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Kang Dae-Kyung hadn’t been able to concentrate on his work since this morning. Breathing felt laborious as well, almost as if his chest was tied tightly.
“Whoo!”
He breathed in deeply, but the frustration didn’t go away at all. It felt as if something was taking up space in his lungs, keeping him from getting enough air.
The hardest thing he had worked at since coming to the office at 9 am was fiddling with his phone.
‘Wouldn’t it be okay to talk to him just this once?’
Kang Dae-Kyung couldn’t bring himself to press the call button, however. He was worried that Kang Chan was talking to someone important, like the Prime Minister, who even came to visit him personally in the hospital and asked him to allow Kang Chan to continue working for the country.
The salespeople had even become more energetic recently because the executives that had shaken hands with the Prime Minister told stories about what happened when he visited.
“Whoo-oo!” Kang Dae-Kyung exhaled, then gave the cigarette that was on top of an employee’s desk a subtle glance.
‘You’re okay, right?’
He needed to trust Kang Chan. He had to.
Kang Chan was still a high schooler, but that son of his performed acts that Kang Dae-Kyung, an ordinary person, couldn't even understand. Stories about parents that ruined their genius child were very common. In fact, there were just as many of them as there were geniuses.
Kang Dae-Kyung had to endure even though he was worried and wanted to keep Kang Chan by his side. For his son, he had to suppress that desire and watch him. That was what an ordinary father should do.
Kang Dae-Kyung recalled how Kang Chan swung a knife while blocking the front of the car. He could be acting like this because of how Kang Chan looked at that moment.
Kang Dae-Kyung would never forget the look in his son’s fierce eyes when Kang Chan glanced back at him while swinging his knife at his opponent.
In the middle of that terrifying battle, Kang Chan even managed to ask him if he was okay. He seemed to be saying that Kang Dae-Kyung had to be okay and was pleading for him to endure everything.
‘Okay. I’ll endure this as well. I’ll put on a strong front and endure everything, so you also shouldn’t worry about our family. Just
’
Kang Dae-Kyung recalled when they went into the Namsan Hotel to meet the Gong Te automobile executives, when Kang Chan returned home with a cake to congratulate him for completing the contract, and when he hugged Kang Chan at the hospital.
‘Just come back safely.’
Kang Dae-Kyung hit his tight chest with his fist.
***
They spent ten minutes having lunch.
“Are we resting for twenty more minutes?” GĂ©rard asked Kang Chan.
“If you want to.”
GĂ©rard chuckled with a strange expression.
In Africa, Kang Chan rested for twenty minutes after having a meal, if possible. They also frequently had early meals if they found a good place to eat. He had multiple reasons for doing so.
Being faced with a tense situation right after eating could cause a really loud a loud ‘growl’ to emerge from someone’s stomach. Being full could also cause them to lower their guard. Moreover, it was dirty, but some even had to look for an appropriate place to defecate while clutching their stomachs.
“Is that fucker bullshitting again?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.
“You’re fucking worse!”
Dayeru quickly turned his head when he saw Kang Chan’s expression. Kang Chan didn’t expect this fucker would adapt this fast.
Kang Chan then looked at the new recruit.
Among Westerners, some were unexpectedly soft-hearted. They also lacked guts and were a bit timid.
Most of them pretended not to be like that at all, but their eyes still showed fear.
Whenever new recruits got nervous, they would stiffen and their ability to make judgments would slow down.
That was why Kang Chan always went around with the new recruits behind him.
They didn’t notice it at first, but as time passed, they started to trust and depend on him. Afterward, they fired their guns with an easy mind.
From there, as long as they didn’t die, they would just come out of this with a scar from a knife like GĂ©rard in front of them and frown to act tough.
That could’ve been why Kang Chan had run over more relentlessly to save him.
He couldn’t give up on someone that had trusted and depended on him. Even though it sometimes required him to slit his enemies’ necks like a demon thirsty for blood, Kang Chan couldn’t give up on someone that he had told to stay behind him. He would even do it all over again if he had to.
“I did good, right?” The last memory of one of his subordinates, who had brought him a water bottle and smiled, came across Kang Chan’s mind.
“Fuck.”
Seok Kang-Ho glanced at Kang Chan.
I should've stopped at nothing to save that son of a bitch.
Kang Chan sighed softly.
***
Kim Hyung-Jung’s nose, left cheek, and the area around his right chin had swelled up. Moreover, the ends of his eyes, his cheek, and the area around his mouth were covered in blood.
Creak. Creak.
The string hanging from the ceiling made uncomfortable noises, almost as if finding Kim Hyung-Jung too heavy. He had already lost strength in his legs and couldn’t even stop his knees from bending. He would’ve been rolling on the floor already if not for his two arms that were tied toward the ceiling.
“You stubborn fucking son of a bitch!” a man yelled.
Creak. Creak.
Kim Hyung-Jung had multiple cuts and splits on his upper body. He didn’t have a top on, so his blood and bruises were all on full display.
“Tell us your name and the organization that you’re affiliated with, and we’ll let you go as we promised!” he yelled again.
The man violently and tightly grasped onto Kim Hyung-Jung’s bangs, which were soaked with blood. “Well send you to China. From there, you’ll be able to return to South Korea. I’m just asking you to tell me two things. Your name and the organization that you’re affiliated with. Why do you have to keep stalling?”
The man harshly shoved aside Kim Hyung-Jung’s head, then grabbed a long and thin awl. Just then, they heard someone yelling “Ugggh! Gaaah!” It was as if the person was yelling right next to them.
“See? He’s having that much of a hard time in the room next to us. More importantly, once I pierce your finger with this, then you won’t be able to grow a nail anymore. And if this follows the bones in your finger and pierces through to the other side, it would cut your nerves. Do you understand?” the man asked.
“Phew.” When Kim Hyung-Jung exhaled deeply, his blood, mixed with saliva, seeped out and fell to the ground.
“Are you going to talk now?”
Kim Hyung-Jung reflexively shook his head.
“Fucking son of a bitch!” The man roughly snatched Kim Hyung-Jung’s second finger on his left hand.
“Urgh!”
“Talk already, you fucking son of a bitch!” the man yelled again.
“Ugh! Arrgggh!” Kim Hyung-Jung gritted his teeth and continued to shake his head as if he was crazy.
***
They arrived in four hours, including lunchtime.
Kang Chan had thought that they’d only find a temporary barrack, but they instead found a small but proper military base. It even had wire fences as tall as a human.
Excluding the area where the main entrance was located, the military base was surrounded by mountains. In the middle of it were five cement buildings built around a sports field.
It also had a main gate and a guard post on either side.
Kang Chan examined the military base’s vicinity with a grave expression.
Twenty meters above it was a precipice that was entirely made up of rocks.
It didn’t matter what they did. This natural rock formation forcefully made them stand out immediately..
After examining the camp for about ten minutes, Kang Chan gathered the members together and said, “Starting from the left, we’ll label the buildings number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Radio operator!”
A member briefly raised his chin and nodded up.
“Snipers.”
Two other members raised their chins similarly in response.
“Captain, assign the snipers in teams of two. If possible, send them behind building number 2 and number 5. Make sure they’re perfectly camouflaged,” Kang Chan added.
“Understood.”
GĂ©rard dispatched the sniper and one member to their places.
“Radio operator, how do we contact the headquarters?” Kang Chan asked.
“We’ll talk to them using satellite phones.”
“Can our telephone conversations be wiretapped or our location tracked?”
“There’s a chance that our location will be detected because we’re using a satellite.”
If so, then using a phone would be difficult.
When Kang Chan was shaking his head, GĂ©rard came towards him.
“The rest of us should rest for now,” Kang Chan said.
GĂ©rard nodded.
“Don’t forget to order some of our men to guard the perimeter.”
“I know at least that much,” GĂ©rard answered.
While Kang Chan was smirking, GĂ©rard ordered the members.
“We’re going to feel cramped,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
“Tell me about it.”
Tsk!
No matter how urgently they came here, if it was this kind of military base then they should’ve given them more information.
“Let’s take a moment to think for now. Identify the number of sentries and when they’re relieved of their duty,” Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho.
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".
“Alright.”
“We’re relieving the guards in thirty minutes.”
“Pay attention to important details. I’m better for tasks like this.”
Alone, Kang Chan headed to a place where he could look down at the military base, then leaned back against an appropriate rock and sat down on the floor.
He couldn’t think of any good ways to solve this matter right now.
They were going to fight against North Korean special forces soldiers. Plus there were at least thirty of them.
If they didn’t ambush the enemies, they’d be fighting a losing battle.
Snap. Snap.
Just then, he heard the sound of a thumb and middle finger being flicked.
Kang Chan quickly walked towards Dayeru.
“Didn’t that sound come from a human?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
Kang Chan braced every nerve and concentrated for a moment, allowing him to hear awful screams, albeit barely.
“Whoo!”
“That was a human’s, wasn’t it?” Seok Kang-Ho asked again.
“They’re probably being tortured.”
“Ah, fuck,” Seok Kang-Ho swore.
Despite what was happening, they couldn’t leave right now.
If they dangled on a precipice in broad daylight, they’d be nothing more than cheap prizes that were hung up on a shooting gallery in an amusement park.
The enemies would take the lives of the members dangling on the precipice as prizes in two shots. They wouldn’t be able to stop the opponents from killing the captives either once they had found out about their rescue operation.
On that day, with the sun so high up they’d have to bend their heads backward to see it, the wind carried another scream to them.