Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 36

After they sat down, the commercials ended shortly, and the movie began. Cheon Sejoo took off his hat and placed it on his lap, leaning back comfortably in his seat to watch the film. The original was a children’s cartoon, but the live-action movie dealt with themes for adults. He was blankly staring at the screen, not particularly empathizing, when he suddenly felt an intense gaze from beside him.

He barely turned his eyes to see Sejin hugging an empty popcorn tub, glancing at him. Cheon Sejoo reached out and picked up the tub from his arms. As he brought it to his side and placed it between his legs, he felt Sejin soon fiddle with the armrest between them. He seemed completely unable to focus. Concerned about this, Cheon Sejoo subtly tilted his head and whispered into Sejin’s ear,

“Is it boring?”

“…No.”

Sejin jumped, his shoulders shrugging, and whispered, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand. Sejin was surprisingly ticklish. Sometimes, when he found his actions cute and put his hand on his waist or stroked his shoulder, Sejin would twist his body like a wiggling worm and visibly express his disgust. But now, even his breath tickled him. He wondered if he could be that sensitive, and he regretted not being able to see what expression he made.

In the dark cinema, he could have made Sejin even more ticklish and disgusted, but Cheon Sejoo just smiled and turned his head completely towards him. Sejin’s stiff face seemed a little tense, or perhaps bored. He whispered to Sejin,

“I’ll wake you up when it’s over. If you’re bored, just sleep a bit. If you really don’t like it, you can just leave.”

“……”

Sejin didn’t answer. His cheek, where Cheon Sejoo’s breath touched, tickled, so he turned his face forward, but then realized Cheon Sejoo was waiting for his answer and looked sideways again. Cheon Sejoo was gazing straight ahead, his head slightly tilted towards Sejin. In his deep eyes, seen from the side, a sparkling reflection formed. Sejin felt his stomach churn at that look and brought his lips to Cheon Sejoo’s ear.

“Are you enjoying it?”

Watching the movie, he nodded once without answering. Then he immediately turned his eyes to Sejin and whispered with a smile,

“It’s filial piety viewing, you know. Even if it’s not fun, I have to make it fun.”

“……”

His playful voice was subtly sweet. Sejin’s face instantly became sullen, and he bit his lip. Seeing his slightly puffed cheeks, Cheon Sejoo laughed to himself and moved away again.

Watching his profile, Sejin swallowed his unspoken frustration. Cheon Sejoo was too kind and smooth. Was he like this with other men too? Had he ever playfully whispered in Kang Doyoon’s ear like this while watching a movie? Sejin glared intently at Cheon Sejoo with a sudden surge of annoyance, then abruptly reached out his arm. He pushed up the armrest between them and, ignoring Cheon Sejoo’s questioning look, forcibly leaned his head on his shoulder.

“It’s boring. I’m going to sleep.”

“…You’re heavy. Lean on the backrest and sleep.”

Cheon Sejoo whispered quietly, shrugging his shoulders and pushing him away. Sejin’s head bounced up and down with a slight jolt, but he didn’t give up. Instead, he gripped Cheon Sejoo’s arm tightly and said in a sulky voice,

“You always pick on me, saying I have nothing in my head. I know I’m light, so just stay still. I’m sleepy.”

“……”

Hearing that, Cheon Sejoo seemed to have enough conscience not to retort. It wasn’t particularly pleasant to essentially boast about being stupid, but he was glad to have gained something. Sejin closed his eyes, leaning on Cheon Sejoo’s shoulder as he sat upright, watching the movie.

However, sleep didn’t come, distracted by the faint vanilla scent emanating from him, the bitter smell of cigarettes, and the warmth transferred from his cheek resting on Cheon Sejoo. Sejin eventually opened his eyes quietly and looked at the same place as Cheon Sejoo.

On the enormous screen, a fluffy teddy bear walked around with a strangely gloomy face. The only sound in that movie was the beating of a heart.

Thus, their routine continued: watching movies on weekends and studying all day on weekdays. Finally, it was the last Wednesday of July, and Sejin diligently cooked from morning. In the afternoon, when Cheon Sejoo got off work, they headed to Ihwagak together.

“Lunchbox?”

“Yeah.”

“You made a lot.”

“You have to eat a lot.”

At Sejin’s sullen reply, Cheon Sejoo chuckled. The subject of “eating a lot” was not Sejin, but Kim Hyunkyung. The 9-tier lunchbox Sejin was carrying was packed with food for her, who was getting progressively thinner.

Despite Cheon Sejoo subtly hinting that she didn’t need to lose any more weight, Kim Hyunkyung was stubborn. Of course, it was true that she looked much more elegant and refined now that she had lost some flab and her jawline was more defined. But now her limbs were so thin they looked almost skeletal, and Sejin was worried about it.

Eventually, after pondering the cause of her continuous weight loss, Sejin concluded that it was probably because the food at Ihwagak didn’t suit her. So, since the last time, whenever he visited Ihwagak, he had been packing a lunchbox for her. Cheon Sejoo glanced at the lunchbox held carefully in Sejin’s arms and asked,

“When you lived together, did you do all the cooking?”

“Yeah. Mom was busy.”

“I see…”

Sejin nodded obediently. Contrary to the impression that he’d grown up without lifting a finger, Sejin was skilled in household chores. He was good at cleaning, and his cooking was top-notch. With such capable aspects, it seemed Kim Hyunkyung could endure being practically confined to Ihwagak without worrying about Sejin.

As they had such minor conversations, it was almost 6 o’clock when they arrived at Ihwagak. It was evening, but thanks to it being midsummer, the sun’s rays were still scorching hot. Cheon Sejoo parked the car in the cicada-filled parking lot, and while he smoked a cigarette in the shade of a tree, Sejin went ahead into the dormitory with the lunchbox. Watching his receding back, Cheon Sejoo slowly tilted his head.

It was already summer.

In the blink of an eye, autumn would arrive, and after the season he first met Sejin passed, a cold winter would begin. At that time, Cheon Sejoo would have to let Sejin go.

It was a little regrettable, but it was a planned farewell. He had only promised to look after him until he became an adult, so he had to be content with doing his best to care for him during the remaining time. Cheon Sejoo had to send Sejin, who had become a respectable adult as planned, healthy into society.

But even thinking that, Cheon Sejoo couldn’t imagine a home without Sejin already. Around this time next year, Cheon Sejoo would again occupy that large house alone. A house where the air conditioner wouldn’t run if there was no one there. A house filled only with old side dishes and alcohol in the refrigerator. A house where no sign of life could be heard beyond closed doors, and thus, a house filled only with loneliness and solitude.

The fact that he would be left alone in such a house again in five months somehow felt unwelcome. Cheon Sejoo chuckled at finding himself desiring Sejin. It was laughable. He had wanted to help Sejin desire life, but instead, he had become that way himself…

However, separation could not be postponed. After this year, he had to part ways with Sejin.

A faint sigh scattered amidst the heat haze. Cheon Sejoo, holding a cigarette burned almost to the filter between his fingers, left his spot and headed for the staff dormitory at Ihwagak. He disposed of the trash in the ashtray near the entrance, opened the door, and stepped inside.

“Manager, come quickly.”

In the dormitory living room, Sejin, Kim Hyunkyung, and some of her colleagues were sitting around a table. The large sofa table was fully laid out with the delicious 9-tier lunchbox. Kim Hyunkyung placed Cheon Sejoo’s chopsticks next to Sejin and called him over.

“Hello.”

Cheon Sejoo bowed his head to greet them and went to sit next to Sejin. Sejin sat with a sulky expression, seemingly inwardly displeased that the food meant for Kim Hyunkyung was now being shared with others. When Cheon Sejoo approached, he picked up the largest shrimp fritter and placed it on his plate.

“Oh my, what a filial son. What a filial son.”

At the sight, those eating covered their mouths and laughed. Neither Kim Hyunkyung nor Cheon Sejoo had any personal feelings for each other, but the others treated the two, who were similar in age, like a newly started couple. Since Cheon Sejoo continued to look after Sejin, they also treated him like Sejin’s stepfather. It seemed no one knew that Kim Hyunkyung had someone else in mind, as they just laughed at the sight of Cheon Sejoo and Sejin sitting side by side.

“Sejin must be happy to have such a handsome dad.”

“……”

At someone’s joke, Cheon Sejoo chuckled and shook his head. Sejin glanced at him with a sullen face. His displeasure was evident. Of course, he was annoyed that Cheon Sejoo was being associated with his mother, not him. “Mom and Cheon Sejoo don’t suit each other at all,” Sejin muttered inwardly, using his chopsticks to move side dishes onto Kim Hyunkyung’s rice bowl.

Kim Hyunkyung, despite it being her day off, had a radiant face as if she had put on makeup, and she looked at Sejin with affection. Then, at Sejin’s insistence, she finally began to eat.

“Mom’s full now. You eat a lot.”

When her rice bowl was about half empty, Kim Hyunkyung put down her spoon and chopsticks. Sejin saw this and his expression hardened. He picked up some galbi-jjim (braised short ribs) and placed it on her rice bowl, threatening,

“If Mom doesn’t eat, I won’t either.”

“Oh dear, a person without a son wouldn’t survive. Hyunkyung, you’d better eat more.”

At Sejin’s threatening words, the staff burst into laughter and urged Kim Hyunkyung to eat. It was only after she picked up her chopsticks again that Sejin could get up to scoop his third bowl of rice. Cheon Sejoo spent that time with a smile on his face.

Even when he was with Sunhyuk and the processing team, it was quite boisterous, but the atmosphere here was different. Unlike how Cheon Sejoo found Moon Sunhyuk, Goo Haewoong, and Seo Jinyoung endearing, here, Cheon Sejoo was doted on by the Ihwagak staff.

They didn’t seem to know much about what he did or for whom. They just seemed to think that he held the title of “Manager” somewhere in the DG Group, and that he was a good person with a kind heart who took in Sejin when he had nowhere else to go and was almost out on the streets. Any initial impression of aloofness and barriers lasted only briefly; after the day he hurt his hand and bled, the staff began to treat him casually.

It was only after drinking the cup of coffee they had made for him that Cheon Sejoo could leave the dormitory. When he finished eating and was told to go home quickly to rest, Sejin lingered, packing the empty lunchbox. Meanwhile, Cheon Sejoo said his goodbyes first and went outside the dormitory to smoke a cigarette.

“Cheon Sejoo.”

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and was looking at the darkening sky when Sejin, having finished tidying up, came out with the lunchbox. Cheon Sejoo, who had been leaning against the stone wall, turned his head at the sound of his name.

The lukewarm summer breeze ruffled Sejin’s hair, which had grown long again. Cheon Sejoo quietly watched him as his short-sleeved t-shirt and pants fluttered. Despite his height, Sejin still had a captivating face. Just as when he thought Sejin would become an astonishing beauty when he grew up, now too, he captivated Cheon Sejoo’s gaze from time to time.

His face, shining white in the moonlight, was exquisitely beautiful. His upturned eyes, stubbornly closed lips, and cheeks slightly flushed from the heat were so pretty they felt subtly alluring even beneath the dark sky.

Gazing at such a Sejin, Cheon Sejoo newly realized that he was quite taken with faces. If Haewoong or Seo Jinyoung had called him “Cheon Sejoo,” he would have been appalled, but when Sejin called him by his name, it didn’t feel rude. It simply felt bold and cute.

But that feeling wasn’t just because of Sejin’s face. Since the first time they met, he had been speaking informally, calling him “you” or “dangshin” (a polite but sometimes informal “you”), so if he were to call him “Hyung” now, he would probably get goosebumps all over. His consistent habit of calling him by his name was actually more comfortable.

“Why do you keep…”

As he stared intently, Sejin rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand and mumbled. Then he suddenly turned first and headed towards the parking lot. Cheon Sejoo silently followed, secretly admiring Sejin’s back. His sharply protruding shoulder blades were visible beneath his white t-shirt. His shoulders, though broad with a sharp angle, lacked muscle, making Sejin’s frame appear a little smaller, and when the wind blew and his t-shirt fluttered, his slender waist was fully revealed.

His long legs were also straight, but unlike other kids his age, there wasn’t a single dark hair on Sejin’s calves. It felt strange to see Sejin still covered in fine downy hair all over his body. His body was only big; sometimes he felt like a child on the inside.

At any rate, Sejin’s body was beautiful. It was beautiful when he was short, and it was still beautiful after he grew tall. “If he exercised and gained muscle, he’d be popular with girls…” Cheon Sejoo thought, then got into the car. Sejin, sitting in the passenger seat, somehow glanced at him with a sullen look before turning his head away.

“There’s nowhere to stop, right? We’re going home.”

“Yeah.”

Cheon Sejoo left Ihwagak’s parking lot and drove towards home. Now, returning home with Sejin felt natural. During the school term, he commuted with Kwon Sejin in his school uniform next to him, and now that it was vacation and he was alone, the empty seat felt incredibly awkward.

Feeling the large presence of the person beside him, Cheon Sejoo drove along the road full of commuting cars. As they headed home, he suddenly heard Sejin sigh. He turned his head to see Sejin resting his head against the window, looking straight ahead with a deeply troubled expression.

“Why?”

“…Just.”

Cheon Sejoo hated these kinds of conversations the most in the world. If you’re not going to talk, don’t show it. He frowned slightly and tapped the steering wheel, urging Sejin.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“……”

Sejin was silent for a moment. He pondered whether it was right to bring up this topic in front of Cheon Sejoo, but eventually opened his mouth. Cheon Sejoo was the only one he could confide in about his worries for his mother.

“I’m worried Mom might be sick.”

“…Why?”

“Just… She’s never lost so much weight, she’s too thin. There’s no reason for her to lose weight, it’s too excessive. I’m suspicious that she’s just making excuses about dieting because she’s sick and doesn’t want me to worry.”

Cheon Sejoo remained silent. He knew why Kim Hyunkyung was continuously losing weight, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell Sejin. Given Kwon Sejin’s dislike for adult men, if he were to find out that she was dieting so much because of a man she liked, he would undoubtedly get angry immediately.

Furthermore, Cheon Sejoo wanted to respect Kim Hyunkyung’s wishes, as she was a woman before she was Kwon Sejin’s mother. Because of this, he had nothing else to say, so he quietly drove and said,

“If you’re really worried, tell her to go to the hospital on her day off. I’ll try to talk to her manager.”

In principle, going out without reason or meeting outsiders at Ihwagak was not allowed. However, since he was already going to meet Kim Hyunkyung with Chae Bumjun’s permission, he thought sending her to the hospital wouldn’t be too difficult. He didn’t think anything serious would happen, but since Sejin kept worrying, checking up on her didn’t seem like a bad idea.

At Cheon Sejoo’s words, Sejin slowly shifted his gaze to Cheon Sejoo. He rolled his moist eyes, staring at his profile for a long time, then quietly answered, “Mm.” It was Cheon Sejoo who felt uncomfortable due to the heavy atmosphere. Feeling uneasy about deceiving Sejin, he slowly changed the subject.

“Aren’t you worried about yourself? You eat and eat but you don’t gain weight.”

“This much is normal.”

“It’s normal, but you’re too thin for how much you eat. Does it even make sense that your body is still like that when you eat ten bowls of rice a day? Or do you want to try exercising? I think you’d build muscle well.”

Breaking off his nagging, Cheon Sejoo subtly revealed his true intentions. Sejin had a beautiful physique even without exercising. His weight was very light, yet his muscles were well-formed in their places, making his body beautiful. So, if he were to train those muscles, he thought he would develop an even more cool body. At his slightly greedy words, Sejin tilted his head and retorted,

“Exercise?”

“Yeah. I’ll teach you.”

Sejin didn’t take his words literally. Sejin, who was driving, looked Cheon Sejoo up and down and quietly retorted,

“You’re going to teach me how to beat people up?”

This guy, really… A cold, sharp gaze turned towards Sejin. He asked in disbelief,

“You want to learn something like that?”

“……”

Sejin slightly puffed out his cheeks and rolled his eyes. It was a sudden suggestion, but since Cheon Sejoo offered to teach him, he was tempted. Sejin slowly nodded, thinking Cheon Sejoo would teach him how to fight very well.

There was no particular reason. He didn’t want to worry about aggravated assault again next time by hitting someone with a cafeteria tray or something. If possible, he wanted to hit them with his bare hands. At Sejin’s affirmative, Cheon Sejoo sighed.

“Alright, well… there’s no harm in learning.”

Just being tall wasn’t everything. Living with that face, Sejin was bound to get into countless arguments in the future. There would surely come a day when he’d get into a physical fight, and in such situations, knowing how to fight would make it easier to handle the situation. He also agreed with the saying that offense is the best defense, and since Sejin had long arms and thus long reach, teaching him martial arts would likely make it easy to deal with opponents.

As Cheon Sejoo drove home, he thought of the items needed for exercise. And that night, without sleeping, he searched the internet. He placed an order for a place that would install a thick exercise mat, thick enough not to hurt when falling or being thrown, and while he was shopping, he also ordered a desk for Sejin. Sejin had never complained about studying at the sofa table, but after he grew as tall as Cheon Sejoo, sitting hunched over looked very uncomfortable.

Although it would only be used for a few months, it would be fortunate if he could create an environment where Sejin could concentrate until the Suneung (college entrance exam). With that thought, Cheon Sejoo chose Sejin’s desk and chair with even more care than the mat. Delivery took only a few days.

On the weekend, Cheon Sejoo and Sejin greeted the delivery drivers who brought in the desk, chair, and exercise equipment. One empty room was covered with a mat, and in another room, a treadmill and exercise equipment were installed, which Cheon Sejoo had ordered for himself to work out at home since he bought the mat. And finally, the last remaining room became Sejin’s study room.

Whenever he studied at the orphanage, Cheon Sejoo often thought he wished he had his own space to study alone. So he had set up a bookshelf and a desk in a room to be Sejin’s study, and Sejin seemed both burdened and excited. Of course, judging by his tone, it didn’t seem that way at all.

“Why is it so big?”

In the spacious room, a height and tilt-adjustable desk, an office chair that felt like sitting on a cloud, a light with adjustable brightness, and a large bookshelf were set up. The bookshelf didn’t yet hold anything but Sejin’s textbooks, but it was still a well-equipped study space.

“Isn’t the desk too big?”

Sejin, sitting in the chair, looked down at the desk with an excited face. His long, slender fingers stroked the coated tabletop.

“Why does it have so many useless features?”

The empty desk drawers opened and closed multiple times. Ziiing, ziiing, every time Sejin pressed a button, the desk went up and down, tilted and flattened.

“I could have just studied in the living room…”

Sejin mumbled to himself, putting his arms on the desk and striking a studying pose. Cheon Sejoo, who had been watching him from the doorway, chuckled in disbelief.

“If you’re grateful, just say thank you.”

“…”

Sejin’s pale face reddened. He pressed his lips together, rolled his eyes, then looked up at Cheon Sejoo from his seated position and whispered, “…Thank you.”

He forcibly pulled down the corners of his mouth, which were curving upwards. Unable to completely hide his amusement, Sejin grumbled his thanks brusquely before lying his cheek on the desk. He seemed to want to hide his blushing face. Cheon Sejoo gazed at his black hair scattered over the white desk and his neat, round crown, then playfully teased him to lighten his burden.

“If you mess up the Suneung, I’ll bill you when you turn adult.”

“…”

At those words, Sejin slowly lifted his head. He narrowed his eyes, looked at Cheon Sejoo, then stood up. His expression quickly turned sullen as he pointed a finger at the bookshelf, desk, and chair.

“You’re billing me for my stuff, right? Then when I leave this house, I’ll sell it to you second-hand, so deduct that amount from the bill. If you ask for money without giving me the goods, you’re a swindler.”

He took the joke seriously. What did he take him for…? Cheon Sejoo let out a hollow laugh, then heard someone calling him from the hallway and turned around. The exercise equipment installer was calling him from the opposite side of Sejin’s study.

“Yes, customer. Installation is complete. We’ve secured it firmly in the spot you mentioned, so if you need to change the location, please contact customer service. For the mat, if you sweat, it’s easy to clean with a dry cloth slightly dampened with water. If there’s any peeling within a year, it’s free repair, so please make sure to apply for A/S. And you’ll probably receive a text with a link for the installer’s service evaluation in a few days…”

The installer, with a wide smile, mumbled on and on. While Cheon Sejoo was dealing with him, Sejin curiously peeked around the room.

The two rooms opposite the study, to the left of Sejin’s room, which had been empty before, were now completely filled. In one, a thick exercise mat, over 10cm thick, covered the floor, and a shelf for simple exercise equipment was even installed near the window. Light streamed in through the wide-open window, letting out the rubber smell. Sejin stood under the operating air conditioner, walked on the mat warmed by the hot summer sun, then stepped off.

The other room looked like a gym. Filled with treadmills and unnamed exercise equipment, that room also had its windows wide open. Sejin looked at a black machine with heavy weights attached, thinking of Cheon Sejoo. Cheon Sejoo’s body was not at all bulky. Sejin couldn’t imagine him lifting such heavy weights with his lean, well-proportioned physique, and for a moment, he wondered if Cheon Sejoo was bluffing as he left the room.

“Thank you for your hard work. Goodbye.”

Cheon Sejoo’s voice, seeing the installer off in the living room, could be heard. Sejin stood in the hallway with his back to him. Then he saw four rooms with their doors wide open. The image of the fully furnished interiors of the four rooms filled his mind.

It wasn’t like this when he first came to this house. All the spaces, including the room Sejin stayed in, seemed empty, and because of that, Cheon Sejoo’s house never felt like a place where people lived. But starting with one by one, Sejin’s belongings filling his room, the atmosphere of the entire house had now changed.

The space that used to feel empty, as if someone would stay for a short while and leave, now exuded a sense of fulfillment. A house where people’s daily lives were infused in every corner now felt like a home. Most of all, what made Sejin feel good was the fact that all these changes started with him. His desolate house, where he had lived for several years, had changed so much in less than a year after meeting him. That fact strangely satisfied Sejin.

“What are you doing here?”

As he was thinking this, Cheon Sejoo, who had sent the installer off, approached and stood beside him. Feeling his large presence, Sejin looked up.

“Just…”

He answered, looking at Cheon Sejoo’s pitch-black eyes right in front of him, and his handsome brow furrowed.

“Just, what?”

Cheon Sejoo disliked evasive answers. Since it was a somewhat complicated and embarrassing feeling to tell him, Sejin considered holding back, but then opened his mouth, not wanting to upset him unnecessarily.

“It feels like a house where people live now.”

“…”

At his vague reply, Cheon Sejoo narrowed his eyes. As if chewing on Sejin’s words, he stood there and turned his head to look at the four open doorways. He quietly scanned the rooms, then closed his mouth with a subtly hardened expression. Soon, his deeply沉目光 turned to Sejin.

Cheon Sejoo sometimes looked at Sejin with such eyes. It was a gaze that conveyed unknown thoughts, but Sejin could feel something with his whole body. Every time Cheon Sejoo looked at him with those eyes, Sejin felt suffocated. His heart pounded rapidly, and his vision blurred. Words like “don’t look at me like that” swirled in his mouth, and he felt stifled.

Yet, he didn’t avoid his gaze because meeting his eyes wasn’t entirely uncomfortable.

Every time he met Cheon Sejoo’s eyes, Sejin felt as if he was looking beyond what was outwardly visible. Cheon Sejoo, who had entrusted his body to his hands and fallen asleep with his eyes closed. Cheon Sejoo, who was defenseless and vulnerable, breathing only shallowly. He kept seeing such things, so Sejin didn’t particularly dislike facing him.