The Trash Wants to Live

ED: Spaghetti

PR: Naa_chi

As soon as I hung up the phone, a notification sounded from my phone, and 10 million won1 was deposited in my account.

As expected, Ki Jae Mu is very generous.

Depositing 10 million won to buy something to eat with friends. It was like a chaebol distributor. Ki Hyun Joo looked at me funny as I smiled, satisfied with the amount.

“…Why?”

“No, it’s just… you and the chairman seem to be doing okay.”

“Huh?”

“You used to have a… VERY hard time.”

Ki Hyun Joo hesitated and gave emphasis to “very”. Since I still didn’t remember anything, I had no choice but to adopt a nonchalant attitude while saying, “Oh, really?”

Ki Yoon Jae had a hard time with Ki Jae Mu?

How was that possible? With Ki Yoon Jae’s personality, he shouldn’t have had difficulty with Ki Jae Mu. Rather, “An old man who occupies my place…” Wasn’t it  possible that he was looking at that position with such wicked thoughts…?

Was it difficult for this child to be the one holding the money?

Nevertheless, I couldn’t picture Ki Yoon Jae struggling with money. Wasn’t Ki Yoon Jae the kind of person who could make money even if he didn’t have money?

However, there was no reason for Ki Yoon Jae to make idle gossip with Ki Hyun Joo, so I wondered why he had difficulty with Ki Jae Mu.

I have no one to ask.

Oh, maybe Kwon Jae Hyuk would know? However, it was a family situation, so Kwon Jae Hyuk probably wouldn’t know much about it either. I ended up with the conclusion that there was no one to ask.

“Ah— and have one of the contracts ready for tomorrow.”

“Contract?”

“Yeah, one of the Gifted is going to sign the contract.”

“Oh… shall I prepare it for the guild?”

Should I put Jang Eui Yeol in the guild? I shook my head in distress. I couldn’t put the protagonist in the guild.

“No, he belongs to me.”

Of course, the guild was also mine, but… since he was the main character, I thought I should keep him close. Even if he were to suddenly change his mind, saying, “I want to break Ki Yoon Jae’s neck for some reason today”; I would be able to prepare for it.

Ki Hyun Joo nodded at my words.

“Alright. Then, shall I prepare a room in the mansion?”

“Yes, please,”

Ki Hyun Joo said, “Okay,” and left, leaving me alone in the living room.

Um… Come to think of it, what happened to Jang Eui Yeol’s family relationships? I was sure his grandmother was there… I didn’t know much about his other family members. While thinking about asking him tomorrow, I had a sudden flashback of what I had seen earlier.

Below the flustered face of Jang Eui Yeol: his skin colour, skin tone, black…

Uwaak!

The big thing that I saw beyond the black border… I didn’t mean to see it. But my eyes naturally went down. Sobs.

After all, THAT should be enough to be the main character of a harem novel. I thought Ki Yoon Jae was great, but it was nothing compared to that. If that was the standard, Ki Yoon Jae would never be the main character even if he died.

That’s me now, but…

Of course, I didn’t mean to be the main character of a harem novel… So I guessed it didn’t matter. Nevertheless, I couldn’t get rid of my excitement. I was rolling around hugging the cushion and burying my face in it. It was because I was afraid that someone would see my mischievous face. Suddenly, the cushion was taken from my hands.

“What are you thinking…?”

“Huh?”

“You’re wearing this kind of face, Yoon Jae?”

I saw Kwon Jae Hyuk’s face in front of me as he entered the living room. I didn’t hear the door open? Kwon Jae Hyuk laughed and pointed to the window, perhaps noticing the questioning look that had appeared on my face. I could see the spring breeze gently waving the curtains hanging by the window.

“Who were you thinking of?”

“…No one?”

For some reason I felt compelled to say so and lied, but Kwon Jae Hyuk didn’t seem to believe me. He looked down at me over the back of the sofa, his voice low and easy.

This position… somehow…

It was strange. Kwon Jae Hyuk leaned onto the sofa, his hands at either side of my head as if to lock me in. With his back to the light, my reflection shone within his eyes.

“Ah, what should I do?”

“Hmm?”

“I think this position is good…” 

“…”

“I’m getting greedy. What should I do? Huh? What should I do, Yoon Jae-ya?”

Why are you asking me that? I looked up at him with a gulp. Kwon Jae Hyuk’s hands were only next to me, but strangely, my ears were burning as if he were touching them.

No, it’s not his hands.

Kwon Jae Hyuk was touching me with his eyes. His gaze made me hot. It was so obvious… I wasn’t a fool.

I sensed that his feelings for me, or rather for Ki Yoon Jae, were out of the ordinary. I opened my mouth courageously.

“I…”

“…”

“What happens if I tell you not to be greedy?”

Kwon Jae Hyuk’s lips lifted into a smile at my question, but his eyes still shone like they would eat me up.

“Nothing.”

“…”

“Nothing will change.”

“…”

“I told you, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

Even if it meant putting himself on a leash. He was saying that if I wanted it, he would obediently give me his head.

But his stare… It was so intense. It was like fire. I got a little scared. I was afraid I’d be swept away.

I swallowed nervously. Strangely enough, it was difficult to swallow at the back of my throat.

Still, Kwon Jae-Hyuk was looking at me as if he was going to burn me to death.

“Then… don’t be greedy.”

With those words, the fire in Kwon Jae-Hyuk’s eyes was extinguished. The light still glowed faintly deep within his eyes, but I could not determine whether the fire was extinguished by my single command or if the fervent reaction I had just received wasn’t real.

Having returned to his usual face, he rose without hesitation. I was released from Kwon Jae-Hyuk’s arms, which had pinned me in place.

Sigh…

The tension was quickly released. My stiff, rigid body relaxed, and as I sunk deep into the sofa, I heard Kwon Jae Hyuk’s voice.

“I was going to tell you – Yoon Jae – since you now have an ability, why don’t you learn how to fight?”

“How to fight?”

When I asked, Kwon Jae-hyuk lifted me by my hand and nodded his head. Once my body was forced to rise from the sofa, he turned around and talked while twirling a dagger he had extracted with his own power.

“You don’t intend to leave your abilities as they are, do you? Even if you do, if you don’t know how to fight, you won’t be able to use even a partial of your abilities properly.”

“Well…”

“But you’re trying to hide your abilities. It’s going to be hard to learn in an open way. How about me?”

“Huh?”

“How to fight… I don’t think anyone knows as much as I do nowadays.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk grinned at me. Certainly, he did know best about combat, whether he was from the future or if he could see the future.

I naturally accepted. In the past, I would have used more consideration, but since Kwon Jae Hyuk was now completely ‘my own man’, it would have been a foolish decision to refuse.

When asked, “When will you start?” I grinned.

“The sooner, the better… but not tomorrow.”

I had things to do tomorrow. It was also very important.

* * *

I woke up on Monday morning. Monday… It was the day of the week when I usually got a terrible disease called the ‘Monday Blues’, but today I got up easily.

“I think you can take a rest today…”

Ki Hyun Joo, who had been watching me anxiously as I prepared to leave for school, spoke in a concerned tone. There was a reason I had to go, however, so I turned down the offer. When he heard I was going to school, Jung Yi Joon, who was idle, also got up.

“If that was the case, I might have taken a rest as well; what a model student…”

Jung Yi Joon seemed to have a huge misunderstanding about me. It was funny to watch him follow behind me despite grumbling. I spoke with Jung Yi Joon, who was getting into the car waiting in front of the entrance, as we rode together.

“If you want to rest, rest. I have business to do, and you could have stayed home.”

I just said it out of consideration, but Jung Yi Joon became mad again after hearing it.

“Why? If I don’t go! Huh? You’ll do it with him, right?!”

“Aish, please don’t say something that’ll cause misunderstandings!”

I looked at the driver in front, but Jung Yi Joon, who was already mad, shouted regardless.

“What! What misunderstanding? Without me! You’re going to kiss him, right?! Kiss!”

“Cough!”

Perhaps he was embarrassed; the driver coughed and twisted the steering wheel. “I’m sorry,” he said immediately. He pretended as if he hadn’t heard anything and drove on, but my face was red.

Before the driver misunderstood any further, I hurriedly spoke up.

“I won’t do it! I won’t!”

“Really?”

Jung Yi Joon laughed in satisfaction when he heard my answer. This damn jerk…