Chapter 206.2: I’ll Go
What on earth is going on right now?
Kang Chan—the person who was supposed to be investigated—couldn’t even say anything.
Is this why people try their best to get a good lawyer?
Kang Chan could only smile bitterly.
“Let’s go, Mr. Kang Chan,” Song Chang-Wook said as he stood up. “I don’t see any reason to spend a second longer in a place like this. Do you?”
In response, Kang Chan immediately stood up and headed to the door. He heard Lee Seung-Ryul stand up behind him as well and say goodbye to Song Chang-Wook, but he didn’t really want to see that.
When Kang Chan opened the door and left the room, he found Kim Hyung-Jung standing adamantly in front of it. The two investigators and the female employee were also outside but a bit far away from them. They all looked flustered.
“Is it all over now?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked Kang Chan.
“Yes. I think everything worked out properly.”
“You went through a lot.”
“I didn’t do much. How did you make this happen, though?”
Song Chang-Wook came out of the room before Kang Chan could hear his answer. He didn’t really have to know and wasn’t in a hurry to either, so he just moved on.
They took the elevator to the ground floor. As soon as they got out of the building, they got in the car and headed to Samseong-dong.
Could it be?
Kang Chan discreetly looked to the side, wondering if Song Chang-Wook was crying. He couldn’t be too sure, though, since Song Chang-Wook wasn’t saying anything. Still, as far as he could tell, the man’s lips were trembling, and he had tears on the edges of his eyes. At the very least, he seemed to be holding back his tears.
Quite a lot of people had gathered at Samseong-Dong.
When they got out of the car, Kim Hyung-Jung immediately approached Song Chang-Wook.
“Thank you for all you’ve done,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.
“No, I should be the one thanking you for accepting my request even though it was completely unreasonable.”
Song Chang-Wook shook hands with Kim Hyung-Jung, then turned to Kang Chan and held his hand to him. “If you love someone, you’re bound to find yourself feeling upset every now and then because they can’t understand how you feel.”
Kang Chan didn’t know why, but he kept meeting people he had trouble predicting.
“Working for the country will be even more upsetting, considering, almost no one will acknowledge what you’ve done for it. Still, talented people like you have to do your best for the sake of the country,” Song Chang-Wook continued.
Kang Chan couldn’t respond. He didn’t really know why Song Chang-Wook was telling him all that or why he appeared to be choked with emotion. Moreover, he didn’t really know what Song Chang-Wook meant.
“I’ll get going,” Song Chang-Wook said. He didn’t seem to have any lingering regrets anymore when he turned around and got in the car that was waiting for him. The people Kang Chan had met so far were all extraordinary, but even so, few left an impression as intense as Song Chang-Wook did.
“Let’s head up, shall we?” Kim Hyung-Jung offered after seeing Song Chang-Wook off.
They still had to be wary of the dangers in their surroundings, so Kang Chan agreed and followed Kim Hyung-Jung up the building.
“Attorney Song Chang-Wook is the descendant of a Korean independence activist named Song Hee-Jae—commonly referred to by his artist name Baekesan. He provided the funds to establish South Korea’s government alone,” Kim Hyung-Jung explained.
Kang Chan felt even more touched upon learning about that. People’s feelings truly did change easily.
“How did you get the recording that he presented earlier?” Kang Chan asked.
Kim Hyung-Jung just smiled in response.
***
Even though Kang Chan and Song Chang-Wook had left, Lee Seung-Ryul still couldn’t concentrate on his work.
Overwhelmed by Song Chang-Wook, he let Kang Chan go. Now that he had to report to Kim Seong-Woong, he felt afraid and worried that he just committed something outrageous.
The office was filled with a heavy atmosphere. It was as if lead had just been poured into the room.
‘I did something crazy.’
What kind of person was Kim Seong-Woong?
If Kim Seong-Woong hadn’t helped Lee Seung-Ryul, he wouldn’t have had anyone to depend on.
‘What should I say? Should I just arrest Kang Chan now even though I don’t have a warrant?’
Whenever Lee Seung-Ryul thought of something like this, he vividly remembered the recording that Song Chang-Wook played for him.
Wiretapping was illegal.
However, unlike the United States, South Koreans paid more attention to the conversation that was recorded than the man who actually committed such a crime.
As Lee Seung-Ryul massaged both of his temples with his thumb and index fingers, the door opened, and his junior prosecutor came inside. They looked pale with fright. It would be wrong to scold them now just because he failed to hold back his anger.
“Sunbae-nim!” the junior prosecutor called.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s talk later,” Lee Seung-Ryul said. He frowned as he lowered the hand that he had put in front of his face.
“Unfortunately, this can’t wait. The Prosecutor-General is…”
Lee Seung-Ryul’s ears perked up.
The investigators and the female employee focused on their conversation, seemingly trying to figure out what all the fuss was about.
***
Around dinner time, Kang Chan and Kim Hyung-Jung went to the barbeque restaurant in front of the building with Seok Kang-Ho, who had been waiting for them.
Perhaps because Wui Min-Gook hadn’t been caught yet, the security remained fairly strict.
“Are you going back to France?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked Kang Chan.
“I have to. I’ve already started training, so I plan to push through with it.”
After ordering some meat, they were brought charcoal for the grill and side dishes first.
“Mr. Kang Chan, I hope this matter doesn’t anger you too much. We have our own rules, and it took some time for the President to make a decision,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.
Why did they need the President’s permission to get me a lawyer?
Chkk.
Seok Kang-Ho began cooking some meat on the grill, making Kang Chan suddenly feel hungry. He hadn’t smelled this in quite a while.
“Oh my!”
Kang Chan turned to one side of the restaurant when he heard people talking. The commotion seemed to have been caused by the news shown on the large TV mounted to the wall.
Kang Chan blanked out when he began reading the captions.
[Prosecutor-General Kim Seong-Woong arrested for attempting to sexually assault a waitress.]
The captions continued.
[He’s also suspected of drug addiction. The police have sent an analysis request to the National Forensic Service to analyze his hair and saliva.]
On the screen was a video of a man trying to molest a woman several times. Their faces were blurred to make it difficult to identify them.
“Why would someone in such a position try to do something like that?” one of the people asked.
[Prosecutor-General Kim Seong-Woong denies being involved in the incident, claiming that he only drank two glasses of beer.]
“At any rate, men have to be careful of how they act, regardless of their age!” someone exclaimed.
Kang Chan looked at Kim Hyung-Jung. Seok Kang-Ho also had a similar expression on his face.
“We decided to put all the blame for this incident on him to prevent the entire prosecution from collapsing. The Director worked hard to get this approved,” Kim Hyung-Jung explained.
Am I important and talented enough for them to do this?
Kang Chan found it hard to accept this situation.
“Mr. Kang Chan,” Kim Hyung-Jung called.
Kang Chan frowned when the meat that Seok Kang-Ho had put on the grill began to smoke.
Considering how this conversation is going, he should’ve held off on cooking the meat until a little later.
“I sincerely apologize for the hardships that this has put you through and for our inability to prevent them from involving your parents in this.”
Kang Chan was basically attacked all throughout the evening without being able to do anything. He was probably feeling something similar to wondering what he needed to do to pay people back after receiving an enormous bribe.
Chkk.
Seok Kang-Ho silently put more meat on the grill.
“So that’s why attorney Song looked very upset,” Kang Chan commented.
“He was the one who requested ending this as a personal matter. It’s not an official duty of his, but attorney Song is in charge of the National Intelligence Service’s legal matters,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.
Chkk.
Kim Hyung-Jung and Kang Chan picked up their chopsticks when Seok Kang-Ho started cooking even more meat.
“Let’s eat first,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.
Emotion and meat were two different matters that should be attended to separately.
The three ate their fill.
It didn’t feel right to head back up to Kim Hyung-Jung’s office, so they went to the cafe in front of it instead.
Kang Chan felt bad for the agents assigned as their security detail, but since they only had to be wary of Wui Min-Gook, he doubted things could actually be that dangerous.
As they were drinking coffee, Seok Kang-Ho and Kim Hyung-Jung asked Kang Chan about what he had learned and who was part of the training. Kang Chan told them all about it.
“Phew! Finish your training already and come back for good,” Seok Kang-Ho said afterward.
“Believe me, I want this to be over as well.”
“How will you endure the training with that attitude?” Seok Kang-Ho grumbled and laughed. The two laughed with him.
“Has Wui Min-Gook gone completely into hiding?” Kang Chan asked.
“We think so. I issued an order to secretly tighten the security of important government institutions and facilities because those are the ones he’ll likely target, but contrary to our expectations, he still hasn’t shown himself,” Kim Hyung-Jung responded.
Kang Chan didn’t know someone could be this talented in keeping themselves off the grid.
“I have to ask, does your training include learning to control your attitude or your expressions?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.
“Pardon?” Kang Chan asked as he picked up his cup of coffee, unable to understand what Kim Hyung-Jung meant.
“I feel like you’ve changed. It’s not only your expression, either. It’s like you’ve become somewhat more serious than before. Ah! It’s times like this that make me really jealous of those who can properly express how they feel.”
Is it because of the Blackhead?
That was something that Kang Chan should talk to Seok Kang-Ho about alone, though, not something to mention here.
After spending some more time with Kim Hyung-Jung, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho headed to the cafe at the intersection.
It was about time they talked about that damn rock.
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