Projection Novel (Completed) - Chapter 98

After the college entrance exam at twenty, Sejin quit cram school. He said that studying at home with Cheon Sejoo and listening to online lectures was more effective, but in truth, the bigger purpose was to supervise Cheon Sejoo.

In the year Cheon Sejoo took the college entrance exam, he was known as the only person to achieve a perfect score, and as the results showed, he was the type of person who put his heart and soul into studying. Sleeping only three to four hours a day and studying was common; if Sejin didn’t remind him, he would often skip meals. Therefore, to take care of Cheon Sejoo’s health, Sejin decided to do everything with him.

If Cheon Sejoo didn’t eat, Sejin would also skip meals, so Cheon Sejoo had no choice but to eat three regular meals a day. And as Sejin predicted, to keep Sejin from being hungry, Cheon Sejoo was forced to eat properly.

Anyway, during that time, Sejin’s academic performance soared even more than when he was at the cram school. By keeping up with Cheon Sejoo’s routine and starting to study early in the morning, his daily study time increased significantly.

They had such a diligent life until one day in spring, when Cheon Sejoo went to the supermarket instead of Sejin, who was busy cooking, and heard a story that made them both decide to take a break.

“What did you tell me to buy? Dashida*?”

(*This is a top-selling and popular seasoning in Korea, made from a special recipe by CJ brand)

Cheon Sejoo wore an anorak jacket, knee-length shorts, and a baseball cap pulled low, then asked. At that question, Sejin, wearing an apron, frowned and turned away.

“Why do you still confuse Dashida with Dasima (kelp)? Dashida is seasoning, and I told you to buy Dasima! The dried kind!”

“Yes, Mom.”

“If you call me Mom again, I’ll call you Uncle.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Ha…”

At Sejin’s grumbling, Cheon Sejoo just chuckled and turned his back, looking lazy.

He put his hands in his pockets, left the house, and took the elevator down to the convenience store in the apartment complex’s commercial area. Although he clearly remembered Sejin telling him to buy Dasima, he still took an extra packet of Dashida because he wanted to see the other’s scrunched-up face.

Cheon Sejoo met Chae Beomjun right in front of the elevator on his way back. As he entered the lobby, carrying a bag of groceries, he saw Chae Beomjun in sportswear, panting and checking his smartwatch, probably having just exercised outside.

Hearing Cheon Sejoo’s footsteps, Chae Beomjun turned his head to look and gave a bright smile.

“Oh, Section Chief Cheon, what a coincidence to see you here?”

Knowing that Chae Beomjun would ramble endlessly if he responded even once, Cheon Sejoo silently turned his face away, just waiting for the elevator without answering. But Chae Beomjun continued to strike up a conversation while glancing at him from head to toe.

“You must be living well with that kid, huh? Your face looks quite fresh. People might think you’ve gotten younger when you go out.”

“Do I look like someone who needs to look younger? You’re the one who should worry about that.”

Chae Beomjun was five years older than Cheon Sejoo, nearing forty. Hearing Cheon Sejoo’s sarcastic remark, he chuckled and replied:

“Me? When I go out to buy cigarettes, they still ask for my ID, so don’t worry about me.”

“They probably thought an old man who should be in a nursing home was still wandering around, so they were going to call the police.”

“Oh, come on, don’t they need to check because I’m too handsome and they want to verify my age?”

“……”

Cheon Sejoo frowned at Chae Beomjun’s shameless words. Seeing him look at him as if he was hearing the most nonsensical words in the world, Chae Beomjun burst out laughing. Cheon Sejoo irritably pressed the elevator button again and crossed his arms, clearly showing his unwillingness to continue the conversation.

But Chae Beomjun wasn’t the type to stop for such things. After checking his workout progress, he chuckled and spoke again:

“Is your studying still going well? If you join the company, you should be prepared that you won’t be going home much. It’s full of people who are even busier than me there.”

Cheon Sejoo only knew that Shin Gyo Yeon intended to put him in DGO&M’s actual strategy department, and nothing more. Having heard Shin Gyo Yeon’s direct plans to cut out rotten parts of DG to build a healthy enterprise, he also guessed there would be a lot of work to do.

It seemed like a very busy place indeed.

If he started working again, would he still have time to see Sejin? Cheon Sejoo asked with a troubled expression:

“Which team is that? Are there many people? What do they do?”

“Well… there are hedge fund managers who came back from the US, and professional CEOs too… Ah, Yoon Cheolju from the task force is also half from that side. You didn’t know, did you?”

“……”

Cheon Sejoo frowned slightly. Yoon Cheolju, the busy hacker from the task force. He knew he sometimes received direct orders from Shin Gyo Yeon, but he didn’t expect it to be work for that mysterious team. Seeing Cheon Sejoo’s expression, Chae Beomjun smiled smugly and continued:

“They’re all smart people, so it’ll probably be tiring to be there. And they don’t know that Section Chief Cheon was once in the task force, they only know he was personally invited by the chairman, so they’re probably looking forward to it. After all, you don’t have a related major; you were just a doctor before. You might have to battle wits quite a bit, so get some rest and recharge before your break ends.”

The way he spoke… Cheon Sejoo turned his face away with annoyance and stepped into the elevator that had just arrived.

What Chae Beomjun said, Cheon Sejoo had somewhat guessed. Although he didn’t know the specific job details, he understood that with the knowledge he had gained in one year, it would be difficult for him to stand on equal footing with those people. That was why he had studied like crazy without caring about sleep.

But even though he was mentally prepared, hearing Chae Beomjun say it himself still annoyed him.

Cheon Sejoo sighed and asked accusingly:

“Why does the chairman want to put me in that team? Do you know the reason?”

“The reason? It’s simple. That strategy department needs a leader. Everyone there knows they’re good, and no one bows down easily, so it’s very difficult to manage. But Section Chief Cheon is good at those tricks, aren’t you? Dealing with men, you’re super good at it, aren’t you?”

“Is that all?”

“What do you mean, ‘is that all’?”

Chae Beomjun raised his eyebrows dramatically as if he couldn’t understand how Cheon Sejoo could say that, then let out a loud sigh as if to make sure he heard it:

“The chairman trusts and relies on you so much, if he heard you say ‘is that all,’ he would probably cry…”

“Don’t say such disgusting things.”

“I’m not kidding. Seriously, besides that team, the only people who know of its existence are me, the chairman… and you. Do you understand what that means? The chairman truly cherishes you.”

Hearing this, Cheon Sejoo almost vomited. He turned his face away, wishing the elevator would quickly reach the 41st floor. Seeing his expression, Chae Beomjun burst out laughing again, and before Cheon Sejoo stepped out of the elevator, he added one more sentence:

“Seriously, no kidding, once you start working, it’ll be hard to go home. Take advantage of this time to hug and kiss that kid a lot.”

Cheon Sejoo turned his head, gave him the middle finger, and stepped out of the elevator. As the doors closed with Chae Beomjun’s laughter, he stood in the quiet lobby, pressing the touch panel, his face falling into contemplation.

If he said it to that extent, it probably wasn’t just empty words. With Chae Beomjun’s tendency to exaggerate, it might not be to the point of never being able to go home, but the possibility of endless overtime was very high.

Thinking about that, Cheon Sejoo felt regretful, realizing that his time spent with Sejin all day would not last much longer. That feeling grew stronger as he saw Sejin’s back, focused on cooking.

When he started working again, he probably wouldn’t have the chance to see Sejin cooking anymore… Just thinking about it made his chest feel strangely empty.

“Sejin.”

Seeing him standing still at the living room door, Sejin noticed his presence and turned his head. His face was still flushed from just scooping out dried fish for broth, Sejin turned off the stove and ran over, noticing Cheon Sejoo’s unusual gaze.

“What’s wrong? Did someone do something to you?”

At that concerned question, Cheon Sejoo handed him the Dashida and Dasima packets and walked away. Sejin frowned when he saw the Dashida packet, but then quickly softened, following him. Standing in front of Cheon Sejoo, who was leaning against the kitchen island chair, Sejin continued to ask:

“Are you unhappy? Are you sick?”

“Sejin.”

“Yes?”

“If I start working again, what will you do?”

What do you mean, what will he do…? Sejin blinked at the sudden question. Every time his long eyelashes fluttered, his clear, pure eyes appeared and disappeared like ripples. Cheon Sejoo reached out and gently stroked around his eyes, then asked again:

“How about we take a break, before I start working again.”

“…A break?”

The college entrance exam was approaching, and last year Cheon Sejoo had only allowed him one day off, but now he was actively asking for a break, which was so unfamiliar that Sejin was even more certain something was wrong. He frowned anxiously.

“Why suddenly? Did you hear something? Did you meet someone? Did that Shin Gyo Yeon say something to you?”

Seeing Sejin suddenly say that, Cheon Sejoo shook his head, then fell into thought.

Truly, if he went back to work, he wouldn’t have the chance to be with Sejin for this long. Sejin would go to university, then work, and it would be very difficult to take a long vacation. Thinking about that, the “rest” period he just mentioned felt like the last vacation of his life.