Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 5

He told me not to be disrespectful… Recalling the man’s words belatedly, she closed her mouth, her face pale. She was worried the man might harm her mother. If he brought up her mother again, like he did in the car, Sejin wouldn’t be able to say anything.

But contrary to her worries, the man’s reaction was gentle.

“Alright, I’m sorry for ignoring you.”

“…”

She hadn’t expected an apology. Sejin was, instead, speechless at his unexpectedly sensible behavior. Soon, a faint crease appeared between his eyebrows.

He was an unpredictable man. When she refused to eat, he would get angry and bring up her mother, but then he would apologize sincerely for ignoring her when she snapped at him. Sejin was at a loss, not knowing how to match his rhythm, so she just changed the subject.

“What did you want to talk about…?”

“Ah.”

The man, who had said yesterday that he had something to talk about after dinner, had postponed the conversation when he saw Sejin yawn. At her question reminding him of that fact, the man was silent for a moment. He stared at Sejin for a long time with an embarrassingly blatant gaze, then at some point, he changed his posture, leaning against the sofa backrest, and asked,

“What are you going to do about your living situation?”

“…What?”

Sejin, not understanding the man’s words, looked up and asked back. What are you talking about? At her gaze, the man frowned one eyebrow and stretched his lips, then quickly changed his words and asked again.

“You don’t have a home. So where are you going to stay now?”

“…”

In his words, wrinkles appeared on Sejin’s forehead. Displeasure settled in her delicately drawn eyes.

It was only natural that she felt offended by the man’s words about her not having a home. It was thugs like him, loan sharks, who had dragged her mother away under the pretext of a guarantee that never even stood, and then took their security deposit. What right did he have to worry about her housing? A brusque voice escaped from the angry Sejin.

“When I meet mom, she’ll figure something out.”

Kwon Sejin knew herself well. She knew that if the man added a few more words about home, she wouldn’t be able to hold back and would blurt out everything she was feeling.

Sejin was always scolded by her mother for her lack of patience. She didn’t want to curse at him and get kicked out for no reason, so Sejin reluctantly used her mom as an excuse. However, the man made a displeased expression at her vague answer, then said,

“Eighteen isn’t that young. But you don’t have any plans?”

“…”

The man spoke in an incredibly unpleasant way. He had been like that since yesterday. Sejin gritted her teeth and glared at the man. Stop it, she said with her eyes, but he didn’t understand. The man continued in a chiding tone.

“What can your mom do there? She’s someone who has to work for years without rest, without anything in her hands. You need to think about something.”

“…What do you know?”

Kwon Sejin’s meager patience quickly ran out. A sharp retort burst out without a moment’s hesitation. Sejin clenched her fists and glared at the man.

She knew this would happen. She knew she wouldn’t be able to tolerate such hateful words to her face. Sejin realized her plan to deceive the man and meet her mother was falling apart. However, she couldn’t calm the rapidly surging anger within her. The emotions she had barely been holding back began to pour out like a dam breaking, triggered by the man’s nagging.

“Why did I end up like this? Why did my mom go there? It’s because of people like you, who shamelessly exploit others for a living. But what? Where am I going to stay? What right do you even have to say such things?”

A crack appeared on the man’s expressionless face at Sejin’s agitated voice. Like when he was giving his ridiculous lecture in the car, the man began to reveal his cold true colors. I shouldn’t provoke him any further. The thought crossed her mind, but her open mouth wouldn’t close. Maintaining eye contact with the frowning man, Sejin spewed out the resentment filling her heart.

“Plans? If you wanted me to make plans, then you should have given me some time! I was living normally, and then I was kicked out of my house overnight. What am I supposed to think, how am I supposed to think? I didn’t ask for any of this, so what plans am I supposed to make?!”

“…”

Her head was throbbing with heat. Between her ragged breaths, Sejin’s eyes welled up. She bit her lips hard, trying to hold back the tears, but she couldn’t. A single tear rolled down Sejin’s cheek as she heaved.

“What do you want me, what do you want me to do…?”

Sejin’s heart was small, so small that if her emotions swelled up even a little, they would quickly spill out. And after crying like that, Sejin would quickly regain her composure, as if nothing had happened. She would get angry quickly and then calm down just as quickly, as if she had poured everything into that single tear and discarded it.

Sejin really hated that about herself. She worried that her shallow thoughts would make her seem foolish. It was the same this time. As soon as a tear dropped, she regained her sanity and realized the reality of the situation.

She had no right to resent the man. Sejin was not given that right. The man in front of her right now was someone who could kill or save her mother with a single word. When she belatedly grasped the situation, it felt like being hit with cold water. Her heart pounded as if it would burst, and her mind cleared. Fuck, Sejin cursed softly, rubbing her face roughly with her sleeve, and opened her mouth.

“You’re just trying to play nice anyway. So don’t meddle with useless things like house or food, just let me meet my mom. That’s all I want. If you do that, I’ll remember you as a good person. If you can’t, tell me now. I’ll just leave…”

Kwon Sejin didn’t know how to speak prettily. All he learned from his father, the man who would stir up and hurt his mother with a few words, was how to openly and honestly express his true feelings. After finishing his words, Sejin firmly closed his mouth and bowed his head. Sweat beaded on his palms. He might get hit. Sejin recalled the man’s large hands and clenched his fists to hide his trembling.

But no matter how long he waited, there was no impact, nor any curses.

“……”

The man simply stood there silently for a moment, then got up. Sejin stared blankly at the man’s receding back. Even so, he didn’t let his guard down, wondering if the man would come out of the room with a baseball bat. But the man only came out of his bedroom with car keys. He left the living room, saying to Sejin,

“There are sandwiches and lunch boxes in the fridge, so take them out and eat. There’s a card key in the shoe cabinet by the entrance, so take that when you go to school tomorrow.”

That was it.

The man didn’t get angry. He didn’t curse. He didn’t hit Sejin. He simply avoided the situation with a remark about taking care of his meals. Kwon Sejin watched his retreating figure, bewildered. He watched the man disappear around the corner into the hallway, then twisted his face in confusion.

Sejin thought the man wanted something from him. Otherwise, there was no reason for a man who lacked nothing to bother with such pretense and show him favor.

But here he was, screaming like an ungrateful beast and spitting out nasty words, and the man didn’t get angry once, only avoiding the situation. Sejin couldn’t understand it at all.

All the men Sejin had encountered in his life were the worst. From his father who squandered their fortune on gambling and beat him and his mother, and his uncle who pretended to save them from his father but took his mother’s seal to get a loan, to the gangster-like loan sharks and the classmates who bullied Sejin at school—all of them were like that. All men were human trash.

So he thought this man would be no different. This was even more so because his first impression and subsequent conversations only reinforced Sejin’s conviction.

But why isn’t he getting angry?

It was strange.

Why isn’t he cursing? Why isn’t he kicking me out? Why isn’t he hitting me? Questions exploded in Sejin’s mind. He couldn’t grasp the man’s intentions at all. Kwon Sejin gritted his teeth in surging confusion.

***

“Team Leader, are you awake?”

Moon Seonhyuk called out to Cheon Sejoo in a cautious voice. Sejoo, who had been lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, replied in the same position. “Uh,” At the short response, Moon Seonhyuk turned on the living room light and came out of the room.

Cheon Sejoo had been staying and eating for two days at the apartment on the 10th floor of the same building, where the processing team members lived. Because Cheon Sejoo stubbornly insisted on taking the sofa, refusing to lie on someone else’s bed, the team members were busy wondering why he was doing this when he had a perfectly good home, and why he was in such a bad mood.

“Shall I prepare a meal?”

But Moon Seonhyuk was the same as usual. He was the kind of person who would cut off his own neck if Cheon Sejoo ordered him to, so he simply volunteered to be Cheon Sejoo’s servant, intending to serve him without fault now that he had visited their home.

“Is today Tuesday?”

“Yes.”

Seonhyuk replied to the indifferent question and turned on the kitchen light. Cheon Sejoo, who had been quietly watching him wash rice and prepare to cook it, checked the clock nearing 6 AM and got up. He had somewhere to go on Tuesday. He went into the bathroom located in a corner of the living room, quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and came out.

“I’m going to the gym. You eat first.”

“Yes, please do.”

Moon Seonhyuk, wearing an apron with pink flowers, nodded vigorously. Cheon Sejoo chuckled, ruffled Seonhyuk’s hair, which was a span taller than him, and headed for the entrance.

He stuffed his sockless feet into his sneakers and left the entrance, opening the door leading to the emergency stairs instead of the elevator. Thump, thump, he skipped five or six steps at a time as he descended, stopping on the 7th floor. Click, he opened the fire door and entered the lobby, where he saw a man standing guard at unit 701. The man immediately bowed to Cheon Sejoo upon seeing him.

“You’re here, Team Leader.”

“Where’s the CEO?”

“He’s inside.”

Cheon Sejoo entered unit 701 through the door the man opened. He checked the two pairs of shoes by the entrance, took off his sneakers, and neatly placed them on the opposite side. As he rotated his stiff shoulders and stepped inside, he saw the brightly lit interior.

This mixed-use apartment building was constructed by DG Construction, designed for the convenience of the organization from the initial stages of construction.

On the 7th floor of the apartment, there was a fitness facility and gym used by CEO Shin Gyoyeon, whom he served, and on the floor below, there was a strength training room used by the organization members. To protect Shin Gyoyeon’s residence on the 43rd floor, members’ accommodations were scattered throughout the apartment, and the three penthouses even had secret passages connecting each unit. This was a fact known only to a very few people, including Shin Gyoyeon, Chae Beomjun, and Cheon Sejoo, who were the heirs of DG.

Shin Gyoyeon sparred with Cheon Sejoo two or three times a week in the 7th-floor gym. Their sparring, having learned various martial arts including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Krav Maga, was brutal to watch. They primarily used fake knives whose blades retracted into the handle when a certain pressure was applied, or replica pistols as weapons.

Because of this, unit 701 was far from a typical family home. The interior, with the walls of the living room and master bedroom removed, was spacious. Near the window, there was a very large ring, and next to it were lockers for personal belongings and a sofa. On the opposite side were a bare-essentials strength training room, a shower room, and a dressing room. There were no bedrooms or kitchens necessary for residential living.

“CEO.”

By the window next to the cabinet, a man dressed in a black T-shirt and training pants was standing, smoking. It was Shin Gyoyeon, the heir of DG and the man who held Cheon Sejoo’s life in his hands. Next to him was his chief secretary, Chae Beomjun, who was inspecting a fake knife.

“You’ve arrived.”

When he bowed and greeted him, Shin Gyoyeon’s emotionless three-white-eyed gaze turned towards Cheon Sejoo, then returned to its original position. Cheon Sejoo, not caring whether Shin Gyoyeon acknowledged his greeting or not, went to his cabinet and wrapped protective gear around his hands. This was essential to protect his palms because the sparring was more intense than expected.

“Ready.”

Just then, Chae Beomjun’s voice was heard, having finished inspecting the knife. At a glance, Cheon Sejoo looked towards the sound and saw Chae Beomjun winking one eye with a subtle smile. Is he crazy? At the sudden wink, Cheon Sejoo frowned and turned away.

Standing in front of the mirror, Cheon Sejoo pulled up the pants that were loosely hanging on his hips and tightly pulled the drawstring, tying a bow so it wouldn’t come undone. He rotated his wrists, loosened his muscles, and prepared to spring into action.

Shin Gyoyeon was already on the mat, holding a knife. Staring intently at him, Cheon Sejoo held out his left hand to the side, and Chae Beomjun placed the knife on Cheon Sejoo’s palm. As if he would die if he pretended to be pure for even a day, Chae Beomjun didn’t forget to fluidly bend Cheon Sejoo’s fingers and grip the knife for him. At the sticky contact, he sighed and shook his hand.

“Come in.”

He was about to curse him, but Shin Gyoyeon, standing on the mat, called him. Feeling a shiver at his soft yet completely emotionless voice, Cheon Sejoo jumped onto the ring.

Cheon Sejoo had been exercising for 5 years now, but Shin Gyoyeon, having been raised as the heir to an organization, had learned martial arts for nearly 20 years since childhood. Yet, despite that long difference in experience, Cheon Sejoo was not outmatched by Shin Gyoyeon. After losing every day, he gradually started winning more often, and now it was a back-and-forth of wins and losses. For the past year, neither side had won more than 2 consecutive matches.

Although he had received many offers to become an athlete when he was young, he didn’t know he had such outstanding talent for physical combat. To quote his Krav Maga instructor, Cheon Sejoo was born with a knack for killing people.

“I’m coming.”

No warm-up. Thwack, thwack, the sound of bare feet hitting the rubber mat was accompanied by a knife instantly slicing through the air. The best defense is offense; both Cheon Sejoo and Shin Gyoyeon aimed for vital points as if to kill each other. It was the beginning of a fierce offensive and defensive battle.

Whoosh, a blunt blade grazed his neck. Cheon Sejoo ducked to evade the knife, intentionally letting his body collapse as he burrowed between Shin Gyoyeon’s legs. He moved behind the man, dodging the relentlessly pursuing blade.

Then Shin Gyoyeon swung his foot as if kicking a rat. Cheon Sejoo stretched out his arm, snatched the man’s ankle as it flew, and threw off his balance. Thud, as the large body slammed onto the mat, he brought the knife down. The blade struck Shin Gyoyeon’s shoulder, slipped, and heavily embedded itself in the mat.

It was rare for actual strikes to occur during sparring. Because of this, both men’s gazes converged on one spot.

“……”

Soon, Shin Gyoyeon’s lips curved into an arc. It was a fake knife that had stabbed him, but the pressure required for the blade to retract was high. So, despite the considerable pain he must have been in, Shin Gyoyeon merely twisted the corner of his mouth and struck Cheon Sejoo’s side with the knife he held.

“Ugh!”

Shin Gyoyeon showed no mercy. Cheon Sejoo, who didn’t usually feel pain easily due to psychological reasons, vividly felt the suffocating pressure.

Son of a bitch. Cheon Sejoo cursed inwardly as he shackled Shin Gyoyeon’s arm, which held the knife in one hand. Then he punched his shoulder. It was the same spot where the knife had just struck. He wanted to hit his jaw, but since that area was off-limits, he chose this alternative.

Seeing Shin Gyoyeon’s eyes subtly contort, Cheon Sejoo backed away. As soon as he arched his back, Shin Gyoyeon’s knife ripped through the air. If he hadn’t dodged, it would have been aimed at his cheek.

In a surge of anger, Cheon Sejoo frowned and kicked the man’s groin. Since he was barefoot, the impact wouldn’t be huge, but because of the sensitive area, it turned into a chaotic brawl from that point on.

Anyway, in a real fight, an even greater mess would unfold. All sorts of tricks and schemes were employed to take the opponent’s neck. But watching two able-bodied men clumsily brandishing knives was, honestly, an unmissable spectacle.

Usually, they would finish with little contact, just barely grazing each other, but today, for some reason, there was a lot to see. Chae Beomjun, Shin Gyoyeon’s old friend, stood by the window, leisurely smoking and watching the scene. Then, after 20 minutes passed, he loudly rang the bell next to him, signaling the end of the spar. It was a device set up to prevent bloodshed if there were no time limits.

“Time’s up.”

No sooner had the words ended than Thwack, the knife plunged into Cheon Sejoo’s chest. The impact was enormous. Sejoo cursed softly, Damn it, and coughed. He slumped to the ground, gasping for breath, and slowly rubbed his aching chest.

“Good work.”

With an expressionless face, Shin Gyoyeon wiped away the sweat beading around his eyes and said so. “You too, sir,” Cheon Sejoo returned his greeting and pulled up his T-shirt to wipe his sweaty face. Soon, the sound of his sweat-soaked feet sticking to the mat then peeling off could be heard. Feeling Shin Gyoyeon step away, Sejoo simply lay flat on the mat.

“Haa, haa, fuck…”

His heart felt like it would burst. Amidst the pounding in his ears, Cheon Sejoo composed his ragged breaths. He hadn’t been awake long, but exhaustion washed over him. He felt like collapsing and falling asleep right there. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting, until he suddenly came to his senses from the scent of perfume wafting from nearby. Opening his eyes, he saw a familiar face looking down at him.

“Is he someone you know?”

Suddenly, Beomjun threw out a rambling question. Sejoo frowned, seeing his lingering gaze directed at his lower abdomen, and pulled down his T-shirt to cover his stomach. In that state, he looked up at him and retorted,

“Who?”

“Kwon Sejin. Why are you suddenly playing nanny?”

He only mentioned Ehwa-gak, so how did he know this too? Did he ask Kim Donggil? Cheon Sejoo looked at Beomjun’s sly face, then blurted out,

“What’s it to you?”

“Because I’m curious. I’m wondering if even the morally upright Cheon Team Leader is picking up just anyone now.”

Saying that, Chae Beomjun extended his palm in front of Cheon Sejoo’s eyes, as if asking him to take his hand and get up. No chance. Cheon Sejoo slapped Beomjun’s hand away with the back of his hand and pushed himself up from the floor. Then he stared intently into Beomjun’s eyes, which were about half a foot higher than his own, and retorted,

“Stop talking nonsense. He’s a kid. And a girl.”

“…A girl?”

Beomjun’s brows furrowed. He crossed his arms and then burst into a frivolous laugh, his face as neatly composed as an announcer’s. With his cackling laughter behind him, Cheon Sejoo turned and stepped down from the ring. They say madmen laugh a lot; Chae Beomjun didn’t stop laughing until Sejoo moved to the strength training room.

“Is he crazy this early in the morning…?”

The laughter was intensely irritating. Opening the translucent door to the strength training room, Cheon Sejoo gave Chae Beomjun, who was standing far away, the middle finger. Beomjun, still smiling, returned the same gesture.

He had known Chae Beomjun for 5 years. Their first meeting was when Chae Beomjun, then twenty-six, visited Cheon Sejoo in the detention center and offered him a job under Shin Gyoyeon. Since then, Sejoo had encountered Chae Beomjun more often than the man he served, and at some point, he clashed with him almost daily.

The relationship that formed was made up of camaraderie and contempt, revulsion and a hint of admiration. Chae Beomjun was like an older brother to Cheon Sejoo, yet he was also the subject of complex emotions that made him feel bad just by meeting his eyes.

Cheon Sejoo, who entered the gym, ran on the treadmill again until he was out of breath. He didn’t stop until his lungs were puffed out and the distracting thoughts in his head were erased.

When he finished his workout and came out, Shin Gyoyeon and Chae Beomjun were both gone. Cheon Sejoo wondered if he should rinse off his sticky body, but then decided to go home and change clothes, heading for the elevator.

It was 8:40 AM, a time when Kwon Sejin would be at school. It was cowardly, but Cheon Sejoo decided to exploit this window of opportunity.

“What right do you have to say such things?”

The question Sejin had thrown at him last Sunday stirred the guilt and self-loathing buried deep within Cheon Sejoo’s heart. Once he recognized those feelings, he couldn’t bring himself to face Sejin, so Cheon Sejoo had immediately retreated to the 10th floor.

As Kwon Sejin had said, Cheon Sejoo had no right to worry about his living situation. It was the organization to which Cheon Sejoo belonged that had made Sejin that way, so he was not the person who should worry about or take care of Sejin. He had forgotten that for a moment, indulging in playing the older brother after a long time.

Upon realizing that fact, he decided he needed to send Sejin away quickly. Cheon Sejoo planned to call the mother superior of the orphanage that afternoon to hand the child over immediately after visiting Ehwa-gak tomorrow.

But that thought vanished as if washed away the moment he saw the worn-out shoes by the entrance. Cheon Sejoo frowned, looking down at the unfamiliar sneakers.

Didn’t he go to school? Cheon Sejoo blinked blankly, then went into the hallway and approached the intercom. Various information could be checked on the multi-functional intercom. He manipulated the panel and brought up the entrance log on the screen. But no matter how he looked, the front door had only opened twice from Sunday until today. Both times were traces left by Cheon Sejoo himself.

The moment he realized that, a chilling sensation enveloped his entire body. Cheon Sejoo turned around, went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and counted the number of sandwiches and lunch boxes inside. A total of nine. Not a single one was missing from the number he had put in on Sunday.

“Ah…”

His expressionless face crumbled weakly. His pitch-black pupils unfocused, and before his eyes, the image of Kwon Sejin crouching in the hallway and the last image of his younger sister, Cheon Hyein, whom he had seen through a video, overlapped.

Hyein had waited for him in the dark hallway, then threw herself off the apartment building. It was a suicide.

Recalling her last moments, Cheon Sejoo’s head turned towards one spot. It was the direction of the room he had given to Kwon Sejin. For a moment, he stood as if nailed to the spot, then moved with a hurried step. Rushing to Sejin’s room, he didn’t hesitate to turn the doorknob.