M 80

What… what drug did he just mention?

“No matter how greedy you are, would you think of conducting clinical trials on your own body? You’ve got some nerve.”

A drug to get pregnant? And made with Lieutenant Kim?

“Everyone here knows. How you changed into a body capable of getting pregnant.”

Sehwa kept his mouth shut like a clam and just blinked. Perhaps thinking he was reacting this way because he was cornered, the doctor unleashed even more scathing words. By now, the examination was an afterthought. No, it seemed he had no intention of properly examining him from the start. Was he really a doctor in this field? Was he even a real doctor? He doubted even that now.

“I hear you were originally trying to latch onto Lieutenant Kim before switching to Ki Tae-jeong? Even for a cheap male prostitute, isn’t it embarrassing to act so shamelessly?”

“……”

“You seem so pleased, not knowing what to do with yourself as people fawn over you every time you come to the hospital. But you know what? Everyone here, including the managers, are all cursing and laughing at you behind your back.”

In Sehwa’s eyes, which had been trembling with tears at the baseless coldness, a chilly light suddenly passed. Strange. Something was definitely strange.

It was as the doctor claimed. Whatever they might be thinking inside, others treated him with extreme courtesy on the surface. What did it matter whether that attitude was sincere or not? After all, all the special treatment Sehwa was enjoying now was only possible because of Ki Tae-jeong.

But what was this person relying on to spout such abuse at him, or rather, at Ki Tae-jeong standing behind him? Didn’t he say he had backing? But it didn’t seem like someone who couldn’t even enter the department store lounge would have such great connections….

As he tried to grasp and examine the edge of the verbal abuse he had always silently endured and tried to forget, a clear crack appeared. The doctor’s tone, which had seemed sharp with jealousy and inferiority, now felt somehow awkward and exaggerated.

“Why do you think such rumors spread? What happened in the lounge… is a misunderstanding. The staff brought things and recommended them first, I just checked what they brought. I never demanded anything myself.”

Sehwa forced a smile so wide that dimples appeared, as if he was at a loss, finding the situation difficult or awkward. It was an expression he often made when desperately appealing to customers just before being caught in a lie by his own group.

“Ah, so you admit you acted like a 5-star resident there? They brought out everything like they were offering tribute, as if you were really somebody…”

Aha. With those words, Sehwa could be certain. This bastard is Lieutenant Kim’s lackey.

This doctor doesn’t seem to know how that lounge, supposedly only accessible to officers, actually operates. The staff there don’t move first. They just stand in place as if invisible, waiting for guests to give orders.

When he first set foot there, feeling like he might be crushed by the silence, he asked if it was always like this, and Ki Tae-jeong had nodded indifferently. He said confidential conversations often take place there, so unless called, the staff never show themselves.

If that’s the case, the question now is, why would someone Lieutenant Kim had difficulty planting come with such a sloppy script….

“Did I know what I was doing?”

Sehwa sighed exaggeratedly. It was a kind of bluff. Not knowing what cards the other person held, he was also playing coy. As if he already knew everything he was talking about.

“I just did what Lieutenant Kim told me to do…”

For a moment, the device rubbing his abdomen jumped slightly. It was such a subtle movement that it was hard to notice visually, but being such a sensitive machine, the vibration directly touching his skin couldn’t be hidden.

Sehwa pretended to stare at the ultrasound screen while raising his head, and whined pitifully. While doing so, he lowered his eyes slightly and scanned the examination room. If it was intentional sloppiness… it might not be trying to extract information from him, but to fabricate evidence.

For now, he couldn’t see any phones or suspicious watches. It didn’t seem likely they could have attached another device to expensive equipment like the ultrasound machine…. As he was about to give up, finding it difficult to spot anything with his limited view, he noticed a tablet placed on a distant desk. At that angle, it seemed entirely possible for filming or recording.

“The Brigadier General said everything will be revealed in court, so I’m just trusting in that.”

Of course, it was a lie. Sehwa knew nothing. Ki Tae-jeong hadn’t told him anything about the trial. He had heard everything, including that a complaint had been filed against Lieutenant Kim and the reason why he was so busy these days, through Warrant Officer Choi.

Ah, Ki Tae-jeong had once said that if he could use his constitution and the chemical experiments his parents had undergone to attack the other side, he would use that story without reservation. But Sehwa didn’t know how that was immediately related to the current trial, or how he was piecing the story together.

He hadn’t even bothered to ask. Warrant Officer Choi had told him to ask Ki Tae-jeong anything comfortably, but he didn’t want to. He was afraid of getting dismissive answers or sarcastic replies that would upset him.  He had been avoiding it, not wanting to add more wounds to his already tattered heart.

After that, with the sudden pregnancy, he didn’t have the energy or capacity to focus on other matters….

“T-that’s not going to work…!”

“It’s a bit sad though. To hear that there are rumors calling me a male prostitute…. Everyone who visits the House knows I don’t sell my body. Everyone, including the high-ranking officials.”

The doctor, who had been stammering in confusion, finally chose silence. It seems he hadn’t expected Sehwa to suddenly act like this.

“Get up now. We’re done here.”

As Sehwa wiped his stomach with a towel, he once again took in the emblem on the doctor’s gown. He would have to search for that emblem first after leaving the examination room. The clue to that great backing he spoke of would be there too.

“Doctor. As a 4-Hwan resident, I’m not very familiar with how VIP facilities in the 5-star area typically operate.”

“……”

“But in the lounge I visited, the staff didn’t approach or speak to me first. They didn’t even show themselves until called? It was definitely not an atmosphere where they would proactively recommend products or encourage consumption to guests.”

The doctor frowned at Sehwa as if he was saying something absurd.

“I’m saying the script you recited earlier was too flimsy.”

As he got up and muttered softly, the doctor flinched as if struck by lightning.

“You underestimated me too much.”

While adjusting his clothes, Sehwa walked closer to the ultrasound machine.

“I may be young and scrawny-looking, but there must be a reason I managed to become the manager of the biggest House in this country, right?”

As he whispered in a fading voice, the doctor stepped back with a pale face.

In fact, Sehwa was well aware of how ridiculous he looked right now. It wasn’t the time to mock the doctor’s clumsiness. Upon closer inspection, his expression would be awkward too, and his tone overly dramatic. Improvising, momentarily distracting customers… These were things he used to do as easily as breathing, but after a brief hiatus, he was stumbling terribly.

On the other hand, this also meant that the person was such a novice that he couldn’t even notice this.

“Ah, doctor. Can you show me all the holograms taken today? I heard I could choose which ones to put in the notebook.”

Sehwa leaned towards the machine and spoke clearly, as if nothing had happened. He could hear the doctor next to him swallowing hard.

…What could it be?

The doctor tried to frame it as if Sehwa had led everything. Well, it wasn’t the first time he’d experienced a high-ranking person trying to use a subordinate as a shield, so he could brush that off…. But he couldn’t understand why his pregnancy was being brought up here.

It’s true that thanks to his body that couldn’t get addicted to drugs, he was able to carry out Lieutenant Kim’s orders excellently. However, didn’t Ki Tae-jeong and Lieutenant Na say that his body was immune not only to drugs but to all other medications? Even Major General Oh Seon-ran, whom he met briefly just once, already knew this fact.

Would Lieutenant Kim’s side not know this? Even if Lieutenant Kim himself didn’t know back then, it seemed likely that his supposedly powerful family would have some information by now….

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the drug could change one’s constitution as a side effect. Still, since he didn’t wear patches or anything when tasting and testing new drugs, this story didn’t apply to him at all.

It was a claim that could be immediately refuted… so why did the doctor repeatedly bring this up? As if his pregnancy was some kind of important device.

Sehwa quietly looked at the child in his stomach, wriggling before his eyes, a bit bigger than a few days ago. And at the face in the growth projection display next to it, which looked just like him. 

He rolled his half-open eyes to glance sideways at the doctor. Perhaps because he had so easily seen through him as Lieutenant Kim’s lackey, he felt rather uneasy. Things couldn’t be resolved this easily…. Such luck couldn’t be given to him. 

“…If you’re doing this under threat, write your contact information in the measurement column when you put the hologram into the maternity notebook.”

“……”

“I can ask not only Brigadier General Ki Tae-jeong but… if necessary, even Major General Oh Seon-ran to spare your life.”

Major General Oh Seon-ran. It must have been a big shot he never imagined would come out of Sehwa’s mouth, as the doctor’s body trembled.

Of course, he hadn’t been in contact with Oh Seon-ran since then. He didn’t fully believe everything he had said either. Honestly, it was such an unrealistic story that he hadn’t even considered it seriously. He just borrowed the name, thinking it might be more effective than Ki Tae-jeong’s if this person was planted by Lieutenant Kim. Well… someone with so many gaps that even he could see through probably wouldn’t be able to go directly to Oh Seon-ran and ask if he really knew Lee Sehwa.

“Then I’ll be going, doctor. Thank you.”

As he turned his back on the pale-faced doctor and came out, the manager approached with a surprised look.

“You’re done already?”

“Yes. It’s not like I’ve been coming frequently because of any serious issues…”

Sehwa brushed it off vaguely. He needed to be careful of the manager now too. They might have deliberately scheduled the appointment with that doctor knowing everything. This person, who knows all his information inside out, could be even more dangerous than that incompetent doctor.

“Oh, you finished early today?”

Warrant Officer Choi, standing at attention in front of the corridor leading to the waiting room, greeted him cheerfully. Yet his stance remained impeccably polite. He had always been somewhat favorable, but since his pregnancy, he had started treating Sehwa like a supreme master.

“Warrant Officer Choi.”

After dismissing the manager who offered to arrange transportation back, he whispered quietly so only Warrant Officer Choi could hear.

“Is the Brigadier General in his office now?”

“At this time… yes, he should be.”

“Is that building separate, like official residences?”

“Ah, there is a separate building for Air Force officers… but currently, he’s working in his office inside the Ministry of National Defense. As I mentioned, with the trial coming up, most of the key military personnel are gathered there, wrestling with the situation.”

Warrant Officer Choi jokingly replied that Lieutenant Park was also there, withering away.

“Hmm… then if I go to see the Brigadier General right now… it would be a huge inconvenience, right?”

“You want to go see him yourself? To meet the Brigadier General?”

Warrant Officer Choi asked, brightening up. He had expected a positive reaction since he was the type to enjoy being friendly with Tae-jeong first, but he seemed even happier than Sehwa had anticipated.

“But you said he’s busy…”

“Oh, no, not at all. I’ll take you there right away.”

“Still…”

“It’s no problem at all to go see him briefly. You can take a look at his office while you’re at it.”

Warrant Officer Choi gushed that even to another man, Tae-jeong looked quite impressive when working.

“Then… could you keep it a secret from the Brigadier General that I’m coming now?”

“Ah, is it a surprise? Sure!”

Warrant Officer Choi nodded eagerly and tapped his watch, saying he’d arrange transportation immediately since he had declined the hospital’s escort vehicle.

“Ah!”

He hesitated, as if suddenly remembering something while listing off snacks to buy.

“But, well… as I mentioned earlier, the whole Ministry of Defense might be a bit intense right now. With all sorts of people gathered there, I’m a bit worried you might get startled, especially in your condition. I should have thought of that. My apologies.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I just… have something I want to ask the Brigadier General.”

The fragments of the case Sehwa held were large but lacked detail. So he wondered why Lieutenant Kim’s spy, whom he had encountered today, had insisted on bringing up his pregnancy despite flimsy evidence.

Originally, when entering negotiations, one doesn’t try to lure in a mark with a completely non-existent hand. If his personal situation was an important part of this trial, shouldn’t Tae-jeong know about it too? And since it concerned his own body… shouldn’t he be allowed to ask how things were progressing for such talk to come up?

Sehwa kept stroking his throat. The reason for suspecting the doctor, the reason for wanting to see Tae-jeong now… everything seemed justified. It was so smooth that a prickling sensation kept rising from deep within him. 

What the doctor had said, that the drug made with Lieutenant Kim was for such a purpose, couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. It was impossible. While he didn’t completely trust Tae-jeong, surely his attitude and feelings towards him since then weren’t a lie. That couldn’t have been an act.

“I think the more people, the better, rather than fewer.”

“Hmm…. Well, I suppose it would be scary if it’s too bleak. The Ministry of Defense building is quite austere, after all.”

After a moment of silence, Warrant Officer Choi tried to put a positive spin on it. He seemed to think Sehwa was saying this because he had no idea about the current situation there.

But he was sincere. Sehwa hoped there would be many people there. He hoped all the military personnel would be gathered, engaged in lively discussions, and… among them, he hoped Major General Oh Seon-ran would be there too. Because now he had questions not just for Tae-jeong, but for him as well.