Chapter 190.2: You Want To Go, Don’t You? (1)
“Is there anything you need before you leave for France?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked Kang Chan out of concern, finishing his conversation with Seok Kang-Ho.
“My mother is worried if it’ll be okay to defer going to college for a year. Can you tell me how that will work?” Kang Chan asked.
Had the men been expecting something more serious? At Kang Chan’s question, Jeon Dae-Geuk made a disbelieving smile. Kim Hyung-Jung and Kim Tae-Jin had similar expressions.
“I will ask the prime minister’s office to take care of it,” Kim Hyung-Jung replied.
With that, Yoo Hye-Sook’s concern was resolved.
“Anyhow, has there been any more information about Wui Min-Gook?” Kang Chan asked.
“There are likely some organizations and individuals who are still helping him, but with the current situation, it appears they are staying hidden,” Kim Hyung-Jung answered.
Tsk! I won’t be able to leave for France with peace of mind unless I twist his neck first…
The others’ expressions didn’t differ that much from Kang Chan’s.
“I’m embarrassed to show my face in front of you and General Choi,” Kim Tae-Jin said.
“None of this is your fault, Director,” Kang Chan assured him.
“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t said that we should just let Wui Min-Gook go that time,” Kim Tae-Jin said with a genuinely apologetic face.
“Don’t say that! Who could’ve predicted something like this would happen?” Jeon Dae-Geuk said in an attempt to reassure him, but Kim Tae-Jin still looked remorseful.
.
“We have received messages confirming the Russian President’s visit to South Korea. The UK Prime Minister and the President of France will be visiting as well. All that’s left now is the work to be done by the government, but they say we can still call them, so I will contact you to let you know every time progress is made,” Kim Hyung-Jung told Kang Chan.
“Is that necessary?” Kang Chan asked dubiously.
“The Eurasian Rail still hasn’t been connected yet. We should continue exchanging information with you as the situation develops,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.
All Kang Chan would be doing was listening to how the situation worked out. The only danger that remained was Wui Min-Gook, which was something that Kim Hyung-Jung could take care of alone.
“Manager Kim, what are your plans for Huh Ha-Soo?” Kang Chan asked.
“The evidence is so clear that he won’t be able to make any excuses. We are also discovering more individuals from within the National Intelligence Service who provided internal information to Huh Ha-Soo. It will be dealt with properly.”
Kang Chan found it a shame that he didn’t get to twist that motherfucker’s neck, but it wasn’t as if he was still a baekjeong[1] from the old times to be butchering all the criminals. It did feel like things were moving quickly, but that wasn’t a problem.
“Don’t just go suddenly changing your nationality to French, okay?” Jeon Dae-Geuk joked, instantly lightening up the atmosphere. “If you come back as a Frenchman because you fell for their offer of pretty women and money, I’m not going to stay still.”
Jeon Dae-Geuk’s eyes were so sharp that Kang Chan thought he might not be joking after all. However, when he grinned, the others also chuckled along.
“Promise me,” Jeon Dae-Geuk continued through his smile.
His serious expression and command were even funnier, but Kang Chan couldn’t laugh to his face. Before Kang Chan could answer, though, Jeon Dae-Geuk continued, maintaining his grave expression.
“Before you leave for France, let me ask you this one thing. Just where did you and Mr. Seok obtain such experience? I also think it’s better not to know the answer to this question, but I can’t help being curious.”
The atmosphere changed instantly again. Kim Tae-Jin and Kim Hyung-Jung focused their entire attention on Kang Chan.
However, this wasn’t a question that Kang Chan could answer, no matter how much he trusted them. Even if they were to believe what he said, what would come out of telling them? There was no knowing if his response could put him or Seok Kang-Ho in danger.
“Chief Jeon, I’ll have to keep take that secret to the grave, but in return, I promise not to get a French nationality,” Kang Chan replied.
Seeing Seok Kang-Ho’s stiff expression, Jeon Dae-Geuk let out a low sigh.
***
The vacation house was located over an hour’s drive further into Eupnae of Gapyeong.
‘Looks like the agents are gonna have their work cut out for them.’
Kang Chan had informed the agents of the location beforehand, but the winding roads and the hilly terrain were a nightmare from a security perspective. The two sedans in front of them and the vans and sedans following them were probably all agents assigned to protect them.
To be honest, Kang Chan also became alert every time a truck passed by them on the other side of the road. He had a gun holstered to his ankle and a radio behind his back, but the receiver wasn’t in his ear.
“It really is autumn,” Yoo Hye-Sook remarked in wonder. The mountains blanketed in red leaves were a vast change from the scenery that the hotel and their home offered. Fallen leaves were strewn along the roadside.
They reached their reserved vacation home about two hours after they left home. The location was quiet, peaceful, and had a lovely view. They could certainly relax in this place if it wasn’t for the threat that Wui Min-Gook posed.
As Kang Dae-Kyung confirmed their reservation, Kang Chan and Yoo Hye-Sook unloaded their luggage from the car and moved them to the place they rented.
The vacation home was made up of five separate houses, and the owner directed them to the second one to the left.
The house they reserved was a white wooden building with a spacious living room and bedrooms with large glass windows. Above was a loft with a bed accessible by stairs under a glass roof that revealed the sky. By the time they put the food in the fridge and tidied their belongings, it was already around two in the afternoon.
If it weren’t for the damn glass windows in the living room, this place would’ve been really cozy.
It was the perfect structure to get sniped from the mountains.
Kang Chan eventually put the receiver of his walkie-talkie into his ear.
Chk.
“What should we do about the mountains from across the living room?” Kang Chan asked.
Chk.
“We have already deployed troops there yesterday. We conducted two searches, and they were ordered to surround the entire mountain and have ambush training until tomorrow,” Woo Hee-Seung immediately answered.
Damn it!
The soldiers were suffering just because his family was staying at a vacation home for a day. Kang Chan wanted to invite all the soldiers here to have a barbecue with them if he could. However, he decided to keep the information to himself because he didn’t want Yoo Hye-Sook to feel bad.
“Should we close the curtains in the living room?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked quietly, away from Yoo Hye-Sook.
“It should be fine for now. They’ll be able to see inside at night, though, so we should close them then,” Kang Chan replied.
They would’ve had to draw the curtains at night anyway to have privacy from their vacationing neighbors.
“Honey! What are you doing? Let’s go outside!” Yoo Hye-Sook happily suggested.
Click.
“The bathroom and everything else is so clean,” she said.
“Were you hoping to clean the bathroom or something, honey?” Kang Dae-Kyung jokingly asked.
“I was just looking around,” Yoo Hye-Sook shot back.
As they continued to exchange banter, the three walked outside together.
“Whew! The air is so fresh!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed after taking in a deep breath. Except for the sound of two children from the home next to them running around, there wasn’t any noise.
“Let’s pick some chestnuts. They said we have to wear hats and sunglasses and also asked that we only pick as many as we can eat,” Kang Dae-Kyung reminded.
They leisurely walked into the mountain, following the path.
Kang Chan quickly scanned their surroundings and stayed by Yoo Hye-Sook’s side. Fortunately, he wasn’t getting any warnings from his gut.
“Should we not go?” Yoo Hye-Sook cautiously asked.
“It’s fine, Mother. They said there are chestnuts in this place, right? Let’s go over there,” Kang Chan suggested.
It was unfortunate for the agents and soldiers, but Kang Chan and his family might as well enjoy themselves while they were here. He would regret going back home before he could do anything, so he continued to walk along, pretending everything was fine.
They strolled through the forest along a narrow path and reached a slightly larger clearing.
“Wow!” Yoo Hye-Sook and Kang Dae-Kyung exclaimed. Kang Chan also looked around, equally surprised.
They had come across a grove of chestnut trees on a plateau. It was on a mountain’s incline, so it wasn’t visible from below. Chestnuts covered the ground, having fallen from the roughly thirty or more chestnut trees on it.
“They prepared those for us,” Kang Dae-Kyung pointed at a few nets and sticks.
“I’ll do it,” Kang Chan said.
“The head of the household should be the one to do something like this,” Kang Dae-Kyung replied with a grin.
Kang Dae-Kyung hit the tree, and chestnuts came pouring down. They picked up the fallen chestnuts and opened them to reveal plump, juicy chestnut meats.
The part that made Kang Chan the happiest was seeing Yoo Hye-Sook’s childlike delight as she enjoyed the chestnuts.
What more could he wish for?
Once they had collected a reasonable amount, the three looked around the area.
“It looks like there’s a stream around here,” Kang Chan noted.
“Let’s go,” Kang Dae-Kyung said.
They walked past the grove of chestnut trees and down the mountain to find a stream with stone basin placed here and there to collect water.
“Parents would enjoy visiting this place with their children in the summer,” Yoo Hye-Sook remarked.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook exchanged smiles while washing their hands.
They passed the stream and followed the hiking trail, reaching the parking area where they first parked their car. Although they had walked for about an hour and a half, the fresh air and pleasant conversation were so nice that time flew by unnoticed.
“Have you gone chestnut-picking yet? Huh? Why is this all you picked? I’m sure there were plenty of chestnuts out there,” the friendly female owner said when she saw the pouch of chestnuts that Kang Chan was carrying. She sounded as if she found the amount quite a pity.
“We only have to pick as much as we can eat,” Yoo Hye-Sook replied.
“What? You can grill some of them when you’re eating meat later and save some on the way back too. Most people pick too many, but I guess there are folk like you too. Who’s this, though? Your little brother?” the woman asked with a smile.
She’s just saying nice things for business.
“You two look so much alike. He has to be your little brother,” the woman added.
“He’s my son,” Yoo Hye-Sook replied with a beam.
“What?! How can someone as young as you have a son?”
The owner’s cheeky, joking remarks took about ten minutes of their time. If she was an actress, she would have won the grand prize in a heartbeat.
Mother won’t fall for that obvious lie, will she?
“Dear! I must look really young!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed.
Kang Chan quietly laughed it off.
It was good to see Yoo Hye-Sook happy.
The three then spent a leisurely afternoon and had dinner with Kang Dae-Kyung’s homemade chicken as the main dish. They shared some beer as well.
As time passed and darkness fell, Yoo Hye-Sook seemed to feel the reality of Kang Chan’s upcoming departure.
“Don’t forget to take care of yourself even in France, okay?” Yoo Hye-Sook said out of genuine concern.
“I will, Mother. Don’t worry,” Kang Chan reassured her.
When Kang Chan held her hand, Yoo Hye-Sook looked as if she was on the verge of tears, but she still smiled.
1. A derogatory term for butchers and during the Joseon Dynasty, they belonged to the lower class of commoners. 👈
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