The restaurantâs interior had a large hall made of ondol[1], and with that in the center one side had the kitchen and the other side had a room.
âWelcome.â The owner glanced at the restaurant's dining area upon seeing Kang Chan enter alone.
âKang Chan!â Oh Gwang-Taek opened the door of one of the rooms inside the restaurant and called Kang Chan.
âAre you going to order?â The owner had followed Kang Chan to the door, then slightly tilted her head forward.
âAnother person will be eating with us, but please give us one grilled duck.â
âAlright.â
Oh Gwang-Taek closed the door after ordering.
âHow did you find them?â Kang Chan asked.
âSit. Talk after catching your breath. Here.â Oh Gwang-Taek handed him a cigarette. âThe fucker I recognized in the video is Cha Yang-Woon. He used to hang around with another bastard. Theyâre really close, and they even quit being gangsters at the same time when Cha Yang-Woon went to China. We recently heard that Cha Yang-Woonâs friend told people to tell him if they want to go to China, so we caught him, and he told us about this place. That house was also bought under his name,â Oh Gwang-Taek explained, then deeply exhaled cigarette smoke.
âWhat are you going to do if that fucker tells Cha Yang-Woon about us?â
âI have men with him right now in the van below the restaurant. We heard the fucker was also involved in the fight in Yongin.â
Kang Chan was relieved, which he hadnât felt in a long time. Should they take care of the sons of bitches in the house first?
âWhat about the other gangsters in the video?â Kang Chan asked.
âI watched the video with a few guys, but we didnât recognize anyone else in it, so theyâre likely from China.â
âHow much further up do we have to go from here?â
âI was told that the house is right above the restaurant. We canât see it since the road is curved, but the fucker said that weâll be able to hear it immediately if someone yells.â
Kang Chan smiled as if he was satisfied, and Oh Gwang-Taek shrugged smugly.
âWelcome.â Soon, they heard the owner greeting someone from outside the room.
âWeâre here!â Oh Gwang-Taek said after opening the door, and Seok Kang-Ho came inside with a small bag.
Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho exactly what Oh Gwang-Taek had said.
âWhat are we still doing here? Letâs go there now,â Seok Kang-Ho said afterward and patted his small bag.
âLetâs wait for now and eat what we ordered. Weâll pounce on them when it gets darker and theyâve all gone home,â Kang Chan replied.
âI saw a van and a car below the restaurant, and unless theyâre idiots, wouldnât they realize that there are gangsters here the moment they see the kid standing in the parking lot?â
Kang Chan didnât see the van or the car when he came here through the single path.
âDidnât you come here from the other side? The car was parked beside a weird real estate building. I easily recognized it with a glance.â Seok Kang-Ho asked.
Kang Chan did see the real estate building. Either way, if the car was close enough for Seok Kang-Ho to recognize it, then it was likely possible for their enemies to do so as well.
âI was told that there are CCTVs?â Oh Gwang-Taek asked Kang Chan.
âThere are security cameras?â
âI heard thereâs two of them.â
While Kang Chan was wondering what they should do, the grilled duck was served.
âEnjoy the meal,â the server commented.
The thick pumpkin was burnt on the outside and had been split open with a knife. Inside, the cooked duck was steaming. The duck wasnât important right now, though. What should they do?
âThe days are longer too since itâs summer.â
They couldnât blow their chance now that they had unexpectedly seized it.
The gangsters at the house saw Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Hoâs faces in Yongin, and they already knew Oh Gwang-Taek. Still, it didnât feel right to send a sloppy gangster there instead because heâd likely just ruin things.
âYes, yes. Three grilled ducks for the house above? Yes. Weâll bring it up right away.â
The moment they heard the owner say that, their gazes alternated among them.
âWe can go up to the house with the grilled ducks they ordered. That should work. We still have time, so we should eat our order first,â Kang Chan suggested.
Kang Chan used chopsticks to take off and eat a piece of breast meat from the grilled duck. A major reason why he had suggested that they eat before going up was that he had skipped lunch and was hungry.
âIt'll be uncomfortable no matter how I address you anyway, so let me just refer to you as Kang-Ho hyung-nim,â Oh Gwang-Taek said.
âDo what you want.â
âPlease eat this.â Oh Gwang-Taek handed over one leg of the duck to Seok Kang-Ho. He then held the other leg and dug in.
After about twenty minutes had passed, Oh Gwang-Taek left the room first and then said, âMaâam! About the ducks that the house above told you to bringâŠâ
âYes?â
âWeâre about to go there, so just let us know when itâs finished.â
âIâll be thankful if you do that, but what about the payment?â
âIâll take care of it.â
âAlright.â
The conversation ended without a hitch. Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho washed their hands to get rid of the oil, then went out to the yard of the restaurant. They stood on the opposite side of the car so they wouldn't be seen from the road just in case.
âGive me the kukri,â Kang Chan said.
Seok Kang-Ho took out two kukris from the small bag and handed one to Kang Chan.
Swoosh.
When Kang Chan grabbed the handle and unsheathed the kukri, its terrifyingly sharpened blade was revealed. He was satisfied.
âIâll go up with the duck and open the door. Come up to the house then,â Kang Chan ordered Seok Kang-Ho.
âHow would I know youâve opened the door while Iâm down here?â
âWeâre on a mountain. Youâre going to hear everything no matter what sound they make.â
âLetâs go there together.â
âHey! Itâs just three ducks. Those fuckers would catch on to us immediately if we go up together. I can pass through alone somehow since Iâm also wearing a casual outfit.â
Seok Kang-Ho looked at Kang Chanâs clothes, then twisted his lips. Kang Chan definitely looked like a different person from when he wore a suit.
âGive me a cigarette,â Kang Chan said.
âIf need be, break a window.â
As Kang Chan was smoking with Seok Kang-Ho, Oh Gwang-Taek came out of the restaurant with a paper bag that had a plastic string hanging on it.
âCaptain,â Seok Kang-Ho called.
âWhat?â
âIf I donât hear anything for more than five minutes, then Iâm just going to go up.â
âOkay.â
Kang Chan hid the kukri on his waist behind his back, then took the three paper bags from Oh Gwang-Taek.
âIâm going. Right! How much does this cost?â Kang Chan asked Oh Gwang-Taek.
âItâs 150,000 won. Hey! Whatâs the signal? Wait for a bit before going. I still have to call my men.â
âWeâve already planned everything out, so just follow Seok Kang-Ho. Put them in a call and tell them to go up the house once you hear me fighting.â
âOkay.â
âIâm going!â
Kang Chan inhaled, then followed the road up the house.
Past the restaurant, the path turned into a dirt track. Kang Chan thought people shouldâve put concrete on it and turned it into an actual road. The ground was bare, so it had a long sunken line on either side of the narrow track. They were the distance of car wheels apart.
Step. Step.
Kang Chan walked while blinking to release the tension in his eyes. Having the kukri on his back felt great.
âI see it now.â
Just like what Oh Gwang-Taek told him, the house came into view when Kang Chan went up a bit the mountain path. It was as if it was hiding on the left side. Rather than a villa, it was a common and old two-story western-style house.
Inside the barred gate was a parking lot that doubled as a garden, and to its right was the front door. The house also had a veranda on the second floor and marble stairs that led to the second floor from outside the house.
The time had come. Here, Kang Chan would find the people that ordered Kang Dae Kyung and Lanokâs death.
The gate came up to Kang Chanâs chest. He pressed the bell that was attached to it. The windows were frosted, so he couldnât see inside the living room from where he was at all.
âWho is it?â
âI brought the grilled duck,â Kang Chan answered.
After a short silence had passedâŠ
Beep! Rattle!
The door opened. Kang Chan got nervous for a moment because he thought that the sons of bitches were suspicious of him. He went across the yard without hesitation.
Kang Chan pulled the front door to open it, but it was locked from the inside.
âWait!â Someone shouted. Kang Chan could hear the sound of the padlock turning.
Creak.
The front door opened. A mean-looking man held the door open with his foot, then held out his hand.
âHow much is it?â he asked Kang Chan.
âItâs 150,000 won.â
Kang Chan handed over the three paper bags to the guy.
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âAh, you fucker. You shouldâve given them to me after Iâve taken out the money.â
Kang Chan glanced inside the house as the man grumbled.
âHere!â The guy held out the money, and Kang Chan stared at his face.
âWhat are you doing, fucker?! Take the money already!â
A guy that had been sitting on the living room sofa leaned his upper body to the side. He then looked in Kang Chanâs direction. The moment when their eyes met, Kang Chanâs heart sank coldly. The look in his eyes showed that he was a professional at the level of the people that went to the hotel to try and kill Lanok. Plus, there werenât just one or two of them here.
âWhy is this fucker still isnât taking the money?â
As the person that received the ducks was swearing, the guy on the sofa quickly got up. He recognized Kang Chan. No, they recognized each other.
âMove!â
The man yelled while running to the front door.
Whoosh! Slice!
Kang Chan pulled out the kukri and slit the neck of the person in front of him.
âCough! Cough!â
Crash!
As his first opponent grasped onto his neck and bumped against the shoe shelf, Kang Chan ran and took a step into the entrance. The guy that had been on the sofa took a step forward from inside the doorway.
Pow. Pow-pow-pow-pow. Slice! Pow-pow.
Even though Kang Chan had sliced the guyâs right elbow with the kukri, he still couldnât overpower him even a bit.
Bam! Stab!
Kang Chan and his enemyâs elbows crashed against each other twice in front of their faces.
At that moment, other people moved quickly into the living room.
1. ondol is a heating system in Korea. Its underfloor heating uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of the floor â