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After saying what he had wanted to say, Hwang Ki-Hyun ordered an agent to hand over the phones Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho left. He seemed to have forgotten about it, but he clearly just didn’t want anything to disturb their conversation. Nevertheless, his sly acting looked very natural.
Kang Chan thought South Korea had its own sly and wily fox after all.
“Mr. Kang Chan, please think about it slowly while you’re recovering,.”
“Yes, Mr. Director.”
Hwang Ki-Hyun patted Kang Chan’s shoulder and left the room.
“Hmm, he seems approachable, but he has an oddly fierce atmosphere around him,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
“Right? Ah, shoot!”
Kang Chan quickly called Smithen, who would still be stuck at home.
- Hello? Captain!
“Yeah, it’s me! How’s everything on your side?”
- The agent-looking men disappeared when the security guards arrived.
“Everything should be alright for now. Be careful, and never ever go out to the suburbs by yourself.”
- Alright.
After hearing Smithen’s awkward answer, he checked who had called him while he didn’t have his phone.
Kang Dae-Kyung had called him three times, and Michelle and Oh Gwang-Taek had called him once.
Kang Chan called Oh Gwang-Taek first.
- Kang Chan, we got revenge.
Kang Chan heard Oh Gwang-Taek’s delighted voice as soon as the latter picked up the call.
- Those sons of bitches had all sorts of weapons. I even took five of their pistols. What should we do?
“Did you guys clean up afterward?”
- We took care of them in our own way. Even with all of them combined, there weren’t even twenty of them.
What a scary fucker.
At any rate, the pistols Oh Gwang-Taek had would cause a lot of problems.
“Return the pistols. Where did you guys leave the bodies? It’ll be a pain if people talk about it later, but if we know where the bodies are, we should be able to cover the matter up even if they’re discovered.”
- They can’t be discovered. They need to have parts intact for that.
“What are you saying?”
- We mixed them with the molten metal at the factory I own. Some of their parts will still be around when the molten metal is poured on a cast, but that much impurity won’t even be a problem since we mainly make iron gates there.
Kang Chan was appalled. How could Oh Gwang-Taek say something horrible so straightforwardly?
‘I should be aware of the name of the company that this fucker owns?’
Regardless, it seemed this matter was coming to an end.
“Okay. Anyway, I’ll send someone over. Hand over the pistols to them discreetly. That would allow me to protect you.”
- Copy. Where are you? Let’s have a drink tonight.
“I’m at the hospital. Let’s just meet up after I get discharged.”
- Where are you? Are you at the Bang Ji Hospital?
“Hey! A woman will be coming. Don’t ruin the mood and just meet up with me once I get out of here.”
- Okay, okay. Make sure you contact me. One last thing…
Oh Gwang-Taek hesitated for a moment. He was clearly about to thank Kang Chan.
“Be quiet. I’m hanging up.”
After hanging up, Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho about the call.
“Is he just like any other gangster after all? I feel like we’re never going to live a normal life.” Seok Kang-Ho commented afterward.
“Tell me about it. Things are increasingly getting out of hand.”
While Kang Chan was drinking the coffee that Hwang Ki-Hyun gave them before he left, Seok Kang-Ho took out a cigarette and handed it to him.
“Captain, you looked tired while we were fighting a moment ago. You also looked enraged.” Seok Kang-Ho exhaled smoke through his mouth and nose as he spoke. “We’ve been participating in this kind of fight nonstop since we reincarnated. We should take a break. Even back in Africa, we used to go on vacations after battles like this, didn’t we? Let’s take at least half of the month off after we get discharged. The beach or even abroad would be great. If those don’t work, we should at least go to Jeju-do.”
Kang Chan nodded as he exhaled and groaned at the same time.
In all honesty, Kang Chan had so much trouble letting go of the knife and the gun that he even wondered if they reincarnated specifically to fight.
“Would that fucking National Assembly Chairman leave us alone?” Kang Chan asked.
“Pff! That fucker won’t be able to do anything because he’ll be busy observing people’s moods for quite some time, so let’s at least think that we’re going to rest for now.”
“Okay, sure.”
What Seok Kang-Ho had said wasn’t wrong. After nodding in agreement, Kang Chan called Michelle.
- Channy! Are you okay?
“Yeah. I’m sorry for making you worry for no reason. I must’ve become a bit sensitive.”
- It’s fine. You were just looking out for me. I called you because I was worried, but I decided to just wait since I was afraid I would disturb you. Thank you, Channy.”
Her voice sounded seductive. However, before Kang Chan could hang up…
- Where are you right now?
Kang Chan’s expectation was spot on.
“I’m with other people. Why do you ask?”
- Our drama is premiering today at 8:30 pm! We’re all at the company right now. It would’ve been great if you were also here.
“Alright. I’ll also watch it if I can.”
- Take care of yourself, Channy. If you get hurt, then Eun So-Yeon, Kim Mi-Young and I will be crying together.
“Hey!”
Kang Chan flinched. Shouting made his wounds sting. He heard Michelle laughing as if she found it funny.
- I’ll hang up. J’taime, Channy.
The complicated phone call ended.
“The drama being produced by D.I. is apparently airing today,” Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho.
“What time?”
“She said 8:30 pm.”
“We should watch it together after having dinner. Why haven’t you called your family, though?”
Kang Chan sighed, then explained what had happened at the Foundation’s office.
“Phuhu, I guess you’re weak when it comes to things like this. Don’t think. Just call her. Didn’t you say that she hugged you after? She probably can’t even eat dinner right now because she’s so bothered that she showed that kind of expression to you. I’ll be back after calling my family as well, so give her a call already,” Seok Kang-Ho commented afterward.
Even though Seok Kang-Ho was frowning, he left the room still somehow looking as if he found the situation funny.
Would that fucker really know much about things like this?
“Whew.”
Kang Dae-Kyung popped into Kang Chan’s mind. He looked as if he was trying hard to accept Kang Chan and had put in quite a lot of effort to pretend that nothing was wrong.
Yeah. Even though I don’t know what they have to say to me, calling them right now is the right thing to do.
With a heavy heart, Kang Chan pressed the call button.
The call rang twice before it was picked up.
- Channy!
That one word conveyed all of her happiness, worry, sympathy, and pity to Kang Chan.
“Mother? What happened to your voice?”
Kang Chan unexpectedly felt troubled.
- I probably sound off because I feel bad for how I reacted and because I was afraid that I broke your heart with the weird expression I showed you earlier today. Where are you? Have you had dinner? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?
Kang Chan laughed. He was initially annoyed because Yoo Hye-Sook was so worried about him, but he now felt happy.
“I’m completely fine. Have you had dinner?”
- Not yet.
“Why not? Please eat dinner already. I heard that the drama that D.I. is producing will air at 8:30 pm, so please watch it.”
- Okay, we will. Are you coming home today?
“No. It’ll probably take a few days for me to come home since I still have things to do here, but let’s go on a vacation for a few days once I get back, Mother.”
Kang Chan heard Yoo Hye-Sook sob and burst into tears. He also heard Kang Dae-Kyung ask, “What’s wrong with you?”
- Hello? Is that you, Channy?
“Yes, Father. What’s with Mother?”
- I should be the one asking you that. What did you tell her that made her cry?
“I told her we should go on a vacation for a few days once I get back home.”
- That’s something worth crying for your mom. She’s been lying down all day because she was afraid that you were upset. Ow!
Based on what Kang Chan heard, Yoo Hye-Sook seemed to have hit Kang Dae-Kyung. They laughed soon after.
- Are you alright?
“Yes, Father.”
- Do you also understand that your mom acted that way earlier because she was surprised?
“I’m sorry.”
Kang Chan heard Kang Dae-Kyung breathing softly, he heard Yoo Hye-Sook saying, “Give me the phone, honey.”
- Your mom is asking me to put her on the phone.
Kang Chan heard her sniffling.
- Thanks, Channy. I love you.
How could he hate a mom like this?
“I love you, Mom.”
Yoo Hye-Sook burst into tears for the second time.
- I love you. I love you Channy.
In the background, Kang Dae-Kyung said, “If someone else saw you like this, they’d think Channy lives in a foreign country. How are you going to send him to France? Ow! Alright, alright.”
“Mother, please don’t worry too much and make sure to have dinner, okay? If you look sick when I get home, I’m really going to be upset.”
Kang Chan glanced at the door. He didn’t think of it when he said ‘I love you’ earlier, but he was now bothered that Seok Kang-Ho would hear him.
- Okay. I’ll put your dad on the phone.
Yoo Hye-Sook now sounded calm, making Kang Chan feel relieved. It was as if a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders.
- Chan, you know that both of us are on your side forever, right?
“Of course.”
- If you’re struggling, come home whenever. No matter what you did, we’ll be happy to have you back. You don’t have to tell us anything if you don’t want to. We just wish you’d come home to us.
“I will.”
Kang Chan was sincerely thankful for having parents like them.
- When are you coming home?
“I don’t know how many days this will take to finish.”
- Alright. Call your mom at least once a day.
“Okay.”
Kang Chan heard Yoo Hye-Sook saying, “Honey, wait a second,” in the background after he had finished his conversation with Kang Dae-Kyung, but the call had already dropped. Kang Chan thought that Kang Dae-Kyung probably pretended not to hear her and just pressed the end button because he was worried that it would prolong the call too much.
Kang Chan felt refreshed and as if he was on top of the world. He also felt hungry not long after.
Rattle.
Yoo Hun-Woo opened the door and came inside with a nurse.
“How are you feeling?” Yoo Hun-Woo asked.
“I don’t know if I feel particularly different than usual?”
Perhaps it was because bandages were wrapped around Kang Chan earlier in the day, but Yoo Hun-Woo just examined if blood had seeped out from the bandages, then stood up straight.
“You should be really careful when using your left hand. If things go wrong, you could lose your strength on it permanently. The pain will be quite severe as well since your bones held the knife in place and got ground when you were stabbed,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
“Alright.”
While the nurse was injecting medication into the IV, Yoo Hun-Woo stared at Kang Chan.
The nurse put medicine on top of the table, then left the room first.
“People from the National Intelligence Service dropped by. They said that if the hospital needs any medicine in the future, I can charge them as I please. They also told me not to worry because they’ll take action for that to happen,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
“That went well.”
“I have a favor to ask, Mr. Kang Chan.”
“What is it? Is there someone you hate?”
Yoo Hun-Woo smiled, his expression seemingly saying, “No way.” He then said, “It’s fine even if the hospital doesn’t get support from any institutions. I just hope I can continue treating gangsters like I do now.”
Kang Chan looked at Yoo Hun-Woo as if he didn’t understand, so the latter elaborated, “I’m saying this out of unnecessary concern, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to treat the people who really need to be treated because some institution came here to investigate or became interested.”
“I’ll do my best and help you with your concern, then. If, by any chance, someone stops you, then please call me immediately.”
“Thank you.”
After talking about a few more things, Yoo Hun-Woo left. Around ten minutes later, Seok Kang-Ho entered the room, frowning due to the pain he was enduring.
“Have you called your parents?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Yeah. They liked it.”
“See? That’s how a parent feels.”
Kang Chan had nothing to say to things like this.
“Let’s order meat for dinner. Considering we also lost a lot of blood, we should have jokbal and Jaengbanguksu![1] What do you think?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Sure.”
While Seok Kang-Ho was ordering their food, Kang Chan leaned back against the bed.
‘I should think about things later.’
Kang Chan decided to rest for now.
Becoming naturalized in France? Becoming the South Korean representative for the Eurasian Rail?
He could take his time thinking about those after eating jokbal and watching the drama on TV.
***
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho ate a filling meal, then turned on the TV and relaxed.
They were full, had made a cup of coffee, and had cigarettes beside them. They couldn’t wish for more.
However, watching the news made their comfort completely vanish.
With the Japanese agents’ bodies lined up in the background, the TV showed a news report about Yang Jin-Woo for forty minutes.
The news started with why Yang Jin-Woo committed all his atrocities, then continued on to why he tried to install the underwater tunnel. The news also stated they were still figuring out the identities of the dead agents. All of that seemed fairly convincing.
The news called it the worst rebellion incident since the establishment of South Korea. It also included interviews with citizens and pictures of Yang Jin-Woo, some of which showed him shaking hands with others. The news seemed to be saying Yang Jin-Woo was a chaebol who had dreamed of being the perfect traitor.
By the end of the news, the reporter said that the ones who solved this incident were the National Intelligence Service’s nameless agents, then closed it off with, “we pray for the bliss of the nameless agents who sacrificed themselves to put a stop to this rebellion.”
The news report made Kang Chan smoke.
“People will probably move on from this one way or another with that kind of news report?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“You think so?”
There were a significant number of parts that were different from what actually happened, but Kang Chan wasn’t going to talk about it.
They talked while watching the news. Soon after, the drama started.
The title was Jinsook is Pretty.
Damn. What an awful title!
Kang Chan watched the drama while being slightly suspicious of Michelle’s tastes.
He cringed whenever he saw someone he knew appear on TV and act like they were someone else. Contrary to his expectations, however, Seok Kang-Ho kept saying, “This is fun. It’s well made.”
Kang Chan didn’t know about anything else, but he at least agreed that Eun So-Yeon looked pretty. The way she tried to lead her poor family in the drama seemed to make her look pretty.
When the drama ended, Seok Kang-Ho pursed his lips and nodded. “Ha! This is going to be a hit.”
“You think so? I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
“My wife and daughter have been making me watch dramas with them, so I’m confident in my skills to judge a good drama. If the drama keeps going at this quality, it’s definitely going to be a hit.”
Kang Chan didn’t feel the need to correct Seok Kang-Ho about the drama becoming a hit.
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“I’m going to sleep here,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
“Why?”
“Is there a reason why we have to insist on sleeping in separate rooms? Staying in the same room means we get to talk to each other any time we want. We can just sleep in the beds across from each other.”
“Hey! I already told you that you snore.”
“So?! My wife said that she couldn’t sleep because she couldn't hear me snoring. Just be understanding for now. It’s only for a few days.”
Jeez, this boring fucker.
Kang Chan just gave up because it wasn’t like Seok Kang-Ho would listen to him even if he said anything.
“Do you think that fucker Gérard has fully recovered by now?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“His shoulder was completely pierced. No matter how fast he heals, it’ll take at least three months.”
“Didn’t he say he’ll go to South Korea sometime?”
“What will he do if he comes here? He should just keep living peacefully. Do you really think either of us would remain still if we learn that that fucker died or has gotten himself captured in an operation somewhere? We’d get so furious that we’d run wild and head straight to his rescue. Phew! Just thinking about it makes me feel crazy,” Kang Chan said.
“Phuhu, that fucker! I can't help but laugh whenever I remember how he tried to look cool just because he had become a half-grown chick.” Seok Kang-Ho wiped his nose with the hospital gown’s sleeve. Snot seemed to have gotten out of his nose while he was laughing.
“Anyway, Captain, if you’re going to become the South Korean representative of the Eurasian Rail, please make a position for me as well. I’ll quit working at the school.”
What’s he saying?
Kang Chan looked at Seok Kang-Ho as the latter pursed his lips.
“We have been fighting nonstop since we reincarnated. Considering things have been gradually getting out of hand, there’s definitely something going on,” Seok Kang-Ho continued. He looked excited. “Instead of constantly being forced to fight, we should prepare in advance as well. We should create our own organization and handpick the agents that we need. Aren’t they going to create an office for you?”
“What are you doing? Pull yourself together.”
“In any case, won’t we feel comfortable after we knock down the Huh brothers? It’s also not right to keep asking for help every time we fight, so we should create a proper organization instead and take the initiative.”
Kang Chan stared at Seok Kang-Ho.
“Captain, I mean it.”
He actually did look serious.
“While we were fighting Yang Jin-Woo, I realized there is a ton of nasty fuckers in the world. Since we’ve already started taking them down, we might as well eliminate them all,” Seok Kang-Ho continued.
When Kang Chan burst into laughter, Seok Kang-Ho smirked.
“Daye.”
“Yes?”
Wanting to get something straight, Kang Chan asked, “Do you want to continue participating in fights like the one that occurred today?”
“Even if we try, it doesn't seem like we’ll be able to avoid fighting.”
“What about your family? We were lucky today, but one day they might get a death notice.”
“About that…” Seok Kang-Ho stopped mid-sentence.
“You were the lonely Dayeru in Africa, but aren’t you the head of your family here? What about the people you’ll leave behind?”
Seok Kang-Ho hung his head for a moment, then looked straight at Kang Chan.
“What else can I do? I only feel like I’m alive when I’m fighting with you. When we went to Mongolia and when we stood before our enemies today, I thought that even if I were to die, I’d die happy. Having a home to return to is good and all, but if I keep working at that school, I’ll lose my will to live.”
Seok Kang-Ho sighed deeply.
“If I didn’t remember anything from my past life, I would’ve gotten accustomed to this way of life and just lived as Seok Kang-Ho. But after fighting together with you twice, I started missing our suspenseful lives. If I was just your age, I would’ve gone back to Africa already.”
Seok Kang-Ho dropped his head.
‘Ha! Tsk.’
What should I do with this fucker?
Kang Chan looked at Seok Kang-Ho with a profound expression.
1. Jaengbanguksu is a cold noodle dish served on a large platter with a lot of fresh vegetables. Jaengban means a platter or tray in Korean, and guksu means noodles. ☜