Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 104

Hearing Cheon Sejoo speak as if he understood him better than he understood himself, a corner of Sejin’s heart unexpectedly warmed. He nodded, finding everything Cheon Sejoo said to be true.

“Hmm… I understand.”

— So, do you feel a little better now? And will you participate in the festival?

“…I guess I have to.”

It was impossible to adapt to living in a crowd overnight, but as the professor said, gradually integrating with his nursing department classmates would help him develop social skills. Though it was still uncertain if that was something that could be “trained” and acquired.

— If I have time, I’ll come visit too. What are they doing this year? Still those cafes like every year?

“I’m not sure. I think it’s some kind of butler cafe.”

— Butler?

Cheon Sejoo chuckled softly as if he had heard something very strange. Sejin also found the idea quite peculiar. Butler, maid, what an outdated invention…

At that time, Sejin still didn’t know he would have to wear a butler outfit at the nursing department’s cafe. He only realized that truth on the day of the festival itself.

“Oh, oppa! I’m so touched. How did you think of swapping shifts with me? Thanks to you, I can go on a date with my boyfriend today. I’m really, really grateful!”

Hyunjung looked at him with sparkling eyes and said. Sejin looked back with a stiff face, only feeling that he had just done something truly superfluous. Yes, it was truly foolish.

‘I will participate in the festival. But please remove Lee Hyunjung.’

Sejin texted the third-year class representative that very night after being called in by the professor, having overheard the conversation in the professor’s lounge before entering.

Hyunjung had twice messaged him about class cancellations, saving him from going to school for nothing. The seniors thought he wouldn’t participate in the festival, so he wanted to repay her kindness by volunteering to take her place.

The problem was: the conversation between Hyunjung and her friend that day was actually a misunderstanding.

In the butler and maid cafe, the people wearing butler outfits were female students, and the maids were male students. Hyunjung and her friend were convinced that they themselves would be wearing maid outfits, but all three of them forgot that in the nursing department, where male students were treated like servants, that would never happen.

The class representative, though slightly suspicious, actively removed Hyunjung from the list because she wanted to pull Sejin into the festival. As a result, on the day of the festival, Kwon Sejin received a knee-length apron dress in the department’s common room.

“This… you want me to wear this?”

“Yeah. Is there a problem?”

Han Sooyeon was the head of the third-year department, a strong female role model with two older brothers and two younger brothers. Her smiling face carried a clear message: “If you said you’d do it, you have to take responsibility, right?”

Sejin couldn’t argue. He was the one who volunteered, so he had to take responsibility.

“…”

In a partitioned corner of the room were two other male students with faces as gloomy as Sejin’s, and a third-year senior who was grinning widely. The two classmates called Sejin “hyung” because he was two years older than them, and when they saw Sejin walk in with the maid outfit, they seemed shocked.

“Hyung, you’re participating too? That’s good, maybe customers will come.”

“You couldn’t escape either, hyung…”

Seeing one person shake their head in despair, another peeked out with a bright smile. The guy with a similar build to Sejin and a mischievously handsome face was Heo Woojin, Sejin’s age and a third-year nursing student.

“Hey, hey, you and I are the face of the nursing department, right?”

“And we don’t have a face, hyung…”

Woojin had changed into the maid outfit, his head adorned with a tied headband, his eyes highlighted with sharp red eyeshadow. It was unclear whether he was a maid or a maid-assassin.

“Kwon Sejin, I’m so sexy, I could die.”

Woojin propped his leg on the low windowsill, pulling his skirt up to his mid-thigh, grinning mischievously. Sejin saw his hairy legs, frowned, turned his face away, and began to take off his T-shirt.

He really didn’t want to wear that outfit, but it was just for one day. If he couldn’t even do this, how would he take care of difficult patients like Kwon Yongbeom later?

Sejin sighed, mentally preparing himself as if for clinical practice, and began to put his arms into the dress the president had given him.

“Hyung, you have to wear this too.”

A classmate, sitting obediently with his legs together on the sofa, handed Sejin the headband placed on the table.

“Thanks,” Sejin replied emotionlessly and put it on his head.

“Wow… But even if you look like an idol, you can’t avoid it, can you? You look like someone being punished.”

“I think so too.”

Finally, when all four of them had changed, their appearance was truly ridiculously funny. At least Heo Woojin had makeup on, still looking like he had a legitimate reason to wear a maid outfit, but the other three were completely different.

Even draped in a lace-trimmed maid dress over broad shoulders, they just looked like people being punished for losing a game, not cute or pretty at all.

Among them, the mismatch in Sejin was most obvious. His face with the headband was incredibly beautiful, but due to his height and broad shoulders, the maid dress was so stretched it looked like it was about to tear, creating a feeling of extreme incongruity.

While Woojin and the others were giggling at each other’s appearances, Sejin only looked down at his body with a displeased expression. Fortunately, the skirt was long, but since Sejin was the tallest among the boys, the hem just barely covered below his knees. His long, slender legs and sneakers didn’t match the dress at all. What kind of bizarre situation was this, really? Sejin felt utterly self-conscious, picked up his phone, and walked outside.

“Ahahaha!”

As soon as Sejin and the other male students appeared, the female students in butler outfits inside the house shrieked and burst out laughing.

“This is crazy! We’re doomed, right?”

“Unnie, are we not selling anything anymore?”

“We haven’t even opened yet, and it looks like we’re about to close?”

At these half-joking, half-serious remarks, Heo Woojin struck a seductive pose, trying to show off his sex appeal, while Sejin just wanted to disappear.

“Oh, but… Sejin… Puhaha!”

Just as he turned back to say, “At least his face is pretty,” President Han Sooyeon had already spat out her coffee and collapsed in uncontrollable laughter. Among the four, Sejin looked the most comical. His face, adorned with the headband, was excessively beautiful, but with his overly prominent physique, he looked as if someone else’s head had been attached to his body.

Han Sooyeon clutched her peer’s shoulder, laughing uncontrollably as if about to suffocate, only stopping when she saw Sejin’s expression gradually stiffen. After all, this was originally meant to be a humorous concept, so it was more than satisfactory. Besides, even though it was genuinely funny, upon closer inspection, there was still something adorable about it.

“This will be a memory later, understand? Come on, let’s take a picture, come here.”

As Sejin stood there with a sulky expression, Han Sooyeon called over some juniors to stand next to him. Female students in vests and male students in maid dresses gathered around Sejin. Sejin was in the center, pressing his lips together and staring intently at the phone screen Soyeon was holding up.

Will this really help improve my social skills? Probably not…

Boyfriend:
[What time will you be done? 9 o’clock? I probably can’t come today.]
Boyfriend:
[My beautiful one, what are you wearing? Are you wearing a vest? Send me a picture.]

While listening to the menu explanation just before the cafe opened, Sejin received a message from Cheon Sejoo. He listened intently while looking at his phone with a complicated expression.

Cheon Sejoo still thought Sejin was wearing a butler’s uniform. Cheon Sejoo probably just thought this was a cute cosplay-themed cafe; if he knew Sejin was wearing a maid dress, he would surely tease him for a whole year. That absolutely could not happen.

Sejin pursed his lips tightly, waited for the orientation to end, then used the excuse of going to the restroom to sneak out. He found an empty classroom in the building, squatted down, and sent Cheon Sejoo a long message:

[I was supposed to wear a butler’s uniform, but I guess there was a misunderstanding in communication, so they gave me the wrong outfit. The size didn’t fit either, so I decided to just wear my own clothes and work. There’s nothing interesting about it, just a mediocre cafe, so you don’t need to come. Even if you come, it’ll be crowded, and I don’t like people paying attention to you, so please don’t come. Don’t feel bad about not being able to make it; if I finish before 9, I’ll call. Even if I finish later, you must call me, definitely! There’s really nothing worth seeing, so don’t come. Your work is already hard enough; you don’t need to come here. Don’t waste your energy on these things; if you want to eat anything tonight, think about it beforehand. Remember to eat a full lunch, see you later! Love you, Cheon Sejoo.
[Seriously, don’t come, there’s nothing worth seeing…]

He had written this much, so he probably wouldn’t come, right?

Sejin sighed and stood up. He glanced uncomfortably at the cumbersome long skirt fluttering between his legs, trying to suppress his self-consciousness before stepping out of the classroom.

After that, he was so busy he didn’t have time to breathe. Though he looked silly, thanks to Woojin’s enthusiasm and the “butlers'” sweet voices calling customers “young lady,” the nursing department’s cafe became increasingly crowded.

Sejin, with a poker face, pushed the serving cart to assist the other butlers. Fortunately, the main concept was butlers, not maids, so Sejin and the other male students only needed to push carts carrying tea and pastries.

“This place is really fun.”

Some students from other departments came to visit, laughed, and held up their phones to take pictures. At first glance, it seemed they were taking pictures of Sejin, but he didn’t pay any attention, quietly pushing the cart along.

“Wow! Why is the line so long?”

Even though the seniors were diligently making sandwiches in the small kitchen and baking scones in a mini oven, the overwhelming number of customers meant there wasn’t enough food to serve.

Looking at those clumsy hands making food, Sejin just wanted to go crazy. If he did it himself, it would surely be twice as fast. But then he remembered the concepts of “teamwork” and “communication” and forced himself to endure.

“You guys grab a snack and then keep working!”

He worked continuously without a break, and by the time he realized it, it was already 6 PM. For lunch, he had just hastily eaten two kimbap rolls, and now he was so hungry he felt faint. Sejin, pale-faced, approached Han Sooyeon, who pouted and shoved two burritos into his hand.

“You’ve worked so hard. It’s thanks to Sejin that we have so many customers.”

“…..”

While they were working, the nursing department’s cafe was unexpectedly mentioned in the student community “All About Your Timetable.”

Someone had posted a picture of Sejin’s face with the headband on the anonymous bulletin board. Amidst the surging comments, rumors that Sejin was an idol trainee began to spread, causing students to flock in. After nearly six hours of non-stop customers, the students participating in the event were now dazed.

Sejin ran a hand through his messy hair and shook his head. Even though many people asked to take pictures with him, experiencing a very cumbersome and annoying day, half of today’s profits would be donated to the association helping children with cancer. If it could help the kids, it was worth any trouble.

The sun set, the performance began, and the customers in the cafe area gradually thinned out, mostly moving to the stage area or going for drinks.

When the long queue of people finally disappeared, Han Sooyeon allowed everyone to take turns resting for 30 minutes each. Woojin was the first to rest until 7:30, and Sejin was the second to be allowed a break.