Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 102

This time, Sejin couldn’t help but respond. Normally, he only heard Cheon Sejoo call him “pretty,” and compliments like “handsome” were usually said jokingly. Perhaps because the compliment “handsome” made him happy, Sejin subtly shook his head. Hearing this, Hyunjung looked shocked, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“You don’t hear people say that? What the heck. Don’t you have friends? How can no one compliment you on your looks? What’s wrong with their eyes? Seriously, earlier I even thought you’d come to the wrong interview place. I thought it was DG Enter’s waiting room.”

DG Enter? Sejin didn’t understand that it was an abbreviation for DG ENTERTAINMENT, but Hyunjung didn’t seem to care whether others understood her words or not, continuing to ramble on.

“I thought you were here for an audition, and I almost yelled: ‘Huh, isn’t this the interview room?’ But then I saw your name tag and realized you were also here for an interview. But why aren’t you an idol instead of a nurse? Is it because you’re too tall? Or do you have a passion for nursing? A childhood dream? But why are you taking the exam at twenty-two? Ah, you must have retaken it, right! Sorry, I’m a bit tactless…”

Hyunjung talked so much that Sejin couldn’t keep up with the constantly shifting topic, and his ears gradually seemed to shut down. Even though he only nodded slightly to acknowledge her, Hyunjung continued to talk endlessly by herself. It seemed she was so nervous that she wasn’t even aware of what she was saying.

While Sejin was trying to tune out the “artillery fire” beside him, it was his turn for the interview.

“Contestants number 16, 17, 18, please enter.”

Interviews were conducted three people at a time, and Sejin was number 18. He stood up, and Hyunjung, now calmer than before, raised both hands to cheer him on.

“Fighting! Oppa, we’ll definitely both pass and meet at the OT (orientation)!”

“Yeah, you too.”

Sejin nodded vaguely and, along with the others, entered the lecture hall where the door was open. Inside, there was a long table, and opposite it were three chairs lined up for the interviewees. After the three entered and sat in order, the judges began to review their applications and observe each person.

“Hello, everyone. Let’s start with contestant number 16.”

And so, the interview began.

As his turn approached, Sejin’s heart pounded harder. He clenched his hands, thinking his guts were about to spill out. As time passed, contestants 16 and 17 left the room, leaving Sejin alone facing three male judges who were smiling and joking around.

“Oh, Sejin, if you get into this school, you’ll probably be the first cover model for the school magazine. You’re really handsome, aren’t you?”

“Seriously. Usually, male students who go into nursing are the hardworking type, but Sejin here will surely become famous. You could even go into the modeling department. You’d probably get a priority pass there.”

Online, people said that interviews at Sunchon International University were strict, tense, and scary, but the current atmosphere was completely different from what Sejin had imagined, surprising him a little.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t hide his pride at being complimented as handsome for the second time that day. Seeing Sejin blush slightly and smile, the professors widened their eyes and burst into laughter.

Whether a student applying through the regular admission process got into Sunchon International University depended entirely on the impression they made on the professors. So, it was not wrong for students on exam forums to call this school’s interview an “unveiling.”

“Sejin, why did you apply to the nursing department? There aren’t many male nurses, is there a reason you decided to pursue this profession?”

The professor who had mentioned direct admission to the modeling department unexpectedly asked him. Having anticipated this question, Sejin replied immediately without hesitation.

“When I was nineteen, my mother passed away. Before she died, she was treated at the Cancer Center of Korea University Hospital.”

Sejin began his story naturally like that. He calmly recounted his past, shared his genuine experiences with the male nurses he had met at the center and in the hospital ward, and clearly explained why he decided to apply to the nursing department. On Sejin’s face at that moment was an undisguised seriousness.

Just yesterday, Sejin was fuming at Cheon Sejoo, grumbling and asking why he had to study like this, but he didn’t know when he had started to dream. When his mother was sick, when Cheon Sejoo was sick, just like the times he had been helped by others, now Sejin wanted to become a nurse to help those who were ill. It was a simple dream.

It wasn’t a noble mission as outsiders might think, but Sejin still wanted to live a life useful to others and to society, not a useless life like Kwon Yongbeom’s.

“Alright. You worked hard.”

The interview ended, and the judges smiled gently, bowing to Sejin. He also bowed back respectfully and left the interview room.

After closing the door, Sejin stared blankly at his sweat-ddrenched palms. He told himself that if he failed, there was nothing else he could do, but because he had prepared so thoroughly, he couldn’t stop feeling hopeful for the results. Sejin pulled Cheon Sejoo’s handkerchief from his pocket, quickly wiped his sweaty hands, and then took out his phone to call him.

He wanted to quickly tell him everything about the interview.

“Cheon Sejoo!”

His voice, full of emotion, called out the name of the person he loved as he stepped out of the medical complex. Sejin chattered like a child, recounting everything that had happened in the interview room.

And two weeks later, Sejin received the admission notice for the Nursing Department at Sunchon International University.

On the TV shelf in the living room hung a small banner. It was a gift Cheon Sejoo had ordered to celebrate Sejin’s admission to the nursing department that weekend, but its teasing intent was clearly greater than its congratulatory one.

That day, when he discovered the banner, Sejin was speechless. Not only because the content was so ridiculous, but also because the last line had a sexual innuendo that embarrassed him so much he didn’t know where to hide his face.

“What will the people who made this think?!”

“They’ll probably think Sejin slept with his tutor, right??”

“Cheon Sejoo!”

The two argued a bit, but in the end, Sejin still followed Cheon Sejoo’s words and injected him not just once, but many times, and it didn’t even hurt…

Immediately after that weekend, Sejin had intended to take the banner down, but because Cheon Sejoo seemed so regretful, the embarrassing banner still hung prominently in the middle of the living room until now.

“Cheon Sejoo.”

Sejin vowed to himself that he would take it down someday, and quickened his pace. As he entered the dressing room, he saw Cheon Sejoo putting on a shirt.

Sejin walked past him, lightly kissed his earlobe, then took a silver metal watch from the display cabinet and returned. He naturally put the watch on Cheon Sejoo’s outstretched right wrist, asking as he did so:

“Are you coming home late today too?”

“Probably.”

It was time for work. Recently, Shin Gyo Yeon’s strategy department had moved to another hotel, and the road there passed by Sunchon International University, so lately, they often went to school and work together.

This was because Kwon Sejin had chosen 9 AM classes on weekdays so he could go with him.

“Lift your head.”

“What about you? What time do you finish your exam?”

“Three o’clock.”

While tying Cheon Sejoo’s tie, Sejin felt his hand reach down and caress his waist, which was covered by a T-shirt.

After becoming a university student, Sejin exercised much less. When he was studying at home, they both used to work out together in the gym room every morning, but now, due to his packed schedule, he no longer had time to train.

His once full muscles had deflated, and Sejin’s body became leaner and more toned. Sejin seemed unhappy about it, but for Cheon Sejoo, any way was good. A tall, muscular Kwon Sejin, when on top, was heavy and sensual. A slender, toned Kwon Sejin was full of allure with seductive lines.

Either way, he just wanted him, so Cheon Sejoo continued to caress Sejin’s waist affectionately and licked his lips.

Stared at by those lustful eyes, Sejin, who was putting on Cheon Sejoo’s vest, suddenly glared, pouted his lips as if sulking, and snorted:

“You like my body more than I do? What, is it because I’m so tall and handsome you can’t take your eyes off me?”

He spoke as if complaining, but his words were full of pride. Ever since he grew taller than Cheon Sejoo and surpassed the standard height for a tall man at 187 cm, Sejin had become a bit arrogant. And rightly so, it was hard to find someone with his physique out on the street.

Of course, Cheon Sejoo wasn’t short either. He had never thought of himself as small or inferior, so he never felt inferior or self-conscious. But whenever Sejin boasted like this, he felt a competitive spirit rise within him.

“Yeah, I can’t take my eyes off it.”

Cheon Sejoo smirked, grabbed Sejin’s chin, and turned his face from side to side with an arrogant attitude, whispering:

“The only things worth looking at on my Sejin are his face and body, so I have to make the most of it while I can.”

“…”

“Remember to stay in shape, pretty boy.”

“… Get away.”

At that leisurely tone, Sejin slightly narrowed his eyes and pouted in annoyance. He pushed Cheon Sejoo’s hand away from his chin and immediately stripped off the T-shirt he was wearing, taking out another black short-sleeved T-shirt to change into.

Cheon Sejoo leaned against the wardrobe, silently watching him. His back still faintly showed the pale imprint of Cheon Sejoo’s hand, which slowly disappeared beneath the black T-shirt. Just looking at him made Cheon Sejoo’s lower half begin to harden.

Ah, why did Kwon Sejin make him so horny? He could look forever and never get tired of it, it was a big problem. He knew well that if he made the first move, he would die, yet like Pavlov’s dog, whenever he saw Sejin, he couldn’t control his excitement.

“Not today.”

Sejin, noticing Cheon Sejoo’s gaze fixed on him as he stood with his arms crossed, firmly declared. He had already been late for class twice because they “did it” while getting ready for work. And today was an exam day; he absolutely couldn’t be late. Hearing this, Cheon Sejoo raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t understand.

“What am I doing? What are you thinking? I didn’t say anything.”

“Look down and then talk.”

He pretended not to know, but his trousers bulging from his erection said it all. Cheon Sejoo looked down between his legs as if he had no idea until Sejin pointed it out.

“Ah, this.”

Then he lightly tapped the fabric over it with his fingertip and said:

“Mine is naturally big, Sejin, unlike some others.”

“…”

It was ironic that Sejin’s private part was quite elastic, so before erection, it was about half a finger joint shorter than Cheon Sejoo’s. Cheon Sejoo accidentally discovered this when they were bathing together and occasionally teased Sejin about it since then, even though when erect, Sejin’s was no less impressive. Still, Sejin always felt sensitive whenever he heard such jokes.

Sejin glared at Cheon Sejoo, then turned his head away, his lips slightly pouted. His profile was so adorable that Cheon Sejoo smiled, continuously kissing his cheek and chin with quick pecks. When their lips finally parted, Sejin’s expression softened. Being kissed so intensely by a sharply handsome man like Cheon Sejoo, Sejin wasn’t strong enough to continue sulking.

Their sweet pre-work routine passed as usual. Sejin carried his backpack, and Cheon Sejoo carried his laptop bag as they left room 4100 together. In the elevator, they leaned against the wall, kissing several times, only stepping out into the parking lot when the elevator door was about to close again.

On the way, Cheon Sejoo constantly played with Sejin. Rubbing his earlobe, stroking his nape, caressing the back of his hand—these loving touches made Sejin try to suppress his excitement, though he didn’t mind them. Cheon Sejoo’s reluctant affection was like a comforting meal to Sejin.

“Good luck with your exam.”

“Yeah, don’t come home too late, remember to call me.”

“Got it. Go on in.”

“Drive safely!”

“Yeah. Goodbye, pretty boy.”

Sejin blushed and turned his back at the gentle farewell. He only turned back to signal “go” with his chin once he had entered the campus, and only then did Cheon Sejoo start the engine.

As Cheon Sejoo drove to the hotel, Sejin quickly walked towards the medical building far from the main gate. Today was Friday, the day of his Anatomy exam. This was the last subject; in just three more hours, Sejin’s first-ever midterm exam as a university student would be over.

Classes would resume next week, but the week after that was the Daedongje student festival. However, that event had little to do with Sejin; he hardly participated in departmental activities and focused solely on his studies.

Although he considered himself an “outsider,” his phone was always full of messages because too many seniors wanted to pull him into activities in the department’s group chat. Still, he never replied, not even once.

Initially, Sejin’s failure to read or reply to seniors’ messages made people view him unfavorably. But now, “no read, no reply” had become an obvious fact in the Nursing Department whenever Sejin was mentioned.

Whether or not he was favored by seniors, Sejin found everything troublesome. But unlike his cold and sharp exterior, he was quite naive and diligent, making it impossible for people to truly dislike him.

In the Nursing Department, where male students were rare, Sejin seemed uninterested in girls and was considered a rare “natural treasure” who was unfamiliar with technology.

There was also a humorous reason behind this: Cheon Sejoo, not understanding the current student situation, had never bought Sejin a laptop or iPad.

Currently, university students, especially those in the medical field with its massive workload, mostly used iPads or laptops for note-taking. In class, those who used handwritten notebooks could be counted on one hand.

However, Cheon Sejoo had studied by filling thousands of notebooks and never saw the importance of electronic devices, so he didn’t prepare anything for Sejin. Sejin, for his part, didn’t know about such conveniences and didn’t even think of bringing his home computer. Instead, he was still using pencils and paper to take notes.

Amidst the tangle of laptops and iPads, the rustling sound of Sejin’s pencil writing in his notebook seemed strangely out of place. Even struggling scholarship students at Sunchon University were provided iPads by the school, so it could be said that among the new cohort in the Nursing Department, only Kwon Sejin still used a notebook.

Thus, Sejin, who took notes in a notebook and didn’t read phone messages, was seen as a naive, innocent country boy, unfamiliar with the digital world. If Cheon Sejoo knew the truth, he would surely burst out laughing.