March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 132

“Stay back!”

I lunged, thrusting myself between the doctor and Sehwa. I blocked their view, subtly pushed Sehwa back, and urged him to move. Fortunately, the sounds of people gradually faded. Even in his panic, he seemed to sense something unusual.

Perhaps realizing things were going awry, the nurse—no, the bastard disguised as a nurse—quickly plastered himself against the front door. He seemed intent on preventing anyone from entering from outside.

Gi Taejeong kicked the three-tiered wagon they had brought, knocking it over, then shoved it hard towards the entrance.

“Ugh!”

The guy who was about to put a small metal device on the door’s lock cried out pitifully and collapsed, apparently having injured his leg from the flying wagon. Gi Taejeong’s more aggressive-than-expected response made the other thugs hesitate, merely observing the situation.

“Hwaaah…!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay…”

Anxiety and fear seeped from Sehwa’s voice as he held and soothed the child, who was startled by the loud noise.

Gi Taejeong quickly scanned the floor. The items they had brought were ordinary medical supplies: syringes, scalpels, reagent bottles, heart rate monitors. The code engraved on the wagon indicated it was from the emergency room, so it seemed they had used that excuse to pass internal inspection somehow.

It was a relief there were no firearms or explosives… but still, did they really think they could pull this off with just a scalpel? Of course, I could kill a person bare-handed, but those bastards look like civilians.

What was the motive of these pathetic thugs, armed with pathetic tools, coming all the way here? They must have known that Commander Oh Seonran had assigned more than double the usual security personnel.

If they were indeed the stooges planted by Lieutenant Colonel Kim, it made even less sense why they would do something like this. Lieutenant Colonel Kim didn’t have the luxury to pull off such a conspicuous stunt, especially with the compensation case for the 2nd District fire. Ever since he attempted to declare bankruptcy, even the factions who had been relatively gentle in dealing with the case were now tightening their grip on Lieutenant Colonel Kim.

“D-don’t move!”

The guy in the doctor’s gown, picking up a scalpel from near his feet, shrieked.

“I-I didn’t want to do this, but… I have a child too.”

At the mention of a child, I felt Sehwa’s body flinch significantly behind me. Ah… these bastards were aiming for this.

“Contact Director Gi Taejeong.”

The doctor brandished the scalpel in his hand, bringing up the word that would most weaken Sehwa right now.

“We won’t harm you or the child, and if an agreement is reached, we’ll take responsibility for persuading Director Gi Taejeong’s opposing factions… Just contact Director Gi Taejeong for now. If you set up a meeting, we’ll handle everything on our end…”

Agreement, my ass, a frozen agreement.

How should I handle this? Moving Sehwa to the bedroom was awkward in terms of movement. Even if I moved while providing cover, his side might be slightly exposed, which would create a perfect angle to stab the baby he was holding.

Gi Taejeong nervously bit his lip. Mass annihilation was easy. But how to protect someone without leaving a single scratch… he didn’t know. He had never done such a thing, so he wasn’t sure.

How many possibilities did he need to consider?

He didn’t want to kill people in front of Sehwa.

Back at the 2nd District port, when he held the lives of Song and others hostage to threaten Sehwa, when he blew up a ship right before his eyes… what kind of look had Sehwa given him then?

That’s why Gi Taejeong couldn’t move as freely as he usually did.

Sehwa and the child must not be harmed, not even a single hair. He wouldn’t let them see any gruesome, blood-splattered scenes. They had only just begun to smile… If Sehwa were to suffer again, reminded of past events, especially if it was related to him, this time it would truly be unbearable.

“Crouch as much as you can behind the bouncer. Sticking too close to the window might also be dangerous, so it’s best to keep some distance.”

Keeping his gaze forward, he whispered softly so only Sehwa could hear.

“I’m going to keep all these bastards alive anyway. That way I can interrogate their mastermind.”

“……”

“It might get a little noisy, but no one will die. I promise.”

He wasn’t worried. The unfamiliar method was just new, but it would be over without much difficulty.

But after such a chaotic incident, he probably couldn’t continue to stay by Sehwa’s side. Even now, he was pretending not to know, using formal speech again, but having called Sehwa informally in his surprise earlier, Sehwa might have already figured out who he was.

It was bitter that the end was such a mess… but it was good to have seen Sehwa and the child for a week. It was truly good.

“W-what are you two whispering about?! Mr. Lee Sehwa, I told you to contact Director Gi Taejeong!”

The doctor’s furious yell acted as a signal, and like a pulled trigger, Gi Taejeong’s body shot forward.

“Why do you keep calling me?”

“Aargh!”

“You called, so I came, Director Gi Taejeong.”

He first grabbed the doctor who had been spouting nonsense about having a child too, and whispered softly so only the guy could hear.

Thinking it would be hard for him to move much while holding someone, a foolish bastard tried to dart in from the side. Gi Taejeong kicked him away, then fumbled at the doctor’s gown collar. Just as he suspected, he felt the touch of a tiny, fingernail-sized electronic device underneath.

“H-huh, ugh…!”

He grabbed the guy by the collar, as if to choke him, and ripped off the fabric where the chip was attached.

“I told you not to touch Lee Sehwa or the kid.”

He whispered savagely close to the chip, hoping Lieutenant Colonel Kim, who was watching this situation in real-time, would be glad to hear his long-sought voice. Ah. He was wearing a voice changer now, so maybe he wouldn’t realize it was him?

“G-grab him! Someone grab the kid first…!”

Realizing that taking Sehwa or the child hostage was their only way to survive, the bug-like thugs rushed him all at once. They seemed to think that since there were four of them, they could rush him, distract him, and if even one of them could get to Sehwa, that would be enough.

Gi Taejeong moved with an indifferent expression. He had survived being shot multiple times without a scratch, so a small scalpel had no effect on him.

“You, you crazy bastard…!”

He roughly grabbed the blade with his bare hand and pulled the guy holding the scalpel towards him, as if daring him to do his worst.

“Ugh!”

He grinned at the guy, who was aghast at the overwhelming difference in grip strength, and then delivered a powerful punch to his solar plexus. A dull thud, like a cotton ball bursting, echoed through the room.

He kicked away the guy who had collapsed, unable to even vomit, and then grabbed the face of another rat-like thug who was trying to slip past his shoulder.

Now that he looked closely, the key personnel in this terror act were the ones dressed as nurses. At least these guys seemed to have received professional training. Of course, by Gi Taejeong’s standards, they were utterly clumsy…

He kneed the stomach of the guy who was flailing with his feet dangling in the air, having been caught by him. But then,

“B-behind…!”

Sehwa’s shrill scream rang out, and at the same time, he felt a stinging sensation on his neck.

“Do you think we dressed up as doctors and nurses for nothing?”

The guy who, surprisingly, hadn’t been hit by him yet, chuckled and brandished a syringe.

“You should have listened when we suggested negotiating nicely.”

He felt the drug spread faintly through his veins. Hmm, it passed inspection, so it must be standard emergency room supplies… then it’s probably just an anesthetic at best. He didn’t even feel the needle pierce deeply… He was sorry to disappoint, but it probably wouldn’t have much impact.

“Did we ask for money, did we say we’d kill Lee Sehwa right away? We just, ugh…!”

Gi Taejeong touched the area of his neck where he had been pricked by the syringe and punched the face of the guy who had been taunting him. The guy’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected Gi Taejeong to be able to move. Seeing him alternate glances between the syringe on the floor and Gi Taejeong’s face, he seemed to assume the injection had failed.

“Ah. I only whispered to that bastard, didn’t I?”

He was famous for not being affected by harmful substances, whether sleeping pills or poison.

“T-that…!”

“Bring about thirty milligrams of Tyran. That might make me close my eyes for a bit.”

He whispered, grabbing the guy by the collar, and the sprawling thug, realizing the meaning of his words, pointed a trembling finger.

“What? Y-you, how did you…!”

“Shut up, Sehwa doesn’t know yet.”

He probably figured it out by now, but… Anyway, he clicked his tongue softly and hit the foolish guy one more time, then looked at the two remaining terrified people. He didn’t know the exact dosage or type of anesthetic, but he could handle it. It seemed perfectly feasible to deal with all these bastards and then wait until Commander Oh Seonran arrived.

Gi Taejeong shook his head briefly and lunged forward. He had intended to go easy, fearing that loud bone-breaking or impact sounds would scare Sehwa, but just in case, it would be better to finish quickly.

He kicked the guy who was dramatically picking up a scalpel and syringe, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and threw him towards the wagon. Even though he had tried to control his strength, the guy’s screams as he fell and the sound of objects breaking echoed loudly.

“What nerve do you have to pull a stunt like this, screaming as if you’d die from just this much, huh?”

“G-gasp, h-huh, ugh… W-we… L-Lieutenant Colonel Kim threatened us…”

There was nothing more to hear. He snapped both wrists of the last villain. Learning from throwing people earlier, he tried his best to be careful this time so that no bone-breaking sounds would occur.

After that, there was nothing more to deal with. He had secured the chip Lieutenant Colonel Kim had planted… And feeling a small vibration from the door, it seemed the dismantling operation had begun outside as well. Everyone, both here and there, was just too slow.

Gi Taejeong cracked his neck left and right, looking down at the thugs who had shattered Sehwa’s peaceful space. They probably never imagined that someone who wasn’t an ordinary soldier would be guarding the inside.

Perhaps Commander Oh Seonran had called him in anticipation of such a moment? If so, he had fulfilled his duty… that was a relief.

Gi Taejeong smiled bitterly and turned towards Sehwa. The baby was still intermittently crying, and Sehwa… had an indescribable expression.

The groans of the fallen thugs, the sound of the door being dismantled, the faint cries of the tired child… The surroundings were quite noisy, yet it felt strangely quiet. As if Sehwa and he were trapped in a different world, a terrifying silence flowed leisurely.

“…Go inside.”

When he spoke politely, Sehwa’s body flinched.

Anyway… outwardly, he had someone else’s face, and his voice was still not his own, so he intended to deny it to the very end.

“It’ll take a little while to clean up.”

Gi Taejeong raised a hand that wasn’t bleeding and gently covered Sehwa’s eyes. It was a very awkward gesture, neither pressing firmly on his eyelids nor completely removing his hand.

He shook off the drops of blood streaming from his other hand and gently pulled Sehwa forward, barely grasping the hem of his clothes. Obediently, Sehwa swayed softly as Gi Taejeong led him. The child, nestled between them, stirred with a soft hum.

“Commander Oh Seonran will be here soon. And your doctor too.”

“……”

“But just in case, keep the door locked.”

It wasn’t his place to comfort the startled Sehwa and child. He would leave the cleanup to Commander Oh Seonran and focus on uncovering the full story of this absurd incident.

“Ah, and…”

Suddenly feeling a gaze, Gi Taejeong glanced down and his words caught in his throat.

The child, who had been shedding tear-like drops of water in surprise at the sudden commotion, was looking up at him. Was he curious to see such a large person for so long? With his mouth agape, blinking his eyes that were, to exaggerate a bit, as big as fists, the baby was as pretty as a doll.

“Um, that… after that…”

Gi Taejeong, who had been staring blankly at the child, belatedly came to his senses and sharply turned his head. He knew it must have looked unnatural, but he couldn’t help it.

Sehwa and the child, who looked just like Sehwa, were looking at him with the same expression. The speed of their blinking, the shape and angle of their slightly parted lips, were all identical, as if cast from a mold. It wasn’t the anesthetic; it was this scene that made his head spin. He was bleached white, unable to think anything.

“Anyway, keep the door locked tight…”

He tried to reassure Sehwa not to worry, saying he would stand guard outside the bedroom door until Commander Oh Seonran arrived, and was about to turn away when a long, unfamiliar shadow subtly fell over his and Sehwa’s intertwined figures.

Damn it… Gi Taejeong quickly turned and pushed Sehwa into the bedroom. At the sudden rough touch, the child, who had just stopped crying, burst into wails, and then…

“General…!”

Before he could even grasp the situation, a sharp scalpel plunged deep into Gi Taejeong’s jugular.