M 91

“Check it.”

When he brought the wrist watch sensor to the certificate he had received, an emblem symbolizing the head of state floated up. The date the document was written and the signatures of two people shimmered in gold, and the dictator’s voice began to softly recite the contents. Ki Tae-jeong’s brow furrowed slightly at the excessively tacky presentation.

“Come to think of it, you damage a lot of equipment.”

Oh Seon-ran glanced at Ki Tae-jeong’s wrist with a disapproving look.

“I heard you shattered bulletproof glass with your bare hands? I’ve heard you frequently replace official vehicles… But this is the first time I’ve seen a soldier issued a new watch without even a change in rank.”

Of course, Oh Seon-ran wasn’t pointing out Ki Tae-jeong’s carelessness. He was sarcastically asking how bad-tempered he must be to break even items that others wouldn’t need to replace until retirement.

“So why did you call me to your office? I don’t think you just wanted to confirm the authenticity of the certificate for me when Sehwa isn’t even here…”

As if such taunts didn’t bother him at all, Ki Tae-jeong just smiled with round eyes. As if to say, you’re the one who’s irritated enough to want to find fault with something, not me.

“…I think you’ve already looked into the chemical experiment from long ago.”

Knowing that smirk, Oh Seon-ran pressed his temples as he brought up the main point.

“Yes.”

“Then you can probably guess what the code name of the test subject written on the certificate means.”

“Are you saying the test subject was one of Sehwa’s parents?”

“That’s right. Not just the constitution, but… although I can’t prove it, even the appearance matches. And I… searched for ‘the child’, for Sehwa, for a very long time. To repay at least a little to my precious… friend who was the test subject.”

Oh Seon-ran bit his dry lips firmly. He quickly went over what he had just said and how he said it. Wondering if it sounded awkward when he referred to Jin-woo as a ‘friend’.

“Fortunately, I was able to grasp some clues before dying… So from now on, my only goal and dream is to help and protect Sehwa so that no storms blow into his life.”

He wanted to file a complaint against Ki Tae-jeong too. No, he felt like throwing away all the proper legal procedures and just shooting him.

He clearly remembers how moved Sehwa was when he first went to see him, watching Ki Tae-jeong walk towards him. What did the child mutter when he collapsed in the Ministry of Defense building? What request did he make in that terrible voice when he finally got through on the phone?

But now, acting emotionally would only benefit Colonel Kim. So…

“…I know that to do that, I need to wrap up this trial smoothly, no, I need to use this trial as much as possible.”

Ki Tae-jeong will argue that Sehwa had no choice but to do various things due to the hierarchy set up by people like Kim Seok-cheol. Even if he has no feelings for Sehwa, he’ll try to maintain that stance for his own victory.

It seems he should subtly support that, and then raise Sehwa’s status as soon as the matter is over. And if the child decides, register his name as an adopted child… If he refuses, then he should step back and just quietly provide support, but in any case, the important thing is that Sehwa’s status correction happens without any issues. The process needs to be smooth. Otherwise, it’s obvious that Colonel Kim will keep hounding Sehwa at any opportunity.

So even if Ki Tae-jeong himself is not to his liking, this trial must be won at all costs.

Ki Tae-jeong’s integrity must not be damaged either. The statements in the complaint, the registration as a pregnant person’s guardian, the statements made in court today… Ki Tae-jeong was already too deeply entangled with Sehwa for Oh Seon-ran to arbitrarily remove him. In this situation, the more disadvantageous Ki Tae-jeong becomes, the more precarious Sehwa’s safety becomes.

“From the moment it’s revealed that your statement is different from the truth, the trial will go in a completely different direction. Because in psychological warfare, logic doesn’t matter.”

Most of the senior jurors had a crooked side. They would be displeased when presented with proper reasoning, as if their own faults were being exposed. Assuming that valid blade might someday be pointed at them, they would deliberately push those who spoke rightly to the edge of the cliff.

It’s the same now. Kim Seok-cheol’s wrongdoing is so clear that they’re only grumbling under the surface, but if there’s even a slight chance to distort things, they’ll excitedly start gossiping. Once that atmosphere is set, it becomes very difficult to counterattack afterwards. After all, manipulating public opinion is a specialty of Colonel Kim’s family.

“I don’t understand the point of what you’re saying.”

“I intend to move as you wish. You asked me to be a reference, right? Sure, what’s so difficult about that? I’ll provide anything else you need too. Whatever you don’t have but Kim Seok-cheol does, I can support it all. But in return…”

Oh Seon-ran held out a leather approval folder he had brought into the office to Ki Tae-jeong. Inside was a sheet of paper as stiff as the certificate.

“What is this?”

“A parental rights waiver.”

For a moment, a blue flame flashed in Ki Tae-jeong’s eyes. Oh Seon-ran clicked his tongue inwardly as he picked up a fountain pen from the side table.

“If you agree to completely give up Sehwa and the child, I’ll fully support and help you in this matter.”

“…”

“You know well that even if the Kim family collapses from this incident, all the conditions you’ve set can’t be accepted. But if I step in, it’s a different story. A two-rank special promotion? Early retirement? Being recommended as an elder? I can make it all happen.”

“What does that have to do with custody of my child? Besides, you just said it yourself, General Oh- to help Sehwa succeed, you have no choice but to help me anyway.”

Ki Tae-jeong let out a hollow laugh as he skimmed the document. His lips were raised in a smile, but his eyes were filled with irritable anger.

“You’re not in a position to offer me such terms, General Oh Seon-ran.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so agitated. You don’t have any feelings for Sehwa anyway, right? You were just planning to use him temporarily for the trial.”

His tone wasn’t accusatory. He wasn’t angry or sarcastic. Oh Seon-ran just spoke calmly, like someone at a negotiating table going over objective conditions.

“If this matter wraps up well, your position will become even more secure, and then you’ll be able to have anyone you want by your side.”

“…”

“Then wouldn’t you welcome my intervention? I’m saying I’ll take responsibility for both of them without any conditions. In your plan, Sehwa and the child were just troublesome obstacles and variables, weren’t they?”

For a moment, Ki Tae-jeong’s throat tightened and he couldn’t respond. Who are you to say this? I’m Sehwa’s legal guardian, but you’re just a stranger, not even an adoptive parent. He should have been able to laugh sarcastically and say something like that…

Over Oh Seon-ran’s questions – you don’t even like Sehwa anyway, won’t you just find someone else and settle down once this is over? – Sehwa’s tearful voice overlapped. Asking him not to be cruel to his future lover like he was to him.

“…So you’re telling me to give up my parental rights.”

He shouldn’t respond like this. He needs to stay calm. Just like in the courtroom. He just needs to ignore the nonsense. This was his first proper one-on-one with Oh Seon-ran, and he couldn’t give up the initiative so soon.

But… his head wasn’t working properly. Dealing with soldiers was so routine that he could respond mechanically. But discussing Sehwa like this… made it difficult to respond rationally. Red flames were bursting in his mind.

Since Sehwa had drugged him with strong sleeping pills and run away, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all. The feeling and warmth of his skin that he could always feel when he reached out, the slight movements as he stirred… it was all so vivid, yet his arms were empty. It was hard to bear.

When he closed his eyes out of obligation, all he could see was Sehwa’s thin back as he turned away without a hint of lingering attachment. His stumbling words, his resigned voice saying he didn’t want to devote any more care to him, just echoed in his ears.

At times like that, heat would surge as if his eyelids were being branded with fire, and his whole body would tingle as if glass shards were embedded in every blood vessel. Unable to overcome the rising anger inside, he would end up lying awake all night.

“…If Sehwa says it himself, I’ll give up.”

Ki Tae-jeong flicked the parental rights waiver he had taken out of the approval folder with his finger. Because he deliberately didn’t control his strength, it tore badly in the middle.

“But if Sehwa walks out of 2-Hwan on his own and says he’ll stay quietly by my side… then I hope you’ll never interfere in our affairs again, General.”

“Brigadier General Ki Tae-jeong.”

“Then I’ll take that as your agreement to be a reference.”

Ki Tae-jeong scanned Oh Seon-ran’s empty office and stormed out. It was a fierce ending without even permission to leave or a salute of excuse. Only the torn piece of paper floated gently on the table, its four corners drooping lifelessly.

“…Brigadier General.”

Lieutenant Park, who had been lingering outside, approached with a worried look. He must have heard the sound of the paper being torn at the end, if nothing else.

“Did something happen?”

“Where is Sehwa now?”

“He’s working at a company that delivers lunch boxes to construction sites.”

“Hmm…”

“It seems Oh Seon-ran’s side has set up something similar.”

“What do you mean, similar? Did they create a job just for Sehwa?”

“Yes. However, I thought having several such cases might actually reduce Sehwa’s suspicion, so I didn’t bother tracking it.”

“Not needing to stop it and not needing to track it are different things. Find out. Through whom is Oh Seon-ran sending people and money to 2-Hwan?”

“Yes, Brigadier General.”

Contrary to expectations, Sehwa didn’t seek out gambling dens or drug dens. He holed up in a shabby inn and would cautiously check out the labor market at dawn.

But he didn’t come out every day. Even if he followed the manager around all day trying to make an impression, he’d barely get any work. There was no way they’d hire a suspicious person who showed up occasionally and never took off their gas mask.

After watching this for about a week, Ki Tae-jeong, unable to stand it anymore, created a few jobs. They were ridiculously easy but paid well.

However, after hearing the manager’s offer, Sehwa instead locked his door. He stayed hidden inside for about three days, not coming out at all, and then absurdly fled in the middle of the night. He even set up a couple of decoys, despite probably not having much money left.

It seems he found it suspicious that such an easy job paid so well. So this time, he created several more similar jobs. He also instructed the managers to act as if they really needed people.

After a few days of this, Sehwa cautiously nodded at a restaurant’s job offer that included room and board. After carefully observing for a while, on his day off he said he would also work at a food factory.

He was prepared to arrest him immediately if he tried to find a quack doctor with the money he saved. He couldn’t let Sehwa die in a place where even proper anesthesia was doubtful.

But Sehwa… with the few coins he saved, he bought a few eggs. He also picked up a couple of overripe bananas. And he kept gently tapping his lower abdomen. Although his expression couldn’t be read because of the gas mask, he was doing this in every hologram he received.

Lieutenant Park said it seemed like Sehwa was talking to the baby. He said that’s what the men planted in the next room reported.

It was a sight he had never seen when he was with him, so Ki Tae-jeong just stared blankly at the hologram over and over. He had been avoiding it all along, not knowing what to do… but he’s talking? To the baby?

“I was going to wait and see how long he’d hold out… but I can’t.”

It had been just over two weeks now? Thanks to Oh Seon-ran fanning the flames, the limit came faster than expected. He had wanted to push himself more. He had wanted to dry him out until he couldn’t bear it and came crawling back… but it seems Ki Tae-jeong was the one who can’t stand it anymore.

“Round up everyone who’s even slightly acquainted with Sehwa. We’ve already cleared out all the menial workers last time… so it’s best to focus on regular customers.”

Ki Tae-jeong raised his hand and pressed hard on his entire eye area. Though only his vision was blocked, his voice came out sounding so choked that even he was startled.

“The more trivial the encounter, something he wouldn’t even remember, the better. Sehwa’s personality is such that he’ll feel more guilty.”

“…Brigadier General, that means…”

“We need to let Sehwa know. That if he doesn’t come to me, even innocent people could all die.”

***

Sehwa shook out the laundry that was bunched up like a rock and hung it in the room. Since there was no drying rack, he had no choice but to carefully wedge hangers between the zipper teeth of the cloth wardrobe to dry the clothes.

“It’s really hot today, isn’t it?” 

Ge gently spoke to Saessak while rubbing his still flat stomach.