Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 81

The grand and dazzling chandelier decorations glittered, reflecting the light. The ceiling was so high that even if he jumped with all his might, his fingertips wouldn’t reach it, and various decorations hung from it. The floor was marble, and sunlight streamed in through the windows on the walls. The air inside was warm, and the staff walking around were all impeccably dressed in suits. Sejin, unable to hide his nervousness at the unfamiliar feeling, followed behind Cheon Sejoo.

Since check-in was upstairs, the two took the elevator to the upper floors. The check-in counter was located in a place that overlooked downtown Seoul, so much so that one could believe it was an observatory one paid to enter. Sejin bit his lip and quietly rolled his eyes. It was because he felt like he didn’t belong in such a place. However, unlike the nervous Sejin, Cheon Sejoo was completely at ease, as if he had been here many times before.

“Hello.”

Cheon Sejoo approached the VIP counter, smiling broadly, and took out his membership card from his pocket, handing it to the employee. The employee, after looking up his card, bowed politely with a respectful smile and then led the two to the adjacent lounge, asking them to wait there for a moment.

Unlike the bustling outside filled with regular guests, the VIP lounge was quiet. When they sat down at the spot the employee guided them to, fragrant tea and refreshments were soon served. It was a service Sejin had never experienced. Overwhelmed, he just looked around nervously, and then Cheon Sejoo, who had poured tea into a cup, placed the teacup in his hand.

“Drink.”

“…Okay.”

Feeling somewhat annoyed, Sejin clenched his lips, suppressing the urge to pout, and took the teacup. The golden tea had a scent he had never smelled before. Feeling as if he were chewing raw flower petals, Sejin glanced at Cheon Sejoo while drinking the tea. His face, leaning comfortably against the chair and looking out the window, seemed pleased, while Sejin’s mood was plummeting in real-time.

Sejin sat opposite the infinitely relaxed Cheon Sejoo, wondering how many people he had brought to hotels until now. He couldn’t ignore the difference in experience due to their age gap, and Cheon Sejoo was the type of person who attracted people even when he did nothing. So, ten people? Twenty people? Sejin’s brow furrowed more and more as he thought.

First, Kang Doyoon must have frequented this place several times, and who else was there before him? Were there sex partners before that? Or did he have lovers? Before joining the organization, he must have been busy studying at medical school and working at the hospital, so perhaps he had never dated anyone until now? Sejin, who had been quietly thinking such thoughts, soon realized it was absurd and pouted his lips.

It was an excessive wish. The idea that Cheon Sejoo had never dated anyone was less realistic than the guess that he had dated about eighty people. While Sejin was gloomily speculating the number of men who had passed through his life, check-in was completed.

“Welcome, customer. I am Kim Jae-hwan, the manager who will be assisting you with check-in today. I will guide you this way.”

A middle-aged man in a neat suit approached and bowed to them. Unlike Sejin, who bowed back in embarrassment, Cheon Sejoo smiled faintly and rose from his seat, greeting him lightly. At his composed demeanor, Sejin bit his lip, trying to suppress the urge to pout again, and followed behind them.

There was a reason for Sejin’s anger. Cheon Sejoo was not the type to enjoy luxury. This was a fact one could learn within a week of living with him. For him to visit such an expensive hotel, there must have been a purpose. It was probably with a past lover, or a sex partner. And in a hotel room, they would definitely have had sex. How many times had he frequented hotels to be able to accept such polite service so naturally? Sejin felt so heartbroken he thought he would die.

“If you need anything at all, please contact us at the number below. We hope you have a comfortable stay.”

The manager who had guided them to the junior suite handed Cheon Sejoo his business card and disappeared. Cheon Sejoo placed the business card on the table by the room entrance, then pushed Sejin’s back, guiding him further inside.

The hotel room, which Sejin was seeing for the first time, was incredibly clean and luxurious. Beyond the large window, the Han River and the Seoul cityscape were all visible, and every piece of furniture looked like a work of art. Sejin, feeling a little intimidated, approached the window. As he stood there sullenly looking out, Cheon Sejoo approached.

“Sejin.”

“Yes.”

Cheon Sejoo’s sharply defined jawline, like a painting, rested on Sejin’s shoulder. Cheon Sejoo embraced Sejin from behind, wrapping his arms around his waist. He slightly turned his face, resting on Sejin’s shoulder, looked up into his eyes, and quietly asked, “Why are you in a bad mood?”

“…”

He had never imagined Cheon Sejoo would be so clumsy when dealing with a lover. However, Cheon Sejoo’s behavior, which had completely changed 180 degrees since their visit to Cheon Hyein’s charnel house, was so gentle and practiced that it could be used to create a “Guide to Ideal Lover Behavior,” and Sejin was furious because of it. He couldn’t help but feel jealous at the thought that he had been so gentle with those he had met before him.

Even this act of approaching him when he was upset and gently asking what was wrong was one of the things that infuriated Sejin. Because if Cheon Sejoo were upset, Sejin wouldn’t be able to act so smoothly. He would probably fumble and ask questions like, “Did something happen?”

Therefore, he couldn’t bring himself to say it was because of jealousy. He felt embarrassed and ashamed of himself for not being able to act maturely. So, he thought, ‘Let’s endure it. I’m only twenty now.’ He shook his head, making that resolve. “Just… why did we suddenly come here?”

“Because you’ve been staying home all the time, I thought you might be feeling stifled.”

That was true. Since Kim Hyun-kyung’s funeral, until mid-February, Sejin had stayed only at home, and his only outings were to the supermarket for groceries, the memorial park with the memorial tree, and the charnel house. Realizing this, he felt a lightness in one corner of his mind, like a breath of fresh air, in contrast to his heart heavy with jealousy.

Sejin, once again grateful for Cheon Sejoo’s thoughtfulness towards him, turned his body. With his back to the window, he lowered his gaze, and Cheon Sejoo, standing directly in front of him, raised his eyes to meet his gaze. As he looked into Cheon Sejoo’s deep black eyes, Cheon Sejoo asked in a gentle voice, “How are you feeling now?”

“…”

Sejin mumbled, then silently bent at the waist. He rested his cheek on Cheon Sejoo’s shoulder and buried his lips in the nape of his neck. Cheon Sejoo naturally reached out his hand. At the touch stroking his fine hair, Sejin comfortably closed his eyes. With the sole intention of hiding his embarrassed face, he clung to him and replied, “Good, but bad.”

“I know it’s good, but why is it bad? Did I do something wrong?”

He felt Cheon Sejoo laugh softly. Hearing that soothing voice, his resolution to act mature crumbled in less than a minute. Sejin, whose patience had worn thin, mumbled, “It upsets me how skilled you are…”

“…”

At his words, Cheon Sejoo paused. Feeling his confusion, Sejin looked up. Seeing his troubled dark eyes, he felt as if Cheon Sejoo would indulge all his whims, and resentful words flowed out easily. “Why are you so familiar with hotels? How many times have you been here that you’re not even flustered? Who else did you come here with besides me? Did you come here with Kang Doyoon too? I don’t want to ask these things, but they keep coming to mind and it’s annoying…”

Even as he uttered them, the words sounded too childish. But he couldn’t take them back, and he still had things he wanted to say. Sejin, with a face that looked like he was about to cry, hugged Cheon Sejoo’s waist and asked again, “How many people have you dated until now? You only like men, right? Did you have sex partners when you were in college? Or lovers? How much did you like them? Who was the best among them? …Am I the first?”

There were countless difficult questions to answer. Cheon Sejoo smiled, frowning in embarrassment, then simply embraced Sejin and whispered into his ear, “I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t the answer Sejin wanted. But at that single word of apology, his tightly sulking heart softened. “…What are you sorry for?” Sejin urged him, biting his lip tightly so as not to reveal that his mood had already improved. Cheon Sejoo pondered for a moment, then replied, “…Being old?”

At that retort, Sejin scoffed and bit his neck. What was wrong with an age difference? Even if Cheon Sejoo and he were the same age, he would have acted just as familiar. Even if they went out together, only Cheon Sejoo would have been popular. Thinking about that made him too curious to bear. Sejin rubbed his face against Cheon Sejoo’s shoulder like a spoiled child and said, “Then tell me. How many people did you meet before me…”

Cheon Sejoo laughed silently and stroked Sejin’s head. True to his youth, his obsession with past experiences was quite spirited and cute. But he couldn’t tell him stories about his past lovers or partners as he wished. Kwon Sejin seemed too young to know that some truths were better left unsaid. If he were to give in to his words and confess, it was obvious that Sejin’s mood would only worsen. It could also become a disadvantageous past if a conflict ever arose later.

Cheon Sejoo smiled leisurely and pushed Sejin away. He gently scratched around the ear of the sulking Sejin, who was unaware that his cheeks were puffed out, then moved down to his chin and took off the coat he was wearing. Sejin was wearing a sky-blue sweatshirt and black slacks. His beautiful ankles were exposed below the shortened pant legs, as he had grown taller again recently. Cheon Sejoo thought he wanted to lick Sejin’s ankle bones, which seemed to smell of peaches, and then motioned towards the entrance door with his chin.

“Let’s talk about that later. I’m hungry. I’ve made a reservation at a restaurant, so let’s go eat first.”

“Eat?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you hungry?”

At his words, Sejin, as if mesmerized, stroked his lower belly. Then, seeing him nod awkwardly, Cheon Sejoo realized he was very hungry. Cheon Sejoo, smiling, lightly kissed his cheek, then he too rose from his seat and took off his outer coat. Dressed in a navy suit with a tie for the hotel visit, the two left the room and headed to the dining area by elevator.

“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”

The Chinese restaurant Cheon Sejoo had reserved was on a high floor, overlooking the entire city of Seoul. Quiet music flowed inside, and the room they were guided to by an employee even had beautiful flower arrangements. Sejin, once again overwhelmed by the unfamiliar atmosphere, only watched Cheon Sejoo nervously. He wasn’t usually the type to be self-conscious, but he felt like he would embarrass Cheon Sejoo if he made a fool of himself, so he couldn’t open his mouth carelessly. He was, after all, Cheon Sejoo’s one and only lover now!

“I’ve already picked out the menu, but if there’s anything else you want to eat, order more.”

“Okay.”

Sejin opened the menu Cheon Sejoo handed him and scanned it. But most of the items, like Gyeongjangyuksa and Ohyangjangyuk, were impossible to imagine the form of the dish even with the descriptions. In the end, Sejin frowned and read the menu carefully, then ordered one more shrimp fried rice. Cheon Sejoo simply watched Sejin, resting his chin lightly on his hand.

As soon as the order was placed and the employee left, Sejin spoke to him, “Can’t you tell me now?”

“Tell you what?”

“How many people did I date before?”

He hadn’t actually asked Cheon Sejoo to be his boyfriend yet… But they had been kissing and having skinship since they visited the charnel house that day, so they must be dating, right? Sejin thought for a moment, then seemed to feel uneasy and frowned as he asked Cheon Sejoo, “Are you and I really dating?”

“…So, you mean I’d just abandon you after taking your virginity?”

“No!”

At his teasing question, Sejin shouted. Then, startled, he covered his mouth with both hands, and Cheon Sejoo chuckled, his shoulders shaking. With a smile that tickled one’s insides, he reached out and tickled Sejin’s eyebrow with his fingertip, then said, “Why are you curious about such a thing? I don’t think it’s something good to know.”

He could tell him, but it really wasn’t something good to know. He understood Sejin’s curiosity, as he would likely be his first, but Cheon Sejoo largely didn’t want to tell him the truth. It might be a shocking past for Kwon Sejin, who always talked about being modest. However, at Cheon Sejoo’s words, Sejin opened his mouth with a sulky face.

“Because I’m curious, that’s why. How many people did you meet? How much did you like them? Did you ask them to be your boyfriend first? No, did you even have a boyfriend? Kang Doyoon was just a sex partner, right? Or did you only have people like that before? It doesn’t matter how many. Ten or twenty, it’s all in the past, so just tell me. I want to know.”

“Ah…”

Cheon Sejoo laughed, looking troubled by the barrage of questions. He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, then looked at Sejin and replied, “About a hundred… are you really okay with that?”

“…”

At the shocking number, Sejin’s expression hardened, and his mouth fell open. His pink tongue twitched inside his parted lips, as if trying to say something. But seeing him ultimately say nothing and close his mouth again, Cheon Sejoo burst into laughter. He laughed out loud, looking at the wall opposite Sejin, then turned back to Sejin, his eyes crinkling in a smile, and shook his head. “Just kidding.”

“You scared me! When you say it, it doesn’t sound like a joke!”

Sejin huffed, his face flushed. With crimson cheeks, Sejin quickly drank the lukewarm jasmine tea in front of him, then even drank the bottled water the employee had left. Then he glared at Cheon Sejoo with a face full of indignation. “Stop teasing me! I’m not a kid!”

“When you say that, it makes me want to tease you more.”

“Cheon Sejoo!”

When Sejin shouted sulkily, Cheon Sejoo smiled, squinting his eyes apologetically. Meanwhile, an employee knocked and opened the door. Thanks to Cheon Sejoo’s prior request to bring all the dishes at once so Sejin wouldn’t get hungry, the table was soon filled with the ordered cuisine.

“Enjoy your time.”

The employee bowed their head in greeting before leaving. Cheon Sejoo handed Sejin chopsticks and gestured towards the table with his chin.

“Eat first, we can talk when we go upstairs later.”

“……”

Sejin looked at him with sullen eyes, as if distrusting his repeated attempts to change the subject, then soon scoffed with a “Hmph.” As Sejin silently began to eat, Cheon Sejoo also picked up his chopsticks. He ate a few pieces of cream shrimp and about half of the gis-myeon he had ordered for himself, and in that time, Sejin completely emptied the dishes on the table.

It was as if he had a black hole in his endlessly eating mouth. While a full Cheon Sejoo watched, sipping tea, Sejin devoured an amount that five well-eating men would consume by himself.

“Are you done eating?”

“Yeah.”

“It was good, right?”

“Yeah.”

Finally, Sejin finished his meal, nodded, and drank some water. Cheon Sejoo quietly reached out and touched his stomach. Despite eating an enormous amount, his seemingly firm abdomen showed no protruding parts anywhere. Did he work out a lot while I was gone? Cheon Sejoo caressed Sejin’s oddly muscular lower abdomen until he noticed Sejin’s cheeks flushing red, and only then did he withdraw his hand.

“……”

Sejin bit his lips hard and stared blankly at Cheon Sejoo. His lips, plump from the Sichuan food he’d just eaten, were repeatedly pressed against his white teeth, creating a strangely erotic sight. Cheon Sejoo stared at Sejin for a moment, then rose from his seat. “Let’s go,” he said, and left the room first.

At this moment, Cheon Sejoo’s mind was entirely filled with thoughts of Sejin. Cute Kwon Sejin. Lovable Kwon Sejin. Twenty-year-old Kwon Sejin, who gets a hard-on in a restaurant just from having his stomach touched.

“I’m going crazy…”

“Huh?”

Sejin perked up his ears at Cheon Sejoo’s quiet mumble. Seeing Sejin turn his head towards him and widen his eyes, Cheon Sejoo simply smiled silently.

He had always thought that people who met someone much younger than themselves and felt it was “good for the first time” were truly trash. But now that he was in a similar situation, he couldn’t bring himself to call himself trash.

Because he never imagined how incredibly hot it would be to see this clumsy, awkward child get excited by his touch. Cheon Sejoo swallowed dryly and clenched his fists to avoid pushing him.

The elevator stopped on the floor where their room was. After a half-beat’s pause, Cheon Sejoo led Sejin out. To avoid looking hasty, he exhaled languidly, took Sejin to the room, and, under the pretext of making a phone call, pushed him into the bathroom, telling him to shower first. Only after he heard the sound of water inside did he relax, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.

He lit it with a Zippo lighter and took a deep drag. Only then did a sense of ease return. Cheon Sejoo felt the blood rushing to his throbbing lower abdomen and stood by the window, smoking a cigarette. He pressed the cigarette, burnt down almost to the filter, into the ashtray, and as he was about to take off his jacket, his gaze fell upon the lighter in his hand.

It was a gift from Doyoon about two years ago. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but the feeling that Sejin might be concerned about it made Cheon Sejoo throw the lighter into the trash can. The metallic clatter of the Zippo lighter hitting the trash can echoed in the room.

While Sejin showered, Cheon Sejoo requested a bucket and ordered a suitably sweet and light wine. Cheon Sejoo had no intention of drinking, but it was just in case Sejin felt nervous, to help him relax.

Kwon Sejin emerged from the bathroom only when the wine had cooled down a bit. He must have showered for so long that when the door opened, the steam pouring out was like a dumpling steamer. Cheon Sejoo gazed intently at Sejin, who wore a bathrobe and couldn’t meet his eyes, looking so awkward that he seemed to want to run away.

His slender, soft black hair was damp. Droplets of water from the ends of his hair swept up and revealed his forehead, dripped tok, tok, onto Sejin’s ears and fell downwards. His slender, thin eyebrows were also wet. Sejin’s white skin had a subtle reddish glow, like the flesh of a peach, and was so moist that it felt as if juice would flow out if he touched it.

Cheon Sejoo’s gaze traced his neck and collarbone. He wanted to immediately uncover and confirm what was beneath the tightly tied bathrobe, but for now, it was his turn to shower, so he held himself back.

On the day he had sex with Sejin, he had been so drunk that he barely remembered any clear scenes. What Cheon Sejoo remembered was the feeling of being penetrated, the hot sensation of the organ digging inside, and the sweet kisses with Sejin.

The thought of finally seeing all of Kwon Sejin today made his heart pound like a child about to have sex for the first time. Cheon Sejoo scoffed at himself and got up from his seat.

“I’ll be out soon.”

“Okay…”

Even that small, shy voice excited Cheon Sejoo. I’m going crazy. Cheon Sejoo licked his lips and entered the bathroom. He hastily unbuttoned and took off his shirt, neatly placing his clothes aside, then turned on the hot water.

As he let the water drench him from head to toe, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Should I prepare my back beforehand?

Having never used his back for that purpose in his entire life, it was a very unfamiliar situation, but he had no intention of making Sejin the bottom now. In male-on-male penetrative sex, the bottom bears a lot of the burden, so he couldn’t bring himself to ask such a thing of young Sejin.

If Sejin’s words about “chastity” were to be believed, the past Cheon Sejoo’s body was nothing short of a slut’s. Although he hadn’t dated more than ten people, Sejin was experiencing everything for the first time, so he wanted to give Sejin at least his own first experience. He had already taken it, but anyway… The reason he had resisted so little and given his back when drunk was for a similar reason.

Cheon Sejoo hesitated, then reached a hand behind him. It felt extremely strange to forcefully push his fingers into a place that had never been used as an entry point in his life. Penetration felt while sober was vastly more shameful than what remained in Cheon Sejoo’s memory. Perhaps it was also because it wasn’t Sejin’s long, pretty fingers…

In any case, Cheon Sejoo did his best to prepare his back. He painstakingly pushed four fingers in, widening the opening, and when he thought it was enough, he finished his bath and came out.

“Cheon Sejoo…”

Sejin, whom he expected to be sitting on the sofa, wasn’t there. As he loosely tied his bathrobe, Cheon Sejoo turned towards the voice and saw Sejin lying on the bed through the open door. Cheon Sejoo smiled quietly and started to approach him, but then realized something was off and stopped.

Sejin’s eyes, as he lay on the bed, were droopy. With sleepy eyes as if about to fall asleep, Sejin rested his head on the pillow in a disheveled posture. Seeing this, Cheon Sejoo narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. The seal of the wine he had brought to help Sejin relax was broken. He picked it up; the sweet-smelling liquid, like juice, was about one-third gone.

“…Did you drink this?”

He asked in disbelief, and Sejin blinked blankly and nodded. “I was nervous…” The thought of him being cute came first, but no laughter escaped.

He hadn’t expected that a low-alcohol wine, ordered just to help him relax a little, would lead to this. He hadn’t even drunk much, but Sejin was in this state. Of course, it was ordered for Sejin, but he never knew he had such a low tolerance for alcohol. It was an unexpected obstacle. Cheon Sejoo sighed inwardly, downed the remaining wine in Sejin’s glass, and moved closer.

Should I let him nap and do it when he’s sober? As he climbed onto the bed with that thought, Sejin, who had been lying still, looked up at Cheon Sejoo and smiled innocently. Cheon Sejoo let out a wry chuckle at his harmless smile.

“What’s so funny?”

He gently chided Sejin and slowly reached out his hand. Sejin’s two legs lay neatly on the bedding. The disheveled bathrobe barely concealed his center thanks to the tie, but even without doing anything, his erect penis lifted the fabric, allowing a clear view of the space between Sejin’s legs from below.