March Novel - Chapter 12

“A bet?”

Gi Taejeong’s neat eyebrows twitched in displeasure. Had he gone too far? Sehwa, watching him, broke off pieces of bread under the table. If he was going to get hit again… he planned to hide some in his gown pocket, as the meal would probably end here.

“What are you doing?”

Gi Taejeong leaned back in disbelief and gestured downwards with his eyes. He seemed to have noticed Sehwa trying something under the table.

“Are you really a player? Why is everything you do so obvious?”

“I’m more of a… drug specialist than a Hwatu player…”

“So you were dealing drugs under the table?”

“……”

“Do I have to hit you again for you to answer?”

“No, it’s just the bread… I was trying to hide it. I thought you’d stop me from eating it for being impertinent…”

“You, you…”

Gi Taejeong opened his mouth as if exasperated, then bit his lips shut again. His hand on the table twitched, but he didn’t seem like he was going to hit him. Sehwa finally pulled his neck out, which had been retracted like a turtle’s. Although his face was expressionless as if nothing had happened, Sehwa was certain he had seen a faint smile flash across his face. He probably wouldn’t hit him.

“I won’t flip the table, so eat it all.”

Sehwa looked at Gi Taejeong with wide eyes, as if asking if he was serious, and he made a stern face, saying, “Tsk.”

“I don’t make vague deals like granting wishes. If you win, I’ll let you live safely and won’t take the money you received from Second Lieutenant Kim. But if I win.”

The next words were obvious. He would make him his plaything. What did Gi Taejeong say yesterday? That he would have to do everything he was told. He also said he would count how many times he orgasmed in front of people. Since he was a perverted and cruel man, he might even personally spread Sehwa’s ass for his subordinates to fuck. But,

“…I’ll do that.”

Sehwa also had a certain confidence. It became even clearer after the previous conversation. As long as there was something to extort from Second Lieutenant Kim, Gi Taejeong couldn’t casually kill him. Even if he got his hands on the finished product, Sehwa was currently the only one who had manufactured that drug. So, no matter what Gi Taejeong threatened him with, he would ultimately win. In gambling, the person who is more desperate always loses.

“How do you score points? You’re not actually suggesting we play Hwatu, are you?”

“It’s up to us to decide… Let’s say you score a point when you help the other person. Limited to this matter, that is, the one involving Second Lieutenant Kim and the drug.”

“Help…”

Gi Taejeong muttered quietly. He split a hard apple cleanly in half with his bare hands, and Sehwa couldn’t tell if it was because he was in a bad mood or if it was just a meaningless action. Sehwa picked up the bread again and fell into thought. It was better to hide it after all. Even if he ate it now, he’d probably throw it all up if he got hit.

“Is it because I’m still young? I only make losing deals.”

His grip was so strong that the skin peeled back under his fingertips as he gripped the fruit, and the pulp burst out. Sehwa, watching the juice flow down Gi Taejeong’s fingers, felt strangely uneasy and subtly turned his head. An unwanted metaphor permeated his actions.

“If that’s the case, you should have accepted my offer yesterday, shouldn’t you? At this rate, you’ll end up getting nothing and just spreading your legs for me, won’t you?”

Gi Taejeong chewed on the apple and picked up the communicator from the bedside table. He put it on speakerphone and pressed an internal number, and a gruff voice immediately poured out.

– Hey, Executive Gi.

It was the boss.

“You’re already at work?”

– No, I stayed up all night. Trying to nail down some construction plans. Going home now. Why, need anything?

“It’s about the person you assigned to me.”

– March Boy? Why?

“I heard he has a debt.”

Sehwa, who had been carefully breaking off pieces of bread and hiding them in his pocket, suddenly raised his head. Why was debt being brought up here?

– Oh, that bastard, he’s been walking around with his head held high lately just because he paid off some of it.

“Can I pay off the remaining debt for him?”

– Huh? You’re going to pay it off?

“I’ll even give you a generous interest rate.”

– Why would you pay that off for him?

“March Boy, was it? His service was so exceptional…”

Gi Taejeong threw away the thoroughly mashed apple, as if it was useless. With a thud, the fruit, which had been thoroughly toyed with in his mouth, splattered onto the table.

“I was quite impressed.”

His burning gaze, sweeping over the table, fixed on the center of Sehwa’s torso. Specifically, it was aimed at his chest, visible through the open gown. He thought he had tied the string tightly, but when had it come undone like this…? Sehwa, flustered, twitched and neatly adjusted the lapels of his gown, and Gi Taejeong also averted his eyes. He wore a faint, unreadable smile.

– Wow, did you really screw him? How did you manage that annoying bastard… No, fine. Even so, he’s involved with military personnel, isn’t he? How are you going to handle that?

“Do you remember the person who introduced you to that property last time, Mr. Boss? That asset in District 3.”

– Oh, of course I remember! But that person is a warrant officer. And March Boy is clinging to a second lieutenant…

“I was just about to tell you… Among the people who want to meet you, Mr. Boss, there’s Second Lieutenant Park Seong-hak.”

– …Second Lieutenant?

A second lieutenant named Park… it sounded like Gi Taejeong’s personal adjutant.

“How about we use Second Lieutenant Park as an excuse? If we say we’re powerless, they’ll come running with money. If they divert the deal to Second Lieutenant Park, Second Lieutenant Kim will suffer a loss.”

– What if both sides get mad if we play games in the middle…?

“Second Lieutenant Kim and Second Lieutenant Park both have dirty secrets, don’t they? We’re the ones holding their weaknesses.”

– I-is that so?

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Gi Taejeong concluded the call, saying he would pay off the debt. Sehwa silently stared at the communicator. Until the screen of the phone-like device turned off.

What Sehwa had imagined… wasn’t this. He had intended to give him clues one by one. Like showing him the drug manufacturing process he had never seen before, or teaching him the slang often used in distribution…

But Gi Taejeong, with just one phone call, simply lifted the yoke that Sehwa had carried his entire life. He made it as if it had never happened, too easily.

“Second Lieutenant Park.”

Gi Taejeong didn’t stop there and pressed the call button on his watch. His movements were swift, as if not giving Sehwa a chance to say anything.

– Yes, Brigadier General.

“While you’re out, look into some schools.”

– Schools?

“Our sweetheart wants to go to school. He says he wants to study and live a normal life, working part-time?”

– Hmm… If you mean schools outside the city walls. Do you have a preferred type? Like a school for university admission, or one focused on technical skills…

“Outside the city walls? Come on. It’s an order under a brigadier general’s name. If I’m going to do it for him, I should do it properly.”

– Are you going to issue Lee Sehwa a new resident ID?

“Yeah. District 5 might make him faint from shock… so District 2 or 3 should be enough, don’t you think?”

– I’ll prepare for it. Oh, and about the contract you mentioned yesterday,

“Ah. Just prepare for that. Don’t tell the boss yet. Things are getting a bit interesting now.”

The communication abruptly cut off unilaterally. Gi Taejeong bit into a fresh apple, tilting his head. Sehwa rubbed his gown with his palm. Sweat kept forming, and he couldn’t help it. The pulp crumbling in his mouth felt just like… his future. He hadn’t breathed a word to Gi Taejeong about a new identity, yet he was acting as if he knew all of Sehwa’s intentions.

“…How did you, that…”

“What? That you were going to get a new resident registration from Second Lieutenant Kim?”

“……”

“Are you asking how I knew that?”

“……”

“Sweetheart.”

Gi Taejeong reached out and gently stroked his lips, as if praising him. Apple juice on his fingers seeped into the crevices, making his mouth water involuntarily.

“A kid who couldn’t even extort much money from Second Lieutenant Kim, who wants to cut ties with this criminal den and live a normal life after paying off his debt. What would he need most?”

Gi Taejeong laughed, saying there were quite a few naive guys like him around. With a kind face like a prince from a fairy tale, he enjoyed pushing Sehwa into the mud.

“If it were me, I would have demanded a large sum of money. Becoming a District 1 resident is possible if you have enough money. That would have aroused less suspicion from guys like me.”

“……”

“Why do you look so upset? I’m not saying you’re stupid. You’re just too young. That’s why when I look at you, I see everything. I can read everything.”

I am a monstrous immortal who has been through thick and thin, always returning alive from the jaws of death.

And you are a poor child who has been confined to this small house your whole life, thinking this world is all there is.

“Still, this will definitely help, right? I paid off all your debt, so you can pocket all the money Second Lieutenant Kim gives you from now on. And you can live a normal life as you wished with the better identity I gave you.”

Sehwa’s eyes trembled helplessly. What was this? He had ridiculed him as a fool whose insides were completely transparent. But if he were to summarize what Gi Taejeong had done, he had essentially guaranteed him a humane life.

“Then I’ve already scored 2 points, haven’t I?”

“Executive…”

“It must feel a bit unfair. I do overwhelmingly more than you.”

The man bit into the rest of the apple and shrugged his shoulders.

“Then how about this? Every time I grant one of your wishes, one point is nullified. So, if I ask for a wish now and you accept it, my score becomes 1 point instead of 2. If I grant one more, it goes back to 0 points.”

“You said you don’t like vague deals…”

“Yeah. But you can choose this, can’t you? It doesn’t interfere with the main bet. If you don’t want to grant it, you can just refuse.”

Crunch, crunch. Gi Taejeong’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he chewed the fruit.

“What… do you wish for?”

“I won’t put it in, but will you let me suck your dick?”

Perhaps the most beautiful devil in the world, holding a crimson apple, asked Sehwa. His voice was incredibly soft and gentle.

“Sit on my face, let me suck your dick and hole, and cum all over me. Then I’ll deduct 1 point.”