Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 60

Cheon Sejoo asked Sejin, looking at the half-boiled water still steaming white. Sejin couldn’t say anything, only shaking his head. This situation, where he was caught trying to pull off a clumsy lie, was incredibly embarrassing, and yet he also liked that Cheon Sejoo was worried about him. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, useless words would spill out, so he remained silent.

“I’ll boil the water. Come here. Where does it hurt?”

Cheon Sejoo straightened the kettle, which had been turned askew, back onto the induction cooktop. He grabbed Sejin’s wrist and led him towards his own room. There was no particular other meaning to it; it was simply the closest bedroom to the kitchen. But Sejin, with his guilty conscience, felt like his heart was about to burst out of his mouth.

“……”

Opening the door, Cheon Sejoo subtly frowned at his disheveled bed. Since it was always neatly organized after cleaning, he couldn’t help but know that Sejin had been lying there. However, he couldn’t scold a sick person, so he pretended not to notice and made Sejin sit on the edge of the bed.

Hesitantly sitting on the mattress as Cheon Sejoo led him, Sejin clasped his hands tightly over his knees, looking up at Cheon Sejoo with wide, pleading eyes. Cheon Sejoo, finding the somewhat nervous face cute, almost teased Sejin, asking if someone was going to eat him, but then thought that given the recent Kwon Sejin, he might actually badger him to be eaten. So, Cheon Sejoo just kept his mouth shut.

“Did you take medicine? Where does it hurt? Is it indigestion?”

“……”

His face was flushed redder than when they met in the kitchen. Cheon Sejoo, unable to tell if it was a blush or a fever, reached out again and caressed Sejin’s forehead. He felt the soft skin twitch. But since it remained lukewarm, he wondered if it was growing pains, and as he was about to lower his hand.

“Cheon Sejoo…”

Sejin quietly opened his mouth and grabbed Cheon Sejoo’s hand. Holding tightly to his wrist as he tried to pull his arm away, his fingertips recoiling, Sejin buried his cheek in his palm.

Only a small area had touched him. Yet, Sejin’s warm body heat seemed to suffuse his entire being. Cheon Sejoo, feeling the contact that set his nerves on edge, slowly tightened his lips and pushed Sejin away. But he couldn’t overcome Sejin’s strength, who gripped his other hand, the one pushing his shoulder, just as tightly. He said he was sick, but he was full of strength. Cheon Sejoo warned him with an uncomfortable look.

“Stop it.”

“…I was wrong.”

What returned was an almost desperate apology. But he didn’t let go of his hands. The trembling emanating from Sejin gradually deepened, as if it would soon reach him. His emotions felt contagious. His heart ached.

Cheon Sejoo wanted to avoid this atmosphere. When he coldly clenched his fist and pushed Sejin away, Sejin was pushed back weakly this time, biting his reddened lips. Looking down at Sejin, whose eyebrows were drooping as if he were about to cry, he spoke.

“If you know you were wrong, stop it. Just go to sleep.”

“…The sickness was a lie.”

“……”

At the sudden confession, Cheon Sejoo finally understood the meaning of Sejin’s “I was wrong.” His expression hardened coldly, and his eyes sank chillily.

At that change in expression, Sejin hurriedly stood up. He lunged into Cheon Sejoo’s arms like a dog pouncing without knowing its own size. Forcibly burying his face into the shoulder of the man who stood still without even sighing in anger, Sejin tightly embraced his waist. Yet, Cheon Sejoo didn’t move. He didn’t put his hands on his back, nor did he stroke his head.

His heart plummeted. Sejin kept rubbing his face, trying to burrow deeper into Cheon Sejoo’s embrace. He confessed, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder as if throwing a tantrum.

“Because it was raining… I lied because I thought you would go meet Kang Doyoon…”

He couldn’t keep lying in front of Cheon Sejoo, who was genuinely worried about him. He couldn’t come up with any excuse when asked where it hurt, so Sejin ultimately chose to reveal the truth. Even if he were to disappoint him a little, he couldn’t help it. It was something he had done in a fit of pique, but Sejin honestly didn’t want to deceive Cheon Sejoo.

“But I didn’t think you’d actually come. I really…!”

“You think my words are a joke, don’t you?”

The words that had burst from his overflowing heart were swallowed by a cold question. Sejin flinched and looked up. The gaze staring down at him was icy. Sejin had never received such a look from Cheon Sejoo before, so this time, he felt a shock as if the world were crumbling.

“You think all of this is a game, and what I’m thinking when I avoid you doesn’t matter at all, does it?”

Cheon Sejoo, having snapped, silently gazed at Sejin, who had raised his head. He’s disappointed in me. Sejin bit his lip, feeling upset by Cheon Sejoo’s subdued mood. His eyes welled up. He didn’t want to cry like a child at such a moment, but the tears that sprang forth when his emotions ran high were a problem he couldn’t solve himself. Sejin simply bit his tongue hard to keep the tears from falling and opened his mouth.

“That’s not it. I just… I just hated you being with that man…”

Tears he couldn’t swallow dripped down his cheeks. Cheon Sejoo flinched, then raised his arm. He sighed softly, clenched his fist, closed his eyes tightly, and stepped back, distancing himself. Sejin, guilty, couldn’t grab him and just stared at the floor. A drop of tear formed at his chin and fell, wetting the top of his foot. Sejin silently chewed his lips, calling his earlier self a fool.

He shouldn’t have lied. He should have just called him and asked him to come home. Said he’d cooked something delicious, that he didn’t want to be alone. In his haste, he made a mistake. Like an idiot. He should have been trying to make a good impression on Cheon Sejoo, but instead, he disappointed him. Like a fool. Regret surged. Sejin clenched his fists tightly and roughly wiped his cheeks. Soon, a weak voice escaped him.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t take your words lightly. I just… was in a hurry…”

“……”

“Now that you know it’s a lie, are you going to leave again…? Don’t go. Can’t you stay?”

At Sejin’s plea, Cheon Sejoo merely looked at him in silence. With dark, sunken eyes, a look that seemed to ask, What am I supposed to do with you?, he just stared at Sejin. Then, he slowly blinked. Having closed and opened his eyes as if organizing his thoughts, Cheon Sejoo turned his head with a deep sigh.

His gaze bypassed Sejin and went out the window. The sky, still raining, was dark. It was night, so the raindrops weren’t clearly visible, but the blurred world suggested the rain was quite heavy. Cheon Sejoo stared at the scene and finally made a decision.

“I’m not going to meet Kang Doyoon. I didn’t even make plans. I rushed here because I was in the area for work.”

In a resolute voice, Sejin raised his head. His soaked eyes were red like peaches. Cheon Sejoo fought hard to resist the urge to raise his hand and caress his eyes, clenching his fist instead.

This wouldn’t do. If he stayed close to Sejin, they would both eventually cross the line. Cheon Sejoo licked his dry lips and forcibly turned his gaze away from Sejin, fixing it elsewhere. In that state, he informed him.

“But Kwon Sejin, I can’t handle you anymore.”

“What…?”

He had reached his limit.

“I told you. Stop it if you don’t want to be kicked out. Get out of this house.”

It would be better to send Kwon Sejin away. Then this fear, and all the complicated emotions he felt for Sejin, would be neatly resolved. He felt like he could clear away all the confusion that had shadowed his life.

So, Sejin was kicked out of unit 4100. Of course, he didn’t just meekly say “Yes” and leave. He spent hours arguing and clinging to Cheon Sejoo, who was pushing him out, asking what he was talking about, how he could suddenly do this. But Cheon Sejoo had no intention of reversing his decision, and eventually, he changed his stance to: if you don’t leave, I will.

He immediately turned and left the house, and Sejin began to hold out. He planned to endure until Cheon Sejoo returned, thinking that Cheon Sejoo couldn’t live without his own home for a day or two. He felt so wronged to be kicked out just for lying once about being sick. Sejin, with a hint of shamelessness, thought that the punishment was too severe for what he had done.

However, a week, then two weeks passed, and Cheon Sejoo did not return home. He hadn’t abandoned the house, and he seemed to know that Sejin was still there.

How could he possibly know that? Sejin pondered and searched, then realized that in this luxurious apartment, entry records for the front door could be checked via a phone app. Not just simple entry records, but also CCTV screenshots from the elevator of anyone visiting that floor could be viewed. This was information he had infiltrated an apartment resident forum to find out.

Upon learning this, Sejin felt a little annoyed by the progress of the world. He was utterly dumbfounded as to who would come up with such useless ideas. Ultimately, Sejin became dejected, realizing that Cheon Sejoo would not return unless he actually left the house.

He didn’t want to leave Cheon Sejoo, but waiting here indefinitely wouldn’t change anything. It would only make Cheon Sejoo homeless.

So Sejin packed his bags. He intended to leave the house for now. A very positive thought motivated Sejin: since he knew where Cheon Sejoo lived and where he worked, leaving the house wouldn’t be a big problem between them.

Since he didn’t have a large bag, Sejin’s belongings were put into pink reusable trash bags. Holding four bags heavy in his hands, Sejin walked with a gloomy face, looking down at the floor. Behind him, the door to unit 4100 closed with a beep. The thud felt like it signified a complete severance from Cheon Sejoo, making Sejin even more despondent.

After getting into the elevator, worries belatedly flooded in. What if Cheon Sejoo moved if he left the house like this? What if he left the organization by cutting off his fingers and changed jobs? What if he changed his phone number? The rising anxiety ultimately prevented Sejin from going far, and he settled into the private lobby of the underground parking lot.

At any rate, since he had come down by elevator, Cheon Sejoo would think he had left the house. Seizing that opportunity, if he waited there, Cheon Sejoo would eventually return home, park, and enter to take the elevator. Sejin planned to cling to Cheon Sejoo then.

If he didn’t accept him, Sejin decided he would squat there for a day, two days, or even ten days until the police came. He thought it was a bit persistent and gloomy, but he couldn’t help it. He simply couldn’t think of any other way.

From then on, Sejin vaguely sat there, waiting for Cheon Sejoo. The lobby was surrounded by glass walls and had a heater on the ceiling, but sitting on the bare floor, he couldn’t help but feel cold in the middle of winter. Sejin, squatting to ward off the cold, leaned his head against a pillar and closed his eyes.

Time flew by quickly. After lunch, as evening approached, his stomach began to rumble as if he hadn’t eaten for days. But Sejin stubbornly held his ground, refusing to leave. His heart wasn’t light enough to abandon his spot just because of hunger. Just as he had waited for someone to pick him up from Kim Hyunkyung’s, Sejin was prepared to wait for Cheon Sejoo right there until he withered away.

Squatting there, burying his face between his knees, Sejin thought of Cheon Sejoo. His gentle voice, his smiling face, his frowning face, the touch of his hand stroking his hair, his comforting embrace. But as he recalled these things, he felt a sudden surge of resentment and anger. To have been so kind, only to kick him out now. Cheon Sejoo was really…

“Wow, something like this happened to me too!”

A kind neighbor appeared just after 7 PM. Sejin, who had been leaning against the wall, staring blankly at the elevator, raised his head at the voice beside him. With the silently closing automatic door as a backdrop, a man he had never seen before stood beside Sejin. The man was impeccably dressed in a three-piece suit and had a neat, announcer-like face. As Sejin stared intently, the man gently curved the corners of his lips.

“Is ‘cat-picking’ trending these days? What are you doing here?”

The man said something incomprehensible and smiled faintly.

Despite his appearance, the man’s smooth, somewhat deceptive tone made Sejin silently turn his gaze away again. He seemed like someone who would try to rope you into a pyramid scheme or a cult. It seemed best not to engage him.

At his refusal to engage, the man chuckled. Then, he uttered a name that might pique Sejin’s interest.

“Did you break up with Team Leader Cheon Sejoo? Did you cheat and get kicked out?”

“……”

“If that’s the case, I could let you stay at my place.”

At the man’s smooth, subtly suggestive words, Sejin frowned and raised his head again. His plain eyes scanned the man’s entire body. Now that he thought about it, he had once seen someone who lived in the same penthouse unit. It was last year, when he was forcibly dragged to Cheon Sejoo’s house. That person had pressed the 43rd floor button. Since only residents of the penthouse can use this elevator, this man was probably a resident of the 42nd floor. Or he might have just moved to the 43rd floor.

But do neighbors know each other’s names even if they live on different floors? This apartment didn’t seem like it had that much camaraderie. And even his title as ‘Team Leader’… Sejin looked at him suspiciously and then opened his mouth.

“Do you know Cheon Sejoo?”

A short, informal question slipped out unconsciously. Sejin, flustered by his habitual way of speaking, was about to add a polite ‘yo’ belatedly when.

“Ah… being informal on our first meeting.”

Haa, the man sighed briefly, then grinned and winked. He muttered, He’s totally my type…, then said,

“Cheon Sejoo? Of course. We work together. Are you waiting for Team Leader Cheon?”

He seemed like a man who wasn’t quite in his right mind. Sejin looked suspiciously at the man who was talking nonsense and accepting his informal speech without hesitation, then asked,

“…Are you close?”

“The closest in the world. Sejoo calls me ‘Hyung.’ Haven’t you heard about me? Chae Beomjun… Cheon’s most respected and beloved older brother.”

“……”

Sejin narrowed his eyes and scanned Chae Beomjun once more. Cheon Sejoo’s most respected and beloved older brother? Sorry, but he didn’t look like it at all. Cheon Sejoo didn’t seem like the type to like such a frivolous, smooth-talking man. As he remained silent, sensing it was a lie, Chae Beomjun clicked his tongue and smiled.

“You’re not falling for it… Anyway, why are you doing this here? It seems you really were kicked out. If you have nowhere to go, want to come up with me? I have plenty of empty rooms at my place. And lots of food.”

At the mention of lots of food, his stomach rumbled loudly. Chae Beomjun laughed, “Haha.” The way he looked at him, as if he found him cute, was utterly perverted. Sejin blushed, trying to pretend he hadn’t heard the sound from his body, and shook his head.

“No. I have to wait for Cheon Sejoo.”

“What are you going to do when you meet him?”

“None of your business.”

At Sejin’s firm reply, Chae Beomjun grinned and sat down beside him. Without a care for his suit wrinkling, he sat with his knees up, just like Sejin, and rested his face on them. It looked somehow unsightly with a man much larger than him doing that. He seemed to be trying to act cute. When Sejin turned his eyes away from Chae Beomjun with a look of distaste, he asked in a greasy voice,

“What did Team Leader Cheon say for you to be like this? Why? He was so devoted earlier, did you really cheat or something?”

“……”

He kept saying ridiculous things. Sejin glanced at Chae Beomjun. The man seemed to vaguely know about his relationship with Cheon Sejoo. Although it was almost a novel-like story, he didn’t exactly dislike being mistaken for being in such a relationship with Cheon Sejoo.

Sejin didn’t want to correct his misunderstanding, nor did he want to talk about Cheon Sejoo to anyone else, so he remained silent. When he showed no reaction, Chae Beomjun finally shrugged and stood up.

“Anyway, I understand. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay at my place. You’re always welcome. 42nd floor. The password is 10041004*.”

Angel angel… Sejin thought it was an utterly unfitting password, but he nodded, just in case. In the past, he would have scoffed and ignored him, suspecting he had ulterior motives for offering kindness, but not anymore. Cheon Sejoo had helped him without expecting anything in return, and perhaps there were others in the world like him.

Besides, although the man named Chae Beomjun was a bit slimy and had a showy demeanor, he didn’t seem like someone who would do anything bad to him. There was also a slight relaxation of his guard since he knew Cheon Sejoo.

After Chae Beomjun disappeared in the elevator, Sejin remained seated there. An hour passed, and Sejin encountered another neighbor. It was the 43rd-floor man he remembered. Like the 42nd-floor man who had just disappeared, the man, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, walked in while looking at his phone, then smiled faintly when he saw Sejin crouching on the floor.

“Hello. Good evening.”

“…Hello.”

Sejin awkwardly returned the polite greeting. The aura emanating from the 43rd-floor man was truly gentle. Perhaps because he wore such a warm and kind smile that even a child would lower their guard, Sejin felt he was a good person and somehow naturally used polite language with him.

When Sejin bowed his head in greeting, the man also bowed, smiled, and then silently disappeared into the elevator. Confirming “43rd floor” on the panel, Sejin realized that all the residents of the penthouse units knew Cheon Sejoo.

Could it be a company residence? He had seen Cheon Sejoo politely greet the 43rd-floor man, which made him think so. The 42nd-floor man also said he worked with Cheon Sejoo, so it seemed that concept was correct.

Then is that man also a gangster? He didn’t look like it at all, but judging by Cheon Sejoo’s attitude, he was clearly in a higher position than him. There was a big difference from the small-fry gangsters he saw at Sinsa Capital. It seemed that the higher the status of gangsters, the more gentle and polite they became. Sejin spent more time pondering such useless thoughts. And finally, Cheon Sejoo appeared before Sejin 30 minutes after the 43rd-floor man had disappeared.

With a swish, the private lobby door opened, and Cheon Sejoo, his face etched with fatigue, appeared, taking off his hat. He was dressed in his usual all-black casual attire today, and he even wore thin gloves on his hands. Sejin peered out from behind a pillar, his eyes scanning Cheon Sejoo’s entire body, whom he was seeing for the first time in two weeks. His gaze was filled with worry, checking if he was hurt anywhere or if he had been eating properly.

“……”

And Cheon Sejoo, who was about to call the elevator, froze when he spotted Sejin hiding behind the pillar. His brows furrowed in disapproval, and the corners of his mouth turned upward. His dark eyes darted towards Sejin, who was sitting among the trash bags. Then, with an absurd snort, he turned his head and called the elevator as if he hadn’t seen anything. It was only then that Sejin belatedly got up and approached him.

“Cheon Sejoo…”

Despite his incredibly weak voice, Cheon Sejoo didn’t react. His jawline, which was normally sharp, seemed even more so as he stood looking straight ahead, as if he heard nothing. Sejin couldn’t hide his sadness at seeing Cheon Sejoo, who seemed a little thinner. Biting his lips, Sejin hesitated and then whispered faintly.

“You should have eaten properly…”

At the worried admonition, Cheon Sejoo sighed briefly and crossed his arms. His clear intention was not to converse. He had endured two weeks so painstakingly, not wanting to undo the decision he had finally made, but the moment he saw Sejin’s dejected face, his resolve began to loosen. Cheon Sejoo bit his lip tightly, putting a lock on his wavering determination.

“I haven’t eaten anything since morning.”

When he didn’t reply, Sejin rambled on, murmuring whatever he wanted to say. Sejin had confirmed he had left the house around 8 AM. At his words that he hadn’t eaten anything since then, a loud shout almost burst out. He was a man who devoured ten bowls of rice a day; it was impossible not to worry that he hadn’t eaten. But Cheon Sejoo, this time too, endured with a firm mouth.

He didn’t want to make all his efforts futile. Sejin had to leave his side.

“……”

When he didn’t reply, Sejin dropped his head and stared at Cheon Sejoo’s feet. He actually wanted to argue that it was too much to kick him out like this just for one lie, but he was too hungry to shout.

Finally, while he was drooping weakly, the elevator arrived and the door opened. As he watched Cheon Sejoo step inside and press the 41st floor button, Sejin belatedly informed him of his whereabouts.

“I’ll be on the 42nd floor, so…”

Come find me if anything happens, Sejin was about to finish his sentence. Swish, Cheon Sejoo grabbed the closing door. His hand, full of scars, got caught between the elevator doors, and with a beep, beep, the door opened again. Sejin looked up in surprise.

Cheon Sejoo, who had been expressionless just moments ago, was glaring at Sejin with an angry face. He asked in an icy voice,

“What did you just say?”

“…That I’d be on the 42nd floor…”

He could ignore words that showed concern for him, or words that caused him worry, but Chae Beomjun was someone he couldn’t just let slide. Cheon Sejoo’s eyes narrowed fiercely as he demanded,

“Why are you going to that house?”

His reaction was intense. Sejin fell silent, a little flustered. He couldn’t guess what part of it was making Cheon Sejoo angry. Was it because he was kicked out of the house but shamelessly tried to impose on someone he knew, or was it…

“Did you meet that bastard Chae Beomjun?”

“…Yes.”

Chae Beomjun, that seemed to be the name. Are they not on good terms? Sejin nodded, watching Cheon Sejoo’s expression carefully.