Chapter 235.2: And... (2)
Kang Chan inhaled, then softly said, “That man had a son that had the same name as me.”
“How do you know that?” Kim Tae-Jin looked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So? What about it?”
“Did you know that his son went to Africa because he couldn’t stand how that man acted when he was drunk? That eventually got him killed.”
Kim Tae-Jin blanked out and froze up for a moment. With a dumbfounded expression, he managed to reply with a nod.
“I personally knew his dead son. Perhaps that was why I suddenly got very emotional. My anger got the best of me, which led to me acting that way. After all, I was staring at a man who was standing there, looking all sane, and saying that he wanted to go to Mongolia when I knew that he had caused his son to die like that,” Kang Chan explained.
“My goodness...” After a moment of silence had passed, Kim Tae-Jin asked, “But is it possible for you to know his son?”
“I just know him enough to know about his life.”
Kim Tae-Jin held up his paper cup and drank about half of the coffee. “There isn’t a lot of time left until the plane departs. Let’s leave for now, then I’ll tell you all about my sunbae-nim on our way there. This is going to be very helpful to our country, so please just follow my instructions for now. Can you do that for me?”
Noticing Kim Tae-Jin’s firm expression, Kang Chan found it hard to refuse or argue.
“I’ll get my sunbae and Oh Gwang-Taek on the plane first, so keep that in mind. You and I should move to the first-class seats for now but don’t feel bad about it. The plane ride isn’t that long anyway. It would just be for the best if you don’t run into them at least until we arrive, so just listen to me this time, alright?” Kim Tae-Jin continued.
“Alright.”
“I’m going to take one agent with me and contact you through him. When I do, get on the plane immediately.”
“Will do.”
“Phew!” Kim Tae-Jin sighed as he stood up from his seat. He then shook his head as he was looking at Kang Chan, then left through the glass door.
No wonder I have been in a foul mood for the past few days!
Kang Chan took another cigarette as he glared at the table...
Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.
Jeon Dae-Geuk was calling.
Kang Chan sighed and smiled at the same time.
“Hello?”
- Are you okay?
The old man had a sly side to him.
“I decided to board the plane after all.”
- It’s good that you’re a hot-blooded youth, but don’t overdo it. How would it look if the assistant deputy director of the National Intelligence Service fought with a gangster at the airport?
Kang Chan’s lips twitched. It was more painful to hear this than to be called names.
“I’ll be back.”
- Alright. Work hard.
Jeon Dae-Geuk was probably curious. Considering the gentleman’s personality, he had to be dying to ask what was going on but probably hung up anyway because he thought that Kang Chan had to get on the plane soon. Perhaps Kim Tae-Jin was going to answer every single one of Jeon Dae-Geuk’s questions on the phone later.
As soon as Kang Chan hung up, his phone rang again. This time, it showed Kim Hyung-Jung’s number on the screen.
“I decided to get on the plane.”
- Are you okay?
“Yes. I’m sorry for everything.”
- Don’t worry about it. I take it that you’re going to Mongolia, then? Do you need help with anything else?”
“No. I’ll contact you when I return.”
- Thank you for all your efforts.
When Kang Chan hung up, an agent came into the room and told him that it was time for him to board the plane.
Damn it! I should’ve held back my anger a little bit.
As he was walking toward the lounge again, he felt so embarrassed that his face seemed to be on fire.
If only it wasn’t for that fucking bastard, I would be on the plane and laughing with Oh Gwang-Taek already.
When Kang Chan walked past the airport’s lounge, he gritted his teeth. The very subject of his anger right now was right in front of him again.
That motherfucking son of a bitch!
How could he go around looking all normal and sane? When he was told that his son had died, he didn’t even accept his son’s mementos. Instead, he made Gérard carry them around.
He wished he was allowed to kick him out of the plane.
Kang Chan walked down the hallway and turned to go inside, finding an informal CIQ checkpoint. After passing through it, he finally reached the boarding gate.
“Come on,” Kim Tae-Jin said.
The boarding time was almost over. Three or four passengers were busily heading into the boarding gate, and Kim Tae-Jin was waiting for him right behind them.
Kang Chan got on the plane with Kim Tae-Jin.
The first-class seats were on the left side of the entrance.
He was always accompanied by darkly tanned men whenever he boarded a plane before, so it felt nice to have sophisticated flight attendants guiding them for a change. It was a bit uncomfortable to be told to sit down, fasten his seat belt, and watch the safety video, though.
After some time, the plane had a smooth takeoff.
Slippers, blankets, and an eye mask had been prepared for them. He was also served wine and peanuts.
“I’m going to explain the situation as best as I can, so listen carefully,” Kim Tae-Jin began. For approximately thirty minutes, he told Kang Chan everything, starting from why he looked for Kang Chul-Gyu to everything that had happened until this morning. Every now and then, he would take a sip of his wine. “I didn’t tell you this, but he also donated all that money to the Kang Yoo Foundation, which your mother runs. Doesn’t all that make it worth at least trusting his sincerity?”
Kang Chan just listened in silence.
Should I trust Kang Chul-Gyu?
Kim Tae-Jin trusting Kang Chul-Gyu meant that Jeon Dae-Geuk and Kim Hyung-Jung also trusted him.
However, Kang Chul-Gyu wasn’t someone Kang Chan could bring himself to trust.
Bluntly put, even if he did all of that to forget about the pain, the fact remained that he beat up his wife and child. His son, who died with a bullet in his neck, and his wife, who hung herself to death, would never come back to life.
“He joined this operation under the condition that we’ll help him find the remains or mementos of his son who died in Africa in return. Please be a little more understanding of him,” Kim Tae-Jin continued.
At times like this, Jeon Dae-Geuk, Kim Tae-Jin, and Kim Hyung-Jung always seemed as if they were born with the innate ability to persuade Kang Chan.
“Kang Chan!” Kim Tae-Jin called him softly, but Kang Chan still couldn’t bring himself to answer. No matter how much he gritted his teeth, his heart wouldn’t allow it to happen.
Kang Chan didn’t want Kang Chul-Gyu to go to Mongolia.
Kang Chan would rather live with a snake. How could he endure the anger that he welled up inside him when he looked at Kang Chul-Gyu’s damn face—no, how could he even endure the anger that he felt just from thinking about him?
“Phew.” Those damn cargo planes suited Kang Chan better. It would be much easier to endure this if he could at least have some instant coffee and a cigarette without worries.
“Mr. President,” Kang Chan called.
“Yeah?”
“I’ll pretend not to notice him for now, so please make arrangements to prevent us from running into each other if possible. I also won’t go out of my way to mess with him. This is the best I can do right now.”
He suddenly felt sorry when he saw Kim Tae-Jin looking upset, but Kang Chan couldn’t do anything about it.
“I also need time to accept what you told me,” Kang Chan added.
“Phew, okay.”
As Kim Tae-Jin nodded, a flight attendant approached them. When they were given the lunch menu, Kang Chan asked for ramen.
***
Oh Gwang-Taek and Kang Chul-Gyu, who were sitting next to each other, chose beef for lunch.
“Hyung-nim, do you want beer? Ah, right! You don’t drink. I’m going to have to drink by myself, then,” Oh Gwang-Taek said as he accepted the can of beer that he asked a flight attendant for.
Chkk!
After opening it, he took three or four sips.
“Don’t be too displeased about Kang Chan. That fucker isn’t usually like that. He probably just got slapped after asking out a girl that he likes before coming here or just came here because she’s on her period. If he keeps up with this bullshit, I’ll also quit and leave. Let’s just live the rest of our lives managing a business together if that happens,” Oh Gwang-Taek said.
“Why did he act like that when he has never seen me before?”
“Ha! Even if this is his first time meeting you, just seeing the look in your eyes is all he needs to determine whether he likes you or not. Let’s manage a business—we’re both lonely anyway. Believe me, though, when I say that that bastard really isn’t that kind of man. I give you my word on that. You saw how embarrassed President Kim Tae-Jin was a moment ago, didn’t you?”
“Only time will tell,” Kang Chul-Gyu responded.
“Jeez, hyung-nim, why do you have to be so narrow-minded? What do you mean only ‘time will tell?’Anyway, he will probably apologize after we get off the plane. Just accept his apology.”
Kang Chul-Gyu simply looked out the window with a smirk.
Perhaps it was because he was on a plane, but his head hurt so much it seemed to be breaking into pieces. He felt so upset that his heart actually started to hurt.
Kang Chul-Gyu used to live as a king at the DMZ. He used to be determined to lay down his life at any moment for the country. He also lived an honest life, never taking home even just one hardtack from work.
What did I do wrong to be treated like this?
He wouldn’t have felt this upset if it was his dead son despising him this much.
Kang Chul-Gyu never imaged that one day, he would be despised by someone who wasn’t even twenty years old in front of Kim Tae-Jin—who looked after him and treated him with respect now that he was old just because he was his sunbae—and a famous gangster in Gangnam.
This entire situation made him realize how he looked right now once more. With each breath he took, he felt sorrow well up inside him.
He was old; he had gotten old.
If his younger self–the one known as the DMZ King—was the one in that situation, someone would’ve already died. He would have taken down the young punk.
‘I’m going to find my son’s remains and mementos no matter what humiliation I have to suffer.’
Staring out the window, Kang Chul-Gyu repeated that promise in his mind over and over again.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺