March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 98

“Time to go.”

A long car glided in, cutting through the forest-like density of containers. Its appearance was similar to the car he’d first taken when coming to the 5th Star, but its size was a little larger.

“To our home.”

A long finger brushed the back of Sehwa’s neck. Gi Taejeong scraped his nails, as if drawing lines across his skin, then lightly tapped the object around his neck, seemingly satisfied.

Our home. The heavy weight of the metal, and his voice, light as a feather, echoed through Sehwa’s empty insides.

“I’ll give you mostly mild nutrients, sedatives, and painkillers. The effect might be minimal, but… it would be safer to take recovery agents like H3 after a thorough examination.”

Lieutenant Na, whom Sehwa hadn’t seen in a long time, was speechless for a moment after seeing him. Especially when he spotted the suspicious object around Sehwa’s neck, he even twitched, as if he was about to confront Gi Taejeong then and there.

It was Sehwa who restrained Lieutenant Na. He quietly shook his head, motioning with his eyes to stop. Regrettably, it was for his own sake, not hers. If a farce where Lieutenant Na was also threatened unfolded before his eyes right now, if he watched that… he truly might lose his mind.

“Do you have a splint?”

Gi Taejeong, who had been sitting next to him, watching Lieutenant Na’s bustling movements, suddenly asked. It wasn’t a question of availability, but an order to produce it without fail.

“Ah, yes. Here it is. And Mr. Lee Sehwa, since we’re on the subject, even if it’s determined that you can take recovery agents, it would be best to keep the cast or splint on.”

Gi Taejeong took the gauze, some medicine, bandages, and a splint, then firmly gripped Sehwa’s calf. As if mocking Sehwa, who was so close yet desperately avoided making eye contact, he twisted Sehwa’s body sideways and even placed Sehwa’s leg onto his firm thigh.

“You know from having taken it before, don’t you? Your body might recover, but your brain might not accept it. Moreover, Mr. Lee Sehwa isn’t a soldier who’s frequently experienced such things… the speed at which you perceive actual recovery will be much slower.”

Lieutenant Na cautiously advised that phantom pain doesn’t only appear in patients who have undergone amputation surgery. It wasn’t wrong. Even if twisted bones found their place, and wounds healed, new skin growing… the painful memories wouldn’t disappear.

“Oh, and don’t take off the patch for a while. It’s not uncomfortable, is it?”

“I thought you said to minimize wearing time before.”

Gi Taejeong frowned disapprovingly as he sprayed disinfectant.

“Normally, it would obviously be better to leave it natural, but currently, Mr. Lee Sehwa’s condition… Of course, we’ll know for sure after an examination, but it’s clear that medication needs to be administered frequently, so we need to give your body time to get used to that flow.”

The man, with almond-shaped eyes, stared intently at Sehwa’s arm, which was wrapped in the patch. It was a look of something like disbelief and dissatisfaction intertwined. Lieutenant Na mumbled excuses, saying there was nothing she could do even if he was unhappy with her prescription, but Gi Taejeong didn’t seem to be listening much. He merely clicked his tongue, as if the patch itself was irritating.

Perhaps Gi Taejeong was recalling the moment Sehwa had, not threatened, but coerced him to escape. The time when he had wrapped his entire forearm in a patch, pricked it with needles, and forced him to drink medicine.

“Even if our darling talks nonsense and tries to charm you, Lieutenant Na, you must be the one to administer it.”

“Understood.”

Gi Taejeong’s brow furrowed, as if he truly was replaying three weeks ago. His thick, sculpted eyebrows also twitched significantly.

Sehwa was tense, wondering what else he would say about it, how he would upset him this time… but Gi Taejeong kept his lips tightly shut and continued to tend to Sehwa’s body. Even though the car seat and his uniform were soaked from him pouring mineral water onto the gauze, he paid no mind and simply focused on cleaning the wound. When Sehwa involuntarily flinched from the stinging disinfectant, Gi Taejeong’s touch became more careful, as if dabbing the injured spot.

Before, he would have undoubtedly been touched. He would have been fooled and excited, thinking that Gi Taejeong might be growing fond of him, that he was treating him with care.

But now, Sehwa was no longer moved by such small acts of benevolence. What Gi Taejeong was doing now was no different from the arbitrary kiss he’d given a moment ago. It was nothing but manipulation and deception, done for his own pleasure.

“Brigadier General.”

“Ah…!”

Sehwa was on edge, but then Lieutenant Park’s voice suddenly rang out, and Sehwa involuntarily trembled violently. Because of that, his swollen ankle collided with the splint Gi Taejeong was holding, and Sehwa groaned, bending deeply at the waist.

“Oh dear. Are you alright?”

Lieutenant Na approached, startled.

“…Ah, well…”

Sehwa wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly shook his head. It hurt, yes, but more than that, it was embarrassing and shameful. He was mortified to have shown such a clear sign of shrinking back.

“Lieutenant Park, stay in the passenger seat.”

Gi Taejeong, whom Sehwa had expected to mock him, surprisingly showed no reaction. He merely observed the injured area carefully, as if checking for any further complications.

“There’s a partition, so you can’t see. You can also press a button in the back to make sure no sound reaches the front seats.”

…Who said anything? Sehwa stubbornly turned his head away. He felt even worse because there seemed to be a slight hint of amusement in the voice instructing Lieutenant Park to continue. However, at Lieutenant Park’s subsequent report, Gi Taejeong’s face hardened coldly.

“Ah, yes. I apologize, but General Oh Seonran wishes to establish communication.”

General Oh Seonran? Sehwa unconsciously pricked up his ears and leaned forward, and Gi Taejeong snorted softly, as if dumbfounded.

“If you’re happier to hear news of that bastard than you are of me, darling, it makes me feel like shit.”

“I didn’t intend to, but… am I not allowed to?”

You treat me like shit, so why can’t I do the same? Sehwa stared at him with that meaning, and Gi Taejeong, after blinking for a moment, burst out laughing.

“Alright. There’s no reason you can’t.”

“Then I’ll connect immediately,”

“Darling.”

Gi Taejeong interrupted Lieutenant Park, gently stroking Sehwa’s twisted ankle so it wouldn’t hurt.

“You tell General Oh Seonran yourself right now. That you chose to stay by my side because you like me. So tell him to stop his nonsense.”

“…I don’t lie.”

Unlike some people. Sehwa barely managed to hold back from adding that childish remark.

“Why is that a lie?”

“That right now,”

“Oh, I’m just saying it.”

“…”

“You, you appeared before me on your own two feet and got into this car yourself. Didn’t you?”

His insides… had no chance to settle. So many things that should have made him angry had already piled up, and Gi Taejeong kept adding new wounds on top of them. As if to remind him who caused this turbulence.

“Mr. Lee Sehwa, calm down. You’ll get into serious trouble.”

As he clenched his trembling hands, trying to suppress the dizziness, Lieutenant Na restrained him with a worried expression.

“And Brigadier General, stop pushing someone who’s not well.”

Lieutenant Na earnestly pleaded, saying that things were already precarious, and he knew that stress was bad for Mr. Lee Sehwa.

“…You called Lieutenant Na for this, didn’t you?”

Gi Taejeong glanced at him, as if asking what kind of nonsense that was. Lieutenant Na, who had just been relieved that the tense atmosphere had settled into a temporary lull, gasped and awkwardly gestured with his eyes. Don’t do that. Don’t talk back, just stay still.

“Are you going to kill Lieutenant Na too if he doesn’t do as you say?”

“That’s not it. The Brigadier General said he was worried about Mr. Lee Sehwa’s condition,”

“Worried? If he was someone who could do that, he wouldn’t have thought of kidnapping and threatening an innocent civilian.”

It wasn’t as if he needed surgery right away, or that a major prescription was necessary. Yet, he still forced Lieutenant Na into the same car. Wasn’t the purpose, after all, to choke him?

“You said Lieutenant Na was your same period from the camp.”

“…”

“As a fellow soldier, how could you, ah, no. It must have been easier because you’re a fellow soldier. You said soldiers have to follow any order from a superior.”

Lieutenant Na held his breath, only watching Gi Taejeong’s expression, and he… said nothing in response. He just looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then bit the inside of his cheek so hard his cheeks hollowed. As if to say, I’ll put up with your childishness.

Sehwa grew even more furious, digging his elbow into the seat back and inching backward. But inching, especially in a car, made it impossible to get far from the other person from the start.

“Lieutenant Na, check Lee Sehwa’s heart rate and give him more sedatives if he’s too agitated.”

Gi Taejeong grabbed Sehwa’s leg and pulled it down. Just that much movement made gasps pour from his mouth, but Gi Taejeong effortlessly undid that effort, easier than twisting a child’s wrist. As always.

Why do I have to be the only one hurting? Why do I always have to be the only one getting hurt and crying?

He tried to throw even a pebble, wanting to inflict even a small blow on Gi Taejeong, but it was always him who got hurt. It was only he who got pricked, cut, and bled from the sharp edges of the foolishly held stone.

“What are you doing?”

Sehwa bit at the patch wrapped around his forearm. He tore off the sealed part and, with swollen hands, haphazardly pulled at the black wires tangled like electrical cords.

“Lee Sehwa!”

“I’m curious about myself. What did you trust when you put this patch on me?”

You act cruelly when things don’t go your way, and then when you’re a little nice, you think it’s all forgotten, but I can’t do that.

“Knowing what else I might do.”

Once, Sehwa had felt a strange pleasure when Gi Taejeong had looked as if he’d been caught off guard by his words. But that was only for a moment, and burning with a desire for revenge, thinking you try experiencing this too… it was too much, and he quickly backed down.

Thinking about it now, how ridiculous and arrogant that judgment was… He could only have such carefree thoughts because he could bear it then. Even if his own wounds festered, even if they both fell into the mire, he wanted Gi Taejeong to feel this pain too.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I told you. Rather than stay by your side, I’d—”

“No. You can’t die.”

This time, Gi Taejeong gripped not his calf, but the soft inner thigh, as if massaging it, and leaned forward. Sehwa had intended to do something worse than biting his lips if he dared to kiss him again, but Gi Taejeong just smiled quietly with his face inches away.

“Because even if you die, the baby inside will definitely live.”

…What is that supposed to mean? If I die… how can the sprout survive? Sehwa blinked, unable to understand, and Gi Taejeong calmly laid out various possibilities.

“It’s a world where a baby who would normally be carried for ten months can be safely taken out in four or five, and even have more perfect genes implanted.”

“…”

“Even if the mother stops breathing, if you hurry, the child can be saved.”

“What… what is that…”

Gi Taejeong whispered in a charming voice, kissing the tip of Sehwa’s nose, who was dumbfounded.

“And with you gone, how do you think I’ll treat that child?”

“…”

“I’ll make them live just like you.”

To be stuck in the 4th district, and to not be given anything. Just like you lived.

“You wouldn’t want that, darling.”

“…”

“So fix that habit of constantly threatening me with your life.”

Gi Taejeong pulled Sehwa’s frozen body closer again.

“I think I’ve said it several times today, but as you know, I don’t do things twice.”