M 206

Side Story 3 Episode 8

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“Want more candy?”

“Eung, gib me….”

“Finish what you have, then talk.”

“…Give me some, I think I can eat more.”

Was it because the sweet taste dulled his senses? Lee Sehwa could drink a little rice gruel after eating about two candies. It was rare for him to swallow candy or rice gruel so well like today, but since it was the only effective method, he had been following this routine lately.

“But Lieutenant General, do you even have time to make candy?”

“It doesn’t take that long to make.”

“You’re busy taking care of me and Hae-rim.”

“I’m doing it because I can manage, so don’t worry.”

“Still, you seem to have lost weight, Lieutenant General….”

“Lost weight? I’ve been working out so hard.”

In fact, if he were to summarize his daily routine, which he could never tell Sehwa, it would be like this:

He wakes up at dawn, checks Sehwa’s condition from the previous night, and then goes down to the basement of the residence for a simple workout. The metallic smell from the equipment made him want to throw up, but since he couldn’t eat properly, he had to keep exercising to maintain his strength.

After showering and getting ready for work, he checks important tasks that need to be taken care of while traveling to General Oh Seon-ran’s house. When he arrives, he bows to the sullen-faced General Oh Seon-ran, picks out candy for Sehwa on the way to taking the excited Hae-rim to the academy, happy to have met his big daddy.

After that, he focuses on work and comes to the hospital during lunchtime. He makes sure to fill it up with handmade candy that Sehwa can eat, receives face-to-face reports from Captain Na or the attending physician, and returns to the headquarters. Sometimes it’s the headquarters, sometimes the Ministry of National Defense, sometimes the training center… Anyway, the only thing that doesn’t change is that he works like crazy. There were many agendas to be approved, but he had postponed all the meetings that he had to attend to the afternoon, so he had no time to rest.

Then, before he knew it, it was time for the academy to end, so he went to pick up Hae-rim. Unless there was a meeting that he had to preside over himself, he spent time with the child at this time. Eating snacks, reading books together, or even running around in General Oh Seon-ran’s garden.

When it’s time for dinner, he heads back to the hospital, seeing Hae-rim off. Of course, he takes care of work while traveling, and as soon as he arrives, he checks Sehwa’s condition first. He checks if there was anything unusual in the meantime, what he ate for dinner, and if Sehwa was conscious like today, he would say hello briefly.

Even after returning home, Ki Tae-jeong’s work was not over. It’s not like the commander only has him, but everyone is so stupid that they can’t even review an operation. Without even thinking that his standards are high, after finishing the meeting… or rather, pouring ridicule and criticism on all sorts of people, it’s time to make candy for Sehwa to eat the next day. Boiling sugar and starch syrup over the fire was a bit cumbersome, but it wasn’t difficult. Just pour the well-melted sugar water into the silicone mold and it’s done.

After finishing his work and stepping onto the stairs to go up to the second-floor master bedroom, his footsteps, which he usually didn’t even notice, echoed like thunder in the quiet house.

A house without Sehwa or Hae-rim.

He aimlessly looks around the spacious residence, and ends up collapsing on the sofa because he doesn’t want to lie on the bed that has lost its warmth. With his wrist on his eyelids, he thinks about Lee Sehwa all the time, and before he knows it, the darkness fades and rays of light faintly fall through the window.

He had been living like this for about a month. It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired, but he wasn’t so pathetically weak as to fall ill, so it was fine. Well, due to the strike of the trophoblast, which he had never experienced before, the desire to shoot and kill all humans often, or rather quite often, surged, which was troublesome. When he thinks about it, wasn’t that an impulse he had often experienced even before he experienced morning sickness following Sehwa?

No matter how he looks at it, it doesn’t seem like he can brag to the person who has withered away due to the baby in his stomach, saying that his husband is working so hard and caring for him so much.

“So, are you feeling okay now?”

“Yes? Yes….”

“Give me your foot for a second.”

Ki Tae-jeong knelt on one knee on the living room floor and placed Sehwa’s foot on his other thigh.

“Why suddenly my foot…, Ahh, Lieutenant General!”

Sehwa, who had been staring blankly as if puzzled, jumped like a kitten feeling human touch for the first time when Ki Tae-jeong’s large hand wrapped around his foot.

“Suddenly, why, why are you doing this?”

“You need to loosen your muscles well. If you keep lying down and then move suddenly like this, you’ll have problems.”

“Then I’ll do it, so just….”

He was so embarrassed that a little heat rose on his pale face. Sehwa blushed slightly and tried hard to pull his foot out of Ki Tae-jeong’s grasp. He was embarrassed by Ki Tae-jeong’s grip, which didn’t budge even when he wiggled his toes diligently, and he tilted his head slightly, wondering if it was strange that he didn’t feel any pain even in the midst of that.

“Oh, why is this… why is it like this?”

A few strands of hair on the crown of his head, sticking out like dandelion seeds because he had been lying down all the time, fluttered here and there following Sehwa’s head movements. That was so heartbreakingly lovely that Ki Tae-jeong couldn’t stop laughing even though he knew he would be upset.

“…You’re thinking weird things again, aren’t you, Lieutenant General.”

“Well. Is it okay for a married man who has had a child to be this cute… that kind of thought? Well, I did, but isn’t that a bad thought.”

“Lieutenant General.”

Even though he called him with some determination, Ki Tae-jeong mimicked his pronunciation as if teasing him, saying ‘Lieutenant Generaaal!’ and Lee Sehwa, who was sulking, twisted his body violently. But since his ankle was firmly held, only his shoulders shook from side to side, like when Hae-rim was begging for something.

“Really, always… Why are you always like that, Lieutenant General?”

“Okay, I won’t tease you anymore.”

“You’re going to tease me again after saying that!”

“No, really. I promise.”

“…….”

“Please understand. It’s been a while since I’ve touched you, so I’m happy.”

“…….”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you not hurting when I touch you and breathing comfortably even when I’m by your side.”

Ki Tae-jeong straightened each of Sehwa’s stiff toes. While closely observing his thin body, which twitched and then languidly accepted his touch, he became convinced that he could be a little more greedy and touch Lee Sehwa today. Before, he was in pain even when he was just lying in bed, saying that his skin was stinging, but now he doesn’t hurt even when he rubs his skin like this.

“It’s tickli… sh.”

It’s a foot so small that it’s hard to believe it belongs to an adult man. Maybe it just feels small because everything about him is too big compared to Lee Sehwa…. Ki Tae-jeong carefully held the soft flesh of Lee Sehwa, who kept wiggling because he couldn’t stand the ticklishness.

“I’ll stop right away if you think it’ll hurt.”