Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 28

Starting the engine, Cheon Sejoo realized his headache had vanished. He placed his hand on the steering wheel with a clear mind.

“Hand.”

Just then, Sejin reached out with a stiff voice. Unconsciously, he pulled Cheon Sejoo’s right hand, which was on the steering wheel, downwards. Sejin frowned discontentedly and said,

“You’re left-handed, so why do you keep driving with your right hand?” 

“…You’re very interested in me, aren’t you? Do you even know I’m left-handed?”

Somehow, today he felt like he was discovering a new side of Sejin. Sejin was more interested in him than he thought, and he cared for Cheon Sejoo enough to get angry and upset at his indifference. The presence of affection felt in his actions was strange.

“Don’t change the subject. We’re going to the hospital.”

Sejin, acting as if he hadn’t heard him, fiddled with his phone while driving down the mountain road and soon set a destination on the car’s navigation system: an orthopedic clinic open for night appointments. It was an injury he could have easily treated himself, but Cheon Sejoo said nothing, mindful of Sejin’s nagging. It was merely bothersome to explain how he got hurt, and there was no particular reason not to go to the hospital.

The problem, however, arose while they were on their way to the hospital. Just as they were leaving Gyeonggi Province and entering Seoul, a call came from Moon Seonhyuk. He tried to avoid answering it since Sejin was next to him, but as soon as he hung up, the phone rang again. It seemed urgent.

Cheon Sejoo glanced at Sejin and picked up his phone. He answered with his left hand and gripped the steering wheel with his right, and Sejin glared at him with wide eyes, but there was nothing he could do.

“What?” 

“- Boss, are you still at Hwa-gak?” 

“No, I’m in Seoul now.”

He quietly replied, glancing at Sejin to make sure he couldn’t hear the conversation. Seonhyuk then explained in a rigid voice.

“- Well, the guy in the workshop broke free and tried to escape. He didn’t seem to be thinking straight, so I went in with the youngest to re-capture him, but he swung a scalpel, and the kid got a bit hurt.” 

“What the f*ck…”

An incredulous curse escaped him. Cheon Sejoo forgot Sejin was next to him and chuckled humorlessly.

The workshop had several tools for restraining people. Steel chairs and operating tables, which were absolutely indestructible, were among them, and the two guys caught yesterday were amicably tied up side by side there. But somehow, the guy whose limbs were bound with tough leather straps on the operating table managed to untie himself and tried to escape.

Of course, the workshop door could only be opened with iris recognition, so he couldn’t get out, but merely regaining his freedom inside was a big problem. The workshop was overflowing with tools that could be used to attack someone, such as scalpels, hammers, monkey wrenches, anesthetics, and hallucinogens. Since he had already found a scalpel and started swinging it, the guy trapped inside might be fully armed by now.

“Is he badly hurt?” 

“- He’s bleeding a bit. It looks like only the skin is torn, and the kid says he’s fine, but it would be good if you came to take a look. He refuses to go to the hospital.”

Haewoong hated hospitals. He hated them so much that at the beginning of his work, when he hurt his hand and Cheon Sejoo tried to send him to the hospital, he got angry and even started throwing punches first. For Goo Haewoong, hospitals were nothing short of anger management triggers. They would have to stop by the office before going home.

By the way, the guy who should have been sleeping until tomorrow due to the sedatives was already awake. Cheon Sejoo inwardly clicked his tongue. He had clearly stripped him naked to check, so where else could he have hidden a weapon to break his restraints? He felt it when the guy attacked him with the pocket knife he had held in his mouth, but he was truly a sly bastard. He sighed softly and looked to his side. Meeting Sejin’s glaring eyes, as if telling him to hurry to the hospital, he replied to Seonhyuk,

“It’s dangerous, so just leave him and wait. I’ll go. It’ll take about thirty minutes to an hour.” 

“- Yes, I’ll wait.”

It was rush hour, so traffic would likely be bad. Cheon Sejoo reset the navigation’s destination and looked back at Sejin. Dropping him off at home would mean going through a habitually congested area, adding another 30 minutes to his detour. Feeling uneasy, he opened his mouth, thinking he would just take him along for a bit and have him wait in the car.

“I have something to do, so I need to stop by the office briefly.” 

“What?” 

“Let’s go to the office and then the hospital.” 

“…”

At his words, which were practically an announcement, Sejin’s expression hardened coldly. Cheon Sejoo, who felt somehow conscious of Kwon Sejin’s gaze despite doing nothing wrong, silently kept driving. After a moment, Sejin asked in a sulky voice,

“Can’t your subordinates do anything without you?” 

“What?”

Cheon Sejoo retorted, wondering what that meant, and looked to his side. Sejin said with a look of utter exasperation,

“They call you all the time. And then you just trot right over.” 

“When did I ever ‘trot right over’?”

Sejin’s excessive exaggeration was inappropriate. Cheon Sejoo chuckled humorlessly and explained,

“And it’s not that they can’t do anything without me, it’s just that there are some things only I can do. They handle their own work.” 

“Then teach them what you do. So they don’t call you at this hour.”

It was a statement he could only make because he didn’t know what Cheon Sejoo did. Just like Han Jonghyun, who had babbled, “I can do it too, just like you,” without knowing anything, Sejin thought this way because he didn’t know him. He chuckled and elaborated,

“In this world, there are things that are irreplaceable. There are things that only that person can do. This is something I have to do, and even if someone else could do the same, I still have to do it.” 

“Where is such a thing? All jobs are pretty much the same.”

It felt like talking to an elementary school student. However, no one would ever truly understand Cheon Sejoo’s position, so it wasn’t frustrating. He didn’t wish for anyone to understand him, so he didn’t add any more words to convince Sejin. Well, he replied with a vague “Right,” and Sejin fell silent. He, too, seemed disinclined to argue further.

The two drove towards Gangdong-gu in silence. Seeing them pass the Sinsa Capital building, Sejin tilted his head slightly, then looked at Cheon Sejoo as if he understood only when they stopped in front of the workshop. Come to think of it, he had only met Cheon Sejoo at Sinsa Capital once. When he was homeless, he thought it was strange that Cheon Sejoo wasn’t around, but it seemed he had two offices.

“Do you work here?” 

“Uh, something like that.”

Cheon Sejoo casually nodded, checked his watch, and tapped his fingers as if estimating something. Then he looked at Sejin and said,

“I’ll be quick, so wait here for 30 minutes. Listen to music, or the radio. If you’re sleepy, just sleep.” 

“Okay.”

Sejin nodded obediently. When did he start listening to me so well? Cheon Sejoo looked at him with a renewed sense of emotion, then reached out, ruffled Sejin’s hair, and got out of the car. He went through the entrance, opened the iron door with a keypad, then opened the second door with iris recognition, and went straight up to the second floor.

“You’ve arrived?” 

“Section Chief!” 

“Ah, finally you’re here.”

Moon Seonhyuk, Goo Haewoong, and Seo Jinyoung greeted him with delight. The interior was a mess. A blood-stained towel lay on the table, and some strange chanting echoed through the office.

Haewoong was fuming, unable to control his anger that he had been hurt by none other than a Chinese-Korean thug from Chinatown, and because of this, the bleeding wouldn’t stop, and Moon Seonhyuk was struggling to apply pressure to the wound. And Seo Jinyoung was showing Goo Haewoong a video of a monk hitting a moktak (wooden block) on his phone to calm him down. The strange chanting Cheon Sejoo thought he heard was the melody of the Heart Sutra that monk was murmuring.

“Maha Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva…”

Cheon Sejoo ordered them to turn off the Heart Sutra echoing in his ears, then took off his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves as he walked further into the office. After washing his hands thoroughly in the restroom and coming out, he saw a first aid kit on the table.

“Lie down.”

At Cheon Sejoo’s command, Haewoong, who was still breathing heavily, turned and lay on the sofa. Cheon Sejoo disinfected his hands with alcohol, put on a sealed pair of nitrile gloves, and sat down in front of the table. As soon as he settled, Seonhyuk removed the towel that was pressing on Haewoong’s head. Even though it had been a while since the injury, blood was still flowing. Cheon Sejoo wiped away the blood with sterile gauze and examined the wound. Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep cut.

“It’s just a surface tear.” 

“See?! I told you I don’t need to go to the hospital! Send me back down!”

As soon as Cheon Sejoo said that, Haewoong erupted. He glared as if he would tear the guy who had dared to cut his scalp to death. Seeing Haewoong, Cheon Sejoo signaled Seonhyuk. The quick-witted Moon Seonhyuk then covered Haewoong’s head and eyes with a new towel.

“I’m going to stitch it, so be quiet. If you keep talking, I’ll stitch it up in the shape of a dick.” 

“Ah, anyway, Section Chief! Hurry!”

While Haewoong was chattering innocently, Cheon Sejoo took out a small glass bottle from the first aid kit. He transferred the liquid into a syringe handed to him by Seo Jinyoung and then injected it into the chattering Haewoong. It was a sedative. It was important to stop the bleeding first, so he needed to calm him down.

“Section Chief, that bastard called me a ganna saekki (a derogatory term for a North Korean/Korean-Chinese person)…”

The voice of Haewoong, who had been tattling to Cheon Sejoo, abruptly cut off. His ragged breaths slowly calmed, and as his heart rate dropped, the speed of his blood flow gradually slowed. Only then did Cheon Sejoo sprinkle a hemostatic agent on the wound and take out a needle and thread. It was only a tear a little over 2cm, but there was a lot of blood. Normally, even a small cut to the head bleeds a lot, and it was probably worse because Haewoong had been agitated and thrashing.

He quickly stitched Haewoong’s skin. There was no need to sew it beautifully, and it wasn’t the first or second time he had done it, so everything was finished within 20 minutes of entering the office. Clack, Cheon Sejoo tied off and cut the end of the thread, then straightened up and checked the time. Of the 30 minutes he had told Sejin to wait, only 10 minutes remained, and there was still something else he needed to handle within that time.

“Take him up to the 4th floor, let him sleep, and make sure he doesn’t have another tantrum for a while.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

Seo Jinyoung nodded and grinned at Cheon Sejoo’s instructions. “Tantrum” was their jargon for Haewoong’s anger management issues. Jinyoung carried Haewoong out of the office, and Cheon Sejoo approached the cabinet, then looked back at Seonhyuk.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Can you move?”

“Not a problem.”

Seonhyuk wore a trustworthy expression, as if to say he could handle anything. Cheon Sejoo wrapped a protector around his hand and scanned Seonhyuk from head to toe. If they had fought close enough for him to cleave Haewoong’s head with a scalpel, it meant they were quite close. He was worried because Moon Seonhyuk was the type who never showed if he was hurt.

“What’s this?”

Cheon Sejoo reached out, noticing a slight tear in the fabric on Seonhyuk’s right shoulder. Lifting the torn part, he saw a small cut. The bleeding had stopped long ago, but he didn’t know what that bastard had done with the scalpel, so Cheon Sejoo tossed him some antibiotics to take. Seonhyuk chewed two pills without water and asked him,

“Are we going in together?”

“Wait at the entrance. You said only one of them woke up, right? The other one isn’t supposed to wake up yet, but if he did, you handle him.”

“Understood, Section Chief. This.”

“It’s fine. It’s nothing.”

Seonhyuk offered Cheon Sejoo a bulletproof vest, but he waved his hand, pushing it away. Moving unencumbered was much more comfortable. Wearing something like that would only slow him down.

He roughly loosened his body, stiff from driving and stitching the head, then opened the office door and stepped out. As he descended the stairs leading to the workshop, another set of footsteps followed behind him. It was Jinyoung, who had just dropped Haewoong off upstairs.

Arriving in front of the workshop, they first entered the adjacent observation room. It was a place where they could peer into the workshop through a large, special glass window. The moment he stepped inside, Cheon Sejoo let out a cold laugh.

“That bastard’s using his head.”

Cabinets were lined up in front of the observation room’s glass window. The knife-wielder, having realized it was special glass, had moved them to block their view.

Thanks to this, all Cheon Sejoo and the others could see was the heavily soaked concrete floor through the gaps in the cabinets. They couldn’t even confirm if the other guy had woken up, or if the guy who was awake was still alone. It was an unexpected situation. Cheon Sejoo asked in a chilling voice,

“How was it earlier?”

“He was just rummaging around where the tools were.”

“And that bastard’s condition?”

“I checked that the youngest was bleeding, then I slammed him into the wall. I couldn’t check thoroughly because I was taking Haewoong out right away, but he shouldn’t be fine.”

“He shouldn’t be…”

If Haewoong had his scalp cut and that bastard was fine, it wouldn’t make sense. Cheon Sejoo scoffed and tapped the glass surface. Thump-thump, a small sound reverberated, and from inside came the sound of something crashing. The rat trapped in the jar seemed very startled.

There was no CCTV inside the workshop due to the risk of leaving evidence. This meant they couldn’t prepare for what state the bastard was in or what he might have done. Cheon Sejoo felt his blood run cold with tension and slowly exhaled. He unfolded the leather bundle he had brought down from upstairs and took out a sharply honed sashimi knife from inside. He clasped and unclasped his hand, fiddling with the hilt of the knife, then, as if ready, he gestured to Seonhyuk with his chin and said to Jinyoung,

“You stay here. If I’m not out in 10 minutes, contact Chief Chae.”

“Yes. Be careful.”

Jinyoung nodded vigorously. Cheon Sejoo then left the observation room and headed to the workshop. Standing in front of the door, he gestured to Seonhyuk. As Moon Seonhyuk brought his eye to the panel next to the iron door, there was a small beep and a clunk as the lock disengaged. Cheon Sejoo pushed the door open wide and stepped inside. Moon Seonhyuk followed him in, closing the door.

“You sons of bitches!”

As soon as they appeared, the Korean-Chinese knife-wielder, gripping a monkey wrench, charged at them with glaring eyes. Cheon Sejoo quickly dodged and looked around. Thankfully, only one of them was awake. The other still seemed to be under the influence of the sleeping pills, lying on the floor like a corpse.

In that case, it wouldn’t be difficult. One mouth was enough to spill information. Having made that judgment, Cheon Sejoo swung his knife without hesitation.

Cheon Sejoo did not come out even after the promised 30 minutes had passed. It was about an hour later, and Sejin, bored from waiting, was wondering if he should go inside the building. The building’s entrance seemed to open, and a very large figure appeared.

It wasn’t the silhouette of the person he was waiting for. Cheon Sejoo had a thinner, more slender body than that bulk. Sejin squinted his eyes, trying to make out the figure. As he did, the shadow gradually drew closer to the car.

At some point, the parking lot’s sensor lights turned on. Only then did Sejin realize that Cheon Sejoo was being carried on someone’s back. It wasn’t the first time he had seen this person. The man with the rough face, whom he had encountered several times at home and in the alley in front of this building, was carrying a sleeping Cheon Sejoo on his back.

Had he fallen asleep while working? Sejin shook his head, thinking of the diligent Cheon Sejoo. No one will appreciate it if he works himself to death, he thought, clucking his tongue inwardly. Just then, the man who approached the passenger seat pulled the door open without hesitation. Sejin, who had been deep in thought, was startled and looked up at him.

“……”

“……”

Seonhyuk, who hadn’t expected anyone in the passenger seat, frowned upon seeing Sejin. He silently stared down at Sejin, then closed the door and instead opened the back seat door. Carefully seating Cheon Sejoo there, Seonhyuk even buckled his seatbelt before walking around the car and getting into the driver’s seat.

“Why is he like that? Is he sleeping?”

As Seonhyuk started the engine, Sejin abruptly asked. Moon Seonhyuk responded with a cold gaze to his informal speech. His expression asked, Who are you to speak to me so rudely? But Sejin wasn’t scared.

“I asked why Cheon Sejoo is like that.”

Seonhyuk’s eyes narrowed at Sejin, who went a step further and called Cheon Sejoo by name. He also knew that Cheon Sejoo had taken the child from Shinsa Capital into his home. But he hadn’t known that this kid would be so ill-mannered. Seonhyuk roughly stepped on the accelerator, starting the car, and opened his mouth.

“Why do you speak so casually of the Section Chief’s name?”

A low voice vibrated through the car.

It wasn’t the first or second time Moon Seonhyuk had been scolded by Cheon Sejoo for hitting the kids. Moon Seonhyuk was the kind of person who simply couldn’t stand by and watch these young punks treat Cheon Sejoo, who deserved their utmost respect, so lightly.

But if hitting isn’t allowed, reasoning should be, right? Sejin narrowed his eyes and retorted to his harsh question.

“He doesn’t say anything, so what’s it to you? I asked why he’s like that.”

Seonhyuk’s fingers twitched on the steering wheel. This little brat was causing Cheon Sejoo all kinds of trouble. Not only did he live off him and bother him morning and night, but he also whined about wanting to see his mother, making Cheon Sejoo frequent Hwagak. Last year, what kind of trouble did he cause that even a lawyer had to be called? How could he be so thoughtless towards someone who took such devoted care of him? Moon Seonhyuk felt like he was going to explode with anger.

Ha, Seonhyuk sighed deeply, closed and opened his eyes, and replied,

“He’s sleeping, so be quiet.”

If he had his way, he just wanted to hit him once. Then he thought he could teach that young punk some manners. But Seonhyuk held back. Unlike Young-joon or Haewoong from Shinsa Capital, Sejin in front of him was still a child, not yet an adult. If he touched this paper-thin boy who looked like he’d collapse with one blow, Cheon Sejoo might be disappointed in him.

At that moment, Sejin, unaware of Seonhyuk’s thoughts, snapped at him as if he were pathetic.

“Do you even know Cheon Sejoo’s hand is hurt? He needs to go to the hospital before it gets worse. He said he’d go to the hospital after work, so go there instead of home. I’ve set the navigation.”

“…He can’t get up right now, so be quiet.”

“Why can’t he get up? Did he faint?”

Sejin continued to argue with Seonhyuk’s clenched-fist reply. He was annoyingly talkative.

“He’s sleeping because he took medicine, so shut up, you bastard.”

“……”

At the murderous epithet, Sejin’s face showed displeasure, and he fell silent. With the silence finally found, Seonhyuk cursed inwardly and was able to turn his head forward.

In fact, Cheon Sejoo wasn’t sleeping from taking medicine. To be precise, he was sleeping from an injection.

In the workshop cabinet, Cheon Sejoo’s drugs were collected by purpose: sleeping pills, anesthetics, aphrodisiacs that break down the mind to aid confession, and various other drugs.

After Moon Seonhyuk had taken the injured Haewoong out, the bastard filled some of those into a syringe and injected it into Cheon Sejoo just before he died, having hidden it in the hand holding the monkey wrench. The fortunate thing was that the drug he chose was a sleeping pill. It was luck that occurred because Cheon Sejoo hadn’t labeled the bottles.