Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 44

“Right. You know it well.”

Cheon Sejoo smiled faintly and took out a fake knife from the storage cabinet. Sejin narrowed his eyes, staring at the plastic knife in his hand. He couldn’t describe how absurd it felt when Cheon Sejoo first told him he would teach him how to deal with someone holding a knife. But when he asked what Cheon Sejoo intended to teach, Cheon Sejoo countered that there were “too many crazy bastards in the news these days,” and after seeing hundreds of news articles about random acts of violence that Cheon Sejoo found and showed him, Sejin ultimately had no choice but to accept his teaching.

That didn’t mean the two of them fought with knives every day. Cheon Sejoo primarily taught light self-defense on weekday mornings and how to deal with armed opponents on weekends. However, since Kim Hyunkyung fell ill, they hadn’t exercised, so it had been a full month since he last saw that knife. Sejin swallowed hard, meeting the gaze of Cheon Sejoo, who was approaching him.

“But the situation can’t always be the same. You might be in an alley, or it might be difficult to run away. Or that person might already be close to you.”

Cheon Sejoo said that and went behind Sejin. It was the moment he felt Cheon Sejoo’s breath on his neck. His chest touched Sejin’s back, and the arm wrapped around his shoulder rested under Sejin’s chin. Flustered, Sejin held his breath.

“What will you do if they grab you from behind like they’re taking a hostage? I’m trying to take you somewhere secluded.”

The knife he held touched the left side of Sejin’s neck. But there was no time to worry about such things. Sejin remained silent, conscious of Cheon Sejoo’s warmth against his back. His heart felt like it would leap out of his mouth. Feeling the scent of the man pressed tightly against him, he felt dizzy.

“Kwon Sejin, what are you going to do?! Are you going to die?”

As Sejin remained silent, Cheon Sejoo urged him, asking. Sejin finally collected himself and swallowed. He cleared his throat and replied,

“I’ll surrender. Do what you want.”

“This crazy bastard.”

It was Cheon Sejoo who was dumbfounded by that reply. He chuckled as if he had heard all sorts of nonsense, then lowered his arm and stood in front of Sejin. He met his eyes, then spoke as if to tell him to pull himself together.

“I told you. The moment you get kidnapped is your only chance to resist! Once you’re dragged away, it’s hard to get out alive from there. Resist with all your might when you’re first threatened. But you surrender?”

“…”

Sejin, who hadn’t fully grasped what was being said, blinked and closed his mouth. Seeing the flushed area around his neck, where he avoided Cheon Sejoo’s gaze, Cheon Sejoo wondered if he had choked him too hard, then sighed and placed the knife in Sejin’s hand.

“You try it. I’ll show you how.”

“…Okay.”

The knife, still warm from Cheon Sejoo’s touch, was in Sejin’s hand. Sejin stood behind him, just as Cheon Sejoo had done. Cheon Sejoo’s defenseless back came into view. His neatly styled hair, his straight trapezius muscles. Sejin’s T-shirt wasn’t as thin as what Cheon Sejoo usually wore, so his back tattoo wasn’t visible, but it was enough to reveal his slightly protruding shoulder blades. Sejin looked at his curved back, as if it had wings, then took a step closer to him.

“Just like I did, wrap your arm around his neck and hold the knife like you’re taking a hostage. You’ve seen it a lot in movies, right?”

As Sejin fumbled, Cheon Sejoo explained to him. Sejin murmured, “Yeah,” and wrapped his arm around Cheon Sejoo’s neck.

Sejin’s chest touched Cheon Sejoo’s back, and his right cheek touched Cheon Sejoo’s arm. Sejin lowered his gaze to see the tip of the knife he held pointing at Cheon Sejoo’s left neck.

Then he saw something. Two very small dots, side by side, that were impossible to see unless up close. One day, he had secretly kissed that spot. You wouldn’t know. Sejin heard his heart pounding loudly, thump, thump, and slightly lowered his head. His lips almost touched Cheon Sejoo’s neckline.

“Good job. Now watch what I do.”

However, the close contact was fleeting. The moment Cheon Sejoo grabbed Sejin’s right arm and tilted his body, the body that had been within his embrace slipped away, and the knife Sejin held pointed towards his own chest. He was dumbfounded by how quickly it happened. Cheon Sejoo’s body was far away from him, as if he had dreamt it. Sejin opened his mouth and looked back at Cheon Sejoo, who had escaped with such baffling ease. Seeing his bewildered face, Cheon Sejoo frowned and asked,

“You’re not concentrating, are you?”

“No… I was. How did you do that?”

“You weren’t…”

Cheon Sejoo sighed, muttering, and returned to Sejin’s embrace. He pulled Sejin’s arm to wrap around his neck, warned Sejin to watch carefully, and then showed him again how to escape the hold. It was ridiculously simple. Sejin, aghast, tried every trick to prevent Cheon Sejoo from escaping, but even after ten repetitions, he couldn’t stop him from slipping out of his grasp.

“What is this?”

As time passed, his carnal desires dissipated, replaced by rebellion. Sejin, now with a sullen face, looked back at Cheon Sejoo, who was slipping away like an eel, and accused him of cheating.

“Don’t do weird things.”

“What’s weird about it? Still don’t understand the principle? The center of gravity shifted. Well… what would an 8th-grade math student know?”

“Why are you bringing that up here?”

Sejin, flushed by the sudden attack, yelled. Regardless, Cheon Sejoo clicked his tongue and lifted Sejin’s arm to wrap it around his own neck again. Then, he grabbed Sejin’s forearms with both hands and pulled his body downwards. In the process, the center of gravity shifted from Sejin to Cheon Sejoo, and the knife pointed at Sejin instead of Cheon Sejoo. Sejin, seemingly unable to grasp the simple principle, had a blank expression again. It was like watching a magic show.

“Ha…”

Cheon Sejoo, looking at Sejin, felt a strain in the back of his neck. He had explained it over ten times, but Sejin couldn’t grasp it, completely exhausting him. Is he even human? Cheon Sejoo reached out and tapped Sejin’s small head.

“What exactly is in there?”

“…”

At his sighing remark, Sejin’s mouth drooped in a pout. Stopping himself from teasing Sejin further, who, despite his size, still acted like a child, Cheon Sejoo tossed the knife back into the storage cabinet. He wanted to keep teaching until Sejin understood, but it was time to go to the hospital. Their exercise session had long since passed an hour.

“Let’s do it again next time. First, go wash up and come out. We need to go to the hospital.”

Even at his words, Sejin didn’t move. He stood there, trying to understand Cheon Sejoo’s movements by changing the direction of his arms this way and that, then, unable to understand it at all, tilted his head and pouted. Cheon Sejoo let out a wry laugh at the sight, then left the room.

Though not clumsy and quick to learn when taught, the stubborn Kwon Sejin tended not to learn something properly until he understood the principle himself. This was also why Sejin’s memory was poor; he struggled to memorize things he didn’t understand. In some ways, it was a perfectionist trait, but in others, it was an exasperating stubbornness.

Anyway, having no more energy to spare, Cheon Sejoo soon went into the living room bathroom, showered, and came out. He put on a gown, went back to his room, dried his hair, and changed into clothes he had chosen with more care than usual. These were clothes he would take off anyway when he dropped Sejin off at the hospital and went to the hotel, but he still tried to show as much effort as possible.

When he finished styling his hair and even put on perfume, Sejin, also changed, was out in the living room. Sejin, wearing his usual thick T-shirt and long pants, hardened his expression upon seeing Cheon Sejoo in a suit. Receiving his fierce glare, Cheon Sejoo muttered “What?” and gestured towards the front door with his chin. Sejin stood still, glaring at Cheon Sejoo’s back, then followed him.

“Do you have plans?”

“Yeah.”

Sejin suddenly asked as he was putting on his shoes. When Cheon Sejoo answered casually, Sejin, who was putting on his sneakers, looked up. He stared intently at Cheon Sejoo and asked again,

“Are you going to meet Kang Doyoon?”

“…”

At the name that came from Sejin’s mouth, Cheon Sejoo tilted his head and looked at Sejin. Their gazes met at close range. Cheon Sejoo realized Sejin’s excessive interest in him lately and remained silent. A cool gaze pierced through Sejin. Kwon Sejin didn’t avoid that look. His black eyes, holding an unknown defiance, were fixed on Cheon Sejoo.

“…No.”

“Then?”

At that moment, Cheon Sejoo couldn’t understand why he had lied. But he also didn’t feel like telling the truth straightforwardly. At Sejin’s counter-question, Cheon Sejoo frowned and closed his mouth, then eventually told him,

“I’m going out to drink.”

“…Why suddenly?”

“Just thinking about you getting your college entrance exam results makes me furious.”

At Cheon Sejoo’s words as he opened the front door, Sejin bit his lip. The tips of his ears were tinged red with shame about his grades.

Leaving the embarrassed Sejin behind, Cheon Sejoo went straight into the elevator, which was already on the 41st floor. Sejin, with a sullen face, followed him inside, and as the elevator descended to the basement parking lot, Cheon Sejoo stared intently at the back of Sejin’s round head in front of him.

It had been several months since Sejin and Doyoon last met. Since then, Cheon Sejoo hadn’t brought Doyoon home, and there was no occasion to mention him in front of Sejin, so Doyoon hadn’t come up in their conversations. But he hadn’t expected Kwon Sejin to still remember Doyoon’s name and specifically ask about him. Cheon Sejoo couldn’t distinguish if this was Sejin’s personal interest or curiosity as a cohabitant, and just stared intently at the back of his head. But since no answer would come from that, he eventually got out of the elevator without reaching a conclusion.

The two of them got into the SUV and stopped by a department store before going to the hospital. It was to buy snacks for Kim Hyunkyung and the other patients. Normally, he wouldn’t have looked at such expensive snacks, but after she fell ill, Sejin wanted to give Kim Hyunkyung only the best. Thanks to that, the money he had saved from Cheon Sejoo was slowly dwindling, but he didn’t care.

While Cheon Sejoo went to buy coffee at a cafe in the department store’s food section, Sejin pondered deeply and then chose snacks. A large tiramisu, dacquoises, and a cheesecake tart. After paying at each store and receiving them wrapped in turn, a display stand in front of the escalator caught Sejin’s eye.

They were selling cream cheese, Cheon Sejoo’s favorite. It was a smoky cream cheese with smoked salmon and dill, made fresh, so the time it could be enjoyed deliciously wasn’t very long. Perhaps only a day.

It wasn’t a stall he saw every day, so he hesitated. Cheon Sejoo said he was going out in the evening, so he thought it would be pointless to buy it now since he wouldn’t be able to eat it. Sejin hesitated, then turned his head to look towards the cafe. Just then, Cheon Sejoo, coffee in hand, was walking towards him.

Even just being impeccably dressed in a suit on a weekend filled with casually dressed people was enough to attract attention, but the face belonged to none other than Cheon Sejoo. His physique and looks drew everyone’s interest. The atmosphere was distinctly more noticeable when viewed from a distance than up close. Everyone around him couldn’t take their eyes off him.

“…”

Sejin hardened his expression, watching the splendid man walk towards him. Cheon Sejoo attracting people’s attention didn’t bother him. He was a man with a presence that you simply couldn’t help but look back at. But he hated the thought of someone else monopolizing this man. If only one person could look at Cheon Sejoo, it had to be him.

Eventually, Sejin couldn’t bear it and turned around, approaching the escalator. Without hesitation, he immediately ordered from the staff.

“Smoked salmon cream cheese, please.”

“Oh, yes! Just a moment. I’ll prepare it right away!”

While the staff chopped the smoked salmon and dill, Cheon Sejoo arrived. He subtly took the three shopping bags from Sejin’s hand and placed a frappuccino, full of chocolate, in Sejin’s hand. Then he took out his card from inside his jacket and handed it to the staff.

“Please charge this. Are you going to eat this? You said you don’t like the smell of herbs.”

As he said, Sejin didn’t particularly like the smell of herbs. If it were perilla leaves, fine, but foreign herbs made him feel like he was eating cosmetics, spoiling his appetite. Sejin glanced at Cheon Sejoo and, without replying, took his card. He slipped it back into Cheon Sejoo’s jacket pocket, then awkwardly extended his hand to the waiting staff and presented his own debit card.

“With this, please.”

“You’re quite the chaebol now. Buy me a house.”

“…”

Cheon Sejoo chuckled and said that, gently bumping his head against Sejin’s. Sejin gave him a sullen look, as if telling him to stop talking nonsense, then soon received his card and the cream cheese from the staff. With it in hand, the two headed back to the underground parking lot.

Sejin didn’t know that Cheon Sejoo was covering Kim Hyunkyung’s hospital bills. Because he wanted Sejin not to know, Kim Hyunkyung and Cheon Sejoo had agreed to say that the treatment and hospital costs were coming from Ihwagak. Kim Hyunkyung had said Sejin should know about the favor, but she conceded to Cheon Sejoo’s request, as he didn’t want Sejin to feel indebted to him.

With no worries about hospital bills, Sejin could comfortably focus on his studies, thinking only of Kim Hyunkyung’s treatment, and Kim Hyunkyung also appeared outwardly worry-free. No one knew what was inside, but anyway, Cheon Sejoo hoped Kim Hyunkyung would truly focus only on her treatment. He never wanted to see Sejin crying in his arms again.

“Give it, I’ll carry it.”

“I can carry it all by myself.”

After parking the car in the hospital parking lot, Sejin, whose hands were full with drinks and snacks bought earlier from the supermarket, shook his head at Cheon Sejoo’s words. Cheon Sejoo inwardly clicked his tongue at Sejin’s unnecessary stubbornness, then replied, “Alright,” and followed him.

When they arrived at Kim Hyunkyung’s hospital room and opened the door, it was empty inside. But Sejin wasn’t surprised; he placed the paper bags on the table by the window and opened the refrigerator, confirming that all the fruits and snacks he had bought a few days ago were gone.

Kim Hyunkyung, who had chemotherapy last week, had lost her appetite and was practically refusing food. It was unlikely that someone who barely finished half of her hospital meals would have eaten all those snacks herself; it seemed clear she had shared them with people from other rooms. Sejin was displeased that the food he had earned by diligently cleaning went into other people’s stomachs, but he endured it, knowing that they were getting along well with his mother.

Sejin refilled the empty refrigerator with drinks and turned to Cheon Sejoo.

“You stay here.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll go get Mom. You must be tired from driving, so sit down.”

“Is this elder respect?”

At Sejin’s thoughtful words, Cheon Sejoo chuckled in disbelief but nodded. They weren’t family, and there was no particular reason to accompany him all the way to find Kim Hyunkyung. Then, Sejin rummaged through the paper bag he had been carrying since the department store and pulled out a small glass pudding for him. Cheon Sejoo frowned at Sejin but knew he would eat it anyway, so Sejin left him and exited the room.

As he approached the lounge, he heard boisterous voices. Quietly opening the door and peeking his head in, he saw patients gathered in small groups, sharing desserts, perhaps because evening visiting hours had just ended.

Everyone in the cancer ward was a cancer patient, but not all had advanced stages like Kim Hyunkyung. Many patients had fortunately been diagnosed early and had their tumors removed with minor surgery, and many had just been admitted and were undergoing chemotherapy. Given the nature of cancer, one might expect a somber atmosphere, but the lounge was anything but.

The Korea University Hospital Cancer Center, only in its fifth year since opening, was unlike other hospitals in pursuing open and progressive treatment. To show that cancer wasn’t so hopeless, patients lived in a free atmosphere, and medical staff actively encouraged their social activities. This was based on the judgment that isolation in hospital rooms had a more negative impact on their treatment.

However, this atmosphere only applied to the ward for mild cases. Sejin recalled the time he accidentally took the wrong elevator and ended up on the severe ward floor above during his last hospital visit. That place was different. The ward for patients facing death, making their last attempts, was enveloped in heavy silence, devoid of any vitality. Sejin looked around inside, hoping Kim Hyunkyung wouldn’t end up there.

Kim Hyunkyung was in front of the large TV in the lounge, among a group of younger patients. Despite being in her mid-thirties, her youthful face allowed her to blend in with patients in their twenties rather than middle-aged women. The five women sat around a circular table, with a bowl of fresh apples in the center, doing diamond painting.

“Mom.”

“Oh, son, you’re here?”

“Hello, Sejin.”

“Hello.”

At Sejin’s appearance, vibrant smiles appeared on the women’s pale faces. The women looked around and subtly asked Sejin,

“Didn’t the Director come?”

Cheon Sejoo was popular. With that face and his gentle, kind demeanor, all the women who had ever exchanged a word with him seemed to like him. Sejin found that truly annoying.

“He’s busy, he said.”

It was a lie that would be easily exposed if he ran into Cheon Sejoo in the hospital room, but Sejin replied expressionlessly, without batting an eyelid. Oh, what a shame. He watched them laugh playfully, then widened his smile and looked at Kim Hyunkyung.

“Did you eat?”

“Yeah, I did. What, you bought more? I told you to come empty-handed.”

“It’s for you and the aunties to eat.”

“Oh, ‘aunties’ again!”

At Sejin’s words, the young woman sitting to Kim Hyunkyung’s right raised her voice and laughed. Sejin always called any woman four years older than him or more “auntie.” She seemed upset about being called “auntie” despite being only 24, but Sejin didn’t care. He couldn’t just call anyone “noona.”

“She said to eat it cold.”

Sejin placed the paper bag he was carrying on the table. They pushed their diamond paintings aside and unwrapped the packages. Tiramisu, cheesecake tart, dacquoises—desserts perfect for after-meal treats appeared, and the women’s eyes sparkled.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“No. You go eat. I’ll be in the room.”

“Alright, go rest on Mom’s bed.”

Sejin vaguely nodded and left. Being in a place with too many people drained his energy. It was even more so after he grew tall. Both adults and children stared intently, and it was a task not to be conscious of their gaze. Sejin wondered, How does Cheon Sejoo endure this stare? and left the lounge.

Before closing the door, he glanced back and saw that there were so many snacks they were even sharing with the next table. It pained him that only a small dacquoise was placed in front of his mother, but Sejin recalled what the nurse had said on the day he was transferred to the cancer center. She said it was best for the patient to be happy and comfortable. So, if sharing with others made his mother happy, Sejin had to be content with that.

When he returned to the hospital room, Cheon Sejoo was talking with Kim Hyunkyung’s caregiver. The caregiver, a thirty-two-year-old woman, was folding clothes that seemed to have just been dried, having apparently done laundry.

“Ah, I get it now! I’m a bit slow on the uptake.”

“No, I explained it weirdly. I often hear that I’m not good at explaining things.”

At Cheon Sejoo’s voice, Sejin frowned and peeked inside. Cheon Sejoo and the caregiver were sitting opposite each other at the table, laughing and chatting. Sejin scoffed in disbelief at Cheon Sejoo saying he explained things “weirdly.”

He had tormented him during their studies, saying, “You’re the first person who can’t understand my explanations,” but in front of a woman, he was a completely gentle angel. If only he was like that to me too… Sejin bit his lip tightly, thinking that far, then flung open the slightly ajar door. Bang, the sliding door hit the wall, startling the caregiver, who looked towards the exit, then spotted Sejin and smiled.

“Hello, Sejin. Did you go to the lounge? Is the door not opening well?”

“Hello. It seems broken.”

Sejin bowed to her and entered. He knew she was friendly with his mother like a sister and was a great help to his mother, but he couldn’t help but feel annoyed. He hated Cheon Sejoo for being gentle only to women.

Sejin approached Cheon Sejoo with a sullen face and looked down at him. He met Cheon Sejoo’s eyes, who looked up at him as if asking what was wrong, then grabbed his arm.

“Take me home.”

“Already?”

“Yeah. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Sunday was the day the caregiver had off. Anyway, she had to be there from the morning tomorrow, so there was no need for her to stay late today. At Sejin’s words, Cheon Sejoo looked puzzled for a moment before getting up.

“Right, then. I’ll be off.”

“Yes, please be careful on your way home! Sejin, you too, goodbye. On Monday, my sister has an exam; I’ll contact you after it’s done.”

“Goodbye.”

Sejin casually said his goodbyes to her and pulled Cheon Sejoo’s arm. Why are you in such a hurry? Cheon Sejoo muttered, but still picked up the empty glass bottle from the table and threw it into the trash can. The bottle that had contained pudding was already cleanly empty. Sejin closed the hospital room door and stopped Cheon Sejoo before they reached the elevator, saying,

“I’m going to say goodbye to Mom. Just wait here for a moment.”

“What, okay.”

Cheon Sejoo frowned, as if asking if he hadn’t said goodbye earlier, and pushed his back. Sejin hurried towards the lounge. He went inside, told Kim Hyunkyung, who was chatting and eating snacks, that he would be back tomorrow morning, and then came out into the hallway again. His heart was strangely anxious. He wanted to go home quickly. By the time Sejin returned to the elevator, Cheon Sejoo was on the phone with someone.

“Yeah, just go and say my name. See you later.”

His greeting to the other person was affectionate. Sejin held his breath and watched Cheon Sejoo. Removing the phone from his ear, he turned to Sejin and gestured towards the elevator.

“Let’s go.”

“…Okay.”

In that brief moment, Sejin saw the name on the phone. Kang Doyoon. Three syllables made his anger surge.