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Kang Chan was glad he was with Seok Kang-Ho until that evening. After he made a reservation at the hotel, he had fried rice at a Chinese restaurant for dinner, which he hadn’t done in a long time.
“Let’s think positively,” Seok Kang-Ho told Kang Chan.
“Okay.”
“Phu,” Seok Kang-Ho laughed. He then stroked his face with his hands. “If you hear some news, please let me know right away.”
“Alright.”
Kang Chan parted ways with Seok Kang-Ho, then immediately headed to the hotel.
He took a seat facing the window in the lobby. Joo Chul-Bum, who accurately deduced that Kang Chan was on the premises, came over and greeted him.
“Please give us a call whenever you plan on coming here, hyung-nim.”
“Alright. Go and do your work. You’re probably busy,” Kang Chan responded to Joo Chul-Bum.
“Have you had dinner?”
“Yes.”
Joo Chul-Bum’s actions weren’t irritating. It seemed as if Kang Chan had grown attached to him. They saw each other often, after all, and he was friendly. Joo Chul-Bum then dropped by the counter before heading to the basement, turning Kang Chan into a coward that didn’t pay for the coffee that he drank again.
Kang Chan exhaled and was looking out the window when his phone rang.
It would be weird if he didn’t get a phone call from Oh Gwang-Taek while he was at the Namsan Hotel.
- Did you drop by the hotel?
“Yeah. I have an appointment.”
- You still haven’t identified the fucker that called the shots?
“We’re looking for him, so settle down and wait.”
- I know that I fall short. Still, don’t exclude me. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll just sharpen your and Kang-Ho hyung-nim’s knives.
Why wouldn’t Kang Chan know how Oh Gwang-Taek felt?
“Alright. Right! I’m thinking of sending some money to your subordinates’ families. How does that sound?”
- Don’t worry about that. I actually signed over a store in a commercial building that’s frequently visited by customers due to its location. I’ll take care of this. Those fuckers protected me knowing full well doing so would kill them.
“Tsk! Anyway, I’ll contact you if we find something and are going to make a move.”
- Please.
Kang Chan put down his phone and resumed blankly looking out the window. His phone rang about thirty minutes later. He told Lanok the room number and headed up the room. Lanok arrived about five minutes earlier than 9 pm.
“Welcome,” Kang Chan told Lanok.
They greeted each other like Frenchmen.
Since it was late at night and Kang Chan couldn’t prepare anything else, he poured them water from the bottle that was provided with the room. They then bit on a cigar and a cigarette respectively.
“I apologize for leaving the way I did yesterday,” Kang Chan told Lanok.
“It’s okay. That made me certain of how you think about those around you. Please don’t worry about it too much.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Kang Chan said. He extinguished the cigarette and had a sip of water.
Kang Chan decided to wait for Lanok to talk for now since he had to have a reason to insist on meeting. Lanok did tell him over the phone that they should see each other today, but Lanok wouldn’t have decided to set up an appointment to meet him just because he didn’t have anything better to do or because he missed the hotel room.
“Mr. Kang Chan.”
He’s going to talk about Kim Hyung-Jung!
Lanok had just called Kang Chan, but he still felt certain that the ambassador was going to talk about Kim Hyung-Jung. His heart raced, and he felt frustrated.
“The Korean specialized team has secretly penetrated into Mongolia, and they were hidden enough to not be caught despite being inside the radar of France's DGSE. They left Korea at around 4:40 am,” Lanok continued.
Kang Chan focused on Lanok as much as he could.
“It was hard to know their mission’s results until I was talking to you on the phone, but at around 7 pm Korean time, the DGSE contacted me.”
After Lanok saw the look in Kang Chan’s eyes, he immediately continued, “the operation failed. Among the twenty-five people that were deployed, about thirteen died. We haven’t figured out how many are injured yet.”
“What about the rest?” Kang Chan asked.
“It hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Lanok breathed in deeply before continuing. “but we believe that they’ve been captured.”
Damn it! So this is why I was so frustrated.
Kang Chan gritted his teeth. His eyes dropped to the ground.
After a moment passed…
“It’s unlikely that they’ve actually been taken prisoner, however. If the enemies become aware that South Korea sent them, then as you worried, it’s going to be difficult to clean up afterward. Completely aware of that, they probably chose death,” Kang Chan told Lanok.
“It seems like the Korean National Intelligence Service used too simple of a method. We’re judging that the enemies got intel about them the moment the Korean specialized team entered Mongolia. The enemies had probably been waiting for them and pounced on them when they got the opportunity.”
Lanok drank water, seemingly avoiding Kang Chan’s sharp eyes. He then said, “Mr. Kang Chan, you shouldn’t get worked up.”
Kang Chan didn’t respond.
“You’re not supposed to rescue anyone. What you should do now is ensure the ‘Unicorn’ succeeds so that their sacrifices won’t be in vain,” Lanok continued.
Kang Chan picked up a cigarette. Lanok was never going to cooperate in a rescue operation. Now that it had come to this, then the right thing to do was go to Mongolia for now on the fastest plane tomorrow.
“Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Ambassador.”
Lanok glanced at Kang Chan, who was exhaling deeply. “You’re thinking of leaving anyway, aren’t you?”
Lanok’s question made Kang Chan feel rather comfortable, so he just smiled in response.
He had already made a promise to Seok Kang-Ho. Seok Kang-Ho, Kim Tae-Jin, and Suh Sang-Hyun swiftly crossed his mind.
Lanok shook his head. He likely wouldn’t understand Kang Chan.
“Mr. Kang Chan, are you going to do this for me or Anne as well if we’re ever in danger?”
Kang Chan didn’t expect that question. What was he trying to say?
“Let me rephrase that. If we ever find ourselves in a dangerous situation, are you going to throw everything aside and come running to save us regardless of the consequences as well like what you’re doing now?”
Lanok was looking straight at Kang Chan, who was smiling softly.
“Yes, Mr. Ambassador. Honestly, I’m thinking of going to Mongolia tomorrow. I’d do the same for you or Anne if ever you’re placed in this situation. I’m thankful that you’ve been considerate, but I won’t be able to live with myself, even for just a day, if I ever turn a blind eye to someone waiting to be rescued,” Kang Chan answered.
Lanok sighed deeply, then replied, “I prepared a plane and twelve Foreign Legion members in the Osan airfield. I’ve also prepared enough military uniforms and weapons to arm ten more people.”
What is he saying?
Kang Chan ruminated about what he had just heard.
“After getting out of the plane at a military base in the suburbs of Darkhan[1], you’ll have to take a light aircraft or a helicopter. If things go out of hand now, China is certainly going to start a war.”
Lanok smiled brightly after he saw the look in Kang Chan’s eyes. “You’re going to protect Anne like this as well, right?”
“I’ll stop at nothing to save her!”
Lanok stood up from his seat. “There isn’t that much time. Since we don’t know what they’ll do to the captives, leaving as quickly as possible will give you the best chance of rescuing them. We’ve got two advantages, at least. The enemies can’t move their base yet, and they’ve likely let their guards down after confirming that it’s an independent operation done by South Korea. Now, do whatever it takes to come back alive.”
“Yes, Mr. Ambassador.”
Kang Chan tightly shook Lanok’s hand that was held out. He quickly loosened his grip after seeing Lanok frown, but he unexpectedly didn’t let go of Kang Chan’s hand.
“You’ll hear the detailed briefing inside the plane, but there’s one thing that you have to keep in mind,” Lanok continued. He was still holding onto Kang Chan’s hand.
“Never bring this up to someone that won’t be able to leave with you tomorrow, and if you’re going to tell anyone, you have to do it in person and in a location that you haven’t been to before. We’ll assemble at 3 am and move by our van. I’ll tell you the location in an hour by phone,” Lanok added.
“Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.”
“Thank me after you’ve come back alive. The chief manager of this operation is the God of Blackfield. I’ll look forward to your safe return.”
Lanok looked at Kang Chan with eyes that showed he was fascinated. “Do you really like doing this that much?”
“To save my people, I’d gladly go to hell.”
After Kang Chan left, Lanok’s assistant quietly walked out of one of the rooms inside. “It still isn’t too late to change your mind, Mr. Ambassador.”
Lanok shook his head, then turned around and looked behind him. “I won’t have any regrets even if my political career ends with this operation. After all, if this succeeds, then a generation would open where the United States would have to obey France. Hence, this is also my fight. If you ever get the chance, take a closer look at Monsieur Kang’s eyes and engrave it in your mind. Someone like that will change the course of events, regardless of whether they want to or not. Monsieur Kang could be the only person that the ‘Unicorn’ will acknowledge as its owner.”
Lanok turned his gaze from his assistant, then continued, “erase all records if he fails in the operation.”
A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.
“What should we do about the people that went with Monsieur Kang?”
“Check the total number of people in the van tomorrow. There’s likely going to be two people including Monsieur Kang, so it would be best for two burnt bodies to be discovered in a car accident.”
“Understood.”
“This is for France. We have already devoted our lives to our country when we started the ‘Unicorn.’ If only Monsieur Kang was born in France.”
Lanok looked at the door that Kang Chan went out of with a terribly subdued look in his eyes. “I would’ve been disappointed if he didn’t go to Mongolia.”
1. Darkhan is the second largest city in Mongolia ☜