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Kang Chan just wanted to have chicken with his family, but their Saturday ended up becoming a mess instead.
It was already late at night. Kim Hyung-Jung couldn’t clock out for the night and go home due to the situation, but he also couldn’t stay in his office.
“We’ll go to the hotel,” Kang Chan said.
“Alright. I’ll contact you immediately if the situation changes,” Kim Hyung-Jung responded.
“What should we do about the weapons?”
Kim Hyung-Jung hesitated for a moment. “You two should have weapons and National Intelligence Service IDs with you. If needed, I can give you belt holsters that you can strap around your waist.”
Kang Chan looked at Seok Kang-Ho, unable to respond right away.
If they carried guns around, their families would inevitably find out about it. If something were to go wrong, then even others, including those at the coffee shop, could notice it as well. Carrying guns around in South Korea was not normal, so it could cause a lot of problems. If word got out about them on the internet, then things would be even harder to sort out.
“Others will likely notice that we have guns on our waists. It’s much better to have them on our ankles instead,” Kang Chan said.
“Good idea.”
Kim Hyung-Jung went to his desk and found two ankle holsters. Seok Kang-Ho and Kang Chan took out the pistol on their waists and holstered them, returning the silencers. They also strapped two spare magazines on their other ankle.
“It'll be best for your parents to stay at the hotel for now,” Kim Hyung-Jung told Kang Chan afterward.
“I’ll have them do that.”
“It would be dangerous for them to go to work for about a week. If they have to go out, they should use the van that we’ll provide.”
“What about my daughter? She has school,” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“How about your wife and daughter go abroad for about a week? We’ll say that it’s a field trip. That will give you the time and space you need to come here and help out,” Kim Hyung-Jung suggested.
What was there for Seok Kang-Ho to help out in this office? Kim Hyung-Jung’s suggestion wasn’t bad, though.
“Will they have security abroad?” Kang Chan asked.
“They’ll be safer overseas, considering we don’t even know what Wui Min-Gook is up to. A week should be enough for us to check the CCTV footage.”
“My family doesn’t have passports,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
Kim Hyung-Jung smiled instead of answering.
“Let’s have our families go abroad—I’ll tell my parents as well. I’ll feel better with them out of the country instead of in a hotel. We have agents in the Foundation and my father’s company, so they will still be running seamlessly,” Kang Chan said.
“Sure. My family was so surprised, though, so I’m not sure if they’ll be willing to go without me,” Seok Kang-Ho replied.
“Let’s just talk to them about it for now.”
“Let’s have another cigarette before we leave,” Seok Kang-Ho suggested. Since he already picked a cigarette up, they all smoked first.
“You can’t go home, can you?” Kang Chan asked Kim Hyung-Jung.
“I didn’t expect a cot to be this useful.”
The cold coffee and cigarettes seemed to be comforting them for their long day.
“Have you had dinner yet?” Kang Chan asked Kim Hyung-Jung.
“I had a sandwich.”
“Why would you eat something like that instead of delicious jjampong?” Seok Kang-Ho abruptly grumbled.
“Things were hectic, so that was all I could eat. I threw it out after eating about half of it. Should I order you a jjampong though, Mr. Seok Kang-Ho?”
“We can still order right now?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
This was a conversation between Kim Hyung-Jung, who basically skipped dinner, and Seok Kang-Ho, who was always hungry. They both looked at Kang Chan, their eyes showing the answer to Seok Kang-Ho’s question.
“Please go ahead. It’s been a while since we’ve had a midnight snack,” Kang Chan answered.
Kim Hyung-Jung brought his phone to his ear.
Three agents died in the basement of his apartment, yet they were ordering jjampong. The battles in Africa and Seoul were no different.
They had to eat and sleep whenever they could. That way, they could maintain their condition for the next battle.
There were times when little things like this decided whether one lived or died in an emergency.
The jjampong arrived in less than ten minutes.
Kang Chan ate as he thought about visiting the damn Chinese restaurant someday.
“Wow! This is really amazing!” Seok Kang-Ho exclaimed. He would definitely say something like that again at breakfast tomorrow at the hotel.
They ate in moderation, then had coffee and smoked cigarettes again.
“We’ll be going now. You should get even just a bit of sleep. Do you want to go to the hotel with us?” Kang Chan asked Kim Hyung-Jung.
“I’m comfortable here. I still have to keep an eye on the situation, after all.”
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho said goodbye to Kim Hyung-Jung and left his office. They then went to the basement parking lot and got in the van that the agents prepared for them.
“Is this window bulletproof?” Seok Kang-Ho asked as he knocked on the window.
The agent in the passenger seat answered with a “yes.”
“Do you think Huh Ha-Soo is behind the attack in the underground parking lot?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.
“I do. Hearing Huh Hang-Soo was arrested in China probably angered Huh Ha-Soo so much that he’s no longer in his right mind. There’s no reason for Wui Min-Gook to listen to Huh Ha-Soo, though, so it’s hard to just conclude that he’s behind it.”
“That’s true.”
“Make sure you comfort your family. Your daughter must’ve been shocked.”
“Ugh. I can’t believe this happened just as she was taking an interest in studying.”
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk. He was not used to Seok Kang-Ho acting like this. Anyway, as Kang Chan expected, they were heading to the Namsan Hotel. That was fine, though. After all, no place was as safe as the Namsan Hotel from ambushes since it didn’t have any tall buildings around it.
It was already dawn, so it did not take them long to reach the hotel’s basement parking lot. They were given key cards as they got in the elevator.
“Why am I the only one getting two rooms?” Kang Chan asked the agents.
“We assumed that it would be uncomfortable for you to sleep with your parents.”
They weren’t wrong. They were at a hotel, after all.
“Great thinking. I feel uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as my daughter as well, so I’ll sleep in that room later too. What’s your parents’ room number?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Nineteen-o-three,” an agent quickly answered in Kang Chan’s stead.
“I’ll take room nineteen-o-five, then,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
Seok Kang-Ho’s room was on the seventeenth floor, and Kang Chan’s was on the nineteenth.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Seok Kang-Ho told Kang Chan.
The two agents in the elevator with them followed Seok Kang-Ho out.
When the elevator reached the nineteenth floor, Kang Chan saw an agent in a suit waiting in front of it.
Kang Chan walked along the hallway and headed to their room.
“We’re on standby in the room across from here,” the agent said.
“Thanks. You did great.”
Kang Chan pressed the key card on the scanner and opened the door.
“Channy!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook were sitting in the living room.
“Have you guys slept yet?” Kang Chan asked.
“I can’t sleep,” Yoo Hye-Sook responded. She looked at Kang Chan’s feet as he approached them.
“The incident earlier must have shocked both of you.”
“Your mom is handling this a lot better though, isn’t she?” Kang Dae-Kyung commented.
“You always tease me!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed.
Kang Chan was sure that Kang Dae-Kyung was also very surprised, but he seemed to be trying hard to be Kang Chan’s support.
“Do you guys want some tea?” Kang Chan asked.
“Sure. We already had a cup of green tea because your mom was shaking so much, but we can’t sleep anyway, so we might as well have another.”
“Please let me make it for you.” Kang Chan tried to stop him, but Kang Dae-Kyung insisted on standing up. Since Yoo Hye-Sook walked right along with him, they all made tea. They then sat on the sofa.
“Huh? Mother seems sleepy,” Kang Chan commented.
“Looking at you puts me at ease,” Yoo Hye-Sook said.
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“Then please sleep—I’ll sleep in the room next door.”
“You got another room?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
“I won’t be alone—they said that I have to be with an agent.”
How would Kang Chan explain to his parents if they ran into Seok Kang-Ho in this situation? He only actually said that he would be with an agent to prevent Kang Dae-Kyung from coming into his room.
“If you press the extension number, then I’ll answer the call from the room right next door. I’ll be going to the French embassy tomorrow, but let’s have breakfast before I leave. I also need to pick up my phone,” Kang Chan said.
Little by little, Kang Chan’s parents began looking calmer while sitting with him.
“Father,” Kang Chan called.
Kang Dae-Kyung looked at Kang Chan with eyes that asked, ‘What’s wrong?’
“I’m afraid you will have to stay here and be closely guarded for about a week, but you can also go on a trip to France and visit Gong Te automobile instead.”
“A trip?”
“Yes. They estimate this whole situation to last about a week. It could end a little bit earlier, but they also said that it could take longer than that,” Kang Chan explained.
Kang Dae-Kyung looked at Yoo Hye-Sook while exhaling softly.
“What about you?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
“I will have to stay here.”
“Is that because you’re the one being targeted?” Kang Dae-Kyung prodded.
“That’s not exactly accurate. They also attacked the Director and the executives of the National Intelligence Service, so the main goal behind their aggression is probably to disturb the Eurasian Rail.”
Kang Dae-Kyung asked a couple more questions, and Kang Chan patiently answered them all.
“This doesn’t feel as real as the last incident, perhaps because I never expected people would openly shoot each other in this country…” Kang Dae-Kyung discreetly examined Yoo Hye-Sook’s mood. He seemed to suddenly remember that she didn’t know about him witnessing the knife fight in Yongin.
“The last incident? Honey—did something else happen to you aside from this?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
“I’m talking about what happened in the Foundation office and our office in Kang Yoo Motors. You were much more surprised when that happened.”
“Ah, you’re right. I was so shocked when I saw Channy pounce on people right in front of me mainly because that was my first time seeing him do that.” Yoo Hye-Sook shuddered, seemingly finding the incident far too horrible to think about.
“Please go to bed now—we can talk about the rest tomorrow during breakfast,” Kang Chan suggested.
“Okay! Go to your room and get some sleep as well. You must be tired. Is this a safe place, though?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.
“There are agents in the room across from ours.”
“We heard the gunshots earlier. Was anyone hurt?”
Kang Chan decided to lie as he picked up his teacup. “Three suffered minor injuries, but I heard everyone’s okay.”
“That’s a relief.”
“It is. Now, please go to sleep.”
Kang Chan left the room afterward. He locked eyes with the agent at the end of the hallway, then entered the room next door.
Damn it!
Kang Chan could hear Seok Kang-Ho snoring.
Kang Chan washed up lightly and went into the bedroom. He then took a pillow and a blanket from the bed and laid down on the sofa.
So many incidents were happening that they seemed to be waiting for their turn in a long line. It would’ve been really nice if Kang Chan’s guts kept giving him warning signals that felt as if something was holding the back of his neck.