March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 51

The clothes Lieutenant Park handed over were impeccably clean. The knit and pants were a neutral color, and the padding jacket was light yet warm. Of course, even well-fitting underwear was provided. If it hadn’t been for Gi Taejeong, it would have been a pleasant outing.

Sehwa fumed, pacing in circles in the same spot. In fact, he had finished everything quickly. He had hidden the money well, confirmed that his bank account was fine, and neatly trimmed his overgrown hair. After that, there was nothing to do. He didn’t want to go back, but he couldn’t go to a cafe looking like this. It would be a disaster if he needed to go to the bathroom, so he decided not to drink anything until Gi Taejeong returned, if possible.

The streets were unusually quiet today. This was supposed to be the busiest area, and he usually ran into at least one person from the house whenever he came out… but there was nobody, to an excessive degree. At first, he naturally thought of calling Maejo. He was the one who knew the most about drugs after Sehwa himself. But upon reflection, asking him about aphrodisiacs felt like digging his own grave. Maejo was as talkative as he was meddlesome. Gi Taejeong hadn’t even properly explained his physical condition, so it wouldn’t be good if suspicious rumors started circulating. Most of all… thinking about all the things he’d hear, like “Who told you that mixing them makes you secrete fluid?” or “Were you perhaps the one who was subjected to it?”, made him feel tired already, so he just gave up. Besides, his old phone had been taken, so he didn’t even know the contact information right now.

“…Should I just go back?”

Even though the padding jacket was made of light material, sweat began to bead on his skin. When the sun set, it was still as cold as mid-winter, but at the time when shadows were shortest, it felt more like summer than spring. Hot, heavy… everything was annoying. Should he really go back? Anyway, Gi Taejeong said he had people watching him, so even just pacing in circles like this would be reported to him.

“Hey, are you coming in or not?”

“Ah… no. I’m sorry.”

“Then get lost! I already lost business today, and you’re just standing in front of my store, bringing bad luck!”

The owner of the snack bar, seemingly displeased with Sehwa’s aimless wandering, burst out and yelled at him. Sehwa pouted and walked a little further away.

“What’s wrong with this now….”

As he picked up his pace, the fabric clung to his skin. He wasn’t usually this sensitive. Sehwa, frowning at the irritating sensation, began to suspect if this too was Gi Taejeong’s trick. Could it be that he intended this, which is why he hadn’t let him wear underwear all this time? Sehwa pressed his reddened cheeks with the back of his hand and entered the nearest visible supermarket.

As he aimlessly lingered in the ice cream section, where cold air billowed, just to clear his head, an idea suddenly struck him: couldn’t he use the card Gi Taejeong gave him for snacks? Earlier, when he got his hair cut, he was so worried about the balance that he ended up paying with his own money, but even if Gi Taejeong’s intention was to tease him, he probably would have put at least ten thousand won in the account.

After deliberating, Sehwa carefully chose an ice cream. The ice clinging to the inside of the freezer, which hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, was as solid as an ancient glacier. After digging for a long time, he picked up a chocolate-flavored cone with hands covered in ice powder, something he wouldn’t normally even look at. Moreover, it wasn’t even on sale, so it was quite expensive.

“Please ring this up.”

He called out to the employee, who was engrossed in his phone, and handed over the card. The employee, chewing gum loudly and clearly annoyed, widened his eyes in an ‘Oh,’ and examined the black card from various angles.

“What’s this thing look like? It’s weird.”

It was then that Sehwa realized his mistake. The bank balance wasn’t the issue. He felt as if the employee would fiercely interrogate him, asking, “How did someone like you get a card like this?” What excuse could he make? The sound of his heart pounding echoed in his ears. Should he contact Gi Taejeong now? Sehwa, fiddling with the phone in his pocket, belatedly had another crazy thought and his face drained of color again. This phone was his property to begin with… how and where was he supposed to contact him?

“Bag?”

“Huh? Yes.”

What excuse should he make? What if that person called the police…? As he spun all sorts of negative fantasies, the employee finished the transaction indifferently and returned the card. He watched until the very end, wondering if the employee would press the call button, but the employee just went back to his phone game. It seemed he had no idea that this strangely shaped card was anything special.

Indeed… Sehwa himself would never have known such cards existed if he hadn’t heard stories of people taking out loans using bankbooks as collateral. Most people, like the supermarket employee, lived their entire lives thinking this small area was the whole world.

As soon as he left the supermarket, feeling somewhat bewildered, the phone in his pocket vibrated for a long time. Fortunately, it wasn’t an emergency contact from the military, but a message notifying him of the card payment details. Sehwa, calming his startled heart and looking at the screen, said,

“What is this….”

He stared blankly at the phone screen, mesmerized by a string of numbers he had never seen in his life.

BOUK (0430) Card Approved

Lee*Hwa

3,000 won

04/02 14:27

Remaining balance: 11,999,997,000 won

24-hour Green Mart, 4-hwan 2-ga Branch

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand…”

Sehwa stammered, counting the amount several times. After it went over a billion, he kept getting confused and had to start over. He had spent 3,000 won on ice cream, so… then.

“…Does that mean the original balance was 12 billion won?”

He bent his neck, as if to be sucked into the phone, and counted again, and it was indeed 12 billion won.

“Wait a minute… why is this name like this?”

Distracted by the unrealistic number, he noticed belatedly that the name of the cardholder displayed above was also strange. Since it was Gi Taejeong’s, shouldn’t it be displayed as Gijeong? Why does it say LeeHwa?

“…Could this possibly be my name….”

That… couldn’t be. Couldn’t Gi Taejeong know other Lee*Hwas besides him? Sehwa dangled the plastic bag from his wrist and glared at the message for a long time. Even if he enjoyed sex with him, that wasn’t a reason to give him 12 billion won. What was he up to now? He was so surprised that he even forgot what he was tying below.

When he rubbed the front, there was a small English name engraved like braille. Could this also be Lee Sehwa…? It was an important item, but they had engraved the owner’s name so small in the corner that it was hard to read. The card’s intimidating sheen also contributed to the poor readability.

“Huh….”

Just in case, he flipped the card over and found his name, Lee Sehwa, written in unfamiliar handwriting on the signature line. The handwriting was full of power but somehow seemed perfunctory. If Gi Taejeong were to write, it would feel exactly like this. Sehwa stood still as if nailed to the spot, staring at his name. He felt something he couldn’t explain. Like a duckling seeing the world for the first time, he just stared at the strange object with wonder.

“…Is it really mine?”

He came to his senses after a little while. Was that what he meant earlier by “it’s not someone else’s card”?

He wasn’t surprised that Gi Taejeong had tampered with his personal information. He wasn’t even angry. It was just this abnormal amount of money that was the problem. If it had been 1.2 million won, or even 12 million won, he would have spent it happily without any guilt. If it was around 100 million won… he would have been surprised but would have accepted it. But 12 billion won. This was truly not it.

If Sehwa were to pick the most terrible thing, it was the debt he had carried on his shoulders since birth, and the most frightening thing was money whose cause he couldn’t understand. Even found money has a story. Large sums received without knowing the reason inevitably demand a price later, and that price was usually terribly unpleasant.

Why would Gi Taejeong open an account in his name? The first things that came to mind were money laundering or tax evasion… and then insurance money. Could he have taken out expensive insurance and then declared him dead? But he had just done bank business perfectly fine, and besides, insurance money wouldn’t be put into a deceased person’s account….

“Hey, Sakura!”

As he mumbled, alternating between staring blankly at his phone and the card, someone punched him hard on the shoulder.

“You fucking bastard, why aren’t you answering your phone!”

“Ah….”

“Ah? This guy really thinks I’m a joke!”

Sehwa, blinking blankly, finally recognized the person in front of him. It was Maejo. Maejo, who had been shouting, “Are you out of your mind or not?”, quietly shut his mouth at the snack bar owner’s booming yell from earlier.

“Huh… now that I look, you even cut your hair. And you’re not wearing that weird makeup on your face….”

Maejo muttered ominously. Once his baseless anger subsided, Sehwa’s changed appearance seemed to catch his eye.

Maejo’s gaze drifted from Sehwa’s fair cheeks to the plastic bag on his wrist. The glimpse of ice cream showed it was an expensive product he would never buy with his own money. The clothes he was wearing were also like that. They had the logo of a famous brand that only a few of the rich customers could afford, and the phone in his hand wasn’t the old junk he used before. It was clearly evident that he had been secretly hiding away, eating well and resting well, after not showing his face for so long. And it was clearly evident that he had received someone else’s meticulous care.

“You’re walking around looking so decent because of that bastard, aren’t you? That director guy.”

The appearance of calmness was only for a moment; a fierce blaze raged in Maejo’s eyes. Sehwa couldn’t understand the resentment. Why was he so angry about who he was with and what he was doing?

“Damn it… what’s so good about a guy who says cheesy things like ‘honey’ and ‘flower’… Hey. What’s that card?”

Maejo, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly widened his eyes and reached out. Sehwa instinctively recoiled and glared fiercely, and the guy slowly crumpled his hand, which had been suspended in the air. He looked embarrassed. He felt sorry for Maejo, but after only seeing Gi Taejeong’s large hands, Maejo’s hands didn’t feel threatening at all.

“This is the series they only give to VVIPs of the Federal Bank. Why do you have this?”

“Take your hand off. It’s not mine.”

“Huh… did that director bastard give it to you? Are you going to live comfortably using his money now?”

Maejo, once again fuming on his own, spewed out insulting words. Sehwa stood with one leg awkwardly bent, letting the guy’s misguided anger wash over him. He was already distraught enough with this damn card, and he didn’t have the energy to deal with this guy too, but then.

“I knew you were spineless from the start… but I didn’t know you were the type to be so obvious about things like that. Damn it, if you’re going to choose people based on money anyway, don’t say you want to live a normal life.”

Listening to him, what this bastard was saying was getting more and more ridiculous. When he jumped to conclusions about his relationship with Lieutenant Kim, he would curse him, saying he’d be unhappy anyway. Now that Gi Taejeong, who was outwardly flawless, had appeared, he was dragging him down.

“Isn’t it obvious? This person who gave me the card is young, handsome, and rich.”

“…What?”

“But let me ask you something too. If I switch to this person, or freeload off him, what concern is it of yours that you’re so annoyed?”

When Sehwa, who usually didn’t respond no matter what he heard, became sarcastic, Maejo blinked in confusion.

“Just because that director bastard gave you a card, you can say things like that so easily? I mean….”

“Yeah. It comes easily. What about you? You always talk trash to me, but have you ever given me even one card?”

“Hey….”

Maejo’s eyes welled up, looking genuinely hurt.

“You know I like you… how can you say something like that?”

Like him? He wasn’t unaware that the guy harbored some feelings for him. But Sehwa didn’t want to attach the pretty name of “like” to it. Maejo was just absorbed in his own feelings. He only treated him well when it suited him, wanting to sleep with him once. Moreover, his idea of “treating him well” was based purely on his own standards. If someone powerful started insulting Sehwa, he would also raise his voice, not wanting to be outdone. He was afraid of being ostracized from the group if he defended Sehwa. And yet, the way he packaged his feelings as pure love was disgusting. Even Gi Taejeong called him Lee Sehwa when he talked about feelings. Maejo always just called him “Hey,” “Sakura,” “March Boy.”

“Hey! Wh-where are you going!”

Sehwa turned around with an expressionless face. Maejo, not knowing what to do, just shouted, and this time too, he was roundly cursed at by the snack bar owner.

He said there was someone watching him, so he wouldn’t be stabbed in the back. It was a strange sense of relief. If he had to pick the most dangerous person to him, it was undoubtedly Gi Taejeong, but thanks to his protection, he could say everything he wanted to Maejo.

The plastic bag dangling from his wrist made a cute rustling sound. Come to think of it, isn’t the distance from here to the house quite far? It’s probably going to melt. Sehwa, deep in thought, peeled off the wrapper and took a big bite of the ice cream. It definitely tasted half like ice, probably because it had been in the freezer for a long time, but it was still delicious. Even in this situation, he was still stuffing himself and thinking it tasted good.

“Look, I don’t usually cry….”

Sehwa bit into the ice cream with an indifferent expression. Would Gi Taejeong have praised him for being brave if he saw him? Would he be surprised? No. He’d probably whistle loudly and tease him. Something like, ‘Our honey didn’t cry.’

In the end, the place he had to return to was Gi Taejeong’s office. Not a gambling den or a lodging, but a fake office where a waterbed and a man who only looked decent awaited. Even though he clearly knew what kind of treatment he would receive when he returned today, he felt fortunate that he could go there.

“Am I such a fool….”

His own face, frozen stiff after a long time, felt unfamiliar, so Sehwa mumbled and repeatedly stroked his cheeks.

Is it because he cried and clung to him, begging to be saved from the very beginning? In front of Gi Taejeong, he lets everything go. Is it because he treats him like a child? He feels like he literally acts like a child. It was strange. That he could be honest when he was in front of the man who had made him cry the most. Even now, he thought he was better than guys like Maejo, even though he had torn his heart apart with cruel words just recently….

“Rather than meeting a guy like Maejo, I’d rather have Gi Taejeong….”

Sehwa, who had been muttering to himself, startled and shoved the cone into his mouth. He choked on it, coughing harshly from eating too quickly. Sehwa lowered his head and brushed off the cone crumbs. He decided to forget what he had unconsciously been about to say.

“As you requested, I’ve gathered only the small fries, not the important players.”

Son Byunggyu rubbed his palms together, grinning sheepishly. Gi Taejeong looked around at the people filling the gambling den with an unenthusiastic expression. There weren’t a few, but not many either.

“Is this all?”

The people forced to kneel rolled their eyes blankly, looking bewildered. Seeing the boss bowing to the new director, they seemed to have realized that things were going strangely.

“There aren’t as many as I thought?”

“Sakura, he’s a manager-level guy, so he doesn’t hang out with just anyone. And quite a few of the guys he knew are no longer in this world. But why did you ask for the kids to be called….”

He had ordered Son Byunggyu to bring everyone who had heard anything about Lee Sehwa’s physical condition. Excluding the well-known players, only the assistants working below them. Even if they only knew that Lee Sehwa didn’t respond well to drugs, he told them to call them without fail.

“Just to clean up.”