March Novel - Chapter 11

Even while breathing heavily with his nerves on edge, his body, having endured hardship, kept wanting to collapse. Eventually, Sehwa slowly got up and took refuge on the sofa. The seat was unnecessarily large and deep, and the armrests extended at a wide angle, suggesting that this too was not ordinary furniture but one of the sex tools. Still, somehow curling his body into it, it was more comfortable than the bed, so he was able to catch some sleep around sunrise.

“Sweetheart.”

He was dozing off, curled up like a fetus, when the door burst open with a loud bang.

“Still sleeping?”

Sehwa was so startled that he tumbled onto the floor. Seeing that, Gi Taejeong laughed brightly. He knew it was a thoughtless thing to think, but he just couldn’t disparage that face. With a gentle and handsome face that belonged on a propaganda broadcast, why was his personality like that? Sehwa, grumbling inwardly, suddenly remembered that he had never seen him on the news. Why wouldn’t the military use such a handsome man, who became a brigadier general at a young age, as a propaganda tool?

“Ah. I didn’t unlock this for you.”

Gi Taejeong clicked his tongue lightly, looking at Sehwa’s disheveled appearance. Sehwa, holding onto the useless branches of his thoughts, hastily stretched out his arms.

“Why are you sticking your butt out like that? Do you want me to fuck you now?”

“……! That’s not it! I couldn’t wash yesterday, so I thought I’d smell bad if I got close…”

He brought the watch he was wearing to somewhere on the handcuffs, and with a click, the restraint was released.

“Is that your preference? I prefer clean sex.”

Sehwa stared at him in disbelief, and Gi Taejeong winked, saying he was just joking.

“Wash up and come out. Just leave your clothes inside.”

Did he mean to come out naked? Sehwa narrowed his eyes, thinking, ‘As expected,’ and Gi Taejeong gestured with his chin towards the inside of the bathroom.

“There’ll be a gown hanging behind the door. Just put that on for now.”

Gi Taejeong clicked his tongue, saying he knew why he had been like that, but he couldn’t stand the sight of him in the same state as yesterday.

“Then my clothes…”

“Oh, wait a minute.”

He abruptly cut him off and rummaged in his jacket’s inner pocket. It was an individually wrapped pill. Sehwa instinctively flinched at the sight of the pill, and he frowned. Fearing he might get beaten again first thing in the morning, he cautiously approached, and he patted his cheek as if he had done well.

“It’s a good medicine for internal injuries, so take it. What you had yesterday won’t be enough.”

Sehwa hesitated, then opened his mouth. Gi Taejeong, staring at his peeking tongue, pushed the pill into his mouth. It was better to swallow it like this than to resist and have his hair grabbed and his mouth forced open. Fortunately, it really seemed to be a medicine for treatment, as it tasted similar to the drug he had taken yesterday.

“Wash up and come out.”

Sehwa bowed his head, thanking the man who had caused him so much pain last night, and opened the bathroom door. Only then did he realize. It wasn’t difficult to move. His handcuffs were also off, so he could use his hands freely… yet he had stuck out his tongue like when he licked the drug while lying down yesterday, waited for Gi Taejeong’s touch, and then took the pill with his lips.

“Ah, fuck!”

He irritably pulled down the gown hanging on the doorknob. Shame washed over him, and he covered his mouth, screaming. What must he have thought when he saw him opening his mouth so nonchalantly, like ‘Ah’?

“Go die, Lee Sehwa. Go die…”

It had only been a day. In less than 24 hours, he had already been broken in by Gi Taejeong.

“…What is this?”

“Food.”

After drying himself as much as possible, he came out of the bathroom to find a meal spread out on the sofa table. Fruits, various breads, cereal… By Sehwa’s standards, it was quite excellent, but he wondered if it was a bit too humble for someone of a brigadier general’s rank. Anyway, since it was set for two, Sehwa, who was slowly approaching the table, took half a step back at the sight of the familiar tableware.

“This… you brought this from the house restaurant, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I can’t eat it…”

“Is there such a rule?”

“It’s not exactly a rule, but… this is all debt too.”

Gi Taejeong chuckled as if he was hearing some nonsense. But it was true…

“Clothes worn here, food and drink, all get added to the debt. Interest also accrues based on the day’s market rate for tails. When that accumulates, it gets surprisingly big…”

Gi Taejeong’s hand, which had just picked up a fork to stab an apple, paused.

“Really? How much? For this much?”

“Since there’s fruit, it’ll definitely be over 100,000 won. Oh. It doesn’t seem to be frozen fruit either. Then it’s even more expensive.”

Gi Taejeong glanced at the food on the table for a moment, then clicked his tongue briefly, displeased.

“I’ll put it on my tab, so just eat it.”

“But…”

“I have a lot to do, and I don’t want to see you starving and weak. Eat.”

Sehwa sat down at the table with suspicious eyes. Strangely, with food in front of him, his appetite returned without hesitation. Well, Gi Taejeong was an executive here. Whatever his true identity, he probably wouldn’t put a tab on someone with an executive title.

…Actually, it was just his ingrained habit of trying to rationalize things so he could eat as much as possible while he could. He didn’t want to show that kind of desperation after having already made a fool of himself, so Sehwa reluctantly sat down in the seat in front, as if to say he would follow his words.

“How much debt is left?”

“200 million won.”

“Is that just the principal?”

“Including everything. I just have to pay back 200 million won before leaving the house.”

“And money for eating meals like this, buying clothes, etc., is added separately?”

“Yes. Usually, the house usage fees, cost of stolen goods used, food expenses, transportation fees… those are settled separately. They call it ‘daily dues’.”

“Then how will you pay back 200 million won? You won’t be able to work now.”

Sehwa tore off small pieces of warm bread and watched Gi Taejeong’s reaction. He hated being tested to see if things would work out, but it was an unavoidable habit. He knew he disliked defiance and slow reactions. But if he cried or fumbled through it now, it felt like things would continue to go his way in the future. For example, having to take a dick as big as a horse’s in his ass while Gi Taejeong stayed here. So, this was a kind of… psychological warfare. In games, it was always most important who took the initiative (the person who leads the game or goes first).

“But you’ll still let me meet Second Lieutenant Kim, won’t you?”

It didn’t seem like things could get any worse from here. So he called ‘go.’ At his impertinent words, Gi Taejeong merely raised an eyebrow and looked at Sehwa.

“If you need the drug Second Lieutenant Kim makes… you’ll probably send me there anyway. I’m scheduled to meet Second Lieutenant Kim about three more times. Then…”

“Three times, and you think you can earn 200 million won?”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t seem like he’ll only transport 200 million won worth… Anyway, the debt is 200 million won, and you plan to live off the remaining money after settling it? What do you plan to do after leaving the house?”

Fortunately, the questions were ordinary. There was no hint of ridicule, like ‘What can a person like you do?’ Sehwa decided to be a little more courageous.

“I just… wanted to study and live a normal life.”

“Is that all?”

“I grew up in a place like this since birth… I was just curious. About the stories of ordinary people living their lives.”

Should he tell Gi Taejeong that he was also promised a District 1 resident ID by Second Lieutenant Kim? The atmosphere felt like he could be a little more honest. Sehwa hesitated for a moment, then decided it wasn’t necessary to reveal that card yet, so he folded it.

Like Gi Taejeong’s offer yesterday, Second Lieutenant Kim had also promised more money or a house. However, Sehwa chose a small transaction fee and a resident ID. Becoming a District 1 resident was more desperate than money.

And a moment ago, Gi Taejeong realized that Sehwa had received a surprisingly small amount of money. If he were to confess now that he was also promised a resident ID from Second Lieutenant Kim… Gi Taejeong would instantly realize what his true desire was.

The Brigadier General was someone who could elevate him to a District 5 resident or throw him into District 1, not even District 2. Sehwa didn’t want to be swayed by anyone on this matter. He didn’t care about being hung up and beaten like an animal for slaughter, or being ridiculed for opening his hole. But this, this one thing…

It was a story he hadn’t even revealed when he almost died at his hands yesterday. Even though he had lived a cowardly and servile life, he had always held onto this glimmer of hope. Although it was a damaged dream, scratched here and there, it wasn’t a sin to harbor it, was it?

“Um… Executive.”

Gi Taejeong’s jaw, which had been mechanically chewing as if he regarded meals merely as a means of energy supply, abruptly stopped.

“…Executive?”

“Because you came here as an executive, after all.”

It was a title he had chosen after much thought. Calling someone who had infiltrated the house with a purpose ‘Brigadier General’ seemed a bit odd. More importantly, he wasn’t a soldier. He was afraid that if he called him ‘Brigadier General’ arbitrarily, he might get hit again.

“Executive, huh…”

Gi Taejeong tapped the strangely shaped armrest, lost in thought. Then he chuckled, as if dumbfounded. He decided to pretend not to notice him muttering, ‘Ah, fuck, that’s so hot,’ just with his mouth.

“Anyway, fine. Why did you call me, Executive?”

Sehwa involuntarily recalled the time he stuck out his tongue to receive the medicine and steeled himself. He shouldn’t be swayed already, shouldn’t be broken in. So…

“There’s a bet among the house players… The first one to get 3 points wins.”

He decided to make a small wager, however timidly. Earlier, when he asked the impertinent question about meeting Second Lieutenant Kim, Gi Taejeong only laughed. He didn’t hit him or kick him. Not only that, he asked about the debt and didn’t flip the table. Instead, he seemed to have reacted with amusement when he responded timidly.

If so, he thought, perhaps this much insolence was acceptable. The best outcome would be for Gi Taejeong to treat him as an equal in a transaction, but he didn’t even hope for that. At the very least, he hoped to be treated with interest. Not as someone to be beaten or fucked, but as a subordinate he might entrust with a task.

“It’s just… a trivial bet. Like the month’s food expenses or settlements. People often make small bets on those.”

“And?”

Sehwa tucked his hands under the table. He didn’t want to be caught with the bread he had kneaded into a doughy mess out of nervousness.

“Would you like to make a bet with me like that? The first one to get 3 points gets their wish granted.”