PEN Vol 3 Ch. 20

“Cheon Sejoo.”

Having extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray and looking up at the darkened sky, Cheon Sejoo turned his head at the voice calling his name. Sejin had finished cleaning up and was coming out carrying the lunch boxes.

A lukewarm summer breeze ruffled Sejin’s hair, which had grown long again. Cheon Sejoo quietly watched as the short-sleeved t-shirt and pants he wore fluttered. Despite his height, Sejin still had a captivating face. Just as he had thought Sejin would become a stunningly handsome man when he grew up, he continued to capture Cheon Sejoo’s attention from time to time.

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His face, bathed in moonlight, was exquisitely beautiful. His upturned eyes, his stubbornly pursed lips, and his slightly flushed cheeks from the heat were alluringly beautiful, even under the dusky sky.

Gazing at Sejin, Cheon Sejoo realized anew that he was incredibly attracted to beautiful faces. He felt like he would have been shocked if Haewoong or Jinyoung had called him “Cheon Sejoo,” but when Sejin called him by his name, it didn’t feel disrespectful. It was just bold and cute.

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But it wasn’t just Sejin’s face that made him feel that way. From their first meeting, the kid had been speaking informally, calling him “you, you,” so he felt like he would get goosebumps if Sejin suddenly called him “hyung¹.” The consistency of being called by his name was actually more comfortable.

“Why do you keep….”

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As Sejoo continued to stare at him, Sejin mumbled, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand. Then he turned around abruptly and headed towards the parking lot. 

Cheon Sejoo followed silently, stealing glances at Sejin’s back. His shoulder blades, pointed and sharp, were visible beneath his white t-shirt. His shoulders, angled at a right angle, were broad but lacked muscle, making Sejin’s frame appear slightly smaller, and whenever the wind blew and his shirt fluttered, his slender waist was revealed.

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His long legs were straight, but unlike other boys his age, not a single dark hair was visible on Sejin’s calves. Seeing Sejin, still covered in soft downy hair, gave Cheon Sejoo a strange feeling. His body was large, but he sometimes felt like a child inside.

In any case, Sejin’s body was beautiful. It was breathtaking when he was still short, and it was still true now that he was tall. 

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If he exercises and builds some muscle, he’ll be popular with girls….

Cheon Sejoo got into the car, thinking such thoughts. Sejin, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at him with a sullen look before turning his head away.

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“Is there anywhere else you need to stop by? I’m going home.”

“Okay.”

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Leaving the parking lot of Ehwagak, Cheon Sejoo drove towards home. It now felt natural for him to return home with Sejin. During the school semester, he commuted with Kwon Sejin, dressed in his school uniform and seated in the passenger seat but when it was vacation and Sejoo was driving alone, the empty seat felt strangely awkward.

Feeling the large presence of the person sitting next to him, Cheon Sejoo followed the road filled with cars heading home from work. As he was driving home, he suddenly heard Sejin sigh. He turned his head and saw Sejin leaning his head against the window, staring straight ahead with a worried expression.

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“What?”

“…Nothing.”

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Cheon Sejoo hated this kind of conversation more than anything. 

If you’re not going to talk, don’t act like something’s wrong. 

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Narrowing his eyes, Cheon Sejoo tapped the steering wheel and prodded Sejin.

“What is it? Tell me.”

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“…”

Sejin was silent for a moment. He debated whether it was right to bring this topic up in front of Cheon Sejoo, but eventually opened his mouth. Cheon Sejoo was the only person he could confide in about his worries regarding his mother.

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“I’m worried that mom might be sick.”

“…Why?”

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“It’s just… She’s never been this thin before. She’s too skinny. There’s no reason for her to lose weight, it’s too excessive. I’m worried she’s sick but pretending to diet because she doesn’t want me to worry. I’m suspicious.”

Cheon Sejoo remained silent. He knew the reason for Kim Hyunkyung’s continued weight loss, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell Sejin. Kwon Sejin wasn’t particularly fond of adult men, so if he found out that his mother was dieting so drastically because of a man she liked, he would surely get angry.

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Moreover, before being Kwon Sejin’s mother, she was also a woman, so Cheon Sejoo wanted to respect Kim Hyunkyung’s privacy. Because of this, he had nothing much to say, so he quietly drove for a while before speaking.

“If you’re really worried, tell her to go to the hospital on her day off. I’ll talk to the manager somehow.”

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In principle, leaving Ehwagak without a reason, or meeting outsiders, wasn’t permitted. However, since he had already received Chae Beomjun’s permission to meet Kim Hyunkyung, he thought that sending her to a hospital wouldn’t be too difficult. He didn’t think it would be a big deal, but since Sejin was continuously worried, he thought it wouldn’t hurt to check.

At Cheon Sejoo’s words, Sejin quietly shifted his gaze to look at him. Rolling his moist eyes, he stared at his profile for a long time before replying faintly, “Okay.” It was Cheon Sejoo who became uncomfortable with the subsided atmosphere. Feeling uneasy at the thought of deceiving Sejin, he slowly changed the subject.

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“Aren’t you worried about yourself? You don’t gain weight no matter how much you eat.”

“I’m normal like this.”

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“You’re normal, but you’re too thin compared to how much you eat. You eat ten bowls of rice a day, and your body is still like this? Does that even make sense? Or do you want to try exercising? I think you’ll gain muscle easily.”

While nagging Sejin, Cheon Sejoo subtly revealed his true feelings. Sejin didn’t exercise at all, yet he had a good physique. He was very light, yet his muscles were well-formed in all the right places, giving him a beautiful body. So, he thought if Sejin trained those muscles, he would develop an even more impressive physique. At his slightly greedy words, Sejin tilted his head and asked.

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“Exercise?”

“Yeah. I’ll teach you.”

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Sejin didn’t take his words at face value. Scanning Cheon Sejoo up and down while he was driving, Sejin calmly asked.

“Are you saying you’ll teach me how to beat people up?”

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This kid, really… A cold gaze turned towards Sejin. He asked in disbelief.

“Do you also want to learn that?”

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“…….”

Sejin puffed out his cheeks slightly and rolled his eyes. It was a sudden suggestion, but since Cheon Sejoo offered to teach him, he was tempted. Since he figured Cheon Sejoo would be very good at teaching someone how to beat people up, Sejin slowly nodded his head.

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There was no particular reason. He didn’t want to worry about being charged with aggravated assault for hitting someone with a tray again. If possible, he wanted to beat them with his bare hands. At Sejin’s affirmation, Cheon Sejoo sighed.

“Well, I guess… It wouldn’t hurt for you to learn.”

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Being tall wasn’t everything. Living with that face, Sejin was bound to be picked on by countless people in the future. There would surely be days when he would have to get into physical fights, and in those situations, it would be helpful to know how to fight in order to overcome the situation a little more easily. 

He also agreed with the saying that the best defense is a good offense, and since Sejin had long arms and therefore a long reach, he thought that if he taught him martial arts, he would be able to subdue his opponents without difficulty.

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While driving home, Cheon Sejoo thought about the things needed for training. And that night, he stayed up late searching the internet. He placed an order with a company that installed exercise mats thick enough to not hurt even if you fell or were thrown on them, and while he was shopping, he also ordered a desk for Sejin.

Although Sejin had never complained while studying at the sofa table, after he grew as tall as Cheon Sejoo, he looked incredibly uncomfortable sitting hunched over.

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Even though it would only be used for a few months, Sejoo thought it would be good if he could create an environment where Sejin could focus until the CSAT (College Entrance Exam). With that in mind, Cheon Sejoo chose Sejin’s desk and chair with even more care than he had chosen the mat. The delivery didn’t take long.

On the weekend, Cheon Sejoo and Sejin greeted the deliverymen who brought in the desk, chair, and exercise equipment. 

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One empty room was covered with mats, and another room was equipped with a treadmill and exercise equipment, which Cheon Sejoo had ordered for himself since he was buying the mats anyway, as he now planned to exercise at home as well. And finally, the last remaining room became Sejin’s study.

Whenever he studied at the orphanage, Cheon Sejoo used to wish he had a separate space where he could study alone. That’s why he had furnished the room for Sejin to study in with bookshelves and a desk, to serve as a study, but Sejin seemed burdened and excited. Of course, judging by the tone of his voice, he didn’t seem to feel that way at all.

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“Why is it so big?”

A height and tilt-adjustable desk, an office chair that felt like sitting on a cloud, a lamp with adjustable brightness, and a large bookshelf were placed in the spacious room. The bookshelf wasn’t yet filled with anything other than Sejin’s workbooks, but it was still a space fully equipped as a study.

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“Isn’t the desk too big?”

Sejin, sitting in the chair, looked down at the desk with a flushed face. His long, slender fingers stroked the coated surface.

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“Why does it have so many useless functions?”

The empty desk drawers opened and closed repeatedly. Whirr, whirr, every time Sejin pressed a button, the desk went up and down, tilted and flattened.

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“I could’ve just studied in the living room…”

Sejin mumbled as he placed his arms on the desk and assumed a studying posture. Cheon Sejoo, who had been standing at the doorway watching him, laughed incredulously.

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“Just say thank you if you’re grateful.”

“…….”

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Sejin’s fair face turned red. He rolled his eyes with his lips tightly pressed together, then looked up at Cheon Sejoo from his seated position and whispered,

“…Thank you.”

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Sejin forced down the corners of his mouth that were threatening to turn up. Unable to completely hide his smile, Sejin mumbled his curt thanks and laid down on the desk with his cheek pressed against it. It seemed like he wanted to hide his embarrassed face.

Staring at the black hair scattered on the white surface and the round, neat back of his head, Cheon Sejoo teased him to ease his burden.

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“If you fail the CSAT, I’ll bill you when you become an adult.”

“…….”

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At his words, Sejin slowly lifted his head. e narrowed his eyes at Cheon Sejoo and then got up from his seat. With a sullen expression, he pointed at the bookshelf, desk, and chair, and said,

“Billing me means they’re mine, right? Then I’ll sell them to you already used when I leave this house, so deduct that amount from the bill. Asking for money without giving me the stuff makes you a scammer.”

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Kwon Sejin took his joke seriously. Does he take me for a fool…? 

Cheon Sejoo, who had let out a hollow laugh, soon turned around at the sound of someone calling him from the hallway. The installer of the exercise equipment was calling him from the opposite side of Sejin’s study.

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