March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 80

Just now… what drug?

“No matter how greedy you are, do you really think of doing clinical trials on your own body? You’ve got some nerve.”

A drug that allows pregnancy? And made with Second Lieutenant Kim?

“Everyone here knows. How you became pregnant.”

Sehwa clamped his mouth shut like a clam and just blinked. Perhaps assuming he was reacting that way out of fear, the doctor poured out even more scathing remarks. The examination was now an afterthought. No, it seemed he had no intention of properly examining him from the start. Was he even a doctor in this field? Was he even a real doctor? Now, even that seemed questionable.

“They say you were originally trying to stick with Second Lieutenant Kim but switched to Gi Taejeong? No matter how cheap a male prostitute you are, isn’t it a bit shameful to act so disloyally?”

“……”

“Every time you come to the hospital, people fawn over you, and you seem so happy you don’t know what to do. But do you know this? The manager and everyone here are secretly cursing and laughing at you.”

In Sehwa’s eyes, which had been trembling, filled with tears from the baseless coldness, a chilling light momentarily flashed. Strange. Definitely, something is strange.

The doctor’s claim was true. No matter what they thought internally, others outwardly treated him with utmost deference. What did it matter if that attitude stemmed from sincerity or not? After all, all the privileges Sehwa was enjoying now were possible because of Gi Taejeong.

But what did that person believe in, to hurl such insults at him, no, at Gi Taejeong who stood behind him? Did he say he had backing? But someone who couldn’t even enter the department store lounge didn’t seem to have such great connections…

He tried to hold onto the corner of the verbal abuse, which he usually just let pass and forgot, and looked closer, and a clear crack appeared. The doctor’s tone, which had seemed sharp with jealousy and inferiority, also felt somehow awkward and exaggerated.

“Why would such rumors spread? What happened in the lounge… is a misunderstanding. The staff member brought it first and recommended it; I never demanded anything.”

Sehwa put so much force into the corners of his mouth that artificial dimples appeared, as if he was troubled or awkward and didn’t know what to do. It was the expression he often made when he was desperately pleading with customers, just before his accomplices’ lies were exposed.

“Ah, so you were pretending to be a Sector 5 resident there, that’s true, isn’t it? When they brought things in bundles like offerings, you really acted like you were something…”

Aha. Sehwa was certain with that last remark. This bastard is Second Lieutenant Kim’s stooge.

This doctor doesn’t seem to know how that lounge, which only officers could enter, operates. The staff there don’t move first. They just stand there as if they don’t exist, waiting for the guest to give instructions.

When he first set foot in there, he felt like he was being crushed by the silence, so he asked if it was always like this, and Gi Taejeong nodded indifferently. He said that secret conversations often took place there, so the staff would never show themselves unless called.

So now the problem is, why would Second Lieutenant Kim’s difficult-to-place person come with such a flimsy script…?

“Did I know what I was doing?”

Sehwa sighed exaggeratedly. It was a bluff of sorts. Since he didn’t know what cards the other person held, he too was playing coy. As if he already knew everything the other person was saying.

“I just did what Second Lieutenant Kim told me to do…”

Suddenly, the machine rubbing his abdomen lightly jumped. It was a movement so slight it was hard to notice with the naked eye, but because the machine was so sensitive, the vibration directly on his skin couldn’t be hidden.

Sehwa raised his head, pretending to gaze at the ultrasound screen, and then began to lament pitifully. At the same time, he furtively glanced down and surveyed the examination room. If this clumsiness was intentional… it might not be to extract information from him, but to fabricate evidence.

First, he didn’t see any phones or suspicious watches. He didn’t think they could attach other devices to expensive equipment like an ultrasound machine… As he tried to scan with his limited vision, he couldn’t find anything, so he was about to give up when he noticed a tablet on the desk far away. From that angle, it seemed perfectly capable of recording or filming.

“Brigadier General said everything would be revealed in court, so I’m just trusting that.”

It was, of course, a lie. Sehwa knew nothing. Gi Taejeong hadn’t told him anything about the trial. He had heard everything about the complaint being filed against Second Lieutenant Kim, and the reason he was busy these days, all through Master Sergeant Choi.

Ah, Gi Taejeong had once said that if he could use his constitution and his parents’ chemical experiments to attack the opposing side, he would use every bit of that story. But he didn’t know how that related to the current trial, or how the story was being put together.

He didn’t bother to ask. Master Sergeant Choi told him to feel free to ask Gi Taejeong anything, but he didn’t want to. He was afraid of being hurt if he received a dismissive remark or a sarcastic answer. He was avoiding it because he didn’t want to add more wounds to his already tattered heart.

After that, he suddenly got pregnant, so he had no time or energy to worry about other things…

“You, even if you insist…!”

“Still, it’s a bit sad. That there’s a rumor I’m a male prostitute… Everyone who frequents the house knows I don’t sell my body. Including the high-ranking officials, everyone.”

The doctor, who had been gaping in surprise, finally chose silence. He hadn’t expected Sehwa to suddenly react this way.

“You can get up now. It’s all over.”

Sehwa wiped his belly with a towel and once again took in the insignia on the doctor’s gown. Once he left the examination room, he would search for that insignia. The clue to that great backing would be there too.

“Doctor. I’m a resident of Hwan 4, so I don’t really know how Sector 5’s VIP-exclusive facilities usually operate.”

“……”

“The lounge I visited, the staff didn’t come up to me first. They didn’t even show themselves until I called them, did they? It was absolutely not an atmosphere where they would actively recommend products to guests and encourage consumption.”

The doctor frowned, looking at Sehwa as if he was talking nonsense.

“I’m saying the script you recited earlier was too flimsy.”

As he stood up and mumbled softly, the doctor flinched as if struck by lightning.

“You underestimated me too much.”

Straightening his clothes, Sehwa walked closer to the ultrasound machine.

“He might be young and look frail, but there must be a reason why he became the manager of the biggest house in this country, right?”

As he whispered in a fading voice, the doctor, his face pale, stumbled backward.

In truth, Sehwa knew how ridiculous he looked right now. He was in no position to criticize the doctor’s clumsiness. If one looked closely, his expression would be awkward, and his tone overtly dramatic. Improvising, momentarily deceiving customers… these were things he did as naturally as breathing, yet after a short break, he was terribly rusty.

On the other hand, it also meant that the other person was so new that he couldn’t even notice this.

“Ah, Doctor. Can you show me all the holograms you recorded today? They said I could choose which ones to put in the journal.”

Sehwa spoke clearly, leaning towards the machine as if nothing had happened. He could hear the doctor beside him swallow.

…What on earth was it?

The doctor tried to make it seem as if Sehwa had orchestrated everything. Well, it wasn’t the first or second time a high-ranking official had used a subordinate as a shield, so he could accept that… but he didn’t understand why his pregnancy was brought up here.

It was true that his body, which wasn’t susceptible to drugs, allowed him to perfectly carry out Second Lieutenant Kim’s instructions. But hadn’t Gi Taejeong and Lieutenant Na said that his body was immune not only to drugs but to all other medications? Even Oh Seonran, whom he had met briefly once, already knew this fact.

Would Second Lieutenant Kim’s side not know this? Even if Second Lieutenant Kim didn’t know at the time, it seemed his formidable family would have some information by now…

Suppose the drug had side effects and could change one’s constitution. Still, when he first tasted and tested the new drug, he wasn’t wearing any patches, so that story didn’t apply to him at all.

It was a claim that could be immediately refuted… So why did the doctor repeatedly bring it up? As if his pregnancy was some important device.

Sehwa quietly looked at the baby wiggling in his belly, a little bigger than a few days ago. And the face in the growth prediction next to it, so much like his own.

He rolled his half-closed eyes to glance at the doctor. Perhaps because he had so easily seen through Second Lieutenant Kim’s stooge, he felt even more uneasy. Things couldn’t be resolved this easily… Such luck couldn’t possibly be granted to him.

“…If you’re doing this under duress, write your contact information in the measurement field when you put the hologram in the obstetrics journal.”

“……”

“I can tell Brigadier General Gi Taejeong… and if necessary, General Oh Seonran, to save you.”

General Oh Seonran. The doctor flinched, as if he had never imagined such a high-ranking official’s name would come from Sehwa’s lips.

Of course, he hadn’t contacted Oh Seonran separately since then. He didn’t believe everything she said either. Honestly, it was such an unrealistic story that he hadn’t even seriously considered it. However, if it was someone planted by Second Lieutenant Kim, he thought Oh Seonran’s name would be more effective than Gi Taejeong’s, so he subtly borrowed it. Well… someone as clumsy as this, who was already exposed to him, wouldn’t directly seek out Oh Seonran and question whether she really knew Lee Sehwa.

“Then I’ll be going, Doctor. Thank you.”

As he turned his back on the pale-faced doctor and walked out, the manager approached him with a surprised look.

“You’re already done?”

“Yes. I wasn’t coming often for any serious abnormalities anyway…”

Sehwa vaguely brushed it off. Now he had to be careful of the manager too. It was possible that she knew everything and deliberately made the appointment with that doctor. This person, who knew all his information inside and out, might be even more dangerous than that incompetent doctor.

“Oh, you finished early today?”

Master Sergeant Choi, who had been waiting in the hallway leading to the waiting room, greeted him cheerfully. Yet, his posture was exceedingly polite. He had been somewhat favorable before, but after Sehwa became pregnant, he treated him like a superior.

“Master Sergeant.”

Dismissing the manager who was about to call for a car, Sehwa whispered softly so only Master Sergeant Choi could hear.

“Is the Brigadier General in his office right now?”

“At this hour… Yes, he is.”

“Is that a separate building the Brigadier General uses, like the quarters?”

“Ah, there’s a separate Air Force officer’s building, but… he’s currently working in his office inside the Ministry of National Defense. As I said, the trial is soon, so most of the key military personnel are gathered there, wrestling with it.”

Master Sergeant Choi answered playfully, adding that Second Lieutenant Park was also languishing there.

“Hmm… then if I go to see the Brigadier General right now… it would be a huge nuisance, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re going to go yourself? To see the Brigadier General?”

Master Sergeant Choi asked back, delighted. He was someone who liked to be affectionate towards Gi Taejeong first, so Sehwa had expected a positive reaction this time too… but he was even happier than Sehwa had anticipated.

“But he said he’s busy…”

“Oh, no, not at all. I’ll take you right away.”

“Still…”

“It’s no problem at all to go and see him briefly. You can also tour the office while you’re there.”

Master Sergeant Choi fawned, saying that even as a fellow man, Gi Taejeong looked quite cool when he was working.

“Then… could you keep it a secret from the Brigadier General that I’m coming now?”

“Ah, a surprise? Sounds great!”

Master Sergeant Choi readily nodded and tapped his watch. He would immediately arrange transportation, since Sehwa had refused the hospital’s escort vehicle.

“Ah…!”

He, who had been rattling off types of snacks to buy, suddenly remembered something and hesitantly added.

“However, um, as I said earlier, the entire Ministry of National Defense might be a bit grim right now. Since all sorts of people are gathered there, I’m a little worried that you, not being alone, might be too surprised. I was short-sighted.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I just… have something I want to ask the Brigadier General.”

The fragments of the incident Sehwa held were large in bulk, but lacked any details. That’s why he wondered why Second Lieutenant Kim’s stooge, whom he had encountered today, had insisted on bringing up his pregnancy, even with such flimsy evidence.

When starting a project, one doesn’t usually bring out completely non-existent cards to lure in a sucker. If his personal situation was an important device in this trial, shouldn’t Gi Taejeong know? And since it was something happening in his own body… how exactly were things progressing that such stories were coming out… couldn’t he at least ask that much?

Sehwa repeatedly rubbed his throat with his hand. The reason he suspected the doctor, the reason he wanted to see Gi Taejeong now… everything was valid. It was too smooth, and a stinging sensation kept rising from deep within him.

What the doctor said, that the drug made with Second Lieutenant Kim was for that purpose, couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. It was impossible. He didn’t completely trust Gi Taejeong, but his attitude and feelings towards him afterwards couldn’t be false. It couldn’t be an act.

“I think it’s better to have more people than fewer.”

“Hmm…. Well, it would be scary if it was too desolate, wouldn’t it? The Ministry of National Defense building is pretty desolate anyway.”

Master Sergeant Choi, who had been silent for a moment, tried to put it in a positive light. He seemed to think Sehwa was saying this because he had no idea of the situation there.

But he was serious. Sehwa wanted a lot of people there. He wanted all military personnel to be gathered, discussing loudly, and… among them, he wanted General Oh Seonran to be there too. Because he had something he wanted to ask him, not just Gi Taejeong.