M 200

Side Story 3 Episode 2

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To put it bluntly, the nausea he experiences will end someday, but Sehwa is not only suffering from morning sickness but will also have to undergo surgery to cut open his otherwise healthy stomach. No matter how many good medicines he pours into his body, it will take time for his body to fully recover.

He made the baby together, but only one of them has to endure the aftereffects? It’s only right that the one who shot his load takes responsibility until the end. Whether it’s a surgery to move and implant the baby, or conceiving in an incubator from the start, he has to come up with something. Even if they take a fetus out of the womb after only 4 or 5 months, it grows up perfectly fine, so why can’t they cultivate it in an incubator from the beginning?

1-1-S1 Lee Sehwa (Male)

Special Notes: Spouse of Lieutenant General Ki Tae-jeong / Pregnant

Ki Tae-jeong, standing in front of the nameplate of the hospital room where Sehwa is hospitalized, throws off his cumbersome dress hat and jacket haphazardly, and puts on a new shirt placed on the chair. It wasn’t just that Ki Tae-jeong himself couldn’t stand the smell of his own clothes, but he was worried about Sehwa, who is more vulnerable to scents than he is, so he always changes into hospital garb before going inside.

After changing all the way down to his pants, Ki Tae-jeong took one more breath. Every time he felt dizzy from the faint metallic smell and the slight sweaty smell emanating from the doorknob, he recalled the face of Lee Sehwa, whom he would meet inside. Fortunately, the smell of Sehwa and Hae-rim’s skin is not repulsive at all. Is it because it’s a psychological problem rather than an actual symptom? He had no problem being close to the two of them. Of course, even if that weren’t the case, he would never show it in front of them.

“Oh, Lieutenant General…?”

Ki Tae-jeong, covering his nose with the back of his hand and carefully opening the door with the other hand, frowned involuntarily when he saw Sehwa out in the living room.

“Honey.”

His forehead, sitting on the sofa, was covered with cold sweat. He’s been lying down for almost a month, so it wouldn’t have been easy to drag the IV pole all the way to the living room. He was about to pick him up right away, but Ki Tae-jeong chose to slowly narrow the distance, worried that his touch might upset Sehwa’s stomach. Fortunately, whether it was because he was in good condition or not, Sehwa didn’t show any particular reaction even when he got closer.

“You’re home early?”

“The meeting ended early. But why are you out here?”

“I feel a little better today for some reason, so I’ve been walking around the room a little bit since earlier.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Sehwa smiled happily, saying that he felt good to see his face in the living room instead of the bedroom.

“Why, do I look more handsome?”

“Maybe? I guess so, maybe.”

Is it that good not to greet his husband lying down? Lee Sehwa’s face is full of smiles. Every time he pulled up the corners of his mouth, his pale, dry lips cracked and a little blood smeared on them, but Sehwa didn’t seem to be in pain at all, and just smiled as best he could.

Ki Tae-jeong engraved the slender scar in his eyes and in his heart, and made another firm resolution. When is the officers’ meeting again? I’m going to kill all those fucking bastards at the Ministry of Health.

“Have you eaten?”

“Have you.”

He could have just said he ate well, but for some reason, Ki Tae-jeong didn’t want to lie to Sehwa, especially to someone who was suffering so much because of him, so he subtly changed the subject. Fortunately, Lee Sehwa was busy rattling on about what had happened just before Ki Tae-jeong visited, saying that he had eaten a few spoonfuls of rice porridge a little while ago.

“I thought I could eat more, but I was worried that if I forced myself to eat and threw up again, it would be a disaster….”

“Good job.”

When he swept back his sweat-soaked hair, Sehwa slowly shook his head from side to side. Ki Tae-jeong chuckled softly, as if a small bird was rubbing its head against his palm. It’s not that Lee Sehwa is the type to act cute like this, but he’s usually cute in his words and actions. Ki Tae-jeong felt good, thinking that he must be in really good condition today.

“It was really hard to even sit on the bed this morning, you know? But now I can even walk a little bit like this.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but still, call someone when you move around. It’ll be a real disaster if you suddenly lose your strength and fall down on your own.”

“Oh, that’s right. I will.”

Protective gear is installed on the walls and floors, as well as on every piece of furniture, but it’s never a bad idea to be careful.

The hospital room where Sehwa was hospitalized had a similar structure to the recovery room in the annex where he had stayed before. The spaces were all separated, such as the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and study, but the size of this hospital room was significantly smaller. It felt more like being inside a hospital than the luxurious recovery room that felt like a resort or hotel.

The fact that Sehwa’s past wounds might be revived due to his long-term hospitalization was a concern, but that wasn’t why he chose a regular hospital room. It was much better to stay in the main building than in the annex in order to quickly transport Sehwa to the intensive care unit.

In fact, Sehwa was taken to the intensive care unit more than five times in the first week of his hospitalization alone. To exaggerate a bit, he would have a face as pale as the bed sheets, throw up clear water, and even have nosebleeds. It wasn’t just a little bit of blood showing. Blood dripped from his nose as if a faucet had been turned on, his whole body trembled finely, his tongue gradually turned purple, and his eyes rolled back, revealing half of his whites….

The lower-ranking guys who didn’t know the inside story seemed to think that the superior was acting up like that these days because he couldn’t eat or sleep properly, but in fact, he could endure that much. Even though the nausea he felt for the first time was embarrassing, he often faced even more extreme situations while carrying out operations, so apart from the fact that he felt shitty and his physical condition was fucked up, he could somehow endure it.

But not Lee Sehwa. His fragile body collapsed quickly, as if it had been waiting for this moment. His cheeks, which had barely gained weight thanks to his diligent feeding and care, became gaunt again, and his skinny arms and legs barely had any skin on them.

The helplessness of not being able to do anything even though Lee Sehwa, the person he loved, was sick made Ki Tae-jeong depressed and desperate. Why do you have to be sick instead of me? You only gave me lovely things, so why do you have to go through such a hard time in return?

Unfamiliar emotions that stirred up his insides from time to time, not anger. But even that was given by Sehwa, learned through Sehwa, so he couldn’t throw it away carelessly. Ki Tae-jeong held on tightly to even the useless fragments of emotion that he thought he would never feel in his life, and stayed by Sehwa’s side every day.

Rather than overcoming it, he would sink into it together. If he couldn’t take away the pain, he wanted to apologize to Sehwa in that way. But….

“And earlier, the doctor said…, cough!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, cough, ah…, a little… I’m short of breath… I’m okay.”

“Do you want some water?”

“No, I’m okay… hic, I’m really okay.”

Whenever he saw Sehwa suffering like this, bad thoughts inevitably welled up in his mind.

Damn it, I shouldn’t have had a second child.

Why did I do that when I knew it would only make Sehwa suffer?