It was already dark, so the air from outside the window wasnât hot.
âYou looked like a homesick new recruit. You deny it, but donât you want to go back?â
Is that true?
âIf you like Mi-Young, then just tell her that you like her. Youâre still in high school, so you can sleep with her after you graduate. Either way, find a place to put your heart in aside from your parents. Iâm afraid Iâd get a postcard someday that says, âIâm writing this on my way to Africa,â when I wake up.â
Kang Chan blankly got lost in his thoughts. Did he really want to go back to Africa? Even though they had already gotten their revenge on Sharlan?
Didnât he shake his head because Yoo Hye-Sook came across his mind before anything else when he saw the word âdeathâ on the plane?
âIf you want toâŠâ Seok Kang-Ho woke Kang Chan up from his thoughts.
âIf you donât think that you can endure living like this and you really want to go back to Africa, then be cold and go. Itâs your life, and you have the right to live it as you see fit,â Seok Kang-Ho continued.
Kang Chan stared at Seok Kang-Ho. He couldnât even recall Dayeruâs past appearance. The face that was beside him was Dayeru and Seok Kang-Ho at the same time.
âI want to see you be happy now. But if youâre going to leave, then do it quickly. Donât even bother telling me about it. I donât want to cling to you while crying and screaming,â Seok Kang-Ho said.
When Kang Chan laughed out loud, Seok Kang-Ho showed his peculiar smile and laughed as well.
Kang Chan shook his head. He didnât want that kind of life.
On the contrary, he also knew that the wound from his past hadnât completely disappeared from his heart. He could be intentionally avoiding loving someone and taking responsibility for them because he was afraid that heâd become like his past father.
Kang Chan sighed deeply.
What am I doing when even Dayeru is evolving?
Anyway, it felt like he had finally put down one of the burdens he had been carrying with difficulty.
They soon arrived at their destination in Yongin while chuckling. After they had parked, Kang Chan called someone, and an agent approached them.
âHeâs having a group dinner at the Korean restaurant over there, but itâs almost done. There are about twenty people eating with him including the salespeople, but we havenât seen anything suspicious,â the agent told Kang Chan.
âHave you guys had dinner yet?â Kang Chan asked.
âWe had a simple meal.â
âGo and have a proper meal.â
âWeâll rest for twenty-four hours after rotating shifts tomorrow morning.â
Kang Chan liked that the agent didnât look inattentive. He returned to the car, and Seok Kang-Ho soon came back as well. He had bought a cup of coffee.
âWerenât you going into the restaurant?â Seok Kang-Ho asked.
âWhat a cheap fucker.â
âI only bought one because I thought you were going into the restaurant. I was going to drink this on my way home. Iâll go buy another one.â
âWe can just share. Give me a cigarette.â
What use was there to go into the restaurant right now and making the employees uncomfortable? If nothing special happened, then he was thinking of meeting Kang Dae-Kyung like he only found the restaurant after the group dinner.
They took turns drinking the coffee as they smoked a cigarette each. Similar to how the inner part of the alley that the car was parked at was the âfood alleyâ[1], the smell of food and all sorts of flyers littered the area.
Seok Kang-Ho leaned over and groaned. âDo I need to sacrifice myself for the captain?â
On the piece of paper about the size of a business card was a naked woman covering her chest and groin.
âThatâs nasty. Throw it away,â Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho.
âLook at this. Youâre ill, in all respects. Letâs go to the hospital.â
Was this guy tired? They chuckled as Seok Kang-Ho threw the flyer behind the car.
âGo home first,â said Kang Chan.
âAs I said before, Iâm only going to get bored if I go home now. Iâll just wait when thereâs less traffic and take my time on my way back. Anyway, this place is heaven. There's massage parlors next to each other.â
âYouâre tired, arenât you? If youâre acting like this because you want to do stupid things by using me as an excuse, then snap out of it now,â said Kang Chan.
âWhatâs wrong with you? Iâm satisfied with my current wife.â
Smirking, Kang Chan followed Seok Kang-Hoâs gaze and looked at a massage parlor. As its neon sign flashed and turned onâŠ
Whatâs that?
Kang Chanâs gaze stopped at the van by the side of the massage parlor. He knew what happened inside it, so a bunch of guys couldâve just gone in. Still, it was weird to see huge men cramped up and waiting in a car. If it werenât for the light of the massage parlorâs sign, it wouldâve been difficult to spot them.
âWhat is it?â Seok Kang-Ho asked.
Noticing Kang Chanâs expression had sharpened, Seok Kang-Ho followed Kang Chanâs gaze to the van. The silhouettes of the people inside it were only clearly visible when the neon sign was at its brightest.
âWhy are those guys sitting in there like that?â It seemed like Seok Kang-Ho also thought they were acting weird.
âCould they have seen us?â Kang Chan asked back.
âItâs only been twenty minutes at most since we arrived, so it would still be too early to be suspicious of us. Your clothes also suit this place.â
Still, their car was a âChiffreâ of all things. If they were here to attack Kang Dae-Kyung, then they had likely quickly caught on.
âPark this car on the opposite side of the massage parlor. If something happens, then Iâm going to go home in my fatherâs car, so follow behind it, said Kang Chan.
âAlright.â
When Seok Kang-Ho left, Kang Chan crossed the street at a crosswalk while calling an agent.
- Weâre on standby.
âHow many of you are there?â
- There are three of us.
âListen carefully. Thereâs a massage parlor on the road next to the Korean restaurant. The van next to it seems suspicious. I donât know for sure, but thereâs likely another car. I just donât see it. Iâll go over there and pretend to buy cigarettes to examine that area. You should check out the other side.
- Understood.
When the signal turned to âwalk,â Kang Chan crossed the pedestrian lane and passed by the van. As he did, he quickly counted seven heads in the vicinity, but there could be more.
Kang Chan went into the convenience store and bought a cigarette and lighter. As he was looking into the drink partition while pretending to relax, his phone rang. It was Seok Kang-Ho.
âWhat?â
- Where are you? The van left!
The van?
- Come out quick! Your father has already left!
âCome to the front of the massage parlor!â
Kang Chan hung up the phone and ran out of the convenience store, As Seok Kang-Hoâs car stopped in front of the store, his phone rang again.
âHello?â
We are "pawread dot com", find us on google.
- Your father has left.
âWhere is he?!â
- Heâs headed toward Seoul. If he continues at this pace, heâll soon be at the entrance of the highway. We still havenât found any vehicle other than the van.
âWeâre on our way.â
The sudden change in situation flustered Kang Chan, but it was difficult to pull tricks on the side of the street.
âHe said my father is headed to Seoul,â Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho.
âItâs going to be difficult to create an accident here.â
âRight?â
They were on a two-lane road.
Beep! Screech!
Seok Kang-Ho was going to overtake the car in the front, but he urgently turned the steering wheel after looking at the truck.
It would be okay, right? This road has quite a lot of traffic, and three agents are tailing him, so it's going to be okay.
They were on a two-lane road that went around to exit to the highway, and there were a lot of freight trucks that made it difficult to overtake the car up front.
Beep!
The moment when a large container truck passed by themâŠ
Kang Chanâs heart sank. The few seconds it took for him to take out his phone and press the call button felt like hours.
- Hello?
âWhoâs driving my fatherâs car?â
- It looks like he called a replacement driver[2].
âHow far away are you from him?â
- Thirty meters, and there are four cars in between us.
âIs there a truck behind my fatherâs car?â
- Thereâs a van right behind the âChiffreâ, and thereâs a truck behind that van.
âThe truck might push my fatherâs car if the van changes lanes! Get in between them no matter what and stop the truck from pushing!â
Screech!
Seok Kang-Ho was going to overtake the car in front of him, but he returned to his lane again while gritting his teeth.
Vrooom!
The car swiftly shot forward, enough for their heads to be pushed back.
High beams continuously came toward them from the other side of the lane, but Seok Kang-Ho forced ahead.
Beep! Beep!
Headlights flashed.
Screeeech!
Seok Kang-Ho cut in between two cars, and the cars behind them consecutively and urgently pressed on the brakes.
That seemed to have angered the driver behind them, seeing as how their carâs headlights flashed twice.
âOver there!â Seok Kang-Ho yelled.
As they turned a corner, Kang Chan saw the âChiffreâ at the front. At that moment, the van shot forward from the corner to the side of the âChiffre.â
No!
A car sprang forward from behind the truck. It was clearly the agentsâ.
Screech!
A van cut in front of the âChiffreâ while it was turning the corner, and a car bent over backward and turned the corner while brushing past the front of the truck.
2. In South Korea, there are people called âreplacement driversâ who bring inebriated people and their cars to their homes. It is an actual occupation â