Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 11

Why now? He looked displeased even when Mom asked him to, and when he left me on the street like I was garbage, and now he’s telling me to get in? Am I someone who comes and goes at his command? What right does he have to order me around…? Sejin fumed inwardly, but soon he had no choice but to surrender at the man’s words.

“What I said in the car back then wasn’t a lie. Get in when I tell you nicely.”

“……”

He remembered very well what the man had said in the car. He had asked how he could be so rude, knowing what he might do to his mother. Sejin gritted his teeth so hard his jawline was clearly visible. He glared at the man, trying to resist, but finally took a step.

Lee Haegyun’s gang was looking back and forth between him and the man with idiotic expressions. If he left like this, they would surely make a fuss at school later, but he couldn’t help it. For Sejin, his mother’s well-being was the most important thing.

“Kwon Sejin!”

Ignoring Lee Haegyun’s call, Sejin got into the passenger seat of the SUV and pulled the door shut with such force it seemed it might break. Then, before the man in the driver’s seat pressed the accelerator, he buckled his seatbelt. It was because the man drove like a maniac. In that state, he fixed his gaze forward and kept his mouth shut.

Lee Haegyun’s gang, sprawled on the sidewalk, were rapidly exchanging words among themselves. It was obvious they were probably chattering about how a beggar like him knew a man who drove such an expensive car. Pathetic fools. Sejin twisted his lips and turned his head. At the same time, the man started the engine and began to reverse smoothly. As expected, there was no hint of caution in his driving. As the car got back on the road and he pressed the accelerator somewhere, he opened his mouth.

“You got out so confidently as if you had a plan, and all you’re doing is sleeping on the streets?”

“What?”

“Is being a homeless person your future dream?”

He was annoying-looking and annoying-talking. Sejin whipped his head around and glared at the man who was treating him like a homeless person.

When he thought she was a girl, he pretended to be all gentle, but after realizing he was a boy, not a single smile had graced his face. The man was sarcastic with a cool and indifferent face, as if he had no lingering attachments to the world. Sejin, flustered by his demeanor, opened his mouth irritably.

“What do you care if I sleep on the streets or steal? Why? Did your subordinates go and tattle again? Did you come to move me somewhere else because you’re afraid your building’s value will drop? If so, drop me off in front of that restaurant then. I’ll sleep on the streets there.”

At his brazen mumbling, the man frowned slightly, then turned his head slightly to look at Sejin. His lips, hardened with displeasure, were filled with annoyance. Looking at his face, he felt an unnecessary surge of anger within him. He was grateful for being allowed to see his mother, but he didn’t understand why he kept interfering with such trivial matters.

That man was like that then too. He scoffed at him, asking if he had a place to sleep, and if he had no plans despite being eighteen. Who was he to say such things? What did a loan shark know…?

As Sejin met his gaze, his lips trembling and curled, the man returned his stare for a moment, then sighed as if it was pointless, and relaxed his face. His cool expression softened, and he soon said, as if coaxing Sejin,

“Go to my house. Stay there.”

“……”

At that, Sejin opened his mouth in disbelief. The man, who had pretended not to hear his mother’s plea, was now trying to act kind again. But Sejin had no intention of doing so.

Even if the man had agreed on the day Kim Hyunkyung made that request, Sejin would not have followed him. This was the man who had tried to sell him, thinking he was a girl. Sejin had no intention of living in the same house as a human trafficker. Although he didn’t say it, his mother would undoubtedly tell him never to enter that house if she knew. Sejin immediately retorted.

“Am I crazy?”

But the man chuckled as if he had expected that answer and looked back at Sejin. Sejin was even more annoyed by his relaxed demeanor. He didn’t like how he smiled as if he knew everything.

Sejin closed his mouth again, not wanting to talk to him, when the man looked straight ahead and asked,

“Then are you going to live as a homeless person for the rest of your life?”

“……”

Kwon Sejin didn’t answer.

He, of course, had a plan. He wasn’t sleeping on the streets without a solution, as the man thought. There was a youth shelter not far from Shin SaCapital. On the day he met Kim Hyunkyung, Sejin had gotten out of the man’s car and headed there.

Sejin knew about the shelter’s existence because of the person he wanted to kill. Several years ago, Sejin had taken Kim Hyunkyung out, unable to bear his drunken father’s violence. At that time, he had gone to a shelter and asked for just one night’s stay, but they were refused entry because mother and son were together. They couldn’t get help because they were inadequately unfortunate.

He had completely forgotten about it since then, but it came back to him on the way back after meeting his mother. So, on Wednesday, Sejin went to the shelter and asked for help. However, despite the name “Youth Protection Shelter,” the shelter again couldn’t immediately help Sejin. It was because they were full to capacity. Sejin felt a little unfair, wondering why there were so many unfortunate children in the world. He was dumbfounded as to how terrible things had to get before he could receive immediate help.

Anyway, they said a spot would open up in about a week, so Sejin had been enduring that week in the Shin SaCapital building. As the man said, he would absolutely not be homeless for life.

And after entering the shelter, he had his own plans. He intended to attend school from the shelter and work. He would get his meals at school on weekdays and work full-time during vacations to earn money. Of course, the problem was that it was hard to find those part-time jobs.

“Kwon Sejin, answer me. I’m asking if you have an alternative to living as a homeless person.”

“Why do you keep meddling?! I have my own thoughts!”

The man was persistent. As Sejin remained silent, he treated him like a pathetic person again and badgered him. Finally, Sejin screamed and then huffily explained his plans to him. The reaction, of course, wasn’t good.

Cheon Sejoo stared blankly at Sejin with an expression that said he was far below expectations. Then he ran a hand through his hair, and sighed in disbelief, pointing out,

“Do you think a shelter is some kind of free lodging? How many days do you think you can stay there? A month? Two months? I guarantee they’ll tell you to leave in a week.”

The man’s explanation was laced with conviction. What does he know? Sejin was angry at the words from a man who seemed to have lived a life of abundance.

“So what does that have to do with you?!”

But even screaming was useless. The man didn’t even pretend to listen to Sejin and continued speaking.

“Do you think there’s only one or two kids like you who met the wrong parents in this world? There are countless kids who want to get in there.”

“Don’t say parents! The only bastard I met wrong was Kwon Youngbeom.”

At the fierce address he used for his father, the man scoffed and corrected himself. Right, kids who met the wrong fathers. Then he opened his mouth again.

“You said a spot would open up in a week? Think logically. The kids in the shelter also got in there because they had problems in their lives, didn’t they? Is it possible for those problems to be solved in a week? Serious issues that make you leave home? They’re forced to leave too. Because there’s no space. Because kids like you come looking for a spot, and they can’t beg the people who act like they’ve done enough to protect them to let them stay longer, so they’re kicked back onto the streets.”

“……”

“Do you think you’re any different? You were on the verge of being homeless again before you even found a security deposit for a semi-basement room. And you’re explaining that as a plan now? I wouldn’t even say anything if you tried to go to an orphanage.”

The man let out a hollow laugh and shook his head. Sejin glared at him, his lips twisting. He had thought the man had some other solution, since he scoffed at his plans so contemptuously, but all he said was to go to an orphanage.

“Why would I go to an orphanage? That’s where kids without parents go. I have a mom.”

At Sejin’s sharp retort, the man was silent for a moment. His black eyes stared intently at Sejin. He remained silent, seemingly thinking, then after a long while, he explained,

“It’s not just for kids without parents. There are parents who temporarily entrust their children to orphanages because they can’t afford to take care of them right now. Your mom might have done that if she had the means.”

Unlike before, the man’s low voice lacked mockery. Nevertheless, Sejin felt bad. An orphanage? Sejin scoffed and continued.

“Don’t make me laugh. Even if there are people like that, it’s not temporary in the end. They leave their kids there and never pick them up, so they all get abandoned. I know that much. There are people who abandon their children in orphanages. So my mom wouldn’t have done that.”

“……”

At Sejin’s firm words, the man finally fell silent, as if he had nothing more to say. The red light came on, and he pressed the brake, looking at Sejin. Meeting his gaze, Sejin briefly wondered if he had made some kind of slip of the tongue. It was because the man seemed very downcast.

But do I need to care about that? Sejin suddenly thought, then deliberately turned his head to look out the window. He didn’t have the luxury of considering the feelings of a man who kept threatening him with his mother and meddling without reason.

Meanwhile, the car continued heading somewhere. Sejin knew they were going towards the man’s house, but he couldn’t jump out, thinking the man was holding his mother hostage. As he remained silent and uneasy, the man finally spoke to Sejin after a long time.

“Anyway, just as your mom said, I need someone to work at my house. I won’t ask you to pay rent, so just stay at my house and do your chores. Only until you become an adult.”

His mother had said that last week. But the man was just acting magnanimous, as if he had just heard the request. If he was going to do this, he should have said okay before Mom bowed. Then Mom wouldn’t have been upset. He didn’t want to follow the man, yet his insides were churning. When Sejin didn’t answer, the man sighed briefly and pressed him.

“Answer.”

“I already did. Am I crazy to go to your house?”

“…Haa.”

At his sharp refusal, the man looked back at Sejin, closing and then opening his eyes. Sejin also felt bad at his annoyed expression. Who’s the annoying one here? The man was the one forcing him along, completely ignoring his carefully laid life plans. He was in a position to be angry himself, but he couldn’t understand why the man was making such an expression.

Anyone would think I was in the wrong. Sejin bit his lip and glared, and the man roughly ran a hand through his hair. His black hair, which looked like it belonged in a commercial, was messily disheveled, and then he whispered in an utterly menacing voice.

“If you don’t come along, I’ll tell your mom you’re sleeping on the streets.”

“…What?”

“Is that all? I’ll explain that you’re being bullied and beaten by kids at school. That you’re sleeping on the streets, that you’re starving and can’t eat, and that you might suddenly die or freeze to death in winter.”

“Who’s getting beaten?!”

Unlike his voice, the content was a vulgar, fabricated threat. Although he had had some private skirmishes with Lee Haegyun’s gang, he wasn’t unilaterally being beaten by them. Sejin yelled in disbelief at his words. The man didn’t flinch and continued.

“Your mom probably can’t even eat properly worrying about you. But since she can’t reach you, she might get worried and secretly come to Seoul, then get lost in the mountains. You saw it, didn’t you? That restaurant is on a mountain. Even in weather like this, you can die of hypothermia at the foot of a mountain.”

“Are you crazy? What are you to me? Why are you doing this when I said no? Don’t say that to Mom!”

Even though they had only been out of contact for a week, Kim Hyunkyung hadn’t been able to sleep or eat properly during that time. She said she wasn’t, but Sejin, as her son, could tell she hadn’t had a single comfortable day worrying about him. To explain his situation to such a person, not even truthfully but exaggeratedly like that, his mother might collapse before he froze to death on the streets. Sejin gritted his teeth at the heart-sinking thought. The man looked at him and said in a relaxed voice,

“Don’t want to worry your mom? Then do as I say.”

“Why are you doing this?!”

The man was stubborn. He tried to control and shake someone else’s life as he pleased. The most unbearable thing was that Sejin’s life was swaying precariously, to the extent that it could be turned 180 degrees by a single act of kindness, which was nothing more than charity to the man, driven by his compassion.

His pride was hurt. Sejin, furious to the top of his head, his eyes reddening. Tears coming out when he was angry was a physical reaction Sejin couldn’t help. He truly hated it, so he tried to hold back as much as possible, but he could no longer suppress his anger in front of the self-indulgent man. Sejin shouted, filled with indignation.

“What right do you have to meddle in my life?! You’re not doing this because you genuinely want to help me! Why do you keep bothering someone who doesn’t want it?! Damn it, I said I don’t want it!”

His reddened eyes became moist, and then tears flowed down his cheeks. Sejin roughly rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand, huffing. He couldn’t contain his resentment. Even if everyone in the world meddled with him, those loan shark gangster bastards had no right to meddle with him. But this man acted as if he was desperate to interfere in his life.

His constant interference made it feel like he genuinely cared about him. Sejin hated that. He hated that, out of all people, that man was worried about him.

“Don’t pretend to be kind… It’s really disgusting when people like you act like you’re somebody. If it weren’t for you guys, none of this would have happened in the first place, so now, fuck, why are you doing this…?”

His voice, getting smaller and smaller, was wet with tears. Sejin gasped for breath, fiercely rubbing his eyes. He tried to wipe away the traces of his tears, unaware that his reddened eyes were being chafed. Even at Sejin’s words, full of injustice and resentment, the man didn’t reply. He just drove the car, without a word of comfort, without another threat, without even saying to get out if he disliked it so much.

As time passed, Sejin became a little awkward. Again, the quickly filling and quickly emptying vessel of his emotions was newly filled with embarrassment and regret. As long as the man had influence over his mother, Sejin had no choice. If the man wanted it, Sejin was bound to be dragged to his house anyway.

Sejin, knowing this fully well, resented himself from five minutes ago for spewing venom at the man. Why am I so impatient? His brief regret was accompanied by the shame of having cried twice in front of the man already.

However, he didn’t feel like apologizing to him. Anyway, the man was probably just being capricious, showing pity. He wouldn’t be staying in this house for long, so there was no need to lower himself and get along with the man.

While Sejin stubbornly tried to overcome his helpless humiliation, the car they were in passed Seoul Forest and entered an apartment complex.

“Hey.”

The man finally spoke only after parking the car in the underground parking lot. It was the spot next to the white Lamborghini where Sejin had been picked up last time.

“Pushing someone’s shoulder is also violence.”

Then he said something random to Sejin.

“You said you weren’t being beaten.”

When he looked at him, asking what he meant, the man explained. Only then did Sejin realize that the man was refuting what he had said earlier. He was pointing out Sejin’s words when he screamed, Who’s getting beaten? What about it? Sejin shot him a sulky glare. At his gaze, the man sighed briefly, ran a hand through his hair, and said,

“Don’t get used to things like that.”

“……”

Sejin glared at the man, clearly annoyed. Loan shark. Thug. Gangster bastard. Human Trafficker. Kkondae. Meddler. Hypocrite. He held these words about the man inside, then spat them out at him.

“Dragging someone by force like this is also violence. You should take care of yourself.”

“You really don’t lose an argument.”

At his retort, the man chuckled with a hollow laugh. Even though he spoke informally and said all sorts of things, the man was full of composure, as if such a small person like him couldn’t harm him in any way. He was truly an annoying person, from beginning to end.

Sejin wished he could grab him by the collar if he could, and got out of the car. He slammed the door shut and walked towards the elevator, wondering if entering this house was truly his only option. Then he suddenly remembered what the man had said last time.

He said he was going to sell him because he was pretty, but the plan got screwed up because he was a boy? Sejin frowned and looked up at the man standing next to him. He hasn’t changed his mind now, has he? Like, now he’s going to try selling boys too…

“Get in quickly.”

Meanwhile, the elevator had already arrived. Sejin stepped into the elevator with hesitant steps, as if protecting himself. With suspicious eyes, he watched the man press the 41st-floor button and lean against the elevator wall, then said warningly,

“I’m short and bad at work, so I’m useless. Don’t do anything pointless.”

“…What?”

At the unexpected warning, the man’s eyes widened as if he had heard something unbelievable. Then he slowly replayed Sejin’s words in his mind, and then let out a laugh of disbelief.

His handsome face, drawn as if painstakingly sketched with a brush, was tinged with amusement. Sejin felt bad again, as if he had been ignored. As he remained silent with a sulky face, the man, who had been laughing for a long time, got out of the elevator and whispered mischievously,

“You don’t seem to know, but pretty boys like you are more in demand than girls.”

“……”

Sejin finally understood his words after a long while. The thought that the man might actually sell him made goosebumps rise all over his body.

He looked up in surprise, and the man wore a playful expression, unlike himself. But Sejin genuinely felt uneasy. Surely he didn’t bring me here with that kind of thought, did he…? Belated panic washed over his entire body.

However, he couldn’t turn back now. Sejin had no choice. So he forced himself to act calm and scoffed. He passed the man, who was holding the door open as if protecting him, and shouted.

“If you try any funny business, I’m really calling the police!”

At that, the man burst into laughter again. Sejin swallowed a curse inwardly, filled with an unknown anxiety. The man truly seemed like he might sell him somewhere. Only then, a little scared, Sejin kicked off his shoes and ran into the room he had stayed in.

It was the beginning of a strange cohabitation.