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After having dinner at a gukbap[1] restaurant, Kang Chan tried to kill some time before going home. While he didn’t drink a lot of bomb shots, he still smelled like alcohol, so he didn’t want to go back immediately.
Kang Chan held up his phone and made a call.
- This is Choi Jong-Il.
“Are you guys free? Let’s go have a cup of coffee.”
Kang Chan thought he heard someone snort, it seemed like someone had failed to hold in their laughter, but there was nothing wrong with that so Kang Chan ignored it.
He didn’t have to wait even a minute before he saw Lee Doo-Hee driving a car and parking by the hotel entrance.
“Did you guys have dinner?” Kang Chan asked.
“We had bibimbap.”
“Then let’s head over to the specialty coffee shop at the intersection.”
As if to signal that they should go, Choi Jong-Il glanced at Lee Doo-Hee. They left immediately.
Kang Chan looked outside the window.
He didn’t have a problem debuting as an agent internationally by picking a fight with Britain. However, he couldn’t help but have trouble deciding whether he actually should debut when he thought about the sacrifices that would come with fights like this.
Unlike in Africa, where he just had to follow orders, the fight that Kang Chan was about to start required him to make decisions and give orders himself. Was it really okay for him to sacrifice others to fulfill his personal desire of properly protecting those around him?
“Whoo!” Just as Kang Chan got the urge to smoke, the car stopped.
“Do you want me to get you a coffee?” Choi Jong-Il asked Kang Chan.
“Yeah, a light roast one. What are you all waiting for? Let’s get out of the car.”
Everyone headed to the terrace, including Lee Do-Hee, who had closed the door of the driver’s seat. After Woo Hee-Seung brought over their coffee, the four made themselves comfortable and bit on cigarettes.
“Choi Jong-Il,” Kang Chan called after lighting a cigarette. The three looked at him at the same time. “I’m thinking of finally fighting properly, but now that I’ve thought about it, this will be almost like guerilla warfare.”
“Are you thinking of infiltrating an enemy country?”
Kang Chan nodded in response.
Although it could be seen as childish, Kang Chan didn’t want to lie in front of these kinds of men.
“Is that possible?” Choi Jong-Il asked again.
“France will support me. They will provide planes, weapons, entry into the enemy country, and even the troops and information I’ll need for the operation. The operation won’t have South Korea’s approval, so if we die, our deaths won’t cause any damage.”
Choi Jong-Il grinned like Seok Kang-Ho. “Ever since we fought Yang Jin-Woo, the three of us have been imagining us going out on operations like the powerful nations’ Intelligence Bureaus do. Rather than dying to get just one piece of information, we have always wanted to punish people for messing with our agents. Even if that gets us killed by being torn to shreds, we’ll die happy. We won’t resent you either if our bodies don’t make it back home.”
“Isn’t that too grandiose?”
“If we can show South Korea’s—” Choi Jong-Il exclaimed but abruptly paused, perhaps thinking his voice was too loud. “If it means getting to show the National Intelligence Service’s power to the world and stopping other countries from looking at South Korea as a pushover, then we’ll do anything.”
Kang Chan turned his head to look at the others. Woo Hee-Seung and Lee Doo-Hee didn’t avoid his gaze.
Kang Chan laughed.
Men like them died young in this fucked up world. They would return to the airport in body bags after doing all kinds of unpleasant work.
Fuckers like Huh Sang-Soo or Yang Jin-Woo seized that honor and acted cocky.
“You all received special training, right?” Kang Chan asked.
“We have gone through every training you can think of, even the UDT[2].”
“Alright,” Kang Chan replied.
Seemingly excited, Choi Jong-Il drank coffee.
“Let’s schedule a training session to test you all. If you fail, then you just aren’t capable enough. We can’t do anything about that,” Kang Chan said.
Choi Jong-Il smiled as if he found Kang Chan funny.
“I want you to split into infiltration and defense teams for the training. Who can I contact that can get this done quickly?” Kang Chan asked.
“The Section Chief is your best bet,” Choi Jong-Il said, sounding as if they should run over to Jeon Dae-Geuk right now.
“Yeah? I give him a call, then,” Kang Chan took out his phone and called Jeon Dae-Geuk.
The call rang thrice before it was picked up.
- Hello?
Kang Chan heard Jeon Dae-Geuk’s husky voice.
“Section Chief, it’s Kang Chan.”
- Huh? Kang Chan? Hey! How could you not visit me in the hospital when I’m dying?
Kang Chan burst out with laughter. Jeon Dae-Geuk did as well.
- Are you okay?
“Yes.”
There was an emotion that was difficult to explain in the question that Jeon Dae-Geuk asked, that was what made Kang Chan think this gentleman was born as a soldier by nature. .
- Come over.
“Right now?”
- Why are you asking that? Can’t you?
“Alright.”
Kang Chan laughed after hanging up. “He wants us to come over right now.”
“What are you going to do?” Choi Jong-Il asked.
“I should go.”
Choi Jong-Il stood up before anyone else.
***
Jeon Dae-Geuk was staying in a VIP room, but it wasn’t anything special.
When they opened the door and went inside, a heavily bandaged Jeon Dae-Geuk grinned at them. He was leaning against the headboard of his bed.
Kang Chan almost gave him a salute. To him, Jeon Dae-Geuk was a true soldier.
“Have you had dinner?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked Kang Chan.
“Yes.”
When Kang Chan sat in front of the bed, Choi Jong-Il and the other two people stood behind him.
Jeon Dae-Geuk glanced at the trio. “Are you guys trying to intimidate me by standing behind Kang Chan? From the looks of it, you guys seem to be completely enamored with him now.”
“We’re betting our lives on him,” Choi Jong-Il answered.
Jeon Dae-Geuk smirked, then looked at Kang Chan. “What did you do to make them act like that?”
Having come this far, Kang Chan had no reason to deny anything or avoid the topic. Hence, he firmly made up his mind. “I’m thinking of retaliating against the countries that have been provoking South Korea.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk inhaled loudly. “Have you thought about what would happen if you guys fail?”
“Yes, but we can’t properly connect the Eurasian Rail if we keep getting beat up like this. I also keep watching anymore as we sacrifice agents and our members just so we can barely stop our enemies.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk tightly gritted his teeth. “South Korea won’t be able to properly support you.”
“France will be supporting me in the form of transportation, information, weapons, and even troops if required.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk swallowed dryly, he looked at Kang Chan and the three people that were standing behind him. “What can I do to help?”
“I want to train people to form infiltration and defense teams.”
“There’s a facility that you guys can use at the First and Third Airborne Forces. I’ll mobilize the special forces soldiers of the DMZ.”
“Thank you.”
Kang Chan didn’t know why, but the skin around Jeon Dae-Geuk’s eyes was red.
“Was it the God of Blackfield that commanded the operation in Mongolia?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked when their eyes met.
“Yes,” Kang Chan answered with a nod.
“Kang Chan.” Jeon Dae-Geuk reached out and grabbed his hand. “I prepared for an operation to Mongolia about five times or so but eventually gave up. The United States interfered and put pressure on us, and we had to keep observing China’s reaction. Even in Europe, more than ten of our National Intelligence Service’s agents are sacrificed every year.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk nodded while smiling awkwardly. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for someone like you to show up—someone who can exert their influence in France’s DGSE, someone that even the head of Russia’s Intelligence Bureau visit has to visit in person, and more than anything…”
Jeon Dae-Geuk seemed to be getting very emotional.
“... someone who can bring back the bodies of those who sacrificed themselves in an operation! Today is the second happiest day of my life.”
“When’s your happiest day?” Kang Chan asked.
“The day I became a South Korean soldier.”
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Kang Chan and Jeon Dae-Geuk laughed out loud at the same time.
“Damn it! I should have a drink on a day like this. Hey! Go buy five bottles of soju,” Jeon Dae-Geuk ordered.
Choi Jong-Il didn’t budge an inch, as if he didn’t hear anything.
“Hey, you fucker! Don’t ruin this touching moment and just go quickly.”
“You have to suppress the urge to drink today, sir,” Choi Jong-Il responded.
“No! I feel like my chest is going to explode. I have to calm it down.”
“Please don’t drink. Focus on getting better quickly and command the operation instead. We’ll be able to fight without worry if someone we trust will be commanding everyone within the country,” Kang Chan said.
“You think so?”
People like Jeon Dae-Geuk were made to be in the field.
“When do you want to start training?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
“I’ll start gathering the personnel tomorrow. We can probably start on Wednesday.”
“Alright. I’ll think of a decent place with the First and Third Airborne Forces and mobilize the DMZ’s specialized team. That aside…” Jeon Dae-Geuk looked around his surroundings, then lowered his voice. “Which country is our first target?”
“Either China or the United Kingdom.”
“Hahaha—ow!” Jeon Dae-Geuk burst out with laughter but soon frowned and pressed his hand against the bandages wrapped around his side. “Those sons of bitches! They always look down on us!”
“Are you okay?” Kang Chan asked.
“This is nothing.” Jeon Dae-Geuk nodded. “Kang Chan.”
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“I started this to protect the people around me. It’s actually embarrassing because you’re thanking me too much.”
“That’s not something to be embarrassed about. We’ve been careful and wary of others too many times now. Even though we couldn’t protect them, many agents died without resentment for the sake of their missions—all of them were valuable and kind-hearted. I have watched those fuckers step forward and say they’ll happily die for the country too many times now! Phew!”
Jeon Dae-Geuk’s emotions suddenly seemed all over the place, but Kang Chan wasn’t worried about what would happen once they had gone on the operation. After all, Jeon Dae-Geuk remained level-headed during the incident at the presentation hall.
1. Gukbap is a Korean dish made by putting cooked rice into hot soup or cooking the rice in soup, typically in earthenware. ☜
2. WARFLOT, or The Republic of Korea Navy Special Warfare Flotilla is a special operations force of the Republic of Korea Navy. It’s also known as the UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) because that’s the most publicly known branch of the flotilla ☜