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Buzz—. Buzz—. Buzz—. Buzz—.
His phone rang from his inner chest pocket.
Wui Min-Gook took out his phone. Still glaring at Huh Ha-Soo, he answered the call.
“It’s me.”
Wui Min-Gook’s eyes glinted, then narrowed.
“How many?” he asked, his cheek twitching a few times.
“Listen carefully—do what must be done to have an honorable death. I’ll take good care of the family you’ll leave behind.”
Wui Min-Gook hung up, then glared at Huh Ha-Soo with eyes so bloodshot they looked as if they were going to burst at any moment.
“Director Wui…?” Huh Ha-Soo asked.
“How did South Korea’s special forces team find out about the hideout that you created for us?”
However, Huh Ha-Soo seemed surprised as well.
“We don’t care about how you do it. You can work with Japan or suck up to China if that’s what it would take,” Wui Min-Gook said.
Huh Ha-Soo looked away with a displeased expression as Wui Min-Gook added, “That means I’ll even make myself explode if that means you’ll keep your end of the bargain. You have two weeks.”
“That’s not what we agreed on—there are things that I can and cannot do. I cannot make promises that I cannot keep.” Huh Ha-Soo was unexpectedly obstinate. “And I made this deal with the higher-ups, not you. I plan to keep my promises, so we should hide and avoid being found for now. Can they find evidence in Ansan?”
Wui Min-Gook bit on his cheek.
“They will never find any evidence. Let’s get going.” Wui Min-Gook stood up and headed to the entrance.
“Ha, this is absurd.”
Huh Ha-Soo sighed as he looked at the river outside the living room window of his villa at Namyangju.
***
Ten minutes had passed since they closed in on the enemy, yet Kang Chan still had not given any orders.
The most textbook way to handle their current situation was for everyone to cover fire while two of his men ran to the building and broke the door. There were only four windows—one on the porch, another on the balcony, and two on the warehouse. Hence, there was a low chance of their enemies returning fire if they covered fire.
Kang Chan couldn’t help but notice his team members quickly examining him. Moreover, he thought that Kim Hyung-Jung, who was in the factory to keep the perimeter off-limits using his radio, was probably feeling nervous.
Nevertheless, Kang Chan did nothing but glare at the building. He was getting such a bad feeling from the situation that he felt as if he was jumping into a cesspit.
The dampness that the recent rain brought to the ground only helped intensify the unpleasant feeling.
‘Tsk!’
He was also unexpectedly getting the bad feeling that he couldn’t get rid of at his apartment last Saturday evening.
Kang Chan looked at the soldiers, then glared at the building again.
‘Come at me anytime if you want to die.’
If his enemy told him something like that, he would have pounced on them without a moment’s hesitation.
He would fight them with guns if they used guns, and knives if they used knives.
Kang Chan would never leave any enemy who provoked him alone, especially if they were targeting Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook.
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However, only the building was provoking him right now. No, to be more precise, he felt as if a ghost had engulfed the building and was now trying to reel him in.
Kang Chan smirked as he kept staring daggers at the building.
This was a fight between the ghost of Ansan and the god of death.
It sounded grand, but in reality, all that was happening was Kang Chan glaring at the building so hard it seemed as if he was planning to destroy it.
After about five more minutes, Kang Chan shook his head. This wasn’t right. If they were moving right now, then he would’ve definitely made them stop.
Chk.
“Daye, keep the snipers in position and move back ten meters,” Kang Chan ordered.
Chk.
Seok Kang-Ho hesitated for a moment before answering, “Alright.”
There were more than twenty meters between Kang Chan’s team and the building, so he found no reason for them to move back.
Kim Hyung-Jung could hear everything being transmitted on the radio. He definitely would have asked questions if he was Kang Chan’s superior, but he just stayed silent. Things like this couldn’t be explained.
Only Seok Kang-Ho would have thought, ‘Is there something wrong?’
While Kang Chan was looking at the building, he noticed its windows suddenly turning white.
BANG!
A powerful blast echoed not long after.
Crumble.
At the same time that they dropped to the ground, a gust of wind and debris of the damaged building swept past Kang Chan and his men.
Only one grenade went off, yet it was still strong enough to cause the ground to shake. The explosion itself felt as strong as an actual earthquake.
Swoosh!
The stronger the explosion, the wind that blew from the very back was sucked into where the explosion occurred.[1] At the same time, the debris that the explosion sent flying fell to the ground.
Kang Chan tousled his hair as he looked at where the building used to be. Only frames of it were left.
Click.
Kang Chan stood up.
Chk.
“Daye, situation report,” he said.
Chk.
“No casualties or injuries.”
“Kwak Cheol-Ho, examine the scene and then retreat.”
“Understood.”
Kang Chan immediately walked to the factory building. The shockwave made their ears ring.
The air was still mixed with cement powder.
Kang Chan went down a waist-high hill and found Kim Hyung-Jung waiting for them in the parking lot.
“Wui Min-Gook made the building explode. The explosion was so strong that it only left the frame of the building intact. I doubt we’ll find anything in the ruins.” Kim Hyung-Jung looked as if he found the situation hard to believe.
The explosion occurred right after Kang Chan made his subordinates retreat a couple of meters back through the radio. If Kim Hyung-Jung didn’t know Kang Chan, he would have suspected him of secretly communicating with the enemy.
Chk chk.
“Whoo!”
Kang Chan entered the factory building and lit up a cigarette. After a while, Seok Kang-Ho and the soldiers came into the building as well, their guns clanking.
“That was a close call,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
They certainly almost died today.
Seok Kang-Ho bit on a cigarette and lit it up. He then looked at his surroundings. “Do you guys have coffee?”
“It’s over here. Do you want a cup?” a soldier asked.
“Sure.”
Three to four soldiers rushed out to make instant coffee.
“Do you think Wui Min-Gook was in that building?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.
“I’m not sure.”
A member brought and handed over coffee in paper cups.
Dispirited, they smoked cigarettes and drank instant coffee on that rainy autumn day. The atmosphere and environment seemed to perfectly match each other.
A moment later, Kim Hyung-Jung came into the factory building. “As I told you earlier, we couldn’t find anything that we could use as evidence.”
From far away, Kang Chan heard someone asking, “Would you like some coffee as well?”
A moment later, Kim Hyung-Jung also received a paper cup.
“It would’ve been a close call if you weren’t here.” Kim Hyung-Jung drank coffee, then backtracked a bit. “It feels like we’re still one step behind. Mr. Kang Chan.”
Kang Chan threw his cigarette into his paper cup and then looked at Kim Hyung-Jung.
“How did you know that the building was going to explode? Was that a gut feeling as well?”
There was really nothing Kang Chan could say in response to this question or how he learned French and how to fight.
Fortunately, Kwak Cheol-Ho approached Kang Chan and briefly saluted him. “We’ve been ordered to withdraw.”
“Great work.”
“We learned a lot today.”
The soldiers’ eyes showed that they had become a bit more skilled.
With all the soldiers gone, only Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Kim Hyung-Jung were left in the building.
“Section Chief Jeon called me. He wants to eat with us if you’re okay with it,” Kim Hyung-Jung told Kang Chan.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook were probably worrying about Kang Chan in the hotel right now.
“I have to get back to my family today,” Kang Chan said.
“Mr. Kang Chan, Section Chief Jeon’s hair is about to fall out. Can you help us without telling him that I told you about this?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.
“How can I help?”
“This coming Wednesday, the president is scheduled for an event where VIPs from the three branches of government, ambassadors of major countries, and people related to the event will be in attendance. As you know, we’re suspicious of Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo, but it’s hard to guard them with so many attendees,” Kim Hyung-Jung explained.
“Wouldn’t it be safer if Huh Ha-Soo attends?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“The enemy probably won’t result in explosives, but it’ll be difficult to keep everyone safe if he helps smuggle weapons into the event. Honestly, we decided not to ask for your help on this matter, but the explosion earlier reminded me of what I heard during our training.”
“What would that be?” Seok Kang-Ho asked. This fucker really couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“It’s what the king of the DMZ once said. ‘If you meet an enemy with heightened senses, then there should just be on thing in your mind.’”
“It’s probably to escape,” Kang Chan said.
“That’s right.”
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk. He wanted to meet this DMZ king and see who he was for himself.
“Please help us. Just think of it as saving the section chief’s life,” Kim Hyung-Jung continued.
They were supposed to guard the president, but Kim Hyung-Jung instead focused on saving Jeon Dae-Geek.
“I’ll help out, but I really have to go back to the hotel today,” Kang Chan said.
“Thank you, Mr. Kang Chan. I’ll call the section chief.”
Kim Hyung-Jung stood up after Kang Chan. He then said, “Right! Mr. Seok Kang-Ho, your family is departing tomorrow at lunchtime. Their passports will be delivered tomorrow morning, and a local agent will be greeting them and preparing their hotels and itinerary.”
They soon headed out of the building, the acrid smell wafting toward them.
1. A blast wave is followed by a blast wind of negative pressure, which sucks items back in toward the center. ☜