After his morning workout with Choi Jong-Il, Kang Chan had breakfast as usual, then walked out to see Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook off.

“Feeling better?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked Kang Chan.

“I think so.”

Kang Dae-Kyung took a good look at Kang Chan’s eyes, then laughed softly. “That’s a relief. I’ll be back.”

“See you later, Channy!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed.

“Drive safe!”

After seeing his parents off, Kang Chan sat on the sofa and watched the news for a moment. He couldn’t help but laugh because he suddenly felt as if he was doing something useless—half of the things that he had gone through lately did not even get reported on the news and even those that did had been heavily altered.

Kang Chan turned off the TV, then stared past the living room window.

This was his break. He should spend days like this at home, especially since he hadn’t done this in a while…

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.

Damn it! Go figure!

His phone rang as if the sky was teaching him to live diligently. Kang Chan stood up and went into his room. When he looked at his phone, Lanok’s name was on the screen.

“Mr. Ambassador, it’s Kang Chan.”

- Mr. Kang Chan, did I disturb your break?

Is this gentleman watching me or something?

Kang Chan knew that Lanok couldn’t see him, but he instinctively looked around his room anyway.

- I’m planning to meet Suo Ke tomorrow at two in the afternoon at the Namsan Hotel. Does that work for you?

“It does. Should I head straight to the hotel?”

- Yes.

Kang Chan hung up.

He was bound to meet Suo Ke anyway. After all, he was the main perpetrator behind the terror attack in Paju, the raid at the golf course and the presentation hall, and the military intelligence exchange with Huh Ha-Soo.

After talking to Lanok, Kang Chan called Cecile and told her that he would be acquiring a building soon.

- The branch manager will be the one handling this since that requires a large amount of money. You can use the funds whenever you want, though, so I’ll talk to Michelle and visit you with the withdrawal slip on the day you need it. You’re incredible, Channy. You’re now the owner of a building worth more than a hundred billion won.

“It just happened somehow. Anyway, please do your best to avoid messing up my schedule.”

- Don’t worry. There is no way your schedule would get messed up. You’re the best VIP in our branch, after all.

After the call, Kang Chan looked for Seok Kang-Ho’s number.

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.

However, his phone rang right before Kang Chan could press the call button. Seok Kang-Ho seemed fucking bored as well.

“Hello?”

- What are you doing?

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s get some coffee.”

- Phuhuhu, come out quickly.

As usual, Kang Chan put on a suit with a shirt, then left his house. He met Seok Kang-Ho in front of the apartment and headed to Misari together.

They arrived a little after ten in the morning.

The employee had just finished setting up the tables when he greeted the two, seemingly happy to see them. A moment later, he brought over the coffee that they ordered.

“Autumn is here,” Seok Kang-Ho commented. He sounded as if he was lamenting it because he found it disappointing that he couldn’t eat it.

“I decided which building to buy yesterday. We can move in a month after we pay the initial and intermediate payments,” Kang Chan said.

“Oh! That’s great!”

“I also decided that a floor of the basement parking lot will be just for us, like manager Kim’s building. I also told the construction company to make sure we can use the elevator right away. I’ll see how it goes first, but if everything goes according to plan, let’s build a gym and a few rooms. We can renovate it as much as we want anyway.”

Seok Kang-Ho looked satisfied. “What’s the square footage of the land?”

“What?”

Seok Kang-Ho sighed loudly. “You’re planning on buying the building without even knowing the square footage of the land and the building? How much is it?”

“Michelle said it’s ninety-two billion won.”

“How many floors is it?”

“Seventeen floors.”

“Phew! That’s an extremely large building.”

Feeling as if Seok Kang-Ho would keep asking questions, Kang Chan quickly changed the topic. “Remember Suo Ke, the guy that you saw at the Chinese embassy? I’m going to meet that fucker tomorrow with Ambassador Lanok.”

“Just the two of you? Is that alright?”

“The agents from the embassy will be accompanying us as well, and we’re meeting at the Namsan Hotel anyway. What could go wrong?”

Seok Kang-Ho pouted like a catfish and cocked his head. “When I saw Suo Ke, he looked like he would have done things differently if you weren’t holding the door. I’ll be on standby with Jong-Il on the first floor of the hotel.”

Seok Kang-Ho would be bored anyway, so Kang Chan just nodded and told him when the meeting would be held. After talking about various matters and killing some time, they had lunch.

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They decided to have another cup of coffee after lunch. However, around the same time, Kang Chan received a call.

“Hello?”

- Mr. Kang Chan, it’s Kim Hyung-Jung. Can I see you for a moment?

“I’m at Misari with Seok Kang-Ho. Should we head to your office?”

- I would appreciate that.

“We’re on our way.”

Kang Chan headed to Samseong-dong with Seok Kang-Ho, who was happy because he now had something to do.

They parked the car close to the entrance of the parking lot and went up the building. When they arrived, Kim Hyung-Jung opened the door for them himself. Even though he couldn’t get even a day’s worth of a proper rest, he at least looked to be in much better condition than before.

“Have you had lunch?” Kang Chan asked Kim Hyung-Jung.

“I had jjamppong.”

Disappointed, Seok Kang-Ho sat at the table. Kim Hyung-Jung brought over tea for them.

“Mr. Kang Chan, have you decided to meet Ambassador Lanok, by any chance?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.

“Yes. He said that I should go with him tomorrow at two o’clock in the afternoon to meet a person named Suo Ke?”

“We call him Huh Geuk in Korean. He’s third in line in China’s Intelligence Bureau.”

Kang Chan lifted the tea cup. While he was ruminating about the name ‘Huh Geuk,’ Kim Hyung-Jung continued, “To our shame, the National Intelligence Service did not notice that Huh Geuk had entered South Korea.”

Kang Chan took a sip of the tea while looking at Kim Hyung-Jung. He knew Kim Hyung-Jung was just about to get to his main point.

“The National intelligence Service thinks China is going to take a dualistic stance with Ambassador Lanok and the South Korean government.”

“A dualistic stance?” Kang Chan asked.

“That’s right. He will surrender to Ambassador Lanok and agree to his demands. However, he will likely also take deadly measures against South Korea's economy.”

What Kim Hyung-Jung was saying was somewhat suffocating and difficult for Kang Chan to understand, so he picked up a cigarette and bit on it. If there was one thing fascinating about cigarettes, it was that those next to someone smoking always ended up smoking as well. Hence, when Kang Chan started smoking, the other two lit up their own cigarettes as well.

“Is Huh Geuk in a position to make that decision?” Kang Chan asked.

“He’s in a position that directly reports to the President of China. He is more than capable of exerting his influence.”

Kang Chan felt bitter.

No wonder Huh Geuk made a fuss when he the 606.

“So things got out of hand because I asked you to send over the 606?” Kang Chan wondered.

“Not exactly. Even if you didn’t, China has been disgraced anyway when Huh Geuk was found secretly staying in South Korea. However, because we’re weak…” Kim Hyung-Jung’s face twitched. “Anyway, we also ignored the United States’ attempts to intervene in this matter. If China and the United States work together and place economic sanctions, then South Korea might find it difficult to endure until the Eurasian Rail has been established.”

Basically, we’re in this situation because I hit the kid from the rich family that South Korea is supposed to work for due to financial problems. Now that things have come to this, should I just kill Huh Geuk?

Kang Chan firmly pressed the cigarette against an ashtray to extinguish it. “Mr. Manager, is there anything I can do to help?”

Kim Hyung-Jung looked at Kang Chan, unable to bring himself to say anything.

“Do I have to apologize to Huh Geuk or something?” Kang Chan prodded on.

Kim Hyung-Jung sighed deeply. After a while, he confessed, “The higher-ups has told me to ask you to improve your relationship with Huh Geuk during your meeting with him and Ambassador Lanok.”

Kang Chan didn’t quite understand what was happening.

When the special forces team headed to France, the higher-ups even came to Osan and kicked up a fuss. They also approved Kang Chan’s request to dispatch the 606 to the Chinese embassy. Taking those into consideration, why were they asking Kang Chan to improve his relationship with Huh Geuk now? Kang Chan was not trying to form a relationship with a woman here. Otherwise, this could have been easier. Why would he need to improve his relationship with a man? Kang Chan didn’t have anything to say to Huh Geuk except for, ‘I’m sorry about what happened the other day. Lighten up.’

“Will this end if I apologize?” Kang Chan asked.

“They will be negotiating along the lines of the Prime Minister’s resignation. Only the Director and the Prime Minister know about what I’m telling you right now. If we tell the President, then he will do everything in his power to stop this from happening.”

What did he just say?

“The President believes that you’re talented enough to make South Korea shine. For that reason, he wants us to protect you, keep you within South Korea’s arms, and prevent you from ever crumbling down. He also said that we should help you develop your talents even if we are put under heavy foreign pressure,” Kim Hyung-Jung continued.

Kang Chan couldn’t help but cock his head to what Kim Hyung-Jung just said.

This would ultimately end if he apologized, so what was this all about? Who was out to break him, and who was trying to take him away from South Korea? He wasn’t a flower to be passed onto someone else.

Kim Hyung-Jung looked straight at Kang Chan, who appeared to be perplexed.

“Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo has told us that if you don’t apologize, he will either replace the Director of the National Intelligence Service or submit a motion of impeachment against the President to the National Assembly.”

“Can he really do that?” Kang Chan asked.

“If China places economic sanctions, and if the United States delivers a sudden rise in interest rates and withdraws the US armed forces in South Korea… then the motion to impeach the President will push through.”

Extremely dumbfounded, Kang Chan laughed hard enough for his head move back and forth.