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The next five days peacefully passed by like a dream. Spending most of his time just eating and playing Kang Chan’s injuries healed so perfectly that it was as if they were never there. Seok Kang-Ho's recovery, however, was a different story.
Although the hole in Kang Chan’s palm had been stitched up and wrapped in thick bandages, his grip strength still hadn’t completely returned.
Every passing day, he had a conversation on the phone with Yoo Hye-Sook and Kim Hyung-Jung. He also received good news about Jeon Dae-Geuk regaining consciousness. They still lost two agents during the battle, however.
Was it worth sacrificing the lives of those two men to restore the specialized team's fighting spirit and bravado? It seemed like a simple question, but the answer lay in a gray area.
Jeon Dae-Geuk had been in combat before and even fought at the front of the fray, so Kang Chan didn’t blame or criticize him. However, as a former captain who valued the lives of his squad members above all else, he couldn't help but have deep thoughts about the matter.
Saturday morning, Kang Chan had already enjoyed a satisfying breakfast. He sat alone, lost in his thoughts until Seok Kang-Ho's “Phuhu” laughter brought him back to reality. The way Seok Kang-Ho doubled over laughing while watching TV made him seem like a friendly old man around the block.
His sharp features, prominent eyebrows, and study build obviously marked him as someone to avoid picking a fight with, but that didn’t apply to Kang Chan.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Seok Kang-Ho turned his head toward the sudden ringing. Kang Chan raised his phone to his ear. It was Cecile.
“Hello?”
-Channy, are you available to talk right now?
Why did she sound as if she was preparing him for bad news? Had there been significant losses to his portfolio?
“Yeah. Go ahead.“
-A sell order came in yesterday, so I sold all your owned stocks and closed out your futures positions. Combining the value of the sold stocks and futures contracts, your earnings total to about two hundred and thirty billion won. You’ll be able to withdraw the balance on Tuesday.
Damn. It seemed that there were shrewd people out there making money in ways like this.
“Yeah?”
-Channy, aren’t you surprised by the amount?
“It just hasn’t sunk in yet,” Kang Chan replied, realizing that she didn’t sound calm. Rather, she was so stunned that she felt numb.
-If you ever need the money, just let me know anytime. You’re one of the most important VIPs at our brokerage firm, so the branch manager personally manages your account. Also

Did she want to ask him for a favor or something?
-I got a bonus of over 300 million with this. Channy, is it really okay for me to have all this to myself?
“You said it yourself. It’s your bonus.”
-I mean, I know the kind of person you are, but in cases like these, I usually give about 40% back to the account owner. People generally purchase cars with this money. If you want, I can get you a car for your parents.
“Why are you suggesting that?”
-So you won’t transfer your account to another brokerage firm.
Kang Chan laughed so hard that he almost snorted.
“I have to discuss this with the person who told me to do this, but I’ll do my best not to transfer my portfolio somewhere else. There’s nothing I can do about the withdrawal, but I’ll keep my account open while the transactions are still being processed, so don’t worry about it too much.
-Channy, if you do that, I’ll get a promotion.
“That’s great.”
-Let me buy you dinner sometime. Thank you, Channy. Thank you so much.
Her voice was slowly returning to normal, so Kang Chan wrapped up the call and hung up.
Two hundred thirty billion? It was preposterous.
Since Lanok earned that money for him, Kang Chan decided to discuss with him about what to do with it. He had no desire for it. He had only ever spent the money in his bank account on taxi fares, coffee, and some clothes. What was he supposed to do about 230 billion won?
How many pork cutlets could that buy? Was there a way to deliver pork cutlets to hungry children in Africa?
“What was that all about?”
“Lanok told me to put the money he sent me into a brokerage account, so I did, but the stocks and futures I invested in made it grow to two hundred and thirty billion won.”
“You’re a rich man!” exclaimed Seok Kang-Ho.
“Yeah, but it’s not really mine, is it? I’m going to call Lanok and send it to him.”
“Ah! That has to be such a bother.”
Seok Kang-Ho turned back to the TV.
“Phuhu.”
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“Huh? What’s with that laughter?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Hey! You can’t grasp how much all that money is either, can you?”
Seok Kang-Ho grinned.
“I still have the seven hundred million that President Kim Tae-Jin gave me. It’s just collecting dust in my bank account. The stocks are untouched too. Those already make me uncomfortable, and now you’re saying you now have two hundred and thirty billion won? Whew! My head hurts just thinking about it.”
Kang Chan was now certain that he should call Lanok and sort things out. It would be best to call him now or else he could forget about this, so he immediately looked for Lanok’s number in his phone and pressed the call button.
-Mr. Kang Chan.
“How have you been, Ambassador Lanok?”
-I’ve just been a little busy thanks to you.
Kang Chan could hear the smile in Lanok’s voice as he cracked a joke.
“I received a call from the brokerage firm. They said I currently have about two hundred and thirty billion won. Please give me your bank account information so I can send the money over immediately.”
-Mr. Kang Chan! That money is rightfully yours. I have no reason to take it. Your assets would’ve become worth at least four hundred billion if you held on to them for a week longer, but I sold them earlier as you wanted me to. So please, use it as you see fit, Mr. Kang Chan.
-You’ll need that money soon. Information warfare can give you immense profits, but it also brings tremendous expenses. It’s merely my way of expressing gratitude for saving me and my friends during the announcement of the Eurasian Rail. Rather than feeling burdened by it, you should use it for anything you need, Mr. Kang Chan.
Kang Chan sighed, then frowned.
Seok Kang-Ho glanced over at him as he headed off to boil some coffee.
-You should learn how to graciously accept gifts that are given to you out of sincerity.
There was nothing he could say to that.
-Well, would you like to have dinner next week?
Kang Chan felt like he could understand the emotions hidden in Lanok’s dry tone a little bit now. The dinner invitation just now actually meant that there was something he wanted to discuss.
“Sure. I’ll call you once I’m discharged from the hospital.”
-I’ll be waiting.
When Kang Chan hung up, Seok Kang-Ho handed him a steaming cup of coffee.
On the television screen, a large man was being overpowered by two smaller men. The audience erupted in noisy laughter.
Seok Kang-Ho reached over and switched off the television, then extended a cigarette to Kang Chan. The two lit their cigarettes up and smoked.
“He said he won’t even take a penny because it’s his way of expressing gratitude for saving him during the Eurasian Rail event. It all sounds like nonsense to me, though.”
“It’s not like the money is going to rot. Can’t you just leave it in there?” Seok Kang-Ho suggested.
“Well, that’s true. Do you need any money?”
“No! I said I still have seven hundred million plus the money Ambassador Lanok gave me!”
Seok Kang-Ho firmly shook his head, declining the offer.
“Captain. Let’s use the money to buy a big building.”
Seok Kang-Ho kept talking about buying a building as if he was just buying a toy.
“All right. Let’s put some more thought into this,” Kang Chan agreed reluctantly.
“Sure. We have to recover first anyway, so there’s no rush.”
“Land and building prices have gone through the roof, haven’t they?”
“Well, I’m sure they haven’t jumped in price as much as your money has skyrocketed. We’re not buying a building to profit off of it. We just want to keep it, so it should be enough. If it comes down to it, you can make D.I. and the Yoo Bi-Corp move into the building.”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea!”
Seok-Kang Ho seemed to be steadily getting smarter. It was strange, but Kang Chan’s mood always improved whenever he had a conversation with this punk.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho had become more relaxed by the time the door slid open and Yoo Hun-Woo entered the room.
Why was he here? He had already made his morning rounds.
“Mr. Kang Chan,” Yoo Hun-Woo greeted.
“What’s the matter?”
Yoo Hun-Woo nodded at Seok Kang-Ho with a serious expression, then walked over to Kang Chan.
Feeling apologetic, Kang Chan quickly put out his cigarette.
“Haah, I’m really sorry, but you’ll have to donate some blood for me.”
“Blood?” Kang Chan questioned.
Yoo Hun-Woo nodded gravely.
“We have a patient who attempted suicide by jumping off a building. The patient’s just a young high school student, but he’s in such a critical condition that there doesn’t seem to be anything else we can do. I’m really sorry, Mr. Kang Chan, but I can’t just turn a blind eye to this. Please don’t feel disrespected and—”
“Go.”
“Pardon?”
“You said he’s in a critical condition, didn’t you? Let’s hurry and go, then. You just need my blood, right?” Kang Chan asked.
“Mr. Kang Chan
!”
“I said let’s hurry and go!”
“Okay, okay.”
Kang Chan got up, and Yoo Hun-Woo turned to leave. Seok Kang-Hoo promptly followed after them.
As they exited the ward, the two National Intelligence Service agents standing by escorted the group.
Yoo Hun-Woo led them to an examination room on the second floor.
“Don’t we have to do a blood test?”
“You’re type O, so there’s no need for one, Mr. Kang Chan,” replied Yoo Hun-Woo.
Kang Chan used to be type B in his past life.
He lay on the bed inside the room as Yoo Hun-Woo instructed. A nurse then brought out a needle and pricked him with it slightly.