Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 39

The woman laughed cautiously at his casual remark and then disappeared back the way she came, holding the child. After they left, silence fell over the front of the annex. Han Jonghyun, still holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth, tapped his foot, then threw the lighter, which was on top of the cigarette pack, onto Cheon Sejoo’s lap.

“Light it for me.”

He wasn’t missing hands; he was truly a master at bothering people. Cheon Sejoo, accepting the inconvenience, picked up the lighter and lit the cigarette Han Jonghyun held in his mouth. Pfft, a faint puff of smoke scattered in front of his face, and Han Jonghyun, narrowing his eyes, asked with the cigarette still hanging from one side of his lips,

“You’re not even interested in women, so why do you flirt with people?”

“…What. When did I?”

It was an absurd remark. As he frowned in bewilderment and asked, Han Jonghyun raised the hand that was resting on the porch. He poked the corner of Cheon Sejoo’s lips with his index finger and pulled it up slightly.

“You just smiled at my sister-in-law like that. You can’t even get it up, who are you trying to flirt with?”

It was a senseless provocation. Cheon Sejoo was so dumbfounded that he turned his head, brushed away his hand, and then faced Han Jonghyun again. Staring at the mouth that spouted nonsense whenever it opened, he asked him,

“In Director Han’s eyes, even if I just smile, it looks like I’m seducing someone, does it?”

“Then it’s not?”

His retort, accompanied by a scoff, made him irritated. Han Jonghyun always treated him like a promiscuous gay man whenever he saw him. Who does he think I am, a pervert? He’s the one who throws his dick around carelessly, so it’s just like the saying ‘a dog sees only dogs’. Cheon Sejoo, offended, pulled up the corners of his lips as he looked at Han Jonghyun.

“Then would it be? As the director says, I can’t even get it up for women, so why would I flirt with your sister-in-law? If I were to flirt, I’d flirt with Director Han.”

As he spoke, a deep smile bloomed on his face, and Han Jonghyun, who was smoking, opened his mouth and frowned. He stared intently at Cheon Sejoo’s smiling face, then let out a hollow laugh and cursed under his breath.

“You son of a bitch.”

“I know I’m a son of a bitch.”

He replied as if Han Jonghyun was going to act crazy as usual. But the words that followed surpassed Cheon Sejoo’s expectations.

“Needlessly handsome.”

“……”

Cheon Sejoo’s expression stiffened at the words he never expected to hear from Han Jonghyun. Seeing his flustered face, Han Jonghyun finally grinned mischievously and turned his head. Only then did Cheon Sejoo realized he had been outmaneuvered and sighed in disbelief. It was absurd that Han Jonghyun had played a trick on him, and it was unbelievable that he had done so with a topic he usually detested.

Why is this bastard acting like this? Hiding his discomfort, Cheon Sejoo scrutinized Han Jonghyun sitting beside him. A subtle scent of perfume, which could be considered Han Jonghyun’s signature, wafted from his neat attire, and within it, a strong smell of alcohol permeated.

Recalling Han Jonghyun, who had been about to cry while drinking heavily during their last meeting, Cheon Sejoo quickly realized that he wasn’t in his right mind. Having endured Seok Yunhyeong’s drunken ramblings for five hours, he couldn’t handle Han Jonghyun’s too. Cheon Sejoo decided to leave quickly and tried to gather his cigarettes and lighter scattered on the porch. However, Han Jonghyun, who was holding the lighter, didn’t give it back. Opening and closing the lid of the Zippo lighter Do-yoon had gifted him, Han Jonghyun stared intently at Cheon Sejoo.

“Have you been well?”

“…Yes, well. Yes. I’ve been well.”

He had never exchanged pleasantries with Han Jonghyun. After a brief moment of surprise, he replied, and Han Jonghyun slowly nodded, shifting his gaze to the moss garden. Somehow, an atmosphere that required further conversation was setting in. Cheon Sejoo inwardly cursed, realizing he should have left with the woman earlier. After a moment of silence, Han Jonghyun spoke.

“The CEO still hasn’t said anything about me.”

“…No.”

It had been half a year since they had that conversation. At Han Jonghyun’s question, Cheon Sejoo realized that Shin Gyoyeon still hadn’t given him any word. He himself hadn’t heard any talk about Han Jonghyun from Shin Gyoyeon or Chae Beomjun. Talk of Baek Seonghwan and other executives came up frequently, but Han Jonghyun was never mentioned in their conversations. At this point, shouldn’t he just give up? Cheon Sejoo suddenly thought.

Others in the organization sacrificed themselves to preserve their own status. But Han Jonghyun was treated as a director whether he worked or not, and he enjoyed all the benefits that came with that title. So, why would he need to do illegal things for the organization?

Cheon Sejoo earnestly examined Han Jonghyun’s appearance. From his clothes to his shoes, everything he wore was expensive. All of them were luxury brands, and the watch Han Jonghyun was wearing was a high-end brand product, not easily obtainable, and most models cost over hundreds of millions of won.

Why is someone who lacks nothing so desperate for this? Cheon Sejoo couldn’t understand Han Jonghyun. He couldn’t fathom why he would bother to help Shin Gyoyeon and engage in this dirty work. After a moment of silence, Cheon Sejoo looked at Han Jonghyun and asked,

“Director, why do you want to work in the organization?”

“What?”

“Even if you didn’t do this kind of work… I think you could still live quite well.”

This was the first time Cheon Sejoo had wondered about something regarding Han Jonghyun. At his question, Han Jonghyun’s eyes gleamed with surprise as he looked at Cheon Sejoo. His eyes were hazy, as if he was moderately drunk. He stared at Cheon Sejoo with a blank gaze, then let out a small laugh and spoke.

“You saw her earlier, my sister-in-law.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps thanks to being drunk, his mouth opened easily. Cheon Sejoo listened to Han Jonghyun’s words, tilting his head quietly.

“She’s the daughter of a three-term provincial congressman.”

“Ah…”

“My older brother is quite brilliant. He dropped out of Harvard because it wasn’t for him, immediately entered Yale, graduated at the top of his class, and even went to graduate school.”

His voice, describing his brilliant older brother, lacked strength. Han Jonghyun seemed somewhat gloomy. The reason for this soon became clear.

“There’s a bit of an age gap, but my brother was smart from a young age, so my parents had high expectations for him. Whatever they taught him, he absorbed it like a sponge. So, when he turned nine and I was born late, those same expectations were passed down to me. But damn it, what is this? I was so slow that I didn’t even start talking until after I was three, and had to undergo several developmental tests.”

Han Jonghyun took the cigarette pack Cheon Sejoo had picked up and pulled out another cigarette. Cheon Sejoo accepted the Zippo lighter he offered and lit it for him again. Wisps of smoke scattered into the air. In the heat of the cigarette and the stifling tropical night, Cheon Sejoo listened to Han Jonghyun’s story.

“As great as the expectations were, the disappointment must have been just as great. Thanks to that, I grew up being compared to my brother from a young age. I was frustrated and tried to do something, but I guess I wasn’t smart enough, so I couldn’t even get into a Seoul university. After getting into a provincial university, I gave up, thinking everything was fucked up.”

It was an unremarkable story, but only then could Cheon Sejoo understand the background of Han Jonghyun’s misbehavior. Of course, not everyone with an inferiority complex commits such acts, but he could somewhat understand his condescending behavior as a director.

“I was just thinking I’d just spend money and die like that, and then the CEO appeared and told me to be a director in the organization. Damn, where else would I hear something like that?”

“So…”

Cheon Sejoo was about to agree, saying “So that’s it,” but he felt Han Jonghyun’s gaze, which seemed to say “Look at this,” and changed his words.

“Then, is that why you’re doing this? Because you want to keep hearing that ‘director’ title?”

“…No.”

Han Jonghyun frowned and threw his cigarette to the ground. He crushed the cigarette butt with his shoe on the dirt floor, then leaned back with his hands behind him and elaborated.

“The CEO isn’t a fool. There must be a reason why she gave a guy like me a director position and treats me well. She must have seen something in me, so she must have expectations of me.”

“Ah…”

“Whatever the CEO wants, I’m ready. But she hasn’t said anything for several years, so I’m getting impatient. I’m also afraid that the reason I thought wasn’t the actual reason. That’s why I’m going in and out of places, even telling you this kind of story.”

Having finished speaking, Han Jonghyun scratched his cheek and stood up. Perhaps the alcohol had worn off a bit, and he seemed embarrassed about having babbled his story to Cheon Sejoo.

Han Jonghyun checked his clothes for cigarette smell, then rummaged through his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a small portable perfume bottle. Then he sprayed perfume on himself, as if dousing himself.

The strong scent, which seemed to be the source of the strange smell emanating from him, wafted over and made his head ache. As Cheon Sejoo stepped back, Han Jonghyun frowned, clicked his tongue, and said,

“Damn, anyway, I’m going in now.”

“Yes, please go in.”

Cheon Sejoo bade him farewell without lingering. Han Jonghyun, however, didn’t leave immediately and stood there, staring intently at Cheon Sejoo, then at some point, silently turned and disappeared. Seeing his figure vanish into the darkness, Cheon Sejoo also started to go to the parking lot, but stopped as if enchanted in front of the annex’s moss garden.

His silent gaze was directed at the moss garden, which glittered under the lights. Staring at it, Cheon Sejoo thought about the organization.

The organization, into which he had been inevitably drawn, was a place that made Cheon Sejoo, an ordinary man, feel endless disillusionment and contempt. The rules of the world did not apply here, and those who belonged to the organization thought and acted solely based on the logic of power.

People like beasts, with whom reason and dialogue were impossible. Cheon Sejoo, who had lived among intelligent people who clearly defined their life’s purpose and rushed forward, had to become a beast just like them to deal with them, and in the process, he came to despise himself.

Therefore, Cheon Sejoo had never been genuinely invested in the organization’s affairs until now. It was work he did because Shin Gyoyeon ordered it, a duty he felt compelled to fulfill as the head of the processing team; he felt a sense of obligation, but never affection for it. However, the thought that the very things he loathed were of paramount importance to someone else left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Seok Yoonhyung had endured fifty years, dedicating himself to the organization, a man who would do anything for Shin Kyung-ju, the leader of the organization. He loved his subordinates, his comrades, and was always ready to sacrifice his life for them.

Even Han Jonghyun, though he had come to this place as if in escape, was no different. He was ready to do anything for Shin Gyoyeon, who he believed would find value in him, a value he considered useless. The voice with which he expressed his desire to find his place was undeniably sincere.

Cheon Sejoo looked down at the moss garden, feeling a sense of bitterness. He wasn’t unaware that what might be dirty moss to some could be a beautiful garden to others, but…

Just then, his jacket pocket vibrated. Cheon Sejoo quietly took out his phone and checked the newly arrived message.

Mongrel I’m hungry. 22:34

It was a reply to his message asking if there was anything he should buy. It was long past dinner time, so he probably hadn’t been starving all this time. He’d likely eaten but was still hungry. ‘The cost of dog food really adds up,’ Cheon Sejoo chuckled, then opened a delivery app and ordered chicken to his house.

22:36 I ordered chicken. I’ll be there soon, so leave shortly. Mongrel Okay, drive safe. 22:37

The reply arrived quickly. ‘Is it a hack… “Drive safe”?’ Has Kwon Se-jin ever said something like that? Was it an SOS signal? Cheon Sejoo narrowed his eyes, staring down at the message he’d received. Then, recalling how much calmer Se-jin had been recently, he put his phone away and left his spot. There was no time to get lost in useless worries.

However, Cheon Sejoo’s plan to go straight home failed. In less than an hour, in the parking lot he arrived at, he ran into Chae Beomjun. He had assumed Chae Beomjun’s car, which was parked with its engine off, was just there, but the moment Cheon Sejoo got out of the driver’s seat, Chae Beomjun also opened his door and stepped out. It was a coincidental timing, as if he had been waiting.

“Manager Cheon. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in the parking lot.”

They lived on different floors in the same apartment building and served the same person, Shin Gyoyeon, but their spheres of activity were different, so it was rare for them to meet outside the gym. So, “it’s been a while” wasn’t wrong, but Cheon Sejoo had seen that annoying face at the gym just a few days ago, so he ignored his greeting and walked past him.

Chae Beomjun followed him as he headed for the elevator. A quick glance revealed clear signs of him having dressed up like a peacock, probably having gone out on his day off. In Cheon Sejoo’s eyes, he looked like a gigolo going to meet the in-laws, but to others, he probably looked presentable enough, which was why he met so many people.

“Why are you crawling home instead of spending the night out for once?”

Cheon Sejoo, who had called the elevator descending from the 43rd floor, spoke. Chae Beomjun stuck close to his side, sniffing with a strange expression, then chuckled at his words and replied.

“I have lunch plans with Madam tomorrow, so I just spent some time in the car today.”

No wonder he got out of a car with the engine off. He must have been cleaning. Anyway, damn it. Just like a man in heat… Cheon Sejoo frowned and took a step away from him. But Chae Beomjun clung to Cheon Sejoo like a leech. He took a step closer to match the distance, and despite Cheon Sejoo’s look of disgust, he buried his nose in his shoulder and sniffed, muttering,

“I smell something strange.”

He acted as if he wasn’t human but some kind of dog, a master of useless tricks. This was the first time he’d tried to flirt this way, and Cheon Sejoo, annoyed, tried to shake him off.

“The smell is coming from you. Get lost.”

“Oh… Can you smell my semen? How is it? Fragrant?”

There was no reasoning with that piece of trash. Cheon Sejoo cursed inwardly and rolled his eyes just as the elevator arrived. Talking about semen made him feel as if he could actually smell it, so he quickly stepped inside and pressed the 41st floor. Chae Beomjun, who boarded the elevator a moment later, also grinned and pressed the 42nd floor, then looked him up and down and said,

“Looks like you went somewhere nice.”

“Ah, yes.”

Despite the unenthusiastic reply, Chae Beomjun giggled and stuck close to him. Then he sniffed again. With a man half a head taller than him standing so close, his breath reached his neck. Goosebumps rose, and he tried to push him away with his arm, but Chae Beomjun was stubborn. He’d been driving, so he wasn’t drunk, but like a madman, he buried his nose in his right shoulder and muttered,

“Ah, I’ve definitely smelled this somewhere before…”

Was he truly insane? Cheon Sejoo, feeling a sudden surge of fatigue, gave up on arguing with Chae Beomjun and only wished for the elevator to reach the 41st floor. He wanted to go home, wash up, lie in bed, and sleep. However, with a clear chime, the elevator doors opened, and the moment he stepped into the hallway, Chae Beomjun urgently stretched out an arm.

A fine hand tightly gripped Cheon Sejoo’s forearm. He irritably shook his shoulder to dislodge the sudden contact, but Chae Beomjun was persistent, and finally, Cheon Sejoo turned to him with a cold expression.

“Stop it.”

“…Were you with Director Han?”

But Chae Beomjun’s face was unusual. Cheon Sejoo closed his mouth, seeing Chae Beomjun frown and ask outright. He didn’t know why he was making that face, but he didn’t need to report his every move to him. Anyway, the place he visited today was Ehwagak. If Chae Beomjun wanted to find out, he wouldn’t have any trouble hearing that he had met Seok Yoonhyung.

When Cheon Sejoo didn’t answer, Chae Beomjun’s expression turned serious, and his lips thinned. His cheeks puffed out, and his mouth twitched as if he had something to say.

Only then did Cheon Sejoo narrow his eyes in suspicion. Since the first moment they met, he had never seen Chae Beomjun hold back his words. So his current demeanor was enough to make Cheon Sejoo question him.

“Why are you asking that?”

Finally, Cheon Sejoo couldn’t hold back and asked. Chae Beomjun seemed to have taken his counter-question as an affirmation to his own question. He opened his mouth, his expression hardening.

“Don’t get close to Han Jonghyun.”

It was a blunt warning. Chae Beomjun’s expressionless face was unfamiliar. That too, was new. Cheon Sejoo had never once seen him make such a face.

Only then did a sense of alarm wrap around him.

Why did Han Jonghyun, who had no abilities, maintain his position as a director? Why did Shin Gyoyeon keep Han Jonghyun in that position and pretend not to notice him meddling everywhere? Why was Han Jonghyun the exception under Shin Gyoyeon’s rules? All those questions should have been directed at Shin Gyoyeon, but there was someone else who knew the answer even if it wasn’t him. The only person who knew all of Shin Gyoyeon’s thoughts.

“What’s the reason?”

Cheon Sejoo fully turned his body, facing Chae Beomjun head-on. Chae Beomjun would know the reason.

“Why did the CEO bring Director Han into the organization?”

It couldn’t be ignored that Shin Gyoyeon might have seen some potential in him, as Han Jonghyun had said. Shin Gyoyeon might have accepted him for a certain role that only Han Jonghyun could handle, as he thought.

But even trying to think that way, the uneasiness wouldn’t disappear. It felt like some truth that bothered him was hidden. Chae Beomjun didn’t answer the question he asked. He stared at Cheon Sejoo silently, then at some point, his lips curved into a smile, and the tense, sharp atmosphere gently dissipated.

Chae Beomjun reached out his hand to the elevator panel and said,

“I’ve warned you clearly, Manager Cheon.”

“Chae Beomjun.”

Even calling his name, he didn’t stop. Swoosh, the elevator doors soon closed silently, and Chae Beomjun disappeared from his sight. Cheon Sejoo couldn’t leave immediately and stood for a long time in front of the elevator doors that reflected his face.

Judging by Chae Beomjun’s tone, it was clear he wouldn’t say anything even if he chased after him and asked. A warning—that was all Chae Beomjun could do. It meant Shin Gyoyeon was controlling Han Jonghyun for some reason.

What on earth could it be? But no matter how much he thought about it, nothing immediately came to mind. His head ached. With a feeling of unease, Cheon Sejoo didn’t go straight home and smoked a cigarette in the lobby. Then, he picked up the chicken that had just arrived and entered his apartment.

“You’re here?”

Se-jin was standing in front of the inner door. The sudden opening of the front door and Cheon Sejoo’s entrance startled Se-jin, who took the chicken and greeted him. It was clear he had come out to meet the chicken, but still, having someone welcome him wasn’t a bad feeling at all. Cheon Sejoo felt his headache subside and smiled.

“Daddy’s home.”

Seeing the disgusted reaction, with his face scrunched up at the casual joke, made him feel even better. It felt like he was truly home.