M 8

​​Ki Tae-jeong, who was pressing down on his temple with the thumb of the hand holding the cigar, cut off Lieutenant Park’s words.

​“Yes?”​

“It would be perfect evidence if Lee Sehwa is pregnant in addition to Lieutenant Kim’s so-called confession hologram. We only need to show that Lee Sehwa’s baby bump appeared recently, at least after he met Lieutenant Kim.”

“That’s true, but… There is no way to confirm that Lee Sehwa’s constitution has changed from before…”​

“Why not? The House owner or another operator must have set a price on occasion to see how much the body could be sold for. Lee Sehwa must have had blood drawn much more frequently than the average person.”

This place was full of guys who wouldn’t hesitate to bleed and trade organs for a few pennies. They would have recorded the debtor’s health status as meticulously as repayment records.

“During the trial, order Lee Sehwa to produce medicine on the spot, and compare it with the items and ingredients Lieutenant Kim hid. It seems like a simple enough technique, and tracing a postnatally formed baby house isn’t difficult.”​

It was a casual remark, but as he spoke, it began to sound more plausible. If Lee Sehwa becomes pregnant, it will be much easier to demonstrate any problems with that drug, preventing anyone from making accusations.

“So, are you planning to order the subordinates to… to deal with Lee Sehwa’s pregnancy?”

“Of course, we’ll handle it on our side. We can’t just sell valuable evidence to the red light district.”

Lieutenant Park took a deep breath and paused for a moment. Even that didn’t last long because of Ki Tae-jeong’s fierce gaze.

“Uh… But, Brigadier General, won’t there surely be people who use Lee Sehwa’s pregnancy as leverage?”

“Why?”

Ki Tae-jeong asked as if he really didn’t understand. What do you mean why… Lieutenant Park wiped the sweat from his forehead and added slowly.

“That’s… You’re planning to blow up this issue on a large scale, right?”

“Then should we blow it up on a smaller scale?”

“In that case… whether it’s on Captain Oh’s side or Lieutenant Kim’s side, someone from the opposing side will surely come forward and have Lee Sehwa undergo various tests.”

The victim who turned into a pregnancy-susceptible constitution without even knowing anything. Or an accomplice who has been committing crimes since childhood, living outside the law as an underprivileged member. Whichever side it was, it was perfect for high-ranking figures to push public opinion in the wrong direction. And…

“Even if Lee Sehwa succeeds in getting pregnant, if it’s revealed that the father of the child is from our side… those attempting to obscure the aspect of the case will not pass up the opportunity to use this provocative title, like ‘Brigadier General Ki Tae-jeong’s subordinates r*ped Lee Sehwa while he was on drugs.'”

Those who were already inclined to obscure the aspect of the case wouldn’t miss such a tempting bait.

​“Is it really fair to force an unwanted pregnancy on a victim whose constitution has changed forcibly, or something like that?”

“No matter who Lee Sehwa has a child with, it’s unrelated to the Lieutenant Kim case.”

“Of course, that’s true, but you know how media warfare works.”

In the first place, if Ki Tae-jeong completed his mission safely, they would make a big deal out of it. Was it really necessary to go to such extremes? Shouldn’t there be ethics to uphold even in times of war… They tried to undermine Ki Tae-jeong’s accomplishments through the media, using phrases like that.

“Even so, we can’t just cover it up Lieutenant Kim’s actions as if they never happened.”

“Instead, the Brigadier General’s discharge won’t come sooner.”

This time, even a high-ranking officer was implicated, so the level of restraint would be incomparable to before.​

Lieutenant Park’s concerns were valid. Ki Tae-jeong was a ruthless individual. There were many people who tried to recruit him, but because he had taken an independent route so far, there were no reinforcements that would back him up when incidents like this happened. The only ones who would sympathize were those like Lieutenant Park, who had survived the same experiments, or in other words, human weapons that were easy to use and discard. If Ki Tae-jeong was determined to completely sever the military’s leash during this opportunity, it would be best to eliminate any potential weaknesses from the start.

“Hmm… then having evidence that Lee Sehwa consented to the pregnancy is enough?”

“Yes?”

Lieutenant Park retorted belatedly as he pondered how to persuade this formidable superior. He knew Ki Tae-jeong was repelled by his response, but this time, Lieutenant Park had no choice but to stand there dumbfounded.

“I, Brigadier General… I think that might be a bit too extreme a conclusion…”​

“Right. I guess I don’t need to ask others to do it. I can handle it myself. I could leave a video or something of Lee Sehwa crying because he likes me and wants to have my child.”

Ki Tae-jeong mumbled as if he had already reached a conclusion on his own. It was so amusing that he even chuckled.

“The video isn’t important, uh, wait a moment!”

“You’re unusually talkative today.”

“Brigadier General, that, you’re going to… do it yourself? Make… children?”​

“What the hell. What is this ‘making a child’ thing? Dammit.”

Ki Tae-jeong let out a long puff of smoke. Sparks appeared and disappeared repeatedly beyond the hazy haze.

“Come to think of it, if I throw Lee Sehwa, the one who pulled off such a feat, somewhere, there’s no way the word won’t spread.”

While he chose those who had a heavy tongue, it didn’t mean he completely trusted his subordinates. In fact, apart from Lieutenant Park and other former detainees, Ki Tae-jeong didn’t particularly trust anyone. Except for himself, he never relied on or expected anything from others, and naturally, he had no trust in others either.

Above all, military dogs were bound to behave like animals to some extent. It was due to the tendency to overlook minor mistakes or overindulge in their desire as long as the mission was completed. Giving Lee Sehwa to those who had been loitering outside the law for months, telling him to fuck until he became pregnant? He may face consequences even before obtaining solid evidence.

“And prepare for the media warfare.”

Once the messy battle begins, it’s customary to thoroughly expose the weaknesses of those opposing you. It was much easier to persuade those lower-ranking subordinates whom you didn’t even know existed than core talents with high loyalty like Lieutenant Park. Ki Tae-jeong had experienced this several times as well. When there are more people under your command, no matter how terrifyingly you rule, words tend to escape inevitably. He had experienced situations in which mediocre information was distributed as a result of foolish individuals who opened their mouths for a few pennies even without understanding it, causing unnecessary trouble.

“You’re right. It’s better to have fewer people who know, indeed.”

“Still, Brigadier… the child…”​

Lieutenant Park blurted out his words hesitantly. He knew how much stress Ki Tae-jeong had endured on this topic. Since his promotion, Ki Tae-jeong has always taken on absurd missions. Especially the operation he had recently carried out was of a ridiculous scale. He was on the verge of showing signs of mental instability and adding the most irritating factor, a child, to the mix… Lieutenant Park worried whether Ki Tae-jeong could endure it until the task was finished.

“Hey. It’s the old farts rushing to throw their own offspring to me that’s annoying, not that I dislike the ‘act of making a child,’ you know?”

“Of course, that’s true, but… relieving desires and this task has different purposes…”

“It is, but… Lee Sehwa, in a way, seems like the perfect match for me. So making him pregnant… well, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

“… Yes?”​

“Think about it. You don’t have to worry about contraception, and you can do as you please without any concerns. The important thing is Lee Sehwa’s ‘pregnancy,’ not the child he carries.”

Moreover, Lee Sehwa was from outside of the castle. After he became useless, whether it was him or the child, no one would make an issue of disposing of them.​

“Besides, I can have him under my control from start to finish, so he won’t be able to sneak up on me after secretly giving birth.”

Even after completing unreasonable missions, he had at times undertaken the responsibility of interrogating spies. Or he had enlisted a few people to do all that. After a few days of rampaging like that, the desire to smash everything would diminish slightly. Of course, it would diminish only slightly, not completely. But with Lee Sehwa, both were possible. Interrogation or sex. At least for a few months, he could be kept around and molded according to his whims.

Ki Tae-jeong recalled Lee Sehwa’s weeping face. The image of him leaning down and licking the drug with his tongue. Even though he didn’t know if Sehwa did it intentionally, his demeanor was worse than a third-rate punk… Nevertheless, since he would be stripped and dominated constantly, there wasn’t much to be concerned about. If the awkward spray were removed, what kind of weapon would he become? Actually, he wasn’t that bad right now.

“Anyway, Lee Sehwa will end up having sex with me of his own will and he’ll end up saying he wants my child with his own mouth.”

“But…”

“It’s because we just saw the beatings and weaving, Lee Sehwa, that’s not normal.”

“We could tell from how he reacted when he was hit earlier that it’s not something ordinary for him.”

He was someone who had been transferred from one place to another, from 2 Hwan to 4 Hwan. Setting aside his peculiar constitution, it was difficult without being strong. He even joined hands with Lieutenant Kim, and even though there must have been a promised reward… when he faced danger related to that topic, he immediately capitulated and spilled everything he knew.

“He has desires. He’s ambitious. In the midst of all that, he has a strong will to survive… It’s perfect.”​

“Brigadier…”​

“Poke at the boss a bit. If you dig into the contract with Lee Sehwa, you’ll likely find clauses that make it hard to cut debts and escape, just like this.”

The spot where the fire had ignited slowly melted away as he placed a cigarette on the portable holder. As if the crackling sound was the starting point, Ki Tae-jeong stretched himself out and rose from his seat.