March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 121

Sehwa instinctively glanced at Gi Taejeong. He didn’t think he would cause trouble inside the Ministry of National Defense building, especially before a trial… But Gi Taejeong did have a history of shooting all the House workers.

Sehwa could feel the soldiers standing far away also keenly observing their movements, but Maejo continued to blabber on as if it were none of his business.

“A slut who sold his body to attract customers,” “a child like Sakura with no loyalty,” “a dirty whore who turned his eyes upside down to change his fate”… After spitting out a few such words, he seemed to have run out of variations and began to repeat only tedious insults.

Fortunately, Gi Taejeong hadn’t burst out yet. Instead, he merely looked back and forth between Lieutenant Kim and Maejo with an expression of interest. Of course, that didn’t mean it was safe to relax, so Sehwa kept his guard up and watched the three approaching figures.

Up close, Maejo’s appearance was utterly wretched. He had caked on cosmetics to hide his bruised face, causing his face and neck to be different colors. He hadn’t changed his clothes in a long time, as the sleeves and collar were grimy, and a musty smell of old mold wafted strongly.

Sehwa had been surprised by the sudden call of “Sakura” and worried about Gi Taejeong’s reaction, but Maejo’s presence itself wasn’t particularly threatening. Sehwa, who had been looking at him with indifferent eyes, belatedly realized something strange and lightly furrowed his brows.

One of Maejo’s hands was gone. His arm from the shoulder to the forearm was properly attached, but below his left cuff, there was nothing, as if it had been sawed off. His legs didn’t look perfectly fine either. Players who were caught trying to escape often walked like that after their Achilles tendons were cut… so he had clearly suffered something similar.

The back of his still intact right hand was covered in scabs. His neck was also full of dot-like wounds… Judging by their location and shape, it seemed he had been injected relatively recently. When one scratches their body furiously due to the itching that comes after taking drugs, their hands and legs are bound to get scars like that.

“My apologies, Brigadier General Ki.”

Was Maejo’s drug use voluntary? Or did Lieutenant Colonel Kim have a hand in it? Lieutenant Colonel Kim offered a polite apology, leaving Sehwa lost in thought. Of course, it was directed at Gi Taejeong, not a lower-class person like Sehwa.

“He’s our witness, and he’s a young man, so he has a bit of a temper.”

Treated as if he were deficient, Maejo flared his nostrils and fumed. Seeing him maintain such an attitude even with armed soldiers surrounding them and officers right beside him… he was definitely not in his right mind.

That made Sehwa even more curious. Could someone addicted to drugs be a witness? What was the reason for bringing Maejo here, not the boss?

“What did you say earlier?”

Gi Taejeong stared intently only at Maejo, as if Lieutenant Colonel Kim was of no concern. As the shadow of the man, like a giant mountain, fell over him, Maejo also seemed a little flustered and awkwardly backed away.

“The slut’s face?”

When a beautiful person with an impeccable face chuckled suavely and commented on appearances, even though he said nothing special, it felt like a great insult was being poured out, making the onlookers feel embarrassed. Even though Gi Taejeong was merely repeating Maejo’s words.

“People usually use what they feel inferior about as insults. If they’re stupid, they call others dumb, and if they have a complex about not having money, they choose to call others beggars.”

The man’s straight, long fingers gripped Maejo’s cheeks and flicked them from side to side. It was a completely insincere touch, as if he had barely picked up the skin with his fingertips, as if something dirty had touched him.

“I understand you’re upset that your face doesn’t live up to your own preference of living like a slut, but you shouldn’t take it out on innocent people. Right?”

“Aargh!”

Maejo stumbled backward from Gi Taejeong’s push and rolled several times. The bruise on Maejo’s forehead from the push looked like it would turn blue soon, but given the immediate situation, Gi Taejeong didn’t seem to have used much force, making it awkward to find fault.

And strangely, even though the taunt was clearly directed at Maejo, Lieutenant Kim’s face also darkened. No, it wasn’t just darkened. He trembled, his jaw sagging gray, and glared at Gi Taejeong as if to kill him. Even though he seemed to be putting all his strength into it, perhaps because of the excess flesh, not even a faint vein stood out on his forehead or neck.

“Indeed. I too wish Brigadier General Ki, with his handsome looks, were my son.”

Lieutenant Colonel Kim, who had been observing the situation, belatedly interjected. He was mocking Gi Taejeong, saying that Gi Taejeong, too, had no backing other than his good looks. Was it better than outright pointing a gun at him upon meeting? Sehwa wasn’t sure… Lieutenant Colonel Kim’s way of speaking was just as exhausting.

“Then we shall meet again inside. I hope we can reach a conclusion today.”

Lieutenant Colonel Kim lightly slapped Lieutenant Kim’s back, who was seething with rage, and then headed for the courtroom.

“Oh, right.”

Lieutenant Colonel Kim, who was just passing by Sehwa, subtly turned his body as if he had belatedly remembered something.

“You had a son, didn’t you?”

A snake-like gaze pierced Sehwa. Although it was fleeting, it was an intense gaze that couldn’t be mistaken. Gi Taejeong also seemed to know him, as he immediately blocked Sehwa’s front, cutting off his view.

Sehwa unconsciously clenched the cuffs of his cardigan into his fists. He knew it was said on purpose to make him feel bad, but when the child was suddenly brought up, his heart couldn’t help but pound. It was also awkward that he had unintentionally ended up hiding behind Gi Taejeong’s back.

“Congratulations, though it’s late. I heard it was a premature birth, but I hope the child is healthy.”

Just as he had subtly signaled the soldiers outside earlier, Sehwa couldn’t tell what expression Gi Taejeong, who stood with his back to him, was making this time. However, Gi Taejeong’s hand, extended subtly behind him, fumbled and then firmly gripped and released Sehwa’s wrist, and somehow, that warm body temperature seemed to tell him to relax.

“It’s not too late yet.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest at the hospital?”

Gi Taejeong asked in a low voice, watching the three receding figures until the very end.

“Anyway, you’re wearing a patient gown now, so pretending your condition worsened wouldn’t be unnatural.”

Gi Taejeong turned to Sehwa, his face filled with forced calm. He seemed to be trying his best to restrain his temper in front of Sehwa.

“I wasn’t… surprised.”

Of course, encountering unexpected faces was only disconcerting, and he didn’t take Maejo’s words to heart. Lieutenant Colonel Kim’s ambiguous remarks were annoying, but thinking that it was something that would have happened eventually, Sehwa felt even more resolute. If they didn’t settle this cleanly in court today, he would have to live constantly worrying about when he might encounter such unsettling people again. He disliked that even more.

Sehwa pressed the tablet button as if nothing was wrong. He quickly selected the common-law marriage option and returned the device to a soldier who was waiting at an appropriate distance. The soldier accepted the tablet without a word, as if he had seen nothing, then saluted Gi Taejeong and kept a respectful distance.

It was fortunate that the sudden appearance of Lieutenant Colonel Kim’s group cut off his distracting thoughts. What did it matter now whether it was a common-law marriage or separation? It was all a rigged game anyway, and it was ridiculous to be self-conscious about it alone.

“That’s something you can say before you even step foot in the courtroom. Inside, there are countless old men even more illogical than that.”

“I’ve heard worse things, cough, much worse.”

Sehwa replied nonchalantly, then startled as he collected his gaze. When he turned his eyes, Gi Taejeong was looking at him with an unfamiliar expression. He was trying his best not to look threatening, but his naturally hardened mouth couldn’t be concealed… it was a very awkward and clumsy expression.

Ah, did he perhaps think that the subject of “worse things” was Gi Taejeong himself, not the House guests…?

“…That’s true.”

He nodded slightly, having jumped to his own conclusion. Sehwa had no chance to correct him, to say that wasn’t what he meant.

“Compared to what I said to you… that’s nothing.”

“……”

“What? Why do you look even more upset?”

Gi Taejeong gently tapped Sehwa’s nose with his index finger. He seemed to be deliberately acting playful, yet his fingertips, holding another meaning, kept twitching. As if to slide down and touch his shoulder, or hug his waist, or… hold his hand.

“Let’s go for now.”

However, he did nothing and retreated. A lazy chuckle spread above Sehwa’s head, as if his flustered appearance was amusing, and that was all.

Gi Taejeong didn’t bring up the common-law marriage choice to make Sehwa uncomfortable, nor did he boast about how he would crush the three people later. He simply walked steadily a step ahead of Sehwa. As if he no longer wanted to show his frightening face. Or as if to say, ‘Don’t look at such a filthy sight, just hide behind me…’

He was truly a strange man. He was the one who had thrown Sehwa into hell, and he was the one who had tightly bound a rope around Sehwa’s neck, daring him not to leave his side and be free alone… Yet now, he was desperate to carry Sehwa, insisting he shouldn’t walk on a thorny path.

He silently brushed off black ashes, worrying about Sehwa’s feet getting hurt in hellfire, and recklessly wielded guns and knives, telling him not to listen to the words of others who hurt him. He claimed to be a kind villain, whispering repeatedly that he would show him a changed hell from now on, as if it were a confession.

Gi Taejeong was truly… an incomprehensible man.

The courtroom was solemn. Of course, only the exterior of the building was, and the behavior of the people inside was utterly vulgar. At least when the national anthem played, they awkwardly made a show of standing up, but afterward, they just slumped down and said whatever they wanted.

Anyway, according to what people were whispering, Lieutenant Kim’s conviction was considered a foregone conclusion. Whether he would be dishonorably discharged as the first in his family, how much the Kim family would compensate for the asset damage caused by their son’s arson, and whether Brigadier General Gi Taejeong would succeed in his special promotion and be recognized as an elder… These seemed to be the main issues of the trial.

Gi Taejeong had repeatedly warned him not to expect a typical trial, but Sehwa didn’t know proper legal procedures anyway. It felt similar to when the House people gathered in one place to punish a misbehaving player or a “dachi” (a low-ranking gangster), so it merely felt familiar.

“It seems quite a few witnesses are expected today…”

An elderly man sitting at the head of the table scratched the side of his head as if annoyed. Beside him sat Captain Oh Seonran, impeccably dressed in his uniform.

When he made eye contact with Sehwa, he smiled, his eyes curving knowingly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but when it seemed not to be conveyed, he spread all five fingers, smiled contentedly, and then gave a thumbs-up.

What was that, what did it mean…? Sehwa felt unnecessarily self-conscious and looked around. It would be a big problem if people whispered that he was exchanging suspicious signals with a high-ranking official and thus being unfair. But… to his dismay, no one paid him any attention. Oh, no. Everyone except Gi Taejeong was indifferent to Captain Oh Seonran’s gesture.

“I told you. This is a place where common sense doesn’t apply. They won’t find fault with things like that, so don’t worry.”

Gi Taejeong whispered with his mouth closed, as if ventriloquizing.

“Look at how things are going. It’s not much different from a gambling den.”

“Before hearing from the witnesses, there’s something I’d like to confirm.”

He was about to say something more, but Lieutenant Colonel Kim, standing on the opposite side, raised his hand, drawing everyone’s attention. His oily, round face gleamed under the lights.

“This matter escalated due to the suspicion that Lieutenant Kim Seok-cheol independently developed a new drug for the ‘Harvest’ project, not just a simple narcotic. But when you think about it, isn’t it impossible to know whether this lower-class person, ah, Brigadier General Gi Taejeong. My apologies. Yes, whether Mr. Lee Sehwa became pregnant due to that new drug, or if it was due to his original constitution?”

Gi Taejeong scoffed, mocking Sehwa that he was spouting magnificent nonsense. Sehwa also agreed. After all, it was true that Kim Seok-cheol had made the drug exactly according to the manufacturing method in the classified documents, wasn’t it? He was just a little concerned about whether it was okay to be whispering so closely with Gi Taejeong like this. However,

“So, how about examining the child in question?”

At Lieutenant Colonel Kim’s subsequent words, Sehwa, who had been subtly trying to push Gi Taejeong away, froze solid.

What did he just say…?

“Think about it. Isn’t there no more accurate proof than that?”

Child? My child? Haerim? Why…? I’m the one who took the drug, and I’m the one with the strange constitution, so why are they bringing the child to examine?

“If we directly confirm what effects the drug Lieutenant Kim claims to have had, and if any components remain in the child’s body, wouldn’t it end immediately without tiring everyone out? The results would be the most accurate, too.”

Ah… Now he understood. Lieutenant Colonel Kim releasing ordinary people like hospital doctors or little kids to spout nonsense wasn’t a low-class trick or incitement to disturb him. He was trying to gauge how sincere Sehwa was about the child, and how sincere Gi Taejeong was about Sehwa and the child.

Regardless of whether it was feasible, Lieutenant Colonel Kim wanted to confirm whether Gi Taejeong would back down just by mentioning the possibility of taking the child, and whether he and the child were truly valuable hostages to Gi Taejeong.