M 95

“Call? You mean I’m supposed to call Sehwa, not the brigadier general?”

Ms. Song tilted her head. She thought she had been brought here to ask and confirm things like what ship the young man was trying to board, or what clothes he was wearing today since it would be difficult to identify him wearing a gas mask. What else could there be for him to do, when the child’s father had come to escort him personally?

“It would be nice if he came out on his own willingly, but our Sehwa can be quite stubborn.”

…Willingly? On his own? Ms. Song felt a chill down her spine and rolled her eyes.

The man, Brigadier General Ki Tae-jeong, said that Sehwa had suddenly disappeared because he felt burdened by the difference in social status, so he hurried to find him. Although Ms. Song had also followed hurriedly in shabby clothes, feeling sorry for the young man who had even experienced bleeding once, thinking they couldn’t let him suffer in a place like this…. But usually, people don’t use the expression ‘comes out on his own two feet’ to a ‘loved one’ in a situation like this, do they?

“Lieutenant Na has arrived at the entrance, sir.”

At the subordinate’s report, Ki Tae-jeong flicked his hand towards the back. The watch chain with elaborate emblems symbolizing the national flower and air force gleamed brilliantly under the harsh light.

At the same time, people who had been hiding somewhere began to move busily, and lights suddenly turned on at the port entrance. Even from quite a distance, the sporadic and continuous movement made it seem as if an explosion had occurred.

The ships on the sea and the port entrance were so brightly lit that one could forget it was night. Only the area near the block of stacked containers, where Sehwa was probably hiding, remained dark.

This looks more like apprehending a criminal than meeting a lover…. Ms. Song couldn’t say anything and just glanced at Ki Tae-jeong’s profile. Then she realized belatedly. This beautiful man had only been raising the corners of his mouth all along, but his eyes hadn’t been smiling at all.

***

Where to, where should I go right now…. I need to hide somewhere, even if just for a moment.

Sehwa caught his breath while leaning against a container. The sudden sprint made him feel nauseous, but all he could do was cover his mouth tightly and endure.

The breathlessness and dizziness would subside soon, but… he was worried about the condition of his ankle, which had twisted when he fell earlier. If only he had braced himself against the ground or tried to maintain balance, he might have been less injured, but rolling while holding his stomach had made things worse.

Carefully lifting his right ankle, he noticed it was oddly misaligned. It didn’t seem broken, but… running any further was definitely out of the question. The pain was beyond words, but… at least the baby seemed unharmed, which was fortunate.

Trying to suppress his breathing, groans, and everything else, he bit his lip hard, causing blood drops to fall along his chin. He wished he had kept hold of the patch. At least he could have used it to threaten them until the end.

How did they know he was here anyway? He had asked a regular employee to look for a job because both the employment agency and the restaurant owner seemed suspicious. Could it be… was Ms. Song also a spy planted by Ki Tae-jeong? Or….

Sehwa shook his head as if to stop that train of thought. Everyone at the restaurant could have been Ki Tae-jeong’s pawns. It was pathetic how he had quickly grown fond of the aunt despite telling himself not to trust anyone. Although he had no choice, he could have remained wary until the end. There was no need to laugh and make small talk throughout the car ride.

And now he truly hated Ki Tae-jeong. In the nearly three weeks that had passed, he had never once thought he had completely shaken off Ki Tae-jeong’s pursuit… but he didn’t expect to be manipulated and observed like a pebble on his palm.

“…Treating people like fools till the end.”

Sehwa pressed his fingertips against the container wall and slowly moved his feet. He couldn’t stay here like this. The only place to hide was inside the containers, but he would hold out as long as he could.

Seeing the helicopter and the soldiers accompanying him, the news must have reached others as well. For example, Major General Oh Seon-ran or Lieutenant Kim…. If it was the latter, it would merely mean a slight extension of his life, but if it was Major General Oh Seon-ran, the situation could change.

Anyway, Ki Tae-jeong wasn’t making any moves for now, and there were quite a few stacked containers and pallets here. They couldn’t burn everything down, so it would take considerable time to search through each one. Thinking about it that way, the odds weren’t completely against him.

So… which container should he hide in? Sehwa stared blankly at the logo engraved on the side of a pallet. It was fortunate that it belonged to a well-known conglomerate. They probably wouldn’t damage it carelessly. …No, was Ki Tae-jeong ever someone who cared about such things? He might even destroy it more readily because it wasn’t military property.

As he pondered, Sehwa loosened the straps of his gas mask. It was such a cheap one that visibility was already poor, and in the darkness, he couldn’t even distinguish friend from foe.

After wiping away the sweat pouring down like rain and lifting his head, a hot, salty breeze tickled his nose. It was completely different from the fresh scent he had smelled with Ki Tae-jeong at the department store. Humid, salty… and mixed with an acrid smell of burnt material.

Although this was the outskirts of 2-Hwan, and the hazy particles in the air were definitely less from the seaside border… it still couldn’t be good for the body. He could only hope that his body, without the patch, would filter out even the black toxins. No, it didn’t matter if his own body was ruined. He just wanted the baby to be okay. That would be enough.

Holding his nearly immobile right leg, Sehwa limped forward. Being night and surrounded by container blocks like giant walls, he felt abandoned alone in the darkness.

All his senses were heightened. He could even hear the sound of light switches being flicked on and off in the distance. Sehwa kept looking up after taking a few steps. He felt like snipers targeting him might be aiming their guns. Or that Ki Tae-jeong might suddenly drop from the sky and hunt him down like a bird of prey.

Perhaps due to tension, his vision kept wavering. The divided sections of containers, those square lines, would greatly magnify and then ripple as if dancing. Even the tiny sound of gravel under his shoe soles thundered in his ears.

Now his stomach wasn’t just pricking, it felt like a heated iron rod was slowly stirring his insides. Sehwa wiped away the sweat streaming down his forehead and nose bridge. The moisture on his hand had a sharp, sour smell. It was a foul odor like overripe fruit on the verge of spoiling.

Suddenly, he thought things could really go wrong. Having a body that remained fine even after consuming drugs like water, this was the first time he felt such sensations. A warning from deep inside that this was the limit, that it was dangerous.

He knew from the start that he couldn’t escape Ki Tae-jeong’s pursuit. He just wanted to hide until the trial went awry. Or at least until he could safely extract the baby. But just 3 weeks… Maybe Ki Tae-jeong had been waiting until the date he was supposed to meet Oh Seon-ran.

“…I don’t know.”

Sehwa slumped to the ground, leaning his back against a nearby container wall. His ankle was bad enough, but his stomach was pulling too much. He couldn’t move an inch, feeling like the baby was begging that it couldn’t take it anymore, asking dad to save it.

“I don’t know. What should we do, baby…?”

But then… Just as unpleasant ringing and static sounds came from all directions,

– Is this how I’m supposed to talk into it?

Aunt Song’s naive question echoed like a round through speakers installed throughout the port. Startled, Sehwa looked around. He couldn’t tell where the sound waves originated. The sudden murmuring seemed to grow like vines from the top of his head or from the ground he was sitting on… choking him.

– Yes, ma’am.

Ah.

Sehwa scratched at the concrete floor, not realizing his nails were breaking.

It was the voice of the man he had loved, 

Resonating from deep inside,

Quiet yet elegant,

The voice that had made his heart flutter since they first met in that shabby warehouse,

One he probably wouldn’t be able to forget for the rest of his life.

– Can you hear my voice, ma’am?

– Yes, I can hear you well. The headphones look strange.

– Good, then you can just repeat what I say. He must know I’m here… but it seems our Sehwa doesn’t want to show up yet.

– Repeat after you? Well, that’s not difficult… but I’m not sure I’ll be much help….

“…’Our Sehwa’?”

A laugh escaped involuntarily out of disbelief. And he wondered what kind of show this was. Was Ki Tae-jeong pretending to the aunt that his voice wasn’t being broadcast while it actually was?

– Sehwa.

– Sehwa.

– You’ve been upset enough, let’s go home now.

– You’ve been upset enough, let’s go home now. …Well, I don’t know about anything else, but I didn’t know Sehwa was pregnant. He must have been very troubled before the wedding, but still, how could he think of running away like this.

The aunt, who had been parroting Ki Tae-jeong’s words, soon started nagging worriedly. Sehwa laughed hollowly from where he sat. He couldn’t even cry anymore, so he just laughed.

He felt no resentment towards the aunt who was following Ki Tae-jeong’s orders. Now it seemed he had chased after him here out of the typical meddling of a caring person, without really knowing what was going on between Ki Tae-jeong and himself. But still….

– It’s been over 3 months now, you know you need to be careful because your body is weak.

– It’s been over 3 months… no, has it really been over 3 months? The young man looked so skinny….

– Yes. Well over.

– Oh my, this is serious… Young man. The brigadier general says it’s been over 3 months, you could really be in trouble. Why didn’t you say anything, why….

– Hmm… Seems he still doesn’t want to see me. Then would you relay this too, ma’am?

– What is it?

– Sehwa, I’ll give you 5 minutes.

– …Sehwa, I’ll give you… 5 minutes….

Ms. Song hesitated as he repeated Ki Tae-jeong’s words, seeming to sense something was off.

– But brigadier general, doesn’t that sound a bit… too harsh?

Sehwa crouched on the ground like a broken sapling, quietly listening to the conversation between the two. He had forgotten even the sensation of pain now. He couldn’t remember any of the good times that had occasionally surfaced to ache his heart.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand why Ki Tae-jeong was treating him this way.

I was just born in the gutter outside the castle walls, just living there because I had no choice. I just… loved you with all my heart. I didn’t even throw a tantrum asking you to love me the same way. Why are you being so cruel?

– It seems Sehwa is feeling cornered now, maybe you should try calling him a bit more kindly….

– No way. Our Sehwa is tougher than he looks. He’s not budging even now, right? Even though he must clearly guess the situation.

– Brigadier general….

– I’m telling you it’s true. He’s the one who said he’d rather take drugs and die or go to another man than be with me. Our Sehwa did.

– …What? What do you mean…?

– Never mind that, there are 3 minutes left now. Are you listening?

Ah. Sehwa squeezed his eyes shut.

– This is the last time. Crawl out on your own feet, Lee Sehwa. If you don’t want to see everyone here die.