M 88

His well-sculpted eyebrows twitched greatly. Ki Tae-jeong’s face, which looked like it was about to say something as his lips moved slightly, was still beautiful, and that’s why it hurt. Even in this situation, the man’s picturesque beauty seemed to mock him for desiring someone so out of his league.

Sehwa turned away just like that. As if without any lingering attachment, he ran forward and flung open the heavy office door. Then he closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment.

He vaguely imagined armed soldiers pointing their guns at him. He thought Ki Tae-jeong might walk up behind him, grab him by the hair, and angrily ask where he got such a crude object to point at him.

However, despite his trembling, when he slightly opened his eyes, the corridor was empty. Sehwa walked to the emergency exit stairs, hunching his body. He almost fell several times from shaking so badly, if he hadn’t been leaning against the wall.

With hands convulsing as if having a seizure, he barely managed to open the circuit breaker cover and recklessly tore at the tangled wires. Belatedly, he realized it would have been enough to just turn off the power. There was no need to do something so dangerous, but somehow he felt dazed and found it difficult to make quick judgments.

Thud. With a sound like glass breaking, darkness settled in, and low murmuring voices could be heard here and there. It sent chills down his spine. Soldiers were gathered nearby. Just waiting for Ki Tae-jeong’s orders…

“…Calm down, stay composed.”

If you don’t get your wits about you now, it’s all over. While comforting himself for acting dazed repeatedly, Sehwa tore out the communication box. He turned off the device buttons and threw the wristwatch behind it. He had thought about trying to pawn it off to a fence and get some money… but it seemed too dangerous an object for that.

Sehwa hunched down and descended the winding, narrow iron stairs. It was a shortcut made for players or hired hands to move without being seen by guests.

The stale smell of dust and grease made him nauseous, but he was more afraid of being caught by Ki Tae-jeong.

Damaging the electrical wires and communication equipment on each floor, Sehwa painfully made his way down to the basement. He thought it wouldn’t be much, but he was completely drained of energy, and by the time he reached the end, he didn’t even have the strength to open the lid and turn off the power.

“Ah…, ugh…”

Unable to overcome the sudden dizziness that washed over him, Sehwa leaned against the wall, taking deep, labored breaths. Following his rapid, panting breaths, it felt like someone was poking inside his stomach. He couldn’t bleed now… He had to appear fine in front of the fence and smuggler until he reached the 2-Hwan…

“…I’m sorry, but please hold on just a little longer…”

Swallowing hard and pushing down the nausea that kept rising, Sehwa rubbed his nose and mouth roughly with the back of his hand. In his other hand, he still clutched the syringe tightly.

“Just a little…”

Beyond the thin partition, the voices of people murmuring about what was going on dispersed like a mirage.

The clamor of guests demanding the manager be called, the pleas of some young players saying they were going crazy with the House’s recent situation, the sound of objects breaking…

There were so many piles of boxes on the way to the convenience store, and sometimes they were too heavy for Sehwa to move alone. Still, he managed to clear them away somehow, making his way to the meeting place with the fence.

Squeezing his body through a narrow gap and struggling like an insect before finally breaking free, the ceiling of the convenience store came into view, albeit dimly. As instructed, several flashlights had been turned on, and all he had to do was follow the hazy light.

Only then did the reality of what he had done sink in. Ki Tae-jeong’s face and low voice, smiling coldly and telling him not to get caught, lingered in his mind. It sent chills down his spine for a moment.

So what would happen from now on… The only card he had left to play was Oh Seon-ran. Whether they feared him or wanted something from him… whatever the reason, he hoped the fence auntie would send him safely to the 2-Hwan, if only out of consideration for Oh Seon-ran.

Sehwa stared blankly at the box full of fake playing cards. After snapping at Oh Seon-ran that he no longer trusted anyone, Sehwa was now in a position where he couldn’t even leave the House building without relying on others.

Even if they played the same game of gambling, some people were called gamblers or dealers, but why was he just called a player who cheated in the house…? The problem was that he had even started to have such philosophical thoughts, which didn’t suit him, instead of just falling asleep after finishing his work.

Feeling newly resentful about this, he thought he should move towards the bright side, and since he had decided to live outside the House, he started to dream of completely cutting ties with dirty work and living an upright life… Even though he could barely pay the interest next month.

The only card without people or animals drawn on it, a dubious card with only a black curtain draped over it. Despite being merely March…

“…Ugh…”

Gripping his trembling knees, Sehwa moved forward, almost crawling.

When it became too difficult, he would stop for a moment to rummage through his bag to check if the badges were still there, then continue forward.

“I… I won’t let you live like this. I’d rather die…”

Unable to bear the various emotions that kept welling up, Sehwa muttered without realizing.

“I’m sorry… but truthfully, I was leaning more towards wanting to end things… Living like this is just too pathetic, isn’t it?”

Sehwa apologized to the child in his stomach over and over again.

Every time he went for a checkup, the doctor said the baby’s facial features were becoming clearer. To Sehwa, it still looked just like a gummy bear, but anyway, he said that thing as small as a finger had everything from eyes to ears.

So he must have been listening. To this noisy commotion pouring in from outside.

“…It’s scary, isn’t it?”

Once Sehwa started talking, he kept mumbling on and on. And then…

“If it wasn’t for this… Even though I was surprised, I would have ended up liking you.”

Ridiculously, the more he spoke to the child, the more his tension eased. Perhaps realizing he wasn’t alone, he felt a bit less lonely.

“My child, my family… I never even imagined such things…”

Cradling his flat lower stomach as if supporting it, Sehwa carefully took a step forward.

After talking so much about planning to get rid of it. Despite never having spoken kindly to it even once before. Shamelessly leaning on a fragment of his worn-out heart for Ki Tae-jeong’s bloodline…

“…Anyway, I’ll never let you live like me. It might be better not to be born than to live like this…”

He whispered with a voice that was fading away, his dry lips barely moving.

Rather than letting you live in such pain, I’d rather you died. I’ll protect you so that no one can use you as a tool.

***

“…Ah.”

Shit. Ki Tae-jeong dropped his hand covering his eyes. He felt dirty for having rarely fallen asleep under the influence of drugs. Even with his eyes closed, he could vividly feel his senses going wild. The trembling fingertips of Lee Sehwa as he stroked his face and the sound of his footsteps as he opened the door and left. Very clearly.

The scenery outside the window hadn’t changed much from earlier. Just red and black. Unable to gauge the time, Ki Tae-jeong finally got up and headed to the window.

Outside, people were bustling about as usual today. The rumors that the manager wasn’t doing his job properly must have already spread… Even though military vehicles were positioned today, making it seem like they should take a day off. But the pathetic guys addicted to gambling and drugs were stubbornly pushing their way in as if it didn’t matter to them.

Since there were no kids sprawled out in the alley high on drugs, it seems they had just started business… So it must be just before 8 o’clock.

He took out his phone from his pocket, but only an alert saying the signal was weak appeared. This too, he thought, must be Lee Sehwa’s doing.

Although he had always acted docile, he wasn’t without his harsh side. It was like that when he suddenly asked if he wanted to bet with him, and when he demonstrated selling drugs… He should not have overlooked the fact that his personality could go in unexpected directions.

Clicking his tongue, Ki Tae-jeong was about to press the emergency call button on his phone when he was startled by a message screen that suddenly popped up and couldn’t take any action for a moment.

「Brigadier General, have you had your meal? You must be very busy」

“…”

It was Lee Sehwa’s last message, with terrible spelling.

Since he could handle most things with just a watch, he rarely had use for his phone. Recently, he had been using it to exchange messages with Lee Sehwa, and the smart device had automatically activated frequently used functions.

「It’s a disaster, all the apples have fallen」

「Brigadier General, Sergeant Major Choi brought pudding. This is such a mysterious taste」

「Brigadier General, they said it was a errand, is it true??」

「Thank you. It’s very delicious」

「I left one for you. Try it when you get home, meat」

「I meant definitely, but I wrote it wrong. I’m not asking for chicken. I don’t want to eat meat either」

「Chicken」

「You’re busy. I came to the hospital and I’m a little bored」

Lee Sehwa sent messages several times a day using Sergeant Major Choi’s phone or the tablet left in the official residence. When he belatedly replied with curt, short answers, Lee Sehwa would pour out trivial stories without any time lag. From those honest messages that didn’t hide his excitement, Ki Tae-jeong felt a touching emotion he had never experienced in his life.

Staring blankly at the clumsy and crooked messages on the screen, Ki Tae-jeong returned to the home screen as if erasing his thoughts and pressed the emergency call button. All registered adjutants, including Lieutenant Park, would receive the alert.

“Ha…”

It was still ridiculous even thinking about it again. A strange sound that was neither a sigh nor a hollow laugh kept coming out.

It’s not that he didn’t understand Lee Sehwa’s despair and anger. He had deceived him lightly several times and had been evasive. But…

He still couldn’t believe that he had urged him to take that drug as if he didn’t care whether he died or ended up in a similar state… Lee Sehwa’s firm voice saying he would rather die by Lieutenant Kim’s hand kept turning Ki Tae-jeong’s stomach.

“Brigadier General?”

Ki Tae-jeong patted his chest area with his palm. The drug must have been strong, as a dizzy and stinging sensation was still pooled inside. Whether it was the effect of the drug or something else…

“Did something happen? The emergency call came through…”

Lieutenant Park and Sergeant Major Choi rushed in breathlessly. Judging by the uniform sound of military boots outside, the rest seemed to be on standby outside.

“We were wondering what was going on when you suddenly ordered us to move and the lights went out for a moment. Nothing serious happened, right? And Lee Sehwa…”

“The communication lines?”

“Ah, they’re all cut off. But since we have the watch…”

Lieutenant Park, who was about to say there wasn’t a big problem, awkwardly closed his mouth. He belatedly noticed Ki Tae-jeong’s empty wrist. While the item that was as good as an ID and lifeline for high-ranking officers was nowhere to be seen, the superior had used his phone for the emergency call and specifically checked the communication status. As if he had been completely unaware of the commotion that had been going on.

Sergeant Major Choi’s eyes also wavered uneasily. Lee Sehwa’s presence that couldn’t be felt anywhere and things like the suddenly cut electrical lines somehow fit together like obvious foreshadowing of a tragedy.

“You said the lights went out too? Then does that mean there’s backup power? Ah… well, I guess they would have prepared for it, since the guests wouldn’t have stood still if this happened during a game.”

Ki Tae-jeong muttered while stroking his chin.

“First, round up that fence person. Block all international entry and exit routes, focusing on ports where smuggling is possible. Checkpoints and ports too.”

“…Yes?”

“There’s a high chance he’s hidden on a cargo ship rather than a passenger ship, so especially strengthen inspections there, and bring all records from two hours before and after now from any area where people come and go.”

Lieutenant Park and Sergeant Major Choi widened their eyes in disbelief. While it was very clear who the subject “likely to be hiding” was referring to, it was difficult to accept readily.

“Brigadier General, surely not…”

“Check Oh Seon-ran’s communication network too. If there were any attempts to bypass or jam signals, knowing just the date and time is enough to predict the situation. And…”

Ki Tae-jeong pressed his thumb and middle finger to his forehead and temple for a moment, choosing his words. Although he was giving orders lightly as if it were nothing, in fact, he was not in a rational state at all. He even thought it was fortunate that he couldn’t catch Lee Sehwa right away. If he faced him now…

“…Anyway, the places Lee Sehwa can go are limited. To go up, he’ll definitely need someone’s help, and this is bound to leave traces.”

Since he had contact with Oh Seon-ran in the Defense Ministry building, there’s a possibility he might have gotten his help to cross over to an upper sector. Still, Ki Tae-jeong didn’t put much weight on this possibility.

The higher the grade, the tighter the security. No matter who Oh Seon-ran is, he can’t remove the CCTVs installed in every block just to hide one Lee Sehwa. Lee Sehwa would know this too.

Moreover, given Lee Sehwa’s personality, he would likely have refused to go to the center of the city where he couldn’t even go out without Oh Seon-ran’s help. He’s someone who found it difficult to even say what he wanted to eat while pregnant because he disliked being indebted. Especially in a situation where he couldn’t be sure of Oh Seon-ran’s motives for showing kindness, he wouldn’t have tried to entrust everything to him.

If so, it needs to be a place where Lee Sehwa can at least secretly do manual labor to earn some pocket money. After eliminating several possibilities this way, the range narrowed down at once. A place with loose surveillance, where Lee Sehwa knows exactly what’s attached where.

“Since he can’t even cross over to 1-Hwan due to the 2-Hwan incident, there’s a high chance he’s in either 3-Hwan or 2-Hwan…”

Ki Tae-jeong gripped the back of the sofa tightly. The cheap leather seat crumpled in his grasp, eventually twisting and tearing.

“He probably went to a more familiar place.”

“Then should we deploy people to 2-Hwan right away?”

“…No. Let’s corner him slowly.”

As he shook off his hand, black leather debris scattered in the air. Ki Tae-jeong stared blankly at the ash-like particles.

“When he thinks it’s okay now, when he lets his guard down and feels safe. That’s when we’ll catch him.”

That way, he’ll never do such a wicked thing as toying with his own life again.