Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 24
“Haah, damn it.” He sighed irritably, leaned his head back against the seat, and cursed. It was too difficult to understand a psychopath’s thoughts. Considering Shin Gyoyeon’s temper, it seemed like the former, but thinking about how he cared for himself and Chae Beomjun in his own way, it also felt like the latter meaning…
Anyway, there was something more important than Shin Gyoyeon’s intentions. The real problem was that he immediately thought of Sejin’s face at the mention of “weakness,” even though Sejin’s name wasn’t mentioned. Didn’t that mean Cheon Sejoo himself considered Sejin quite important?
Did Kwon Sejin really mean that much, enough to be my weakness? It was hard to believe. Cheon Sejoo saw Sejin like the younger children at the orphanage. Although he thought of him often because his grumbling was cute, he had never felt any deep affection for him.
But facing this situation, he wondered if he cared for Sejin more than he thought. Not just like a younger brother living in the same house, but as Kwon Sejin’s very existence.
It was funny. He didn’t think he had enough spare capacity to feel affection for someone…
Cheon Sejoo arrived in Gangdong-gu with an indifferent expression. He passed Dongseoul Nam High School, where supplementary lessons were likely in full swing, and parked his car in front of Shinsa Capital. But in front of his Lamborghini was an electric car he seemed to have seen somewhere before. Where had he seen that? Cheon Sejoo pondered, but no face came to mind, so he got out of the car, wondering if he was mistaken.
“You’re here, Hyung-nim!” Seeing the dumbasses greet him loudly, Cheon Sejoo let out a short sigh inwardly. He had told them over ten times not to call him Hyung-nim, but they were still doing it, which meant they were indeed monkeys in human disguise. They weren’t chimpanzees. Chimpanzees were definitely smarter than them.
He walked into the old building, which he would never visit again, with his hands in his pockets. He passed the hallway where he first met Sejin and got into the rattling elevator. And as soon as he got off on the 3rd floor, he encountered an unwelcome face. It was Han Jonghyun.
“……”
“……” That bastard is here again. Annoyed, Cheon Sejoo stared at Han Jonghyun without moving. The wide-open door slowly began to close again, and it was the moment Cheon Sejoo reached out to press the first-floor button. Han Jonghyun slipped his hand into the remaining sliver of a gap, thrusting his shiny face through the opening door. The old elevator door rattled and opened again.
“Aren’t you going to greet the director?” His tone was extremely blunt. Cheon Sejoo cursed inwardly and nodded his head in greeting.
“Good morning.” Then he quickly passed Han Jonghyun and headed for the office. He planned to give Kim Donggil his final instructions and then go pick up Sejin. However, this time Han Jonghyun was one step faster. He smoothly moved his long legs, blocked Cheon Sejoo, and chuckled, tilting his head.
“Long time no see?” It had been almost four months since they met at the club in early October. Unlike then, when he was half-naked and high on drugs, Han Jonghyun looked somewhat more human today. He was wearing a shirt with all buttons fastened and a slim tie, and his light blue pinstriped three-piece suit was impeccably neat.
Han Jonghyun, who carried himself as sloppily as, if not more than, Chae Beomjun, was nonetheless strikingly handsome. If Chae Beomjun exuded an announcer’s aura, Han Jonghyun had a refreshing and calm vibe, as if he had been everyone’s first love in college. That is, when he kept his mouth shut and stood still like a statue.
“What, you damn bastard, is it harder to see the director’s face than the CEO’s?” The uncouth words that spilled out every time he opened his mouth not only degraded Han Jonghyun’s character but also made his face an eyesore. Cheon Sejoo, accustomed to his sarcasm, replied indifferently with a cool expression.
“Do you have something to say?”
“What, am I so noble that I can’t even talk to you unless I have something to say? My apologies for not recognizing you, Director, high as the sky.” During the sarcastic “Director” tirade, Cheon Sejoo looked down at him with a look full of disdain. Han Jonghyun awkwardly cleared his throat at Cheon Sejoo’s unreactive, cold gaze, then looked at him and asked,
“Hey, let’s grab a meal.”
“……” Is this bastard crazy? The two of them were not close enough to share a meal face to face. Every time they met, they only ended up irritating each other, so why ask to eat? It was a proposal not worth reconsidering unless he was dying to get indigestion.
Cheon Sejoo stared intently at him, then opened the office door and replied,
“I just had a meal with the CEO. Maybe next time.”
“Cheon Sejoo.”
“Thump.” The door, about to open, was stopped by Han Jonghyun. This was the third time. In less than five minutes, Han Jonghyun had obstructed his actions three times. It was no wonder he hated Han Jonghyun. The two of them were truly, deeply incompatible.
Cheon Sejoo looked down at Han Jonghyun’s hand grasping the doorknob and sighed inwardly. It seemed to be an unlucky day. Han Jonghyun coolly retorted, “Hey, what right do you have to refuse me?”
“…”
“If the Director tells you to do it, you do it. Chief Cheon, am I wrong?”
When the title of ‘Director’ was invoked, refusal was impossible. In the organizational hierarchy, Cheon Sejoo was directly below the highest authority, but in terms of rank bestowed by that authority, he was significantly lower than Han Jonghyun. If he wouldn’t tolerate Chae Beomjun, who was also a Chief, speaking informally to him, it was obvious he wouldn’t hear anything good if he disobeyed Han Jonghyun, whom Shin Gyoyeon cherished for no apparent reason.
Ah, today is truly fucked. Cheon Sejoo rolled his tongue inside his mouth, suppressing his irritation, then soon nodded and replied, “Understood. I have something to do in the office, please wait a moment.”
“I’ll be in the car, so hurry up and come out.”
“Yes.”
Leaving behind Han Jonghyun, who scoffed as if he knew Cheon Sejoo would tuck his tail, Cheon Sejoo reopened the office door.
Shinsa Capital, which Cheon Sejoo had been managing for over six months, was finally running smoothly again, much like before the incident. Inside the office, the sounds of keyboards clacking and phones ringing echoed wildly.
As he stepped inside, he felt the ordinary employees, who had been difficult to recruit, glancing at him. To avoid scaring them, Cheon Sejoo headed deeper into the office with a faint smile on his lips. Thanks to recently moving the accounting office out and the breakroom in, the burly men, including Kim Donggil, had fewer occasions to encounter the regular staff. Since the locked corner door was now used as an entrance, those on collection rounds also rarely had reason to visit the office side where the employees were.
“Ah! You’re here, hyung-nim!”
Cheon Sejoo met Kim Donggil there. Lying sprawled on the sofa, buying and selling coins on his phone, he brightened at the sight of Cheon Sejoo and immediately got up. Han Jonghyun seemed to have bothered him quite a bit; seeing the dark circles under his eyes, it appeared he had been in the office for a long time.
Cheon Sejoo leisurely lectured him over a cup of green tea brewed by Kim Donggil. No, in fact, it was a subtle threat: if he caused trouble again, Cheon Sejoo would personally cut him off, so he’d better manage his subordinates well and ensure Cheon Sejoo wasn’t called back here. Cheon Sejoo intentionally prolonged the conversation with Kim Donggil, hoping the impatient Han Jonghyun would give up on having a meal with him.
However, his joy at the empty hallway was short-lived. Stepping outside, Cheon Sejoo saw Han Jonghyun perched on the hood of an electric car parked in front of his own, complaining irritably about how late he was, and Cheon Sejoo quietly swore. He had forgotten that this bastard had nothing to do and too much time on his hands.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, he didn’t suggest riding together. Cheon Sejoo got into his car and followed the electric car ahead. It was almost 4 o’clock. While waiting at a traffic light, he opened his phone to text Sejin to take the subway home today. But a message from Sejin had already arrived.
Stray Dog I’m meeting a friend today, so I’ll be late.. You go first 3:11 PM
Cheon Sejoo’s eyes narrowed. He wondered what kind of novel lie this was. As the light changed and he pressed the accelerator, he turned on the voice input and said, “Where do you have friends?”
Nigga, where do you have friends
“Ah, goddamn it.”
Suddenly a racist, Cheon Sejoo furiously hammered the backspace key. With the input window clean, he spoke again while turning left to follow Han Jonghyun, “You don’t have any friends.”
You don’t have any friends
This time, it was entered correctly. He pressed the send button and entered the alley. Fortunately, the place Han Jonghyun was taking him wasn’t far from Shinsa Capital. Arriving in front of a Japanese restaurant, as he waited for valet parking, a reply arrived from Sejin.
Stray Dog — 3:47 PM See you later. 3:48 PM
He clicked his tongue at the misspelled message when tap, tap, there was a knock on the window. Cheon Sejoo switched his car to valet mode, got out of the driver’s seat, and replied to Sejin, “It’s ‘Itta’, not ‘Itda’.” The ‘1’ disappeared instantly, but this time there was no reply. Cheon Sejoo imagined Sejin’s frowning face and slipped his phone into his jacket pocket. When he looked up, his companion had already disappeared from sight.
Thinking of Han Jonghyun, who had gone in first, made his chest tighten. Why he suddenly wanted to eat, what kind of nonsense he was going to spout—he was already getting annoyed. Nevertheless, Cheon Sejoo dragged his reluctant feet and entered the building.
“This way, please.”
A staff member in a suit said, pointing down the hallway. The Japanese restaurant had a private layout. There were wooden floors on both sides of a central hallway, and inside, several rooms with sliding doors. Cheon Sejoo was guided to the innermost room. Whether they had a reservation or were frequent visitors, the staff greeted them without showing any displeasure, even though it was clearly break time.
“What do you want to eat?”
The room had a sunken floor seating arrangement. Han Jonghyun, who had already taken off his jacket, sat first. A neat face smiled above a vest that tightly hugged his slender upper body. It was an unsettling smile, its intention unknown. Cheon Sejoo shook his head and sat opposite him.
“I just had a meal with the CEO. Please order whatever Director Han wishes.”
At that, Han Jonghyun shrugged and ordered the tuna course from the staff. Hearing him also ask for sake first, Cheon Sejoo became even more serious. He couldn’t fathom what Han Jonghyun wanted to say to him while drinking.
As soon as the staff confirmed the order and closed the door, Han Jonghyun abruptly asked Cheon Sejoo, “What did you talk about with the CEO during your meal?”
“I cannot disclose that.”
He asked, knowing full well that Cheon Sejoo would answer that way. Han Jonghyun scoffed, as if he hadn’t expected a different reply, and leaned back in his chair.
Silence filled the room. Cheon Sejoo took off his jacket and placed it on the floor, then poured tea and placed it in front of Han Jonghyun. He poured some for himself, held the warm cup, and looked across the table. Han Jonghyun was already gulping down sake, perhaps unable to speak while sober. One cup, two cups, the bottle grew lighter, and only after a long time did he finally open his mouth.
“You, haven’t you heard anything?”
“…”
He had heard a lot. Shin Gyoyeon’s directives were varied, and listening to the background explanations intertwined with those tasks, it was impossible not to know what he was planning, what kind of picture he was drawing. But all of it was information that could not be disclosed to others. He couldn’t discuss things with Han Jonghyun that he didn’t even bring up with Chae Beomjun.
Cheon Sejoo slowly drank his tea, widening his eyes as he replied, “Heard what?”
Unless Han Jonghyun gave a hint, Cheon Sejoo had no topic he could even briefly mention. At his retort, Han Jonghyun thoughtfully rubbed his cheek for a moment, then quietly asked, “Have you heard news about building an urban resort near Bukhansan Mountain?”
An urban resort? Cheon Sejoo slightly furrowed his brows. He had indeed heard about it very recently. About an hour or two ago, Shin Gyoyeon and Chae Beomjun had discussed it during a meal. But all Cheon Sejoo had heard was that they were having trouble acquiring the land. What did that have to do with Han Jonghyun? As Cheon Sejoo stared without much reaction, Han Jonghyun looked at him nervously and spoke again.
“That, perhaps.”
“Excuse me.”
Just then, a knock and the voice of a staff member came from outside. Han Jonghyun closed his mouth, and the sliding door opened silently. Cheon Sejoo habitually checked the face of the staff member bringing in the food. After that, he picked up his teacup, then frowned and turned his head back towards the hallway. Realizing that he hadn’t seen wrong, a sigh escaped his lips.
“Ha…”
A familiar face was visible in the hallway. Kwon Sejin, who had claimed he was meeting a non-existent friend, stood in a white shirt and black pants, diligently placing trays from a serving cart onto a stand. His apron was slightly damp, and his shirt even had a name tag with his name clearly printed, as if Sejin hadn’t just started working here. It was maddening.
Still, Sejin didn’t come into the room to serve directly. He simply moved the trays onto the stand and left. Cheon Sejoo looked at where Sejin had been standing with an incredulous expression. The piercing gaze made the staff member placing dishes on the table look around nervously.
“Why? Do you know some guy?”
Han Jonghyun, sensing his attention, asked with a disgruntled face, as if telling him to focus. Cheon Sejoo let out a frustrated sigh and turned his head back into the room. He wanted to immediately grab that disobedient puppy, but dealing with Han Jonghyun was his priority right now. He didn’t want to give him any reason to find fault.
“It’s nothing. Please eat.”
Cheon Sejoo slowly drank his tea, calming himself, and met Han Jonghyun’s gaze, who was looking at him with suspicion. Feigning composure, as if truly nothing was amiss, he thankfully averted his eyes quickly.
But once the atmosphere was broken, he seemed hesitant to speak again. Han Jonghyun again silently drank sake, and meaningless time passed. The urban resort. Cheon Sejoo had to maintain his silence because Han Jonghyun was so tight-lipped about it.
“So. About that story earlier… have you heard about it?”
After another long silence, Han Jonghyun asked in a slightly slurred voice. Cheon Sejoo couldn’t understand what he was trying to ask. He swallowed his irritation and said, “I only heard that land acquisition is underway. What exactly are you curious about?”
There are so many executives under Shin Gyoyeon, why did he drag me all the way here? Thinking this, Cheon Sejoo suddenly began to suspect Han Jonghyun. The thought came to him because he remembered Shin Gyoyeon mentioning “weakness” earlier.
Could Han Jonghyun know about Kwon Sejin and brought me here to test me? The thought suddenly occurred to him because he wondered what the probability was that out of so many restaurants, the one Han Jonghyun chose would overlap with where Kwon Sejin worked. Could this really be a coincidence?
Cheon Sejoo inwardly posed such questions and observed Han Jonghyun. However, his suspicion was pointless; Han Jonghyun was unguardedly drinking alcohol. His eyes were already half-glazed over, and his facial muscles were slack, making him look somewhat foolish.
Cheon Sejoo pondered for a moment, then shook his head inwardly. It wasn’t just anyone, it was Han Jonghyun. He had no followers, so he had no faction, and likewise, no information network, so the possibility of Han Jonghyun knowing about Sejin was almost nonexistent. Even without that background, he didn’t think that foolish face could have concocted such a scheme.
As his suspicions scattered, his focus also wavered. Cheon Sejoo drank his warm tea and thought.
No, but when did Kwon Sejin start lying? Was it from saying he had supplementary classes? Right, it was hard to believe such a school would hold supplementary classes. So, has he been working here part-time from 11 AM to 3 PM all this time? I’ve been meeting him in front of school and taking him home for almost a month, so this bastard then…
“Who are they going to put in as the resort manager… he didn’t mention anything like that?”
“Pardon?”
Cheon Sejoo, recalling the absurd liar, suddenly looked up at the question. He saw Han Jonghyun looking down at the table, avoiding his gaze. He seemed visibly awkward. Cheon Sejoo felt uncomfortable at Han Jonghyun’s unfamiliar demeanor and stared at him. Then, abruptly, he sighed heavily while looking out the window and spoke in a voice barely audible, “Did the CEO… talk about… Haah, damn it… where he’s going to use me, or something like that…?”
“…”
Cheon Sejoo frowned, hiding his displeasure. Seeing his expression, Han Jonghyun again cursed to himself and refilled his water glass with sake. After downing several more cups of sake, he slowly slumped.
As he drank more, the alcohol clearly took effect. His outwardly composed face became disheveled, and his words trailed off. Han Jonghyun, who had returned to the familiar state Cheon Sejoo knew, then exploded with anger as he looked at Cheon Sejoo, who remained silent.
“You, you became chief in three years, didn’t you…? Damn it, I was a director as soon as I joined…”
The distinct slurring of a drunkard was audible. A bad premonition flashed through him. An ominous feeling that if he just sat there, he might have to spend time with Han Jonghyun until dawn. Naturally, Cheon Sejoo had no desire to listen to Han Jonghyun’s drunken ramblings, of all people. He wasn’t curious about his circumstances at all. Cheon Sejoo expressionlessly snatched the glass in front of him and explained, “Regarding the urban resort, all I know is that land acquisition is ongoing. I haven’t heard anything specifically about Director Han from the CEO. Even if I had, I couldn’t tell you. But truthfully, he hasn’t mentioned Director Han at all. So, I think our conversation is over, and I’ll be going…”
“So, why aren’t you talking about me…?”
He tried to end the conversation and leave, but Han Jonghyun was one step faster. Cheon Sejoo closed his eyes tightly, watching him begin to reveal his true feelings. He truly, truly hated this. Every time they met, Han Jonghyun would act disgusted, throwing a fit, but now he was trying to whine to that disgusting homosexual bastard. Han Jonghyun’s face was too thick-skinned.
“I’ve been a director for five years, so why hasn’t the CEO given me any position…?”
But the bitter expression on Han Jonghyun’s face as he mumbled was unusual. His face was flushed with alcohol, his lips pouted, and his eyes glistened as if he were about to cry. Cheon Sejoo forgot he was about to get up from his chair and stared at the sight with a bewildered expression.
Is this bastard insane…
“I can also… swagger around and manage the guys, just like you…”
Han Jonghyun didn’t know exactly what Cheon Sejoo did. Perhaps most people in the organization didn’t know how Cheon Sejoo assisted Shin Gyoyeon. If they knew that, he wouldn’t be saying such things.
Cheon Sejoo sneered and adjusted his posture, looking at Han Jonghyun, who was spouting such pointless things. He leaned back comfortably in his chair and crossed his arms, as if inviting him to ramble on. Completely drunk, Han Jonghyun sniffled like a drug addict and spilled his story.
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