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Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho had lunch together, then headed to Kim Hyung-Jung’s office in Samseong-dong.
Kim Hyung-Jung actually looked heartbroken.
“What’s wrong?” Kang Chan asked.
“I find it unfair that I can’t go with you two.”
“You don’t have to feel that way—we’ll keep doing this in the future.”
Kim Hyung-Jung looked very heartbroken, but Kang Chan couldn’t tell him to overexert himself because of his condition.
“We have prepared everything. The Third Airborne Forces’ brigade commander is under the direct command of the Section Chief, and he’s my and Kim Tae-Jin’s junior by a year. He contacted me not long ago.” Kim Hyung-Jung looked at the document in disappointment. “The look in your eyes behind your bandanas and the way Mr. Seok Kang-Ho looked in Mongolia are still vivid to me. You had backed off while pointing the rifle. Phew! I want to join the two of you so bad that I’m feeling frustrated.”
If they were going out to have fun, Kang Chan would have quickly grabbed him and left.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get better before the operation starts,” Kim Hyung-Jung said. He then looked up, his eyes glinting.
“I look forward to it,” Kang Chan said.
This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
“Thank you. In my entire life, I never thought that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service would one day retaliate against other countries.”
“I heard from the Section Chief that he tried to do that about five times or so but eventually gave up. Well, we haven’t left yet, so we don’t know yet if it’ll actually happen, do we?”
“Now that France’s DGSE has intervened, this operation has already partly succeeded for as long as Vasili remains silent. When the Section Chief was preparing an operation, we couldn’t even train without worry because we had to keep an eye on other people’s moods.” Kim Hyung-Jung exhaled loudly. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Kang Chan.”
“Get better soon. I’d like you to be with us if possible.”
“I’ll get better,” Kim Hyung-Jung answered with a brief nod. “Be careful.”
“We will.”
Kang Chan gave Kim Hyung-Jung a firm handshake. It felt as if Kim Hyung-Jung’s wishes were being directly passed on to him through their hands.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho left the office and headed to the hospital for Seok Kang-Ho’s treatment.
Arriving at around 3 pm, they didn’t have to wait to go into the examination room. They found Yoo Hun-Woo inside.
“Huh? Mr. Kang Chan, you already removed the bandages on your right hand?” Yoo Hun-Woo asked.
“This? It’s all healed up now, so I removed it. Look, I can move it without problems.”
Now that he thought about it, Kang Chan didn’t even feel any pain when he shook hands with Kim Hyung-Jung.
Yoo Hun-Woo unraveled Seok Kang-Ho’s bandages while shaking his head. “You’ve been moving too much. At this rate, your wound will take a long time to heal. You’re lucky it’s no longer summer. Otherwise, I would have told you to be confined again.”
Kang Chan glared at Seok Kang-Ho, who had lied just so he could go on the operation.
“Mr. Yoo Hun-Woo, it doesn’t hurt at all,” Seok Kang-Ho said shamelessly.
In response, Yoo Hun-Woo firmly pressed on Seok Kang-Ho’s wound.
“Ow!”
“See? It’s swollen, which means you haven’t been resting for the past few days. You can get an infection,” Yoo Hun-Woo didn’t back off. Using a tweezer, he picked up a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant and disinfected Seok Kang-Ho’s wound. Whenever he did, Seok Kang-Ho winced in pain.
“How about we put some of my blood into Seok Kang-Ho?” Kang Chan asked.
“Pardon?” Yoo Hun-Woo sounded surprised, and Seok Kang-Ho quickly turned his head to look at Kang Chan.
“There’s somewhere that we have to go to no matter what, so I was wondering if Seok Kang-Ho would heal a bit more quickly if I give him my blood right now and he gets a good night’s sleep later. Now that I have thought about it, I also became a lot better after sleeping,” Kang Chan continued.
“Hmm.” Yoo Hun-Woo cocked his head.
“Let’s try it. That’s the only way he’ll be able to join me anyway, right?” Kang Chan added.
“I want to try it, but only if you’re okay with it, Mr. Kang Chan. What do you think, Mr. Seok Kang-Ho?” Yoo Hun-Woo asked.
“I see no reason for me to oppose it.”
“Then let’s try it. When are the two of you leaving?” Yoo Hun-Woo asked.
“Tomorrow.”
Yoo Hun-Woo shook his head and frowned. “I’ll prescribe you strong antibiotics. But if your condition gets worse, you have to come to the hospital immediately. Otherwise, your condition can become really dangerous.”
“Alright.”
Yoo Hun-Woo disinfected and applied medication to Seok Kang-Ho’s wound. After wrapping bandages around Seok Kang-Ho, he then transfused Kang Chan’s blood into Seok Kang Ho.
The entire operation lasted forty minutes. Afterward, Yoo Hun-Woo asked if they could have tea together, so they all sat down together.
“Students from the school kept coming to the hospital,” Yoo Hun-Woo said.
So I’ve heard.”
“It’s unexpected, but Su-Jin is also quickly getting better. Honestly, she’s recovering so fast that it can only be explained by your blood. To top it all off, she’s now mentally stable.”
“That’s good.”
“I’m not qualified to be a doctor.”
Perplexed, Kang Chan looked up from the teacup in his hand and looked at Yoo Hun-Woo.
“She did get better, but I still gave her a blood transfusion without knowing anything about possible side effects. To make things worse, I did the same thing today even though Mr. Seok Kang-Ho’s life isn’t even in danger,” Yoo Hun-Woo explained.
I guess some doctors think like this.
Kang Chan felt as if he was learning new things.
“Thank you. Qualified as a doctor or not, I’m sincerely grateful to you for helping me save a student when there was no other way to save her,” Yoo Hun-Woo added.
This sly and wily fox also had a bothersome way of thanking him.
“I heard that the students talked about you. They also knelt in front of the ICU for more than two hours for a few days before leaving. Seeing that melted away the anger of Su-Jin’s parents. At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel as if treating you was truly worthwhile.”
“You didn’t feel that treating me was worthwhile before that?” Kang Chan laughed. Yoo Hun-Woo laughed with him.
“Thank you.” Yoo Hun-Woo looked relieved now that he had said what he wanted to say.
After happily drinking tea, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho left the hospital.
“Huh? I feel tired for some reason,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
“He probably gave you a high dose of the medication. Let’s head home quickly—I’ll drive.”
In all honesty, Seok Kang-Ho looked exhausted.
Kang Chan drove Seok Kang-Ho’s car to his apartment’s parking lot, then walked home.
He had dinner at home, watched the D.I. drama with his parents, then fell asleep.
***
Wednesday morning.
After Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook told Kang Chan to be safe and headed to work, Kang Chan met up with Seok Kang-Ho in front of the apartment.
Choi Jong-Il was waiting for them at the back, so they couldn’t waste time.
They bought coffee at the specialty coffee shop across the street for them and the others, then left for Jeungpyeong.
“Captain, it’s seriously amazing,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
“What is?”
“After having dinner, I slept nonstop after the blood transfusion. When I woke up this morning, all my wounds have closed up.”
“Are you serious?” Kang Chan looked at him suspiciously.
Seemingly finding it unfair that Kang Chan didn’t believe him, Seok Kang-Ho said, “See for yourself later. As I said, my wounds have completely healed.”
It wasn’t really too surprising since Kang Chan that was what always happened every time he got wounded.
“I couldn’t understand how you could remove your bandages after just a good night’s sleep, but I definitely do now that I have gone through it myself.”
“Hey! Selling my blood will make me rich,” Kang Chan said.
“Ugh! You’ll be in trouble if word gets out about this.”
“Nothing will happen if you just keep quiet.”
The highway was quite empty, perhaps because it was a weekday.
In a little less than two hours, they arrived at where their GPS led them to. However, soldiers were blocking the unpaved road that went into the mountain.
“What’s your purpose?” one of the soldiers asked.
The soldier checked Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho’s IDs, then opened the barricade.
Heading inside, they found four military trucks and two Jeeps in an area that seemed to be the parking lot. There were also two concrete barracks.
As Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Choi Jong-Il and his party exited the car, the officers inside the barracks came outside.
Choi Jong-Il greeted the officers first, but they already seemed acquainted with each other.
“Mr. Kang Chan?” one of the officers asked.
“That would be me.” Kang Chan corrected when the officers greeted Seok Kang-Ho.
“I’m Choi Seong-Geon, the brigadier general of the Third Airborne forces.”
After shaking hands, Choi Seong-Geon corrected his greeting toward Seok Kang-Ho, then guided the two into the barrack that he had come out of not long ago.
“You guys should also come in,” Choi Seong-Geon told Choi Jong-Il.
“We’ll stay here.”
“Okay! Would you like me to send over some coffee?”
“We already had coffee on our way here.”
With that, Choi Seong-Geon headed inside.
The barrack had a simple interior. It didn’t even have a sofa, which most places had. It was certainly a perfect suit for the field.
The first lieutenant quickly made instant coffee and put it on the table.
“I heard from the Section Chief and Kim sunbae about what you want to do. The soldiers you selected are waiting in the adjoining room,” Choi Seong-Geon told Kang Chan.
“Thank you.”
“Have some coffee.” Choi Seong-Geon looked up and examined Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho with his sunburnt face.
Instant coffee had its own special taste, but it was even more delicious than usual, perhaps because it was chilly. After all, they were deep in the mountains.
When they put down the paper cups, Choi Seong-Geon stood up from his seat. “We have military uniforms and equipment prepared in the adjoining room.”
In the field, soldiers were all the same. They were straightforward with everything, no matter what it was about.
Choi Seong-Geon guided Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho into the barrack next door. As soon as they entered, the soldiers stood up from their seats.
They were all wearing black military uniforms and black berets. The South Korean flag was emroidered on their uniform’s left forearm sleeve.
“Everyone, meet Mr. Kang Chan and Mr. Seok Kang-Ho,” Choi Seong-Geon introduced.
The people looked at them with caution and slight curiosity.
“Please come out after changing into your uniforms,” Choi Seong-Gon said before leaving.
Two military uniforms were hung up in front of the locker on the left.
Since only men were in the barracks and they didn’t have anything to hide, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho immediately went up to the locker and changed into their uniforms.
Kang Chan was covered in scars, and Seok Kang-Ho still had bandages wrapped around him.
After changing and putting their berets on their shoulder, they put on their boots.
“Team one?” Kang Chan called.
No one replied.
“Team one?”
Still no answer.
It was as if they were saying thatthey were special force soldiers, so Kang Chan should respect them and at the very least follow etiquette if he wanted to order them around.
Kang Chan smirked, then shook his head.
By the time Seok Kang-Ho discreetly looked over Kang Chan’s mood, Kang Chan had already given up.
It seemed Kang Chan had expected too much from them because Jeon Dae-Geuk and Kim Hyung-Jung had talked about their sense of duty so much.
“Daye, get our clothes. We’re leaving.”
Now wearing military boots, Seok Kang-Ho went on top of the bed. When he came down with their clothes, Kang Chan immediately went out of the barrack.
Wearing military uniforms, Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee were waiting for them in front of the barracks.
“Choi Jong-Il,” Kang Chan called.
“Yes?”
Choi Jong-Il’s answer was a bit stronger than usual, perhaps because he was in uniform.
“We’re heading back,” Kang Chan continued.
“Pardon?”
“I said we’re heading back. From now on, my team will only consist of you three and Seok Kang-Ho. I’ll find new members myself, so make do with what we have for now,” Kang Chan said.
As Choi Jong-Il looked over their moods, Seok Kang-Ho got in the driver’s seat without complaining. Choi Jong-Il only turned his head to look at them when Kang Chan walked to the passenger seat.
“Choi Jong-Il,” Kang Chan called again.
“Yes?”
“If you’re also thinking of only following my orders once I’ve explained things like the fuckers inside, then you better quit right here!”
Seok Kang-Ho immediately drove away as soon as Kang Chan went into the passenger seat.
They saw Choi Seong-Geon urgently coming out of the barracks and Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee quickly getting in the car.
Was Kang Chan crossing the line?
That was bullshit.
Even French mercenaries answered if people called them.
Even if it was distasteful, dirty, and cheap, all soldiers answered when given orders.
It didn’t matter if they had completed all kinds of special training in South Korea. Kang Chan didn’t want to go out to an operation with people that couldn’t even answer.
They want me to show my capabilities first? Why? Why should I go through all of that and still take them on an operation?
Kang Chan’s phone rang, but he didn’t even take it out.