Seokju’s cigarette smoke. The two scents blended together oddly well. It was a smell from a different world, one Ajin could only envy.

Sex. Pleasure. A handsome man with a beautiful woman.

As Ajin walked down the hallway, he remembered a piece of gossip he’d overheard from the other servants.

“Boss calls a woman every day, they say.”

“She came today too, huh?”

“If it were me, I’d be totally worn out. They say he’s into it for hours, till dawn. The women almost crawl out.”

“Guess he’s still young?”

“They say it’s not just for fun though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I overheard some gangsters talking. They said… the boss isn’t in a good place.”

“Not in a good place? What’s wrong? His… you know…”

“No, no, not that. His heart. His heart’s not good.”

“What are you talking about?”

“They say he can’t sleep. He needs to, uh… you know… in order to sleep for a couple of hours.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I don’t know. But the gangsters were really worried. Sometimes, if he does some drugs, he can sleep for half a day. But he doesn’t like it when he sleeps like that.”

“Why? Does it make his head hurt like a hangover?”

“I guess so. Remember that underboss? The one with the scar on his chin? What’s his name again?”

“Myungjin. Hwang Myungjin.”

“Yeah, that’s him. He keeps telling the boss to go to the hospital, to get some sleep meds. But the boss refuses. They say he’s tried taking them before, but they don’t work.”

“Ugh, that’s rough. Sleep is the best medicine, right? Why can’t he sleep?”

“Maybe he’s having nightmares?”

“I don’t think someone like him would be afraid of nightmares.”

“True, he’d probably kick Death in the face if it came for him.”

“But still, isn’t it nice that he gets to… you know, with women every night?”

“Is it?”

The conversation ended with laughter. Ajin scratched his nose with his finger as his bangs tickled the bridge of his nose.

Every night, he falls asleep as soon as he lies down. He never has time to be bothered by the other male servants in the room. And in the morning, he wakes to the rooster’s crow, but even after sleeping soundly the whole night, getting out of bed is a struggle.

But Seokju… he barely sleeps for an hour or two. A man who must have so much work to do. Seokju, who always seems so strong, suddenly seemed pitiful to Ajin. He shouldn’t be thinking that way, though.

As Ajin limped down the hallway, his thoughts interrupted when a sharp gaze fell on him.

It was Seokju.

Seokju, who had just entered his room, had stopped and was watching Ajin’s retreating figure. His gaze narrowed.

The messy hair. The frail body, so different from the sturdy men Ajin had seen. The thin waist that showed even through the coarse wool. The limping gait. The pinkish heels clicking on the polished floor.

Seokju squinted.

“Was there something like that in the house…?”

—

Ajin woke up late into the night, the hour so late that even the night insects had stopped chirping. It was a room neither too big nor too small, and the five other servants who shared the room with him were sprawled out, snoring loudly.

Ajin slowly blinked his sleepy eyes and gazed at the paper window, where the moonlight filtered in. He tried to figure out why he had woken up. He had long since gotten used to the thunderous snoring and the hard floor, so those weren’t the issue.

“Ah…”

He needed to pee.

Ajin only realized a moment later that his lower abdomen was aching sharply. After meeting Seokju that night, he had suddenly felt a strange heat and had drunk an entire bowl of cold water in the kitchen. It seemed that the water had made its way to his bladder.

Instinctively, Ajin pressed his knees together. He didn’t want to go to the bathroom. The bathroom the servants used was across the yard, past the kitchen, and beside the storage shed, after stepping over the stepping stones. It wasn’t far, but the journey felt annoyingly inconvenient.

And it was so late at night, so dark that he couldn’t even see his own feet. If he limped there and fell, it was clear his nose would be broken.

Should he hold it in? Could he hold it in?

Ajin turned his body to the side and tried to go back to sleep. However, the painful pressure in his bladder only grew worse with each passing moment. It felt like his testicles were tightly swollen.

“Aah…”

Unable to hold it in any longer, Ajin sluggishly propped himself up. He hesitated for a moment while staring at the paper window. Should he go outside or not? Of course, if he needed to use the bathroom, he’d have to go through that door.

But Ajin had another option. He could use the small bathroom next to the tea room. The bathroom the servants used was at the opposite side of the house. Seokju had his own private bathroom attached to his room. The small bathroom next to the tea room was only occasionally used by the servants when they drank or ate in the tea room and needed to relieve themselves.

So, the chance of running into anyone at this hour was extremely low. In fact, Ajin had sneaked in there several times before.

“What if a ghost shows up?”

What would he do if a tiger from the mountains suddenly appeared?

Ajin justified his actions to himself and left his room. The hallway, dimly lit by occasional lanterns, was eerily quiet. The bathroom was around the corner, past the kitchen, and right after the tea room.

Ajin carefully tiptoed down the hall, raising his heels. Every now and then, a floorboard would creak under his step, and each time, he would hold his breath and draw his legs together.

“I’ll pee my pants if I get scared…”

This was something he shouldn’t be doing. He promised himself he wouldn’t drink any water at night from now on. Just as he was passing the tea room, he heard the sound again.

Creeeak… Creeeak…

It was the sound of wood twisting, the floorboards creaking. Startled, Ajin froze, thinking it was his own doing. But the sound didn’t stop.

Creeeak… Creeeak…

The sound was getting closer, and it was heavier than when he stepped on the floorboards.

Ajin widened his eyes and looked toward the end of the hallway. A dark figure was approaching.

Was it a member of the organization? Or could it be a ghost? Either way, he shouldn’t be seen. Ajin frantically looked around. But even as he did, he still urgently needed to pee, and the footsteps were getting closer.

Ajin alternated his gaze between the tea room and the bathroom next to it. Finally, he decided to just run to the bathroom. No matter who saw him, it would be easier to explain if he came out of the bathroom rather than the tea room.

His thin legs limped quickly toward the bathroom. As the footsteps drew nearer, Ajin broke out in a cold sweat. Just as he grabbed the bathroom door, the shadow stepped in front of him. A dark blue robe brushed against his calves.

…A robe?

Ajin unconsciously looked up. He could see the figure’s upper body faintly illuminated by the lantern light. The figure wore only a robe over bare legs, and his well-defined chest and abs were visible beneath it. He had a thick ribcage and a large build, indicating he wasn’t an average man. There was also a faint smell of cigarette smoke.

Ajin lifted his gaze further to check the man’s face. It didn’t look like a ghost, but still, he had to check. What if he had no eyes, nose, or mouth?

And when he finally saw the face illuminated by the soft red glow of the lantern, when his eyes met those dark, piercing pupils…

Ajin’s mouth fell open.

“…Ah…”

“…”

“Hello, hello, sir…”

It was Seokju.

Unbelievable. To run into him twice in one day. And in a place like this. It was obvious he was going to be scolded. He would surely be asked why he was sneaking around in the middle of the night, as a servant, daring to walk through the hallway.

Ajin, frightened, hunched his shoulders.

“Yeah.”

Seokju responded lightly and walked past him. As Seokju moved away, Ajin, without thinking, asked a question.

“Where are you going?”

Ajin immediately regretted his words, his breath catching in his throat. Seokju stopped abruptly and turned halfway around to look at Ajin.

“Do I have to tell you that?”

“No, no.”

Ajin shook his head vigorously, even waving his hands in a panicked manner. His thin shoulders trembled with the movement. A faint smile flickered in Seokju’s eyes as he tilted his head and asked Ajin.

“Where are you going?”

“I… I’m going to pee.”

“Go ahead, then.”

Seokju was surprisingly kind. He didn’t mind Ajin using the bathroom inside the house, nor did he get upset or offended by it.

Ajin’s stiffened shoulders relaxed, and at the same time, he felt a little bolder. He felt like he could be a bit more impudent since Seokju wasn’t going to get angry. He licked his bottom lip slightly and asked casually.

“Sir… where are you going?”

“To drink water.”

Seokju held up a large crystal bottle he had been carrying. The bottle was the size of his forearm and was usually kept in his room, filled by Isun. But today, Isun had forgotten to refill it, which led to this late-night encounter between the two.

Ajin kept licking his lips. He was dying to pee, but for some reason, his lips kept getting drier.

Ajin cautiously took a step closer to Seokju.

“Should I… fetch some water for you?”