/
Kang Chan just drank coffee on one side of the international building in a suit. Honestly, he was becoming less nervous.
“Would you like a cigarette?” Kang Chan asked.
Louis accepted the offer. Soon after, they both lit up their sticks.
‘Being a security guard is fucking hard.’
They had to stay alert even when faced with dull mundanity.
Kang Chan shook his head as he sat on the marble of the flower bed.
“Monsieur Kang, what do you think about Anne?” Louis asked with a serious expression.
“Louis, I already like another woman. And Anne is just interested in me because she needs someone she can depend on while shaking off the sadness she’s been holding inside since that incident. That’s all there is to it.”
Kang Chan took a sip of the cold coffee, then put the cup down beside him. “I would rather go to Mongolia one more time if I was told to go. I really can’t do things like this.”
Louis forcibly gritted his teeth as if he was holding in his laughter.
“You should act comfortably when you’re with me. I don’t know if smiling in front of the Ambassador is rude, but to me, it isn’t.”
Louis smiled awkwardly, then perched on the marble beside Kang Chan.
The fucker had really long legs.
***
“We have prepared everything.” Yang Jin-Woo told someone in the second meeting room. “As soon as it’s out, Lee Ji-Yeon’s case will be closed as her hanging herself because she was pessimistic about her unnie’s death,” the man told Yang Jin-Woo.
“I heard that there’s also an elderly in her family?”
“She’s undergoing dialysis for kidney failure. They’re undergoing a lot of financial difficulties because the unnie who bore the cost of the hospital fees died.”
“I don’t want any loose ends.”
“Understood.”
“Go.”
A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled.
The man bowed his head and stood up. Yang Jin-Woo went somewhere as well.
The first meeting room.
Straightening his large physique, Kwak Do-Young, the assistant of Chairperson Huh Sang-Soo, greeted Yang Jin-Woo.
“Have a seat. How did it go?” Yang Jin-Woo asked.
“We’ve finished our preparations.”
Yang Jin-Woo leisurely looked around the large meeting room, then leaned toward Kwak Do-Young. “We aren’t giving our work to them after we put all that effort into this, are we?”
“The Chairperson, the Assemblyman, and the Chairman have basically raised the Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.”
“How are we supposed to know what’s going on inside someone’s mind?”
“There’s nothing for you to be worried about. The chairman even called him yesterday and had dinner together,” Kwak Do-Young quickly added when he saw Yang Jin-Woo’s expression. “He didn’t say anything else.”
“Whoo, we should be very careful. Look at chief secretary Cho right now—didn’t he directly show our situation after the Eurasian rail was announced? The current regime is committing cruel things that we couldn’t have imagined. They’re even saying that South Korea is freeing itself from the influences of China and the United States. This is why people who have nothing to offer aren’t enough. This world has hierarchies, even in schools.”
Yang Jin-Woo clicked his tongue, then leaned toward Kwak Do-Young again. “Where’s the chairman and the chairperson?”
“They’re in the meeting hall and the private office.”
“Didn’t they go abroad?”
“Only tourists came into the country from China. What would they go abroad for?”
“Hu, Hu, hu, hu.”
Yang Jin-Woo laughed breathily, then looked at Kwak Do-Young. “I met the chairman and chairperson Huh when they were still young, but they weren’t as magnanimous as you. I’m really curious about how far you’ll go.”
“I’m only following orders.”
“Phew, that’s right. That kind of mindset is important. People gain standards according to what they have. Know that a world will soon be created where you’ll be able to spread your wings properly. Never lose your personal connections in China.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Chairman,” Kwak Do-Young answered while bowing his head.
***
The meeting ended at exactly 5:30 pm.
Kang Chan was outside for over two hours, during which he spent some time talking to Louise about different topics and Kim Hyung-Jung came over two more times.
Kang Chan realized two things. One was that he would never become a security guard again even if it cost him his life, and the other was that Choi Jong-Il was going through a really hard time.
“Mr. Kang Chan, I’ve kept you waiting for far too long. My friends would like to greet you,” Lanok said. He had a bright expression when he came out of the main conference room.
Five people including Ludwig hugged Kang Chan and noisily kissed each other’s cheeks.
“I hope we see each other a lot more, Mr. Kang Chan. If it’s okay with you, please drop by our country someday as well,” one of them said.
“I’ll visit it in the future. Until next time.”
They exchanged greetings for about five minutes while a man who looked like a National Intelligence Service agent was waiting for them on one side of the building.
“Good luck to you.”
Kang Chan felt as if he had finished one assignment.
Lanok, Kang Chan, and Louis headed to the international hotel while following an agent of the National Intelligence Service.
“Vasili has been elected as the vice-chairman, and Ludwig and Vant are now part of the operation committee along with two more people. The result is satisfactory,” Lanok told Kang Chan.
Kang Chan didn't know what Lanok was talking about, but he wasn’t particularly interested either.
They soon headed to the international hotel by following the National Intelligence Service agent. On the way, Kang Chan became worried about how boring the dinner would be.
“Only the Ambassador and Mr. Kang Chan are entering the official meeting.” The employee standing at the entrance blocked Louis’ way.
Honestly, Kang Chan didn’t want to go in either. He wouldn’t gain anything by having his face repeatedly shown on TV. Even if they were in a situation where he would have to stop a terrorist attack, just rashly standing up during the dinner would still be burdensome.
“I’m sorry to say this, but I’m thinking of staying outside as well,” Kang Chan said.
“The President has invited you himself. We ask you to attend if you don’t have special circumstances that prevent you from doing so.”
The employee’s remarks made Kang Chan feel as if he had to go in.
“I’ll inspect you two for a moment.”
The agent stopped the employee from raising the detection stick.
“These two are exceptions to inspection.”
Surprised, the employee urgently apologized after checking the computer.
“Please go in, Mr. Ambassador.”
Kang Chan headed inside with Lanok, who had been looking at them because he was wondering what was going on.
“This way.”
The employee in charge of guiding people to their seats approached them and led them to a table near the front, where a podium was, and the middle of the room.
The broadcasting companies’ cameras were lined up along the walls of the room.
Before he sat down, Kang Chan briefly greeted those sitting at the same table as him. Rather than being sharp, they politely greeted Kang Chan and Lanok with stern looks in their eyes.
The table had a variety of cups, plates, and utensils on the white tablecloth covering it.
Lanok leaned in and whispered in Kang Chan’s ear, “I also can’t digest food properly when I’m eating in places like this, but it would be best to loosen up your expression a little bit since we’re being broadcasted.”
“That’s why I said that I don’t want to come in here a moment ago.”
Lanok turned his head to listen to what Kang Chan was saying, then turned to whisper again, “That would have made this boring meal lonely as well.”
When Kang Chan smiled slightly, Lanok smiled like a European mask.
***
[It seems the South Korean student Kang Chan is talking about something funny with the Ambassador of France right now, but we don’t know what they’re talking about exactly.]
The screen was filled with Lanok and Kang Chan talking to each other and then smiling.
[Although the President hasn’t entered yet, the dining room is already filled with excitement. The people eagerly wait for the time to commemorate the establishment of the historic Eurasian rail.]
Kang Yoo Motors was already on the verge of closing the doors to the showroom on the lower floor, but calls were still flooding in.
“The President is out on the field right now. If you leave a message, then I’ll relay it to him. Yes. Yes. Yes, I understand.”
The employees kept hanging up the calls that were looking for Kang Dae-Kyung.
“Honey, our Channy is going to be okay, right?”
“This happened so suddenly, which is why everyone’s reacting this way. Everyone is going to forget about this soon, so don’t worry.”
Kang Dae-Kyung stroked Yoo Hye-Sook’s back, who looked gaunt even though only half of the day had passed. He became worried as well when he noticed all broadcasts were competitively reporting about Kang Chan and the office was being flooded with calls, though.
“Honey, why did Channy hang something like that on his ear?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
“Huh?”
The screen was showing the entire dining room again.
“You didn’t see? Channy was wearing a gray earphone on his ear?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked again.
“He’s probably wearing that because it’s needed for the event,” Kang Dae-Kyung decided to overlook the truth for now.
***
“Everyone, please welcome the President.”
Following what the host said, everyone stood up and welcomed President Moon Jae-Hyun and the First Lady with applause.
Moon Jae-Hyun waved as he entered. Behind him, two security guards guarded each side of the entrance.
When Moon Jae-Hyun reached the podium, everyone sat down.
“I sincerely welcome everyone who visited South Korea for the establishment of the Eurasian rail.”
When Moon Jae-Hyun started his speech, Lanok hung the earphone beside his chair on his ear.
Kang Chan listened to Moon Jae-Hyun’s speech while looking as comfortable as possible.
This was better than being in classes that he couldn’t understand.
The speech lasted for about twenty minutes. Moon Jae-Hyun then walked to the very front seat and proposed a toast. People gave another round of applause afterward, and the meal course consisting of Korean cuisine started.
After that, today’s schedule would be over.