Chapter 209.2: I Couldn’t Leave Here (1)
Upon reaching the entrance of the International Hotel, agents rushed toward them from behind and in front. But that wasn’t the end of it.
The hotel valet immediately took Kang Dae-Kyung’s car, and two managers stood at the entrance to greet Kang Chan.
“This way, please.”
People created an encirclement around Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook to escort them to the elevator and up to the highest floor. One side of the floor was completely blocked and had a long, connected table with chairs arranged at exact distances from each other.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook seemed quite surprised. There were more chairs than expected.
“I was thinking of calling the employees assigned to the apartment as well as the ones who are off today, so I asked them to prepare a lot of seats,” Kang Chan explained.
“Good job. You should never forget to be grateful to people working hard to help us and keep us safe,” Kang Dae-Kyung praised.
“I won’t, Father,” Kang Chan responded.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook sat down where an employee directed them, and Kang Chan sat across from them.
A moment later, Woo Hee-Seung and Lee Doo-Hee entered, followed by Deputy Section Chief Kim and the other employees of Kang Yoo Motors, the employees from the foundation, and the ones who were off.
Although there were a few people he had never met before among them, most of them were familiar faces by now, and they had grown on each other. Hence, Kang Chan sat down with a welcoming smile.
“Thank you for all your hard work,” Kang Chan said gratefully, standing up. The agents all looked proud.
They were currently being served a course meal. The wine came out first, and everyone enjoyed their food in a comfortable atmosphere.
Kang Dae-Kyung thanked everyone with a toast, and Kang Chan followed with the second toast, thanking the agents for protecting his parents.
They exchanged various jokes and enjoyed themselves with a Christmas carol being played by a quartet in the background.
Yoo Hye-Sook looked happy throughout the entire evening.
“Mother, I’m going to drop by Jeungpyeong for a bit in the morning,” Kang Chan said in the middle of the meal.
Yoo Hye-Sook looked up at him with a suddenly frightened expression. Kang Chan smiled at her softly.
“I’m just going to visit one of the agents I worked with. He got injured. I’ll be back right after,” Kang Chan assured her.
With a sad expression, Yoo Hye-Sook nodded. She had seen agents getting shot up close during the underground parking lot shootout, so she understood.
“All right, good idea. You should definitely visit. Since there might be traffic during the night, you can come back tomorrow,” Kang Dae-Kyung responded.
“I’ll call you after I check how things go,” Kang Chan said.
“Got it.”
After the two-hour meal and about twenty minutes of teatime, the gathering came to an end. Everyone stood up to say goodbye, and Kang Chan shook hands with each agent.
“Thank you,” Kang Chan said.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done, sir,” the agents replied.
Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook didn’t understand why the agents were thanking Kang Chan for his efforts, but they could tell that the agents were being sincere.
Afterward, Kang Chan hugged Yoo Hye-Sook one more time.
“Thank you for coming back safely, Channy,” Yoo Hye-Sook said, becoming emotional again.
“I’m so happy to see you again, Mother,” Kang Chan responded.
Kang Dae-Kyung happily stroked Kang Chan’s hair. He missed doing this.
After saying goodbye to his parents at the hotel, Kang Chan went to the office in Samseong-Dong as promised.
Jeon Dae-Geuk, Kim Tae-Jin, Kim Hyung-Jung, and Seok Kang-Ho were already waiting for him. Jeon Dae-Geuk, who was upset because he missed seeing Kang Chan the last time, was especially welcoming. He greeted Kang Chan like an uncle who hadn’t seen his nephew in a long time.
“How was dinner?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
“Good,” Kang Chan replied with a grin.
Jeon Dae-Geuk couldn’t take his eyes off of Kang Chan. It was as if just looking at him gave him joy.
“We should leave now, sir. We don’t want to be late,” Kim Hyung-Jung urged.
“Yes, let’s go,” Jeon Dae-Geuk replied.
The group came down from the office. Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Jeon Dae-Geuk got into the same car while Kim Tae-Jin and Kim Hyung-Jung took another.
“Mr. Seok, thank you for coming with us,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said.
“After hearing about it, I naturally had to go. I’m glad the captain is here to come with us too,” Seok Kang-Ho replied.
“I’ve come to realize a lot of things after hearing the news from Manager Kim. It also brought to my attention that we still don’t properly honor those who sacrificed for our country.”
“I’m sure it will slowly improve.”
It took a while for them to exit the highways, which was unexpected.
“We’ll be late at this rate,” Seok Kang-Ho commented, sounding quite worried.
“Just step on the pedal. Worst-case scenario, we’ll get ticketed,” Kang Chan ordered him.
“Hang on. Keep going at this speed,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said as he pulled out his phone. He called a number and began to explain where their car was and where they were headed.
Five minutes later…
Weeoo. Weeoo. Weeoo.
… two police cars quickly sped toward them and drove next to the car that Kang Chan was in.
I didn’t know we could do this.
Thankfully, instead of being late, they were thirty minutes early. As they entered the Jeungpyeong base, the late Choi Seong-Gon’s barracks opened, and his former deputy and a pale-faced Cha Dong-Gyun trudged out.
When Kang Chan approached them, Cha Dong-Gyun saluted him.
“What are you doing?” Kang Chan asked. Noticing the bed and an IV drip through the open door, he glared at Cha Dong-Gyun.
“I can’t just stay here, sir,” Cha Dong-Gyun said emotionally. He seemed to be holding back his tears after seeing Kang Chan.
Jeon Dae-Geuk, Kim Tae-Jin, and Kim Hyung-Jung all stayed silent.
“Let him go,” Kang Chan told the deputy, then turned back to Cha Dong-Gyun. “Be firm. Show him your resolve.”
“Understood, sir,” Cha Dong-Gyun replied. Everyone who heard his response became sure that seeing Kang Chan gave him the courage to stand back up.
“Are you going to come with us?” Kang Chan asked, noticing Cha Dong-Gyun wearing a first lieutenant’s memorial uniform.
“Yes, sir.”
Not long after, The soldiers’ barracks opened and soldiers neatly dressed in uniforms came out to greet Kang Chan’s group.
“Ha. It’s like watching younger siblings reunite with their eldest brother after losing their father,” Jeon Dae-Geuk said with a sigh.
Kim Tae-Jin smiled wryly.
The joy on the soldiers’ faces and the regained energy in their eyes was a sight that was hard to put into words.
“We’re going to be late. Let’s get going,” Kang Chan said.
The soldiers boarded the prepared bus, and Kang Chan’s group got back into the sedans.
The sedan Choi Seong-Geon’s former deputy and Cha Dong-Gyun were in led the convoy, followed by Woo Hee-Seung and Lee Doo-Hee, Kang Chan, Kim Tae-Jin and Kim Hyung-Jung, then the bus.
After leaving the base and about twenty minutes on the highway, they came across an apartment for military personnel. It was a worn-down 4-story apartment without an elevator.
Passing by it and going on for about five minutes on a winding road, they finally reached a church. Kang Chan and the rest stopped in front of it.
The deputy entered first. A woman dressed in a choir director uniform came out, nodded, and went back in.
It was a cold day.
Kang Chan could see his breath in front of him, but no one cared about the cold.
They all waited for about ten minutes. The woman earlier then opened the door and told them they could enter now.
With Kang Chan at the front, they all trailed inside, and the gazes of the people in the church naturally turned to them.
The few soldiers among them jumped up from their seats upon seeing Cha Dong-Gyun and the deputy.
“They are colleagues of Lee Yoo-Seul’s father. She will be singing a solo today. Everyone, please welcome Lee Yoo-Seul with applause,” the woman announced.
Applause rang out loud amid the surprise.
Kang Chan and his group stood at the central staircase while the other soldiers stood at attention in the back. Accompanied by music, Lee Yoo-Seul appeared and began to sing a song titled “You Were Born to Be Loved.”
Lee Yoo-Seul was the daughter of the fallen soldier who had broken his finger. Unable to accept her father’s death, the second-grader in elementary school suffered from severe depression, which had caused her to lose her ability to speak.
The soldiers prepared this ceremony for his daughter. They all came together with Kang Chan when Seok Kang-Ho informed them about it.
A woman in the front row trembled and began to weep in sorrow. Lee Yoo-Seul, who was singing, began to sob as well. She choked up and began to cry.
“Daddy!”
As if pulled by something, Kang Chan instinctively moved forward. The stage was at chest height for him.
“C’mere, kiddo,” he said.
“Waah! Waaaahhh!”
“It’ll all be okay,” he soothed her.
Lee Yoo-Seul bent down to Kang Chan and got in his arms, gripping his neck tightly and crying.
Kang Chan walked down the central aisle and took Lee Yoo-Seul to the other soldiers.
“We won’t ever forget your dad either,” he told her.
“Wah! Waahh!”
“Your dad was a truly great man. You don’t have to force yourself to forget him,” Kang Chan said softly.
Lee Soo-Yeul cried her heart out in his arms. Cha Dong-Gyun approached them.
“Yoo-Seul, Uncle will be like your dad, okay?” he said.
After that, the soldiers began to come over one by one and pat her back.
“Your dad probably wants to listen to you sing, but we can stop here if you want,” Kang Chan told her.
“Will Daddy really listen to my song?” Lee Yoo-Seul asked.
“Of course,” Kang Chan reassured her.
Amid thunderous applause, Kang Chan brought Lee Yoo-Seul back onto the stage. Lee Yoo-Seul seemed to have regained her composure after seeing the soldiers in their military uniforms.
“Daddy! Make sure you listen!” she shouted.
The young girl’s heartfelt wish filled the church before traveling up toward her father.
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