Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 37

As they stared intently at each other, it was Cheon Sejoo who looked away first. He slowly turned his head to gaze at the room with the mat, then suddenly pushed Sejin’s back.

“Go change your clothes and come out.”

Saying that, he headed to his own room to change clothes. Sejin glanced at his back, then touched his burning earlobes and entered his room at the end of the hallway. The day was hot.

He went to the dressing room and wondered what to wear. He was already wearing a t-shirt and shorts, so did he mean to change into more comfortable clothes?

Sejin deliberated, then took out the shorts Cheon Sejoo had bought him. He had worn them for a short time before he grew taller, but they had become too short and he hadn’t worn them for a while. Trying them on after a long time, the waist fit very tightly, and the length was so short it ended above his thighs.

“…”

Sejin looked down at his legs with a thoughtful expression. Seeing his long, slender legs so exposed made him wonder if they were too short, but he also thought that perhaps one should wear such things when exercising. In the end, Sejin, after much deliberation, didn’t change his t-shirt, only his shorts, and left his room. When he entered the room with the mat, Cheon Sejoo was standing in front of the window. He was turning his neck from side to side, loosening up, and closing the window when he heard the sound of footsteps on the mat, turned his head, and his face hardened.

“You…”

His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, a look of bewilderment appeared and then vanished. Cheon Sejoo scrutinized Sejin from head to toe, then lifted one corner of his mouth and smiled. What’s wrong with him? he wondered, meeting Sejin’s now sullen eyes.

“Are you going to wear that? It looks good, but you might get hurt wearing short pants.”

“…”

Come to think of it, Cheon Sejoo was wearing long pants. He had been wearing shorts earlier too, so of course, he meant for him to change into long ones. Realizing his mistake, Sejin bit his lip shyly, then let go and said,

“Then you should have told me to change into long pants.”

“I thought you’d know…”

Cheon Sejoo shrugged, his gaze falling to Sejin’s legs. Sejin watched him quietly scan him, then blushed and turned his body away. His heart pounded as he headed back to his room to change into long pants.

Just like the pervert he was, his gaze lingering on his legs was unusual. And “looks good”? Does he always have to make it so obvious? Sejin grumbled inwardly but still glanced at his diligently walking legs. Honestly, even to him, they didn’t look bad. The part of his body he usually didn’t like because it wasn’t “manly” enough, he liked today. Hmph, Sejin scoffed quietly, then went into his room and changed his pants.

When he returned, Cheon Sejoo was now sitting on the mat. He was stretching with his legs apart, and seeing Sejin, who had changed into long pants, he let out a short laugh and gestured with his chin in front of him.

“Sit.”

Sejin, taking the hint, sat opposite him, and Cheon Sejoo got up and approached. Cheon Sejoo knelt behind Sejin and taught him how to stretch. His large hand gripped and pressed Sejin’s shoulder. His upper body tilted to one side, bringing Cheon Sejoo’s embrace closer. Sejin involuntarily held his breath.

“Breathe in slowly, breathe out, don’t just strike a pose, but stretch with the thought of loosening your muscles. Otherwise, you’ll get hurt.”

Unlike usual, a gentle voice seeped into Sejin’s ears. Cheon Sejoo explained this, then patted Sejin’s back to help him breathe. As he slowly inhaled as instructed, Cheon Sejoo’s unique vanilla scent flowed into his mind.

It felt as if this moment was being etched into his memory. Cheon Sejoo’s sweet scent, the plastic smell from the new mat, the warm surface heated by the sunlight, the air conditioner cooling the heat, the quiet voice falling into his ear.

“Self-defense is different from just exercise. You need to know how to use your body.”

His usually cool fingers traced various parts of Sejin’s body. The hand that had gently pressed his shoulder soon gripped his waist, then massaged his knees before moving to his inner thighs. Every time his rough fingertips touched him, his body tried to flinch. Embarrassed, Sejin braced himself with all his strength, and Cheon Sejoo, who was massaging his legs, laughed in disbelief.

“Is someone going to eat you? Relax.”

His languid voice was full of amusement. It was a gentle tone, like when he had comforted the man on the bed sometime before. Sejin bit his lip tightly, then stopped stretching and buried his head in the mat. From behind, Cheon Sejoo clicked his tongue and asked if he had any brain cells left to kill, but Sejin didn’t hear it.

“Relax your muscles.”

Soon, a soft touch reached his ankle. Sejin, slightly raising his head, swallowed dryly, seeing his feet resting between Cheon Sejoo’s knees as he sat with his legs stretched out. He had his head bowed, looking down at Sejin’s feet. Holding his shrunken toes in embarrassment, he gently rotated his ankle. Every time their skin touched, it felt like an alarm was sounding. Soon, he tilted his head and reached out with his other hand, then gently tapped the inside of Sejin’s ankle.

“You are here…”

Cheon Sejoo, speaking quietly, raised his head. Sejin bit his tongue, seeing his face contorted in a cute smile, one eye crinkled. His stomach churned. Blood was rushing to one place. As soon as he realized that, Sejin abruptly stood up.

“An extra bone… What are you doing?”

At his sudden action, Cheon Sejoo looked up at him and asked. His handsome face was full of questions. His slightly parted lips curved in bewilderment. Sejin didn’t answer him, turned around, and left the room.

“Hey. Where are you going!”

Cheon Sejoo, frowning, shouted after Sejin’s back.

“Bathroom!”

Sejin, frantically moving his feet, burst open the living room bathroom door. Then he turned on the water in the sink and bent his head. He poured cold water on his face, cursing inwardly. Am I crazy? What am I doing while exercising? But blaming himself felt a little unfair.

Cheon Sejoo’s touch was excessively gentle. Normally, he’d say “hey, hey,” so why would he touch him so gently just because they were exercising? Shouldn’t it get rougher if you learn by physically interacting? Why was Cheon Sejoo doing this? Did he treat others like this too?

The moment he thought that, Cheon Sejoo’s overly gentle treatment of Kang Doyoon came to mind, and this time, heat rose to his head. The traces he had brought back after being away from home for several days recently flashed before his eyes one by one. Sejin felt extreme irritation.

Why is time passing so slowly these days? That was Sejin’s biggest complaint lately.

It was ridiculous, but Sejin was confident. A baseless confidence that Cheon Sejoo couldn’t not like him pervaded his mind. Of course, there were many reasons if he were to list them. In the same vein as how he got angry when he heard he wasn’t his type, Sejin thought it was absurd that Cheon Sejoo wouldn’t like him, someone so handsome, obedient, and even young.

But contrary to that judgment, Cheon Sejoo showed no ulterior motives towards Sejin, and Sejin was attributing that reason to his age. He thought that Cheon Sejoo seemed to have a more moral side than he appeared, and thus wasn’t showing interest because he was a minor. It truly was incredible confidence.

Anyway, Sejin wiped his face with a towel, wishing for the remaining two seasons to pass quickly. He felt that everything would go smoothly once he became an adult. His confession to Cheon Sejoo, and their relationship.

While Sejin was reviewing his plans, which were filled with baseless confidence, the heat that had risen had now calmly subsided. Sejin, whose face had returned to its pale state, wiped the splashed water from the sink with the towel.

“Are you okay?”

At the voice that suddenly sounded, he flinched, trembling, and looked into the mirror. Cheon Sejoo was leaning against the doorway, looking at him with a worried expression.

“Are you nauseous? You ate a lot this morning.”

He had indeed eaten excessively for breakfast. At his words, Sejin suddenly felt a sense of discomfort in his stomach. Knowing it was an exaggeration, he nodded as if he didn’t know.

“I guess so…”

At his weak mumble, Cheon Sejoo clicked his tongue and pushed Sejin’s shoulder. He led him to the sofa and had him sit, then took out digestive medicine from the refrigerator and handed it to him. Sejin swallowed it in one gulp and then leaned comfortably back on the sofa. Meanwhile, Cheon Sejoo went into the kitchen and even made a warm mug of plum extract that Sejin had bought. Soon, Cheon Sejoo placed the mug on the table and sat next to Sejin, taking his hand.

“Bear the pain, even if it hurts.”

His rough fingertips pressed firmly into Sejin’s palm. As their cool skin rubbed together, Sejin felt his hand getting warmer and warmer, and he looked at Cheon Sejoo beside him, enduring the pain.

His lowered gaze was handsome. His firmly set lips curved slightly upwards only at the left corner. Every time Cheon Sejoo massaged his hand, Sejin felt as if waves were crashing through his entire body. Every time Cheon Sejoo’s worry, all bundled together, stimulated his hand, a bustling ripple seemed to spread from there.

Sejin closed his eyes, accepting a sensation he had never felt before with his whole body. He liked Cheon Sejoo’s gentleness, but he also hated it.

And so, their first self-defense lesson ended with only stretching. When Sejin, having fully played up his discomfort, got up to start again, Cheon Sejoo had received a phone call and said he had to leave, exiting the room.

“Where are you going?”

Cheon Sejoo, who had gone into his room, came out dressed in a suit. Sejin, who had been lingering in the living room, asked abruptly, and Cheon Sejoo looked up, adjusting his clothes. Sejin stood there with a sullen expression, as if displeased with Cheon Sejoo leaving the house.

“Someone I know called, going to eat.”

“Who do you know?”

“Just someone.”

At his half-hearted reply, Sejin’s lips stretched. Cheon Sejoo chuckled, went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out a bottle of water. As he opened the cap and drank, he felt Sejin trot over beside him, staring with wide eyes. Cheon Sejoo didn’t avoid his gaze. He met his eyes and silently asked “what?”, and Sejin, who had been hesitating, soon pointed out in a lecturing tone.

“You shouldn’t… live such a promiscuous life.”

“What?”

At his sudden words, Cheon Sejoo raised his eyebrows as if he had misheard. Promiscuous? That’s not something I should hear. Thinking that, he retorted, and Sejin swallowed once, then said with a determined attitude.

“If you keep doing that, I’ll get angry.”

“What are you even saying…”

He let out a disbelieving chuckle. It seemed Sejin didn’t approve of him meeting men he wasn’t dating, after talking about how men should be modest. There was no knowing if his mind was open or closed. Nevertheless, his lecturing tone was somewhat cute, so Cheon Sejoo smiled faintly and teased him.

“Oh no, Kwon Sejin, you’re scaring me to death.”

At his exaggerated shudder, Sejin’s eyes sharpened. He smacked the floor with his slipper-clad foot in displeasure, then quickly reasserted his firm stance.

“Listen closely! Just as you, my guardian, have the right to understand me, I, in the position of being protected by you, have the right to stop you from inappropriate behavior! I don’t like my guardian sleeping with people he’s not dating. And neither does my mom!”

“…”

Cheon Sejoo was dumbfounded by Sejin’s serious explanation. Hearing him mention Kim Hyunkyung along with words he had said a long time ago, it seemed he really disliked someone living in the same house doing such things.

But what could he do? It was his privacy, which Sejin had just happened to stumble upon, and Cheon Sejoo, if he had to categorize himself, was someone who believed a child had no right to interfere with a parent’s sex life.

However, he didn’t want to debate this topic with Sejin, who was much younger, nor would it look good to stubbornly convince Sejin that he would have sex with people he wasn’t dating. So Cheon Sejoo merely shrugged and replied.

“Alright. Then I’ll go confess to that person today and start dating them. Happy now?”

“…What?”

At his carelessly thrown lie, Sejin froze as if struck by lightning. His jaw dropped, and his eyes trembled violently. Seeing Sejin like that, Cheon Sejoo somehow felt he had made a mistake. Perhaps if he told Sejin that Kim Hyunkyung would date that 50-year-old chef, Sejin would make exactly that expression? Sejin looked utterly shocked by his words.

“Really…?”

At his trembling voice, as if he was about to cry, Cheon Sejoo hastily threw the water bottle he was holding into the recycling bin. Then he reached out and roughly tousled Sejin’s messy hair.

“Of course it’s a lie. It’s funny watching you doing samulnori by yourself.”

“…You scared me!”

Sejin yelled back, and Cheon Sejoo wondered if it was really something to be that surprised about, but considering Sejin and Doyoon’s first meeting, it made sense. Imagining the person who encountered that disgusting scene becoming his guardian’s lover… Well, he wasn’t really his guardian, but still. Thinking that far, Cheon Sejoo felt something unpleasant. However, he forced himself to shake off that feeling, messed up Sejin’s hair, and said, there was no time for this.

“I’m not going to meet them, I’m going to dinner with someone I know. I’ll be back late after dinner, so eat by yourself and take care of the house. Don’t touch the exercise equipment without permission, and go into the study and finish all today’s problem sets. We’ll try a past exam tomorrow.”

“…Okay.”

At his quietly explained words, Sejin’s expression softened. He didn’t seem to think it was a lie. Cheon Sejoo looked at him, nodding obediently with his mouth shut, as if he found him cute, then turned around. He left the house, went to the underground parking lot to get his car, and headed to Ihwagak.

He had received a call from Seo Kyunhyung earlier. Seo Kyunhyung, an old executive of DG and the person who trained Cheon Sejoo, was a key figure in DG’s success story. He was known as Shin Gyeongju’s right-hand man, famous for his ruthless use of a knife. He had been to prison for murder twice, and even now, if you search ‘Dae-gam Pa Seo Kyunhyung’, screens of him appearing in the news in the 90s circulated with the title ‘Legendary Swordsman’.

They had been out of touch for a while, but he had helped Cheon Sejoo’s clean-up team in subduing the Geomseongpa, a Korean-Chinese gang, and this dinner was to repay that debt.

He was visiting Ihwagak twice in one week. Cheon Sejoo drove along the road he could now navigate with his eyes closed, thinking of Sejin left alone at home. His shadow-filled eyes darkened chillingly. It feels like a house where people live now, he mulled over the meaning embedded in Sejin’s single remark from earlier that day.

That remark meant that his house hadn’t felt like a place where people lived until now. Cheon Sejoo was surprised that Sejin also knew the emptiness that permeated every corner of his house. Sejin was right. Until recently, Cheon Sejoo had not attached any particular meaning to his home. After all, it wasn’t a house he owned, and his life was such that he never knew when he might die and disappear.

This world, the path he walked, was a place where the risk of death appeared at any moment. Cheon Sejoo was always treading on the fine line between life and death. If that day came, the people who would have to deal with the belongings Cheon Sejoo left behind would be Moon Seonhyeok and the other members of the clean-up team. So, for their sake in the future, Cheon Sejoo had left his house empty. It was his own consideration, born from the bitter sorrow he felt while sorting out Hyein’s belongings.

However, that rule was broken after he met Sejin. Every time Cheon Sejoo saw Sejin, he wanted to help him dream of a future and provide him with a stepping stone to live happily. Not just temporary help, but he wanted to see the child Kwon Sejin constantly walking towards life on his own.

In the process of helping Sejin, it was Cheon Sejoo himself who began to dream of tomorrow. He kept wanting more. He wanted to watch Sejin grow a little longer, wanted to be of a little more help to him, and he developed a desire to be a meaningful person to Sejin so that when Sejin looked back on his past life years later, he would remember that a person named Cheon Sejoo had existed.

It was affection.