M 152

“Major General, here are the documents you requested.”

“Mm.”

“As you instructed, I received them directly from Brigadier General Kang without going through the document reception office.”

When Warrant Officer Choi held out the tightly sealed envelope, all the adjutants’ gazes flowed in that direction. These were documents that Ki Tae-jeong had obtained by going around military personnel on his own, without saying a word to them. In fact, this was the third one.

Though they didn’t know what it was, it certainly seemed related to the much talked about Major General’s wife, but it felt awkward to ask their superior. Their superior’s mood had been unprecedentedly menacing for over five days, unable to meet his rabbit-like spouse and rabbit-like son.

The starting point was the restaurant incident that had occurred a few days ago. Late at night, Ki Tae-jeong’s adjutants who had grudgingly gotten up at the sudden call forgot about being annoyed and covered their mouths as soon as they read the message. The news was that their problematic superior had destroyed a restaurant in the middle of 5-Star.

When they hurriedly rushed to the scene, they were stunned to see the literally destroyed building, or rather, the site where a building had been. No way. This wasn’t 4-Hwan House or 2-Hwan warehouses, but what the hell was this mayhem in the middle of 5-Star’s downtown?

‘The manager and staff here mistook Lee Sehwa for a sponsored rookie actor and tried to drag him into a room…’

Captain Park, who had been holding his forehead and counting the number of reports he’d have to write, suddenly looked up at Ki Tae-jeong’s muttering. Warrant Officer Choi, who had been looking around blankly like a bear who lost his house in a wildfire, also gaped. What? They said what to whom? Aren’t these guys completely insane?

‘There was assault in the process too.’

‘Excuse me? As-assault? To the madam?’

Ki Tae-jeong nodded.

‘I saw it myself. Hitting Sehwa’s back, pushing him, trying to drag him away, even leaving marks on Sehwa’s wrist.’

‘My goodness…’

‘Civilian intimidation, assault, and even sexual service arrangements being openly conducted in the middle of 5-star. Isn’t this a serious problem?’

‘That, that’s right. Absolutely.’

The adjutants, who had been cursing internally, were moved by Ki Tae-jeong’s reformation. My god. Even after such an incident, no one died and it ended with just some building damage. The madam must have stopped him, right? The madam really is amazing…

‘Handle it. Without Sehwa knowing.’

‘Yes, understood.’

What could be the problem when an officer who witnessed the incident at the scene arrested the suspects? The arrest process was a bit violent, but wouldn’t anyone be furious if their spouse heard such things in front of them? Even if Ki Tae-jeong had shot the employees, this reason would have been enough to be taken into consideration.

There might be some resistance from the local police station, but Captain Park, who now had something to write in the incident report, politely answered with a much brighter face that he would handle it cleanly. Moreover, Lee Sehwa was General Oh Seon-ran’s adopted child and only legal heir. After hearing the circumstances, wouldn’t Oh Seon-ran’s side come running with knives drawn…?

So all the adjutants rolled up their sleeves and went to work on the aftermath, but absurdly, the incident flowed in a somewhat complicated direction. For investigation purposes, not only the restaurant staff but also influential political and business figures who had visited that place that day, even investors, were all summoned. Following one lead to another, evidence of embezzlement by several elders came to light. The restaurant owner, perhaps thinking there was another reason for such violent retaliation, got scared and spilled stories that Ki Tae-jeong hadn’t even asked about. It was natural that everything from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Ministry of Defense, police headquarters, and the Council of Elders was turned upside down.

‘Colonel Park’s side has partially admitted to past collaboration with Colonel Kim. They drew the line saying it was just investment ahead of establishing an affiliate, but seeing signs that the investigation intensity might increase, they asked for just today to think about it, so we’re waiting for now.’

‘Mm.’

Ki Tae-jeong, who had actually ignited this incident, seemed to have no interest in covering it up. He responded halfheartedly even when reports were submitted, and even though people wanting to meet about this matter were lining up, he remained indifferent. Rather, since the day before yesterday, he had been busy secretly attempting contact with other officers who had nothing to do with this matter. He even went so far as to order the introduction of new training this morning.

The innocent adjutants’ insides were burning with anxiety. Was he finally trying to form a faction? No, if he was going to seriously engage in politics, shouldn’t he give them a heads up too?

‘I don’t care about the elders throwing a fit. New factions and whatever, the Major General must have his reasons. But I really wish he would stop by the madam’s house…’

Captain Na, with a haggard face, muttered blankly. He seemed to have been thoroughly worked over by Ki Tae-jeong since dawn.

‘I mean, why did the man who used to visit regularly even when he was busier than this suddenly stop visiting??’

‘I don’t know…’

‘It seems like the Major General made some kind of mistake, doesn’t it?’

‘Probably? Since he keeps sending only gifts…’

Warrant Officer Choi sighed while ordering the items Ki Tae-jeong had specified. It seemed like Ki Tae-jeong was the one at fault. Looking at how he kept fiddling with his watch or phone whenever he had a moment, anyone could see he was anxious about whether to contact him or not, or whether contact would come.

‘Gift offensives aren’t the madam’s style. Especially expensive stuff like this… Unless he’s deliberately trying to trigger trauma, it would be better to stop.’

Captain Park and Warrant Officer Choi, who had suggested to their superior a little while ago that it would be better to send expensive gold items if he was going to send anything, felt awkward and mumbled their words.

‘Well… still, the Major General is doing it because he wants to take care of him.’

This was really true. Still, he seemed to be thinking more deeply than before. If in the past his attitude was ‘I bought something this good, so that’s enough, right?’ Nowadays it was closer to ‘I want to treat him well but don’t know how…’ The fact that Sehwa was getting brighter day by day was probably because he wasn’t unaware of Ki Tae-jeong’s feelings.

“The training seemed to take longer than expected to finish.”

At his superior’s cold question, Captain Park, who had been lost in thought, snapped to attention and continued his report.

“Ah, yes. It took 35 minutes longer than expected.”

“How’s the response? Do they say it’s manageable?”

“All participants showed positive reactions, saying it was more helpful for actual combat than existing training, but apart from that, it’s true that overall scores declined.”

Several holograms appeared all at once. The adjutants’ faces soon clouded with deep concern after briefly being pleased with the trajectories of fighter jets densely embroidering the sky. At first glance, the majority were wobbling endlessly, making one wonder if acrobatic flying had been ordered, and interception accuracy dropped by 30% compared to usual. Even that would have resulted in them crashing into each other in a friendly collision if Ki Tae-jeong hadn’t personally jumped in to direct traffic in the middle.

“What’s the point of individual satisfaction? If they die in actual combat, it’s over.”

Ki Tae-jeong flicked away the model of a fighter jet that was lost and wandering with his fingertip.

“There are hardly any useful ones unless it’s an operation where they assist me.”

The soldiers who participated in the training might feel a bit wronged if they heard Ki Tae-jeong’s impression. The training method Ki Tae-jeong instructed was so intense that it would be a miracle to even clumsily follow along. There were even some who cried saying they should have written their wills before coming out. Moreover, the soldiers selected today were ones who had endured quite well under his command when Ki Tae-jeong was a Brigadier General.

Well, whatever reasons given, excuses are excuses, and lack of ability can’t be an excuse for soldiers. However, this was also a result of Ki Tae-jeong’s overwhelming capabilities and the neglect by superiors who were intimidated by him, so it wasn’t entirely fair to blame individual soldiers’ shortcomings now.

“Is there a reason you suddenly changed the training method?”

Since Ki Tae-jeong had never even thought about training successors before, it didn’t seem like he had developed the training program after much consideration. He had definitely just taken a few things out of his own routine and carelessly thrown them out there. Still, it was unexpected since he was doing something he’d never done before, so one of the adjutants asked hesitantly.

“My discharge has been postponed, and I’m definitely guaranteed a Lieutenant General promotion.”

Ki Tae-jeong, who had been watching the fighter jets in the hologram stagger in zigzag patterns, narrowed his eyes fiercely.

“The size of the troops under my command has changed, so they won’t let me continue my solo act like before. Even if the old geezers shut their mouths.”

Ki Tae-jeong gestured upward with his chin.

“Those at the highest level will become increasingly anxious.”

“Then…”

“Since the results have changed, I have no choice but to change course.”

Thanks to his heavier rank insignia, the gazes of those watching him were being sharpened day by day, and now he had two people whose lives he had to risk his own to protect.