Double-Piece

**07**

“It’s really raining a lot…”

Sitting on the outer veranda, A-jin looked up at the dark sky. It had just passed lunchtime, but the sky was as black as night.

A-jin pressed his lips tightly and stretched out his legs. Beneath his rolled-up pants, smooth calves, prominent ankles, and white insteps were exposed. A-jin slipped his feet into the rain.

The rain, which split from the ridge, ran down the tiled roof in curves and dripped along the eaves. The sensation of the cold water against his feet made him shiver, and he enjoyed the feeling, dipping and pulling his feet in and out.

On rainy days, there wasn’t much work to do—no need to sweep the yard, and the outer veranda couldn’t be cleaned. When the heavy rain stopped, the work would pile up, but that was something to think about later, so he didn’t want to worry about it now.

“The smell of grass…”

A-jin inhaled deeply, filling his chest with air, as the smell of wet leaves, wood, grass, and soil rushed in all at once.

The scent was unfamiliar to him. Since he hadn’t been out of the gambling den since he was ten years old, the natural smells felt very new to him. He appreciated that a hanok allowed him to experience such scents so directly.

The other servants, who had served various lords, were worried the rain would stop soon so they could dry the house and prevent the wooden pillars from rotting or mud from flooding the kitchen, but A-jin, unbothered, just enjoyed it.

With Western-style houses now in fashion, he understood why wealthy nobles still insisted on living in hanoks.

Feeling his toes grow cold, A-jin folded his knees again and massaged his toes with his hands.

It was the third day of the heavy rain. The world was in chaos due to the constant downpour. A-jin didn’t go outside, so he didn’t know, but the male servants, who had gone to the city to buy goods and ingredients the day before, returned looking like they had been in a brawl in the mud.

Because of that, the house was noisy. Unlike usual, the organization members were bustling around even though it was midday. Since the rainy season started, the Taehweipha could not work.

The cement roads were only in Seoul, and the area surrounding the mansion was full of mountains and dirt. So, the cars couldn’t go out. They got stuck in the mud after going a short distance and couldn’t move at all. So, everyone was stuck at home.

Not being able to work due to the weather was very common, and no one complained. The weather was considered the realm of gods. Even the president was probably sitting in his bedroom, listening to the sound of the rain. Gangsters weren’t any different.

But there was one problem: it was related to Seok-ju.

It had been three days since the rainy season started, and Seok-ju had not slept for three days either, because the courtesan couldn’t come to his house. Myeong-jin boldly set out to bring the woman to Seok-ju, even carrying her on his back, but late that night, he came back from the mountains looking like he had fought ghosts. Of course, he had failed to bring the courtesan. He had twigs stuck in his ear.

Because of that, the organization members were busy avoiding Seok-ju’s gaze. They walked through the hallway quietly, holding their breath. Although Seok-ju hadn’t directly caught or scolded anyone, they were all instinctively trying to avoid him.

Even a good-natured person would get irritable after three days without sleep. But Seok-ju was originally the kind of person who would casually kill someone, so everyone had reason to be tense.

A-jin clicked his tongue while wiggling his toes. Suddenly, the door on the wall creaked open. It was the side door to the kitchen. Mrs. Kkot-nim called out to A-jin.

“A-jin!”

“Yeah?”

“Come here and peel the potatoes.”

“Okay!”

A-jin quickly got up and crawled into the kitchen. Even though it was just past lunchtime, the kitchen was already busy preparing for dinner.

While sitting in front of a mountain of potatoes, A-jin was peeling them when I Soon-i, who was connected to the tea room, let out a deep sigh and appeared. She was carrying a small dining tray, with carefully arranged rice, soup, and side dishes prepared by Mrs. Kkot-nim.

The tray had been set out an hour ago, exactly as it had been. The spoon was shiny and new.

“Seok-ju didn’t eat any lunch. He’s just been smoking cigarettes all day…”

I Soon-i clicked her tongue and set the tray down in the middle of the kitchen.

Since the second day of the rainy season, Seok-ju had not come out of the tea room. So, the tray was brought to his room, but it would always come back untouched, as if no one had been in the room. The servants joked that he might turn into a beast or a monster when it rained.

“Isn’t that big guy going to die just because he misses a few meals?”

Mrs. Kkot-nim squatted down in front of the tray.

“Let’s eat it ourselves. It’s too good to throw away as dog food.”

At that, the servants’ faces brightened, and they rushed to gather around the tray. A-jin stared at them blankly. No matter what, how could they let someone go two days without proper food? Shouldn’t someone at least make some soup for him?

Pouting his lips, A-jin continued peeling the potatoes. Suddenly, he felt a slap to the back of his head. It was Mrs. Kkot-nim.

“Hey! How can you peel all the flesh off the potatoes? It’s a waste.”

“Ouch… Ajumma, that hurts…”

“Then I wouldn’t have hit you. Eat this.”

Mrs. Kkot-nim handed him a handful of stir-fried bulgogi in soy sauce. Even though A-jin pouted, he quickly took it and ate it. The bulgogi she made was sweet, salty, and tender.

He couldn’t understand why Seok-ju didn’t eat such delicious food. A-jin thought he would eat it even if his throat was torn.

Dinner was over, and the final task remained: dishwashing. After working hard to prepare three meals, Mrs. Kkot-nim went to her room early, and only A-jin and two other low-ranking servants stayed behind to wash the dishes.

Today, they didn’t sit by the kimchi pots like usual, but by the kitchen’s outer eaves. They couldn’t wash dishes while getting soaked in the downpour.

Sitting outside late at night, A-jin felt goosebumps on his arms, even though he wasn’t getting wet.

There were more dishes for A-jin to wash than for anyone else. Normally, the women did the kitchen chores, and the men did the outside work, but due to A-jin’s legs, he usually took care of the kitchen tasks. It hurt his pride.

Still, all chores were essentially the same, and in fact, kitchen work, which didn’t stop all day, was more exhausting. But A-jin, who had never known masculinity since childhood, found it saddening.

So, when he washed dishes with the other women or older sisters, he usually volunteered to take care of the heavy and large items, such as brass bowls, pot lids, and pans. The sisters would fondly pat his head or sometimes give him candies they had brought.

Today was no different. The basin in front of A-jin was piled high with dishes. The older sisters, who had finished their dishes early, were wiping their hands on their skirts when one of them asked A-jin.

“Ajin, do you need help?”

“No, go inside.”

Ajin said firmly.

“Alright then. Sleep well.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Without hesitation, the older girls left. Left alone, Ajin continued to move his hands swiftly, listening to the sound of the pouring rain. Today, without Flower Auntie bringing hot water, his hands were red with cold, but they didn’t feel numb. The cold wind that hit his dry body was much worse.

Ajin clenched his teeth as he finished the dishes. He moved the clean plates to the kitchen and lifted the basin full of water. But his legs were so numb, and the basin was incredibly heavy. His knees seemed to be rebelling.

“Ugh!”

With the weight tipping him over, he lost his balance and fell over the eaves. His bad luck caused him to tumble into a muddy trench carved by the rain. Splashing water everywhere, he immediately got drenched. Startled, Ajin struggled like a mudfish that had washed up on shore.

He pressed his hands into the ground and stood up, water dripping from his sleeves and hair. The relentless rain continued to pelt him on the head as if it were scolding him.

“Ugh… damn it…”

Ajin cursed awkwardly as he limped back under the eaves. He felt so frustrated and upset that his eyes nearly filled with tears. There was no way he could sleep like this. He needed to wash, but when would he have time to heat water, wash himself, and clean his clothes?

Ajin tugged his long hair back with both hands. When the hair that had been blocking his vision was gone, it felt like he could think more clearly.

Sitting here and crying wouldn’t change anything. Ajin had known from a very young age that crying wouldn’t help his survival.

He ripped off his top and wrung out the water. He briefly considered taking off his pants, but then thought it would make him look like a crazy pervert, so he decided against it.

Ajin rinsed the fallen basin with water, placed it neatly against the wall, and then entered the kitchen. He started heating water in the large cauldron, squatting down in front of the fire and sighing deeply.

“If it weren’t for my legs, I wouldn’t have fallen.”

Ajin hit his knee with his fist in frustration. Then, suddenly, he heard an unfamiliar sound: creaking and clanking.

Ajin froze. The sounds continued, like someone rummaging through something in the drawing room.

Could it be a thief? Or one of the gang members?

Ajin slowly got up and quietly approached the side door, gently opening it. The damp, humid door didn’t make a sound, allowing him to sneak into the drawing room unnoticed.

He recognized the large silhouette immediately.

“…Boss?”

It was Seokju.