Chapter 187.2: Job Well Done (2)
When Kang Chan got off the elevator, he was greeted by bulky agents wearing dark suits with receivers in their ears standing from hall to hall.
Click.
Now that Kang Chan was finally in his room, he felt as if he could relax. He took off his jacket and sat down on the couch.
A cup of coffee would be nice.
Kang Chan came up with an idea.
Chk.
“Is there any coffee that’s left?” Kang Chan asked.
The agents took about ten seconds to respond, making Kang Chan think that they weren’t expecting him to talk to them right now.
Chk.
“Yes. Would you like some? You’ll have to warm it up a bit, though,” one agent replied.
Seok Kang-Ho grinned as he headed toward the door.
Click.
“I hear there’s coffee?” Seok Kang-Ho asked in a mischievous tone.
Does this bastard think the hallway is some cafe?
After a while, Seok Kang-Ho returned with a coffee pitcher in his hand.
“Why did they give you so much?” Kang Chan asked.
Seok Kang-Ho poured the coffee into an electronic pot.
Kang Chan knew ordering in would probably have been easier, and the agents could have felt uncomfortable. However, he wanted to share at least one cup of coffee with them before parting ways with them.
They wouldn’t be able to drink it together, but the fact that they had the same coffee was more important. After all, rank didn’t matter here.
If he didn’t have the agents standing outside to protect those he loved, how could he have left for the operation with peace of mind?
Chk.
“We heated up some coffee. Who wants to drink some?” Kang Chan asked over the radio.
This time, it took them twenty seconds to respond.
“We’re working right now, sir. Please enjoy your coffee,” an agent said. He sounded as if he was holding back a smile.
Seok Kang-Ho brought the coffee over and sat down at the table. Just then, someone spoke over the radio.
Chk.
“This is senior agent Shin Geun-Ho. We were all trained under General Choi, sir. I’m sure there isn’t a single agent in South Korea who hasn’t crossed paths with the general at least once.”
Chk.
The agent continued, “Thank you for your service, sir.”
Kang Chan thought the agent would speak more, but that was the end of the conversation. The agent was probably worried about talking about the operation.
As Seok Kang-Ho put back the cigarettes and ashtray, Kang Chan turned his phone on.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
He received so many missed calls and texts in just a single day.
“Should we get some sleep now?” Kang Chan asked Seok Kang-Ho.
“I don’t see why not. Let’s have some coffee first, though. You’re having breakfast with your parents, right?” Seok Kang-Ho confirmed.
“Well, I don’t want you to eat by yourself. I’m going home after having breakfast, so let’s eat together.”
“All right. Let’s see. It looks like we’ll have about three hours of sleep if we sleep now,” Seok Kang-Ho noted.
The two drank coffee together and then returned to their individual rooms to lie down in their comfortable beds.
Sleeping for short amounts of time was a piece of cake to them. After all, they spent nearly ten years in a place where that was the norm. Neither of them were displeased about the lack of normal sleep. They were just grateful for getting any at all.
***
Kang Chan woke up in the morning when the sunlight coming in through the window hit him. He had slept about an hour past the time he would usually wake up, but the scenery outside wasn’t much different from what he saw any other day.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho washed up lightly and ate a filling breakfast.
It was around eight-thirty in the morning. Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook were probably already up.
A smile stretched on Kang Chan’s face just at the thought of seeing them. He changed into new clothes and attached a radio. Just to be safe, he holstered a pistol on his ankle too.
“My family’s coming home today, so I’ll try to call in the evening if I can,” Seok Kang-Ho told him.
“Just focus on spending time with your family today if you can,” Kang Chan said.
“Right, I plan to do that. You should hurry and get going too.”
What would I do without this punk?
Kang Chan nodded, stepped out the door, and headed to the room that was right next to his. He was walking an extremely short distance, but his heart was beating faster due to his excitement of getting to see them again.
Ding dong.
Kang Chan pressed the bell and took a deep breath.
- Who is it?
“It’s me,” Kang Chan replied.
Click.
Kang Dae-Kyung opened the door.
“I’m back, Father,” Kang Chan greeted.
“What happened? Have you taken care of everything already?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked in surprise.
“Yes. I got back early,” Kang Chan answered.
Kang Chan began to walk into the room with Kang Dae-Kyung when Yoo Hye-Sook, who forced down the rest of the food she was chewing, came dashing at Kang Chan.
“Channy!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed, embracing her son tightly.
“What is it, Mother? Did something happen?” Kang Chan asked with concern.
“She had a nightmare. She didn’t get any sleep and was worried sick about you.”
Yoo Hye-Sook looked as if she finally got a sense of relief.
I have this kind of mom now.
A mom who could sense in her dreams when Kang Chan left on dangerous operations—a mom who was always worried about her son.
“I’m sorry,” Kang Chan apologized.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked, carefully examining Kang Chan’s face and body. She looked full of concern.
“I’m not hurt at all. I’m completely fine,” Kang Chan assured her.
“You’ve become so gaunt in the face,” Yoo Hye-Sook protested.
“It must be because I overworked myself a little to get back quickly. Well, you two were having breakfast, weren’t you? You should hurry and eat the rest of your meal,” Kang Chan said.
“What about you, Channy?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
“I already had breakfast. You two can eat,” Kang Chan responded.
“I feel full just seeing my son,” Yoo Hye-Sook said.
“My goodness,” Kang Dae-Kyung said with a fake sigh that made Yoo Hye-Sook make an abashed expression.
“Hurry and eat, Mother. Otherwise, Father can’t eat either,” Kang Chan urged her.
Even as they walked over to the dining table, Yoo Hye-Sook continued to examine Kang Chan.
Kang Chan’s parents were having toast and eggs for breakfast.
“Why are you only eating these?” Kang Chan asked in surprise.
“Your mom chose this meal,” Kang Dae-Kyung replied.
Yoo Hye-Sook just smiled awkwardly.
It wasn’t as if Kang Chan asked the question because he was dying to know the reason why, so he didn’t push any further. Instead, he picked up a piece of the toast and spread some butter on it. He then smeared a little strawberry jam on top.
“Mother, please have this,” Kang Chan offered.
It was just a piece of bread, but Yoo Hye-Sook looked like the happiest person in the world.
“It’s so good! You should have some too, Channy,” she urged him.
“I ate with the employees that I work with before going here,” Kang Chan informed her.
“Remind me, who’s the mom, and who’s the son again?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked jokingly.
“Honey! You’re always like this when you’re jealous,” Yoo Hye-Sook pretended to scoff.
“Should I spread some jam on bread for you too, Father?” Kang Chan asked with a grin.
“No need. I feel like I’ll make the same expression your mom is making if you,” Kang Dae-Kyung refused.
The three burst out laughing at the same time.
“Right! They said we can go back home after breakfast,” Kang Chan said.
Nervousness flashed across Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook’s faces.
“Apparently, they have already caught almost all the culprits from the incident last time. They’ve also tightened security around the apartment, so I think our home should be safe.”
They still looked quite concerned, but they seemed relieved to know they could leave finally the hotel.
“Can I go back to work?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.
“I wasn’t able to ask about that,” Kang Chan answered with regret.
Kang Dae-Kyung nodded. Kang Chan understood his frustration.
“For now, how about we go home and go on a vacation?”
“A vacation?” Kang Dae-Kyung echoed.
“Yes. You probably can’t go to work for the week, but I know it’s uncomfortable to have to stay at home all day after being cooped up in the hotel. Since I couldn’t go on the trip to Jeju with you last time, I thought it might be nice.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Yes, I think I’ll be fine,” Kang Chan replied.
Yoo Hye-Sook’s eyes moved between them expectantly as she listened to their conversation.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to go,” Kang Dae-Kyung replied with a laugh after seeing Yoo Hye-Sook’s expression. “Where should we go?”
“Well, do you have any place you'd like to visit, Mother?”
“Since we went to the beach last time, how about a quiet mountain or valley this time? What do you think, dear?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked Kang Dae-Kyung.
“That sounds good. Isn’t it around time to pick chestnuts now?”
“Chestnuts?” Kang Chan asked.
“Yes, there are vacation rentals in places where lots of chestnut trees grow. We can pick and steam them. It might still be a bit early, though.”
“I’ll look into it.”
They talked some more until Kang Chan’s parents finished their meal. Now, all that was left to do was pack up and go back home.
Kang Dae-Kyung was still worried, while Yoo Hye-Sook seemed relieved.
After Yoo Hye-Sook went in to shower, Kang Chan spoke up.
“Did Mother worry about me a lot?”
“Your mom has been worrying about you a lot recently maybe because of the incident, but she said she also had a bad nightmare last night,” Kang Dae-Kyung replied as he glanced in Yoo Hye-Sook’s direction.
Kang Chan felt so sorry that he couldn’t even say anything.
“She said a red monster kept trying to take you away. She was so worried. She got close to no sleep,” Kang Dae-Kyung added.
“I’m sorry.”
If I knew, I would’ve called even if it was still early.
Parents were truly incredible.
“Goodness. My son’s becoming more mature while you’re mom is becoming more childish.”
Kang Dae-Kyung chuckled and patted Kang Chan’s head. It was the same feeling as when Kang Chan patted the soldiers’ helmets.
.
“You can’t suddenly cancel at the last minute this time too, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Kang Chan replied.
“And everything’s okay?” Kang Dae-Kyung confirmed.
“Yep.”
“Channy,” Kang Dae-Kyung suddenly called.
“Yes, Father,” Kang Chan replied as he lifted his gaze.
“All mothers do it with their children, but your mother really risked her life to give birth to you. She wasn’t getting any better even when we practically poured blood into her. I gave you to her thinking that I should let her hold you one last time, but that made her recover instead.”
Kang Chan’s heart clenched at the story. Kang Dae-Kyung smiled bittersweetly as he continued, “You mean everything to your mom. Nobody else in this world can replace that. Take care of your her, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Kang Chan replied. Something seemed caught in his throat.
“Ha, punk! I hope you have a son that’s just like you,” Kang Dae-Kyung said as he stretched out his hand to wrap around Kang Chan’s shoulders.
It felt as if the whole world was embracing Kang Chan.
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