The Trash Wants to Live

ED: Ozriel

PR: Naa_chi

Jade crossed his arms. He glared at me with a sneer on his face.

“I don't know what you're talking about. Are you nitpicking over a deal that's done?”

"I'm sure you know it's not nitpicking…”

I stood up and leaned over the table with both hands. My upper body moved forward, closing the gap between me and Jade. I grinned and watched his face as he looking down at me with his arms folded and chin raised.

"What I wanted was to prevent you from betraying me no matter what."

"…"

"Why? You didn't think I'd tear it up because it's so expensive per sheet?" 

His eyebrows quivered at my provocation. Of course, I didn't actually tear up the contract in the original story. I uttered this because I knew how Ki Yoon Jae was stabbed in the back.

“Did you rip that? I didn't expect to be caught."

This jerk…

He was so shameless. He sat there with such a fantastic answer, saying that he didn't know he would get found out.

If anyone else was listening to the current conversation, they might say, "Of course, paper could be torn, should that even be a consideration ?"

To be honest, when I didn't have Ki Yoon Jae's memory, I swore at Ki Yoon Jae saying,"Wow, why did you fall for such a poor trick? Isn’t Ki Yoon Jae a complete fool?"

The only way to nullify this man's leash and my life contract was to rip it up? I thought that if Ki Yoon Jae was not an idiot, then the people of this world must be fools.

Bastard…

I stared at Jade. Most of Ki Yoon Jae's memories were sparse, but only memories of Jade remained clear.

Ki Yoon Jae, who was preparing to create the guild, told Ki Hyun Joo to bring the man to Korea after hearing rumours about Jade.

“I'm trying to make a guild by gathering gifted people. That's why I need a leash to stop them from betraying me. I heard rumours that you could make something like that.”

Jade's indifferent eyes widened after hearing the amount Ki Yoon Jae was offering, and the contract was made. 

This man slyly deceived Ki Yoon Jae. He took out his lighter and tried to burn the contract he had made in front of Ki Yoon Jae.

”Now, look. It doesn't burn. I made it so that it can't be destroyed, right?”

”Good. Excellent.”

Who would have thought you could rip up a contract that couldn't burn?

That day, Ki Yoon Jae and Ki Hyun Joo were inadvertently tricked by this cunning man. 

Why didn't he prevent the paper from being torn, even though he knew how to make the paper unburnable? 

"If I told you I didn't know there was a flaw… What would you do? Maybe I just forgot. Yeah?"

"No way. You did it on purpose."

I couldn't hide my sneer at the brazen man's words. The first reason he did so was to reassure Ki Yoon Jae and Ki Hyun Joo, and the second reason was…

"You like that, don't you? Because you enjoy the chaos that comes from stabbing someone in the back.”

This man loved chaos. He was a man who enjoyed the chaos that came from breaking the rules, going against what people firmly believed in, and bursting into laughter when he saw their shocked faces.

The reason he made the contract unburnable but tearable was that he wanted Ki Yoon Jae, who was complacent, to be completely beaten by whoever found the loophole. Even if this meant Ki Yoon Jae's death.

Really… mean.

And he did not only sell this contract to Sungwoon in the original story. Later, when the demand for these gifted people increased, he sold it to other places. It was a contract that Sungwoon trusted. Since Sungwoon actually used this contract, the contract sold like hot cakes1 without having to further advertise.

Although it was not mentioned in the original story, Ki Yoon Jae would not have been the only one who suffered from the contract. When I thought about it, this man's malice was by no means ordinary. 

Nevertheless, I need this man.

There was no other suitable person to replace this man. There may have been other people who crossed the line between legal and illegal. However… Unlike others, he loved only himself, so he couldn't be swayed by fate. Friends, lovers, family… things like that.

Which meant that I had no reason to feel bad even if he betrayed me.

Not because an old friend or family member asked him to, and not because his lover's life was threatened, but solely because of his greed and desire.

He was the only person I knew who was like this. So the moment I'm betrayed, I will erase him from my life without regret. 

"You…"

His expression changed slightly as his determination became apparent in his eyes. I kept talking to him, avoiding his gaze.

“You're running away because you're being chased by someone, right?”

I took out a small folded piece of paper from the inside of my jacket and spread it out on the table. My palm slammed the table with a thud, and Jade's gaze turned toward the paper but his face was slightly gloomy.

"This gang. The Gold Runner. It's a pretty big organisation. Your seclusion began when they started looking for someone, and of all times, I commissioned you back then.”

I turned and looked around the store. It was a modern store without fancy decoration, but only the person in front of me knew what devices were hidden in it.

I asked him with a smile.

"You built this hideout out of my commission, didn’t you?"

There were more than two contracts, and the price of one was not so low. Before becoming a gifted person, Jade was a poor engineer with a bad temper.

There was no way he had any hidden wealth, as he was the only one who had the property and had no rich relatives. In a way, this bar was built with my money.

How dare he stab such a grateful customer in the back? What a despicable man.

“I’m so disgusted that I really want to kill you but… Because I need you, I can turn a blind eye to your previous mistakes.”

Everyone in the room knew without saying that I could pay the price. The power of Sungwoon could protect him. Jade seemed to be lost in thought as he looked down, listening to my story. I don't know what happened between him and the gang. He might have done the same thing to them.

I wondered if the gang had any reason to risk choosing this person, but… I didn't know anyone else who wouldn't feel guilty if I handled it later.

People in these positions take advantage of each other a lot, then they later collide and become antagonistic with each other.

In the novels I'd seen so far, these characters later became villains and no longer appeared. That's why I chose this person. I didn't want to lose someone precious to another person's malice…

Huh?

A human figure passed in front of my eyes and I gasped, covering my eyes with one hand. My heart throbbed. I thought this had happened before… 

Didn't this happen at the end of last year's year-end party?

At that time, I thought of someone and my heart was beating nervously. As I was bewildered by the palpitations that didn't calm down easily, Kwon Jae Hyuk placed his hand on my thigh.

"Yoon Jae-ya."

That voice calmed me down. I felt uneasy and precarious at my feet, but I felt like someone was supporting me firmly.

Jade rose from his seat when I looked at Kwon Jae Hyuk, after I calmed down.

"I'm sorry."

"…"

“I still can't. I can't trust any organisation.”

“Why? We're like a gang…"

"Whether it's a gang or a company."

After Jade cut me off, he exhaled, smiled and continued.

“Because it's all the same to me.”

I couldn't say anything at the statement. He looked at me with mixed emotions and reached for the door.

“Please leave if you're done with your business.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk and I stood up because we were no longer on the guest list.

I shook my head as he opened the door and said, "I won't tell the gang where your location, so rest assured."

Because if I were him, I wouldn't believe it either.

It won't be of any use to talk. Rather, he thought it would be more suspicious. When I came out of the bar, the rain had stopped considerably. As soon as we climbed the stairs, the neon sign turned off. Compared to the dim underground, the outside was still spectacular with the night view. Thanks to the rain, the dust had settled and the sparkling lights were even clearer. 

"…Let's go back."

T/N: Post early because tomorrow is a bit busy.

1. To be sold quickly and in large quantities.