M 44

“Yes, I responded as you instructed before, but…”

Lieutenant Park trailed off as he handed over his phone, and Ki Tae-jeong, who was settling into the back seat of the limousine, frowned deeply.

“But?”

“Ahem, well, I think you should see the message content directly, sir.”

Lieutenant Park waited respectfully, averting his gaze. Ki Tae-jeong’s languid, husky tone was heavily imbued with the satisfaction of a lengthy lovemaking session. Just hearing his superior’s slightly hoarse tone made Lieutenant Park feel like he was intruding on something private between his superior and Sehwa, which made it difficult to meet his eyes.

“Since I responded, Kim Seok-cheol has been sending more messages, but I judged it was beyond my ability to respond.”

Ki Tae-jeong seated the limp Sehwa beside him and took the clone phone. Surrounded by white sheets, Sehwa looked just like a snowman. Ki Tae-jeong adjusted the middle of the sheet to keep Sehwa from tilting over.  In the process, Sehwa’s oversized top peeked out from under the sheet, revealing the emblem of the hibiscus, an eagle, and a single star—symbols of an Air Force Brigadier General’s loungewear.

Sehwa’s face, completely unconscious as if dead, was bathed in the rectangular patterns of light reflected through the car window. The overly bright light made his already pale complexion appear even more ghostly. His tear-filled eyelashes caught the light in certain spots, reflecting a strange glow. While the clearly exposed fair face wasn’t unpleasant to look at, Ki Tae-jeong thought Sehwa was better suited for darker, more hidden places. Somewhere like a bunker, cut off from the world, without windows, where he could be locked away and never let out. The dim, oppressive lighting of such a place… Sehwa had a face that stirred a selfish, base desire to keep him all to himself, hidden from everyone else.

Ki Tae-jeong suddenly recalled when Sehwa had hesitantly proposed a bet to him. And how Sehwa had furtively broken off pieces of bread to hide in pockets, afraid of not even getting a meal. Sehwa’s deeply unconscious face was like a young beast tucked away in a distant place, waiting for human touch. Foolishly retreating further into the darkness believing it to be safe, unaware of the panting pack of ravenous wolves on its trail. A stupid, innocent prey that could step into the bright world with just one stride, but unable to learn that one step, endlessly gazing at the sunlit landscape. After savoring the sorrowful, pitiful face intently, Ki Tae-jeong soon tapped the phone with a bored hand.

“Seems like it’s urgent if you’re pushing Kim Seok-cheol’s message before the field report.”

Ki Tae-jeong’s gaze, flickering between Sehwa and Lieutenant Park, was cold. Of course, Lieutenant Park had intended to relay the shelter situation first. If his superior hadn’t been out of contact until dawn, he certainly would have.

“I’ve marked all the messages presumed to be from Kim Seok-cheol.”

The heavy officer’s limousine sped through the gloomy streets of 1-Hwan. Despite the efficient option of teleportation, Ki Tae-jeong had said he would travel by car up to a certain distance. And he’d ordered not just any vehicle, but a high-end limousine that anyone could tell carried an important person. With a license plate engraved with a star on a navy background representing the Air Force, anyone who knew would immediately guess the car’s owner.

Rumors had already spread throughout the military about a break-in at the military facility near the 1-Hwan road. Of course, this was only possible because Ki Tae-jeong’s subordinates had deliberately let the information slip.

Given how shabby the shelter facility was, while everyone thought it could happen, they still found it somewhat unsettling. Though the motive of saving comrades seemed plausible, and CCTV footage showed the culprits actually breaking into the shelter, what they had stolen still hadn’t been revealed.

No matter how many idiots there were, the military was still the military. It was a place of men who had survived the battlefield. They would have instinctively sensed something suspicious was going on. In the midst of this, if word spread that Ki Tae-jeong had passed near 1-Hwan while not even on a mission…

An odd item stolen from outside the city walls, Lieutenant Kim Seok-cheol, who had frequently visited the facility, and Brigadier General Ki Tae-jeong, who happened to pass by the area on the day of the incident. Just hearing these details was enough for anyone familiar with the “Harvest” project to piece together what was happening.

When organizing the shelter raid, they had been careful not to leave any traces that could be linked back to them. Still, Ki Tae-jeong believed that leaving behind a hint of suspicion was necessary. Thoroughly erase physical evidence but leave circumstantial evidence. In a vague form that only those in the know could understand. It was bait for the hyenas, who would rush in, drooling at the prospect of tearing apart Lieutenant Kim’s faction or devouring him whole.

The virtue Ki Tae-jeong considered most important in tactics was efficiency. There was no reason not to use a method of attacking the enemy using others’ hands if available. Now the people who had viewed Kim Seok-cheol, or more precisely the family behind him, as a thorn in their side would start rampaging with knives in their mouths. He just had to pour oil on the fire appropriately and present the necessary documents at the right time.

He hadn’t even considered the possibility of failing to terrorize the shelter in the first place. It was arrogance with grounds as always, and confidence with reason. Everything was proceeding smoothly, almost boringly so.

“…Lieutenant Park, what is this?”

Ki Tae-jeong, who had been scrolling with an unremarkable expression, suddenly stopped.

“It seems Kim Seok-cheol viewed Lee Sehwa as… well, more than just someone to cut loose in preparation… in case something went wrong.”

Lieutenant Park carefully chose his words. Ki Tae-jeong didn’t prefer reports sugar-coated with nice words. However, it felt a bit much to tell his superior, who had just been intimate with Sehwa, that Kim Seok-cheol seemed to have been lusting after his partner for a long time, trying to get with Sehwa somehow.

“What the hell are you doing?”

A cold gaze fell upon him.

“You’re only finding out now that Kim Seok-cheol has been pulling this sh1t all along?”

Lieutenant Park hung his head, at a loss for words in the face of Ki Tae-jeong’s furious outburst about why he hadn’t checked this when cloning the phone. It was his fault for not thoroughly examining everything from the start, after all.

“That pig bastard has really lost it…”

Kim Seok-cheol had apparently tried to be clever, contacting Sehwa from a new number each time. The numerous messages from various numbers were consistently vulgar enough that even a stranger could tell they were from the same sender.

As he read through the messages, Ki Tae-jeong finally lost his temper and slammed the phone against the window. The back of his eyelids felt burning hot with inexplicable anger. Various afterimages quickly flashed across his eyes. The time when the mottled tanning spray came off, revealing Lee Sehwa’s bare face for the first time. Sehwa’s thin body sprawled out under the soft lighting of the bunker. Eyes crescent-shaped in a slight smile, calling him “sir” while demonstrating how to give an injection…

“Fvck…”

So what kind of relationship did Sehwa have with Kim Seok-cheol? Did Sehwa had sex with him too? Did Sehwa act all flustered like when in his arms, asking in a tearful voice if it showed signs of wear? Did Sehwa beg him not to call out his names too?… The thought that the sweet, fresh scent of Sehwa’s fluids might have been Kim Seok-cheol’s intention made him feel sick to his stomach.

“That bastard Kim Seok-cheol has a talent for pissing people off.”

As Ki Tae-jeong pounded on the window, Lieutenant Park watched cracks form in the bulletproof glass and thought he’d done well to write up the incident report in advance. The phone could be cloned again, and all necessary content had already been recorded. But this limousine was less than 4 months old. While everyone in the military knew about his superior’s volatile temper, such a rapid replacement cycle for limousines was definitely something that would draw criticism.

“As I said, right after replying as you instructed, I got a call from Kim Seok-cheol. I didn’t answer since it wasn’t the time to ask you about follow-up responses, but he kept calling frantically for a while before suddenly going quiet. There’s been no contact since then.”

Ki Tae-jeong chuckled and removed his hand from the cracked glass. A thin, chilly breeze seeped in through the crack. Though it was bright and sunny outside, the inside of the limousine felt frozen like midwinter.

“It must be since word spread about the shelter being robbed. That’s when that bastard shut up.”

Kim Seok-cheol wouldn’t be in a position to worry about Sehwa. Having let slip that he’d use the stolen items as a bargaining chip, Kim Seok-cheol’s family would be breathing down his neck by now. There were investors too. They were likely panicking about whether the military’s disapproval of the unapproved project would affect their stake, whether the stolen goods were secure, and whether production might be halted before the project even took off.

With his own neck on the line, he’d hardly have the presence of mind to call Sehwa. Ki Tae-jeong would bet his rank that Kim Seok-cheol was holed up in his room, sniffling and suspecting Sehwa of leaking information.

“For now, he seems to be lying low, mindful of his family. But I’ve heard that Kim Seok-cheol’s people have moved urgently to 2-Hwan. We’re verifying if it’s true, but I think it’s highly credible.”

“2-Hwan… 2-Hwan, huh.”

Ki Tae-jeong had confirmed with his own eyes today – no, yesterday – that that damned drvg was nearing completion. Yet Kim Seok-cheol hadn’t breathed a word to the military. Given his personality, it didn’t seem like he had some plan; it was clear there were still things to be fixed that prevented him from presenting it. Judging by the scale of items in the shelter, production didn’t seem to be an issue… So it was highly likely due to a lack of diverse clinical trials.

Kim Seok-cheol boldly roamed outside the fortress using teleportation. Even after becoming a lieutenant, he only went down to 4-Hwan, but before that, he frequented 1 and 2-Hwan without hesitation. The purpose was obvious – to get high and gamble. Yet when visiting the shelter in 1-Hwan, he exercised some caution. If it were him, he would have visited 1-Hwan even more openly. Carrying real drugs, acting as if intoxicated by cheap pleasures. But Kim Seok-cheol, foolishly, was excessively cautious when visiting his treasure trove, making his movements easy to predict.

“We had photos of some warehouses from the inspection a few weeks ago, right? Ones with warehouses only in 2-Hwan.”

“Yes. I’ll focus on deploying people there.”

“Since there was no production process at the shelter, the place manufacturing the drug must be in 2-Hwan. Clinical trials are likely happening there too.”

“This time, Kim Seok-cheol will rush in recklessly to avoid getting robbed, like a moth to a flame.”

“I suppose so.”

That was exactly what they were counting on when they set this whole troublesome plan into motion.

2-Hwan had jet reconnaissance aircraft hangars. It was also a place where the combat air wing led by Ki Tae-jeong frequently operated. This was Kim Seok-cheol’s second mistake. If it were him, he would have set up in 3-Hwan despite the slightly higher risk, where there were no large-scale hangars… Kim Seok-cheol must have felt a thrill in fiddling with suspicious items in 2-Hwan, evading the eyes of the Air Force – of Ki Tae-jeong. At this point, Ki Tae-jeong almost felt sorry for the people who had joined hands with Kim Seok-cheol. How many were being played by the whims of this timid, perverse bastard?

“Oh, should we start positioning those body doubles in 2-Hwan as well? I mean those prisoners.”

The real criminals who had lent their faces to Ki Tae-jeong and Lee Sehwa were being detained in Ki Tae-jeong’s quarters.

“Yes, do that. Also spread information that those robbery bastards are now lurking around 2-Hwan. That’ll make Kim Seok-cheol lose his cool and act more rashly.”

Since they were Class 1 criminals subject to summary execution, Kim Seok-cheol wouldn’t hesitate to try killing them on the spot. And given his reckless personality, he’d likely blurt out important details while interrogating them – where they hid the stolen goods, where they got information about the ‘Harvest’…

Ki Tae-jeong planned to raid the scene. He had a sufficient pretext. He could say he stopped by the hangar in 2-Hwan and came directly after hearing about remnants of the rebel forces appearing. In the process, he’d pretend to pick up some suspicious items dropped by the prisoners and submit a report to the military about Lieutenant Kim Seok-cheol’s unacceptable remarks that he overheard… That was the plan.

“Anyway, submitting the report shouldn’t be too difficult…”

Ki Tae-jeong pressed his thumb and index finger against his prominent brow bone, trying to focus. Now wasn’t the time to wonder what kind of relationship Kim Seok-cheol and Lee Sehwa might have had. Submitting the report was just the beginning. He needed to use this incident to completely take down Kim Seok-cheol and his entire family. That way, no one would dare try such troublesome schemes against him again.

“Ah, and call Lieutenant Na over.”

“Yes sir. Is it because of Lee Sehwa?”

Lieutenant Park glanced at the deeply sleeping Lee Sehwa.

“He certainly pushed himself too hard.”

“That, and… I need to confirm something about Lee Sehwa’s constitution.”

“Is it about the pregnancy?”

“No. It’s about the part where he’s supposedly immune to addiction. There’s something odd about that…”

Just as he was about to continue, suddenly something white flopped onto Ki Tae-jeong’s shoulder. It was Lee Sehwa, who had been sleeping wrapped in a sheet. Even in the officer’s limousine known for its smooth ride, the bumpy roads of 1-Hwan were unavoidable. Swaying like a penguin with the car’s movements, the white bundle brushed Ki Tae-jeong’s shoulder, his head bumping into his side before slowly sliding down onto his thigh.

Ki Tae-jeong stared at Lee Sehwa’s head, his round cheek, which felt almost weightless. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Is he really asleep?”

It was absurd how he seemed to react just as they were talking about him as if eavesdropping. It was also cute. Anyway, that’s just an expression – Sehwa didn’t seem to have actually regained consciousness. Above all, Lee Sehwa wasn’t the type to willingly use Ki Tae-jeong’s lap as a pillow. If he had such an affectionate personality, if he had that kind of boldness, he wouldn’t be in such a difficult situation now. Sehwa would have latched onto a client long ago and left this life behind.

Ki Tae-jeong lightly touched Lee Sehwa’s shoulder, thinking about waking him up to tease him. Ki Tae-jeong wondered how surprised he’d be to realize whose lap he was lying on. Imagining his already large eyes widening even further, he gently shook him. But…

“What the…”

As soon as he touched him, Lee Sehwa’s face flopped limply to the side. It was drenched in sweat. Sehwa’s slightly long hair was matted in clumps, gripping the nape of his neck, and the pale skin visible underneath was flushed red all over as if cross-hatched. Ki Tae-jeong placed the back of his hand against his feverishly hot cheek. Sehwa’s whole body was burning up with fever, enough to make Ki Tae-jeong unconsciously furrow his brow slightly.