March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 130

“…Warrant Officer Choi.”

“Yes.”

“Do you think Lee Sehwa won’t recognize me if I wear this shoddy stuff?”

When he retorted coldly, saying he wouldn’t exactly be inconspicuous even in an honor guard uniform, Warrant Officer Choi bowed his head in embarrassment.

“That’s enough, Lieutenant Park, put all that away.”

“But…”

“Are my orders not like orders anymore?”

At Gi Taejeong’s sharp voice, the two men snapped to attention. Their actions were so absurd that he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. It seemed he had changed a lot in a short time. If these bastards were only preparing to be hit, not to die.

“Warrant Officer Choi.”

“Yes.”

“Did you think everything would be fine if you used Lee Sehwa as an excuse? A general formally requested something, and you just went ahead and did it without reporting to your superior?”

Warrant Officer Choi, guilty, stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the floor. Lieutenant Park was also the same. It was better when he swore and cursed, but when Gi Taejeong acted like this, he was no different from a ticking time bomb.

“…I apologize. I’m sorry.”

Even as he repeatedly apologized, saying he would accept any disciplinary action, Warrant Officer Choi did not give up on his absurd plan.

“I will comply even if you tell me to return my rank insignia. So, first, how about we move? Four hours isn’t much time to complete all the preparations.”

“……”

“Major General. Of all days… today, when the baby comes out of the incubator, isn’t it her real birthday?”

Ha… Gi Taejeong rolled his eyes, glaring at the innocent ceiling.

In emergencies, post-reporting was allowed. Lieutenant Park and Warrant Officer Choi seemed to have judged this matter as urgent as an enemy taking over a base, and Lee Sehwa was indeed such a weighty subject for Gi Taejeong. Even if the center of the five-star generals were overturned, it wouldn’t feel as urgent as Sehwa’s matter.

But if he acted like this, prioritizing his own affection, then what was the point of letting Sehwa go?

The first time was difficult, but the second and third times would be nothing. If he went to see Sehwa like this now, it was obvious that he would then start contemplating ways to visit secretly behind General Oh Seonran’s back.

And a birthday? Does he, no, does he even have the right to consider the baby’s birthday special? Sehwa would get angry, telling him not to be funny and to apologize to the child first. Of course. He had done many terrible things to the child to keep Sehwa by his side…

“…Warrant Officer Choi.”

“Yes.”

“Connect the line to General Oh Seonran’s side.”

Gi Taejeong slowly wiped his dry face.

First, he would confront General Oh Seonran. He would protest roughly, asking why he, of all people, who should be most wary of him, was calling him there, and why a general would listen to his subordinates’ nonsense.

“Lieutenant Park, you…”

Gi Taejeong, about to give further instructions, stopped, unable to continue.

Protest, he would…

His chest swelled greatly as he held his breath. His entire body tensed, veins bulging at his temples and neck.

While he was choosing the words to say to his adjutants, a thread of desperate hope shamelessly bloomed. The shallow crack, like a hairline fracture, violently spread, threatening to shatter his entire body. His pulse pounded like a drum beating in his ear.

“Ah, damn it…”

Gi Taejeong finally closed his eyes. He clenched his fists tightly to calm his trembling insides, but it was useless.

I want to see him.

I want to see him.

I know I’m a truly cowardly and trashy person for using the baby as an excuse in the end, but Sehwa, Lee Sehwa, I just want to see your face from afar…

“…Call someone to prepare special makeup.”

After a long hesitation, Gi Taejeong finally declared defeat. He was exasperated with his own pathetic behavior, but he simply couldn’t overcome the temptation.

Just hearing from others that it was okay to meet, okay to go see him, something he had painstakingly suppressed began to crumble.

“Bring disinfectant too on the way. Medical alcohol swabs are good too. As much as possible, enough to completely soak a person.”

“Ah… Yes! Understood!”

Warrant Officer Choi, who had been frozen with a bewildered look, hastily pulled out his tablet and pressed the dial on his wristwatch. Lieutenant Park ran outside, saying he would prepare ordinary work clothes in addition to the instructions.

Would special makeup even work? Lee Sehwa knew that human skin could be easily swapped.

No, more than that, the biggest problem was the perfume he wore like armor. He could change his face and voice, but there was no suitable way to hide his body odor.

It was all in the past, but he was a person who could only breathe when he was in his arms. That much, Lee Sehwa was keenly sensitive to his scent. Moreover, these days, Gi Taejeong was spraying several times more perfume than before, just because Sehwa liked it.

Anyway, what immediately came to mind was soaking his body in disinfectant or alcohol. He would recover immediately after taking one pill, so even if his skin burst, pouring such things on himself seemed a little safer.

“Major General, connected.”

Gi Taejeong let out a crazy, snorting laugh. Both those bastards who hastily brought such shoddy things, and himself, who thought of such a crude temporary measure…

Was his condition that bad? Well, he had been told to go to the hospital recently, so he must have looked terrible. Gi Taejeong checked the tablet screen with a “whatever happens” attitude. Somehow, his mind was blank, and he couldn’t think straight. He didn’t know. Wouldn’t General Oh Seonran come up with some solution? Anyway, any strategy was useless in front of Lee Sehwa.

“Uh, General…”

“Hmm?”

“Over there… Ah, no.”

Sehwa looked around and swallowed. General Oh Seonran had assigned many people to him, saying it would be good to pay attention for a while. By his estimate, it seemed like three times the existing personnel.

It was for the safety of the child, of all things, so he could endure any inconvenience. Although he hadn’t been told in detail, he knew that General Oh Seonran was struggling to completely drive out Lieutenant Colonel Kim and his associates. He wasn’t so thoughtless as to only consider his own convenience while his adoptive father struggled to ensure he and Haerim settled safely in the five-star general’s quarters.

He wasn’t thoughtless, but… still, isn’t this a bit… strange? Did they deliberately gather only large men? Soldiers were naturally more physically fit than civilians, but with huge, block-like men lined up densely in every corridor, it was incredibly burdensome.

“I didn’t know a newborn could be this small. It’s my first time seeing one in person…”

“Yes… she seems so small.”

Sehwa, who had been glancing out of the bedroom, refocused on Haerim at General Oh Seonran’s exclamation.

Indeed, Haerim, carefully wrapped in a swaddling blanket, was extremely tiny. Her weight was average, and her legs were longer than average, but she still looked infinitely small in his eyes. He wondered if this was what it meant to be completely smitten.

It was a bit embarrassing to say this about a child who resembled him, but Haerim was so, so pretty and gentle. Even after about 20 minutes of moving to the protective ward, she was very quiet. It should have been an unfamiliar place, but she didn’t cry and just let out a big yawn, then continued to sleep soundly.

“Want to hold her?”

“Ah, no…”

Sehwa, who had been smiling broadly, gasped and shook his head at General Oh Seonran’s sudden suggestion.

“Later, not now…”

He knew there would be no problem if his hands touched her.

Haerim had gone through a perfect growth period in the incubator, so much so that she didn’t need to stay in the newborn intensive care unit separately. And this cradle was also a top-of-the-line product with an automatic system for immune enhancement and some kind of improvement… Anyway, it had a difficult name.

Still… he needed time to prepare himself mentally. She was so small and fragile. What if he broke her neck by holding her…?

“By the way, really…”

General Oh Seonran chuckled and looked at Haerim again. Sehwa stood half a step behind, hesitant. As he craned his neck and stood on tiptoes, General Oh Seonran, exasperated, pulled him right in front of Haerim’s nose.

“She’s your kid, why are you so distant? How is she, prettier up close, right?”

“Yes…”

“How can she be such a spitting image?”

The lingering affection deeply embedded in his gaze was no longer unfamiliar. So General Oh Seonran seemed to be thinking of… Lee Jinwoo, the person who he said had given birth to him.

He should fix this habit of speech quickly. The person who gave birth to me, the person named Lee Jinwoo, the person who said they gave birth to me… He knew that every time he called him that, a look of pity would appear in General Oh Seonran’s eyes. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say it easily. Calling someone he had never even seen “Dad” was harder than he thought.

“I need to fix this habit too. Thinking of Jinwoo whenever I’m with you and Haerim.”

General Oh Seonran gently stroked his head, as if he knew that he was struggling with the matter of Lee Jinwoo, specifically the title for Lee Jinwoo.

“I don’t love you because of Jinwoo, absolutely not. I don’t think of you as a substitute for Jinwoo, nor am I reluctantly taking you on out of responsibility.”

He said it was true that he had adopted him to keep an old promise with Lee Jinwoo, but it was his own will that he truly embraced him as his son. So, if he had been anxious because of his own way of speaking, he said there was no need to be, comforting him gently.

Sehwa smiled and nodded. Now, when he heard such words, he no longer felt overwhelmed or immediately denied them. General Oh Seonran had taught him that when he heard good things, he should just smile.

“Ah, finally they’re here.”

General Oh Seonran, who had been checking his watch alarm, suddenly frowned deeply. As if he had seen something very displeasing.

“Sehwa, I think I need to go take care of something for a moment.”

Oh, then… he would be alone with Haerim… A little anxious, Sehwa couldn’t say anything and just nervously scratched his thumbnail.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have someone come inside too.”

General Oh Seonran lightly patted his shoulder, saying he could do well, and then immediately left.

If he had known this, he would have called the dedicated sitter right away. It was a somewhat historic moment, and he wanted to welcome Haerim without outsiders. So he had deliberately booked the sitter for about an hour later…

Sehwa, who was left alone, or rather, just with Haerim, straightened his body, which kept wanting to shrink. Yes, what was there to be afraid of? He was her dad. How long was he going to be scared?

Sehwa, who had been circling around the cradle, bravely stood right at the baby’s feet.

“Sprout, Haerim.”

When he called her by her nickname during pregnancy and then her name, the baby’s lips twitched. Could she already understand her name? He wasn’t sure, but since he, her father, felt that way for a moment, he decided it was true. Sehwa, quickly excited, smiled shyly, his cheeks flushed.

“So pretty…”

They said using diverse and rich expressions was good for a child’s emotional development, but all he could manage was a foolish exclamation of “pretty.”

Her hair was already thick, and her features were clear… She resembled him, but Haerim was much prettier, incomparably so. It was like, if his genes were maximized in a good way, this is what it would feel like. When he spoke those words, holding his breath as he looked at the baby who had just arrived in the protective ward, General Oh Seonran laughed loudly, saying he sounded just like her father.

And… naturally, looking at Haerim reminded him of Gi Taejeong. Her eyebrows, glabella, nose bridge, and jawline definitely had more of his feel than his own. Her tiny face and long legs also seemed to be his influence.

Ah. Just remembering Gi Taejeong for a moment immediately dampened his mood. Sehwa shook his head briefly from side to side, pushing away the depression that habitually welled up. He needed to only think about the baby. He felt like he would be fine if he focused on Haerim.

“Haerim.”

Sehwa, trying to call the baby from a little closer, was startled by a click under his hand and recoiled.

“…Huh?”

Fortunately, the immune system showed no abnormalities, but the mobile hanging above it began to spin diligently on its own. Was it linked to the cradle?

The rabbit and squirrel spun busily. The music box melody was also lovely. The problem was that Haerim, who had been sleeping soundly, began to wrinkle her eyebrows as if something was bothering her.

“Ah, no…”

Sehwa fumbled along the surface of the cradle, at a loss. As he rummaged around the area his hand had touched a moment ago, he felt a protruding part. It was a relief to find it right away. So this was the button…

“Phew…”

He unconsciously let his tense shoulders drop… when suddenly, the pungent smell of disinfectant wafted strongly from behind him.

Who was it? Startled by the unfamiliar presence, he had no time to turn around. A firm body gently touched his hunched back. Someone’s arm, stretching long past his ear, pressed the cradle’s button for Sehwa.