The Trash Wants to Live

PR: Xashaha

I glanced at Kwon Jae-hyuk, who was driving in front of me. Ki Sun-woo had sent me a car to ride in, but I asked SNT through Rachel to lend me a car.

As soon as she heard my request, Rachel giggled and said, "Oh, you're being indulgent from the start." and sent me Volvo's SUV, which is known for its durability. Of course, it also happened to be bulletproof.

‘The driver wasn't surprised even when I said I would take a separate car.’

The driver casually pulled a note out of his pocket with a detailed address of the meeting place, but Kwon Jae-hyuk shook his head and took the steering wheel himself. After I handed him the note, Kwon Jae-hyuk entered the address into the navigation system and started driving.

‘Hmm… I'm curious.’ I wanted to comment, but I didn't want anyone to find out that I wasn't Ki Yoon-jae.

‘I didn't want to die before, but…’

Damn it. As much as I hated to admit it, I was now satisfied with my life as Ki Yoon-jae. At first, I really wanted the real Ki Yoon-jae to come back and relieve me of this burdensome role, but…

‘…It's only been a year.'

Only a year has already passed and I've changed my mind. Now, I wished he wouldn't come back. If the real Ki Yoon Jae were to return, I would…

‘Ah…’

I didn't even want to imagine. I felt depressed thinking about how the people who believed in me and showed me affection would look at me like a monster.

I didn't want to give anyone any reason to doubt that I wasn't Ki Yoon-jae, that's why I couldn't ask.

‘Judging by the reactions, it doesn't seem like Ki Sun-woo and Ki Yoon-jae had a good relationship…’

What's wrong with this guy's personality? He doesn't have a single person he gets along with.

‘But after living as this guy, I can understand it to some extent…'

He can't trust anyone when he’s getting assassination threats every day. It's not surprising that he developed paranoia, thinking, ‘Are they going to stab me in the back one day?’ 

But… Why can’t he trust his own father?

‘In a way, Ki Sun-woo and Ki Yoon-jae are on the same side.’

If the second son, Ki Young-woo, and his son, Ki Sung-yoon, were enemies, then I could only be an ally. Since Ki Sun-woo was the eldest son, he would take the next position after Ki Jae-mu, and I would be the one to inherit it after him. Of course, the best scenario for Ki Sun-woo would be to take that position and enjoy it for ages, but that was impossible due to the finite nature of human life. So, the safest route would be to pass it down to the person he could trust the most, the one who shared his blood. 

For Ki Sun-woo, it was me, and for Ki Young-woo, it was Ki Sung-yoon.

‘It’s because I am his only son…'

I was the only successor that Ki-sun-woo could support, but even so, why was the relationship between them this bad?

‘I don't think Ki Sun-woo would have threatened me or wanted to kill me…’

If he did, Kwon Jae-hyuk wouldn't have been allowed to come with me. He came along as my escort, but I was the one who was invited, so he won't be able to accompany me in front of Ki Sun-woo. As usual, he'll be waiting for me in the waiting room where the attendants are waiting for us to finish talking.

I didn't know what would happen in the meantime, and there was no way Kwon would send me to someone who wanted to harm me.

‘There was the situation with Dietrich too…’

It was only a few days ago that the overconfident Kwon Jae-hyuk had blamed himself for almost losing me because of his misjudgment. But would he make the same mistake again? It couldn't have happened unless Kwon Jae-hyuk actually wanted to hurt me. Partly because he swore an oath to me, but even without that, I trusted him. Kwon Jae-hyuk would never put me in danger.

‘That means Ki Sun-woo and Ki Yoon-jae have a bad relationship, but not to the point where they're trying to kill each other…'

What could be the reason for the bad relationship between a father and a son? I couldn't tell, because I didn't have a proper family either. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't figure it out on my own if I had no memory, so I just gave up. Should I just let it be awkward between me and his father? That's what I thought, but then Kwon Jae-hyuk, who was driving, spoke to me.

"Yoon-jae-a."

"Yeah?"

"If you meet your father and something happens, call me."

"Oh?"

"Even if we're on different floors, I'll definitely hear your voice."

Haha… ha…? I thought it was a joke and started laughing, but I stopped when I saw Kwon Jae-hyuk's serious expression. Could their relationship be so bad that he had to anticipate something going wrong…?

‘It's even scarier when he acts like that.’

If he was going to say that, he might as well have told me not to go at all… With nothing to say, I could only scrunch up in the back seat awkwardly.

The car moved smoothly and before I knew it, we arrived at the hotel where we were supposed to meet. We weren't meeting in a hotel room; the restaurant located on the upper floor of this hotel was our destination.

‘If that's the case, couldn't we have just met at the hotel I was staying at?’

It was a bit odd when I thought about it. Even if Ki Sun-woo and I don't keep in touch, the fact that he was my guardian wouldn't change. So I'm sure he's been informed that I entered the gate and that there was an accident there…

Of course, I wasn't seriously injured or traumatised, but he wouldn't have known that from the report he received and still should have been worried.

‘Wouldn't it be better for him to come see me in person?'

I don't know, but it probably made more sense for Ki Sun-woo, who wasn't the "victim," to come and go rather than having me move around. That might have been why I felt uncomfortable. I had many thoughts, but I was worried that I was being unfairly prejudiced against Ki Sun-woo, whom I was meeting for the first time.

‘We don't communicate often… Maybe Ki Yoon-jae didn't allow his father to?’

It was possible. The sensitive and irritable Ki Yoon-jae might have been irritated because it was annoying to contact his father. Could that be why Ki Sun-woo didn't talk to him?

Actually, it wasn't just the lack of communication that bothered me, but for now, I decided to view it positively. If I jumped to conclusions, it would just narrow my mindset.

As I got out of the car and headed to the designated floor with Kwon Jae-hyuk, a magnificent scene unfolded. The ceiling of the three-story restaurant was decorated with long, spiralling chandeliers, and the front windows offered a fantastic night view. As I stood there, momentarily lost for words, someone stepped in front of me.

"Young master. The president is waiting for you. Please come this way."

The person, speaking fluent Korean, politely led me inside. As we went further in, I saw a window seat without a table, and when I looked closely, the window was slightly curved, making it difficult to see outside. The harsh spread of light along the curve made it seem as if it was not a window to enjoying the night view through.

There was a door near the window, and it seemed to be going outside. When I looked at the window again, there was a small terrace, and I could vaguely see someone sitting at a table.

‘Is that him?’

No… There were two figures I could see through the window. I couldn't help but be a little surprised as I thought I was going to meet Ki Sun-woo alone.

"You can come in this way."

The guide said so, separating me from Kwon Jae-hyuk. I knew it was going to happen, but I couldn't hide my agitation. When I looked back at him, Kwon Jae-hyuk nodded his head, and his reassuring gesture made me stop trembling.

The guide didn't even come in, so I was the only one who went through the door. The blurry figures that had been visible through the glistening windows were now visible.

‘Who could it be?’

She was a young woman with bobbed hair dyed a desaturated orange. She looked to be in her late 20s, maybe early 30s.

"Oh… Hello?"

"You're here. Take a seat."

I was puzzled, but I reflexively said hello, and Ki Sun-woo greeted me. He pointed to an empty seat on the opposite side of them sitting side by side, so I sat down and looked at them.

Ki Sun-woo looked away as if he wasn't interested, but the woman sitting next to him smiled and made eye contact with me. I wondered if we knew each other, but I couldn't remember. Finding it difficult to say anything, I was quietly observing the situation and I was immediately impressed.

‘Wow, you really couldn't steal a seed…'1

I wondered if the face I saw every day in the mirror would be like that when I got older. Of course, I'd have to add an impulsive temperament with sharp eyes, meticulous appearance, and the overall face lines would have to be a little thicker…

Ki Sun-woo and Ki Yoon-jae really do look alike. I wonder if the two are not on good terms because of their striking resemblance?

T/N: Sorry for the delay. Thank you for waiting 🙏🙏💕

1. A father and his child have similar appearances and temperaments, thus it doesn’t lie.