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Once Lanok arrived at the hotel, he and Kang Chan headed up to the hotel room.
The first thing Kang Chan did was thank him for the acceptance letter.
Having sat in comfort, they started smoking and drinking tea. However, Lanok brought up something unexpected. “Mr. Kang Chan, if you come out to the venue tomorrow, Louis will hand over a pistol to you.”
“A pistol?”
“The Intelligence Bureaus’ heads have all decided to guard themselves. Likewise, my friends and I are planning to put our security in your hands. All five of my friends that you met at Loriam have agreed to this.”
Kang Chan was confused. Why did he have to do this?
“Mr. Ambassador, from my understanding, doing the meetings in South Korea means that you’re entrusting your safety and the way things will proceed to the South Korean government. Are you asking for a separate security detail?”
“Officially, that’s how it would go. However, meetings with the heads of the Intelligence Bureaus aren’t that easy. That’s why my friends and I are asking you to take responsibility for our security,” Lanok said.
“Think about the agents’ pride.”
Lanok glanced inside the room and nodded. “Louis has recommended you. He said he isn’t sure how it would go if you were only guarding me, but no one is better than you when it comes to security and managing even the agents of the other Intelligence Bureaus.”
Kang Chan sighed quietly.
All he ever had to think of for the past two days was seeing familiar faces. Now, he suddenly had work to do—one that was going to put a lot of pressure on him, no less.
“If I and my friends give you leadership over the agents, then even the heads of the Intelligence Bureaus of Russia and the other countries will have no choice but to follow. Although you’re rumored to be an agent I and the South Korean government created, it will still be better for everyone to have a South Korean agent in control of the situation,” Lanok added.
Kang Chan felt bitter.
Controlling the agents was totally different from being in combat. Although Kang Chan had experience patrolling the outer perimeters and escorting people at close range, professional security details were still different.
“We plan to hold the event at one of the international building and international hotel. The exact schedule will be released on Wednesday morning. It’s best to keep that in mind.”
Lanok spoke as if everything had actually been confirmed.
“The thirty-fifth brigade and the Korean 606[1] will be in charge of guarding the outer perimeter. I heard that the National Intelligence Service will oversee general security, and the presidential security service will handle close-range security. Ah, that’s just for the official meeting. Guards are not allowed during the unofficial meeting except at the outer perimeters. It’s a distinct characteristic of the meetings involving the heads of Intelligence Bureaus,” Lanok continued.
Kang Chan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
There was no way that this sly and wily person would call anyone for no reason. Kang Chan thought Lanok had something in mind that required making him represent their security.
“Will you take on the role?” Lanok asked.
It was difficult for Kang Chan to decline right now, considering Lanok was asking him so seriously.
“I will, Mr. Ambassador, but is there another reason you’re telling me something this the day before the event?”
Lanok smiled as if he didn’t expect such a question. There was certainly something that he didn’t tell Kang Chan.
“One of the Intelligence Bureau’s heads will likely seek asylum. If they do, the worst-case scenario will be a gunfight occurring. We need a person that can explain the situation to the presidential security office and the South Korean National Intelligence Service and make them understand it immediately, and no one fits such a job as well as you do.”
See? Although Lanok kept telling him good things in the beginning, he was clearly hiding something.
“Can I tell the National Intelligence Service about this?” Kang Chan asked.
“You can’t, Mr. Kang Chan.” Lanok adamantly shook his head. “If evidence is found that the South Korean government prepared for such a situation, the people concerned will certainly be killed. That’s how Intelligence Bureaus normally operate. Moreover, there’s a chance nobody will actually seek asylum, so it would be best for you to be the only one to know about this.”
Damn it! I shouldn’t have asked the real reason why I had to take this role.
“Come to the embassy at 10 am tomorrow. We can head out together. I prepared everything—from your suit to your equipment—so all you have to prepare is yourself,” Lanok said.
“Understood, Mr. Ambassador. I’ll get the schedule at that time as well, right?”
“Yes.”
Now that Kang Chan had decided to help Lanok, he decided to do it properly since there was actually something that he wanted from Lanok as well.
“What are you planning on doing to WuYang Jin-Woo?[2]” Lanok asked, almost as if he read Kang Chan’s mind,
“I’m planning to wait for an opportunity until the end of this month, and if I don’t get any, I’ll probably get help from France’s DGSE. I’m thinking of using a satellite to track his location, then kill him when he’s staying out overnight.”
“It’s certainly possible to cooperate with the DGSE to execute that plan.”
The DGSE had no reservations when it came to assassinations as well. Accustomed to such things, Lanok had no qualms with Kang Chan’s intentions at all.
“He will be a huge and recurring burden to South Korea, and we still have no idea what his plans are even though the Eurasian rail has already been announced. That’s why taking this opportunity to remove him isn’t such a bad idea,” Lanok said, then lifted his cup of tea. However, he suddenly looked at Kang Chan as if he just thought of something. “WuYang Jin-Woo is a pervert—a pedophile. If he can’t satisfy that desire, he would rape a very young-looking female employee. He has shown extreme tendencies multiple times before whenever he can’t satiate his carnal desires. It would be beneficial for you to use this information in the future.”
“You investigated him that deeply?”
“Mr. Kang Chan, we investigate almost everyone that’s in the top 0.1% in more than the one hundred thirty countries that we’re competing with. Even my country confidently remembers WuYang Jeon-Woo because he satisfies his perversion by periodically going out to Africa and Southeast Asia.”
That son of a bitch really was going around shaming the country.
“WuYang Jeon-Woo can lose his position because of the operation in Mongolia and the announcement of the ‘Unicorn’ project. Just watching someone that dangerous isn’t wise, which is why I’m supporting your plan,” Lanok added.
Kang Chan felt bitter, but he already planned to twist Yang Jin-Woo’s neck anyway for Yoo Hye-Sook.
“Mr. Ambassador, there’s something that makes me curious.”
“Go on. I don’t keep secrets from my friends.”
What he said was just as unreliable as Kang Chan saying that he learned French on the internet, so he just decided to ask what he was curious about.
“Is there another reason why you’re insisting on doing the announcement of the Eurasian rail in South Korea?” For his own sake, Kang Chan would never say something like this ever again just to benefit the position of the South Korean government.
“Hmm, there are two, actually. The first reason is to send a strong warning to China, Japan, and North Korea, and the second is to figure out what the United States and the United Kingdom. are doing.”
“The United States and the United Kingdom?”
“I already told you this before, but we’re trying to figure out why the United Kingdom is looking for the Blackhead, why Sharlan still hasn’t given up hope, and what relation Sharlan has to the Blackhead. Moreover, the United States is silently watching the United Kingdom while also searching for the Blackhead through a different organization. Why do you think they’re doing that, Mr. Kang Chan?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you think the United Kingdom and the United States are persistently trying to find a diamond even though the international economic power and roles they've been maintaining until now are about to be taken away by France and Russia?”
Would I be asking if I knew?
“I’m not sure?” Kang Chan asked.
It was something that was difficult for Kang Chan to even guess.
“The key is going to be in you
 if you believe that a person can die and reincarnate into a different person’s body, that is. The United States and the United Kingdom can’t take that into account. That’s only natural, though, considering it took even me a considerable amount of time to be convinced about it as well.”
Kang Chan’s question ended in vain. The only thing he got out of it was a headache. He decided to just think about tomorrow’s schedule.
“Once the Eurasian rail is announced, the United Kingdom and the United States are going to start making moves in full swing,” Lanok added.
Why would Kang Chan pay attention to the United States and even the United Kingdom when he wasn’t even an international figure?
Kang Chan drank tea to get rid of his complicated thoughts.
“Do you really not want to become naturalized in France?” Lanok asked.
Lanok had said quite a lot of things today that Kang Chan hadn’t even thought about.
“South Korea is a cramped place to stay in for someone who possesses abilities like yours,” Lanok continued.
“Are you telling me to join the Foreign Legion?”
“No way,” Lanok said and laughed, seemingly amused. “I’m just asking because I think it would be in your best interest to do work that is a bit more active. Honestly, I want to turn you into a powerful person in the DGSE.”
Kang Chan shook his head while smiling lightly. He didn’t want to live the rest of his life worrying about a bullet flying at him at any moment.
“I can’t help but wonder what you would have been like if you had just a little bit more ambition or greed,” Lanok added.
“If I was like that, you wouldn’t have accepted me as your friend.”
“Do you really think so?”
The two gave knowing smiles, then stood up from their spots.
“I’ll see you at 10 am tomorrow,” Kang Chan said.
“I’ll send a car to your apartment. Be out at front by 9:10 am.”
“I’ll just go there by taxi.”
“The weight that you’re carrying in this event isn’t light. Respectful treatment like that is a matter of course.”
Kang Chan couldn't refuse anymore when Lanok insisted.
Kang Chan sent off Lanok to the basement parking lot after they left the hotel room. Since the announcement was right around the corner, they entered and left the hotel using different entry points as a precaution.
Did I take on an unnecessary job?
There was no point in regretting it now. It had already been decided, so there was nothing he could do about it.
Kang Chan took the elevator up to the first floor so he could take a taxi home.
As he headed toward the exit, he walked past the front desk and the lobby to the ride. Glancing into the lobby, he saw Lee Ji-Yeon. She had her hands politely clasped in front of her as she listened to what the female manager was telling her.
Was she late? Or did she go absent from work without prior notice?
She looked very haggard, but everyone was going through their own situations. Kang Chan didn’t have to know about all of them.
The moment Kang Chan turned his head toward the entrance
 the man standing beside the entrance suddenly caught his attention.
‘Who’s that fucker?’
The man felt intense.
It would be ridiculous to think such a person was just an ordinary civilian. The look in his eyes was different.
Kang Chan quickly examined the guy.
‘Serpent Venimeux?’
He was Asian and had the head of a snake tattooed on his left hand—the Serpent Venimeux had agreed to get rid of it because it was too eye-catching, but it held its ground because it was tradition.
‘What is that fucker waiting for, though?’
The man was looking at the lobby.
Considering he came here from France, he probably wasn’t doing that because he didn’t have enough money to buy coffee.
‘Does he have a crush on someone in the lobby?’
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk. That was nonsense.
‘Ah! That fucker is fucking bothering me.’
While Kang Chan was shaking off his annoyance, Lee Ji-Yeon headed out of the lobby. The man’s eyes followed her.
1. Korean 606 is a military division that the author has created for this novel. ☜
2. Lanok pronounced Yang Jin-Woo’s name incorrectly here, probably with a French accent ☜