Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 33

Sejin, who had been thinking Doyoon was a little crazy for telling him to open up if he had problems with someone he’d just met, only realized why Doyoon was talking to him like this when he brought up the police. This man, Doyoon, was currently suspicious of Cheon Sejoo. Sejin’s eyes twisted in displeasure. Seeing that, Doyoon added as if making an excuse,

“So, I mean, it’s not that Sejoo Hyung is a bad person! I’m just saying it just in case. If you have any concerns, or need help with something, you can tell me…”

Doyoon mumbled, watching Sejin’s expression. By this point, Sejin should have understood enough, but he didn’t seem to have anything to say. Just seeing him quietly clear his bowl, the only difference was that he looked a little better than when they first met.

Did I suspect Hyung too much…? Doyoon tilted his head and cleared the cereal bowl he had used. Then he found Sejin’s phone on the table and picked it up.

“I’ll put my number here. Contact me if anything happens.”

It wasn’t that he was completely certain Cheon Sejoo had done something bad. However, Doyoon couldn’t overlook the small possibility that Cheon Sejoo, who did unsavory work, might have done something terrible to the child.

Even if his concerns were unfounded, Doyoon wasn’t overly worried. If Cheon Sejoo was innocent, he would probably just laugh it off if he found out about this.

“……”

Sejin watched the scene with a displeased expression. He watched Doyoon save his contact information on the unlocked phone, then headed to his room to change into his school uniform. When he came out dressed, Doyoon was asleep on the sofa where Cheon Sejoo usually sprawled. Sejin stared at the unwelcome guest, then snorted and left the house.

It was still early for school. He had deliberately chosen this time to avoid Cheon Sejoo, but that man, Doyoon, had only made him feel strange. It had been nothing but irritating things since last night. Sejin couldn’t understand why his mood fluctuated so much at Doyoon’s words that he and Cheon Sejoo were nothing.

In other words…

“What, why are you leaving so early?”

That man was the problem.

Sejin glared at Cheon Sejoo, who had returned earlier than usual as the elevator doors opened. His handsome face was, as always, flawless. However, his perfect body was slightly different from usual. His sweat-soaked T-shirt clung to his upper body. Cheon Sejoo liked to carelessly wear only thin clothes every day, openly exposing his collarbone and chest, and thanks to that, the marks the man had left were more clearly visible beneath the white fabric today.

His forearms, marked with handprints, his neck, bright red with hickeys, and his shoulder, clearly bitten… Sejin suddenly recalled Cheon Sejoo returning with similar marks on rainy days and frowned. It wasn’t a woman. Just thinking that all the marks he had seen were made by that man made him inexplicably angry. His heart pounded, and resentful words rose to his throat.

How could you do that? But he couldn’t confront him like that because Sejin himself couldn’t understand why he even wanted to ask such a question. What had Cheon Sejoo done for him to want to scream like that? Unable to find any justification, Sejin could only feel an inexplicable sense of injustice and blurt out,

“Disgusting.”

It was Cheon Sejoo, still panting from his workout, who was dumbfounded by the ill-tempered remark. He turned back with a perplexed expression and asked,

“I just came back from working out, so of course I’d sweat a bit. Why are you leaving so early?”

“I’m going to self-study.”

“You goddamn, tell me honestly. You didn’t take your midterm exam, did you? Hey! Kwon Sejin!”

Cheon Sejoo narrowed his eyes suspiciously and Sejin furiously pressed the close button. As the doors closed and the elevator smoothly began its descent to the first floor, Sejin’s mood worsened. He still didn’t know why.

“So annoying…”

His eyes were red, as if he was about to cry. Sejin sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. His neatly styled hair, which he had been almost dragged to the salon by Cheon Sejoo to get done, was now disheveled. Sejin’s heart was exactly the same. It was a mess.

“Where are you?”

– Subway.

“What? Did you finish early?”

– Yeah.

“Then you should have messaged me. Did you go far? If it’s not many stops, get off. Take the car. Hello? Sejin-ah. Kwon Sejin?”

Cheon Sejoo looked down at his abruptly disconnected phone. His neat brows furrowed, and his lips tightened in dissatisfaction. Ever since this morning, he’d been saying things like “disgusting” just because he was a little sweaty from working out, what was wrong with him? Cheon Sejoo was utterly bewildered by Sejin’s sudden behavior, acting as if they had gone back eight months.

Did I do something wrong? …Could he have found out that I met his mother by myself? Cheon Sejoo started the engine with an uneasy feeling. However, no matter how much he thought about it on his way home, it was strange. Kim Hyunkyung was out of the question, and Han Jiwon had called him because she didn’t even have Sejin’s number, so there was no way Sejin could have found out.

Kang Doyoon

Hyung, Hyung. Were the cookies I brought last time good?

16:28

As he drove home, unable to find a reason for Sejin’s prickly behavior, a message arrived from Doyoon. Doyoon, who had taken a half-day off to rest at Cheon Sejoo’s house and then went to work in the afternoon, kept messaging him, saying he couldn’t concentrate due to his hangover. To his question, Cheon Sejoo replied, Yeah, why?

Though it was hardly “last time,” he vividly remembered the cookies Doyoon had given him last year. He had received them around the time he started teaching Sejin, so he’d placed them on the table for Sejin to eat while studying. But he couldn’t forget the sight of Kwon Sejin eating only cookies instead of studying, watching it in real-time.

Kang Doyoon

My eldest sister ordered them near her house, and she’s doing a bulk order to give as gifts to acquaintances this time, so she asked if I needed any. I’ll ask for some for you too.

16:31

16:32 It would be nice if you gave me some.

He had just purchased a gift for Doyoon, who was about to start a job. He had received a notification that the tie he ordered had arrived recently, and it seemed like a perfect exchange for the cookies. Cheon Sejoo sent Doyoon a message and drove into the underground parking lot. He parked his car in his designated spot and walked towards the elevator, wondering what he should say if Sejin brought up the fact that he had gone to Ihwagak alone yesterday.

As he pondered excuses, he was already on the 41st floor. Without time to mentally prepare, Cheon Sejoo arrived at his door, hesitated for a moment, then touched the panel. As he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw Sejin’s sneakers. Noticing that the heel of his shoe was slightly bent, Cheon Sejoo realized Sejin’s feet had grown again and made plans to take him to the department store on the weekend.

He took off his shoes and entered the hallway, where the scent of food greeted him. Sejin, wearing a sky-blue apron, was busily moving in the kitchen, apparently preparing dinner.

“I’m home.”

Cheon Sejoo nonchalantly greeted him. Sejin whipped his head around at the sound of his voice, scrutinized Cheon Sejoo from head to toe, let out a ‘hmph,’ and then returned his gaze to the induction hob. Faced with such blatant disapproval, Cheon Sejoo felt a pang of conscience.

Anyway, he had no intention of saying anything until Kwon Sejin brought up Hwagaek first. So, Cheon Sejoo went into the room, grabbed his clothes, and came back out. He showered in the living room, felt a bit uneasy seeing Doyoon’s lingering marks on his neck, but just put on his clothes. When he returned to the kitchen after washing up, Sejin had finished preparing the meal and was waiting for him.

As soon as Sejin saw Cheon Sejoo’s face, he familiarly turned around and scooped out rice for him. He piled his own bowl high and then neatly placed the rice bowls on the table. Cheon Sejoo, as always, took out mineral water from the refrigerator while Sejin scooped the rice. Then he sat in the seat opposite Sejin.

“I’ll eat well.”

There wasn’t even a usual ‘yeah’ in response. At Cheon Sejoo’s greeting, Sejin briefly raised his eyes to look at him, then immediately buried his gaze in his own rice bowl as if he hadn’t seen anything. At this, Cheon Sejoo felt uncomfortably ill at ease and finished his meal earlier than usual. He felt like he would choke if he ate any more.

He put down his utensils and was drinking water when he felt a blatant stare. When he looked up, Sejin was glaring at Cheon Sejoo. Busy eyes scanned his neck. Feeling uneasy, Cheon Sejoo raised a hand, pretending to rub his neck, covering the mark Doyoon had left. At that, Sejin continued his meal with a subtly irritated expression. The way he placed his utensils on the table with a sharp ‘thud, thud’ was exactly like a stern professor who had something to be displeased about but couldn’t openly express anger, instead conveying it through actions.

Eventually, unable to bear the atmosphere, Cheon Sejoo broke the silence first. He figured that since Sejin already seemed to know, pretending otherwise would only sour their moods.

“Did you… hear?”

He must have heard from someone that he had gone to Hwagaek alone to meet Kim Hyunkyung. Sejin, predictably, nodded at his question, which was born of a guilty conscience. With a stiff face, he answered, “Uh,” then frowned, pushed his chair back, and stood up.

He wondered if Sejin was avoiding the conversation because he was angry, but Sejin went to the rice cooker and scooped out a second helping of rice. Perhaps he wasn’t that angry after all. Thinking that, Cheon Sejoo asked him again.

“How…?”

Who on earth would have told him? Definitely not Kim Hyunkyung. Definitely not Han Jiwon. Then Chae Beom-jun? He was the only one who would hear news about Hwagaek and tell Sejin. Although Chae Beom-jun and Sejin weren’t close acquaintances, Chae Beom-jun was the kind of person who, if he ran into Sejin in the elevator, would blab all his secrets without a second thought.

However, Sejin gave an incomprehensible answer to Cheon Sejoo’s question.

“…The door was a little open.”

“……”

The door was open? Cheon Sejoo asked back with a bewildered expression.

“The dorm door was open?”

Then did he hear my conversation with Kim Hyunkyung? Cheon Sejoo recalled what Kim Hyunkyung had confided yesterday. She said there was a guy she liked in the kitchen. If Sejin heard that, it made sense for him to be so upset. But wait, how did he, who was at school, come to Hwagaek and hear that? It must be Chae Beom-jun again…

“Why are you bringing up the dorm door here?”

“…Huh?”

While Cheon Sejoo was deep in suspicion about Chae Beom-jun, Sejin narrowed his eyes and asked back. Sejin’s face was full of confusion about the conversation. When Cheon Sejoo couldn’t answer immediately and his mouth hung open, Sejin slightly puffed out his cheeks, looked directly at Cheon Sejoo, and asked,

“Dorm door? Are you talking about the Hwagaek dorm door? You went to Hwagaek? Why? When? Yesterday? Yesterday was Monday, why did you go there? Did something happen to Mom?”

“…What? No, wait a minute.”

He raised a hand with a bewildered face, looked at Sejin, and ran his hand through his damp hair. A stunned sigh escaped his lips as he realized his mistake. Damn, this wasn’t it. Kwon Sejin clearly didn’t know about Hwagaek. Then what door was he talking about?

Cheon Sejoo felt a chill run down his spine and looked at Sejin with a ‘no way’ expression. Sejin, ignoring his gaze, urged him on.

“What do you mean, the dorm door? Did something really happen?”

“No, no, nothing happened.”

He wanted to mumble something, but no suitable excuse came to mind. Sejin had such a persistent look in his eyes, as if he would ask hundreds of questions if Cheon Sejoo didn’t give a convincing answer immediately. So, Cheon Sejoo, who had been dragging out his words, finally sighed deeply and had no choice but to reveal some of the truth.

“I did go to Hwagaek.”

“Why? You said you had a busy day yesterday. Was that Hwagaek business? Did you go because of Mom?”

A crack appeared in Sejin’s coldly hardened face. He cross-examined Cheon Sejoo with an expression full of worry, as if something had just happened. He was always like that, unable to maintain composure when it came to his mother. This was why Kim Hyunkyung had told him not to let Sejin know she had collapsed. Cheon Sejoo clicked his tongue inwardly and made a flimsy excuse he had quickly come up with.

“I went because of you, because of you.”

“Me? Why? What about me?”

“You… for career counseling.”

“What?”

At the sudden statement, Sejin retorted incredulously. He had a lot to say anyway, so this was perfect. Leaving the dumbfounded Sejin behind, Cheon Sejoo freely poured out his own thoughts as if they were Kim Hyunkyung’s.

“Your mom asked if you were studying hard. She called me separately to ask because she didn’t want to bother you if she asked in front of you. So I stopped by briefly before dinner and talked to her. Your mom said she wasn’t sure if you were solving problems properly because you’re impatient and stupid, but if you study hard, you might be able to go to college with a low-income scholarship, and she asked if I had heard anything about what you want to do. So I said, well, I don’t know much, but I told her that you, Kwon Sejin, are working hard in your own way. And that for college, you can just decide after the Suneung (college entrance exam) results come out anyway. And that you can always transfer and learn something else if you find an interest after enrolling and studying. I told her not to worry too much.”

“……”

Sejin kept narrowing his eyes as he listened to Cheon Sejoo’s uninterrupted speech. He simply couldn’t believe it. After Cheon Sejoo finished speaking, Sejin, still suspicious, posed a question.

“Mom said I was stupid?”

“Yeah.”

That concise answer was absurd. Who was he trying to fool? Sejin put down his chopsticks and glared at Cheon Sejoo, refuting him.

“Don’t lie. My mom said I was smart, it’s just that I don’t study. You’re lying right now, aren’t you? And ‘solving problems properly’ and all that, that’s what you always say.”

“Hey.”

He was quicker on the uptake than expected, but Cheon Sejoo, without a hint of panic, snorted and scoffed at Sejin. It was no trouble to fool Kwon Sejin with words. If you pricked his pride a little, Sejin would quickly lose focus and turn his attention elsewhere.

“Even if she’s your mother, would she openly call her son stupid? You have to take what your mom says with a grain of salt. Ninety out of a hundred men outside think they’re handsome. Do you know why? Because their mothers keep telling them that. But look, is there even one handsome man like your hyung among a hundred?”

“……”

His small face puckered in annoyance. The example was absurd, but it wasn’t wrong either, so he couldn’t argue. Sejin stared at Cheon Sejoo for a long time, with one cheek puffed out and a displeased expression.

Kim Hyunkyung wasn’t very interested in Sejin’s grades. She was the kind of person who said he didn’t have to study if he didn’t want to, and that finding something he loved was more important. It made no sense that she would call Cheon Sejoo for his academic future. But if such a conversation had indeed occurred between them, it was probably Cheon Sejoo who went to her first and brought up his own story, not that his mother had called Cheon Sejoo.

Thinking that far, an absurd suspicion arose, and he felt annoyed. Sejin looked him directly in the eyes as if warning him, and spoke in a low voice.

“You don’t have ulterior motives for my mom, do you…?”

“…What?”

All that dramatic buildup for such nonsense. At the preposterous conjecture, Cheon Sejoo let out a hollow laugh, as if he’d never heard such a thing in his life, and opened his mouth. At that, Sejin threatened him.

“If you’re even thinking that, wake up. My mom doesn’t like delinquents who are only handsome like you.”

“What are you talking about?”

The age difference between the two wasn’t that big, so Sejin’s suspicion was somewhat valid. But Cheon Sejoo was a natural homosexual who had never once harbored feelings for a woman, and above all.

“Hey, don’t say such terrible things. If I had to have a new son like you, my head would already be splitting. I wouldn’t want a dumbass son like you even if you brought him to me in a truck.”

Just living in the same house was tiring enough; the thought of raising a disobedient kid like Kwon Sejin sent shivers down his spine. Even if the world turned upside down and he ended up in a relationship with Kim Hyunkyung, Cheon Sejoo wouldn’t want to marry her, if only because of Kwon Sejin.

At his words, Sejin’s face crumpled in a bruised pride. ‘Who are you to reject me?’ Before he could open his mouth to snap back, Cheon Sejoo changed the subject first.

“So, I told you, now you tell me. What door was open?”

“……”

And Sejin, like a ghost, shut his mouth. Unlike moments ago when he’d been spouting nonsense with a serious expression, seeing Sejin turn his head as if he didn’t want to talk at all, frustration welled up. There was definitely something. When Sejin said the door was open earlier, Cheon Sejoo felt something subtly grating on his nerves. No way, it couldn’t be. Even while thinking that, he pressed Sejin for confirmation.

“What is it? When someone asks, you should answer.”

“…It’s nothing.”

“I told you too. Hurry up and tell me. Don’t piss me off.”

If the conversation ended like this, he felt he wouldn’t be able to sleep due to the lingering unpleasantness. The situation had suddenly reversed. This time, Cheon Sejoo interrogated Sejin, and Sejin tried to remain silent. However, Cheon Sejoo was as persistent as Sejin.

“What door? What door was open?”

The bathroom door? The bedroom door? Not the bedroom door, right? Please, Cheon Sejoo wished it wasn’t that, and kept pressing Sejin. Finally, Sejin also couldn’t win against Cheon Sejoo and had no choice but to reveal the truth.

“In the early morning.”

With those three words, it felt like winter had arrived. A chill ran down his spine.

“Your door was open… so I saw.”

Damn it….

Cheon Sejoo’s face froze. He had hoped against hope that it wasn’t true, but it seemed his feeling in the early morning hadn’t been a figment of his imagination after all.

The bathroom was the problem. Cheon Sejoo, who had gone to urinate, had entered his bedroom in his sleep, found Doyoon fast asleep on the bed, and hugged him. Doyoon, who had been deeply drunk and fallen asleep early, had woken up from the embrace and, unable to overcome his lingering tipsiness, had clung to Cheon Sejoo.

The fact that Kwon Sejin was home had already been completely forgotten by the time he stroked Doyoon’s waist. As a matter of course, Cheon Sejoo embraced him. But in the middle of their intimate moment, a cold breeze blew from somewhere. As if a door had opened… However, when he felt something strange and looked back, the door was already tightly shut, so Cheon Sejoo had dismissed it as his imagination. But the door really had been open.

“That’s what I was talking about.”

“So…”

So that’s why he was so annoyed. Cheon Sejoo hid his furrowed brow beneath his palm and pressed his forehead. It was just last night that he had thought he had no intention of coming out to Sejin. But to be caught like this in the early morning… He was extremely flustered, thinking it was a thunderbolt not just for him but for Doyoon as well.

Moreover, it wouldn’t have been a pleasant sight for Sejin either. He wasn’t a complete stranger; he had witnessed his guardian’s sexual activity, so he must have been quite uncomfortable, and it wasn’t even heterosexual, but taboo homosexual sex.

“…Sorry.”

What on earth should he say? Cheon Sejoo, after much deliberation, finally apologized to Sejin. At his brief apology, Sejin only nodded with a stiff mouth, saying nothing. Cheon Sejoo mumbled his lips, looking troubled, then glanced up at Sejin. Unexpectedly, there was no trace of disgust in Sejin’s expression.

At that moment, he found it surprising. Sejin clearly had a conventional way of speaking, like someone from the Joseon Dynasty, and had even expressed disgust at men doing “such things” with each other. A little more composed, Cheon Sejoo rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Sejin.

“……”

Sejin just maintained a sullen expression. He didn’t seem to have any intention of asking about Cheon Sejoo’s sexual orientation or his relationship with Doyoon. At his calm exterior, Cheon Sejoo’s agitated heart gradually settled. Was he really that open-minded? Kwon Sejin? Cheon Sejoo pondered for a moment, then replayed the morning’s events.

Unlike now, there had been a notable reaction in the morning. Remembering Sejin’s annoyance in front of the elevator, Cheon Sejoo suddenly wondered if it had really been about his sweat smell.

“You’re not bothered by it?”

“What. That you, shamelessly drunk, touched someone who was sleeping? Or that you had sex with a man in a house with a minor? Or that you did such a thing with someone you’re not even that close to?”

“……”

It wasn’t that he wasn’t bothered; it seemed he had so many things that bothered him that he was choosing what to argue about first. As soon as he asked the question, Sejin’s immediate retort made Cheon Sejoo press his lips together and touch his cheek with the hand supporting his chin.

Right, it was rather strange for Kwon Sejin, who usually had old-fashioned ideas like telling him to always wear clothes, to show no reaction. Considering Sejin’s usual behavior, it was normal for him to be bothered by all of this.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”