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The seven participants of the meeting ate breakfast together.
There was a long dining table in between the living room and the sink, but it felt slightly cramped when everyone sat around it.
‘Who are these people?’ Kang Chan thought after passing over the bread and jam and as he ate scrambled eggs. Even though they represented Europe, there was no rule that forced them to remain formal while eating. On the contrary, Kang Chan found it better to sit in comfort like this and eat toasted bread with jam on it.
“So I did talk to the President while having lunch, but it seems like it’s going to be difficult in all respects,” one man said.
“What would happen if we exert our influence slightly on the finance sector and suppress it a bit?” Someone else answered.
“If you help us like that, then it would be difficult for even the President to refuse.”
If it wasn’t for Lanok, then the conversation would’ve made Kang Chan believe that he was in the midst of megalomaniacs.
“Can I share contact information with you, Mr. Kang Chawn[1]?”
Kang Chan responded with an “of course,” to Ludwig’s question.
“I’ll tell you guys Mr. Kang Chan’s phone number once we’re done eating, and I’ll also pass on everyone’s contact information to Mr. Kang Chan,” said Lanok.
Everyone nodded with satisfied expressions.
“I’ll be going first,” said Kang Chan.
“You should go shower,” Lanok commented.
“That’s what I had in mind.”
Kang Chan headed to the shower room after placing his plate inside the sink.
“Lanok, do you trust Mr. Kang Chan?” Vant asked. He then ate cereal and looked at the shower room that Kang Chan had walked over to.
“If I can make just one phone call in a desperate moment, then I would contact him without hesitation.”
“Is he that dependable?”
“He exceeds that,” Lanok responded.
“Even if so, we would still be unfamiliar people to Mr. Kang Chan.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to where Kang Chan had gone off to. When they did, Lanok wiped his mouth with a napkin, then exhaled.
“The ‘Unicorn’ being announced is where everything truly starts. I have already asked that friend to look after Anne,” said Lanok.
The five men’s gazes’ landed on Lanok with a completely different look in their eyes from before. They understood what his words meant.
“If any of you are ever in an emergency or find yourself in a difficult situation, then I recommend going to South Korea or contacting Mr. Kang Chan. The reason why I said that we should quickly announce the ‘Unicorn’ is also based on the fact that I depend on him. Establishing Mr. Kang Chan’s position in the South Korean government is also for our safety. There’s no one else other than Mr. Kang Chan that we can entrust our safety to,” Lanok continued.
“Are you sure, Lanok?” someone asked.
“I entrusted him with Anne.”
The five men exchanged glances.
“Hmm. If so, then we truly do need to establish Mr. Kang Chan’s position,” someone commented.
“Yes, if all of you have accepted him as a friend,” Lanok answered.
They had finished breakfast.
“Lanok, the ‘Unicorn’ has already become an open secret, so announcing it a little earlier wouldn’t make much of a difference. However, it's important to note that doing so would put you at risk for too long. If a situation occurs, nobody would be able to fill in your position,” one man commented.
“I trust the capabilities of Europe and everyone here. Don’t all of you know better than anyone that our meeting won’t change because of one person?” Lanok asked.
Vant smiled when Lanok was done speaking, showing he couldn't win against his persistence. “We started the ‘Unicorn’ under the pretext of reviving Europe’s economy, then we immediately grabbed onto the continent’s leash. Huhuhu. Wouldn’t the United Kingdom’s position would be right up ‘shit creek’ as you guys have said, since they held their ground and trusted the United States?”
“Hahaha.”
The French used the word ‘merde,’ which meant something like ‘shit,’ to belittle British people. Laughter broke out because of Vant’s comment.[2]
“Lanok, have you figured out why the United Kingdom and the United States are side-eyeing each other when it wouldn’t even be enough if they combined forces?” someone asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m also working hard to find out why. Any information we get should be shared using our usual intel distribution method.”
“Let’s do that. Anyway, I need a cup of hot coffee.”
***
Kang Chan went into the shower room and removed his bandages. The pain from his chest wound was now bearable even if water got on it, but pieces of skin still got ripped off with the bandages on the wound on his arm.
It didn’t feel right to ask for bandages while he was completely naked, so he showered with his left arm raised instead.
There was only a scar left on the palm of his hand that had been cut by a knife earlier.
The water in the shower was hard water, and the soap doesn't lather well. Hence, though showering made him feel refreshed, it didn’t make him feel relieved.
Kang Chan dried himself off. Blood still seeped from his left arm.
The agents had prepared a suit and a shirt from a luxury brand. It could’ve been Lanok that sent him these clothes.
‘I do have to buy some clothes.’
Kang Chan carefully put on the shirt and went out of the shower room with his left arm wrapped in a towel. The meal had already ended, and he didn’t see anyone else other than Vant who was drinking coffee while sitting.
Kang Chan greeted Vant with his gaze, then went outside. It seemed like the foreign legion members had rotated duties since GĂ©rard and the other crew members were now standing at ease in front of the entrance. Two agents were waiting as well.
“Can I get some bandages? I need it for my arm,” Kang Chan asked.
“I’ll contact the medical personnel,” An agent called someone when Kang Chan showed them his left arm.
“We’ll bring over the army surgeon. Do you only need to wrap bandages around your arm?”
“Yeah. Do me a favor,” Kang Chan told the agent.
The two agents got in the Jeep and disappeared after going through the barracks.
Kang Chan wanted to smoke a cigarette, but he decided not to ask for one upon looking around the surroundings since it could like like he was acting out with Lanok backing him up. Nobody liked people acting cocky just because they were in a high-ranking position.
“Want a cigarette?” GĂ©rard asked Kang Chan.
Kang Chan laughed out loud.
“I was curious if that would be alright. Should I bring over a cup of hot coffee in return?” Kang Chan asked.
“There’s four of us,” GĂ©rard gestured to the members that stood next to him with his head, then continued, “If it's alright with you, we'd like to have a cup of instant coffee.”
Kang Chan went inside, filled five mugs with coffee, then brought them outside.
“Here you go!” GĂ©rard handed Kang Chan a cigarette.
Clank. Chi-ik. Chi-ik. Chi-ik.
The cigarette lit up on Kang Chan’s third attempt. This guy had already mixed the lighter fluid with oil, but he put in a bit too much. Kang Chan smoked and drank coffee. Due to the runway and barracks in front of him and the foreign legion members beside him, he felt like Dayeru was going to come out with coffee at any moment.
“Are you Korean?” GĂ©rard asked Kang Chan.
“Why do you ask? Do you want to visit if you get a vacation? If you do, I’ll buy you pork cutlets and bulgogi[3].”
Kang Chan thought, ‘oh shoot,’ as he looked at GĂ©rard’s expression.
“A Korean superior that I knew recommended the same dishes.”
“That’s because they’re delicious.”
Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
GĂ©rard smirked. Was that how this fucker smiled before?
“Do you like your unit’s members?” Kang Chan asked.
GĂ©rard glanced at the people standing beside him.
“Pull out the moment you think it's too dangerous. Forget rewards or medals. Your biggest duty as the captain is to survive and save even one person.”
Perhaps it was because he sucked too deeply on the cigarette, but it looked like GĂ©rard was frowning. Kang Chan was taking a sip of the coffee when the Jeep returned. The army surgeon put down the white cross bag and then approached Kang Chan.
When Kang Chan pulled down the towel, the army surgeon frowned. Pieces of his flesh had been pulled off in some areas because he removed his bandages that morning.
“We need to disinfect the wound,” the army surgeon told Kang Chan.
“Please do so.”
Bubbles formed when the disinfectant touched his wound. While the army surgeon applied medication on top of it, Kang Chan leisurely drank coffee.
Bandages were wrapped around his arm and were secured with tape.
“Thank you for your hard work,” said Kang Chan.
Louis the security guard put the army surgeon on the Jeep and retraced their steps.
“You seem to be in a high position,” GĂ©rard commented.
“Why do you think that?”
“Louis, that gentleman, is in the Intelligence Bureau, so he’s ranked higher than us.”
Kang Chan didn’t have anything to reply to his question, so he just drank coffee. With his arm now bandaged, he pulled down his sleeve and buttoned it up to cover the wound.
“Put the cup here,” Kang Chan told GĂ©rard.
“Alright.”
Kang Chan glanced at GĂ©rard for giving him a rough reply, then went into the barracks.
Lanok and his party came toward Kang Chan as if they had been waiting for him. They seemed like they were about to leave, considering they were wearing neat and tidy clothes and were holding a bag.
“I hope we see each other often now, Mr. Kang Chawn[4],” said Ludwig.
“Thank you. Please contact me anytime.”
The five men hugged and exchanged cheek kisses with Lanok and Kang Chan, then got out of the barrack.
1. Ludwig pronounced Kang Chan’s name incorrectly here ☜
2. Originally, the English word ‘goddamn’ was used but we decided to use the French word ‘merde,’ which has a similar meaning in this context because ‘goddamn’ wouldn’t make sense in actual English. ☜
3. bulgogi is a popular Korean dish made of marinated slices of beef, and the name literally means ‘fire meat’ ☜
4. Ludwig pronounced Kang Chan’s name incorrectly here ☜