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When Yoo Hun-Woo left the room, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho both took out a cigarette.
“Hey! How do you remember the name of a kid who stopped going to our school last year and that Lee Ho-Jun and Heo Eun-Sil bullied her?” Kang Chan asked.
“Huh?” Startled, Seok Kang-Ho looked at Kang Chan.
“You didn’t think about that?”
“Not really. It just came across my mind as if it was something I’ve always known. I have even forgotten that I reincarnated this year because the feeling and the situation of that moment in my memories was so natural.”
“Hmm.”
This was completely different from Kang Chan’s case.
Kang Chan exhaled deeply about three or four times. He shouldn’t say anything about Seok Kang-Ho remembering things.
“I remember Su-Jin as a very tender-hearted kid, yet this still happened to her. Whoo!” Seok Kang-Ho exhaled cigarette smoke with a sigh, then pursed his lips with a dissatisfied expression.
Seok Kang-Ho looked like a bandit worrying about a bullied student. It made it so hard for Kang Chan to relate to what he was saying that he thought about getting Seok Kang-Ho a razor or something so he could shave.
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“What did the bullies do to her to make her commit suicide? And considering they bullied Su-Jin so much that they pushed her to cross that line, the school should have expelled Lee Ho-Jun and that bitch Eun-Sil already. Why did the school let her keep suffering so much?” Kang Chan asked.
“Pfft, people don’t hit others so openly anymore, you know? The bullies subtly harass their victims instead, just like what they did to Cha So-Yeon and Moon Ki-Jean. They don’t take the kids’ money immediately either. Rather, they would start by handing over a hundred won and ordering the kids to buy food for them or stuff like that. Meanwhile, the girls would surround other female students and take pictures of their chests. As I said, it’s difficult to get evidence.”
“Jeez!” Kang Chan extinguished his cigarette by pressing it on the coffee cup.
Frowning, Seok Kang-Ho guzzled water.
“Fortunately, you saved those kids when you started attending school. Right now, our school is getting a flood of transfer inquiries from kids in Seoul because they find it difficult to keep studying because they’re being bullied,” Seok Kang-Ho said, then discretely looked over Kang Chan’s mood.
“What?” Kang Chan asked.
“Captain, Lee Ho-Jun and Heo Eun-Sil are also victims.”
What’s he saying?
Seeing Kang Chan’s expression, Seok Kang-Ho quickly continued, “I’m not saying that what they did was good but that they ended up doing those things because the school couldn’t create a proper school environment for them. Now, the bullies are stepping up and getting rid of bullying themselves. They’re even stopping people from making other students run errands for them. Except for Heo Eun-Sil beating up three girls, our school’s environment has seriously improved.”
Feeling strangely annoyed and angry at the same time, Kang Chan couldn’t get rid of his frown.
Seok Kang-Ho promptly made coffee. “Things like this can’t be fixed in a day or two, so drink a cup of delicious coffee and loosen up—ah! H-hot!”
Dropping the coffee cup to the floor, Seok Kang-Ho grabbed his chest as he frowned. His wound seemed to have stung when he moved frantically.
“Are you okay? Get over there,” Kang Chan said. After making Seok Kang-Ho sit, he wiped the floor and made two cups of instant coffee.
“Here.” Kang Chan put one of them in front of Seok Kang-Ho, who had a coffee stain on his hospital gown. The latter gladly accepted the drink.
“Let’s have a quick dinner after drinking coffee. People often get annoyed if they’re hungry,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
Would this fucker understand that people can also get annoyed if they eat too much?
“Hey! You should get tested,” Kang Chan suggested.
Seok Kang-Ho looked at Kang Chan while taking a sip of his coffee.
“I’ve been thinking of buying and making you take anthelmintics for quite some time now. Your eating habits just don’t seem normal at all. It’s hard to eat as much as you do while hospitalized, you know.”
“Hey! I lost a lot of blood!” Seok Kang-Ho exclaimed.
“Didn’t you say that you eat three pastries before you sleep at home?”
“That’s true.”
“See? When was the last time you’ve had anthelmintics?” Kang Chan asked.
“I took one after reincarnating. My wife gave it to me.”
Seok Kang-Ho cocked his head, then immediately glared at the menu.
Kang Chan couldn’t stop Seok Kang-Ho right now, though, since he wanted to eat.
“Captain, let’s order spicy nakji-bokkeum[1] and rice.”
“Sure! That’s better than meat,” Kang Chan responded.
“Phuhu, it also has red sauce!”
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk while looking at Seok Kang-Ho, who excitedly picked up the phone.
If this fucker didn’t exist, Kang Chan would’ve been living quite a boring life.
Kang Chan thought about buying a building and living with Seok Kang-Ho. It wasn’t exactly because he liked being alone with him. Rather, he just wanted to create situations that Seok Kang-Ho would find really interesting. Kang Chan could ask Yoo Bi-Corp to have its employees act as security guards, which was hectic, or get Seok Kang-Ho to go on operations with Kim Hyung-Jung.
As for himself… He hadn’t made a decision yet.
Honestly, just as Seok Kang-Ho said, living an ordinary life could be boring. He knew that.
However, Kang Chan didn’t want to go through the pain of losing a member in an operation again. They lost two in their most recent operation alone. If Seok Kang-Ho, Kim Hyung-Jung, or even Kim Tae-Jin were among the casualties?
Kang Chan shook his head.
It was during times like this that Kang Chan wanted to see Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook.
They were probably aware by now that their new employees were agents. How many people could say, ‘She’s just tenacious,’ after seeing a female employee persistently fighting back against a trained combatant after being hit in the face?
What would they be doing right now?
If nothing was up, then for tonight’s dinner they were likely eating chicken while watching a movie on TV.
Despite being frustrated because of the fucking bullies, Kang Chan easily calmed down.
***
Both wearing a suit, Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook were sitting at a circular table with a white tablecloth draped over it. They looked as if they couldn’t shake off their nervousness.
Before them, sitting at the same table, were President Moon Jae-Hyun, Prime Minister Go Gun-Woo, and National Intelligence Service Director Hwang Ki-Hyun.
Their meal wasn’t served yet.
“Despite having to take responsibility for the country, the three of us here clung onto your son instead due to our lack of ability. As a result, we made you two go through a difficult time,” Moon Jae-Hyun said.
“I see,” Yoo Hye-Sook answered.
As Kang Dae-Kyung discreetly examined everyone’s mood, the three people before them smiled at the same time.
“As a matter of fact, South Korea initially wasn’t a part of the Eurasian Rail,” Hwang Ki-Hyun began upon receiving a glance from Moon Jae-Hyun. As if he was giving a briefing, he proceeded to tell Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook that Kang Chan was the one who connected South Korea to the Eurasian Rail through Lanok and made it so that it would be announced in South Korea.
“As the President, I am infinitely grateful to Kang Chan. However, when I tried actually to reward him, I became cautious of the world and how they will think. That’s why I have invited the two of you to dine with us today and express my gratitude,” Moon Jae-Hyun added.
Perhaps it was because they just told a story about Kang Chan’s heroic deeds, but Yoo Hye-Sook became much more relaxed.
“Next week, a special admission certificate to Seoul National University will arrive at the school. France seems to be doing whatever it takes to take our Kang Chan, but we’ll stop at nothing to protect him. As his mother, please help us prevent a foreign country from taking away someone as talented as Kang Chan,” Moon Jae-Hyun continued.
Kang Dae-Kyung softly held Yoo Hye-Sook’s trembling hand.
“If you need something or if there’s anything that makes the two of you uncomfortable, then please don’t hesitate to call the number that we’ll be giving you after the meal. We will have an employee on standby around the clock, waiting to answer your call. No matter what it is, the National Intelligence Service Director and I, as the Prime Minister, will take responsibility and take care of it. If it’s something that is so important that it would require a higher-ranking person to decide, then the President himself will help us,” Go Gun-Woo softly told Kang Chan’s parents.
“The two of you have truly raised an amazing son. As the President of South Korea, I sincerely thank the both of you.” Tilting his head and looking at Yoo Hye-Sook, Moon Jae-Hyun then asked, “Seems like you, unlike Mr. Kang Chan, can cry a bit?”
The four men, excluding Yoo Hye-Sook, burst into laughter at the same time.
The food was served when Go Gun-Woo gave the employees a glance.
Just as a French course should, appetizers were served first.
“Please indulge yourselves—we can talk while eating,” Moon Jae-Hyun said, then picked up the fork and began to eat in comfort. He clearly over-exaggerated his movements to make Yoo Hye-Sook comfortable.
“I actually like Korean food, but gulbi or galbi-jjim[2] is difficult to eat since it requires being held with both hands to eat it. The Prime Minister has even nagged me quite a lot of times now because of how I eat it. It’s quite comfortable to eat with Africans, though. The two of us really ate to our heart's content when we were with them.”
Yoo Hye-Sook looked at him, seemingly feeling a little less nervous now.
“We ate around six servings of the galbi that day, didn’t we? Ah! You were also there, weren’t you, Mr. Prime Minister?” Moon Jae-Hyun asked.
“Mr. President, the two of you ate eight servings of ribs back then.”
Bursting into laughter, Kang Dae-Kyung quickly held up the napkin to hide it. It made him seem as if he was sobbing.
“The galbi-jjim from this restaurant is really good,” Moon Jae-Hyun added.
Yoo Hye-Sook’s gaze at Moon Jae-Hyun turned cautious.
“We had Western food prepared because we were afraid that the two of you wouldn’t be able to eat since you have to keep up appearances. Moreover, what would Kang Chan think of me if the two of you go home and speak ill of me, saying that I, the President, gobbled down food while smearing it all over my hands and face?”
Moon Jae-Hyun’s efforts to make Kang Chan’s parents comfortable certainly changed the atmosphere. “If you have spare time for me next month, then I’ll treat you to really good ribs.”
“Thank you.” Kang Dae-Kyung answered.
1. Nakji-bokkeum or stir-fried octopus is a popular dish in Korea. It is also recently made, its origins dating back only two centuries. It was first introduced in the early 1960s. ☜
2. Galbi-jjim or braised short ribs are a variety of jjim or Korean steamed dishes made with galbi. Galbi-jjim is generally made with beef or pork short ribs. ☜