Chapter 126.2: What Do I Want to Do? (1)
For lunch, Kang Chan and Yoo Hye-Sook had doenjang-guk, kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and seasoned cucumbers. It had also been a while since he had eaten a home-cooked meal. Kang Chan ate until he was so full he wondered if his appetite had grown while he was with Seok Kang-Ho.
After doing the dishes, Yoo Hye-Sook called a female employee, talked, then walked to the front door.
“Have a good day at work,” Kang Chan said.
“Thank you, Channy.”
What’s she thankful for?
Kang Chan thought he should be the one feeling thankful for having her as a mom.
Once Yoo Hye-Sook left, Kang Chan went into his room, then called Kim Hyung-Jung to ask him for a favor.
In the middle of the afternoon, Seok Kang-Ho told Kang Chan that the special admission letter from Seoul National University had arrived and that Kang Chan had to go to the school on Wednesday and pick it up. When he started talking about awards, Kang Chan flatly refused and told him that he would never do things like that ever again.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook both got home at around 6:30 pm. They all had dinner together for the first time in quite a long while.
“I’m so full. Want to go for a walk?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked Kang Chan after dinner.
Kang Dae-Kyung looked as if he had something to say, so Kang Chan agreed without complaint.
Once they were out of the house, Kang Dae-Kyung asked, “Is your hand really okay?”
“Yes.”
Someone from the floor below them got in the elevator, preventing Kang Dae-Kyung from saying anything else until they had left the building.
“Let’s sit over there,” Kang Dae-Kyung said, pointing at an empty bench by the pavilion.
Upon reaching it and sitting down, they both got comfortable.
“Your mom and I ate with the President, the Prime Minister, and the Director of the National Intelligence Service,” Kang Dae-Kyung opened up.
So that’s what happened.
Kang Chan smiled faintly.
“It was really difficult at first, but after a while, even your mom started feeling comfortable around them. They treated us really well.”
“Is that why Mother has changed?”
“She does look like she has changed, doesn’t she?”
“Yes.”
Kang Dae-Kyung inhaled loudly, then exhaled slowly. “They told us that they want to appoint you as the South Korean representative of the Eurasian Rail.”
“They want to appoint me?”
Kang Dae-Kyung nodded while pursing his lips. “They’re thinking of using the excuse about our government having trouble refusing because Ambassador Lanok, the Eurasian Rail founder, recommended you. If you take on such an important role, they said the other countries that want to distract you will use any means to do so, which is why they hope we’ll do our best to help you.”
“What do you think about it?” Kang Chan asked.
“Why would you ask that? What’s really important is what you think.”
What Kang Dae-Kyung had said was obvious, but it seemed new again.
“I don’t want you doing something that you don’t like for our sake. We already told you this before, but you don’t even have to go to college if you don’t want to. I promised you that I would your mom if she makes a fuss, didn’t I?” Kang Dae-Kyun added.
They laughed quietly.
“I made a promise with your mom that we would not try to mold you into something that you’re not and that we wouldn’t stop you from becoming an influential person just because we’re scared and worried for you. However, there’s something that we’re honestly scared of. You know what that is, don’t you?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.
There was no way that Kang Chan wouldn’t know that they were scared of someone attacking them and him getting hurt.
“It’s difficult for us to understand and accept what you have shown us, but we think you have an innate ability in that field, unlike us. The Director of the National Intelligence Service has said that if you keep growing at this rate, you would be an important figure by the time you’re thirty and that no country in the world will ever be able to trample you.”
Will I even still be alive by then?
“Personally, I would be happier if you’re living happily than if you became an important figure. Your mom feels the same way. But if that kind of life makes you happy, then I want you to know that you don’t have to hide the fact that you’re working for the country for my sake and your mom’s.”
“Alright,” Kang Chan answered.
“You’re bound to get hurt in this line of work, aren’t you?” Kang Dae-Kyung smiled awkwardly while looking at Kang Chan. “Give your mom the special admission letter to Seoul National University no matter what.”
“You knew about that?”
“They told us during the meal that they will send the letter to the school today. Your mom is eagerly waiting for it.”
Kang Chan no longer had any choice but to go to school on Wednesday.
“Kang Chan,” Kang Dae-Kyung called.
“Yes?”
“Your mom is working extremely hard to make up for the fact that she looked upset in front of you and is also trying really hard to accept what you do. I hope you’ll be more understanding toward her.”
“Of course I will.”
“Oh dear, when did you grow up so fast?” Kang Dae-Kyung reached out and tousled Kang Chan’s hair. “It feels like just yesterday, you were still the kid who cried and screamed because you couldn’t get on the escalator by yourself.”
“I did that?” Kang Chan asked.
“Are you going to pretend that you don’t remember?”
Kang Chan actually didn’t.
“Fine. Men should have pride, after all,” Kang Dae-Kyung added, then stood up. “Phew!”
“Let’s go home. Your mom is probably getting worried,” Kang Dae-Kyung said afterward.
That was how Kang Chan’s Monday ended.
***
The next day, Kang Chan headed to Samseong-dong once Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook had left for work. He didn’t know why Kim Hyung-Jung had unexpectedly called and asked to meet at the office, but he went anyway.
Click.
When Kang Chan arrived at the fifth floor, an employee he had never met before opened the door and greeted him.
“The manager is waiting for you,” the employee said. He tapped a keycard on the scanner and opened the door to Kim Hyung-Jung’s office.
“Mr. Kang Chan!” Kim Hyung-Jung exclaimed.
Kang Chan burst out laughing as he entered the room. Below the window in front of him was Kim Hyung-Jung, lying on a hospital bed.
More than two-thirds of Kim Hyung-Jung’s body was wrapped in bandages.
“Do you have to do things like this?” Kang Chan asked.
“The National Police Hospital doesn’t allow smoking. Phew! This is actually better.”
For some reason, the people around Kang Chan were becoming weirder and weirder.
“Kim Tae-Jin is being discharged tomorrow,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.
“Already?”
“He isn’t the type to play tricks to get discharged earlier, but I was told that he was getting discharged. Want to smoke?”
Kang Chan walked past the table. Just as he was about to sit down beside the hospital bed, someone opened the door with a click.
An employee brought over coffee and an ashtray.
Kang Chan didn’t know about anything else, but he thought that the employees probably hated doing things like this.
Kang Chan put a cigarette in Kim Hyung-Jung’s mouth and lit it up for him. He then lit another for himself.
“The National Intelligence Service has decided to ask you to take over the role of being responsible for the dead agents and entrust you with full authority to issue commands. They’re also thinking of approving any request you may have, Kim Hyung-Jung said.
Kang Chan was going to do it either way, but this made him feel light-hearted.
“The transmitter you requested is on top of my desk,” Kim Hyung-Jung continued.
Kang Chan turned his head, finding a small box on top of the desk.
“The box has a tie pin, buttons, a belt, and three thumbtacks. Place the thumbtacks on the heel of your shoe. Once you install it, you’ll be able to use it for three months.”
“What about the receiver?” Kang Chan asked.
“I’ll send you an app that will allow you to check on it from your phone.”
“Sounds good.”
Kim Hyung-Jung reached out his arm, which was tightly wrapped in bandages, and stiffly held up a cup. It looked risky, but he managed to drink coffee without spilling any of it.
“I feel much better now because it feels like I relieved at least some of our dead members’ deep sorrows,” Kim Hyung-Jung said. Kang Chan hadn’t asked about it yet, but Kim Hyung-Jung already talked about it. He did look like he was in a much better mood, though.
“If Vasili comes into South Korea on Friday, the Intelligence Bureau is going to issue a first-class alert. If he gets murdered in our country, the aftermath won’t be easy to handle,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.
“He doesn’t look like a person who can be killed so easily, though.”
“That’s also a problem. Vasili will use whatever methods are available to him for his own benefit. In a word, he’s… extreme.”
When Kim Hyung-Jung saw Kang Chan smirking, he swallowed dryly with difficulty. “In truth, if Vasili knows you, then he won’t act hastily.”
“Are you really going to stay here?”
“As I said, this is better than being in a hospital.”
In truth, Kim Hyung-Jung was staying at the office not because it was better than a hospital but because he wanted to provide support to the event on Friday. If it meant finding the agents that Kang Chan had left behind, he would have done the same.
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