Chapter 136.2: What are you all doing here? (1)
“Huh? Isn’t that man over there Mr. Jeon Dae Geuk?”
Kang Chan was largely taken aback when he turned the corner and was greeted by Jeon Dae-Geuk, who was sitting on the Korean-style wooden bench in front of the diner.
As the door opened with a click, Kang Chan suddenly felt apologetic toward Jeon Dae-Geuk.
“Section Chief Jeon! What are you doing here?”
“Well, why weren’t you answering my calls?”
What in the world? Kang Chan had never met someone like Jeon Dae-Geuk—a man with a spirit so fiery that he would drag his injured body all the way here while sweating from all the pain.
“I’m sorry.”
“If you really are, treat me to some expensive maeun-tang!”
“I will. Please, let’s head inside.”
Kang Chan couldn’t do anything but surrender to this man.
With the help of Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho, Jeon Dae-Geuk walked into the diner.
“Choi Jon-Il, tell all the employees standing outside to come in,” Jeon Dae-Geuk ordered.
“Yes, Mr. Jeon!” Choi Jong-Il replied.
Two people who seemed to have assisted Jeon Dae-Geuk to this place soon entered the establishment.
“I’m a regular at this place,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said.
“So you made Jong-Il recommend this restaurant to me?” Kang Chan was astounded.
“I would’ve had to chase you around if I didn’t!” Jeon Dae-Geuk replied defensively.
The floor was warm and cozy.
The elderly couple that ran the diner pulled over a blanket on top of Jeon Dae-Geuk, who was leaning on a wall. They even gave him a pillow for his back. They tended to him with care.
“Why would you move around in this condition, sir?” the owner asked.
“That young man over there made me worried sick,” Jeon Dae-Geuk replied with a smile. “I might as well eat heartily now that I’ve come all the way here. Extra spicy, please. And enough for the guys outside too.”
“Got it. It’ll take some time.”
The elderly couple glanced at Kang Chan and left after wrapping Jeon Dae-Geuk in the blanket like a cocoon. Not too long after, the elderly man brought over three cups of instant coffee and put them on the table.
“You must have been coming to this place for a long time now,” Kang Chan noted.
“Back when I used to do field operations, I did. Whenever I was feeling down, I would come here and sleep a night before heading back,” Jeon Dae-Geuk responded.
“You feel down too, Mr. Jeon?” Kang Chan asked surprisedly.
“What? You think I’m heartless and devoid of any emotions?” Jeon Dae-Geuk scoffed.
Kang Chan scratched the back of his head, feeling as if he made a mistake. If he had someone like Jeon Dae-Geuk in high school, he never would have left for Africa. If only a teacher like Seok Kang-Ho, or mentors like Kim Hyung-Jung and Kim Tae-Jin had been there for him back then…
Kang Chan abashedly looked down at his plastic cup.
Just then, he heard someone utter a greeting from outside the diner, which was then followed by a familiar voice.
The door slid open with a creak.
This is getting ridiculous.
Kim Tae-Jin was helping Kim Hyung-Jung inside.
The surprised owner quickly hurried into the side room.
“What are all of you doing here?” Kang Chan asked, flabbergasted.
“Why did you come here when you’re not feeling well?” Jeon Dae-Geuk followed up.
“I was craving some maeun-tang,” Kim Hyung-Jung replied.
Kang Chan rushed forward and had Kim Hyung-Jung lean on the wall so quickly that he didn’t get to properly exchange greetings with Kim Tae-Jin. The owner brought out another blanket and pillow and had Kim Hyung-Jung rest on the pillow before wrapping the blanket around him.
A moment later, two more coffee cups were carried inside.
“Please give us an ashtray,” Kim Hyung-Jung requested from the owner.
Hearing Kim Hyung-Jung from outside, Choi Jong-Il quickly brought an ashtray for him.
“See? This is what happens when you leave me out and do things yourselves,” Kim Tae-Jin said.
“Aren’t you the businessman?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
“Are you really in the position to say that?” Kim Tae-Jin asked Jeon Dae-Geuk, pretending to be upset, then glared at Kim Hyung-Jung.
“Hey, you said the nagging on the way here was gonna be the end of it,” Kim Hyung-Jung complained.
“Well, I’m still upset!” Kim Tae-Jin yelped.
Now, Kang Chan really felt as if he had committed a great sin.
“Take a smoke,” Jeon Dae-Geuk commanded.
“I’m fine,” Kang Chan responded.
“I’m putting down the ranks right now. Should we have a drink?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
At Jeon Dae-Geuk’s words, Kim Hyung-Jung pulled out his hand from the blanket and took a cigarette into his mouth, attempting to make Kang Chan comfortable. Kang Chan signaled with his eyes to open the door and picked up a cigarette himself.
Seok Kang-Ho held the lighter and lit up Kim Hyung-Jung and Kang Chan’s cigarettes first before lighting up his own.
“We have this thing called Code A,” Jeon Dae-Geuk began. “It’s a tradition to disregard the orders of a new commander or a commander the soldiers dislike. Those in the special forces probably think it’s a way to protect their pride since they won’t be properly rewarded for things they do. I couldn’t get rid of it during my time.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk then looked at Kim Hyung-Jung for assistance.
“I couldn’t inform the soldiers of your experience, Mr. Kang Chan. The misunderstanding most likely sprang up because of that. I will change the training to the First Airborne Forces and switch out all the soldiers as well,” Kim Hyung-Jung attempted, hoping to appease Kang Chan.
Kang Chan faced Kim Hyung-Jung directly.
“Manager Kim Hyung-Jung, Section Chief Jeon Dae-Geuk. I think I was in the wrong to turn around without saying anything, and for not answering my phone. I even made the two of you and Director Kim Tae-Jin head all the way here.”
Kang Chan extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray and looked at Jeon Dae-Geuk.
“I left the training ground without a word for two reasons. First, all the soldiers present were unaware the operation could lead to death, and more than half of the men have never even shot anyone.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk let out a low sigh.
“I don’t know what Code A is. However, insubordinate soldiers and inexperienced soldiers will only get in the way and cause accidents, regardless of how capable they are. If I want to be acknowledged as their commander, I’ll likely have to break some soldier’s arm to display my abilities, but that means the operation will already be held back at that point. What will be the point in me continuing to train the soldiers then?” Kang Chan added.
“Hmm,” Jeon Dae-Geuk sighed deeply again. “Mr. Kang Chan, you come to that judgment in that short amount of time?”
“To be honest, half of my judgment was based on instinct. However, the other half was based on my thought process,” Kang Chan replied.
Kim Hyung-Jung glanced at Kim Tae-Jin.
“There’s no answer to something like this. Spec Ops are already hard enough even with the commander and soldiers having each other’s backs. No matter how much we explain to the soldiers, they won’t be able to accept Mr. Kang Chan until they witness his abilities,” Kim Tae-Jin said.
It was a harsh judgment, but Kang Chan thought Kim Tae-Jin was right.
They could spend days explaining the situation to the soldiers, but without any visible proof, Kang Chan would only seem like a high school student to them.
It would have been a different story if they were in this together for the long run. While they were training and coordinating with each other, the soldiers would naturally learn to obey Kang Chan. However, the operation was set to begin next week, so if there was any distrust between Kang Chan and the soldiers, all he would be doing was forcing them to march toward their deaths.
“Let’s not talk about this subject anymore,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said in good nature when the atmosphere grew uneasy. “Forget about it for now and just have some tasty maeun-tang. Then, when we get back, we can think about this again.”
“Understood,” Kang Chan agreed.
Kang Chan wasn’t one to hold grudges or become fixated on an issue, so that conversation ended there.
“Anyway, have you already recovered, Mr. Seok?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
“Yes, I actually have. I healed up faster than I thought,” Seok Kang-Ho replied.
“And you’re not even bandaged anymore?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked Kang Chan.
“You know my body’s unique,” Kang Chan said.
Kim Tae-Jin shook his head in disbelief.
As they made small talk and discussed various topics, a portable gas burner and a wide pot were carried in. The wide pot was filled to the brim with three different types of half-cooked fish.
The red soup bubbled deliciously when it was heated up. When no one took the ladle to get maeun-tang, Seok Kang-Ho took the initiative and poured some of the soup into his bowl.
“Mr. Seok, would you like to try how we eat maeun-tang?” Kim Tae-Jin asked with a smile.
“Sure!” Seok Kang-Ho agreed and watched the pot.
They chatted for around ten more minutes.
Kim Tae-Jin lifted his spoon and smushed the fish, then split the fish from head to tail, making it unrecognizable. As a result, the soup quickly thickened.
“After this, we’ll wait for it to boil again. I learned this from my old bosses, who started this. This way, no one will have to feel apologetic about taking more fish for themselves in front of their superiors or subordinates. Everyone can easily get some of the soup without having to worry about offending anyone,” Kim Tae-Jin said as he sifted the maeun-tang with the ladle. As he said, the soup had become so thick that it was almost like porridge. “Now, let’s dig in.”
Kim Tae-Jin served Jeon Dae-Geuk a bowl first before serving the others.
“Mm!” Seok Kang-Ho exclaimed.
Kang Chan scooped up some of the soup with his spoon. It was so good that he found himself smiling in surprise.
The door slid open a tiny bit, and the owner brought five bowls of rice and three types of kimchi for them.
No other words had to be said to describe how tasty it was. The bones of the fish were a little bothersome, but that small hindrance couldn’t get anyone to give up on this miraculous dish.
“It’s really delicious.”
There was more than enough to go around too. They all had two bowls before they got to the bottom of the pot.
Kang Chan put his cutlery down after eating to his heart’s content. If someone asked him to choose between a French feast and this maeun-tang, he would’ve picked maeun-tang in a heartbeat.
The table was moved aside after they were done eating, and they were served more coffee.
“I’m going to get some shut-eye,” Jeon Dae-Geuk declared as he brazenly lay down on his side and moved the pillow from his back to under his head.
“I’ll come back after getting some air,” Choi Jong-Il said.
“Sure, whatever you want,” Kim Hyung-Jung replied with a smile. With an eye gesture, Kim Tae-Jin helped him up so the remaining four could head out to the Korean-style bench in front of the diner.
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