Chapter 138.2: In a whole different league (1)
It was only a few seconds when the call connected and Jeon Dae-Guek answered.
“Mr. Jeon, this is Choi Seong-Geon. Yes, sir. The training just ended. No, sir. Everything went well. Mr. Jeon, what exactly is the mission of this training?”
Choi Seong-Geon pressed the cigarette he was smoking in the ashtray to extinguish it and continued speaking into the phone.
“I’m well aware it’s a classified government secret. However, I will swear on the honor of the Field Army that I will keep quiet. Why do my men have to do this training? What lies at the end of this training? And what is the true identity of this man in front of me named Kang Chan?”
Choi Seong-Geon stared at Kang Chan as he spoke, making it seem as if he was arguing with Kang Chan. He then removed his gaze and turned to the window.
“Yes, sir. Please wait a moment.”
Choi Seong-Geon suddenly held out the phone to Kang Chan.
“Hello?” Kang Chan answered.
-Just what in the world did you do for Choi Seong-Geon to become so heated?
Jeon Dae-Geuk’s question made Kang Chan peek at Choi Seong-Geon.
?-Go ahead and tell him your plan. Choi Seong-Geon is full of pride. He’s a soldier through and through. He won’t ever disclose secrets even if a dagger is held against his throat.?
“I don’t know where to start. It seems like he has no idea who I am,” Kang Chan countered.
-I’ll explain that to him, so don’t worry about that. Please tell him.?
“Alright, I understand,” Kang Chan replied.
Kang Chan gave the phone back to Choi Seong-Geon.
“Yes, sir. Yes. I do know. Yes. What?”
Choi Seong-Geon shot Kang Chan a completely different look from before.
“Is that really true? Of course, I saw. You should’ve told me that earlier, sir! Understood. Yes, yes. I will give a report to you tomorrow,” Choi Seong-Geon said.
After hanging up the phone, Choi Seong-Geon took a deep breath, then enticingly smiled.
“Are you the person called God of Blackfield, Mr. Kang Chan?” he asked.
Kang Chan was a little embarrassed by the nickname, so he just smiled awkwardly and replied, “Yes.”
“That ‘God of Blackfield’ who went on the Mongolian rescue operation?” Choi Seong-Geon reiterated.
“That’s correct. Seok Kang-Ho and I went on the operation together,” Kang Chan responded.
“You were a part of that? When?” Kim Tae-Jin jumped in, taken aback because it was his first time hearing of this as well.
“You didn’t know, sir? The code name of the Korean agent who brought back Mr. Kim Hyung-Jung is God of Blackfield! He’s a role model to all of our soldiers, and they desperately want to meet him!” Choi Seong-Geon shouted in excitement.
“What? So back then, when Hyung-Jung was injured and you said you had to leave for someplace far away for some time… That was when you left for Mongolia?” Kim Tae-Jin asked, clearly astounded.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you,” Kang Chan said.
“I can’t believe this! Kang Chan, how could you! You as well, Mr. Seok! How can you do this to me?” Kim Tae-Jin asked with a betrayed expression.
Meanwhile, Choi Seong-Geon now behaved completely differently from how he did a few moments ago.
“The agents who went with Mr. Kim on the operation back then were part of the 606 and the special forces of the DMZ. Those men have not recovered enough yet to train, which is why they’re not here. They’ve been keeping their lips sealed about that mission, but I still heard about the greatness of the God of Blackfield. Haha! You should have told me earlier!” Choi Seong-Geon exclaimed as he enthusiastically held out his hand. “I’ve always wanted to meet you in person, Mr. Kang Chan. Mr. Seok, you must be the one who accompanied him on the operation!”
After shaking Kang Chan’s hand, Choi Seong-Geon held out his hand to Seok Kang-Ho. Choi Seong-Geon gripped Seok Kang-Ho’s hand so hard that Kang Chan couldn’t help but grimace in pain just by watching the scene.
“Mr. Kim and Mr. Kang Chan. For dinner today, I’ve prepared a feast with a whole pig to cheer up my men. Why don’t you all join us for dinner?”
“Sure, why not?” Kim Tae-Jin accepted.
“Sounds good to me too,” Kang Chan agreed.
Choi Seong-Geon grinned widely with a satisfied expression.
“Wonderful! Now, all that’s left is why my men are doing this training. Let’s go out and head to dinner after finishing this conversation,” he said with a genuinely curious face.
Jeon Dae-Geuk had already expressed his approval over the phone, and Kim Tae-Jin was informed of the situation as well, so Kang Chan had no reason to keep the operation a secret anymore.
“I am going to take revenge on the countries that committed acts of terror in our country,” Kang Chan declared.
Choi Seong-Geon’s grin instantly vanished.
“I believe our first target will be China. I divided the men into multiple teams today to observe them and select twelve people to form a unit,” Kang Chan added.
“Did you just say China?” Choi Seong-Geon asked in shock.
“That’s right. China is correct,” Kang Chan replied.
Choi Seong-Geon seemed to be having a difficult time believing Kang Chan’s words.
“France will provide us with the airplanes for our transportation, the weapons, and any other additional intelligence we may require,” Kang Chan explained.
“Is that how you flew to Mongolia during the previous operation?” Choi Seong-Geon asked.
“That’s right,” Kang Chan responded.
Choi Seong-Geon clenched his teeth at the scale of the mission.
“We won’t have the South Korean government’s approval for this operation,” Choi Seong-Geon said.
“That’s why I couldn’t tell you about this mission in advance. This will be an individual operation. The governments won’t know about my departures or arrivals into their countries,” Kang Chan stated.
“I don’t know what to say,” Choi Seong-Geon said curtly.
Fitting of a soldier who had formerly spent all his days on the battlefield, Choi Seong-Geon’s eyes were glinting sharply.
Amid their conversation, someone knocked on the door three times.
“What is it?” Choi Seong-Geon asked toward the door.
“The meal is ready, sir,” his aide replied.
“All right. We’ll be out soon,” Choi Seong-Geon announced.
The sun was still up in the sky, but it was already late in the evening. The shadows cast by the mountain blanketed half of the windows of the barrack.
“Sir, you should spend the night here today,” Choi Seong-Geon offered.
“Sure. What about you, Kang Chan?” Kim Tae-Jin asked.
“I don’t know,” Kang Chan replied with uncertainty.
To be frank, Kang Chan hadn’t made up his mind yet. Based on what he observed at the training today, he would essentially be taking a bunch of rookies out to the battlefield like the newbies that Gérard had brought.
It would pretty much be a suicide mission if they went now.
“Mr. Kang Chan, it’s a long way back, and you already came all the way here anyway. Please be our guest for today,” Choi Seong-Geon said. He was speaking in a gravelly, old man-like tone that reminded Kang Chan of Jeon Dae-Geuk.
Well, I suppose spending a day here can’t hurt.
“Alright, then. I’ll do that.”
“Fantastic. Then let’s have dinner first and talk again after,” Choi Seong-Geon said as he stood up. Everyone followed suit and left the barracks after him.
The parking lot was also half-covered by the shadows of the mountains, making the chilly atmosphere seem as if it had descended onto the ground.
Ten vertically cut drum barrels had been turned into long fire pits, and large rubber barrels stacked up with pork meat.
“Attention!” Choi Seong-Geon shouted, causing all eyes to turn toward them.
The soldiers had expressions that had a mix of embarrassment, frustration, incredulity, and surprise.
“Let me introduce the men who have worked hard to do the training with us today. This man here is the living legend of the DMZ, my senior, Kim Tae-Jin.”
The men clapped, and Choi Seong-Geon continued.
“Over there is Suh Sang-Hyeon, who fought at the DMZ with Mr. Kim Tae-Jin, and this is Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee. They all went through the 606 and the DMZ special forces team. They are all your seniors.”
Applause rippled every time a name was mentioned.
Firewood had to have been placed in the pits instead of charcoal because the flames blazed vigorously.
“And this is Mr. Kang Chan.”
Choi Seong-Geon's statement was followed by polite but stiff applause.
“Since you probably aren’t familiar with his name, I’ll tell you his code name instead. Mr. Kang Chan is the God of Blackfield, the very soldier all of you were so eager to meet.”
Their surroundings suddenly turned so quiet that one could hear even a pin drop. The fire pits made popping noises from the wood burning, and a few birds chirped as they went by.
“I can’t tell you everything because it’s classified, but the God of Blackfield is planning on proceeding with an operation similar to the one they executed in Mongolia. He wants to select members from South Korea’s special forces instead of working with a foreign country’s soldiers,” Choi Seong-Geon explained.
The soldiers' expressions and looks changed in an instant.
“Then the man next to him is the Seok…?”
“My name is Seok Kang-Ho,” Seok Kang-Ho introduced himself.
“Mr. Seok Kang-Ho is the man who carried out the mission in Mongolia with the God of Blackfield.”
This time, a booming round of applause began.
“First, let’s have some dinner. That’s all I have to say. At ease.”
“General Choi!” the soldier in the middle shouted as he shot his hand up in the air.
“What is it?” Choi Seong-Geon asked.
“We would like to express our gratitude toward them for saving our fellow comrades.”
Choi Seong-Geon glanced at Kang Chan, then nodded.
“Attention!”
Military boots clicked and thudded together as one.
“Salute the God of Blackfield!”
The men, who were scattered throughout the front of the barracks, all neatly saluted together.
Kang Chan couldn’t ignore them even if he wanted to. He saluted back at them.
“At ease!”
The soldiers moved as one. It was a solemn but somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere. The soldiers looked as if they had mixed feelings.
“Now eat!”
“Thank you for the meal!”
As the soldiers were staring at Kang Chan, Kim Tae-Jin looked around with a smirk.
Kang Chan felt uncomfortable.
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