March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 81

“What’s the problem? He’s coming in as a witness for our side.”

“Ah, witness or not, he’s a drug offender, isn’t he? How can we let a criminal into the Ministry of National Defense building of all places?”

“Bring proper evidence, not just suspicion, then.”

“Why are you acting like this, when you know the situation so well? If this causes any trouble, we’re the ones who’ll be grilled. Isn’t it just a matter of contacting Brigadier General Gi Taejeong at a time like this? I don’t know what you’re trying to do, honestly.”

“Ah, that…! That’s… because I can’t.”

Sehwa stood in the corner, fidgeting with his fingers. He had arrived long ago, but was completely blocked at the entrance, unable to move. He understood why the officers in charge were suspicious. He wouldn’t give a reason, insisted that Gi Taejeong should absolutely not be called, and yet stubbornly demanded that someone who wasn’t even an official be let in…

“Seriously. You know this just makes you look more suspicious, right?”

“That’s…!”

Chief Warrant Officer Choi, firmly believing that Gi Taejeong and he had become close, kept his mouth shut as if he had a great sense of mission. The burly man was overflowing with determination to make this surprise event a success.

“Because…! This person is the Brigadier General’s…!”

“Sehwa?”

Cutting off Chief Warrant Officer Choi, who was about to deliver a dramatic speech, an unfamiliar, gentle voice touched Sehwa. Sehwa, who had been calmly enduring the gazes mixed with curiosity, annoyance, and discomfort, slowly raised his head.

“It is you. I saw you from afar and thought, ‘No way.'”

Surprisingly… the person who spoke to him was Brigadier General Oh Seonran.

“Let’s skip the salute.”

He gave a look to the people who were belatedly trying to salute with horrified faces, then smiled faintly at Sehwa. He seemed to be trying his best… but his gentle smile was so awkward that his eyes and mouth trembled without dignity.

“I apologize for the commotion, Brigadier General.”

“Chief Warrant Officer Choi. Is your superior so incompetent that he can’t handle a simple matter like this quickly, leaving a pregnant person standing on the street all this time?”

“No, it’s not. I came without contacting him…”

As Sehwa blocked Oh Seonran’s sharp interrogation, Chief Warrant Officer Choi’s eyes sparkled with emotion.

“I specifically asked him not to let the Brigadier General know. I… wanted to do a surprise event…”

Oh Seonran stared at Sehwa, who was making excuses, then let out a deep sigh that made his shoulders slightly heave. Oh dear, what should I do with this immature person? Even though he didn’t say it aloud, his gestures clearly conveyed that thought.

And Sehwa found Oh Seonran’s attitude somehow ticklish and unfamiliar, so he tightly gripped the strap of his shopping bag. He realized for the first time that an adult could make such an expression when looking at him. It wasn’t a look of disdain or treating him like an idiot, but rather a face that genuinely worried about him and found him endearing. If he had truly had a family—be it a father or an uncle—they would have surely had that kind of face when admonishing him.

“Then I’ll take you. Only to where no inspection is needed. You’re going to Brigadier General Gi Taejeong’s office, right?”

There was no reason to refuse. Sehwa nodded and winked at Chief Warrant Officer Choi. He still didn’t want Gi Taejeong to be contacted. It would be strange if this commotion didn’t reach him, but he still wanted to buy at least a little time to talk with Oh Seonran.

Fortunately, Chief Warrant Officer Choi, with a resolute face, stepped back a few paces. He clearly misunderstood, thinking that Sehwa wanted to make the event a success.

“Hmm, I never thought I’d run into you here.”

Oh Seonran, who quickly made way for him, seemed a little excited.

“Ah, to make an excuse, I didn’t assign anyone to follow you. I just arrived myself, and when I heard the commotion, I wondered what was going on…”

Walking with Oh Seonran, the building, which had seemed like an impregnable fortress, opened wide. The people standing like totem poles next to the checkpoint allowed Sehwa to pass without any argument. Of course, there were no exceptions for Oh Seonran’s subordinates and Chief Warrant Officer Choi, who were gradually falling behind as they went through the inspection in turn. Thanks to this, it seemed easier to talk to Oh Seonran.

“…Um, Brigadier General.”

Now was the only chance. Although he had hoped to meet Oh Seonran, he hadn’t expected such a coincidence. It would have been impossible to arrange a separate meeting with Oh Seonran behind Gi Taejeong’s back, so it turned out well in the end.

The timing was perfect, as he hadn’t met Gi Taejeong yet. In truth, he wasn’t sure what to ask him, or what he wanted to hear. He had just come here impulsively, with only one thought: he had to see Gi Taejeong right now.

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

He needed to clear his head by talking to Oh Seonran. He didn’t want to seem like he was stubbornly throwing a tantrum. He didn’t want to cry… and he no longer wanted to doubt or interrogate Gi Taejeong on this similar topic. He had decided not to painfully rehash uncomfortable truths anymore… he wanted to resolve things as amicably as possible. Not for Gi Taejeong’s sake, but for his own. Because he didn’t want to feel any more pathetic or hurt.

“What is it? If you need help with something, as I said before…”

“Ah, no. It’s about my constitution.”

Of course, he had no intention of revealing everything to Oh Seonran, who wasn’t Gi Taejeong. Oh Seonran was also close to Lieutenant Kim, so he might be trying to use him to ruin Gi Taejeong.

However, this person had a certificate guaranteed by the head of state himself… The world Sehwa had lived in until now was a vulgar bottom where money solved everything. So there was no proof that felt as truthful as the words, ‘I will give you all my possessions.’

He didn’t trust Oh Seonran’s character; he merely trusted the document he possessed, even if only a little. Wouldn’t it offer a slightly different perspective on what Gi Taejeong couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer? Sehwa’s trust in Oh Seonran was precisely that much.

“Constitution? Why, are you sick somewhere?”

Oh Seonran’s eyes, asking urgently, trembled slightly for a moment. In the ripples that spread uncontrollably, Sehwa noticed that Oh Seonran was recalling his friend, the experiment subject—that is, the person who gave birth to him. From their first meeting, this seasoned officer couldn’t control his emotions at all in front of him.

“No, I just have a real question.”

Sehwa paused, choosing his words. The first sentence that came to mind was, ‘I want to know the exact effects of the drug Lieutenant Kim made.’ But when he actually tried to speak, it didn’t seem like a very appropriate question. In the end, he would be revealing that he knew nothing about this matter… Would there be any good in exposing his ignorance in this situation?

“…I’m like this because of the drug, right? Getting pregnant…”

Hesitating, Sehwa then deliberately spoke with a definitive tone, pretending it was nothing. This, too, was a bluff, if a clumsy one. If it worked, the other person would spill the information without him having to ask anything.

“What did they say was the problem because of that drug? Where are you getting your treatment now?”

“…Ah, oh… perhaps, then…”

Sehwa swallowed hard and avoided eye contact. Somehow, Oh Seonran’s urgent questions sounded like he was affirming his words.

Meaning, yes, your constitution changed because of Lieutenant Kim’s drug.

“Did… did the person who gave birth to me also take that drug…?”

No, not yet. Nothing is certain. When I made and tasted the drug with Lieutenant Kim, I never wore a patch on my body, so how could my body have changed because of the drug? It must be that my constitution changed because I’ve eaten so many strange things over the years.

And, Brigadier General, too…

The Brigadier General also said he really didn’t know.

With that face, with those eyes, with that voice… he said no.

Sehwa tried to hold back all the thoughts that swarmed in his mind like a beehive. Denials, for whom he didn’t know, burst out sporadically.

“Hmm, I don’t think so. The specific manufacturing method was established after the chemical experiments. The documents Lieutenant Kim touched are also relatively recent.”

“Ah… then my body is just…”

“I don’t know the exact correlation, but it seems certain that your body was able to accept the drug more easily than others due to genetic influence.”

Ah…

“Lieutenant Kim conducted clinical trials on other people, and I understand that you were the only one whose constitution successfully changed.”

“……”

“…Still, it’s a relief. I kept thinking, ‘What if you were harmed without knowing anything?’ But then, it’s not like I could just grab you, who must be confused enough, and ask what happened or how much you know…”

Oh Seonran exhaled heavily. Watching him genuinely relieved, Sehwa couldn’t ask any more questions.

So,

The drug Lieutenant Kim made

wasn’t a substitute for drugs,

but a drug that changes one’s constitution to be able to get pregnant?

And without knowing that, I… was happy that I could finally live inside the castle, inside the star?

“I was most worried that Gi Taejeong might have done something terrible to you… because he would have wanted to keep you by any means necessary.”

“…Why?”

Sehwa awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t feel the use of his muscles at all, as if his face was paralyzed. He only hoped that this habitual act wouldn’t be too awkward.

“Even if my constitution changed, what good would someone like me be to the Brigadier General…?”

Perhaps he already knew the answer to the question he was finally asking, and Sehwa desperately prayed. Yes, it didn’t matter what Lieutenant Kim’s original plan was… he hoped Gi Taejeong truly didn’t know, as he claimed. No, even if he knew a little, it was fine… as long as he wasn’t using him as a means to an end and then discarding him, like Lieutenant Kim or the others who had used him so far, that would be enough.

“Lieutenant Kim’s family can somehow cover up things like drug manufacturing or distribution. Without even needing to lobby, they can just blame it on powerless people like you. Lieutenant Kim probably aimed for that when he involved you and the people from the house.”

“……”

“But if this drug isn’t just a simple drug, and there’s a way to prove its effectiveness… what do you think someone like Gi Taejeong, who wants to somehow bring down Lieutenant Kim’s side, would do if he found out?”

…Ah. Sehwa tightly closed his eyes. Behind his closed eyelids, thorny letters boiled and swirled. There was a reason Gi Taejeong made that suspicious offer to me from the beginning. It wasn’t just because he liked my body and wanted to use and discard me; he just wanted to use me as a tool…

“Your very existence is the most powerful evidence that no one can deny. Thanks to you carrying a child, they can no longer insist that Lieutenant Kim is merely a drug offender. Moreover, Sehwa, you can perfectly demonstrate the drug’s manufacturing process in court, can’t you? Since your constitution allows for self-detoxification, you won’t break down even if you repeat the same process tirelessly… From Gi Taejeong’s perspective, it would be strange not to recruit you.”

“……”

“That’s why Lieutenant Kim’s side is now claiming that you got pregnant because something terrible was done to you, to turn public opinion. They’re insisting that a witness and evidence created that way have no legal effect.”

Oh Seonran’s voice repeated, moving away and coming closer. Ignoring the soldiers’ guidance that it was not harmful to pregnant women, Sehwa passed through the last security checkpoint like a ghost. He didn’t even know how he was moving his feet right now. He was just walking aimlessly.

He had to control his expression. He had to keep his mask on… But it felt as if a dark, sharp lump was about to burst out from inside him at any moment, so not crying was the best he could do.

“I don’t know the full circumstances, but it seems the two of you have feelings for each other… and it’s a relief that you don’t seem to know anything.”

“……”

“Your father… also had a very hard time. If he knew you went through such a thing too, he wouldn’t be able to close his eyes even in heaven.”

Sehwa suddenly recalled the sneers of people who spoke of fate and destiny. It was a topic he had heard endlessly at the Hwatu table, and those countless words felt like curses to him.

Like a dirty puddle he couldn’t avoid stepping in, no matter how hard he tried. You’ll end up living a miserable life and dying. That’s what they said. What can you do, born like that?

He wanted to show them they were wrong. He didn’t wish for heaven, but he wanted to belong inside the star. He wanted that one resident ID card that said he was a person of the castle, and he had struggled all this time for it. Even if he hadn’t lived virtuously, he sometimes tried to imitate it, striving in his own way not to become the same kind of trash.

But… looking back now, there wasn’t a single wrong word. This was his fate. Like Gi Taejeong once said, a common, foolish back-alley person who gives their body and soul to a fantasy and ends up ruining their life.

As soon as a small opportunity arose, he gave his heart to Gi Taejeong as if he had been waiting. More than being hungry, he was starved for affection, and he hated so much that the lonely Hwatu card, with no people, no animals, nothing, was his symbol… Even knowing he wasn’t a good person, even knowing he was treated terribly as Oh Seonran said, he easily threw himself at him. It wasn’t that he didn’t know he was foolish for falling for Gi Taejeong. His situation was so pathetic that he thought even this much was more than he deserved. He couldn’t wish for eternity, so he thought even a fleeting season that came and went would be fine.

“…Hmm, but you… Sehwa, you… can be different from Jinwoo. I’ll do my best to help you live a long, healthy, and happy life. And… anyway, Gi Taejeong considers you his own, and you like each other, don’t you?”

Sehwa swallowed the cold, bitter laugh that kept trying to escape.

Gi Taejeong likes me? Me?

He had asked him repeatedly. Crying, he had demanded, “Did you know my constitution changed from the beginning? Did you sleep with me knowing everything?” What did Gi Taejeong say then? He held his hand tightly and said no. From the moment he fainted and woke up, until dawn, the man denied it more than three times. He truly didn’t know, he said it was all false.

Lee Sehwa. That low voice calling his name, the question, “Can I kiss you?” The promise to seriously consider how to take responsibility for him and the child, the request to absolutely make him the legal guardian no matter what, and Gi Taejeong’s smiling face saying he would show him the real sea once everything was over…

“Brigadier General, that document. The one that supposedly has the drug manufacturing method…”

Sehwa rolled his eyes around, pretending to look at the interior of the building, and spoke in the brightest voice possible. He had to get rid of the tears that kept welling up.

“Can I see that too? I’ve only heard instructions, but I’ve never actually seen it…”

Oh Seonran immediately tapped his wristwatch, asking why not. After a few security procedures, a small hologram floated above the panel.

Sehwa read the words that appeared before his eyes quickly, as if to devour them. Some drugs were unfamiliar, but most were names he knew. It was exactly the manufacturing method Lieutenant Kim had told him. He felt he could be sure even if he tasted the unknown ones. No, just checking the explanations below would be enough. He could roughly guess the taste just by knowing where it was extracted from. But… he didn’t have the energy to interpret the numerous footnotes right now. He had no strength to concentrate deeply on anything or to absorb new information.

“Sehwa?”

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Ah… no, it’s just that… Lieutenant Kim didn’t put a patch on me back then. So I was wondering how the drug had an effect.”

“Ah… Hmm, did you perhaps wear a tourniquet on your arm? When you made the drug with Lieutenant Kim.”

“Tourniquet… Ah, do you mean the medical rubber band?”

“Yes. Some patches used in civilian hospitals look similar to that. It was confirmed that Lieutenant Kim had secured a considerable number of those patches… Wait a minute. Surely Gi Taejeong didn’t tell you about this either?”

Ah… His shoulders slumped without him realizing it. It wasn’t to help him get injections easily; it was a patch to make the drug circulate well… And he didn’t even know that, and kept thanking Lieutenant Kim…

“Sehwa, are you perhaps…”

“No. He didn’t tell me in detail because he thought I’d be upset… Anyway, Lieutenant Kim was my long-time regular. I know pretty much everything.”

His own body, his voice, everything felt unfamiliar as he nodded, as if the mystery was finally solved. White and black ink-like streaks spread and disappeared inside his eyelids. Sehwa endured, clenching his fists until his nails broke. He mustn’t cry. If he cried now…

“Thank you for telling me.”

“…Sehwa.”

“Really. I knew everything.”

He hadn’t asked for much. Marriage? Eternal love? He hadn’t expected it from the start. He knew he would be discarded after a season anyway, and that the relationship would end whenever he got tired of it. Still… he didn’t know it was a planned construction from the beginning.

Because Gi Taejeong had told him “no” with a rather serious face. Because he asked him to trust him from now on. Because he actually felt himself changing… So he had opened his heart defenselessly.

It was just a bit of acting to conveniently solve a problem. And while he was at it, a toy he could use, discarded easily… He was the only one who got excited. Well… Gi Taejeong had asked him to be a playmate he would keep by his side for a while from the beginning, so it wasn’t entirely a lie. He had just been faithful to his role, and he was the only one who didn’t know.

He told himself to know his place, but Gi Taejeong’s whispered words were so sweet that he foolishly dreamed.

“…Brigadier General Gi Taejeong, he cares for me, doesn’t he?”

Perhaps even I, could be Lee Sehwa to someone, not Samwol.

“What a mess because of one stupid bastard…”

Gi Taejeong leaned back in his chair and pressed his palms against his eyelids.

Naturally, in addition to preparing for the trial, he also had basic duties as an officer to fulfill. Although he was officially on a rather long vacation, there were always things that only he could resolve.

In the midst of all this, that damn Lieutenant Kim burned down the warehouse in Sector 2, forcing them to consider ways to open the airspace, which was now covered in hazardous materials. Of course, they would claim compensation for damages, but money alone was no longer enough to resolve the current situation. Getting the fighter jets out of the hangar was an immediate problem, and the gaping hole in the airspace near Sector 2 was also a problem.

“What should we reply this time, Brigadier General?”

“We’ve done enough, so now we just shut up.”

Several alternatives had already been proposed. They were good enough that other soldiers and entrepreneurs who suffered severe asset damage had all agreed.

But the esteemed elders of Lieutenant Kim’s family were stubbornly refusing to agree. Perhaps they had completely lost their minds due to the trial, but they were unconditionally opposing any opinion from those who opposed them, especially proposals submitted by Gi Taejeong.

“They’re the ones making a fuss, unable to distinguish between public and private matters, and the more foolishly they act, the more advantageous it will be for us.”

Gi Taejeong blinked, staring at the ceiling for a moment, then rose from his seat.

How much longer would he have to waste time with such meaningless posturing? Damn it, he just wanted to ditch everything and go grocery shopping with Lee Sehwa.

Once the trial was over, once those bastards were all swept away. He would completely overhaul this method of slowly moving, always looking for plausible excuses until the very end. He was about to be discharged, but he would continue to show his face as an elder, and he couldn’t stand to see such frustrating situations every time.

Yes, he just needed to endure a little longer. He knew that… but perhaps because the end was in sight, his patience was wearing thin.

“Br-Brigadier General!”

Suddenly, the door burst open without a knock. It was Lieutenant Park, whose eyes were bloodshot from being overworked.

“What is it?”

A chillier retort than intended slipped out, a little startled. Did he notice that he was about to abandon everything and go back to the quarters?

“Brigadier General, that…”

However, Lieutenant Park didn’t seem to have noticed any such hint. No, he seemed to have no time to care about anything else except the matter he was rushing to report.

“Now, Brigadier General, that…”

Lieutenant Park just stammered, rarely, and kept calling for Gi Taejeong.

“Lieutenant Park.”

Only then did Gi Taejeong feel something unusual and his brow furrowed slightly.

“Ah, I’m sorry, but… you need to come out. Now, Mr. Sa, no, Mr. Lee Sehwa…”