It was already one in the afternoon when they left the Chinese embassy. Kang Chan briefly told Lanok everything that had happened that day. Once he was done, Lanok took out his phone and called Vasili.
âVasili, itâs Lanok.â
Lanok faintly smiled at Kang Chan as he spoke into his phone a few times.
âYes, please withdraw the troops. Iâll contact you later,â Lanok said, then finally hung up. Not long after, he called another number.
âItâs Lanok. Order every unit that has been deployed to return to base. Please pass on my gratitude to Ludwig as well, and tell him that Iâll contact him by tomorrow. One last thingâŠâ Lanok paused and quickly looked at Kang Chan. âContact South Koreaâs National Intelligence Service and send an official application for the STB. Report to me once it has been approved.â
Lanok hung up. He then turned his head and briefly looked at Choi Jong-Ilâs car and the van that the members of the 606 were in. âThe STB refers to the system that allows my countryâs DGSE to share all information and guarantees the mutual security of the Intelligence Serviceâs agents.â
Kang Chan simply nodded.
âHahaha!â Lanok burst out with laughter, his expression seemingly saying he found Kang Chanâs reaction funny.
The sly snake had been laughing too often these days.
âThat means South Korea will get joint rights to use the satellites that my countryâs DGSE manages,â Lanok explained. âChina has been applying nonstop for the STB to the DGSE for the past five years, and Japan has been doing the same thing for the past ten years.â âThank you, Mr. Ambassador.â
Kang Chan thought getting access to the STB was great and all, but it couldnât seem to sink in right now.
âDid you really come to every decision you made this morning by yourself?â Lanok asked.
âYes. I didnât exactly have anyone I could have asked for help.â
Lanok smiled as he pursed his lips. âWas it also you who deployed South Koreaâs special forces at the Chinese embassy?â
âI only managed to do that because I got the National Intelligence Serviceâs approval.â
âI see.â Lanok nodded.
Not long after, Seok Kang-Ho parked at the French embassyâs parking lot.
Swoosh!
Agents swiftly exited the building and surrounded the car.
âMr. Kang Chan, do you have time to have tea with me?â Lanok asked.
That was a given.
Search "pawread dot com" for the original.
As Kang Chan got out of the car, he noticed that Choi Jong-Il and the two vans that the members of the 606 used were parked in the parking lot as well.
âWait here, Choi Jong-Il. You should deploy the members of the 606 somewhere inconspicuous,â Kang Chan ordered.
âUnderstood.â
Lanok silently waited for Kang Chan as he was giving orders. Afterward, they went up to the embassy.
The embassy was full of agents. Some stood in front of them, and two others walked behind them. They walked down the hallway on the second floor and opened the door to the office.
âPapa!â Even though she was limping, Anne quickly ran over and went into Lanokâs arms. Lanok stroked her head, then kissed it.
âAnne, youâll be able to rest easy under any circumstances now, wonât you?â Lanok asked.
Anne nodded toward Lanok, then looked at Kang Chan. âChanny!â
Kang Chan stroked Anneâs back when she went into his arms.
âRaphael, I would like to enjoy some tea and cigars with Monsieur Kang,â Lanok requested.
âAs you wish, Mr. Ambassador.â
âRight! Raphael.â
âYes, Mr. Ambassador?â Raphael quickly looked at Lanok just before he could completely turn around.
âYouâve been through a lot today. You did well.â
âAll of this was possible thanks to Monsieur Kang.â
Lanok nodded, and Raphael quickly left the room.
Lanok sat down at the table and took out a cigar from a case. At the same time, Kang Chan bit on a cigarette.
Chk chk.
It only felt real now for Kang Chan that he had rescued Lanok.
âMr. Kang Chan, I would like to request that South Korea lighten the weight of the requests that they were going to ask Russia to fulfill as a courtesy for Vasiliâs contribution to solving this incident. In return, I will make sure France compensates South Korea for anything that theyâll be lacking as a result,â Lanok said.
âYour safe return is already more than enough for me. I still havenât done anything for you for connecting South Korea to the Eurasian Rail anyway,â Kang Chan said. As he was talking, Raphael brought over a teapot and poured them a cup of tea each.
Anne and Seok Kang-Ho sat in different seats at the back, drinking tea in what seemed like an awkward atmosphere.
âNevertheless, you should still accept your well-earned compensation, Mr. Kang Chan. To that end, I hope that you can join me in a meeting with Suo Ke as soon as an appointment is made,â Lanok said.
***
Kang Chanâs conversation with Lanok lasted for about an hour. Once it was over, he returned the weapons and entrusted Xavier to Lanok before leaving the embassy.
It was around 2:30 pm.
Only half of the day had passed, but Kang Chan had such a long morning that he felt as if a week had gone by.
As per the embassyâs request, the members of the 606 stood guard all over the building. Hence, only Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Choi Jong-Ilâs party left the embassy.
âLetâs eat,â Seok Kang-Ho suggested.
âSure. Everyone is probably already hungry. We should call Mr. Kim as well, shouldnât we?â Kang Chan held up his phone and dialed Kim Hyung-Jungâs number.
- Mr. Kang Chan! Itâs Kim Hyung-Jung.
His greeting got increasingly faster, making it seem as if he was stating his official rank and name.
âWe have just left the French embassy.â
- What do you plan to do now?
âWe all skipped lunch, so I was thinking of going somewhere to eat.â
Kim Hyung-Jungâs exhausted laugh carried over the call.
âYou havenât had lunch yet either, have you?â
- Everyone ranked deputy manager and above in the National Intelligence Service couldnât eat with everything that was happening.
Kim Hyung-Jungâs laughter this time sounded as if he found the situation funny.
- Where are you going for lunch? Iâll head over.
Kang Chan looked at Seok Kang-Ho. âWhere do you want to eat?â
âWell, if heâs joining, then why donât we eat at the barbeque restaurant right in front of the office in Samseong-dong?â
Kang Chan told Kim Hyung-Jung about Seok Kang-Hoâs suggestion.
- Ah! I know that place. Iâll head on over right now.
âWeâre still thirty minutes away from the restaurant, Mr. Manager.â
- Ah, Is that so? Iâll just wait until youâre a little closer, then.
Kang Chan hung up, then lowered the window about halfway.
âI was bored to death all morning. You seemed to be having one intense phone call after another, but I couldnât understand anything you were saying so I couldnât even play along. Should I just learn French?â Seok Kang-Ho commented.
âWe didnât talk about anything special.â Kang Chan draped his arm on the window as cold winds brushed past his face and his arm.
Autumn was just right around the corner, and there wasnât that much traffic.
They reached their destination at around three in the afternoon. By the time they got there, Kim Hyung-Jung was already insideâand he was the only customer.
âI told you to wait for us to get here before you leave the office,â Kang Chan commented.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho sat at Kim Hyung-Jungâs table, and Choi Jong-Ilâs party sat at the table next to them. Kang Chan wanted to eat a simple lunch, but Seok Kang-Ho suddenly ordered ten servings of galbi, leaving him with no other choice but to eat meat again.
They also ordered a few bottles of beer. Everyone filled up their glasses with it except for Kim Hyung-Jung.
âYou went through a lot today, Mr. Manager. You all did as well,â Kang Chan said.
âWow!â Seok Kang-Ho exclaimed, complimenting the side dishes he was eating.
âFranceâs DGSE has applied for the STB,â Kim Hyung-Jung told them.
âAh, I already know about that. I was in the car with Lanok when he ordered someone to do that.â
âPhew.â
Kang Chan didnât know why Kim Hyung-Jung suddenly sighed.
âWeâre actually acting with extreme caution right now,â Kim Hyung-Jung said.
âWill it be difficult to clean up todayâs incidents?â Kang Chan asked.
âThe President has been making all the necessary calls to handle that. That being said, it wouldnât be wrong to say that you have just done something impossible. Going toe-to-toe against China and the United States is bound to have heavy consequences.â
Seok Kang-Ho, who had been pouring him more beer, suddenly glanced at Kim Hyung-Jung.
âThatâs all youâre drinking today. Keep in mind that youâre driving,â Kang Chan reminded Seok Kang-Ho.
âAlright.â
To Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho drinking and driving seemed like a bigger problem than China and the United States.
âMr. Kang Chan, did Ambassador Lanok say anything else?â Kim Hyung-Jung asked.
âWell, he said that we should be compensated for our help and that he hopes we will make a few compromises with what weâre going to be requesting from Russia. They helped out in this incident as well, after all. In return, he said France will be making it up to us for whatever weâll be lacking as a result.â
âHaa!â Kim Hyung-Jung sighed once more. As he did, the meat they ordered was served.
Eating whenever they could was for the best.
Seok Kang-Ho ate in silence. While Choi Jong-Ilâs party ate a lot, Kang Chan and Kim Hyung-Jung only ate moderately.
âArgh! I feel good,â Seok Kang-Ho commented.
If Kang Chan ate as voraciously as Seok Kang-Ho did, he wouldâve died.
After their meal, Kim Hyung-Jung asked, âWould you like to have some coffee as well?â
Kang Chan had actually been hoping someone would suggest that. Hence, after resting for a bit, they went to the specialty coffee shop in front of Kim Hyung-Jungâs office. They split into two groups and sat at two tables. Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Kim Hyung-Jung sat together.
âMr. Kang Chan, the President basically gambled with this incident,â Kim Hyung-Jung explained as coffee was served. âHe may not have gambled when we deployed our special forces team in France. However, if even just one error was made, our troops being inside the Chinese embassy would have been seen as no different as being caught committing major wrongdoings in Chinese territory.â
âWhat should we do?â
âIt depends on the situation and the factors at play, but in general, the most important thing to do in situations like this is to establish quick and seamless communications. To that end, if by any chance you are faced with a decision to make again, please contact me. It doesnât matter what time it is.â
âIâll be sure to keep that in mind.â
âPhew. It wouldnât be wrong to assume that weâll have difficulties asking for Russiaâs oil development rights, then?â Kim Hyung-Jung asked.
âIâm not sure, but Ambassador Lanok did say that we will have to compromise to some degree, so wouldnât that naturally be the case?â
Kim Hyung-Jung drank his cup of coffee with a disappointed look on his face, then proceeded to tell Kang Chan about a few other matters until his phone rang. Not long after, he left the specialty coffee shop.