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When Kang Chan realized that Seok Kang-Ho was waiting for him, he immediately left the embassy and headed to the hotel. He could’ve told Seok Kang-Ho to come to the embassy instead, but Kang Chan wanted to tell him what transpired today over a cup of tea.
On his way to the hotel, Kang Chan briefly told Kim Hyung-Jung where he was going, but it seemed Kim Hyung-Jung didn’t have much time to talk.
Kang Chan went into the lobby and ordered coffee. A few minutes later, Joo Chul-Bum approached and greeted him—appearing faster than the hotel could serve Kang Chan his order. After exchanging short greetings with him, Kang Chan sent him back. Seok Kang-Ho arrived soon after, and Kang Chan told him about what happened in the embassy as he drank coffee.
“What’s going on? Does that mean they’ve killed Huh Geuk?” Seok Kang-Ho asked afterward.
“Wouldn’t that be the case? It’s not like they can just say, ‘We should let him live,’ after I’ve sent Manager Kim over.”
“Ha! Those fuckers are weird.”
“I don't feel right about this, though. There’s something going on, but I feel like I’m being kept from learning about it. I’m getting the same feeling from Ambassador Lanok appointing himself as my guardian.”
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“Well, at least everything worked out, right?” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
“As of right now, yes.”
Kang Chan didn’t feel relieved, but it was true that the cause of his worries had at least disappeared.
“Then let’s not think about this anymore. This outcome is a hundred times better than you killing Huh Geuk.” Seok Kang-Ho said, then began to look upset. “Did you think that I won’t be able to guess how you’re feeling? The look in your eyes says it all. Why are you acting like this?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“The look in your eyes says, ‘Congratulations, Huh Geuk died.’”
Both of them burst out laughing when Seok Kang-Ho played innocent. It felt as if they had just quickly brushed past an emergency.
“Let’s go on a trip,” Seok Kang-Ho suggested.
Do we even have the time to do that?
Kang Chan thoroughly considered Seok Kang-Ho’s suggestion.
Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.
While deep in thought, Kang Chan’s phone rang as if to say, ‘How dare you have useless thoughts?’
“Hello?”
- Mr. Kang Chan, it’s Kim Hyung-Jung. Do you have time right now?
“Yes. I don’t have anything special going on.”
- Can you meet me at my office in Samseong-dong, then?
“Sure.”
Kang Chan hung up and stood up from his seat. He then told Seok Kang-Ho, “We’ve been summoned.”
“This actually feels like we’re going to work.”
“We should get this over with as fast as we can. This is getting old.”
They headed to the parking lot and got in the car. As soon as the engine started, they drove off.
“Maybe Ambassador Lanok offered to be your guardian because he wants you to make a proper debut in information warfare,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
“Maybe, but I’m honestly not sure. It only made me vaguely think that I’ll be able to grow stronger. However, since this involves government affairs now, I should probably set more specific and accurate goals. I seriously can’t help but feel as if something is happening that we’re not aware of.”
Seok Kang-Ho nodded, then pouted.
“Tsk! Instead of thinking about this too much, we should just deal with this in our own way. It doesn’t matter if it’s Huh Geuk or other bullshit. We can just twist the necks of anyone who bothers us. It’s not like they’re going to surrender even if we tell them to, right?” Kang Chan asked.
“Phuhuhu.”
They drove to their destination in a good mood. Not long after, they arrived at Samseong-dong and immediately went up to Kim hyung-Jung’s office.
Kim Hyung-Jung had a grave expression as he opened the door for them. Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho went inside. To their surprise, they found Jeon Dae-Geuk and Hwang Ki-Hyun also sitting in the office.
“Welcome,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Kang Chan,” Hwang Ki-Hyun said.
The atmosphere was uncomfortable.
Kang Chan greeted them and sat down with them. Afterward, Kim Hyung-Jung brought over big cups filled with drinks.
“You did really great,” Jeon Dae-Geuk told Kang Chan.
“I didn’t do anything—Ambassador Lanok and Yang Bum were the ones who decided what to do.”
“No, that was only possible because you were there.”
It was quite tricky to respond to things like this, so Kang Chan remained silent and had a sip of the drink that Kim Hyung-Jung offered him instead.
“Mr. Kang Chan, I actually got another offer from Mr. Yang Bum after I confirmed the death of Huh Geuk at the Chinese embassy,” Kim Hyung-Jung said, his expression still unusually dark. “He told me that China is planning to purge the people who are abusing their powers in their country, which is also why they took care of Huh Geuk. For that reason, they relayed fake information to Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo. They told him that you refused to apologize.”
Even though Jeon Dae-Geuk and Hwang Ki-Hyun were likely already aware of what was being said, they still concentrated on what Kim Hyung-Jung was saying.
“China’s plan is simple. They judged that Huh Ha-Soo is passing over not only South Korea’s military secrets to the United States but China’s secrets as well, so they want to take this opportunity to make a sweeping arrest of Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo and those close to him. At the same time, they will purge the people in their country who had been secretly communicating with Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo,” Kim Hyung-Jung continued.
Kang Chan had a hard time understanding what Kim Hyung-Jung was saying. After all, this was far from what entailed planning an operation with a map spread out. Hence, he only listened in silence.
“Unfortunately, the President has refused the offer,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.
Kang Chan smirked, then quickly changed his expression.
“What’s wrong?” Jeon Dae-Geuk seemed curious about why Kang Chan smirked.
“I can see why the President would refuse. If I were in his shoes, I probably would have also declined the offer. After all, accepting it means we’ll be moving exactly according to China’s wishes.”
Hwang Ki-Hyun exhaled softly. “The reason the President refused is a bit different than yours. Regardless, it brings the same result.”
During times like this, it was best to just wait.
“Mr. Kang Chan, the National Intelligence Service actually also want to make a sweeping arrest of the people who secretly hoarded South Korea’s military secrets with this opportunity. Even if the NIS didn’t want to, breaking our relationship with China will have dire consequences, so we were hoping that you could act as a channel for exchanging information with China,” Hwang Ki-Hyun continued.
“That’s a bit vague. What exactly do you all want me to do?”
“We can’t announce that Huh Ha-Soo secretly hoarded military secrets yet because the evidence we have right now is weak. If the opposition insists that we’ve been doing political manipulation, then there’s a high chance that the citizens will listen to them. No matter what we say, the people will find it hard to believe that the Chairman of the National Assembly sold off South Korea’s military secrets.”
“So you want me to find evidence?” Kang Chan asked.
“Not exactly. We simply hope that you’ll execute a purge in China, and give us any evidence you find from it that points toward Huh Ha-Soo.”
Kang Chan didn’t find Hwang Ki-Hyun’s request that hard to do.
“I’ll discuss this with Ambassador Lanok first. I’ll give you all an answer as soon as possible,” Kang Chan said.
“That would be great. We have already told Mr. Yang Bum that the President has refused the offer, though.”
“Mr. Kang Chan,” Hwang Ki-Hyun then called out, seemingly having solidified his determination.
“If we succeed in building the Eurasian Rail, the world’s balance of power will change based on each country’s economic status. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that China is already carrying out a change for the next generation. However, they have chosen to reorganize authority rather than eliminate unlawfulness and corruption, which is what we’re doing. Anyway, when we were facing a difficult time, you appeared and helped us connect to the Rail. We would like you to help us a bit more so we can keep carrying the hope that you have given us.”
“Understood.”
Kang Chan already had his foot in the door anyway. Moreover, he did not just decide to become stronger. Rather, Lanok also told him that he would be his guardian. Hence, Kang Chan thought he should use opportunities like this to learn about matters that he still had no idea about.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.” Hwang Ki-Hyun stood up. Kim Hyung-Jung sent him off.
“Please sit back down,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said.
“How are you feeling?” Kang Chan asked.
“If you’re that curious, then you should give me a call! You forgot about me, didn’t you? You’re just wondering how I’m doing now because we’re right in front of each other.”
Kang Chan didn’t dislike this gentleman even when he complained.
“The way you talk makes me think you have made a full recovery,” Kang Chan commented.
“I was born with the ability to heal quickly.” Jeon Dae-Geuk reached out to his cup and took a sip from it. “Choi Seong-Geon often calls me and asks how you’re doing. You’re strangely difficult to talk to. You should give him a call when you have time.”
He wants me to call Choi Seong-Geon to ask how he’s doing?
Just thinking about it made Kang Chan shake his head.
Amid their conversation, Kim Hyung-Jung opened the door and went inside.
“Manager Kim, do we only need evidence for Huh Ha-Soo?” Kang Chan asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I was wondering if, even while I’m in another country, you can still take care of everything as long as I reveal evidence that shows that Huh Ha-Soo was going to hand over military secrets.”
“We can certainly do that.” Kim Hyung-Jung looked at Kang Chan, his expression showing his curiosity about why Kang Chan asked that question.
“I didn’t ask because of any particular reason. I was just curious.”
“We’re more than capable of doing that if the announcement is made in China, the United States, or Japan,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.
Kang Chan nodded.
What would Lanok have done to Xavier?
Considering how things developed, the trip that Seok Kang-Ho suggested was now completely out of the window.