M 60

“When…”

A voice with a slightly quavering end escaped. Sehwa cleared his throat a few times in embarrassment.

“When… did you arrive?”

The gaze fixed on his face was intense. The distance was too close. There was no way to avoid it. After searching for somewhere else to look, Sehwa finally dropped his gaze vaguely to the area around Ki Tae-jeong’s neck.

“A little while ago.”

And only after fixing his gaze in that direction did he realize it wasn’t such a good choice. From this angle, he could clearly see Ki Tae-jeong’s Adam’s apple slowly undulating every time he spoke. It was just a bodily organ doing what it was supposed to do, but somehow seeing that natural movement led to improper thoughts.

“Lieutenant Na will come early tomorrow morning. The military doctor I mentioned before.”

It was something Sergeant Major Choi had also told him when they arrived at the officers’ quarters. He said they would start with basic tests, and if additional measures were needed, they would consider them slowly. Since it was being done at the quarters rather than a hospital, Sehwa thought it would be similar to when Lieutenant Park drew blood on the first day, but it wasn’t. According to Sergeant Major Choi, that was just a simplified version, and this examination would involve different equipment.

“What—oof!”

Sehwa was about to ask why they needed equipment just to check something, but Ki Tae-jeong suddenly shoved his face into his chest.The unexpected move gave Sehwa no time to react, and his forehead throbbed as if he had slammed into a rock.

As he rubbed the sore spot, something firm slid under his tilted face. It was his arm. The man’s hand that had gripped the back of his neck earlier was now casually wrapped around his waist somewhere. Surprised, Sehwa just blinked rapidly. They stayed like that for a long while, completely still. It looked just like… he was nestling into Ki Tae-jeong’s embrace.

It was only when sweat began to trickle down his spine that he decided to muster up the courage to move. Peeking up slightly, he saw that Ki Tae-jeong had his eyes closed. The lines of his forehead and jaw, exposed by his fallen hair, were unbelievably refined. Who would believe that this aristocratic-looking man was an orphan from a detention camp? Sehwa turned over and over in his mind the story Sergeant Major Choi had told him. If memories were paper books, the edges of the pages would have been worn from how long he dwelled on it.

After staring blankly at Ki Tae-jeong’s face like that, Sehwa eventually moved with a heavy sigh, fidgeting restlessly. It was too hot and uncomfortable to bear any longer.

“I’m too hot… I’ll just take off my outer layer.”

He even tried speaking to him just in case, but he remained silent. Sehwa carefully took off the outer garment he was wearing. No matter how careful he was, his body still shifted, but fortunately, Ki Tae-jeong showed no reaction.

Sehwa slipped out of the pile of discarded clothes like shedding a skin and turned to lie in the opposite direction. After pushing away the outer garment he had struggled to remove, he finally felt like he could breathe. The 5-Star was in full spring. The weather was too warm to be wearing layers of clothing brought from the still chilly 4-Hwan.

“Want me to undress you completely?”

The low voice from behind him made Sehwa’s restless movements freeze. Wasn’t he asleep?

“No, I was just a bit hot… I was trying to move this away…”

“That’s why.”

A large hand suddenly slipped inside his top.

“If you’re hot, you should take it off.”

“No, no. I’m not hot anymore. Really, I’m fine.”

Though his body temperature was so high, the sensation on his skin was cool. His whole body instantly shrank at the touch that gently stroked from his lower abdomen to just below his solar plexus. Sehwa squeezed his eyes shut. He thought it would eventually lead to this.

His breathing was unsteady as he finally exhaled after holding it in as long as he could. Sehwa just hunched his shoulders and braced himself for what was to come. But even after what felt like quite a while, the man’s hand remained still on his stomach. It didn’t knead or tease his dry belly, nor did it move languidly to suggest other actions. Instead, he felt something touch the back of his head and his back. He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but it seemed Ki Tae-jeong was tightly embracing his curled-up body.

His voice scattered above his crown. It wasn’t clearly audible, mixed with his exhaled breath, but it seemed like he was telling him to go to sleep. Only after quite some time passed did Sehwa finally relax his tense muscles.

For the first time, he saw Ki Tae-jeong’s sleeping face. It was also the first time he hadn’t heard cruel words in bed, the first time he wasn’t naked in front of him, the first night passing without s3x despite lying together… it was all a first. Sehwa glanced at Ki Tae-jeong’s arm cradling his head. Sleep had long since fled. All he could do was trace his outstretched arm with his gaze. Sweat seeped damply between their touching skin.

He had told Ki Tae-jeong he was fine, but the truth was, he was still hot.

***

“Are you feeling dizzy?”

Lieutenant Na said the blood draw was finished and put a bandage on Sehwa’s forearm.

“Have some snacks. You must be hungry.”

Seeing no reason to refuse, Sehwa rummaged through the basket on the table. What he grabbed was a large chocolate bar, heavy as a gold bar.

“Actually, the most important test result is difficult to confirm immediately.”

“Which one is that?”

“It’s something like a genetic test. Based on this result, we plan to try tracking down Sehwa’s parents.”

It was as Sergeant Major Choi had said. Lieutenant Na Dae-po introduced himself as Na So-yeon, and Sehwa responded by pretending not to know. Lieutenant Na spoke to Sehwa in a relatively bright voice, but his attitude wasn’t entirely soft and gentle. It was just the level of kindness a doctor would show to a patient, and Sehwa felt comfortable with his clear boundaries.

“Take a short break. I’ve called for the Brigadier general, so he’ll be here soon.”

While Lieutenant Na was handling the equipment, Sehwa looked out the window with the chocolate in his mouth. Ki Tae-jeong’s quarters was a two-story detached house. The military quarters he’d seen on the news were just apartment units. It seems officers get their own houses.

The house was… well, white and black. No other impressions came to mind. It was clearly built with good materials and filled with expensive furniture… but that was it. In terms of not feeling like a home, it wasn’t much different from the fake office at the House.

The garden was the same. The fairly spacious front yard was covered in grass. Judging by the evenly trimmed, water-laden grass, there was clearly a caretaker. But other than that, there was nothing. No flowers, no trees, no stones – just emptiness.

The gate at the end of the empty lawn took his breath away just looking at it. On either side of the solid gate that looked like it wouldn’t break even if pushed by a tank, equally formidable-looking walls flaunted their might. Lights flashed at close intervals along the top of the wall – whatever they were, they were clearly something terrifying. Probably electric shocks or surveillance devices. Moreover, on either side of the glowing red spheres were finger-sized conical sticks sticking out. These slowly rotating objects looked like they would fire something at the slightest detection of a suspicious object. It was a desolate scene that would intimidate even innocent people for no reason.

“Is it not done yet?”

The door suddenly burst open, and Ki Tae-jeong barged in unexpectedly. Sehwa choked on his chocolate and coughed. he was Startled. he had just been internally criticizing how the house resembled its owner so much… How did he know to come in right at that moment?

“The Brigadier General test results will be out soon.”

Ki Tae-jeong was dressed casually, like when they went to the meat restaurant before. Water droplets were falling from his uncombed hair, soaking his shoulders. It seems he had just come from exercising.

“Hmm, then… Mr. Lee Sehwa?”

At Lieutenant Na’s call, Sehwa also awkwardly sat down opposite Ki Tae-jeong. Suddenly, the man’s gaze turned to the chocolate in his hand. Sehwa felt embarrassed for no reason and quickly lowered his eyes. All he could see was his crooked lips. Was he smiling? No, was he sneering?

Sehwa unconsciously swallowed a rising sigh. Looking at Ki Tae-jeong’s jaw and neck reminded him of the strange night before. When he woke up in the morning, the spot next to him was already empty. If it weren’t for the rumpled sheets, he would have thought it was a dream. It was strange enough that Ki Tae-jeong hadn’t done anything, but his own iron nerves that allowed him to sleep soundly in his arms were equally baffling. He had clearly been so tense, just swallowing nervously… When exactly had he fallen asleep?

Even stranger was Ki Tae-jeong showing no particular reaction upon seeing him.Sehwa thought he would make sarcastic remarks when they met. Why was he so frozen, imagining things when he had no intention of doing anything, getting all worked up for nothing, falling asleep so easily despite trembling… There were so many things Ki Tae-jeong could tease him about, yet this man who seemed to live for mocking him was acting like nothing happened. It was just… odd. It was as if Ki Tae-jeong considered sharing a bed his natural right and part of his daily routine.

He wasn’t trying to assign unnecessary meaning, but this was… clearly different from s3x. It was completely different from occasionally eating meals face to face. This was, rather, something like…

“Regardless of the test results, it seems Brigadier General Ki Tae-jeong’s guess about Mr. Lee Sehwa’s constitution is correct.”

“Ah… yes.”

Thanks to Lieutenant Na’s timely interjection, Sehwa was able to shake off his idle thoughts. While Ki Tae-jeong seemed unbothered, Sehwa felt not just awkward, but even a bit ticklish.

“There was someone who showed similar patterns to Mr. Lee Sehwa in previous chemical experiments.”

Lieutenant Na handed a tablet to Ki Tae-jeong. Most of the test subjects’ records had been lost, but he said he had found a passage that could help them guess the situation.

“That person is probably one of Mr. Lee Sehwa’s parents, right?”

Perhaps because he had already heard similar things from Ki Tae-jeong, it wasn’t that surprising. So there really was someone who created and gave birth to him. That was about it. If specific personal details were revealed… if he could at least know a name, would it feel real then?

“…Lieutenant Na, about this document.”

Ki Tae-jeong seemed uninterested in their conversation and was staring intently at the tablet. He was frowning as if he had found something unsatisfactory.

“Is there a problem, sir?”

“…No, just continue for now. We’ll talk about this separately later.”

“Yes. From what I’ve heard, Mr. Lee Sehwa has been taking drvgs for quite a long time.”

“It’s not so much that I did drvgs, more like I just tasted them…”

“Even so. The cumulative amount wouldn’t be small. It’s true that Mr. Lee Sehwa’s body filters out harmful substances and detoxifies on its own, but it’s difficult to clearly define the criteria by which the body makes these judgments. Given that you’ve been exposed to drvgs for a long time on top of that, it’s become even harder to predict going forward.”

As if seeing through Sehwa’s complacent inner thoughts that everything must be fine since there hadn’t been any major problems so far, Lieutenant Na quickly added an explanation.

“This isn’t something to take lightly. Let’s say Mr. Lee Sehwa caught a cold and took some medicine. Let’s say he also took some vitamins to get better quickly. In this case, his body might reject all the medicine as harmful and only accept some of the vitamins.”

“But surely something like that…”

“Oh my. Using a cold as an example doesn’t seem to be making it feel real… Then let’s use an appendectomy as an example? You’d need anesthesia for surgery, right? What if Mr. Lee Sehwa’s body judges the anesthetic or even simple medications as harmful and rejects them?”

Lieutenant Na warned that in that case, the appendix could burst, saying Sehwa could die without even being able to receive such a simple surgery.

“Then… couldn’t we use patches in that case?”

“The patch that the Vrigadier General used on Mr. Lee Sehwa is a top-grade item only issued to soldiers, and specifically combat soldiers. Items available on the market are much inferior. No, I wonder how many hospitals even have proper patches to begin with.”

Lieutenant Na warned in a stern voice that he wasn’t joking.

“From now on, you’ll have to act while calculating every aspect of your daily life. We don’t know what judgment Mr. Lee Sehwa’s internal filter will make.”

Lieutenant Na earnestly advised that this was no joke, that from now on Sehwa absolutely must not get sick, not even a cold. The strange thing was that while giving this warning, his obvious gaze was directed at Ki Tae-jeong. As if telling him, not Sehwa, to keep this in mind.

“I know you’ve already heard about the constitution from the Brigadier General. But the reason I’m emphasizing it again is…”

Lieutenant Na looked at the testing device once more and slowly spoke.

“Have you felt anything different lately? Like feeling sleepy all the time, having unusually severe mood swings, finding your skin unbearably sensitive even to the touch of clothing, or having foods that particularly upset you…”

Ki Tae-jeong’s hand, which had been tapping the tablet screen lost in thought, suddenly stopped.

“Well… I have been tired, but…”

His mood had been swinging lately. He was definitely sleeping more too… But wasn’t that because of the situation he was in, rather than his body being sick?

“I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve had any strange symptoms.”

Ki Tae-jeong’s sudden appearance had violently shaken Sehwa’s world. It was natural to have a lot on his mind since his entire daily life had been turned upside down, and since he was confined with nothing to do, sleeping a lot didn’t seem like such a strange sign.

“That’s good then. Men tend to show much more sensitive reactions.”

Reactions? What reactions? Sehwa tilted his head, not understanding what he had heard.

“Men are more sensitive?”

“Yes. For now… it seems to be between 5 and 6 weeks. Other indicators are too unstable, so we’d need to look at an ultrasound for details, but…”

“Ultrasound?”

As the conversation kept going awry, Lieutenant Na stopped his explanation and stared at Sehwa.

“What’s 5 weeks? Am I sick somewhere?”

Lieutenant Na made a long groaning sound, then handed Sehwa the printed test results. As if telling him to confirm with his own eyes.

“Mr. Lee Sehwa, you’re pregnant.”