March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 91

“Check it.”

As he brought the sensor of his wristwatch to the certificate he’d received, the emblem symbolizing the head of state floated up. The date the document was written and the signatures of two people shimmered in gold, and the dictator’s voice, reciting the contents, began to softly flow out. Gi Taejeong’s brows furrowed slightly at the overly dramatic, almost tacky, presentation.

“Speaking of which, you frequently damage property.”

Oh Seonran glanced at Gi Taejeong’s wrist with a disapproving look.

“Didn’t they say you smashed bulletproof glass with your bare hands? I heard you frequently replace official vehicles… but I’ve never seen a soldier get a new watch when their rank hasn’t changed.”

Naturally, Oh Seonran wasn’t pointing out Gi Taejeong’s carelessness. She was sneering, implying, “How dog-like is your temper that you even break items others wouldn’t need to replace until the day they retire?”

“So, what’s the reason you called me to your office? With Lee Sehwa gone, you couldn’t have just called me to confirm the authenticity of a certificate…”

As if such a reprimand didn’t faze him, Gi Taejeong merely widened his eyes and smiled. As if to say, “You’re the one so utterly infuriated you want to find fault, not me.”

“…I assume you’ve already looked into the chemical experiment that took place a long time ago.”

Knowing that he wasn’t unaware of the sneer, Oh Seonran pressed her temples and got to the point.

“Yes.”

“Then you can probably guess what the codename of the test subject written on the certificate means.”

“Are you saying the test subject was one of Lee Sehwa’s parents?”

“That’s right. Not only his constitution… but though I can’t prove it, his appearance even matches that person’s. And I… for a very long time, I searched for ‘the child,’ Sehwa. To repay even a small debt to my precious… friend, who was a test subject.”

Oh Seonran bit her dry lips. She quickly replayed her words and voice. She wondered if it had sounded awkward when she referred to Jinwoo as her friend.

“Fortunately, before I died, I managed to grasp a clue… and so, from now on, helping and protecting Sehwa so that no storms blow into his life has become my sole goal and dream.”

If she had her way, she wanted to file a complaint against Gi Taejeong too. No, she felt like throwing aside all polite legal procedures and just firing a gun.

She distinctly remembered how, when she first went to see Sehwa, he had been overcome with emotion watching Gi Taejeong walk towards him. What had that child muttered when he collapsed in the Ministry of National Defense building? What kind of pathetic request had he made when she finally got through to him on the phone?

But now, acting emotionally would only benefit Lieutenant Colonel Kim. So…

“…To do that, this trial must conclude smoothly, or rather, I must maximize my use of this trial.”

Gi Taejeong would argue that Sehwa had been forced into various actions due to the hierarchy imposed by people like Kim Seokcheol. Even if he had no feelings for Sehwa, he would try to maintain that stance for his own victory.

She would subtly lend support to that, and as soon as the matter was resolved, she would elevate Sehwa’s status. And if the child decided, she would register him as an adopted son… If he refused, then she would have to step back and simply offer quiet sponsorship. Anyway, the important thing was for Sehwa’s status correction to happen without any fuss. The process had to be smooth. Otherwise, Lieutenant Colonel Kim would undoubtedly cling to Sehwa forever.

So, even if Gi Taejeong himself was not to her liking, she had to win this trial unconditionally.

Gi Taejeong’s integrity also couldn’t be tarnished. The statements in the complaint, the registration as a pregnant woman’s guardian, his remarks in court today… Gi Taejeong was already too deeply intertwined with Sehwa for Oh Seonran to arbitrarily cut him off. In this situation, the more disadvantaged Gi Taejeong became, the more precarious Sehwa’s safety would be.

“The moment it’s revealed that your testimony differs from the truth, the trial will veer off in a completely different direction. Logic isn’t important in psychological warfare.”

Most of the older jurors had a crooked streak. They would become displeased as if their own flaws were being exposed when sound arguments were presented. They prematurely assumed that the valid sword’s edge might one day be pointed at them, and deliberately drove those who spoke truthfully to the brink.

It was the same now. Since Kim Seokcheol’s wrongdoing was so clear, they were only grumbling under the surface, but if even a small opportunity to mislead arose, they would excitedly start gossiping. Once such an atmosphere took hold, a counterattack would become extremely difficult afterwards. Manipulating public opinion was a specialty of Lieutenant Colonel Kim’s family.

“I don’t understand the gist of your words.”

“I intend to move as you wish. You asked me to be a witness, didn’t you? Fine, what’s so difficult about that? Besides that, I will provide anything else you need. What you don’t have and Kim Seokcheol does, I can support you with all of it. Instead…”

Oh Seonran held out the leather clipboard she had brought from the office to Gi Taejeong. Inside was a piece of paper as stiff as the certificate.

“What is this?”

“Waiver of Parental Rights.”

At that moment, a vivid blue flame ignited in Gi Taejeong’s eyes. Oh Seonran clicked her tongue inwardly and picked up a fountain pen from the side table.

“If you cleanly give up Sehwa and the child, I will fully support and assist you in this matter.”

“……”

“Even if the Kim family collapses because of this, you know well that not all the conditions you’ve put forth can be accepted. However, if I step in, the story changes. A two-rank special promotion? Early discharge? Being elected as an elder? I can grant all of it.”

“What does that have to do with my child’s parental rights? Besides, didn’t you just say, Commander, that for Lee Sehwa to do well, you’d have no choice but to help me anyway?”

Gi Taejeong let out a hollow laugh, scanning the document. His lips were curled up, but his eyes were filled with simmering anger.

“You’re not in a position to offer me such terms, Commander Oh Seonran.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so agitated. You don’t have any feelings for Sehwa anyway, do you? You just intended to use him temporarily for the trial.”

Her tone wasn’t accusatory. She wasn’t angry, nor was she sarcastic. Oh Seonran simply spoke calmly. Like someone at a negotiation table pointing out objective conditions.

“If this matter concludes well, your position will be even more solidified, and then you can have anyone you want by your side.”

“……”

“In that case, isn’t it rather something you should welcome that I’m stepping in? I’m taking responsibility for both of them without any conditions. In the picture you drew, Sehwa and the child were merely troublesome obstacles and variables, weren’t they?”

Gi Taejeong was momentarily choked, unable to respond. “Who are you? I’m Lee Sehwa’s legal guardian, but you’re just a stranger, not an adoptive parent or anything else.” He should have just sneered and laughed…

Oh Seonran’s question, asking if he didn’t like Lee Sehwa anyway, and if he would just meet someone else and settle down once this was over… overlapped with Lee Sehwa’s tearful voice. Asking him not to be cruel to him later if he found a lover, just as he had been to him.

“…So you’re telling me to give up parental rights.”

He shouldn’t respond like this. He needed to be calm. Just like in court. Ignore the nonsense. This was his first proper private meeting with Oh Seonran, and he couldn’t give up control already.

But… his mind wasn’t working properly. Dealing with soldiers was routine; he could respond mechanically. But discussing Lee Sehwa in this way… made rational response difficult. Red flames were bursting in his head.

Since Lee Sehwa had given him strong sleeping pills and run away, he hadn’t been able to sleep. The feel and warmth of his skin, the faint, small movements he could always feel when he reached out, were so vivid… but the emptiness in his arms was unbearable.

When he forced his eyes shut, only Lee Sehwa’s thin back, turning away as if without a shred of lingering affection, flickered before him. His fumbling words, his resigned voice saying he no longer wanted to pour any effort into him, echoed in his ears.

At such times, a sudden heat would surge, as if his eyelids were being seared with fire, and his whole body would tingle as if shards of glass were embedded in his veins. Unable to overcome the rising anger, he would ultimately spend the night wide awake.

“…If Lee Sehwa says so himself, I will give them up.”

Gi Taejeong flicked the waiver of parental rights he had taken from the clipboard with his finger. Because he hadn’t controlled his strength, a large tear appeared in the middle.

“Instead, if Lee Sehwa walks out of District 2 on his own two feet and says he will quietly remain by my side… then, Commander, I hope you will never again interfere in our matters.”

“Brigadier General Gi Taejeong.”

“Then I’ll take it that you’ve approved the witness matter.”

Gi Taejeong scanned Oh Seonran’s empty office and then stormed out. It was a brutal ending, without permission to leave or even a salute of excuse. Only the limp, four-cornered piece of paper fluttered and floated on the table.

“…Brigadier General.”

Lieutenant Park, who had been lingering outside, approached with a worried expression. He must have heard the sound of the paper being torn, if nothing else.

“Is something wrong?”

“Where is Lee Sehwa now?”

“He’s working at a lunchbox catering company that supplies construction sites.”

“Hmm…”

“It seemed Commander Oh Seonran’s side was also planning something similar.”

“Similar? Did she create a job specifically for Lee Sehwa?”

“Yes. However, since there are many such cases, it seemed less likely to arouse suspicion for Mr. Lee Sehwa, so we didn’t specifically track it.”

“Not needing to restrain something is different from not needing to track it. Find out. Who Oh Seonran is sending people and money to in District 2.”

“Yes, Brigadier General.”

Lee Sehwa, contrary to expectations, did not seek out gamblers’ dens or drug addicts’ hideouts. He holed up in a shabby inn and then, at dawn, cautiously lingered around the labor market.

He didn’t come out every day, either. Even if he followed the manager all day, trying to make an impression, he would barely get any work, so it was impossible for them to hire a suspicious person who occasionally appeared and never took off his gas mask.

After watching this for about a week, Gi Taejeong, unable to bear it any longer, created a few jobs for him. They were ridiculously easy yet paid well.

However, upon hearing the manager’s offer, Lee Sehwa instead locked his door. He hid for about three days without coming out, and then, unbelievably, he ran away in the middle of the night. He probably didn’t have much money left, but he still created a couple of deceptive devices.

It seemed he found it suspicious that such an easy job paid so much. So this time, he created a few more similar jobs. And he also ordered the managers to act as if they genuinely needed people.

After a few days of this, Lee Sehwa cautiously nodded when he heard a job offer from a restaurant that even provided room and board. He subtly watched for an opening, and when a day off came, he even offered to be dispatched to a food factory.

If he tried to save money to find a quack doctor, he planned to apprehend him immediately. He couldn’t let Lee Sehwa die in a place where they might not even be able to properly administer anesthesia.

But Lee Sehwa… with the few coins he saved, he bought a few eggs. He also picked up a couple of overripe bananas. And he kept tapping his lower belly. He was wearing a gas mask, so his expression couldn’t be read, but he was doing that in every hologram he received.

Lieutenant Park said it seemed Lee Sehwa was talking to the child. He had received such reports from the men planted in the next room.

It was a side of him he had never shown when he was with him, so Gi Taejeong stared blankly at the holograms several times. He had kept avoiding the question of what to do… but he was talking to the child?

“I was going to wait and see how long he’d last… but I can’t anymore.”

Had it been a little over two weeks? Thanks to Oh Seonran fanning the flames, the limit came sooner than expected. He wanted to push him further. He wanted to dry him out so thoroughly he couldn’t help but crawl out first… but he felt he couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Arrest everyone who has even a slight acquaintance with Lee Sehwa. We already cleared out the laborers last time… so it’s best to look for regular customers.”

Gi Taejeong raised his hand and pressed hard over his entire eye area. His vision was obscured, but a voice so choked it startled even him.

“The more casually he’s met someone, someone he doesn’t even remember, the better. Lee Sehwa’s personality will make him feel even more guilty.”

“…Brigadier General, are you saying…”

“I need to let Lee Sehwa know. That if he doesn’t come to me, innocent people could all die.”

Sehwa shook out the laundry, clumped like rocks, and hung it in the room. There was no drying rack, so he had no choice but to somehow wedge hangers between the zipper teeth of the fabric wardrobe to dry his clothes.

“It’s really hot today, isn’t it?”

He gently spoke to “New Sprout,” stroking his still flat belly.