The Trash Wants to Live

Only the moonlight illuminated the dark hallway when I got out of bed and strolled out of my room.

I knew there were no ghosts because it was a corridor I was used to, and I had no reason to be terrified. But I still felt as if I was walking into the jaws of a monster; my body trembled.

The trembling became stronger as I walked along the carpeted corridor and stood in front of Kwon Jae Hyuk’s door. I raised my hand to knock on the door.The force opened the door slightly. I swallowed my saliva.

“Ugh.”

My heart was pounding so hard it seemed like it was about to explode. Kwon Jae Hyuk seemed to have failed to properly close the door. I spotted him seated on the window sill, staring out, as I carefully pushed the door open with a quivering hand.

The atmosphere was similar to… I didn’t quite remember.

There was a moment of hesitation as I debated whether I should get involved.

“Yoon Jae, please come in.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk called out to me without looking. Now that I was in a situation where it was tough to flee or even do something I had never done before, I warily stepped inside. The door shut behind me with a thump.

Kwon Jae Hyuk, who was still staring out the window, appeared to be lost in thought or engrossed in memories.

Meanwhile, the situation appeared to be extremely dangerous. Was he Santa Claus with a present hidden behind his back, or was he an adversary with a hidden blade instead? Was it really necessary for me to open it? My intuition kept ringing the alarm bells, warning me that something was wrong.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re here? Come in and have a seat.”

He eventually shifted his gaze to me. In the dim moonlight, his face and voice remained pleasant. Was this individual, nevertheless, safe for me? What did I even know about this person?

I walked gently and stood next to him to hide my shaky legs. He never rushed, even as I walked at a crawling pace. He merely waited for me with pleasant eyes.

“Take a seat.”

He beckoned for me to take a seat in one of the nearby chairs, but I opted to sit on the window ledge, away from him. Since the window sill was so large, it was comfortable to sit like a doll at the other end.

We were separated by a wall, each of us sitting on our window sills in the moonlight. Like a border, the shadow cast by the wall neatly separated the two of us.

We exchanged glances but didn’t say anything. Eventually, I was the one who couldn’t take the silence any longer.

“Hyung—”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

In response to my strange question, Kwon Jae Hyuk cocked his head, but he didn’t answer or ask what I meant.

I interrogated once more, irritated,“How did Hyung know that we could leave after you smashed it?”

Kwon Jae Hyuk had yet to respond. However, he didn’t laugh at me or seem amused by my reaction. He asked me again as he pondered how to answer.

“How do you think I figured that out?”

“I—”

“…”

“I believe you can foresee the future.”

Possessors, returnees, or people who can see into the future. They all pointed out the same thing. Kwon Jae Hyuk had a premonition into the future.

Jae Hyuk grinned instead of panicking at my words. It would’ve been good if he’d been a little more agitated… 

But it was a pity. I kept a tense gaze on him.

“If you believe that, then so be it.”

“Why! That’s the way you phrase it.”

It was easy for him to just say it out loud. I screamed in frustration, then lowered my voice in surprise as I heard my voice rebounding loudly around the room. After seeing how funny I was acting, Kwon Jae Hyuk laughed gently. It was a little ridiculous.

I was frightened without realizing it when Kwon Jae Hyuk stood up unexpectedly like that. Jae Hyuk, who grimaced slightly as he noticed me trembling in embarrassment, walked through the lengthy shadow that seemed to separate us and appeared in front of me.

Kwon Jae Hyuk knelt in front of me, his eyes shaking as he looked up at me.

The way a knight would bow down before a king.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“…”

“I can tell you anything; however, I’m afraid that it will attract someone’s attention.”

“Someone?”

“As I’ve always stated, Yoon Jae, I’m on your side.”

That didn’t make me happy. I wasn’t Ki Yoon Jae, after all. Although unaware of it, Kwon Jae Hyuk’s remarks had never brought me any relief.

But his next words made my eyes light up.

“Anything you want, I’ll give it to you.”

“Anything?”

Yes. Kwon Jae Hyuk grinned and nodded in response to my question. I bit my lower lip as he stated he would do anything for me, not knowing who I was.

“Hyung, are you really capable of doing anything for me?”

“Yes.”

“Then swear,” 

I bowed my head, bringing my face closer to his, and poked him in the chest with a finger.

“Swear to the source of your powers. You won’t betray me.”

He would never betray me, even if I wasn’t Ki Yoon Jae. I spoke to him in hushed tones.

Jae Hyuk didn’t question what I meant or scowl when I said that.

He simply glanced at me with an unnerving, careless expression.

Kwon Jae Hyuk should have turned down my request if he truly foresaw the future.

It was either the very last, very last minute, the very last second before death, or it was a technique of gaining the other person’s trust.

‘I take an oath to the source of this strength—’

You’d lose your minimum ability if you didn’t follow it, and in the worst-case situation, you’d become a burden as a result of the shock of losing it.

This mechanism was devised in the future because of an incident where trust was destroyed due to the discovery of gaps in the contracts that were later released on the market.

Since it was a technique that would place strong limits for trust, no one utilized it unless it was an emergency.

Jae Hyuk would have declined if he arrived from the future and knew how to use this strategy. It was because it was a self-imposed limit.

I had no hesitation because I didn’t intend to betray him. Jae Hyuk was the one who had to deal with the limits on his own.

‘Of course.’

I wasn’t sure why he treated me so well. Was there a chance he realized I wasn’t Yoon Jae? So, why was he doing this if he didn’t know where the real Ki Yoon Jae was after he died?

Whatever happened, I was going to remove the hand that had punctured his chest.

“Excellent.”

“…”

“If it gives you a sense of security.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk, who took my hand in his and grasped it, smiled as he gazed up at me. A burst of blue light flashed from his chest. Jae Hyuk, whose body looked like it was covered with a scorching blue fire, opened his mouth.

“I pledge to my superhuman powers’ source that I will never betray the person in front of me.”

With his eyes closed, Kwon Jae-Hyuk smiled warmly and continued his oath.

“Even if he isn’t Ki Yoon Jae.”

Jae Hyuk’s face became pale for a moment as the blue flame that had spread throughout his body was drawn back into his chest. Because of the limits, I was no longer terrified to see the devoted knight kneeling down and staring up at me like I was a king. Rather, the sense of success that filled my heart with pride perplexed me.

“Are you sure you won’t be sorry?”

It was a question that could be read in a number of different ways. Kwon Jae Hyuk, on the other hand, simply laughed at his understanding of the situation. He whispered as he took my hand in his and kissed the tip of my index finger.

“I’ve already had a lot of regrets… No more regrets.”

When Kwon Jae Hyuk stated that, the moonlight shimmered in his eyes. Despite the smooth surface sparkling with light, Jae Hyuk’s eyes were so deep and black that I couldn’t tell what was inside.

Those eyes, on the other hand, were as caring as ever even after being hidden by the eyelids and then unveiled.

“Stand up, I wish you all the best.”

“Yes.”

I held Kwon Jae Hyuk’s hand and stood up blankly as he spoke. The question remained unanswered…  I was better at classifying Jae Hyuk as my person than I was at answering questions; I wondered if it was okay.

On the walk back to my room, the black corridor no longer appeared to be a path into a monster’s jaws.

The warm moonlight, on the other hand, seemed to herald a trip to a mysterious location. It was a challenging passage to navigate, but I made it to my room after only a few steps.

“I’m hoping you—”

As I turned around in front of the door to say goodbye, Jae Hyuk bent his head to me. 

‘What?’ I exclaimed just as I finished my sentence.

Jae Hyuk encircled the back of my head with one hand. As he approached, I bit my lip reflexively, and I heard the door slam behind me. 

Kwon Jae Hyuk’s face got closer and closer to mine, which was flustering because I was trapped between the door and him… 

“…”

Kwon Jae Hyuk’s lips brushed against mine.