March Novel - Chapter 8

Gi Taejeong, who was pressing his temple with the thumb of the hand holding the cigar, abruptly cut off Second Lieutenant Park’s words.

“Excuse me?”

“If Lee Sehwa gets pregnant in addition to Second Lieutenant Kim’s confession hologram, it would be perfect evidence. We just need to prove that Lee Sehwa’s womb appeared recently, at least after contact with Second Lieutenant Kim.”

“That’s true, but… how can we confirm that Lee Sehwa’s constitution has changed from before?”

“Why not? The house boss or other gamblers must have constantly appraised his body for how much it could be sold for. Lee Sehwa must have had his blood drawn much more frequently than ordinary people for regular check-ups.”

This place is full of guys who don’t hesitate to sell blood and organs for a few bucks. They would have meticulously recorded the debtor’s health status as much as their repayment history.

“During the trial, we’ll make Lee Sehwa manufacture the drug on the spot and compare its ingredients with what Second Lieutenant Kim hid. And it doesn’t seem like a difficult technique to track a womb that developed later in life.”

It was a thought he’d thrown out without much consideration, but the more he talked, the more plausible it sounded. If Lee Sehwa got pregnant, it would be a very convenient and undeniable way to prove what was wrong with that drug.

“Then, are you perhaps thinking of having your subordinates do it? That… Lee Sehwa’s pregnancy.”

“We have to handle it ourselves, of course. We can’t sell precious evidence to a red-light district.”

Second Lieutenant Park gasped and paused for a moment to choose his words. But even that didn’t last long under Gi Taejeong’s increasingly fierce gaze.

“Uhm… but Brigadier General, if Lee Sehwa gets pregnant, won’t there definitely be people who try to pick a fight over that issue?”

“Why?”

Gi Taejeong asked as if he genuinely didn’t know. Why, he says… Second Lieutenant Park broke out in a cold sweat and fumbled for words.

“Well… you’re going to blow this issue wide open, right?”

“Then should I blow it open small?”

“If so… either General Oh’s side or Second Lieutenant Kim’s side, the opposing side will take the initiative to make Lee Sehwa undergo various examinations.”

A victim whose constitution was unknowingly changed to be able to conceive. Or a lower-class accomplice living outside the city walls who has committed crimes since birth. Either way, it was perfect for the higher-ups to manipulate public opinion in the wrong direction. And…

“Even if Lee Sehwa succeeds in pregnancy, if it’s revealed that the child’s father is someone from our side… they’ll try to come up with sensational headlines like ‘Brigadier General Gi Taejeong’s men raped Lee Sehwa during drug administration.'”

Those bastards, whose eyes would be bloodshot trying to obscure the essence of the case, would never miss such bait.

“Is it truly justifiable to force an unwanted pregnancy on a victim whose constitution was forcibly changed, something like that.”

“It doesn’t matter whose child Lee Sehwa has or how, it has nothing to do with Second Lieutenant Kim’s case.”

“Of course, that’s true, but that’s how public opinion battles are, aren’t they?”

Even originally, after Gi Taejeong successfully completed a mission, there were always those who would pick fights over the process. Is it necessary to devastate it to this extent? Isn’t there an ethic that must be upheld even during war? They would stir up the media with such words, trying to diminish Gi Taejeong’s achievements somehow.

“No matter what, they won’t be able to cover up what Second Lieutenant Kim did as if it never happened.”

“Instead, your discharge, Brigadier General, won’t be brought forward.”

This time, a general-level official was also involved, so the scrutiny would be incomparable to before.

Second Lieutenant Park’s concerns were valid. Gi Taejeong was alone. Although many tried to recruit him, he had always taken his own path, so when something like this happened, he had no reinforcements to take his side. The only people he confided in were orphans who had gone through the same experiments and survived, like Second Lieutenant Park – in other words, human weapons that were good to use and discard. If Gi Taejeong intended to completely remove the military’s leash this time, as he wished, it was better to eliminate any potential flaws from the start.

“Hmm… So all I need is evidence that Lee Sehwa consented to the pregnancy, right?”

“…Yes?”

Second Lieutenant Park, who had been agonizing over how to persuade this terrifying superior, responded belatedly. He knew Taejeong hated slow reactions, but this time, Second Lieutenant Park could only gape foolishly.

“Sir, Brigadier General… I think that might be too extreme a conclusion…”

“Right. Instead of having others do it, I can do it myself. All I need to do is record a video of Lee Sehwa crying and saying he wants my child, pissing himself with joy, right?”

Gi Taejeong muttered as if he had already come to a conclusion on his own. He even chuckled, as if something was amusing him.

“The video isn’t the important part, huh, wait a minute!”

“You’re talking a lot today, aren’t you?”

“Brigadier General, you, you’re going to… do it yourself? The… making a child part?”

“Fuck. What’s ‘making a child’? How crude.”

Taejeong exhaled a long stream of smoke he had been holding. Beyond the hazy, misty vapor, a red ember appeared and disappeared repeatedly.

“Come to think of it, if I throw Lee Sehwa, a kid with a face like that, somewhere, rumors are bound to spread.”

He had chosen men with tight lips, but he didn’t fully trust his subordinates. From the start, Gi Taejeong didn’t particularly trust anyone besides himself, except for Second Lieutenant Park and others from the detention center. To be precise, he didn’t rely on anyone but himself, had no expectations, and naturally, no trust in others.

Above all, the military’s dogs tended to act somewhat like beasts. Thanks to a culture where minor mistakes or the satisfaction of urges were easily overlooked as long as the mission was completed. Handing Lee Sehwa over to guys who would be stuck outside the city walls for months, telling them to screw him until he got pregnant? He might have to pay the price before he even got proper evidence.

“And you said to prepare for public opinion battles.”

When a messy dispute begins, the first thing they do is thoroughly shake down the opponent’s subordinates. It’s much easier to win over a lower-ranking person they didn’t even know existed than a highly loyal core talent like Second Lieutenant Park. Gi Taejeong had also experienced it several times. When you have many people under you, no matter how strictly you manage them, words are bound to leak out. He had suffered greatly because of foolish guys who blabbed out incomplete information for a few bucks, without even knowing what they were talking about.

“You’re right. It’s better to have fewer people who know, after all.”

“Still, Brigadier General… a child…”

Second Lieutenant Park’s voice trailed off in dismay. He knew well how much stress Gi Taejeong had been under regarding this topic. Since his commissioning, Gi Taejeong had always taken on impossible missions. Especially the operation he had just completed was of an unbelievable scale. It was a miracle he wasn’t showing signs of psychosis, and if the most potent annoyance factor, a child, was added to this… He worried whether Gi Taejeong could endure without going insane until the job was done.

“Hey. I hate those old farts who try to breed with their own children, but I don’t hate ‘making a child,’ you know?”

“Of course, that’s true, but… satisfying desires and this task have completely different objectives…”

“That’s true, but… Lee Sehwa, in a way, seems like the perfect match for me. So, having to get him pregnant… well, that doesn’t seem bad.”

“…Yes?”

“Think about it. I can just fuck and cum as much as I want without worrying about contraception, right? Lee Sehwa’s ‘pregnancy’ is important, not the brat he’s carrying.”

Moreover, Lee Sehwa is an outsider. After he’s no longer useful, no one will bat an eye no matter how Lee Sehwa or the brat are disposed of.

“Besides, I can keep him under my control from start to finish, so he won’t be able to secretly give birth somewhere and try to trip me up.”

He had always volunteered for spy interrogations after completing difficult missions. Or he had spent days doing nothing but that with a few people. After rampaging like that for a few days, his desire to smash everything would subside a little. Of course, it would only subside a little, not completely disappear. But with Lee Sehwa, he could do both. Interrogation or sex. He could keep him underfoot for at least a few months and treat him however he pleased.

Gi Taejeong recalled Lee Sehwa’s tear-streaked face. And the way he bent down and licked the drug with his tongue. Whether he did it on purpose or not, his appearance was worse than a third-rate thug… but since he’d be stripped naked and fucked anyway, it didn’t seem like something to care about. What would he look like once that ill-fitting spray was completely removed? Honestly, he didn’t look bad even now.

“Anyway, Lee Sehwa will willingly fuck me, and he’ll say with his own mouth that he wants to carry my child.”

“But,”

“We only saw him getting beaten and crying earlier, but Lee Sehwa is no ordinary person.”

He was a guy who managed to transfer from District 2 to District 4 on his own. Leaving aside his unusual constitution, it was a difficult feat without extraordinary toughness. He even went further and joined hands with Second Lieutenant Kim. That must mean he was promised a reward… Yet, as soon as he was in danger, he immediately tucked his tail and spilled everything he knew.

“He has desires. He has greed. And amidst all that, his will to live is strong… just perfect.”

“Brigadier General…”

“Poke the boss. If you dig through the contract he signed with Lee Sehwa, there’s definitely a clause that makes it difficult for him to pay off his debt and run away.”

He placed the cigar on a portable holder, and the lit end slowly melted away. As if the rustling sound of it wearing down was a starting point, Gi Taejeong stretched widely and stood up.