/
After he had a shower and changed clothes at home, Kang Chan spoke to Yoo Hye-Sook in a joking manner.
“I heard that text messages that say, ‘you’re going to die,’ are a trend nowadays.”
“Really? No wonder! Did you also get a text message like that?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
Kang Chan suddenly felt outraged, but he forced himself to look calm and collected.
“Yes. I’m telling you just in case, but don’t worry about it.”
“I really don’t know why they’re doing that. It feels really insulting.”
After Kang Chan consoled her with a few more words, he left the house.
Seok Kang-Ho was waiting in front of the apartment.
“Phew, what’s up with that look in your eyes?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“My mother apparently got the same text message too.”
“Ah, good gracious. Those fuckers are dickheads. It looks like a lot of people are going to die again.”
Kang Chan breathed out quietly.
At this point, it was going beyond insulting.
It felt like an invisible opponent had suddenly approached him while he was wasting his time with Michelle.
They got caught in the evening rush hour, so they arrived at Smithen’s place at around 7 pm.
It was a fairly large and luxurious villa. When they went inside, Smithen stood up from the living room sofa.
“Welcome!” Smithen pointed to the sofa after he greeted them in poor Korean. The bandages on his face had been replaced with gauze now, making him look fairly human.
Alice brought out sandwiches and coffee, and they all ate together while looking at the Hangang river.
“Cigarettes?” Smithen also asked in poor Korean.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho followed a waddling Smithen and sat at a table outside the living room. The view was great, as they were able to see the river and the road beside it in one glance.
“Please come here often,” Smithen said. He seemed quite relaxed.
“Smithen, remember when you said there could be someone backing Sharlan up?”
But his face hardened immediately at Kang Chan’s words.
“Tell me in detail why you thought that way.”
“Did something happen? What’s wrong?” Smithen asked in fast French.
“There’s something suspicious going on, so I need you to give me an explanation.”
“As I said, it was just a gut feeling. It also looked like he was getting orders from someone. That’s all,” Smithen answered.
Kang Chan’s expression hardened while he was looking at Smithen, finding his answer subtly mixed with truth and lies.
“Dayeru has been getting threatening text messages. I’m going to look into it starting tomorrow, but if something comes up later, or if Dayeru gets hurt even in the slightest bit, then even I am not sure what I’d do as a consequence,” Kang Chan warned.
Seok Kang-Ho couldn’t understand what they were saying.
“One more thing. It seems like you told Alice about Africa,” He continued.
“About that, Channy…”
“It doesn’t matter what you say since no one will believe it anyway. But Smithen, just don’t forget that that mouth of yours can cause trouble anytime.”
Kang Chan brought out a cigarette and bit on it.
“Phew. I don’t think I’m going to be with you until the end. You’re also probably planning to go somewhere in a few years. I’m not going to stop you, nor do I have plans on stopping you,” Kang Chan continued.
When Kang Chan’s eyes burned fiercely, Smithen seemingly grew anxious. He couldn’t even give an excuse.
“But watch you say, at least from now on. Someone is watching. And remember that for at least the next two years, a lot of people can die because of what you say,” Kang Chan continued.
Kang Chan leaned onto the back of the chair after he extinguished the cigarette.
He had said everything that he wanted to say.
A warning to this extent was the best if he wasn’t going to torture him.
Kang Chan was just about to stand up after a moment of silence had passed.
“Channy, Sharlan got orders from someone,” Smithen said while he looked around the river and the living room.
“He seemed to think that I wasn’t there, but when I later asked who that was, he said the same thing that you just said—that I’m going to certainly die if I tell this to anyone. I saw him talk that way on the phone two more times after that, and I pretended I didn’t notice on purpose.”
‘Damn it!’
There really was something.
But the Serpent Venimeux would cut anyone’s head or limbs and place it on the bed if they were ordered to do so. They didn’t send that kind of message. This could mean that the person behind Sharlan and another enemy were trying to go for Kang Chan’s surroundings.
Kang Chan told Seok Kang-Ho his thoughts and what Smithen had said.
“Didn’t you say that things ended well with the Serpent Venimeux?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Exactly. The messages seemed to have come from Korea, but Serpent Venimeux has definitely figured out that someone was backing Sharlan up.”
“Phew, this is fucking complicated. How about we ask the Ambassador about the potential issues with France?” Seok Kang-Ho asked again.
Kang Chan shook his head.
“That’s not a good idea. Wouldn’t it only let him know that we’re aware of something? We’re better off just catching the guy sending the messages as soon as possible and quietly moving on instead. This will get completely forgotten when the French presidential election is over, anyway.”
“That’s true, now that you mention it,” Seok Kang-Ho told Kang Chan.
“For now, let’s just head home.”
Kang Chan got up from his spot.
“Smithen, be careful when you’re outside for the time being. And really watch what you say. Call me right away if there’s something urgent,” said Kang Chan.
“Understood.”
Smithen was stupid but strong in the past, but now he looked like a coward that only had his wits left.
“We’re going,” Kang Chan said.
“Channy.”
Smithen called Kang Chan while slightly looking over the inside of the living room.
“Should I let Alice go?”
“That’s up to you,” He answered.
Kang Chan went into the living room after he saw Smithen nodding.
“We’ll get going now, Alice,” Kang Chan bid her goodbye.
“Please come again.”
She really wasn’t pretty, but her breasts were amazing.
And it would be around this time for someone like Smithen to miss interacting with new females.
Seok Kang-Ho gave Kang chan a ride to the apartment. When they parted ways, Kang Chan went into his room and stared blankly at his phone.
There really weren't a lot of people on his contact list.
Kang Chan would’ve been at ease if it were actually the parking lot gang that was playing tricks behind their backs.
Did Michelle and her friends also get this type of text message?
Kang Chan thought about calling but shook his head.
It wasn’t important whether one more or one less person got a text right now.
Let’s catch him first.
If this took too long, then he’d consider discussing this with Lanok, the Ambassador of France.
Kang Chan himself could endure being in danger for as long as his situation required it, but he needed to prevent something from happening to Seok Kang-Ho, Kang Dae-Kyung, and Yoo Hye-Sook.
He felt like he was standing off with an enemy that was lying in wait to ambush him.
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
An uncomfortable nervousness swept through Kang Chan, similar to when he was searching a hill where a bullet could hit him at any moment.
‘Was I too relaxed?’
Kang Chan thought this was the punishment for thinking he’d be able to live in peace after finishing the deal with Sharlan, which in turn resulted in the loss of his sharpness.
***
Seok Kang-Ho headed straight to the police station after Kang Chan briefly saw him in the athletics club. To figure out who sent the text messages, Seok Kang-Ho was told that the police had to receive a complaint about the threats first before they could order the start of the investigation.
In the morning, a carload that contained about two and a half tonnes of workout equipment was delivered, which Kang Chan roughly arranged. He also positioned the electric fans given as freebies in appropriate locations.
Kang Chan then called a security guard company without letting anyone know.
- What you said yesterday is possible. But it will require fifty million won [1] as an advance deposit, and fifty million won per month.
“I’ll deposit it right away. Please start as soon as possible, and don’t forget that this must be done secretly.”
- We’ll deal with the task once we’ve confirmed the deposit, then we’ll pay you a visit.
After he ended the call, Kang Chan immediately ran to the bank and deposited the money. While he was there, he also applied for telebanking and an internet banking service.
Kang Chan had heard that the president of the security company had previously worked at the Presidential Security Service. Before he could even leave the bank, he already got a confirmation call. Just as Kang Chan asked, they told him they would start their mission immediately.
This would protect Yoo Hye-Sook, Kang Dae-Kyung, Kim Mi-Young, and also Seok Kang-Ho, even though he felt bad.
He felt a bit relieved for now.
Seok Kang-Ho arrived at the athletics club a little after 11 am.
“The cyber police or something started right away. Apparently, the person used a professional message forwarding service, and they applied for it overseas. The cyber police also said that they’ve taken care of it, so we won’t get those messages starting from today,” Seok Kang-Ho told Kang Chan.
“Overseas?”
“Apparently, spam mail can be created so that it originates from an address that’s in China, Thailand, or the Philippines, and even Korean people can do that as well.”
“Tsk!”
“Hey! It takes up so much space when it’s assembled,” said Kang Chan.
Seok Kang-Ho turned his eyes to Kang Chan after he pulled the lever on the workout equipment.
“Forget about it. There are a lot of gangsters that become criminals through petty crimes, aren’t there? It’s obviously going to be the losers,” said Seok Kang-Ho.
Could that really be true? Is it going to end quietly like this?
Seok Kang-Ho tried to lift a piece of workout equipment while wearing a neck brace but soon made a pained expression when he moved his neck.
Silly laughter burst out. As they snickered together, the bell rang to signify lunchtime.
“Where are we going to have lunch?” asked Seok Kang-Ho.
“We should go to the student cafeteria so we can take care of the kids.”
“Alright. Then I’ll eat with the teachers of the student department[2]. We’re going to need to buy a lock and put it on the workout equipment, won’t we?”
Kang Chan stood up after Seok Kang-Ho.
Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—
Seok Kang-Ho’s phone vibrated briefly.
1. About 36,000 USD ☜
2. The student department is focused on improving the lives of students, outside of their grades. Their duties include punishing bullies or students that go against the rules of the school and guiding the students ☜