M 66

“Huh? General, just now…”

Who did he say he was looking for? Kim Seok-cheol blinked his swollen eyes that could barely open after being beaten. Not a mistress, but a child? Was he saying that all this time he had been causing chaos because he wanted to find his own child?

“You should thank Ki Tae-jeong. If you hadn’t been reported and locked up, I would have wrung your neck myself first.”

“G-General! Just a moment…! Please listen to my story! I’ll tell you everything, everything about Lee Sehwa.”

Kim Seok-cheol spat out the blood pooled in his mouth and chose his words carefully. Damn it. An illegitimate child out of nowhere…

His father had told him something like this once. The decisive reason why General Oh Seon-ran was able to get frequent permission for overseas trips was because he stubbornly insisted on staying single, almost to the point of obsession.

Now, Ki Tae-jeong’s record of military achievements was so enormous that Oh Seon-ran’s presence had faded somewhat, but in his prime, Oh Seon-ran was a military hero who swept through battlefields. The darling of an old distinguished family, a young officer who had led several victories worthy of being recorded in textbooks, and even handsome to boot. It was natural for the elders to feel threatened.

The seeds of rebellion can grow thanks to the encouragement of those around, regardless of the mastermind’s will. Talented individuals who would naturally attract followers even if they did nothing had to be stepped on in advance to avoid future troubles. So the higher-ups wanted Oh Seon-ran to integrate with them through the traditional means of marriage.

But when the pressure for marriage became more intense, Oh Seon-ran suddenly requested permission for extended stays abroad, saying there was someone he wanted to find.

At first, even the head of state was taken aback by the absurdity of the request. But after weighing their options, they gladly approved his request. It was a much more solid restriction than a marriage that could be broken at any time. While Oh Seon-ran was out, his influence would naturally weaken, and Oh Seon-ran himself wouldn’t be able to act defiantly towards those in power if he wanted to maintain the exceptional privilege of an officer’s overseas stay.

But to think that such an Oh Seon-ran had an illegitimate child… Moreover, a child he cared about enough to search for this long…

“Lee Sehwa, ahem, was a boy that a gambler father put up as a stake instead of money at a gambling den. This is guaranteed by loan sharks and brokers who never lie about money matters. If you don’t believe me, I can bring witnesses.”

Kim Seok-cheol first emphasized that Lee Sehwa’s identity was certain.

“You’ve stressed several times that the identity of the person you’re looking for is unclear, so I’ve also been confirming that part first whenever I found someone who might be related. So…”

A child, a child… Finding one person was nothing for the Oh family. Moreover, that family rarely had children. If it was Oh Seon-ran’s lost child, they should have brought him back even if they had to turn the whole country upside down. But the fact that they couldn’t solve a blood-related issue of all things until now…

Could it be that the child wasn’t lost, but dealt with by the elders of that family? Kim Seok-cheol nodded unconsciously. Yes, that could be possible. No, that’s how things would fit together. Oh Seon-ran had been struggling alone all this time because he couldn’t rely on the family’s influence.

“…But Lee Sehwa was properly registered in the resident registry. If the registration date and age didn’t match, I would have been suspicious at least once, but that wasn’t the case…”

“Lieutenant Kim Seok-cheol.”

“I’m not lying! If you check Lee Sehwa’s resident registration…”

“Don’t get worked up over things I didn’t ask about. Anyway, it was Lee Sehwa, not Maejo, who manufactured the drug to be used in the project, right?”

“That’s… true, but…”

Oh Seon-ran carelessly kicked the scattered copies of the accusation letter on the floor. Each time he tapped them with his toe, the papers flipped over. Whether by chance or not, everything his feet touched had content related to the ‘Harvest’.

“Ki Tae-jeong also minimized the evidence related to the ‘Harvest’, but at least he mentioned Lee Sehwa. He said he was a drug distributor in charge of manufacturing new drugs. But you, while selling my name behind my back, tried to hide from me the fact that even Ki Tae-jeong didn’t think to conceal.”

“G-General…!”

Flustered, Kim Seok-cheol crawled on his knees and grabbed Oh Seon-ran’s military boots. Damn it. He didn’t know that fox Ki Tae-jeong had already mentioned Lee Sehwa.

“I, I can help you! I’ve been fumbling around because I didn’t know the situation, but if you had hinted that you were looking for an illegitimate child, I would have told you the solution right away! Brokers…, yes, you were also looking for information on brokers, right? As it happens, my cousins have experienced similar situations before, so they know well, there are errand boys particularly famous for dealing with illegitimate children, and these people only give out their contact information through introductions…”

“Do you think I haven’t considered the methods you might come up with?”

Although he begged Oh Seon-ran to believe him, rubbing his cheek against his foot, the response was only cold. What should I do? Kim Seok-cheol stamped his feet, worried about what would happen if Oh Seon-ran left like this. He had to hold onto him for now. Was there anything? Some provocative story related to Lee Sehwa…

“I, I liked him!”

“…What did you say?”

“I had feelings for Lee Sehwa, that’s why!”

“……”

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth. I’m worthless… I didn’t want to lose that person to anyone. To my eyes, he was such a beautiful person, I assumed you would naturally like him too, General, so…”

He blurted out whatever came to mind in his desperation. As he rambled on, saying whatever he could think of, he thought he might get hit a few more times by Oh Seon-ran for spouting such nonsense.

“I’m sorry, I just liked that person so much…”

But surprisingly, Oh Seon-ran stopped his half-turned steps. He even stared intently at Kim Seok-cheol. He, he believe this? Even though he had ignored any plausible words until now. What part of this pathetic excuse appealed to him? Anyway, Oh Seon-ran was showing at least some interest, so that was enough.

Kim Seok-cheol, with a bewildered face, repeated that he did it because he liked Lee Sehwa. Looking at it this way, it wasn’t entirely implausible. People do foolish things when blinded by love, it’s not unheard of.

“Hearing that makes it even harder to understand. You made the person you cared about do such dangerous work?”

“Ah, that… that person, I mean Lee Sehwa, had some resistance to certain drugs…”

At that moment, Oh Seon-ran’s movement froze completely.

Kim Seok-cheol, oblivious to the frozen atmosphere, hastily rambled on with his self-defense. What had Oh Seon-ran said just now? That even Ki Tae-jeong had ‘mentioned’ Lee Sehwa? Then he must have just put Lee Sehwa’s name on the list? That seems likely. Judging by what was just said, Oh Seon-ran also seemed unaware of why he had assigned the new drug manufacturing to Lee Sehwa.

“What was it again? Lee Sehwa himself said he had a constitution that doesn’t get addicted.”

Kim Seok-cheol excitedly spilled everything he knew. Suddenly, he felt like a way out had opened up. It seemed the Ki Tae-jeong side was still keeping this topic under wraps, so by providing the information first, he might be able to regain some trust from Oh Seon-ran.

“Of course, it was never dangerous for the person involved. If I thought there would be a problem, why would I have asked Lee Sehwa to manufacture or test drugs? Rather, from what I saw, Lee Sehwa became much healthier than when I first met him- ack, G-General!”

“Say that again.”

“W-Why are you suddenly…!”

Kim Seok-cheol, suddenly grabbed by the collar, choked with a face that had turned from red to purple. His feet flailed in the air. Help me. It wasn’t just strangling, Oh Seon-ran had lifted him up to eye level, making it even more unbearable.

“You say he has resistance? To drugs?”

“Th-that, ugh, that…”

“What exactly were the symptoms? What kind of drugs did Lee Sehwa mainly show such reactions to?”

“That… I’m not sure about that… but I’m certain he didn’t react to narcotics. However, it’s not that drugs don’t work on him at all, cough, considering that Lee Sehwa got pregnant with Ki Tae-jeong’s child…”

“…What?”

Oh Seon-ran’s grip, which had seemed like it would never let go, suddenly lost all strength. Kim Seok-cheol, thrown to the floor, tried to spill everything he knew and didn’t know in an attempt to get into his good graces, even as he drooled.

“Ki Tae-jeong definitely said so when he filed the accusation against me. That thanks to the ‘Harvest’ new drug, Lee Sehwa was able to conceive his child.”

His throat hurt where he had been grabbed. Kim Seok-cheol touched the part that surely had hand marks and tried to force a smile. Damn. At this point, he wished Lee Sehwa really was Oh Seon-ran’s child. If so, he wouldn’t leave Ki Tae-jeong alone, at least. After suffering this humiliation, he felt like something good should happen to him too for fairness’ sake.

“Since I’ve been wrapping patches on Lee Sehwa’s arms when giving injections, I don’t know exactly about the degree of resistance or related symptoms, but…”

“…Patches.”

He didn’t really know why he did it. It was just in case. Since Lee Sehwa didn’t get addicted to drugs, he was worried the new drug might not work quickly. He didn’t expect much effect. It was about the same level of expectation as believing in superstition.

Of course, the stupid Lee Sehwa didn’t know anything. The cheap patches used in low-grade clinics looked quite similar to medical compression bandages. Even though it was a low-quality item, it would have been difficult for someone in Lee Sehwa’s position to even see such things. Not knowing what it was used for, he probably thought, ‘The patches the lieutenant brought are unique,’ didn’t he?

Every time Lee Sehwa had the patch wrapped around his forearm, he would bow his head and say thank you. Even though he knew it was just a formal greeting to a customer, it was so ridiculous that it was a struggle to hold back laughter every time. Not knowing that it was a trick to make the drug work better, bowing and thanking him every time thinking it was to help find the vein better.

“Patches, patches…”

“Is there… some problem?”

Kim Seok-cheol, who had been lost in thoughts about Lee Sehwa for a moment, belatedly noticed Oh Seon-ran’s ominous demeanor and cautiously asked. However, he seemed to no longer hear Kim Seok-cheol’s words and continued muttering to himself.

“Even got pregnant…”

A chilly wind blew into the solitary cell. For the first time, a violent spark flashed in Oh Seon-ran’s eyes as he grasped a faint positive possibility.

***

“You can’t park here, sir.”

As he carelessly parked the car at the entrance of the government office, a security guard hurriedly approached and politely stopped him.

“If you go straight ahead, there’s a parking lot for visitors.”

Ki Tae-jeong snorted and pulled out a stiff leather case from his chest. The guard’s eyes widened in shock as he confirmed the emblem engraved with the Air Force symbol.

“Gasp…! Are you a B-brigadier General?”

“Skip the salute. I’m here to register as a guardian for a pregnant person.”