Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 120

Realizing it was past time, he turned back the way he came, walking through the rain back to the house his mother had left. Once there, Sejin took a warm bath and crawled into bed for a nap. When he woke up, it was late afternoon. Outside the window, raindrops still tapped against the glass. It was still raining.

“……”

Sejin washed his face and then sat curled up on the sofa, biting his lip, looking from the door to the refrigerator. It was almost time for him to arrive.

After a moment of hesitation, he stood up, opened the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk expiring today, poured two glasses, and placed them on the table. He just waited for someone to call his name in a silly voice from outside the door.

He had told him not to come again, but he had said he would. He thought he would keep his word…

However, the clock hands kept ticking, and the sun was about to set, but no one knocked on the door. The sound of rain grew louder outside the window. All that time, Sejin was alone in the house.

Even though he was the one who said not to come if it rained, the one who said not to come anymore… for some reason, he felt terrible. Sejin frowned, emptying both glasses of milk. The unsweetened milk was bland and not tasty at all.

The next day, when the rain stopped, Sejin stared at the door all day. He listened for footsteps on the stairs, waiting for the boy who would call his name from outside, but no one came until late afternoon.

Disappointed, Sejin pouted and lingered outside the main gate. It seemed he had decided never to come back. He must have pretended not to hear him say not to do such silly things, and finally realized it was all a waste of time.

Even though he knew from the beginning that he wasn’t truly worried about him, Sejin didn’t understand why he felt this way. He felt pathetic, foolishly holding onto hope only to be disappointed.

He tried not to think about him, but the disappointment and sadness suddenly surged uncontrollably, like a snowball rolling endlessly inside him. Every time it hit the wall in his heart, he felt a sharp pain.

Sejin was exhausted, and sat back in the same spot the next day, staring blankly at the front door. Although he really should go to school now, strangely, he didn’t want to go, only wanted to continue sitting there and waiting. Waiting for someone to come again, perhaps Cheon Sejoo, who caught a cold from the rain and couldn’t get out of bed…

“You’re really good at saying the opposite.”

That thought suddenly popped into Sejin’s head three days after they had eaten egg tarts together. Before leaving, Cheon Sejoo had said that. And it was true, Sejin didn’t know how to express his true feelings to others.

How could he do that? Because he had received a lot of love since childhood, he could be honest with his mother, but it was very difficult with others. Perhaps it was because his father never listened to what he said, or because classmates used his words as an excuse to bully him, so Sejin found it extremely difficult to say awkward things to others.

However, Cheon Sejoo seemed to understand all the words he had hidden his true feelings inside. Both “Don’t come if you’re sick,” and “Don’t spend money on me.”

…Isn’t that right? Sejin pouted, thought for a moment, then sighed.

Honestly, he wanted to know why he didn’t come. He just… wanted to know the reason. Did he think he couldn’t get anything in return if he took him to school and decided not to come anymore, or was there some other reason? He wanted to ask.

“Ha…”

He must have developed feelings in that short time. Because of the childlike smile on that handsome face, because of the gentle hand that had stroked his head. That’s why, now Sejin only hoped that he truly had some unavoidable reason why he couldn’t come to find him.

“You can tell me the truth.” His words echoed in his head.

Finally, when the clock struck six in the evening, the time when if Cheon Sejoo had intended to come, he would have arrived and returned long ago, Sejin got up from his spot. He went into his room, changed clothes, washed his face, put on his hoodie, and left the house.

“Where are you going to wander off to again?”

Just as he was about to step out of the gate, the landlord came in and spoke harshly. The old man, with his bad intentions and bald head, spoke without thinking again today.

“I’m going begging, sir. Goodbye, sir.”

“What… what?”

Because if he met the old man and didn’t answer, he would turn around and scold his mother for not raising him properly, Sejin bowed respectfully and uttered words contrary to his heart. Then he left the old man, who was shocked and flustered, and walked out of the alley.

He knew where the orphanage was. He had lived in this area for a long time, so he knew everything within a 3km radius. He just didn’t know that Cheon Sejoo lived there.

Sejin walked out onto the main road, walked about 1km, then crossed the street when he saw a small convenience store. Beside the dike road was a small stream, and in the distance, an old church appeared. Next to it was a low building, which was the Cheonsa Orphanage.

Sejin headed towards it. When he arrived, the orphanage’s front yard was bathed in the red glow of the sunset, as if the sunlight was melting. Sejin craned his neck to look inside. He didn’t see any children, only a few nuns from the church walking over to the orphanage.

However, for some reason, standing at the door, Sejin began to hesitate. Would he be able to meet him if he went inside? What if he hadn’t returned from school yet? What would he say if he asked, “Why did you come all this way when you told me not to come anymore?” All sorts of chaotic thoughts rushed in like a storm.

…Should I just go back? Just as that thought appeared and Sejin was about to turn and leave—

“Oh, are you looking for someone?” A voice echoed from behind.

He jumped and turned around to see a middle-aged nun in a habit. How should he answer? Seeing Sejin stumble and say nothing, she smiled as if she had realized something and asked again:

“Are you here to see Isaiah?”

Isaiah? A strange name. He didn’t know anyone by that name. Sejin looked around and shook his head.

“Ah, right,” she laughed and corrected herself, “I mean Cheon Sejoo. Are you here to see Cheon Sejoo?”

“…Yes.”

Thinking back, the Cheonsa Orphanage was a facility run by the Catholic Church, so Cheon Sejoo must have a baptismal name. Isaiah, what a nice name. Perhaps that was Cheon Sejoo’s baptismal name. It was strange, but Sejin felt it suited him very well.

The nun laughed happily and gently pushed Sejin’s back.

“Do you want to come inside? Or should I call him out? But for things like this, talking privately out here might be better, right?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s okay. This area is quiet. Do you go to the same school as Cheon Sejoo? Are you younger? Ah, there he is.”

“Huh?”

The barrage of questions made him unable to react. Sejin was stammering like an idiot when the orphanage door opened. Some noisy sounds echoed, and amidst the crowd, someone wearing a hoodie walked out.

Seeing him dressed exactly like himself, Sejin unconsciously blushed. Why? He didn’t know either.

“Isaiah, Sejoo! A pretty girl came to see you~”

And right after that, upon hearing “pretty girl,” Sejin frowned. He couldn’t get angry at a nun, so he said nothing, just pursed his lips. At that moment, Cheon Sejoo, who was walking towards them, chuckled for him. A clear laugh rang out softly, without any discomfort in his voice. Sejin secretly felt relieved watching Cheon Sejoo approach, and softly moved his lips to greet him.

“Hello.”

Then, he gently put his arm around the nun standing next to him, greeted her, and asked:

“Are you going home now? I’m on my way to buy something, do you need anything?”

“Huh? No, no need. Talk well, okay? Don’t make the little one cry~”

Make cry? Who’s crying? He didn’t understand what everyone had been saying. The nun waved at Sejin, who was pouting in confusion, then turned back inside. Sejin bowed to her, then awkwardly lowered his gaze to the ground.

He came because he wanted to know the reason, but now that he actually met him, he didn’t know what to ask, his mouth felt glued shut. At this moment, his poor communication skills were “working” so well. But luckily, Cheon Sejoo was much more outgoing. Seeing Sejin shrinking like a clam, he spoke first:

“Did you come because you missed me?”

“……”

That content, it was better left unsaid. He looked up in surprise. Cheon Sejoo was looking down at the top of his head, his eyes curved in a smile.

“I missed you too.”

“…That’s not it.”

“Then did you come to hear my voice?”

“……”

A meaningless joke. He had thought so many things – was he no longer interested in him? Or was he sick? – that he had come to find him. But the person himself looked perfectly calm. There was no sign of illness or anything wrong. His attitude towards Sejin hadn’t changed at all.

Looking at that nonchalant face, a part of him felt relieved, but another part felt inexplicably annoyed. Why did I come here? Sejin blamed himself and turned away. He started walking with the thought, “Well, just go home,” but Cheon Sejoo quickly followed him and explained:

“My sister was sick. She’s the type of person who doesn’t show pain, so I only found out when her condition was serious. I had to take her to the hospital for a few days. No one could take care of her but me, so I couldn’t go anywhere. I was going to buy castella cake too… I’m sorry.”

He had a sister? If a family member was sick, of course he couldn’t come to him. Knowing the reason wasn’t “didn’t want to come” made Sejin feel relieved, but he still replied indifferently:

“…I don’t care.”

“I just thought you might be waiting, so I wanted to let you know.”

“I wasn’t waiting.”

He firmly denied it out of embarrassment. A soft laugh fell upon his head. Sejin looked up and saw him frowning and smiling as if he was going crazy with himself. When their eyes met, that smile deepened, his face seemed to radiate fragrance. Cheon Sejoo asked again, still with that smile:

“Really? You really weren’t waiting for me?”

How annoying. When he didn’t come, his heart burned, but now seeing him standing in front of him so nonchalantly, annoyance surged for no reason.

The way he seemed to know everything about him irritated Sejin. He turned into a clam again, pursing his lips in silence and walking towards his house. Cheon Sejoo laughed for a while, then ran after him, walking alongside him and asking curiously:

“Then why did you come? It’s a 20-minute walk.”

It was just curiosity. Curiosity as to why he hadn’t come anymore, but before I could ask, the answer was already there, so there was nothing left to say. Sejin just shrugged slightly and continued walking beside him.

The walking path was quiet but very pleasant, and his mood gradually calmed down. Normally, Sejin always felt tense when with others, but now, walking beside that person, he didn’t feel that way.

The two walked on the embankment road, unsure of their destination. After quite a long time, Sejin spoke up as if bestowing a favor:

“I’ll go to school starting tomorrow.”

“That’s good.”

“Tell the teacher, so they can write a line in my school record.”

It was like repaying all the snacks he had “donated.” He tried to get a dropout student back – just one line wouldn’t help much, but he guessed the other person must have come to his house so many times because they wanted to receive that, so he wanted to repay them.

Just as he thought he was being generous and felt satisfied with his action, instead of saying “I know,” Cheon Sejoo tilted his head and asked again:

“What school record?”